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Practical American 

ENCYCLOPEDIA 


A Universal Reference Library 

IN THE 

Arts, Sciences and Literature 

With nearly one thousand Illustrations, Half-tone Engravings, 
Etchings, Drawings, Plans and Maps 

Editor in Chief 
BERNHART PAUL HOLST 

Teacher and Superintendent of Schools. Iowa; Institute Lecturer and Instructor; Author of Educa¬ 
tional Literature; Editor of “The Teachers’ and Pupils’ Cyclopedia,” Current Reference, 
and “Practical Home and School Methods of Study and Instruction.” 

Associate Editor 
RURIC NEVAL ROARK 

Teacher and Educational Writer; Author of Pedagogical Works; President 
Kentucky State Normal School, Richmond, Ky. 


And Many Assistant Editors and Contributors 

VOLUME I 



The W. 

B. Conkey Company 


1911 v 


CHICAGO 

Works: HAMMOND. IND. 

NEW YORK. 


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Copyright 1911 

THE HOLST PUBLISHING COMPANY 


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•RIGHTS fe£,.-SR'. 


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No dread of toil have we or ours. 

We know our worth and weigh our 
powers; 

The more we work the more we win; 
Success to trade I 
Success to spade! 

And to the corn that T s coming in I 
And joy to him who o er his task 
Remembers toil is Nature’s plan. 

Who, working, thinks 
And never sinks 
His independence as a man. 

Who only asks for humble wealth. 
Enough for competence ariltf health 
And leisure when his work is done 
To read his book 
By chimney nook. 

Or stroll at setting of the sun; 

Who toils as every man should toil 
For fair reward, erect and free; 

These are the men— 

The best of men— 

These are the men we mean to be. 

—Charles Mackey. 
























































EDITORS, CONTRIBUTORS and 

~ ASSISTANTS - 

Editor in Chief 

* BERNHART PAUL HOLST 

Teacher and Superintendent of Schools, Iowa; Institute Lecturer and Instructor; Author of Educational Litera¬ 
ture; Editor of “The Teachers’ and Pupils’ Cyclopaedia,” “ Current Reference.” and “ Practical 
Home and School Methods of Study and Instruction" 

Assistant Editor 
RURIC NEVAL ROARK 

Teacher and Educational Writer; Author of Pedagogical Works; President Kentucky State Normal School, 

Richmond, Ky. 


_ 


LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS AND ASSISTANTS 


HOWARD A. GASS, 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Missouri, 

EFFIE SCHUNEMAN, 

Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

J. R. INCH, 

Chief Superintendent of Education, New Bruns¬ 
wick, Canada. 

E. L. COBURN, 

Supervisor of Music, Saint Louis, Mo. 

LAWRENCE DeGRAFF, 

Judge of District Court, Iowa. 

CLARA E. THOMPSON, 

Superintendent and Teacher of Schools, Saint 
Paul, Minn. 

HILL M. BELL, 

President of Drake University, Des Moines, 
Iowa. 

GEORGE H. MARTIN, 

Secretary State Board of Education, 
Massachusetts. 

J. J. DOYNE, 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Arkansas. 


WILLIAM A. MOWRY, 

Historian and Author of School Text-Books, 
Boston, Mass. 

GRACIA E. TUCKER, 

Teacher and Superintendent of Schools, Iowa. 
MAURICE HUTTON, 

Principal of L T niversity College, Toronto, Ont. 
W. H. MARTIN, 

Principal of the Morse School, Kansas City, Mo. 

ESSE V. HATHAWAY, 

Authoress of “The Little Corsican” and High 
School Teacher, Marshalltown, Iowa. 

J. W. OLSEN, 

Former State Superintendent of Public Instruc¬ 
tion, Minnesota. 

A. H. McKAY, 

Superintendent of Education, Nova Scotia. 

J. L. NICHOLSON, 

Registrar of McGill University, Montreal, Que. 
JOHN A. W. HAAS, 

President Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa. 

DAVID R. BARROWS, 

Director of Education, Philippine Islands, 
Manila, P. I. 

T. R. BALL, 

Registrar Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 

Md. 












EDITORS, CONTRIBUTORS AND ASSISTANTS 

J. Y. JAYNER, FRANCIS M. AUSTIN, 


State Superintendent of Schools, North Carolina. 

G. R. GLENN, 

President of the North Georgia Agricultural 
College, Athens, Ga. 

J. M. GREENWOOD, 

City Superintendent of Schools, Kansas City, 

Mo. 

ISAAC M. COX, 

Secretary of the Department of Public Instruc¬ 
tion, Hawaiian Islands. 

CHAS. F. ROLAND, 

Industrial Commissioner, Winnipeg, Man. 

J. L. McBRIEN, 

Superintendent of Public Instruction, Nebraska. 

EDWARD HYATT, 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
California. 

H. M. MacCRACKEN, 

President New York University, New York. 

E. J. TAYLOR, 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
North Dakota. 

ORVIS RING, 

State Superintendent of Schools Nevada. 

H. C. MORRISON, 

State Superintendent of Schools, Ne\* 
Hampshire. 

ARTHUR J. JONES, 

State Commissioner *of Schools, Rhode Island. 


Librarian Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloom¬ 
ington, Ill. 

GEO. T. LITTLE, 

Librarian of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me. 

J. H. HERRON, 

Captain of Second Cavalry, United States Mili¬ 
tary Academy, West Point, N. Y. 

S. BELL CHAMBERLAIN, 

State Superintendent of Schools, Idaho. 

JOSEPH H. HILL, 

President of the Kansas State Normal School, 
Emporia, Kan. 

NATHAN C. SCHAEFFER, 

State Superintendent of Public Schools, Pennsyl¬ 
vania. 

JOS. E. THOMPSON, 

Commissioner of Industries and Publicity, 
Toronto, Ont. 

ISABEL MADDISON, 

Assistant to the President of Bryn Mawr Col¬ 
lege, Bryn Mawr, Pa. 

B. F. KI2ER, 

Teacher of English in the Manual Training High 
School, Kansas City, Mo. 

E. N. HENDERSON, 

. Professor at Adelphi College, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

DEAN C. MATHEWS, 

Executive Secretary of Western Reserve Uni¬ 
versity, Cleveland, O. 

O. A. THOMAS, 

President of Nebraska State Normal School, 
Kearney, Neb. 


D. M. MacKENZIE, 

Deputy Minister of Education, Alberta. 


L. L. WRIGHT, 

State Superintendent of Schools, Michigan. 


G. A. CLARK, 

Secretary of Leland Stanford Junior University, 
Stanford University, Cal. 


KATHERINE L. CRAIG, 

Former State Superintendent of Schools, 
Colorado. 


O. E. MATH IEU, 

Rector of Laval University, Quebec, Que. 


MARY E. WOOLLEY, 

President Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, 

Mass. 


CHAS. W. NEEDHAM. 

President of George Washington University, 
Washington, D. C. 


MARSHALL S. SNOW, 

Dean of Washington University, Saint Louis, Mo. 


PREFACE 


^|<%OOKS of reference have an abiding place in every modern library. They combine 

I convenience in obtaining facts with a wide range of knowledge, enabling the student, 
the man of commerce, and the professional man and woman to remain in close touch 
with reliable and recent information. 

In this age of the telephone, the automobile, the flying machine, and thousands 
of new and useful implements of civilization, the demand for books of reference has multiplied 
beyond the dreams of the past. Those who wish to remain in contact with the advancing 
spirit of the age, who desire to stand abreast with the intelligent in the struggle for place and 
power, need to have at their command information fitted for the spirit of the times. 

When asked for an opinion in regard to the relative value of different kinds of books, 
Ghauncey Mitchell Depew, famous among the public men of America, made the following reply: 

I look with great favor on and attach considerable importance to 
encyclopaedias, as may be judged from the fact that I not only paid $250.00 
for my first set, but have bought several others since then. I have always 
advised young men who could not^afford to buy a library to get an encyclo¬ 
paedia, which is a library in itself. 

This work of reference is more than a storehouse of knowledge, more than a collection of 
facts in the arts, sciences and literature, in that it contains the instruments which enable stu¬ 
dents to speli and pronounce correctly, as well as to define and properly use 'the thousands of 
titles which are treated. A fact without a mind to use it is valueless, hence the writers of this 
work have made it doubly valuable by dividing the difficult titles into syllables and by marking 
the vowels diacritically. This enables the student who needs help, aside from securing infor¬ 
mation about important subjects, to pronounce and use the words understandingly. 

The subjects are treated with the view to furnish accurate information and at the same time 
to give prominence to the different titles in proportion to the places they occupy in the field of 
knowledge. Some are treated briefly, while others are explained exhaustively, this depending 
upon the average requirement for facts as reference is made to the different subjects of thought 
and conversation. To obtain this balance in the arrangement and to secure the greatest possi¬ 
ble accuracy, many subdivisions of the titles treated were arranged by the writers, including 
such as agriculture, biology, education, geography, history, pedagogy, architecture, and hundreds 
ot other vital topics. Editors of recognized ability gathered the information from the most reli¬ 
able sources corresponding with leading students and officials in all the civilized nations, after 
which the editor-in-chief compared and re-edited the entire productions so as to unify and 
systematize the scope and general plan of treatment. 

utiiitv A i no J er f rr to f i hich the att n tion ° f the reader is directe<j ’ ° ne which is ° f mucf > 

"ft’ ? the collec 10n ° f lustrations. Practically all the leading plants and animals, the scien- 

lomh^TK “r de TV eaStr TT al “ d <^ ra P hical topics, are illustrated so as to 

Zo tance more c? T ^ meth ° d in ™" d ^ of 

importance more clearly, almost indelibly, which otherwise might be lost or even uncompre- 








hended. The artists employed to illustrate this work used in nearly all cases, in fact wherever 
it was at all possible, objects instead of pictures to make the illustrations as recent and practical 
as possible. 

While scientific accuracy has been maintained, the language is clear and free from such 
technicalities as often tend to confuse. This feature of the work commends it to all students, 
who find the treatment such as to understand it. The different titles are not only pronounced 
diacritically, but cross references are employed to make the subjects plain. In references of 
this kind, certain titles or subheads are indicated, or the Latin term quo vide (q. v.) is used. 

Attention is called to the numerous photographic plates and beautiful maps. These illus¬ 
trations were made especially for this work, hence they aid in a direct way in simplifying the 
subjects and extending the information sought. Besides the colored maps of political divisions, 
the work contains wash drawings in the form of physical maps of the continents. The provinces 
of Canada, the states of the United States, and many of the islands are shown by small maps 
in the text, giving the outline, the water and land surface, the principal railways, and the 
capitals and other cities. 

The pages are printed from entirely new plates, made by the most approved methods. 
The type is clear and easily read. This enables the student to search for information without 
waste of time and with no unnecessary tax upon the eye. 

Attention is called to the need of reliable reference in commerce, banking, politics, social 
development, astronomical research, and the vast achievements of recent years in the arts and 
sciences. Those who rely upon the newspapers for this information soon find they are not in 
touch with the spirit of this progressive age, not that the periodicals fail to inform, but they are 
easily lost or mislaid, or the file on hand becomes too voluminous for practical use. With such 
a work as this, giving the titles in alphabetical order, brought up to the date of publication, 
the speaker, the writer, the student, and the teacher are all enabled to utilize facts to the best 
advantage. 

No work has been spared in making this publication an accredited fund of knowledge. 
Many standard works of reference were consulted, including such as Webster’s International 
Dictionary , the Century Dictionary , the Standard Dictionary , Muret’s Encyclopedic , 
Spame/s Konversation Lexikon, Brockhaus’ Konversation Lexicon, and numerous other 
American and European works of high repute, whose accurate details furnish essential aid in 
the verification of uncertain dates and controverted facts and events. 

This work is offered to the reading public with the feeling of assurance that it will receive a 
hearty reception, that it will fill a useful place in the library of its owner. It is believed that 
the newer information, the record of ancient development and modern achievements, as 
treated and presented in this work, will help and gratify those who search for a larger view of 
civilization and its attainments. 

Those who dedicate their lives to the work of research realize the truth of Charles 
Mackey’s well-written words: 

Blessings on Science! When the earth seemed old. 

When Faith grew doting, and the Reason cold, 

Twas she discovered that the world was young. 

And taught a language to its lisping tongue; 

Twas she disclosed a future to its view. 

And made old knowledge pale before the new. 

BERNHART PAUL HOLST. 



KEY TO PRONUNCIATION 


VOWELS 

a (shor.t), as in hat, cat. 
a (long), as in ale, hate. 
a (Italian), as in car, mar. 
a (short Italian), as in fast, class. 
a (broad), as in all, fall. 
a (circumflex), as in care, snare. 
a (short obscure), as in final, spinal. 
a (long obscure), as in surface'. 
a = 6, as in was, what. 
ae = e, as in Caesar (sounded as though 
they were e alone). 

e (short), as in net, met. 
e (long), as in me, eve. 
e (circumflex = a), as in there. 
e (tilde), as in her. 
e (short obscure), as in patent. 
e (long obscure), as in delay. 
e = i, as in pretty. 

1 (short), as in hit, bit. 
i (long), as in kite, mite. 
i (tilde), as in sir. 
i (long obscure), as in idea. 


6 (short), as in pop, hop. 

6 (long), as in cone, bone. 

6 (circumflex = a), as in for. 

6 (long obscure), as in hero. 
do (short), as in book, brook. 
oo (long), as in moon, spoon. 
o = u, as in word. 
o = oo, as in who. 
o = ob, as in wolf. 

6 — u, as in son. 

u (short), as in rut, cut. 
u (long), as in muse, fuse. 
u (circumflex), as in turn, urn. 
u (long obscure), as in 'Unite. 

w is a vowel only after a vowel, when 
it forms the second element of certain 
diphthongs, as in few, how. 
y (short) =1, as in hymn. 
y (long) =i, as in by, cry. 

CONSONANTS 

c (hard) =k, as in cat, cape. 
q (cedilla) =s, as in cell, fagade. 
g (hard), as in dog, gave. 
g (soft), as in gem, gentle. 


k for the German ch, as tn ich, Bach (bak). 
ii for the 'German ii, as in Bliicher, Grunberg. 
o for the German o, as in Gottingen, Gorgey. 
n for the French n, as in bon, Breton (bra-ton') 








/ 




A, the first letter in the alphabet of all Indo- 
European languages. In many modern tongues 
it has but one sound, that equivalent to a in 
father. In English this symbol represents nine 
distinct sounds, as in fate, senate, fare, mat, arm, 
ask, final, all, and what; besides variations when 
used in digraphs, as ea in meat, oa in fioat. The 
letter a is used as a mark or symbol on account 
of its place at the beginning of the alphabet. In 
music it stands as the sixth note in the diatonic 
scale of C major; in logic it represents a univer¬ 
sal affirmation; while in algebra it is used with 
other letters to denote known quantities. 

AA, the name of about forty small rivers in 
Central and Northern Europe derived from the 
Celtic Ach, or Teutonic Aa, meaning flowing 
w r ater. Among the most important of them are 
the following: I. A river of Holland, in North 
Brabant, which, passing Helmond, joins the 
Dommel at Bois-le-Duc. II. A river in Gronin¬ 
gen, called Westerwolden Aa, which falls into 
the Dollart. III. A river in Overyssel, which, 
after uniting its waters with the Vecht, flows 
into the Zuyder Zee. IV. A river of Belgium, 
in the province of Antwerp, which flows into the 
Neethe. 

AACHEN (a'ken). See Aix-la-Cliapelle. 

Al, a symbol used in Lloyd’s “Register of 
British and Foreign Shipping” to designate ves¬ 
sels for the guidance of shippers and insurers. 
A designates the hull of the ship, and the figure 
1 the efficiency of her stores, cables, and anchors. 
When these are insufficient for any reason, the 
figure 2 is united with a, and in like manner 
other figures and letters are used to constitute a 
complete nautical language. 

AALBORG (al'bork), a seaport and city of 
Denmark, province of Jutland, situated on the 
south shore of the Lymfiord, near its outlet into 
the Cattegat. It has a school of navigation, a 
large herring fishery, and manufactures of 
clothing and machinery. Direct communication 


is maintained by steam and packet boats with 
Copenhagen. The city library has 31,000 vol¬ 
umes. Population, 1906, 81,509. 

AAR, or Aare (ar), a noted river in Switzer¬ 
land, next to the Rhine and Rhone the largest 
stream in that country. It contains the Falls of 
Handeck, 200 feet high, and joins the Rhine at 
Coblentz after a course of 200 miles. From Lake 
Thun it is navigable for small craft. 

AARD-VARK (ard'vark), a burrowing and 
insectivorous mammal common to large parts of 
Africa. Three species are known, one each in 
Senegal, Nubia, and South Africa. These ani¬ 
mals have affinities with the ant-eaters and arma¬ 
dillos, and are timid and harmless. Both natives 
and Europeans regard the flesh of value as food. 
The hams, salted and dried, are especially 
favored for eating in the summer season. 

AARD-WOLF (ard'woolf), a carnivorous 
burrowing animal of South Africa. In size and 
habits it resembles the fox, and is allied to the 



AARD-WOLF. 


African hyenas. It feeds on small mammals, 
white ants, and carrion. The aard-wolf is timid, 
spending most of the day in its burrow, but 
comes out at night in search of food. 

AARHUS (or'hoos), a city of Denmark, cap¬ 
ital of a district of the same name, 36 miles east 
of Viborg. It occupies a fine site on the Cattegat. 
The manufactures include clothing, earthenware. 















ABACUS 


2 


ABBREVIATIONS 


and ships. Electric and steam railways furnish 
communication with the leading cities of the 
country. It has a fine cathedral, several schools 
of higher learning, and a library of 200,000 vol¬ 
umes. Population, 1906, 55,193. 

ABACUS (ab'a-kus), a device used in kin¬ 
dergartens and primary schools to teach the ele¬ 
ments of numbers. It consists of a rectangular 

frame, in which 
parallel wires 
are fastened to 
contain count¬ 
ers or beads. In 
architecture, the 
abacus is a 
square or ob¬ 
long tablet on 
the crown of a 
column. In the 
new Ionic, Gor¬ 
in t h i a n, and 
Roman styles 
the abacus has 
truncated a n - 
abacus. gles and con¬ 

cave sides, 

while in the old Ionic, Doric, and Tuscan styles 
it is oblong. 

ABALONE (ab-a-lo'ne), the name of several 
species of marine gastropods common to Cali¬ 
fornia, and found more or less widely distributed 
throughout the warmer seas. The name abalone 
is of Spanish origin, in California, but these ani¬ 
mals are better known generally as ear-shells or 
sea-ears. They are allied with the limpe'ts, and, 
like them, when frightened or at rest, withdraw 
the soft part under the shell, which is a broad 
spiral and has a richly colored mother-of-pearl, 
used in making buttons and ornaments. Large 
quantities are gathered by the Orientals on the 
coast of California for food, to be consumed lo¬ 
cally, and for shipment to China and Japan. 

ABATIS, or Abattis, in military strategy, a 
bulwark made of felled trees, in frequent use in 
rude mountain warfare. On emergency, the 
trees are laid lengthwise, with the branches 
pointed outwards to repel the invaders, while the 
trunks serve as a breastwork for the defendants. 

ABBEY (ab'bi), a monastery or society of 
persons of either sex, who seclude themselves 
from the world and lead a life devoted to relig¬ 
ion. The name abbey is also applied to the 
monastic building or buildings. Men located in 
these establishments are called monks, and are 
governed by an abbot; while the women are 
called nuns, and are governed by an abbess. 

ABBOT (ab'but), a prelate in the Roman 
Catholic Church, who governs a principal con¬ 



vent or monastery of the old religioys orders. 
An abbot is solemnly consecrated by a bishop, 
though this is regarded as a merely ecclesiasti¬ 
cal and not a sacramental rite. Abbots are al¬ 
lowed to use the mitre, pastoral cross, ring, and 
crozier, and to celebrate pontifical mass and are 
styled right reverend. Some of them, in former 
times, exercised a quasi-episcopal jurisdiction 
over a small district, and were allowed to con¬ 
fer tonsure and minor orders. During the Mid¬ 
dle Ages many abbots, especially in England, 
were powerful feudal barons. In modern times 
they are simply superiors of religious houses. In 
ecclesiastical councils an abbot has a delibera¬ 
tive but not a decisive voice. Superiors of con¬ 
vents in the Greek Church are called mandrites 
and general abbots are known as archimandrites. 

ABBOTSFORD, the country home of Sir 
Walter Scott, on the Tweed River, in Scotland, 
built in the Scottish baronial style of architec¬ 
ture. Scott spent large sums of money in adorn¬ 
ing the buildings and grounds, a circumstance 
that was the chief cause of his financial failure. 
The mansion passed to the only surviving daugh¬ 
ter of Scott, and was long used as a Roman 
Catholic seminary for girls. The Abbotsford 
Club was organized at Edinburgh for publishing 
literature and history connected with the writ¬ 
ings of Sir Walter Scott. This organization 
issued thirty-four volumes in the years 1835-64. 

ABBREVIATIONS (ab-bre-vi-a'shuns), the 
name applied to certain contractions employed 
in writing and printing to represent a letter or 
group of letters taken from a word or group of 
words, and used mainly to save time and space. 
The most common form of abbreviations is the 
substitution for a word of its initial letter, or of 
some arbitrary sign. Most of the sciences and 
arts have sets of signs, abbreviations, or sym¬ 
bols peculiar to themselves. It is quite impossi¬ 
ble to give all the abbreviations now in general 
use, but below is a list of those considered most 
important: 


A. B. Bachelor of Arts. 

Abp. Archbishop. 

A. D. Anno Domini, in 
the year of our Lord. 

Admr. Administrator. 

Ala. Alabama. 

Alas. Alaska. 

Alb. Alberta. 

A. M. Anno Mundi, in 

the year of the world. 

A. M. Master of Arts. 

A. M. ante meridian, 
forenoon. 

Ariz. Arizona. 

Ark. Arkansas. 

A. U. C. Ab urbe condita, 
meaning from the build- 
ing of the City of Rome. 

Aug. August. 

Ave. Avenue. 

Bart or Bt. Baronet. 


B. C. Before Christ, Brit¬ 
ish Columbia. 

B. D. Bachelor of Divin¬ 
ity. 

B. L. Bachelor of Laws. 
Bp. Bishop. 

B. V. Blessed Virgin. 

Cal. California. 

C. Consul, Caesar. 

Can. Canada. 

C. E. Canada East. 

C. E- Civil engineer. 
Cent. Centum, or hun¬ 
dred. 

Chap. Chapter. 

Co. Company or county. 
Col. Colonel. 

C. O. D. Cash on delivery. 
Col. or Colo. Colorado. 

C. R. Civ is Romanus. 

Cr. Creditor, credit. 













ABBREVIATIONS 


3 


ABDOMEN 


C. S. A. Confederate L. S. Locus Sigilli, place 

States of America. of the seal. 

Ct. or Conn. Connecticut. M. Mile, or a thousand. 
Cwt. Hundredweight. M. A. Master of Arts. 

D. Five hundred. Mack. Mackenzie. 

D. Denarius, a penny. Man. Manitoba. 

D. C. District of Colum- Mar. March. 

bia. Mass. Massachusetts. 

D. D. Doctor of Divinity. M. C. Member of Con- 


Dec. December. 

Del. Delaware. 

D. F. Fidei defensor, de¬ 
fender of the faith. 

D. G. Dei Gratia, by the 
grace of God. 

Do. Ditto, the same. 

Dr. Doctor, debtor. 

D. V. Deo volente, God 
willing. 

Dwt. Pennyweight. 

E. East. . 

E. G. Exempli gratia, for 
example. 

Esq. Esquire. • 

Exr. Executor. 

Feb. or Febr. February. 

F. G. S Fellow of the 
Geological Society. 

F. O. B. Free on board. 

F. R. S. Fellow of the 
Royal Society. 

Fla. Florida. 

Frank. Franklin. 

Ga. Georgia. 

Gal. Gallon. 

G. A. R. Grand Army of 
the Republic. 

G. B. Great Britain. 

Gen. General. 

G. C. B. Knight of the 
Grand Cross of the 
Bath. 

Gov. Governor. 

Hhd. Hogshead. 

H. I. Hawaiian Islands. 

H. M. S. His Majesty’s 

ship. 

Hon. Honorable. 

H. R. H. His or Her 
Royal Highness. 

l a. Iowa. 

l b. or Ibid, Ibidem, in the 
same place. 

Id. Idem, the same. 

Ida. Idaho. 

I. e. Id est, that is. # 

I. H. S. Jesus Hominum 
Salvator, Jesus the Sav¬ 
iour of mankind. 

Ill. Illinois. 

Incog. Incognito, un¬ 
known. 

Ind. Index, Indiana. 

Inst. Instant, of the pres¬ 
ent month. 

Jan. January. 

J. P. Justice of the Peace. 
Jr. Junior. 

Ivans. Kansas. 

K. B. Knight of the Bath. 
Ivew. Kewatin. 

K. G. Knight of the Gar¬ 
ter. 

Kt. Knight. 

Ky. Kentucky. 

La. Louisiana. 

Lab. Labrador. 

Lat. Latitude. 

L. or lib. Libra, a pound; 
or liber, a book. 

L. I- Long Island. 

Lb. Libra, pound. 

Lieut. Lieutenant. 

LL. D. Legutn doctor, 
Doctor of Laws. 

Lon. or Long. Longitude. 


gress. 

M. D. Medicinae' doctor, 
doctor of medicine. 

Md. Maryland. 

Me. Maine. 

Messrs. Messieurs, gen¬ 
tlemen. 

Mex. Mexico, or Mexican. 
Mich. Michigan. 

Minn. Minnesota. 

Miss. Mississippi. 

Mo. Missouri. 

Mon. or Mont. Montana.. 

M. P. Member of Parlia¬ 
ment. 

Ms. Manuscript. MSS. 
Manuscripts. 

N. North, note, noon. 

N. A. North America. 

N. B. Not a bene, mark 

well. 

N. B. New Brunswick. 

N. C. North Carolina. 

N. D. No date. North Da¬ 
kota. 

N. E. New England. 

Neb. Nebr. Nebraska. 
Nev. Nevada. 

Nfld. Newfoundland. 

Nem. con. Nemine con - 
tradicente, unanimously. 
N. H. New Hampshire. 

N. T. New Jersey. 

N. M. New Mexico. 

No. Number. 

Nov. November 
N. P. Notary Public. 

N. S. New style, Nova 

Scotia. 

N. Y. New York. 

Ob. Obit, died. 

O. Ohio. 

Oct. October. 

Okla. Oklahoma. 

Ont. Ontario. 

Or. or Ore. Oregon. 

O. S. Old style. 

Ox. Oxon, of Oxford. 

Oz. Ounce. 

Pa. or Penn. Pennsyl¬ 
vania. 

Pari. Parliament. 

Per ann. By the year. 

Per cent. Per centum, by 
the hundred. 

P. I. Philippine Islands. 

PI. Plural. 

P. M. Post meridian, af¬ 
ternoon. 

P. M. Postmaster. 

P. O. Post office. 

Prof. Professor. 

Pro tern. Pro tempore, 
temporarily. 

Prox. Next month. 

P. S. Postscript. 

Q. Question. 

Que. Quebec. 

Qy. Quaere, query. 

Q. C. Queen’s Counsel. 

Q. E. D. Quod erat dem¬ 
onstrandum, which was 
to be demonstrated. 

Q. S. Quantum sufdcit, a 
sufficient quantity. 

Q. V. Quod vide, which 
see. 


R. A. Royal Academy, 
Royal Artillery. 

R. E. Royal Engineer. 

Rev. Reverend. 

R. I. Rhode Island. 

R. N. Royal Navy 

Rt. Hon. Right Honor¬ 
able. 

S. South, of solidus, a 
shilling. 

S. A. South America. 

Sask. Saskatchewan. 

S. C. South Carolina. 

S. D South Dakota. 

Sec. Secretary. 

Sept. September. 

S. P. Q. R. Senatus Pop- 
ulusque Romanus. 

SS. Scilicet, to wit, name¬ 
ly- . 

St. Saint, street. 

Tenn. Tennessee. 

Tex. Texas. 

U. C. Urbs Condita, year 
of Rome. 

Ult. Ultimo, last month. 


Ung. Ungava. 

U. S. United States. 

U. S. A. United States 

Army. 

U. S. N. United States 
Navy. 

Ut. Utah. 

V. or Vs. Against. 

Va. Virginia. 

Viz. Videlicet, namely. 

V. S. Veterinary surgeon. 
Vt. Vermont. 

W. West. 

Wash. Washington. 

Wis. Wisconsin. 

W. Va. West Virginia. 
Wy. Wyoming. 

Xmas. Christmas.' 

Yr. Your, year. 

Yuk. Yukon. 

&, etc., and &c. Et cetera, 
and so forth. 

Y. M. C. A. Young 
Men’s Christian Associa¬ 
tion. 


ABDICATION (ab-di-ka'shun), the act 
whereby an office or dignity is given up before 
the expiration of the term of incumbency, and 
may be either voluntary or compulsory. The 
abdication of Diocletian and Maximian are the 
best known cases in antiquity. In absolute 
monarchies despotic sovereigns may abdicate at 
any time, but in a limited monarchy or independ¬ 
ent state it usually requires the consent of the 
legislative branch of government. The follow¬ 
ing is a list of important abdications occurring 
in the last century: 


Charles Emmanuel IV. of Sardinia.June 4, 1802 

Charles IV. of Spain.March 19, 1808 

Joseph Bonaparte of Naples.June 6, 1808 

Gustavus IV. of Sweden.March 29, 1809 

Louis Bonaparte of Holland.July 2, 1810 

, T r T? J April 14, 1814 

Napoleon I. of France.-j j une 2 2, 1815 

Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia.March 13. 1821 

Charles X. of France.August 2, 1830 

William I. of Holland. .Oct. 7, 1840 

Louis Philippe of France.Feb. 24, 1848 

Ferdinand of Austria.Dec- 2, 1848 

Charles Albert of Sardinia.March 23, 1849 

Isabella II of Spain...June 25, 1870 

Amadeus I-of Spain.Feb. 11, 1873 

Abdul-Aziz of Turkey.May 30, 1876 


ABDOMEN (ab-d5'men), in anatomy, the 
lower part of the trunk of the body; the trunk 
being divided by the diaphragm into two cavi¬ 
ties—the upper being the thorax, and the lower 
the abdomen. It is walled in by broad muscles, 
fasciae and skin, except behind, where the pro¬ 
jecting processes and the bodies of the five lum¬ 
bar vertebrae assist, above by the walled dia¬ 
phragm, and below by the bones of the pelvis. 
The capacity of the abdomen varies according 
to the nature of its walls. It is lined by a 
clothed serous sac, the peritoneum, whose visceral 
layer is reflected over the contained viscera, 
forming a thin exterior coat. In entomology, 
the abdomen is the last of the three parts into 
which the body of an insect is divided. It is 

















ABERDEEN 


4 


ABOLITIONISTS 


composed of a number of rings or segments, 
frequently nine, more or less distinct from each 
other. In many insects the last part of the abdo- 



THORAX AND ABDOMEN. 


A, the heart: B, the lungs drawn aside to show the inter¬ 
nal organs; C, the diaphragm; D, the liver: B, the gall cyst; 
F, the stomach; G, the small intestines; H, the transverse 
colon; I, muscles of the chest; /, trachea. 

men contains pincers, stings, borers, and various 
other appendages for divers uses. 

ABERDEEN (ab-er-deen'), the chief sea¬ 
port city in the north of Scotland, county seat 
of Aberdeen County, on the North Sea, at the 
mouth of the Dee River. The city is conven¬ 
iently situated on a number of important rail¬ 
roads, has extensive wharfage, and a large ex¬ 
port and import trade. There are manufactures 
of cordage, linen and woolen goods, chemicals, 
ships, machinery, stone and iron wares, paper, 
and spirituous liquors. The streets are substan¬ 
tially paved, and improved with gas and elec¬ 
tric lighting, sewerage, and extensive street 
railways. Union Street is its main thorough¬ 
fare and its numerous notable buildings cause 
it to rank as one of the finest streets of Europe. 
Among the chief buildings of the city are the 
University of Aberdeen, the custom-house, the 
Royal Infirmary, and numerous hospitals, 
schools, and churches. The extensive use of 
granite in the larger buildings has caused it to 
be known as the “Granite City.” It was char¬ 
tered in 1179, and has long ranked as a city of 
great wealth, educational progress, and com¬ 
mercial importance. Population, 153,110. 

ABERDEEN, a city of South Dakota, coun¬ 


ty seat of Brown county, 120 miles northeast 
of Pierre, on the Chicago and Northwestern, 
the Great Northern, and the Chicago, Milwaukee 
and Saint Paul railroads. It is surrounded by 
a fertile agricultural country, and is an impor¬ 
tant shipping point for cereals and live stock. 
Therfe are manufactures of farming implements 
and a considerable jobbing trade. It has elec¬ 
tric lights, waterworks, sewerage, and many 
fine churches, and is the seat of a State normal 
school. The city was incorporated in 1882. 
Population, 1900, 4,087; 1905, 5,841. 

ABERRATION (ab-er-ra'shun), in optics, 
the wandering of rays of light from the normal 
.path, caused when reflected from curved mir¬ 
rors, or made to pass through curved lenses, 
which form portions of a sphere instead of por¬ 
tions of a parabola. This is due to the unequal 
refraction of the lenses of the rays of light and 
renders images formed about the edges in some 
degree undefined. In astronomy, aberration is 
the difference between the observed position of 
a heavenly body and the one really occupied, 
the result of the combined effect of the motion 
of the eye of the observer and that of the light 
caused by the annual or diurnal motion of the 
earth, or of the motion of light and that of the 
body from which the light proceeds. The aber¬ 
ration of light, discovered by James Bradley 
(1693-1762), an English astronomer, is proof of 
the motion of light and of the earth’s motion. 

ABINGTON (ab'ing-tun), a manufacturing 
town of Plymouth County, Mass, twenty miles 
southeast of Boston. The principal manufactures 
are boots and shoes. It has a municipal water¬ 
works plant, several -fine schools and churches, 
and good railroad facilities by the New York, 
New Haven, and Hartford Railway. The first 
settlement in its vicinity was made in 1680. 
Population, 1905, 5,081. 

ABO (6'bob), a city of Russian Finland, 
built on both sides of the Aurajoki, not far 
from where it flows into the Gulf of Bothnia. 
It was founded in 1157 by the Swedes, and was 
the capital of Finland until 1819. The bishopric 
established here in the 13th century was raised 
in 1817 by the Russian government to an arch¬ 
bishopric. In 1827 the greater part of the city 
was destroyed by fire, including the university 
buildings and the library containing 40,000 vol¬ 
umes. The university was rebuilt in Helsing¬ 
fors, the new capital. It is important as a ship¬ 
building port and has extensive cotton mills and 
sugar refineries. Population, 1901, 39,238. 

ABOLITIONISTS (ab-6-lish'un-ists), a 
political party in the United States, whose ob¬ 
ject was to secure the immediate abolition of 
slavery. Early in the 18th century a strong sen- 













ABOMEY 


5 


ABSOLUTISM 


timent became widespread throughout the coun¬ 
try in favor of the abolition of all slaves. As 
early as the close of the Revolutionary War a 
number of Northern states provided for imme¬ 
diate or gradual emancipation. Before the end 
of the century many abolition societies were 
founded. The movement secured new impetus 
when William Lloyd Garrison and his follow¬ 
ers in 1829 demanded the immediate and total 
abolition of slavery throughout the country. 
Other influential advocates of abolition, besides 
Garrison, include Wendell Phillips, John G. 
Whittier, Edmond Quincy, Samuel J. May, and 
William Jay. The sentiment grew in popularity 
until the movement ended Jan. 1, 1863, when 
Lincoln emancipated the slaves. 

ABOMEY (ab-6-ma'), a town in West Af¬ 
rica, in Dahomey, about sixty miles from the 
coast of Guinea. It is inclosed by an earthen 
wall, surrounded by a ditch, and the houses are 
mostly of mud or are wooden structures. For¬ 
merly it had some importance as a slave mar¬ 
ket, but at present its trade is chiefly in ivory, 
gold, and palm oil. Population, 21,000. 

ABOUKIR (a-boo-ker'), or Abukir, a vil¬ 
lage in Egypt, thirteen miles northeast of Alex¬ 
andria, near the site of the ancient Canopus. 
Its harbor is spacious, and on its western side 
is a castle of considerable strength. In 1798 
Aboukir Bay was the scene of the famous Bat¬ 
tle of the Nile, in which an English fleet under 
Nelson defeated a French fleet commanded by 
De Bruyes, thus destroying the naval power of 
France in the Mediterranean. Napoleon de¬ 

feated the Turks under Mustapha near Aboukir 
in 1799, and Sir Ralph Abercromby (1734-1801) 
repulsed the French in its vicinity in 1801, the 
engagement being known as the Battle of Alex¬ 
andria. 

ABRACADABRA (ab-ra-ca-dab'ra), a word 
used as a magical formula to invoke the assist¬ 
ance of good spirits against all evils and sick¬ 
ness. It was probably 
first used by the Persians, 
who inscribed it in the 
form of an inverted trian¬ 
gle on gems that formed a 
class of Abraxas stones. 
Worn on the bosom for 
nine days and then de¬ 
stroyed secretly, it was 
supposed to cure fevers 
and other ailments. Severus Sammonicus, a 

Gnostic physician, recommended its use as early 
as 200 a. d. 

ABRASIVE (ab-ra'siv), the name applied 
to any natural or artificial material employed in 
the art of grinding and polishing. In modern 


ABRACADABRA 
ABRACADABR 
ABRACADAB 
ABRACADA 
ABRACAD 
ABRACA 
ABR AC 
AB R A 
ABR 
A B 
A 


manufacturing the use of natural abrasives has 
given way to a large extent to the artificial sub¬ 
stances in cutting and polishing stone, wood, 
and metal. To the former class belong sand, 
emery, quartz, garnet, and corundum. Sand is 
employed extensively in the sandblast and in 
the form of sandpaper for cleaning wood and 
ironwork, while emery is used in the form of 
powder to polish stones and plate glass. Em¬ 
ery wheels have faces coated with emery or are 
solid emery stone, and emery paper or emery 
cloth is paper or cloth coated with powdered 
emery. Quartz is used for buhrstones, and gar¬ 
net, which, by its cleavage, presents new cut¬ 
ting edges instead of wearing smooth, is an 
excellent material for polishing wood and leath¬ 
er. Corundum is mined extensively in *North 
Carolina and is made into an abrasive powder 
by crushing and grinding. Carborundum, pum¬ 
ice, tripoli, and crushed steel are other abra¬ 
sives. Whetstones and grindstones are cut from 
natural rocks, while pumice is a volcanic *ash 
and is used for polishing and scouring in lumps 
or in the form of powder. See Emery; Car¬ 
borundum. 

ABSINTH (ab-smth'), a liquor prepared 
from the leaves and the flowering tops of vari¬ 
ous species of wormwood with roots of sweet 
flags, angelica, the leaves of the dittany of 
Crete, star anise fruit, and other aromatics, usu¬ 
ally by being steeped in alcohol. While the 
beverage is pleasant to the taste, it is quite 
harmful to the system and dangerous to health. 
It is manufactured in Switzerland and France, 
but is consumed chiefly in the latter country. 
Its introduction into France dates from the 
Algerian War of 1844-47, when the soldiers 
returning to France, who had acquired the 
habit of drinking it in Algeria, caused the 
custom to become widely disseminated in 
French society. 

ABSOLUTION (ab-so-lu'shun), the pardon 
and remission of the sins of- a penitent. In the 
Roman Catholic Church the priest pronounces 
absolution in foro externo, the remission of cer¬ 
tain ecclesiastical penalties, or absolution in 
foro interno, the remission where mortal and 
venial sin is remitted. The Augsburg Confes¬ 
sion of the Lutheran Church retained absolution 
as the individualization of the promise of Scrip¬ 
ture to the penitent rightly disposed. In the 
Episcopal Church absolution is a formula of 
publicly praying for, or declaring, the remission 
of the sins of the penitent, and in visiting the 
sick pardon from sin is pronounced after pri¬ 
vate confession. 

ABSOLUTISM (ab'so-lu-tiz’m), a form of 
government in which the executive power is 


ABYSSINIA 


ABSORBENTS 

• 

vested in a ruler who is not controlled by any 
constitution or law. It was the prevailing gov¬ 
ernment of ancient time, and reached its high¬ 
est development in Europe after the downfall of 
the feudal system. Louis XIV. of France was 
its most arbitrary modern champion, and de¬ 
clared, “I am the state.” Japan and Russia a 
few years ago changed to representative gov¬ 
ernments. Turkey, though usually classed as 
an absolute government, has had a constitution 
since 1908. 

ABSORBENTS (ab-sorb'ents), the vessels 
by which the nutritive elements of food are car¬ 
ried into the circulation of plants and animals. 
In plants this function is carried on by the ex¬ 
tremities of the roots, and in vertebrate animals 
it depends chiefly upon the skin, lacteals, and 
lymphatics. 

ABSORPTION (ab-sorp'shun), in physi¬ 
ology, the act of taking up material suitable for 
nourishment by means of tissues. The nutri¬ 
tious elements of foods are gathered by a sys¬ 
tem of minute vessels called absorbents, and 
are carried into the circulation. The vessels 
consist of two main classes, named, respectively, 
lacteals and lymphatics, but absorption is car¬ 
ried on to some extent by the skin and blood 
vessels. In plants, absorption is carried on 
chiefly by the roots. 

ABSTRACTION (ab-strak'shiin), the men¬ 
tal act of withdrawing the consciousness from 
one or more subjects with a view to concentrat¬ 
ing it on some definite one, or the act of the 
mind by which a part of the objects presented 
for observation are disregarded in order to con¬ 
centrate the attention on the remainder. 

ABUTILON (a-bu'ti-lon), a genus of plants 
of the mallow family, widely distributed in 
warm climates, and including about seventy 
species. Some species are cultivated for their 
bell-shaped flowers. The common abutilon is a 
weed in many parts of the United States, where 
it is known as velvet-leaf. 

ABYDOS (a-bi'dos), an ancient city of 
Asia Minor, located at the narrowest part of 
the Hellespont. It is noted as the scene of a 
number of historic events, among them those of 
480 b. c., when Xerxes crossed the straits on a 
great bridge of boats at the time of his inva¬ 
sion of Greece. Alexander the Great crossed 
at the same place when he marched into Asia 
in the year 334 b. c. Ancient writers credit 
Leander with swimming nightly from Abydos to 
Sestos, a distance of about a mile, to see his 
beloved Hero—a feat in swimming accomplished 
by Lord Byron to verify the story of Leander. 
Abydos is also the name applied to an ancient 
city of Upper Egypt, situated a short distance 


6 

west of the Nile, the site of which is now 
marked by ruins and tombs. It is famous for 
the palace of Memnon and the temple of Osiris. 
In 1818 and in 1864 various collections of the 
famous Abydos tablets were discovered in its 
vicinity. They contain a list of the successors 
of Rameses the Great, including the kings of 
the first three dynasties of Egypt, beginning 
with Menes. 

ABYSSINIA (ab-is-sin'i-a), an independent 
political division of Eastern Africa, located be¬ 
tween the Red Sea and the Blue Nile. Its 
boundary is formed by the Italian Colony of 
Eritrea on the, northeast, a region known as 
Danakil on the east, British East Africa on the 
south, Egyptian Sudan on the west, and Nubia 
on the northwest. It is divided into the four 
provinces of Shoa, Tigre, Go jam, and Amhara, 
but the exact boundaries are not well defined. 
The four provinces, including the outlying de¬ 
pendencies of Enarea, Harrar, and Kaffa, have 
an area estimated at 1*50,000 square miles, and 
a population of 4,500,000. The seat of govern¬ 
ment is at Addis Abeba. 

Description. Abyssinia may be described as 
an elevated plateau, its altitude being about 
8,000 feet. Numerous mountain chains traverse 
the country, of which the Samen Mountains in 
the northern section are the most important. 
These mountains have an altitude of about 
10,000 feet, while Ras Dashan, elevation 15,000 
feet, may be regarded the culminating peak. 
The Talba Wakha Mountains are located south 
of the predominating group and are less elevat¬ 
ed, their highest peaks being about 9,000 feet 
above the sea. The southern portion is less 
mountainous, but rocky hillocks characterize 
the surface. Numerous extinct volcanoes are 
found in both groups of mountains, and partly 
obliterated craters and hot springs are abundant. 

Lake Tzana is the largest body of water and 
the source of the Atbara, or Black Nile. It is 
located at an altitude of nearly 6,000 -feet, and 
occupies an area of 1,150 square miles. There 
is a general depression toward this lake. The 
chief rivers, besides the Atbara, are the Abai or 
Blue Nile, the Hawash, and the Takazze, a 
tributary of the Atbara. 

Though wholly within the tropics, Abyssinia, 
owing to its elevation, has a temperate climate, 
and yields the usual products of the temperate 
zone. It is usually divided into three climatic 
areas, the regions below 4,800 feet, the sections 
between 4,800 to 9,000 feet, and the portions 
having an altitude above 9,000 feet. There are 
two seasons, the rainy and the dry, and the pre¬ 
cipitation is greatest from December to May. 
From October to April, at Gondar, 7,420 feet 


ABYSSINIA 


7 


ACACIA 


above the level of the sea, the average tempera¬ 
ture is 68°, while the temperature in more ele¬ 
vated sections ranges from 45° to 50° Fahr. 
The soil is well adapted to the cultivation of the 
harder cereals, and the climate is generally 
healthful. 

. Industries and Resources. Agriculture is 
the chief industry, though the methods of farm¬ 
ing are primitive. Occupation is an evidence of 
title to land, which is divided principally among 
families. Wheat, barley, and cattle are the chief 
products. Oranges, bananas, and lemons thrive, 
but are not carefully cultivated. There are few 
manufactured products aside from wearing ap¬ 
parels and primitive implements. The minerals 
consist chiefly of coal, iron ores, silver, gold, and 
salt, but mining has not been developed to any 
great extent. Wild animals infest the forests 
and mountains, including the zebra, hyena, lion, 
wolf, leopard, buffalo and elephant, and in the 
regions of streams and lakes abound the rhi¬ 
noceros and the hippopotamus. The chief ex¬ 
ports include coffee, wax, gum, gold, tobacco, 
and ivory, while the imports embrace textiles, 
clothing, glassware, and military stores. 

Education and Religion. Until recently the 
country had no system of public education, the 
masses having had little opportunity to attend 
schools, and instruction was confined to the 
richer classes in the cities. However, all male 
children over twelve years of age are now re¬ 
quired to attend school. Most of the educa¬ 
tional work is in the hands of the clergy and 
Coptic teachers brought from Egypt. Chris¬ 
tianity was introduced into the country in the 
fourth century, but in teaching and practice has 
been greatly perverted. The Gallas are Moham¬ 
medans and the Falashas profess Judaism. 
Polygamy is practiced extensively among the 
non-Christian classes. 

Government. The government is an abso¬ 
lute monarchy, feudal in character, and the 
reigning sovereigns for centuries trace their 
lineage back to the Queen of Sheba, who vis¬ 
ited Solomon, King of Israel, for the purpose of 
beholding his enterprise and power. Menelik 
II. is the present king or negus, and his official 
title is “King of the Kings of Ethiopia and Con¬ 
quering Lion of Judah.” He holds his office 
from personal qualities rather than by legal 
or traditional rights. The Maria Theresa dol¬ 
lar is the chief medium of exchange, but consid- 
- erable of the business is carried on by barter, 
especially in cartridges and salt bars of uniform 
size. The chief cities are Addis Abeda, Gondar, 
Adua, Harrar, and Aukober. Harrar is the 
leading commercial center. 

History. The country is a part of ancient 


Ethiopia, and the people are still called Ethi¬ 
opians, but are a mixture of Hamites, Semites, 
and Negroes. The name Abyssinia came from 
the Portuguese and signifies that the people are 
a mixture of many tribes. Some think that 
the Cush of the Scriptures corresponds to Abys¬ 
sinia. The country was invaded by the Greeks 
under Ptolemy Euergetes in 247 b. c., and some 
traces of Greek influence still remain. When 
Christianity was introduced in the fourth cen¬ 
tury, the Abyssinian Church had its seat at 
Axum,' but the head of the church is now at 
Abuna. With the spread of Mohammedism 
near the close of the sixth century, Abyssinia 
was isolated from other countries and relapsed 
into a primitive half-barbarous civilization. It 
regained power in the fourteenth century, and 
in the sixteenth century strenuous efforts were 
made by Portuguese Jesuits to replace the na¬ 
tional religion with Catholicism. In 1683 the 
Jesuits were expelled and the country relapsed 
and remained isolated until the nineteenth cen¬ 
tury, when European explorers interested them¬ 
selves in that section. 

Sir Robert Napier invaded the country with a 
British army in 1868 as a result of Abyssinian 
depredations in sections over which the English 
had established a protectorate, and King Theo¬ 
dore committed suicide, after having met with 
a thorough defeat. He was succeeded by King 
John, who fell in battle with the Dervishes of 
the Sudan in 1889. His successor, Menelek II., 
proved a progressive ruler, but the country is 
surrounded by territories under the flags of 
European nations and has become an object of 
interest for trade and colonization. Italy 
claimed a protectorate over Abyssinia under 
the Treaty of Uchali in 1889, but this was set 
aside in the 
Treaty at Addis 
Adeba in 1896. 

By the latter 
treaty the inde- 
pendence of 
Abyssinia was 
recognized. The 
king modern¬ 
ized the gov¬ 
ernment in 1907 
b y establishing 
a cabinet of 
ministers, i n - 
eluding those 
of finance, for- 
e i g n affairs, 
war, justice, and commerce, but they are ad¬ 
visory rather than directory. 

ACACIA (a-ka'sha), a deciduous plant 



ACADEMY 


8 


ACCELERATION 


widely distributed in various portions of the 
earth, but not found native in Europe. It is 
most abundant in India, tropical America, 
Africa, and Australia. About 300 varieties are 
native to Australia, including the wattletree, 
which is from fifteen to thirty feet in height, 
while in North America a form of the same 
plant is known under the name of locust or 
honey locust. The plant grows in height from 
a shrub to a tree ranging from twenty to 
thirty feet, and is cultivated for its foliage, 
flowers, and wood. Some species yield a bark 
containing a large per cent, of tannin, while 
others yield perfume and gum arabic. 

ACADEMY (a-kad'e-my), the name first 
applied to the school founded by Plato, and 
which originated from the place where that 
philosopher met and conversed with his pupils. 
The place was in a park or garden in the sub¬ 
urbs of Athens said to have belonged to Acade- 
mus, and was presented by him to the city for 
a gymnasium. In modern times the name came 
to be applied to schools that communicate more 
than the mere elements of instruction, or schools 
instructing pupils that have already acquired 
the rudiments of an education, as colleges and 
some classes of universities. The name academy 
is also used to designate societies of artists 
linked together for the promotion of interest 
in art, and to various associations of scholars, 
scientists, and literary men who promote ar¬ 
tistic and intellectual interests. Thus, Cardinal 
Richelieu in 1835 established the celebrated 
French Academy to fix and polish the French 
language. It included among its membership 
the best scholars of that country, but was dis¬ 
solved by the Revolution in 1793. The greatest 
work of this organization was the publication 
of a complete French dictionary. 

The Royal Academy, Burlington House, Lon¬ 
don, is an association of English artists, and is 
similar in organization to the French Salon. 
The Royal Academy of Berlin, founded in 1700 
by Frederick II. of Prussia, has two sections— 
physics-mathematics and philosophy-history. 
Many such societies are maintained in the United 
States, the oldest of which is the American 
Philosophical Society, organized by Benjamin 
Franklin in 1743. 

ACADIA (a-ka'di-a), the name given by 
the French to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, 
and part of Maine, the most important portion 
being Nova Scotia. French colonists made set¬ 
tlements in Acadia in 1604 under De Monts. 
Argali conquered it for England in 1613, and 
it remained in English hands till 1657, but did 
not become their permanent possession until so 
declared by the Peace of Utrecht in 1713. In 


1756 about 6,000 of the French inhabitants 
were forcibly removed from their homes by the 
British on account of opposition manifested by 
them to oppressive legislation, an incident on 
which Longfellow’s “Evangeline” is based. 

ACANTHUS (a-kan'thus), a genus of 
plants, chiefly tropical, found in the south of 
Europe, Asia Minor, and India, the most com¬ 
mon species of which is the .acanthus mollis, a 
native of moist shady places in the south of 
Europe. It has pretty foliage and large white 
flowers tinged with pale yellow. Several 
species are cultivated as greenhouse plants for 
their shining leaves and white flowers. The 
idea of the beautiful Corinthian capitals of 
the Greek columns is said to have been 
derived from a 
basket filled with 
the roots of this 
plant, set down 
carelessly by a 
girl, and covered 
with a tile; when 
the leaves, forcing 
their way through 
the crevices, and 
rising toward the 
light, until met 
by t h e underside 
of the cover, pre¬ 
sented the effect 
of the foliage and 
volutes, simulated 
by the Grecian 
chisel. 

ACAPULCO (a-ka-pool'ko), a seaport of 
Mexico, in the State of Guerrero, about 230 
miles southwest of the City of Mexico. Its 
harbor is one of the best on the Pacific Coast. 
It has considerable domestic and foreign trade, 
the latter with San Francisco, China, and the 
Philippines. The chief exports are indigo, 
fruit, wood, lumber, and cochineal. Acapulco 
reached its greatest importance at the time of 
the French occupation. Its trade suffered greatly 
by the construction of the railroad between San 
Bias and the City of Mexico. Population, 5,000. 

ACCELERATION (ak-sel-er-a'shun), a 
term employed in measuring the rate of in¬ 
crease or decrease of the velocity of a body 
whose motion is not uniform. A common in¬ 
stance of increasing acceleration is found in a 
body falling from a height, and of negative ac¬ 
celeration in a ball thrown from a cannon. The 
term is also employed to denote the velocity of 
heavenly bodies in their orbits, ‘especially when 
passing from perigee to apogee and vice versa. 
The numerical value of acceleration is about 



ACANTHUS. 


ACCENT 


9 


ACETANILID 


32.2 feet per second; hence a body falling freely 
through the air has a velocity of 32 feet at the 
end of the first second, at the end of the next 
second the velocity is 64 feet, at the end of the 
third second it is 96 feet, and so on until it 
reaches the earth. 

ACCENT (ak'sent), in reading or speaking, 
the stress of voice placed upon the syllable of a 
word. English accent was placed originally 
upon the root, and not upon inflectionable syl¬ 
lables. A change in the position of accent dis¬ 
tinguishes a noun from a verb, as ac'cent, ac¬ 
cent' ; con'test, contest'. In like manner a change 
of accent distinguishes an adjective from a verb. 
Accent has exercised a marked influence in 
changing the form of many words in the 
English language. 

Accent, in music, is a distinction of certain 
portions or places of measure, or a stress placed 
on certain tones. Long measures, as in words 
of several syllables, may have a primary accent 
and several secondary accents. A number of 
signs and marks have been invented to express 
the various shades of accentuation, as for in¬ 
stance, f (forte), ff (fortissimo), p (piano), pp 
(pianissimo), mi (mezzo forte)', si (sforzando), 
cres (crescendo), decres (decrescendo), and 
many others. 

ACCLIMATION (ak-kli-ma'shun), or Ac¬ 
climatization, the process or art by which plants 
or animals are accustomed to a climate or 
locality not natural to them. The process de¬ 
pends upon the difference between the new 
locality and the one formerly occupied, as well 
as upon the nature of the plants or animals 
acclimatized. In recent times acclimatization 
has been made a subject for systematic study, 
and' some valuable discoveries have resulted. 
The ability of the different races of man to 
bear changes of climate usually is in direct 
ratio to the intellectuality of the race. Civilized 
people display greater mental and physical en¬ 
durance than savages in accommodating them¬ 
selves to changes of climate, this resulting, of 
course, from their superior care and power to 
accommodate themselves to different modes of 
life. Modern civilization and commercial en¬ 
terprise have been greatly benefited by the ac¬ 
climatization of cereals, herbs, and animals. 
For insance, the reindeer and dog have been ac¬ 
climated to the polar regions, silkworms have 
been brought from China to the Baltic regions 
of Europe, and, in like manner, animals and 
plants of various kinds have been made to 
serve man’s purpose in greatly diversified parts 
of the earth. However, this is spoken of more 
properly as naturalization than acclimatization. 

ACCORDION (ak-kor'di-un), a musical 


instrument in the form of a small box, arranged 
to be drawn by the hands in such a manner as 
to supply wind to act on metallic reeds fixed at 
one or both extremities, thus operating to set 
the reeds in vibration. An accordion has two 
sets of metallic reeds, so constructed that the 
same tones are produced as a result of pulling 
or pressing the bellows. The harmonium and 
concertina are similar instruments, and are in 
more or less general use among Europeans. 

ACCOUNT (ak-kount'), a list of items of 
debits or credits between two or more parties, 
or a statement of the particulars of such an 
account. When each of two parties has de¬ 
mands against the other, as in the case between 
two merchants, each of whom has sold goods 
to the other, the account is said to be mutual. 
The account is considered open or current until 
a statement is rendered. A stated account is 
one that has been accepted as correct by the 
one against whom it shows a balance. The re¬ 
cipient of a statement, if the account is found 
incorrect, should give verbal or written notice 
of that fact within a reasonable time, else its 
acceptance will be implied. However, correc¬ 
tions on account of fraud or mistakes can be 
made subsequently. 

ACCUMULATOR (ak-ku'mu-la-ter)* an 
apparatus by means of which electricity may 
be accumulated so as to produce directly an 
electric current. This apparatus is generally 
known as a storage battery, and its use depends 
upon the principle that a current acting upon 
grooved lead plates and lead electrodes causes 
certain chemical changes. In some cells two 
lead plates are immersed in dilute sulphuric 
acid in water, the mixture having a specific 
gravity of 1.17. When the circuit of a battery 
is closed, the chemicals recombine and give 
off a current almost equivalent to that which 
decomposes them. The two general classes 
into which accumulators are divided are those 
known as the Faure type and the Plante 
type. In the former some easily reducible 
salt of lead is applied mechanically, and in the 
latter peroxide of lead is formed by electro¬ 
chemical action on the surface of the coiled 
plates used in constructing the cells. In order 
to charge the battery it is connected with a 
dynamo and the electricity is retained until 
required for use, though there is a very rapid 
depreciation if the batteries are not operated 
with care. Storage batteries are commonly 
employed in automobiles and in many central 
stations to aid the dynamos when the maximum 
output is required. 

ACETANILID (as-et-an'i-lid), a crystalline 
powder obtained by the action of acetic acid 


ACETATE 


10 


ACHAEA 


on aniline. It has a slightly bitter taste, is 
odorless, and is frequently taken as a medicine 
for allaying pain. It is used for headache, 
generally given in tablet or capsule, and its 
effect is injurious if not administered with 
great care. 

ACETATE (as'e-tat), See Acetic Acid. 

ACETIC ACID (a-se'tic as'id), an acid com¬ 
posed of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon, and 
forming the sour principle of vinegar. In a 
pure state it is poisonous, has a sour taste and 
pungent smell, refracts light powerfully, and 
does not mix with water except at high tem¬ 
perature. It is the product of the acetic fer¬ 
mentation of many vegetable and. animal juices, 
and in some plants is found naturally formed. 
It is solid at temperatures below 62° Fahr. The 
action of the micro-organisms of the air on 
wine or weak spirits produces vinegar, which 
is a dilute acetic acid. Many dilute and con¬ 
centrated forms of acetic acid are employed 
in medicines and the arts. It aids digestion by 
its solvent action upon albuminous and protein 
compounds, hence the use of vinegar with foods 
that are not easily digested. When acetic acid 
is united with a base or radical, it forms a salt 
known as an acetate. The acetates of am¬ 
monium, iron, lead, potassium, sodium, and 
zinc are employed in medicine. Those of iron 
and aluminum are used in calico printing, while 
that of copper, known as verdigris, is useful 
as a color. 

ACETYLENE (a-set'i-len), a pure hydro¬ 
carbon gas produced by passing an electric 
current between carbon poles in an atmosphere 
of hydrogen, also by hvdro-carbon in a state 
of incomplete combustion. Small quantities of 
it are present in ordinary illuminating gas. It 
is colorless and clear, and burns with a bright 
flame. The flame is brilliant and steady, pro¬ 
duces no smoke and little heat, and its intense 
brilliancy gives it preference for illumination. 
Until recently it was produced only in labora¬ 
tories, being too expensive for use, except in 
experiments. It is now obtained at a very nomi¬ 
nal cost by fusing coal dust and lime in an 
electric furnace, and then bringing the result¬ 
ant calcic carbide in contact with water. The 
proportion of lime is 1,130 pounds to 1,750 
pounds of coal dust, and the resultant is 2,000 
pounds of calcic carbide. When the carbon of 
the calcic carbide is united with the hydrogen 
of water, the acetylene gas is formed and is 
utilized as it rises to the top. 

The credit of discovering the method of 
producing acetylene gas on a commercial basis 
is due to T. L. Willson, who, as one of the pro¬ 
moters of the Willson Aluminum Company at 


Spray, North Carolina, was aided by J. T. 
Morehead, a student and geologist. In conduct¬ 
ing a line of experiments, they placed lime and 
coke in an electric furnace, which, after being 
fused together, was thrown into water with the 
result that gas was formed and when lighted it 
burned with a clear flame. This discovery 
caused calcium carbide to become an article of 
commerce. It is placed in portable generators 
and sold directly to consumers, who make their 
own illuminating gas by the use of small gen¬ 
erators. At Niagara Falls and a number of 
other places are large electric furnaces for the 
purpose of making the commercial product. 
About 2,000 pounds of carbide are produced by 
180 electric horse power in twelve hours, which 
quantity has an illuminating value equal to 
100,000 cubic feet of ordinary gas. Its inex¬ 
pensive manufacture revolutionized street and 
house lighting. Pure acetylene requires a 
special burner, by which it is sufficiently mixed 
with air before it begins to burn. 

A new system of producing power was ob¬ 
tained by a mixture of acetylene gas and alcohol 
vapor in internal combustion engines. When 
a certain proportion of acetylene is added to 
alcohol vapor, a quicker burning, more explosive 
mixture results. This makes it possible to 
obtain from a given size of gasoline engine 
the same horse power when operated with alco¬ 
hol as when gasoline is used, without the 
greatly increased consumption that ordinarily 
occurs when this is attempted. Acetylene gas 
is thus used as an enricher of commercial 
alcohol, and is likewise employed to increase 
the illuminating power of coal gas and other 
combustible gases. 

ACHAEA (a-ke'a), one of the ancient divi¬ 
sions of the Peloponnesus, extending along 
the coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Its greatest 
length from east to west is about 65 English 
miles. It varies in breadth from 12 to 20 miles. 
Patras, formerly Patrae, is the only Achaean 
town that maintains any importance. After 
the Roman conquest of Greece and Macedonia, 
the province of Achaea included all of the 
Peloponnesus, with Northern Greece south of 
Thessaly. In the present kingdom of Greece it 
constitutes a division for the purposes of ad¬ 
ministration. 

The Achaeans comprised one of the four 
main divisions of the ancient Greeks. Their 
mythological ancestor was Achaeus, son of 
Xuthus, and grandson of Hellen. They mi¬ 
grated from Thessaly to the Peloponnesus, where 
they held the preponderance of power, and for 
a long time maintained a confederacy of twelve 
towns, known as the Achaean League. It was 


ACHEEN 


11 


ACONCAGUA 


broken up after the death of Alexander the 
Great, reorganized in 280 b. c., and finally 
suppressed by the Romans in 146 b. c. The 
“Iliad’’ designates the whole Hellenic host be¬ 
fore Troy as Achaens. 

ACHEEN, or Achin (at-chen'), a city and 
state of northern Sumatra, the only state of 
that island long independent of Holland, but 
ceded to that power in 1879. It was a powerful 
state in the seventeenth century, and long re¬ 
sisted attempts at colonization made by the 
Portuguese, but gradually lost its power with 
the rise of Dutch supremacy in Sumatra. There 
are extensive productions of rice, pepper, gutta 
percha, bamboos, iron, sulphur, and camphor. 
The forests yield large quantities of merchant¬ 
able lumber, and there are also productions 
and exports of fruits and live stock. The state 
has an area of 20,500 square miles. 

ACHELOUS (ak-e-16'us), a river of Acar- 
nania, which, rising in Mount Pindus, and di¬ 
viding Aetolia from Acarnania, flows into the 
Ionian Sea. Homer calls it “king of rivers.’’ 
It is the largest stream in Greece, its length 
being 130 miles. It is now called Aspro Potamo. 

ACHERON (ak'e-ron), in Greek mythol¬ 
ogy, a river of the lower world, and which is 
connected with many ancient legends. Around 
it were supposed to hover the shades of the 
departed, while Charon was reputed the ferry¬ 
man who piloted those permitted to enter the 
realm of the dead across its water. 

ACHILL (ak'il), or Eagle Island, the 
largest island off the west coast of Ireland, 
and included with the county of Mayo. Its 
shape is almost that of a right-angled triangle,’ 
while its length is about fifteen miles, and 
breadth twelve miles. The surface is mostly 
marshy and boggy, and the inhabitants engage 
chiefly in fishing. The area is 51,521 acres, and 
the population, 4,975. 

ACHILLES, Tendon of, the tendon which 
connects the heel bone with the muscles of the 
calf of the leg. It is so named from Achilles, 
a Greek leader in the Trojan War. This ten¬ 
don is capable of resisting a force equal to 
1,000 pounds weight, but is occasionally rup¬ 
tured. 

ACHMIM, or Akhmim, a town in Middle 
Egypt, on the right bank of the Nile. It is 
the Chemmis of Herodotus, and near it are 
ruins of two temples. The hills in its vicinity 
have many excavations, made originally to re¬ 
ceive mummies, but which afterward served as 
a refuge for Christians during the persecu¬ 
tions of Diocletian. 

ACHROMATISM (a-kro ma-tizm). See 

Prism. 


ACID (as'id), in chemistry, a compound 
Of hydrogen in which all or part of the hydro¬ 
gen can be replaced for a metal or a basic 
radical, thus forming a new compound. A ma¬ 
jority of acids, when placed to the tongue, pro¬ 
duce a taste called sour. They change the blue 
colors of vegetables to a red, while some colors, 
previously converted to green by alkalies, may 
be restored by acids. However, these proper¬ 
ties are variable. The acids generally contain 
oxygen united with another element that gives 
the name to the particular acid, as sulphuric 
acid, which contains sulphur, oxygen, and hydro¬ 
gen. Many organic gases occur in the juices 
of vegetables and some in animals, such as the 
acid of ants, commonly known as formic. 
Hydrochloric, nitric, sulphuric, and many other 
acids are important in the industries. Vinegar 
contains acetic acid; lemons, citric acid; grapes, 
tartaric acid; and currants, gooseberries, and 
apples, malic acid. Prussic or hydrocyanic acid 
is found in leaves, almonds, and several varie¬ 
ties of fruits. Prussic acid is used for flavoring 
in small quantities, but is usually classed as a 
poison. 

ACIREALE (a-che-ra-a'la), a seaport of 
Sicily, at the mouth of the Aci River, nine 
miles northeast of Catania. It has a consider¬ 
able trade in wine and fruit, and manufactures 
silk and cotton goods. Near it are celebrated 
mineral springs and the famous grotto of Gala- 
tea and the cave of Polyphemus. Population, 
27,875. 

ACLINIC (a-klin'ic) LINE, a line imagined 
drawn around the earth near the terrestrial 
equator, on which the magnetic needle has no 



ACLINIC LINE. 


inclinations. When the compass is placed on 
this line, the needle balances itself horizontally. 
It is known as the magnetic equator, being 
about 90° from the magnet poles, though this 
line is variable and irregular. 

ACONCAGUA (a-kon-ka'gwa), a moun¬ 
tain of Chile, situated near 31° south lat. and 
70° west long. Its height is 23,910 feet. It is 
counted the highest peak in America, being 
1,422 feet higher than Mount Sorata, Bolivia. 





ACONITE 


12 


ACROPOLIS 


On its southern slope rises the Aconcagua River, 
which, after a course of 200 miles, flows into 
the Pacific. 

ACONITE (ak'6-nit), a genus of plants so 
named from Acone, in Bithynia, which is fa¬ 
mous for its poisonous herbs. It belongs to the 
natural order ranunculaceae; many of its species 
have long been known for their poisonous 
properties. Several are cultivated in our gar¬ 
dens, and are known by the familiar names of 
wolfsbane or monkshood. The latter term desig¬ 
nates the distinguishing mark of the genus, 
which is the uppermost segment of the calyx 
overhanging the petals and other parts in the 
form of a helmet. The roots and leaves of the 
aconitum napellus are used for the preparation 
of some powerful medicines, which act as 
drastic purgatives, which are also externally 
applied as an anodyne remedy in acute pains 
affecting the nerves, and in rheumatic and syph¬ 
ilitic complaints. 

ACOUSTICS (a-kous'tiks), the science that 
treats of sound and of the laws of its pro¬ 
duction and propagation. Sound is produced 
by the vibration of particles in a sonorous body, 
and is induced by a blow or in some similar 
way. It requires an elastic body for its trans¬ 
mission to the tympanum of the ear, and is 
heard when brought in contact with air, but 
becomes inaudible in a vacuum. Its rate of 
progress through dry air, at a temperature of 
32°, is about 1090 feet per second, but its mo¬ 
tion through metallic rods is much more rapid. 
Refraction of sound is a change of direction 
and velocity, which is caused by passing from 
one medium to another of a different kind. 
Reflection of sound is a change of direction 
caused by meeting a medium different from the 
one passed through, and, in addition to trans¬ 
mitting to it a refracted wave, induces it to pass 
in a different direction with an equal velocity. 
In this way sound may be repeated, as from 
an echo-producing cliff or hill. Pythagoras 
and Aristotle were aware that sound is prop¬ 
agated through air, and attempted to develop 
the science of acoustics, but its foundation was 
not laid until the time of Bacon and Galileo. 
Newton demonstrated by calculations how the 
propagation of sound is due to the elasticity 
of the conducting medium. The science of 
sound owes its progress particularly to the re¬ 
searches of Newton, Laplace, and the German 
physicist Hermann Helmholtz (1821-1894). 

The subject of acoustics merits earnest con¬ 
sideration, since many public buildings are illy 
planned, and many principles of acoustics dis¬ 
regarded. As a general rule, ceilings should be 
of a medium elevation, many ceilings being too 


high to facilitate both hearing and speaking. 
Stretching wires across halls and hanging 
draperies have a moderating effect. The whis¬ 
pering gallery of St. Paul’s, London, is a fine 
example of successfully taking advantage of 
the basic laws of acoustics in public buildings. 

ACRE (a'ker), a quantity of surface equal 
to 4,840 square yards. It came into use as a 
standard of measurement on account of the 
amount of land one man could plow in a day. 
The size of the acre differs in different coun¬ 
tries, because the capacity of plows formerly 
used differed widely. The chain with which 
land is measured is twenty-two yards long, and 
a square chain consists of 22x22, or 484 yards, 
hence an acre contains ten square chains. The 
acre is divided into four roods; a rood into 
forty perches, and a perch into thirty square 
yards. Below is a table showing the relative 
measurements of the most important nations 
as compared with the acre used in the United 
States and Great Britain. 


English, Acre.. 

Scotch “ . 

Irish “ . 

Austria, Joch. 

Belgium, Hectare... 

Denmark, Toende.’. 

France, Hectare. 

France, Arpent (common).... 

Germany, Hectare,. 

Holland, Morgen. 

Naples, Moggia.•. 

Poland, Morgen. 

Portugal, Geira... 

Russia, Deciatina. 

Sardinia, Giornate. 

Spain, Fanegada. 

Sweden, Tunneland. 

Switzerland, Faux. 

Switzerland, Geneva, Arpent. 

Tuscany, Saccata. 

United States, Acre. 

Roman, Jugerum (ancient)... 
Greek, Plethron (ancient).... 


. 1.00 

. 1.27 

. 1.62 

. 1.42 

. 2.47 

. 5.50 

. 2.47 

. 0.99 

2.47 

2.10 

, 0.83 

1.38 

1.43 

, 2.70 

, 0.93 

1.06 

, 1.13 

, 1.63 

. 1.27 

. 1.22 

1.00 

0.66 

0.23 


ACRE (a'ker), or Akka, an important sea¬ 
port of Syria, on the Mediterranean Sea, and 
anciently called Ptolemais. It has experienced 
many notable changes through the calamities of 
war and revolution. In. 1799 it was defended by 
the Turks against Napoleon, who laid seige 
upon it for sixty-one days, and by Mehemet Ali, 
Pasha of Egypt, in 1831-32, against a seige of 
six months by his son, Ibrahim Pasha. Acre 
remained in the hands of the Egyptians till 
Nov. 3, 1840, when it was taken by the British. 
It again came into possession of the Turks in 
1841, to whom it now belongs. The city has 
a moderately good harbor, and is connected 
with Kersha and other interior cities by rail¬ 
ways. Population, 10,500. 

ACROPOLIS (a-krop'6-lis), the name ap¬ 
plied by the Greeks to a prominent place in a 
city, usually to an eminence from which the 



























ACROSTIC 


13 


ADDAX 


city can be viewed. In ancient times the Acrop¬ 
olis of Athens contained the Parthenon and 
other fine buildings. 

ACROSTIC (a-kros'tik), a stanza or stan¬ 
zas of poetry, the lines of which are so arranged 
that the initial letters taken in order constitute 
a name or a sentence. In Hebrew writings this 
plan was used largely in poetry, and frequently 
the initial letters were made to cover the entire 
alphabet. In the original, the 119th Psalm and 
eleven others are written in this manner. Acros¬ 
tics are frequently used in writing compliment¬ 
ary verses, when the initial letters usually form 
the name of the person complimented. The 
following will serve as a sample: 

Electric essence permeates the air, 

Lighting the heavens -with its brilliant glare. 
Encircling planets in its huge embrace, 

Controlling all the elements of space; 

’Tis this that sways the immortal mind, 

Refines and elevates all human kind; 

In it the spirit finds its highest light, 

Celestial source of God, the Infinite. 

ACTINISM (ak'tm-iz’m), the peculiar 
property or force of that portion of the sun s 
rays which produce the chemical effects shown 
in photography, and the effect of causing the 
seeds of plants to germinate. That the actinic 
rays are different from those which produce 
heat and light was shown by J. W. Draper of 
New York, in 1842. The quantity of actinism 
in the sun’s rays varies with the time of the 
day, and with the seasons. Its deficiency in the 
tropics renders it difficult to obtain good pic¬ 
tures there, except with the more powerful in¬ 
struments. Its greater abundance in the spring 
of the year causes this to be the best period for 
taking pictures, as it is the season for the ger¬ 
mination of seeds and the opening of buds. 
This principle is obstructed by the passage of 
rays of light through yellow glass. Hence the 
unsuitableness of this glass for greenhouses, 
while the use of blue or violet glass is recom¬ 
mended as a means to aid in the rapid growth 
of plants. Modern medical science has demon¬ 
strated the wisdom of employing blue and pur¬ 
ple rays in treating certain diseases. That the 
different rays of sunlight possess a varying de¬ 
gree of power in producing chemical changes 
may be shown by spectrum analysis. See 
Spectrum. 

ACTIUM (ak'shi-um), now called Akri, a 
town and promontory on the west coast of 
Greece, on the Gulf of Arta, and noted for the 
naval battle between Octavianus, who later 
became Emperor Augustus of Rome, and Mark 
Antony and Cleopatra, on Sept. 2, 31 b. c. Oc¬ 
tavianus commanded 80,000 infantry, 12,000 cav¬ 
alry, and 260 ships; while Antony had 100,000 


infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 220 ships, and was 
supported by Cleopatra with sixty vessels. An¬ 
tony was defeated and fled with Cleopatra to 
Egypt. To commemorate the victory Octavianus 
enlarged the temple of Apollo, and instituted 
games to be celebrated every four years. 

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, the fifth 
book of the New Testament, written in Greek 
about 63 or 64 a. d., and generally thought to 
be the work of Saint Luke, a physician and 
painter of Antioch, who had been converted by 
the teaching of Saint Paul. The Acts embrace 
the history of the church in Judea and Asia 
Minor during the period of about thirty years 
after the death of Christ, from the time of the 
Resurrection until the second year of Saint 
Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. While Philip and 
Saint Peter are mentioned in the Acts, the 
principal personage is Saint Paul. 

ACUPUNCTURE (ak-u-punk'tur), a sur¬ 
gical operation employed among the Chinese and 
Japanese, in headaches, lethargies, convulsions, 
colics, etc. It is accomplished by piercing the 
part which is the seat of the malady with a 
silver needle. Modified forms have been adopted 
by American and European physicians for the 
treatment of neuralgia, rheumatism, and other 
diseases. 

ADAMS, a town of Berkshire County, in 
the northwest part of Massachusetts, forty- 
seven miles northwest of Springfield. It is 
situated on the Hoosac River, near Mount 
Greylock, altitude 3,600 feet, the highest point 
in the state, and on the Boston and Albany 
Railroad. There are manufactures of machin¬ 
ery, clothing, textiles, utensils, flour, and tobacco 
products. Gas and electric lights, street rail¬ 
ways, waterworks, and sewerage are among the 
public improvements. The town has excellent 
public schools and numerous churches. If was 
platted in 1749, as East Hoosuck, and was in¬ 
corporated in 1778, when it was renamed in 
honor of Samuel Adams. Population, 1900, 
11,134; 1905, 12,486. 

ADDA (ad'da), a river of Italy, a tributary 
of the Po. It rises in the Rhaetian Alps, flows 
through Valtellina and Lombardy, and enters the 
Po about eight miles from Cremona. Its course 
is about 180 miles, of which 70 miles are navi¬ 
gable. Lodi, the scene of one of Napoleon’s tri¬ 
umphs, and Cassano, at which Moreau was de¬ 
feated in 1799, are on its banks. 

ADDAX (ad'daks), or Addas, a species of 
antelope related to the oryx, native to the 
deserts of Northeastern Africa. The form is 
robust, the color nearly white, tinged somewhat 
with reddish, and the height at the shoulders is 


ADDER 


14 


ADELPHICOLLEGE 


about three feet. It has a long tufted tail and 
long ears, and the horns are twisted spirally, 
turn outward, and measure about four feet in 
length. The Arabs hunt it for its flesh and 
skin. Only a small number of this animal re¬ 
main. 

ADDER (ad'der), a general name applied to 
venomous snakes, but also the name of the only 
poisonous serpent in Britain. The latter is 
about two feet long, has a triangular head, and 
a short tail. A species known as asp or puff- 
adder is found in South Africa, where it is 
dreaded for its fatal bite. Adder’s-tongue is a 
plant, a species of common fern, whose spores 
resemble a serpent’s tongue. Adderwort is a 
name applied to snakeweed on account of its 
supposed virtue in curing the bite of a serpent. 

ADDIS ABEBA (ad'des a-ba'ba), the cap¬ 
ital of Abyssinia, located in the province of 
Shoa. It has a picturesque location at an alti¬ 
tude of 8,000 feet, but its streets are irregular 
and the buildings are poorly constructed. On 
an eminence is the royal palace, which consists 
of several buildings and is surrounded by walls. 
The city has a large floating population and is 
the mecca of many caravans. The commission 
that concluded peace between Italy and Abys¬ 
sinia met at Addis Abeba in 1896, when the in¬ 
dependence of Abyssinia was recognized. Popu¬ 
lation, 50,000. 

ADDRESS, Forms of, the formal manner 
of beginning a communication, either written or 
spoken. In countries where rank and title pre¬ 
vail the forms of address are quite complex and 
adherence to them is considered necessary. Com¬ 
mon usage has established some form of ad¬ 
dress even in republics, though in such countries 
they are less varied and numerous. “His Ex¬ 
cellency, the President of the United States,” is 
the form of address sanctioned by law that is 
to be applied to the President of the United 
States, and the same form is used in addressing 
the governors of states and ministers to for¬ 
eign countries. Senators and representatives of 
the United States, or of the several states, 
judges, and consuls are addressed The Hon. 

-, while the form of addressing the Vice- 

President is The Hon. -, Vice-President of 

the United States. The following table gives a 
list of the more important addresses used in 
Great Britain, its dependencies, and most coun¬ 
tries in which the personages are recognized: 

Archbishop: His Grace the Lord Archbishop of -. 

Baron: The Right Hon. Lord -. 

Bishop : The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of -. 

Countess: The Right Hon. the Countess of -, 

Duchess : Her Grace the Duchess of ——. 

Duke : His Grace the Duke of -. 

Earl: The Right Hon. the Earl of - 

King: His Most Gracious Majesty the King. 

Knight: Sir -. 


Lord Lieutenant (of Ireland): His Excellency the Lord 

Lieutenant. 

Lord Mayor : The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor. 

Marchioness: The Most Hon. the Marchioness of -. 

Maquis : The Most Hon. the Marquis of - -. 

Members of Parliament: The letters M.P. are added to 
the usual address. 

Prince : His Royal Highness the Prince of -. 

Princess : Her Royal Highness the Princess of -. 

Priyy Councilor : The Right Hon. -. 

Queen : Her Majesty the Queen. 

Viscount : The Right Hon. Viscount -. 

Viscountess: The Right Hon. Viscountess -. 

Youngest son of Duke or Marquis : The Lord -. 

Youngest son of Earl or Viscount: The Hon. -. 

ADELAIDE (ad'e-lad), an important city 
of Australia, about six miles southeast of Saint 
Vincent’s Gulf, in the province of South Aus¬ 
tralia, of which it is the seat of government. 
The Torrens River divides it into South Ade¬ 
laide and North Adelaide, the two divisions 
being connected by extensive bridges, and the 
stream is beautified by dams and dikes. There 
are excellent botanical gardens, which cover an 
area of 120 acres and may be classed among the 
finest in the world. Besides substantial gov¬ 
ernment buildings, it contains telegraph, tele¬ 
phone, and railway offices, and is the seat of 
fine schools and churches. The city has a num¬ 
ber of institutions of higher learning, including 
commercial schools, colleges, and a university. 
Port Adelaide, its port, has a commodious 
harbor and is protected by two forts. The 
manufactures include clothing, leather, woolen 
goods, ironware, machinery, tobacco prod¬ 
ucts, furniture, and earthenware. It has an 
important commercial trade, both locally and 
with foreign countries. Among the municipal 
improvements are gas and electric light, street 
railways, pavements, waterworks, and other 
modern conveniences. The city was founded in 
1886, and named in honor of the queen of 
William IV. Population, 1901, 39,200, including 
suburbs, 162,200. 

ADELPHI COLLEGE (a-del'phi), an in¬ 
stitution of higher learning in Brooklyn, New 
York City. It was incorporated in 1896 by the 
regents of the University of the State of New 
York, and with it is affiliated Adelphi Academy, 
a school founded in 1869. In the first eleven 
years of its existence Adelphi College grew to 
have a student body of about 500 and a corps of 
instructors numbering 42. The courses are 
grouped under three divisions: History and 
Philosophy, Language and Literature, and 
Mathematics and Science. The college grants 
only the degree of A. B. To graduate a student 
must have completed 124 points, of which 54 
points must be in one division, 24 points in a 
second, and 12 points in a third, and the others 
may be selected freely. The college possesses 
excellent physical, chemical, and biological lab¬ 
oratories, an adequate library, and a gymnasium. 


ADEN 


15 


ADMIRALTY 


In connection with the college a flourishing 
normal school of kindergarteners is maintained. 
This offers a two years’ course, which leads to 
a special course in kindergarten work. There is 
also a school of fine arts, which is the oldest 
institution of its kind in Brooklyn. 

ADEN (a'den), a seaport city and terri¬ 
tory of Southwestern Arabia. The city forms 
an important commercial center owing to the 
increasing trade through the Suez Can&l. Over 
2,000 vessels stop at the port of Aden annually. 
The import trade amounts to over $17,000,000 
annually and is slightly greater than the export 
trade. As a naval and coaling station it is quite 
important, and there are strong fortifications.* 
The government is administered by an English 
local resident. Population, exclusive of troops, 
43,974. 

ADEN, Gulf of, an inlet from the Indian 
Ocean, located between Arabia on the north 
and the African peninsula of Somaliland on the 
south. Its length is 500 miles, extending from 
the Strait of Bab el Mandab to the Indian 
Ocean. Some geographers call it the Arabian 
Gulf. 

ADHESION (ad-he'zhun), in physics, the 
force that holds together molecules of different 
kinds. It is distinguished from cohesion, 
which is a force that holds together molecules 
of the same kind, acting at insensible distances. 
Adhesion takes place between two solids, be¬ 
tween a solid and a liquid, or between a solid 
and a gas, but acts only at insensible distances. 
It differs from chemical affinity in that it acts 
between surfaces of any size without changing 
the character of adhering bodies, while chemi¬ 
cal affinity acts between particles of substances 
and generally changes the appearance. 

ADIGE (a'de-ja), (German, Etsch), a river 
of northern Italy, which rises in the Rhaetian 
Alps, flows in a southeasterly direction, and 
discharges into the Adriatic Sea. It forms 
the boundary between Lombardy proper and 
the old Venetian territories. It is 240 miles 
long and is a transit river for German and 
Italian trade. 

ADIRONDACK (ad-i-ron'dak), a group 
of mountains belonging to the Appalachian sys¬ 
tem, located between Lakes Ontario and Cham¬ 
plain, in northern New York. The region is 
a popular resort for tourists and sportsmen, 
who delight to spend the summer season among 
its mountain scenery, beautiful parks, and pic¬ 
turesque lakes in pursuit of game or in pur¬ 
suing the pleasures of vacation. There are 
very complete provisions for pleasure and pro¬ 
fitable pastime. Owing to the altitude, the 
nights are cool and the days generally pleasant. 


Mount Marcy is the most remarkable and the 
highest peak; height, 5,337 feet. 

ADJECTIVE (ad'jek'tiv), the part of speech 
used to describe or define the meaning of a 
noun or a word or phrase equivalent to a noun. 
Adjectives may be divided into two general 
classes, descriptive and definitive. Descriptive 
adjectives describe the meaning of a noun by 
denoting some quality, as square, round, sour, 
while definite adjectives define the meaning 
or application without expressing quality, as 
that man, the Ohio, the third seal. The articles 
a, an, and the are sometimes included with the 
latter class. Adjectives that express quality 
admit of comparison, and are said to be either 
positive, comparative, or superlative in express¬ 
ing different degrees of quality. In the English 
langauge the adjective precedes its noun, ex¬ 
cept when used as a predicate adjective. 

ADJUTANT (ad'ju-tant), or Argala, a 
large wading bird of the stork family found 
in the tropical parts of India. It has a large 
beak, a pouch hang¬ 
ing from the under 
side of the neck, and 
when standing erect 
is about five or six 
feet in height. The 
general color is an 
ashen gray mixed 
with white. At the 
apprehen sion of 
danger it inflates the 
large pouch in front 
of the neck with air, 
which is capable of 
considerable disten¬ 
tion. In India it is 
protected by law, 
owing to its value in 
devouring carrion, adjutant bird. 

reptiles, and offals. The adjutant bird is allied 
to the marabou of Western Africa, and, like it, 
furnishes from under its wings the light downy 
feathers known in the market by the name 
marabou. There are a number of different 
species, that of Senegal being an allied bird to 
those found in Southern Asia. 

ADMIRALTY (ad'mi-ral-ty), the name 
usually applied to the department of govern¬ 
ment which is at the head of the naval service. 
Most maritime nations maintain departments of 
admiralty, and from them charts are issued for 
aid in navigation. The United States Coast 
Survey details information of value in the naval 
service by issuing annual reports. Admiralty 
courts are peculiar to many European coun¬ 
tries, and take cognizance of civil and criminal 



ADMIRALTY island 


16 


ADRIATIC SEA 


causes of a maritime nature. In Great Britain 
a board of admiralty comprises five lords com¬ 
missioners, who decide on all important ques¬ 
tions collectively, but each commissioner also 
has special duties assigned to him, such as naval 
discipline, sailing orders, purchase and disposal 
of stores, manning the navy, etc. In the United 
States the jurisdiction of the district courts em¬ 
braces all civil and criminal cases arising in the 
maritime service. However, the graver and 
higher crimes are referred to the circuit courts 
as courts of admiralty. In Canada the ex¬ 
chequer court is a court of admiralty and has 
rights and remedies in all matters arising out of 
or in connection with navigation and commerce. 

ADMIRALTY ISLAND, an island off 
the northwest coast of North America, belong¬ 
ing to the United States. It is about eighty 
miles long and twenty miles wide. There are 
forests of considerable value, but the climate is 
cold and the inhabitants consist chiefly of Sitka 
Indians. Killisnoo, located about forty-five 
miles northeast of Sitka, is the chief town. 

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, a group of about 
forty islands lying northeast of New Guinea. 
The group constitutes a part of the Bismarck 
Archipelago. These islands were discovered by 
the Dutch in 1616, and now belong to Germany. 
They abound in cocoanut trees, and have con¬ 
siderable productions of fruit, fish, rice, and 
domestic animals. The inhabitants consist 
chiefly of tawny-colored islanders. 

ADOBE (a-do'ba), a name of Spanish origin 
applied to brick made of a mixture of sand and 
clay and sun-dried. Buildings constructed of 
this kind of material are quite common in arid 
and semi-arid districts of North America, espe¬ 
cially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Central 
America. In size these brick vary somewhat, 
the usual dimensions being 4 by 12 by 16 inches. 
The material is thoroughly mixed and exposed 
for drying to the sun about two weeks, during 
which time they are turned daily, though the 
treatment -varies somewhat with the condition 
of the atmosphere and the season of the year. 
Brick of this kind cannot be used where rain¬ 
fall is abundant as they will not bear a con¬ 
siderable amount of moisture. The Egyptians 
and Babylonians constructed buildings of this 
class of material,- or used brick made of clay 
mixed with straw and baked in the sun. In 
some sections where building material is scarce, 
as in portions of the plains of America, sod is 
used to lay up the walls and an adobe soil is 
mixed with sand for plastering both the ex¬ 
terior and interior. Sod houses treated in this 
way are quite serviceable, especially if the floor 
and roof are constructed of lumber. 


ADONIS, a genus of herbaceous plants na¬ 
tive to Europe and belonging to the same family 
as the buttercup. The corn-adonis grows as a 
weed in the wheat fields of Great Britain and 
has become naturalized in some parts of the 
United States. Several species of the adonis 
are cultivated as garden plants, and in these 
the petals are a bright scarlet. 

ADRIAN (a'dri-an), a city in Michigan, 
county seat of Lenawee County, seventy miles 
southwest of Detroit, on the Wabash, the Lake 
Shore and Michigan Southern, and other rail¬ 
ways. It has a considerable jobbing trade and 
manufactures of street and railway cars, furni¬ 
ture, brick, cigars, machinery, and earthenware. 
It is the seat of Adrian College, established in 
1859 by the Methodist Church for the coeduca¬ 
tion of the sexes. The city has fine public 
schools, an excellent county courthouse, an opera 
house, and a Masonic temple. Gas and electric 
lights, waterworks, pavements, and sewerage are 
among .the improvements. It was incorporated 
as a city in 1853. Population, 1910, 10,763. 

ADRIANOPLE (ad-ri-an-o'p’l), the sec¬ 
ond city of the Turkish Empire, capital of the 
vilayet of the same name, 130 miles northwest 
of Constantinople. It was founded by Hadrian 
on the Hebrus River, now called Maritza River. 
The city was the capital of the Turkish Empire 
from 1361 to 1453, but in the latter year the 
capital was removed to Constantinople. In 
1829 it was occupied by the Russians, and also 
in the War of 1878. Its improvements include 
a splendid aqueduct, several elegant mosques, 
and other religious and educational institutions. 
There are manufactures of silk and woolen 
goods, cotton textiles, leather, tobacco products, 
and machinery. It has railroad connections 
with Constantinople and other important cities, 
and enjoys a considerable commercial trade. 
About half of the inhabitants are Turks and 
the remainder Jews, Bulgarians, and Armenians. 
Population, 80,250. 

ADRIATIC SEA (ad-re-at'ik), an exten¬ 
sion of the Mediterranean Sea in a north¬ 
westerly direction from the Strait of Otranto, 
lying between Italy, Austria, Montenegro, and 
Turkey. Its greatest length is 480 miles; aver¬ 
age breadth, 100 miles, and area about 60,000 
square miles. Into it flows the Po River, which 
is producing notable geological changes by 
alluvial deposits. The sea was so named from 
Adria, which was once an important seaport, 
but is now seventeen miles inland, owing to 
the deposits of silt from the tributary rivers, 
the Po and Adige. The most important sea¬ 
ports include Trieste, Sinigaglia, Ancona, and 
Venice. 


ADULLAM 


17 


ADVERTISING 


ADULLAM (a-dul'lam), one of the cities of 
the plain, in the tribe of Judah, fortified by- 
King Rehoboam. The Cave of Adullam, where 
David hid when pursued by the Philistines, was 
probably near the Dead Sea. (I Sam. xxii, 
1 - 2 ). 

ADULTERATION (a-dul-ter-a'shun), a 
term used to designate the debasement of a 
pure or genuine article by taking away some of 
its constituent parts, or adding to it some in¬ 
ferior article. The object of adulterations is 
usually for pecuniary profit, and has prevailed 
in all countries from ages far remote. It has 
been the subject of legislation, governments 
seeking thereby to protect the consumers of 
such products from deception by manufacturers 
and salesmen in many articles of commerce, 
particularly articles of food. Various European 
nations legislated regarding it as early as the 
13th century, but none of the efforts have been 
more than partially successful. In the United 
States legislation has 
varied, but has been 
enacted more particu¬ 
larly by the states than 
the nation. Among the 
national laws is one 
regulating the sale of 
oleomargarine, an arti¬ 
ficial form of butter. 

The most common 
form of adulteration is 
the addition of a sub¬ 
stance of little value to 
one of greater value, 
the design being to increase bulk and weight 
of different commodities, as mixing chicory 
with coffee, fat with butter, and water with 
milk. Fictitious value is often given to sub¬ 
stances by improving the appearance or height¬ 
ening the color, as coloring butter or pickles, 
or mixing salts of copper with preserves.. Im¬ 
purities are also frequent when it is designed 
to increase the flavor, as adding sulphuric 
acid to vinegar, while ingredients are. often 
added to beverages to increase the thirst of 
the consumer, as the adulteration of beer by 
the addition of salt. While adulteration of food 
articles is quite common, it is not practiced so 
extensively as the public believe. As a rule 
the consumer.of adulterated foods is more likely 
to sustain unnecessary expense than suffer a loss 
of health, yet many of these adulterations are 
extremely harmful, vicious in principle, and in 
direct violation of public policy. 

ADVENTISTS (ad'vent-ist), the name as¬ 
sumed by a Christian denomination, among 
whose tenets is the belief in the second advent 


of Christ. Several branches have sprung from 
the teaching of William Miller, who prophesied 
that the world would come to an end in 1831. 
They differ more or less in points of doctrine, 
but the government is uniformly congregational. 
The Seventh-Day Adventists constitute the 
most numerous branch. They support forty edu¬ 
cational institutions, issue numerous publica¬ 
tions, and have a membership of 78,950 com¬ 
municants, including 560 ministers. The denom¬ 
inational headquarters are at Battle Creek, 
Mich. The smaller denominations include the 
Evangelical Adventists, the Advent Christians, 
and the Church of God. 

ADVERB (ad'verb), in grammar, a word 
used to modify the meaning of a verb, adjective, 
participle, or an adverb. Adverbs are divided 
into five classes: adverbs of time, place, cause, 
manner, and degree. Most English adverbs are 
formed by adding the suffix ly to an adjective or 
its root, though many are not thus formed. A 


sentence or part of a sentence is frequently used 
to perform the function of an adverb. Many 
adverbs are compared by the use of more and 
most. 

ADVERTISING (ad-ver-tlz'ing), the 
method by which the sale or exchange of com¬ 
modities is made known to the public. Adver¬ 
tising is not confined to the producing class, 
though this was original^ the case, and the 
means to make known through publication the 
value and price of articles offered are very vari¬ 
ous. Many standard products useful in domestic 
economy are advertised on billboards, both in 
city and country, and in all the larger cities 
companies promote advertising in this way as a 
regular business. However, the greatest amount 
of advertising is done by circulars, catalogues, 
and through the columns of magazines and 
newspapers. The amount of money paid annu¬ 
ally for advertising in the Dominion of Canada 
is estimated at $60,000,000, while in the United 
States the annual expenditure for this purpose 
is placed at $520,000,000. 



TEMPLE OF ATHENA : WESTERN GABLE. 


2 













ADZ 


18 


AEROLITE 


The history of advertising may be traced to 
ancient times, especially to Greece and Rome, 
where signs were utilized to make announce¬ 
ments and criers gave information in regard to 
the value and price at which commodities were 
for sale at particular places. However, the in¬ 
vention of printing revolutionized advertising as 
a business, and at present there is scarcely a 
large periodical whose columns are not open to 
all classes of legitimate advertising. Indeed, the 
receipts from advertising in numerous classes of 
periodicals, especially magazines, are an im¬ 
portant factor and in many cases exceed the 
money received for subscriptions. The value of 
modern advertising has secured such a hold 
upon business men and the public that success 
in almost any line depends in a great measure 
upon the manner of advertising. The theory 
and practice of writing advertisements is a 
branch of study placed in the curriculum of 
many schools and business colleges. 

ADZ (adz). See Ax. 

AEGEAN SEA (e-je'an), a branch of the 
Mediterranean Sea extending west of Asia 
Minor, south of Turkey, and east of Greece. 
Its breadth is 200 miles, and the average length 
400 miles. Within the sea are a number of 
fertile islands, many of which are cultivated in 
the production of cereals and fruit. They in¬ 
clude Euboea, Lesbos, Lemnos, and Samos. 

AEGINA (e-ji'na), a small island belong¬ 
ing to Greece, situated in the Gulf of Aegina, 
and containing an area of about thirty-two 
square miles. The island is mountainous and 
sterile, except in the western portion, which is 
quite level and productive. The chief products 
include olives, almonds, grapes, and cereals. On 
the island are remains of the temple of Athena. 
In ancient times, about 256 b. c., the island be¬ 
longed to the Athenians. Population, 9,135. 

AEGIS (e'jis), the shield of Jupiter and 
Minerva, which was covered with the skin of 
the goat Amalthea, by which Jove was nour¬ 
ished in infancy. According to Homer, Jupiter 
had but to shake the shield to cause thunder and 
lightning to descend upon earth. 

AEGOSPOTAMI, or Patamos, a locality in 
the Thracian Chersonese, on the Hellespont, 
where the Spartans under Lysander defeated the 
Athenian fleet. This defeat, in 405 b. c., ended 
the predominance of Athens and brought the 
Peloponnesian War to a close. 

AENEID (e-ne'id), the great epic poem 
written by Virgil, which ranks with the “Iliad” 
and “Odyssey,” and is classed as one of the three 
greatest poems bequeathed to posterity by the 
ancients. It was commenced about the year 30 
s. c., and was left unfinished at the time of the 


author’s death. Virgil thought it of too little 
merit for publication and directed that his 
friends burn the manuscript, but Emperor Au¬ 
gustus saved it and-gave it into the hands of 
two learned friends of the author for publica¬ 
tion. The fact that many lines were left unfin¬ 
ished is proof that the poem was not carefully 
revised by the author. 

The story of the Aeneid relates the adventures 
of Aeneas after the fall of Troy and his final 
settlement in Italy, where he and his followers 
became the founders of Rome. This writing 
consists of twelve books. The first accounts 
that Aeneas was driven by a storm on the coast 
of Africa, where he was hospitably entertained 
by Dido, queen of Carthage, to whom he related 
the story of the fall of Troy. His wanderings 
from Troy to Carthage are told in the second 
and third books. In the fourth book the poet 
relates the story of the passion conceived by 
Dido for her Trojan guest, the departure of 
Aeneas in obedience to the will of the gods, and 
the suicide of Dido. The visit to Sicily and 
the burning of the ships are described in the 
fifth book, while the sixth deals with the landing 
of Aeneas at Cumae in Italy and his descent to 
the infernal regions, where he saw his father, 
Anchises, and had a vision of the future glories 
of his race and the greatness of Rome. 

While the first six books are modeled upon the 
“Odyssey,” the six last books partake of the 
spirit of the “Iliad.” They contain an account 
of the struggles of Aeneas in Italy, his alliances 
with Latinus, king of Latium, and his projected 
marriage with Lavinia, daughter of Latinus. The 
last volume closes with the fall of Turnus, king 
of the Rutuli, by the hand of Aeneas, and the 
projected marriage is left uncompleted. Virgil 
asserts that the Julian family of Rome descended 
from Aeneas, and traces the connection between 
him and Augustus Caesar, in whose honor the 
poem was written. 

AEOLIAN HARP(e-o'li-an), a harp played 
by Aeolus—that is to say, by the wind. It con¬ 
sists of a wooden sound-box with strings of • 
catgut stretched over it. When exposed to the 
action of the wind, it produces a succession of 
pleasing sounds, bold when the breeze is force¬ 
ful, but plaintive when slight. The invention 
was made by Athanasius Kircher (1601-1680), 
a German Jesuit of the 17th century. 

AEROLITE (a'er-6-lit), one of a class of 
meteorites, shooting stars, or meteoric stones 
which fall from the sky and generally, but not 
always, reach the earth. They are usually sub- 
angular, with the angular points rounded off, and 
generally reach the ground in an incandescent 
state. They usually contain quantities of mallea- 


AERONAUTICS 


19 


AFFINITY 


ble iron, nickel, magnesia, sulphur, alumina, 
lime, carbon, and other substances. The con¬ 
stituents are always the same as substances 
found in the earth, but the combination differs 
widely in different aerolites. Their origin is the 
same as that of meteors.. See Meteor. 

AERONAUTICS (a-er-6-nat'iks), the sci¬ 
ence that treats of aerial navigation. It em¬ 
braces the two departments of pneumatics 
known as aerostatics and aerodynamics and in¬ 
volves the subject of fluid-friction and the re¬ 
sistance of the fluid to the motion of a solid 
body passing through its mass. Balloons, fly¬ 
ing machines, and all other forms of apparatus 
used in aerial navigation are studied under this 
branch of science, which is a subject of growing 
interest. See Balloon, Flying Machine. 

AEROSTATICS (a-er-6-stat'iks), the de¬ 
partment of science which treats of gases at 
rest, that is to say, with their particles at equi¬ 
librium. Aerodynamics treats of the phenome¬ 
na observed when the forces acting within or 
upon aeriform fluids produce motion, while aero¬ 
statics is confined to the relations of forces 
acting in or upon such fluids when no motion 
results. Both these are departments of pneu¬ 
matics. 

AEROSTATIC PRESS, a machine used 
for extracting by atmospheric pressure the color¬ 
ing matter of dyewood and other materials, 
such as leaves, insects, etc. The material from 
which the color is to be extracted is placed in a 
vessel between two horizontal partitions pierced 
with small holes. An air pump, by which the 
air can be withdrawn, is placed at the bottom 
and the liquid to form the extract is poured on 
the top. When the suction pump is operated, the 
liquid is forced by the pressure of the air from 
the top through the material, carrying with it 
in solution the liquid coloring matter. 

AESTHETICS (es-thet'iks), the science 
that treats of the beautiful and pleasing. The 
term owes its origin to various writers, but pri¬ 
marily to Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714- 
1762), who held that as truth is the end and per¬ 
fection of knowledge, and good that of the 
will, so beauty should be the end of all sensu¬ 
ous knowledge. According to Herbert Spencer, 
the aesthetic feelings have this characteristic, 
that they are not connected with the functions 
requisite to sustain life, and, for this reason, do 
not gain enough power to act until the func¬ 
tions necessary to sustain life have the proper 
scope. 

The ancient Greeks, a people productive of 
noble and artistic creations, supply us with the 
first speculations ,on the culture of the beau¬ 
tiful and the aim of fine arts. They are gath¬ 


ered from poetry and paintings, and particularly 
from Plato’s “Dialogues.” However, Socrates 
was the first Greek scholar whose views on this 
subject are definitely known. From Xenophon’s 
exposition of the views of Socrates we learn 
that the latter regarded the beautiful as coin¬ 
cident with the good, and both susceptible to 
conversion into the useful. It was thought that 
every beautiful object serves some rational end, 
whether the gratification or security of man. 
From the “Dialogues” it may be concluded that 
Plato held to the theory of an absolute beauty. 
He tells us in the “Symposium” how love pro¬ 
duces inspiration toward the pure idea of 
beauty. To his mind the only beauty that de¬ 
serves the name is absolute beauty; that abso¬ 
lute beauty is beautiful in every respect, and 
the foundation of all beauty. Many modern 
writers agree that a delight in sculpture, poetry, 
music, the drama, painting, and even fine math¬ 
ematical demonstrations is a source for the 
aesthetic growth. Kant held the view that the 
beautiful is the harmony between the imagina¬ 
tion and the understanding, and this view is 
supported by a number of modern philosophers. 
Richter, Schlegel, Ruskin, Lessing, Hegel, 
Helmholtz, and Schelling are among the best 
known writers to contribute scientific treatises 
on aesthetics. 

AETNA. See Etna. 

AETOLIA (e-to'li-a), a division of ancient 
Greece, bounded on the west by the Acheloiis 
River, on the north by Thessaly and Epirus, 
and on the south by the Gulf of Corinth. Along 
the northern part extends the range of Mount 
Pindus. In the time of Pericles the Aetolians 
were warlike and barbarous, but they became 
famous during the Macedonian wars and for 
their bravery in resllting the invasion of their 
country by the Gauls. Aetolia and Acarnania 
were united and now constitute a monarchy 
of Greece. The area is 3,013 square miles. 

AFFIDAVIT (af-fi-da'vit), a legal docu¬ 
ment affirmed or sworn to before some author¬ 
ized officer. A document of this kind is made 
without cross-examination and is much used 
in making various motions in court. It is cus¬ 
tomary to procure and place on record an affi¬ 
davit to prove or correct conveyances of per¬ 
sonal and real property. 

AFFINITY (af-fin'i-ty), in law, the mar¬ 
riage relationship contracted between the hus¬ 
band and his wife’s kindred, and between the 
wife and her husband’s kindred. Marriage is 
forbidden by law in some countries between 
persons who are related by affinity within the 
third degree, which is the case in Great Britain, 


AFFINITY 


20 


* AFGHANISTAN 


and this is considered in accordance with the 
Scriptural injunction. 

AFFINITY, in chemistry, the force by which 
union takes place between two or more ele¬ 
ments to form a chemical compound, and which 
constitutes the force that produces all chemical 
phenomena. Unlike attraction of gravity, it 
does not act upon masses, but between atoms, 
and only when the atoms are at insensible dis¬ 
tances. It differs from cohesion in that it 
unites atoms of different substances, while cohe¬ 
sion unites the particles of similar substances. 
The compounds formed by affinity are new 
bodies, often bearing no likeness in appearance 
or other properties to the elements by which they 
were produced, as water results from the union 
of two gases, hydrogen and oxygen. The 
strength of chemical affinity differs between 
different substances. Gypsum is formed by a 
combination of sulphuric acid and lime, but, if 
potash be added, the sulphuric acid repels the 
lime and unites with the potash. Affinity is 
dependent upon circumstances, such as the 
presence of light and a change of temperature. 
An increase of temperature has the effect of 
diminishing affinity in some substances and 
promoting it in others, and, when highly heat¬ 
ed, the constituents of some compounds are 
separated. Heat is evolved by a combination 
of two elements in forming a compound, the 
amount evolved being termed a measure of 
affinity. 

AFGHANISTAN (af-gan-is-tan'), a country 
in the southwestern part of Asia. Its bounda¬ 
ries are formed by India, Turkestan, Persia, 
and Baluchistan; the last named separates it 
from the Arabian Sea. The area is estimated 
at 280,000 square miles, and the population at 
5,125,000. Its four provinces are Kabul, Kan¬ 
dahar, Herat, and Turkistan, and it includes 
the Badakhshan district. Kabul, in the east- 
central part, is the capital. Other cities of note 
include Kandahar, Herat, and Ghuzni. 

Physical Features. The region is mostly a 
mountainous country, including lofty uninhab¬ 
ited tablelands, barren plains, and numerous 
productive valleys. In the northern part are 
lofty ranges of the Hindu Kush Mountains, of 
which Mount Hindu Koh is the culminating 
peak, its snow-covered summit towering about 
22,300 feet above sea level. The northern part 
is drained by tributaries of the Amu or Oxus 
River, while the southern and central sections 
drain westward by the Helmund into Hamoon, 
a salt-water lake. Though the climate is of a 
continental nature, the differences in elevation 
and unequal distribution of rainfall render it 
various. In the desert oases thrives the date 


palm; cotton is cultivated in the sheltered val¬ 
leys, while the elevated regions are exposed to 
severe cold and heavy fall of snow. 

Productions. The chief industries are agri¬ 
culture and stock-raising. The soil fit for culti¬ 
vation is generally fertile and yields wheat, 
corn, rice, millet, barley, vegetables, and fruit. 
Much of the farming depends upon irrigation, 
and the supply of water is drawn by means of 
short canals from rivers and mountain streams. 

It has manufactures of carpets, silk and woolen 
goods, and utensils used. locally. A mint and 
ammunition factory are operated at Kabul. The 
country has many minerals, but there is little 
mining, and the methods of farming have been 
little improved in the past decade. Cattle, 
sheep, horses, goats, and the dromedary are the 
principal domestic animals. 

Government. The government of Afghan¬ 
istan is a monarchy, semi-feudal in form, and 
the chief ruler is known as the ameer, who is 
a hereditary prince and whose power is abso¬ 
lute. Habib Ullah, the present ruler, has given 
encouragement to the construction of canals 
for irrigation, and has fostered the building of 
highways, bridges, and fortifications. Railroad 
and telegraph construction were long excluded 
on the ground that it is opposed to public pol¬ 
icy, and trade is still carried on largely by 
camels and ponies, though wheeled vehicles are 
employed where highways have been built. In¬ 
dia and Russia have had most of the trade, and 
both countries operate railway lines to the 
boundary, Russia from Merv on the north and 
the English through British Baluchistan on the 
south. Foreign enterprise has resulted in the 
construction of railways to some of the chief 
commercial cities, and there has been a percep¬ 
tible extension of export and import trade. 
Most of the industries, particularly manufactur¬ 
ing, are in the hands of Europeans. 

Inhabitants. The word Afghan is of Per¬ 
sian origin, and the people themselves apply the 
term Vilayet, which signifies the original land 
of ancestors. The inhabitants are divided into 
numerous clans, of which the Ghilzais are the 
most numerous and the bravest. In their hands 
is the political ascendency, and they occupy the 
country between Herat and Kandahar. It is 
thought that the Tafiks are the aborigines. They 
speak a Persian dialect, are scattered over the 
whole country, and are a frugal, industrious 
class. The Hazaras are of Mongol type and 
occupy chiefly the mountains of the northwest. 
Afghans proper, who are allied in blood to the 
Persians, constitute the larger part of the in- ' 
habitants. In language they have retained the 
essential characteristics of the Iranic group of 




AFRAGOLA 


21 


AFRICA 


the Indo-Persian, but the spoken tongue is 
mixed with various Oriental dialects, and is 
written in Persian characters. The literature 
does not date back farther than the 15th century, 
and as a whole partakes largely of Persian 
features. Mohammedanism of the Sunnite sect 
is the chief religion, and much of the literature 
is based on the Koran. 

History. The history of Afghanistan is an 
account of a mass of mixed elements held loose¬ 
ly together in one government Most Afghans 
claim direct descent from King Saul and pro¬ 
fess to be Bani-Israel, and their features show 
Jewish connection. The name was first found 
in the history of Sultan Mahmud, of the 11th 
century, and it is known that Alexander the 
Great reached India by the Kabul River. They 
were in the present country in the 13th century, 
and for a century and a half under Mongol rule, 
but later were under the dominion of the Per¬ 
sians. While the Persian people were in a state 
of discord, they attained independent power, 
and after the death of Nadir Shah finally be¬ 
came liberated from the Persian dominion by 
the Abdalli leader, Amed Khan, in the 18th 
century. 

Dost Mohammed became ameer in 1826, hav¬ 
ing defeated Shah Suiah, who escaped to In¬ 
dia and carried on futile intrigues to regain his 
sovereignty. In 1838 Afghanistan was invaded 
by a British army. Dost Mohammed lost his 
throne as a result of the invasion, but regained 
it two or three years later and reigned until 
1863, when he was succeeded by Shere Ali 
Khan. A second British invasion occurred in 
1878, when the ameer fled to Turkestan and 
was succeeded by his son, Yakub Khan, who 
concluded a treaty with the British and later 
with the Russians. Abdurrahman (q. v.) was 
accepted as ameer by the Afghan chiefs in 1880 
and ruled- successfully until his death in 1901. 
He was succeeded by his eldest son, Habib 
Ullah, who inaugurated reform by increasing 
the efficiency of the army and improving the 
system of taxation. The country occupies a 
position of importance between the territory of 
Great Britain and Russia, hence its political 
fortunes are uncertain. 

AFRAGOLA (a-fra-go'la), a city in Italy, 
five miles southeast of Naples, with which it is 
connected by a railroad. It is noted for its 
manufactures of straw goods. Population, 1901, 
22,419. 

AFRICA (af'ri-ka), a grand division in 
the Eastern Hemisphere, the second in size of 
the grand divisions, being exceeded only by 
Asia. Its length from north to south is about 
5,000 miles, and the greatest breadth across the 


Sudan is about 4,500 miles. The area com¬ 
prises 11,514,985 square miles, about three times 
the size of Europe, and there is a coast line 
of fully 15,000 miles. The shape is that of an 
irregular triangle, with the vertex to the south. 
It is separated from Europe by the Mediterra¬ 
nean Sea, and from Asia by the Red Sea and 
the Gulf of Aden, and the only connection with 
other grand divisions is with Asia by the Isth¬ 
mus of Suez, through which the Suez Canal 
has been cut. The eastern shore is washed by 
the Indian Ocean, and the western by the At¬ 
lantic. 

Outline and Islands. Among the larger 
gulfs and bays are the gulfs of Sidra and Cabes 
on the north; Suez, Aden, and Delagoa on the 
east; Algoa Bay on the south, and the Gulf of 
Guinea on the west. The more prominent capes 
include Bon and Blanco in the Mediterranean, 
Guardafui on the Atlantic, Cape of Good Hope 
and Agulhas on the southern extremity, and 
Capes Verde and Blanco on the western shore. 
The four capes of Guardafui, Agulhas, Verde, 
and Blanco (in the Mediterranean) are the ex¬ 
treme points of the grand division. Few im¬ 
portant islands and groups of islands belong to 
Africa, the most important being Madagascar, 
which is separated from the continent by Mo¬ 
zambique Channel. ‘Among the chief islands 
are the Cape Verde Islands, St. Helena, St. 
Thomas, the Canaries, Fernando Po, Madeira, 
Ascension, Mauritius, and Prince’s Island. 

Physical Features. The surface of Africa 
is mostly elevated, but not lofty, only three 
mountain regions having their summits above 
the snow-line. The southeastern one-third of 
the grand division is an elevated plateau, slop¬ 
ing largely toward the northwest, with a cen¬ 
tral elevation extending from the equatorial 
lakes to the Strait of Gibraltar. It may be said 
that a generally elevated region extends from 
the vicinity of Mount Kilimanjaro t.o the Med¬ 
iterranean shore in Algeria. On the seacoast, 
along both sides of the continent, are plains 
more or less clearly defined. The surface in the 
northwest of the northern elevation descends 
toward the Atlantic nearly to the sea level, 
while to the east of it are portions below the 
surface of the Mediterranean. From the Med¬ 
iterranean Sea to the southern extremity of the 
continent, along the eastern coast, extends the 
predominating mountain system. It is most 
highly elevated near the cepter, on the plateaus 
of Kaffa and Abyssinia, and in the regipn ex¬ 
tending between Lake Victoria Nyanza and the 
Indian Ocean. The highest points are the vol¬ 
canic peaks of Kenia and Kilimanjaro, both sit¬ 
uated east of Lake Victoria Nyanza, whose 


RELIEF MAP OF AFRICA. 

22 



AFRICA 


23 


AFRICA 


estimated heights are about 20,000 feet. The 
highlands extending southward from Kiliman¬ 
jaro are known as the Drakensberg Mountains, 
which culminate in peaks 10,000 feet high, and 
extend southward to the Cape of Good Hope. 
The Abyssinian plateau has a general elevation 
of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet, the highest peaks 
being about 15,000 feet. In the south are the 
Snow Mountains, with peaks of over 10,000 
feet; on the west the Mocambe and Crystal 
Mountains, extending from the south to the 
Gulf of Guinea, and north of these are the 
volcanic peaks of the Cameroons, with altitudes 
approximating 13,000 feet. Along the northern 
shore of the Gulf of Guinea extend the Kong 
Mountains, and in the extreme north of Africa 
are the Atlas Mountains. 

Rivers and Lakes. Africa possesses some of 
the greatest rivers of the world, among them 
the Nile, 3,900 miles long, the Congo, 2,800 
miles, and the Zambezi, Niger, Orange, Lim¬ 
popo, Tana, Juba, and Senegal. The rivers 
have their sources largely in the equatorial 
regions, where moisture is abundant. There 
also are located the principal lakes, including 
Lakes Tchad, Victoria Nyaiiza, Nyassa, Albert 
Nyanza, Albert Edward, Bangwedo, Tanganyika, 
Tzana, and Leopold. The fertility of the lake 
region is equaled only by the equatorial regions 
of South America. In these regions of the two 
continents thrives the most luxuriant vegeta¬ 
tion of the world. Both toward the north and 
south of the. equatorial region of Africa the 
rainfall diminishes and vegetation gradually de¬ 
creases, and dense forests give way to shrubs 
and grasses. To the north this region is known 
as the Sudan, while in the south is includes 
the grass country of the Zambezi River. Be¬ 
yond these north and south lie deserts; the 
great Sahara on the north, and the Kalahari on 
the south. The extensive Sahara Desert (q. v.) 
is not a total sandy waste, but has a great va¬ 
riety of surface, rocky and mountainous in 
some regions, and level and fairly fertile in 
others. 

Productions. In the western part of Africa 
vegetation is extensive and quite varied, par¬ 
ticularly along the northern shores of the Gulf 
of Guinea and in the region of the Gambia and 
Senegal rivers. The desert regions contain 
numerous fertile oases, where grows the date 
palm, a tree of vast value on account of its food 
product for the natives and their animals. In 
the equatorial region the banana is the chief 
product. A large variety of European agricul¬ 
tural products are cultivated on the shores of 
the Mediterranean, while ebony and fine cabinet 
woods abound in the forests. In the valley of 


the Nile agriculture is the chief occupation, 
but the methods are very primitive as compared 
with those prevailing in Europe and America. 
The soil is not plowed as in the highly civilized 
countries, but the work is done with rude ma¬ 
chinery or the seeds are scattered and then 
trampled into the soil by oxen, though in some 
regions newer methods and machinery have 
gone into use. Extensive dikes and ditches 
have been built in many parts of the Nile valley, 
and other improvements have been made by 
which the water of the river may be utilized in 
irrigating the land. Southern Egypt contains 
some of the largest irrigation reservoirs main¬ 
tained in the world, thus making it possible to 
utilize for agriculture and stock-raising areas 
formerly arid and sterile. The productions of 
this region include rice, cotton, corn, wheat, 
sugar-cane, live stock, and semi-tropical fruits. 
In the southern part of Africa agriculture, min¬ 
ing, and manufacturing have been developed 
largely by European people, who are rapidly in¬ 
troducing the modern appliances in all avenues 
of industry and civilized art. 

Minerals and Trade. Africa . is rich in all 
kinds of minerals, though its geology is not 
known sufficiently to form a reliable outline of 
the extent of its mineral wealth. Diamonds 
in the rough valued at about $460,000,000 have 
been taken out of the fields in the vicinity of 
Kimberley since they were opened in 1868. Coal 
deposits abound in the region of the Zambezi 
River and other sections. Johannesburg is the 
center of the gold fields, where mines were 
opened in 1883. and the annual product is valued 
at nearly $60,000,000. Iron, copper, lead, granite, 
and many excellent building stones are widely 
distributed. The ivory and rubber trade con¬ 
tinues to be important, especially in the west 
central region lying along the Gulf of Guinea 
and inland from that section. Chief among the 
exports are ostrich feathers, gold, diamonds, 
wool, ivory, hides, and fruits. Machinery, tex¬ 
tiles, farming utensils, and drugs are imported. 
The exports for 1908 are placed at $378,650,000, 
and imports at $410,584,000. Great Britain and 
Germany had the largest share of trade, but 
important trade relations are maintained with 
the United States, France, Holland, Portugal, 
and Italy. 

Transportation. Railroad building is an im¬ 
portant factor in the development of African 
trade, there being 15.450 miles in operation, and 
several thousand miles are projected and have 
been surveyed. The greatest single railway line 
projected is to extend from Cape Town to 
Cairo, a distance of 6,600 miles. One-half of 
this line is completed, and the entire enterprise 


AFRICA 


24 


AFRICA 


is expected to be finished by the year 1912. From 
Cape Town to the region beyond the Zambezi, 
which is about 1,950 miles, has been completed, 
and there are numerous branches into fertile 
regions. The line from Cairo to Khartum, 
1,300 miles, is in successful operation, and tele¬ 
graph connection extends much farther to the 
interior. The government of Egypt has given 
material encouragement to railroad and tele¬ 
graph building, which is also true of Great 
Britain, France, Germany, and other European 
countries having African colonies. The esti¬ 
mated cost of the Cape-to-Cairo railway is 
placed at $120,000,000. It is to extend north 
from Bulawayo along the east shore of Lake 
Tanganyika, passing through German East Afri¬ 
ca, thence it will extend through British East 
Africa and follow the course of the Blue Nile 
to Khartum. The navigation of the Nile, Niger, 
Congo, and other streams, and on the equatorial 
lakes, is an important factor in developing trade. 
Transportation has also been improved by the 
building of wharfs and the deepening of har¬ 
bors. 

Animal Life. Among the animals peculiar to 
Africa are the cape buffalo, two-horned rhino¬ 
ceros, zebra, gorilla, quagga, gnu, giraffe, hyena, 
deer, aard-wolf, and many species of monkeys. 
The camel thrives throughout the desert region; 
the elephant is found in the central portion; 
crocodiles and hippopotami are met with in near¬ 
ly all the great rivers, and the lion is common to 
all parts not inhabited by Europeans. An abun¬ 
dance of fish is common to the rivers and lakes, 
while ostriches roam in flocks upon the plains. 
In the warmer parts of Africa, as in all tropical 
regions, many varieties of insect pests prevail. 
The locust has been a scourge in some parts 
from remote antiquity, while vegetable and 
animal life is preyed on more or less by the 
scorpion, zebub fly, many species of ants, and 
other insects. All the domestic animals com¬ 
mon to Europe and America have been success¬ 
fully introduced in the regions partly or wholly 
occupied by Europeans, and there are consider¬ 
able interests in raising buffaloes, elephants, and 
ostriches. 

Inhabitants. In population Africa occupies 
third place among the grand divisions, being ex¬ 
ceeded only by Asia and Europe. The most 
accurate estimates made in 1909 place the total 
population at 148,388,682. Most of the vast 
populations are still savages, and are not well 
known to the civilized world. The people in 
the northern region may be classed as Hamitic 
and Semitic, while in the central and southern 
sections the natives belong to the Hottentot and 
Negro races. The Bushmen, Kaffirs, Hottentots, 


and Hereros are the more important peoples 
of the southwestern sections. In the interior 
the different tribes are frequently at war with 
each other, though their primitive method of 
warfare is not particularly destructive. The 
weapons of the natives consist largely of such 
implements as clubs and spears, with which 



AFRICAN NATIVES 


they have shown great valor in the hopeless 
battles against conquest by the Europeans. As 
to religion, the people of Africa are classed 
largely as pagans and Mohammedans, though 
the Christian religion is professed by descend¬ 
ants of Europeans and by the people of some 
portions of Abyssinia and Egypt, and an effec¬ 
tive missionary work is in successful progress. 

Social Conditions. The social conditions of 
Africa are transitory, with a tendency some¬ 
what favorable to betterment, though polygamy 
and slavery are still widespread. Human life 
is not safe in large tracts of territory on ac¬ 
count of the government being tribal, life is 
more or less savage, there is an absence of cen¬ 
tral authority, and many of the people are fet¬ 
tered with terrors and superstition. While 
European occupation is gradually tending to bet¬ 
ter social conditions by employment and educa¬ 
tion, many remote sections are densely populated 
by savages who wage persistent war against 
European progress. However, the savage and 
semi-civilized conditions are crumbling rapidly 
before the advance of European enterprise, and 
every department of life and industry is under¬ 
going changes for the higher and better. 

Partition. The partition of Africa has been 
going on for several decades and spheres of 
influence have been fixed to include various 
sections, but boundary lines between the several 
districts have been, definitely fixed by only a 
number, and the remaining boundaries are yet 
to be established by surveys. At this time the 
following may be regarded approximately cor¬ 
rect African possessions under the control of 
European powers: 





ERMAN 


of Biscay! 


kU ntta°ple 


CORSICA 


Lisboi 


J C.St. Vincentljt? 
j Str.of Gibralta, 

O C E AN 


'UNI3 


Teheran 


^TRIPOLI 


Dvnasc'us, 


MA3E'.RA*> * 

/((Port,) Mogadoi 


Babjlol 


Bengbaz 


BARCA 


lexanarTa s 


Ghadames 


CaMARY is, 


"iil Hirlb 


ciiabU ; ;> ,rf 3Uy£' 

I '-ldelesq "V 


Murzuk. 


imur 


TROPl£"OF CANC^ R 

. l\e s e rjt 


Turn mo 


£”oTaude: 


j WadjIHa\fi 


W adan° 


Suakr 


Timbuktu 


Btrbe: 


BORKUU-- 

TERKU 0 rf jf< E S 
ch) «Z. Tchad 


[assadV 


artum! 


ra At 

foulab^ - 


lARfUR—" 

0,1 P T 

•v P Dara 

»■s 


IZCOTXA 




r Be *CT 


I'J ^ardaja » 


io°-3g 

KONAKRY 1 


UI.YBA 


Yakoba 


na..80MAU 

"^.-COASTaj 


FREETO.Wj 


VORJ 

X>AS1S 


|L4G0fl\ 


ttOffROVI 


4 <? yW 
N/ Aka^aT^ 

ECRiaaOO PO u 
f (« ,8PA< 

st.Thomas 


Lado f | 
StefiMoSj 


TISH 


^^Ayanzi 
<«»Jejr PaWTj 


U 4 FR 1 CA 


ilerka 

equator 


EquatorrilW 


EQUATOR 


Mt.Keiiia jpisLismaju 


Q U&fE A 


ijaro: 


Majumba 


PEMBA 


NZIBAR 


amoyo 


ikondia, 


\C,Delgado 


I0M0R0*IS. 


Hot tamed- 


rt.HELENA 

(Br.) 


‘ambezi 


iJeTra 


datant 


REA ' WIN 


ambane / ^ 


TROg^C OF ^CAPRICORN 


EUROPEAN POSSESSIONS 


C.Ste.MarU 


Delagoa £, 


Portugal 


ETERMARIT2BUR' 


Durban 


Imerton 


CAPE tow: 


MN ANTONIO I. 
•T. VINCENT H 
*T. JA L 


Porto Pray* 


Important towns are shown 


Longitude Wtst 


Longitude \ Eatl^ /r«a 


Greenwich 




X 




ASCENSION 1. 


' (.Br.) 

1 ^ 

















































































































AFRICA 


25 


AFRICA 


COUNTRY 

POPULA¬ 

TION 

SQUARE 

MILES 

Trance . 

32,800,000 

41,650,000 

15,350,000 

9,050,000 

1,250,000 

450,000 

135,500 

3,950,000 

2,690,000 

1,000,000 

798,000 

400,100 

198,800 

81,000 

Great Britain. 

Germany. 

Portugal . 

Turkey . 

Italy. 

Spain. 



The independent states are Liberia, Morocco, 
and Abyssinia, the Orange Free State and the 
Transvaal having lost their independence in 
1902. Egypt is nominally subject to Turkey, 
though really under British control, and Great 
Britain and Egypt exercise concurrent juris¬ 
diction over Eastern Sudan. The British colo¬ 
nies include Cape Colony, Transvaal, Rhodesia, 
British East Africa, British Central Africa, 
Natal, Gambia, Lagos, Orange River Colony, 
Gold Coast, Mashonaland, Matabeleland, Sierra 
Leone, Nigeria, British Somaliland, Uganda, 
Walfisch Bay, Zululand, and Zanzibar. 

France possesses the largest scope of territory 
in Africa and also has Madagascar. Its conti¬ 
nental possessions are Algeria, Tunis, Dahomey, 
French Guinea, French Congo, French Sudan, 
Algerian Sahara, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Sahara, 
French Somaliland, Wadai, and Obock. The Co¬ 
lonial possessions of Germany are German East 
Africa, German Southwest Africa, Kamerun, and 
Togoland. The colonies of Portugal are Angolia, 
Portuguese Guinea, and Portuguese East Africa. 
Italy has Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. Span¬ 
ish Congo and Rio d’ Oro are Spanish colonies. 
The colonies of Turkey are Barca and Tripoli. 

History. The history of Africa dates back 
to remote antiquity, in fact Egypt and Abyssinia 
ranked as ancient in the period when Greece 
attained to its height of power. It is uncertain 
when its historical era begins, possibly as far 
back as 5,000 b. c. The Romans came in con¬ 
tact with people who occupied the section of 
Northern Africa extending from the Red Sea 
to the Atlantic. Carthage reached its zenith 
before the rise of the Roman Empire. Cam- 
byses conquered Egypt in 525 b. c. and Alex¬ 
ander the Great made a successful conquest of 
that country in 321 b. c., but even subsequent to 
the latter conquest the Egyptians were patrons 
of the arts and sciences. In the time of Solo¬ 
mon, about 1000 b. c., the Queen of Sheba visited 
Palestine, and at that time Ethiopia, now Abys¬ 
sinia, ranked as a country of antiquity. Central 
and Southern Africa were less known for the 
reason that the powerful nations bordering on 
the Mediterranean prevented the exploration 
of the interior. Christianity was introduced 
into Africa in the second century, when synods 


were founded at Carthage and Alexandria. The 
Vandals invaded the northern section in the sec¬ 
ond century, at which time Ptolemy flourished in 
Alexandria. The maps of Ptolemy indicate that 
the Nile basin was quite well known in his time, 
and he gave a fairly accurate account of the 
mountains and some rivers in the west central 
part of the continent. At the time of the Cru¬ 
sades Northern Africa was occupied by the 
Mohammedans and became a battle ground 
between the Cross and the Crescent, though 
the interior was not entered by Europeans at 
that time. In the 15th century the Normans 
visited the Gold Coast and in 1413 built'a fort 
at Elmina. 

Modern exploration of Africa may be said 
to have commenced in the year 1415, when 
Prince Henry of Portugal invaded Northern 
Africa and defeated the Moors at Ceuta. This 
stimulated interest in the unknown continent 
and caused explorations to be made both along 
its coast and toward the interior. Bartholomew 
Diaz discovered and sailed around the Cape of 
Good Hope in 1485, and in 1497 Vasco Da Gama 
doubled the Cape and sailed to India. 

The more recent exploration of Africa may 
be said to date from 1768, when James Bruce, 
a Scotchman and consul for Great Britain at Al¬ 
giers, began an exploration of the valley of the 
Nile. Mungo Park, also a Scotchman, in 1795 
explored the Niger country. Dayid Livingstone 
began his famous tour northward from Cape 
Town in 1840 and devoted more than 30 years 
to the exploration of the continent as far north 
as Lake Tanganyika. The peaks of Kenia and 
Kilimanjaro were discovered by the German 
missionaries Krapf and Rebmann in 1847, and 
Heinrich Barth, a German explorer, in 1850-52, 
explored the country from Tripoli to Timbuktu, 
whence he proceeded to Lake Tchad, and re¬ 
turned by way of Tripoli to Europe. Henry M. 
Stanley circumnavigated lakes Tanganyika and 
Victoria Nyanza in 1873, and about the same 
time two German expeditions under Gerhard 
Rohlf and Dr. Nachtigal explored the region 
from Morocco to the Gulf of Guinea and the 
principal mountains in the Sahara and Sudan. 
The Portuguese made extensive explorations 
of South Central Africa, from Saint Paul de 
Loanda to Mozambique. The map of Africa as 
it appears at the present time is a fair indica¬ 
tion of the explorations by European countries, 
since the partition of the continent is based 
quite largely on the tours made by explorers, 
though there have been some changes or modi¬ 
fications of boundaries. The present line of 
activity is concerned with the development of 
territory held by European countries rather than 
















AFRICAN METHODIST CHURCH 26 


AGE 


an extension of possessions, especially in the 
development of mining and agriculture and the 
construction of railroads. 

AFRICAN METHODIST CHURCH, the 
Negro branch of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, which was organized in 1816. At 
present this branch includes 5,000 ministers and 
a membership of 750,000. The African Metho¬ 
dist Episcopal Zion Church is a branch of the 
African Methodist Church. 

AFRIKANDER (af-ri-kan'der), a term of 
Dutch origin, meaning a white man of Dutch 
descent born in Africa. The term is used to 
distinguish from the word Uitlander, which sig-* 
nifies a foreigner. 

AGANA (a-gan'ya), a city of the Ladrones, 
capital of Guam, located on the Agana Bay. 
Through the city flows a shallow stream, which 
is crossed by several stone bridges. The streets 
are wide and clean. It is the seat of an arse¬ 
nal, a college, and several fine schools and 
churches. Though the bay is obstructed by 
reefs, the city has considerable shipping trade. 
Since its acquisition by the United States, in 
1898, it has been improved by modern facilities, 
such as telephones and electric lights. Popula¬ 
tion, 7,595. 

AGANIPPE (ag-a-mp'pe), a fountain of 
Greece, near Mount Helicon, discharging into 
the river Permessus. From it the Muses derive 
their name Aganippides, and it is said that its 
waters give a poetic inspiration. 

AGARIC (ag'a-rik), a fungus growth be¬ 
longing to the genus agaricus, of which there are 
numerous species. True agarics have radiant 
gills, tinged with brown, pink, white, purple, or 
black. The common mushroom belongs to this 
class of plants and is cultivated extensively as 
a delicate article of food. Some species are 
popularly called toadstools and a few are dan¬ 
gerous poisons. 

AGASSIZ, Mount, a volcanic peak in Ari¬ 
zona, located 70 miles northeast of Prescott. It 
is one of several extinct volcanoes of the San 
Francisco Mountains and towers 10,000 feet 
above the level of the sea. A peak of the same 
name in Utah has an elevation of 13,000 feet. 

AGATE (ag'at), the name applied to a 
stone of the quartz variety, in which the colors 
are in bands, in clouds, or in distinct groupings. 
The principal varieties are known as plasma, 
onyx, mocha, bloodstone, carnelian, and chalced¬ 
ony. The chief constituents are forms of 
silica, and the colorings are due mostly to iron. 
When polished, agates assume a beautiful ap¬ 
pearance, and are used in the manufacture of 
bracelets, seals, and brooches, and in mosaic 
work. They are found in various parts of the 


United States, and in Brazil, India, Arabia. 
Scotland, and particularly at Oberstein, a small 
town near Mentz, Germany. 

AGAVE (a-ga'va), a genus of plants pop¬ 
ularly known as American aloes, native to 
Mexico and Central America, and now exten¬ 
sively naturalized in Eurasia 
and Northern Africa. There 
are various species, the best 
known being the so-called 
maguey of Mexico. Its 
chief uses are for feed, and 
ropes are made from the 
fiber ,of the leaves. The 
Mexicans extract its sap, 
which, when fermented, 
yields a beverage resembling 
cider, and is known as 
pulque. 

AGE, a period of time, 
used in a variety of senses, 
but usually to denote the 
whole or part of the dura¬ 
tion of any particular being 
or thing. The term age 
.is used in law to designate 
the period at which individuals become eligi¬ 
ble to do what they are • otherwise legally 
disqualified from doing for want of years 
or maturity of mind. In England and the 
United States both males and females attain 
legal age at twenty-one, though the latter be¬ 
come of age in most states of the latter coun¬ 
try at eighteen years for some purposes, as 
contracting marriage, while males are eligible 
to election as representatives of the United 
States at twenty-five years and as senators at 
thirty years. The military age is from eighteen 
to forty-five. The stages of civilization are 
spoken of in history and mythology as five dis¬ 
tinct ages; namely, the Golden Age, the Silver 
Age, the Bronze Age, the Heroic Age, and the 
Iron Age. The term age is also used in various 
expressions, as the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages. 
Geological ages include the Archaean Age, or 
the time which witnessed the dawn of life; the 
Palaeozoic Age, including the time during which 
animals and plants bore little resemblance to 
those now living; the Mesozoic Age, including 
the time during which, the animals and plants 
began to resemble those now living; and the 
Cenozoic Age, including the time during which 
the animals and plants bore decided resemblance 
to those now living. These four ages are di¬ 
vided into still other periods or ages, as the 
Archaean into Azoic and Aeozoic Ages, the 
Palaeozoic into the Silurian, Devonian, and 
Carboniferous Ages, and the Cenozoic into the 






AGEN 


27 


AGNUS DEI 


Tertiary and Quaternary Age§; the Mesozoic 
comprises the age of reptiles. Shakespeare 
divided the life of man into seven ages, and 
men of science usually divide it into four or 
eight ages. 

AGEN (a-zhan'), a city in France, capital of 
the department of Lot-et-Garonne, 75 miles 
southeast of Bordeaux. It is noted as a market 
for prunes and has cotton, linen, and woolen 
manufactories. It has railroad connection with 
the principal cities of France. The surrounding 
country is fertile. A college, a public library 
of 20,000 volumes, and several fine bridges 
across the Garonne River are among the chief 
improvements. The city was known by the 
Romans as Aginnum. It has a cathedral which 
dates from the time of Clovis, and is the birth¬ 
place of Bory de St. Vincent. Population, 1901, 
22,482. 

AGENT (a'jent), in law, a person em¬ 
ployed to act for another, called the principal, 
in dealing with third persons. The term is not 
used by Blackstone and occurs rarely in the 
decisions and law dictionaries before the 19th 
century. The term agent differs in meaning 
from the word servant in that the latter is 
applied to one who renders personal services 
to his employer, while an agent is authorized 
to act for and represent another in business 
transactions. An agent may be special or gen¬ 
eral, the former limiting to special business, 
while a general agent has power to transact 
all of the business in which the principal is en¬ 
gaged as enumerated in the contract, either 
verbal or written, existing between the two 
parties. The form of contract under which 
an agent may be employed varies greatly, but 
in 'special cases where the agent is authorized 
to sign the name of the principal the contract 
must be in writing and acknowledged under seal 
of a notary public or a similar officer, and in 
such cases the authority conferred is called 
power of attorney. 

The principal is bound by the act of an agent 
when under contract, or in case he has ratified 
the act in the absence of a contract, and is liable 
to the third party in the same way as if he had 
done the act himself. If an agent makes known 
the name of his principal no personal liability 
is incurred by the agent, but if an agent does 
not disclose the principal for whom he is act¬ 
ing, and it is not known by the third party 
that he is acting for someone else, the agent 
himself becomes liable. Both the principal and 
agent are liable to third persons in case the 
agent commits a civil offense, though ultimately 
the liability rests upon the agent, but his princi¬ 
pal cannot be held for a violation of the crimi¬ 


nal code by the agent. If no contract as to 
remuneration exists between the two parties it 
is understood that the agent is to be compen¬ 
sated for his services, including all proper ex¬ 
penditures arising from the conduct of the 
business, but the relations and limitations are 
usually defined in the contract. In most coun¬ 
tries an agent has a lien upon the property in 
his hands held for sale or in his possession for 
delivery to third parties, and it serves as 
security to the agent that the principal will 
carry out his part of the contract, and an agent 
is entitled to damages if the principal does n6t 
comply with the contract as specified. In like 
manner the agent becomes liable to the princi¬ 
pal for failure to use reasonable diligence in 
carrying out the terms of the agreement. 

AGINCOURT (a-zhan-koor'), a village in 
the department of Pas de Calais, France, 
famous for the victory of Henry V. of Eng¬ 
land over the French on Oct. 25, 1415, after a 
struggle of three hours’ duration. The Eng¬ 
lish army numbered about 15,000 and the 
French 50,000; the latter were commanded by 
Constable D’Albert. The former lost 1,600 
slain and wounded, and the latter 10,000, includ¬ 
ing many officers. 

AGNOSTICISM (ag-nos'ti-siz’m), a word 
coined by Professor Huxley, which implies the 
mental attityde in regard to the Deity of those 
who professedly “do not know.” This school 
teaches that, beyond what a man can know of 
God by his senses or feel by higher affections, 
nothing can be known. One who holds to this 
view is called an agnostic. 

AGNUS DEI (ag'nus de'i), a title ap¬ 
plied to Christ in John i, 29, and used as the 
fifth and last section of the Roman Catholic 
mass. The mass begins with the words “Agnus 
Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,” meaning “Lamb 
of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.” 
Agnus Dei is the name of a cloth bearing an 



AGOUTI. 


image of a lamb and used in the Greek church 
to cover the cup in the communion service. 
Luther retained the. singing of Agnus Dei in 



AGOUTI 


28 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 


his reformation of the church service. In 
a modified form it is still used in the Lutheran 
church. 

AGOUTI (a-goo'ti), a small rodent mam¬ 
mal related to the porcupine and common to the 
West Indies and South America. The common 
agouti, about the size of a rabbit, is native to 
* Brazil. This animal ravishes on sugar cane and 
vegetables, especially potatoes and yams, hence 
it has been killed in large numbers and the 
species is almost exterminated. The black 
agouti is common to the West Indies. There 
are nine species, some of which are hunted for 
their flesh, which is white and quite nutritious. 
(See illustration on page 27.) 

AGRA (a'gra), a city of India, situated 
783 miles northwest of Calcutta, and 115 miles 
southeast of Delhi. In ancient times the city 
was surrounded by walls that embraced an 
area of about eleven square miles, but of this 
space only about one-half is occupied at present. 
The city is the seat of several noted mosques 
and the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum dating from 
the 17th century, built by Emperor Jehan for 
himself and his favorite wife. Agra is now 
a commercial market for cotton, salt, sugar, 
cereals, and various manufactured articles. 
There are excellent railroad conveniences, gas 
and electric lighting, rapid transit, several schools 
and hospitals, and a number of government 
buildings. It rose to importance in the 16th 
century, and from 1526 to 1658 was the capi¬ 
tal of the Mogul sovereigns. Population, 1901, 
188 310 

AGRAM (a'gram), a city in Austria-Hun¬ 
gary, capital of Croatia and Slavonia, 165 miles 
southwest of Vienna. It is located near the 
Save River, at the foot of the Agram Moun¬ 
tains, and is important as a railroad and com¬ 
mercial center. The manufactures embrace 
linen and silk goods, leather, porcelain, and 
clothing, and it has a large trade in wine and 
grain. It is the seat of an archbishop, has a 
Gothic cathedral dating from the 15th century, 
and is the seat of the Franz Josef University. 
The city was founded by the Romans and was 
partially destroyed by the Tartars in 1242. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1901, 57,930. 

AGRARIAN (a-gra'ri-an), the name of a 
political party in Germany, whose avowed prin¬ 
ciples relate to the ownership or tenure of land. 
The subject of legislation in regard to land 
tenure dates from ancient history. Agrarian 
laws in the ancient Roman Republic were advo¬ 
cated and adopted under C. Licinius Stolo in 
367 b. c., who was then tribune of the people. 
These laws made a division of the lands and 
enabled the plebeians to come into possession 


of titles as well as the patricians. The land to 
which these laws related was public property 
belonging to the state, and not private property, 
as is popularly supposed. However, they pre¬ 
scribed, under a penalty of heavy fines, that 
no one should possess more than 300 acres of 
the public domain. 

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, the plan 

or system of instruction designed to dissemi¬ 
nate knowledge of agriculture and render this 
department highly efficient and profitable. While 
instruction in the art of farming and animal 
husbandry dates from antiquity, the agricultu¬ 
ral college is a product of the 19th century. 
Originally the plan was to provide institutions 
in which exclusive attention could be given to 
agricultural subjects, in which agriculture was 
designed to be the leading, if not the only" 
branch of study, but more recently schools and 
colleges devoted to this subject of learning 
adopted a diversity of courses. Though a col¬ 
lege may be said to belong to the class known 
as agricultural schools, it is now the general 
rule for the faculty to take up a vast diversity 
of subjects, though each student is required to 
pursue study in one or more subjects relating 
especially to agriculture, such as agricultural 
chemistry, live stock husbandry, forestry, bee¬ 
keeping, farm management, rural engineering, 
agricultural technology, etc. Instruction in agri¬ 
culture has been encouraged by all civilized 
countries, even where such training has not been 
provided for in colleges that may be termed 
distinctly agricultural. 

Great Britain. The first college de¬ 
voted to agriculture was established in Eng¬ 
land, near Cirencester, where a company headed 
by Prince Albert in 1845 founded the Royal 
Agricultural College. This institution still holds 
rank as one of the most important institutions 
of the kind in the world, and in attendance 
holds rank with the national school of agricul¬ 
ture at Berlin, Germany. The University of 
Cambridge founded a professorship of agricul¬ 
ture in 1899, and the government renders aid 
to education in agriculture by grants of money 
paid through the Department of Agriculture. 
Canada has a fine institution at Guelph, Ontario. 
A dairy school is maintained in New Brunswick, 
and there are secondary schools of agriculture 
in Quebec and Nova Scotia. Agriculture is 
taught as a branch in the normal and public 
schools in many sections of the Dominion. Aus¬ 
tralian institutions devoted to this branch of 
knowledge are numerous, including those at 
Richmond, New South Wales; at Gatton, 
Queensland; and at Dookie, Victoria. 

United States. The government of the 


AGRICULTURAL EXPER’M’T ST’N. 29 


AGRICULTURE 


United States has expended large sums of 
money for the establishment of schools of 
agriculture and mechanic arts, in which farming 
is taught as a science. An agricultural col¬ 
lege is now maintained in every State, and these 
are largely in connection with State univer¬ 
sities. The general assemblies of many states 
have also made appropriations to encourage the 
organization of agricultural societies for the 
purpose of aiding in placing the industry upon 
a practical and scientific basis. A large number 
of periodicals devoted to the discussion of dairy¬ 
ing, stock raising, horticulture, farm architec¬ 
ture, care and tillage of the soil, and other 
branches of the industry have come into general 
circulation and have had a molding influence. 
In 1862 Congress passed an act for the purpose 
of aiding in the establishment of colleges of 
agriculture. The act originally provided for the 
payment of $15,000 to each State and Territory, 
which sum has been increased until it now 
amounts to $25,000 annually. At present the 
attendance at these colleges aggregates 36,950 
students. 

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STA¬ 
TION, an institution devoted to the scientific 
and practical investigation for the benefit of 
agriculture and the dissemination of informa¬ 
tion relating to plants and animals. The pur¬ 
pose of governments promoting stations of this 
kind is to diffuse knowledge in regard to 
plants that are useful or injurious to certain 
localities, Jhe plants and animals that thrive 
best under definitely known climatic conditions, 
and the art of cultivating plants and rearing 
animals. The principal stations in Canada are 
at the Agricultural College of Guelph, Ontario, 
and the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa. 
The latter has branches in Manitoba, British 
Columbia, Nova Scotia, and in several places 
of the Northwest. The station at Rothamsted, 
England, is noted for having made valuable dis¬ 
coveries in the art of fertilizing and the nutri¬ 
tion of plants and animals. Germany and Rus¬ 
sia each have more than one hundred stations, 
chiefly connected with universities. Austria has 
47; Norway and Sweden, 45; Italy, 22; Belgium, 
15; and Japan, 16. 

The first station of this class in the United 
States was established in 1875 by Connecticut, 
at Wesleyan University, Middletown, under the 
direction of W. O. Atwater. About the same 
time E. W. Hilgard was placed in charge of a 
station at the University of California, Berke¬ 
ley, Cal. At present there are fifty-seven 
stations in the United States, supported by the 
national government under the Hatch Act; the 
annual aid extended by the government 


amounts to $720,000, and State governments de¬ 
vote $500,000 to their support. About 700 per¬ 
sons are employed in the administration of the 
stations, and 500 bulletins are distributed for 
general information. The stations and a large 
number of institutions at which agriculture is 
studied, such as agricultural and mechanical 
colleges, are bringing about a deeper interest 
and a more practical application of methods 
tending to render the business of farming more 
lucrative and rural life more genial. Educa¬ 
tion along agricultural lines is also promoted by 
farmers’ institutes, by university extension work, 
by study of courses in common and secondary 
schools, by departments in general college 
courses, and by instruction in universities. 

AGRICULTURE (ag-ri-kul'tur), the sci¬ 
ence that treats of the cultivation of the soil, 
with the view of disseminating knowledge in 
the production of grasses, vegetables, and 
cereal crops. The process of human and 
economical and social development has been 
from a savage state to hunting and fishing; 
from these to a nomadic pastoxal state; then 
to a rude form of agriculture, and finally to 
manufacturing and commerce. However, all the 
stages, except the first, are still represented in 
the more advanced countries. Agriculture. as 
an industry has existed from a remote period 
of antiquity, and, by practical experience from 
time to time, has been materially bettered by 
improvements in the implements employed and 
a diversification of the crops. It is but recent 
that material success in the occupation of the 
farmer has been thought to result from educa¬ 
tion in the arts and sciences of farming. For 



EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE—PLOWING AND SOWING. 


this reason it may be truly said that agricul¬ 
ture is the oldest of the arts and the most re¬ 
cent of the sciences. 

From sacred history we learn to know Egypt 
as a land so rich in corn that it produced an 
abundance for the sustenance of its own dense 
population, and that it yielded large quantities 
for exportation to distant countries. These 
statements of the Bible are verified by profane 
history. We learn from Diodorus Siculus that 
Egyptian farmers were acquainted with the 
benefits of a rotation of crops, and that they 
knew how to adapt plants and their cultiva¬ 
tion to both soil and seasons. They transported 
annually to Rome about 20,000,000 bushels of 



AGRICULTURE 


30 


AGRICULTURE 



corn. The same author informs us that the 
Egyptians garnered hay for their cattle during 
the annual inundations, and at times confined 
the domestic animals to meadows and green 
clover. They were large producers of poultry, 
and, to facilitate the industry, practiced arti¬ 
ficial hatching, not unlike incubating of mod¬ 
ern times. Their flocks were shorn twice an¬ 
nually and their ewes yeaned twice a year. 

From Egyptian 
decorations we 
obtain a fair in¬ 
sight into the 
state of agricul- 
<f( t u r e among 
these remark¬ 
able people. 
They employed 
a superintend- 
ent to direct la- 
| borers, kept ac- 
countof produc¬ 
tions and ex- 

primitive method of cutting penditures, and 
grain. showed much 

system in husbandry. Corn was ground by 
hand-mills or in structures propelled by oxen, 
seed was sown by hand from a basket, and the 
ground was cultivated both before and after 
scattering the seeds. 

Babylonia, Egypt, Rome, and the Israelites 
were the great agricultural nations of antiquity. 
In Egypt the Israelites were trained for an 
agricultural life, which fitted them to take pos¬ 
session of Canaan, where virtually the whole 
population engaged in tilling the soil. They 
found Canaan occupied by a dense population 
fortified in cities. The Canaanites possessed 
great wealth and subsisted on the products of 
their highly cultivated soil, which gave forth 
cereals, supported large herds of cattle, and 
abounded with vineyards and oliveyards. The 
Israelites found sufficient corn in the land to 
sustain them from the time they crossed the 
Jordan. As the laws of Moses contained an 
agrarian clause which provided for an equal 
division of the soil among adult males, pro¬ 
visions were made to allot from sixteen to 
twenty-five acres of the land to each of the 
601,730 able-bodied men among the Israelites. 

The people of Greece were given to poetry, 
philosophy, history, and the fine arts, and their 
unrivaled literature affords us little information 
regarding the practical details of agriculture. 
This circumstance is accounted for at least 
partly by the fact that Greece possesses a sur¬ 
face quite unfavorable to agriculture. However, 
we find that in Boeotia the lakes and morasses 


were drained, that mountain surfaces were cov¬ 
ered with transported soil, and that the people 
possessed fine breeds of domestic animals. In 
ancient Rome agriculture was highly esteemed, 
and it was only at a later period that commerce, 
trades, and the arts were introduced. In recent 
centuries, beginning with the 18th, agriculture 
has been augmented scientifically, and farmers 
have become more skillful and enterprising. 
Perhaps this may be accounted for because of 
a gradual advance in the price of produce, 
which has been occasioned by the increase of 
population and wealth derived from manufactures 
and commerce. Besides, the labor of agriculture 
has been greatly lightened and its cost lessened 
by means of machines and improved imple¬ 
ments. Railroads have brought the farm nearer 
_ to the factory; that is to say, transportation 
from one to the other has been cheapened and 
quickened. There has been a decided advantage 
in diversifying the products of the farm and in. 
naturalizing plants and domestic animals to 
countries favorable to their production. The 
area of tillable surfaces has been greatly aug¬ 
mented by redeeming swamp lands by tile¬ 
draining and other improved methods of drain¬ 
ing, as well as by rendering fit for cultivation 
large tracts in arid regions by means of irriga¬ 
tion. Thus, the field of agriculture has been 
enlarged on the one hand and the consumption 
of farm produce greatly extended on the other. 

Agriculture in the United States and Canada 
has grown to be one of the great industries, 
and as a fundamental enterprise ft no doubt 
more important than any other. The 12th census 
of the United States, published June 30, 1900, 
gives the value of all farming property at $20,- 
439,901,164. The following statistics published 
in this report give a clear idea of the growth 
and permanent development of agriculture in 
the United States: 


YEAR. 

NUMBER 

OE 

EARMS. 

NUMBER 
OF ACRES 

in farms. 

AVERAGE 
NO. OE 
ACRES 
PER FARM. 

VALUE OF 

farm 

PROPERTY. 

1850 ... 

1,449,073 

293,560,614 

202.6 

$ 3,967,343,580 

1860 ... 

2,044,077 

407,212,538 

199.2 

7,980,493,063 

1870 . 

2,659,985 

407,735,041 

153.3 

11,124,958,747 

1880 ... 

4;008,907 

536,081,835 

133.7 

12,180,501,538 

1890 ... 

4,564,641 

623,218,619 

136.5 

16,082,267,689 

1900 ... 

5,737,372 

838,591,774 

146.2 

20,439,901,164 


It will be observed that there has been a 
marked increase in the number of farms the 
past fifty years, which is more than equaled by 
the increase in value of all farm property, but 
there is a tendency to decrease the number of 
acres per farm as the country becomes developed 
and farming of a higher order is established. 
It is found that in general farming large scopes 














AGRICULTURE 


31 


AGUE 


of land are worked by improved farm machin¬ 
ery, the owner or lessee taking advantage of 
cultivating large tracts of land by modern 
methods, but as communities develop and settle¬ 
ments become more dense there is a tendency 
toward a more careful husbandry, under which 



—-w i. 


NEW STYLE OF HARVESTING. 

lands are tiled and fertilized and the production 
per acre is enhanced materially. The possi¬ 
bility of increasing the fertility of the soil is 
fully borne out by experience in every section 
where rotation of crops and improvement, in 
fertilization are practiced. Colored farmers 
cultivate tracts of land about one-third as large 
as those operated by white farmers, though 13.4 
per cent, belong to the former class and 86.6 per 
cent, to the latter class. The value of farm im¬ 
plements and machinery, in 1900, was $761,- 
261,550, of live stock $3,078,050,041, and of 
buildings $13,114,492,056. 

AGRICULTURE, United States Depart¬ 
ment of, a branch of the government, organized 
by an act of Congress in 1862, and whose chief 
officer, the Secretary of Agriculture, is a member 
of the presidential Cabinet. David P. Holloway 
published the first report as commissioner of 
agriculture, and his recommendation for such a 
department caused it to be established, but the 
chief officer was not a member of the Cabinet 
until 1889. The free distribution of seeds was 
begun by the commissioner of patents in 1836, 
and the practice has been maintained since with 
the view of introducing plants useful to dif¬ 
ferent sections, the kinds depending upon 
climate and locality. The department issues 
bulletins and reports from time to time, which, 
together with the “Year Book,” are published to 
be distributed gratis. 

The Department of Agriculture as at present 
organized is effective in gathering and distrib¬ 
uting knowledge useful in the cultivation of 
soils, the rearing of live stock and the propaga¬ 
tion of plants. Its divisions are numerous, 
making it a serviceable working force. The 
library contains about 75,000 volumes relating 
to agriculture and agricultural science. In con¬ 
nection with it is the division of publication re¬ 
lating to printing, illustrating, and distributing of 


publications. The division of biological survey 
deals with the geographical distribution of ani¬ 
mals; the division of entomology relates to the 
distribution and repression of injurious insects. 
Experiments and information regarding road¬ 
making are directed from the office of public 
road inquiry, while the division of forestry has 
charge of research relating to forest trees. 
Students of agricultural physics and the investi¬ 
gation of soils are under the direction of the 
bureau of soils; research and agricultural chem¬ 
istry, especially fertilizers and food-producing 
plants, are directed by the bureau of chemistry; 
and the bureau of animal industry investigates 
dairying and imports and exports of animals, 
and conducts research on diseases of animals. 
Forecasting weather and research in climatology 
and meteorology are under the direction of the 
weather bureau. The bureau of plant industry 
has charge of the publication and distribution of 
seeds, largely through members of Congress, the 
investigation of fruits adapted to various. soils 
and climate, plant-breeding, the distributing and 
utilizing of forage plants, and the testing and 
propagation of useful plants. See United 
States, Departments of. 

AGRIGENTUM (ag-ri-gen'tum), a city on 
the southern coast of Sicily, founded by a Greek 
colony in 582 b. c., now called Girgenti. In an¬ 
cient times it was a rival of Syracuse in com¬ 
mercial importance and military power. The 
Carthaginians destroyed it in 405 b. c., and at 
the time of the Punic Wars it was occupied by 
the Romans. The Saracens had possession of it 
from 825 to 1086 a. d. It has ruins of ancient 
walls and several buildings of the Greek period, 
including the temple of Zeus. Though once a 
city of 200,000 people, its present population is 
only 22,500. 

AGRIMONY (ag'ri-mo-ny), the common 
name of a genus of plants belonging to the rose 
family, native to Great Britain and found in the 
southern section of the United States. The 
flowers are small and yellow and grow in a 
large cluster at the ends of the stems, and the 
whole plant has a bitter taste and slightly aro¬ 
matic smell. The leaves are pinnate and are 
dried for a kind of herb tea, while the roots 
are used as a vermifuge. 

AGUE (a'gu), an intermittent fever accom¬ 
panied by paroxysms, which occur at regular 
intervals. It is caused by effluvia from the 
surface of the earth, and is confined to warm, 
damp climates. Ague does not prevail within 
the polar circles, nor in arid and elevated 
regions. The malady is rather more trouble¬ 
some than dangerous. Quinine, calomel, and 
cinchona bark are preventives. Ague contracted 






AGULHAS 


32 


AIR BRAKE 


in London caused the death of James I. and 
Oliver Cromwell. 

AGULHAS (a-gool'yas), Cape, the most 
southern point of Africa, situated about ninety- 
eight miles east of the Cape of Good Hope. Its 
highest elevation is 455 feet above sea level. 
In 1849 a lighthouse fifty-two feet above high 
water was built on its shore. 

AID-DE-CAMP (ad'de-kan), a superior con¬ 
fidential attendant upon a general in active serv¬ 
ice, whose duty is to receive orders and com¬ 
municate them to others. He exercises this func¬ 
tion while battles are in progress, and at other 
times acts as secretary and confidential agent. 

AINO (I'no), or Ainu, the name of an 
aboriginal people of Japan, found chiefly in 
Yezo, Saghalien, and the , Kurile Islands. 
Though classed as uncivilized or barbarian, they 
are of a mild and amiable disposition. In 
stature they are short, averaging about five feet 
in height, but are active and strong. Hunting 
and fishing are their chief occupations. The 
complexion is dark brown or black. They are 
.in general very hairy, the men wearing long, 
beards. It is thought they were driven north 
by the advance of the Japanese, but more re¬ 
cently they t , have learned from their superiors, 
and many have been converted to the Protestant 
religion. It is estimated that the total number 
of Ainos does not exceed 15,000. 

AINTAB (In-tab'), a city of Asiatic Turkey, 
in northern Syria, 60 miles north of Aleppo. It 
is important as a military post and is the seat 
of a Protestant missionary station for work 
among the Armenians. Being located on the 
route from Aleppo to Armenia, it has an im¬ 
portant trade, especially in cotton and leather. 
The inhabitants are chiefly Armenians and 
Greek Christians. Population, 44,500. 

AIR, the gaseous substance, composed of 
oxygen and nitrogen, which surrounds the earth. 
It is elastic, and is destitute of taste, color, and 
smell. Pure air is a mechanical mixture, con¬ 
taining by weight 23.10 parts of oxygen and 
76.90 nitrogen, and by volume 20.90 of oxygen 
and 79.10 of nitrogen. To these must be added 
a nearly constant quantity of carbonic acid, 
usually about five or six parts to every 10,000 
parts of air, and a very variable portion of 
watery vapor. Owing to a property of the 
gases called diffusion, these gaseous ingredients, 
though of different densities, are found in the 
same relative proportions at all heights. The 
oxygen and carbonic acid are the most important 
of the gases. Oxygen is necessary to the exist¬ 
ence of animal life, since it supports combustion 
and respiration; carbonic acid is necessary to 
the existence of plant life, as it is composed of 


carbon and oxygen, and is the source from 
which vegetation derives its woody fiber. In in¬ 
spiration animals take in oxygen and give out 
carbonic acid; in sunlight plants take in car¬ 
bonic acid and give out oxygen. This serves to 
maintain the relative proportion of substances 
necessary to the existence of animal and plant 
life. 

Air is elastic; that is, it may be compressed 
so a given quantity may occupy a smaller 
volume than it does in nature, and, when the 
pressure is removed, it again assumes its orig¬ 
inal volume. It expands when heated and con¬ 
tracts when cooled. The oxygen of air is more 
soluble in water than nitrogen, and the air dis¬ 
solved in water contains about one-tenth more 
oxygen than atmospheric air. The animals 
whose life is sustained by breathing in water, 
such as fish and polyps, and plants that thrive 
in water, take in oxygen less diluted with 
nitrogen, but more with water. The air in 
cities is less pure than in the country districts, 
since it is polluted by the breathing of large 
populations, and there are fewer plants to sup¬ 
ply oxygen. In illy-drained districts, where 
miasma arises to pollute the air and gases from 
sewers and other impurities tend to poison it, 
the public health is endangered. A large number 
of persons breathing without sufficient ventila¬ 
tion soon poison the air by consuming the supply 
of oxygen and replacing it with carbonic acid 
gas. Thus, the ventilation of public buildings 
becomes a subject for considerate study, since 
health and public comfort depend largely upon 
the existence of pure air in sufficient quantities. 
See Atmosphere. 

AIR BRAKE, a brake operated by condensed 
air, and used extensively on railway and street 
railway cars. The first patent on the air brake 
was issued in 1869 to George Westinghouse, an 
American engineer, but since that time it has 
been greatly improved. The first invention was 
what is known as the straight air brake, and in 
1873 the automatic air brake was invented, 
which has an auxiliary reservoir and a triple 
valve as well as a train pipe and brake cylinder, 
thereby causing resistance to the several cars 
of a train instead of only to the forward cars, 
as was the case in the straight air brake. In 
1897 a high-speed brake was placed on the 
market, which is used on passenger trains of 
very high speed. It uses very high air pres¬ 
sure when the train is at full speed, and by an 
automatic reducing valve the- pressure is grad¬ 
ually reduced as the speed of the train dimin¬ 
ishes. There are several forms of the air 
brake, being designed for light and heavy cars, 
and for cars used on steam railway, cable, and 





AIR CELLS 


33 


AIR PUMP 


electric railway lines. Labor organizations have 
been potent factors in securing the adoption of 
the air brake, and at this time it is very exten¬ 
sively used in Canada and the United States and 
to a less extent in other countries. 

AIR CELLS, in physiology, the cells existing 
in the lungs, where they surround the lobular 
passages. They are very small, rarely exceed¬ 
ing one-hundredth of an inch in diameter. In 
birds they penetrate the quills and bones, thus 
facilitating flight through the air.—Air engine, 
a machine in which heated air is the propelling 
force, that is, air takes the place of steam in a 
steam engine. Air engines have an advantage 
over steam engines in that air can be raised 
with safety to a higher temperature than steam, 
and they have been found of much utility in 
mining and tunneling.—Air shaft, an opening 
from the surface of the earth to some portion 
of the galleries of a mine, constructed for the 
purpose of ventilation. Air shafts should be in 
two parts or at least have two longitudinal 
passages, the one for the ascending vitiated air, 
and the other for the descending pure air. Cir¬ 
culation can be induced by a fan, or by heat 
from a furnace.—Air stove, or furnace, a de¬ 
vice used to generate hot air, which is then 
transmitted by means of an opening to the dif¬ 
ferent apartments of a building.—Air thermome¬ 
ter, an instrument used in measuring the degree 
of heat by means of the expansion of air. Such 
an instrument can be utilized only to measure 
the lower temperatures, and agrees with the 
mercurial thermometer up to 260°, but above 
that point mercury expands more than air. It 
was invented by Santorio, a physician of Padua, 
Italy, in 1590. 

AIR COMPRESSOR, a machine or air 
pump for compressing air by forcing it into a 
closed vessel. In the common bicycle pump, 
which is a simple form of an air compressor, 
there is a valve at the bottom of the cylinder 
opening outward, and in the piston is a valve 
opening downward. The cylinder is filled with 
air when the piston is raised, and the piston 
valve is closed with a downward stroke of the 
piston, hence the cylinder valve is forced open 
and the air escapes into the vessel. The air 
brake pump, with which nearly all locomotives 
are equipped, is a simple form of power air 
compressors. A 954-inch air brake pump con¬ 
sumes one pound of steam at 140 pounds pres¬ 
sure and yields 1.85 cubic feet of air at 90 
pounds pressure, while a 2-stage Corliss air 
compressor with the same steam consumption 
yields 13.7 cubic feet of air at 90 pounds pres¬ 
sure. It will be seen that in the air brake 
pump economy of steam consumption is not 


considered important, since the main considera¬ 
tion is to secure a machine light in weight, small 
in dimensions, and absolutely reliable in action. 
The principle on which air compressors act is 
the same in all machines, but the propelling 
force may be steam, electricity, or water power. 

Otto von Guericke of Magdeburg, Germany, 
invented the air pump in 1650. William Cubitt, 
in 1851, invented the first modern air compressor 
and used it successfully in tunnel construction 
and for bridge work. In his machine and most 
others compressed air is drawn as needed from 
a reservoir, the machine storing it for use as 
required. In mining and tunneling very power¬ 
ful compressors are employed, some exerting a 
pressure of 3,000 pounds to the square inch, and 
the highest known pressure obtained in labora¬ 
tory experiments is 60,000 pounds to the square 
inch. Among other uses, air compressors are 
employed as rock drills, hoisting engines, pol¬ 
ishing machines, sand blast apparatus, pumps, 
molding machines, air brakes on railroad and 
street cars, stone cutting apparatus, coal cut¬ 
ters, machinery in mines and tunnels, etc. 

AIR ENGINE. See Air; Air Cells. 

AIR GUN, an instrument for the projection 
of balls by the elastic force of compressed air, 
usually in the form of an ordinary gun. It con¬ 
tains a metallic globe furnished with a small 
hole and a valve opening into it, which contains 
a condensing syringe. By means of this ap¬ 
paratus the condensation is brought to a point 
of intensity. The globe is then detached from 
the syringe and fastened at the breech of the 
gun, which is of such construction that the valve 
may be opened by means of a trigger. A ball is 
then inserted, and, by pulling the trigger, is 
thrown with considerable force by the elasticity 
of the condensed air. 

AIR PLANT, or Epiphyte, a plant attached 
to another plant and which derives its nourish¬ 
ment chiefly from the air. Plants belonging to 
this class receive no parasitic nutrition from the 
plants to which they are attached and the at¬ 
tachment is wholly mechanical. Orchids and 
ferns have many epiphytic forms, and in the 
tropics many tree trunks and evergreen forests 
abound with lichens and other forms of air 
plants. They are not numerous in the temper¬ 
ate and cold regions for the reason that they 
cannot endure drought or a low temperature, 
and in these sections are restricted to lower 
forms of plant life, such as mosses* liverworts, 
lichens, and algae. Nearly 300 species of air 
plants are common to Java, and numerous 
species abound in the tropical forests of Amer¬ 
ica, Asia, and Africa. 

AIR PUMP, an instrument invented by Otto 


AIR SHIP 


34 


AIX-LA-CHAPELLE 


von Guericke (1602-1686), a German physician, 
in 1650. It is used to remove air or other gases 
from an inclosed space, or for compressing 
air within an inclosed space. Many improve¬ 
ments have been made on the air pump, but, 
since an actual vacuum can never result from 
the action of a pump, the machines now in use 
can do no more than reduce air to a high state 
of rarefication. An air pump with a single 
cylinder is used to fill the pneumatic tire of a 
bicycle, while the machines used for general 
purposes contain two cylinders. The ordinary 



air pump contains a receiver of glass (R), 
which rests on a horizontal plate of strong 
glass (p), ground perfectly smooth. Under 
the receiver is an opening that has connection 
with the upright cylinder (C), and in the 
cylinder is a piston fitted sufficiently close to 
be air-tight. The piston is worked by a pinion, 
while in the cylinder is a valve (v) so con¬ 
structed that when the piston is raised it com¬ 
municates with the receiver, and the communi¬ 
cation is shut off as the piston falls. As the 
machine is put in operation the air from the 
receiver fills the cylinder, and the longer the 
operations continue the more rarefied the air 
in the receiver becomes. By applying consider¬ 
able force the air in the receiver can be almost 
wholly withdrawn. The air pump is used in 
preparing globes for electric lighting, in low 
pressure engines, for condensing milk and re¬ 
fining sugar, and in connection with many other 
processes in manufacturing. 

AIR SHIP. See Flying Machine. 
AIX-LA-CHAPELLE (aks-la-sha-pel'), or 
Aachen, an important city of Germany, in 
Rhenish Prussia, about forty miles west of 
Cologne. The city is the capital of an admin¬ 
istrative district of the same name, and is 
the focus of an important network of rail¬ 
ways connecting Germany, Holland, and Bel¬ 
gium. It is well and substantially built, has 
numerous schools, hospitals, and churches, and 
its appearance is that of a modern city aglow 
with life and activity, rather than that of an 


ancient institution. There are gas and electric 
lights, stone and macadam pavements, rapid 
transit, sewerage, and many fine parks and 
monuments. It contains the magnificent coro¬ 
nation hall of the German emperors, whose 
length is 162 feet and width sixty feet, and 
there is a splendid fountain with the statue of 
Charlemagne, erected in 1620. The city enjoys 
a good trade with continental countries, and 
exports large quantities of manufactures to 
America. The chief articles of manufacture 
include shawls, silks, woolen goods, glass, pins, 
needles, machinery, tobacco, leather, and chemi¬ 
cals. Charlemange made it the second city 
of his empire, and the seat of government of 
his dominions north of the Alps. It is gener¬ 
ally assumed that this military leader was 
born here, while it is certain that he died in 
the city, and his tomb is in the beautiful cathe¬ 
dral. Aix-la-Chapelle was the place of corona¬ 
tion of the emperors of Germany from 813 to 
1531, during which time it became one of the 
most important free cities, although it was 
twice ravished by the Normans, in 851 and in 
882. The removal of the coronations to Frank¬ 
fort caused it to lose its leading position, and 
its prosperity was greatly injured by a destruc¬ 
tive fire in 1666. At the time of the Revolu¬ 
tion it was made a part of France, but in 1815 
was ceded , to Prussia. Population, 1905, 
144,095. 

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, Congress of, the 

congress held in 1818 at Aix-la-Chapelle to 
regulate the affairs of Europe after the War 
of 1815. In this meeting were represented 
Austria, Prussia, England, Russia, and France, 
known as the five great powers of Europe, and 
the protocol agreed upon announced a policy 
known as the Holy Alliance. France was evac¬ 
uated by the foreign forces as a result of this 
congress. Those in attendance included the 
King of Prussia, the Emperor of Austria, the 
Czar of Russia, Wellington, Metternich, Riche¬ 
lieu, and Castlereagh. 

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, Treaty of, the name 

given to two treaties concluded at Aix-la- 
Chapelle. The first, between England, Swe¬ 
den, and Holland, known as the Triple Alli¬ 
ance, and Louis XIV., concluded May 2, 1668, 
settled the question of the posssession of the 
Spanish Netherlands. After the death of 
Philip IV., Louis XIV. seized several forts and 
claim to that portion of the Netherlands which 
had been under the dominion of Philip. Hol¬ 
land, as a means of protection, concluded the 
Triple Alliance and France was forced to sur¬ 
render possession except to the fortresses of 
Lille and Charlerois, while Spain retained 













AJACCIO 


35 


ALABAMA 


Franche Comte. The second, regarding the 
War of the Austrian Succession, was con¬ 
cluded in 1748. Ttie treaty gave Maria There¬ 
sa possession of the throne of Austria. All 
the great powers of Europe had been involved 
in the war, but the treaty permitted the several 
states to retain possession of their territory 
nearly the same as before, though Silesia and 
Glatz were given to Prussia and Spain received 
Parma, Guastalla, and Piacenza. 

AJACCIO (a-yat'cho), the capital of Cor¬ 
sica. It is important as a seaport and has a 
safe and commodious harbor. The surround¬ 
ing country is fertile. Anchovy and pearl fish¬ 
eries furnish the chief employment. The city 
has a good trade in wine and olive oil. It is 
the birthplace of Napoleon, and has a cathe¬ 
dral dating from 1585. Population, 20,197. 

ARAB AH (a'ka-ba), Gulf of, an inlet at 
the north end of the Red Sea, extending into 
Arabia Petraea. It is from 12 to 17 miles wide 
and extends about 100 miles to the northeast. 
Golden Port, 29 miles east of Mount Sinai, is 
the only good harbor. 

AKHMIM (ak-menT). See Achmim. 

AKRON (ak'ron), a city of Ohio, county 
seat of Summit County, thirty-six miles south 
of Cleveland. It is situated on the highest ele¬ 
vation between the Ohio River and Lake Erie, 
about 500 feet above the latter, and has com¬ 
munication by the Pennsylvania, the Erie, the 
Baltimore and Ohio, and other railways. Among 
the public utilities are electric lights and street 
railways, waterworks, pavements, several li¬ 
braries, and a fine system of public schools. The 
city is noted as a manufacturing center, employ¬ 
ing about 8,500 persons, and the annual pro¬ 
duct aggregating about $15,500,000. Among 
the chief manufactures are machinery, iron¬ 
ware, pottery, boilers, sewer pipes, books and 
stationery, rubber goods, cigars, and farming 
implements. It is the seat of Buchtel College, 
a Universalist institution of higher learning. In 
its vicinity are numerous lakes and hotels, 
hence it is popular as a summer resort. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 42,728; in 1910, 69,067. 

ALABAMA (al-a-ba'ma), a southern State 
of the United States, bounded on the north by 
Tennessee, east by Georgia, south by Florida 
and the Gulf of Mexico, and west by Missis¬ 
sippi. Its greatest length from north to south 
is 334 miles, width, 154 miles, and area, 52,250 
square miles, which is the exact area of North 
Carolina. It is popularly called the Cotton 
State. 

Description. Ranges of the Alleghany 
Mountains stretch into the northern portion 
from Georgia and Tennessee, but do not attain 




to great elevations. These highlands include 
the Raccoon Mountains, sometimes called the 
Sand Mountains, which extend well across 
the northern part of the State, and the 
Lookout Mountains, which terminate about 
sixty miles south of the border. The 
mountains are generally flat-topped and have 
an altitude of not more than 1,600 feet, while 
the coastal plain has a general elevation of 
600 feet. The Cumberland Plateau is a low 
range of hills in the southwestern part. Much 
of the drainage is toward the south into the 
Gulf of Mexico, but the northern slope belongs 
to the Ohio River basin. 

The Tallapoosa and 
Coosa rivers unite about 
ten miles above the city 
of Montgomery to form 
the Alabama, the chief 
river of the State, which 
is joined by the Tom- 
bigbee about forty-five 
miles abovd M o b ii 1 e. 

From the junction to Mo¬ 
bile Bay the combined 
rivers are known as the 
Mobile River. The Chat¬ 
tahoochee forms part of 
the eastern boundary, 
and the Tennessee flows 
through the northern 
part of the State. Other minghamf 3 ? n AMiston; X 
rivers include the Choc- Mobile. Chief railways 
tawhatchee and Black are shown by dotted lines. 

Warrior. The latter is a tributary of the Tom- 
bigbee, and is navigable to Tuscaloosa, while 
the Tombigbee is navigable to Columbus, and 
the Mobile to Wetumpka. 

The climate is pleasant and varies with the 
altitude and latitude. Breezes from the Gulf 
tend to render the southern portion both health¬ 
ful and enjoyable, but some of the river val¬ 
leys and lower portions of the state are un¬ 
healthful, and show a tendency to malaria 
and fevers. The State is well watered with 
good springs and water veins, and in many por¬ 
tions are artesian wells. In the winter the 
thermometer seldom falls below 32°, while the 
summers are generally pleasant. The prevail¬ 
ing winds are from the south and southwest. 
Snow falls rarely in the south, but in the north¬ 
ern part it falls quite frequently in January and 
February. 

Natural Resources. The northern and 
northeastern section are rich in mineral de¬ 
posits, including coal, clay, iron, aluminum, 
and quarry products, particularly sandstone and 
limestone. Salt is obtained in the southwestern 



ALABAMA. 







ALABAMA 


36 


ALABAMA 


part, and the State has more or less profitable 
deposits of asbestos, asphalt, marble, and cop¬ 
per. The mining of coal and iron has been 
developed extensively, and Alabama in the pro¬ 
duction of iron ore ranks next to Minnesota 
and Michigan. The greatest development in 
iron ore mining has been made in the Birming¬ 
ham region. In the output of bituminous coal 
the State takes fifth rank. Extensive forests 
abound, yielding excellent material for build¬ 
ing and manufacturing. The forest trees em¬ 
brace oak, hickory, pine, cedar, elm, and chest¬ 
nut, and in the southern part are fine forests 
of cypress, magnolia, and yellow pine. 

Agriculture. Farming is the chief industry. 
The soil, except in the region of mountains, is 
fertile and well adapted to fruit raising and the 
culture of many varieties jof cereal plants. The 
annual production of cotton is about 1,300,000 
bales, cotton being the most important crop. 
Tobacco is grown profitably. Other products 
embrace corn, rice, sugar cane, cowpeas, pota¬ 
toes, oats, wheat, and hay. Stock raising as 
an industry has not grown extensively the past 
ten years, owing to the fact that cotton is the 
predominant crop, though there has been a 
marked growth in rearing horses and swine. 
Interest in the rearing of sheep, cattle, and 
mules has not been extended materially, though 
the state has large interests in these classes of 
animals. More than one-third of the cattle 
are milch cows. The title in land is chiefly in 
large landowners, and most of the farming is 
done in small tracts by Negroes. 

Manufactures. Manufacturing is an im¬ 
portant enterprise, owing largely to the fact 
that the State has much available timber and 
productive iron and coal mines. The construc¬ 
tion of cars and machinery takes rank as a 
leading manufacturing enterprise, though it is 
exceeded in the value of the output by the 
manufacture of timber products, cotton goods, 
and iron and steel. Phosphates obtained from 
Florida are used in making fertilizers from 
cotton-seed meal. Other manufactures em¬ 
brace boots and shoes, turpentine, flour, wagons 
and carriages, and farming implements. The 
output of coke has increased rapidly the past 
five years, owing to the large production of 
coking coal. Few states have enjoyed an equal 
growth in the total manufactures produced 
annually. 

Transportation and Commerce. Although 
the State has only one good harbor on the Gulf, 
at Mobile, it has extensive transportation fa¬ 
cilities by the Alabama, Tombigbee, Mobile, and 
Tennessee rivers. Iron products are trans¬ 
ported in large quantities to Mobile as a result 


of improving the water course of the Black 
Warrior River. In 1908 thg State had 4,320 
miles of railroads in operation, which provide 
transportation facilities in nearly all parts of 
the state, though some counties are still with¬ 
out steam railways. A considerable mileage 
of electric lines is operated, chiefly in the cities 
and more densely populated regions. Mobile 
has the larger part of foreign trade, but large 
quantities of products are transported through 
the ports of New Orleans, La., and Pensacola, 
Fla. Cotton, lumber, coal, pig iron, machinery, 
live stock, and fertilizers are the principal ex¬ 
ports. 

Government. The present condition was 
adopted in 1901. It vests the executive author¬ 
ity in the governor, lieutenant governor, attor¬ 
ney general, secretary of State, auditor, treas¬ 
urer, commissioner of agriculture and indus¬ 
tries, and superintendent of education, each 
elected for terms of four years. Legislative au¬ 
thority is vested in the General Assembly, which 
consists of a Senate and a House of Represent¬ 
atives, the former being limited to a maximum of 
not more than thirty-five and the latter to not 
more than 105 members. While members of the 
General Assembly may be reelected from time 
to time, none of the executive State officers 
is eligible for reelection. Judicial authority is 
vested in a system of courts, consisting of the 
supreme court, circuit courts, chancery and pro¬ 
bate courts, and justices of the peace. Local 
government is administered by the counties, 
municipalities, and townships. In order to be 
eligible to vote, the citizen must have resided 
within the State two years, in the county one 
year, and in the precinct three months, and must 
be able to read and write in the English language. 

Education. Educationally, Alabama is mak¬ 
ing rapid strides of advancement, both in its 
system of common schools and its numerous 
institutions of higher learning. There are four 
normal schools, located, respectively, at Marion, 
Tuskegee, Huntsville, and Florence, and nor¬ 
mal instruction is given in several other insti¬ 
tutions. Tuscaloosa is the seat of the Univer¬ 
sity of Alabama; Mobile, of the State Medical 
College; Auburn, of the Agricultural and Me¬ 
chanical College; and Greensboro, of the 
Southern University. Tuskegee is the seat of 
the Industrial Institute (colored), which is un¬ 
der the administration of Booker T. Washing¬ 
ton. There is an insane asylum at Tuscaloosa, 
a blind asylum at Mobile, and an institution for 
the deaf, dumb, and blind at Talladega. The 
State has made ample provision for other classes 
demanding State care. It has many excellent 
public and private libraries, and numerous pri- 


ALABAMA 


37 


ALABAMA CLAIMS 


vate commercial and denominational institu¬ 
tions of learning. All the leading religious 
denominations are well represented by growing 
societies, though the Baptist denomination is 
the most numerously represented. The educa¬ 
tional forces as a whole are represented in 
about fifty high schools, seventy private second¬ 
ary schools, nine colleges and universities, and 
many scientific and educational associations. 

Inhabitants. A large proportion of the popu¬ 
lation is rural, and only about ten per cent, of 
the people reside in cities of 4,000 population 
and over. Montgomery, on .the Alabama River, 
is the capital, and ranks as one of the largest 
cities in the State. Mobile is the only seaport 
and is important for its large export trade in 
lumber, coal, and cotton. Birmingham is noted 
for the extensive manufacture of iron and steel 
products. Other cities include Anniston, Bes¬ 
semer, Florence, Huntsville, Opelika, Selma, 
Talladega, and Tuscaloosa. In 1900 the State 
had a population of 1,828,697. This included a 
Negro population of 827,307. Population, 1910, 
2,138,093. 

History. The history of Alabama begins 
with 1541, when De Soto made his famous 
exploring expedition to the Mississippi. In 
1702 the first permanent settlement was estab¬ 
lished by the French on the Mobile River, and 
in 1712 the city of Mobile was founded. The 
region occupied by the State was originally a 
part, of the Territory of Georgia, though the 
southern portion was the subject of dispute 
with Spain. Georgia ceded all its western lands 
to the Federal government in 1802, and what 
is now Alabama became a part of the Terri¬ 
tory of Mississippi. Alabama was organized as 
a Territory in 1817, and so named from an 
Indian word meaning “Here we rest.” It was 
admitted as a State in December, 1819, and 
since then has enjoyed rapid growth and devel¬ 
opment. In 1861 it seceded from the Union, 
but the act of secession was revoked in 1865, and 
a new constitution was adopted in 1868. The 
constitution adopted in 1901 requires a higher 
standard for voting, hence the right of suffrage 
is restricted largely to the white citizens. 

ALABAMA, an important river of the State 
of Alabama, formed by the junction of the 
Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, about ten miles 
above the city of Montgomery. It then flows 
about 300 miles toward the southeast until 
uniting with the Tombigbee forty-five miles 
above Mobile, where it assumes the name of 
Mobile. These rivers drain the northern part 
of the states of Mississippi, Georgia, and Ala¬ 
bama, and flow into Mobile Bay, an inlet from 
the Gulf of Mexico. 


ALABAMA, The, a British vessel built at 
Birkenhead, England, by Laird & Sons, and 
used as a privateer to promote ‘the interest 
of the Confederate States. She was provided 
with stores, coal, and guns at Terceira, one of 
the Azores, and on Aug. 24, 1862, was placed 
under command of Raphael Semmes, a native 
of Maryland, and manned chiefly by British 
subjects. Though she had no acknowledged 
flag or recognized nationality, she roamed the 
seas plundering and destroying vessels belong¬ 
ing to the Federal States and Union merchant¬ 
men. For more than two years she sailed upon 
the seas, captured 65 vessels, and destroyed 
property valued at $4,000,000. Her policy was 
to avoid contact with American armed vessels, 
but in the summer of 1864 she finally encountered 
the Kearsarge off Cherbourg, France. On June 
19 an encounter took place outside the harbor 
of Cherbourg, about seven miles from the Cher¬ 
bourg breakwater, and after a fight of an hour 
the Alabama was sunk. Three men on board 
the Kearsarge were wounded, while the Ala¬ 
bama had nine men killed and twenty-one 
wounded. Captain Semmes was taken on board 
by an English yacht, the Deerhound, and 
escaped. 

ALABAMA, University of, an institution of 
higher learning organized at Tuskaloosa, Ala., 
in 1831. At the time of the Civil War it was 
in a prosperous condition, but was burned by 
a force of Federals. It was rebuilt in 1868. It 
is coeducational, has 50 professors and instruc¬ 
tors, and is attended by about 500 students. 
The endowment fund is $300,000, which is about 
equal to the value of the buildings, and the 
annual income is $42,000. The medical depart¬ 
ment is located at Mobile. A library of 25,000 
volumes and a good working labratory are 
maintained. 

ALABAMA CLAIMS, the name applied 
to the claims of the United States government 
against Great Britain, which were settled after 
extended negotiations at Geneva, Switzerland, 
and are sometimes termed the Geneva Award. 
These claims were made on account of damage 
done by certain vessels, particularly the Ala¬ 
bama, which were equipped and manned from 
British ports at the time of the Civil War. A 
decision was reached by the commissioners on 
Sept. 14, 1871, to the effect that Great Britain 
was liable for equipping the Alabama and the 
Florida, two vessels that wrought serious devas¬ 
tation to the property of the United States and 
to property of certain citizens. The purport of 
the decision was that the general principles 
governing such cases are as follows: “Due 
diligence should be exercised by neutral govern- 


ALABASTER 


38 


ALASKA 


ments in exact proportion to the risks to which 
either one <?f the belligerents may be exposed 
by failure to fulfill the obligations of neutrality 
on their part. The government of Great Britain 
cannot justify itself for its failure in due dili¬ 
gence on the plea of the insufficiency of legal 
means of action which it possessed.” In mak¬ 
ing the decision the commission did not allow 
any claims by the United States for national 
losses, and the award was entirely restricted to 
compensate the American citizens for damages 
sustained by them. The award amounted to 
the sum of $15,500,000 in gold. Sir Alexander 
Cockburn, one of the British representatives on 
the commission, was the only commissioner to 
cast a dissenting vote. 

ALABASTER (al-a-bas'ter), the name ap¬ 
plied to a very fine variety of gypsum, or hy¬ 
drated sulphate of lime. The harder variety 
is used in the manufacture of statuettes, clock 
frames, and other ornamental commodities, 
while the softer serves in the manufacture of 
an inferior cement, known in the markets as 
plaster of Paris. Deposits of white granular 
gypsum are found in various portions of the 
United States, which occurs in pure and sound 
blocks, and from which the merchantable arti¬ 
cle is manufactured. However, the largest 
quarries are in Tuscany, Italy, where a fine 
grade is obtained. There are also deposits in 
Egypt and various regions of Asia. 

ALADDIN (a-lad'in), the hero of a tale of 
the “Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.” He is 
represented as the possessor of a remarkable 
ring and lamp, which, on being rubbed, would 
cause two genii to appear, whose office it was 
to do the bidding of the possessor of the ring 
and lamp. 

ALAMEDA (a-la-ma'da), a city of Cali¬ 
fornia, in Alameda county, about eight miles 
east of San Francisco, on the Southern Pacific 
railroad. It has extensive electric railway and 
steamboat facilities, and enjoys a considerable 
commercial trade. The chief industries em¬ 
brace shipbuilding, refining of petroleum, and 
manufactures of machinery, earthenware, cloth¬ 
ing, and utensils. Gas and electric lights, pave¬ 
ments, and sanitary sewerage are among the 
improvements. The city has excellent public 
schools and a number of substantial church 
buildings. It was incorporated in 1854. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 16,464; in 1910, 23,383. 

ALAMO (a'la-mo), a fort near San Antonio, 
Texas, and frequently mentioned as the “The'r- 
mbpylae of America.” It is noted on account 
of the heroic bravery with which about 150 
Texans resisted an attack of 2,500 Mexicans 
under Gen. Santa Anna from Feb. 11 to March 


5, 1836. In the engagement 1,600 Mexicans 
and all but six of the Texans were killed. How¬ 
ever, the latter were cruelly butchered after 
they had surrendered to the Mexicans. “Re- 



THE ALAMO. 


member the Alamo” became a popular war cry 
in the struggle for the independence of Texas 
from Mexico. 

ALAND (o'lan), an archipelago of about 
300 islands at the entrance of the Gulf of 
Bothnia and forming a possession of Russia. 
About eighty of these islands are inhabited, the 
balance being rocky and uninhabitable. Formerly 
they belonged to Sweden, and near them a de¬ 
cisive victory was won by Peter the Great over 
the Swedes in 1717. They were ceded to Rus¬ 
sia in 1809. The population, consisting mostly 
of fishermen of Swedish descent, aggregates 
about 19,150. The islands have a total area of 
468 square miles. 

ALASKA (a-las'ka),a Territory of the United 
States, forming the northwest portion of North 
America, and comprising an area of 590,884 
square miles. It is about twelve times as large 
as New York, and comprises a scope of country 
greater than the combined areas of France, 
Germany, Bulgaria, and the British Isles. The 
northern boundary is formed by the Arctic 
Ocean, eastern by the Dominion of Canada, 
southern by the Pacific Ocean, and western by 
the Bering Sea and Strait. About one-third 
lies within the Arctic Circle. From north to 
south it has a width of 800 miles, and from 
southeast to northwest the distance across the 
mainland is 1,150 miles. 

Physical Features. The territory is very 
mountainous, though it includes much level and 
gently undulating surface. Chains of the Rocky 
Mountains and the Alaskan Mountains, a 
coast range, embrace the chief elevated sec¬ 
tions. Mount McKinley, 20,464 feet in alti- 





























ALASKA 


39 


ALASKA 


tude, 100 miles north of Cook’s Inlet, is the 
highest peak in North America. Its climate 
is extremely cold, almost unfit for habitation, 
and large portions are covered by snow, while 
the earth in the northern part is frozen the en¬ 
tire year. The Yukon River, which has been 
explored by steamer for 1,400 miles, is the most 
important water course, and has an estimated 
length of 2,000 miles. Besides the Yukon, the 
principal rivers include the Copper, Kuskok- 
wim, Colville and Tanana, the last mentioned 
being an important tributary of the Yukon. 
The coast line of Alaska is placed at 7,875 
miles, and is more or less indented by ex¬ 
tensive inlets, particularly on the southern and 
western shores. Among the chief inlets are 
Kotzebue, Norton, Bristol, Cook, and Yakutat 
sounds or bays. Numerous glaciers discharge 
into the Pacific and Bering Sea, among them 
Muir Glacier, which is estimated the largest in 
the world. The discharges 
into the sea average a thick¬ 
ness of about 500 feet, and the 
river of ice has a length of 
150 miles arid a breadth vary¬ 
ing from one to ten miles. 

Mineral Resources. Lignite 
coal deposits occur on the Yu¬ 
kon, near Cape Lisbourne, at 
the head of Prince William 
Sound, and on the Aleutian 
Islands. The quality is not of 
a high grade, but it is used to 
a considerable extent for do¬ 
mestic purposes and for steam¬ 
making. Copper in paying 
quantities is found on Prince 
of Wales Island and in the 
Copper River country, and 
there are deposits of petro¬ 
leum, silver ore, sulphur, and 
building stones. Gold is the 
chief source of wealth in Alas¬ 
ka, and is secured chiefly in 
the Yukon district, where val¬ 
uable deposits were discovered in 1897. The 
following year large companies of people from 
the United States and other countries visited 
Alaska in the interest of the mining industry. 
The richest gold-producing region is situated 
at Dawson in the Klondike region, just east of 
the eastern line of Alaska, in British America, 
but rich discoveries have since been made far¬ 
ther west and at Cape Nome. While Cape Nome 
may be reached by water navigation, it has been 
quite difficult to make trips to the Klondike 
region. Expeditions to the latter region are 
usually made by way of Sitka and Skagway, and 


thence through the mountain region toward the 
north, but it is possible to pass up the Yukon. 
The yield of gold in Alaska is placed at from 
$7,000,000 to $12,000,000 annually, the output 
varying greatly with climatic conditions. 

Transportation. The transportation facili¬ 
ties of Alaska depend largely upon navigation, 
and numerous excellent harbors are accessible 
the entire year as far north as Juneau and 
Sitka. River traffic on the Yukon is closed 
a greater part of the year, which is the case 
with many of the coast inlets, as they become 
filled with pack-ice in the winter, such as Cook’s 
Inlet. Public stages and dog sledges are used 
in carrying passengers and the mails in some 
sections. A railway line extends from Skag¬ 
way to Whitehorse Rapids, and several other 
railway routes have been projected, and work 
is being done to push them inland. The Alaskan 
Central railway, when completed, will furnish 


transportation from Skagway to Nome, the 
line running through the Copper River valley 
to Tanana, thence to its terminus on the sea. 
An improved highway passes from Port Val¬ 
dez to the Copper River. A telegraph cable 
extends from Saint Michaels to Nome, and tele¬ 
graph lines are in operation between Saint 
Michaels, Nulato, and Eagle City. 

Fisheries. Edible fish abound in the rivers 
and coast waters. However, salmon fishing is 
the most important, and in value the output 
closely approaches the production of gold. The 
chief salmon fisheries are off the shore of 



ALASKA. 

1, Sitka; 2, Juneau; 3, Skagway; 4, Dawson; 5, Circle City; 6, Nome; 
7, Sunrise City ; 8, Chilka; 9, Igagik. 










ALASKA 


40 


ALASKA 


Kodiak Island, Kuskokwim Bay, and near the 
mouth of the Yukon River. An abundance of 
herring, cod, smelt, whitefish, and halibut are 
known to exist, though the fisheries have not 
been developed to their full productive ability. 
Formerly the fur-seal was abundant on most 
islands in Bering Sea and on both coasts of 
Bering Strait, but these fisheries are now re¬ 
stricted to the Pribilof or Seal Islands. Whal¬ 
ing continues to attract attention, especially the 
white whale and the great Arctic whale, and 
considerable fossil elephant ivory is collected 
by the Eskimos. 

Agriculture. In the coast district the soil 
is especially fertile, but the possibility of de¬ 
velopment in agriculture is limited by climatic 
conditions. Rye and barley can be grown quite 
successfully south of a line drawn from Eagle 
City to Saint Michaels, and there has been con¬ 
siderable development some distance south in 
the cultivation of oats and wheat. Vegetables, 
such as potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, beets, and 
carrots, thrive in the Yukon Valley and as far 
north as Dawson. Grasses of a highly nutri¬ 
tious quality grow luxuriantly, and stock is 
reared with considerable success, ^specially cat¬ 
tle, which are grown both for milk and meat. 
Foxes are bred for their furs, dogs and rein¬ 
deer are reared and used for transportation, 
and in some sections ponies and horses are 
grown. The fur trade is important, and those 
engaged in it during the winter give attention 
in the short summer to the production of vege¬ 
tables and other crops necessary as provision. 

Education and Government. Alaska was 
made a civil district by an act of Congress in 
1900, but it still remains an unorganized Terri¬ 
tory, has no legislative body, and is governed 
by laws passed by the Congress of the United 
States. The governor, judges, surveyor general, 
attorneys, and other officers are appointed by 
the President of the United States. Three 
judicial districts have been organized with 
courts at Juneau, Eagle City, and Saint Mich¬ 
aels. The bureau of education of the United 
States supports a system of public schools in 
the Territory, and the incorporated towns may 
appropriate.for educational purposes one-half 
of the money collected from license fees. A 
number of industrial schools are maintained, 
and several mission schools are promoted under 
the direction of Protestant and Roman and 
Greek Catholic supervision. The first college 
in Alaska was established as a coeducational 
institution in Skagway in 1899 with an atten¬ 
dance of 50 students. 

Inhabitants. Three races of native inhabi¬ 
tants are found in Alaska. The Alutes occupy 


the Aleutian Islands, the Eskimos are chiefly 
in the country north of the Yukon, and the 
Athabascan Indians are the principal inhabi¬ 
tants of the valley of the Yukon and the region 
as far south and west as Cook’s Inlet. A race 
nearly extinct, the Thlinkeets, formerly occu¬ 
pied the section lying between Yakutat Bay and 
Puget Sound. Sitka, on Baranof Island, is the 
oldest town and was the capital of the Terri¬ 
tory until 1906, when the seat of government 
was removed to Juneau, a thriving city of 3,000 
people at the entrance Qf Taku Inlet. Eagle 
City, on the Yukon, and Skagway, the seaport 
of the White Pass Railway, are commercial 
centers. Nome, on Norton Sound, had a popu¬ 
lation of 12,486 in 1900, and its estimated popu¬ 
lation in 1908 was 25,500. Other towns include 
Circle City, Sunrise City, Chilka, and Igagik. 
In 1910 the Territory had a population of 64,356, 
as compared with 63,592 in 1900. With the latter 
were included 3,116 Chinese and 29,536 Indians. 

History. Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator, 
in 1740, while in the Russian service, explored 
the peninsula and islands of Alaska. Captain 
Cook in 1778 .visited the coast of Alaska, and 
explorations were made about the same time 
by the Spaniards and a company of Russians. 
In 1784 the first settlement was made on Kodiak 
Island and named Three Saints. The Russian- 
American Fur Company was chartered in 1799 
to promote the furring trade but after futile 
efforts to establish a profitable business its 
members became dissatisfied and gave up the 
project. The Western Union Telegraph Com¬ 
pany explored certain sections in 1864-67 with 
the view of connecting America with Europe 
by telegraph at Bering Strait, though the suc¬ 
cessful laying of the Atlantic Cable caused the 
project to be abandoned. The United States 
purchased Alaska of Russia in 1867 at a mone¬ 
tary consideration-of $7,200,000, and in the same 
year a military force at Sitka took formal pos¬ 
session. 

Two international controversies, one relating 
to the control of the sea fisheries and the other 
to the boundary between Canada and Alaska, 
were made the subjects of negotiation between 
Great Britain and United States. In regard to 
the former the United States claimed that Rus¬ 
sia and the United States had exclusive con¬ 
trol of Bering Sea, but when this was referred 
to a commission it was decided that the claim 
was not well founded, but the commission 
recommended the restriction of the killing of 
seals in order to save the industry. The con¬ 
troversy as to the boundary was settled 
in October, 1903, when a commission of 
three representatives of the United States 


ALATAU 


41 


ALBANY 


and three of Great Britain decided that the 
boundary should follow the coast and be fixed 
ten marine leagues inland from the coast of the 
mainland.' The decision divided the gold fields 
about equally between the two countries, but 
the United States secured exclusive control of 
the Pacific Coast. 

ALATAU (a-la-tou'), a range of lofty 
mountains in Asia, forming the boundary be¬ 
tween Mongolia and Turkestan. The Alatau 
mountain range is located at the northern limit 
of the vast tableland of Central Asia. The 
formations are largely granitic and the eleva¬ 
tions approximate 15,000 feet. 

ALBA LONGA (al'ba lon'ga), a city of 
Latium, in Italy, situated near Lake Alban, 
about 16 miles southeast of Rome. According 
to tradition, it was founded by Ascanius, son 
of Aeneas. Tullus Hostilius, third king of 
Rome, destroyed it, and its inhabitants removed 
to Rome. At the time of its prosperity is was 
the most powerful city of Latium. 

ALBANIA (al-ba'ne-a), the name applied 
to an extensive region in the southwestern part 
of Turkey in Europe, lying along the coast of 
the Adriatic and Ionian seas and the Strait of 
Otranto. It is about 300 miles long, and has a 
width ranging from fifty to eighty-five miles. 
The area is about 21,500 square miles. Though 
this region has been under Turkish dominion 
since the 15th century, it still retains some 
degree of independence. The surface is largely 
mountainous, embracing ancient Epirus, Illyris 
Graeca, and parts of Dalmatia. Most of the 
inhabitants consist of Albanian mountaineers, 
but there are also a considerable number of 
Turks and Greeks. Agriculture, fruit-growing, 
stock raising, manufacturing, and commerce are 
the chief industries,. though there are also pro¬ 
ductive fisheries and some mining. A majority 
of the people are Mohammedans, but a con¬ 
siderable number of them belong to the Greek 
and Roman Catholic churches. The Albanians 
have made numerous efforts to throw off Turk¬ 
ish dominion, including the revolt under Ali 
Pasha in 1867 and the insurrection of 1908. 
Population, 1,500,000. 

ALBANY (al'ba-ny), a city of New York, 
county seat of Albany county, and capital of 
the State. It is finely situated on the Hudson 
River, 145 miles north of New York City, and 
is the focus of a large number of railroads, in¬ 
cluding the New York Central, the West Shore, 
and the Delaware and Hudson lines. It has 
additional transportation facilities by steamboats 
on the Hudson River, by numerous electric 
interurban lines, and by the Erie Canal, the latter 
connecting the city with Lake Erie. Near the 


river is a narrow plain, but the ground rises 
gradually toward the west, hence the location is 
both convenient and healthful. State Street 
runs westward from the river, forming a fine 
thoroughfare, and the principal streets running 
parallel to the river are North and South Pearl 



STATE CAPITOL, ALBANY. 


and Broadway streets. The city has 150 miles 
of street more or less improved, and about 90 
miles are paved substantially with stone, asphalt, 
and macadam. Washington Park, in the west¬ 
ern part of the city, is the largest public resort. 
It contains a fine lake and Calverley’s bronze 
statue of Robert Burns. Rural Cemetery, about 
four miles north of the city, is the burial place 
of President Arthur. 

The architecture of Albany is substantial, and 
the buildings are constructed chiefly of brick 
and stone. The capitol building, constructed 
of granite in the Renaissance style, is one of 
the finest and most costly structures of its kind 
in America. It is 390 feet long by 290 feet wide, 
situated on an elevated plat of ground in the 
heart of the city, and was erected at a cost of 
$23,500,000. Other notable buildings include 
the city hall, the customhouse, the Cathedral of 
the Immaculate Conception, the Albany Acad¬ 
emy, the Union Station, the First Dutch Re¬ 
formed Church, the post office, the Masonic 
Temple, and the State armory. Albany has a 
well-organized system of public schools and 
many charitable and educational institutions. It 
is the seat of a State normal school, of Dudley 
Observatory, and of the law and medical de¬ 
partments of Union University at Schenectady. 
The State library of 435,000 volumes is located 
in the capitol building, and several school insti¬ 
tutional libraries are maintained within the 
city. 

Albany is important as a manufacturing cen¬ 
ter and has a large trade in cereals, mer- 




















ALBANY 


42 


ALBERTA 


ch&ndise, and live stock. The leading manufac¬ 
tures include ironware, clothing, tobacco and 
cigars, boots and shoes, machinery, spirituous 
liquors, bpoks and stationery, and farming imple¬ 
ments. It maintains adequate police and fire 
departments, has extensive systems of water¬ 
works and gas and electric lighting, and has 
modern means of conducting its sewage and 
storm drainage. As a wholesaling and jobbing 
center it takes high rank, having a large trade 
with points in the New England states and 
Canada. 

The city is the second oldest permanent set¬ 
tlement founded within the thirteen colonies. 
Verrazano, the French navigator, visited the 
region as early as 1524, and a trading post was 
planted soon after on the present site of Albany 
by the French. In 1614 it was known as Fort 
Nassau, but the name was changed to Fort 
Orange in 1624, when the first real settlement 
of colonists was made. When New Nether¬ 
lands was transferred to the English, in 1664, 
the name was changed to Albany in honor of 
the Duke of York and Albany, who after¬ 
ward became James II. The Albany Conven¬ 
tion was held here in 1754, at which plans for 
uniting the colonies were discussed, and it be- 
■ came the seat of the State government in 1797. 
Its rapid growth began in 1825, when the Erie 
Canal was opened, and its larger commercial 
and manufacturing period began with the con¬ 
struction of railroads. Population, 1905, 
98,370 ; in 1910, 100,253. 

ALBANY, a city of Oregon, county seat of 
Linn County, 60 miles southwest of Portland. 
It is located on the Willamette River, which 
supplies good water power, and has transpor¬ 
tation facilities by the Southern Pacific and 
other railroads. The river is crossed by a 
fine steel bridge. It has manufactures of fur¬ 
niture and farm machinery, flouring mills, 
brickyards, and a public high school. Electric 
lights and waterworks are among the public 
utilities. The first settlement on the town site 
was made in 1850, and it was incorporated in 
1864. Population, 1900, 3,149. 

ALBANY, or Albion, an ancient name for 
Scotland and sometimes applied to the whole 
of Britain, but later used to designate only the 
Scottish highlands. It is thought to be of 
Celtic origin. In 1398 a Scottish council at 
Scone conferred the title of Duke of Albany 
upon the brother of King Robert III. Subse¬ 
quently the title was conferred upon a number 
of princes of the British royal family, though 
it soon became extinct. In 1881 it was restored 
and conferred upon Prince Leopold (1853-84), 
the youngest son of Queen Victoria. 


ALBATROSS (al'ba-tros), an aquatic bird 
allied to the petrels and gulls. It is the largest 
of the web-footed birds, weighing about twenty 
pounds, and its wings measuring frdm tip to 



ALBATROSS. 


tip twelve to seventeen feet. The beak is large 
and unusually straight and strong, and the 
upper mandible is characterized by sutures and 
a hooked point. These birds are frequently 
seen a great distance from land. They are 
most numerous in the South Seas, particularly 
near the Cape of Good Hope, but frequent the 
Arctic region as far as the extreme northern 
part of Bering Strait. A single albatross is 
often seen in the act of following ships several 
days in succession, though, more commonly, sev¬ 
eral fly within sight of each other, and appear 
to glide through the air rather than fly like 
other birds. When food is abundant, they gorge 
themselves like the vultures and then sit mo¬ 
tionless on the water. The eggs are about four 
inches long, and are favored as articles of food. 
Natives of the Kurile Islands and Kamchatka 
blow up the entrails to make floats for their 
fish nets, and their wing bones are used for 
tobacco pipes and various domestic purposes. 
Sailors regard the albatross with superstitious 
affection, a fact made use of in Coleridge’s 
“Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” 

ALBAY (al-bf ), the name of a bay, volcano, 
city, and province in the southwestern part of 
Luzon, an island of the Philippines. The bay 
is a fine landing place, and the surrounding 
mountains make it an important strategic point. 
Albay, the mountain, is an active volcano. The 
city of Albay is regularly platted, carries a con¬ 
siderable trade, and has a population of 14,360. 
The province has a population of 296,850. 

ALBEMARLE SOUND (al'be-marl), an 
inlet from the Atlantic Ocean, extending into 
the eastern part of North Carolina. Its length 
is sixty miles, the breadth is from four to fif¬ 
teen miles, and it has a number of small coastal 
indentations. The Roanoke and the Chowan 
rivers flow into it, and it is connected by an 
artificial channel with Chesapeake Bay. An 
island separates' it from the ocean. 

ALBERTA (al-bert'a), a province of the 



ALBERTA 


43 


ALBERTA 


Dominion of Canada, bounded on the north by 
Mackenzie, east by Saskatchewan, south by the 
United States, and 
west by British Colum¬ 
bia. Its length from 
north to south is 720 
miles, the southern 
boundary is 175 miles, 
and the northern 
boundary, which 
reaches the parallel of 
60°, is 220 miles in 
length. Its area is 254,- 
559 square miles, being 
somewhat larger than 
Saskatchewan. The 
water surface is about 
20,000 square miles. 

Surface. The sur¬ 
face is mainly a great 
plain, with open prairie 
in the southern portion, 
extensive forests in the 
northern section, and 
elevated ranges of the 
Rocky Mountains in 
the western part. The 
drainage of the southern part is toward the 
southeast, and the streams of the northern por¬ 
tion flow into Great Slave Lake, from which the 
water flows through the Mackenzie River into 
the Arctic Ocean. In elevation above sea level 
the surface varies considerably, Fort Smith, on 
the northern border, being the lowest elevation, 
680 feet above the sea, while the prairie steppe 
at the eastern side of the province is nearly 
3,000 feet, and the highest peaks of the Rocky 
Mountains approximate 14,000 feet. The high¬ 
est range of the Rocky Mountains in this 
section trends northwest and southeast, form¬ 
ing the southwestern boundary between Alberta 
and British Columbia. In the northern part are 
the Buffalo Head Hills, the Clear Hills, and 
the Cariboo Mountains, whose summits, rise 
from 600 to 1,000 feet higher than the surround¬ 
ing plain. 

Rivers and Lakes. Alberta has four dis¬ 
tinct drainage basins, one in the northern and 
three in the southern section. The Mackenzie 
basin is in the northern part and occupies two- 
thirds of the province. The most important 
streams of this system are the Peace and Atha¬ 
baska Rivers, which merge and form the Slave 
River near the western end of Lake Athabaska, 
though the last mentioned is really the Mac¬ 
kenzie, being known as the Slave River between 
Lake Athabaska and Great Slave Lake and 
as the Mackenzie from Great Slave Lake to the 


ocean. Both the Peace and Athabaska rivers 
are navigable, the former from the mountains 
to the lake, except below Fort Vermilion, where 
navigation is obstructed by Vermilion Falls. 
The Athabaska River rises in the mountains 
within Alberta, and is important as a highway 
for the trade carried between points in Alberta 
and the posts along the Slave and Mackenzie 
rivers. In the southeastern part the drainage 
is by the Saskatchewan River and its tribu¬ 
taries. The North Saskatchewan is important 
for navigation, and carries considerable trade 
from Edmondton to the country lying toward 
the east. Besides the Saskatchewan basin, the 
southern part of Alberta has sections lying in 
the basins of the Churchill and Missouri rivers. 
Lake Athabaska, partly in Alberta and partly in 
Saskatchewan, is the largest and most important 
body of water. Other lakes of considerable 
extent are Hay Lake, Lake Claire, Lesser Slave 
Lake, Whitefish Lake, Lac la Biche, Beaver 
Lake, and Sullivan Lake. 

Climate. The winters are dry and cold 
and the summers are warm. The average tem¬ 
perature at Fort Chipewyan, on Lake Atha¬ 
baska, in July, is about 61°, and a temperature 
of 90° has been recorded at that place. Though 
extremely cold in the winter, a dry atmosphere 
makes the severity less oppressive, and in the 
southern part the warm Chinook winds sweep 
across the country from the mountains and 
influence the temperature favorably. In the 
northern part rainfall is abundant for the 
germination and growth of all crops adapted 
to the country, but in the southern part it is 
more or less deficient and agriculture is 
extended by means of irrigation, water being 
drawn from numerous mountain streams and 
rivers. 

Industries. Agriculture, stock raising, 
mining, lumbering, and commerce are the chief 
industries. Wheat is a staple product, especially 
in the section lying east of Calgary and between 
the Bow River and the Red Deer River, where 
irrigation canals designed to supply water to 
irrigate fully three million acres have been 
constructed. The beet sugar industry has 
received marked attention, especially in the 
vicinity of Raymond, near the international 
border. Stock raising is one of the chief busi¬ 
ness enterprises, large areas being devoted to 
ranching and dairying. Progress in lumbering 
has been slow on account of a lack of trans¬ 
portation facilities, but the improvement of 
several rivers as highways and extensive build¬ 
ing of railroads are causing a great impetus in 
developing immense wealth from timber re¬ 
sources. Coal deposits are extensive below the 



alberta. 

1, Edmonton; 2, Calgary; 
3, Banff. 

Chief railways are shown 
by dotted lines. 






ALBERTA 


44 


ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA 


parallel of 56°, the veins in the southern sec¬ 
tion being bituminous, but in the mountains 
occur anthracite deposits of considerable extent. 
Salt and petroleum exist in the valley of the 
Athabaska River, and gold is worked east of 
Edmondton, on the Saskatchewan River. Oats, 
barley, flax, vegetables, and small fruits are 
profitable crops and considerable attention is 
given to the rearing of sheep, swine, horses, 
and poultry. Wild animals, such as antelope, 
geese, grouse, and partridges, are common. Deer 
and moose are met with in the northern section. 
The streams and lakes abound with edible fish. 

Government. The chief executive power 
is vested in a Lieutenant Governor, appointed 
for five years by the Governor General of the 
Dominion. Four members constitute the execu¬ 
tive council, each of which is at the head of a 
department, known as minister of education 
and provincial treasurer, attorney general, min¬ 
ister of public works, and minister of agricul¬ 
ture and provincial secretary. The legislative 
assembly has 25 members, chosen by popular 
vote. Support is given to public education 
through land grants and by taxation, and ample 
provision has been made for the training of 
teachers and improvement of facilities to pro¬ 
mote collegiate and higher instruction. The 
towns and counties have charge of local admin¬ 
istration, and common pleas and higher courts 
have jurisdiction of judicial affairs. 

Education. Notwithstanding the recent 
establishment of the Province of Alberta, its 
educational facilities are remarkably well de¬ 
veloped. The organization of elementary pub¬ 
lic schools follows close upon the advance of 
settlement, and such schools are maintained by 
a revenue derived from a moderate self- 
imposed tax and supplemented by very liberal 
legislative grants. The programme of studies 
for these schools is so formulated as to give 
the pupils whose education ends therein an 
equipment for life as practical and complete 
as possible. Secondary schools, where stu¬ 
dents may prepare f6r the professions or obtain 
a liberal general education, exist as an outgrowth 
of the elementary school system and are simi¬ 
larly maintained. The higher courses of these 
schools permit of specializing to a moderate 
degree. The regulations provide for uniformity 
in the system of inspection of schools and 
licensing of teachers. A number of private col¬ 
leges of considerable importance have been 
established in the larger centers. The Pro¬ 
vincial Normal School for the training of teach¬ 
ers is located at Calgary. The building is a 
magnificent one and is equipped in every depart¬ 
ment with modern appliances. The University 


of Alberta, situated in Strathcona, received its 
first classes in the autumn of 1908. The 
courses already provided are those leading to 
the degrees of B. A.-or B. Sc. 

Inhabitants. The inhabitants are largely 
Canadians who have come from the provinces 
farther east in the Dominion, but since 1905 
there has been considerable immigration from 
European countries and the United States. 
Encouragement was given by the government 
through the enactment of homestead laws in 
the Dominion, and by extensive building of 
railroads. The trunk line of the Canadian 
Pacific passes through the southern section, 
with branches from Dunmore Junction and 
Macleod to Calgary and Edmonton, while a 
line of the Canadian Northern passes east and 
west through Edmonton. Other lines have 
been projected and are in course of construc¬ 
tion. Edmonton, on the north bank of the 
Saskatchewan, is the provincial capital, and 
Calgary, at the confluence of the Bow and 
Elbow Rivers, is noted as a commercial center. 
In 1906 the former had a population of 11,163 
and the latter 11,967, but since then both have 
grown materially in population and commerce. 
Strathcona, on the south bank of the Sas¬ 
katchewan, has 3,500, and Medicine Hat, on 
the South Saskatchewan River, is an important 
business center. The census of 1906 credited 
Alberta with a population of 184,000. In 1908 
the inhabitants were estimated at 275,000. 

History. The territory now included in' 
Alberta was long a part of the portion of the 
Dominion known as the Northwest Territories. 
In 1882 the district of Alberta was established 
for administrative purposes. Then autonomy 
in local affairs was not granted and the area 
was 106,400 square miles. The province of 
Alberta was organized in 1905, when the boun¬ 
daries were extended by annexing to it parts 
of the districts of Athabaska, Saskatchewan, 
and Assiniboia. George Hedley Vicars Bulyea 
was appointed the first lieutenant governor, 
who, assisted by efficient deputy heads and 
executive councilors, rendered efficient services 
as administrator of public affairs. 

ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA (-m-an'- 
za), an important lake of Africa, about fifty 
miles southwest of Lake Albert Nyanza, with 
which it is connected by the Semliki River. It 
was first discovered by Baker in 1862, and was 
visited by Stanley in 1876, who also visited the 
region while on his famous expedition to relieve 
Emin Pasha. Lake Albert Edward Nyanza is 
somewhat smaller than Lake Albert Nyanza, 
and its elevation above sea level is somewhat 
greater. Stanley named it in honor of the 


ALBERT LEA 


45 


ALBUMEN 


Prince of Wales, now Edward VII. In its 
vicinity are excellent forests, and it abounds 
in fish, crocodiles, hippopotami, and many 
aquatic birds. 

ALBERT LEA (le), a city of Minnesota, 
county seat of Freeborn county, 108 miles 
south of Minneapolis. It is located on a small 
lake of the same name, and ©n the Minneapolis 
and Saint Louis, the Chicago, Milwaukee and 
Saint Paul, and other railroads. The surround¬ 
ing country is a fertile farming and dairying 
region. It has manufactures of flour, ma¬ 
chinery, lumber products, and earthenware. 
The city has several fine county buildings, 
excellent schools, and good municipal improve¬ 
ments. It is the seat of Albert Lea College, 
a Presbyterian institution for women. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 5,657. 

ALBERT MEMORIAL, a monument erect¬ 
ed in Hyde Park, London, to the memory of 
Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. It 
was built from plans of George Gilbert Scott, 
who was knighted for his skill in designing the 
memorial. Four marble sculptures represent¬ 
ing engineering, commerce, manufacture, and 
agriculture are at the four corners of the base, 
and in the center is a splendid statue of the 
prince. A Gothic spire, surmounted by a cross, 
crowns the canopy above the hall- in the interior, 
which is elegantly ornamented with mosaics and 
has a height of 175 feet. 

ALBERT NYANZA (m-an'za), a lake in 
East Central Africa, one of the headwaters 
of the Nile. It is 22 miles wide and 100 miles 
long. Sir Samuel Baker first explored the lake 
in 1864, and estimated its surface 2,720 feet 
above sea level. It receives the White Nile 
from Victoria Nyanza, and its overflow is car¬ 
ried toward the north into the Mediterranean 
Sea. It is noted for its excellent fisheries. 
Extensive forests abound in the surrounding 
country, and its vicinity is infested with croco¬ 
diles and hippopotami. 

ALBIGENSES (al-bi-jen'sez), a religious 
sect organized in the 12th century, and which 
was formerly well represented in France. It 
differed in doctrine and practice from the 
Roman Catholic Church, by which it was 
severely persecuted, and was somewhat similar 
in origin and doctrine to the Paterins of Italy, 
the Catharists of Germany, and the Bulgarians 
of France, but was not identical with any one 
of them. This sect seems to have originated 
from the Paulicians, a branch of the Greek 
Catholic Church, which sprang into existence 
in the 6th century. In. 1209 a severe war broke 
out between them and their allies on one side 
and the Catholics on the other. After many 


thousands had perished on both sides, a peace 
was concluded in 1229. By the end of the 13th 
century this sect had totally disappeared. 

ALBINO (al-bi'no), the name applied to a 
person -whose skin and hair are perfectly white, 
a remarkable peculiarity of the physical con¬ 
stitution of some individuals. While albinism 
occurs in all parts of the world and in all races, 
it is most marked in Indians and Negroes. The 
skin has a pale, unhealthy white color, and the 
iris of the eye is pink or red. While the vision 
of albinos is better in the dark than that of 
others, they are unable to bear a strong light. 
The peculiarity of albinism is always born with 
the individual. It is not confined to the human 
race, but has been observed in rabbits, rats, 
mice, fishes, and birds, especially in those whose 
color is commonly black. 

ALBION (al'bi-un), a city of Michigan, in 
Calhoun County, 20 miles west of Jackson. It 
has municipal waterworks and a public library, 
and is important as a railroad center, being on 
the Michigan Central and the Lake Shore and 
Michigan Southern railroads. Albion College is 
located here. Flouring mills, plowworks, and ma¬ 
chine shops are its chief manufactories. The first 
settlement at Albion was made in 1830, and its 
charter dates from 1896. Population, 1910, 5,833. 

ALBION, a town in New York, ’county seat 
of Orleans County, 30 miles west of Rochester. 
It has transportation facilities by the Erie Canal 
and the New York Central and Hudson River 
Railroad. Farming and quarrying are leading 
industries in the vicinity. It has several public 
institutions, including the Western House of 
Refuge for Women and a modern county 
courthouse. Population, 1900, 4,447; 1910, 5,016. 

ALBUMEN (al-bu'men), an organic com¬ 
pound found both in animals and plants. It 
abounds in the blood and chyle, and more or 
less in all the serous fluids of the animal body. 
It is the principal ingredient in the white of 
eggs. Albumen occurs in the sap of vege¬ 
tables, in their seeds, and in other parts of 
vegetable growth. Among the chief constitu¬ 
ents are nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, 
and small proportions of phosphorus and sul¬ 
phur. It is soluble in water, in which state it 
is found in the juices of flesh, serum of the 
blood, juices of vegetables, and in the egg, but 
when heated to a temperature of 140° to 160° 
it coagulates and becomes insoluble in water. 
When put in tannic acid, ether, creosote, and 
alcohol, it also coagulates. Since it contains 
more nutritious matter and is more easily 
digested than any other food, it constitutes one 
of the most important of food materials. The 
meat of young animals is more tender than that 



ALBUQUERQUE 


46 


ALCOHOL 


of older ones, because in it are found larger 
quantities of this substance. Some forms of 
albumen are used to clear liquids, such as coffee 
and sorghum, because when boiled it collects im¬ 
purities and rises as scum to the' surface or 
sinks to the bottom, this depending upon the 
weight of the liquid containing it. With the 
knowledge of the amount of albumen con¬ 
tained in the different kinds of food, and the 
effect of heat upon it when mixed with other 
substances, the skillful cook can turn the art of 
cookery into channels both pleasing and 
healthful. 

ALBUQUERQUE (a-boo-kar'ka), a city of 
New Mexico, county seat of Bernalillo county, 
72 miles southwest of Santa Fe, on the Atlantic 
and Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa 
Fe railways. It is finely situated on the Rio 
Grande, has a considerable local and jobbing 
trade, and contains a number of fine school 
and church buildings. Among its chief build¬ 
ings is the University of New Mexico, founded 
in 1892, at which time an annual territorial ap¬ 
propriation of $14,000 was granted. The uni¬ 
versity is non-sectarian and is open alike for 
the education of both sexes. The surrounding 
country is farming and stock raising. Electric 
lights, telephones, and waterworks are among 
the municipal improvements. The first settle¬ 
ment in its vicinity was made by Spaniards in 
1706. Population, 1900, 6,238. 

ALBURNUM (al-bur'num), or sapwood, 
the part of the wood of exogenous trees which 
is of most recent growth and near to the bark. 
In color it is pale or white. It gradually 
hardens with age, when it is converted into 
duramen, or heartwood, which is harder and 
more valuable than alburnum. 

ALCHEMY (al'ke-my), the ancient name 
for the science of chemistry, and which in 
former times was much studied. Modern 
sciences may be said to date from three dis¬ 
coveries— that of Copernicus, whose effect was 
to expel the astrologers from the society of the 
astronomers; the discovery of the weight of the 
atmosphere by Torricelli and Pascal, which laid 
the foundation of physics; and the discovery 
of oxygen by Lavoisier, which destroyed the 
theory of Stahl, the last alchemist who can be 
excused for not being a chemist. The objects 
of former alchemists included the discovery of 
a universal solvent; the acquirement of ability 
to transmute all metals into gold or silver, 
especially the former; and to obtain an elixir or 
universal medicine which might cure all dis¬ 
eases and indefinitely prolong human life. In 
this they were open to ridicule rather than the 
object they aimed at. All these objects were 


essentially laudable, and it could not be known 
whether or not they were attainable without 
vast experiments covering prolonged periods 
of time. To achieve success in the study of 
alchemy it was thought necessary for one to 
obtain first the philosopher’s stone, which was 
described as a red powder with a peculiar smell, 
and was thought tg possess the essential prop¬ 
erty necessary to turn to gold everything with 
which it came in contact. Though the 
alchemists failed in their immediate object, they 
discovered muriatic, nitric, and sulphuric acids, 
and laid the foundation for the whole science 
of modern chemistry. A skillful alchemist was 
called an adept. Alchemy flourished in the 
Middle Ages, but later sank gradually in repute, 
and ultimately became the object of ridicule 
to real scientific inquirers and the civilized 
world at large. However, it is to be noted 
that when the science of chemistry was fully 
established there were still many researches 
for the philosopher’s stone, by which gold 
might be produced successfully. Jean Baptiste 
Dumas (1800-84), the eminent French chemist, 
thought the necessary solution might be found 
in the doctrine of molecular isomerism, while 
Sir Humphry Davy, the celebrated English 
chemist, refused to give an opinion contrary to 
its possibility. The much-discussed problem of 
producing gold as a manufactured product is 
still receiving attention from some of the lead¬ 
ing scientists. 

ALCOHOL (al'ko-hol), the name applied to 
a series of substances formed of the same 
elements, alike in essential properties, but vary¬ 
ing in composition. Wood alcohol is the 
simplest form, known in the markets by the 
name of methyl, and is obtained by distilling 
wood. While it has nearly the same properties 
as common alcohol, it has an unpleasant taste 
and gives off an offensive odor. It is used in 
manufactures and in the arts as a substitute 
for common alcohol largely on account of its 
cheapness. Amyl alcohol, or fusel oil, is made 
in considerable quantities by the fermentation 
of potatoes. It has a nauseous fermentation 
and odor, and is far more poisonous than com¬ 
mon alcohol. After standing for some years, 
amyl alcohol is converted into the ordinary 
alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is the common alcohol 
made from beer, wine, and other beverages. 

Fermentation of sugar or of saccharine mat¬ 
ter is the only source of alcohol. Some plants 
contain free sugar, and others are rich in starch 
that can be converted into sugar. The vegetable 
substances best adapted for the manufacture of 
alcohol are those that contain the greatest 
abundance of sugar or starch. It cannot be 


ALCOHOL 


47 


ALDINE EDITIONS 


produced in a pure state by a single distilla¬ 
tion, owing to its attraction for water and its 
tendency to mix freely with it. Common 
spirits, such as brandy, whisky, and others, 
contain from forty to sixty per cent, of alcohol; 
in other words, they are about half water and 
half alcohol. The milder beverages, such as 
beer, cider, and the light wines, contain from 
four to fifteen per cent, of alcohol. Distilled 
liquors are made by a process called distilla¬ 
tion. The process requires an apparatus in 
which the substance to be distilled is heated. 
The alcohol rises and passes into a coiled tube, 
called the worm, which is located in a vessel 
called the worm-tub. The worm-tub is kept 
full of cold water, by means of which the 
alcohol passing through the worms is cooled 
and condensed and flows out of the end of 
the worm-pipe into a tank. Some watery vapor 
or steam always passes with the alcohol, hence 
distilled liquors usually contain from ten to 
sixty per cent, of water, but this can be largely 
extracted by a second or third distillation, or 
by mixing with the alcohol fused chloride of 
calcium, quicklime, or fused carbonate of pot¬ 
ash. If the whole be allowed to stand for 
twelve hours and then distilled a second time, 
the resulting alcohol is quite free from water. 

Alcohol is employed largely by some schools 
of medicine, while others discourage its use and 
claim it possesses no valuable medicinal prop¬ 
erties for which some other preparation may 
not be successfully substituted. It is quite 
probable that there are conditions under which 
a limited and careful use of alcohol may be 
applied for preventive and curative medicinal 
purposes, though it is very injurious to the 
young or immature of either sex. Its effect is 
more marked in females than in males, and in 
the weak than in the strong. In hot climates 
it is a prolific source of disease, and scarcely 
possesses a compensative advantage. The Rus¬ 
sian authorities do not permit a man who has 
indulged recently in the use of liquors to under¬ 
take a long march in the cold season. Living¬ 
stone found in his exploration tour of Africa 
that those addicted to the continual use of 
alcohol are most easily overcome by sustained 
exertion or excessive heat, while in the cele¬ 
brated tour of-Greely to the North Polar Sea it 
was proven that users of intoxicants more 
easily succumbed than nonusers. It is certain 
that alcohol is not a necessity nor beneficial in 
cold regions, and the majority of those addicted 
to it would be more vigorous if they did not 
use it in any form. Its present employment 
by mankind is more powerful for evil than 
g;ood. While this is true, it is certain that 


alcohol is one of the most'valuable products in 
the culinary arts, in manufactures, and for 
preservative purposes. According to a report 
issued in 1900, the four countries consuming the 
largest quantities of alcoholic beverages per 
capita rank in the following order: Belgium, 
England, France and Germany. 

ALCYONARIA (al-si-6-na'ri-a), a group of 
invertebrate animals, mostly marine, in which 
the stomach and other cavities are united. 
They comprise a group of coral polyps, and 
are characterized by having eight tentacles 
around the mouth. Some writers extend the 
group to embrace sponges. 

ALDER (al'der), a group of trees and 
shrubs native to the temperate and colder 
regions, and usually found in wet places. The 
wood has the property of remaining in an 
undecayed state for a long time while un¬ 
der water, hence it is used extensively in build¬ 
ing sluices, pumps, millwork, and bridges. Tan¬ 
ners find the young roots of value, while the 
bark is used in the manufacture of bitters, 
astringents, and medicine useful in treating 
ague.. The young twigs yield dyes of value in 
coloring different shades of red and yellow. 

ALDERNEY (al'der-m), or Augrigny, an 
island in the English Channel, eight miles from 
Cape la Hague, France, and about 60 miles 
from the nearest point in England. The area 
is three square miles. It is located about 15 miles 
from Guernsey, another of the Channel Islands. 
The climate is healthful and mild. The inhabi¬ 
tants are mostly of French extraction and are 
noted for rearing the Alderney cows, a small 
breed celebrated for their rich milk. Population, 
1901, 2,062. 

ALDERSHOT (al'der-shot), a town in 
England, in Hampshire, 14 miles east of Bas¬ 
ingstoke. Near it is the famous Aldershot 
military grounds, a permanent camp of the 
British army, at which splendid maneuvers are 
conducted in the spring and summer. The town 
is important as a railroad junction. It has a 
public library, a number of churches, and sev¬ 
eral benevolent institutions. Population, 1901, 
31,120. 

ALDINE EDITIONS, the title of. various 
works published at Venice, Italy, by Aldus 
Manutius and his family. This family flourished 
in 1490-1597, and its members became famous 
as scholars because of the correctness and 
beauty of their publications. The editions in¬ 
clude works of Latin, Greek, and Italian writ¬ 
ers, all of tasteful manufacture, and many 
were counterfeited by printers in France and 
Italy. The establishment produced 908 works 
and remained the property of the family more 


ALE 


48 


ALEXANDRIA 


than a century. “The Hours of the Blessed 
Virgin” is one of the finest productions. 

ALE (al), a fermented beverage now exten¬ 
sively manufactured, and said to have been 
made originally in Egypt. It is brewed like 
beer, and differs from it chiefly in having a 
smaller proportion of hops. The value of ale 
depends largely upon the proportion of sugar 
that is converted into alcohol, which process 
takes place in part after the liquor has been 
drawn off into a barrel, hence age greatly in¬ 
creases its strength. See Beer. 

ALEMANNI (al-e-man'e), the name ap¬ 
plied to a large union of German tribes on the 
Upper Rhine, with whom the Romans first came 
in collision in the reign of Caracalla. Dion 
Cassius was the first to mention them in his¬ 
tory, and he describes a victory over' them in 
the year 213 a. d. by Emperor Caracalla. Being 
powerful and persistent enemies to the Romans 
and Gauls, they were attacked and defeated 
by nine Roman emperors at different times, but 
were never wholly conquered. Their later 
history is included with that of Germany. The 
Swabian and Swiss dialects of the German 
language have been traced more or less distinctly 
to these people, and the former is known gener¬ 
ally as the Alemannic. 

ALENCON (a-lan-son'), a city in France, 
capital of the department of Orne, situated 
near the junction of the Sarthe and Birante 
rivers. It is well built, has a public library, and 
is the seat of a church built in the Gothic style, 
dating from the 16th century. Alen<;on is noted 
for the manufacture of artificial flowers, em¬ 
broidered fabrics, and a point lace known as point 
d’Alenqon. In the vicinity are granite quarries 
from which fine rock crystal called Alenqon 
diamond is obtained. Population, 1901, 17,280. 

ALEPPO (a-lep'po), a city of Syria, 
situated near the northwest extremity of the 
Syrian Desert. It is a place of great antiquity, 
and occupies the site of ancient Beroea. After 
the destruction of Palmyra, it became the great 
metropolis of trade between the Mediterranean 
and the nations of the East. The Saracen in¬ 
vaders conquered it in 638 and again in 1260, 
and in 1401 it was plundered by the Tartars. In 
1517 in came into possession of the Turks, under 
whose dominion it has since remained. At the 
beginning of the 19th century its population 
numbered over 200,000, but at present it does 
not exceed 125,000, of whom 25,000 are Chris¬ 
tians and 5,000 Jews. It has a large export 
trade in cotton, wool, oil, cereals, and live stock. 
The prevailing language spoken is Arabian. 

ALESSANDRIA (a-les-san'dre-a), a for¬ 
tress in northern Italy, capital of a province of 


the same name, situated near the junction of 
the Tanaro and Bormida rivers. It is strongly 
fortified, the citadel being one of the most im¬ 
portant in Europe. It has manufactures of 
silk and linen textiles, woolen goods, porcelain, 
and machinery. The surrounding country is 
rich in fruit and flowers. Marengo, the site of 
a battle in which. Napoleon defeated the army 
of Austria, is not far from Alessandria. The 
city was founded in 1168. Population, 1901, 
71,293. 

ALEUTIAN (a-lu'shan), the name of an 
American archipelago, including about 150 
islands, of which about eighty are of consider¬ 
able size. They are situated west of Alaska, 
separating Bering Sea from the Pacific Ocean, 
extending nearly 1,000 miles from east to west, 
and embracing an area of 6,391 square miles. 
The islands are of volcanic origin, and contain 
a number of volcanoes still active. The cli¬ 
mate is cold, but somewhat modified by oceanic 
influences, and the entire group belongs to the 
United States. Hunting and fishing are the 
chief occupations, and there is a considerable 
trade in fish and fur. The natives are known 
as Aleuts and belong to the Eskimo stock. Most 
of the inhabitants have embraced Christianity 
as a result of active work of missionaries of the 
Greek Church. The Aleutian Islands were dis¬ 
covered in 1741 by Vitus Bering (1680-1741), 
and were subsequently acquired and occupied by 
Russia together with Alaska. They came, into 
possession of the United States by the Alaskan 
purchase in 1867. Population about 8,275. See 
Alaska. 

ALEXANDRIA, an important city of 
Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea, 112 miles 
northwest of Cairo, and seven miles west of 
the Canopic mouth of the Nile. The city 
was founded by Alexander the Great after the 
destruction of Tyre, in 332 b. c., and at one 
time had a population of fully a million people, 
possessed great wealth, and was cultured by 
learning and civilization. It became celebrated 
for its lighthouse, situated on the island of 
Pharos, reckoned among the seven wonders of 
the world, and the island itself was connected 
with the mainland by a dike, through which 
vessels could pass by means of movable bridges. 
Much of its early success was due to Greek 
scholars, who fostered learning and aided in 
founding its great library. After the death 
of Alexander the Great, it became the residence 
of the Ptolemies and was next to Rome and 
Antioch the most magnificent city of antiquity. 
At this time it rose to prominence as the seat of 
Grecian learning and literature, which not only 
augmented its material prosperity, but spread its 


ALEXANDRIA 


49 


ALEXANDRIA 


influence over the greater part of the ancient 
world. The Romans came into possession of it 
about 30 b. c., from which period dates the de¬ 
cline of the city, largely because its wealth and 
treasures were carried to Rome, and many of 



PHAROS LIGHTHOUSE, ALEXANDRIA. 


its institutions were laid waste and pillaged. Be¬ 
sides, the rise of Constantinople, its powerful 
rival, aided in the .declining tendency. The 
city wasted away so rapidly that in the 4th 
century a. d. the only building of any impor¬ 
tance remaining was the Temple of Serapis. In 
the 7th century it was sacked by the Arabs, and 
in the 9th century was conquered by the Turks. 
It had a population of only about 6,000 in 1778, 
but soon after the conquest of Egypt by the 
French it began to regain importance. 

The modern development of Egypt has again 
placed Alexandria with the foremost com¬ 
mercial -aties on the Mediterranean. Among the 
causes affecting its modern growth may be 
named the discovery of America, the passage 
of commerce from India by the way of the Cape 
of Good Hope, and the construction of the Suez 
Canal. The foremr two had a more or less 
depressing effect by diverting its trade with 
India, but the building of the Suez Canal more 
than compensated by giving to the prosperity 
of Egypt a decided impetus. The present city 
is not situated on the exact site occupied by 
ancient Alexandria, but is built mostly on the 
island of Pharos and the mole connecting it 
with the land opposite. Though the mole was 
originally an artificial dike, it has been broad¬ 
ened by alluvial deposits into a considerable 
stretch of land, and occupies a position between 
the two harbors. Formerly two obelisks, known 

4 


as Cleopatra’s needles, sculptured in the time 
of King Thothmes III., in the 16th century b.c., 
adorned the city, but these have been trans¬ 
ported, one to the United States and the other 
to England. The city has exports valued at 
$17,500,000, and imports aggregating about one- 
half that amount. It is the focus of many rail¬ 
ways, and has rapid transit, electric lights,, and 
other modern facilities. Among the leading 
exports are cotton, sugar, rice, grain, and fruits. 
The manufactures are chiefly clothing, utensils, 
jewelry, chemicals, toys, and articles of food. 
Its inhabitants are greatly diversified, including 
Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Persians, and many Euro¬ 
pean tradesmen. Population, 325,575. 

ALEXANDRIA (al-egz-an'dri-a), a city 
of Indiana, in Madison County, 48 miles north¬ 
east of Indianapolis, on the Lake Erie and 
Western and the Big Four railways. It is 
surrounded by a fertile farming country and 
has a growing trade in produce and merchan¬ 
dise. The manufactures include glass, clothing, 
ironware, and machinery. Waterworks, sewer¬ 
age, electric lighting, and pavements are among 
the public utilities. The first settlement in 
its vicinity was made in 1834. Population, 1900, 
7,221. 

ALEXANDRIA, a city in Louisiana, cap¬ 
ital of Rapides parish, on the Red River, 
about 195 miles northwest of New Orleans. 
It is on the Southern Pacific, the Iron Moun¬ 
tain and Southern, the Texas Pacific, and other 
railr.oads. Having excellent steamboat and 
railway facilities, it exports large quantities of 
fruits, cotton, rice, and sugar.. There are a 
number of fine parish and school buildings, 
numerous churches, and many municipal con¬ 
veniences. Among the manufactures are to¬ 
bacco products, machinery, and utensils. Alex¬ 
andria was settled in 1820 and incorporated in 
1840. Population, 1900, 5,648. 

ALEXANDRIA, a city of Virginia, county 
seat of Alexandria county, on the Potomac 
River, seven miles south of Washington, D. C. 
It has transportation facilities by steamboat 
lines and by the Baltimore and Ohio, the Penn¬ 
sylvania, the Southern, and the Chesapeake and 
Ohio railways. The streets are regularly platted, 
and improved by gas and electric lights, pave¬ 
ments, waterworks, and an extensive system of 
street railways. There are manufactures of ma¬ 
chinery, tobacco products, earthenware, cloth¬ 
ing, and farming implements. The city has 
excellent public schools and numerous churches, 
and carries on a considerable interior and for¬ 
eign trade. General Braddock made it his head¬ 
quarters in 1755, and the citizens contributed 
to the British in 1814 in order to save them- 













ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY 


50 


ALGAE 


selves from an attack by a fleet. Federal troops 
occupied the city during the Civil War. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 14,528. 

ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY, the most 
remarkable and largest collection of books 
of antiquity, founded by Ptolemy Soter in 
Alexandria, Egypt, and greatly enlarged by 
succeeding Ptolemaic rulers. It embraced the 
collected literature of Egypt, India, Greece, and 
Rome, and at the time of its first manager, 
Demetrius Phalereus, contained 50,000 volumes, 
but was subsequently enlarged to 700,000. A 
part of the library was situated in a museum in 
the portion of the city called Bruchium, near 
the royal palace of the Ptolemies, and the other 
part was in the temple of Jupiter Serapis. The 
former portion was destroyed in the siege of 
Alexandria by Julius Caesar, but was largely 
replaced by Mark Antony and presented by 
him to Queen Cleopatra. The portion of the 
library situated in the temple of Jupiter Serapis 
was destroyed in the time of Theodosius the 
Great, and the collection of Mark Antony was 
burned in 640, when the city was conquered by 
the Arabs. Some writers contend that this por¬ 
tion of the library was destroyed by fanatical 
Christians in 391, who were led by Archbishop 
Theophilus. See Libraries. 

ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL, a term used 
to designate the age or time, after the decline 
of Greece, when Alexandria, Egypt, became 
the seat of science and literature. It is usually 
divided into two periods, the first embracing, 
the reign of the Ptolemies, from 323 to 30 b. c., 
and the second from. 30 b. c. to 640 a. d., in¬ 
cluding the Roman supremacy and ending with 
the conquest by the Arabs. To the founder of 
the Alexandrian Library, Ptolemy Soter. is also 
ascribed the. introduction of science and litera^ 
ture. The grammarians and poets of this period 
included Egyptians, Greeks, and Jews, and later 
also Romans. Their chief aim was • to col¬ 
lect and preserve for future generations writings 
then existing, and to add to these the literature 
of subsequent years. The language of Alexan¬ 
drian writers was remarkable for correctness, 
purity, and elegance of expression. Though dis¬ 
tinguished for fine rhetoric, their productions 
lacked the spirit that animated Greek poetry. 
In a school where imitation and rule were sub¬ 
stituted for inspiration, each generation became 
more artificial and lifeless than preceding mas¬ 
ters. However, the school was long distin¬ 
guished for culture in mathematics, astronomy, 
and physical sciences. It was Here that Euclid 
in the 3d century b. c. wrote his great work on 
geometry, and Archimedes. Eratosthenes, and 
Philadelphia declared well-established mather 


matical and scientific principles. For four cen¬ 
turies the Alexandrian School was the chief 
seat of learning and science of the world, and 
from its origin to its fall includes a period of 
1,000 years. . 

ALEXANDRIAN VERSION, or Alex¬ 
andrian Codex, an important manuscript writ¬ 
ten on parchment with uncial letters, now in 
the British Museum. It constitutes a transcript 
of the Old and New Testaments in the Greek 
language, but there are some omissions from 
the New Testament. The Old Testament is 
written in the translation known as the Septua- 
gint, and, in connection with it, are epistles of- 
Clemens Romanus. The manuscript is thought 
to date from the 6th century. 

ALFALFA (al-fal'fa), or Lucerne, a deep¬ 
rooting clover-like perennial plant. It is culti¬ 
vated extensively for forage in America and 


ALFALFA. 

Hop Lucerne. Sand Lucerne. 

in the European countries bordering on the 
Mediterranean Sea. Owing to rooting deep 
into the ground, it is the best known plant for 
dry localities, and is profitably cultivated in 
such regions. It yields from ten to thirty tons 
of fodder per acre, and has the advantage of 
being both nourishing and healthful as a food 
for stock. The stem is upright and branching, 
the leaves are purple colored, and the flowers 
grow in clusters. It has been cultivated in 
Europe as a forage plant more than 2,000 years 
and is grown extensively in the arid regions of 
Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, and other 
states. 

ALGAE (al'je), the general name applied 
to numerous plants that grow in water, both 
fresh and salt, comprising seaweeds and other 
species. In size they range from forms too 
small to be seen by the naked eye to the giant 
kelp common to the west coast of America, 
which attains a length of from. 800 to 1,500 
feet. They are devoid of true roots, and usually 
adhere to the bottom of the water or to rocks, 
and frequently are seen afloat on the surface. 




ALGEBRA 


51 


ALGERIA 


In structure they are of cellular tissue, as the 
common carrageen, which, when bleached, is 
the Irish moss of commerce. This plant and 
many others are edible. Some species are used 
in the manufacture of iodine, kelp, and bromine, 
and many are of value as manure. Masses of 
gulfweed many miles in extent are met by 
navigators, such as the Sargasso Sea. Most 
species common to salt water are brown or 
red, and the fresh-water plants are greenish in 
color. 

ALGEBRA (al'j e-bra), a branch of pure 
mathematics, which, like arithmetic, treats of 
numbers. This department of mathematics en¬ 
ables one to generalize by the aid of symbols, 
and therefore to abbreviate the method of solv¬ 
ing propositions relating to numbers. It is 
a valuable medium in the solution of intricate 
problems, and by means of it results can be 
obtained that by arithmetic are impossible. 
Comte defines algebra as the calculus of func¬ 
tion, to distinguish it from arithmetic, which he 
defines as the calculus of values, but this defini¬ 
tion places some algebra in common arithmetic 
and some arithmetic in school algebra. However, 
in practice, this condition now exists in many 
common schools, since authors of texts in 
arithmetic have introduced more or less exten¬ 
sive applications of algebra with each division 
of arithmetic. 

The symbols used in algebra are of three 
kinds, those of quantity, those of operation, 
and those employed as abbreviations for ordinary 
words. Symbols of quantity may be known or 
unknown, and consist of letters of the alpha- 
. bet and of ordinary numbers, as 2 a-\~ 3 b by 2 a — 

1 3 b, meaning that the former quantity is to be 

multiplied by the latter. Numerals or the first 
letters of the alphabet are generally employed 
to represent known quantities, as a, b, c; 
and the last letters of the alphabet to represent 
unknown quantities, as x, y, z. The symbols 
of operation are -j-, —> X> T* —> e * c -> an( ^ 

! symbols used as abbreviations are \/, denoting 
square root;-^, cube root, <, greater than, etc. 
The divisions of algebra are addition, subtrac¬ 
tion, multiplication, division, involution, evolu- 
i - tion, and equations, though some authors oftext- 
| books and many institutions, of learning make 
the last mentioned a distinct branch of study. 

An equation is the statement of the quality of 
two algebraic expressions, the expression to the 
left of the sign of equality being the first mem¬ 
ber and the one to the right of the sign being 
I the second member. Equations are designated 
by degree: one of the first degree is called a 
simple equation; of the second' quadratic; of 
the third, cubic; of the fourth, quartic or 


biquadratic, etc. It has long been possible to 
solve general equations of the second, the third, 
and the fourth degree, but whether an equation 
of the fifth degree can be solved was in dis¬ 
pute for many centuries. This question was 
finally settled by Niels Henrik Abel (1802-29), 
an eminent Norwegian mathematician, who 
demonstrated the impossibility of solving gen¬ 
eral equations of any degree higher than the 
fourth. However, it is possible to construct 
special equations of the fifth or of a higher 
degree which admit of being solved, but such 
problems belong to the highest branch of 
algebra. Diophantus of Alexandria, Egypt, is 
thought to have originated this science in the 
4th century, when that city was the seat of 
culture and learning. Europeans first learned 
of algebra from the Arabs, who derived it from 
the Hindus. The work from which Europeans 
drew largely was that of Mohammed Ben Musa, 
who lived in the 9th century. Leonardo 
Bonaccio, an Italian merchant, while traveling 
in the East, about 1200, acquired a knowledge of 
algebra, and on his return introduced it among 
his countrymen. Later it was introduced into 
all European countries, and its signs and sym¬ 
bols were greatly enlarged. It began to be 
taught with much enthusiasm in the early 
period of the revival of learning. It was first 
applied in a case of one cubic equation in lo05, 
later to two cubic equations, and still later to 
biquadratic equations. Descartes applied algebra 
to geometry, and was the first to represent the 
nature of curves by means of equation. Other 
eminent'scholars applied algebraic methods to 
the sciences, including formal logic, economics, 
and psychology. 

ALGECIRAS (al-je-se'ras), a city of Spain, 
in the province of Cadiz, six miles west of 
Gibraltar. It is important as a seaport, has a 
well-protected harbor, and carries on a profit¬ 
able trade. The Moors seized it in 711, and it 
remained in their possession until 1344, when 
it was beseiged and captured by Alfonso XL 
It was the seat of the Algeciras Conference in 
1906, which considered the rival claims of 
Germany and France in Morocco. Population, 
1900, 13,131. 

ALGERIA (al-ge'ri-a), a colony of France 
in North Africa, bounded on the north by the 
Mediterranean Sea, east by Tunis and Tripoli, 
south by the Sahara Desert, and west by 
Morocco. The length from east to west is 
about 550 miles and it extends inland about 
375 miles. It has an area of about 343,500 
square miles, but the area exclusive of the 
Sahara region is 184,474 square miles. 

Description. Algeria comprises a portion of 


ALGERIA 


52- 


ALGERIA 


the plateau of North Africa, which rises from 
the sea in three terraces, but along the 
Mediterranean is an extensive and fertile coast 
plain. The Atlas Mountains traverse the entire 
northern part from east to west in two chains, 
known as the Great Atlas and the Middle or 
Maritime Atlas. These chains are more or less 
parallel to the coast, the former bordering on 
the Sahara and the latter trending between it 
and the sea. The Great Atlas includes some 
of the highest summits of Algeria, as Mount 
Shelia, which is 7,600 feet above sea level. 
Deep and tortuous defiles furrow the moun¬ 
tains in many places. The portion of the 
Sahara lying within Algeria is a rocky plateau 
with an elevation of about 1,500 feet. All of 
the streams are small and unimportant. They 
are confined almost exclusively to the coastal 
plain of the north, since the region included in 
the Algerian Sahara is arid. The Sheliff, 
which flows into the Mediterranean near 
Mostaganem, is the largest river. Numerous 
small lakes abound in the highland, some of 
which are saline and have deposits of salt on 
the bottom during the dry season. 

The climate is moderate and healthful, but 
it varies largely with differehces in elevation 
and local peculiarities, being generally arid 
toward the south and moderately humid in the 
northern part. The most productive and best 
watered section of the country is along the 
sea, extending inland about fifty miles, and most 
of the European settlements are within this belt. 
This section has a moderate temperature, but 
the summers as a whole are hot and dry. A 
large number of fertile oases are located in the 
desert on the south slope of the highlands. 
They are covered with vegetation and are well 
watered, but the greater part of the desert is 
devoid of vegetation and unfit for occupation. 

Productions. Many minerals abound in the 
highlands, but mining has not been developed 
to any great extent. The more extensive de¬ 
posits are those of iron, copper, zinc, lead, and 
quicksilver. Building stone, especially granite, 
is found in large quantities. Extensive deposits 
of salt occur in the southern part. Agriculture 
and stock raising are the leading industries, 
and these enterprises are largely in the hands 
of natives, while commerce is monopolized by 
Europeans, mostly Frenchmen. Wheat is the 
leading cereal, but comparatively large interests 
are vested in growing barley, oats, potatoes, 
alfalfa, and grapes. Other products include 
coffee, tobacco, onions, and fruits. A fine 
grade of horses are reared for draft purposes. 
Other domestic animals include cattle, sheep, 
camels, and poultry. 


Algeria has large interests in timber and is 
an exporter of lumber and lumber products. 
As a wine-producing country it takes high rank, 
and it has manufactures of pottery, cotton and 
woolen textiles, clothing, utensils, and esparto 
goods. The foreign trade is chiefly with 
France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, and Ger¬ 
many. The leading exports include cereals, 
wine, minerals, cork, alfalfa, and live stock. 
Among the imports are clothing, furniture, tex¬ 
tiles, and machinery. Railroad building has 
received marked attention under grants made 
by France, and the lines in operation in 1908 
included a total of 2,250 miles. Tramway 
lines have been constructed in the larger cities 
and in some of the mining districts, and a sys¬ 
tem of national highway has been inaugurated. 

Government. The administration is vested 
in a governor general, who is responsible to the 
national assembly of France. He is assisted 
by a ministry, although a part of the territory is 
governed under military rule. For the purpose 
of government the country is divided into three 
provinces, called departments. These include 
Algiers, Constantine, and Oran. Each depart¬ 
ment has its own council, and these councils 
send delegates to the superior council, which 
meets annually at Algiers. Judicial authority is" 
exercised- by justices of the peace, commercial 
courts, courts of first instance, and a court of 
appeal located at Algiers. As a whole the coun¬ 
try is organized and governed under the system 
of French laws, both in civil and criminal 
affairs. The state gives support to education 
and religion, but the instruction in elementary 
schools may be either in French or Arabic. 
Several institutions of higher learning and a 
number of commercial and technical schools are 
maintained under encouragement by the govern¬ 
ment. 

Inhabitants. Although Algeria has been a 
dependency of France since 1830, only about 
350,000 of the inhabitants are French, and the 
total foreign population is given at 765,500. 
The two chief classes are Arabs and Berbers, 
the former being largely nomadic and engaging 
extensively in pastoral occupations. Formerly 
the region was occupied wholly by Berbers, who 
are generally termed Kabyles, and there are 
parts of the country which are still occupied 
almost exclusively by these people. The Berbers 
have a language peculiar to themselves, but they 
have been influenced more or less by the Arabs 
and Jews and use the Arabic characters in 
writing. Mohammedanism is the prevailing 
religion, but Judaism is well represented and 
many of the natives profess Christianity. A 
small element of the inhabitants consist of 


ALGIERS 


53 


ALHAMBRA 


Negroes and Turks. Algiers, the capital of 
Algeria and of the department of Algiers, is 
the largest city. Other cities include Oran, 
Constantine, Bona, Mustapha, Tlemcen, and 
Gardaj a. Population, 1906, 5,231,850. 

History. The region occupied by Algeria 
was known to the Romans as Numidia, but 
anciently it included Tunis. The Vandals con¬ 
quered it in 1830 a. d., but it was occupied 
by an army of the Byzantine Empire in 1833, 
and became a possession of the Saracens in the 
7th century. When the Jews and Moors were 
driven from Spain by Ferninand and Isabella 
at the close of the 15th century, large numbers 
of them located in Algeria, where they 
developed the arts and industries of the 
Europeans. Spain undertook a war against 
Algeria at the beginning of the 16th century, 
and by 1510 made much of the country tribu¬ 
tary. The Turkish pirate, Horush Barbarossa, 
made himself Sultan of Algeria in 1516, but 
he was captured soon after and beheaded by 
the Spaniards. In the 16th century the country 
became a part of the Turkish domain, but the 
Turks did not establish complete supremacy 
over all the tribes, and in 1830 it became a 
colonial possession of France. At the time of 
the Franco-German War, in 1870-71, an up¬ 
rising took place to throw off the dominion of 
France. Subsequently other attempts were 
made to secure independence, but in the main 
the country has been prosperous and peaceable. 
French occupancy has greatly facilitated com¬ 
merce and manufactures, extended internal im¬ 
provements, and stimulated a devlopment of 
the natural resources. 

ALGIERS (al-jerz'), a seaport city on the 
Mediterranean, capital of Algeria, on the west 
shore of the Bay of Algiers. It occupies a fine 
site on the slope of a hill fronting the sea, the 
mountains back of it giving a beautiful back¬ 
ground effect. The city consists of two parts, 
the old and the new divisions. In the former 
the streets are platted irregularly, giving an 
Oriental appearance, while the latter was planned 
and built by the French and is both modern and 
beautiful. Four aqueducts supply water, and 
the newer part of the city is lighted with gas 
and electricity. The old part is built in the 
Moorish style, and the architecture is plain 
i from the outside, but the interiors are beauti¬ 
fully decorated in the Moorish art. Formerly 
the city had about one hundred mosques, but 
they have been partly displaced by synagogues 
and Christian churches. Among the educational 
institutions are schools of science, law, and 
medicine, and many secondary schools are 
maintained by the French and the Mussulmans. 


The harbor is well fortified and spacious, fur¬ 
nishing landings for a large number of vessels. 
Considerable export trade is carried on with 
France and other European countries, and it is 
the most important coaling station on the 
Mediterranean. Tourists visit Algiers in large 
numbers during the winter, owing to its pleas¬ 
ant and healthful climate. Population, 1906, 
138,240. 

ALGO A BAY (al-go'a), an inlet on the 
southeastern coast of Africa, in Cape Colony, 
about 425 miles east of the Cape of Good Hope. 
The Sunday and Baasher rivers discharge into 
it, and it affords excellent anchorage for ves¬ 
sels. On the west coast is Port Elizabeth, near 
Cape Recife, which is the seat of a consider¬ 
able export and import trade. 

ALGONKIAN (al-gon'ki-an), a division of 
geologic time, preceded by the Archaean and 
succeeded by the Cambrian. Traces of this 
period are most distinct in the vicinity of Lake 
Superior, both in the United States and Canada, 
and its name was derived from the Algonquin 
Indians who originally inhabited that region. 
The rocks are sedimentary and metamorphic, 
and consist chiefly of marble, schist, geneiss, 
quartz, granite, and conglomerates. Few fos¬ 
sils occur and those found are indistinct. In 
some regions volcanic rocks are imbedded in 
shale and limestone, while in other sections 
rich deposits of copper and iron are abundant, 
the former particularly in Upper Michigan and 
the latter in Northern Minnesota. The Hud¬ 
son Bay country, Ontario, New England, and 
the Black Hills have large areas of the Al- 
gonkian system. 

ALGONQUINS (al-gon'kwinz), a family 
of North American Indians, the most promi¬ 
nent of three aboriginal races found in the great 
basin of the Saint Lawrence. They include 
the Mohegans, Pequots, and Narragansetts of 
New England; the Delawares, Powhatans, and 
Shawnees; and many tribes living in the vicini¬ 
ty of the Great Lakes. During the Colonial 
period they were friendly to the French and 
fought against the English, especially in the 
French and Indian wars, but later they became 
greatly scattered. At present about 81,200 of 
these Indians are living, the larger part of 
which are in Canada, notably in the provinces 
of Quebec and Ontario. The tribe known as 
Algonquins has dwindled down to about 1,200, 
and about two-thirds of these are in Canada. 

ALHAMBRA (al-hara'bra), a noted palace 
in Spain, situated about a mile from the city 
of Granada, to which it forms a citadel or 
acropolis. It was formerly the residence of the 
Moorish kings. It was founded and commenced 




ALIAS 


54 


ALKALI 


by Ibnu-l-ahmar, and completed about 1348. 
There are two oblong courts; the smaller one, 
known as the Court of the Lions, contains a 
fountain ornamented with twelve lions in mar¬ 
ble, and is G6xll5 feet; the other, called the 
Court of the Blessings, is 74x138 feet. The 
Alhambra is surrounded by gardens, in which 
are beautiful waterfalls, exquisite fountains, and 
decorative vines. Within are gorgeous color¬ 
ings, whispering galleries, and geometrical de¬ 
signs interwoven with passages from the Koran. 
An Arab poet likened the Alhambra to “a pearl 
set around with emeralds/’ while it was once 
described as “the gem of Arabian art in Spain, 
its most beautiful and most perfect example.” 
Washington Irving’s “Alhambra” is the best 
known description written of this place in the 
English language. 

ALIAS (a'li-as), a term used in law to 
designate a name assumed by a person who 
wishes to conceal the name by which he passes 
or is known. An alias is usually assumed for 
purposes of deception, though this is not always 
the case, as it is quite proper under certain 
conditions to employ an alias, such as pseu¬ 
donyms adopted by writers, stage names used 
by actors, and descriptions employed by detec¬ 
tives, all of which are properly comprehended 
under the term. The name is frequently used 
in law to describe a writ given after one of 
the same kind has been issued for an identical 
purpose. 

ALICANTE (a-le-kan'ta), a city of Spain, 
in the province of Alicante, located on the 
Mediterranean. Many of the buildings are of 
stone, and the streets are well improved and 
regularly platted. It is well fortified and ranks 
next to Cadiz and Barcelona as a seaport in 
Spain. The manufactures include tobacco, 
clothing, and machinery, and the city has a 
large trade in grain and fruit. It is the seat 
of two nunneries, a collegiate church, and 
several consulates. The Romans named it 
Lucentum. Population, 1900, 50,495. 

ALIEN (al'yen), a term used to designate 
a person born outside of the jurisdiction of 
the country in which he resides and who has 
not acquired the full rights of citizenship. In 
Great Britain the alien may become a citizen 
under the Naturalization Act of 1870. On the 
other hand, in the United States, the status of 
an alien is determined under the provisions of 
the National Constitution, or under the Con¬ 
stitution of the State in which such alien may 
reside. An alien, even after naturalization, is 
restricted in a number of respects, as, for in¬ 
stance, he is not eligible to a seat in Congress 
until after seven years after naturalization, and 


may not hold the office of President or Vice 
President. 

ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS (s£-di'- 
shun), the name applied to certain enactments 
of Congress passed in 1798, while John Adams 
was President. They raised the number of 
years necessary for naturalization from five 
to fourteen; provided for the arrest of sub¬ 
jects of any foreign power with which the 
United States should be at war; provided for 
the punishment of any person maliciously slan¬ 
dering the government or any of its officers, 
and gave the President power to banish or 
arrest any aliens he might deem dangerous. 
These laws proved a political blunder and were 
never enforced to any extent. They aided largely 
in the downfall of the Federal party. 

* ALIMENTARY CANAL (al-i-men'ta-ry), 
the name of that portion of the digestive appar¬ 
atus through which food passes after mastica¬ 
tion. It includes the pharynx, aesophagus, 
stomach, and small and large intestines. 
These organs are lined with a mucous mem¬ 
brane, which possesses the function of absorb¬ 
ing certain substances and rejecting waste mat¬ 
ter, and is modified in each region according 
to the function of the part. The length of the 
alimentary canal is five to six times the height 
of the individual, usually about thirty feet in 
the adult, measured from the base of the skull 
to the extreme end of the large intestines. 

ALIZARIN (a-liz'a-rin), a coloring matter 
derived from the root of the madder. This 
plant is cultivated in Southern Europe for its 
coloring principles, but alizarin is now derived 
largely from anthracene, a hydrocarbon con¬ 
tained in the refuse of coal tar. From it the 
Turkish red dyes are obtained. 

ALKALI (al'ka-li), a term of Arabic origin, 
alki being the name of the plant from which 
an alkaline substance was first derived. The 
name is now applied to a class of substances 
that have similar properties, the most com 
spicuous beipg solubility in water, power of 
corroding vegetable and animal substances, 
ability to neutralize acids and with them to 
form salts, and the property of -changing the 
tint of various coloring matter. Properly, 
there are four alkalies—soda, lithia, potash, and 
ammonia. The first three are oxides of metals; 
the last is called the volatile alkali, being in the 
form of gas, and compounded of nitrogen, 
oxygen, and hydrogen. Potash is called the 
vegetable alkali, being largely found in the 
ashes of plants, and soda is termed the mineral 
alkali, owing to its predominating in minerals. 
Alkalies have a soapy taste, form soap with 
fats, and act on the skin. They turn most 


ALKALOID 


55 


ALLEGIANCE 


vegetables green, turmeric brown, and reddened 
litmus blue. When united with an acid, the 
peculiar qualities of each are destroyed or 
neutralized, as is exemplified when mixing soda 
with sour milk; the former an alkali, and the 
latter an acid. The term alkali as employed in 
commerce usually implies caustic soda or pot¬ 
ash, and both are used in the arts for the 
manufacture of glass, soap, and many other 
products. Caustic potash is used in surgery for 
cauterizing. 

ALKALOID (al'ka-loid), a compound of 
vegetable origin, usually complex in composition, 
and found in living plants. All the alkaloids con¬ 
tain nitrogen and certain properties in com¬ 
mon with ammonia, especially the power to 
form salts when combined with acids. Their 
properties, which are extracted from the plants 
by treating with dilute acids, are poisonous and 
medicinal. The list of alkaloids embraces 
quinine, cocaine, morphine, caffeine, strychnine, 
aconitine, narcotine, codeine, coniine, nicotine, 
theobromine, etc. Artificial alkaloids are de¬ 
rived from coal tar products. 

ALLAH (aria), the Arabian name of God, 
whose attributes are thus summed up by the 
Koran: “There is no God but God. This only 
true, great, and most high God has his being 
through himself; is everlasting; is not begotten 
and begetteth not; is all-sufficient in himself; 
fills the universe with his infinity; is the center 
in which all things unite, as well the hidden 
as the manifest; is Lord of the world of bodies 
and spirits, creator and ruler, almighty, all¬ 
wise, all-loving, merciful; and his decrees are 
unchangeable.” Allah Akbar, meaning God is 
great, is a popular war cry among the Mo- 
i hammedans. 

ALLAHABAD (al-la-ha-bad'), an im- 
| portant city of India, capital of the North¬ 
west Provinces, at the junction of the Ganges 
and Jumna rivers. It is strongly fortified, has 
extensive railroad facilities, and is regarded the 
holiest of all places by the Hindus. Those 
people make it one of their chief resorts, and * 
thousands make pilgrimages to bathe at the 
junction of the two rivers. The Mohammedans 
also hold it sacred, and to them it is known as 
the “City of Allah.” There are a number of 
| fine government buildings, numerous mosques, 
temples, and educational institutions, and it is 
the seat of a famous annual industrial exposi¬ 
tion. The manufactures include clothing, car¬ 
pets, textiles, leather, pottery, and machinery. 

It was founded in the 3d century b. c., and 
has long ranked as an important trade and 
manufacturing center. Population, 177,210. 

ALLEGHANY (al-le-ga'm), a name some¬ 


times applied to the great mountain system in 
the eastern part of the United States, though 
it is more commonly known as Appalachian. The 
Alleghany mountains proper are the ranges of 
the Appalachian system that traverse the states 
of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. They 
comprise a number of parallel chains that trend 
from the southwest to the northeast. Th’eir 
average elevation is about 2,500 feet, reaching 
their highest summits in Virginia, where they 
are over 4>000 feet high. These mountain 
ranges are well wooded to the summit and 
throughout the region $re many fertile valleys. 
Large quantities ; of iron, bituminous and an¬ 
thracite coal, limestone, and other minerals and 
quarry products are obtained. 

ALLEGHANY SPRING, a village and 
post office of Virginia, in Montgomery County, 
80 miles west of Lynchburg, near the line of 
the Norfolk and Western Railroad. It is noted 
for the large number of highly saline springs 
that are located in the surrounding country. 
The vicinity is known as Alleghany Springs and 
is much frequented as a summer resort. Shaws- 
ville, three miles distant, is the railroad station. 

ALLEGHENY, a river of the United States, 
rises in Potter County, Pennsylvania, and unites 
with the Monongahela at Pittsburg to form the 
Ohio. It courses through a fertile valley, is 
about 365 miles long, and is navigable some, 
distance above Pittsburg. 

ALLEGHENY, formerly a city of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, in Allegheny County, opposite Pittsburg, 
but united with the city of Pittsburg since 1906. 
It is finely situated on the Allegheny River, is 
the focus of a network of railroads, and ranks 
as a favorite residence place for Pittsburg busi¬ 
ness men. A large number of bridges cross 
the Allegheny River, both for pedestrians and 
commercial traffic, and it has extensive elec¬ 
tric railway facilities with many points within 
the State. It is important as a center for the 
manufacture of ironware, boilers, spirituous 4 
liquors, salt, locomotives, machinery, clothing, 
stoves, white lead, and leather. There are 
extensive municipal improvements, including 
waterworks, pavements, gas and electric light¬ 
ing, and sewerage. Among the chief buildings 
are the Western University of Pennsylvania, 
the Allegheny Observatory, the Western Theo¬ 
logical Seminary, and numerous libraries, 
schools, hospitals, and churches. Allegheny 
was first settled in 1788, and its incorporation 
as a city dates from 1840. Population, 1900, 
129,896. 

ALLEGIANCE (al-le'jans), the term used 
to express that duty which a citizen owes to 
the State to which he belongs, or the tie or obli- 




ALLEGORY 


56 


ALLIGATOR LIZARD 


gation to one’s country. The English doctrine 
which asserted that allegiance is indelible was 
early adopted by the United States, but this 
theory has since been modified by the enact¬ 
ment of naturalization laws. 

ALLEGORY (al'le-go-ry), a narrative or 
discourse in which the principal subject is 
des'cribed in a manner that really refers to an¬ 
other, which resembles it in many important 
characteristics. In a complete allegory, the 
characters or leading circumstances refer to 
some underlying thought This is the case in 
Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress,” in which is de¬ 
scribed a journey from the City of Destruction 
to the Celestial City by the faithful Christian. 
Chaucer’s “House of Fame” and Tennyson’s 
“Idylls of the King” are other examples of 
English allegories. 

ALLENTOWN (al'en-town), a city in 
Pennsylvania, county'seat of Lehigh county, on 
the Lehigh River. In its vicinity are extensive 
coal and iron ore mines and factories producing 
brick and tile. The city has convenient rail¬ 
road facilities, being on the Central of New 
Jersey, the Lehigh Valley, and other railways. 
It is an important market for farm and dairy 
products, and has extensive manufacturing and 
commercial interests. The chief manufactures 
include leather, boots and shoes, machinery, 
boilers, hardware, furniture, and clothing. It 
is the seat of Muhlenberg College and of Allen¬ 
town Female College, and has excellent public 
schools, numerous churches, and a fine county 
courthouse. Gas and electric lights, pavements, 
street railways, several libraries, and a number 
of parks are among the conveniences. William 
Allen, then the chief justice of Pennsylvania, 
after whom it was named, platted the town 
in 1752. It was incorporated as Northampton 
in 1811, but its original name was restored in 
1838. Population, 1900, 35,416; in 1910, 51,913. 

ALLIANCE (al-li'ans), a city of Stark 
County, Ohio, on the Mahoning River, fifty- 
seven miles south of Cleveland. The city has 
transportation facilties by the Pennsylvania, the 
Lake Erie, and other railways. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a rich agricultural country, which 
produces cereals, dairy products, fruit, coal, 
and mineral oil. Among the manufactures are 
hardware, carriages, farming implements, pot¬ 
tery, machinery, and clothing. Gas and electric 
lights, pavements, street railways, public parks, 
and extensive railroad facilities are among the 
conveniences. The city has fine public schools 
and churches, and near it is Mount Union Col¬ 
lege. Population, 1900, 8,974. 

ALLIGATOR (al'li-ga-ter), a large car¬ 
nivorous reptile oeculiar to America, and found 


mostly in the swamps and streams of the 
warmer regions. It is closely allied to the croc¬ 
odile family, with which it is classed, but has 
a broader head, larger number of teeth, and 
feet less webbed, and its habits are less aquatic. 
Alligators are often seen in groups by day bask¬ 
ing on the dry ground in the warm sun, but 
at night they become active and noisy. They 
burrow in the mud of swamps in the winter, 
where they lie torpid until the return of warm 
weather. The chief food of both alligators and 
crocodiles is fish, but they also devour small 
animals and carrion, and when pressed by hun¬ 
ger show considerable determination in attack¬ 
ing man. Some writers assert that the alliga¬ 
tors possess a musky fluid secreted by the 
glands of the throat, which they throw out as 
a sort of bait to attract the fish on which they 
prey. The female lays a large number of eggs, 
ranging from forty to two hundred, which she 
buries in the sand or in heaps of vegetable mat¬ 
ter to be hatched by the warm sun. At fifteen 
years the alligator is not more than two feet 



long, and it requires from sixty to ninety years 
to develop the full growth of the adult. The 
skin on the back of mature alligators is so 
’hardened by horny scales that a large rifle ball 
is required to inflict a fatal wound. These 
plates form two upright denticulated crests, 
which gradually converge toward the middle 
of the tail, and there unite and form a single 
row to the extremity. The skin of alligators 
is used in the manufacture of boots and shoes. 
A full-grown alligator is very large, attaining 
a length of eighteen to twenty feet, and its body 
is about eight times longer than the head. The 
flesh is sometimes eaten, though mostly by 
savages. A species known as spectacled cay¬ 
man is native to South America.- 
ALLIGATOR LIZARD, a class of reptiles 


ALLITERATION 


57 


ALLUVIUM 


common to Mexico and the southwestern part 
of the United States. These animals are active 
and are frequently seen on the sides of stone 
walls and ‘adobe houses, and in forests hide 
near fallen trees or ascend to the branches of 
standing trees to escape from intruders. They 
are characterized by flat scales and the absence 
of spines, and when the head is raised the bril¬ 
liant colors of the throat become visible. They 
multiply rapidly, laying their eggs in the sand 
to be hatched by the sun. 

ALLITERATION (al-Ht-er-a'shun)-, the 
repetition of the same letter at the beginning 
of two or more words immediately succeeding 
each other, or at short intervals. It was used 
extensively in the Middle Ages, and in old 
German and Scandinavian poetry it took the 
place of rhyme. Spenser employed this style 
of writing extensively, and uses of it are made 
in the works of Pope and Gray. Tennyson 
employed illiteration combined with the dis¬ 
tribution of vowels and in this practice was 
joined by many poets, but prose writers usually 
avoid it. “The fair breeze blew, the white 
foam flew” and “Many men of many minds” 
are examples of alliteration. 

ALLOPATHY (al-lop'a-thy), the term 
originated by Hahnemann (q. v.) to distinguish 
the ordinary practice of medicine from homeop¬ 
athy. It was founded on the theory expressed 
by Hippocrates that “opposites are remedies for 
opposites.” However, the term is gradually 
going out of use,, since practitioners cannot 
confine themselves to such limitations in the 
treatment of diseases. In the development of 
new branches of science, as, for instance, bac¬ 
teriology, new resources have become promi¬ 
nent and have been extensively developed. 

ALLOY (al-loi'), a name given by the 
French to a compound or combination of two 
or more metals fused together. It is now ap¬ 
plied to any mixture of metals, excepting cases 
in which mercury is one of the metals, when 
the compounds are called amalgams. Most 
metals mix in any proportion, but some form 
true mechanical compounds by uniting only in 
definite proportions, while others resist homo¬ 
geneous combination and form a conglomerate 
of distinct masses. A very great variety of 
changes are produced by the combination of 
metals. An alloy may differ in color from 
either of the components, or may be very simi¬ 
lar to one of them. While an alloy is generally 
harder than its components, it usually consti¬ 
tutes a body less malleable and ductile. Its 
specific gravity is sometimes less than the aver¬ 
age of that of its ingredients, ‘while it is al¬ 
ways more fusible. Bronze, brass, pewter, and 


type metals are alloys. The silver money of 
the United States is made up of nine parts of 
silver and one part of copper; the gold coins 
contain nine parts of gold, and the other part 
is one-fourth silver and three-fourths copper. 
The reason other metals are mixed with gold 
and silver is that they are too soft for money 
unless hardened by mixing with other metals. 
Some'of the valuable bronze alloys compounded 
in recent years contain aluminum. In electro¬ 
typing, alloys are made by using thirteen parts 
tin with aluminum to form a nonshrinking 
combination. Arsenic adds strength to copper, 
while other chemicals increase the brightness 
of gold. Besides these, there are many other 
useful combinations. 

ALL SAINTS’ DAY, or Allhallows, a 

Christian festival instituted in 835, and cele¬ 
brated in honor of the saints in general. This 
festival is observed by the Anglican, Lutheran, 
and Roman Catholic Churches on November 
1, and by the Greek Church on the Sunday 
after Whit Sunday. It was introduced because 
a separate day could not be set apart for every 
saint. 

ALL SOULS’ DAY, a festival observed on 
November 2 by the Roman Catholic Church. 
It was instituted in 998 as a day for prayers 
offered publicly at the Eucharist for the faithful 
departed who have not attained to perfect life. 

ALLSPICE (al'spls), or Jamaica Pepper, a 
tree-like plant of the West Indies, whose fruit 
combines the flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and 
cloves. The fruit is used 
extensively in medicine 
and cookery and in the 
manufacture of an essen¬ 
tial oil and other products. 

It also serves as an aro¬ 
matic, and forms the basic 
ingredient of distilled wa¬ 
ter. The tree is of an or¬ 
namental character, usual¬ 
ly twenty to thirty feet in 
height, with oval leaves 
and small flowers. A sin¬ 
gle tree produces about 
100 pounds of the dried 
spice. 

ALLUVIUM (al-lu'vT- 
um), the deposits of soil 
by the action of water, 
consisting chiefly of clay, 
loam, marl, and sand. The term is used 
in reference to transported matter by the ac¬ 
tion of fresh water, which was deposited both 
during the Pleistocene and recent periods. 
When used in the former sense, it includes 





ALMA 


58 


ALOES WOOD 


deposits formed on large bases in all geological 
ages, but in the latter sense it is confined more 
strictly to the action of oceanic waves, deposits 
of rivers as seen in deltas, and washes from 
hill sides, caused by recent rains. Lands made 
in this way are said to be alluvial in their origin. 
This action is going on constantly by various 
agencies. It is exemplified by the Ganges, Nile, 
Volga, Mississippi, and other rivers, particu¬ 
larly at their mouths, where the silt is deposited 
and forms deltas of considerable extent. An 
estimate recently made places the silt carried 
annually by the Mississippi at a volume suffi¬ 
cient to cover 275 square miles of land with 
a layer one foot deep. 

ALMA (al'ma), a small river in the 
Crimea, coursing in a westerly direction to 
Kalamita Bay, near Sebastopol. Prince Ment- 
schikoff, the Russian commander, selected the 
southern bank of this river as a defensive posi¬ 
tion in the Crimean War, where he was attacked 
by the allied army Sept. 20, 1854. The Rus¬ 
sian army of 35,000 men was defeated by the 
allies numbering 62,000, and as a result of the 
battle the road to Sebastopol was opened. 

ALMANAC (al'ma-nak), a small book 
primarily designed to furnish a calendar or 
table of the days belonging to the several 
months of the year for which it is published. 
Besides serving‘as a guide to designate the 
days of the month, calendars usually contain 
data of the rising and setting of the sun and 
moon, the phases of the moon, the position of 
the heavenly bodies, important dates observed 
by the church and state, and much other infor¬ 
mation of use to the public. The term is of 
Arabic origin, but it is known that an almanac 
was published at Alexandria by the Greeks 
about the 2d century a. d. Almanacs were first 
published in Europe by Solomon Jarchus in 
1150, and subsequently came into extensive use. 
Benjamin Franklin began the publication of an 
almanac in 1732, pretending it was written by 
one Richard Saunders, and his publication came 
to be called “Poor Richard’s Almanac.” Be¬ 
sides the monthly calendar and movements of 
the heavenly bodies, his almanac contained 
anecdotes, scraps of useful information, and 
odds and ends of literature, and was published 
annually for twenty-five years. In more recent 
times almanacs came to be published in connec¬ 
tion with advertisements of large manufactur¬ 
ing and publishing companies, and many are 
now distributed free of charge to the public. 
Some of the great daily newspapers of the 
United States and Canada publish annually 
almanacs in which valuable information is de¬ 
tailed, many of these publications embracing 


500 to 800 printed pages. A publication known 
as “The Nautical Almanac” is published annually 
by the United States Bureau of Navigation, 
and serves the purpose of a guide -for naviga¬ 
tors. By means of it any locality on mid ocean 
can be determined by the sailor. The compu¬ 
tations are made for three years, and the pub¬ 
lications serve for that period of time. Similar 
almanacs are published by the governments of 
France, Germany, and Great Britain. 

ALMERIA (al-ma-ri'a), a seaport of Spain, 
in a province of the same name, 60 miles 
southeast of Granada. It is located at the 
head of Almeria Bay, an inlet from the Mediter¬ 
ranean, and the country adjacent is devoted to 
the culture of fruits and cereals. The manu¬ 
factures include macaroni, sugar, white lead, 
and clothing, and there is a considerable trade 
in iron ore, fruit, and wine. It is the seat of 
a bishop, a Gothic cathedral, and several nun¬ 
neries. The Church of San Pedro, a fine edi-' 
fice, occupies the site of a Moorish mosque. 
Almeria was founded by the Phoenicians and by 
the Romans was called Magnus Pontus. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 47,202. 

ALMOND (a'mund), the fruit of the 
almond tree, which is native to Africa and 
Asia, but has been naturalized in America and 
Europe. There are two varieties, the bitter and 
the sweet. The sweet almond is an article of 
food, and when taken in moderate quantities 
is quite nutritive. Almond oil is obtained from 
the kernel of either the bitter or the sweet 
species, and is alike valuable for medicine and 
as a perfume. Prussic acid is obtained from 
the bitter almond. 

ALOE (aj'o), the name of a number of 
plants belonging to the order of lilyworts, some 
of which are not more than a few inches high, 
while others attain a height of thirty feet. 
The different species include herbs, shrubs, 
and trees, and are characterized by erect spikes 
or clusters of flowers. In the West Indies they 
serve as hedges. The juice is purgative in 
large doses and laxative in small quantities, 
and the fibers yield a product useful in mak¬ 
ing coarse cloth and cordage. See Agave. 

ALOES WOOD, or Eagle Wood, the 
inner part of the trunk of trees native to the 
tropical parts of Asia. These trees are supposed 
to be the lign aloes mentioned in the Bible. 
They yield a fragrant resinous substance, which 
has a pleasant odor when burned, and is highly 
prized as a medicine by Asiatic people. Several 
species of this class of trees are found, some 
of which yield wood that takes a high polish 
and is used for ornamental work. The younger 
wood is white and almost devoid of scent, 


ALPACA 


59 


ALPS 


while the older growth has a dark color and 
yields the most fragrant resinous substances. 

ALPACA (al-pak'a), an animal native to 
the mountain regions of Peru and Chile, where 
it subsists on the coarse and scanty forage 
growing on the sterile soil. It is shaped much 
like a sheep, but is larger, and its color varies 
from grayish white to almost black. The wool 
is soft and silky, usually light chestnut brown, 



ALPACA 


nearly a foot long, and is strong and almost 
as fine as that of the Cashmere goat. Thin 
cloth called alpaca is made from alpaca wool 
mixed with cotton or silk. It is an important 
article of commerce, and is used largely for 
shawls, light clothing, and umbrellas. The 
alpaca is a mammal of the cud chewing class, 
and is classed with the same family as the camel. 
Its flesh is pheasant and wholesome. 

ALPENA (al-pe'na), a city of Michigan, 
county seat of Alpena county, on the shore of 
Lake Huron, at the head of Thunder Bay, on 
the Detroit and Mackinaw Railway. It has 
an excellent harbor and enjoys considerable 
trade advantages. It is the seat of a United 
States fish hatchery, and has a fine public school 
system, numerous churches, and several libra¬ 
ries. There are manufactures of furniture, 
machinery, cigars, canned fruit, and clothing. 
Electric lights, rapid transit, waterworks, sewer¬ 
age, and several parks are among the con¬ 
veniences. It has an extensive export trade in 
lumber. The first settlement in its vicinity was 
made in 1835, and it was incorporated in 1871. 
Population, 1904, 12,400; in 1910, 12,706. 

ALPHA AND OMEGA (al'fa o-me'ga'), 
the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, 
used as a symbol to denote the Divine Being, 
and often made to signify the beginning and 


the end, or the first and the last of anything. 
The term is also used to signify the chief aim, 
as: “Ambition was the Alpha and Omega of his 
existence.” 

ALPHABET (al-fa'bet), a list of symbols 
that represent to the eye the sounds heard in 
speech. The name originated from the first 
two letters of the Greek alphabet—alpha and 
beta. The alphabets of the different languages 
show marks of wide differences. In the English 
alphabet and many others are characters to 
represent both vowels and consonants, but the 
Hebrew alphabet contains letters only for the 
consonants, the vowels being distinguished by 
slight changes in some of the consonant let¬ 
ters. The alphabet of the Cherokee Indians 
and a number of others represents each syllable 
by a letter, while the Chinese have no alphabet 
as that term is understood, but instead use a 
sign or character for every word in their 
language. The English alphabet, like most 
of those of modern Europe, is of Latin deriva¬ 
tion, the Latin in turn came from the ancient 
Greek, and that again from the Phoenician. The 
Phoenician alphabet is believed to have origi¬ 
nated, like the Hebrew, from Egyptian hier¬ 
oglyphics. 

Most of the European alphabets agree in 
many respects, but some do not represent all 
the English sounds and do not contain all the 
letters. The Russian language has many sounds 
not common to other languages and contains 
thirty-six letters. The French have not the w; 
the Portuguese no k and w, and the Italian no 
k, w, x, and y. In the German alphabet are 
all the letters common to the English, but they 
differ somewhat in sound and in the number of 
sounds represented by the vowels. The Eng¬ 
lish alphabet is both defective and redundant, 
and is a very imperfect instrument to serve the 
purpose for which it is intended. Its imper¬ 
fection is at least partly due to a want of 
characters to represent all the simple sounds, 
and in having more than one symbol for the 
same sound. However, since sounds change as 
well as grammatical forms, it may never be¬ 
come possible to secure a perfect alphabet in 
any language. 

ALPS (alps), the most extensive system 
of mountains in Europe, covering a region of 
90,000 square miles, which lies chiefly in Italy, 
France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The 
average height is about 7,700 feet, and many 
of the summits extend far above the snow line, 
and are covered with perpetual snow and ice. 
Mont Blanc, 15,781 feet, and Mont Rosa, 15,217 
feet, are the culminating peaks, but several 
others rise almost as high. The system of 



ALSACE-LORRAINE 


60 


ALTAR 


ranges is grouped as Eastern, Western, and 
Central Alps. They occupy the form of a semi¬ 
circle, with the Apennines, Balkans, Vosges, 
Hartz, and Carpathians extending out from the 
principal chain. On the north is the great 
glacier called Mer de Glace, which is five miles 
wide, fifteen miles long, and 100 feet thick. 
Other glaciers abound in different parts of this 
region of snow-capped peaks, from which great 
masses of snow and broken ice move into the 
valleys, bearing with them rocks and trees, and 
destroying many objects in their way. Forests 
and villages have often been buried beneath the 
avalanches of snow and ice, and when melted 
they have caused great floods in the valleys. 
There are now many roads leading over the 
Alps, some passable for carriages, and others 
only for travelers on foot. A number of these 
highways were built by Napoleon to convey 
his army and supplies over the Alps to the 
country beyond. 

In ancient times it was thought a great 
feat to cross the Alps, the most successful 
exploit of the kind being achieved by Hannibal 
at the passage of the Little Saint Bernard in 
the year 218 b.c., when he. set out from New 
Carthage to invade Italy. The Duke of Alva 
led 10,000 men over Mont Cenis in 1567, and 
in 1800 Napoleon crossed from Switzerland 
into Italy with 30,000 men. All the mountains 
being barren and covered with snow, it was 
thought a remarkable piece of military skill 
to take an army with horses, cannon, ammuni¬ 
tion, and supplies safely over dangerous preci¬ 
pices and land them securely on the other 
side. In recent times railroads have been con¬ 
structed over two mountains, and two great 
tunnels have been built for other railways. Saint 
Gothard Tunnel, leading from Switzerland to 
Italy> is the largest railroad tunnel in the world, 
being nine and one-half miles long. Next to 
it is Mont Cenis Tunnel, which is nearly eight 
miles in length. Vegetation in the Alps is 
varied, owing to the great altitude, and there 
are valuable deposits of iron, manganese, mar¬ 
ble, and many other minerals. With the ascent 
of every thousand feet is a marked difference 
of temperature, until the region of perpetual 
snow shuts out all signs of plant life. The 
chamois and the mountain g6at are animals 
peculiar to the Alps. 

ALSACE-LORRAINE (al-sas'16-ran'), an 
imperial territory of the German Empire, 
situated north of Switzerland and east of 
France, and including an area of 5,668 square 
miles. The region lies largely in the valley 
of the Upper Rhine, is traversed by a network 
of railroads, and its inhabitants engage largely 


in agriculture, fruit growing, and manufactur¬ 
ing. It was a part of the kingdom of Lothaire 
in the 9th century. When his dominions were 
partitioned between France and Germany in 
969, it became an object of contention between 
these two powers, and has since been a source 
of dispute at various times. The region was the 
scene of several decisive battles in the Franco- 
German War of 1870-71. Strassburg and other 
fortified cities were besieged and captured by 
the German army. At the peace negotiations, 
Germany demanded the cession of Alsace to¬ 
gether with what is called German Lorraine, 
this being one of the early conditions of peace 
laid down by Count Bismarck, and was accepted 
by M. Thiers, and afterward ratified by the 
national assembly at Bordeaux. The language 
spoken is German and the people are prosper¬ 
ous. Compulsory school attendance laws and 
a system of free schools are maintained. Strass¬ 
burg, a beautiful city on the Upper Rhine, is 
the capital and chief commercial center. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 1,814,564. 

ALTAI MOUNTAINS (al-ti'), an impor¬ 
tant range of mountains in Asia, forming a 
part of the boundary between China and Si¬ 
beria. Among the great rivers having their 
sources in these mountains are the Obi, Irtish, 
Yenisei, and Amur. The different chains lie 
partly in Russian and partly in Chinese terri¬ 
tory. Byeluka is the highest peak, elevation 
11,000 feet. • A celebrated trade route from 
Pekin to Saint Petersburg crosses these moun¬ 
tains . some distance southwest of Lake Baikal, 
but it is not used as extensively as formerly, 
owing to the construction of the Trans-Siberian 
Railway. The Altai Mountains are rich in miner¬ 
als, including iron, copper, silver, gold, and 
petroleum. Many of the people inhabiting the 
mountain region are Russians. Barnaul is the 
chief city. 

ALTAMAHA (al-ta-ma-ha/), a river in 
Georgia, formed by the confluence of the Oconee 
and Ocmulgee rivers. Its general course is 
southeast through a sandy plain, and it flows 
into Altamaha Sound, an inlet from the Atlan¬ 
tic. The Ohoopee is its principal tributary. 
Darien, a thriving commercial town, is about 
12 miles above its entrance into the sea. 

ALTAR (al'tur), an elevated place of 
worship in Christian churches. Altars are 
constructed of wood, stone, or marble, though 
they are of great variety in shape and structure. 
Most of the Protestant churches have not re¬ 
tained the altar, but generally apply the same 
name to the table-like structure on which com¬ 
munion is offered. The altar is still used in 
some of the Lutheran churches, and both the 



CHILLON AND THE DENT DU MIDI, CANTON OF VAUI), SWITZERLAND. 

























































































ALTENBURG 


61 


ALUM 


Roman and Greek churches contain altars. Pope 
Sixtus II. erected the first stone altar, and it is 
thought that Saint Wolstand introduced stone 
altars in England. The ancient Greeks and 
Romans had a number of altars in their places 
of worship, each dedicated to some particular 
diety, and sacrifices and blood offerings were 
made on altars in many countries, especially 
among the heathen. In some nations the altar 
was looked upon as a refuge in the time of 
danger. The Jews regard the altar a sanctuary. 

ALTENBURG (al'ten-boorg), a city in 
Germany, capital of Saxe-Altenburg, near the 
Pleisse River, about 24 miles south of Leipzig. 
It is the seat of several educational institu¬ 
tions and has a fine art gallery, a museum, and 
a hospital for the poor. Several railroads and 
manufactures of woolen goods, toys, cigars, 
and clothing make it important as a commercial 
center. Population, 1905, 38,818. 

ALTO (al'to), a term used in designating 
voice, or pitch of sound. The term is applied 
to the lowest female voice, having a compass 
of about an octave and a half, and the term 
contralto signifies a tone quite similar, being 
the voice between the tenor and soprano. The 
term alto was formerly applied to the highest 
male voice. 

ALTON (al'tun), a city of Illinois, in 
Madison county, on the Mississippi River, 
twenty-one miles above Saint Louis. The city 
occupies a fine site about 200 feet above the 
river, and is on the Chicago and Alton, the 
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and other 
railways. It is a port city of entry, has ex¬ 
tensive steamboat connections, and is an impor¬ 
tant trade center. Among the manufactures 
are quarry products, machinery, furniture, to¬ 
bacco products, clothing, and earthenware. The 
streets are substantially paved with brick and 
asphalt. It has systems of electric lights and 
waterworks, a park, several libraries, and an 
extensive system of street railways. The city 
has excellent schools and churches, and is con¬ 
nected by electric railroad with Upper Alton, 
the seat of Shurtleff College, a Baptist institu¬ 
tion founded in 1827. The census of 1910 ac¬ 
cords Upper Alton a population of 2,918, while 
Alton has a population of 17,528. 

ALTON A (al'to-na), an important city of 
Germany, in the province of Schleswig-Holstein, 
on the Elbe River, and connected by railroads 
and electric car lines with Hamburg. It has ex¬ 
cellent public schools, an observatory, an infirm¬ 
ary, a mint, several colleges, and many libraries. 
Among the chief buildings are the palace of 
justice, the city theater, the customhouse, and 
several cathedrals and other churches. The 


manufactures include tobacco, sugar, soap, cord¬ 
age, silk and cotton textiles, chemicals, and 
leather. It has an excellent harbor, modern 
municipal improvements, and a large domestic 
and foreign trade. The city was founded by 
the Danes as a rival to Hamburg, but in 1867 
came into possession of Prussia. Population, 
1905, 168,320. 

ALTOONA (al-too'na)J a flourishing city 
of Pennsylvania, in Blair county, near the Alle¬ 
ghany Mountains, on the Pennsylvania Rail¬ 
road. It is an extensive commercial and manu¬ 
facturing center, and produces locomotives, rail¬ 
road cars, ironware, boilers, tobacco products, 
furniture, and machinery. About 7,500 persons 
are employed in the factories. The city has a 
fine public library, municipal waterworks, elec¬ 
tric street railways, and pavements of stone and 
macadam. Lakemont Park is a fine public re¬ 
sort, and near the city is the famous Horse¬ 
shoe Bend. The Pennsylvania Railroad Com¬ 
pany founded Altoona in 1850. Population, 
1900, 38,973; in 1910, 52,127. 

ALTORF (alt'orf), or Altdorf, a city in 
Switzerland, capital of the canton of Uri, near 
the southern extremity of Lake Lucerne. It 
is nicely located at the foot of the Griinberg. 
The surrounding country is beautified with gar¬ 
dens and orchards. It Is the seat of a monas¬ 
tery and has several modern school buildings. 
A fine bronze statue of William Tell ornaments 
the place where he is said to have shot the apple 
placed on the head of his son. Altorf is located 
on the railroad that passes through Saint 
Gotthard Tunnel, about 20 miles south. Popula¬ 
tion, 1908, 2,980. 

ALTRUISM (al'trdo-izm), a word coined 
by M. Comte and adopted with decided approval 
by Herbert Spencer. It is used to express that 
theoretical condition of human principle which 
the benevolent aim to attain in relation with 
their fellows. In popular use the term implies- 
the finding of one’s own highest welfare in 
seeking the welfare of others. 

ALUM (arum), a whitish astringent sa¬ 
line substance used in the arts and in medicine. 
Its constituents are alumina, alkali, sulphuric 
acid, and water. There are three general classes 
of alum, these depending on whether the alkaii 
contained is potash, ammonia, or soda. Though 
found in a natural state, the alum of commerce 
is manufactured. In a natural state it is ob¬ 
tained from alum ore, which occurs in the lower 
coal measures. It was known and manufactured 
fully six centuries ago in Syria and other parts 
of Eurasia. Burnt alum is what remains after 
the water is taken out by heat, and in this form 
is used as a caustic. 


ALUMINIUM 


62 


AMATITLAN 


ALUMINIUM (al-u-min'i-um), or Alu¬ 
minum, a ductile, malleable, sonorous metal 
of a whitish color. Though the most abundant 
of all the metals, it was not discovered until 
in 1827. It is found in slate, clay, mica, spar, 
and many other mineral substances, and until 
recently was not extensively manufactured ow¬ 
ing to a lack of machinery with which to make 
its production sufficiently inexpensive. Electric¬ 
ity is employed largely in its manufacture from 
clay, since the process requires a very fierce 
heat, and the currents generated in some fac¬ 
tories attain as high as 15,000 amperes and 
30,000 volts. It can be drawn easily into fine 
wire, and may be converted into very thin foil 
by a process of rolling. In manufacture it is 
used with other metals for ornaments, scientific 
instruments, bells, and guns, and is mixed with 
different metals, such as copper, to serve very 
useful and ornamental purposes. Within recent 
years it has gone largely into the construction 
of bicycles, scientific instruments, chains used 
in mining, bath tubs, and automobiles. In large 
factories it has been successfully alloyed with 
steel in manufacturing war vessels, and a class 
of torpedo boats are constructed largely of it. 
Since it is the lightest in weight of all metals 
and yet exceedingly durable, it can be seen why 
its use is constantly increasing. 

ALUMNUS (a-lum'nus), plural Alumni, 
a term used to designate a person educated at 
a school, university, or other place of learning. 
Thus, an alumnus of a particular school im¬ 
plies one whose education was obtained there 
by graduation. 

ALUM SHALE (arum shale), or Alum 
Stone, a mineral consisting of clay combined 
with iron pyrites and mixed slightly with car¬ 
bon or bitumin. This mineral is weathered by 
exposure to the air and rain, causing a dis¬ 
solution of the pyrites and a union of the alu¬ 
mina with the sulphur, yielding a compound 
from which limonite and alum are obtained. 
In practice the shale is crushed before being 
exposed to the weather, or by burning slowly 
and leaching it. 

AMALGAM (a-mal'gam), a term applied 
to a class of alloys in which one of the combin¬ 
ing metals is mercury. Though mercury readily 
unites with gold and silver, it does not com¬ 
bine with iron even when heated, and, for this 
reason, is used to separate gold and silver 
from the ores, the process being called amalga¬ 
mation. When properly applied, mercury dis¬ 
solves and combines with the precious metals 
and separates them from the waste matter, and 
afterward is itself driven off by heat. Numer¬ 
ous forms of amalgams are employed in the 


arts. In this way zinc and tin are prepared for 
the rubbers of electrical machines, copper and 
cadmium for uses in dentistry, silver and gold 
for plating and resilvering, and tin for prepar¬ 
ing mirrors. The process of effecting amalga¬ 
mation differs widely, some forms being pro¬ 
duced by rubbing together the two metals, while 
others are the result of applying electricity. 
Amalgamations are effected both in solids and 
liquids. 

AMANA COMMUNITY (am'a-na kom- 
mu'm-ty), a German-American society whose 
origin dates back to the 18th century. The most 
successful community now known is located in 
the northeastern part of Iowa County, in the 
State of Iowa. The members own in common 
a tract of about 26,500 acres of land, though 
less than two thousand persons belong to the 
society. They engage in farming, stock raising, 
and manufacturing on a large scale, and share 
the profits in common. They maintain well 
established schools and churches, and have a 
number of charitable institutions. The society 
has attained a reputation for excellence in the 
manufacture of woolen goods and other articles 
of commerce. 

AMARANTH (am'a-ranth), an order of 
plants containing nearly 200 known species, na¬ 
tive to tropical and temperate countries, but 
most common in the tropics. The flowers are 
composed of separate sepals opposite the sta¬ 
mens, usually one-celled anthers, and a single 
ovary with one or more seeds, and are sur¬ 
rounded by dry, membranous bracts. The cocks¬ 
comb, love-lies-bleeding, prince’s feather, and 
globe amaranth are common kinds. The name 
amaranth is frequently applied in poetry to 
an imaginary flower supposed never to fade, 
and which serves as an emblem of immortality. 

AMASIA (a-ma'se-a), a city of Asiatic 
Turkey, on the Irmak River, 200 miles south¬ 
west of Trebizond. The surrounding country 
is fertile and well adapted to silk culture and 
fruit growing. It has several bazaars, numer¬ 
ous mosques, and a Mohammedan university. 
In the vicinity are ruins of an old castle and 
archaic remains. Strabo, the geographer, was 
born here. Population, 30,000. 

AMATITLAN (a-ma-te-tlan'), a town in 
Guatemala, Central America, 15 miles south of 
the city of Guatemala. It is located on the trans¬ 
continental railroad passing from the Caribbean 
Sea to the Pacific Ocean, hence has a growing 
trade in produce, especially in salt, cochineal, 
fruit, and raw silk. Near it is Lake Amatitlan, 
which is three miles wide and nine miles long. 
The town was founded by Jesuits, who promot¬ 
ed agriculture and stock raising. The surround- 


AMAZON 


63 


AMBASSADOR 


ing country produces large quantities of sugar 
cane. Population, 8,970. 

AMAZON (am'a-zon), the largest but not 
the longest river in the world, extending 
nearly across the northern part of South 
America. It is formed by a large number of 
head streams in the Andes, drains an area of 
about 2,500,000 square miles, and has an esti¬ 
mated length of 3,500 miles. It flows into the 
Atlantic at the equator, where it is 200 miles 
wide; 1,000 miles from the ocean it is four 
miles wide, and 2,000 miles from the ocean its 
width is about one mile. Among the chief 
tributaries are the Napo, Rio Negro, Jurua, 
Madeira, Japura, Tapajos, Xingu, and other 
streams. The Amazon and its tributaries afford 
about 30,000 miles of water surface suitable for 
navigation. In its valley is some of the most 
luxuriant vegetation on earth, being rivaled 
°nly in the equatorial region of Africa, and 
within its forests dwell many kinds of wild 
animals. The waters of the river system con¬ 
tain an abundance of fish. In the rainy season 
its banks and the lower courses of its larger 
tributaries are overflowed, and a large extent 
of country takes on the appearance of a vast 
inland sea. Large tracts of country traversed 
by the Amazon and its tributaries have not been 
carefully explored, but its basin is known to 
contain valuable natural resources, such as min¬ 
erals, timber suitable for construction, and large 
tracts of fertile land. It is certain that the 
Amazon basin contains all the natural resources 
requisite to support vast populations. It i§ 
connected with the Orinoco by the Negro and 
Cassiquiare rivers. Yanez Pinqon discovered 
the Amazon in 1500, but Francis Orellana, one 
of Pizarro’s officers, first navigated it in 1541. 
In his report is a description of a nation of 
female warriors, or Amazons, with whom he 
engaged in several wars, and from whom the 
river received its name. 

AMAZONAS (a-ma-zd'nas), the largest 
province of Brazil, situated in the northwestern 
part of that country. It is traversed by the 
Amazon, has an area of 733,000 square miles, 
and a population of 162,000. The name is also 
applied to a department in the northern part 
of Peru, of which Chachapoyas is the capital. 

AMAZONS (am'a-zonz), the mythical 
name of a warlike race of women who lived in 
Asia Minor, near the Black Sea. They were 
governed by a queen, and, to faciliate the use 
of the bow, burned their right breast. In 
Greek mythology it is related that Hercules 
defeated them, and that Theseus took captive 
their princess, Antiope. The Amazons fought 
on the side of Troy in the Trojan War, and 


their queen, Penthesilea, was killed in a combat 
with Achilles. Among the many sculptures of the 
Amazons i$ that of August Kiss (1802-65), en- 



AMAZON, BERLIN. 


titled “Mounted Amazon Attacked by a Tiger,” 
now in the Museum of Berlin, Germany. 

AMBALA (um-ba'la), or Umballa, a 
city in India, in the Punjab, 150 miles northwest 
of Delhi. It has convenient railroad facilities 
and an extensive trade, and is surrounded by a 
fertile country. Its chief buildings are a hos¬ 
pital, a Presbyterian church, a dispensary, and 
the government house. • Ambala was founded 
in the 14th century. Population, 79,300. 

AMBASSADOR (am-bas'sa-der), a min¬ 
ister of the highest rank sent by a nation to 
the capital of another to represent there the 
interests of his country. • Ambassadors are 
termed extraordinary when they are sent on 
a special mission, and ordinary when sent 
permanently to the seat of a foreign country. 
The United States did not appoint ambassa¬ 
dors until within recent years, but there was 
representation at foreign courts by officers 
termed ministers plenipotentiary, who were ap¬ 
pointed by the President with the approval of 
the Senate. In 1893 the Diplomatic and Con¬ 
sular Appropriation Bill empowered the Presi¬ 
dent to raise to the rank of ambassador extra¬ 
ordinary the American ministers accredited to 
any country which should previously confer a 
similar promotion upon its representative at 
Washington. Accordingly, Great Britain, Ger¬ 
many, Italy, and France raised their ambassa¬ 
dors at Washington to ambassadorial rank, and 
the representatives at the courts of Saint James, 


AMBATO 


64 


AMENDMENT 


Berlin, Paris, and Rome were similarly pro¬ 
moted. Japan and several other countries have 
since named ambassadorships. 

AMBATO (am-ba'to), a town ’ of Ecua¬ 
dor, in the province of Leon, 75 miles south of 
Quito. It is located on the northeastern slope 
of Mount Chimborazo. It has a growing trade 
in cochineal and grain, and mining is carried 
on in the surrounding country. In 1698 it was 
destroyed by an eruption of Cotopaxi. Popu¬ 
lation, 14,000. 

AMBER (am'ber), a hard substance, usually 
yellow, but sometimes clouded with red or 
brown. It is brittle, yields easily to the knife, 
and is translucent and sometimes transparent. 
Amber is highly electrical, on account of which 
the Greeks called it elektron, and later the 
word electricity originated from it. It is ob¬ 
tained in oceanic and tributary waters, from 
which it is taken by divers, but also occurs in 
bituminous beds of wood. The origin of amber 
is assigned to the remains of timber and other 
plants that grew in remote ages, perhaps in the 
Pliocene. Many plant and animal remains have 
been found in it, about 163 of the former and 
over 800 of the latter; fully two-thirds of 
the organisms represented are now extinct. 
Amber is sold at from $2 to $75 per pound, 
depending upon its quality. It is used for 
making ornaments, tobacco pipes, beads, and 
other articles. An imitation of amber called 
amberine is a valuable product, and is harder 
and tougher than the genuine. 

AMBERG (am'berg), a city of Germany, 
in Bavaria, 32 miles north of Ratisbon. Through 
it flows the Vils River, and a railroad line con¬ 
nects it with Nuremburg and other important 
commercial centers. Earthenware, woolen cloths, 
and machinery are its chief manufactures, and 
the government maintains here a manufactory 
of arms. It has a library of 35,000 volumes, 
an industrial school, and several fine churches. 
Population, 1905, 24,303. 

AMBERGRIS (am'ber-gres), a solid, 
fatty, inflammable substance derived from the 
intestines of the sperm whale. It has a gray 
or blackish color, the shades being variegated 
like marble, and possesses a peculiar earthy 
odor. The product. is met with near the sea¬ 
shore and in the abdomen of the whales. It 
is an important article of commerce, and is 
used largely in the manufacture of perfumes. 
Genuine ambergris emits a fragrant smell and 
commands a high price. 

AMBOYNA (am-boi'na), or Amboina, 
an island in the Indian Archipelago, classed 
with the Molucca group. The chief products 
include fruits, cloves, nutmegs, indigo, sago, 


cocoanuts, and sea-shells. It is inhabited by 
natives of the Malayan race and a number of 
Chinese and Europeans, and is a possession of 
Holland. The city of Amboyna, on the Bay of 
Amboyna, is the capital. The island has an area 
of 280 square miles; population about 50,000. 

AMBROSIA (am-bro'zha), in mythology, 
the food and drink of the gods, and supposed 
to confer immortal youth. It was not only used 
for food and drink, but was employed to anoint 
the gods, and in it they bathed themselves. 
It was sometimes served to the mortals who 
were favorites of the gods to give them 
strength, and with it the hair of Venus and 
Jupiter was anointed. Later writers say that 
nectar was the drink and ambrosia the food 
of the gods. 

AMBULANCE (am'bu-lans), a covered 
wagon used in large cities for the conveyance 
of sick or wounded persons to the hospital. 
In times of war the. name is applied to moving 
field hospitals, especially such as are constructed 
by the Red Cross and other societies. These 
are stationed at the rear of troops that engage 
in battle. Persons wounded in action are 
carried hastily to ambulance wagons and con¬ 
veyed to the field hospital, where they are out 
of range of artillery fire and are treated by 
army surgeons. Ambulance wagons were first 
used in the French army in 1792. They are 
now in universal use in times of war, and all 
large cities employ ambulance wagons for the 
police department to convey both persons and 
animals that have been injured or wounded. 

AMENDMENT (a-mend'ment), in judicial 
proceedings, a term applied to the correction 
of errors or the addition offered in the plead¬ 
ings of a cause. It is also used to designate 
additions to the constitution of a society, State, 
or nation. In the Constitution of the United 
States the following conditions govern the addi¬ 
tion of amendments to that document: “The 
Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses 
shall deem it necessary, shall propose amend¬ 
ments to this Constitution, or, on the applica¬ 
tion of the legislatures of two-thirds of the 
several states, shall call a convention for pro¬ 
posing amendments, which, in either case, shall 
be valid to all intents and purposes as part of 
this Constitution, when ratified by the legisla¬ 
tures of three-fourths of the several states, 
or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, 
as the one or the other mode of ratification 
may be proposed by the Congress; provided, 
no amendment which may be made prior to 
the year one thousand eight hundred and eight 
shall in any manner affect the first and fourth 
clauses in the ninth section of the first article; 


AMERICA 


65 


AM. FEDERATION OF LABOR 


and that no State, without its consent, shall be 
deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.” 

AMERICA (a-mer'i-ka), the name applied 
to the land masses of the western hemis¬ 
phere, which extend from an unknown region 
in the Arctic Circle to about 55° south lat. 
The Isthmus of Panama, a neck of land about 
twenty-eight miles wide at its narrowest point, 
separates the continent int6>two grand divisions, 
known as North and South America. America 
is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, 
east by the Atlantic, which separates it from 
Europe and Africa, south by the Antarctic, and 
west by the Pacific, which separates it from 
Asia. The extent from north to south, from 
the ice fields of the Arctic regions to the 
southern extremity of Patagonia, aggregates 
10,500 miles, and the greatest width is about 
3,250 miles. There is a total land surface of 
16,237,535 square miles. See North America, 
South America, Central America. 

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE 
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, a scien¬ 
tific society organized and maintained in the 
United States. The forerunner of this organ¬ 
ization was the association of American Geolo¬ 
gists, which was organized in Philadelphia in 
1840, and at a meeting held in Boston two years 
later its scope was enlarged and it became 
the Association of American Geologists and 
Naturalists. In 1847 the name was changed 
to American Association for the Advancement 
of Science, and to encourage and promote scien¬ 
tific work was declared to be its purpose. While 
there is no bar which would prevent any per¬ 
son becoming a member, the membership is 
limited in practice to citizens of the United 
States and Canada. The nine sections into 
which the association is divided are mathemat¬ 
ics and astronomy, physics, chemistry, mechani¬ 
cal science, geology and geography, zoology, 
botany, anthropology, and economic science and 
statistics. The chief executive officer is the 
president, assisted by nine vice presidents, each 
of whom presides over one of the departments. 
The society meets annually in the summer in 
some city of North America, the sections hold¬ 
ing separate sessions, and each year the pro¬ 
ceedings are published. The reports contain 
information of great scientific value. 

AMERICAN BEAUTY. See Rose. 

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF CATH¬ 
OLIC SOCIETIES, an organization promot¬ 
ed by the Roman Catholic Church, and whose 
headquarters are at Cincinnati, Ohio. The pur¬ 
pose of this organization is declared to be “the 
cementing of the bonds of Federal union among 
the Catholic laity and the Catholic societies of 
5 


the United States*; the fostering and protect¬ 
ing of Catholic interests and works of religion, 
piety, education, and charity; the study of so¬ 
cial conditions; and the encouragement of the 
spread of Catholic literature and of the circu¬ 
lation of the Catholic press.” 

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LA¬ 
BOR, an organization of trade unions, whose 
object is to improve the condition of wage 
workers. It*may be considered the successor 
of the Knights of Labor, a similar industrial 
organization. The first convention recognized 
as official was held in Pittsburg, Penn., in 1881, 
at which it was declared to be the Federation 
of Organized Trade and Labor Unions of the 
United States and Canada, and the present 
name was adopted at a trade-union meeting at 
Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 8, 1896. 

On Jan. 1, 1908, the American Federation 
of Labor included 825 local unions, 473 city 
centrals, 26 State federations, and 101 national 
and international unions. The United Mine 
Workers of America continues to be the largest 
affiliated union, and others of great numerical 
strength are the Cigar Makers’ International 
Union, the Brotherhood of Carpenters and 
Joiners, the Granite Cutters’ National Union, 
and the International Typographical Union. In 
January, 1908, the membership, excluding all 
duplicates, was placed at 1,850,000. Samuel 
Gompers is president, with headquarters at 
Washington, D. C., and his publication, The 
American Federationist, is the official organ. 

The primary object is to improve the con¬ 
dition and wages of laborers in all industrial 
pursuits, for which purpose unions of all classes 
of wage workers are to be organised and 
maintained. It is sought to form favorable 
public opinion through the press, platform, and 
legislatures, and to secure a reduction in the 
hours of labor to the toilers, the avowed pur¬ 
pose being to extend industrial progress and 
improve the status of civilization. It is sought 
to organize women wage workers, exclude 
Chinese immigration, establish shorter hours and 
better remuneration,, and protect children under 
fourteen years of age from labor in factories 
and mines. To obtain the ends for which organ¬ 
ization is maintained, funds are raised by 
assessment of its members. While it is recom¬ 
mended that all unions seek to prevent strikes 
and boycotts, they are permitted under ex¬ 
tenuating circumstances, and assistance is given 
to affiliated organizations when necessarily en¬ 
gaged in protracted struggles to secure relief. 
The union labels being looked upon as important 
designations, efforts have been made by the ex¬ 
ecutive committee to protect and legalize them. 


AMERICAN FORESTRY ASS’N. 66 


AMERICANISMS 


AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIA¬ 
TION, a society in the United States whose 
purpose is to promote interest in the forest re¬ 
sources of that country and its territories. It 
was organized in 1882 and incorporated in 1897, 
and has a membership of about 2,000. Annual 
meetings are held, and at these important topics 
relating to forestry are discussed. The aim is 
to influence public sentiment in favor of plant¬ 
ing trees, preserving forests, and promoting 
legislation to accomplish these ends. This or¬ 
ganization has accomplished much for the wel¬ 
fare of the country by arousing interest to the 
extent that Congress has been induced to in¬ 
crease the timber reservations, both in number 
and extent, and the nation and many states have 
enacted laws to encourage the planting of trees 
and the protection of forests. Forestry and Ir¬ 
rigation is the official organ of this society. 
AMERICAN INDIANS. See Indians. 
AMERICAN INSTITUTE, a society or¬ 
ganized in New York City to promote domestic 
industries. It was founded in 1828 with the 
purpose of aiding in the development of the 
State, but ultimately the aim became broader 
and encouragement was given to agriculture, 
arts, manufacturing, and commerce in the en¬ 
tire country. Interest is promoted by fairs and 
exhibitions. This organization early recognized 
the value of the McCormick reaper and other 
useful inventions, such as the stocking loom, 
the telephone, the metallic lifeboat, the telegraph, 
and the milk separator, and by its recommenda¬ 
tions and public reports stimulated interest in 
the use of these and others valuable in the pro¬ 
ductive industries. 

AMERICANISMS (a-mer'i-kan-iz’m), a 
term applied to certain expressions in the Eng¬ 
lish language used extensively in the United 
States. They consist chiefly of words coined 
in America, or of words and terms obsolete in 
Great Britain, or which have been modified in 
meaning by usage. Some words and idioms 
are local, while others have come into general 
use. The following embraces a representative 
list, though it does not include all the Ameri¬ 
canisms : 

Advantage, as a verb instead of profit. 

Backwoods, a partially cleared forest region. 

Baggage car, instead of luggage van. 

Blizzard, a storm of snow or sleet. 

Bogus, meaning false, counterfeit, fraudulent. 

Boss, an employer of laborers, a leader. 

Broncho, a western horse of small size. 

Bug, a beetle. 

Buggy, a vehicle with four wheels. 

Bulldoze, meaning to intimidate. 

Buncombe, used in the phrase to “speak for Bun¬ 
combe,” a common quotation, meaning to speak only to 
catch applause or favor. 

Bureau, a dressing table with drawers. 

Calculate, to think, to suppose, to believe. 

Calico, meaning prints, printed muslin goods. 


Canebrake, a thicket of canes. 

Canyon, a deep depression or gorge. 

Caucus, a preliminary meeting of politicians, held 
either by the members of a party in a voting precinct, 
or by members or a convention or legislative body. 

Chunk, a part oi piece of any material. 

Clever, meaning obliging or good-natured. 

Cowboy, a western drover or cattle herder. 

Creek, a small stream or river. 

Cracker, a bake or biscuit. 

Creole, in the Gulf States, a person of French or 
Spanish descent. 

Cunning, sly or crafty, pretty or pleasing. 

Deadhead, to make free use of public conveyances, 
or to have free entrance to places where admission is 
charged. 

Depot, a tramway or railway station. 

Down Fast, the New England States. 

Drummer, a solicitor, a commercial traveler. 

Dry goods, the articles sold by drapers, mercers, and 
haberdashers. 

Dress, the gown worn by a woman. 

Dude, a dandy, a man dressed in the height oi 
fashion. 

Endorse, to approve, confirm, sanction. 

Fall, meaning autumn. 

Fancy, the opposite of plain or common, as fancy 
horses, fancy silks, fancy store, fancy dress. 

Fish dealer, a fishmonger. 

Fix, to adjust, to put in order. 

Gerrymander, a word derived from the name of 
Elbridge Gerry, a signer of the Declaration of Inde¬ 
pendence, who devised a scheme to divide Massachu¬ 
setts into districts in such a manner that the political 
party fo which he belonged could elect a majority of the 
General Assembly. The term is now applied to the ar' 
rangement of political divisions in the interest of one 
party over its opponent, and in such instances it is said 
that the district so organized has been gerrymandered. 

Given name, the first or Christian name. 

Hang around, to be near to or loiter about a place. 

Hardware merchant, an ironmonger. 

Help, a servant, servants, or service. 

Homely, plain, simple, unadorned. 

Hustle, to hasten, to hurry. 

Improve, to ameliorate real estate by care or cultiva¬ 
tion. 

Jew, to haggle with the view of getting a bettef 
bargain. 

Tohnnycake, bread or cake made of Indian cornmeal. 

Lasso, the art of catching horses or cattle with a rope. 

Loafer, a vagrant, a lounger. 

Lobby, to attempt to influence legislation by the per' 
sonal solicitation of the members of a legislature. To 
lobby through is to get a bill adopted by such influence. 

Logrolling, a system of management by which a mem* 
ber of a political party or a legislative body attempts to 
secure advantage for or the adoption of a favorite 
measure. 

Lot, an allotment, a small piece of land. 

Lynch law, capital punishment executed without legal 
authority or without a trial, either by a mob or by the 
populace. 

Mail, used instead of post. 

Moccasins, a shoe of soft leather, either made to but¬ 
ton or to lace, and sometimes provided with a sole. 

Notions, small wares. 

One-horse, anything of little importance. 

Pantaloons, meaning trousers. 

Pickaninny, a small Negro child. 

Platform, a declaration of the principles upon which 
a person, a sect, or a party proposes to stand, each 
division of which is called a plank. 

Posted-up, to be well informed. 

Rooster, the domestic cock. 

Saloon, a taproom. 

Sleigh, a sledge; sleigh riding instead of sledge driv¬ 
ing. 

Smart, meaning considerable or important. 

Span, from the German, gespann, meaning a pair of 
horses or mules. 

Stampede, to flee suddenly. 

Store, a shop, as a drug store, a book store. 

Suspenders, used instead of braces. 

Succotash, maize and beans boiled together. 

Tenderfoot, a western term, meaning a newcomer. 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


67 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


Transient, a stranger, a traveler. 

Truck, small produce grown in gardens. 

Typist, one who can operate a typewriter. 

Wilt, to droop, to wither, 'to decay. 

Woods, meaning a wood. 

AMERICAN LITERATURE, the written 
and printed productions of American writers. 
The term is popularly applied in the United 
States to the productions of writers confined 
within the area or under the jurisdiction of that 
country, but in a broader sense it applies to 
the collective writings of all Americans. In 
the latter sense it embraces the literature of 
Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the other Ameri¬ 
can countries. The literature of Canada is 
more nearly associated with that of England 
than that of the United States, a condition 
arising from its colonial dependence, but, like 
the latter, is largely in the English language. 
The writings of the other American countries, 
except Brazil, are practically all in the Spanish, 
while those of Brazil are in the Portuguese. 
In the scope of this article it is possible only to 
give an outline of the literature of the United 
States. For Canadian literature, see Canada, 
subhead Literature. 

It may be said that the advantage of study¬ 
ing the literature of a nation consists in becom¬ 
ing acquainted with the best thoughts of its 
best minds. Such writings reveal to us the 
highest ideals and the noblest motives that pre¬ 
vailed while the nation passed through succes¬ 
sive periods of growth and development. Thus, 
the reader becomes influenced by such thoughts 
and motives as actuated the writers of litera¬ 
ture, and the best that is in him is called into 
action. In the literature of America we find 
much to commend, especially because it pre¬ 
sents to us a remarkable transition from the 
literature of Europe to the writings that are 
purely American in thought and sentiment. 
Though principally in the English, there are a 
large number of American writings in the Ger¬ 
man, French, and Swedish. The German 
writers are particularly numerous, and include 
such eminent men as John Winebrenner, W. 
A. Muhlenberg, Carl F. W. Walther, Louis J. 
R. Agassiz, Henry T. Tuckermann, and Carl 
Schurz, all of whom are treated in special 
articles. 

American literature may be divided into two 
general periods: from its beginning to 1840, and 
from 1840 to the present time. However, the 
former may for convenience be subdivided into 
the Colonial, the Revolutionary, and the Tran¬ 
scendental periods. If we speak of literature in 
the stricter sense, which embraces the writings 
characterized by beauty of form and artistic 
style, it may be said that American literature 
begins properly with Washington Irving. How¬ 


ever, in the Colonial period we have writings 
closely associated with history, and, for that 
matter, there is a close relationship between 
all literature and history. 

Colonial Period. The early settlers were men 
of action, using the ax and the musket more 
than the pen, but we have a number of excellent 
works dating from the Colonial period, which 
embraces the epoch included in 1620-1775. Cap¬ 
tain John Smith produced the first three books 
written in America. The first of these, “General 
History of Virginia/’ contains an account of the 
early colonists in America, and was printed in 
London shortly after the settlement at James¬ 
town. Smith’s second book is a reply to com¬ 
plaints made by the London stockholders of the 
Virginia Company, and his third, published in 
1612, is entitled “Map of Virginia.” The writings 
of Smith consist rather of history than litera¬ 
ture, but contain the first Virginian romance in 
the story of Pocahontas. George Sandys (1577- 
1644), in Virginia, made a version of Ovid’s 
“Metamorphoses” in 1620, which was really the 
first purely literary production completed in 
America. 

The establishment of Harvard College in 1636 
gave an impetus to educational effort, and the 
desire for intellectual advancement was further 
extended by the founding of William and Mary 
College in 1693 and Yale University in 1701. 
In 1639 the first printing press was set up at 
Cambridge, Mass., and the first book printed 
in America appeared in 1640, entitled “Bay 
Psalm Book.” It was not strictly original, and 
was edited by a number of eminent colonists, 
among them John Eliot, who also translated the 
Bible into the Algonquin language, but it proved 
very popular and went through many editions. 
Anne Bradstreet, of Massachusetts, issued a 
volume of poems in 1650, entitled “Tenth 
Muse,” which was published in an enlarged 
form at Boston in 1678. William Bradford 
(1589-1657), Governor of Plymouth, published 
the first annals of New England, entitled “His¬ 
tory of Plymouth Plantation,” and John 
Winthrop wrote “History of New England.” 
Both these works are of immeasurable value in 
describing the life and times of the colonists, 
and from them many subsequent writers have 
drawn inspiration for a number of valuable 
works, including Whittier’s “John Underhill,” 
Longfellow’s “New England Tragedies,” and 
Hawthorne’s “Scarlet Letter.” Samuel Sewall 
(1652-1730) was the first to denounce the crime 
of slavery in his tract, entitled “Selling of 
Joseph.” 

Many of the colonial writings were by 
Puritan pastors, and are devoted to a discussion 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


68 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


of the doctrines and history of the -colonial 
church. These include Cotton Mather’s “Mag- 
nalia Christi Americana,” and other works 
from the same author, all of which are writ¬ 
ten more or less in the style of Milton. His 
“Wonders of the Invisible World” was a leading 
factor in the Salem witchcraft trials, while his 
“Essays to Do Good” was praised by Franklin, 
who declared it a potent factor in influencing 
his life for good. The writings of Cotton 
Mather embrace 382 publications, but most of 
them have not been preserved. Roger Williams 
was the foremost advocate of religious toler¬ 
ance and a strong sympathizer with those w r ho 
advocated kind treatment of the Indians, and 
criticized the intolerance of the Puritans in 
several excellent writings. 

Jonathan Edwards, a student of Yale, minis¬ 
ter, and president of Princeton College, at¬ 
tained the foremost place among the early 
preachers of America. He published “Free¬ 
dom of the Will,” a profound discussion of 
Calvinism,' and “Treatise Concerning Religious 
Affections,” a masterly analysis of the move¬ 
ments of the mind under religious influences. 
To this period also belongs Benjamin Franklin, 
who was presented by France with a medal 
bearing the inscription, “He seized lightning 
from heaven and the sceptor from tyrants.” 
He first attained fame by publishing “Poor 
Richard’s Almanac,” which he issued annually 
for twenty-five years, beginning in 1732. This 
publication was immensely popular on account 
of its concise calenders, and in the spaces be¬ 
tween the notable days were pungent sayings 
containing excellent morals, such as, “It is 
hard for an empty sack to stand upright,” “The 
cat in gloves catches no mice,” “One to-day is 
worth two to-morrows,” “Little boats should 
keep near the shore,” “God helps them who help 
themselves,” “He that goes a-borrowing goes 
a-sorrowing” “Little strokes fell great large 
oaks,” “Dost thou love life, then do not squan¬ 
der time, for that is the stuff that life is made 
of,” and “Who dainties love shall beggars 
prove.” The longest and most interesting of his 
works is his “Autobiography,” but his shorter 
writings are also of interest, particularly 
“Dialogue Between Franklin and the Gout,” 
“Story of the Whistle,” and his works on scien¬ 
tific subjects, entitled “Papers.” 

Revolutionary Period. The literature of the 
Revolutionary period embraces many excellent 
works devoted to the discussion of political 
rights, much of which appeared in the form of 
speeches by eminent champions of liberty. 
These include Samuel Adams, Josiah Quincy, 
Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander 


Hamilton, James Madison, George Washington, 
and Thomas Paine. The most noted of these 
writings embrace the works of Thomas Jef¬ 
ferson, who wrote “Notes on Virginia,” the 
“Declaration of Independence,” and many able 
state papers. Alexander Hamilton, of whom 
Webster said, “He smote the rock of national 
resources and abundant streams of revenue 
burst forth,” contributed many papers as trea¬ 
tises on government in the Federalist, and may 
be regarded the father of the American finan¬ 
cial system. The Federalist published at va¬ 
rious times a number of contributions from 
John Jay and James Madison. The latter 
made the first draft of the national Constitu¬ 
tion and published the “Madison Papers,” em¬ 
bracing the debates and speeches of the con¬ 
stitutional convention. Madison’s “Notes on 
Virginia” and his first “Inaugural Address” 
take high rank in the literature of this period. 
The writings and state papers of George 
Washington fill twelve volumes, but his “Fare¬ 
well Address,” which was prepared and pub¬ 
lished in 1796, is the most celebrated. Fisher 
Ames produced many excellent orations dur¬ 
ing the administration of John Adams. Tlfe 
best of these were delivered in 1796 and relate 
to the treaty with Great Britain. Thomas 
Paine exerted a strong influence on the colon¬ 
ists by publishing his “Common Sense,” which 
was issued immediately preceding the Revo¬ 
lution, and afterward went to France and pub¬ 
lished “Rights of Man” in reply to Burke’s 
“Reflections,” the latter relating to a justifi¬ 
cation of the French Revolution. Subsequently 
he forfeited his great popularity in America 
by publishing “Age of Reason,” in which he 
attacked the Christian religion. 

Little poetry of note was produced in the 
period of the Revolution, and the valor of its 
heroes remained unsung for more than a gen¬ 
eration after independence was secured. The 
most noted poem of this period is “McFingal,” 
by John Trumbull, which appeared in part in 
1775 and in a complete form in 1782, and went 
through thirty editions in America. Though 
a fine American political satire, it is rather 
droll, but has touches of real humor, and was 
intended as a satire on the Tories of America. 
Some parts of it have come to us as proverbs, 
for instance: 

“No man e’er felt the halter draw 

With good opinion of the law.’ 

The “Columbiad,” an epic in ten books, was 
published by Joel Barlow (1755-1812), who is 
also author of the humorous poem, “Hasty 
Pudding.” Timothy Dwight (1752-1817), presi¬ 
dent of Yale for twenty-one years, is the au- 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


69 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


thor of an epic in eleven books, the “Con¬ 
quest of Canaan,” but is better known by his 
many church hymns, such as, “I Love Thy King¬ 
dom, Lord.” “Yankee Doodle” sprang up in 
the Revolutionary period, and was first played 
and sung by the British in derision of the 
New Englanders, who afterward adopted it as 
•a military air. Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791), 
a signer of the Declaration of Independence, 
wrote the humorous ballad, “Battle of the 
Kegs,” and his son, Joseph Hopkinson (1770- 
1842), wrote the popular song “Hail Colum¬ 
bia.” The “Star Spangled Banner,” another 
famous national song, was written by Francis 
Scott Key at the time the British invaded the 
United States, in 1814. Philip Freneau (1752- 
1832) attained fame by his “Wild Honey¬ 
suckle,” “Indian Burying Ground,” and other 
graceful poems regarded as forerunners of the 
lyrics of Bryant and Longfellow. The first 
American man of letters to maintain himself 
altogether by his writings was Charles Brock- 
den Brown (1771-1810), a Quaker of Phila¬ 
delphia, who may be regarded a forerunner of 
Poe and Hawthorne. His best-known writ¬ 
ings include “Wieland,” a heroic romance, and 
“Arthur Mervyn,” a description of the plague 
which ravished Philadelphia in 1793. 

Transcendental Period. The American 
writings up to the close of the 18th century 
were largely imitations of the English models, 
and the Edinburgh Review sneeringly asked, 
“Who reads an American book?” Though 
there was no immediate reply that seemed to 
satisfy, a new era in American literature 
dawned when Washington Ifving published 
his “Knickerbocker’s History of New York.” 
This work appeared in 1809, and not only stood 
on its own merits, but at once sprang into 
great popularity. From that time until 1826 
Irving busied himself largely with the “Sketch¬ 
book,” which includes the famous short stories 
of “Rip Van Winkle” and “Legend of Sleepy 
Hollow.” Other writings by this famous au¬ 
thor embrace “Tales of a Traveler,” “The 
Alhambra,” “Astoria,” “Life of Washington,” 
and “Life of Oliver Goldsmith.” James K. 
Paulding (1779-1860) published “Life of 
Washington” and a number of novels; Gulian 
C. Verplanck (1786-1870) published an edi¬ 
tion of the “Plays of Shakespeare;” Fitz- 
Greene Halleck (1790-1867) is the author of 
“Marco Bozzaris;” Joseph Rodman Drake gave 
us his poems “Culprit Fay” and “The Ameri¬ 
can Flag;” and Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806- 
1867) founded the Youth’s Companion, a pub¬ 
lication famous for its literature suitable for 
youth. To this period of literature belong the 


writings of James Fenimore Cooper, who may 
be regarded the earliest eminent novelist whose 
style is distinctively American. In 1820 he 
published “The Spy,” the first American his¬ 
torical novel, in which he gave the American 
public an interesting story of the Revolution. 
He published “The Pioneers” in 1823, and 
soon after followed the first of the series of 
five “Leather Stocking Tales.” Cooper him¬ 
self invented “Leather-Stocking,” Natty Bumpo, 
who is represented as a back-woods philoso¬ 
pher and is' the most original invention of 
character added to the world’s literature by 
an American. Subsequently he published a 
series of sea tales, including “The Pilot,” 
“The Red Rover,” and “Wing and Wing.” 
Cooper could not easily endure adverse criti¬ 
cism, and as a defense wrote several tracts 
against his opponents and brought a number 
of suits for damages. The romances of the 
sea and of the forest are his invention, in 
which he excelled, but in humorous efforts he 
was not successful. Several poets of this pe¬ 
riod succeeded in writing single poems that 
became great favorites, among them “Home, 
Sweet Home,” by John Howard Payne; “I 
Would Not Live Alway,” by William Muhlen¬ 
berg; “The Old Oaken Bucket,” by Samuel 
Woodworth; and “My Life is Like a Summer 
Rose,” by R. H. Wilde. 

William Cullen Bryant may be classed in 
this period. A poet at the age of nine years, 
he published a volume of verse at fifteen, en¬ 
titled “Embargo.” His “Thanatopsis,” writ¬ 
ten at eighteen, shows mature thought and 
stately expression, and its gravity and dignity 
in blank verse is unexcelled by any recent 
writer. No one knew better than Bryant how - 
to give interest to the solemnity of the forest 
and mountain, and to paint the impersonal 
beauty of nature. His individual poems in¬ 
clude “Death of the Flowers,” “Forest Hymn,” 
“To a Water-Fowl,” and “Fringed Gentian;” 
while among his stories of interest are “Letters 
of a Traveler” and “Tales of the Glauber 
Spa.” He made a translation of Homer, spend¬ 
ing four years on the “Iliad” and two years 
on the “Odyssey.” Edgar Allen Poe is best 
known as author of the “Haunted Palace” and 
of “The Raven,” and hi$ best work in prose 
is his “Tales of the Grotesque and the Ara¬ 
besque.” He is well known as a critic and 
classed Plawthorne as a great novelist and 
Longfellow as a worthy poet before either 
was known to the world. Nathaniel Haw¬ 
thorne may be regarded the greatest American 
novelist. His first production to attract at¬ 
tention appeared in 1837 as a part of the series 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


70 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


known as “Twice-Told Tales.” At Concord he 
published “Mosses from an Old Manse” and 
another installment of “Twice-Told Tales.” 
The “Snow Image,” the most beautiful of his 
tales, appeared some time later. In 1850 he 
published “The Scarlet Letter,” which may be 
regarded the most artistic product in Ameri¬ 
can literature. The scenes of his writings are 
laid within the limits of Massachusetts; “Mar¬ 
ble Faun” is the only exception. Other well 
known writings from the pen of Hawthorne 
include “Great Stone Face,” “Grandfather’s 
Chair,” “Tanglewood Tales,” “House of Seven 
Gables,” “Blithedale Romance,” and “Legends 
of the Province House.” 

This period of American literature is famous 
as an epoch of orators, including such eminent 
statesmen as Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, 
John C. Calhoun, and Edward Everett. Dan¬ 
iel Webster may be regarded the greatest 
American orator, and his speeches rank in 
literature with those of Demosthenes, Cicero, 
and Burke. His membership in Congress cov¬ 
ered a period that called for men of strong 
intellectual and oratorical powers, and the 
events connected with his life were such as 
to bring out to the best advantages his great 
fertility of mind. The most famous of his 
orations include the one delivered at the lay¬ 
ing of the cornerstone of Bunker Hill monu¬ 
ment in 1825; the one at the completion of the 
monument in 1843; eulogies of Presidents 
Adams and Jefferson in Faneuil Hall, Boston, 
in 1826; his reply to Hayne in 1830; and his 
oration on Washington in 1832. These ora¬ 
tions embody the finest sentiments of Ameri¬ 
canism, and convey as a central thought that 
the Union should be preserved at whatever 
cost. Henry Clay, the Great Reconciler, is the 
author of the Missouri Compromise; of the 
Act of 1833 settling Nullification, and of the 
compromise measures of 1850. Calhoun ranks 
rather as a debater than as an orator, but 
his sympathies extended more closely to his 
own section, the South, than to the whole coun¬ 
try. A champion of state rights, he contrib¬ 
uted the most able arguments in favor of that 
view in government. Everett belonged to the 
illustrious orators of Boston, but he did not 
possess the massive strength of Webster. None 
of his contemporaries had so complete an edu¬ 
cation, and his speeches are among the most 
polished contributed to American literature. 
Other eminent orators of this period include 
Rufus Choate, an orator of much intellectual 
strength, and William Ellery Channing, fa¬ 
mous as a leader in the Unitarian movement. 
The latter is the author of two very able 


works: “Life of Napoleon Bonaparte” and 
“Essays on John Milton.” 

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the friend of Car¬ 
lyle, ranks as an eminent writer of this pe¬ 
riod, and is particularly famous as a factor 
in the Carlyle-Emerson correspondence. His 
prose works were mostly delivered as lectures, 
and include “Society and Solitude,” “Repre¬ 
sentative Men,” and “Letters and Social Aims.” 
Many passages in his writings are majestic in 
thought and rhythm, but his style is the con¬ 
densed epigrammatic. His oration on the 
“American Scholar,” delivered in 1837, is an 
epoch-making production, and his chief poems 
are “Snow Storm,” “Concord Hymn,” and 
“Bumble Bee.” The transcendentalists, who 
supported a form of idealism, include Emer¬ 
son, who may be regarded the greatest of this 
class of writers. They represent the idealistic 
in poetry and prose, thus favoring the German 
philosophy rather than the English materialis¬ 
tic writings. The Dial, a periodical published 
at Concord, was the chief organ of the tran¬ 
scendentalists, and in it were published the 
chief poems and prose writings of this school. 
Louise M. Alcott, author of “Little Women,” 
“The Old-Fashioned Girl,” and “The Spinning- 
Wheel Stories,” belonged to this class of writ¬ 
ers. Other writers include Henry David Tho- 
reau, who found intense enjoyment in simple 
life and spent two years in a cabin on. the 
shores of Walden Pond, Concord, where he 
lived as a means of closely observing nature. 
The best known of his works embrace “A 
Yankee in Canada,” “The Maine Woods,” and 
“Cape Cod.” Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) was 
prominent in this class of writers, and is well 
remembered by her plea for equality before 
the law, and by her “Woman in the Nineteenth 
Century,” “A Summer on the Lakes,” and 
“Papers on Literature and Art.” 

Recent Period. The second period of Ameri¬ 
can literature, that from 1840 to the present 
time, begins with the so-called Cambridge 
poets, whose center was at Harvard College. 
These writers embrace four of the most famous 
Americans: Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell, and 
Whittier. Henry W. Longfellow, though in¬ 
fluenced by the literature and historic associa¬ 
tions of Europe, is eminently American in the 
treatment of his subjects. Endowed with an 
appreciative nature and enriched by college 
life, select reading, and foreign travel, he has 
never been surpassed in American literature. 
In 1841 he published such favorite poems as 
“The Village Blacksmith,” “The Skeleton in Ar¬ 
mor,” and “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” and 
soon after gave us “The Old Clock on the 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


71 


AMERICAN LITERATURE 


Stairs.” His greatest poem, “Evangeline,” ap¬ 
peared in 1846, and is the story of an Acadian 
peasant girl. In 1855 he published “Hiawatha,” 
an interesting poem, treating of the legends 
and traditions of the American Indians, whose 
plan was suggested by the German translation 
of the Finnish epic, “The Kalevala.” Other 
writings of Longfellow include “Miles Stan- 
dish,” “Building of the Ship,” and “Belfry of 
Bruges.” Oliver Wendell Holmes is partic¬ 
ularly famous for his “Autocrat of the Break¬ 
fast Table,” which appeared in the Atlantic 
Monthly in 1857, and afterward followed “The 
Professor,” “The Poet,” and “Over the Tea- 
Cups.” His three novels include “Mortal An¬ 
tipathy,” “Elsie Venner,” and “Guardian An¬ 
gel.” “Chambered Nautilus,” “Old Ironsides,” 
“The Last Leaf,” and “Height of the Ridicu¬ 
lous” are among his excellent poems. James 
Russell Lowell inherited culture, if that is pos¬ 
sible, and acquired an excellent education at 
Cambridge. He published three books in the 
autumn of 1848: “Sir Launfal,” “Bigelow Pa¬ 
pers,” and “Fable of Critics” He is not a 
mountain poet like Bryant, or an ocean poet 
like Whittier, but touches with great beauty 
the birds, trees, and flowers. In his poems are 
included “The Courtin’” and “Indian Summer 
Reverie.” “Among My Books” and “My 
Study Windows” are excellent critical works. 
John Greenleaf Whittier, frequently called the 
poet of anti-slavery, is the favorite American 
poet of many students. His writings show that 
he lived a dual life, one in the world of fancy 
and one in the world of fact, as is shown in 
his “Bare-Foot Boy” and “In School Days.” 
The first half of his literary career was marked 
by earnest opposition to slavery, the writings 
of this period embracing productions both in 
verse and prose. His “Laus Deo,” written 
when the bells pealed for the abolition of slav¬ 
ery, is the last lyric of this period. “Snow 
Bound” is a winter idyl, “Maud Muller” and 
“Among the Hills” are exceedingly graceful, 
and “Telling the Bees” is the most pathetic 
of his productions. Whittier ranks with Bry¬ 
ant as a nature poet, but he reflects the calm 
and beauty of scenic nature, while Bryant re¬ 
lies upon placing strength in the objects of his 
descriptions. 

Harriet Beecher Stowe is famous in the anti¬ 
slavery group of writers, and is best remem¬ 
bered by her “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” “Dred: A 
Tale of the Dismal Swamp,” and “The Min¬ 
ister’s Wooing.” Wendell Phillips was the 
orator of antislavery, and devoted his educa¬ 
tion, wealth, legal abilities, and oratorical powers 
to thfe cause he espoused. He was recognized 


as the representative of the movement in Fan- 
euil Hall in 1837, which continued active until 
the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 
1863. William Lloyd Garrison’s writings are 
important in the history of the antislavery 
movement rather than in literature, but they 
contain many lofty and inspiring thoughts. The 
speeches of Charles Sumner, published com¬ 
plete in twelve volumes, are scholarly and 
powerful arguments and supply almost a. com¬ 
plete history of the contest. 

William Hickling Prescott takes high rank 
among the distinguished American historians, 
and his first famous work is “The Reign of 
Ferdinand and Isabella.” He published “The 
Conquest of Mexico” in 1843, “The Conquest of 
Peru” in 1847, and “The History of Philip II.” 
in 1855. No one has surpassed Prescott in his 
treatment of these themes, but his work was 
done under great difficulties, owing to the fact 
that he was partly blind during a large part 
of his life. George Bancroft is famous among 
the historians who wrote of the Colonial and 
Revolutionary periods, and published the first 
volume of his “History of the United States” 
in 1834, and finally completed it in 1885. In 
this work he spent over half a century, con¬ 
sulting the archives of America and Europe for 
that purpose, and his writings are remarkably 
accurate in descriptive details. John Lothrop 
Motley stands preeminent as a historian, and 
in 1856 published “The Rise of the Dutch Re¬ 
public,” a historical work of vast value. Other 
writings from his pen include “The United 
Netherlands” and “Life of John of Barneveld.” 
Francis Parkman is another famous historian. 
The difficulty under which he labored resembled 
that of Prescott, and he was confined in a 
dark room and unable to read for three years. 
His writings include “The Oregon Trail” and 
“The Conspiracy of Pontiac.” Other famous 
historians include Jared Sparks, author of 
“Library of American Biography;” George 
Ticknor, writer of “History of Spanish Lit¬ 
erature;” Horace Greeley, author of “Prayer 
of Twenty Millions;” and Alexander H. Ste¬ 
phens, writer of “Corner-Stone of the Con¬ 
federacy.” Other names that belong to the 
group of historians include Benson J. Lossing, 
Jefferson Davis, John Fiske, John Clark Rid- 
path, Justin Winsor, Carl Schurz, John Bach 
McMaster, and Herman Eduard von Holst. 

The famous pulpit orators include Henry 
Ward Beecher, author of “Lectures to Young 
Men,” “Aids to Prayer,” and “State Papers.” 
James Freeman Clarke, a Harvard man, pub¬ 
lished “Ten Great Religions,” and Thomas Starr 
King, the famous Unitarian pastor of Boston, 


AMERICAN PARTY 


72 


AMHERST 


wrote on religious and patriotic subjects and 
published “White Hills.” David Swing is the 
author of “Life Immortal” and “Truths for 
To-day;” DeWitt Talmage published many 
sermons and religious writings. Chas. M. Shel¬ 
don is the author of “In His Steps,” “For 
Christ and the Church,” and many other writ¬ 
ings. 

The recent writers are very numerous. Bay¬ 
ard Taylor, author of “Views Afoot” and 
“Songs of Summer,” and translator of Goethe’s 
“Faust,” takes high rank. Walt Whitman won 
extensive notice by his “Leaves of Grass,” 
which appeared in 1855, and afterward pub¬ 
lished “Drum Taps” and “Memoranda” during 
the war. Will Carleton is eminently popular 
as the author of “Poems of Farm Life” and as 
a lecturer, while James Whitcomb Riley has 
attained much popularity. His best-known 
writings include “Afterwhiles,” “Knee Deep in 
June,” and many popular poetical and prose 
writings in the hoosier dialect. Eugene Field 
is famous as a writer of poems for children, such 
as “Little Boy Blue” and “Wynken and Blynken 
and Nod,” but we are also indebted to him for 
many humorous and satirical writings. Bret 
Harte is remembered for his “Luck of Roaring 
Camp” and “Outcasts of Poker Flat;” Joaquin 
Miller for his “Songs of the Sierras;” and E. 
E. Hale for his “Man Without a Country.” 
A. E. Sweet, Josh Billings, Artemus Ward, 
Robert J. Burdette, E. W. Nye, Samuel L. 
Clemens, and Francis R. Stockton are among 
the well-known humorists. 

The recent essayists include Josiah G. Hol¬ 
land, Charles D. Warner, John Burroughs, and 
Donald G. Mitchell. Edmund C. Stedman, 
Edwin P. Whipple, George W. Curtis, and 
Richard G. White are among the critics. The 
recent women verse writers embrace Alice and 
Phoebe Cary, Helen H. Jackson, and Lucy Lar- 
com. Henry James, W. D. Howells, George W. 
Cable, Thomas W. Higginson, Edward Eggles¬ 
ton, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Edward P. Roe, 
and Henry James Howells are among the recent 
novelists. The miscellaneous writers embrace 
Maurice Thompson, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 
George Ade, R. H. Stoddard, George Edward 
Woodberry, Richard Hovey, Thomas Bailey 
Aldrich, Theodore Roosevelt, Edward S. Ellis, 
Henry Harland, J. K. Bangs, and Marietta 
Holly. 

AMERICAN PARTY. See Know Noth¬ 
ings. 

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, an educa¬ 
tional institution situated in Washington, D. C., 
which is designed for post-graduate students. 
It was chartered in 1891, when the citizens of 


Washington donated ninety acres of land for 
that purpose. The institution in under the 
patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
It is governed by a board of trustees of fifty 
members, among whom are included as ex- 
officio members the President, Vice-President, 
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the 
speaker of the House of Representatives of the 
United States. The courses of study are de¬ 
signed especially for college graduates, and the 
bachelor’s degree or its equivalent is necessary 
for entrance. 

AMERICUS (a-mer'i-cus), a city in Georgia, 
county seat of Sumter County, 70 miles south¬ 
west of Macon, on the Georgia and Alabama 
and the Central of Georgia railroads. It has 
a considerable trade and is surrounded by a 
fertile country. There are excellent schools 
and churches, good municipal facilities, and 
a female college. The manufactures embrace 
machinery, tobacco products, utensils, earthen¬ 
ware, and clothing. The first settlement in its 
vicinity was made in 1832 and it was incor¬ 
porated in 1855. Population, 1900, 7,674. 

AMESBURY ( amz'ber-i), a town in Essex 
county, Mass., forty-two miles north of Bos¬ 
ton, on the Boston and Maine Railroad. It 
has electric street railway facilities, water¬ 
works, several libraries, and excellent school 
and church buildings. The manufactures in¬ 
clude carriages, boots and shoes, woolen goods, 
and machinery. It was the home of the poet, 
John G. Whittier, who removed here in 1836 
and made it his residence until his death. Ames- 
bury was incorporated in 1666. Population, 
1905, 8,840. 

AMETHYST (am'e-thist), the name of a 
crystallized quartz or rock, usually purple or 
bluish violet in color. Varieties that are 
characterized by beauty and hardness command 
a high price. The color is not always uniformly 
diffused, and by candlelight it appears less 
brilliant than in sunlight. The best specimens 
are brought from Ceylon, Armenia, Arabia, and 
India. Amethyst is regarded a precious stone, 
and is used largely in making rings, seals, and 
other articles of jewelry. The Greeks supposed 
that it was a protection against drunkenness and 
recommended that it be worn by those addicted 
to that habit. 

AMHERST (am'erst), a town of Massachu¬ 
setts, in Hampshire County, 23 miles north 
of Springfield, on the Vermont Central and the 
Boston and Maine railroads. It is beautifully 
situated in the valley of the Connecticut River, 
within sight of Mount Holyoke, and is the 
seat of Amherst College. It has manufactures 
of straw hats and a considerable trade in' prod- 




AMHERST 


73 


AMOEBA 


uce and merchandise. The first settlement 
was made in its vicinity in 1703. Population 
1905, 5,313. 

AMHERST, a town of Nova Scotia, capital 
of Cumberland County, nine miles east of 
Sackville. It is located on the Intercolonial 
Railroad and on an arm of Cumberland Bay. 
Shipbuilding is the chief industry, and coal 
is mined m its vicinity. Population, 1901, 
4,964. 

AMHERST COLLEGE, an educational 
institution at Amherst, Mass., founded as the 
Collegiate Institute of Amherst in 1821, but 
changed to Amherst College in 1825. The prop¬ 
erty and endowments are valued at $2,500,000. 
It has a faculty of thirty-eight instructors, 420 
students, and a library of 78,000 volumes. The 
institution carries advanced courses of study, 
and numbers among its alumni some of the 
most prominent educators of America. It is 
maintained in the interest of Christian educa¬ 
tion, having been founded by an association of 
Congregational and Presbyterian ministers, and 
about one-fourth of the graduates enter the 
clergy. 

AMIENS (a-mi-an'), a city of France, 
capital of the department of Somme, seventy 
miles north of Paris. It is finely located on 
the Somme River, which is navigable for small 
craft, and has excellent railroad and electrical 
car line advantages. The streets are regularly 
platted and paved, and it is the seat of a 
; Gothic cathedral, one of the finest in Europe. 
It has a fine public library of 100,000 volumes, 
several parks, and a statue of Peter the Her¬ 
mit. Amiens is noted for its extensive manu¬ 
factures of velvet and cotton goods. Other 
manufactures include silk, linen and woolen 
textiles, machinery, pottery, and clothing. The 
Treaty of Amiens, which restored peace be¬ 
tween France, Holland, England, and Spain, 
was concluded in 1802. In 1870 it was taken 
by the German army, after a decisive victory 
over the French. Population, 1901, 90,758. 

AMMON (am'mun), an ancient diety wor¬ 
shiped in many countries of Africa and Eu¬ 
rope. The Egyptians celebrated him in tem¬ 
ples at Thebes and in the Libyan oasis of Am¬ 
monium, and dedicated many statues to his 
honor. He was worshiped by the Greeks as 
identified with Zeus, while the Romans asso- 
| ciated him with Jupiter. In statuary he is repre- 
i sented as a man with a ram’s head. 

AMMONIA (am-mo'm-a), a volatile alkali. 
It is a colorless gas, having a penetrating, 

1 pungent ‘odor and a burning taste. Though com¬ 
bustible, it will not burn in air. It was first 
made in the Libyan Desert, in Africa, from 

4 


decaying animal matter gathered by the Arabs 
at the temple of Ammon, hence the name am¬ 
monia. The name hartshorn is frequently ap¬ 
plied to this substance from the circumstance 
that it may be prepared by making shavings of 
horns. It is now derived chiefly by distilling 
coal and refuse animal substances gathered 
promiscuously, such as hoofs, horns, bones, etc. 
Ammonia is also obtained from vegetable mat¬ 
ters, when it contains a considerable per cent, 
of nitrogen. The chief uses are for medicine, 
for motive power, and in the manufacture of 
ice. 

AMMUNITION (am-mu-msh'un), the 
primer, powder, and projectiles used in fire¬ 
arms. These articles are made up ready for 
use in small arms and small cannon, when it 
is known as fixed ammunition, and in the 
larger guns they are put in separately. The 
projectile used in a large gun is put in first, 
after which the powder, handled in a brass case 
or in cloth bags, is placed, and the primer ex¬ 
plodes the charge. Fixed ammunition is put 
up in cases of brass and pasteboard, or in 
cases entirely of brass, and in this form is 
sold on the market, or the cases may be ob¬ 
tained separately and afterward loaded tcT 
meet the requirements. The government of 
most countries supervises and controls the 
manufacture of ammunition for the army, or 
it is manufactured to order under careful in¬ 
spection. Formerly field artillery carried be¬ 
tween 150 and 200 rounds per gun with the 
battery and a reserve of as much more, but at 
present the quantity kept ready for use is 
larger, since the rapid-fire and automatic guns 
make it necessary to have a large supply avail¬ 
able. The ammunition in the caissons is used 
first, and further supplies are drawn from 
the ammunition columns, the rule being to use 
the ammunition in the limber only when no 
other is available. 

AMOEBA (a-me'ba), a genus of micro¬ 
scopic animals, belonging to the lowest class 
of Protozoa. Several species have been de¬ 
scribed, all of which are viscid like glue, and 
the specific gravity is little greater than water. 
An amoeba is an irregular mass of protoplasm, 
semi-transparent, and has the power of loco¬ 
motion by means of a streaming movement 
of the protoplasm. A small portion within 
the mass, called the nucleus, is somewhat darker 
than the general brown color, and small projec¬ 
tions, known as pseudopodia, are thrust out 
at certain points of the body while others be¬ 
hind them are retracted, and it is by these 
processes that locomotion is possible. The same 
motion is essential in taking in food, which 




AMNESTY 


74 


AMPUTATION 


is done by the pseudopodia flowing around 
digestible objects and extracting from them 
nutritious substances. In this animal the proc¬ 
esses of nutrition, sensation, motion, and repro- 



Showing how an amoeba is divided in the process 
of growth. 

duction are all performed by a single cell. Its 
power of sensation is such that it keeps in 
water of a medium temperature, and moves 
from the source of light and objects that 
endanger it. These characteristics have caused 
it to be selected as the subject of treatises on 
biological subjects. It is found in pools of water 
and swamps, and usually clings to some object, 
such as dead leaves and weeds. 

AMNESTY (am'nes-ty), an act of pardon, 
the effect of which is that persons guilty of 
political offenses will not be called upon to 
answer for them. The amnesty may be either 
absolute or qualified. An instance of the latter 
may be found in the proclamation issued by 
Napoleon on his return from Elba in 1815, in 
which amnesty was declared for the benefit 
of all except thirteen persons, whom he named. 
Only five amnesties have been issued in the 
United States. These were all relative to the 
Civil War, the first by Lincoln and the remain¬ 
ing four by Johnson. 

AMORITES (am'6-rits), a powerful nation 
of ancient Canaan, whose possessions extended 
on both sides of the Jordan River. The Amo- 
rites occupied the whole of Gilead and Bashan, 
and formed two kingdoms—the northern gov¬ 
erned by King Og, and the southern by King 
Sihon. The former is spoken of as King of 


Bashan, and the latter as King of the Amorites. 
They were conquered by the Israelites, after the 
death of Moses, under the leadership of Joshua. 

AMOY (a-moi'), a city in China, on an 
island of the same name, in the province of 
Fukien. It is located on the strait of Fbrmosa, 
near the mouth of the Pei-chi or Dragon River, 
and ranks as one of the chief seaports on the 
Pacific, having long been an open port. The 
harbor is large and deep. It has a growing 
trade in tea, opium, paper, cotton, and earthen¬ 
ware. Deposits of coal abound in the vicinity. 
Population, 96,800. 

AMPHIBIA (am-fib'i-a), the term used to 
designate a class of vertebrate animals which 
can live for a considerable time either on land 
or in water, and which for one part of their 
existence live in water and at another on land. 
They include the frog, tortoise, lizard, croco¬ 
dile, snake, salamander, and many others. In 
the larval stage they possess gills, and some 
species, w'hen fully developed, are able to 
breathe either by the gills or the lungs, ’ and 
many retain the gills throughout life. 

AMPHITHEATER (am-fi-the'a-ter), or 
Colosseum, a spacious building, usually oval 
shaped, used by the Romans for gladiatorial 
contests, wild beast fights, and other spectacles. 
The largest of these structures was the Flavian, 
known as the Colosseum, which was begun by 
Vespasian and finished by Titus in the year 
80 a. d., ten years after the destruction of 
Jerusalem. This structure is now in a better 
state of preservation than any other. It covers' 
five acres of ground, and had a capacity suffi¬ 
cient to seat 87,000 persons. The length is 612 
feet and the breadth is 515 feet. Titus dedi- 
cated it by a celebration lasting a hundred days,', 
during which time 5,000 wild beasts were slain. 
Many of the amphitheaters were used as cas¬ 
tles and for fortifications in the Middle Ages.' 
In modern times the name came to be ap -* 
plied to any oval or circular building with 
tiers of seats overlooking an arena or a cen¬ 
tral space. 

AMPUTATION (am-pu-ta'shun), in sur¬ 
gery, the removal of any part of the body or 
limbs on account of disease or injury. An 
operation of this kind is advisable in cases of 
serious accidents and diseases, in which life’ 
would be endangered if the part were allowed I 
to remain, especially in such diseases as gan¬ 
grene and malignant growths. Amputations are j 
either flap or circular with reference to the-j 
manner in which the flesh is cut. In the former 
the flesh is cut in a slanting direction to thej 
bone so as to leave one or more flaps to^ 
cover amply the end of the stump, and in the 



AMRITSAR 


75 


AMUR 


latter the skin and superficial fascia are divided 
by the knife around the limb, loosening the 
skin about three inches, then dividing the mus¬ 
cles and using sufficient to cover the bone. The 
flesh is removed before the saw is applied. 
Most surgeons consider' an amputation at the 
joints more serious than in the continuity of 
the limbs, while an operation at the hip joint 
and near the vital organs of the trunk need a 
skillful operator and are attended with con¬ 
siderable danger. Amputations were practiced 
by the ancient, but a great’ many deaths resulted 
because practitioners did not understand the 
methods of preventing infection, severe bleed¬ 
ing, and blood poisoning. 

AMRITSAR (ujn-rit'sur), a city of India, in 
the Punjab, 40 miles east of Lahore. It is 
the capital of a district of the same name and 
the center of the Sikh religion and learning. 
An extensive commercial trade is carried on 
with Central Asia. The chief manufactures are 
shawls and silks. It is at the junction of sev¬ 
eral railroads and the seat of a number of 
schools, a dispensary, and the marble Darbar 
Sahib, the chief temple of the Sikh faith. Popu¬ 
lation, 1901, 162,548. 

AMSTERDAM (am'ster-dam), a city of 
New York, in Montgomery County, on the 
Mohawk River, thirty-two miles northwest of 
Albany. It is on the Erie Canal and on the 
West Shore and the New York Central rail¬ 
roads. It is surrounded by a fertile region, 
and has an extensive trade in general merchan¬ 
dise. The chief manufactures are carpets, 
paper, brooms, hardware, vehicles, cigars, and 
clothing. The streets are substantially paved 
with stone and macadam. It has electric street 
railways, waterworks, sewerage, a public library, 
and other facilities. It is the seat of a fine 
public school system, several private educa¬ 
tional institutions, and a number of excellent 
church buildings. The first settlement in its 
vicinity was made in 1778, when it became 
known as Veedersburg, and it was incor¬ 
porated under its present name in 1830. Popu¬ 
lation, 1905, 23,943; in 1910, 31,267. 

AMSTERDAM, one of the chief commer¬ 
cial cities of Europe, capital of Holland and 
of the province of North Holland, and the 
metropolis of the Netherlands. It is situated 
on an inlet of the Zuyder Zee, ten miles east 
of Haarlem, and is the converging center of 
many important railroads. Owing to the low 
and marshy condition of the site, the greater 
part, of the city is built on piles driven deep 
into the ground. It is protected by dikes against 
the tides that rise higher than the level of the 
city. A system of canals divides it into about 


ninety islands, which are connected by nearly 
300 bridges. 

The city has many excellent and sub¬ 
stantial structures, among them the govern¬ 
ment palace building, erected in 1648. It con¬ 
tains many*fine churches, a majority belonging 
to the Dutch Reformed Church, but the in¬ 
habitants include a considerable number of 
Lutherans, Catholics, and Jews. It is a noted 
educational center, being the seat of a thorough¬ 
ly organized public school system, numerous 
colleges and academies, hospitals, and other 
public institutions. The chief manufactures are 
clothing, pottery, lumber products, sailing ves¬ 
sels, glassware, books and printed matter, en¬ 
gines, and machinery. A large majority of the 
inhabitants engage in manufacturing and com¬ 
mercial enterprises, and the domestic and for¬ 
eign commerce has long taken high rank. In¬ 
deed, it ranks among the leading commercial 
centers of Europe. 

In the 13th century Amsterdam was a small 
village with a few hundred -fishermen, but it 
rose rapidly with the extension of the Dutch 
colonial interests. Owing to wars and other 
causes it declined somewhat in the 18th cen¬ 
tury, but in the last century it again rose to im¬ 
portance, and now surpasses its former high 
mark of prosperity. All the modern conven¬ 
iences, such as telephones, electric lights, water¬ 
works, libraries, and boulevards, have been pro¬ 
vided for the convenience and enjoyment of 
its citizens. Intercommunication is facilitated 
by electric surface lines, by canals, and by a 
suburban system of steam railways. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 564,186. 

AMU, or Amu-Darya, See Oxus. 

AMUCK (a-muk'), or Amok, a custom 
practiced in Java and other islands of the 
Malay Archipeligo by natives who have become 
ferocious through the excessive use of opium. 
Maddened by the effect of the poison, the crazed 
victim of the opium habit rushes to the street 
with a dirk knife and seeks to stab those who 
may come in his way. On being seen in this 
condition, the population are aroused by the 
cry of amuck and the madman is captured and 
put to death. 

AMUR (a-moor'), or Amoor, an impor¬ 
tant river of Asia, one of the great streams 
of the world, formed by the junction of the 
Shilka and Argun rivers. It has a basin cov¬ 
ering an area of 796,000 square miles, and its 
estimated length is 2,739 miles. The Amur 
forms a part of the boundary between Siberia 
and China, penetrates the Khingan Mountains, 
and flows into the Sea of Okhotsk, through 
the Gulf of Amur. Among its chief tributaries 






ANABAPTISTS 


76 


ANAGRAM 


are the Sungari, the Ussuri, the Seya, and the 
Bureya. 

ANABAPTISTS (an-a-bap'tists), a name 
sometimes applied to the denominations of 
Christians that deny the validity of infant bap¬ 
tism, but more properly used to ^designate a 
peculiar sect that laid claim to supernatural 
power. This sect was founded in 1517, under 
the leadership of Thomas Munzer, at Zwickau, 
Germany. They took part in the Peasants’ War 
but were defeated near Muhlhausen in 1525. 
Munster, in Westphalia, became their center 
of influence in 1533, where they were defeated 
by a military force sent against them on a 
charge alleging that they practiced *gross im¬ 
moralities. This sect differed in many points 
of doctrine from the Baptists, but, like the 
latter, protested against infant baptism. 

ANABASIS (a-nab'd-sis), the title of two 
Greek historical works. The “Anabasis of 
Cyrus” was written by Xenophon in the 4th 
century b. c., and in it is an account of the 
expedition of the younger Cyrus against his 
brother. King Artaxerxes of Persia, and of 
the retreat of the 10,000 Greeks. The other, 
known as the “Anabasis of Alexander,” is the 
account of the campaigns of Alexander the 
Great, written by Arrian in 168 a. d. 

ANACONDA (an-a-kon'da), a large ser¬ 
pent of the boa family, native to tropical 
America, but found chiefly in Brazil and 
Guiana. There are different well-known species, 
the typical form attaining a length of about 
thirty feet, but those usually seen in museums 
are not over twenty feet long. The eyes are 
small, the mouth is perfectly straight, the teeth 
are strong, and the color is blackish green 
above and yellowish below. These serpents feed 
on fish, small rodents, monkeys, and other 
animals, which they crush in their strong folds 
and usually swallow whole or only partly mas¬ 
ticated. They are found mostly along the shores 
of lakes and streams.. Their skins are used for 
making bags and shoes by the natives, who 
utilize their flesh as food. 

ANACONDA, a city of Montana, in Deer 
Lodge county, about sixty miles southwest of 
Helena, on the Great Northern, the Northern 
Pacific, and other railways. It has a free 
library of 8,500 volumes, several fine school 
buildings, and good municipal improvements. 
The surrounding country contains valuable de¬ 
posits of gold and silver, a circumstance that 
occasioned the rapid growth of the city. The 
manufactures are machinery, earthenware, cloth¬ 
ing, brick, and smelter and machine shop pro¬ 
ducts. It has a growing trade in merchandise, 
produce, and minerals. Anaconda has had a 


rapid growth since 1884, when the copper re¬ 
duction works were established. Population, 
1900, 9,453. 

ANAEMIA (a-ne'mi-a), the name applied to 
a morbid condition of the system produced by 
various causes, especially by a loss of blood 
and a deprivation of light and air in mines. 
A person afflicted with anaemia is character¬ 
ized by great paleness and usually the blood 
vessels are easily traceable. The patient should 
have fresh air and good nourishment, especially 
such materials as tend to restore the vigor of 
the blood, including iron and arsenic treat¬ 
ment. 

ANAESTHETICS (an-es-thet'iks), a class 
of medicines used as drugs or inhaled in the 
form of vapor, which destroy consciousness 
for a time and with it the sense of pain. The 
value of such agencies was known to the an¬ 
cients, but the scientific application dates from 
1800, when Sir Humphry Davy recommended 
them for use in surgery. Homer and Herodotus 
mentioned the effects of nepenthe when used 
in surgery, and it is spoken of in that 
respect by Pliny, while various Chinese manu¬ 
scripts allude to the use of a preparation of 
hemp for the same purpose. Faraday estab¬ 
lished the use of sulphuric acid in 1818, and 
Simpson in 1847 announced the value of chloro¬ 
form, which has since been used as the chief 
anaesthetic agent. A solution of cocaine is in¬ 
jected by some practitioners to secure anaesthe¬ 
sia in certain parts of the body, a practice 
originated by August Bier, of Kiel, Germany. 
By this method the patient may witness in a 
conscious state the operation performed, as the 
amputation of a leg or arm, but this is not 
possible when the operation is in the trunk. A 
new anaesthetic known as stovaine was dis¬ 
covered by M. Fourneau, a French surgeon, in 
1907, which is used in a similar way to produce 
paralysis of the body below the point of in¬ 
jection and removes all sensation from the 
limbs. With it properly administered it was 
found possible to amputate a limb while the 
patient retained consciousness, and, had he 
been allowed to do so, could have even wit¬ 
nessed the operation. Stovaine is a compound 
in the nature of cocaine. 

ANAGRAM (an'a-gram), the transposition 
of the letters forming a word or sentence into 
a new word or sentence. The ancients con¬ 
structed anagrams of divers words, often apply¬ 
ing to the newly formed words a prophetic 
meaning. A true anagram is formed by trans¬ 
posing every letter in the original word and 
adding no new or different letter. For instance, 
the letters of Des Moines (Iowa) have been 


ANAKIM 


77 


ANARCHY 


transposed and the name Seni Om Sed origi¬ 
nated, which is applied to an autumnal festival 
given in that city. 

ANAKIM (an'a-kim), a race of giants who 
lived in the southern part of Palestine at the 
time of the exodus of the Israelites. They are 
referred to as “the children of Anak,” and 
settlements were made by them in the moun¬ 
tains of Judah sind Israel. Joshua conquered 
them and destroyed many of their cities, but a 
remnant of them survived in Gath, Gaza, and 
Ashdod. 

ANALOGY (a-nal'6-ji), a word used to ex¬ 
press relation or close resemblance. It is used 
in grammar to express conformity with the 
structure of a language; in biology, to denote 
parts which agree in functions; and in mathe¬ 
matics, to designate similitudes of ratio. 

ANALYSIS (a-nal'i-sis), the process of re¬ 
solving a whole into its parts, and opposed to 
synthesis, by which parts are combined to form 
wholes. The term analysis is applied in many 
branches of study, especially in chemistry, math¬ 
ematics, and physics. 

ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY. See 
Geometry. 

ANAM (a-nam'), or Annam, a country of 
Asia, situated south of China, east of Siam, and 
west of the South China Sea. Southwest of 
it is the Gulf of Siam. The drainage is chiefly 
by the Mekong River, which forms a part of 
the boundary between it and Siam, and flows 
through the southern portion. It embraces the 
once separated states of Tonquin and Cochin- 
China, and includes the ancient kingdom of 
Cambodia. At present it is divided into three 
parts: Tonquin in the north, the country of 
the Laos southwest of Tonquin, and nearly the 
whole of Cochin-China; a portion of the latter 
has belonged to France since 1867. The area 
comprises 170,100 square miles. In the north 
and south are rich alluvial plains, while the 
interior is more or less diversified by mountain 
ranges, and the coastal regions are generally 
fertile. There are extensive deposits of iron, 
copper, silver, gold, manganese, and coal. The 
commercial products take rank among the best 
of Southern Asia, and include cereals, live stock, 
fruits, tobacco, and fish. Anam is governed as 
an absolute monarchy, though it is largely de¬ 
pendent on France. In 1872 it was recognized 
as independent of China by the French, on 
condition that the king allow the free exercise 
of religion, open divers ports to foreign ves¬ 
sels, and grant special commercial advantage to 
France. The French claimed a violation of the 
treaty of 1872 and occupied Tonquin by a 
military force in 1883, which resulted in placing 


the country practically under a French protec¬ 
torate. Buddhism and Confucianism are the 
chief religions, but a number of the inhabitants 
profess Christianity. Hue and Saigon are the 
chief seaport cities. The population of Anam 
aggregates 18,125,000. 

ANARCHY (an'ar-chy), a theory of politi¬ 
cal science, which is based upon the principle 
that each individual is entitled to freedom from 
civil authority, and that he of right possesses 
liberty of action in social and economic matters. 
The theory of anarchism developed in the 19th 
century, having its most eminent advocate in 
Jean Proudhon, a distinguished French jurist. 
It seeks to abolish all systems of law and gov¬ 
ernment, and gives to the individual the largest 
freedom in society. While it may be considered 
as an ethical ideal of social relations, the ap¬ 
plication of its principles, though only individual 
or local, have resulted in harm and disaster. 
If the tendencies of men were pure and un¬ 
selfish, and there were a standard of right both 
correct in itself and accepted and practiced by 
all individuals, it might be possible to success¬ 
fully build a state or nation upon its tenets, but 
in practice it has led to revolution and terror¬ 
ism. Many adherents, though at first pure and 
sincere in the belief, became contaminated with 
thoughts of destruction and assassination that 
have placed anarchy in the category of law¬ 
lessness. 

No doubt the aristocratic and absolute gov¬ 
ernments of Europe have tended to increase the 
adherents of this political and social dogma, 
and as a natural result a large number of an¬ 
archists have emigrated to America. Paterson, 
N. J., has long been noted for the number 
of anarchists who settled in that city, and there 
are also many adherents in Chicago and New 
York. From these cities as centers of influ¬ 
ence, literature in the form of circulars and 
periodicals has been sent broadcast, and efforts 
to secure adherents have been made through 
personal solicitations and public meetings. In 
1896 disturbances occurred in Chicago in which 
a number of anarchists took part, and three 
assassinations in this country are charged to 
perpetrators who were supporters of anarchism 
—the assassination of Lincoln in 1865, Garfield 
in 1881, and McKinley in 1901. 

The most prominent agitators and advo¬ 
cates of anarchism in the United States were 
Johann Most and Emma Goldman, both of 
whom were convicted under the laws of New 
York for directly inciting crime. The assassi¬ 
nations of M. von Plehve of Finland and Grand 
Duke Sergius in Moscow, in 1905, are charge¬ 
able more or less directly to anarchists stimu- 






ANATOMY 


78 


ANCHOR 


lated by the feeling of unrest and revolution 
in Russia. No doubt the evil results incident 
to a general spread of its supporters can be 
lessened by federal legislation, which would 
operate to limit writing and speechmaking de¬ 
signed to extend its influence. An anti-anarchist 
conference was held in Austria in 1898, owing 
to the assassination of the empress, and at this 
time there is a movement in the leading nations 
to curtail, if not eradicate, the spread of anarch¬ 
istic influences. 

ANATOMY (a-nat'6-my), the science that 
treats of the form and structure of organic 
bodies, and shows their distinct formation, and 
the relation of each part to the other parts of 
such bodies. It implies the cutting up or dis¬ 
secting, and is generally understood to apply to 
to the human body, while the anatomy of ani¬ 
mals is known as zootomy, and that of plants 
as phytotomy. Hippocrates is held to be the 
father of medicine, but, since his views of the 
structure of the human body were superficial, 
he is not regarded the father of anatomy. 
Aristotle based his views on the dissection of 
animals, and is regarded the founder of the 
science. Human bodies were not dissected until 
250 b. c., when it became common to dissect 
the bodies of criminals. Celsus wrote much on 
anatomy, and after his time many discoveries 
were made by the dissecting of apes and the 
bodies of other animals. For centuries a popu¬ 
lar prejudice existed against allowing the body 
of a relative or a corpse of any kind to be dis¬ 
sected, which long retarded the progress of this 
highly important and useful department of 
knowledge. Many investigators were obliged 
to limit their dissections to the dead bodies of 
the lower animals, drawing analogies thence to 
the human frame, instead of directly studying 
the corpses of mankind. 

Superstition retarded progress in the study of 
anatomy for many centuries, and scientists who 
announced new and valuable discoveries were 
either ruined in their attempts to develop use¬ 
ful results from them, or were burned at the 
stake. The circulation of the blood was not 
known to • the ancients and was discovered by 
Harvey in 1619, who for years hesitated to an¬ 
nounce this valuable addition to human knowl¬ 
edge, but when he made his discovery known 
popular disapproval ruined his medical practice. 
Discoveries made in the 18th and 19th centuries 
are numerous, and have greatly extended knowl¬ 
edge in the practice of surgery and medicine. 
The adoption of improved methods of practice 
so revolutionized the external and internal treat¬ 
ment of the human body that the average of 


human life has been prolonged at least several 
years. 

Anatomy as a science has become so system¬ 
atized that it has been divided into several de¬ 
partments. which are studied with the view of 
fitting practitioners for special lines of prac¬ 
tice. The surgeon is required to understand the 
relation of the different organs to each other 
that he may know how and where to apply 
his instrument in operating - on the living body, 
while the physician must necessarily understand 
the structure of all parts that he may success¬ 
fully administer medicines to affect the different 
organisms in the most beneficial way. The 
study of the bones of the skeleton, muscles, 
nerves, skin, digestive system, and other sys¬ 
tems of the body is called descriptive anatomy. 
Investigations of the special organs, as the coats 
of the stomach and the cells of the lungs, is 
termed general anatomy. Study relating to the 
tissue cells and atoms by the use of the micro¬ 
scope is known as microscopical anatomy. 

For convenience in the study of anatomy, 
the body is considered from the standpoint of 
its principal parts. These include the skeleton, 
constituted of the bones, joints, and cartilag¬ 
inous formations; the muscular system; the 
skin; the nervous system, including the ganglia, 
nerves, spinal cord, and brain; the throat and 
mouth; the vocal organs; and the organs con¬ 
stituting the seat of the senses—the ear, the 
eye, the nose, the mouth, and the papillae. To 
the digestive system, which includes the ali¬ 
mentary canal, the muscular membranous tube 
into which food is taken to be digested while 
undergoing its more or less complicated course 
through the body, and which is constituted 
of the mouth, aesophagus, stomach, and intes¬ 
tines, belong the accessory organs, including the 
salivary glands, the pancreas, and the liver. The 
organs of circulation include the capillaries, 
the arteries, the veins, and the heart, while 
to the organs of respiration belong the throat, 
the windpipe, and the lungs. Other principal 
parts include the kidneys, the organs of repro¬ 
duction, and the lymphatic system, with its 
vesicles and glands. See Heart, Ear, Eye, 
Skin, etc. 

ANCHOR (an'ker), in navigation, an im¬ 
plement for retaining a ship at a particular 
place by temporarily chaining it to the bed 
of the sea or river, which is called an anchor¬ 
age. In early times bags of sand, large stones 
or wooden anchors weighted with lead were 
* commonly employed for this purpose. Iron 
anchors were first used by the Greeks, and their 
manufacture was one of the most laborious in¬ 
dustries, this being due to the fact that very 


ANCHOVY 


79 


ANDERSON 


large hammers are required to weld and shape 
the materials. In modern times the steam ham¬ 
mer came into almost exclusive use for this 
purpose. It is a powerful implement, having 
an enormous force, and' is easily applied in 
comparison to the sledge hammers wielded by 
men. Anchor-making 
is now conducted on a 
large scale, and the oc¬ 
cupation of an anchor- 
smith is considered an 
important one. Ships 
that have a tonnage of 
1,000 tons usually re¬ 
quire anchors weighing 
thirty cwt.; those hav¬ 
ing a tonnage of 3,000 
require an anchor 
weighing t h i r t y-five 
cwt., and others in like 
proportion. Most ves¬ 
sels carry from two to 
ten anchors, this depending on the size of 

the ships and the routes to be sailed. 

ANCHOVY (an-cho'vy), a small fish com¬ 
mon in the Mediterranean Sea and the At¬ 
lantic shores of Europe. It belongs to the 
herring family, but is somewhat thicker, has a 
pointed head, a projecting upper jaw, and is 
esteemed for its fine flavor. It is caught in 
seines and used extensively for sauces and 
pastes. Several species of anchovy are found 
off the coasts of Canada and the United States, 
both in the Atlantic and the Pacific. 

ANCIENT ORDER OF UNITED 
WORKMEN, a fraternal, mutual benefit asso¬ 
ciation organized in 1868 by John J. Upchurch 
at Meadville, Penn. There are limited restric¬ 
tions of occupation and its aims and purposes 
are purely benevolent. Three degrees are 
recognized in the order, each having its ap¬ 
propriate grips, signs, and symbols. The asso¬ 
ciation has forty grand or State lodges, about 
5,000 subordinate lodges, and a membership of 
360,000 in the United States. Since its organ¬ 
ization it has paid annually an average of about 
$2,000,000 as benefits to members, but the dis¬ 
bursements at present aggregate $7,500,000 per 
year. The supreme officers are elected annually 
in the supreme lodge, which is constituted of 
delegates sent by grand lodges, and the latter 
in turn are made up of delegates from subordi¬ 
nate lodges. 

ANCONA (an-ko'na), an important seaport 
city in Italy, capital of a province of the same 
name, about 130 miles northeast of Rome. It is 
built in the form of an amphitheater on the 
slope of two hills rising from the shores of the 


Adriatic, has railroad facilities, and carries con¬ 
siderable export and import trade. The manu¬ 
factures are paper, woolen and cotton textiles* 
musical instruments, silk hats, and machinery. 
The city abounds with fine statuary, among 
which is a colossal statue of Count Cavour. In 
the harbor is a mole 200 feet long built by Em¬ 
peror Trajan, on which is the famous trium¬ 
phal Arch of Trajan. Ancona was founded in 
the 4th century b. c., by refugees from Syra¬ 
cuse, but became a Roman colony in the 3d cen¬ 
tury b. c. It has belonged to Italy since 1860. 
Population, 1906, 57,310. 

ANDALUSIA (an-da-loo'shi-a), a region in 
the southern part of Spain. It was part of the 
Roman province of Baetica, is a fertile district, 
and comprises an area of 33,663 square miles. 
Along the northern border extend the Sierra 
Morina Mountains, and the southern part is 
traversed by the Sierra Nevada. The Guadal¬ 
quivir is the largest river and has a southwesterly 
course to the Atlantic. Fruit, grain, wool, 
cotton, and wine are the chief products. Copper 
and iron mining is carried on extensively. The 
Andalusian breed of horses has long been 
famous. For the purpose of government it is 
divided into the eight provinces of Almeria, 
Cadiz, Cordova, Granada, Hulelva, Jaen, 
Malaga, and Sevilla. The language spoken 
is Spanish with a slight mixture of. Arabic. 
Population, 1900, 3,562,650. 

ANDAMANS (an-da-manz'), a group of 
small islands in the Bay of Bengal, politically 
attached to British India. These islands have 
an area of 2,508 square miles, are well timbered, 
and by the Duncan Passage are divided into the 
Great and Little Andamans. The natives are of 
small stature and engage chiefly in fishing and 
the manufacture of clothing and utensils. Since 
1858 the islands have been used as a penal set¬ 
tlement of India. The government is under a 
commissioner resident at Port Blair. Popula¬ 
tion, 1901, 18,190. 

ANDERSON (an'der-son), a city of Indi¬ 
ana, county seat of Madison County, thirty- 
five miles northeast of Indianapolis, on the 
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint 
Louis and other railways. It occupies a fine 
site on the -west fork of the White River. 
The surrounding country is rich in farm 
produce and deposits of coal and natural gas. 
It has electric street railways, pavements, 
waterworks, electric lights, and several libra¬ 
ries. Among its chief buildings are a num¬ 
ber of excellent schools, the county court¬ 
house, numerous churches, and many excellent 
business blocks. The manufactures include 
machinery, clothing, cigars, earthenware, and 









ANDERSON 


80 


ANDES 


farming implements. The first settlement at 
Anderson was made in 1823 and it was incor¬ 
porated in 1865. Population, 1900, 20,176. 

ANDERSON, a city of South Carolina, 
county seat of Anderson County, 125 miles 
northwest of Columbia, on the Southern, and 
other railroads. The surrounding country is 
fertile. It has manufactures of tobacco prod¬ 
ucts, • machinery, and implements. The city 
has several fine public buildings and modern 
municipal facilities. Electric power it obtained 
from a station on the Senaca River, about ten 
miles distant. In 1827 the first settlement was 
made in the vicinity. Population, 1900, 5,498. 

ANDE.RSONVILLE, a village in Sumter 
County, Georgia, sixty-two miles southwest of 
Macon. It is famous as the site of a Con¬ 
federate prison from 1864 to the close of the 
war. The total number of prisoners received 
at the place aggregated 49,485, of whom 
12,926 died from lack of food and sanitation. 
The superintendent, Henry Wirtz, was tried on 
a charge of mismanagement, found guilty, and 
hanged on Nov. 10, 1865. A national cemetery 
now occupies the site of the prison. In 1900 
the village had a population of 245. 

ANDES (an'dez), the predominating moun¬ 
tain system of South America, extending from 
near the island of Trinidad across the north¬ 
ern part of the grand division, thence in a 
direction nearly parallel to the Pacific, and 
continuing almost to the Strait of Magellan. 
It is composed of two approximately parallel 
chains, between which are located wide and 
comparatively fertile valleys. On the north 
they are separated into three chains, in the 
center mainly into two, and in the south they 
unite into one. The chains are connected by 
transverse ridges, forming numerous mountain 
knots. The system forms a continuation of the 
Cordilleras of North America, from which it 
is separated by wide depressions at the Isth¬ 
mus of Panama. From this point the eleva¬ 
tions increase in height toward the south, 
reaching their highest point in Chile, where 
they culminate in the volcanic peak of Acon¬ 
cagua, 23,910 feet, which is the highest eleva¬ 
tion. The average height of the Andes is about 
12,000 feet, and the system is from forty to 
350 miles wide. The total area covered by the 
base of the system is more than a million 
square miles. 

The Andean mountain system includes 
numerous tablelands, the most important being ^ 
the plateau of Quito, 9,543 feet; the plateau of 
Casco, in North Peru, 11,000 feet; and the 
plateau of Bolivia, 13,000 feet. From most of 
these higher plateaus rise volcanic peaks, 


which, together with the volcanoes located in 
the mountain ranges, include from forty to 
sixty still active the greater part of the year. 
The system is the most compact of the great 
mountain systems of the world, and hundreds 
of the peaks tower to immense heights; at 
least ten of them exceed a height of 20,000 
feet. The system contains the source of all 
the great rivers of South America, except the 
main source of the La Plata, the Tocantins, 
and the Sao Francisco, which rise in the high¬ 
lands of Brazil. In the northern portion the 
Orinoco dashes its waters toward the island 
of Trinidad, from the center flow a large 
number of the sources of the Amazon, which 
discharges great volumes of water into the 
Alantic Ocean under the equator, while farther 
south some of the sources of the La Plata and 
the Colorado carry their waters toward the 
south and east. In the center of the system, 
on the high elevation between Peru and 
Bolivia, is located the wonderful inland lake 
Titicaca, 12,847 feet above the level of the 
sea, which has no outlet to the ocean, and is 
perhaps the only inland fresh-water lake. Its 
surface area is 3,800 square miles. The coun¬ 
tries that include parts of the Andean moun¬ 
tain system are Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, 
Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Between 
their elevations are many fertile valleys and 
plains, notably among them the plain of Cuzco, 
which, under the burning sun of the tropics, 
has the climate and productions of the temp¬ 
erate zone. In the territory occupied largely 
by Peru reigned the ancient Incas, who at¬ 
tained a high state of semicivilization and whose 
works are still attested by gigantic ruins and 
wonderful cemeteries. Here were constructed 
great highways for travel, which crossed sum¬ 
mits of the lofty peaks or passed through them 
by tunnels and in their course they extended 
over canons and rivers by works of solid 
masonry. Peru and Chile still retain the 
highest conditions of civilization that have 
developed in South America. 

The plant and animal life of the Andean 
system differs widely from that of the east¬ 
ern portions of South America. Among the 
wild animal forms are the alpaca, llama, 
jaguar, puma, and the fleet deer. Bird life 
is especially rich with song and plumage, and 
includes the great condor, besides hundreds of 
varieties of smaller birds peculiar to the dif¬ 
ferent altitudes. This highland region has ex¬ 
tremely rich deposits of minerals, such as iron, 
lead, platinum, copper, coal, petroleum, silver, 
and gold. These yield large profits where the 
apparently indifferent inhabitants of the south- 




ANDORRA 


81 


ANEMONE 


ern continent have put forth an effort to de¬ 
velop mining. Many cities located in the 
Andes are at a great elevation, and conse¬ 
quently enjoy a perpetual season of cool and 
bracing atmosphere. Chief among these are 
Cerre de Pasco, Potosi, and Quito, the historic 
capital of Ecuador. 

ANDORRA (an-dor'ra), a republic of 
Europe, Eastern Pyrenees, between the Spanish 
province of Lerida and the French department of 
Ariege. The area is 175 square miles, divided 
for the purpose of government into six parishes. 
It is surrounded by high mountains, is rich in 
iron and lead deposits, has some forests, and 
agriculture and manufacturing are the chief 
enterprises. Dairying and fruit culture re¬ 
ceive careful attention. Charlemagne made 
Andorra an independent ■ state because its in¬ 
habitants had rendered services to him while 
he was conducting an expedition against the 
Moors, and its autonomy has been preserved 
until the present. It is governed by a council 
of twenty-four, elected for four years, and 
the laws are administered by two judges, one 
chosen by the Bishop of Urgel in Spain and 
the other by France. Andorra, the capital, has 
a population of 1,000 and is the chief town. 
The population of the republic is 5,231. 

ANDOVER (an'do-ver), a town of Essex 
County, Mass., on the Merrimac River, twenty 
miles north of Boston, on the Boston and 
Maine Railroad. It is the seat of the An¬ 
dover Theological Seminary, which was 
founded in 1808. This institution has a library 
of about 60,000 volumes, is under the direction 
of the Congregational Church, and has sent 
forth fully 3,250 ministers. Andover has ex¬ 
cellent public schools, is connected with other 
towns by electric car lines, and is substantially 
improved by modern facilities. The manu¬ 
factures include clothing, textiles, earthenware, 
and machinery. Andover was first settled in 
1643 and was incorporated three years later. 
Population, 1905, 6,632. 

ANDRIA (an'dre-a), a city of Italy, in the 
province of Bari, thirty-two miles northwest 
of Bari. It is situated on a fertile plain, has 
railroad facilities, and is the center of large 
commercial interests. The city is the seat of 
several noted educational institutions, a Gothic 
palace, and a fine cathedral. Andria was 
founded by the Normans. Frederich II. built 
the noted Castello del Monte, located nine 
miles south of the city. Population, 1901, 
49,569. 

ANDROS (an'dros), an island in the Gre¬ 
cian Archipelago, the most northerly of the 
Cyclades. It is about twenty-five miles long, 

6 


ten miles wide, and has a fertile though moun¬ 
tainous surface. Most of the inhabitants belong 
to the Greek Church. Andros, the capital, has 
a population of 2,160. It has a large trade in 
wine, fruits, and merchandise. The island has 
a population of 19,025. 

ANDROSCOGGIN (an-dros-kog'gin), a 
river of New Hampshire and Maine, rises in 
Lake Umbagog, which is situated on Ihe 
border between the two states. It flows through 
a portion of Maine, and discharges into the 
Kennebec River near Bath. The total length is 
156 miles. 

ANEMOGRAPH (a-nem'6-graf), a device 
attached to an anemometer to make it 
self-recording. Most forms of this instru¬ 
ment have a cylinder covered by paper, which 
moves uniformly by clockwork, and an indica¬ 
tor registers at the proper time both the 
changes in the velocity and the direction of 
the wind. The paper is ruled properly before 
being adjusted on the cylinder. The anemo¬ 
graph is frequently called a wind register. 

ANEMOMETER (an-e-mom'e-ter), an in¬ 
strument for measuring the force and velocity 
of the wind. As ordinarily constructed, it con¬ 
sists of four hemi¬ 
spheres or cups 
mounted on the 
ends of crossed 
rods, on a horizon¬ 
tal plane, in such a 
manner that it may 
be rotated by the 
force of the wind. 

In a box below is 
a mechanism 
which records the 
revolutions made 
by a perpendicular 
shaft, and the in¬ 
dication is given 
by a hand moving 
round the dial. It 
has been found that the center of each cup 
moves with a velocity almost exactly one-third 
of that of the wind. Besides this contrivance, 
there are other instruments which serve the 
same purpose. 

ANEMONE (a-nem'6-ne), a genus of flow¬ 
ering plants having truncate leaf stems, calyx 
corollalike, and colored petals longer than the 
stamens. About sixty species are cultivated 
on account of their profuse and beautiful flow¬ 
ers. The flowers are either double or single 
and variously colored, usually white, red, blue, 
yellow, or creamy violet. These flowers thrive 








ANGEL 


82 


ANGLICAN CHURCH 


best in a light, loamy soil. The plants are 
propagated by offsets, seeds, and cuttings. 

ANGEL (an'jel), a ministering spirit em¬ 
ployed by God to administer comfort to men. 

While angels are men¬ 
tioned frequently in the 
Bible, only two are 
designated by name, 
these being Michael 
and Gabriel. Tobit, a 
book of the Apocrypha, 
mentions Raphael. We 
have scriptural e v i- 
dence that angels be¬ 
came visible to men 
(Gen. xviii. and 
xxxii.), and that there 
were several orders of 
these beings, among 
them the seraphim, the 
cherubim, and the arch¬ 
angels. The popular 
anemone. belief that angels have 

wings is not a revealed truth, rather a poetical 
invention. 

ANGELUS (an'je-lus), a short Roman Cath¬ 
olic prayer, beginning with the words, “Angelus 
Domini nuntiavit Mariae,” and recited at the 
ringing of the Angelus bell. It is offered in 
devotion to the memory of the Annunciation, at 
six o’clock in the morning and evening and at 
noon. J. F. Millet made the sound of the 
Angelus bell reaching the ears of a man and 
woman working in a field the subject of his 
celebrated painting, which was purchased by 
M. Chauchard in 1890 for $150,000. 

ANGERS (an-zha'), a city in France, capital 
of the department of Maine-et-Loire, sixty 
miles southwest of Le Mans. It has a college, 
a cathedral, and a library of 40,000 volumes. In 
the vicinity are slate quarries. Leather, silks, 
chemicals, clothing, and machinery are among 
the manufactures. Statues of J. Bodin and 
Rene of Anjou, who were born here, are in the 
Place du Lorraine. Population, 1906, 82,935. 

ANGINA PECTORIS (an-ji'na pek'to-ris), 
or Heart Stroke, an intense pain which occurs 
in paroxysms in the region of the heart, or ex¬ 
tends from the lower end of the chest-bone to 
the left arm. It is accompanied by faintness and 
suffocation, and successive attacks weaken and 
ultimately cause death. Men are more sus¬ 
ceptible to it than women, especially after the 
age of fifty years. The disease is due to a 
cramp of the heart muscle, or a neuralgia of 
the cardiac nerves. 

ANGLE (an'g’l), a term ordinarily used to 
designate a figure of two straight lines emanat¬ 


ing from one point, the vertex, as a corner of 
a room. In general the term is used to ex¬ 
press the inclination of two lines to one another. 
Four kinds of angles are distinguished in geom¬ 
etry, the plane, spherical, dihedral, and poly¬ 
hedral. 

ANGLER (an'gler), a fish common to the 
coasts of North America and Europe, and 
known by the different names of monkfish, 
fishing frog, and goosefish. It is classed with 
the family of spiny-ray fishes, has a length of 
from three to five feet, and its mouth is very 
large and fringed with barbels. On the top 
of the head are spines which it throws out as 
bait to its prey, attracting the smaller fishes, on 
which it feeds. Several species abound on the 
American coast from Nova Scotia to Florida, 
most of which attain a length of three feet, and 
all have a large mouth and are very voracious. 

ANGLES (an'gl’z), or Angli, an ancient 
German tribe that occupied the country lying 
northeast of the Elbe, and subsequently settled 
in Schleswig, -between the Saxons and Jutes. 
In the 5th century many Angles emigrated, and 
with large number of Saxons and Jutes colon¬ 
ized portions of England and Scotland. The 
Germanic portion of these immigrants founded 
the three kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria, 
and East Anglia. 

ANGLESEY (aa'g’l-se), or Anglesea, an 
island and county in the Irish Sea, belonging 
to Wales, from which it is separated by the 
Menai Strait. It is seventeen miles wide and 
twenty miles long, and is connected by railway 
with the mainland, which crosses the strait by 
the Britannia tubular bridge. The surface is 
quite level and the soil productive, and much of 
the land is in pasture. Copper is mined quite 
extensively, though agriculture and stock rais¬ 
ing are the chief enterprises. Wheat, oats, 
barley, and potatoes are grown. Anciently the 
island was inhabited by Druids, and at present 
the Welch language is spoken largely by the 
peasants. Holyhead, Beaumaris, and Amlwch 
are the chief towns. Population, 1901, 50,590. 

ANGLICAN CHURCH (an'gli-kan), the 
name applied generally to the Church of Eng¬ 
land, and sometimes used in reference to all 
the societies embraced in the Protestant Episco¬ 
pal Church. In its strict application it refers 
only to the Church of England and the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in Scotland, Ire¬ 
land, and the British Colonies. The ritual is 
contained in the “Book of Common Prayer,” 
and in the Thirty-Nine Articles are laid down 
the doctrines of the church. As a body it is 
represented by its bishops from all parts of the 
world in the Lambeth Conference, which is 



ANGLING 


83 


ANGORA 


held at Lambeth Palace, under the presidency 
of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This as¬ 
sembly meets at irregular intervals when called 
by the archbishop, usually about every ten years, 
and its value consists chiefly in the interchange 
of counsel. Its most important session was held 
in 1888, when it promulgated a basis for the 
establishment of Christian unity. 

ANGLING (an'glmg), the art of alluring 
and catching fish by means of a rod, line, and 
hook. The hook is furnished with a bait or 
lure, which is an object of prey, or the imi¬ 
tation of such an object. Usually the rod is 
about twelve to twenty feet long, the line being 
attached, to the small end, and containing one 
or more hooks baited with the lure. The line 
is thrown into the water, in which it floats 
from a cork, the cork serving as an indicator 
of the nibbling or bite of the game. When 
the fish has been caught, it is drawn from the 
water and the line is thrown out for more 
game. The practice of catching fish by angling 
is of great antiquity. Mention is made of it 
by the prophet Isaiah, in Chap, xix, 8, in these 
words: “The fishers also shall mourn, and all 
those that cast angle into the brooks.” The 
practice has prevailed throughout all ages and 
in all countries, and is still a favorite means 
for pastime and profit. Juliana Berners, the 
prioress of Sopwell Nunnery, is the authoress 
of the oldest English work on angling. It was 
published by Wynkyn de Worde in 1496 under 
the title “A Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an 
Angle.” 

ANGLO-SAXONS (an'glo-saks'uns), the 
name commonly applied to the people formed 
by an amalgamation of the Angles, Saxons, and 
other Germanic tribes, and who constitute the 
English, the Lowland Scotch, and a large por¬ 
tion of the present population of the United 
States and Canada. By far the greater num¬ 
ber of tribes from whom the English-speaking 
people descended had their seat in the northern 
part of Germany. The first of these came to 
Britain about the year 449. From a preponder¬ 
ance of the Angles the country came to be called 
England, and the language the Angles or Eng¬ 
lish. From Anglo-Saxon institutions have 
come many modern terms, such as earl, aider- 
man, sheriff, and town. The language spoken 
by them was largely the language of North 
Germany, called Plattdeutsch, or Low German. 
Later it was modified by the Danes, during the 
Danish supremacy from 1017 to 1042. Still 
later the Normans, a people of French- 
Germanic origin, conquered England and in¬ 
troduced a new element into the language, thus 
giving rise to a number of dialects. These mix¬ 


tures of tongues were modified largely by the 
writings of Chaucer in the 14th century, and 
by successive modifications the spoken tongue 
eventually developed into the modern English 
language. 

ANGOLA (an-go'la), or Portuguese West 
Africa, a Portuguese colony in Western Africa, 
in Lower Guinea, situated south of the Congo 
Free State, and north of German Southwest 
Africa. It includes an area of 490,000 square 
miles and has a population of 4,500,000. Along 
the Atlantic is a coast plain about fifty miles 
wide, and beyond that the surface rises rapidly 
and culminates in elevations about 7,000 feet 
high. The Coanza is the great water course 
of Angola. It rises in Lake Mossamba, is about 
700 miles long, and flows into the Atlantic 
Ocean. This stream is scenic and, besides other 
natural attractions, contains several gorges and 
a falls with a drop of seventy feet. The in¬ 
habitants include every shade of transition from 
the Negro to the Hamitic type, and every 
degree of culture from the absolute savage 
state to the almost semi-civilized condition 
common to Southwestern Africa. The products 
and exports consist largely of coffee, gum, wax, 
ivory, hides, tobacco, palm oil, and cereals. 
Saint Paul de Loanda is the principal city. It 
is a thriving seaport and the seat of the gov¬ 
ernment of the colony. Near it is the oldest 
Portuguese settlement south of the Equator. 
The city has a large export and import trade, 
and is provided with railway and other facilities. 
In 1908 the colony had about 1,200 miles of 
railways in operation, including a line that 
penetrates to the interior of Central Africa. 

ANGORA (an-go'ra), a species of goat na¬ 
tive to Angora, a division of the Turkish Em¬ 
pire, situated in the mountainous interior of 



ANGORA GOAT. 


Asia Minor. The goat is celebrated for its 
beautiful silky hair, which attains a length of 
about eight inches. This goat hair is used in 
the manufacture of yarn, known in the market 






ANGOULEME 


84 


ANIMAL 


as Turkish yarn or camel yarn. The skin 
of this animal is used in manufacturing oriental 
morocco leather. The climate seems to favor 
the growth of hair on dogs, rabbits, and other 
animals as well as on the goat. When these 
animals are transported, the vigorous growth 
of the hair soon disappears, or it loses much of 
its fineness. Angora goats are reared quite 
extensively in some parts of Canada and the 
United States. The town of Angora, situated 
about 220 miles southeast of Constantinople, 
is the capital of a vilayet of the same name* 
It has a large caravan trade and a population 
of 35,500. 

ANGOULfCME (an-goo-lam'), a city in 
France, capital of the department of Charente, 
about sixty miles south of Poitiers. It is an 
ancient city, and in the old part the streets are 
crooked, but the newer section is platted regu¬ 
larly and has substantial buildings. It is the seat 
of a naval academy, a college, and a library of 
25,000 volumes. The cathedral of Saint Peter 
dates from 1101. Among the industries are pot¬ 
teries, paper mills, machine shops, and woolen 
mills. Its location on several railroad lines 
gives it commercial advantage. Population, 
1906, 37,507. 

ANGRA (an'gra), a se'aport on the island 
of Terceira, one of the Azores, and capital of 
the Azore Islands, a colony of Portugal. It 
has a good harbor and is a station for ships 
between Portugal and the ports of South 
America. The place is strongly fortified, has 
a military college and arsenal, and is the seat 
of a Roman Catholic bishop. The trade is 
chiefly in honey, wine, flax, and fruit. Popula¬ 
tion, 11,500. 

ANGUILLA (an-gwfl'la), or Snake Island, 
an island of the Leeward group, in the British 
West Indies. The area is 34 square miles. It is 
low and has considerable forest, but some sec¬ 
tions are well grassed and furnish good pasture 
for stock raising. Salt is obtained from a lake 
in the center of the island. Maize, tobacco, 
sugar cane, and cotton are grown profitably. 
The inhabitants are mostly Negroes. Popula¬ 
tion, 3,950. 

ANHALT (an'halt), a duchy in the central 
part of Germany, surrounded by the provinces 
of Saxony and Brandenburg, with an area of 
906 square miles. About 48 per cent, of the 
people engage in mining and manufacturing. 
The minerals include coal, granite, iron, and 
clays. Among the chief manufactures are 
sugar, soap, cement, leather, clothing, and 
chemicals. A large majority of the inhab¬ 
itants belong to the Protestant Church. Agri¬ 
culture is the principal occupation, in which 


industry a large diversity of products are ob¬ 
tained. The duchy has a network of railroads 
and is in a prosperous condition. The capital, 
Dessau, has a population of 55,134. Anhalt has 
been governed by the reigning family for sev¬ 
eral centuries, but its present autonomy dates 
from 1863. Population, 1905, 328,029. 

ANHYDRITE (an'hi'drite), a mineral com¬ 
posed of anhydrous sulphate of lime. It is 
harder and heavier than gypsum, takes a fine 
polish, and is used for sculpture. Large de¬ 
posits are found in Nova Scotia, at Lockport, 
N. Y., and in Lombardy, Italy. The Italian 
product is considered of the best grade. 

ANILINE (an'i-lin), one of the numerous 
products secured by the distillation of .coal 
tar, but first obtained by distilling indigo with 
caustic potash. Th,e article of commerce is 
'secured largely from benzene. It is a color¬ 
less, oily liquid, but when exposed to air ab¬ 
sorbs oxygen and turns to a deep brown color. 
It has a vinous odor and a burning taste, and 
ignites readily. It is used to produce every 
shade and all tints of colors, and is employed 
in the industrial arts for numerous other pur¬ 
poses, besides its extensive use for dyeing ma¬ 
terials. Large quantities are employed in the 
manufacture of inks, for tinting pulps, and for 
the superficial staining of finished paper. Ani¬ 
line is also used for a large variety of purposes 
in manufacturing lithographic inks, perfumery, 
and fancy soaps. The discovery of aniline 
dates from 1826, but its larger manufacture 
for commercial purposes was introduced in 
1856 by Perkins of London, who discovered 
mauve aniline. 

ANIMAL (an'i-mal), an organic being rising 
above the vegetable life, especially in possess¬ 
ing will, sensibility, and the power to move 
from place to place, although there are some 
animals that have not the power to move from 
the place occupied. While in general there is 
no difficulty in distinguishing an animal from 
a vegetable, yet some forms so closely resem¬ 
ble each other that it is difficult to say whether 
certain peculiar organisms belong to the vege¬ 
table or animal kingdom. All vegetable and 
animal life consists of various groupings of 
cells, in the form of jellylike matter called 
protoplasm. At its beginning all life consists 
of a minute cell, filled with more or less proto¬ 
plasm, in which is contained a darker opaque 
spot called the nucleus. Living bodies con¬ 
tain organs, and living matter is therefore 
called organic matter to distinguish it from 
nonliving or inorganic matter. Every kind of 
animal has peculiarities that adapt it to live 
best in some particular place and under partic- 


ANIMAL 


85 


ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE 


ular conditions. Those belonging to any one 
country are called its fauna. The faunae of 
regions having warm and moist climates are 
much more extensive than those common to 
the cold and arid zones, while the sea has a 
much greater diversity of animal life than the 
land. Most animals live in the light, but there 
are some forms that live in dark caves, and 
whose organs of sight are not fully developed. 

For convenience in study, Cuvier divided the 
animal kingdom into four great subdivisions; 
but others, among them Huxley, classified ani¬ 
mal life into a greater number of groups. The 
subdivisions made by Cuvier will answer the 
purpose of this article, and are the following: 
vertebrates, articulates, mollusks, and radiates; 
the last three are usually called invertebrates. 
Each of these divisions is again subdivided into 
classes; the classes are divided into orders, 
and the orders into families.- Vertebrates 
are those animals that have an inside skele¬ 
ton, the backbone of which is called the 
vertebral or spinal column. To this subdivision 
belongs man, and it also includes the four- 
footed animals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and 
fishes. Though the skeletons of these animal 
forms differ, in many essentials, they are alike 
in having a backbone made up of numerous 
bones fitted together, each one of which is 
called a vertebra. Articulates include all ani¬ 
mals whose bodies are made up of rings joined 
together. They have no inside skeleton, but 
their outside shell answers a similar purpose, all 
the muscles being fastened to it. Mollusks are 
soft-bodied animals, most of which have shells 
that serve as a prptection for the body. Radi¬ 
ates have a radiated or starlike formed body; 
they have no head, and many of them have not 
the power to move from the place where they 
grow, being fixed like plants to a common 
trunk. In former times many animals of this 
class were supposed to be plants on account of 
their resemblance to vegetables in some 
particulars, such as corals and sponges. 

Animals depend upon organic matter for 
food, which they derive from plants or from 
other animals. On the other hand, plants feed 
upon inorganic matter, and the food, with only 
a few exceptions, is in the gaseous or liquid 
state. Carbonic acid, which is generally poi¬ 
sonous to animals, is an essential constituent 
of the food of plants, while animals require 
free access to oxygen to sustain life. The food 
of animals is taken into the body to be digested 
and the nutritious parts are assimilated, but 
plants take food through their external sur¬ 
faces and assimilation is effected by the aid of 
sunlight. 


ANIMAL HEAT, in physiology, a term 
used to designate the heat produced in the in¬ 
terior of animal bodies, due to the nutritive 
changes taking place in the blood and the 
tissues. Living protoplasm being constantly at 
work disintegrating, the changes produced by 
it are accompanied by the evolution of heat. 
The temperature is dependent largely upon the 
degree of activity and the nature of liv¬ 
ing organisms. In general it varies from 
96° to 100° Fahr., but sometimes falls as 
low as 90° and rises to 108°, though these ex¬ 
tremes are due to a diseased condition of the 
body. Cold-blooded animals and even plants 
evolve some heat, and thereby are rendered 
slightly warmer than the surrounding atmos¬ 
phere. Cold-blooded and warm-blooded ani¬ 
mals agree in the development of heat, but dif¬ 
fer in that the former possess greater means 
of losing heat by the skin and otherwise. In 
that class of animals the means of losing heat 
are considerable as compared to the amount of 
heat produced, while in the warm-blooded ani¬ 
mals the production and loss of heat are about 
equal. Some writers apply the term animal 
magnetism to certain phenomena connected with 
animal organisms, especially in relation to man, 
and attribute to persons an influence similar to 
that exercised by a magnet on iron. This prop¬ 
erty is generally known as mesmerism, hyp¬ 
notism, and clairvoyance. See Mesmerism. 

ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE, the capacity 
which some animals have to know or under¬ 
stand, which in many respects resembles some 
of the intellectual characteristics of man. Many 
animals possess in a more or less highly devel¬ 
oped form the senses of hearing, feeling, sight, 
smell, and touch, but in the lower forms some 
of these are not highly developed or are entire¬ 
ly wanting. Whether they possess the power 
to reason has been a subject for extended dis¬ 
cussion, and scientists have generally decided 
the proposition in the negative. Like John Bur¬ 
roughs, they assign the traits in animals that 
seem to indicate reasoning to animal instinct, or 
class it as simply physical. 

Insects and fishes possess a keen sense of 
smell, and it is thought that they depend to a 
large extent upon this sense in selecting their 
food. On the other hand, in birds and reptiles 
the sense of smell is not highly developed, 
though it is thought that the crow and other 
scavenger birds are attracted by carrion at a 
long distance. Birds are able to hear with re¬ 
markable accuracy, which is evident from the 
peculiar exactness with which some birds of 
song are able to reproduce notes uttered by 
other birds. Fishes are dull in respect to hear- 


ANISE 


86 


ANN ARBOR 


ing, but the dog is keen both in hearing and 
smelling, as is seen from the ability with which 
pointers are able to locate game and blood¬ 
hounds trace footsteps. The sense of taste is 
not well developed in most animals, and they 
seem to prefer certain classes of food from the 
odor rather than from the taste, though there 
are notable exceptions. Birds possess a singular 
keenness of vision, which is evident from the 
fact that ^n eagle is able to distinguish a prey 
beyond the range of the human eye. The cat, 
the owl, and some other animals are peculiar 
for their ability to see more or less in the 
dark, while the frogs and toads are able to dis¬ 
tinguish objects only at short range in daylight. 
Some peculiarities are found in the sense of 
touch among animals, especially in the loca¬ 
tion of the seat of greatest sensitiveness, which 
in the bat is in the wing and in the cat it is 
reached through the whiskers. The elephant 
and the alligator have a skin so thick that the 
.sense of feeling is not easily excited through 
many portions of the surface. 

Some writers refer many acts of animals to 
their power to imitate human acts. This has 
reference to the tendency of a horse to turn 
into gates along the highway, which is especially 
noticeable in an old animal that has been driven 
until it has become tired. Cats and dogs wait 
outside during cold weather for the door of 
the house to open and in summer-time seek 
the cool shade, but they do so from habit and 
memory rather than the faculty of reasoning. 
The so-called educated hog and the trained 
horse frequently seen at exhibitions do not rea¬ 
son, but learn to act in conformity with the 
questions of the trainer. It is no more diffi¬ 
cult for the horse to select a particular color or 
object when requested to do so, than it is to 
follow the directions of gee and haw. Trixie, 
the famous trained horse that has been ex¬ 
hibited in Europe and America, is a marvel in 
this respect. Modern writers incline to the 
view that animals possess a high degree of af¬ 
fection and tenderness for their kind, especially 
the young, as is seen in the care given by some 
birds and the lion to their offspring. Ernest 
Thompson Seton, in his “Wild Animals I Have 
Known,” brings this trait out with unusual in¬ 
terest. 

ANISE (an'is), an annual plant native to 
Egypt and the Levant,-and now cultivated in 
various parts of America and Europe. About 
seventy-five species have been described. The 
common anise is about two feet high, and the 
star anise, a native of China, is a small tree. 
The fruit is known as aniseed, which yields a 
volatile oil known as oil of anise. It is used 


in the manufacture of liquors, as an aromatic 
in medicine, and for carminative and flavoring 
purposes. 

ANNAM. See Anam. 

ANNAPOLIS (an-nap'6-lis), the capital of 
Maryland, county seat of Anne Arundel Coun¬ 
ty, twenty-eight miles southeast of Baltimore. 
It occupies a fine site on the Severn River, has 
a good harbor, and is on the Annapolis, Wash¬ 
ington and Baltimore and the Annapolis and 
Baltimore Short Line railroads. It has electric 
street railways and numerous public improve¬ 
ments, including waterworks, a sewerage sys¬ 
tem, and stone and brick pavements. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are the State capitol, 
the Governor’s mansion, the county courthouse, 
and several fine schools and churches. It is the 
seat of Saint John’s College and of the United 
States Naval Academy (q. v.). The manufac¬ 
tures include machinery, clothing, tobacco prod¬ 
ucts, and utensils. It has a considerable trade, 
is a port of entry, and has an important market 
for fruits and oysters. The city was founded 
in 1649 and received a charter in 1708. Con¬ 
gress held a session at Annapolis in 1783, at 
which Washington resigned as commander-in¬ 
chief. Population, 1900, 8,402. 

ANNAPOLIS, a seaport of Nova Scotia, 
100 miles west of Halifax. It is conveniently 
situated on the Annapolis River, near its en¬ 
trance into an inlet from the Bay of Fundy. 
The harbor is well protected, which, together 
with railway facilities, make it a convenient 
market for fish, fruit, and cereals. Formerly 
it was qalled Port Royal. It is the oldest 
European settlement in British America, and in 
1604 it was made the capital of Arcadia. The 
English captured it in 1710, and soon after the 
name was changed to Annapolis in honor of 
Queen Anne. The seat of government was re¬ 
moved to Halifax in 1750. Population, 1901, 
1,019. 

ANN ARBOR (an ar'bor), a city of Michi¬ 
gan, county seat of Washtenaw County, on the 
Huron River, forty miles west of Detroit. It 
is on the Ann Arbor and the Michigan Central 
railroads, has substantially paved streets, elec¬ 
tric street railways, waterworks, and a number 
of parks and libraries. The leading manufac¬ 
tures are lumber products, musical instruments, 
ironware, tobacco products, clothing, and ma¬ 
chinery. It has a fine county courthouse and 
numerous public schools and churches, and is 
the seat of the University of Michigan. This 
institution was founded in 1837, and is one 
of the most liberally endowed and successful 
educational institutions of the United States. 
The first settlement was made at Ann Arbor in 


ANNEALING 


87 


ANT 


1824 and it was incorporated in 1851. Popula¬ 
tion, 1904, 14,599; in 1910, 14,817. 

ANNEALING (an-nel'ing), the process by 
which glass, steel, iron, and other substances 
are heated and then cooled slowly to render 
them less brittle, or to increase their degree of 
ductility and malleability. When metals are 
given form in the process of manufacture, as 
in rolling them into plates or drawing them into 
wire, they become somewhat brittle and are 
made more serviceable by annealing. By this 
process also is diminished the elasticity of 
metals, as to impart to springs the precise meas¬ 
ure of elasticity deemed the most suitable. 

ANNIHILATIONIST (an-nl-hi-la'shun- 
Ist), the term applied to one who believes in the 
doctrine of man’s annihilation at death. This 
doctrine had its origin in England in the 18th 
century, when several prominent writers, in¬ 
cluding Archbishop Whately, wrote on subjects 
relating to eternal death, and from these writ¬ 
ings originated a widespread belief in literal de¬ 
struction. As now understood, annihilationism 
is a belief in the bodily and spiritual extinction 
of man’s being. 

ANNISTON (an'is-ton), a manufacturing 
city of Alabama, county seat of Calhoun Coun¬ 
ty, eighty-seven miles northeast of Birmingham. 
It is on the Louisville and Nashville, the South¬ 
ern, and other railroads, and in the vicinity 
are extensive iron mines. The manufactures 
include ironware, machinery, cotton goods, cloth¬ 
ing, and tobacco products. The city has elec¬ 
tric lights, pavements, waterworks, and other 
municipal improvements. It has a number of 
fine public school buildings, about twenty-five 
churches, and several well-selected libraries. It 
is the seat of the Noble Institute, the Anniston 
College for Young Ladies, and the Barber Me¬ 
morial Seminary (for colored students). The 
city was founded in 1873 by the Woolstock Iron 
Company, under the management of Samuel 
Noble. Population, 1910, 12,792. 

ANNUAL (an'u-al), in botany, a plant whose 
whole course of development is completed in 
one season, during which it germinates, flowers, 
perfects its seeds, and perishes, never again to 
grow from the same roots. Some grains are 
the products of annuals, such as oats and corn. 
The cockscomb, phlox, and marigold are ex¬ 
amples of garden flowers belonging to the 
annuals. Some hardy annuals, like the morn¬ 
ing-glory, may be sown in autumn to germi¬ 
nate in the spring. 

ANNUITY (an-nu'i-ty), a fixed sum of 
money paid annually, or at intervals, either for 
a definite term of years or the continuation of 
a given life, or a combination of lives. The 


term is used largely by insurance companies, 
who stipulate the payment of definite amounts. 
The theory is an application of algebra to the 
fundamental idea of compound interest. Ac¬ 
cording to this idea, any sum of money invested 
at interest is increased at the end of interest- 
payment periods by the addition of accrued 
interest. The first addition is at the end of the 
first payment period. At the end of the second 
payment period a second addition of inter¬ 
est is added to the sum, and thus additions 
are made in the same way by interest accruing 
from time to time until a definite amount has 
been reached. Life annuities are based on a 
knowledge of the rate of mortality among 
mankind, or among the particular class of per¬ 
sons upon whose life the annuity depends. An¬ 
nuities are the reverse of life insurance. An 
annuitant is paid to live, while an insured, 
through his representative, is paid to die. 

ANODE (an'od), in electricity, the positive 
pole of an electric current, or that surface by 
which the current enters the body (electrolyte), 
undergoing decomposition. The negative pole, 
by which the current leaves the electrolyte, is 
called the cathode. 

ANSONIA (an-so'm-a), a city of Connec¬ 
ticut, in New Haven County, on the Naugatuck 
River. It is on the New York, New Haven 
and Hartford Railroad, has a considerable trade 
in merchandise, and is important as a manufac¬ 
turing center. The products include carriages, 
clocks, iron and brass wares, machinery, elec¬ 
trical appliances, and textiles. It has a fine sys¬ 
tem of public schools, numerous churches, and 
a public library. Among the chief buildings are 
the opera house and the Y. M. C. A. building. 
The municipal improvements include electric 
street railways, waterworks, electric lights, and 
a sewer system. The first settlement was made 
on the site of Ansonia in 1840 and it was char¬ 
tered in 1893. Population, 1910, 15,152. 

ANT (ant), an insect belonging to the order 
of membranous-winged insects, of which there 
are several hundred species in different regions 
of the earth. They live in colonies or families, 



MALE. FEMALE. WORKER. 


sometimes many thousands in number, and are 
divided into three classes, females, males, and 
workers. The females and males have wings, 
but the workers, or neuters, are wingless. As 
to size, the females are the largest, the males 


ANT 


ANT 


are slightly smaller than the females, and the 
workers are the smallest. The ordinary work 
is done by the workers and the principal part 
in warfare, both defensive and offensive, is 
taken by the soldiers, which are made up of the 
workers. The males and females constitute but 
a small portion of each community. After the 
pairing season, the males wander away and soon 
die. The females lay little eggs, so small that 
they can hardly be seen by the naked eye, and 
the eggs are scattered about in the nest 
wherever the females happen to be at the time 
the eggs are deposited. They are taken by the 
workers and put in the sun in the morning, and 
at night are stored in the nest until they are 
hatched. The larvae or grubs, hatched from the 
eggs, are small, white worms, and are carried 
back and forth in the same way as the eggs by 
the workers, who nourish them with a liquid 
from the stomach until they reach the proper 
age to spin their own webs around themselves, 
which cover them like the cocoon of a silkworm. 
The cocoons are carried into the sunlight the 
same as the eggs and grubs were, and, when 
ripe, for their second birth, the workers cut 
them out of their inclosed cells and they soon 
become perfect ants. 

The workers are the most intelligent and 
interesting of the three classes of ants. They 
not only take care of the eggs, grubs, and co¬ 
coons, but do the work of the society, which in¬ 
cludes the building of houses and streets and 
keeping them in repair. In their work they 
show wonderful ingenuity in carpentry, ma¬ 
sonry and mining. Most ants build their 
houses or nests in the ground, and many con¬ 
struct cones or hills over them, which are 
known as ant-hills. In them are many rooms, 
with galleries connecting the different apart¬ 
ments. Others construct large pillars, from 
which arches are expended, and are covered 
with loose straw and sticks. In tropical regions 
the ant-hills are frequently from twelve to 
eighteen feet high. A class of ants, known as 
mining ants, construct long galleries in clay, in 
which pillars support the roof and many rooms 
and stories are provided. Carpenter ants build 
their houses in growing trees by boring deep 
cells into the wood and constructing rooms and 
galleries by unique partitions. In Australasia 
several species of ants are found that build 
their houses of leaves fastened together with a 
kind of glue. Oftentimes several ants unite to 
carry particles for the construction of their 
houses, and in this way they are able to move 
material much larger and heavier than the ag¬ 
gregate of the ants employed in construction 
work. 


The chief substance used by ants for food 
is sugar taken from vegetables. Their sense of 
smell seems to be so acute that they can easily 
locate sugar substances in plants. Honeydew 
is a sugar fluid found in the aphis, a small in¬ 
sect, and is a favorite food of many kinds of 
ants. To obtain it they are often seen to touch 
the aphis with their antennae, and, after a drop 
has been obtained, they pass on to another aphis. 
The process has been likened to the milking of 
a cow or camel. Ants that feed upon animal 
food render important service in that they clear 
away carrion. The flesh of a small animal 
buried for a short time in an ant-hill will be en¬ 
tirely consumed, only the skeleton remaining. In 
tropical countries ants prey upon living animals 
and sometimes kill birds, reptiles, and small 
quadrupeds by attacking them in vast swarms. 
In some regions ants are so numerous that 
communities of them have been known to attack 
domestic animals when sick, and there are a 
number of instances in which man himself 
dreaded their ravages. On the island of Gre¬ 
nada, about one hundred years ago, vast num¬ 
bers of a particular kind of ants appeared. They 
descended from the hills like torrents and filled 
every path and road for miles, preying upon 
rats, mice, and reptiles, and were stopped in 
their onward progress only by streams of water. 
Every means to destroy them was unsuccessful 
until in 1780, when a hurricane exposed them 
to a deluge of rain and freed the island of them*. 

Some ants carry on war against other species 
and take their young into slavery. The fighting 
ants are red, and are generally regarded too 
stupid to take care of themselves, and would die 



ANT-HILL. 


from starvation if they did not have in captivity 
others to provide for them. However, ants 
have many enemies, being consumed in large 
numbers as food by birds, while some quadru¬ 
peds, as the aard-vark and the ant-eater, dig 



ANTANANARIVO 


89 


ANTECEDENT 


into their habitations and consume great num¬ 
bers of them. Termites, or white ants, belong 
to a different order from the common ants, but 
.are like them in their habits. They live in the 
tropics, in vast communities, and are regarded 
a very dangerous pest. In Africa they are 
found extensively, where several species burrow 
in wood or excavate dwellings underground, 
and some build mounds above the surface of 
the plain. These are very productive, a single 
female often laying over 80,000 eggs. They live 
tnainly on dry and decaying woods. The na¬ 
tives use them as an article of food, for which 
purpose they are pressed or pounded into a jam, 
which they regard a delicacy. 

The intelligence of ants is recognized as a 
remarkable circumstance of nature. They are 
sensitive to changes in temperature and moist¬ 
ure, and exceed the human range of ability to 
observe sound waves. They remove the dead 
promptly, care for the injured, and observe 
cleanliness in caring for the young. Naturalists 
assert that ants communicate with each other 
and are able to recognize each individual of a 
community. 

ANTANANARIVO (an-ta -na-na-re'vo), or 
Tananarivo, the capital and chief city of Mada¬ 
gascar, situated near the center of the island, 
165 miles southwest of Tamatave. It is in a 
mountainous region with an elevation of 4,500 
feet above the sea. The streets are irregular 
and crooked, most of the buildings are of wood, 
and the inhabitants are chiefly natives, includ¬ 
ing only about 200 French. Its commerce is not 
important, but it has manufactures of jewelry, 
silk stuff, clothing, and utensils. An improved 
highway extends to Tamatave, but the transpor¬ 
tation facilities are inadequate. Population, 
1906, 65,840. 

ANTARCTIC (ant-ark'tik), meaning oppo¬ 
site to the Arctic, and relating to the region 
surrounding the South Pole. The Antarctic 
Circle, a circle imagined drawn parallel to the 
equator, forms a small circle around the earth 
at a distance of 23° 28' from the South Pole. 
The Antarctic Ocean is that portion of the sea 
which surrounds the South Pole, and lies im¬ 
mediately south of the Atlantic, Pacific, and 
Indian oceans. It has been explored by naviga¬ 
tors, and is known more or less satisfactorily as 
far as 75° south latitude. The highest southern 
latitude ever attained, that of 78° 50', was 
reached in 1900 by an expedition which Sailed 
from Tasmania in 1898. Owing to great dan¬ 
gers and difficulties in southern navigation, 
only a small portion of the Antarctic region is 
definitely known. The land masses of this 
region of the earth include Graham’s Land, En- 


derby Land, and Victoria Land. A part of 
these land areas are accessible, and the sea in 
their proximity has yielded valuable returns 
through the seal and whale fisheries. However, 
they contain cliffs of perpetual ice and their val¬ 
leys are covered with everlasting snow. A large 
part of the Antarctic Ocean is clouded with 
constant fogs. Baffling currents and numerous 
icebergs, together with extreme cold, make 
navigation difficult. The Antarctic Ocean is 
richer in life, especially deep-sea fauna, than the 
other oceans. On the coast of Victoria Land is 
Mount Erebus, a volcano 12,400 feet above the 
level of the sea. 


ANT-EATER (ant et'en), the popular name 
of a quadruped mammal native to South Amer- 



GREAT ANT-EATER. 


ica, and belonging to the order Edentata. The 
mouth is perfectly toothless, and the food con¬ 
sists of insects, chiefly ants. It has small eyes, 
short and rounded ears, and powerful claws. 
The tongue is long and wormlike and coated 
with a sticky saliva, and is thrust out to catch 
the food. Though large and powerful, the ant- 
eaters are very stupid and inoffensive, and are 
an easy prey to animals weaker than themselves. 
The average length of the body is about four 
feet, not including the bushy tail, which is nearly 
as long as the body. The aard-vark, a species 
of ant-eater, is native to South Africa. It lives 
chiefly on the termites, whose nests it tears 
down in search of food. Other animals classed 
with this group include the manid, or scaly ant- 
eater, and the echidna, or porcupine ant-eater, 
of Australia. 

ANTECEDENT (an-te-sed'ent), a term 
used to express precedent in point of time. The 
term antecedent is applied in grammar to a 
word going before a relative pronoun, or a word 
to which the relative relates. In logic the ante¬ 
cedent is that part of a constitutional proposi¬ 
tion upon which the other depends, and in math¬ 
ematics it implies that quantity which is con¬ 
sidered first in making comparison with another 
number. 


ANTELOPE 


90 


ANTHROPOMETRY 


ANTELOPE (an'te-lop), a genus of rumi¬ 
nating mammals quite similar to the deer. The 
horns are hollow and encircled by rings at the 
base, but are not renewed annually. They are 
swift of foot, have large lustrous eyes, and 
when fleeing before a foe take enormous leaps. 



The smallest species are found in South Africa, 
such as the guevi, or bluebuck, which is about 
thirteen inches in height, while the largest 
species are from five to seven feet. Two repre¬ 
sentatives of the antelope family are native to 
North America, and allied species are found in 
Eurasia, particularly in India. The American 
antelopes include the prongbuck and the moun¬ 
tain goat. The latter possesses a coat of long 
woolly hair, and in form is closely allied to the 
chamois of Europe. The eland and gazelle are 
species native to Africa, the latter being con¬ 
fined largely to the northern part of that grand 
division. A species of Northeastern Africa, 
the addax, has spirally twisted horns about 
four feet long. Most species are so. fleet of 
foot that greyhounds cannot catch them, and are 
capable of leaping a height of from eight to 
twelve feet, while the length of their bounds 
is fully as great. The flesh is highly prized as 
food, for which they are hunted, and the skin 
is valuable in making gloves and other wearing 
apparel. 

ANTENNAE (an-ten'ne), the organs of 
insects located nearly in the same position as 
horns in some of the animals, and composed 
chiefly of minute articulate rings. They are 
two in number and are found in nearly all in¬ 


sects, only a very few excepted. In moths the 
antennae look like feathers, and those of but¬ 
terflies have little knobs at the tip. Similar 
appendages are common to the lobster and 
other crustaceous animals. They serve the 
purpose of organs of touch and probably of 
hearing. With them the animal is enabled to 
feel its way and test surrounding objects. In 
some animals the antennae possess organs of 
taste, sound, and smell, and it is known that 
at least several species of the lobster are capa¬ 
ble of hearing by organs located at the extreme 
end. Deprived of this organ, this class of ani¬ 
mals becomes largely inactive, while the ant 
becomes helpless. 

ANTHER (an'ther), a part of the stamen 
of a flower, and generally attached to the apex 
of the filament. It is the male organ of the 
flower, and usually contains two cells, which 
are filled with the pollen. At shedding time 
the pollen escapes through a longitudinal fis¬ 
sure, which generally extends from the base 
to the apex. In some flowers the anther is a 
direct continuation of the filament, when it is 
said to .be innate; in others it grows to the 
side or face of the filament, when it is desig¬ 
nated adnate; and it is versatile when it is 
attached to the middle of the anther. 

ANTHRACITE (an'thra-sit), a variety of 
coal differing from the common, or bitumin¬ 
ous, in that it contains a larger proportion of 
carbon. It is distinguished by its compactness, 
bright luster, and high specific gravity. Though 
difficult to ignite, it is smokeless and gives an 
intense heat. The bituminous coal contains 
about eighty per cent, of carbon, while the an¬ 
thracite possesses from ninety to ninety-five 
per cent. • It is most abundant in the Alleghany 
Mountains and in the province of Shansi, 
China, but is found in considerable quantities 
in Wyoming, New Mexico, British Columbia, 
France, and Russia. Anthracite coal, next to 
diamond, is the purest form of carbon. 

ANTHROPOLOGY (an-thro-pol'o-gy), the 
science devoted to the study of man and man¬ 
kind. It is the newest of the sciences and may 
be said to embrace the three departments of 
somapology, psychology, and ethnology. Som- 
apology, or the biology of man, places man¬ 
kind in the zoological system and treats man 
as an animal, while phychology is the science 
of the human soul and embraces comparative 
psychology, which investigates the mind of the 
lower animals. Biology is a study of man in 
relation to the arts of life. See Biology, Eth¬ 
nology, etc. 

ANTHROPOMETRY (an-thro-pom'e-try), 
the measurement of the height and other di- 



ANTICHRIST 


91 


ANTI-FEDERALISTS 


mensions of the human body, especially at 
different ages and under the influence of vari¬ 
ous habits and occupations, to aid in classi¬ 
fication as to physical and mental characteris¬ 
tics. This subject has received growing at¬ 
tention in recent years, especially from the* 
standpoint of education, medical treatment, 
physical culture, and in criminology. Since no 
two individuals are alike in all dimensions and 
are influenced variously by their environments, 
it has been found profitable to employ meas¬ 
urements when considering the treatment of 
individuals at different ages and for a variety 
of causes. Craniometry is a system of meas¬ 
urements of the skull, and some schools re¬ 
gard it the most important part of anthropol¬ 
ogy, while others do not look upon it as being 
of over-shadowing importance and think it 
expresses only trifling variations in individ¬ 
uals. The measurements regarded of primary 
importance in anthropometry are those taken 
while the body is at rest. They include facial 
angle (q. v.), position and size of ears, shape 
of head, position and attitude of eyes, size and 
form of nose, length of fingers, size of feet, 
length of thigh and forearm, circumference of 
waist and shoulders, length of limbs,, sitting 
height, expansion and circumference of chest, 
stature, weight, age, etc. Considerable im¬ 
portance is attached to the color of the eyes 
and hair, beard and body hair, form and color 
of the mucous membrane and nails, and the 
peculiarities of features and movement of the 
visible organs. The habits of individuals are 
studied, especially in regard to the food eaten, 
clothing worn, and the character and amount 
of work done and rest taken. Some attach 
considerable prominence to the dynamic aspect 
of anthropology, and in consequence substitute 
largely the measurement of functions, such as 
the rate of pulsation and respiration. 

ANTICHRIST (an'ti-christ), a name em¬ 
ployed by Christian writers to designate a 
supposed powerful institution destined to stand 
in opposition to Christianity. It is referred 
to in I. John ii, 18-22; iv, 1-3, but the idea 
seems to have originated before the Christian 
era, at least some writers quote in favor of 
this view the prophecy of Ezekiel concerning 
Gog and Magog. A number of Protestant 
writers, both before and since the Protestant 
Reformation, have referred to the pope or the 
papacy as the antichrist, while both Protestant 
and Catholic writers have referred to Nero, 
Diocletian, and other emperors who persecuted 
Christians as the antichrist. 

ANTICOSTI (an-ti-cos'ti), an island in the 
Gulf of Saint Lawrence, belonging to the 


Province of Quebec, near the mouth of the 
Saint Lawrence River. It is 40 miles wide and 
135 miles long, and has an area of 2,500 square 
miles. Fox Bay, in the northwest, and Ellis 
Bay, to the west, are the larger indentations 
and have good harbors. Much of the interior 
is wooded, though a considerable part fur¬ 
nishes pasture. In the northern section are 
mountains, and numerous swamps and rocky 
districts prevail. Cod, trout, salmon, and her¬ 
ring fisheries abound near the coast. Few set¬ 
tlements have been made, owing to the severe 
climate, and the population at present does not 
exceed 250. 

ANTIDOTE (an'ti-dote), a medicine em¬ 
ployed to neutralize the effect of a poison. The 
antidotes are. classed as chemical and physio¬ 
logical. The chemical antidotes neutralize the 
poison by converting it into an insoluble or 
harmless substance, while the physiological an¬ 
tidotes produce action within the body, by 
which it is enabled to resist the injurious ef¬ 
fects of the poison. Acids and alkalis act upon 
each other as chemical antidotes, while mor¬ 
phine and atropine have opposite actions upon 
the body. Both opium and belladonna are poi¬ 
sonous, but act as antidotes to each other. Am¬ 
monia and alcohol are given in certain snake 
poisons, acting as physiological antidotes. See 
Poison. 

ANTIETAM (an-te'tam), a small stream 
of the United States, rises in Pennsylvania, 
thence flows into Maryland, and joins the Po¬ 
tomac about fifty miles from Washington. It 
is noted as the scene of an indecisive battle 
fought Sept. 17, 1862, between the Union 
army numbering 57,640 men under General 
McClellan, and the Confederates with 38,000 
men under General Lee. The battle continued 
with great slaughter the entire day. The 
Union loss aggregated over 11,000 and the Con¬ 
federates lost 10,000 men. Lee’s army retreated 
on the 18th, recrossing the Potomac soon after. 
While the result was indecisive, it tended to 
give great encouragement to the Union cause, 
and, on the strength of this battle, President 
Lincoln issued the Emanicipation Proclamation 
abolishing slavery. 

ANTI-FEDERALISTS (an'ti-fed'er-al-ist), 
a political party in the United States, organized 
in opposition to the Federal party. Thomas 
Jefferson was the principal leader, and it stood 
in favor of strict construction of the Constitu¬ 
tion as against the centralizing tendencies in 
the administration of government. However, 
the ground originally occupied was at least in 
part abandoned after the election of Jefferson 
in 1800, since he favored the purchase of 


ANTIGO 


92 


ANTIPODES 


Louisiana and other measures possible only 
under a liberal construction. The name was 
changed to Republican in 1793, and soon after 
the organization became known as the Demo¬ 
crat party. 

ANTIGO (an'ti-go), a city of Wisconsin, 
county seat of Langlade County, about seventy- 
five miles west of Menominee, on the Chicago 
and Northwestern Railroad. It has a fine 
public school system, and is provided with 
modern municipal facilities, such as waterworks 
and electric lights. The manufactures include 
furniture, flour, lumber products, broom 
handles, clothing, and machinery. It has a 
large trade in cereals, merchandise, and live 
stock. The first settlement was made in 1878 
and it was incorporated in 1884. Population, 
1905, 6,663. . 

ANTIGUA (an-te'gwa), one of the Leeward 
Islands, twenty-two miles south of Barbuda. 
It belongs to the British West Indian Islands 
and has an area of 108 square miles. The 
coast is indented with small inlets, the sur¬ 
face is rugged, the soil fertile, and the climate 
favorable to the cultivation of sugar cane and 
fruit. Barbuda and Redonda are depend¬ 
encies of Antigua and for government purposes 
are united to form one of the five presidencies 
of the Leeward Islands. Columbus discovered 
Antigua in 1493 and it was settled by the Eng¬ 
lish in 1632. Saint John, the capital, has a 
population of 10,000. English Harbor is the 
best port. Population, 1901, 34,970. 

ANTILLES (an-til'lez), the name applied 
to the whole of the West Indies, except the 
Bahamas. They stretch eastward from the Gulf 
of Mexico and form a half circle. They are 
divided naturally into two sections: the Greater 
Antilles, lying to the north and west, and the 
Lesser, to the east and south. The Antilles in¬ 
clude about 360 islands, all of which are more 
or less fertile, have a tropical climate, and are 
frequently visited by hurricanes. The chief 
products are rice, tobacco, corn, cotton, sugar, 
rum, coffee, vegetables, and tropical fruits. 
The Greater Antilles include Cuba, Jamaica, 
Porto Rico, and Hayti, and the Lesser Antilles 
embrace nearly all the remainder of the islands. 
The area of the entire islands aggregates about 
94,398 square miles. See Cuba, Porto Rico, 
Jamaica, etc. 

ANTIMONY (an'ti-mo-ny), a metal of a 
bluish-white or silver color, and commonly 
found in nature alloyed with other metals. 
Large veins producing antimony occur in Cali¬ 
fornia, Sweden, Chile, Mexico, Australia, 
Borneo, and many other countries. It is brittle 
and is easily reduced to a powder. It is hard¬ 


ened by alloying with other metals. On ac¬ 
count of not tarnishing or rusting, it is valuable 
as an alloy in making type metal. It is used 
extensively as a medicine and in the arts, 
especially for coloring and in the manufacture 
of lead pencils. A variety known as yellow- 
antimony is well suited for painting porcelain 
and for enameling. 

ANTIOCH (an'ti-ok), an ancient city of 
Syria, on the Orontes River, founded by 
Seleucus Nicator in 300 b. c., and long cel¬ 
ebrated as one of the finest cities of the East. 
It was one of sixteen cities of this name built 
in memory of Antiochus, father of the founder, 
who was one of the generals of Philip of 
Macedon. The people were noted for intel¬ 
ligence, wealth, and luxury, and it had a large 
commercial trade by caravans. In this city the 
name Christian was first applied to the disciples 
of Christ. Much human life and many of the 
chief buildings were destroyed by earthquakes 
in 526 and 587 a. d. In the ruins were found 
the remains of 250,000 people who had been 
killed by the great upheavals. It was con¬ 
quered alternately by the Saracens and the 
Crusaders, and was razed to the ground by the 
Mamalukes in 1269. Since 1516 it has been a 
possession of the Turks. The ancients spoke 
of it as “Antioch the Beautiful.” Its site is 
now occupied by Antakieh, or Antakiyeh, a 
market and residence town. Population, 
27,500. 

ANTIOQUIA (an-te-6'ke-a), a city of Co¬ 
lombia, in the state of Antioquia, on the Cauca 
River. It is situated on an elevation 1,890 
feet above the sea. The surrounding country 
contains productive mining and lumbering in¬ 
terests. It has considerable trade in maize, 
sugar, and tobacco. Population, 9,150. 

ANTIPODES (an-tip'6-dez), a word of 
Greek derivation, used to denote peoples or 
places on opposite sides of the earth, so situ¬ 
ated that a line drawn from one to the other 
would pass through the center of the earth 
and form a true diameter. Thus the south 
pole is exactly antipodal to the north pole, 
noon at one place is midnight at the other, 
the longest day corresponds to the shortest, 
and the midsummer to midwinter. A voy¬ 
ager sailing east anticipates the sun and his 
dating at the opposite side will be twelve 
hours in advance, while one sailing westward 
will fall as much in arrear. At the point of 
meeting there will be a whole day, twenty- 
four hours, difference between them. This has 
been at least twice exemplified; the Russians 
sailing from the west to the northwest coast 
of North America were a day in advance of 


ANTIPODES ISLAND 


93 


ANT-LION 


the British who sailed from the east; while 
the Spaniards coming from the east of the 
Philippines were a day behind the Portuguese 
in Macao, who came from the west. 

ANTIPODES ISLAND, a small island 
southeast of New Zealand. It has an area 
of eleven square miles and is uninhabited. It 
was so named because it is nearly the antipode 
of Greenwich. 

ANTI POPE (an'ti-pop), a term applied to 
those persons who claimed an election to the 
Papacy by the suffrage of the cardinals, or 
otherwise, but whose claims were for some 
reasons not deemed valid by the church. Nova- 
tian, the first antipope and founder of the sect 
of Novatians, procured his election in 252 in op¬ 
position to Cornelius. According to some 
writers there were fourteen antipopes, but the 
number usually given is thirty-one, the appar¬ 
ent difference being due to the fact that a 
number of writers do not recognize the claims 
of all who are usually credited with some 
degree of right to recognition. The antipopes 
were elected by religious factions or set up by 
political parties. Felix V., the last antipope, 
was a Duke of Savoy and made claim to the 
See in 1431. See Pope. 

ANTIQUARIES (an'ti-kwa-res), Society 
of, the name of an association established by 
learned men of America and Europe, whose 
object is the study of antiquity. Beginning 
with the Revival of Learning, much interest 
was aroused in a study of classical productions 
of Greece and Rome. Accordingly every ob¬ 
tainable relic was secured and preserved. 
Organizations for the study of this branch of 
learning were not generally established in 
Western Europe until about 1572. The present 
Antiquarian Society of London consists of a 
council of twenty-one and one hundred fellows. 
This society and several others of Europe and 
America have published some valuable works 
and have added largely to the literature treating 
of antiquities. 

ANTISEPTICS (an-ti-sep'tiks), the sub¬ 
stances that prevent or retard putrefaction of 
animal and vegetable matter. It has been 
demonstrated that putrefaction in fermentation 
generally depends upon the presence of 
miscroscopic vegetable organisms. Hence, to 
prevent it, an agent is necessary that will 
destroy these microorganisms, or exclude them 
entirely. Among the substances used are salt, 
alcohol, creosote, tannic acid, arsenic, aloes, 
camphor, benzene, chloroform, and many 
others. Salting is a common way of preserving 
herring, fish, and meats, or perishable com¬ 
modities of this kind may be packed in ice 


as a means of keeping the temperature too 
low to permit decay. Besides their use in the 
preservation of foods, many forms of antisep¬ 
tics are used in the treatment of wounds and 
in the prevention of infectious diseases, as 
carbolic acid and formaldehyde. The prop¬ 
erties of infectious matter commonly found in 
contagious diseases appear closely analogous .to 
organisms that lead to putrefaction in fer¬ 
mentation. These can be rendered inert by 
exposure to a high temperature, or by the use 
of antiseptics, such as an application of 
chloride of zinc, carbolic acid, or other equally 
efficient agents. By a liberal application of 
these substances to the bedroom or house con¬ 
taining germs of contagious diseases, the infec¬ 
tion may be destroyed and prevented from 
spreading. Besides, antiseptics are used in sur¬ 
gery for the treatment of wounds, with the view 
of preventing harmful organisms from develop¬ 
ing. This is done largely by allowing air to 
reach the wounds only through substances 
capable of destroying the germs in the atmos¬ 
phere, upon whose presence the generation of 
suppuration depends. The general term disin¬ 
fectant is applied to any agent that destroys 
microorganisms, and at the same time removes 
the harmful products of fermentation and 
putrefaction. 

ANTITOXIN (an-ti-toks'm), the name of 
a preparation of value in treating diphtheria, 
cholera, bubonic plague, and other diseases 
due to the development of bacteria in the blood. 
Diphtheria antitoxin is prepared by injecting 
diphtheria poison under the skin of some 
animal, usually a horse, the quantity being 
sufficient to give rise to a slight illness in a 
few days. The injection is repeated as soon 
as the animal regains its health, but the quantity 
of the poison is increased after repeated 
recovery. In the course of several months a 
condition is developed in the animal undbr 
which it can bear the injection of several 
hundred times as much poison as the minimum 
quantity that at first would have resulted in 
death. When in a proper state of develop¬ 
ment, several gallons of blood are withdrawn 
from the horse, the serum or watery part con¬ 
stituting the antitoxin. Persons afflicted with 
diphtheria are relieved by injecting it under 
the skin, and such treatment. also gives im¬ 
munity to persons exposed to but not affected 
by the disease. Other antitoxins have been 
prepared and used successfully. 

ANT-LION (ant li'un), the larva of several 
species of insects, which, when fully developed, 
are similar in appearance to the dragon fly. 
These insects are common to the sandy regions 




ANTOFAGASTA 


94 


APACHES 


of many countries, and about fifty species of 
North America have been described. They are 
most numerous in semiarid districts, such as 
Mexico and the part of the United States 
lying north of the Rio Grande. The ant-lion 
is remarkable for the curious and ingenious 
method by which it catches the ants and other 
insects on which it feeds. A cavity in the 
form of a funnel is excavated in the sandy 
soil, the sides being smooth and sloping uni¬ 
formly, and at the bottom the ant-lion waits 
until an insect comes so near to the edge that 
it falls into the pit, where the juices are sucked 
out of its body. When ready for another prey, 
the skeleton of the dead insect is removed and 
the ant-lion awaits another insect. 

ANTOFAGASTA (an-to-fa-gas'ta), a city 
of Chile, capital of a province of the same 
name, situated on the Pacific coast. In its 
vicinity are extensive deposits of saltpeter and 
some distance inland are the rich silver mines 
of Caracoles. A railroad extends inland, mak¬ 
ing it an important market for domestic and 
foreign trade. Formerly both the city and 
province belonged to Bolivia, but in 1882 they 
were ceded as the result of a war between the 
two countries. Population, 1906, 26,445. 

ANTWERP (ant'werp), the principal sea¬ 
port of Belgium, capital of the province of 
Antwerp, on the Scheldt River, about fifty 
miles from the sea. It it strongly fortified, 
being encircled by outer fortifications and 
inner lines of defenses, and is the converging 
center of many important railroad lines that 
connect it with commercial cities of Belgium, 
Holland, France, and Germany. The surround¬ 
ing country is a fertile and well cultivated 
region. It has extensive manufactures of 
machinery, cotton and woolen textiles, silks, 
chemicals, leather, pottery, furniture, and 
canned and cured meats and fish. The city 
has important commercial relations with the 
leading ports of Europe, and is a point of 
departure for emigrants to Africa and America. 
Few cities of Europe rival it in the point of 
architectural beauty. Among its public build¬ 
ings is a fine Gothic cathedral with a spire 
400 feet high. This building contains the 
famous paintings x>f Rubens, entitled “The 
Descent from the Cross,” “The Elevation of 
the Cross,” and “The Assumption.” The city 
has many hospitals, educational institutions, and 
public buildings, and supports a well-organized 
public school system. Gas and electric lights, 
numerous libraries, several fine parks and 
boulevards, and an extensive system of electric 
street railways are among the many improve¬ 
ments. Antwerp was a place of importance as 


early as the 11th century, and in the 16th cen¬ 
tury attained to large commercial trade rela¬ 
tions, when it had a population of 200,000. Its 
commerce was greatly injured by wars between 
Spain and the Netherlands. In the last cen¬ 
tury it made wonderful growth, and is now a 
center of wealth, intelligence, and industrial 
activity. German with the Flemish dialect is 
spoken generally, and most of the daily news¬ 
papers are in that language. Population, 1906, 
304,032. 

ANVIL (an'vil), an iron block with a steel 
surface on which metals are hammered and 
shaped. The common blacksmith’s anvil is 



ANVIL. 



usually built of six pieces, which are welded 
to a central core or body, and has four corner 
pieces, a projecting end, and a conical end, or 
beak, for hammering curved pieces of metal. 
The projecting end has a square hole for the 
reception of a chisel, thus serving to facilitate 
punching holes in iron plates. The anvil is 
usually placed on a large wooden block. Heavy 
anvils for forging shafting and large portions 
of implements are placed on piles of masonry. 

AORTA (a-or'ta), in anatomy, the great 
arterial trunk from which branches proceed 
to penetrate the whole system. It rises from 
the left ventricle of the heart, where it is called 
the ascending aorta, then makes a curve called 
the arch of the aorta, from which branches 
pass to the head and other upper extremities. It 
then passes toward the lower extremities, where 
it is called the descending aorta. From this part 
and farther down innumerable branches pro¬ 
ceed to the trunk and lower extremities, where, 
as elsewhere, minute branchlets ramify the dif¬ 
ferent parts of the body. 

APACHES (a-pa'ch&z), a warlike tribe of 
North American Indians now principally resi¬ 
dent in Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of 
Mexico, where they settled many years ago, 
after emigrating from the vicinity of Great 
Slave Lake in Canada. They harassed the 
pioneer settlers and government troops for 
.many years, but civilization is steadily benefit¬ 
ing them, and large numbers have taken ad¬ 
vantage of educational facilities provided by 
the government. Antonio Apache, a highly 











APATITE 


95 


APIS 


educated Apache Indian, held an official posi¬ 
tion in the department of anthropology at the 
World’s Columbia Exposition in Chicago in 
• 1893. The total number of Apaches, in 1900, 
was 5,150. 

APATITE (ap'a-tit), a mineral found in the 
older crystalline rocks, consisting of phosphate 
mixed with fluoride and chloride of calcium. 
Deposits are found in many parts of the world, 
being abundant in Canada, the United States, 
and Europe. This mineral is important as a 
source of fertilizer. 

APE (ap), an animal closely allied to the 
monkey, and in structure nearly approaching 
the human race. The word ape was formerly 
applied to all monkeys, but is now limited to the 
species that possess a manlike form and appear¬ 
ance. The principal kinds of apes are the 
orang-outang, chimpanzee, gorilla, and gibbon. 
These are classed as anthropoid apes, owing to 
their manlike structure. Their toes and fingers 
are very similar and much like human hands, 
by the aid of which they can swing from trees 
with much ease, but they are quite helpless 
when on the ground. The brain structure is 
similar to that of man, but it is only half as 
large. The food consists chiefly of fruits and 
the tender part of plants. They are native to 
Africa, Borneo, and the warmer parts of Asia. 

APENNINES (ap'en-ninz), an extensive 
range of mountains in the Italian peninsula, 
extending from the Maritime Alps to the Strait 
of Messina. They form the principle water¬ 
shed of Italy. The Apennines are considered 
the southern branch of the great Alpine system 
of Europe, and are separated from other ranges 
in the vicinity of Genoa. Their length is about 
800 miles, the average height is about 4,000 
feet, and the highest peak, Monte Corno, near 
Aquila, is 9,580 feet above sea level. This range 
does not reach the limits of perpetual snow, 
owing to the mild climate of that section of 
Europe. The geological formations include im¬ 
mense limestone rock, and they are exceeding- 
rich in the finest marbies and metal ores. Sev¬ 
eral of the mountains are volcanic, including 
Mount Vesuvius, which is the most active and 
noted of Europe. The slopes, even to a com¬ 
paratively high altitude, are covered with abun¬ 
dant vegetation, while the summits are sterile. 

APHIS (a'fis), an insect commonly known 
as the plant louse. Many widely different 
species have been described. They propagate 
in large numbers, are soft, round-bodied, and 
carry a long beak coming from between the 
fore legs, from under the head, which is used 
to suck the juice of plants. The aphides are 
taken as food by the larvae of the ladybird. 


Some species are pursued by ants for a sac¬ 
charine liquid that contains a large portion of 
sugar, and of which they are very fond. This 
liquid is called 
honeydew and is 
secreted at the 
posterior end of 
the abdomen, from 
which it exudes a 
drop at a time. Its 
purpose is to sup¬ 
ply food for its 
young. Tobacco 
is used as a means 
to protect plants 
against the rav¬ 
ages of these in¬ 
sects. 

APIA (a-pe'a), 
a town in the 
Samoan Islands, 
on the island of 
Upolu, which is a 
possession of Ger¬ 
many.. It has a 
good harbor and 
is the most im¬ 
portant commer¬ 
cial center of the 
Samoan group. 

The chief buildings include several schools, a 
Roman Catholic church, and the government 
house. It has a good trade in cotton, copra, 
tobacco, and fruits. Population, 1901, 3,750. 

APIARY (a'pi-a-ry), a shed or stand for 
keeping bees, commonly constructed to pro¬ 
tect bees from extremes of weather and tem¬ 
perature. In cold regions the apiaries are built 
so as to face toward the south or southwest, 
for the purpose of utilizing to the best ad¬ 
vantage the warmth of the sun during the 
winter season. In the summer months the 
hives are set out in the open air near good 
feeding ground, as clover fields, gardens, or 
flowering heaths. Apiaries are not generally 
maintained in regions having a warm climate, 
but they are quite necessary to bee-keeping in 
the colder sections. See Bee. 

APIS (a'pis), the bull regarded sacred by 
the ancient Egyptains, and long worshiped as 
a symbol of Osiris, the husband of Isis. The 
day of his birth was kept as an annual festival, 
and his death was a season of public mourning. 
This animal was not allowed to live to exceed 
twenty-five years, and on attaining that age 
was killed and embalmed. The type by which 
Apis was represented is that of a human 
mummy containing the head of an ape. Figures 





APOCALYPSE 


96 


APOSTLES’ ISLANDS 


in bronze, stone, and porcelain were common 
in all cities, and many made of the first two 
mentioned materials are still abundant. 

APOCALYPSE (a-poc'a-Hps), a name ap¬ 
plied frequently to the last book of the New 
Testament. In the English and most languages 
it is called the “Revelations of Saint John 
the Divine,” and it is supposed to have been 
written by John the Apostle, but its author¬ 
ship is much disputed. Those who assign it 
to the Apostle John think it was written while 
he was on the Isle of Patmos, about 95-97. A 
large part of it is devoted to predictions re¬ 
specting the future of Christianity. 

APOCALYPTIC NUMBER (a-pok-a-lip'- 
tik), the number 666, based on Rev. xiii, 18: 
“Let him that hath understanding count the 
number of the beast: for it is the number of a 
man; and his number is Six hundred 
threescore aqd six.” In the 2d century it was 
discovered that the name antichrist was con¬ 
tained in the Greek characters expressive of 
this number, while it was held by some to 
express a date. The Roman nation was the most 
powerful pagan government, was the most 
mighty representative of antichrist, and its 
name is spelled in Greek by characters in which 
the number 666 appears. Some Protestants 
apply the prophecy to papal Rome, while it is 
applied by others to reformers of other denomi¬ 
nations for, perhaps, no better reasons. 

APOCRYPHA (a-pok'ri-fa), the term ap¬ 
plied to professedly inspired writings, and 
sometimes to those whose public use was not 
thought advisable. It is used especially to 
designate books written in the two centuries 
preceding the birth of Christ, and which are 
omitted from the majority of Bibles now in 
use. These books include a total of fourteen, 
and, when published at all, usually appear in 
the Bible in the following order: I Esdras; II 
Esdras; Tobit; Judith; the Additions to the 
Book of Esther; the Wisdom of Solomon; the 
Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach, or Ec- 
clesiasticus; Baruch; the Song of the Three 
Holy Children; the History of Susanna; the 
History of Bel and the Dragon; the Prayer 
of Manasses, king of Judah; the First Book 
of the Maccabees; and the Second Book of 
the Maccabees. 

APOGEE (ap'6-je), a term used in astron¬ 
omy to denote the point occupied by the moon 
at which, in its course of revolution, it is at 
the greatest distance from the earth. The 
ancients regarded the earth as the cen¬ 
ter of the solar system, and used the 
term apogee to designate the point most remote 
from the sun. When the sun became recog¬ 


nized as the center, the expression for this 
relation was changed, and the term aphelion is 
used instead. Apogee is now used to express 
the greatest distance of the moon and the 
planets from the earth, and perigee the nearest. 
Aphelion expresses the greatest distance of any 
heavenly body from the sun, and perihelion the 
nearest. 

APOPLEXY (ap'6-pleks-y), a serious mal¬ 
ady that comes on suddenly, causing a loss of 
sensation and voluntary motion. A stroke of 
apoplexy suspends the functions of the cere¬ 
brum by a pressure on the brain, caused by a 
rupture of blood vessels or a congestion of the 
blood. It is accompanied by loss of the intel¬ 
lect or thought, while respiration and the action 
of the heart and of the general vascular sys¬ 
tem continues. In a severe stroke the person 
falls suddenly and gives no proof of conscious¬ 
ness. Persons at the age of from fifty to sixty 
are the most subject to it. Among the causes 
leading to apoplexy are continued anxiety, 
frequent indulgence of temper and passion, in¬ 
toxication, luxurious living, and intense thought. 
Out of a large number of patients, carefully 
examined, only six per cent, were corpulent, 
thirty per cent! were thin, and the others were 
of ordinary form. Recovery after one or two 
attacks is quite common, but persons afflicted 
more than twice are almost certain to fail of 
recovery. 

APOSTLES (a-pos's’lz), meaning a person 
sent, a term applied to the twelve men whom 
Jesus selected to aid Him during His ministry 
and to preach the gospel. They were chosen 
by Him promiscuously from among fishermen 
and others engaged in the more common oc¬ 
cupations. The twelve were as follows: Simon 
Peter; James; John; Andrew; Philip; Thomas; 
Bartholomew; Matthew; James, the son of 
Alpheus; Lebbeus, or Thaddeus; Simon; and 
Judas Iscariot. On account of Judas Iscariot’s 
betraying Christ, Matthias was chosen in his 
place, and later Paul and Barnabas are spoken 
of as apostles of Jesus. These apostles were 
commended by Jesus to preach the gospel, at 
first to the Jews, but a short time before his 
ascension they were instructed to preach to all 
nations. The day of Pentecost was the oc¬ 
casion when they received miraculous gifts for 
the public ministry. The chief events in the 
lives of the apostles are recorded in the Epis¬ 
tles and Acts of the Apostles. In a wider sense, 
the early Christian preachers sent to heathen 
countries are termed apostles, but usually, when 
speaking of the apostles, those named above 
are implied. 

APOSTLES’ ISLANDS, a number of small 


APOSTOLIC FATHERS 


97 


APPALACHICOLA 


islands in Lake Superior, near the western end, 
first settled by the French in 1680. They con¬ 
sist of twenty-seven islets and islands, and have 
an area of 200 square miles. Mandeline Island 
is the largest of the group and on it is the 
town of La Ponte. The islands have deposits 

I of a fine quality of brownstone, which is quar¬ 
ried and shipped. For governmental purposes 
they belong to the State of Wisconsin. 

APOSTOLIC FATHERS (ap-os-tol'ic), 
the name given to the disciples and fellow- 
laborers of the apostles, especially those, who 
are supposed to have left writings. These 
writings are looked upon as a continuation of 
the epistles written by the apostles, but in form 
and contents are quite inferior to their predeces¬ 
sors. 'The essence and main purpose is to 
exhort to faith and holyiess. The list of 
apostolic fathers include Barnabas; Clement of 
Rome; the Shepherd of Hermas; Ignatius, 
Bishop of Antioch; Papias of Hierapolis; and 
Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Diognetus is 
sometimes included with the above list. 

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION, the uninter¬ 
rupted succession of bishops, priests, and 
deacons from the time of Christ to the 
present day. It is considered essential and is 
observed strictly by the Anglican, Greek 
Catholic, and Roman Catholic churches, who 
do not consider the ordination of ministers or 
priests legitimate unless it is by a bishop. 

APOTHECARIES’ WEIGHT (a-poth'e- 
ka-riz), the system of measurement used in 
dispensing drugs. The pound contains twelve 
ounces, the ounce eight drams, the dram three 
scruples, and the scruple twenty grains. The 
grain is equivalent to that used in avoirdupois 
weight.—Apothecary, one who keeps a store 
or laboratory for preparing, compounding, 
and selling medicines, and for compounding 
prescriptions. In early times, even as late as 
the 17th century, apothecaries ranked with the 
grocers, but in the 18th century they were 
placed on a higher standard. In most coun¬ 
tries laws have been enacted for the purpose 
of regulating the practice of compounding 
medicines. A person who engages in this line 
is called a pharmacist. He is usually required 
to hold a certificate showing that he is duly 
authorized by law to make up prescriptions and 
is qualified for such duties. The name drug¬ 
gist is usually applied to one who keeps a drug 
store. 

APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS (ap-pa- 
la'chi-an), a vast system of elevations in the 
eastern part of North America, located partly 
in Canada, but mostly in the United States. The 
system consists of a number of nearly parallel 

7 


chains extending from the Saint Lawrence 
River to Alabama and Georgia. It is highest 
in the north and south and slopes gradually to¬ 
ward the middle. Its length is about 1,300 
miles and its breadth varies greatly in the dif¬ 
ferent portions. Between the mountain system 
and the Atlantic Ocean stretches a fertile slope, 
known as the Atlantic Coast Plain, which is 
from fifty miles in breadth in New England 
to two hundred miles in the South. In the 
North are the Adirondacks, the Green Moun¬ 
tains, the White Mountains, and others; in the 
central portion, the ranges of the Blue Ridge, 
and the Alleghanies; in the southern, 
the ranges of the Blue Ridge, Black 
Mountains, Smoky Mountains, and others. 
The elevation of the system is from a 
few hundred - to- 6,500 feet above the level 
of the sea, though none of the higher peaks 
reaches the snow line, and the average height 
is about 2,500 feet. 

The Appalachians are the source of a large 
number of rivers, and form the divide between 
those that discharge into the Atlantic Ocean 
and the eastern tributaries of the Mississippi 
River system. These highlands contain but one 
large body of water, Lake Champlain, which is 
located between the northern part of New York 
and Vermont, and has its outlet into the Saint 
Lawrence River. The mountains are covered 
entirely with vegetable growth and contain 
many fertile valleys. Near them have developed 
many of the large manufacturing cities and 
commercial centers of North America, due part¬ 
ly to their closeness to the sea coast, and partly 
to the large variety of rich minerals which 
these mountains contain. They yield, perhaps, 
the best anthracite coal in the world, and supply 
vast quantities of petroleum, gas, and iron. Be¬ 
sides, there are extensive deposits of other 
minerals, including lead, copper, marble, gyp¬ 
sum, salt, gold, silver, and bituminous coal. The. 
forests yield many varieties and large quantities 
of valuable timber, consisting chiefly of white 
birch, beech, ash, sugar maple, walnut, cherry, 
and yellow pine. The timber product, of course, 
depends upon the altitude and latitude. In the 
northern part are the hardy varieties common 
to colder regions, while in the South abound 
magnificent forests of trees common to a south¬ 
ern climate, both sections yielding enormous 
quantities for manufacturing purposes. The 
wild animals have been largely extinguished, 
but in some localities the bear, panther, wild 
cat, and wolf still haunt the forests. 

APPALACHICOLA (ap-a-lach-i-co'la), or 
Apalachicola, a river in the United States 
formed in Georgia by the junction of the Flint 




APPALACHICOLA 


APPLE 


and Chattahoochie rivers. It flows southward 
through Florida and discharges into Appalachi- 
cola Bay, an inlet from the Gulf of Mexico. 
The entire course of ninety miles is navigable 
for steamboats. Near the mouth is the city of 
Appalachicola, the county seat of Franklin 
County. 

APPALACHICOLA, a city in Florida, 
county seat of Franklin County, 85 miles south¬ 
west of Tallahassee. It is located near the 
mouth of the Appalachicola, on Saint George 
Sound, and is important as a port of entry. 
The chief exports are lumber, fruit, and naval 
stores. Population, 1900, 3,097. 

APPEAL (ap-pel'), in law, the removal of a 
cause from an inferior court for the purpose of 
obtaining a review of the suit or a reversal of 
the decision. A writ of errof arid a certiorari 
differ from an appeal in that they merely bring 
up for review the questions of law involved in 
the proceedings of the lower court, while both 
questions of law and fact may be reexamined by 
an appeal. The rules under which appeals may 
be granted differ in the system of courts in dif¬ 
ferent countries, but usually require that error 
be shown in the conduct of the trial, or that 
additional material evidence be presented. 

APPENDICITIS (ap-pend-i-si'tis), a term 
used to denote inflammation of the vermiform 
appendix, a wormlike pouch or cavity project¬ 
ing from the first part of the colon. In man it 
is small. It attains its largest size in such herb¬ 
eating animals as the horse, in which it is twice 
the size of the stomach. In man it has no defi¬ 
nite function, and may be removed without 
any harm to the system. Appendicitis frequently 
results from cherry stones and round objects 
stopping in it, often causing death, if the pa¬ 
tient is not operated upon by a skillful physi¬ 
cian. 

APPERCEPTION (ap-per-sep'shun), a 
term employed in the study of mental science, 
and first used by Herbart, Kant, Liebnitz, and 
others. It is now a familiar term among teach¬ 
ers, and denotes a perception obtained by re¬ 
flecting upon new elements of knowledge and 
comparing them with others previously ob¬ 
tained. In other words, the action of the mind 
upon a new idea is influenced by the masses of 
ideas the mind already has, and from this 
spring new ideas. Such action has come to 
be called apperception. 

APPETITE (ap'pe-tit), a term used to 
denote the natural desire for something, mainly 
the desire for eating and drinking. It is stimu¬ 
lated by exercise, work, cheerfulness, and plain 
living. A defective appetite is due generally 
to vicious habits, diseased action of the stom¬ 


ach, impaired nervous system or circulation, and 
general debility. A depraved appetite results 
from unnatural food, excessive eating, and 
other causes. The technical meaning of appe¬ 
tite is, I desire. It is attended by two condi¬ 
tions: a desire of the stomach relieved by tak¬ 
ing food, and state of the body changed as 
soon as the blood begins to take up the prod¬ 
ucts of digestion. These are not yet accurately 
understood. 

APPIAN WAY (ap'pi-an), a famous road 
that connects Rome with the southern part of 
Italy. It was constructed mainly during the 
censorship of Appius Claudius Caecus, between 
the years 312 and 307 b. c. The course from 
Rome to Terracina is nearly straight, although 
the Pontine Marshes and the Alban Mountains 
made construction difficult. It was paved with 
large square stone and adorned with numerous 
magnificent sepulchers, the most noted of which 
were those of the Scipios and of Caecilia Me- 
tella. Pius IV. partially restored it, and in 1852 
it was excavated as far as the eleventh mile¬ 
stone from Rome by Pius IX., near which it is 
now crossed by a railroad. 

APPLE (ap'pd)* a tree of the rose family 
of plants, native to the temperate region of Asia 
and Europe. It has been grown for its fruit 
since prehistoric times, and brought to America 
by settlers from England in the early history of 
this country. The tree has spreading branches, 
and attains a moderate height, seldom exceed¬ 
ing thirty feet. The wild crab apple of Europe 



APPLE. 


is the parent of all the varieties now grown. 
These have been largely improved by ingraft¬ 
ing and naturalization. There are three general 
classes, summer, autumn, and winter apples, and 
in each class are many varieties, perhaps 200. 
Many of the best known varieties are desig¬ 
nated by names, as winesaps, Danvers winter- 
sweet, pippins, Ben Davis, willow twigs, Duch¬ 
ess of Oldenburg, etc. Apples are cultivated 


APPLE OF DISCORD 


99 


APRICOT 


extensively in Southern Canada and in nearly 
every section of the United States. They are 
especially productive in the middle Atlantic sec¬ 
tion, though fine orchards are common to the 
Mississippi Valley and the Pacific Coast. 

The wood of the apple tree is hard, durable, 
and fine-grained. Some varieties of ‘crabs are 
planted both for ornamental purposes and for 
the production of fruit. .Besides being a whole¬ 
some food when ripe, the apple is used for 
many purposes in cooking, baking, preserving, 
and for jelly. From it is made a fermented 
liquor, called cider, and a fine quality of vinegar. 
By distillation a kind of spirits is manufactured. 
It is used for preparing compounds that have 
good medicinal qualities. Apples are. important 
articles of commerce, great quantities being pro¬ 
duced and exported to domestic and foreign 
markets in cases and barrels. 

The seedless apple was evolved by propaga¬ 
tion at Grand Junction, Colo., by John F. Spen¬ 
cer, who conducted experimental researches for 
several years and succeeded in producing five 
trees that bore seedless, coreless, and wormless 
apples, and from this little group there were 
budded two thousand more trees, which, in 1905, 
constituted the entire seedless apple stock of 
the world. This variety of apple trees has 
many peculiarities. While there is a stamen 
and a small quantity of pollen, exactly as in 
the blossom of the ordinary apple tree, yet the 
flower itself is missing, and several small green 
leaves grow around the apple to shelter it. The 
meat of the new apple, like that of the seed¬ 
less orange, is quite solid, and at the navel end 
is a slightly hardened substance. In size these 
apples are of the usual average, of good flavor, 
and will keep well. The fact that the tree is 
flowerless renders it more hardy at the time 
of late frosts, and overcomes, to a large extent, 
injury by insects, since there is no place for the 
codling moth to lay its eggs. 

APPLE OF DISCORD, in Greek mythol¬ 
ogy, the golden apple thrown by Eris into the 
midst of an assembly of the gods, at the mar¬ 
riage of Peleus and Thetis. It was intended 
“For the most beautiful,” and was claimed by 
Juno, Venus, and Minerva, and Paris was 
chosen to decide the dispute. The award was 
given to Venus, which caused Juno to become 
inflamed with jealousy and hatred toward the 
Trojans. 

APPLETON (ap'p’l-tun), a city of Wiscon¬ 
sin, county seat of Outagamie County, on the 
Fox River, about 120 miles northwest of Mil¬ 
waukee. It is on the Chicago and Northwestern 
and the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul 
railways, has a growing trade in merchandise,* 


and is surrounded by a fertile farming and 
dairying region. The manufactures include 
paper, boots and shoes, furniture, machinery, 
clothing, tobacco products, and farming imple¬ 
ments. Water power for manufacturing purposes 
is obtained from the Grand Chute Falls of the 
Fox River. The city has an excellent system of 
public schools, numerous churches, and is pro¬ 
vided with extensive lines of street railways. It 
has modern conveniences, such as gas and elec¬ 
tric lights, pavements, public parks, several 
libraries, and an extensive system of water¬ 
works. It is the seat of Appleton Collegiate In¬ 
stitute and Lawrence University. The first 
settlement was made in 1840 and it was incor¬ 
porated in 1857. Population, 1905, 17,000. 

APPLE-TREE BORER, an insect native to 
America, and a common plague to apple and 
crab apple trees. It also attacks the mountain 
ash, pear, and quince trees, and does consider¬ 
able damage to orchards. The larva of the in¬ 
sect is the borer, and when full grown is an 
inch long. It has a light yellow color and 
chestnut-brown head, and the jaws are a deep 
black. The best preventive is an alkaline wash, 
though soft soap mixed with lye made from 
wood ashes, applied to'the base of the tree, 
serves practically the same purpose. This pest 
should be early exterminated from orchards so 
as to prevent its spread. 

APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE (ap-po- 
mat'toks), formerly a village of Virginia, in 
Appomattox County, now called West Appo¬ 
mattox. It is situated twenty-three miles east 
of Lynchburg, on the Norfolk and Western 
Railroad, and is the county seat of Appomattox 
County. At this place was fought the final 
battle between the Confederates under Lee and 
the Federals under General Grant. Lee’s army 
was retreating as rapidly as possible, but was 
met by General Custer, who fought the w€aried 
Confederates till dark. On the following day, 
April 9, 1865, as Sheridan was preparing for a 
charge, a white flag was raised, and General Lee 
surrendered his army, numbering 27,805, to 
General Grant. This was the close of the 
Civil War, and the terms of the surrender ac¬ 
cepted by General Grant included that Lee’s 
officers and men should be released on parole 
and retain their horses, fo'r, said he, “They will 
need them for spring plowing and farm work.” 
The old courthouse building was destroyed by 
fire in 1892. In 1900 West Appomattox had a 
population of 267. 

APRICOT (a/pri-kot), a fruit of the plum 
order, though resembling the peach. It was 
first brought to Greece in the time of Alexander 
the Great from countries farther east, probably 


APRIL 


100 


AQUARIUM 


from Armenia, where it is native. It is now ex¬ 
tensively cultivated in the warmer parts of the 
temperate zone and in subtropical countries. 
The tree is of low and crooked growth, usually 
attaining a height of twenty or thirty feet. Its 
habit of blooming early renders it liable to 
damage by frosts in the spring, but it is fully as 
hardy as the peach. It can be propagated by 
budding and grafting on peach, plum, and wild 
cherry stocks. The fruit is an important article 
of commerce. It is preserved in cans or dried 
and shipped in boxes. The Pacific coastal region 
supplies a large portion of the markets of 
America with this fruit, its culture being an 
extensive industry in that section, both in Can¬ 
ada and the United States. 

APRIL. See Month. 

APRIL FOOLS’ DAY, the name used 
to designate the 1st day of April. Custom has es¬ 
tablished this day as a time to send a person on 
a bootless errand, such as for horse milk, for 
the saddle of a nightmare, or to inform him 
there is a spot of mud on his face. When the 
person investigates he is laughed at and called 
an April fool. This practice is known in all 
civilized countries, but all do not observe the 
same day. In Hindustan the 31st day of March 
is set apart for this practice, at which time the 
Hindus celebrate the Kuli festival. 

APSE (aps), a term used by the Greeks and 
Romans to designate the projecting semicircular 
part of a building, or to describe a domical 
chamber and other vaulted structures. The in¬ 
terior w'as richly decorated and the most sacred 
subjects were placed on its walls and in the 
semidome. In temples the apse contained the 
cult image of the god, and in the basilica was 
the tribunal of the praetor, who sat in the cen¬ 
ter and was surrounded by his assessors. In 
later times the apse entered into the architec¬ 
ture of Byzantium and was adopted as a part 
of the architectural structure of Christian 
churches. The exterior of the Byzantium apse 
was polygonal in form, but the interior re¬ 
mained semicircular. In Christian churches it 
was modified both in size and structure, and in 
many cases the central apse was surrounded by 
smaller ones called apsidoles, and sometimes the 
church was provided with a double apse, one 
at each end of the building. 

APSIDES (ap'si-dez), the ends of the long¬ 
est diameter of a heavenly body, applied chiefly 
to a planet, but frequently to a comet or a sat¬ 
ellite. The apsides are the two extreme points 
in the orbit of a planet, one the nearest to and 
the* other the farthest from its primary; a line 
drawn between the points is the major axis of 
the orbit, or the line of apsides. These points 


move slowly forward in the same direction in 
which the revolving body moves. 

APTERYX (ap'te-riks), a running bird of 
New Zealand, belonging to the family which 
includes the emu, cassowary, and ostrich, but 
distinguished from the last mentioned by hav¬ 
ing three toes instead of only two. It is wing¬ 



less and tailless, and possesses a hairlike plum¬ 
age. The nests are built in a hollow tree, or in 
deep holes in the ground, and it feeds on worms, 
insects, and seeds. From its cry, kiwi-kiwi, it is 
given that name by the natives. It is fast de¬ 
creasing in number and probably will be extinct 
ere long. 

AQUARIUM ( a-kwa'ri-um), a tank or ves¬ 
sel in which marine or fresh-water plants and 
animals are kept in a living state. The fresh¬ 
water aquarium may be provided with a-foun¬ 
tain to supply a change of water, or plants and 
animals may be kept in the proper proportion 
and the life of both sustained. It was long 
thought necessary to change the water frequently 
so as to sustain the life of the fish and other 
water animals, because when water animals 
breathe they give out carbonic acid and use up 
oxygen, just as land animals do, which ren¬ 
ders water impure in a short time. But in 1836 
M. Charles des Moulins, a Frenchman, discov¬ 
ered that if water plants are put into the same 
tank with animals they will take up the car¬ 
bonic acid and give up the oxygen which the 
animals need. In this way the water may be 
kept pure and no change is needed. It has been 
found that salt-water plants can be kept as suc¬ 
cessfully and in the same way. As a result 
large aquariums have been established in cities 
for ornamentation and the study of both plants 
and animals. Many governments maintain 
aquariums as a source to study fish and other 




AQUARIUS 


101 


AQUEDUCT 


animal life, and through these means numerous 
streams and lakes have been populated with fish 
and other animals valuable for food and com¬ 
merce. At the Columbian Exposition at Chi- 




FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 


cago in 1893, the Louisiana Purchase Exposi¬ 
tion at Saint Louis in 1904, and other expositions 
held in the United States, the government made 
exhibits by demonstrating the practical propa¬ 
gation of many kinds of fishes. At these expo¬ 
sitions were eggs of fish in different stages of 
hatching, and young fish from one day to sev¬ 
eral months old could be examined and studied 
by those in attendance. 

Aquariums on a large scale are maintained 
in many public parks for amusement and profit, 
and the animals treated quite the same as those 
kept in small tanks for ornament and study in 
the homes. The Battery, in New York City, 
formerly known as Castle Garden, has one of 
the largest aquariums in the world. It contains 
about 150 tanks, in which are small and large 
fish, turtles, alligators, and other aquatic ani¬ 
mals. Many of the tanks are lighted from 
above and in the rear by electricity. Brighton, 
Paris, and Hamburg have large aquariums. In 
the one at Brighton are 125,000 gallons of water 
confined in a tank 125 feet long and 100 feet 
wide, which is covered by a plate glass, through 
which may be studied the form and habits of 
very large fish. Other great aquariums are lo¬ 
cated at Saint Petersburg, and in many natural 
parks in the United States. The aquarium at 
Saint Petersburg has been maintained over 150 
years. 

AQUARIUS (a-kwa'ri-us), or Water- 
Bearer, the eleventh sign of the zodiac, into 
which the sun enters about the 20th of January. 
The same name is applied to a constellation 
which was in the sign Aquarius at the time 
when the signs were named, but which, by the 
precession of the equinoxes, now occupies the 
sign Pisces. 


AQUATIC ANIMALS (a-kwat'ic), a term 
applied to the animals that live in water, or fre¬ 
quent the water in quest of food. This class 
of animals is very numerous, including the 
fishes, whales, and dolphins, which live entirely 
in the water; many birds, reptiles, and mam¬ 
mals, such as the otter and the beaver, which 
frequent the water for subsistance; most of the 
mollusca; and many tribes of the articulata and 
radiata. The animals that live in and habitually 
frequent water are more numerous than .those 
of the land. The structure and character of 
animals are influenced by their environments, 
and in this respect are quite analogous to plants. 

AQUATIC PLANTS, the plants which live 
either entirely or partially immersed in water, 
or which require a preponderating quantity *of 
water as the condition of their existence. 
Flowerless aquatic plants are more numerous 
than those that have flowers, and species of the 
lower types of organism are more abundant than 
the forms classed with the higher vegetable or¬ 
ganisms. Some are entirely in water* as the algae 
(q. v.), and perform all their functions when 
submerged, while others are rooted to the 
ground and have their flowers and part of their 
foliage above the surface of the water. Some of 
the seaweeds and plants common to inland 
waters are provided with air bladders which 
serve to brace the stem and hold the leaves 
above the surface, while others, if torn up by 
the roots, or even if parts of the plant are sev¬ 
ered from the main body, continue to grow and 
multiply. The cat-tail, or bulrush (q. v.), is a 
notable example of aquatic plants. Others are 
the water lily, the American lotus, the arrow¬ 
head, and the water hyacinth. 

AQUEDUCT (ak'we-dukt), an artificial 
course or channel by which water is conveyed 
from one place to another by the force of grav¬ 
ity. Popular usage has limited the name to 
conduits built of masonry, such as are used in 
conveying water to supply large cities, and it 
does not include the pipes and ditches common¬ 
ly utilized in mining and in irrigation. The 
practice of conveying water by aqueducts was in 
use in times far remote, and was well estab¬ 
lished in Judaea, Babylon, Persia, and many 
other countries of Asia. In Peru the Incas con¬ 
structed aqueducts similar in many respects to 
those of modern times. In Rome such works 
were maintained in many parts of the dominion. 
The city of Rome secured a water supply by 
means of twenty-four aqueducts, extending 
many miles, and having a capacity sufficient to 
supply the entire city. Their construction was 
usually on. a regular descent, winding through 
hills, crossing valleys by means of great arches, 






















AQUEDUCT 


102 


ARABIA 


and in many places even passing by tunnels 
through mountains. 

Modern cities utilize aqueducts, but their con¬ 
struction is changing to a somewhat different 
plan. Instead of building them on a regular 
descent so the water may flow entirely by 
gravity, they are built in part of pipes through 
which large volumes of water are forced by 
steam or electric power. In New York City 
the Croton aqueduct, which supplies the greater 
part of the city with water, is about forty 
miles long. The water is conveyed through 
sixteen tunnels, many of them cut through solid 
rock. The Harlem River is crossed by a gran¬ 
ite arched bridge 1,400 feet long, across which 
the water is conveyed in three large pipes. The 
water is carried into reservoirs in Central Park, 
and is piped from there through many parts of 
the city. At Boston the Cochituate aqueduct, 
which is fifteen miles long, supplies a large 
quantity of water, but the city has additional 
sources. San Diego, Cal., has an aqueduct or 
conduit built of redwood, thirty-five miles long, 
by which the water is conveyed from the moun¬ 
tains. 

In recent years the development and applica¬ 
tion of pipes for conveying water under pres¬ 
sure, buried beneath the soil, have displaced to 
some extent the building of massive structures 
of masonry for that purpose. Some very ex¬ 
tensive pipe lines, from twenty to fifty miles 
long, are used in many cities. Rochester, N. Y, 
is supplied in this way. Saint Louis has conduits 
that convey water to Bissell’s Point, from which 
the city secures its supply. In many localities 
conduits of masonry are carried through hills 
and the valleys are crossed by iron pipe lines. 
Chicago and many cities secure their supply of 
water from the Great Lakes by means of tun¬ 
nels. In most cases a large iron shaft is con¬ 
structed several miles into the lake, and the 
water is pumped into a central well, from which 
it is forced through pipes to all parts of the 



AQUEDUCT AT NIMES, FRANCE. * 


city. Aqueducts are used in hydraulic mining. 
The. water is conveyed from reservoirs far up 
a river or smaller stream, or from a high point 
in the mountains, so as to obtain a working 
head of several hundred feet. The expense of 
these enterprises is marvelous. The Croton 


aqueduct of New York cost over $20,000,000, 
and many others cost as much. 

AQUEOUS HUMOR (a'kwe-us hiVmer), 
a waterlike fluid that occupies the space between 
the cornea and the crystalline lens of the eye. 
The iris partially divides it into an anterior and 
posterior chamber, of which the former is the 
larger. The aqueous humor is almost pure 
water; only about one-fiftieth part of the whole 
consists of other constituents, of which fully 
one-half is chloride of sodium. 

AQUILA (a'kwe-la), a city of Italy, cap¬ 
ital of the province of Abruzzo Ulteriore, sit¬ 
uated about fifty miles northeast of Rome. It 
was founded by Emperor Frederick II. in 1240, 
and is noted for ancient ruins found in its vi¬ 
cinity. It has railroad connections with seaport 
cities on the Adriatic. The chief manufactures 
are wine, textiles, and earthenware. A destruc¬ 
tive earthquake in 1703 caused the death of 
about 2,000 persons. Aquila is noted as the 
birthplace of Sallust, the historian. Population, 
1906, 21,188. 

ARABESQUE (ar-a-besk'), an Arabian 
style of architecture employed by the Arabs and 
by the - Moors in Spain. Decorations • in this 
style were used extensively in the Alhambra 
(q. v.) and by Raphael in the Vatican. The 
decorations consist mainly of scrolls and geo¬ 
metric devices, and in many of the buildings 
fruit, flowers, and leaves are mingled with the 
genii and animals. 

ARABIA (a-ra'bi-a), the name of an ex¬ 
tensive peninsula in the southwestern part of 
Asia. It is about 1,500 miles long and 750 miles 
wide, and has an area of about 1,150,000 square 
miles. This vast region is not well known to 
geographers and the area is variously estimated. 
The population is usually placed at 5,500,000. 

Description. The surface features resemble 
those of the Sahara, of which it is considered 
an extension. It resembles the desert region of 
North Africa in that it contains many oases al¬ 
ternated by sandy and rocky wastes. Much of 
the interior is a vast tableland, with an altitude 
of about 8,000 feet, interspersed by mountains 
and arid deserts, and the whole surrounded by 
a coast plain near the adjacent waters. The 
northern and eastern boundaries are formed by 
Turkey, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of 
Oman, and the southern and western by the 
Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red 
Sea. On the northwest it is connected with 
Africa by the Isthmus of Suez. Anciently the 
peninsula was divided into three sections, known 
as Arabia Petraea, Deserta, and Felix. At pres¬ 
ent it is divided into seven districts whose 
boundaries are not fixed with any degree of 




ARABIA 


103 


ARABIA 


accuracy. These include Madian, Hejaz, Assir, 
Yemen, Nejd, Hadramaut, and Oman. The Eu¬ 
phrates River drains a portion of the northern 
section. Besides this stream there are no im¬ 
portant rivers and no interior lakes* and the 
coasts are comparatively regular. As a whole 
the climate is he^fthful. The coastal plains have 
a scorching summer heat, while the more ele¬ 
vated interior is quite pleasant, at most seasons 
of the year, though sand storms prevail period¬ 
ically. Rain seldom falls in the interior, where 
the climate is excessively dry, and in most parts 
vegetation is very scant. 

Industries. Stock raising is the chief in¬ 
dustry, and embraces the rearing of horses, 
camels, sheep, cattle, and mules. The mule is 
used largely as a beast of burden. Mining is 
not carried on extensively, but it is known that 
there are valuable deposits of salt rock, salt¬ 
petre, petroleum, coal, mineral pitch, and various 
kinds of building stone. Fruits are grown 
extensively on the coastal plains, especially the 
date palm. Other products include.. wheat, 
maize, tobacco, barley, millet, aloes, balsam, and 
gum arabic. The ostrich is grown for its plum¬ 
age. In some sections this animal is found in a 
wild state, especially in the oases of the desert 
region. Among the wild animals still abundant 
are the panther, hyena, lion, jackal, gazelle, and 
many varieties of aquatic birds and birds of 
song. 

Inhabitants. The inhabitants of Arabia be¬ 
long to the Semitic branch of the Caucasian 
family, but the tribes show marked differences 
in descent and tribal relations. Only a portion 
have fixed homes, the greater number leading 
a nomadic life. The wandering tribes consist 
mostly of Bedouins, who have allotted winter 
and summer camping grounds, entertain notions 
of the right of property, possess a strong home 
feeling, and are governed by a traditional code 
of law and honor. On the other hand, the Fel¬ 
lahs and Hadesi constitute the located tribes. 
In stature they are of medium height. They 
are muscular and strong, and have a brown 
complexion. The typical Arab is sharp-witted 
and quick by nature. He possesses a lofty 
pride and is fond of poetry. Most Arabs take 
much interest in rearing swift horses, and look 
upon a fleet animal as a most valuable posses¬ 
sion. Education is at low ebb, and is largely in 
the care of the wife, whose duty it is to keep 
the house and educate the children. Moham¬ 
medanism of the Shiite sect is the chief religion, 
but the Sunnites and Wahabis are represented 
to some extent. 

Government. The government is divided 
among numerous independent chiefs, who bear 


the title of sheik, emir, or imam. The Sinai 
Peninsula is a dependency of Egypt; and Ye- 
man, Hedjaz, and the region of El-Hasa are 
under the suzerainty of Turkey. Oman, in the 
southeastern part, is administered by an inde¬ 
pendent imam. A number of the chief cities 
are held by European powers, including Aden, 
which is a strongly fortified garrison on the 
Gulf of Aden and belongs to Great Britain. 
Other cities include Bagdad, Mecca, Medina, 
Mocha, Sana, Muscat, Basara, and Hodeida. 

History. The history of the Arabs before 
the time of Mohammed is obscure, but under 
the teachings of that prophet, about 600 a. d., 
the different tribes became united and powerful. 
When his doctrines secured a strong foothold 
and Mecca was conquered, he brought nearly 
the whole peninsula into submission. He was 
succeeded in turn by Abu-Bekr, Omar, Othman, 
and Ali, who assumed the title of caliph, but 
the period was marked by struggles for suprem¬ 
acy among different tribal interests. Walid I., a 
sovereign of this line, abolished the Greek lan¬ 
guage and written characters and substituted the 
Arabic. Subsequently the capital was trans¬ 
ferred from Cufah to Bagdad, where the Arab 
rulers held sway over a large part of the Mo¬ 
hammedan world from the 8th to the 13th cen¬ 
tury. At that time they possessed great mili¬ 
tary strength, conquered Northern Africa and 
Western Asia, and founded a kingdom in Spain. 
In the East they were generally known as Sara¬ 
cens, and in the West as Moors. They con¬ 
structed fortifications, temples, and public high¬ 
ways, traces of which remain in the East and 
in Spain, especially in the latter country, where 
the Moorish temples are still sources of won¬ 
der. The British occupied Aden in 1839, and 
the following year most of Arabia became sub¬ 
ject to Turkey. 

Language. The Arabic language is classed 
with the southern branch of the Semitic family 
of tongues, and next to the Hebrew ranks as 
the most important. It was generally spoken in 
Southwestern Asia, Northern Africa, Sicily, 
Malta, and a part of Spain at the time the re¬ 
ligion of Islam spread over those regions, and 
is still used as the learned and sacred language 
of the Mohammedans. About one-third of 
the Turkish and Persian vocabularies consists 
of Arabic words. The alphabet consists of 
twenty-eight characters, but eleven of these are 
distinguished by placing diacritical points above 
or beneath, hence only seventeen distinct char¬ 
acters are used. The writing is from right to 
left. As a whole, the vocabulary is extensive 
and the grammatical forms are complicated. 

Literature. The literature had its beginning 


ARABIA 


104 


ARAD 


in the time of the Queen of Sheba, who is 
the accredited author of several enigmas and 
poems. However, the rise of Arabic litera¬ 
ture dates largely from the time of Mohammed, 
who gave it new direction and life. Abu- 
Bekr collected the precepts of faith and life 
laid down by the prophet, and these collec¬ 
tions were afterward published by Othman, 
the third caliph, and constitute the Koran, the 
sacred book of the Mohammedans. The period 
in which literature, art, and science reached 
its zenith was in the time of the caliphs who 
ruled in 750-1258 a. d. Harun al Rashid (786- 
808) was a patron of learning,' and by his in¬ 
terest and ability gave impulse to Arabic litera¬ 
ture in his own country and many regions under 
Saracen and Moorish dominion. 

The Moors in Spain wrote treatises of value 
on medicine, history, mathematics, geography, 
geometry, astronomy, and civics. Their writers 
in geography were the most noted of those who 
flourished in the Middle Ages, and their his¬ 
torians and philosophers also took high rank. 
Their philosophy was largely of Greek origin, 
chiefly after the teachings of Aristotle, and 
their most celebrated philosopher was Alfarabi, 
who flourished in the 10th century. Other phil¬ 
osophical writers included Ibn Sina, Alghazzali, 
and Ibn Roshd, who flourished in the 11th and 
12th centuries. The Arabs excelled all other 
nations in medicine during the Middle Ages, 
the medical work of Avicenna, entitled “Can¬ 
on of Medicine,” being long an authoritative 
guide. 

In mathematics and astronomy the Arabs pat¬ 
terned after the Greek writers, but they simpli¬ 
fied and enlarged both sciences considerably. 
Algebra was introduced directly by them to 
the people of Europe. Their romances and 
legends are enriched by such familiar works as 
“The Exploits of Antar,” “The Arabian Nights’ 
Entertainments,^ “The Exploits of Bibars,” and 
“The Exploits of the Champions.” From these 
many European writers have drawn inspiration, 
and some of the tales drawn from “The Ara¬ 
bian Nights’ Entertainments” are familiar to 
school children in America and Europe. The 
Arabians were devoted especially to astronomy, 
which they cultivated in observatories at Bag¬ 
dad, Cordova, and other cities. Their chief text¬ 
books in this branch of learning consisted of 
the “Almagest” of Ptolemy, which they trans¬ 
lated into the Arabic. The literature of modern 
times is somewhat limited in scope, but they 
have several recent treatises on grammar, juris¬ 
prudence, and the Koran, and a number of 
newspapers and other periodicals are published. 
The Arabian writing, like all in the Semitic, is 


written from right to left, and is essentially con¬ 
sonantal. 

ARABIAN NIGHTS’ ENTERTAIN¬ 
MENTS (a-ra'bi-an), a collection of Oriental 
tales first made known to Europeans by Antony 
Galland, a Frenchman, who published them in 
1704-17. The origin of the work is still in 
doubt, and it is not known by whom or where 
it was written, but it is supposed to have been 
secured by the Arabs from India, and by the 
Hindus from Persia. The story assigned as 
the origin of these fables is both interesting and 
remarkable. It is said that Sultan Shahriyar 
had a faithless bride, which induced him to 
make a law that all his future wives should be 
executed the first morning after their marriage. 
This custom prevailed until Shahrazad, the gen¬ 
erous daughter of the grand vizier, became his 
wife. She was so skilled in story-telling that 
she interested the Sultan with a tale every day, 
and broke off at a point which would lead to 
an interesting conclusion the next day. In this 
way the execution was deferred from day to 
day until the Sultan became reconciled. These 
stories of Shahrazad now constitute “The Ara¬ 
bian Nights’ Entertainments,” or “The One 
Thousand and One Nights,” as they are often 
called. 

ARABIAN SEA, a large extension of the 
Indian Ocean, whose northern and eastern 
coasts are formed by Persia, Baluchistan, and 
India, and its western by the Arabian peninsula. 
Its northwestern extension forms the Gulf of 
'Oman, which is connected by Ormuz Strait 
with the Persian Gulf. On its eastern shore are 
the Gulfs of Cutch and Cambay. 

ARACHNIDA (a-rak'ni-da), a class of 
arthropods, variously limited by naturalists, but 
usually extended to include the mites, ticks, spi¬ 
ders, and scorpions. Most of the animals of 
this class have simple eyes, but they vary in 
number from two to twelve. The abdomen pos¬ 
sesses no true legs, although these animals have 
four pairs of legs. Some species secrete poi¬ 
sons, and nearly all prey on other animals. 
Breathing is effected either by lungs or by 
means of tracheae, but some breathe by both 
these means. The history of the Arachnida has 
been traced to the Palaeozoic times. 

ARAD (or'od), a city in Hungary, capital of 
the County of Arad, thirty-seven miles north 
of Temesvar. It is the seat of a bishopric and 
has a number of modern buildings, including 
the townhall and a Greek theological seminary. 
The manufactures include leather, tobacco, 
alcohol, and machinery. It is important as a 
grain and cattle market. Population, 1905, 
56,260. 


ARAFAT 


105 


ARBITRATION 


ARAFAT (a-ra-fat'), Mount, a granite hill 
in Arabia, fifteen miles east of Mecca, elevated 
about two hundred feet above the plain. The 
summit is reached by steps cut in the rock or 
built of solid masonry. A great multitude of 
Mohammedans visit this place annually, owing 
to the belief that Adam and Eve met upon this 
hill after being expelled from Paradise. It is 
thought that Adam was cast upon Ceylon and 
Eve on Mount Arafat, and that after wan¬ 
dering 120 years Adam finally joined Eve on 
this hill. On the summit is a chapel, in which 
a sermon is delivered for the benefit of the 
visitor, who is afterward known as a Hadji, or 
pilgrim. 

ARAGON (ar'a-gon), formerly a kingdom 
of Europe, but now a government in the north¬ 
eastern part of Spain. It was united with 
Spain on the marriage of Ferdinand and Isa¬ 
bella, in 1469, but a complete union did not take 
place until ten years later. It is divided into 
the provinces of Huesca, Teruel, and Sargossa. 
The area is 14,984 square miles. Saragossa is 
the capital. In 1907 the province had a popula¬ 
tion of 975,580. 

ARAGUAY (a-ra-gwi'), or Grande, an im¬ 
portant river of Brazil, rises by several branches 
in the southern highlands of that country, and 
after a course of 1,350 miles joins the Tocantins 
River, which carries its water into the Para 
estuary. It incloses Santa Anna, an island 200 
miles long, and is navigable for 1,000 miles. 
The Das Mortes is its chief tributary. 

ARAL (ar'al), an inland salt-water lake of 
Asia, including a surface of 26,650 square miles, 
and forming the outlet of the historic Oxus, or 
Amu River, and of the Kizil Kum. It has no 
outlet to the sea, but there are evidences that 
it was formerly connected with the Caspian Sea. 
The lake has valuable sturgeon and other fish¬ 
eries. It is located wholly in Russian territory. 
At a remote period of history the lake bed was 
dry, and the waters of the rivers that now dis¬ 
charge into it flowed into the Caspian Sea. 

ARAMAIC (ar-a-ma'ic), a language spoken 
in the country between the .Mediterranean Sea 
and the boundaries of Persia and Media on 
the one side and Asia Minor on the other. 
This section of Asia contained Mesopotamia, 
Chaldaea, and Assyria, and in ancient Hebrew 
histories the language is assigned to what is 
now known as Syria. There were two dialects, 
known as East Aramaic or Chaldee and West 
Aramaic or Syrian. The books of Ezra and 
Daniel and the Babylonian Talmud were written 
in Aramaic, and it was the official language in 
Palestine until Hebrew supplanted it. 

ARAPAHOES (a-rap'a-hos), an Indian 


tribe of North America, formerly resident 
near the sources of the Arkansas and Platte 
rivers. Their survivors were transported to 
reservations now included in Oklahoma, where 
they were allotted land, and became prosperous 
as farmers and stock raisers. This tribe of 
Indians was generally friendly to the whites. 

ARARAT (ar'a-rat), a mountain of West¬ 
ern Asia, in Armenia, on the boundary between 
Persia, Turkey, and the Russian possessions. 
Its summit is covered perpetually with snow 
and rises 17,325 feet above sea level. Vegeta¬ 
tion extends to the snow line, about 14,000 
feet. It is volcanic, but is now thought to be 
extinct, the last eruption taking place in 1840. 
This mountain is historic on account of being 
the landing place of Noah’s ark after the del¬ 
uge, an account of which is contained in the 
Bible, in Gen. viii., 4. 

ARAUCANIA (a-rou-ka'ne-a), a district in 
the southern part oC Chile, inhabited by the 
Araucanians, a native race of South America. 
The district includes the larger part of the 
province of Arauco and its boundaries are 
not well defined. The inhabitants were the last 
native tribe to become subject to the Spaniards. 
From 1537 to 1773 they maintained their in¬ 
dependence by force of arms, but in the latter 
year Spain recognized them as an independent 
people, and they did not submit until 1872, when 
their territory was made a part of Chile. 

ARAUCARIA (ar-a-ka'ri-a), a genus of 
large cone-bearing trees of the pine family, 
native to Australia, South America, and the 
islands of the Pacific. The branches spread 
greatly and are covered with’flat sharp-pointed 
leaves. Several species furnish timber of value 
for building, especially the Chile pine of the 
Andes and the Moreton Bay pine of New 
South Wales. 

ARBELA (arbe'la), an ancient town of As¬ 
syria, in the province of Bagdad, now the 
Turkish town of Erbil or Arbil. The modern 
town is built mostly with sun-dried brick, but 
has a number of large mosques and bazaars. 
It is famous on account of the last of the 
great battles fought between Alexander and 
Darius, in 331 b. c., though the battle took 
place at Gaugamela, about twenty miles distant. 
The present population is about 6,000, mostly 
Kurds. 

ARBITRATION (ar-bi-tra'shun), the set¬ 
tlement of disputes by submitting them to the 
decision of a private person or persons, instead 
of litigating in a court of justice. It is not 
permitted to arbitrate criminal cases, and ad¬ 
justments and settlements in civil cases by this 
means are not necessarily binding upon the 


ARBITRATION 


106 


arbitration 


parties thereto, even though an agreement to 
arbitrate be made in writing, since the con¬ 
tracting parties would in that case have no 
recourse to the jurisdiction of the courts.. 

It has been a direct object of trades unions 
to avoid strikes and lockouts through the 
medium of arbitration. A number of govern¬ 
ments have laws authorizing arbitration, and 
in sixteen states of the United States boards of 
arbitration are specially provided by law. In 
some of the states the decision of a board 
of arbitration is binding on both parties for 
six months, or either party may give sixty 
days’ notice to have the decision set aside, 
while in the other states proceedings of this 
kind may be enforced by judgment, or the party 
objecting may be punished for contempt. New 
Zealand has a compulsory arbitration law, 
which was brought about to set aside the 
injurious effect of strikes. It is claimed that 
the law has not closed ^ factory, that strikes 
and lockouts have been few, and that wages 
and conditions under which workingmen have 
labored 'have been vastly improved. There 
men working on a salary as well as wage- 
earners may take advantage of arbitration. 
The last decade is notable for the growing 
tendency among legislators and the people to 
favor the principles of arbitration and grad¬ 
ually extend its benefits in personal cases as 
well as those affecting railways and other com¬ 
mon carriers. 

International arbitration refers to the settle¬ 
ment of disputes between states by judges 
chosen under an agreement, and the tribunals 
so constituted are governed by articles specify¬ 
ing the matters to be considered. In practice 
the judges or conference are special or gen¬ 
eral and are more or less restricted by agree¬ 
ment, and the relief granted may be temporary 
or permanent. Czar Nicholas II. recommended 
a peace conference, which met at The Hague, 
July 29, 1899, for the avowed purpose of effect¬ 
ing an understanding whereby a large part of 
the standing army might be disarmed and the 
general peace of nations preserved. While the 
object sought has not been attained, it has 
caused thought to turn toward means whereby 
prolonged wars may be avoided through peace¬ 
ful means, and as a result several questions of 
international importance have been referred to 
arbitrators. The most important instance of 
this kind in 1905 was the arbitration of the 
case between Russia and Great Britain on 
account of Admiral Rojestvensky firing upon 
English fishermen in the North Sea. The result 
of this adjustment was that Great Britain was 
awarded damages amounting to $325,000, which 


sum was paid, and further difficulties were 

avoided. . „ , . . 

Important among the list of arbitrations in 
which the United States was a party are the 
following: 

I. Settlement of the northeastern boundary, 
under the Jay Treaty of 1794, in which the 
United States and Great Britain were interested. 

II. The Treaty of Ghent in 1814, between 
the United States and Great Britain, which 
provided for determining the northeast bound¬ 
ary of the United States from the Saint 
Lawrence to the Saint Croix River, ownership 
of certain islands in the Bay of Fundy and the 
Passamaquoddy Bay, and to fix the boundary 
between the United States and Canada along 
the middle of the Great Lakes and to the Lake 
of the Woods. 

III. Arbitration between the United States 

and Great Britain in 1818, relative to the owner¬ 
ship of slaves who had been taken possession 
of by the British, with the result that the 
United States accepted $1,240,960 in full set¬ 
tlement. J&j rqafl j&Hj | 

IV. An adjustment between the United 
States and Spain in 1819, which had reference 
to the claims of the Americans against Spain 
that arose during the occupation of Florida by 
the latter country. 

V. Adjustment of disputes regarding the 
northeastern boundary, in 1827, in which the 
case between the United States and Great 
Britain was referred to the King of the Nether¬ 
lands, and subsequently the matter was com¬ 
promised in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. 

VI. Settlement between the United States and 
France of claims on account of damage done 
at sea by the French in the wars of Napoleon. 

It was adjusted in 1831 by awarding $5,558,108 
indemnity to the United States. The claims 
were paid five years later. Great Britain acting 
as mediator. 

VII. Settlement of the northwestern bound¬ 
ary, between the United States and Great 
Britain, in 1846, having reference to the San 
Juan de Fuca Straits and the Haro Canal. 

VIII. Adjustment of fisheries rights, in 1855, 
along the shore of Canada, which was formally 
adjusted in 1866. 

IX. Settlement of disputes between the 
United States and Venezuela, in 1866, on ac¬ 
count of claims of American citizens against 
the latter country. An adjustment was reached 
under which more than a million dollars was 
to be paid, but a second commission reduced the 
award to $980,750, which was paid to the 
United States. 

X. Arbitration between the United States - 




ARBOR DAY 


107 


ARC DE TRIOMPHE 


and France on account of injury growing out 
of the Mexican War of 1862-67, the Civil War, 
and the war between France and Germany, in 
which $612,000 was awarded to France. 

XI. Arbitration of rights in Samoa affect¬ 
ing the United States, Germany, and Great 
Britain, in 1889, which was submitted to the 
King of Sweden and an agreement was signed 
at Washington in 1899. 

XII. Arbitration of the United States and 
Great Britain, in 1892, regarding fisheries of 
the Bering Sea, in which an agreement was 
reached in 1896, and the United States 
paid $471,151 to Canadian sealers. 

XIII. Settlement of the boundary between 
Alaska and the British possessions, in 1897, 
which resulted in a final agreement in 1899. 

ARBOR DAY ( ar'ber), a day designated by 
legislative enactment for the planting of trees, 
and which has come to be a day regularly 
observed in many states of the United States 
by the pupils of the public schools. Most states 
of the central west publish annually a manual 
compiled by the State department of public in¬ 
struction. This is sent to all the schools, and 
serves as a guide and program in conducting- 
appropriate exercises. In some localities Bird 
Day is now associated with Arbor Day, the 
purpose being to stimulate interest in the study 
and protection of birds. The day came to be 
observed largely by the need of planting trees 
in the states of the Mississippi Valley. It was 
first inaugurated in Nebraska in 1874 by the 
State Board of Agriculture, at the suggestion 
of J. Sterling Morton, who afterward served 
as Secretary of Agriculture during President 
Cleveland’s second administration. Besides 
planting trees for shade and ornamental pur¬ 
poses, it is customary to plant them in memory 
of authors, statesmen, and war heroes. The day 
is looked forward to with as much pleasure as 
Washington’s Birthday or Thanksgiving Day, 
and is quite as appropriate. All other great 
days celebrate the past, but this day speaks for 
the future. 

ARBOR VITAE (ar'ber vi'te), a class' of 
plants and shrubs allied to the cypress. They 
are evergreen, have flattened or compressed 
branchlets, and give off a pleasant balsamic 
smell. The arbor vitae common to North Amer¬ 
ica is prolific and grows to a height of forty to 
fifty feet. Chinese arbor vitae is a species valu¬ 
able for its resin, which yields a medicine use¬ 
ful in rheumatism. 

ARBUTUS (ar'bu-tus), a genus of trees 
and shrubs belonging to the heath order. The 
strawberry tree, which is a species of arbutus, 
yields a fleshy fruit useful for food and in the 


manufacture of beverages, especially alcoholic 
spirits. It is native to large parts of Southern 
Europe, and has been introduced to North Amer¬ 


ica, especially Califor¬ 
nia. The trailing arbu¬ 
tus, or may-flower, is 
an American species of 
this genus of plants. 
The leaves are opposite 
in most species, and 
the foliage is quite 
beautiful. 

ARCADE (ar-kad'), 
in architecture, a cov- 
e r e d passage, either 
open at the side with a 
range of pillars, or 
completely covered with 
woodwork or masonry. 
The term is applied in 
Gothic architecture to 
a range of arches, sup¬ 
ported on columns or 
tiers, either open or at¬ 
tached to a wall. In 
mediaeval period they f 



ARBUTUS. 


ly structures of the 
the principal decora¬ 


tions both on the inside and outside, sometimes 
as real, and other times as blind, galleries. At 
present the finest arcades are in Paris, where 
they are convenient thoroughfares as well as 
decorations, and many are lined with elegant 
shops. 


ARCADIA (ar-ka'di-a), an inland and 
mountainous country of ancient Greece, next, to 
Laconia the largest ancient division of the Pel¬ 
oponnesus. The most important mountain is 
Cyllene, the birthplace of Hermes. In the east¬ 
ern portion are several lakes, whose waters 
form the great waterfall of the Styx, which 
was thought by the Greeks to be the principal 
river of the infernal regions. The inhabitants 
from times far remote possessed marks of sim¬ 
plicity and inertness, due largely to the condi¬ 
tion of their rural life and their employment, 


which was principally pastoral. They conducted 
a nurqber of wars against the Spartans and 
later joined the Achaean league, and still later 
their territory was merged into the Roman 
province of Achaia. At present Arcadia forms 
a province of the kingdom of Greece. The 
area is 2,030 square miles and its population, 
147,650. 

ARC DE TRIOMPHE DE L’ ETOILE 


(ark de tre-onf' de la-twal'), a triumphal arch 
located in Paris, at the head of Champs Elysees. 
It was begun by Napoleon I. in 1806 and com¬ 
pleted 30 years later by Louis Philippe. The 
structure was designed by Chalgrin, is 150 feet 


ARCH 


108 


ARCHAEOPTERYX 


long by 160 feet high, and is ornamented with 
reliefs representing the victories of Napoleon. 
It is the largest structure of the kind in the 
world. 

ARCH (arch), in building, a portion of ma¬ 
sonry in the shape of an arc or bow, constructed 
in the form of truncated wedges, and arranged 
in a curved line in order to support weight by 
mutual pressure. It is usually constructed' to 
support the building over an open space, as a 
doorway, in which a single stone often forms 
the entire arch. When constructed of a num¬ 
ber of stones, it contains a middle wedge-shaped 
stone, called the keystone, its purpose being to 
lock the whole together. The exterior or upper 
curve is the extrados; the inner curve, the intra- 
dos; the highest part, the crown; and the lowest 
stone on either side, the springer. In construct¬ 
ing an arch a temporary frame of wood is first 
put up, the top of which is shaped like the arch; 
then the stones are laid up to it until they con¬ 
nect at the top, and the keystone is put in, when 



the Great Lakes, and in extensive regions of 
the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains. It 
abounds in Eastern Asia, Central Africa, and 
Northern Europe, extending in the last-men¬ 
tioned continent from the Arctic Ocean through 
the Scandinavian Peninsula to the Alps. 

ARCHAEOLOGY (ar-ke-61'd-jy), the name 
given to the study formerly known as that of 
antiquities. In its wider sense it includes a 
knowledge of the origin of the language, law, 
religion, institutions, literature, manners, arts, 
science, customs, in fact everything that can 
be learned of the habits and life of a people. 
In a narrower signification it is understood to 
mean and include all the material from which a 
knowledge of the ancient conditions are to be 
attained, but usually comprehends more or less 
of several branches of knowledge that are rec¬ 
ognized as distinct lines of study. Archaeology 
divides the primitive stages of human life and 
occupation into various periods, such as the 
stone, bronze, and iron ages. These names are 


4, Elliptical. 


1, Semi-circular. 


2, Moorish. 


ARCHES. 


3, Gothic. 




the temporary structure is taken down. In 
Moorish architecture the arch is in the form of 
a horseshoe, while the Gothic is pointed at the 
top. The longest stone arch ever made is in the 
bridge over the Adda River Italy. It is 251 
feet long and was completed in the 14th cen¬ 
tury. 

ARCHAEAN (ar-ke'an), the earliest period 
in geological history, extending up to the 
Lower Silurian. It includes two ages, the Azoic 
and Eozoic, the former embracing the time pre¬ 
vious to the appearance of life, and the latter 
including the earliest forms of life. American 
writers frequently refer to the Archaean period 
or system as the Primitive, Laurentian, and 
Huronian. The rocks ! of this period consist 
largely of granite, gneiss, and schist, mixed 
more or less with igneous formations, and they 
are characterized by volcanic disturbances in 
periods far remote. In America this system 
abounds in British America from the Arctic to 


used to designate periods af time on account of 
the materials employed during the different 
ages for implements and weapons. The word 
age designates the stage at which a people ar¬ 
rived, hence stone age means the period of time 
before the use of bronze, and the phrase bronze 
age, the time before iron was employed by any 
particular people. These ages are again divided 
and subdivided until all times, conditions, and 
phases of human life become classified for con¬ 
venience in study. In the 19th century more 
was learned of the antiquity of man than in all 
previous centuries. 

ARCHAEOPTERYX (ar-ke-6p'te-riks), a 
fossil bird of which traces are found in the 
rocks of the Jurassic system. Fossil remains 
are more numerous in Bavaria than in any other 
region. This animal was about the size of a 
crow and had thirteen teeth in the upper man¬ 
dible and six in the lower, each tooth set in a 
separate socket. The tail was long and the 



























































ARCHANGEL 


109 


ARCHIMEDES’ SCREW 


wings were large, and that it was able to fly is 
not doubted, since its feet indicate that it had 
arboreal habits. Some naturalists have traced 



ARCHAEOPTERYX. 


through this animal a possible relationship be¬ 
tween the birds and the reptiles. 

ARCHANGEL (ark-an'jel), or Arkhan¬ 
gelsk, a city in Russia, capital of a province of 
{ the same name, on the Dwina River, 740 miles 
northeast of Saint Petersburg. It has good rail¬ 
road and steamboat facilities, and an exten¬ 
sive trade with Russian and other port cities by 
; the White Sea. Being in a cold region, the port 

j is closed for six months by ice. It was founded 

in 1584, and was long the only seaport of Rus¬ 
sia. The shortest day at Archangel is about 
three hours, while the longest is twenty-one 
hours. Archangel province has an area of 331,- 
490 square miles and a population of 356,675. 
The population of the city is 21,685. 

ARCHANGEL, a term used to denote an 
angel superior in power and glory to other 
angels, but some think it has direct reference 
to Christ. In I. Thess. iv, 16, is given an ac¬ 
count of the coming of the Lord on the last 
day, which is to be: “With the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trump of God.”—Arch¬ 
bishop, a chief bishop, or one who superin¬ 
tends the conduct of other bishops. This posi¬ 
tion was established in the early period of 
Christianity, and is continued by the Roman 
and Greek Catholic and several Protestant 
churches. 

ARCHBALD (arch'bald), a borough of 
Pennsylvania, in Lackawanna County, 10 miles 
northeast of Scranton, on the Lackawanna 
River. It is conveniently located on the Dela¬ 
ware and Hudson and the New York, Ontario 
and Western railroads. Coal mining is carried 
on extensively in the surrounding country. Silk 
textiles, clothing, and machinery are manufac¬ 
tured. Population, 1900, 5.396. 

ARCHER FISH (arch'er), a small fish 
common to the East Indies. A species native 
of Java is about six inches long, has an elon¬ 
gated lower jaw, and its body is covered with 


small scales extending to the lower part of the 
dorsal fins. This fish is remarkable for the 
manner in which it ejects drops of water at 
insects, causing them to fall from the air into 
the water, where they are caught and devoured. 
The projectile force with which water is thrown 
is so forceful that it will strike a fly at a dis¬ 
tance of three to four feet. 

ARCHERY (arch'er-y), the art or prac¬ 
tice of shooting with the bow and arrow. The 
use of this weapon in war and for hunting dates 
from early antiquity. The ancients most skilled 
in archery were the Cretans, Thracians, Nu- 
midians, and Parthians, and in later years the 
Arabs, Saracens, and Germans. Long after the 
discovery of gunpowder we find the bow and 
arrow still used, even as late as 1572, when 
Queen Elizabeth promised to place at the dis¬ 
posal of Charles IX. 3,000 archers. In the 18th 
century societies were formed in England to 
preserve archery for the purpose of enjoyment 
and healthful exercise, and it is still popular 
as a recreation in the United States and Europe. 
The American Indians, at the time of the dis¬ 
covery of America, used the bow and arrow ex¬ 
clusively for defensive and offensive warfare, 
and they still practice the art for amusement. 

In recent years archery, as a recreation and 
healthful exercise, has grown in popularity, and 
clubs to promote the amusement are quite com¬ 
mon in the United States and Canada. The 
practice is confined chiefly to shooting at tar¬ 
gets. The Potomac Archery Association and a 
number of others hold annual contests, the 
rounds consisting of ninety-six arrows at sixty 
yards. It is common to have team competitions 
as well as tests for the longest flight, and in 
amateur contests the rounds usually consist of 
sixty arrows at fortv yards. 

ARCHIMEDES’ SCREW, a machine for 
lifting water, thought to have been invented by 
Archimedes while in Egypt for draining and 



irrigating land. It is constructed of a tube fas¬ 
tened around a solid shaft or cylinder, and so 
framed that it may be turned around its axis. 











ARCHIPELAGO 


110 


ARCHITECTURE 


The cylinder is hollowed out to form a double 
or triple threaded screw. The machine is placed 
in position with one end in the water and the 
other resting on a perpendicular pillar. When 
in this position, the lower end fills with water, 
and, when the shaft or cylinder is turned, the 
* revolution carries the water upward to the per¬ 
pendicular post and causes it to fall at its base. 
Similar machines are now built and largely in 
use in Holland for draining the lowlands. 

ARCHIPELAGO (ar-ki-pel'a-go), the name 
applied to a group of islands, such as the Car¬ 
ibbean, Patagonian, Aleutian, and others. How¬ 
ever, the term was originally used to designate 
the archipelago located in the Mediterranean 
Sea, commonly called the Grecian archipelago. 

ARCHITECTURE (ar'ki-tek-tur), the art 
of building. The term is used more specifically 
to denote the art of building human habitations, 
temples, or edifices of any kind, either humble 
or splendid. It is limited generally to the art of 
constructing edifices to gratify the mind, please 
the eye, and answer primary purposes of utility. 
It is often classed as a science, because it draws 
upon geometry and carries out the principles 
of various sciences. The architecture of a peo¬ 
ple indicates their mental and moral qualities, 
and is an index of the state of civilization to 
which they have attained. As a whole it is 
commonly divided into three classes: military, 
naval, and civil. Military architecture embraces 
the construction of fortifications for defensive 
purposes, as a means of subduing insurrections 
or repelling an invasion by foreign enemies. 
Naval architecture comprises the art of ship¬ 
building and includes the construction of ves¬ 
sels for commerce and offensive and defensive 
action in war. Civil architecture comprises all 
other lines not included in the two former, and 
is generally studied from an artistic, scientific, 
and utilitarian point of view. 

Remote Ancient Architecture. Numerous 
styles of architecture have been known from 
times far remote. Their characteristics were 
determined largely by the social development 
and moral aptitude of the nations. The oldest 
architectural structures that still remain are 
those of the Egyptians. They are of immense 
size, simple in design, and of regular outline, 
and indicate that the builders took into account 
few rules that render a building artistic. Im¬ 
mense blocks of stone were raised to great 
heights, and used to complete plain, rough struc¬ 
tures. Most of the larger buildings of Egypt 
were destroyed fully 500 years b. c. Those 
that do remain contain great walls and pillars 
ornamented with hieroglyphics and drawings on 
stone. They are rather inelegant, but service¬ 


able in preserving the history of the builders. 
The most interesting structures that still re¬ 
main are the pyramids, once the tombs of 
Egyptian kings, built of immense blocks of 
stone, and gradually narrowing from a broad 
base to a narrow apex. The largest still in 
existence is 498 feet high and 693 feet square 
at the base. The Grecian historian, Herodotus, 
in giving an account of these ancient wonders, 
ascribes their building to Cheops, who kept 100,- 
000 men at work on the largest one for a period 
of twenty years. The obelisks were placed at 
the entrance of palaces and temples, and on 
their surface were descriptive hieroglyphics and 
symbols illustrating the successes achieved in 
war by the great kings and heroes. They were 
usually four-cornered shafts of immense height, 
cut from the quarry in single blocks, and used 
as ornaments in public places. Ruins of great 
palaces are found in Persia and Assyria, the 
oldest and most noted among them being the 
palace of Nimrod, probably built in the year 
884 b. c. Others are found at Susa in Persia^ 
and still others in Babylonia, where once reigned 
the great Nebuchadnezzar, a Chaldean King of 
Babylon, in the 6th century b. c. The brick 
found in these ruins bear the imprint of this 
famous sovereign of ancient history, and indi¬ 
cate that the architecture of his time was won¬ 
derful in its massive design and durable 
strength. 

Greek Architecture. In Grecian architec¬ 
ture three styles are recognized, the Doric, the 
Ionic, and the Corinthian; the important differ¬ 
ences in these styles consist rather in the finish¬ 
ing than in other respects. The most beautiful 
Grecian structures were erected in the period 
included between 650 and 324 b. c. In general, 
the Greek buildings were adorned with paint¬ 
ings and sculptures, and the details were en¬ 
riched by magnificent colors. The most remarka¬ 
ble edifices of the Greeks were temples dedi¬ 
cated to the cause of patriotism, of which class 
the Parthenon at Athens, which still remains, is 
the most famous. They built large theaters 
capable of seating 20,000 spectators and pro¬ 
vided them with general conveniences for the 
assemblage of large numbers. Ruins of many 
Grecian structures are still found in Sicily, 
Greece, and Asia Minor. With the death of 
Alexander the Great, Grecian architecture rap¬ 
idly declined. 

Roman Architecture. The Romans patterned 
largely from the Greeks, and built after their 
style in the construction of theaters, temples, 
bridges, aqueducts, baths, triumphal arches, and 
private residences. Their orders included also 
the Tuscan and Composite styles. The Titus 


ARCHITECTURE 


111 


ARCHITECTURE 


arch at Rome is one of their finest structures. 
In the reign of Augustus the architecture of 
Rome attained its greatest perfection, which is 
evidenced by the fact that many magnificent 
edifices of his period are still intact. In the 
construction of aqueducts and sewers, the 



Romans were especially skillful, in which they 
made extensive use of the arch. They built vast 


baths, or thermae, suitable for use by a multitude 
of people at the same time. Their architecture 
was not only utilitarian, but combined with that 
essential feature an imposing and costly appear¬ 
ance. Roman architecture began to decline 
:! soon after the death of Hadrian, in 138 a. d. 

Byzantine Architecture. At the time of 
Constantine the Christians were permitted to 
build places of worship. Their architecture still 
1 marks by its peculiarities many of the churches 
of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The style 
of architecture adopted by these Christians is 
known as the Byzantine, from Byzantium, once 


the capital of Rome. Saint Sophia, at Constan¬ 
tinople, is one of the finest churches built in this 
style, but it has been converted into a Turkish 
mosque. It was constructed by Justinian, and 
to it were applied the fundamental principles 
of the Roman arch. Its magnificent dome is 
the most striking feature of the building. With 
the fall of Rome the most beautiful and val¬ 
uable works of ancient architecture were de¬ 
stroyed by the Vandals, Goths, and other bar¬ 
barians of Europe and Western Asia. Soon 
after other styles of architecture were intro¬ 
duced by the Normans and Lombards. The 
former flourished in England in the 13th cen¬ 
tury, while the latter originated in South Ger¬ 
many as early as the 8th century. With the 
conquest of Spain by the Moors in the 8th cen¬ 
tury, Moorish or Saracenic forms of architec¬ 
ture were introduced into Europe. The most 
noted Moorish building still remaining is the 
Alhambra, near the city of Granada, Spain. The 
early Germans were unskilled in architecture 
and did not make any progress in this line until 
the 8th century, when Charlemagne introduced 
the Roman and Byzantine styles. Later Roman¬ 
esque architecture, in which the semicircular 
arch is prominent, became popular both in 
France and Germany. 

Gothic Architecture. Later the people of 
Germany and France began to develop the mod¬ 
ern Gothic style, with its pointed arches, clus¬ 
tered pillars, vaulted roof, and profusion of 
ornaments. The best forms of architecture in 
England and Scotland are built after the styles 
introduced by the Normans, after their con¬ 
quest of Britain. The finest specimen of Gothic 
architecture in Europe is the Cathedral of Co¬ 
logne, Germany, and the best representative of 
this style in England is Westminster Abbey, 
London. At a later date the windows were 
divided into small panes, the doorways were 
constructed with square tops over pointed 
arches, and other departures from former styles 
were made, as, for instance, "by tracery in 
straight lines instead of waving lines. In the 
17th century England adopted largely what was 
known as the Elizabethan style, divers charac¬ 
teristics of which are still found in many build¬ 
ings in that country. The Gothic style was su¬ 
perseded in Italy by the Renaissance style, 
which was in fact a revival of the classic style 
and aimed rather to make ornamental than 
useful. 

Recent Architecture. Modern* architecture 
is a term used to designate all varieties of 
styles in building since the Renaissance. Though 
not always, it is quite generally in imitation of 
older forms. Private dwellings are of the Re- 








































































ARCHITECTURE 


112 


ARCOLE 


naissance style, while churches are constructed 
more or less after the Gothic. However, mod¬ 
ern architecture employs different materials 
more largely than were employed in former 
times, especially iron and steel. Besides, in 
cities many buildings are of considerable height, 
largely on account of the enormous rise of val¬ 
ues in real estate in the business centers and 
advantages gained by ^location in close proxim¬ 
ity to the great avenues of business. However, 
a building with twenty to fifty stories is no 
disadvantage so far as convenience is con¬ 
cerned, for the reason that the general use of 
elevators has made access to the upper stories 
a matter of only a few moments. In some of 
the great cities of the United States and Can¬ 
ada structures have been erected in which more 
business is transacted in a year, and in many 
more lines, than in whole cities containing a 
population of 10,000 people. Such vast build¬ 
ings are used for department stores and the 
jobbing trade, and in many cases for a large 
combination of interests. 

Modern architecture is so diversified and par¬ 
takes of such a large variety of forms that it 
has become difficult to classify all the different 
styles. The most modern structures erected in 
large cities, sund which are designed for much 
capacity on a small foundation, contain a frame¬ 
work entirely of steel. In these buildings the 
steel frame carries the whole building. Among 



MODERN RESIDENCE. 


the advantages accruing from such architec¬ 
tural styles are rapidity in construction, large 
capacity, great durability, and entire safety from 
fire. Some of the most wonderful and finest 
buildings of recent design are the Masonic Tem¬ 
ple, Chicago; the Union Trust Company’s office, 
St. Louis; and the Singer Building and the 
Metropolitan Life Building, New York City. 
The last mentioned is 48 stories high and is the 
tallest office structure in the world. Other 
buildings quite as substantial and serviceable 
have been constructed in many of the large 
cities of Canada and the United States. A 


personal inspection of any of these will inspire 
feelings of awe and admiration. What a won¬ 
derful transition from the Indian hut of prime- 



MASONIC TEMPLE, CHICAGO. 


val America to the colossal structures witnessed 
in the 20th century! 

ARCH TRIUMPHAL, a decorated arch 
built by the Romans to celebrate a victory, and 
through which a victorious general and his 
army passed in triumph. This custom grew 
and caused permanent structures, richly sculp¬ 
tured in bronze and stone, to be built after the 
pattern of a city gate. Among the most re¬ 
markable of these arches still remaining in good 
condition are the arch of Trajan at Beneven- 
tum, the arches of Titus and Constantine at . 
Rome, and that of Augustus at Armini. See 
Arc de Triompe de T Etoile. 

ARC LIGHT, a kind of electric light pro¬ 
duced by current of high electro-motive force 
passing between a pair of carbon rods, kept a 
short distance apart, one being in contact with 
the positive and the other with the negative 
terminal of a dynamo. It is unsteady because 
the arc leaps from side to side as the carbon 
wears away, the carbon rods being kept at the 
proper distance by an automatic regulator. The 
arc light is the most brilliant artificial light 
known, and is used for lighting halls, streets, 
and other public places. 

ARCOLE (ar'ko-la), a village in Italy,, on 
the Alpone River, a tributary of the Adige, 15 
miles southeast of Verona. It is celebrated’ for 























ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA 


' 113 


ARCTIC OCEAN 


a decisive battle between the French under Na¬ 
poleon and the Austrians under Aldinczy, on 
Nov. 17, 1796, in which the Austrians were de¬ 
feated. The battle commenced on the 14th of 
November, and in the series of engagements 
the Austrians lost 18,000 men and were com¬ 
pelled to abandon the relief of Mantua, which 
was besieged by a French army. At present 
the population of Arcole is 5,259. 

ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA (ar'kos da 
la fron-ta'ra), a town of Spain, in the province 
of Cadiz, on the Gaudalete River, about 30 
miles northeast of Cadiz. It is the seat of seven 
monasteries, a Gothic church, and a public 
library. Considerable trade is carried on in 
wine, fruit, and tanned leather. Magelhaens 
started from this place in 1569 on his first trip 
to circumnavigate the globe. Population, 1900, 
14,393. 

ARCTIC (ark'tik), the term which implies 
the opposite to Antarctic and has reference to 
the region surrounding the North Pole. The 
North Pole was so named from its proximity 
to the constellation of the bear, called Arktos 
by the Greeks.—Arctic Circle, a circle imagined 
drawn parallel to the Equator, at a distance of 
23° 28' from the North Pole. It includes the 
North Frigid Zone, and is of equal extent to 
the South Frigid Zone, which surrounds the 
South Pole. These are called the two polar 
circles. Within each of these circles occurs a 
period of the year when the sun does not set, 
and another when it is not seen. Each of these 
periods is longest at the poles, at which the days 
and nights are of six months’ duration. 

ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS, the designa¬ 
tion applied to the expeditions designed to pen¬ 
etrate and explore the vast regions surrounding 
the North Pole. Formerly the prime object of 
Arctic explorations was to seek and establish 
a passage by way of the polar regions to Asia, 
but it was also thought for many years, and 
this view is still held by some, that an open sea 
lies near the North Pole. To explore this sup¬ 
posed open expanse and establish a passage by 
it were undoubtedly the objects that first led 
to these expeditions. When it became known 
that passage through these regions is impossi¬ 
ble, expeditions were still sent for the purpose 
of scientific discovery, and to experiment in 
endeavoring to get to or nearest to the pole. 
Up to the present time the farthest point north 
was reached by the Duke of Abruzzi, Prince 
Luigi Amadeo, born in Madrid, Spain, in 1873. 
The following are among the points farthest 
north reached by famous explorers, including 
those of Nansen and of the Duke of Abruzzi, 
both these explorers sailing from Norway: 


YEAR. 

EXPLORERS. 

N. LATITUDE. 

1607 

Hudson. 

80° 23’ 0” 

1773 

Phipps.; 

80° 48' 0" 

1806 

Scoresby . 

81° 12’ 42” 

1827 

Parry. 

82° 50' 0" 

1874 

Meyer (on land) . 

82° 0' 0” 

1875 

Markham and Parr (Nares’ expe¬ 
dition) . 

83° 20’ 26” 

1876 

Payer . 

83° 07' 0” 

1884 

Lockwood (Greeley’s party). 

83° 24' 0” 

1896 

Frithjof Nansen. 

86° 14' 0” 

1900 

Duke of Abruzzi. 

86° 33' 0” 


See Polar Expeditions. 

ARCTIC OCEAN, the ocean which sur¬ 
rounds the North Pole. It is bounded on the 
south mainly by the grand divisions of North 
America, Europe, and Asia, and is wholly in¬ 
cluded within the Arctic Circle. A wide ex¬ 
panse of the sea between Norway and Green¬ 
land connects it with the Atlantic, and it com¬ 
municates with the Pacific by the narrow chan¬ 
nel of Bering Strait. Within it are numerous 
islands, including Nova Zembla, Spitzbergen, 
Franz Josef Land, New Siberia, and the Arctic 
Archipelago of North America. Among the 
principal rivers that .flow into it are the Mack¬ 
enzie, Lena, Obi, and Yenisei. The Arctic Cur¬ 
rent flows southward between Iceland and 
Greenland, doubles Cape Farewell and passes 
into Davis Strait, where it is joined by the 
Labrador Current. A small drift of water 
passes into the Arctic through Bering Strait. 

A large part of the Arctic Ocean is frozen 
during the greater part of the year. Owing 
to dense fogs, floating icebergs, severe storms, 
and long nights, only a comparatively small part 
is accessible to navigators. However, it is a 
prolific source of whales, and many ships visit 
the southern portions annually. The most val¬ 
uable regions for fishing are west of Spitzber¬ 
gen, in the vicinity of Greenland, and in the 
waters contiguous to Alaska. The region of 
Bering Strait yields annually large quantities 
of whales, cod, and walrus. On the eastern 
coast of Siberia are found numerous bones of 
mammoths. These bones are inclosed in ice, 
and are released at the time of the thaws in 
the summer season. Besides fossil remains of 
ivory, there are large beds of wood, some of it 
petrified, and some in an advanced state of 
decay. Some of these wood deposits are forty 
feet below the surface, and indicate that in 
prehistoric times luxuriant vegetation existed in 
the far north, both in Eurasia and North 
America. Sea water freezes at about 28°, and 
the ice reaches a thickness of about seven feet 
in one season, from which the intense cold of 
the polar regions may be understood. 

The icebergs met with in the Arctic Ocean 
reach an enormous thickness, being an accumu- 


8 

















ARCTURUS 


114 ' 


ARGENTINA 


lation of snow and ice that is piled up for many 
years. The presence of these obstructions en¬ 
dangers navigation and makes it necessary that 
exploring expeditions proceed with great cau¬ 
tion. While a region of about 2,500,000 square 
miles surrounding the North Pole is unknown 
to geographers, it is reasonably certain that the 
unknown part is a vast sea of ice. The northern 
lights, known as the aurora borealis, are beau¬ 
tiful illuminations of the Arctic seas, and ex¬ 
tend far into the heavens, hence they may be 
seen a long distance toward the south from the 
north polar regions. They appear in a variety 
of forms. At timks great pillars of light move 
rapidly across the heavens, or the entire north¬ 
ern sky is lit up by one great flash of rapidly 
moving beams. The illuminations more fre¬ 
quently observed consist of arches of fife, from 
which long streamers flash toward the zenith. • 

ARCTURUS (ark-tu'rus), a fixed star, the 
largest in the constellation of Bootes. It is a 
star of the first magnitude, in the northern 
heavens, and may be found by continuing the 
curve of the tail of the Great Bear. 

ARDMORE (ard'mor), a city of Oklahoma, 
in the Chickasaw nation, about ninety miles 
southeast of ^Oklahoma City, on the Atchison, 
Topeka and Santa Fe and other railroads. It 
is surrounded by a fertile farming region, and 
has/a considerable trade in farm produce, live 
stock, and merchandise. Bituminous coal is 
mined in the vicinity. Among the public im¬ 
provements are several fine school and church 
buildings, waterworks, and electric lights. It 
is the seat of Hargrove College. The city was 
incorporated in 1898. Population, 1910, 8,618. 

ARE (ar), the unit of land measure used 
in France. It is equal to 100 square meters, or 
1,076.44 square feet. There are 100 ares in a 
hectare, which is equal to 2.47 acres. 

ARECIBO (a-ra-se'bo), a seaport of Porto 
Rico, on the north coast of the island, 50 miles 
west of San Juan. It is located at the mouth of 
the Arecibo River, but the harbor is shallow and 
cannot be entered by the larger vessels. Several 
churches, the government building, and a num¬ 
ber of public schools are its chief improvements. 
It is on the railroad running along the northern 
coast and has considerable trade in sugar, to¬ 
bacco, and fruit. Population, 1910, 9,612. 

ARENA (a-re'na), the portion of a Roman 
amphitheater where the combats of wild beasts 
and gladiators were exhibited. It was provided 
with four main entrances, and was inclosed by 
a wall fifteen feet high to protect the spectators. 
The floor was covered with sand. The term is 
now applied to places of combat and large sum¬ 
mer theaters. 


ARENDAL ( a'ren-dal), a city in Norway, 
on Bohus Bay, 41 miles northeast of Christian- 
sand. It is built partly on islands and partly on 
the mainland, hence it has been called “Little 
Venice.” It has railroad facilities and a good 
harbor, and carries a large export trade in iron 
and timber. 'Population, 1900, 11,250. 

AREOPAGUS (ar-e-op'a-gus), or Mars 
Hill, a rocky eminence in ancient Athens, situ¬ 
ated near the acropolis, famous as the seat of 
the celebrated council or court known by the 
same name. In this court sat as judges all 
who had filled the archonship without having 
been expelled, though the number varies con¬ 
siderably. The judges occupied seats in the 
open air. It is said that Pericles deprived the 
judges of some of their power and later they 
became responsible to the people, but the court 
still flourished in the time of Emperor Theodo¬ 
sius. Paul plead the cause of Christianity be¬ 
fore this august court, the highest that Athens 
could boast. See Acts xvii., 19-22. 

AREQUIPA (a-ra-ke'pa), a city of Peru, 
in a state of the same name, on the Chile River, 
near the volcano Arequipa. It is surrounded 
by a fertile region, which also produces valua¬ 
ble minerals, including gold and silver. The 
city has railroad connections with Molliendo,- 
its seaport, and also with Cuzco and several 
cities on Lake Titicaca. In the 16th century it 
was nearly buried in ashes thrown from the 
volcano of Misti, and it has since suffered se¬ 
verely from earthquakes. Population, 1903, 
35,500. 

AREZZO (a-ret'so), a city in Italy, capital 
of the province of Arezzo, about 50 miles 
southeast of Florence. It has railroad conven¬ 
iences, two colleges, and an extensive museum. 
The manufactures embrace silk textiles and 
ironware, and it has a brisk trade in fruit and 
cereals. Arezzo was founded by the Etruscans, 
and is the birthplace of Petrarch, Cesalpino, 
Maecenas, and Pietro Aretino. Population 
(commune), 1901, 44,316. 

ARGAND LAMP (ar'gand), a lamp in¬ 
vented by Aime Argand, a Swiss chemist, in 
1782, and designed for burning oil. In this 
lamp a wick in the form of a hollow cylinder 
is used, which permits a current of air to 
ascend, so the supply of oxygen is increased, 
thus diminishing the waste of carbon and in¬ 
creasing the amount of light. This burner, sup¬ 
plied with a glass chimney to create a draft, 
is used extensively in kerosene lamps. 

ARGENTINA (ar-jen-te'na), or Argentine 
Republic, a republic of South America, next to 
Brazil the largest country of that continent. It 
is bounded on the north by Bolivia and Para- 


ARGENTINA 


115 


ARGENTINA 


guay; east by Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and 
the Atlantic; south by the Atlantic and Chile, 
and west by Chile. The length from north to 
south is about 2,100 miles, and the width ranges 
from 200 miles in the south to nearly 1,000 
miles in the north. A portion of the island of 
Tierra del Fuego, the eastern part, and several 
islands along its coast are included as posses¬ 
sions of the republic. 

Description. Along the western boundary 
are the elevated ranges of the Andes, which 
separate Argentina from Chile, and the north¬ 
ern part is more or less elevated and hilly. A 
few ranges of mountains characterize the coun¬ 
try east of the Andean Plateau, such as the 
Sierra de C6rdoba and the Ventana Highlands, 
but the larger part of the surface is slightly un¬ 
dulating in the central part and quite level 
along the Atlantic. coast. Among the natural 
features of the country are its extensive plains, 
which occupy more than three-fourths of the 
surface. In the south are the plains of Pata¬ 
gonia, in the central part are the pampas, and 
in the northeastern section are the Chico plains.. 
The plains are fertile in the region where rain¬ 
fall is abundant and abound in luxuriant vege¬ 
tation. Along the streams are belts of valuable 
forests, but the plains of Patagonia are almost 
treeless, though they have a growth of shrubs, 
herbs, and tufty grass. The soil is from three 
to eight feet deep, made largely by decaying 
vegetable matter, under which is a sedimentary 
subsoil made by alluvial deposits. 

The drainage is wholly toward the south and 
east into the Atlantic. On the eastern border is 
the Uruguay, which separates the country from 
Brazil and Uruguay. The Parana, which forms 
a part of the boundary with Paraguay, receives 
the Rio Salado and the Pilcomayo, and dis¬ 
charges a large volume of water into the Rio 
de la Plata. Among the streams that flow di¬ 
rectly into the Atlantic are the Colorado, the 
Negro, the Chubut, the Deseado, and the Chico. 
Many fresh-water lakes abound in the table¬ 
lands east of the Andes, including lakes Chi- 
quila, Amarga, Porongos, Musters, and Viedma. 
Lake Buenos Ayres, the source of the Deseado 
River, is in the south central part. Along the 
eastern shore are numerous inlets and bays, in¬ 
cluding the Bay of Samborombon and the gulfs 
of San Matias, Nueva, and San Jorge. 

The climate ranges from the subtropical 
region of the north to the cold belt of the south. 
In the northern part the hottest months have 
an average temperature of 80 , while the ex¬ 
tremes range from 30° in July to 105 in Jan¬ 
uary. Tn the cold belt of the south the temper¬ 
ature frequently falls below the freezing point. 


A semiarid region stretches through the south¬ 
ern part, but the central and northern Sections 
have an abundance of rainfall, from 30 to 70 
inches, amply sufficient for all agricultural pur¬ 
poses. Sudden changes occur jin the weather 
on the pampas, where the cool, dry winds from 
the south are frequently followed by the moist, 
hot winds from the north. 

Mining. Although the mineral resources of 
the country are extensive, they have received 
but little attention. Mining is confined chiefly 
to the mountain districts in the west, where con¬ 
siderable quantities of tin, nickel, copper, iron, 
gold, silver, and precious stones are obtained. 
Marble of a good quality is found in the Sierra 
de Cordoba, but it is not quarried extensively. 
Mineral waters of a superior quality are abun¬ 
dant in the western highlands. Other minerals 
include petroleum, natural gas, salt, mica, and 
borate of soda. 

Agriculture. Farming is the most important 
industry, but the country is sparsely settled and 
admits of material development. The leading 
cereals grown in Canada and the United States 
yield good returns, such as wheat, barley, oats, 
maize, and rye, but wheat continues to be the 
most important crop. Among the minor farm 
products are cotton, tobacco, linseed, canary 
seed, rice, and sugar cane. Silk culture has 
been introduced successfully in the northern 
part, where the climate is particularly favorable 
for the cultivation of the mulberry tree. Other 
products include coffee, potatoes, peanuts, and 
hay. The country has large interests in the 
live-stock industry, especially in cattle, horses. 
Swine, and sheep. Among the minor domestic 
animals grown extensively are goats, mules, and 
poultry. Immigration from Europe is having 
a marked and favorable influence upon the de¬ 
velopment of the industries, especially upon 
farming and stock raising. 

Manufactures. Comparatively little atten¬ 
tion has been given to the manufacturing enter¬ 
prises until within recent years. A large ma¬ 
jority of the products consist of materials that 
are produced and partially finished for exporta¬ 
tion, such as leather, lumber, and packed or 
cured'meat. Flour and grist mills are oper¬ 
ated in many sections of*the country, and sagar 
refineries are well distributed throughout the 
region where sugar cane is grown. Among the 
general manufactures are boots and shoes, 
clothing, earthenware, furniture, chemicals, and 
farming machinery. 

Transportation. Argentina has an extensive 
coast on the Atlantic, and many of the laiger 
streams are important as avenues for transpor¬ 
tation. This is true in particular of the La 


ARGENTINA 


116 


ARGENTINE 


Plata and the Parana, which are navigated 
about 1,200 miles, and some of the larger trib¬ 
utaries are accessible by small craft. While the 
southern section is almost destitute of railroads, 
many lines have been built and are operated in 
the northern section. Buenos Ayres, Rosario, 
and Santa Fe are the chief railroad centers. A 
transcontinental line extends from Buenos 
Ayres to Valparaiso, a Pacific seaport in Chile. 
The lines in operation include a total of 15,500 
miles. Electric railways are operated in many 
of the larger cities and towns, from which nu¬ 
merous branches extend to interurban points. 

Commerce. Argentina stands at the head of 
countries in South America both in domestic 
and foreign commerce. Foreign trade is largely 
with Great Britain, Germany, the United States, 
Italy, France, and Belgium, in the order named, 
and the principal ports are at Buenos Ayres 
and Rosario. The imports somewhat exceed 
the exports, but both give evidence of consid¬ 
erable development the past decade. Among 
the leading imports are iron and metal goods, 
paper, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, and ma¬ 
chinery. The exports include timber products, 
minerals, hides, cereals, flour, and dressed meat. 

Government. Argentina is a constitutional 
republic, and the present constitution dates from 
1853, but it was materially amended in 1860 and 
in 1898. The executive authority is vested in 
a president, elected for a term of six years, but 
he is not eligible to reelection. He is assisted 
by a ministry of eight secretaries of state, who, 
like the president, are responsible to congress, 
the legislative branch. The senate consists of 
thirty members, two from each province' and 
two from the capital, and the house of depu¬ 
ties is composed of 120 members. Justice is 
administered by federal and provincial courts, 
and the highest authority is vested in the fed¬ 
eral supreme court. At present the country is 
divided into fourteen provinces and ten terri¬ 
tories. Each province has its local executive, 
legislature, and system of courts, but the terri¬ 
tories are administered under the direct super¬ 
vision of the national government. Gold is the 
standard of value. The peso is the monetary 
unit, valued at about $.965 in the money of Can¬ 
ada and the United States. A peso has 100 
centavos. The principal sources of revenue 
are import duties and excise taxes, but direct 
taxes are levied by the provinces and smaller 
subdivisions. 

Education. The system of public schools was 
organized in 1870 and is supervised by the de¬ 
partment of public instruction. Aid is given 
by the general government to numerous col¬ 
leges and universities, but each province has 


direct charge of the public schools within its 
own boundaries. In this respect the educational 
system resembles that of Canada and the United 
States. All children between the ages of six 
and sixteen years are required to attend school, 
but the compulsory attendance provision is not 
enforced strictly in the sparsely settled districts. 
A number of technical schools and normal in¬ 
stitutes for the training of teachers are in a 
flourishing condition. Spanish is the official and 
spoken language. The Roman Catholic faith 
is that of the state, but freedom of religion is 
guaranteed to all under the constitution. 

Inhabitants. Nearly one-half of the people 
reside in towns and cities, a circumstance rarely 
met with in new and partially undeveloped coun¬ 
tries. About one-third of the inhabitants are 
of foreign birth, and this element consists 
chiefly of Italians, Spaniards, Frenchmen, Ger¬ 
mans, and English. Buenos Ayres, on the La 
Plata, is the capital and largest city. Other 
cities of importance include Cordova, Rosario, 
Tucuman, La Plata, Salta, and Corrientes. In 
.1905 Argentina had a population of 5,678,198. 

History. The first European explorers of 
the region now included in Argentina were the 
Spanish, who visited the Rio de la Plata in 1516. 
They sailed under the leadership of Juan Diaz 
de Solis, who left Europe with an expedition 
to search for a southwestern passage to the 
East Indies. All who sailed with the company 
failed to return, and it is supposed they were 
captured and killed by the Indians. In 1519 
the King of Portugal sent Magellan on an ex¬ 
pedition to explore the southern part of South 
America. He sailed through the strait that 
bears his name and claimed a large portion of 
the mainland, including the Rio de la Plata and 
the present site of Buenos Ayres, for Portugal. 
By the end of the 16th century Argentina be¬ 
came a Spanish possession and continued as 
such until 1810, when it cast off the dominion 
of the Spanish crown. Ten years later inde¬ 
pendence was formally declared, but the country 
was not freed until after undergoing a series 
of wars. Spain recognized its independence in 
1842. Buenos Ayres undertook to set up a re¬ 
public in 1854, but it was defeated and obliged 
to reenter the confederation in 1859. A revo¬ 
lution in 1890 on account of political corruption 
and subsequent boundary disputes with Chile 
and Bolivia are among the more recent events. 

ARGENTINE (ar'jen-tln), a city of Kan¬ 
sas, in Wyandotte County, about four miles 
west of Kansas City, on the Atchison, Topeka 
and Santa Fe Railroad. It has electric lights, 
waterworks, and other conveniences. The 
city has manufactures of ironware, furniture, 



ARGON 


117 


ARITHMETIC 


and tobacco products, and is the seat of large 
gold and silver smelting works. Other indus¬ 
tries include elevators and railroad repair 
shops. Population, 1904, 6,230. 

ARGON (ar'gon), an element contained in 
the atmosphere, which possesses the property 
of being chemically inert, and was recently 
discovered by Lord Rayleigh and Professor 
Ramsey of England. It is estimated that one 
per cent, of atmospheric air is argon. This ele¬ 
ment is heavier than nitrogen but somewhat 
resembles it. The discoverers were each award¬ 
ed a prize of $10,000, one from the French 
Academy of Science and the other from the 
Smithsonian Institution. The National Acad¬ 
emy of Sciences of the United States awarded 
Lord Rayleigh the Barnard Medal in 1895. 

ARGOS (ar'gos), a city of ancient Greece, 
situated in the northeastern part of the Pelo¬ 
ponnesus, in the region known as Argos. It 
was founded about 1500 b. c., and is be¬ 
lieved to be the most ancient city of Greece. 
Homer mentions it in connection with the 
Trojan War, at which time it was a noted cen¬ 
ter of influence, and its people were called 
Argives. It contained many temples to the gods, 
among them the temple of Hera, of which re¬ 
mains have been excavated by recent explorers. 
Argos played an important part in the his¬ 
tory of Greece, both in ancient and compara¬ 
tively modern times. The modern city of Ar¬ 
gos, a railroad and commercial town, has a 
population of 11,500. 

ARGUS (ar'gus), a creature mentioned in 
Greek mythology, and supposed to have had 
a hundred eyes, of which only two slept at 
a time. Juno employed Argus to watch the 
priestess Io, who had been transformed into 
a heifer. This being was lulled to sleep by 
Mercury, who played soothing tunes on the 
pipe of Pan, and was slain by Hermes. It is 
said that Juno afterward transferred the eyes 
of Argus to the tail of the peacock. 

ARID REGION (ar'id), a tract or district 
in which the rainfall is not sufficient for the 
successful cultivation of crops. The line of 
demarkation between the humid and arid re¬ 
gions is usually irregular, being influenced more 
or less by the direction of prevailing winds, 
the character of the surface, and the time of 
year when the rains occur. It is assumed by 
most writers that the plains of North Amer¬ 
ica lying between the Rocky Mountains on 
the west and the 100th meridian on the east 
comprise an arid region, and besides this large 
scope of country there are districts in the 
Rocky Mountains and the Pacific coast plain 
where- the precipitation is too small to con¬ 


duct agriculture without irrigation. A mean 
annual rainfall of 20 inches is the approxi¬ 
mate minimum, but if the rains occur princi¬ 
pally in the growing season less is required. 
Between the arid regions and those having 
sufficient rainfall is usually a belt of country 
in which farming is successful in relatively 
moist years and a failure in others. However, 
it is thought that the improvement of a prairie 
country by cultivation and the planting of 
trees cause rains to become more regular and 
abundant. This, for instance, is true of a 
large part of the Staked Plains, or Llano Esta- 
cado of Texas, which was formerly thought 
to. be too dry for farming, but in recent years 
has become well settled by those interested 
in mixed farming and stock raising; 

The arid region of North America extends 
from central Mexico to north central British 
America, but its boundary east and west is 
very irregular. The southern part of Alberta, 
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, 
Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and the north cen¬ 
tral part of Mexico are included in this re¬ 
gion. In addition are to be included the west¬ 
ern parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Ne¬ 
braska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and a part of 
Idaho, northwestern Texas, eastern Washing¬ 
ton and Oregon, and a large part of California. 
See Irrigation. 

ARIES' (a'ri-ez), the ram, a sign of the 
zodiac, the first 30° measured from the point at 
which the equator intersects the ecliptic. The 
sun enters Aries the 21st of March. At pres¬ 
ent the sign Aries is about 30° west of the 
original sign, in the constellation Pisces. 

ARISTOCRACY (ar-is-tok'ra-sy), a form 
of government by which the wealthy and noble, 
or any small privileged class, rule over the mass 
of citizens. It signifies a government of the 
best, or by the best. The ruling officers hold 
their position by right of birth or by appoint¬ 
ment, and include mostly the nobility or chief 
persons of the state. 

ARITHMETIC (a-rith'me-tik), a sci¬ 
ence that treats of numbers and of the art of 
computation by means of them. It is usually 
considered either abstract or practical. Abstract 
arithmetic includes notation, numeration, addi¬ 
tion, subtraction, multiplication, division, frac¬ 
tions, measures, multiples, powers, and roots. 
Practical arithmetic embraces the application of 
the abstract with rules, such as reduction, com¬ 
pound addition, subtraction, multiplication, and 
division; proportion, aliquot parts, interest, profit 
and loss, etc. However, the fundamental prin¬ 
ciples of arithmetic *are addition, subtraction, 
multiplication, and division, and these are em- 


ARITHMETIC 


118 


ARIZONA 


ployed more or less in all arithmetical computa¬ 
tions. 

The ancients, even the Greeks and Romans, 
made little progress in this science, owing to 
their clumsy means of notation. The most im¬ 
portant writings that have come down to us 
from them are those of Archimedes, Euclid, 
Nicomachus, and Diophantus. After the intro¬ 
duction of the Arabic numerals, which occurred 
about the 11th century, arithmetic began to as¬ 
sume greater convenience in form and came 
to be better known. The Arabic scale of nota¬ 
tion is the one now universally used and con¬ 
sists of the following ten digits : 1, 2, 3,4,5,6, 
7, 8, 9, 0. Each digit is given a value de¬ 
pendent upon its place occupied in a num¬ 
ber made up of several figures. It increases in 
a tenfold proportion from the right toward the 
left in whole numbers', and decreases in a ten¬ 
fold proportion from left toward right in deci¬ 
mal fractions. Thus any value from the largest 
to the smallest can be definitely stated by this 
system. 

The Roman system came into use with the 
ascendency of the Romans. They employed 
several letters to express numerical values. The 
letters employed are the following: I, V, X, L, 
C, D, M, and express values in this order re¬ 
spectively: 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1,000. When 
a letter is written after another letter of the 
same or greater value, they express together 
the sum of their value. Thus, 11=2; XII= 
12; XXV=25; CX=110; MX=1,010. When 
a letter is written before another letter of 
greater value, the two together express the 
difference of their value. Thus, IV=4; IX 
—9; XL=40; XC=90; CM=900. A bar 

placed over a letter multiplies its value by a 
thousand. Thus, v=5,000; l=50,000 ; m= 

1 , 000 , 000 . 

In the study of arithmetic the three stages of 
mental development involved should be carefully 
kept in view. The earliest stage requires a 
large proportion of work in the concrete. The 
faculties chiefly exercised at this time are obser¬ 
vations, or perception, and memory, and a be¬ 
ginner is not able to formulate thought, or to 
derive benefit from abstract or formal state¬ 
ments of principles or processes. In the inter¬ 
mediate stage the reasoning faculties, such as 
abstraction and judgment, come into prominence, 
and at this time the student needs to’acquire a 
clear perception of the definition and principle 
involved, and be able to state and define at¬ 
tract terms intelligently. The ultimate stage is 
reached when the mental powers are so matured 
and trained that the student is competent to re¬ 
ceive instruction from the abstract or formal 


statement of propositions. Definitions, princi¬ 
ples, propositions, and statements of processes 
may be stated to a student at this time before 
the illustration or demonstration of the pro¬ 
cesses involved is given. 

ARITHMETICAL SIGNS (a-rith-met'i- 
cal), the signs or symbols used to designate 
the operations to be performed, or the facts 
to be obtained. The following are the com¬ 
mon signs used in arithmetic: -j- signifies 
that the numbers between which it is placed 
are to be added; X, that the former is to be 
multiplied by the latter; —, that the latter is 
to be subtracted from the former; -s-, that 
the former is to be divided by the latter; =, 
that the number or the process is equal to the 
number following ; and :, ::, : are signs used 
between the <nembers of a proportional series, 
as 6:12::8:16. A period placed to the left of 
a figure, or a series of figures, indicates that 
they are decimal fractions, as .206. 

ARIZONA (ar-i-z6'na), a Territory of the 
United States, bounded on the north by Utah, 
east by New Mexico, •south by Mexico, and west 
by California and Nevada. The larger part of 



1, Phoenix; 2, Tucson; 3, Prescott. 

Chief railways are shown by dotted lines. 

the western boundary is formed by the Colo¬ 
rado River. The breadth from east to west is 
about 335 miles, and the length from north to 
south is 350 miles. It has an area of 113,020 
squares miles, of which about 100 square miles 
is water surface. 

Description. The surface is largely elevated 
and mountainous. The highlands consist of a 
portion of the Rocky Mountains and attain 









ARIZONA 


119 


ARIZONA 


heights of from 12,000 to 14,000 feet. Among 
the principal ranges are the Mogollon Mesa, in 
the east; the Santa Ana and Dragon, in the 
south; the Granite Wash, in the west; the 
Santa Catalina, in the southeast; and the Gila, 
San Francisco, and Black Mesa, toward the cen¬ 
ter and northwest. The high plateaus and 
mountains are furrowed by rivers whose beds, 
in some places, are 6,000 feet below the level of 
the surface. Buttes and mesas characterize the 
aspect of the plains in many localities, and many 
of the streams are dry a large part of the year. 

The drainage is by the Colorado and its tribu¬ 
taries. The latter include the Little Colorado, 
the Gila, and the Bill Williams Fork. The Salt 
and Rio San Pedro discharge into the Gila 
River.* The Colorado, one of the great rivers 
of North America, passes through the north¬ 
western part of Arizona and separates it on 
the western boundary from Nevada and Cali¬ 
fornia. It discharges into the Gulf of .Cali¬ 
fornia after passing through a part of Mexico. 
It is navigable about 500 miles from its mouth, 
but navigation is somewhat hindered by the 
rapid flow of its waters. The total fall of the 
river within Arizona is more than 3,000 feet. 
In its course it flows through the Grand Can¬ 
yon of the Colorado, whose vertical walls rise 
to a height of from 4,000 to 6,000 feet. These 
walls are vast sections of almost horizontal 
strata, and, with the smaller canyons of the 
tributaries of the Colorado, present well-marked 
geological formations in regular order to a 
depth of 25,000 feet. 

Arizona is located in the arid region (q. v.) 
of North America, but the climate is healthful 
and the sky is clear a larger number of days 
than in any other part of the United States. 
The mean annual temperature of the northern 
part is 45°, while in the southern section it is 
placed at 69°. Rain falls more abundantly in 
the northern than in the southern part, being 
about 20 inches annually in the former, while in 
the southern half it ranges from 10 to 13 inches. 
Vegetation is correspondingly scant, but bunch 
grass and pasture lands are abundant. The 
soil in the valleys is fertile, which is true of most 
of the level land, but in some parts alkali occurs 
quite extensively in the soil. The plants and 
animals are about the same as those found in 
southern California and New Mexico. 

Mining. Mineral-bearing land is found in a 
large part of Arizona, and the mining industry 
is being developed as rapidly as the transporta¬ 
tion facilities will permit. In the production of 
copper the Territory takes high rank, having ex¬ 
tensive and valuable deposits. In the output 


of this mineral it is surpassed only by Montana 
and Michigan, and the product is about one-fifth 
of the total output of the United States. Gold 
mining is next in importance, the annual out¬ 
put being about $2,750,000, and the- output of 
silver is placed at $1,130,000 per year. Other 
minerals are lead, salt, tin, quicksilver, gypsum, 
and precious stones, including onyx, opal, garnet, 
and sapphire. Marble and building stone are 
abundant. Near‘Holbrooke is a section where 
a large amount of petrified trees are found, fre¬ 
quently referred to as the petrified forest. 

Agriculture. Stock raising is the chief in¬ 
dustry, but irrigation on a large scale is fast 
extending all classes of farming. The govern¬ 
ment constructed the Salt River Dam, thereby 
redeeming a large scope of arid land, and ir¬ 
rigation is employed in the vicinity of Phoenix 
and other places. Alfalfa is an important crop 
and is grown largely. The cultivation of wheat, 
barley, and oats is receiving marked attention, 
and the acreage devoted to fruit culture is be¬ 
ing extended largely, especially in the southern 
part, where the semitropical varieties are grown, 
such as almonds, figs, and raisin grapes. Pota¬ 
toes, apples, and vegetables flourish in all parts 
of the Territory. 

Manufacturing and Transportation. Man¬ 
ufacturing enterprises have been developed to 
some extent, though the smelting and refining of 
copper remain the chief enterprises. Among the 
general manufactures are flour and grist, butter 
and cheese, eathenware, and timber products. An 
abundance of coal and considerable other mate¬ 
rial of value are factors contributing to the de¬ 
velopment of manufacturing enterprises, espe¬ 
cially in the preparation of material used in the 
building trades. The only navigable river is the 
Colorado, but: it is available for navigation only 
in its lower course. Railroad building has re¬ 
ceived marked attention, and trunk lines of the 
Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe cross the Ter¬ 
ritory, furnishing convenient means of trans¬ 
portation to the east as well as to the Pacific 
coast. In 1908 the lines included a total of 
2,115 miles and several electric railways were 
in operation. 

Inhabitants. In 190.0 there were only 1.1 in¬ 
habitants to the square mile, of which about 
twenty per cent, were of foreign birth, mostly 
Mexicans. Excellent schools are maintained by 
a system of taxation and public grants, including 
the two normal schools at Temple and Flagstaff 
and the university at Tucson. The asylum for 
the insane is at Phoenix and the penitentiary at 
Yuma. A number of libraries, benevolent and 
charitable institutions, and scientific and edu¬ 
cational associations are maintained. Phoenix is 


ARIZONA UNIVERSITY 


120 


ARKANSAS 


the capital. Jerome, Prescott, Tucson, and Yuma 
are thriving business centers. Arizona, in 1900, 
had a population of 122,212, a gain of 125 per 
cent, in ten years. The Indian population was 
26,480. Population, 1910, 204,354. 

History. A powerful race resembling the Az¬ 
tecs inhabited the region occupied by Arizona be¬ 
fore it was visited by white men. This is evi¬ 
dent from the fact that ruins of aqueducts, forti¬ 
fications, and cities have been discovered in many 
of the valleys, and there are traces of large ir¬ 
rigation canals maintained by the early inhab¬ 
itants. A Spanish expedition explored the coun¬ 
try in 1539, and the following year a second ex¬ 
pedition visited the section. The Apaches and 
other tribes of Indians resisted the pioneers who 
undertook to make settlements, and little prog¬ 
ress was made until after the Mexican Revo¬ 
lution of 1827, when the mines that had been 
opened at Tucson and Tubac began to attract 
considerable attention and ranching began to 
yield returns. Arizona was acquired by the 
United States in 1848 as a result of the Mex¬ 
ican War, though a tract south of the Gila be¬ 
longed to the Mexican state of Sonora, and 
this was secured by the Gadsden Purchase (q. 
v.). It was a part of New Mexico until 1863, 
when it was made a separate Territory. Ef¬ 
forts to have it admitted as a State were made 
in 1905, and Congress took some action to unite 
Arizona and New Mexico as one State, but the 
proposition was not accepted, and up to 1908 it 
still remained a Territory. 

ARIZONA, University of, an educational 
institution located at Tucson, Ariz. It was es¬ 
tablished in 1885, is coeducational, and is at¬ 
tended by about 250 students. The library con¬ 
tains 7,500 volumes, and the courses include 
academic and higher branches of study. The 
buildings and ground are valued at $165,000. 

ARJISH (ar-jesh'), a river of Rumania, 
rises in the Carpathian Mountains, and flows into 
the Danube after a course of 175 miles. It 
passes through a fertile country. 

ARK (ark), the vessel built by Noah, and in 
which he and his family and many animals were 
preserved during the flood. It was 525 feet long, 
87j^ feet wide, and 52^2 feet high, and was 
built to float and not for speed. In the Bible 
the word ark is applied to the basket in which 
Moses was found by the daughter of Pharaoh, 
and also to the ark of the covenant. 

ARKANSAS (ar'kan-sa), a south central 
State of the United States, bounded on the north 
by Missouri, east by Tennessee and Mississippi, 
south by Louisiana, and west by Texas and 
Oklahoma. The greatest length from north to 
south is 275 miles; breadth, 240 miles; and area, 


53,850 square miles. It has a water surface of 
805 square miles. The State was named from 
the Arkansas River, which flows diagonally 
through it from northwest to southeast. It is 
popularly 
called the 
Bear State. 

Description. 

The surface 
slopes toward 
the southeast, 
and in the di¬ 
rection of the 
A rkans a s 
River, from 
elevations i n 
the northwest. 

Along the 
Mississippi, 



00 MILES. 


ARKANSAS. 

» • 1, Little Rock: 2, Pine Bluff; 3, Hot 

particularly in Springs; 4, Fort Smith, 
the southeast- Chief railways are shown by dotted 
e r n> part of lines * 

the State, are low and marshy tracts, sub¬ 
ject to overflow where the low bottoms are not 
protected by artificial embankments, while the 
interior of the State is generally undulating. 
Much of the surface is highly fertile, especially 
the alluvial tracts in the eastern part. ' In the 
northern part are ranges of the Ozark Moun¬ 
tains, which extend into it from Missouri, and 
attain a height of about 2,800 feet. Smaller ele¬ 
vations wholly within the State, known as the 
Black Hills and the Washita Hills, stretch over 
a considerabe area, but are less elevated. The 
Arkansas River enters the State from Okla¬ 
homa, near Fort Smith, and joins the Missis¬ 
sippi 20 miles north of Arkansas City. This river 
and its tributaries drain the larger part of the 
State. The White River, which crosses the 
boundary from Missouri, receives the Black 
and the Cache rivers, and discharges into the 
Mississippi near the mouth of the Arkansas. 
The Saline, the Ouachita, and the Bartholo¬ 
mew are tributaries of the Red River. The 
Mississippi River, which forms the eastern 
boundary, is important as an avenue of com¬ 
merce. 


The climate as a whole is genial, though ma¬ 
larial fevers are not infrequent in the marshy 
districts during the warm summer season. The 
annual rainfall aggregates forty inches in the 
western part, and about sixty inches in the east¬ 
ern part, while the mean annual temperature is 
placed at 64°. Hot Springs and other cities are 
popular resorts for invalids, especially those 
suffering with pulmonary diseases. The State has 
extensive and valuable forests, virgin growths of 
timber covering a large part of the surface. 








ARKANSAS 


121 


ARKANSAS 


Among the chief varieties are the oak, yellow 
pine, hickory, maple, sycamore, cypress, hack- 
berry, elm, palmetto, cottonwood, and black 
walnut. In the lowlands are extensive cane- 
breaks, and the wild plum, persimmon, whortle¬ 
berry, and other native fruits abound. 

Mining. The region traversed by the Arkan¬ 
sas River has deposits of a fine grade of bitumi¬ 
nous coal, and oil and gas are found in pay¬ 
ing quantities in several parts of the State. An 
excellent grade of whetstone is made from 
salicious rock abundant in the mountains. Other 
' minerals mined largely are bauxite or aluminum 
ore, zinc, lead, nickel, granite, and manganese. 
Slate, sandstone, limestone, and granite are quar¬ 
ried. Mineral waters are obtained at Hot Springs 
and other localities. 

Agriculture. Farming is the chief occupa¬ 
tion, more than half of the area being in farms. 
In the production of cotton, which is the most 
important crop, the State takes seventh rank. 
Corn, wheat, and oats are the most important 
cereals, in the order named, and hay and forage 
crops are correspondingly large. Apples, 
peaches, and strawberries are grown for the 
market. Stock raising is receiving marked at¬ 
tention, expanding as land is cleared and con¬ 
verted into pasture, and dairying has developed 
into a productive enterprise. Horses, cattle, 
mules, swine, and sheep are the principal domes¬ 
tic animals. 

Manufactures. Manufacturing has been of 
secondary consideration, but the large forests 
and extensive mineral interests are stimulating 
development of this branch of industry, partic¬ 
ularly in the output of lumber products and ma¬ 
chinery. Flour and grist, cotton-seed oil and 
cake, and tobacco products are manufactured 
| extensively. The manufacture of cotton tex¬ 
tiles has been increasing to a considerable ex¬ 
tent the past decade, but the larger part of.the 
: raw cotton produced is still exported. Little 
Rock, Pine Bluff, and Fort Smith are the lead¬ 
ing manufacturing and railway centers. 

Transportation and Commerce. The Mis¬ 
sissippi, which forms the eastern boundary, gives 
the State an outlet by water communication to 
many states of the Mississippi valley. Many of 
the rivers within the State are navigable during 
high water, including the Saint Francis, White, 
and Arkansas rivers. While communication, by 
railway does not extend to all the counties, im¬ 
portant lines pass through many sections of the 
State. These include the Saint Louis, Iron Moun¬ 
tain and Southern, the Choctaw, Oklahoma and 
Gulf, the Saint Louis Southwestern, the Kansas 
City Southern, and many other lines. In 1907 
the State had 3,500 miles of railroads. Electric 


railways are operated in the cities and many 
sections of the State where settlements are well 
established. Large quantities of fruit are trans¬ 
ported to the northern markets during the early 
spring and summer. Among the leading exports 
are cotton, coal, timber products, and live stock. 
A large share of the foreign commerce is car¬ 
ried through the port of New Orleans, La. 

Education. Advancement in educational af¬ 
fairs in Arkansas has been marked the past few 
years. This helpful uplift is due largely to laws 
passed by the Legislature in 1907, under which 
the county superintendency was established and 
the teaching of elementary agriculture was in¬ 
augurated in the rural schools. This law pro¬ 
vided for the establishment of a State normal 
school for white teachers, located at Conway, a 
town situated about thirty miles west of Little 
Rock, and increased the State levy for school 
purposes from two mills to three mills. The Uni¬ 
versity of Arkansas is located at Fayetteville 
and is in a flourishing condition, having more 
than one thousand students in attendance, and 
being supported by liberal appropriations from 
the State. Among the leading denominational 
schools are Ouachita College and Henderson 
College, at Arkadelphia; Gallaway College, at 
Searcy; Hendrix College and Central Col¬ 
lege, at Conway; Arkansas College, at Bates- 
ville; and Cumberland College, at Clarksville. 
Two institutions are maintained for the higher 
education of , Negroes, including Philander 
Smith College and Arkansas Baptist College, 
both located at Little Rock. The State has 
about forty preparatory schools and academies 
of high rank. Most of the towns have good 
public school systems embracing work of 
the primary, grammar, and high school 
grades. Many educational associations are 
maintained and are doing much in arousing 
public sentiment in favor of better sanitary con¬ 
ditions, school libraries, and better equipment 
for the public schools of the State. 

Government. The present constitution was 
adopted in 1874. It provides for State elections 
to be held biannually, at which the Governor and 
other State officers are elected for a term of 
two years. The right to vote is limited to those 
who have paid poll tax and resided in the pre¬ 
cinct one month, in the county six months, and 
in the State a year. A Senate of 35 members 
and a House of Representatives in which the 
membership cannot exceed 100 comprise the 
legislative department. The judicial system 
embraces the supreme court, the circuit courts, 
and the county court. Local government is ad¬ 
ministered by the counties, municipalities, and 
townships. At Little Rock the State maintains 



ARKANSAS 


122 


ARLINGTON 


institutions for the blind and deaf and the State 
penitentiary, and there is a State prison and a 
hospital for the insane in Pulaski County. 

Inhabitants. In 1900 the State ranked twen¬ 
ty-fifth in the order of population, and the density 
was 24.7 people to the square mile. Immigration 
has not been large, averaging not more than 
about 14,000 per year. A large proportion of the 
people reside in small villages and rural districts, 
and not more than eight places have a popula¬ 
tion exceeding 4,000. The Negro population has 
been increasing more rapidly than that of the 
whites, and in the number of colored inhabitants 
the State ranks tenth. In religious affiliation, 
the membership in churches is represented 
largely in the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyte¬ 
rian, and Christian denominations, in the order 
named. Little Rock, the capital, is the largest 
city. Fort Smith, near the line of Oklahoma, 
Texarkana, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs, and Hel¬ 
ena are among the thriving business centers. 
In 1900 the State had a population of 1,311,564, 
as compared with 1,574,449 in 1910. 

History. The authentic history of Arkansas 
begins with 1641, when a portion of it was ex¬ 
plored by the Spaniards under De Soto. Sub¬ 
sequently explorations were made by the French 
under Joliet, Marquette, La Salle, and Henne¬ 
pin, and in 1682 the region was claimed by 
France. Later it formed a part of Spain, was 
then ceded to France, and in 1803 was secured 
as a part of the Louisiana Purchase by the 
United States. The first permanent settlement 
was made by the French at Arkansas Post in 
1695. It was organized as a Territory in 1819 
and became a State in 1836, and in 1861 seceded 
to join the Southern Confederacy. A constitu¬ 
tion prohibiting slavery was ratified by a vote 
of the people in 1868, and a new constitution 
was adopted in 1874. Since 1876 it has made 
rapid development of its resources, especially 
in agriculture and mining. 

ARKANSAS, an important river of the 
United States, rises in Colorado, flows through 
Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, and joins the 
Mississippi after a course of 2,170 miles. The 
chief tributaries include the Cimarron, Grand, 
and Verdigris rivers. It drains a basin of 190,- 
000 square miles, and its lower course is naviga¬ 
ble for steamboats nine months in the year. 
There are periodical overflows near its mouth, 
the difference in depth between the dry and the 
wet seasons being not less than twenty feet. 
A large proportion of its water in the upper 
course is used for irrigation. Among the chief 
cities on its banks are Pine Bluff, Little Rock, 
and Fort Smith. 

ARKANSAS, University of, a State insti¬ 


tution located at Fayetteville, Ark., established 
in 1872. It is supported by Federal and State 
endowments and appropriations, and with it are 
affiliated a normal college at Pine Bluff and the 
medical and law schools at Little Rock. The 
value of its grounds and buildings is $300,000. 
It has forty professors and instructors and is 
attended by 1,200 students. 

ARKANSAS CITY, a city of Kansas, in 
Cowley County, on the Missouri Pacific, the 
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, and other rail¬ 
roads. It is finely situated on the Arkansas 
River about fourteen miles south of Winfield, 
and has considerable jobbing and retail trade. 
The manufactures include clothing, ice, furni¬ 
ture, flour, machinery, earthenware, and tobacco 
products. It is the seat of a United States 
Indian school, and has two parks, a public li¬ 
brary, and city waterworks. In the vicinity are 
deposits of coal and natural gas. The city was 
incorporated in 1871. Population, 1904, 7,124. 

ARLBERG (arl'berg), a mountain pass in 
Austria, between the Rhaetian and the Lech Alps. 
A highway was located and improved across the 
mountains in 1786 and it remained the only 
means-of communication from points in Austria 
to Vorarlberg until 1880, when a railroad was 
built. This line passes through the Arlberg Tun¬ 
nel, situated between Sanct Anton and Langen, 
a distance of six and a half miles. The tunnel 
has an elevation of 4,260 feet above the sea. 
The cost of construction was $7,500,000. 

ARLES (arlz), a city of France, on the 
Rhone River, 44 miles northwest of Marseilles. 
It has remains of a Roman amphitheater, and 
was the meeting place of several important 
councils of the church between 314 and 475 
a. d. A cathedral and a college are its chief 
buildings. Silk textiles, hats, and wine are 
manufactured here. Population, 1901, 15,506. 

ARLINGTON (ar'ling-tun), a town of Mid¬ 
dlesex County, Massachusetts, six miles north¬ 
west of Boston, on the Boston and Maine Rail¬ 
road. It has a fine public library and several 
commodious church buildings, and is popular 
as a residence suburb. It was formerly a part 
of Cambridge, from which it was separated in. 
1807 and called West Cambridge. Since 1867 
it has been known by the present name. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 9,668; in 1910, 11,187. 

ARLINGTON, a village in Alexandria 
County, Virginia, across the Potomac River 
from Washington, D. C. It was the home of 
Robert E. Lee, but was seized by the govern¬ 
ment at the time of the Civil War, and at pres¬ 
ent is the site of of the Arlington National 
Cemetery. The Lee mansion can be seen from 
Washington’s Monument and other prominent 


ARM 


123 


ARMATURE 


places in the. city of Washington, and is a fine 
specimen of Colonial architecture. The cemetery 
surrounds this building and is the last resting 
place of about 18,500 persons, including many 
of high military rank. The village is reached by 
the Alexandria and Arlington Electric Railway. 
Population, 1900, 3,200. 

ARM (arm), the upper extremity of the hu¬ 
man body, on either side, extending from the 
shoulder to the hand. It consists of two por¬ 
tions : the arm proper, called the upper arm, 
and the forearm, or lower arm. The former has 
one bone, the humerus, which moves freely by 
a ball and socket joint upon the scapula, form¬ 
ing the shoulder joint, while the forearm has 
two bones, the ulna and radius. These two 
bones move on the lower end of the humerus, 
thus forming the elbow joint, and below articu¬ 
late with the bones of the carpus, forming the 
wrist. Motion depends largely upon several 
well-defined muscles, including the deltoid, 
which lifts the arm from the side; the triceps, 
which extend the forearm; and the biceps, 
which govern largely the flexion or bending of 
the ulha and influence the movement of the 
humerus. Blood is supplied to the arm by the 
brachial artery, by the side of which large cords 
of nerves pass. The arm furnishes a fine ex¬ 
ample of muscular development, whose struct¬ 
ure affords excellent illustrations of some of 
the principles of mechanics. 

ARMADA (ar-ma'da), or Invincible Ar¬ 
mada, a Spanish term applied to a powerful 
expedition sent by Philip II. of Spain in 1588 to 
conquer England. The prime object of the ex¬ 
pedition was to strike a decisive blow against 
the Protestant interests, an enterprise that Pope 
Sixtus V. had assigned to him. It was placed 
in command of the Duke of Medina-Sidona. In 
July, 1588, the fleet set sail with 130 large war 
vessels, thirty smaller ships of war, 19,900 mar¬ 
ines, 8,460 sailors, and 2,080 slaves, and was 
armed with 2,631 cannon. Soon after leaving 
Lisbon a heavy storm effected much damage, 
which required a refitting at Corunna. The de¬ 
sign was to pass through the channel and at 
Flanders cooperate with the Duke of Parma, 
who had gathered a force of 35,000 men. Large 
forces were to be landed at several points on 
the British coast, and the Armada was to 
ravage the sea and occupy the English Channel. 
The English organized strong defenses and put 
their fleet under the command of Lord Howard, 
with Drake, Frobisher, and Hawkins as lieuten¬ 
ants. By prompt and brave attacks the landing 
of Parma was prevented, and by dexterous 
seamanship the English were enabled to inflict 
severe damage to the lumber-built vessels of 


Spain. At Dunkirk many Spanish vessels were 
destroyed or captured. It soon became ap¬ 
parent to the Duke of Medina-Sidona that the 
enterprise must be abandoned; accordingly, he 
attempted to sail round the north of Great 
Britain and return home, but his fleet was 
almost destroyed by severe storms. Many of 
the Spaniards attempted to save themselves from 
drowning by escaping to the shore of Ireland, 
but were captured and slain. The enterprise 
was entirely unsuccessful in accomplishing the 
object for which it started out. Spain lost 
seventy-two large vessels and over 10,000 men. 

ARMADILLO (ar-ma-dil'lo), an animal 
native of South America, where it inhabits 
the selvas and pampas in large numbers. It 
is commonly classed with the Edentata or 
toothless animals, but is not entirely toothless. 
Its teeth are molars and are so constructed 
that the upper fit in between the lower. It is 
covered with a hard, bony shell, made up largely 
of bony bucklers and polygonal plates, into 


ARMADILLO. 

which it draws its head and limbs for pro¬ 
tection. The different species attain a length 
of from ten inches to three feet. Their food 
consists chiefly of roots, fruit, worms, and 
insects. The flesh is relished as an article of 
food by the native Indians. Armadillos are 
mammals; the female brings forth from two 
to ten young at a birth. 

ARMATURE (ar'ma-tur), an appliance 
used in permanent and electro-magnets, and 
first introduced in 1895. Its purpose is to 
preserve and increase the magnetism of the 
original bars. It is usually, but not always, 
constructed of thin . sheet-iron rings, around 
an inner soft iron ring, with coils wound 
between toothed edges, and is held in place 
by wooden wedges. The shaft carrying the 
armature is made to revolve rapidly before 
the poles of the permanent magnet. By these 
means the electro-magnetic forces are caused 
to constantly change their direction, hence the 
currents produced are alternating. The number 
of magnetic poles in the field frame and the 
speed of rotation determine the number of times 
per second such currents change their direction. 
In the arc and incandescent lamps, and for 
certain kinds of electric motors, the alternating 














ARMENIA 


124 


ARMOR 


current is used largely. Other armatures are 
used for various purposes. A common form of 
armature consists of a piece of soft iron placed 
in contact with the pole of a magnetic bar to 
preserve its magnetism while not in use. When 
used in this form, it is commonly termed the 
keeper. When a horseshoe magnet is laid aside, 
it should not be separated from its armature, 
and straight-bar magnets should be laid side 
by side in pairs. 

ARMENIA (ar-me'm-a), an ancient country 
of Western Asia, located between the Caspian 
Sea and Asia Minor. It includes the north¬ 
western part of Persia, the southern region 
of Transcaucasia, and the northeastern section 
of Asiatic Turkey, and embraces an area of 
about 187,000 square miles. The surface is 
characterized with high tablelands trav¬ 
ersed by mountains, of which Mount 
Ararat is the most prominent, and much 
of the region is drained by the Tigris and 
Euphrates rivers. A part of the drainage is by 
the Hayls into the Black Sea and by the Aras 
or Araxes into the Caspian Sea. The climate is 
variable but generally heathful. The rainfall is 
scant, the winters are severe, and the summers 
are hot. 

The district includes numerous Persian and 
Turkish settlements, and in the cities are many 
Jews. The Armenians, like the Jews, are 
widely scattered in different countries. Wars 
between them and the Turks have fc>een numer¬ 
ous and were frequently attended with mas¬ 
sacres and rank cruelty, causing Russia and 
other countries to threaten intervention and the 
establishment of a protectorate. In 1895 in¬ 
cursions of Kurdish soldiers committed 
revolting atrocities with the avowed intention 
of exterminating the Armenians and populating 
the district with Mohammedans. This almost 
led to international complications and a dis¬ 
memberment of the Turkish empire, for the 
reason that the Sultan of Turkey, who is some¬ 
times called “The Sick Man of the East,” is 
largely in sympathy with the opponents of 
Christianity. The Turkish government promised 
reforms to a joint commission made up of 
representatives of England, France, and Russia, 
but the pledges were not carried out and in¬ 
discriminate massacres, though less frequent, 
occurred as late as 1908. The total number of 
Armenians is estimated at about 2,500,000, in¬ 
cluding those embraced in the region as 
described. 

Armenia was once a powerful kingdom, and 
was conquered in 325 b. c., by Alexander the 
Great. It remained subject to the Macedonians 
or Syrian-Greeks nearly 200 years, when it 


became independent and was divided into 
Armenia Minor and .Armenia Major. The 
former was made a Roman province in 70 
a. D., and was for a time governed by the 
Byzantines, the Arabs, and the Persians, and 
became a possession of Turkey in 1541. 
Armenia Major was conquered by the Parthi- 
ans about 150 b. c., and passed through suc¬ 
cessive wars and under the control of different 
nations until 1828, when it was made Russian 
territory. At present the entire region that 
comprised ancient Armenia is divided among 
the Turks, the Russians, and the Persians. To 
unite the Armenians into a nation has been the 
ambition of these people, but they remain scat¬ 
tered over Asia Minor and a considerable num¬ 
ber have emigrated to Europe and America. 

The Armenians were adherents to the 
Zoroastrian religion until about 285, when 
Christianity was introduced by Gregory the 
Illuminator, under whose missionaries the king, 
Tiridates III., was converted. A considerable 
number belonged to the Roman and the Greek 
Catholic churches, but the greater part adhere 
to a sect of Christians formerly known as the 
-Monophysites, from which the Armenian 
church was evolved at an early period in the 
history of Christianity. They are industrious, 
intelligent, peaceable, and faithful to their 
church and to their traditions. The Armenian 
language is classed with the Indo-European 
family of languages, being associated with the 
Iranic group, but the spoken form is somewhat 
mixed with words derived from the Tuckish 
and Persian dialects. They have a consider¬ 
able literature, which includes a number of 
representative works on religion, history, and 
the sciences. The Bible was translated into the 
Armenian language as early as the 5th century, 
the translation being by Isaac, the Armenian 
patriarch, and is from the Septuagint version. 

ARMISTICE (ar'mis-tis), a short suspen¬ 
sion of hostilities between two armies or two 
nations at war, concluded by mutual agree¬ 
ment. An armistice is usually agreed upon 
when an endeavor to make peace is pending, 
or when both parties are exhausted. A very 
notable example is the armistice of the 25th of 
February, 1856, when five nations of Europe, 
then at war, agreed to a temporary suspension 
of hostilities with the view of concluding peace. 
The armistice may be either general or partic¬ 
ular. In the former a general cessation of 
hostilities results, while in the latter there is a 
suspension only between two contending armies 
of the nations at war. 

ARMOR ( ar'mer), the defensive arms used 
as a covering to protect the body, worn espe- 











ARMOR PLATE 


125 


ARMS 


daily in war as protection against the weapons 
of a foe. In ancient times this custom was 
general. Homer describes the heroes of the 
Trojan War as equipped with armor. The 
custom of wearing armor reached its greatest 
development in the age of chivalry, when a 
warrior was almost entirely covered. The early 
Britons bore little other armor than their 
shield, but during the Norman conquest the 
Anglo-Saxons were fully equipped with this 
character of protection. When gunpowder 
began to be used largely in warfare, these ap¬ 
pendages went rapidly out of use. In modern 
warfare life is protected by the construction of 
breastworks and forts, and armor plate is used 
to protect ships for the same purpose. 

ARMOR PLATE, the name applied to the 
strong iron or steel plates used to cover war¬ 
ships with the view of rendering them proof 
against gun and cannon fire. The first use 
made of armor plate in naval warfare was in 
1782, in the attack on Gibraltar, when the 
French used bars of iron to protect the hulls 
of their wooden ships. An increased demand 
for armor followed the combat of the Monitor 
and the Merrimac on Hampton Roads in 1862, 
and since then much thought has been given to 
the problem of obtaining the best protection 
that can be devised to overcome the destruc¬ 
tive force of a modern steel-capped projectile. 
It has been found that the best armor plate is 
made of different varieties of steel, a hard 
! surface to break up the projectile, or to deform 
it so as to lessen its power to penetrate, and 
this is backed up by a tough composition which 
i will not crack easily. Nickel steel combines 
; hardness with toughness and its power to resist 
! penetration is about twice that of wrought iron. 
The larger warships are protected by plates 
about a foot thick, and a single plate is about 
nine feet wide and eighteen feet long. Between 
the plates and the iron frame of the ship is a 
packing of teakwood or something similar, 
i which serves to lesson the concussion when the 
! armor plate is struck by projectiles. A large 
| ship carries about 4,000 tons of armor. The 
Mersey works in England, the Krupp works in 
Germany, the Carnegie works in Pittsburg, and 
the works of the South Bethlehem Steel Com- 
[ pany at South Bethlehem, Pa., are the most 
noted manufacturing establishments where 
armor plate is made. 

ARMS (armz), the weapons used for offense 
i and defense in times of war. Some arms are 
l used both for offensive and defensive opera¬ 
tions, but there are some designed only for 
1 one of these purposes. Among those intended 
for offensive operations are pistols, rifles, 


muskets, swords, bayonets,, machetes, and 
cannon; while those designed for defensive 
purposes are shields, cuirasses, greaves, and 
helmets. The class of arms used in warfare 
depends entirely upon the state of civilization 
common to a people. In ancient times, and 
among savage people in modern times, the bow 
and javelin were favorites for long range, and 
the straight dagger for close fighting. The 
Greeks used heavy spears at long range, and 
generally employed short swords when con¬ 
tending parties engaged, in a hand-to-hand 
combat. In Macedon, Alexander the Great 
used the pike, a weapon about twenty feet long, 
to form a phalanx with the view of presenting 
an impregnable wall against both infantry and 
cavalry. This form of weapons continued in 
use more or less during the early civilization of 
Europe, although the Romans preferred and 
used extensively a short massive javelin six 
or seven feet long, which they hurled at their 
antagonists, and in short-range fighting em¬ 
ployed the broadsword. They moved and 
operated in such a manner that each man had 
ample room to wield his instrument of war and 
inflict the greatest possible damage upon the 
enemy. 

The Middle Ages witnessed the use of cav¬ 
alry armed with steel-pointed weapons. The 
lance, battleax, two-handed sword, and mace 
^.were peculiar to thi^ period. At that time the 
lance was a weapon about eighteen feet in 
length, with a butt end almost a foot in dia¬ 
meter some distance from the extremity, and 
was designed to fit the arm. The warriors 
of Scotland, Gaul, Germany, and other regions 
used either pikes, spears, halberds, or bills with 
heavy sideblades. 

Modern firearms date from the 16th century. 
The first to be used was the matchlock musket. 
However, the early pattern was so heavy that 
a rest was required when taking aim, and later 
it was supplied with a bayonet, designed to 
give the musketeers means of defense when In 
close contact with the enemy. The invention of 
the musket added greatly to the use of powder 
as a means of aggressive operation. Arms of 
this class were used largely in the American 
Revolution, and in the Revolution of France 
in 1789. Subsequently many improvements 
were made in all classes of firearms. The per¬ 
cussion lock, revolving pistols, breech-loading 
rifles, self extracting and loading magazine 
guns, and arms especially designed for the use 
of powerful explosives have all had a marked 
influence in offensive and defensive warfare. 
In the war with Spain in 1898 the United 
States supplied her army with the Krag-Jor- 




ARMY 


126 


ARMY 


gensen gun, one of the newer inventions. 
Equipped with these, a skillful soldier can take 
aim and fire twenty or more shots per minute. 
Since several of the great powers employ these 
guns for use in the infantry, they may be con¬ 
sidered among the best military rifles now made. 

ARMY (ar'my), a body of men enlisted, 
brought together, and so drilled, disciplined, and 
armed as to form a vast movable force for 
offense and defense in warfare. It may com¬ 
prise the entire body of military men employed 
by a nation, or a portion of it under a partic¬ 
ular commander. To be of greatest efficiency 
it must be perfect in organization and discipline, 
otherwise it is not available for the highest 
utility in action. A well constituted and dis¬ 
ciplined army implies a trained leader, who 
communicates orders to subordinate command¬ 
ers, and they again transmit to others of 
inferior yank, until, by regularly recognized 
order of transmission, the original command is 
communicated to the private soldier. It is nec¬ 
essary that the army be divided into groups 
gradually decreasing in size so that every por¬ 
tion maybe not only commanded with facility, 
but clothed, fed, armed, and paid. In early 
times warfare was conducted in a stealthy man¬ 
ner from forest, marsh, and wilderness, led by 
the most daring and reckless. In modern times 
war has advanced to an art and is conducted 
by men who have been trained at institutions 
designed to give insight to and skill in manag- v 
ing large affairs. 

Ancient Armies. The earliest history of 
organized armies comes down to us from J:he 
16th century b. c. From this it appears that 
Sesostris, an Egyptian king, maintained a reg¬ 
ular army, equipped, disciplined, and salaried. 
He divided his kingdom into thirty-six military 
provinces, established a national militia, allotted 
lands for the support of the soldier, and used 
this army both in offensive and defensive war¬ 
fare. With it he became a conqueror of North¬ 
ern Africa and a large part of Western Asia. 
Later the Persians extensively fostered mili¬ 
tary art. They organized a standing army, es¬ 
tablished garrisons, equipped infantry and cav¬ 
alry, and provided rules of discipline. The 
Greeks maintained a national militia in various 
small states, which united m one great army 
in times of foreign war. By means of their 
superb organization and strict discipline they 
gained the great victories of Marathon and 
Plataea. The phalanx was originated by the 
Spartans, while the Athenians organized troops 
of cavalry to cover the front of their army and 
harass the enemy in the rear. Philip, the 
father of Alexander the Great, established the 


world’s second standing army, added to the 
efficiency of the phalanx, and made Macedonia 
strong in war. To him is due the early use of 
the pike, a weapon about twenty feet in length 
and efficient in warfare, which, glittering in the 
hands of a solid phalanx, made an almost im¬ 
pregnable array of muscle and steel. In Rome, 
about 200 b. c., all able-bodied men between the 
ages of seventeen and forty-six were liable to 
service upon a call for military duty. The 
Roman soldiers were trained from early child¬ 
hood, as a means of securing both muscular 
development and efficiency in discipline. Magis¬ 
trates enrolled the names of those liable to 
military duty, from which lists were chosen the 
legions of the Roman army, a military force 
excelling all others then known. With a grad¬ 
ual decline in discipline, and a draft of slaves 
and criminals into the service, the decline of 
Roman power commenced. 

Medieval Armies. It is not strange that the 
decline of Rome and the barbarian conquests 
paved the way for a decline of skillful warfare, 
which continued until all organized tactics were 
lost. The invaders from the north possessed 
little learning, and relied upon personal brav¬ 
ery and daring to secure the fortunes of war. 
The armies of the Gauls and Germanic tribes 
represented the nation. During the prevalence 
of the feudal system national armies again ap¬ 
peared, and each chief or baron possessed a 
small army, well equipped, but too small for 
great effect. When the Crusaders organized 
under a great cause to oppose a common enemy, 
they discovered the need of organization and 
discipline. They, accordingly, began to organize 
large forces of foot soldiers, which took the 
place of cavalry. The invention of gunpowder 
effected great changes, but progress in secur¬ 
ing its general use was not rapid for the reason 
that guns and cannon were unknown, and the 
art of making them was slow in developing. 
Besides, each knight was ambitious to distin¬ 
guish himself, and preferred to dash forward 
by himself and engage in personal combat, 
rather than lead an army, direct its movements, 
and gain distinction by leadership. 

Modern Armies. With the use of firearms 
and increased facilities for providing them on 
a larger scale, came gradual changes in modern 
military affairs. The first standing army of 
modern times is ascribed to Turkey, where the 
Janizaries organized an efficient military body 
in the 14th century. However, the modern mili¬ 
tary system dates from the time of Charles VII. 
of France. About the middle of the 15th cen¬ 
tury that king of France first organized an army 
of 9,000 men, and afterward added 16,000 more. 


ARMY 


127 


ARNICA 


During the Thirty Years’ War, including the 
period of 1618-48, Gustavus Adolphus experi¬ 
mented in the use of infantry. His method 
was to spread the forces of infantrymen out to 
a great width, while his opponent, Wallenstein, 
preferred to mass them in a more solid front. 
In the reign of Louis XIV. armies were 
grouped into brigades and divisions; while 
Frederick the Great, a hundred years later, won 
his victories because of skill in discipline. On 
account of prolonged wars military service was 
made legally compulsory in France in 1798. 
Under this statutory requirement every male 
citizen between the ages of twenty-one and 
twenty-five years was liable to four years’ 
service. This plan of Napoleon was later 
adopted by other European nations. 

At present most nations have a standing army 
constituted of several corps, with which is as¬ 
sociated a body, of cavalry, together with army 
reserves of t\yo classes, one subject to immediate 
call and the other a militia or second reserve. 
England is the only one of the great powers 
of Europe in which military service has not 
been made compulsory, but the recent war in 
South Africa and the unrest shown, in' India 
caused a general agitation more or less to such 
measures. The time of actual military serv¬ 
ice varies in different countries from six months 
to fifteen years, and, besides this, there are an¬ 
nual periods when those subject to military duty 
are required to pass a limited time in drill and 
reviews by officers high in authority. The .cost 
of maintaining these armies is enormous, and 
in recent years several organized efforts were 
made to secure a general reduction in standing 
armies. An international conference was held 
at The Hague in May, 1899, at the suggestion 
of Czar Nicholas II., for the purpose of pro- 
: moting general disarmament. All the great 
powers were represented at this conference and 
at several held since, and the evils of militarism 
were freely discussed. While the deliberations 
| have led to no immediate results, they have 
J awakened inquiry, and may yet lead to a con- 
! dition under which the industrial classes will 
i be largely freed from excessive taxes necessi¬ 
tated by large standing armies and enormous 
navies. 

In the United States the army is authorized 
i by the Constitution. According to its provi- 

I sions the President is commander in chief of 
the army and navy. Congress has the power 
to raise and support armies, to regulate them, 
and to provide for the execution of the law, 
the suppression of insurrections, and the repul¬ 
sion of invasions. Congress several times 
placed a general limitation on the number of 


men that are to constitute the regular army, 
but in times of war the President calls for 
volunteers that aggregate many times the num¬ 
ber usually maintained. In 1790 the regular 
army as fixed by Congress included 1,216 men; 
at the commencement of the War of 1812, 
25,000; during the Mexican War, 29,000; at 
the beginning of the Civil War, *12,000. The 
law of 1874 limited the standing army to 
25,000; and in March, 1899, the regular army 
was limited to 65,000, with a volunteer service 
of 35,000 at the option of the President. The 
highest number of men ever called into service 
in the United States was during the Civil War, 
when it aggregated 2,759,049 men and officers. 
The army of the Confererate States aggregated 
1,100,000 men, thus making the total number 
engaged on both sides about four million men. 
An order issued in 1901 under an act of Con¬ 
gress placed the numerical strength of the reg¬ 
ular army in enlisted men on the basis of one 
enlisted man for each 1,000 of population. Ac¬ 
cording to this provision, the total of enlisted 
men is placed at 77,287. 

ARMY WORM, the larva of a night flying 
moth, so named from its habit of moving in 
colonies of large numbers. It attains a length 
of about one and one-half inches, and may be 
distinguished easily by the greenish-gray color 
and yellowish stripes. Army moths make their 
appearance periodically, and sometimes prove 
very destructive to crops and other form of 
vegetation. The best method to destroy them 
is to plow deep furrows, and, when large num¬ 
bers of the worms have fallen into the channel, 
they may be killed by burning straw spread 
loosely, or by dragging a heavy log over them. 
The log should be about ten feet long and 
slightly pointed at the end to prevent pushing 
the ground as it is pulled by a team of horses. 
These pests are quite common in North 
America, especially in the United States, but 
they do not frequently become troublesome. 

ARNHEM (arn'hem), or Arnheim, a city 
of Holland, capital of the province of Gelder- 
land, situated on the Rhine, thirty-five miles 
southeast of Utrecht. It has a Reformed 
Church dating from 1452, in which is the tomb 
of the Duke of Gelderland. Other buildings of 
note include a museum, a public library, and a 
normal school. The favorable location on the 
Rhine and several railroads make it important 
as a commercial center. The trade is chiefly 
in cereals and clothing, and it has manufactures 
of furniture, machinery, and scientific instru¬ 
ments. Population, 1906, 62,279. 

ARNICA (ar'm-ka), a genus of plants be¬ 
longing to the Compositae order, many species 






ARNO 


128 


ARROWROOT 


of which yield an essential oil and a resinous 
matter called arnicin. A tincture of it is used 
as an external application for chilblains, bruises, 
and wounds. The plant 
is native to the moun¬ 
tain districts of Middle 
Eurasia. It grows to a 
height of about two 
feet, has a perennial 
root, and bears a dark 
golden yellow flower. 
A species sometimes 
called mountain tobac¬ 
co is native to Central 
Europe. 

ARNO (ar'no), an 
important river of Italy, 
rises in the Apennines, 
and after a course of 
140 miles flows into the 
Mediterranean Sea. 
The source of the Arno 
is 4,450 feet above the 
level of the sea. It is 
navigable for barges as 
far as Florence. A 
canal connects the Arno 
with the Tiber at Arez- 
arnica. zo. Th e va n e y through 

which is flows is highly fertile. 

AROMA (a-ro'ma), a term employed to 
designate the constituents of substances that 
possess minute particles which affect the 
organs of smell and produce fragrant odors. 
These odors are diffused without a percepti¬ 
ble loss of bulk or weight of the substances 
producing them. Among the chief aromatic 
substances are cloves, vanilla, coffee, and 
lavender. 

AROMATICS (ar-6-mat'iks), the medicines 
or drugs that owe their properties to the 
essential oils, and which are secured from 
the plants that yield camphor, odorous resins, 
or essences. Many have a warm, pungent taste, 
as pepper, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, and nut¬ 
meg. Some have a bitter taste, as tansy 
and wormwood, while others are highly fra¬ 
grant, as myrrh, musk, and storax. In the 
United States medicines are usually associated 
with aromatics, but in some countries they are 
added only on prescription. 

ARRAH <(ar'ra), a city of India, in the 
presidency of Bengal, 33 miles west of Patna. 
The surrounding country is fertile. It is im¬ 
portant as a railroad and commercial center. 
In 1857 it was the scene of a battle in which 
the British gained a decisive victory over 3,000 
Sepoy insurgents. Population, 1907, 51,500. 


ARRAN (a'ran), an island of Scotland, in 
the Firth of Clyde, about 13 miles west of Ayr¬ 
shire. It is a narrow strip of land, about 20 
miles long, and has an area of 165 square miles. 
The surface is mountainous, culminating in Goat- 
fell, which has an elevation of 2,860 feet above 
the sea. The island is remarkable because of 
its numerous strata of rock, including trap, 
limestone, mica, granite, and sandstone. Popu¬ 
lation, 4,950. 

ARRAS (ar-ras'), a city in France, capital 
of the Department of Pas-de-Calais, 100 miles 
north of Paris. It has manufactures of lace, 
hosiery, and cotton goods, and carries a large 
trade in cereals and live stock. The public 
library has about 36,000 volumes. In the Mid¬ 
dle Ages the city had extensive manufactures 
of tapestry, and its name has been given to a 
grade of highly figured hangings. Population, 
1901, 20,697. 

ARROW (ar'ro), a missile weapon to be 
shot with a bow, the latter being bent for 
that purpose into an angular form. Arrows 
are usually straight and sharply pointed, and, 
to inflict a more deadly wound and prevent 
them being easily pulled out, are often barbed 
and poisoned at the point. The arrow is fre¬ 
quently mentioned in the Bible as a weapon 
used in war, and is still employed by savage 
people. Arrowheads of flint stone were made 
by the American Indians, many of which are 
still found in different parts of the continent. 

ARROWROOT (ar'ro-root), the name of 
a variety of starch derived from the roots and 
grains of several plants and used as an article 



ARROWROOT. 


of food. The best quality is secured from the 
roots of a plant cultivated in tropical countries, 
especially in the West Indies. The roots of 
this plant are about twelve inches long and 
nearly an inch thick. They are peeled and ground 
into a pulp, from which the starch is taken 
by means of bathing in water, and it is then 
spread out and dried in the sun. In Brazil a 
class of arrowroot known as tapioca meal is 







ARRU 


129 


ARTERY 


secured in great quantities from the roots of 
several plants, and a fine quality is made from 
Indian corn, known in the market as Oswego 
arrowroot. 

ARRU (a'roo), the name of a group of 
islands in the Arafura Sea, southwest of New 
.Guinea. The group consists of a number of 
small islands. The surface is low and the 
area is about 3,000 square miles. Some of the 
natives have adopted Christianity. Dobo is the 
chief town. It is a market for pearls, trepang, 
and edible birds’ nests, which are exported. 
The islands belong to Holland and have a pop¬ 
ulation of 15,000. 

ARSENAL (ar'se-nal), an establishment for 
the manufacture and repair of munitions of 
war. In most instances separate arsenals are 
maintained for the manufacture of guns, though 
formerly all the munitions of war, including ex¬ 
plosives and cartridges, were made in general 
establishments. Great naval arsenals are main¬ 
tained at Venice, Toulon, and Cherbourg, at 
which ships are built, repaired, and fitted out. 
The royal arsenal at Woolwich was estab¬ 
lished by England in 1720. It comprises a 
laboratory, and manufactures warlike imple¬ 
ments for the army and navy. In the United 
States each State has an armory for storing 
arms and ammunition. Large arsenals are 
located at Fort Monroe, Va., Rock Island, Ill., 
San Antonio, Tex., and Benicia, Cal. 

ARSENIC (ar'se-nik), a chemical element 
j found widely distributed in nature, closely re¬ 
sembling a metal in physical properties, but 
ranking with the nonmetals. Pure arsenic is a 
| shining, steel-gray, hard, and brittle substance. 
The white powder known as arsenic in the 
market is an oxide, and is secured largely 
from vapors that rise in extracting pure arsenic 
from the ore. Arsenic is a deadly poison, and 
when taken into the system causes cramps and 
a burning pain. The workmen who engage in 
the manufacture of arsenic, or products in 
which it is used extensively, are very liable 
to become unhealthy unless the best possible 
sanitary regulations are observed. Arsenic is 
found chiefly in Germany, Chile, Mexico, New 
Zealand, and in the northern section of the 
Appalachian Mountains, especially in New 
Hampshire. It is used in medicine and in the 
manufacture of shot, glass, and other products. 
When mixed with copper, it produces a beauti¬ 
ful green color, which is used extensively for 
coloring wall paper. See Poisons. 

I ARSON (ar's’n), the willful and malicious 
burning of a dwelling or outbuilding belong¬ 
ing to another. The crime of arson includes 
willfully setting fire to any barn, ship, church, 


produce, coal mine, or other valuable prop¬ 
erty. Arson is punishable by common law as 
a felony, and when death results from it the 
offender may be punished by inflicting capital 
punishment, or its legal equivalent. An at¬ 
tempt to set on fire valuable property of an¬ 
other is also punishable as a penal offense. In 
case the offender sets fire to property for the 
purpose of defrauding an insurer, the penalty 
is usually increased. 

ART (art), the principles of artistic con¬ 
struction and aesthetic criticism, or the appli¬ 
cation of such principles to artistic works. In 
an extended sense the word implies everything 
which may be distinguished from ' nature. 
Art and nature are the two most comprehen¬ 
sive subjects of human study. In Pope’s 
familiar expression, “Blest with each grace 
of nature and of art,” is included everything 
that exists independent of our study and all 
that can be added by human exertion to ren¬ 
der beautiful, appropriate, and pleasing. 
The term is commonly used to designate 
skill in performing some specified kind of 
work, either physical or mental. Usually the 
several arts are arranged in two groups: the 
mechanical and the liberal or fine arts. The 
former engage workmen who successfully fol¬ 
low an occupation in which genius is not the 
most material element, but rather skill and 
facility to work with an efficiency imparted by 
long practice, as the arts of the watchmaker, 
carpenter, blacksmith, and others. These are 
usually called the trades. Liberal or fine arts 
are such as require, not only manual skill, but 
great genius. These include sculpture, paint¬ 
ing, music, architecture, and all that minister 
to the sentiment of taste by means of the beau¬ 
tiful in color, form, rhythm, or harmony. 

ARTERY (ar'ter-y), the name of any one 
of the vessels through which the blood is con¬ 
veyed from the heart to the different parts 
of the system. These organs are so named be¬ 
cause the ancients found that the arteries of 
dead bodies contained air, and supposed them 
to be air tubes leading through the body. The 
arterial system starts from the left ventricle, 
where it consists of one trunk, called the 
aorta. From it several branches pass to the 
head, after which it makes a bold curve, 
known as the arch of the aorta, and sends 
numerous branches to all parts *of the lower 
extremities. Arteries are tubelike canals, by 
which the pure blood is carried from the 
heart to the cells. They are nearly straight 
and are located as near the bones as possible, 
so as to be less liable to injury. In composi¬ 
tion they are elastic, which causes them to 


9 




ARTESIAN WELL 


130 


ARTESIAN WELL 


yield to every pulse of the heart. They are 
made up of three layers or coats, including 
the external or cellular, the middle or 
fibrous, and the internal or serous, and are 
encased in a sheath. Where they penetrate 
muscles, they are often protected by fibrous 
rings to prevent compression by muscular 
action. A large canal, not a part of the gen¬ 
eral arterial system, carries the impure blood 
from the heart to the lungs to be purified. 
It is called the pulmonary artery. 

ARTESIAN WELL (ar-te'zhan), a bor¬ 
ing in the ground through which currents of 
water rise from various depths toward or 



above the surface. The possibilty of secur¬ 
ing a flow of water in this way depends upon 
the geological structure, though water is 
found more or less abundantly in all rock 
formations. Soil and rock constituted largely 
of sand contain pores and cavities that easily 
fill with water, which flows out in case a well 
is sunk to a depth below the regular cavities 
in which the liquid is stored. Nearly one- 
third of the apparent sand mass at the seashore 
or near water beds is made up of water. 
Artesians wells are sunk in comparatively low 
places, and in districts where the lower or older 
strata are formed into basin-shaped curves. 
Rain falling bn the outer portion of the strata 
saturates the whole porous bed, and, when the 
bore reaches below the common water surface, 
the water rushes up toward the level by hy¬ 
draulic pressure, the height of the flow being 
equal to the height of the water in the basin¬ 
shaped strata. Wells with a good supply of 
water can be* obtained in nearly all parts of 
Canada and the United States, but artesian 
wells are not so common. However, in many 
localities where holes have been sunk in pros¬ 
pecting for coal, salt brine, gas, petroleum, and 
other minerals excellent flows of water have 
been found. 


In the eastern part of the United States, 
particularly in the manufacturing centers of 
New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and in 
many of the Southern States, such wells are 
utilized extensively for industrial purposes. 
In New York City a vast supply of water is 
secured at a depth of 500 feet; at Sa*int Louis 
a well at a depth of 2,250 feet discharges 
seventy-five gallons of water per minute. 
At Terre Haute, Ind., are several wells from 
1,500 to 2,000 feet deep; and at Columbus, 
Ohio, a good flow is obtained at a depth of 
2,275 feet. New Orleans, La., has several such 
wells, and many have been obtained in the 
states on the Pacific coast. These wells sup¬ 
ply water for city consumption, manufactur¬ 
ing, and irrigation. In South Dakota and in 
portions of the Sahara Desert wells have 
been sunk that yield vast volumes of water 
for the irrigation of large tracts of arid land. 
The census returns show that over 10,000 of 
these wells are used for irrigation purposes 
in the western half of the United States, of 
which number about 3,000 are in California. 
These wells are secured at a depth of from 
twenty to nearly 3,000 feet. 

In late years the process of boring wells 
for oil, gas, and other minerals has become 
a distinct branch of hydraulic engineering. 
Usually a hole is bored for some distance, 
which is cased by driving an iron pipe 
into it, and this is lengthened from time to 
time in the process of construction by attach¬ 
ing other sections. Iron piping is used in con¬ 
structing drill rods, and a valve opening from 
beneath is attached about every thirty feet. 
The drill below the rod contains a hole, 
through which the borings pass, through the 
agency of a supply of water poured into the 
well. These borings work upward through 
the drill rods as they are moved up and down 
by machinery on the ground above. In this 
way drilling becomes a process of pumping, 
which is not only effective in all grades of 
clays, but is capable of penetrating through the 
hardest kind of granite. As the drill passes, 
downward into the earth, iron casing is driven 
down to prevent caving, and additional rods 
are put in from time to time as the work pro¬ 
gresses. In some localities large augers are 
used a portion of the time, but in most in¬ 
stances the best steel drills are suitable to 
carry on the work. However, in the harder sub¬ 
stances, such as granite and other rock, the 
diamond drill is used, which is set with black 
diamond. In making tests for minerals, a 
careful account is kept of every strata and 
formation through which the drill passes, by 













ARTHROPODA 


131 


ARTIFICIAL LIMBS 


means of which an accurate knowledge of the 
various deposits is secured and the expense 
of further improvements can be easily esti¬ 
mated. 

ARTHROPODA (ar-throp'6-da), or Artic- 
ulata, one of the divisions of the animal king¬ 
dom. The body of animals belonging to this 
family is divided into segments, each of which 
has a pair of jointed feet or appendages, hence 
Cuvier named the whole group articulata. 
Many species have been described, including 
a class that is parasitic in its habits, and in 
these some of the organs disappear or lose 
their functions as the animal grows older. In 
most species the mouth is upon the lower sur¬ 
face of the anterior end, the seat of the nerv¬ 
ous system is above and in front of the mouth, 
and the heart is dorsal and propels the blood 
forward, but, as the veins are often lacking, 
the venous circulation, in some species, is re¬ 
turned to the heart through the tissues of the 
body. The nerves pass from the brain to 
the eyes, which are simple in some species and 
compound in others, and the outer wall of the 
body is usually hardened by a peculiar sub¬ 
stance known as chitine. They reproduce ex¬ 
clusively by eggs. The three divisions of artic¬ 
ulata are arachnida, Crustacea and anten- 
nata. The first mentioned group breathe by 
lungs, gills, or air tubes; the second by gills 
entirely; and the last mentioned by air tubes. 
Those belonging to the antennata are pro¬ 
vided with antennae. Among the animals 
classed in this family are lobsters, spiders, 
cockroaches, butterflies, mites, flies, bees, etc. 

ARTHUR’S SEAT, a famous hill near 
Edinburgh, Scotland, so named from King 
Arthur. It is 822 feet above the level of the 
sea, contains many beautiful drives and 
valuable monuments, and furnishes an excel¬ 
lent view of the city. It has come to be a 
favorite pleasure resort of Edinburgh, which 
is frequently called “Modern Athens.” 

ARTICHOKE (ar'ti-chok), a perennial 
plant resembling the thistle, found native in 
Europe and Asia. The stem is from two to 
ten feet high. It is cultivated for food in 
many parts of Southern Europe. The unripe 
flower heads and the lower part of the sur¬ 
rounding leaf scales are the chief parts taken 
for food. The Jerusalem artichoke, a species 
of sunflower, is cultivated for its root tubers, 
which resemble potatoes. These may be pre¬ 
pared for the table like potatoes, or eaten raw 
with vinegar and salt in the form of a salad. 

ARTICLE (ar'ti-k’l), in grammar, one of 
a class of limiting adjectives, which embrace 
the adjective elements a, an, and the. A is 


used before consonant sounds and an before 
vowel sounds; both are called indefinite 
articles, because they refer to any one of two 
or more objects. The is called the definite 
article. 

ARTICLES, The Thirty-Nine, a statement 
of the points of doctrine agreed upon by the 
Church of England. These articles, 39 in num¬ 
ber, were confirmed by royal authority after 
having been agreed upon by a convocation held 
in London in 1562-63. They are articles of re¬ 
ligion, a formula, rather than a creed, and 
originally were 42 in number. A convocation 
of the Irish Church adopted them in 1635, and 
they were ratified by the Scottish Episcopal 
Church in 1804. The General Conference in 
1801 made them applicable to the American 
Episcopal Church, but inaugurated a few slight 
changes. Formerly the clergy was required 
to subscribe to the articles, but now they give 
assent to them and to the Prayer Book. 
The Methodist Episcopal Church of America 
reduced these articles to 25, which is the num¬ 
ber now published in its Book of Discipline. 

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, an 
instrument adopted by the thirteen colonies of 
America for their mutual protection and gen¬ 
eral government. Congress proposed them in 
1776 with the condition that they should not 
be binding until ratified by all the states. Mary¬ 
land ratified them on March 1, 1781, the last 
of the States to grant approval, and Congress 
convened the next day. The delay on the 
part of Maryland was due to the fact that 
it demanded that the states cede their claims 
to territory in the Northwest Territory to the 
Federal Government, which was done by all 
the interested states. The instrument united 
the colonies under the title United States of 
America. While they did not provide a sat¬ 
isfactory plan for government, they remained 
in force as the fundamental law until March 
4, 1789, when the Constitution became opera¬ 
tive and the first Constitutional Congress as¬ 
sembled. 

ARTIFICIAL ICE (ar-ti-fish'al). See Ice. 

ARTIFICIAL LIMBS, the, mechanical 
contrivances employed to fill the functions 
of a lost limb or part thereof. The con¬ 
struction of artificial limbs possessing con¬ 
siderable merit dates from the beginning of 
the 19th century, although Herodotus and 
others mention their use in early history. A 
Roman artificial leg discovered in a tomb in 
Capua, and which was used about 300 b. c., is 
now in the London Royal .College of Surgeons. 
The German Knight, Gotz von Berlichingen, 
in 1504, wore an iron hand constructed to 



ARTILLERY 


132 


ARUWIMI 


grasp a sword, which weighed three pounds. 
Many other remarkable incidents in history 
may be cited as evidence that artificial limbs 
have been worn for many ages. 

Artificial limbs of recent manufacture pos¬ 
sess many points of utility and show much 
skill in construction. Various kinds of sub¬ 
stances are used in the manufacture, but 
mostly such as possess lightness, strength, 
and noncorrosive qualities. Aluminum pos¬ 
sesses all these elements and has gone 
largely into the manufacture of these ap¬ 
pliances. Arms are often contrived so the hand 
may be unscrewed and a hair brush, knife, 
fork, or some similar instruments can be put 
in its place. Cork, rubber, and wood with 
leather bands have gone largely into the manu¬ 
facture of devices to replace lost limbs. Arti¬ 
ficial fingers, ears, and noses are skillfully 
shaped from papier mache. This material may 
be waxed and varnished so as to have in 
effect the same complexion as the real organs 
of the individual. Such an artificial part, if 
carefully made, cannot be distinguished from 
the real, except by the very closest examina¬ 
tion. Glass is used in the manufacture of 
artificial eyes, which are so skillfully made 
that they agree in size, measurement, color, 
and other essentials with the real eye. They 
serve a useful purpose in preserving the natural 
appearance, especially where the wearer still 
possesses one of the natural eyes. 

ARTILLERY (ar-til'ler-y), the term for¬ 
merly used to designate any instrument of war, 
even bows, slings, and arrows, but now applied 
to cannon and general ordnance, including guns, 
mortars, howitzers, and machine guns. It is also 
applied to officers and men of the army to whom 
the care and management of the artillery is in¬ 
trusted. It may be taken for granted that the 
history of artillery proper commenced with the 
discovery of gunpowder. The first large imple¬ 
ments of war to throw missiles of consider¬ 
able size were constructed of stone. The 
scientific casting of cannon did not begin 
until the 17th century, but there is evidence 
that implements of rough construction were 
used as early as the 12th century. 

With the advent of field guns came the 
necessity of employing a special body of men 
skilled in the management of heavy masses 
of field artillery, though this branch of war¬ 
fare received little attention until the beginning 
of the last century. Early experiences showed 
the large cannon to be unwieldy and it 
was often lost by mismanagement or ren¬ 
dered of small effect for want of means to 
move it about. Besides, there was a want 


of men skilled in the arts of taking aim and 
calculating distances and the range of guns, 
whereby effective results might follow. This 
. led to the establishment of artillery schools, 
where men might be trained to efficiency and 
skill. These schools date from 1675, when 
Louis XIV. founded such an institution and 
organized a special artillery force. France 
and Germany long possessed the best artil¬ 
lerymen and artillery service of the great pow¬ 
ers of Europe. They were trained, not only in 
institutions, but by personal inspection at the 
seats of war. This was the case in the war 
between the English and the Boers, in South 
Africa in 1900, when Germans and French 
managed largely the artillery of the latter. 
However, it was demonstrated in the Span- 
ish-American War of 1898 that the United 
States cannot be excelled in military marks¬ 
manship. 

Woolwich is the seat of the artillery and 
engineering school of England. However, most 
countries of Europe separate the school of 
artillery from that of the engineers. In the 
United States the organization of batteries is 
largely under the direction of the President. 
In time of peace the mounted artillery organi¬ 
zation is small, while in time of war it con¬ 
stitutes a considerable portion of the general 
army. At least one battery for every regi¬ 
ment is required to be mounted. Owing to the 
late wars in the colonial possessions, garri¬ 
soned fortifications have been constructed at 
which a large portion of the artillery is util¬ 
ized. To enlarge the skill of the American 
army and secure expert artillerymen, a school 
with a suitable course of study and a practical 
department is maintained at Fort Monroe, Va. 
The course consists of two years, and is a post¬ 
graduate adjunct to the United States Military 
Academy, at West Point, N. Y. 

ARTILLERY SCHOOLS, the institu¬ 
tions designed to impart skill in artillery 
practice. The first was established in France 
in 1675, which was followed by one in Ger¬ 
many in 1766, and England founded the Royal 
Military Academy at Woolwich in 1741. The 
artillery school of the United States is located 
at Fortress Monroe, Va. It was founded in 1824, 
and has a course of study covering two years. 

ARUWIMI (a-rdo-we'me), a river of Af¬ 
rica, one of the tributaries of the Congo. It 
rises west of Lake Albert Nyanza and flows 
westward through a region of dense forest. 
At Yambuya, to which it is navigable, are a 
number of rapids. In different parts of its 
course of about 800 miles it assumes the names 
of Ituri and Bijerre. 


ARYANS 


133 


ASCALON 


ARYANS (ar'yans), the name applied to 
the Indo-European races. The Aryans orig¬ 
inally inhabited the region of Asia near 
the upper Oxus or Amu River. They en¬ 
gaged in farming and stock raising, and 
were advanced in some of the arts of civiliza¬ 
tion. Their origin is traced to the Japhetic na¬ 
tions from Japheth, son of Noah, of whom 
they are held to be descendants. These people 
spoke one language, the Sanskrit, from which 
the modern languages spoken by their de¬ 
scendants have originated. Although many of 
these languages appear to show no affinity, yet 
upon close examination it is found that all were 
derived from the same source and had one com¬ 
mon origin. The Aryan nations of Asia are 
the high-caste Hindus and the ancient Persians, 
while those of Europe include the Greeks, 
Latins, Slavs, Leets, Celts, and Teutons; the 
last mentioned include the Germans and Scan¬ 
dinavians. While little is known of the ancient 
Aryans, it is thought they engaged chiefly in 
tilling the soil and in pasturing their flocks. 
They lived in villages, practiced the grinding of 
grain and weaving of cloth, and possessed well- 
formed ideas of government. The English 
are a branch of the Aryan race, and descended 
from them through the German people. 

AS (as), or Libra, a Roman weight, divided 
into 12 unciae, and nearly equal to the English 
pound. A Roman coin called as originally 
weighed‘a pound, but it was afterward reduced 
in size and weighed one thirty-sixth of a pound. 

The older coins 
bore the figure of 
some domestic an¬ 
imal, as an ox or 
a sheep, and on one 
side of those of 
more recent date 
was stamped the 
head of an impor¬ 
tant personage. 

ASAFETIDA 
(as-a-fet'i-da), the 
name of several 
plants common to 
Persia and the 
East Indies. These 
plants yield a drug 
useful in medicine, 
especially for asth- 
ma, hysteria, 
worms, and gase¬ 
ous distentions of 
the intestines. To secure the drug old plants 
are tapped for their juice, which is dried in 
the sun and hardened, in which state it is ex¬ 



ASAFETIDA. 


ported largely. This drug has a very disagree¬ 
able odor, but is used for seasoning articles of 
food among some tribes in the East. 

ASBESTOS (as-bes'tos), a substance named 
from its property of not being affected by 
fire. It is a highly useful mineral of a silky 
luster, having fibers that in some species are 
delicate, flexible, and elastic, and in others 
brittle and stiff. Its chief property is that 
it will not burn, which renders it highly im¬ 
portant as a means- of protection against fire 
in buildings and as a sheath or covering to 
confine heat to a particular channel. The an¬ 
cients knew of it and used it in preparing flexi¬ 
ble cloth for shrouds to cover dead bodies. De¬ 
posits of this mineral are found in various local¬ 
ities of all the grand divisions. It occurs in 
Montana and Georgia in paying quantities, where 
it is mined profitably. The quality of the 
American product is equal to any in the world. 
At Sail Mountain, a foothill of the Blue Ridge 
in Georgia, an asbestos ledge has been discov¬ 
ered that is more than 800 feet long, about 250 
feet wide, and of great depth. Canada has large 
deposits of white asbestos, which can be spun 
into fine thread and woven into yarn and rope. 
Large quantities of this product are marketed 
annually and its use is extensive. Electrical 
supply companies employ it in the manufacture 
of insulators. It is used extensively in making 
asbestos cement, quick-setting plasters, fireproof 
roofing, deadening for walls and floors, sectional 
covers for steam pipes, refrigerator insulation, 
and many other useful purposes in manufactur¬ 
ing. It has proved especially beneficial in the 
manufacture of stage curtains in theaters and 
for the protection of dead bodies that have been 
embalmed. 

ASBURY PARK, a town of New Jersey, in 
Monmouth County, on the Pennsylvania and 
the Central of New Jersey railroads. It is 
finely situated on the Atlantic coast, six miles 
south of Long Branch, and is one of the most 
famous health and pleasure resorts of the 
Eastern states. A short distance south is Ocean 
Grove, from which it is separated by Wesley 
Lake. It is visited by many thousands of peo¬ 
ple annually, who are amply accommodated by 
facilities for entertainment. Population, 1905, 
4,526. 

ASCALON (as'ka-lon), or Askalon, an im¬ 
portant city of ancient Palestine, situated mid¬ 
way between Gaza and Ashdod, on the Medi¬ 
terranean Sea, thirty-eight miles southwest of 
Jerusalem. It is mentioned several times in the 
poetical books of the Scriptures, but is noted 
more particularly on account of its history in 
connection with the Maccabees and the Cru- 


ASCENSION 


134 


ASHLAND 


saders. The Christians under Godfrey de 
Bouillon and Tancred attained a noted victory 
at Ascalon in 1099, and Baldwin III., King of 
Jerusalem, also gained a victory here in 1153. 
It was recaptured by Saladin in 1187, and three 
years later was destroyed by a joint treaty 
under the Moslems and Christians. The an¬ 
cient city contained a number of noted temples 
and was celebrated for the production of wine 
in the time of Pliny. On the site of the ancient 
city are ruins and a small village of Turks and 
Christians. 

ASCENSION (as-sen'shun), an island in 
the Atlantic Ocean, 750 miles northwest of 
Saint Helena. It has an area of 35 square 
miles, is of volcanic origin, and belongs to 
Great Britain. Green Mountain, the highest 
elevation, rises 2,870 feet above the sea. It is 
important as a coaling station. Georgetown, 
the chief business center, is a naval station. 
Population, 390. 

ASCENSION DAY, often called Holy 
Thursday, the^day on which the ascension of 
Christ is commemorated. It has been observed 
as a feast since about 68 a. d., and is movable, 
occurring on the second Thursday before Whit¬ 
suntide. 

ASH, a genus of forest trees common to 
North America and Eurasia. More than fifty 
species have been described, of which the com¬ 
mon ash is the most widely distributed. The 
species native to North America include the red 
ash, white ash, blue ash, and swamp ash. The 
ash tree is distinguished by its size and grace¬ 
ful foliage. It attains a height of sixty to 
ninety feet and has widespreading branches. It 
yields a good quality of timber for the manu¬ 
facture of plows, vehicles, furniture, and agri¬ 
cultural implements. The weeping ash is a 
species with drooping branches, and the moun¬ 
tain ash is planted largely as an ornamental 
shade tree. A species native to Palestine, the 
flowering or manna ash, yields the substance 
called manna. This product exudes from in¬ 
cisions made in the bark. Some varieties yield 
a sap useful in the preparation of medicine. 

ASHANTEE (a-shan'te), or Ashanti, a 
country in Western Africa, situated north of 
the Gulf of Guinea, and extending toward the 
interior from the Gold Coast. Though its 
boundaries are not accurately defined, its area 
is placed at 50,000 square miles, and the popu¬ 
lation at 3,000,000. It is one of the largest 
native kingdoms of Africa, but within recent 
years many changes have been wrought on ac¬ 
count of the extension of European interests, 
particularly those of France, England, and 
Germany. The country is rich in gold dust and 


ivory, and there are considerable productions 
of fruits, cereals, vegetables, and fish. Several 
wars have been carried on with European 
powers. The government is a despotic mon¬ 
archy, in which slavery is still recognized. In 
1896 it was placed under British protection and 
was annexed to that country in 1901. The chief 
seat of government is at Kumassi, which, in 
1905, had a population of 5,940. 

ASHBURTON TREATY, a treaty nego¬ 
tiated between the United States and Great 
Britain at Washington in 1842, the former 
country being represented by Daniel Webster 
and the latter by Lord Alexander B. Ashburton. 
By this treaty the northeastern boundary be¬ 
tween the United States and Canada was finally 
settled, the United States securing about seven- 
twelfths of the territory in dispute. It was 
also stipulated that the slave trade should be 
mutually suppressed. 

ASHEVILLE (ash'vil), a city in North 
Carolina, county seat of Buncombe County, on 
the French Broad River, 210 miles west of 
Raleigh, on the Southern Railroad. It is finely 
situated in the midst of the Blue Ridge Moun¬ 
tains, at an elevation of 2,300 feet, and 
enjoys a large manufacturing and jobbing 
trade. The city has well-paved streets, rapid 
transit, electric lights, and excellent school 
and church buildings. It is the seat of Ashe¬ 
ville College, a Methodist institution founded 
in 1843. Among the chief buildings 'are the 
city hall, the post office, the Auditorium, the 
Asheville Normal and Collegiate Institute, and 
the Battery Park Hotel. Richmond Hill, Over¬ 
look Park, Pisgale Forest, and the Vanderbilt 
estate are among the points of interest. It has 
manufactures of cigars, clothing, earthenware, 
machinery, flour, and furniture. Its favorable 
location has made Asheville famous as a health 
resort, both for summer and winter visitors. 
The region was first settled in 1792. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 14,694. 

ASHLAND (ash'land), a city of Boyd 
County, Kentucky, on the Ohio River, and on 
the Norfolk and Western and the Chesapeake 
and Ohio railroads. It is surrounded by a fer¬ 
tile farming country, which contains extensive 
deposits of coal. The manufactures include 
ironware, boilers, furniture, nails, and machin¬ 
ery. The city has good municipal improve¬ 
ments, and enjoys the advantages of good 
school and church facilities. It was first settled 
in 1854 and became an incorporated city in 
1870. Population, 1900, 6,800. 

ASHLAND, the county seat of Ashland 
County, Ohio, 65 miles southwest of Cleveland, 
on the Erie and other railroads. It has a 





cT; ye wWtft 


npMj 




otjvtup 












































































ASHLAND 


135 


ASIA 


large trade in grain and produce. A public 
library and the county courthouse are among 
the chief buildings. It has waterworks, elec¬ 
tric lights, and manufactories of machinery. 
Population, 1900, 4,087. 

ASHLAND, a city of Oregon, in Jackson 
County, fifteen miles southeast of Jacksonville, 
the county seat. It is on the Southern Pacific 
Railroad, in a fruit growing country, and gran¬ 
ite quarries and gold mines are worked in the 
surrounding country. Railroad shops, lumber 
yards, and flouring mills are among the indus¬ 
tries. It is the seat of a State normal school. 
In the vicinity are mineral springs. Population, 
1900, 2,634. 

ASHLAND, a borough in Schuylkill County, 
Pennsylvania, twelve miles northwest of Potts- 
ville, on the Philadelphia and Reading and the 
Lehigh Valley railroads. It has large foun¬ 
dries and machine shopes, and anthracite coal 
is mined in the vicinity. The State Miners’ 
Hospital is located at this place. It has a mu¬ 
nicipal system of waterworks and several fine 
schools. Ashland was incorporated in 1857. 
Population, 1900, 6,438. 

ASHLAND, a city in Wisconsin, county 
seat of Ashland County, on Ashland Bay, 200 
miles north of La Crosse. It is on the North¬ 
ern Pacific, the Wisconsin Central, the Chicago 
and Northwestern, and other railroads, and 
has a large trade in lumber, iron, and building 
stone. The manufactures include lumber prod¬ 
ucts, ironware, machinery, furniture, and cloth¬ 
ing. Among the chief buildings are the county 
courthouse, the post office, the North Wiscon¬ 
sin Academy, the Vaughn Public Library, and 
the Knight Hotel. The city has a fine system 
of public schools and numerous churches, and 
is substantially improved by pavements, elec¬ 
tric lights, and street railways. There are sev¬ 
eral fine parks and libraries. It was first set¬ 
tled in 1854 and was chartered as a city in 
1887. Population, 1905, 14,519. 

ASHTABULA (ash-ta-bu'la), a railroad 
center and manufacturing city of Ohio, in Ash¬ 
tabula County, at the mouth of the Ashtabula 
River, on the New York, Chicago and Saint 
Louis, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, 
and other railroads. The surrounding country 
is productive, yielding considerable quantities 
of cereals, live stock, and fruits. The city has 
a fine harbor on Lake Erie, and direct steam¬ 
boat connections are maintained with Chicago, 
Cleveland, and other lake cities. The manufac¬ 
tures include ships, boilers, engines, leather, 
machinery, furniture, clothing, and tobacco 
products. It has a fine system of public schools, 
many well-built churches, and good municipal 


improvements, including electric street railways, 
pavements, waterworks, and several fine parks. 
The first settlement was made in 1803. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 12,948. 

ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE (ash'tun un'der 
lin), a manufacturing town of England, in 
Lancashire, six miles east of Manchester. It 
is nicely situated on the Tame River and sev¬ 
eral railroads, and has large industries in calico 
printing and the manufacture of machinery. 
A canal connects it with Manchester and other 
important towns. It was founded by the Sax¬ 
ons and has a church built in the time of Henry 
V. Population, 1901, 43,900. 

ASH WEDNESDAY, the first day of Lent, 
so named from the Roman Catholic ceremony 
of sprinkling ashes on the heads of penitents 
then admitted to penance. It is thought prob¬ 
able that this custom was established by Greg¬ 
ory the Great. The ashes are secured by 
burning palms, after which they are consecrated 
on the altar and sprinkled with holy water, and 
a small portion is then cast on the head of the 
penitents as they kneel at the altar. 

ASIA (a'shi-a), the largest of the grand 
divisions, comprising an area of 16,775,000 
square miles, about twice the extent of North 
America. The principal boundaries on the 
north are formed by the Arctic Ocean, east 
by the Pacific, south by the Indian, and west 
by Africa and Europe. As a whole, the coast 
line is indented by numerous inlets, many of 
which are deep and expansive seas. On the 
north are the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob. 
The eastern shore is indented by the gulfs of 
Anadir, Tartary, Pechili, and Tonkin, and by 
the Sea of Okhotsk, the Japan Sea, the Whang 
Hai or Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. 
On the south are the gulfs of Siam, Martaban, 
Cambay, Cutch, and Oman, the Bay of Bengal, 
the South China Sea, and the Arabian Sea; to 
the southwest are the Gulf of Aden and the 
Red Sea; and the western boundary is formed 
partly by the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and 
the Caspian Sea. Few great lakes or inland 
waters characterize the continent, those of most 
importance being Lake Baikal, the Aral Sea, 
and lakes Tenis, Balkash, and Tungting. 

The continent is separated from Europe by 
the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Cas¬ 
pian Sea, the Caucasus Range, and the Black 
Sea. It is connected with Africa by the Isth¬ 
mus of Suez, through which the Suez Canal 
has been cut, and it is separated from Africa 
mainly by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. 
Near the continent are a large number of 
islands, especially off the eastern coast, many 
of which are the peaks of volcanic mountains 






















136 



ASIA 


137 


ASIA 


belonging to systems partly submerged. The 
East Indies constitute the largest group of 
islands, and include Borneo, Sumatra, and New 
Guinea. ’North of the East Indies are the 
Philippines, Formosa, and the group included 
in Japan. North of the continent, in the Arc¬ 
tic Ocean, are Anjou or New Siberia, and a 
number of small groups not well known. Small 
islands are located in the seas east and south 
of the continent, including Hainan in the China 
Sea, the Andaman islands and Ceylon in the 
Sea of Bengal, and numerous small groups in 
the Arabian Sea. 

Physical Features. The altitude of Asia 
is varied to a greater extent than that of any 
other portions of the earth, ranging from a 
considerable tract below sea level to the high¬ 
est mountain summits in the world. A tract 
of 50,000 square miles in the region of the 
Caspian Sea is below sea level, while the high¬ 
est extensive region on earth is included in the 
lofty highlands of the interior. The Plateau 
of Pamir is situated about 1,000 miles south¬ 
west of the center of the continent, where the 
boundaries of Afghanistan, India, and Tur- 
I kestan meet. This plateau is near the center of 
the ^mountain systems, which radiate from it in 
various directions. Southeast of it are the 
Himalayas; northwest, the Hindu Kush; and 
' northeast, the Thian Shan. East of the Pa¬ 
mirs are the Kuenlun Mountains, which extend 
east into China, and southwest of them is the 
Plateau of Tibet. The Hindu Kush attain a 
height of 25,000 feet and are extended west¬ 
ward by the Elburz in the northern part of 
Persia, where Mount Demavend has a height 
of 18,500 feet. South of the Elburz is the 
great Plateau of Iran, situated mostly in Per¬ 
sia and Afghanistan. 

The Himalaya .Mountains trend in a slight 

I curve from the northwest to the southeast, 
forming a natural barrier between India and 
China, with many chains and groups of moun¬ 
tains both north and south of the central ridge. 
Mount Everest, the highest peak, has a summit 
29,002 above sea level, and, like many others in 
the continent, is covered perpetually with snow. 

! The Desert of Gobi occupies a large part of 
Northern China, east of which are the Great 
Khinghan Mountains, trending north and south, 
i; and north of it are the Yablonoi Mountains, 
j Arabia is a tableland, made up largely of the 
Desert of Roba el-Khali, with a narrow coast 
!' bordering on the surrounding waters. The 
| mountains of Armenia culminate in Mount 
. Ararat, famous as the landing place of Noah 
\ after the Deluge, and Asia Minor is charac¬ 
terized by the Taurus Range and other moun¬ 


tains. The Deccan, a region elevated about 
2,000 feet, stretches over a part of India, and 
the Altai Mountains extend from Siberia into 
the northern part of China. Although most of 
the rivers have their source in the Himalayas, 
the Hindu Kush, and the Altai mountains, the 
drainage is practically in all directions from 
the borders of the Desert of Gobi. Asia con¬ 
tains large tracts that belong to the desert and 
arid regions, including the Tarim Desert, the' 
Desert of Gobi, the Arabian Desert, and a por¬ 
tion of the Kirghiz Steppe. 

Rivers. The continent has seven great river 
systems, which include a number of the larg¬ 
est water courses on the globe. Since railroad 
building has not been developed to a large 
extent, these water courses remain as impor¬ 
tant in transportation as they were in remote 
antiquity. The Tigris, and Euphrates discharge 
into the Persian Gulf; the Ob, the Lena, the 
Indigirka, and the Yenisei flow into the Arctic 
Ocean; the Ural flows into the Caspian Sea: 
the Amur, the Hoang Ho, the Yang-tse-Kiang, 
and the Si-Kiang flow east into the Pacific; and 
the Mekong, the Ganges, the Indus, the Ira- 
waddy,and the Brahmaputra carry their drainage 
south into seas and bays connected with the In¬ 
dian Ocean. Some of the rivers are inland and 
have no visible connection with the sea. This 
class of streams include the Amu Darya and 
the Sir Darya, flowing into the Aral Sea, and 
the Ili, which discharges into Lake Balkash. 

Climate. In the northern part the climate is 
cold during most of the year, the extreme north¬ 
ern point, Cape Chelyuskin, being somewhat 
farther north than .Nova Zembla. Here the 
temperature rises quite high during the short 
summer season, though the warm portion of 
the year is only momentary as compared with 
the long winters, and in a large portion of 
Northern Siberia, particularly in the Tundra, 
the ground never thaws out entirely. In the 
central region the temperature is extremely 
cold in the winter, and hot in the summer; on 
the southern slope of the great mountain sys¬ 
tems the climate is warm, while along the 
southern coast it is very hot, though all parts 
are comparatively healthful. In the southern 
portion, owing to the equatorial winds, rain 
falls abundantly about one-half of the year, 
while the other half is practically rainless. 
The northern part, owing to the presence of 
lofty plateaus in the interior, is generally arid. 
As a whole, the climate is not wet, which is 
due partly to its vast extent and partly to the 
absence of a considerable water surface in the 
interior. The continent has a wide range of 
temperature, the maximum ranging from 75° 





ASIA 


138 


ASIA 


on the northern. coast to 120° in Persia and 
Arabia, and the minimum is from about 65 c 
in the southern part to 58° below zero in the 
northern section. In Northeastern Asia, at 
Verkhoyansk, the temperature falls as low as 
92° below zero. Hot winds from the deserts, 
oceanic currents, and the monsoons of the In¬ 
dian Ocean affect the climate to a considerable 
extent in different sections. 

Animal Life. The animals of Asia are 
very numerous and include the largest species 
of mammals. Tropical Asia has the Asiatic 
elephant, a species different from the elephant 
of Africa. The buffalo, rhinoceros, deer, por¬ 
cupine, squirrel, and many varieties of apes 
and monkeys are. found in the southeastern 
part. In the highlands of Tibet and the plat¬ 
eaus of the Himalayas the yak is common. This 
animal is used extensively as a beast of draft 
and burden. The camel is native to Asia and 
fills an important function in the industries. 
Other animals common to different sections are 
the goat, lion, hyena, and many species of 
birds and reptiles. The domestic animals, be¬ 
sides those common in America, are the buf¬ 
falo, Angora goat, camel, elephant, and sacred 
ox. In Central Asia the mountaineers rear the 
sheep, horse, goat, spd ass extensively, while 
the camel is almost indispensable in the arid 
region, and the yak is reared and used chiefly 
in the highlands and regions having a temper¬ 
ate climate. Fish are abundant off the Asaitic 
coast and in the interior waters. The dolphin, 
dugong, crocodile, boa, and cobra de capello are 
Asiatic animals. 

Plant. Many species of plants abound that 
are common to the same latitudes in Europe, 
but the variety is greater than the plants classed 
in the flora of that grand division. Some of 
the deserts are barren and almost destitute of 
vegetation, but they are bordered by vast areas 
of pasture land, and where the climate is suf¬ 
ficiently moist and the temperature favorable 
plant life thrives luxuriantly. In the north are 
vast forests in which the willows, pines, and 
birches predominate. Maples, oaks, poplars, 
walnuts, limes, and the mulberry are found in 
Japan, China, and the regions having a similar 
climate. Aromatic shrubs abound in Persia and 
Arabia and in most of the southern sections 
thrive the date palm, the banyan, the mahogany, 
the magnolia, and the gum-producing acacias. 
A large variety of the cultivated plants of 
Europe are common to Asia and have been 
cultivated for many centuries. The chief eco¬ 
nomic plants are rice, maize, wheat, oats, bar¬ 
ley, tea, sugar cane, cotton, tobacco, buckwheat, 
millet, potatoes, and rye. Fruits are cultivated 


,on a large scale for the market in the south, 
especially the banana, yam, plantain, and raisin 
grapes. Spices, pepper, and the opium poppy 
are grown extensively. 

Minerals. The minerals are very abundant, 
but mining has not been developed as exten¬ 
sively as in Europe and America. Petroleum 
and mineral oil abound in many places, espe¬ 
cially in parts of India and in the vicinity of 
the Caspian Sea. Coal is mined in Siberia, 
Eastern China, and India, and salt and saltpeter 
are abundant in Persia and Asia Minor. Lime¬ 
stone, sandstone, and granite are quarried for 
building purposes, and beds of gypsum have 
been developed and are used in the manufac¬ 
ture of Portland cement. Other minerals more 
or less predominant are silver, gold, manga¬ 
nese, copper, lead, iron ore, and precious stones, 
including rubies, diamonds, and sapphires. 

Inhabitants. The people of Asia are greatly 
diversified, and at least five races or divisions 
are well represented. These include the Mon¬ 



golian in the eastern and central parts, the Cau¬ 
casian in the western part and India, the Malay 
in the Moluccas and the Indian Archipelago, the 
Drividas in southeastern India and Ceylon, and 
the Papuans and Negritos in the Philippine 
Islands. With respect to society the people of 
Asia are largely diversified from the lowest 
savage state to the higher civilizations. Within 
the last few decades the Mongolian races, which 
in numbers greatly exceeds all others, has been 
influenced materially by the education and polit¬ 
ical advancement of Europe, especially the 
Japanese, who have reformed their govern¬ 
ment in a large measure and reorganized their 
educational system to conform to the needs of 
an advancing civilization. The spirit of prog¬ 
ress has' influenced to a considerable extent the 
people of China, India, and some sections of 
Western Asia, but the stationary condition that 
has prevailed among the Malayans remains the 
same. Mohammedanism, Brahamanism, Bud¬ 
dhism, and'Confucianism are the chief religions 
in numerical strength, but the Christians and 


ASIA 


139 


ASIA MINOR 


Jews are quite well represented. In 1907* the 
population was 874,409,836; hence more than 
half of the human race live in Asia. 

Government. The systems of government 
differ widely and have been influenced more or 
less noticeably by the people of Europe and 
America. A considerable area is at present 
controlled or governed by nations that are not 
Asiatic in location or racial affiliation. The in¬ 
dependent countries are Japan, Persia, Asiatic 
Turkey, China and its dependencies (Eastern 
Turkestan, Mongolia, Tibet, Sungaria, and 
Manchuria), and portions of Arabia. Corea 
belongs to Japan and Afghanistan and Balu¬ 
chistan are under the control of Great Britain. 

Russia possesses the largest scope of terri¬ 
tory which is under the government of nations 
not located in Asia. The Russian possessions 
comprise Turkestan, Siberia, and Transcau¬ 
casia, and embrace an area of 6,390,000 square 
miles. The British possessions, comprising 
about 1,800,000 square miles, include Ceylon, 
India, and the Straits Settlements. France has 
territory equal to 25,000 square miles, confined 
to the peninsula known as Indo China, which 
embraces Cambodia, Oman, Tonkin, and Cochin 
China. The Philippine Islands' are territory of 
the United States and the larger part of the 
East Indies belong to the Netherlands. Ger¬ 
many has a small territorial possession in 
China, known as Kiauchau, and the Caroline 
and other islands, and Portugal has a small 
possession in India. 

The great diversity of races, languages, cus¬ 
toms, and religions has given rise to varied 
economic conditions. Until recently there were 
no telegraph and telephone lines, and railroads 
were unknown. With the growth of European 
influence and the consequent reforms in gov¬ 
ernment and methods of commerce, wonderful 
changes have been wrought. Russia constructed 
and operates the great transcontinental rail¬ 
road, a continuous line from Saint Petersburg, 
across the northern portion of Eurasia, to Vlad¬ 
ivostok on the Sea of Japan. India alone 
possesses 30,000 miles ,of railroads, and several 
trunk systems and many shorter steam and 
electric lines have been built in the Philippines, 
Japan, Turkey, and Turkestan. Many of the 
'seaport cities have extensive and well improved 
harbors, but the foreign trade is handled 
largely by. European vessels. Numerous tele¬ 
graph and telephone lines have been constructed 
and modern municipal facilites have been 
introduced into the larger cities. 

History. The history of Asia is recounted 
in the oldest historical documents, and that 
continent is generally regarded the cradle of 


the human race. In Genesis is an account dat¬ 
ing back to a period about 1,600 years before 
the Christian era, in which Moses details the 
biblical history of the creation of man, and 
gives a recital of the facts relating to the Del¬ 
uge and to the establishment of the Mosaic 
code. Western Asia contains antiquities quite 
as old as those of Egypt, while authentic his¬ 
tory in China is traced to a period fully 1,000 
years. before the Christian era. These early 
dates are more or less associated with the 
kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, Media, Babylon, 
Persia, and Phoenicia. Not only do we trace 
the early seat of the Aryan race to the vicinity 
of the Amu or Oxus River, but we find in Asia 
the origin of practically all popular religions, 
including the Jewish, Christian, and Moham¬ 
medan. From Asia vast populations moved 
westward over Europe, distributing themselves 
more or less from the Caspian Sea to the Brit¬ 
ish Isles, but in the long period of the Middle 
Ages little was known of the original seat of 
mankind. 

With the modern rise if European civiliza¬ 
tion, and the spread of Christianity and educa¬ 
tion, we are brought in closer contact with the 
people of Asia. The natural desire to learn as 
much as possible of former development in 
the arts and sciences induced the- scholars of 
modern times to explore the ruins of former 
states and the seat of ancient civilizations. With 
the invention of the steamboat came a new era 
of navigation and large armies were trans¬ 
ported to the continent with the view of ex¬ 
tending the trade of the leading nations of 
Europe. Although unwilling to cooperate in 
the new order of things the native races were 
unable to prevail against the improved imple¬ 
ments of war and the superior discipline of 
the armies with which they were confronted. 
Thus, we find practically all parts of Asia 
overrun with Europeans in the eager strife 
for political and industrial advantage. This 
impetus of the newer and larger commercial 
life, though opposed by the native races, is 
developing the mines and forests as well as 
building up the higher educational arts. For 
further information, see special articles on the 
different countries, especially subheads History 
and Description. 

ASIA MINOR, a peninsula at the western 
extremity of Asia, situated between the Black 
Sea and the Mediterranean, and forming a part 
of Asiatic Turkey. The area is about 220,000 
square miles. The surface is an elevated 
plateau, with a narrow coast on the bordering 
seas. Among the chief mountain ranges are 
the Taurus and the Anti-Taurus, between which 




ASP 


140 


ASPHODEL 


are extensive and fertile valleys. There- are 
many lakes, some of which are salt, but only 
few rivers of importance are within the region. 
The chief drainage is into the Black Sea by 
the Sakaria and the Kizil Irmak rivers, and by 
the Meander into the Grecian Archipelago, or 
Aeagean Sea. Most of the inhabitants are 
Turks, though there are a variety of races, and 
the total population is about 7,000,000. 

The region included in Asia Minor was once 
the seat of many great cities linked closely 
with history. Anciently it was divided into 
Ionia, Lydia, Phrygia, Galatia, Caria, Bithynia, 
Pontus, Mysia, Paphlagonia, Lycia, Pisidia, 
Cilicia, Isauria, Cappadocia, and Pamphylia. 
Among its chief cities were Smyrna, Ephesus, 
and Troy, and there were fought some of the 
most renowned battles of the world. The coast 
regions and many valleys are fertile and are 
cultivated. Though the interior is arid, it 
yields nutritive grasses. Cereals, fruit, wine, 
minerals, timber, and domestic animals are 
the chief products. Angora, Smyrna, Scutari, 
and Erzerum are among the present cities of 
Asia Minor. 

ASP (asp), a species of snake native to Egypt 
and Libya, and distinguished for its venomous 
bite. It became well known in ancient times 
by the circumstance that Cleopatra chose the 
bite of an asp to accomplish her suicide. This 
species is quite similar to the cobra found in 
various parts of Arabia, but differs from it in 
having a narrower neck and some slight dif- 

bite produces acute 
pain in the first in¬ 
stance, and the poi¬ 
son is said to act so 
quickly that the ap¬ 
plication of an anti¬ 
dote is impossible. 
The Bible makes 
mention of the asp 
in Romans iii, 13. 

ASPARAGUS 
(as-par'a-gus), a 
perennial plant of 
the lily family, 
largely developed by 
cultivation, and now 
grown as an article 
of food. It is prop¬ 
agated in beds heav¬ 
ily mulched, the 
young shoots being 
the only portions 
eaten. These boiled 
and enriched with butter and seasoning are 
nutritious and healthful. This plant was ex¬ 


tensively cultivated by the Greeks and Romans, 
but is found in a wild state in the warmer parts 
of Europe and Asia. It is grown extensively 
for market in the United States. The best 
yield of young shoots is obtained from plants 
at least three years old. 

ASPEN (as'pen), a species of poplar some¬ 
times called trembling poplar on account of the 
highly tremulous motion of the leaves. It is 
native to the mountainous regions of both 
Europe and Asia. The wood is light, soft, 
white, and smooth, and is used chiefly to make 
troughs, pails, trays, and arrows. The tree 
usually is slender and rootstalks spring in 
large numbers at a considerable distance from 
the main stem. This species of tree is 
planted largely for ornament, but in many re¬ 
gions, as in the Mississippi valley, the tops die 
when the rootstalks begin to spring from the 
roots. 

ASPHALT (as'falt), a mineral pitch, so 
called from the name applied by the Greeks 
to the Dead Sea, where it was anciently ob¬ 
tained in considerable quantities. It is prob¬ 
ably composed of decayed animal and vegetable 
substances, and belongs to the series of hydro¬ 
carbon compounds, which include petroleum and 
natural gas. The odor resembles that of 
pitch, the color is black or dark brown, and 
it is not soluble in water. It melts easily 
when heated and may be dissolved in ether or 
turpentine. The pure article burns without leav¬ 
ing ashes. It is artificially produced in making 
coal gas, but the article of commerce is taken 
from the beds of lakes. Asphalt occurs most 
abundantly in Cuba, California, Venezuela, Pal¬ 
estine, and various parts of Europe. However, 
the largest asphalt districts are in the northern 
parts of South America, in the regions lying 
west of Lake Trinidad. The product obtained 
there is used in manufacturing varnish and 
patent leather, and for street paving. In con¬ 
structing pavements a limestone mixed with 
asphalt is used to some extent, but asphalt pav¬ 
ing is made more largely of cement covered by 
coats of asphalt, put on at a temperature of 
from 275 to 300 degrees. 

ASPHODEL (as'fo-del), a genus of plants , 
found in Southern Europe and the countries j 
bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. Two spe¬ 
cies, the yellow and the white asphodel, are 
cultivated as garden flowers. The former has 
a stem from two to three feet high, which is ] 
covered with long narrow leaves, and flowers : 
late in the spring. In the white asphodel the 
flowers are in clusters. The genus is repre- 3 
sented in England by the bog asphodel, which 
is the daffodil of English poets. Allied species ! 


ferences in color. The 



ASPARAGUS. 





ASPHYXIA 


141 


ASSASSINATION 


are found in the United States and the southern 
part of Canada. 

ASPHYXIA (as-fix'i-a), a term used to 
signify a loss of pulsation resulting from an 
arrest of the function of respiration. This state 
may be produced by breathing gas destitute of 
oxygen, by submersion in water, strangulation, 
or suffocation, or by any cause that tends to 
prevent the breathing of pure air. Death re¬ 
sults from asphyxia, if the person affected is 
not relieved in a very short time. Relief in a 
case of apparent death by this cause is often 
obtained by maintaining the heat of the body 
and inflating the lungs. 

ASPINWALL (as'pm-wal), or Colon. See 
Colon. 

ASPIRATE (as-pi-rat). See Voice. 

ASS (as), an animal of the horse family, but 
differing from the horse in being smaller, in 
having no hard, bony warts on the hind legs, 
and in its ears being longer. The hoof is 
smaller than that of the horse. It is thought 
to be an offspring from the wild ass of Abys¬ 
sinia, because of its unwillingness to cross 
streams and its great fondness of rolling in 
loose soil. Asses are used more or less as 
beasts of burden and for draft purposes. A 
light, graceful breed is used in Syria by women 
for pleasure riding. In Arabia it is bred for 
the saddle, while in Damascus and other coun¬ 



DOMESTIC ASS. 


tries it is used for draft and plowing. It excels 
the horse on account of possessing better 
health in diversified climates and consumes a 
smaller quantity and coarser quality of food, 
and is superior as a beast of burden in moun¬ 
tainous districts, being safer on foot than any 
other domesticated animal. In some localities 
the flesh is valued as an article of food, and 
its skin is used in the manufacture of parch¬ 


ment, drum covers, shoes, and for other pur¬ 
poses. The hybrid offspring of this animal and 
the female horse Is known as the mule, which 
is a very valuable animal for many purposes, 
and is extensively reared in America. It is 
almost as large as the average horse. The 
mule is reared more extensively in the south¬ 
ern part of the Ignited States than in the North. 

ASSAM (as-sam'), a province of British 
India, bounded by Bengal, Manipur, Burma, 
and China. The area is 52,057 square miles. It 
embraces the valley of the Brahmaputra and 
several tablelands and mountain districts. It has 
a heavy rainfall and a moderate climate, but 
in the southern part, near the lower course of 
the Brahmaputra, is an extensive region of 
swamps and jungles where the climate is un¬ 
healthful. The jungles are infested by tigers, 
leopards, elephants, rhinoceroses, and other wild 
animals. Rice is the chief product, but tea, cotton, 
and fruits are grown to a considerable extent. 
Iron, coal, and petroleum are the chief minerals. 
This section is populated largely by Hindus, 
most of whom are Brahmans, and about one- 
fifth of the people are Mohammedans. Schools 
and colleges are maintained and there is con¬ 
siderable Assamese literature. Assam has been 
a British possession since 1826. Sylhet, the 
largest town, has a population of 15,000. Shil¬ 
long is the seat of government. Population, 
1901, 6,122,201. 

ASSASSINATION (as-sas-si-na'shun), the 
crime of murder committed treacherously, with¬ 
out immediate provocation, and usually with¬ 
out resistance from the person whom the as¬ 
sailant seeks to kill. The word originated from 
a secret military and religious society of Per¬ 
sia, founded by Hassan ben Sabbah in the 11th 
century, and those who are guilty of the crime 
are said to be assassins. A number of assas¬ 
sinations have been committed in all periods of 
history. In most cases perpetrators hope to 
further their ideas by causing the death of 
some public official, which is the case with an¬ 
archists and others who labor under illusionary 
hopes. Among the most noted assassinations 
during the last half century are the following: 

Montenegro, Prince Daniel, killed Aug. 18, 
1860. 

United States, President Lincoln, shot April 
14, 1865. 

Servia, Prince Michael, killed June 10, 1868. 

Turkey, Sultan Abdul Aziz, stabbed June 16, 
1876. 

Russia, Czar Alexander II., killed with dyna¬ 
mite March 13, 1881. 

United States, President Garfield, shot July 
2, 1881; died Sept. 19, 1881. 





ASSASSINS 


142 


ASSINIBOIN 


France, President Carnot, stabbed June 24, 
1894. 

Italy, King Humbert, shot July 29, 1900. 

Uruguay, General Borda, killed Aug. 26, 1897. 

Guatemala, President Barrios, killed Feb. 9, 
1898. 

Austria, Empress Elizabeth, stabbed Sept. 
10, 1898. 

United States, President McKinley* shot Sept. 
6, 1901; died Sept. 14, 1901. 

Servia, King Alexander I., shot June 11,1903. 

Russia, Katcheslav von Plehve, minister of 
the interior, assassinated in Saint Petersburg, 
by a Finn, July 28, 1904. 

Russia, Grand Duke Sergius, killed by the 
explosion of a bomb near the' Kremlin, Mos¬ 
cow, Feb. 17, 1905. 

Russia, General Sakharoff, assassinated at 
Saratov, Dec. 5, 1905. 

Portugal, King Carlos I. and Crown Prince 
Luiz, shot in Lisbon, Feb. 2, lt)08. 

ASSASSINS (as-sas'sms), a secret mil¬ 
itary and religious society founded in Persia 
by Hassan Ben Sabbah, in 1090 a. d. The 
principal aim was the assassination of those 
not members of the society. It was most pros¬ 
perous shortly after its organization, but later 
fully 12,000 were massacred for the purpose of 
exterminating the order. A few adherents still 
remain in India. 

ASSAULT AND BATTERY, a misde¬ 
meanor punishable by fine or imprisonment. An 
assault consists of physical force partly or fully 
put in motion, contrary to law, as the act of 
pointing a loaded gun at a person, or raising a 
cane to strike some one. Battery consists of 
actually inflicting injury upon the person of 
another in an angry, spiteful, or insolent man¬ 
ner. It may consist of striking or constraining 
him, or in touching him in any way while 
angry. An assault is assumed when the offense 
of battery has been committed, hence, in law, 
it is customary to use the phrase assault and 
battery. The crime varies in degree according 
to the intents with which the offenses are com¬ 
mitted. Thus, we have the simple assault, 
assault and battery, assault with intent to com¬ 
mit great bodily injury, and assault with intent 
to commit arson, robbery, murder, etc. 

ASSAYING (as-sa'ing), the art or process 
of subjecting coins, quantities of bullion, or 
alloys to examination and experiment for the 
purpose of ascertaining what proportion of 
each of the various metals they contain, as to 
find the amount of copper in a quantity of ore, 
or the amount of gold in a coin. The process 
of assaying depends upon the kind of metal or 
ore to be tested. In assaying ore containing 


silver the apparatus employed is a cupel and a 
muffle, a kind of fire-clay oven. The ore is 
placed in the cupel, which is then put into the 
muffle, and is heated to such an extent that the 
ore is melted. Some parts of the ingredients 
are carried away by union of the oxygen in the 
air with lead, and the silver remains in the 
cupel in the form of a molten metallic globule. 
When all of the ingredients have been driven 
out, the silver lightens in color and becomes a 
brilliant white. When cooled, the silver is 
weighed, and the amount of pure metal de¬ 
termined. This process is called cupellation. 
When silver contains copper, it is necessary to 
mix lead with the alloy before attempting to 
separate the copper. Another process, called 
humid, consists of dissolving the compound 
containing the silver with a solution of nitric 
acid, and afterward adding a solution of com¬ 
mon salt. The salt causes a precipitation of the 
chloride of silver into white globules or small 
lumps. When no further precipitation is ob¬ 
tained by adding the salt solution, the opera¬ 
tion is concluded, and the quantity of silver is 
measured by the quantity of salt solution em¬ 
ployed. The process of assaying, of course, de¬ 
pends upon the kind of metal or ore tested. A 
skilled assayer is able to form a fair estimate of 
the richness of the ore from the weight and 
color, but accurate knowledge can be obtained 
only by a careful chemical test. 

ASSEMBLY (as-sem'bly), a convention or 
body of men gathered to deliberate, as a con¬ 
vention of a religious society or a political 
party. The legislative branch of many states 
of the United States is known as a General As¬ 
sembly, as in New York, Iowa, and other 
states, while in New Jersey the lower house is 
known by that term. An unlawful assembly is 
a gathering of a number of persons, usually 
three or more, bent on aiding or performing 
an unlawful act. 

ASSIMILATION (as-s!m-i-la'shun), a term 
used in physiology to designate the action 
of the vital organs whereby food, in the course 
of digestion, is modified in various ways and 
fitted for the use of the body, of which it 
finally becomes a part. The materials assimi¬ 
lated are brought by the blood in the capil¬ 
laries to the cells, where the development of 
living tissues takes place. See Absorption. 

ASSINIBOIA (as-sm-i-boi'a), formerly a 
district in the southern part of the Dominion 
of Canada, but divided in 1905 and made a 
part of the two provinces of Alberta and Sas¬ 
katchewan. See Alberta, Saskatchewan. 

ASSINIBOIN (as-sin'T-boin), a tribe of 
Indians, so named because they dropped hot 



ASSINIBOINE 


143 


ASSYRIA 


stones into water to heat it. This tribe for¬ 
merly occupied the region between the Mis¬ 
souri and Saskatchewan rivers, on both sides 
of the boundary of Canada, but these Indians 
are now on reservations in Montana and Can¬ 
ada. They seceded from the Sioux and speak 
a dialect of the Sioux language. The total 
number of Assiniboins is 2,670, about half of 
whom are in Canada, and the balance are at 
Fort Peck and Fort Belknap, Mont. 

ASSINIBOINE (as-sin'i-boin), a river in 
Canada; formed in Macdonald County, Mani¬ 
toba, by the junction of the Mouse or Souris 
and the Qu’Appelle. From the head water of 
the latter to its junction with the Red River of 
the North, at Winnipeg, it has a length of about 
475 miles. The river is so named from the 
Assiniboin Indians, who formerly inhabited the 
region through which it flows. 

ASSISI (as-se'ze), a small town of Italy, 
in the province of Umbria, fourteen miles east 
of Perugia. It is noted as the birthplace of 
Saint Francis, the founder of the Franciscan 
! Order of Monks, and his remains are in the 
first monastery of this order built in Assisi. The 
town is visited by many pilgrims every year. It 
is a beautiful place, surrounded by olive groves, 
and is the seat of several churches and twelve 
monasteries. The commune, in 1901, had a 
population of 17,378. 

ASSOCIATED PRESS (aVso-shi-a'ted), 
an organization founded for the purpose of 

I collecting and distributing news. The first 
association for this purpose was formed in 
1849 by the owners of several New. York news¬ 
papers, among them the Herald, World, Times, 
Sun, Tribune, and Express. Since then other 
associations of the kind have been organized. 

t The object is to systematize the gathering of 
news by sending correspondents to different 
sections of the country, or even to foreign 
countries, by employing cable and telegraph 
lines and by utilizing any other means for the 
rapid accumulation and distribution of news. 
These associations not only use the news them¬ 
selves, but sell all or certain classes of news in 
different parts of the world for use in making 
up daily and weekly periodicals. The Asso¬ 
ciated Press is now the largest association of 
the kind in America. It controls over 30,000 
miles of telegraph wire and several cable lines, 
and is in touch with news centers in all parts 
! of the world. The cost of the service is about 
$150,000 each month, and over 2,000 news¬ 
papers, published in the region from Maine to 
California, are furnished news daily from time 
to time. To facilitate the transmission of news, 


it is divided into Eastern, Southern, Central, 
and Western branches. 

ASSOCIATION (as-so-si-a'shun), in psy¬ 
chology, the mental process by which the mind 
unites objects or ideas in thought so that one 
tends to recall the other, especially in matters 
relating to memory. For example, in coming 
to a place where some important event occurred, 
or something unusual happened, the sight of 
the place is certain to recall the occurrence. 
Again, two objects long associated together, 
when separated, one suggests the other much 
more easily than if it had been associated with 
several different objects. This may be illus¬ 
trated by the habit of a person who is accus¬ 
tomed to wear a coat of a peculiar color; such 
a coat seen under different circumstances is 
much more liable to suggest that person than if 
similar coats were worn by a large number of 
persons. Psychologists have formulated cer¬ 
tain primary laws of suggestions, which, if un¬ 
derstood by the teacher, can be made highly 
serviceable in the instruction of pupils. By 
means of a knowledge of these laws, the mind 
may be led from things known to a wider field 
through association of similar objects, or a 
contrast of dissimilar objects. These primary 
laws include similarity, under which a precept 
tends to suggest the concept of something like 
it; contrast, by which a mansion may suggest 
a cottage; continuity ,of time or place, as ob¬ 
jects associated in time or place suggest each 
other; cause and effect, which tend to suggest 
that a certain instrument caused a wound. 
Under the same law the sight of a weapon 
suggests its danger. 

ASSUAN (as-swan'), a town in Egypt, lo¬ 
cated on the Nile, near the boundary of Nubia. 
It is about two miles below the first cataract, 
and is important as a station for the caravan 
trade with the Sudan. Near it is the great dani 
built across the Nile by the British govern¬ 
ment, and it has railway connection with Alex¬ 
andria and other commercial centers of Egypt. 
In its vicinity are granite quarries and the 
ruins of a town built by the Saracens. Popula¬ 
tion, 10,000. 

ASSUS (as'sus), or Assos, anciently a city 
and seaport of Asia Minor, on the Gulf of 
Adramyttium. It was built by the Greeks and 
in its vicinity are ruins of a theater and sev¬ 
eral temples. It remained important as. a ship¬ 
ping point up to the beginning of the Christian 
era. In Acts xx„ 13, it is related that both 
Saint Paul and Saint Peter visited Assus on 
their way from Troas to Mitylene. 

ASSYRIA (as-sir'i-a), an ancient country 
of Asia, in Mesopotamia. The boundary on 






ASSYRIA 


144 


ASSYRIA 


the north was formed by the highlands of Ar¬ 
menia, east by Media, south by Susiana and 
Babylonia, and west by the Tigris. It is thought 
that the larger part of the valley of the Eu¬ 
phrates was included, but the country cannot 
be accurately separated from Babylonia either 
in the light of history or geography.’ The his¬ 
tory of these two nations seems closely inter¬ 
twined, and to measure the power of one is to 
know the weakness of the other. However, 
each has a history common to itself. Assyria 
was known to the Hebrews as Asshur and to 
the Persians as Athurd. The region included 
in Assyria is thought to have had a length of 
about 380 miles, a breadth of 250 miles, and an 
area of not less than 100,000 square miles. It 
is known to have possessed one of the oldest 



civilizations, an extensive literature, and con¬ 
siderable advancement in the arts and sciences. 
A decipherment of the cuneiform documents, 
inscriptions that contain much valuable infor¬ 
mation, has added materially to the knowledge 
of this interesting and ancient people. Be¬ 
sides, by the discovery of certain fragments of 
literature, that lay buried underneath rubbish 
and ashes until the middle of the last century, 
and by locating the site of many of the larger 
cities, the knowledge of this nation has been 
generally widened. In the Bible we are told 
that Nineveh, the capital city, was founded by 
Asshur of Babylonia, and it is probable that 
Assyria became powerful long after Babylonia 
had risen to the dignity of a mighty empire. 

Assyria and Babylonia were interdependent, 
and the early rulers of the former were ap¬ 
pointed by the kings of Babylonia. After many 
years Assyria became independent, and by the 
year 1320 b. c. attained much power. The first 
empire was founded about 1140 b. c. by Tiglath- 
Pileser I., and under his reign Assyria ex¬ 
panded its dominion over Western Asia. He 
was succeeded by his son, who proved an in¬ 


competent ruler, and two centuries later Assyria 
was in a state of decadence. At the time of 
the decline of Assyria, the Hebrew kingdom de¬ 
veloped power under David and Solomon, but 
in the year 930 b. c. it again grew to impor¬ 
tance. With the ascension of Shalmaneser II., 
in 858 b. c., the empire reestablished its domin¬ 
ion over Western Asia. This king reigned for 
thirty years and fought against the kings of 
Damascus, Hamath, and Israel. A Babylonian 
named Pul usurped the throne in 745 b. c. and 
assumed the Assyrian name Tiglath-Pile'ser II. 
However, a successful revolt occurred under 
Sargon, a great general of Assyria, who car¬ 
ried 27,000 Babylonian citizens into captivity. 
Later his son Sennacherib conquered Judaea 
and besieged Jerusalem, where a pestilence de¬ 
stroyed his army and saved the city from being 
captured. In 681 b. c. Esar-Haddon organized 
great military forces, effected internal improve¬ 
ments, made Assyria a powerful empire, and 
brought under its dominion, not only Western 
Asia, but Egypt and large portions of Northern 
Africa. This monarch reigned thirteen years 
and was followed by three others, the last of 
whom was known as Sarakos, whose reign ter¬ 
minated in seven years with the fall of Nine¬ 
veh in 606 b. c., when it was captured by the 
allied army of the Medes and Babylonians. 

Assyria was far advanced in industry, art, 
and civilization* In its cities were many large 
buildings and palaces constructed of brick, ala¬ 
baster, and stone. The interior of many of 
these structures contained exquisite sculptures, 
principally figures in relief. They consisted 
chiefly of scenes of war and of the chase, be¬ 
sides other favorite subjects. It is evident 
from literature and ruins that have been un-* 
covered that the Assyrians understood the con¬ 
struction of arches, tunnels, drains, and aque¬ 
ducts, and the use of the lever, the roller, and 
the pulley. They engaged in the manufacture 
of various ornamental figures and articles of 
household utility, such as jars and dishes of 
metal, porcelain, and glass. They were ac¬ 
quainted with the lens, practiced the arts of 
inlaying and enameling, designed ornaments of 
ivory, bronze, gold, and silver with marked 
skill, and displayed a rare taste in designing 
and making household furniture. To the As¬ 
syrians is ascribed considerable knowledge in 
astronomy, since they made star charts, divided 
the year into twelve months, naming them after 
the signs of the zodiac, and divided the week 
into seven days, observing the seventh as a day 
of rest. Records were kept of the eclipses 
of the sun and moon, which they learned to 
foretell with considerable accuracy, and there 








ASTER 


145 


ASTIGMATISM 


is evidence that they studied the transits of 
stars. An astronomical work, entitled “The 
Illumination of the Bell,” is an Assyrian publi¬ 
cation, copies of which are now in several 
European museums, and in which are treated 
the motions of Mars and Mercury, the north 
polar star, the phases of the moon, the con¬ 
junction of the sun and moon, and several 
planets observed anciently. A department of 
knowledge termed Assyriology relates to the 
modern study of Assyrian antiquities. For¬ 
merly our fund of knowledge in relation to 
Assyrian history was based largely upon Jew¬ 
ish records and the writings of Herodotus, but 
since 1842 many extensive explorations and 
excavations of ancient ruins have added ma¬ 
terial of considerable extent and value. 

That the Assyrians possessed an extensive 
literature is evidenced by various explorations 
of their ruined cities and excavations leading 
to a restoration of numerous sculptures and 
monuments. The most important objects of 
discovery were several palaces, including the 
palace of Asshurbanipal at Nineveh, where the 
remains of a large library were found. The 
! contents included numerous tablets, text-books 
—some of these relating to mathematics, zool¬ 
ogy, and astronomy—and various devices for 
: representing geographical and astronomical phe¬ 
nomena. The literature included many poetic 
productions and extensive and interesting 
mythological writings. There were included 
descriptive works in geogra'phy, botany, history, 
architecture, chemistry, and various other lines 
of study, though in some of the theories held 
a marked similarity was shown to those enter- 
! tained by other ancient nations. This circum¬ 
stance is evidenced by the story of a flood rep¬ 
resented to have destroyed all forms of life, 
the description being quite similar to that of 
the flood mentioned in the Scriptures, and they 
possessed a history of the creation quite like 
that described in Genesis. Though many of 
the writings were produced in the reign of 
Asshurbanipal, about 650 b. c., many seem to 
date from an earlier period. 

ASTER (as'ter), a genus of plants of the 
Compasitae order, so called from the close re¬ 
semblance of the expanding leaves to a star. 
These plants are native to America and Eura¬ 
sia. Many species have been developed under 
a long line of cultivation, some including beau¬ 
tiful flowering forms. The flowers are greatly 
variegated in color, including purple, white, 
blue, yellow, and reddish, and from their ten¬ 
dency to flower late in the season, together 
with their resemblance to the daisy, they are 
frequently called Christmas daisies. Though 

10 


several American species are counted among 
the finest, the China aster, a double flowering 
species, is generally admired as the most beau¬ 
tiful and showy. 

ASTEROID (as'ter-oid), or Planetoid, the 

name of any individual of a great group of 
small planets known to exist between the orbits 
of Mars and Jupiter. Their origin is thought 
to be due to the influence of gravity exercised 
by. Jupiter in the early formative stage, by 
which the formation of a separate planet was 
prevented according to the general principles of 
the evolution of planets, and as a result a 
large number of small bodies were composed of 
the existing materials. The asteroids are not 
evenly distributed, but occupy a position at 
irregular intervals, either separately or in 
groups. Bode’s law, which indicates that a 
large planet should lie between Mars and Ju¬ 
piter, led to an association of twenty-four as¬ 
tronomers in 1800, whose object was to search 
for the missing body. The first discovery was 
made by Guiseppe Piazzi (1746-1826) of Sicily 
in January, 1801, when he located an asteroid 
which he named Ceres. Three others, named 
Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, were discovered in 
1807. A fifth was discovered in 1845, and since 
1847 new bodies have been found almost every 
year, the whole number now being placed at 
about 500. They revolve around the sun at a 
distance of from 200,000,000 to 300,000,000 miles. 
Their total mass is equal to about one-fourth 
the mass of the earth. The asteroid Flora 
revolves around the sun once every 1,191 days 
and Hilda completes one revolution in 2,868 
days, and the length of the year of the others 
is between these extremes. 

ASTHMA (az'ma), a disease character¬ 
ized by shortness of breath, and whose effects 
are spasmodic after intervals of comparatively 
good health. In common asthma the lining 
membrane of the air passage is affected some¬ 
what similarly to the affections experienced in 
chronic bronchitis, but the affection of the 
mucous membrane is seated farther down in 
the bronchial Uibes and lungs. Chronic asthma, 
though disagreeable and weakening, seldom 
shortens life. Asthma is most common among 
persons advanced in years, and frequently af¬ 
fects those of a nervous temperament. It is 
more common among men than women and 
frequently follows attacks of measles and bron¬ 
chitis. 

ASTIGMATISM (a-stig'ma-tiz’m), a de 
feet in eyesight, which arises from the defect 
ive structure or malformation of the eye. I 
results in defective vision by inclining the af 
fected individual to fail to see objects in the 




ASTORIA 


146 


ASTRONOMY 


same place, though they really may be so. This 
is due to the rays of light converging to a point 
on the retina, thereby forming a line of light 
instead of a circular apparition. It can be rem¬ 
edied by the use of glasses. 

ASTORIA (as-to'ri-a), a port city of Ore¬ 
gon, county seat of Clatsop County, on the 
Columbia River, seventy miles northwest of 
Portland. It is situated on the Astoria and 
Columbia River Railroad, has an excellent har¬ 
bor, and is surrounded by a cereal and fruit¬ 
growing country. The industries include a 
large trade in lumber, salmon packing, and 
manufactures of furniture, clothing, machin¬ 
ery, and earthenware. It has several excellent 
public school buildings, a fine county court¬ 
house, a public library, a United States custom 
house, and a hospital. Electric lights, pave¬ 
ments, telephones, waterworks, and sewerage 
are among the facilities. Astoria was founded 
by John Jacob Astor in 1811 and was chartered 
as a city in 1876. Population, 1900, 8,381. 

ASTRAKHAN (as-tra-kan'), a city of 
Russia, capital of a government of the same 
name, situated on an island at the mouth of 
the Volga, about twenty miles from the Caspian 
Sea, on which it is the principal Russian sea¬ 
port. It has traffic connections by railroads 
and steamboat .lines, electric street railways, 
and numerous schools, hospitals, and churches. 
The city has extensive stockyards, engages 
largely in manufacturing, and is important as 
a commercial city. Among the chief manufac¬ 
tures are clothing, machinery, cured meat, and 
canned fish. Salt is obtained in large quantities 
in the marshes of the steppes, near the city. 
Population, 1907, 121,580. 

ASTRINGENT (as-trin'jent), in medicine, 
an agent which causes contraction in the or¬ 
ganic tissues and canals of the body, and used 
to check discharges and excessive purging. The 
astringents- include both vegetable and animal 
substances. Vegetable astringents used com¬ 
monly are derived from blackberry root, kino, 
oak bark, rhatany, and logwood. The chief 
mineral astringents are nitrate, af silver, ace¬ 
tate of lead, alum, carbonate of lime, and the 
sulphate and chloride of iron. 

ASTROLOGY (as-trol'6-jy), a term mean¬ 
ing originally the knowledge of the stars, but 
later limited to the practice of predicting future 
events from the position of the heavenly bodies. 
In ancient times the practice of undertaking to 
foretell the fortunes of men and nations was 
looked upon as a real science, while the mere 
knowledge of the fixed stars and the planets, 
and of their motion and volume, was considered 
secondary. Astrology was one of the most ex¬ 


tensive forms of ancient superstition, and had 
a wide foothold at the dawn of early history 
among the Egyptians, Chaldaeans, Hindus, Chi¬ 
nese, and other people of Asia and Africa. 
From the East this superstition spread to West¬ 
ern Asia and Europe, and became firmly lodged 
at Rome at the beginning of the Christian era. 
Old writings cannot be well understood with¬ 
out a knowledge of astrology, while the Bible 
contains many allusions to this so-called science. 
The utter fallacy and worthlessness of this 
study or science was not discovered until some 
advancement had been made in astronomy. By 
the so-called “viewers of the heavens” the 
successes or misfortunes of a nation were pre¬ 
dicted, this depending upon the signs that pre¬ 
vailed at the time of its founding, and the tem¬ 
perament of a child was designated from the 
planet under which it was born, as jovial from 
Jupiter. The medicinal virtue of herbs was 
supposed to be due to their ruling planets, and 
phases of the moon were taken as the index 
of the future greatness of a newborn child. In 
some countries almanacs are still published 
that contain astrological predictions, though the 
“science” has fallen into disrepute, and the 
authors themselves do not believe in them. 

ASTRONOMY (as-tron'6-my), the sci¬ 
ence which investigates the distances, magni¬ 
tudes, motions, and various other phenomena 
of the heavenly bodies. While the parent of 
all the sciences, it is truly the most perfect and 
beautiful. Besides, it is a science both old and 
ancestral, coming with resistless progress from 
shepherds of the Orient watching their flocks 
by night, thence passing to the rulers of ancient 
empires and the giants of modern thought un¬ 
til to-day it has attained a state which com¬ 
bines the beauty of poetry and the exactness of 
geometry. It has caused the civilized world 
to be dotted with observatories in which a 
great variety of instruments are utilized for 
weighing, measuring, and studying the celestial 
bodies, each striving for new discoveries and 
greater knowledge of the infinite space that 
surrounds us. 

The ancient nations, including Assyria, China, 
Hindu, Egypt, Chaldaea, and Greece, had made 
material progress in studying this science long 
before the Christian era. A law of China 
required the astronomer to foretell eclipses 
under penalty of death. The Chinese thought 
that the eclipse represented a great monster, in 
deadly, conflict with the sun, and to drive him 
off it was nepessary to employ the gong and 
other instruments to frighten him away. Thales, 
a Grecian astronomer of 640 b. c., is regarded 
the early founder of the science, since he was 


ASTRONOMY 


147 


ASTRONOMY 


among the first to teach that the earth is a 
sphere, and gave valuable aid to navigation by 
pointing out that the Lesser Bear is a better 
guide upon the sea than the Great Bear. In 
the year 500 b. c. Pythagoras taught that the 
sun is the center of the universe, around which 
the earth circulates. By demonstrations he 
made it clear that a morning and an evening 
star may be the same body, the difference being 
due to a change of position. The history of 
astronomy proper begins with Hipparchus, who 
lived in the 2d century b. c. His observations 
enabled him to make a chart of the heavenly 
bodies, which included 1,081 stars. He was 
succeeded by Ptolemy in the 2d century a. d., 
who published a book called the “Almagest,” 
in which the Ptolemaic system was explained. 
He erroneously taught that the earth is the 
center of the universe and that the heavens 
revolved around it, each period of revolution 
occupying twenty-four hours. 

Copernicus in the 16th century disproved the 
teaching of Ptolemy, and held that many of 
the theories of Pythagoras are true. His sys¬ 
tem places the sun as the center of the uni¬ 
verse, from which the planets receive light and 
heat in their revolution around it. At that 
time his discovery could not be clearly demon¬ 
strated, and for this reason it was not gener¬ 
ally accepted. Later Kepler announced his 
famous laws, and Galileo studied the heavens 
with a telescope. Newton won fame and added 
the greatest assistance to promulgate scientific 
study by the discovery of gravitation. By 
means of this discovery it became possible to 
account for the revolutions of the planets and 
satellites, and to assign a cause for their occu¬ 
pying exact positions in space. The satellites 
of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn were ob¬ 
served by Laplace, who also gave much valua¬ 
ble assistance by the publication of many works 
of merit. Since that time, especially during the 
latter part of the last century, divers notable 
discoveries have been made through the medi¬ 
um of improved instruments. 

Astronomy is a very useful science, since a 
knowledge of the natural phenomena govern¬ 
ing the sun, planets, and stars has made it pos¬ 
sible to fix disputed dates of ancient battles 
and of the reigns of kings. It has enabled us 
to establish definitely the exact length of the 
units of time requisite for the calendar, and 
has aided in navigation by making it possible 
to guide ships from port to port at a smaller 
cost and a material saving of human life. As¬ 
tronomy has given us a knowledge of the exact 
size of the earth, thereby enabling us to make 
accurate maps of the continents and oceans, 


and it is of material value in general survey¬ 
ing. It has enabled us to determine the exact 
units of time, which has made it possible to 
construct clocks and watches with such a de¬ 
gree of exactness that we may be guided by 
them without error in all parts of the earth. 

Astronomy is interested chiefly in a consid¬ 
eration of the earth, sun, moon, satellites, plan¬ 
ets, comets, meteors, and fixed stars. It teaches 
that the sun is the center of the universe, from 
which all other bodies m our solar system re¬ 
ceive light and heat, as they revolve around 
it in regular orbits under the laws of gravita¬ 
tion. There are eight so-called planets, includ¬ 
ing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Sat¬ 
urn, Uranus, and Neptune, the first two having 
their orbits within that of the earth, and the 
last five having orbits larger than that of our 
planet, and to these Vulcan, a supposed in¬ 
ferior planet, is sometimes added. Various 
symbols are used to express in an abbreviated 
form certain astronomical terms and the names 
of the sun, satellites, and planets. Below is a 
list of the more important symbols: 

© =The sun. 0=The ascending node. 

([=Themoon. $ = Mercury. 

•=The new moon. $ — Venus. 

0=The full moon. ©=The earth. 

(5=Conjunction. Mars. 

Q= Quadrature, or differ- %— Jupiter. 

ing 90°. b = Saturn. 

8 = Opposition, or differ- S = Uranus, 
ing 180°. W=Neptune. 

With the invention of elaborate instruments 
and the construction of gigantic observatories, 
great strides of advancement have been made, 
both in the discovery of heavenly bodies and in 
their measurements and analysis. This has 
caused astronomy to be divided into several 
branches. Astronomical geography treats of 
the earth, and uranography of the heavens. The 
study of the fixed stars is called sidereal as¬ 
tronomy. Physical astronomy not only inves¬ 
tigates, but accounts for the facts observed. 

Several observatories have been giving con¬ 
siderable attention to the study of sun spots. 
The authentic records of meteorological re¬ 
search do not extend back more than about 
fifty years, and in the study of solar phenomena 
the investigator is still more restricted. There 
is no record of solar prominences earlier than 
1872. The largest sun spot has a diameter of 
70,000 miles, and two other large spots have 
each a diameter of 40,000 miles. It has been 
found that the spots vary periodically in size, 
the cycle being 11.1 years, and there is also a 
marked variance in the number of spots visible 
at different times. When examined through 
a telescope spots appear like large irregular 
holes in the surface of the sun, and it is rea- 





ASUNCION 


148 


ATHENS 


sonably certain that they are cavities and not ele¬ 
vations. The sloping sides, when seen through 
a large telescope, seem to be made up of white 
filaments, while the central part resembles a 
great flame ending in fiery spires. It cannot 
be doubted that these solar phenomena have 
an influence on terrestrial life, but science has 
yet to discover their effect and purpose. See 
Earth, Sun, Asteroids, Moon, Jupiter, Satel¬ 
lites, etc. 

ASUNCION (a-sobn-se-on'), the capital and 
most important city of Paraguay, on the 
Paraguay River, 645 miles north of Buenos 
Ayres. It is the converging center of several 
railroads, and has a number of fine public build¬ 
ings and modern municipal improvements. A 
college, the custom house, a hospital, a cathe¬ 
dral, and the national capitol are among the 
chief buildings. It has an important trade by 
steamship navigation on the Paraguay River 
and by railroads with the interior. The man¬ 
ufactures include clothing, machinery, tobacco, 
and textiles. Among the chief articles of com¬ 
merce are cereals, lumber, hides, tea, coffee, 
and fruits. It was founded on Assumption day 
in 1536, hence its name, and in 1869 was occu¬ 
pied by a Brazilian army. Population, 1905, 
60,259. 

ATACAMA (a-ta-ka'ma), a vast desert re¬ 
gion on the west coast of South America, be¬ 
longing to Chile. It is rich in gold, silver, 
iron, nickel, copper, lead, and cobalt mines, and 
there are deposits of guano on the coast. The 
district has an area of about 66,000 square 
miles. The occupation of this region has caused 
some contention between Chile and Bolivia, 
from which several wars have resulted. For¬ 
merly it belonged to Bolivia, but it was ceded 
to Chile in 1884. The area is about 28,500 
square miles. 

ATCHAFALAYA (ach-af-a-ll'a), the name 
of a river and bayou in Louisiana, serv¬ 
ing as a secondary channel of the Mississippi. 
It is connected with the Mississippi near the 
mouth of the Red River, and after a course of 
225 miles toward the south enters the Gulf of 
Mexico by Atchafalaya Bay, 120 miles west of 
the main outlet of the Mississippi. Some geog¬ 
raphers assert that the Atchafalaya constitutes 
the old bed of the Red River, its name signi¬ 
fying lost river. 

ATCHISON (ach'i-son), a city in Kansas, 
county seat of Atchison County, on the Mis¬ 
souri River, forty-eight miles north of Kansas 
City. It is on the Missouri Pacific, the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy, and other railroads, 
has steamboat connections with Mississippi 
River and Gulf ports, and enjoys a large com¬ 


mercial trade. The manufactures include flour, 
machinery, hardware, clothing, tobacco prod¬ 
ucts, and earthenware. It is the seat of the 
State Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home. Besides an 
excellent public school system, it has several 
colleges and private schools. Electric lights 
and street railways, waterworks, pavements, sev¬ 
eral libraries, and a public park are among the 
utilities. The city has a fine county courthouse 
and other substantial buildings. The first set¬ 
tlement in its vicinity was made in 1854 and it 
was incorporated in 1858. Population, 1904, 
16,925. 

ATHABASCA (ath'a-bas-ka), formerly a 
district of Canada, but in 1905 divided and 
made a part of the two provinces of Alberta 
and Saskatchewan. See Alberta, Saskatch¬ 
ewan. 

ATHABASCA, or Elk, a river in Canada, 
rises in the Rocky Mountains, near Mount 
Brown, and has a length of 630 miles. The 
general course is toward the northeast until 
it reaches Fort McMurray, where it receives 
the Clearwater River, and thence flows north 
and passes through the west end of Lake Atha¬ 
basca. About 35 miles beyond Lake Athabasca, 
which is sometimes called the Rocher River, it 
unites with the Peace River to form the Slave 
River. 

ATHABASCA LAKE, a large body of 
fresh water in the Dominion of Canada, situ¬ 
ated in the northern part of Alberta and Sas¬ 
katchewan. The length from southwest to 
northeast is 200 miles and the breadth is about 
30 miles. Surrounding the lake is a timbered 
country, mostly of poplar, fir, and spruce. It 
receives the water from the Athabasca River 
and by that stream, or the Rocher River, dis¬ 
charges through the Slave River into Great 
Slave Lake. 

ATHEISM (a'the-iz’m), the doctrine that 
disbelieves or denies the existence of God. 
Among the Greeks and other ancient people 
atheism consisted of a denial, or nonrecognition, 
of the gods of the state. Some writers have 
doubted whether there ever were any atheists, 
since the doctrine of atheism is contrary to the 
instincts of man. 

ATHENS (ath'enz), a city in Georgia, 
county seat of Clark County, on the Oconee 
River, and on the Central of Georgia, the 
Southern, and the Seaboard Air Line railroads. 
It is surrounded by an agricultural and fruit¬ 
growing country and has a large trade in cot¬ 
ton and merchandise. The manufactures in¬ 
clude flour, paper, ironware, cotton goods, to¬ 
bacco products, and machinery. Besides hav¬ 
ing a fine public school system, it is the seat 


ATHENS 


149 


ATHENS 


of the Lucy Cobb Institute, the State Normal 
School, the University of Georgia, and the 
State College of Agriculture. Electric lights, 
street railways, pavements, several libraries, 
and a fine county courthouse are among the im¬ 
provements. Athens was founded in 1800 as 
the seat of the State University. Population, 
1900, 10,245. 

ATHENS, the capital of ancient Attica, 
the center of Greek culture, now the capital 
of the kingdom of Greece. It is situated in 
the Plains of Attica, four miles from the 
Saronic Gulf, a branch of the Aegean Sea, 
and about an equal distance from the port 
town of Piraeus. The city is built around a 
central rocky height, called the Acropolis, 
an elevation about 300 feet high, and rising 
600 feet above the Mediterranean. Around 


it are grouped the Areopagus, or the Hill of 
Mars; the Manseion, or the Hill of the 
Muses; the hill of the Nymphs; and the Hill 
of Pnyx. The Plains of Attica are bounded 
by hills, through which flow the Ilissus and the 
Cephisus rivers. According to tradition the 
city was founded in 1550 b. c. by Cecrops, 
a mythical hero, and was originally named 
Cecropia, but the name was afterward 
changed to Athens in honor of the goddess 
Athena. King Theseus, a mythical king, was 
an incentive to the building of the ancient city, 
while the great Solon made it famous for its 
democratic government and led to the erection 
of many magnificent buildings, among them 
the Temple of Zeus, known as the Olympium, 
of which ruins still remain. 

When Europe was overrun by the Persians, 


the city was burnt, but, after the victories of 
Salamis and Plataea, Athenian ascendancy 
caused it to be rebuilt in great splendor. „In 
the days of Themistocles were built the walls 
surrounding the Acropolis and many massive 
towers and gates, and the city was inclosed 
with impregnable walls. Its greatest glory 
was attained in the time of Pericles, when it 
was beautified by splendid architecture and 
sculpture. Important schools of history, phi¬ 
losophy, and poetry flourished in the time of 
Herodotus, Socrates, and Simonides. This 
period witnessed the construction of its beau¬ 
tiful monuments and public buildings, among 
them the Parthenon. 

The decline of Athens began with the close 
of the Peloponnesian wars. At that period its 
walls were destroyed, many beautiful struc¬ 
tures demolished, and, worst 
of all, the spirit of Grecian 
ambition broken. True, De¬ 
mosthenes and Lycurgus still 
defended the freedom of the 
city and constructed amphi¬ 
theaters for the entertainment 
of thousands of people, but the 
spirit of her greatness was 
largely lost. When Athens be¬ 
came a part of Macedonia, it 
continued to be the seat of 
philosophy and rhetoric, and, 
when conquered by Rome in 
146 b. c., it became the teacher 
of that great nation. It en¬ 
joyed periods of prosperity and 
depression successively on ac¬ 
count of its conquest by the 
Romans, Goths, Christians, and 
Turks. Greece was freed from 
Turkish dominion in 1833, 
since which time it has been a kingdom with its 
seat of government at Athens. 

Modern Athens is alike prosperous in its 
industries and material growth, and in the de¬ 
velopment of the arts, sciences, and general 
education. The National University, founded 
in 1837, is attended by about 3,000 students, 
and is equipped with extensive laboratories and 
a library of 225,000 volumes. It is the seat 
of the National Museum, located in the Poly¬ 
technic School, and of schools for the study 
of antiquities under the direction of French, 
English, American, and German societies. Chief 
among the public buildings is the royal palace,” 
constructed in the modern Greek style and dec¬ 
orated with fine paintings and frescoes. The 
city is traversed by electric street cars, both 
urban and interurban, and has railroad connec- 








ATHLETICS 


150 


ATHOS 


tion with the principal cities of Greece. Munic¬ 
ipal systems of gas and electric plants and pub¬ 
lic waterworks, which include the ancient aque¬ 
duct of Hadrian, and other public facilities, are 
maintained. It is the financial center of the na¬ 
tion, the seat of its art and learning, and does 
not engage extensively in manufacturing en¬ 
terprises. Those maintained are operated by 
private companies and make clothing, chem¬ 
icals, musical instruments, earthenware, and 
spirituous liquors. Trade is chiefly in silk tex¬ 
tiles, rugs, wearing apparel, and cereals used 
in domestic consumption. Population, 1906, 
170,125. 

ATHLETICS (ath-let'iks), the general name 
applied to a large variety of sports which are 
recognized as contests of physical skill, or are 
played for the purpose of developing physical 
strength. In a wider sense, the term embraces 
polo, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, and other 
games that are played extensively as sports and 
for profit. The term athletics in a narrower 
sense is applied more generally to the sports 
which hold a prominent place among the games 
played by students in the schools and the higher 
institutions of learning. Those who engage- in 
athletics for pay are usually spoken of as pro¬ 
fessionals, while all others, including the ath¬ 
letes of schools and colleges, are termed ama¬ 
teurs. Indeed, it is the object of the educa¬ 
tional institutions to encourage athletics only in 
the line played by amateurs, since the sports are 
intended especially for the development of a 
degree of physical strength which is essential in 
the educational growth of the student. 

The games recommended for the educational 
institutions are very numerous. They include 
those that are fitted for the gymnasium in the 
winter and for the campus and the green sward 
in autumn and spring. Another distinction is 
made in regard to the sexes, the games for both 
male and female being numerous and well 
understood. In most institutions the various 
games are promoted by organizations, fre¬ 
quently including one or more complete teams. 
The most skillful team is constituted of the 
best players, who are selected after competitive 
tests have been made, and it devolves upon this 
team to play competitive games with the select 
teams of other schools and colleges. The mem¬ 
bers of the select team have the benefit of 
training by the coach, who strives to bring out 
.the greatest possible skill with the least neces- 
ary expenditure of energy. In most cases suit¬ 
able clothing or specially designed suits are 
worn in the competitive games. The suits de¬ 
pend upon the game to be played, but usually 
include a light leather shoe, tight stockings, 


knee pants of light cloth, and a loose fitting 
shirt or waist. 

The popular sports that belong essentially to 
athletics are classified as those of the field and 
those of the track. These terms have reference 
to a circular track and the inner field inclosed 
by the same. Among the field events are hur¬ 
dling, pole vaulting, broad jumping, high jump¬ 
ing, hammer throwing, and discus throwing. 
The track events consist of sprinting, including 
sprints from fifty yards to 440 yards for short 
distances and from a half mile to two miles for 
long distances. The rules for playing are ex¬ 
tensive and vary somewhat according to the 
age and experience of the players. Several 
competitive games are played each year by the 
unions and associations of school and college 
athletes. The national and intercollegiate 
games are usually played in May or in Sep¬ 
tember. 

The annual games of the Canadian Amateur 
Athletic Union have been played a number of 
years with marked success. This association 
held its championship games at Montreal on 
Sept. 21, 1907, and in the pole vault made a 
record of 11 feet 5 inches. The Intercollegiate 
Athletic Association of the United States is 
one of the organizations that has been hold¬ 
ing annual games for many years. It held its 
thirty-second annual game at Cambridge, Mass., 
in 1907, at which time it made a pole vault 
record of 11 feet 11 inches. At the same meet¬ 
ing the 112-yard hurdles were run in fifteen 
seconds, which is the world’s record, but it was 
not accepted as such because a strong wind was 
blowing at the time. Other associations of the 
United States include the New England Inter¬ 
collegiate Association, the Western Intercolle¬ 
giate Games, and the National Amateur Ath¬ 
letic Union. 

ATHOL (ath'ol), a town of Massachusetts, 
in Worcester County, 22 miles west of Fitch- 
✓ burg. It has railroad and suburban electric 
railway facilities, and is a manufacturing center 
of furniture, utensils, clothing, and cotton 
goods. A high school and several fine churches 
are among the public buildings. It was known as 
Pequoig until 1762, when it was incorporated 
under its present name. Population, 1900,7,061. 

ATHOS (ath'os), a mountainous peninsula 
of Turkey in Europe, the most easterly of the 
three peninsulas projecting into the northwest¬ 
ern part of the Aegean Sea. It is from five to 
seven miles wide, thirty miles long, and at its 
extremity is Mount Athos or Holy Mountain, 
rising 6,350 feet above the sea. When Xerxes 
invaded Greece, he cut a channel across 
the north end of the peninsula to avoid the 


ATITLAN 


151 


ATLANTIC CABLE 


dangers of sailing around Mount Athos-. There 
are several famous monasteries at Mount 
Athos, some dating from the time of Con¬ 
stantine, and they are occupied by about 7,000 
monks. The occupants engage largely in gar¬ 
dening, fishing, bee-keeping, and the manufac¬ 
ture of rosaries, amulets, crucifixes, images, and 
furniture. The monasteries have valuable 
libraries containing considerable treasures in lit¬ 
erature and manuscripts. All the monasteries 
are associated with the Greek Church. 

ATITLAN (a-te-tlan'), a lake of Central 
America, in Guatemala, probably formed by 
the crater of an ancient yolcano. It is ten 
miles wide, twenty miles long, and of consider¬ 
able depth. Though several small streams flow 
into it, there is no visible- outlet to the sea. 
Near the lake is Mount Atitlan, an active vol¬ 
cano, 12,160 feet high. 

ATLANTA (at-lan'ta), * the capital of 
Georgia, county seat of Fulton County, famil¬ 
iarly called the “Gate City to the South.” It 
is situated in the northwestern part of the 
State, about 100 miles northwest of Macon, and 
it is the focus of a network of railroads that 
furnish transportation facilities to many points 
north and south, including the Southern, the 
Seaboard Air Line, the Western and Atlantic, 
the Central of Georgia, and a number of others. 
The city is platted in the form of a circle, with 
an area of about 12 square miles, and is the 
largest and most important commercial center 
of the State. Many of the streets are paved 
with stone and asphaltum, and avenues of trees 
ornament the residential centers. Piedmont 
Park, the site of the Atlanta Exposition in 
1895, is a beautiful and interesting tract of 
land. Several memorial buildings and monu¬ 
ments, including one erected to the memory 
of H. W. Grady, adorn public places. Elec¬ 
tric street railways traverse the principal thor¬ 
oughfares, and interurban lines furnish facili¬ 
ties to reach many points in the vicinity. Grant 
Park is popular as a place of recreation. Fort 
McPherson, four miles distant, is a government 
army post. 

As an educational center Atlanta- takes high 
rank, being the seat of numerous societies and 
educational institutions. Atlanta University, 
Atlanta Baptist College, Clark University, Gam¬ 
mon Theological Seminary, Morris Brown Col¬ 
lege, and a number of professional and business 
colleges are among the educational institutions. 
It is the seat of the Georgia School of Tech¬ 
nology, a branch of the State University at 
Athens. A Carnegie library and the State 
library have collections of well-selected books 
and documents. The Grady Hospital, the Pres¬ 


byterian Hospital, a Florence Crittenden home, 
an orphan asylum, and other charitable insti¬ 
tutions are maintained. The State capitol, built 
of limestone and decorated with Georgia mar¬ 
ble, cost about $1,000,000. Other public build¬ 
ings include the custom house, the county court¬ 
house, the city hall, a Federal prison, a fine 
union passenger station, and many modern busi¬ 
ness blocks. The manufactures are extensive 
and consist chiefly of cotton goods cotton-seed, 
oil and cake, earthenware, machinery, hard¬ 
ware, cigars, and farming implements. A large 
export trade is carried in live stock, especially 
horses and mules, and in cotton and raw and 
manufactured tobacco. 

The first settlement on the site of Atlanta 
was made in 1836, but it was some time before 
many business establishments located here. In 
1843 it was incorporated as Marthasville and 
two years later the name as changed to At¬ 
lanta. In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil 
War, the population was about 11,000. The 
Confederates fortified it strongly and held it 
until 1864, when it was captured by General 
Sherman and nearly destroyed by fire. Soon 
after the close of the war it began to rebuild, 
and its growth and development have been 
constant since that time. It was made the 
capital of the State in 1878. Conveniently lo¬ 
cated, having numerous substantial institutions, 
and being the center of a large trade, its future 
prosperity is assured. Population, 1910, 154,839. 

ATLANTIC (at-lan'tik), a city in Iowa, 
county seat of Cass County, on the East Nish- 
nabotna River, and on the Chicago, Rock Isl¬ 
and and Pacific Railroad. It is surrounded by 
a fertile farming and dairying country, and has 
manufactures of canned goods, ironware, and 
machinery. Among the chief buildings are the 
county courthouse, the high school, and sev¬ 
eral churches. It has electric lights, sewerage, 
and waterworks. Atlantic was incorporated in 
1869. Population, 1905, 5,180. 

ATLANTIC CABLE (ka'b’l), a cable line 
laid from America to Great Britain. The 
project of providing means to communicate by 
cable connections with Europe was successfully 
completed in 1866, though two attempts had 
failed previously. The Great Eastern laid 1,200 
miles in 1865, when the cable broke, but the 
next year connection was established. The 
cable line connects Heart’s Content, Newfound¬ 
land, with Valentia, Ireland, a distance of 2,300 
miles. Since then other lines have been laid 
to Europe, and there are numerous similar lines 
in different parts of the ocean. In 1908 there 
were tw r enty cables at the bottom of the At¬ 
lantic. It is now possible to effect rapid com- 


ATLANTIC CITY 


152 


ATLAS 


munication with practically all important parts 
of the earth. 

ATLANTIC CITY, a city of New Jersey, 
in Atlantic County, on the Atlantic seacoast, 
sixty miles southeast of Philadelphia. It is 
situated on the Pennsylvania and the Reading 
railroads, and has transportation by a network 
of electric lines. The city is located on Abse- 
com Beach, an island about fen miles long and 
three-fourths of a mile wide, and is popular as 
a pleasure and health resort. The manufactures 
include clothing, tobacco products, nfachinery, 
earthenware, and canned fruits and fish. Elec¬ 
tric lights, pavements, waterworks, and a pub¬ 
lic library are among the facilities. The prom¬ 
inent institutions include the Children’s Sea¬ 
shore Home, the Atlantic City Hospital, and 
the Mercer Memorial Home for Invalid Wo¬ 
men. The first settlement was made in 1780, 
but its prosperity dates from 1854, when the 
Camden and Atlantic Railroad was completed. 
During the summer it has a transient popula¬ 
tion of about 275,000, for which there are ample 
hotel and villa accommodations. Population, 
1905, 37,539; in 1910, 46,150. 

ATLANTIC OCEAN, the great expanse 
of sea between the western coasts of Europe 
and Africa and the eastern coasts of North 
and South America, and extending from the 
Arctic to the Antarctic Ocean. Its width 
between Norway and Greenland is 930 miles, 
between Brazil and Africa, 1,600, and from 
North Africa to Florida, 4,250, and its area ag¬ 
gregates about 30,000,000 square miles. The 
shape of its shore line is that of a long trough¬ 
like valley with nearly parallel sides. It has a 
broad connection with both polar oceans, and 
forms the only open channel for the intermin¬ 
gling of warm and cold currents. By recent 
soundings, it has been found that the Atlantic 
possesses a large submarine plateau, extending 
in mid-ocean parallel to the coasts of the con¬ 
tinent, from the southern portion of Africa 
to Iceland; thus dividing the basin into eastern 
and western valleys. The western valley is the 
deeper, the average depth of the two being 
18,000 and 13,000 feet respectively. From New¬ 
foundland to Ireland extends a remarkable pla¬ 
teau across these valleys, known as the Tele¬ 
graph Plateau, on which a number of cable 
lines are located. The general depth along 
this swell ranges from 10,000 to 13,000 feet. 

The true bed of the Atlantic Ocean com¬ 
mences some distance from the eastern coast 
of North America. Its depth for a distance of 
seventy-five to one hundred miles is about 600 
feet, but from this region it descends to great 
depths. A large submerged plateau connects 


the British Isles with the continent of Europe, 
which passes through the North Sea, and 
extends for a considerable distance off the 
western and southern coasts. The greatest 
depth yet discovered in the Atlantic is north 
of Porto Rico, where it exceeds 27,300 feet. 
While the Atlantic is smaller than the Pacific 
Ocean, it is much stormier and vastly more im¬ 
portant to trade, for the reason that the great 
commercial nations of the world occupy its 
shores. Thousands of ships sail upon it, and 
from its ports extend steamboat lines to all 
parts of the world. This has caused many im¬ 
provements in the form of lighthouses to be 
made, and its shores and important points in 
mid-ocean have been carefully surveyed. 

The Atlantic is divided into the North At¬ 
lantic and the South Atlantic by the Equator, 
the former containing in the neighborhood of 
17,000,000 square miles, and the latter about 13,- 
000,000. Nearly one-half of the water dis¬ 
charged by the rivers of the world flows into 
it. Through it flow many useful warm and 
cold currents, which have been carefully sur¬ 
veyed and are extensively utilized in commerce. 
They have much value in tempering the climate 
of various countries. The most important is 
the Gulf Stream. This makes a bold curve 
from the Gulf of Mexico, flows northward in 
high ocean, modifies the climate of Newfound¬ 
land, and then divides. From its division one 
current passes to the vicinity of Iceland and 
the British Isles, and the other returns to the 
tropical seas by the way of Spain and Africa. 
Thus, it has a favorable effect upon the former 
as a warming influence, and upon the latter as 
a moderating factor of the tropical climate 
prevailing along its western coast. 

ATLANTIS (at-lan'tls), an island men¬ 
tioned by Plato as the home of a great nation, 
and which was submerged in the sea. It was 
said to have existed several thousand years be¬ 
fore the time of Plato, in the Atlantic, west 
from the Strait of Gibraltar, and in size was 
larger than Libya and Asia Minor. It was the 
reputed home of a great nation that conquered 
western Europe and Africa, and, to relieve hu¬ 
manity, the gods sent an earthquake to sub¬ 
merge it in the sea. By some the legend has 
been accepted as true, and the shallowness of 
the ocean at that point is cited in proof, while 
others think it refers to an early discovery of 
America. 

ATLAS, a chain of mountains in North 
Africa, between the Mediterranean and the 
Sahara Desert. They start near Cape Nun, 
on the Atlantic coast, and extend to Cape 
Bon, passing through Morocco, Algeria, and 


ATMOSPHERE 


153 ATOMIC WEIGHTS 


Tunis, a distance of about 1,500 miles. There 
are two parallel ranges called the Little and the 
Great Atlas; the former is nearest the coast, 
and the latter borders on the desert. Mount 
Jehel Ayashi, in Morocco, attains a height of 
14,600 feet above sea level and is the highest 
peak. Fine forests and vegetation common to 
Europe abound, the former including the oak, 
pine, ash, cork oak, and poplar. They yield 
large quantities of valuable minerals, including 
gold, silver, coal, copper, iron, lead, and anti¬ 
mony. In 1900 valuable petroleum wells were 
found in Algeria. In some of the valleys are 
fine cities, and there are several railroads cross¬ 
ing different sections. 

ATMOSPHERE (at'mos-fer), the invisible 
elastic envelope that surrounds the earth, but 
the term is applied to the gaseous envelope sur- 
• rounding any heavenly body. The atmosphere 
consists of gaseous matter extending from thir¬ 
ty-five to 200 miles above the surface, and is 
of varying density, this property depending 
upon its height. The lower layers are more 
dense than the others because they bear the 
weight of those above them, and the density 
diminishes rapidly as we ascend. It presses 
uniformly in all directions, and for this reason 
its weight remained longer undiscovered. Tor¬ 
ricelli, an Italian philosopher and a pupil of 
Galileo, discovered its weight by the use of an 
instrument called the barometer. That the at¬ 
mosphere possesses weight can be proven suc¬ 
cessfully by filling a bottle with air, weighing 
it, then extracting the air by means of an 
air pump, and when weighed it will be sensi¬ 
bly lighter than at first. 

The pressure of air at the level of the sea 
is 14.73 pounds per square inch, and the total 
weight of the atmosphere is 11J4 trillions of 
pounds, or about of the total weight 

of the earth. This enormous pressure is ex¬ 
erted on the human frame and all objects on 
earth’s surface. The pressure sustained by a 
single individual is estimated at fourteen tons, 
but, as it is exerted equally and in all directions 
and permeates the whole body, no inconvenience 
is caused by it. The more striking phenomena, 
which are to a large extent dependent upon the 
atmosphere, include animal and vegetable life, 
disintegration of rocks, polar and terrestrial radi¬ 
ation, storms and weather, twilight, and the 
propagation of sound. The atmosphere contains, 
among other constituents, oxygen, nitrogen, ar¬ 
gon, aqueous vapor, carbonic acid gas, and 
ozone. In general it contains more or less 
sulphuric acid gas and hydrogen. Nitric acid 
is often noticeable in the atmosphere after 
thunder storms. It also contains minute par¬ 


ticles of organic and inorganic substances. See 

Air. 

ATOLLS’ (a-tols'). See Coral. 

ATOM (at'um), according to some philoso¬ 
phers, the primary part of molecules not fur¬ 
ther divisible. The atomists believe that atoms 
are unalterable in size and shape; that they 
cannot be cut nor scratched by the sharp¬ 
est tools; neither can they be twisted, flexed, 
or bent by the most powerful forces, and are 
not affected by cold or heat. They reason that 
in each kind of elementary substance the atoms 
have the same weight and size, but that in dif¬ 
ferent kinds of elementary substances the atoms 
are of different size and weight. Thus, all 
atoms of gold are of the same weight and size, 
no matter from what part of the earth the gold 
may come. In like manner, the atoms of 
iron are of the same weight. and size, but 
the atoms of gold are not of the same weight 
and size as the atoms of iron. Among the 
chief writers of ancient times who held to 
this theory are Moschus of Sidon, Epicu¬ 
rus, Democritus, and Lucretius, and they be¬ 
lieved that atoms possessing various proper¬ 
ties and motions are found in all substances. 
Newton thought original matter to consist of 
impenetrable, inactive, and immutable particles. 

ATOMIC THEORY (a-tom'ik the'6-ry), 
the theory according to which all the ele¬ 
ments in compound bodies combine in certain 
uniform proportions. According to this view 
it is assumed that all bodies are composed of 
ultimate, indivisible atoms, the weight of which 
varies with the different kinds of matter. The 
opposite of this theory is that bodies, particu¬ 
larly those having no apparent organization, 
such as water, are continuous and homoge¬ 
neous, and may be divided and subdivided in¬ 
definitely. The atomists assert that after a 
definite number of subdivisions the parts can 
no longer be divided, as each of the primary 
parts constitutes an atom. The theory owes its 
origin to John Dalton (1766-1844), who pub¬ 
lished his “New System of Chemical Philoso¬ 
phy” in 1807. He held that the atoms of each 
element are incapable of being subdivided, 
and that each has a definite relative weight, 
which is as one compared to hydrogen. While 
some of his theories are not well established, 
many chemists have followed him in adopting 
the terms used by him; namely, atom and 
atomic weight, in preference to proportion, com¬ 
bining proportion, and equivalent. 

ATOMIC WEIGHTS, the proportions by 
weight in which chemical elements unite. Chem¬ 
ists, after carefully weighing numerous com¬ 
pounds, have determined the weight of the dif- 




ATONEMENT 


154 


ATTENTION 


ferent elements as compared with the weight 
of the atom of hydrogen, which is taken as 1. 
All the other elements are represented by a 
quantity equal to the minimum amount in which 
they unite with 1 of hydrogen. A committee of 
German chemists prepared the standard system 
of atomic weights now in general use, in which 
the atomic weight of hydrogen is 1 and that 
of oxyden 16. See Chemistry. 

ATONEMENT (a-ton'ment), literally at- 
one-ment, the act of reconciling persons at va¬ 
riance with each other, or the reconciliation of 
God to men, and men to God. The term is 
also used to designate the means by which the 
reconciliation is accomplished. It is used fifty- 
eight times in the Old Testament, and all but 
five of the places where it is found occur in 
the Pentateuch. 

ATRATO (a-tra'to), a river in Colombia, 
in South America, which rises near the Cor¬ 
dilleras and flows into the Gulf of Darien. Its 
course of about 400 miles is northward, and 
it is navigable about half that distance. For¬ 
merly the Atrato was considered in connection 
with the construction of a canal between the 
Atlantic and the Pacific, but surveys made in 
1870 proved it unsuited and the project was 
abandoned. 

ATROPHY (at'ro-fy), a morbid condition 
in plants and animals, causing a waste or de¬ 
crease in size of a part or of the entire body. 
It causes interference in nutrition, hence the 
substance in the parts affected either decays 
or is wasted. Atrophy occurs normally in old 
age, when all of the organs undergo atrophic 
changes, but young life is affected by it through 
severe exposure, unwholesome food, impure 
air, and arsenic and other poisons. 

ATTACHMENT (at-tach'ment), a legal 
process issued by a court, under which the 
sheriff or a like officer is directed to seize a 
person or property. A writ of attachment is 
issued in connection with an action at law, 
and the person or property taken into custody 
is held until the proceedings are completed and 
final judgment is rendered, when disposition 
is made under an order of the court. Writs of 
this character were formerly issued against per¬ 
sons by most governments, but they have been 
discontinued in many countries, and writs to 
seize property are used chiefly as a means of 
protection against fraud, to prevent their re¬ 
moval before a debt or judgment can be satis¬ 
fied. 

ATTAINDER (at-tan'der), a legal term 
used to designate a special act of a legislative 
body inflicting capital punishment, or declar¬ 
ing a forfeiture of civil rights, upon a person 


for high crimes, without having been first con¬ 
victed in a court of law. The person against 
whom such an act is passed is said to be at¬ 
tainted. As a result the person attainted for¬ 
feits his property and is debarred from inher¬ 
iting from any one. These laws do not exist 
in highly civilized countries. The Constitution 
of the United States contains the following 
provision: “No bill of attainder shall be 

passed, and attainders of treason, in conse¬ 
quence of a judicial sentence, shall not work 
corruption of blood or forfeiture except dur¬ 
ing the life of the person attainted.” 

ATTAR (at'ter), a name used in the East 
Indies to designate a perfume made from flow¬ 
ers. The name is generally applied to attar or 
ottar of roses, which is an oil extracted from 
the petals of roses. It is secured largely from 
the musk rose and the damask, and is very ex¬ 
pensive owing to the difficulty of obtaining it. 
Fifty thousand roses yield only about ninety 
grains of attar. It is manufactured in Cash- 
mere, Damascus, and Rumelia, where large rose 
farms are profitably cultivated. The oil is of 
various tints, usually yellow, green, or red, and 
liquifies at about 84°. An adulterated form is 
made by adding geranium, sandalwood, and 
rhodium. The pure oil is expensive, usually 
selling at about $40 per ounce. 

ATTENTION (at-ten'shun), the act of 
fixing the mind upon any one object or class 
of objects, or directing the energies of the 
mind to a definite purpose. It is voluntary or 
involuntary, and may be trained and its power 
of concentration increased by practice. Volun¬ 
tary attention is controlled by the will and re¬ 
quires effort, while involuntary attention is 
without effort and predominates in young chil¬ 
dren. Memory depends in a large measure 
upon attention, and the power to. recall at will 
our mental impressions and acquisitions is 
perhaps directly in proportion to the attention 
given to the subject at the time mental effort 
was put forth. The mind has imperfect con¬ 
trol of its thoughts when the attention, while 
directed to some subject of study, was feeble, 
loose, or accidental, and formed with little voli¬ 
tion. Since attention is the foundation of all 
knowledge, it requires careful training and 
exercise, else the mind will be wanting in the 
chief quality of a sound intellectual character. 

Attention is dependent in a large measure - 
upon the physical condition. When the body 
has been exhausted by labor, either bodily or 
mentally, or is weakened by disease, it is not 
possible to concentrate the attention upon an ob¬ 
ject of thought. An effort to exercise the at¬ 
tention under such conditions causes nervous- 


ATTICA 


155 


AUGER 


ness. If trained rightly during childhood and 
youth, the power to fix the attention upon ob¬ 
jects for a definite purpose becomes habitual, 
and this training, combined with healthful phy¬ 
sical functions and the selection of worthy ob¬ 
jects of thought, make easy the accomplishment 
of difficult tasks. Attention is dependent in a 
large measure upon interest. 

ATTICA (at'ti-ka), a state of ancient 
Greece, including an area of 840 square miles, 
and lying east of the Saronic Gulf. The sur¬ 
face is diversified by several mountain ranges, 
which rise to heights approximating 4,600 feet, 
though the mountain slopes and intervening val- 
: leys possess considerable fertility. This region 
was cultivated to fruits and cereals in the time 
of Solon, and still yields considerable quanti¬ 
ties of olives, figs, grapes, cereals, goats, sheep, 
i and cattle. At present Attica and Boeotia form 
a state in the kingdom of Greece, which has an 
i area of 2,475 square miles and a population, of 
313,069. 

ATTLEBORO (at't’l-bur-ro), a town of 
[ Massachusetts, in Bristol County, thirty miles 
southwest of Boston, on the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford Railroad. It is an im¬ 
portant manufacturing center, producing con¬ 
siderable quantities of textiles, buttons,* braid, 
jewelry, clothing, and machinery. The public 
library has about 9,750 volumes. It contains an 
almshouse and the Attleboro Home Sanitarium. 
The city has an extensive system of electric 
railways, pavements, electric lights, and sew- 
I erage. The first settlement was made in 1669 
and it was incorporated in 1694. Population, 
1905, 12,702. 

AUBURN (a'burn), a city in Maine, county 
seat of Androscoggin County, on the Andros¬ 
coggin River and on the Grand Trunk and 
the Maine Central railroads. The river sup¬ 
plies an abundance of water power for manu¬ 
facturing purposes, and the surrounding coun¬ 
try is generally fertile. The manufactures in¬ 
clude boots and shoes, cotton and woolen goods, 
flour, earthenware, and machinery. Among the 
! chief buildings are the county courthouse, the 
public library, and several schools and churches. 
Electric street railways, waterworks, and sew- 
! erage are among the public utilities. Lake Au- 
| burn, Lewiston Falls, and Poland Springs are 
scenic points near the city. The first settlement 
was made in 1786 and it was incorporated in 
1842. Population, 1900, 12,951. 

AUBURN, a city in New York, county seat 
of Cayuga County, on the outlet of Owasco 
Lake, and on the Lehigh Valley and the 
New York Central railroads. It is handsomely 
built, has extensive water power, and is the 


seat of numerous factories. The chief products 
include threshing machines, harvesters, mowers, 
textile fabrics, earthenware, tobacco products, 
and machinery. The surrounding country is 
farming and dairying, and contains extensive 
orchards and vineyards. Auburn is the seat of 
a State prison, at which the silent system of 
discipline was first inaugurated, so named be¬ 
cause the prisoners are not permitted to talk to 
each other while at work and at other times 
are confined in separate rooms. Other insti¬ 
tutions located here include an asylum for the 
insane, an armory, and the Auburn Theological 
Seminary. Auburn was the home of William 
H. Seward and has a bronze statue of him. 
Gas and electric lights, street railways, water¬ 
works, a public library, and a number of parks 
are among the conveniences. The first settle¬ 
ment was made in 1792, when the place was 
called Hardenburgh’s Corners, from Capt. John 
L. Hardenburgh. In 1805 it became the county 
seat and was named Auburn from the village 
described in Goldsmith’s “Deserted Village.” 
Population, 1905, 31,423; in 1910, 34,668. 

AUCKLAND (ak'land), an important city 
of New Zealand, in the province of Auckland, 
and formerly the capital of New Zealand. It 
is supplied with excellent railroad facilities, has 
regularly platted streets, and enjoys a consider¬ 
able export and import trade. It has a number 
of fine school buildings and churches, and it is 
the seat of Saint John’s College. A public 
library, sewerage, waterworks, and electric street 
railways are among its utilities. The manufact¬ 
ures include clothing, earthenware, machinery, 
and railroad cars. The city was founded in 1840, 
and its rapid growth dates from 1857, when val¬ 
uable deposits of gold, copper, iron, and coal 
were discovered in the vicinity. Population, 
1906, 37,736. 

AUCKLAND ISLANDS, a group of vol¬ 
canic islands lying about 180 miles south of 
New Zealand. The soil is generally fertile. 
They have extensive forests, productive fish¬ 
eries, and a considerable trade. The entire 
group includes a large number of islands, but 
only three are of considerable extent. Auck¬ 
land, the largest island, is thirty miles long and 
fifteen miles wide. These islands were discov¬ 
ered by Captain Briscoe in 1806, and are mainly 
important as a whaling station in the south 
seas. 

AUGER (a'ger), a tool used for boring 
holes larger than those bored by a gimlet. The 
auger is drawn into the wood by a screw at 
the point, above which, at each side, is a cutting 
lip and a spiral pod, the cutting lip to cut and 
the spiral groove to discharge the chips. At 





AUGSBURG 


156 


AUK 


the upper end is a handle placed crosswise by 
which the auger is turned with both hands. The 
smaller augers usually consist of bits that fit 
into a brace or bitstock, and have the advantage 
of being more easily handled. 

AUGSBURG (owks'bodrg), a city of Ger- 
* many, in Bavaria, at the confluence of the 
Lech and Wertach rivers, thirty-two miles 
northwest of Munich. It is the converging cen¬ 
ter of several important railroad lines and has 
a considerable commercial trade. Within the 
last decade it has grown rapidly as an industrial 
center. The manufactures include machinery, 
paper, jewelry, musical instruments, and cloth¬ 
ing. Augsburg has long ranked as an impor¬ 
tant money market of Europe, and as the seat 
of extensive book-printing establishments. It 
has electric street railways, sewerage, stone and 
asphalt pavements, a large public library, and 
several fine parks. Among the chief buildings 
are the Church of Saint Anna, the memorial 
chapels of the Fugger family, the Church of 
the Holy Cross, the city hall, and the theater. 
Many of the streets are adorned with fine 
fountains and statues. The city is famous as 
the place where the Confession of Augsburg 
was concluded, which constitutes the confession 
of faith adopted by the Protestants on June 25, 
1530. The first settlement was established on 
the site of Augsburg by Augustus in 12 b. c., 
when that Roman general conquered the Vin- 
delicians. Population, 1906, 94,923. 

AUGSBURG CONFESSION, the first 
Protestant confession of faith, containing the 
doctrinal definition of the Lutheran Church, 
and adopted at Augsburg, Germany, June 25, 
1530. The confession was prepared by Me- 
lancthon and approved by Luther, and was read 
in a diet convened by the German princes and 
estates. It was written in Latin and German 
and read aloud before the diet in German, but 
both have probably been lost. In this document 
the belief of its supporters is set forth in a 
terse and dignified manner in twenty-one arti¬ 
cles. This confession and the two catechisms 
written by Luther constitute the accepted con¬ 
fessional theology of the Lutheran Church. 

AUGUST (au'gust), the eighth month of 
the Gregorian year, so named in honor of Em¬ 
peror Augustus. In the Roman calendar it 
was the sixth month, hence was named Sex- 
tilis. 

AUGUSTA (a-gus'ta), a city in Georgia, 
county seat of Richmond County, on the Sa¬ 
vannah River, 135 miles northwest of Charles¬ 
ton, S. C. It is situated on the Central of 
Georgia, the Southern, and other railways, and 
has a large trade in cotton, cereals, and mer¬ 


chandise. The streets are broad and well im¬ 
proved by pavements, sewerage, waterworks, 
electric lights, and avenues of shade trees. 
Transportation to urban and interurban points 
is by an extensive system of electric railways. 
Among the noteworthy institutions are the 
Medical College of Georgia, the Richmond 
Academy, the Masonic and Odd Fellows’ halls, 
the Louise King Home, the Paine’s Institute 
for Colored Students, and the Augusta Orphan 
Asylum. It has a number of parks, a 
Confederate soldiers’ monument, and a monu¬ 
ment dedicated to the Georgia signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. The public li¬ 
brary contains 12,500 volumes. It has a fine 
courthouse and many large business buildings, 
such as the Cotton Exchange and the Georgia 
Railroad Bank. The Augusta Canal, a water¬ 
course about nine miles long, supplies an 
abundance of water for city use and for 
manufacturing purposes. The chief manu¬ 
factures are cotton and woolen goods, cloth¬ 
ing, tobacco products, machinery, and earthen¬ 
ware. The city was platted under a royal char¬ 
ter in 1735, and is one of the oldest cities in 
the State. In the Revolutionary War it was 
captured by the British and held for two years, 
but was recaptured in 1781 by Gen. Henry Lee 
after a siege of thirteen days. Population, 1900, 
39,441; in 1910, 41,040. 

AUGUSTA, the capital of Maine, county 
seat of Kennebec County, at the head of tide 
water on the Kennebec River. It is on the 
Maine Central Railroad and has connection by 
steamer with Boston and Portland. The city 
is finely situated and improved by an abundance 
of shade trees, and the river is crossed by 
a handsome bridge. The river furnishes an 
abundance of water power, thus giving it con¬ 
siderable advantage for manufacturing pur¬ 
poses. The chief products .include paper, cot¬ 
ton and woolen goods, furniture, clothing, and 
machinery. Electric street railways, water¬ 
works, pavements, and sewerage are among the 
utilities. The capitol building is the most 
prominent structure and is built of granite. 
Other buildings include the county courthouse, 
the post office, the city hall, and the United 
States Arsenal. It is the seat of Saint Cather¬ 
ine’s School, an iifttitution for the education of 
young ladies. In 1831 it was made the cap¬ 
ital of the State. Population, 1900, 11,683. 

AUK (ak), the name of several sea birds, 
including a large number of species, of which 
the great auk and the little auk are the best 
known. The great auk is about three feet high 
when sitting in an upright position. It has 
short wings, which are almost useless in flight, 


AURORA 


157 


AUSTERLITZ 


but they aid the bird to move with great rapid¬ 
ity in the water. At present it is found only in 
North America, but bones discovered in Den¬ 



mark and other regions of Europe indicate 
that it was formerly common to Western 
Europe. The little auk is about the size of a 
large pigeon, and is met with in great numbers 
in the Arctic seas, where it nests in crevices 
of the bare rocks. The razorbill is allied to the 
auk, and like the great auk frequents the cran¬ 
nies of rocks. The young razorbills feed from 
the crop of the parents even after they are able 
to move about quite freely. Auks yield feathers 
of much value for bedding, for which purpose 
they are hunted with considerable persistency, 
while their flesh and eggs are eaten by the 
Eskimos and other peoples of northern regions. 
These birds migrate in early winter from the 
land to the open sea, where they float on the 
water or perch on the drifting ice. 

AURORA, a city of Illinois, in Kane Coun¬ 
ty, on the Fox River, about forty miles west of 
Chicago. It is on the Illinois Central, the Chi¬ 
cago, Burlington and Quincy, and the Chicago 
and Northwestern railroads, and is the seat of 
important railroad shops. The manufactures 
include carriages and wagons, flour, woolen 
goods, cigars, earthenware, machinery, and 
farming implements. Among the notable build¬ 
ings are the post office, the Carnegie library, 
the high school, and the Jennings Seminary. 
The streets are handsomely paved with brick 
and asphalt, and improved by avenues of shade 
trees, electric lights, waterworks, and an exten¬ 


sive system of street railways. Population, 
1900, 24,147; in 1910 , 29 , 807 . 

AURORA, a city of Missouri, in Lawrence 
County, thirty-five miles southwest of Spring- 
field, on the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Mem¬ 
phis and the Saint Louis and San Francisco 
railroads. The surrounding country is agri¬ 
cultural and fruit-growing, and has deposits of 
lead and zinc. It has a public library, water¬ 
works, a fine high school, and a large trade in 
produce and merchandise. The manufactures 
include flour, cigars, clothing, and machinery. 
Population, 1900 , 6 , 191 . 

AURORA BOREALIS (bo-re-a'ITs), or 
Northern Lights, a phenomenon of great 
beauty in the northern hemisphere, correspond¬ 
ing to the phenomenon occurring in the south¬ 
ern hemisphere known as Aurora Australis, or 
Southern Lights, both being called Polar Lights. 
The lights are visible in autumn and winter, 
occurring at opposite times at the two poles, 
and are of utility in aiding to illumine the long 
nights. The shapes assumed by the lights are 
infinite in number and very transient, sometimes 
appearing of an ordinary flame color and some¬ 
times assuming a greenish hue. The most fre¬ 
quent appearance is that of an arch of fire, 
from which great streamers flash towards the 
zenith, which range from a pale red or yel¬ 
lowish to a deep red color. Auroras are caused 
by the passage of electricity through the rare¬ 
fied air of the upper regions of the atmosphere. 
This is proven by'the fact that during the con¬ 
tinuance of an extensive aurora telegraph wires 
give evidence of unusual disturbances in elec¬ 
trical action, and the magnetic needle is subject 
to frequent movements. It has been proven by 
tests that an effect similar to the aurora is 
produced by the passage of electric currents 
through rarefied gases. 


AUSCULTATION (as-kul-ta'shun), the 
art of discovering diseases within the body by 
means of the sense of heading. It involves a 
knowledge of the natural sounds produced with¬ 
in the body in health and disease, especially 
those of the thorax and abdomen. An instru¬ 
ment used in this art, to facilitate investiga¬ 
tion, is called a stethoscope. 

AUSTERLITZ (as'ter-lits), a small town 
in Moravia, in the northwestern part of Aus¬ 
tria, twelve miles east of Brunn. It is cele¬ 
brated on account of Napoleon’s victory over 
the Austrians and Russians on Dec. 2, 1805. 
After Napoleon occupied Vienna, his head¬ 
quarters were fixed at Brunn, to which place 
the allied armies advanced. The French army 
numbered about 80,000, and in the battle lost 
12,000 men; while the allied forces numbered 









AUSTIN 


158 


AUSTRALIA 


84,000, and sustained a loss of nearly 30,000 
men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. This 
battle resulted in the peace of Pressburg, and a 
large part of Central Europe became subject 
to Napoleon. In 1906 Austerlitz had a popula¬ 
tion of 3,980. 

AUSTIN (as'tin), a city in Minnesota, 
county seat of Mower County, on the Red Cedar 
River, about 100 miles south of Saint Paul. It 
is situated on the Chicago Great Western and 
the Chicago, Milwaukee and - Saint Paul rail¬ 
roads, and is surrounded by a fertile farming 
country. The chief buildings include the coun¬ 
ty courthouse, the high school, the Carnegie 
library, and the Southern Minnesota Normal 
College. It has municipal waterworks and manu¬ 
factures of flour, machinery, and farming imple¬ 
ments. The first settlement was made in 1854 
and it was incorporated in 1873. Population, 
1905, 6,489. 

AUSTIN, the capital of Texas, county seat 
of Travis County, on the Colorado River, about 
200 miles northwest of Galveston. It is on the 
International and Great Northern, the Houston 



and Texas Central, and the Austin and North¬ 
western railroads. The city is surrounded by 
a fertile farming region, which produces large 
quantities of cereals, fruit, and live stock, and 
is important as a market for produce and mer¬ 
chandise. It has electric lights, electric street 
railways, waterworks, sewerage, and pavements 
of stone and macadam. The State Capitol 
building, located on Capitol Hill and built of 
Texas marble, is one of the finest structures 
of the kind in America. Austin has a large 
number of State and county buildings, a fine 
public school system, numerous churches, and 
several educational and scientific associations. 
It is the seat of the Texas Military Institute, 
the Texas State University, a Roman Catholic 
academy, and several benevolent institutions. 
The manufactures embrace clothing, machinery, 


tobacco products, vehicles, and farming imple¬ 
ments. The city was named in honor of Ste¬ 
phen F. Austin (q. v.). It became the capital 
of the Texan Republic in 1839, and in 1850 was 
made the capital of the State. Population, 1900, 
22,258; in 1910, 29,860. 

AUSTRALASIA (as-tral-a'shi-a), a divi¬ 
sion of Oceanica, located southwest of Asia. 
It comprises the continent of Australia and the 
islands adjacent to it. Among the chief islands 
of Australasia are New Zealand, Tasmania, 
New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, the New 
Hebrides, New Britain, New Ireland, Admiralty 
Islands, the Arru Islands, New Guinea, and 
many smaller islands and island groups. It 
comprises the largest of the three portions of 
Oceanica, the other divisions being Polynesia 
and Malaysia. The area of Australasia is 
3,259,200 square miles, and the population is 
estimated at 5,275,000. 

AUSTRALIA (as-tra'li-a), the smallest of 
the six continents, located southeast of Asia 
and the East Indies. The eastern shore is 
washed by the Pacific, and the southern and 
western by the Indian Ocean. Its greatest 
length from east to west is nearly 2,500 miles, 
the greatest breadth from north to south is 
about 2,000 miles, and the area, including Tas¬ 
mania, is 2,974,581 square miles. The coast 
line is quite regular, but many islands dot the 
adjacent waters, except toward the southwest, 
where the sea is open. The most important 
identations include Queen’s Channel and the 
Gulf of Carpentaria on the north, Spencer 
Gulf and the Great Australian Bight on the 
south, and Shark’s Bay on the west. South 
is the island of Tasmania, separated from the 
continent by Bass Strait, and southeast is New 
Zealand. Torres Strait separates Australia 
from New Guinea and in the same vicinity, off 
the northern shore, are Arafura Sea, Timor 
Sea, and Coral Sea. North of it is the great 
island group that extends southwest of Asia, 
which includes New Guinea, Java, and Bor¬ 
neo, and many other islands and groups of 
islands dot the sea lying north. Toward the 
northeast is the Great Barrier Reef, a chain 
of coral islands and reefs extending a distance 
of 1,260 miles. The continent is divided by the 
tropic of Capricorn, though the greater portion 
lies south of that line, but it extends only to 
about 39° south latitude. Hence, the northern 
portion is located in the Torrid Zone and the 
southern part is in the South Temperate Zone. 

Physical Features. The interior of Australia 
is formed largely of sandy hillocks or plains, - 
which are covered with coarse grass or brush¬ 
wood. It is generally arid and hot, though at 















































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I 


dragS 

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1 *».r.Vif' r ---7riaj" •' / . X/, \ 

•- = 

m^y j -■'/' 


V 




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’‘r If 

tmM 


Mmk 

0B3& 


RELIEF MAP OF AUSTRALIA 1 , 

159 










AUSTRALIA 


160 


AUSTRALIA 


different seasons occur heavy rains and hail 
storms, when shallow lakes form in the de¬ 
pressions, to which the water is carried by in¬ 
land streams. As the waters from these lakes 
evaporate they become brackish or salty, some 
yielding considerable quantities of saline prod¬ 
ucts. Along the eastern coast trend the Aus¬ 
tralian Alps, which are highest in the southeast, 
where Mount Kosciusko, about 7,000 feet high, 
forms the culminating peak of the Australian 
continent. In Victoria these mountains are 
known as the Australian Alps, or the Liverpool 
Range. Besides these mountains are various 
smaller chains and groups, most of which are in 
the interior and along the western shore. Low 
plains make up a large part of the surface along 
the southern and northern coasts. 

The Murray, which rises on the west side of 
the Australian Alps, is the largest stream and 
has a basin of about 300,000 square miles. It 
receives the drainage from the Darling and 
the Murrumbidgee rivers, and discharges into 
the Indian Ocean, near Adelaide. In the north 
is the Victoria, in the west the Murchison, and 
in the interior is the Cooper, which flows into 
Lake Eyre, a salt-water lake that has no outlet 
to the sea. A large number of rivers in the 
interior discharge into salt lakes and are of 
no service as means of communication, but may 
be utilized for irrigation purposes. In the cen¬ 
tral part is Lake Amadeus, in the south are 
lakes Eyre, Gairdner, and Torrens, and in the 
western part is Lake Austin. Most of the in¬ 
terior lakes have no connection with the ocean 
and their waters are quite brackish and salty. 

The climate is naturally hot and dry, but 
along the sea coast it is modified by healthful 
and pleasant sea breezes and rains, thus mak¬ 
ing large areas agreeable and productive. On 
the eastern and southern slopes the sea winds 
carry an abundance of moisture, and these re¬ 
gions are the most productive and densely pop¬ 
ulated. The temperature at Melbourne aver¬ 
ages about 56°, at Sidney about 63°, and at 
Palmerston, in the northern part, about 80°. 
In the interior the mean annual temperture 
ranges from 60 to 80°, and the climate is char¬ 
acterized by great changes owing to exces¬ 
sively hot winds. 

Vegetation. The soil of Australia, though 
arid and sandy in the interior regions, is as a 
whole quite fertile, and yields an abundance 
of vegetation in all districts that have an ade¬ 
quate quantity of rainfall. Many distinctive 
types of plants thrive and range from the trop¬ 
ical luxuriance of the moist east and north 
coasts to the arid interior, where vegetation 
is scant and the species are peculiarly adapted 


to endure excessive drought. Tree ferns, canes, 
palms, and bamboos thrive in the northeastern 
part, and here the forests contain many orchids 
and other parasitic plants. The bottle tree and 
the grass tree thrive here, and in the south¬ 
eastern part, especially in Victoria, are the 
eucalyptus, acacia, fan palm, honeysuckle, and 
paper-bark tree. The gum-trees are very nu¬ 
merous and more than 150 species abound, and 
there are fine forests <of she oak and other 
valuable woods. Not only are the forests of 
the eastern section beautiful, but both here and 
on the fertile plains are luxuriant growths of 
grasses and flower-bearing vegetation. The 
steppes of the interior take on summer verdure 
where rain is sufficient, and in the western part 
the country is alternated with forests and 
prairies, though large tracts of Western Aus¬ 
tralia are arid and vegetation is scant. Cereals, 
vegetables, and tropical fruits thrive abun¬ 
dantly. 

Minerals. Gold is the most important min¬ 
eral and was discovered in 1823, but mining 
was not developed on an extensive scale until 
1851, when prospectors and miners in large 
numbers came to the country. The most pro¬ 
ductive fields are in the mountains of Eastern 
Australia. Victoria produced about two-thirds 
of the output, though the productions of 
Queensland and New South Wales were con¬ 
siderable. Copper is mined in South Australia 
and other states, and silver is obtained in pay¬ 
ing quantities both in Australia and in Tas¬ 
mania. Other minerals more or less abundant 
are coal, mercury, iron, antimony, zinc, bis¬ 
muth, diamonds, and manganese. Granite and 
building stone are abundant. 

Animals. The continent possesses no large 
animals, the largest being the kangaroo, of 
which a number of species abound. The mar- 
supialia or pouch mammals, which include the 
kangaroo, are represented by 30 species, and 
the monotremata, or egg-laying mammals com¬ 
mon to Australia, include the spiny ant-eater 
and the platypus or water mole. The last 
mentioned reproduces from eggs and is con¬ 
fined to Australia. Among the flesh-eating 
animals are the rat, the mouse, and the native 
cat, and the insect eaters include the bandi¬ 
coots. The kangaroo, the rock wallaby, and 
the hare kangaroo are the chief grass eaters. 
It is thought that the dingo, or wild dog, 
though sometimes classed as a native of Aus¬ 
tralia, is a descendent from the domestic dog. 
Bats are very numerous and the rabbit, which 
has been naturalized front Europe, has become 
a pest because of its rapid increase. Most of 
the animals are small and the fur-bearing 



# 


i 
























































































































AUSTRALIA 


161 


AUSTRALIA 


species are limited, but the continent is espe¬ 
cially rich in birds of song and plumage. Here 
thrive the tue, emu, owl, parrot, brush turkey, 
crested pigeon, lion bird, oriole, jackass, cocka¬ 
too, crowned pigeon, parrakeet, and bird of 
paradise. The species of poisonous snakes are 
numerous, which is true of the lizards, frogs, 
and fish. Insect life is not well represented, 
though the species of butterflies, ants, bees, and 
beetles are quite numerous. 

Government. The entire continent is a co¬ 
lonial possession of Great Britain. For the 
purpose of government it is divided into five 
states. The-eastern section comprises the three 
I states of Queensland, New South Wales, and 
I Victoria; the central part is embraced in South 
Australia, which includes the Northern Terri¬ 
tory ; and the western part is the State of West¬ 
ern Australia. These five states, including Tas¬ 
mania, are organized as the Commonwealth of 
Australia. See Australia, Commonwealth of. 

Inhabitants. The population of Australia, 
including Tasmania, in 1906, was 4,119,481. This 
number included about 60,000 natives and 40,- 



000 Chinese. Fully one-third of the inhabitants 
are of foreign birth, of whom a large major¬ 
ity came from the United Kingdom and about 
50,000 from Germany. The aborigines are the 
lowest of the human races as regards intelli¬ 
gence and are of the Negroid type, resembling 
those of Africa. They are indolent, but peace¬ 
ful, and engage largely in hunting and fishing. 
Some regard them incapable of being civilized 
and educated, and there has been a steady de¬ 
crease in number for the past forty years. In 
color they are dark brown or black, have 
straight or wavy hair, sometimes curly, and 
are of medium size and inferior muscular 
strength. The favorable climate has not re¬ 
quired them to provide for heavy clothing or 
substantial shelter, hence they live in illy con¬ 
structed huts and subsist on insects, reptiles, 
roots, and the native animals. Little, if any, 

' development was made in their habits or modes 
of living since Australia has been occupied by 
Europeans, though some engage in light work 


for short periods of time when they are in 
need or want. They are skillful with the 
boomerang and spear, are fond of dogs, and 
still employ wooden axes and stone hatchets 
in cutting wood and building their huts. 

History. Australia was first discovered by 
Europeans about the middle of the 16th cen¬ 
tury, probably about 1531. In 1542 the Portu¬ 
guese published an account of a number of ex¬ 
plorations and about that time the continent 
became known to explorers of different nations. 
Manoel Godinho de Eredia, a Portuguese navi¬ 
gator, in 1601, set foot upon the continent and 
explored a part of its coast. The Dutch sent 
an expedition from Bantam, in Java, in 1605, 
and explored a part of the northern coast lying 
immediately south of New Guinea. In 1606 
a Spanish expedition under Luys Vaez de 
Torres, from whom Torres Strait was named, 
sailed through the narrow neck of -water be¬ 
tween New Guinea and Australia. Several 
expeditions sailed under Dutch navigators from 
Java in 1616, and named the continent New 
Holland. They surveyed a large portion of the 
northwest coast, where they planted several 
settlements. 

In 1770 Captain James Cook sailed by way of 
New Zealand and landed on the eastern coast 
of Australia, surveyed and explored a number 
of localities, and took possession for England. 
He named the region New South Wales. An 
English settlement was made at Botany Bay, 
near Sydney, in 1788, where a penal station 
was established for convicts transported from 
England by the government. Fully 150,000 
convicts were taken to Australian stations, and 
about the same time settlers began to occupy 
the coasts and to press inland. The mountains 
were not crossed until 1813, when it was thought 
a great inland sea stretched far toward the 
west, and in 1847 the German explorer, Lud¬ 
wig Leichhardt, started with a small company 
from Moreton Bay to cross the continent, but 
was not heard of again. Immigration and de¬ 
velopment began with the discovery of gold 
in 1851, and since that time there has been con¬ 
stant progress in the material industries and 
the growth of cities. The government was ad¬ 
ministered under the jurisdiction of the five 
colonies of Victoria, Queensland, New South 
Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia, 
until Jan. 1, 1901, when Tasmania joined them 
to form the Federal State known as the Com¬ 
monwealth of Australia, which see. 

AUSTRALIA, Commonwealth of, a colo¬ 
nial possession of Great Britain, consisting of 
Tasmania and the five federated states of Aus¬ 
tralia. The area, population, and natural re- 


11 







AUSTRALIA 


162 


AUSTRALIA 


sources are treated in the article entitled Aus¬ 
tralia and additional information is given under 
Tasmania, which see. 

Agriculture. Both farming and stock rais¬ 
ing began to be developed as early as settle¬ 
ments were made, but the latter enterprise re¬ 
ceived the larger share of attention. Agricul¬ 
tural products thrive abundantly where the 
rainfall is sufficient to germinate and mature 
crops, and in many sections of the interior 
arid lands have been redeemed for cultivation 
by irrigating ditches and canals which draw a 
supply of water from rivers and mountain 
streams, and in some localities artesian wells 
are utilized successfully. Victoria holds first 
rank in the number of acres under cultivation, 
but is followed closely in this respect by South 
Australia and New South Wales. Tasmania 
has a larger area of cultivated land than West¬ 
ern Australia, but is surpassed in the acres 
under cultivation by Queensland. Wheat is the 
most impbrtant cereal product and is grown on 
about half of the total acreage, and hay takes 
second rank in the value of the quantity pro¬ 
duced. Other crops are corn, barley, oats, 
sugar cane, potatoes, and tropical and semi- 
tropical fruits. Development in fruit raising 
has been constant, especially in the cultivation 
of grapes, bananas, peaches, and apples. Cof¬ 
fee is grown successfully on the coast of 
Queensland, and development in silk culture 
has stimulated attention in growing the mul¬ 
berry. 

Sheep raising has received the larger atten¬ 
tion, though it is by no means the only animal 
industry. In the number of head of sheep, 
Australia surpasses all of North America, hav¬ 
ing about one hundred million head, and the 
annual production of wool aggregates about 
five hundred million pounds. The favorable 
climate and the extensive area of grazing 
lands account for large interests in sheep grow¬ 
ing, and the quality of both wool and mutton is 
of a high class. Cattle are grown profitably 
for beef and dairy products. Horses are reared 
both for domestic use and for exportation. 
Goats, mules, poultry, and bees yield good 
returns. * 

Mining. The discovery of gold in 1851 stim¬ 
ulated immigration, and from that time mining 
has continued to be an industry of much im¬ 
portance. The first mines were opened in New 
South Wales, but development was made soon 
after at Ballarat, Victoria, and in different 
parts of Queensland. The Coolgardie district of 
Western Australia and the fields of Tasmania 
were open more, recently. Victoria had a larger 
output of gold up to 1899 than all the other 


states combined, but the production is now 
greatest in Western Australia. The annual 
output of gold is about $86,500,000 and of silver 
about $16,150,000. Iron ore is abundant in the 
mountains and there are extensive deposits of 
bituminous coal, particularly in New South 
Wales. Tin and copper are mined profitably 
especially in Tasmania, and there is a small 
output of antimony, bismuth, lead, and 
diamonds. 

Transportation. As the commonwealth has 
no large lakes and few streams that can be 
navigated, transportation is dependent almost 
exclusively upon the construction <3f highways 
and the building of electric and steam railways. 
The government owns and operates most of 
the railroads of the continent and Tasmania, 
and less than 500 miles of lines are managed 
under private ownership. In 1908 the total 
railroad mileage was 15,500 miles, of which 
about 600 miles were in Tasmania. All the 
principal cities and many interurban points 
have electric lines, and macadamized highways 
have been constructed and are maintained 
largely by local authority. Several telegraph 
lines extend across the continent, both north 
and south, and cable lines connect the chief port 
cities with all countries of the world. 

Commerce. The trade with foreign coun¬ 
tries is very large, especially in raw materials. 
Manufacturing enterprises have not been de¬ 
veloped as extensively as mining and agricul¬ 
ture, and are confined principally to products 
used in domestic consumption. They consist 
chiefly of textiles, utensils, clothing, machinery, 
and food products, hence large quantities of 
the commodities produced are exported and 
many supplies are obtained by importation. 
Though smaller in the number of inhabitants 
than Canada, it has a larger export and import 
trade. The duties collected are uniform through¬ 
out the commonwealth. Great Britain has the 
largest share of the foreign trade, about eighty 
per cent., and next in order are the United 
States, Germany, and France. 

Education. The state of education is im¬ 
proving perceptibly, owing to a reasonable en¬ 
forcement of the compulsory school attendance 
law in all the states. In 1860 sixteen per cent, 
of the people were illiterate, but at present 
illiteracy is placed at 8 per cent., each decade 
showing a satisfactory improvement in public 
instruction. Besides public schools and numer¬ 
ous academies and colleges, there are univer¬ 
sities supported by the states at Adelaide, Syd¬ 
ney, Hobart, and Melbourne. The educational 
institutions are coeducational and are modeled 
after the English universities at Manchester 


AUSTRALIA 


163 


AUSTRALIAN BALLOT 






and Liverpool. English is the spoken language, 
and the social and industrial conditions of the 
regions fairly developed are quite similar to 
those of Canada and the United States. In 
religion there is no restriction, and numerically 
the Episcopal church is the strongest. Other 
denominations represented by large numbers 
are the Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, and 
Lutherans. 

Government. The commonwealth is gov¬ 
erned under a constitution which went into ef¬ 
fect in 1901. This constitution delegates to the 
central government all power not reserved by 
the state, and is modeled upon that of the 
United States rather than upon the constitution 
of Canada, in that it does not provide for a 
strongly centralized state. The governor gen¬ 
eral is appointed by the sovereign of Great 
Britain, is assisted by a ministry made up of 
members of Parliament, and has the power to 
summon and dissolve Parliament, which is made 
up of two branches, a senate and house of rep¬ 
resentatives, and is required to meet every 
year. Each state has six sen¬ 
ators, elected for six years. 

The membership in the house, 
chosen for three years, is 
twice as large as the number 
of senators, and any state 
cannot have less than five 
representatives in the lower 
house. The judicial depart¬ 
ment culminates in a high 
court of justice, to which ap¬ 
peals may be taken from the 
Federal court, from the inter¬ 
state commission, and from 
the supreme court of the Fed¬ 
eral states, and the acts of the 
highest court is subject to 
review by the British Privy 
Council, though only in ^ques¬ 
tions pertaining to the con¬ 
stitutional powers of the dif¬ 
ferent states or of the com¬ 
monwealth. Local government 
counties and municipalities, both politically and 
educationally, and the right of suffrage is in 
male citizens and may be extended, but not 
restricted, by the Federal Parliament. At pres¬ 
ent the house of representatives has a member¬ 
ship proportiond as follows: Western Aus¬ 
tralia, 5; Tasmania, 5; South Australia, 7; 
Queensland, 9; Victoria, 23; and New South 
Wales, 26. 

Bombala, in New South Wales, was made the 
capital in 1903. Wellington, Adelaide, Sydney, 
Melbourne, and Hobart are the largest cities. 


In 1906 the area and population were given as 
follows: 



AREA. 

POPULA¬ 

TION. 

Tasmania . 

26,215 

975,920 

903,690 

670,500 

87 884 

180,156 

West Australia . 

261,746 
383 829 

South Australia. 

Queensland . 

535,113 

1 231 940 

Victoria. 

New South Wales. 

310,372 

1,526*697 

Total . 

2,974,581 

4,119.481 


AUSTRALIAN BALLOT (as-tra'li-an), 
a ballot first used in elections held in New 
South Wales, in 1858, and subsequently in all 
the subdivisions of Australia. It has been 
modified more or less and adopted in many 
countries. In some form it is in use in nearly 
all the states and countries where the elective 
franchise is recognized. The main features are 
that ballots used in voting are printed at pub¬ 
lic expense, the different party tickets are print¬ 
ed on the ballots, and each voter is supplied 
with one copy when he presents himself at the 
polls to vote. There is a legal provision against 



;\QuttNSLAND 

.' « (.ongrwui ■ iw^^^-^RocKtjampfon 


[Brisbane 


Map showing 
vested in 


the proposed Transcontinental Railways of Australia. 

electioneering near the polls, and secrecy in 
voting is guaranteed by prohibiting an elector, 
under suitable penalty, from exhibiting the 
ballot to any one after it is marked. Separate 
voting booths are provided in which the voter 
must by himself mark and prepare his own bal¬ 
lot, if he is capable to do so, otherwise it may 
be marked at his direction by two of the judges, 
who must belong to different parties, after which 
it is handed to the proper officer, by whom it is 
deposited in the ballot box. The system is uni¬ 
versally popular, and has tended to preserve 
both the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot. 



























AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


164 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (as'tri-a-hun'ga-n), 
or Austro-Hungarian Empire, an extensive 
monarchy in Central Europe, bounded by Ger¬ 
many, Russia, Rumania, Servia, Turkey, Mon¬ 
tenegro, the Adriatic Sea, Italy, and Switzerland. 

It embraces an area of 261,034 square miles, 
being larger than any other European country 
except Russia. The monarchy embraces two 
semiindependent countries, Austria and Hun¬ 
gary, each of which has a separate local gov¬ 
ernment, but both are under the direction of a 
national parliament and an emperor. 

Description. The surface of Austria-Hun¬ 
gary is characterized by three great mountain 
systems, which, in the northwestern part, as¬ 
sume elevations very similar to the mountain¬ 
ous regions of Switzerland. In the northern 
part trend the Carpathian and Moravian Moun¬ 
tains; in the southern part are the Transylva¬ 
nian Alps, which form a part of the boundary 
with Rumania; and along the Adriatic shores 
are the Austrian Alps. The Carpathians are 
connected by the Moravian Mountains with the 
Bohemian Highlands, which embrace the Rie- 
sen-Gebirge, the Bohmerwald, and the Erzge¬ 
birge. The Austrian Alps extend from Switz¬ 
erland to the Danube and embrace the Rhaetian, 
the Noric, and the Dinaric Alps, and their 
highest peak, Ortler Spitze, has an elevation of 
12,800 feet above the sea. The Carpathian 
Mountains are less elevated, ranging from 3,000 
to 8,700 feet and culminating in the Gerlsdorfer 
Spitze, which is 8,735 feet high. Fine scenery 
and numerous caverns and mineral springs 
abound in the highlands, making some sec- • 
tions the most picturesque regions of Europe. 

The drainage is almost exclusively to the 
southeast by the Danube and its tributaries, 
which include the Drave, the Theiss or Tisza, 
and the Save rivers. In the northern part is 
the Moldau, a tributary of the Elbe, while the 
Dniester traverses part of Galicia, and the 
Vistula forms part of the boundary between 
Galicia and Russian Poland. Other streams 
include the Adige, the Inn, and the Raab. Al¬ 
though Austria-Hungary is classed as an in¬ 
terior country of Europe, it has about 500 miles 
of sea coast along the Adriatic. Lake Balaton, 
in Hungary, is the most important inland water, 
but numerous small lakes diversify and add 
beauty to the mountain scenery. 

The uneven surface of the country causes it 
to have considerable diversity in climate. In 
the western part the rainfall is very abundant, 
about 100 inches annually, and in Moravia and 
Silesia it is not more than 25 inches, being 
limited on account of high altitudes causing 
precipitation before the moisture is carried to 


that section by the clouds. However, there is 
sufficient rainfall in all parts for the success¬ 
ful cultivation of plants adapted to the differ¬ 
ent temperatures.' At Vienna the mean average 
temperature is about 50°, and in the southern 
part of Dalmatia, at Ragusa, it is 62°. 

Animals. The native animals are like those 
found in most of central Europe, but the num¬ 
ber and kind have been limited by the fact that 
the country has been populated for centuries. 
In the mountains, especially dn the Alps, are a 
considerable number of ibex and chamois. 
Wolves, bears, lynxes, and other species are 
met with in considerable numbers. The fish¬ 
eries of the Adriatic Sea and of the larger 
streams yield sturgeon and other commercial 
fish. Birds of song and plumage are abundant. 
The domesticated animals consist of those com¬ 
mon to European countries. Horses and sheep 
are not reared as extensively as in former years, 
but cattle are grown in large numbers for beef 
and dairy products. Goats are reared for their 
flesh and skins, and swine are grown in all 
parts of the country, but receive special atten¬ 
tion in Hungary. Bee-keeping and silk cul¬ 
ture are important enterprises and yield large 
returns. 

Agriculture. Agriculture is the chief occu¬ 
pation, fully three-eighths of the people engag¬ 
ing in that enterprise. Hungary is noted for 
its production of cereals and exports large 
quantities to Switzerland and Germany. Oats, 
potatoes, rye, barley, and wheat are grown on 
a large acreage, and interest in the culture of 
corn, buckwheat, and millet is extensive. The 
sugar beet, tobacco, flax, and fruits are grown. 
Among the chief orchard products are grapes, 
oranges, apricots, chestnuts, almonds, apples, 
and figs. Rice is cultivated in Hungary, though 
not enough for domestic consumption. 

Minerals. Mining has been an important 
enterprise in some parts of the country for 
centuries, and there are traces of mines worked 
by the Celts and Romans. Almost every known 
mineral is found, and considerable deposits of 
mineral oil, precious stones, and useful earths 
exist in paying quantities. In Galicia, at Wie- 
liczka, are the most famous salt mines in the 
world, and they are controlled by the govern¬ 
ment. Salt is also derived from evaporating 
sea water on the coasts of the Adriatic and 
the waters of salt springs. Gold is produced in 
larger quantities than by any country in Europe. 
Other mine products include silver, coal, iron 
ore, copper, lead, zinc, gypsum, antimony, and 
manganese. 

Manufacturing. The last few decades have 
witnessed a marked advance in the manufactur- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


165 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


ing enterprises of the empire. This industry has 
been encouraged by the government through a 
reduction of freight rates on state railroads in 
favor of manufacturers and by bounties paid 
to aid new enterprises. The clothing industry 
is developed to a high extent in the western 
part, which is true also of the manufacture of 
textiles, articles of food, building materials, 
and steel and iron. Bohemia holds high rank 
in the manufacture of glass. Bohemian art 
ware is seen in large quantities at international 
expositions and sold extensively in all civilized 
countries. Hungary has the largest milling en¬ 
terprises of Europe, taking rank in the output 
of flour with Canada and the United States. 
Beet sugar, pottery, machinery, earthenware, 
firearms, and dairy products are among the 
important industrial products. 

Commerce. The country has large commer¬ 
cial interests, the exports exceeding the imports. 
A merchant marine is aided and encouraged 
by the government, though the short coast line 
on the Adriatic prevents the empire from taking 
rank with the nations more fortunately sit¬ 
uated. Only 15 per cent, of the entire foreign 
commerce is carried by water, the remainder 
going by land, either to be consumed in Europe 
or shipped to foreign countries from ports 
located outside of the monarchy. Wheat, fruit, 
flour, sugar, earthenware, leather, clothing, arrd 
minerals are the chief articles of export. Fully 
three-fourths of the trade is with Germany, 
and the nations coming next in order are Italy, 
Great Britain, Rumania, and Russia. The trade 
with American countries is not large. 

Transportation. Railroad building did not 
receive attention until 1837, when a short line 
was built in Austria. The government nation¬ 
alized the railways in 1846, since which time 
most of the lines have been owned and operat¬ 
ed as public property. In 1908 the total rail¬ 
road mileage was 28,400 miles, exclusive of 
electric lines, which have been constructed on 
a large scale in the principal cities and through 
many sections of the country. Transportation 
by water is promoted from ports on the Adri¬ 
atic and on the Danube, which is navigable by 
steamboat throughout the course and furnishes 
a direct outlet to the Black Sea. Communica¬ 
tion by telephone and telegraph lines is ample. 

Education. While education has received 
much encouragement, there are districts in 
which illiteracy still prevails to a considerable 
extent,, some regions having as high as sixty 
per cent. The highest intellectual culture of 
the people prevails in the German provinces, 
where compulsory school attendance laws have 
long been in force, and all children from six 


to twelve years inclusive are required to attend 
school. The system of schools is modeled after 
that of Germany, and embraces the gymnasia , 
the realschulen, and the higher institutions. 
The elementary schools take high rank, and 
the interweaving of practical education with 
the common school studies is an objective 
point. Articulated with the common schools is 
a system of academies and colleges, and there 
are various schools devoted to commerce, agri¬ 
culture, music, and arts, besides a number of 
well-equipped, universities. The empire has 
twelve excellent universities, situated, respect¬ 
ively, in the cities of Vienna, Gratz, Innsbruck, 
Budapest, Prague, Cracow, Lemberg, Agram, 
Czernowitz, and Klausenburg. These institu¬ 
tions embrace courses in theology, political 
economy, law, medicine, philosophy, engineer¬ 
ing, and other lines of higher work. Roman 
Catholic is the state religion, but all forms of 
religious worship are permitted. The denomi¬ 
nations taking rank numerically next to the 
Roman Catholics are the Orthodox Greek, 
Protestants, Armenians, and Jews. 

Inhabitants. The people are greatly diver¬ 
sified in races and languages, and in this re¬ 
spect the monarchy resembles Russia. About 
two-fifths are German, while the remainder are 
either of Germanic, Slavonic, Magyar, ^Latin, 
or Hebrew origin. In Hungary the Slavs and 
the Magyars predominate and the Slavic and 
Hungarian languages are spoken. German is 
the language of the Austrian provinces, where 
the people of German descent predominate. 
Vienna, the capital of Austria and of the dual 
monarchy, is one of the largest and finest 
cities of Europe. Other cities of importance 
include Budapest, the capital of Hungary, Tri¬ 
este, Lemberg, Prague, Gratz, Briinn, Szegedin, 
Pressburg, Czernowitz, and Arad. In 1900 the 
population of the empire was 47,073,359, of 
which number 26,150,708 were in Austria; 
19,254,559, in Hungary; and 1,568,092, in Bos¬ 
nia and Herzegovina. The total population, in 
1905, was 51,250,380. 

Defense. Austria-Hungary has long ranked 
as one of the great military powers, being 
classed among the most powerful modern na¬ 
tions of Europe. The military service was 
placed on a basis requiring universal service 
in 1889, and the armed forces comprise the 
navy, army, landwehr, and landsturm. All 
able-bodied citizens of the empire are required 
to serve in the army three years, beginning at 
the age of twenty, or in the navy four years, 
but they are not released after such service 
until they have had additional practice or train¬ 
ing for a period ranging from three to twelve 




AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


166 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


years. The' peace footing is 380,786 men and 
officers. There is a war footing of about 2,000,- 
000 men, but in cases of emergency fully double 
that number of reasonably well-trained soldiers 
can be placed at the disposal of the monarch. 
The navy consists of about 140 vessels, includ¬ 
ing twenty armored battleships, and 170 tor¬ 
pedo boats. The military forces are equipped 
with the most modern arms, including the 
Mannlicher rifles and modern machine guns. 

Government. The present dual government 
was adopted by the Ausgleich .of 1867, under 
which the ruling sovereign is Emperor of Aus¬ 
tria and King of Hungary, which may be con¬ 
sidered two independent states, and the crown 
of both is hereditary in the house of Haps- 
burg. Legislation is vested in the Austrian and 
Hungarian diets, but two bodies known as the 
delegation control the ministries, each dele¬ 
gation consisting of sixty members. Twenty 
of the delegates are elected by the upper house 
and forty by the lower house, and in alternate 
years the delegations hold sessions in Vienna 
and Budapest. They represent the parliaments 
of the two countries and have legislative power 
relating to the army and navy, finance, foreign 
relations, diplomatic service, and other affairs 
of interest to both countries. Each country has 
an independent local parliament, in which the 
several provinces are represented according to 
population. 

The divisions that constitute the lands of the 
Hungariaa*crown, besides Hungary, are Fiume, 
Croatia, Slavonia, and Transylvania. The crown 
lands of Austria, besides Austria proper, include 
Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Tyrol, 
Vorarlberg, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Galicia, 
Bukowina, Dalmatia, and the coast districts of 
Gorz, Trieste, Istria, and Gradiska. The prov¬ 
inces of Bosnia and Herzegovina constitute im¬ 
perial territory of the Austro-Hungarian em¬ 
pire. Francis Joseph I. is the reigning sover¬ 
eign, whose official title is Emperor of Austria 
and King of Hungary. Financially the country 
is on a gold basis, though the krone, the stand¬ 
ard coin, is not coined in that metal. The 
monetary system is on a decimal basis or scale 
of numeration. 

The government of Austria, independent of 
Hungary, is an empire. Legislative power is 
vested in the Reichsrat, which consists of two 
branches, the herrenhaus and the abgeordneten- 
haus. The emperor has concurrent legislative 
power with the Reichsrat, and concludes 
treaties, grants pardons, issues decrees, and 
may summon or dissolve the Reichsrat, but his 
decrees and acts must be countersigned by the 
prime minister, who is held responsible to par¬ 


liament. Eight ministers, each presiding over 
a department, and two ministers at large, dis¬ 
charge the advisory functions of the executive 
department. The emperor appoints a governor 
for each province or department, which is di¬ 
vided into districts and communes. The supreme 
court of justice and cassation, located at Vi¬ 
enna, has supreme jurisdiction over the system 
of district, circuit, and inferior courts. 

In Hungary the constitution is based on the 
Golden Bull of 1222 and succeeding statutes 
and decrees relative to the autonomy of that 
country. The king does not exercise so great 
an influence in the government as in that of 
Austria, and decrees, like in Austria, become 
valid after being countersigned by a responsi¬ 
ble minister. Legislative authority is vested in 
the Parliament, which is composed of the two 
houses known as the table of magnates and the 
house of representatives. In the upper house, 
or table of magnates, the membership consists 
of the nobility, the royalty, and certain dig¬ 
nitaries of the churches, and in the lower 
house the members are elected by popular male 
suffrage. A minister president and nine minis¬ 
ters, each ruling a department, exercise execu¬ 
tive power and are responsible to the Parlia¬ 
ment. Local government is administered by 
the 63 counties, each having a governor, and 
th*e counties are divided into districts known 
as incorporated towns, communes, and presi¬ 
dencies. The judiciary branch of the govern¬ 
ment is modeled after that of Austria. 

History. The history of the region now in¬ 
cluded in Austria-Hungary is more or less as¬ 
sociated in its early phases with that of Rome 
and the empire of the West, and subsequently 
with the Germanic tribes that passed in succes¬ 
sive waves from the regions farther north. 
Austria as a political power may be said to have 
taken its rise in 791, when Charlemagne took 
possession of the region between the Ens and 
the Raab, driving the Avars from that terri¬ 
tory. The Hungarians invaded Germany in 
900, when part of the region now included in 
the country became subject to that people, under 
whose control it remained fifty-five years, when 
it was again united with the German Empire 
under Otho I. From 932 till 1156 it was under 
control of the counts of Babenberg, became a 
duchy in the latter year, and received additional 
territory in 1192, when Vienna became its cap¬ 
ital. In 1246 the male line of the house of 
Babenberg became extinct, and the German 
emperor, Frederick II., proclaimed the region 
hereditary property of the German sovereigns. 
It passed to the house of Hapsburg in 1282, 
whose original possessions were in Switzerland, 



at an Automobile Show That Year. 
























AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


167 


AUTOMOBILE 


and is still the ruling house of the empire. Ru¬ 
dolph of Hapsburg was one of the early sov¬ 
ereigns, was succeeded by his son Albert, who 
in 1301 obtained the Swabian Margraviate, and 
at his death in 1308 Austria had an area of 26,000 
square miles. Albert V., son-in-law of Em¬ 
peror Sigismund, is the next monarch of 
marked influence. He was complicated in the 
Hussite War, assisting Sigismund in that con¬ 
test, became Emperor of Germany in 1438, and 
was succeeded in 1457 by Ladislaus, his posthu¬ 
mous son, and since then the Austrian mon- 
archs are represented in an unbroken German 
line. 

The subsequent history of Austria is more or 
less closely associated with that of Prussia 
until in 1866, when the latter country established 
its preponderance of power at the Battle of 
Sadowa. Subsequently Italy, which had been 
more or less under the influence of Austria, 
became an independent and united state, and 
Prussia became the head of the German Con¬ 
federation in the North. Within the period of 
alliance between Austria and Prussia, the for¬ 
mer was involved in many noted conflicts. It 
bore a prominent part in defending Christianity 
against the advances of the Turks from Con¬ 
stantinople, was an important battle ground in 
the Thirty Years’ War, exercised a wide influ¬ 
ence in the War of the Spanish Succession, and 
shared in the Napoleonic Wars. Among its 
most eminent sovereigns are Maximilian II., 
Maria Theresa, and Emperor Francis Joseph I. 
Francis II. of Austria was the first sovereign 
to take the title of Emperor of Austria, which 
he did as Francis I. in 1804, and it was within 
the period of his reign that the German prov¬ 
inces became united and sent a powerful army 
to join the Russian and British allies against 
Napoleon, thus causing the overthrow of the 
latter. He was succeeded at his death in 1835 
by his son, who ascended the throne as Ferdi¬ 
nand I., and in 1848 succeeded in overthrowing 
the revolutionary movement led by the Hun¬ 
garians under Kossuth. Ferdinand abdicated 
in favor of his nephew, Francis Joseph I., who 
joined the German states in 1864 in taking 
territory from Denmark, but two years later 
Austria and Prussia became permanently sep¬ 
arated. 

Since the Ausgleich of 1867, the government 
has given marked attention to the internal af¬ 
fairs of the empire, encouraging railroad build¬ 
ing, the extension of educational arts, and the 
furthering of industrial and commercial enter¬ 
prises In 1878 the domain of Austria was en¬ 
larged by the addition of the provinces of 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, this resulting in con¬ 


sequence of the war between Russia and Tur¬ 
key. These provinces were placed under the 
crown by the Treaty of Berlin for administra¬ 
tion and military occupation only, which re¬ 
mained their condition until 1908, when they 
were annexed as imperial territory by a procla¬ 
mation of Francis Joseph I. Subsequently 
Austria entered the famous Dreikaiserbund 
with Germany and Russia, which pledged 
friendship and cooperation among the three 
great powers. Though materially progressive 
in furthering the industries and the educa¬ 
tional arts, the government has experienced 
various difficulties regarding the use of a lan¬ 
guage as a universal tongue of the empire, 
though German is official and is most generally 
spoken. However, the Czech, Polish, and other 
constituents have insisted upon a recognition 
of their languages in the schools and in the 
general assemblies. The literature of Austria 
proper belongs almost exclusively to the Ger¬ 
man, but there is a considerable accumulation 
of valuable writings in the Polish, Czech, and 
Bohemian, the latter having its greatest repre¬ 
sentative in John Huss. See Hungary. 

AUTODAFE (a'to-da-fa'), a public cere¬ 
mony instituted at Seville in 1481, and used in 
connection with the inquisition in Portugal and 
Spain. It consisted of a sermon preached to 
those charged with crime, and at its close the. 
names of those found guilty were announced, 
while those found not guilty were discharged. 
The guilty were soon after executed. 

AUTOMATON (a-tom'a-ton), a self-act¬ 
ing machine, such as a clock or watch. The 
name is likewise applied to a figure made in 
imitation of an organic being, as a toy turtle 
with means to propel itself, or a machine per¬ 
forming actions like a human being. The con¬ 
struction of automata dates from a period far 
remote, before the Christian era, and some of 
the devices produced became noted. In 1851 
a mechanism was exhibited at London which 
fluttered its wings and imitated the note of the 
bullfinch. Another product was in the human 
form and did writing and drawing by clock¬ 
work. The famous clock at Strassburg, Ger¬ 
many, is the most noted automaton in exist¬ 
ence. 

AUTOMOBILE (a-to-mo'bil), a vehicle 
propelled by electric power, gas, steam, or any 
other force stored or located within the ma¬ 
chine. These mechanical structures . may be 
divided into three general classes, including 
those used on roads for carrying passengers 
or goods, those designed for vehicles to be em¬ 
ployed in place of carriages, and those in the 
form of bicycles or tricycles to increase the 




AUTOMOBILE 


168 


AUTOMOBILE 


speed and relieve the rider from the exertion 
accompanying the treading of pedals. The first 
automobiles were manufactured as early as 
1860, but a high state of perfection was not 



reached until about 1898. While the early ve¬ 
hicles were too clumsy to insure great speed, 
those of recent manufacture serve a useful 
purpose by combining speed with utility. 

Automobiles are made in a great variety of 
forms and differ vastly in size and capacity. 
This was demonstrated at the Saint Louis Pur¬ 
chase Exposition, where fully 500 styles of 
American and foreign manufacture were ex¬ 
hibited. The electric vehicles, in which cur¬ 
rent is supplied from a storage battery, con¬ 
tinue to remain popular, owing to the movement 
being attended with less noise and the propel¬ 
ling force supplying power for longer distance 
than in any other form. However, gasoline 
vehicles are used most extensively, partly from 
the fact that electric power cannot be secured 
in all places and its expense is somewhat 
greater. Electric batteries of a high class are 
capable of propelling the machine a distance of 
500 miles where reasonable precaution is used. 

Much has been done in recent years to make 
the automobile more popular and extend its 
use both in pleasure-riding and for the more 
practical purposes in business. The industry 
of manufacturing has grown to such propor¬ 
tions that it has been possible to turn out a 
standard car which is superior in construction 
and lower in price. At present the most popular 
vehicle is a four-cylinder touring car of twenty- 
four to twenty-eight horse power, weighing 
from 2,000 to 2,200 pounds, or a thirty to thirty- 
five horse power, weighing from 2,200 to 2,400 
pounds. The wheels are thirty-two to thirty- 
four inches in diameter, with large tires about 
four inches in diameter. It- has a four-cylin¬ 
der motor housed in a bonnet in front, and the 
power is transmitted by shaft-drive and bevel 
gears to a live rear axle. Almost perfect lu¬ 
brication of the engines is obtained by a con¬ 
tinuous circulation secured from a mechanical 


forced-feed oiler, the oil passing through feed 
glasses carried in sight at the front of the ma¬ 
chine on the dashboard. The cone clutch has 
given place to a multiple-disk clutch, whose 
disks run continually in oil, and the clutch 
takes hold without jar or jerk. By this simple 
arrangement it is possible to start a car from a 
standstill to a high speed without danger of 
breakage. 

Automobiles are used extensively in cities 
for draying and as passenger omnibuses. In 
some places boulevards and automobile tracks 
are maintained, and a great many sight-seers 
prefer to use automobiles rather than teams in 
pleasure-riding and touring. The speed has 
been enormously increased until now a rate of 
fifty to sixty miles an hour is considered fair 
riding in long-distance races. 

Several manufacturers brought out two-cyl¬ 
inder motor cars with twenty-five horse power, 
the touring car weighing 1,700 pounds. There 
is a manifest advantage in a two-cylinder motor 
car, since lighter weight and greater simplicity 
can be obtained. This model will gain favor 
as soon as the small range of speed and the dif¬ 
ficulty of keeping the crank case tight can be 
overcome. Probably the two-cycle, four-cylin¬ 
der, mechanically air-cooled type will be the 
popular structure for the future. However, a 
majority of cars still use water-cooling by 
means of a centrifugal circulating pump, even 
for the high-powered cars, but the air-cooled 
type is gaining ground and will likely prove the 
more desirable. Air-cooled motors of the two- 
cycle type, 200 horse power, are in use by rail¬ 
road companies. Several manufacturers of 
farming implements have put out a large num¬ 
ber of low-geared automobiles for farm use, 
fitted to move harrows, plows, and other farm 
implements. It is claimed by the manufacturers 
that this new departure will displace the horse 
to a large extent in the course of time. 

The sixth annual automobile race for the 
James Gordon Bennett cup took place in France, 
July 5, 1905. It was run over the Auvergne 
course, which describes a circle eighty-five and 
a half miles, the total distance in four rounds 
being 342 miles. R. B. Thery, of France, won 
the race in seven hours two minutes and forty- 
two seconds, making an average speed of 48.5 
miles an hour. The fourth race for the Van¬ 
derbilt cup was won by George Robertson, rep¬ 
resenting an American machine, Oct. 24, 1908, 
on Long Island. The total distance was 258 
miles and the winner made an average speed of 
67.6 miles per hour. H. W. Fletcher made a 
notable record in the races at Ormond, Fla., 
running one hundred miles in one hour eighteen 






AUTONOMY 


169 


AVE MARIA 


minutes and twenty-four seconds. Records of 
this class are made in eighty to ninety horse 
power cars. They stand as representative in 
the matter of speed and were not materially 
surpassed up to 1909. 

Long trips in motor cars have become popu¬ 
lar, and much touring is done by those who 
otherwise would travel by railway in foreign 
and remote countries. It is not uncommon for 
tourists to cross the American continent from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific, or to drive auto¬ 
mobiles long distances across plains and over 
mountains. Of such trips made in 1908 the 
run from New York City to Paris may be taken 
as the most important. Ten cars were entered 
for the trip, of which four were American and 
six of European manufacture, one German, two 
Italian, and three French. The route across 
the American continent was from New York to 
San Francisco, whence it was to be by steam¬ 
boat to Valdez, Alaska, and thence northwest 
to Bering Strait. From Bering Strait the route 
was planned through Siberia by way of Saint 
Petersburg to Paris, but deep snow in Alaska 
and Eastern Siberia made it necessary to ship 
the machines by steamboat from the Pacific 
coast to Vladivostock. The German car reached 
Paris ahead of the others, but the decision was 
given in favor of the American car, as the Ger¬ 
man driver had been required by reason of a 
breakage to ship his car by rail some distance 
in California. 

AUTONOMY (a-ton'6-my), the self-gov¬ 
ernment of a city or state. The term probably 
originated in ancient Greece, in which country 
most of the cities were independent for general 
purposes. 

AUTOPLASTY (au'to-plas-ty), a surgical 
operation in which lesions are repaired by using 
tissues taken from another part of the body to 
supply deficiencies caused by disease or wounds. 
Operations of this kind are performed to re¬ 
store the use of an organ or improve the ap¬ 
pearance, and the parts taken may be from the 
same or some other individual. In many cases 
the skin is taken from the body of an individ¬ 
ual to repair lesions resulting from scalds or 
burns, or in the case of hairlip. In India auto¬ 
plasty was practiced in ancient times and it is 
referred to by Celsus, but in Europe and Amer¬ 
ica the practice is comparatively recent. 

AUTUMN (au'turn), the season of the year 
which follows summer, and frequently referred 
to as fall, referring to the fall of the leaves. 
In the northern hemisphere it extends from 
about Sept. 22 until Dec. 22, from the autumnal 
equinox to the winter solstice. In England it 
embraces the months of August, September, and 


October, while in America the autumnal months 
are September, October and November. 

AUVERGNE (o-varn'y), formerly a prov¬ 
ince in Central France, now merged into Can- 
tal, part of Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dome. The 
region is traversed by the Auvergne Mountains, 
a branch of the Cevennes Mountains, and their 
peaks are the highest of Central France. Among 
the most lofty summits are Puy-de-Dome, 4,806 
feet; Cantal, 6,095 feet; and Dore, 6,188 feet. 
Owing to peculiar volcanic and geologic forma¬ 
tions, the region is one of scientific interest, 
and has been much studied by students. There 
are deposits of coal, copper, iron, and lead, and 
numerous mineral and thermal springs. The 
mountain slopes are covered with a fine growth 
of grass, while the valleys abound in fruits, 
cereals, and live stock. 

AVA (a'va), the former capital of Burma, 
on the Ira wadi River, opposite Mandalay, the 
present capital. It is surrounded by walls and 
has several Buddhist temples. Formerly it was 
a large city and commercial center, but it was 
destroyed by an earthquake in 1839. Popula¬ 
tion, 1901, 38,500. 

AVALANCHE (av'a-lanch), the name ap¬ 
plied to masses of ice or snow that slide down 
the sides of mountains to lower levels. These 
masses differ somewhat in the nature of the 
falling material, this depending upon climatic 
conditions and the season of the year. Drift 
avalanchps consist of dry or loose snow set in 
motion by the wind, and in falling or sliding 
accumulate larger masses in the descent, finally 
reaching the valley in clouds of dust-like snow. 
This class occurs in the cold seasons, and is 
attended by danger on account of a liability 
to destroy animals and buildings. Avalanches 
of a somewhat different character occur in the 
spring and at the seasons of melting snows. 
These cause the sod to be detached and carried 
with the snow down the mountain side, and in 
falling frequently create a draught of wind 
sufficiently strong to destroy buildings and even 
forest trees. Ice avalanches consist of ice 
masses that detach from glaciers in upper re¬ 
gions and slide with great force down the 
mountain-sides. The latter class are most com¬ 
mon in the Alps of Europe, where much prop¬ 
erty and many lives have been lost on account of 
their damaging effects. A class of avalanches 
called snowslides occur in the Rocky Mountains, 
where they frequently form an obstruction to 
railroad trains. The term is also applied to 
landslides, which arise from quantities of earth 
becoming loosened near the upper part of an 
eminence and sliding to a lower elevation. 

AVE MARIA (a'va ma-re'a), meaning hail 






AVERAGE 


170 


AVOSET 


Mary, a form of address used among Roman 
Catholics in addressing the Virgin Mary, as 
an expression of honor and when requesting 
her intercession. It is usually coupled with the 
recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and is repeated 
three times each morning, noon, and evening 
at the ringing of the bells known as the Ave 
Maria or Angelus Domini. The term came 
into use from the salutation of Mary by the 
Archangel Gabriel, Luke i., 28, and the form 
of address was sanctioned by a papal edict in 
132C. Pope Pius V. ordered the daily use of 
the whole prayer in 1658, consisting of the three 
parts: 1, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord 
is with thee;” 2, “Blessed art thou, among 
women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb 
3, “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us 
sinners now and in the hour of our death.” 

AVERAGE (av'er-aj), the mean proportion 
between two certain given quantities. To ob¬ 
tain the average the given number of quan¬ 
tities are added, and the sum is then divided 
by the number of quantities given. For in¬ 
stance, to find the average number of days in 
the months, add the days of the months, which, 
in a year not a leap-year, equal 365, then divide 
by twelve; the quotient is the average. In a 
similar way the averages of different quantities 
may be ascertained. 

AVERNUS (a-ver'nus), a small lake in 
Italy, about eight miles west of Naples, and 
now called Lago d’Averno. It occupies the 
crater of an extinct volcano, is a mile and a 
half in circumference, and about 190 feet 
deep. There is no natural outlet, but Agrippa 
made an artificial passage for its overflow 
into the Gulf of Baiae. Since then the passage 
has been closed up by volcanic action, and there 
is now no visible outlet. The scenery around 
the lake is wild and grand, and at various times 
sulphurous vapors arise, circumstances by which 
the people in ancient times were led to believe 
that Lake Avernus is the entrance to the in¬ 
fernal regions. It was dedicated to Proserpine, 
and, according to legend, Ulysses frequently 
visited there the ghosts of the dead. On the 
south side of the lake is a formation mentioned 
as the grotto of the sibyl, and near it are ruins 
of a temple dedicated to Apollo. 

A VESTA (a-vest'a), or Zend-Avesta, the 
sacred scriptures of the religion of Zoroaster, 
and in use by the Parsees as their Bible. The 
French scientist, Anquetil Duperron, translated 
it in 1771. This work in size is about one-tenth 
of our Bible, and at least portions of it date 
from remote antiquity. The Avesta represents 
the oldest faith of Iran and was the law of 
ancient Media and Persia. See Parsees. 


AVIARY (a'vi-a-ry), an inclosure for breed¬ 
ing, rearing, and keeping birds. The first men¬ 
tion of aviaries is in connection with the ancient 
Persians, but later like structures were built 
in Greece and Rome, and in the 16th century 
similar inclosures were constructed in Western 
Europe. Excellent aviaries are now maintained 
in many of the zoological gardens of America 
and Europe, and in them may be seen beautiful 
birds of song and plumage from many climes. 

AVIGNON (a-ven-yon'), a city of south¬ 
eastern France, on the Rhone River, capital of 
the department of Vaucluse. The city has ex¬ 
tensive railroad facilities, is improved by gas 
and electric lights, pavements, and several fine 
parks, and is the seat of a number of schools. 
It has many fine churches, on account of which 
it is familiarly mentioned as the “City of 
Bells.” These include the Notre Dame, a fine 
cathedral, which served as the residence of 
Pope Clement V. and six of his successors. The 
city was also the residence of Petrarch, and 
it was here that he formed the acquaintance 
of Laura, the lady whom he mentioned in sev¬ 
eral sonnets. In the 14th century the city 
had a population of fully 100,000, but it lost 
its importance through the fortunes of war. 
It has been a part of France since 1791. At 
present it has a considerable trade in silk, fruit, 
and manufactured articles. Population, 1906, 
48,312. 

AVOIRDUPOIS (av-er-du-poiz'), a stand¬ 
ard of weights used for all articles of mer¬ 
chandise, except gems, medicines, and precious 
metals. The grain is the foundation of both 
the troy and avoirdupois systems. In avoirdu¬ 
pois weight the pound is divided into 16 
ounces, the ounce into 16 drams, and the dram 
into 27 11-32 grains. 

AVON ( a'vun), the name of several rivers 
in Europe, including one in France and several 
in the British Isles. The most important is 
the Avon River in England, which rises in 
Leicestershire, flows past Stratford, the birth¬ 
place of Shakespeare, and enters the Severn 
at Tewkesbury. It has a length of 100 miles, 
and its valley is noted for fertility. 

AVOSET (av'6-set), or Avocet, the name of 
a bird belonging to the order of the grcillatores, 
and represented by one species in America and 
one in Europe. The structure is quite similar 
to that of the snipe. The bill is long and feeble, 
the legs are long, the feet are webbed, and the 
plumage is variegated with black and white. 
These birds frequent low and marshy places, 
where they feed on worms, insects, mollusks, 
and aquatic animals. The avoset is a common 
bird in many parts of the United States and 


AX 


171 


AZALEA 


Canada, but is met with most extensively in the 
regions of large marshes. The flesh is highly 
prized as food. 



AX (aks), an instrument for cutting or 
chopping wood or timber, usually made with an 
iron head and a handle of wood. One edge 
is sharp for cutting. The ax is used with both 
hands, but a smaller instrument calied a hatchet 
is intended for one hand. It has been in use 
from remote times, forming a useful implement 
for savage and civilized people. The first axes 
were made of flint rock, later of bronze, and 
finally of iron. In modern times axes came to 
be made of wrought iron with a cutting edge 
of steel, while some kinds have two cutting 
edges. The American Indians made hammers 
and hatchets of stone, the latter being popu¬ 
larly known as tomahawks. The adz, a tool 
used by carpenters for smoothing timber, has 
a chisel-shaped edge from four to five inches 
long. 

AXIOM (aks'i-um), a general statement 
which adirnts of no demonstration, and is taken 
for granted as a self-evident truth. Funda¬ 
mental propositions and established principles 
underlie every science, and are to be taken by 
the student without proof as a basis for further 
argument. That he who admits a principle ad¬ 
mits its consequences is an axiom in logic. 
Again, that the whole is greater than its parts 
is an axiom in geometry. 

AXIS (aks'is), a straight line, either real 
or imaginary, drawn through a body, around 
which that body may revolve. The term is ap¬ 
plied in geometry to a line imagined drawn 


through a plane figure, about which the parts 
of the figure or body are symmetrically ar¬ 
ranged. In botany the term is applied to the 
central portion of the higher plant, *on which 
are borne the appendages or lateral members. 
The root is termed the descending axis, and the 
stem the ascending axis. 

AYACUCHO (T-a-koo'cho), a city of Peru, 
capital of a department of the same name, 240 
miles southeast of Lima. It is located on a 
tributary of the Mantaro River, about 7,500 
feet above the sea, and the surrounding coun¬ 
try is agricultural. A fine church building, a 
university, and the government house are the 
chief public improvements. In 1824 it was the 
scene of-a battle between the allied forces of 
Peru and Colombia and the Spaniards, in which 
the latter were defeated. Population, 1900, 
22 , 000 . 

AYE-AYE (ai'ai), a small quadruped na¬ 
tive to Madagascar, so named from its peculiar 
cry. It belongs to the lemur family, is about 
the size of a hare, and has a long bushy tail. 



The fingers are long, which it uses to secure 
the grub of wood borers, upon which it feeds, 
but it also eats fruits and the tender part of 
plants. During the daytime it sleeps and at 
night it goes out in search of food. 

AYR (ar), a seaport of Scotland, in Ayr¬ 
shire, at the mouth of the Ayr River. It is 
located about 85 miles west of Glasgow, with 
which it has connection by railway. The build¬ 
ings includes an academy, a public library, and 
several churches. The manufactures include 
carpets, boots and shoes, textiles, and earthen¬ 
ware. Having a good harbor on the Firth of 
Clyde, it exports coal and imports grain and 
iron ore. The cottage in which Robert Burns 
was born is about two miles south of Ayr, and 
near it are the Alloway Church and the Doon 
of Tam o’Shanter. Population, 1901, 28,624. 

AZALEA (a-za'le-a), a genus of plants of 
the heath family, many species of which are 















AZOIC 


172 


AZTECS 


cultivated in greenhouses and flower gardens 
for their beautiful and fragrant flowers. Fully 
100 species have been described, though only 

a small proportion 
has been developed 
into cultivated 
plants. The flow¬ 
ers form in pro¬ 
fuse umbelled clus¬ 
ters and in color 
are either purple, 
orange, white, o r 
variegated. They 
thrive best in a 
sandy soil of peat 
or loam, and are 
well adapted to 
cultivation in shad- 
e d places. The 
azaleas are native 
to America and 
Eurasia; all the 
American species 
are deciduous. 

AZOIC. See Archaean. 

AZORES (a-zorz'), an island group in the 
Atlantic Ocean, situated west of Portugal, and 
forming a part of that kingdom. The islands 
nearest Portugal are about 800 miles west from 
the coast, but the entire group is considered as 
belonging to Europe. These islands are of vol¬ 
canic origin and are subject to earthquakes. 
Pico Alto, the highest volcanic summit, has a 
height of 7,540 feet. Pico, Sao Miguel, Santa 
Maria, and Terceira are the most important 
islands, and the entire group embraces an area 
of 1,005 square miles. The chief productions are 
tropical fruits, cereals, vegetables, and live stock. 
Vegetation partakes of luxuriant forms, the soil 
possesses fertility, and the climate is favorable 
to Europeans. The larger part of the inhabit¬ 
ants are Portuguese and Spaniards, most of 
whom are quite poor. The government has pro¬ 
moted the building of several railroad lines, and 
it has a number of canal and harbor improve¬ 
ments. Cabral discovered the Azores about 
1431, claiming them in the name of Portugal. 
At that time they were entirely uninhabited by 
man, but plants, birds, and small quadrupeds 
were abundant. A species of hawks, called 
aqores by the Portuguese, gave the name to the 
islands. Ponta Delgada is the capital and chief 
town, but Angra is the usual residence of the 
governor. Population, 268,590. 

AZOV (a-zov'), or Azof, an inland sea of 
Southern Russia, forming a branch of the Black 
Sea, with which it is united by the Strait of 
Kertch. Though the sea is comparatively shal¬ 



low, it is valuable for navigation by vessels of 
small draught, and yields an abundance of fish. 
Its greatest length is about 230 miles; breadth, 
112 miles; and area, 14,000 square miles. The 
water is nearly fresh, owing to the large in¬ 
flow from the Don River and several minor 
streams. In the Crimean War, in 1855, the Sea 
of Azov was the seat of great naval activity, 
which was directed with the view of cutting 
off the food supply and otherwise affecting 
Sebastopol. 

AZTECS (az'teks), the name of the inhab¬ 
itants of Mexico at the time of the Spanish 
invasion in 1513. Though the name is fre¬ 
quently applied to all the native inhabitants of 
Mexico at that period, it strictly belongs to only 
one of a number of tribes. According to tra¬ 
dition, the Aztecs came from a country which 
they named Aztlan, a region reputed to be sit¬ 
uated northwest of Mexico, though its exact 
location has never been ascertained. The date 
of the exodus from Aztlan is fixed at 1164 a. d., 
and their arrival in the valley of Mexico is 
placed at 1216, when they succeeded the Toltecs, 
a superior race. In 1325 they founded the City 
of Mexico, naming it the City of Tenochtitlan 
from their chief Tenoch. 

At the time of the Spanish invasion the City 
of Mexico offered considerable resistance to the 
Spaniards, owing largely to strong natural 
and artificial fortifications, and partly to the 
overwhelming numbers of the Aztecs. After 
successive assaults the city was occupied by the 
invading army under Cortez. At that time the 
people were given to war and idolatry, but they 
had obtained marked advancement in astrology 
and astronomy, taught the arts of reading and 
writing, and possessed considerable knowledge 
of architecture. They maintained many temples, 
which were built on substantial terraced py¬ 
ramidal bases, numerous ruins of which still 
remain. The horse, ox, and other domestic 
animals were unknown to them, but, notwith¬ 
standing this disadvantage, they evidenced ma¬ 
terial advancement in agriculture, and cultivated 
large tracts of land in maize and ag^ve. They 
possessed material skill in weaving, feather 
work, pottery, and metal work. 

Much of the history of the Aztecs was re¬ 
corded in hieroglyphics on the walls of tem¬ 
ples and pyramids, and they not only prepared 
lunar calendars, but devised astronomical appa¬ 
ratus and designs of considerable value. How¬ 
ever, they were given to superstition, and sacri¬ 
ficed human beings to their gods. Their legen¬ 
dary was quite extensive, containing numerous 
interesting details and accounts of heroes, teach¬ 
ers, and priests. The education of the young 


AZURITE 


173 


AZYMITES 


devolved on a priesthood, which they supported 
by tithes. Their last ruler, Montezuma, was 
reigning when the Spanish made their invasion 
under Cortez. He was imprisoned and after¬ 
ward killed by the Aztecs in their revolt against 
i Spanish dominion. These people are of great 
interest to the student of history, since their 
civilization and government, though springing 
up mysteriously, resembled in many respects the 
archaic oriental institutions. Bancroft’s “Na¬ 
tive Races of the Pacific States” and Mara L. 
Pratt’s “Cortez and Montezuma” contain inter¬ 
esting accounts of the earlier inhabitants of 
Mexico. 

AZURITE (azh'Q-rit), a carbonate of cop¬ 
per, found as an ore of copper and as an orna¬ 
mental stone. It is crystalline, deep blue in 
color, and not hard enough for jewelry. Depos¬ 
its of it occur in Arizona, where it is found in 
limestone and is accompanied by other ores of 
copper, such as limonite and malachite. It oc¬ 


curs in small quantities near Lyons, France, and 
in Siberia. The Siberian azurite is cut in slabs 
and used for table tops. Some grades are use¬ 
ful as a pigment and others are quite hard and 
suitable for settings in jewelry. 

AZYMITES (az'i-mites), the name used by 
the Greek Church to designate the Roman Cath¬ 
olic Church, because the latter had decided that 
unleavened bread should be used in the sacra¬ 
ment. The controversy as to whether leavened 
or unleavened bread should be used began about 
1045, when Michael Caerulairus, patriarch of 
Constantinople, designated the use of unleav¬ 
ened bread as a remnant of Judaism. To 
this the Latin Church retorted by calling the 
adherents of the Greek Church Pro-zymites and 
Fermentarians. The unleavened bread or wafer 
is still used by the Roman Catholic Church, 
while many of the Protestant churches use the 
leavened bread. 






B 

B, the second letter and the first consonant 
in the English alphabet, and in that of most 
Indo-European languages. It is a sonant ele¬ 
ment of speech of the class known as labial 
mutes. In some languages it is interchangea¬ 
ble with p, especially when it occupies a terminal 
position in a word or syllable. It is produced 
mostly by the lips, and combines the utterance 
of voice and breath. In music B is the seventh 
note of the diatonic scale of C, in which con¬ 
nection it is termed the leading note, calling for 
the octave C to follow it. 

BAAL (ba'al), or Bel, a Hebrew and gen¬ 
eral Semitic term which implies lord, and used to 
designate different divinities. It was the name 
of the principal god worshiped in the nations of 
Canaan and Phoenicia, with whom Ashtoreth 
ranked as the principal goddess. These people 
regarded Baal the god of the sun, ruler and 
life-giver to the universe, and opposed to Mo¬ 
loch, who ranked as the god of destruction. 
Worship was at first conducted on the mountain 
tops among the Midianites, Moabites, and other 
peoples of Western Asia. In Greece the prac¬ 
tice of mountain worship was attached to 
Hercules. Baal was an important divinity 
among most Semitic peoples, even among the 
children of Israel, from whose midst his wor¬ 
ship was ultimately banished under severe pun¬ 
ishment. From the word Baal other words 
commonly used have originated, among them 
Baalgad, Jezebel, Hannibal, Asdrubel, and Bel¬ 
shazzar. 

BAALBEK (bal-bek'), an ancient city in 
Syria, forty miles northwest of Damascus, 
famous for its ruins of magnificent structures 
of antiquity. One of the chief temples was 
dedicated to the sun. In its construction blocks 
of stone twelve feet thick and sixty feet long 
were used, as is evident from some of the col¬ 
umns and walls that are still standing. In the 
time of Julius Caesar the city formed a Roman 


possession. It was sacked by the Arabs in 
748, pillaged by Timur in 1400, and completely 
destroyed by an earthquake in 1759. Some of 
the ruins are the most massive as well as ex¬ 
tensive in the world, among them those of the 
temple of Jupiter, which is still larger than the 
Parthenon at Athens. 

BABBITT METAL (bab'bit met'al), a soft 
alloy made by melting together two parts of cop¬ 
per, six parts of tin, and four parts of antimony, 
and then adding six parts more of tin. A little 
powdered charcoal is used to prevent the metal 
from oxidizing. Babbitt metal was first made 
by Isaac Babbitt, a goldsmith in Boston, and is 
used to reduce friction, abrasion, and heat in 
the bearings of axles and journals. 

BABEL (ba'bel), Tower of, a great tower 
mentioned in Genesis xi. It was situated 
in the land of Shinar, Mesopotamia, and was 
built by the descendants of Noah. The tower 
was to reach unto heaven, but the language of 
the builders was confused by God, so they could 
not understand each other, and the work was 
abandoned. The Babylonians and Greeks had 
a similar account of a great tower. It is said 
that when the giants sought to scale the heavens 
they were overthrown by Zeus. Several ancient 
writings make it probable that the Tower of 
Babel was located at Babylon, and that it was 
completed by Nebuchadnezzar, the great king. 
Tourists are referred to several ruins on the 
site of the ancient city; those most probably 
authentic are at a place called Amram, and form 
a mound 150 feet high, with a base over 3,000 
feet long and 2,500 wide. 

B A B-E L-M A N D E B (bab-el-man'deb), 
meaning Gate of Tears, a cape and strait in the 
southern extremity of Arabia. The strait is 
fifteen miles wide, and connects the Red Sea 
with the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean 
through the Gulf of Aden. The island of Perim 
divides the strait into two channels, the western 


174 





BABIRUSSA 


175 


BABYLON 


of. which is twelve and the eastern two miles 
wide. 

BABIRUSSA (bab-i-rods'sa), or Babyrussa, 
a wild hog native to the islands of Burn and 
Celebes. It has slender legs, is almost without 
hair or bristles, and feeds upon fruits and plants 
instead of rooting in the ground. In the male 
the canine teeth grow upward and form tusks, 
sometimes from eight to ten inches in length, 
and curve backward like horns. The flesh is 
eaten by the natives. 

BABISTS (bab'ists), the name of a sect of 
Mohammedans founded in 1843 by Ali Moham¬ 
med ibn Redha. Babism teaches that Christ, 
Moses, and Mohammed were prophets and fore¬ 
runners of the Bab, who is considered the 
greatest of the prophets. It recognizes the 
equality of the. sexes in social matters, opposes 
polygamy, and permits the remarriage of the 
divorced women, though in spirit it opposes the 
granting of divorces. A civil war resulted from 
the agitation of the Babists, who secured many 
adherents, and the Bab was captured and shot 
at Tabriz in 1850. The total number of Babists 
is about two million. 

BABOON (bab-oon'), the name applied to 
a division of apes and monkeys found in Asia 
and Africa. They are among the largest of 
this class of animals and possess great strength. 
Most species have long, abrupt muzzles, like a 
1 dog, short tails, deep eyes, large eyebrows, and 
strong teeth. They belong to the quadrupeds, 
run swiftly on all fours, and cannot maintain 
themselves with ease in an upright posture. 


| They are fierce, ugly, cunning, and dangerous 



when attacked. Their size is that of a large 
dog, but the mandrill, a species of baboon, is 
about the size of a man when standing erect. 
These animals live in colonies or herds, have 
recognized leaders, and carry on warfare against 


kindred herds and against other wild animals. 
Their food consists of twigs, roots, fruits, and 
grasses, but they sometimes eat lizards, birds. 



BABOON. 


and similar small animals. The common bab¬ 
oon is found in large parts of Northern Africa, 
the gelada in Abyssinia, the chacma in Southern 
Africa, and the black baboon in Celebes. In 
many localities incessant war is waged against 
them on account of their ravages in the gar¬ 
dens, cultivated fields, and meadows. 

BABYLON (bab'i-lon), the capital of the 
Babylonian Empire, on the Euphrates River, 
anciently one of the largest and most beauti¬ 
ful cities of the world. It was founded by 
Queen Semiramis, who spent many years 
and employed thousands of workmen in its 
improvement. Mention is made of it as a 
great city as early as 1500 b. c., but its im¬ 
portance dates from about 680 b. c., when it 
was reconquered by Sennacherib, and made 
one of the two capitals of Assyria. After 
the fall of Nineveh, in the time of Nebu¬ 
chadnezzar, it was improved in magnificent 
style, and at that time attained its greatest 
glory. The city was built in the form of a 
square, each side of which was fifteen miles 
long. High and massive walls fortified it 
against its enemies, while in it were the most 
beautiful edifices, terraced structures, pleas¬ 
ure gardens, verdant parks, and the hanging 
gardens, one of the seven wonders of the 
ancient world. The celebrated Tower of 
Babel, or Temple of Belus, a remarkable struc¬ 
ture of brick and stone, stood within the city, 
and was 625 feet high. The surrounding coun¬ 
try was beautified by gardens, orchards, canals, 
and commercial highways. Both sacred and 
profane history make mention of this city as the 






BABYLONIA 


176 


BABYLONIA 


most beautiful and one of the greatest of re¬ 
mote antiquity. 

Babylon was conquered by Cyrus, King of 
Persia, in 538 b. c., who entered it by the 
river channel, having previously turned the 
water from its course by a great canal. It 
then became a part of the Persian dominion, 
and with this conquest began a rapid decline. 
When Alexander the Great led his expedition 
into Asia, he found the city greatly damaged, 
but still beautiful. He undertook to rebuild 
it with 10,000 men, but after two months’ 
labor gave up the enterprise. Subsequently, 
the city declined rapidly, crumbling away 
on account of successive wars. In its ruins 
were found many curious and valuable relics, 
among them divers cuneiform inscriptions and 
casts, some of them throwing much light upon 
ancient history. Most of the material, such as 
brick and stone, was used in building up the 
new City of Seleucia, which was founded by 
Seleucus, the successor of Alexander the Great. 

BABYLONIA (bab-i-lo'nT-a), the name of 
an ancient country on the Lower Euphrates; 
the region occupied by it is now called Irak- 
Arabi. Ancient writings indicate that the em¬ 
pire was located south of Mesopotamia, west of 
Assyria, north of the Gulf of Persia, and east 
of the Desert of Arabia, but during its greatest 
prosperity it included Assyria, Mesopotamia, 
and practically all of Western Asia. In sacred 
history it is referred to as the land of the 
Chaldees, and also mentioned as Babel and 
Shinar. The region has ranked for ages as 
one of the most fertile districts in Southwestern 
Asia. Anciently its fertility depended, not alone 
upon nature, but a large number of irrigating 
canals and aqueducts were maintained to supply 
the soil in arid districts with moisture sufficient 
to insure production. From the Grecian his¬ 
torian, Herodotus, who made several visits to 
the site of this once great empire, we learn that 
it supplied its own people and one-third of the 
population of Persia with corn and other ce¬ 
reals. Its civilization is as ancient as the civi¬ 
lization of Egypt, perhaps, beginning with the 
year 4000 b. c., but historic records reveal noth¬ 
ing back of the year 2400 b. c. 

People. The inhabitants of Chaldea consisted 
of a mixture of Hamites, Semites, and other 
classes. Their languages and races were mixed 
at all times. One of their earliest leaders was 
a noted hunter named Nimrod, who organized 
separate tribes under a single government. Later 
Abraham, the first of the Israelite fathers, as¬ 
cended the Euphrates and subsequently the As¬ 
syrians built great cities on the Middle Tigris. 
Some writers regard the Babylonians as a 


branch of the Semitic stock and class the non- 
Semitic elements as primitive Aryan tribes. 
They assert that the inscriptions found on mon¬ 
uments prove beyond a doubt that the cunei¬ 
form writing was first used for a non-Semitic 
language. This language they term Sumerian 
and trace it to the Aryans, whom they regard 
the real fathers of Babylonian culture. Baby¬ 
lon, known to the Hebrews as Shinar, was the 
capital and largest city of Babylonia. It was 
the center of Babylonian culture and influence. 
Besides Babylon, the principal cities were 
Eurech, Ur, Calneh, Nippur, and Sippara. 

History. Little is known of the early his¬ 
tory of the Babylonians, though they possessed 
many works in geography, history, astronomy, 
and poetry, and accumulated extensive libraries. 
The earliest writer of whom we have any in¬ 
formation is Berosus, a priest, who lived in the 
time of Alexander the Great, and wrote a his- 
tory of his 
country largely 
from the rec^ 
o r d s of the 
Temple of Be- 
lus. While this 
work is lost, 
portions were 
quoted in other 
books, and 
from them we 
have secured 
considerable in¬ 
formation o f 
the early his 



g 

source 

formation, t h t/, 

Chaldean dyn -</?L 
asty r e i g n e d (m 
from 2001 toj 
1543 b. c., the! 

Arabian dynas¬ 
ty from 1543 to? 

1298, and the! 
dynasty of for¬ 
ty-five Assyrian' 
kings from 
1298 to 772, and 
that the reign 
of Pul extended from 772 to 747 b. c. From 
this history and the descriptions of Herodotus 
we learn that successive wars brought Babylon 
and Nineveh into close relationship. Pul 
reigned twenty-five years as Emperor of As¬ 
syria and Babylonia, and was known in the 




OBELISK OF NIMROD. 















BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY 177 


former by the name of Tiglath-Pileser III. and 
in the latter by the name of Pul. 

In 722 Assyrian sovereignty was thrown off 
under the leadership of Baladan II., but twelve 
years later Babylonia was again conquered. 
When the northern neighbor declined, Baby¬ 
lonia regained its power and rose to a height 
never before attained. Nebuchadnezzar was its 
greatest king. He reigned from 604 to 561 
b. c., reconquered lost provinces, rebuilt canals, 
erected palaces and temples, constructed great 
aqueducts and lighthouses, and made Babylon, the 
capital, once more the greatest city of the na¬ 
tions. He conquered Jerusalem, carried the king 
and a large portion of his subjects into captivity, 
and later destroyed the Jewish capital. To 
gratify his Median wife and remind her of her 
mountain home, he built great towers, the hang¬ 
ing gardens, and beautiful parks, and ornamented 
them with rare trees, grasses, foliage, and flow¬ 
ers. After the death of this mighty king, the 
empire survived but twenty-four years, when 
' Nabonidus and Belshazzar were conquered by 
Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, in 538. About 
two centuries later, in 328, it was made a part 
of the dominion of Alexander the Great, who 
undertook to rebuild the capital city, and sub¬ 
sequently was conquered by rulers of Syria, 
Parthia, Rome, and the caliphs of Bagdad. 
Later it fell under the dominion of the Turks 
and Tartars. The only remains that mark the 
once powerful empire are scattered tribes who 
descended from the ancient Babylonians and 
the ruins of its great cities. 

BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY (bab-i-lo'- 
msh cap-tiv'i-ty), the deportation of a large 
portion of the leading inhabitants of Judah, un¬ 
der Nebuchadnezzar, in 588 B. c., after the fall 
of Jerusalem. The term is likewise applied to 
a prior captivity, in 597, when many Israelites 
were deported to Babylonia. While the princi¬ 
pal part of the Jews were in captivity, Zedekiah 
became king over the remainder, but he was 
vanquished and the kingdom of Judah was 
brought to an end by the powerful Chaldeans. 
While in captivity, they were allowed religious 
freedom. At this time Ezekial, one of the great 
prophets, gave spiritual inspiration to the de¬ 
spondent people, and they were finally liberated 
when Cyrus overthrew the Babylonian Empire 
in 538 b. c. 

BACCALAUREATE (bak-ka-la're-at), the 
degree of bachelor of arts, which is the lowest 
of the academical degrees conferred by the in¬ 
stitutions of higher learning. A baccalaureate 
sermon is a farewell discourse to a class of 
graduates, usually delivered the last Sunday be¬ 
fore graduation. 

12 


BACTERIOLOGY 

BACHELOR (bach'e-ler), a male of mar¬ 
riageable age, but who is unmarried. When 
he passes the age at which most men are 
married, thirty years, he is called an old bach¬ 
elor. In many countries a special tax is im¬ 
posed upon male celibates, on the ground that 
every citizen should bring up legitimate children 
as a support of the State. In Greece and 
Rome bachelors were denied many of the 
privileges accorded citizens.—Bachelor of Sci¬ 
ence (b. s.), Bachelor of Arts ( b. a.), and 
other similar terms are used to designate the 
completion of certain college or university 
courses of study. 

BACKGAMMON (bak'gam-un), a game 
played with dice upon a board or table made 
for the purpose. The table has two compart¬ 
ments, each with twelve points, six points on 
each side, or twenty-four in all, and the points 
are colored alternately red and black. Two 
persons play the game, each of whom has a 
dice, which is thrown with the view of mov¬ 
ing the “men” or checkers, of which there are 
fifteen for each player, onward or in such a 
manner as to bring his own men into his 
own inner table and to prevent his adversary 
from doing the same. The game requires skill 
and has long been a favorite pastime in En¬ 
gland, where it is said to have originated. 

BACON (ba'k’n), the name of a kind of 
cured pork, taken from the sides and back of 
the hog. It is cut in large pieces and salted in 
a dry condition, after which it is smoked. The 
best grade is derived from the part of the hog 
in which the fat is mixed with lean meat. Large 
quantities of bacon are prepared in packing 
houses and sold in markets or exported, and 
considerable is packed in sealed tin cans ready 
for domestic consumption. Bacon is either 
boiled or fried before being served. It is a 
favorite article of food, especially when fried 
with eggs. 

BACTERIOLOGY (bak-te-ri-oro-gy), the 
division of botany that treats of bacteria, which 
are minute vegetable organisms. Few sciences 
have more practical value to mankind, since a 
knowledge of it tends to promote the protection 
of the human body, as well as that of plants 
and animals. There are many species of bac¬ 
teria, some harmless and others harmful to man, 
but all are of more or less value in the economy 
of nature. They are extremely minute organ¬ 
isms, consisting of single cells; either single 
spherical, rod-shaped, oval, corkscrewlike, or of 
aggregates of such cells. They multiply by 
transverse division and by spores, some species 
increasing so rapidly that a single bacillus will 
produce several million new organisms in twen- 




BACTERIOLOGY 


178 


BADEN 



ty-four hours. These forms of life are not only 
among the smallest, but also among the simplest. 
The spherical bac- 
t e r i a appear as 
mere specks of 
protoplasm under 
the microscope, in 
which it is impos¬ 
sible to detect 
either cell wall or 
nucleus. This class 
include the micro¬ 
cocci, many of 
which are colored, 
and some cause 
dreaded diseases 
in man and the 
lower animals. 

Such diseases in- Bacilli as represented by Dr. Koch; 
elude erysipelas be, blood corpuscles, 

and acute croupous pneumonia. Measles, yel¬ 
low fever, cerebro-spinal meningitis, typhoid 
fever, diphtheria, leprosy, consumption, and tet¬ 
anus are other diseases due to different forms 
of bacteria. 

Bacterium and bacillus are generic names of 
most of the straight-rod forms, spirillum is 
a long wavy form, and vibrio is a curved 
form. The form that causes the Asiatic 
cholera is shaped like the comma of punctu¬ 
ation, and is called bacillus comma. A form 
of bacillus about a third longer and more 
slender causes the disease known as con¬ 
sumption, and may be seen by examining the 
sputum of a consumptive. Saprophytic bacilli 
are organisms that live on dead organic matter. 
They are of great value in the economy of na¬ 
ture in that they resolve the tissues of dead 
matter into simple compounds, as water, am¬ 
monia, and carbonic acid, thus supplying these 
necessary substances for growing plants. 

Bacteria are widely diffused in the air, 
water, soil, clothing, mucous membrane, and 
on the surface of bodies. The poisonous 
effect is due to the growth of bacteria, 
the poisons being known as ptomaines, or 
saprophytic, and tox-albumins, or parasitic. 
As an example of the former we have the 
poisoning caused by eating sausage and ice 
cream; and of the latter, the poisonous effect 
of the toxin to which diphtheria is due. The 
forms of bacteria which cause putrefaction 
are convenient in laboratory study, but dif¬ 
ferent forms may be artificially cultivated. 

For the study of the life history of these or¬ 
ganisms, the bacillus of hay is commonly sug¬ 
gested. If a quantity of hay be moistened with 
water, it will become cloudy in a few days. The 


microscope will reveal an innumerable num¬ 
ber of bacilli swimming in a drop of the 
water, but after several days the solution 
will become clear and all evidences of life 
cease. However, it will be found that long 
threadlike forms have gathered in the scum, 
each thread consisting of a number of cells. 
The cell walls of these threads break after 
some time and sink to the bottom along with 
the spores that have developed. These spores 
remain at rest as long as they are not taken 
out of the solution in which they are formed. 
They now constitute a jellylike mass, which is 
called the zoogloea stage. In this spore form 
the mass will stand drying, and small particles 
may be carried as dust in the atmosphere, thus 
giving rise to infection. 

Most forms of bacteria are destroyed by boil¬ 
ing a few minutes, but some kinds, as certain 
bacilli, in the spore form resist a temperature 
of 212° Fahr. several hours. Bacteriology as a 
study had its beginning in 1675 when important 
discoveries were announced by Anthony Leeu¬ 
wenhoek (1632-1723), a native of Delft, Hol¬ 
land. However, it was not fully grounded as 
a science until 1881, when Dr. Koch (q. v.) 
gave the world important reports of discoveries 
regarding bacillus tuberculosis, the causal agent 
in the disease tuberculosis. 

BACTRIA (bak'tri-a), or Bactriana, the 
name of an ancient country of Asia, located 
between the Amu or Oxus River and the Hin- 
du-Kush Mountains. It is supposed to have 
been identical with the modern province of 
Balkh, and is regarded the native country of 
the Aryan people. In the 3d century b. c. Bac- 
tria was a powerful kingdom, and was ruled by 
a dynasty of Greek origin. Buddhism obtained 
a strong foothold at the beginning of the Chris¬ 
tian era. Subsequently it became subject to 
Bokhara and with it passed under the dominion 
of Russia in 1868. 

BADAJOZ (ba-da-hSs'), a town in Spain, 
capital of a province of the same name, on the 
Guadiana River. It is near the boundary of 
Portugal, 130 miles east of Lisbon, with which 
it has connection by railway. An old cathedral, 
a Moorish castle, and several monasteries are 
among its buildings. The manufactures consist 
chiefly of delftware, woolens, and leather goods. 
Wellington captured it in 1812. Population, 
1900, 30,899. 

BADEN (ba'den), a watering place in Aus¬ 
tria, 15 miles southwest of Vienna. It is noted 
for the warm sulphur springs in its vicinity, 
whose temperature ranges from 72° to 97°. The 
town has a number of fine buildings and fash¬ 
ionable hotels, and near it is the royal hunt- 





BADEN 


179 


BADGER 


ing lodge known as Meierling. The springs 
were known in the time of the Romans and a 
number of coins and antiquities of Roman ori¬ 
gin have been found in the vicinity. Population, 
1906, 18,750. 

BADEN, or Baden-Baden, a city of Ger¬ 
many, in the duchy of Baden, famous as a sum¬ 
mer resort. It is situated eighteen miles south¬ 
west from Carlsruhe, on the hills of the Black 
Forest. Near it are some of the most noted 
and healthful thermal baths in Europe. These 
cause it to be visited by many thousands annu¬ 
ally. The city is well known in history, hav¬ 
ing been founded by the Roman Hadrian in the 
2d century, when it was known as Civitas Aure¬ 
lia Aquensis (watering-place of Aurelius). Its 
springs were famous throughout the Middle 
Ages, and long attracted all classes who were 
in search of pleasure or health. The springs 
have a temperature of from 100° to 150°, and 
discharge about 4,500 cubic feet of water daily. 
The water is used for bathing, manufacturing, 
and shipping purposes. It is applied medicin¬ 
ally in cases of gout, skin diseases, rheumatism, 
and other ailments. The city has fine public 
promenades and gardens, and the highways 
are ornamented with flowers and foliage. From 
the heights near the city may be seen the waters 
of the Rhine. Population, 1905, 16,237. 

BADEN, Grand Duchy of, a state in the 
southwestern part of Germany. It is bounded 
on the north by Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt, 
east by Wurttemberg and Bavaria, south by 
Switzerland, and west by Rhenish Bavaria, Al¬ 
sace, and Lorraine. Toward the south of it 
flows the Rhine, which separates it from Swit¬ 
zerland. The area is 5,821, exclusive of Lake 
Constance, and in size it takes fourth rank 
among the states of Germany. It contains the 
Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, on the high¬ 
lands of the southern part, and its northern 
portion is a plain. The drainage is to the North 
Sea by the Rhine, and to the Black Sea by the 
Danube. The soil is fertile, especially along 
the Rhine valley. Its highlands abound in 
valuable minerals, including iron, zinc, coal, 
nickel, salt, and limestone. Mineral and ther¬ 
mal springs are abundant at Baden and in the 
highlands. 

Baden is governed under a constitution that 
dates from 1818, and by which the sover¬ 
eignty is vested in the eldest of the male line. 
The grand duke and one-third of the inhab¬ 
itants are Protestants, while two-fifths are 
Roman Catholics. Two universities are main¬ 
tained at Freiburg and Heidelberg, with an at¬ 
tendance of 2,500 students, and the public 
school system is on a popular and progressive 


basis. The state has extensive railroad lines, 
well built highways, many manufacturing 
cities, and large vineyards. The manufactures 
consist of woolen and silk goods, beet sugar, 
musical instruments, machinery, wine, soap, and 
earthenware. Large interests are vested in the 
manufacture of clocks, employing about 12,000 
people. The government of the state is under 
a duke and a Parliament located at Carlsruhe; 
the latter consists of two departments, but is 
limited in its legislative powers by the consti¬ 
tution of the German Empire. 

In early history Baden was inhabited by 
savage tribes classed with the Alemanni, who 
were subdued by the Romans under Hadrian. 
The controlling house now in power began in 
the 11th century. In 1815 Charles Ludwig 
joined the German Confederation, in which 
Baden held the seventh rank. In 1866 it sided 
with Austria against Prussia, but was united 
soon after with the North German States. 
When the Franco-Prussian War broke out, in 
1870, Baden took an active part against France, 
and was restored to the German Empire on 
Nov. 15, 1871. Carlsruhe is the capital, and 
Mannheim is the chief commercial center. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 2,010,728. 

BADGE (baj), a mark, sign, or token worn 
on the dress to show the relation of the wearer 
to the government, or to some society or or¬ 
ganization. It is either conferred by the State 
or assumed by the individual for the purpose 
of distinction. The garter of the English 
knight was conferred by public authority, so 
also were the golden fleece of the Spanish 
grandee and the button of the Chinese man¬ 
darin. Societies, as the Good Templars, the 
Grand Army of the Republic, and civic societies, 
confer badges as marks of distinction. Many 
conventions, notably those of political parties, 
authorize badges as a symbol to distinguish 
delegates claiming seats. 

BADGER (baj'er), a quadruped mammal 
common to America and Eurasia. It is clumsy 
and awkward in its movements. The legs are 
thick and short and the feet are straight, while 
the forefeet are armed with long claws. Among 
the typical species are the American, the Euro¬ 
pean, and the balisaur, or sand badger, of 
India. The American badger is grizzled-gray 
with one or more white stripes on the face. 
It is about two feet long, including the tail, 
which is short. It burrows in the ground and 
spends the days in sleeping, but comes out at 
night to feed upon roots, small animals, and 
insects. Its fur is a valuable article of com¬ 
merce and its flesh is eaten. This animal was 
once very abundant in Wisconsin, hence its 




BAD LANDS 


180 


BAGPIPE 


popular name—Badger State. The European 
badger resembles the American in size and 



color, but the balisaur is larger and resembles 
a small bear. 

BAD LANDS (bad landz), a region of 
North America, situated principally in the upper 
drainage basin of the Missouri River. The sec¬ 
tion of country designated as bad lands is made 
up largely of sand and gravel, with here and 
there rocks and irregular horizontal strata of 
clay and limestone, and is peculiarly destitute 
of vegetation. The rainfall is scant, though 
small grasses are met with in some sections, 
and in others the vegetation consists largely 
of sage brush. Medora, N. D., is surrounded 
by bad lands, and from that point they extend 
north and south. Tracts of considerable size 
that may be classed as bad lands occur in the 
vicinity of the Black Hills, and in some sec¬ 
tions of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nebras¬ 
ka, and Colorado. 

BAFFIN BAY, a gulf or sea on the north¬ 
east coast of North America, extending be¬ 
tween British America and Greenland. It is 
about 800 miles long, has an average breadth of 
280 miles, and a depth of about 7,000 feet. It is 
connected with the Atlantic Ocean by Davis 
Strait, and with the Arctic Ocean by Lancas¬ 
ter and Smith sounds. Through it pass cur¬ 
rents to the south, but at least one is known to 
move northward around Cape Farewell. The 
tide waters rise about ten feet. Its shores are 
steep and lofty, and are inhabited by fur-bear¬ 
ing animals common to the northern climates, 
and thousands of gulls and sea-fowls. It was 
discovered in 1616 by William Baffin, after 
whom it was named. It is navigable only four 
months in the summer, owing to its waters 
being frozen. The bay is valuable for whale 
fishing, and the adjacent region is rich in min¬ 
erals and fur-bearing animals. 


BAFFIN LAND, an island west of Green¬ 
land, a colonial possession of Great Britain, and 
a part of the Canadian district of Franklin. 
The climate is severe, similar to that of Green¬ 
land, and the surface is mountainous. Along 
the coasts are a few settlements of Eskimos, 
but there are few inhabitants and the area is 
unknown. 

BAGATELLE (bag-a-tel'), a game played 
on a cushion-rimmed table with a cue and 
spherical balls. It resembles billiards. The 
table is about seven feet long and three feet 
wide. Nine cups or sockets large enough to 
receive the balls are at the end, and the game 
consists of driving the balls into the openings. 

BAGDAD (bag-dad'), or Baghdad, the seat 
of government of a vilayet of the same name, 
in the southeastern part of Asiatic Turkey. It 
is situated on the banks of the Tigris River, 
which is crossed by several pontoon bridges. 
The city is surrounded by a wall forty feet 
high, with four gates, and is otherwise well 
fortified. It was founded about 762 a. d., and 
built of material taken from the ruins of Seleu- 
cia. The streets are mostly narrow and illy 
paved, but some of the bazaars are large de¬ 
positories of Asiatic and European manufac¬ 
tures. Among the chief buildings are the cita¬ 
del, the governor general’s • palace, and many 
mosques. Bagdad was enlarged in the 9th 
century by Harun-al-Rashid, who built a pal¬ 
ace for himself, and a tomb for his favorite 
wife, Zobeide. He erected numerous edifices 
and bridges. In the 10th century it was rav¬ 
aged by the Turks, and in, the 14th century by 
Timour. Subsequently it passed over to Per¬ 
sia, and then back to the Turks, who have had 
it under sway since the 18th century. The 
inhabitants engage largely in trade and pro¬ 
duce a variety of manufactures, such as silk, 
carpets, drugs, and ornaments. They consist 
chiefly of Turks, Arabs, Jews, Hindus, Afghans, 
Persians, and Armenians. The city is impor¬ 
tant on account of its location on the Tigris, 
which affords a highway for navigation to the 
sea and many interior points. It forms the 
principal telegraphic connection between West¬ 
ern Asia and British India. Its manufactures 
are developing under European stimuli, and 
it is the seat of a large trade in agricultural 
products and manufactured articles. Popula¬ 
tion, 150,275. 

BAGPIPE (bag'pip), a musical instrument 
of unknown antiquity. Up to the 18th century 
it was used in all the countries of Eurasia, and 
it is still popular in Scotland, France, Spain, 
Italy, and many countries of Asia. It consists 
of a leather bag, generally covered with cloth, 








BAHAMA 


181 


BAIREUTH 


which is inflated by the player blowing with 
his mouth through a tube. Three or four pipes 
are connected with the bag, through which the 
wind is forced by pressing the bag under the 
arm. The player uses one of the pipes, called 
the chanter, which is supplied with finger holes, 
and serves for playing the tune. The three or 
four others, called drones, sound a continuous 
low tone. The instrument is still used exten¬ 
sively by Asiatic people, and is seen at all the 
great expositions where Turks and others make 
exhibits. 

BAHAMA (ba-ha'ma), a group of islands 
in the West Indies, nearly 600 miles long, and 
located southeast of the coast of Florida. The 
total area is 5,450 square miles. The group 
includes nearly 700 islets and islands and over 
2,000 coral reefs. Among the principal islands 
are Andros, New Providence, Grand Bahama, 
Great and Little Abaco, Crooked Island, Great 
Exuma, San Salvador, or Watling Island, Great 
Inague, and Harbor Island. About twenty of 
the islands are inhabited. The leading products 
include cotton, sugar, maize, cocoanuts, sponges, 
and a great variety of fruits. In recent years 
the culture of sisal fiber has been largely de¬ 
veloped and is a growing industry. The ex¬ 
ports from these islands aggregate about $1,050,- 
500 annually; the imports, $4725,525. Mail 
steamship service is maintained among the 
islands and with American and European ports. 
Many of the islands are noted for their fine 
climate and are visited by tourists and pleasure 
seekers. The history of the Bahamas dates 
from Oct. 12, 1492, when Columbus discovered 
them, the first land viewed by him in America. 
These islands now form a British colony. The 
government is administered by a local depart¬ 
ment under the direction of the'English Par¬ 
liament. Nassau, on New Providence, is the 
capital. In 1901 the .entire group had a popula¬ 
tion of 53,735. 

BAHIA (ba-e'a), or Sao Salvador, the sec¬ 
ond city of Brazil, on the Bay of All Saints, 
and capital of the province of Bahia. It occu¬ 
pies a fine site, and has one of the most com¬ 
modious harbors in the world. The principal 
streets are substantially paved with stone and 
asphalt, and the city has gas and electric lights, 
drainage, and waterworks. It is the seat of a 
university, an arsenal, and the palace of an 
archbishop. It has railroad connection with 
the interior, and submerged telegraphic com¬ 
munication with Europe. Intercommunication 
is provided by an extensive system of electric 
railways, with which suburban and interurban 
fines are connected. The manufactures include 
leather, tobacco, sugar, clothing, lumber prod¬ 


ucts, and machinery. It has a large export 
trade in cotton, sugar, rice, live stock, minerals, 
and fruits. Bahia was founded in 1549 and was 
the capital of Brazil until 1763. Population, 
1906, 230,120. 

BAHIA HONDA (on'da), a seaport of 
Cuba, in the province of Pinar del Rio, about 56 
miles west of Havana. The harbor is about 
two miles distant and is one of the best in 
Cuba. It is five miles long by three miles wide, 
with an average depth of 28 feet. The surround¬ 
ing country produces sugar cane and has cop¬ 
per and coal mines. Population, 1899, 1,278. 

BAIAE (bi'e), or Baja, an ancient town of 
Italy, located on a bay in Campania, 10 miles 
west of Naples. In the time of the Romans it 
was popular as a watering place and contained 
the villas of many wealthy citizens, who were 
fond of its pleasant climate and warm mineral 
springs. The society of Baiae was noted for 
its luxury and dissolution. Many ruins of 
Roman baths and temples are on the site of the 
town. 

BAIKAL (bi-kal'), a large fresh water lake 
in Siberia, near the Chinese frontier, about 
400 miles long and from ten to fifty miles wide; 
area, 14,000 square miles. The greatest depth 
is 4,500 feet. It is located among great moun¬ 
tain peaks, which yield valuable minerals. In 
the summer season large vessels sail upon it, 
and in winter it is crossed on the ice. Salmon, 
pike, sturgeon, and seals abound. Immediately 
south of the southern shore passes the great 
Trans-Siberian railway from Saint Petersburg 
to Vladivostock, and on its southwestern coast 
is the city of Irkutsk, the seat of a govern¬ 
ment of the same name. The Angara River, a 
tributary of the Yenisei, is the outlet of Lake 
Baikal. 

BAIREUTH (bl-roit'), or Bayreuth, a city 
of Germany, in Bavaria, 40 miles northeast of 
Nuremberg. It is located on the Red Main 
River, has a railway connecting it with Munich, 
and its streets are straight and well improved. 
The chief buildings include an opera house, 
an art gallery, the town hall, and several 
churches. It was the residence of Richard 
Wagner, Franz Liszt, and Jean Paul Richter, 
who are buried in its grounds, and a fine mon¬ 
ument of Richter stands in one of the prin¬ 
cipal streets. The city is famous for its Fes¬ 
tival Theater, erected with the assistance of 
Louis II. of Bavaria, and in it are performed 
classical plays and musical selections from 
Wagner. Baireuth has manufactures of tex¬ 
tiles, machinery, sewing machines, and musical 
instruments, and is a market for produce and 
earthenware. Population, 1905, 31,903. 




BAKER CITY 


182 


BALANCE OF POWER 


BAKER CITY, a city in Oregon, county 
seat of Baker County, on the Powder River, 
and on the railway of the Oregon Railroad and 
Navigation Company. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude the Masonic temple, the high school, the 
county courthouse, and a natatorium. The city 
has waterworks, sewerage, and a considerable 
trade. The surrounding country is fertile, 
producing fruits, cereals, and live stock. It is 
surrounded by a region that contains large in¬ 
terest in gold mining, and has manufactures of 
brick, lumber products, machinery, and spirit¬ 
uous liquors. It was settled in 1860 and incor¬ 
porated in 1872. Population, 1900, 6,663. 

BAKING, the art of preparing food in a 
chamber or oven. It differs slightly from broil¬ 
ing and roasting. For domestic use the-heat is 
usually supplied by burning wood or coal, but 
gas, steam, and heated water are used to a large 
extent. The oven for baking is closed, but 
should be well ventilated. The term is some¬ 
times applied to the hardening of porcelain and 
brick, when subjected to heat, but burning is 
more commonly applied. 

BAKING POWDER, a substitute for yeast 
used in baking. It consists of tartaric acid, 
bicarbonate of soda, and potato or rice flour. 
The flour is added to keep the powder dry, 
but the ingredients are first dried separately 
and afterward mixed. When baking powder is 
added to flour, in making bread or biscuits, the 
carbonic acid gas is liberated by the action of 
the water used in the process, and this gives 
it the requisite lightness by puffing or blowing 
up the doughy mass. Bicarbonate of ammonia 
is sometimes used instead of bicarbonate of 
soda, which is objected to as injurious to the 
health. In some cases alum is similarly sub¬ 
stituted. Both are objectionable adulterations. 

BAKU (ba-koo'), a port city of Russia, in 
the government of Baku, on the western shore 
of the Caspian Sea. The city is strongly forti¬ 
fied, has a fine harbor, and is the terminus of 
the Trans-Caucasian Railway. Most of the 
buildings are low and flat, but there are a num¬ 
ber of fine schools and churches, several gov¬ 
ernment structures, and extensive dock and 
harbor improvements. The exports include 
salt, opium, cotton, live stock, silk, and saffron. 
The manufactures embrace machinery, ships, 
ironware, pottery, clothing, tobacco products, 
and salt. Baku is one of the most noted centers 
of trade in petroleum and naphtha in the world. 
About 500 petroleum wells are in its vicinity, 
most of which are eight or nine miles north of 
the city. The annual production of crude pe¬ 
troleum aggregates 9,225,000 tons. Some of the 
wells have been flowing fully two thousand 


years, but the larger ones are the result of 
deep borings made within recent times and are 
pumped by machinery. The waste is used for 
fuel in manufacturing enterprises and to gen¬ 
erate steam on railways and vessels. A pipe 
line 600 miles long conveys oil from Baku to 
the Black Sea. Some of the wells emit inflam¬ 
mable gases, and have been the objects of pil¬ 
grimages of the Guebers or Fire Worshipers. 
Population, 1900, 179,133. 

BALAKLAVA (bal-a-kla va), a small port 
on the Black Sea, in the southwestern part of 
the Crimea, Russia, near Sebastopol. It was 
the headquarters of the British during the Cri¬ 
mean War, and from which they undertook the 
construction of a railroad to Sebastopol, a dis¬ 
tance of about six miles. The harbor affords 
secure anchorage for the largest ships. It is 
a natural fort, the entrance being so narrow 
that only one vessel can pass into it at a time. 
The Russians made an attack upon it Oct. 25, 
1854, but were repulsed. The famous charge 
of the light brigade of 600 men under Lord 
Cardigan took place at this time. They cut 
their way with great bravery to the Russian 
guns, and afterward cut their way back again. 
In the charge all but 150 perished. Tennyson’s 
“Charge of the Light Brigade” was written in 
commemoration*of this daring, but misdirected 
deed. 

BALANCE (bal'ance), an instrument used 
to ascertain the relative weight or masses of 
bodies. There are 
various forms, but 
the most common are 
hydrostatic balances, 
torsion balances, and < 

steelyards. The hy- ( 

drostatic balances are 
used to ascertain the 
specific gravity of 
water; torsion bal¬ 
ances, to ascertain 
the intensity of very 
small forces; and 
steelyards, for weigh¬ 
ing both small and 

large articles. Spring 
balances are used to 
weigh articles in 
which a high degree 
of exactness is not icai ~baYance7'~"*3.~ Coulomb’s 

rennired Thev are torsion balance. 4. Antique 

required. i ney are Roman balance from p om peii. 

constructed Of a de- b, beam; i, indicator; p, pan. 

vice whereby a 

spring is drawn out or compressed to register 
the weight. 

BALANCE OF POWER, an expression 














BALATON 


183 


BALL 


used to indicate the condition under which a 
party in a Legislature or Congress has suffi¬ 
cient votes to secure the passage of a measure 
by casting them in favor of either one of two 
or more parties. The term is used in diplo¬ 
macy among nations to indicate a condition 
whereby the influence of one or more may be 
cast so as to overcome the influence of other 
powers by a preponderance of strength. Thus, 
some of the European states cast their influ¬ 
ence against Spain, then against France, and 
subsequently against Russia, whereby the bal¬ 
ance of power was sufficient to secure certain 
concessions or to establish and maintain con¬ 
ditions of independence for other governments. 
Among the notable instances in which the bal¬ 
ance of power was maintained in Europe may 
be cited the coalition formed against Napoleon 
I., in 1814, the concerted action to check the 
ambition of Russia in the Crimean War, and 
the conclusion of the Treaty of Berlin, in 1878, 
to maintain the autonomy of the Balkan States. 

BALATON (bo'16-ton), or Platten, a lake 
in Hungary, located 55 miles southwest of 
Budapest. It is seven miles wide and fifty 
miles long, and has an area of about 450 square 
miles. A number of small streams flow into 
it, and the outflow is through the Sio River, 
the Kapos River, and the Kapos Canal into the 
Danube. Many edible species of fish are com¬ 
mon to the lake. 

BALEARIC ISLANDS (bal-e-ar'ik), a 
group of islands in the Mediterranean Sea, off 
the east coast of Spain. They include Majorca, 
Minorca, Iviza, Formentera, Cabrera, and sev¬ 
eral others. The total area is 1,860 square 
miles. Majorca is much the largest of the 
islands; its area is 1,430 square miles. Palma, 
on Palma Bay, in the southwestern part of 
Majorca, is a fine city, the largest in the 
islands, and has a population of 63,937. These 
islands were visited by the Greeks before the 
rise of Roman power. They were long sub¬ 
ject to Carthage, and in 12§ b. c. became part 
of the Roman Empire. James I., King of Ara¬ 
gon, held them in 1220-34, and in 1375 they be¬ 
came united to Spain. They are a Spanish 
possession at the present time and constitute a 
province of that kingdom. The soil is produc¬ 
tive and yields large quantities of cereals and 
tropical fruits, especially olives, bananas, and 
grapes. Population, 1900, 311,649. 

BALI (bade), an island in the East Indies, 
located east of Java, and a colonial possession 
of the Netherlands. It has an area of 2,060 
(square miles. The surface is mountainous 
and volcanic, but the coast and valleys are fer¬ 
tile and the climate is healthful. Among the 


chief products are sugar, rice, tobacco, cotton, 
indigo, and fruit. The natives are Malayan 
and adhere to the Brahman religion. Popula¬ 
tion, 680,000. 

BALKAN (bal-kan'), anciently called Hae- 
mus, a range of mountains in Eastern Europe, 
which includes the Montenegro, Herzegovina, 
and Dinaric Alps, but the name is commonly 
applied only to the mountains extending through 
Bulgaria. The elevations are from about 4,000 
to nearly 10,000 feet. Tchar-dagh, in the west¬ 
ern part, is the highest peak; elevation, 9,700 
feet. The mountains are crossed by highways 
and several railroads, and yield minerals, lum¬ 
ber, and vegetation. They form the watershed 
between the Lower Danube and the streams 
flowing into the Aegean Sea. 

BALKAN FREE STATES, a term applied 
to the independent stales of Rumania, Servia, 
and Bulgaria (including Eastern Rumelia), lo¬ 
cated on the Balkan peninsula, a region of 
Europe lying between the Black and Adriatic 
seas. It is sometimes extended to include parts 
of Turkey, parts of Austria, and Montenegro. 

BALKH (balk), a town in Afghanistan, on 
the Balkh River. It is surrounded by a fertile 
country and has considerable trade in produce, 
carpets, and shawls. Timur destroyed the larger 
part of its buildings and it was plundered in 
1825. It has not been improved to any extent 
since that time. Anciently the site was occupied 
by the city of Bactra. Population, about 12,000. 

BALKHASH (bal-kash'), or Balkash, a 
large lake in Siberia, the fourth in size of the 
lakes in Russian Asia. In breadth it varies 
from six miles to fifty miles; length, 330 miles; 
and area, 8,500 square miles. The lake is 780 
feet above sea level, is salty, and has no out¬ 
let. A navigable stream, the Ili River, and 
several others, flow into it. The lake is quite 
shallow, ranging from 30 to 80 feet in depth, 
and its fisheries are not important. 

BALL (bal), a game in which a spherical 
body is thrown, rolled, or struck with a mal¬ 
let. As an outdoor exercise it is a very health¬ 
ful and popular amusement, and it is exten¬ 
sively played for financial profit and to test 
skill. The different games of ball include base¬ 
ball, football, cricket, basketball, polo, golf, 
lawn tennis, etc. Mention is made in the “Odys¬ 
sey” of games played with balls by both sexes, 
and ball playing was popular in the gymnasia 
of Greece and at the baths of Rome. In the 
16th century the game became fashionable in the 
courts of Europe. Lacrosse is a game originated 
by the Indians of North America. Cricket is 
much played by the English, and baseball is the 
most popular game in the United States. 





BALLAD 


184 


BALLOON 


BALLAD (bal'lad), a poem much briefer 
and less elaborate in composition than an epic. 
Ballads were written by nations whose life 
was simple and in which learning was not so 
far advanced as to facilitate more elaborate 
poems. Before the revival of letters native 
ballads were highly appreciated, even by per¬ 
sons of culture and rank, and the bard was held 
in esteem in the home and at social entertain¬ 
ments. Some of the ballads that are best 
known include Scott’s “Minstrelsy of the Scot¬ 
tish Border,” Goldsmith’s “Edwin and Ange¬ 
lina,” “Little Guest of Robin Hood,” and 
“Chevy Chase.” The “Niebelungenlied” is a 
famous German ballad. 

BALLARAT (bal-la-rat'), a city of Aus¬ 
tralia, in the State of Victoria, and next to 
Melbourne the largest city in that subdivision 
of the Australian Commonwealth. It is 
located 90 miles northwest of Melbourne, has 
good railroad connections with other cities, and 
is in the center of a productive gold field. The 
largest gold nugget ever discovered was found 
near this city in 1858, and was valued. at 
$50,000. Mining is now carried on in the 
quartz deposits. The auriferous reefs are 
worked with profit at a depth of 1,000 feet, 
and large smelting institutions are utilized to 
carry on the industry. The city is the seat of 
extensive commercial interests and is enjoying 
an era of prosperous growth. It has stone and 
asphalt pavements, electric street railways, 
waterworks, two colleges, a fine city hall, and 
a large public library. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are machinery, clothing, earthenware, 
flour, and leather goods. It was incorporated 
as a city in 1870. Population, 1906, 48,565. 

BALLAST (bal'last), a heavy substance 
used in weighting ships when the cargo is too 
light to sail safely with spread canvas. The 
amount of ballast depends upon the size of 
the ship, its construction, and the cargo car¬ 
ried. Ballast, as used in construction work, ap¬ 
plies to gravel, rock, or any material with which 
highways and railroads are made solid and 
durable. All first-class railroads and highways 
in thickly populated countries are improved by 
a dressing and finishing of ballast. 

BALLET (bal'la), a dramatic representa¬ 
tion consisting of dancing and pantomine with 
music. It originated in ancient times, possibly 
among the Greeks, who looked with favor upon 
dancers that expressed action and passions by 
rythm applied to gesture. In 1580 ballet danc¬ 
ing became popular in France, where it was 
encouraged by Catherine de Medici. In 
modern times the ballet came to be used as an 
interlude in theatrical performances, intended 


to please the eye rather than impress mentally. 
Classical operas, such as “Faust” and “Tann- 
hauser,” employ the ballet much the same as 
it was used in former times. 

BALLOON (bal-loon'), a machine designed 
for the navigation of the air. The name was 
derived from a French word meaning ball, be¬ 
cause the early balloons were round in shape. 
The construction of such a machine was first 
suggested by the flight of birds and the rising 
of soap bubbles into the air, which led to the 
construction of two classes of airships, one pro¬ 
pelled upward by mechanical contrivances and 
the other by rarefied gases. Balloons propelled 
upward by means of gases were the first of 
several devices for aerial navigation with 
which it was possible to secure definite and 
satisfactory results. They depend upon the 
principle that a body lighter than air will rise 
with a force proportional to the difference 
between the weight of the air it displaces and 
its own weight. The gas employed is usually 
hydrogen, which is about fourteen times lighter 
than air, but coal gas is also used, which is 
about three times lighter than air. Balloonists 
who ascend into the atmosphere merely for 
exhibition purposes commonly confine heated 
air in the balloon bag, a portable quantity of 
which will carry them from 3,000 to 10,000 
feet. During the time of inflating the balloon, 
it is fastened to the ground with ropes, and, 
when a sufficient amount of heated air has 
been confined within, it is loosened and ascends 
just as a cork rises in water. 

The first deliberate scheme to navigate the 
air of which we have definite record was made 
in 1670 by Francis Lana, a Jesuit, who proposed 
to raise a vessel by metallic globes, containing 
vacuum inside, but it is asserted that the Chi¬ 
nese made successful ascents at Pekin as early 
as 1306. However, the scheme proposed by 
Lana was not practical, because metallic tubes 
that would raise a vessel could not be made 
strong enough to'resist the pressure of the 
surrounding air, or, if made strong enough, they 
would be too heavy to rise. The type of balloon 
which has been most serviceable to make long 
flights was invented in 1782 by Stephen Mont¬ 
golfier and his brother Joseph, paper-makers of 
Lyons, France. They gave a successful public 
exhibition June 5, 1783, with a balloon filled 
with air rarefied by means of a fire lighted 
in the car. Later M. Charles, professor of phys¬ 
ics in Paris, succeeded in successfully substitut¬ 
ing hydrogen gas for rarefied air, by means of 
which an ascent of 3,000 feet was made, the 
balloon passing over Paris and landing safely. 
The next year M. Blanchard made an ascent 


BALLOON 


185 


BALLOON 


and carried with him a parachute to assist in 
making an escape in case of accident. He 
crossed the English Channel from Dover to 
Guiennes, and in 1802 M. Garnerin made the 
same exploit and landed safely in London by 
means of a parachute. Two years later M. 
Gay-Lussac made an ascent from Paris to a 
height of 23,000 feet, and demonstrated be¬ 
yond a question that aerial navigation is prac¬ 
tical. 

The reader will observe that France takes 
undisputed precedence of all other countries in 
the early history of balloons. These machines 
have been so perfected that ascent and descent 
is entirely under the control of the guide, when 
the conditions of the atmosphere are favorable, 
but their movement through the air depends 
entirely upon the impetus of currents in the 
atmosphere. However, the type known as the 
dirigible balloon, which combines the common 
balloon with the flying 
machine, possesses the 
requisites necessary for 
the aeronaut to guide 
it successfully. This 
machine may be said 
to date from 1900, 
when Count Zeppelin, a 
■ German cavalry officer, 
traveled a distance of 
three and a half miles 
in his dirigible balloon. 

By 1908 he had im¬ 
proved his machine so 
he was able to travel 
at the rate of forty 
miles per hour. 

Balloons are made 
of long bands of silk 
sewed together, and rendered air tight by 
coats of varnish, put on at different times. 
They are filled with coal or hydrogen gas to 
render them enough lighter than air so 
there is a material difference between the 
weight of the bag and an equal body of air 
displaced by it. A safety valve is placed at 
the top, under the control of the aeronaut. Be¬ 
low the bag, .suspended by means of a 
network of ropes, is a wicker-work boat or 
car in which the aeronaut sits. The boat or 
car is light, and in it are supplies necessary 
for the safety of persons making the trip up¬ 
ward ; these consist, among others, of a 
long rope to aid in descending, and sand 
bags, which give weight, and in case of dan¬ 
ger are thrown overboard to lighten the bal¬ 
loon, if necessary. A balloon about forty- 
eight feet long and thirty-five feet wide and 


thick will carry three persons, and with its 
appliances weighs about 300 pounds. 

The highest ascent made by a gas bal¬ 
loon was that of Glaisher and Coxwell in 
1862, from England. They ascended to a height 
of nearly six miles, about 29,000 feet, and land- 
ed safely. Aside from ordinary dangers in 
aerial navigation, nature seems to have planned 
other barriers against it. The higher altitudes 
are extremely cold. In the ascent mentioned 
above Coxwell became insensible; his hands 
were frozen and he became numb from ex¬ 
posure while in a low temperature. Besides, 
the air in the higher altitudes is greatly rare¬ 
fied, and at a height of about six miles is in¬ 
capable of sustaining human life. 

Many national and international associations 
are maintained to develop skill and interest in 
ballooning. The International Balloon Con¬ 
gress, one of the most noted organizations of 


this class, has held several important meetings 
at Brussels and in’ other cities of Europe. In 

1907 the second competition for the Gordon 
Bennett Cup was held at Saint Louis. The 
contestants included one British, two French, 
three American, and three German balloons. The 
cup and a cash prize were won by the German 
balloon Pommern, which flew to Asbury Park, 
N. J., and covered a distance of 901 miles in 
39 hours and 55 minutes. The balloons in 
this contest were not dirigible. The largest 
dirigible balloon on record is the one built in 

1908 for Walter Wellman, who planned to use 
it in an attempt to reach the North Pole. It 
was constructed partly of bamboo, with a frame 
of steel, and was fitted with two screw pro¬ 
pellers and three gasoline motors. Although 
the balloon worked successfully, the trip to the 
North Pole was not undertaken within the year. 



THE WELLMAN POLAR AIRSHIP. 

• (Length, 164 feet; greatest diameter, 52.5 feet; volume, 224,244 cubic feet.) 




































BALLOON FISH 


186 


BALM OF GILEAD 


In military service balloons have become 
highly efficient. During the siege of Paris by 
the German army, the celebrated French deputy, 
Gambetta, on Oct. 7, 1870, escaped from the 
city in a balloon, and utilized his freedom in 
organizing a large army in the provinces with 
the intention of compelling the Germans to 
raise the siege. It is estimated that during this 
siege fully 2,500,000 letters were sent from the 
city to people outside by means of balloons. 
Some of these were captured, others landed 
safely, and one was found as far northeast as 
Central Norway. Large numbers contained car¬ 
rier pigeons, that were utilized by friends to 
send answers back to those in the city. In the 
war between China and Japan in 1894-95 the 
Japanese made remarkable success in the use 
of balloons. At daytime they took extended 
observations of the opposing army, and at 
night carried electric arc lights far up into the 
air, from which the light was reflected into 


the enemy’s camp by means of powerful reflec¬ 
tors. By these means they were able to ob¬ 
serve the location and movements of the enemy, 
and harass the opposing army by directing mis¬ 
siles against it at night. In the Anglo-Boer 
War of 1900-01 the balloon was made service¬ 
able in many respects. It is now regarded as 
useful in war as the most powerful arms and 
the most skillful spies. See Aeronautics; Fly¬ 
ing Machines. 

BALLOON FISH, a kind of fish native to 
the tropical seas. They are peculiar for their 
power to inflate themselves with air, which 
they do to evade pursuit, and when in that con¬ 
dition float on the surface of the water with 
their back down. The flesh is not eaten. 

BALLOT (bal'lut), a term derived from the 


French, signifying a little ball used in voting. 
In ancient Greece balls made of stone or metal 
were used to express verdicts. This custom 
still maintains in some countries for limited 
purposes, and generally in civic societies on 
the admission of applicants to membership. In 
Greece the practice was called the die-cast, 
while it is now generally termed balloting. 
In civic societies a given number of black 
balls thrown in will defeat the candidate, 
who is then said to he blackballed. Various 
forms of ballots of paper, wood, and stone 
have been used for centuries. The common 
ballot now used in governmental affairs is of 
paper, and its honesty and secrecy is protected 
by the law. See Australian Ballot. 

BALL’S BLUFF (balz bluf), a steep bank 
on the Potomac River, in Loudoun County, 
Virginia. It was the scene of a battle between 
the Union forces and the Confederates on Oct. 
21, 1861, when a small Federal army was sur¬ 
rounded and defeated. The 
latter lost heavily, and their 
leader, Colonel E. D. Baker, 
was slain. 

BALM (bam), a plant 
of the mint family, noted 
for its fragrance. It is 
perennial, has ovate and cre- 
nate leaves, and is used in 
medicine as a stimulant and 
aromatic. The oil of balm, 
derived from this plant, is 
an essential oil. Several 
species are found in Eura¬ 
sia, especially along the 
Mediterranean, and some 
varieties have been natur¬ 
al i z e d in England and 
America. The catmint, or 
catnip, resembles the balm 
but does not belong to the same class. The 
Moldavia balm is used for flavoring in Ger¬ 
many and the bastard balm is cultivated in Eng¬ 
land for its fragrance, which the leaves retain 
a long time after being dried. 

BALM OF GILEAD (gil'e-ud), the res¬ 
inous substance derived from a tree native 
to Arabia Felix. It is referred to in the Old 
Testament and is still sold extensively in Ara¬ 
bia and other Asiatic countries, where it is 
obtained by making incisions in a small 
tree. At first it is white, but afterward 
turns to a golden yellow color and re¬ 
sembles honey in consistency. By boiling the 
fruit and the wood an inferior quality is ob¬ 
tained. It is irritating to the skin and has a 
bitter taste. The odor is highly fragrant. 



1, The Pommern; 2, L’Isle de France; 3, the Diisseldorf; 4, the Saint Louis; 5, the 
America; 6, the Abereron; 7, the United States; 8, the Anjon; 9, the Letus II. 
















BALMORAL CASTLE 


187 


BALTIC SEA 


BALMORAL CASTLE (bal-mor'al), the 
autumnal residence of the royal family of 
England, situated 45 miles west of Aberdeen, 
Scotland. It occupies an elevated site 920 feet 
above the sea, a natural platform that slopes 
gently to the Dee River, and is surrounded by 
beautiful mountain scenery. The estate con¬ 
tains about 40,000 acres, purchased in 1852 by 
Prince Albert, and on it is the magnificent cas¬ 
tle built at his own expense at a cost of $500,- 
000. It is constructed of granite in the Scotch 
baronial style of architecture. Edward Vli. 
made a number of important changes in its 
furnishings and decorations. 

BALSAM (bal'sam), an aromatic, resinous 
substance secured from plants containing vola¬ 
tile oil and resin. Many substances sold in the 
market are known as balsam, but the balsams of 
Peru and Tulu are most generally used in medi¬ 
cine. The former is obtained from a tree 
native to tropical America and the latter from 
the forests of Tulu, on the Magdalena River. 
The balsam of copaiba is a yellowish liquid 
with a bitter taste, with a more or less viscid 
consistency, and is the product of trees found 
in South America and the West Indies. An¬ 
other product of this class, the balm of Gilead 
(q. v.), is imported from Arabia. These prod¬ 
ucts are generally used in the arts, for medicine, 
and in making perfumery. 

'BALSAM, a flowering plant of India, but 

naturalized in all 
the continents. 
It has been cul¬ 
tivated for more 
than three centu¬ 
ries for its beau- 
t i f u 1 flowers, 
some of which 
are double and 
are known as 
camellia. The 
plant grows 
from one to 
two feet in 
height and 
branches freely. 
Many varieties 
of colored 
flowers have 
been secured 
by propagation. 

BALTIC (bal'tik), Battle of the, a naval 
contest on the Baltic Sea, April 2, 1801, 

between the English under Sir Hyde Parker 
and Lord Nelson and the Danish fleet, in which 
the latter was defeated. 

* BALTIC PROVINCES, a section of Rus¬ 


sia bordering on the Baltic Sea, and including 
the three governments of Courland, Esthonia, 
and Livonia. The area is 36,560 square miles, 
much of which is fertile and is used for agri¬ 
culture and stock raising. Letts and Esths make 
up the bulk of the people, and the burghers and 
nobility are chiefly Germans. Formerly Cour¬ 
land was a dependency of Poland and Esthonia 
and Livonia belonged to Sweden. Peter the 
Great annexed Courland in 1795 and the re¬ 
mainder was previously acquired by conquest 
from Sweden. The people are largely Protest¬ 
ant and not in strict harmony with the policy 
of the Russian government, which has been 
seeking to dictate in the use of the Russian 
language in the schools and the adoption of 
the Greek faith. These provinces revolted and 
declared a republic at the time of the Russo- 
Japanese War, in 1904, but the movement was 
suppressed partly by military force and partly 
by granting minor political and social reforms. 
Riga is the chief city and the seat of administra¬ 
tion. Population, 1906, 2,576,900. 

BALTIC SEA, the inland sea that washes 
the shores of Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and 
Germany, and communicates with the North 
Sea by the Cattegat, the Sound, and the Great 
and Little Belt. The length is about 800 miles; 
breadth, 100 to 200 miles; depth, forty to 140 
fathoms; and area, including the Gulfs of Both¬ 
nia and Finland, 184,497 square miles. The is¬ 
lands within the sea have an erea of about 
12,000 square miles. In the northern part is the 
Gulf of Bothnia, which is separated from the 
southern portion by a chain of islands, and in 
the eastern part are the Gulfs of Finland and 
Riga. It receives the inflow from 250 rivers, 
which renders its waters almost fresh, and in¬ 
creases its tendency to freezing in the winter 
season, thus impeding navigation from three to 
five months of the year. The largest rivers 
that flow into it are the Niemen, Duna, Oder, 
Neva, Vistula, Narva, and Trave. It has a 
large trade, both with ports in Europe and in 
other continents. The leading harbors are at 
Stockholm, Memel, Danzig, Riga, Cronstadt, 
Kiel, Stettin, Copenhagen, and Helsingfors. It 
is connected with the North Sea by the Kaiser 
Wilhelm Canal (q. v.) and other canals furnish 
communication with divers trade centers. Nav¬ 
igation is dangerous on account of breakers 
at numerous islands, sudden changes of wind, 
and violent storms. Valuable amber is cast 
ashore by waves in Prussia and Courland. 
There are extensive salmon, trout, and herring 
fisheries. The southern coast of Sweden is 
gradually sinking and the upper. coast rising, 
the rate of change being estimated at about 






BALTIMORE 


188 


BALTIMORE 


three feet in a century. The name Baltic was 
derived, from the island Baltia, but it is called 
East Sea by the Germans. 

BALTIMORE (bal'ti-mor), the largest city 
of Maryland, county seat of Baltimore County, 
on the Patapsco River, fourteen miles above 
Chesapeake Bay. It is at the head of tide water 
navigation, 42 miles northwest of Washington, 
D. C., and is the focus of important steam rail¬ 
way and electric interurban lines. Among the 
railroads entering the city are the Pennsylvania, 
the Baltimore and Ohio, the Wabash, and the 
Western Maryland railways. Rapid and exten¬ 
sive intercommunication is afforded by a vast 
system of electric lines. 

The principal streets running east and west 
are Lexington and Baltimore, and Charles is 
the main thoroughfare running north and south. 
A small stream called Jones’s Fall divides the 
city into two nearly equal parts. Near the Pa¬ 
tapsco River, from which the ground rises 
gradually toward the north, are the largest 
wholesale and manufacturing establishments, 
and much of the shipping is done from docks 
on a branch of the river which extends well 
into the heart of the city. At the northern limit 
of the harbor is Pratt Street, from which the 
wholesale district extends toward the north, 
and is bounded by Paca, Light, and Baltimore 
streets. The retail shopping district is toward 
the west, and the fashionable residential quar¬ 
ter is toward the north. In numbering the 
houses the decimal plan is used, the numbers 
extending east and west from Charles Street 
and north and south from Baltimore Street. 

Points of Interest. Druid Hill Park is 
one of the finest public grounds in America and 
contains Druid Lake. This park is ornamented 
with fine walks, statuary, and beautiful ave¬ 
nues of trees. It is situated in the northwest¬ 
ern part of the city and contains 671 acres. 
Clifton Park is in the northeastern part, and 
near the river, in the eastern part of the city, 
is Patterson Park. Carroll Park, Wyman Park, 
and several others add beauty to the city. 

Baltimore is called the MonurAerital City be¬ 
cause of its fine Washington Monument, erect¬ 
ed about 1820, and located at the intersection of 
Washington and Mount Vernon streets. It is 
164 feet high and the marble shaft is sur¬ 
mounted by a colossal statue of Washington. 
Battle Monument, in Monument Square, was 
erected in 1815 to commemorate those who fell in 
1812, while defending the city against the Brit¬ 
ish. In Mount Vernon Place are statues of 
Chief Justice Taney and George Peabody. A 
monument to the memory of Columbus, a statue 
of Sir William Wallace, and the Ridgely and 


Wildey monuments are among a number of 
others that merit special mention. Green Moun¬ 
tain Cemetery contains the graves of Johns 
Hopkins, John McDonogh, and other illustri¬ 
ous men, and is noted for its beautiful trees 
and fine statuary. The National Cemetery con¬ 
tains the graves of many Union soldiers and 
Westminster is the burial place of Edgar Allen 
Poe, 

Institutions. The city is noted as an edu¬ 
cational center and as the seat of many benevo¬ 
lent and scientific societies. Its system of pub¬ 
lic schools has courses ranging from the pri¬ 
mary to the collegiate branches, and instruction 
in kindergarten work and manual training has 
been provided for amply. George Peabody en¬ 
dowed the Peabody Institute, which has a 
library of 140,000 volumes and a conservatory of 
music. Johns Hopkins Hospital is a charitable 
institution. The Saint Paul’s Orphan Asylum, 
the Saint Joseph’s Hospital, the Hebrew Orphan 
Asylum, the Maryland University Hospital, the 
Baltimore Orphan Asylum, and the State Asy¬ 
lum for the Insane are among the leading char¬ 
itable institutions. The professional schools in¬ 
clude the Maryland College of Pharmacy, the 
medical and law departments of the University 
of Maryland, the Women’s Medical College, the 
Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, and a 
number of others. Baltimore is the seat of the 
famous Johns Hopkins University, one of the 
most noted institutions of higher learning in 
America, which is attended by a large number 
of students and has a library of about 200,000 
volumes. The Enoch Pratt free library has 
about the same number of volumes and many 
pamphlets and manuscripts. 

Buildings. Solidity and convenience are 
combined in the architecture of Baltimore, 
which has been greatly improved since the 
disastrous fire in 1904. Its business build¬ 
ings are notably well constructed, both from 
the standpoint of durability and appearance. 
The post office, the city hall, the city jail, and 
the United States courthouse are among the 
chief structures erected by the city and the 
Federal government. The last mentioned is a 
massive granite structure in the Renaissance 
style, and its interior is decorated with mural 
paintings and busts of prominent men. Near 
the intersection of Saratoga and Charles 
streets is the Masonic Temple. Johns Hopkins 
Hospital, the Enoch Pratt free library, and the 
Peabody Institute have substantial quarters. 
Among the noted churches are the Roman 
Catholic Cathedral, the Grace Episcopal Church, 
the Mount Vernon Methodist Church, the First 
Presbyterian Church, the Eutaw Place Syna- 


BALTIMORE 


189 


BALTIMORE ORIOLE 


gogue, and the Unitarian Church. Baltimore is 
the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop and 
a Protestant Episcopal bishop. 

Industries. Ample railroad facilities and a 
favorable location for transportation by water 
have made Baltimore a great center of manu- 



CITY HALL, BALTIMORE. 


facturing and commercial enterprises. % The har¬ 
bor is amply deep for the largest seagoing ves¬ 
sels, and regular communication is afforded by 
the principal lines with Bremen, London, and 
other foreign ports. As an export city it takes 
high rank and ships more corn to foreign 
countries than any other port of America. 
Flour, tobacco, coal, and cotton are among the 
chief export articles, while large quantities of 
iron ore, sugar, fruit, and general merchandise 
are imported. In manufacturing there is 
scarcely an industry that is unrepresented. 
Oyster packing and fruit canning are represent¬ 
ed by large investments. Machinery, boots, and 
shoes, textiles, clothing, and fertilizers are 
among the products that are manufactured on 
the largest scale. Shipbuilding is developing 
steadily as an industry, and the extensive fish¬ 
eries of Chesapeake Bay have made Baltimore 
a shipping center of fresh and canned oysters. 

History. Baltimore was founded in 1729 and 
named in honor of Lord Baltimore (q. v.), pro¬ 
prietor of the colony of Maryland. In 1796 
it was incorporated as a city. The harbor was 
greatly improved in 1780, when it became a 
port of entry, and since then its commerce has 
progressed steadily. In the War of 1812 it 
was held in a state of blockade, but a gallant 


defense at Fort McHenry and other fortifica¬ 
tions prevented its capture. It was at the time 
of the bombardment of Fort McHenry, in 1814, 
that Francis Scott Key, inspired by the bravery 
of the Americans, although detained on board a 
British vessel, wrote the well-known song “The 
Star Spangled Banner.” The first electric tele¬ 
graph line in the United States was built from 
Baltimore to Washington in 1844. The city was 
occupied by the Federals at the time of the 
Civil War, when its industrial life became pros¬ 
trated, but since then it has grown steadily in 
every material enterprise. A destructive fire in 
1904 consumed buildings and property valued at 
about $80,000,000, but the district visited by 
the conflagration was rebuilt on a substantial 
scaTe within two years. In population the city 
takes rank as the sixth in the United States, 
being exceeded in this respect by Boston, Saint 
Louis, Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York. 
Population, 1900, 508,957; in 1910, 558,485. 

BALTIMORE ORIOLE (o'ri-ol), a com¬ 
mon bird in America, allied to the starlings. It 
is more properly called Baltimore bird, since 
there are only suborioles in America. It is 
about seven inches long and has pointed wings, 
a sharp bill, and a rounded head. The plumage 
is beautiful; the head and upper parts are black 
mixed with bright orange and yellow. It was 
named from Lord Baltimore’s livery, or coat of 



BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 


arms, as its colors agreed with that of the 
bird. The nest is built pouchlike of grass and 
twigs interlaced like threads and is suspended 
from the branches. It feeds on beetles,’ cater¬ 
pillars, and insects. The Baltimore oriole is 
noted for bravery in defending its young and 






BALUCHISTAN 


190 


BANANA 


for its pleasant and clear song. See illustration 
on preceding page. 

BALUCHISTAN (ba-loo-chis-tan'), or 
Beluchistan, a country in Asia, bounded on 
the north by Afghanistan, east by India, south 
by the Arabian Sea, and west by Persia. The 
area is 131,855 square miles. It has a moun¬ 
tainous surface and contains some sandy des¬ 
erts, with intervals of productive and fertile 
regions. The highlands belong to the plateau 
of Iran, which extends into Baluchistan from 
Persia. It has a coast line of 600 miles on the 
Arabian Sea, which affords few harbors. A. 
large part of the country is arid and requires 
irrigation to make agriculture profitable, but 
the rivers are few and too short to supply much 
water for that purpose. The principal products 
are cotton, indigo, tobacco, cattle, hides, wool, 
and tropical fruits. Minerals are found in the 
mountain districts, the most important of which 
are copper, lead, saltpeter, coal, and petroleum. 
Large numbers of animals, especially camels, 
graze upon its plains. The country has several 
railroads, but depends largely upon the camel 
for transportation. The inhabitants consist 
chiefly of Baluchis, a native race of Aryan peo¬ 
ple, who speak an Iranic dialect and adhere 
to the Islam faith, professing the Sunnite creed. 
Since 1877 the country has been under the gov¬ 
ernment of Great Britain for military and strate¬ 
gical purposes, but it is administered nominally 
by the Khan of Kelat. Quetta, in the northeast¬ 
ern part, is the largest city, and Kelat is the 
capital. Population, 1901, 914,551. 

BALUSTER (bal'us-ter), or Banister, in 
architecture, the name of small shafts or pil¬ 
lars used to support a cornice or coping. Bal¬ 
usters are employed in stairways as guards, in 
bridges as parapets, and for a number of other 
uses. The material used in construction may 
be wood, cement, metal, or stone, and in form 
they differ largely, being usually ornamented in 
workmanship and beautified by polish and 
paint. 

BAMBERG (bam'berg), a city of Germany, 
in Bavaria, near the confluence of the Main 
and Regnitz rivers. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude a cathedral in the Byzantine style, the pal¬ 
ace of the former prince bishops of Bamberg, 
the city hall, and many educational and chari¬ 
table institutions. It has manufactures of cot¬ 
ton and silk textiles, gloves, musical instru¬ 
ments, and machinery. The municipal improve¬ 
ments consist of waterworks, electric street rail¬ 
ways, and pavements of stone, macadam, and 
asphalt. Bamberg dates as a city from 973. 
Population, 1905, 45,483. 

BAMBOO (bam-boo'), a giant grass or reed 


native to tropical America, Africa, and Asia. 
Many species have been described, ranging 
from the smaller forms to those which attain 
a height of 80 to 100 feet. They have a root- 
stock which is jointed under the ground and 
throws out numerous stems, and in the larger 
species the main stem or trunk is often twelve 
inches thick. Although the stems are jointed 
and very hard, they are 
both light and elastic. 

These plants are widely 
distributed, ranging from 
the marshes and swamps 
near the level of the sea 
to altitudes of 12,000 feet, 
and they grow both in 
wet and dry soil. They 
can be propagated from 
the young shoots "or 
from the seeds, which 
resemble rice. The seeds 
and young shoots are 
eaten, while the stalks 
are used for building 
purposes, fences, water pipes, masts for boats, 
walking sticks, ladders, in the manufacture of 
paper, and for many other purposes. Some of 
the finest cottages in Southern Asia are con¬ 
structed wholly of bamboo. In America we 
frequently see it in fans, fish-poles, and walking 
sticks. 

BANANA (ba-na'na), a plant of the plan¬ 
tain family, which somewhat resembles the 
palm tree. It was first found in the East Indies, 



BAMBOO. 

a, section of the stem 
at node. 



but has been brought to and is successfully cul¬ 
tivated in all tropical and semitropical climates. 
The trunk is not like that of a tree, since it 






BANANA 


191 


BANGALORE 


consists of the closely compacted sheaths of 
the fallen leaves. It often grows to a height 
of twenty-five feet, but dies down each year, 
and is replaced the next season by new sprouts, 
of which two or three are allowed to bear! 
The leaves are ten feet long and three feet 
wide, and are of a beautiful emerald green. 
The fruit is from four to twelve inches long, 
and grows in bunches often weighing seventy- 
five pounds. It is one of the most important 
foods known and is used extensively, being 
transported in large quantities to the northern 
markets. The bunches are picked green and 
ripen in transportation or in stores. Land will 
produce about twenty-five times more food if 
planted in bananas than if sown to wheat. Be- 
- sides being valuable as a food plant, the fibers 
of its stalks are used in weaving cloth, an in¬ 
delible ink is made from the juices of the 
skin, and the leaves are employed to cover the 
roofs of houses. 

BANANA, a seaport city of the Congo 
Free State, on a small peninsula of the same 
name, at the mouth of the Congo River. It 
is not important as a commercial center, hav¬ 
ing been displaced by Matadi, a town on the 
mainland, from which a railroad line extends to 
Leopoldville. The inhabitants are chiefly na¬ 
tives and not more than 125 white people reside 
in Banana. 

BANC A (ban'ka), or Banka, an island in 
the East Indies, separated from Sumatra by 
the Banca Strait. It has an area of 4,446 
square miles. The climate is moist and the sur¬ 
face is level. Tin is the most important prod¬ 
uct and is mined by the government. The an¬ 
nual exportation is about 4,500 tons. Fruit is 
grown extensively and salt and rice are the 
chief imports. The island is a colonial pos¬ 
session of the Netherlands. Population, 1906, 
106,242. 

BANDAGE (band'aj), a band or wrapper 
used by surgeons to retain dressing or bind the 
injured parts of wounds. Strips of muslin are 
used to make the common form of bandages, 
and in som(S> cases linen, flannel, or cheese 
cloth serves the same purpose. Bandages are 
applied to the fingers or limbs spirally, each 
turn lapping partly over the last, but many 
forms are needed to fit special cases of differ¬ 
ent kinds. In applying the bandages much care 
must be exercised lest the pressure obstructs 
the circulation, causing gangrene or blood 
poison. 

BANDA ISLES (ban'da), a group of 
islands in the East Indies, about fifty miles 
south of Ceram, a colonial possession of the 
Netherlands. The group includes about ten 


small islands of volcanic origin, of which 
Banda Neira and Banda Lontar are the largest. 
Gulong Api, the highest peak, has an elevation 
of 2,250 feet above the sea. Banda, the capital, 
has a good harbor. Nutmeg and fruits are 
the chief products. The total area is about sev¬ 
enteen square miles. Population, 8,000. 

BANDICOOT (ban'di-koot), a species of 
rat native to Ceylon and India. It is the larg¬ 
est representative of the rat family, measur¬ 
ing about one foot in length. The tail is long 
and very thick at the base, and the color is 



BANDICOOT. 


black above and gray beneath. It subsists on 
rice and other cereals and is fond of vege¬ 
tables. The flesh is eaten by the natives. The 
bandicoot of Australia and Tasmania is a mar¬ 
supial. It resembles a rabbit and is a pest in 
the wheat fields and gardens. 

BANDIT (ban'dit), a person who has be¬ 
come outlawed, wages war against civilized so¬ 
ciety, and resorts to robbery. Banditti are com¬ 
mon in Albania, owing to the incompetence of 
the Turkish government to suppress large 
bands who have become outlawed. These 
bands frequently take travelers captive and hold 
them for a ransom. 

BANEBERRY (ban'ber-ry), a common 
plant of America and Europe. It is a species 
of crowfoot and has a terminal cluster of flow¬ 
ers, and the fruit is a red or white berry, which 
is poisonous. Several species are common to 
the woods of North America. 

BANFF (bamf), a town of Canada, in 
Southwestern Alberta, on the Bow River. It 
is located on the transcontinental line of the 
Canadian Pacific Railroad, and is surrounded 
by fine mountain scenery. In the vicinity are 
hot sulphur springs. The springs have made 
the region famous and are visited both for 
health and pleasure. A fine hotel, a sanitarium, 
and a number of other buildings are note¬ 
worthy. Population, 325. 

BANGALORE (ban-ga-lor'), a city of 
India, in the state of Mysore, 175 miles west 








BANGKOK 


192 


BANKING 


of Madras. It is located on an elevation 
3,000 feet above sea level, and has a remarka¬ 
bly healthful climate. The streets are well im¬ 
proved and beautified with trees and parkings. 
Among the chief buildings are the high school, 
the military cantonment, and several temples. 
It has electric and steam railway facilities. Silk 
textiles, carpets, clothing, earthenware, and 
machinery are the chief manufactures. Banga¬ 
lore dates from 1537. It was stormed and cap¬ 
tured by the British under Lord Cornwallis in 
1791. Population, 1901, 159,046. 

BANGKOK (ban-kok'), the capital of 
Siam, located on the Menam River, about 
twenty miles from the sea. The river is 
navigable to the city for vessels, but their 
passage at its mouth is somewhat impeded 
by silt deposits, which render it only six feet 
deep at ebb tides, but at flood tides the water 
is fully fourteen feet. The city is the seat 
of vast commercial interests and carries on 
extensive manufactures. It is connected with 
other cities of Southern Asia by telegraph and 
railway lines, and is one of the largest cities of 
Southern Asia. Its population is mixed largely 
with all classes common to Asia, but the 
Chinese constitute fully one-half of the in¬ 
habitants and control the largest part of the 
trade. Most of the city is built over the water 
of the river. Many of the houses are con¬ 
structed of bamboo and are connected by 
bridges, thus presenting a peculiar contrast 
to the architecture of Europe. On account of 
the site of the city being flat, many buildings 
located on the land are on piers about six feet 
above the ground. The palace of the king is 
surrounded by a high wall and with it are in¬ 
closed a number of temples, public offices, and 
a theater. Within the walls are the royal 
harem and the residences of many servants and 
attendants. Transportation within the city 
is by a line of omnibuses and a system of elec¬ 
tric railways. The municipality has water¬ 
works and electric lighting. Its modern pros¬ 
perity dates from 1766, when it became the 
capital. Population, 1905, 585,380. 

BANGOR, the county seat of Penobscot 
County, Maine, on the Penobscot River, 
and on the Maine Central and other railroads. 
On the opposite side of the river is the town of 
Brewer, with which it is connected by a bridge. 
The river is navigable for the largest vessels. 
Among the chief buildings are the county 
courthouse, the public library, the custom house, 
and the Bangor Theological Seminary. The 
manufactures include boots and shoes, cloth¬ 
ing, flour, trunks and valises, and ships. It 
has a large trade in ice and is one of the lead¬ 


ing lumber depots in the world. Gas and 
electric lights, pavements, waterworks, sewer¬ 
age, and electric street railways are among the 
improvements. The vicinity was first settled 
in 1769, when it became known as Kenduskeag 
Plantation, and it was incorporated as Bangor 
in 1791. Population, 1900, 21,850. 

BANGWEOLO (bang-we-6'la), or Bemba, 
a large lake in Africa, in the northern part 
of Rhodesia. The length from north to south 
is 150 miles and the width is about 75 miles. 
It has an elevation of 4,000 feet above the sea. 
The Chambezi flows into it from the east, and 
it discharges a part of the year by the Luapula. 
Several small islands within the lake are in¬ 
habited by natives. The lake was discovered 
by Livingstone in 1868 and was visited by Stan¬ 
ley in 1876. 

BANJO (ban'jo), a musical instrument with 
three strings, having a head similar to a tam¬ 
bourine and resembling a guitar. It is played 
by striking or twitching the strings with the 
fingers of the right hand. Joel Walker 
Sweeney, an American musician, is the in¬ 
ventor, who learned to play on the rude instru¬ 
ments used on the southern plantations and pat¬ 
terned largely from them. He was born in 
1813, and died at Appomattox, Va., in 1860. 
His reputation as a banjo player extended to 
Europe, where he performed many times before 
Queen Victoria. 

BANKING (banking), the occupation or 
business that relates to the care, custody, and 
handling of money. Banks are of very great 
antiquity. Babylonian tablets bearing distinct rec¬ 
ords of transactions in banking in the time of 
Nebuchadnezzar are in the Metropolitan Museum 
of Art in New York City. Modern banking had 
its origin with the money dealers of Florence, 
who attained high repute as receivers and lenders 
of money in the 14th century. The name bank is 
from the Italian banco, a bench, from the prac¬ 
tice of the Jews in Lombardy, who had benches 
in the market places while in the business of 
exchanging money. The bench of the banker 
was broken by the populace who^ the banker 
failed, and from this we have the word bank¬ 
rupt. Goldsmiths undertook the business of 
borrowing and lending money at an early date, 
largely because people desired to pawn their 
jewelry with them as security, although bank¬ 
ing has no direct connection with their art. 
With the diversification of industries, which is 
one of the characteristics of higher society, 
banking became an independent institution. 

European. Among the early banks of Eu¬ 
rope are the Bank of Barcelona, founded in 
1401; the Bank at Genoa, for centuries one of 


BANKING 


193 


BANKING 


the most stable banks of Europe, organized in 
1407; and the Bank of Amsterdam, founded in 
1609, a great storehouse for bullion in the 
17th century. The last-mentioned bank issued 
receipts for the bullion and coin deposited, and 
these circulated as money. The Bank of Ven¬ 
ice was the first national bank founded in Eu¬ 
rope. The Bank of England was established 
in 1694, as the fourth important national bank, 
and is acknowledged to be one of the strongest 
financial institutions in' the world. It was or- 
# ganized as a joint-stock association with a 
capital of £1,200,000. In return for loaning its 
entire capital to the government, it received a 
monopoly of the corporate banking in England 
and the right to issue notes for circulation as 
currency. In 1908 it had eleven branches, a 
capital and reserve of £18,125,000, a circulation 
of £30,250,000, and deposits of £48,750,000. The 
Bank of France was founded in 1800 and ranks 
next in repute to the Bank of England. It has 
a capital and reserve of 90,000,000 francs and 
the sole right to issue paper currency in France. 
The Imperial Bank of Germany, established in 
1875, has a capital of $28,575,000, but it is not the 
only bank of issue in the German Empire, this 
function being vested in a total of eight banks, 
whose authorized issue is $91,630,000. Besides, 
the government itself issues a large amount of 
currency in the form of small notes for 
the convenience of the public. The National 
Bank of Belgium is modeled after the Bank of 
France. 

American. The Bank of North America 
was established in 1782 at Philadelphia, and 
was the first bank of issue founded in America. 
However, the first bank of issue in the United 
States was organized in 1791, under a plan pro¬ 
posed by Alexander Hamilton, with a capital 
of $10,000,000. This bank was discontinued as 
a bank of issue in 1811, and five years later 
Congress granted a twenty years’ charter to a 
new United States bank, with a capital of $35,- 
000,000, but on the expiration of that term re¬ 
fused to grant a renewal. About that time 
State banks were established and continued to 
do business a number of years, but they proved 
unsatisfactory and unstable. Under this plan 
the several states had different systems of bank¬ 
ing, which caused inconvenience in exchang¬ 
ing money when passing from one State to an¬ 
other. This tended to increase the rate of in¬ 
terest, rendered currency subject to excessive 
discount, and caused numerous panics. How¬ 
ever, they continued to do business until 1866, 
when a tax of ten per cent, was imposed upon 
their notes, which caused them to surrender 
their charters. 


At the recommendation of Secretary • Chase, 
a national banking system was established in 
1863, under which the paper currency became 
uniform in all the states. The plan provides 
that a portion of the banking capital must be 
invested in government bonds. These bonds 
are deposited with the treasurer at Washing¬ 
ton, upon which paper currency to the full 
amount of the face value is issued to the bank 
making the deposit, and this currency is put 
into circulation. The plan is so formulated that 
the bonded indebtedness of the country becomes 
the basis of this class of banking. These bonds 
deposited with the United States are security, 
whereby the currency is guaranteed and its 
value is maintained at parity with gold. 

Classes of Banks. Several classes of banks 
are maintained in most countries, depending 
upon the charter under which they operate, 
or the nature of the business which they trans¬ 
act. While all banks receive deposits, only a 
comparatively few are banks of issue or circu¬ 
lation; that is, they do not issue paper cur¬ 
rency for general circulation. A small rate 
of interest is paid on time deposits, but, when 
the deposits are made subject to check by the 
depositor, usually no interest is paid. All banks 
loan money from their own funds and from 
the deposits. The loans are largely for short 
periods, but sometimes for a year or more, 
when mortgages or deeds of trust are taken 
as security for the loans. Banks effect ex¬ 
changes between their depositors and others, 
a department of banking which has grown into 
importance. The individual who wishes to 
send money to some other city usually 
buys a draft and transmits that instead of 
the currency, and it is received in other money 
centers as equivalent to the cash. It is estimated 
that not more than from twelve to fifteen per 
cent, of the entire business transacted through 
banks in Canada and the United States is ef¬ 
fected by the payment of currency. 

Clearing houses are associations of bank¬ 
ing houses to aid in the settlement of balances 
between given banks. In this way much time 
is saved in making exchanges, and it is not nec¬ 
essary to make an actual count of the money. 
Savings banks are institutions in which small 
sums of money are deposited from time to 
time, as they accumulate in the hands of 
persons limited to moderate earnings. The 
depositors are supplied with a small deposit 
book in which they are given credit for each 
deposit, and receive a moderate rate of inter¬ 
est on these deposits, together with a small 
additional contingent. The money received 
on deposit, and a portion of the capital, are 


13 


BANKRUPTCY 


194 


BANYAN 


loaned to trustworthy borrowers at a rate 
of interest determined by the market value, 
and the greater part of the earnings is set 
aside for the depositors. Banks of loan and 
discount buy credit paper, usually at a discount, 
and do a loan business. Private banking in¬ 
stitutions are conducted by individuals, or an 
association of individuals, who do a general 
banking business. The business of banking is 
regulated by laws, which provide that the 
books be examined by competent accountants, 
and frequent statements are published to con¬ 
vey to the public information as to the sta¬ 
bility of the enterprise. The laws and the con¬ 
dition of business requirements have made bank¬ 
ing and banks secure, and render them abso¬ 
lutely necessary to promote successfully mod¬ 
ern commercial enterprises. 

Volume of Business. In 1908 there were 
23,937 banks in the United States, which num¬ 
ber included 6,429 national banks. The total 
capital was $1,783,226,179, and the individual de¬ 
posits aggregated $13,654,535,348. In June of the 
same year the banks of Canada had a paid-up 
capital of $98,750,850, a circulation of $76,850,- 
400, and deposits of $745,682,680. The gov¬ 
ernment of Canada has had charge of a system 
of post office savings banks since 1868, which 
had 1,080 offices in 1908, while the total num¬ 
ber of incorporated banks was 37 and the num¬ 
ber of branches, 1,640. See Clearing House. 

BANKRUPTCY (bank'rupt-sy), a term 
equivalent to insolvency, and generally applied 
to the financial condition of one who has failed 
in business. In general, a bankrupt or insol¬ 
vent is one who is unable to pay all his debts. 
Bankruptcy laws have been enacted in most 
countries for the protection of both the debtors 
and the creditors. These provide for the fair 
distribution of the property remaining after 
bankruptcy among the creditors of the bank¬ 
rupt. In some instances bankruptcy laws pro¬ 
vide for a release from all debts remaining 
after applying the property in payment. The 
object of this is to release a bankrupt and 
offer to him an incentive to devote himself to 
business again. From 1867 to 1878 a national 
bankruptcy law was in force in the United 
States, while another was enacted in 1898. It 
applies to all individuals, but not to corpora¬ 
tions. Both in England and the United States pro¬ 
ceedings in bankruptcy may be instituted by 
the debtor or by creditors. 

BANNER (ban'ner), a flag or standard car¬ 
ried at the head of a band, either in a general 
parade or for military purposes. It may be 
national, state, local, or private. Its use is to 
indicate the line of march, or the rallying point 


in war, in case of defeat. Banners are made of 
good grade of cloth, with one side attached to 
a pole. 

BANNOCKBURN (ban-nok-burn'), a vil¬ 
lage in Scotland, two miles southeast of Stir¬ 
ling, on the Bannock Rivulet. It is famous for 
a decisive battle, in 1314, between King Rob¬ 
ert Bruce of Scotland with 30,000 men and Ed¬ 
ward II. of England with 100,000. The latter 
was defeated with a loss of 30,000 men. 

BANTAM FOWL (ban'tam), a small do¬ 
mestic fowl that derived its name from Ban¬ 
tam, in Java. A Well bred bantam does not 
weigh over a pound when full grown. 

BANXRING (banks'ring), an insectivo¬ 
rous animal native to India and the East Indies. 
It has an elongated muzzle and a bushy tail. It 
is active and spry and spends much of its time 
in climbing the limbs of trees, resembling in this 
respect the lemurs and squirrels. 

BANYAN (ban'yan), or Banian, a tree 
native to the East Indies, Ceylon, and Aus¬ 
tralasia, and remarkable for its branches and 



BANYAN TREE. 


roots. Every branch of the main tree throws 
out its own roots,, which become parent 
trees and throw out other branches. The 
wood is light and of little value, but the 
tree yields lac and the bark possesses a tonic 
property useful in treating diabetes. This tree 
lives many years and often covers large areas. 
One in India furnished shelter for 7,000 men, 
while another found in Australia covered nearly 
seven acres. A tree in India, known by the 
name cubbeer burr , has 350 large trunks and 
over 3,000 smaller ones. In these trees dwell 
large numbers of birds and monkeys, which 
are fond of their fruit, a kind of fig. The 
tree is held sacred by the Brahmans. 


BAOBAB 


195 


BARBARIAN 


BAOBAB (ba'o-bab), a tree native to trop¬ 
ical Africa, and met with in Senegal, Abyssinia, 
and the region of the African lakes. The trunk 
grows to a height of from 60 to 70 feet, and 
the growth of its limbs press outward about 
the same distance, making the diameter in 
many cases 150 feet. In the larger trees the 
roots are sometimes over 100 feet in length. 
The leaves are large and abundant and of a 
dark green color, and the large flower is white 
and has beautiful snowy petals. The fruit 
is a soft pulpy but dry substance, about the 
size of a quart flask, inclosed in a long dull- 
green woody pod. Between the seeds is a 
pulp which tastes like cream of tartar, and 
is used by the natives to give flavor to their 
porridge. The wood is soft and light, and 
when decay sets in the woodish structure be¬ 
comes porous and finally falls to pieces. Cloth 
and rope are made of the fiber, and the juice 
of the fruit is used as a drink, but the wood 
is not particularly valuable. It was discovered 
by Michael Adanson and is sometimes called 
adansonia. Livingstone reported that one of the 
trees seen by him was at least 1,400 years old. 

BAPTISM (bap'tiz’m), a name derived 
from a Greek word which means to dip or wash, 
and is applied to a rite of many churches. The 
rite of baptism is administered by immersing in 
water, or by sprinkling or pouring water 
upon the person, and signifies purification or 
spiritual burial and resurrection with Christ 
or a union with Christ as our Savior and Lord. 
Early in the history of the Christian Church 
it was held that the two outward essentials of 
baptism are the use of water and the words 
of Christ as given in Matt, xxviii, 19. It is 
probable that immersion was the exclusive 
form used in the primitive church, which later 
became a trine immersion in respect to the 
Trinity. At that time sprinkling or clinical 
baptism, as it was called, was confined to the 
sick and aged. The Greek Catholic and a 
number of Protestant denominations practice 
immersion, while the Roman Catholic and most 
Protestants sprinkle or pour the water upon the 
head. 

BAPTISTS (bap'tists), one of the most 
numerous divisions of the Protestant church, 
whose origin in America is traced to Roger 
Williams, who embraced the Baptist faith in 
1639. The creed is a modified form of Cal¬ 
vinism and the government is a pure democ¬ 
racy, in which all members have a right to 
vote on important church matters. They hold 
that infant baptism is not authorized, and 
that the ordinance of baptism should be admin¬ 
istered by immersion. Most Baptist churches 


have a baptistry, either as a separate building 
or as an annex, in which the rites of baptism 
are administered. The number of Baptists in 
Canada is placed at 112,264. In. the United 
States, there are not less than thirteen separate 
organizations known by the name of Baptists. 
They have about 46,000 churches, valued at $83,- 
500,000, and a membership of not less than 4,- 
450,000. They possess 175 educational institu¬ 
tions in America, the property of which is val¬ 
ued at $25,000,000. 

BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE S UNION, 

a society organized under the direction of the 
Baptist church, and intended as a federation 
for young people. The object is to develop 
Christian character, to encourage the study of 
the Bible, and to bring together its members 
for the purpose of stimulating interest and 
building up membership in church and mission¬ 
ary work. The Baptist Union, a weekly pub¬ 
lication, is the official organ, and the headquar¬ 
ters are in Chicago. This society has about 
500,000 members. 

BARABOO (bar'a-boo), the county seat of 
Sauk County, Wisconsin, thirty-five miles north¬ 
west of Madison, on the Baraboo River, and 
on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. It 
is surrounded by an iron, fruit, and grain pro¬ 
ducing country. The chief buildings include 
the high school, the county courthouse, and sev¬ 
eral fine churches. It has manufactures of ma¬ 
chinery, dairy products, and linen and woolen 
goods. Waterworks, electric lights, and sew¬ 
erage are among the improvements. Baraboo 
was incorporated in 1882. Population, 1905, 
5,853. 

BARBADOS (bar-ba'dos), an island in the 
West Indies, of which it is the most easterly. 
It is twenty-one miles long and fourteen wide, 
and has an area of 166 square miles. It con¬ 
tains Mount Hillaby, 1,125 feet above the sea, 
and is surrounded by coral reefs. The soil is 
exceedingly fertile and produces tobacco, cotton, 
sugar cane, cereals, and tropical fruits.. Among 
the exports are molasses, rum, sugar, and fruits. 
The imports include flour, rice, meat, clothing, 
and machinery. The little island, smaller than 
five congressional townships, is densely popu¬ 
lated, and has considerable commerce. It was 
settled by the British in 1625 and is still a 
possession of Great Britain. Bridgetown is the 
capital and largest city. Population, 1906, 196,- 
287. 

BARBARIAN (bar-ba'ri-an), a term origi¬ 
nated by the ancient Greeks, who called all for¬ 
eigners and those unable to speak their 
language barbarians. According to Plato there 
were but two classes in the human family, the 


BARBARY 


196 


BARCELONA 


Greeks and the barbarians. The term was not 
used originally in reproach, but after the Per¬ 
sian invasion it implied hostility to the Greeks 
and their civilization. After the Roman con¬ 
quest of Greece, the word barbarian was used 
in reference to all nations except the Greeks 
and Romans. 

BARB ARY (bar'ba-ri), a name sometimes 
applied to the northern portion of Africa, 
which includes Fez, Morocco, Tunis, Barca, 
Fezzan, and Algeria. The name was taken 
from the original inhabitants known as Ber¬ 
bers, who were conquered by the Arabs in the 
reign of the caliphs. The country was pros¬ 
perous in the time of the Carthaginians, and, 
next to Egypt, it became the richest Roman 
province. In ancient times the district included 
Numidia, Mauritania, and Cyrenaica. It be¬ 
came infested with pirates in the 15th century, 
and was finally civilized after the conquest of 
Algeria by the French. At present it is in¬ 
habited by Berbers, Turks, Bedouins, Jews, 
Negroes, and French. 

BARBARY APE, or Magot, a small tail¬ 
less ape found in Northern Africa. It walks 
on four feet and is skillful in passing from 
tree to tree. The color is greenish-gray and in 
size it is not much larger than a cat. It is 
capable of being trained to perform tricks. 

BARBECUE (bar'be-ku), a term derived 
from the natives of the West Indies, now ap¬ 
plied to the practice of roasting an ox or 
other large animal at a social entertainment 
on a large scale. In the southern part of the 
United States the name has reference to a 
jollification, especially to a political jubilee. 

BARBEL (bar'bel), a fish of the carp fam¬ 
ily, of which species are found in the fresh 
waters of America and Europe. The common 
' barbel of England is a game fish, but its flesh 
is coarse, and it measures from two to three 
feet in length. The binny or barbel in the 
Nile weighs about 60 pounds and is esteemed 
for food. Several species closely resemble the 
American sucker, but all have soft barbels 
growing from the snout and upper jaw, hence 
the name. 

BARBER (bar'ber), a person whose busi¬ 
ness is to shave, trim, and cut hair. Formerly 
surgery was combined with the craft. In the 
time of Henry VII. laws defined the duties of 
barbers, and forbade higher surgical opera¬ 
tions than bloodletting and tooth pulling. Bar¬ 
ber shops were noted as news centers in classic 
times and they are still notorious for gossip. 
In many countries, as in some of the states of 
the United States, the practice of the barbers’ 
art is limited by law to persons skilled by train¬ 


ing, who are required to hold a certificate of 
qualification. A spirally decorated pole has 
long been the principal sign of barbers’ shops. 

BARBERRY (bar'ber-ry), a class of shrubs 
native to the temperate zones. Many of the 
species are evergreen, and some yield a sour 
berry which is useful in making jelly and pre¬ 
serves. The bark yields medicine and the roots 
are of value in preparing a yellow dye. The 
common barberry of Europe has been natural¬ 
ized in Canada and the United States. It is 
thorny, has serrated leaves, and bears yellow 
flowers. Several species are native to North 
America. 

BARBER’S ITCH, a disease of the bearded 
parts of the face, caused by a parasitic fungus. 
Postular eruptions of the face are sometimes 
confused with this disease, but they are really 
the result of close and too frequent shaving. 
In the true barber’s itch, sometimes called 
ringworm in the beard, parasitic scales or 
sporules cover the infected beard, giving it 
the appearance of having been covered with 
a whitish powder. It may be cured by careful 
treatment. The affected part should be kept 
clean and bathed frequently with cold water, 
and the parasite may be killed by applying lo¬ 
tions of different kinds, such as opium, car¬ 
bolic acid in glycerine, and ointments of sul¬ 
phur and nitrate of mercury. 

BARBUDA (bar-boo'da), one of the Lesser 
Antilles, in the West Indies, 20 miles north of 
Antigua. It is of coral formation and has an 
area of 60 square miles. The surface is level 
and partly covered with forests, and cattle rais¬ 
ing is the chief occupation. The island is a 
British possession. Population, 600. 

BARCA (bar'ka), a district located between 
Egypt and the Gulf of Sidra, belonging to the 
Turkish Empire. It is bounded on the north 
by the Mediterranean and south by the Libyan 
Desert. The surface is hilly and mountainous, 
being traversed by highlands which reach an 
altitude of 3,310 feet. Agriculture and cattle 
raising are the chief industries. The exports 
are‘cattle, grain, ivory, and ostrich feathers. 
It was known to the Greeks as Pentapolis and 
contained five large Greek cities. The inhabi¬ 
tants consist mostly of nomadic Arabs and 
Berbers. Bengazi is the seat of government 
and the largest city. Population, 300,250. 

BARCELONA (bar-se-16'na), a city in 
Venezuela, capital of a state of the same name, 
150 miles east of Caracas. It is situated on 
the Neveri River, three miles from its entrance 
into the Atlantic Ocean, and has railroad facil¬ 
ities and a good harbor. In the vicinity are 
coal and salt mines. Considerable trade is 


BARCELONA 


197 


BARK 


carried on in coal and fruit. A government 
house, the theater, and a number of educational 
institutions are located here. The first settle¬ 
ment was made at Barcelona in 1638, and in 
1881 it became the capital of Bermudez, which 
has been divided to form the two states of 
Sucre and Barcelona. Population, 12,785. 

BARCELONA, formerly the capital of the 
kingdom of Catalonia, and now an important 
city in a province of the same name. It is the 
principal seaport on 'the Mediterranean, has 
railroad connection with the chief towns of 
the Iberian Peninsula, and next to Madrid is 
the most flourishing city of Spain. It consists 
of two parts, the new and the old. The former 
is modern and is platted on a regular plan, 
while the latter is irregular and ancient. A 
fine promenade extends from the Columbus 
monument to the Plaza de Cataluna. The ca¬ 
thedral occupies an elevated site that was for¬ 
merly the location of a Roman temple and a 
Moorish mosque. It has manufactures of 
cannon, paper, machinery, woolen and silk 
goods, chemicals, wines, and clothing. It is 
an important city of commerce and has a large 
import and export trade. Gas and electric 
lights, pavements, waterworks, and street rail¬ 
ways are among the improvements. It is the 
seat of a museum, an arsenal, a public library, 
a university, and other public institutions. The 
city was under the government of a line of 
counts until the 12th century, but in 1137 it 
became a part of the kingdom of Aragon. In 
1640 it became French territory, but was made 
a part of Spain in 1652, and was retaken by the 
French in 1697. The Peace of Ryswick, in 
the same year, restored it to Spain. Population, 
1905, 534,250. 

BARD (bard), a poet who celebrated in 
verse and song the exploits of heroes and 
chiefs. Mention was made in Roman writings 
of the bards of Gaul two hundred years before 
the advent of Christ, but these singers disap¬ 
peared early among the people of the continent. 
The bards of the insular Celts continued im¬ 
portant as social factors throughout the Middle 
Ages, probably because they maintained a form 
of organization. The Welsh bards are especially 
noted for their writings on a variety of sub¬ 
jects, including secular and religious themes. 
It is related that the Scottish bards were skilled 
in singing their productions to the accompani¬ 
ment of the harp. Gray’s “The Bard” is based 
upon the persecution of the Welsh bards by 
Edward I. of England, who looked upon them 
as promoters of sedition. In modern times the 
term is used as a synonym of poet. 

BAREILLY (ba-ra'le), or Bareli, a city in 


the Northwest Provinces of India, 151 miles 
east of Delhi. It is located on the Jua River, 
and has manufactures of carpets, cutlery, per¬ 
fumery, and earthenware. The trade is chiefly 
•in grain, sugar, and cotton. In 1857 it was 
the scene of a Sepoy mutiny, but the follow¬ 
ing year was recaptured by Lord Clyde. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1901, 131,208. 

BARGE (barj), a double-decked passenger 
or freight boat that has no motive power of 
its own. It is attached to a towboat and used 
for conveying freight and passengers to shore 
from large vessels, or for pleasure excursions. 

BAR HARBOR, a noted summer resort in 
Mount Desert Island, off the coast of Maine, 
45 miles southeast of Bangor. It is beautified 
by evergreen groves, mountain scenery, and 
highland lakes. The island has an area of 98 
square miles and is famous as a resort for tour¬ 
ists. Bar Harbor has steamboat connections 
with the mainland and numerous hotels and 
villas. Population, 1900, 1,888. 

BARI (ba're), a city in Italy,* capital of a 
province of the same name, on the Adriatic 
Sea. It has a good harbor and railroad facili¬ 
ties, and is the seat of a brisk trade in almonds, 
cotton, cereals, fruit, and woolen goods. The 
chief manufactures are musical instruments, 
chemicals, soap, and furniture. It is the seat 
of an archbishop and has a number of fine ec¬ 
clesiastical buildings, including the priory of 
Saint Nicholas. Anciently it was known as 
Barium and was a flourishing city in 200 B. c. 
Population, 1901, 77,478. 

BARIUM (ba'ri-um), a metal resembling 
strontium, found in nature in the form of sul¬ 
phate, carbonate, and silicate. It is an alkaline 
earthy metal, fuses at a low temperature, and 
oxidizes readily. Baryta is an oxide of barium, 
an alkaline earth, and is sometimes called 
heavy earth. It is a virulent poison and is used 
in making white paint, such as Hamburg white. 
The chloride of barium is used to prevent boiler 
incrustations and the nitrate is employed to test 
sulphuric acid and soluble phosphates. Both 
are used in making fireworks. 

BARK (bark), the outer covering of trees 
and plants, called cortex by botanists. The 
term, in a more limited sense, can be applied 
only to trees and shrubs of certain classes. In 
general it is found only on exogenous plants, 
while endogenous plants are destitute of true 
bark. The bark consists of several layers, as 
the inner or bast, which transmits the plant 
food; the intermediate or green zone, which 
fits the food for absorption, and the outer or 
corky layer, which protects the more tender 
inner layers. It contains valuable ingredients, 


BARK BEETLE 


108 


BARMEN 


such as gum and tannin, and also yields cork, 
fibres, and properties valuable in tanning. In 
nautics, a bark is a three-masted vessel with rig¬ 
gings on the fore and main masts like those of 
a ship. 

•BARK BEETLE (be't’l), a small insect 
which is very injurious to trees. A number of 
species have been described, most of which are 
native to America and Eurasia. The female 
deposits her eggs in or under the bark, usually 
between the bark and the wood, and the young 
dig a series of burrows which cause decay. 
The trees are either killed outright or the value 
of the wood is injured. In 1783 the pine for¬ 
ests of Germany were invaded by great swarms 
of these insects. They are frequently destruc¬ 
tive to orchards. 

BARKER’S MILL (bark'erz mil), a ma¬ 
chine invented in the 17th century, and used to 
produce rotary motion. It consists of an up¬ 
right tube held in place by a frame, and at the 
lower end are two horizontal arms, on opposite 
sides of which are two small openings. The 
water is poured into the vertical tube and flows 
out of the small opening, causing the appara¬ 
tus to revolve in the direction opposed to that 
of the water emitted. Devices to distribute 
water in sprinkling lawns and for making dem¬ 
onstrations in laboratories employ modified 
forms of this apparatus. 

BARLETTA (bar-let'ta), a city of Italy, 
located on an island in the Adriatic, and con¬ 
nected by a bridge with the mainland. It is 
about 35 miles northwest of Bari, with which 
it is connected by steam railway and electric 
lines. The streets are paved substantially with 
stone and asphalt. The city is surrounded by 
walls of stone. It contains a cathedral in the 
Byzantine style, a castle built by Charles V., 
and several fine statues and monuments. The 
export trade is largely in grain and fruits, and 
the manufactures consist of earthenware and 
cotton and woolen goods. Cannae, where the 
Romans were defeated by Hannibal in 216 b. c., 
is nine miles west of Barletta. Population, 1901, 
42,022. 

BARLEY (bar'ly), a valuable cereal plant, 
which is said to be more widely distributed 
than any other grain. It was an important food 
product in the early times of the Assyrians and 
Hebrews, and was used in the manufacture of 
beer by the Egyptians. It is now used mainly 
as feed for domestic animals, for making bar¬ 
ley-meal bread, and in the manufacture of beer, 
porter, and whisky. The production is exten¬ 
sive in the Temperate Zone, where it yields 
from ten to fifty bushels per acre, the quality 
and quantity depending upon cultivation and 



HEADS OF BARLEY. 


richness of the soil. The heads of most species 
are bearded and con¬ 
tain two, four, or six 
rows of seeds. It 
colors easily, espe¬ 
cially if harvested in 
damp weather. The 
best quality of barley 
is obtained in a mod¬ 
erately dry climate. 

Canada produces 
large quantities of a 
fine grade, especially 
the Provinces of 
Manitoba, Alberta, 
and Saskatchewan, 
the first mentioned 
leading with an an¬ 
nual yield of about 
15,500,000 bushels. 

The production of the 
United States has 
been about 175,500,000 
bushels per year since 
1908. California, Min¬ 
nesota, South Dakota, 
and Wisconsin are 
the leading barley 
producing states. 

BARMECIDE’S FEAST (bar'mg-sld), an 
“Arabian Nights” tale, in which it is related 
that a member of the Barmecide family set 
empty dishes before a beggar and invited him 
to partake of imaginary dainties. The beggar 
took the joke good-naturedly and pretended to 
eat and drink. Becoming intoxicated on im¬ 
aginary wine, he cuffed the ears of 4he host. 
This so pleased the latter that the beggar was 
served with a bounteous meal. 

BARMEN (biir'men), a city of Germany, in 
Rhenish Prussia, on the Wupper River, about 
25 miles northeast of Cologne. The chief build¬ 
ings include the city hall, the municipal theater, 
a gymnasium, a public library, and numerous 
hospitals‘and educational institutions. Barmen 
has six railroads and a network of electric 
railways. It is one of the most important man¬ 
ufacturing cities of Germany, and produces the 
principal part of the ribbons made in Europe. 
Its fabrics, laces, thread, cotton, silk, and wool¬ 
en goods are transported to all parts of the 
world. Other manufactures include musical 
instruments, buttons, machinery, and metal 
ware. The city has all modern municipal fa¬ 
cilities, such as public parks, sewerage, stone 
and asphalt paving, electric lights, and central 
heating. In 1815, after the Napoleonic wars, 
it was annexed to Prussia, since which time it 


















BARNACLE 


199 


BAROMETER 


has grown rapidly in commerce and wealth. 
Population, 1905, 156,080. 

BARNACLE (bar'na-k’l), a marine animal 
of the lower order, generally called a cirriped. 
Many species are common to all the oceans, 
differing in the manner of life and the method 
by which the adult is attached to some object. 
Among the best known are the acorn barnacle 
and the goose barnacle. The latter is so named 
because the ancients supposed that it produces 
the barnacle goose, a wild goose of the north¬ 
western part of Europe. If is enveloped by a 



GOOSE BARNACLES. 


mantle and shell, possesses a long, flexible 
stock or peduncle provided with muscles, by 
which it fastens itself to floating objects, such 
as submerged timber or the bottom of ships. 
Its food consists of small marine animal life, 
which it secures from the water by its tenta¬ 
cles. The acorn barnacle, which has no stalk, 
is enveloped by a shell formed in the shape of 
an acorn, but composed of numerous valves. 
Some species were eaten by the ancients and 
are still esteemed as food by the Chinese. Dar¬ 
win made a more extensive study of barnacles 
than of any other group of animals. 

BARNACLE GOOSE. See Barnacle. 

BARNBURNERS (barn'burn-ers), a name 
given to the followers of Martin Van Buren 
at the time the Democratic party in New York 
was split into two factions. The name was 
derived from the case of the farmer who burned 
his barn to kill the rats, to which the party 
was likened, owing to the eagerness of some of 
the leaders to secure reforms. Their opponents 
were called the hunkers. In 1848 the Barn¬ 
burners generally voted with the Free Soilers, 
making possible the election of the Whig can¬ 
didate, Zachary Taylor. 

BARODA (ba-ro'da), a city of India, 230 


miles north of Bombay, with which it is con¬ 
nected by railway. It occupies a prominent 
site on the Vishvomitri River, which is crossed 
by several stone and steel bridges. The chief 
buildings include an ancient palace, the Angli¬ 
can church, the Baroda College, a public library, 
and the Dufferin hospital. It -has a large trlde 
in grain, merchandise, and live stock. The 
district of Baroda, of which it is the capital, 
has been tributary to the British since 1802. 
Many modern improvements, such as water¬ 
works and electric lights and street railways, 
have been built since European occupation be¬ 
gan.. Population, 1901, 103,790. 

BAROMETER (ba-rom'e-ter), an instru¬ 
ment used in measuring atmospheric pressure. 
Owing to. the even pressure of air on all sides 
of an object, many centuries elapsed before it 
was demonstrated that air possesses weight. 
The discovery was announced by Torricelli, an 
Italian, in 1643. By the use of the Torricelli 
tube, which is essentially the same as a barom¬ 
eter, he discovered that the pressure or weight 
of the atmosphere supports a column of mer¬ 
cury thirty inches high. The same experiment 
was repeated by Pascal in 1645. In 1656 Per¬ 
rier discovered that the height of the mercury 
varies with the weather; when the air is moist 
it is lighter than when dry, and, therefore, the 
mercury rises in the dry air and falls when it 
becomes more humid. This fact discovered, it 
became possible to note the state of the atmos¬ 
phere as to the quantity of moisture contained 
in it, and to determine the altitude of a given 
locality above the level of the sea, for the rea¬ 



son that the pressure of the atmosphere is 
greatest at the level of the sea and gradually 
decreases toward the higher altitudes. Hence, 
in low altitudes mercury rises in the tube, and 
it gradually falls as the barometer is carried 
upward from the level of the sea. 

The barometer is constructed according to 
well established rules. A glass tube about 





BARQUISIMETO 


200 


BARRIER REEF 


thirty-three inches long, closed at one end, is 
filled with mercury. After closing the open 
end with a finger, the tube is reversed and 
dipped below the surface of the mercury in a 
vessel. When the finger is removed from the 
opening, a column of mercury remains in the 
tube, being sustained there by the pressure of 
the atmosphere. This column is about thirty 
inches high near the level of the sea; in high 
elevations it is much lower. The weight of the 
mercurial column is equal, in all cases, to that 
of a column of air equal in weight, extend¬ 
ing from the level of the vessel to the top 
of the atmosphere. As above stated, the mer¬ 
cury rises or falls in proportion to the pressure 
of the atmosphere, which is varied by altitude 
and moisture. Thus, the mercury rises with in¬ 
creased pressure and falls when pressure is 
diminished. At the top of Mont Blanc, about 
5,243 yards high, mercury falls to sixteen and 
one-half inches. In 1875 two Frenchmen, Sivel 
and Corce-Spinelli, lost their lives from as¬ 
phyxia while ascending in a balloon; at the 
height of 9,370 yards the mercury fell to ten 
inches. This was due to the fact that the 
higher the ascent the less air remains over¬ 
head. For this reason, the less the air presses 
down, the less power it has to sustain a column 
of mercury. In the aneroid barometer no liq¬ 
uid is used; it depends for its operation on the 
pressure exerted.by the air upon its surface. 

Much study has been given to weather fore¬ 
casts based on the condition of the atmosphere 
as indicated by the barometer. A number of 
governments and yachting clubs make careful 
observations with the barometer. They are 
guided largely by its registrations. A rapid 
rise of the barometer indicates unsettled weath¬ 
er ; a gradual rise indicates settled weather; a 
rapid fall indicates stormy weather. Besides 
these rules are a number of others dependent 
largely upon location and the direction of the 
winds. It is certain that many lives and much 
property have been saved by careful observa¬ 
tions of coming storms indicated by barometric 
action. 

BARQUISIMETO (bar-ke-se-ma'to), a 
city in Venezuela, capital of the state of Lara, 
on the Barquisimeto River. It is surrounded by 
a fertile plain and has a good trade in cereals 
and live stock. A cathedral, the government 
palace, and a college are among the public 
buildings. The first settlement made in its 
vicinity by the Spaniards dates from 1522, 
hence it takes rank with the oldest cities in 
America. In 1812 it was destroyed by an 
earthquake, but was soon rebuilt, and became 
the capital of a state of the same name in 


1830: The state of Lara is part of the former 
state of Barquisimeto. Population, 1903, 41,- 
360. 

BARRANQUILLA (bar-ran-kel'ya), a sea¬ 
port in Colombia, on the Magdalena River, fif¬ 
teen miles from the Caribbean Sea. It is 
connected with Sabinilla, its port on the Car¬ 
ibbean, with a railroad. Formerly only the 
smaller boats could navigate the Magdalena at 
this point, but it has been improved by dredg¬ 
ing and now admits the larger vessels. The 
city has a large trade in produce and is im¬ 
proved with modern public utilities. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 40,115. 

BARRE (bar're), a city in Washington 
County, Vermont, about six miles southeast of 
M,ontpelier, on the Vermont Central and the 
Montpelier and Wells River railroads. The 
manufactures consist chiefly of monuments and 
building materials made of Barre granite, which 
is quarried extensively in the vicinity. Among 
the principal buildings are the public library, 
the Goddard Seminary, and the high school. 
The first settlement was made in the vicinity 
in 1788 and it was incorporated in 1894. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 8,448. 

.BARREL (bar'rel), a vessel formed of 
staves and surrounded by hoops. The staves 
are fitted carefully and held together tightly by 
the hoops, and at the two ends of the barrel are 
circular boards called the heads , which are fit¬ 
ted in grooves. Most barrels bulge in the mid¬ 
dle, in which the staves are wider in the mid¬ 
dle than at the ends, but some are larger at the 
lower end. A bunghole is provided for the 
purpose of allowing the inflow and outflow of 
liquids. 

Many articles of commerce are sold in bar¬ 
rels, but the market value is based upon the 
quantity in pounds. Thus, a barrel of flour 
contains 196 and a barrel of pork 200 pounds. 
The barrel, in wine measure, contains SV /2 gal¬ 
lons, and the imperial barrel of England con¬ 
tains 36^ gallons of beer. A barrel of butter 
consists of 224 pounds. 

BARRIE (bar'ri), a town in Ontario, cap¬ 
ital of Simcoe County, fifty-six miles north¬ 
west of Toronto. It is nicely situated on Lake 
Simcoe, a beautiful sheet of water about thirty 
miles long and twenty-six wide, and the sur¬ 
rounding country is fertile. It is the seat of a 
collegiate institute and several churches and 
schools. The manufactures embrace leather, 
woolen goods, flour, and machinery. Steam¬ 
boats run on the lake from the town, which is 
popular as a summer resort. Population, 1901, 
5,919. 

BARRIER REEF (bar'ri-er ref), a coral 


BARROW 


201 


BASALT 


reef extending from ten to one hundred miles 
off the northeast coast of Australia, 1,265 miles 
m length. The reef is precipitous and rises 
from great depths. The trip from Sidney to 
Torres Strait is usually made by the inner 
route, where the sea is twelve fathoms deep. 
The passage is narrow, but it is less danger¬ 
ous than the outer route. A vast region is 
covered by the Barrier Reef, about 100,000 
square miles, and the surrounding waters yield 
pearls and trepang. 

BARROW (bar'ro), the name given to 
mounds of earth constructed anciently for bur¬ 
ial and monumental purposes. Many found 
in Great Britain are supposed to belong to the 
period of the Roman invasion. Eurasia, North 
ern Africa, and the Mississippi valley of North 
America are especially rich with these evidences 
of former populations. Many are long, others 
are in the form of a bell or cone, and some are 
broad barrows. Homer’s “Iliad” mentions simi¬ 
lar artificial mounds in connection with the 
obsequies of Achilles and Hector. See Mound 
Builders. 

BARROW, a river of Ireland, rises in 
Queen’s County, on the northeastern slope of 
the Slieve Bloom Mountains. After a course of 
120 miles it unites with the Suir River and flows 
through Waterford Harbor into the sea. It is 
navigable twenty-five miles from its mouth, as 
far as New Ross. 

BARROW STRAIT, a narrow channel ex¬ 
tending from Lancaster Sound and connecting 
Baffin Bay with Melville Sound. It was so 
named from Sir John Barrow, a British trav¬ 
eler, though Parry discovered it in 1819. 

BARTER (bar'ter), the term used in 
economics to express the exchange of one com¬ 
modity for another, as contrasted with the sale 
of commodities for money. In primitive times 
barter was extensive, each individual exchang¬ 
ing the surplus of his own products for such 
surplus products of others as he himself might 
desire. Instead of paying money for clothing 
or food, the primitive man traded a pig for a 
sheep, or several commodities for one of 
greater value than either. This system was con¬ 
ducted in the primitive states of all communities, 
and still prevails more or less among savage 
people. The terms barter and sale are used at 
present as interchangeable by many courts. 

BARTHOLOMEW FAIR, an exhibition 
held under a charter issued by Henry I. at West 
Smithfield, London, from 1133 till 1855, on 
Saint Bartholomew’s day, Aug. 24th. It was 
long a center of amqsement and games, but 
began to lose its trade after 1685. 

BARTHOLOMEW, Massacre of Saint, 


the name applied to a slaughter of Fren'ch 
Protestants on the night of Saint Bartholo¬ 
mew’s day, Aug. 24, 1572, with the sanction of 
Charles IX., influenced by his mother, Cath¬ 
erine de Medici. She was the regent of her 
son Charles during his minority, and a long 
war raged between the Catholics and Hugue¬ 
nots. With the pretense of friendship, she 
made overtures to the Huguenots, which resulted 
in a peace treaty. She married her daughter 
Margaret to Prince Henry of Navarre, later 
Henry IV., who was leader of the Huguenots, 
and appointed Admiral Coligny, an influential 
Huguenot, to an important position in the king¬ 
dom. Admiral Coligny was invited to the court 
of the king and honored as a father. The 
admiral was wounded by a shot on Aug. 22, 
and the king hastened to his relief and promised 
punishment to the offender, but later his mother 
induced him to believe that the admiral desired 
to take his life. A council was held, and Aug. 
24 was fixed for the night of the execution. 
Accordingly, Admiral Coligny was murdered, 
and a bell from the royal palace at midnight 
gave the signal for the commencement of the 
massacre. The bloody slaughter was promptly 
commenced and carried to all parts of France. 
It is said that the two Huguenot princes, Conde 
and Henry of Navarre, saved their lives by 
denying their religion, but this is not admitted 
by good authorities. According to Sully, 
70,000 Huguenots, including women and chil¬ 
dren, were murdered. However, the object 
designed was not accomplished, and the king 
was required to grant liberty of conscience 
soon after to all citizens of France. 

BARYTA (ba-ri'ta). See Barium. 

BASALT (ba-salt'), an igneous rock belong¬ 
ing to the trap-rock variety, frequently colum¬ 
nar in structure. Its origin is due to great 
pressure on the interior of the earth, in re¬ 
mote geological ages, forcing melted rock 
through fissures of other rock formations. On 
cooling, the mass formed what is known as 
dikes. These vary in width from several inches 
to three or four yards. They are much harder 
than the rock through which they were forced, 
and usually extend above the general surface, 
owing to the fact that they are less subject 
to corrosion. Many attain a height of five to 
160 feet. The columns are generally in the 
forms of a pentagon, hexagon, or octagon. 
They are found in various parts of the con¬ 
tinents, and are most numerous near the bor¬ 
ders of mountainous districts. There are 
columns of basalt at the Giant’s Causeway in 
the northern part of Ireland, in Scotland, at, 
Fingal’s Cave, and various parts of the Island 


BASE 


202 


BASEBALL 


of Staffa. On the northwestern coast of Lake 
Superior are examples of basalt. The Colum¬ 
bia River, in "Washington, has extensive cliffs 
formed of basaltic columns. 

BASE (bas), a term used in chemistry to 
describe a substance which has the power to 
unite with an acid and with it form a salt. 
Water is formed' in the process and the metal 
takes the place of the hydrogen of the acid. 
A base may be either an oxide or a hydrox¬ 
ide, lime or calcium oxide being an example 
of the former and potassium hydroxide of the 
latter. The salt potassium nitrate, or saltpeter, 
is formed when potassium hydroxide acts upon 
nitric acid, while the salt sodium sulphate re¬ 
sults from the uniting of sodium hydroxide and 
sulphuric acid. Bases may be either oxygen, as 
those mentioned above, or they may contain sul¬ 
phur, iodine, chlorine, bromine, and flourine. 
The alkaloids, or organic bases, found in many 
plants, contain nitrogen. They are considered 
as substitution compounds of ammonia. 

BASEBALL (bas'bal), an athletic game re¬ 
garded national in America. The simpler 
game known as town ball was played in the 
United States until 1857, when baseball began 
to be played by amateurs. It continued to at¬ 
tract little attention until 1871, when profes¬ 
sional organizations were instituted. Soon after 
it was introduced into England and other coun¬ 
tries. In 1884 the National Association of 
Baseball Players was organized, and this was 
succeeded two years later by the National 
League of Professional Clubs. 

The game has been brought to a high stand¬ 
ard by the development of professional skill, 
the adoption of standard rules, and the culti¬ 
vation of a public interest sufficient to cause 
attendance in large numbers at public exhibits. 
Many high schools, colleges, and universities 
have clubs and give much time and attention 
to the development of professional skill. The 
larger number of the clubs of the National 
League and of the American League devote 
most of their time, in the playing season, to 
public exhibits and from gate receipts secure 
handsome incomes. In 1874 several clubs 
visited England and Ireland, where they played 
fourteen exhibition games. One of the most 
noted tours was made in 1888-89, when the Chi¬ 
cago club and a team gathered promiscuously, 
known as the All-American, made a tour of 
the world. They visited and played at Hono¬ 
lulu, Sidney, Auckland, Melbourne, Colombo, in 
Ceylon, at the Pyramids of Egypt, Rome, Na¬ 
ples, Paris, London, and many other great 
cities of the world. 

The game is played with a ball and bat. 


The ball weighs about five ounces avordupois, 
and is about nine inches in circumference. 
The bat is made entirely of wood, but may 
have twine wound around the handle, and can¬ 
not exceed forty-two inches in length. There 
are nine players on a side, who play on a dia¬ 
mond-shaped piece of ground ninety feet on 
each side, the corners being bases. The field is 
taken by one side, and the other side has a man 
at the bat. The field side has a pitcher located 
inside the ground, near the center in front of 
the batsman; he throws the ball to the batsman, 
who has a position on the home base, and who 
makes an effort to drive it with the bat out of 
the reach of the fielders and to such a distance 
as to enable him to run around the bases and 
'centre 

LEET # Right 

• • 



BASEBALL GROUND. 

A A, Reservation for batsman, catcher, and umpire; 
BB, for captain and assistant; CC, benches for players; 
D, visiting players’ bat-rack ; B, home players’ bat-rack. 

make a score. If he fails to drive the ball far 
enough to make a complete round, he stops 
at one of the bases and is followed by another 
batsman. If he is touched by the ball before 
reaching a base, he is out, and, when three of 
his side are out, the side at the bat takes the 
field. A game includes nine innings, and the 
side making the highest score wins. 

The games played by the professional clubs 
are attended by newspaper reporters and tele¬ 
graph operators are located at instruments near 
at hand, who send the news of the progress 












BASEL 


203 


BASILISK 


made to all parts of the country. Many times 
bulletin boards are posted in conspicuous places 
at the games and in many cities far remote, at 
which interested spectators may learn of the 
progress and results. It is not unusual for the 
national and international games to be attended 
by 15,000 to 40,000 spectators, as was the case 
at the great games played between the teams 
of Chicago and New York in 1908. While the 
game is easily understood, much practice is 
required to become skilled in its arts. Elab¬ 
orate rules have been provided for the guidance 
of individual players and associations. These 
are changed or amended by national represent¬ 
ative conventions from time to time, and are 
consulted as a guide in ah the amateur and 
professional games. 

BASEL (ba'zel), or Bale, a city and canton 
of Switzerland. The canton has an area of 
177 square miles and a population of 195,017. 
It borders on Alsace and the inhabitants are 
German. The city of Basel is one of the largest 
in Switzerland, situated forty-three miles north 
of Berne, on both sides of the Rhine, and the 
two parts are connected by a number of bridges. 
It occupies a fine site about 800 feet above the 
level of the sea. The two parts into which it 
is divided by the river are known as Grossbasel 
and Kleinbasel. It is the seat of a cathedral 
founded in 1010, which contains the tombs of 
Erasmus and other distinguished persons. It 
has a fine university founded in 1459. The uni¬ 
versity library contains 232,000 volumes and 
many pamphlets. With it are affiliated an insti¬ 
tute of natural sciences and the botanical gar¬ 
dens. Among the noted buildirfgs are the mu¬ 
seum, the Bible Institute, the city hall, and the 
Church of Saint Elizabeth. The manufactures 
include silk, ribbons, machinery, leather, paper, 
spirituous liquors, clothing, and aniline dyes. It 
has a large and growing commerce. A network 
of railroads connect it with other cities, and the 
Rhine furnishes water navigation. It is con¬ 
sidered the wealthiest city of Switzerland. Gas 
and electric lights, street railways, waterworks, 
and excellent schools are among the modern im¬ 
provements. Basel was a Roman military post 
in the 4th century, when it was known as 
Basilia. In the 10th century it became a free 
city, when it was ruled by its bishop and chief 
nobility, and it was joined to the Swiss Con¬ 
federation in 1501. Population, 1907, 131,687. 

BASEL, Council of, the last of the three 
great ecclesiastical councils convened in the 15th 
century, held at Basel, Switzerland, in 1431-49. 
The first of these councils was held at Pisa, 
Italy, in 1409, and the second at Constance, 
Switzerland, in 1414-18. The council of Basel 


was called by Pope Martin V., who died shortly 
after its convocation, and was succeeded by 
Eugenius IV. Its objects were to deliberate 
with the intention of extirpating heresies and 
to discontinue wars among Christian princes. 
However, the council got into disputes with the 
Pope, deposed him, and elected Felix V. in his 
stead. At the death of Eugenius IV., Nicholas 
V. succeeded to the pontificate, who brought 
about a reconciliation which resulted in the 
abdication of Felix V. and the official sanction 
of the decrees of the council of Basel. Final 
adjournment was agreed upon May 4, 1449. 

BASE LINE, in surveying, a line measured 
with precision and used as the basis for gov¬ 
ernment surveys>, from which townships are 
numbered. Ranges are numbered east and west 
of prime meridians. 

BASIL (baz'il), a plant native to the warmer 
temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere. 
It is an annual and has 1 a fine odor. The leaves 
are long and the flowers appear in whorls of 
six. It is cultivated for seasoning and for its 
medicinal virtues. The sweet basil is native to 
the East Indies. It is grown extensively in 
Europe. 

BASILIAN MANUSCRIPTS, the name 
of two valuable Greek manuscripts in the 
library at Basel, Switzerland. One is a copy 
of the whole new testament, except the Apoc¬ 
alypse, written in the characters of the 10th 
century. The other is in uncial characters, 
written at Constantinople in the 8th century, 
and contains the Gospels, except Luke iii, 4-15, 
and xxiv, 47-53. 

BASILICA (ba-zil'i-ka), in architecture, a 
public hall or a courthouse. The term was 
used extensively among the ancient Greeks and 
Romans, and had reference to the public build¬ 
ings in which princes and magistrates adminis¬ 
tered justice. The Basilica Portia, built about 
182 b. c., is among the first mentioned in Roman 
history. Structures of this class were very 
numerous in Rome and the provincial towns, 
especially before the time of Constantine I., and 
subsequently they were converted into Christian 
churches. They were usually surrounded by a 
peristyle of columns, and at one end was a 
semicircular or square apse. The five great 
patriarchal churches in Rome are still called 
basilicas. The term is used more or less in 
speaking of cathedrals, among them the cathe¬ 
dral in Quebec, Canada. 

BASILISK (baz'i-lisk), in fable, a creature 
variously represented to resemble a serpent, 
lizard, and dragon, and reputed to possess a 
fatal breath. In modern zoology the name is 
applied to a small reptile with four feet, a long 




BASIN 


204 


BASKET BALL 


tail, and a broad, membranous hood at the back 
of the head. These animals inhabit tropical 
regions, especially Central and South America, 
where they live near or in the water. They 
swim and climb trees with ease. Some species 
attain a length of thirty inches. They are 
hunted for food in some parts of the West 
Indies. 


BASIN (ba'sin), in geography, a term used 
to describe a collection of water, as a river, 



BASKETS. 


sea, or bay. In physical geography the term 
is applied to the area drained by a river or a 
river system. The highest line between two 
basins is the divide or watershed. In geology 
it is used to designate a depression of a strata 
which has later become filled with deposits. 
Some geologists think geological basins were 
cut out’ by the action of glaciers. 

BASKET (bas'ket), a light, airy vessel used 
for domestic purposes. Baskets were made 
long before the Christian era, and remains of 
them have been found in the tombs of Egypt. 


In ancient times they were made water-tight 
by a coat of asphalt, and used as vessels to 
convey liquids. Now many kinds of splints 
and twigs are woven into baskets, but willow 
shoots are most commonly used for that pur¬ 
pose. They are prepared by soaking in water, 
and then peeled by tools and split. Some 
workmen make a rude product by using willow, 
ash, elm, and birch shoots without peeling them. 
Beautiful baskets are made with splints finely 
worked and nicely decorated with artistic 
colors. In France, Japan, and China large 
quantities of elegant baskets are made for the 
market. The Indians of North America still 
make very handsome baskets ornamented with 
beads and shells. 

BASKET BALL, a popular game played 
indoors, with a ball thrown by hand into goals. 
The room in which the game is played is 
oblong, and the ground or floor contains about 
3,500 square feet. At each end is a goal or 
basket, made by suspending nets of cord from 
metal rings. The goals are ten feet above the 
floor and eighteen inches in diameter, and the 
ball, made of inflated rubber bladder covered 
with a leather case, is round and from thirty 
to thirty-two inches in circumference. Two 
teams of five players each take part in the 
game, each side having a left and right guard, 
a center, and a left and a right forward. A 
referee, who has general supervision, puts the 
ball in play by throwing it into the center of 
the field somewhat higher than either of the 
centers can jump, and at right angles from the 
side lines. As soon as the ball leaves the 
referee, each team makes an effort to throw the 
ball into the basket of the other, and to pre¬ 
vent the opposing side from making a similar 
goal. The ball cannot be kicked or carried, 
but must be thrown or batted with the hand. 
If a player pushes or kicks an opponent or is 
intentionally rough, the opposing team is per¬ 
mitted to have a throw free at a distance of 
not less than fifteen feet. A goal from the field 
counts three points, and a goal made by a free 
throw counts only one. 

Basket ball was invented by James Naismith 
in 1891. It became popular soon after, and is 
played extensively by militia companies, by the 
Young Men’s Christian Association, and in 
many of the schools and colleges. Official rules 
were drawn up by the Amateur Athletic Union 
to govern the practice. The game furnishes 
healthful exercise and calls into use the princi¬ 
pal muscles of the body. It requires quickness 
of. perception, attention to points of advantage 
as the game progresses, and rapidity of thought 
and action. Besides, it furnishes pastime in the 










BASQUES 


205 


BASTILLE 


winter season as well as at other times of the 
year, and is played when football and baseball 
are out of season. 

BASQUES (basks) a peculiar race of people 
which probably occupied the whole Iberian 
Peninsula at a remote date. At present the 
Basques are confined to the Spanish provinces 
of Biscay, Alava, Guipuzcoa, and Navarre, and 
the department of Basses-Pyrenees of France. 
The total number in Spain and France aggre¬ 
gates about 600,000. Their language, known as 
the Basque language, has no close affinity with 
any European tongue. They are considered 
descendants of the people of ancient Iberia. 
Their industries are chiefly agriculture, mining, 
and fishing. They are fond of music and cele¬ 
brate their holiday, Sunday, in singing and 
dancing. The name basque is applied to a 
short waist worn by ladies, which was probably 
copied from the Basque costume. 

BAS-RELIEF (ba-re-lef'), in sculpture, a 
kind of art work in which the figures project 
slightly from the background. In this style 
the height is about equal to half of the thick¬ 
ness of the figure, but in many sculptures of 
the 16th century the Italian artists had the fig¬ 
ures project very slightly. The palaces of As¬ 
syria had bas-relief work set in alabaster, and 
in the halls were elaborate figures representing 
their deities and scenes of war and hunting. 
Bas-reliefs are common in Egyptian monu¬ 
ments, but the most famous examples are those 
which form the frieze of the Parthenon at 
Athens. Cavo-relievo are a kind of bas-reliefs 
in which the whole figure is set below the gen¬ 
eral surface, and the relief is in a sunken panel. 

BASS (bas), a strong, active game fish. 
The name is applied to widely different fishes 
of the perch family. Among the common 




STRIPED BASS. 

American varieties are the rock bass, the black 
bass, the spotted bass, and the ruddy bass. 
Different species of bass are found both in the 
sea and* in fresh water. Most of them are 
good for food and make fine sport for anglers, 
while others are coarse. The usual weight is 
about two pounds, while the striped bass, an 
American species, attains a weight of thirty 
pounds. 


BASSETERRE (bas-tar'), a city of the 
British West Indies, capital of the island of 
Saint Christopher, or Saint Kitts. It has a 
good harbor and a trade in sugar and fruit. 
The streets are improved and many of the 
building are modern and substantial. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 9,962. 

BASSETERRE, a town of the West 
Indies, capital of the French island of Guada- 
loupe, at the mouth of a small river. The 
harbor is poor, but the town has considerable 
trade. It is the seat of a bishop and has 
some modern utilities. Population, 1906, 8,626. 

BASSIA, the name of a genus of plants 
native to warm climates, including several 
species of trees valued for their fruit. The 
Mahwa tree of the East Indies is valuable for 
its timber, and oil is obtained from the seeds. 
A species yields the shea butter, which is an 
important article of commerce in the central 
part of Africa, and is considered quite pala¬ 
table. 

BASSORA (bas'so-ra), or Basra, a com¬ 
mercial city of Asiatic Turkey, capital of a 
vilayet of the same name, on the Euphrates 
River. The surrounding country is fertile and 
produces rice, vegetables, and the date palm. 
Though poorly built and without modern facili¬ 
ties, the city has an important trade in coffee, 
drugs, rice, camels, and manufactured articles. 
A stone wall surrounds the city, and within are 
several monuments and mosques. It has a 
military station and is the seat of British and 
American consulates. Population, 40,000. 

BASS STRAIT (bas), a channel north of 
Tasmania, which it separates from Australia. 
It is 120 miles wide and is studded with many 
islands. Flinders Island is on its ’eastern ex¬ 
tremity and Kings Island on its western. The 
strait was discovered in 1798 by George Bass, 
a surgeon in the British navy. 

BASSWOOD. See Linden. 

BASTIA (bas-te'a), a seaport and fortified 
city of Corsica, opposite the Isle of Elba, 
eighty miles northeast of Ajaccio. Many of 
the buildings are modern, but the streets are 
narrow and crooked, and the older part of the 
city has many small structures. Two harbors, the 
old and the new, are utilized in its commerce, 
which includes trade in oil, leather, macaroni, 
and marble. Dye, soap, and wax candles are 
manufactured. It was founded in 1880 by the 
Genoese. Population, 23,675. 

BASTILLE (bas-tel'), a word formerly 
used in France to designate any strong castle 
defended by bastions, but now specially ap¬ 
plied as the name of the prison and citadel of- 
Paris built by Charles V. about 1370. This 




BASUTOLAND 


206 


BATAVIA 


structure, though designed as a defense 
against the English, was used as a state prison 
for persons of rank who had lost standing 
in the government and had forfeited public 
confidence. It had a capacity for seventy or 
eighty persons, and during the reigns of Louis 
XIV. and Louis XV. was used most exten¬ 
sively. Those confined were rarely criminals, 
but rather people who had displeased the king 
and his associates. These included political 
offenders, scholars, advocates, and priests, who 
were often confined so long that they were en¬ 
tirely forgotten by the public. On July 14, 
1789, it was captured by a Parisian mob, which 
signaled the beginning of the Revolution. The 
next day it was destroyed and not a vestige 
now remains. Its site is marked by a column 
in the Place de la Bastille. The fall of the 
Bastille is an important epoch in French his¬ 
tory and marks the downfall of the old 
monarchy. 

BASUTOLAND (ba-soo'to-land), a British 
possession in South Africa, northeast of Cape 
Colony. The area is 10,293 square miles. It 
is bounded by the Orange River Colony, Natal, 
and Cape Colony, and is drained largely by 
head streams of the Orange River. The region 
is well watered and has a fine growth of grasses 
and forests. The climate is healthful and well 
fitted for Europeans. Coal, iron, and copper 
are the chief minerals. Agriculture is the lead¬ 
ing industry. The possession was annexed to 
Cape Colony in 1871, and placed under the 
authority of the crown in 1884. Its govern¬ 
ment is administered under the direction of a 
high commissioner for South Africa, through 
a resident commissioner; the legislative power 
of the former is exercised by proclamation. 
The colony has about 260 schools, at which 
13,120 pupils receive instruction. Several high¬ 
ways have been constructed and communica¬ 
tion has been established with other South 
African countries by telegraph and railway 
lines. The native Basutos are a superior 
race of South Africa and are somewhat ad¬ 
vanced in the arts of civilization. Maseru, the 
capital, has a population of 1,350. In 1904 the 
total population was 348,626, of which number 
895 were whites. 

BAT (bat), an animal with wings composed 
largely of a thin, membranous skin, which is 
stretched from the fingers of the fore limbs 
and along the sides back to the hind limbs 
and tail. It moves about in the twilight and 
darkness and is the only mammal that can fly 
with facility. The bat is found in the tem- 
•perate and warm regions, but attains its greatest 
size and is most numerous in the tropics. The 


bats of the temperate climate are mouselike in 
appearance, and, when stretched, their wings 
measure about sixteen inches. In the daytime 
they frequent caverns, hollow trees, crevices of 
ruins, and isolated lurking places, and at night 
come out to feed upon insects. During the 
entire winter season they sleep, except in warm 
climates. Many species sleep in daytime, hang¬ 
ing by their hind legs, head downward. Bats 
are more or less abundant in all countries, ex¬ 
cept in the extreme north and south. Some 
varieties are fruit-eating animals and live in 
orchards and vineyards, while others support 
themselves by sucking the blood of other mam¬ 



HANGING BAT. 


mals; this class is known as vampire bats. 
There are no less than 450 species of bats, but 
all are classed as mammiferous quadrupeds. 
They show great attachment for their young, 
often endeavoring to protect them in case of 
danger, even submitting to captivity rather than 
forsake them. The Australian kalong is the 
largest of the bats. 

BATANGAS (ba-tan'gas), a city of the 
Philippines, capital of a province of the same 
name, in Luzon, fifty-two miles south of Manila. 
It is a seaport city of considerable importance 
and has a good harbor on Batangas Bay, an 
inlet from the Pacific. Among the chief build¬ 
ings are the public library, a convent, and a 
palace. It has a large export trade and tele¬ 
graph connections with interior and continental 
points. The manufactures include cigars, earth¬ 
enware, clothing, and utensils. Waterworks and 
electric lights have been installed. It was cap¬ 
tured by the United States in 1899, in the war 
against the natives. Population, 1901, 37,400. 

BATAVIA (ba-ta'vi-a), a seaport*city on 
the north coast of Java, capital of the Dutch 
East Indies, in the Province of Batavia. It is 
located on a large bay and is unhealthful, 
owing to its hot climate and low site. 
Europeans have improved the city by a system 





BATAVIA 


207 


BATHING 


of drainage and by building the new part on a 
more elevated tract of land. The chief build¬ 
ings include the post’office,.the Java Bank, the 
Exchange building, the museum, and several 
Javanese temples. Among the modern improve¬ 
ments are electric lights, waterworks, and elec¬ 
tric street railways. It has a large export trade 
ln sugar, rice, coffee, tea, oil, indigo, and 
hides, principally with Holland. It was founded 
in 1(319 by the Dutch, who improved it by 
building canals and an extensive harbor. A 
large per cent, of the inhabitants are Chinese 
and Malays. Population, 1906, 116,887. 

BATAVIA, county seat of Genesee County, 
New York, 36 miles east of Buffalo, on the 
Lehigh Valley, the Erie, and the New 
Central railways. It is surrounded by a pro¬ 
ductive agricultural country, and is the seat 
of manufacturing establishments producing im¬ 
plements, machinery, shoes, textiles, canned 
goods, and flour. The chief buildings include 
the public library, the county courthouse, and 
the State School for the Blind. A monument to 
William Morgan, noted for his connection with 
the anti-Masonic movement in 1826, stands in a 
public place. It has a growing, trade in mer¬ 
chandise and is improved by numerous munici¬ 
pal facilities. The city was founded in 1800. 
Population, 1905, 10,080; in 1910, 11,613. 

BATH (bath), a city of Somersetshire, Eng¬ 
land, on the Avon River. It is noted for its 
mineral water and baths. The mineral springs 
were known to the Romans, and remains of 
baths constructed by them in the 1st century 
b. c. have been discovered. The city is built 
largely of white stone obtained from quarries 
in the vicinity. Victoria Park, a beautiful pub¬ 
lic ground, contains fifty acres. The chief 
buildings are a public library, the theater, the 
Abbey Church, and the city hall. It is the seat 
of Bath College and Wesleyan College. It has 
important manufactures and a large railway and 
canal trade. Population, 1907, 48,885. 

BATH, a city of Maine, county seat of 
Sagadahoc County, on the Kennebec River, 
about thirty-eight miles northeast of Portland. 
It is on the Maine Central Railroad and has 
extensive navigation facilities, as the water of 
the river rarely freezes. The manufactures in¬ 
clude cigars, furniture, iron and leather wares, 
clothing, and machinery. It is surrounded by 
an agricultural country and has modern con¬ 
veniences, including pavements and street rail¬ 
ways. The first settlement was made in 1660, 
when an Indian mission was established. It 
was incorporated as a city in 1847. Population, 
1900, 10,477. 

BATH, a town in New York, county seat of 


Steuben County, 98 miles southeast of Buffalo, 
on the Erie and other railroads. It has man¬ 
ufactures of harness, shoes, and clothing. The 
surrounding country is agricultural. It is the 
seat of an orphan asylum and a soldiers’ and 
sailors home, and has a public library and sev¬ 
eral county buildings. The first settlement was 
made on the site of Bath in 1793. Population, 
1905, 4,894. 

BATHING (bath'ing), the immersion of the 
body, or a part of it, in water for the purpose 
of maintaining cleanliness and stimulating 
health. It was a part of the religion of many 
ancient nations, including the Egyptians, He¬ 
brews, and Greeks, to bathe the body.’ The 
Koran makes it mandatory on Mohammedans 
to wash the face, hands, and feet five times a 
day. This command is observed so carefully 
that when the Moslem is in a desert and out 
of the reach of water the ceremony is performed 
with sand. The Romans built the most splen¬ 
did baths constructed by the ancients. In the 
time of Emperor Diocletian the Roman baths 
had a capacity sufficient for 18,000 persons to 
bathe at • once, while Emperor Caracalla built 
baths nearly a quarter of a mile square. These 
structures were provided with washing rooms, 
courts for games, gymnasiums, hot and cold 
water baths, vapor baths, swimming baths, and 
hot-air baths, and their walls were decorated 
with marbles, statues, mosaics, and historic 
paintings. 

Baths are variously designated from the char¬ 
acter of the process to which* the body is sub¬ 
jected. A Turkish bath is applied by admitting 
hot air into the room where the bather sits, 
and the heat of the air is constantly increased 
until he perspires freely, when he goes into a 
washroom, where his body is briskly scrubbed 
with water, and soap and cooled by a shower 
bath. He next plunges into a swimming bath 
of cool water, where he bathes freely, and, after 
emerging, he is dried, wrapped in a blanket, and 
lies down on a lounge until the natural warmth 
of the body returns. A Russian bath differs 
from the Turkish in that the hot air is dis¬ 
placed by hot steam, but in other respects they 
are similar. 

A hot bath brings the blood near the surface, 
which reddens the skin, the veins become en¬ 
larged, and a heaviness is felt in the head. The 
effect of viole'nt heat is to fatigue the body, 
hence warm baths should be carefully admin¬ 
istered. The better way is to take lukewarm 
baths and increase the heat from time to time 
as the body becomes accustomed to it. A warm 
bath gives no shock to the bather and is always 
pleasant. It has a tendency to quiet the nerves 


BATH 


208 


BATTALION 


and increase the flow of blood, and is the best 
form for most persons. A cold bath causes a 
sudden chill, and is followed by a feeling of 
warmth, which is called a reaction. The bather 
should remain in water only until he feels the 
reaction, when he should come out and rub 
himself dry with a coarse towel. None but the 
strong are able to endure a cold bath, and this 
administered carefully is of much utility. Sea 
bathing is one of the most pleasant and bene¬ 
ficial exercises for the body. The salt water 
seems to have a wholesome effect upon the skin 
and* is quickening to the organs, if the bather 
does not remain too long in the water. 

Baths are usually known by the degree of 
temperature at which the water or vapor is 
administered. The average temperature of a 
cold bath is about 48° Fahr.; cool bath, 58°; 
tepid bath, 88°; warm bath, 95°; and hot bath, 
100°. In many cities mineral water flowing 
from the ground is utilized for bathing pur¬ 
poses. Some of the most noted mineral baths 
in Europe are at Baden, Karlsbad, and Aachen, 
Germany; Spa, Belgium; and Teplitz, Bohemia. 
The leading natural hot baths of North Amer¬ 
ica are at Hot Springs, Ark., and Hot Springs, 
S. D. The water is both mineral and thermal, 
ranging in temperature from 100° to 160°. 
Thousands of people patronize these health re¬ 
sorts, and indulge in bathing both for pastime 
and to regain lost health. Many physical ail¬ 
ments can be cured and the system can be 
greatly strengthened by the use of these nat¬ 
ural remedies. In recent years it has become 
quite general to construct water systems, by 
which dwelling houses having bath tubs are sup¬ 
plied with water. In this way every member 
of the family can avail himself of a healthful 
bath without inconvenience, and have it ad¬ 
ministered at the proper time. Though bath¬ 
ing is generally healthful, a person should not 
remain too long in the water, and bathing 
within three hours after a meal should be care¬ 
fully avoided. 

BATH, Knights of the, a military order in 
Great Britain, the largest in number and the 
highest to which a commoner can attain. It 
was so named from the ceremony of bathing, 
which was formerly practiced when a knight 
was initiated, hence indicated that both purity 
and chivalry were required. The order prob¬ 
ably dates from the early part of the 12th cen¬ 
tury, and it is thought that it was instituted by 
Henry I., who is said to have made Geoffrey 
of Anjou and others “Knights of the Bath.” 
It was used in the coronation of Charles II., 
in 1660, and later fell into disuse, but was re¬ 
vived by George I, in 1725. At present it com¬ 


prises three classes, Knights Grand Cross (G. 
C. B.), Knights Commander (K. C. B.), and 
Companions (C. B.). 

BATHOMETER (ba-thom'e-ter), an in¬ 
strument to indicate the depth of water. It 
was invented by C. W. Siemens and is used on 
vessels, indicating the depth of the water below 
the ship or steamer. The instruments belong¬ 
ing to this class differ materially, ranging from 
the simpler forms used to measure shallows 
to the more complicated apparatus necessary to 
determine great depths. In general they de¬ 
pend upon the principle that underlies the law 
of gravitation, and that the. attraction exerted 
by the land is stronger than that of water. The 
essential part is a vertical steel tube, at the 
lower end of which is a cup-shaped expansion, 
and the depth of the water is indicated on a 
micrometer scale as the mercury rises or falls 
in the tube. In some instruments oil or water 
is used instead of mercury. The column in the 
tube lowers in shallow water, since greater 
force is exerted in drawing down the mercury, 
and it rises in deeper water to the extent that 
the force is diminished. A sounding line is 
used to sink the instrument to the bottom. 

BATON ROUGE (bat'un-roozh), the 
parish seat of East Baton Rouge parish, and 
capital of Louisiana, on the east side of the 
Mississippi River, about ninety miles by rail¬ 
road and 130 by river from New Orleans. It 
is on the Texas Pacific and the' Yazoo and 
Mississippi Valley railroads, and occupies a 
prominence about twenty-five feet above high- 
water mark. The city is the seat of the State 
University, an asylum for the deaf and dumb, 
a military hospital, an agricultural experiment 
station, and a State penitentiary. Among the 
prominent buildings are the State capitol, the 
courthouse, the post office, the high school, and 
the city hall. It has manufactures of sugar, 
ice, clothing, cotton products, and machinery. 
Electric street railways, waterworks, and paved 
streets are among the improvements. It was 
founded by the French and was the capital from 
1847 to 1864, when the seat of the State gov¬ 
ernment was removed to New Orleans, but it 
was again made the State capital in 1880. The 
Union army occupied it in the Civil War, after 
New Orleans had been taken, and it suffered 
a Confederate attack under General Breckin¬ 
ridge, but was held by the Union army under 
General Williams, who was slain in battle. 
Population, 1900, 11,269. 

BATTALION (bat-tal'yun), the tactical 
unit of infantry. It constitutes the most numer¬ 
ous body, of unmounted men in charge of one 
commanding officer who gives personal super- 


BATTERING-RAM 


209 


BAVARIA 


intendence. It is made up of from four to ten 
companies, has a normal war strength of 1,000 
men, and is commanded by a field officer. A 
regiment is constituted of two or more battal¬ 
ions ; a brigade, of two or more regiments; a 
division, of two or more brigades; an army 
corps, of two or more divisions, and an army, 
of two or more army corps. See Army. 

BATTERING-RAM (bat'ter-ing-ram), an 
ancient war machine to batter down walls of 
forts and cities. It consisted of a great wooden 
beam with a heavy bronze or iron head. The 
length was from 50 to 180 feet, and the head 
of large rams weighed a ton. Many were built 
in frames, while others were on rollers or 
wheels with a. cover over the front to protect 
the workers from falling missiles. The work 
of the ram was effected by about one hundred 
men, or by the use of ropes and pulleys. It 
was regarded an essential implement in the time 
of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who em¬ 
ployed it extensively while laying siege to for¬ 
tified cities. 

BATTERY (bat'ter-y), the tactical unit of 
artillery. The term is applied to the largest 
number of mobile guns, with full equipments, 
that one man can personally superintend. They 
are usually distinguished as horse, field, and 
garrison. The first two consist of six guns 
each. Along with each battery are gunners 
to work the guns. Each battery includes a 
number of drivers who manage the horses by 
which the guns are transported from one local¬ 
ity to another. See Artillery. 

BATTLE (bat't’l), a combat between two 
or more armies, or divisions of armies. Battles 
are fought either with the view of attaining 
local advantage, or influencing favorably the 
whole contest. The skillful commander aims to 
reach a decisive point in each engagement. This 
is strategy, while skill in active battle is called 
tactics. Each victory must be followed up in 
order to fully disable the beaten army and there¬ 
by gain the advantage of success. Battles do 
not depend upon their magnitude for importance, 
but rather upon their enduring effect upon social 
and political conditions. In Creasy’s “Fifteen 
Decisive Battles of the World, from Marathon 
to Waterloo,” a list of the battles is given that 
have largely influenced history and made civili¬ 
zation, more or less, what it is. The mind fills 
with awe when contemplating what human insti¬ 
tutions might have been had these battles ter¬ 
minated differently. The following is a com¬ 
plete list as given by Creasy: 

B. C. 

490. Battle of Marathon. 

413. Defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse. 

- 331. Battle of Arbela. 

207. Battle of the Metaurus. 

14 


A. D. 

9. Defeat of the Romans under Varus. 

451. Battle of Chalons. 

732. Battle of Tours. 

1066. Battle of Hastings. 

1429. Joan of Arc’s victory at Orleans. 

1588. Defeat of the Spanish Armada. 

1704. Battle of Blenheim. 

1709. Battle of Pultowa. 

1777. Defeat of Burgoyne at Saratoga. 

1792. Battle of Valmy. 

1815. Battle of Waterloo. 

BATTLE CREEK (-krek), a city of Mich¬ 
igan, in Calhoun County, on the Kalamazoo 
River, and on the Chicago and Grand Trunk, 
the Cincinnati Northern, and the Michigan Cen¬ 
tral railroads. The chief buildings are the post 
office, the high school, the public library, and the 
Post Theater. It has manufactures of thresh¬ 
ing machines, knit goods, flour, furniture, hard¬ 
ware, carriages, niachinery, and farming imple¬ 
ments. Battle Creek College was founded here 
by the Seventh Day Adventists, in 1874, and 
later they established a sanitarium, which is at¬ 
tracting a large patronage. Health foods are 
made on a large scale at the sanitarium. The 
city has fine municipal facilities, and is noted 
as an educational and commercial center. It 
was incorporated as a city in 1860. Population, 
1904, 22,213; in 1910, 25,267. 

BATTLEFORD (bat't’l-ford), a town in 
Saskatchewan, at the junction of the Battle and 
North Saskatchewan rivers, near the line of the 
Canadian Northern Railway. It was the capital 
of the Northwest Territory from 1876 to 1883, 
and near it was organized the insurrection 
headed by Louis Riel. The surrounding coun¬ 
try is devoted to farming and ranching. Popu¬ 
lation, 1901, 797. 

BAUTZEN (bou'tsen), a city of Germany, 
in the kingdom of Saxony, on the Spree River, 
thirty miles northeast of Dresden. It has rail¬ 
road and electric railway facilities and manu¬ 
factures of leather, textiles, and clothing. A 
cathedral, a castle, and the royal palace are 
among the chief buildings. It became a town in 
the 10th century* in the reign of Otho I., and 
suffered greatly during the Thirty Years’ War. 
In 1813 it was the scene of a great battle be¬ 
tween Napoleon, with an army of 130,000 men, 
and an allied army of 90,000 Germans and Rus¬ 
sians. Napoleon had made the attack and after 
a contest of two days retreated, having lost 
about 20,000 men. Population, 1905, 29,419. 

BAVARIA (ba-va'ri-a), Kingdom of, a 
crown state of Germany, next to Prussia the 
largest state of the German Empire. It con¬ 
sists of two separate portions, the eastern and 
larger part, or Bavaria proper, and the west¬ 
ern, or Rhenish Bavaria. Eastern Bavaria is 
surrounded by Austria-Hungary, the Thurin- 
gian states, Hesse-Nassau, Saxony, Wiirttem- 


BAVARIA 


210 


BAVARIA 


berg, Baden, and Hesse. Rhenish Bavaria, or 
Palatinate, is bounded by Prussia, Alsace- 
Lorraine, Hesse, and Baden. The area is 29,282 
square miles. 

Physical Features. The surface is more or 
less mountainous and most of the boundaries 
are formed by mountain ranges. In Southern 
Bavaria are three ranges of the Alps, known 
locally as the Algauer Alps, the Salzburger 
Alps, and the Bavarian Alps. Of the last men¬ 
tioned the Zug Spitze, 9,725 feet, is the highest 
peak. The Bohmerwald is in the northeast, 
and in the north are the Rhongebirge and the 
Fichtelgebirge. An elevated plain ^ stretches 
through the interior of Bavaria, and in the 
Palatinate are the Harz Mountains, whose 
peaks reach an elevation of 2,500 feet above 
the sea. Most of the drainage is by the Danube 
and its tributaries. These tributaries include 
the Altmiihl, Regen, Vils, and Wornitz from 
the north, and the Lech, Inn, Iller, and Isar 
from the south. The Main River drains the 
northwestern part. Amersee and Chiemsee are 
among the lakes in the southern part. The 
rainfall is greatest in the eastern part of Ba¬ 
varia, about seventy-five inches, and in the 
Palatinate and the higher altitudes it averages 
twenty-four inches annually. 

Natural Resources. Nearly one-third of the 
kingdom consists of forests, which yield large 
returns from the sale of timber. The minerals 
are valuable, especially coal and iron, and 
there are deposits of salt, graphite, and build¬ 
ing stone. The soil is noted for its fertility. 

Industries. Agriculture is the most impor¬ 
tant enterprise, and is developed to a higher 
state of perfection than in most of the Euro¬ 
pean countries. Associations and institutes for 
the purpose of teaching farming are maintained, 
and the matter of storing seed, selecting choice 
grades of domestic animals, and harvesting 
cereals and forage are carried on through 
cooperative associations. Hay, rye, and oats 
take the highest rank in the quantity produced. 
Other products embrace barley, wheat, pota¬ 
toes, sugar beets, hops, and rape seed. Stock 
raising is conducted with much care, and the 
cattle and horses of Bavaria are among the 
best seen on the European market. The vine¬ 
growing industry receives marked attention, 
especially in the Palatinate. 

Manufacturing as an enterprise has developed 
to a great extent the last two decades, especi¬ 
ally in the output of steel and iron. In the 
manufacture of beer the kingdom takes high 
rank and its production of spirituous liquors 
is a notably important enterprise. The manu¬ 
facture of textiles, leather, tobacco, earthen¬ 


ware, chemicals, and agricultural implements 
is developed to a considerable extent. Naviga¬ 
tion by water is furnished by the Main and 
Danube rivers and by Lake Constance. The 
Ludwigs Canal serves as a connecting link be¬ 
tween the Black and North seas, since it con¬ 
nects the Main, a tributary of the Rhine, with 
the Altmiihl, a tributary of the Danube. Trans¬ 
portation by steam railways and electric lines 
is well provided for in all parts of the king¬ 
dom. 

Government. For the purpose of govern¬ 
ment Bavaria is divided into seven districts. 
These are Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, Swa¬ 
bia, Upper Palatinate, Lower Franconia; Mid¬ 
dle Franconia, Upper Franconia, and Palatinate. 
The government of the kingdom is a constitu¬ 
tional monarchy; of which the king is the chief 
executive, and the crown is hereditary in the 
male line. Six ministers constitute a council of 
state and assist the king. The legislative power 
is vested in the king and the parliament, or 
landtag, which consists of the two houses 
known as the chamber of councilers of the 
realm, or upper house, and the chamber of 
deputies, or the lower house. In the former 
are eighty members and in the lower 159. Ba¬ 
varia is represented in the Bundesrat of the 
German Empire by six members and in the 
Reichstag by forty-eight. The state provides 
amply for education, which is free and compul¬ 
sory. Three famous universities are located at 
Wurzburg, Munich, and Erlangen. 

Inhabitants. The inhabitants are almost 
exclusively German, including only about 50,000 
Jews. About thirty-three per cent, are Protes¬ 
tants and more than half of the entire popula¬ 
tion are Roman Catholics. Munich, the capital, 
is located on the Isar River. Augsburg, Nurem¬ 
berg, Ratisbon, Bamberg, Erlangen, Baireuth, 
and Schweinfurt are the principal commercial 
centers. In 1905 the kingdom had a population 
of 6,176,057. 

History. In ancient times the territory 
comprised in Bavaria was inhabited by Celtic 
tribes, known as the Boii, and the region was 
conquered by the Romans about the year 15 
b. c. It became a possession of the Franks in 
the time of Charlemagne, in the 8th century, 
and in 1070 was acquired by the Guelph family. 
The territory was transferred to Otho, Count 
of Wittlesbach, in the latter part of the 12th 
century, and its government has been admin¬ 
istered by this family almost without inter¬ 
mission to the present time. Napoleon raised 
Bavaria to the dignity of a kingdom in 1805, 
and the king aided France in the Napoleonic 
wars. The present constitution was adopted in 



BAY 


211 


BAYONET 


1818. In 1866 Bavaria sided with Austria in 
the Austro-Prussian War and lost some terri¬ 
tory annexed to it by Napoleon. When Napol¬ 
eon III. declared war against Germany in 
1870, Bavaria joined Prussia and took a promi¬ 
nent part in the military movements against 
France. It was largely at the suggestion of 
the King of Bavaria that William of Prussia 
accepted the title of Emperor of Germany. It 
has since remained important as an integral 
part of the empire, influential in its councils, 
and a leader in promoting the commercial and 
colonial development of Germany. 

BAY (ba), or Bay Tree, the general name 
of several trees and shrubs which resemble 
the laurel, and applied both to the ; fruit and 
the trees. The red bay is native to the south¬ 
ern part of the United States and has wood 
colored much like mahogany. Bay laurel is 
a term sometimes applied to the common laurel 
or cherry laurel. The bay tree of California 
is a fine species, and rose bay is the name 
sometimes given to species of the azaleas and 
rhododendrons. Some trees belonging to this 
class have berries that yield a fatty oil used 
in veterinary medicines. The leaves are some¬ 
times used in cookery for the flavor, and in 
England and some other countries as decora¬ 
tions for Christmas. In ancient times sprigs 
of the bay tree were worn as a signal of vic¬ 
tory. 

BAYA (ba'ya), a kind of weaver bird com¬ 
mon in the East Indies. The color is yellow 
mixed with brown, and the beak is large and 
conical. Its nests are built in the form of a 
flask, suspended from a high branch, and the 
entrance is from below. The male and female 
birds have separate chambers. It is easily 
trained to obey and is fond of small articles 
of ornament. 

BAYAMO (ba-ya'mo), a town of Cuba, in 
the province of Santiago, sixty miles north¬ 
west of the city of Santiago. It is surrounded 
by an agricultural country. The Spaniards 
founded it in 1514. At the time of the 
Spanish occupation it was prominent as a 
stronghold of insurgents and revolutionists. 
Population, 1899, 8,022. 

BAY CITY, county seat of Bay County, 
Michigan, on the Saginaw River, seventy-five 
miles northeast of Lansing. It occupies a fine 
site about four miles from Saginaw Bay, and is 
on the Pere Marquette, the Michigan Central, 
and other railroads. The county courthouse, 
the post office, the city hall, the Masonic Tem¬ 
ple, and the First Presbyterian Church are 
among the chief buildings. It has city water¬ 
works, fine public schools, and a large library. 


The manufactures include furniture, salt, earth¬ 
enware, machinery, hardware, clothing, and to¬ 
bacco products. The city is one of the most 
prosperous in the State, situated in a fine farm¬ 
ing and dairying country, and has a large job¬ 
bing trade. Its streets are well paved and 
lighted, and traversed by electric street rail¬ 
ways. It was settled in 1836 and chartered as a 
city in 1865. Population, 1910, 45,166. 

BAYEUX (ba-ye'), a city of France, in the 
department of Calvados, Normandy, twenty 
miles northwest of Caen. It is nicely situated on 
the Aure River, five miles above its outlet 
into the English Channel, and has a trade in 
cattle, grain, and dairy products. The chief 
building is a cathedral said to be the oldest in 
Normandy. It occupies the site of the Roman 
town known as Augustodurum. Population, 
1901, 7,315. 

BAYEUX CATHEDRAL, the oldest 
cathedral in Normandy, located at Bayeux, 
France. Most of the present buildings date 
from the 11th to the 13th centuries. Many nota¬ 
ble improvements were made in 1077 by Wil¬ 
liam the Conqueror, and various additions have 
been added since. To the west are two 
steeples and several beautiful sculptured porches 
built in the 12th century. 

BAYEUX TAPESTRY, a linen cloth 
twenty inches wide and 214 feet long, on which 
scenes of the invasion and conquest of England 
by the Normans were skillfully worked. It 
is said to be the work of Matilda, the wife of 
William the Conqueror. The scenes begin 
with Harold’s visit to the Norman court and 
end with the defeat of the English and the 
death of Harold at Hastings. It is divided into 
seventy-two compartments, and on each one the 
subject of the scene is indicated in Latin in¬ 
scription. It was discovered in 1730, and 
is now kept in the library of Bayeux, France, 
as a valuable record of scenes and customs in 
the early period of Norman-French history. 

BAYONET (ba'6-net), a short weapon of 
steel, constructed something like a dagger, and 
attached to the end of a musket or rifle. It 
was so named from the circumstance that the 
bayonet was first used at Bayonne, France, 
and it came into general use about the middle 
of the 17th century. The first bayonets were 
carried by the soldiers, and when used to re¬ 
pel a cavalry charge, or when making an advance 
upon the enemy, they were thrust into the 
muzzle of the gun. Later they were fastened 
on the outside so as to permit both the use 
of the bayonet and the gun for firing upon 
the enemy. With the introduction of modern 
firearms the bayonet lost some of its impor- 


BAYONNE 


212 


BEAN 


tance as a weapon, but many military men still 
regard it highly serviceable in making a charge, 
especially when culminating an infantry attack. 

BAY O N N E (ba-yon'), a city of New 
Jersey, in Hudson County, situated immedi¬ 
ately southwest of Jersey City, from which 
it is separated by the Morris Canal. The site 
is adjacent to New York and Newark bays, 
on the New Jersey Central Railroad, and within 
it are included the villages of Bergen Point, 
Salterville, Bayonne, and Centerville. It has 
dock facilities, electric street railways, water¬ 
works, pavements, public lighting, and numer¬ 
ous schools. The manufactures embrace lum¬ 
ber products, chemicals, machinery, textiles, 
and clothing. Many New York business men 
reside in Bayonne. It was chartered as a city 
in 1869. Population, 1910, 55,545. 

BAYONNE, a city of France, in the de¬ 
partment of Basses-Pyrenees, on the Adour 
River, near the Bay of Biscay. It is well built 
and strongly fortified. It has a commodious 
harbor, in which three lighthouses are main¬ 
tained, and its export and import trade is con¬ 
siderable. Sugar refineries and shipyards are 
among the industries. A cathedral built in the. 
13th century is its chief building, and it is 
the seat of a naval school and a public library 
of 12,000 volumes. Charles IV. of Spain re¬ 
nounced the crown at Bayonne in 1808. 
Anciently it was called Lapurdum. Popula¬ 
tion, 27,500. 

BAYREUTH. See Baireuth. 

BAY RUM, a liquid used for toilet purposes 
and as a liniment in treating rheumatism. It 
is obtained by distilling with rum the leaves of 
the bayberry tree (Myrcia acris ), which is na¬ 
tive to the West Indies. 

BAZAAR (ba-zar'), or Bazar, an exchange 
or market place where goods are kept for sale. 
The term is in common use in Eurasia, espe¬ 
cially in the East, where a number of shops, 
either open or covered, are grouped about a 
square or in a series along the streets. Retail 
traders occupy the bazaars and offer for sale 
a variety of small articles, such as shawls, 
jewelry, household utensils, and wearing ap¬ 
parel. The term is applied in America to 
places where fancy work and other articles 
are sold to raise money for the support of 
an enterprise or for charity. 

BEAD (bed), or Bede, a small globular or 
cylindrical body, thirty or forty of which are 
strung together and worn for ornament or 
used for decoration. The name is from the 
Anglo-Saxon word beade, or bede, signifying 
a prayer. The Roman Catholics string beads 
together, to the number of thirty or forty, to 


keep count of prayers offered. In this form 
they constitute a rosary. Every tenth one is 
larger than the rest, called a gaude. The 
gaudes are used for counting paternosters, and 
the ordinary beads for Ave Marias. 

BEAM (bem), in architecture, a piece of 
timber or other material placed across the walls 
of a building and which serves to support the 
rafters. It binds together the parts of the 
frame as a tie and supports weight. Wood was 
employed chiefly in architecture as beams until 
in more recent times iron and steel came into 
very extensive use, and in some cases beams 
are now made of cement. 

The word beam is applied in different ways 
and has several technical uses. A plow beam 
is the main piece, either of wood or steel, and 
to it the colter, plowshare, and moldboard are 
fixed. The main cross timber in a ship is 
called a beam, and serves to support the deck 
and prevent the sides from falling apart. The 
beams used in large steamboats are of iron, 
extend across the hull, and are supported near 
the middle by pillars. In a balance the beam is 
the part from which the scales are suspended, 
and the term is applied to a part of a weaver’s 
apparatus, usually a wooden cylinder, on which 
the web is wound. 

BEAN (ben), an agricultural product grown 
for food in early history in Egypt and Pales¬ 
tine, and now largely cultivated in gardens 
and fields as food 
for man and beast. 

It is an annual, 
from two to twelve 
feet high. The 
seeds, usually from 
four to ten, grow 
in pods about 
ten inches long. 

They are kidney¬ 
shaped and meas¬ 
ure from one-sixth 
of an inch to over 
an inch in length. 

Beans are nutri¬ 
tious food, con¬ 
taining twenty-three 
per cent, of nitrog¬ 
enous matter, similar 
to casein in cheese, 
and thirty-six per 
cent of starch. There are many varieties, col¬ 
ors, and sizes. The so-called kidney bean is 
grown extensively in the gardens of Canada and 
the United States. Other popular species 

include the lima bean, which is quite large and 
is harvested for cooking before it is ripe, and 



CLIMBING BEAN. 



BEAR 


213 


BEAR AND BULL 


the string bean, a variety with fleshy pods. 
Beans produce from fifteen to fifty bushels to 
the acre, a bushel .weighing sixty pounds. 

BEAR (bar), the name of an animal com¬ 
mon to both the warm and cold climates. 
Numerous species are found in America and 



GRIZZLY BEAR. 


Eurasia, but they do not occur in Australia 
and Africa. They belong to the carnivorous or 
flesh-eating animals, but show considerable 
fondness for honey and some kinds of vege¬ 
tables, and several species live largely on fruits. 
In cold climates they attain a larger size and 
greater strength than in the warmer regions, 
and are much more savage. The body is stout 
and muscular, with strong legs, a short tail, and 
long shaggy fur, and the feet are supplied with 
strong claws well adapted for climbing and dig¬ 
ging. They delight to roam in mountain districts 
and on the seaside, and are skilled as swimmers. 
The winter season is spent largely by sleeping 
in caves, especially by the females, which rear 
their young in the winter. 

Among the many species is the grizzly bear 
of North America, which is found largely in 
the region of the Rocky Mountains. It is the 
most ferocious animal of North America and 
attains a large size, sometimes a length of nine 
feet, measuring from the nose to the tail, which 
is very short. It is colored brown, white, and 
black, and possesses grizzly or shaggy hair. 
The black bear has its home in all the unin¬ 
habited parts of North America. It is much 
smaller than the grizzly bear, about five feet 
long, has smooth, glossy, black fur, and lives 
largely on vegetable food, but in case of hun¬ 
ger will attack and carry off small animals like 
calves and hogs. It delights to climb trees and 
rob wild bees of their honey. Its character 
and habits are similar to those of the brown 
bear of Europe, which is solitary and subsists 
on animal and vegetable foods. The cinnamon 
bear has a color much like cinnamon and re¬ 


sembles the black bear in its habits. The polar 
bear inhabits the northern portions of America 
and Eurasia. This species is white and of 
large size, some species being as large as a 
horse and weighing 1,400 pounds. It hibernates 
in the winter season, usually in a deep hole 
dug in the snow or hillside. It lives near the 
sea or lakes, since it depends upon sea birds, 
seals, and fish for its principal food. In South¬ 
ern Asia the Malayan bear is found. It is 
the smallest of the bears and lives exclusively 
on insects and vegetables and vegetable fruits. 

The bear is a cunning animal, both in obtain¬ 
ing its food and in its habits when trained. In 
a wild state it often watches other animals 
from behind shelter, such as a rock or a tree, 
where it carefully studies their habits, and em¬ 
ploys ingenious 'devices whereby it may make 
a capture. Under training the bear becomes 
skilled in many arts of amusement and exhi¬ 
bition. It can be taught to carry a gun like a 
soldier, to dance to music, to beat a drum, and 
to perform various capers, and, therefore, is 
employed to a considerable extent in shows and 
exhibitions of trained wild animals. The clumsy 
motions, grave manners, and solemn face make 
its actions interesting. However, it loses none 
of its cunning in captivity, and has learned to 
secure rare bits of food from manager and 
spectators as compensation for exhibiting its 
best skill. 

The bear is hunted for its fur and flesh. 
Rugs, robes, and overcoats are made of the 
fur, which has become very expensive within 
recent years. The flesh is eaten and the fat 
is used in making bear’s grease. Ornaments 
are made of the teeth and claws. 

BEAR, Great and Little, known in 
astronomy as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, 
two constellations in the northern sky near the 
north star. Ursa Major contains 138 stars 
visible to the naked eye. Among them are 
seven stars—six of the second and one of the 
fourth magnitude—which form the Great Dip¬ 
per. Ursa Minor contains twenty-four stars, 
seven of which constitute the Little Dipper, and 
at its handle is Polaris, known from time 
immemorial as the North Polar Star. The lat¬ 
ter was called Cynosure by the Greeks, and be¬ 
fore the invention of the mariner’s compass it 
was the star 

“Whose faithful beams conduct the wandering ship 
Through the wide desert of the pathless deep.” 

BEAR and BULL, two terms applied in the 
stock exchange and at the board of trade. They 
were first used in London with reference to two 
parties having contracted, the one to deliver 
and the other to take stock at a future time 


BEARBERRY 


214 


BEAVER 


at a specified price, and in the intervening time 
the party to deliver sought to depress the price 
and the party to receive sought to raise the 
value. From this circumstance the former came 
to be called a bear, in allusion to the habit of 
that animal to pull down with its paws, and 
the latter a bull, from the custom of that ani¬ 
mal to throw up its horns. At present the term 
is used very generally in America and Europe. 
Those who wish to lower the price are said 
to bear stock, and those who wish to raise it, 
bull stock. 

BEARBERRY (bar'ber-ry), a small shrub 
native to America and Eurasia, and found 
widely distributed in Canada and the northern 
part of the United States. It has evergreen 
leaves and produces red berries, which are 
eaten by wild fowl and other wild animals, 
especially the bear, hence the name. Some 
species are used in medicine as an astringent 
tonic. 

BEARD (berd), the hair on the lower part 
the face of a man, which appears at the age of 
puberty. Its color is usually lighter than the 
hair of the head. It is a protection against cold, 
and serves in preventing dust from being in¬ 
haled. Among ancients a long beard was a 
mark of manliness, and slaves were deprived of 
beards, though Alexander the Great required 
his army to shave. The barber’s art was first 
introduced in Rome about 300 b. c. The Nor¬ 
mans, at the time of their invasion of England, 
shaved the entire face and part of the back of 
the head. Louis XIII. of France was not 
endowed by nature with a beard, and during 
his time ornamental trimming of the beard 
and mustache became general in France, and 
thence spread over the continent. In the 16th 
century clergymen generally wore long beards, 
a custom still common among the priests of 
Western Asia. The face was wholly shaven at 
the beginning of thp 18th century, but the prac¬ 
tice of wearing beards and mustaches was again 
inaugurated by France in the early part of 
the last century, and the custom is now quite 
general. 

BEAR LAKE, Great. See Great Bear 
Lake. 

BEAR RIVER, a river of northern Utah 
and southern Idaho. It rises in Summit 
County, Utah, in the Uinta Mountains, flows 
north into Idaho, and after a circuitous course 
of about 400 miles discharges into Bear River 
Bay, an inlet from Great Salt Lake. It is 
geologically an interesting stream and passes 
through a region greatly diversified by moun¬ 
tains and desert tracts of land. The Oregon 
Short Line Railway follows the valley through 


a portion of Wyoming and Idaho. In Bear 
Lake County, Idaho, it passes through the 
northern extremity of North Lake, which is 
considered a part of Bear Lake lying immedi¬ 
ately south. 

BEATRICE (be'a-tris), county seat of 
Gage County, Nebraska, on the Big Blue River, 
about forty miles south of Lincoln, on the Chi¬ 
cago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Union 
Pacific, the Burlington Route, and other rail¬ 
roads. Besides numerous substantial build¬ 
ings, it has a fine stone courthouse, a Fed¬ 
eral building, and a public library. The city 
has excellent public schools and a business 
college, and is the seat of the Nebraska Insti- 
tion for Feeble-Minded Youths. It is noted for 
its quarries of magnesian limestone, which is 
used largely for building material. The manu¬ 
factures consist of clothing, cigars, and machin¬ 
ery. Large quantities of cereals and live stock 
are shipped to eastern and southern markets. 
Population, 1900, 7,875. 

BEAUMONT (bo'mont), a city in Texas, 
county seat of Jefferson County, on the Neches 
River. It is situated on gently rolling ground 
and has transportation facilities by the Kansas 
City Southern, the Texas and New Orleans, 
and other railroads. The surrounding country 
contains productive deposits of petroleum and 
natural gas, which take high rank among the 
most important of America. The chief build¬ 
ings include the county courthouse, the central 
high school, the post office, the public library, 
and many churches. It has electric street rail¬ 
ways and other municipal improvements, and is 
an important market for, petroleum, lumber, 
and farm produce. The manufactures include 
lumber products, machinery, cigars, flour, uten¬ 
sils, and clothing. Its rapid growth dates from 
the discovery of petroleum in 1901. Population, 
1900, 9,427. 

BEAUVAIS (bo-va/), a city in France, cap¬ 
ital of the department of Oise, on the Therian 
River, forty-one miles northwest of Paris. It is 
nicely situated in a fertile valley and has manu¬ 
factures ,of Goeblin tapestry, woolen goods, car¬ 
pets, and cotton textiles. Railroad and electric 
facilities are among its improvements. The 
chief building is the cathedral of Saint Pierre, 
in the Gothic style, but it is not entirely finished. 
Beauvais was besieged in 1472 by Charles the 
Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who was repulsed 
after a heroic defense under the leadership of 
the heroine Jeanne Laine. Population, 1901, 
17,265. 

BEAVER (be'ver), a rodent quadruped val¬ 
ued for its fur. The body is about two feet 
long, has a flat, scaly tail ten inches long, and 


BEAVER 


215 


BED 


weighs from thirty to sixty pounds. Its color 
is chestnut or reddish-brown, but sometimes 
black ones are found, and some are white. The 
feet have five toes. The fore feet are designed 
for work in preparing material for habitations, 
and the hind feet are webbed for swimming. 
Beavers are found mostly in the northern parts 
of North America and Eurasia, but small colo¬ 
nies still exist in Central Europe. They are 
most numerous in the northwestern parts of 
North America and Central Russia, but for¬ 
merly they were very common in all parts of 
these divisions. 

Beavers are classed among the semi-aquatic 
animals that live near lakes, rivers, and other 
waters where trees and shrubs abound. Their 
houses are built at the edge of the water, and 
they dam bodies of water that are sufficiently 
shallow to freeze solid in the winter, in order 
to increase the water mass and* thus prevent it 
from freezing to the bottom. These dams are 



constructed of small trees, stones, and grasses 
mixed with mud. The mud is put on with the 
feet and smoothed down by the tail, which 
resembles a trowel. They are skillful at cutting 
down trees, even as thick as one foot in diam¬ 
eter, and usually cut in largely from the side 
near the water so as to cause the tree to fall in 
that direction. Their work is done at night. 
They subsist on roots, bark, and water plants, 
of which they lay by a sufficient supply for the 
winter. 

The beaver is valuable for its fur, which is 
used for ladies’ cloaks, for dress trimmings, 
and for men’s collars and gloves. In the 17th 
century beaver fur was used largely in the 
manufacture of men’s hats, from which high 
hats came to be called beavers. Similar hats 
are now made with silk plush covering. In the 
early part of the last -century fully 200,000 
beaver skins were exported annually from 
America, but the trade has become greatly lim¬ 
ited, owing to a general destruction of the 


beaver in settled districts. The meat of the 
beaver is prized as an article of food, but the 
tail is a delicacy. The animal yields an anti- 
spasmodic medicine. 

BEAVERDAM, a city of Wisconsin, in 
Dodge County, about sixty miles northwest of 
Milwaukee, on the Chicago, Milwaukee and 
Saint Paul Railroad. It is beautifully situated 
on Beaver Lake, near the outlet, which fur¬ 
nishes water power. It has a public library 
and is the seat of Wayland Academy. The 
manufactures include flour, hardware, machin¬ 
ery, cigars, and farming utensils. It was set¬ 
tled in 1841 and incorporated in 1856. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 5,615. 

BEAVER FALLS, county seat of Beaver 
County, Pennsylvania, on Beaver River, near 
its junction with the Ohio, thirty miles north¬ 
west of Pittsburg. It is located in a fertile 
district, which produces cereals and live stock, 
and is on the Erie and the Pennsylvania rail¬ 
roads. The city has an abundance of water 
power, and coal and natural gas are obtained in 
the vicinity. The manufactures include cars, 
fence wire, ironware, stoves, machinery, flour, 
and farming implements. The chief buildings 
include the county court house, the public 
library, and Geneva College. It was formerly 
called Brighton. Population, 1900, 10,054. 

BECHUANA (bech-do-a'na), a race of peo¬ 
ple that occupy the interior part of South 
Africa, including the region north of Cape 
Colony and a large part of the Kalahari Desert. 
They have frizzled hair, but not kinky, thick 
lips and nostrils, and are of a dark brown or 
bronze color. The language spoken belongs to 
the Bantu family and is copious and expressive. 
Their chief occupation is cattle raising and agri¬ 
culture,. and they engage in a small way in 
mining and manufacturing. In the mode of life 
they are not nomadic, but live in villages. The 
section occupied by them is known as Bechuana- 
land, which was long a crown colony of En¬ 
gland, but was annexed to Cape Colony in 1895. 
See Cape Colony. 

BED, an article of household furniture in 
which to sleep. Savages sleep on the ground 
or on skins of animals, while the Japanese sleep 
on mattresses, using a wooden rest for their 
heads which closely fits to the neck, and the 
Chinese use low bedsteads generally elevated 
only a small distance above the floor. The beds 
used in America are similar to those common to 
Europe. They consist of a mattress supported 
from the ground by a bedstead. Some use fold¬ 
ing beds, which serve for beds at night and 
articles of furniture in the daytime. In former 
times feathers were the principal articles used 






BED 


216 


BEE 


in making beds and bed coverings, and they are 
still used, but mattresses now form one of the 
chief articles used for bedding. Bedsteads were 
formerly made exclusively of wood; now they 
consist largely of iron frames with steel springs 
covered with mattresses. The best mattresses 
are made of horsehair, while cheaper grades 
are made of shavings of paper and wood. 

BED, or Stratum, in geology, a layer of 
stratified sedimentary rock of similar materials. 
Formations of this kind are due to the ebb and 
flow of the tide, and to the movement of silt or 
material deposited by rivers and the action of 
waves. The strata differ materially, consisting 
of several layers or of single sheets or beds. A 
thin layer is called lamina or seam, and where 
several beds of the same kind of rock are de¬ 
posited the aggregate is termed a formation. 

BEDBUG (bed'bug), an insect found in 
pigeon houses, nests of swallows and bats, and 
in beds. It hides away in the daytime and comesr 
out to seek its food at night. The body is flat 
and the head small. The younger insects are 
almost white, while the adults have a reddish 
color. Their food consists largely of blood 
drawn from the body by pricking through the 
skin and sucking it out. Bedbugs are eaten 
by cockroaches, by which they are killed in large 
numbers. 

BEDFORD (bed'ferd), a town in England, 
capital of Bedfordshire, forty-five miles north¬ 
west of London. It is pleasantly situated on the 
Ouse River and has railway facilities. The pub¬ 
lic buildings include a library, a prison, an insane 
asylum, and a fine Gothic church. Ironware is 
manufactured extensively, especially farming 
implements,' and it has a large trade in lace, 
corn, and straw hats. Near the town is Elstow, 
the village where John Bunyan was born, and 
he wrote his “Pilgrim’s Progress” while a pris¬ 
oner in the town jail of Bedford. Population, 
1901, 35,114. 

BEDFORD, county seat of Lawrence Coun¬ 
ty, Indiana, in the southern part of the State, 
on the Baltimore and Ohio and other railroads. 
In its vicinity are important deposits of lime¬ 
stone, which is quarried extensively for building 
purposes. It has railroad shops, roundhouses, 
machine shops, and other industries. The city 
has a considerable trade and fine public build¬ 
ings, and is the seat of Bedford College. It was 
settled in 1756 and incorporated in 1817. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1900, 6,115. 

BEDLAM (bed'lam), or Bethlehem, a cele¬ 
brated hospital for the insane in London. It 
was formerly the priory of Saint Mary of Beth¬ 
lehem, and was converted into an asylum in 
1647. The patients were removed to Saint 


George’s Fields in 1814, where the accommoda¬ 
tions are first class. Bedlam became notorious 
because the inmates were treated very brutally, 
hence the name is synonymous with a place of 
uproar or wild confusion. 

BEDLOE’S ISLAND (bed'loz), so named 
from the former owner, and secured as property 
of the government in 1800. It is located in New 
York Harbor, within the corporate limits of 
New York City, about one mile southwest of the 
Battery. The area is thirteen acres. In 1841 
the government erected a fort upon it, known 
as Fort Wood, and in 1884 it became the site of 
the statue of “Liberty Enlightening the World.” 

BEDOUINS (bed'oo-enz), meaning dwellers 
in the desert, a Mohammedan people of the 
Arab race who lead a wandering life in the 
deserts of Northern Africa and Western Asia. 
Originally they were confined to the deserts of 
Arabia, but at’ the present time they occupy 
many regions. They engage in the occupation 
of shepherds, horse breeders, and herdsmen, 
and often secure means of subsistence by rob¬ 
bery and plunder. Their government is in fam¬ 
ilies under shieks, or tribes under emirs. Though 
ignorant of written books, they know history 
by tradition, most of which relates to the gene¬ 
alogy of their own people. The men dress in 
long shirt-skirts, protect their feet with sandals, 
and wear red and yellow handkerchiefs to cover 
their heads. They manufacture their own 
material for clothing, subsist largely from their 
herds, and eat locusts, rice, honey, and the flesh 
of small animals. Some tribes are advanced 
in agriculture and have fixed homes. The lance 
is the weapon in general use among the Bedouin 
tribes. 

BEE, the name of any one of a large group 
o‘f insects, of which the honeybee is the most 
important representative. In the classification 
of Linnaeus, all the insects of this group were 
assigned to the genus Apis, but this. term is 
now generally restricted to the honeybee, and 
the group is classified as two families, the Api- 
dae and the Andrenidae. In general, it may be 
said of bees that the head and thorax have 
feathery hairs, the hind feet are flattened, and 
the tongue is fitted to lap the nectar of flowers. 
Probably about 5,000 species are included in the 
group. The honeybee is considered the most 
intelligent of the insects. Owing to its indus¬ 
try and the useful product resulting from its 
labor, it has from remote times attracted gen¬ 
eral attention and interest. It is probable that 
more has been written about bees than about 
any nation of people. At present they abound 
in almost all parts of the world, except in 
extremely cold regions. 


BEE 


217 


BEE 


The Honeybee. The honeybee lives in com¬ 
munities or swarms made up of three classes: 
queens, workers, and males. The workers are 
females whose generative organs are imper¬ 
fectly developed and they rarely produce eggs. 
In each swarm there is but one true female, 
called the queen. She is impregnated by the 
male while in the air and never leaves the hive 
at any other time, except when swarming. A 
few days after impregnation she begins to lay 
the eggs, one in each cell, and some days she 
deposits as many as 3,000. The queen bee is 
longer than either the males or the workers 



A. Drone; B, Queen: C, Worker; D, Deg of Worker; 
B, Cells for Honey. 


and can be easily distinguished from the others. 
The males are called drones from the low hum¬ 
ming sound which they make in their flight. 
They do not work and average usually about 
one drone to every thirty bees. All the work of 
the society is done by the workers. They gather 
the honey, make the wax, build the cells, and 
feed and take care of the young. After the 
swarming season is over, they kill or expel the 
drones, as if to economize the food which they 
lay up for winter. 

The eggs are deposited in different cells, some 
for workers, and others for drones and queens. 
The eggs produce small white larvae in about 
three days. They are fed with pollen or dust of 
flowers mixed with water and honey by the 
workers. After being fed five or six days, 
they begin to spin a cocoon around themselves. 
The young bees mature from the cocoon in 
about sixteen days. The queen bee inspects 
the size of the hive and the number of young 
queens about to leave the cocoons, and if she 
finds, the swarm small the young queens are 
killed, but if the society is large one is permit¬ 
ted to come out. 

When the young queen appears, the old queen 
goes from the hive and takes with her a part 
of the bees, forming a new community. This 
is called swarming and takes place in the sum¬ 
mer season; in the temperate climates this 


occurs two or three times each season. The 
new swarm may be easily secured by watching 
the society in the swarming season, and keeping 
an empty hive near by, in which the bees will 
soon begin to make honeycomb and deposit 
honey. But if no such hive is provided, and in 
timber districts where communities live in trees, 
the new swarm moves from place to place until 
it finds a hollow tree or some suitable place in 
which to found its home. The old hive is gov¬ 
erned by the new queen until another queen 
appears, when she forms a swarm and seeks a 
new location. In cases where two queens come 
out at the same time, as they sometimes do, 
they fight each other until one of them is killed. 

Bees are very active and strong. They make 
flights to gather food at great distances, which 
they easily endure without stopping to rest. 
When they are some distance from the hive, 
they fly up into the air to observe the direction, 
and then take the shortest line for the hive. In 
timber districts, where bees hive in trees, they 
seek water at the brooks, and their location may 
be found easily by observing the direction in 
which they fly after leaving the brook, or the 
flower where they gathered food. From this 
habit of bees we have the term bee line. The 
workers and queens each have stings in the 
back of the body, while the drones are sting¬ 
less. The sting of a bee is effected by making 
a wound with a sheath, into which poison is 
injected and a dart is thrust in to deepen the 



OLD STYLE BEE HIVE. 


wound. When the sting is lost, the bee dies. 
Insects die from the effect of a bee sting, while 
man and animals have been killed by the at¬ 
tacks of large swarms. The health of bees is 
remarkable and their diseases are few. The 
greatest cause of harm is want of good sanita¬ 
tion, too close confinement, dampness, and want 
of ventilation. In caring for bees it is neces¬ 
sary to provide them with abundant pasture. 
New swarms should be fed with syrup. An 
abundant supply of water is essential to good 
health. 












BEE 


218 


BEEF 


Pollen and the sweet juices of flowers are 
the food of bees. They go from flower to flower 
and gather the pollen on the hairs of their 
legs, while the sweet juices of flowers are taken 
up by the trunk. The trunk is made up of sev¬ 
eral divisions so it can be turned easily, bent, 
shortened, or lengthened to fit the flower cup, 
which enables them to easily gather the sweets. 
The front legs and trunk serve to gather juices 
and pollen from flowers not full blown. The 
juices are passed from the trunk into a kind of 
stomach or honey-bag, where they are changed 
into honey. This stomach serves only for the 
purpose of making honey, as they possess a sec¬ 
ond stomach for the digestion of food. The 
stomach for honey is so constructed that its con¬ 
tents may be utilized at any time for storing 
in the cells or feeding the young. The workers 
make the wax by a process of growth on the 
back part of the body, where a pouch is located 
filled with wax sticks, from which it is taken by 
the bees and used in making honeycomb. The 
honeycomb is constructed of cells, some being 
used for honey and others for eggs. These 
cells are in the form of a hexagon, which form 
serves the best purpose and economizes space. 

The cells in which honey is deposited are 
slightly larger than those intended for hatching, 
and are constructed nearly horizontally, which 
admits of easy filling, and the honey is retained 
in the cells chiefly by capillary attraction. In 
constructing honeycomb the bees begin at the 
top of the hive and build downward, placing 
cells back to back in the process of construction. 
When the cells are filled with honey they are 
carefully sealed up with wax to prevent it from 
escaping. In the construction of honeycomb 
the entire space is utilized, with here and there 
small openings to allow the passage to and from 
the different parts of the hive. Large bee¬ 
keepers supply the hive with small frames con¬ 
taining the foundations for honeycomb, which, 
when filled with honey, are taken from the 
hive, put in a honey extractor, and the frame 
with the comb is afterward put back into the 
hive. In this way the bees are enabled to use 
one set of comb a number of times, -thereby 
increasing their production of honey. Many 
bee-keepers feed their bees with syrup, more or 
less, the entire year, thereby maintaining the 
swarm and utilizing practically all the honey 
production. A fair-sized community includes 
one queen, from five to eight hundred drones, 
and from fifteen thousand to twenty-two thou¬ 
sand workers. The weight of a good swarm is 
from six to ten pounds. 

Classification. Bees have been variously 
classified according to their habits. The newest 


classification, which has been suggested by W. 
H. Ashmead of the United States Museum, 
divides them into fourteen groups. Of these 
the first two, the honeybee and the bumblebee, 
are called social in their habits, because they 
live in communities. All other bees are solitary 
in their habits, ^ch one living and working 
alone. They include some very interesting spe¬ 
cies, such as the leaf-cutting bee, which cuts 
off the leaves of plants to line its nest. Another 
is the carpenter bee, which bores tunnels into 
the stems of pithy plants, such as the brambles, 
in which the eggs are laid. The mason bee 
builds its nests of mud or moistened clay. 
Bees as a whole are extremely useful in the 
cross fertilization, since they carry the pollen as 
they pass from bloom to bloom. Indeed, clover 
can be grown successfully only where this work 
is done by bees. 

BEECH (bech), a useful and well known 
deciduous tree of America and Eurasia. It 
grows to a height of about one hundred feet and 
a diameter of four feet, and is a fine orna¬ 
mental tree, especially when standing alone. Its 
wood is solid, but brittle, and when exposed to 
air rots easily or is eaten by worms. Under 
water it is very durable, and thus serves a good 
purpose in constructing sluices and water mills. 
In France it is used in the manufacture of 
wooden shoes, and in many countries for fur¬ 
niture. The fruit is a three-sided nut and is 
used as a substitute in making coffee and a 
kind of bread. In some countries the fruit is 
pressed to express the oil, known as beech oil, 
which serves for food and lighting purposes. 
The common species include the white beech, 
red beech, and copper beech. Large beech for¬ 
ests were abundant in England and Western 
Europe in ancient times, where herds of swine 
were fed on the fruit. 

BEE-EATER (be'et-er), the name applied 
to several birds related to the kingfisher. They 
have long wings and a greenish color, resemble 
swallows in flight, and prey upon wasps, bees, 
and other insects. Their nests are built in 
holes, which they construct in river banks or 
on the seaside. In many places, especially on 
the Volga and Don, they have honeycombed the 
banks by excavations. In some countries they 
are a pest on account of their destruction of 
bees, which they catch on the wing. Their 
feathers are valuable as an article for orna¬ 
ments. 

BEEb (bef), the fl^sh of the ox or cow, 
used either fresh or salted. It is the most nutri¬ 
tious of all meats, and is well adapted to the 
most delicate constitutions. A beefsteak is 
known by the part of the animal from which 


BEEFEATER 


219 


BEER 


il is taken, as rib, sirloin, or round. Porter¬ 
house, sirloin, and prime are considered the 
best cuts. The best quality comes from well- 
fed animals. The cut edge of good beef is 
bright red in color, and should be of a uniform 
tint, except where marked by fat and connective 
tissues. It loses twenty per cent, of its weight 
in roasting and thirty per cent, in boiling. In 
the raw state it contains fifty per cent..of water. 
It possesses the greatest amount of nutrition 
when fresh, but is preserved by canning, salting, 
drying, and many other ways with good results. 
Beef producing and beef packing are two highly 
important industries in the United States and 
Canada. 

BEEFEATER, the name of a bird of the 
starling family, native to South Africa. It 
associates with the buffalo, camel, and cattle, 
and feeds upon the larvae of flies. Birds of 
this class are sometimes called ox-peckers. 
The name “beefeaters” has been applied for 
many years to the yeomen of the royal guard in 
Great Britain. Their costume is in the fashion 
of the time of Henry VII. and has been changed 
but slightly for four centuries. 

BEEF EXTRACT, an article of diet 
obtained by extracting the juice of beef and 
then evaporating the water. It is prepared by 
placing the meat in a large kettle with a dome¬ 
shaped cover, and extracting the juice by heat. 
An outer jacket, filled with water, surrounds 
the lower part of the kettle, serving to apply 
the heat uniformly, and after the juice is drawn 
off it is strained and put into jars or cans and 
sealed hermetically. Beef extract has about 
forty times the nutriment of beef, and is impor¬ 
tant as a food for infants and invalids. It is 
prepared for service in the form of soup or 
beef tea. 

BEER (ber), a beverage prepared by means 
of a process of fermentation from malt, hops, 
and water. The malt for general manufacture 
is made of barley, but wheat, oats, rye, corn, 
and India rice are used to some extent. The 
different kinds of beer are usually classed as 
porter and ale; the latter is prepared chiefly 
from pale malt and has a pale amber color, 
while the former is prepared by using a portion 
of roasted or black malt along with the pale 
malt. This has the effect of giving porter a 
somewhat bitter flavor and a darker color. 
These two classes are again , subdivided into a 
great many varieties, depending upon the 
strength of the hops and the malt added. Mild 
ale, bitter ale, barley wine, pale ale, and table 
beer are terms by which the different varieties 
are known. 

From history we learn that beer was a well 


known beverage among the Egyptians 3,000 
years b. c., and was extensively manufactured 
by the early nations. Larger quantities of it are 
consumed than of any other beverage. In its 
manufacture Germany ranks first, Great Brit¬ 
ain second, and the United States third. In 
the United States there are over 2,000 brew¬ 
eries that manufacture annually over 40,000,000 
barrels, which is largely consumed within the 
country, together with several varieties im¬ 
ported from Europe. The consumption of beer 
in the United States averages about fifteen 
gallons for each person, while the consumption 
in some of the. countries of Europe is much 
larger. In Belgium the consumption per capita 
is fifty-one gallons; in Great Britain, thirty-six, 
and in Germany, thirty. 

The process of making beer is called brewing. 
The first step in the process is to place the bar¬ 
ley or cereal in an iron cistern, where it is 
soaked or steeped from 70 to 95 hours, when 
the water is drawn off and the barley placed on 
the floor of a dark room, where it swells and 
sprouts as if planted in the ground. This proc¬ 
ess is called germination. When the little 
sprouts have grown about half an inch long, the 
largest possible quantity of sugar has been 
formed. The malt is then taken to a drying 
kiln, where it is dried for a period depending 
upon the kind of beer to be made. In making 
light-colored ales the malt is dried only a short 
time, while in darker colored ales a longer time 
is allowed; this depends entirely upon the 
strength and color desired. After the malt is 
dried, it is crushed and mixed with hot water in 
a mash tub. Here another change takes place, 
by which the starch is converted into sugar, 
called grape sugar. After a few hours the 
liquid, now called sweet wort, is drawn off and 
boiled with hops in a copper kettle. It is next 
strained and cooled and put into a fermenting 
tun, where a little yeast is added, which causes 
it to froth and bubble up, which indicates that 
an important change is taking place; that is, 
the sugar is changed by the action of the yeast 
into carbonic acid and alcohol. 

Beer contains from one to ten per cent, of 
alcohol, the quantity depending of course upon 
the amount of sugar contained in the malt. 
Any liquor which has passed through the change 
of fermentation is known as fermented liquor. 
When this process has been completed, the 
beer is drawn off into hogsheads and allowed 
to settle. From this it is pumped into kegs or 
barrels and stored in cellars for use. While 
stored, fermentation goes on slowly for some 
time; the beer remaining in this state for a 
long time is called lager beer, meaning, in Ger- 


BEERSHEBA 


220 


BEETLE 


man, stored beer, and the beer used immediately 
after fermentation is called schcnk beer. The 
process differs somewhat in different breweries, 
but the general method is practically the same. 
The largest breweries in the United States are 
located at Saint Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, 
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York. Mon¬ 
treal and Toronto are leading brewing centers 
of Canada. 

BEERSHEBA (be-er'she-ba), meaning well 
of the oath, a locality about fifty miles south¬ 
west of Jerusalem, now called Bir-es-Se-ba. 
At this place Abraham made an alliance with 
Abimelech, the Philistine King of Gerar, which 
he ratified with an oath and a valuable gift of 
lambs. It was a place of some importance down 
to the Crusades, but now is a dismal ruin. 

BEESWAX (bez'waks), the fatty substance 
secreted by bees and used by them in construct¬ 
ing the honeycomb. It is not collected from 
plants, but is a secretion elaborated within the 
body of the animal from saccharine matter or 
honey, and extruded in scales from beneath the 
rings of the abdomen. It is an article of com¬ 
merce, useful in modeling, for candles, and 
divers other purposes. Before being put on the 
market, it is purified and bleached or whitened. 

BEET (bet), a well known vegetable valued 
as food owing to the large quantities of sugar 
it contains. Four kinds of this vegetable are 



RED BEET. SUGAR BEET. 


cultivated—the common beet, the chard, the sea 
beet, and the mangel-wurzel. The common beet 
embraces several species, differing in size, color, 
and shape. The yellow and red beets, usually 
classed as common beets, are the best for table 
use, though the chard is a favorite among 
laborers and agriculturists in France and Ger¬ 


many. Gardeners cultivate the sea beet largely 
for greens. The mangel-wurzel is a coarse, 
large beet. It is sweet and nutritious, and is 
stored in cellars for winter use as cattle feed. 
The white beet is used in the manufacture of 
sugar. 

In 1810 Napoleon began to encourage the 
manufacture of sugar from beets, but the in¬ 
dustry developed largely from the discoveries 
of Count" von Arnim (q. v.). Since then large 
quantities of sugar have been manufactured in 
Europe from this vegetable, particularly in the 
German Empire. In the United States experi¬ 
ments in beet sugar manufacture were not ex¬ 
tensively made until 1890, when the Department 
of Agriculture at Washington sent 5,000 pack¬ 
ages of beet seed to different parts of the 
country for the purpose of experimenting in 
different localities. These seeds were distri¬ 
buted through twenty-eight states and territor¬ 
ies, with directions for planting and the culture 
of the plant. After maturing the crop, about 
1,000 localities sent samples to Washington to 
be used in making tests of their value in beet 
sugar manufacture. It was found by careful 
examination that a zone about 200 miles wide, 
extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
through portions of New York, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, 
possesses admirable qualities to develop this 
industry. California produces more beet sugar 
than any other State, while Washington, 
Nebraska, Kansas, Utah, and Colorado rank 
high. It is thought that by the larger develop¬ 
ment of the beet sugar industry the United 
States will be able to produce sufficient quan¬ 
tities of this product to supply.the demand of 
the domestic market. California alone has suffi¬ 
cient available territory to produce all the sugar 
now imported, and many other states possess 
almost equal natural advantages. Canada has a 
large area of land suitable for the culture of the 
sugar beet, particularly in British Columbia, 
Ontario, and Alberta. The industry is de¬ 
veloped most extensively in Ontario. 

BEETLE (be't’l), an order of insects called 
by naturalists Coleoptcra, which means sheathed 
wings. They possess four wings, an inferior 
pair, which are the real wings used in flying, 
and a superior pair that form a protection for 
the others. In walking they appear to have 
no wings, so nicely are the real wings covered 
and protected. The real wings are membra¬ 
nous, while the wing covers are horny, often 
beautified by green, yellow, blue, and diversified 
colors. There are no less than 150,000 species 
showing slight differences in color, size, form, 
or habits, of which fully 11,000 are native to 




BEETLE 


221 


BEGONIA 


the region of North America lying north of 
Mexico. They undergo three full stages in life. 
At first they are grubs or larvae, in which form 
they have three pairs of legs, horny heads, and 
wormlike bodies; those hatched in fruit and 
nuts have no legs. The second stage is entered 
after a case or cocoon has been prepared, 



a, larva; b. pupa; c. beetle. 


though a cocoon is not always provided. This 
is called the pupa state, in which many varieties 
lie for years before developing into beetles. 
Most species live on land, though there are a 
large number that live in wa¬ 
ter. Land beetles live under 
rocks, logs, or leaves, among 
stones, and in holes drilled in 
wood. 

Various beetles have been 
named from their size, form, 
and habits of life. The carrion 
beetles are those that feed 
upon dead animals. Scavenger 
beetles live on filth and refuse 
matter, and are provided with 
feet fitted to dig holes in the 
ground. Sexton beetles have 
a very strong scent so they can 
easily find the dead bodies of 
small animals, such as frogs, & 
snakes, and mice. These they 
take to a place where the 
ground is soft and bury them 
safely under cover. In these remains they 
deposit their eggs, and when the young are 
hatched they feed upon the food provided in 
this way. The ambrosia beetle, of which there 
are several species, bores in oak and other 
wood, often doing great damage. A class 


of beetles extensively known as tumble bugs 
belong to this class. In ancient Egypt they 
were called sacred beetles and were worshiped, 
for the reason that they are useful in clearing 
up manure and burying it below the surface. 
This they do by making round balls, in which 
they lay their eggs, and then bury them deep 
in the ground. Tiger beetles have stripes and 
are fierce in combat with other insects. They 
prey upon other beetles, flies, and caterpillars, 
and possess cannibalistic tendencies among 
themselves. The bombardier beetles possess a 
strong liquid, which they shoot at their enemies. 
Similar beetles include the spring beetles, 
horned bugs, and curculios. The last mentioned 
live in orchards and feed upon fruits and grains. 
The worms often found in plums, nuts, apples, 
and various other fruits are hatched from eggs 
laid by beetles. A species of beetle known as 
Spanish fly is used in making powder and 
blistering plasters. Other well known beetles 
are the potato bug, squash bug, oil beetle, lady¬ 
bird, glow worm, blister beetle, and firefly. See 
illustration below. 

BEGGAR (beg'ger), one who continually 
implores people for alms. The practice of 
begging may be a necessity with some aged and 
physically defective persons, while others en¬ 
gage in it from the dislike for work. In 1572 
a law of England provided a severe penalty for 
all able-bodied persons convicted of the 
offense. Laws prohibiting vagrancy are on 
b 


the statute books of many countries, the pur¬ 
pose being to prevent beggar vagrants from 
roaming over the country. 

BEGONIA (be-go'm-a), the name of a 
large family of plants, of which several spe¬ 
cies are cultivated in flower pots and green- 



OAK WOOD DAMAGED BY THE AMBROSIA BEETLE. 
a b, two species of beetles; c, log cut from damaged timber. 























BEHEMOTH 


222 


BELFAST 


houses. The plants are perennial and include 
both herbs and shrubs. Among the popular 
species grown in gardens as flowering plants 
are those known as Begonia, Beefsteak Gera¬ 
nium, and Glory of Lorraine. The flowers are 
largely pink or red. Young plants are raised 
from the seed, or they may be obtained by 



BEGONIA. 


dividing the bulbous roots and by cutting and 
placing the stems in the soil. Many varieties of 
fine flowers have been propagated from the 
tuber-root kind. 

BEHEMOTH (be'he-moth), a large animal 
described in the Bible (Job xl, 15-24). The de¬ 
scription-indicates that the animal referred to 
is grass-eating and lives in or near the water, 
hence it is thought the author referred to the 
hippopotamus. In Job xl, 25-31, it is associated 
with the leviathan. Some writers think that the 
crocodile, the ox, or the elephant was meant, 
while others associate the two names with 
primeval monsters. 

BEHISTUN (ba-his-toon'), or Bisutun, a 
town in Persia, located near a mountain of the 
same name, and celebrated for the remains of 
ancient sculptures and inscriptions found in the 
vicinity. The mountain has an altitude of 
1,700 feet, and the most remarkable inscrip¬ 
tion is in the limestone about 300 feet high. 
Sir Henry Rawlinson copied the inscription, 
which was made in the time of Darius I., 
King of Persia, about 518 b. c., and contains 
an account of his military triumphs. These 
inscriptions were jnade after polishing the rock 
and applying varnish harder than the lime¬ 
stone. The writing is in the cuneiform 
characters and in the Median, Persian, and 
Assyrian languages. 

BEHRING SEA. See Bering Sea. 


BEIRUT. See Beyrout. 

BEJAPOOR (be'ja-pdor), or Bijapur, a 
ruined city of India, in the presidency of 
Bombay, 245 miles southeast of Bombay. The 
site is on a tributary of the Kistna River, and 
surrounding it are lofty walls of hewn stone. 
Anciently the city was a great commercial 
center, and its downfall dates from 1686, when 
it was captured by Aurungzebe. The tomb of 
Mahomet Shah and other remains of Moham¬ 
medan construction are among the ruins, most 
of which indicate splendid workmanship and 
fine examples of eastern art. The modern 
town is not important and has a population of 
17,500. 

BEL AND THE DRAGON, a book of the 
Old Testament, belonging to the Apocrypha. 
The Roman Catholic Church regards it a 
canonical book of the Bible, and the Anglican, 
Lutheran, and a number of other churches 
recommend it to be studied for edification. It 
was probably written in Alexandria in the 
Greek, and dates from the 3rd century b. c. 
In the Vulgate version it Is part of the Book 
of Daniel. 

BELFAST (bel'fast), a city in Maine, 
county seat of Waldo County, thirty miles 
southwest of Bangor, on the Maine Central 
Railway. It has a good harbor on Penobscot 
Bay and railroad connection with the principal 
cities of the State. Shipbuilding, printing, and 
the manufacture of shoes and lumber products 
are among the chief industries. Granite quar¬ 
ries are worked near the city, and the surround¬ 
ing country is agricultural. A Masonic temple, 
a public library, and an Odd Fellows’ building 
are among the chief architectural structures. 
The first settlement on its site was made in 
1870 and its incorporation as a city dates from 
1850. Population, 1900, 4,615. 

BELFAST (bel-fast'), a city of Ireland, 
county seat of Antrim County, capital of the 
province of Ulster, about twelve miles from the 
Irish Sea. It has railway connection with the 
leading cities of Ireland, is on the Ulster Canal, 
and has a fine harbor on Belfast Lough. Near 
it flows the Lagan River, which is crossed by 
several bridges that connect the city with‘adja¬ 
cent villages. It occupies a fine site, but most 
of the ground is reclaimed marshland. The 
city is the seat of vast commercial and manu¬ 
facturing interests, the most important in Ire¬ 
land. Its products and exports consist of cot¬ 
ton and woolen goods, linen fabrics, ropes, 
canvas, ships, clothing, and machinery. It is 
the seat of fine schools and several institutions 
of higher learning, including Queen’s College 
and the Royal Academic Institution. Among 



BELGIUM 


223 


BELGIUM 


the chief buildings are the museum, the gov¬ 
ernment offices, the Corn Exchange, and the 
public library. It has extensive botanical 
gardens, electric street railways, and munici- 
- pal waterworks. The city is largely Protestant, 
among whom the Presbyterians predominate. 
Population, 1901, 349,180. 

BELGIUM (bergi-um), a kingdom of 
Europe, whose northern boundary is formed 
by Holland, eastern by Germany, southern by 
France, and western by the North Sea. In 
latitude it lies between 49° 30' and 51° 30- N., 
and in longitude 2° 33' and 6° 6' E. Its great¬ 
est length from southeast to northwest is 165 
miles; breadth, 120 miles. The circct is 11,373 
square miles. 

Physical Features. The surface is made 
up largely of fertile lowland, though there are 
some sandy and marshy tracts. A range of the 
Ardennes Mountains, highest altitude 2,200 
feet, traverses the section lying southeast of 
the Meuse River. From the southeastern 
part the surface inclines toward the northwest, 
where dikes are utilized to prevent overflows 
from the sea. An unfertile tract, the Campine, 
is in the northern part of the province of Ant¬ 
werp, but this has been greatly improved by 
superior husbandry. 

The Meuse and Scheldt rivers, though both 
rise in France, are important for drainage and 
navigation. The Dender, Lys, and Rupel are 
tributaries of the Scheldt, and the Lesse, Sam- 
bre, and Ourthe flow into the Meuse. Rainfall is 
abundant and the average temperature is about 
59° Fahr. In summer the climate is some¬ 
what hotter than in Great Britain, and the 
winters are longer and more severe. 

Coal is the chief mineral and is found in 
fields having an area of about 550 square miles, 
chiefly along the Sambre and Meuse rivers. 
Marble, slate, and limestone quarries are 
worked extensively in the eastern part. Other 
deposits worked more or less extensively in¬ 
clude copper, lead, iron, peat, and calamine. 

Agriculture. Agriculture has declined some¬ 
what with the development of other enterprises, 
in which capital and labor became interested. 
The demand for cereals and other farm prod¬ 
ucts is greater than the supply. All of the 
domesticated animals of' Europe are grown 
profitably, especially cattle, and the dairying 
interests have been developed very efficiently. 
Hogs, sheep, and horses are grown in all the 
provinces. Among the cereals may be men¬ 
tioned rye, which is grown most extensively, 
oats, barley, buckwheat, spelt, and sugar beets. 
The vine is cultivated on large tracts along the 
Mass River, and tobacco, hops, rape, flax, fruit, 


and vegetables are grown. About one-sixth of 
the surface is covered with forests, including 
beech, oak, elm, and poplar. Forestry is 
important as an enterprise, and the products 
have a high annual value. The fisheries of its 
coast and inland waters yield large returns. 

Manufactures. Manufacturing takes first 
rank among the industries of Belgium and is 
the chief source of its prosperity. Modern 
machinery is utilized extensively, but most of 
the work is done in small shops, in which only 
two or three workmen are employed. In 1908 
there were fully 80,000 establishments in the 
dwelling houses of workmen who carried on 
small manufacturing industries without any 
paid labor. Chief among the larger enterprises 
is the manufacture of textiles, both linen and 
woolen, and this industry is represented at 
Bruges, Brussels, Limburg, Ghent, Liege, and 
Mechlin. Carpets are made in large quantities 
at Brussels and Tourney, and Brussels and 
Bruges are centers for the manufacture of lace 
and fine lawn and damask fabrics. Other 
products ranging high in value are machinery, 
leather, chemicals, glass, furniture, clothing, 
jewelry, and spirituous liquors. Cheap fuel 
has caused the development of large steel and 
iron works, though the ores, are mostly im¬ 
ported. 

Transportation. A network of railroads 
covers the entire country, and in proportion 
to its area Belgium has the greatest railroad 
mileage in the world. In 1835 the first line, 
from Mechlin to Brussels, was open for traffic. 
The government owns nearly all of the rail¬ 
roads, which aggregate a total of over 3,000 
miles. Electric lines are operated in all the 
cities and many suburban districts. Canal 
transportation of much value is utilized, and 
the Meuse and Scheldt rivers are navigable 
throughout their entire length in Belgium. 
The import and export trade is carried largely 
through Ostend and Antwerp, and the im¬ 
ports have exceeded the exports for the past 
fifty years. France, Germany, Great Britain, 
the Netherlands, and the United States have 
the largest proportion of trade in the order 
named. 

Government. For the purpose of govern¬ 
ment Belgium is divided into the nine provinces 
of Limburg, Namur, Luxemburg, Brabant, Ant¬ 
werp, Liege, Hainaul, East Flanders, and West 
Flanders. The executive power of the nation is 
vested in the king, and the crown is hereditary 
in the direct male line of descent. A council 
of ministers responsible to the chambers assist 
the monarch, and every royal act must be 
validated by the signature of a minister. Chief 





BELGIUM 


224 


BELGRADE 


legislative power is vested in the king and the 
chambers, which consists of the senate and 
chamber of deputies. The senate has 102 
members, of whom fifty-six are appointed 
by the provincial councils and the remainder 
are elected by direct suffrage of male citizens. 
The chamber of deputies has 152 members, 
elected by direct suffrage, and in this branch 
originate all bills dealing with the revenue. 
Each province has a council chosen by direct 
vote, in which is vested the power to legislate 
in matters of local government. The provinces 
are divided into arrondissements, and these are 
again divided into smaller districts known as 
communes. Cases tried by the lower courts 
are subject to review by the court of cassation 
or supreme court. 

The standing army numbers '51,552 men, and 
the war footing is about 148,500. Wars of ag¬ 
gression are prohibited by the constitution, 
hence the army is intended only for national 
defense and the preservation of neutrality. 
The coins, weights, and measures correspond 
in name and value to those of France. 

Education. The church and state were 
separated by the constitution of 1831, but re¬ 
ligious instruction is directed in the public 
schools by the Roman Catholic clergy. Sup¬ 
port is given to the schools by the state and 
local governments, and the classes range from 
the elementary schools in the communes to 
the higher schools and universities. Higher 
education culminates in the state universities 
at Ghent and Liege, and free universities are 
maintained at Louvain and Brussels. In the 
higher institutions instruction is given in law, 
medicine, engineering, arts, and manufactures. 
Roman Catholic is the religion of most of the 
people, and this church maintains many paro¬ 
chial schools. 

Inhabitants. Belgium is so named from 
the people anciently called Belgae, who were 
of the ancient Celtic family. Two types make 
up the present population, those who descended 
directly from the ancient Belgae, and those 
who are a mixture of Celts and Germans. 
Flemish and French are spoken in the south¬ 
ern part, while German is the language of the 
northern section. However, these three are 
the national languages. Brussels, the capital, is 
a large and prosperous commercial center. 
Other cities of importance include Antwerp 
and Ostend, both important seaports, and 
Ghent, Bruges, Liege, Verviers, and Ixells. 
Belgium is the most densely populated country 
in Europe. Population, 1906, 7,238,622. 

History. Anciently Belgium was a part of 
Rome, when it was included in the territory 


known as Belgae. It was the battle ground 
and center of contention in many European 
wars, and its territory has belonged to many 
different nations. The Battle of Waterloo was 
fought in the province of Brabant, in 1815, 
after which it was united to Holland, the two 
countries forming the kingdom of the Nether¬ 
lands. In 1830 Belgium was separated from 
Holland and became a distinct kingdom, form¬ 
ing a constitutional monarchy. Prince Leopold 
of Saxe-Coburg was elected its first king, in 
1831, with the title of Leopold I. He was 
succeeded after a prosperous reign of thirty- 
four years by his son, Leopold II. At present 
its political parties are known as the Liberals 
and the Radicals, which are about evenly 
divided, and each has been in the ascendancy at 
different times. In 1885 King Leopold II. gave 
efficient and vigorous support to the explora¬ 
tions of Stanley in Central Africa, and consist¬ 
ently opposed the maintenance of slavery in that 
region. The Congo International Congress held 
at Berlin made his government the controlling 
influence in the Congo Free State, Belgium 
reserving the right of annexation after 1900. 
Albert, born April 8, 1875, son of the Count 
of Flanders, the brother of King Leopold, is 
the presumptive heir to the Gelgium throne. 
He married Princess Elizabeth of Bavaria in 
1900. 

BELGRADE (bel-grad'), the capital of 
Servia, called by the Turks “the House of the 
Holy War.” It occupies an important site at 
the junction of the Save and the Danube 
rivers, thus making it the southern key to the 
Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is connected by 
railroads with the countries to the north and 
south, and has a fine system of electric street 
railways. The chief buildings include the 
cathedral, the public library with 100,000 vol¬ 
umes, the national theater, the royal palace, 
and a number of fine churches. It has water¬ 
works, electric lights, pavements, a consider¬ 
able trade, and numerous manufactures. Sev¬ 
eral fine gardens and drives beautify, it, and 
statuary adorns its public places, among them, 
the statue of Prince Michael III. The Greeks 
were in possession of Belgrade until 1073, when 
it was captured by the Hungarians. Later it 
fell into the hands of the Bulgarians, Servians, 
Austrians, French, and Turks. In 1862 it 
became the capital of Servia, and was finally 
evacuated by the Turks in 1867. The Treaty 
of Berlin, in July, 1878, after the close of the 
war between Russia and Turkey, recognized 
Servia as an independent state, thus giving 
Belgrade considerable governmental advan¬ 
tages. The city is fast losing its Turkish ap- 


BELIEF 


225 


BELL 


pearance and partaking of European character* 
istics. Population, 1905, 77,816. 

BELIEF (be-lef'), the mental act or opera¬ 
tion of accepting as true and real any propo¬ 
sition on proof afforded by reasoning, or any 
alleged fact or opinion on evidence of testi¬ 
mony. It stands in opposition to the convic¬ 
tion that results from personal observation or 
experience, which is stronger than that resting 
on testimony or reasoning. The term belief is 
also used to express unwavering acceptance of 
anything as true. 

BELIZE (be-lez'), the capital of British 
Honduras, Central America, located on Hon¬ 
duras Bay, at the mouth of the Belize River. 
It is the center of a growing import and export 
trade in rosewood, cedar, logwood, mahogany, 
sugar, cocoanuts, and other tropical productions. 
The city is well built. It has extensive telegraph 
connections, a good harbor, and several fine 
schools and churches. Population, 1905, 9,113. 

BELL (bel), an instrument for producing a 
ringing sound, made chiefly of a kind of bronze 
called bell metal. It consists of a reversed cup, 
at the apex of which an ear or canon is formed, 
used for suspending it from a beam or some 
fixed body above. On the inside is a hammer 
or clapper, which generates the sound by per¬ 
cussion on the reversed side of the cup. In 
Exodus xxviii, 33-34, golden bells are men¬ 
tioned in connection with worship. The an¬ 
tiquity of bells is also shown by the discovery 
of Sir Austin Layard (1819-94) at the site of 
the ancient city of Nineveh, where he secured 
bells made of one part tin and ten parts cop¬ 
per. In Greece and Rome bells were used, not 
only in religious observances, but were com¬ 
mon at the markets, camps, and baths. Those 
made at an early date were of a comparatively 
small size until about the year 400 a. d., when 
the Bishop of Nola introduced the use of larger 
sizes in Campania. Their use in England began 
in the 7th century, and they were first cast in 
that country about 940, but in Ireland and Scot¬ 
land they were probably used at an earlier date. 
The great bell of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Lon¬ 
don was cast in 1882. It has a diameter of 9.07 
feet and weighs 35,470 pounds. The bell of 
Westminster, known as Big Ben, was cast in 
1856 and has a weight of 30,324 pounds. 

Bells are now in common use in churches, 
either singly or in a series, and are employed 
extensively in city buildings, at private houses, 
and in offices and hotels. Some bells are famous 
in history on account of their large size, beauty, 
and clearness, or some important historic event 
announced by their ringing. Among the most 
famous are the following: 


WHERE LOCATED. 


Cologne, Germany 
Halberstadt, Germany 

Rouen, France. 

Breslau, Germany. 

Lucerne, Switzerland. 

Paris, France. 

Vienna, Austria. 

Moscow, Russia. 

Montreal, Canada. 


WEIGHT 
IN TONS. 

WHEN 

MADE. 

11 

1448 

8 

1457 

16 

1501 

11 

1507 

8 

1680 

15 

1680 

18 

1711 

216 

1736 

14 

1847 


Several of these bells have been recast, nota¬ 
bly the Keiserklocke at Cologne, in 1875, which 
now weighs twenty-five tons. The great bell 
of Moscow is the largest ever made, and hung 



GREAT BELL OF MOSCOW. 

suspended only a short time, owing to a- fire. It 
now. serves as a dome to a chapel that was exca¬ 
vated below it. The famous Liberty Bell, which 
rung when the Declaration of Independence 
was issued in 1776, was made in 1751. Montreal, 
Canada, has the largest bell in America, weigh¬ 
ing thirteen and a half tons. 

The material used chiefly in making bells, 
known as bell metal, consists of an alloy of tin 
and copper with a little zinc and lead added. 
In England and Germany good results have 
been secured by casting bells of cast steel. Glass 
has been used with excellent results as to tone, 
but durability is wanting. Bells are cast in 
molds made of fine sand. The molten metal 
is drawn off from a great furnace into an 


15 












































BELLADONNA 


226 


BELLEVILLE 


earthen or crucible pot, which is swung by a 
crane. The molten metal is poured over the 
mold into a pit beneath the floor of the foundry. 
When the bell has been cast, it is drawn out of 
the pit and its rough places are finished 
with files and chisels. The size of the bells 
and their thickness depends upon the purpose 
they are to. serve. The small bells are propor¬ 
tional in weight to the larger ones, and are 
rung by means of ropes, which cause them to 
swing to and fro. Others are struck by hand, 
and some by means of a hammer on the out¬ 
side. Curfew bells are rung in some towns to 
warn the people that it is time to retire, fire bells 
give warning of and indicate the location of 
fire, and church bells call to service, or toll the 
announcement that death has visited the com- 



LIBERTY BELL, PHILADELPHIA. 

munity. Many churches in the larger cities 
have chimes, which consist of a set of bells, 
and the sounds produced are pleasing and musi¬ 
cal. The most recent inventions in bells in¬ 
clude electrical contrivances, such as are used 
for danger signals and to call attendants in 
hotels and offices. They provide both rapidity 
and convenience at short and long distances. 
Bells of this kind are constructed of two elec¬ 
tro-magnets, provided with an armature, to 
which a clapper is fixed that vibrates between 
two gongs. When an alternating current is 
generated, the attraction and repulsion of the 
armature causes the bell to ring. 

BELLADONNA (bel-la-don'na), or Dead¬ 
ly Nightshade, a plant native to Eurasia, but 
some species are now cultivated successfully in 
America. It is widely distributed over Europe, 


where it grows wild in forests, near fences, 
and in waste places. The berries are shining 
black and, like all parts of the plant, are very 
poisonous. Vinegar is an antidote to counter¬ 
act the effects of this poison. The plant at¬ 
tains a height of four or five feet. Its leaves, 
roots, and fruit are used in making medicine, 
which is useful in palsy, fevers, epilepsy, and 
other ailments. Some species are beautiful 
flowering plants. 

BELLAIRE (bel-ar'), a city of Belmont 
County, Ohio, five miles from Wheeling, 
W. Va., on the Ohio River. It is on the Penn¬ 
sylvania, the Baltimore and Ohio, and other 
railroads, and is important as an industrial and 
commercial center. Its has a public library 
and several fine school and church buildings. 
The manufactures include window glass, pig 
iron, farm machinery, nails, hardware, cigars, 
and clothing. Gas and electric lights, pave¬ 
ments, waterworks, and street railways are 
among the improvements. In the vicinity are 
extensive deposits of coal, clay, and lime¬ 
stone. Population, 1900, 9,912. 

BELLBIRD, a bird native to South Amer¬ 
ica and the West Indies, so named from the 
metallic sound of its voice, which resembles 
the tolling of a bell. The bill is broad and de¬ 
pressed and flexible at the base, and at the 
upper side is a tubular appendix about three 
inches in length. This hornlike growth stands 
erect when the bird becomes excited, or when 
it utters its note. A similar bird in found in 
Australia and New Zealand. 

BELLEFONTAINE (bel-fon'tan), a city 
in Ohio, county seat of Logan County, forty-five 
miles northwest of Columbus, on the Ohio Cen¬ 
tral and other railroads. It is located on the 
highest ground in the State. The chief buildings 
include the county courthouse, the high school, 
and several churches. Railroad machine shops, 
flouring mills, and carriage works are among 
the chief manufacturing establishments. It has 
a growing trade in farm produce and merchan¬ 
dise. The waterworks and lighting plants are 
municipal properties. The first settlement was 
made in 1818. Population, 1900, 6,649. 

BELLE ISLE, an island north of New¬ 
foundland, at the northern extremity of the 
Strait of Belle Isle. Much of the surface is 
rocky. The area is about fifteen square miles. 
At the southern extremity is a lighthouse 470 
feet high. The Strait of Belle Isle separates 
Newfoundland from Labrador, and is the con¬ 
necting link between the Atlantic and the Gulf 
of Saint Lawrence. 

BELLEVILLE (bel'vil), a city in Illinois, 
county seat of Saint Clair County, about four- 

















BELLEVILLE 227 

teen miles southeast of Saint Louis, on an ele¬ 
vated district in the midst of a fertile farm¬ 
ing country. It is on the Southern, the Illinois 
Central, and the Louisville and Nashville rail¬ 
roads. The city is a prosperous commercial 
and . manufacturing center, and has modern 
municipal facilities, and adjacent to it are pro¬ 
ductive coal mines. Its manufactures consist 
of ironware, woolen goods, fermented and dis¬ 
tilled liquors, flour, and machinery. It has 
a public library, the Saint Peter’s Cathedral, a 
fine courthouse, and a convent for the educa¬ 
tion of young ladies. The municipal improve¬ 
ments include electric street railways, brick 
and macadam pavements, and waterworks. The 
first settlement was made in 1814 and it was in¬ 
corporated in 1846. Population, 1910, 21,122. 

BELLEVILLE, a city in Ontario, Canada, 
and county seat of Hastings County, on the 
Grand Trunk Railroad. It is located on the 
Bay of Quinte, at the mouth of the Moira 
River, and is an important commercial center. 
The manufactures include ironware, clothing, 
fermented and distilled liquors, and dairy 
products. It is the seat of several educational 
institutions, including an asylum for the deaf 
and dumb and Albert University, founded in 
1857. The principal improvements include 
waterworks, sewerage, and street pavements. 
Population, 1901, 9,117. 

BELLEVUE (bel-vu), a city of Kentucky, 
in Campbell County, on the Ohio River, oppo¬ 
site Cincinnati, Ohio. It has a growing trade, 
is improved by good municipal facilities, and 
has several fine schools and church buildings. 
Many Cincinnati business men reside here. It 
was incorporated in 1871. Population, 1900, 
6,332.' 

BELLINGHAM (bel'ing-am), a city in 
Washington, county seat of Whatcom County, 
seventy-eight miles north of Seattle, on the 
Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, and other 
railroads. It is located on Bellingham Bay, an 
inlet from the Gulf of Georgia, and has a large 
coastwise trade. The harbor is safe and well 
improved. It is important as an export market 
for merchandise and produce. Sawmills, tan¬ 
neries, brickyards, flouring mills, and machine 
shops are among the leading manufacturing 
enterprises. The trade is largely in fruit, 
cereals, live stock, fish, and products from the 
farm and dairy. Coal mines, and stone quar¬ 
ries are operated in the vicinity, and the sur¬ 
rounding country is devoted to farming and 
fruit culture. It is the seat of a State normal 
school and has a public library, a substantial 
courthouse, and numerous schools and churches. 

The public improvements include a library, 


BELOIT 

waterworks, and electric street railways. Set¬ 
tlements were made in the vicinity in 1858 
and the town was named Whatcom. Bellingham 
dates from 1903 when Fairhaven and Whatcom 
were united to form the city. Population, 1900 
6,834; in 1910, 24,298. 

BELLOWS (bel'lus), a machine or instru¬ 
ment for producing a blast of air, used prin¬ 
cipally for blowing fires in furnaces, forges, 
and mines, or for filling pipe organs. It was 
used by the ancients, both nomadic and civil¬ 
ized. The common bellows are made by join¬ 
ing two wooden sides together with leather 
stretched entirely around, and so fastened that 
two handles moved back and forth cause air 
to be forced out through the nozzle. A valve 
on the side admits the air as the handles are 
moved apart, but closes when brought together. 
This results in the air being driven out with 
much force. More powerful instruments de¬ 
signed for factories or workshops are provided 
with machinery to obtain propulsive force. In 
the larger industrial establishments where large 
quantities of coal are burned fan-blast machines 
are used for the same purpose. They have the 
advantage of furnishing a continuous current of 
air. 

BELL ROCK, or Inch Cape, a reef of 
rocks in the North Sea, opposite the mouth 
of the Tay, about twelve miles from Arbroath 
Scotland. The danger of this reef to naviga¬ 
tion has been partly overcome by the erection 
of a large lighthouse, in 1810, under the direc¬ 
tion of Robert Stevenson. The lighthouse is 
120 feet high, has an alternating red and white 
revolving light, and is enforced by the ring¬ 
ing of two bells during storms. The reef, 
which is about 2,000 feet long, is partly uncov¬ 
ered at spring tides. 

BELOIT (be-loit'), a’city of Rock County, 
Wisconsin, on the Rock River, about forty- 
seven miles southeast of Madison, on the Chi¬ 
cago and Northwestern and the Chicago, Mil¬ 
waukee and Saint Paul railroads. It is the cen¬ 
ter of a fine agricultural country and the seat of 
large factories engaged in the construction of 
plows, reaping and mowing machines, boots and 
shoes, engines, and machinery. Besides having 
good public schools, it is the seat of Beloit 
College, a well established institution of higher 
learning under the direction of the Congrega- 
tionalists. The chief buildings include the 
public library, the city hall, and the central 
high school. Gas and electric lights, street 
railways, and waterworks are among the munic¬ 
ipal improvements. It was first settled in 1824 
and became an incorporated town in 1856. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 12,855; in 1910, 15,125. 


BELT 


228 


BENDER 


BELT, or Belting, in machinery, an endless 
flexible cord or band used to transmit power 
or motion between two parallel shafts. Driv¬ 
ing belts are usually broad or flat bands of 
leather or rubber, but there are a vast number 
of forms made .of different materials, such as 
ropes, chains, and cables, which are used to 
transmit power from one roller, wheel, or pulley 
to another. The best leather belts are made of 
oak-tanned leather, cut from the back of hides 
and curried in tallow and cod oil. Under suit¬ 
able care and with proper connections, belts 
of this kind can be used to drive machinery 
from twenty to thirty years. India rubber is 
preferred as a material for belting by a num¬ 
ber of manufacturers, as it does not absorb 
moisture or stretch and decay, but its tendency 
to deteriorate with age makes it less durable. 
Iron and steel wire and chains are used ex¬ 
tensively, but they require a peculiar construc¬ 
tion of pulleys. A variety of woven-fabric 
belts are employed, including hair, cotton, and 
various textile fabrics, though in general they 
are most serviceable in smaller machinery. 
The two ends of a belt may be united together 
by riveting, or by clamps of various construc¬ 
tion, and in the lighter class of belting it is 
customary to lace the ends together with a 
strap of leather. Where great power is trans¬ 
mitted, it is necessary to have leather belts of 
several thicknesses, frequently as much as four 
layers, and the width ranges from twenty to 
fifty inches. Heavy rubber belting is some¬ 
times ,six-ply thick, from thirty to fifty inches 
wide, and about 300 feet long, depending, of 
course, upon the construction of the machinery 
and the power to be transmitted. 

BELT, Great and Little, the names of two 
narrow channels which connect the Baltic Sea 
with the Cattegat. The Great Belt is thirty- 
seven miles long and about eighteen miles wide, 
and passes between the islands of Fiinen and 
Zealand. It has dangerous shoals and sand 
banks, and a swift current prevents the strait 
from being frozen over except in very severe 
winters. The Little Belt separates Fiinen from 
Jutland. It is thirty miles long and from one to 
twelve miles wide, and in general respects re¬ 
sembles the Great Belt. 

BELUCHISTAN. See Baluchistan. 

BELTEIN (bel'tan), or Beltane, a festival 
common among the Celtic people in former 
times, which was celebrated annually in the 
beginning of May down to the early part of 
the 19th century. Some writers have asso¬ 
ciated it with fire worship or with the worship 
of the sun, while others regard it a season for 
burning rubbish at the time of cleaning house 


yards. In some localities festivals knbwn by 
this name were celebrated in the month of 
November. 

BELUGA (be-lu'ga), or White Whale, a 

kind of whale or dolphin found in the Arctic 
Sea. It has a broad head and is from ten to 
fifteen feet long, and is hunted for its skin 
and oil, known as porpoise oil. The sturgeon 
of Southern Russia is known as beluga, and is 
hunted for its flesh and a kind of isinglass ob¬ 
tained from it. 

BELVIDERE (bel-vi-der'), a city of Illi¬ 
nois, county seat of Boone County, on the 
Kishwaukee River, seventy-six miles northwest 
of Chicago, on the Chicago and Northwestern 
Railroad. A public library, an opera house, and 
the county courthouse are among the chief 
buildings. The manufactures include flour, 
farming implements, and machinery. The city 
has several fine churches and schools, water¬ 
works, and an electric system of lighting. It 
was settled in 1836 and incorporated in 1857. 
Population, 1900, 6,937. 

BEMBA. See Bangweolo. 

BENARES (ben-a'rez), a city in the north¬ 
ern part of India held sacred by the Hindus. 
It is the focus of a network of railroads, on 
the Ganges River, which make# a turn at this 
place. The site on which the city is built rises 
like an amphitheater, thus presenting a mag¬ 
nificent view of its beautiful palaces, mosques, 
and other buildings. The city is the residence 
of many priests. Vast numbers of religious 
mendicants and Hindu pilgrims wend their 
way to this revered city to worship in its 
ancient edifices, or to temporarily wash away 
their sins in the sacred waters of the Ganges. 
Historically sacred bulls wander at large to indi¬ 
cate the sacredness of the city. There are no 
less than 1,500 Hindu temples within the city 
limits, besides 275 Mohammedan mosques. 
Benares is surrounded by a fertile district 
and has a large trade in merchandise. The 
manufactures include utensils, embroidered 
cloth, clothing, shawls, silk, jewelry, and other 
Eastern products. A portiorf of the city is 
occupied by Europeans, who founded a gov¬ 
ernment college which is now attended by 
about 1,250 students. They constructed a beau¬ 
tiful bridge across the Ganges River, containing 
sixteen spans. Little is known of the early his¬ 
tory of the city. According to Hindu tradition 
it was founded at the time of the creation. 
Population, 1905, 225,173. 

BENDER (ben'der), or Bendery, a town of 
Russia, in the government of Bessarabia, sixty 
miles northwest of Odessa. It is located on 
the Dniester River, fifty miles from its mouth, 





BENEDICTINES 


229 


BENGAL 


and has a large trade in grain and live stock. 
The manufactures embrace machinery and 
clothing. A fine Greek church, a gymnasium, 
and the government buildings are its chief 
improvements. Many of the people are Jews 
and Armenians. Russia captured it in 1770, 
but it was ceded to Turkey in 1774, and in. 1812 
it was finally given to Russia by the Peace 
of Bucharest. Population, 32,350. 

BENEDICTINES (ben-e-dik'tins), an 
order or society of monks who observe the 
rules of. Saint Benedict. It dates from 529, 
when Saint Benedict founded the first monas¬ 
tery of this order on Monte Cassino, near 
Naples. The rule of living requires that its 
members be industrious, avoid laughter, take 
the vow of poverty, and exercise frugality in 
living. They teach the trades and industries, 
especially weaving, dyeing, tanning, glass-blow¬ 
ing, sculpturing, masonry, and other industrial 
and fine arts. In the Middle Ages the Bene¬ 
dictines were concerned in the preservation of 
the ancient classics, and through them many 
art and literary treasures have been trans¬ 
mitted to modern times. The monks of this 
order include many scholars and learned men 
noted for their piety and interest in disseminat¬ 
ing knowledge. The order lays claim to the dis¬ 
tinction that twenty-four of its members became 
popes; 200, cardinals; and 4,250, bishops. It 
is known and exercises influence wherever the 
Roman Catholic church has a foothold. 

BENEFIT ASSOCIATIONS, or Frater¬ 
nal Societies, the organizations whose chief 
objects include the cultivation of social rela¬ 
tions, the assistance of members during the 
time of sickness and disability, and the pay¬ 
ment of specified benefits in case of death. A 
number of these associations are secret socie¬ 
ties, in a certain sense, but only so far as their 
lodge meetings are concerned, while their gen¬ 
eral business is open to public scrutiny. They 
have allied certain forms of insurance and 
friendly intercourse, thus aiding in educational 
advancement and distributing benefits on a 
fraternal basis to the members. Their busi¬ 
ness, so far as it pertains to life insurance, is 
conducted on an assessment basis, classified in 
accordance with the age of the assured. They 
are particularly numerous in the United States, 
where the annual income of this class of fra¬ 
ternal societies is about $63,500,000, while the 
expenditures are about $61,285,000. The largest 
among these are the Odd Fellows, the Knights 
of Pythias, the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, and the Knights of the Maccabees, 
but many others have a large membership. A 
comparatively large business is transacted in 


Canada, where they are generally termed 
friendly societies, and many are established by 
the workingmen themselves. Although life in¬ 
surance is issued by most of the societies 
named below, it is not strictly compulsory. A 
member may belong to and enjoy all the privi¬ 
leges of many of them without carrying life 
insurance, and under such circumstances his 
privileges are fraternal and for personal edi¬ 
fication. These associations have been a 
•source of benefit to many homes on account 
of the payment of small life policies, and be¬ 
cause of the friendship and acquaintance of 
friends of deceased members. Below is a fairly 
complete list of benefit associations, together 
with the dates when organized: 


NAME OF ASSOCIATION. ORGANIZED. 

American Legion of Honor.1877 

Ben Hur, Tribe of.... . . . . . . . 1894 

B’nai B’rith, Independent Order of.1843 

Brith Abraham Order.’ ’ ’ 1359 

Catholic Knights of America.1877 

Catholic Mutual Benefit Association.’. ” ’ ’ 1876 

Choppers, Order of. 1900 

Chosen Friends, Order of. !.!.!! 1879 

Druids, United Ancient Order of. ..!!!!.! 1839 

Elks, Benevolent and Protective Order of.1868 

Equitable, Aid Union. 1879 

Foresters, Ancient Order of.1832 

Foresters, Ancient Order of, of America...! 1874 

Foresters, Independent Order of.1874 

Golden Chain, Order of.1880 

Golden Cross, United Order of... 1876 

Good Fellows, Royal Society of..1882 

Heptasophs, Improved Order.1878 

Hibernians of America, Ancient Order of.1836 

Home Circle.1880 

Independent Order Free Sons of Israel....1849 

Irish Catholic Benevolent Union.1869 

Knights and Ladies of Honor. 1877 

Knights of Honor. 1873 

Knights of Pythias. 1863 

Knights of Saint John and Malta.1884 

Knights of the Golden Eagle.1873 

Knights of Maccabees.1880 

Mystic Circle, The Fraternal.. 1884 

National Provident Union.1883 

National Union.1880 

New England Order of Protection.1887 

Odd Fellows, Independent Order of.1819 

Pilgrim Fathers, United Order of.1879 

Rechabites, Independent Order of.1842 

Red Men, Improved Order of.1870 

Royal Arcanum. 1878 

Royal Templars of Temperance.1870 

United American Mechanics, Order of.1845 

United American Mechanics, Junior Order of.1853 

United Friends, Order of.1881 

United Workmen, Ancient Order of.1868 

Woodmen of Ameriq^, Fraternity of Modern.1883 

Woodmen of the World.1890 


BENEVENTO (ba-na-ven'to), a city of 
Southern Italy, in a province of the same 
name, near the junction of the Sabbato and 
Calore rivers. It occupies the site of the an¬ 
cient Beneventum, and is noted for its remains 
of antiquity. The famous arch of Trajan, 
built in 114 a. d., and its cathedral, constructed 
after the Lombard-Saracenic style in the 12th 
century, are among the most noted buildings. 
Population, 1906, 24,893. 

BENGAL (ben-gal'), the largest of the gov- 














































BENGAL 


230 


BENI 


ernmental divisions of British India, contain¬ 
ing an area of 151,543 square miles. It consti¬ 
tutes a lieutenant governorship and, besides 
Bengal proper, includes Behar, Orissa, Chota 
Nagpur, and the tributary states. The tribu¬ 
tary states have an area of 58,500 square miles. 
Bengal is located south of the Himalaya Moun¬ 
tains, and north of the Gulf of Bengal. 
Through it flow the Brahmaputra and Ganges 
rivers, two valuable water courses, which, below 
their confluence, form the greatest delta in 
the world. The glaciers of the Himalaya 
Mountains supply the two chief rivers of the 
district with immense volumes of water in 
the months of June and July, and cause a 
large region to be inundated similar to the 
inundations of the Nile. As a result of this 
the low lands of the delta are fertile and pro¬ 
duce large quantities of cereals and fruits. 

The mean temperature of Bengal for the 
year is about 80° near the coast, and in the 
elevated regions to the north it is about 54°. 
In the eastern part the rainfall is extremely 
large, averaging over 100 inches in a year, 
and is equaled only by the precipitation of the 
Amazon valley and the lake region of Africa. 
Three seasons make up the year, including the 
hot, from March to June; the rainy, from 
June to October; and the cold, from October 
to March. The district is generally unhealthy 
for Europeans on account of its variations in 
moisture and temperature. Along the coast 
extend great trackless forests, in which the 
Bengal tiger and the rhinoceros are numerous. 
Many reptiles and carnivorous animals infest 
the swamps and canebrakes of the low and 
marshy coast and the delta. The district is 
frequented by destructive floods and occasion¬ 
ally by cyclones, while earthquakes have visited 
it at numerous times. Among the chief prod¬ 
ucts are opium, cane sugar, tobacco, indigo, 
cotton, rice, and many varieties of tropical 
fruits. In the northern portions, adjacent to 
the foothills of the Himalayas, are extensive 
deposits of copper, petroleum, and coal, while 
salt beds are common in various parts of that 
region. A large commerce is carried on with 
Great Britain, China, Germany, the United 
States, and the Straits Settlements. 

The first British settlement in Bengal was 
made by the East India Company in the early 
part of the 17th century. Calcutta was founded 
in the latter part of that century, and is the 
largest city and most important commercial 
center of British India. Large additions of 
territory were made subsequently by conquest, 
and the country became a crown province in 
1858. It is the most highly developed district of 


British India, and has made material advance¬ 
ment in educational arts and sciences. At Cal¬ 
cutta several colleges and a fine university have 
flourished for many years. The district has a 
well organized system of public schools, at 
which the fundamental arts of an education and 
higher instruction are given free of tuition. 
A number of industrial, professional, and de¬ 
nominational institutions are in a flourishing 
condition. Bengal contains many cities and is 
penetrated by a network- of telephone and tele¬ 
graph lines. It has transportation facilities by 
the Indus, the Brahmaputra, and about 24,850 
miles of railways. The dialect spoken chiefly 
is known as Bengali , but the people of some 
of the regions speak the Hindi and Uriya dia¬ 
lects. The inhabitants belong largely to the 
Hindu race, but along the river valleys the 
Burmese predominate. About one-third of the 
people affiliate with the Mohammedan religion 
and the remainder are Animists, Buddhists, 
and Christians. Population, 1901, 78,448,735. 

BENGAL, Bay of, a part of the Indian 
Ocean, south of Asia, located between India 
and Farther India. It is visited by southwest 
monsoons in winter and northeast monsoons 
in summer. The Andaman and the Nicobar 
Islands are the chief land masses within the 
bay. It receives the inflow from the Ganges, 
Irawadi, and Brahmaputra rivers. The tides 
sometimes rise to the height of seventy feet 
where the shores are elevated. Rangoon, Cal¬ 
cutta, and Madras are the chief cities tributary 
to the Bay. 

BENGALI (ben-ga'le), a branch of the 
Aryan language spoken in Bengal and other 
parts of India. Calcutta is the chief center of 
influence among the people who speak this 
language. It is thought to be an outgrowth 
from the Sanskrit and bears to it about the 
same relation that the Romance languages 
have to Latin. About 45,000,000 people speak 
the language. It has an interesting literature 
and numerous periodicals are published in the 
Bengali. 

BENGUELA (ben-ga'la), a district in the 
western part of Africa, one of the divisions 
of the Portuguese colony of Angola. It is 
situated in a mountainous section between 
Mossamedes and Loanda. It has deposits of 
sulphur, copper, and petroleum, and the region 
is considered rich in mineral wealth and fer¬ 
tility of soil. Benguela, the capital, is a market 
for rubber, coffee, and fruit. It was founded 
in 1617 and was long a center of the slave 
trade. 

BENI (ba'ne), a river of Bolivia, rises in 
the Bolivian Andes, and after a course of 900 


BENIN 


231 


BEOWULF 


miles unites with the Mamore to form the 
Madeira. It is navigable about half its length, 
and provides direct communication for a large 
part of Bolivia with the Amazon. 

BENIN (ben-en), a district of Western 
Africa, in Upper Guinea. It is bounded by 
Dahomey, the Niger, and the Bight of Benin, 
an extension from the Gulf of Guinea. The 
soil is fertile and produces yams, cotton, fruit, 
and sugar cane. The region was* discovered 
and partly explored by the Portuguese in 1484. 
It became a possession of Great Britain in 
1897, when it was incorporated in the pro¬ 
tectorate of the Niger coast called Nigeria. 

BEN LOMOND (ben lo'mund), a mountain 
in the Grampian Highlands of Scotland, twenty- 
seven miles northwest of Stirling. It is on the 
east side of Loch Lomond and rises to an eleva¬ 
tion of 3,192 feet. Duchary Water, a feeder of 
the Forth, has its source in Ben Lomond. On 
clear days a fine view may be had of the sur¬ 
rounding country, including Loch Lomond and 
the fertile plains of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire. 
Scott in his “Lady of the Lake” makes this 
mountain a place of prominence. 

BEN NEVIS (ben ne'vis), a mountain in 
Inverness-shire, Scotland. Its height is 4,406 
feet, with a precipice of 1,500 feet on the 
northeast side. It is the highest eminence in the 
British Isles. In 1883 an observatory was 
'erected on its summit, and subsequently a car¬ 
riage road was established to its top. 

BENNINGTON (ben'nmg-ton), the county 
seat of Bennington County, Vermont, famous 
for the battle fought here in the Revolution. 
It is located on the Rutland and the Lebanon 
Springs railroads, thirty-seven miles northeast 
of Troy, N. Y., and is a manufacturing center 
of considerable importance. The leading manu¬ 
factures are woolen goods, pottery, ironware, 
furniture, and machinery. The chief buildings 
include the county courthouse and several public 
schools. It has waterworks and a system of 
electric lighting. It is the seat of a soldiers’ 
home, and near the city is a monument 300 
feet high to commemorate the Battle of Ben¬ 
nington. This engagement took place on Aug. 
16, 1777, when General Stark at the head of 
the “Green Mountain Boys” defeated a detach¬ 
ment of Burgoyne’s army commanded by 
Colonel Baum. It resulted in the capture of 
public stores and 600 British prisoners, and a 
complete victory for the Americans. Before 
the battle the American commander made his 
well known statement, “We will bag the fox, 
or Mollie Stark will be a widow.” A successful 
celebration of the centennial of the battle was 
held in 1877, at which the President of the 


United States, his Cabinet, and many prominent 
men took part. Population, 1900, 5,656. 

BENTON HARBOR, a city of Michigan, 
in Berrien County, sixty miles east of Chicago, 
Ill. It is situated on the Saint Joseph River 
and has transportation facilities by the Pere 
Marquette and other railroads. The Benton 
Harbor Canal connects it with Lake Michigan, 
which is about one mile from the city, and 
steamers from all principal points on the Great 
Lakes enter its harbor. The manufactures 
include furniture, flour, machinery, and cloth¬ 
ing. It has a growing trade in fruit, cereals, and 
merchandise. In the vicinity are mineral 
springs whose water has medicinal properties. 
Population, 1904, 6,702; in 1910, 9,185. 

BENZENE (ben'zen), or Benzole, a min¬ 
eral fluid obtained from the distillation of coal 
tar and usually classed with the hydrocarbons. 
It is secured from a grade of oil that floats on 
water when coal tar is distilled. At about the 
freezing point of water it solidifies and forms 
a mass of crystals. It is a good solvent for 
fatty substances, hence is much used for clean¬ 
ing purposes.. It burns with a bright flame. 
Nitrobenzene is formed by mixing benzene with 
nitric acid. Aniline (q. v.) is made from nitro¬ 
benzene. 

BENZINE (ben'zin), a liquid obtained from 
coal tar and petroleum, consisting of hydro¬ 
carbon. It is highly inflammable and nearly col¬ 
orless, and has a peculiar but agreeable odor. 
It is used in the manufacture of gutta-percha 
and India rubber on account of its solvent pow¬ 
ers. Benzine is also used in removing grease 
spots from clothing, for cleaning gloves, in the 
manufacture of paints and varnishes, and as a 
burning fluid. 

BENZOIN (ben-zoin'), or Gum Benjamin, 

a resinous substance obtained from a tree native 
to Southern Asia and the East Indies. It is 
fragrant and is used in perfumery and in medi¬ 
cine. The trees that yield benzoin, of which 
there are several species, are cultivated, and 
the resin is obtained by making incisions in the 
bark. The Roman and Greek Catholic churches 
use it as incense. 

BEOWULF (ba'6-wulf), an epic poem of. 
the Anglo-Saxons dating from the 8th or 9th 
century, the original manuscript of which is 
in the British Museum. The manuscript is 
imperfect and many points are obscure, but 
it is regarded the longest and most important 
writing in Anglo-Saxon literature. In it the 
adventures of Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon hero, 
are recounted, particularly his defense and 
delivery of the Danish kingdom from the mon¬ 
ster Grendel and his ferocious mother. 


BERBERS 


232 


BERING SEA 


BERBERS (ber'berz), the name of a his¬ 
toric people in Northern Africa, found mostly 
in the mountainous districts of Morocco, 
Algeria, and Tripoli, and in the northern part 
of the Sahara Desert. They are of middle 
stature, possess dark hair and dark, piercing 
eyes, and are austere in manner and cruel in 
disposition. Their life is largely pastoral, but 
they engage to a limited extent in hunting and 
trading, and in some districts follow agricul¬ 
ture and mining. They manufacture various 
rude implements for cultivating the soil, cloth¬ 
ing, water mills, and implements of war. In 
government they are subject to the Turks in 
Tripoli, to the French in Algeria, and to the 
Sultan in Morocco, but large numbers are still 
unconquered, or livfe in tribes under independ¬ 
ent chiefs. In early history they were con¬ 
quered successively by the Phoenicians, Romans, 
Vandals, and Arabs. The predominating reli¬ 
gion is Mohammedanism, and the spoken lan¬ 
guage is classed with the Hamitic tongues. 
Their peculiar characteristics show that they 
are a distinct and peculiar race. They number 
about 5,000,000. The four different classes of 
Berbers are known as the Amazirgh in north¬ 
ern Morocco; the Shulah in southern Morocco; 
the Kabyles in Algeria, and the Berbers in the 
Sahara Desert. 

BERGAMO (ber'ga-mo), a city of Lom¬ 
bardy, in northern Italy, twenty-eight miles 
northeast of Milan. It is an important market 
and manufacturing center. The city consists of 
two sections, the upper and the lower, which are 
connected by a system, of street railways. A fine 
statue of Garibaldi stands in Garibaldi Place. 
The public library contains 70,000 volumes. 
Other buildings include the city hall, the cathe¬ 
dral, and an academy of arts. In early history 
it was strongly fortified. It was destroyed by 
Attila in 452 a. d., and later became one of the 
chief cities of the Lombard kings. Population, 
1906, 47,772. 

BERGAMOT (ber'ga-mot), the name of a 
genus of fruit trees, including several species 
of pears and citrons. Bergamot oil is made of 
the citron, or bergamot orange. It is cultivated 
in Eurasia, and bears a fruit shaped like a pear, 
yellow in color, which yields a fragrant oil val¬ 
ued as a perfume. This oil is obtained by 
pressure or by distillation. It is used for fla¬ 
voring, and in the manufacture of cologne, 
pomades, and essences. 

BERGEN (ber'gen), a seaport city of Nor¬ 
way, on the coast of Vaagen Bay, in the prov¬ 
ince of Bergen. The chief buildings include the 
Lutheran cathedral, the museum, and the nauti¬ 
cal school. It has a fine library of 80,000 vol¬ 


umes. Bergen is the second city of Norway, 
carries on extensive manufactures, and is noted 
for its fisheries. The stock fisheries yield an 
income of about $2,500,000 annually, while its 
cod-liver oil industry, distilleries, and shipbuild- 



BERGAMOT ORANGE. 


ing are likewise extensive. It has railroad and 
electric street railway facilities, electric lighting, 
pavements, and good schools. Population, 1905, 
72,251. 

BERHAMPUR (ber'um-pdor), a town of 
India, in the lieutenant governorship of Ben¬ 
gal, 115 miles north of Calcutta. It was long 
a military station of Great - Britain. A col¬ 
lege, several churches, and the government 
buildings are among the most important struc¬ 
tures. It was the scene of hostilities in the 
Sepoy mutiny of 1857. Population, 25,380. 

BERIBERI (ba-ri-ba'ri), or Kakke, a dis¬ 
ease more or less prevalent in Japan and 
Southern Asia. It is a form of neuritis, but 
is known as kakke in Japan and beriberi in 
India. The patient becomes numb or paral¬ 
yzed and sometimes madness and paroxysms 
occur. Death frequently results from this dis¬ 
ease in from twenty to thirty hours, though 
many cases are protracted or do not prove fatal. 

BERING SEA (be'ring), the northern 
extension of the Pacific Ocean, bounded on 
the north by Asia and Bering Strait, east by 
Alaska, south by the Aleutian Islands, and 
west by Kamchatka. It communicates with 
Bering Strait, which separates Asia from 
North America, and connects Bering Sea with 



BERING SEA QUESTON 


233 


BERLIN 


the Arctic Ocean. Bering’s Island is northwest 
of the Aleutian chain, off the coast of Kam¬ 
chatka, and is of no value except as a station 
for seal fishing. It is not inhabited and pos¬ 
sesses no timber. The island has an area of 
thirty square miles, and is noted as the bury¬ 
ing place of its discoverer, Vitus Bering. 

BERING SEA QUESTION, a controversy 
between the United States and Great Britain, 
which originated after the transfer of Alaska 
from Russia in 1867. In 1870 the Alaska 
Commercial Company leased of the United 
States the Pribilof Islands, in Bering Sea, and 
the Commander Islands of Russia. The 
company was limited to capture not over 100,- 
000 seals each year, and was required to pay 
the government $50,000 rental annually. The 
seals taken from the territory in twenty-three 
years and sold in the London market were val¬ 
ued at $33,000,000. A dispute arose between 
Great Britain and the United States as to the 
control of the seal fisheries, both claiming the 
territory in dispute. An arbitration commis¬ 
sion met at Paris, March 23, 1893, to settle the 
controversy, after receiving a report from 
experts. The result of the arbitration was 
that definite boundaries were fixed for the 
sealers of Canada and the United States, and 
proper precaution was taken for the protec¬ 
tion of young seals. This adjustment led to 
a satisfactory conclusion, both on the part 
of England and the United States, and the 
maintenance of the law, whereby the seal 
fisheries are regulated and the seals protected 
from extermination. 

BERING STRAIT, the narrow passage of 
water which connects the Arctic with the 
Pacific Ocean, separating Asia from America. 
The distance at the narrowest point, between 
East Cfape in Asia and Cape Prince of Wales 
in America, is about thirty-eight miles. Three 
small islands lie about midway between these 
points. The depth ranges from 150 to 200 feet. 
It is frozen in winter, when the ice is formed in 
great ridges due to the action of the waves, 
and fog prevails most of the time in the 
warmer season. It was discovered by the 
Russians in 1648, and subsequently explored 
by Vitus Bering and Captain Cook. 

BERKELEY (berk'll), a city in Alameda 
County, California, nine miles northeast of 
San Francisco, on the California and Nevada 
and the Southern Pacific railroads. It is the 
seat of the California State College of Agri¬ 
culture, the University of California, and the 
California Institution for the Deaf, Dumb, and 
Blind. Other institutions include the Berke¬ 
ley Bible Seminary, the Bowen Academy, and 


the Boone University School. The city is 
noted as one of the leading educational cen¬ 
ters of the far west. Its industries include 
planing mills, canning factories, machine shops, 
and commerce. It has waterworks and elec¬ 
tric street railways. It was settled in 1868 and 
incorporated in 1878. Population, 1910, 40,434. 

BERKSHIRE HILLS (berk'shir), the 
name of a hilly region of Massachusetts, sit¬ 
uated in Berkshire County. These highlands 
are an extension of the Green Mountains of 
Vermont, and trend in chains north and south 
through the western part of the State. Gray- 
lock, the highest peak, has an elevation of 
3,500 feet, and Mount Everett is about 2,600 
feet high. The scenery is beautiful in the 
summer season, when many tourists visit the 
points of interest. 

BERLIN (ber'lin), a city of Coos County, 
New Hampshire, on the Androscoggin River, 
about twenty miles east of Lancaster. It has 
transportation facilities by the Boston and 
Maine and the Grand Trunk railroads, and 
about fifteen miles distant is Mount Wash¬ 
ington. The public improvements include a 
public library, electric lights, waterworks, and 
several fine school and church buildings. The 
chief manufactures are pulp, flour, machinery, 
earthenware, vehicles, cigars, and clothing. An 
abundance of water power is obtained from the 
river, which has a fall of 400 feet in six miles. 
Population, 1900, 8,886. 

BERLIN, the county seat of Waterloo 
County, Ontario, on the Grand Trunk Railway. 
It is located on the Grand River, about sixty 
miles west of Toronto. The manufactures 
include butter, malt liquors, leather goods, 
clothing, and machinery. It has a public library, 
street railways, waterworks, and electric light¬ 
ing. The chief buildings include a high school, 
the city hall, and a Catholic college. Popula¬ 
tion, 1901, 9,747. 

BERLIN, the third city in Europe, and the 
capital of the German Empire. It is situated in 
the province of Brandenburg, on the Spree 
River, and is the capital of the kingdom of 
Prussia. The city is located in the center of 
what was originally a sandy plain, but the region 
has been improved by fertilization and culti¬ 
vation and produces abundantly. In the 13th 
century it was a small fishing village inhabited 
by Wends. Its growth and prosperity date 
from the reign of Frederick William, the Great 
Elector, from 1640 to 1688, who united the sep¬ 
arate duchies of which Prussia is now formed 
and made Berlin the capital, largely because of 
its central location. In 1861 it covered an area 
of 14,000 acres; in 1888, over 1,000,000 acres. 


BERLIN 


234 


BERLIN 


and at the present time it is the largest city in 
the German Empire. 

The original or older part of Berlin has nar¬ 
row streets and is built irregularly, but the 
newer part is well platted, has wide streets 
covered with substantial paving, and its edifices 
and public buildings are constructed of durable 
stone in fine architectural forms. Frederick I., 
successor of Frederick William, devoted much 
energy to enlarging and beautifying the city, 
and at the end of his reign it had a population 
of 50,000. Many substantial improvements made 
by him are still intact. At the end of the reign 
of Frederick II. the city had grown to a popu¬ 
lation of 145,000. After the defeat of Napo¬ 
leon in 1815, the rise of German power made 
Berlin a center of art and science, and an 
important seat of commerce, while, following 
the successes of Germany in 1870-71, its growth 


was stimulated with a rapidity never before 
known. In 1905 it had a population of 2,040,148. 

Berlin is one of the great centers of art and 
intelligence. The royal library contains more 
than a million volumes, besides 16,000 manu¬ 
scripts and charts. Its museums are among the 
most famous, containing magnificent specimens 
of ancient and modern treasures. Eight public 
museums, besides the National Gallery and 
Royal Museum, are maintained and liberally 
endowed. Each has an old and new part, in 
which the different exhibits are located. Among 
them are antiquities of remote ages; casts of 
ancient, mediaeval, and modern sculptors; pic¬ 
tures representing the six great epochs in 
human progress; collections of engravings; and 
galleries of curiosities. 


Among the many elegant churches of Berlin 
are the Michaelskirche (Catholic), and the 
Protestant Dankeskirche, Heiligekranskirche, 
Zionskirche, and Thomaskirche. The system 
of education is compulsory. Schools, public 
and private, are divided into kindergarten, ele¬ 
mentary, middle, and higher. There are about 
thirty high schools, some of which have gymna¬ 
siums attached, while others are called real- 
schulen, in which Latin, higher mathematics, 
modern languages, sciences, and commercial 
pursuits are taught. The universities, normal 
schools, and academies culminate in the Uni¬ 
versity of Berlin, one of the great seats of 
modern learning. 

Among the noted thoroughfares of Berlin is 
Unter den Linden, reputed to be the most beau¬ 
tiful street in the world. It is adorned by mag¬ 
nificent structures its entire length of two-thirds 
of a mile. Many public places are 
beautified with costly monuments. 
The most noted is the one dedicated 
to Frederick the Great, opposite the 
emperor’s palace, which was com¬ 
pleted by Rauch in 1703, and is re¬ 
garded the 'finest monument in Eu¬ 
rope. Other noted monuments are 
those dedicated to Frederick Wil¬ 
liam III., those commemorating the 
generals of the Seven Years’ War 
and the generals who fought against 
Napoleon I., and a beautiful bronze 
Gothic monument erected by Fred¬ 
erick William III. to commemorate 
the victories of 1813-15. The mon¬ 
ument built by Emperor William I., 
in the Konigsplatz, to commemorate 
the triumphs of 1864, 1866, and 
1870, rises to a height of 187 feet. 
These and others represent by 
statues and busts the celebrated 
German promoters of literature, science, and 
political and military life. There are zoological 
and botanical gardens remarkable for extensive 
and beautiful collections of animal and plant 
growth. The city has 750 public buildings, in¬ 
cluding the Royal Palace, the Reichstags Build¬ 
ing, and the Brandenburg Gate. 

The interior of the city is devoted almost 
exclusively to commerce, while the residence 
portion is distributed around the outside. Rail¬ 
roads, electric street railways, extensive canals, 
and tramways are accessible in all parts of the 
city, and make it at once a notable center of 
modern convenience and business activity. The 
electric lights, gas system, telephones, and tram¬ 
ways are owned, controlled, and operated under 
the government of the city. The sewer system 
















































BERLIN 


235 


BERMUDA GRASS 


of Berlin is not only complete and serviceable, 
but is counted one of the most practical in the 
world. All the refuse matter is carried to a 
central point, from which it is pumped by means 
of great tunnels to outlying districts and used 
for fertilizing the soil. This condition makes it 
possible to utilize the refuse animal and vegeta¬ 
ble matter of the city for the purpose of increas¬ 
ing the production of vast areas of tillable land, 
a result that should be obtained in all cities. 
Manufactures and trades are conducted on a 
large scale. The production of ladies’ mantles 
alone is over twenty-five million dollars annu¬ 
ally, while sewing machines, clothing, machin¬ 
ery, hardware, jewelry, musical instruments, 
and other productions are of equal proportions. 

The government of the city is under the di¬ 
rection of a mayor and thirty-four magistrates, 
who are elected without regard to politics. The 
council consists of 108 members, elected for 
six years, the term of one-third expiring every 
two years. Voters are divided into three classes; 
those who pay one-third of the whole city tax, 
those who pay taxes equal to two-thirds, and 
the remainder. Each of these classes has an 
equal representation on the council. Under 
this system the problem of city government 
has been successfully solved, and Berlin is not 
plagued with the usual corruption in govern¬ 
ment common to most large cities. 

BERLIN, Treaty of, a treaty concluded at 
Berlin, Germany, July 13, 1878, by the Berlin 
Congress, made up of representatives from Tur¬ 
key and the six great powers, at the conclusion 
of the war between Russia and Turkey. The 
six great powers are Russia, Germany, England, 
France, Italy, and Austria. It was called at the 
suggestion of Prince Bismarck. By its terms 
Greece was enlarged, Britain got Cyprus, Rus¬ 
sia took Bessarabia, Austria received Bosnia 
and Herzegovina, Bulgaria was divided into 
Rumelia and Bulgaria proper, Persia and Rus<- 
sia got part of Armenia, and the independence 
of Servia, Rumania, and Montenegro was rec¬ 
ognized. 

BERLIN, University of, the great national 
university of Germany, and one of the largest 
and best equipped institutions of higher educa¬ 
tion in the world. It may be said to date from 
1807, when Frederick William III. called a con¬ 
vention of the most noted German scholars to 
consider the establishment of an academy or 
university. The plan was supported by \\ il- 
helm von Humboldt, a brother of Alexander 
von Humboldt, and he was made first minister 
of education in 1808 to cooperate with the min¬ 
istry of the interior in securing support. The 
palace of Prince Henry and a stipulated annual 


income were assigned to the foundation in 1809, 
from which year the present organization may 
be said to date. It has departments of medi¬ 
cine, theology, philosophy, including the arts 
and sciences, and jurisprudence, and with it are 
affiliated several institutions, such as museums, 
seminaries, and observatories. The minister of 
education has general control, and support is 
given by the state through endowments and 
appropriations. The library has 175,000 vol¬ 
umes, and students have access to the royal 
library, which has more than a million volumes 
and many ancient and modern manuscripts. 
Admission is granted to men of all nationali¬ 
ties and to women under certain restriction. 
About 400 professors and instructors have 
charge of the work, and the attendance approx¬ 
imates 12,000 students. 

BERMUDA (ber-mu'da), or Somers 
Islands, a group of 360 islands in the Atlantic 
Ocean, about 675 miles southeast of New York. 
Only twenty islands of the group are inhabited 
and the total area is only twenty square miles. 
Their formation is largely of coral remains, and 
they are surrounded by living coral growths. 
The productions consist of vegetables, including 
onions, potatoes, and lily-bulbs, and some cere¬ 
als. A public school system of fifty-five schools, 
with 1,790 students, is supported by government 
grants. The islands are a favorite summer 
resort for people from the United States and 
Canada, and furnish the New York markets a 
considerable supply of vegetable products. The 
value of exports aggregates $600,000, while the 
imports are somewhat larger. They have a 
favorable, healthful, and pleasant climate, but 
the soil is sandy and not productive without 
fertilizing. These islands are divided into nine 
parishes that are represented in an assembly and 
council, and are under the direction of a gov¬ 
ernor appointed by Great Britain, to which 
country they belong. They were first discovered 
by Juan Bermudez, a Spaniard, in 1522, and 
rediscovered by Sir George Somers in 1609. A 
cable line connects the group with Halifax, 
Nova Scotia. Hamilton, the chief town, has a 
population of 2,246. The total population, in 
1905, was 17,860. 

BERMUDA GRASS, a kind of grass 
thought to be native to India, but now culti¬ 
vated extensively for fodder. It grows in 
height from one to two feet, depending upon the 
quality of the soil, and roots at the joints. In 
many regions it is esteemed as a lawn grass, 
since it is hardy and remains green until late in 
autumn. It does not endure in shade, but 
thrives in either dry or wet places, though it 
is killed by standing water. 


BERNARD DOG 


23G 


BESSARABIA 


BERNARD DOG, Great Saint, a variety of 
dog that derived its name from the hospice of 
Saint Bernard, where a number are kept for 
the purpose of assisting* in the rescue of per¬ 
ishing travelers. The monks of the hospice 
are accompanied by these dogs when in search 
of travelers. They have long been trained to 
search for persons who might be lost in the 
mountain passes of the Alps, and are still 
used for that purpose. When sent in search 
of persons they carry a flask of wine or brandy 
about the neck for the relief of the travelers. 
These dogs have saved many lives in the re¬ 
gions of perpetual snow, not only in the Alps, 
but elsewhere. 

BERNARD, Great Saint, a celebrated pass 
in the canton Valais, Switzerland, leading over 
the Alps between Switzerland and Italy. At 
the crest of the pass is the famous monastery 
of Saint Bernard, a mile and a half above the 
sea, the highest dwelling in Europe, first estab¬ 
lished in the year 962. The snow covers the 
pass nearly the entire year, and terrible storms 
often overtake the travelers. This pass has 
been a famous outlet across the Alps. The 
armies of Charlemagne, of Frederick Bar- 
barossa, and of Napoleon crossed at this pass. 
The last mentioned took his army in 1800, in¬ 
cluding infantry, cavalry, and artillery, num¬ 
bering about 30,000 men, safely into Italy. It 
is thought that Hannibal also crossed by the 
Great Saint Bernard. 

BERNE (bern), or Bern, the seat of gov¬ 
ernment of a canton by the same name and 
the capital of the republic of Switzerland. It 
is located on the Aar River, on a beautiful 
promontory, and is the center of numerous 
railroads and extensive commercial enterprises. 
It is one of the pleasantest cities of Europe, 
built largely of freestone, and walks and trees 
extend along both sides of the streets. The 
public buildings include the Gothic Cathedral, 
built in the latter part of the 15th century, 
the Federal Building, the Church of the Holy 
Spirit, the university, the townhouse, the public 
mint, and the theater. It has a city library 
of 100,000 volumes and the finely constructed 
Swiss National Library. Other institutions in¬ 
clude the public museum, the armory, and 
many academies and hospitals. All modern 
municipal conveniences have been provided. 
Canals wind through the streets from the 
Aar River, and numerous fountains and monu¬ 
ments adorn its public places. The manufac¬ 
tures include gunpowder, leather goods, dress 
fabrics, firearms, paper, musical instruments, 
and other products, although it is not a great 
manufacturing center. The city was founded 


by Berthold V. in 1191. It became a free city 
in 1218, and in 1353 united with the Swiss 
Confederacy. The spoken language is Ger¬ 
man and the people are mostly Protestants, 
only a small per cent, being Catholics and 
Jews. Population, 1907, 73,185. 

BERRY (ber'ry), a small, fleshy and juicy 
fruit which does not open when ripe. It con¬ 
tains a pulpy mass in which the seeds are im¬ 
mersed. Some varieties are one-celled, but 
others contain compartments united at the 
axis, and from the axis to the rind. Good ex¬ 
amples are gooseberries, currants, grapes, and 
belladonna. The term is applied to strawber¬ 
ries, which bear seeds on a pulpy receptacle. 

BERYL (ber'fl), a mineral found in many 
parts of Canada, the United States, and other 
countries. It crystallizes in six-sided prisms, 
and ranges as colorless, blue, green, or yellow, 
though always quite pale. Those of a sea-green 
or clear yellow color -are preferred as gems, 
and the rich green kinds are emeralds. Jew¬ 
elers call the finer grades acqua marine. Brazil 
furnishes the best grade of beryls, but choice 
varieties occur in Ceylon, the Urals, and in the 
Rockv Mountains, especially in Colorado. 

BESANgON (be-zon-son'), a city of France, 
located on the Doubs River, and capital of the 
department of Doubs. It is considered one of 
the strongest cities of France, owing to its 
citadel, which is located on an elevated rock 
410 feet high. The chief buildings include 
the cathedral, the museum, the public library, 
a college, and the prefecture. In the time of 
the Caesars it was known as Vesontio and 
was occupied by the Romans a long term of 
years. It has many structures dating from 
the Romans, including a triumphal arch built 
by Marcus Aurelius. The Burgundians held 
it in the 5th century, and the Germans in the 
12th. In 1679 it was ceded to France. The 
city now is a railroad and manufacturing cen¬ 
ter. Its products include cotton, woolen, and 
silk goods, machinery, ironware, and watches. 
The latter industry employs over 3,400 hands. 
It is the birthplace of Abel Remusat and Victor 
Hugo. Population, 1906, 56,168. 

BESSARABIA (bes-sa-ra'bi-a), a province 
of Russia, bordering on Rumania and the 
Black Sea. The surface is level except in the 
northwest, where timbered ranges of the Car¬ 
pathian Mountains attain to considerable ele¬ 
vations. Much of the soil is fertile and in a 
state of good cultivation, and all classes of 
live stock and cereals common to Europe arc- 
grown profitably. The inhabitants are made 
up of different races and include Bulgarians, 
Russians, Poles, Jews, and Tartars. Turkey 


BESSEMER 


237 


BEVERLY 


governed the region from 1503 until 1812, 
when it was ceded to Russia by the Peace of 
Bucharest. The Treaty of Paris gave the south¬ 
eastern part to Turkey in 1856, but it was re¬ 
stored to Russia in 1878 by the Treaty of Ber¬ 
lin. Kishinev, the capital, has been the scene 
of many massacres of Jews. The area is 17,600 
square miles and the population 1,933,500. 

BESSEMER (bes'e-mer), a city of Jeffer¬ 
son County, Alabama, fifteen miles southwest 
of Birmingham, on the Southern, the Louis¬ 
ville and Nashville, and other railroads. It is 
noted as the center of an iron producing 
region, and is the seat of extensive rolling 
mills and blast furnaces. The manufactures 
include tobacco, machinery, clothing, and brick. 
It has a large trade in cereals and merchan¬ 
dise. The city is improved by waterworks, 
sewerage, and excellent school and church 
buildings. Population, 1910, 10,864. 

BETEL (be't’l), or Betle, the name of a 
narcotic stimulant derived from a certain spe¬ 
cies of pepper. In the market it Is known as 
betel pepper or as betel nut, depending upon 
the form in which it is sold. * The betel nut 
used as a stimulant in Asia is made by slicing 
the nut of areca palm, flavoring with a little 
quicklime, and wrapping it with the leaf of the 
betel pepper. It has aromatic and astringent 
properties, colors the teeth black and the tongue 
and lips scarlet, and is bitter and unpleasant 
to a person not in the habit of using it. Both 
male and female, young and old, chew it habit¬ 
ually. A supply is carried in small cases, and 
people offer it to each other as snuff or cigars 
are offered by Europeans. The plant, of which 
there are several species, is cultivated exten¬ 
sively. The fruit of the areca palm is about 
the size of a cherry and is grown for the 
market in Ceylon and Southern Asia. 

BETHANY (beth'a-m), a village about two 
miles east of Jerusalem, Palestine, containing 
at present about 200 inhabitants. It was the 
home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, where 
Christ often visited and worked numerous of 
his greatest miracles. Near this place Christ’s 
ascension took place. Travelers are shown a 
cave near Bethany in which Lazarus was buried 
and the site of his home. 

BETHESDA (be-thez'da), which implies 
“home of the stream,” a pool near Saint 
Stephen’s Gate and the Temple of Omar in 
Jerusalem. It is associated with the healing 
of the impotent man. The length of the pool 
is 460 feet; width, 130; depth, seventy-five feet. 
It is now called Briket Israel. See John v, 2-9. 

BETHLEHEM (beth'le-hem), a borough 
of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, about 


fifty miles north of Philadelphia, on the Lehigh 
River. It is on the Lehigh Valley, the Central 
of New Jersey, and other railroads, and a 
bridge across the Lehigh River connects it with 
South Bethlehem, the seat of Lehigh University 
and the Bethlehem Ironworks. The chief 
buildings include the public library, the Church 
of the Nativity, and Saint Luke’s Hospital. It 
has manufactures of silk textiles, graphite 
products, brass and iron implements, machinery, 
flour, and cigars. A system of theological insti¬ 
tutions is supported by the Moravians, in one 
of which General Lafayette was nursed after 
being wounded at the Battle of Brandywine. 
Bethlehem was founded by the Moravians in 
1742 and was chartered in 1851. Population, 
1900, 7,293. 

BETHLEHEM, “the house of bread,” a 
small town six miles south of Jerusalem, in 
Palestine, the birthplace of Christ. It con¬ 
tains the Convent of the Nativity, built by 
Empress Helena in 327 a. d., destroyed in 1236 
by Moslems, and restored by the Crusaders. It 
is in charge of Armenian, Greek, and Latin 
Christians. Under a richly adorned grotto are 
crystal and silver lamps that mark the exact 
spot where Christ was born. The manger in 
which he was laid is one of the central attrac¬ 
tions. An elaborate inscription in Latin con¬ 
tains the information, “Here Jesus Christ was 
born of the Virgin Mary.” The town has 
three convents for Greeks, Armenians, and 
Roman Catholics. The inhabitants engage 
largely in trades and the manufacture of cru¬ 
cifixes and rosaries to sell to pilgrims. Popu¬ 
lation, 7,885. 

BETHSAIDA (beth-sa'i-da), the “house of 
the fish,” the name of two villages on the Sea 
of Galilee, one of which still remains. These 
villages were on the western and northern 
shores of the lake. The former was the birth¬ 
place of three of Christ’s disciples, Peter, 
Philip, and Andrew; the latter was the scene 
of the feeding of five thousand by Christ. 

BEVERLY (bev'er-ly), a city of Essex 
County, Massachusetts, on a bay of the Atlantic, 
eighteen miles northeast of Boston. It is on 
the Boston and Maine Railroad and is con¬ 
nected with Salem by a bridge which spans the 
bay. It has a good harbor, extensive leather 
and shoe factories, and grain elevators, and has 
modern municipal facilities, including gas and 
electric lights, pavements, and street railways. 
The public library contains 12,000 volumes. It 
is the seat of the New England Institute for the 
Deaf and Dumb. The region was settled in 
1630 and the city was chartered in 1894. Popu¬ 
lation, 1905, 15,222. 


BEYROUT 


238 


BIBLE 


BEYROUT (ba'root), or Beirut, formerly 
called Berytus, the chief seaport of Syria, sixty 
miles northwest of Damascus. It is of com¬ 
mercial importance, being visited by steamers 
of the regular service from French, German, 
British, and Egyptian ports. Its exports con¬ 
sist largely of 'tobacco, wool, olive oil, cereals, 
and gums. The chief manufactures include cot¬ 
ton and silk goods, jewelry, and clothing. Its 
commerce with foreign powers is tending to 
give it a modern appearance and many Euro¬ 
pean facilities. It has a number of fine schools, 
churches, synagogues, and government build¬ 
ings. It was an important city in the time of 
the Phoenicians. The Byzantine emperor, The¬ 
odosius II., greatly enlarged it, and its greatest 
importance was reached in the time of the Cru¬ 
sades. Subsequently it fell into the hands of 
the Druses, was bombarded by the British in 
1840, and is now under Turkish dominion. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 118,890. 

BEZIERS (ba-zya'), a city of France, in the 
department of Herault, thirty-eight miles south¬ 
west ,of Montpelier. It is on the Orb River and 
the Canal du Midi, and has steam railroad and 
electric railway facilities. It is the seat of a fine 
Gothic cathedral, a college, and a public theater. 
Glass, silk textiles, leather goods, and machinery 
are among the manufactures. It was a fortified 
town in the time of the Romans, and the scene 
of a massacre of the Albigenses by Simon de 
Monfort, who killed about 20,000 of its citizens. 
Population, 1906, 52,268. 

BHUTAN (boo-tan'), or Bhotan, an in¬ 
dependent state of India, located south of the 
Himalaya Mountains and west of Tibet. The 
surface is greatly diversified by mountain ranges, 
some of whose peaks have an altitude of 16,500 
feet above the sea. Stock raising and agricul¬ 
ture are the chief industries, and the manufac¬ 
tures are confined largely to textiles, musk, and 
utensils. The people are a mixture of Aryan and 
Tibetan stock, and practice both polygamy and 
polyandry. Buddhism is the chief religion. The 
government is administered by two rulers, one 
a secular and the other a spiritual official. 
Dosen, or Punakha, is the capital. Great Brit¬ 
ain annexed a part of the territory of Bhutan 
in 1865. Population, about 200,000. 

BIAFRA (be-a'fra), Bight of, an inlet on 
the Atlantic coast of Africa, the eastern part 
of the Gulf of Guinea. It lies 'between Cape 
Lopez and Cape Formosa, and borders French 
Congo and the German possession of Kam- 
erun. Prince’s Island and the islands of Saint 
Thomas and Fernando Po are near or in the 
bight. 

BIBLE (bi-b’l), the book held by Christians 


to contain the word of God and regarded as 
infallibly true. The word Bible is derived 
from mediaeval Latin, in the singular num¬ 
ber, and means a book. The Greek form of 
the word is plural and means books. As 
commonly used it signifies the book, in com¬ 
parison with which other books or writings are 
unworthy; or, if they be called books, then the 
Bible becomes the book of books. The Latin 
words scriptura=writing, scripturae=writings, 
convey the idea that the Scriptures are the only 
writings worthy of being called writings; there¬ 
fore, they stand higher than all other books. 
This use came from the Latin fathers and has 
met general acceptance by all Christian 
nations. 

The Bible consists of two parts, the Old 
and the New Testament, meaning covenants 
between God and his people. It includes also 
the Apocrypha, which is held to be canonical 
by some, and as good and useful for family 
reading by others. The Roman Catholics and 
several other Christian churches hold the 
Apocrypha canonical, but combine with it 
church traditions regarding faith and morals. 
Protestant churches do not accept more than 
the Old and New Testament as the canonical 
word of God. Jews accept only the Old Testa¬ 
ment. The Jewish religion holds that a com¬ 
pact exists between God and the Jews, while 
the Christian religion holds that God has given 
the Bible as a compact between Himself and 
the human race. 

The Greeks of Alexandria completed a 
translation of the Old Testament about 230 
b. c., known as the Septuagint. This is the 
earliest and most famous version, and was 
adopted by the early Christian Church as well 
as by the Jews, and has always held an eminent 
£lace in Bible history and interpretation. There 
are other celebrated versions, known as the 
Syriac version, made in the 2d century b. c. ; 
the Coptic version, in the 3d or 4th century 
a. d., and the Gothic version, in the 4th cen¬ 
tury. Both the Coptic and Gothic were made 
from the Septuagint. Jerome in the year 405 
a. d. completed the most important Latin ver¬ 
sion, largely on the basis of the original 
Hebrew, which is known as the Vulgate. The 
first edition of the entire Hebrew Bible was 
published in 488 in Soncino. It was written 
on linen cloth, skins, or papyrus kept in rolls. 
The books of the New Testament were written 
in Greek, with the possible exception of Saint 
Matthew, which was, perhaps, originally written 
in Hebrew, but was early translated into the 
Greek. No other book has been so largely 
translated and generally read as the Bible. In 


BIBLE 


239 


BIBLE 


modern times it has been extensively circulated 
in all languages. 

In 1382 the first English translation was 
made, known as the Wyclif’s Bible, but the first 
printed version of the New Testament was 
Tyndale’s, and in 1535 Miles Coverdale pub¬ 
lished the first complete English Bible. In the 
reign of Mary the English refugees at Geneva 
published the Great Bible through the efforts 
of Lord Cromwell, and later several other edi¬ 
tions were issued. In 1611 the authorized ver¬ 
sion of King James appeared, which is known 
as the King James Bible. It was instigated by 
Hugh Broughton, and undertaken after the 
Hampton Court Conference was suggested by 
King James I. Six companies, two at Cam¬ 
bridge, two at Oxford, and two at Westminster, 
consisting of forty-seven scholars, undertook 
the work, while at London a general committee 
revised the portion translated by each commit¬ 
tee. The entire work was done in three 
years. Owing to the purity of style and the 
general accuracy with which the translation 
was made, it has superseded all other versions 
in the English. The version recognized by the 
Roman Catholic Church is a translation made 
from the Latin Vulgate; the New Testament 
translation was completed at Rheims in 1582, 
and the Old Testament at Douay in 1609-10. 

In 1870 the convocation of Canterbury 
appointed a committee to investigate the neces¬ 
sity of making a new version in English. They 
reported favorably, and accordingly two com¬ 
panies were organized, one each for translating 
the Old and the New Testament. The com¬ 
pany consisted of members of the convocation 
and other eminent scholars, and was aided by 
two similar companies organized in America to 
aid the British scholars. They published what 
is known as the Revised Version of the New 
Testament in 1881 and that of the Old Testa¬ 
ment in 1884. Although some alterations were 
made and a number of points in accuracy, 
clearness, uniformity, and grammatical con¬ 
structions were effected, the King James edition 
still occupies a larger field. The German trans¬ 
lation holds equal rank with the English, and 
is the most famous for clearness and accuracy 
of the early translations into the modern lan¬ 
guages. It was made by Martin Luther in 1534, 
and is generally accepted by German speaking 
people as the most accurate in that language. 

The Jews divide the Old Testament into 
three divisions: the law, the prophets, and the 
sacred writings. The Pentateuch, as the five 
Books of Moses are usually called, contains 
the Jewish law, but of course includes also 
prophecy, history, and biography. The law 


is included in three parts: the Book of the 
Covenant, followed by the Israelites till the 
reign of Joshua; Deuteronomy, from Joshua to 
the exile; and the Priestly Code, which became 
authoritative after the Restoration. The proph¬ 
ets were divided by their scholars into the 
Former and the Latter. The Former Prophets 
embrace the historical books containing much 
of interest regarding the Jewish nation and 
their statesmen. They begin with Joshua and 
include all of the Old Testament books up to 
the prophet Isaiah. The Latter Prophets 
include the portion from Isaiah to Malachi, 
with the first and last included. The sacred 
writings of the Old Testament embrace the his¬ 
tory of the Jewish people, their praise of God 
in psalms, their lamentations, proverbs, and 
prophecies. The whole contains many promises 
that the people are to be delivered out of all 
earthly troubles, and attain perfect bliss by 
the advent of a Messiah. These prophecies 
are still held by the Jews to indicate the com¬ 
ing of a deliverer, to whose advent they still 
look with hopeful confidence, while to Chris¬ 
tians the prophecies mean a promised deliv¬ 
ery which has been effected by the birth of 
.Christ. 

The New Testament commences with the 
Gospels, four accounts of the life of Christ by 
his followers; the first by Matthew, the second 
by Mark, the third by Luke, and the fourth by 
John. Matthew and John were disciples of 
Christ, while Mark was a companion of Peter, 
and Luke a companion of Paul. The Gos¬ 
pels are followed by the Acts of the Apostles, 
which gives an account of the early church 
and its foundation. Later come the twenty- 
one letters of the apostles to the churches, and 
some to the apostles as they were engaged in 
the active work of organizing and spreading 
the gospel. The last Book of the New Testament 
is the Revelation of Saint John, commonly 
called the Apocalypse. The books of the New 
Testament usually appear in uniform order, 
while the order of the Old Testament depends 
largely upon its translation. In the Hebrew 
Bible the divisions are different from those of 
the English, which in this respect follows the 
Greek Septuagint and" the Latin Vulgate. The 
Jewish division into the law, the prophets, and 
the psalms is quoted in Luke xxiv, 44, in these 
words, “that all things might be fulfilled that 
are written in the law, and in the prophets, 
and in the psalms.” While the books are ar¬ 
ranged differently, we give below the order in 
which they usually appear. The sixteen 
prophets, which belong to the Old Testament, 
are separated for convenience in reference: 




BIBLIOGRAPHY 


240 ' 


BIBLE 


BOOKS OF THE OED TESTAMENT. 


Genesis, 

II Kings, 

Exodus, 

I Chronicles, 

Leviticus, 

II Chronicles, 

Numbers, 

Ezra, 

Deuteronomy, 

Nehemiah. 

Joshua, 

Esther, 

Judges, 

Job, 

Ruth, 

Psalms, 

I Samuel, 

Proverbs, 

II Samuel, 

Ecclesiastes, 

I Kings, 

Song of Solomon. 

THE SIXTEEN PROPHETS. 

Isaiah, 

Jonah. 

Jeremiah, 

Micah, 

Lamentations, 

Nahum, 

Ezekiel, 

Habakkuk. 

Daniel, 

Zephaniah, 

Hosea, 

Haggai, 

Zachariah, 

Joel, 

Amos, 

Obadiah, 

Malachi. 

THE APOCRYPHA. 

I Esdras, 

Song of the Thi 

II Esdras, 

Children, 

Tobit, 

Susanna, 

Judith, 

Bel and the Dragon, 

The Rest of Esther, 

Manasses, 

Wisdom of Solomon, 

I Maccabees, 

Ecclesiasticus, 

Baruch, 

II Maccabees. 

BOOKS OF THE 

NEW TESTAMENT. 

Matthew, 

I Timothy, 

Mark, 

II Timothy, 

Luke. 

Titus, 

John, 

Philemon, 

The Acts, 

Hebrews, 

Epistle to the Romans, 

Epistle of James, 

I Corinthians, 

I Peter, 

II Corinthians, 

II Peter, 

Galatians, 

I John, 

II John, 

Ephesians, 

Philippians, 

III John, • 

Colossians, 

Jude, 

I Thessalonians, 

II Thessalonians, 

Revelation. 


No matter under what form of translation 
the various books appear, the contents of the 
Bible has for its object to give an account of 
the world as the creation of an Almighty- 
Creator, always and everywhere present. It 
accounts both for the origin and government 
of mankind, and exhibits the relation of man 
to his Creator. While it teaches him how to live 
and die, it inspires him with thoughts of the 
most momentous proportions that can occupy 
the human mind. It is the aim of all sacred 
books, no matter of what religion, to explain 
the origin of all things and account for the 
relations of nature and humanity to something 
divine. The Bible is immeasurably superior 
to all other sacred books in that it leads to a 
conception, and unfolds to the soul the divine 
nature, of one personal God, who exercises a 
divine love and care for his creatures. On this 
quality ascribed to God by the Bible many rest 
their claim that it is divinely inspired by direct 
revelation from heaven. 

The Mazarin Bible was the first book to be 
printed from movable type. It was issued by 
Gutenberg (q. v.) at Mainz, Germany, in 1450 


and it is in the Latin. The name is from Cardi¬ 
nal Mazarin (d. 1661), in whose library the first 
copy to attract attention was found in 1760. 
A number of Bible curiosities, including some 
points of general interest, were ascertained by 
a convict who was sentenced to solitary con¬ 
finement. Among them the following are the 
most noteworthy: The Bible contains 3,586,489 
letters, 773,692 words, 31,173 verses, 1,189 
chapters, and 66 books. The word and occurs 
46,277 times; Lord, 1,855, and reverend but 
once, which is in the 9th verse of the 111th 
Psalm. The middle verse is the 8th verse of the 
118th Psalm. In the 21st verse of the 7th chap¬ 
ter of Ezra are all the letters of the alphabet 
except J. The finest chapter to read is the 26th 
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The 19th 
chapter of II Kings and the 37th chapter of 
Isaiah are alike. It was found that the longest 
verse is the 9th verse of the 8th chapter of 
Esther, and the shortest is the 35th of the 
11th chapter of Saint John. The 8th, 15th, 21st, 
and 31st verses of the 107th Psalm are alike. 
Each verse of the 136th Psalm ends alike. 
There are no words or names of more than six 
syllables. 

BIBLE DISTRIBUTION, an enterprise 
having for its object the translation of the 
Bible into all spoken languages and its circu¬ 
lation for the dissemination of the Christian 
cause. The enterprise dates from the early 
part of the 19th century, but received its 
greatest impetus in 1820, up to which year 
2,843,291 Bibles had been circulated. The cir¬ 
culation in the past four decades has averaged 
about thirty million copies each ten years. 
Since this work was begun the total circulation 
exceeds 185,000,000 copies. The languages into 
which the Bible has been translated have now 
reached 363. They are distributed as follows: 
the British Isles 6, Continental Europe 71, Asia 
103, the Oceanic Islands 52, Africa 96, and 
America 35. There are no less than one hun¬ 
dred societies promulgating the spread of light 
and knowledge by means of the Bible through 
the world. No less than $25,500,000 has been 
spent for this laudable purpose the past seventy- 
five years. The societies that have been most 
potent in this enterprise are the American Bible 
Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
the Prussian Bible Society, and the Imperial 
Russian Bible Society. In 1829, 1856, 1866, and 
1882 it was the aim of the American Society 
to place a Bible in every home in America not 
already supplied. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY (bib- li-og'ra-fy), the 
science or knowledge of books, relating both 
to the external features and the value of their 


BIBLIOMANIA 


241 


BICYCLE 


contents. The subject is sometimes divided 
into pure bibliography, which relates to the 
external feature of books, and applied bibliogra¬ 
phy, which takes cognizance of their repute 
and degree of value. A classification of a list 
of works treating of some particular branch of 
knowledge is called a bibliography, such as a 
bibliography of electricity or one of political 
economy. Conrad von Gesner (1516-65), of 
Switzerland, prepared his “Bibliotheca Univer¬ 
salis,” in which he published a very extensive 
list of books issued in the Hebrew, Greek and 
Latin languages. The work known as “The 
American Catalogue,” published in New York 
City, contains a comprehensive list of authors 
and a title index. of books published in the 
United States, supplemented with an annual 
issued from time to time. The “English Cata¬ 
logue” contains a similar list of books or works 
published in Great Britain. A large number of 
German works of this kind have been issued, 
notably among which is Kayser’s “Complete 
Book-Lexicon.” Lorenz’s “General Catalogue” 
is a very comprehensive French work. Ameri¬ 
can works that should be mentioned in this 
connection are Baker’s “Guide to the Best Fic¬ 
tion,” Scribner’s “Bibliographical Guide to 
American Literature,” and Duyckinck’s “Cyclo¬ 
paedia of American Literature.” Allibone’s 
“Critical Dictionary of English Literature” con¬ 
tains a comprehensive list of both English and 
American books. 

BIBLIOMANIA (bib-li-6-ma'm-a), the name 
used to describe the passion for acquiring 
or possessing books, especially those considered 
rare and of unusual value. Persons who make 
such collections regard rarity more important 
thaii utility and seek to acquire books issued 
from a certain press, of early and rare editions, 
or those in which the author personally signed 
his autograph. Editions de luxe were the first 
to be gathered, and later books issued by Cax- 
ton, Gutenberg, and other early printers came 
into great demand. The Mazarin Bible, with 
imprint of 1450, said to have belonged to Car¬ 
dinal Mazarin, sold in 1804 for £3,950. Books 
in which certain faults or typographical errors 
were overlooked- by noted authors sometimes 
bring high prices, and copies of “Decameron” 
of the first edition are especially valuable. The 
Grolier Club of New York City is a society of 
book lovers who reprint rare works for their 
own use. 

BICEPS (bl'-seps), the large muscle of the 
upper arm, which gives a full appearance to 
the front part of that limb. At the lower end 
it is attached to the radius by a tendon, and 
at the upper extremity to the scapula. The 


action of the biceps is to bend the elbow. At 
the outer and posterior part of the thigh is an¬ 
other biceps. The muscle back of the arm, 
which works in unison with the biceps, is called 
triceps. 

BICYCLE (bi'-si'-k’l), a two-wheeled ma¬ 
chine for riding by pressing the feet on pedals. 
The modern safety bicycle has been brought to 
a high state of perfection and has assumed an 
important place as a means of locomotion. It 
not only serves for pleasure and for convenience 
in travel, but is utilized in war by the equip¬ 
ment of soldiery for military service. In many 
countries large bodies of armed men are drilled 
and equipped to use the bicycle as a means of 
transportation and for service in the intelligence 
department. It is a popular machine for long 
trips into the interior of continents, or for the 



1. SAFETY BICYCLE. 2 AI?D 3. HIGH-WHEELED 
BICYCLES. 


purpose of crossing large bodies of land for 
exploration and newspaper reporting. 

The first bicycle was introduced into England 
in 1818. It consisted of a two-wheeled contriv¬ 
ance with a seat affixed to a wooden beam, on 
which the rider sat astraddle, and by kicking 
the ground facilitated moving forw’ard. This 
finally led to the conclusion that two-wheeled 
machines could be made in such a manner that 
the rider would not need to depend upon his 
feet for aid in keeping it in an erect position. 
In 1869 a bicycle was manufactured in Europe 
known as the bone-shaker, which consisted of a 
wood and iron frame, and later rubber tires and 
steel frames were added. The bicycles made in 
1880 weighed about fifty pounds and were high- 
wheeled machines with rubber tires. 

The manufacture of high-grade bicycles dates, 
from about 1895, when machines having a 
weight of twenty pounds were introduced. This 
pattern is now in general use. It is provided 
with pneumatic tires, tubular steel frames, ball 
bearings, and endless chains, and some patterns 
have chainless appliances. The pneumatic tire 
is made of several thicknesses of canvas en¬ 
forced by vulcanized rubber, and contains an 
endless air-tight rubber tube. It is held to a 
steel or wooden rim. By means of ball bearings 


16 






BIDDEFORD 


242 


BILE 


friction is greatly reduced, and tubular frames 
aid in the reduction of weight. The modern 
safety bicycle is a popular invention and serves 
a variety of useful purposes. The most recent 
improvement is the addition of an electric stor¬ 
age battery, or a gas engine, by which the rider 
is aided in the use of the machine. The diffi¬ 
culty of riding against a strong current of wind 
or up grades is thus overcome, and facilities are 
provided, to enable making greater speed at less 
exertion of the body. This machine in its vari¬ 
ous forms is popular and has displaced the use 
of the horse to a certain extent as 'a business 
conveyance. It is called a motor bicycle. 

BIDDEFORD (bid'de-ferd), a city of York 
County, Maine, on the Saco River, fifteen miles 
southwest of Portland. It is on the Boston 
and Maine Railroad. The city has excellent 
street railway service, fine schools, gas and elec¬ 
tric lighting, and other modern conveniences. 
Its public high school is on<^ of the finest in 
the State. The granite in its vicinity is inex¬ 
haustible in quantity and superb in quality. The 
city is surrounded by an agricultural country 
and has extensive factories and a large com¬ 
merce. It was settled in 1630, incorporated in 
1718, and became a city in 1855. Population, 
1900, 16,145. 

BIELA’S COMET (be la), a comet dis¬ 
covered in 1772, again in 1805, and again in 
1826, the last time by an Austrian officer named 
Wilhelm von Biela (1782-1856), from whom it 
was named. He calculated its orbit, and showed 
that the period was six and one-half years. It 
appeared in 1832, 1839, 1846, and 1852, but since 
then has not been observed. At its'appearance 
in 1846 it was split into two parts, which phe¬ 
nomenon was also observed six years later. It 
is thought that the meteoric showers in 1885, 
1892, and 1899 were due to the earth passing 
through the orbit of the lost body. 

BIGAMY (big'a-my), the offense of marry¬ 
ing while the first wife is still living, or while 
the first husband is still alive, without first 
obtaining a divorce. It is defined in the crimi¬ 
nal law as a statutory offense and is punishable 
by fine and imprisonment, or both. 

'BIG BETPIEL (beth'el), a village of Vir¬ 
ginia, between the James and York rivers, ten 
miles northwest of Fortress Monroe. It was 
the scene of an engagement in the Civil War, 
on June 10, 1861, when Gen. B. F. Butler with 
2,500 Federals made an attack upon 1,800 
Confederates under Gen. F. W. Pierce. Sev¬ 
eral attempts were made by the Federals to 
carry the works by assault, but the attacks were 
repulsed, and the Confederates retired during 
the night. 


BIG BLACK RIVER, a tributary of the 

Mississippi, rises in Choctaw County, Missis¬ 
sippi. It is about two hundred miles in length, 
fifty miles of which are navigable. In 1863 Gen¬ 
eral Grant operated on the banks of this river 
and carried the works of the Confederates un¬ 
der General Pemberton May 17, and compelled 
the remaining forces to retreat to Vicksburg. 

BIG HORN. See Rocky Mountain Goat. 

BIG HORN RIVER, a tributary of the 
Yellowstone, which rises in the northwestern 
part of Wyoming, in the Wind River Range. In 
its upper course it flows toward the southeast, 
which part is known as the Wind River, then 
north through the Big Horn Mountains in Mon¬ 
tana, and joins the Yellowstone near Big Horn, 
Mont. The scenery in the upper part of. its 
course is grand. Its length is about 380 miles. 

BIGNONIA (big-no'm-a), a -genus of 
flowering shrubs, so named from the Abbe 
Bignon. About 100 species have been described, 
most of which are native to South America. 
Many are twining shrubs with tendrils and are 
cultivated extensively in gardens. The trumpet 
flower is a well-known species. 

BIG RAPIDS, a city in Michigan, county 
seat of Mecosta County, fifty-five miles north of 
Grand Rapids, on the Pere Marquette and the 
Grand Rapids and Indiana railroads. It is on 
the Muskegon River, which is crossed by a 
number of bridges, and is surrounded by a 
fertile region. The chief buildings include a 
public library and a courthouse, and it is the 
seat of the Ferris Institute. The chief manu¬ 
factures are furniture, hardware, and machin¬ 
ery. Big Rapids was settled in 1859 and was 
incorporated ten years later. Population, 1905, 
4,852. 

BIG SANDY, a tributary of the Ohio 
River, formed at Louisa, Ky., by the junction 
of the Tug Fork and West Fork. The West 
Fork has its source in the southwestern part 
of Virginia and flows through Kentucky, and 
the Tug Fork rises in West Virginia. The 
latter and the Big Sandy form a part of the 
boundary between Kentucky and West Vir¬ 
ginia. The Big Sandy is navigable its entire 
course of eighteen miles, from Louisa to the 
Ohio River, and the West Fork is navigable for 
eighty miles. 

BILE (bil), the fluid separated from the 
blood of the portal vein by the cells of the 
liver, where it is collected by the biliary ducts. 
These unite to form larger ones and finally 
merge into the right and left hepatic ducts, 
which unite to form the common hepatic duct. 
The last mentioned unites with the cystic duct 
to form the common bile-duct, which opens on 


BILL 


243 


BILL 


the mucous surface of the second part of the 
duodenum. Bile is secreted continuously, 
though most rapidly an hour after eating, and 
a supply is retained in the gall bladder, whence 
it flows continuously. It is of a golden-red 
color, and bitter taste, and is somewhat viscid. 
In the process of digestion, it serves to aid 
more or less, especially in reducing the fatty 
substances and stimulating the peristaltic 
motion of the intestines, and in disenfecting 
the contents of the large intestine. The 
amount secreted daily is from twenty to fifty 
ounces. Gall stones result from solidification of 
the bile, and biliousness is caused when bile is 
not secreted in due quantity. 

BILL, in legislature, a form of statute 
proposed for passage in either branch of the 
legislative department, which, after passing 
both houses and receiving the executive’s signa¬ 
ture, becomes a law. In the United States 
and most countries a bill for raising revenue 
must originate in the Lower House, but amend¬ 
ments may be proposed and made in the 
Senate. 

Bill, the statement of an account for goods 
sold, services rendered, or work done, either 
written or printed. It may state the amount 
claimed by the creditor in gross or by items. 
When the term is used to describe a legal 
or commercial document, it is associated with 
some other word or words that define its 
application. The principal kinds of bills are 
defined in the following list: 

Bill of Attainder, a legislative enactment to 
punish the person or persons guilty of treason 
or felony, involving the loss of all personal 
and real property and the infliction of cruel 
and unusual punishments. A person attainted 
cannot sue or testify in any court, or claim any 
civil rights or legal protection, and cannot 
receive or transmit any property by inheritance. 
Great Britain abolished bills of attainder in 
1870, and the Constitution of the United States 
prohibits the passage of such a bill. 

Bill of Costs, an itemized list of the costs 
of an action at law. It is filed by the success¬ 
ful party and is subject to the approval of the 
clerk or some similar officer, and the amount 
verified is added to the judgment. 

Bill of Exchange, a written order signed 
I by the person issuing it, in which another is 
directed to pay a third party a specified sum 
of money and charge it to the account of the 
first The person issuing it is the drawer; the 
one receiving it, the payee; and the one to 
pay it, the drawee, and frequently triplicates 
are written, one for each of the three parties 
interested. A foreign bill of exchange is 


drawn in one state or country and payable 
in another, and a domestic bill is drawn and 
payable within a State. Bills of exchange are 
commonly called drafts, and the largest volume 
of business in all commercial centers is trans¬ 
acted in drafts and personal checks. 

Bill of Exception, in law, a statement of 
objections made by an attorney in the course of 
a trial to the ruling of a judge. The objec¬ 
tions are made for the purpose of putting the 
points decided on record so they may be 
reviewed by the full bench or by a higher 
court to which an appeal may be taken, and if 
the exceptions are well founded the case is 
reversed or remanded for new trial. 

Bill of Indictment, a written document pre¬ 
sented to a grand jury, accusing one or more 
persons of having committed a felony or high 
crime. If the grand jurors consider the evi¬ 
dence sufficient to support the accusation, they 
indorse it A true bill, but if the evidence is 
insufficient it is marked Not o' true bill. 

Bill of Health, a certificate issued by a 
consul or other proper officer to the master 
of a ship clearing out of a port in which con¬ 
tagious diseases are epidemic, or are suspected 
to be, certifying to the state of health of the 
crew and passengers on board. 

Bill of Lading, a memorandum of goods 
shipped by vessel bearing the signature of the 
master of the vessel, who acknowledges the 
receipt of the goods and agrees to transfer 
them in good condition to the point of destina¬ 
tion, natural damages excepted. The term is 
applied in the same manner to bills covering 
shipments made by railroads, but they are fre¬ 
quently called waybills or freight receipts. 

Bill of Rights, in government, a summary 
of the fundamental rights and privileges 
claimed by the people. The principles of polit¬ 
ical liberty in Great Britain are defined in the 
Bill of Rights adopted by Parliament in 1689, 
after the Prince and Princess of Orange 
became king and queen, and it is one of the 
three great documents of that country. The 
first twelve amendments to the United States 
Constitution are referred to by the same name, 
since they set forth specifically certain inalien¬ 
able rights of the people. After the revolution 
in France, in 1789, a number of bills of rights 
were enacted by the conventions. 

Bill of Sale, a formal statement issued as 
evidence of the sale of personal property. Such 
an instrument is necessary when the property 
sold does not pass into the possession of the 
purchaser, but remains in the custody of the 
party who sold it. To make such a bill valid 
in some states or countries, against the claim 




BILLIARDS 


244 


BIMETALLISM 


of a third party, it is necessary to have it 
recorded in the public records of the town or 
county. A bill is frequently given to a creditor 
as security for borrowed money or as surety 
that an account will be paid. 

BILLIARDS (bil'yerdz), an indoor game 
played with ivory or paste balls on a rectangu¬ 
lar table. The balls are driven by a cue made 
of an ash rod or stick against each other or 
into pockets. The game is one of the most 
popular and extensively played of all indoor 
games. Rules and regulations guide the player 
in the manner of driving the balls and in the 
number of points to be made. Among the 
games played are the five-pin pool, fifteen-ball 
pool, Chicago pool, bottle pool, Parisian pool, 
and many others variously designated. The 
origin of the play dates far back in history. 
Contests for the world’s championship are 
frequent. 

The table used in playing billiards is covered 
with cloth, has raised, cushioned edges, and 
its dimensions are about six by twelve feet. 
The cue is a straight, round staff of wood 
from four to eight feet in length, tapering 
from the butt to the tip, and tipped at the 
point with a thin leather, which is chalked to 
cause it to take hold of the smooth and pol¬ 
ished surface of the balls. The balls are 
usually of ivory, measure two and one-sixteenth 
inches in diameter, and are differently colored. 
A popular game is played with three balls, one 
red and two white, and one of the white balls 
has a spot to distinguish it from the others. 
At the beginning of the game the red ball is 
placed upon the top of the table, at a point 
about twelve inches from the top cushion and in 
the center width of the table, and the other 
two balls are placed at different points at the 
opposite end of the table. The game is won 
or lost according to the ability of the players 
to strike their own ball against that of the 
adversary or the red ball so either may be 
drivefi into the pockets, or to strike both balls 
with that of the player. In America the game is 
played very generally with three balls on tables 
not provided with pockets, and the object of the 
player is to effect a cannon, that is to drive his 
own ball so it will" strike the red ball and that 
of his adversary. 

BILLINGS (bil'lingz), a city in Montana, 
county seat of Yellowstone County, 240 miles 
southeast of Helena, on the Northern Pacific 
and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy rail¬ 
roads. It is nicely situated on the Yellow¬ 
stone River, which furnishes an abundance of 
water for irrigation. The surrounding coun¬ 
try is well adapted to stock raising. As an 


inland market for wool it takes high rank, 
and much live stock is shipped to domestic and 
foreign points. Coal is mined in the vicinity, 
and marble and limestone quarries are worked 
profitably. A public library, a city hall, an 
opera house, a courthouse, and numerous 
schools and churches are among the public 
buildings. It has a growing trade in merchan¬ 
dise. Population, 1900, 3,221. 

BILLINGSGATE (bil'lingz-gat), a wharf 
and fish market in London, England, located 
near the London bridge, on the Thames. This 
market was established in 1699, and has con¬ 
tinued to be free and open for the sale of all 
kinds of fish. The term billingsgate originated 
from this market, due to the coarse or abusive 
language heard there in former times. 

BILOXI (bi-loks'i), a city of Mississippi, 
in Harrison County, on the Gulf of Mexico, 
and on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. 
It has a well improved harbor and is the seat 
of several schools and a convent. It carries a 
large trade in fruit, vegetables, oysters, and 
merchandise. The canning industrv is a 
growing enterprise, and large quantities of 
canned goods, such as oysters, crabs, fruit, and 
vegetables, are exported. Shipyards and 
machine shops are growing enterprises. The 
first settlement in its vicinity was made across 
Biloxi Bay, on which the city is located, by a 
company of French under Iberville and his 
brother, Jean Bienville (q. v.), in 1699, and 
named from the Biloxi Indians. Its growth is 
due to its convenient location as a trade cen¬ 
ter, and as a popular winter resort. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 5,467. 

BIMETALLISM (bi-met'al-liz’m), the doc¬ 
trine that both gold and silver should be 
adopted at the same time, in the same country, 
as standard money, and bear to each other a 
fixed ratio established and recognized by the 
government. It is opposed to monometallism, 
which is the doctrine of a single monetary 
standard. The two doctrines have caused 
political dissension in all civilized countries. 
The contention reached the culminating point 
in the United States in 1896, although much 
discussion was given to this phase of the 
money question from the early organization of 
the government. Bimetallists contend that the 
coinage of gold and silver should be alike free 
and unlimited, that the coined metals should 
bear to each other a fixed value, which, when 
so fixed, will be maintained by reason of the 
law and commercial necessity; both metals 
should be equally standard money, full legal 
for ad d fbts private and public, and 
should be the basis of the entire monetary sys- 


BINDING TWINE 


245 


BIOGRAPHY 


tem. The parity of both gold and silver has 
been disturbed by various causes, such as the 
adoption of the single gold standard in some 
countries, whereby the demand for gold was 
correspondingly increased; the discovery of 
large quantities of gold and silver, whereby 
the relative quantity of the world was varied; 
and the demonetization of silver in a number 
of countries, whereby the use of silver was 
materially limited. 

The proper ratio of the coinage is generally 
held to be about sixteen to one by the advo¬ 
cates of bimetallism, for the reason that the 
production of silver in the world has been in 
weight about sixteen times that of the pro¬ 
duction of gold. However, other ratios are 
advocated and have been maintained. The 
battle of the standards, as the conflict between 
the two doctrines is called, owes its origin 
largely to the discovery of vast gold fields in 
California in 1849 and in Australia in 1851. 
The relative values of gold and silver from 
1600 b. c. to the beginning of the Christian era 
stood about as one to twelve to each other, 
never falling below one to nine and never ex¬ 
ceeding one to fourteen. From the Christian 
era to 1640 a. d. the ratio of the market 
value of gold and silver stood from one 
to ten to one to fifteen, while from 1640 to 
1872 it stood uniformly from one to fourteen to 
one to sixteen. A legal ratio of one to fifteen 
and one-half was long maintained by a number 
of European governments. The greatest 
variations in ratio have occurred since 1872. 
The partial demonetization of silver in the 
United States in 1873 caused the ratio to be 
about one to twenty-three, and with the act of 
1878, which partly restored silver, the ratio 
stood at one to seventeen. Since that time, 
owing to legislation and the discovery of vast 
quantities of gold in South Africa and the 
northwestern part of North America, the 
value of silver has fallen until it has reached 
about one to forty. See Money. 

BINDING TWINE, an article of commerce 
which attained its greatest utility with the 
general use of the self-binding harvester. The 
best quality is made of Manila hemp produced 
in the East Indies, particularly that secured of 
the banana palm, which abounds in the Philip¬ 
pine Islands. Other hemp of use in its manu¬ 
facture grows in Yucatan and Southern Mex¬ 
ico. The sisal twine is secured from the Amer¬ 
ican aloes. The binding twine sold on the 
market is wound into balls of 650 feet each, so 
wrapped that they unwind from the inside. 

BINGEN (bing'en), a city in the grand 
duchy of Hesse, Germany, on the Rhine, 20 


miles west of Mainz. It is surrounded 
by a fertile country which produces a supe¬ 
rior quality of grapes and cereals. The manu¬ 
factures include wine, leather, woolen goods, 
and clothing. It has a number of fine public 
buildings and a growing trade. The Mause- 
thurm Tower rises from the middle of the 
Rhine, a little below the city. It was erected 
about the 10th century by Willigis, Archbishop 
of Mainz. It is celebrated on account of the 
legend that Bishop Hatto was eaten by rats, 
which were attracted to the tower by large 
quantities of grain stored by him during a fam¬ 
ine. In legendry it is recited that the treas¬ 
ures of King Nibelung were sunk in the Rhine 
near Bingen, from which the name was given 
to the Nibelungenlied. The place is also 
famous for the popular school song, “Bingen 
on the Rhine.” Population, 1905, 9,878. 

BINGHAMTON (bing'am-tun), county 
seat of Broome County, New York, on the 
north branch of the Susquehanna River. It is 
on the Delaware and Hudson, the Lackawanna, 
and other railroads, and occupies a fine site 
overlooking the Susquehanna and Chenango 
rivers, which unite in the city. Bennett Park 
and Ross Park are fine public grounds. It has 
a modern courthouse, post office, high schools, 
opera house, and city hall. It is the seat of the 
New York State Asylum for Inebriates, Bing¬ 
hamton Academy, Susquehanna Valley Home, 
and Saint Mary’s Home for Indigent Children. 
The manufactures include machinery, clothing, 
furniture, cigars, shoes, and farming imple¬ 
ments. The city has electric street railways, 
waterworks, gas and electric lighting, and fine 
public schools. It was founded in 1787 by 
William Bingham, incorporated in 1818, and 
made a city in 1867. Population, 1910, 48,443. 

BINOMIAL (bi-no'mT-al), in algebra, an 
expression that consists of two terms, such as 
a+b or 7—3; a trinomial consists of three 
terms, as a-j-b-fx, or 5+3—2. An algebraic 
expression consisting of three or more terms 
is called a polynomial. Sir Isaac Newton was 
the first to employ the binomial theorem, 
using it to raise a binomial to any power or 
extracting any root of it by approximating 
series. The discovery is engraved on his tomb. 

BIOBIO (be-6-be'o), the largest river in 
Chile, rises in the Andes, and after a course of 
200 miles discharges into the Pacific near the 
city of Concepcion. At its mouth it is about 
two miles wide. 

BIOGRAPHY (bi-og'ra-fy), the depart¬ 
ment of literature which treats of the lives of 
individuals. When written by the subject him¬ 
self, it is called autobiography. Biography dif- 






BIOLOGY 


246 


BIOLOGY 


fers in its mode of treatment in that it assumes 
the form of descriptive criticism, or approaches 
the sphere of history or philosophy. Modern 
biography includes numerous criticisms and 
elucidations, and differs from the classic in 
that it is more acute, expansive, and lively. 
Modern biographies are very numerous, and 
many of them possess remarkable literary 
charms, partake of the eminent character of 
their subject, and throw a light of interest 
about men and the events of their times. 
Among the early biographies are Plutarch’s 
“Parallel Lives,” written in the 1st century 
after Christ; Nepos’ “Lives of Military Com¬ 
manders,” and Suetonius’ “Lives of the Twelve 
Caesars.” Biographical literature of modern 
times originated in the 17th century, since 
which time it has multiplied extensively and 
entered largely into the popular writings. In 
1671 the publication of biographical dictionaries 
was inaugurated by Moreri, who published 
“Dictionnaire Historique et Critique.” In the 
last century numerous publications of merit 
were completed and extensively circulated. 
Many of them contain encyclopaedic treatises 
and constitute practically universal biographies. 
Dr. Johnson thought every man best fitted to 
write his own life, and yet the best biography 
ever written is, perhaps, that of Dr. Johnson, 
as written by Boswell. 

BIOLOGY (bi-61'o-jy), the science that 
embraces all phenomena of life. It includes 
the scientific inquiries into the first origin of 
life and its various changes from the earliest 
period until now. Some of the phenomena of 
life, including psychology, the study of the 
human soul, and sociology, the study pertain¬ 
ing to man in society, are often grouped apart, 
but these and all phenomena of life properly 
belong to biology. Biology was not recognized 
as an important science until the latter half of 
the 18th century, nor was it thought possible 
until comparatively recent times to deduce laws 
which would equally pertain to all forms and 
manifestations of vegetable life. By means of 
a general tendency to inductive reasoning and 
the work of some scholars, as Cuvier, Lamarck, 
Darwin, Kant, von Baer, and numerous others, 
it has become possible to define all life with 
one definition, and classify its laws uniformly, 
no matter in what shape or function we find it. 

All living matter has three distinctive prop¬ 
erties. The first of these is its chemical com¬ 
position, which invariably contains one or more 
forms of a complex compound of oxygen, 
hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon, called the pro¬ 
tein and found only as a product of living 
bodies. The protein is united with a large pro¬ 


portion of water and forms a kind of fluid 
called protoplasm. The next distinctive prop¬ 
erty is the universal waste by being oxidized, 
and its conjoined restoration to a whole state 
by the infusion of new matter. Life is always 
attended by the decomposition of molecules of 
protoplasm. The waste products consist largely 
of carbonic acid, while the other elements of 
protein enter into the composition of proto¬ 
plasm. The new matter is supplied by some 
other living being, or contains elements of pro¬ 
toplasm which go to build up the living matter. 
The addition unites with the existing molecules 
of the living mass by interposition. While in 
the stage of infancy the reconstruction exceeds 
the waste, the two are balanced at a period of 
complete development, and later the waste 
exceeds the reconstruction. When reconstruc¬ 
tion exceeds the waste, the living mass grows, 
but when waste exceeds it, it begins to decline 
and death eventually results. The third dis¬ 
tinctive property is that all living matter tends 
to undergo recurring changes, or life proceeds 
from preexisting life; in animals the new life 
is born from eggs, while in plants, from seeds. 
Varied forms propagate themselves by off¬ 
shoots, which, like their predecessors, after a 
time cease to live and resolve into oxidated ele¬ 
ments. New forms in life invariably partake 
of the characterises of the forms from which 
they originated, although by a process of prop¬ 
agation changes to a higher or lower state may 
be effected. 

All living matter depends upon a supply of 
heat and moisture, which dependence varies in 
kind with its. organization and structure. Life 
forms cannot exist unless surrounded by a tem¬ 
perature suitable to their growth and develop¬ 
ment. Movement, nutritive growth, and repro¬ 
duction are possible only within certain limits 
of temperature, which, when excessively raised 
or lowered, cause death. The minimum limit of 
temperature that living matter can bear is 
greatly variable, depending upon the nature of 
the life. Pasteur found that the spores of 
fungi, when dry, could be exposed to a tem¬ 
perature of 250° Fahr., while when moistened 
they were killed at 112°. Bacteria lose life at 
14° above zero, while experiments with other 
forms of life show that the power to resist 
cold is very various. On the other hand, the 
maximum limit of heat at which living matter 
can exist is equally variable; some forms of 
marine life are able to withstand a tempera¬ 
ture of only 95°. The simpler forms, of vege¬ 
table organisms lose life at a temperature of 
140°. However, there are thermal springs with 
a temperature of 168° to 208° in which living 


BIRCH 


247 


BIRDS 


plants are found. Scientists ascribe their abil¬ 
ity to withstand this high temperature to habit, 
this having been formed by slow degrees 
through long periods of time. Life does not 
always cease with destruction of form, but 
often becomes extinct only with coagulation of 
certain substances in the protoplasm. 

Numerous forms of life are invisible to the 
naked eye, in many of which the most powerful 
microscope does not reveal the vital parts. The 
living forms that are found to contain different 
parts, with distinct functions, when examined by 
the microscope, are said to be organized living 
bodies. However, life extends beyond organized 
forms. Besides, there are bodies of considerable 
size tha^t manifest such a peculiar structure that 
it is difficult to determine whether they are 
plants or animals. The most important distinc¬ 
tion among animals is in the food partaken. 
Animals feed upon plants and other animals, and 
breathe in oxygen; while plants take in food 
from the earth and the air by means of their 
roots and leaves. The divisions of biology are 
morphology, distribution, physiology, and 
aetiology. The first relates to the anatomy and 
history, the second to geography and geology, 
the third to organic functions, and the last 
to the causes and origin of life. The study of 
plant life is called botany; of animal life, 
zoology. 

BIRCH (berch), a genus'of trees found in 
the colder regions of America and Eurasia, in¬ 
cluding no less than 25 species. In the tem¬ 
perate climates they attain a height of seventy 
feet, while in cold climates, as in Greenland, 
they dwindle down to a mere bush, known as 
the dwarf birch. TJie wood is tough, firm, and 
light in color; the bark is smooth, shining, and 
whitish or a chalky white. It is one of the most 
useful of woods. The bark is used by sav¬ 
ages in building huts and canoes, and by civil¬ 
ized people for tanning and in the production of 
valuable oil. Birch wood enters into the manu¬ 
facture of furniture, wooden shoes, barrels, and 
water wheels, and is used for construction pur¬ 
poses. It is found farther north in North 
America than any other tree, and is the only 
tree in Greenland. For this reason it serves a 
valuable purpose as fuel in the cold regions 
inhabited by the Laplanders and Eskimos. The 
white birch and the yellow birch are familiar 
trees in many parts of Canada and the United 
States. 

BIRD OF PARADISE (par'a-dis), a bird 
of beautiful plumage allied to the crows, found 
chiefly in New Guinea and the adjacent islands. 
The family includes a number of species, some 
of which are remarkable for beauty in color and 


plumage. The king bird of paradise has a mag¬ 
nificent plume of feathers, which comes up 
from under the wings and branches over the 
back. It is the most beautiful bird of this 
family and is quite rare. Other species include 
the red bird of paradise, the golden bird of 
paradise, and the emerald bird of paradise. 
Most of these birds are small; the largest 
species attain a length of about two feet. The 
plume is found only in the male, whose feathers 
form an article of commerce. It is used for 
ornamentation and for trimming hats. The 
plumage is so rich and varied that in this 
respect these birds excel all others, even the 



humming birds. Knowledge of these birds 
dates from 1857, when A. R. Wallace discovered 
them while on a voyage to Australasia. 

BIRDS, the seGond class of the subkingdom 
of vertebrate animals, which stands between the 
mammals above and the reptiles below. They 
agree with the mammals in being warm-blooded 
and with the reptiles, amphibia, and fishes in 
being oviparous, that is, their young are born 
from eggs, while the mammals bring forth their 
young alive and suckle them for a time. They are 


/ 




BIRDS 


248 


BIRDS 


bipeds and are feathered, and wings are used by- 
all but a few species in flight. The blood cir¬ 
culates rapidly and is warmer than in other 
vertebrates, and consequently they are animals 
of great energy. They breathe not only through 
the lungs, but have air cells in various parts of 
the body, which aid in respiration. The feathers 
essentially resemble hair of other animals, and 
are found only in the bird class. The plumage 
on the lower parts of the body of most birds 
is formed by a thick coating of feathers em¬ 
bedded in the skin, called down. The* shape, 
the light feather coating, the powerful wings, 
the peculiar tail, the air cells, and the strong 
muscles are important factors in fitting them for 
flight. Their feathers are renewed periodically; 
the plumage of winter in many species differs 
from that of the summer time. The young 
change their plumage many times before they 
attain their full-grown shape. 

The lightness of birds enables them to fly, 
swim, and move rapidly on land. Their bones 
are thin and contain numerous air cells, while 
air is also found in the feathers and and in 
various parts of the body. The swift-flying 
birds have more air cells than those of 
slower flight, while birds that do not fly pos¬ 
sess very few, as the ostrich, which has cells 
only in the thigh bones. In breathing, the air 
passes from the lungs into the cells at will; 
some birds have the capacity to fill even the 
quills of large feathers. All this and the long 
feathers of* the tail and wings aid in carry¬ 
ing the birds through the air. Birds of colder 
regions are covered with much warmer coat¬ 
ing than those of hot climates; this is nec¬ 
essary owing to a need of greater ability to 
withstand the cold. 

The food of birds differs widely. Some live 
on a mixture of plant and animal food, while 
others live entirely on insects and some en¬ 
tirely on flesh. The food is swallowed in large 
particles, or whole, and passes through the 
gullet into the first stomach, or crop, in which 
it is softened by soaking. It then passes by 
another part of the gullet into the gizzard, a 
strong and muscular cavity, in which it is 
mixed with gastric juices. The grain-eating 
birds have a large crop into which the seeds 
swallowed by them pass, where they are moist¬ 
ened by a liquid secretion. The strength of the 
gizzard depends upon the kind of birds; those 
that eat flesh have a weaker gizzard than those 
that eat plants and seeds. It is to be noted 
that the gizzard has a grinding motion and 
crushes the food, and to facilitate this action 
many birds swallow small stones. The in¬ 


testines are smaller and simpler than those in 
mammals, but in the main all the organs, like 
the kidneys, gall bladder, and other vital 
organs, are common to them. 

Birds possess all the senses, more or less 
fully developed. The senses of touch and taste 
are quite dull in all the birds, while the senses 
of sight and hearing are highly developed. 
Birds of prey possess a strong sense of smell. 
Many birds have no song, but all are known to 
be able to make a noise or cry. Only the male 
birds possess the power of song, but females 
have ability to call other birds. When domes¬ 
ticated, the song is beautified and enlarged, but 
birds of the finest plumage are not the best 
singers; their richness in dress is compensated 
for by the song in the plainer birds, a truly 
admirable compensation. Many birds migrate 
in the spring to the colder regions and return 
in autumn, but there are also summer birds 
of passage. 

In nest building there is a wide range of 
difference. Some lay their eggs on the warm 
sand of the seashore or on desert oases, while 
others build nests in trees and bushes, or bur¬ 
row in the banks of rivers or oceans. The eggs 
are hatched by incubation; that is, by sitting 
on them and keeping them warm until young 
birds are produced, but there are some birds 
that lay their eggs, to be hatched by the warmth 
of the sun or the heat generated by decaying 
vegetation. The mother bird guards the nest 
at short range, while the males are seen at 
some distance watching the enemy. Many kinds 
of young birds are able to leave the nests and 
gather food for themselves shortly after hatch¬ 
ing, but the young of some species are fed for 
days and even weeks. 

For the purpose of study there are various 
divisions of birds, but the following seven are 
those commonly given: 

1. Raveners (raptores) are birds of prey. 
They have strong, curved beaks with sharp 
edges. Their feet possess claws with sharp 
hooks, useful in catching and destroying other 
animals, and their wings are well developed for 
flight. This class includes such birds as owls, 
vultures, hawks, and eagles. 

2. Climbers (scansores) are birds that climb, 
such as the woodpeckers, toucans, parrots, and 
cuckoos. Their power of flight is not well 
developed, but they possess feet and toes well 
adapted for climbing and moving about on 
the limbs of trees. 

3. Perchers (insessores) are the birds that 
perch habitually among trees. This class of 
birds includes all the birds of song and most 


BIRDS’ NESTS 


249 


BIRKENHEAD 


birds that live in trees. It constitutes the most 
numerous order. 

4. Runners (cursores) include the emu, os¬ 
trich, and cassowary. Their wings are rudi¬ 
mentary and useless for flight, while their legs 
are powerful. They are otherwise distinguished 
by their breastbone being without a keel and 
their hind toes wanting. 

5. Scratchers (rasores) embrace the domes¬ 
tic pigeons* fowls, and pheasants. The bill is 
short and thick, the legs are strong and large, 
and the feet are suitable for scratching. 

6. Waders (grallatores) include the snipes, 
herons, sandpipers, cranes, and many others. 
Their legs are long and destitute of feathers 
above the heel, and their toes are usually half 
webbed. The bill is long and slender, adapted 
for fishing under water. 

7. Szvimmers (natatores) are web-footed 
birds, as gulls, geese, swans, and ducks. The 
feet are webbed; that is, the toes are connected 
by membrane and formed for swimming. Most 
species have flattened bills, and are expert 
divers. 

BIRDS’ NESTS, the habitations of birds, 
in which they lay their eggs and hatch their 
young. In the construction of nests birds 
differ largely, from the rude and simple to 
the wonderful and skillful. Two classes of 
birds are usually recognized by writers, includ¬ 
ing those that build their nests in trees and 
structures above the ground and those that 
build in cliffs or on the ground. Nearly all 
birds that swim and dive, and those that live 
along the shore, build their nests on the ground. 
Some birds lay their eggs on rocky cliffs or 
in the sand on the shore of the sea or inland 
lakes. The nighthawks and whip-poor-wills lay 
their eggs on dry leaves or on the roofs 
of houses. Many water birds build nests by 
means of sticks and leaves entwined among 
the reeds of swamps. This class usually 
feather their nests with the down taken from 
beneath the breast. 

Writers have divided birds into different 
classes, using the kind o-f nests they build as 
a basis for classification. Such birds as the 
canary are called felt-makers, because they 
weave their material much like the fibers of 
felt are arranged. Some of the birds in India 
are classified as tailors, because they sew leaves 
together and build their nests in a pouch-like 
formation, hanging downward. . Many species 
of birds, including the mocking bird, red-winged 
blackbird, and many others, are classified as 
basket-makers , because they construct basket¬ 
shaped nests that resemble the seed-vessels of 


plants in which they build, to deceive those 
who chance to visit the locality in search of 
eggs. Platform builders are such as the pigeon 
and eagle, which arrange platforms on the 
branches of trees to utilize them for the nests 
and for perching. Mining birds dig holes in 
the ground, or use the holes made by other 
animals for the purpose of making nests. A 
small owl of the western plains is a good 
example of this class. It lives with prairie 
dogs and hatches its young in their holes, and 
is closely associated with snakes. Mason birds 
build nests in cliffs and under the eaves of 
houses, constructing them of mud in the shape of 
a flask. Carpenter birds, such as woodpeckers, 
chop holes into the trunk or limbs of trees and 
build their nests in airy tunnels. Ground-build¬ 
ers make their nests in small holes in the 
ground, usually under a tuft of grass or near 
a large stone. The subject of birds’ nests is 
an interesting study. However, it is remarka¬ 
ble that birds of all classes, no matter where 
found, construct the same kind of nests, and 
that there is no change or improvement in the 
construction. Cuvier asserted that birds known 
to the Egyptians and Babylonians built identi¬ 
cally the same kind of nests as those that live 
at the present time. Many birds can be induced 
to nest in small houses constructed for them 
and placed in a convenient locality of the barn 
or house yard. 

BIRDS OF PASSAGE, the birds that 
migrate from warmer to colder climates, and 
from colder to warmer climates; these include 
two classes, known as winter birds of passage 
and summer birds of passage. Winter birds 
of passage migrate in the spring toward the 
polar regions to breed, and return toward the 
warmer zones in autumn, while the summer 
birds of passage pass toward the colder regions 
in the fall and return toward the warmer in 
the spring. These classes vary according to 
the different latitudes. The wild duck and the 
goose are familiar winter birds of passage, 
while the robin is a good example of the other 
class in some countries. Among the birds that 
do not migrate may be mentioned the quail, 
grouse, and snowbird. 

BIRKENHEAD (berk'en-hed), a seaport 
of England, on the estuary of the Mersey, 
opposite Liverpool. It has a large steamship 
and railway commerce and an immense job¬ 
bing trade. Engineering and shipbuilding are 
its principal industries. It has communication 
with Liverpool by a ferry owned by the munic¬ 
ipality, and a railway tunnel under the Mersey 
30 feet below the bed of the river. The tun- 


BIRMINGHAM 


250 


BISHOP 


nel is 36 feet wide and 22 feet high, and was 
constructed at a cost of $6,250,000. The city has 
fine public baths and a public library, and is 
the seat of Saint Aidan’s College. Among the 
chief buildings are the city hall, the market 
hall, and many villas and churches. The city 
dates from the 12th century, but its impor¬ 
tance as a trade center began with the latter 
part of the last century. Population, 1907, 
118,553. 

BIRMINGHAM (ber'-ming-am), county 
seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, 95 miles 
northwest of Montgomery, on the Southern, 
the Central of Georgia, the Louisville and 
Nashville, and other railroads. It is located in 
a beautiful valley about 600 feet above the level 
of the sea. The city is surrounded by the 
richest iron and coal region of the State, con¬ 
tains blast furnaces and rolling mills, and has 
extensive interests in manufacturing. Steel 
products are made in large quantities from ore 
found in the vicinity. Among the general 
manufactures are cotton-seed oil, car wheels, 
engines, and boilers, cotton goods, earthenware, 
and machinery. It has many large buildings, 
such as the county courthouse, the Union 
Depot, the Jefferson Theater, and Saint Vin¬ 
cent Hospital. Lakeview and Capital parks are 
fine public grounds. The streets are paved 
with stone and asphalt. Other public improve¬ 
ments include electric street railways, sewer¬ 
age, a public library, and city waterworks. 
Howard College, a Baptist institution, is five 
miles northeast of the city. Birmingham is 
one of the most prosperous cities in the South. 
In 1880 it had a population of 3,886; in 1890, 
26,241; in 1900, 38,415, and in 1910, 132,685. 

BIRMINGHAM, an important manufactur¬ 
ing city of England, in Warwick County, 112 
miles northwest of London. It is celebrated 
for its immense production of metal ware. Over 
10,000 workmen are engaged in the maufacture 
of brass products, while large numbers engage 
in manufacturing firearms, steam engines, sew¬ 
ing machines, railroad cars, gas fittings, swords, 
articles of papier-mache, and other products. 
It has connection by many lines of steam and 
electric railways. The Central Railway Sta¬ 
tion covers about thirteen acres of ground. 
Among the chief buildings are the post office, 
the city hall, the Anglican Church of Saint 
Martin, and the Baptist Wyclif Chapel. It is 
the seat of Mason and Queen’s colleges and 
other educational institutions. Among the 
memorials are beautiful statues of Sir Robert 
Peel and Nelson. The city contains seven dis¬ 
tricts, from each of which a representative is 
sent to Parliament. Population, 1907, 553,155. 


BIRNAM (ber'nam), a hill of Scotland, in 
Perthshire, twelve miles northwest of Perth. 
From its summit, 1,580 feet above the sea, a 
fine view of the Tay River and valley is 
afforded. Formerly it was covered by a royal 
forest made famous by Shakespeare in “Mac¬ 
beth.” 

BISCAY (bis'ka), a large bay on the west¬ 
ern coast of Europe, forming the principal 
eastern boundary of France and the northern 
boundary of Spain. Its French coast is low, 
but the Spanish coast rises in rocky cliffs. 
Navigation is dangerous, owing to storms and 
breakers. The tide sweeps to a height of forty 
feet. The water from the Garonne and Loire 
flows into it. On its shores are numerous sea¬ 
ports, including Nantes, Brest, Bordeaux, and 
Gijon. 

BISCAY, or Vizcaya, a province of Spain, 
in the northern part, one of the so-called 
Basque provinces. It has an area of 836 square 
miles. The surface is mountainous. Bilboa 
is the capital and largest city. Other cities 
include Orozco and Bermeo. Population, 
311,361. See Basques. 

BISCUIT (bis'kit), a kind of bread formed 
into small cakes, either fermented or un¬ 
fermented, and made chiefly of wheat and 
rye flour. Many kinds of biscuits are made in 
large bakeries for the trade and sold on the 
market, both in bulk and in small packages 
designed for household use. The work of 
kneading, cutting, and stamping is done almost 
exclusively by machinery, and an oven serves 
to turn out about two thousand pounds of 
biscuit in a day of nine hours. Biscuits are 
baked so they become hard and dry, hence 
may be kept without spoiling for a long time. 
Sea biscuits are made of flour, water, and salt 
and keep easily for two years. The biscuits 
of the market are made chiefly of flour, but¬ 
ter, eggs, soda, and salt, the proportions of 
the ingredients used depending upon the kind 
and quality desired, and in making sweet bis¬ 
cuits sugar and flavoring are used. To make 
soft biscuits larger proportions of sugar and 
butter are required. Meat biscuits are made 
of wheat flour and the soluble parts of meat. 
In Scotland some varieties are called bakes, 
while crackers is the name usually applied in 
America. 

BISHOP (bish'up), a title applied to the 
highest order of the clergymen in the Christian 
church. In the Roman Catholic, Protestant 
Episcopal, and Greek Catholic churches bishops 
claim apostolic succession. In the Methodist 
Episcopal and other churches, less formal dig¬ 
nity is maintained and no claim is made to 


BISMARCK 


251 


BISON 


apostolic succession. In Great Britain the 
bishops of the Church of England are called 
lord bishops. Two of the archbishops and a 
number of the bishops of Wales and England 
have seats in the House of Lords. The gen¬ 
eral duties of bishops vary greatly in different 
denominations, but usually include the power 
to appoint clergymen to churches, the dignity 
to preside at conventions of the clergy, and 
oversight over the churches and the clergy 
within the diocese. 

BISMARCK (biz'mark), capital of North 
Dakota, county seat of Burleigh County, on 
the Missouri River. It occupies an elevated site 
on the Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Sault Sainte 
Marie and the Northern Pacific railroads. The 
chief buildings include the high school, the 
county courthouse, the State capitol, the State 
penitentiary, the State library, and the Saint 
Paul Seminary. It has electric lights, water¬ 
works, and fine schools and churches. It is 
surrounded by a fertile region and is a market 
for large quantities of wheat, oats, potatoes, 
and merchandise. The industries include flour¬ 
ing mills, machine shops, and grain elevators. 
It was settled in 1873 and became the capital 
of the State in 1889. Population, 1910, 5,443. 

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO (b!s- 
mark), a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, 
about 56 miles east of New Guinea. The prin¬ 
cipal islands were formerly known as # New 
Britain, New Ireland, and Duke of York, but 
when the archipelago became territory of Ger¬ 
many, in 1884, the names were changed 
respectively to Neu Pommern, Neu Mecklen¬ 
burg, and Neu Lauenburg. The possession 
contains a large number of islands, but those 
named are the principal land masses of the 
group, and the total area is about 18,500 square 
miles. Copper and trepang are exported, and 
the trade in fruit and merchandise is impor¬ 
tant. Matupi is the principal commercial town. 
The possession has a population of 212,000. 

BISMUTH (biz'muth), a brittle metal of a 
reddish-white color and crystalline texture. It 
is somewhat harder than lead and can be 
reduced easily to powder when cold by means 
of a hammer. In a native state it frequently 
consists of crystallized rhombs, but also exists 
with other metals, especially gold, sulphur, 
arsenic, and oxygen. It is useful in making 
printers’ type, ink, and medicines, and in assay¬ 
ing gold and silver by cupellation. A compound 
of three parts of tin, five of lead, and eight of 
bismuth is known as fusible metal. The med¬ 
ical properties of bismuth are tonical and anti- 
spasmodic. 

BISON (bi'son), the name of a kind of wild 


cattle found in Europe and North America, 
and sometimes incorrectly called buffalo. The 
European bison, or aurochs , is now nearly 
extinct, being confined to parks and in a wild 
state to the forests of the Caucasus, and the 
total number now living is thought not to 
exceed 800. The American bison existed in 
large numbers in almost the whole of North 



AMERICAN BISON. 


America, but was most numerous in the Missis¬ 
sippi valley and the great plains of Central 
Canada. Herds of tens of thousands roamed 
across the plains, usually traveling in solid col¬ 
umns, traces of their tracks still remaining in 
the sod on the western prairies. They grazed 
upon the plains and traveled to watering places 
and alkaline licks, which is evidenced by the old 
trails which stretch for miles over hills and 
through valleys. They were one of the main 
sources of food supply for the Indians, and 
served a valuable purpose when the transconti¬ 
nental railroads were in process of construction, 
since they were a prolific source of wholesome 
food for the workmen. The animal attains a 
height of about six feet, has short horns, a large 
hump back of the head formed of muscles, and 
shaggy hair of a dusky-brown color. It lives 
on grass, the bark of trees, and brushwood. 
Full development is reached at six years, and 
it attains to an age of thirty-five years. Only 
a few hundred still remain in the wild state,' 
and these are protected by the government in 
Yellowstone National Park. A small remnant 
of the so-called wood buffalo has survived in 
the forests of Great Slave Lake. However, a 
number of buffalo ranches for the purpose of 
rearing them have been established in various 
sections. The skins of these animals are very 
valuable, while the hump is prized for its rich 
and delicate flesh. The small herd in Yellow¬ 
stone Park is slowly increasing. Buffaloes, 
when tamed, are peaceful and docile, but 
their number and strength made them a ter¬ 
ror to all other animals in the early history of 
America. 



BISSAGOS 


252 


BIVALVES 


BISSAGOS (bis-sa'goz), or Bijuga Islands, 

a group of small islands near the west coast 
of Africa, opposite the mouth of the Rio 
Grande. They are of volcanic origin and inhab¬ 
ited by Negroes. Orange and Bulama are the 
chief islands,, and Bulama, situated on the lat¬ 
ter, is the leading town. Maize and fruit are 
cultivated, and goats and cattle are reared. 
These islands were discovered by the Portu¬ 
guese, who tnade a settlement on Bissao, one 
of the group. They are governed as a depend¬ 
ency of Portuguese Guinea. Population, 3,750. 

BITHYNIA (bi-thin'i-a), an ancient country 
of Asia Minor, separated from Europe by the 
Sea of Marmora and the Strait of Constanti¬ 
nople, then known respectively as the Propontis 
and Thracian Bosporus. It extended east to 
Paphlagonia, and contained the cities of Prusa 
Heraclea, Chalcedon, Nicomedia, and Nicaea. 
The Persians annexed it in 543 b. c., but i 
became an independent kingdom in 278 b. c. 
under Nicomedes I. Prusias II. was King of 
Bithynia at the time of the Punic Wars, when 
Hannibal sought refuge at his court. The 
Romans made it a province in 74 b. c., and it 
was governed under Pliny the Younger. In 
1298 it was conquered by the Turks, and the 
seat of the Turkish government was at Prusa 
for many years. 

BITTERN (bit'tern), the name of several 
wading birds of the heron family, common to 
America, Africa, and Eurasia. They attain a 

length of 30 
inches,, and 
the wings, 
when extend¬ 
ed, measure 
about 45 
inches. Their 
color is yel¬ 
lowish-brown 
with bars and 
spots of 
black. They 
frequent low, 
ssasas^gj marshy dis- 
r r , t r i c t s, r e - 
main i n g at 
rest during 
the day and 
coming out at twilight to seek insects, reptiles, 
fish, and small quadrupeds for food. They 
are remarkable for their ability to stand on 
one leg, or hold their head in the same posi¬ 
tion for several hours. The male produces a 
curious bellowing cry, which booms like a 
drum and may be heard fully a mile. 

BITTERNUT. See Hickory. 



BITTERN. 


BITTERROOT (bit'ter-root), an American 
plant found extensively in the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains, both in Canada and the United States. 
It has an edible root, sometimes called tobacco 
root, and in cooking gives off an odor much 
like that of tobacco. The root is long and 
fleshy and from it, grow a fleshy stalk and 
numerous leaves. The flower is solitary, beau¬ 
tifully colored, and remains open only dur¬ 
ing sunshine. The Bitterroot Mountains and 
the Bitterroot River were named from this 
plant, and the flower was adopted by Montana 
as the State flower. 

BITTERWOOD, the name of several trees 
and shrubs native to Brazil and the West 
Indies, so named from the bitterness of their 
wood. The fruit is aromatic and the wood 
is used in making furniture, being valuable 
because insects do not attack it. The name is 
applied to a tree native to Jamaica, nearly 
allied to the quassia, the wood of which is 
used in medicine. See Quassia. 

BITUMEN (bi-tu'men), a mineral pitch of 
vegetable origin remarkable for its odor and 
inflammability. It is secured both in a fluid 
and solid state, and consists of about eighty- 
five parts carbon and fifteen parts hydrogen. 
The term is sometimes extended to include 
the hydrocarbons, as petroleum, naphtha, 
asphalt, and mineral tars. It is found more 
or less commonly in many parts of the earth, 
but the largest deposits of what may be classed 
as mineral pitch are in the vicinity of the 
Dead Sea. It is useful for building purposes 
to make floors, roofs, and arches water-tight, 
and in the construction of walks and pave¬ 
ments. The brick used in the walls of ancient 
Babylon were cemented with bitumen to in¬ 
crease their durability and solidity. See 
Asphalt. 

BITUMINOUS COAL (bi-tu'mi-nus). See 
Coal. 

BITUMINOUS SHALE (shal), a kind of 
clay found in the coal measures, so named 
from the carbon and volatile matter mixed 
with the clay. Large beds are quite com¬ 
mon, and in some places the bituminous shales 
are used as fuel. 

BIVALVES (bi'valvz), the general name of 
mollusks having their shells in opposite por¬ 
tions, which open by elastic hinges and are 
closed by muscles. Among the bivalves are 
the cockle, clam, mussel, and oyster. With 
few exceptions, they are marine animals, while 
a number of univalves, single-shelled mollusks, 
are common to the land. The fossil remains 
of bivalves indicate the depth and extent of 
the ocean in early geological ages, and give 




BLACKBERRY 


253 


BLACK FOREST 


evidence of their existence in the former part 
of the age of invertebrates, the Silurian age. 

BLACKBERRY (blak'ber-ry), the name of 
a large bushy plant resembling the dewberry 
and raspberry, also called brambleberry. The 
bushes are armed with prickles, and the fruit 
is sweet and luscious. It is valuable for mak¬ 
ing jam, jelly, and preserves, and is eaten as 
a dessert. Blackberry wine is manufactured 
extensively, while astringent tonics derived 
from the berries are used largely in medicine. 
The fruit grows in the wild state, but it is 
greatly improved by cultivation. These plants 
are widely distributed in both hemispheres and 
thrive as far north as Central Canada. They 
are propagated from suckers and root cut¬ 
tings. New varieties are secured by planting 
the seed. 

BLACKBIRD, the name applied to a large 
family of birds of America and Europe, gen¬ 
erally called merle in Western Europe. The 
crow blackbird and the rustycrow blackbird are 
of the starling family and nest largely in trees. 
Red-winged blackbirds constitute a widely dis- 



CROW BLACKBIRD. 

tributed species, ranging throughout Southern 
Canada and in the United States from Maine 
to the Pacific. They live in meadows, marshes, 
and swamps, where they nest and rear their 
young. In autumn they gather in flocks and 
delight to frequent meadows and stubble fields 
in large swarms.. The food of blackbirds com¬ 
prises worms, berries, and insects. Blackbirds 
are a protection to orchards in that they devour 
insects, but they also consume several kinds 
of fruit, such as cherries and grapes. A num¬ 
ber of species are eaten by the Indians. 

BLACKBURN (blak'burn), a manufacturing 
city of Lancaster County, England, about 
twenty-one miles northwest from Manchester. 
It is on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and 


has extensive railway facilities. The chief 
buildings include the town hall, the Saint 
Mary’s Church, the Draper’s Hall, the county 
courthouse, and the municipal offices. Corpora¬ 
tion Park and Queen’s Park are fine public 
grounds. The importance of Blackburn as a 
commercial city dates back to the 17th cen¬ 
tury, when it began to manufacture large quanti¬ 
ties of cotton goods. It is the seat of many 
cotton mills, and has large facilities for manu¬ 
facturing steam engines, hardware, clothing, 
and cotton machinery. The cotton factories 
employ about 15,000 men and 20,000 women, 
and the annual output of the cotton industry 
is valued at $30,000,000. Blackburn maintains 
public baths, a public library, an art gallery, 
and many fine schools, including one founded 
by Queen Elizabeth. It has gas and electric 
lighting, street railways, pavements, water¬ 
works, and two hospitals. Population, 1907, 
134,980. 

BLACKFEET,. a tribe of Indians distributed 
more or less through the Rocky Mountains of 
Montana, Wyoming, and British America, and 
classed with the Algonquinsl In early history 
they constituted a powerful tribe, but were 
quite peaceful. In 1865 they became involved 
in trouble with western miners, and for five 
years a number of skirmishes took place in 
which considerable life was lost. At present 
they number about 5,000, of which about one- 
half are in the United States. 

BLACKFISH or Tautog, the name of a 
large fish common along the Atlantic coast, 
much valued as a food product. It is allied to 
the dolphin and somewhat resembles the perch. 
The skin can be slipped off like that of an eel. 
It is one of the leading food fishes of the 
Eastern market, being pleasant and nutritious 
for table use. 

BLACK FOREST, or Schwarzwald, a 

chain of mountains in Europe, located in 
Baden and Wiirttemberg, where it stretches 
almost parallel with the Rhine for ninety 
miles. It is the source of the Kingiz, Nec- 
kar, and Danube rivers. The highest sum¬ 
mit is Feldberg, which attains a height of 
4,900 feet. The mineral products include iron, 
lead, cobalt, copper, and silver. Numerous 
mineral springs abound. There is a fine growth 
of timber, consisting mostly of pines on the 
foothills. In the valleys farming is exten¬ 
sively carried on, while in the towns manu¬ 
facturing abounds. The manufactured articles 
consist of furniture, toys, wooden articles, and 
clocks. About 50,000 persons are engaged in 
the manufactories in the regions, and there is 
a considerable trade in merchandise and cereals. 


BLACK FRIDAY 


254 


BLACK SEA 


Railroads have been constructed along the moun¬ 
tain sides and through the valleys, and large 
centers of industry are building up rapidly. 

BLACK FRIDAY, a term used to designate 
any Friday on which some great calamity 
occurred. In England it refers to Dec. 6, 1745, 
when Charles Edward, the pretender, reached 
Derby, and to May 11, 1866, when a general 
commercial panic reached its most oppressive 
phase. In the United States the name ap¬ 
plies generally to Sept. 24, 1869, when a 

financial panic was caused by speculation in 
gold in the city of New York, and to Sept. 
18, 1873, when a similar panic commenced. 

BLACK GUM, or Sour Gum, a species of 
forest trees of North America, known in some 
localities as tupelo and pepperidge. The 
branches are crooked and bear tufts of leaves at 
the ends, and the wood is tough but not du¬ 
rable. Flubs of wheels are made of the tim¬ 
ber. The tree has been introduced in Europe 
for ornamentation. 

BLACKHEATH (blak'heth), a village and 
commons of seventy acres in Kent County, 
England, about seven miles from London. It 
is a favorite resort for pleasure parties, and is 
famous in history on account of insurrection¬ 
ary gatherings. Among these are the gather¬ 
ings of Wat Tyler, Jack Cade, and the Cor- 
nishmen. In 1011 it served as the camping 
ground of the Danes. Henry V. was welcomed 
on the Blackheath by the people of London, 
and the army of the Restoration was met in 
the vicinity by Charles II. while on his way. 
from Dover. It is also famous as the scene 
of exploits of various highwaymen. 

BLACK HILLS, a mountain group in the 
southwestern part of South Dakota and the 
northeastern part of Wyoming, which is 
crossed by" the boundary line between these two 
states. It is about 100 miles long and 60 miles 
wide. Harney Peak, in South Dakota, rises 
7,216 feet above the sea level and is the high¬ 
est elevation. The region of the Black Hills 
was one of the best hunting grounds for the 
Indians, and was purchased of them in 1876. 
Agriculture is carried on in some districts 
under a system of irrigation, but in others the 
rainfall is sufficient to mature crops without 
artificial watering. Large portions of the Black 
Hills are covered with an abundance of tim¬ 
ber, consisting largely of pine forests. The dis¬ 
trict is exceeding rich in thermal and mineral 
springs, which have been improved and now 
form favorite pleasure and health resorts. Min¬ 
ing is the chief industry and is carried on very 
extensively, producing lead, tin, gold, silver, 
copper, iron, limestone, and other minerals. 


The annual production aggregates many mil¬ 
lions of dollars. Gold is the most important 
product, aggregating about $3,800,000 annually. 
The district contains a number of growing 
cities, among them Deadwood, Hot Springs, 
Lead City, and Rapid City. 

BLACK HOLE, or Black Hole of Cal¬ 
cutta, a prison dungeon in the old fort of 
Calcutta, India, about twenty feet square, in 
which 146 men were confined by Surajah Dow- 
lah on June 20, 1756, of whom all but 23 suffo¬ 
cated. A monument fifty feet high has been 
erected to commemorate their memory. 

BLACKING, a preparation used to blacken 
leather. Numerous recipes for making black¬ 
ing are in use, most of which are made of 
bone black with a small quantity of sugar, oil, 
and sulphuric acid. In some recipes the bone 
black has been displaced by lamp black or ivory 
black. Blacking intended for boots and shoes 
is usually put up in boxes as a paste, in which 
form it is applied with a brush, but some kinds 
are in the liquid form. 

BLACKLIST, a list kept by business men on 
which the names of defaulters and delinquents 
are recorded, and by industrial societies to des¬ 
ignate persons as untrustworthy. Such lists 
are prepared to warn others. Blacklisting has 
been included among the statutory crimes in 
some countries. 

BLACKMAIL, a certain tribute levied, in 
early history, in the north of England and 
Scotland by robbers in consideration of which 
they promised protection from their attacks. 
The term is now used to designate the efforts 
made to secure hush money, or extort a valua¬ 
ble consideration by threats of public accusa¬ 
tion, censure, or exposure. 

BLACK MOUNTAINS, a group of moun¬ 
tains in North Carolina, belonging to the Ap¬ 
palachian system. Mitchell’s Peak, its highest 
summit, is the loftiest mountain east of the 
Mississippi River; height, 6,710 feet. It was 
named in honor of Dr. E. Mitchell, of the 
University of North Carolina, who died here 
while making an exploring tour. Other high 
peaks include Clingman’s Peak, 6,700 feet, and 
Guyot’s Peak, 6,660 feet. 

BLACK SEA, a large inland sea located 
south and west of Russia, north of Asia Minor, 
and east of the Balkan states. It has a super¬ 
ficial area of 173,000 square miles; its greatest 
depth is 6,420 feet, and its mean depth about 
2,472 feet. The surface, including the Sea of 
Azof, is about 175,000 square miles, or more 
than five times larger than Lake Superior. It 
receives the water of the Dnieper, Dniester, 
and Danube from Europe, and of the Sakaria 


BLACK SNAKE 


255 


• > 


BLARNEY 


a r d u Ki ^ il Irmak from Asia > while th e outflow 
of the Don reaches it through the Sea of Azof. 
Its waters are less salty, than those of the Med¬ 
iterranean and not so clear, owing to the large 
inflow from these rivers. It is the site of an 
important commerce, largely because of its 
connection with the Mediterranean by the Sea 
of Marmora and the Bosphorus, and many nav¬ 
igable rivers and canals that are tributary to it. 
In the summer season the surface is at rest 
and secure for steamboat and ship navigation, 
but in winter fierce and dangerous storms sweep 
over it. However, this disadvantage is com¬ 
pensated for in part by its shores and interior 
being free from rocks and shallows. Oceanic 
currents are wanting, but the inflowing rivers 
cause a very similar effect upon its waters. The 
most, important ports include Samsun, Batum, 
Trebizond, Sinope, Kherson, Odessa, Sebasto¬ 
pol, and Varna. It yields fish in large quanti¬ 
ties. Subsequent to the Turkish conquest of 
Constantinople it remained under the exclusive 
control of the Turks until 1774, when joint 
control. was cedfcd to Russia, and later the 
same, rights were granted to Austria, Great 
Britain, and France. At present the waters are 
open to the commerce of all nations. In ancient 
times the Black Sea w;as known as Pontus Euxi- 
nns. On its eastern shore was Colchis, the 
goal of the Argonautic expedition. 

BLACK SNAKE, or Blue Racer, a large 
snake widely distributed over North America, 
but most abundant east of the Mississippi 
River. The eyes are large, the head is oval 
and long, the nostrils lateral, and the body 
is slender. It attains a length of nine feet, is 
not poisonous, and lives on birds and small 
quadrupeds. It is especially fond of rats. The 
Australian black snake is closely allied to the 
cobra and is very poisonous. 

BLACKSTONE (blak'ston), a town of 
Massachusetts, in Worcester County, on the 
Blackstone River, and on the New York, New 
Haven, and Hartford Railroad. It is about 
two miles northwest of Woonsocket, R. I., and 
has electric railway conveniences. The manu¬ 
factures embrace cotton and woolen goods, 
rubber shoes, and machinery. A public library 
and several schools and churches are among 
the chief buildings. It has a brisk trade in 
merchandise and fruit. The first settlement 
was made on its site about 1700 and it was so 
named from William Blackstone, who was the 
first settler at Boston. Population, 1905, 5,786. 

BLACKWELL’S ISLAND, a narrow and 
rocky island of New York, so named from its 
former owner, located in the East River, and 
now a part of New York City. It has an area 


of 120 acres. On it are situated an insane 
asylum, an asylum for the blind, a peniten¬ 
tiary, a charity and fever hospital, and several 
work and alms houses. A lighthouse about 
sixty feet above the sea is located at its north¬ 
ern end. 

BLADDER. See Kidneys. 

BLADDER NUT (blad'der nut), the name 
of several plants native to North America and 
Eurasia. They are so called from the fruit, 
which is an inflated bladder, and within are a 
number of hard seeds. In some localities the 
bladder nut is planted as an ornamental tree, 
and the seeds are used in medicine as a mild 
aperient. 

BLADDERWORT, a genus of aquatic 
plants found in the marshes and lakes of most 
countries. In the tropics they grow luxuriantly, 
and their flowers, like those of water lilies, 
adorn the surface of ponds and other shallow 
bodies of water. Australia is exceptionally 
rich in plants of this kind and they grow 
abundantly in Great Britain and the United 
States. Most of the Canadian varieties have 
yellow flowers, and those of the United States 
have blossoms of violet, yellow, or purple. 
Little bladders or vesicles on the leaves and 
stems become filled with air about flowering 
time, causing those parts to be held above the 
surface, where the flowers expand, and after¬ 
ward the air escapes and the plant sinks to the 
bottom, where the seeds ripen. In some species 
the bladders hold moisture after the air es- 
. capes, and the plant is kept fresh and alive even 
if the water in the pool or marsh sinks away. 

BLADENSBURG, a village of Maryland, 
in Prince George County, six miles northeast 
of Washington, D. C. It is on a branch of the 
Potomac River, and is noted for a battle 
fought here Aug. 24, 1814, between the British 
under General Ross and a force of American 
militia under General Winder, in which the" 
British were successful and shortly after cap¬ 
tured Washington. Population 1900, 463. 
BLANC, Mont. See Mont Blanc. 

BLANK VERSE, a term generally applied 
to poetry without rhyme, and first adopted in 
English literature from the Italian by the Earl 
of Surrey. The classical productions of the 
Greek and Roman poets are composed in blank 
verse. It has never been popular in Spanish 
and French, but in English and German it has 
been largely followed. Bryant’s “Thanatop- 
sis ’ and Longfellow’s “Hiawatha” are good 
examples of productions written in blank verse. 

BLARNEY (blar'm), a stone built in the 
wall of an old castle in the village of Blarney, 
Ireland, four miles northwest of Cork. There 


BLAST FURNACE 


256 


BLAST FURNACE 


is a tradition that the kissing of this stone will 
confer the ability to use the peculiar flattering, 
persuasive speech known as blarneying. In 
Oliver Goldsmith’s “The Vicar of Wakefield,” 
the Lady of Blarney is represented as a bad 
character. 

BLAST FURNACE (blast fur'nas), a fur¬ 
nace designed for smelting iron ore and ex¬ 
tracting from it the iron by means of a power¬ 
ful blast of air. The Egyptians are represented 

i n their early 
sculpture with a 
blowpipe to in¬ 
crease the cur¬ 
rent of burning 
fuel in furnaces, 
while the Indians 
and Oriental 
classes still use 
bellows for that 
purpose. Both 
the Germans and 
Gauls employed 
the hot blast in 
m a n u f acturing 
lances and spears, 
while the Ro¬ 
man’s, during 
their invasion of 
the British Isles, 
employed iron, 
secured by smelt¬ 
ing in blast fur¬ 
naces, which is 
evidenced by cin¬ 
ders still remain¬ 
ing as a result of 
their work. How¬ 
ever, their proc¬ 
ess was so crude 
that iron was illy 
extracted from 
the ore. Large 
heaps of the ref¬ 
use matter found 
in the Forest of 
Dean furnished a 
stack ; e, hopper for charging the good supply of 
furnace. ore £ Qr n e a r J y 

300 years, which clearly demonstrates that their 
process was inefficient. The furnaces used by 
the Romans were built largely on the top of 
hills, for the purpose of obtaining the best 
possible currents of air for heating the ore 
and extracting the iron. 

Blast furnaces are used at present principally 
for smelting iron ores. They are constructed 
of solid masonry, sometimes to a height of 


over 100 feet. This construction enables util¬ 
izing an upper current of air by assisting nat¬ 
ural draft with artificial appliances, thus largely 
increasing the amount of oxygen necessary to 
a mineral under treatment. As seen in the 
illustration, the air-blast, which is propelled by 
a blowing engine, is injected into the furnace 
through the hearth by means of pipes called 
tuyeres. Immediately above the hearth are the 
boshes, forming a conical wall, the upper part 
of which forms the stack. The charges are fed 
into the furnace from above so as to keep the 
receptacle completely filled as the layers within 
melt and are removed. 

The process of smelting consists of pouring 
into the top, or at the mouth, of a heated fur¬ 
nace a proportional quantity of fuel, limestone, 
and ore. When the hot air is blown through a 
blast pipe it strikes the charges deposited in 
the furnace. As a result of the intense heat 
coming in contact with the charge gas is 
formed, which escapes upward, through the 
mouth, and the metallic iron, thus set free, 
drops into a lower and hotter* part of the fur¬ 
nace, where it melts. On the application of 
heat the lime and earthy matter of the ore be¬ 
come united, thus forming cinder or fluid slag 
that floats on the top of the melted iron. When 
a sufficient quantity of molten matter has accu¬ 
mulated, the slag is thrown away and the iron 
cast into molds. Iron thus cast is called pig 
iron. The furnace is modified according to the 
amount of heat required for the purpose of 
melting the kind of metal smelted from ore, 
and the heat generated is governed accordingly. 
In the blast furnaces of newer construction 
the gas formed is conducted by pipes to be 
utilized in making steam or as fuel in heating 
the blast. 

In recent years material improvements have 
been made in smelting. By means of these the 
daily output of blast furnaces has been vastly 
increased and the cost of iron and steel has 
been correspondingly lightened. These improve¬ 
ments, besides increasing the output, have made 
it possible to apply a greater intensity of heat, 
thus extracting a larger per cent, of valuable 
metals from the ores and bringing the products 
to a higher degree of utility. In the production 
of Bessemer pig, by the common furnaces, it 
has become possible to produce 540 tons in a 
day. The furnaces, as well as bosh walls, have 
been made more durable by the use of carbon 
to protect the parts coming in contact with the 
intense heat required in blasting, and also by 
the use of water cooling. Improvements in 
methods of constructing lining for blast fur¬ 
naces have enabled manufacturers to produce 



a, hearth : b b. tuyeres: c. boshes: 




































BLASTING 


257 


BLIND 


400,000 tons of pig by a single lining. Besides, 
with the use of natural gas and electrical appli¬ 
ances, material saving has resulted, although 
coke, anthracite, and charcoal furnaces are still 
generally used. Owing to recent and numerous 
improvements in machinery, it is likely that 
these materials will always continue to serve 
for smelting purposes to the best advantage, 
with possible exceptions in districts favorably 
located to natural gas and petroleum deposits. 

BLASTING the process of disintegrating 
portions of rock, or other solid substances, by 
means of an air explosive agent, such as powder 
or dynamite. It is resorted to in mining, tun¬ 
neling, and quarrying. The usual plan is to bore 
holes in the rock to be blasted, placing into them 
the explosive and tamping the hole with clay, 
sand, or broken stone, and then firing the charge 
by a time fuse or an electric spark. The dis¬ 
covery of new explosives and the invention of 
machinery useful in boring and firing have ena¬ 
bled rapid advancement in the art. Dynamite 
and gun cotton are used where rapid destruc¬ 
tion is desired, but where a moderate cleaving 
or, splitting effect is needed, as in blasting for 
building purposes, powder is superior. Rock¬ 
boring machines have been largely substituted 
for hand labor. By means of these compressed 
air is utilized to bore holes, in which the blasts 
are fired. The greatest enterprise in blasting 
ever undertaken was the removal of the Flood 
Rock at Hell Gate, New York City. This ledge 
of rock covered nearly nine acres. To effect 
the blasting about 240,000 pounds of powder, 
dynamite, and other explosives were used. The 
rocks broken up weighed millions of tons. 

BLEACHING (blech'ing), the art of render¬ 
ing materials perfectly white or nearly/.so. The 
ancient methods of bleaching consisted of ex¬ 
posing the fabrics to the action of the sun. 
The fabrics were laid out and frequently wet¬ 
ted, and, after remaining exposed to the actinic 
rays of the sun, they became greatly whitened. 
A class of fine fabrics are known as lawns 
from the methods of bleaching them by spread¬ 
ing the goods on plots of grass. Likewise, the 
best grade of linens are known as Hollands, 
since the Dutch excelled in bleaching that class 
of fabrics. The present process consists of 
employing bleaching agents, as diluted sulphu¬ 
ric acid or chloride of lime. Some fabrics are 
bleached by alternately dipping them into a 
bleaching powder made of chloride of lime and 
sulphuric acid. The process is modified in ac¬ 
cordance with the material bleached; calico, 
silk, wool, linen, and various other fabrics re¬ 
quire a greater or less dilution of the chemicals 
and a varied number of dippings. Bleaching is 


practiced to a considerable extent in treating 
paper, ivory, oils, and wax, which are greatly 
enhanced in value by whitening. 

BLENDE (blend), or Sphalerite, the native 
sulphide of zinc, from which zinc is obtained. 
It occurs both massive and chrystallized, either 
in primary or secondary rocks, and is yellow 
or brownish in color. Deposits occur in many 
parts of the United States and Canada. It is 
especially abundant in Missouri, Illinois, and 
Wisconsin. At Cornwall, England, it is found 
with lead ores and is worked for the zinc and 
sulphur, the latter being used in making sul¬ 
phuric acid. The best grade contains about 
thirty per cent, of sulphur and sixty-five of zinc. 

BLENHEIM (blen'im), a village in Bava¬ 
ria, Germany, about 23 miles northwest of 
Augsburg, on the Danube River. It is noted for 
the great battle fought here on Aug. 13, 1704, 
in which the allied forces of England and Ger¬ 
many gained a complete victory over the Ba¬ 
varians and French. Each of the contending 
armies consisted of about 53,000 soldiers. The 
former were commanded by Prince Eugene 
and the Duke of Marlborough and the latter 
by Prince Rupert and Marshal Tallard. The 
•defeated army lost 12,000 in killed and 14,000 
prisoners, while the remainder retreated in dis¬ 
order. The present Duke of Marlborough, 
Count of Blenheim, married the daughter of 
W. K. Vanderbilt, of New York City. In 1800 
the French defeated the Austrians near Blen¬ 
heim. The village has a population of 825. 

BLIND, the state of being deprived of the 
sense of sight. Blindness is most prevalent in 
the tropical regions, and least common in the 
temperate. It is more general in the Eastern 
Continent than in the Western. A very small 
number of children are born blind, although 
there are hereditary tendencies more or less 
prevalent. By far the greater number of cases 
result from accident, smallpox, or diseases of 
the eye, such as inflammation, cataract, or 
defect of the optic nerve. Old age is frequently 
accompanied by blindness, owing to a drying of 
the lachrymal canal and humor of the eye, or 
to an impairment of the crystalline lens or 
other vital organs. Frequently some slight de¬ 
formity of the parts of the eye or its sur¬ 
rounding lead to a loss of sight. Blindness is 
generally attended by an increased vitality of 
the other senses, thus in part compensating for 
the loss of the visual faculty. 

Asylums for the blind were established in 
Germany and France as early as 1260, the 
prime object being to relieve the Crusaders 
who had lost their sight in the East. Sub¬ 
sequently asylums of this character were estab- 


17 


BLIND FISH 


258 


BLOCKADE 


lished and are at present supported in all civil¬ 
ized countries. In the United States a large 
number of institutions are maintained, both 
for adult and minor blind, by the several states 
under a system of general taxation. Among 
a number of such schools in Canada may be 
mentioned the Ontario Institution for the Blind 
at Brantford. In these institutions the indus¬ 
trial arts are taught successfully, usually with 
a view to aid in making the students self-sup¬ 
porting. The courses of study generally include 
all the common and high school branches and 
industrial arts, such as knitting, sewing, weav¬ 
ing, rope making, broom making, and divers 
household duties. 

Many systems of alphabets for the blind 
have been invented and are now in successful 
use. The print consists of. characters raised 
above the surface of the paper and is read by 
means of passing the fingers over the characters, 
thus determining their signification by means of 
the sense of touch. The text-books used are 
made on this plan both for teaching and for 
general reading. Another method of teaching 
is by what is known as the point system. It 
consists of a number of dots instead of the 
letters of the alphabet, and has largely supei^ 
seded all other systems for teaching both read¬ 
ing and writing. In writing the blind use a 
dotted or grooved appliance over which they lay 
paper and with a style dot on the surface. 
Raised characters then appear on the under¬ 
side, the meaning of which can be determined 
by passing the fingers over the lines. 

Books for the blind have been published on 
a very large scale, including works on the 
sciences, novels, romances, poetry, large por¬ 
tions of the Scriptures, and many other valuable 
literary productions. The system of writing 
used by the blind has been so perfected that by 
means of texts, and skill in determining the 
different characters, it is possible for those 
who have lost their sight to become quite as 
well trained as the more fortunate who have 
full use of the eye. Among the publications 
for the blind recently produced in large num¬ 
bers are “Practical System of Tangible Music 
Notation” and “International Sunday School 
Lessons for the Blind.” The Congressional 
Library at Washington, D. C., contains about 
100,000 books and has a special reading room 
for the blind. 

BLIND FISH, a class of fish common to the 
waters of caves. These fish have rudimentary 
eyes covered with skin, but are totally destitute 
of sight, and the body is covered with small 
sensitive projections, or papillae, which serve 
as organs of touch and partly compensate for 


the absence of vision. Like all other cave 
animals, they are colorless or pale. The body 
ranges in length from three to five inches and 
has fully developed fins, enabling the fish to 
move about with facility. They feed upon 
small insects and crustaceans common to caves. 
Many species are found in the Mammoth Cave 
of Kentucky (q. v.), in the cave of Cacahua- 
milpa, Mexico, and the caves and wells of New 
Zealand. 

BLISTER (blis'ter), a vesicle of the skin, 
either the result of an injury or of certain 
medical applications, and filled with a collection 
of serus fluid. The term is applied to various 
compounds and applications employed in medi¬ 
cine, such as the Spanish fly blister. They are 
used in the treatment of ulcers and tumors, 
and for the relief of muscular pain. Among 
the common blisters, besides Spanish fly, croton 
oil, mustard, ammonia, and many others are 
used. 

BLIZZARD (bliz'zerd), a fierce storm at¬ 
tended with falling or driven snow and a low 
temperature. Blizzards are common in the 
north central part of North America, especially 
in the great central plain of Canada and the 
northern portion of the Mississippi valley, where 
the thermometer frequently falls as low as 
from 10° to 50° below zero in the colder part 
of winter. The movement of the wind is 
usually from the northwest and storms fre¬ 
quently extend as far south as the Ohio River. 

BLOCK. See Pulley. 

BLOCKADE (blok-ad'), the act of closing 
all trade with certain seaports or the coasts of 
an enemy. It was the ancient practice of bel¬ 
ligerents at the beginning of hostilities to for¬ 
bid by proclamation all trade of neutral nations 
with the enemy, and to treat as enemies those 
who did not act in compliance with the procla¬ 
mation. Since the 17th century it is required 
by the law of nations, to announce a blockade 
so neutrals may have notice of it, and any 
attempt on the part of a neutral merchant to 
ship supplies to the infested ports is regarded 
a direct interference with the operations of the 
war, and his vessels and cargoes are liable to 
confiscation if captured. It is now the general 
practice to refer the questions involved in the 
violation of blockades to prize courts for ad¬ 
judication, and where the cargo does not 
belong to the owner of the ship it is released, 
provided the owners of the cargo had no 
knowledge of the blockade at the time the 
shipment was started, but the ship is subject 
to confiscation by the captors. The term block¬ 
ade is sometimes used to describe the condition 
of a city surrounded by the enemy and with 


BLOCKHOUSE 


259 


BLOOD 


which all outside communication has been cut 
off, but siege is the more common word em¬ 
ployed to describe this condition. * 
BLOCKHOUSE, a kind of fort used in 
early times as a means of protection against 
an enemy. It was constructed of timber, usually 
of heavy logs or blocks, and had openings for 
musketry on all sides to enable firing upon 
those making an attack. Originally it was built 
of one story, but later an upper story was 
constructed to overhang the lower and in the 
overhanging floors were holes to permit firing 
upon an enemy who might attempt to gain 
entrance or set the structure on fire. Block¬ 
houses were used extensively in the early set¬ 
tlement of America, when timber was plentiful 
and attacks by artillery were not to be feared. 

BLOCK SYSTEM, a system used in traffic 
on railroads by which signals are given so two 
trains on a single track may be kept a certain 
distance apart. The system owes its origin to 
Sir Charles Gregory of England, in 1841. It 
is now used by ninety-eight per cent of the 
double-track lines of England and most coun¬ 
tries of Europe. In recent years all the great 
trunk lines of America adopted the block signal¬ 
ing system. It is in general use, not only on 
double-track railways, but by the principal 
single-track lines. By means of it the loss of 
property and human life is largely overcome. 

BLOEMFONTEIN (blobm'fon-tm), a city 
in South Africa, capital of Orange River 
Colony, 95 miles east of Kimberley. It is located 
on a plateau about 4,500 feet above the sea, on 
the Modder River, and is surrounded by a 
fertile region. Among the chief buildings are 
several schools, the Dutch Reformed church, 
the Anglican cathedral, the public library, and 
the government building. It is the seat of a 
hospital, an asylum for the insane, and a num¬ 
ber of educational institutions. The trade is 
chiefly in wool, cereals, and merchandise, and 
the manufactures consist of utensils, machinery, 
and clothing. It has modern facilities, such as 
gas and electric lights, and is on the main line 
of the Cape-to-Cairo Railroad. At the time 
of the war between Great Britain and the 
Boer republics it was a center of hostilities, 
but in 1900 surrendered to Lord Roberts. 
Population, 1904, 33,883. 

BLOOD, the fluid that circulates through the 
arteries and veins of animals and is essential 
to the growth of the tissues and to the preser¬ 
vation of ‘life. In the human body it varies 
from a brownish-red to a bright red color. It 
constitutes by weight one-thirteenth of the 
body; thus, a man weighing 169 pounds has 
about thirteen pounds of blood. Under the micro¬ 


scope it appears as a pale yellowish fluid, called 
plasma, in which float a large number of discs, 
called corpuscles, some white and others red, of 
which the red are more numerous. The red 
discs are circular, with rounded edges, and 
concave on the upper and lower surfaces. These 
discs are so small that if 3,500 were placed 




CORPUSCLES (HIGHLY MAGNIFIED). 

A, Human Blood. B, Non-Mammal Blood, 
side by side they would measure a linear inch, 
and about 15,000 placed one upon another 
would make a column about one inch high. It 
is estimated that about eighty-three million are 
contained in one cubic inch of blood. The size 
of the discs in human blood differs somewhat 
from that found in other animals, but it is 
uncertain whether miscroscopists can deter¬ 
mine the difference with accuracy. They have 
a well known tendency to collect in piles like 
rolls of coins. With every breath about twenty 
million new discs are formed in the blood and 
the old as constantly die. 

The plasma contains fibrin, a form of albu¬ 
men which resembles the white of an egg, and 
various mineral substances, including potash, 
lime, phosphorus, magnesia, and iron. In the 
blood are all the materials required for the 
growth and maintenance of every organ. It is 
rich in albumen for the muscles and mineral 
matter for the bones. The red discs are the 
air cells. They carry the essential oxygen 
necessary to every operation of life, and it is 
carried to all parts where repairs are made and 
growth takes place. It stimulates action and 
tears down worn-out parts. In serving its pur¬ 
pose the muscles and tissues are burned much 
like fuel in a stove. Made impure by this 
action, the blood is caught up by the circulation 
and carried back to the lungs, where it is puri¬ 
fied and again thrown back into the system. 
The vessels carrying the blood from the heart 
are called arteries, those carrying the blood back 
to the heart are called veins, and the two are 
connected by minute tubes about to 

of an inch in diameter, called capillaries. 


BLOOD CIRCULATION 


260 


BLOOMINGTON 


When blood is exposed to the air, it forms 
clots; the process is called coagulation. This 
serves a useful purpose in many ways. It 
checks bleeding in ordinary cases by the fibrin 
forming a temporary plug, which is later 
absorbed when the healing process is finished. 
Transfusion is the process of restoring vigor 
in feeble persons by infusing healthy blood into 
their veins. In the 17th century it was thought 
to be the means of prolonging indefinitely 
human life. The blood of dogs and calves was 
experimented with by infusing certain quanti¬ 
ties into the circulation of human bodies. 
It was found possible to restore breathing in 
animals and in one case a maniac was restored 
to reason. The practice proved objectionable 
in many respects, was forbidden by law, and 
later fell into disuse. 

The blood of animals is an important com¬ 
modity of commerce. It is used as an article 
of food, and for making blood sausage and 
blood cake. To prepare it a pan is placed at 
the mortal wound of the animal slaughtered, 
in which it is caught and whipped rapidly to 
gather the fibrin. The remaining parts, consist¬ 
ing of albumen and serum are the portions used 
as food. In large packing houses blood is one 
of the most important products of commerce. 
It is caught in large pans and carried to drying 
vats, where the albumen is coagulated into a 
thick mass. This mass is compressed by means 
of great hydraulic presses and sold for fertiliz¬ 
ing. It is valued at $30 to $40 per ton. Blood 
is also valuable in the manufacture of buttons 
and Japanese lacquer work. Many of the richly 
colored buttons sold in the market are made 
of blood, which has been compressed by means 
of hydraulic machines, and afterward cut in 
shape fiy edged instruments. 

BLOOD CIRCULATION, the movement of 
the blood in living bodies, consisting of the 
systematic and pulmonic. The blood is pro¬ 
pelled from the left ventricle, thence passes 
through the aorta and its arterial branches, and 
reaches the capillaries in all parts of the body; 
it then passes into the small veins and from 
them into the larger ones, and is carried to the 
right auricle; this is the systematic circulation. 
The pulmonic circulation consists of its passage 
from the right ventricle into the pulmonary 
artery and its branches in the lungs, thence 
flowing through the capillaries, it collects in the 
pulmonary veins, and passes from them through 
the left auricle into the left ventricle from 
which it again enters the systematic circulation. 
The heart is the cause of circulation. It is 
aided by the chest movement in breathing, the 
elastic and muscular walls of the arteries, and 


the intermittent muscular pressure on the veins 
Harvey (q. v.), an English physician, dis- 
cpvered fhe circulation of the blood in 1628, 
but how the blood passes from the arteries 
to the veins was not known to him. The capil¬ 
laries and their functions were not discovered 
until three years after his death. 

BLOODHOUND, a kind of dog distin¬ 
guished for its keen scent and the persistency 
with which it follows the track of game. The 
ears are long and smooth, and both the ears 
and lips are pendulous. It is a trustworthy 
animal in the chase, and is employed to track 
escaped prisoners and suspects of recently com¬ 
mitted crimes, though its value for the latter 
purpose is not generally conceded. The Cuban, 
English, and Russian bloodhounds are among 
the best known 'species. 

BLOODROOT, a plant* of the poppy order, 
native to many parts of North America. It 
takes its name from the sap of the root, which 
is a deep orange color, and contains the alkaloid 
sanguinaria, used in medicine as a stimulant 
and expectorant. The plant grows wild in 
many parts of Canada and the United States, 
has heart-shaped and deeply lobed leaves, and 
flowers early in the spring. 

BLOOMFIELD, (bloom'feld), a manufac¬ 
turing city of New Jersey, in Essex County, 
five miles northwest of Newark, on the Erie 
and the Lackawanna railroads. It is situated 
on the Morris Canal and has a large trade in 
merchandise and produce. The chief buildings 
include the Jarvie Library, the Westminster 
and First Presbyterian churches, and the Ger¬ 
man Theological Seminary of Newark. The 
manufactures are paper, ironware, machinery, 
textiles, cigars, and musical instruments. Many 
New York business men reside here. It was 
settled in 1675 and was incorporated in 1812. 
Population, 1905, 11,668; in 1910, 15,070. 

BLOOMINGTON, county seat of McLean 
County, Illinois, 125 miles southwest of Chi¬ 
cago, on the Illinois Central, the Chicago and 
Alton, and other railroads. It is located on the 
highest land in the State and almost in the 
geographical center. It is surrounded by a rich 
agricultural country. The county courthouse, 
the public library, the city hall, and the central 
high school are among the chief buildings. It 
is the seat of the Major Female College, a 
Roman Catholic academy, and the Illinois 
Wesleyan University, and at Normal, two miles 
north, are the State Normal Univ'ersitv and 
the State Soldiers’ Home. The city has 
large railroad shops, flouring mills, a meat 
packing. establishment, brickyards, foundries, 
and fruit canning interests. Waterworks, elec- 


BLOOMINGTON 


261 


BLOWPIPE 


trie street railways, and gas and electric light¬ 
ing are among the improvements. It was set¬ 
tled in 1831 and was incorporated in 1850. 
Population, 1900, 23,286; in 1910, 25,768. 

BLOOMINGTON, county seat of Monroe 
County, Indiana, 50 miles southwest of Indian¬ 
apolis, on the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louis¬ 
ville Railroad. The chief buildings include the 
county courthouse, the central high school, and 
the Indiana State University. Among the man¬ 
ufactures are leather goods, machinery, and 
clothing. In its vicinity are productive lime¬ 
stone quarries. The municipal improvements 
include waterworks, sewerage, and electric 
lighting It was settled in 1818. Population, 
1900, 6,460; in 1910, 8,838. 

BLOOMSBURG (bloomz’berg), a town of 
Pennsylvania, county seat of Columbia County, 
40 miles southwest of Wilkesbarre, on the 
Philadelphia and Reading, the Lackawanna, and 
other railroads. It is nicely situated on the 
Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania Canal. 
The surrounding country has extensive iron 
mines. Among the industries are flouring mills, 
carriage works, foundries, and textile works. 
It has a State normal school, several fine 
churches, and substantial county and public 
school buildings. Population, 1900, 6,170. 

BLOWFLY (blo'fli), or Flesh Fly, a class 
of large flies, usually green or dark blue, which 
lay their eggs upon meat or dead animals. The 
eggs hatch in from 20 to 24 hours, and the young 
larva buries itself in the flesh for two weeks, 
when it transforms into the pupa stage, and de¬ 
velops into the matured blowfly about two weeks 
later. The eggs are called fly blows and are inva¬ 
riably laid on the lean meat. While in the larva 
stage the insects are known as maggots, and 
play an important part in the removal of the 
decaying carrion. However, the blowfly is some¬ 
what dangerous to living animals in that it 
lays its eggs in fresh wounds, in which case 
the maggots may cause harmful effects. 

BLOWING MACHINE, a mechanical con¬ 
trivance for producing blasts of air. The ear¬ 
liest form was a bag made of skin or leather, 
from which the bellows used by blacksmiths 
was developed. Now blowing machines are 
very important in manufacturing and for vari¬ 
ous purposes, and they range from the simple 
fan blowers used in ventilation to the compli¬ 
cated piston blowing machines employed in 
driving rock drills and other machiner)'. The 
piston blower, or Chinese bellows, has been dis¬ 
placed largely by more powerful machinery. It 
has a square chamber of wood, fitted with a 
piston, which, when drawn back, admits air 
through a valve at the end, and the air is com¬ 


pressed and forced out through a nozzle when 
the piston is moved forward. 

A modern blowing machine in which steam 
is used as a propelling force has two cylinders, 
one for steam and the other for air, usually 
set side by side, and has reached a high degree 
of perfection both in power and the efficiency 
with which it is used in different classes of 
machinery, especially in blast furnaces. An¬ 
other class is known as disk blowers, which 
consist of several blades, usually six, fastened 
to an axle much like the blades of a screw pro¬ 
peller, and a swift current of air is secured 
when the axle turns rapidly inside of a 
cylindrical casing. The propelling force is either 
steam or electricity. It is used extensively in 
securing continuous currents of air in ventilat¬ 
ing buildings, while the fan blower, which re¬ 
sembles it, is employed more generally in sup¬ 
plying air for mines. Jet blowers, in which 
steam creates a current of air in the direction 
of the escaping jet, are used to produce a draft 
in the smokestacks of fire engines and loco¬ 
motives. 

The trompe is a water jet blower, in which 
a current of air is created by streams or jets 
of water falling through a vertical pipe, the 
air being admitted at the top and forced by 
the falling water into an air-tight reservoir, 
from which it is piped for use, while the water 
gathers in a reservoir below and is drawn off 
through suitable openings. It has been super¬ 
seded in most countries by newer machines. 
Recently a rotary blower has come into exten¬ 
sive use and with it greater pressure can be 
secured than is possible with either the disk 
or fan blowers. It has two devices known as 
revolvers set on horizontal shafts, which are 
moved by gear wheels outside of the casing, 
and when set in motion the air is drawn from 
below the casing in which they revolve and 
is forced out through an opening at the top. 

BLOWPIPE, an instrument for blowing, 
used to direct the flame of a lamp, candle, or 
jet of gas against a spot on which is placed 
a body designed by the operator to be sub¬ 
jected to more than ordinary heat. While there 
are various kinds of blowpipes, the ordinary 
form consists of a conical tube of metal, open 
at the narrow end, which forms the mouthpiece, 
and closed at the lower part. From the side 
of the lower end projects a small brass tube, 
about an inch long, which serves for the pass¬ 
age of a fine current of air. When the opera¬ 
tor blows into the open end, a current of air 
passes out through the air passage and causes 
the flame to be blown into a long point, much 
hotter than the common flame, owing to a 


BLUBBER 


262 


BLUE LAWS 


greater supply of oxygen. Blowpipes are of 
great antiquity; a man using one is shown in an 
ancient Egyptian painting found at Thebes. 
They are used by chemists, jewelers, and gold 
and silver smiths. 

BLUBBER (blub'ber), the fat which lies 
just beneath the skin of the whale and other 
large sea animals. In some whales it. is from 
eight to ten inches thick, and under the lip 
it is sometimes three feet in thickness. A sin¬ 
gle whale often furnishes thirty tons of blub¬ 
ber, from which about twenty tons of oil are 
extracted. Blubber is eaten by the Eskimos 
and many inhabitants of the Japenese Islands. 
It is highly esteemed as a food by the natives 
because it contains elements that protect against 
severe cold. 

BLUE (blu), one of the seven colors into 
which the rays of light are divided by refrac¬ 
tion through a glass prism. The various shades 
of blue are seen in their highest perfection in 
the sea and sky, and are most brilliantly dis¬ 
played in the sapphire and the turquoise. It 
is derived for dyes, in the arts, from various 
products of the vegetable and mineral king¬ 
doms. Indigo, derived from the indigo plant, 
is the most common vegetable dye. Logwood 
blue is an extract of logwood. The minerals 
that yield blue coloring matter are very numer¬ 
ous. They include those known as aniline blue, 
cobalt blue, Prussian blue, and ultramarine. 
Cobalt blue, Berlin, and Bremen are the prin¬ 
cipal blues used in painting. 

BLUEBIRD, or Blue Warbler, a well- 
known and favorite American bird, which ap¬ 
pears in the northern part of the United States 
and Southern Canada' in early' spring, especially 
in populated regions. It. is a common bird in 
the Bermudas, West Indies, Mexico, and North¬ 
ern South America, and in some sections is 
known as a summer bird of passage. The 
plumage is sky-blue above and yellowish-brown 
below, and in size the bird resembles Jhe robin. 
Bluebirds are fond of little boxes in which to 
nest, and frequently build close to houses and 
barns. The eggs number five or six, and sev¬ 
eral broods are reared each season. Both the 
male and female show much courage in pro¬ 
tecting the nest. 

BLUE BOOKS, the official papers and 
reports published by order of the British Par¬ 
liament, so called because they are usually 
stitched up in blue covers. The practice of 
making published reports began in 1681, when 
the succession of the Duke of York to the 
throne of England was agitated. At present the 
blue books contain information relating to state 
matters, statistics of trade, and reports of com¬ 


mittees. In Germany the corresponding official 
books are called white; in France, yellow; in 
Italy, green; and in Spain, red. In the United 
States the name blue book is applied to a report 
of the names and salaries of persons in the 
government employ. 

BLUEFISH, a fish common off the north¬ 
eastern coast of North America, closely allied 
to the mackerel. The upper parts are of a 
bluish color and the lower parts are white. *At 
the base of the pectoral fins is a black blotch. 
It attains a length of one to three feet, and 
a weight of two to fifteen pounds. In the 
winter it goes southward and in the spring 
moves toward the north. It feeds upon other 



BLUEFISH. 


fish, especially the mackerel and menhaden, 
which it pursues with much greed. It is caught 
by trolling and angling. As an article of food 
it takes high rank and is considered one of 
the best fish for table use. 

BLUE GRASS, a permanent grass found in 
America and Eurasia. It is valuable for pas¬ 
ture on account of its growth both early and 
late in the'season and its remarkable ability to 
bear pasturage. The Mississippi valley is espe¬ 
cially celebrated for its prolific growth, where 
it has taken the place of native grasses in many 
pastures and meadows. It was first grown ex¬ 
tensively in Kentucky, which is known as the 
Blue Grass State. This grass, though cut for 
hay in some places, is of greatest value for the 
lawn and pasture. 

BLUE ISLAND, a city of Illinois, in Cook 
County, two miles south of the city limits of 
Chicago. It is located on the Calumet River 
and on the Grand Trunk, the Illinois Central, 
the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, and other 
railroads. It is the residence of many Chicago 
business men, having rapid transit facilities by 
electric lines and steam railway trains. Smelting 
works, brickyards, breweries, and machine shops 
are among the principal industries. It is impor¬ 
tant as a commercial and railroad center and has 
a brisk trade in merchandise and manufactures. 
It has many fine churches, schools, and busi¬ 
ness buildings. The first settlement was made 
on its site in 1838 and its incorporation dates 
from 1872. Population, 1900, 6,114. 

BLUE LAWS, the name often applied to 


BLUE MOUNTAINS 


263 


BOA 


laws adopted in the middle of the 17th century 
for the early colonies of New England. Being 
stringent in their regulations of social life, much 
opposition to them was aroused among the 
more liberal colonists. The name is now ap¬ 
plied to any legislation whose aim is to inter¬ 
fere with the personal and domestic liberties 
. of an individual. Among the blue laws of New 
England were included the prohibition of a 
mother kissing her child on the Sabbath or 
on a fasting day, They provided a penalty 
for shaving on the Sabbath, an imprisonment 
of married persons not living together, a pen¬ 
alty for furnishing food or lodging to a 
Quaker, an imprisonment for debt, and a long 
list of other similar prohibitive measures. 

BLUE MOUNTAINS, a range of moun¬ 
tains in New South Wales, Australia, which 
lie eighty miles inland and trend parallel to the 
coast. The highest point, Mount Beemarang, 
is 4,100 feet above the sea level. The same 
name is applied to a range of mountains in the 
eastern part of the island of Jamaica, which 
includes peaks 8,000 feet high. Another range 
of the same name are the Blue Mountains in 
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, 
which lie east of the Blue Ridge, but they are 
more properly called the Kittatinny Mountains. 
A range in Oregon and Washington known as 
the Blue Mountains separates the Great Basin 
from the basin of the Columbia River. 

BLUEPRINT, in photography, a picture 
obtained by the use of a cyanide. To make a 
blueprint, the sensitive paper is prepared by 
brushing it with a solution of iron and oxalic 
acid, and afterward treating it with a solution 
of potassium ferricyanide. The drawing is 
made on a very translucent paper, such as vel¬ 
lum, under which the sensitive paper is exposed 
to light and receives a photographic imprint.- 
It is then washed in pure water and the blue 
print is developed, after which it is dried. The 
cyanide is protected from the action of the 
sun by the lines of the drawing, and is dis¬ 
solved and removed by washing,- hence the 
black lines in the drawing appear as white lines 
in the picture. Blueprints may be developed 
either in sunlight or electric light. They are 
used extensively by architects and engineers for 
copying plans since any number of duplicates 
can be made with little expense. 

BLUE RIDGE, the most easterly range of 
the Appalachian Mountains, bordered on the 
east by the Piedmont Plain. The range is 
known as Blue Ridge from the extreme 
northeast until it crosses the James River, 
thence to North Carolina as the Allegheny 
Mountains, and in North Carolina again as 


the Blue Ridge. This mountain range trends 
through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, 
North Carolina, and Georgia, and was the seat 
of the most important battles of the Civil 
War. 

BLUSHING, a sudden reddening of the 
face, due to a rush of blood into the capillary 
vessels of the skin. The cause is chiefly men¬ 
tal confusion, which results from surprise or 
apprehension, especially when accompanied with 
a feeling of modesty or shame. The passions 
and emotions influence the nervous system so 
they do not act regularly on the muscular coat 
of the capillaries, hence they enlarge and per¬ 
mit the entrance or passage of more blood than 
ordinarily, giving the cheeks a flushed or red¬ 
dish appearance. On the other hand, fear and 
terror cause the face and lips to become pale 
by exciting the nerves to the extent that they 
cause the capillaries to contract, hence the flow 
of blood is diminished. 

BOA (bo'a), a genus of large serpents found 
in America, including the chevalier boa, the 
emperor boa of Mexico, and the boa con- 



no a CONSTRICTOR. 


stridor. The last mentioned is so named be¬ 
cause it entwines its prey and swallows it 
whole. Indeed, many of the species are 
equipped with jaws so constructed ,th at the 
mouth may be dilated sufficiently to enable 
them to swallow bodies much thicker than 
themselves. These snakes are devoid of poison¬ 
ous fangs. Their length is usually from 
twelve to twenty feet, but specimens fully sixty 
feet long have been captured. They have a red- 











BOAR 


264 


BOATBILL 


dish-gray color with broad stripes on the head 
and the body is covered with small scales. Their 
food consists chiefly of small quadrupeds, which 
they capture by leaping from trees or while 
hanging suspended from the branches. The true 
boas are distributed throughout tropical Amer¬ 
ica, but are found most abundantly in Brazil and 
Guiana. Some species inhabit dry localities, 
others dense forests, while others frequent 
banks of lakes and streams, often living partly 
in the water. The water boa is know 1 as the 
anaconda and attains a length of fully forty 
feet. It feeds on fishes and animals that come to 
the banks of the streams to drink, often lying in 
wait for them hidden away under water. It 
attains a great strength and is able to carry off 
poultry, swine, and young cattle. The python 
is found in Africa and Eurasia and is allied 
to the anaconda. 

BOAR (bor), the name applied to either sex 
of the wild swine found in Africa, Asia, and 
Europe. These animals attain about the same 



WILD BOAR. 

size as the domestic hog, which is thought to 
have descended from the wild boar. They 
have coarser bristles and larger tusks than 
the domestic stock, and are vicious when 
attacked. In the swamps of Turkestan they 
abound in large numbers and in size exceed 
those of Africa. In Europe they are found 
chiefly in the forests under government pro¬ 
tection. The flesh of the wild boar is valuable 
for food. Some regard it even superior to 
that of the domestic swine, as the animal feeds 
mostly on fruits and roots and is cleaner in its 
habits. The wild boar of India is a favorite 
animal of the chase and is pursued by mounted 
men, who look upon pig-sticking as a favorite 
sport. 

BOARD OF TRADE, or Chamber of 
Commerce, an association of traders, mer¬ 
chants, or persons engaged in commercial pur¬ 
suits to promote trade by a union of action, 
or attain advantages in trade by combinations 
which are beyond the reach of individuals act¬ 
ing separately. The first board of trade was 


established at Marseilles, France, and it was 
promoted partly for political advantages as 
well as to stimulate trade. The Chamber of 
Commerce organized in Paris in 1700 cor¬ 
responded to similar institutions in other cities 
of France. In London, the Chamber of Com¬ 
merce is the center of a general trade, while 
similar organizations at Liverpool, Hull, Leeds, 
and Manchester exercise a marked influence on 
the commerce of Great Britain. Associations 
to promote trade are maintained in Berlin, 
Hamburg, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and other 
European cities. Among the larger boards of 
trade in the United States are those of New 
York, Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, 
Saint Louis, and San Francisco. The leading 
exchanges of Canada are at Montreal, Toronto, 
Quebec, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. 

A custom long established and extensively 
practiced on boards of trade is to deal in 
margins by putting up with brokers an amount 
sufficient to cover the ordinary fluctuations of 
the market, while the other capital necessary 
is furnished by the brokers. Transactions on 
the board of trade are often intensely exciting, 
since large quantities of produce are frequently 
involved and even a very small rise or fall in 
the market price is an important factor. 
Many men follow trading and exchange as 
an occupation, while others engage in it as 
a speculation or side line to other business. 
Fortunes are sometimes made or lost in a day. 
especially when men of much experience and 
capital succeed in securing an artificial scarcity 
in a commodity of trade and sell when prices 
are abnormally high. Such a scarcity is said 
to be a corner on the market. The commodi¬ 
ties handled on the board of trade include many 
lines, but cereals, live stock, lumber, and food¬ 
stuff's are the most common. 

BOAT, the name of a small open vessel, 

usually propelled by oars or paddles. Boats 

are variously made for pleasure riding and for 
draught service, usually without sails, but some 
have one or more sails. A large class 

of boats of newer construction are pro¬ 

pelled by electric motors and steam and gaso¬ 
line engines. These boats have a capacity to 
move at the rate of ten to forty miles per 
hour. All steamships and passenger vessels 
carry boats to provide some degree of safety 
in case of accidents or shipwreck. They are 
variously named, as, for instance, launch, long, 
barge, pinnace, yawl, galley, skiff, gig, cutter, 
jolly, and dingy. Ships of war carry, among 
others, the first four named. 

BOATBILL (bot'bfl), a bird of the heron 
family, native to South America. It was so 


BOBBIN 


265 


BOEHMERIA 


named from the large bill, which is broad and 
shaped somewhat similar to a boat, the keel 
being uppermost. The lower mandible has a 
pouch to retain food. This bird frequents 
marshy places and the banks of rivers. It 
frequently perches on trees overhanging water, 
whence it darts to catch fish and crustacean 
animals for food. 

BOBBIN (bob'bm), a small spool or roller 
used in spinning. At each end is a flange or 
border, and through it is an opening to receive 
a pivot. The bobbin used in weaving has a 
flange on one end only, but the small metallic 
bobbin which holds the thread in the shuttle 
of a sewing machine has a flange on both ends. 
The common spool on which thread is wrapped 
is an example of a wooden bobbin. 

BOBOLINK (bob'6-lmk), a migratory bird 
of America. It is seen most frequently in 
the southern part of the United States, whence 
it passes northward in summer and to the West 



BOBOLINK. 


Indies and south in the winter. It is known 
in various sections as ricebird, reedbird, and 
ricebunting. The bobolink feeds on rice and 
other cereals, and is extensively used for food. 
In the Carolinas and other states of the South 
it is dreaded on account of its ravages in the 
fields of rice. When passing north from the 
rice fields of the South to the section farther 
north and to Canada, it is rich with fat and 
almost incapable of enduring long flights. The 
male is mostly black, sprinkled with white and 
yellow, and the female is largely marked with 
shades of brown. The song of the male is 
merry, quick, and musical. 

BOCHUM (bok'oom), a city of Germany, in 
the province of Westphalia, 30 miles north¬ 
east of Diisseldorf. It is surrounded by a coal- 
producing country and is the seat of exten¬ 
sive iron and steel works. The general manu¬ 
factures include woolens, hardware, machinery, 


cigars, and paper hangings. It owns and oper¬ 
ates the municipal slaughterhouse? waterworks, 
and sewage system. Bochum is a modern 
city and its recent growth is due to the rapid 
development of its manufacturing enterprises. 
It has a public theater, a gymnasium, electric 
street railways, and stone and asphalt pave¬ 
ments. Population, 1905, 118,464. 

BODLEIAN (bod'le-an) LIBRARY, the 
library of Oxford University, England, organ¬ 
ized by Sir Thomas Bodley in 1598 and opened 
in 1602. For rare collections it is excelled 
only by a few of the great libraries, although 
it is surpassed greatly in that respect by the 
Vatican in Rome. In it are copies of all the 
works published in Great Britain, and in addi¬ 
tion to the English publications it contains 
numerous works issued in other countries. At 
present there are about 1,500,000 volumes in 
the library. 

BOEHMERIA (be-me'ri-a), a genus of 
plants native to China and the East Indies, 
important for the tough fiber used in making 
twine and rope. The plants belonging to this 
genus are related to the nettle, but do not 
possess the stinging properties. They yield the 
valuable rhea fiber, or grass-cloth fiber, known 
in commerce as ramie. The species from which 



BOEHMERIA. 


this product is obtained principally is the 
Chinese grass. This plant is perennial, grows 
best in shade and moisture, and yields three 
crops in a season, new shoots coming up after 
each harvesting. It is cultivated in the south- 



BOEOTIA 


266 


BOHEMIA 


ern part of the United States and the warmer 
parts of Europe. Species known as false-net- 
tles are annual plants and grow in waste places 
in Canada and the United States. 

BOEOTIA (be-6'shi-a), one of the ancient 
divisions of Greece, situated south of Phocis 
and west of the Euboean Sea, and now united 
as a province with Attica. The two as now 
organized contain an area of 2,475 square miles. 
Boeotia has an area of 1,635 square miles. 
It was one of the most progressive and cele¬ 
brated divisions of ancient Greece, and is noted 
as the birthplace of the historian Plutarch, the 
general Epaminondas, and the poets Hesiod 
and Pindar. It was the seat of fourteen cities 
that formed the Boeotian League. The sur¬ 
face is quite level, but near its boundaries are 
chains of mountains. In the time of Alexander 
the Great a vast tunnel was constructed through 
the mountains to drain the district of the inte¬ 
rior that was subject to overflow by the waters 
of the Cephissus, which discharges into Lake 
Copias, but later it became damaged and failed 
to discharge the water, thus rendering the dis¬ 
trict marshy and unhealthful. Extensive canals 
and tunnels were made in 1886, and now the 
district is rendered productive, though the 
atmosphere still remains heavy. 

BOER (boor), meaning farmer, the name 
applied to the descendants of the Dutch, Ger¬ 
man, and French who settled in South Africa 
in the 16th century and since. Their first set¬ 
tlements were made in the vicinity of the Cape 
of Good Hope, from which they spread over 
the territory now known as Cape Colony. 
Owing to English encroachments and annexa¬ 
tion in 1795, many of them removed farther 
north to Natal, later to the Orange Free State, 
and still later across the Vaal River, where 
they organized the Transvaal Republic. They 
constructed railroads, built cities, developed 
agriculture and mining, and gave to South 
Africa a civilization and commerce never before 
known in that portion of the earth. Their gov¬ 
ernments of Cape Colony, Natal, Orange, and 
Transvaal were at all times constitutional 
republics. The Boers rank as a people of indus¬ 
try, splendid marksmanship, sober habits, and 
Christian devotion. See Cape Colony. 

BOG (bog), a morass or quagmire in which 
the soil is composed largely of decayed and 
decaying vegetable matter. Some bog districts 
yield large quantities of peat for fuel, while 
others are reclaimed by drainage and converted 
into the most productive soil. Large basins 
and lake beds have been redeemed in this man¬ 
ner. The soil, often from twelve to fifty feet 
deep, is enriched for production by decayed 


vegetable matter that has gathered for ages. 
In the Chatmos bogs of England and the Allen 
bogs of Ireland the deposits vary from ten to 
forty feet, and yield large quantities of peat 
and fuel materials. The largest lowland bog in 
the United States is known as the Great Dismal 
Swamp, in Virginia and North Carolina, which 
has an area of about 950 square miles and is 
25 feet deep. 

BOGOTA (bo-go-ta'), the capital of the 
United States of Colombia, South America, 
and the largest city in that country. It is 
located on a table-land 8,695 feet above the 
Andes, near Mount Guadalupe. The surround¬ 
ing table-land district is fertile and produces 
large quantities of cereals and fruit. The 
climate is healthful, partaking of the na¬ 
ture of perpetual spring. Vast quanti¬ 
ties of salt, coal, iron, gold, silver, and 
other minerals are mined in the mountains 
tributary to the city. The national capitol is a 
fine edifice, and, besides it, there are other pub¬ 
lic buildings, including national and provincial 
structures. A free library, an astronomical 
observatory, several theaters, a university, and 
a museum are among the public institutions. 
While the city does not have the thrift of 
North American cities, it is supplied with 
many modern cohveniences, among them tele¬ 
phones, gas and electric lights, street railways, 
waterworks, and railroad facilities. However, 
the pack mule and other evidences of southern 
life are. still largely manifest. The manu¬ 
factures include soap, leather, clothing, cordage, 
porcelain, and machinery. Near the city is the 
cataract of Tequendama, in the Funeha River, 
where the water falls over a precipice 650 feet 
high, which furnishes an abundance of power. 
Bogota is popularly called the “Athens of South 
America.” Population, 1905/112,580. 

BOHEMIA (bo-he'mi-a), a crown land of 
Austria, bounded on the northwest by Saxony, 
on the northeast by Prussian Silesia, on the 
southeast by Moravia and Lower Austria, on 
the south by Upper Austria, and on the south¬ 
west by Bavaria, It extends from latitude 
48° 34' to 51° 3' north latitude and from 
12 7 to 16° 50' east longitude. The area is 
20,060 square miles. 

Description. The surface consists mostly of 
a high table-land surrounded by mountains. In 
the southwestern part is the Bohemian Forest, 
in the northwest are the Erzgebirge, and in 
the northeast the Riesen-Gebirge. The princi¬ 
pal drainage is toward the north. Among the 
chief rivers are the Elbe, the Moldau, the Eger, 
and the Luschnitz. > It has a continental climate, 
mild in the valleys and cold in the highlands, 


BOHEMIA 


267 


BOHEMIA 


but it is healthful throughout the year. At 
Prague the temperature varies from 16° to 
76 , and the average is about 49°. Snow 
covers the higher peaks most of the year. The 
rainfall is sufficient and abundant for agri¬ 
culture. 

The mines yield copper, iron, coal, alum, 
arsenic, sulphur, and antimony, though mining 
has not been developed to the extent of its pos¬ 
sibilities. Coal is mined most extensively and 
supplies fuel for manufacturing enterprises. A 
fine grade of sand abounds, useful in the manu¬ 
facture of glass, and granite, marble, and sand¬ 
stone quarries are worked. Famous mineral 
springs abound at Carlsbad, Teplitz, and 
Marienbad. The forests are extensive and 
furnish valuable timber for export. 

Industries. Agriculture is the chief occupa¬ 
tion and about ninety-eight per cent, of the sur¬ 
face is fertile. Most of the land is divided into 
small holdings and farming is conducted on a 
careful and economic basis. Fully sixty-four 
per cent, of the arable land is cultivated in ce¬ 
reals, such as wheat, rye, and maize, and pota¬ 
toes, sugar beets, hops, fruit, and vegetables are 
grown profitably. All the domestic animals 
common to Europe thrive well, but special 
attention is given to cattle raising for flesh and 
dairy products. Sheep, goats, and horses take 
rank with swine in the value of the products, 
and large investments in poultry are maintained. 
Silk culture and bee-keeping receive careful 
attention in the districts adapted to these enter¬ 
prises. 

Bohemia has made rapid strides of advance¬ 
ment in manufacturing the past two decades. 
Glass is an important product and large quanti¬ 
ties of glassware are manufactured for export. 
The textile industries and the manufacture of 
beet sugar have developed materially, and large 
steel and iron works are operated. Carlsbad 
china and Pilsen beer are made in large quanti¬ 
ties for export. Clothing, cigars, paper, and 
machinery are other manufactures that take 
high rank. The knitting industry and the 
manufacture of toys and musical instruments 
receive considerable attention. Transportation 
is facilitated by navigation on the Elbe and 
Moldau and a network of canals, and a con¬ 
siderable mileage of steam railway and electric 
lines is operated. 

Government. Bohemia is classed as a crown 
land of Austria, hence is an intregal part of 
the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, which has its 
executive head in the emperor. Legislative 
power is vested in the Diet, consisting of an 
upper and lower chamber. Representation in * 
the upper chamber is vested in the Archbishop 


of Prague and representatives from the univer¬ 
sities, the sees of the church, the large land- 
owners, the towns, the chambers of commerce, 
and the rural communities, and in the lower 
chamber by members elected by direct vote of 
the people, who are restricted by a small prop¬ 
erty qualification. In the lower house of the 
monarchy Bohemia is represented by 110 mem¬ 
bers. At Prague are two noted universities, 
a German and a Czech. The system of schools 
include those classed as elementary, prepara¬ 
tory, commercial, and real gymnasia. 

Inhabitants. The inhabitants number 315 
to the square mile. About two-fifths are Ger¬ 
mans and the balance are largely Czechs, includ¬ 
ing a small per cent, of Jews. Roman Catholic 
is the religion of most of the inhabitants, but 
some Protestant and Jewish churches are main¬ 
tained. Prague, the capital, on the Moldau, 
is the most important city. Pilsen, Reichen- 
berg, Eger, Budweis, Teplitz, and Aussig are 
commercial centers. Population, 1900, 6,318,697 

History. Bohemia was occupied at the be¬ 
ginning of the Christian era by a Celtic people 
called Boii, and in the 1st century they were 
made tributary to the Germans. ' In the 6th 
.century the region came into the hands of a 
Slavic race, who became known as the Czechs. 
They were warlike and held sway for several 
centuries against the attacks of the Goths and 
other people of Central Europe. Christianity 
was introduced about the year 900 by the Ger¬ 
mans, while the Moravians, who resided in 
adjoining territory, were converted to the Greek 
Church. Powerful invasions were made by the 
Alemanni and other Germanic tribes, and 
Bohemia became a part of the Moravian king¬ 
dom of Svatopluk, who was vanquished by 
the Magyars in the early part of the 10th 
century. It remained a powerful kingdom from 
1278 until 1305, extending from the Elbe to 
the Adriatic, and in the latter year became 
subject to the house of Luxemburg and later 
to the emperors of Germany. It was the seat 
of religions wars in the time of and subse¬ 
quent to the Hussite movement, in 1400, and 
for many years remained Protestant. ‘In 1526 
it was merged with Austria and since has been 
governed by the house of Hapsburg. In 1848 
a well-organized effort was made to secure inde¬ 
pendence and reestablish its former position 
among the nations, but the bombardment of 
Prague and several decisive battles ended the 
insurrection. The feeling of antagonism be¬ 
tween the two chief elements, the Germans 
and the Czechs, has been sharply drawn at dif¬ 
ferent times, but educational and commercial 
progress has exercised a wide influence in 




BOHEMIAN FOREST 


268 


BOILING 


developing the resources and making stable the 
government of the house of Hapsburg, which 
has done much in promoting the material wel¬ 
fare of Bohemia. 

BOHEMIAN FOREST, a chain of moun¬ 
tains in Central Europe, between Bavaria and 
Bohemia, and extending from the Danube to 
the Fichtelgebirge. It separates the basins of 
the Elbe and the Danube and culminates in 
Mount Arber, which is 4,650 feet above the sea. 
Granite, iron ore, and gneiss deposits occur. 

BOHOL (bo-hol'), an island of the Philip¬ 
pines, located north of Mindanao and south¬ 
west of Leyte. It has an area of 1,440 square 
miles. The distance across it from east to west 
is about forty miles, and, from north to south, 
thirty miles. Groups of mountains and forests 
make up the principal part of the surface, but 
the soil is fertile and produces rice and many 
kinds of fruit. Gold and silver are mined. 
Population, 1903, 243,148. 

BOIL, a swelling of the epidermal tissues, 
due usually to a change of diet and the habits 
of living. It starts in a small pimple, caused by 
poisonous bacteria under the skin, and becomes 
hard at the base and quite soft at the apex as it 
develops. For several days it is quite painful 
and highly inflamed, and when it opens a pus is 
discharged. The maturity of a boil may be 
hastened by the use of a poultice or the appli¬ 
cation of sulphide of calcium, and in some cases 
it is advisable to open it by lancing. 

BOILER (boil'er), a vessel for boiling liq¬ 
uids, usually constructed of iron or steel, and 
named from its particular use. In the list are 
included household boilers, used in the arts of 
cookery and for laundry purposes. The larger 
boilers employed in the industries are variously 
constructed. Those used for stationary steam 
generators are usually enclosed in brickwork, in 
order to prevent a loss of heat by radiation. In 
all modern stationary and portable engines the 
water is subdivided by a number of tubes, thus 
allowing free contact of the heat with the boiler 
surface, by which it is more rapidly* and effec¬ 
tually distributed to the water. In recent years 
tubular or water-tube boilers have grown in 
popularity for the reason that they allow more 
grate area as well as heating surface, and facili¬ 
tate a greater concentration of power within a 
small space. Boilers of this construction are 
used quite generally in steamboats and for 
warming buildings, as well as in factories and 
for portable purposes. 

The tubular boilers as now made are mostly 
cylindrical in form and in regard to position 
are either horizontal or vertical. In these 
boilers the water is in srhall tubes instead of a 


single large one, as in the flue boilers, which 
have one or more large flues passing through 
the center. This causes a rapid generation of 
steam, as the fire and burning gases come in 
contact with a large surface area. The vertical 
boiler shown in the illustration is constructed 
on this plan. At the bottom are the ash pit and 
the grate, above which is the furnace, in which 
the fire burns. The tubes contain the water, 
which is brought to the boiling point as the fire 
surrounds them, and the steam collects at the 
upper part in the steam dome. A steam gauge 
indicates the pressure of steam and a water 
gauge shows the height of the water, while the 
safety valve permits 
the steam to blow 
off when the maxi¬ 
mum pressure is 
reached. Wrought 
iron and steel are 
used in constructing 
the shell, the dif- 
f e r e n t parts of 
which are carefully 
fitted and securely 
riveted together to 
insure safety 
against explosions. 

Other materials 
used are brass, 
bronze, copper, cast 
iron, and malleable 
iron. Most small 
boilers and those 
used in the marine 
service are vertical, 
while the large boil- 
e r s o n land are 
chiefly horizontal. 

In the last men¬ 
tioned the grate or 
furnace is located 
beneath the front 
end of the boiler or 
shell, hence the hot 
gases pass along the 
inner tubes to the 
rear end of the vertical boiler. 

shell. 

BOILING, an important operation in the 
preparation of food. It has the effect of soften¬ 
ing nutritive articles, causing a solution of 
sugar and starch grains, and making them more 
easily digested. In boiling meats they should 
be suddenly plunged into boiling water so as to 
cause a coating or protective layer of coagulated 
albumen to form on the surface. This serves 































BOILING POINT 


269 


BOLIVIA 


to retain the more nutritious portions within. 
After a few minutes the temperature may be 
considerably lowered. For soups and broths 
the meats should be heated gradually 
so as to allow the more nutritious elements to 
escape from the meat into the soup. Boiled 
food is more digestible than when stewed, 
roasted, or fried. 

BOILING POINT, the degree or point at 
which any liquid boils. This depends upon the 
constituents of the liquid and the conditions of 
the atmospheric pressure. The boiling point is 
always the same, if the physical conditions are 
the same. It is highest at the level of the 
sea, and is lowered one degree Fahr. with 
every 597 feet of ascent; this is due to a 
decrease of atmospheric pressure as we ascend. 
After liquids begin to boil, their temperature is 
not raised. The following is the boiling point 
of the liquids named below; the degrees given 
are according to Fahrenheit’s thermometer: 

Mercury.662° Water .212° 

Sulphuric acid..610° Nitric acid.210° 

Olive oil.600° Alcohol.173° 

Phosphorus.554° Bromine .145° 

Iodine.347° Sulphuric ether.113° 

Naphtha.320° Muriatic ether. 52° 

Oil of turpentine.314° Ammonia.28° 

BOISE (boi’za), the capital of Idaho, county 
seat of Ada County, on the Boise River and on 
the Union Pacific Railroad. It occupies a fine 
site at the head of the Snake River valley, 
about 3,000 feet above the sea, and has a 
delightful climate. The chief buildings include 
the State capitol, the high school, the Soldiers’ 
home, the United States assay office, and the 
penitentiary. It has manufactures of flour, 
lumber products, and machinery. Water power 
is secured from the river for irrigation and 
manufacturing purposes. The thermal springs 
furnish hot water for heating the buildings. 
Gold, silver, and other minerals are obtained 
in the vicinity. It was first settled in 1863, 
incorporated in 1865, and made the capital of 
the State in 1890. Population, 1910, 17,358. 

BOJADOR (boj-a-dor'), a cape on the west 
coast of Africa, in north latitude 26° 7'. It is 
southeast of the Canary Islands, a projecting 
point of the Sahara, and is dangerous for navi¬ 
gation. It was discovered by the Portuguese 
in 1433. 

BOKHARA (bo-ka'ra), meaning “treasury 
of science,” a khanate of Central Asia, belong¬ 
ing to Russia. It is bounded on the north by 
Russian Turkestan, east by the Pamir region, 
south by Afghanistan, and west by the Trans- 
Caspian Territory. The area is 93,850 square 
miles. The Russian railroad from the Caspian 
Sea passes through the district from Charjui 


on the Oxus River to a point near Bokhara, 
and thence to Samarkand. Much of the sur¬ 
face is fertile, but arid, and large tracts of land 
are irrigated by water taken from the Zeraf- 
shan River. The mineral wealth embraces 
alum, sulphur, gold, and slate. The silk pro¬ 
duction aggregates over 1,000 tons annually, 
and the yield of cotton is about 30,000 tons. 
Other products include cereals, domestic ani¬ 
mals, minerals, and various Eastern manufac¬ 
tures. The important cities are Bokhara, Kar- 
shi, Hissar, and Charjui. The military forces 
consist of a standing army of 25,000 men. They 
are armed with Russian rifles and instructed 
in Russian military drill. The government of 
Bokhara is under an emir, who, in 1873, 
acknowledged Russian supYemacy and granted 
concessions to the czar. In ancient times the 
district was called Sogdiana. It was conquered 
by the Arabs in the 8th century, and in 1220 
by Genghis Khan, in 1370- by Timur, and in 
1505 by the Usbeks. Bokhara is the capital, 
located near the Oxus River, southeast of the 
Aral Sea, and has a population of 92,350. It is 
surrounded by a mud wall, which was built 
anciently for the protection of the city against 
invaders. It contains 350 mosques and a num¬ 
ber of other interesting edifices. Population, 
1907, 2,563,500. 

BOLAN PASS (bo-lan'), a defile in the 
Hala Mountains of Baluchistan, on the high¬ 
way between the table-land of Afghanistan and 
the Lower Indus River. It consists of a suc¬ 
cession of ravines along the course of the 
Bolan River and is about 60 miles long. • This 
river rises in the mountains and flows through 
the ravines with a rapid descent, about 90 feet 
per mile, and the eminences on each side rise 
abruptly 500 feet above the stream. The Brit¬ 
ish constructed a military railroad through this 
pass to connect Sind with Kandahar. 

BOLIVIA (bo-liv'i-a), a republic of South 
America, in the western part of the continent. 
It is bounded on the north and east by Brazil, 
south by Paraguay and Argentina, and west 
by Chile and Peru. It extends from south 
latitude 8° to 22° 50’, and from west longitude 
58° to 73° 20’. The area is 557,430 square 
miles, exclusive of some territory held by Chile 
since the War of 1879-80. 

Description. In the southwestern part are 
some of the most elevated summits of the 
Andes, including Mount Sorata and Mount 
Illimani, the altitude ranging from 15,000 to 
21,000 feet above the sea. The western part 
has two parallel ranges of the Andes, which 
traverse the country from southeast to north¬ 
west. The general surface slopes toward the 
















BOLIVIA 


270 


BOLIVIA 


east and north, forming a large part of the 
central plain of South America. On the west¬ 
ern boundary is the wonderful Lake Titicaca, 
with an area of about 3,250 square miles and a 
depth of 120 fathoms. In the north is Lake 
Rogagus, in the east is Lake Oberaba, and in 
the central west is Lake Poopo Choro. Most 
of the rivers rise in the western and central 
parts and belong to the Amazon and La Plata 
river systems. Among the chief rivers are 
the Pilcomayo, a tributary of the Parana, and 
the Mamore and Beni, which discharge through 
the Madeira into the Amazon. The Bermejo 
is an important river in the southern part of 
the country. 

Bolivia has three climatic regions, the east¬ 
ern llanos, the highland region, and the moun¬ 
tain region. In the eastern llanos the climate 
is humid and hot, in the highland region it is 
temperate, and in the mountain region it is 
cold. A favorable climate prevails in the region 
of the Medio Yunga, which embraces an ele¬ 
vated plateau. At La Paz, elevated 12,500 feet 
above the sea, the temperature averages about 
50°. 

Natural Resources. The forests are of 
incalculable value, cover a vast extent of the 
surface, and have many varieties of useful 
trees. Here thrive the mahogany, ebony, cork, 
cedar, rosewood, and many species of palm. A 
treeless region occupies the Bolivian highlands, 
where large areas are covered with nutritious 
grasses. The mineral resources are especially 
noteworthy. In the extent of productive silver 
fields Bolivia takes high rank, and gold deposits 
are likewise extensive. Other minerals found 
in paying quantities are copper, lead, tin, zinc, 
borax, coal, and manganese. Many wild ani¬ 
mals infest the unpopulated regions, such as the 
puma, jaguar, tapir, and armadillo, and the 
birds of song and plumage, including the tou¬ 
can, parrot, and pigeon, are very numerous. 

Industries. Mining continues to be the 
leading industry of Bolivia, but agriculture is 
gaining a larger foothold on account of the 
favorable conditions in the development of 
trade. It is known that gold was mined by 
the Incas long before the Spanish conquest, 
and interests in gold, silver, and tin mining 
have received special attention for a long 
period of years. In the output of silver Bo¬ 
livia takes from third to fourth rank. The 
government has granted liberal concessions to 
those who open and operate new mines, and 
has extended appropriations to promote the 
construction of railroads as a means of secur¬ 
ing transportation facilities to convey the ore 
to smelters and elsewhere. 


Much of the land fitted for agriculture is 
owned by large investors and by the Indians. 
Farming is primitive, especially in the matter 
of cultivating the soil. It yields little more 
than is needed to supply the local demand, 
although the country is susceptible of large 
production. Many varieties of fruit are culti¬ 
vated, especially the banana, pineapple, peach, 
lemon, fig, and the vine. -All the cereals, such 
as wheat, corn, and barley, are grown, and 
considerable interest is taken in the cultivation 
of alfalfa, coffee, sugar cane, and vegetables. 
Stock raising is largely in the hands of Indians, 
who have herds of cattle in the grazing dis¬ 
tricts, and give some attention to the rearing 
of horses and sheep. Other animals reared 
to a considerable extent are mules, swine, 
alpacas, llamas, and vicunas. 

Little progress has been made in manufac¬ 
turing, and the output consists mostly of wear¬ 
ing apparel and utensils. The exports embrace 
hides, rubber, coffee, wool, metals, lumber, and 
products derived from medicinal plants, such 
as cinchona and sarsaparilla. Germany has the 
largest share of foreign trade, and the trade 
with the United States and Great Britain is 
making a steady growth. Among the leading 
imports are cotton goods, furniture, and manu¬ 
factures of iron and steel. Bolivia has no sea¬ 
port, and foreign trade is carried on largely 
by the Peruvian port Molliendo and the Chilean 
port Antofagasta, from which railroads are 
operated to the inland points of the eastern 
part of Bolivia. The highways are in a bad 
condition and are improved only to a limited 
extent. Few railroads are operated, and most 
of the mileage is made up of narrow gauge 
lines, but telegraph and telephone connections 
are quite common. Much of the inland trade is 
carried by pack animals, and rivers furnish an 
outlet to the Atlantic, but the distance across 
the continent is so great that the river trade 
has not been developed to any great extent. 

Government. Bolivia is a republic and its 
government is organized as a representative 
democracy. The president, elected by direct 
vote for four years, is the chief executive, and 
is assisted by a vice president and five minis¬ 
ters. The legislative authority is vested in a 
congress of two houses, the senate and cham¬ 
ber of deputies. In the former are eighteen 
members, elected for six years, and the latter 
has 64 members, elected for four years. The 
system of department courts includes judges of 
district and supreme tribunals. The national 
supreme court is the highest judicial authority. 
Local government is administered by the eight 
departments, and these are divided into prov- 


BOLOGNA 


271 


BOLOGNA, UNIVERSITY OF 


inces and cantons. Education is free and obliga¬ 
tory, but the public schools do not provide suf¬ 
ficient facilities to accommodate those of school 
age and the compulsory school attendance law 
is not well enforced. The common schools are 
maintained by municipalities and cantons, and 
in addition there are eight colleges and six 
universities. Several theological seminaries and 
a number of missionary and parochial schools 
are maintained. 

Inhabitants. The white inhabitants are 
largely of Spanish origin, but immigration from 
Europe, especially from Germany, is adding 
quite a number of whites. Mestizos and In¬ 
dians make up a large per cent, of the popula¬ 
tion. A number of the Indians are still uncivil¬ 
ized, especially the Guarani tribe. Roman 
Catholic is the religion of most of the people, 
but there is no restriction as to religious wor¬ 
ship, and a number of Protestant churches and 
missionary schools are maintained. Sucre is 
the capital and La Paz^ is the largest city. 
Oruro, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Potosi, and 
Huanchaca are the leading cities. The popu¬ 
lation has not increased materially for twenty 
years, but there has been a steady growth, 
especially in the towns. Population, 1906, 2,267,- 
935. 

History. The history of Bolivia is charac¬ 
terized by many wars and insurrections. It 
was a part of the ancient empire of the Incas, 
and was conquered by Hernando Pizarro in 
1538 for Spain. At that time it was made a 
part of Peru and later of the government of 
La Plata, but in 1825 was organized as a sepa¬ 
rate state and named in honor of Simon Boli¬ 
var (q. v.), who became its first president under 
a constitution drawn by him and adopted in 
1826. In 1836 it was annexed to Peru under 
President Santa Cruz, but the union was soon 
set aside and Bolivia has been the scene of 
many revolutions and civil wars. Chile declared 
war against Bolivia and Peru in 1876, and as a 
result the port of Antofagasta and adjacent 
territory were lost to the Bolivians, thus cut¬ 
ting them entirely off the Pacific coast. A 
revolution took place in 1898, when a change 
was brought about in the administration by 
force of arms. 

BOLOGNA (bo-lon'ya), an ancient city in 
Italy, capital of a province of the same name, 
located in a fertile plain near the Apennines, 
about eighty miles north of Florence. It is 
surrounded by a brick wall and penetrated by 
canals, which serve as arteries of commerce. 
The city is adorned by many palaces in which 
are historic paintings of the leading artists of 
Italy. As a whole the general architecture is 


massive and substantial, but the styles are 
mediaeval in appearance, since the facades of 
most of the buildings overhang the second 
story. A number of monuments adorn the 
parks and squares. The principal buildings in¬ 
clude the Palazzo del Podesta, the Palazzo 
Publico, and the basilica of Saint Petronio, the 
largest church in the city. The leaning towers, 
Degli Asinelli and Garisenda, built in the 12th 
century, are among the noted structures in the 
city- There are over one hundred churches 
remarkable for beauty and wealth. Near the 
city is the church of Madonna di San Lucca, 
at the foot of the Apennines, which is reached 
by an arcade of 640 arches. Other noted 
buildings include the university, the Academy 
of Fine Arts, the city hall, and many schools 
and hospitals. It has manufactures of clothing, 
macaroni, silk and linen textiles, leather, canned 
fruit, and machinery. Among tjie modern 
facilities are steam and electric railways, gas 
and electric lighting, and pavements of stone 
and asphalt. 

Bologna was founded by the Etruscans and 
is counted one of the oldest cities in Europe. 
It became a Roman colony in 189 b. c. In 728 
a. d. it was taken by Longobards, but later 
was held by Charlemagne, who made it a free 
city. Since 1860 it has been a part of Italy. 
It contains some of the most interesting and 
beautiful edifices and adornments of antiquity 
and is visited by many who travel for study. 
Population, 1906, 152,009. 

BOLOGNA, University of, an institution 
of higher learning at Bologna, Italy, noted as 
one of the most famous centers of education 
in the world. It is thought that the founda¬ 
tion was laid at the beginning of the Chris¬ 
tian era, but its early history is obscure, and, 
according to some writers, it was founded by 
Theodosius in 425. Subsequently it was de¬ 
stroyed as a result of wars and insurrections, 
but Charlemagne restored and enlarged it. In 
point of attendance it reached its greatest 
prosperity during the Middle Ages, when it 
had about 8,000 students, but with the rise of 
the great universities in Germany the attend¬ 
ance began to decline and at present the en¬ 
rollment is about 1,500. The scholars who 
made this institution famous include Luigi 
Galvani, Vesalius, Mme. Mazzolini, and the 
female professor Clotilda Tambroni. It is 
coeducational, and is equipped with a library 
of 260,000 volumes and excellent chemical and 
physical laboratories. The faculties include 
those of mathematics and sciences, philosophy 
and letters, medicine and surgery, jurispru¬ 
dence, pharmacy, engineering, drawing and 


BOLOMETER 


272 


BOMBAY 


architecture, politics, criminal law, and veteri¬ 
nary surgery. 

BOLOMETER (bo-lom'e-ter), an instru¬ 
ment used to measure minute quantities of 
heat, especially in different portions of the 
spectrum. It is sometimes called actinic bal¬ 
ance and thermic balance. The essential part 
is an electrical apparatus known as Wheat¬ 
stone’s Bridge, which has two arms, one of 
which consists of three strips of platinum black¬ 
ened and exposed to the rays of the sun, and the 
other arm is connected with a small but sensi¬ 
tive galvanometer. A current of electricity is 
developed as soon as the platinum area is ex¬ 
posed to the sun, owing to the fact that it is 
highly sensitive, and the degree of heat is indi¬ 
cated by the needle of the galvanometer. This 
instrument, though so delicate that it is in¬ 
fluenced by minute changes of temperature, is 
the most useful and reliable device for studying 
radiation. 

BOLTON (bol'tun), or Bolton-le-Moors, 
an important manufacturing city in Lancashire, 
England, on the Croal River, about ten miles 
northwest of Manchester. The chief buildings 
include the town hall, two museums, the church 
of Saint Peter, the public baths, and five public 
libraries. Large quantities of coal are mined 
in the vicinity. It was noted for its manufac¬ 
ture of cotton and woolen goods as early as the 
14th century, when Flemish merchants stimu¬ 
lated the industry. The opposition of the labor¬ 
ing classes long prevented the adoption of the 
machinery invented by Arkwright, and thereby 
retarded its growth to some extent. It now has 
some of the largest and finest cotton mills in 
the world. The manufactures, besides cotton 
goods, include ironware, paper, chemicals, 
clothing, machinery, and pottery. It has elec¬ 
tric street railways, waterworks, and a large 
trade. Population, 1907, 182,917. 

BOMA (bo'ma), the capital of the Congo 
Free State, on the Congo River, not far from 
its entrance into the Atlantic. It is regularly 
platted and has a number of fine buildings, 
including those erected by the government. 
The largest vessels enter its port, giving it 
direct steamship communication with Ostend, 
Antwerp, and other cities of Europe. It has 
a large interior and foreign trade, manufactures 
of utensils and clothing, and is the political 
center of the district of Boma and the country 
lying inland. Population, 1906, 4,360. 

BOMB (bom), an agent of destruction used 
in war. It is usually a large iron ball or shell 
filled with explosives and fired from a mortar 
or howitzer. Bombs are provided with a time 
or percussion fuse. They were first used at 


Naples in 1434. The conical shells fired from 
rifled cannon have largely supplanted the older 
bomb. A class of bombs to be thrown by 
hand are sometimes used with murderous effect. 
The most noteworthy instances of such use in 
the latter part of the last century were at Saint 
Petersburg, Madrid, and Paris. They are con¬ 
structed of a shell filled with high explosives, 
together with nails, scraps of iron, and bullets. 
The explosives used are nitroglycerin, fulminate 
of mercury, or chlorate of potash and picric 
acid. The explosion in the common bomb is 
effected by concussion, and in those depending 
wholly upon chemical action, as in one con¬ 
taining picric acid and chlorate of potash, it is 
effected by a coming together of the two liq¬ 
uids. 

BOMBARDIER BEETLE (bom-ber-der'), 
a kind of beetle -found in temperate and tropi¬ 
cal countries. Many species have been de¬ 
scribed. Fully 25 species are found in differ¬ 
ent parts of the United States and Mexico. 
These beetles are remarkable for the secretion 
of a pungent fluid in the anal glands, which, 
when they are attacked by an enemy, is dis¬ 
charged with explosive force as a means of pro¬ 
tection. This fluid somewhat resembles nitric 
acid in that it leaves a stain and has a burning 
sensation when applied to the skin. Immediately 
on making the discharge, the insect makes good 
its escape, but, if needed as a means of defense, 
the fluid can be thrown out several times con¬ 
secutively. 

BOMBARDMENT (bom-bard'ment), the 
act of attacking a city or fort by throwing 
bombs and shells to destroy the buildings and 
fortifications. This manner of attack is made 
chiefly on the larger cities and more important 
fortresses, usually on those that occupy a strat¬ 
egic point or in which a powerful army or 
valuable stores are kept by the enemy. In 
modern times most bombardments involve both 
naval and military operations. The attacking 
party usually gives notice of the impending 
attack 24 hours before opening fire in order 
that noncombatants may protect their lives 
and property by moving out of the range of 
the guns, though in some cases the enemy is 
surprised by a sudden attack, when no notice 
is given. In many cases excavations are made 
underground or bomb-proof masonry is built 
as a means of protecting life. Sebastopol, in 
the Crimean War, is an example of heavy 
bombardment, and Port Arthur, which the Jap¬ 
anese captured after repeated assaults, is an 
instance of combining the naval and military 
operations to good advantage. 

BOMBAY (bom-ba'), the chief seaport city 


BOMBAY 


273 


BONE 


of India and capital of a province of the same 
name. It is located on a small, island in the 
Arabian Sea, which was visited by the Portu¬ 
guese in 1509 and annexed by them in 1532. 
It was ceded to Charles II. as a part of the 
dowery of his bride, the Infanta Catharine. 
In 1668 it was transferred to the East India 
Company, and in 1685 became the principal 
presidency of their possessions. There is a 
closer resemblance between it and European 
cities than is seen in any other city of Asia. 
The harbor is one of the finest in the world, 
and is both commodious and sufficiently secure 
for the heaviest ironclads. It has many sub¬ 
stantial business blocks and magnificent homes 
in the newer suburban districts, where the 
larger numbers of its European inhabitants 
reside. The public buildings include the cus¬ 
tomhouse, the city hall, the public mint, several 
cathedrals, the offices of public works, the gov¬ 
ernment courts, and the university. It has a 
well-organized and liberally patronized public 
school system, which is supported by taxation 
and government grants. Bombay has extensive 
manufacturing enterprises. The products include 
machinery, clothing, earthenware, textiles, and 
utensils. Its export and import commerce is 
very extensive, each aggregating about $175,- 
000,000 annually. The city has railroad connec¬ 
tions with the country in all directions, is lighted 
by electricity, has street railway service, and is 
extensively connected by telegraph and tele¬ 
phone lines. Although the city presents ele¬ 
ments of prosperity, it contains many poor and 
destitute. The life of the native laborer is one 
of misery and destitution, often reaching the 
point of starvation. Large numbers of the 
poor die in consequence of the famines that are 
quite frequent in western and northwestern 
India. Population, 1906, 786,806. 

The province of which Bombay is the cap¬ 
ital lies in the western part of India. It is 
bounded on the north by Baluchistan; east by 
Rajputana, Central India, the Central Provinces, 
Besar, and Hydenabad; south by Mysore and 
Madras; and west by Baluchistan and the 
Arabian Sea. The area is 184,235 square mile’s, 
of which 122,778 square miles are under direct 
British administration. The climate at Bom¬ 
bay is unhealthful, owing to its low and moist 
location, but toward the northeast the district is 
favorable to Europeans. The chief rivers in¬ 
clude the Indus, Tapti, and Nerbudda. Among 
the mineral deposits are gold, iron, coal, salt, 
and petroleum. The rainfall is very heavy in 
the coast district, sometimes reaching 300 
inches, and heavy monsoons are frequent. 
Large areas still contain valuable forests, but 

18 


in some regions deserts and saline lakes abound. 
The agricultural products embrace rice, wheat, 
barley, millet, cotton, and many varieties of 
tropical fruits. Railroads have been built 
through all the fertile districts, on which are 
located numerous cities with large populations. 
In 1907 the lines in operation had a length of 
6,890 miles. The government of the district 
is administered by a resident governor, ap¬ 
pointed by the crown, and a local legislative 
council. For administrative purposes it is di¬ 
vided into the four divisions of Central, North¬ 
ern, Southern, and Sind. Population, 1906, 
18,840,520. 

BONA (bo'na), or Bone, a seaport city of 
Algeria, on a bay of the Mediterranean, 85 
miles northeast of Constantine. It has a good 
harbor and a large interior and foreign trade, 
and is connected with Constantine, Algiers, and 
other cities by railway. The chief buildings 
include those erected by the government and 
a number of mosques and churches. It has 
manufactures of tapestry, clothing, saddlery, 
and earthenware, and its trade is chiefly in live 
stock, wool, cereals, wax, fish, and tobacco. 
Iron mines and marble quarries are worked in 
the vicinity. The French have occupied Bona 
since 1832, from which time it has been growing 
steadily in commercial importance. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 42,934. 

BONANZA (bo-nan'za), a term applied 
originally to the discovery of a vein of rich ore 
in a mine. It came into use in connection with 
the Comstock Lode in Nevada, where a num¬ 
ber of rich deposits were found. Now it is 
used in speaking of any successful enterprise 
or good fortune. The term is one of the pop¬ 
ular Americanisms (q. v.). 

BONE, the hard material that constitutes 
the skeleton or framework of mammals, rep¬ 
tiles, and birds. Its three purposes are to pre¬ 
serve the shape of the body, to protect the deli¬ 
cate organs and to serve as levers on which 
muscles may act to produce motion. In the 
early stages of life bones consist of cartilage, 
that is, cells massed together, except in the 
flat bones of the skull and shoulder blade, 
which consists largely of fibrous tissue. At 
maturity they contain about one part of ani¬ 
mal and two parts of mineral matter. The 
proportions vary with the- age; in early life 
they consist of nearly one-half to one-half, 
while in old age the mineral matter is greatly in 
excess. The mineral matter may be dissolved 
by soaking the bone in weak muriatic acid, 
which will make it possible to bend it like rub¬ 
ber. The animal matter may be burned in fire, 
the remaining portion forming a brittle mineral 




BONE 


274 


BONN 


mass. From this it may be seen that bones 
obtain their elasticity from animal matter and 
their hardness from mineral substances. 

The cartilage found in young persons or 
animals turns gradually into bone by a process 
called ossification, but the portions near the 
joints are long delayed in ossifying, as a means 
to overcome to a great extent the shock of a 
fall or sudden jar. For this reason the bones 
of children are tougher than those of older 
people, and are less readily fractured and 
heal much quicker. In the body bones are 
moist, pinkish white in color, and covered with 
a tough membrane called periosteum. The in¬ 
terior is filled with marrow and permeated with 
blood vessels. All portions contain little cavi¬ 
ties, from which tiny tubes radiate that serve 
as passages for the blood vessels to nourish 
the bones. These vessels permit the blood to 
circulate as freely through the bones as any 
part of the body, supplying new material when 
needed and carrying away the worn out parts. 
From the broken ends of a bone the blood 
oozes and soon forms a gristly substance, 
which holds them in place. The blood then 
slowly deposits bone matter, and in about six 
weeks a broken bone becomes united. 

The bones of the human system resemble 
those of other animal organisms, but in shape 
and structure are peculiarly adapted to serve 
the human body. For convenience in study 
they are considered as bones of the three divi¬ 
sions: the head, the trunk, and the limbs. In 
form they are flat, as the shoulder blade; long, 
as the bones of the limbs; and short and irreg¬ 
ular, as those of the wrist and ankle. The 
bones of the head are classified as eight skull 
and fourteen face bones. These bones form a 
cavity for the protection of the brain and the 
organs of hearing, taste, smell, and sight. All 
these are immovable, except the lower jaw, 
which swings on a hinge. The bones of the 
trunk include eight in the cervical region, thir¬ 
ty-seven in the thorax, five in the lumbar 
region, and four in the pelvis. The bones of 
the limbs include sixty-four in the upper extrem¬ 
ities, and sixty in the lower extremities. The 
total number of bones in the body is about 210, 
these differing somewhat according to age, since 
several bones unite later in life. The size, 
form, and structure of the bones depend en¬ 
tirely upon the purpose they are to serve. Some 
are round and hollow and add lightness and. 
strength; others are flat and broad to admit 
of large muscular attachment; while still others 
are short and solid to enable rapidity and facility 
in movement and to supply sufficient strength. 

The bones of animals are gathered from 


slaughter houses and converted into articles 
of commerce. Ground into powder, they sup¬ 
ply a valuable fertilizer for the production of 
cereals, vegetables, and fruits. In some locali¬ 
ties their fats are first extracted, which are used 
in the manufacture of soap and lubricants. In 
powdered form they are prescribed as medi¬ 
cines and add largely to the elements that build 
up a system wanting in material strength. They 
also serve for making handles in cutlery, for 
sugar refining, and for makigg boneblack. 

BONEBLACK, or Animal Charcoal, a 
commercial product obtained by heating bones 
in closed retorts, until the gases escape and 
the residue is carbonized. The portions re¬ 
maining in the vessel weigh about half as much 
as the original bones. They are reduced by 
passing them between rollers and separated by 
means of sieves into different grades, the sizes 
ranging from small grains to particles as large 
as navy beans. Boneblack is used to decolor¬ 
ize liquids, such as the syrup of sugar, and is 
employed to deodorize and to separate mineral 
substances from their solutions. Animal, char¬ 
coal serves to remove the chemical impurities 
from water, but its use in refjning sugar is the 
most important. Deodorization and decolor- 
ization take place by allowing the substances 
to be purified to percolate through layers of the 
charcoal, and in some cases the liquids are 
filtered several times to secure the best results 
After using the boneblack a number of times 
it becomes saturated, when the ability to absorb 
may be restored by reheating it. 

BONESET, or Thoroughwort, a perennial 
plant of America, distinguished by large hairy 
leaves, light purple flowers, and a stem from 
three to five feet in height. The leaves and 
flowering tops have a bitter taste and are used 
as a tonic. Boneset tea is made by steeping 
the leaves in hot water, and, when taken in 
this form, as warm as possible, it produces 
perspiration. It is recommended for ague, in¬ 
fluenza, and muscular rheumatism. 

BONHAM (bon'am), a city in Texas, 
county, seat of Fannin County, about thirty 
miles east of Sherman, on the Denison, Bon¬ 
ham and New Orleans and the Texas and Pa¬ 
cific railroads. It is surrounded by a fertile 
region and is a market for tobacco, cereals, 
and cotton. Among the chief buildings are 
the county courthouse, the Carlton College, 
and the Bonham Masonic Institute. The man¬ 
ufactures include cigars, flour, machinery, vehi¬ 
cles, and textiles. It has waterworks, electric 
lightning, and a large trade in farm produce. 
Population, 1900, 5,042; in 1910, 4,844. 

BONN (bon), an important city of Germany, 


BONN, UNIVERSITY OF 


275 


BOOK 


in Rhenish Prussia, on the Rhine River, about 
fifteen miles southeast of Cologne. It is con¬ 
nected by railroads with all parts of Germany 
and carries on a large manufacturing and job¬ 
bing trade. The chief buildings include the 
railway station, the museum, the city hall, and 
the Munster Church, which dates from the 11th 
century and is in the Romanesque style. It 
is the seat of the famous University of Bonn 
(q. v.), in which Schlegel, Niebuhr, Brandis, 
and Ritschl were leaders in educational thought. 
The Beethoven House, in which the composer 
was born, now contains the Beethoven Museum. 
In its burial grounds are the graves of Schlegel 
and Schumann. Many tourists visit the city, 
being attracted by its pleasing villas- and his¬ 
torical surroundings. Bonn was the seat of 
the electors of Cologne, and by the virtue of 
the Congress of Vienna it passed into the 
hands of Prussia in 1815. The city is beauti- 
fully r improved with monuments, parks, electric 
railways, and waterworks, and is celebrated 
for its sanitary regulations. Population, 1905, 
81,996. 

BONN, University of, an institution of 
higher learning at Bonn, Germany, which ranks 
next to that of Berlin among the German edu¬ 
cational institutions. The foundation was laid 
in 1777 by Maximilian Frederick, Archbishop 
of Cologne, who established an academy, but 
this was changed to a university in 1818 and 
removed to its present location in Bonn. The 
departments are law, medicine, philosophy, and 
theology. In its library are 280,000 volumes 
and many valuable manuscripts. The chief 
buildings include the university proper, and the 
laboratories, the observatory, and the physio¬ 
logical institute. Niebuhr, Arndt, and Schlegel 
were connected with this institution. The 
attendance 2,550, including a number of stu¬ 
dents from foreign countries. 

BONY PIKE, a ganoid fish native to North 
America, found chiefly in the brackish waters 
of rivers and lakes. It is covered with hard, 
bony scales and the vertebrae are completely 
ossified. It breathes atmospheric air, coming 
to the surface for that purpose, and feeds on 
other fishes. Several species are found in Cen¬ 
tral America and the United States. These 
fish are interesting because they represent a 
fossil species and their type is almost extinct. 
The gar pike and the alligator gar belong to the 
same genus. The average length is three feet, 
but sometimes specimens six feet long are 
found. 

BOOBY (boo'by), a swimming bird closely 
allied to the gannet, whose name was derived 
from its apparent stupidity. Audubon as¬ 


serted that several specimens studied by him 
learned to be upon their guard and that they 
became difficult to approach after they had been 
harmed and frightened several days in succes¬ 
sion, but usually this bird has neither fear nor 
apparent desire to flee from danger. It inhabits 
the eastern coast of North America as far north 
as Cape Hatteras. The nests are rudely con¬ 
structed on rocky ledges, usually near the sea, 
and two or three eggs are laid at a time. 
While its flesh is not agreeable, it is sometimes 
eaten, though mostly by natives. 

BOOK, the common name applied to a writ¬ 
ten or printed composition forming a single 
volume. The early writings were preserved 
largely on monuments, on the walls of build¬ 
ings, and on ledges of stone. These were 
chosen because of their endurance against the 
corrosions of time. The Egyptians used the 
papyrus, a plant native to Egypt, to prepare 
writing material as early as 2000 b. c. It was 
prepared by cutting the stem of the plant into 
longitudinal slices, which were then pressed 
and gummed together. The Babylonians and 
Assyrians used either papyrus or preserved 
their writings on a kind of clay tablets that 
were hardened by baking. It is claimed that 
the Koran was written on the shoulder blades 
of sheep, and there are numerous instances 
in which pieces of beechen boards were used 
in making books. The early books made of 
papyrus and skins of animals were in the form 
of a roll, written on both sides, and when 
used in study or for reference were wound 
back and forth. In Ezekiel ii, 9-10, reference 
is made to this form in these words: “Lo, 
a roll of a book was therein; and he spread 
it before me; and it was written within and 
without.” Books made in this form and 
transcribed by hand were very expensive. 
Plato paid $1,560 for a book; Aristotle, 
$2,900 for another; and Alfred the Great, about 
the year 872, gave an estate for a single 
volume. 

The invention of paper and the printing press 
greatly cheapened books, but enormous prices 
are still paid for rare and copiously illustrated 
works. A copy of Machlin’s Bible, illustrated 
by Tomkins, was valued, at $2,625 when the 
first edition was published. Another Bible in 
fifty-four large folio volumes with 7,000 illus¬ 
trations, some of them hand-drawn, was sold 
for $25,000. Formerly the size of a book was 
taken from the number of leaves it contained. 
A fine example of this is found in the library 
of the University of- Gottingen, which con¬ 
tains a Bible that has 5,373 leaves. The leaves 
were represented in number by the folio, 


BOOK 


276 


BOOKKEEPING 


quarto, and octavo, and the page by the 
size of the paper, designated as royal, demy, 
or crown. Now the size of the page depends 
upon the number of leaves into which 
the sheet of paper that enters the book is 
folded. However, to express the size defi¬ 
nitely, it is necessary that the size of the sheet 
be given in inches. A sheet of paper folded 
once, such as makes two leaves and four 
pages, is called a folio; folded twice, making 
eight pages, is called a quarto; folded three 
times, making sixteen pages, an octavo. The 
common sizes used are 8vo for large books 
and 12mo and 16mo for ordinary sizes. Folio 
and quarto books are rare, owing to their size 
being too large and difficult to handle. Illus¬ 
trations have been used in books from an 
early date. The books now commonly sold 
in the market contain illustrations of the two 
kinds known as half tones and zinc etchings, 
these having largely superseded the wood 
engravings used early in the printer’s art, and 
the finer and more expensive steel engravings 
of recent times. 

When the Alexandrian Library became gen¬ 
erally known, a market for books originated, 
and since that time the bookstore has been a 
common institution. The book trade is now 
one of the most important industries, employ¬ 
ing large numbers of men and women and 
involving investments of enormous sums of 
money. When papyrus and parchments consti¬ 
tuted the books in use, the printer’s ink of the 
present time was unknown, but instead vegeta¬ 
ble inks were made. Others were secured from 
animals, especially from the cuttlefish. These 
were applied to the permanent material, after 
the writing had been temporarily placed on 
the leaves of the palm and the inner bark 
of the elm, ash, and maple, which were.used 
instead of tablets. When the manuscript writ¬ 
ing was completed, it was coated over with a 
durable and transparent varnish. This served 
to protect the writings, whether on vellum, 
parchment, or any other material used in writing. 

The subject-matter of a book is called the 
text. It is preceded by the title page, on which 
are the title of the contents, the name of the 
author and publisher, the date of publi¬ 
cation, and sometimes the notice of copy¬ 
right, but the last mentioned usually follows 
the title page. The preface is a statement of 
the author or editor in chief, explaining the 
plan and scope, after which is the table of 
contents and the text. Some books have an 
index, which may either precede or follow the 
text. A collection of books constitutes a 
library. 


BOOKBINDING, the art of stitching or 
fastening together the leaves of a book for 
convenient use and covering them with a suita¬ 
ble cover. When books were rare and costly 
because of great patience and time required 
for writing them, the binding was done and 
the covers decorated on the most elaborate 
plans obtainable. #The type-setting machines 
and high-speed printing presses are modern, 
but even with the invention of rude printing in 
the first half of the 15th century the production 
and cost of books were revolutionized. To 
prepare a page in type form and take off 
impression after impression was a vast im¬ 
provement over the slow work of the Egyp¬ 
tian vassal and the Roman slave, who were 
employed to do much of the copying in ancient 
Egypt and Rome. In those early ages the 
books in common use were inclosed in a bind¬ 
ing of boards with corners plated and sides 
clasped. The books of the wealthy and noble 
were encased with ivory, embellished with gold, 
and ornamented with costly gems. Not only 
were the bindings elaborate, but the title pages 
were very costly. The rolls included in the 
writings on scrolls were richly carved and fin¬ 
ished in ivory and costly gems. 

Binding has become a separate industry in 
the larger cities, and in many instances it is 
entirely apart from the printing institutions. 
The printed pages are sent to the binder, 
where much of the folding and other essen¬ 
tials in binding are done by machinery. The 
chief processes in binding are the following: 
Folding the printed sheets; gathering them in 
consecutive order j pressing them to secure 
compactness; setting the back for cords and 
sewing them; rounding the back edges and 
applying glue; trimming the edges; binding 
the book to the sides in the binding material, 
whether paper, cloth, or leather; lettering back 
and sides; and completing edges by gilding 
or otherwise. Books may be full, half, or quar¬ 
ter bound. A full-bound book is with the back 
and sides leather; half-bound is with the back 
and corners leather, and the sides cloth or 
paper; and quarter-bound is with the back 
leather and the sides cloth or paper. Many 
books are bound entirely in paper, cloth, and 
cloth-vellum. Books of law and medicine are 
bound largely in sheepskin, and the finer library 
books are in calf, morocco, or russia. 

BOOKKEEPING, a system of recording 
the mercantile or pecuniary transactions so as 
to exhibit the condition and progress of busi¬ 
ness in a plain and comprehensive manner. 
It is an important branch of instruction in all 
commercial schools and business colleges and 


BOOKKEEPING 


277 


BOOMERANG 


is studied by both sexes. Bookkeeping is 
taught in many institutions in connection with 
arithmetic and penmanship, and quite uni¬ 
formly enters into the course of study in the 
evening schools of the larger cities of Canada 
and the United States. The institutions which 
teach it regularly conduct exercises that nearly 
approximate the operations of actual business. 
Thus, students carry on business correspond¬ 
ence, make and receive formal consignments of 
merchandise, buy and sell exchanges upon the 
different sections of the country, and become 
quite well informed in the business methods of 
banking. The functions of students are 
changed from time to time, hence they take 
the place of the shipper for a brief time, later 
that of a bookkeeper, afterward that of a col¬ 
lector, etc., and in this way learn to transact 
the business in various lines of trade and 
industry. 

, Bookkeeping as now taught is of two kinds, 
single entry and double entry. The terms debit 
and credit, meaning debtor and creditor, usu¬ 
ally marked Dr. and Cr.-, are employed arbi¬ 
trarily. The books used include a daybook, a 
journal, and a ledger. In the daybook are 
entered the transactions on the date and in 
the order of their occurrence, while the ledger 
contains the accounts. The journal is used 
to separate each transaction so as to simplify 
its transfer to the ledger. On the left-hand 
side of the ledger are the items of debit, as 
cash received, and on the right-hand side are 
the items of cash disbursed, and the difference 
is known as the balance. A payment in cash 
is called a liquidation. When the items are 
transferred from the journal to the ledger, 
they are said to be posted. An examination to 
verify the two columns of an account is known 
as taking a trial balance. In a large business 
establishment, where the double entry system 
is used, several account books are employed 
to permit checking different phases or depart¬ 
ments with the view of knowing the condition 
of each. Such books include the bill book, 
stock book, invoice book, cashbook, and account 
sales book. 

Single entry bookkeeping involves less labor 
than double entry, but does not provide the 
same degree of safety against errors. Accounts 
are usually kept in two records, the daybook 
and the ledger. The customer is charged on 
the debit side with debts he is to pay, and is 
credited on the credit side with cash or mer¬ 
chandise he may turn in for value received. 
To find the balance, the sum of the credits 
are compared with the sum of the debits. 
Double entry requires that a much more com¬ 


plete record be kept, and under this system 
every transaction is entered in two places, in 
a debit and a credit column. In this system 
a daybook, a journal, and a ledger are used. 
The transactions are entered in the daybook 
the same as in single entry, but from it they 
are transferred to the journal, classified accord¬ 
ing to the names or titles of the ledger account, 
and afterward are posted in the ledger. 

BOOK OF MORMON, the book held 
sacred by the Mormons and by them regarded 
as a part of the Holy Scriptures. It assumes to 
contain a record of a chosen people in America, 
from the confusion of tongues at Babel until 
the time of Maroni, the last survivor of his 
race, who is thought to have died about 420 
a. d. See Mormons. 

BOOKPLATE, the name of a label used to 
indicate the ownership of a book or its place 
in a library. In recent years many wealthy 
persons have collected these plates and much 
has been written in current literature in regard 
to the different styles used by various persons 
and organizations. It is thought the first book¬ 
plates were made in Germany, whence they 
were taken to England, and subsequently 
brought from fhat country to America. They 
were plain and rude until about 1516, when 
Albrecht Durer began to design and engrave 
many artistic forms. Others of much beauty 
are those made by Hans Holbein and Jost 
Amman, who gave special attention to select¬ 
ing 'quotations from the classics, which were 
engraved in artistic forms and accompanied 
with the name and coat of arms of the owner. 
The best known designs of England are those 
in the Chippendale style, characterized by grace¬ 
ful effects instead of the somber designs, and 
in them were introduced pictures of flowers, 
fruit, landscapes and human figures. Many of 
these plates have been commanding high prices 
and are listed by sellers of old and rare books. 

BOOM (boom), a word frequently used to 
denote rapid development in a particular in¬ 
dustry or locality. When shares in business 
enterprises are increasing in value, or the devel¬ 
opment of a city or state is progressing rap¬ 
idly, it is said they are on a boom. 

BOOMERANG (boom'er-ang), a missile 
weapon, invented and used by the natives of 
Australia. It is made of a curved stick, flat 
on one end and round on the other, about 
two feet long, two inches wide, and half an 
inch thick, and rounded at the ends. The 
savages grasp it at one end and throw it 
upward or forward. When thrown forward 
it has a skipping motion until it strikes the 
object aimed at or falls to the ground. When 


BOONE 


278 


BOOTS 


thrown upward, it slowly ascends and in its 
backward flight falls to the ground behind 
the thrower, near its starting point. It is a 
powerful weapon in war and in the pursuit 



BOOMERANGS. 


of wild game. A similar missile was used 
by the Assyrians and Egyptians. 

BOONE (boon), a city of Iowa, county seat 
of Boone County, forty-two miles northwest of 
Des Moines, on the Chicago and Northwestern, 
the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul, and 
other railroads. The chief buildings include the 
post office, the Boone National Bank, the 
Eleanor Moore Hospital, the high school, the 
Ericson Library, and the county buildings. 
About two miles west of the city the Des 
Moines River is crossed by the famous Boone 
viaduct, the highest double-track railroad via¬ 
duct in the world, 185 feet above low-water 
mark. In the vicinity are extensive deposits of 
coal and fire and pottery clay. Among the in¬ 
dustries are brick-making, railroad machine 
shops, coal mining, an artificial ice plant, and 
grain and live stock shipping. The city has 
systems of gas and electric lighting, waterworks, 
sewerage, pavements, and electric urban and 
interurban railways. It was incorporated as the 
town of Montana in 1866, but the name was 
changed to Boone two years later, when it 
became a city. In 1887 the town of Boonsboro 
was annexed. Population, 1910, 10,347. 

BOOTH (booth), a stall or tent- erected at 
fairs. In early times trade in Europe was 
carried on chiefly by fairs. The huts or tem¬ 
porary movable structures in which the traders 
exposed their goods for sale were called booths. 
The term is also applied to the stalls or apart¬ 
ments used by voters in the Australian voting 
system. 

BOOTHIA FELIX (boo'thi-a fe'lix), a 
peninsula of North America, the most northerly 
point of that continent, located between Boothia 
Gulf and McClintock Channel. Its length from 
north to south is 150 miles and the width is 
fifty miles. Bellot Strait, on the north, sepa¬ 
rates it from North Somerset Island, and in the 
south it contracts to a narrow isthmus, which 
connects it with the mainland. Sir John Ross 
discovered it in 1829 and named it after Sir 
Felix Booth, who had contributed to the expe¬ 


dition. The northern magnetic pole was located 
on this peninsula in 1831, near the west coast 
and not far from Cape Adelaide. 

BOOTLE (bdd't’l), a city of England, in 
Lancashire, on the Mersey River. It has trans¬ 
portation facilities by the Leeds-Liverpool 
Canal and several railroads, and is a manufac¬ 
turing center of flour, clothing, and machinery. 
Many business men of Liverpool, near which 
it is located, reside in Bootle. Its institutions 
include a gymnasium, a public library, a 
museum, and a technical school. Population, 
1907, 67,114. 

BOOTS, the articles of dress worn to pro¬ 
tect the feet and lower legs. They are a variety 
of shoes, but differ from them in that they 
extend higher up the leg, sometimes above the 
knee. They were developed from the sandal, 
which is the simplest and oldest kind of foot 
protector, and are used more commonly by men 
than by women. The boot was worn by the 
Greeks and Romans, who made ornamental 
designs, both on the part covering the foot and 
the portion extending above the ankle. In 
Greece buckskin was used in making the princi¬ 
pal upper parts, and the soles were heavy so 
as to apparently increase the stature of the 
wearer. An elaborately adorned boot with wide 
tops came into general use in continental 
Europe in the 14th century, and subsequently 
the matter of regulating the styles was a sub¬ 
ject for legislation by various governments. 

The iritroduction of machinery in the manu¬ 
facture of all classes of boots and shoes has 
greatly revolutionized the trade in these arti¬ 
cles. A combined lasting and sole-nailing 
machine was invented in 1810 and soon began 
to be used with marked success in England and 
America. It was followed by the discovery 
that wooden pegs can be utilized in fastening 
the uppers and soles together, which was the 
common method until 1860, when the McKay 
sewing machine came into general use for this 
purpose. Another important invention is the 
Goodyear machine, which fastens the uppers 
and soles together by means of a welt. Later 
screw-wire machines, heeling machines, and 
other inventions followed, enabling the work 
of cutting, sewing, trimming, and polishing to 
be done almost entirely by machine labor. Now 
the work is greatly diversified, each part being 
done by different workmen on machines 
designed specially for particular purposes. The 
facility with which boots and shoes of all kinds 
are made has been demonstrated many times 
at the great expositions, where exhibits of the 
complete routine of work were made and the 
machines exhibited in their working capacity. 



BORAX 


279 


BORIC ACID 


The manufacture of footwear is a vast indus¬ 
try in America, both in Canada and the United 
States. In the number of articles and the value 
of the product, the New England States take 
a high rank in the manufacture of boots and 
shoes, including those made of rubber and 
leather. Chicago, Saint Louis, and many cities 
of the Mississippi valley, and the cities of Mon¬ 
treal and Toronto, are centers of boot and shoe 
manufactures. According to the census of the 
United States in 1900, the annual product was 
valued at $261,028,580 and the laborers em¬ 
ployed numbered 142,922, about one-third of 
whom were women. See Shoes. 

BORAX (bd'racks), a crystalline salt found 
native in certain mineral springs and on the 
shores of many lakes. The chief supply is 
derived from Tibet, Peru, Chile, Tuscany, Ger¬ 
many, and several sections of North America, 
especially Nevada and California. ‘ It is pre¬ 
pared for commerce by washing the tincal, the 
crude material, with a solution of sodium 
hydroxide, and after dissolving in water it is 
treated with caustic alkali, after which the solu¬ 
tion is evaporated and the borax crystallizes in 
six-sided prisms. The treatment varies some¬ 
what with the condition in which the deposits 
are found. At Alameda, Cal., are refineries 
which treat the product secured from Clear 
Lake and other localities. There the crude 
material is dissolved in water and then treated 
with sodium carbonate, and the resulting solu¬ 
tion is cooled in tanks, in which the borax 
forms on steel rods. Borax is used chiefly in 
soldering metals, glazing pottery and china- 
ware, preserving milk and meat, treating 
ulcers and skin diseases, and loosening dirt, and 
as an antiseptic and disinfectant. 

BORDEAUX (bor-dd'), an important city 
in France, capital of the department of 
Gironde, on the Garonne River, about sixty 
miles from its mouth, but accessible by all ves¬ 
sels. It has railroad connection with the lead¬ 
ing cities of France, electric urban and inter- 
urban railways, and finely paved streets and 
public drives. Shipbuilding is an extensive 
enterprise. It is important as a commercial 
center on account of its location and large man¬ 
ufacturing interests, especially its ropeworks. 
It produces large quantities of woolen goods, 
paper, earthenware, wine, clothing, and machin¬ 
ery. Bordeaux has some of the most noted 
cathedrals, palaces, libraries, theaters, and other 
edifices of Europe. Its museum, observatories, 
and art galleries have been famous for ages. 
It is the birthplace of Montesquieu, Montaigne, 
and other celebrated scholars. In the Roman 
period it was known as' Burdigala, when it 


ranked as a commercial emporium. It was 
taken by Charles Martel in 735, captured by 
the Normans in the 9th century, transferred 
to the English crown in 1152, and restored to 
France in 1451. In the latter part of the war 
of 1870-71 it was the seat of the French gen¬ 
eral assembly, which had been driven there 
by the German army of invasion. Population, 
1906, 251,917. 

BORDENTOWN, a city of New Jersey, in 
Burlington County, six miles southeast of 
Trenton, on the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is 
on the Delaware River and the Delaware and 
Raritan Canal and is important as a manufac¬ 
turing point for the production of worsted 
goods, ironware, machinery, and clothing. Its 
public institutions include a convent, a school 
for girls, and the Bordentown Military Insti¬ 
tute. The city was incorporated in 1849. Near 
it is “Ironsides,” the home of Charles Stewart, 
and a number of fine estates, including the 
former residence of Joseph Bonaparte. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 4,110. 

BORDER, The, the territory lying immedi¬ 
ately on both sides of the frontier between 
England and Scotland. The region is noted for 
many historical battles and invasions important 
in the history of the Scotch and English. 
Among the noted forays of the Border is the 
Che-vy Chase (q. v.). The writings of Sir 
Walter Scott commemorate the history of the 
Border warfare. 

BORE, or Eagre, a tidal phenomenon at the 
mouths of certain rivers. Bores are common 
to rivers that gradually expand toward a wide 
mouth, and in which high tides occur. The 
spring flood tides drive great quantities of 
water from the sea into the river and form 
a kind of watery ridge, which rushes upward 
with great violence. The most celebrated bores 
are those of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmapu¬ 
tra, of Asia, but the phenomenon is observable 
in other streams. In one of the branches of 
the Ganges the bore travels seventy miles in 
four hours, sometimes forming a wall of water 
ten feet high. In the Amazon it rises from ten 
to twelve feet. The bore of the Petitcodiac 
River extends from the Bay of Fundy to Monc¬ 
ton, N. B., about 95 miles. 

BORIC ACID (bo'rik), a compound of 
boron, oxygen, and hydrogen. It is found na¬ 
tive in Tuscany, the Lipari Islands, California* 
and elsewhere. The first discovery of this 
substance was made in 1777 in the lagoons of 
Tuscan, which are still the principal source 
of supply. Several lakes in California and 
Nevada yield borax in combination with various 
elements. It is derived from hot vapors which 
come naturally from thermal lakes and springs. 


BORING MACHINE 


280 


BORNEO 


and these vapors, which are largely boric acid, 
are absorbed by being passed through water. 
The acid turns blue litmus purple. It is used 
chiefly in the manufacturing of borax, in glazing 
porcelain, and in preparing certain pigments. 

BORING MACHINE, a mechanical device 
used in boring holes in wood, rock, and metals. 
The auger (q. v.) is a simple tool for making 
holes in wood, while the gimlet and awl are 
used where smaller openings are required. 
Drills are used in piercing stone and metal. 
The diamond drill, constructed of a hollow 
tube with diamond cutters at one end, is the 
most effective in boring rock. The larger bor¬ 
ing machines are operated by steam or com¬ 
pressed air. They do the work quickly and 
without danger of loss from obstructions that 



1* Brace with bit; 2, auger; 3, adjustable bitstock. 


usually prevent the lighter apparatus from cut¬ 
ting through to the depths desired. Boring 
machines intended to be operated by hand usu¬ 
ally have a metallic framework mounted on a 
wooden base, and the bit is turned by means 
of a handle or brace acting upon small cog¬ 
wheels, one of which turns horizontally with 
the bit or auger. 

BORNEO (bor'ne-o), one of the largest 
islands of the world, located in the center of 
the East Indies. It has an area of 290,000 
square miles. A large number of small islands 
are located near the coast, of which Labuan, 
off the coast of Brunei, is the most important. 
Darwin considered Borneo and the East Indies 
to be the elevated portions of a vast continent 
.submerged in the Pacific, which is probable. 
The surface is mountainous, attaining its cul¬ 
minating summit in Mount Kini Balu, in the 
northern part, which has a height of 13,690 
feet. While the island has no active volcanoes, 
it is frequently subject to earthquakes, how¬ 
ever, not of a serious nature. It is watered 


by numerous rivers, among them the Barram, 
Limbang, the Rejang, and the Batang Lupar. 
Many of the rivers are navigable and add 
largely to the transportation facilities of the 
island. The rivers and lakes are infested by 
crocodiles and various animals common to 
swampy and marshy districts. Other wild ani¬ 
mals include the tapir, elephant, deer, leopard, 
rhinoceros, buffalo, many varieties of monkeys, 
and birds of song and fine plumage. 

The productions of Borneo consist of sago, 
rice, tobacco, pepper, gambier, coffee, cotton, 
and many varieties of tropical fruits. The for¬ 
ests yield an abundance of excellent timber and 
edible birds’ nests. It has extensive mineral 
deposits, including zinc, gold, quicksilver, tin, 
antimony, and diamonds. The manufactures 
are not extensive, the most important being 
cotton fabrics, utensils, matting, and fancy bas¬ 
kets. A large part of the interior is inhabited 
by the Dyaks, a native race mixed more or less 
with the Malays, and other races include the 
Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans. Moham¬ 
medan is the principal religion. The exports 
are large and greatly exceed the imports. Gen¬ 
eral fertility of the soil, good climate in the 
larger portions, and growing European influ¬ 
ence are collectively a potent factor in widening 
commerce and increasing wealth. Both the 
Dutch and British have constructed telephone, 
telegraph, and railroad lines to connect the in¬ 
terior parts with the coast. 

The history of Borneo dates from 1578, 
when it was discovered by the Portuguese, but 
the first European settlement was not made 
until the seventeenth century, by the Dutch, 
who visited the island in 1598. British North 
Borneo includes the extreme northern peninsula 
of the island. It has an area of 31,106 square 
miles. The north central part is called Brunei, 
which consists of about 3,000 square miles, and 
is under the semi-independent government of 
a native sultan, who is subject to Great 
Britain. The capital of the state is Brunei, 
located on a river of the same name, and has 
a population of 10,500. To the south and west 
of Brunei is the English possession Sarawak, 
which has an area of 42,000 square miles, with 
the seat of local government at Sarawak, a 
city of about 18,000 inhabitants. The larger 
part of Borneo belongs to Holland. The Dutch 
possessions contain an area of 213,894 square 
miles. The region belonging to Holland is 
divided into two districts, that of the South 
and that of the East. Pontianak, population 
9,500, is the capital of the former, and Ban- 
jermasin, 30,380, of the latter. British North 
Borneo has a population of 250,000; Brunei, 








BORNU 


281 


BOSPORUS 


25,000; Sarawak, 500,000; and Dutch Boreno, 
1,225,000. 

BORNU (bor-noo'), a kingdom of Negroes, 
in the central part of the Sudan, Africa, with an 
area of 50,000 square miles. It extends south¬ 
west from Lake Tchad, which forms its north¬ 
eastern limits. The two principal rivers are 
the Shari and Yeou, which flow into Lake 
Tchad from the west. The district is more or 
less included in the German possession of 
Ramerun and the British Niger Territories. It 
is exceedingly fertile and produces rice, indigo, 
cotton, tobacco, corn, cocoa, palm oil, ivory, 
and fruits for export. Domestic animals, in¬ 
cluding horses, cattle, sheep, elephants, and 
buffaloes, are reared extensively. The religion 
is Mohammedan and the labor is largely based 
on a system of slavery. Kuka is-the capital 
and chief trading point. It has a population 
of about 60,500. Other cities include Bundi, 
Yola, Birni, and Gummel. The army of the 
reigning sultan numbers about 30,000 men. 
Population, about 5,250,000. 

BORODINO (ba-ra-dye-no'), a village of 
Russia, in the government of Moscow, on the 
Kologa River, a tributary of the Moskva. It 
is celebrated as the site of a battle on Sept. 7, 
1812, between the Russians under Kutusoff and 
the French under Napoleon. The French army 
consisted of about 150,000 men and the Russian 
army was somewhat smaller, and the struggle 
was chiefly an attempt of the French to capture 
the lines of redoubts and press on to Moscow. 
Napoleon made three assaults and remained in 
the field, while the Russians retreated in good 
order, but Moscow was soon after occupied by 
the French. Both sides claimed the victory, 
but it was disastrous to the French in that the 
Russians burned Moscow and destroyed the 
stores. About 75,000 were killed and wounded 
in the Battle of Borodino, which is called the 
Battle of Moskva by the French, from the river 
of that name. 

BORON (bo'ron), a chemical element dis¬ 
covered by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808.. It is 
not found native, but occurs in combination 
with borax, ulexite, and sassoline. It fuses 
only at a very high heat and has a specific 
gravity of about 1.84. Its principal commercial 
use is in making boric acid and certain borates. 

BORROMEAN ISLANDS (bor-ro-ma'an), 
a group of four small islands in northern Italy. 
They are rocky and famed for their beauty. 
Isola Bella, the most celebrated of the group, 
has a beautiful palace of the Borromeo family, 
from whom they were named. Isola Madre, the 
largest island, has fine groves of orange trees 
and gardens of tropical flowers. These islands 


were improved in 1671 by Count Borromeo 
(1538-84), a celebrated Roman Catholic cardi¬ 
nal. 

BOSNA-SERAI (bos'na-ser-i'), or Sera- 
jevo, the capital of Bosnia, on the Miljacka 
River, 120 miles southwest of Belgrade. It 
has extensive railway facilities, potteries, dye 
works, machine shops, and silk-weaving estab¬ 
lishments. In the vicinity are iron mines and 
mineral springs. The chief buildings are those 
erected by the government, including the gov¬ 
ernor’s residence. Other buildings of note are 
the seminary, a Catholic cathedral, and the 
mosque of Husref Bey. Many fine bazaars are 
maintained and the trade is important, owing 
to its location between Turkey and Austria- 
Hungary. Population, 1905, 38,083. 

BOSNIA (boz'm-a), a province of Austria- 
Hungary, transferred with Herzegovina and 
Novibazar from Turkey by the Treaty of Ber¬ 
lin in 1878. The area, including Herzegovina 
and Novibazar, is 19,702 square miles. In Bos¬ 
nia the surface is mountainous, including ranges 
of the Dinaric Alps, but toward the south, in 
Herzegovina, it is level or gently undulating. A 
large part is fertile and well adapted to agri¬ 
culture. It is well watered by the Bosna, Save, 
Drina, and Verbas rivers and is rich in forests 
and minerals. The products are wheat, barley, 
tobacco, hemp, rye, buckwheat, and domestic 
animals. Copper, iron, antimony, chromium, 
and salt are mined profitably. It has manufac¬ 
tures of sugar, matches, chemicals, woolen and 
cotton goods, iron products, firearms, machin¬ 
ery, leather, and dairy products. Bosna-Serai 
(q. v.), or Serajevo, is the capital and largest 
city. The principal cities, besides the capital, 
are Mostar, population 15,500, and Banjaluka, 
14,380. The district is well traversed by tele¬ 
phone, railway, and telegraph lines. For the 
purpose of government (Landesregierung) it is 
divided into four departments and these are 
subdivided into six district (Kreis) and fifty- 
four county (Bezirk) authorities. The chief 
religious affiliations are with the Mohammedan, 
Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, and Jewish 
faiths. A Servian dialect is spoken chiefly, but 
German is the official language and is taught 
in the schools. The territory included inUhe 
province was a part of Dalmatia and Pannonia 
in the time of the Romans. It belonged to 
Turkey from 1463 until it was given to Aus¬ 
tria-Hungary in 1878. Francis Joseph annexed 
it in * 1908 by proclamation and it is now a 
crown land of the dual empire. Population, 
1905, 1,698,375. 

BOSPORUS (bos'po-rus), a strait connect¬ 
ing the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora, 


BOSTON 


282 


BOSTON 


and separating Europe from Asia. It was so 
named because, according to legend, Io was 
transformed into a cow and swam across it. 
It is about nineteen miles long, 190 feet deep, 
and from one-third to two miles wide. To dis¬ 
tinguish it from the Cimmerian Bosporus, 
which is between the Black Sea and the Sea 
of Azov, it is properly called the Thracian Bos¬ 
porus. It is under the control of Turkey and 
is defended by a series of forts. On its shores 
are many lighthouses, especially at its northern 
and southern ends, and it is improved for ex¬ 
tensive commercial activity. In ancient times 
the kingdom of Bosporus was located on both 
sides of the strait. It was founded in 502 
b. c.,.became tributary to the Scythians in 290, 
and was vanquished by Pontus in 116. The 
region was long under Roman dominion, when 
it formed a part of the Eastern Empire. 

BOSTON (bos'tun), the capital of Massa¬ 
chusetts, chief city of New England, and fifth 
in size of the American cities. It is located in 
Suffolk County, of which it is the county seat, 
on Boston Bay, and at the mouths of the Mys¬ 
tic and Charles rivers. It is 232 miles by rail¬ 
way northeast of New York, and is the focus of 
many steam railway and electric lines. The 
principal railroads include, the Boston and 
Maine, the Boston and Albany, the Fitchburg, 
and the New York, New Haven and Hartford 
lines. On Boston Harbor, an arm of Massa¬ 
chusetts Bay, is the older part of the city, situ¬ 
ated between it on the east and the Charles 
River on the west. Originally large tidal 
marshes occupied a considerable area along 
the shore, but these were filled in and many 
acres were added to the area of the city, for 
which purpose a number of elevated points, 
such as Beacon and Fort hills, were cut down. 

The city has an area of about 43 square miles. 
This is made up of the original site and the 
additions annexed from time to time. East 
Boston, on Noddle’s Island, was added before 
the Revolution; South Boston, annexed in 
1804; Roxbury, in 1868; Dorchester, in 1870; 
and Brighton, Charlestown, and West Roxbury, 
in 1874. Practically all the streets are paved 
substantially, including pavements constructed 
of Belgian blocks, macadam, gravel, and asphal- 
tum. Scollay Square is located near the center 
of the peninsula, between Boston Harbor and 
the Charles River, and from it radiate the 
streets in the compactly built business portion. 
Many of the streets do not extend uniformly 
with the cardinal points of the compass, but 
the main thoroughfares have a direction ap¬ 
proximately north and south to a point nearly 
opposite Fort Point Channel, whence they turn 


to the southwest. State Street is the impor¬ 
tant financial center, corresponding to Wall 
Street in New York, and Tremont, Hanover, 
and Washington streets are among the business 
thoroughfares. Commonwealth Avenue, 240 
feet wide, is one of the finest boulevards in 
America. The Fenway, Massachusetts Avenue, 
and the Strandway are boulevards of much 
beauty. Many cross streets facilitate intercom¬ 
munication, and an efficient street railway sys¬ 
tem has lines extending to all parts of the city, 
except East Boston, which is connected by 
ferry. A subway and an elevated railway carry 
a large portion of the travel in the crowded 
part of the city. 

Northwest of the peninsula, across Boston 
Harbor, is East Boston, connected by ferry 
with the main business section. Charlestown 
is located north of the peninsula and Cambridge 
is west, across the Charles River, and South 
Boston lies east of South Bay and Fort Point 
Channel. The fashionable residential section is 
in the southwestern part, extending to Rox¬ 
bury. 

Buildings. The architecture is generally 
substantial and commodious and the buildings 
include many of historical interest, both from 
the style of construction and their association 
with great events. On Beacon Hill is located 
the State House, built in 1795, and in its vicin¬ 
ity are statues of Daniel Webster and Horace 
Mann and Saint Gaudens’ Shaw Monument. 
The city hall, on School Street, and the custom¬ 
house, on State Street, are fine structures, and 
near the former is the county courthouse, 
erected at a cost of $2,500,000. In the vicinity 
of Copley Square are many of the larger 
buildings, including the museum of fine arts, 
the public library, and the Second Unitarian 
Church. Here also is the New Old South 
Church, a fine Gothic architectural structure. 
The First Church of Christ (Scientist), the 
First Spiritual Temple, and the Roman Catholic 
Cathedral of the Holy Cross are among the 
finest ecclesiastical buildings. Boston has fully 
300 churches, representing the leading Chris¬ 
tian denominations, and its public library is 
the largest free circulation library in America. 

Many of the office buildings, department 
stores, and public institutions are models of 
substantial construction and convenient archi¬ 
tectural design. These include the Massa¬ 
chusetts General Hospital, the Chamber of 
Commerce, the Masonic Temple, the Sears and 
Ames building, the Tremont Temple, the Nat¬ 
ural History Museum, the New England Con¬ 
servatory of Music, and the Youth’s Companion 
building. Boston has many theaters and other 


BOSTON 


283 


BOSTON 


places of amusement, foremost among which 
is the Boston Theater. The Vendome and 
Touraine are residential hotels, and the Quincy 
House, the Adams, the Parker House, the 
Lenox, and the United States are among the 
larger commercial hotels. 

Foremost among the historical buildings is 
the Christ Church, known as Old Church North, 
erected in 1723, in whose spire were hung the 
lanterns for Paul Revere. The Old State 
House, on Washington Street, at the head of 
State, dates from 1748. It was restored to its 
provincial appearance in 1882 and 
it contains a collection of inter¬ 
esting relics and paintings. 

King’s Chapel, at the corner of 
School and Tremont streets, es¬ 
tablished in 1689 and rebuilt in 
1754, was attended during the 
colonial period by the royal gov¬ 
ernors and has the oldest ceme¬ 
tery in Boston. At the corner 
of Milk and Washington streets 
is the Old South Meeting House, 
built in 1729. Other noteworthy 
structures are the Faneuil Hall, 
known as the “Cradle of Lib¬ 
erty,” and the Old Corner Book¬ 
store. Among the old ceme¬ 
teries are Old Granary Burying 
Ground, containing the graves 
of Paul Revere and Samuel 
Adams ; Central Burying 
Ground; and Copp’s Hill Burial 
Ground, which contains the 
graves of Irving Cotton Mather 
and others of his family. King’s 
Chapel Burying Ground contains 
the graves of John Winthrop 
and many early colonists. 

Parks. Foremost among the 
public grounds is The Common, 
one of the oldest and most in¬ 
teresting public parks in Amer¬ 
ica. It is located in the heart 
of the city, containing 48 acres 
and has been preserved for pub¬ 
lic use since 1674. The “Great 
Elm” stood near the center until 
1876, when it was blown down, 
and at nearly the same place 
now stands the Soldiers’ Monu- 
ment, erected to the soldiers who fell for their 
country. The Boston Massacre is commemo¬ 
rated by the Crispus Attucks Monument, which 
stands near the Tremont Street Mall. The Pub¬ 
lic Garden, containing 24 acres, is near Ihe 
Common, and in it are an artificial lake and 


statues of Washington, Charles Sumner, and 
Edward Everett. Commonwealth Avenue, the 
finest boulevard of Boston, extends from the 
Public Garden into the Back Bay district, which 
is famed for its beautiful lawns and fashionable 
buildings. Marine Park, which includes Castle 
Island, North End Park, at the northern ex¬ 
tremity of the peninsula, and the beautiful park 
of “The Fens” district are other points of in¬ 
terest and beauty. In the Arnold Arboretum are 
all the shrubs and trees that can be grown in 
the climate of Massachusetts. 



- Boston is noted for its many fine monuments, 
some of which have already been named in 
this article. Charlestown is the site of Bunker 
Hill monument (q. v.), a granite obelisk, and 
here also are a soldiers’ monument, a monu¬ 
ment to John Howard, and statues of Colonel 















BOSTON 


284 


BOSTON 


Prescott and General Warren. A statue of 
Beethoven is in the Music Hall; one of Gov¬ 
ernor Winthrop, in Scollay Square; one of Leif 
Ericson, in Commonwealth Avenue; one of 
Samuel Adams, in Adams Street; one of Ad¬ 
miral Farragut, in Marine Park; and one of 
Columbus, near the Roman Catholic cathedral. 

Institutions. Many educational and charita¬ 
ble institutions are maintained and liberally 
patronized. They embrace the Boston Univer¬ 
sity, Massachusetts Normal Art School, Boston 
College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
Perkins Institute, Tufts College Medical School, 
and the medical and dental schools of Harvard 
University. The Boston Latin School was 
founded in 1635. The Lowell School of Design, 
the New England Conservatory of Music, and 
a number of other institutions are centers of 



training in the arts. Besides the books and 
manuscripts in the Boston Public Library, which 
is one of the largest in the country, there are 
noted collections in the Boston Athaeneum, the 
Congregational Library, the American Academy 
of Arts and Sciences, the State Library, and the 
leading educational institutions. A large num¬ 
ber of literary, historical, and scientific societies 
are maintained and much is done in the way of 
charity. Boston holds high rank in the main¬ 
tenance of reformatories. The principal alms¬ 
houses and penal institutions are on the islands 
in the harbor. 

Industries. Boston is preeminently a center 
of manufacturing, but many of the factories 


owned and operated by citizens are located in 
towns of the surrounding country. The exten¬ 
sive transportation facilities make it possible to 
reach these factories, and the products are 
handled largely through the business houses of 
the city. The census of 1900 places the value of 
the manufactured product within the city at over 
$205,000,000 per year. 

The terminus of important railroads are 
located on a safe and commodius harbor. Bos¬ 
ton is noted as the financial center of New En¬ 
gland. Its foreign commerce ranks next to that 
of New York, and as a wool market it is ex¬ 
ceeded only by London. The largest vessels 
enter its harbor, which is eight miles wide and 
sixteen miles long, and is protected by strong 
fortifications. Lighthouses and beacons are 
located on a number of the islands. The trade 
is handled at a system of freight terminals, 
where the railroads and ships come together, 
and the passenger traffic is cared for at two 
terminal stations, the South Station and the 
North Station. The export and import trade 
carries all articles of manufacture and produc¬ 
tion familiar to the American people, and the 
internal revenue collected annually is $8,500,000. 

History. The history of Boston may be said 
to begin in 1626, when the first settlement was 
made on the peninsula, and a few years later 
a company of colonists removed from Charles¬ 
town to join the settlement. These included 
John Winthrop and a number of colonists 
brought by him to Salem. The place was first 
known as Trimontaine, but was renamed Boston 
in 1630, and two years later the first meeting 
house was built. It soon became the principal 
town and business center of the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony, and was the chief seat of Puritan 
learning and religious life. In the movement 
for American independence, it took a leading 
and aggressive part. Here occurred riots fol¬ 
lowing the Stamp Act, the skirmishes at 
Charlestown, the Battle of Bunker Hill, the 
Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and 
many important events following the Battle of 
Lexington. 

Its material growth in wealth and as a center 
of commerce dates since the Revolutionary 
War. In 1822, when it had a population of 
47,000, it received its charter as a city. The 
Brittania, a Cunard liner, was the first steamer 
of that line to enter the harbor, in 1840. William 
Lloyd Garrison and others did much to promote 
sentiment in favor of the abolition of slavery, 
and the city was enthusiastic in its support of 
the Federal government during the Civil War. 
A destructive fire swept over it in 1872, when 
about fifty acres of its business section were 

















BOSTON MASSACRE 


285 


BOTANY 


laid waste. However, it was rebuilt to much 
better advantage and substantial modern struc¬ 
tures replaced many of the older ones dating 
from colonial times. As a literary center it has 
taken a prominent place in learning and culture. 
In or near it lived Hancock, Motley, Thoreau, 
Lowell, Whittier, Longfellow, Prescott, Holmes, 
Parkman, and Emerson. The inhabitants are 
largely American, but include many Irish, Ger¬ 
mans, English, and Italians. It is exceeded in 
population only by New York, Chicago, Phila¬ 
delphia, and Saint Louis. Population, 1900, 
560,893 ; in 1905, 593,598. and in 1910, 670,585. 

BOSTON MASSACRE, an affray at Boston, 
Mass., on March 5, 1770, between seven British 
soldiers under Captain Preston and a mob 
of citizens. Several minor riots had taken place 
from time to time, owing to opposition by the 
people of Boston to the stationing of troops in 
the city. It took place on State Street, formerly 
King Street, where the soldiers were attacked 
with stones and other missiles. One of the sol¬ 
diers who received a blow fired, and his com¬ 
panions, mistaking an order, followed in shoot¬ 
ing at the mob. Three of the populace were 
killed and seven were wounded. The mob 
retreated and the bells of the city rang an 
alarm, causing several thousand people to 
gather, but no further hostilities took place. 
Several of the soldiers were tried on a charge 
of murder, but were acquitted. This affray did 
much to create a sentiment in favor of treating 
the colonists with consideration, and the garri¬ 
son was removed to Castle Island. 

BOSTON TEA PARTY, a popular name of 
an occurrence in Boston Harbor on Dec. 16,1773. 
The American colonies had protested to Parlia¬ 
ment against placing a tax on articles imported, 
and the American merchants entered into an 
agreement not to import from Great Britain 
while such tax was collected. However, that 
body declared their right to tax the colonists 
without their consent, and, when the English 
East’ India Company sent cargoes of tea to the 
port of Boston, the Americans resisted the col¬ 
lection of the duty. A conference was held 
in the Old South Meeting House, after which 
sixty men, disguised as Indians, boarded the 
vessels in the harbor and threw 342 chests of 
tea into the water. To retaliate, the govern¬ 
ment closed the port against all commerce and 
navigation. 

BOSTON UNIVERSITY, an institution of 
higher learning at Boston, Mass. It was char¬ 
tered in 1869 and is under the auspices of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. The foundation 
was laid by Isaac Rich, who bequeathed a large 
part of his great estate for that purpose. It 


offers both college and graduate courses, and 
has departments of liberal arts, agriculture, the¬ 
ology* law, and medicine. The post-graduate 
department is known as the School of All 
Sciences, which is affiliated with the University 
at Rome and the National University at Athens. 
Its agricultural department is at Amherst, Mass., 
known as the Massachusetts Agricultural Col¬ 
lege. The faculty consists of 150 professors 
and instructors, and the attendance is about 
1,500 students. 

BOSWORTH (boz'worth), a small town of 
Leicestershire, England, noted fpr the Battle of 
Bos worth Field, on Aug. 22, 1185. The battle 
was fought between Richard III. and the Earl 
of Richmond, afterward Henry VII. The for¬ 
mer was deserted by his troops and rushed into 
the camp of the enemy, crying “Treason! trea¬ 
son !” and was slain. His death ended the 
Wars of the Roses. The town has a population 
of 1,150. 

BOTANY (bot'a-ny), the science that treats 
of plants—their structure, the functions of their 
parts, and the conditions governing their 
growth. It embraces a general description and 
classification of plants. The three kingdoms of 
nature are designated as animal, vegetable, and 
mineral. Life is a condition common to ani¬ 
mals and plants, but the representative species 
of the two kingdoms are marked by a wide 
range of difference in form and structure. 
There are three main physical characteristics by 
which animals differ from plants. These consist 
in their food, the ability to move some or all 
of their parts, and the power of volition or will. 
Plants subsist on water, earth, and air, which 
they take in by their roots and leaves, while 
animals feed upon other animals and plants. 
The principal uses of plants are for animal food 
and protection, and to preserve the fertility of 
the soil and the purity of the atmosphere. The 
elements necessary for plant growth are light, 
heat, and moisture, and, since the requisite 
amount of these varies with different kinds of 
plants, we find in every climatic zone a flora 
peculiarly adapted to local conditions. Plants 
are propagated by seeds, spores, or particles of 
the main stock. 

Botany treats of plants as wholes and also 
as consisting of various organs. The organs 
of vegetation are the roots, stems, and leaves. 
The roots grow downward and gather moisture 
and nutrition from the soil. They comntonly 
divide into many small branches or fibers called 
rootlets. The part which grows upward and 
bears the leaves and blossoms is called the stem. 
It usually has many branches and branchlets, 
each having leaves in various proportions, but 


BOTANY 


286 


BOTFLY 


in some species the leaves are wanting. The 
leaves are green or brownish, and grow mostly 
from the upper part of the stem. They are of 
different forms and sizes, with one side toward 
the sky and the other toward the ground. The 
foliage of plants is constituted of leaves. Plants 
and their organs and functions are treated 
under plants, which see. 

Classification. The classification is now 
based on the particular species of plants and 
their principal affinities. By species is meant 
an assemblage of individual plants having char¬ 
acteristics in common, coming from the same 
original stock, and having seeds or spores that 
produce similar individual plants. The view is 
held that species of the same kind may exhibit 
differences which are characteristic of distinct 
plants, but this is true only after long periods 
of time and under vastly different conditions. 
Study is now generally confined to the affinity 
of plants of the same and different regions; to 
the cells and tissues by means of the micro¬ 
scope ; to the growth of new species from differ¬ 
ent kinds; and to the relation of plants to their 
environments. The four principal divisions of 
botany now are: Structural or morphological, 
dealing with plant-structure; physiological, 
treating of the function and vital actions of 
plants; descriptive or systematic, relating to 
classification and arrangement; and paleontolog¬ 
ical, treating of fossil plants. Phanerogamic 
botany treats of flowering plants, and cryp- 
togamic botany, of flowerless plants. See 
Plants. 

History. The study of botany is not as old 
as astronomy or geography, but some branches 
of it were taught as early as the time of King 
Solomon, who spoke of plants “from the cedar 
in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springeth 
out of the wall.” The first work on botany 
dates from Theophrastus, a pupil of Aristotle, 
who lived in the 4th century b. c. His classifi¬ 
cation of plants is unsatisfactory, but he showed 
much greater skill in the description of plant 
organs than scholars who lived in the centuries 
immediately following his time. In the 1st cen¬ 
tury of the Christian era Diosconides, of Asia 
Minor, described about 600 plants in a work 
that was considered good authority until the 
revival of learning. About the same time Pliny 
the Elder described more than 1,000 species of 
plants. His work contains numerous errors 
and bears evidence of having been compiled 
from various sources, rather than written from 
personal investigation. 

The Arabians gave much attention to this 
science in the 8th century, but material progress 
was not made until the 16th century, when Otto 


Brunfels, a German writer, published an ex¬ 
tended work in two volumes with able descrip¬ 
tions and cuts, under the title “History of the 
Plants of Strasburg.” Other German writers 
soon followed with publications, and the store 
of knowledge was largely extended through 
works in the Dutch, Italian, and French. Be¬ 
fore the end of the century the principal uni¬ 
versities of Europe established chairs of botany 
and organized botanical gardens. Many schol¬ 
ars traveled throughout the latter part of the 
16th. and 17th centuries for the study of plant 
life and structure in both hemispheres. The 
microscope opened a new epoch in the science 
about the middle of the 17th century and led to 
the study of minute portions and sap pressure, 
and brought vegetable philosophy forward as 
a very important branch of knowledge. 

Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist, prepared and 
published a classification of plants in 1735, 
which Was speedily adopted in place of those 
formerly used and served the purpose .of study 
for many years, although it has long since been 
displaced. It is based largely on the characteris¬ 
tics and the production of the flowers and the 
seed. In the 18th century scholars investigated 
large groups or families of plants, and added 
many valuable discoveries to the science. The 
system promulgated by Bernard Jussieu (1699- 
1777), a French scholar, is based on previous 
discoveries and natural affinities of plants. He 
devoted much time to the culture of plants in 
gardens, took personal observation of their 
growth, and lectured extensively in the leading 
universities of Europe. His system is now the 
basis of the classifications that are generally 
approved. The system is set forth in his “Ele¬ 
mentary Principles of Botany,” published in 
1804. He taught the subject according to this 
classification at Montpelier as professor of bot¬ 
any and later at Geneva. Other writers con¬ 
tributed valuable publications and lectures on 
the subject; those of Darwin rank among the 
highest. 

BOTANY BAY, an inlet five miles south 
of Sydney, on the east coast of Australia. It 
was discovered in 1770 by Captain Cook, and 
so named on account of the large number of 
formerly unknown plants found there. The 
first English penal colony was founded at Bot¬ 
any Bay in 1788, and later it was removed to 
Port Jackson, near the site of Sydney. It was 
long known as Botany Bay Settlement. A mon¬ 
ument was erected on the place where Captain 
Cook landed. 

BOTFLY (bot'fli), a large, yellowish fly, 
parasitic in its early stages upon certain ani¬ 
mals. The fully developed fly is more than 


Bothnia 


287 


BOUNTY 


a half inch in length, and the female has an 
extensile abdomen. They lay their eggs upon 
the hair of the horse, which the animal removes 
to the stomach by the tongue. There they are 
hatched and the larvae hang to the coats of 
the stomach, where they remain about a year, 
when they are discharged with the excrement, 
and after a brief time become perfect flies. The 
bots are very injurious to the horse, when a 
large number infest the stomach. Botflies are 
likewise troublesome to sheep, cattle, and some 
of the wild animals, but the species differ, and 
those that infest sheep bore through the skin, 
under which the larvae mature. 

BOTHNIA (both'm-a), Gulf of, the north¬ 
ern extension of the Baltic Sea, between 
Sweden on the west and Finland on the east. 
It is about 430 miles long, 85 to 135 miles wide, 
and from 100 to 130 feet deep. The water is 
but slightly salty, owing to the inflow of numer-’ 
ous rivers and the limited evaporation due to 
its location in a cold region. It contains a num¬ 
ber of good harbors and is the seat of much 
activity in the summer season for lumber, min¬ 
eral, and fish exports by water navigation. In 
the winter it is frozen over and is crossed on 
the ice. It yields large quantities of fish, in¬ 
cluding herring, salmon, and mackerel. 

BO TREE, or Peepul, the sacred fig tree of 
India and Ceylon. Trees of this kind are 
planted by the Buddhists near their temples. 
They yield a small edible fig, which is of little 
value, but the sap yields caoutchouc and the lac 
insect makes the tree its abode. At Anara- 
japura, in Ceylon, is a famous bo tree that was 
planted about 288 b. c. It is venerated by the 
Buddhists, since it is said that Vishnu was born 
under this tree. In 1887 it was partly de¬ 
stroyed. 

BOTTLE, a vessel with a small neck, usually 
made of glass, and used to contain liquids. In 
ancient times bottles were made of leather, 
especially by the Egyptians and Greeks, and 
bottles of this class are still used in Spain, 
Sicily, Africa, and the‘East. Glass bottles have 
been found in the ruins of Pompeii similar to 
those in common use at present. They are 
manufactured by a process of glass molding. 
The small bottles are made of flint glass and 
the large ones of a cheaper grade of glass. In 
manufacturing a blowtube is used, and the 
molten material is placed in an iron mold. 

BOULDER (bol'der), a city in Colorado, 
county seat of Boulder County, on Boulder 
Creek, 5,835 feet above the level of the sea. It 
is situated twenty-five miles northwest of Den¬ 
ver, on the Union Pacific, the Colorado and 
Southern, and other railroads. The surround¬ 


ing country is fertile, yielding considerable 
quantities of cereals, vegetables, fruits, and live 
stock. There are vast mining interests, 
especially those devoted to the production of 
gold and silver. Its manufacturing establish¬ 
ments include iron foundries, flouring mills, and 
smelting works. The climate is pleasant and 
healthful. It is a favorite resort for tourists 
and invalids, who come here on account of 
numerous thermal and mineral springs. Among 
its public institutions are a large sanitarium, 
the county courthouse, and the University of 
Colorado. It was incorporated in 1871. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 6,150. 

BOULDER, a large rock found at a distance 
from the formation to which it belongs. The 
term erratic boulder is generally applied to 
rocks found lying detached on the surface, and 
boulder clay is used to describe the glacial drift, 
usually a compact blue or red clay, in which 
the boulders are found. These formations be¬ 
long to the early quaternary times and are 
widely distributed. Boulder clay has been 
traced over vast regions of British America and 
the northern part of the United States. In 
Scotland it is known as till. Boulders belong¬ 
ing to the rocks of the Scandinavian peninsula 
are scattered over the plains of Denmark and 
northern Germany. Rocks of this class are 
abundant in the central section of North and 
South Dakota. It is thought that they were 
deposited from icebergs and glaciers. 

BOULOGNE - SUR - MER (boo-lon'sur- 
mar'), a seaport city of France, at the mouth 
of the Lianne River, on the Strait of Dover, 
about twenty miles southwest of Calais. The 
city is divided into the older and the newer 
parts, or the old and new districts, and has a 
castle which dates from 1231. It has vast com¬ 
mercial interests, owing to its fine harbor, ex¬ 
tensive wharves, and excellent steamboat and 
railroad facilities. The manufactures include 
linen and woolen goods, machinery, earthen¬ 
ware, soap, clothing, and canned fish. It has 
a large export trade in coal, wine, dairy prod¬ 
ucts, fish, corn, and various manufactured arti¬ 
cles. Municipal facilities include waterworks, 
electric lighting, and a system of electric rail¬ 
ways. Population, 1906, 51,201. 

BOULOGNE-SUR-SEINE (-san), a town 
of France, in the department of Seine, five miles 
west of Paris. It is on the Seine River, a sub¬ 
urb of Paris, with which it is connected by a 
fine stone bridge. The celebrated park and 
promenade in Paris, Bois de Boulogne, was 
named from this town. Population, 1906, 
49,969. 

BOUNTY (boun't!), in economics, a pre- 


BOUNTY JUMPERS 


288 


BOWER BIRD 


mium paid by the government to the producers, 
exporters, or importers of certain articles. This 
is done to aid in fostering a new enterprise 
during its infancy, or protecting one long estab¬ 
lished, owing to its special benefit to the coun¬ 
try. In 1890 the Congress of the United States 
authorized the payment of a premium to pro¬ 
ducers of sorghum, cane, and beet sugar by 
way of a bounty. This was done with the view 
of eventually increasing the production of 
sugar to equal the annual consumption. By 
reason of this encouragement large invest¬ 
ments were made in sugar-producing interests 
and the production has been correspondingly 
increased. The term is applied to a govern¬ 
ment grant made to induce enlistments in the 
army, as at the' time of the American Civil 
War, when from $50 to $900 was paid as an 
inducement for men to enter the service. Men 
serving in the British army in India receive 
a bounty as an inducement to extend the time 
of service. 

BOUNTY JUMPERS, a term applied dur¬ 
ing the Civil War to persons who volunteered 
to secure a bounty and then deserted to enlist 
again in some other locality, under a different 
name, in order to secure another bounty. The 
government applied a severe penalty, but a 
number of persons took great risks, owing to 
the bounty being quite large. 

BOURGES (boorzh), a city of France, cap¬ 
ital of the department of Cher, 135 miles south 
of Paris. It is located at the junction of the 
Auron and Yevre rivers, and is the focus of 
important railroad lines. In the old part the 
streets are crooked and poorly improved, but 
the newer section has many fine public and 
residential buildings. It is the seat of a col¬ 
lege, a public library, a normal school, and a 
magnificent Gothic cathedral, known as the 
Cathedral of Saint Etienne. The trade is 
chiefly in wine, cereals, and live stock. Among 
the manufactures are clothing, leather, wine, 
and machinery. Julius Caesar captured it in 
52 b. c., when it was known as Avaricum. 
Charles VII. of England made it his capital 
when Orleans was in the hands of the English. 
Population, 1906, 44,133. 

BOW (bo). See Violin. 

BOW, a weapon used in the chase and in 
war from remote antiquity, and still employed 
by savages in warfare and in many countries 
as a means of amusement. Two forms of the 
bow are in use, the longbow and the crossbow. 
The former is the' earlier kind and the more 
celebrated, having been used as the weapon of 
archers in the Middle Ages. It passed out of 
use as a military weapon with the improve¬ 


ment of firearms. The crossbow is now used 
in some field sports. It is made by attaching 
a bow to a stock resembling a musket, and 
discharges a short and stout arrow called a 
quarrel. The longbow is about five feet long, 
and discharges an arrow three feet long, fur¬ 
nished with a steel head. Wood is used most 
generally, such as yew, elm, and wych-hazel, 
though steel and other elastic materials make 
good bows. The savages usually poison the 
end of the arrows used in war. 

BOWDOIN COLLEGE, the oldest seat of 
learning in Maine, and one of the earliest edu¬ 
cational institutions established in the United 
States. It was incorporated at Brunswick by 
the General Court of Massachusetts on June 
24, 1794, and received an endowment of six 
townships of wild lands in the then District 
of Maine. It bears the name of Governor 
James Bowdoin, a friend of Washington and 
Franklin, and who was eminent in the councils 
of his native State. His son, Hon. James Bow¬ 
doin, United States minister to France and 
Spain, was its earliest individual benefactor. 
His paintings, drawings, and private library 
were donated to the institution, and the last 
mentioned is now in Hubbard Hall, a fire proof 
building erected at a cost of $300,000. 

Upon the foundation of the traditional four 
years of classical and disciplinary studies, there 
have been added the numerous elective courses 
in history, modern languages, and the social 
sciences, so arranged that the well prepared 
student of more than average ability can com¬ 
plete the requirements for the degree of A..B. 
in three years. Special facilities for the study 
of natural sciences are afforded by the lab¬ 
oratories of the Searles Science Building. 
Throughout the curriculum all the teaching is 
done by professors in distinction from tempo¬ 
rary instruction. The present endowment is 
about a million dollars and its plant is esti¬ 
mated at as much more. In 1820 the Medical 
School of Maine was established under the con¬ 
trol of the president and trustees of Bowdoin 
College and its graduates now number several 
thousand. The first two years of the course 
are pursued at Brunswick and the last two at 
Portland, on account of clinical advantages 
from the hospitals. Bowdoin is remarkable in 
the number of its alumni, who have won na¬ 
tional prominence. They include Chief Justice 
Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry W. Long¬ 
fellow, and Thomas B. Reed. The average 
attendance is about 400 students. 

BOWER BIRD (bou'er), the name of cer¬ 
tain birds belonging to the bird of paradise 
family, native to Australia and New Guinea. 


BOWLING 


289 


BOXING 


They were so named from the remarkable 
bowers or galleries which they construct. In 
size the different species vary somewhat, but 
the representative 'class is about the size of a 
jackdaw, and the plumage in the males and 
females is dissimilar, being a satin black in the 
formef and a grayish-green in the latter. The 
bowers, built of twigs and leaves, are decorated 
with shells, flowers, bones, feathers, and other 



SATIN BOWER BIRD. 


conspicuous objects. They are not nests, but 
places of amusement, and in them the male 
performs queer antics to attract its mate. Both 
in architecture and ornamentation, these birds 
show remarkable skill and taste. 

BOWLING (bol'ing), an athletic game and 
popular amusement originated in England by 
the Anglo-Saxons. It is played chiefly indoors, 
though formerly it was an outdoor amusement 
and was played on a level piece of greensward. 
No game is more popular now at the practice 
rooms of athletic societies and in the gymnasi¬ 
ums of social and commercial clubs. In many 
cities the game is played in halls built especially 
for the purpose, and in which it is the only 
form of amusement. Each hall has one or 
more platforms called alleys. The alleys are 
carefully fitted with a hard floor, slightly convex 
in the center, and on each side is a gutter to 
catch the ball if it is not accurately rolled. At 
the further extremity ten pins are set up by an 
attendant, usually a boy. The pins are in most 


cases of ash wood, about a foot in height and 
about two pounds in weight, and are arranged 
in the form of a pyramid, with the apex toward 
the bowler. A slanting roadway at one side of 
the alley serves to return the balls to the player. 
Each player may roll two balls, which are about 
twenty inches in circumference and sixteen 
pounds in weight. The balls are provided with 
thumb holes to enable the player to secure a firm 
hold. A strike is made when all the pins are 
knocked down with a single ball, and a spare, 
when all are knocked down with the two balls. 
Ten innings or frames make the game, and 
the one who knocks down the largest number 
of pins is the winner. The sizes of the pins 
and of the balls vary somewhat, and various 
games or matches are played, but these are too 
complicated to admit of full description except 
in a book of rules. 

BOWLING GREEN, the county seat of 
Warren County, Kentucky, on Barren River, 
about seventy miles north of Nashville. It is on 
the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The city 
has electric lights, waterworks, a fine court¬ 
house, and tw,o parks. It is the seat of numer¬ 
ous factories, including iron foundries, saw 
mills, flouring mills, and distilleries. The sur¬ 
rounding region is agricultural and has natural 
gas deposits. Besides having good schools, it 
is the seat of a Catholic academy and of Ogden 
College. It was incorporated in 1812. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 8,226. 

BOWLING GREEN, a city in Ohio, county 
seat of Wood County, twenty miles south of 
Toledo, on the Toledo and Ohio Central and 
the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton railroads. 
The chief buildings include the city hall, the 
county courthouse, and the central high school. 
It has manufactures of cut glass, canned fruits, 
ironware, and machinery. The municipal im¬ 
provements include waterworks, gas and electric 
lighting, and a central heating system. It has a 
large trade in grain and farm produce. Bowl¬ 
ing Green was settled in 1832 and was incor¬ 
porated in 1854. Population, 1900, 5,067. 

BOX-ELDER, or Ash-Leaved Maple, a 
small tree of North America, widely distributed 
in Canada and the United States. It is planted 
very extensively as a shade tree and for wind¬ 
breaks, because of its ability to withstand almost 
any extremes in climate. It grows rapidly and 
begins to bear seed in four or five years. The 
wood is of little value, but is used as fuel 
where timber is scarce. 

BOXING, a match between two persons who 
strike each other with the fists. Formerly this 
art of amusement or exercise was an exhibition 
of pugilistic skill, in which the participants 


19 



BOX TREE 


290 


BRADDOCK 


sought to punish each other, but modern boxing 
has partaken form among the athletic exercises. 
When conducted under recognized rules, such 
as the Queensberry Rules, the elements that 
enter into a prize fight are eliminated and it is 
placed among the more meritorious amusements. 
The participants are classified according to their 
weights in six divisions, known as bantam, 
feather, light, welter, middle, and heavy. The 
maximum weights in each class are: Bantam, 
105 pounds; feather, 115 pounds; light, 135 
pounds; welter, 145 pounds; middle, 158 
pounds; heavy, over 158 pounds. Boxers wear, 
as a means of preventing injury, thickly padded 
gloves, made of soft and pliable leather, to cover 
the back of the hand, the fingers, and the thumb. 
The rules are very numerous and provide regu¬ 
lations for matches of different kinds. In 1866 
the Amateur Athletic Club was founded in 
England, and later the Amateur Athletic Union 
was organized in the United States. Contests 
for championships have been numerous, and the 
art of boxing will likely be maintained as an 
active and healthful exercise, but pugilistic con¬ 
tests in the nature of prize-fights are prohibited 
by law in most countries. 

BOX TREE, an evergreen tree, from 12 to 
15 feet high, native to Europe and Asia. It 
was cultivated by the ancient Greeks and 
Romans as an ornamental shrub in their gar¬ 
dens, and the wood was used for making boxes 
and ornaments. It is native to England and 
thrives in the countries bordering on the Med¬ 
iterranean. The wood is hard, heavy, and yel¬ 
lowish in color, and takes a high polish. Most 
of the boxwood of commerce comes from the 
regions adjoining the Caspian and Mediter¬ 
ranean seas, where it is cultivated. 

BOYCOTTING (boi'kot-ing), the name 
generally applied to a system under which a 
society or class decline to buy or sell to some 
individual or class of individuals. The name 
came from Captain James Boycott, who was 
the land agent at Mayo, Ireland, for Lord Erne, 
an Irish nobleman. On account of gross of¬ 
fenses to the people no one would assist in 
gathering his crops. The case was publicly 
reported and resulted in a Boycott Relief Expe¬ 
dition by which the crops were secured and 
the owner protected. Boycotts are prohibited 
by law in many states of the Union and have 
been a subject for legislation in most countries. 

BOYNE (boin), a river in Ireland, rises in 
the Bog of Allen, and flows into the Irish Sea, 
after a course of about sixty miles. Along 
its banks are many institutions of learning, 
which has caused it to be called the “Boyne of 
Science.” It is not only celebrated for magnifi¬ 


cent scenery, but also for great events occur¬ 
ring near it. The adherents of James II. and 
William III. fought a battle on its banks in 
1690, in which the former were utterly routed 
and compelled to flee in disorder. The anni¬ 
versary of this victory, July 12, is stijl cele¬ 
brated by Irish Protestants. The scene of the 
battle is marked by a monument 150 feet high. 

BOZEMAN (boz'man), a city of Montana, 
county seat of Gallatin County, 95 miles south¬ 
east of Helena. It is located on the Gallatin 
River and the Northern Pacific Railroad, and 
has a large trade in agricultural products, 
merchandise, and live stock. The surrounding 
country has gold, silver, coal, and iron ore 
deposits, and large interests in farming and 
stock raising. Among its industries are flour¬ 
ing mills, brickyards, stone quarries, and ma¬ 
chine shops. It is the seat of the State College 
of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. Among 
the public buildings are a library, the county 
and municipal buildings, and several schools 
and churches. Population, 1900, 3,419. 

BRABANT (bra'bant), a district in the cen¬ 
tral lowlands of Holland and Belgium. It for¬ 
merly constituted an independent duchy, but 
has had many rulers and alliances in the past 
four centuries. In 1648 it was incorporated 
with the United Provinces, after the famous 
revolt of the Netherlands against King Philip. 
It was divided by the Peace of Utrecht in 1714, 
when a portion passed to the Spanish crown. 
It became a part of the Netherlands in 1814, 
and was again divided in 1830 into the provinces 
of Antwerp, North Brabant, and South Bra¬ 
bant. In the same year Antwerp and South 
Brabant were made a part of Belgium. North 
Brabant has an area of 1,980 square miles and 
a population of 605,420, and belongs to Hol¬ 
land. The province of Antwerp has an area 
of 1,093 and a population of 860,150; and South 
Brabant, an area of 1,268 square miles, and a 
population of 1,375,490. The southern portions 
are inhabited by Walloons, the central by 
Flemish, and the northern by Dutch. South of 
Brussels the language is chiefly French, and 
in the northern part it is Flemish, Dutch, and 
German. The subdivisions are all densely 
populated. The soil is fertile, producing 
cereals, sugar beets, vegetables, and grasses, 
and large interests are vested in manufactur¬ 
ing. Among the large cities included are Ant¬ 
werp and Brussels. 

BRADDOCK (brad'duk), a borough in 
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on the Mo- 
nongahela River, ten miles southeast of Pitts¬ 
burg. It is on the Pennsylvania, the Baltimore 
and Ohio, and other railroads. Among the 


BRADFORD 


291 


BRAHMANISM 


chief buildings are the public hall, several 
schools, and the Carnegie Library. The manu¬ 
factures include ironware, cement, plaster, boil¬ 
ers, steel rails, and railway cars. It has water¬ 
works, street pavements,, and electric street rail¬ 
ways. It is noted as the scene of the Battle of 
Braddock’s Field, in 1755. The first settlement 
was made in 1795 and it was incorporated in 
1867. Population, 1900, 15,654; in 1910, 19,357, 

BRADFORD (brad'ferd), a city in McKean 
County, Pennsylvania, sixty-three miles south¬ 
east of Dunkirk, N. Y., on the Erie, the Penn¬ 
sylvania, and other railroads. It is located in 
a productive oil field, and is surrounded by 
a rich agricultural district. The city has large 
petroleum works, railroad machine shops, plan¬ 
ing mills, glass works, brickyards, and nitro¬ 
glycerin and torpedo works. There are street 
railways, electric lights, waterworks, a public 
park, and several fine schools. It has a fine 
public library and many ’schools and churches. 
The first settlement was made in 1823 and it 
was incorporated in f879. Population, 1900, 
15,029. 

BRADFORD, a manufacturing city of 
Yorkshire, England, about twenty-eight miles 
southwest of York. It is noted for its manu¬ 
facture of yarn and woolens; not less than 350 
mills are in operation. It is beautified by sev¬ 
eral fine public parks, and has many charitable 
and educational institutions. The chief build¬ 
ings include the town hall, the public library, 
the commercial exchange, the United Yorkshire 
Independent College, and the Art Museum. 
Several Protestant demoninations have colleges 
in or near the city. The transportation facili¬ 
ties include the Bradford Canal, electric rail¬ 
ways, and four lines of railroads. Among the 
manufactures are cotton and woolen goods, 
clothing, soap, ironware, boilers, and spirituous 
liquors. It has public waterworks, slaughter¬ 
houses, electric and gas lighting, and stone and 
asphalt paving. The growth of the city in 
wealth and population has been very rapid the 
past decade. It was incorporated as a city in 
1897. Population, 1907, 290,323. 

BRAHMA (bra'ma), the first person in the 
Hindu trinity, which consists of Brahma, 
Vishnu, and Siva. Brahma is worshiped as 
the universal power or basis of all existence, 
by certain castes of India. The three taken 
separately represent the creator, the preserver, 
and the destroyer. Brahma, the creator, as a 
personal god, is represented as a personage 
of a red color, with four heads and four arms. 
In one of the hands he holds a portion of the 
Vedas, in one a lustral vessel, in one a rosary, 
and in one a sacrificial spoon. As a person he 


represents merely the agent of Brahma, the 
universal power, and is the god of the fates 
and master of life and death. His worship is 
common among the Brahmans. 

BRAHMANISM (bra'man-iz’m), the reli¬ 
gious and social system developed and ex¬ 
pounded by the Brahmans, a religious caste 
among the Hindus. The ancient religious 
writings called the Vedas, the basis of the sys¬ 
tem, are held sacred and inspired. It is thought 
that the oldest of the writings were composed 
and uttered from 2400 to 2000 b. c. Max Mul¬ 
ler, the German antiquarian, translated the Rig- 
Veda and regarded the whole as dating from 
about the 15th century b. c. However, its ori¬ 
gin dates from no particular century, but 
seems to have been added to at many different 
periods as the priestly caste increased in num¬ 
ber and power. In time the system became 
complex, and at least three other great castes 
originated. 

The four early castes were the Brahmans, 
Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. The first 
are the philosophers, scholars, statesmen, and 
administrators of the Aryan people of India. 
To them the Sanskrit language and literature 
owes its origin. The second class consists of the 
warriors, the third class is constituted of the 
merchants, and the fourth class comprises the 
laborers. The Brahmans now represent about 
one-tenth part of those who hold the Vedas 
sacred. They are the most intellectual of all 
the classes and possess admirably ability for 
mathematical reasoning and metaphysical spec¬ 
ulation. It is probable that the castes previously 
represented different races. The great diver¬ 
sity of modern industry and various intermar¬ 
riages have given rise to innumerable distinc¬ 
tions. There are at least several hundred 
castes among the Brahmans alone, and quite a 
large number belong distinctively to each of the 
other three principal divisions. Many of the 
castes cannot partake of food prepared by 
others and are not allowed to intermarry. 

From the 5th to the 1st century b. c. Brah¬ 
manism implied the worship of the one god, 
Brahma, with the three personages, or trinity, 
Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. The idea of a one 
god and the belief in the first person, Brahma, 
were too abstract to endure for a long period 
of time. This led to a general worship of 
Vishnu, the preserver, and Siva, the destroyer, 
and the worshipers of these two deities now 
constitute the two great religious sects of 
India. The higher classes choose which of the 
two they prefer and hold the worship only as 
a means to rea'ch the one first cause, or Brah¬ 
ma. The worship of Vishnu is conducted under 


BRAHMAPUTRA 


292 


BRAIN 


the forms known as Krishna and Rama, and 
that of Siva under the form called Lingam, 
with the power of Sukti—the power and energy 
of the divine nature in action. Hindu reform¬ 
ers are falling back to the teaching of the 
Vedas, that is, Brahma, with the triad Brahma, 
Vishnu, and Siva, being regarded the one god. 

BRAHMAPUTRA (bra'ma-poo-tra), mean¬ 
ing “son of Brahma,” one of the great rivers 
of India. It rises in the plateau of Tibet and 
has a length of 1,800 miles. In the upper part 
of its course, where it is known as the Sanpo, 
it flows southeast along the northern slope of 
the Himalayas, and as it turns southward 
through the mountains it assumes the name of 
Dihong. In Assam it receives the inflow from 
a number of tributaries and is generally known 
as the Brahmaputra, a name applied by some 
writers to its entire course. It joins the Gan¬ 
ges about ninety miles from the Bay of Ben¬ 
gal, where they discharge after forming a com¬ 
mon delta. The stream overflows in the rainy 
season and when the mountain snow melts, 
usually in June and July, and floods vast 
plains, rendering them fertile for the produc¬ 
tion of great quantities of cereals. More than 
800 miles are navigable for commercial traffic, 
while the several channels of the delta furnish 
excellent inland connection. The river was 
first explored by Europeans in 1765. 

BRAIN, that part of the central nervous 
system of animals that is found within the 
skull. It is. held to be the seat of intellectual 
and mental power in man. The shape, when 
viewed from above, is somewhat like that of 
an egg. In composition it is soft and yielding, 
closely filling the cavity of the skull. It is in¬ 
closed in a double membrane called the arach¬ 
noid, which is as delicate as the web of a 
spider, and which forms a close sack filled with 
a liquid resembling water. Within this and 
within the spaces of the brain is a fine tissue. 
The tissue, called pia mater, is penetrated by 
hollows. The flow of blood to the brain is so 
copious that about one-fifth of the entire cir¬ 
culation of the body is used. The dura mater 
many blood vessels, which pass through the 
is a tough membrane which lines the bony 
cavity of the skull and incloses the entire 
brain mass, and separates the various parts of 
the organ by strong partitions. 

The brain consists of three main parts called 
the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the medulla 
oblongata. The cerebrum consists of two lat¬ 
eral hemispheres united by a thick, strong band 
of white tissue, and comprises about seven- 
eighths of the weight of the entire brain. In 
the lowest animals the cerebrum is wanting. It 


makes its appearance as the scale of animals 
rises to higher forms. This part of the brain 
occupies the front and upper part of the skull. 
The bulk is composed of white nerve fibers. 
The fibers intimately connect with the fibers 
of the gray layer of nervous matter, which is 
found at the surface. The surface is wrinkled 
and folded, which gives ample surface for the 
gray matter, in some individuals as much as 
675 square inches. The cerebrum is the center 
of thought and intelligence. The cerebellum is 
located in the back of the head, below the cere¬ 
brum. It is smaller than the cerebrum, but in 
construction is quite similar, except that it has 
parallel ridges instead of convolutions. This 
enables the gray matter of the cerebellum to lie 
in the white matter within. The cerebellum is 



b—CEREBELLUM. d—CEREBRUM. 


the center for the control of the voluntary 
muscles, particularly those of motion. The 
various movements of the body, such as grasp¬ 
ing, balancing, and walking, arise in the cerebel¬ 
lum, while the nerve-cells of convolution in the 
cerebrum are the seat of volition, consciousness, 
and educational intelligence, and of the faculty 
of language. 

The medulla oblongata is the upper enlarged 
part of the spinal cord. It extends from the 
upper border of the first vertebra to the pons, 
which are connected at each side with the cere¬ 
brum above and the cerebellum behind. It is 
divided by tissue into a right and left portion, 
and the latter is separated by grooves into four 
columns. When the cerebrum is injured by dis¬ 
ease or otherwise, persons become unable to 
converse intelligently, both from inability to 
remember words and a loss of power to articu¬ 
late them. In an idiot this portion of the brain 
is not well developed. In persons having an 
injured or diseased cerebellum there is a tend¬ 
ency to totter and walk with uncertain move- - 
ments as if intoxicated; all their movements 
and work are irregular and uncontrollable. 



BRAINERD 


293 


BRANDENBURG 


Man possesses a large cerebrum in proportion 
to the weight of the brain, while in lower ani¬ 
mals the cerebellum is larger than the cere¬ 
brum. The cerebrum seems to be large in order 
to provide for an emergency in case of injury. 
Small parts of the human brain have been 
lost by accident and in war, and, after recovery 
from the wounds, men suffered little or no im¬ 
pairment of their mental faculties. This is 
somewhat analogous to an instance in which a 
person has lost the use of one eye, the other eye 
supplying him with the sense of sight. Brain 
force is developed by activity and grows by ex¬ 
ercise. 

The average weight of the human brain is 
about forty-five ounces in females and fifty 
ounces in males. In some notable instances it 
attained a weight of seventy-five ounces. The 
brain of an idiotic boy weighed eight ounces, 
and a female idiot had a brain weighing ten 
ounces. The brain of Agassiz weighed 54.4 
ounces, that of Byron 63.7; Cuvier, 64.5; and 
Turgeneff, 74.8. The ability of a man does not 
depend upon the size of the brain so much as 
upon its quality, but it is known that men of 
great ability possess large brains, and that the 
brains of cultured races are much larger than 
those of savages. The brain being a delicate 
organ, it is influenced largely by the condition 
of the body, requires food adapted to its growth 
and sustenance, and needs the recuperation 
which results from healthful rest. It is subject 
to many diseases, which usually prove either 
decidedly harmful or fatal. They include brain 
fever, tumors, and inflammation of the brain. 

BRAINERD (bran'erd), county seat of 
Crow Wing County, Minnesota, about 115 miles 
southwest of Duluth, on the Northern Pacific 
and the Minnesota and International railroads. 
It is surrounded by a rich agricultural country, 
is a grain and jobbing center, and has modern 
municipal facilities. The manufactures include 
flour, machinery, clothing, cigars, and earthen¬ 
ware. It has flouring mills and extensive rail¬ 
road shops. The school system is well estab¬ 
lished and carries an excellent course of study. 
It has electric lights, pavements, waterworks, 
and a fine courthouse. In 1883 it received its 
charter as a city. Population, 1905, 8,133. 

BRAINTREE (bran'tre), a town of Massa¬ 
chusetts, in Norfolk County, ten miles south of 
Boston, on the New York, New Haven and 
Hartford Railroad. . It is the seat of Thayer 
Academy and the Thayer Public Library. The 
manufactures include cotton goods, boots and 
shoes, hardware, paper, and machinery. Large 
granite deposits are worked in the vicinity. The 
first permanent settlement was made on its site 


in 1634, and the town was incorporated in 
1640. Population, 1905, 6,879; in 1910, 8,066. 

BRAKE, a device for retarding or arresting 
motion by means of friction. In railroad cars 
and machinery it usually consists of a simple or 
compound lever, connected with a shoe or 
band, which is forcibly pressed on the periph¬ 
ery of the wheel that is to be stopped or 
reduced in its speed. The problem of supplying 
suitable brakes for railroad and street cars has 
engaged the attention of inventors for several 
decades. Hand brakes are now used largely for 
retarding motion in small machines, while air 
and electric brakes are common on street and 
railway cars and in large machinery. In an 
air brake either the compression or vacuum may 
be used. In the former the air is compressed 
by a pump attached to the engine and is con¬ 
veyed to cylinders under the cars by means of 
pipes, where it acts on the brake-levers. The 
vacuum method is the reverse; the air is 
exhausted from the device beneath the car, and 
the brake-levers are acted on by atmospheric 
pressure. The electric brake is used largely on 
electric railways. It is constructed so the car- 
motor will become a dynamo as soon as it is 
disconnected from the trolley wire, and as such 
it generates a force sufficient to act upon the 
brake-levers. 

BRAKE, or Bracken, a class of ferns found 
in many parts of America and other continents. 
It is large and coarse and has a creeping root- 
stalk, from which naked stalks about fifteen 
inches high grow up. It grows in rocky regions 
and on hillsides. The early frosts kill the 
annual growth, and in the spring new shoots 
come up from the rootstalk or rhizome, which 
has a bitter taste and is used to a limited extent 
as a substitute for hops. 

BRAMBLE (bram'b’l), the name of a kind 
of blackberry native to Great Britain. This 
plant is not cultivated for its fruit, which is of 
a fair quality, because it spreads rapidly and in 
this respect resembles an obnoxious weed. The 
word bramble is used in America to describe 
collectively such plants as the blackberry, rasp¬ 
berry, and blueberry. 

BRANDENBURG (bran'den-boorg), a 
province and city of Prussia, in the German 
Empire. The province has an area of 15,383 
square miles. It is fertile and farming is con¬ 
ducted with much care. Rye and barley are 
the chief cereals, and tobacco, fruit, and vege¬ 
tables are grown. Brown coal is mined exten¬ 
sively, but manufacturing is the leading indus¬ 
try. The chief towns are Konigsberg, Pots¬ 
dam, and Frankfort-on-the-Oder. In 1905 the 
population was 3,108,554, nearly all of whom 


l 


BRANDON 


294 


BRASS 


were German Protestants. The present ruling 
family of Germany, the Hohenzollerns, came 
into the possession of Brandenburg in the 15th 
century; in 1711 they ascended to the kingly line 
of Prussia; and in 1871 became the imperial 
family of Germany. The city of Brandenburg 
is on the Havel River, thirty-five miles south¬ 
west of Berlin. It has extensive factories pro¬ 
ducing woolens, leather, silk, pottery, machinery, 
chemicals, and clothing. It is the seat of excel¬ 
lent schools, chuyches, and higher institutions of 
learning. The city is a focus of important rail¬ 
roads, has electric lights and street railways, 
several parks, and a large trade in merchandise. 
Population, 1905, 51,239. 

BRANDON (bran'dun), a city of Canada, 
in Manitoba, 132 miles west of Winnipeg. It 
is pleasantly situated on the Assiniboine River, 
on an elevated site, and on the Canadian Pacific 
and the Canadian Northern railways. It has a 
large trade in grain and live stock. The chief 
buildings include a courthouse, a convent, and a 
collegiate institute. The manufactures consist 
of machinery, flour and oatmeal, ale and por¬ 
ter, earthenware, pumps, and clothing. Near 
the city is an experimental farm that is con¬ 



ducted by the government. Brandon was 
founded in 1881 and has had a rapid growth, 
owing to its car shops, and its location in a 
fertile farming country. Population, 1906, 
10,408. 

BRANDY (bran'dy), a liquid secured by 
distilling grape wine, manufactured chiefly in 
France. Both red and white wines are used. 
The brandy known as Cognac manufactured in 
the department of Charente is considered the 
best grade, and is transported to America in 
large quantities. Catawba brandy is made in 
Ohio from the Catawba grapes, while high 
grades of other varieties are made on the 
Pacific Coast, where the vine attains a prolific 
growth. Brandy is used in medicines, for stim¬ 
ulants and restoratives, and as a beverage. The 


amount of alcohol contained in brandy depends 
upon the wine from which it is distilled. Some 
of the higher classes contain a larger per cent, 
of alcohol and are expensive; as much as twenty 
dollars per gallon is paid for genuine cognac. 
The product now made in California is con¬ 
sidered equal to the French varieties. The pure 
quality consists almost entirely of alcohol and 
water, and is wholly colorless until it is put in 
kegs, when it takes on the color of wood. 
Apple-jack, a kind of brandy, is made from 
apple cider, while another variety is made from 
peach wine. 

BRANDYWINE, a small stream in Penn¬ 
sylvania, passing into the State of Delaware, 
and flowing into the Christiana Creek at the 
city of Wilmington. The stream became his¬ 
toric on account of the Battle of Brandywine, 
which was fought on its banks Sept. 11, 1777, 
between the British and Americans, in which 
the latter were defeated. The American forces 
consisted of 13,000 men under General Wash¬ 
ington, and the British of 18,000 under Lord 
Howe. 

BRANTFORD (brant'ferd), a city of On¬ 
tario, in Brant County, seventy miles east of 
London, on the Grand Trunk Railway. It is 
nicely situated on the Grand River, which is 
navigable within two miles of the town, and 
from that point it is connected by canal with 
Lake Erie. It has manufactures of stoneware, 
machinery, engines, clothing, and flour, and has 
a brisk trade in farm produce and merchan¬ 
dise. Many of the buildings are of pressed 
brick and stone, and modern utilities, such as 
gas and electric lighting, are well patronized. 
The public buildings include a number of fine 
schools, and it is the seat of the Ontario Insti¬ 
tution for the Education of the Blind and of 
Wickliffe Hall. A fine monument of Brant, 
the famous Mohawk chief, stands in Victoria 
Square. Population, 1901, 16,631. 

BRASS (bras), an important alloy of zinc 
and copper. It is hard, ductile, and malleable, 
and the color is a bright yellow. Formerly it 
was made from calamine mixed with copper 
and charcoal. This process is easier than the 
fusion of copper and zinc. The proportion of 
copper and zinc varies, but ordinarily from 
twenty-eight to thirty-four per cent, of zinc 
is used. It is harder and yet more easily fusible 
than copper, and is more sonorous. Brass 
resists the influence of the atmosphere better 
than copper, but requires a varnish or lacquer 
to prevent tarnishing, and is readily turned on 
a lathe, rolled, and stamped. 

Brass was used in very ancient times, and 
is mentioned in the cuneiform writings of the 






BRATTLEBORO 


295 


BRAZIL 


Chaldeans and the Assyrians. In the Middle 
Ages it was made chiefly in the form of sheets, 
and was used for household utensils and for a 
number of purposes in churches. The ancient 
method of making brass was by heating copper 
with calamine, a native ore of zinc, and char¬ 
coal. James Emmerson patented a process for 
the direct production of brass from copper and 
zinc in 1781, and this has superseded the older 
methods. It consists of first melting the cop¬ 
per in a crucible, then adding small quantities 
of the zinc, and when the two metals are thor¬ 
oughly mixed, which is brought about by stir¬ 
ring, the molten brass is cast into molds made 
of sand or iron. Owing to the volatility of the 
zinc, considerable of this metal is lost during 
the operation unless much care is exercised. 

One part of zinc and two parts of copper, by 
weight, is a good working basis in making brass. 
If the proportion of zinc is increased, the com¬ 
pound loses in tenacity, while an increase of 
copper adds to its strength and tenacity. tVhen 
the proportion is one part of zinc to ten of cop¬ 
per, the result is a reddish-yellow brass. If a 
small per cent, of lead is added to the alloy it 
diminishes its ductility. The addition of tin in¬ 
creases the hardness of brass. Tombac and 
pinchbeck contain eighty parts or more of copper 
to twenty or less of zinc. Bristol brass, similor, 
Mannheim gold, and prince's metal are names 
used to describe brass made by using different 
proportions of zinc and copper. In the arts, 
brass is of importance next to iron and steel. It 
is used largely in making buttons, pipes of or¬ 
gans, household utensils, and many parts of ma¬ 
chinery. 

BRATTLEBORO (brat't’l-bur-ro), a town 
in Wyndham County, Vermont, on the Connec¬ 
ticut River, about eighty miles southeast of 
Rutland. It is located on the Vermont Central 
and the Boston and Maine railroads. The man¬ 
ufactures include furniture, carriages, organs, 
and machinery. It is the seat of the Vermont 
Asylum for the Insane and has fine churches 
and schools. The famous writer, Rudyard Kip¬ 
ling, made Brattleboro his home for some time. 
Brattleboro was chartered in 1753 and named 
from William Brattleboro, one of the original 
grantees. Population, 1900, 5,297. 

BRAZIL (bra-zil'), county seat of Clay 
County, Indiana, about fifteen miles east of 
Terre Haute, on the Chicago and Eastern Illi¬ 
nois and other railroads. It is located in a rich 
farming country, and near it are productive 
coal fields. The manufactures include pig iron, 
terra cotta, boilers, machinery, and pottery. 
It has a good jobbing trade, a public library, 
waterworks, and a courthouse and other public 


buildings. The region was settled in 1856 and it 
was incorporated in 1873. Population, 1900, 7,786. 

BRAZIL, United States of, the largest 
country of South America, occupying the east¬ 
ern and central part of that grand division. 
It extends from north latitude 5° to south lati¬ 
tude 34°, and from west longitude 35° to 
74°. Its extreme length from north to south is 
2,665 miles, extreme breadth, 2,688 miles. In 
extent of territory it is one of the largest polit¬ 
ical subdivisions, exceeds in area the Common- 
' wealth of Australia, and is somewhat smaller 
than the United States exclusive of Alaska and 
the insular possessions. It is bounded on the 
north and east by Colombia, Venezuela, Guiana, 
and the Atlantic; while its southern and western 
boundaries are formed by the Atlantic, Uru¬ 
guay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, and 
Ecuador. It lies entirely east of the great 
Andean system, and touches every South 
American country except Chile. Area, 3,218,991 
square miles. 

Surface. The surface consists of two great 
sections, the lowlands known as the Amazon 
basin and the elevated plateaus of the central 
and eastern parts. The lowlands comprise the 
basins of the Amazon and other great rivers, 
extending from the Tocantins to the Guiana 
Plateau, which rises gradually toward the north 
and forms the larger part of the northern 
boundary, culminating in the Tumuc-Humac 
Mountains, between Brazil and Guiana, and the 
Parima Mountains, which lie on the boundary 
line of Venezuela. The elevated plateaus of 
the central and western parts are made up 
largely of the Highlands of Brazil, which have 
an elevation of from 2,000 to 10,000 feet above 
the sea, culminating in Mount Itatiaia, west of 
Rio de Janeiro. These highlands are made up 
of many ranges, one of which separates the 
basin of the Parana from that of the Paraguay, 
and trends northward between the Tocantins 
and the Sao Francisco. The highest of these 
ranges trends parallel to the coast, which is 
known as the Serra do Mar south of Rio de 
Janeiro, and as Serra do Espinhaco north of 
that city. Brazil has a coast line of about 4,000 
miles. The coast south of Cape Saint Roque is 
more or less broken and furnishes good har¬ 
bors, while north of that point it is compara¬ 
tively low with an extensive coast plain. The 
surface contains more fertile land than is found 
in any other country, most of which is in the 
basin of the Parana and the Amazon. Marshes 
and swamps characterize different sections of 
the country, especially the valley of the Para¬ 
guay and of the regions in the lower valley 
of the Amazon. 


BRAZIL 


296 


BRAZIL 


Drainage. The Amazon and the Tocantins 
drain more than two-thirds of Brazil. About 
one-fourth of the drainage is by the Parana, 
the Paraguay, and the Rio de la Plata, and the 
remainder is carried by the Sao Francisco and 
smaller streams. The Amazon, which is formed 
by the union of streams that rise in the Andean 
Mountains, has a general easterly course toward 
the Atlantic, and receives a large number of 
important tributaries. These include, besides 
the Tocantins, which joins it in one branch of 
the delta, the Purus, Javari, Jurua, Madeira,' 
Tapajos, and Xingu from the south, and the 
Iga, Yupura, and Negro from the north. This 
river system has a length of about 19,000 miles, 
and the navigable distance is placed at 13,000 
miles. Near the delta the basin is narrow, not 
more than about 150 miles wide, but it expands 
inland and occupies all of the northeastern part 
of Brazil. The Sao Francisco and a number of 
smaller streams drain the eastern section, and 
the southern part is drained l. the Paraguay, 
Parana, Iguassu, and Uruguay rivers. These 
rivers are of more than passing importance in 
the commerce of the country, chiefly for the 
reason that they furnish the only means of 
transportation in the vast interior. 

Climate. The tropic of Capricorn passes on 
a line drawn a short distance south of Rio de 
Janiero, hence Brazil lies almost entirely within 
the tropics. Rainfall is abundant in all parts of 
the country, ranging from seventy to one hun¬ 
dred inches annually. It is distributed quite 
uniformly in all sections, but is greatest in the 
valley of the Amazon. Two seasons, the wet 
and the dry, alternate each other, the greatest 
amount of precipitation extending between Jan¬ 
uary and June. The seasons are influenced by 
the movement of the trade winds, which follow 
the sun from north to south, and depend some¬ 
what upon the character and elevation of the sur¬ 
face. Near the mouth of the Amazon, particu¬ 
larly toward the south, and in some parts of the 
plateau region, the rainfall is limited, especially 
between the Parana and the Sao Francisco. 
The climate is quite even throughout the year. 
The maximum temperature is 95°, and in most 
places does not fall below 70°, except in the 
higher altitudes, where it ranges from 30° to 90°. 

Minerals. All the important minerals are 
found in Brazil, and it is probably the richest 
country in this respect. The gold deposits are 
chiefly in Bahia and Minas Geraes, and these 
two states have the largest interests in mining 
this mineral and in the output of diamonds. 
Iron ore is found in many sections of the Bra¬ 
zilian Highlands and in the mountains of the 
Guiana Plateau, but little progress has been 


made in mining this ore on account of a scarcity 
of cheap fuel and labor. Santa Catherina and 
Rio Grande do Sul have extensive deposits of 
bituminous coal and a good grade of lignite is 
found in many sections, but mining has not been 
developed to any considerable extent. Other 
deposits include silver, copper, zinc, rock salt, 
and kaolin. Many mineral springs and deposits 
of gas and petroleum abound. 

Manufacturing. Brazil has not taken a 
foremost position among the nations in the out¬ 
put of its manufacturing enterprises, chiefly for 
the reason that it is not densely populated and 
consequently lacks both in labor and capital. 
However, the vast natural resources and a 
steady growth in agriculture are rapidly direct¬ 
ing attention to this enterprise. The textile 
industry is the most important, and includes 
the spinning and weaving of cotton and wool. 
The cotton and woolen mills are located chiefly 
in the states of Minas Geraes, Rio de Janeiro, 
and Sao Paulo. Next in importance is sugar 
refining, which is developed to the greatest ex¬ 
tent in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco. 
Shipbuilding is an important enterprise at Rio 
de Janeiro and a number of other seaports. 
Cigar making and the manufacture of rum and 
other spirituous liquors are important industries. 
Leather is made in large quantities. Other 
manufactures include matches, soap, clothing, 
machinery, and straw hats. 

Agriculture. The valley of the Amazon is 
the most fertile region and contains the largest 
forests in the world, but many parts of it are 
covered with dense tropical vegetation. This 
accounts largely fcr the section not being de¬ 
veloped for farming. However, it is important 
for its timber, which yields vast quantities of 
dyewood, rubber, nuts, and lumber. 

Farming is developed most extensively in the 
southeastern part, in the states of Sao Paulo, 
Bahia, Minas Geraes, and Rio de Janeiro. In 
this section are large coffee plantations, and in 
the production of coffee Brazil takes first rank. 
Sugar cane is cultivated profitably in these 
states and in Pernambuco’, and cotton is grown 
in all of the Atlantic states. Tobacco is grown 
largely, especially in Bahia, and rice and maize 
are cultivated extensively in Sao Paulo and 
Minas Geraes. The smaller cereals are not 
cultivated extensively in this section, but ex¬ 
periments made in the higher altitudes have 
demonstrated that they may be grown profit¬ 
ably. Other products include potatoes, beans, 
yams, vegetables, and Paraguay tea. All the 
domestic animals reared in North America 
thrive, but attention is given chiefly to the rear¬ 
ing of cattle and breeding of horses. 


BRAZIL 


297 


BRAZIL 


Flora and Fauna. The flora is tropical and 
may be classified according to three zones, that 
of the southeastern plateau, that of the lower 
Amazon basin, and that of the west central sec¬ 
tion. The plants in the southeastern part, near 
the tropic of Capricorn, are numerous and lux¬ 
uriant, but somewhat farther northwest the 
rainfall diminishes and the region is diversified 
by open country and small forests. In the lower 
Amazon basin the vegetation is most luxuriant, 
and includes a large variety of grasses, vines, 
and forest trees. Here thrive the mangoes, 
mangroves, palms, silk-cotton tree, rosewood, 
cinnamon, Brazil nut tree, and the seringa or 
rubber tree. The eucalyptus, which has been in¬ 
troduced from Australia, thrives in this section. 
Vegetation in the southwestern part is smaller 
and the number of plants are fewer, owing to a 
somewhat scant rainfall, but the prairies are 
covered with nutritious grasses and contain 
scattered groves of trees. 

Many animals abound in the forests and on 
the plains. The larger animals include the 
puma, ocelot, jaguar, and tapir. Monkeys are 
very abundant in the selvas, and deer abound 
in the southwestern region. Ant-eaters, arma¬ 
dillos, sloths, opossums, and peccaries are plen¬ 
tiful. The boa, jararaca, and rattlesnake are 
among the reptiles. The Atlantic coast and the 
larger streams are rich in fish, and the varieties 
exceed those of any other country. Birds of 
plumage and song abound in all sections, but 
they are especially numerous in the forests. 

Transportation. The railroads are regulated 
by law and about two-thirds are owned by the 
government. They include lines that aggregate 
15,000 miles and many lines have been projected. 
Nearly all of the railroads are^ near the Atlantic 
coast, in the % southeastern part, and the vast 
interior is entirely destitute of railways. How¬ 
ever, shipping is facilitated by navigation on 
its extensive systems of rivers, a number of 
which have been improved by constructing 
canals and removing obstructions. The govern¬ 
ment has encouraged shipbuilding by appropria¬ 
tions, hence an excellent merchant marine has 
been built up, but the vessels take care of do¬ 
mestic commerce rather than foreign trade, 
which is carried largely by the vessels of other 
countries. Telegraph and telephone lines con¬ 
nect the larger cities, but these facilities are 
practically unknown in the remote interior. 

The exports greatly exceed the imports, and 
the total foreign trade annually has a value of 
$390 500,000. Great Britain has the largest share 
of the trade. Next are Germany, France, and 
the United States, in the order named. Coffee 
is the most important article of commerce and 


constitutes about sixty per cent, of the total 
exports. About two-thirds of it is exported to 
the United States and the balance to Europe. 
Sugar ranks next to coffee in value as an 
article of export. Other exports include rubber, 
cotton, tobacco, hides, lumber, drugs, dyewoods, 
and minerals. The imports consist chiefly of 
machinery, cotton and woolen fabrics, flour, 
breadstuffs, wine, corn, and chemicals. 

Education. Public education is regarded 
with deep concern by the people, but is still in 
a very primitive state, and about seventy-five 
per cent, are unable to read and write. The 
school system includes three classes: the pri¬ 
mary, secondary, and superior. Higher educa¬ 
tion is controlled by the state and general gov¬ 
ernments, while the other institutions of learn¬ 
ing are under local control and supervision. 
The higher schools include colleges and uni¬ 
versities devoted to medicine and law, and to 
the industrial, naval, and military arts. Sev¬ 
eral normal schools are maintained for the 
training of teachers in the fundamental ele¬ 
ments of their profession. Some of the states 
have compulsory attendance laws, but they are 
not enforced, while in others attendance is vol¬ 
untary. The language of the country and that 
taught in the schools is the Portuguese. 

Government. Brazil is a republic and for 
the purpose of government is divided into 
twenty states and a federal district. The con¬ 
stitution vests the chief executive authority in' 
a president, who is elected for a term of four 
years by popular vote. He is assisted by a 
cabinet of six ministers, who preside over the 
departments ,of war; finance; industry, rail¬ 
roads and public works; navy; interior and 
justice; and foreign affairs. The legislative 
power is in a congress composed of a senate 
and a chamber of deputies. Each state has 
three senators, making a total of sixty members, 
who are elected by direct vote for nine years, 
one-third being elected every three years. 
Representation in the chamber of deputies is 
based upon the population of the several states, 
and the members are chosen by popular vote 
for four years. The system of courts culmi¬ 
nates in the national supreme court, which is 
the highest judicial authority. Each state 
maintains its own executive, legislative, and 
judicial authority, and for the purpose of local 
government is divided into municipalities and 
districts. 

Inhabitants. The population of Brazil is 
greater than that of any country in America 
except the United States, but the average den¬ 
sity is only 4.5 persons to the square mile. 
About one-half of the people are whites, one- 


BRAZIL 


298 


BRAZIL WOOD 


third half-breeds, and the balance Negroes and 
Indians. Immigration has been encouraged by 
the government, which sold the land at prices 
ranging from $1.00 to $2.00 per acre, payment 
to be made in about seven years. The largest 
number of immigrants come from Germany 
and Italy, and it is due to this influx of 
Europeans that Brazil is gaining in national 
strength. About ninety per cent, of the people 
are Roman Catholics, but the church and state 
are entirely separated and all faiths are toler¬ 
ated. Rio de Janeiro, the capital, is the most 
important financial and commercial center. 
Other cities of importance are Bahia, Sao Paulo, 
Santos, Pernambuco, Para, Campos, Belem, 
Maranhao, Ceara, and Pelotas. The total popu¬ 
lation of Brazil in 1900 was 17,371,069. 

History. Brazil was discovered in 1500 by 
Vicente Yanez and Pinzon, who landed at Cape 
Saint Augustine and explored the coast north 
to the Orinoco River. Two Portuguese expedi¬ 
tions were sent to explore the coast and plant 
colonies as early as 1501 and 1503. However, 
the settlement of Brazil was not decided upon 
until 1530, when grants were given to individu¬ 
als who received power to establish colonies 
and develop trade. Many of the early attempts 
failed on account of contact with the Indian 
natives, who were decidedly unfriendly to the 
settlements of the whites. A colony was estab¬ 
lished oh the Bay of Rio de Janeiro in 1567. 
The royal family of Portugal, the house of 
Braganza, was expelled from Portugal by the 
French in 1808 and took refuge in Brazil, under 
whose guidance the country enjoyed marked 
prosperity in commerce and internal improve¬ 
ments. The eldest son of the king declared 
Brazil independent of Portugal and was 
crowned emperor as Dom Pedro I. in 1822. 

The discovery of gold and diamonds early in 
the 18th century led to a number of settle¬ 
ments and these minerals soon became a source 
of profit. This proved an effective incentive 
to immigration from Europe, especially from 
Portugal and Spain, and the government began 
to develop greater stability. Not long after 
the adoption of a constitution in 1824, serious 
international complications arose, but Portugal, 
although losing its largest and most productive 
colonial possession, formerly recognized the 
independence of Brazil. Later opposition arose 
to the reign of Dom Pedro I., and he volun¬ 
tarily abdicated in 1831 in favor of his eldest 
son and returned to Portugal. The govern¬ 
ment was administered by regencies for the 
next nine years, when a popular agitation led 
to the declaration of the young prince’s major¬ 
ity, then fifteen years of age, and his corona¬ 


tion as Dom Pedro II. He reigned success¬ 
fully for forty-eight years, when a revolution 
broke out and he was dethroned on Nov. 15, 
1889. The country then became a republic 
without bloodshed, and the government was 
entirely reconstructed and reorganized. 

BRAZIL NUT, or Cream-Nut, the seed of 
the Bertholletia excelsa, a beautiful tree native 
to the northern part of South America. The 
tree grows to a height of 120 feet and is valu¬ 
able both for its seeds and the wood it yields, 
which is known as brazil wood. The seeds 



BRAZIL NUT. 


grow within a woody pericarp, or seed vessel, 
and vary in number from fifteen to twenty. 
They are popularly called nuts and are sold on 
the market by the popular name of Nigger- 
toes. The nuts are triangular in. form, and 
within the hard shell is a white kernel, which 
is very agreeable to the taste. It yields a large 
per cent, of oil, which is used for burning in 
lamps by the natives. Large quantities of Brazil 
nuts are exported from Para and French 
Guiana to the markets of Europe and America. 

BRAZIL WOOD, a kind of wood derived 
from several trees native to the tropical regions 
of the Western Hemisphere, and exported 
largely from Brazil and the West Indies. A 
number of grades are known in commerce, such 
as Lima wood, Pernambuco, Santa Martha, 
Sapan, and All Saints, the names indicating 
products of different value. Brazil wood is 
yellow when newly cut, but when exposed to 
air it becomes red, and as a* dyestuff is ex¬ 
ported after being ground down to the size of 
sawdust. It is a heavy, hard wood, and is used 
in cabinet making. The coloring matter is ob¬ 
tained by weathering the ground wood, then 




BRAZOS 


299 


BREADFRUIT 


boiling it in water or alcohol, when it yields 
its coloring matter known as brasilin. It is 
used in making red ink and in calico printing. 

BRAZOS (bra'zos), the largest river located 
wholly in Texas. It rises in the northwestern 
part, has a southeasterly direction, and flows 
into the Gulf of Mexico. It is 940 miles in 
length, of which over 200 miles are navigable in 
the rainy season, from February till May. 

BRAZZA (brat'sa), an island in the Adriatic 
Sea, belonging to Austria-Hungary. It has 
an area of 150 square miles and is diversified 
by mountains and valleys. The soil is generally 
fertile and produces grain and fruit. Marble 
quarries are worked profitably. For the pur¬ 
pose of government it is annexed to Dalmatia. 
San Pietro, the chief town, has 3,500 inhabit¬ 
ants. The island has a population of 24,465. 

BREAD, an article of food made of the 
flour or meal of grain, especially wheat and 
rye. The flour is mixed with water or milk 
and salt so as to form a consistent paste known 
as dough, and it is then baked in an oven. 
Bread is either leavened or unleavened, de¬ 
pending upon the ingredients used. Leavened 
bread is made by mixing the dough with yeast 



OVEN FOR BAKING. 

A , receptacle for loaves; B, fire-box. 


or baking powder to produce fermentation and 
rising, or lightness, and the mixture is kneaded 
twice, once at the time of mixing and a second, 
time after the first rising, and it is then made 
into the form of biscuits or loaves, which are 
given a brief time to rise before baking. Un¬ 
leavened bread is heavy and compact, since it 
is made by using only flour and water, but it 
has the advantage of keeping longer, therefore 
is used more generally by those who cannot 
secure leavened bread regularly. However, 
leavened bread is used generally. 

A light and porous unleavened bread is made 
by using an acid and a carbonate of ammonia, or 
a carbonate of soda. The carbonate is driven 
off by the heat in the process of baking. This 
is known generally as aerated bread and is used 
extensively in London and other cities of 
England. Whole-wheat bread is made by using 


unsifted ground wheat. It is the. true Graham 
bread is more nutritious than white bread, as it 
contains about fourteen per cent, of nitroge¬ 
nous matter, while white bread contains only 
about seven per cent. An excellent bread is 
made of rye, and this kind is a popular food 
in many countries of Europe, while in others 
rice, corn meal, potatoes, and beans are utilized 
in the production of bread. It may be said 
that the temperature of a country is an im¬ 
portant factor in determining the kind of bread 
eaten. Barley, rye, and oats are used most 
extensively in the colder regions, wheat and 
maize in the temperate portions, and rice and 
millet in the hotter countries. The principal 
adulterations of bread are made by the addi¬ 
tion of a cheaper flour, such as adding that of 
rice and beans to the flour of wheat. They 
are harmless, but add weight and diminish the 
cost of production. 

Grinding grain and baking bread, both leav¬ 
ened and unleavened, have come down to us 
from remote antiquity. The ancient Egyptians 
and Assyrians were skilled in these arts. It is 
thought that the Greeks and Jews learned how 
to make * leavened bread from the Egyptians, 
and after the rise of Rome this knowledge was 
carried to the'nations of Central and Western 
Europe. The yeast now used is constituted 
mainly of the minute cells of a fungous plant 
and multiplies by budding. It was used in mak¬ 
ing beer before it became known as a valuable 
requisite in making bread. When brought in 
contact with water and flour, it develops alco : 
hoi and carbon dioxide, and the former passes 
off in the process of baking, while the latter 
is retained in the dough. Bread becomes light 
and porous from the amount of gas which acts 
to distend it, and when the dough is sticky and 
does not allow the gas to escape the bread be¬ 
comes heavy. Since 1858 machinery has been 
used extensively in bread making, and in the 
course of time caused it to develop into one 
of the most important enterprises. Most of 
the bread now consumed in large cities is made 
in bakeries, and is delivered direct to the cus¬ 
tomers, while the people in the country bake 
their own supply, which consists largely of 
leavened bread and light biscuits. 

BREADFRUIT, the large fruit of the 
breadfruit tree. It attains a globular form, 
about the size of a child’s head, and is used 
largely for food. It is baked, stewed, roasted, 
or fried in palm oil. The eatable part lies 
between the hard outer skin and the core. 
When baked, it is white and about the same 
consistency as wheat bread. The tree is culti¬ 
vated in the West Indies and the South Sea 






























BREADNUT 


300 


BREEDING 


Islands. It attains a height of forty feet. The 
wood is valuable for building and the bark 
yields material for cloth. 



BREADNUT, the fruit of a tree closely 
allied to the breadfruit, native of Jamaica. It 
has evergreen leaves and yields a gummy milk. 
The fruit is a one-seeded drupe, which is edi¬ 
ble, and forms an agreeable article of food 
after being boiled or roasted. It has the taste 
of hazelnuts and is eaten as bread. The wood 
of the tree is used in veneering. 

BREAKWATER (brak'wa-ter), a wall, 
mole, pier, or some similar structure placed at 
the entrance of a harbor with a view of dead¬ 
ening the force of the waves which roll in 
from the ocean. Breakwaters are variously 
constructed of floating bridges, made of wood, 
brick, stone, and iron, or suspended from 
chains, and of solid walls or mounds built up 
from the. bottom of the water, with stone in¬ 
closing large blocks of concrete. Among the 
notable breakwaters in the Great Lakes is the 
one at Chicago, protecting the harbor of the 
city against the waves of Lake Michigan. It is 
built on a solid stone basis and incased with 
wooden beams. Another solid structure is at 
Buffalo, on Lake Erie, another at* Cleveland, 
and a third in Delaware Bay. Among the most 
noteworthy in Europe are those at Cherbourg, 
France, and Plymouth, England. The one at 
Cherbourg was proposed by M. de Cessart to 
the French government, and is the largest and 
most expensive ever constructed. It was com¬ 
pleted by Napoleon III. at a cost of nearly 
$3,000,000. The ancient Romans constructed 
several breakwaters at Italian ports, and other 


similar structures were made very early in 
history. In some places they serve for fortifi¬ 
cations and residences. In most cases they are 
constructed from one to five -miles from the 
shore, this depending upon the depth of the 
water and the conditions surrounding the city 
or harbor to be protected. 

BRECHE-DE-ROLAND (brash'de-ro- 
lan'), a pass in the Pyrenees, between Spain 
and France, located a short distance west of 
Mont Perdu. It was so named from Roland, 
who, according to a legend, opened the rock 
with his sword Durandal so the army of 
Charlemagne could pass through. The defile 
is about 200 feet wide and is bordered by 
rocks that rise almost perpendicularly on both 
sides. 

BREDA (bra-da'), a city of Holland, in the 
province of North Brabant, at the confluence 
of the Aa and Mark rivers. It has railroad 
facilities and an important trade. Among the 
manufactures are cigars, clothing, carpets, and 
machinery. Formerly it was strongly forti¬ 
fied, but the fortifications were dismantled sev¬ 
eral centuries ago. In 1566 it was the meet¬ 
ing place of the Dutch nobles, who drew up 
the “Compromise of Breda,” which was pre¬ 
sented to the King of Spain. Population, 1906, 
27,644. 

^ BREECH-LOADING GUNS (brech'-lod'- 
mg), a term applied to firearms in which the 
charge is introduced at the rear end of the 
barrel instead of the muzzle. The mechanism 
is so constructed that the breech can be opened 
and closed for the purpose of receiving the 
charge. This gives a decided advantage in small 
arms for cleaning and rapid firing. While the 
use of this class of guns dates back to the 16th 
century, the general introduction of them is 
quite recent. The efficiency of these firearms 
for military use was demonstrated in 1864 and 
.1866 in the Prussian campaigns against Den¬ 
mark and Austria, and they contributed largely 
to the victories of the German army in 1870-71. 
The Prussian gun (Zundnadelgewehr) has been 
superseded by the Mauser, a needle gun with 
metallic cartridges on much the same principle. 
There are now many kinds of breech-loading 
guns, both for the purpose of hunting and for 
military use. Germany and most of the nations 
use the Mauser; England, the Lee-Metford; 
Austria and Brazil the Mannlicher; and the 
United States, the Krag-Jorgensen. 

BREEDING, the art of continuing or im¬ 
proving breeds of domestic animals by contin¬ 
uous care in feeding and pairing. All animals 
and plants are susceptible to modification under 
systematic cultivation. This fact has been 








BREMEN 


301 


BRESLAU 


turned to advantage by combining in individual 
specimens a number of good qualities found in 
several different kinds of original stock. The 
principles taken advantage of are those of 
heredity, variability, selection, and crossing. 
The germs of all that is desired must be found 
in the specimen to be improved, and the process 
must be by slow development during long peri¬ 
ods of time, else an essential loss will occur 
in some line at the expense of the higher qual¬ 
ities desired. Breeding for the improvement of 
all kinds of domestic animals has shown excel¬ 
lent results since the beginning of the last cen¬ 
tury, although considerable attention was paid 
to horse breeding from remote periods. The 
production of increased yields in quantity and 
fineness of wool in sheep, and beef and milk in 
cattle, is especially marked, while breeding in 
swine has largely increased the annual returns 
to farmers. One important principle to be ob¬ 
served is that the best results are produced 
between animals comparably similar, changing 
the breed gradually to the higher quality. 

BREMEN (brem'en), an important free city 
in Germany, on the Weser River, about fifty 
miles from its mouth. The free district has an 
area of ninety-nine square miles, and, besides 
the city, includes Bremerhaven, a port on the 
estuary of the Weser. The port has wet and 
dry docks, an excellent harbor, and a hospitium 
for emigrants; population, 23,991. Bremen is 
one of the most important and historic cities 
of Europe. It was made a bishopric in the year 
788 by Charlemagne, and was for some time a 
member of the Hanseatic league of cities. The 
government is by a senate and a council, under 
a constitution which is republican in form. 
Bremen is the principal seat of the German 
export and import trade, and the most im¬ 
portant port for emigrants. Its foreign com¬ 
merce extends to all the countries of the world, 
including a large trade with the United States. 
The imports aggregate about $95,500,000 worth 
of commodities, while its exports are corre¬ 
spondingly large. The manufactures include 
sugar, tobacco products, ironware, machinery, 
pottery, fabrics, chemicals, cordage, steamboats, 
and engines. Among the chief buildings are a 
Gothic council house, the town hall, the mer¬ 
chants’ house, the exchange buildings, and -a 
cathedral founded in 1050. The school system 
is open to free admission and the attendance 
is compulsory. The .public schools carry courses 
which range from the kindergarten to the high 
school, and the instruction is closely articulated 
with that given in the gymnasiums and trade 
schools. It has a large public library, many 
well kept promenades, two extensive parks, and 


modern harbor and wharf improvements. The 
city is a focus of many railroads and canals. 
Telephone and telegraph lines connect it ex¬ 
tensively, and it is finely paved and beautified 
by statuary, electric lighting, and equestrian 
fountains. Intercommunication is by a system 
of electric railways, with branches to Bremen¬ 
haven and many inland points. Population, 
1905, 214,861. 

BRENHAM (bren'am), county seat of 
Washington County, Texas, in the south cen¬ 
tral part of the State, on the Houston and 
Texas Central and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa 
Fe railroads. It is surrounded by a fertile grain 
and cotton country, and is an important busi¬ 
ness and shipping center. The chief buildings 
include the courthouse, the public library, the 
Blim Memorial College, and the Evangelical 
College. Among the manufactures are car¬ 
riages, ironware, machinery, and furniture. 
It was first settled in 1844, and was incorporated 
in 1866. Population, 1900, 5,968. 

BRESCIA (bra'she-a), a city in northern 
Italy, capital of a province of the same name, 
about 150 miles from Turin, with which it is 
connected by railroads. The manufactures in¬ 
clude silk and linen textiles, machinery, pottery, 
and firearms. The surrounding country pro¬ 
duces considerable quantities of raw silk, fruits, 
and cereals. Brescia is noted for its fine 
churches and cathedral, and contains several 
botanical gardens, hospitals, museum of antiqui¬ 
ties, a theater, and an extensive public library. 
It is mentioned in history as early as 15 b. c., 
when it became a Roman colony. Charlemagne 
captured it, in 774, and it was long a possession 
of Germany. In 1859 it was ceded to Sardinia 
and the following year was united with Italy. 
Population, 1906, 70,614. 

BRESLAU (bres'lou), a city in Germany, 
capital of Prussian Silesia, at the junction of 
the Ohlau and the Oder rivers. It is one of the 
largest cities in the German Empire, containing 
a growing population and varied industries. A 
number of handsome bridges across the Oder 
connect the two parts of the city. It is joined 
to the marts of trade by several canals and rail¬ 
roads, and has an extensive urban and inter- 
urban system of electric railways. The munici¬ 
pal facilities include a public library, water¬ 
works, stone and asphalt paving, and systems 
of gas and electric lighting. 

Breslau is the seat of a university founded by 
Leopold I. in 1702, which is attended by 1,750 
students. The institution has a library of 350,- 
000 volumes, and carries courses of study in all 
the higher branches, which are taken advantage 
of by students from remote countries. It has 



BREST 


302 


BRIBERY 


a large number of magnificent churches, among 
them the Protestant church dedicated to Saint 
Elizabeth, with a steeple 364 feet high and a 
splendid organ. While the city contains a num¬ 
ber of old parts, it has been largely affected by 
modern trade, and has responded liberally to 
the demands of modern culture and architec¬ 
ture. It has manufactures of woolen, silk, linen, 
and cotton goods, jewelry, machinery, lace, 
earthenware, soap, firearms, and various other 
staple products. Its commerce in flax, timber, 
hemp, metals, corn, and coal is very extensive. 
While the city is German in language and gov¬ 
ernment, it is of Polish origin and was long 
occupied by Poles and Bohemians. It after¬ 
wards passed to Austria, and was conquered by 
Frederick II. of Prussia in *1741. It has been 
frequently besieged and was the scene of many 
fierce battles. At present it ranks as one of the 
most important cities of Europe from the stand¬ 
point of manufacture and commerce, as well as 
for educational advancement. Population, 1905, 
470,904. 

BREST (brest), a seaport city of France, in 
the department of Finistere, 385 miles west of 
Paris. It occupies a fine site on the Bay of 
Brest, at the mouth of the Penfeld River, and 
is connected by railways with the leading cities 
of the country. Its harbor is one of the best in 
France and it is an important marine station. 
The manufactures include clothing, wine, soap, 
and machinery. Its commerce consists mainly 
in machinery, brandy, wine, cereals, fish, and 
colonial goods. A cable line connects it with 
America, near Duxbury, Mass. It is beautified 
by paved streets, modern municipal facilities, 
promenades along the coast, and several ancient 
castles. It has been the scene of many severe 
struggles. Owing to its location near the Eng¬ 
lish Channel and its nearness to the Bay of 
Biscay, it was made a naval arsenal by Louis 
XIV. and was rendered almost impregnable. 
In 1694 the English and Dutch were repulsed 
at this fortification, and in 1794 Howe blockaded 
it and won a great victory over the French fleet 
off the coast. Population, 1906, 85,294. 

BREVIARY (bre'vi-a-ry), the book which 
contains the ordinary and daily services of the 
Roman Catholic Church. The contents of the 
Breviary include all of the service except those 
for funerals, baptisms, and other special occa- 
sions, which are in the Ritual or Pontifical, and 
those used in the celebration of the Eucharist, 
which are in the Missal. The clergy and relig¬ 
ious are obliged to recite the service for the 
canonical hours every day. It is divided into 
two parts, one containing the morning and the 
other the evening service. 


BREWING (bru'ing), the art of making 
malt liquor. The term is applied to the extract¬ 
ing of wort or any saccharine substance from 
grain. In making beer, three raw materials are 
used, that is, hops, barley, and water. The first 
process is known as malting, which consists of 
causing the grain to germinate so the starch 
is changed into sugar. It consists of steeping 
the barley three or four days, during which 
time it absorbs some of the water and begins 
to swell and soften. It is then spread to a depth 
of about one foot in the malthouse, where it 
germinates and throws out sprouts. After about 
ten or twelve days it is taken to the dry kiln, 
where it is heated to a temperature of 90° to 
150°, depending upon the kind of liquor desired, 
pale beer requiring the minimum and brown 
beer the maximum temperature. When the 
malted grain is fully dried and crisp, it is in a 
condition for brewing. 

The next step is to pass the malted grain 
between two rollers so as to bruise or crush it, 
when it is known as grist. In this form it is 
put in the malt tub and mixed with water heated 
to 170°. It is constantly stirred with mechanical 
mixers and in this stage is known as mash. It 
requires three or four hours to complete the 
process, after which the liquid, now known as 
wort, is drained off and run into vats containing 
the yeast, in which fermentation (q. v.) takes 
place. 

In the United States the brewing business is 
one of the chief sources of revenue, paying as 
an internal tax $35,500,000 to the general gov¬ 
ernment. Its sale is also taxed by many of the 
states and cities. Over 60,000 men are employed 
directly as laborers in brewing, and many thou¬ 
sands are engaged in the wholesale and retail 
trade. There has been a contention for many 
years regarding the liquor question. In some 
states it has become the principal political issue 
between the parties. With the adoption of im¬ 
provements in manufacture, as the use of steri¬ 
lized water, filtered air, and artificial refrigera¬ 
tion, beer is made free from bacteria and injuri¬ 
ous organisms, and is greatly less perishable. 
Pasteur made several discoveries in scientific 
brewing. He was among the first to announce 
why beer, like the lip that quaffs it, is subject 
to disease. See Beer; Bacteriology. 

BRIBERY (brib'er-y), a reward or valuable 
consideration given or accepted by any one with 
a view of unlawfully influencing judgment or 
conduct in a public office or some other capacity. 
This definition is the one usually applied at 
present, and includes alike the giver and the 
receiver, both being considered equally guilty on 
conviction. The charge of bribery is sometimes 


BRICK 


303 


BRICK 


alleged against candidates for office, voters, and 
members of legislative bodies. Legislation with 
suitable penalties has been directed against it. 
It is a crime even if the party accepting the 
bribe does not pursue the course agreed upon. 
Officers of the general government may be re¬ 
moved from office on conviction of bribery. 

BRICK, a molded and burned block of clay, 
forming a species of artificial stone. The name 
is also applied, to the unfinished product when 
in a molded plastic state, or when it has been 
dried and repressed, before being burned. 
Brick were made at remote periods of antiquity 
by the Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and 
other people of ancient history. They mixed 
sand and straw with the clay and baked the 
brick in the sun. When made in this way they 
are known as adobe brick. In cold countries 
freezing would soon dissolve these brick, but 
they are valuable in warm and dry climates, and 
some of them have been preserved for more 
than three thousand years. Many contain writ¬ 
ten characters, especially those of Babylon, to 
indicate the name of the reigning king, and are 
of priceless value in conveying historic facts to 
the present age. Brickmaking was introduced 
in Western Europe by the Romans in the year 
44 a. d., and in England by the Anglo-Saxons 
under King Alfred, in 886. In the time of 
Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth the manu¬ 
facture became vastly important, the product 
entering largely into the construction of forts 
and public edifices. Kiln-baked brick are found 
in the larger ruins of ancient Babylon, where 
they were used to face or bind together walls 
of sun-dressed brick in a manner quite similar to 
the plan of constructing buildings with hard 
and soft brick at the present time. However, 
it appears that the kiln was not used much 
before the time of the higher Babylonian civi¬ 
lization. The people of Holland have long 
ranked as skilled manufacturers of brick. In 
the early history of New York they brought 
large quantities of their product to America, 
many of which may still be found in the older 
part of New York City. 

Various clays are used in brickmaking, they 
consist chiefly of silicates, the simplest and are 
known as fire clays , of which fire brick are 
made. Clays that contain iron burn red while 
those containing no iron appear white, although 
the brick commonly manufactured vary greatly 
in color. Fire brick are made from clay that 
contains little material which burns easily. The 
size of brick varies on account of the different 
clays used and the amount of heat applied in 
burning; those subjected to intense heat shrink 
somewhat. The usual size employed in build¬ 


ing is about eight inches long, four inches 
wide, and two and one-half inches thick, while 
sidewalk brick are sometimes, made eight inches 
square and two and one-half inches thick. 

In making brick it is best to dig the clay in 
autumn and expose it to the influence of the 
rain and frost in order to break it up easily. 
It should be worked over a number of times 
and the brick may be molded and burned the 
following spring. On a small scale brick are 
made by hand, but for larger productions large 
machinery is used. The clay is mixed with sand 
and thoroughly worked in a pug mill, after 
which the material is put into molds and placed 
in a drying shed or in the sun. They are taken 
to the kiln to be burned when dry, which usu¬ 
ally takes place in from eight to ten days. The 
kilns have flues or cavities for the insertion of 
fuel, and spaces for the passage of the fire and 
hot air to penetrate the brick stacked in regular 
order within. The burning is done by gas, wood, 
or coal, and varies from a few days to two 
weeks according to the method employed. 

In recent years many improvements have 
been made in the manufacture of brick, partic¬ 
ularly in 1893, when the dry-press system came 
into use. By means of this system the clays are 
subjected to a pressure of about six hundred 
tons, in the dust form, and molded ready to 
put into the kiln. The number of brick burned 
in a single kiln varies from a few thousand to 
a million. The dry-press machine has been 
brought to a high point of perfection and by it 
from 7,000 to 20,000 brick may be prepared for 
the kiln in a single day. The pressed brick 
are the most expensive and are used mostly in 
the construction of the medium-sized business 
buildings' and in residences. Those used in 
sidewalks, chimneys, and outside walls are 
burned harder than those that enter into the 
inside walls, because of the greater wear when 
exposed to the weather. Machine-made brick 
are more durable and heavier than those made 
by hand because of the greater pressure applied 
in manufacture. 

Pavements are constructed to a large extent 
of paving brick, which are made of a clay that 
contains a considerable amount of lime. The 
lime fuses in burning and causes the finished 
product to become very hard. In the market 
they are frequently called vitrified brick. The 
larger use of steel frames in constructing the 
tall buildings of modern times has caused brick 
to be employed extensively for filling the 
interior walls, though in some instances they 
have been replaced by cement. In many build¬ 
ings, especially in the larger fireproof structures, 
hollow tiles are used for the inside walls. 



BRICKLAYING 


304 


BRIDGE 


BRICKLAYING, the art of building with 
brick. The principal implements of a brick¬ 
layer are a trowel, for spreading mortar; a 
hammer, for dividing and driving brick; a 
plumb line, for carrying the wall up perpendicu¬ 
larly ; a compass, for maintaining longitudinal 
levels; a rod five or ten feet long, for taking 
measurements; and a hod, for carrying brick 
or mortar to the workmen. In small buildings 
brick and mortar are borne on the shoulders 
of laborers, but in large ones elevators are used. 
The mortar is made of lime and sand. The 
foundation of a brick building is an essential 
part, as buildings crack by settling unequally, 
if the basis is defective or the foundation is 
not based on a solid bottom. Bricklaying has 
been greatly lessened in larger cities by the 
newer process of constructing large buildings 
with steel framework and the use of stone. 

BRIDEWELL (brid'wel), a well in London, 
between Fleet and Thames streets, from which 
the name was given to a palace, parish, reforma- 


of that country. The first Roman bridge was 
built across the Tiber under Ancus Martius. 
Permanent bridges are now constructed in all 
civilized countries, though in some countries 
they are few and imperfect. In India few were 
erected before the British occupancy of the 
country. 

Bridge building became very common in Europe 
with the extension of the military influence of 
Charlemagne, and he also established ferries 
for the safe and permanent crossing of streams. 
Societies were organized in France and Ger¬ 
many in 1720 to promote the construction of 
bridges in all parts of those countries. It is 
thought that the first stone bridge in England 
was built in 1087 near Stratford, and the second 
in London in 1186, which was not finished until 
1209. Many of the early bridges were erected 
by companies as business investments and tolls 
were charged for crossing them. Others were 
erected by the general government and paid for 
by tolling. The largest bridges of the world 



EADSES BRIDGE, SAINT LOUIS, MO. 


tory, hospital, and industrial school. It is now 
quite generally applied to a police station or a 
house of correction. 

BRIDGE, a structure for carrying a highway 
over a stream, river, valley, or other impedi¬ 
ment to its course. Bridges are constructed of 
stone, brick, wood, and iron, and seem to have 
existed from a period of considerable antiquity. 
The Chinese built them for many ages, perhaps 
the earliest among the ancients. The first 
bridges or passages made over streams or 
ravines were no doubt of trees. Bridges for 
military purposes were devised long before 
permanent structures for the convenience of the 
inhabitants were erected. These bridges were 
often of boats made to float on the water, with 
connections for the safe passage of armies. 
Some bridges were constructed by Cyrus about 
536 b. c.; Darius, about 490; and Xerxes, about 
480. The Romans seem to have been the first 
to use stone or brick. They carried the art of 
bridge building to Greece, after their conquest 


were not built until after steam machinery was 
invented, which caused a demand for immense 
iron structures for the passage of railroad trains 
across streams and canons. 

The construction of bridges varies greatly 
with the time they are to be used and the pur¬ 
pose they are to serve. Stone bridges usually 
consist of an arch or series of arches. The 
length of the arch is called a span, the perpen¬ 
dicular supports are the piers, and the portion 
that receives the thrust or lateral pressure of 
the arch is called the abutment. The height of 
the pier depends entirely upon the land adjacent 
to the stream and the depth of the basin, usu¬ 
ally from fifty to one hundred feet high, and the 
length of the span also varies greatly. The 
girder and truss bridges,- especially those using 
the tubular girder, have largely superseded the 
arch. Other forms are the steel arch and the 
cantilever (q. v.) bridges. 

The small bridges of one span have no piers 
and are supported entirely by the abutments. 







Grand Trunk Double-Track Steel Arch Bridge Over Niagara River. 


























































. 





















# 




- 











































































































BRIDGE 


305 


BRIDGE 


It often adds strength to have the abutments 
solidified so a single span will answer the pur¬ 
pose, thus avoiding the necessity of a pier in the 
strong current. In some cases two or more 
piers may be distributed so as to occupy posi¬ 
tions which are not in the main channel. 
Arched bridges proceed from the sides of the 
space which they span and are keyed by a key¬ 
stone, sometimes a number of arches constitut¬ 
ing the groundwork of a single bridge. Sus¬ 
pension bridges span the entire stream, the 
weight resting entirely upon the piers at the two 
ends. . A number of different methods of con¬ 
struction are employed, but usually the roadway 
is suspended by chains or wire ropes anchored 
securely to the masonry or iron at the ends of 
the bridge. Swinging bridges are common in 
large cities where traffic is carried by boats 
on canals, or across rivers navigable by large 
vessels. These bridges are so constructed that 
they may be turned or swung on a center so as 
to provide an opening for the passage of ves¬ 
sels, and, when closed, furnish safe passage for 


called the Brooklyn Bridge. It was commenced 
under the direction *of J. Roebling, in 1870, and 
completed in about thirteen years. It is 135 
feet high, 5,989 feet long, and cost nearly $15,- 
000,000. About two miles north of the Brook¬ 
lyn Bridge is the East River or Williamsburg 
Bridge, on which work was commenced in 1898. 
It connects Brooklyn with Manhattan Island, is 
118 feet wide, and its longest suspension span 
is 1,600 feet. Its entire length is 7,200 feet. Mid¬ 
way between the two is the newer East River 
Bridge, on which work was commenced in 1907. 

The Cantilever Bridge over the Niagara is 
built almost entirely of steel. Its total weight 
is 3,000 tons, length 810 feet, and cost about 
$900,000. A similar cantilever bridge spans the 
Saint John River, in New Brunswick, which 
has a length of 813 feet. The Poughkeepsie 
Bridge, across the Hudson River, was built in ' 
1889 and has a length of 6,767 feet. It has five 
spans, but only three are cantilever spans. 

The bridge over the Firth of the Forth, near 
Edinburgh, Scotland, is 7,295 feet long. It has 



WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE, NEW YORK CITY. 


street cars, railway trains, and pedestrians. 
Many such bridges cross the Chicago Drainage 
Canal, some having as high as eight railroad 
tracks, weighing over 7,000,000 pounds, capable 
of supporting about 9,000,000 pounds, and cost¬ 
ing nearly a million dollars. Bridges that may 
be opened and closed are collectively termed 
drawbridges. They include a class known as 
lift bridges, the ends of which are anchored to 
framework, towers so the span may be raised 
by means of winding drums. 

Below is given a list of the notable bridges of 
the world: 

The new London Bridge is constructed of 
granite, designed by John L. Rennie. It was 
commenced in 1824 and completed in about 
seven years, costing $7,290,000. 

The Bridge of the Holy Trinity at Flor¬ 
ence, Italy, was built in 1569. It is almost 
entirely of white marble, 322 feet long, and 
stands unrivaled as a work of art. 

The first large suspension bridge in the world 
was built across the East River in New York, 


two spans of 1,710 feet each. It is about 370 
feet high, contains 51,000 tons of steel, has 
twenty-five acres of surface to paint, and cost 
about $15,000,000. It was commenced in 1883 
and completed in seven years. 

The Victoria Bridge across the Saint Law¬ 
rence River at Montreal, Canada, is tubular and 
nearly two miles long. It was completed in 1860 
at a cost of $6,300,000. 

The Eads’s Bridge across the Mississippi River 
from Saint Louis, Mo., to East Saint Louis, 
Ill., was designed by James Eads, begun in 1869, 
and completed in five years. It is regarded one 
of the most wonderful engineering products in 
America. The cost of the bridge and an im¬ 
mense tunnel under the city of Saint Louis was 
over $10,000,000. 

The bridge across the Ohio River at Louis¬ 
ville, Ky., is one of the largest iron bridges in 
America. It has twenty-seven spans, and is 
5,310 feet long. 

The Omaha Bridge, across the Missouri 
River, has eleven spans of 250 feet each, and a 


20 











BRIDGEPORT 


306 


BRIGANDAGE 


total length of 2,800 feet It is the longest 
swinging bridge ever constructed, having a 
swinging span of 520 feet. 

The largest bridge ever built was the Tay 
Bridge near Dundee, Scotland. It was com¬ 
pleted in 1877, and destroyed by a gale in 1879. 
This bridge had eighty-five spans, was 10,612 
feet long, and cost $10,750,000. 

BRIDGEPORT (brij'port), a seaport in 
Connecticut, county seat of Fairfield County, at 
the mouth of the Pequonnoc River, fifty-eight 
miles northeast of New York. It is on the New 
York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, 
has a good harbor on Long Island Sound, 
and carries an extensive navigation and railroad 
trade. The large sewing machine factories of. 
Wheeler, Wilson & Co. and Elias Howe fnade 
the city famous. Besides sewing machines, it 
manufactures clothing, saddlery, carriages, 
cigars, machinery, and cartridges. Among the 
chief buildings are the public library, the county 
courthouse, the post office, and the customhouse. 
It is noted for its fine schools and numerous 
institutions of learning, which include the Bar- 
num Memorial Institute. The city has exten¬ 
sive systems of waterworks, sewerage, and elec- 
trict street railways. It was chartered as a city 
in 1836. Population, 1900, 70,996; 1910, 102,054. 

BRIDGETON (brij'tun), county seat of 
Cumberland County, New Jersey, on Cohansey 
Creek, thirty-eight miles south of Philadelphia. 
It is conveniently located on the West Jersey 
and Seashore and the New Jersey Central rail¬ 
roads, and is a thriving business center. Its 
manufactories produce clothing, nails, glass, car¬ 
riages, and woolen goods, and include rolling 
mills and tanneries. There are numerous beau¬ 
tiful churches and educational institutions, in¬ 
cluding the West Jersey Academy, South Jer¬ 
sey Institute, and Ivy Hall Seminary. The city 
has rapid transit, pavements, waterworks, and 
several libraries. It was - settled before the Rev¬ 
olution and was incorporated in 1864. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 13,624. 

BRIDGETOWN, a city of the West Indies, 
capital of the island of Barbados. It is located 
on the western coast, along Carlisle Bay, and is 
the terminus of a railroad. The chief build¬ 
ings include a hospital, the town hall, and the 
government building. It has several fine 
churches, including the Church of Saint Mary 
and the Church of Saint Michael, and in Tra¬ 
falgar Square is a statue of Lord Nelson. It is 
fortified, having a well-equipped garrison. 
Bridgetown was originally called Indian Bridge. 
It was partly destroyed by fire in 1845 and has 
been visited by several hurricanes. Population, 
1906, 31,500. 


BRIDGEWATER (brij'wa-ter), a town of 
Massachusetts, in Plymouth County, twenty-six 
miles south of Boston, on the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford Railroad. It Has modern 
municipal facilities, including waterworks and 
electric lights. Among the chief industries are 
brickyards, a shoe factory, and machine shops. 
It is the seat of a State norma! school, a State 
workhouse, and has several fine school build¬ 
ings. The first settlement was made on its site 
in 1645, when it was known as Nuncketest, and 
in 1656 it was incorporated as Bridgewater. 
Population, 1905, 6,754. 

BRIDGEWATER, a town of Nova Scotia, 
in Lunenburg County, twelve miles west of 
Lunenburg. It is located at the head of the La 
Have Estuary, and has the main offices of the 
Nova Scotia Central Railway. Its buildings in¬ 
clude several schools and churches, and it has a 
good trade in merchandise. In 1899 it was partly 
destroyed by a fire. Population, 1906, 5,462. 

BRIGANDAGE (brig'and-aj), the name ap¬ 
plied to the system of robbery organized by 
gangs of highwaymen, who make their home in 
secluded places in the forests or among the 
mountains. Brigandage was at its height in the 
period of barbarism, when might was recog¬ 
nized as the only right, and those engaged in 
it practiced robbery upon wayfarers or held 
them for ransom. It is older than human his¬ 
tory, dating back to times before civilization 
had its rise. The history of Greece accounts 
that heroes distinguished themselves by sup¬ 
pressing it, and Hercules rid the country of 
robbers who infested the caverns. In Germany 
the so-called robber barons practiced brigand¬ 
age, and we have examples of it in British his¬ 
tory in Robin Hood and Dick Turpin. In 
France the name brigands was first applied to 
the mercenaries who occupied Paris in 1358, 
when King John was imprisoned. 

Brigandage is still practiced in semicivilized 
countries, or where the government does not 
exercise a vigorous policy in protecting the life 
and property of its citizens or those who may 
sojourn in the country. Regions not densely 
populated, even in highly civilized countries, 
are sometimes infested with brigands. We 
have examples of brigandage as late as 1901, 
when Ellen Stone was kidnapped in Macedonia 
and held for a ransom. She and her compan¬ 
ion, Madame Tsilka, were detained about five 
months, until Feb. 6, 1902, when they were 
released at Strumitza, Turkey, on payment of a 
ransom of $72,000. Several other noted cases 
of brigandage took place recently in Morocco 
and other countries bordering on the Mediter¬ 
ranean. Jesse James (q. v.) and other brigands 


BRIGHTON 


307 


BRISTOL 


committed train and bank robberies in the 
western section of the United States. These 
crimes were committed usually in small towns 
or in regions not densely populated, and to 
escape arrest the robbers destroyed telegraph 
connection. 

BRIGHTON (bri'tun), a seaport on the 
English Channel, in Sussex County, England, 
fifty miles south of London. It was made the 
summer residence* of George IV., then prince 
of Wales, in 1782, and has since been popular 
as a fashionable resort in the summer season, 
when about 30,000 visitors are here constantly. 
It is located on elevated cliffs and has many 
mineral springs. A promenade and drive over 
three miles long stretches between the city and 
the coast, one of the finest in Europe. It has 
beautiful edifices, fine gardens, and several col¬ 
leges and institutions devoted to learning. The 
aquarium contains a fine collection of marine 
life. Although Brighton has some trade and 
manufactures, it is noted particularly as a center 
of art and education and as a seaside resort. 
Population, 1907, 129,023. 

BRIGHT’S DISEASE, a granular disease 
of the kidneys, so named because Robert Bright 
(1789.-1858), an English physician, first made a 
diagnostic description of it. Its early symptoms 
consist of the secretion of urine containing a 
large amount of albumen and. less specific grav¬ 
ity than natural, attended by pain in the loins, 
frequent urination, indigestion, and finally 
dropsy. It is a fatal disease, remedies having 
only a palliative effect. It is* sometimes induced 
and always greatly aggravated by the use of 
alcoholic drinks. The most skillful treatment 
should be obtained on the appearance of the 
first symptoms. 

BRIMSTONE. See Sulphur. 

BRINDISI (bren'de-ze), a seaport city of 
Italy, in the province of Lecce, forty-five miles 
northeast of Taranto. It is situated on a bay 
of the Adriatic Sea, on a small promontory, 
and has railroad conveniences and a consider¬ 
able trade in produce and merchandise. The 
chief buildings include an ancient castle, a cathe¬ 
dral, and several schools and monasteries. The 
harbor was dredged by the government in 1860, 
and it is now entered by the largest sea-going 
vessels. Anciently it was important as a com¬ 
mercial center, but it declined until the opening 
of the Suez Canal, when it began to gain in 
foreign trade. Vergil died at Brindisi in 19 
b. c., and at the time of the Crusades it was 
important as their chief port for embarking to 
the Holy Land. Population, 1906, 26,347. 

BRISBANE (briz'ban), the capital of 
Queensland, Australia, on the Brisbane River, 


about twenty-five miles from its mouth. It oc¬ 
cupies a fine site, has an extensive harbor, and 
is the terminus of several railways and electric 
railroad lines. The river divides the city into 
two parts, known as North and South Brisbane, 
which are connected by the Victoria iron bridge. 
Among the chief buildings are the post office, 
two cathedrals, a university, and the State cap- 
itol, which was erected at a cost of about one 
million dollars. Brisbane has four parks and 
many large stone business buildings. It has 
waterworks, sewerage, stone and asphalt paving, 
and gas and electric lighting. The city was 
founded in 1825 as a penal colony by Sir 
Thomas Brisbane. When Queensland was set 
off as a separate colony in 1859, it became the 
capital, and has since made rapid progress in 
commerce and wealth. Population, 1906, 132,468. 

BRISTLES (bris's’ls), the coarse hairs of 
the hog and some other animals. They are 
glossy and stiff, and are largest on the back, 
especially in the wild boar. Bristles are used 
for various purposes in manufacturing, in mak¬ 
ing brushes and saddlery, and to some extent by 
shoemakers. The best grade is obtained from 
swine grown in cold countries, where the bris¬ 
tles are longer and stiffen Large quantities are 
secured from slaughterhouses in the United 
States and Canada, where they are a by-product. 
The best grades are imported from Russia and 
Germany. 

BRISTOL (bris'tul), a borough of Connec¬ 
ticut, in Hartford County, twenty miles south¬ 
west of Hartford, on the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford Railroad. It has a public 
library, a fine high school, and well-paved 
streets. The manufactures consist largely of 
machinery, clocks, ironware, and woolen and 
cotton goods. Among the municipal facilities 
are electric street railways, waterworks, and a 
system of sewerage. It was incorporated as a 
borough in 1893. Population, 1910, 9,527. 

BRISTOL, a borough of Pennsylvania, in 
Bucks County, twenty-two miles northeast of 
Philadelphia, opposite Burlington, N. J. It is 
on the Delaware River and on the Pennsylvania 
Railroad. Fine mineral springs abound in the 
vicinity. The manufactures include leather, 
yarn, woolen and cotton goods* machinery, iron 
tools, and farm implements. It was settled as 
early as 1681, when it was called Buckingham, 
but was incorporated as Bristol in 1720. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1900, 7,104; in 1910, 9,256. 

BRISTOL, a port city of Rhode Island, 
county seat of Bristol County, fifteen miles 
southeast of Providence, on the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford Railroad. It is situated on 
Narragansett Bay, which affords anchorage for 


BRISTOL 


308 


BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA 


large vessels, and has a lively trade in mer¬ 
chandise and manufactures. The harbor is safe 
and commodious, and it is the seat of shipbuild¬ 
ing yards. The manufactures include cotton, 
rubber, and woolen goods. A library and sev¬ 
eral schools and churches are among the public 
buildings. It is supposed that the Northmen 
built dwellings in the vicinity in 1000. The first 
settlement was made on its site in 1675, and it 
was incorporated in 1746. Population, 1910, 8,565. 

BRISTOL, a city of Tennessee, in Sullivan 
County, 128 miles northeast of Knoxville, on the 
Norfolk and Western and the Southern rail¬ 
roads. It has a growing trade in merchandise 
and farm produce. Among the manufactures 
are flour, cigars, cotton goods, ironware, and 
machinery. Besides having several fine public 
schools, it contains Kings College, Southwest 
Virginia Institute, and Sullins College.- It has 
a public library, waterworks, and electric street 
railways. Opposite the State line, in Virginia, 
is the town of Bristol, with a population of 
4,579. Bristol, in Tennessee, in 1900, had a 
population of 5,271; in 1910, 7,148. 

BRISTOL, an important city between 
Gloucestershire and Somersetshire, England, but 
forming a county in itself. The city is prom¬ 
inent partly because of its mercantile business 
and partly on account of its early history. It 
was made a county by itself in 1373 by Edward 
III. Henry VIII. made it the seat of a bishop¬ 
ric in 1542. It is the seat of many notable 
buildings, among them a cathedral founded in 
1142 and Saint Mary Redcliff Church, founded 
in 1293. The newer buildings include the public 
library, the University College, the Queen Eliz¬ 
abeth Hospital, an observatory, and the Clifton 
College. Large coal mines are operated in the 
vicinity. The city has chemical works, sugar 
refineries, soap works, glass works, potteries, 
tanneries, ship yards, and machine factories. 
It carries an important jobbing business and a 
large export and import trade. It is built on 
both sides of the Avon River, which is crossed 
by the famous Bristol suspension bridge, 705 
feet long and 245 feet above high-water mark. 
Extensive docks are maintained on the Avon 
and at Avonmouth and Portishead. The Great 
Western, one of the first steamers to cross the 
Atlantic, was built' in Bristol in 1838. The 
noted philanthropist Colston founded a number 
of charities in the city, and a holiday is 
set apart to his honor. It has gas and electric 
lighting, stone and asphalt pavements, water¬ 
works, a system of sewerage, and many hos¬ 
pitals and charitable institutions. Bristol was 
known as Bricgstow to the Saxons. Popula¬ 
tion, 1907, 367,979. 


BRISTOL CHANNEL, the largest inlet of 
Great Britain, extending from the Atlantic 
Ocean, between the southern peninsula of Eng¬ 
land and the southern shores of Wales, and 
forming the estuary of the Severn. It is about 
eighty-five miles long, from five to forty-five 
miles wide, and has a coast of about 225 miles. 
It is remarkable for its high tides, or bores, 
which roll up the channel at a height of from 
six to forty feet. Among the rivers that flow 
into it are the Severn, Avon, Wye,. Axe, and 
Torridge. Lundy Island is near the entrance. 

BRITISH AMERICA, the possessions of 
Great Britain in North America, located north 
of the United States, and including the Do¬ 
minion of Canada and Newfoundland. Its area 
is 3,677,500 square miles and population 5,987,- 
698. See Canada and Newfoundland. 

BRITISH ASSOCIATION for the Ad¬ 
vancement of Science, an important society 
of Great Britain, whose object is to bring to¬ 
gether eminent men to promote discovery and 
to diffuse the results of scientific research. This 
association was organized in 1831 under the 
leadership of David Brewster, and its first 
meeting was held on Sept. 26 of that year at 
York. The second meeting was held at Oxford 
in 1832, and since then the meetings have been 
regular each year, usually the latter part of 
August. Two meetings were held in Canada, 
one at Montreal in 1884 and the other at To¬ 
ronto in 1897. The membership of the society is 
about 5,500. It is supported by fees and annual 
dues. The income is larger than needed for 
actual support, and the surplus is used to pro¬ 
mote investigations and scientific researches. 
The general meeting is presided over by the 
president, who delivers an.annual address, after 
which meetings are held by the ten sections, 
each having its own committee and presiding 
officer. 

BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA, or Nyas- 

saland, a colonial possession of Great Britain 
in the east central part of Africa. It is bounded 
by Lake Nyassa, Portuguese East Africa, Ger¬ 
man East Africa, and the Congo Free State. 
Southeast of it is Rhodesia, of which it is an 
extension. The area is 41,800 square miles. 
The surface is an elevated plateau, and the 
drainage is chiefly by the Shire River. It has 
an abundant rainfall, but the climate is not as 
healthful as that of the country lying toward 
the south. Coffee, ivory, tobacco, and rubber 
are exported, and the chief imports are machin¬ 
ery and clothing. Blantyre, the largest town, 
has a population of 7,500, including about one 
hundred Europeans. The protectorate was or¬ 
ganized in 1891, and since then mining and 


BRITISH COLUMBIA 


309 


BRITISH COLUMBIA 


farming have been introduced. Zomba, in the 
Shire region, is the seat of government. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1907, 928,451. 

BRITISH COLUMBIA, the most westerly 
Province of the Dominion of Canada, located 
between north latitudes 49° and 60°. It is 
bounded on the north by Yukon and Mackenzie, 
east by Alberta, south by the United States, and 
west by Alaska and the Pacific Ocean. From 
north to south it has a length of-740 miles; 
breadth from east to west, 620 miles; and area, 
312,630 square miles. The coast line, including 
indentations, is about 12,000 miles. 

Description. The surface is mountainous, ex¬ 
cept in the northeastern part, which lies in the 



basin of the Mackenzie River. The mountains 
are outer fringes of the Cordilleras of North 
America, and the chains extend from southeast 
toward the northwest. Ranges of the Cascade 
Mountains, which attain elevations ranging be¬ 
tween 7,000 and 8,000 feet, trend through the 
western part, and between them and the coast 
is the comparatively low Coast Range. In the 
southeastern part, extending almost parallel to 
the principal chain of the Rocky Mountains on 


the line of Alberta, are the Gold Range and Sel¬ 
kirk Range. These mountains are the highest 
of those in the southern part, and their loftiest 
peaks, including Victoria, Leroy, and Dawson, 
have a height of from 9,000 to 11,600 feet. 
However, the highest summits are near the 
boundary of Alaska, where peaks of the Rocky 
Mountains rise to elevations which approxi¬ 
mate 16,000 feet. These include Mount Colum¬ 
bia, 14,000 feet; Robson Peak, 13,700 feet; and 
Mount Fairweather, 15,340 feet. Kicking Horse 
Pass, where the Canadian Pacific Railroad 
crosses the continental watershed, is 5,300 feet, 
and north Kootenay Pass is 6,550 feet above the 
sea, while the mountains in the vicinity rise 
about 10,000 feet and are covered with snow 
the entire year. 

The Columbia drains the southeastern portion 
and crosses into the United States, discharging 
into the Pacific. Through the south central 
part flows the Fraser, which rises near the line 
of Alberta, has a course toward the northwest, 
and then turns and flows almost dye south to a 
point near the southern boundary, when it turns 
toward the west and discharges into the Strait 
of Georgia. In the northern part are the Taku, 
Stikine, Nass, and Skeena, which flow into the 
Pacific, the Liard, a tributary of the Mackenzie, 
and the Peace, which joins the Athabasca in Al¬ 
berta. A number of lakes are distributed 
through the central part, all of them quite long 
and narrow. They include lakes Kootenay, 
Okanagan, Upper and Lower Arrow, Tacla, Ba- 
bine, and Stuart. The sea coast is serrated 
and characterized by rugged cliffs and fiordlike 
estuaries. Near the mainland are a large num¬ 
ber of islands, but all are small, except Van¬ 
couver and the Queen Charlotte Islands. 

Climate and Soil. The climate is warmer 
than that of any other province in Canada, on 
account of the warm winds from the Pacific, 
and differs greatly from that of the cold region 
of the Atlantic coast. These winds modify the 
temperature noticeably in most of the province, 
but much of their moisture is given up when 
they come in contact with the higher altitudes 
of the Coast Range; hence the climate is less 
uniform in the eastern part and the rainfall is 
less copious. At Victoria, on Vancouver Island, 
the average temperature for January is 37° and 
for July 60°, and flowers bloom in the garden 
the entire year. The climate at Vancouver is 
practically the same, but in the interior the 
temperature varies from 40° below zero in win¬ 
ter to 100° above in midsummer. Rainfall is 
most abundant along the coast, ranging from 40 
inches at Victoria to about 100 inches in the 
northern part, and diminishing toward the east- 





BRITISH COLUMBIA 


310 


BRITISH COLUMBIA 


era part, where some localities do not have suffi¬ 
cient to farm without irrigation. The rains and 
snows are heaviest on the western slopes, and 
the passes of the Gold Range and Selkirks have 
glaciers and snowfall to the depth of thirty 
feet. The Chinook winds make the Peace River 
valley pleasant and agriculture profitable in 
that section. 

Flora and Fauna. The forest resources pos¬ 
sess much value, and the trees are of a northern 
type. Dense forests are particularly abundant 
on the western slopes of the coast ranges, and a 
heavy growth of timber covers the eastern 
slopes, but the high plateau of the interior is 
almost treeless. The white cedar is found in 
large quantities widely distributed, but the yel¬ 
low cedar is confined to the northern region. 
Forests of spruce and hemlock abound. Other 
trees of commercial value are the oak, cherry, 
fir, yellow pine, yew, white maple, cottonwood, 
and arbor vitae. Fish are abundant in all the 
streams and off the coast, particularly the sal¬ 
mon, which is caught in large quantities at the 
mouth of the Fraser and other rivers. The wild 
animals include the moose, caribou, deer, big¬ 
horn, bear, puma, and wild cat. 

Minerals. Many valuable minerals are found 
in British Columbia. Gold was discovered in 
1851 in the gravel along the rivers, from which 
it was obtained in paying quantities, but placer 
mining is not carried on to a great extent at 
present. The Kootenay district has been the 
chief source of gold, but mining has been de¬ 
veloped in the mountains farther north. A fine 
grade of bituminous coal is obtained on Van¬ 
couver Island and in the Rocky Mountains. 
Copper is mined in the' southeastern portion. 
Other minerals include silver, lead, and plati¬ 
num. 

Industries. Agriculture is growing steadily, 
both in the production of cereals and in rearing 
live stock. Many of the valleys are remarkable 
for their fertility, such as that of the lower 
Fraser, where farming has reached a high de¬ 
gree of development. The cereals grown in¬ 
clude wheat, oats, barley, rye, and millet. Fruit 
is cultivated successfully, including interests in 
most of the varieties common to the temperate 
latitudes. Irrigation has been introduced in the 
arid regions of the interior, but most of the 
farming is done where the rainfall is abundant, 
including some sections of the Peace River val¬ 
ley. 

The salmon fishing and canning industry is an 
important enterprise. Many canneries are lo¬ 
cated on the coast and along the rivers, espe¬ 
cially on the Nass, Skeena, and Fraser. The 
canneries of the Fraser River produce about 


one-half of the salmon packed in British Co¬ 
lumbia, and those of the Skeena are second in 
importance. Fur sealing is an important enter¬ 
prise. Other fisheries which are prolific as a 
source of wealth include those of the cod, her¬ 
ring, halibut, and sturgeon. 

While mining and the fisheries have ranked 
as the two leading industries, there has been 
much development in lumbering. The Douglas 
fir, or Oregon pine, yields vast quantities of 
choice building material. Many specimens of 
this tree have a diameter ranging from ten to 
eighteen feet and a height of three hundred 
feet. It is exceeded in size by the cedars, whose 
diameters reach twenty feet in some individual 
specimens. However, both furnish a valuable 
grade of lumber. Other varieties used in lum¬ 
bering include the cypress, hemlock, yew, and 
yellow pine. Vast quantities of timber are ex¬ 
ported to Europe, Africa, and South America. 

Many of the rivers are navigable and furnish 
important transportation facilities to carry trade 
with interior points. Some of the lakes, though 
not connected with the ocean by navigable 
streams, are used in transporting locally by 
steamboat. The Canadian Pacific Railway has 
a transcontinental line through the southern 
portion with the terminus at Vancouver, whence 
traffic is carried by steamer to Victoria, which 
has railroad facilities by lines on Vancouver 
Island. The line of the Grand Trunk Railway 
passes through the central part, with the ter¬ 
minus at Prince Rupert, near the mouth of the 
Skeena River. Vancouver, Victoria, New West¬ 
minster, Prince Rupert, and Ladysmith are 
among the ports. 

Government. The executive branch of gov¬ 
ernment is vested in a lieutenant governor, ap¬ 
pointed by the Governor General of the Do¬ 
minion, and he is assisted by an executive 
council of five members. The legislative author¬ 
ity is vested in a single chamber of thirty-three 
members elected by the people. A system of 
public schools is supported by taxation, and 
includes common, graded, and high schools, all 
of which are free and undenominational. Many 
private schools and colleges are maintained, 
including denominational colleges at New West¬ 
minster and Vancouver. The people are very 
largely Protestants, including Anglicans, Pres¬ 
byterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Lutherans. 
In 1901 the Catholics numbered 34,227 and the 
Buddhists, mostly Japanese, numbered 10,027. 

Inhabitants. The population is made up 
largely of Canadians and Europeans, including 
English, Irish, and German. The Indian popu¬ 
lation is about 25,000, and the Chinese and 
Japanese together number 20,000. Victoria, the 


BRITISH EAST AFRICA 


311 


BRITISH ISLES 


capital, is located on Vancouver Island. Other 
important cities include Vancouver, Nanaimo, 
Nelson, Rossland, Ladysmith, and New West¬ 
minster. The population of the province, in 
1901, was 178,657. 

History. Captain Cook explored a part of 
the coast of British Columbia in 1787, and a 
settlement was made by the English ten years 
later at Nootka. However, the settlement was 
broken up by the Spanish, who claimed the 
coast as far north as latitude 61°, where the ter¬ 
ritory of Russia was supposed to end. In 1846 
the question of possession was settled by diplo¬ 
macy, when the United States relinquished its 
claim and the territory now in British Colum¬ 
bia became a possession of the British crown. 
The claims of the United States were based on 
the Louisiana Purchase and explorations made 
by Lewis and Clarke, out of which grew the 
campaign cry of “54-40 or fight,” at the time 
Polk was elected President of the United 
States. Vancouver Island was organized as a 
crown colony as early as 1849, but little progress 
was made in developing the country until the 
discovery of gold in 1858, when settlers began 
to pour into British Columbia, and it was made 
a crown colony the same year. The two colo¬ 
nies were united in 1866 as a political entity 
under the name of British Columbia. In 1873 
a dispute in regard to the. boundary was sub¬ 
mitted to the Emperor of Germany, who 
awarded San Juan Island to the United States. 
The colony entered the Dominion in 1871, under 
an agreement that the federal government 
should provide railway connection with the At¬ 
lantic coast, and this was accomplished in 1887, 
when the Canadian Pacific Railway was 
opened for traffic. 

BRITISH EAST AFRICA, a large terri¬ 
tory within the British sphere of influence, lo¬ 
cated between Abyssinia and German East 
Africa, and extending from the Indian Ocean 
to the Congo Free State. The boundaries are 
not well defined, since there has been no def¬ 
inite agreement in regard to the boundary be¬ 
tween it and Abyssinia. It includes the islands 
of Pemba and Zanzibar, and has an area of 
about 1,000,000 square miles. For the purpose 
of government, it is divided into the three pro¬ 
tectorates known as Uganda, British East 
Africa, and Zanzibar. The former two are ad¬ 
ministered by British commissioners located at 
Entebbe and Mombasa, and the last mentioned 
is under a native sultan, who is advised by a 
British agent. 

The region is rich in minerals, especially iron 
and copper. Fruit, palms, and spices are abun¬ 
dant on the coastal plain. The interior is not 


rich in vegetation, especially in the arid high¬ 
lands, where large tracts have a scanty growth 
of small grasses. Forests of evergreen trees 
abound in many parts, and in the jungles are 
vast growths of bamboo. The large mammals 
of Africa are numerous, including the hippopot¬ 
amus, elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, and ante¬ 
lope; the reptiles include the python, cobra, and 
crocodile; and the birds are especially numer¬ 
ous, among them being the pelican, flamingo,, 
weaver bird, and sunbird. 

A railroad extends from Mombasa, on the 
Atlantic, to Lake Victoria Nyanza, a distance 
of 584 miles, and will be connected with the 
Cape-to-Cairo line. Rubber, ivory, hide, grain, 
copra, and live stock are exported. The inhab¬ 
itants are chiefly Arabs and Negroes. Most of 
the trade is in the hands of the Arabs at Zanzi¬ 
bar and near the coast, and the farming and 
pastoral regions of the interior are occupied by 
the Bantu and Nilotic Negro races. Population, 
5,150,000. 

BRITISH GUIANA. See Guiana. 

BRITISH HONDURAS (hon-dob'ras), or 
Belize, a colony in Central America, belonging 
to the crown of Great Britain. It is situated 
east of Guatemala and southeast of Mexico, and 
has an extensive coast line on the Caribbean 
Sea. Its area is 7,562 square miles. The coast 
is quite low and swampy and the western part 
is diversified by hills and valleys. Among the 
chief products are fruit, mahogany, logwood, 
coffee, sugar, rubber, and live stock. This col¬ 
ony is still unprofitable, since the revenues sel¬ 
dom equal the expenditures, and it is necessary 
for the home government to grant aid. At pres¬ 
ent the indebtedness is placed at 170,000. Be¬ 
lize, population 9,113, is the capital and chief 
commercial city. 

The inhabitants consist principally of Ne¬ 
groes and Indians, including only about 400 
whites. A large number of elementary and 
three secondary schools are maintained. The 
language is a mixture of native tongues with 
English and Spanish. Numerous attempts have 
been made to throw off British rule, but English 
sovereignty has been recognized since 1783. 
Since 1884 it has been a separate colony. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1906, 41,007. 

BRITISH ISLES, an archipelago of Europe, 
located off the western coast of that continent. 
It is bounded on the north and west by the At¬ 
lantic Ocean, east by the North Sea, and south 
by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. 
Great Britain and Ireland are the chief islands, 
besides which are included the Shetland Islands, 
the Hebrides, the Orkneys, and the Channel 
Islands. 





BRITISH MUSEUM 


312 


BROCKVILLE 


BRITISH MUSEUM (mu-ze'um), the 
largest national institution of Great Britain, 
located on Great Russel Street, London. It was 
founded in 1753, when Sir Hans Sloane donated 
his library collection of about 50,000 books and 
manuscripts on condition that $100,000 be paid 
to his heirs, which was much less than half the 
cost. The Montague House was purchased and 
opened as a seat for the library in 1759. A new 
building, was erected in 1823, and the present 
large structure was completed in 1857, but ex¬ 
tensive additions were made in 1882 and since. 
The main structure is 375 feet long. About 
200,000 persons use the reading rooms each 
year, and it is visited by about 700,000 persons 
annually. The printed books include a total of 
about 2,000,000 volumes, being exceeded in 
number only by the Bibliotheque Nationale of 
France., In addition to this collection of books, 
it contains many pamphlets and manuscripts. 

The museum is open and free to the public. 
It is lighted with electric lights and has every 
convenience of modern invention. Priceless 
rarities of every age and every country are on 
the shelves, constituting one of the most valu¬ 
able collections in the world. There are a 
number of departments, each of which is located 
in a suitable part of the buildings, and the whole 
is under the direction of forty-eight trustees, of 
whom the chief officers are the Archbishop of 
Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, and the 
Speaker of the House of Commons. The most 
important departments include those of Printed 
Books, Maps, Manuscripts, British and Medi¬ 
aeval Antiquities, Egyptian and Assyrian An¬ 
tiquities, Greek and Roman Antiquities, Coins 
and Medals, and Prints and Drawings. The 
collections represent every noted personage and 
all industries, sciences, arts, and discoveries of 
ancient and modern research. It has been fit¬ 
tingly said that the museum is a “perpetual mon¬ 
ument of the munificence, judgment, and liberal 
taste of its royal founder, a splendid ornament to 
the throne and a perpetual benefit to learning.” 

BRITISH NEW GUINEA. See New 
Guinea. 

BRITTANY (brit'ta-ny), or Bretagne, an 
ancient province in western France, consisting 
of a large triangular peninsula that projects 
into the Atlantic. The region now includes the 
five departments of Morbihan, Finistere, Ille- 
et-Vilaine, Cotes-du-Nord, and Loire-Inferieure. 
It has an area of 18,644 square miles. The 
people, called Bretons, are descendants of the 
Bretons who were expelled from England in 
the 5th century. They retained their ancient 
language, known as the Armorigion, which is 
similar to the Welsh, and is still used in the 


rural districts. The people engage largely in 
fishing and agriculture, and are noted as brave 
seamen. This region of France has not been 
interested extensively in manufacturing and 
commerce, but these industries are beginning 
to assume considerable importance. Many re¬ 
mains of the ancient Druids have been pre¬ 
served in Brittany. The folklore and songs 
of the Bretons are among the richest, many 
entering as modifying factors into the writings 
in other languages. The district has been 
subject to many military contentions, but the 
people have shown marked loyalty to the 
French government, especially to the house of 
Bourbon. A majority of the people speak 
French and belong to the Roman Catholic 
Church. Population, 1906, 3,258,314. 

BROCADE (bro-kad'), a silk fabrio, woven 
so the raised threads of the warp or woof 
produces figures of flowers, foliage, or other 
objects. The term is not applied to figures 
embroidered on silk textiles, but is restricted 
to those made in the loom. Originally the 
threads were made entirely of gold or silver, 
or of the two mixed, and cloth of this kind 
was used in making the most costly dresses. 

BROCKEN (brok'ken), or Blocksberg, a 
mountain of Germany, in the province of 
Saxony, 20 miles - southwest of Halberstadt. 
It has an elevation, of 3,745 feet above the 
sea and is the highest summit of the Hartz 
Mountains. From its top the observer has a 
fine view of the surrounding country. It is 
famous in folklore, owing to the fact that the 
atmospheric conditions cause shadows of the 
spectators to be projected on the fog, which 
are best seen at sunrise. See Walpurgis 
Night. 

BROCKTON (brok'tun), a city of Plymouth 
County, Massachusetts, about twenty miles 
south of Boston, called Bridgewater prior to 
1874. It is noted for its great wealth and the 
manufacture of boots and shoes, in which it 
takes very high rank. The general manufac¬ 
tures include shoe tools, machinery, paper, and 
wooden boxes. It carries a large jobbing trade 
in merchandise. Gas and electric lights, water¬ 
works, stone and asphalt pavements, and elec¬ 
tric street railways are among the improve¬ 
ments. The city library has 45,500 volumes. 
It was first settled in 1700 and received its 
charter as a city in 1881. Population, 1905, 
47,782; in 1910, 56,878. 

BROCKVILLE (brok'vil), a city in Ontario, 
county seat, of Leeds County, on the Skint 
Lawrence River, about forty miles from Kings¬ 
ton. It is conveniently located on the Grand 
Trunk Railway, surrounded by a rich agricul- 


BROKEN WIND 


313 


BRONZE AGE 


tural country, and engages extensively in the 
manufacture of flour, hardware, farming im¬ 
plements, engines, and large machinery. The 
chief buildings include the courthouse, the 
public library, the high school, and the town 
hall. It has a system of sewerage, waterworks, 
and electric railways. Brockville was named 
from Sir Isaac Brock. Population, 1901, 15,901. 

BROKEN WIND, or Heaves, an incurable 
disease in 'horses, due to a rupture of the air 
cells in the lungs. It is accompanied by an 
enlargement of the lungs and heart. The 
symptoms are most noticeable when the horse 
is exercised, which causes the blood to be 
imperfectly purified, causing the nostrils to 
dilate and the breathing to become labored. 
The inspiration in breathing is rapid, but expi¬ 
ration is difficult and requires about double the 
usual time. In advanced stages of the disease 
two efforts are necessafy in exhaling, one rap¬ 
idly succeeding the other. 

BROKER (bro'ker), an agent who engages 
in the business of negotiating contracts rela¬ 
tive to trade or commerce in consideration of 
a definite per cent, of the profits, or of a fixed 
salary. Brokers differ from other classes of 
agents in that they do not have the custody of 
the property they offer for sale. The com¬ 
pensation they receive is called brokerage, or 
commission. Insurance brokers are agents for 
underwriters, who insure owners of vessels 
and transporters of commodities against losses. 
Stock brokers deal in shares of stock compa¬ 
nies and monetary investments, ship brokers 
transact business for owners of vessels, and 
bill brokers buy and sell bills of exchange for 
others. 

BROMINE (bro'mln), one of the nonmetal- 
lic chemical elements. It was discovered by 
Antoine Jerome Balard (1802-76), a French 
chemist, while he was extracting common salt 
from sea water. This element is not found 
in the isolated state, but occurs in minute quan¬ 
tities in sea water, in the ashes of marine 
plants, in combination with alkalis, and in the 
water of some mineral springs. It has a dark 
reddish color when in the liquid form, freezes 
at 19.4°, and boils at 145.4°. It is poisonous, 
has a suffocating odor, and combines readily 
with metals. The most important use of bro¬ 
mine is for the manufacture of bromide of 
potassium, which is used in photography and 
medicine, and it has value as a disinfectant 
and for bleaching. It is made extensively 
from the salt water of mineral springs at Stass- 
furt, Germany, Syracuse, N. Y., the Kanawha 
region in West Virginia, and other sections of 
the United States. 


BRONCHI (bron'ki), the divisions of the 
trachea or windpipe, which conveys the air 
into the lungs. The trachea divides in the 
chest, forming two bronchi, one of which 
enters the right and the other the left lung, 
where they divide and subdivide to form mi¬ 
nute tubes. The walls of these tubes are com¬ 
posed of fibro-muscular tissue strengthened 
by plates of cartilege, and at the extremity is 
a cluster of air cells. 

BRONCHITIS (bron-ki'tis), an inflamma¬ 
tion of the bronchial tubes leading from the 
trachea to the lungs, and affecting the mucous 
membrane. There are several forms of the 
disease, designated as acute, chronic, plastic, 
mechanical, and syphilitic. All varieties are 
preceded by a cold in the chest, but later com¬ 
plications may set in and render the disease 
dangerous. The early symptoms include pain 
in the chest, shortness of breath, and the ex¬ 
pectoration of mucus. Sometimes the disease 
takes on an acute form or merges into pneu¬ 
monia. 

BRONCHO (bron'ko), a nearly unbroken 
native horse, usually an Indian pony or one 
bred from Indian stock, also called mustang. 
The term is used commonly in the western 
part of the United States, where it is applied 
to small, active horses. It is said to be from a 
Spanish word which signifies that they can 
never be broken. 

BRONZE (bronz), a fine-grained alloy of 
copper and tin, in variable proportions. It is 
harder and more fusible than copper, and is. 
used chiefly in making church bells, cannon, 
statues, utensils, and various useful appliances. 
The ancients used it largely for weapons and 
utensils, and it has been found among the an¬ 
tiquities of China, Egypt, Assyria, Europe, 
and Mexico. In making the common bronze 
the proportions are about nine parts copper to 
one of tin; in instruments, twelve to one; in 
machinery, eight to one; in musical bells, six 
to one, and in large bells, three to one. The 
metals are melted separately, and they are after¬ 
ward united in a molten state and cast in molds. 
In some kinds of bronze, zinc, silver, and lead 
are added, while aluminum and copper also make 
a bronze alloy. The bronze formed of alumi¬ 
num and copper is strong, ductile, and mallea¬ 
ble. The proportion is one of the former to 
nine of the latter. 

BRONZE AGE, the term used to denote 
the stage of culture of a people at the time 
of using bronze for implements and weapons. 
The classification includes the three ages in 
this order: the stone age, the bronze age , and 
the iron age. It was adopted and developed 




BROOK FARM 


314 


BROOM 


by Danish scholars, including Nilsson, Thomp- 
sen, and Forchhammer. The classification 
does not apply equally to all nations, nor to 
different nations in the same period. The 
stone age existed in some countries while 
others were passing through the bronze and 
iron ages. In the stone age the weapons or 
implements consisted of stone and bone, metal 
being yet unknown. In the bronze age the 
method of alloying copper and tin had been 
discovered, but iron was yet undiscovered. 
Later iron took the place of bronze. These 
views have been adopted by geologists, though 
some think the age of copper intervened be¬ 
tween that of stone and bronze. In Denmark, 
during the age of bronze, the oak was the 
dominant tree; the Scotch fir having flourished 
in the stone age, but became extinct in the 
bronze age, while the beech was and remains 
the prevailing tree of the iron age. Among the 
tools of the bronze age of different countries are 
found saws, hammers, awls, sickles, knives, dag¬ 
gers, swords, axes, spears, arrows, anvils, gouges, 
and shields. The composition of bronze varies 
with different periods and the size and form 
of the implements were changed frequently. 
The composition of bronze consisted mostly of 
ten parts of tin to ninety of copper. In some 
cases other metals were added. 

BROOK FARM, a community established 
at West Roxbury, Mass., by George Ripley 
(q. v.) in 1841. The organizer associated with 
himself a number of men and women promi¬ 
nent in American History, and announced that 
the object was to substitute a system of broth¬ 
erly cooperation for one of selfish competi¬ 
tion. No distinction was made in regard to 
sex, but all were required to work a definite 
time each day for the common good, the pro¬ 
ceeds to be shared equally by the members. All 
ate at the same table, had a share in the prop¬ 
erty, and had access to its social and literary 
advantages. The community was maintained by 
teaching children for a compensation, and by 
selling its products on the market. After sev¬ 
eral years a number of the leading members 
became discouraged and the community sus¬ 
tained financial loss. In 1846 some of the best 
buildings were destroyed by fire, and the enter¬ 
prise was finally abandoned the following year. 
Among the members of this socialistic venture 
were Charles A. Dana, George W. Curtis, W. 
B. Charming, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson 
Alcott, Margaret Fuller, and Theodore Par¬ 
ker. Hawthorne made use of many of his 
experiences at Brook Farm in writing his work 
of fiction entitled “Blithedale Romance.” 

BROOKFIELD, a city in Linn county, Mis¬ 


souri, on Yellow Creek, twenty-four miles east 
of ChilliGOthe. It is on the Chicago, Burling¬ 
ton and Quincy Railroad, and is surrounded by 
a region rich in coal deposits. The chief build¬ 
ings ihclude the public high school, the library, 
and extensive railroad shops. It has manufac¬ 
tures of brick, flour, and machinery. Electric 
lights, waterworks, and sewerage are among 
the improvements. It was incorporated in 1865. 
Population, 1900, 5,484; in 1910, 5,749 

BROOKLINE (brook'lin), a town in Nor¬ 
folk County, Massachusetts, four miles west 
of Boston, on the Charles River. It is on the 
Boston and Albany and other railroads, and 
is connected with Boston by a system of elec¬ 
tric railways. Brookline is a suburban resi¬ 
dence portion of Boston, and was originally a 
part of that city, but was incorporated sepa¬ 
rately in 1705. The chief buildings include a 
public library with 46,500 volumes, the Riding 
Academy, and many villas and country seats. 
It has manufactories of clothing, machinery, 
and electrical supplies. With it are included 
the villages of Longwood, Reservoir Station, 
and Cottage Farm. Population, 1910, 27,792. 

BROOKLYN (brook'lin), the “City of 
Churches,” formerly one of the largest and 
most important cities in the United States, but 
united with the city of Greater New York in 
1898 by a legislative bill passed May 11, 1896. 
This portion of New York City is located on 
the west end of Long Island, and is connected 
with the other portion of the great city over 
the East River by the Brooklyn Suspension 
Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the new 
East River Bridge. Intercommunication is fur¬ 
ther facilitated by the extension of the Subway 
under the East River and by many lines of 
ferries. It is noted as a financial center, has 
many valuable structures, is improved by all 
modern conveniences, and is beautified by parks 
and other public improvements. The first set¬ 
tlement on its site was made by the Dutch in 
1636, and it was incorporated as a city in 1834. 
At the time of its union with New York the city 
contained a population of 995,276. It is now 
divided into twenty-one aldermanic districts 
and represented by that number of aldermen in 
the common council. Population, 1905, 1,358,- 
891; in 1910, 1,634,351. See New York. 

BROOM (broom), a plant of the bean fam¬ 
ily, native to many parts of Europe. It has 
yellow flowers and grows in heaths and sandy 
soil. Several species have been described, some 
of which are shrubs. The common broom is 
planted for its fiber and a yellow dye obtained 
from its flower. The white broom is cultivated 
in England as an ornamental shrub. It bears 


BROOM CORN 


315 


BRUNN 


white flowers and attains a height of twelve to 
fifteen feet. 

BROOM CORN (korn), a name applied to 
two plants with jointed stems belonging to the 
order of grasses. The panicles of a species be¬ 
longing to the sorghum vulgare are made into 
brooms for sweeping and clothes brushes. The 
seeds are valuable as food for cattle and poultry. 
It grows to a height of twelve to fifteen feet, and 
is cultivated very much like corn. There are 
numerous species, all of which are produced 
chiefly in America, where the annual production 
is valued at several million dollars. See Sor¬ 
ghum. 

BROTHERHOOD OF ANDREW AND 
PHILIP, a society organized in 1888 by Rufus 
W. Miller, a pastor of the Reformed Church 
at Reading, Pa. Its purpose is to foster good 
will and Christian fellowship and to spread the 
Christian faith by enjoining its members to 
bring people within hearing of the gospel. To 
this organization belong many members of 
evangelical denominations. In 1908 it had 920 
chapters and a membership of 32,000, and was 
promoted by organizations in the United States, 
Canada, Australia, and Asia. 

BROTHERHOOD OF SAINT AN¬ 
DREW, an organization of the Protestant Epis¬ 
copal Church. It was founded in Chicago 
in 1883, at Sa’int James Parish. The object is 
to spread the kingdom of Christ among young 
men. Two departments are maintained, the 
junior and the brotherhood, and the local chap¬ 
ter is the unit of organization. In 1908 the 
junior department had 8,000 members and the 
brotherhood proper had 15,000. Pittsburg, Pa., 
is the headquarters. Organization work is pro¬ 
moted in all the continents. 

BROWN, in painting, a dark color formed 
by a mixture of red and black, and then modi¬ 
fied by a small addition of yellow. It belongs 
to the colors known as russets and olives, in 
which a black or a dark pigment modifies the 
hue. Umber, bister, and brown madder are 
among the brown pigments. 

BROWNSVILLE, a city and port of entry 
in Texas, county seat of Cameron County, on 
the Rio Grande, opposite Matamoros, Mexico. 
It is on the Rio Grande Railroad, is surrounded 
by a stock-raising district, and has a large rail¬ 
road and navigation commerce. Besides having 
good schools, it is the seat of Saint Joseph s 
College and Convent, a Roman Catholic insti¬ 
tution. Among the chief buildings are the post 
office, county courthouse, customhouse, and 
town'hall. It has manufactures of cigars, cloth¬ 
ing earthenware, and machinery. Electric 
lights and waterworks are among the public 


utilites. It was settled in 1848 and incorpo¬ 
rated in 1853. In November, 1863, it was cap¬ 
tured by the Federals under General Banks. 
Population, 1900, 6,305; in 1910, 10,517. 

BROWN UNIVERSITY, one of the oldest 
educational institutions in the United States, 
founded in 1764 at Warren, R. I., and moved to 
Providence four years later. It has sixteen 
buildings, eighty instructors, and about 1,000 
students. Its productive fund is about $1,800,- 
000, with an annual income of $250,000. The 
library has 112,500 volumes. Degrees in sci¬ 
ences, arts, and engineering are conferred. It 
is under the direction of the Baptist denomina¬ 
tion, but the instruction is nonsectarian. The 
college known as the Woman’s College of 
Brown University was established in 1891. 
Nicholas Brown, in whose honor the university 
was named, was its principal benefactor. 

BRUGES (bru'jez), an ancient city of Bel¬ 
gium, capital of West Flanders, about fifty-six 
miles northwest of Brussels and eight miles 
from the sea. It is known in history from the 
3d century and was the center of the world’s 
commerce in the 12th century, when it had a 
population of jnore than 200,000, and carried 
on an extensive trade with all the leading coun¬ 
tries known at that time. It is inclosed within 
walls, has been the seat of great military con¬ 
tentions, and was an important factor in the 
history of the Middle Ages. It is now a rail¬ 
road and canal center, commerce reaching it by 
the largest sea vessels through three canals 
which connect it with the sea. However, it 
has lost much of its importance, alike from the 
standpoint of commerce, manufactures, and 
population. There are numerous modern im¬ 
provements, including fine schools, rapid tran¬ 
sit, and several libraries. It has a remarkable 
tower 354 feet high, containing a set of excel¬ 
lent chimes. Other important structures in¬ 
clude the palace of justice, the Hotel de Ville, 
and the Church of Notre Dame. The last men¬ 
tioned is in the early Gothic style of architec¬ 
ture and contains the tombs of Mary of Bur¬ 
gundy and Charles the Bold. In the art galler¬ 
ies are many paintings and sculptures, including 
productions by Jakob van Oost, Hans Memling, 
and Cornelius van Dyck. It was the residence 
of the printer Caxton. Besides commercial in¬ 
terests, the city has manufactures of textile 
goods, laces, ornamental work, and machinery. 
The shipbuilding yards and breweries are ex¬ 
tensive. Bruges belonged to the Netherlands 
from 1814 until 1830, and in the latter year 
was annexed to Belgium. Population, 1906, 
53,486. 

BRUNN (brim), a city of Austria, capital of 


BRUNSWICK 


316 


BRUSH TURKEY 


Moravia, ninety miles north of Vienna. It is 
beautifully located at the confluence of the 
Zwittawa and Schwarzawa rivers, at the foot of 
Mount Spielberg, and is connected with Vienna 
and other cities by important railroad lines. 
The principal building is the Cathedral of Saint 
Peter and Saint Paul, built in the 15th century, 
and it has several other noted churches in the 
Gothic style. The manufactures embrace woolen 
goods, leather, chemicals, and machinery. A 
system of waterworks is owned and operated 
by the city. Many of the streets are substan¬ 
tially paved with stone and asphaltum. It is the 
seat of several schools and business colleges. 
The trade is chiefly in grain, live stock, cereals, 
and merchandise. Briinn was founded in the 9th 
century and became a free imperial city in 
1278. Population, 1907, 112,346. 

BRUNSWICK (brunz'wik), county seat of 
Glynn County, Georgia, on Saint Simon’s Sound, 
twelve miles from the Atlantic Ocean, on the 
Southern and other railroads. It has a safe 
harbor and enjoys a growing navigation and 
railroad commerce. Among the chief buildings 
are the city hall, the post office, the county 
courthouse, and the Oglethorpe Hotel. The 
manufactures include furniture, canned oysters, 
ironware, flour, cigars, and machinery. The city 
has street railways, electric lights, and pave¬ 
ments. It is popular as a summer and winter 
resort. The first settlement was made by James 
Oglethorpe in 1735. Population, 1900, 9,081. 

BRUNSWICK, a town of Cumberland 
County, Maine, on the Androscoggin River, 
and on the Maine Central Railroad. It has sev¬ 
eral fine schools and is the seat of Bowdoin Col¬ 
lege. The manufactured products include cot¬ 
ton goods, machinery, paper, flour, and leather. 
It has a public library, waterworks, street pave¬ 
ments, and a considerable trade. The first set¬ 
tlement was made in 1628, when it was known 
as Pejepscot, and it was incorporated in 1717 
as Brunswick. Population, 1900, 6,806. 

BRUNSWICK, an important city of Ger¬ 
many, capital of the duchy of Brunswick, on 
the Oker River, thirty-two miles southeast of 
Hanover. The principal buildings are the 
Church of Saint Magnus, built in 1031; Cath¬ 
arine’s Church, 1172; the Cathedral of Saint 
Blaise, 1173; a Gothic council house; and the 
Gewandhaus. It is the seat of many fine schools, 
two museums, a public library, and a gymnasi¬ 
um. The manufactures include fabrics, machin¬ 
ery, clothing, sugar, and earthenware. Rapid 
transit, gas and electric lights, telephones, sev¬ 
eral parks, and waterworks are among the im¬ 
provements. It was founded by Bruno, Duke 
of Saxony, in the 9th century and was enlarged 


by Henry the Lion. For many years it was an 
important member of the Hanseatic League of 
cities. A large majority of the inhabitants are 
Lutherans. Population, 1905, 136,397. 

BRUNSWICK, Duchy of, a state in Ger¬ 
many, surrounded by the Prussian provinces of 
Saxony, Hanover, and Westphalia. It has an 
area of 1,418 square miles. It belongs mainly 
to the basin of the Weser River, but the south¬ 
eastern part includes ranges of the Harz Moun¬ 
tains, which rise to an altitude of 3,000 feet. 
The inhabitants consist largely of Saxons. They 
are almost entirely Protestants, and engage in 
agriculture, mining, and commerce. The mines 
yield copper, lead, iron, and coal, while the agri¬ 
cultural products consist of cereals, vegetables, 
and fruits. Large interests- are vested in rear¬ 
ing live stock, in dairying, and in growing sugar 
beets. The manufactured articles include beet 
sugar, tobacco, paper, soap, fabrics, wine, and 
leather, It is penetrated by many electric and 
steam railroads, the latter of which belong 
largely to the state system of Prussia. Its gov¬ 
ernment is a constitutional monarchy, the duchy 
having two members in the national Bundesrath 
and three deputies in the Reichstag. In the 
time of Charlemagne the region was a part of 
Saxony, but it became independent in 1235. 
It was annexed to the kingdom of Westphalia 
by the Treaty of Tilsit, but again became inde¬ 
pendent in 1813. In 1866 it sided with Prussia, 
joined the German Confederation in the same 
year, and since 1871 it has been a part of the 
German Empire. Brunswick, on the Oker, is 
the capital and largest city. Population, 1905, 
485,958. 

BRUSA (broo'sa), or Broussa, a city of 
Asiatic Turkey, capital of a vilayet of the same 
name, about twenty miles from Mudania, its 
port on the Sea of Marmora. It is surrounded 
by a fertile plain, and in its vicinity are thermal 
springs noted for their medicinal properties. It 
has extensive manufactures of carpets and silk 
goods, which are exported to the commercial 
centers of Europe and Asia. It is a market for 
produce and merchandise and the seat of nu¬ 
merous mosques. Several sultans and Turkish 
nobles were buried in tombs in its vicinity. 
Brusa was founded by Prusias II., King of 
Bithynia, and anciently was known as Prusa. It 
was captured by Orkhan, son of Othman, the 
second Sultan of Turkey, in 1327, and made the 
capital of the Turkish empire, but later 
Amurath I. removed the capital to Adrianap- 
olis. In 1402 it was captured and plundered by 
the Tartars. The inhabitants consist mostly of 
Turks. Population, 1907, 76,303. 

BRUSH TURKEY, a large bird native to 


BRUSSELS 


317 


BRYN MAWR COLLEGE 


Australia, noted for the peculiar manner in 
which its eggs are hatched. The nests are built 
by several pairs of birds uniting in doing the 
work. Thty are made of grass and other veg¬ 
etable matter. The eggs are laid into the same 



BRUSH TURKEY. 

mass by several females, and remain there until 
hatched by the heat of its decay. When the 
young come out of the eggs, they make their 
own way out of the nest and support them¬ 
selves. The brush turkey is about the size of a 
common turkey, and like it has wattles on its 
neck and head. About twelve species belong 
to this family of birds, which are sometimes 
called mound birds. They are hunted for 
their flesh, and when pursued fly into the 
branches of trees or escape by running through 
tangled brush. 

BRUSSELS (briis'selz), the capital of Bel¬ 
gium, in the province of Brabant, on the Senne 
River. It is one of the most beautiful cities of 
Europe. Rapid transit, gas and electric lights, 
waterworks, and pavements are maintained. 
There are railroad connections with many of 
the principal cities of the continent, and it is the 
center of an important and growing commerce. 
The older part is located on the site of former 
fortifications and has crooked and ancient 
streets, while the newer portion has many sub¬ 
stantial structures and contains the newer resi¬ 
dences and public buildings. The king’s palace, 
the .palace of justice, the palace of chambers, 
the palace of fine arts, and the public library 
and museum rank among the finest structures of 
the kind in Europe. 

The city has many fine public boulevards, 
botanical gardens, and public parks, a number of 
which are adorned by monuments and statuary 
of prominent men. Its educational institutions 
include schools for all grades of instruction, 
and terminate in the University of Brussels. It 
has about 1,050 students. With it are connected 
an observatory, a conservatory of music, and a 
fine library. This library has over 400,000 vol¬ 


umes and 31,500 manuscripts. The city contains 
a large number of learned societies which main¬ 
tain departments of Flemish art, and scientific 
and philosophic courses. Among the ancient 
buildings is the Cathedral of Saint Gudule, a 
fine structure in the Gothic style. The Hotel de 
Ville, built in 1450, is in the Gothic style and has 
a spire 304 feet high, surmounted by a gilt 
statue of Saint Michael, the city’s patron saint. 
There are several historic monuments, including 
the equestrian statue of Godfrey of Bouillon. 
The Grand Place and the Place of Martyrs are 
among its many noted squares. 

The industries of the city consist, besides 
commerce, of manufacturing and jobbing. The 
production of lace, cotton and woolen goods, and 
machinery are important. It has large distil¬ 
leries, foundries, sugar refineries, and brewer¬ 
ies. Its lace production has long been important 
and its manufacture of Brussels carpets has 
given it and its suburbs renown. The language 
spoken is.French, German, and Dutch. The ap¬ 
pearance of the city is modern, although it dates 
back to the Middle Ages. In 1044 a wall was 
built around it by Baldric of Lauvain, in 1380 
it was strongly fortified, and in the 15th cen¬ 
tury it was ravaged by the plague and twice 
damaged by fire. The French bombarded it ir 
1695 and conquered it in 1794. Under French 
occupation it became the chief city of the de¬ 
partment of Dyle. In 1815, after the defeat of 
Napoleon, it was made the capital of the Neth¬ 
erlands. After the revolt of 1830, Belgium was 
separated from Holland. Population, 1906, in¬ 
cluding a number of suburbs, 623.041. 

BRYN MAWR COLLEGE (brm mar), an 
educational institution at Bryn Mawr, Pa., about 
five miles west of Philadelphia, on the main line 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was founded 
for the education of women by Joseph W. Tay¬ 
lor, a member of the Society of Friends, and 
opened in 1885. The grounds include a plot of 
fifty-two acres, laid out in iawns, and beauti¬ 
fully fitted with tennis courts, hockey grounds, 
and an athletic field. The college buildings are 
of gray stone in the Jacobean-Gothic style <5f 
architecture. In the library building, completed 
in 1907, are 55,000 bound volumes and 8,000 
pamphlets. Full graduate and undergraduate 
instruction is offered in Greek, Latin, English, 
German, and other modern languages, and in 
Sanskrit, history, political science, philosophy, 
mathematics, physics, geology, chemistry, and 
biology. Eight competitive matriculation schol¬ 
arships are awarded annually. It has a fund 
aggregating about $1,250,000. Undergraduate 
students are admitted by examination. The 
faculty consists of fifty-five professors and in- 






BRYOPHYTES 


318 


BUCKTAILS 


structors, who are carefully selected for the par¬ 
ticular work assigned to them, and the students 
in attendance number about 450. 

BRYOPHYTES (brio-fits), one of the 
four divisions of the plant kingdom, including 
the members which do not produce flowers. It 
is divided into two divisions, one including the 
mosses and the other the liverworts. The for¬ 
mer have a vertical axis and a leafy body, while 
the latter have a horizontal axis and a thalloid 
body. These plants do not have true roots, and 
propagate largely by spores and a class of cells 
known as elaters. See Mosses. 

BUBASTIS (bu-bas'tis), or Bubastus, an 
ancient Egyptian city, situated in the delta of 
the Nile, now ruined and called Tel Bast. It 
was so named from the goddess Pasht, whose 
festivals were the most important celebrated by 
the Egyptians. The ruins excavated show that 
the city had magnificent temples, solid fortifica¬ 
tions, and extensive baths. It was the seat of a 
great commerce and the center of much wealth. 

BUBONIC PLAGUE. See Plague. 

BUCCANEERS (buk-ka-nerz'), a celebrated 
association of pirates who plundered the West 
Indies and the Spanish colonies of South Amer¬ 
ica from the 16th to the end of the 17th 
century. They consisted mostly of French and 
English. Their occupation was largely that of 
seafaring people, and they united by common 
enmity against the arrogant pretensions of the 
Spaniards. They were first fortified on the 
Tortugas Islands, off the southern coast of 
Florida, but later divided, when the French 
established themselves in San Domingo and the 
English occupied Jamaica. The chief leaders 
of the French were Montbar, known as the 
exterminator, and the Welshman, Henry Mor¬ 
gan. They adopted a code of laws for their 
government and organized in bands to plunder 
the Spanish vessels as they returned from Eu¬ 
rope to supply the colonies with provisions and 
manufactured articles. In 1670 they made at¬ 
tacks upon Panama, where they defeated the 
Spanish troops and secured considerable booty. 
They took possession of Vera Cruz in 1683, 
carrying off booty valued at $2,500,000 and 1,200 
slaves. Later Morgan became deputy governor 
of Jamaica, and for many years was a terror to 
navigation and the early settlements. In 1697 
Cartagena was taken and prizes valued at 
$8,000,000 were secured by the buccaneers. At 
the beginning of the 18th century they were lost 
sight of as common pirates and subsequently 
were exterminated or conquered. 

BUCEPHALUS (bu-sef'a-lus), the horse 
purchased for Alexander the Great in Thessaly, 
and which was his favorite steed in all his cam¬ 


paigns. It is said to have cost sixteen talents, 
about $20,000. It died in India from the effects 
of wounds received in a battle about 326 b. c., 
and the great commander built the city of Bu- 
cephala in its honor. 

BUCHAREST (boo-ka-rest'), capital of 
Rumania and of the principality of Wallachia, 
on the Dimbovitza River, a tributary of the 
Danube. The chief buildings include the town 
hall, the royal palace, the university, and the 
palace of justice. Germans and Hungarians 
control the larger commercial interests. The 
city ranks as one of the largest centers of the 
Balkan peninsula. It has extensive manufac¬ 
tures, railroad facilities, a public school system, 
and a number of splendid edifices, although it 
does not hold a high place in learning and cul¬ 
ture. Its principal growth and improvements 
date since the war between Russia and Turkey 
in 1878.' Within recent years electric lights, 
telephones, and rapid' transit have been intro¬ 
duced. Bucharest was founded in the 13th cen¬ 
tury by Radul the Black, of Transylvania, after 
the conquest of Wallachia. In 1595 it was cap¬ 
tured by the Turks under Linan Pasha, and be¬ 
came prominent in European history in the early 
part of the 18th century. It was occupied by the 
Russians in 1828, taken by the Austrians in 1857, 
and made the capital of Rumania by the union 
of Wallachia and Moldavia in 1861. Popula¬ 
tion, 1907, 276,178. 

BUCKBOARD (buk'bord), a light vehicle 
with four wheels, so named because of its buck¬ 
ing or bouncing. It has a floor or platform of. 
elastic boards, attached to the crossbar in front, 
fastened to the axle with a bolt, and connected 
with the hind axle by small bolts or rivets. This 
vehicle may have one or two seats, though a 
one-seated buckboard is the most common. It 
is a good conveyance for rough and rocky 
ground, and came into use when the Adiron¬ 
dack region was first visited as a resort. 

BUCKEYE (buk'i), the American horse 
chestnut. It is found widely distributed in the 
Mississippi valley, where it attains a large size. 
The tree has small flowers, strongly scented 
bark, and bears considerable quantities of large 
nuts in a prickly inclosure. Owing to its gen¬ 
eral prevalence in Ohio, that State is called 
the Buckeye State, and the inhabitants are 
known as Buckeyes. See Horse-chestnut. 

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, a palace in 
London, England, one of the residences of the 
royal sovereign. It is located opposite Saint 
James’s Park, and was built in the reign of 
George IV. 

BUCKTAILS, a name familiar in the poli¬ 
tics of the State of New York, which originated 


BUCKTHORN 


319 


BUDAPEST 


from the fact that the members of the Tammany 
Society wore bucks’ tails as badges. It came 
into use about the time of the War of 1812, 
when the Democratic party was divided into 
two factions, one headed by James Madison 
and the other by De Witt Clinton, who were 
rival candidates for President. When Clinton 
was elected Governor of New York, in 1816, 
those who opposed him were known as Buck- 
tails and his supporters were called Clinton- 
ians. The Bucktails gained control of the Dem¬ 
ocratic State organization under the leader¬ 
ship of Martin Van Buren, and the State ad¬ 
ministration was styled “Albany Regency.” 

BUCKTHORN (buk'thorn), the name of a 
class of shrubs and trees common to Europe 
and America. The common buckthorn has 
serrated leaves and produces a berrylike drupe, 
containing seedlike nutlets. The berries are 
used as a cathartic, and the bark is employed 
in medicine and for making a yellow dye. The 
wood yields a light charcoal used in making 
gunpowder. Many species of this class of 
plants have been described. The alder buck¬ 
thorn is common in Southern Europe, and 
grows to a height of from six to ten feet. 

BUCKWHEAT, a plant native to Eastern 

Europe and 
Central Asia. 
It was first 
brought to 
Western Eu¬ 
rope by the 
Crusaders and 
is now ex¬ 
tensively culti¬ 
vated in many 
countries. 
Buckwheat i s 
grown quite ex¬ 
tensively in the 
United States 
and Europe, 
owing to its 
ability to yield 
abundantly 
without much 
attention, even 
.on stingy soil. 
The seed 
weighs about 
fort y-eight 
pounds per 
bushel, and 
forty bushels 
per acre is a 
fair crop. It 
flowers profusely, is a favorite plant for the 



BUCKWHEAT. 
a b, flowers; c, seed. 


honey bee, and is cultivated largely to feed bees. 
In Europe the seed is ground into flour and 
used for gruel, breakfast cakes, and bread. In 
Canada and the United States it is used exten¬ 
sively for cakes, which are considered a great 
delicacy for breakfast. The annual production 
in the United States aggregates 14,750,000 bush¬ 
els, New York and Pennsylvania producing 
about two-thirds of the total yield. Canada is 
peculiarly fitted for the cultivation of buckwheat. 
Ontario, where the production is largest, has an 
annual output of about 2,750,000 bushels. 

BUCYRUS (bu-si'rus), county seat of 
Crawfo.rd County, Ohio, on the Sandusky River, 
about sixty-five miles north of Columbus. It is 
on the Pennsylvania and other railroads, and 
is surrounded by a fertile farming country. 
The chief buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the high school, and the city hall. It 
has manufactures of brick, wagons, and ma¬ 
chinery. In its vicinity are a number of valua¬ 
ble mineral springs. Many of the streets are 
paved with vitrified brick. It was first settled 
in 1818 and incorporated in 1829. Population, 
1900, 6,560. 

BUD, the germ of the future leaves, 
branches, or flowers of plants. When large 
enough to have its parts distinguishable, it is 
seen that the bud is formed of undeveloped 
leaves. Large buds that are to remain over 
winter are covered by protecting scales, within 
which the life of the plant is stored, much the 
same as the embryo in seeds. The plumule of 
the embryo is a bud that makes the main stem, 
which is carried on year after year by a bud 
called the terminal bud. The buds that are to 
form the branches appear on the side of the 
stem, at the axils of the leaves, and are called 
axillary buds. The leaf buds contain the rudi¬ 
ments of the leaves and are classed as leaf buds 
and flower buds, the flower being a modified 
leaf bud. Some of the lower animals propa¬ 
gate themselves by buds. 

BUDAPEST (bob'da-pest), one of the cap¬ 
itals of Austria-Hungary, the second largest 
city in the empire, located on both sides of the 
Danube River. It is the imperial capital of the 
kingdom of Hungary, and at one of the capitals 
of the dual empire it is of minor importance, 
since only the two delegations meet alternately 
here and at Vienna. Its name was derived 
from Buda and Pesth, formerly two cities, but 
since 1873 united as one municipality. The two 
parts of the city are united by many bridges 
across the Danube. It is the seat of an im¬ 
perial residence, has excellent transportation' 
facilities by the Danube River and a large num 
ber of important railroad lines, and is the cen 



BUDDHISM 


320 


BUDDHISM 


ter of a vast commercial trade. It ranks as one 
of the important cities of Europe, being a center 
of wealth, industry, and intelligence. 

The electric street railway system is one of 
the finest in the world, which has, instead of 
trolley wires, conduits between the tracks from 
which the power is gathered off metal strips, 
and lines are operated on all principal streets. 
Andrassy Strasse, one of the thoroughfares, 
has an underground road. It is one of the 
most beautiful streets in the world, containing 
stone pavements and having tall and well con¬ 
structed buildings on both sides. The new 
house of parliament is an excellent structure, 
and, besides it, there are the Jewish Synagogue, 
the Leopold Basilica, a magnificent royal pal¬ 
ace, excellent public schools, and other build¬ 
ings devoted to higher education, including col¬ 
leges and universities. The library contains 
480,000 volumes and 65,000 manuscripts. There 
are well improved boulevards, public baths, and 
healthful mineral springs. The botanical gar¬ 
dens and public parks are among the most beau¬ 
tiful, while its promenades and stone quays 
along the river are delightful. The University 
of Budapest has 250 lecturers and professors 
and is attended by over 5,000 students. 

The chief manufactures consist of gold, sil¬ 
ver, copper, and iron wares, leather, silk, and 
woolen goods, tobacco, beverages, and machin¬ 
ery. It is one of the largest milling centers of 
the world, and in this respect has long ranked 
second to Minneapolis, Minn. Its sulphur 
springs have attracted health seekers and excur¬ 
sion parties from all parts of Europe, thus ren¬ 
dering the city a gathering place for many vis¬ 
itors to its baths, as well as to its libraries and 
institutions of learning. The language spoken 
is largely German, but the city has a considera¬ 
ble Bohemian and Hungarian population. Buda 
for many years contained the larger population, 
but was surpassed by Pesth in 1799, since which 
time the latter has greatly outgrown Buda in 
every respect. At that time the two cities 
contained a total population of a little over 
50,000. Buda was known to the Romans as 
Aquincum. It was made the capital of Hun¬ 
gary by Matthias Corvinus in 1444. Pesth was 
founded by the Germans in the 13th century. 
It became the capital of Hungary after the 
Ausgleich of 1867. Since 1873 they have been 
united as one municipality. Population, 1905, 
798,692. 

BUDDHISM (bood'diz’m), the system of 
faith introduced or reformed by Buddha. It 
was effective in counteracting the caste system 
of the Brahmans and other Aryan invaders of 
India, and therefore fitted to become the religion 


of the Turanians. It existed in India as the 
principal religion for more than a thousand 
years, but has been almost entirely supplanted by 
Brahmanism. At present it is the religion of 
Ceylon, China, Japan, Tibet, and Burmah, and is 
the great Turanian faith of the modern as of 
the ancient world. It has existed for more than 
2,500 years and numbers as its followers from 
one-tenth to one-eighth of the entire human 
race. One of its most prominent doctrines is 
that Nirvana, a state of absolute release from 
existence, is the highest good. It is held that 
pain is inseparable from existence, thus it can 
cease only through Nirvana; and, to attain to 
this state, our desires and passions must be sup¬ 
pressed and the most extreme self-renunciation 
practiced, while personality must be entirely 
subordinated. 

The principles of Buddhism are stated in the 
so-called Four Great Truths, namely: 1. That 
misery always accompanies existence; 2. That 
all modes of existence result from passions or 
desires; 3. That there is no escape from exist¬ 
ence except by destruction of desire; 4. That 
this may be accomplished by following the four¬ 
fold way to Nirvana. The four stages, called 
the passes, begin with the awakening of the 
heart, called the first; in the second stage one 
loses all impure desires and revengeful feel¬ 
ings ; in the third, one becomes free from all 
evil desires, from ignorance, from doubt, from 
heresy, and from unkindliness and vexation; the 
fourth stage is that of Buddha, or the perfect 
state. Among the laws of the faith are those 
that require fundamental virtues to be practiced 
by all men alike, including patience, courage, 
purity, charity, contemplation, and knowledge. 
The five fundamental precepts of the moral code 
are these: Do not kill; do not steal; do not 
commit adultery; do not lie; do not give way to 
drunkenness. The greatest virtue is benevo¬ 
lence. 

Nirvana is not reached until all the condi¬ 
tions necessary have been complied with. If 
these conditions have not been met with at 
death, an individual does not attain rest until 
he is fitted for Nirvana. In that case he 
is born again as a person, a plant, a spirit, 
an animal, an insect, or as some other animated 
organism, from which state his soul transmi¬ 
grates again and again until Nirvana is eventu¬ 
ally reached. In outward form Buddhism re¬ 
sembles some of the Christian churches in at 
least a few respects. The priests wear dresses 
and caps, construct monasteries, hold to celib¬ 
acy, use bells, practice incense, use the rosary 
of beads, have lighted candles at the altar, have 
intonations in the service, believe in a purga- 


BUDDING 


321 


BUFFALO 


tory, offer prayer for departed spirits, and pray 
in an unknown tongue. However, there is no 
similarity between the two faiths. The original 
teachings of the founder have been perverted 
and distorted by a number of disciples in vari¬ 
ous ages, and now lack many virtues formerly 
common to the faith. 

BUDDING, a form of grafting in which a 
leaf bud is used instead of a young shoot. It 
is preferred for plants that throw out much 
gum when wounded, as the cherry, peach, plum, 
and apricot, and also for roses and flowering 
shrubs. It is done by cutting a bud from one 
plant and inserting it in some species closely 
allied. The bud is inserted into an incision, 
shaped like the capital T, in the stock of the 
allied tree, and then tied round by a ligature of 
matting. See Grafting. 

BUENA VISTA (bu'na vis'ta), a small 
town in northeastern Mexico, in the state of 
Coahuila, noted for a celebrated battle between 
the American forces under General Taylor and 
the Mexicans under General Santa Anna. It 
was fought on Feb. 22 and 23, 1847, and the 
Mexicans were totally defeated, owing to poor 
generalship. The American army numbered 
4,767 and the Mexican 17,000. The American 
loss was 648, while the Mexicans lost nearly 
2 , 000 . 

BUENOS AYRES (bo'nus a'riz), an impor¬ 
tant city of South America, capital of Argen¬ 
tina, on the La Plata River, 160 miles from the 
ocean. The city is built on a modern plan with 
regular streets crossing each other at right 
angles. It is one of the most important trade 
centers south of the equator, and enjoys a 
large oceanic commerce. It is connected with 
the interior cities of South America by numer¬ 
ous railroads. The river is thirty-six miles 
wide at the city, and quite shallow, but has been 
improved for all classes of navigation by a vast 
system of harbor works. In 1887 alone the 
sum of $20,000,000 was appropriated for harbor 
improvements, which has been expended to fit 
its wharves and dry docks for the largest vessels. 

The city contains a general school system for 
free attendance, several colleges, and a central 
university with higher courses of study. The 
university is one of the best in South America 
and is attended by about 1,250 students. It is 
the seat of a fine cathedral, the Chapel of 
Santa Felicitas, a military college, the public 
mint, and government offices. The congress 
hall stands in a fine plot of sixteen acres and 
was erected in 1887 at a cost of $8,000,000. 
About 200 periodicals are published in the city, 
principally in the Spanish, but a number in the 
French, German, English, and Italian languages. 


It has several normal schools, a number of 
medical colleges, and a public library of 50,000 
volumes. The city has 150 miles of electric 
street railway line's and extensive telephone 
systems, and is connected by cable communica- 
. tion with Europe and the United States.' There 
are substantial stone and asphalt pavements, 
waterworks, several parks, and gas and electric 
lights. 

The exports and imports are enormous, 
amounting annually to about $285,500,000. They 
consist largely of live stock, tallow, hides, 
cereals, fruits, tobacco, and minerals. The 
manufactures are expanding rapidly, being stim¬ 
ulated both by local and European capital. 
Among the chief products are carpets, furniture, 
cigars, clothing, textiles, boots and shoes, ma¬ 
chinery, musical instruments, and other articles 
of commerce. The city was founded in 1535 by 
Don Pedro de Mendoza. It was twice destroyed 
by the natives, but has grown steadily since 
1580. In 1851 it seceded from Argentina and 
organized as a separate state, remaining inde¬ 
pendant until 1859, when it rejoined the Repub¬ 
lic and became its capital. Population, 1906, 
1,029,653. 

BUFFALO (buf'fa-lo), an oxlike animal 
with long horns, found native in Asia and 
Southern Africa. The Asiatic buffalo is still 
found in a wild state in the jungles of India. 
From it the domestic kind now largely bred in 
Eurasia descended. It has short hair, is brown 



CAPE BUFFALO. 


on the back with a black head, and attains a 
height of seven feet. It is a better beast of 
burden than the ox, and the female yields a 
greater quantity of milk than the common do¬ 
mestic cow. In the wild state it is vicious, but 
when thoroughly domesticated it becomes gen¬ 
tle and docile. A species of this animal found 
in the Philippines is known as the carabao. The 
Cape Buffalo, found in South Africa, is larger 
than the Asiatic. It is famous for its vast 
horns, which start from a great bony mass at 
the head and often measure six or seven feet 



BUFFALO 


322 


BUFFALO 


from point to point. The hide of the buffalo 
is useful for boots and shoes, while the meat 
is regarded a wholesome article of food. In 
India these animals are trained for exhibition 
and usejl for dairying. The buffalo is fond of 
marshy places and seems to enjoy standing in 
the water during the warm days with only its 
head projecting. See Bison. 

BUFFALO, the second city of New York, 
county seat of Erie County, at the eastern end 
of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara 
River. It is 20 miles above Niagara Falls and 
410 miles by rail northwest of New York City. 
Fifteen great trunk lines of railway center at 
Buffalo, including the most important railroads 
of the eastern part of the United States and 
Canada, and it has additional transportation 
facilities by the Erie Canal, the Great Lakes, 
and urban and interurban electric railways. 
Among the chief railways are the New York 
Central, the Wabash, the Erie, the Grand 
Trunk, the Pennsylvania, the Lackawanna, and 
the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. The 
site of the city gradually rises from the harbor 
to a height of 50 to 60 feet, and presents a view 
most beautiful from a distance on the lake. It 
is protected by an immense breakwater nearly 
a mile long, and its harbors are among the best 
on the Niagara and Lake Erie. 

Description. The area of the city is 42 
square miles, and the streets are broad and 
generally cross each other at right angles. Most 
of the pavements are constructed of asphalt, 
this class of paving having a length of 235 
miles, and the total number of miles paved 
aggregate about 400. Main Street, which ex¬ 
tends northerly from the lake front, is the prin¬ 
cipal business thoroughfare. At the center of 
the business district, which is near Lafayette 
Square, Niagara Street starts from Main 
Street, and is the main highway to Tonawanda 
and Niagara Falls. Lafayette Square, where a 
number of streets meet, is surrounded by large 
and substantial business buildings and contains 
the beautiful Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument. 
Delaware Avenue and North Street are the 
principal avenues of the fashionable residential 
district, and here and in many other places are 
fine homes surrounded by lawns and ornamental 
shrubs and trees. 

Buffalo has numerous parks and other points 
of interest for those who seek the open air. 
At the place where the waters of Lake Erie 
form the Niagara, south of Fort Porter, is 
the Front, a tract of 45 acres, and near the 
State Insane Hospital grounds is Delaware 
Park, whose area is 365 acres. Humboldt Park 
consists of 56 acres, and in the south are the 


three parks known as South Park, Stony Point, 
and Cazenovia Park. Forest Lawn Cemetery, 
a tract of 230 acres, is one of the numerous 
burial grounds of great beauty. Besides the 
Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Lafayette 
Square, are those of. President Fillmore and 
Red Jacket in Forest Lawn Cemetery, and the 
fine monument dedicated in 1907 to President 
McKinley, who died in the city. 

Buffalo is noted for its fine public school 
system, which includes kindergartens, grade 
and high schools, and a training school for 
teachers. It is the seat of a State normal school, 
the German Martin Luther Seminary, the Uni¬ 
versity of Buffalo, the Saint Joseph’s College, 
the Academy of the Sacred Heart, and many 
other institutions, including numerous denomi¬ 
national and parochial schools. The charitable 
and philanthropic institutions include a State 
insane asylum, an orphan asylum, the Home 
for the Friendless, the Church Home for Aged 
Women, Saint Mary’s Asylum for Widows and 
Foundlings, and Ingleside Home for Erring 
Women. It has more than 175 churches, and 
these represent all the leading denominations. 
The municipality has two libraries, aggregating 
about 235,000 volumes, and in addition are 
maintained a number of libraries in the schools 
and colleges. The educational associations are 
well represented, including the Society of 
Natural Sciences, Young Men’s Christian Asso¬ 
ciation, Lutheran Young Men’s Association, 
and numerous scientific and historical societies. 

The United States government, building is a 
substantial structure of gray stone, erected at a 
cost of about $2,000,000. Other large buildings 
include the Chamber of Commerce, the city 
hall, the public library, the Fidelity Trust Com¬ 
pany’s building, the Ellicott Square building, 
the Grosvenor Library, and the Roman Cath¬ 
olic and Protestant Episcopal cathedrals. The 
Iroquois, Lafayette, Lenox, and Statler are 
among its larger hotels. 

Industries. Buffalo is preeminently a man¬ 
ufacturing and commercial city. This is due 
largely to the fact that its transportation facil¬ 
ities are very advantageous. A belt-line rail¬ 
road encircles the city and furnishes facilities 
for intercommunication among the large num¬ 
ber of trunk and branch lines, and enables 
transfers of freight with boats on the Erie 
Canal and steamships in its well-improved har¬ 
bors. Though originally built for small tow¬ 
boats drawn by horses, the Erie Canal has been 
materially improved and will eventually furnish 
facilities for large vessels from the Atlantic by 
way of the Hudson River. The city has about 
fifty large grain elevators, including both trails- 


BUFFALO GNAT 


323 


BUILDING AND LOAN ASS’N 


fer and floating elevators, and is the largest 
market for wheat and flour in the Eastern 
States. The elevator capacity is sufficient for 
35,000,000 bushels, equipped to enable handling 
5,000,000 bushels of grain per day. It is the 
largest coal market and lumber port in the 
world. The storage capacity for coal is enor¬ 
mous, and its coal docks are sufficient to enable 
handling 30,000 tons a day. In the manu¬ 
facture of iron and iron products it ranks next 
to Pittsburg. Among the manufacturing estab¬ 
lishments are machine shops, soap works, car¬ 
riage and wagon factories, shipyards, flouring 
and grist mills, stove works, distilleries, oil 
refineries, and breweries. Enterprise in manu¬ 
facturing is facilitated greatly by electric power 
obtained from a large plant at Niagara Falls, 
which is brought through three circuits having 
a normal capacity of 30,000 horse power. It 
has a large trade in live stock, manufactures 
of all kinds, and merchandise, and is a center 
for both retailing and wholesaling. 

History. La Salle was the first European to 
visit the locality. He landed at its site in 1679, 
and near the present city built the Griffin, the 
first ship to sail on Lake Erie. The first settle¬ 
ment was made by a trader in 1792, and the 
Holland Land Company purchased a tract of 
land and platted it into townships the following 
year. The work of surveying and platting was 
done by Joseph Ellicot, and he is regarded the 
founder of Buffalo. The village founded at 
that time was situated at the mouth of Buffalo 
Creek and named New Amsterdam, but it soon 
came to be called Buffalo. A force of British 
and Indians under Gen. Riall captured it in 
1813 and much of it was destroyed by fire, but 
it was rebuilt in 1815. Its prosperity began 
with the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, 
when' it became the center of a large trade in 
produce and raw materials. Black Rock was 
annexed in 1853. It was the home of Millard 
Fillmore and Grover Cleveland, and the latter 
was its mayor in 1882. The Pan-American Ex¬ 
position was held in Buffalo in 1901, at which 
President McKinley was assassinated. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 376,618; in 1910, 423,715. 

BUFFALO GNAT (nat), a small insect 
found in the western section of the valley of 
the Missouri River and other regions. It at¬ 
tacks human beings and domestic animals, but 
differs from the mosquito in that it bites in the 
daytime. Swarms of these insects are most 
frequent when the sun shines brightly and there 
is no movement of wind. The bites are poison¬ 
ous. The larva is aquatic and frequents well- 
aerated water. 

BUFFALO GRASS, a short grass common 


to the fertile soil of the western plains of North 
America, ranging from Texas to Alberta and 
Saskatchewan. It seldom grows higher than 
six inches, but is very important as pasture for 
domestic and wild animals, especially in the 
arid regions, to which it is best adapted. In 
the summer it covers the ground with a dense 
growth and turns brown at the first frost, but 
is eaten at all times of the year. It propagates 
by runners as well as by its seed. The male 
and female flowers grow on different plants. 

BUFF LEATHER, a kind of leather made 
originally from the skin of the buffalo, but now 
chiefly from light hides of cattle. It is naturally 
of a light-yellow color, but is sometimes 
bleached white or tanned and stained a dull 
yellow or dark brown. When dressed with oil, 
it becomes soft and does not easily crack or 
rot. It is used for making belts, gloves, pouches, 
and cartridge boxes. 

BUG, the name used frequently in describing 
the species of insects belonging to the order 
Hemiptera. The mouth is fitted for piercing 
and sucking, being in the form of a beak, and 
most of the species feed on the juices of plants. 
Some of these insects, such as the louse and 
bedbug, partake of animal fluid as well as that 
of plants. The cochineal and lac-dye insects, 
whick. belong to the bug family, secrete fluids 
valuable in commerce. The chinch bug, aphis, 
squash bug, and green bug are among the pests 
that destroy plants. 

BUGGY, the name of a four-wheeled vehi¬ 
cle, either with or without a top or hood. The 
name is one of the Americanisms, and describes 
a vehicle called a cart in England, while cart in 
the United States is properly a vehicle with two 
wheels. Buggies are fitted for one horse, and 
are intended for light driving. 

BUGLE (bu'g’l)» a musical instrument made 
of brass or copper, used chiefly for signals. 
The bugle is the signal horn for the infantry, 
and has a shorter tube than the trumpet, which 
is used more generally for the cavalry. Bugle 
and trumpet calls remind the soldier in time of 
peace of daily routine duty, and in war they 
serve to direct and guide the marches and 
movements of troops. 

BUILDING. See Architecture. 
BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIA¬ 
TION, a society organized to promote interest 
in the accumulation of savings, and to provide 
facilities to secure the use of money at reason¬ 
able rates for those who desire to build homes. 
Associations of this kind are usually organized 
as private corporations, and are known by vari 
ous names, such as cooperative banks, mutual 
loan associations, building societies, home aid 


BUILDING STONE 


324 


BULGARIA 


associations, etc. They may be classed under 
two general terms, the mutual and the propri¬ 
etary. Mutual societies receive deposits from 
individuals, who become stockholders to the ex¬ 
tent of their deposits. Those who wish to 
invest in land or erect a building borrow the 
amount needed and give a mortgage on the prop¬ 
erty, and, when the amount of deposits equals 
the sum borrowed plus the interest, the stock is 
surrendered and thus cancels the debt. Propri¬ 
etary societies pay interest on deposits and loan 
money for building purposes, secured by mort¬ 
gage and repayable by monthly installments. 
When the total installments amount to the loan 
plus the interest, the indebtedness is canceled. 
In this class of associations, the profit to the 
company depends upon the difference in the 
rate charged those who borrow and that paid 
to depositors. Building associations were or¬ 
ganized in Great Britain and Germany in the 
18th century, and in America they date more 
largely from the last century. All of the' states, 
provinces, and nations in which they are pro¬ 
moted have laws regulating the transaction of 
business, intended as a safeguard to the peo¬ 
ple who put their savings into such organiza¬ 
tions. 

BUILDING STONE, any stone suitable for 
the construction of buildings or fitted for struc¬ 
tural engineering. Many varieties of stone pre¬ 
sent a beautiful appearance in the quarry, but 
their composition is such that they disintegrate 
rapidly from the action of air and moisture. 
The disintegration may affect the appearance 
by reason of discolorations, or it may soften or 
dissolve the stone to the extent that the struc¬ 
ture becomes unsafe. Stone of a porous na¬ 
ture, such as soft limestone, readily absorbs wa¬ 
ter, and it is greatly damaged by freezing and 
thawing. While material of this class may be 
suitable for the interior walls, it is not advisable 
to use it for exteriors. Some grades, especially 
those that contain iron, become discolored from 
the action of moisture. 

The best building stones may be classed as 
fragmentary, calcareous, and crystalline siliceous 
rocks. Among the fragmentary rocks used in 
building are sandstone and slate. Sandstone is 
composed of grains of sand, either rounded or 
angular, and held together by a cementing ma¬ 
terial, such as silica or carbonate of lime. The 
color depends upon the nature of the cementing 
material. In gray sandstone the cementing ma¬ 
terial is carbonate of lime, in white colored 
stone it is silica, and in brownish or reddish 
stone it is mixed with oxide of iron. Slate is 
used largely in roofing and for floors. The 
calcareous rocks include the limestones and 


marbles, and in color vary as much as sand¬ 
stones and for the same reason. Granite is the 
most familiar example of crystalline siliceous 
rock, and is one of the most durable and valu¬ 
able building materials. It is quarried exten¬ 
sively in Canada, especially near Kingston, On¬ 
tario; near Victoria, British Columbia; near 
Saint George, New Brunswick; and near Shel¬ 
burne, Nova Scotia. Quarries are worked in 
the United States at Berry, Vt.; Saint Cloud, 
Minn.; Concord, N. H.; Westerly, R. I.; Rich¬ 
mond, Va.; and many other localities. Granite 
ranges from dark red to light gray, and in¬ 
cludes many shades of bluish and dark brownish 
colors. 

BULACAN (bdd-la-kan'), a town of the 
Philippine Islands, on the Island of Luzon, 
twenty miles northeast of Manila. It is con¬ 
veniently located on a small river, and is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile country, which produces 
sugar cane, rice, and tobacco. The buildings 
consist mostly of native huts. It was important 
as a military point and the scene of several in¬ 
surrections during both the Spanish and Ameri¬ 
can occupation of the islands. Population, 13,- 
800. 



BULB, in botany, a broad imbricated bud, 

either above or beneath the surface of the 

ground, having roots beneath and the stalk and 
foliage above. The 
leaves or scales with 
which it is clothed 
are thickened by the 
deposition of nutri¬ 
tive matter, stored 

for the future use of 
the plant. It differs 
from the tuber, 
which is the enlarge¬ 
ment of a subterra¬ 
nean branch and bulbs. 

forms the fruit or b Meadow tily; 2, Tulip, 
seed. Some plants have bulblets, or small 

aerial bulbs, as in some kinds of onions. 

Among the chief bulbous plants are the tulip, 
onion, and common lily. * 

BULGARIA (bdol-ga'ri-a), a principality 
of Europe, in the eastern part of the Balkan 
Peninsula. It is situated between north lati¬ 
tude 41° 30' and 44° 15' and east longitude 
22° 30' and 28° 30'. It is bounded on the east 
by the Black Sea, south by Turkey, west by 
Servia, and north by Rumania. Most of its 
northern boundary is formed by the Danube 
River. The area of Bulgaria proper is 24,280 
square miles, and of Eastern Rumelia 13,800, or 
a total of 38,080 square miles. 

Description. Bulgaria is a mountainous 



BULGARIA 


325 


BULGARIA 


country, traversed by the Balkan Mountains. 
In the southwest corner of Rumelia are ranges 
of the Rhodope Mountains, between which are 
deep valleys isolated from each other except by 
elevated passes. The Balkans include Vitosha, 
7,517 feet, and Musalla, 9,610 feet, which are the 
highest summits. The ranges of the southern 
section are less elevated. 

Most of the drainage is into the Black Sea, 
chiefly by the Danube and its tributaries. The 
confluents of the Danube include the Lorn, Vid, 
Osma, and Ogost. Those flowing into the Black 
Sea direct include the Devna and Kamtchik. 
The Maritza and Struma flow southward into 
the Aegean Sea. Its eastern boundary is in¬ 
dented by the Gulf of Burghas, an inlet from 
the Black Sea. 

The climate is healthful and quite pleasant, 
though a district subject to malaria extends 
along the Black Sea. It may be said that Bul¬ 
garia has a somewhat colder climate than East¬ 
ern Rumelia, since the elevated Balkan Moun¬ 
tains obstruct the passage of breezes from the 
Mediterranean. In Bulgaria the climate ranges 
from eight degrees below zero to ninety above, 
with an average temperature of about 50°. For¬ 
ests cover the mountains, but the valleys are 
mostly treeless. Among the wild animals are the 
deer, bear, boar, and many species of wild fowl. 

Industries. Agriculture is the chief enter¬ 
prise, and the land is subdivided in small hold¬ 
ings among the peasants, who pay a nominal 
rent to the government, to which most of the 
land belongs. About twenty-five per cent, of 
the land is under cultivation and fifty per cent, 
is in pasture. Corn and wheat are the chief 
products, and next of importance “are barley, 
rye, oats, and vegetables. Grapes are grown 
extensively. The government has control of all 
the minerals and operates the mines. Coal is 
the chief mineral product, but other minerals 
of value abound, including lead, copper, zinc, 
cobalt, and petroleum. 

The Danube is important as an avenue of 
transportation. A number of its tributaries have 
been improved and canals have been con¬ 
structed, which, together with the Black Sea, 
afford considerable shipping facilities. The 
railroad lines aggregate about 1,200 miles, most 
of which are owned and operated by the gov¬ 
ernment, and telegraph and telephone lines con¬ 
nect the business centers with the cities north 
and south. Bulgaria has nine river ports and 
seven seaports, which are the seat of most of 
the trade. The exports are somewhat larger 
than the imports, and foreign trade is chiefly 
with Austria-Hungary, Germany, Great Britain, 
France, and Turkey. 


Government. Bulgaria is a constitutional 
monarchy. Chief executive power is vested in 
the sovereign, and legislative authority is vested 
in him and the national assembly, or sobranje, 
which consists of deputies elected by universal 
manhood suffrage. The sovereign is assisted by 
a ministry responsible both to him and the as¬ 
sembly. For the purpose of local government 
it is divided into twenty-two okrugs and these 
are subdivided into eighty-five okolics. An 
obligatory school attendance law is enforced 
quite generally, and the school system includes 
both grade and high schools. Special and tech¬ 
nical schools, gymnasia, and the University at 
Sofia comprise the facilities for higher educa¬ 
tional work. The Greek Catholic Church is 
recognized by the state, though a considerable 
number of the inhabitants are Mohammedans 
and Jews. 

Inhabitants. The people of Bulgaria be¬ 
long to the southern branch of the Slavic stock, 
and are made up of several more or less closely 
related branches, of which the Teuto-Slavic, 
Teutonic, and Finno-Tartaric are the most nu¬ 
merous. Some Greeks and Mussulmans are 
included, though the percentage is not large. 
The language is of Slavic origin and consists 
of the old and new dialects, the former being 
the richer and more generally spoken. Sofia is 
the capital of Bulgaria proper and of the prin¬ 
cipality, while Philippopolis is the capital of 
Eastern Rumelia. The former is the largest 
city and chief commercial and intellectual cen¬ 
ter. Other cities of note include Varna, Burg¬ 
has, Shumla, and Rustchuk. In 1905 the popu¬ 
lation of the country was 4,035,623. This num¬ 
ber included 497,818 Turks, 83,942 Rumanians, 
69,757 Greeks, 94,649 Gypsies, and 36,455 Jews. 

History. The history of Bulgaria is intimately 
connected with the early history of Eastern Eu¬ 
rope. Most of the early occupants came from 
the banks of the Volga and overran the coun¬ 
try in the 6th century. They built up a strong 
central government and for some time ruled 
Epirus, Thessaly, Albania, and Macedonia, and 
looked forward to the founding of a great Sla¬ 
vonic empire. However, they were conquered 
soon after the rise of the Byzantine Empire, 
and later fell under the dominion of the Turks, 
which caused them to lose much of their civi¬ 
lization, and their national spirit was broken. 
A new spirit of nationality rose about the mid¬ 
dle of the 18th century, when they established 
newspapers, developed literature, and founded 
schools and colleges, but the Turks, jealous of 
their development, continued to hold them un¬ 
der subjection. The wholesale slaughter of 
Christians in 1876 by the Turks aroused the 


BULL 


326 


BULLFIGHT 


spirit of Christian Europe. Russia soon after 
occupied the region with an army to defend 
them against the onslaughts of the Turks, which 
resulted in the War of 1878 and the final treaty 
of peace at Berlin. 

Bulgaria was now made an independent state, 
with the condition that the choice of Its chief 
ruler must be concurred in by the powers of 
Europe and Turkey. Prince Alexander of Bat- 
tenburg was elected sovereign in 1881 and was 
authorized to convoke a constitutional conven¬ 
tion to be promulgated in 1888. Two years pre¬ 
vious to this he was kidnapped and compelled to 
abdicate on account of Russian hostility to him 
and to his followers. However, he was in touch 
with the spirit of the Bulgarians and only ab¬ 
dicated to avoid complications with Russia. In 
1887 the vacant throne was filled by the election 
of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg, youngest 
son of Prince Augustus of Saxe-Coburg. East¬ 
ern Rumelia was united to Bulgaria proper in 
1885, which resulted in a war with Servia, but 
the latter power was defeated. In 1908 the 
sobranje, under the guidance of Prince Ferdi¬ 
nand, declared the country independent of Tur¬ 
key and the latter assumed the title of Czar of 
Bulgaria. This action caused extended diplo¬ 
matic complications, but the country maintained 
its autonomy. 

BULL, or Papal Bull, an edict or decree of 
the pope, equal to the proclamations of secular 
sovereigns. The bulls are written in Latin for 
most countries, and are transmitted to the 
churches that recognize the pope as their head. 
The first words of the text usually designate 
the character of the contents. They are writ¬ 
ten on parchment, and those issued as a favor 
have a leaden seal appended by means of a 
silken cord, but those issued as a matter of 
justice have the seal attached with a cord of 
hemp. Edicts issued by secular sovereigns 
were formerly called bulls. The most important 
of these was the Golden Bull of Charles IV., 
Emperor of Germany, issued in 1356, which 
fixed the laws to regulate the number and priv¬ 
ileges of electors and to govern the election of 
emperors. 

BULL, John, a name used as a popular syn¬ 
onym for the English people. It originated in 
1712, when Arbuthnot published his satire, “The 
History of John Bull,” to intensify the feeling 
against the war with France and to ridicule the 
Duke of Marlborough. 

BULLDOG, a kind of dog that has been 
bred as 1 a distinct race for centuries. It is 
characterized by its thick, short, flat muzzle, a 
projecting under jaw, thick lips, half-pricked 
ears, flat forehead, and low but thick and strong 


body. It is a good watchdog on account of its 
activity, courage, and intelligence. The bull ter¬ 
rier is smaller than the bulldog, and is a cross 
between the bulldog and the terrier. Formerly 
the sport of bull baiting was practiced in Eng¬ 
land. It consisted of blowing the nose of a 
bull full of pepper and setting bulldogs upon 
him, one at a time. The sport consisted chiefly 
in seeing the dogs tossed. 

BULLDOZE (bul'doz), a word derived 
from the practice of punishing those who, in 
1876, were stealing and killing cattle in 
Louisiana. The punishment was with a bull 
whip and a dozen lashes were called a dose, 
hence the word bulldoze. In the same year 
it was applied in the political campaign, when 
some of the Negroes were prevented from ex¬ 
ercising the elective franchise by bulldozing. 
The term now signifies to overawe, to silence 
by threat, to terrify. 

BULLET (bul'let), a projectile discharged 
from a rifle and other small arms. Bullets 
are made chiefly of lead, and those intended for 
smooth bore arms are usually spherical, and 
those for rifled arms are elongated with the 
apex rounded or conical. Formerly bullets 
were cast, but now they are made largely by 
being stamped in steel dies. Copper-covered 
bullets poison a wound and are not favored in 
modern warfare. 

BULLFIGHT (bul'fit), the national game 
of the Spanish and Mexicans. It was intro¬ 
duced into Spain by the Moors, and has con¬ 
tinued popular ever since. The bullfighting sea¬ 
son begins in April and ends in November. 
Bullfights take place in a kind of arena or 
. circus. In most cases the fighters mount a 
horse, and, armed with a sword or lance, they 
worry the bull until he is killed.' Often a 
horse is killed by the infuriated animal, when 
the fighter mounts another or combats with the 
animal on foot. In the larger cities where bull¬ 
fighting is practiced regularly each season, there 
are three classes of fighters. They consist of 
the picadores, who are on horseback; the ban- 
derilleros, who are on foot; and the matadors, 
or the killers. When a bull has been killed, 
he is dragged away and another is brought 
from the stall into the arena. Nearly all Span¬ 
ish cities have places to carry on these games, 
which are attended by thousands of people. In 
early history the game was popular in Greece, 
Rome, and other countries, but it was forbid¬ 
den by the popes and later emperors, and was 
abolished by Charles IV., but was reinstated by 
Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon. At 
the great games of Madrid, in June, 1833, over 
a hundred bulls were killed in a single week. 


BULRUSH 


BULLFINCH 327 


It is still popular in Mexico and Spanish Amer¬ 
ica. 

BULLFINCH (bul'finch), a bird of the 
finch family. The male has a black tail, throat, 
bill, and head; the back is bluish-gray and the 
breast is red. It is nearly seven inches long. 
The female is less brightly colored. These 
birds feed on moss and buds of fruit. They 
are prized for their song and can be taught 
to sing musical airs. The bullfinch is found 
in Europe and on the islands adjacent to its 
coasts. Allied species inhabit Asia and one is 
found in Alaska. 

BULLFROG (-frog), a large aquatic frog 
widely distributed in Canada and the United 
States, but most abundant in the warmer re¬ 
gions. The larger species are common to the 
Southern States, and are found more com¬ 
monly in marshes and swampy lands. The 
voice is a deep bass, loud and coarse, from 
which the name was derived. They feed on 
worms, insects, and crustaceans, and the larger 
species eat other frogs and young birds. The 
hind legs are edible and considered a delicacy. 

BULLION (bul'yun), the term used to de¬ 
scribe uncoined gold or silver which has been 
reduced to the standard fineness of the coinage 
of a country. It is sometimes employed to 
designate these metals whether they are coined 
or uncoined, and is likewise applied to old or 
foreign coin held for recoinage. In England it is 
quite common to report as bullion the metallic 
reserve held in banks, but such money is more 
generally referred to as coin in the United 
States. 

BULL RUN, a small stream in northern 
Virginia, a tributary of the Potomac through 
the Occoquan River, which was the scene of 
two great battles of the Civil War. The first 
was the great battle that took place on July 
21, 1861, between McDowell, commanding 

28,000 Union soldiers, and Beauregard and 
Johnson, leading 31,000 Confederates. The 
battle commenced early in the morning, the ad¬ 
vantage remaining with the Federal forces until 
noon. They had crossed Bull Run and at¬ 
tempted to displace the enemy’s left, but the 
Confederates received reinforcements in the 
afternoon and led a vigorous attack upon the 
Union forces, causing them to retreat in con¬ 
fusion and disorder, the panic reaching as far 
as Washington. The Confederates lost 2,000 
men and the Union loss was about 2,800. Jack- 
son rendered valuable services to the Confeder¬ 
ate side and was named “Stonewall” ever after. 
The battle had an encouraging effect upon the 
South, and clearly demonstrated that the war 
would be a long struggle instead of a skirmish 


of several months, as formerly supposed by 
the people of the North. 

The second battle of Bull Run occurred Aug. 
29 and 30, 1862. The Confederate forces were 
commanded by Jackson, who was awaiting rein¬ 
forcements at Bristoe Station, and the Union 
army, consisting of 40,000 men, was commanded 
by General Pope. McDowell was dispatched 
to intercept Lee’s conjunction with Jackson, but 
was recalled to join Pope. Jackson then moved 
to Manassas Junction and took a strong posi¬ 
tion near Gainesville behind an old railroad 
grading. The Union attack was led by General 
Sigel at daylight on August 29. The battle 
raged furiously in the forenoon, Pope expect¬ 
ing McDowell and Porter to join with rein¬ 
forcements. However, the afternoon arrived, 
.but Porter never came. The fighting ceased 
at night and was resumed the next day, but 
Pope’s troops were so wearied that he was com¬ 
pelled to retire. Porter was afterward court- 
martialed for his conduct during the battle and 
dismissed from service. The losses, though 
never accurately determined, were heavy, about 
9,500 for the Confederates and 14,500 on the 
side of the Federals. Lee took the aggressive 
immediately after the battle and invaded Mary¬ 
land. 

BULL TROUT, the name applied to certain 
species of fish belonging to the salmon family. 
They are fine game fish and are frequently 
mistaken for the salmon, from which they 
differ in having a body somewhat thicker than 
that of the salmon. The bull trout of England 
is found in large numbers in the mouths of 
rivers and apf- 
proaches the salmon 
in size and habits: 

In some sections of 
the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains, where a fine 
species is abundant, 
it is considered a 
fine game fish, but 
is more popularly 
called the Dolly 
Varden Trout. 

BULRUSH 
(bul'rush), the pop¬ 
ular name of an 
aquatic plant. It is 
rushlike or reedlike, 
with a cylindrical 
stem growing from 
two to ten feet in 
height. In many species the sheath bears a 
small awl-shaped leaf, and the culm is tipped 
with an erect and pointed leaf. The roots are, 



BULRUSH. 


BUMBLEBEE 


328 


BUNKER HILL 


creeping and have astringent and diuretic prop¬ 
erties useful in medicine. In some species the 
flowers are compound, with small spikes on 
their sides. The stems and leaves are the most 
useful parts of the plant, since their toughness 
renders them of service in thatching and for 
making chair bottoms and mats. The bulrushes 
are common to the rivers and ponds of many 
sections of America and Eurasia. Large tracts 
of Southern Asia are noted for a prolific growth 
of these plants, where they are used quite ex¬ 
tensively by the natives for thatching cottages. 

BUMBLEBEE (bum'b’l-be), or Humble- 
bee, a large bee found in nearly all parts of the 
world, except New Zealand and Australia. It 
has a hairy body and the tibiae of the hind 
legs terminate in two spines. The community 
ranges from fifty to two hundred. A large 
number of species have been described, most of 
which select as a nest some hole in the sod, 
frequently a deserted mouse nest, or an open¬ 
ing between rocks or in a log. About half of a 
colony are workers and the remainder are 
males and females. Rude cells are built by the 
workers, in which the honey is deposited and 
at the end of the season all except a few 
females die. In the spring the fertilized female 
gathers a mass of pollen and honey and de¬ 
posits her eggs, and the scant store of honey is 
laid up by the workers as they mature, while 
the mother bee confines herself to the task of 
increasing the numbers of the colony. The 
females are longer than the males and work¬ 
ers, and they live together in the same colony 
without attacking each other. These bees are 
not valuable except that they fertilize plants, 
and some species of clover depend for their 
fertilization exclusively upon these insects. 
This fact has caused the bumblebee to be in¬ 
troduced in Australia. 

BUNDESRAT (boon'des-rat), the federal 
council of the German empire which represents 
the individual states, the natio^i being repre¬ 
sented by the Reichstag. It is mainly a confirm¬ 
ing body, but has power to reject measures 
passed by the Reichstag. The imperial chancel¬ 
lor is presiding officer and the members from 
each state vote as a unit. 

BUNGALOW (bun-ga-lo'), the name of a 
kind*of house built in the interior of India. It 
is of light construction, one-storied, and usually 
of sun-baked brick. The roof is thatched or 
tiled, and extends some distance over the walls 
so as to prevent them from becoming exces¬ 
sively wet during a rain. Bungalows are con¬ 
structed for officer’s quarters and by many 
Europeans, who furnish them elegantly. In 
some parts of India, where the country is not 


well settled, structures of this kind are erected 
and maintained by the government for the ben¬ 
efit of travelers, who are charged a small fee 
per day when they occupy them. 

BUNION (bun'yun), an inflammation and 
enlargement of the membraneous sack situated 
over the metatarsal joint of the great toe. It is 
caused by pressure, hence may be attributed to 
a tight or badly fitting boot or shoe. The attack 
begins with a small spot and gradually enlarges, 
and may be overcome by rest and poulticing. It 
is advisable to wear a shoe that will protect the 
bunion against pressure. 

BUNKER HILL, a small elevation in 
Charlestown, now connected with Boston, Mass., 
the site of the famous Battle of Bunker Hill. 
The battle occurred on June 17, 1775, between 
the British, commanded by Generals Clinton, 
Howe, Burgoyne, and Gage; and the American 
army, by Generals Ward and Putnam, Colonel 
Prescott, and Major Brooks. The British army 
occupied Boston with 10,000 men and intended 
to occupy Bunker Hill and fortify themselves 
on the neighboring heights. The American army 
consisted of 15,000 men stationed at Cambridge. 



MAP SHOWING BUNKER HILL AND THE 
VICINITY OF BOSTON. 


Hearing of the intention of the British, the 
Americans hastened to fortify Breed’s Hill, 
near Bunker Hill, and were attacked by the 
enemy from their ships and batteries in Charles¬ 
town harbor. They advanced upon the Ameri¬ 
cans + from Morton’s Point, who withheld their 
fire until the British were close upon them, 
when they made a vigorous defense and repulsed 
the British with great loss. A second unsuc¬ 
cessful attack was made, and soon after fol¬ 
lowed the burning of Charlestown. The British 
led a third attack and were resisted by the 






BUNKER HILL MONUMENT 


329 


BUREAU 


Americans with stones- and the butts of their 
rifles, on account of their ammunition being 
exhausted, but the latter finally withdrew from 
the scene of battle with small loss. The Ameri¬ 
cans lost 308 wounded, 30 prisoners, and 116 
killed, among them General Warren. The Brit¬ 
ish loss was 1,054. The Battle of Bunker Hill, 
although unfavorable to the Americans, was 
really a victory in that it taught the lesson that 
the patriots were fired with a great cause and 
that the British could be defeated. They were 
greatly encouraged in spirit and a general re¬ 
spect for their soldierly ability was inspired. 

The Bunker Hill monument is located in the 
center of Breed’s Hill. The corner stone was 
laid June 17, 1825, by General Lafayette in the 
presence of an enormous and enthusiastic 
crowd, among them many survivors of the bat¬ 
tle fought fifty years before, who had gathered 
from far and near. After singing “Old Hun¬ 
dred,” Daniel Webster delivered his famous 
address. The monument was completed June 17, 
1843, when Webster delivered another address 
before a large audience, among them President 
Tyler and a number of his cabinet members. 
This monument is of beautiful granite, 221 feet 
in height. The chamber at the top is reached 
by a spiral stairway. 

BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. See 
Boston; Bunker Hill. 

BUNTING (bun'tmg), the name of several 
birds native to Asia and Europe. It resembles 
the finches, but differs from them mainly in 
having a bony knob on the palate, which is an 
enlargement of the dentary edges of the bill. 
The snow bunting is common to the colder 
regions, and the common or corn bunting is seen 
in England and continental Europe in the fields, 
where it gathers food. About twelve species 
have been described, and to these may be added 
a large number of birds very closely allied in 
habits and structure. They gather in flocks on 
the approach of winter and move toward the 
warmer regions, and in the spring go far north 
to breed. The cowbird, or cow blackbird, is a 
familiar bird of North America of this class. 
See Cowbird. 

BUOYS (bwoi), the floating bodies that are 
fastened or anchored at a point near the loca¬ 
tion of reefs, shoals, or other dangerous ob¬ 
jects in or near harbors as a safeguard in 
guiding ships. They are usually painted in 
bright colors, as red and white, so they may be 
easily seen. A class known as whistling buoys 
have an apparatus which is acted upon by the 
movement of the waves, causing compressed air 
to escape through a whistle. In recent years 
electric incandescent lights were introduced. 


Buoys of this class are connected by wires with 
the shore, and are securely anchored by means 
of wire-rope moorings. Formerly large steam¬ 
ers could sail into harbor only in daytime, but 
with the use of electric buoys they pass safely at 
night. The lights used are of 100-candle power, 
and are fastened to cedar buoys anchored with 
5,000-pound weights. Charts are made of the 
harbor, on which are shown the location and the 
special information to be conveyed by the buoys. 
These charts are placed in the hands of navi¬ 
gators for their instruction when entering or 
leaving the harbor. The Germans have invented 
and extensively use an electric life buoy. It is 
supplied with a storage battery that casts a 
light over a mile for six hours. It has proved 
of much value in the life-saving service. 

BURBOT (bur'bot), a fresh-water fish of 
the cod family, the only representative of that 
class 'of fishes which does not enter salt waters. 
In appearance it resembles the ling, having an 
elongated form and a broad head. The skin is 
covered with imbedded scales and the mouth is 
large. It has two small barbels on the nose 
and a larger one on the chin. It . inhabits the 
streams and lakes of North America, from 
Canada to Mexico, and is sometimes called eel- 
pout, coney fish, and fresh-water cod. Several 
species closely related are well known in the 
United States, where they grow to a weight of 
twelve pounds, but the species of Europe are 
somewhat smaller. 

BURDEKIN (bur'de-km), a river of Aus¬ 
tralia, in the northeastern part of Queensland. 
It rises in the Gilbert Range of the Australian 
Alps and flows southeast until it is joined by 
the Belyando River, when it turns abruptly and 
flows almost due north into Upstart Bay, an 
inlet from the Pacific Ocean. It is about 350 
miles long. 

BURDOCK (bur'dok), a coarse-looking 
weed with hooked flower heads that adhere to 
the wool of sheep, the hair of other animals, 
and to clothing. By these means the ripened 
seeds are widely distributed. It is regarded 
troublesome in Canada and the United States, 
but in some countries is cultivated for food. 
The roots and young shoots are the edible parts. 
It yields medicine useful for rheumatism and 
cutaneous diseases. 

BUREAU (bu'ro), in government, a depart¬ 
ment of public business requiring a force of 
clerks, who labor under the direction of a chief. 
The term is confined to inferior and subordi¬ 
nate departments of England and the United 
States, such as the pension bureau, but most 
governments on the continent of Europe apply 
the term to the higher departments, as the bu- 


BUREAU OF AM. REPUBLICS 


330 


BURIAL 


reau of the minister of foreign affairs. In Rus¬ 
sia the administration is carried on through a 
series of officials, each of which is at the head 
of a bureau, and from this has arisen the term 
bureaucracy. 

BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN RE¬ 
PUBLICS, a bureau maintained in the United 
States with the view of collecting and distribut¬ 
ing commercial information concerning the 
republics o^America. It was established under 
the recommendation of the Pan-American Con¬ 
ference held at Washington in 1889, of which 
James G. Blaine, then Secretary of State, was 
the president. It is controlled by the Depart¬ 
ment of State and the chairmanship of the 
executive committee is vested in the Secretary of 
State. The general director of the Bureau of 
the American Republics has charge of its busi¬ 
ness and must be a citizen of the United States, 
but the executive committee is made up of one 
representative for each country that has mem¬ 
bership in the union. The bureau is supported 
by the several American republics in proportion 
to their population. 

The bureau continues to publish monthly bul¬ 
letins of general information relative to com¬ 
merce, resources, and political matters of gen¬ 
eral interest. A series of useful handbooks are 
issued as well as directories and bulletins treat¬ 
ing of the patent, copyright, land, mining, and 
tariff interests of the countries concerned. In 
1905 the members from the United States took 
position with those who favored a reduction of 
tariffs on some articles and reciprocity in trade, 
which, if successfully carried out, would no 
doubt increase the trade among the American 
republics. 

BURGOS (boor'gos), a city of Spain, capital 
of a province of the same name, 130 miles north 
of Madrid. It is on the Arlanzon River, near 
the Sierra de Oca, and has railroad and electric 
railway facilities. The surrounding country 
produces cereals and fruit, and it is important 
as a market for wool, merchandise, and ma¬ 
chinery. Hat making and weaving are among 
the chief industries. It has a Gothic cathedral 
founded in 1221, and contains the tombs of Cid 
and Don Fernando, who resided at Burgos. It 
was the capital of the kingdom of Castile until 
1087, when Alfonso VI. removed the seat of 
government to Toledo. Population, 1905, 
31,425. 

BURGUNDY (bur'gun-di), once an inde¬ 
pendent kingdom of Europe, but now included 
chiefly in the French provinces of Yonne, Cote- 
d’Or, Ain, and Saone-et-Loire. The ancient 
Burgundians were a Germanic tribe that settled 
on the banks of Vistula and Oder, and afterward 


spread to the Rhine and Neckar. In the year 
407 a. d. they penetrated into Roman Gaul. 
Their kingdom was divided about 451, after a 
defeat of their King Gundicar by Attila the 
Scourge. In 534’ they were conquered by the 
Franks, but a portion of their country became 
independent in 832. They again became power¬ 
ful in 930, but in 1038 were annexed to the Ger¬ 
man Empire. Subsequently a number of 
changes in the ruling dynasties occurred which 
passed the title of their domain to various 
rulers. A portion of the region passed to Aus¬ 
tria by the marriage of Mary of Burgundy to 
Maximilian, and a large part was acquired by 
Louis XI. as a male fief of France. 

The first dynasty of Burgundy included twelve 
personages, who succeeded each other and 
ranked among the most powerful princes of 
their time; most of them were friendly with 
the kings of France. After the extinction. of 
their line, the ruling influence passed to Philip 
the Bold, son of the French King John, and from 
him to his three successors: John the Fearless, 
Philip the Good, and Charles the Bold. These 
three sovereigns ranked among the most famous 
characters in the history of their time. During 
the reign of the last two mentioned, Burgundy 
included the Netherlands and several other 
countries. 

The region included within Burgundy is fer¬ 
tile and productive. It is now penetrated by 
many railroads and contains the cities of 
Chalon-sur-Saone, Dijon, and Macon. The de¬ 
partment of Cote-d’Or is noted for its large 
output of Burgundy wines, which are celebrated 
for their rich flavor and delicate qualities. 

BURIAL (berTT-al), the disposal of the 
bodies of the dead. The .disposition of the dead 
and the funeral rites differ greatly. They are 
influenced more or less by the state of civiliza¬ 
tion and the moral and religious sentiments of 
the people. A natural tenderness is felt for the 
bodies of those who were dear in life, from 
which fact the mode of burial has been greatly 
influenced, and the need of removing from 
sight the body after life has departed has 
caused the subject to be considered with con¬ 
cern and interest. The pagan Greeks and 
Romans had elaborate burial ceremonials, and 
from them came the practice of three-fold sprin¬ 
kling with earth, which is now practiced exten¬ 
sively when the casket is lowered in the grave 
or set in the tomb. The three principal meth¬ 
ods practiced by mankind are mummification, in¬ 
cineration, and interment. m 

Many savage people expose the body of their 
dead to be devoured by animals and birds of 
prey, a custom still in vogue among the Bush- 


BURIATES 


331 


BURLINGTON 


men and other natives of Australia, who expose 
their dead in the limbs of trees. In India many 
bodies are thrown into the Ganges River, which 
the Hindus consider sacred as a stream flowing 
toward immortality. Mummification was the 
chief method in Egypt* where the bodies were 
embalmed and kept inviolate in expensive tombs, 
a custom that originated from the practice of 
burying in earthen jars, which was practiced to 
a great extent by the Babylonians. The Greeks 
and Romans patterned after the Egyptians to 
some extent in embalming the dead, but inhu¬ 
mation was a moi^ general method, and later 
cremation came to be practiced. In some coun¬ 
tries, especially in Assyria and Babylonia, the 
dead were buried very generally by placing the 
bodies on the surface of the ground and cov¬ 
ering them with a mound, which was surrounded 
with stone and covered with decorations. 

Interment in ancient times was more largely 
in tombs, and these were built on the property 
belonging to the family, but later burial grounds 
were set apart for the interment of persons 


been subject to Russia since 1664. They inhabit 
the region about Lake Baikal and support them¬ 
selves by farming and stock raising, but more 
recently they have taken up mechanic arts and 
some branches of trade. A number have been 
converted to the Greek Church, though the 
larger portion retain a preference for their 
worship of idols. Their dwellings consist 
largely of huts, or yurts, and these are protected 
from the colds of winter by coverings of leather 
and felt. These people number about 250,000. 

BURLESQUE (bur-lesk'), a dramatic or 
literary composition tending to excite contempt 
or laughter by extravagant images, or by a 
contrast between the subject and the manner 
of treating it. In this form of composition, in¬ 
significant things are described in glowing terms, 
while elevated and important subjects of 
thought are treated in the most commonplace 
language. The writings of William Schwenck 
Gilbert (q. v.) contain good examples of bur¬ 
lesque in which fads and affectations play an im¬ 
portant part, and the highest dramatic excel- 



EGYPTfAN SCULPTURE, SHOWING FUNERAL PROCESSION. 


belonging to a certain society or church, and 
subsequently community or municipal cemeteries 
were established. The popular plan at present is 
to inter the bodies in the ground to a depth of 
from four to seven feet, but in many places 
tombs are erected to receive the bodies, which 
are invariably placed in caskets made of wood 
or metal. Tombs are usually large enough for 
a number of persons or even a number of 
families, and where the ground is low and wet, 
as in New Orleans, this method of disposal is 
very popular. Many, cemeteries are established 
and maintained by churches, but the tendency 
now is toward municipal ownership and con¬ 
trol. Cremation, though practiced very exten¬ 
sively among the Greeks and Romans, went 
out of use with the rise of Christianity, but it is 
now gaining in favor on the ground that it is a 
more sanitary method. See Cemetery; Crema¬ 
tion; Embalming. 

BURIATES (boo-re-hes'), a nomadic race 
of people native to southern Siberia. They are 
Tartars, a branch of the Kalmucks, and have 


lence is attained in the works of Moliere. Chau¬ 
cer’s “Rime of Sir Tho'pas” is a burlesque on 
the tales of the Middle Ages, and Cervantes’ 
“Don Quixote” is a popular work intended to 
ridicule the romantic tales of chivalry. Vaude¬ 
ville is of French origin and corresponds to 
burlesque, but more recently it, like burlesque, 
has become a mixture of ballet and travesty. 

BURLINGTON (bur'ling-tun), a city in 
Iowa, county seat of Des Moines County, on the 
Mississippi River, 135 miles southeast of Des 
Moines, on the Chicago; Burlington and Quincy 
and other railroads, and has connection by 
steamers with ports on the Ohio, the Mississippi, 
and the Gulf. The chief buildings include the 
courthouse, the city hall, the opera house, the 
Federal building, and the central high school. 
It has a public library of 22,500 volumes, 
and is the seat of Burlington Institute Col¬ 
lege. The municipal improvements include 
systems of gas and electric lighting, central 
heating, sewerage, and street pavements of brick 
and asphalt. An extensive system of electric 


/ 



























BURLINGTON 


332 


BURMA 


railways supplies urban and interurban com¬ 
munication. Near the city are rich coal de¬ 
posits. The manufactures include furniture, 
packed meat, machinery, implements, flour, 
cigars, ironware, and soap. It has a large trade 
in lumber, cereals, and merchandise. It was first 
settled in 1833 and was chartered as a city in 
1838. From 1837 until 1840 it was the capital of 
Iowa. Owing to its fine location and many 
parks and gardens it is called “Orchard City.” 
Population, 1905, 25,318. 

BURLINGTON, a city of New Jersey, in 
Burlington County, on the Delaware River, 
eighteen miles northeast of Philadelphia. It is 
on the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile agricultural and fruit 
country, and has extensive manufactures of 
implements, ironware, flour carriages, and 
shoes. The chief buildings include Burling¬ 
ton College, Saint Mary’s Hall, Saint Mary’s 
Church (Episcopal), and a public library. The 
city has several fine schools and modern munici¬ 
pal facilities. It is the birthplace of James Fen- 
imore Cooper. Quakers settled it in 1677, and it 
was incorporated in 1733. Population, 1905, 8,038. 

BURLINGTON, county seat of Chittenden 
County, Vermont, on Lake Champlain, 35 miles 
northwest of Montpelier, on the Vermont Cen¬ 
tral and the Rutland railroads. It occupies a 
fine site on high ground overlooking the lake. 
In the center of the city is a large square, near 
which are the city hall, the county courthouse, 
the post office, the public library, and the custom¬ 
house. It has a large trade by steamboat navi¬ 
gation. The manufactories include cotton and 
woolen mills, marble and stone works, and flour¬ 
ing mills. The surrounding country is agricul¬ 
tural. Gas and electric lights, street railways, 
pavements, and waterworks are among the im¬ 
provements. It is the seat of the State College 
of Agriculture, the University of Vermont, the 
Vermont Episcopal Institute, and many fine pub¬ 
lic schools and churches. Burlington was char¬ 
tered in 1763, became a town in 1797, and was 
incorporated as a city in 1865. Population, 1900, 
18,640. 

BURMA (bur'ma), a country of Southeast¬ 
ern Asia, the largest province of British India. 
It lies between north latitude 10° and 28°, and 
east longitude 92° and 101°. The boundary on 
the north is formed by Tibet; on the east by 
China, French Indo-China, and Siam; south by 
the Bay of Bengal; and west by the Bay of 
Bengal, Bengal, Manipur, and Assam. From 
north to south it has a length of 1,250 miles, and 
its breadth in the southern part is only 30 miles, 
while in the central part it broadens to a width 
of 550 miles. The area is 168,550 square miles, 


exclusive of dependent states, which have aL 
area of about 68,500 square miles. 

Description. Lower Burma, which extends 
south from about latitude 22°, is a narrow strip 
along the coast of the Sea of Bengal and has a 
level surface, while Upper Burma is diversi¬ 
fied by level lands near the gulf and elevated 
plateaus in the northern part. It is separated 
from Tibet by ranges of the Himalaya Moun¬ 
tains, which approximate altitudes of 15,000 feet 
above the sea. The ranges diminish in height 
toward the south, and at Mandalay, situated 
near the central part, the altitude is about 6,500 
feet. The chief ranges are the Patkoi Moun¬ 
tains in the north and the Garo Hills in the 
northwest. 

Burma lies chiefly in the basin of the Irra¬ 
waddy River, which rises in the Himalayas and 
flows south into the Bay of Bengal by an exten¬ 
sive delta. Near Mandalay it is joined by the 
Chindwin, its largest tributary. The delta is very 
extensive, covering an area of 18,000 square 
miles, and during the rainy season this section 
overflows. In the eastern part the drainage is 
chiefly by the Salwin and its tributaries. The 
Salwin flows south and discharges into the Bay 
of Bengal near Maulmain. 

The climate is various, ranging from the tor¬ 
rid in the southern part to the temperate in 
the higher altitudes of the north. In most 
sections the climate is tropical and the rainfall 
is very heavy. The coast ranges have a precipi¬ 
tation equal to 120 to 165 inches, and in some 
regions of the northern part the rainfall is ir¬ 
regular, ranging from 30 to 150 inches. The 
temperature in the lowlands has a mean average 
of about 85°, and in the interior the summers 
vary from 80° to 95°, while the winters are 
about 30° lower. Europeans find the lowlands 
unhealthful and the monsoons unpleasant. 
These winds blow from the sea in the sum¬ 
mer, causing heavy precipitation, and in the 
winter they move from the north toward the 
sea, hence a dry season in winter and excessive 
moisture in summer. 

Flora and Fauna. Burma is rich in dense 
tropical forests, which include the valuable teak, 
ironwood, palm, betel, and bamboo. The cocoa- 
nut, palmyra, mango, and other varieties abound. 
Crotons, screw pines, balsams, oranges, pineap¬ 
ples, begonias, and many others are cultivated. 
Wild animals are abundant, both in the jungles 
and the mountains. They include the crocodile, 
tapir, goat, gibbon, buffalo, elephant, and many 
varieties of birds and monkeys. 

Minerals. Though rich in mineral wealth, 
Burma has not developed mining to any great 
extent. Ruby, amber, and sapphire are obtained 


BURMA 


333 


BURMA 


in the sand of many streams, which is also a 
source of gold. Some mining is done for cop¬ 
per, iron, silver, lead, and antimony, but the 
output is not large. Coal and petroleum are 
abundant and considerable interest has been 
developed in quarrying white marble. This 
produce is obtained largely near Mandalay and 
is favored by the Buddhists in making sculptures 
and for decorating temples. 

Industries. Farming is the chief industry. 
The land is owned by the state and is leased to 
the farmer, who is required to pay a tax based 
on the extent and fertility of the land worked. 
Rice is the chief product and may be cultivated 
in about one-tenth of the country. Indeed, 
Burma takes first rank in the cultivation of this 
cereal. Other products embrace cotton, sugar 
cane, indigo, tea, rye, and vegetables. 

The elephant is used extensively as a beast 
of draft and burden, but more recently the horse 
and mule have come to occupy an important 
place in farming. Cattle are grown extensively 
for dairying purposes, but the flesh is not eaten 
by the natives, since their religion prohibits meat 
eating. 

Though quite important in the enterprises of 
manufacturing, no large establishments are main¬ 
tained. The weaving of silk and cotton is a 
growing enterprise and is practiced in all of the 
cities. Earthenware of various kinds, jewelry, 
clothing, agricultural implements, and furniture 
are among the leading manufactures. Trans¬ 
portation is facilitated by the Irrawaddy, the 
Salwin, and a number of other rivers, some of 
which have been improved by embankments and 
connected with centers of trade by canals. A 
railroad line extends from Rangoon to Man¬ 
dalay and other points of the interior and the 
northern section. Many highways have been im¬ 
proved and the chief cities have been fortified 
in modern style. The exports exceed the im¬ 
ports, and foreign trade is largely with China, 
Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. 
Rice, cotton, hides; India rubber, and lumber are 
exported. The chief imports include textiles, 
raw silk, fish, and metal products. 

Inhabitants. The inhabitants consist chiefly 
of Burmese, who are related to the Chinese. 
They constitute an important branch of the 
Mongolian race, and probably descended from 
people who came from Tibet. In stature'they 
are medium and heavy-set, and have black hair, 
brown skin, broad skull, and black eyes. The 
language is monosyllabic, much like the Chinese, 
and their characters in writing are more or less 
circular. The civilization* is stationary and 
stereotyped, maintaining its characteristic fea¬ 
tures from century to century. A large amount 


of wealth is lavished on temples, which are of 
much greater concern to the average Burmans 
than highways and public utilities. The religion 
is Buddhism, and their monks, numbering about 
20,000, have a marked influence socially and 
politically. Rangoon, on the Rangoon River, 
and Mandalay, on the Irrawaddy, are the chief 
commercial centers. Other cities of importance 
are Maulmain and Myitkyina. The total popu¬ 
lation, including that of the dependent states, 
is 10,650,000. 

Government. The government of Burma is 
under the viceroy of India, and is administered 
locally under a lieutenant governor, who is as¬ 
sisted by a legislative council at Rangoon. For 
the purpose of local government the country is 
divided into eight divisions, each of which is 
presided over by a commissioner, who is the 
chief executive and judicial officer. The divi¬ 
sions are subdivided into townships and villages, 
and these are presided over by Burman magis¬ 
trates. The educational work is conducted 
largely through monasteries, of which there are 
many in all parts of the country, but the gov¬ 
ernment is promoting training in public schools 
and institutions of higher learning. 

History. The ancient and modern history of 
Burma is not important as it affects the history 
and civilization of the East. It is thought that 
the Burmans came to the valley of the Irra¬ 
waddy more than 2,000 years ago. The region 
was long divided into two kingdoms, those of 
Pegu and Ava, which contended against each 
other for mastery 'many years. The former 
seems to have attained its zenith about 1580, 
when the Peguans became dominant over all 
Burma, and they held sway until 1752, when a 
temporary decline began through European in¬ 
fluence in the delta of the Irrawaddy. About 
that time the kingdom of Ava began to rise and 
overthrew the domain of Pegu. In 1755 the 
city of Rangoon was founded by Alompra, an 
energetic Ava chief, who made it the commer¬ 
cial center of Burma, which attained its greatest 
power as an independent nation in 1822. 

The British East India Company gained a 
strong foothold in the latter part of the 18th 
century, when it founded factories and opened 
an important trade in the interest of Great 
Britain. Difficulties in consequence of disputes 
about trading privileges and the frontier were 
numerous in the early part of the 19th cen¬ 
tury, and in 1824 the British invaded Burma with 
a large army. This resulted in Assarfi being 
relinquished by the Burmese, and a second war 
in 1852 resulted in the annexation of Pegu as 
British territory. The British again invaded 
Burma in 1885 on account of disputes in regard 


BURNING GLASS 


334 


BUSHMEN 


to commercial concessions, relating chiefly to the 
transportation of timber, and the following year 
the remainder of Burma was proclaimed a part 
of Great Britain. In 1896 a treaty was con¬ 
cluded between France and Great Britain, by 
which the Mekong was made the boundary be¬ 
tween Burma and Laos, a part of French Indo- 
China. 

BURNING GLASS, an instrument to con¬ 
centrate the rays of the sun. It consists of a 
double convexed lens, hence is thick in the cen¬ 
ter and thin at the edges, and brings the rays 
of solar heat to.a focus at nearly the same point 
to which it brings the rays of light. This instru¬ 
ment is used to set fire on various substances, 
such as paper and wood. Burning glasses were 
made by the ancients, and Aristophanes and 
several writers declare that Archimedes fired 
the Roman ships by means of burning mirrors. 
George Buffon (q. v.), the French naturalist 
and philosopher, made a large reflector with 
which he set fire to wood at a distance of 
210 feet, proving the possibility of Archimedes 
having thus burned the Roman fleet. 

BURNLEY (burn'le), a city of England, in 
Lancashire, 24 miles north of Manchester. It 
is located on the Burn River and the Leeds and 
Liverpool Canal, and has transportation facili¬ 
ties by numerous railway and electric railroad 
lines. The chief manufactures include textiles, 
clothing, machinery, and ironware. Slate quar¬ 
ries and iron mines are worked in the vicinities. 
The municipality owns most of the public utili¬ 
ties, including the gas and waterworks, slaugh¬ 
terhouses, public markets, and the electric light¬ 
ing plant. It has public baths, a sanatorium, and 
several hospitals and technical schools. The 
trade is brisk, especially in cotton and worsted 
goods, machinery, and merchandise. Burnley is 
comparatively a modern city, and has regularly 
platted streets and many fine buildings of stone 
and cement. It was incorporated as a town in 
1861. Population, 1907, 103,947. 

BURNT OFFERING, the object offered as 
an atonement for sins and burnt on the altar as 
a sacrifice. The practice of burning objects of 
value was in vogue both among pagans and the 
Jews, the former offering their sacrifices to 
idols and the Jews to Jehovah. Both animals 
and vegetable products were burned. When the 
whole offering was consumed upon the altar, it 
was known as the whole burnt offering. The 
peace offerings consisted usually of parts of ani¬ 
mals, of which portions were given to the 
priests for their families. See Sacrifice. 

BURRARD INLET, a narrow inlet of Brit¬ 
ish Columbia, an arm of the Strait of Georgia, 
a short distance north of the mouth of the 


Fraser Riyer. It is nine miles long and on its 
northern shore is the city of Vancouver. Its 
shores are covered with forests of firs, cedars, 
and pines, and it is noted for its fisheries. 

BURRILLVILLE (bur'ril-vil), a town of 
Rhode Island, in Providence County, 22 miles 
northwest of Providence. It is situated on the 
New York, New Haven .and Hartford Railway, 
and near it is Wallum Lake, a popular summer 
resort. The manufactures include textiles and 
machinery. Population, 1910, 7,878. 

BURTON-ON-TRENT, a town of Staf¬ 
fordshire, England, on the Trent River, twenty 
miles east of Stafford. It is surrounded by a 
level country, producing cereals, fruits and 
live stock. The river is crossed by a 
stone bridge with twenty-nine arches, and it 
has transportation facilities by several railroads 
and the Grand Trunk Canal. Among the pub¬ 
lic buildings are a public library, a college, and 
many fine churches and hospitals. The manu¬ 
factures include ale, clothing, cotton .goods, and 
machinery. The breweries are among the 
largest in the world. Burton was incorporated 
in 1878. Population, 1907, 53,425. 

BURY (ber'i), a town in Lancashire, Eng¬ 
land, eight miles north of Manchester. It is the 
seat of immense manufactures of woolen goods, 
fabrics, machinery, ironware, and dyestuffs. A 
fine stone statue of Sir Robert Peel, who was 
born near here, adorns the public park. It has 
many fine churches and school buildings, several 
hospitals, and good municipal improvements. 
Freestone quarries and coal mines are worked 
in the vicinity. It was incorporated in . 1876. 
Population, 1907, 58,918. 

BUSH BUCK, or Boshbok, an antelope of 
South Africa, so named from its habit of fre¬ 
quenting the thick underbrush. It is easily 
caught in the open country. The body is from 
four to five feet long and about three feet high, 
and the horns are triangular. It is esteemed for 
its venison.. A similar animal known as white- 
backed bush buck is native to Sierra Leone. 

BUSHEL (bush'el), a measure of capacity, 
containing eight gallons or four pecks, used in 
measuring dry quantities. The bushel contains 
2,150.42 cubic inches, and the standard cylinder 
used is eight inches deep and 18% inches in 
diameter, inside measurement. This particular 
bushel is used in the United States, while the 
imperial bushel of Great Britain has a capacity 
of 2,211.192 cubic inches, equal to eighty pounds 
of distilled water. 

BUSHMEN, or Bosjesmans, a native race 
of South Africa, who dwell in the region of 
the Orange River. # They are low in the scale 
of mankind, and have made little progress in 


BUSHRANGERS 335 

the arts of civilization. Their habitations are 
caves and clefts in the mountains, or holes in 
the ground covered with roofs of reeds. They 
support themselves chiefly by hunting and trap¬ 
ping and by gathering berries, roots, insects and 
reptiles, which they eat about half cooked. The 
dog is their favorite domestic animal. They 
have numerous legends and do a rude form of 
painting, but their language is very simple. 

BUSHRANGERS (bush'ran-jerz), a gang of 
escaped convicts who frequented the forests of 
New South Wales in 1810-80. They robbed 
banks, plundered villages, and laid tribute on the 
settlers. Subsequently they infested Van Die- 
man’s Land and frequented the mountainous 
districts of eastern Victoria. They were exter¬ 
minated under martial law proclaimed by the 
governor in 1815, but the last of their gang was 
not executed until 1880, when three were shot 
at Melbourne. 

BUSINESS COLLEGE, an institution in 
which students of both sexes are trained for 
commercial employment. These schools have 
been promoted for many years, or departments 
doing similar work have been maintained in 
public schools or normal colleges, but since the 
middle of the last century they have multiplied 
greatly. This is due to the fact that stenog¬ 
raphy, typewriting, and telegraphy have de¬ 
manded more attention, and through these 
branches of study all lines of office work have 
been modified to a great extent. Business col¬ 
leges do not only teach the three branches men¬ 
tioned, but in addition provide courses in book¬ 
keeping, commercial arithmetic, commercial law, 
commercial geography, and one or more modern 
languages, especially German, French, or Span¬ 
ish. All the larger cities of the United States 
and Canada have one or more business colleges, 
and in these countries commercial departments 
are maintained in a large number of high 
schools. Writers of text-books have supplied 
outlines and texts suitable for class work in 
all the branches taught, and these are quite as 
numerous as those offered for use in public 
schools and colleges. 

BUST, in sculpture, the representation of the 
chest and the upper part of the body. The ear¬ 
liest bust known is that of Scipio Africanus the 
Elder. Busts were very common in the literary 
period of Greece and quite extensive in Rome. 

By means of them we have good representations 
of the faces of Plato, Socrates., Demosthenes, 
and many other Greek characters ; and of Caesar, 
Cicero, Cato, and other eminent Romans. How¬ 
ever, they are less common among the latter. 
King Louis I„ of Bavaria, made the most cele¬ 
brated collection that exists, now at the Wal- 


BUTTE 

halla, about seven miles east of. Regensburg 
(Ratisbon), Germany. Among the busts are 101 
representations of eminent Germans. 

BUSTARD (bus'terd), a bird of the Eastern 
Hemisphere, belonging to the order of runners. 
The great bustard was once common to the 
British Isles, and is still found in the south¬ 
eastern part of Europe and in Tartary. It 
measures six to seven feet from wing to wing 



GREAT BUSTARD. 

and weighs thirty pounds. The little bustard is 
common to Europe. Several species are found 
in Africa and one is native to Australia, but 
none is found in America. The bustard family 
is esteemed for food, but attempts to domesti¬ 
cate these birds have failed. 

BUTCHER BIRD. See Shrike. 

BUTLER, a borough in Pennsylvania, 
county seat of Butler County, about twenty- 
three miles north of Pittsburg, on the Bessemer 
and Lake Erie, the Pennsylvania, and other rail¬ 
roads. It has a growing trade in minerals and 
farm produce. Among the chief buildings are 
the county courthouse, the public library, and 
several banks and business houses. The city is 
in the natural gas and oil belt, and engages in 
the manufacture of machinery and implements. 
It has extensive flouring, woolen, and planing 
mills. Gas and electric lights, street railways, 
pavements, and fine schools and churches are 
among the conveniences. It was settled in 1798 
and became incorporated in 1803. Population, 
1900, 10,853. 

BUTTE (but), a name frequently applied to 
mountains whose peaks are more than 8,500 feet 
above the. sea. In this sense the word is used 
quite frequently in Canada and England, and 




BUTTE 


336 


BUTTERFLY 


to some extent in the United States, but in the 
last mentioned country it applies more gener¬ 
ally to a hill or knoll rising abruptly on a plain 
or plateau. Many small buttes are located in 
the Rocky Mountains and on the high plains 
of 'North Dakota and eastern Montana. They 
were formed by the erosion of ancient pla¬ 
teaus, being the more solid portion of earth or 
clay mixed with rock. 

BUTTE, a city of Montana, county seat of 
Silverbow County, sixty-four miles south of 
Helena, on the Great Northern, the Northern 
Pacific, the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul, 
and other railroads. In its vicinity are pro¬ 
ductive deposits of gold, silver, and copper. 
The chief buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the Federal post office, the State School 
of Mines, the city hall, and the opera house. 
It has a public library of 35,000 volumes. The 
manufactures include cigars, clothing, earthen¬ 
ware, and machinery. It has a large local and 
jobbing trade. The municipal improvements are 
electric and gas Tights, pavements, street rail¬ 
ways, sewerage, and waterworks. Butte was 
settled in 1864 and was first incorporated in 
1879. Population, 1900, 30,470; in 1910, 39,165. 

BUTTER (but'ter), the fatty substance of 
milk or cream solidified by churning. Formerly 
butter was made wholly of cream that was col¬ 
lected from time to time by skimming the sur¬ 
face of milk, where it accumulates by gravita¬ 
tion. This method is still employed on the 
smaller farms, but in dairying it has been super¬ 
seded by the use of the cream separator (q. v.). 
After a sufficient quantity of cream has been 
gathered, it is placed in a churn, or in some 
other suitable apparatus^ and is agitated until 
butter forms. When the churning has been fin¬ 
ished, the butter is taken out and is worked 
thoroughly to free it from milk, and about two 
per cent, of salt worked into it. The milk of 
a well-fed cow contains about four per cent, of 
butter. In the newer process of making butter 
by separating the cream from the milk by a 
separator, the centripetal principle of revolu¬ 
tion is applied to the process, and later the 
cream is agitated in a churn propelled by steam 
or electric power. In the larger creameries the 
whole milk is churned. The agitation in churn¬ 
ing ruptures the fat globules and causes them 
to collect in masses. 

Much care must be exercised in the packing 
and storage of butter, as it is very sensitive to 
its environments and its flavor is easily im¬ 
paired. When the butter is delivered by the 
creamery to the customer or is shipped only a 
short distance, it is usually put up in the form 
of bricks, but when shipped a long distance it 


is packed in tubs or firkins. Farmers either 
make the butter themselves and sell it to gro¬ 
cers, or they sell the milk or cream to the 
creamery or cheese factory. The modern re¬ 
frigerator cars and cold-storage plants permit 
transporting butter long distances or keeping it 
many months without danger of injury. 

The production of butter is an important in¬ 
dustry. Denmark and Holland excel all other 
countries in the quality of the butter produced, 
and both are large exporters. The butter in¬ 
dustry of Canada and the United States has 
grown constantly the past decade, owing to the 
introduction of the creamery system. The 
annual production in the United States is val¬ 
ued at $275,500,000. Chicago, New York, and 
Boston are the leading butter markets, but it 
is an article of extensive commerce in many lo¬ 
calities and in most countries. An artificial but¬ 
ter, called oleomargarine, is made of beef fat, or 
suet. A general law places a heavy tax upon it, 
in order to protect the production of dairy but¬ 
ter. However, it is produced extensively and 
forms an important article of commerce. 

BUTTERCUP, a name popularly given to 
several varieties of plants of the ranunculus 
family. The taller species grow to a height 
of two or three feet, the smaller varieties form 
runners, while others grow in water. They 
flower in May; the flowers have a shining yel¬ 
low color and are double in several species. 
They were so named because formerly illy in¬ 
formed people thought the yellow color of but¬ 
ter was due to cattle eating them, which they 
never do. 

BUTTERFLY, the common name of a large 
class of diurnal insects, that is, insects which 
are active during the daytime. The butterflies 
and moths constitute the Lepidoptera, or scaly- 
winged insects. They exhibit much similarity to 
other kindred insects. Many species are found 
in all parts of the world, though in some regions 
they are seen only in the summer season. They 
are more numerous in the tropical climates than 
in the colder zones. They are found as far 
north as Greenland and Spitzbergen, where they 
extract nectar from the flowers, while in warmer 
climates they inhabit the shade of moist foliage 
in the woods and jungles. Most species fly by 
day, while the hawk moths move about by twi¬ 
light, and the moths by night. 

The life of the butterfly may. be divided into 
three periods or stages. It begins when the 
larva or caterpillar is hatched from the egg, 
when it is wormlike in form. In this stage it 
lives from three to ten months, depending upon 
the locality and the season, and during all this 
time it takes in food with much greediness. 


BUTTERFLY 


337 


BUTTON 


During the second stage, when it is known as 
the pupa or chrysalis, it takes in no food what¬ 
ever. While in this period of development, the 
pupa of the moth is inclosed in a cocoon of silk, 
while that of the butterfly is incased in a chrys¬ 
alis with a hard outer case. Some species re¬ 
main in this stage only a few weeks, but some 
do not emerge from it before the following 
spring. In the third stage the insect is known 
as the imago or perfect insect. 

The eggs are laid on the leaves of plants, 
but only the kinds fed on by caterpillars are 
selected for the purpose, and they are hatched 
by the heat of the sun. When laid in the sum¬ 
mer, they hatch in a few days, but in cold cli¬ 
mates the eggs hatch in the spring following 
their deposit. When hatched in the spring, they 



CATERPILLAR, PUPA, AND BUTTERFLY. 


live as caterpillars during the greater part of 
the summer, while those hatched late in the 
summer remain in the chrysalis or pupa state 
during the winter and develop into butterflies 
in the spring. 

Butterflies have four wings. They are richly 
colored on both sides and are separate from 
each other and held upright when at rest. The 
wings are covered vith beautiful scales or feath¬ 
ers, as perfect as those found in the most beau¬ 
tiful birds, but are so small that several hundred 
thousand occupy a square inch. The wings pos¬ 
sess great power, considering the size of the 
insect, and many species are able to soar in the 
air with a steady and continuous motion, while 
others in the tropical regions are migratory, 
often moving many miles in large numbers. The 


smaller species have a zigzag flight, and stop to 
rest frequently on leaves of trees and grasses. 

Butterflies are admired for their beauty. They 
are active in delightful weather, and are usually 
associated with the most beautiful vegetation 
and natural scenery, but the caterpillar is a very 
uncouth appearing insect and gives annoyance by 
its ravages in fields and gardens. Some cater¬ 
pillars are associated in large colonies, some¬ 
times several hundred, and in this form are very 
destructive to fruit trees, especially apples and 
plums. The fully developed butterflies are short 
lived, serving the purpose of depositing their 
eggs and then die. There are no less than 50,000 
species in the different climates, and about one- 
eighth of them are found in America north of 
Mexico. The species include every color, and 
in size range from very small insects to the 
largest found in the tropical countries, some 
measuring nearly foot across the wings. Some 
are remarkable for the likeness they bear to the 
leaves, flowers, bark, or vegetable life on which 
they feed, this often serving as a protection 
against their enemies. 

BUTTERFLY WEED, a plant native to 
North America, found widely distributed in 
Canada and the United States. It is allied to 
the so-called milkweeds, and is known in some 
sections as pleurisy root. It has bright orange- 
colored flower clusters and the root is used as 
a medicine, chiefly as an expectorant. 

BUTTERINE (but'ter-in). See Oleomar¬ 
garine. 

BUTTERNUT, or White Walnut, a wide- 
spreading forest tree of America. It ranges 
from the Atlantic to the Missouri River and 
beyond, has nearly smooth bark and serrated 
and pointed leaves, and grows to a height of 
fifty to seventy-five feet. It flowers in May and 
bears an oblong-ovate nut that ripens in Sep¬ 
tember. The kernel is much used for eating, 
while the bark yields a dye, and the wood is 
useful for cabinet work and for fuel. It is 
not so valuable as the wood of the black wal¬ 
nut, being lighter in weight and less hardy. 

BUTTERWORT (but'ter-wurt), a plant 
common to the marshy grounds of Europe and 
Canada. The flowers of most species are pur¬ 
ple in color, and have a two-lipped calyx. The 
leaves are thick and somewhat greasy to the 
touch, and secrete a glutinous fluid that holds 
small insects, which are consumed by the plant 
for food. Some species, as the butterwort of 
the Alps, bear a yellowish flower. The leaves 
are used in northern countries, as in Sweden 
and Norway, to coagulate milk. 

BUTTON, a small circular disk used chiefly 
to fasten together parts of a dress and for orna- 



BUTTRESS 


338 


BUZZARD 


mentation. It is made of a large variety of 
materials, including pearl, bone, horn, wood, 
ivory, copper, rubber, and brass. A very durable 
button is made of the blood- of animals, which 
is gathered at slaughterhouses and the liquid 
portions are evaporated. In style or pattern 
buttons differ very largely, but they may be 
classed as shank buttons, hole buttons, and cov¬ 
ered buttons. Shank buttons are fastened to the 
garment by a loop of wire, called the eye, and 
are used extensively in overalls and other gar¬ 
ments worn by men. Hole buttons are sewed 
to the cloth by means of thread, which is 
passed through the holes drilled in the center. 
Covered buttons are worn largely on garments 
of a better grade, and are covered with cloth 
or silk to conform to the pattern to which they 
are attached. 

The manufacture of buttons is an enterprise 
of vast importance, though as such it does not 
date to remote antiquity. An article of this 
kind was not used by the Greeks and Romans 
to any great extent, who fastened their loose 
garments with strings and girdles, or used pins, 
brooches, or buckles. Hooks and eyes have been 
in use many centuries, but the extensive use of 
buttons does not date back farther than the 
14th century. Birmingham, England, is the 
chief center of the manufacture of buttons 
in Great Britain, and this enterprise is de¬ 
veloped quite extensively in Canada. In Ger¬ 
many, the United States, and many other coun¬ 
tries buttons are made to some extent by con¬ 
vict labor in the penitentiaries. The pearl but¬ 
ton industry is centered largely along the Mis¬ 
sissippi River, in which fresh-water mussels are 
abundant. Extensive factories are operated at 
Muscatine and Fort Madison, Iowa, and in 
many places along the Mississippi River be¬ 
tween New Orleans, La., and Red Wing, Minn. 
Buttons of this class are cut with tubular saws 
from the shells into the sizes of the buttons de¬ 
sired, after, which holes are pierced or drilled, 
and the button is finished by polishing. Water- 
bury, Conn., is the center of the metal button 
industry in the United States, and large quan¬ 
tities are made in Philadelphia. Glass, porcelain, 
and gutta-percha buttons are manufactured to 
a considerable extent. Other kinds, are those 
made of celluloid and papier-mache. Many civic 
societies and other organizations, especially the 
Grand Army of the Republic (q. v.), wear but¬ 
tons of metal, usually bronze or brass, on the 
common garments, and of gold or silver for 
symbols or ornamentations. 

BUTTRESS (but'tres), in architecture, a 
support on the outside of tall buildings, used 
extensively in bridges which bear a heavy super¬ 


structure. The Chaldaeans built rudimentary 
buttresses to strengthen the walls supporting 
heavy vaults-or roofs, but the more substantial 
forms came into use at the time of the Byzan¬ 
tine Empire. In Gothic architecture it is an es¬ 
sential feature, especially the so-called flying 
buttress, which has an arched form and springs 
from a heavy pinnacled buttress, serving to sup¬ 
port a higher portion of the building by trans¬ 
ferring its thrust downward to the exterior but¬ 
tress. In many styles of buttresses more or 
less ornamentation has been introduced and 
some are paneled over the entire surface. 

BUTYRIC ACID (bu-tir'ik), one of a num¬ 
ber of acids obtained from butter, and contained 
in various other substances, such as perspiration 
and cod-liver oil. It is formed in milk by the 
action of caseine upon the sugar, lactic acid 
being first formed, and this by its decomposition 
producing hydrogen and butyric and carbonic 
acids. When obtained from butter, it is a color¬ 
less liquid, and is unpleasant to the odor and 
taste. Butyric acid gives the rank smell to 
rancid butter. 

BUZZARD (buz'zerd), the name of a class 
of birds of prey belonging to the falcon family. 
The common buzzard of Europe is large and has 
a heavy body. 

It is skillful 
in catc h i n g 
birds, mice, 
and poultry. 

About ten or 
twelve species 
are found in 
Canada and 
the United 
States, of 
which three 
deserve espe¬ 
cial note; the 
turkey buz¬ 
zard, the 
brown buz turkey buzzard. 
zard, and the rough-legged buzzard. The tur¬ 
key buzzard is native to the Southern States, 
where it is very common and useful as a scav¬ 
enger and carrion-vulture, and for that reason 
is commonly protected by law. This bird is 
allied to the condor of South America, and, like 
it, has the head and neck bare. It is about the 
size of a turkey, is dark or black in color, with 
wide-spreading wings, and is seen in large num¬ 
bers hovering around the carcass of a dead 
animal. The brown buzzard is deep brown in 
color. It nests in trees and ledges of rocks 
and feeds on worms, insects, birds, and small 
mammals. The rough-legged buzzard is feath- 




BUZZARD’S BAY 


339 


BYZANTINE EMPIRE 


ered to the toes. Buzzards are distributed more 
or less in all the continents. 

BUZZARD’S BAY, an inlet from the Atlan¬ 
tic Ocean, on the southeast coast of Massachu¬ 
setts, extending in a northeasterly direction 
about thirty miles. It is from five to ten miles 
wide. The principal harbors on the coast are 
Fairhaven, Wareham, and New Bedford. It is 
famous for its abundance of fish, game, and 
fine summer resorts. 

BY-LAW (bi'la), an organic law or regula¬ 
tion made by the members of a corporation, 
society, or some similar body to govern its mem¬ 
bers and officers in the official proceedings. It 
is common for school boards, library trustees, 
town councils, railroad companies, and legis¬ 
lative bodies to agree upon by-laws. These are 
authorized by law or the constitution of the so¬ 
ciety and may be abridged, repealed, or amended 
as the corporation may direct. 

BYZANTINE ART (bi-zan'tm), the art 
resulting as the outgrowth of the rise of Con¬ 
stantinople, when the barbarians of Western 
Europe were pouring into Rome. The city was 
then called Byzantium, hence the name of this 
peculiar art and of the mighty Eastern Empire. 
At Byzantium the artists gathered and nursed 
the sparks of artistic beauty in the Middle 
Ages, which kindled the fires of modern art, 
after the Revival of Learning. This peculiar 
art dates from the early part of the sixth cen¬ 
tury, called the Justinian Age. It was retarded 
by the fall of the Eastern Empire under the 
sway of the Crusaders in 1204, and finally termi¬ 
nated with its destruction in 1453. Byzantine 
painting was executed with care and some de¬ 
gree of skill. The illuminations of the scriptural 
manuscripts were especially fine, and many ex¬ 
amples are still to be seen in the larger public 
libraries of Europe, as fresh and beautiful in 
appearance as when they were painted. The 
most remarkable are found in Italy and were 
made at the school of Sienna. Among them is 
a picture of the Virgin in the Church of Saint 
Dominico at Sienna, by Guido, which was exe¬ 
cuted in 1221, and is a production of exquisite 
beauty. Interest in the painting of this time is 
induced by its influence on the later paintings 
in Italy of Cimabue, Giotto, and even of 
Raphael. 

The sculptures of Byzantium well deserve ad¬ 
miration and respect, especially when compared 
with the later plastic works of Rome. All the 
figures are laden with drapery and costume, 
which largely obscure the nobler and freer fea¬ 
tures admired by the ancients. It was influenced 
more or less in this respect by the spread of 
Christianity. The most beautiful specimens in¬ 


clude the “Forty Saints,” now in the museum 
at Berlin. While relief work and statuary were 
profuse, the crosses, candlesticks, plates, lamps, 
cups, altars, and all portions bore decorations 
and were richly adorned with precious metals, 
mosaics, or frescoes. 

Byzantine architecture influenced largely the 
construction of public edifices of Western Eu¬ 
rope, especially the churches of Germany and 
those built in the early Norman period. The 
finest work included in this form, and, in fact, 
typical of it, is the church of Saint Sophia, still 
the greatest mosque of Constantinople. It was 
rebuilt by the order of Justinian and completed 



CHURCH OF SAINT SOPHIA. 


in 537 a. d. It was the largest and most mag¬ 
nificent of twenty-five temples built in the capi¬ 
tal, and many similar structures were erected 
throughout the empire by its pious emperor. 
Its style influenced the construction of the 
churches of Ravenna, the Saint Mark’s at 
Venice, and many of Western Europe; among 
them is the notable Cathedral of Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle, which is purely in the Byzantine style. 
The style presents endless varieties of the 
Roman arch, characteristic cupolas, and profuse 
ornamentation. The fresco paintings, rounded 
windows, and bold projection mouldings, orna¬ 
mented with foliage, are conspicuous. 

BYZANTINE EMPIRE, a powerful coun¬ 
try of antiquity, with its seat of government at 
Byzantium, now called Constantinople. In his¬ 
tory it is sometimes spoken of as the Eastern, 
the Lower, the Greek, and the East Roman Em¬ 
pire. It was founded in 395 a. d., by the two 
sons of Theodosius the Great, Honorius and 












































BYZANTINE EMPIRE 


340 


BYZANTINE EMPIRE 


Arcadius, when he divided the Roman Empire. 
Arcadius was made emperor of Western Eu¬ 
rope, but that portion soon passed into the hands 
of the barbarians. Honorius became ruler of 
the Byzantine Empire, which existed nearly a 
thousand years, from the death of Theodosius 
the Great to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. 
The origin of the empire dates back to the 
removal of the capital of the Roman Empire 
from Rome to Byzantium by Constantine, in 
330 a. d., which city was named Constanti¬ 
nople in his honor. The seat of government 
was changed partly because the barbaric Ger¬ 
manic tribes were pressing hard against Rome, 
and because of the spread of Christianity in 
the East, a consequence following the move¬ 
ment of the Roman influence toward the East. 
In its greatest prosperity the Byzantine Empire 
included Syria, Pontus, and Asia Minor in Asia; 
Egypt in Africa; and Macedonia, Crete, Greece, 
Thrace, and Moesia (now Bulgaria) in Europe. 
The territory was successively enlarged and 
diminished by victory and defeat until the fall 
of Rome in 476, when its territory was merged 
into other dominions by reason of the con¬ 
quests attained by the Huns, Goths, and Van¬ 
dals. 

The first period of the empire proper dates 
from 395 to 716. The period is distinguished 
by the reign of Theodosius II. (408-450), partly 
under the regency of his sister, Princess Pul- 
cheria, who carried on successful wars against 
the Persians in the East and the ravages of 
Attila and the Huns in Thrace, in the West. 
He was succeeded at his death in 450 by his 
sister, Pulcheria, who reigned with extraor¬ 
dinary dignity, and was succeeded by Leo I. He 
was succeeded by Zeno the Isaurian (474-491), 
in whose reign a disastrous fire destroyed the 
famous library of Byzantium. Within his reign 
also occurred powerful invasions of the Goths 
and Vandals. 

The reign of Justinian I., known as the Age 
of Justinian, was the most efficient in the his¬ 
tory of the empire. It is distinguished by the 
rise of painting, sculpture, and architecture. In 
this reign the empire was extended; the great 
churches were constructed, including Saint 
Sophia and several hundred others; and the 
famous “Code of Justinian” was written. He 
was succeeded by Justinian II., who was unfor¬ 
tunately harrassed by the Persians in the East 
and the Avars in the West. His reign was fol¬ 
lowed by Maurice, a weak and lawless ruler, 
who was overthrown by Heraclius. The latter 
reigned successfully from 610 to 641. His 
achievements in war are regarded equal to those 
of Scipio and Hannibal. Though several posses¬ 


sions were lost, those remaining were closely 
united and the empire became more distinctly 
Greek. 

From 716 to 1057 followed a period of pros¬ 
perity. It was marked by successful defenses 
against the Bulgarians and Saracens. The 
period witnessed the great internal religious 
controversy that tended to weaken the empire 
against foreign foes. The controversy was be¬ 
tween the Iconoclasts and the Established 
Church. The former, who opposed the presence 
of images in places of public worship, were led 
principally by Leo III. This long dispute re¬ 
sulted in the separation of the Greek Church 
from the Roman Catholic Church in the last 
half of the 9th century; the formal separation 
occurred at the excommunication of the Greek 
Church in 1054. In this period the empire pos¬ 
sessed various distinguished rulers, among them 
Empress Irene, who sought to unite the East¬ 
ern and Western empires by an endeavor to 
marry Charlemagne, after blinding her own son, 
but she failed for want of support in her own 
nation. In the reign of Constantine VII., in 
the middle of the 10th century, many Russian 
and Hungarian princes embraced Christianity 
and Christianized their people. In the beginning 
of the 11th century the Bulgarians were con¬ 
quered, but the Turks began to threaten Italy 
from the East, while the Normans became 
aggressive from the West. 

From 1057 to 1204 the empire gave evidence 
of a slow but constant decline, owing to lie 
attacks of the Crusaders and the rise of Turk¬ 
ish power. The Crusaders had a marked effect 
upon Constantinople as they pressed forward to 
Asia Minor, and finally came into open conflict 
with the emperors. Alexis made a treaty with 
the second Crusaders, by which he was to ac¬ 
quire territory conquered by them, but their 
plans were not carried out. The Normans in 
the West became even more powerful in their 
attacks. However, Constantinople was captured 
by the Crusaders in 1203, and by them Isaac was 
restored to the throne, having been previously 
dethroned by Alexis. The latter and his sons 
were put to death the next year. 

From 1204 to 1261 the Latins occupied the 
empire, following the second capture of Con¬ 
stantinople by the Crusaders in that year. It 
was now commonly called the Latin Empire of 
Rumelia, and Count Baldwin of Flanders 
became the first emperor. At this time it was 
divided into various kingdoms and was made 
tributary to the Venetians and French. Latin 
occupation was marked by harmful influences, 
since both art and culture degenerated, and its 
former greatness was forever lost. In 1261 the 


BYZANTINE EMPIRE 


341 


BYZANTIUM 


Latin Empire vanished, but many of the smaller 
principalities still remained. 

From 1261 to 1453 the final fall was accom¬ 
plished by the rapid rise of Turkish power. 
A dynasty was founded by Michael Palaeologus, 
the ruler of Nicaea, in 1261, which remained 
in control until the final fall of the empire, and 
is known as the dynasty of Palaeologi. He 
made fruitless efforts to reconcile the Latin 
churches and to unite the Greeks as one mighty 
people. He was hard pressed by the Turks, but 
they became even more powerful in the reign 
of his son, Andronicus II., who lost Adrian- 
ople, in 1361, and afterward Macedonia and 
Albania. Sultan Amurath was succeeded by 
Bajazet, a strong Turkish warrior, who cap¬ 
tured Philadelphia, in Asia Minor, and laid 
siege to Constantinople, but the city was saved 
by the Tartars under Timour, who invaded 
Western Asia, which caused a retreat of the 
Turks to defend their countries in the East. 
Various rulers followed successively until the 
Turks attacked Constantinople with an army of 
400,000 men under Sultan Mohammed, April 6, 
1453. The garrison of 8,000 men made a noble 
defense, but was finally conquered, and Constan¬ 


tine, the last of the Byzantine emperors, was slain 
in the battle. The cross on the dome of Saint 
Sophia was replaced by the crescent of the Mos¬ 
lem. Christianity was exterminated, and the 
surviving inhabitants were sold into slavery. 

The Byzantine Empire had not stood in vain. 
It served as a mighty bulwark against the rising, 
power of the Turks until the spark of Western 
culture and the spirit of advancement were 
fanned into a flame that developed the highest 
learning of modern civilization. It was the 
means of protecting the treasures of ancient 
Greece and Rome from destruction by the 
Western tribes in the long period of the Middle 
Ages, preserving them safely until the rise of 
learning, which spread like fire over Western 
Europe after the fall of the last Constantine. 

BYZANTIUM (bi-zan'shi-um), a city 
founded in 667 b. c., on the Thracian Bosporus, 
by emigrants from Megara, which rose rapidly 
into commercial importance. Its situation on 
the shores commanding Asia and Europe made 
it a powerful factor in early history. In 330 
a. d. its name was changed to Constantinople 
and it was made the metropolis of the Roman 
Empire. See Constantinople. 



c 




C, the second consonant and the third letter 
of the English alphabet, and of all alphabets 
derived from the Roman. It has the same posi¬ 
tion in the alphabet as the Greek gamma, from 
which it was derived through curving the form. 
In the English it has two distinct sounds; 
before e, i, and 3 ; it is sounded as s, and be¬ 
fore a, 0 , and u, as k. Before k, as in trick, 
it is silent. 

In music C is used to represent the first note 
of the diatonic scale of C major, corresponding 
to do of the Italian. It is employed as an abbre¬ 
viation for cent and in expressing the scale of 
the Centigrade thermometer. In combination 
with B, as b. c., it signifies before Christ. 

CAB, a vehicle drawn by one horse, having 
either two or four wheels. In large cities cabs 
are used commonly for conveying passengers 
and are under police regulations. The name is 
also applied to the part of the locomotive in 
which the engineer and fireman are stationed. 

CABAL (ka-bal'), a term used to denote a 
small party united for political or personal ends. 
Previously it was used to designate a secret 
body or cabinet organized to further political 
designs. It was applied especially to the infa¬ 
mous ministry of Charles II. of England in the 
17th century, which was constituted of Clifford, 
Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale, 
the initial letters making the word cabal. 

CABATUAN (ka-va-too'an), a city of the 
Philippines, on the island of Panay. It is 
located on the Tigum River and has a growing 
trade in fruit, tobacco, and merchandise. The 
buildings consist largely of small huts, but some 
of the business houses are substantial and are 
constructed of brick and stone. Population, 
16,495. 

CABBAGE (kab'baj), the name of a plant 
which is cultivated extensively for culinary pur¬ 
poses and for feeding cattle. It is native to 
Europe, and in its wild, state attains a height 


of two or three feet. The wild plants have no 
heads, the heads of our garden and field plants 
having been 
obtained b y 
prop agation. 

It shows a 
greater tend¬ 
ency to vary 
its form 
through cul¬ 
tivation than 
almost any 
other plant, 
and is es¬ 
teemed very 
highly among 
the vegeta¬ 
bles. The fa¬ 
miliar species 
that are culti¬ 
vated exten¬ 
sively include 
the Savoy, 
the broccoli, 
the common 
cabbage, and the cauliflower. The common cab¬ 
bage is the most important. It includes the red, 
or purple, and the white varieties; the delicate 
Portugal, and the coarser tree or cow cabbage. 
The stems of the cow cabbage, which reach a 
height of ten to twelve feet, are used for walk¬ 
ing sticks, umbrella handles, and as material 
for farm buildings. Cabbage is cultivated on a 
small scale in nearly all the gardens, usually 
in connection with other vegetables, but in some 
localities it is grown extensively in large fields. 
As a food it is boiled, made into sauerkraut, or 
is eaten as a salad. In most climates the seed 
is sown in a hotbed early in the spring, usually 
in March, and the plants are set in the ground 
as soon as the frost is out of the ground. Both 
early and late species are grown, the former 
342 












CABBAGE INSECTS 


343 


CABINET 


maturing in July and the latter in autumn. The 
heads may be kept over winter in a cold, damp 
cellar, or by putting them in pits head down 
and covering with straw and earth. In the 
southern portions of the United States the 
cabbage industry is a successful enterprise/ and 
large quantities of the product are shipped to 
the northern markets almost the entire year. 

CABBAGE INSECTS, the insects that in¬ 
fest the cabbage plants. These pests include a 
number of insects more or less harmful or 
destructive. The cabbage moth is widely dis¬ 
tributed in North America. It is the most de¬ 
structive in the larva state, when it is known 
as cabbage worm, or kale worm, and is 
particularly harmful to the young plants. About 
a dozen species are common to Canada and the 
United States, and most of them are very pro¬ 
lific, having two or three broods in a season. 
The caterpillar of these insects have a green 
color of about the same shade as the cabbage, 
and they attack the heads as well as the leaves. 
A plant louse, known as the cabbage aphis, in¬ 
fests the leaves of cabbages and turnips. It is 
greenish below and brownish above. The cab¬ 
bage bug, a brilliantly colored insect, hibernates 
in tufts of grass and weeds and attacks the 
young plants. 

CABBAGE PALM, .the name of several 
species of palm trees, so named from their 
large terminal buds, which are eaten like cab¬ 
bage. The trees in the West Indies belonging 
to this class are species of the areca palm, and 
the cabbage palm of the United States is the 
palmetto. 

CABBAGE ROSE, a species of roses noted 
for its fragrance, and sometimes called the 
Provence rose. It is cultivated extensively for 
the manufacture of rosewater and attar. 

CABINET (kab'i-net), a body of advisers 
or ministers, usually composed of the heads of 
executive departments, so named from the cab¬ 
inet or private apartment in which the monarchs 
of England consulted their privy councilors. 
The present Cabinet of England may be said to 
date from the time of William III., who pre¬ 
sided over its meetings, and during his reign 
the ministry was placed on a Parliamentary 
basis; that is, all of the members of the Cabinet 
were made members of one or the other of the 
houses of Parliament. The Prime Minister, 
who is appointed by the Chief Executive, selects 
from the chief officers of the government those 
he desires to have in his Cabinet. He submits 
their names to the crown for approval, and he 
is the presiding officer at the meetings. There 
is no restriction as to the division of the cab¬ 
inet officers between the.two houses of Parlia¬ 


ment, or even as to their number, except that 
not less than eleven are to be chosen, includ¬ 
ing the first lord of the treasury, the lord pres¬ 
ident of the council, the lord chancellor, the 
chancellor of the exchequer, the lord privy seal, 
the first lord of the admiralty, and the five 
secretaries of state. The meetings are secret 
and no record of the proceedings is kept, and 
each member is bound by its decisions or must 
resign from the ministry. This body must stand 
or fall together and is the responsible govern-^R 
ment of the British empire. Though an essen-^M 
tial part of the government, it has never , been 
officially established by an act of Parliament. 

In the United States the Cabinet is authorized 
by the Constitution. The President may require 
the principal officers of the cabinet departments 
to submit an opinion in writing on any subject 
relating to the duties of their respective offices. 

It is customary for the President to call the cab¬ 
inet officers into sessions and act as the presiding 
officer, the meetings being designed for the dis¬ 
cussion of matters of grave importance to the 
success of the government. There are nine de¬ 
partments, of which the Secretary of State, of 
the Treasury, of War, and. Postmaster General 
were established in 1789. The Secretary of the 
Navy was raised to the dignity of a cabinet offi¬ 
cer in 1798, of the Interior in 1849, the Attorney 
General in 1870, and the Secretary of Agricul¬ 
ture in 1889. The Department of Commerce 
and Labor was organized in 1903. The Presi¬ 
dent nominates the cabinet officers, subject to 
the approval of the Senate. It is customary to 
select for cabinet positions public men who be¬ 
long to the same political party as the President, 
though this was not followed by George Wash¬ 
ington and several others. The cabinet officers 
receive a salary of $8,000 per year. 

In 1886 the so-called presidential succession 
law was passed, which provides for the succes¬ 
sion to the office of President in case both the 
President and Vice President die or are removed 
from office by conviction after impeachment. 
The order of the succession begins with the Sec¬ 
retary of State, then Secretary of the Treasury, 
of War, Attorney General, Postmaster General, 
Navy, and Interior. The others are not affected 
by it, because they were not created until some 
years after the passage of this provision. It 
may be found convenient to use the word St. 
Wapniac to recall the order of the succession, 
as the letters in the word indicate the initials of 
the departments in regular order. 

There is no principal cabinet officer in. the 
United States, but the position as Secretary of 
State is usually regarded the most important. 

In most countries the cabinet has similar duties 


CABLE 


344 


CABLES 


to those discharged by cabinet officers in the 
United States, but many are given larger pow¬ 
ers, or modified duties are placed upon them. In 
Switzerland and all the American republics the 
Cabinet is responsible, not to the Legislature, but 
to the Chief Executive, while in France the 
Cabinet is more largely responsible to the legis¬ 
lative branch of the government. 

CABLE (ka'b’l), a strong rope exceeding 
two inches in circumference, originally made 
of hemp, but now made largely of iron or cop¬ 
per wire, and of iron links. It is used for an¬ 
choring ships, in building suspension bridges, 
for moving cable cars, etc. In making a cable of 
hemp or coir, the yarns are twisted to form a 
lissutn. Three lissums twisted in an opposite 
direction form a strand, and three strands 
twisted in the direction of the yarns in a lissum 
form a cable. Chains are now preferred to 
hempen cables on board of ships, because of 
greater durability, compactness for stowage, 
and superior strength. 

CABLE CARS, a class of vehicles used to 
carry passengers. They are propelled by an 
endless cable wire that makes a continuous cir¬ 
cuit over pulleys, through a subterranean chan¬ 
nel, by means of a stationary engine located at 
some point of the line where two loops of the 
cable meet. They are less expensive to maintain 
than horse cars, but are more costly than the 
electric system. The average cost of construc¬ 
tion per mile of a cable railroad system is about 
$350,000, but there is a considerable variation 
with differences in the geological strata. Cable 
car lines are being fast superseded by electric 
railroads in cities, but they continue to serve a 
useful purpose in mountain lines, as they con¬ 
stitute the only practical means yet devised to 
successfully ascend steep elevations. The Stan- 
serhorn Railway in the Alps of Europe makes 
an ascent of sixty per cent, and attains an alti¬ 
tude of 6,235 feet. The cost per horse power, 
furnished by electricity and applied to cables, 
is only $20 per year. The Catskill, New York, 
elevated cable railway, built in 1892, is 7,005 
feet long and rises 1,605 feet. In this system 
the cable is supported by pulleys and the ma¬ 
chinery is controlled by levers. The cable road 
at the Jungfrau, in the Alps, is tunneled the 
entire length and ascends a grade at an angle of 
45°. It is the most remarkable yet devised. All 
che cars in ascending lines are provided with 
safety brakes for clutching the rails in case of 
accident. 

CABLES, the lines used to carry electric cur¬ 
rents, either under water or underground. They 
are usually known as electric and submarine 
cables, and the former are used as conductors 


of electric currents underground, while the lat¬ 
ter are those laid on the bed of the ocean, or 
some other body of water. Electric cables con¬ 
sist essentially of one or more copper wires, 
frequently a hundred, surrounded by insulators, 
and the whole is protected by a lead sheathing 
or a thin coating of rubber. The construction 
differs very largely, depending upon the use for 
which the cable is designed. In the larger cities 
cables are used extensively to carry a number 
of telephone wires, usually from 50 to 400, 
each wire protected by insulation and the whole 
covered by a lead tube, and in this form they 
may be either aerial or underground. Other 
forms are used to carry main currents of elec¬ 
tricity from the plant to points where it is 
needed for power. A cable well insulated and 
protected from the moisture in the atmosphere, 
attached to glass or porcelain insulators and 
suspended upon poles, carries an electric cur¬ 
rent at least 200 miles. By this means power 
is transferred from Niagara Falls to Buffalo 
and other points for use in propelling electric 
cars and machinery. 

Submarine cables are imbedded in a com¬ 
pound of gutta-percha and resinous substances, 
the wires usually consisting of several strands 
twisted into a spiral, but they are separated 
from each other by thin layers of india rubber 
or other padding. External protection is fur¬ 
nished by a coat of Manila yarn or canvas 
soaked in asphaltum. The cable is thoroughly 
tested in every part before placing it in the 
water, and is dropped from a steamboat by 
means of machinery. It lies on the bottom and 
is not fastened, except where it lands, and the 
ends are connected with transmitting and re¬ 
ceiving apparatus. The message is recorded in 
the Morse alphabet by means of ink and a 
glass tube in the form of a siphon on paper, 
which moves uniformly over a small platform or 
table as the message is written. 

The lines of ocean cables operated in 1908 
aggregated about 250,000 miles, about one-fifth 
of which were owned by governments and the 
balance by private corporations. These lines fur¬ 
nish communication with all the leading ports 
of the world. The Atlantic cable, from Heart’s 
Content, Newfoundland, to Valentia Bay, Ire¬ 
land, was the first of the great oceanic cables, 
completed in 1866, but others were laid and 
ample telegraph communication is now main¬ 
tained among the leading seaports and commer¬ 
cial centers of the world. Two great cables 
were laid recently across the Pacific Ocean, the 
British cable and the American cable. The 
former is 7,986 miles long and was completed 
in 1902. It was constructed conjointly by the 



Riverside Park, California, Containing About 300 Species of Cactus. 







































































I 














CABUL 


345 


CADIZ 


governments of Canada, Australia, Great Brit¬ 
ain, and New Zealand. The line extends from 
Vancouver, British Columbia, by way of the 
Fiji Islands to the Norfolk Islands, whence 
branches extend to Queensland, Australia, and 
to New Zealand. The American cable is owned 
and controlled by the Pacific Commercial Cable 
Company. It is 7,613 miles long and was com¬ 
pleted . in 1903. This line extends from San 
Francisco, Cal., to Honolulu, thence to the Mid¬ 
way Islands, thence to Guam, and thence to 
Manila, the capital of the Philippine Islands. 

The first experiment with a cable was made 
by S. F. B. Morse, of New York, in 1842, from 
Castle Garden to Governor’s Island. Cyrus W. 
Field organized a company with a capital of 
$1,750,000, in 1854, with the intention of con¬ 
structing a cable across the Atlantic. This com¬ 
pany began active work in 1857, but the effort 
was unsuccessful and resulted in a loss of 280 
miles of cable. In the following year the first 
cable was completed from Newfoundland to 
Valentia. The first message, sent on August 6, 
was: “England and America are united by tele¬ 
graph ; Glory to God in the highest; on earth 
peace, and good will toward men.” About- 400 
messages were sent across the ocean, when the 
cable failed to work. The next attempt was 
made in 1866, which resulted in an entire suc¬ 
cess. It was laid by the Great Eastern. The 
news of a treaty of peace between Prussia and 
Austria was the first message sent across the 
ocean. 

CABUL (ka'b’l). See Kabul. 

CACAO (ka-ka'o). See Cocoa. 

CACTUS (kak'tus), a genus of plants which 
are found in the arid regions of America and 
Africa. About 1,000 species have been studied, 


CACTUS PLANTS. 

Cactus Opuntia. Cereus. 

but they are distinctly American plants, except 
a few found in Africa. However, the prickly 
pear, a species of Opuntia, has been grown in 
Greece and Italy for many centuries. The cacti 
have large, succulent, and fleshy stems with a 
watery or milky juice of sweetish taste. They 


thrive best in arid districts, usually in sandy* 
rocky soil. In size they vary from very minute 
organisms to great trunks thirty feet high. The 
structure of many species is complex. Some are 
inclosed with a .tough and impermeable skin and 
covered by pricks and needles. Many species 
flower profusely, the blossoms opening at night 
and closing some time after sunrise. The 
prickly pear and other species are grown exten¬ 
sively as ornamental plants. Some species of 
the prickly pear bear an edible fruit known 
as Indian fig. The cardon forests of Mexico, 
which are confined to the basin of the Gulf of 
California, are dense and have extensive growths 
of a species of the Cereus. Similar plants are 
found in southwestern Texas, but the size 
diminishes gradually as we proceed north to 
Colorado and Nebraska. Some species possess 
medicinal properties. The stems of the larger 
varieties are used for fuel and fencing. 

CADDICE FLY (kad'dis), or Caddis Fly, 
a small insect which resembles the moth in 
many respects. The adult female lays its eggs 
in water, usually in the form of a double mass 
attached to the surface of some plant, and the 
larvae are submerged until they reach the pupa 
state. The larvae subsist mostly on vegetable 
forms, but also eat insects and the spawn of 
fish. About 150 species have been studied and 
classified. The adult insect has a hairy body and 
wings, and in some species the body is covered 
with small scales and is supplied with four 
wings. 

CADET (ka-det'), the name applied to the 
younger son of a noble house to distinguish him 
from the elder. In France the term is applied 
to any junior officer. In the United States it is 
applied to a youth pursuing a course of study 
at a military academy or school, as, for instance, 
at the West Point Military Academy or the 
Naval Academy at Annapolis. 

CADILLAC (kad'il-lak), a city of Michigan, 
county seat of Wexford County, 95 miles north 
of Grand Rapids, on the Ann Arbor and the 
Grand Rapids and Indiana railroads. It is 
nicely situated on Little Clam Lake. The sur¬ 
rounding country produces lumber and cereals. 
Among the chief buildings are the county court¬ 
house and a number of schools and churches. 
The manufactures include earthenware, machin¬ 
ery, and lumber products. It has modern muni¬ 
cipal facilities, such as waterworks and electric 
lights, and has a growing trade in produce and 
merchandise. The first settlement was made on 
its site in 1871, and its incorporation dates from 
1874. Population, 1904, 6,893; in 1910, 8,385. 

CADIZ (kad'Iz), a seaport city of Spain, 
capital of the province of Cadiz, on Cadiz Bay, 




CADMIUM 


346 


CAFFEINE 


an inlet from the Atlantic Ocean. It is strongly- 
fortified, has well paved streets, and is noted 
for its cleanliness. Among the principal build¬ 
ings are several hospitals, the customhouse, the 
Capuchin convent, the public library, and the 
old and new cathedrals. It has a bull ring in 
which seating room'is provided for over 12,000 
spectators. The lighthouse of Saint Sebastian 
is a conspicuous and beautiful structure. The 
city has railroad facilities and an excellent har¬ 
bor, which furnishes anchorage for a large num¬ 
ber of vessels. It has long been the principal 
naval station of Spain. There are four well- 
constructed forts, two of which form a defense 
for La Carraca, an arsenal four miles from the 
city. Manufacturing is an important industry; 
the products include woolen cloth, silk fabrics, 
wine, leather, glass, and machinery. 

Cadiz was founded about 1100 b. c. by the 
Phoenicians, who named it Gadir, and it was 
long one of the chief commercial cities of 
Europe. It was conquered successively by the 
Carthaginians, Romans, Goths, Moors, and 
Spaniards. The English occupied it in 1596, and 
in 1810 and in 1823 it was infested by the French. 
Its greatest prosperity was reached when Span- 
ish-America was in its most prosperous state. 
With the independence of the South American 
republics, and the loss of territory in Central 
America, it began to decline gradually. Popu¬ 
lation, 1905, 71,240. 

CADMIUM (kad'mT-um), a metal found in 
zinc ores and rarely as a sulphide, of which 
greenockite is an example. It is allied closely 
to zinc. The metal was discovered in 1818 while 
testing for arsenic in zinc wastes. In color it 
is white, or has a slight bluish cast. It has a 
high luster when polished and is some harder 
than tin. The salts of cadmium are serviceable 
in medicine. Cadmium sulphide is a powder 
with a lemon-yellow color of great permanency. 
It is used in coloring- soap and in making a pig¬ 
ment known as cadmium yellow. 

CAEN (kan), a city of France, capital of the 
department of Calvados, 148 miles northwest of 
Paris. It is on the Orne River, about nine miles 
from its entrance into the English Channel, and 
is located in the center of a fertile plain. The 
streets are clean and well paved with stone and 
asphaltum. Among the chief buildings are the 
Church of Saint Etienne, founded by William 
the Conqueror, a public library of 100,000 vol¬ 
umes, a university with 650 students, and a fine 
art museum. The manufactures include lace, 
cotton textiles, cutlery, clothing, and spirituous 
liquors. Trade is facilitated by several railroads 
and a maritime canal. In the vicinity are sev¬ 
eral large establishments devoted to the rearing 


of Angora rabbits, the skins of which are used 
in making gloves. Population, 1906, 44,442. 

CAESAR (se'zer), the title of the Roman 
emperors and, of the heirs presumptive to the 
throne. The title was borne by Octavian, the 
adopted son of Julius Caesar, and passed to his 
own adopted son, Tiberius. Afterward it was 
borne by Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. It is 
perpetuated in the czar of the Russian emperors, 
and the kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire and 
of modern Germany. 

CAESAREA (ses-a-re'a), the name anciently 
applied to a number of cities, among them the 
capital of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, Caesarea 
Philippi in Palestine, and Caesarea on the coast 
of Syria, thirteen miles north of Joppa, now 
called Kaisarieh. The last mentioned city was 
built by Herod the Great in 22 b. c., and named 
in memory of Caesar Augustus. It was once a 
beautiful city, but is now in decay. Saint Paul 
was imprisoned in it two years. The Crusaders 
held it and built a cathedral on its site. It is 
now inhabited by fishermen and has a small har¬ 
bor. 

CAESAREA PHILIPPI, an ancient town 

of Asia, in Palestine, twenty miles north of the 
Sea of Galilee. It is mentioned in Matthew 
xvi., 13, and it was the center of a region 
given in 20 b. c. to Herod the Great, who con¬ 
structed a temple of white stone and dedicated 
it to Emperor Augustus. The place was given 
to Philip, son of Herod the Great, after the 
death of the latter, and became known as the 
Caesarea of Philip. Jesus disclosed his mission 
on earth to his disciples while at this place. It 
was named Neronias in honor of Nero, but is now 
a small village of poor huts known as Banias. 

CAESIUM (se'zi-um), an alkaloid metal 
found in very small quantities in certain min¬ 
erals and mineral springs. Deposits of it are 
most abundant on the Isle of Elba, where it 
occurs in the rare mineral pollux, which con¬ 
tains about thirty-four per cent, of caesium 
oxide. Chemically it is closely related to potas¬ 
sium and rubidium. Bunsen and Kirchhoff dis¬ 
covered it in 1860 and obtained it as an amalgam 
with mercury. It absorbs oxygen with great 
rapidity, h&s a specific gravity of 1.88, and 
melts at 80.6°. 

CAFFEINE (kaf-fe'in), or Theine, the 

active principle of coffee and tea. It forms tufts 
of white silky needles. The taste is bitter. It 
forms double salts with platinum and gold 
chlorides. Caffeine is contained in coffee in 
the proportion of from one to four per cent., 
and in tea from two to four per cent. It is a 
methyl substitution compound of theobromine, 
and serves as a hypnotic and a nerve sedative. 



Street Scene in Cairo, Egypt 



































CAGLIARI 


347 


CAIRO 


CAGLIARI (kal'ya-re), a city of Sardinia, 
capital of a province of the same name, situated 
on the southern end of the island. It has a 
good harbor on the Gulf of Cagliari. In the 
vicinity are extensive salt-producing lagoons. 
A railway line connects it with the principal 
cities of Sardinia, and it has steamboat and 
submarine cabal service with the leading cities 
of Italy. The university, founded in 1596, has 
an attendance of 275 students. It is the seat of 
several consulates, has three theaters, and main¬ 
tains several fine schools and churches. Ship¬ 
building, cotton mills, brickyards, and machine 
shops are among the enterprises. It has a brisk 
trade in flax, grain, salt, and textiles. The 
Phoenicians founded the city. Its fine cathedral 
dates from 1312. Population, 1906, 53,747. 

CAHORS (ka-or'), a town of France, cap¬ 
ital of the department of Lot, sixty miles north 
of Toulouse. It is situated on a rocky penin¬ 
sula formed by the Lot River. The chief bfiild- 
ings consist of a cathedral, a normal school, a 
college, and an Episcopal palace, now the pre¬ 
fecture. It has manufactures of textiles and 
glass, and is the center of considerable trade in 
merchandise and country produce. It has a fine 
statue of Gambetta, who was born here. Popu¬ 
lation, 1906, 12,240. 

CAIBARIEN (ki-va're-an), a seaport of 
Cuba, in the province of Santa Clara, about 100 
miles southeast of Cardenas. It has a good 
harbor and railroad connections with the prin¬ 
cipal commercial centers of Cuba. The trade is 
chiefly in rice, tobacco, and merchandise. Profit¬ 
able sponge fisheries are located off the coast. 
Population, 1906, 7,213. 

CAICOS (ki'kos), a group of islands at the 
southeastern extremity of the Bahamas. It 
includes about thirty small islands, only six of 
which are inhabited, and the area is 200 square 
miles. Grand Caicos, the largest island, is six 
miles wide and twenty miles long. Salt raking 
and sponge fishing are the chief industries. 
These products are exported principally to 
Canada and the United States. The Caicos isl¬ 
ands are a British possession, and with the 
Turk Islands, lying southeast, are politically 
under the government of Jamaica. Grand Turk 
is the seat of government. Population, 4,975. 

CAIRN (karn), a name given to a heap of 
stones placed on a grave, or built up as a land¬ 
mark. Cairns are quite numerous in many 
places of America, especially on the plains, 
where they are found on kills, usually mark¬ 
ing a group of graves. In Europe the Druids 
and other primitive peoples built cairns over 
their graves and, like the American Indians, 
placed rude weapons, such as stone axes and 


arrowheads, with the dead bodies. They are 
met with in many parts of Scotland and Wales. 
The most remarkable one is near Drogheda, on 
the Boyne River, which is in the form of a 
mound nearly eighty feet high. 

CAIRO (ka'ro), county seat of Alexander 
County, Illinois, at the junction of the Missis¬ 
sippi and Ohio rivers, on the Illinois Central, the 
Mobile and Ohio, and other railroads. It is 
located on a low tract of land, a part of which 
was formerly subject to inundations, but exten¬ 
sive levees have been erected that protect against 
overflows, and the city is increasing rapidly in 
commerce and wealth. The chief buildings 
include the county courthouse, a public library, 
the customhouse, and a United States marine 
hospital. It has a large trade in grain, coal, 
lumber, and merchandise. The industries include 
iron foundries, furniture factories, lumber mills, 
and extensive commercial interests, while the 
surrounding country furnishes a large trade in 
agricultural products. Charles Dickens described 
Cairo as Eden in his “Martin Chuzzlewit.” It 
was first settled in 1854 and became a city three 
years later. Population, 1900, 12,566. 

CAIRO (kl'ro), the capital of modern Egypt, 
on the Nile, about ten miles above the delta and 
150 miles southeast of Alexandria. Its history 
is interesting and dates from the year 969 a. d., 
when it was founded by the Arabs, who brought 
the bones of their ancestors from Kairon, and 
reigned over Egypt for ten generations. It was 
conquered by Saladin from the Fatimite caliphs 
in 1171, when he became master of Egypt. His 
descendants ruled until 1517, when the city was 
stormed and taken by Sultan Selim, after which 
it was governed by a succession of Mameluke 
kings. The French took it in 1798 and three 
years later it was captured by the British, who 
restored it to the Turks. In 1882 it was occu¬ 
pied by the British and has since been the cen¬ 
ter of British influence in Northern Africa. 

The old portion of the city is divided into 
a number of quarters, and has tortuous and 
narrow streets, while the newer part has sev¬ 
eral modern streets that are platted on a regular 
plan and improved by modern facilities. The 
inhabitants consist largely of Moslems, Jews, 
and Christians, each occupying different quar¬ 
ters of the city. The buildings include some of 
the finest remains of Arabian architecture, 
among them about 400 mosques, several of 
which were built as early as 915 a. d. Among 
the most important is the great Mosque of 
Mohammed Ali. Within the city are many 
tombs of caliphs and mamelukes, some of which 
are finely built and of large size. Formerly it 
had many obelisks, but nearly all of them have 


CAIRO 


348 


CALABAR BEAN 


been transported to European and American 
cities. The great pyramids and sphinx are about 
ten miles from the city. 

Most of the streets are crowded with Eastern 
merchants, who display their goods in open stalls 



MOSQUE MOHAMMED ALI. 


and conduct trade largely in bazaars and mar¬ 
kets. A number of railroad lines connect the 
city with Alexandria, Siout, and the Suez Canal, 
but river navigation is also a factor in main¬ 
taining its importance commercially. It is the 
seat of a university founded in 971, which car¬ 
ries courses that are directed by Moslems. No 
tuition is charged and the teaching faculties 
receive no compensation, hence they make their 
living by doing clerical and other work. It has 
ample accommodation for 10,000 students. 

The narrow streets of Cairo are traversed by 
camels, human beings, horses, and asses, thus 
affording a strange contrast when compared to 
the modern cities of Europe and America. 
Under European influence a public school sys¬ 
tem is developing, and many residences and 
office buildings have been erected. The newer 
portion has electric street railways, pavements, 
sewerage and electric lights. The citadel is an 
interesting point, located on Mokattam Hills, 
and near it is Saint Joseph’s Well, cut in the rock 
to a depth of 270 feet. The city is a center of 
interest for travelers and is visited by many 
tourists. Besides, many thousands of Moham¬ 
medans flock there annually to worship or carry 
on trade. The language spoken is Arabic. The 
city is the residence of consuls general from 
France, Germany, Russia, and other European 
countries, and is the official residence of the 


Khedive of Egypt. Its name in Arabic is Musr- 
al-Kahira, meaning the victorious city. Popu¬ 
lation, 1905, *581,380. 

CAISSON (kas'son), in military, a wooden 
box to hold shells and loose powder, or an 
ammunition wagon. The term is applied in 
nautics to a boat gate for closing the entrance 
to a dry dock, and in engineering to a wooden 
frame or case sunk in the beds of rivers to keep 
out the water during the building of piers or 
foundations for bridges. Caissons of the latter 
kind are constructed of strong timbers closely 
and firmly joined together. Among the largest 
caissons ever constructed was the one used at 
the New York tower of the Brooklyn bridge 
across East River. It was 82 feet high, 173 feet 
long, and 102 feet wide. 

CAJEPUT (kaj'e-put), or Cajuput, a kind 
of tree native to Australia and the East Indies. 
It grows to a height of thirty feet, has alternate 
leaves, and bears white flowers on pendulous 
branches. The leaves yield the valuable product 
known in pharmacy as oil of cajeput. It is used 
as a stimulant, and in the treatment of gout, 
rheumatism, dyspepsia, and toothache. The high 
price at which pure cajeput oil has been sold 
has caused it to be adulterated by adding tur¬ 
pentine, oil of rosemary, etc. The trees from 
which this product is obtained includes a large 



CAJEPUT. 


number of species, and in Australia they are 
commonly known as' tea trees. 

CALABAR BEAN (kal'a-bar), the seed of 
an African plant allied to the kidney bean. The 









CALABASH TREE 


349 


CALASH 


bean is poisonous. It is used in medicine chiefly 
as an external application in rheumatism and 
neuralgia, and to induce the contraction of the 
pupil of the eye. In this respect it has the 
opposite effect of belladonna, which causes the 
pupil to be dilated. Superstitious tribes of 
Africa- administer it as an ordeal to persons 
suspected of witchcraft. If the suspect is caused 
to vomit, innocence is declared; if it purges, or 
the patient dies, the suspect is declared guilty. 
The plant has brownish-red or ash-gray leaves. 

CALABASH TREE (kal'a-bash), the com¬ 
mon name applied to an American tree culti¬ 
vated in the West Indies and other tropical 
regions. It attains a height of thirty feet, has 
flowers variegated with red, yellow, and purple, 
and bears narrow elliptical leaves. Its fruit' 
resembles gourds and is used in making house¬ 
hold utensils, such as basins, water bottles, and 
drinking cups. The pulp of the fruit is used as 
a purgative, and to some extent as a poultice in 
treating bruises and inflammations. 

CALABRIA, the name given in Roman times 
to the southeastern peninsula of Italy. The dis¬ 
trict included within the Calabria of the Romans 
corresponded nearly to the modern province of 
Lecce. On the other hand, the modern Calabria 
is nearly coextensive with the ancient Bruttium. 
It includes the three provinces of Catanzaro, 
Cosenza, and Reggio di Calabria. This region is 
enclosed by the sea on all sides, except the 
north. It is separated from Sicily by the Strait 
of Messina and is traversed by highlands which 
reach an altitude of nearly 4,000 feet. The area 
is 5,819 square miles. Rice, grain, hemp, flax, 
fruit, and live stock are the chief products. It 
has mineral deposits of value, such as rock salt, 
marble, alum, gypsum, alabaster, and copper. 
Population, 1907, 1,411,348. 

CALAIS (kal'is), a city and seaport of 
Washington County, Maine, on the Saint Croix 
River, twelve miles from Passamaquoddy Bay. 
It has transportation facilities by the Saint Croix 
and Penobscot and the Canadian Pacific rail¬ 
roads. The principal industry is shipbuilding. 
It has machine shops, tanneries, ax factories, 
iron foundries, and lumber industries. Electric 
lights, pavements, and waterworks are among 
the municipal improvements. It is the seat of 
the Calais Academy, and has a number of excel¬ 
lent church and school buildings. Navigation 
on the Saint Croix River is open the greater 
part of the year. It has an abundance of water 
power for manufacturing purposes and a con¬ 
siderable trade. Population, 1900, 7,655. 

CALAIS (ka-la'), a fortified seaport city of 
France, on the Strait of Dover, in the depart¬ 
ment of Pas-de-Calais, 150 miles north of Paris. 


The harbor is deep and has a lighthouse 190 feet 
high. Among the chief buildings are the Church 
of Notre Dame, the public library, and the Hotel 
the Guise. It has an important commerce in 
eggs, wine, grain, vegetables, fruits, and other 
products of the farm and garden. The chief 
manufactures include cotton, silk, and woolen 
goods, laces, gloves, fabrics, and machinery. 
Many boats that visit the cod and herring 
fisheries of Iceland make their headquarters at 
Calais. A number of electric and steam rail¬ 
ways connect it with the interior of France. 
Edward III. of England laid siege to it in 1347 
for twelve months, and the latter country held it 
until 1558, when it was retaken by the Duke of 
Guise. Population, 1906, 66,627. 

CALAMANDER WOOD (kal'a-man-der), 
a kind of wood used extensively in making fur¬ 
niture, obtained from a tree similar to the 
ebony and persimmon trees. It resembles rose¬ 
wood, takes a fine polish, and exhibits a variety 
of colors. This wood is so hard that it can be 
worked only with the best edged tools and is 
preferred to most varieties as a veneer. The 
supply is secured largely from Ceylon and 
southern India. 

CALAMIANES (ka-la-mi-a'mes), a group 
of islands belonging to the Philippines, between 
Palawan and Mindoro, from which it is sepa¬ 
rated by Mindoro Strait. The surface is hilly, 
but fruits, tobacco, rice, and sugar cane are 
produced profitably. Gold and iron deposits 
abound, but they are not worked to any great 
extent. The area is 340 square miles. Popu¬ 
lation, 20,200. 

CALAMINE (kal'a-mln), a mineral consist¬ 
ing essentially of zinc. The two species were 
formerly known as carbonate and silicate, but 
the former is now classed as smithsonite and 
the -latter as calamine. Pure calamine contains 
fifty-two per cent, of zinc and is valuable as an 
ore of that metal. It is found in America and 
Europe, occurring mostly in small crystals. 

CALAMUS (kal'a-mus), the name commonly 
applied to a genus of palms from which rattan 
canes are made for caning chairs. These trees 
hold a place midway between the grasses and 
the larger palms. They yield material useful in 
the construction of cables and bridges. The 
term is also used to designate the aromatic sweet 
flag that is native to the swamps and ponds of 
temperate zones, which yields essential oils used 
in perfumes, and to sweet-scented grasses of 
India valuable in the manufacture of incense. 

CALASH (ka-lash'), or Caleche, a carriage 
with low wheels, fitted with a top or hood, 
and furnished with seats for four inside. The 
driver occupies a seat in the front. Some are 


CALCITE 


350 


CALCUTTA 


constructed with a movable front, making it pos¬ 
sible to use the vehicle either as an open or a 
closed carriage. The name is applied in Canada 
to a cart or carriage with two wheels, fitted 
with a seat for two passengers, and a single 
seat for the driver on the dashboard. 

CALCITE (kal'sit), the carbonate of lime, 
distinguished from aragonite in that it crystal¬ 
lizes in the hexagonal system. It is a general 
term used to describe a variety of minerals, such 
as marble, chalk, and limestone. The colors are 
usually white or pale shades of gray, but include 
violet, green, yellow, blue, and red, owing chiefly 
to the presence of impurities. Iceland spar is 
a colorless variety found in the basalt rocks in 
Iceland. 

CALCIUM (kal'si-um), the metal forming 
the base of lime. Combined with other sub¬ 
stances, it is one of the most widely distributed 
and abundant, but is rarely found in the native 
state. It was first obtained in the metallic state 
in 1808 by Sir Humphry Davy, by decomposing 
the chloride by electricity, also by heating in a 
closed vessel iodide with sodium, but not in suf¬ 
ficient quantities to determine its properties. 
Pure calcium is of a pale yellow color and is 
a ductile and malleable metal. It occurs in 
nature as a carbonate, silicate, and sulphate, and 
forms a large constituent of all soils, ashes of 
plants, limestone, chalk, and marble. It is the 
main constituent of the mineral matter of the 
bones of animals, and forms large deposits as 
fluor spar, limestone, and gypsum. With carbon 
it forms the compound known as calcium car¬ 
bide, which is used extensively in the manufac¬ 
ture of acetylene. 

CALCULATING MACHINE (kal'ku-la- 
ting), a machine for making arithmetical calcu¬ 
lations with speed and accuracy. Various 
devices have been made for this purpose, the 
simplest one being the abacus (q. v.). Leib¬ 
nitz published the first description of a calculat¬ 
ing machine in 1673. The British government 
employed Charles Babbage to construct a mech¬ 
anism of this kind in 1821, and, after spending 
twelve years on the project, completed quite a 
satisfactory machine. Dorr E. Felt, in 1889, con¬ 
structed a calculating machine with a keyboard 
resembling that of a typewriter, on which calcu¬ 
lations can be made satisfactorily. By means of 
it operations in the fundamental principles of 
arithmetic can be performed, and the square and 
cube roots can be successfully extracted. The 
cash registers used in many business houses are 
a form of the calculating machine. 

Calculating machines of a high grade are now 
in use in nearly all the banks, counting houses, 
and insurance offices. They have a keyboard 


like that of a typewriter, but the keys have fig¬ 
ures so arranged that they stand in columns 
from 1 to 9. The figures are impressed upon a 
strip of paper as the keys are touched. By 
pressing a special key, it is possible to obtain 
the results, or addition, subtraction, or even 
multiplication. Many complicated patterns are 
in use. Electricity is used in some styles to 
perform the operations. 

CALCULUS (kal'ku-lus), in mathematics, 
any branch which may involve or lead to calcu¬ 
lation by algebraic symbols. The term is used 
to embrace the whole science with the excep¬ 
tion of pure geometry. The leading divisions 
of the subject are the differential and integral 
calculus, which two divisions are included in the 
infinitesimal calculus. Newton wrote a treatise 
on the principles of the infinitesimal calculus in 
1669, which was published a number of years 
afterward, and he is sometimes spoken of as 
the founder of this science of calculation. How¬ 
ever, it was first discovered by Leibnitz, who 
published the discovery before that of Newton 
became known. The Leibnitz system contains 
the better method of notation and is now uni¬ 
versally used. 

CALCUTTA (kal-kut'ta), the capital of 
Bengal and of British India, on the Hugh River, 
a branch of the Ganges, about eighty miles from 
the Bay of Bengal. The river is about three- 
fourths of a mile wide at the city, which extends 
five miles along the river bank and includes a 
site equal to ten square miles. . Near the city 
and on the opposite side of the river are a num¬ 
ber of suburban towns which are connected with 
the city by bridges and electric street railway 
lines. The city was founded in 1686 by the 
East India Company, with Governor Charnock 
as principal executive officer. In 1720 three vil¬ 
lages were annexed to the possessions of the> 
company by the Emperor of Delhi, which were 
later fortified and named Fort William in honor 
of the King of England. In 1707 Calcutta 
became the capital of the Bengal presidency. It 
was attacked by Sorajah Dowlah in 1756 and 
after a siege of two days was surrendered. At 
that time occurred the tragedy of the Black 
Hole, in which 146 English prisoners were con¬ 
fined on a hot summer night, and all but twenty- 
three perished. The city remained in the hands 
of Dowlah for six months, after which it was 
retaken by Admiral Watson. It became the 
seat of the British government of India in 1772. 

Calcutta is the commercial metropolis of Asia. 
Its advantages in water navigation are very 
extensive, including, besides the river, several 
canals to facilitate trade with the adjacent ter¬ 
ritory. Railroad lines penetrate from it in all 


CALEDONIA 


351 


CALENDAR 


directions toward the north, east, and west, 
and facilitate a large interior, export, and import 
trade. Several botanical gardens and public 
parks beautify the city, while Bishop’s College, 
a well-organized public school system, and sev¬ 
eral academies offer educational advantages in 
courses extending from the kindergarten to the 
university curriculum. It has many fine mosques, 
cathedrals, and churches, besides substantial gov¬ 
ernment buildings and a university for higher 
education. In recent years a large number of 
learned societies have been organized for the 
study of antiquity, geology, astronomy, litera¬ 
ture, history, and other lines of research. A 
number of daily newspapers, and many weeklies 
and other periodicals, are published. The hotel 
service and theater accommodations are modern. 

Many of the streets are paved with stone, 
wooden blocks, and asphalt. Branches of the 
street railway system extend to all parts of the 
city. A number of suburban railroad lines are 
operated to accommodate large numbers of 
laborers that come from the surrounding coun¬ 
try to work in the factories and industries of 
the city. The manufactured products are exten¬ 
sive, including fabrics, machinery, leather, iron¬ 
ware, furniture, opium, cigars, clothing, and 
canned fruits. There are exports of cotton, 
indigo, raw silk, opium, wheat, rice, tea, gunny 
bags, and live stock. The principal imports 
include cotton goods, salt, stationery, and wear¬ 
ing apparel. Fort William is a strongly forti¬ 
fied portion of the city, its fortifications costing 
$10,000,000, and at it are stationed 15,000 men 
with 600 guns and 80,000 stands of arms. The 
city has a number of banks and insurance com¬ 
panies and a chamber of commerce. It is the 
seat of the supreme court of justice and of the 
court of appeals in the province of Bengal. The 
customhouse and public mint are among the 
many governmental buildings. Calcutta is called 
the “City of Palaces.” The inhabitants are 
mostly Hindus and Mohammedans. Other 
classes include Jews, Parsees, Negroes, and 
about 30,000 Europeans. Population, 1905, 
1,348,265. 

CALEDONIA (kal-e-do'm-a), the name for¬ 
merly applied to northern Scotland, by which 
it became known to the Romans. Tacitus gives 
a description of the defeat of the Caledonians 
in the year 84 a. d., on the Grampian Hills. The 
Romans, under Agricola, overran Scotland as 
far as the firths of Forth and Clyde, but never 
reduced the country to a Roman province. Cale¬ 
donia is now the poetical name of Scotland. 

CALEDONIA, NEW. See New Caledonia. 

CALEDONIAN CANAL, a canal in Scot¬ 
land, which connects the North Sea with the 


Atlantic Ocean. It is made up largely of a chain 
of natural lakes about sixty miles long, which 
have been united' by artificial canals, thus mak¬ 
ing a waterway of much importance. The cut 
is 17 feet deep, 50 feet wide at the bottom, and 
120 feet at the surface. It serves to shorten 
the route, which was formerly 500 miles long, 
by way of the Hebrides, but the route of the 
canal from Moray Firth to Loch Linnat is about 
half that distance. The canal is popular as a 
route for summer tourists. 

CALENDAR (cal'en-der), a register or list 
by which the year is divided into months, weeks, 
and days, and showing the various civil and 
ecclesiastical festivals and holidays. It is so 
named from the Roman word calends, which 
was the first day of the month. The Egyptians 
based the year on the changes of the seasons, 
dividing it into 365 days, and these into twelve 
months of thirty days each, with five days added 
at the end of each year. Among the Jews it 
was customary to reckon twelve lunar months, 
adding a thirteenth to maintain the recurrence 
of particular days in consecutive seasons. The 
Greeks based their lunar months upon the fact 
that the new moon returned upon the same day 
of their year in a period of nineteen years. It 
was found to be about six hours too long and 
calculators still failed to estimate correctly the 
beginning of the seasons on the same fixed day 
of the year. 

The Romans based their calculations on the 
year of ten months, including 365 days, which 
required about eleven days to be supplied at 
regular intervals. The great Greek astronomer 
Sosigenes, assisted by Marcus Fabius, at the 
request of Julius Caesar, devised the Julian cal¬ 
endar. In this system the equinox was restored 
to its proper place by counting two months 
between November and December, hence the 
year 707 (46 b. c.) contained fourteen months. 
The year was computed at 365% days; the quar¬ 
ter of a day was added to February as a single 
day every fourth year. The Julian calendar con¬ 
tinued in use until the fall of the empire, and 
was used by Christians until 1582. 

Pope Gregory XIII. abolished the Julian cal¬ 
endar in all Catholic countries and introduced 
a reformed calendar called the Gregorian. 
Accordingly, ten days were deducted from the 
year 1582, by which Oct. 5, according to the old 
calendar, was reckoned Oct. 15, 1582, by the 
new; and, to prevent displacement recurring, 
every fourth year was counted a leap year, in 
which February was assigned twenty-nine days 
instead of twenty-eight. Under this system, only 
one in four of the years ending centuries is a 
leap year; thus, 1700, 1800, 1900 were not leap 


CALGARY 


352 


CALICUT 


years; while 2000 will be. The Gregorian year 
contains 365 days, five hours, forty-nine min¬ 
utes, and twelve seconds. To distinguish it 
from the other systems, it was designated the 
new style, and previous calculations became 
known as the old style. The new style was 
adopted in France, Spain, and Portugal in 1582, 
and in the Catholic portions of Germany, Swit¬ 
zerland, and the Netherlands in 1583. Poland 
adopted it in 1586; Hungary in 1587; Holland, 
Denmark, and Protestant Germany adopted it 
in 1700; Switzerland in 1701; England in 1752; 
and Sweden in 1753. Of the Christian countries, 
Russia retained the old style longest, until 1902. 

CALGARY (kal'ga-ri), a city of Canada, in 
the province of Alberta, on the transcontinental 
line of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. It is in a 



region that is devoted chiefly to cattle and horse 
ranching, 835 miles west of Winnipeg. The 
buildings are substantial and are constructed 
largely of light-gray stone. It has an electric 
light plant, a city waterworks, a sewer system, 
and several fine schools and churches. The chief 
enterprises are soap works, leather making, and 
railroad shops. It is important as a trade cen¬ 
ter for merchandise and as a shipping point for 
cereals and live stock. Calgary was incorpo¬ 
rated in 1885. Population, 1906, 11,967. 

CALI (ka'le), a town of Colombia, in the 
department of Capca, near the junction of the 
Cali and Cauca rivers. It occupies a fine site 
on a tableland about 3,150 feet above sea level, 
and has a brisk trade in grain and fruit. Trans¬ 
portation is furnished by a railway which con¬ 
nects it with Buenaventura, on Choco Bay. The 
chief buildings include a college, the post office, 
and the Church of San Francisco. It was 
founded in 1556. Population, 15,800. 

CALICO (kal'i-ko), the general name of 
cotton cloths having colored patterns printed on 


them. Calicoes are coarser than muslin, and in 
Europe they include shirting and common white 
cotton cloth. Calico printing was first practiced 
in India and is used to some extent in stamp¬ 
ing woolen, silk', and linen goods, but it is 
employed principally in stamping the cloth 
known in the market as calico. The process was 
brought to Germany and France by the Dutch, 
and later to England by a Protestant refugee 
who left France in 1696. Calico prints are now 
among the most staple articles of manufacture. 
The printing was first done by wooden blocks, 
on which the patterns were engraved. At the 
present time most of the printing is done by 
large machinery and cylinder presses, in which 
the colors are put on rollers and passed over 
the cotton cloth. There ' are as many rollers 
as colors to be printed, each roller containing 
a separate color, and each one filling its own 
place in the pattern. 

Formerly as many impressions were made in 
printing as the number of colors that were re¬ 
quired in completing the pattern, but by em¬ 
ploying a number of rollers and the cylinder 
process all colors are printed by passing the 
cotton cloth through the press but one time. 
Each of the rollers is supplied with figures of 
the pattern raised above the surface of the 
roller, by means of which the dye colors or 
steam colors are fixed to the cloth in a becom¬ 
ing way. In printing the cloth passes through 
the machine, thence over a hot-air chamber, 
which dries the cloth. It is then steamed and 
washed and, after being starched and pressed, 
it is put in bales ready for the market. The 
colors used in printing are variously made of 
animal, vegetable, and mineral compounds, de¬ 
pending upon the class of prints to which they 
are to be applied. In the newer process of 
calico printing, which has largely supplanted 
all others, it is possible to combine printing 
and dyeing. Cloth on which the colors are 
merely stamped is apt to fade easily, and by 
the use of the newer process it is possible to 
obtain colors that will not fade, known in the 
market as fast colors. This process employs 
mordants to a large extent. 

CALICUT (kal'i-kut), a city of India, in 
the Malabar district, 565 miles southeast of 
Bombay. It is important as a seaport and rail¬ 
road center, and has a large trade in spices, 
cotton goods, lumber, and machinery. The 
manufactures include calico, utensils, cigars, 
clothing, and betel nuts. Calico cloth received 
its name from Calicut, where it was manufac¬ 
tured extensively at an early date. The Portu¬ 
guese visited the city in 1486, when Pedro da 
Covilham landed here, and Vasco da Gama 










CALIFORNIA 


353 


CALIFORNIA 



reached the city on his tour after doubling the 
Cape of Good Hope. Population, 1906, 78,530. 

CALIFORNIA (kal-i-for'ni-a), a State of 
the United States, on the Pacific coast, popularly 
known as the Golden State. It is bounded on 
the north by Oregon, east by Nevada and Ari¬ 
zona, south by Mexico, and west by the Pacific 
Ocean. The distance from north to south, 
measured through the center, is 750 miles, and 
the average width is 200 miles. The eastern 
boundary conforms quite nearly to the curve 
of the sea coast. The western shore is washed 
by the Pacific Ocean, from which the Bay of 
v 


100 Ml LEO 


1, Sacramento; 2, Stockton; 3, San Francisco; 4, Los Angeles; 5, San 
Diego; 6, Lake Tulare. Chief railroads are shown by dotted lines. 

Monterey and the Bay of San Francisco are 
the principal inlets. Point Conception, Point 
Arena, and Cape Mendocino are the principal 
capes; the last named is the most western point 
in the United States proper. California has a 
coast line of 1,200 miles. The area is 158,360 
square miles. 

Description. Along the shore is a fertile 
coast plain, east of which, almost parallel to 
the coast, trend the Coast Range Mountains, 
and in the eastern part are the high elevations 
of the Sierra Nevada. Between the two great 
mountain ranges are the beautiful Sacramento 


Valley and the San Joaquin Valley, in which 
flow, respectively, the Sacramento and San 
Joaquin rivers, uniting near San Francisco Bay, 
with which their waters intermingle. Among 
the "lofty peaks of the Sierra Nevada are 
Mounts Brewer, Tindall, Lyell, Dana, and 
Whitney, Merced Peak, Gray Peak, Pyramid 
Peak, Sonora Mountain, Stanislas Peak, and 
many others reaching heights of from 10,000 
to 15,000 feet above the sea. Mount Whitney 
is the culminating peak, having an altitude of 
14,868 feet. The Coast Range is less elevated, 
ranging from 5,600 feet to 9,214 feet, which is 
the altitude of Mount Pinos. Mounts 
Eddy, Scott, and China are elevated 
peaks of this system, which is con¬ 
nected by ranges of the Cascades, 
to which belong Mount Shasta, ele¬ 
vated 14,380 feet. The mountains 
abound in thermal and cold mineral 
springs with recognized medicinal 
virtues. They are utilized exten¬ 
sively for health and pleasure resorts. 
Between the mountain ranges are 
numerous scenic canyons and val¬ 
leys, the most beautiful of the latter 
being the Yosemite and Hetch- 
Hetchy. 

Rivers and Lakes. Besides the 
Sacramento and San Joaquin, which 
drain the great interior plain, formed 
of the Sacramento and the San Joa¬ 
quin valleys, California has many riv¬ 
ers valuable for drainage and irriga¬ 
tion. The Salinas River drains the 
region lying west of the Coast 
Range, flowing into Monterey Bay, 
and in the northern part is the Kla¬ 
math, which receives the drainage 
from the Trinity River and flows 
into the Pacific near Requa. The 
Kings is a tributary of the San Joa¬ 
quin and the Kern, Eel, and Owens 
are other streams of importance. 
Many beautiful lakes are located in 
different sections of the State, including lakes 
Tulare and Owens, in the central part; lakes 
Mono and Tahoe, near the eastern boundary; 
and lakes Honey, Eagle, and Middle, in the 
northern part. On the line between Oregon and 
California are Goose, Rhett, and Klamath lakes. 

Climate. The valleys of California have a 
delightful climate, and in most of these the year 
is divided into the wet and dry seasons. Rain 
falls chiefly from the middle of November till 
the early part of May, but of course is not con¬ 
tinuous, and the average for the State is twenty- 
three inches, which is less than at Chicago or 


23 










CALIFORNIA 


354 


CALIFORNIA 


Montreal. The principal valleys and the sea- 
coast may be said to have sufficient rainfall, 
while many portions are adapted to irrigation 
by drawing water from the lakes and streams. 
Its great diversity of climate is due to the prox¬ 
imity to the sea and a vast difference in altitude 
of many localities. The greater part of the 
State has a very favorable climate, possessing 
all the elements essential to the growth of vege¬ 
tation and the enjoyment of life. In some sec¬ 
tions are desert regions from which the rainfall 
is almost entirely shut off by lofty mountains. 
The largest of these is the Mojave Desert in 
the south central part. The warm winds, influ¬ 
enced by the Japan Current, affect the coast re¬ 
gion favorably, and here flowers bloom the en¬ 
tire year. Snow is almost unknown at San 
Francisco, where the average mean temperature 
is 49° in winter and 60° in summer. The pla¬ 
teaus have a temperate climate, while the moun¬ 
tains, especially the western slopes, have con¬ 
siderable snow. 

Flora and Fauna. Between the tropical cli¬ 
mate of the Pacific coast and the cold of the 
elevated mountain peaks is a range of climate 
as great as that found between the tropics and 
the Arctic region, hence the plants are greatly 
diversified. All the forest trees are of great 
size. The redwood thrives along the coast from 
San Francisco Bay to the Oregon boundary, 
and east of the Coast Ranges are forests of fir 
and several species of conifers, especially the 
sugar and yellow pines. South of San Fran¬ 
cisco Bay the coast plain is covered with grasses, 
though small groves of trees abound along the 
streams and among the hills. The oak is found 
in the northern part and in the Sierra Nevada 
are forests of sugar pine, cedar, cypress, and 
other woods, including the giant sequoia, rang¬ 
ing from thirty to thirty-four feet in diameter 
and reaching heights of 350 feet. These are the 
largest and oldest trees in the world. The 
State was formerly the home of many wild ani¬ 
mals and still has quite a number of mammals, 
including the wolf, bear, lynx, puma, bighorn, 
deer, and beaver. Many species of birds abound, 
such as the quail, vulture, cuckoo, and wood¬ 
pecker. Rattlesnakes, lizards, and turtles are 
among the reptiles. The fisheries of the inland 
waters and off the coast are important, espe¬ 
cially those of the cod, herring, salmon, smelt, 
and trout. 

Minerals. Productive gold mines are worked 
in about thirty counties, and the State held 
first rank in the output of that mineral until 
1897, when it was surpassed by Colorado. For¬ 
merly mining was confined to the river chan¬ 
nels, and sluices were introduced as early as 


1851, but now it is carried on by the most im¬ 
proved machinery, and the annual output aver¬ 
ages about $18,500,000. Most of the gold is 
obtained from the quartz and is produced exten¬ 
sively in Kern, Nevada, Trinity, Calaveras, El¬ 
dorado, and Sierra counties. Silver ore is not 
found in mines producing that metal exclusively, 
but is obtained in considerable quantities with 
other mineral products. The State ranks fourth 
in the production of copper, which is mined 
chiefly in Shasta County. Other minerals in¬ 
clude quicksilver, petroleum, bituminous coal, 
gas, borax, manganese, and salt. Asphalt is 
found in large quantities and building stone is 
abundant. 

Agriculture. Interest in agriculture has been 
growing with rapid strides, due chiefly to an in¬ 
crease in population and the construction of 
extensive irrigation canals. The farms are 
quite large, averaging pearly 400 acres, but 
there is a constant tendency toward increasing 
the smaller holdings, chiefly because the profit 
in careful husbandry is very marked, especially 
in fruit growing. South of the Tehachapi 
Mountains, where fruit culture has developed 
into an important enterprise, irrigation is de¬ 
pended upon very largely. The State has about 
250,000 acres devoted to the culture of grapes, 
and the crop is used in making wine and for 
raisins. In the production of beet-root sugar 
the State takes first rank. Wheat is the most 
important cereal and is grown extensively in 
the central valliy, and steam machinery is util¬ 
ized extensively in tilling the soil and harvest¬ 
ing the crops. Barley, oats, alfalfa, rye, and 
corn are grown more or less extensively, and 
all kinds of vegetables yield abundantly. Prunes, 
lemons, oranges, almonds, walnuts, and peaches 
are grown. All the domestic animals common 
to the United States thrive, and dairying and 
poultry raising receive a large- share of atten¬ 
tion. Truck gardening is an important enter¬ 
prise in the vicinity of Los Angeles and San 
Francisco. 

Manufacturing. Few states have better 
prospects in the line of manufacturing than 
California, being favored by an abundance oi 
timber and minerals. Gas and petroleum are 
factors in developing this enterprise, and the 
power of mountain streams is utilized in pro¬ 
pelling mills and electrical machinery. San 
Francisco has extensive shipyards, where some 
of the largest seagoing vessels and warships 
are constructed. In sugar refining it takes first 
rank, and its output of canned^ fruit and lum¬ 
ber is extensive. Other manufactures embrace 
railway cars, flour, cured meat, molasses, leather, 
clothing, and machinery. 


CALIFORNIA 


355 


CALIFORNIA 


Transportation. The Sacramento River is 
navigable from its mouth to Red Bluff and the 
Colorado, which forms a part of the western 
boundary, is important as a highway for com¬ 
merce the entire course along the border. Few 
waters are more important than the Bay of San 
Francisco, which is a busy water commercially, 
and furnishes good harbors for San Francisco, 
Oakland, Martinez, and other centers of com¬ 
merce. San Diego, Eureka, San Pedro, and 
other points on the coast have a large shipping 
trade. Electric railways are abundant in the 
cities and many interurban points, and few states 
are more favorably situated in respect to rail¬ 
road transportation. Important lines cross the 
State in many directions, connecting the chief 
business centers with each other and with the 
cities of all parts of the country. The electric 
lines have 2,120 miles and the steam lines 6,750 
miles. 

Government. The State is governed under a 
constitution which was ratified by a popular vote 
and became operated in 1879. By its terms the 
chief executive authority is vested in the gov¬ 
ernor, lieutenant-governor, controller, attorney- 
general, treasurer, surveyor-general, and secre¬ 
tary of State, each elected for a term of four 
years. The Senate consists of forty and the 
General Assembly of eighty members, the former 
being elected for four and the latter for two 
years. Meetings of the Legislature are held 
biennially, beginning the first Monday of Jan¬ 
uary of even years. The supreme court con¬ 
sists of a chief justice and six associates, elected 
for twelve years. It is divided into two depart¬ 
ments and holds sessions either separately or 
as one court. A superior court is maintained in 
each county, elected for six years, and inferior 
courts are established by the Legislature. Local 
government is in the hands of municipal, town¬ 
ship, and county corporations. The right of 
suffrage is extended to all males who can read 
the constitution and write their own names, with 
the requirement that they have resided in the 
voting precinct thirty days, in the county ninety 
days, and in the State one year, but Chinese are 
not permitted to vote. 

Education. The educational institutions of 
California are organized on a satisfactory basis 
and are liberally supported by taxation and 
public appropriations. A State superintendent 
of public instruction is at the head of the edu¬ 
cational system. District schools are maintained 
in all the populated rural districts of the State. 
The towns and cities have graded and high 
schools, and ample provision has been made for 
State support to colleges, normal schools, and 
universities. The State has five normal schools 


for the training of teachers, and additional 
facilities are supplied by a number of private 
institutions. At Berkeley is located the Uni¬ 
versity of California, which is aided by the gov¬ 
ernment, and the Leland Stanford, Jr., Univer¬ 
sity is at Palo Alto, and ranks as one of the 
leading centers of education in the United 
States. Lick Observatory, an adjunct of the 
State university, is located on Mount Hamilton. 

The State maintains prisons at Folsom and 
San Quentin, a home for the feeble-minded at 
Glen Ellen, a State reform school at Whittier, 
and a number of orphan asylums. Asylums for 
the insane are located at Agnew, Napa, Stock- 
ton, and Ukiah; the institution for the deaf, 
dumb, and blind is at Berkeley; and the Preston 
School of Industry is at lone City. All of the 
leading scientific, religious, and educational so¬ 
cieties are well organized. Encouragement is 
given to libraries in the municipalities and the 
public schools, and the State maintains a fine 
library with about 100,000 volumes at Sacra¬ 
mento. 

Inhabitants. In population California holds 
twenty-first rank among the states* It is the 
most populous of the states in the far west. 
Fully one-fourth of the people are of foreign 
birth, including chiefly Germans, Irish, and 
English. It has 45,700 Chinese and 10,150 Jap¬ 
anese. Sacramento, the capital, is located on 
the Sacramento River. San Francisco, on the 
Bay of San Francisco, is the largest city of Cal¬ 
ifornia and of the Pacific coast. Other cities 
of importance include Los Angeles, Oakland, 
San Jose, San Diego, Stockton, Alameda, Ber¬ 
keley, Fresno, Santa Rosa, Pasadena, and Eu¬ 
reka. Population, 1910, 2,377,549. 

History. The region now included in the 
State was first visited by Spaniards in 1534, and 
the Gulf of California is thought to have been 
surveyed by Cortez two years later. Sir Francis 
Drake cruised along the coast in 1578. The first 
settlement was made at San Diego in 1796 by 
Spanish priests, who established mission sta¬ 
tions with the view of converting the Indians 
to Christianity. California belonged to Mexico 
during the early period of American history 
and with it became independent of Spain in 
1822. After the Mexican War it was ceded to 
the United States along with other territory, 
and was admitted to the Union as a State in 
1850. The first great rush of immigrants came 
to California in 1848, following the discovery 
of large gold deposits, and the State was soon 
settled by gold seekers and adventurers. In 
early history a spirit of lawlessness prevailed, 
which was eventually overcome by the estab¬ 
lishment of societies and the building of cities. 


CALKING 


CALIFORNIA, GULF OF 356 


It is now one of the richest and most productive 
states. 

CALIFORNIA, Gulf of, an inlet from the 
Pacific Ocean, between Mexico and the penin¬ 
sula of Lower California. It is from forty to 
one hundred miles wide and 700 miles long. It 
abounds in fish and is rich in oysters and pearly 
products. The principal rivers that flow into 
it are the Colorado, Altar, Miguel, and Yaqui. 
Among the chief seaports are La Paz, Guaymas, 
and, near its entrance, Mazatlan. Point Eu¬ 
genia is an important cape on its western shore, 
north of which is Sebastian Vizcaino Bay. 

CALIFORNIA, Lower, a territory of Mex¬ 
ico, located south of California, between the 
Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. It 
has an area of 58,785 square miles. The sur¬ 
face is mountainous, reaching its greatest ele¬ 
vations along the eastern coast and on the penin¬ 
sula south of Sebastian Vizcaino Bay. The 
mountains are exceedingly rich in the mineral 
deposits that are common to California, but min¬ 
ing is yet in a primitive state. Most of the coast 
lands and valleys are fertile, in which are fine 
farms and productive orchards and vineyards. 
A large portion has a dry climate, but the 
greater part of the territory contains nutritious 
grasses for pasturage. Pearl fishing and whal¬ 
ing are profitable industries. A number of ex¬ 
tensive colonies from the United States are 
building up various industries. La Paz is the 
capital. Other towns include Saint Felipe, Saint 
Lucas, and Saint Quintin. The population is 
42,590, a large per cent, of which are Indians. 

CALIFORNIA, University of, an educa¬ 
tional institution at Berkeley, Cal., founded as 
a State university in 1868. It was organized as 
a college of agriculture under an act of Con¬ 
gress passed in 1862 and the College of Cali¬ 
fornia was united with it. At first it was locat¬ 
ed at Oakland and it was removed to its present 
site in 1873. A tax of two per cent, is collected 
for its support on the assessed valuation of the 
State, and it receives special State appropria¬ 
tions, government aid, and the benefit of certain 
endowments, including the income of large gifts 
by Mrs. Phoebe A. Hearst. 

This institution has an astronomical depart¬ 
ment on Mount Hamilton, in Santa Clara 
County, which includes the Lick Observatory. 
It contains the departments of social sciences, 
natural sciences, agriculture, mining, commerce, 
mechanics, chemistry, civil engineering, and the 
college of letters, at Berkeley; and the Hastings 
College of Law, Mark Hopkins Institute of 
Art, medical department, dental department, 
post-graduate medical department, and Califor¬ 
nia College of Pharmacy, at San Francisco. In 


addition to these is the department of anthro¬ 
pology, which pursues linguistic and ethnologi¬ 
cal investigations and gives attention primarily 
to research of antiquities in Peru, Egypt, and 
North America. The faculty of instructors and 
professors consists of 480, the attendance is 
about 3,600, and the library has 120,000 volumes. 
Admission is free to residents of the State, while 
nonresidents pay a nominal tuition fee. The 
endowments aggregate $3,500,000, its total in¬ 
come is $560,000, and the value of the buildings 
and grounds is $4,650,000. M. Emile Benard, 
of France, laid out the plans, which provide for 
buildings and improvements that require an 
ultimate expenditure of about $10,000,000. 

CALIPH (ka'lif ), a title of office assumed 
by the successors of Mohammed in temporal 
and spiritual power. From this name the early 
governments of Islam came to be known as the 
Caliphate. This title of office was assumed by 
three large divisions of Mohammedans. These 
included the Oriental, established at Medina in 
632, which was afterward removed under the 
Ommyiades to Damascus and finally to Bagdad 
under the Abbassides; the caliphs of Cordova, 
founded by Abu al Rahman in 756; and the 
caliphs of Egypt, or the Fatimites, founded by 
Obeidallah in 909. With the Turkish conquest 
in the 16th century, the title was assumed by the 
Sultan, who retains it to the present time. 
Emir and Shah are other titles peculiar to the 
Mohammedan countries. 

CALISTHENICS (kal-Ts-then'iks), the ex¬ 
ercise of the body and limbs to promote health 
and grace, including the lighter forms of gym¬ 
nastics, especially for girls. American colleges 
for girls contain departments in which members 
of the classes are trained by instructors. The 
results have been found wholesome, not only in 
increasing physical strength, but mental vigor. 
Calisthenics is now a department of all the 
larger colleges of America where females are 
admitted. 

CALIXTINES (ka-liks'tmz), the name given 
to the followers of Georg Calixtus, a Lutheran 
theologian of the 17th century. The same name 
refers to a sect of Hussites in Bohemia, who 
were so called from calix, the Latin word mean¬ 
ing cup, owing to their belief that communicants 
should partake of both the wine and bread in 
the Lord’s Supper. 

CALKING (kak'ing), the process of driving 
a quantity of tarred oakum into the seams be¬ 
tween the planks of ships, in order to render the 
joints water-tight. The oakum is drawn out and 
laid over the seams, and is then driven by a 
wedge-shaped instrument called the calking-iron. 
When sufficient oakum is forced into the seams, 


CALLA 


357 


CALVARY 


it is covered with melted pitch to prevent water 
from getting to it. Calking is employed in 
making water-tight the edges of both wooden 
planks and iron plates, and in the latter the 
calking-tool straddles the seam or is driven 
under tne lap of one of the plates, depending 
upon the construction of the ship. 

CALLA (kal'la), a plant native to the tem¬ 
perate regions of most continents, found usually 
in the northern section in swamps and marshes. 

The leaves are 
heart - shaped, 
the rootstalk is 
creeping, and the 
fruit is a small 
red berry. It has 
a spreading 
spathe, and the 
oblong spadix is 
covered entirely 
with flowers. 
This plant is 
found in the 
northern part of 
Europe and 
North America, 
calla lily. and the root 

yields a starch used as food. The beautiful 
calla lily, known in South Africa as the Ethio¬ 
pian lily, extensively cultivated for its fine flow¬ 
ers, is sometimes classed with the calla, though 
it is a different plant. 

CALLAO (kal-la'o), a city of Peru, of 
which it is the principal seaport. It is situated 
on Callao Bay, seven miles west of Lima, and 
is the capital of the province of Callao. The 
harbor is safe and spacious, and the island of 
San Lorenzo furnishes a natural breakwater. 
It has connections with the interior by several 
railroads, is well fortified, and carries a brisk 
export and import trade. The manufactures 
consist chiefly of ironware, clothing, leather, and 
sugar. Some of the streets in the older part are 
narrow and poorly improved, but those in the 
newer part are broad and cross each other at 
right angles. The customhouse and several 
schools and churches are among the chief build¬ 
ings. Callao is an old city, dating from the 
early part of the seventeenth century. It was 
destroyed several times by earthquakes and was 
a Spanish city until 1826. The fleet of Chile 
bombarded and captured it in 1890. Population, 

1905, 31,690. . . 

CALLIOPE (kal-li'6-pe), in mythology, the 
chief of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and 
Mnemosyne (Memory), who presided over elo¬ 
quence and heroic poetry. She was the mother 
of Orpheus. The name calliope is now applied 


to a musical instrument consisting of a series 
of steam whistles, toned to the notes of the 
scale, and played by keys like those of an organ. 

CALMS, Region of, the parts of the Pacific 
and Atlantic oceans which are subject to total 
absence of winds for long periods of time. They 
are found between the region of trade winds 
and that of the variable winds. In the North 
they are known as the Calms of Cancer, and in 
the South as Calms of Capricorn. During 
former times, when navigation was carried on 
wholly by sail boats, these regions were dreaded 
by seamen as much as the regions of storms, for 
the reason that ships would lie at rest for sev- « 
eral weeks, often exhausting food and water 
before sufficient movement of the air enabled 
sailing. With the introduction of large steam¬ 
boats the former difficulties have been over¬ 
come. It is common for violent storms to fol¬ 
low calms that occur unexpectedly. See Wind. 

CALOMEL (kal'6-mel), a compound of 
mercury and chlorine, known to chemists as 
mercury subchloride. It is insoluble in water 
and is blackened by ammonia. A preparation 
of calomel is used extensively in medicine for 
liver complaints, as a vermifuge, and as a purga¬ 
tive. It should be taken with precaution, as it 
is likely to produce salivation. The calomel of 
the market is a white powder. 

CALORIMETER (kal-6-rim'e-ter), an 
instrument for measuring the amount of heat 
in bodies.’ The measurement of heat is divided 
into thermometry and calorimetry, the former 
having reference to the measurements of differ¬ 
ences of temperature, and the latter to the 
quantity of heat which disappears when work 
is done, or develops when energy is expended. 
These instruments are known as water, ice, and 
steam calorimeters. In water calorimeters, a 
known mass of water is used to determine the 
amount of heat developed or expended; in ice 
calorimeters, the heat of fusion of ice is the 
basis of measurement; and in steam calorim¬ 
eters, some liquid, usually water, furnishes the 
heat of evaporation to determine the quantity. 
Electro-calorimeters are used to measure the 
heat generated in an electric circuit. 

CALUMET (kal'u-met), a kind of pipe used 
for smoking tobacco by the North American In¬ 
dians. The bowl is generally made of stone and 
the large stem is ornamented with feathers. It 
serves as the emblem of peace and hospitality. 
The acceptance of it is the sign of friendship 
and'peace, and the refusal of it is the proclama¬ 
tion of war and enmity. It is offered to stran¬ 
gers as a signal that they may travel with safety 
among the members of the tribe. 

CALVARY (kal'va-ry), the name applied to 




CALVINISM 


358 


CAMBRAI 


the small eminence on the north side of Jeru¬ 
salem on which Christ was crucified. It is the 
Latin translation of the Hebrew word Golgotha, 
meaning a skull. In Catholic countries the term 
is applied to the vicinity of a chapel, erected on 
a hill near the city as a place of devotion in 
memory of the Savior. It is common to deco¬ 
rate these places with three crosses; symbolic 
of Christ and the two thieves, and sometimes 
other figures are added to represent those who 
took part in the crucifixion. 

CALVINISM, the system of thought named 
from John Calvin. The prominent tenets of 
Calvanism were presented by the Remonstrance 
at the Synod of Dort in five points, embracing 
the doctrines of the Original Sin, Total Deprav¬ 
ity, Election or Predestination, Effectual Calling, 
and Final Preseverance of Faith. The doctrines 
of Calvin stand in contradistinction to those of 
the Lutheran and Anglican churches. The 
Westminster Confession of Faith is the most 
formal expression of the doctrines of Calvanism 
that exists. It is the standard of the Presby¬ 
terian churches, some holding to all the articles 
and others supporting them in a modified degree. 
A number of the branches have shown a tend¬ 
ency to Unitarianism, but this confession still 
stands as one of the most powerful creeds of the 
Reformation. 

CALYCANTHUS (kal-i-kan'thus), a genus 
of shrubs native to Asia and America. They 
have opposite leaves and purple flowers, and 
both the bark and leaves have an aromatic 
fragrance. Some species are cultivated. in gar¬ 
dens for their flowers and foliage. The genus 
includes about six species, four of which are 
native to the United States. The bark is known 
as Florida allspice, or Carolina allspice. 

CALYX (ka'liks), the name applied in botany 
to the outermost covering of a flower, consist¬ 
ing of an envelope that incloses and supports the 
whorl of leaves known as the corolla. The 
leaves of the calyx are called sepals, and are 
either united at the margins or are separate 
from each other. The sepals are less delicate 
than the corolla and are of a greenish color. In 
some flowers the calyx is united with the corolla 
and is difficult to distinguish, when the whole is 
called perianth. It usually falls off after flower¬ 
ing, but in some plants, as in the poppy, it re¬ 
mains until the fruit is ripe, while in others it 
becomes fleshy and forms the fruit, as in the 
rose and apple. 

CAM (kam), a contrivance for changing 
motion in machinery, usually consisting of a 
small turning or sliding piece or of a projecting 
part of a wheel. The shape of its face or per¬ 
iphery is such that it imparts or receives vari¬ 


able or intermittent motion by coming in con¬ 
tact with a rod or lever, or is in the form of a 
projection of some moving piece of machinery 
so shaped that it gives alternate motion to an¬ 
other piece against which it acts. Many forms 
of cams and cam-wheels are employed for 
various purposes in machinery. 

CAMBAY (kam-ba'), a city, gulf, and dis¬ 
trict at the northwestern point of the peninsula 
of Hindustan. The district is a feudatory state 
of British India and is under the Bombay presi¬ 
dency. It has an area of 352 square miles and 
a population of 91,500. The city was formerly 
the chief seat of commerce. It is situated at the 
head of the Gulf of Cambay, and now contains 
a population of 34,160. The gulf is 25 miles 
wide and 85 miles long, separating the peninsula 
of Kathiawar from the northern coast of Bom¬ 
bay. 

CAMBODIA (kam-bo'di-a), or Camboja, a 

province of French Indo-China. It has an area 
of 37,400 square miles. The soil is fertile, pro¬ 
ducing coffee, pepper, sugar cane, cotton, indigo, 
rice, tobacco, betel, maize, and tropical fruits. 
Gold and precious stones are" the chief minerals. 
It contains a number of beautiful lakes in which 
fish abound and has extensive marshes infested 
by crocodiles. The district is watered by a num¬ 
ber of streams, contains evidences of ancient 
prosperity, and constitutes a valuable and pro¬ 
ductive region. It has been a French protector¬ 
ate since 1863, though it is ruled by a native 
king. In 1887 it was united with Tonquin and 
Anam into a customs union, the three constitut¬ 
ing a district under the direction of the supreme 
council of Indo-China. Railroads, canals, high¬ 
ways, and public schools have been established 
since French occupation. Kampot, on the Gulf 
of Siam, is the seaport, and Pnum Penh, on the 
Mekong, is the principal city. The inhabitants 
consist chiefly of native races. Population, 1905, 
1,503,500. 

CAMBRAI (kon-bra'), or Cambry, a city of 
France, in the department of the Nord, 45 miles 
north of Saint Quentin. It is nicely situated on 
the Scheldt River, has extensive railroad con¬ 
veniences, and is a center of trade. The manu¬ 
factures include soap, leather, sugar, and ma¬ 
chinery. The cathedral contains the remains of 
Fenelon, who was Archbishop of Cambrai. It 
has many buildings of stone and cement, includ¬ 
ing a town hall and a number of schools. It 
was the seat of an important conference in 1508, 
when the League of Cambrai was organized, 
which included the Emperor of Germany, the 
Pope, and the kings of Spain and France, and 
its object was to disrupt the republic of Venice. 
Population, 1906, 23,510. 


CAMBRIAN 


359 CAMBRIDGE, UNIVERSITY OF 


CAMBRIAN (kam'bri-an), in geology, a 
division of time, the earliest in which fossils of 
plant and animal remains are now distinguish¬ 
able. The Cambrian Period was so named from 
Cambria, in Wales, where the system of rocks 
belonging to this age or time were first exam¬ 
ined and studied. It is closely associated with 
the Silurian Period, which some writers regard 
more recent, and the rocks of this system are 
immediately below those of the Silurian. They 
contain fossils of crustaceans, corals, sponges, 
hydrozoans, starfishes, gastropods, brachiopods, 
and cephalopods. In Newfoundland the thick¬ 
ness of this system is about 6,000 feet, whence 
it thickens toward the south and west, being 
about 7,000 feet in New York and 10,000 feet 
in British Columbia. 

CAMBRIC (kam'brik), a very fine fabric of 
linen, named from Cambrai, France, where it 
was first made. Switzerland is now the leading 
center of manufactures of this article, and it is 
made extensively in Flanders and other coun¬ 
tries. The name cambric is now applied to a 
fabric made of cotton in imitation of the linen 
product, such as Scotch cambric, which is a mus¬ 
lin made by twisting the cotton fibers very hard. 

CAMBRIDGE (kam'brij), a city of Massa¬ 
chusetts, in Middlesex County, separated from 
Boston by the Charles River. It is entered by 
the Boston and Maine and the Boston and Al¬ 
bany railroads, and has connection with Boston 
and other cities by electric railways. Cambridge 
is a suburb of Boston and the seat of the cele¬ 
brated Harvard University. It includes Old 
Cambridge, North Cambridge, East Cambridge, 
and Cambridgeport. The university is located in 
Old Cambridge. Its beautiful campus is adorned 
by magnificent buildings, and its numerous ex¬ 
cellent trees are among the most interesting of 
many noted objects of the city. The famous 
Wadsworth House, built in 1726, is located on 
the east end of Harvard Square, and is noted 
as the residence of the presidents of Harvard 
College for more than 125 years. A marble slab 
located under an elegant and venerable tree, 
surrounded by an iron fence, contains the in¬ 
scription: “Under this tree Washington first 
took command of the American army, July 3, 
1775.” Cambridgeport is located between Old 
Cambridge and the West Boston bridge, and is 
noted for its factories, while North Cambridge 
is the most important commercial center of the 
city. East Cambridge is the newer portion and 
contains the public buildings. 

The manufactures of Cambridge include ma¬ 
chinery, steam boilers, packed meat, clothing, 
musical instruments and steam engines. It has 
a number of iron foundries and book publish¬ 


ing houses. The municipal utilities include 
waterworks, stone and macadam paving, and an 
extensive sewer system. Cambridge was settled 
by Governor Winthrop and other men of the 
Colonial Period in 1630. At first it was known 
as New Town, but the name was changed to 
Cambridge in 1683. The Americans occupied it 
at the time Boston was held by the British, in 
1775-76. It was chartered as a city in 1846. 
Population, 1905, 97,426; in 1910, 104,839. , 

CAMBRIDGE, a city of Maryland, county 
seat of Dorchester County, 60 miles southeast 
of Baltimore. It is on the Choptank River and 
on the Seaford and Cambridge Railroad. The 
surrounding country is agricultural, producing 
fruit and cereals, and it is a brisk market for 
merchandise and produce. Among the chief in¬ 
dustries are oyster canneries, flouring mills, and 
factories producing clothing and machinery. 
The first settlement was made on its site in 1684 
and it was incorporated as a colonial town, but 
its present charter dates from 1900. Population, 
1900, 5,747. 

CAMBRIDGE, a city in Ohio, county seat 
of Guernsey County, 58 miles north of Marietta, 
on the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio 
railroads. It has a public library, a county 
courthouse, and a municipal system of water¬ 
works. In the surrounding region are deposits 
of coal, gas, and petroleum. The manufactured 
products include pottery, machinery, cigars, 
ironware, and utensils. It was settled in 1806 
and became an incorporated town in 1837. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1900, 8,241; in 1910, 11,327. 

CAMBRIDGE, a town of England, in Cam¬ 
bridge County, 48 miles north of London. It is 
supported mainly by the great university that 
bears its name. Trumpington Street, its prin¬ 
cipal thoroughfare, is lined on both sides by 
many fine buildings. Besides the University of 
Cambridge, it has a public library and the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It has a con¬ 
siderable jobbing trade, modern municipal im¬ 
provements, and a number of manufacturing in¬ 
terests. The surrounding country is fertile and 
produces large quantities of cereals and fruits. 
Cambridge was known as Camboritmn by the 
Romans. It was chartered by King John in 1200. 
Population, 1907, 35,275. 

CAMBRIDGE, University of, one of the 
two great institutions maintained in England 
for many centuries, located at Cambridge, on 
the Cam River, 48 miles north of London. It 
was founded at the beginning of the 12th 
century, tradition fixing the time at 1129. The 
entire university comprises twenty different cor¬ 
porate bodies, called colleges, founded in the 
following order: Saint Peter’s College, 1257; 


CAMDEN 


360 


CAMEL 


Clare College, 1326; Pembroke College, 1347; 
Gonville and Caius College, 1348; Trinity Hall, 
1350; Corpus Christi College, 1351; King’s Col¬ 
lege, 1441; Queen’s College, 1448; Saint Cath¬ 
erine’s College, 1473; Jesus College, 1496; 
Christ’s College, 1505; Saint John’s College, 
1511; Magdalene College, 1519; Trinity College, 
1546; Emmanuel College, 1584; Sidney Sussex 
College, 1598; Downing College, 1800; Cavendish 
. College, 1876; Selwyn College, 1882; and Ayerst 
Hall, 1884. 

Each of the colleges has a special governing 
body as well as teachers and students, but all 
are subject to the laws of the university as a 
whole. The university is governed by a senate, 
which is constituted of all the doctors and mas¬ 
ters, but the electoral right is limited to those 
who reside in Cambridge. This body governs 
through the council of the senate, which is con¬ 
stituted of the chancellor, vice chancellor, four 
heads of colleges, four university professors, 
and eight associates. The ordinary administra¬ 
tion of the university is exercised by the chan¬ 
cellor, the high steward, and the vice chancellor, 
the last mentioned being the head of some col¬ 
lege. The discipline of the students is superin¬ 
tended by two proctors. Women are admitted 
to the examinations after having filled the com¬ 
missions of standing and residences, but no de¬ 
grees are conferred upon them, their names 
being published and certificates are issued. Gir- 
ton and Newnham are two colleger that have 
been established for women, but they form no 
part of the university, though students of these 
colleges are admitted to many of . the university 
lectures. 

The university has an annual income of about 
$300,000, which arises from fees at matriculation, 
for degrees, and from various other sources. 
There are about 3,000 undergraduates, 45 pro¬ 
fessors in the various departments, and over 
400 fellowships. A beautiful botanical garden, 
an observatory, and an anatomical school are 
maintained to further study and for pleasure. 
The libraries contain over 200,000 volumes and 
include more than 10,000 manuscripts, while the 
laboratories for study and the museums are 
among the best in England. The branches 
studied cover all the arts and sciences, both an¬ 
cient and modern. Among the eminent men 
who studied at Cambridge are Byron, Pitt, 
Chaucer, Bacon, Newton, Spencer, Ben Jon- 
son, and Milton. Two members of Parliament 
are sent from the university, who receive their 
election by the votes of the members of the 
senate. See Oxford, University of. 

CAMDEN (kam'den), a city in New Jersey, 
county seat of Camden County, on the Delaware 


River, opposite Philadelphia, with which it is 
connected by ferry boats. It is on the Pennsyl¬ 
vania, the West Jersey and Seashore, and the 
Atlantic City railroads. The industries include 
foundries, boot and shoe factories, machine 
shops, shipyards, and railroad works. There are 
no less than eight shipyards in the city, with 
dry docks and marine railways. Among the 
principal buildings are the West Jersey Orphan¬ 
age, the city hall, the county courthouse, the 
public high school, and many schools and 
churches. The city has a Carnegie library and 
a fine Federal building. It has an excellent 
street railway service and electric and gas light¬ 
ing, and is the center of a good jobbing trade. 
It was first settled in 1773 by Jacob Cooper and 
was incorporated in 1828. Population, 1905, 
83,363; in 1910, 94,538. 

CAMDEN, a city of South Carolina, county 
seat of Kershaw County, 32 miles northeast of 
Columbia. It is located on the Wateree River, 
which is utilized for navigation, and is on the 
Southern and the Seaboard Air Line railroads. 
The manufactures embrace cotton and woolen 
goods, brick, and machinery. It is popular as a 
winter resort, having a pleasant and healthful 
climate. It has a monument erected to the mem¬ 
ory of De Kalb in 1825, when Lafayette laid the 
corner stone. 

Camden is noted on account of two battles 
fought here in the Revolutionary War. The 
first took place on Aug. 16, 1780, when Lord 
Cornwallis with a force of 2,000 British defeated 
3,000 Americans under Gen. Gates. In this en¬ 
gagement Baron De Kalb was mortally wounded. 
The second Battle of Camden took place on April 
25, 1781, between a force of 950 British under 
Lord Rawdon and 1,400 Americans under Gen. 
Greene, in which the Americans were repulsed 
and fled in confusion. In the Civil War, while 
on the famous march to the sea, Gen. Sherman, 
on Feb. 25, 1865, entered Camden and destroyed 
many buildings and about 2,000 bales of cotton. 
Population, 1900, 2,421. 

CAMEL (kam'el), a large cud-chewing ani¬ 
mal found native in Asia and Africa. The two 
species are known as the Arabian camel and the 
Bactrian camel. They belong to the ruminant 
quadrupeds, and are known by their long and 
arched neck, absence of horns, possession of 
incisive, canine, and molar teeth, upper lip fis¬ 
sure, and one or two humps on the back. These 
animals are native to an extent of country from 
Morocco to China. The dromedary, a species of 
fleet camel, has a single hump or protuberance 
and is found in a zone nearly 2,000 miles wide. 
The common, or Arabian, camel, has one hump 
and is found from Turkestan to China. The 


CAMEL 


361 


CAMELLIA 


Bactrian camel is larger and more powerful, and 
is taken as the best beast for service. Owing to 
its great utility in desert regions it is often re¬ 
ferred to as the ship of the desert. 



BACTRIAN CAMEL. 


The camel travels from three to five days 
without drinking and with a small quantity of 
food. It is capable of carrying from 700 to 1,000 
pounds 25 miles a day, while those trained for 
speed often travel from 60 to 100 miles a day. 

Its power to en- 
d u r e thirst is 
due chiefly to 
the structure of 
its stomach, 
which is cap¬ 
able of drain- 
ing off and 
storing w at e r 
for future use 
by means of 
little pouches 
or water cells. 
The food is of 
the coarsest 
kind and con¬ 
sists of grasses, 
shrubs, twigs, 
and nettles. In a domestic state it subsists on 
the same general classes of foods as are fed 
to horses and cattle. Though appearing quite 
curved, the backbone is almost straight, the ap¬ 
parent curvature being due to its humps. These 
consist of accumulations of nutritious fat which 
is stored for future use. The owner of a camel 
carefully examines the humps before starting on 
a long journey. When they are plump and in 
a good condition, the animal possesses accumu¬ 
lated means of support and is able to endure 
long journeys and much exertion. 

The camel lives from 30 to 50 years. It is not 



ARABIAN CAMEL. 


as intelligent as the horse or elephant, and is 
quite vindictive when injured. Its milk is a 
nutritious and common food of its owner, while 
its flesh is highly esteemed. The hide of the 
camel is useful in manufactures, and the hairs 
serve a valuable purpose in making carpets and 
wearing apparel. Its nostrils and eyelashes are 
fitted to endure the sand storms of the desert. 
The sense of smell and sight are well developed. 
At night and when resting it chews its cud 
much like cattle and sheep. The llama and 
alpaca of South America belong to the same 
genus, but have no humps. The camel is used 
very extensively in Eurasia, Africa, and parts 
of South America, and has been introduced in 
Australia. It is one of the most valuable ani¬ 
mals. 

CAMELLIA (ka-merii-a), a genus of hardy 
evergreen shrubs or trees native to Asia, so 
named from G. J. Kamel, a German missionary 
in the Philippines. It includes many species, of 
which a large number are cultivated as green¬ 
house shrubs. The popular camellia has beauti¬ 
ful, double flowers, and was originated from the 
camellia of China and Japan. Under cultiva¬ 



CAMELLIA. 

tion it has developed red, yellow, white, and 
variegated colors, which differ somewhat in the 
form and position of the petals. These plants 
flower profusely in different seasons of the 
year, and thrive best in cool houses. They may 








CAMELOPARD 


362 


CAMPANIA 


be propagated by layers or cuttings, and the 
single camellia is grown largely by planting the 
seed or by grafting. These plants are closely 
related to the tea-plant. 

CAMELOPARD (ka-mel'6-pard), the name 
sometimes applied to the giraffe, because it is 
formed like a camel and spotted like a pard. 
See Giraffe. 

CAMEO (kam'e-o), the general name given 
to gems cut in relief, in distinction from those 
hollowed out like a seal. The stones used have 
two or more different colored layers. The art 
of cutting is designed to show a layer of color 
with another color as a background, or an alter¬ 
nation of colors. In stones containing more than 
two colors one or more are cut so as to form 
ornamental wreaths or figures, as cups, flowers, 
or vases. Cameo cutting is of great antiquity. It 
was practiced by the Babylonians and from them 
passed down to all succeeding peoples. Some 
very fine specimens have been found in the ruins 
of Egypt and ancient Greece. Among the most 
celebrated cameos is the Gonzaga at Saint 
Petersburg, which is thought to represent Ptol¬ 
emy I. and Eurydice. In the Marlborough col¬ 
lection of England is the “Cupid and Psyche,” 
made by Tryphon, who lived in Macedon about 
the time of Alexander. Glass cameos are manu¬ 
factured. The art of cutting cameos from shells 
of mollusks has long yielded excellent speci¬ 
mens. 

CAMERA LUCIDA (kam'e-ra lu'si-da), an 
instrument invented by Dr. Wollaston about 
1804, designed to facilitate sketching objects 
from nature by producing upon paper a reflected 
picture of them. The instrument contains a 
glass prism of such a form that its base has 
the general angles of 90°, 67%°, 135°, and 67%°. 
The objects, placed in a horizontal direction at 
the proper distance from one of the planes in¬ 
closing the right angles, convey rays, which in 
their passage through the prism are twice totally 
reflected, and finally, reaching the observer’s eye, 
placed near one of the acute angles and, looking 
downward, enable it to see the object of which 
it is in quest, on a surface placed in proper 
focus beneath. This camera is usually called the 
“clear chamber” and has undergone a number 
of modifications, particularly in the improvement 
made by the addition of a glass prism, which 
enables the operator to observe both the figure 
and the point of the pencil at the same moment 
and greatly facilitates in sketching the objects. 
The camera is portable and may be carried to 
different points with facility. 

CAMERA OBSCURA (ob-skii'ra), an opti¬ 
cal instrument by which the distant image of an 
object is thrown on a sheet of paper for con¬ 


venience in sketching or for the purpose of view¬ 
ing distant scenery. It was invented by Friar 
Bacon in the 13th century, but has been largely 
modified and improved. The simple form con¬ 
sists of a chamber from which light is every¬ 
where excluded except at an opening about 
an inch in diameter, through which rays of 
light cast the image of the object on the oppo¬ 
site wall or screen. The form used for sketch¬ 
ing usually consists of a tent surrounded by 
opaque curtains, at the top of which a mirror is 
placed in an inclined position. The light from a 
distant object is reflected from the mirror to 
the lens of a revolving lantern placed at the top 
of the tent, and behind it is a mirror at a slope 
of 45°, which transmits the image of the object 
to a sheet of paper placed at a suitable distance 
below. 

Photographers employ the camera obscura, the 
form consisting of a box with two slides ar¬ 
ranged to fit into each other, to one of which 
a tube is attached, containing an object glass at 
its extreme end. The camera is focused by 
sliding the two parts of the box and by means 
of moving the tube with a pinion. The image 
of the object is thrown on a ground glass slide 
in the back of the box. When the image has 
been focused to its clearest and sharpest point, a 
sensitive plate is exposed, which receives and 
retains an impression of it. In recent years 
the kodak, an instrument constructed on this 
plan, has come into general use for outdoor 
photography. See Photography. 

CAMEROON. See Kamerun. 

CAMOMILE. See Chamomile. 

CAMPAGNA DI ROMA (cam-pan'ya de 
ro'ma), the name applied to the plain surround¬ 
ing Rome, which nearly coincides with the an¬ 
cient province of Latium. It embraces the coast 
region of central Italy, a tract of country about 
100 miles long and 30 to 40 miles wide. The 
northeastern part, lying on the slopes of the 
Apennines, is pleasant and healthful, but the 
lowlands are affected by malaria. Within the 
district are included the Pontine Marshes, 
formed by a number of small streams, which, 
having no outlet to the sea, spread over the 
land. The land is volcanic and a number of 
lakes, including Albano and Regillus, occupy the 
craters of volcanoes. It is certain that the plain 
was dry as late as 312 b. c., when the region was 
cultivated and the Appian Way was extended 
over a portion of it. The acqueducts of ancient 
Rome stretched across it, but the lines are now 
destroyed and only broken arches remain. The 
modern towns included in this region are Ostia, 
Frascati, Tivoli, and Palestrina. 

CAMPANIA (Jkam-pan'ya), a portion of 


CAMPANULA 


363 


CAMPOBELLO 


ancient Italy, lying southeast of Latium, from 
which it was separated by the Liris River. The 
region was popular among the ancient Romans 
on account of its equable climate and great fer¬ 
tility. The scenery and soft sea breezes made 
it a favorite place for the residence of the 
wealthy, who erected villas of great splendor 
and employed slaves to cultivate the soil. 
Among the lakes, most of which fill the craters 
of extinct volcanoes, are Avernus, the fabled 
entrance to the lower world. Within it stands 
Mount Vesuvius, near which are the buried 
cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Capua, 
founded by the Etruscans; Cumae, the oldest 
Greek settlement in Italy, and Baiae, the famous 
watering place of the ancient Romans, are 
among the noted cities. The Romans called it 
Felix in song and oratory, from its scenery and 
fertility, .and it is still the Campagna Felice of 
Naples. 

CAMPANULA (kam-pan'u-la), a genus of 
plants found widely distributed, including nearly 
300 species. The plants are mostly herbaceous 
and many are cultivated. The flowers are 
greatly variegated, including blue, white, and 
violet, and are favored for bordering beds. The 
Bellflower is a common species in America, 
growing profusely in the temperate climates, and 
the Canterbury bells is a species common to Eu¬ 
rope. The harebell is indigenous in Canada, the 
United States, and Great Britain. 

CAMPECHE (kam-pa'cha), or Campeachy, 
a seaport of Mexico, on a bay of the same 
name, in the northern part of Yucatan, at the 
mouth of the San Francisco River. The chief 
buildings include a college and a cathedral. It 
has manufactures of cigars, machinery and 
clothing. Its shipyards are among the most ex¬ 
tensive in Mexico. Lumber and fruit are pro¬ 
duced in large quantities in the adjoining region. 
It is connected by railways with interior points 
and has a considerable foreign trade. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 17,248. 

CAMPECHE, Gulf of, the name of the 
southern part of the Gulf of Mexico, situated 
south of north latitude 21°. It is bounded by 
the three Mexican states of Campeche on the 
east, Tabasco on the south, and Vera Cruz on 
the west. In the southeastern part is the Bay 
of Campeche, from which extends Laguna Ter- 
minos into the state of Campeche. Frontera 
Campeche, and Vera Cruz are the principal 

P °CAMPHINE (kam-fen'), a purified oil of 
turpentine obtained by distillation over quick- 
lime, or by rectifying it over dry chloride of 
lime. It forms camphor when united with oxy¬ 
gen. It was formerly used in lamps for light¬ 


ing, but, owing to its explosive gases, it has been 
superseded for that purpose by kerosene or re¬ 
fined petroleum. 

CAMPHOR (kam'fer), a translucent sub¬ 
stance obtained by distilling with wafer the 
leaves and wood of the camphor tree. It is 
whitish in color, difficult to powder, has a 
peculiar odor, and is slightly soluble in water. 
In alcohol, ether, and strong acetic acid it is 
highly soluble. It is used to preserve clothing, 
textiles, and books from ravages of insects. In 
medicine it is one of the most useful substances, 
being prescribed for many ailments, such as 
fever, hysteria, epilepsy, and whooping cough. 



CAMPHOR : FLOWER AND FRUIT. 


If taken in large doses it lowers the pulse, en¬ 
feebles the circulation, and even causes death. 
It is used both externally and internally. To 
animals and plants of the lowest forms it is a 
poison. Camphor is made in large quantities in 
Borneo, Japan, and China. The roots and wood 
of the tree are cut in small pieces before distil¬ 
lation is attempted. The best camphor is mad_e 
from a natural exudation of the camphor tree 
which abounds in Borneo, 

CAMPOBELLO (kam-po-bel'lo), an island 
of Canada, belonging to New Brunswick, near 
the mouth of the Passamaquoddy Bay, an ex¬ 
tension from the Bay of Fundy. It is about 
ten miles long and three miles wide, and has a 
well-wooded interior. The minerals include lead 
and copper, but fishing is the chief industry. At 
the northern extremity is a lighthouse 60 feet 




CAMPOFORMIO 


364 


CANADA 


high. The island is popular as a summer resort, 
being nicely improved with walks and drives, 
and the permanent population is about 1,200. 

CAMPOFORMIO (kam-po-for'me-o), a vil¬ 
lage in northern Italy, in the province of Udine, 
65 miles northeast of Venice. It is celebrated 
for a conference held here on Oct. 17, 1797, be¬ 
tween representatives of France and Austria. 
By the terms of the treaty concluded, Austria 
received Istria and Dalmatia. Lombardy was 
made a part of the Cisalpine Republic, and 
France received Venice and the Belgian Nether¬ 
lands. 

CAMPO SANTO, meaning holy field, the 
Italian name of a burying ground. However, it 
is usually applied only to the burial grounds that 
are richly adorned and surrounded with arcades. 
Pisa contains the most remarkable campo santo. 
It was established in the 12th century, and walls 
richly frescoed were constructed around it in 
the 14th century. Genoa also has one of remark¬ 
able beauty. 

CAMPUS MARTIUS, one of the most 
famous public parks of ancient Rome. It was 
located outside the walls of Rome, and was in¬ 
closed between the Capitoline, Quirinal, and 
Pincian Hills, and the Tiber River. The park 
was set apart for military purposes. It was 
sacred to the god Mars, and was one of the 
most noted meeting places for the people. In 
it were several crystal lakes and baths and it 
contained botanical gardens, theaters, and a 
race course. It now serves as a part of the site 
of modern Rome. 

CAMWOOD (kam'wood), or Barwood, a 
kind of wood used in making a brilliant red 
color, which, however, is not a permanent red. 
When prepared with the sulphate of iron, it 
yields the red color of the bandanna handker¬ 
chiefs. The red obtained from this wood is 
richer than that produced by Brazil wood. 

CANA (ka'na), an ancient village of Galilee, 
about six miles north of Nazareth, the scene of 
the first miracle of Jesus mentioned in John ii. 
It is called Cana-el-Jelil by the natives. Another 
village of the same name was located about 
three miles north of Nazareth, which some re¬ 
gard as the scene of the miracle mentioned. 

CANAAN (ka'nan), meaning low land, a 
portion of the promised land of the Israelites, 
located between the Mediterranean and the Shur 
and Syrian deserts, bordering on the Jordan 
River. It was so named from Canaan, the 
youngest son of Ham (Gen. ix., 18), and was 
occupied by the tribe which descended from him. 

The Canaanites were a heathen people, and at 
the time of the invasion of the Israelites were 
divided into the four nations known as the 


Hivites, Hittites, Amorites, and Jebusites. It is 
probable that the N different branches were mixed 
more or less with immigrants from other -coun¬ 
tries. They used the Babylonian language in 
diplomacy, and like the Phoenicians engaged 
largely in commercial pursuits. Their cities 
were protected by walls and fortresses, and more 
recent research has demonstrated that they were 
dependents of Egypt in 1400 b. c. They wor¬ 
shiped Baal and Astrate. After the Israelitish 
invasion, they were gradually conquered, and in 
the reign of Solomon all paid tribute to that 
king. 

CANADA (kan'a-da), Dominion of, the 

region which includes all the British possessions 
of North America north of the United States, 



FLAG OF CANADA 


except the crown colony of Newfound¬ 
land, of which Labrador is a part. The 
northern boundary is formed by the Arc¬ 
tic Ocean, Baffin Bay, and Davis Strait; 
eastern, by the Atlantic Ocean, Labrador, and 
Newfoundland; southern, by the United States; 
and western, by Alaska and the Pacific Ocean. 
North of the mainland is the great Arctic Archi¬ 
pelago, containing many islands of considerable 
size, among them Prince Albert Land, Baffin 
Land, Prince of Wales Island, Southampton 
Island, and Melville Island, and on the west 
are Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte 
Islands. The most prominent coast indentations 
are Hudson Bay, on the north, and the Gulf of 
Saint Lawrence, on the east. In extent it is 
the largest country of North America, being 
larger than, the United States and almost as 
large as the whole of Continental Europe. The 
greatest length from east to west is 2,700 miles 
and from north to south, 1,600 miles. The area 
is 3,745,574 square miles, of which one-seventh 
is water. 

Description. The surface of Canada is 
divided into the mountain regions of the east and 
of the west, and the great plain of the interior. 
These sections are distinguished by differences 
in climate, surface, and geological structure. 
Eastern Canada is not generally elevated, rang- 














DUKE OF CONNAUGHT. 


Arthur William Patrick Albert, Duke of Connaught, third son of Queen Victoria, was born in 
1850. He studied at the Military Academy at Woolwich, after which he became general of brigade. 
In 1874 he was created Duke of Connaught and Strathern and Earl of Sussex. He became com¬ 
mander-in-chief of the forces in Ireland, in 1900, succeeding Lord Roberts, and in 1910 was 
appointed Governor-General of Canada. 















CANADA 


365 


CANADA 


mg from the narrow Atlantic coast plain to the 
highest points of Labrador, which do not exceed 
a height of about 8,000 feet. Most of the region 
ranges between 1,200 to 3,000 feet, with the 
depression chiefly toward the shores of Hudson 
Bay. North of the Saint Lawrence River, trend¬ 
ing almost parallel to it, are the Laurentian 
Hills, which form the watershed between the 
basin of the Saint Lawrence and the rivers 
which drain into Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay. 
The altitudes do not exceed 4,000 feet, and 
detached from them are buttes or summits that 
trend toward the west, including Mount Royal, 
at Montreal, and a number of others south and 
west of that city. Near Niagara is the eastern 
extremity of a plateau, over the brink of which 
flow the waters from four of the Great Lakes, 
and thence it may be traced northward, where 
it finally rises and forms a series of rocky hills. 
The eastern shores, including the islands of An¬ 
ticosti and Newfoundland, are extensions of the 
Appalachian Mountains, ridges of which appear 
to be partly submerged. 

In the western portion of Canada are the 
elevated regions of the Rocky Mountains, many 
of which are covered with snow and glaciers. 
These extend into Canada from Montana, enter¬ 
ing at the boundary between Alberta and British 
Columbia, whence they have a general direction 
toward the northwest to the vicinity of Macken¬ 
zie Bay. Immediately west of them, in southern 
British Columbia, are the Gold and Selkirk 
ranges, and near the coast, trending parallel with 
it, is the Coast Range. Mount Logan, in the 
southwestern part of Yukon, belonging to the 
Coast Range, is the highest peak, having an 
altitude of 19,514 feet above the sea. Other 
peaks are Mount Brown, 16,000 feet; Mount 
Murchison, 15,789 feet, and Mount Hooker, 
15,700 feet. The summits of the Selkirks and 
Rocky Mountains are less elevated, ranging from 
9,000 to about 14,000 feet. Among the highest 
peaks are Mounts Alberta, Forbes, Bryce, and 
Columbia. 

The great central plain is a continuation of 
the plains extending northward from the United 
States. It lies between the Rocky Mountains 
and Hudson Bay, and continues to the shores of 
the Arctic Ocean. A slightly elevated ridge 
runs almost through the center, dividing the 
drainage between the eastern section, which 
flows largely into Hudson Bay, and the western 
section, which drains southwest into the Pacific 
Ocean and northwest into the Arctic Ocean. 
This region is a vast expanse of great fertility. 

It is covered with nutritious grasses in the south¬ 
ern part and with stretches of valuable forests 
in the northern section. 


Rivers and Lakes. The rivers of Canada 
include some of the largest and most important 
streams of North America. In the eastern sec¬ 
tion is the Saint Lawrence, which, with its trib¬ 
utaries, is the chief highway of commerce. It 
furnishes transportation facilities by way of the 
Welland Canal from the Great Lakes to the 
Atlantic. Its northern tributaries include the 
Saint Maurice, the Ottawa, the Saguenay, and 
the Outarde, while those from the south are the 
Saint Francis and the Richelieu. Hudson Bay 
receives all of the drainage of the southeastern 
part of the great central plain, including the 
waters from'the Saskatchewan, Nelson, Church¬ 
ill, Hayes, and Severn. Drainage from the west¬ 
ern part of the central plain is carried northwest 
by the Athabasca, Peace, Great Slave, Mountain, 
and Mackenzie rivers. British Columbia has two 
river systems, the Fraser in the southern part 
and the Nelson in the northern part, and the 
northwestern portion is drained into the Pacific 
by the Skeena and Stikine. Practically all of 
Yukon is in the valley of the Yukon, which rises 
in the southern portion and carries the drainage 
northwest through Alaska. 

All parts of Canada are more or less diversi¬ 
fied by lakes, except the regions of the far north. 
A number of small lakes are abundant in the 
eastern part, including the Payne and Michika- 
mau lakes of Ungava; and the Mistassini and 
Saint John lakes of Quebec. Lake Nipigon is 
located in western Ontario; lakes Manitoba, 
Winnipeg, and Winnipegosis, in Manitoba; lakes 
Athabasca and Reindeer, in Saskatchewan ; Great 
Bear and Great Slave lakes, in Mackenzie; lakes 
Okanogan and Kootenay, in British Columbia; 
and Lake Kluahne, in Yukon. On the southern 
boundary are lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Saint 
Clair, Superior, and Lake of the Woods. 

Climate. In extent north and south, Canada 
lies between the north latitude 40° and the north 
pole, though a large part of the southern bound¬ 
ary is formed by the Great Lakes and parallel 
49°, the international boundary. The warmest 
climate is in the southwestern part, at Victoria, 
where the temperature ranges from 37° to 60°. 
From the Pacific coast, modified by the warm 
Japan Current, the Chinook winds move east¬ 
ward and temper the severity of the winter, 
reaching as far east as Alberta. In Saskatche¬ 
wan and Manitoba, which lie a considerable dis¬ 
tance from the sea, the climate is less equable 
and is marked with greater extremes. At Win¬ 
nipeg and the country, west and for some dis¬ 
tance north, the climate is warm in the summer 
and cold in the winter, reaching from 90° in 
the growing season to a point as low as 50° 
below zero in the winter. The arid condition 


CANADA 


366 


CANADA 


of the atmosphere, however, has a modifying 
effect and the cold appears less severe. In the 
southeastern part the climate is quite equable 
and is highly favorable to the arts of civilization, 
especially in all of Ontario and the larger part 
of Quebec, while the cold currents of the Atlan¬ 
tic cause Nova Scotia, part of Quebec, and all 
of Ungava to have a damp and cold climate. 
The northern section of Canada has an arctic 
climate, with reasonably warm summers in some 
localities, while in others the ground remains 
frozen the entire year and the thermometer fre¬ 
quently registers 75° below zero. 

The rainfall is abundant in all parts of the 
Dominion, except in a number of localities of 
the plains. The arid region is chiefly in Alberta 
and Saskatchewan, where irrigation is employed, 
and a number of sections of British Columbia 
have a scant precipitation. In the eastern part 
rain and snow are abundant and the shores 
abound in fogs. The section between the Lua- 
rentian Hills and Hudson Bay has ample rain¬ 
fall, but the soil is poor or rocky. 

Flora and Fauna. Large forests originally 
covered the eastern part of Canada, extending 
from the Atlantic through the Saint Lawrence 
valley and most of Ontario. Large areas have 
been cut, but this section, especially Ontario, is 
still rich in timber. Manitoba has groves and 
belts of timber along the streams and in the 
vicinity of the lakes, but a large part of it and 
much of Saskatchewan and Alberta are compara¬ 
tively treeless. However, these prairies are 
covered with nutritious grasses valuable for 
stock raising. A belt of timber extends from 
Hudson Bay through the northern part of Sas¬ 
katchewan and Alberta to the Rocky Mountains, 
most of which lies north of the Saskatchewan, 
made up chiefly of poplar, spruce, and tamarack. 
Vast forests of evergreen trees, such as cedar, 
pine, and spruce, abound in the Rocky Mountains 
and the Coast Range. Along the Fraser and 
other valleys are many specimens of the Douglas 
spruce that attain heights of from 200 to 300 
feet. 

The animals are quite similar to those of 
Northern Asia and Europe, and include many 
valuable fur-bearing species, such as the mink, 
sable, ermine, lynx, fox, and bear. In some sec¬ 
tions of the Rocky Mountains the puma is still 
abundant, and the beaver inhabits a large part 
of the Dominion. The bighorn, elk, goat, ante¬ 
lope, and pronghorn inhabit the western section, 
and in the Arctic region are such animals as the 
moose, caribou, musk ox, and white bear. 
Smaller game, such as the duck, goose, snipe, 
brant, and grouse, are abundant. Few species 
of the reptiles are represented, but the country 


is rich in birds of song and plumage. All the 
inland and coast waters have valuable fisheries. 

Minerals. Canada is rich in minerals. It 
may well be said that all of the more valuable 
classes used in the industries are represented. 
Bituminous - coal is abundant, but is confined 
largely to Nova Scotia and British Columbia, 
the two extremes of the country, and lignite 
coal is found in Saskatchewan and Alberta. 
Anthracite coal of a good quality is obtained 
at Calgary, Alberta, and in the Queen Charlotte 
Islands. Iron is mined in Ontario, Quebec, and 
British Columbia, and is probably the most 
widely distributed of the minerals. The output 
of iron is not large, due chiefly to the fact that 
coal for smelting cannot be obtained at a mod¬ 
erate rate. The output of gold takes first rank, 
having an annual value of about $22,500,000, and 
the mining is done chiefly in British Columbia 
and the Klondike and other regions of Yukon. 
In the value of the produce coal ranks next to 
gold, averaging annually about $19,500,000. 
Copper is mined in Ontario and British Colum¬ 
bia, but the ore is transported largely to the 
United States for refining. Ontario produces 
large quantities of salt and petroleum, and lead 
is obtained with silver in the Kootenay district 
of British Columbia. Nearly one-half of the 
world’s supply of nickel is obtained from the 
mines in Ontario, which center largely in the 
Sudbury district northeast of Lake Huron. 
Quebec produces asbestos of a high grade. 
Other minerals mined more or less extensively 
are mica, graphite, gypsum, and pyrites. Build¬ 
ing stone of a very high class is abundant, and 
quarrying is developed to a large extent in 
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, 
and British Columbia. 

Fisheries. Few countries are favored like 
Canada in the quality and quantity of its com¬ 
mercial fish. The Great Lakes, the interior 
waters, and the coasts are productive as fisheries. 
In 1908 the output was valued at about $29,500,- 
000. Cod and lobster are the most important 
fisheries of the eastern coast, where the output 
is large, and in addition there are valuable 
catches of the hake, smelt, haddock, mackerel, 
and sardine. Trout, pike, and pickerel are 
caught in the Great Lakes, and the whitefish is 
the most prolific in the lakes of Manitoba. Sal¬ 
mon fishing is of first importance in British 
Columbia. Pelagic sealing is a productive enter¬ 
prise, and off the northern coast is the best 
whale-fishing region in the world. The minis¬ 
ter of marine and fisheries has general oversight 
of the fish industry, which is wisely guarded by 
the government. 

Lumbering. Lumber has been one of the 



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CANADA 


367 


CANADA 


chief sources of wealth in Canada since its early 
settlement. Many of the forests of the_eastern 
section have been exhausted, but partial protec¬ 
tion against wastage is furnished by the laws 
now in force. The government has reserved 
as public property a large area of the public 
domain, and lumbermen secure it by paying a 
license to cut. For some years the value of 
lumber exports have had an average o/ about 
$38,500,000, most of the shipments being in the 
form of sawed products. Ontario, Quebec, and 
British Columbia have the most important lum¬ 
bering industries, but timber extends across the 
continent in a belt ranging from 150 to 300 miles, 
and the north central section bids fair to furnish 
heavy competition when railroads are more gen¬ 
erally constructed. The most important varie¬ 
ties of timber utilized include the Douglas fir, 
balsam, pine, spruce, hemlock, and many kinds 
of hardwoods. 

Agriculture. Agriculture is the leading en¬ 
terprise, and about seven-tenths of the people 
pursue this occupation. A wide range of climate 
makes it possible to greatly diversify the crops. 
Farming is carried on in the valleys of Nova 
Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, 
and other portions of the Maritime Provinces. 
The narrow valley of the Saint Lawrence River 
has the largest interests in agriculture that have 
been developed at this time in Quebec, and here 
general farming has attained a high degree of 
perfection. Ontario is the leading province in 
agriculture and has a very large output of oats, 
barley, wheat, and peas. It is practically the 
only section where corn is raised profitably. In 
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta especial 
attention is given to the culture of wheat, oats, 
flax, and barley. British Columbia has some 
exceptionally rich valleys, notably that of the 
Fraser River, and is leading in the production 
of fruits. 

The eastern section is most particularly con¬ 
cerned in general farming, and the agriculturist 
diversifies both the crops and the live stock, 
while farming in the interior consists more gen¬ 
erally in special lines, such, as growing cereals 
or conducting ranches as distinct enterprises. 
Truck farming is carried on largely in south¬ 
western Quebec and many parts of Ontario. 
All classes of domestic animals are grown, and 
bee-keeping and dairy farming receive studious 
attention. In the exportation of cheese, Canada 
takes first rank among the countries of the 
world. 

Manufacturing. Canada is favored in hav¬ 
ing an abundance of natural resources, including 
a vast number of raw materials, hence has a 
future of great promise in the manufacturing 


enterprises. Lumber products take rank as the 
most important at present, and large quantities 
of sawed timber are exported. Salmon canning 
and pork packing are well represented, the 
former in British Columbia and the latter in 
Winnipeg and Toronto. Montreal and Quebec 
are centers in the manufacture of woolen goods, 
boots and shoes, and iron and steel products. 
Nova Scotia, having both coal and iron ore, has 
large developments in the manufacture of hard¬ 
ware and machinery. Other products include 
leather, furniture, cotton fabrics, paper, soap, 
cigars, chemicals, and clothing. 

Transportation. The Great Lakes and the 
Saint Lawrence River are important as natural 
highways, and with the construction of a system 
of canals it has been made possible for vessels 
drawing fourteen feet of water to pass from 
Lake Superior to the Atlantic. Montreal is at 
the head of ocean navigation and is the seat of a 
large commerce, being favored by its location on 
the direct route to the Great Lakes and a num¬ 
ber of extensive railway systems. Vessels from 
Montreal to Port Arthur pass from Lake Onta¬ 
rio by the Welland Canal to Lake Erie, thence 
by the Detroit River and Saint Clair Lake and 
River to Lake Huron, thence by a ship canal 
along the east bank of the Saint Mary’s River 
into Lake Superior. Navigation by water is 
possible for long distances on many of the rivers, 
including chiefly the Fraser, Thompson, Atha- 
baska, Yukon, Mackenzie, and Saskatchewan. 
Transportation is important on the lakes of 
Manitoba, with which Winnipeg is connected by 
the Red River of the North. The Canadian 
Pacific Railway has been operated as a trans¬ 
continental line since 1887, having its eastern 
terminus at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and its 
western at Vancouver, in British Columbia. The 
Grand Trunk Railway is the second line across 
the continent of Canada, extending from Que¬ 
bec and Portland, Me., to Prince Rupert, on the 
Pacific. These great railways and others have 
numerous branches,, and the latter has a line 
projected to Dawson, in the west central part 
of Yukon, which will be connected with navi¬ 
gation on the Yukon River. 

Canada has an extensive foreign trade. The 
imports somewhat exceed the exports, which 
approximate an annual value of $360,500,000, 
while the imports average about $295,540,000. 
Animals and, animal products are the chief ex¬ 
ports, and next in order are lumber, cereals, 
dairy products, minerals, paper and wood pulp, 
leather, and fresh and canned fish. Among the 
chief imports are cotton and woolen fabrics, 
coffee, coal, tea, iron, machinery, and raw cotton. 
Great Britain and the United States have the 


CANADA 


368 


CANADA 


principal share of the foreign trade, and the 
former has a preferential tariff in its favor, 
goods being admitted about one-third less than 
the tariff rates on imports from foreign coun¬ 
tries. The rate of postage and the monetary 
system are similar to those of the United States. 

Education. The minister of education has 
general oversight of the public schools, though 
no centralized system of education is maintained 
for the whole Dominion. Each province has 
charge of its own system of schools and public 
instruction, and attendance is free in all the 
provinces, most of which have a nominal com¬ 
pulsory attendance law. The provincial super- 
intendant and his council have general super¬ 
vision, while the separate schools are looked 
after locally by trustees elected in the districts. 
In the rural communities each township is 
divided into school sections and three trustees 
manage the school affairs of each section, while 
the municipalities have a board of school trus¬ 
tees, who have general supervision, and usually 
place the direct management of instruction in 
the hands of principals and superintendents. 

Canada has many institutions of higher learn¬ 
ing as well as numerous academies and denomi¬ 
national schools. The Dalhousie College, Nova 
Scotia, founded in 1820, was the first to be es¬ 
tablished. The University of Toronto, Ont., 
was founded in 1828; Queen’s College, Kings¬ 
ton, Ont., in 1841; Laval University, Quebec, in 
1852; the University of Manitoba, in 1877 ; and 
the Royal Military College, Kingston, Ont., in 
1874. Many educational and scientific societies 
are maintained. These include the Nova Scotia 
Institute, the Royal Society of Canada, the Nat¬ 
ural History Society of Montreal, the Scientific 
and Historical Society of Winnipeg, the Cana¬ 
dian Institute of Toronto, and the Society of 
Natural History in Victoria. 

All religious beliefs are tolerated and no state 
church is maintained. The province of Quebec 
has a large per cent, of Roman Catholics, who 
are guaranteed the privileges enjoyed while it 
was a colony of France. A larger per cent, of 
the people belong to the Roman Catholic church 
than to any other denomination, numbering 
about 2,230,000. The second in numerical 
strength are the Methodists, who have a mem¬ 
bership of nearly half that number. Next in 
order are the Presbyterians, Anglicans, Baptists, 
Lutherans and Congregationalists. Compara¬ 
tively few Catholics reside in Ontario, Manitoba, 
and Saskatchewan. The Methodists have the 
largest membership in Ontario and the Presby¬ 
terians are most numerous in Nova Scotia. 

Inhabitants. The government of the Do¬ 
minion and of the provinces has encouraged 


immigration and investments. The influx from 
foreign countries has been increasing steadily, 
and is largest from the United States, England 
and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, and 
Germany. Immigration from the United States 
may be said to. date from about the beginning 
of the present century, when settlers were at¬ 
tracted by the fertile lands and vast resources 
of the western part of Canada. The Europeans 
represented most largely are the Germans, 310,- 
501; the Scotch, 800,154; the Irish, 988,721; the 
English, 1,260,899; and the French, 1,649,371. 
These figures are based on the census of 1901, 
when the English of Canadian parentage in¬ 
cluded 683,480 and the French of Canadian par¬ 
entage, 635,972 people. In that year the total 
number of persons of foreign birth was reported 
at 278,804. The Indian population is 107,978. 
These people consist chiefly of the four branches 
known as Algonquins, Eskimos or Innuites, 
Huron-Iroquois, and Tinnehs or Dine Dinijes. 
The Chinese and Japanese numbered 22,050, 
most of whom are in British Columbia. 

Ottawa, the capital of the Dominion, is a 
thriving city on the Ottawa River, in Ontario. 
Montreal, the largest city, is at the head of 
ocean navigation on the Saint Lawrence, in 
Quebec. Torono, the second city, on the north 
shore of Lake Ontario, is a center of commerce 
and manufacture. Other cities of importance 
include Quebec, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Halifax, 
Saint John, London, Charlottestown, Vancouver, 
Victoria, Kingston, Brantford, Brandon, and 
New Westminster. The population of the Do¬ 
minion in 1901 was 5,371,315. 

Government. For the purpose of govern¬ 
ment, the Dominion is divided into provinces 
and territories. The following table contains a 
complete list together with the area of each 
division, as reported by the latest census: 

PROVINCES. 


Alberta. 253,540 

British Columbia. 312,630 

Manitoba. 73.732 

New Brunswick. 27,985 

Nova Scotia. 21,428 

Ontario. 260,862 

Prince Edward’s Island. 2,184 

Quebec. 351,873 

Saskatchewan. 250,650 

Yukon (Territory). 196,976 

UNORGANIZED DISTRICTS. 

Franklin. 500,000 

Keewatin. 516,571 

Mackenzie. 562,182 

Ungava. 354,961 


The government is administered under a con¬ 
stitution drafted in 1864 and embodied in the act 
of 1867, when the union of the leading colonies 
created the Dominion of Canada, which was 
subsequently increased by accessions of territory. 
















CANADA 


369 


CANADA 


Executive authority is vested in the Governor 
General, who is appointed by the King of Eng¬ 
land. He is assisted by a Privy Council com¬ 
posed of a premier and 15 ministers, 13 of whom 
are heads of departments. The departments con¬ 
sist of those of justice, state, trade and com¬ 
merce, railways and canals, marine and fish¬ 
eries, militia and defense, posts, finance, agri¬ 
culture, interior, public works, customs, and in¬ 
ternal revenue. 

Appellate civil and criminal jurisdiction is 
exercised in all parts of the Dominion by the 
supreme court, which has its seat at Ottawa, 
and an exchequer court has general powers of 
admiralty. Each of the provinces has a judi¬ 
ciary system, including justices of the peace, 
police magistrates, county courts, and a supreme 
court, but the judges of the two courts last 
mentioned are appointed by the Governor Gen¬ 
eral of the Dominion. All the provinces have a 
Lieutenant Governor General appointed by the 
Governor General of the Dominion and a legis¬ 
lative department, which consists of two 
branches in some of the provinces and in others 
only one chamber, as in Ontario and British 
Columbia. 

A Parliament, consisting of two houses, the 
Senate and the House of Commons, has legisla¬ 
tive authority in the Dominion. All bills pro¬ 
viding for revenues must originate in the House 
of Commons, and the Senate may not amend 
these bills, though it has power to initiate legis¬ 
lative action in many matters. The Governor 
General may disallow a bill passed by the two 
branches, or he may refer it for consideration 
to the home government, but the former is not 
exercised in practice, and the latter is employed 
only where a measure has direct reference to the 
interests of the empire at large, or affects its 
relations to foreign powers. Members of the 
Senate receive their appointment from the Gov¬ 
ernor General. They must reside in the province 
from which they are chosen, be born or natural¬ 
ized subjects thirty years of age, and possess 
property valued at not less than $4,000. Mem¬ 
bership in the House of Commons is based upon 
the population of the provinces, and the election 
is for five years by popular vote. The Senate 
consists of 87 members, of whom 24 are from 
Quebec, 24 from Ontario, 10 from New Bruns¬ 
wick, 10 from Nova Scotia, 4 from Prince Ed¬ 
ward Island, 4 from Manitoba, 4 from Alberta, 

4 from Saskatchewan, and 3 from British Colum¬ 
bia. Representation in the House of Commons 
is as follows: 110 members for Ontario, 89 for 
Quebec, 28 for Nova Scotia, 23 for New Bruns¬ 
wick, 14 for Manitoba, 10 for British Columbia, 
10 for Saskatchewan, 8 for Prince Edward 
24 


Island, 8 for Alberta, and 1 for Yukon, making 
a total of 301. 

The right of franchise extends to all male cit¬ 
izens 21 years of age, but various restrictions 
are imposed by the provinces, such as residence 
for a specified time and registration on the 
assessment rolls. The King of England is the 
commander in chief of the naval and military 
forces, but they are under the control of the 
Dominion Parliament. The militia include all 
British subjects between the ages of 18 and 60, 
and there is no standing army, except a garri¬ 
son of British troops at Halifax. The active 
militia is limited by law to 40,000 men, who are 
raised by voluntary enlistment or by draft. No 
navy is maintained by the Dominion, and the 
naval defense of the country is entirely under 
the direction of the imperial government, which 
maintains forts at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and 
Esquimalt, in British Columbia. 

Literature. The literature of Canada dates 
from the early settlements made by the French 
in the. valley of the Saint Lawrence, and much 
of the product is still in the French language, 
although many writings of value have been pub¬ 
lished in the English. An Ursuline convent and 
Laval University were founded in the seven¬ 
teenth century and became the center of educa¬ 
tional influences at an early date. Many of the 
earlier writings treat of discovery, history, and 
tradition of the Indians. Champlain published 
a description of his first voyage and many inter¬ 
esting narratives in 1601, and his writings were 
edited and published in six volumes by Laber- 
diere in 1870. Lescarbot, one of" the settlers in 
Acadia, published “The History of New France.” 
Another noted historical work is Gabriel Sa- 
gard’s “Relations des Jesuites,” which is replete 
with thrilling incidents of the life and adven¬ 
tures of missionaries. A line of poetic produc¬ 
tions, interesting for their description of the 
scenery and the spirit of progress in the new 
land, were issued in the course of time. Ernest 
Gagnon, in 1865, published a collection of these 
popular songs. They were translated by William 
McLennan under the title “Songs of Old 
Canada.” 

After Canada became English territory under 
the Treaty of Paris in 1763, it lost much of its 
literary spirit by the strife between the French 
and the English. However, the contention was 
happily overcome when the provinces were 
united as the Dominion of Canada in 1867. 
This event was followed by a new era in the 
literature of the country. French Canada still 
holds its own language and has many native-born 
writers. In the list may be named Michel 
Bibaud., author of “Histoire du Canada sous la 


CANADA 


370 


CANADA 


dominion anglaise,” and Francois Xavier Gar- 
neau, the writer of “Historic du Canada.” Other 
writers in the French language include Abbe 
Faillon, Benjamin Suite, Abbe Tanguay, and 
Faucher da Saint-Maurice. Many newspapers 
and other periodicals are published in the French 
language, most of which are centered in Quebec 
and Montreal. The French writings are not 
only rich in history and romance, but include 
many poetic works in a finished style. 

The English portion of Canada is settled 
largely by English, Irish, Scotch, Germans, and 
immigrants from the United States, though the 
last mentioned are most numerous in the west¬ 
ern part. Samuel Hearne (born in 1745), 
though of English birth, is one of the earliest 
Canadian writers in that language. His “Ac¬ 
count of a Journey from Prince of Wales’ Fort 
in Hudson’s Bay to the Northwest” is one of 
the earliest accounts of travels and explorations. 
William Smith, in 1815, published his “History 
of Canada.” Another work of merit is David 
Thompson’s “War of 1812,” which was issued in 
1882. Joseph Howe is among the early orators, 
and his speeches delivered in the Parliament of 
Nova Scotia were published in a collected form 
in 1858. Among the eminent statesmen may be 
mentioned Alexander Mackenzie, Sir Charles 
Tupper, Sir John Macdonald, and Sir Wilfrid 
Laurier. Goldwin Smith, an eminent journalist, 
is well known from his historical work, “The 
United States; an outline of Political His¬ 
tory.” Other historical writers include Robert 
Christie, William Kingsford, Henry Scadding, 
George Bryce, and G. M. Adams. “Canada Un¬ 
der British Rule,” published by J. G. Bourinot 
in 1900, is one of many commendable historical 
writings. 

The books on general literature, especially 
novels and romances, are very numerous. How¬ 
ever, the works in fiction are comparatively 
recent. John Galt, who lived for three years 
in Ontario, published an account of frontier life 
in his “Lawrie Todd.” Mary Catherwood pub¬ 
lished “The Romance of Dollard” and “The 
Lady of Fort Saint John.” G. M. Adams, the 
Canadian journalist, completed “An Algonquin 
Maiden” in 1886. Sir Gilbert Parker is the 
author of “The Right of Way,” “When Valmond 
Came to Pontiac,” and “The Seats of the 
Mighty.” Among the poetical writers may be 
mentioned Isabella Valancy Crawford, W. W. 
Campbell, Sir Gilbert Parker, Bliss Carman, and 
Charles Sangster. The later poets and histo¬ 
rians take cognizance of the combined national 
elements in the Dominion. 

History. The Norsemen were the first to visit 
the eastern coast of Canada, on which Bjarni 


Herjulfson is thought to have landed in 986. 
Leif Ericson came across from Greenland in the 
year 1000, and is thought to have touched the 
shores of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. 
John Cabot, a Genoese by birth and an English¬ 
man by residence, sailed from Bristol and in 
1497 landed on the coast of Labrador, claiming 
that district for England. Basque and Breton 
fishermen established cod fisheries off New¬ 
foundland in 1504, and Jacques Cartier, the 
French navigator, came to Quebec in 1534 and 
took possession of the country for Francis I., 
King of France. He made a second voyage in 
1535 and ascended the Saint Lawrence as far as 
Montreal. 

Marquis de la Roche was commissioned as 
lieutenant governor of Canada by the King o£ 
France in 1598. He bargained to colonize New 
France, as the country was called, and planted 
a settlement on Sable Island, but this was not 
permanent. Sir Flumphrey Gilbert made a set¬ 
tlement at Saint John’s, Newfoundland, in 1583, 
but this did' not prove successful. Samuel 
Champlain made his first voyage to Canada in 
1603, sailed up the Saint Lawrence under the 
direction of the French, and in 1608 founded 
the first permanent settlement in Canada, at 
Quebec. A few years later he discovered lakes 
Champlain, Huron, and Erie, and in 1611 planted 
a settlement at Montreal. He concluded a 
treaty with the Hurons and Algonquins, which 
ultimately brought the French into conflict with 
the Iroquois, who formed alliances with the 
Dutch and afterward with the English. 

The Jesuits came from France in large num¬ 
bers in 1625, and for nearly half a century pre¬ 
dominated over religious and secular affairs at 
Quebec. In 1627 the Company of New France 
was organized by Richelieu and held sway until 
1663, when it was superseded in control by the 
government of France, though a new corpora¬ 
tion, known as the Company of the West, was 
established in 1664, and, like its predecessor, 
exercised a monopoly over the fur trade. Louis 
XIV., who had sent Colbert to America, looked 
upon I^ew France as a valuable possession and 
sought to establish a permanent foothold on the 
Saint Lawrence and the Great Lakes. Fron- 
tenac was sent to America in 1672 and gave new 
life to the enterprise of strengthening the col¬ 
ony. He cooperated with LaSalle in exploring 
the Mississippi and some of its tributaries, and 
in the establishment of military posts at Niagara, 
Mackinac, and within the territory of the United 
States. 

The effects following the explorations of 
Henry Hudson and the settlements by the 
English in Virginia caused a feeling of rivalry 


CANADA 


371 


CANADA BALSAM 


between England and France, and subsequently 
caused the so-called French and Indian Wars. 
The first clash took place as early as 1629, but 
France continued to retain a strong foothold 
until 1759, when Wolfe captured Quebec. The 
Treaty of Paris in 1763 ceded Canada, including 
all the territory between the Alleghenies and 
the Mississippi, to Great Britain, retaining only 
the city and district of New Orleans. From 1760 
to 1764 Canada was entirely under military con¬ 
trol, and in the latter year a provisional govern¬ 
ment was organized, which remained in force 
ur^til 1774, when the Quebec Act was passed by 
the British Parliament. This legislation recog¬ 
nized the civil laws and institutions of the 
French in Canada, and provided that the Roman 
Catholics should exercise their religious prac¬ 
tices without interference. 

The American colonies that declared inde¬ 
pendence from England in 1776 tried to form 
an alliance with Canada, but it remained loyal 
throughout, and many loyalists left the United 
States during the Revolution. The number of 
immigrants from the United States within this 
period aggregates between 30,000 and 40,000, and 
these people not only founded New Brunswick 
and settled large parts of Ontario, but their 
descendants continue to constitute an influential 
element in the commercial and political affairs 
of the Dominion. The area of Canada was 
reduced by the Treaty of 1783, when the British 
relinquished their claim to the region now in¬ 
cluded in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, 
Illinois, and Wisconsin. 

The provinces of Ontario and Quebec were 
founded in 1791 by an act of Parliament which 
divided the region into the two sections known 
as Upper Canada and Lower Canada. At that 
time the former was populated almost entirely 
with people of English descent, while the lat¬ 
ter was inhabited by descendants of the French. 
In the War of 1812, between Great Britain and 
the United States, Canada was the scene of 
many battles, among them those of Chippewa, 
Queenstown, Lundy's Lane, and Moravian's 
Town. Lower Canada, or Quebec, had a popu¬ 
lar assembly constituted largely of French, while 
the governor and legislative council was almost 
exclusively English. This caused much racial 
antagonism and in 1837 a considerable party 
under the leadership of Louis J. Papineau rose 
in revolt against the British authority, but the 
imperial government intervened and suppressed 
the revolutionary rising. It soon became appar¬ 
ent to the government that to unite the two sec¬ 
tions would be the wisest policy, which was 
brought about under an act passed in 1839, and 
the union was completed in 1841. The Maritime 


Provinces, which included Nova Scotia, Cape 
Breton, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward 
Island, meanwhile retained their separate gov¬ 
ernments. Under the new union the crown ap¬ 
pointed the governor and a legislative council, 
while the upper and lower branches of the 
legislative assembly were constituted of members 
elected by popular vote. 

The Dominion of Canada was created in 1867 
by the Act of Union passed by the British Par¬ 
liament, and at that time consisted of the pro¬ 
vinces of Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and 
New Brunswick. British Columbia was united 
in 1871 and Prince Edward Island became a 
province of the Dominion in 1873. However, 
Newfoundland refused to enter the union and 
still comprises an independent colony. The 
more recent accessions are Alberta and Sas¬ 
katchewan, which were united as provinces of 
the Dominion in 1905, formed of the region 
formerly included in the four territories of 
Alberta, Assiniboia, Athabasca, and Saskatche¬ 
wan. At the same time the region known as 
the Northwestern Territory was reorganized, 
which is now embraced in the Territory of 
Yukon, and the two unorganized districts of 
Mackenzie and Keewatin. Two other unorgan¬ 
ized districts, Ungava and Franklin, are included 
in the Dominion, the former lying north of 
-Quebec and east of Hudson Bay, and the latter 
embracing Baffin Land and the islands of the 
Arctic Archipelago. 

The Treaty of 1783 did not fix definitely the 
boundary between the United States and Canada, 
which was the subject of much contention for 
many years. However, the Ashburton Treaty, 
concluded in 1842, finally settled the northeast¬ 
ern boundary, and the northwestern boundary 
was.finally adjusted in 1846. Treaties affecting 
the right of fishing in the Bering Sea and else¬ 
where have been the cause of some friction be¬ 
tween the two countries. Reciprocal trade re¬ 
lations were established in 1854 and 1866, under 
which trade and commerce between Canada and 
the United States grew to much importance. In 
1869 the Dominion acquired the vast territory 
held by the Hudson Bay Company since 1670, 
and this was followed by an uprising under 
Louis Riel in 1870, who headed a large number 
of discontents and organized a government in 
the territory now included in Manitoba, of 
which he was declared the president. A British 
army under Sir Garnet Wolseley was dispatched 
to the seat of trouble, and Riel fled to the 
United States. 

CANADA BALSAM (bal'sam), a trans¬ 
parent liquid obtained from a species of fir 
native to Canada and the northern part of the 


CANADA GOOSE 


372 


CANAL 


United States. It is resinous, has a pale yel¬ 
low color and an acrid taste, and closely re¬ 
sembles turpentine. The name was derived 
from the balsam fir, from which it was first 
obtained, but it is likewise secured from the 
hemlock spruce and other species. It has the 
consistency of honey when it exudes from the 
bark, but becomes solid after exposure to the 
air. This product is valuable in making var¬ 
nishes, in photography, and to some extent in 
medicine. 

CANADA GOOSE, a wild goose which in¬ 
habits North America, breeding in the north 
and moving southward to the warmer region in 
autumn. It is about thirty-five inches long. The 
plumage is gray, with black on the head and 
the tail. Flocks of these geese begin to move 
north about the 1st of April, and are frequently 
seen at a considerable height, led by a gander 
who utters a loud honk at frequent intervals. 
These birds are hunted for their flesh, which is 
highly nutritious. 

CANADA HEMP, a species of herbs native 
to America, belonging to the dogbane family. 
It abounds throughout the western part of Can¬ 
ada and the United States, and furnishes a 
fiber used by the Indians in making nets and 
numerous articles. The bark of its root has 
tonic properties. 

CANADIAN THISTLE. See Thistle. 

CANADIAN RIVER (ka-na'de-an), a river 
of the United States, 900 miles long. It rises 
near the line between Colorado and New Mex¬ 
ico, thence flows through New Mexico, Texas, 
and Oklahoma. It receives the North Fork of 
the Canadian River in Oklahoma, and flows into 
the Arkansas River about fifty miles west of 
Fort Scott. 

CANAL (ka-nal'), an artificial water course 
or channel. The construction of canals is of 
great antiquity. The earliest known in history 
were those built by the Babylonians, who util¬ 
ized them for navigation and drainage. The 
Egyptians connected the Nile and the Red Sea 
by a canal at a remote period. Although it 
fell into decay through the fortunes of war, it 
was reopened by Pharaoh Necho about 605 
b. c., and at intervals by others after him. 
Most of the ancient nations constructed canals. 
The great canal of China is 825 miles long. It 
was commenced in the 7th century a. d. and was 
completed in the 9th. Canals were first built 
in France, Germany, and England by the Ro¬ 
mans, the canal at Caderike being the first ar¬ 
tificial channel used for navigation in the British 
Isles. The Whitham and Trent rivers were 
joined by a canal in 1134, and in 1759 the 
Bridgewater Canal was commenced. The Erie 


Canal of New York was begun in 1817 and 
was completed in eight years. Many noted 
canals were built in the 17th and 18th centuries 
in Holland, Germany, Belgium, and other coun¬ 
tries of Europe. The construction of canals 
has been greatly modified since the beginning 
of the era of railroad building, though, instead 
of being lessened, the tendency has been to 
build larger canals than at any time in previous 
history. Canals are now built mainly as aque¬ 
ducts and for boats, ships, drainage, water 
power, and irrigation. 

Aqueducts. Aqueducts are designed to carry 
canals across waterways or depressions in the 
ground. The Peruvians, Romans, and Grecians 
constructed aqueducts on a large scale, carry¬ 
ing water by these means for the irrigation of 
arid lands and to supply cities. Some of the 
most noted aqueducts of America are those of 
New York, Baltimore, and Saint Louis. They 
are maintained as a means of supplying water 
for city use. An aqueduct differs from a canal 



mainly in that it is shallower and is built so 
the water will flow by gravitation in its entire 
course. Many large cities have one or more 
aqueducts. One of the most noted of recent 
construction is across the River Loire in France. 
It is 2,175 feet long, and 21 feet wide, and 
carries eight feet of water. Its importance is 
not in its size, because other similar construc¬ 
tions are much larger, but from the fact that 
it is constructed almost entirely of steel plate. 
Instead of having solid masonry, it contains 
piers of masonry and its several parts are riv¬ 
eted together. 

Boat and Drainage Canals. Boat canals 
serve for transportation purposes, in which ves¬ 
sels are often drawn by horses or mules on a 
towpath. The Erie Canal of New York is one 
of the notable artificial channels of this class 
in America. It is 351 miles long and connects 
the Hudson River at Albany with Lake' Erie at 
Buffalo. The State of New York appropriated 
$9,000,000 in 1895 to deepen the canal and other- 








CANAL 


373 


CANARY 


wise improve it for the use of larger vessels. 
It is now nine feet deep. Most drainage canals 
are constructed for sanitary and drainage pur¬ 
poses, but in some cases they are used partly 
for navigation. Many of this class of canals 
penetrate various parts of the Netherlands. 
The canal which carries the surplus water from. 
Lake Zumpango, in Mexico, was commenced in 
1607. Many years were required for its con¬ 
struction, being completed in 1789, a period of 
182 years. The canal was greatly improved by 
an expenditure of $3,500,000 in 1889. It car¬ 
ries the sewage of the city of Mexico and drains 
the adjacent valleys. The greatest work ever 
attempted in this line is the Chicago Drainage 
Canal, which extends from the south branch of 
the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River, at 
Lockport, a distance of 28.05 miles. It was 
completed in eight years, beginning in 1892, at 
a cost of $42,000,000. By means of this canal 
water from Lake Michigan flows into the Chi¬ 
cago River and carries the sewage from Chicago 
through the Des Plaines to the Illinois River, 
and is intended eventually to provide water 
navigation from the Great Lakes to the Missis¬ 
sippi River. 

Ship Canals. Ship canals are constructed 
for the passage of the largest ocean vessels. 
The Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean 
with the Red Sea, is the first large ship canal 
to be completed in modern times. It was 
opened in 1869, is 99 miles long, 327 feet wide, 
and 26 feet deep. The Kaiser Wilhelm 
Canal, in Germany, was opened in 1895. It 
connects the North and Baltic Seas, passing 
through Schleswig-Holstein. It affords passage 
for the largest vessels afloat, and its opening was 
one of the most important events in the com¬ 
mercial history of Europe. The project to cut 
a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, with 
the view of connecting the Atlantic with the 
Pacific, was long a subject for serious discus¬ 
sion. The first attempt was made in 1878 under 
the French engineer, M. de Lesseps, the builder 
of the Suez Canal. The work was commenced 
in 1881 with the design of completing it in 1904, 
but the company became involved in monetary 
difficulties and by 1889 only one-third of the 
work had been completed, with an expenditure 
of $156,400,000. In 1904 the project of con¬ 
structing the canal was undertaken by the gov¬ 
ernment of the United States, under whose di¬ 
rection the work is progressing with good pros¬ 
pects of eventually completing the enterprise. 
The Welland Canal, which connects lakes Erie 
and Ontario, is an important waterway of Can¬ 
ada. 

Other Canals. Water power canals are con¬ 


structed to supply water power in propelling 
machinery. Among those noteworthy is the 
Sault Sainte Marie Canal, by which the water 
of the Saint Mary’s River is utilized and fur¬ 
nishes force equal to 40,000 horse power. How¬ 
ever, it is more important as a ship canal. It 
has an enormous traffic and the largest lock 
in the world. Irrigation canals were built by 
the Ptolemies in Egypt, and have been con¬ 
structed more or less in all arid countries. The 
most extensive irrigation canals in America are 
located in Colorado, Nevada, Utah, California, 
and Alberta, where large areas of arid and 
desert land have been reclaimed and now yield 
abundantly, supporting large farming and dairy¬ 
ing enterprises. Most of the boat and ship 
canals contain lift locks, by means of which 
navigation may be successfully promoted 
through hilly countries. A lift lock consists of 
a trough or tank holding water, into which ves¬ 
sels are floated, and which are raised and low¬ 
ered bodily between the two canal levels by 
hydraulic or other power, aided sometimes by 
counterweights or flotation tanks. See Suez 
Canal, Panama Canal, Welland Canal, etc. 

CANAL DOVER (dd'ver), a city of Ohio, 
in Tuscarawas County, seventy-five miles south 
of Cleveland. It is situated on the Tuscarawas 
River, the Ohio Canal, and the Baltimore and 
Ohio and other railroads. In its vicinity are 
coal and iron mines. The manufactures include 
flour, wagons, carriages, boilers, and machinery. 
It has a number of substantial business build¬ 
ings and is a trade center for produce and mer¬ 
chandise. The city has public waterworks and 
other utilities. The first settlement on its site 
was made in 1807, and it was incorporated in 
1865. Population, 1900, 5,422. 

CANANDAIGUA (kan-an-da'gwa), the 
county seat of Ontario County, New York, twen¬ 
ty-nine miles southeast of Rochester, on the 
Northern Central and the New York Central 
railroads. It has a fine courthouse, an or¬ 
phan asylum, a public library, the Canandaigua 
Academy, and several charitable institutions. 
The manufactures include brick, leather, tin¬ 
ware, clothing, and malt liquors. The surround¬ 
ing country is agricultural. It has a good job¬ 
bing trade in merchandise. The vicinity was 
settled in 1789 and it was incorporated in 1815. 
Population, 1900, 6,151; in 1910, 7,217. 

CANARY (ka-na'ry), a singing bird of the 
finch family, native to Madeira and the Canary 
Islands. It is easily tamed, thrives well in cages, 
and lives from twelve to sixteen years in cap¬ 
tivity. It was introduced into Europe about 400 
years ago, and is now extensively bred in all 
civilized countries. A large number of species 







CANARY GRASS 


374 


CANCER 


have been studied and the training of canary 
birds has long been a subject of much interest. 
In the wild state these birds frequent the vi¬ 
cinity of houses, where they build their nests. 
They feed on the seeds of grasses, buds, and 
insects. The size has been enlarged by domes¬ 
tication, some measuring five inches in length, 
but it is doubtful whether the musical tones of 



their voice have been improved. Large interests 
are vested in raising canary birds in some 
parts of Europe, especially in Great Britain 
and the Harz Mountains of Germany. The 
male birds of a yellow color bring the larg¬ 
est prices in the market, often as much as 
$150 for a single bird. Other favorite colors 
are red, brown, and black. The seed of millet 
and canary grass is the favorite food. 

CANARY GRASS, an annual grass native 
to the Canary Islands, cultivated for its seed, 
which is much used as food for cage birds. 
It has been introduced and is cultivated in many 
parts of Europe and America. A fine flour is 
obtained from the seed and is used for glue or 
sizing in making fine cotton textiles and finish¬ 
ing silken stuff. A species known as southern 
canary grass is abundant in the southeastern 
part of the United States, from Florida to 
South Carolina, and in many localities as far 
west as California. The ribbon grass cultivated 
in gardens is a variety with white-striped 
leaves. 

CANARY ISLANDS, anciently called For¬ 
tunate Islands, a group of thirteen islands lying 
about seventy miles from the northwestern coast 
of Africa. The area is 2,808 square miles. The 
most important of the group are Teneriffe, 
Fuerteventura, Grand Canary, Lanzarote, Palma, 
Gomera, and Hierro or Ferro. The islands 
are of volcanic origin, and have a mountainous 
surface with precipitous cliffs near the sea. 
Among the most important peaks afe Pico de 
Teyde, 12,190 feet, El Cumbre, 6,650 feet, and 
Mount Mudo, 2,160 feet. They have a mild 
and favorable climate and the soil is fertile. 
The exports aggregate nearly $2,000,000 annual¬ 
ly, and consist principally of cereals, potatoes, 
wine, raw silk, cochineal, and tropical fruits. 


The Canary Islands were discovered by the 
Spaniards in 1316, who conquered the native 
tribes known as the Guanches, and have since 
been under the control of the Portuguese or 
Spaniards, who now constitute the principal part 
of the population. Laguna is a pleasant city 
and the seat of the resident Roman Catholic 
bishop. Santa Cruz is a well fortified city and 
the capital of the island group. The govern¬ 
ment is administered by a local governor under 
the supervision of Spain, to which country the 
islands belong. Population, 1905, 358,692. 

CANCELLATION (kan-sel-la'shun), t h e 
process of shortening indicated division by re¬ 
jecting the same factors from both dividend 
and divisor. It depends upon the principle that 
if the same factor be rejected from the dividend 
and the divisor both terms are divided by that 
factor, or dividing both dividend and divisor by 
the same number does not affect the quotient. 
Cancellation was formerly treated by itself in a 
chapter in elementary text-books, but it is now 
generally placed with the definitions of elemen¬ 
tary processes. The following serves as an il¬ 
lustration of the process: 

i X 7 X % 

CANCER (kan'ser), the popular name of a 
malignant tumor found in different parts of the 
body. Physicians generally divide the disease 
into two classes, the sarcoma and the carcinoma. 
The former is not considered a true cancer, 
since it is more vascular than the true cancer 
and is not epithelial in character. As a rule, 
it occurs before the age of forty years, while 
the true cancers occur most frequently after 
the age of forty. It frequently is caused by in¬ 
jury and is not hereditary. In many cases it 
does not affect the skin, but when the skin 
gives way the sarcoma is exposed as a mass 
of bleeding animal matter. 

The true cancer is a tumorous growth and 
is composed essentially of epithelial cells. It 
has a central mass, or aveoli, from which iso¬ 
lated groups of cancer cells extend to the neigh¬ 
boring structures. The cause of this disease is 
not definitely known, but is variously assigned 
to heredity, constitutional vices, injury, and 
parasitic influences. The two general forms are 
known as scirrhous, or hard cancer, and medul¬ 
lary, or soft cancer, though there are several 
varieties of the latter. The hard cancer most 
frequently affects the axilla, the parotid glands 
in the neck, and the female breast; the soft 
cancer generally frequents the internal organs, 
such as the stomach, spleen, kidneys, liver, and 
aesophagus. Hard cancer mostly affects people 




CANCER 


375 


CANDY 


over fifty years of age and lingers many years, 
while the soft occurs mostly in those younger 
and is quite often of short duration. There is 
no definite cure; the chief remedy is excision, 
though the cancer often returns. In recent years 
it has been possible to obtain good results by 
the application of the X-rays, but the perma¬ 
nent cures have not been numerous. 

CANCER, in astronomy, the fourth sign of 
the zodiac. The northern tropic is known as 
the Tropic of Cancer. See.Zodiac; Tropics. 

CANDIA (kan'di-a). See Crete. 

CANDLE (kan'd’l), a cylinder of wax or 
fatty matter containing a wick used for lighting. 
Candles are made principally of tallow, paraffin, 
bleached wax, spermaceti, bayberry tallow, palm 
oil, and stearin. They are primarily divided 
into dipped and molded candles, according to 
the mode of their manufacture. Dipped candles 
are made by stretching a number of wicks on a 
frame, and dipping them into melted tallow 
from time to time until a sufficient amount has 
accumulated around the wicks to form candles. 
Molded candles are made by melting the tallow 
and casting it in molds, in which the wicks have 
been previously fixed, and when cooled the 
candles are withdrawn. In ancient times can¬ 
dles formed the principal means of lighting. 
They were used very generally up to about 
the middle of the last century, when they began 
to be displaced by mineral oils. At present gas 
and electricity in cities and mineral oils in coun¬ 
try districts have largely displaced the commer¬ 
cial importance of candles. 

CANDLEBERRY, or Bayberry, a small 
tree native to the eastern part of North Amer¬ 
ica, but most abundant in the southern part of 
the United States. It attains a height of about 
eighteen feet, but is usually a low-spreading 
shrub and has oblong evergreen leaves. The 
fruit consists of small berries, which, when ripe, 
are covered with a greenish-white wax, known 
as bayberry tallow. Four or five pounds of this 
product is obtained from a bushel of berries. 
It is used for candles, which burn slowly and 
emit a pleasant odor, and in some localities it 
serves to make a soap. A species of this tree, 
native to Japan, attains a height of fifty feet, 
and is cultivated to some extent in California 
for its edible fruit. 

CANDLEFISH, a fish native to the Pacific 
Ocean, off the western coast of North America, 
from Oregon to Bering Sea. It is classed with 
the smelt family, has a somewhat pointed and 
conical head, and grows to a length of fifteen 
inches. The flesh is preferred to that of the 
trout, and an oil is obtained from it quite.similar 
to cod-liver oil. The oil in these fish is used 


by the Indians for lighting. A rude light is ob¬ 
tained by drawing a piece of rush pith through 
the fish, which, in burning, gives out a light 
quite suitable for the tents of the natives. 

CANDLEMAS (kan'd’l-mas), the feast of 
the purification of the Virgin Mary, instituted 
in the year 492. It is observed on February 2. 
The feast is kept by the Roman Catholic Church. 
In its observance light&d candles are carried in 
a procession, and the candles to be used the 
ensuing year are consecrated on that occasion. 

CANDLE NUT, a tree native to the East 
Indies and Madagascar. It bears a nut with a 
hard shell about the size of a walnut, the kernel 
of which is used as food and for the manufac¬ 
ture of oil, known as walnut oil and kekune oil. 
The natives obtain lampblack from the shell, and 
in some localities burn the kernels as torches. 

CANDY (kan'dy), a form of crystallized 
sugar used as an article of confectionery. It 
is made by boiling sugar or syrup to render 
it hard and transparent. The industry of candy 
making has assumed large proportions and is an 
important enterprise in many countries. The 
people of France engage in the industry more 
extensively than any other. The candy market 
is well represented in nearly every country of 
the world. In most places candy is sold in con¬ 
nection with other articles, usually in drug 
and grocery stores, but in the larger cities it has 
come to be handled to a large extent as a dis¬ 
tinct line. A place in which candy is the lead¬ 
ing article of trade is generally known as a 
candy kitchen. 

The art of candy making is concerned in 
producing a large variety of confections. Many 
of the sweetmeats ai^e flavored with fruits or 
essences, such as lemons, strawberry, pepper¬ 
mint, vanilla, etc. The nuts, such as peanuts and 
walnuts, are used in making choice candies. 
Among the fancy varieties are caramels, choco¬ 
late creams, and rock candy. 

In making candy the sugar is usually dis¬ 
solved in water with a small amount of glucose 
added to give the necessary consistency, and this 
is boiled until the proper thickness is secured. 
It is next poured on slabs of marble to cool, 
after which it is worked to give it hardness 
and the desired color. It is cast in cornstarch 
molds to give it form and size, and a press is 
used to form figures or mottoes. The manufac¬ 
ture has grown to such an extent and has as¬ 
sumed such various forms that many classes 
and kinds of candy are produced, some of which 
are beautiful and quite nutritious. The harm 
attending the consumption of candy is due alto¬ 
gether to several unwholesome coloring sub¬ 
stances often used, and to an excess in eating it. 


CANELLA 


376 


CANNIBAL 


CANELLA (ka-nel'la), a small tree native 
to the warmer part of North America, often 
called wild cinnamon in Florida and the West 
Indies. It bears a small black berry, and its 
bark is known in commerce as white-wood bark. 
All parts of the tree are highly fragrant and 
the bark has an acrid, pungent taste. It is 
employed as a stimulant tonic. 

CANIS MAJOR (kahiis ma'jer), a constel¬ 
lation of the Southern Hemisphere, located un¬ 
der the feet of Orion. Its principal star, Sirius, 
is the brightest of all the stars. Near the con¬ 
stellation of Canis Major, just below Gemini, 
is Canis Minor, which contains Procyon, a star 
of the first magnitude. 

CANKERWORM (kan'ker-wurm), the lar¬ 
vae of two species of moths, sometimes called 
measuring worms from their peculiar locomo¬ 
tion. They are abundant in Canada and the 
northeastern part of the United States, where 
they attack fruit trees, especially apples and 
pears. The eggs are deposited by the wingless 
female in orchard trees, and the larvae are de- 



CANKERWORM. 


1, Adult Male; 2, Larva; 3, Adult Female; 4, Eggs. 

structive to the foliage in the early period of 
their life, but later they descend to the ground, 
where the metamorphosis takes place. Many 
fruit trees and current bushes are stripped of 
leaves in the spring by these insects, which are 
very voracious. 

CAN MAKING, the art of making vessels 
for holding -and carrying liquids, usually of 
tinned iron or other sheet metal. This enter¬ 
prise has grown remarkably since the industry 
of canning vegetables, fruits, meats, milk, spices, 


varnishes, and paints has been developed. In 
the United States there are ten or twelve large 
establishments engaged in can making for sup¬ 
plying canning factories. The larger establish¬ 
ments have a daily output of over 100,000 cans. 
Oysters, fruits, and vegetables are packed in 
round cans of various sizes, mostly from one to 
three pounds each, but some are as large as a 
half gallon or a gallon. Fish, sardines, and 
meats are packed in oval cans. Can making is 
carried .on entirely, by automatic machinery, 
which is used both in cutting and soldering the 
cans. The tops and bottoms are stamped by foot 
power, a boy or man being able to stamp a thou¬ 
sand cans per day. 

CANNAE (kan'na), an ancient town in Italy, 
on the Aufidus River, now called Ofanto, which 
became famous on account of a great victory 
won by Hannibal over the Romans, Aug. 2, 
216 b. c. He commanded the Carthaginian army 
of 10,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry. The Ro¬ 
man army under Aemilius Paulus and Teren- 
tius Varro consisted of 6,000 cavalry and 80,000 
infantry. By skillful maneuvering Hannibal 
was able to force the Romans into a position 
in which they were required to face the sun 
and a strong wind, while he occupied points of 
advantage and led the attack with fearful 
slaughter to the Romans. Fully 70,000 Romans 
were killed and the Carthaginians lost only 6,000. 

CANNEL COAL (kan'nel kol), a variety of 
bituminous coal which is very dense and com¬ 
pact. It is of a dull bluish or grayish black 
color and has little luster. It is used mostly 
in the manufacture of gas and oils. On dis¬ 
tillation it yields from forty to sixty-five per 
cent, of volatile matter. The cannel coal fields 
of the eastern part of Kentucky are the most 
extensive in America, but it is found in smaller 
deposits in Ohio, Indiana, and Scotland. 

CANNES (kan), a city of France, in the 
department of Alpes-Maritimes, twenty-two 
miles southwest of Nice. It is located on the 
Mediterranean, has railroad facilities, and is 
the seat of considerable export and import 
trade. The vicinity produces large quantities 
of olives, figs, oranges, and other fruits. The 
chief building is the Abbey of Donjon, built 
about 1070. Among the newer structures are a 
library, a town hall, and a museum of antiquities. 
Cannes is the place where Napoleon landed in 
1815, when he returned from Elba. Population, 
1906, 30,318. 

CANNIBAL (kan'm-bal), one who eats 
human flesh. The practice of eating human 
flesh has existed from very ancient times, but 
the name now applied to it was originated 
about the time when Columbus discovered the 





CANNING 


377 


CANNON 


West Indies, where the Caribales were a man- 
eating race. The practice was known in the 
time of Homer, and he ascribes it as an un¬ 
natural attribute to Polyphemus. Cannibalism 
was practiced in North America by the Atakapa 
Indians and other tribes on the coast of the 
Gulf of Mexico. The Aztecs made human sac¬ 
rifices to their gods and afterward the bodies 
were eaten by the populace. Cannibalism still 
prevails among certain tribes of Australasia 
and Central Africa. When a number of African 
tribes war with each other, they consume the 
slain and captives as food. 

CANNING (kan'mng), the industry of pre¬ 
serving fish, meats, fruits, and other articles of 
food in air-tight cans. Nicholas Appert, a 
Frenchman, discovered this process in 1795, and 
it was introduced in Canada and the United 
States in 1815. In canning it is necessary to 
destroy the germ which causes fermentation, 
which is done by cooking the product to be 
canned, either before or after it is placed in the 
can. The cans used in the industry are manu¬ 
factured in large establishments and sold to 
canning factories. In canning vegetables or 
cereals they are placed in cans by machinery, 
after which the cans are carried to soldering 
machines and soldered by automatic devices. 
The labels are put on the cans by a machine, 
which spreads the paste and adjusts the label to 
its proper place. The most important products 
canned are fish, beef, corn, tomatoes, peas, 
beans, and fruits. 

In the United States there are over 2,250 
canning factories, the largest number being 
operated in Maryland, but there are more or 
less in all the states. The following states lead 
in the industry: Maryland, Maine, New York, 
Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware, and Califor¬ 
nia. There are no less than 28,000 fishermen 
employed in gathering mackerel, white fish, sal¬ 
mon, and other fish for canning purposes, using 
3,000 fishing vessels, while about 21,500 men are 
employed in dredging for oysters. The lands 
used in producing vegetables and cereals for 
canning purposes aggregate 1,500,000 acres. It 
is shown by the census that 3,000,000 persons 
are indirectly connected with the business, while 
1,000,000 secure employment during the canning 
season. The canned meat produced annually is 
valued at $25,000,000, while the fish, fruit, and 
cereals aggregate much more. 

CANNON (kan'nun), a conical tube for dis¬ 
charging projectiles. Cannon were first used 
in Europe in the 14th century, sometime after 
powder had been introduced as an ammunition 
of war. Those used at first were made of longi¬ 
tudinal iron bars hooped with rings, in which 


the charge was placed in the socket of the 
breech, the shot consisting of stone, lead, or 
iron. They were employed successfully by 
Edward III. at Calais in 1346 and by the Turks 
at Constantinople in 1394, after which they 
came into general use. In the 15th century brass 
guns capable of throwing a thirty-pound shot 
were introduced, and soon after the balls were 
increased to forty-five pounds. At Edinburgh 
cannon of twenty-inch caliber were made before 
the end of the century, while those made at 
Ghent were twenty-six inch. In the early part 
of the 16th century bronze and iron guns were 
made in Western Europe, some of which were 
portable and others were used as siege guns, 
capable of throwing an eighty-pound ball. The 
guns of the 17th century were made lighter, 
with the object of having them more easily 
portable for field use, and cartridges were in¬ 
vented and successfully used in action. The 
guns made in the 18th century were cast solid 
and afterward bored, these containing smooth 
bores. Rifled field guns were -first introduced 
in 1859, since which time rifling has been em¬ 
ployed in making cannon of all calibers. 

The cannon used in early times were known 
as bombards. They were short and clumsy, 
with a larger opening at the mouth than at the 
breech, and were held together by large hoops. 
Those used by modern nations include the 
howitzers, mortars, Rodman, field and Gatling. 
Howitzers are intended for short range and are 
used to throw shells into the enemy’s ranks 
when near at hand. Mortars are intended to 
throw bombs or shells so as to fall into forti¬ 
fied places and do damage by exploding. They 
have short barrels with very large bores to 
admit large missiles. Some forms are used to 
shoot shells at the enemy horizontally. The 
Rodman gun is mounted on a carriage and is 
used at fortifications. Field guns are mounted 
on gun carriages and are drawn by horses from 
place to place as the requirement may demand. 
In some countries mules are used extensively 
for conveying cannon, being deemed more reli¬ 
able in action than horses. 

The Gatling gun has a number of barrels, 
usually ten, which are made to revolve on an 
axis by mechanical arrangement, and as each 
barrel passes an opening it receives a cartridge 
and is fired. It has a capacity of 400 shots per 
minute. The Armstrong and Krupp are the 
most celebrated guns of modern manufacture. 
The latter is especially popular. It is manufac¬ 
tured in Essen, Germany, at the most extensive 
cannon factory in the world. The largest size 
weighs 125,000 pounds, carrying-a cannon ball 
about 9,000 yards, and is capable of penetrating 





CANOE 


378 


CANOPY 


a 25-inch sheet of iron at a distance of 1,500 
yards. The larger cannon are used at fortifi¬ 
cations and on warships. All of the cannon 
of modern manufacture are rifled with a spiral 
groove to give the ball a rotary motion. They 
are cast solid and then bored by being made 
to revolve in a drill. Recently the Vickers- 
Maxim breech mechanism has been adopted 
for use in the large guns of the navy, which not 
only ejects the exploded primer automatically, 
but in addition raises the new load into posi¬ 
tion at the breech of the gun. 

CANOE (ka-nob'), a small boat that is nar¬ 
row in the beam and is propelled by paddles. 
The name was derived from the boats made by 
uncivilized people. Many were constructed by 
laying thin strips of wood across each other at 
various angles, which were tied together, and 
then covered with pieces of bark or hide. They 
were generally propelled by paddles, but some 
of the larger ones carried sails. The American 
Indians made canoes of cedar wood covered 
with an unbroken sheet of the bark of the white 
birch, while the' Indians of the plains used buf¬ 
falo hides. Strong and durable canoes were 
made in forest districts by hollowing out birch 
logs, and this kind was probably the best made 
by primitive people. The Feejee Islanders now 
construct boats of very large size, some a hun¬ 
dred feet in length. The Society Islands con¬ 
tained a naval force, at the time they were 
visited by Captain Cook, consisting of 1,700 war 
canoes, manned by 68,000 soldiers. The Eski¬ 
mos make canoes of walrus and seal skins 
stretched over whalebone, while those con¬ 
structed by the natives of the Polynesian 
Islands are made of planks. Stanley, in his 
African travels, found canoes used by the na¬ 
tives on inland lakes that consisted of very 
light material, often of seaweeds, and larger 
ones of skin and bark capable of carrying eight 
or ten men. 

The name canoe is now applied to any small 
boat made of paper, tin, wood, India rubber, or 
canvas, and used for making long voyages or in 
pleasure exercises. John Macgregor traveled 
3,000 miles in his Rob Roy canoe. Some are 
made for only one person, while others are for 
two or more, with a seating convenience in the 
center. The American Canoe Association has 
several thousand members, and its official maga¬ 
zine, The American Canoeists, is devoted to the 
interests of sports and pleasures with the canoe. 
Other American organizations are the North¬ 
ern Association of Canada and the New York 
Canoe Club. Indeed, many canoe clubs are 
maintained wherever lakes and rivers are acces¬ 
sible. An open and undecked canoe known as 


the Canadian canoe is used extensively in canoe 
ing. ~ 

CANON (ka-nyon'), or Canyon, the Spanish 
name applied to a tube, and used by Spanish- 
Americans to designate deep ravines or gorges 
worn by water. It is. now in general use in 
America. The canons of the Rocky Mountains 
are particularly grand. The Grand Canon of 
the Colorado, in Arizona, consists of immense 
gorges 200 miles long. It is from five to twelve 
miles wide, and from 5,000 to 7,000 feet deep. 
Many of the towering walls are sedimentary 
rock of gorgeous purple and vermilion color. 
Others are narrow channels cut several thou¬ 
sand feet deep, with terraced sides or perpen¬ 
dicular walls. These remarkable phenomena are 
widely distributed throughout the Cordilleras 
of America from Alaska to Panama. The most 
remarkable in the eastern part of the United 
States is the one in central New York, known 
as the Glen, at Watkins, near the headwaters 
of Seneca Lake. 

CANON (kan'un), a rule or ordinance made 
by an ecclesiastical council in relation to re¬ 
ligious matters. A canon rule instituted by 
Gregory the Great provided for the celebration 
of the mass with more splendid accompaniments 
than had hitherto been used, while others of the 
Catholic Church constitute laws and regulations 
for observance by the lay members. Other 
canons of historical interest include those passed 
for the government of the Church of England 
and the anciently adopted Old Testament and 
New Testament canons. The Old Testament 
Canon, anciently adopted on the authority of 
the Jewish Talmud tradition, was designed to 
give public sanction to the Pentateuch. The 
New Testament Canon came into force about 
170 a. d., by which the books of the New Testa¬ 
ment were declared to be canonical. 

CANON CITY, county seat of Fremont 
County, Colorado, on the Arkansas River, forty 
miles west of Pueblo. It is on the Denver and 
Rio Grande, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa 
Fe, and other railroads. The site of the city is 
5,340 feet above the sea, surrounded on three 
sides by mountains, and is noted as a pleasure 
and health resort. The Royal Gorge and Grand 
Canon are one mile distant. Cold and thermal 
mineral springs abound in the vicinity. The 
chief buildings include the public library, the 
high school, and the State penitentiary. Coal, 
iron, silver, copper, petroleum, and building 
stone are obtained in the vicinity. Population, 
1900, 3,775. 

CANOPY (kan'6-py), in architecture, an 
ornamental arched or roof like projection, with 
a niche or doorway. The term is applied in 


CANSO 


379 


CANTON 


Gothic architecture to the rich covering over 
tombs, doors, and windows. In Germany and 
France the canopies of early times were elabo¬ 
rate and complicated, while those of England 
are usually simple in form. The cathedrals of 
Europe as well as many of the larger churches 
furnish examples of canopies. 

CANSO (kan'so), a seaport of Nova Scotia 
in Guysborough County, near Cape Canso. It 
has considerable trade in merchandise and is the 
seat of several consular agents. The waters of 
its coast have valuable fisheries. Canso is the 
landing place of several cables belonging to the 
trans-Atlantic lines. Population, 1905, 1,565. 

CANSO, Strait of, a narrow channel sepa¬ 
rating Nova Scotia from Cape Breton Island. 
It is about two miles wide and seventeen miles 
long, and connects Chebucto Bay with the Gulf 
of Saint Lawrence. Cape Canso, the eastern 
extremity of Nova Scotia, is the east of Che¬ 
bucto Bay, projecting into the Atlantic Ocean. 

CANTABRIAN MOUNTAINS (kan-ta'- 
bri-an), a range of highlands in the northern 
part of Spain, near the shore of the Bay of 
Biscay. They extend a distance of 300 miles, 
from the Pyrenees to Cape Finisterre, and their 
loftiest summits are near the central part. 
Many promontories characterize the coast, but 
the slopes toward the east and south are grad¬ 
ual and have valleys of much fertility. The 
altitudes range from 2,675 feet to 8,790 feet. 

CANTALOUPE (kan'ta-loop). See Musk- 
melon. 

CANTATA (kan-ta'ta), a poem or dramatic 
composition set to music, in which solos and 
choruses are rendered. It originally assumed 
the form of an opera, with voice parts and 
accompaniments of the violin and other instru¬ 
ments, but is now shorter than either opera or 
oratorio. The cantata includes compositions of 
either sacred or secular choral works, and may 
be lyric or dramatic. It differs from opera in 
having no stage accessories. 

CANTEEN (kan-ten'), a vessel of metal or 
leather used by soldiers in the army, which 
serves to carry water or some other potable 
liquid while on duty. It is made in the form of 
a flask or bottle and is strapped to the waist 
belt or strung about the neck. The capacity is 
two or three pints. 

CANTERBURY (kan'ter-ber-i), a city of 
England, 55 miles southeast of London, noted 
for its magnificent cathedral. The cathedral 
was founded in 596 by Saint Augustine. It 
was ravaged by the Danes in the 8th, 9th, 10th, 
and 11th centuries, but was enlarged to exceed 
that of London at the time of the conquest. 
It is 530 feet in length and 154 feet in breadth, 


and has a tower 235 feet high. The Canterbury 
Cathedral was long an important ecclesiastical 
place, but lost a part of its prestige with the 
murder of Thomas a Becket. It has excellent 
painted glass windows. The chambers are the 
finest in England and are beautified by several 
chapels. Near by the cathedral is King’s School, 
founded by Henry VIII., in which David Cop- 
perfield attended. The city has railroad facili¬ 
ties, a library, and several fine institutions of 
learning. Population, 1907, 26,208. 

CANTILEVER (kan'ti-lev-er), a bracket of 
wood, iron, or stone used in architecture for 
supporting balconies and cornices. The canti¬ 
lever has been utilized in the construction of 
bridges, in which two brackets are built out, 
one from each side of the ravine to be spanned, 
to meet at the center without the support of 
intermediate piers. The first great bridge built 
in America in which the cantilever principle was 
used is the one which spans the Niagara River 
a short distance above the Whirlpool Rapids. 
It was completed in 1883 and is entirely of 
steel. The length is 910 feet; the two project¬ 
ing arms or cantilevers are each 175 feet; and 
the truss span which they support is 175 feet 
long. The bridge is 245 feet above the water 
and is crossed by a double railway track. 
Another bridge of this class crosses the Saint 
John River, in New Brunswick. It is 813 feet 
long and the main span has a length of 477 
feet. The Poughkeepsie Bridge is the longest 
structure of this class. It crosses the Hudson 
River with five spans and has a total length of 
6,767 feet. 

CANTON (kan-ton'), an important commer¬ 
cial city and port in southern China. It is 
located in the province of Kwangtung, on the 
Si-kiang River, about 32 miles from the China 
Sea. The city is of great antiquity and is men¬ 
tioned in history as early as 250 b. c. It became 
an important market and seaport in 700 a. d., 
and was long celebrated as a trading point for 
Arab voyagers. In the 16th century it was 
visited by the Portuguese and a hundred years 
later by the Dutch. England monopolized its 
commerce from the 17th century up to 1834, 
when trade with other European nations be¬ 
came important. In 1857 it was captured by 
the allied forces of French and English and was 
garrisoned by them until 1861, since which time 
it has been open to the commerce of all na¬ 
tions. 

The city is surrounded by walls twenty feet 
thick and from twenty to forty feet high, with 
a partition wall dividing it into the old -and new 
parts. The wall contains many gates, which are 
closed at night and open during the day. Many 








CANTON 


380 


CAOUTCHOUC 


of the streets are tortuous and some are less 
than eight feet wide. In the old portion of the 
city are many Buddhist temples, about 200. 
The largest of these is located on Honam Is¬ 
land, covers seven acres, and is called the “Tem¬ 
ple of the Ocean Banner.” It is one of the most 
celebrated Buddhist temples, with fine orna¬ 
mentations, and 175 priests. Another famous 
temple is situated in the western suburbs, called 
the “Temple of Five Hundred Gods,” in which 
500 statues are located to commemorate Buddha 
and his disciples. The city has remarkable 
examples of life upon the water, a large num¬ 
ber of residences being constructed of boats 
that occupy a space of four or five miles on the 
river opposite the city. No less than 40,000 of 
these residences are in the city, and the popula¬ 
tion occupying them aggregates 200,000. 

Canton has large industries for the manufac¬ 
ture of porcelain, paper, glass, silk, cotton goods, 
sugar, ivory carvings, lacquered ware, and uten¬ 
sils. It was the chief city for foreign commerce 
of China until 1850, when it was surpassed by 
Shanghai, but its annual imports and exports 
still aggregate about $40,000,000. Many foreign 
mercantile houses, among them German, French, 
British, and American, occupy the southwestern 
part "of the city, and the consulates of foreign 
governments are also located in that portion. 
The religion of the Chinese in Canton is largely 
Buddhism. Education is provided for in ele¬ 
mentary schools, and a number of institutions 
disseminate knowledge in the higher learning 
and the arts, especially sculpture and painting 
in the Chinese style. Population, 1908, 905,500. 

CANTON (kan'tun), a city of Illinois, in 
Fulton County, about 25 miles southwest of 
Peoria, on the Toledo, Peoria and Western and 
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroads. It 
has a growing trade in grain, lumber, and mer¬ 
chandise. The manufactures include cigars, 
brooms, machinery, marble products, tile, and 
flour. A fine high school is maintained. The 
city has a public library, waterworks, and gas 
and electric lighting. It was settled in 1832 
and incorporated in 1849. Population, 1900, 
6,564; in 1910, 10,453. 

CANTON, a city in Ohio, county seat of 
Stark County, sixty miles southeast of Cleve¬ 
land, on the Pennsylvania, the Cleveland, Can¬ 
ton and Southern, and the Baltimore and Ohio 
railroads. It is surrounded by a fertile farming 
and stock-raising country, and in the vicinity 
are deposits of clays, limestone, and coal. The 
chief buildings include the post office, the county 
courthouse, the city high school, the Aultman 
Hospital, and the city hall. Nimisilla Park is a 
fine public resort. It has a large public library 


and several monuments, including one erected 
to the soldiers of the Spanish-American War 
and the fine monument dedicated to President 
McKinley in 1908. The manufactures include 
brick, tile, cigars, roofing material, clothing, 
saddlery and harness, machinery, agricultural 
implements, and railroad cars. It has an exten¬ 
sive trade in farm produce, merchandise, and 
machinery. The municipal improvements in¬ 
clude sewerage, waterworks, gas and electric 
lighting, stone and asphalt pavements, and elec¬ 
tric urban and interurban railways. It was first 
settled in 1805 and was incorporated in 1822. 
Canton was the home of William McKinley. 
Population, 1900, 30,667; in 1910, 50,217. 

CANVAS (kan'vas), a kind of coarse cloth 
made of flax ox hemp. It is used largely to 
make sails for ships. The strips are usually 
narrow; several are sewed together to make the 
large sails used on boats and ships. A similar 
cloth is used for tents and awnings, and a finer 
variety called duck is employed in making cloth¬ 
ing for men and women. The canvas used by 
artists in painting is stretched on wooden 
frames the size of the picture desired. Its sur¬ 
face is made smooth by chalk and size, or white 
lead. The widths are from 28 to 94 inches. 

CANVASBACK, a species of duck native to 
North America. ,It is about twenty inches long. 
The color is diversified. The male has reddish 
plumage on the head, the bill is nearly black, 
and the back and sides are grayish with sparse 
wavy lines, similar in appearance to the surface 
of coarse canvas. The female has more grayish 
plumage than the male and is somewhat smaller. 
They frequent the inland waters and estuaries 
of rivers, where they feed on roots and crus¬ 
taceans, and visit fields in the spring and fall in 
search for grain. These birds are migratory, 
moving northward to breed the latter part of 
March, and are highly prized for their flesh. 

CAOUTCHOUC (koo'chook), an article 
used extensively in the arts. It is an elastic, 
gummy substance and is obtained from the 
juices of several species of trees found in 
South America. This product was first exported 
to Europe in the 18th century, and became use¬ 
ful in erasing pencil marks, bread crumbs hav¬ 
ing been previously used for that purpose. It 
is now employed largely in the manufacture of 
lead pencils, erasers, nonconductors of elec¬ 
tricity, and many other purposes. Caoutchouc 
is of value in making waterproof fabrics; a 
patent for a process of this kind was granted 
to Samuel Piat in 1791. In 1823 Mackintosh 
was granted a patent on waterproof material 
known by his name, while Charles Goodyear 
invented the vulcanizing process by which caout- 


CAPE ANN 


381 


CAPE COLONNA 


chouc is rendered as hard as horn. Soft vul¬ 
canized rubber is made by adding twenty-five 
per cent, of sulphur and heating to about 270°. 
In making hard vulcanized rubber or ebonite, 
fifty per cent, of sulphur is added and it is 
heated to 300°. See India Rubber. 

CAPE ANN, a cape in the northeastern 
part of Massachusetts, 30 miles northeast of 
Boston. It is the eastern point of Essex County, 
and the name is generally applied to the whole 
rocky peninsula, which extends about ten miles 
into the Atlantic Ocean. This peninsula con¬ 
tains the towns of Rockport and Gloucester, 
which are connected by railway with Salem and 
other cities of the State. Valuable stone quar¬ 
ries are worked, and off the coast are extensive 
fisheries. Cape Ann is popular as a summer 
resort. 

CAPE ARAGO, or Gregory, a cape of Ore¬ 
gon, at the south side of Coos Bay, on the 
west shore of Coos County. Near this cape is 
a lighthouse 84 feet above the sea. 

CAPE BARROW (bar'ro), or Point Bar- 
row, a cape in the Arctic Ocean, the most 
northerly point of Alaska. The United States 
government located a signal service station here 
in 1881, and near it is the village of Barrow, a 
whaling station. 

CAPE BLANCO (blan'ko), the name of 
three capes in Africa and one in North America. 
Cape Blanco, the most northerly point of Africa, 
is on the northern coast of Tunis and projects 
I into the Mediterranean. Another cape of the 
same name is on the west coast of Morocco, 
and a third is on the western shore of the 
Sahara, near the boundary between the posses¬ 
sions of France and Spain. Cape Blanco, in 
America, is the most westerly point of Oregon, 
south of the mouth of the Sixes River, thirty 
miles north of the mouth of the Rogue River. 
At the western extremity of the cape is a light¬ 
house 256 feet above the sea. 

CAPE BRETON (brit'un), an island of 
British America, at the northeastern end of 
Nova Scotia, to which it belongs. It is sepa¬ 
rated from Nova Scotia by the narrow Gut of 
Canso, about one mile wide, and has an area of 
j 3,120 square miles. The coast contains a large 
number of bays, the most important of which is 
Bras d’Or, which forms an inland lake about 
fifty miles long and twenty miles wide. It is of 
much value for interior navigation. A canal 
has been cut to connect the lake with Saint 
Peter’s Bay on the south coast, making it impor¬ 
tant as a connection with the Atlantic Ocean. 
The surface is rugged, but agriculture is carried 
on in the valleys and on the coast plains. The 
minerals consist of iron and coal, while the 


waters yield an abundance of fish. The prin¬ 
cipal exports are coal, timber, and fish. It 
belonged to France from 1632 to 1763, with the 
seat of government at Louisburg, then an impor¬ 
tant military post. Though taken by the British 
in 1745 it was not finally ceded by France until 
1763. The most important business centers are 
Sydney ■and Port Hood. Several railroad lines 
connect the principal business centers with Nova 
Scotia and other portions of British America. 
For the purpose of local government it is 
divided into the four counties of Inverness, 
Victoria, Cape Breton, and Richmond. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 98,345. 

CAPE CATOCHE (ka-to'chi), the north¬ 
eastern point of Yucatan, a state of Mexico. It 
was discovered by the Spaniards in 1517, and 
was the first landing place of the Spanish 
explorers on the American continent. This cape 
must be rounded in sailing from the Caribbean 
Sea to the Gulf of Campeche. 

CAPE CHARLES, a cape of Virginia, the 
southern point of Northampton County, 25 
miles northeast of Norfolk. It is at the north¬ 
east side of the entrance of Chesapeake Bay, 
and across the bay, almost directly south, is 
Cape Henry. 

CAPE CLEAR, the southern extremity of 

Ireland, located about seven miles southwest 
of Baltimore. It is at the southern extremity 
of Cape Clear Island, which is about a mile 
wide and three'.miles long. The cape is a rocky 
promontory and rises 400 feet above the sea, 
and near it is a lighthouse 455 feet high. 

CAPE COD, a peninsula extending from 
the southeastern part of Massachusetts into the 
Atlantic Ocean, forming Cape Cod Bay between 
its northern arm and the mainland. It was so 
named from the great abundance of codfish 
caught off the shores of the peninsula. It was 
first discovered May 15, 1602, by Bartholomew 
Gosnold, and was the landing point of the May¬ 
flower on Nov. 9, 1620. The surface is largely 
barren, owing to its sandy soil, but it is popu¬ 
lated and has railroad connection with several 
cities, including Chatham and Woods Hole. 
The peninsula comprises the whole of Barn¬ 
stable County, of which Barnstable is the county 
seat. A canal extends across the narrow isth¬ 
mus between Cape Cod Bay and Buzzard’s 
Bay. 

CAPE COLONNA (k6-lon'na), a rocky 
cape of Greece, extending into the Gulf of 
Aegina, at the southern extremity of Attica. It 
i$ so named from the white marble columns of 
a temple of Minerva, which are the remains of 
that famous structure anciently erected on the 
summit of the cape. 





CAPE COLONY 


382 


CAPE COLONY 


CAPE COLONY, or Colony of the Cape 
of Good Hope, a British colony in the southern 
extremity of Africa. It is situated between 
south latitudes 25° and 34° 50', and east longi¬ 
tude 16° 25' and 30°. The northern boundary is 
formed by German Southwest Africa, Bechuana- 
land, Orange River Colony, and Natal. It is 
bounded on the southeast by the Indian Ocean 
and on the southwest by the Atlantic Ocean. 
The Orange River forms a large part of the 
northern boundary. Walfisch Bay, on the west¬ 
ern coast of German Southwest Africa, is in¬ 
cluded with this colony. The area is 276,750 
square miles. 

Description. The surface is diversified by a 
range of mountains trending nearly parallel to 
the southern coast. Along the coast and through 
the mountain ranges are belts of fertile land, 
and in the south central part is the plateau of 
Great Karroo, which has an average width of 
sixty miles. The surface rises gradually toward 
the interior, such as the Snow Mountains cul¬ 
minating in ranges from 6,000 to 8,500 feet high. 
These ranges include several elevated peaks, of 
which Compass, elevation 8,500 feet, is the loft¬ 
iest summit. In the western part trend several 
ranges, including the Karre Bergen and the 
Roggeveld mountains. The Kathlamba Moun¬ 
tains are in the northeastern part and extend 
into Natal, where they are known as the 
Drakenberg Mountains. In the northern part, 
along the Orange River, is a valley diversified 
more or less by fertile tracts and sandy and 
elevated regions. On the southern shore is 
Algoa Bay, the principal inlet. False Bay and 
Walkers Bay are near the southern extremity, 
and Saint Helena Bay is in the western part. 
It may be said that the coast as a whole 
is regular and characterized by few indenta¬ 
tions. 

The drainage may be divided into three sec¬ 
tions, including the rivers that flow into the 
Indian Ocean, those that discharge into the 
Atlantic, and the Orange River and its tributa¬ 
ries. The drainage into the Indian Ocean is by 
numerous small rivers, none of which is navi¬ 
gable. They include the Breede, Couritz, Gam- 
toos, Great'Fish, and Great Kei. Most of the 
drainage into the Atlantic is carried by the 
Olifants River. Among the tributaries of the 
Orange River are the Hartebeeste and the 
Ongaars. The plateau of Great Karroo has a 
number of dry basins in which water gathers 
at some seasons of the year, and there are no 
lakes aside from a number of lagoons in the 
upper course of the Hartebeeste River. 

The climate is healthful, being temperate in 
the southern part and semitropical in the north¬ 


ern section. Rainfall is insufficient to produce 
a large variety of vegetation in the higher re¬ 
gions, but in the moderately elevated sections it 
is-abundant. Irrigation is used extensively for 
the improvement of lands for cultivation and 
pasturage, and by means of it large areas have 
beqn made productive. Snow covers the higher 
summits a large part of the yean At Cape 
Town the average temperature is 65°. 

Flora and Fauna. Marked differences in ele¬ 
vation and in the character of the soil account 
for vegetation being considerably diversified. 
The coast region has many varieties of useful 
wood, such as palms, ironwood, and many spe¬ 
cies of hard timber. The acacia, aloe, and many 
bulbous plants thrive in the more elevated re¬ 
gions, especially in the vicinity of the Great 
Karroo. Many species of wild animals were 
abundant before the territory was occupied by 
Europeans, including the giraffe, rhinoceros, 
lion, elephant, and hippopotamus, but all of these 
have practically disappeared. Those still found 
include the hyena, jackal, and many species of 
monkeys. Birds are numerous, and fish are 
abundant in the streams and off the coast. 

Minerals. Mining is an important industry. 
The diamond fields, situated in West Griqua- 
land, are the most important in the world. 
The exportation of this product aggregates 
about $20,000,000 per year, and the total value 
of the output from 1867 to 1908 is placed at 
$525,000,000. Kimberley, between the Vaal and 
Modder rivers, is the center of the diamond 
fields. Copper is mined chiefly in Namaqualand, 
and coal is found abundantly, the principal 
mines being in the Stromberg Mountains. Other 
minerals include gold, lead, iron, and salt. 

Industries. Mining ranks as the chief indus¬ 
try, but much attention is given to mixed agri¬ 
culture. A large part of the country is well 
adapted to grazing, hence the rearing of horses, 
sheep and cattle is carried on extensively. Many 
large ranches are used in sheep raising, some 
including 15,000 acres. Ostriches are grown for 
their feathers, the number of these animals 
being about 300,000. Considerable revenue is 
secured from the growing of goats, chiefly the 
Angora, and mules and swine. Cereals are cul¬ 
tivated in the regions having sufficient rainfall 
and where irrigation is possible, and they con¬ 
sist chiefly of wheat, rye, barley, maize, and 
oats. Tobacco, hay, and fruits are grown profit¬ 
ably. 

Manufacturing is limited to the products used 
in home consumption. They embrace chiefly 
flour, leather, clothing, tobacco, butter, and 
spirituous liquors. Transportation is favored 
by an extensive coast line and by numerous rail- 


CAPE COLONY 


383 


CAPE COMORIN 


ways in all the sections where settlements are 
we ll established. Cape Town, the southern ter¬ 
minus of the Cape-to-Cairo Railway, is impor¬ 
tant as a seaport and has transportation facili¬ 
ties by rail to Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Johan¬ 
nesburg; and other cities o‘f the interior part of 
the British possessions in Southern Africa. A 
number of railways extend inland from the 
southeastern coast, including lines from East 
London and Port Elizabeth, the chief seaports 
on the Indian Ocean. Fewer lines have been 
constructed in the northwestern section, but con¬ 
nections are made with the interior from Port 
Nolloth, a seaport on the Atlantic, about 50 
miles south of the mouth of the Orange River. 
Foreign trade is largely with Great Britain and 
Holland, and the exports exceed the imports. 
The export trade is chiefly in minerals, hides, 
wool, and ostrich feathers, and the imports are 
principally foodstuff’s, textiles, hardware, and 
machinery. 

Government. The Governor of Cape Colony 
is high commissioner for the British possessions 
in South Africa. He holds office under appoint¬ 
ment by the crown and is assisted by a ministry, 
which consists of the prime minister and treas¬ 
urer, colonial secretary, attorney general, secre¬ 
tary of agriculture, and commissioner of public 
works. Two houses make up the Parliament; 
these are known as the Legislative Council and 
the House of Assembly. Members in the 
former are elected for seven years and are 
presided over ex officio by the chief justice, 

| and members in the latter are elected for five 
years. Both the English and Dutch languages 
are used in the government. The Supreme 
Court is presided over by a chief justice and 
eight associate judges. For the purpose of local 
government, the country is divided into districts 
ahd municipalities, and these are governed 
largely by officials elected by the people. No 
distinction is made on account of race or color 
in extending the right of suffrage, and the 
qualifications for voters is based chiefly on 
| citizenship. 

Inhabitants. The inhabitants include a 
large number of natives and their descendants, 
among them the Kaffirs, Bechuanas, Malays, and 
Hottentots. Most of the Europeans are Dutch 
or the descendants of Dutch settlers, and these 
are known as Afrikanders. About one-fourth 
of the people are whites, nearly all of whom are 
Protestants. The communicants of the different 
protestant denominations number about 975,000, 
while the Roman Catholics include about 25,500, 
the Mohammedans about 15,500, and the Jews 
about 3,250. Support is given to schools by the 
government of the colony, but attendance is not 


compulsory and the rate of illiteracy is quite 
large, even among Europeans. The superin¬ 
tendent general has charge of the department of 
public instruction, which has general supervision 
of educational affairs, and local inspection is 
provided by deputies and officials elected by the 
people. Several institutions of higher learning 
are maintained, at the head of which is the Uni¬ 
versity of the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Town, 
the capital and largest city, is near the south¬ 
ern extremity, On Table Bay. Kimberley, the 
center of the diamond fields, is near the Orange 
River, and Port Elizabeth, the second seaport, 
is on Algoa Bay. Other cities of importance 
include East London, Grahamstown, Paarl, and 
Port Nolloth. Population, 1904, 2,409,804. 

History. The region included in Cape Colony 
was first visited in the 15th century by Dias, 
a Portuguese navigator, who doubled the Cape 
of Good Hope. Vasco da Gama landed on its 
shores in 1497, and trade was developed to some 
extent the following century by English and 
Dutch merchants. The colony was first organ¬ 
ized in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company 
and was controlled by that organization until 
1795, when it was annexed by the British, but 
was restored to the Dutch in 1802. Owing to 
trade difficulties, contentions soon arose between 
the colony and the British. It was annexed to 
England in 1806 with the understanding that the 
inhabitants should preserve all the rights and 
privileges enjoyed by them prior to that time, 
and since then it has been under British control, 
though it was not recognized as British terri¬ 
tory until the peace treaty of 1815. 

The history of Cape Colony is intermingled 
with accounts of many wars with the Kaffirs 
and other tribes. Many Dutch burghers became 
dissatisfied with British rule about 1836, and 
emigrated to the region now included in Natal, 
Transvaal Colony, and Orange River Colony. 
Immigration has been quite steady since the dis¬ 
covery of diamonds at Hopetown in 1867, and 
much development has been made in the culti¬ 
vation of its soil and the building of cities. 
The colony is in a prosperous condition, show¬ 
ing a healthful growth in commercial and so¬ 
cial affairs. The colored population is increas¬ 
ing faster than the whites, owing to the exten¬ 
sive employment of this class of laborers and 
the peculiar adaptation of climatic conditions 
to the development of the races native to the 
country. 

CAPE COMORIN (kom'6-rin), the most 
southern extremity of India, in the Travancore. 
Comorin Peak, the highest elevation, is about 
eighteen miles north, and within a short dis¬ 
tance of the cape is the town of Cape Comorin, 





CAPE DIAMOND 


384 


CAPE MAY 


made up largely of fishermen’s houses and sev¬ 
eral ancient temples. 

CAPE DIAMOND, the extremity of a 
promontory in Canada, at the junction of the 
Saint Charles and Saint Lawrence rivers. It 
rises about 300 feet above the river and on it 
stands the citadel of Quebec. West of it are 
the plains of Abraham, where Wolfe with a 
British force defeated the French under Mont¬ 
calm in 1755. 

CAPE FAREWELL, the southern extrem¬ 
ity of Greenland, near the entrance to Chris¬ 
tian Sound. The locality is dangerous for 
navigators on account of the strong currents 
which flow around Greenland into Davis Strait. 

CAPE FEAR, a cape in North Carolina, at 
the southern extremity of Smith Island, near 
the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Currents 
and breakers make the surrounding waters dan¬ 
gerous to navigation. 

CAPE FEAR RIVER, a river of North 
Carolina, formed by the Hawk and Deep rivers, 
which unite in Chatham County, near the cen¬ 
tral part of the State. It has a general course 
toward the southeast and discharges into the 
Atlantic Ocean, near Smith Island. The prin¬ 
cipal towns on its banks are Wilmington, Eliza¬ 
bethtown, and Fayetteville. It is about 250 miles 
long and is navigable to Fayetteville, about 120 
miles. 

CAPE FINISTERRE (fin-is-tar'), or 
Land’s End, a cape in the northwestern part of 
Spain, in the government of Coruna. Near it 
were fought two naval battles between the Eng¬ 
lish and the French, in 1747 and in 1805, in 
which the former were victorious. 

CAPE FLATTERY, a cape in the State of 
Washington, the extreme western point of the 
United States. It is located on the Strait of 
Juan de Fuca, at its southern entrance. About 
half a mile distant, on Tatoosh Island, is a light¬ 
house 155 feet above sea level. 

CAPE GIRARDEAU (je-rar-do ), a city of 
Missouri, in a county of the same name, fifty 
miles above Cairo, Ill., on the Saint Louis, Mem¬ 
phis and Southern and other railroads. It is 
* located on the Mississippi River in a fertile 
farming country, and is the seat of a brisk trade 
in cotton, cereals, and merchandise. The manu¬ 
factures include flour, machinery, and earthen¬ 
ware. It is the seat of a normal school. Saint 
Francis Hospital, Saint Vincent’s College, and 
the Convent of the Sisters of Loretto. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 4,815; in 1910, 8,475. 

CAPE HAITIEN (he'te-en), or Haytien, a 
city of Haiti, on the northern coast. It has a 
safe and spacious harbor, and inland are a 
number of elevated mountain peaks. The 


streets are well platted and improved, but the 
buildings are low. It has an important export 
trade in coffee, sugar, cacao, and logwood. An 
earthquake destroyed most of it and killed sev¬ 
eral thousand people in 1842. Population, 1908, 
29,150. 

CAPE HATTERAS (hat'ter-as), a cape at 
the eastern extremity of North Carolina, pro¬ 
jecting into the Atlantic Ocean from Hatteras 
Island, which is separated from the mainland 
by Pamlico Sound. Many shoals abound near 
it, and storms and gales acting with the Gulf 
Stream make navigation dangerous. A light¬ 
house 191 feet above the sea is maintained near 
the outer point. 

CAPE HENLOPEN (hen-lopen), a cape at 
the south side of the entrance to Delaware Bay, 
on the east coast of Delaware. It is about 
twelve miles southwest of Cape May, the nearest 
point in New Jersey, across Delaware Bay. The 
lighthouse maintained here is 126 feet above 
the sea. 

CAPE HENRY, a cape of the United States, 
on the eastern coast of Virginia, at the south 
entrance to Chesapeake Bay, across which is 
Cape Charles. It has a sandy beach and a life¬ 
saving station. The lighthouse is 157 feet 
above sea level. 

CAPE HORN, the.southern point of Horn 
Island, an island of the Archipelago of Tierra 
del Fuego, noted as the southern extremity of 
South America. The headlands consist of pre¬ 
cipitous cliffs 600 feet high. It was discovered 
by Sir Francis Drake in 1578. The Dutch navi¬ 
gators Lemaire and Schouten first doubled it in 
1616, and named it from Hoorn, their native 
town. Steamboats now sail through the Strait 
of Magellan, thus gaining considerable advan¬ 
tage over the old route around the cape. 

CAPE LISBURNE (lis'burn), a point of 
land extending into the Arctic Ocean from the 
northwestern coast of Alaska. Near it are 
important coal mines, which furnish a supply of 
fuel for whaling and explorations in the Arctic 
Ocean. A strong current flows past it from 
Bering Strait. 

CAPE LOOKOUT, a cape of North Caro¬ 
lina, about eighty miles southwest of Capt Hat¬ 
teras. It has a lighthouse 156 feet above the 
sea. 

CAPE MAY, a watering place and health 
resort on the point of land known by the same 
name. It is located at the southern end of New 
Jersey, in Cape May County, near the entrance 
to Delaware Bay, 81 miles by railroad from 
Philadelphia. The transportation facilities are 
by the West Jersey and Seashore and the At¬ 
lantic City railroads. Tourists find recreation 


CAPE MENDOCINO 


385 


CAPE-TO-CAIRO RAILWAY 


in fishing in the beautiful lagoons toward the 
inland, and in bathing and driving. Extensive 
hotel accommodations and many summer villas 
are located on the beach. Cape May has a num¬ 
ber of industries, such as fish and oyster canning 
and gold beating, but it is more important as a 
resort for health and pleasure. Population, 1905, 
3,005. 

CAPE MENDOCINO (men-do-se'no), the 
most western point of California, in Humboldt 
County. It is a high promontory, 428 feet above 
the sea, and has a first-class lighthouse. 

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, an important 
promontory near the southwestern extremity of 
Africa, next to Cape Agulhas, the most southern 
point of the continent. It is the end of the Table 
Mountain, which recedes inland and rises 3,585 
feet aboye the level of the sea, while the prom¬ 
ontory rises nearly 1,000 feet above the sea. 
Near it is a British naval station. It was dis¬ 
covered by Bartholomew Diaz in 1486 and 
named Cape of the Storms, but its name was 
changed to Cape of Good Hope by John II. of 
Portugal. This name was applied because it 
marks the change of direction in sailing from 
south to east on the voyage from Europe to 
India. The completion of the Suez Canal has 
greatly diminished its commercial importance. 

CAPE PALMAS (paLmas), the southern 
extremity of Liberia, Africa. It is near the 
place where the colony of Negroes from the 
United States landed in 1834. 

CAPE NOME (nom), a cape of Alaska, 
near the city of Nome, extending into Norton 
Sound. It is noted for the rich deposits of gold 
in the sand near the sea coast. 

CAPE PRINCE OF WALES, a cape of 
North America, the extreme western point of 
that continent and of Alaska. It is opposite 
East Cape in Siberia, and between the two 
points is the narrowest water which separates 
the two continents. Dangerous shoals are 
located north of it, but toward the south is a 
deep sea. 

CAPE RACE, a cape at the southeastern 
extremity of Newfoundland, extending into the 
Atlantic Ocean. It has a revolving lighthouse 
180 feet above the water. 

CAPERCALLY (ka'per-kal-ly), or Caper¬ 
cailzie, a species of grouse native to Europe, 
and quite generally known as cock of the wood. 
It has brownish-black plumage, a small scarlet 
patch of naked skin near the eye, and weighs 
abdut ten pounds. Its food consists largely of 
berries and insects, and it frequents the boughs 
of tall trees. These birds are h^hly favored 
for their flesh and may be easily domesticated. 
They are native to both Asia and Europe, and 


are found chiefly in the forests of regions not 
generally settled. Quite a large number inhabit 
the northern part of Scandinavia, Riissia, and 
the timbered sections of Siberia. 

CAPERNAUM (ka-per'n&-um), an ancient 
city of Palestine, in Galilee, on the northwest¬ 
ern coast of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus made 
his home at Capernaum after leaving Nazareth 
(Matt, iv., 13), and it was the scene of many 
of his miracles and discourses. It had a syna¬ 
gogue, a customhouse, and a Roman garrison. 
Capernaum was the home of Andrew, Matthew, 
and Peter, and it is related that Matthew was 
at the custom station when called to be an 
apostle. 

CAPE SABLE, the name of two capes in 
North America, one in Nova Scotia and one in 
Florida. Cape Sable, in Nova Scotia, is on Cape 
Sable Island, in Shelburne County, and off its 
shore are important fisheries. Cape Sable, in 
Florida, is at the most southern point of the 
State and of the United States. 

CAPE SAINT VINCENT (sant vin'sent), 
a headland at the southwestern extremity of 
Portugal, in the province of Algarve. It is 
noted for the. victory of the British navy under 
Sir John Jervis over a Spanish fleet on Feb. 14, 
1797. 

CAPE SAN LUCAS (san loo'kas), the most 
southern point of Lower California, in Mexico. 
It is a rocky promontory of volcanic origin, 
almost directly west of Mazatlan, Mexico. 

CAPE SAN ROQUE (ro'ka), a cape in the 
northeastern part of Brazil, in the state of Rio 
Grande do Norte, north of the city of Natal. 

CAPE-TO-CAIRO RAILWAY, a trunk 
line projected in Africa to furnish a direct 
means of transportation from Alexandria to 
Cape Town. It is the first direct transcontinen¬ 
tal railway projected to extend from north to 
south, and will furnish an admirable line by 
which to cross the equator. It was first pro¬ 
posed by Cecil Rhodes, who looked upon it as 
an avenue by which British commerce and 
dominion could be enlarged. The cost was 
originally estimated at $60,000,000 and it was 
thought possible to complete it by 1906, but the 
capital required will be more than double that 
sum. 

The accompanying map shows the waterways 
and railroads in Africa in 1905. From Alexan¬ 
dria to Khartum, a distance of 1,300 miles, the 
line was built by the Egyptian government and 
has been in operation several years. The south¬ 
ern extension from Cape Town to Bulawayo, 
about 1,600 miles, is entirely in British terri¬ 
tory. From Bulawayo lines have been built to 
Salisbury and Broken Hill, and the latter of 


25 





CAPE TOWN 


386 


CAPE TOWN 


these will be constructed along the east side of 
Lake Tanganyika, through German East Africa, 
Uganda, British East Africa, and thence along 
the Nile to Khartum. It is likely that for some 
years advantage will be taken of navigation on 
lakes Nyassa, Tanganyika, and Victoria Nyanza. 
A line already extends through British East 
Africa, from Mombasa to Lake Victoria 
Nyanza, which will be a feeder to the main 
railway. The length of the Cape-to-Cairo 
Railway is 6,600 miles. By looking over the 


map it will be seen that railroad construction 
in Africa is limited to the territory settled more 
or less by Europeans, but this line will extend 
fully 2,000 miles through a region totally unde¬ 
veloped. 

CAPE TOWN, the capital and seat of gov¬ 
ernment of Cape Colony, at the head of Table 
Bay, on the north side of the peninsula formed 
by Table Mountain, thirty miles north of the 


Cape of Good Hope. It is the southern ter¬ 
minus of the Cape-to-Cairo Railway. The town 
was first built of poorly constructed houses 
with flat roofs, whitewashed on the outside. 
Later a site was platted in which the streets 
intersect each other at right angles, and many 
modern edifices have been constructed. It is 
now an important seat of commerce and man¬ 
ufactures. The modern facilities include sew¬ 
erage, waterworks, electric and gas lighting, 
electric street railways, and extensive tele¬ 


phone and telegraph connections. The Parlia¬ 
ment building, the seat of justice, the public 
museum, the gallery of fine arts, and. the public 
library are among the most important structures. 

Cape Town has a fine school system, a num¬ 
ber of high school buildings, and several col¬ 
leges and institutions of higher learning. The 
university, founded in 1873, has an attendance 
of 700 students. It is beautified by a number 



CAPE-TO-CAIRO RAILWAY. 





CAPE VERDE 


387 


CAPITAL 


of parks, paved streets, and boulevards. The 
trade from the interior and its foreign com¬ 
merce are alike extensive. What the city lost 
by the construction of the Suez Canal has been 
more than regained by the discovery of large 
deposits of gold and diamonds in the interior 
and the building of railroad lines. Among the 
industries are extensive machine shops, flouring 
mills, tanneries, woolen mills, and factories pro¬ 
ducing implements, hardware, and machinery. 
Cape Town was founded by the Dutch in 1652 
and has been a possession of England since 
1806. Population, 1904, 91,973. 

CAPE VERDE (verd), the most westerly 
cape on the west coast of Africa, between the 
Gambia and the Senegal rivers. The Portu¬ 
guese discovered it in 1445, and it was so 
named from a grove of baobab trees, which 
gave the locality the appearance of a white coast. 

CAPE VERDE ISLANDS, a group of four¬ 
teen islands belonging to Portugal, located 
about 320 miles west of Cape Verde, Western 
Africa. The islands have an area of 1,480 
square miles. They are of volcanic origin and 
have at least one active volcano, located on the 
island of Fogo. The interior is elevated, while 
the coast is level and exceedingly fertile. The 
inhabitants consist largely of descendants from 
the Portuguese, whose language is official and 
is taught in the public schools. Among the 
leading products are indigo, tobacco, sugar, cot¬ 
ton, coffee, millet, chemicals, and tropical fruits. 
Rainfall is greatest from August to November, 
but droughts are not uncommon during the 
growing season. Among the domestic animals 
are goats, poultry, asses, and cattle. Roman 
Catholic is the state religion. The larger share 
of the trade is with Portugal. The governor is 
appointed by the King of Portugal and resides 
at Praya, the capital of the islands, which is 
located on Santiago, the largest, of the group. 
Porto Grande, on Sao Vincente, is an important 
coaling station. The Cape Verde Islands were 
discovered by the Portuguese in 1450, and have 
since been under their control. Population, 
1905, 147,665. 

CAPE WRATH, a promontory at the north¬ 
western extremity of Scotland, in Sutherland- 
shire. It consists of rocky cliffs, mostly of 
gneiss, which tower more than 500 feet above 
the sea. A lighthouse stands on the highest 
point and may be seen at a distance of twenty- 
five miles. 

CAPILLARIES (kap'il-la-ryz), the vessels 
of hairlike minuteness that form the connec¬ 
tions between the extremities of the arteries 
and the beginning of the veins. The arteries 
form channels for the blood to pass from the 


heart and become smaller continuously until 
they merge into the capillaries, tubes from -gfa 
to of an inch in diameter. The flow in 

these small vessels is about ^ of an inch per 
second in the systematic and \ of an inch in 
the pulmonic circulation. The flow is constant, 
equable, and regular. They fit closely to the 
veins, which unite into larger and larger chan¬ 
nels, as streamlets do to constitute a river, and 
carry the blood back to the heart. In the cap¬ 
illaries of the lungs, the blood receives oxygen 
and gives up carbonic acid. The capillary 
action can be easily seen in the foot of a frog 
by the use o£ the microscope. 

CAPILLARITY (kap-il-lar'i-ty), the branch 
of physics which treats of the properties of 
liquid surfaces. The tendency of the surfaces of 
all liquids is to contract, which is seen in the 
spherical form of falling drops and in the effort 
required to blow a soap bubble. When a tube 
of fine bore is lowered into a liquid, the fluid 
surrounding the walls of the tube rises above 
the level of the liquid. This is more noticeable 
in small than in large tubes, and can be observed 
very easily by placing small tubes or straws into 
water slightly colored with ink. The difference 
in the surface results from the difference be¬ 
tween the cohesion of the liquid molecules for 
one another and their adhesion to the walls of 
the capillary tube. The outer surfaces of a 
liquid which wets a capillary tube rise, because 
the adhesion between the liquid and the tube 
draws or attracts it toward the walls of the 
tube. A liquid which does not wet the capillary 
tube is depressed at the outer surfaces, because 
the cohesion of the liquid draws it away from 
the walls of the tube. Water and mercury may 
be used in making experiments of this kind, 
since water wets the walls of a tube, hence the 
outside parts rise and the surface of the liquid 
is concave; and mercury does not wet the tube, 
hence the effect is reversed and the surface of 
the mercury is convex. Oil rises in the wick of 
a lamp through the capillarity of the spaces 
between the strands. In the same way plants 
absorb moisture from the air and the soil by 
their foliage and roots, and the sap rises in 
them through the capillarity of their, tissues. 

CAPITAL (kap'i-tal), in economics, the por¬ 
tion of wealth which is employed for the fur¬ 
ther production of wealth. It is sometimes 
defined as that portion of stock which the own¬ 
er expects to convert into revenue. Writers 
usually divide capital into two classes, known 
as fixed and circulating capital. Fixed capital 
is a kind that is used only once in the fulfill¬ 
ment of its purpose, such as machinery. In 
this form it represents a certain amount of 



CAPITAL 


388 


CAPITAL PUNISHMENT 


money invested, which will not be used a sec¬ 
ond time, since the machinery is supposed to 
be employed in the prosecution of a trade or 
business until it is worn out and must be 
replaced by new machinery. On the other hand, 
circulating capital consists of those forms of 
wealth which require renewing after having 
served a certain time for a specified purpose, 
such as a loan made for a definite time or an 
investment in land. 

The nature of modern business enterprises 
differs very materially from those of society in 
the primitive state. Then it was thought that 
each individual should pursue a business and 
furnish practically all the capital, hence a 
laborer was skilled to the extent that he could 
complete almost the entire product without 
relying upon any one else. With the invention 
of modern machinery, capital has become in¬ 
vested very largely in fixed forms, and now the 
laborer is skilled more particularly to do cer¬ 
tain parts of the work necessary to complete a 
commercial product. This division of labor, as 
it is called, has greatly revolutionized modern 
commerce by making labor more intelligent and 
skillful. However, it was long thought that 
every new machine invented would throw a cer¬ 
tain per cent, of laborers out of employment, 
and thus deprive them of their means of sup¬ 
port. This is shown in the invention of the 
harvester, which, with the aid of one man and 
two horses, does the work which formerly 
required four or five men. The invention of 
machinery to manufacture cotton is another 
illustration, and the inventors of these machines 
were treated violently by the laborers who con¬ 
sidered them and their inventions highly detri¬ 
mental. However, these and other inventions 
that. might be mentioned, instead of having a 
harmful effect, have caused more laborers to be 
employed and at the same time have greatly 
improved the character of the product. 

The management of capital may be rightly 
considered a theme of much importance. Mod¬ 
ern business methods have greatly concentrated 
the management of large interests in the hands 
of a few, and the tendency has been for the 
larger institutions to absorb or displace the 
smaller ones. This may be seen clearly in the 
management of railroad business, both in Can¬ 
ada and the United States, where the smaller 
lines have been largely absorbed by the compa¬ 
nies having control of trunk and transconti¬ 
nental railways. The former management of 
smaller railways has given way to the manage¬ 
ment of systems, such, for instance, as the 
great systems of the New York Central lines, 
the Pennsylvania lines, and the lines of the 


Canadian Pacific. In England many of the 
public utilities have come under the ownership 
of municipalities and of the government, and in 
America the tendency is manifestly toward mu¬ 
nicipal ownership of large properties, such as 
lighting plants' 1 and rapid transit systems, which 
are now operated generally by the capital of pri¬ 
vate individuals or corporations. It is quite 
apparent that the laboring class of people feel 
favorable to public ownership, at least to a very 
large extent, and that they look upon the pri¬ 
vate ownership of large utilities as a centraliza¬ 
tion of power in the hands of corporations that 
control them to the detriment of the industrial 
classes. See Money. 

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, in criminal 

jurisprudence, the infliction of the penalty of 
death upon conviction of a high crime. In early 
history it was the mode of punishment for fel¬ 
onies of all kinds, and all primitive people 
regarded it as the best remedy to induce observ¬ 
ance of the law and for the prevention of 
crimes. A wider study of the causes of crime, 
including heredity and t environment, has led to 
the conclusion that this mode of punishment is 
not the best means to overcome criminal con¬ 
duct, although it is held by all governments that 
the severity of the punishment of crime should 
be based upon the nature of the crime com¬ 
mitted. The Grecian scholars, Plato and Pro¬ 
tagoras, favored the retention of capital pun¬ 
ishment on the ground that it tends to deter 
men from committing the crime of murder, 
while others maintained positions diametrically 
opposed to this view. 

Capital punishment was inflicted in early his¬ 
tory for desecration of the Sabbath, cursing, 
idolatry, witchcraft, incest, and disobedience to 
parents, as well as murder. The Anglo-Saxons 
made such trivial offenses as robbing a rabbit 
warren, cutting down a tree or arbor, and 
offenses against the revenue acts capital crimes, 
but the theory of law was more severe than the 
practice. This is seen by the fact that the early 
laws contained 200 offenses punishable by 
inflicting this severe penalty, while it was 
inflicted upon persons guilty of committing only 
25 of them. Sir James Mackintosh and others, 
about 1820, secured a repeal of the early English 
laws and confined the punishment by death to 
its present limits. 

In Europe capital punishment is prescribed 
generally for persons guilty of murder, but it is 
rarely inflicted. The death penalty was abol¬ 
ished in Holland in 1870 and in Rumania and 
Portugal in 1864, while other countries have 
followed in the same course toward modifying 
the penalty for capital crimes. Many coun- 


CAPITALS 


389 


CAPITOLINE HILL 


tries have laws whereby the form of punish¬ 
ment can be commuted to some other form; 
as, for instance, in Sweden only three persons 
were executed out of thirty-two sentenced to 
death in recent years. For the same length of 
time 484 persons were sentenced to* death in 
Germany, but only one was executed; ninety- 
four in Denmark, only one executed; and 248 
in Bavaria, only seven executed. This is the 
proportion usually maintained in the civilized 
countries. 

In the United States, capital punishment is 
inflicted only in cases of murder, but in a few 
of the states it is extended to rape. In some 
of the states life imprisonment is the severest 
form of punishment, while in others this form 
may be substituted by the Governor in place of 
capital punishment. The form of execution is 
hanging in most countries, but in others be¬ 
heading is the usual mode. The newer method 
adopted in New York, Ohio, and several of 
the states is that of electrocution. In the 
armies of the world capital punishment is usu¬ 
ally inflicted by shooting or hanging for con¬ 
viction as a spy or an aggravated form of 
desertion. Many societies have been organized 
and are now flourishing that have for their 
object the abolition of capital punishment, 
claiming that this form often induces crime, 
while life imprisonment and other severe forms 
akin * to it are much more fruitful in securing 
obedience to law and regard for the life and 
property of others. * 

CAPITALS, the upper-case letters used in 
printing and writing. Each language has its 
peculiarities in the use of capital letters, and 
in some there is a difference of opinion upon 
the rules that should govern, hence individual 
scholars differ in their views as to where to 
employ them. In English the general rule is to 
begin all proper names, the first word of every 
sentence, the first word of each line of poetry, 
adjectives derived from proper names, and the 
names of deities with capital letters. The days 
of the week and of the month, the titles of 
books, the names of institutions, and the per¬ 
sonal pronouns relating to God are capitalized. 
When an adjective directly precedes the name 
of a place it is usually capitalized, as Central 
Europe. Specific events, such as the French 
Revolution, are capitalized. However, there are 
differences of opinion for capitalization in Eng¬ 
lish, hence the rules published are numerous 
and differ very materially. Every noun begins 
with a capital letter in the German, which was 
formerly the style used by English writers, and 
this system has many advantages over those 
now in vogue in many countries. Such a sys¬ 


tem simplifies and leaves no question as to 
propriety in capitalization, the test being in 
determining the part of speech. 

CAPITOL (kap'i-tol), the name applied to 
the main government building in which the 
legislative body of a State or Nation holds its 
sessions and the public business is transacted, 
located at the capital city. The name is from 
the Roman citadel known as the CapitoJ, which 
stood on Capitoline Hill, one of the seven’ hills 
of Rome. It was planned by Tarquinius and 
destroyed during the civil wars in the time of 
Sulla, but was rebuilt by the Sendee on a larger 
plan. It contained an equestrian statue of 
Marcus Aurelius, the “Capitoline Venus,” and 
“The Dying Gladiator.” 

In the United States, each State has a capitol 
building, of which the finest are at Albany, 
N. Y., and Austin, Tex. The corner stone for 
the national capitol was laid Sept. 18, 1793, at 
Washington, D. C., by George Washington. In 
1800 the north wing was completed, and in 
1808 the south wing, and both were greatly 
damaged by the British in 1814. In 1818 part 
of the foundation for the main building was 
laid, and the whole was completed in 1827. 
President Fillmore laid the corner stone for 
the south extension July 4, 1851. It was com¬ 
pleted in 1857. The length of the entire build¬ 
ing is 751 feet; breadth, 324 feet. It covers 
three and a half acres. The diameter of the 
dome is 136 feet and the height is 308 feet. The 
cost of the entire building was $15,000,000. 

CAPITOLINE HILL (kap'i-to-lln), the 
name often applied to the Tarpeian Hill, one 
of the seven hills of ancient Rome. On it a 
temple or capitol was built to Jupiter. The first 
foundations were laid by Tarquinius Priscus 
about 600 b. c., but it was not completed until 
after the republic was established. In 83 b. c. 
it was destroyed by fire and was rebuilt by 
Sulla, but was again destroyed in the civil wars. 
Vespasian rebuilt it in 69 a. d., but it was again 
destroyed in the reign of Titus, and was rebuilt 
with great magnificence by Domitian in 80 a. d. 
Emperor Augustus donated 2,000 pounds of 
gold to decorate its roof, and the Roman con¬ 
suls bestowed great fortunes on it. The interior 
was decorated with shields of solid silver and 
the thresholds were of brass. On the same 
hill were other buildings and a library. All 
parts of Capitoline Hill were decorated with 
statuary, and in the interior of the capitol were 
beautiful productions of sculpture and painting. 
In 387 b. c. the Capitoline games were intro¬ 
duced to commemorate the deliverance from 
the Gauls, and after a lapse of interest they 
were revived by Domitian in 86 a. d. The 


CAPPADOCIA 


390 


CAPUA 


modern structure is known as the Campidoglio, 
and was erected on the site of the capitol by 
Michael Angelo soon after 1536. It contains 
the palace of senators. In the hall of the 
illustrious men are busts of ninety-five famous 
Greeks and Romans, and in the hall of the em¬ 
perors are sculptures of eighty-three emperors 
and empresses, while other interesting busts, 
statues, and pictures constitute a most wonder¬ 
ful collection of value and beauty. 

CAPPADOCIA (kap-pa-do'she-a), an ancient 
province of Asia Minor, most of which is now 
included in ttoe Turkish province of Karaman. 
It was conquered by Cyrus and belonged to 
Persia. After the time of Alexander the Great, 
it became an independent kingdom and was 
ruled as such until 17 a. d., when Tiberius made 
it a province of Rome. Much is said of this 
section of Asia Minor in Christian literature, 
and it is recorded in the first epistle of Saint 
Peter that the Cappadocians were converted to 
Christianity. 

CAPRI (ka'pre), a famous and beautiful 
island in the Mediterranean, near the entrance to 
the Bay of Naples. It is two miles wide and 
five miles long, rising to an elevation of 1,900 
feet above the sea. The island is remarkable 
for its richness in fertile soil, beauty of scenery, 
historic interest, and ancient ruins. * The last 
seven years of Emperor Tiberius were spent on 
this island amid riotous and voluptuous living. 
The present inhabitants engage in fruiting, trad¬ 
ing, and the culture of vineyards and orchards. 
In the west end is the town of Anacapri and in 
the eastern part is Capri. A flight of 535 steps 
has been cut in the rocks to reach the former. 
Capri, the capital, has a population of 4,220 and 
the island, 6,252. 

CAPRICORN (kap'ri-korn), the tenth sign 
of the zodiac (q. v.), and the name of a south¬ 
ern constellation. The latter was represented 
on ancient monuments by the figure of a goat, 
or as having the fore part of a goat and the 
hind part of a fish. The ancients celebrated it 
as the harbinger of success. The two largest 
stars are of the third magnitude, hence it does 
not rank as a constellation of much brilliancy. 
The Tropic of Capricorn is the southern bound¬ 
ary of the Torrid Zone, at which the rays of 
the sun are vertical once a year, at noon, usually 
the 21st day of December. 

CAPSICUM (kap'si-kum), a genus of plants 
native to tropical America, from which four 
varieties of cayenne pepper are obtained. These 
plants belong to the nightshade family and are 
not related to those that yield the real pepper. 
About ninety species of capsicum have been 
studied. The leaves are simple and the fruit 


is a berry with many seeds. The berry in all 
the species has an inflated appearance, the form 
being conical, round, or heart-shaped, and the 
seeds are flattened. A number are cultivated 
for the extremely pungent and stimulating fruit, 
which is Aised in medicine, in making sauces, 
and in preparing mixed pickles. Cayenne pep¬ 
per is made from the fruit of several species, 
chiefly when the berries are ripe, when they 
have a scarlet or orange color. This product 
is made principally from capsicum annuum, 
known as chilli pepper, and is cultivated in the 
tropical and temperate climates of all the con¬ 
tinents. 

CAPSTAN (kap'stan), a strong, massive 
apparatus of wood shaped like a truncated cone, 
with holes for the reception of bars in the upper 
part, by means of which it may be revolved, 
and thus serve to raise or move a heavy weight 
by winding a . rope around it. It is used for 
moving houses and on shipboard for weighing 
anchors. The smaller capstans are turned by 
hand, usually by two or three men, who work 
upon a lever which is inserted in holes at the 
tip or crown. Larger capstans are operated by 
horse, steam, or electric power. 

CAPSULE (kap'sul), in botany, a seed ves¬ 
sel consisting of one or more cells, in which 
the seeds are stored, such as poppy heads. Some 
capsules break open and discharge their con¬ 
tents, while others fall off entire with the -seed. 
The term is applied in medicine to a small hol¬ 
low case of gelatin. It is used to inclose medi¬ 
cine so as to permit its being swallowed with¬ 
out coming in contact with the organ of taste. 
The gelatinous envelope melts when in the 
stomach, thus setting the medicine free to act. 

CAPTAIN (kap'tin), in military, an officer 
in command of a company of infantry, a bat¬ 
tery of artillery, or a troop of cavalry. In the 
United States navy a captain ranks next to a 
commodore, and his position corresponds to 
that of a colonel in the army. The term captain 
general is applied to the commander of the mil¬ 
itary forces of a province. In this sense the 
President of the United States is the captain 
general of all the military forces of the nation 
when in active service. In each State the 
supreme command of the State troops in times 
of peace is vested in the Governor, who is cap¬ 
tain general of the military forces of the State. 

CAPUA (kap'u-a), a fortified city of Italy, 
twenty miles north of Naples, on the Volturno 
River. It has a cathedral and is the residence 
of an archbishop. Ancient Capua was about 
three miles southeast of the modern town, 
and was long as important as Rome and Car¬ 
thage. The Romans considered it a favorite 


CAPUCHINS 


391 


CARAVEL 


place of resort on account of its agreeable cli¬ 
mate and beautiful location. It is rich in 
ancient ruins, among which are those of an 
amphitheater with a capacity for seating 60,000 
people. It was founded by the Etruscans in the 
year 800 b. c. who named it Vulturnum. 
Geneseric with a force of Vandals captured it 
in 456 a. d., and the Saracens finally destroyed 
it in 840. Capua became celebrated in litera¬ 
ture as the scene of the play of “Romeo and 
Juliet.” The modern town has a public library, 
a fine cathedral, and manufactures of earthen¬ 
ware and clothing. Population, 1906, 14,328. 

CAPUCHINS (kap-u-shenz'), a religious 
congregation of the Franciscan order of monks, 
instituted by Matteo di Bassi in 1525. He de¬ 
sired to practice greater poverty than was 
required by the strict rule of the order of 
Saint Francis, and his congregation was vali¬ 
dated by Clement VII. in 1526. The Capuchins 
were permitted to wear the habit and a beard, 
and their custom was to live in solitary places 
and as hermits. Their rules are very strict, 
requiring them to recite the canonical hours 
without singing, to spend an hour every morn¬ 
ing in mental prayer and in silence, and to par¬ 
take of the simplest kind of food. In climates 
and seasons of the year that permit the prac¬ 
tice, they are enjoined to go barefooted. This 
class of monks is now most numerous in Aus¬ 
tria, but they are represented in Canada and 
the United States. In the latter country they 
have provinces at Pittsburg, Pa., Leavenworth, 
Kan., Detroit, Mich., and at a number of other 
places. Bernardino Ochino, converted to 
Protestantism in 1542, and Theobald Mathew, 
the celebrated Irish advocate of total abstinence, 
are among the best known Capuchins. 

CAPYBARA (ka-pe-ba'ra), a rodent animal 
of South America, allied to the guinea pig. It 
has the appearance of a hippopotamus on a 



CAPYBARA. 


small scale, but attains a length of only three 
feet. The legs are short, the head is large, and 
the hair is coarse and brown. It is tailless. It 


feeds mainly on vegetation and lives near 
streams. The flesh is taken for food by the 
natives, who eat it either fresh or salted. This 
animal is well distributed throughout the 
warmer parts of the continent, but is most 
abundant in Brazil and the Guianas. 

CARACAL (kar'a-kal), a kind of lynx found 
in Africa and the warmer portions of Asia. It 
is strong and fierce, about the size of a fox, 
and is deep brown in color. 

CARACAS (ka-ra'kas), the metropolis and 
capital of Venezuela, located in a beautiful val¬ 
ley six miles from the Caribbean Sea. The site 
of the city is on the slope of Mount Avila, 
which attains a height of 8,640 feet, and the city 
is 3,020 feet above the tide level. It is con¬ 
nected by a railrcfad with its seaport, La 
Guayra, about eight miles distant. The plat of 
the city is regular, having streets at right angles, 
and many of its buildings are modern. Its 
altitude brings it within an equable temperature 
and healthful air. It is the seat of a school 
system for free attendance, and articulated with 
its courses are a number of professional col¬ 
leges, technical schools, and the University of 
Caracas. The capitol building is a large and 
beautiful structure, and besides it there are 
federal buildings, the president’s residence, sev¬ 
eral cathedrals, and the Basilica of Saint Ann. 
It is lighted by gas and electricity and has tele¬ 
phone and telegraph connection. Many of the 
streets are paved with stone and asphalt. Sev¬ 
eral public parks, gardens and promenades are 
maintained. The gardens and parks contain 
many are rare and beautiful plants, and fine 
collections of wild animals. It has a grow¬ 
ing import and export trade, the latter consist¬ 
ing chiefly of coffee, cacao, and tobacco. 
Caracas was founded in 1567. Population, 1906, 
73,520. 

CARAT (kar'at), a weight equal to the 
twenty-fourth part of an ounce, or three and 
one-fifth grains Troy. Jewelers use the term to 
express the fineness of gold; the whole mass is 
represented by twenty-four parts, the number 
of parts taken expressing so many twenty- 
fourths. Pure gold is twenty-four carats; 
eighteen carats three-fourths gold; twelve 
carats, one-half gold, etc. Fine gold consists 
of two parts alloy and twenty-two of pure gold. 
The gold coinage of the United States is in 
these proportions. The double eagle weighs 
516 grains, of which 464.4 grains are fine gold. 

CARAVEL, or Caravella, a small vessel used 
in Southern Europe, fitted to carry from 25 to 
150 tons. In Turkey the name is given to a 
ship of war, but in Portugal and Spain it has 
reference to a vessel with one or two sails, the 



CARAVAN 


392 


CARBONATES 


larger of which is on the foremast. Caravels 
were used extensively in 15th and 16th cen¬ 
turies, when they usually had a capacity for a 
burden of 300 tons. They were fitted with four 
masts, one of which was square-rigged and the 
others were lateen-rigged. Columbus sailed 
with three of these vessels in 1492, the Santa 
Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta, of which the 
first mentioned was the flagship. 

CARAVAN (kar'a-van), the name applied 
to a company of travelers, merchants, or pil¬ 
grims passing through parts of Africa and Asia 
for purposes of safety and convenience. The 
Mohammedans form caravans annually to wor¬ 
ship at Mecca; the most important caravans 
'are assembled or organized at Cairo and 
Damascus. These often number from 30,000 to 
50,000 pilgrims and move from fifteen to twen¬ 
ty-five miles a day. Much of the business of 
Northern Africa and Western Asia is carried 
on by caravans. The camel is used as a means 
of conveyance, owing to its strength and excep¬ 
tional power of endurance in desert regions. 
Often 500 camels are used in a single caravan, 
the body moving in single file. 

CARAWAY (kar'a-wa), a plant native to 
Southern Europe and Western Asia, and culti- 



caraway. 


vated extensively in all continents for its aro¬ 
matic seed. It has a fleshy root, which resem¬ 
bles that of the parsnip, finely divided leaves, 
and umbels of whitish flowers. The stem is 


from one to two feet high. The seeds are 
valued for their pleasant, aromatic flavor, and 
are used extensively by confectioners and 
bakers, and as a medicine to stimulate the 
digestive organs. The aromatic properties are 
derived from its volatile oil, known as oil of 
caraway, which is obtained by distilling. Cara¬ 
way is grown in gardens for its seed in all the 
continents. 

CARBAZOTIC ACID (kar-ba-zot'ic), a 
substance of great value in dyeing wool and 
silks. It is obtained by combining carbolic acid 
with nitric or sulphuric acid. 

CARBOLIC ACID (kar«bol'ik), an acid 
obtained by the distillation of coal tar.- Carbol, 
phenol, and plienic acid are other names by 
which it is known. It resembles creosote, 
which is similarly obtained from wood, in that 
it possesses a pungent taste, strong odor, and 
other properties similar to it. Being an effective 
poison to low forms of animal life, it is valued 
as a disinfectant and to preserve meat, and is 
used as medicine internally and externally. As 
an external remedy it destroys germs admitted 
to wounds. To be effective as a germicide, it 
must be brought into contact with the germ to 
be destroyed. However, when applied to 
wounds, it forms a crust or coating sufficiently 
strong to destroy the germs that may come in 
contact when atmospheric air is admitted. 

CARBON (kar'bon), an elementary non- 
metallic substance which is present in all organic 
compounds. It exists uncombined in three 
forms, as graphite, charcoal, and diamond. The 
diamond and graphite forms are crystalline and 
charcoal is amorphous. The diamond form is 
colorless or yellow, pink, blue, or green, and is 
transparent. It is the hardest substance known 
and the purest form of carbon. In the charcoal 
form it is mixed more or less with anthracite 
or bituminous coal and other substances. The 
pure charcoal is light, brittle, inodorous, and 
black in color. The graphite is gray-black with 
a metallic luster. It often separates in scales 
from molten iron, and is used for lead pencils 
and as carbons in electric lighting. Carbon 
consists more plentifully in compound form 
than all the other elements combined. It forms 
a number of compounds with hydrogen, called " 
hydro-carbons, in which forms many properties, 
both chemical and physical, are possessed. It 
forms only two compounds with oxygen, 
although the two elements can be united with¬ 
out difficulty. Carbon is found as a regular 
constituent of both plants and animals. 

CARBONATES (kar'bon-ats), the com¬ 
pounds in which carbonic acid is the base, such 
as carbonate of lime and some forms of lead 


CARBONDALE 


393 


CARBONIFEROUS AGE 


ore. The former, in its purest natural form, 
is the mineral calcareous spar. Carbonate of 
chalk is the principal ingredient in the marbles 
and limestone. Other carbonates are those of 
soda, potassa, and ammonia. They comprise a 
class of salts that are used extensively in the 
arts and in medicine, and are very numerous, 
although carbonic acid itself is feeble and can 
be expelled easily from nearly all the carbonates 
by red heat. 

CARBONDALE (kar'bon-dal), a city of 
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, on the 
Lackawanna River, sixteen miles northeast of 
Scranton. It possesses large iron foundries, 
flouring mills, and other manufactories. The 
coal mines near it yield about 900,000 tons 
annually. There are excellent railroad facili¬ 
ties, electric street railways, electric lights, 
paved streets, good schools, and other public 
institutions. Population, 1900 13,536. 

CARBONIC ACID (kar-bon'ik), or Car¬ 
bon Dioxide, a substance occurring free as a 
gas in the atmosphere, forming about 
of the air. It is made up of twelve parts by 
weight of carbon and thirty-two of oxygen. 
Carbonic acid is twenty-two times as heavy as 
hydrogen, has no distinct smell or color, and 
has the property of turning blue litmus slightly 
red. It acts as a narcotic poison when present 
in the air to the extent of four or five per cent., 
and is incapable of supporting combustion or 
animal life. It is brought into the air by the 
breathing of animals, the burning of fuel, the 
decomposition of animal* and vegetable sub¬ 
stances, and the fermentation of liquors, and 
evolves from fissures of the earth. In coal 
mines it constitutes choke damp. 

As carbonic acid is a dense gas, heavier than 
air, it has a tendency to sink into vaults, wells, 
and low places, often rendering valleys and 
caves uninhabitable. It is pleasant to the taste 
and forms a small per cent, of aerated bever¬ 
ages, such as carbonated’mineral waters, cham¬ 
pagne, and beer. Though poisonous to the 
lungs, it is agreeable and pleasant when taken 
into the stomach. It is found in large quanti¬ 
ties in all marbles and limestones, is evolved 
from the colored parts of the flowers of plants 
both during the day and night, and from the 
green of plants during the night. Plants absorb 
it from the atmosphere during the day, and it 
forms an important part in their nourishment. 
It constitutes the largest ingredient in the food 
of vegetables. 

The carbonic acid evolved from the fissures 
of the Upas valley in Java is very dense and 
rises to a height of about eighteen feet above 
the surface. The valley is nearly a mile in 


circumference and entirely devoid of animal or 
plant life. Birds attempting to fly across it 
drop dead, while a dog is killed by its influence 
in about fifteen seconds. Carbonic acid, when 
present in large quantities, extinguishes a 
lighted lamp or burning of any kind. The con¬ 
dition of the air in mines is tested by lowering 
a lighted lamp. Carelessness in entering mines 
without testing the air has caused the loss of 
many lives, as carbonic gas, if breathed freely, 
causes death by asphyxia. The presence of 
large quantities in poorly ventilated rooms, 
given off by the breathing of many persons, is 
the source of headache and depression, and 
causes the loss of health if long continued. Its 
presence in the air may be recognized by expos¬ 
ing a vessel containing lime water, as it causes 
a white film of carbonate of chalk or lime to 
form on the surface of the liquid, if present in 
large quantities. 

CARBONIC OXIDE (oks'id), a colorless 
gas containing one equivalent less of oxygen 
than carbonic acid, being a combination of 
about forty-three per cent, of carbon and fifty- 
seven per cent, of oxygen. It is generated in 
close furnaces as a product of imperfect com¬ 
bustion, mixed with carbonic acid and other 
gases. It is without smell and taste, burns with 
a blue flame, and is more poisonous than car¬ 
bonic acid. When breathed as it issues from 
furnaces in factories, it sometimes causes 
asphvxia to the workmen. 

CARBONIFEROUS AGE (kar-bSn-if'er- 
us), the period of time preceded by the Devo¬ 
nian age, and classed in the latter part>of the 
Palaeozoic era. It is so named from the min¬ 
eral coal and other carbonaceous matter found 
in the deposits, which include many fossils of 
plants and animals. Among the remains and 
traces of plants are chiefly ferns, rushes, 
conifers, and lepidodendrons. These plants dif¬ 
fered greatly from those of the present time, 
and all of the species seem to have been very 
large. The mosses grew thickly matted and the 
ferns resembled trees with stems twenty feet in 
height. Among the animal life were the corals 
and crinoids, the gastropods, the cephalopods, 
crustaceans, scorpions, dragon flies, spiders, 
fishes, and numerous large reptiles. It is rea¬ 
sonably certain that more than 2,000 species of 
plants and almost that number of animals 
existed. 

The carboniferous system lies between the 
Devonian and Permian systems of the Palaeo¬ 
zoic period. It is estimated that this system 
includes about 400,000 square miles of produc¬ 
tive coal fields, but the area is undoubtedly 
much larger. These coal measures are widely 



CARBORUNDUM 


394 


CARDINAL 


distributed in all the continents, but the larger 
portion of commercial coal deposits are made 
up of bituminous and lignite coal, with fields 
of anthracite in the United States, Canada, and 
other regions, though the area of these fields is 
not extensive. Associated with the coal seams 
are deposits of fire clay, iron ores, limestone, 
potter’s clay, and stone valuable in building. 
In some localities salt is obtained from the 
lower strata. See Geology. 

CARBORUNDUM (kar-bo-run'dum), a 
manufactured material made by combining car¬ 
bon and silicon, two of the hardest known ele¬ 
ments. In making this product, coke is crushed 
and ground to a fine powder and mixed in 
proper proportions with common glass sand. 
Salt and sawdust of determined quantities are 
added to this mixture for mechanical purposes. 
The mixture of coke, sand, sawdust, and salt 
is then placed in an electric furnace, and for 
thirty-six continuous hours an electric current 
of 1,000 horse power of energy is passed 
through the furnace, subjecting the mixture to 
a heat of approximately 7,000° Fahr. When 
the furnace is cool, the mixture is found con¬ 
verted into large masses of beautiful colored 
crystals of exceedingly brilliant luster. After 
the carborundum crystals have been removed 
from the furnace, they are crushed to separate 
the mass of crystals apart, then thoroughly 
washed, dried, and screened to separate the 
different sizes. 

Carborundum is the hardest artificially made 
product, and in degree of hardness is exceeded 
only by the diamond. It is used extensively as 
an abrasive. For dentistry alone there are 205 
separate and distinct devices in the form of 
wheels, points, and others that employ carbo¬ 
rundum. This material enters into minute 
forms scarcely large enough to be picked up by 
the finger, and on the other hand the same ma¬ 
terial is used in wheels weighing 1,000 pounds. 
The largest factory for manufacturing this 
product in America is at Niagara Falls, where 
it is prepared for use in instruments and ma¬ 
chinery, and for lining furnaces as a protection 
against great heat. 

CARBUNCLE (kar'bun-k’l), a painful in¬ 
flammation of the connective tissue beneath 
the skin, most frequently on the back. It 
resembles a boil, but is much larger and more 
painful, and its origin seems to be constitu¬ 
tional. In the beginning it is characterized by 
swelling and a severe burning pain, frequently 
accompanied by chills and fever, and in its 
later stages small blisters open and discharge a 
thin pus. Both surgical and medical treatment 
is sometimes required. The name carbuncle is 


applied to a variety of garnet obtained in 
Southern Asia and many sections of North 
America. It has a deep red color and is used 
in jewelry. 

CARDENAS (kar'da-nas), a seaport on the 
northern coast of Cuba, in the province of 
Matanzas, 103 miles east of Havana. It is one 
of the principal seaports of the island, has good 
railroad connections, and exports large quanti¬ 
ties of fruits, tobacco, coffee, molasses, and 
sugar. Since the Spanish War of 1898 it has 
grown steadily in commercial importance. The 
manufactures include cigars, sugar, clothing, and 
utensils. It has several schools and convents, 
electric lights, and a system of waterworks. 
In 1898 it was the scene of an engagement 
between the United States blockading vessels 
and the Spanish batteries, in which Worth Bag- 
ley was killed, the first American to lose his 
life. Population, 1899, 21,940. 

CARDIFF (kar'dif), a village of Onondaga 
County, New York, eleven miles north of Syra¬ 
cuse. It is situated in the center of a fine 
country. The village is notable for the pre¬ 
tended discovery of the Cardiff Giant, a statue 
carved from Iowa gypsum, made in Chicago, 
and buried at Cardiff. It was exhibited as a 
petrified giant at various times. 

CARDIFF, an important seaport of Gla¬ 
morgan County, Wales, at the mouth of the 
Taff River, on the estuary of the Severn. It 
has extensive docks and large exports of min¬ 
erals, mostly iron and coal. The manufactures 
include machinery, dothing, implements, steam¬ 
boats, and ironware. It formerly contained a 
castle of great strength, in which Henry I. 
imprisoned Duke Robert for twenty-six years. 
The city has modern facilities, a number of 
colleges and higher schools, many costly 
churches, and several libraries and public parks. 
Rapid transit connections are maintained with 
several suburban districts. Cromwell captured 
Cardiff in 1648, after a bombardment that 
lasted three days. Its modern growth dates 
from 1839, when the first great dock was 
opened. Population, 1907, 187,620. 

CARDINAL (kar'di-nal), the highest digni¬ 
tary in the Roman Catholic Church under the 
Pope. The cardinals are classified in three divi¬ 
sions, which include the orders of cardinal 
bishops, cardinal priests, and cardinal deacons, 
the total numbering seventy, in allusion to the 
seventy disciples sent out by Christ. They are 
chosen by the Pope, the cardinal bishops num¬ 
bering six; cardinal priests, fifty; and cardinal 
deacons, fourteen, who constitute the sacred 
college in which the election of the Pope is 
vested. The Roman pontiffs, before the reign 


CARDINAL FLOWER 


395 


CARLISLE 


of Nicholas II., were elected by the whole 
clergy of the city of Rome and by the promi¬ 
nent laity, and at one time even by the body of 
citizens. However, Nicholas II. transferred the 
election of the pontiffs to the cardinals, with 
the assent of the other parties, and Alexander 
III. in 1179 limited the election to the cardinals, 
a two-thirds vote being necessary to constitute 
the election. This method still prevails in the 
election of pontiffs. Among the list of privi¬ 
leges enjoyed by the cardinals is the precedence 
over bishops, archbishops, primates, and patri¬ 
archs. They have exclusive right to the titles 
‘‘Eminence” and “The Most Eminent,” and rank 
with royal princes. 

CARDINAL FLOWER, the name of sev¬ 
eral species of the lobelias, native to the 
swampy places in temperate climates, and culti¬ 
vated extensively as garden flowers. The stem 
is tall and simple and has alternate leaves, and 
the flowers are of a variety of colors, ranging 
from white to deep red. They are cultivated as 
ornamental plants in many flower gardens of 
Canada and the United States. 

CARDINAL VIRTUES, the moral virtues 
which are regarded as the basis of alf right 
action, so named from Cardo, a hinge, denoting 
the fundamental point on which all things turn. 
These virtues are four in number, embracing 
justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude. 
Socrates and other ancient writers divided the 
virtues in this way, but modern ethics looks 
upon personal acts as virtues only so far as 
they respect and are respected by social rela¬ 
tions. 

CARDS, a kind of cards printed on paste¬ 
board, having pictures and symbols, and used 
in playing a number of games. The deck or 
pack, as a set is called, consists of fifty-two 
cards, of four classes or suites, known as clubs, 
diamonds, hearts, and spades. The suites are 
distinguished by colors, the clubs and spades 
being black and the diamonds and hearts red, 
and the individual cards are known by the 
spots and faces. Thirteen cards make up each 
of the four suites, each of which includes spot 
cards from one to ten and three face cards, 
known as king, queen, and jack or knave. 
Among the games played are cassino, cribbage, 
draw poker, euchre, solitaire, whist, etc. Though 
used more extensively in playing games of 
chance than any other cards, they are proscribed 
by many Christian and other societies, chiefly 
because the games in which they are used either 
take, up much time or are popular among those 
who play for money or other valuable consid¬ 
erations. 

CARIB (kar'ib), a tribe of Indians who for¬ 


merly inhabited the northern coast of South 
America, from the Orinoco to the Amazon. 
They came in contact with the Spanish explor¬ 
ers in many islands of the West Indies. It is 
thought that they expelled the Arawakan tribe 
from the Lesser Antilles. These Indians prac¬ 
ticed cannibalism and were warlike when first 
discovered, and the Spaniards subjected them as 
slaves. At present the descendants, mixed 
largely with the Negroes, are known as Black 
Caribs and number several thousand. They 
inhabit the coast of Central and South America. 

CARIBBEAN SEA (kar-ib-be'an), the 
largest inlet of the Western Hemisphere, ex¬ 
tending inland from the Atlantic Ocean. It is 
bounded on the south by Venezuela and Colom¬ 
bia, on the west by Central America, and on the 
north by Yucatan and the Greater Antilles. It 
is connected by Yucatan Channel with the Gulf 
of Mexico, whose waters unite with those of 
the inflowing currents to form the Gulf Stream. 
Among the principal arms are the Mosquito 
Gulf and the Gulf of Honduras, on the west, 
and the gulfs of Darien, Paria, and Venezuela, 
on the south. The length from east to west is 
1,700 miles, and the extreme depth, south of 
Cuba, is 16,000 feet. 

CARIBOU (kar'i-boo), the American wood¬ 
land deer, employed by the natives to draw their 
sledges. Formerly it ranged south as far as 
Ohio and Colorado, but it is now confined chiefly 
to Canada. It has large hoofs, prominent ant¬ 
lers, and long hairs about the neck and feet. See 
Deer. 

CARICATURE (kar'i-ka-tur), a picture or 
drawing of a person in which certain points are 
so exaggerated as to give the whole a ludicrous 
effect. The art of caricaturing dates from the 
early Egyptians, and was employed more or less 
in all times. At present it forms a distinct 
feature’ of comic journals, such as Puck and 
Judge, in the United States; Fliegende Blatter, 
in Germany; Charivari, in France; and Punch, 
in England. Among the leading caricaturists 
are Nast, Opper, and McCutcheon, in the United 
States'; Wilhelm Scholz, in Germany; Wilhelm 
Busch, in Austria; Honare Daumier, in France; 
and George Cruikshank and John Doyle, in 
England. 

CARLISLE (kar-lil'), a city of England, 
capital of Cumberland County, fifty miles west 
of Newcastle. It is located at the confluence of 
the Eden and Caldew rivers and several impor¬ 
tant railroads, and has communication with 
Liverpool by steamboats. Among the chief 
buildings is a cathedral founded by William 
Rufus. A castle, in which Mary, Queen of 
Scots, was confined after the Battle of Langside, 


CARLISLE 


396 


CARMELITES 


founded in 1092, stands near the city and is 
now used as a barrack. The manufactures in¬ 
clude cotton and woolen textiles, clothiilg, and 
ironware. It has a large trade in produce and 
manufactures. Carlisle dates from an early 
time in the history of England and was 
destroyed by the Danes in 900. Population, 1907, 
46,580. 

CARLISLE, county seat of Cumberland 
County, Pennsylvania, about eighteen miles west 
of Harrisburg, on the Cumberland Valley and 
the Gettysburg and Harrisburg railroads. It is 
platted on a regular plan and has waterworks, 
electric lights, and other municipal facilities. 
The manufactures include railroad cars, iron¬ 
ware, carpets, and machinery. It is the seat of 
Dickinson College and the Carlisle Indian 
School, founded by the government in 1879. 
This college is supported by the government for 
the education of Indian pupils, and has been 
attended by three thousand students, of whom 
several hundred have been graduated. The 
pupils publish a number of periodicals, make 
their own uniforms, and many of them rise to 
high educational attainments. Near the city is 
Mount Holly Springs, a popular summer resort. 
Carlisle was settled in 1751. At the time of the 
Civil War, in 1863, it was bombarded by the Con¬ 
federates. Population, 1900, 9,626. 

CARLO VINGIAN (kar-16-vm'ji-an), the 
name of a historical royal family which fur¬ 
nished a number of sovereigns for Germany, 
France, and Italy in the 8th, 9th, and 10th cen¬ 
turies. The family origin dates back to the early 
part of the 7th century, but derived its name 
from Charles Martel. The latter reigned in 
France from 715 to 741. He was succeeded by 
his son Pepin, who reigned from 741 till 768, 
and he was succeeded in the government 
by Charlemagne and Carloman, who reigned 
conjointly from 768 to 771. In 771 Charlemagne 
became sole king, was crowned emperor by the 
people of the western world in 800, and was suc¬ 
ceeded by his son Louis le Debonnaire in 814. 
The latter divided his empire among his sons 
and in 840 Charles the Bold became King of 
France. He was succeeded by a number of 
weak princes in 877, and the dynasty came to its 
end with Louis V. in 987. The most important 
division of the empire of Charlemagne consisted 
of Germany, France, and Italy, beginning in 887. 
A branch of the family ruled in Germany until 
the rise of the houses of Franconia and Saxony, 
and in Italy until the rise of Otho the Great, 
when the country became united to the German 
empire. 

CARLSBAD (karls'bat), or Karlsbad, 
meaning Charles’s Bath, a city in Bohemia, 


seventy miles northwest of Prague, on the Tepl 
River. It is so named because its mineral 
springs were first utilized by Charles IV. (1316- 
78), Emperor of Germany, for their healing 
qualities. It S is the most aristocratic place and 
health resort in Europe. Visitors crowd it from 
June to September, the visiting delegations often 
numbering 25,000. It has cold and thermal 
springs, the latter reaching a temperature of 
from 80° to 165° Fahr. The city has ample ac¬ 
commodations for guests, such as parks and ho¬ 
tels and is in every way fitted for the entertain¬ 
ment and accommodation of guests. In the 
market place is a beautiful statue of Charles IV. 
The manufactures include carpets, needles, scis¬ 
sors, knives, woodwork, and articles of glass, 
which are sold largely to visitors. Among the 
municipal utilities are gas and electric lighting, 
a public library, and steam and electric railways. 
Population, 1906, 15,375. 

CARLSRUHE (karls'rod-e), or Karlsruhe, 
meaning Charles’s Rest, a city in Germany, cap¬ 
ital of the grand duchy of Baden, thirty-eight 
miles northwest of Stuttgart. It was founded 
in 17^5 by Markgraf Charles William, whose 
remains are interred below a statue in the mar¬ 
ket place. The city is built on a beautiful plan, 
and has several fine edifices, including castles 
and palaces. The court library contains 100,000 
volumes and the public library is somewhat 
larger. Its museums have rare collections of 
antiquity and natural history. The city pos¬ 
sesses fine botanical gardens, a large market 
place, several public squares, and a number of 
monuments. It has manufactures of railroad 
cars, carriages, jewelry, locomotives, carpets, 
textiles and chemical products. The streets are 
paved with stone and asphalt and traversed by 
lines of electric railways. Population, 1905,- 
111,249. 

CARMEL (kar'mel), the name of a range 
of hills in Palestine, extending from the Med¬ 
iterranean to the plain of Esdraelon. The 
length of the range is about twenty-six miles, 
extending from the plain of Dothan in a 
northwesterly direction, and the highest’ altitude 
is 1,810 feet. Mount Carmel, an eminence near 
the sea, is about 1,500 feet high and is the seat 
of a monastery, the monks being called Car¬ 
melites. These mountains were a favorite re¬ 
treat of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and 
here were enacted many noted scenes in Bible 
history. 

CARMELITES (kar'mel-its), a monastic 
order of the Roman Catholic Church, known 
officially as the Order of Our Lady of Mount 
Carmel. Those who belong to the organiza¬ 
tion claim that it was instituted by Elijah, 


CARMINE 


397 


CARNEGIE INSTITUTION 


the prophet, but it dates from 1156, when Count 
Bertrand, one of the crusaders, came from 
Calabria and established the monastery on 
Mount Carmel, in Palestine. The Saracens 
compelled them to wear striped dresses, but 
later they changed to a habit of brown with a 
white cloak and scapular, from which they 
came to be known as white friars. The Carmel¬ 
ite nuns date from 1452, and both they and 
the friars were reorganized by Saint Theresa in 
the 16th century, when they became known as 
barefooted Carmelites. At present they ar$ 
found in all the countries where the Catholic 
Church has a considerable membership. They 
are austere in their habits of life. 

CARMINE (kar'mln), a pigment of a bril¬ 
liant scarlet color, obtained from cochineal. 
Several processes are employed in obtaining 
this product, one of which is as follows: Put 
one pound of cochineal in three gallons of 
water, after fifteen minutes add one ounce of 
cream of tartar, heat gently for ten minutes, 
add half an ounce of alum, boil about three 
minutes, and draw the liquid into clean glass 
pans, in which the carmine will settle at the 
bottom, when the water will be drawn off and 
the product dried. Carmine is used as rouge 
for imitating the soft blush upon the cheeks, 
and in coloring confectionery and artificial flow¬ 
ers. Carmine lake, a product obtained from 
the residues of cochineal in manufacturing 
carmine, is used in printing and painting. 

CARNATION (kar-na'shun), the name of 
the double-flowering variety of the clove pink. 
The highly cultivated carnation is noted for 
its beautiful colors and sweet scent. It is 
propagated by layers or cuttings of shoots in 
the summer season. The plants are taken up 
late in the fall and set in the greenhouse, 
where they bloom nearly the entire winter. 
Under cultivation the carnation has assumed a 
large variety of tints and forms. It is grown 
very extensively for the market. 

CARNEGIE (kar-neg'i), a borough of Alle¬ 
gheny County, Pennsylvania, six miles south¬ 
west of Pittsburg, on the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, 
Chicago and Saint Louis and other railroads. 
It occupies a fine site on Chartier’s Creek and 
has a large jobbing trade. The manufactures 
include iron and steel products, machinery, and 
implements. Its name was changed from Mans¬ 
field Valley to Carnegie in 1894. Natural gas, 
coal, and oil abound in the vicinity. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 7,330; in 1910, 10,009. 

CARNEGIE INSTITUTION, an educa¬ 
tional institution founded at Washington, D. C., 
by Andrew Carnegie, and incorporated Jan. 
4, 1902. Its object is to promote higher study 


and original research in any department of 
science, art, or literature, for which purpose it 
is designed to cooperate with learned societies, 
colleges, technical schools, governments, and 
universities. The founder donated $10,000,000 
to establish this institution, which is designed 
on a plan similar to that of the Smithsonian 
Institution. In 1907 he made an additional gift 
of $2,000,000. 

A board of trustees and ex-officio members of 
such a board were named for the Carnegie In¬ 
stitution by it’s founder. The ex-officio mem¬ 
bers are: The President of the United States, 
the president of the Senate, the speaker of the 
House of Representatives, the secretary of the 
Smithsonian Institution, and the president of 
the National Academy of Sciences. The trus¬ 
tees named originally were: John S. Billings, 
New York; Grover Cleveland, New Jersey; 
William H. Frew, Pennsylvania; Lyman J. 
Gage, Illinois; Daniel C. Gilman, Maryland; 
John Hay, District of Columbia; Abram S. 
Hewitt, New York; Henry L. Higginson, Massa¬ 
chusetts; Henry Hitchcock, Missouri; Charles 
L. Hutchinson, Illinois; William Lindsay, Ken¬ 
tucky; Seth Low, New York; Wayne Mac- 
Veagh, Pennsylvania; D. O. Mills, New York; 
S. Weir Mitchell, Pennsylvania-; William W. 
Morrow, California; Elihu Root, New York; 
John C. Spooner, Wisconsin; Andrew D. White, 
'New York; Edward D. White, Louisiana; 
Charles D. Walcott, District of Columbia; and 
Carroll D. Wright, District of Columbia. Jan. 
29, 1902, the institution was duly organized, 
when Daniel C. Gilman was chosen chairman 
of the board of trustees and John S. Billings 
was named as secretary. 

The object and administration of the Carnegie 
Institution are best set forth in the deed of 
gift, which contains the following: 

First—To promote original research, paying 
great attention thereto as one of the most im¬ 
portant of all departments. 

Second—To discover the exceptional man in 
every department of study whenever and wher¬ 
ever found, inside or outside of schools, and 
enable him to make the work for which he 
seems specially designed his life work. 

Third—To increase facilities for higher educa¬ 
tion. 

Fourth—To increase the efficiency of univer¬ 
sities and other institutions of learning through¬ 
out the country, by utilizing and adding to their 
existing facilities and aiding teachers in the 
various institutions for experimental and other 
work in these institutions as far as advisable. 

Fifth—To enable such students as may find 
Washington the best point for their special 


CARNELIAN 


398 


CAROLINE ISLANDS 


studies to enjoy the advantages of. the museums, 
libraries, laboratories, observatory, meteorolog¬ 
ical, piscicultural, and forestry schools and kin¬ 
dred institutions of the several departments of 
the government. 

Sixth—To insure the prompt publication and 
distribution of the results of scientific investiga¬ 
tion, a field considered highly important. 

CARNELIAN (kar-nel'yan), or Cornelian, 
a mineral of the chalcedony variety. It is found 
in various colors, usually reddish, but sometimes 
yellow, brown, or white. This mineral is wide¬ 
ly distributed, especially in the region of Lake 
Superior, but the finest specimens are brought 
from India, where it is obtained chiefly in the 
vicinity of Cambay. It is used largely for orna¬ 
ments and beautiful seals are engraved on.it. 

CARNIVAL (kar'm-val), the festival week 
before the beginning of Lent. It is celebrated 
in Roman Catholic countries with much free¬ 
dom and mirth, especially at Naples and Rome. 
In some of the American cities it is celebrated 
under the name of Mardi Gras. The cities of 
New Orleans and Mobile are especially enthu¬ 
siastic in its observance. 

CARNIVORA (kar-niv'6-ra), the name 
applied to animals which have teeth fitted for 
the mastication of animal matter and prey upon 
other animals. They possess short jaws, large 
jaw muscles, and teeth especially fitted for cut¬ 
ting and mincing flesh. The body is slender, 
thus giving advantage in securing prey, while 
the jaws differ greatly from the long jaws of 
herbivorous animals like the horse and ox, 
which require time to grind their less nutritious 
food. The stomach is simple and the alimen¬ 
tary canal is short, and the latter has only 
about three times the length of the body, while 
in herb-eating animals the alimentary canal is 
often from ten to thirty times the length of the 
body. The most important carnivorous animals 
include the lion, tiger, tapir, wolf, bear, leopard, 
skunk, coati, panther, puma, jaguar, raccoon, 
and walrus. 

The carnivorous animals are well distributed 
in all the continents except Australia, where 
they are limited to the flesh-eating marsupials. 
They vary in size from the small and slender 
ermine to the large polar bear, which may 
weigh 2,000 pounds. The species native to trop¬ 
ical countries are the most numerous and carry 
on a constant warfare against man as well as 
the lower animals. The dog and the cat, though 
among the fiercest of this class, have been do¬ 
mesticated as pets. 

CARNIVOROUS PLANTS, a class of 

plants which feed or subsist on small animals, 
especially insects. Many species are included in 


this group and most of them occur in swamps 
where nitrogenous matter is scant, hence the 
advantage of feeding upon animal life. The 
Venus’s flytrap, common to North Carolina, 
is a notable \example. It has leaves divided 
into halves which close -instantly, much like a 
trap, when minute hairs upon their surface are 
touched, and the entrapped insect is held until 
the digestible parts are assimilated, when the 
leaves open again. The pitcher plant (q. v.) is 
another notable example, and its numerous spe¬ 
cies are more or less widely distributed. It 
has hollow leaves in which water, made up 
partly of a secretion of the plant itself, com¬ 
prises the trap, while a honeylike exudation 
lures the insects, and small hairs strike down¬ 
ward when touched and cause the insect to fall 
into the basin. The butterwort of Canada and 
the northern parts of the United States belongs 
to the carnivorous plant. Other familiar species 
are the sundews, and such plants as the petunia 
and tomato, whose leaves are frequently cov¬ 
ered with insects, from which the plant is sup¬ 
posed to derive some nourishment. 

CAROB (kar'ob), or Locust, a tree native 
to the countries adjacent to the Mediterra¬ 
nean Sea. In size and appearance it resembles 
the apple tree, but is evergreen, with oval 
leaflets, and bears hornlike pods filled with a 
mealy pulp of agreeable taste and odor. The 
pulp* is valuable as stock food, and is used to 
some extent as human food by the poorer 
classes. Carobs are often called Saint John’s 
bread from the tradition that they are the 
locusts eaten by John the Baptist while he 
was in the wilderness. It is probable that 
they are the husks alluded to by Christ in the 
parable of the prodigal son. The tree is ex¬ 
ceedingly productive, often yielding from 700 
to 900 pounds in a season. The wood is useful 
in tanning, while the roots contain medical 
properties. It is not allied to the American 
locust. The Moors and Arabs cultivate it ex¬ 
tensively. It is gaining a foothold in India, 
where it serves a useful purpose as a food 
article. 

CAROLINE ISLANDS, a group of islands 

in the Pacific Ocean, lying north of New 
Guinea and east of the Philippines. The area 
is 570 square miles, and, including the Pelew 
group, 860 square miles. The archipelago con¬ 
sists of thirty-six groups of islands, the prin¬ 
cipal ones being the Pelew, Yap, Ponape, and 
a number of other island groups. About 525 
islands are included in the archipelago. Of this 
number about 200 are in the Pelew group, of 
which Balel-Thaob is the largest, containing 
an area about as large as all the other groups 


CAROLINGIANS 


399 


CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS 


put together. Commercially, the most impor¬ 
tant of the entire group is Ponape, containing 
an area of 134 square miles. Most of the sur¬ 
face is fertile. The products include fruits, 
cereals, and cocoanuts, while excellent pastur¬ 
age for horses and cattle abounds. Several 
of the islands are volcanic and rich in min¬ 
erals, including quartz and limestone. How¬ 
ever, the larger number are of coral forma¬ 
tion. The natives belong to the Polynesian 
group, while the Europeans consist mostly of 
Germans, who control the trade and manufac¬ 
tures. Agriculture, stock raising, mining, and 
commerce are the chief occupations. The for¬ 
ests yield timber for cabinet work and various 
fruits used in making varnish. 

The Caroline Islands were discovered by the 
Portuguese in 1527 and were annexed to Spain 
in 1686. A dispute arose over the commercial 
relations between Germany and Spain in 1885, 
which was adjusted by the Pope under a joint 
agreement of the two nations, by which Spain 
retained control and Germany secured special 
trade advantages. The American representa¬ 
tives at the Paris convention, following the 
Spanish-American War, vainly endeavored to 
induce Spain to cede them to the United States. 
In 1899 Germany bought the islands from Spain 
for about $4,000,000. They are now a German 
possession, with a local governor appointed by 
the emperor. Religious liberties are conceded 
to all inhabitants. Ponape is the seat of gov¬ 
ernment in the Eastern Carolines and Yap, in 
the Western Carolines. Population, 1907, 55,- 
466. 

CAROLINGIANS (kar-6-lm'je-anz), the 
second dynasty of Frankish kings, so named 
from Charles Martel. This dynasty succeeded 
the Merovingians in 751, when Pepin the Short 
became king. He was a son of Charles Martel, 
who was mayor of the palace in the Frankish 
kingdom, and was succeeded by his sons, Carlo- 
man and Charlemagne, but the latter soon be¬ 
came sole ruler, in 771, and was succeeded by 
his son, Louis the Pious. The latter divided his 
empire into departments, each of which was 
presided over by one of his sons, and after his 
death, in 840, the great empire was divided. 
Charles the Bold, son of Louis the Pious, be¬ 
came king of the portion of the territory cor¬ 
responding to modern France and is the founder 
of the French dynasty. He died in 877 and 
was succeeded by a number of princes until. in 
987, when Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian 
dynasty, became King of France. 

CAROTID ARTERIES (ka-rot'id), the 
name of two great arteries that serve to convey 
the blood from the aorta to the head and brain. 


The common carotids are two arteries, one on 
each side of the neck. Each divides into an 
external and internal branch. The internal ca¬ 
rotid supplies the eye and brain with blood, while 
the external carotid supplies the neck, face, 
and upper parts of the head. 

CARP (karp), a fish native to the fresh¬ 
water lakes and streams of Central Europe and 
corresponding latitudes in Asia. Owing to its 



COMMON CARP. 


value as an article of food, it has been exten¬ 
sively naturalized in many countries, and is cul¬ 
tivated in many parts of Canada and the United 
States. It has been transferred more exten¬ 
sively than any other fish, except, perhaps, the 
gold fish, and can subsist out of water longer 
than any other. Under careful feeding it at¬ 
tains a weight of three pounds when six years 
old, and often reaches a weight of eighteen 
pounds at maturity, while in Europe it has been 
known to weigh forty pounds. The fins are 
dark brown, and the body is yellowish beneath 
and olive brown above. Its food consists chiefly 
of aquatic plants, but it is fond of insects 
and worms. The carp is not a favorite game 
fish, as it is not a free biter, and is quite cun¬ 
ning in evading a net. Among the species are 
the German, leather, golden, and crucian carp. 
The leather carp has no scales. 

CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS (kar-pa'- 
thi-an), a mountain range of Central Europe, 
extending a distance of about 875 miles from 
Pressburg on the Danube to Alt Orsova on the 
Rumanian frontier. They form two great 
masses, one in Hungary and one in Transyl¬ 
vania, the group lying almost entirely within 
Austria and Rumania. The culminating peak, 
Gerlsdorferspitze, has an altitude of 8,737 feet 
above sea level. These highlands consist of vari¬ 
ous chains and groups, including the Carpa¬ 
thians proper, the Little Carpathians, and the 
Transylvanian Alps. They are timbered to a 
height of nearly 5,000 feet, the lower portions 
with valuable walnut groves, and the higher with 
beech, cherry, and pine. The groups within 
Hungary are exceedingly rich in various miner¬ 
als, especially limestone and iron. Many valleys 


CARPEL 


-400 


CARPET 


which produce fruits and cereals lie in different 
portions, while some parts are rocky, barren, and 
exceedingly precipitous. The only glacier within 
the region is on the northern declivity of Eisthal 
Peak. 

CARPEL (kar'pel), in botany, the name of 
the leaf forming the pistil, or one of the several 
parts of a compound pistil. See Flower. 

CARPENTARIA (kar-pen-tar'i-a), Gulf of, 
an extensive indentation of the northern coast 
of Australia. It extends from Cape York to 
Cape Arnhem, is about 500 miles long, and in¬ 
closes numerous islands. The shores are gen¬ 
erally low. It was so named from Peter Car¬ 
penter, a Dutch navigator, who explored it in 
1627. 

CARPENTER BEE,, an insect of the bee 
family, so called from its great skill in working 
wood. The insects of this class include some 
of the true bees, and most of them inhabit 
countries that have a warm climate. Several 
species are commop to America and Europe, 
some of which are as large as the bumblebee. 
These insects cut a longitudinal hole or tunnel, 
about a foot long and a third of an inch wide, 
usually in dry trees, and in these they lay their 
eggs and store honey. 

CARPENTRY, the art or calling of fram¬ 
ing timber for architectural and other purposes. 
The term is properly applied to framing heavy 
work, such as sills, flooring, roofs, and parti¬ 
tions. The art of doing the ornamental work 
is called joining, but commonly the workman in 
either line is called a carpenter. The tools of 
a carpenter include saws, planes, gouges, mortise 
chisels, squares, bevels, augers, brad awls, and 
many others. Carpentry has been greatly 
changed by the introduction of labor-saving 
machinery. Much of the material for building 
is now bought in a prepared form at planing 
mills and at blind, sash, and other factories. 
Doors, stair railings, windows, ornamental trim¬ 
mings, and many other parts are secured in 
complete form, instead of being made by hand 
as formerly. This is the natural result of em¬ 
ploying improved machinery in cutting timber, 
which has likewise caused a saving in the cost 
of transportation to long distances from the 
sawmills located in forests or at points reached 
by rafting logs in streams. Formerly the car¬ 
penter cut the shingles with a hatchet from the 
block, now mills cut them by the thousands, or 
the wooden forms have been displaced by stone, 
slate, or metallic products. Paper is now used 
to a large extent in walls and. asbestos is em¬ 
ployed for deadening sound, while steel and 
iron are displacing the wooden and brick frames 
of former times. The general diversity of orna¬ 


mentation has caused the invention of a large 
variety of machines, which have simplified the 
work in some lines, but, on the other hand, 
require greater skill in others. 

CARPET (kiir'pet), the name of a kind of 
felted or woven fabric, generally made of wool, 
used as a covering for floors and chambers, or 
for spreading on staircases and on the ground. 
The use of rugs was common in ancient Baby¬ 
lon, Egypt, China, and India. Carpet making 
has been an important industry in Persia, Tur¬ 
key, India, and many portions of Eurasia for 
centuries, and many laborers are engaged at 
present in its production. The use" of carpets 
was introduced into Western Europe at the 
time of the Crusades, but, even in the time of 
Queen Elizabeth, the floors of palaces and resi¬ 
dences were strewn with rushes. The practice 
of decorating walls with tapestry and cloth is 
much older than the carpeting of floors. For 
several centuries, particularly in the time of 
Thomas Wolsey, the walls were covered with 
tapestry while the floors were bare. The man¬ 
ufacture of carpets was introduced in Germany 
and France about 1606, and in England by the 
French in 1750. Wool is the principal article 
used in the manufacture, though hemp and vege¬ 
table matting are employed extensively. 

Among the different grades of carpet are the 
varieties known as Brussels, Venetian, Dutch, 
Wilton, Axminster, Chinese, and tapestry. Ax- 
minster carpet is on the style of the Turkish, 
in one piece, the patterns consisting mostly of 
curved and angular strips, containing tufts of 
colored worsted designs and decorations in va¬ 
rious colors. Brussels carpet was first made 
at Brussels, Belgium, but is now manufactured 
extensively in all countries. It is woven on a 
loom carrying a shuttle which raises portions 
of colored yarn to the surface, and the linen 
basis is concealed by the worsted, which is 
drawn through the reticulation and looped over 
’wires, which are afterward withdrawn, thus giv¬ 
ing the surface a ribbed appearance. The ma¬ 
chinery used in manufacturing Brussels carpet 
is very complex. Wilton carpet is made simi¬ 
larly to the Brussels, but, instead of being 
drawn out, the loops are liberated by passing 
a sharp knife into the grooves, thus producing 
a velvet pile surface instead of looped threads. 

Felt carpet is made by printing colors on felt. 
Hemp carpet is used in the more inferior build¬ 
ings and stairways. Many offices and chambers 
are now furnished with a carpet made of matting 
in which a vegetable growth from the South 
Seas is utilized, while others are decorated with 
a class of oilcloth. Philadelphia is one of the 
most extensive carpet producing cities in the 


CARPETBAGGERS 


401 


CARRIAGE 


world. The largest output of carpets in the 
United States is in the east central states, while 
the finest rugs are made in Western Asia. As 
a whole, the United States takes the first rank 
in the production of carpets; Canada, second; 
Germany, third; and France, fourth. 

CARPETBAGGERS (-bag-gerz), the name 
applied to a class of northern people who set¬ 
tled in the Southern States after the close of 
the Civil War with the view of controlling the 
political affairs in that section of the United 
States. It was first used in reference to the 
northern politicians who had an ambition to 
become members of Congress, hence these men 
removed to the Southern States. They were 
called carpetbaggers from the circumstance that 
many of them brought only their wearing ap¬ 
parel in baggage. The term is now applied to 
all of the northern adventurers who sought 
political influence during the reconstruction 
period, from 1865 until 1876. At that time 
many of the leading white citizens were not 
permitted to vote, and the county, district, and 
State politics were controlled by carpetbaggers, 
who were assisted by the Negroes. This re¬ 
gime, known as carpetbag government, was ex¬ 
travagant and plunged many of the states into 
debt. 

CARPET BEETLE, a small bug or moth 
which infests houses and preys upon carpets 
and other cotton and woolen fabrics. It was 
not known in America until 1872, when it was 
first noticed in New York and in Southern 
Canada, and since it has become widely dis¬ 
tributed. The adult is about one-seventh of an 
inch long, has scales of red and black, and is 
marked with white spots. The larvae are hairy 
grubs and attack the edges of carpets, especially 
at the seams and where furniture is placed, 
while the adults feed on the pollen of flowers 
and other parts of plants. Naphtha balls, fumes 
of carbon bisulphide, and kerosene are protec¬ 
tion against these pests in their early stages. 

CARRARA (ka-ra'ra), a city of Italy, in 
the' province <*f Massa e Carrara, sixty miles 
southwest of Modena. It is located on the 
Avenza River, three miles from the Mediter¬ 
ranean, and is surrounded by hills famed for 
their white marble. The chief buildings include 
the churches of the Madonna and of Saint An¬ 
drea, and in the city are fine statues of Rossi, 
Mazzini, and Garibaldi. It has a fine museum 
and an academy of sculpture founded by Na¬ 
poleon. The Carrara quarries have been worked 
since an early period in Roman history, and at 
present there are more than 600 quarries in 
the vicinity of the city. Most of the product 
is transported via Avenza, a small port on the 
26 


Mediterranean, but many sculptors come here 
to save expense in transporting the marble. 
Population, 1906, 21,560. 

CARRIAGE (kar'rij), a name generally 
applied to all structures employed to transport 
merchandise and passengers. In the United 
States the name refers particularly to wheeled 
vehicles for carrying persons to distinguish them 
from those used for transporting goods. It is 
especially applied to an elegant conveyance, 
partly or wholly enclosed, with seats for two 
or more persons and drawn by one or more 
horses. The term is loosely applied to such 
vehicles as top buggies, broughams, and phae¬ 
tons. In Great Britain the term is applied to 
railway cars and often preceded by the name 
designating the class, as first-class or second- 
class carriage. 

The most ancient conveniences for transporta¬ 
tion were, no doubt, by riding animals, as 
camels, elephants, and horses. We learn that 
Pharaoh gave Joseph second place in Egypt and 
“he made him ride in the second chariot which 
he had,” and later wagons were sent to convey 
Jacob and his family to Egypt. Chariots were 
generally used by rulers and warlike* leaders in 
Egypt, while in Rome they were employed for 
general use. The Roman carriages were richly 
ornamented, some drawn by two and. others by 
four horses. In the Olympic games of Greece 
the chariot was a necessary supply. The con¬ 
dition of the roads had a material modification 
on early vehicles. The celebrated Appian Way, 
constructed in Rome in 331 b. c., and many other 
thoroughfares, were especially fitted for the use 
of chariots. Covered carriages came into use 
in the 16th century, at first among the nobles, 
but later were generally adopted as conveyances 
by all classes of citizens. Their use was greatly 
opposed by the owners o'f boats and the carriers 
of sedan chairs. In some cases the sovereigns 
were induced to forbid their employment by the 
citizens and their wives, of which the ordinance 
of Philip the Fair, in 1294, is a notable instance. 
In 1550 there were only three carriages in Paris, 
the noblemen and citizens riding mostly on 
horseback. They came into general use in Ger¬ 
many as early as 1613. Hackney coaches were 
introduced in London in 1625. 

The early vehicles were extremely rude, par¬ 
ticularly the heavy wagons used for transports. 
Many had rude axles with wooden wheels cut 
from large logs, and in this respect were similar 
to those now rarely used in Mexico. At the 
beginning of the 18th century the body of car¬ 
riages was suspended by leather straps. In 
1804 an Englishman, Obadiah Elliott, invented 
the oval springs which are in common use at 



CARRIER 


402 


CARRIER PIGEON 


present. The general forms of carriages now 
used in Western Europe are similar to those 
seen in Canada and the United States, but 
many have been modified or improved. The 
backboard, sulky, rockaway, and buggy are dis¬ 
tinctly American vehicles. The jinrikisha is a 
two-wheeled cart pulled by a man, and is com¬ 
monly used in Japan and Eastern Asia. Among 
the newer means of conveyance are the bicycle 
and automobile, which are extensively used in 
many countries. See Automobile, Bicycle, etc. 

CARRIER (kar'ri-er), a person or company 
that undertakes to carry or makes a business 
of carrying persons or goods for a considera¬ 
tion. Two classes of carriers are recognized— 
private carriers and common carriers. Private 
carriers are persons who undertake to trans¬ 
port the goods of others who may choose to 
employ them, yet they do not enter into the 
employ of the public generally. A private car¬ 
rier incurs no responsibility beyond that of or¬ 
dinary diligence. Common carriers are persons 
or companies who engage to carry goods for 
the general public in consideration of a suitable 
compensation. They are required to provide 
safe and suitable conveyance, and are not ex¬ 
empt from responsibility, even if interfered with 
by ice, snow, fire, or other natural causes. They 
are responsible for all losses, except from the 
act of an enemy in times of war or the default 
of shippers. 

In many cases the responsibility of common 
carriers is limited or modified by special con¬ 
tract, but under the general law they cannot 
free themselves wholly nor escape the duty 
of reasonable diligence. The common carrier 
is responsible for the acts of all his agents, 
must deliver commodities in as good condition 
as received, may refuse to accept goods not 
properly prepared for shipment, and may de¬ 
mand transportation charges in advance. In 
cases where charges are payable at the end of 
the route, the goods may be held until payment 
is made, and, if entirely neglected, the goods 
may be sold to cover a part or all of the trans¬ 
portation charges and storage. In making ship¬ 
ments the sender need not disclose the contents 
of his package unless requested to do so by the 
carrier. If the sender misrepresents the value 
or character of the goods, the carrier is not 
liable in case they are stolen. Railroad, Jiack, 
steamboat, and street railway companies are 
common carriers. 

CARRIER PIGEON, a name applied to a 

species of pigeon used for conveying letters 
from any place to their home, now generally 
called homing pigeon. The common carrier 
pigeon is a large bird with naked skin at the 


base of the beak and long wings, and has a 
circle of naked skin around the eyes. It is 
thought that the Chinese were the first to make 
use of pigeons in this way, but the oldest in¬ 
stance on record is that of the 16th century 
b. c., when Joshua invaded Palestine and em¬ 
ployed this mode of communication between the 
camps on different sides of the Jordan. The 
Greek lyric poet Anacreon mentioned the use 
of carrier pigeons in the year 500 b. c. Pliny 
the Elder called attention to the value of hom¬ 
ing pigeons in several sieges conducted by the 
Roman army. In the siege of Paris by the 
German army, in 1870-71, fully 150,000 official 
messages were carried into the city by means 
of pigeons. Various uses of trained carrier 
pigeons constitute a national game in Belgium 
and Holland, and they are kept for pleasure 
and military purposes in many European coun¬ 
tries. 



CARRIER PIGEON. 


A pigeon flies about thirty miles an hour 
under favorable circumstances, and is success¬ 
fully used for distances from 200 to 500 miles, 
though there are cases on record in which they 
have been used for more than 1,000 miles. 
The homing faculty or instinct enables them 
to find their way home from surprising dis¬ 
tances, and upon this virtue depends the value 
of these birds. Pigeons are trained for service 
by taking them a short distance from home and 
setting them free, gradually increasing the dis¬ 
tance from time to time. By successive experi¬ 
ments the tendency to seek their former place 
of habitation is gradually developed, until finally 
they can be depended on to return from long 
distances. One of the best records ever made 
was by an American homing pigeon, which flew 
1,040 miles without stopping. In the East, where 
the custom is general, the birds’ feet are washed 
in vinegar to induce them not to alight in quest 







CARROT 


403 


CARTHAGE 


of water and to keep them cool. The message 
sent is microscopic. It is rolled in a goose 
quill, which is tied to a wing feather or a leg, 
though long-hand writing is frequently used for 
short distances. 

CARROT (kar'rut), a plant cultivated for 
its root, belonging to the parsley family. It is 
a biennial plant. In the wild state the root is 
white, while the domesticated carrot is of a 
yellow or reddish color. The root differs some¬ 
what in the numerous species, but is generally 
long and tapering and matures on the approach 
of cool weather. The seed is sown in beds 
early in the spring, usually in rows abolit one 
foot apart, and the plants are afterward thinned. 
Carrots are used chiefly in soups and stews, 
especially in America, and in many European 
countries they are cultivated as . feed for cows. 
They yield at the rate of 500 to 1,200 bushels 
per acre, and produce an excellent quality of 
butter with a bright color. The carrot is used 
in Canada and the United States for adulterat¬ 
ing coffee, and in America and Europe more or 
less extensively as an article of food. 

CARSON CITY, the capital of Nevada, 
county seat of Ormsby County, thirty miles 
south of Reno, on the Virginia and Truckee 
Railroad. It is located near the base of the 
Sierra Nevada Mountains, in a district which 
is rich in gold and silver deposits, about twelve 
miles from Lake Tahoe. The chief buildings 
include the capitol, the county courthouse, the 
United States mint, and the Federal building. 
It has extensive railroad shops, lumbering in¬ 
terests, and grain elevators. The city was 
founded in 1858 and became the capital of 
Nevada in 1861. It was incorporated in 1875. 
Population, 1900, 2,100; in 1910, 2,466. 

CARSON RIVER, a stream in Nevada, 
rises in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and 
after a course of about 150 miles flows into 
Carson Lake. Its general direction is toward 
the northeast, passing a short distance south of- 
Carson City, and a branch of it in the lower 
course flows into Carson Sink. Carson Lake 
has no visible outlet. The water from this 
stream is used in the Truckee-Carson irrigation 
system. See Irrigation. 

CART, a vehicle with two wheels, usually 
without a top, and fitted to be drawn by one 
horse. Heavy carts have no springs and are 
employed in hauling heavy freight or rocks 
while vehicles of light construction are used 
in driving. The latter are supplied with springs 
and frequently with a top or canopy. The one- 
horse cart is employed extensively in Europe 
for draying, usually in the form of a dump 
cart, from which the load may be removed by 


tilting the body of the vehicle. A dogcart is 
constructed so the frame may be adjusted to 
balance the load, and a trotting sulky is used in 
horse racing. The gig is a two-wheeled cart 
with a single seat. In the calash, used more or 
less in Canada, the driver has a low seat in the 
front. Carts with wheels made of cuts from 
logs are used extensively in Central America 
and the West Indies. 

CARTAGENA (kar-ta-je'na), or Cartha- 
gena, a city of Colombia, on the Caribbean Sea, 
capital of the state of Bolivar. It is located 
on a peninsula and has a fine harbor, but the 
low coast makes it unhealthful to Europeans. 
The chief buildings include those of the govern¬ 
ment, a college, a cathedral, a seminary, and 
several churches. Among the manufactures are 
candles, clothing, and chocolate. It has a large 
export trade in tobacco, cattle, coffee, rubber, 
and precious stones, and imports merchandise 
and machinery. The city was founded in 1533 
and was captured by Spain in the revolution of 
1815. Population, 1906, 19,380. 

CARTAGENA, a seaport in Spain, on the 
Mediterranean Sea, about twenty-eight miles 
southeast of Murcia. It is an important naval 
and military station, and its harbor is one of 
the safest and largest on the Spanish seacoast. 
It has manufactures of glass, cordage, wine, 
and machinery, and exports of iron ore, lead, 
esparto grass, and fruits. The chief features 
are the arsenal, the Presidio, the Hospital Mili- 
tar, a Gothic cathedral, several hospitals, and a 
number of schools. It has steam and electric 
railways, waterworks, stone pavements, and 
systems of gas and electric lighting. Cartagena 
was founded by Hasdrubal about 243 b. c. and 
was named New Carthage. In 210 b. c. it was 
conquered by Scipio Africanus and made an 
important Roman city. The Goths ruined it, 
but in the time of Philip II. its importance was 
revived. Population, 1905, 106,150. 

CARTAGO (kar-ta'go), a town of Costa 
Rica, capital of a province of the same name, 
fourteen miles southeast of San Jose. It has 
railroad connections with the principal cities of 
Central America and a brisk trade in coffee and 
fruit. An earthquake destroyed many of its 
buildings in the latter part of the 19th century 
and civil wars caused it to decline. Population, 
1906, 5,502. 

CARTHAGE (kar'thaj), a city in Missouri, 
county seat of Jasper County, on Spring River, 
fifty-eight miles west of Springfield. It is on 
the Saint Louis and San Francisco, ’the Mis¬ 
souri Pacific, and other railroads, and is sur¬ 
rounded by a coal, lead, zinc, and cobalt pro¬ 
ducing region. The chief buildings include the 




CARTHAGE 


404 


CARTHAGE 


county courthouse, the public library, and Car¬ 
thage College. It has manufactures of plows, 
windmills, furniture, artificial ice, clothing, and 
machinery. Among the municipal improve¬ 
ments are sewerage, waterworks, pavements, 
and gas and electric lighting. On July 5, 1861, 
it was the scene of a battle between the Union 
army under General Sigel with 1,500 and the 
Confederates under General Price and Gov¬ 
ernor Jackson with 3,500 men. The battle re¬ 
sulted in a retreat of Sigel’s army. Carthage 
was settled in 1833 and was incorporated in 
1873. Population, 1910, 9,483. 

CARTHAGE (kar'thij), the most celebrated 
Phoenician colony, founded by Queen Dido 
about 880 b. c., who came thither with a body 
of aristocrats, fleeing from the democratic party 
of Tyre. It was located in Africa, occupying 
a portion of the region now included in Tunis. 
Queen Dido fled from Tyre after the murder of 
her husband. She built up a colony around 
which great commercial interests centered, and 
the city of Carthage rose to vast importance 
among the ancient cities in Northern Africa. 
The population of the city before the time of 
its destruction was about 700,000. It was built 
on a peninsula about three miles wide, across 
which was constructed a triple wall with lofty 
towers. Every side of the city was defended by 
a wall. The Punic traders brought immense 
wealth, thus resulting in the construction of 
massive buildings and in lavishing them with 
magnificent adornments. A double harbor 
served for merchants’ ships and for the navy. 
The admiral’s palace occupied a lofty island in 
the center of the inner harbor. At the time of 
its greatest prosperity Carthage occupied a site 
twenty-three miles in circumference, with a pop¬ 
ulation probably greater than that of ancient 
Rome. Its navy was the largest in the world; 
at the time Regulus made his famous attack on 
Carthage it consisted of 350 vessels and 150,000 
men. 

The Carthaginians conquered Sardinia in the 
6th century b. c. and entered upon a war for 
the possession of Sicily. They founded colonies 
on the western coast of Africa, contended for 
the possession of the Strait of Gibraltar, and'in- 
vaded Spain and Gaul. The history of this 
powerful nation is divided into three epochs for 
convenience in study. The first extends from its 
foundation to 410 b. c., and includes the rise 
and development of national power. The sec¬ 
ond extends from 410 to 265 b. c., and embraces 
the period of wars with Greece and Sicily. The 
third epoch embraces the period from 265 to 
146 b. c., and includes the wars with Rome, 
ending with its fall and destruction. In the 


first period colonization was widely extended 
and treaties were made with other powers. 
Among the most famous were those concluded 
with Rome in 509 b. c., in 348, and in 306. Its 
people were noted for their interests in commer¬ 
cial enterprises and the early wars were but the 
natural result of an extending, commerce and 
colonization. The first Punic War extended 
over twenty-three years, from 264 to 241. It 
was a period of contention for the occupation 
of Sicily and resulted in the expulsion of the 
Carthaginians from the island. What Carthage 
lost in Sicily was more than regained, by the 
conquest of Spain under the- skillful military 
achievements of General Hamilcar and his .son- 
in-law, Hasdrubal. 

After the death of these two distinguished 
generals, Hannibal, the son of Hamilcar, took 
charge of the army and rose to eminence, estab¬ 
lishing for himself a place among the most 
noted generals of the world. He organized the 
forces of Carthage in Spain and entered upon 
the second Punic War in the year 218 b. c., 
when he crossed the Alps with a powerful army 
and proceeded into Italy. His successes 
astounded the world, routing the best soldiers 
of Rome and gaining victories at Lake Trasi- 
meno, Trebbia, and Cannae. For seventeen 
years he harassed Rome and brought it to the 
verge of ruin. After the Battle of Cannae, he 
sent a bushel of gold rings to Carthage, the 
ornaments of Roman knights. One-fifth of the 
Roman populace able to bear arms had fallen 
within eighteen months, while Capua, the sec¬ 
ond city of importance, joined Hannibal. In 
the hour of peril the Roman spirit rose and 
Hannibal’s victories began to ebb. He was re¬ 
called to defend his own city, where he was 
defeated by Scipio in the Battle of Zama in 
202 b. c. 

Peace was concluded between the two nations, 
but the power of Carthage was broken, never 
again to rfse to its former height. Although 
the nation began to recover its importance in 
commerce, a party at Rome was bent upon its 
destruction. The third Punic War began in 
150 and ended in 146 b. c., in which Rome was 
the aggressor. The Carthaginians surrendered 
their arms, but when bidden to leave the oity 
to be razed they were driven to desperation. 
They melted their gold and silver vases and 
their metallic statues to forge them into new 
weapons. The long hair of the women was 
made into bowstrings, and all available material 
was used to contest every inch of the city 
against the Romans. The younger Scipio led 
the siege and after a desperate struggle cap¬ 
tured Carthage. Though the city had flourished 


CARTHUSIANS 


405 


CASCADE MOUNTAINS 


more than 700 years, it was utterly razed to the 
ground. The territory was turned into a Roman 
province and became one of the chief posses¬ 
sions of the Roman Empire. The Vandal kings 
of Africa made it their capital in the 5th cen¬ 
tury a. d. and at the end of the 7th century it 
was destroyed by the Arabs. 

Very little is known of the laws, life, and 
customs of the people of Carthage. Both its 
constitution and history are obscure in many re¬ 
spects. It is known that no ancient people 
rivaled it in colonization and competition for 
trade. There is no fragment of a Punic orator, 
historian, philosopher, or poet to make known 
the events that characterized this wonderful 
people. Carthage is better understood from its 
wars than from the achievements in education, 
art, and industry. It is known that the Cartha¬ 
ginians descended from Phoenician ancestors 
and, like them, worshiped Moloch and Baal, to 
whom human sacrifices were offered. The sun 
was the highest natural manifestation of this 
deity, but they also worshiped the Tyrian Her¬ 
cules and a variety of heroes, heroines, and 
spirits, such as the goddess of the elements and 
the genius of death. The language was similar 
to that spoken by the Asiatic Phoenicians, from 
whom they were descendants. 

CARTHUSIANS (kar-thu'zhanz), a monas¬ 
tic order of the Catholic Church, founded by 
Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084. It was so 
named from La Chartreuse, France, where the 
first hermitages were built. The order was ap¬ 
proved by the Pope in 1170, and the name was 
corrupted into Charter Houses in England, 
where the first monasteries of this order were 
built in 1180. The rules of living are very aus¬ 
tere) and the members are divided into monks 
and lay brothers. They abstain from eating 
flesh, are required to perform manual labor, 
wear coarse clothing, and take a vow of con¬ 
tinual silence. The wine known as chartreuse 
was originated by them and from its manufac¬ 
ture they derive some revenue. Formerly this 
order had a large membership in Central Eu¬ 
rope, but their austerity caused them to decline, 
and at present there is only one monastery in 
England, the one located near Brighton. 

CARTILAGE (kar'ti-laj), or Gristle, an 
an elastic substance or texture occurring in 
vertebrate animals. There are two forms, the 
temporary and the permanent. The former is 
present in place of bone in very early life and 
later changes to bone by ossification; the per¬ 
manent cartilage retains its cartilaginous char¬ 
acter. Temporary cartilage is found at the ends 
of bones, where they enter into the formation 
of joints. The permanent cartilage consists of 


the articular and the membraniform. The 
former is found at the joints and the latter in 
the walls of cavities, as the nose, external ear, 
and larynx. 

CARTOON (kar-toon'), a term now gener¬ 
ally applied to pictorial sketches published in 
newspapers and magazines. They are intended 
to convey a vivid or exaggerated view of some 
important event or notable character. The 
term is applied in painting to designs drawn on 
paper, intended for models in transferring the 
figures to the fresh plaster of a wall. The 
most celebrated cartoons were painted by 
Raphael for the tapestries of the Vatican. 
Originally there were twenty-five of these 
famous paintings, but only seven are now ex¬ 
tant. They are in the South Kensington Mu¬ 
seum, London, and include representations of 
“The Death of Ananias,” “Paul Preaching at 
Athens,” arid “The Miraculous Draught of 
Fishes.” 

CARTRIDGE (kar'tfij), a case of metal, 
flannel, paper, or parchment containing an 
exact charge of powder and bullet, and fitting 
the bore of a gun. A blank cartridge contains 
only the powder. A cartridge filled with dyna¬ 
mite or other explosive is used in blasting. In 
breech-loading guns the cartridge case is metal¬ 
lic, or contains a metallic rim. A percussion 
cap is in the center base, or on the inner rim. 
Solid brass cartridges can be reloaded and used 
an indefinite number of times. 

CARVING (karv'mg), a kind of sculpture, 
usually done by cutting on ivory or wood. This 
art was practiced by the Assyrians and Baby¬ 
lonians, who carved in ivory and associated 
with it the practice of engraving in gems. 
Ivory was used largely- for carving among the 
Grecians, especially in making the statues of 
the gods, in which the solid material was over¬ 
laid with plates of ivory. The art of wood 
carving came into extensive use during the early 
Christian period, and it was long a popular 
form of decorating the churches of Central 
Europe, especially in Germany. Among the 
famous carvers may be mentioned Albert Diirer, 
Hans Bruggemann, and Hans Schwartz of 
Augsburg. The churches in which famous 
carvings are well preserved include those of 
Nuremberg, Altenberg, and Erfurt. The carv¬ 
ings in some of the Lutheran churches are very 
elaborate, including scenes in the lives of Christ 
and the saints. 

CASCADE MOUNTAINS 1 (kas-kad'), a 
range of western highlands, forming the north¬ 
ern extension of the Sierra Nevada of Cali¬ 
fornia, and trending through Oregon, Wash¬ 
ington, and British Columbia. Their direction 


CASCADE TUNNEL 


406 


CASHMERE 


is nearly north and south, and the distance 
from the Pacific coast averages about one 
hundred miles. The Cascades are of volcanic 
origin, though they are more recent than the 
Rocky Mountains. They are covered with fine 
forests of valuable timber. The lava cast up 
by volcanic action through the fissures and 
craters is deposited over an area of about 
200,000 square miles, and in many places it 
forms a coat fully 2,000 feet thick. The surface 
is formed largely of decomposing lava, but it 
is very fertile and whitish in color, and fur¬ 
nishes good soil for grazing and agriculture. 
There are productive deposits of coal, copper, 
nickel, and platinum, and small quantities of 
silver and gold. West of these mountains, in 
the State of Oregon, is the fertile valley of the 
Willamette, and in Washington is a correspond¬ 
ing valley drained by the Chehalis and Cowlitz 
rivers. Among the most noted peaks are Pitt, 
elevation 9,820 feet; Jefferson, 10,200 feet; 
Hood, 11,225 feet; Baker, 10,700 feet; Saint 
Helen’s, 12,000 feet; and Rainier (Tacoma), 
14,450 feet. 

CASCADE TUNNEL, an excavation 
through the Cascade Mountains, in Montana, 
constructed by the Great Northern Railway 
Company. It is sixteen feet wide, twenty-two 
feet high, and 13,413 feet long,, about two .and 
one-half miles. The excavations were difficult on 
account of much water and large boulders being 
in its course. It is lined almost exclusively with 
solid work of concrete, and comprises one of 
the notable engineering works of America. 

CASCARILLA (kas-ka-ril'la), the bark of 
a small tree or shrub native to the West Indies 
and the Bahama Islands. It has a spicy, bitter 
taste, and is used in medicine as a tonic to aid 
digestion. Cascarillin is an essential oil ob¬ 
tained from the bark, which also yields a resin¬ 
ous product used in medicine. 

CASCO BAY (kas'ko), an inlet of the coast 
of Maine, between Cape Small Point and Cape 
Elizabeth. The shore is about twenty miles 
long, and at the western extremity is the city 
of Portland. Within the bay are about 300 
small islands, most of which are fertile and are 
occupied by fishermen and summer residents. 

CASE, in grammar, that form or use of a 
noun or pronoun by which its relation to other 
words in a sentence is denoted. Formerly the 
English language possessed inflections to indi¬ 
cate five different cases. At present the lan¬ 
guage contains only three cases, the nominative, 
possessive, and objective , though some writers 
include the absolute. The possessive form of 
nouns is the only case that is marked by inflec¬ 
tions. In French, Spanish, Portuguese, and 


Italian the nouns have no inflections. The 
nominative, dative, genitive, and accusative are 
the cases in German grammar, while the San¬ 
skrit has eight cases. 

CASEIN (ka'se-in), the principal nitrogen¬ 
ous portion of milk. It is soluble in alkali, 
coagulates by animal membranes, and dries in 
a yellow mass. Casein is the principal constit¬ 
uent of cheese. Vegetable casein or legumin 
is a similar substance occurring in peas, beans, 
and the seeds of several other vegetables. 
Casein consists essentially of 0.8 parts of sul¬ 
phur; 7.1 of hydrogen; 15.7 of nitrogen; 22.5 
of oxygen; and 53.9 of carbon. 

CASHEW (ka-shoo'), a tree native to the 
West Indies, related to the sumach and poison 
ivy. It is about sixteen feet high, has ever¬ 
green leaves, and bears kidney-shaped fruit, 
the cashew nuts of commerce. These nuts yield 
a sweet oil resembling olive oil, which is used 
to flavor wine and other liquids. The nuts are 
borne upon fleshy stalks, sometimes called the 
cashew apple, and these stalks are free from 
acridity. They are edible and have a pleasant, 
acid flavor. 

CASHMERE (kash-mer'), or Kashmir, an 
extensive principality in the northwestern part 
of Hindustan, governed by a Sikh ruler, but 
politically subject to British India, of which 
it forms a part. The districts included in it 
are Baltistan, Jammu, Ladakh, Cashmere, and a 
number of other minor divisions. It has an 
area of 80,500 square miles. The district in¬ 
cluding Cashmere proper is inclosed by the 
Hindu-Kush and Himalaya mountains and is 
drained by the Jhelum River. It is celebrated 
in history and literature for its excellent climate 
and beautiful scenery. The mountains sur¬ 
rounding it attain a height of 7,000 to 12,000 
feet, among which are many fertile valleys, and 
the lower regions are covered with beautiful 
and valuable forests. The soil produces cereals 
and fruits, while the mountains yield iron, 
plumbago, sulphur, limestone, and cobalt. In 
many places both thermal and mineral springs 
abound. The wolf, ibex, bear, leopard, and 
chamois are among the animals inhabiting the 
district. 

The inhabitants belong chiefly to the Moham¬ 
medan religion, but include a considerable num¬ 
ber of Brahmans. They engage largely in agri¬ 
culture and the manufacture of ironware, bas¬ 
kets, furniture,' and cashmere shawls. These 
shawls are made of the down common to the 
animals of the region, which surpasses in fine¬ 
ness and length the merino wool, and is ob¬ 
tained from the wild sheep, yak, and cashmere 
goat. The manufacture of a shawl of the best 


CASHMERE GOAT 


407 


CASSEL 


grade requires several weeks. This work is 
done mostly by women and girls. A number 
of different dialects are spoken. The people are 
strongly developed physically and are among 
the most intelligent and progressive of the 
Hindu races. Srinagar, or Cashmere, is the 
capital and largest town and the summer resi¬ 
dence of the Maharajah. Population, 1906, 2,- 
928,620. 

CASHMERE GOAT, a kind of goat native 
to Asia, valuable for its long, silky hair. The 
best grade of this animal is obtained in Tibet 
and Cashmere, and it has been acclimated and 
is reared in all of the continents. It has nutri¬ 
tious flesh and gives rich milk, but is grown 
chiefly for its fleece. The hair is longer than 
that of the Angora goat, about eighteen inches 
in length, and a single goat does not yield 
more than seven or eight ounces of the down, 
beyond which extend the long hairs. It^ requires 
the fleeces of about ten goats to manufacture a 
shawl a ^ard and a half square. The male of 
the cashmere goat has large horns. 

CASH REGISTER, a mechanical device 
used in stores and shops to record the cash 
received for goods sold. It is in general use 
in retail stores and in some of the larger shops 
and bazaars. This machine consists of a me¬ 
tallic box, supplied with a keyboard similar to 
that of a typewriter, each key being attached 
to a ’ bar which registers the amount of the 
purchase and exhibits a tablet, showing the 
amount of the sale both to the customer and 
to the salesman. Amounts larger than those 
that can be shown by the machine are registered 
by pressing two or more keys in succession. 
A roll of paper within the machine is moved 
continuously by a system of wheels, and at 
the close of the day the various amounts re¬ 
corded can be added to determine the total 
sales made at the store or in a certain depart¬ 
ment. The salesmen place the cash received in 
a drawer, and the total must agree with the 
sum of all the sales as recorded on the roll 
of paper, which is secured by a lock and key. 

CASPIAN SEA (kas'pi-an), an inland sea or 
lake in Eurasia, the largest in the world, hav¬ 
ing a breadth of 200 miles and a length from 
north to south of about 700 miles, with an 
estimated surface of 170,000 square miles. It 
is located on the bbundary between Europe and 
Asia. On the eastern coast are a number of 
large bays. The western coast is more or less 
modified by the Caucasus Mountains; the south¬ 
ern, by the Elburz Mountains, and the northern 
and eastern, by the Kirghiz Steppe. A portion 
of the land north of the Caspian is below sea 
level, while the surface of the sea itself is 


97 feet below the Black Sea and 250 feet be¬ 
low the surface of the Aral Sea. It is thought 
that the three lakes were once a common sea, 
which is demonstrated, apparently, by the fact 
that the water is still diminishing, and appears 
formerly to have covered a large portion of the 
adjacent steppes. 

The Caspian Sea has no visible outlet to the 
sea. Its water is salty, though not as salty as 
that of the ocean. Among the rivers that flow 
into it are the Ural, the Terek, the Emba, and 
the Volga, the last mentioned -being the largest 
river in Europe. Through the middle of the 
sea is a submarine ridge formed by a continu¬ 
ation of the Caucasus Mountains, which divides 
it into north and south basins. The greatest 
depth of the northern basin is 2,525 feet and 
of the southern* 3,250 feet, though both con¬ 
tain shallows that render navigation dangerous. 
It has salmon, sturgeon, and other valuable fish¬ 
eries. It is the seat of a vast commerce. The 
most important ports on its coast are Astrak¬ 
han, Baku, Petrovsk, Derbend, and Krasno- 
vodsk. A large- number of railroads extend 
from it in all directions, and it is connected 
with many navigable rivers and canals. Among 
the important canals are those connecting the 
headwaters of the Volga with the Schlina and 
Tvertza rivers, by which the Baltic Sea is 
united with the Caspian. Russia has a number 
of fortifications on its coast and maintains a 
strong fleet and steamship lines for trading 
purposes. The sea is not affected by ebb or 
flood tides. 

CASSEL (kas'sel), or Kassel, a city of 
Germapy, capital of Hesse-Nassau, ninety miles 
northeast of Frankfort-on-the-Main. It is 
pleasantly situated on both sides of the Fulda 
River, has important railway and electric line 
connections, and is the seat of extensive man¬ 
ufactures of ironware, locomotives, machinery, 
and scientific instruments. The public institu¬ 
tions include two gymnasia, several high schools, 
and a number of hospitals and charitable insti¬ 
tutions. It has a large trade in merchandise and 
manufactured products. The city operates and 
owns the gas works, a slaughterhouse, and an 
electric-light, plant. A short distance west of 
the city is the Palace of Wilhelmshohe, erected 
in the 18th century, in which Napoleon III. was 
imprisoned at the close of the Franco-Prussian 
War. 

Konigsstrasse is the principal street, which is 
beautifully paved, and near the center is the 
famous Konigsplatz. Friedrichsplatz, one of 
the largest squares in Germany, is in the center 
of a large number of famous buildings, includ¬ 
ing the Electoral Palace and the Museum Frid- 


CASSIA 


408 


CAST 


ericianum. The latter contains the provincial 
library of 170,000 volumes, of which the Grimm 
brothers were librarians from 1814 to 1830. 
In this library is the valuable poetic production 
known as Hildebrandslied, dating from the 9th 
century. The art gallery, constructed of red 
sandstone, is one of the finest buildings in the 
city, and contains a collection of paintings gath¬ 
ered by Langrave William VIII. The city was 
anciently known as Chassala. In the Seven 
Years’ War it was captured by the French, and 
became the capital of the kingdom of West¬ 
phalia in 1807. It was occupied by the Prus¬ 
sian troops in 1866 and made a part of the 
kingdom of Prussia. Its modern prosperity is 
due largely to its material development in 
manufacturing and wholesaling. Population, 
1905, 120,467. 

CASSIA (kash'a), a genus of plants of the 
pea family, including herbs, shrubs, and trees. 
Several species are known for their leaves, 
which, when dried, constitute the drug called 
senna. These plants are native to Africa and 
Asia, but an American species quite similar has 
the cathartic properties of senna in a mild 
form. The cassia fistula, a tree native to Egypt 
and India, yields the purging cassia, which con¬ 
tains considerable sugar and is used in making 
laxative conserves. The familiar cassia bark, 
or cassia wood, is derived from a tree of the 
laurel family, and is sold in the market as a 
cheap grade of cinnamon. - It is obtained in 
large quantities from China. The fragrant bark 
mentioned in the Bible is supposed to be the 
cassia bark. 

CASSIMERE (kas'si-mer), a word derived 
from the cashmere manufactured in the Hima¬ 
layas from the fine wool of the cashmere goat. 
It is applied to a dress fabric made of soft, 
fine wool. Cashmere is made into shawls, but 
the cassimere of European and American man¬ 
ufacture is used largely for men’s wear. 

CASSINO (kas-se'no), a game played with 
a full pack of cards, by two or more persons. 
Each of the players receives four cards, dealt 
in succession, and four are laid on the center 
of the table with the face turned up. To secure 
a full understanding of the game, it is neces¬ 
sary to consult the rules. In one variation of 
cassino, the jack, queen, and king are treated 
as pit cards, that is as if they had eleven, 
twelve, and thirteen spots. The game consists 
of scoring the highest number of points, usually 
twenty-one, hence several deals are required 
for one game. The points that count one each 
are: each ace, the two of spades, the greatest 
number of spades held by an individual player, 
and a sweep (which signifies that a player can 


take all the cards from the table except in the 
last hand); the ten of diamonds counts two; 
and the greatest number of cards held by an 
individual player counts three, making a total 
of twelve points to each deal. The two-spot 
of spades is known as Little Cassino and the 
ten-spot of diamonds is called Big Cassino. 

CASSIQUIARI (kas-se-ke-a're), a river of 
southern Venezuela, which unites the Orinoco 
with the Rio Negro. At the point where it 
issues from the Orinoco it is 300 yards wide, 
and it gradually increases in breadth until it 
reaches the Rio Negro, where it has a width of 
600 yards. This remarkable river connects the 
Amazon River with the Orinoco and furnishes 
a passage for vessels between the two great 
river systems. 

CASSOWARY (kas'so-wa-ry*), a bird allied 
to the ostrich and the emu. It differs from the 
ostrich jn having shorter wings, a bony crest, 



and wattles on the naked neck. It is native to 
New Guinea, the Moluccas, and many other 
Asiatic islands. The cassowary is distinguished 
from the emu by various characteristics, and 
possesses points of similarity with the moa and 
other extinct birds. Its wings are unfitted for 
flight, owing to their shortness, while its legs 
are powerful and well designed for swiftness. 
The feathers resemble pendant hair, the color 
is brownish-black, and the neck is naked, with 
the upper parts of a bluish color. The eggs 
are laid on the sand, where they are hatched 
by the sun. The flesh is juiceless, tough, and 
black. It is rarely eaten, except by the natives. 
Its food consists of leaves, seeds, and fruits. 
CAST, an impression made by pouring a due- 


CASTALIA 


409 


CASTLE GARDEN 


tile substance like plaster of Paris into a mold. 
The substance hardens on cooling and when 
taken out retains the form of the mold. Casts 
are of value in studying art, especially since 
the works of great masters cannot be seen by 
all. Many of the finest figures of antique art 
have been cast. These casts constitute the 
larger part of many museums. 

CASTALIA (kas-ta'li-a), a fountain famous 
in the history of ancient Greece. It is located 
at the foot of Mount Parnassus, near the temple 
of Apollo, sacred to Apollo and the muses. 
The Pythia used to bathe in its waters before 
delivering the oracles of the gods. It was 
regarded as a source of inspiration for the 
p.oets and was so named from Castalia, the 
daughter of Achelous. It is now called the 
fountain of Saint John. 

CASTE (kast), the artificial division of 
society on the basis of wealth, heredity, and 
other conditions. The caste system reaches its 
culmination in India, where society is divided 
into many classes. The principal castes include 
the Brahmans, Kshatruyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras, 
besides the Pariahs, or outcasts, who are re¬ 
garded as of no caste. These castes are again 
divided into subcastes, the object being to 
make position or employment hereditary. See 
India, Buddhism, Brahmanism, etc. 

CASTELLAMARE (kas-tel-la-ma'ra), a 
city and seaport of Italy, in the province of 
Naples, sixteen miles southeast of Naples. It 
is important as a railway and commercial cen¬ 
ter, and the surrounding country is noted for 
its beautiful springs and healthful climate. A 
fine cathedral, a royal palace, a military hos¬ 
pital, and several convents are among the chief 
buildings. The manufactures include clothing, 
machinery, and silk and cotton textiles. It 
has considerable trade, both export and import, 
and its fisheries are important. The city was 
anciently known as Stabiae. It was captured 
by Sulla in the Social War, and was destroyed 
by lava from Pompeii in 79 a. d. The castle 
was erected by Frederick II. in the 13th cen¬ 
tury. Population, 1906, 33,250. 

CASTELLAMARE DEL GOLFO (-del 
goTfo), a seaport of Sicily, on the Gulf of Cas- 
tellamare, forty-five miles west of Palermo. 
It is situated near the mouth of the San Bar¬ 
tolomeo River. It occupies the site of the 
ancient Segesta. The commerce consists chiefly 
in grain, oil, fruit, wine, and fish. It is the 
seat of several fine schools and has a cathedral. 
Population, 1906, 20,175. 

CASTILE (kas-tel'), a region extending 
southward from the Bay of Biscay, and form¬ 
ing the center of the Spanish monarchy. It is 


divided into Old Castile and New Castile, both 
from the standpoint of geography and politics. 
Old Castile forms an elevated plateau from 
2,500 to 3,000 feet high, surrounded on all sides 
by mountains, watersheds, and other natural 
demarkations. It has an area of 25,810 square 
miles, is divided into several provinces, and 
has a population of 1,785,325. New Castile 
is similarly inclosed by elevations. It has an 
area of 44,720 square miles and is divided into 
five provinces. Population, 1,876,350. 

CASTING, the art of forming metal in a 
mold. It is thought that the art of shaping 
metal by means of hammer and chisel is much 
older than that of casting. However, casting 
is of great antiquity, which is evidenced by a 
number of historical accounts, among them the 
incidents connected with the golden calf and 
the brass vessels cast for Solomon’s temple. 
John Thomas in 1709 introduced into Scotland 
an effective method of casting iron and carried 
out the art successfully, but kept it a secret for 
many years. It is now one of the principal in¬ 
dustries. 

CAST IRON, the crudest form of iron, 
obtained from the blast furnace by running 
melted metal into molds. The cast bars are 
from three to four feet long and from three 
to four inches wide. The molds are long, nar¬ 
row channels. After the metal has solidified, 
the bars are taken out and placed in a stor¬ 
age room. Iron cast in this form is called pig. 

CASTLE (kas”l), a fortified building used as 
a residence and as a place of defense, usually 
belonging to a nobleman or a prince. Castles 
were especially numerous in feudal times. 

Many ruins of* these buildings are preserved 
in Europe, especially in Austria, England, 
France, and Germany. They were built chiefly 
of stone so as to make them proof against fire 
and the attacks of enemies. The entrance was 
defended by a barbican, which was often large 
and strong, and the portcullis or iron grating 
was hung by chains and weights. The larger 
castles had many rooms and compartments, 
the stronger of which was known as the donjon 
or dungeon. It was the last resort in case of 
great danger. 

CASTLE GARDEN, the name originally 
given to a fort built on an island off New York. 
New York harbor was fortified after the War 
of 1812, which rendered Fort Clinton, the name 
applied to it, unnecessary. In 1822 it was 
deeded to the State and later leased and made 
into a pleasure garden. P. T. Barnum had con¬ 
trol of it during the first appearance of Jenny 
Lind in America. It was used by the State 
board of immigration as an immigrant sta- 


CASTOR AND POLLUX 


410 


CAT 


tion until 1891. At that time the Government 
took charge of immigrants and transferred the 
station to Ellis Island, since which time Castle 
Garden has been transformed into an aquarium. 

CASTOR AND POLLUX (kas'tor and 
pol'luks), the chief stars of the constellation 
known as Gemini, the Twins. The former is 
of the first magnitude and the latter of the 
second. Longitude is reckoned from the latter, 
as outlined in the Nautical Almanac, a publica¬ 
tion issued by the Government. In the mythol¬ 
ogy of Greece the two were noted as the twin 
deities, sons of Zeus. Immortality was assigned 
to Pollux, but Castor was regarded as mortal, 
while both were famous as the patron deities of 
the mariner. They accompanied Jason on the 
Argonautic expedition. When a storm had 
arisen on the voyage, Orpheus played on his 
wonderful lyre and prayed to the gods that 
the tempest might be stilled, when starlike 
flames shone over the heads of the twin broth¬ 
ers. When Castor was slain, Pollux could not 
be reconciled until Jupiter gave him immor¬ 
tality with his brother. In order to fill the 
mission assigned to both, they passed alter¬ 
nately one day under the earth and the next 
on the Elysian Fields. The soldiers of an¬ 
tiquity not only believed them guardians of 
navigation, but thought they were mounted on 
snow-white . steeds, clad in rare armdr, and 
that they took part in many battles of the 
Greeks and Romans. 

CASTOR OIL PLANT, a plant native to 
the East Indies, but now generally distributed 



CASTOR OIL PLANT. 


throughout the tropical and temperate zones. 
Its seeds are of light ash color, oval in shape, 
. and about the size of a small bean. The castor 


oil sold in the markets is obtained from the 
seed of this plant by crushing and pressing. 
It is used largely in medicine as a purgative, 
and is a remedy for dysentery and irritation 
of the stoma'ch. Castor oil is valuable as a 
lubricating oil in the higher classes of machin¬ 
ery. Most of the castor oil consumed in Amer¬ 
ica is imported. The plant is grown exten¬ 
sively in gardens and parks for ornamental 
purposes. 

CAT, the name applied to a genus of quad¬ 
rupeds, including the domestic cat, the wild cat, 
and other animals, such as the jaguar, puma, 
tiger, leopard, and cougar. The domestic cat 
is well known and has been a favorite animal 
for many years. It is thought that the cat was 
kept as a domestic animal in ancient Egypt, and 
that the country adjacent to the Nile is its nativ¬ 
ity. The wild cat has been found more or less 
.distributed in Eurasia, but is not thought to be 
the origin of the domestic kind, for the reason 
that the latter has no tendency to return to the 
type of a wild cat, even after being isolated 
from settlements for some time. Besides, there 
are no evidences that the wild kind has ever 
been domesticated, and cats now found in a 
wild state still retain the identical features of 
those met with many centuries ago. In 938 the 
cat became a general favorite in Europe, and, 
on account of its rarity, laws were passed in 
several countries punishing those who stole or 
killed the animal. 

The habits of the cat are quite well known 
and need very little description. Its ability as a 
hunter, both during the day and night, renders 
it valuable, while its characteristic mewing, 
purring; and cruelty in fighting are well under¬ 
stood. It is quite certain that a cat forms no 
real affection for mankind. Its attachment is 
rather to place and condition, where it may 
receive food and shelter. Its delight in tor¬ 
menting a mouse before killing it has been men¬ 
tioned as a trait of sympathy, but it is known 
that birds are generally inflicted with a fatal 
wound upon being captured, which is evidence 
that fear of escape causes the immediate death 
of the one, and the delight in torment of the 
other. The desire to return home is a peculiar 
characteristic, since it has the ability to find its 
way back at great distances, even when carried 
in an inclosure, but this trait is more distinctly 
marked in the older of the family. 

The food of cats consists largely of meat and 
small quadrupeds, but in the absence of these 
its subsists on starchy food and even vegeta¬ 
bles. Its cunning disposition is often manifest 
by an inclination to lay traps for mice and 
birds. Several incidents are on record where 




CAT 


411 


CATACOMBS 


cats shelled grains of corn from the cob and 
placed them a short distance from the entrance 
to the hiding places of mice, in order that they 
might decoy their prey when coming for the 
morsels of food. There are several accounts 
of cats scattering crumbs in the winter time to 
attract birds that they might fall upon them. 
The peculiar construction of their eyes enables 
them to see quite as well in the dusk of the 
evening as ip the daytime, which renders them 



WILD CAT. 


peculiarly fitted to entrap the prey at the time 
when small quadrupeds are in the habit of com¬ 
ing out. of their places of hiding for food. Na¬ 
ture seems not to have intended them to enter 
the water, as the absence of oily substances in 
the hair causes them to shun wet and moist 
places. 

The skins of cats are valuable for rugs and 
sleigh robes. Electrical machines have been 
rendered more serviceable by the use of rub¬ 



ANGORA CAT. 


bers made of cats’ skins. In former times illy 
informed people were superstitious regarding 
the conduct of cats. In Egypt they were held 
in reverence, and were honored by devotion and 
the construction of temples. Many people still 
prophesy visitors when a cat washes its face, 
or a death in the family when a catcall is heard 
from the top of a house. The foolish notion 
that cats have nine lives has led to the death of 
many of these very useful and agreeable ani¬ 
mals. Among the various kinds of cats kept 


for domestic purposes are the tailless cat of 
the Isle of Man, the Angora cat of Asia Minor, 
the Persian, and the blue or Carthusian. The 
Chinese cat has long, silky ears that hang down¬ 
ward, the tortoise-shell variety is quite elegant 
and delicate in form, and the Maltese is a 
bluish-gray and a general favorite for store and 
house use. The Arabians are among the great¬ 
est lovers of cats and keep them as pets. Cats 
are more or less widely distributed and are 
either kept as pets or as a protection against 
pests. 

CATACOMBS (kat'a-komz), the under¬ 
ground cavities used for the burial of the dead. 
This peculiar mode of caring for dead bodies 
was practiced by people of great antiquity. 
While the existence of vast catacombs has long 
been known, they were apparently forgotten 
by the great mass of writers until Father Bosio 
spent thirty years in exploring them. A de¬ 
scriptive account of his investigations was first 
published in 1632. Attention was again at¬ 
tracted to them by the celebrated work of 
De’Rossi in 1864-67. Among the celebrated 
catacombs are those of Egypt, Syria, Persia, 
Asia Minor, Palermo, and Syracuse. Many 
catacombs are of wonderful extent and still 
in a good state of preservation. In many of 
them are frescoes and paintings still as fresh 
and beautiful as if recently touched by the 
brush of the artist. At Milo a hill is fairly 
honeycombed with vaulted labyrinths in which 
thousands of bodies are stored. In the cata¬ 
combs of Peru, South America, many remark¬ 
able relics have been found dating long prior 
to the Christian era. In Paris are similar 
burying places, but these have been used mainly 
as charnal houses for criminals and victims-of 
pestilence and insurrections. 

The most important catacombs are located 
near Rome, especially in the vicinity of the 
Appian Way. These crypts are believed to 
have been the places of worship of the early 
Christians at the time when the new worship 
was forbidden and the followers of Christ were 
generally persecuted. The earliest of these be¬ 
long to the year 111 a. d., and the newest date 
from the time immediately previous to the 
period when Constantine began his reign. In 
these subterranean burial places are about 
6,000,000 tombs. They are constructed in the 
form of galleries five feet wide and eight feet 
high, from which branches lead in all directions. 
Galleries lie above galleries, forming several 
stories and constituting a perfect honeycomb 
of rooms and departments. A vast number of 
them contain slabs on which Christian inscrip¬ 
tions and symbols are found, among them, such 


CATALEPSY 


412 


CATARACT 


as an anchor, a palm branch, or a dove. It is 
quite certain that these tombs were constructed 
by the Christians, principally by those possess¬ 
ing riches, and that they remained for some 
time under the control of the church. Later 
they passed to the ownership of church com¬ 
munities, but with the beginning of Constan¬ 
tine’s reign they ceased to be used for burying 
purposes. The Goths and Lombards ravished 
divers of these tombs in the 6th and 8th cen¬ 
turies, and later the popes removed the remains 
of many saints and martyrs to the churches for 
burial. 

CATALEPSY (kat-4-lep'sy), a disorder 
generally connected with hysteria, in which the 
person afflicted falls into a state of real or 
apparent unconsciousness. Those afflicted re¬ 
main in a rigid, fixed state from several minutes 
to several hours or even days, and very sud¬ 
denly recover consciousness as if aroused from 
a deep sleep. It mostly affects people who are 
hysterical, and as a rule is followed by no bad 
consequences. Cases have not been infrequent 
in which persons affected by this disease were 
buried alive. 

CATALPA (ka-tal'pa), a class of trees 
found in the southern part of the United 
States, where they are native. The genus in¬ 
cludes four or five species. They have large 
leaves, beautiful trumpet-shaped flowers, and 
long pods with winged seeds. The wood is soft 
and light, and its durability makes it valuable 
for railroad sleepers, furniture, and construc¬ 
tion purposes. Several species common to the 
West Indies attain a height of forty feet and 
yield timber known as the French oak, while 
the bark is a source of tannin. The Asiatic 
species are much smaller and quite unimpor¬ 
tant. 

CATAMARAN (kat-a-ma-ran'), the name 
given to a kind of vessel or boat made of 
three logs lashed together. The center log 
is much the largest and serves as a keel, while 
the others correspond to the sides of a boat. 
This class of boats is either rigged with a sail 
or propelled wholly by paddles. The length is 
from twenty to twenty-five feet. They are 
used by the Hindus of Madras, the Ceylon 
Islanders, and on the coast of South America. 
In the monsoons and stormy seasons the cata¬ 
maran is much safer than a boat of ordinary 
construction. 

CATANIA (ka-ta'ne-a), a seaport city of 
Sicily, on the northeastern coast, near Mount 
Aetna, thirty miles northwest of Syracuse. It 
is the capital of the province of Catania. Be¬ 
ing surrounded by a fertile plain, it is fre¬ 
quently mentioned as the granary of Sicily. In 


1693 it was visited by earthquakes which oc¬ 
curred at the time of an eruption of the great 
volcano, but it has since endured successive 
damages of this kind, and is the finest and 
most prosperous city on the island. It has a 
safe and commodious harbor, an excellent ca¬ 
thedral, and numerous public buildings. Among 
the most noted are the Church of San Nicolo, 
the Benedictine Convent, the town hall, and 
the university founded in 1445. The manu¬ 
factures include linen goods, articles of wood, 
clothing, wine, machinery, and silk. It has 
stone and macadam pavements, waterworks, 
gas and electric lighting, and steam and electric 
railway service. The public library contains 
92,500 books. It has several fine schools, a 
museum, and attractive gardens and parks. 
The city was founded as early as the 8th cen¬ 
tury b. c. by the Greeks, and attained its high¬ 
est prosperity in the 5th century b. c. It was 
desolated by Dionysius, but later became the 
seat of a Roman colony, which caused it to 
attain its former commercial importance. The 
Goths inflicted severe damage, but it again rose 
to become the principal city of the island un¬ 
der the Byzantine Empire. Population, 1906, 
149,295. 

CATAPLASM (kat'a-plaz’in), a preparation 
applied to diseased or painful parts for sooth¬ 
ing or stimulating the skin. The most common 
preparations of this kind have linseed meal as 
a basis, or are made up of yeast or mustard, in 
which form they are applied as a poultice. 

CATAPULT (kat'a-pult), an ancient mili¬ 
tary engine invented by Dionysius, tyrant of 
Syracuse, in 399 b. c. It was used for throwing 
darts, arrows, or stones with great force. Its 
construction was of wood. The framework 
supported a bow, which was bent by a windlass 
and the cord was released by a spring, thus 
causing the missile to be propelled with con¬ 
siderable force. 

CATARACT (kat'a-rakt). See Waterfall. 

CATARACT, an affection of the eye, in 
which opaque matter more or less penetrates 
the crystalline lens, causing vision to be either 
wholly or partially obstructed. A loss of the 
natural color of the pupil marks its earliest 
approach, and, when developed, the pupil has 
a milk-white color. There are two kinds of 
cataracts, the hard and the soft. Elderly peo¬ 
ple are affected most commonly with the hard 
cataract, while the soft cataract occurs at any 
age, but is most frequent among children. 
Children born with this condition, which often 
occurs, are said to be affected by congenital 
cataract. The form that results from a wound 
of the lens is called traumatic. The disease is 


CATARRH 


413 


CATENARY CURVE 


quite painless and is treated by surgical opera¬ 
tions, in which the diseased lens is removed from 
its location opposite the transparent cornea. 

CATARRH (ka-tar'), a discharge or running 
which occurs under certain circumstances from 
the various outlets of the body. It is due to a 
number of causes, such as overheating, sudden 
checking of perspiration, constipation, or 
breathing foul air. In the eyes and nose it is 
usually called a cold in the head, in the back 
of the mouth and throat it is known as post¬ 
nasal catarrh, and in the windpipe and bron¬ 
chial tubes it is designated laryngeal and bron¬ 
chial catarrh. The form of catarrh that affects 
the stomach and alimentary canal is known as 
gastric and intestinal catarrh, while that af¬ 
fecting the bladder is called vesical catarrh. 

CATAWBA (ka-ta'ba), a river of North 
Carolina, rises in McDowell County and 
courses 250 miles,' entering South Carolina, 
after which it is known as the Wateree River. 
The name has been given to a wine made from 
the Catawba grapes, discovered near the river 
in 1801. It is now produced in large quantities 
in Ohio and other states, and is one of the 
wines most largely consumed. 

CATAWBA, an Indian tribe formerly occu¬ 
pying large parts of North and South Carolina. 
The Catawbas were generally friendly to the 
settlers, and served with them in the Revolu¬ 
tion and against the hostile tribes of Indians. 
Pontiac and Peter Harris, the latter a Revolu¬ 
tionary soldier, were of Catawba descent. 
When in their greatest strength, the tribe num¬ 
bered 1,500 warriors. It is now reduced to a 
small number and most of these Indians are 
mixed with whites. 

CATBIRD (kat'berd), an American bird 
belonging to the same group as the mocking 
bird, and commonly found in thickets and 
shrubberies. Its name was derived from the 
peculiar mewlike cry which it makes when dis¬ 
turbed. The nest is built of twigs, leaves, 
weeds, and grass, and its greenish-blue eggs 
usually number from four to six. Its food 
consists chiefly of worms, insects, berries, and 
fruit. The color is dark-gray or blackish, with 
bluish-gray beneath, and the head and tail 
brownish-black. It is more slender than the 
robin and measures about nine inches in length. 
In the autumn it passes to the extreme south 
of the United States, Mexico, and Central 
America, and in the spring moves northward, 
where it builds its nest and rears its young. 

CATECHISM (kat'e-kiz’m), an elementary 
book in which the principles of any art or 
science are explained by means of questions 
and answers, but the term is applied especially 


to texts treating of the principles of religion. 
The first Christian catechisms were those writ¬ 
ten by Kero of Saint Gall and Otfried of Weis- 
senburg, and others issued in the 8th or 9th 
centuries. In 1520 Martin Luther published a 
short catechism for Protestant students, and 
larger and smaller ones were issued by him in 
1529. These still continue to be used in the 
Lutheran churches. In 1586 the Geneva Cate¬ 
chism was issued, and in 1549 the catechism of 
the Church of England appeared. The latter 
originally contained only the baptismal vow, the 
ten commandments, the creed, and the Lord’s 
Prayer with explanations. Later larger edi¬ 
tions were published, the complete form appear¬ 
ing in 1612. The catechism of the orthodox 
Greek Church was published in 1542, and that 
of the Roman Catholic was issued in 1566 under 
the direction of the Council of Trent. The 
general assembly of divines at Westminster 
agreed upon the catechism of the Church of 
Scotland in 1648. Catechisms have since been 
published by other sects, some of which are of 
great literary merit. They constitute the prin¬ 
cipal text-books in teaching religious principles 
in parochial schools and academies. 

CATEGORY (kat'e-go-ry), in logic, a pre¬ 
dicament understood to be an attempt at a 
comprehensive classification of all that exists, 
for the purpose of logical affirmation, proof, 
or disproof. The entire universe may be classi¬ 
fied in various ways—as into things celestial 
and terrestrial; as matter and spirit, as min¬ 
erals, plants, animals, etc. The original classifi¬ 
cation made by Aristotle proceeds on the very 
general properties or attributes that most exten¬ 
sively pervade all existing things, although in 
unequal degrees. He made ten categories, viz., 
substance, quantity, quality, relation, action, 
passion, time, place, situation, and habit. These 
have not been admitted by many logicians. 
Plato admits only five, the Stoics four, and 
Descartes suggests seven, while J. S. Mill says, 
“It is like a division of animals into man, 
quadrupeds, horses, asses, and ponies.” He 
gives as the result of his own analysis the fol¬ 
lowing enumeration: 1. Feelings, or states of 
consciousness. 2. Minds, which experience 
those feelings. 3. Bodies, or external objects. 
4. Successions and coexistences, the likenesses 
and unlikenesses between feelings and states of 
consciousness. 

CATENARY CURVE (kat'e-na-ry), a curve 
formed by a chain or rope of uniform density 
hanging freely from any two points. The 
forms are of two kinds', the common and the 
uncommon. The former is constituted by a 
chain equally thick in all its points; the latter, 


CATERPILLAR 


414 


CATFISH 


by a thread unequally thick. The catenary 
curve was first observed by Galileo, who pro¬ 
posed it as the proper figure for an arch of 
equilibrium. It is now adopted in suspension 
bridges, and is of interest as bearing on the 
theory of arches and domes. 

CATERPILLAR (kat'er-pil-ler), the larva 
or larval state of lepidopterous insects, from 
which they finally turn into butterflies, moths, 



CATERPILLAR—1 SMOOTH, 2 HAIRY, 3 SPANNER. 

or hawk moths. They are hatched by the 
warmth of the sun from the eggs laid by the 
butterfly. The points of difference in caterpil¬ 
lars are as great as those found in the perfect 
insects into which they change. The body, 
usually soft and formed like a cylinder, is gen¬ 
erally divided by rings into thirteen segments, 
with nine small openings for respiration on 
each side of the head. Most caterpillars have 
a rounded head composed of a horny substance. 
It is much harder than the rest of the body 
and contains about six shining points at each 
side, which are regarded as eyes, and two very 
short antennae. In size they vary from very 
small to quite large, the usual size being about 
an inch in length. The body of some is cov¬ 
ered with hairs, and others have a smooth skin. 
Many live in large societies in nets spun in 
the small branches of trees, while others roll 
leaves for houses or burrow in the ground. 
The food consists of seeds, roots, fruits, 
flowers, or leaves, this depending upon the 
class to which they belong. Most catepillars 
that grow into butterflies have sixteen legs, and 
those that develop into moths have from ten 
to sixteen. In many caterpillars the legs are 
distributed along the entire body, while in 
loopers, spanners, or measuring worms they are 
on the ends of the body. The latter class move 
from place to place by drawing themselves into 
arches or loops. 

When hatched from the egg, the caterpillar 
grows very fast, owing largely to its remark¬ 
able ability to devour food, which sometimes 
equals more than twice the weight of the body 


in a day. For this reason the insect becomes 
very harmful to tender plants, shrubs, and trees. 
It turns into the pupa or chrysalis state before 
becoming a butterfly or moth. In this state it 
is pointed and'has little warts over its surface, 
but some species have a smooth and oval sur¬ 
face. When about ready to turn into the chrys¬ 
alis state, it ceases to eat and hangs from the 
under side of a twig or leaf by means of its 
legs or threads of silk spun by itself. While in 
this state it is at perfect rest and takes no food. 
After eight or ten days it passes into the but¬ 
terfly or moth state, but during damp and cool 
weather it requires from two to three weeks to 
make this change. Shortly after passing from 
the chrysalis state it is seen with its wings 
hanging downward, but they soon grow to their 
proper proportion, the body becomes hardened, 
and the butterfly is seen flitting about gathering 
food from various articles of subsistence. 

The habits of caterpillars are quite various, 
some moving about during the daytime, while 
others work at night taking in their food. It 
is estimated that the food consumed by a cater¬ 
pillar before passing into the developed state 
weighs many thousand times as much as the 
first weight of the larva. Among the enemies 
of the caterpillars are birds and poultry. In 
some localities birds are valuable in destroying 
caterpillars and protecting orchards from their 
ravages. Butterflies and moths are not as great 
a pest as caterpillars for the reason that they 
move from place to place, while caterpillars 
remain fixed to one place, thus entirely con¬ 
suming the foliage and vegetation as they move 
onward. From 200 to 800 eggs are laid by a 
single butterfly or moth, and when these come 
into the caterpillar state they fully cover large 
branches of trees, sap them of their juices, and 
often cause them to wither and die. Some 
forms of caterpillars are carnivorous, and live 
on the carrion of insects and small quadrupeds. 

CATFISH (kat'fish), a fish found in the 
lakes and streams of all the continents. The 



CATFISH. 


family includes a large number of species. In 
the catfish of North America the skin is wholly 
naked, most species have barbels about the 
mouth, and the color is dark or dark-blue. All 
have a large head and are armed with barbs 



CATGUT 


415 


CATHOLIC UNIV. OF AM. 


or spines, with which ihey are able to inflict 
a painful wound. Among the familiar species 
are the channel cat, the bullhead, and the stone 
cat. Those found in the smaller streams are 
usually from six to ten inches long, while a 
number of species common to lakes grow to a 
length of several feet. The catfish of the Mis¬ 
sissippi attains a weight of over one hundred 
pounds. It prefers to frequent muddy bottoms 
rather than clear streams. The flesh is prized 
for its flavor and nutritious qualities. 

CATGUT (kat'gut), a cord used as the 
strings in musical instruments, such as the 
violin, harp and guitar. It is employed as 
whipcord, in the bows of archers, and in the 
cords used by clockmakers. Catgut is made 
chiefly from the intestines of the sheep, and 
sometimes from those of the mule and horse, 
but not from the intestines of a cat. It is 
prepared by a tedious process, which consist 
chiefly of cleansing the intestines from fatty 
matters, after which they are steeped in water 
and carefully scraped with a blunt knife, then 
treated with a solution of alkali, and assorted 
into their respective sizes by drawing them 
through a perforated brass thimble. At this 
stage the catgut is subjected to the fumes of 
burning sulphur in order to prevent offensive 
odors or putrifaction. The so-called Roman 
strings, manufactured in Italy, are considered 
the strongest and best on the market. Surgeons 
use a superior grade of catgut for tying wounds, 
and whipcord is made by twisting catgut similar 
to a one-corded rope. 

CATHEDRAL (ka-the'dral), the principal 
church of a province or diocese. It is distin¬ 
guished from others by its cathedra or throne, 
and by having a more elaborate and larger style 
of architecture. The largest and most noted 
cathedral is Saint Peter’s at Rome, founded in 
1450. Others of much renown include the fine 
Italian-Gothic style at Florence, begun in 1294; 
the one at Milan, 1386; at Cologne, 1248; those 
at Amiens and Rheims; and the Notre Dame 
Cathedral, Paris; the last mentioned was begun 
in 1163. Many of the noted cathedrals of 
Europe are in the Gothic style, and in connection 
with them are side chapels, chapter houses, 
crypts, and cloisters. The Byzantine, Roman¬ 
esque, and Renaissance styles of architecture are 
well represented in the cathedrals of conti¬ 
nental Europe. Among the leading cathedrals 
of North America are the Notre Dame, in Mon¬ 
treal; the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Saint 
Patrick’s, in New York City, and the Protestant 
Episcopal Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, 
in New York City. 

CATHETOMETER (kath-e-tom'e-ter), an 


instrument employed to measure accurately 
small differences of height, especially two col¬ 
umns of fluid. It consists of a perpendicular 
metallic standard, to which is attached a tele¬ 
scopic leveling apparatus so it may be moved 
up or down. In order to sight the objects or 
surfaces, the telescope is raised or lowered, and 
the differences in height are thus seen on the 
graduated standard. 

CATHODE RAY (kath'od), a kind of ray 
generated at the cathode in a vacuum tube by 
the electrical discharge. The poles of the bat¬ 
tery are called electrodes. The one which re¬ 
ceives the electric current, or the negative pole, 
is called cathode, and the other, which overflows 
with electricity, or the positive pole, is known as 
the anode. When a cylindrical tube from which 
the air has been exhausted is attached to the 
poles of an electrical machine, the cathode rays 
fill the vacuum with a green light. An appa¬ 
ratus of this kind is employed in producing 
Roentgen rays. 

CATHOLIC CHURCH (kath'6-lik), a term 
signifying universal church. It cannot be applied 
to any particular sect or party, as Greek, Angli¬ 
can, Roman, Lutheran, or Presbyterian, since 
any one of these forms merely a portion of the 
universal church. The term is employed to dis¬ 
tinguish the Christian from the Jewish; the 
former applies to the world and the latter is 
confined to a particular nation. About the year 
160 a. d. the term Catholic Church began to be 
applied in this universal sense to distinguish the 
followers of Christ from Gnostics and all others 
not holding to Christianity. The term is now 
applied in the catechisms, the books of faith, of 
the Christian churches generally, but the Roman 
Catholic and Greek Catholic are the only ones 
that have retained the name and made it apply 
to their organizations. See Greek Catholic, 
Roman Catholic. 

CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION, in Eng¬ 
land, the term used in reference to the repeal 
of certain laws affecting the civil rights of 
Roman Catholics. The law prohibited Cath¬ 
olics from purchasing land and performing the 
rites of their church until 1780, when many of 
these laws were repealed. The Duke of Wel¬ 
lington, in 1829, moved the repeal of all anti- 
Catholic laws, and after much discussion they 
were generally discontinued. However, there 
are still some restrictions upon Catholics, chief 
among which is that a seat in the House of 
Commons cannot be held by a Catholic priest. 

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMER¬ 
ICA, an institution of higher learning estab¬ 
lished at Washington, D. C., under authority of 
Leo XIII., who granted its apostolic constitution 


CATH. YOUNG MEN’S NAT. UNION 416 


CATTLE 


in 1887. It was opened for instruction in 1889. 
The chief officers, who consist of the chancellor, 
the rector, and the treasurer, are chosen by the 
board of trustees, which is made up from the 
laity, clergy, and episcopate. Cardinal Gibbons, 
the first chancellor, continues to hold that 
office. The primary purpose is to facilitate orig¬ 
inal research by graduates of Catholic semi¬ 
naries and colleges. It maintains faculties of 
law, philosophy, theology, and technology, and 
instruction is given by about 35 professors. The 
library has 40,000 volumes and the value of 
property is $1,350,000. The attendance is re¬ 
ported at 250. 

CATHOLIC YOUNG MEN’S NATION¬ 
AL UNION, an organization of young men 
belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. It is 
a federation of the diocesan unions and was 
organized in 1875. A council approved it at a 
session held in Baltimore, and since then it has 
grown in favor and membership in the United 
States and Canada. The purpose is to bring 
young men into the church, establish and main¬ 
tain reading rooms, and promote the organiza¬ 
tion of libraries. It has a membership of about 
65,000. 

CAT ISLAND, one of the Bahama Islands, 

about 200 miles northeast of Nuevitas in Cuba. 
It is about 45 miles long, from two to eight 
miles wide, and is largely of coral formation. 
It is supposed that Columbus visited this island 
in 1492. 

CATLETTSBURG (kat'lets-burg), a city in 
Kentucky, county seat of Boyd County, at the 
confluence of the Big Sandy and Ohio rivers, 
on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. It has 
electric lights, waterworks, and a brisk trade in 
lumber and merchandise. The manufactures 
include flour, machinery, and lumber products. 
Among the chief buildings are a county court¬ 
house and several fine churches and schools. 
Population, 1900, 3,061. 

CATNIP (kat'nip), or Catmint, a perennial 
plant of the mint family, common in the fields 
of Europe and North America. It was so 
named for the fondness with which cats eat the 
leaves. The plant has an erect stem from two 
to three feet in height and heart-shaped leaves, 
and bears a dense whorl of whitish flowers. 
The leaves are soft and downy beneath. They 
are aromatic and somewhat bitter to the taste 
and have a slightly disagreeable odor. The 
leaves are used in medicine as a tonic. 

CAT’S-EYE, a mineral classed with the 
precious stones, found in Brazil and Ceylon. It 
is so named from its peculiar internal radiation 
called chatoyant, which somewhat resembles a 
cat’s eye. It is commonly of a greenish-gray col¬ 


or, though sometimes reck brown, or yellow. A 
variety known as tiger-eye is obtained in the vi¬ 
cinity of the Orange River in South Africa. It is 
an altered crocidolite and is not of much value. 

CATSKILL (kats'kil), county seat of Greene 
County, New York, on the Hudson River, thir¬ 
ty-five miles below Albany. It occupies a fine 
site at the mouth of Catskill Creek, on the 
West Shore Railroad, and is the starting point 
of the Catskill Mountain Railroad. The chief 
buildings are a courthouse, an academy, a public 
library, and an opera house. Among the manu¬ 
factures are paper, woolen goods, and stone 
products. It is an important station for pleas¬ 
ure parties visiting the Catskill Mountains and 
is connected by ferry with the New York Cen¬ 
tral Railway on the east side of the river. The 
vicinity was settled by the Dutch in 1680. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1900, 5,484; in 1910, 5,296. 

CATSKILL MOUNTAINS, a group of 
mountains in New York, belonging to the Appa¬ 
lachian system, situated west of the Hudson 
River and south of the Mohawk. Washington 
Irving made the Dunderberg, one of the Cats¬ 
kills, the scene of his famous “Rip Van Win¬ 
kle.” The area covered by the group is about 
5,000 square miles. The highest peaks are 
Roundtop, 3,810 feet; Slide Mountain, 4,250; 
and Hunter Mountain, 4,025. The scenery is 
very fine and attracts many visitors in the sum¬ 
mer season. Forests of oak ash, beech, pine, 
and maple cover a large part of the ’region. 

CATTEGAT (kat'te-gat), or Kattegat, a 
gulf extending between Sweden and Denmark. 
It is an extension of the Skager-Rak from the 
North Sea. Its length is 150 miles and the 
greatest breadth is 90 miles. The shores of 
Sweden are rocky and steep, but the Danish 
shores are low. There are sand banks more 
or less dangerous to navigation. Among its 
principal islands are Samso, Laso, and Anholt. 

CATTLE (kat't’l), the name formerly 
applied to all large domestic animals, such as 
oxen, cows, horses, swine, and sheep, but now 
limited to cows, oxen, and steers. The name 
applied to this class of animals in British coun¬ 
tries is neat cattle. Cattle were unknown in 
America prior to the discovery of the continent 
by Columbus. They are mentioned in the 
ancient records of Hindu and Hebrew peoples, 
and are shown extensively on Egyptian monu¬ 
ments constructed more than 2,000 years before 
the Christian era. Remains of cattle have been 
found in the Swiss lake dwellings along with 
stone implements. The wealth of primitive man 
consisted largely of cattle, since they furnished 
the necessary meat and milk for subsistence, 
answered as beasts of burden, and were suitable 



HERD OF HEREFORD CATTLE. 
















CATTLE 


417 


CAUCASIAN 


for plowing the soil and threshing the grain. 
The Hindus still hold several species sacred. 
The Romans punished the mistreatment of this 
animal by inflicting severe penalties, while the 
Germanic and Latin tribes of early Europe used 
them as a chief support. 

Cattle were .first brought to America by the 
Spaniards in 1525, about six years after the 



HOLSTEIN COW. 


discovery of Mexico by Cortez. From Mexico 
they spread into California, Central America, 
and later over the; whole of South America. 
Most Spanish grades of cattle are marked by 
rough characteristics and a tendency to merge 
into a wild state. The wild cattle of South 
America are descendants of those brought from 
Spain. The Dutch brought the first cattle to 
the northern colonies in 1625. Others intro¬ 
duced them into Virginia from the West Indian 
Islands, while the Swedes brought a number to 
Delaware in 1627; the Danes, to New Hamp¬ 
shire ; and the English, to Maryland. Most of 
the teaming, plowing, and prairie breaking in 
early times was done by oxen, horses being 
introduced later on account of their greater 
speed. 

The grades of cattle now generally reared in 
Canada and the United States are greatly diver¬ 
sified, owing to the fact that importations have 
been made from various parts of Europe, but 
also because different sections of the country 
demand a diversity. The chief uses of cattle 
are to supply milk and yield beef, although in 
many localities there is still a demand for oxen 
as beasts of burden. It may be said that the 
Galloways constitute a grade distinctly fitted for 
beef production, while the Jersey, Guernsey, and 
Ayrshire breeds are reared principally for their 
abundant yield of rich milk. The Durham, Hol¬ 
stein, and Hereford grades are reared most 
extensively through the central portion of the 
United States and in the corn belt region, for 
the reason that they yield a choice quantity of 
milk and at the same time are among the finest 
for beef. In general Texas cattle are coarser 
and rougher, owing to their descent from Span¬ 

27 


ish ancestors, but they are being rapidly 
improved by skillful breeding and care. Other 
well-known breeds of cattle are the Polled Aber¬ 
deen, Devon, Angus, Suffolk, Red Polls, Nor¬ 
folk, and the highly valuable Dutch breeds, 
among them the Dutch Belted. 

Beef is obtained from the adult animal includ¬ 
ing both the male and female, and veal is 
secured from the calves. The hides of cattle 
are of value in making leather, while the bones 
are used for fertilizing; the blood, for buttons 
and fertilizing; and horns, for cutlery and other 
purposes. The production of milk, cheese, but¬ 
ter, and beef constitutes one of the most impor¬ 
tant industries in America, engaging much labor 
and capital. Several grades, among them the 
Galloways, are hornless, but feeders of cattle 
have for many years practiced dehorning, a proc¬ 
ess whereby the horns are removed by means 
of a saw, or the germs of the horns are clipped 
out of the head of the calf when it is a few 
days old. Dehorning has proven valuable in 
th^it it makes the cattle more docile, and conse¬ 
quently more productive in milk and beef. The 
State of Iowa has led in the production of milk 
and butter, while Texas ranks first in the num¬ 
ber of beef cattle produced annually in the 
United States. About half the cattle reared in 
Canada are in the Province of Ontario. In 



HEREFORD BULL. 


the western grazing districts cattle are largely 
grass-fed, while in the corn belt region the rich¬ 
est corn beef is produced. 

CAUCA (kou'ka), a river of Colombia, 
South America, the largest tributary of the 
Magdalena. It rises in the Andes and flows 
northward through Cauca, Antioquia, and Boli¬ 
var, and has a length of about seven hundred 
miles. The lower course is navigable, but 
numerous waterfalls obstruct navigation in the 
province of Cauca. 

CAUCASIAN (ka-ka'shan), the name first 
applied by the German writer Johann F. Blu- 
menbach (1752-1840) to the fair race, because 
of its greater intelligence and physical perfec- 





CAUCASUS' 


418 


CAVE DWELLERS 


tion, and because he regarded it the original 
race. It is classed into three branches: the 
Hamitic, the Semitic, and the Japhetic. The 
Hamitic races formerly inhabited the Arabian 
Peninsula, Palestine, and the valley of the Nile. 
The Semitic races include the inhabitants of 
Arabia, Abyssinia, the northern part of Africa, 
and the Jews. This race included the great 
peoples of antiquity—the Assyrians, Babyloni¬ 
ans, Moabites, Edomites, Phoenicians, Ammon¬ 
ites, and Ishmaelites. The Japhetic races include 
the Aryan. They are classed as follows: The 
Germanic, including Germans, Dutch, English, 
Flemish, Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians; the 
Celts, comprising the Welsh, Irish, Scots, and 
Bretons of France; the ancient Greeks; the 
Romanic, including the French, Italian, Span¬ 
iards, and Portuguese; the Slavonic, comprising 
the Russians, Croats, Poles, and Czechs; the 
Iranians, including the Afghans, Persians, and 
Baluchis; the Hindus. 

CAUCASUS (ka'ka-sus), a mountain 
range in the region between the Caspian and 
Black seas, stretching northwest and southeast, 
and forming part of the boundary between Asia 
and Europe. The width is about 150 miles and 
the length is 750 miles. A number of the peaks 
are highly elevated, including Kasbek, altitude 
16,546 feet; Koshtantau, 17,120 feet; Dikhtau, 
16,925 feet; and Elbruz, 18,570 feet. The region 
contains a number of mud volcanoes, mineral 
and thermal springs, and a few glaciers. At its 
eastern extremity, near the Caspian Sea, are the 
productive oil fields of Baku. The inhabitants 
include Russians, Tartars, Armenians, Turks, 
Persians, and Georgians. The Russian govern¬ 
ment has established a number of forts, built 
railroads, and constructed several military pas¬ 
sages across the mountains. Among the lead¬ 
ing products are cattle, cereals, minerals, and 
timber. Tiflis is the central railway city. 

CAUCUS (ka'kus), a term derived before 
the American Revolution from meetings held 
by calkers of ships in so-called calkhouses of 
Boston, for the purpose of resisting the British 
and eventually controlling the city. The term 
calk-hus was applied in ridicule by British sym¬ 
pathizers. John Adams first used the word cau¬ 
cus in his diary in 1763. It is now applied to 
meetings held by political parties or legislative 
assemblies in which plans for future action are 
discussed. In some states caucuses are regu¬ 
lated by law to prevent designing persons from 
obtaining undue advantages, in which case the 
voting is by ballot and the meetings are called 
primaries. The caucus has recently been intro¬ 
duced into Great Britain. 

CAULIFLOWER (ka'li-flou-er), a species 


of cabbage cultivated extensively by the Greeks 
and Romans. The flowers constitute a flattened 
head and are 
the edible 
part. It re¬ 
quires a rich¬ 
er soil and is 
not so hardy 
a s cabbage, 
but is culti¬ 
vated i n a 
similar man¬ 
ner. It is 
pickled or is 
eaten boiled 
with sauce. 

Among the species cultivated are broccoli, which 
matures late, and snowball and dwarf erfurt. 
See Cabbage. 

CAUSTIC (kas'tik), a substance that de¬ 
stroys the tissues of the animal parts to which 
it is applied. It is used to remove morbid 
growths, as warts, cancerous deposits, and 
excessive granulations, and to improve the 
character of ulcerated surfaces. Caustics serve 
a good purpose in opening abscesses and in 
destroying poisonous bites of rabid animals and 
serpents. 

CAVALIER (kav-a-ler'), a term used to 
designate a horseman. The courtiers, in the 
struggle between Charles L and his Parliament 
in 1641, were nicknamed Cavaliers, and the 
friends of the Parliament were called Round- 
heads. Later the Cavaliers came to be called 
Tories and the Roundheads were known as 
Whigs. 

CAVALRY (kav'al-ry), the division of a 
military force which serves on horseback. In 
time of peace cavalrymen serve as a mounted 
police and form a nucleus for organization in 
case of war. Their drilling is thorough, fitting 
them to maneuver both on horseback and as 
foot soldiers. This part of the army is service¬ 
able for speedy and decisive movements to pro¬ 
tect the center or the wings of a department, 
and is utilized as closely to the infantry as pos¬ 
sible. During the time of war, the cavalry is 
employed chiefly to cover a retreat, for inter¬ 
cepting an enemy, for procuring intelligence, 
and as an aid in foraging. Formerly the cavalry 
was armed with lances and sabers, but now 
the arms consist principally of rifles and revol¬ 
vers. See Army. 

CAVE DWELLERS, a prehistoric race that 
lived in caves and caverns. Very little is known 
of this peculiar race of people, and the only 
information obtainable is from the remains left 
in the places of their habitation. New Mexico, 



CAVES 


419 


CAYUGA INDIANS 


Arizona, Mexico, and Utah have supplied the 
best evidences of cave dwellers. Their remains 
indicate that they knew nothing of agriculture, 
metals, and pottery, and that they kept none of 
the domestic animals. Their manufactures and 
modes of life were very simple and primitive. 
See Cliff Dwellers. 

CAVES, the general designation for subter¬ 
ranean caverns under the crust of the earth. 
They occur most frequently in limestone regions 
and were produced by the upheaval of strata, 
by the erosion of water, or by both causes com¬ 
bined. Some have been greatly enlarged by the 
action of the water, which carried away sand 
and gravel, thus eroding the bottoms and sides. 
Great caves occur in many regions where lime¬ 
stone rocks • abound, notably in America, Aus¬ 
tralia, and Eurasia. Among the most remark¬ 
able in America is the Mammoth Cave in Ken¬ 
tucky, which is celebrated for its great size 
and subterranean streams. It includes more 
than fifty miles of subterranean passages and is 
rich in the remains of various extinct animals. 
The waters are inhabited by fish and other 
forms of life devoid of eyes. A cave about 
fifty miles from Los Angeles, Cal., in the Santa 
Susanna Mountains, is studded with stalactites 
and stalagmites and has several large halls 
covering an acre or more. Wyandotte Cave, in 
Crawford County, Indiana, bears evidence of 
having been an underground river in prehistoric 
times. The length, including its various pas¬ 
sages, is about twenty-five miles, and in it are 
some remarkable chambers and gulches. 

The Fingal’s Cave, on the Island of Staffa, 
has a roof and many walls formed of basaltic 
columns. The cave in Franconia, Germany, is 
another remarkable formation. Many of the 
caves contain animal remains. Those of South 
Africa have relics of animals now found only 
in Asia, and those in Southern Europe contain 
bones of the hyena, which animal is now com¬ 
mon only to Africa. Thus, the different caves 
bear evidence that many animals formerly 
numerous are now extinct, and that the existing 
animals are distributed differently than at for¬ 
mer times. Geologists have been able to add 
valuable information to the study of geological 
and historical biology by the study of animal 
fossils found in caves. 

CAVITE (ka-ve'ta), a city in the Philip¬ 
pines, on the island of Luzon, about ten miles 
southwest of Manila. It is the capital of the 
province of Cavite and is strongly fortified 
It has several fine churches and schools, good 
dockyards, and a well equipped arsenal. The 
manufactures include soap, cigars, sugar, oil, 
and alcoholic beverages. It was the scene of a 


battle in the war with Spain. Population, 1907, 
4,680. 

CAVY (ka'vy), a small rodent mammal 
native to South America, allied to the capybara 
and the agouti. Several species have been 
described. The cavies are hunted for their flesh 
and are now nearly extinct in the plains of 
Argentina. They are active, feed chiefly at 
night, and spend the day in deep burrows. Some 
students consider a species of the cavy the 
ancestor of the guinea-pig. 

CAWNPORE (kan-poor'), a city of the 
Northwest Provinces of India, on the Ganges 
River, forty miles southwest of Lucknow. It 
passed under British influence in 1801, and has 
since ranked as one of the strongly fortified 
cities. A mutiny broke out in 1857, under the 
leadership of Nana Sahib, during which nearly 
all of the Europeans, numbering about 1,000, 
were massacred. The city is now the seat of 
government of a province of the same name. It 
has an important railroad and river commerce. 
The railroads penetrate from it into the mining 
and agricultural districts, while telephone and 
telegraph lines connect it with many important 
points. The river is 500 yards wide in the dry 
season, and attains a width of over a mile in 
the rainy times. Among the manufactures are 
cotton, woolen, and silk products, tobacco, fur¬ 
niture, machinery, and leather. The city has 
several large government, religious, and educa¬ 
tional buildings. It is improved by parks, elec¬ 
tric lights, rapid transit, and waterworks. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1906, 198,690. 

CAYENNE (ka-en'), capital of French Gui¬ 
ana, located on an island of the same name, at 
the mouth of the Cayenne River. It has a shal¬ 
low harbor, which has been improved by dredg¬ 
ing. The chief buildings include a college, sev¬ 
eral hospitals, a number of churches, and the 
structures erected by the government. Direct 
steamer communication is maintained with 
France. The city was founded in 1604 and has 
been a possession of France since 1675. Popu¬ 
lation, 1906, 13,500. 

CAYUGA LAKE (kS.-yoo'ga), a beautiful 
lake located between Seneca and Cayuga coun¬ 
ties, in the central part of New York. It is 
from one to three miles wide and thirty-eight 
miles long, the greatest depth being 500 feet. 
The surface is 387 feet above the level of the 
sea. Its outlet is the Seneca River, which flows 
into Lake Ontario. The lake is rich in fish. 
On its shores are numerous cities and pleasure 
resorts, including Aurora, Cayuga, and Ithaca. 

CAYUGA INDIANS (ka-yu'ga), a tribe of 
North American Indians, formerly located near 
Cayuga Lake, New York. The tribe formed 


CEBU 


420 


CEDAR LAKE 


an alliance with the Five Nations, known as 
the Iroquois, in the 16th century, and which, in 
1712, became known as the Six Nations. After 
the Revolutionary War, it greatly decreased in 
numbers. At the present time there are about 
1,500 members of this tribe, who reside in 
Ontario, Canada, near the Grand River, but a 
few are located in Oklahoma and Wisconsin. 

CEBlj‘ (tha-voo'), an island of the Philip¬ 
pines, located • between Mindanao and Luzon, 
containing an area of 4,210 square miles. The 
productions include sugar and tobacco, while 
the manufactures consist of abaca, cigars, oil, 
and sisal goods. It is the seat of the oldest 
Spanish settlement of the Philippines. Cebu is 
the capital and principal city. It has a fine 
cathedral, a seminary, and a well-organized 
school system. There is a considerable foreign 
trade. In 1906 the island had a population of 
575,630,.and the city of Cebu, 15,475. 

CEDAR (se'der), the name applied to vari¬ 
ous cone-bearing trees of the evergreen kind. 
They are distributed widely and thrive in 
swamps, valleys, and arid mountain elevations. 
Among the most famous species is the cedar of 
Lebanon, of which the Bible speaks in these 
words: “His boughs were multiplied, and his 
branches became long.” Solomon’s temple was 
constructed largely of a species of the cedar of 
Lebanon. Cedar timber has been useful in all 
historic times for manufacturing and other pur¬ 
poses. The wood yields an oil useful in pre¬ 
serving books against moths and for embalming. 
Some species grow to a height of eighty feet 
and the largest specimens measure sixty-five 
feet in circumference. The age cannot be esti¬ 
mated by concentric rings as in many trees, 
since the older owe their vitality to portions of 
the bark. Botanists think they frequently attain 
an age of 800 years, while some are estimated 
at 2,000 years. They thrive at a height of 6,500 
feet above the sea. 

The deoder cedar, a native of India, is classed 
by botanists as a species of the cedar of Leb¬ 
anon. It grows abundantly in the Himalayas, 
and attains a circumference of thirty-five feet 
and a height of more than 150 feet. Its leaves 
and cones are larger than those borne by the 
cedar of Lebanon, and it yields fine material 
for building and resinous oils. The atlas, cedar 
is widely distributed in North Africa. In 
America and the West Indies the red cedar is 
a common tree. This species is found in the 
swamps of many sections, as well as on the arid, 
rocky cliffs of the continental highlands. It is 
cultivated extensively for ornamental purposes 
in parks and gardens, and serves as a valuable 
protection on the Great Plains for barn and 


house yards against winds and storms. The 
wood is used extensively for lead pencils, fur¬ 
niture, and boxes in which clothes are protected 
against moths. x In swamps it is of a slender 
growth, on arid hills it is low and branchy, 
while in valleys, particularly in California, it 
attains an immense size. The arbor vitae, or 
white cedar, is a common tree in many parts of 
Canada and the United States. Cigar boxes 
are made of Spanish cedar. However, this 
species and the American red cedar are not true 
cedars, though they are coniferous trees. 

CEDAR CREEK, a stream in northern Vir¬ 
ginia, rises in the North Mountains, and flows 1 
into the Shenandoah River. It was the scene 
of a battle fought on Oct. 19, 1862, between the 
Union army under General Sheridan and the 
Confederates under General Early. Sheridan 
had been called to Washington and left Gen¬ 
eral Wright in command, and while he was 
away the Confederates made an attack, utterly 
routing the eighth corps. Wright immediately 
reformed his lines, making a change of front 
and a retrograde movement, thus losing heav¬ 
ily during the formation. Just at that time 
Sheridan, who had heard of the battle at Win¬ 
chester, appeared upon the scene with his horse 
covered with foam and inspired his men with 
such confidence that the enemy was driven back 
and put to flight with great slaughter. The 
Union losses were estimated at 5,600, while 
the Confederates lost about 3,150. The famous 
ride of Sheridan from Winchester to Cedar 
Creek was made the basis of Thomas Buchanan 
Read’s famous poem, “Sheridan’s Ride.” 

CEDAR FALLS, a city of Iowa, in Black 
Hawk County, one hundred miles west of 
Dubuque, on the Illinois Central, the Great 
Western, the Rock Island, and other railroads. 
It is nicely situated on the Cedar River 
and has connection by an electric railway with 
Waterloo, which is six miles east. The sur¬ 
rounding country is fertile. It has a brisk 
trade in produce and merchandise. Among the 
manufactures are clothing, flour, machinery, and 
canned goods. It has a public library and is the 
seat of a State normal school, one of the largest 
in the United States. The first settlement was 
made on its site in 1845 and it was incorpor¬ 
ated in 1853. Its importance as a city is due 
to its location on the Cedar River and its excel¬ 
lent public institutions. Population, 1905, 5,329. 

CEDAR LAKE, a lake of Canada, in the 
district of Keewatin, about twenty-five miles 
north of the province of Manitoba. It receives 
the drainage fro mthe Saskatchewan River and 
the discharge is carried by the same river into 
Lake Winnipeg. It is about thirty miles long, 


CEDAR MOUNTAIN 


421 


CELESTIAL SPHERE 


from ten to twenty-five miles wide, and has an 
area of 315 square miles. Forests of poplar, 
pine, balsam, and tamarack abound in the vicin¬ 
ity. 

CEDAR MOUNTAIN, an elevation situ¬ 
ated near the Rappahannock River, in Culpepper 
County, Virginia. It was the scene of a battle 
on Aug. 9, 1862, between the Federal forces 
under General Banks and the Confederates un¬ 
der General Jackson. The Union army was 
greatly outnumbered and was defeated with a 
loss of 400 prisoners and 1,400 killed and 
wounded, besides a loss of stores and a large 
quantity of ammunition. The confederate loss 
was 1,314. 

CEDAR RAPIDS, a city of'Iowa, in Linn 
County, seventy-eight miles southwest of Du¬ 
buque. It occupies a fine site on both sides of 
the Cedar River, on the Chicago and Northwest¬ 
ern, the Illinois Central, the Chicago, Milwaukee 
and Saint Paul, and other railroads. Inter¬ 
communication is by a system of electric rail¬ 
ways, which have lines to Marion and other 
cities. The chief buildings include Coe College 
(a Presbyterian institution), the high school, 
the post office, the public library, and the Ma¬ 
sonic Temple. The city has extensive railroad 
shops, pork-packing establishments, and flouring 
mills, and manufactures of oatmeal, carriages, 
machinery, and agricultural implements. It has 
a large jobbing trade. The streets are substan¬ 
tially paved and improved by waterworks, sew¬ 
erage, and electric and gas lights. The first 
settlement was made in 1845 and it was incor¬ 
porated in 1856. Population, 1910, 32,811. 

CEDAR RAPIDS, or The Cedars, a village 
on the north bank of the Saint Lawrence River, 
in Soulanges County, Quebec. It is located at 
the Cedar Rapids of that river, which is avoided 
in navigation by the Soulanges Canal. This 
point was the scene of a military contest in 
1776, when the British and a number of Indians 
under Captain Foster captured four hundred 
Americans in their retreat from Quebec. Arnold 
went out from Montreal with a force to attack 
the captors, but consented to a compromise for 
an exchange, fearing that the Indians under 
Brant would massacre the prisoners. 

CEDAR RIVER, a river of Iowa, rises in 
southeastern Minnesota. It has a southeastern 
course of about four hundred miles, and joins 
the Iowa River about twenty-five miles above 
its junction with the Mississippi. Its course is 
through a fertile region and along its banks are 
belts of hard wood timber. 

CEILING (sel'ing), the upper surface of a 
room, opposite the floor, usually finished with 
plaster work; but sometimes with ceiling lumber. 


In large structures, such as churches and gov¬ 
ernment buildings, the ceiling is often decorated 
with fine frescoes and other paintings. 

CELEBES (sel'e-bez), one of the largest 
islands of the Indian archipelago, located east 
of Borneo, having an area of 71,470 square 
miles. The equator crosses the northern part. 
On the southern shore is the Bay of Boni and 
on the eastern, the two great bays of Tomini 
and Tolo. It was visited by the Portuguese in 
1512 and claimed by them. The Dutch took 
possession of the southern peninsula as early as 
1660 and later expelled the Portuguese, and in 
1683 acquired possession of the entire island. It 
is now one of the important Dutch possessions, 
and is governed by them under a general system 
for the administration of the colonies. The soil 
is exceedingly productive, though there are sev¬ 
eral active volcanoes and earthquakes are not 
uncommon. The highest peak is Bonthain, 
height 9,690 feet. 

The leading products are coffee, bananas, 
tobacco, sago, sugar cane, maize, indigo, and 
tropical fruits. . Cattle, buffaloes, horses, goats, 
and sheep are reared profitably. It has rich 
deposits of coal, iron, salt, and gold. The man¬ 
ufactures include principally weaving and spin¬ 
ning. The island is noted for its large variety 
of beautiful birds, including the cuckoo, parrot, 
and bird of paradise, besides many species of 
bees, butterflies, and other insects. Among the 
principal towns are Port Rotterdam, Menado, 
and Macassar. The last mentioned is the cap¬ 
ital and has a population of 21,300. Most of 
the natives belong to the Malay race. Moham¬ 
medanism is the chief religion. Population, 
1906, 2,120,640. 

CELERY (sel'er-y), the name of a plant of 
the parsley family. In the native state it is 
acrid and poisonous, being rank and coarse, but 
under cultivation it has become a wholesome 
vegetable. It is cultivated extensively for salads 
and raw consumption. The principal species 
grown for the market are -those that have red 
or white stalks, which include a number of sub- 
varieties. They include those known as the 
Paris Golden, Giant Pascal, Boston Market, and 
White Plume. The stalks are bleached by plac¬ 
ing soil about the plants after they are devel¬ 
oped. It is useful in the preparation of medi¬ 
cine for nervous disorders and yields an agree¬ 
able flavoring. Celeriac is a root form of 
celery and does not require bleaching. Celery 
thrives best in a well-drained, but deep, rich soil. 
See illustration on following page. 

CELESTIAL SPHERE (se-les'chal), a 
term generally applied to the heavens. The 
word celestial has reference to objects surpass- 


CELESTINE 


422 


CELLULOSE 


ing in excellence anything earthly, and which 
partake of a divine or angelic nature. China 
is often called the Celestial Empire, because its 
rulers claim authority from heaven and assume 



CELERY. 


the title of “Son of Heaven.” John Bunyan 
speaks of heaven in his “Pilgrim’s Progress” as 
the celestial city. Heavenly bodies are often 
spoken of as celestial bodies. 

CELESTINE (sel'es-tin), the name of five 
Roman popes who ruled in the period included 
between 422 and 1294. See Pope. 

CELIBACY (se-lib'a-sy), the state of being 
unmarried, but having especial reference to vol¬ 
untary abstinence from marriage. Celibacy is 
followed by several orders of religious denom¬ 
inations, particularly among the Christians by 
the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. The 
custom is of great antiquity and was observed 
anciently by the priests of Egypt and the priest¬ 
esses of Greece and Rome. It is now held 
essential by the Buddhist priests, who are uni¬ 
versally pledged to it. There has been more or 
less contention on the importance of celibacy 
since the early centuries of Christianity and suc¬ 
cessive movements were made to abolish it 
entirely, even some of the leading adherents of 
Roman Catholicism holding it unnecessary. In 
the early part of the 19th century several Euro¬ 
pean countries favored abolishing it by compul¬ 
sory legislation, but with little effect. 

CELLS, the minute microscopic cavities in 
animals which are composed of cell-walls and 
contain cell contents. A single cell is usually 
a closed sac, the membrane of which it is 
constructed being generally nitrogenous for¬ 
mation. Within the sac is a fluid or semifluid 
protoplasm in which globules, molecules, gran¬ 


ules, or other very minute cells are suspended. 
The larger cells inclose still other nucleus cells 
containing nucleolus. Within and surrounding 
the nucleus is an albuminous substance vital in 
principle and which is thought to contain the 
seat of life. In plants, cells are composed of 
solid, soft, and fluid layers. They are largely 
grouped and united, and, in this relation, form 
a cell tissue. In size they are very small, rang¬ 
ing from 0.004 to 0.002 of an inch in diameter. 
The cells of the yeast plant are about 0.00032 
of an inch in diameter, but the bacteria are still 
smaller. Most cells are made up of three parts: 
a firm outer skin, a soft albuminous matter, and 
an inner cavity filled with a watery fluid called 
cell sap. 

The term cells is applied to the compart¬ 
ments of a honeycomb and to the inclosed walls 
of an ancient temple. In physics, the term has 
reference to a single jar, bath, or division of 
a compound usually containing a couple of zinc 
or copper plates united to each other, or to 
their opposites, by a wire. 

CELLULAR TISSUE (sel'u-ler), in physi¬ 
ology, the fibro-cellular connectives or areolar 
tissues which fill interstices between the organs 
in man and the vertebrate animals. In- botany, 
the term is applied to a tissue composed of a 
number of separate cells or minute bags holding 
together. When first formed they are egg- 
shaped or globular, but afterward become flat¬ 
tened by pressure. See Connective Tissue. 

CELLULOID (sel'u-loid), a compound 
resembling ivory in appearance, which can be 
turned, molded, and manufactured into various 
products, such as were formerly made of bone 
and ivory. Its manufacture was first introduced 
at Birmingham, England, in 1856, but it is now 
manufactured extensively in America. The proc¬ 
ess consists of immersing paper in nitric and 
sulphuric acids, by which it is converted into 
nitrocellulose. After being washed and 
bleached, a quantity of camphor is added and 
the mass is passed through a roller mill. At 
176° Fahr. it readily softens and can be made 
into the most delicate forms, and it again hard¬ 
ens after becoming cold. The chief use of cellu¬ 
loid is for the manufacture of napkin rings, 
piano keys, billiard balls, handles for knives, 
forks, and umbrellas, backs of brushes, collars, 
cuffs, buttons, shirt fronts, dolls, and a large 
variety of other useful products. It can be 
colored easily, but is inflammable, unless blended 
with some chemical having an opposite prop¬ 
erty. 

CELLULOSE (sel'u-los), a substance which 
constitutes the basis of vegetable tissues. It is 
allied to sugar and starch, and is changed into 



CELTS 


423 


CEMETERY 


starch by the action of caustic potash, sulphuric 
acid, or heat. The cell walls of plants consist 
almost entirely of cellulose during the early 
stages of development, but it is replaced in part 
by coloring matter, resins, and other substances 
as the plant grows: The pith of the Chinese 
rice-paper plant consists almost wholly of cellu¬ 
lose. Animal tissues do not contain this sub¬ 
stance, with the possible exception of the integ¬ 
ument of insects, but it is important as a food 
for animals. It is manufactured and used in 
making vegetable parchment, collodion, and gun 
cotton. 

CELTS (selts), an ancient Indo-European 
or Aryan race which formerly inhabited a large 
part of Italy, Spain, Gaul, and Britain. The 
descendants of this race still occupy Wales, Ire¬ 
land, the Highlands of Scotland, and part of 
northern France. After spreading over large 
portions of Europe, they appear to have been 
driven westward by the Teutons, Slavs, and 
succeeding waves of migratory peoples. They 
were mentioned by Herodotus as occupying the 
valley of the Ebro River, with the Iberians, in 
Spain. They were called Galli by the Romans, 
and appear to have reached their greatest power 
in the 2d and 3d centuries b. c. In Asia Minor 
they settled a region known as Galatia. ' They 
eventually divided into two branches and spoke 
dialects widely different from each other, known 
as the Gaelic and the Cymric. The Highland¬ 
ers of Scotland, the Manx, and the Celtic Irish 
represent the Gaelic; while the inhabitants of 
Cornwall and Brittany and the Welsh represent 
the Cymric, or the other dialect. The sun was 
the object of worship among the Celtic people in 
former times. They supported a literary order 
known as the Bards. 

CEMENT (se-ment'), the name applied to 
any matter having elements capable of holding 
two bodies in close cohesion. In building the 
name is applied to the mortars consisting of 
white lead, glue, plaster of Paris, putty, and 
hydraulic limes containing silica. The cements 
used in building are known chiefly as Portland 
and Roman. Portland cement was patented in 
1824 and is so called from its resemblance to 
Portland stone. It was first manufactured by 
calcining a proper portion of chalk with clayed 
mud, and this mass was reduced to a fine pow¬ 
der after being dried. Roman cement is the 
name applied to hydraulic mortars made by 
calcining limestone and mixing it with sand in 
various proportions. It can be prepared from 
any limestone containing from fifteen to twenty 
per cent, of clay. The calcining is effected by 
burning the stone to ashes. Hydraulic cement 
is a mortar used in building piers and walls 


under or exposed to water. One of the best 
grades is made of ground Portland stone in the 
proportion of six to twelve parts mixed with 
thirty-five parts of sand and three parts of 
litharge. The cement of ordinary use is made 
by burning together clay or shale and limestone, 
but it is not as good as the manufactured prod¬ 
uct for the reason that limestone contains un¬ 
equal proportions of iron, silica, and alumina, 
which in the process of manufacture can be 
made uniform. Age increases the strength of 
good cement. See Concrete. 

CEMETERY (sem'e-ter-y), a word derived 
from the Greek, meaning a sleeping place, and 
applied to burial grounds and other places for 
the deposit of the dead. The modern ceme¬ 
teries have taken the place of the burial 
grounds that were formerly maintained around 
churches, and came into use in Western Europe 
as a consequence of the fine burial grounds 
established by the Turks in the vicinity of Con¬ 
stantinople and other cities. The Turkish burial 
grounds are famous for their dense forests of 
cypresses, which are planted by the Moham¬ 
medans after burial on the grave of the dead 
and the grave is never reopened. 

In Italy the cemetery is known as the Campo 
Santo (holy field) and is generally an inclosed 
place. The most famous burying ground is at 
Piso, near the cathedral and leaning tower, and 
was founded by Archbishop Ubaldo in the 12th 
century. Other noted cemeteries of Europe are 
the Pere Lachaise, in Paris; the Kensal Green, 
near London; and Capuchin Cemetery, near 
Palermo. Most of the cemeteries in Canada 
and the United States are located at convenient 
distances from the center of cities, or, in country 
districts, in the center of communities. The 
lots are usually deeded in fee simple, but are 
sometimes leased for a term of years. The 
laws govern the care and protection of ceme¬ 
teries. They are usually cared for by a board 
of directors appointed by the department of 
health in cities, or by societies, and quite often 
are under the ownership of municipal corpora¬ 
tions. 

The government of the United States owns 
eighty-three national cemeteries, which are cared 
for by the United States. In them are buried 
officers and soldiers who died during the war 
or while in active service, and those who died 
after being mustered out and left without ample 
means to provide a suitable burial. The eighty- 
three national cemeteries are located in different 
portions of the Union, but are mostly near the 
battlefields of the Civil War, or at army posts 
of the United States. They are under the charge 
of the quartermaster’s department. The num- 


CENIS 


424 


CENSUS 


ber of soldiers interred aggregates 335,453. 
Among the most celebrated are those at Nash¬ 
ville, Tenn., containing 16,558 graves; Vicks¬ 
burg, Miss., 16,656; Fredericksburg, Va., 15,285; 
and Andersonville, Ga., 13,705. The national 
cemeteries and those located near cities are 
beautified by monuments, avenues of trees, and 
splendid walks. The most beautiful cemeteries 
in the United States are Laurel Hill, Philadel¬ 
phia; Greenwood, Brooklyn; Spring Grove, 
Cincinnati; and Mount Auburn, Boston. 

CENIS (se-ne'), Mount, a mountain of the 
Alps, located between Piedmont and Savoy, alti¬ 
tude 11,456 feet. It is celebrated for the road 
constructed, for military purposes, over the pass 
from the Isere valley in France to Susa in 
Italy in 1803-10. It is penetrated by an immense 
railway tunnel, whigh was completed in 1872 at 
a cost of $15,000,000. It was constructed by 
the French and Italian governments and the 
Northern Railway Company of Italy. 

CENOZOIC (se-no-zo'ik), or Tertiary, a 
division of geologic time, extending from the 
Mesozoic to the Quaternary Period. It em¬ 
braces the rock systems of the Pliocene, Mio¬ 
cene, Oligocene, Eocene, and Cretaceous peri¬ 
ods. See Geology. 

CENSER (sen'ser), a vase or other sacred 
vessel used by the Hebrews for burning per¬ 
fume and wafting incense.. The censer used by 
the Roman Catholic Church in mass, vespers, 
etc., is called thurible. It is swung in the air 
by means of chains for the purpose of diffusing 
the incense in all directions. 

CENSOR (sen'sor), the title of two Roman 
magistrates, established by Servius Tullius, but 
not held by special appointives until 443 b. c. 
Patricians filled the office until 351 b. c., 
when a change of the law provided for the elec¬ 
tion of one plebeian, and in 131 b. c. both cen¬ 
sors were plebeians. The term of office orig¬ 
inally was five years, but it was soon limited to 
eighteen months. Among the duties of the 
office were included taking the census and the 
assessments, caring for public buildings, super¬ 
vising the morals of the nation, administering 
the finances, inflicting disgrace upon those who 
were negligent or unworthy, and regulating the 
private life of citizens. The censors ranked in 
honor second only to that of dictator. The term 
is now applied to an examiner of books before 
publication, and to any person who holds the 
position of a critic. 

CENSUS (sen'sus), an official numbering of 
the people, together with the collection of other 
statistics regarding the population, industries, 
and productions of any district or country. The 
Israelites were counted by Moses in 1490 b. c. 


and by David in 1017 b. c. A general census sys¬ 
tem was established by Servius at Rome, under 
which an enumeration was taken every five 
years. Greece and other ancient countries main¬ 
tained census systems. In the Roman govern¬ 
ment severe penalties wer.e inflicted in cases 
where citizens gave in false returns, or refused 
to make statements, this being necessary because 
taxation depended upon the census. The first 
modern European nation to, establish a census 
system was Sweden, where a reliable enumera¬ 
tion was made in 1749. France, Venice, and 
Florence established census systems before 
Sweden, but they were not counted reliable. 
The census of the United States, Switzerland, 
England, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Holland, 
Portugal, and other nations is taken every ten 
years. In Germany a census is taken every five 
years; it may be said that the German system 
dates from Frederick William I. of Prussia. 
The first census in the United States was 
authorized by an act of Congress in 1787 and 
was taken in 1790. Congress also authorized a 
decennial census; thus one was taken in 1800, 
1810, 1820, and every tenth year; the last taken 
was in 1900. On record they are known 
consecutively, the last being the twelfth. The 
census of Canada is taken every tenth year, 
in the years ending in 1, as 1901, 1911, 1921, 
etc. 

Congress has general control of the census, 
and may fix the rules and regulations from time 
to time. Previously it was under the supervi¬ 
sion of the Department of the Interior, which 
was organized in 1849. Congress placed the 
eleventh census and succeeding censuses under 
the immediate direction of the superintendent 
of the census, who was made the head of the 
census office. Each State is under a supervisor, 
under whose direction the enumerators canvass 
their respective subdistricts in the month of 
June. The enumerators must visit personally 
all families and dwelling houses within their 
respective districts, and ask such questions of 
the family regarding the age and intelligence 
as are required by act of Congress. The mat¬ 
ters regarding which inquiry is made include 
age, sex, color,' and ability to read and write, 
as well as facts relating to commerce, agricul¬ 
ture, manufactures, resources of the country, 
productions, and many other matters of interest 
regarding the population and products. It is 
made incumbent upon persons to answer the 
questions asked them, and a penalty of $30 is 
placed upon those refusing to answer, with im¬ 
prisonment until the penalty is paid. The pen¬ 
alty applies, to each refusal to answer. The 
office of the superintendent of the census is 


CENT 


CENTIPEDE 


425 


virtually perpetual, since it requires ten years to 
publish all the information regarding the popu¬ 
lation, productions, general conditions, and other 
matters of general interest regarding which 
information is taken by the enumerators. 

CENT, from the Latin centum, a copper coin 
of the United States, which has the value of ten 
mills, or the hundredth part of a dollar. The 
same value is represented by the cent used in 
Canada, and approximately the same by the 
centime in France, the centesimo in Peru and 
Italy, and the centavo in Chile and other coun¬ 
tries. 

CENTAUR (sen'tar), a name first applied 
to a savage race of people inhabiting the for¬ 
ests and mountains of Thessaly, but later incor¬ 
porated in the myths of Greece. They are 
mentioned by Homer as gigantic savages cov¬ 
ered with hair, while the poet Pindar refers to 
them as half man and half horse. It is thought 
that the myth arose from the appearance of men 
on horseback in battle against people unac¬ 
quainted with the uses of the horse, as was the 
case when the Spaniards invaded Mexico, the 
Mexicans thinking that the horse and man con¬ 
stituted one animal, as the Grecian centaur. The 
name is also given to a constellation in the 
Southern Hemisphere located below the South¬ 
ern Cross. It contains two stars of the first 
magnitude and five of the second. 

CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION (sen-ten'- 
m-al), an international exposition of arts, com¬ 
merce, manufactures, and products of the soil 
and mines held in 1876 at Philadelphia, Pa. It 
was designed to celebrate the 100th anniversary 
of the Declaration of Independence of the 
United States, and was open to visitors from 
May 10 to Nov. 10. The grounds on which this 
first international exposition of America was 
held included 236 acres, which was a part of 
Fairmount Park, and about two hundred build¬ 
ings were erected. The largest attendance on a 
single day was on Sept. 28, which was Pennsyl¬ 
vania Day, when 274,919 persons entered the 
grounds. A total of 9,910,996 admissions were 
recorded during the season, of which 8,004,274 
were paid. The leading nations of the world 
made exhibits of their products and the several 
states of the United States were represented, 
hence the exposition furnished facilities for 
studying the growth and development of indus¬ 
tries as well as the quality of products in almost 
every art and enterprise. In this respect the 
exposition was profitable, furnishing means to 
compare and criticise, and as a result much 
benefit has come to trade and in manufacturing. 
See Exposition. 

CENTER OF GRAVITY (grav'i-ty), that 


point of a body about which all its parts can be 
balanced. The attraction of gravity on any 
body tends to draw its particles toward one 
point, though, the direction of these forces are 
not parallel. However, since the radius of the 
earth is very large in comparison with the size 
of any object which is weighed, the diversions 
of the directions of these forces from parallel 
lines is practically not measurable. The point 
at which all the parallel forces that make up 
the weight of a body meet is the center of grav¬ 
ity, and is sometimes called its center of mass or 
its center of inertia. A ring and other circular 
bodies have their center of gravity on the out¬ 
side. The center of gravity of bodies that are 
of homogeneous or uniform specific gravity 
may be found by geometrical rules. 

CENTERVILLE, a city in Iowa, county 
seat of Appanoose County, seventy-three miles 
southeast of Des Moines, on the Iowa Central, 
the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, and the 
Keokuk and Western railroads. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a rich farming and coal producing 
region, and has a large trade in farm produce. 
The chief buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the public library, and the high school. 
It has manufactures of flour, brick, and machin¬ 
ery. The municipal improvements include elec¬ 
tric lighting and waterworks. The first settle¬ 
ment was made in 1847 and it was incorporated 
in 1848. Population, 1905, 5,967. 

CENTIGRADE (sen'ti-grad), a thermome¬ 
ter graded by Anders Celsius (1701-44), a 
Swedish astronomer. The scale is divided into 
one hundred parts, named grades or degrees, 
of which the zero is fixed at the freezing-point 
of water and the 100 point at the temperature 
at which water boils. In the Fahrenheit scale 
the freezing point is 32° and the boiling point 
is 212°, hence the proportion of one degree of 
Fahrenheit to one of the centigrade is as 5 is to 
9. That is, the range of the centigrade between 
freezing and boiling is 100°, while in the Fahren¬ 
heit is is 180°; hence, to reduce degrees 
expressed in the centigrade scale to the Fahren¬ 
heit, it is necessary to multiply by 5 and divide 
the product by 9. 

CENTIPEDE (sen'ti-ped), an articulated 
animal having many feet and a body made up 
of numerous similar segments or rings. It is 
popularly believed that centipedes have a hun¬ 
dred feet, but this is not accurate. These worms 
are commonly placed in opposition to the milli¬ 
pede, an animal reputed to have a thousand feet, 
but the number of its feet is likewise very vari¬ 
ous. The most prominent distinction between 
the two is that the centipede has only one pair 
of legs from every ring of the body, while the 


CENTRAL AFRICA 


426 


CENTRAL AMERICA 


millipede has two pairs, except the anterior five 
or six rings, where there are none. The joints 
of the centipede are not less than fourteen and 
the feet consist of from fifteen to thirty pairs, 
and sometimes even more. They are found 
largely under stones and decaying wood by day, 
but come out at night to gather food, their eyes 
being better adapted to twilight than to the 
brightness of the day. They are distributed more 
or less over the entire earth, but are most 
numerous in the warm countries. Some species 
in the tropical regions have a length of twenty 


plains to a height of 12,875 feet above sea level, 
thus explaining the possibility of cultivating a 
large variety of products with much success. 
The slow development of the past two centuries 
is explained by the unstable government, which 
is frequently disturbed by political insurrections. 
Within receht years railroads have developed 
with some degree of certainty, and the different 
political divisions have made advances along the 
line of internal improvement. The productions 
include lumber, tobacco, corn, sugar, cacao, dye 
woods, mahogany, coffee, minerals, and fruits. 
Coffee culture is especially profitable, and 
the production of tropical fruits takes a 
high rank. The minerals include gold, sil¬ 
ver, copper, lead, iron, and quicksilver. 
Cattle raising is developing, especially in 
Honduras, while horses and sheep can be 
grown with much profit. Commerce is in 
a healthful state of growth with the great 
trade centers of the world, and is develop¬ 
ing locally, especially in the districts where 
canals are building and in the regions trav¬ 
ersed by railway lines. 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 


inches. Many species common to warm coun¬ 
tries have a poisonous bite. 

CENTRAL AFRICA. See British Central 
Africa. 

CENTRAL AMERICA, a portion of North 
America, occupying the region between Mexico 
and South America, comprising an area of 210,- 
900 square miles. It is yet sparsely populated, 
but contains a soil so rich, mineral wealth so 
extensive, and a climate so agreeable and health¬ 
ful that a population of 25,000,000 could be sup¬ 
ported easily. The surface rises from low coast 


The governments of Central America are 
exclusively republics, except the small country 
of British Honduras, and include Guatemala, 
Honduras, Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, and 
Costa Rica. The principal rivers are Molagua, 
Belize, Bluefields, San Juan, and Usumacinta. 
Among the chief lakes are Dulce, Managua, 
Peten, and Nicaragua. North of Central Amer¬ 
ica is the Bay of Honduras, east of it the Carib¬ 
bean Sea and Mosquito Gulf, and its western 
and southern shores are washed by the Pacific 
Ocean. In 1525 Dom Pedro de Alvarado, one 


















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CENTRAL FALLS 


427 


CENTURY PLANT 


of the companions of Cortez, conquered the 
country for Spain. It was maintained as a single 
state under Spanish dominion until 1821, when 
its independence was secured by revolution. In 
1839 a general revolution broke out, and termi¬ 
nated with a treaty under which five countries 
absolutely independent of each other were 
formed. In 1895 it was proposed to unite all 
the countries into the Greater Republic of Cen¬ 
tral America, which terminated in the adoption 
of a constitution in 1898 modeled after the Con¬ 
stitution of the United States. The president 
was to be inaugurated March 15, 1899, but a 
revolution broke out, and the very excellent 
plan was frustrated. Panama was a part of 
the republic of Colombia until 1903, when its 
people became angered by the government ob¬ 
structing the project to build the Panama Canal, 
hence it seceded and assumed independence. 
The total population of the entire Central 
America is estimated at 3,585,000. For further 
information see articles treating of the several 
countries of Central America. 

CENTRAL FALLS, a city of Providence 
County, Rhode Island, on the Blackstone River, 
six miles above Providence. It is on the New 
York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. 
Among the chief buildings are the public library 
and the high school. The manufactures include 
cotton and woolen goods, machinery, leather, 
haircloth, thread, and copper ware. It has stone 
and asphalt pavements, waterworks, gas and 
electric lighting and electric street railways. 
Formerly it was a part of the town of Lincoln, 
but was incorporated separately in 1895. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 19,446; in 1910, 22,754. 

CENTRALIA (sen-tra'li-a), a city in 
Marion County, Illinois, sixty miles east of Saint 
Louis, on the Southern, the Illinois Central, and 
other railroads. It is surrounded by productive 
• coal regions and an agricultural country. 
Among the chief buildings are the Carnegie 
library, the city hall, the high school, and a num¬ 
ber of churches. The manufactures include 
flour, implements, cigars, machinery, and earth¬ 
enware. Electric lights, waterworks and^ a 
sewerage system are among the municipal im¬ 
provements. It was settled in 1853 and incor¬ 
porated in 1859. It is the center of a growing 
jobbing trade. Population, 1900, 6,721. 

CENTRALIZATION (sen-tral-i-za'shun), 
the act of bringing to the center, or centralizing. 
The term has come to be applied largely in eco¬ 
nomics to the tendency of wealth to centralize 
in the hands of millionaires, and in civics to the 
administration of government from the central 
power, instead of through local management. 
Localization and centralization stand opposed to 


each other. One represents the theory that large 
powers can be safely trusted to the people, while 
the other, centralization, represents the oppo¬ 
site, that large powers should be vested in 
those governing through the functions of high 
office. 

CENTRAL PARK, a great central park 
of New York City, one of the most beautiful 
in the world, platted in 1858. Its site was once 
a marshy and rocky locality, which prevented 
the platting of oity lots and the construction of 
buildings. It consists of 843 acres, with an addi¬ 
tional 24 acres on the northwest. The plan of 
converting this tract of land into a great park 
was an excellent one. It resulted in transform¬ 
ing the rocky slopes into grassy plats and the 
marshes into crystal lakes, around which grow 
the most beautiful trees of the temperate cli¬ 
mates. In the very heart of the city, one-half 
mile wide, this beautiful improvement stretches 
a distance of two and one-half miles. Among 
its attractive features are its lakes, monuments, 
obelisk, cave, menagerie, and labyrinth. In it 
are located two great reservoirs of the Croton 
water system, the American Museum of Natural 
History, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
Central Park as a whole, considered in the light 
of the surrounding edifices, internal wealth, and 
vast improvements, affords visitors and the pub¬ 
lic a most excellent resort for pleasure and re¬ 
cuperation. 

CENTRIFUGAL (sen-trif'u-gal) and 
CENTRIPETAL (sen-trip'e-tal), terms used 
in botany to designate inflorescence of two dif¬ 
ferent kinds. The former term is applied when 
the development of flowers proceeds from the 
apex toward the base of the axis, and the latter, 
when it extends from the base to the apex. The 
elder and valerian are examples of the former 
and the daisy and hemlock of the latter. For 
application in physics see Force. 

CENTURY (sen'tu-ry), the term applied in 
modern usage to a period of one hundred years. 
It was derived from the practice of the Roman 
tribes, who voted in companies of one hundred 
men each at elections. 

CENTURY PLANT, a popular name of 
the agave or American aloe. It is native to Cen¬ 
tral America and Mexico. The name arose from 
the wrong impression that a century of leaf for¬ 
mation and food storage elapsed before the 
appearance of a flower stalk. It is a plant of 
beautiful appearance, and develops a cluster 
of very thick and spiny leaves, from the midst 
of which, after a number of years, a flowering 
stalk rapidly rises to a height of from twenty to 
thirty feet, and bears a large cluster of greenish 
flowers. After flowering, it dies down to the 


CEPHALONIA 


428 


CEREUS 


ground and new plants grow up from the roots. 

See Agave. 

CEPHALONIA (sef-a-ld'ne-a), or Keph- 
allenia, an island of the Ionian group, belong¬ 
ing to Greece, of which country it forms a 
nomarchy. The area is 302 square miles. It 
has a very irregular coast line and possesses a 
number of elevated peaks. The surface is 
largely mountainous. Its rainfall is somewhat 
deficient, and it is subject to frequent but slight 
earthquakes. The principal citi^ include Lixuri, 
population 6,500, and Argostoli, 9,500. Among 
the chief exports are textiles, cheese, oil, cereals, 
wine, and fruits. In former times the island 
belonged successively to the Athenians, Romans, 
Byzantines, and Venetians, and was long held by 
the Turks. In 1797 it came into possession of 
the French, who were expelled by the Russians, 
and they in turn by the British. In 1864 it was 
ceded to Greece. Population, 1906, 84,148. 

CEPHALOPODA (sef-a-lop'6-da), a class 
of ihollusks which have their organs of locomo¬ 
tion arranged in groups about the head. These 
organs are called feet and arms, either of which 
name may be properly given, since they serve 
both as means of locomotion and for securing a 
hold upon objects. The mouth, situated in the 
center of the circle of feelers, is furnished with 
a pair of horny jaws, the tongue is rough and 
prickly, and the eyes and organs of hearing are 
well developed. They breathe through gills and 
most species have something resembling shells, 
though only the nautilus and argonaut are en¬ 
tirely covered with them. Their arms are sup¬ 
plied with suckers, by which they fasten them¬ 
selves to and overcome animals much larger 
and better protected than themselves. The 
cephalopoda include the cuttlefish, nautilus, octo¬ 
pus, argonaut, and squid. The cuttlefish is en¬ 
tirely unprotected by a shell, but defends itself 
by throwing out from a bag a dark colored 
fluid, which is gathered by seamen and forms 
the valuable pigment known as sepia. Many 
extinct species of cephalopoda are found in fos- 
siliferous rocks. 

CERAM (se-ram'), or Zeram, an island 
lying west of New Guinea and belonging to the 
Moluccas. The area is 6,910 square miles. 
Much of the surface is hilly, but vegetation is 
luxuriant. It has extensive productions of cabi¬ 
net wood, sugar, palms, tobacco, rice, and trop¬ 
ical fruits. The inhabitants consist largely of 
Malays, and the government is administered by 
Holland. Population, 1907, 208,460. 

CERAMIC ART (se-ram'ik), the depart¬ 
ment of decorative and plastic art which com¬ 
prises objects made of baked clay, as cups, urns, 
vases, statuettes, and all others included in the 


variety of porcelain and earthenwares. The 
Centennial Exposition (q. v.) in 1876 and the 
tariff law of 1883 operated to increase the Amer¬ 
ican product. Besides the production of pottery 
proper, the art has been extended to include the 
manufacture of inlaid floor tiles, panels in relief, 
and facings. These products are usually deco¬ 
rated by mosaic, arabesque, or damask-finished 
effects. The enameling and glazing of the best 
products are held as trade secrets by manufac¬ 
turers and are known to only a few. 

CEREBELLUM (ser-S-bel'lum), the 
rounded part of the brain, situated above the 
medulla oblongata and under the cerebrum. It 
assists the brain to direct precise motion, as 
movements on which the body is balanced. It 
is composed of white matter in the interior 
and gray matter on the surface. The white mat¬ 
ter is arranged in a branching manner, hence is 
sometimes called Arbor Vitae, or tree of life. 
In shape the cerebellum is oblong and flattened. 
It is largest from side to side and is divided into 
two hemispheres. Three pairs of rounded cords 
connect it with the rest of the brain. 

CEREBRATION, Unconscious (ser-e-bra'- 
shun), an activity of the brain unaccompanied 
by mental activity. Many writers on psychology 
have advanced the theory that all the conscious 
mental processes are accompanied by molecular 
changes in the cerebrum, and that similar 
changes may take place without consciousness on 
the part of the individual, until the complete 
mental result is presented. According to this 
theory the brain works automatically, but uncon¬ 
sciously, which results in suddenly remembering 
or understanding a previously unknown matter, 
as a name or incident. Another example of it is 
an involuntary kick when the foot is tickled. It 
is best defined as an involuntary response of the 
motor nerve to an excitement of the sensory 
nerve. 

CEREBRUM (ser'e-brum), the higher and 
front portion of the brain. It is the seat of 
thought and consciousness, receives all sensa¬ 
tions, and sends all voluntary impulses and 
those that produce motion. Like the cerebellum, 
it is divided into two hemispheres, and these are 
again divided into an anterior, middle, and pos¬ 
terior lobe. See Brain. 

CEREUS (se're-us), the name of many spe¬ 
cies of cactus, about 100, which include several 
noted for their beautiful flowers. The night- 
blooming cereus, native to South America and 
the West Indies, is remarkable for its sweet- 
scented flowers, which open in the evening and 
fade before morning. During the time it blooms 
the flower perfumes the air a considerable dis¬ 
tance with a sweet scent. The giant cactus, 


CERIUM 


429 


CEYLON 


native to the arid regions of Arizona and 
Mexico, is treelike and grows to a height of fifty 
feet, and at the top of each branch is a cluster 
of flowers. The natives gather its fruit for 
food. Another species, the old man cereus, is 
so called from the hairflke growth which appears 
at the top about the time the flowers open. 

CERIUM (se'ri-um), a metallic element dis¬ 
covered in 1803 by Berzelius, and so named from 
the planetoid Ceres. It is a chocolate-brown, 
ductile, and malleable jnetal, has a specific grav¬ 
ity of about 6.2, and forms the two series of 
salts known as ceric and cerous. Cerium is not 
found native, but occurs with other minerals in 
Sweden, North Carolina, and other places, 
usually as the silicate of cerite and samarskite. 

CERRO GORDO ( ser'ro gor'do), a pass in 
the mountains of Mexico, on the road from 
Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. It was the 
scene of a battle on April 18, 1847, between Gen. 
Scott, with 8,500 men, and Santa Anna, with 
13,000. The Mexican general had retreated from 
Vera Cruz and took a strong position in the pass, 
which was assaulted by Gen. Scott, who lost 
only 431 killed and wounded, while the Mexican 
army lost 3,000 prisoners, more than 1,000 slain 
and wounded, about 4,300 stand of arms, and 43 
pieces of artillery. Gen. Scott moved to Jalapa 
the next day and occupied it. 

CERTIFICATE (ser-tif'i-kat), a written 
document certifying to the qualification, con¬ 
duct, or other advantageous facts more official 
than a recommendation. In the United States 
it is. commonly understood to be a formal state¬ 
ment made by a public servant in the execution 
of his duty, as the certificates issued to school 
teachers and those written by courts, postmas¬ 
ters, and collectors of taxes. 

CERUSE (se'rus), a name given to white 
lead, or the carbonate of protoxide of lead. It 
is prepared by subjecting lead to a treatment of 
carbonic acid, and by the action of the vapor of 
vinegar on the slabs of lead, by which the metal 
is converted into a carbonate. It is used as a 
cosmetic and is mixed with oil for use in paint¬ 
ing- 

CETACEA (se-ta'she-a), an order of marine 
animals, having no hind feet and including spe¬ 
cies that surpass in size all others now living. 
Their form is like that of fishes, with the excep¬ 
tion that the tail is horizontal, thus enabling 
them to rise rapidly to the surface of the water 
for respiration in the air, which is necessary, as 
they breathe with lungs. They are true mam¬ 
mals, since they suckle their young, and are 
warm-blooded. They are commonly divided into 
cetacea herbivora and cetacea ordinaria; the 
former division includes the dugongs, lamantins. 


and stellerida, and the latter, the dolphins, 
whales, narwhals, porpoises, and cachalots. Re¬ 
mains of these animals are found in the deposits 
of the Eocene period and extend from that 
epoch to the present time. 

CETTE (set), a city of France, in the depart¬ 
ment of Herault, twenty miles southwest of 
Montpellier. It is situated on the Mediterranean 
Sea, is well fortified, and has an important 
domestic and foreign trade. A deep canal con¬ 
nects the harbor with the lagoon of Thau, which 
is near the city, and through it transportation 
facilities are furnished by the Rhone and other 
streams. It is a railroad center and has electric 
railway facilities. Among the chief manufac¬ 
tures are chemicals, perfume, machinery, sailing 
vessels, and canned fish and oysters. The city 
has a number of fine buildings, including numer¬ 
ous schools and churches, and is supplied with 
modern utilities, such as paving and electric 
lights. It was founded in 1666. Population, 
1906, 33,243. 

CEUTA (su'ta), a Spanish town on the 
northern coast of Africa, located on a small 
promontory in Morocco, eighteen miles south 
of Gibraltar. It is well built and strongly forti¬ 
fied. The chief buildings include those of the 
government and a cathedral, and it belongs offi¬ 
cially to the province of Cadiz. Ceuta was 
founded by the Romans and was annexed to 
Spain in 1580, since which time it has served 
mainly as a penal settlement. Population, 1906, 
14,350. 

CEVENNES (sa ven'), a range of mountains 
in the southern part of France. It extends a 
distance of about 400 miles, from the Vosges in 
the northeast to the Pyrenees in the southwest, 
and separates the basins of the Loire and the 
Garonne from those of the Rhone and the 
Saone. With it is included the Cote d’Or, which 
is sometimes classed with the Vosges system. 
Mont Mezenc, the highest peak, has an eleva¬ 
tion of 5,754 feet, and the average elevation is 
about 3,500 feet. The rocks consist chiefly of 
limestone, sandstone, and granite. The Albi- 
genses, the Camisards, and the Waldenses were 
sheltered from persecution in these mountains 
during the religious warfares of France. 

CEYLON (se-lon'), a large island in the 
Indian Ocean, lying southeast of the peninsula 
of Hindustan, to which it is almost joined by 
a chain of reefs known as Adam’s Bridge. It is 
separated from continental Asia by the Gulf of 
Manar and Palks Strait. The length north and 
south is 265 miles; greatest breadth, 140 miles; 
area, 25,332 square miles. The soil is exceed¬ 
ingly fertile. Large tracts consist of marshy 
flats and jungles, but where these have been 


CEYLON 


430 


CHALCEDON 


drained they constitute the richest and most 
productive land. The animals common to Asia 
abound on tne island and consist of crocodiles, 
pangolin, armadillos, wild hogs, monkeys, jack¬ 
als, buffaloes, leopards, hyenas, elephants, bears, 
flying foxes, numerous snakes, and a large 
variety of beautiful birds of song and plumage. 
The most important stream is the Mahavelli- 
ganga. Other rivers include the Kalawa, Oga, 
Moondini Aar, and Gindura Ga. The forest pro¬ 
ductions are exceedingly valuable, and the fish¬ 
eries and minerals are a considerable source of 
wealth. The productions and exports consist 
largely of live stock, coffee, tea, plumbago, cin¬ 
chona, cinnamon, tobacco, cereals, cocoanuts, 
and many varieties of excellent fruits. Among 
the minerals are iron, zinc, salt, and plum¬ 
bago. 

The history of Ceylon extends back to remote 
antiquity, but authentic accounts date only to 
the year 543 b. c., when it was governed by a 
series of kings, who had their seat of govern¬ 
ment at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura. In 
the year 307 b. c. Buddhism was introduced by 
the invaders of India. Indian civilization was a 
potent factor in the building of cities and the 
development of agriculture, commerce, and the 
arts. The capital city was a place of much 
wealth and magnificence, a fact attested by the 
ruins still found at its former location. Ceylon 
became known to the Europeans at the time of 
Alexander the Great, when he made his noted 
expedition from Greece to India. The Malabars 
invaded it in the Middle Ages and later it 
became tributary to China. When visited by 
Marco Polo, near the end of the 13th century, 
it had declined materially in prosperity. In 1505 
it was visited by the Portuguese and later was 
made subject to them. At that time the sea¬ 
ports in the northern part of the island were 
held by the Arabs, or Moors, who carried on an 
extensive trade, and those in the southern part 
were in possession of the Malabars. 

In 1658 the Dutch expelled the Portuguese, and 
they in turn were conquered by the British in 
1796, but it was not annexed by the latter until 
1817. The island still remains under British 
influence. It is governed by a local magistrate 
and an executive council of five members, and 
the legislative power is vested in a council of 
seventeen members. Buddhism is the prevailing 
religion, though there are a considerable num¬ 
ber of Christians and Mohammedans. Several 
railroads, highways, and telephone and telegraph 
lines are maintained. A plan has been projected 
to connect the island with the continent by 
railway. Colombo is the capital. Among the 
other important cities are Jaffna, Point de Galle, 


Kandy, and Trincomali. Population, 1906, 3,- 

680,195. 

CHAGOS (cha'gos), the name of a small 
island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, a colo¬ 
nial possession of Great Britain and a depend¬ 
ency of Mauritius. The^l islands are of coral 
formation. Diego Garcia, the largest island of 
the group, is about six miles wide and twelve 
miles long, and has a population of 526. Fruit 
and cocoanut oil are the chief products. Popu¬ 
lation, 1906, 1,028. 

CHAGRES (cha'gres), a seaport of Panama, 
on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the 
Chagres River. This stream is about 100 miles 
long and flows nearly across the isthmus of 
Panama, entering the sea a short distance west 
of Colon, and its waters are used in connection 
with the Panama Canal. The town has a con¬ 
siderable trade and will be benefited as an outlet 
when the canal is completed. Population, 1,175. 

CHAIN, in surveying, a line made of a hun¬ 
dred iron links, each 7.92 inches long. Its total 
length is four rods, or sixty-six feet, and ten 
square chains equal one acre. It is often called 
Gunter’s chain from its inventor. 

CHAIN, a line formed of a series of metal 
links, connected with or fitted into each other. 
In the manufacture of chains the best quality of 
soft iron is used, as they require strong material 
possessing capability of being easily welded. 
Chains are used for support, connection, re¬ 
straint, transmission of mechanical power, and 
many other purposes in construction and 
machinery. The chain pump has an endless 
chain and is used mainly for pumping water 
from deep wells. 

CHAISE (shaz), a vehicle with two wheels, 
usually drawn by one horse, and furnished with 
a calash top. The body is hung on leather 
straps, or through braces, and is intended for 
two persons. Oliver Wendell Holmes in his 
poem, “The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay,” immor¬ 
talized this kind of a vehicle. More recently 
the name has come to be applied to a light car¬ 
riage with four wheels. 

CHALCEDON (kal-se'dun), a city of an¬ 
cient Bithynia, in Asia Minor, near the Bos¬ 
porus, opposite Byzantium. It was about one 
mile distant from the site of the present city of 
Constantinople and its site is now occupied by 
the modern town of Kadikoi. It was founded 
about 685 b. c. and was long important as a 
military and commercial center. The Romans 
captured it in 74 b. c. and made it a free city. 
In 451 a. d. it was the seat of a general council 
of the Christian Church, which was attended by 
600 bishops and other representatives. It was 
convoked by Emperor Marcianus to settle the 



CHALCEDONY 


431 


CHALK 


doctrinal disputes of the Nestorians and Mono- 
physites, and after long deliberations it adopted 
the orthodox confession of faith, adjusted dif¬ 
ferences between the sees of Antioch and Jeru¬ 
salem, and defined the duties and obligations of 
bishops. 

CHALCEDONY (kal-sed'6-ny), a beautiful 
mineral quartz mixed with opal. It is named 
from Chalcedon in Bithynia, where it is found 
in considerable quantities. It also exists in 
basaltic rock formations, such as abound in Ice¬ 
land and Scotland. The varieties are different 
in color and hardness. When arranged in 
stripes or layers, chalcedony is called agate; if 
the stripes or layers are horizontal, it is termed 
onyx; besides these are greenish, flesh-red, and 
grayish-red varieties. Many species of chalced¬ 
ony are either transparent or translucent with a 
luster nearly the same as that of wax. The 
principal uses are for ornaments, necklaces, and 
brooches. Chalcedony is a favorite article for 
cups, ornamental boxes, and souvenirs. Various 
articles and figures made of chalcedony by the 
ancients may be seen in the museums of America 
and Europe. Some varieties are rich in vege¬ 
table fossils, which were likely incased while the 
mineral was forming. 

CHALCIS (kal'kis), a town of Greece, capi¬ 
tal of the nomarchy of Euboea, 18 miles north¬ 
east of Thebes. It is on the island of Euboea, 
which is separated from the mainland by the 
strait of Euripos, and the strait is crossed by a 
stone bridge about 120 feet long. Through the 
narrow channel passes a strong current, and this 
has been improved by deepening so the larger 
vessels can pass safely through it. It is thought 
that the vicinity of Chalcis was colonized from 
Athens at a very remote date, and it is known 
that Aristotle died here in 322 b.*c. The Vene¬ 
tians captured it in 1205 a. d., but it passed to 
the Turks in 1470 and to the Greeks in 1821. 
The streets are narrow and few ancient ruins 
are in the vicinity. Most of the inhabitants are 
Greeks and Italians, but a few Mohammedans 
and Jews reside here. Population, 1907, 10,150. 

CHALDAEA (kal-de'a), in ancient geog¬ 
raphy, the southern part of Babylonia, but the 
name is applied by some writers to the entire 
Babylonian Empire. The Chaldaeans were 
devoted to the pursuit of natural astronomy and 
magical science. Their language consisted of the 
Aramaean, one of the principal dialects of the 
ancient Semites. The portion of the Bible in¬ 
cluding Daniel from Chap, ii, 4, to Chap, vii, 28; 
Ezra, Chap, iv, 8, to Chap, vi, 18; Chap, vn, 
12-16; and Jeremiah, Chap, x, 11, were written 
in the Chaldee language, but it included several 
shades of dialects. A number of the Jewish 


writings were in the Chaldee language. See 

Babylon. 

CHALDEE LANGUAGE (kal'de), the 
eastern dialect of the Aramaean language, of 
which the Syriac is the western branch. It 
was written in cuneiform characters, probably 
borrowed from the Assyrians, and its literature 
is known to us only through the writings of 
Jews. Many inscriptions have been discovered 
in modern Armenia that are assigned to this 
language, though they show some differences in 
the dialects, and they are generally classed 
with the Hittite and other early languages of 
Asia. The older writings in the Chaldee lan¬ 
guage are represented in certain chapters of the 
books of Ezra, Daniel, and Jeremiah, and the 
more recent are found in the later writings of 
Jews, such as those in the Tar gums. It is 
thought that Abraham used the Chaldee lan¬ 
guage before migrating to Palestine. 

CHALEURS BAY (shaders'), an inlet on 
the eastern shore of the Gulf of Saint Law¬ 
rence, which forms part of the boundary 
between Quebec and New Brunswick. Its 
length from east to west is about ninety miles, 
the breadth is from twelve to twenty miles, and 
the depth is about 250 feet. It received the dis¬ 
charge from a number of small streams, includ¬ 
ing the Patapedia River from the west and the 
Nepisiguit River from the south. The fisheries 
are important, and it has deep water in many 
places along the shore, affording safe anchorage 
for large vessels. It was so named by Jacques 
Cartier, who discovered and explored it in 
1535. 

CHALICE (chal'is), an ordinary drinking 
cup used by the ancients, but the term is now 
applied to the cup in which the wine of the holy 
sacrament is administered. It consists of the 
foot, the stem, the knop, and the bowl. In 
most cases the foot or base is wide so as to 
prevent the vessel from upsetting. Anciently 
the chalices were made of wood, horn, or gold, 
but now they are chiefly of gold, silver, or glass, 
and are adorned with elaborate designs. Some 
are enriched with inscriptions arid even set¬ 
tings of precious stones. 

CHALK (chak), an earthy limestone belong¬ 
ing to the cretaceous system. It is white, yel¬ 
lowish, or grayish in color and readily imparts 
its color to surfaces over which it is rubbed. 
Chalk is composed mainly of the mineral 
remains of animals, such as the teeth of fish and 
reptiles and the shells of turtles and mollusks. 
On the coasts of France and Great Britain, and 
in other localities, it occurs in quantities suffi¬ 
ciently large to form cliffs many feet high. 
Texas has a belt of chalk deposits that is about 


CHALLENGER EXPEDITION 


432 


CHAMBORD 


250 miles long and 600 feet thick. In laying the 
Atlantic cable great oozes were discovered, 
proving that the process of formation is still 
going on In the sea at a depth of from 5,000 to 
15,000 feet. The principal uses of chalk are 
for writing on blackboards, for cleaning pur¬ 
poses, for manure when burnt with lime, and 
for medicine. Several varieties furnish a fine 
mortar and whitewash. Red chalk consists of a 
clay-iron ore and black chalk contains a car¬ 
bon, while French chalk is a kind of soapstone. 
These well-known varieties .are used extensively 
in making colored crayons and in drawing. 

CHALLENGER EXPEDITION (chal'- 
len-jer), an exploration made by the British 
government in 1872-76. The Challenger, a ves¬ 
sel of 2,306 tons, was sent out in 1872 to make 
soundings and study the surface as well as the 
bottom of the sea. Captain Nares had charge 
of the expedition, and during the three and a 
half years traveled 68,900 nautical miles. The 
depth and the character of the surface and bot¬ 
tom, including the temperatures, currents, at¬ 
mospheric conditions and fauna, were studied 
at 362 stations. The deepest soundings were 
made between Japan and the Admiralty Islands, 
where the depths were found to be 4,575 
fathoms. 

CHALONS-SUR-M ARNE (sha-lon'siir- 
marn'), a city of France, capital of the depart¬ 
ment of Marne, ninety-five miles east of Paris. 
It is nicely located on the Marne River, which 
is crossed by a fine stone bridge, and has ex¬ 
tensive railroad conveniences. It has a semi¬ 
nary, an industrial school, a museum, and a 
public library. The manufactures include 
leather, machinery, and cotton and woolen fab¬ 
rics. It has a brisk trade in grain, merchandise, 
and champagne. Chalons was captured by 
Aurelian in 274 a. d., and near it were defeated 
Attila and his Huns, who had made an attack 
on the Romans and Visigoths. It was captured 
by the Germans in 1814 and again in 1870. Na¬ 
poleon III. established a military training camp 
near Chalons in 1856. Population, 1906, 21,860. 

CHALONfc-SUR-SAONE (siir-son'), a city 
of France, capital of a district in the depart¬ 
ment of Saone-et-Loire, thirty-two miles north 
of Macon. It is on the Saone River, at a point 
where the Canal du Centre joins that river 
with the Loire. The surrounding country has 
fine vineyards and cultivated fields. Many of 
the streets are irregular, but some of the newer 
buildings are modern and commodious, and the 
streets are well improved with paving and drain¬ 
age. It has a college, several fine churches, and 
a public library of 25,000 volumes. The manu¬ 
factures consist chiefly of pottery, clothing, jew¬ 


elry, and hats. It has a growing trade in live 
stock and agricultural products. Population, 
1906, 26,850. 

CHAMBER (cham'ber), the term used in 
many countries to denote the legislative branch 
of the government, as the chamber of deputies 
in France, and the imperial chambers of the 
German Empire in the time of Maximilian I. 
Chambers of commerce are organizations which 
are maintained by business men in cities to fur¬ 
ther commercial interests. See Board of Trade. 

CHAMBERSBURG, a borough in Pennsyl¬ 
vania, county seat of Franklin County, fifty- 
two miles southwest of Harrisburg, on the 
Western Maryland, the Philadelphia and Read¬ 
ing, and other railroads. It is surrounded by a 
mineral and agricultural district, and has a 
large trade in produce and merchandise. Its 
industries include flouring mills, iron foundries, 
and factories for the production of furniture, 
shoes, farm machinery, and wood products. It 
is the seat of Wilson College and a fine school 
system. The municipal improvements include 
electric lights, waterworks, a public library, and 
street pavements. It was settled by Benjamin 
Chambers in 1730 and was incorporated in 1803. 
Population, 1900, 8,864. 

CHAMBLY (shan-bl£'), a town of Quebec, 
in Chambly County, about twenty-five miles 
southeast of Montreal. It is situated on the 
Richelieu or Sorel River, at the rapids of the 
river, the outlet of Lake Champlain, and is 
connected by canal with Saint Johns. The Brit¬ 
ish had a post at Chambly in 1775, and Gen¬ 
eral Montgomery, who was besieging Saint 
Johns, aided by some Canadian scouts, surprised 
and captured the post after a short fight. The 
Americans secured a large quantity of provisions 
and military stores and captured the- colors of 
the seventh regiment of British regulars, which 
was sent to the Continental Congress as the 
first trophy of war received by that body. This 
disaster hastened the downfall of Saint Johns. 

CHAMBORD (shan-bor'), a village of 
France, in the department of Loir-et-Cher, ten 
miles east of Blois. It is noted for a castle of 
its own name, which is surrounded by a beau¬ 
tiful park twenty-one miles in circumference. 
This castle was begun in 1526 under the direc¬ 
tion of Francis I., and was given by Louis XV. 
to Marshal Saxe, who lived here from 1745 
until his death in 1750. Napoleon I. bestowed 
it on Marshal Berthier, and in 1821 it was 
purchased and presented to the Duke of Bor¬ 
deaux, who afterward became the Count of 
Chambord. This building has 440 rooms, is in 
the Renaissance style, and is surmounted by six 
towers, each of which is sixty feet in diameter. 



CHAMELEON 


433 


CHAMPAIGN 


CHAMELEON (ka-me'le-un), a genus of 
reptiles belonging to the order of lizards, and 
native to Eurasia and Africa. They are slug¬ 
gish and move silently and slowly, but possess 
remarkable quickness of eye and tongue. The 
tongue is wormlike and is thrust out with much 
precision in catching insects, upon which they 
feed. In size they range from six to eight 
inches long, with a tail about five inches, and 
the feet are suitable for fastening themselves 
to branched. They have but five cervical ver¬ 
tebrae, five toes, and very large lungs, and are 
reproduced by means of eggs. Their capacity 
to inflate themselves with air has given rise to 
the fable that air is their food, but this is erro¬ 
neous, as they live on insects caught by thrust¬ 
ing the long, viscid tongue outward and grasp¬ 
ing flies, beetles, and other insects. The pecu- 
4 liarity of chameleons consists mainly in their 
ability to assume colors agreeable to their sur¬ 
roundings, thus rendering themselves in appear¬ 
ance like the leaves or branches of the trees 
for prote#ion. Some writers assert that they 
change colors, at least in some cases, to dis¬ 
play displeasure when they are disturbed. These 
changes are brought about by cells at vari¬ 
ous depths in the skin, by which expansion 
and contraction are effected, the contractile 
cells being under the influence of the nervous 
system. 


CHAMOIS (sham'my), the only wild ante¬ 
lope found in Europe, known to the Germans 



CHAMOIS. 


as the gemse. It is found in the Alps, Carpa¬ 
thians, Pyrenees; in Greece, and in Western 
Asia, particularly in the Taurus and Caucasus 
mountains. In size it is about three feet long 
28 


and two feet high, and is similar to the roe¬ 
buck in structure and general characteristics. 
Its horns are from six to eight inches long. 
They are smooth, round, and straight, with a 
short curve at the. ends. The hairs are longest 
in the winter and of a chestnut-brown color, 
but in the summer season assume a much lighter 
hue, approaching gray in the spring. It in¬ 
habits the precipitous and rocky mountain peaks, 
moving to higher altitudes in the summer season 
and to the lower slopes in the winter. Herds 
of from ten to twenty feed in the mornings 
and evenings, while in the day they are inclined 
to seek places of safety, usually isolating them¬ 
selves for that purpose. The habits are quick 
and watchful, and the power of smell is remark¬ 
able, thus rendering capture difficult. The flesh 
is a favorite article of food, while the cele¬ 
brated chamois skin is made from the hide. 

CHAMOMILE (kam'6-mil), or Camomile, 
a plant native to Southern Europe, but now 
cultivated extensively in gardens. It has 
branched stems, is perennial, and bears a white 
flower with a yellow center. It yields an es¬ 
sential oil useful in medicine. The leaves and 
flowers are used for an infusion, as a stimulant, 
and for poultices. 

CHAMOUNI (sha-mdo-ne'), or Chamonix, 

a famous valley and village located among the 
Alps in France. The village is the gathering 
place of about 20,000 tourists annually, on ac¬ 
count of the beautiful location and grandeur of 
the scenery found in the valley and adjacent 
mountains. The valley is located 3,400 feet above 
sea level, is two miles wide and thirteen miles 
long, and south of it is the celebrated group 
of Mont Blanc. Vast glaciers slide from the 
mountains. The large lake of ice called Mer 
de Glace merges into the Glacier de Bois, 
which reaches to the lower portion of the val¬ 
ley even during the summer season. Mont 
Blanc, as seen from the village, affords a view 
that is remarkable for its simple and massive 
sublimity, and has caused an inspiration for 
beautiful writings by Shelley, Byron, Words¬ 
worth, Coleridge, Lamartine, and Ruskin. 

CHAMPAGNE (sham-pan'), a celebrated 
brisk and sparkling wine now made chiefly in 
the department of Marne, but formerly in the 
province of Champagne, France. The finest 
quality is made of black grapes, but similar 
grades are made in Germany. The effervescent 
wines made in California are pronounced equal 
to the best French product. 

CHAMPAIGN, a city of Champaign County, 
Illinois, 127 miles southwest of Chicago, on the 
Illinois Central, the Wabash, and other railroads. 
It is surrounded by a fine agricultural country. 

• / 



CHAMP DE MARS 


434 


CHANTILLY 


The streets are improved by avenues of trees, 
pavements, waterworks, and sewerage. It has 
a public library, a fine high school, and a fine 
public park. The manufactures include machin¬ 
ery, cigars, earthenware, and implements. The 
University of Illinois is located near the city. 
It is connected with Urbana, the county seat, 
by an electric railway, Champaign was settled 
in 1855 and incorporated in 1860. Population, 
1900, 9,098. 

CHAMP DE MARS (shan'de-mars), mean¬ 
ing Field of Mars, a celebrated square in Paris, 
France, where the feast of the revolution was 
held on July 14, 1790, and Louis XVI. swore 
to defend the new constitution. Besides being 
a seat of many noted feasts and demonstrations, 
it was the site of the great expositions of 1867, 
1878, 1889, and 1900. 

CHAMPLAIN (sham-plan'), a beautiful 
lake located between New York and Vermont 
and extending into Canada. Its greatest breadth 
is about fifteen miles; length, 110 miles; and 
area, 600 square miles. It is connected with 
the Hudson River by a canal. The discharge is 
carried by the Richelieu River, which flows into 
the Saint Lawrence. A large number of small 
islands are located in the lake, some of which 
are highly productive, and its beautiful scenery 
attracts many visitors. The name was given 
to it from its discoverer, Samuel de Champlain. 
It was the scene of an important battle between 
the Americans and British in 1814, when the 
latter were defeated. , 

CHAMPS ELYSEES (shan-za le-za'), a 
fashionable promenade established at Paris, 
France, in 1616, when it was platted by Marie 
de Medicis. It extends from the Arc de l’Etoile 
to the Place de la Concorde, a distance of one 
and one-third miles. At the lower end are 
many cafes and restaurants. Those who visit 
Paris find the promenade one of the finest 
sights, especially in the afternoon, when many 
carriages and pedestrians are on the Champs 
Elysees. 

CHANCELLOR (chan'sel-ler), an officer 
who presides over a court of chancery, similar 
to the judges of a court of law. He is usually 
selected from among judges by other judges, 
to sit as a chancellor. In a university the 
chancellor is the chief officer of the institution, 
but generally an honorary officer. In Great 
Britain the lord high chancellor is a state officer 
of large functions. His office is one of the 
highest civil positions in the land and when 
raised to the peerage he takes precedence im¬ 
mediately after the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
He is an important official of state, acts for 
both England and Scotland, and in some respects 


for the United Kingdom. The chancellor is the 
chairman or speaker of the House of Lords. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE, a village in 
Spottsylvania County, Virginia, about sixty-five 
tniles northwest of Richmond. It was the 
scene of a number of battles fought on May 
2-4, 1863, between the Union and Confederate 
armies. General Hooker commanded the army 
of the Potomac and the Confederates were com¬ 
manded by General Lee. The Union army num¬ 
bered 100,000, while the Confederate consisted 
of 90,000 men. In the terrible conflict of three- 
days the Union army was defeated with a loss 
of 18,000 men, while the Confederates lost 13,- 
000, including their able and brave general, 
Stonewall Jackson, who fell mortally wounded 
and died about a week later. This loss was 
irreparable. 

CHANG-CHOU (chang'chou), a city in the § 
province of Fu-Kien, China. It is located in 
the valley of the Chang River. The city is 
surrounded by a wall about five miles in circum¬ 
ference and is ancient and uncouth.# In it are 
several Buddhist temples, among them a mag¬ 
nificent structure erected in the 8th century. 
The industries include manufactures of utensils, 
sugar, porcelain, opium, and paper and silk 
goods, and a largq export and import trade. 
Its location on a navigable river only twenty- 
five miles from the sea renders it an impor¬ 
tant commercial center. Population, 900,190. 

CHANNEL ISLANDS, a small group of 
islands in the English Channel, off the coast 
of*France. The area is 108 square miles. The 
most important islands of the group include 
Sark, Alderney, Guernsey, and Jersey, the last 
three giving the names to the celebrated milch 
cows exported from them. Much of the sur¬ 
face is productive and well cultivated. The prin¬ 
cipal industries are agriculture and dairying. 
The language spoken is Norman-French, the 
official language is French, and the government 
is under the British. These islands became a 
possession of Britain at the time William the 
Conqueror made his famous invasion. A num¬ 
ber of strong fortifications still indicate the 
English possession of Norman provinces, of 
which they are the only remains. Population, 
1907, 95,974. 

CHANTILLY (shan-te-ye'), a town of 
France, in the department of Oise, twenty-four 
miles northeast of Paris. It is a picturesque 
place and is noted for its manufacture of fine 
lace and porcelain. Several parks are main¬ 
tained, one of which belonged to the Conde 
family from 1632 until 1830. The remains of 
Coligny were interred in the parish church of 
Chantilly, after his head had been cut off and 


CHANTILLY 


435 


CHARCOAL 


sent to Catherine de’ Medici. In one of the 
chateaus is a splendid art collection, which was 
presented by the Due d’Aumale to the Institute 
of France in 1887. Population, 1906, 4,750. 

CHANTILLY (shan-tfl'li), a village of Vir¬ 
ginia, in Fairfax County, twenty miles west of 
Washington, D. C. It was the scene of an in¬ 
decisive battle of the Civil War on Sept. 1, 
1862, when the Federals under Generals Hooker 
and Kearny made an attack upon the Confed¬ 
erates under General Jackson. Both sides lost 
heavily and Generals Philip Kearny and Isaac 
J. Stevens were among the Federal dead. 

CHANUTE (cha-noot'), a city of Kansas, 
in Neosho County, 125 miles southwest of Kan¬ 
sas City, Mo., on the Missouri, Kansas and 
Texas and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 
railroads. It is surrounded by a country that 
produces gas and oil. Among the public util¬ 
ities are waterworks, street pavements, a public 
library, and several fine schools. It has manu¬ 
factures of machinery, clothing, and ironware. 
The first settlement was made in 1872 and it 
was incorporated the following year. Its rapid 
growth and prosperity is due to its convenient 
location on important railways and within a 
productive field of oil and natural gas. Popu¬ 
lation, 1904, 10,116. 

CHAOS (ka'os), the void existing before the 
creation, or the mass of matter existing in con¬ 
fusion before the elements were arranged ac¬ 
cording to class, kind, and form by creation. 
The term is also used to express any condi¬ 
tion of being in which the elements or parts 
are in utter disorder or confusion. 

CHAPALA (cha-pa'la), a beautiful lake 
located in Mexico, in the states of Jalisco and 
Michoacan, and forming part of their boundary. 
The lake has excellent fisheries. Near it is the 
railroad city of Ocotlan. The area of the lake 
is 1,390 square miles. It receives the inflow 
from the Rio Lerma and the discharge is car¬ 
ried by the Rio Santiago, which issues from 
the north side. 

CHAPERON (shap'er-on), a cap or hood 
worn by knights. The name is also applied to 
a device placed on the foreheads of horses draw¬ 
ing a hearse, especially at stately and pompous 
funerals. 

CHAPLAIN (chap'lTn), a name originally 
applied to a spiritual adviser of a regiment of 
soldiers, but now used to signify the spiritual 
adviser of any organization or collection of 
persons. Such an officer is employed by legis¬ 
lative bodies, naval organizations, and military 
institutions, while many noblemen and sover¬ 
eigns also engage them. In the prisons the 
chaplain ministers to the comfort and need of 


the inmates. The chaplain of the United 
States army usually holds the rank of cap¬ 
tain. He ranks from lieutenant up to captain 
in the navy, this depending upon the time of 
service. 

CHAPULTEPEC (cha-pool-ta-pek'), a 
fortress two miles southwest of the city of 
Mexico, located on a rock formation 150 feet 
high, and crowned by a castle erected in 1785 
by the Spaniards. It was the scene of the deci¬ 
sive battle in the Mexican War. General Scott 
first stormed Molino del Rey on Sept. 8, 1847, 
and engaged the attention of the Mexicans by 
heavy fire from the batteries at the south end 
of the city. On Sept. 13, under the cover of 
guns, picked men forming two columns assaulted 
and captured the fortress. The Americans lost 
less than 900 killed and wounded. The fall of 
Chapultepec opened the causeway to the capi¬ 
tal of the republic and compelled the Mexicans 
to terminate the war. Since then the castle has 
been transformed into a beautiful summer resi¬ 
dence for the President of Mexico, while ad¬ 
joining it is the Mexican military school, often 
called the West Point of Mexico. 

CHARADE (sha-rad'), a kind of enigma, 
which consists in dividing a word into syllables, 
each of which must be a complete word and 
vaguely define without naming each of the 
parts and the whole word. For a charade to 
have literary worth its members must have 
some relation to each other, and unite in an 
epigrammatic point. It was invented in the lat¬ 
ter part of the 18th century and had been used 
most extensively in Germany and France. In 
some countries the charade forms a kind of 
parlor drama, in which each syllable is intro¬ 
duced prominently in the successive scenes, and 
the whole word is brought out in the last act. 

CHARCOAL (char'kol), a pure variety of 
carbon prepared from bones or vegetable sub¬ 
stances. Other sources of charcoal are coke, 
ivory, and various semiorganic substances. 
Charcoal made of bones is used in refining 
sugar and as a medium to filter and disinfect. 
It is prepared by calcining bones in closed ves¬ 
sels, which are in the form of earthen pots, and 
are filled with bones and highly heated, or 
are made of retorts and treated much like those 
used in distilling coal for the production of 
illuminating gas. It requires about sixteen 
hours of firing to complete the charring of 
fifty pounds of bones to a pot. After calcining, 
the bones are ground between rollers to form 
granulated material serving to charge the filters 
of the sugar refiner. Bone charcoal is par¬ 
ticularly valuable for removing color and im¬ 
purities from sugar. Wood charcoal is made 


CHARENTE 


436 


CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS 


by burning wood with but little access of air. 
Before burning, the wood is piled in a heap 
and covered with sand or earth. The fire is 
applied at an opening near the bottom of the 
pile, and small openings are constructed above 
for the escape of the gases. Since wood con¬ 
sists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the car¬ 
bon remains to form the charcoal, while the 
hydrogen and oxygen gases escape. In making 
a fine grade of charcoal, useful in the manufac¬ 
ture of gunpowder, such woods as the willow 
are used, and the burning is done in iron cylin¬ 
ders or retorts, in which the hydro-carbons 
and acids are removed by a process of dis¬ 
tillation. In this way the process can be 
accurately regulated, and the products are in¬ 
creased correspondingly in value. The many 
useful purposes to which wood charcoal is put 
include its employment as an essential element 
in the manufacture of gunpowder, fireworks, 
galvanic batteries, and electric lamps. It is 
valuable as a fuel, a polishing powder, a means 
to remove color and unwholesome smells from 
solutions and water, an absorbent of gases and 
vapors, and a nonconductor in safes, refriger¬ 
ators, and ice houses. The best grades of char¬ 
coal contain from sixty-five to ninety-six per 
cent, of carbon. Charcoal consisting of lamp¬ 
black, ivory black, and kindred substances is 
used as the basis of black paint, and is of 
value as a constituent of printing ink when 
mixed with resinous matter and oils. Other 
uses of the several varieties are for medicine 
and in the toilet for tooth powder. 

CHARENTE (sha-rant'), a river in the 
western part of France, rises about fourteen 
miles northwest of Chalus, and after a course 
of 220 miles discharges into the Bay of Biscay, 
opposite the Aix and Oleron islands. It is 
navigable to Angouleme, a distance of 104 miles, 
but steamboats do not ascend farther than 
Saintes, which is at the head of tidewater. 

CHARIOT (char'i-ot), a vehicle used for 
pleasure and war by the early Assyrians, Egyp¬ 
tians, Greeks, Romans, and other ancient peo¬ 
ples, but now used principally in exhibitions. 
It has two wheels and is closed in front and 
open behind, and those used by ancient warriors 
had quivers to contain the arrows attached to 
the side. Three men—the warrior, the shield- 
bearer, and the charioteer —were necessary to 
fully equip the vehicle of war. In the ancient 
chariot races two or four horses were com¬ 
monly used, while in war two horses generally 
served the purpose of drawing this vehicle. 
The chariots employed by the Romans in the 
campaigns in Germanic countries and Gaul were 
provided with a scythelike implement, hooks. 


and other offensive weapons. They were at¬ 
tached to each extremity of the axle, on the 
outside of the wheels. The sculptures of an¬ 
cient Assyria give definite ideas of the con¬ 
struction of the vehicles that were peculiar to 
their time. 

CHARITY, Sisters of, a sisterhood of the 
Roman Catholic Church, founded by Saint Vin¬ 
cent de Paul at Paris in 1629. The primary ob¬ 
ject of this organization at the time it was 
instituted was to nurse patients in hospitals, 
but the care of poor children, free schools, 
almshouses, and hospitals were soon placed un¬ 
der their management. Branch organizations 
are now maintained in all countries where the 
Catholic Church is represented, the total being 
about 40,000. Besides these are the Sisters of 
Charity organized at Dublin, Ireland, in 1815, 
and the Sisters of Charity of Saint Paul, insti¬ 
tuted by a French cure in 1704. The vows of 
the members in the last two are perpetual, while 
in the former they renew their vows annually. 
The work of these helpful organizations con¬ 
sists largely of giving instruction to the children 
of the poor and in parochial schools. 

CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS, the name 
applied to associations having for their object 
the improvement of morals and the conditions 
of human life. In some countries they are 
known as United Charities or Bureau of Chari¬ 
ties ,. The first society of this kind had its begin¬ 
ning in London in 1869, and its plan was copied 
in 1873, when a similar society was formed at 
Germantown, Pa. The Buffalo Charity Or¬ 
ganization Society was founded in 1877, and 
since then many similar societies have been 
formed. In 1908 there were 142 cities in the 
United States that had societies of this kind. 
In the same year ten cities of Canada had 
organizations of this kind, and similar socie¬ 
ties were maintained in Australia and most 
countries of Europe. 

The general object of charity organizations 
may be said to be the cure of social evils as 
well as the alleviation of distress suffered by 
the poor and unfortunate. Where those in 
poverty are absolutely in need of alms it is 
customary to give relief, but as a general rule 
the practice is to train people to help them¬ 
selves. In many cases trained workers of the 
local association visit the homes of improvident 
families with the object of helping them to help 
themselves, or rather to put them on a footing 
where they will be able to live under improved 
conditions and become competent to sustain 
themselves by following some useful occupa¬ 
tion. 

Much good has been done by studying san- 


CHARIVARI 


437 


CHARLESTON 


itation with the view of inducing cleanliness 
and supplying the needy with pure water and 
good ventilation. In this connection the tene¬ 
ment houses have been improved, especially in 
the congested districts of large cities. The 
Charity Organization Societies of New York 
City, after taking steps to improve housing by 
advocating restrictive legislation and sanitary 
inspection, effectually turned attention to the 
project of stimulating a higher conception of 
life by means of general education. Recently 
the Chicago Bureau of Charity carefully inves¬ 
tigated the treatment of youthful offenders 
and worked out a plan to rescue children under 
arrest for crime. This movement caused the 
establishment of the Chicago Juvenile Court, 
which was organized under a law that went 
into effect in 1901, and it has jurisdiction of 
cases in which children under ten years of 
age are arrested for begging, singing, selling 
articles, or playing musical instruments on the 
streets. Under this plan of treating youthful 
vagrants, or semicriminals, it has been possible 
to not only reduce the number of misdemeanors 
committed by neglected children, but also to 
rescue juveniles and bring about permanent 
reform. Similar provisions are now enforced 
in Baltimore, Minneapolis, New York, Phila¬ 
delphia, and other American cities. In order 
to prevent a tendency to crime, or reform those 
who have erred, it is the general rule to deal 
with the head of the family. Mothers’ meet¬ 
ings, home libraries, penny saving banks, and 
local organizations have proven wholesome 
means to carry on charity work. 

CHARIVARI (sha-re-va-re'), a serenade 
given by a company who make discordant 
music at marriages as a token of good feeling 
or for merriment. In some countries the prac¬ 
tice is perpetrated as a mark of disregard. In 
France the name has been applied to several 
comic journals, as the Paris Charivari. 

CHARLEROI (shar-le-roi'), a borough of 
Pennsylvania, in Washington County, 40 miles 
south of Pittsburg. It is located on the Monon- 
gahela River and on the Pittsburg, Virginia 
and Charleston Railroad, and is a manufac¬ 
turing and commercial center. Among the 
manufactures are glass, utensils, and machin¬ 
ery. The principal buildings include several 
fine schools and churches. The first settlement 
on its site was made in 1890, and its prosperity 
is due to its extensive manufacturing enter¬ 
prises. Population, 1900, 5,930; in 1910, 9,615. 

CHARLES CITY, a city of Iowa, county 
seat of Floyd County, on the Cedar River, 140 
miles northwest of Dubuque. It is on the 
Illinois Central and the Chicago, Milwaukee 


and Saint Paul railroads, and the surrounding 
country is fertile, producing cereals and live 
stock. The Cedar River furnishes good water 
power. Among the manufactures are wagons, 
clothing, furniture, and farming machinery. 
It .is the seat of Charles City College, a Meth¬ 
odist Episcopal institution founded in 1891. 
The chief buildings include a courthouse, a 
library, an opera house, and several fine 
churches. All the public utilities have been 
provided, such as waterworks, sewerage, and 
electric lighting. The first settlement was made 
on its site in 1856 and it was incorporated in 
1869. Population, 1905, 4,546. 

CHARLES RIVER, a river in the eastern 
part of Massachusetts, rises in Norfolk County 
and flows into Boston Harbor. It separates 
Charlestown from Boston, and on its banks 
are Cambridge, Watertown, Waltham, and 
Newtons. Tidewater extends to Watertown, 
and between Cambridge and Boston is an estu¬ 
ary. 

CHARLESTON (charlz'tun), a city of Illi¬ 
nois, county seat of Coles County, forty-seven 
miles west of Terre Haute, Ind., on the Big 
Four and the Toledo, Saint Louis and West¬ 
ern railroads. The surrounding country is de¬ 
voted to farming and stock raising. It has an 
important trade in merchandise and manufac¬ 
tures of tile, flour, woolen goods, and hard¬ 
ware. The chief buildings include a court¬ 
house, a free library, and a number of fine 
schools. It is the seat of the Eastern Illinois 
Normal School. The first settlement was made 
in 1830, and its incorporation dates from 1855. 
Population,. 1900, 5,488. 

CHARLESTON, a city and port of entry in 
South Carolina, county seat of Charleston 
County, on a peninsula between Cooper and 
Ashley rivers, eighty-two miles northeast of 
Savannah, Ga. It is on the Southern, Atlantic 
Coast Line, and other railroads, and has regu¬ 
lar steamboat connections with Boston, New 
York, and the leading ports of Europe. The 
harbor is landlocked and safe, and has been 
improved by jetties so as to admit the large 
sea-going vessels. A lighthouse with a flashing 
light, elevated 133 feet, stands west of the chan¬ 
nel. The harbor is defended: by Fort Moultrie, 
on Sullivan’s Island, which has been improved 
by the Federal government. 

Charleston has a water front of nine miles 
and the larger part has regularly platted and 
well-improved streets, but some of the thor¬ 
oughfares in the older parts are narrow. The 
architecture is generally substantial, constructed 
mostly of stone and brick, and the newer build¬ 
ings are tall structures with steel frames. The 




CHARLESTON 


438 


CHARLOTTENBURG 


county courthouse is at the corner of Broad 
and Meeting streets, and near it are the city 
hall and the post office. Other fine buildings 
include the customhouse, the Thomson Mem- 
minger Normal School, the Saint Michael’s 
Church (Protestant Episcopal), and the Roman 
Catholic Cathedral. It has a public library of 
25,000 volumes. Among the educational insti¬ 
tutions are the College of Charleston, the South 
Carolina Military Academy, the South Carolina 
Medical College, and the Avery Normal School 
for colored students. The Euston Home, the 
Charleston Orphan House, the city hospital, 
and the Confederate Home are among the 
charitable institutions. White Point Garden, a 
finely wooded park, contains the Jasper monu¬ 
ment. Other objects of interests are the bust 
of Henry Timrod and the monuments of Wil¬ 
liam Pitt and John C. Calhoun. The Battery, 
near the harbor, is a popular promenade. 

Charleston is preeminently a manufacturing 
and commercial city. In the early years of the 
last century it was the chief cotton port of 
North America, but it still has a large coast¬ 
wise and foreign trade. The manufactures 
include clothing, phosphates, furniture, cigars, 
machinery, refined oil, flour, boilers, and spir¬ 
ituous liquors. Large quantities of fruit and 
early vegetables are grown in the vicinity and 
shipped to the markets in the North. It has 
an important wholesale and jobbing trade with 
cities of the interior. The exports consist 
chiefly of rice, cotton, fertilizers, lumber, ce¬ 
reals, and live stock. 

Charleston was settled by the English in 
1670, when a colony under William Sayle was 
planted on the west bank of the Ashley River, 
about three miles from the present city. The 
public offices were shortly after removed to the 
present site of Charleston, which soon became 
one of the chief seaports in America. It was 
held by the Americans during the early part 
of the Revolution, but was captured by the 
British in 1780, with a force of 16,000 under 
Sir Henry Clinton. The first bale of cotton 
exported from America to Europe was shipped 
from this port in 1784. The ordinance of seces¬ 
sion was passed in Charleston, and Fort Sum¬ 
ter, in the harbor, was the scene of the first 
hostility of the Civil War. Half of the city 
was burned in 1864 by the Union forces, and 
the last two years of the war it was held by 
the Federals in a state of siege. A great earth¬ 
quake destroyed much property in August, 1886. 
In 1901 it was the seat of the South Carolina 
Interstate and West Indian Exposition. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 55,807; in 1910, 58,833. 

CHARLESTON, the capital of West Vir¬ 


ginia, county seat of Kanawha County, on the 
Kanawha and Elk rivers. It is on the Ohio 
Central, the Chesapeake and Ohio, and other 
railroads, and has regular steamboat connec¬ 
tion with many river ports. The chief build¬ 
ings include the capital, the county courthouse, 
the customhouse, and an opera house. It has 
extensive dry docks and shipbuilding yards. 
The manufactures include furniture, wagons, 
ice, iron fences, and machinery. It is lighted 
by gas and electricity, and surrounded by ex¬ 
tensive coal fields, and has a large trade in 
coal and produce. A fort was built here in 
1786 and the city was incorporated in 1794. 
Charleston was made the capital of the State 
in 1869, but it was removed to Wheeling in 
1875. It became the permanent capital in 1885. 
Population, 1900, 11,099; in 1910, 22,996. 

CHARLOTTE (shar'lot), a city in North 
Carolina, county seat of Mecklenburg County, 
110 miles north of Columbia, on the Southern, 
the Seaboard Air Line, and other railroads. 
It occupies a fine site on Sugar Creek and is 
surrounded by an agricultural country, which 
has deposits of gold and commercial clays. 
The chief buildings include a Carnegie public 
library, the county courthouse, the Young Men’s 
Christian Association building, a military insti¬ 
tute, and a United States mint. Among the 
industries are cotton mills, machine shops, to¬ 
bacco factories, and carriage works. The gen¬ 
eral manufactures include cigars, earthenware, 
cotton goods, clothing, and machinery. It is 
the seat of a Lutheran and a Presbyterian col¬ 
lege and of the Biddle University, a Presby¬ 
terian institution for colored students. Gas and 
electric lighting, pavements, sewerage, water¬ 
works, and electric street railways are among 
the public utilities. It was settled in 1750 and 
incorporated in 1768. The Mecklenburg Dec¬ 
laration of Independence was adopted here in 
1775 and the signers of this document are com¬ 
memorated by a monument. Population, 1900, 
18,091; in 1910, 34,014. 

CHARLOTTENBURG (char-lot'ten-bdorg), 
a city of Germany, on the Spree River, three 
miles southwest of Berlin. It is connected with 
the capital city by an elevated railway and 
electric lines through the famous Thiergarten, 
which is a favorite promenade and zoological 
garden. The chief buildings include a royal 
palace, the Technical Academy, a military 
school, a fine public library, and numerous gym¬ 
nasiums. It is the seat of the Royal Porcelain 
Factory, founded in 1761. Among the manu¬ 
factures are glass, pottery, electrical apparatus, 
hosiery, clothing, cotton goods, toys, chemicals, 
and machinery. Charlottenburg was founded in 


CHARLOTTESVILLE 


439 


CHARTRES 


1705 by Frederick I., but its rapid growth is 
recent. The park has a Doric mausoleum which 
contains the remains of Frederick William III. 
and his wife, Queen Louisa, and their statues 
executed by Rauch. It is one of the most flour¬ 
ishing and beautiful cities in Europe. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 239,559. 

CHARLOTTESVILLE (shar'lots-vil), a 
city of Virginia, county seat of Albemarle 
County, 100 miles northwest of Richmond. It 
occupies an elevated site on the Rivanna River 
and has transportation facilities by the South¬ 
ern and the Chesapeake and Ohio railroads. 
The chief buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the Albemarle College, the Rawlings 
Female Institute, and the University of Vir¬ 
ginia. Monticello, the home of Jefferson, is 
a short distance southeast of the city. Char¬ 
lottesville has manufactures of flour, cigars, 
machinery, and earthenware. Waterworks, elec¬ 
tric lighting, and sewerage are among the pub¬ 
lic utilities. It was settled in 1744 and incor¬ 
porated as a city in 1888. Population, 1900, 
6,449. 

CHARLOTTETOWN, a city of Canada, 
capital of the province of Prince Edward 
Island, in Queen’s County, on the Prince Ed¬ 
ward Island Railway. It is located on Hills¬ 
borough Bay, on the southern coast, and has 
an excellent harbor. Steamers carry trade reg¬ 
ularly with the principal ports of Canada, and 
the railroad furnishes transportation facilities 
to all points of the island. It has manufactures 
of cotton and woolen goods, machinery, hard¬ 
ware, and clothing. The fisheries are impor¬ 
tant in that they supply catches for the trade 
and for canning. Among the public utilities 
are electric and gas lights, waterworks, sew¬ 
erage, and paving. The Dominion buildings, 
the city hall, the courthouse, and a number of 
fine schools and churches are among the chief 
buildings. It is the seat of the Prince of Wales 
College and of a normal school. The French 
founded Charlottetown in 1750 and named it 
Port la Joie. Population, 1901, 12,080. 

CHARNEL HOUSE (char'nel), & deposi¬ 
tory under or near churches for the bones of 
the dead. In many ancient churches the crypt 
under the chapel was used for the purpose of 
reverently storing the bones, which are still 
preserved with much care. 

CHART, a representation of the whole or 
a portion of the earth’s surface projected on a 
plane, by which the contour of the continents, 
the islands, and the ocean may be studied. 
Charts intended for navigators’ use are made 
to represent the seas and oceans, and merely 
include the outlines of the coast and islands. 


The best known chart is the projection of the 
earth’s surface by Mercator, called Mercator’s 
chart. A plane chart is the representation of 
some part of the superficies of' the earth, in 
which the spherical form is, disregarded, the 
meridians are drawn parallel, the parallels of 
latitude are represented at equal distances, and 
the degrees of latitude and longitude are sup¬ 
posed to be of equal length. A chart represent¬ 
ing the surface of the moon is called seleno- 
graphical, while one representing the small 
parts of the earth is known as a topographical. 
See Map. 

CHARTERHOUSE (char'ter-hous), a 
school and hospital in England, founded by 
Thomas Sutton in 1611. It occupies the site 
of the. celebrated Carthusian monastery estab¬ 
lished in 1371. After the monasteries were dis¬ 
solved by Henry VIII., the land passed through 
several hands, until it was purchased by Thomas 
Sutton, who endowed the institution located 
here, at present. The school is one of the larg¬ 
est in England and among its graduates are 
Grote, Steele, Blackstone, Addison, Thackeray, 
and John Wesley. In recent years the average 
attendance has been over 500 students. The 
hospital is maintained for the benefit of poor 
men, and those admitted must be bachelors, 
not less than fifty years of age, and members 
in good standing of the Church of England. 

CHARTER OAK, an oak .tree that formerly 
stood in Hartford, Conn., and became associat¬ 
ed with early history. In 1687 Sir Edmund 
Andros marched to Hartford as the represen¬ 
tative of King James II. to demand the charter 
of the colony with the intention of revoking it. 
Capt. James Wadsworth, hearing of the inten¬ 
tion, hid the charter in the hollow of this oak. 
The tree was destroyed by a gale on Aug. 21, 
1856, but fortunately a drawing had been made 
of it a few years previous. 

CHARTRES (shar'tr’), a city of France, 
capital of the department of Eure-et-Loire, 
forty-eight miles southwest of Paris. It is 
located on the Eure River, has ample railway 
facilities, and carries a brisk trade in merchan¬ 
dise and produce. Some of the streets are 
narrow and crooked, but the newer parts are 
well built. It has a fine Gothic cathedral of 
the 11th centurf, surmounted by a tower 382 
feet high, and the public library has 35,000 vol¬ 
umes. Among the manufactures are clothing, 
leather, hosiery, and machinery. Chartres was 
founded by the Carnutes, was the seat of the 
College of Druids, and Francis I. made it a 
duchy. Henry IV. captured it in 1519. It was 
occupied by the Germans in 1870. Population, 
1906, 19,850. 





CHARYBDIS 


440 


CHATTEL 


CHARYBDIS. See Scylla and Charybdis. 

CHAT, a small bird of the warbler family, 
found in North America, chiefly along the 
eastern coast.* The tail is somewhat longer 
than the wing, the color is greenish above and 
yellowish beneath, and the song uttered by 
the male in the mating seasoh is a curious mix¬ 
ture of caws and whistles. It feeds on insects 
and inhabits thickets and copses. The nest is 
built in bushes near the ground. The whinchat 
of England belongs to this class of birds. 

CHATHAM (chat'am), a town of Kent 
County, Ontario, on the Thames River, forty- 
five miles northeast of Detroit, Mich. It is on 
the Erie and Huron and the Grand Trunk 
railroads and has regular steamboat communi¬ 
cation. The chief buildings are the town hall 
and several schools and churches. The manu¬ 
factures include woolen goods, machinery, and 
furniture. It has public waterworks, sewerage, 
electric lighting, and a large trade in farm 
produce, soap, tobacco, and lumber. Popula¬ 
tion, 1901, 9,068. 

CHATHAM, a town of New Brunswick, in 
Northumberland County, on the Miramichi 
River. It is pleasantly situated near Miramichi 
Bay, six miles northeast of Newcastle, and 
has transportation facilities by an important 
railway. It has a fine harbor and is a port of 
entry. The chief industries include foundries, 
gas works, shipyards, and flouring and lum¬ 
ber mills. It has *a college, a, hospital, several 
fine churches, and a Roman Catholic cathedral. 
The export trade is chiefly in fish, lumber, and 
merchandise. Population, 5,500. 

CHATHAM, a fortified city of England, in 
the county of Kent, thirty miles southeast of 
London. It is located on the estuary of the 
Medway, near Rochester, with which it is 
closely united socially and commercially. Some 
of the streets are narrow and irregular, but 
the newer thoroughfares have been improved 
by paving and modern architecture. It is im¬ 
portant as a military post, has a military hos¬ 
pital and school of engineering, and its forti¬ 
fications are the scenes of many drills and re¬ 
views. About 500 acres are included in the 
royal dockyard, which was established by Queen 
Elizabeth, and its shipyards are ample for the 
construction of the largest vessels. Chatham 
is not important as a manufacturing center 
aside from its shipyards and metal mills, in 
which about 5,000 rpen are employed. It has 
considerable trade in merchandise and produce 
and has modern utilities, such as gas and elec¬ 
tric lights and urban and interurban rapid 
transit. Population, 1907, 40,840. 

CHATHAM ISLANDS, an island group 


located in the Pacific Ocean, about 450 miles 
east of New Zealand, under which the govern¬ 
ment is administered. The area is 375 square 
miles. The soil is fertile and produces cereals, 
vegetables, and^fruit. Sheep and cattle raising 
and whaling are the leading industries. The 
islands were discovered by Lieutenant Brough¬ 
ton in 1791 and were so named from his ship. 
A majority of the inhabitants are Maoris and 
Morioris. Population, 1906, 399. 

CHATTAHOOCHEE (chat-ta-hod'che), a 
river in Georgia, having a length of about 510 
miles. It is navigable for boats 325 miles. It 
rises in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Georgia, 
flows south, forming part of the boundary be¬ 
tween Alabama and Georgia, and unites with 
the Flint River to form the Appalachicola. 

CHATTANOOGA (chat-ta-noo'ga), a city 
of Tennessee, county seat of Hamilton County, 
on the Tennesse River, about 155 miles south¬ 
east of Nashville. It is finely situated in a 
fertile valley, on the Queen and Crescent, the 
Southern, the Central of Georgia, and other 
railroads. Several electric lines furnish tranS’- 
portation to suburban and interurban points. 
The surrounding country is rich in agricultural 
and mineral products. The manufactures in¬ 
clude clothing, ironware, nails, machinery, 
cigars, furniture, cotton and leather goods, 
railroad cars, and flour. .It has about 325 man¬ 
ufacturing establishments, gas and electric 
lighting, waterworks, and numerous jobbing 
houses. The obstructions formerly in the Ten¬ 
nessee River were removed by the United States 
government, and it is navigable about eight 
months of the year. 

Chattanooga has a fine county courthouse, a 
public library, a customhouse, a Federal build¬ 
ing, and an opera house. Among the public 
institutions are the Grant University, the Chat¬ 
tanooga Medical College, a Dominican convent, 
and a number of commercial colleges and pri¬ 
vate schools. A short distance south is Look¬ 
out Mountain, near the line between Georgia 
and Alabama, which furnishes a fine view of 
the surrounding country. In the Civil War it 
was the scene of severe contests. It was with¬ 
in hearing of the famous battles of Missionary 
Ridge, Chickamauga, and Lookout Mountain. 
A national military park has been platted by 
the government on the site of the Battle of 
Chickamauga, a short distance southeast of 
the city. The first settlement was made on the 
site of the city in 1836 and it was known as 
Ross’s Landing, but was incorporated as Chat¬ 
tanooga in 1851. Population, 1910, 44,604. 

CHATTEL (chat't’l), in law, a term used to 
describe, with certain exceptions, all property 


CHAUDIERE 


441 


CHECKERED BEETLE 


of a personal or movable nature. It embraces 
the portion of personal property that can be 
possessed and delivered, and in a general sense 
includes all property which is less than a life 
estate in land. Real chattels pertain to real 
estate, such as a lease of land or a mortgage 
taken as security. Personal chattels are things 
movable, which may be carried about by the 
owner, such as money, animals, household 
goods, promissory notes, etc., though in the 
common parlance of some countries the term 
does not include money or evidences of in¬ 
debtedness. 

CHAUDIERE (sho-dyar'), a river of Can¬ 
ada, in the province of Quebec. It is the out¬ 
let of Lake Megantic, near the northwest boun¬ 
dary of Maine, and flows in a general course 
toward the northwest to the Saint Lawrence, 
into which it discharges about seven miles 
above Quebec. Chaudiere Falls, about 115 feet 
high, are three miles above its mouth. The 
river is 120 miles long and the scenery on its 
banks is very^ diversified and picturesque. 

CHAUDIERE LAKE, an extension of the 
Ottawa River, in Canada, immediately above 
the city of Ottawa. Below the. lake are the 
Chaudiere Falls, which are spanned by a rail¬ 
way bridge and a road bridge, connecting Ot¬ 
tawa with Hull. Chaudiere Lake extends prop¬ 
erly from these cities to the mouth of the 
Mississippi River, a distance of about thirty 
miles. 

CHAUTAUQUA (sha-ta'kwa), a celebrated 
summer resort on Chautauqua Lake, in Chau¬ 
tauqua County, New York. Chautauqua Lake 
is about two miles wide and eighteen miles 
long, 1,300 feet above the sea, with an outlet 
into the Allegheny River. The grounds were 
purchased in 1874, by the Chautauqua Sunday 
School Assembly. Subsequently 'many edifices 
for religious service and instruction have been 
erected, besides a large number of villas and 
hotels to accommodate visiting delegations. 
The lectures are devoted to religious instruc¬ 
tion, art, languages, temperance, sciences, and 
industrial and fine arts. They attract large 
throngs of people annually. The town is the 
seat of the New York State Summer Institute. 
Population, 1905, 3,972. 

CHAUTAUQUA Literary and Scientific 
Circle, an institution incorporated for study 
and instruction. It was first promoted largely 
under the influence of Louis Miller of Akron, 
Ohio. In 1878 it was organized at Chautauqua, 
N. Y., with Louis Miller as president and John 
H. Vincent as chancellor. The object is to 
promote habits of reading and study in the 
sciences, arts, nature, and secular and sacred 


literature, and to enable the members to make 
a review of the college courses. Enrollment 
is effected by the payment of a fee of fifty 
cents, no examination being necessary. The 
enrollment may be for one year, but the course 
consists of four years, after the completion of 
which a diploma is granted. The annual meet¬ 
ing usually occurs in July and August. The 
official organ, The Chautauquan, is published 
at Meadville, Pa. 

At present there are a large number of Chau¬ 
tauqua assemblies in the United States, Canada, 
Japan, India, England, South America, Aus¬ 
tralasia, and Africa; the membership exceeding 
over half a million persons. About 10,000 cir¬ 
cles were established during the first twenty 
years of the movement, and about 40,000 of 
the total enrollment completed the course. The 
Catholic Summer School, organized at Platts- 
burg, N. Y., is a similar organization. The 
courses of Chautauqua assemblies consist of 
work in literature, languages, mathematics, 
science, pedagogy, music, fine arts, expression, 
physical education, practical arts, and sacred 
literature. As a general rule the study work 
is done largely in the homes, while the summer 
meetings are inspirational and bring the mem¬ 
bers in contact with prominent thinkers and 
speakers of the world, as well as to aid in the 
way of sociability. 

CHEBOYGAN (she-bofgan), county seat 
of Cheboygan County, Michigan, at the extreme 
northern portion of the southern peninsula, on 
the Michigan Central Railroad. It is finely 
located at the mouth of the Cheboygan River, 
on Lake Huron, and has a large lake and rail¬ 
way trade. The chief buildings include the 
courthouse, a public library, and the high school. 
It has manufactures of flour, lumber, machin¬ 
ery, and wood products. Several iron found¬ 
ries, planing mills, and sawmills produce large 
quantities in their lines. The country toward 
the south is productive in agriculture and 
fruit. Cheboygan was settled in 1849 and in¬ 
corporated in 1877. Population, 1910, 6,859. 

CHECK, a bill of exchange made payable to 
the bearer, or to the order of the payee, on 
demand. A check made payable to the bearer 
may be transferred without endorsement, while 
one made payable to order must be indorsed 
to be transferred or paid, that is, the name of 
the person in whose favor it is drawn must be 
written on the back of it. Checks are used to 
transact the largest volume of business. They 
are a commercial convenience, both in local 
trade and in making payments to parties at a 
distance. 

CHECKERED BEETLE, an insect more 


CHECKERS 


442 


CHELSEA 


or less widely distributed in North America, so 
named from its peculiar markings, usually dark 
brown with checks of white and yellow. Many 
species are included, some of .which have a 
form much like an ant. They subsist largely 
on the sweet sap of plants, but some frequent 
the hives of bees and others feed on the car¬ 
rion of animals. A number of species are 
harmful to bee keeping, since they enter the 
cells and feed on the honey and the young bees. 

CHECKERS, a game played by two persons 
with men or checkers on a board divided into 
sixty-four equal squares, colored white and 
black. Each player has twelve men or checkers, 
colored differently, usually made flat and cir¬ 
cular. The squares are numbered alternately 
from one to. thirty-two, and the players place 
the board so the corners four and twenty-nine 
are at the left hand. It is immaterial whether 
the men are placed on the black or white 
squares, or whether any of the squares are 
numbered, but the contestants cover the squares 
from one to twelve and from twenty-one to 
thirty-two, respectively, and the moves are con¬ 
fined to one step diagonally at a time. When 
a player leaps over one or more men belonging 
to the opponent under the rules of the game, 
these men are said to be taken, and the game 
is won by the player who succeeds in taking 
all of the t checkers of the opponent. Moves 
are made only in the direction of the side occu¬ 
pied by the opposing player until a man is 
moved into the last line of the opposite side, 
when he is crowned as king, and after that 
may be moved diagonally in any direction. 

CHEDUBA (che-doo'ba), an island in the 
Bay of Bengal, about ten miles from Arakan, 
to which province it belongs. The area is 245 
square miles. The soil is fertile and produces 
rice, sugar cane, tobacco, cotton, hemp, and 
indigo. Petroleum is the chief mineral product. 
Several extinct volcanoes are located near the 
coast, and some of the volcanic cones emit gas 
and mud. Cheduba, or Manaung, is the chief 
town and has a population of 2,150. The island 
has been a British possession since 1824. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1906, 24,500. 

CHEESE (chez), an important dairy product 
made of the curd or casein of milk, with varia¬ 
ble quantities of butter and salt, formed into 
molds and cured or ripened by keeping for a 
time. In A.merica it is made almost entirely of 
milk of the cow, but in parts of Europe the 
milk of goats and ewes is used, while in Arabian 
countries it is produced largely from the milk 
of mares and camels. The cheese generally 
sold in the American markets is known as Ched¬ 
dar and Siviss. Other varieties of cheese in¬ 


clude Brick, Limberger, Neuchdtel, Edam, and 
Roquefort. The Cheddar is the favorite in the 
markets of the United States and Canada. This 
kind of cheese includes several classes, such 
as the whole milk, skim milk, and cream cheese. 
The whole milk cheese is made* from un¬ 
skimmed milk and contains from twenty to 
forty per cent, of fat or cream, and thirty to 
forty per cent, of casein. Skim milk cheese is 
poor in fat, containing only from one to four 
per cent. Cream cheese is the richest, con¬ 
taining from sixty to seventy per cent, of fat, 
and is more digestible than any other kind, 
owing to its containing less casein. The pro¬ 
duction of cheese is one of the important in¬ 
dustries in many agricultural districts. Farmers 
usually sell their milk or cream to private in¬ 
dividuals, or operate a factory on the coopera¬ 
tive plan, owned by the farmers themselves. 

In making Cheddar cheese, the milk is cur¬ 
dled or coagulated by adding an acid, sour milk, 
or rennet, and the watery portion or whey is 
separated from the insoluble curd. The curd is 
then worked into a uniform mass, after which 
salt is added, and the whole is pressed into a 
vat or mold to form cheese, after which it is 
placed in a curing room and allowed to ripen 
or cure. It is best to have the temperature of 
the curing room range at from 70° to 80°, but 
the temperature should be kept uniform at all 
times. The cheese is turned each day, and the 
upper surface is rubbed with the hand. After 
from three to six weeks it is sold on the mar¬ 
ket as mild, soft cheese, but the Cheddar does 
not reach its best condition until from three to 
six months of curing. 

CHEESE FLY, a two-winged fly, mostly of 
a shining black color, which lays its eggs on 
cheese and cured meat. It is a pest in stores 
and dairies. ' The eggs are white and hatch 
in about thirty hours, and the larva or maggot 
feeds voraciously and matures in about ten days. 
The maggot is known as cheese hopper from its 
habit of forming a circle by bringing the two 
ends of the body together and then jerking 
abruptly, causing itself to be thrown a consid¬ 
erable distance. An insect known as cheese 
mite, a small, whitish mite, feeds upon cheese, 
flour, sugar, etc. 

CHELSEA (chel'se), a suburb of London, 
England, on the Thames River, distinguished 
principally for containing the Chelsea Hospital, 
an asylum for old and disabled soldiers of the 
British army. The foundation of this institu¬ 
tion was laid by Charles II. in 1682, and the 
structure was completed in ten years at a cost 
of $750,000. It is supported by Parliamentary 
grants, and is designed for the accommodation 


CHELSEA 


443 


CHEMISTRY 


of sick, maimed, and superannuated soldiers. 
Chelsea is famous as the home of many cele¬ 
brated persons, among them Princess Elizabeth, 
Sir Thomas Moore, Carlyle, Swift, Walpole, 
and George Eliot. It has a number of charities, 
several fine schools and churches, and a con¬ 
siderable trade. Population, 1907, 78,524. 

CHELSEA, a city in Suffolk County, Massa¬ 
chusetts, three miles north of Boston, on the 
Boston and Maine Railroad. It is connected 
with Boston by a system of electric railways. 
On the opposite of the Mystic River is Charles¬ 
town, with which it is connected by a bridge. 
The chief buildings include the city hall, the 
courthouse, the Fitz public library, and sev¬ 
eral hospitals. It has manufactures of chemi¬ 
cals, rubber, sewing machines, linseed oil, brass- 
ware, safes, \v°°l en goods, tools, and brushes. 
The first settlement was made in 1626 and it 
was incorporated under its present name in 1638. 
Many Boston business men reside in Chelsea. 
Population, 1905, 37,277; in 1910, 32,452. 

CHELTENHAM (chelt'nam), a famous 
water place in Gloucestershire, England, among 
the Cotswold Hills. George III. made a visit 
to its mineral springs in 1788, and since then 
it has grown largely in popularity. It has 
a number of colleges, public and private edifices, 
parks, and promenades, and a large trade in 
merchandise. Among the chief buildings are 
the public library, an art school, and the Gothic 
Church of Saint Mary. Being chiefly a resort 
and educational center, it has no manufactures. 
Population, 1907, 53,394. 

CHEMISTRY (kem'is-try), the branch of 
physical science which investigates, the elements 
of which bodies, whether organic or inorganic, 
are composed, and treats of the relations of 
one kind of matter to another. The word was 
derived from Khem, the name of the Egyptian 
god of generation, productiveness, and vegeta¬ 
tion. 

History. In its infancy chemistry was the art 
of distilling the juices of vegetable substances 
for healing purposes, and the first marked stages 
of its development were effected by the Greeks, 
who devoted much thought to investigation of 
the medical properties and uses of plants. Al¬ 
chemy was the forerunner of chemistry, and 
bore a relation to it quite like astrology did to 
astronomy. The science was brought from 
Egypt to Asia by the Arabs, and by the Moors 
to Spain, from whence it was made known 
throughout Western Europe. However, its 
early history is quite closely associated with that 
of alchemy, and it did not take on the form of 
a distinct science until after the Middle Ages. 

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) may be regarded 


the first modern chemist. He published his 
“Skeptical Chemist” in 1669 and was the first 
to introduce chemigal tests or reagents. That 
respiration and combustion produce the same 
effect on atmospheric air was discovered by 
Mayhow, of Oxford, in 1674. Priestley discov¬ 
ered oxygen in 1774, and Cavendish in the same 
year announced the exact constituents of water, 
while Scheele made known the existence and 
nature of chlorine. These and other discoveries 
enabled Lavoisier to revolutionize and systema¬ 
tize the science. Vanquelin discovered chro¬ 
mium in 1797, Dalton introduced the atomic 
theory in 1803, Sir Humphrey Davy announced 
the existence of potassium and sodium in 1807, 
and Klaproth analyzed about 200 minerals prior 
to 1870. Others contributing to the advance¬ 
ment of chemistry include Wohler, Wurtz, 
Rutherford, Liebig, Faraday, Bunsen, Berzelius, 
Crookes, Hoffmann, and Berthelot. 

Branches of Chemistry. Modern chemistry 
is divided into organic and inorganic, the former 
treating of the hydro-carbons and the com¬ 
pounds derived from them, and the latter of 
metallic and nonmetallic elements. Another 
classification is pure or theoretical chemistry, 
and applied or practical. Theoretical chemis¬ 
try treats of the laws governing chemical action, 
while practical chemistry deals with the applica¬ 
tion and economic relation of chemistry to the 
arts. The latter is usually designated according 
to the ar£s or occupations to which it relates, as 
agricultural, medical, sanitary, physiological, 
metallurgical, etc. Some writers group the sub¬ 
ject under analytical and descriptive chemistry. 
Analytical chemistry is* concerned with the art 
of determining the composition of substances, 
while descriptive chemistry deals more particu¬ 
larly with the chemical and physical character¬ 
istics of substances. 

Elements and Compounds. Matter may be 
defined as anything that occupies space. It is 
capable of being measured and weighed. The 
various kinds of matter constitute different sub¬ 
stances, which differ from each other by such 
general properties as relative weight, colof, 
hardness, etc. Some substances are capable of 
existing in the form of solid, liquid, and gas. 
This is easily recognized in water, which may 
exist as mist, fog, rain, frost, snow, and ice. 
In any of these forms it represents the same 
substance, the nature of which is not changed 
in the process of being converted from one into 
another. These and similar changes are called 
physical changes, and differ from chemical 
changes in that new substances are produced in 
the latter. The rusting of iron and the burn¬ 
ing of wood are examples of chemical changes. 


. CHEMISTRY 


444 


CHEMNITZ 


In a physical change the composition of the 
molecule is not affected, while in a chemical 
change the atoms are rearranged so as to form 
new molecules and the specific properties of a 
substance are destroyed. There are two gen¬ 
eral classes of matter, known as compounds 
and elements. 

Compounds embrace all those substances 
which are composed of more than one kind of 
matter, as, for instance, water, which consists 
in the proportion of two volumes of hydrogen 
to one of oxygen. Chemists are acquainted 
with only about seventy substances which they 
have been unable to change into more simple 
forms and these are designated elements .. In 
elements the atoms, which form small indi¬ 
visible particles, are all of the same kind. On 
the other hand, in compounds there is a notable 
difference in the atoms—a fact easily ascer¬ 
tained by the use of a microscope. There is 
also a notable difference between compounds 
and mixtures. For instance, gunpowder is a 
mixture of charcoal, saltpeter, and sulphur. 
That it is not a chemical compound can be 
proven by microscopic examination, and also 
by the circumstance that the three constituents 
may be again separated by a process of decom¬ 
position. However, if a sufficient degree of heat 
to explode the powder is applied, a chemical 
change takes place which produces gases and 
solids of an entirely different kind than the 
matter contained in the powder. The atoms 
common to the different kinds of matter are 
held together by a force called chemical affinity. 
It depends not only upon the kinds of atoms 
between which it is exerted, but also upon tem¬ 
perature, its intensity varying in different sub¬ 
stances at different temperatures. 

The elements are classed as metals and non- 
metals, and, like the compounds, are designated 
by a system of symbols, thus Cu=copper; Ba 
S=baric sulphide. Ductility, malleability, me¬ 
tallic luster, and marked ability to conduct heat 
and electricity are the essential points in which 
metals differ from the nonmetallic elements. 
The following are the nonmetals: hydrogen, 
helium, chlorine, bromine, iodine, fluorine, oxy¬ 
gen, sulphur, selenium, tellurium, nitrogen, phos¬ 
phorus, arsenid, antimony, boron, carbon, sili¬ 
con, and argon. Below is a list of the elements, 
together with their symbols and the approxi¬ 
mate weight of their atoms compared to the 
weight of an atom of hydrogen: 


Names of the Elements. 

Symbols. 

Atomic 

Weights. 

Actinium . 

Ac 

58.3 

Aluminium.. • - 

A1 

27 

Antimonv. 

Sb 

120 


A 

40 


Names oe the Elements. 

C Continued .) 

Symbols. 

Atomic 

Weights. 

Arsenic. 

Barium.... 

Bismuth. 

Boron. 

Bromine.. 

Cadmium. 

Caesium. 

Calcium. 

Carbon ,,,. 

As 

Ba 

Bi 

B 

Br 

Cd 

Cs 

Ca 

C 

75 

137 

208 

11 

80 

133 

40 

12 

Cerium... 

Ce 

141.2 

Chlorine T . T , r ,. 

Cl 

35.5 

Chromium. 

Cobalt. 

Cr 

Co 

52.5 

59 

Columbium. 

Copper.. 

Didymium. 

Erbium. 

Fluorine.. 

Gallium. 

Germanium. 

Glucinum. 

Cold (aurum). 

Helium. 

Holmium.. 

Hydrogen. 

Cb 

Cu 

Di 

Er 

F 

Ga 

Ge 

Gl 

Au 

He 

Ho 

H 

93.7 

63.1 

145.4 

? \ 

195.7 

4 

16.2 

Indium ... 

In 

113.4 

Iodine,; .. T . 

I 

127 

Iridium . 

Ir 

192 

56 

Iron (ferrum). 

Fe 

TCryptnn . 

Kr 

58.74 

Lanthanum. 

La 

139 

Lead. 

Pb 

207 

Lithium. 

Li 

7 

Magnesium. 

Mg 

24 

TVT anganese.... 

Mn 

55 

Mercury. .. 

Hg 

200 

Molybdenum. 

Mo 

96 

Neon. 

Ne 

19.94 

Nickel. 

Ni 

59 

N inbiiim.. . . 

Nb 

94 

Nitrogen. ... . 

N 

14 

Osmium T . 

Os 

190 

Oxygen. 

O 

16 

Palladium.. . 

Pd 

106.6 

Phosphorus. 

P 

31 

Platinum. 

Pt 

193.5 

Polonium.. 

Po 

12.6 

Potassium... 

K 

39.1 

Radium. 

Ra 

223.3 

Rhodium.:... 

Rh 

102.2 

Rubidium. 

Rb 

85.2 

Ruthenium. 

Ru 

100.9 

Seandium. 

Sc 

44 

Selenium. 

Se 

79.5 

Silicon.... 

Si 

28 

Silver. 

Ag 

108 

Sodium. 

Na 

23 

Strontium... 

Sr 

87.5 

Sulphur. 

s 

32 

Tantalum. , . 

Ta 

182 

Tellurium. 

Te 

125 

Thallium. 

Tl 

204 

Thorium. 

Th 

234 

Tin (stannum). 

Sn 

118 

Titanium. 

Ti 

48 

Thulium. 

Tu 

170.4 

Tungsten . 

W 

184 

TTraniiim . 

Ur 

238 

Vanadium. 

V 

51 

"Xenon...... 

Xe 

128 

Vtterhinm. 

Yt 

173 

Yttrium. 

Y 

89 

7\ ne. 

Zn 

65 

Zirconium. 

Zr 

90 


CHEMNITZ (kem'mts), a city of Germany, 
at the base of the Erzgebirge, on the Chemnitz 
River, in the kingdom of Saxony. The older 
part has narrow streets, but the newer portion 
and the suburbs are regularly platted and well 




































































































CHENAB 


445 


CHERRY 


built. Schillerplatz is a beautiful square and 
contains the Church of Saint Peter and the 
Royal Technical School. Other noted buildings 
are. the railway depot, the post office, the Im¬ 
perial Bank, and the city hall. It is particularly 
noted for its manufacture of cotton prints, 
woolen and silk textiles, handkerchiefs, chemi¬ 
cals, machinery, and books. It has a brisk trade 
in produce and is a large exporter of merchan¬ 
dise. The streets are generally paved with stone 
and macadam. An extensive system of electric 
railways furnishes communication to all parts 
of the city and many interurban points. The 
waterworks, sewerage, and public library are 
owned by the municipality. Population, 1905, 
' 244,927. 

CHENAB (che-nab'), a river of British 
India, in the Punjab. It rises in the Himalaya 
Mountains, joins the Ghara near Uchh, where 
it assumes the name of the Panjnad, and near 
Mithankot flows into the Indus. The length is 
about 775 miles and it is navigable a consid¬ 
erable of this distance. In the lower course it 
is about one mile wide. 

CHER (shar), a river of France, rises in the 
department of Creuse, and after a course of 
200 miles toward the northwest joins the Loire 
near Tours. It is navigable to Vierzon, 45 
miles from its mouth, and the Berry Canal runs 
parallel to it in the upper course. The Arnon, 
Evre, and Tardes are Its chief tributaries. 

CHERBOURG (sher'burg), a strongly'forti¬ 
fied naval station and seaport of France, at 
the mouth of the Divette River, on the English 
Channel. It has railroad facilities and a mild 
climate, and is protected by a substantial break¬ 
water, which incloses a space of nearly 2,000 
acres. This breakwater is one of the most 
famous in the world. It is built so as to be 
protected on three sides by the land, and at 
the apex of the angle formed by the meeting 
of the two branches is a central fort or bat¬ 
tery. The city is defended by regular forts 
and redoubts and has two harbors, one for 
naval and the other for commercial enterprises. 
Among the chief industries are machine shops, 
sugar refineries, cotton and woolen mills, tan¬ 
neries, and shipyards. The chief buildings 

include the church of Saint Trinite, the Hotel 
de Ville, a museum, and a marine library with 
1 30,000 volumes. Cherbourg owes its prosperity 
to Napoleon I., who planned and constructed 
the great defenses as a means of protecting 
France against an invasion from the north, 
and his plans were enlarged by Napoleon III. 

1 and others. Population, 1906, 43,837. 

CHEROKEES (cher-6-kez'), a tribe of 
North American Indians who occupied the 


upper valley of the Tennessee River prior to 
1830. They were friendly to the English in 
the wars against the French, and ceded lands 
to Governor Glen for the construction of forts 
within their territory in 1755. Hostilities soon 
after arose between them and the English, 
which terminated in their defeat in 1761. They 
joined the English at the commencement of the 
Revolution, served at Augusta in 1780, but were 
reduced by General Pickens and acknowledged 
the sovereignty of the United States in 1785. 
They ceded portions of their territory to the 
United States, and in 1790 a part of the tribe 
migrated to Louisiana. In 1812 they rendered 
valuable service in General Jackson’s army 
against the British. Their lands were ceded to 
the United States as early as 1817 in exchange 
for lands on the Arkansas and White rivers, a 
portion of which is now occupied by Oklahoma. 
They were removed thither by the government 
in 1838. In the Civil War they sided with the 
Confederates, taking part in the Battle of Pea 
Ridge, but afterward were divided into two 
factions. The Cherokees are noted as the most 
progressive of the Indian tribes. They have 
an alphabet and convenient vocabulary, and 
publish newspapers and books in their own 
language. The government of the United States 
provided schools and colleges for their educa¬ 
tion. Their architects have learned to con¬ 
struct beautiful houses. Many Cherokees have 
grown exceedingly wealthy. At present they 
number about 20,000. 

CHERRY (cher'ry), an ornamental fruit tree 
of the plum or prune variety, extensively culti¬ 



vated in the Temperate zones. It is of Asiatic 
origin, and, according to Pliny, was brought to 
Italy by Lucullus about 68 b. c. It thrives best 
in temperate climates and bears abundantly. 









CHERRY LAUREL 


446 


CHESAPEAKE 


The fruit is eaten fresh, dried, and canned. 
Kirscliwasser and maraschino are brandies 
made of the fruit. Wild species thrive in many 
countries and yield excellent woods for cabinet 
work and furniture. Among the wild cherries 
are the chokecherry and the black cherry. The 
fruit furnishes astringent medicines. The 
native trees in North America attain a height 
of a hundred feet, and a diameter of from 
three to four. The species cultivated exten¬ 
sively in gardens and parks for ornament and 
fruit belong mainly to two kinds, the gean 
cherry and the bird cherry. However, many 
species have been improved by cultivation, such 
as the black cherry, red heart and white 
heart. Cherries are grown extensively in Kan¬ 
sas, Pennsylvania, Indiana, British Columbia, 
and other sections of the continent. 

CHERRY LAUREL, the name of several 
evergreen shrubs and trees native to Asia 
Minor. The common cherry laurel has lanceo¬ 
late leaves and racemose flowers, and is cul¬ 
tivated extensively in the gardens of Europe 
and America. The leaves are poisonous from 
the abundant hydrocyanic acid which they con¬ 
tain. They yield the laurel water, known in 
German as kirschwasser, which is used in medi¬ 
cine as a substitute for hydrocyanic acid. An 
oil somewhat similar to that derived from the 
bitter almonds is obtained from the leaves, 
but must be used with caution in flavoring 
sauces, pudding, etc. 

CHERRY VALLEY, a village of New 
York, in Otsego County, sixty-eight miles west 
of Albany. It was the scene of the Cherry 
Valley Massacre at the time of the American 
Revolution, on Nov. 11, 1778, when an attack 
was made by 600 Indians under Joseph Brant 
and 200 English under Walter N. Butler. 
Nearly all of the buildings were burned, sixteen 
soldiers of the small garrison and thirty of the 
inhabitants were killed. The prisoners, seventy- 
one in number, were led away half naked and 
were treated with great cruelty. Soon after Gen¬ 
eral Sullivan conducted an expedition through 
the State of New York to punish the Indians and 
protect the settlers. 

CHERSONESUS (ker-so-ne'sus), the Greek 
name of several peninsulas and promontories. 
The ancient Greeks applied this term to the 
Tauric Chersonese, the modern Crimea; to the 
Cimbrian Chersonese, now Jutland; and to 
the Tracian Chersonese, a region northwest of 
the Hellespont. 

CHERUSCI (ke-rus'sl), an early. German 
tribe which dwelt between the Weser and Elbe 
rivers. The Cherusci are noted for the great 
victory of their leader, Arminius, who formed 


an alliance with other German tribes and con¬ 
ducted a warfare against the Romans under 
Varus, whose forces he defeated and annihil¬ 
ated in the forest of Teutoburg, in the year 
9 a. d. The tribe was overcome by the Chatti, 
after the death of Arminius, and later became 
subject to the Franks. 

CHESAPEAKE (ches'a-pek), a large bay in 
Maryland and Virginia, dividing Maryland into 
two parts. It enters the United States from 
the Atlantic Ocean between Cape Charles and 
Cape Henry, where it is sixteen miles wide. 
The width is from four to forty miles. It 
contains many harbors, is valuable for its ex¬ 
cellent oyster fisheries, and is safe and easy to 
navigate. The general depth is from thirty to 
sixty feet. It receives the waters of the James, 
Potomac, Rappahannock, Susquehanna, and other 
streams. The chief cities on its shore include 
Baltimore and Annapolis. 

CHESAPEAKE, The, an American vessel 
built in the early part of the 19th century, 
famous in the history of the American navy. 
She was repaired in the Washington navy yard 
in 1807 and put under command of Commo¬ 
dore James Barron, and with an untrained crew 
started on a cruise across the Atlantic. While 
en route, she was halted by the British frigate 
Leopard, whose commander demanded the re¬ 
turn of British deserters who were supposed to 
form a part of the crew of the Chesapeake. 
Commodore Barron refused to permit his ves¬ 
sel to be searched, when the Leopard opened 
fire and killed three and wounded eighteen, 
after which the Chesapeake surrendered, and 
four of her crew were taken prisoners. Eng¬ 
land refused to make reparation when requested 
to do so by the American government, and 
the “Chesapeake Affair,” as it became known, 
was one of the chief causes that led up to the 
War of 1812. 

The Chesapeake, commanded by Captain James 
Lawrence, fought a battle in Massachusetts 
Bay with the British vessel Shannon on June 1, 
1813. The latter was commanded by Captain 
Broke and had a trained crew. A terrific fire 
was kept up for fifteen minutes, when the 
Chesapeake was set on fire and surrendered. 
Lawrence was mortally wounded and exhorted 
his men with the words, “Don’t give up the 
ship,” which were adopted as the motto of. the 
American navy. The Chesapeake had a crew 
of 379 and the Shannon had 330, while the 
former lost 61 killed and 85 wounded and the 
latter lost 33 killed and 50 wounded. The 
British took the Chesapeake to Halifax as a 
prize and fitted her up as a war vessel, but 
sold her for old timber in 1820. 


CHESAPEAKE-OHIO CANAL 447 

CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO CANAL, a 

waterway completed in 1850, extending from 
Georgetown, D. C., to Cumberland, Md. It 
follows the Potomac River the entire distance, 
184.5 miles, and serves as a means of trans¬ 
portation to Washington, D. C, where the Po¬ 
tomac becomes a tidal stream and is navigable 
for large ships. This canal is six feet deep and 
sixty feet wide, and has a lift of 609 feet by 
means of 74 locks. Much of its distance is 
paralleled by railways, but it is still used for 
the transportation of coal and other freight. 

CHESS, a game played by two persons on a 
chessboard, which consists of eight rows of al¬ 
ternate light and dark squares, eight in each 
row, a total of 64. It is played with two dif¬ 
ferently colored sets of men, 16 in each set. 



Position of men at beginning of game. 


Each player has eight pawns, two castles or 
rooks, two knights, two bishops, a queen, and a 
king. The game is one of the oldest and most 
scientific amusements and is thought to have 
originated in India, whence it was brought by 
way of Persia and Arabia to Europe. It was 
made popular in America through Benjamin 
Franklin, who both played it and wrote in its 
favor. The first national congress of chess 
clubs was held in 1857, at which Paul Morphy 
of New Orleans was awarded the champion¬ 
ship. The rules differ materially and are set 
out most completely in a work entitled “Chess 
Praxis,” published in London, England, in 1860. 

CHEST, or Thorax, in anatomy, the part 
of the human body which lies below the neck 
and above the abdomen. It consists of the 
upper portion of the trunk, to which are at- 


CHESTER 

tached the breasts, the arms, and the shoulders. 
Within the cavity are the heart and lungs. The 
walls are composed chiefly of the ribs and the 
muscles attached to the ribs. The dorsal por¬ 
tion of the spinal column forms the back part 
of the chest, and the front is comprised of 
the sternum, or breast plate. In form it is 
conical, with the apex upward, and the neck 
connects it with the head. Inspiration takes 
place by air being drawn through the trachea, 
or windpipe, and the bronchial tubes, causing 
an extension, and during expiration the mus¬ 
cles contract and the diaphragm descends. 
Many of the most dreaded diseases affect the 
chest and the organs located within, including 
cancer, pleurisy, bronchitis, pneumonia, and con¬ 
sumption. 

CHESTER (ches'ter), a city of Pennsylva¬ 
nia, in Delaware County, on the Delaware 
River, twelve miles southwest of Philadelphia. 
It is on the Baltimore and Ohio, the Pennsyl¬ 
vania, and the Philadelphia and Reading rail¬ 
roads. The chief buildings include the Penn¬ 
sylvania Military College, the Crozer Theo¬ 
logical Seminary, and the public library. The 
house of William Penn is an object of interest. 
It has extensive systems of waterworks, sew¬ 
erage, and electric railways. The principal 
industry is shipbuilding, in which several thou¬ 
sand men are employed. Other manufactures 
are implements, machinery, clothing, cotton and 
woolen goods, and building material. It was 
settled by the Swedes in 1643, who named it 
Upland, and is the oldest city in the State. The’ 
name was changed to Chester under a charter 
of William Penn in 1699. Population, 1900, 
33,988; in 1910, 38,537. 

CHESTER, a city in England, capital of 
Cheshire County, on the Dee River, fifteen 
miles southeast of Liverpool. It is located on 
an elevated site made up largely of sandstone 
and is the focus of several important railways. 
Ancient walls about two miles in length and 
seven feet thick surround the city, which is 
entered by four gates. Chester was founded 
by the Romans, who cut the streets in solid 
rock from two to eight feet below the build¬ 
ings, many of which are reached by flights of 
steps. A covered way for foot passengers 
called the “rows” is located in front of the 
second stories of the houses, which are used 
for shops. The chief buildings include a cathe¬ 
dral in the Norman-Gothic style and a castle 
founded by William the Conqueror. A fine 
stone bridge crosses the Dee. Several schools, 
a museum, a public library, and a theater are 
maintained. The manufactures consist chiefly 
of ironware, shoes, clothing, machinery, and 




















CHESTER 


448 


CHEYENNE 


sailing vessels. It has a large trade in cheese, 
produce, and merchandise. Among the public 
utilities are sewerage, gas and electric lights, 
and a system of rapid transit. Near the city 
is Eaton Hall, the splendid country seat of the 
Duke of Westminster. Population, 1907, 89,803. 

CHESTER, a city of South Carolina, county 
seat of Chester County, sixty miles north by 
west of Columbia, on the Southern, the Sea¬ 
board Air Line, and other railroads. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile agricultural country. The 
manufactures include flour, cottonseed oil, 
machinery, and cotton goods. It is an impor¬ 
tant shipping point of cotton and farm produce. 
The chief buildings include several public 
schools and churches. Population, 1900, 4,075. 

CHESTER, a port of entry of Nova Scotia, 
in Lunenburg County, forty-five miles southwest 
of Halifax. It is located on Mahone Bay, and 
is popular as a summer resort. The fishing 
industries supply a large revenue. It has manu¬ 
factures of clothing and machinery. It was 
founded by people from New England in 1760. 
Population, 1901, 985. 

CHESTERFIELD (ches'ter-feld), a town 
of England, in Derbyshire, at the confluence of 
the Hipper and Rother rivers. It is twelve 
miles south of Sheffield, with which it is con¬ 
nected by railway and electric lines. The manu¬ 
factures include lace, leather, earthenware, and 
machinery. Iron, coal, lead, and clay are 
mined in the vicinity. The public utilities in¬ 
clude gas and electric lighting, waterworks, 
public baths, and two parks. It is the seat of 
several schools and has a number of fine 
churches, including the parish church of All 
Saints. King John reigned at the time the first 
charter was granted. Population, 1907, 27,860. 

CHESTNUT, a genus of plants allied to 
the beech. A large number of species are found 



chestnut: fruit and bur. 


in the different continents, and three of the 
species are valuable for their nuts and wood. 
These include the American , the European, and 


the Japanese chestnuts. They grow to a height 
of 100 feet and bear ample and graceful foliage. 
The tree is widespreading and attains a great 
age, often many centuries. The leaves are 
smooth and green on both sides, and are pointed 
at the end. From two to five nuts are borne 
in a prickly sack. Chestnuts are prized as food 
among the peasants of Italy and Spain. The 
wood somewhat resembles oak, but is less val¬ 
uable, and is used for house building and fur¬ 
niture. The nuts may be eaten raw, boiled, or 
roasted, and in some countries are ground into 
flour, which is used in making bread. In South¬ 
ern Africa, the cape chestnut abounds, which 
belongs to the rue family, while in Australia a 
similar tree is known as the Moreton Bay 
chestnut, and resembles the American species. 
The horse-chestnut is a much different tree 
from the common chestnut, and the water 
chestnut is known as the water caltrop. 

CHEVIOT HILLS (che've-ut), a range of 
mountains in the counties of Roxburgh and 
Northumberland, stretching a distance of thirty- 
five miles on the boundary between England 
and Scotland. Cheviot Hill, altitude 2,660 feet, 
is the highest point. They are noted for the 
Cheviots, a superior grade of sheep. On these 
mountains many fierce battles were fought be¬ 
tween the Scotch and English, the fame of 
which is commemorated in the Chevy Chase 
ballads. 

CHEVY CHASE (chev'i chas), the name 
given to an edition of early English ballads 
written in the reign of Henry VI., or between 
1420 and 1461, which purport to describe the 
Battle of Otterburn, fought in August, 1388. 
They contain an account of the chase of the 
Earl of Douglas among the Cheviot Hills for, 
.the Earl Percy of Northumberland. Portions 
of the old manuscript are preserved in the 
Bodleian library at Oxford. See Ballads. 

CHEYENNE (shi-en'), the capital of Wyo¬ 
ming, county seat of Laramie County, on Crow 
Creek and on the Union Pacific, the Colorado 
and Northern, and the Chicago, Burlington and 
Quincy railroads. It is pleasantly located on 
the eastern slope of the Laramie Mountains, 
its altitude being 6,041 feet above sea level. 
The chief buildings include the State capitol, 
the Carnegie library, the post office, and the 
high school. It is the seat of the Soldiers’ and 
Sailors’ home and three miles south is Fort 
Russell, a United States military post. The 
industries include brickyards and railroad ma¬ 
chine shops. It has gas and electric lighting, 
waterworks, sewerage, and a public park. The 
surrounding country produces coal, iron, and 
live stock, in which it has a large trade. It was 



CHEYENNE INDIANS 


449 


CHICAGO 


first settled in 1867, when the Union Pacific 
was completed to this point, and became the 
capital of Wyoming in 1869. Population, 1905, 
13,656. 

CHEYENNE INDIANS (she-en'), an In¬ 
dian tribe belonging to the Algonquin fam¬ 
ily, who settled near the Black Hills before the 
beginning of the last century. They were first 
met with by Lewis and Clarke in 1803, and in 
1825 a treaty of peace was made with them by 
General Atkinson. A portion of the tribe settled 
in Arkansas and here joined the Arapahoes, 
while the remainder carried on a war against 
the government in 1861. A battle was fought 
with them by Colonel Chevington on Nov. 29, 
1864, at Sand Creek village, in which a hundred 
were slain. In 1867 their village was burned by 
General Hancock, and later General Custer en¬ 
gaged them in battle at Washita. The Indians 
remaining in the north were generally peaceful. 
At present they number 3,200, of which about 
1,200 are in Arizona and 2,000 in Oklahoma. 

CHIAROSCURO (kya-r6-skoo'r6),the 
arrangement of light and dark colors in a work 
of art, such as a drawing or painting. It is 
important to distribute the lights and shadows 
of a picture in such a manner that the objects 
may be naturally and effectually relieved from 
one another, otherwise the product has the 
appearance of being unreal. Painters study 
this feature of art very carefully with the view 
of applying the force of colors so as to produce 
in art certain effects found in nature, especially 
in blending the lights and shadows. The term 
chiaroscuro prints is applied to the woodcuts 
or plates used in printing pictures of two or 
more colors, each cut or block being used with 
different-colored ink. The colored illustra¬ 
tions of books and magazines are printed gen¬ 
erally with three sets of plates, the product 
being known as tricolor work. 

CHIC A (che'ka), a dyestuff obtained in 
South America, used chiefly to give an orange- 
red color to cotton prints. It is obtained from 
the leaves of a species of begonia, native to the 
basin of the Orinoco and other sections. The 
dyestuff is obtained by boiling the leaves and 
was first used by the Indians for painting their 
bodies. The plant is a climber and has heart- 
shaped leaves and drooping clusters of flowers. 

CHICAGO (shi-ka'go), the largest interior 
city of North America, second in size on the 
Western Hemisphere, being surpassed in popu¬ 
lation only by New York City. It is located at 
the head of Lake Michigan, in Illinois, and is 
the county seat of Cook County. Through it 
flow the Chicago and Calumet Rivers, both of 
which originally discharged into Lake Michigan, 


but the former is now a part of the Chicago 
Drainage Canal and carries a constant current 
out of the lake. The distance from Chicago 
to New Orleans is 914 miles; to Washington, 
810 miles; to New York, 910 miles; and to 
the Pacific Coast, 2,415 miles. 

Description. The city is located along the 
western shore of Lake Michigan, occupying ter¬ 
ritory from five to twelve miles wide and aboflt 
twenty-five miles long. The area is about 190 
square miles, all of which is remarkably level, 
elevated about 25 feet above the lake and 580 
feet above the sea. It is separated by the Chi¬ 
cago River, which is formed within the city 
by the north and south branches, into three dis¬ 
tricts, known as the North Side, the West Side, 
and the South Side. The North Side is located 
north and east of the river, extending along 
the lake almost to Evanston; the South Side 
lies south and east of the river; and the West 
Side embraces all of the section west of the 
two principal branches of the river. Between 
Twelfth Street and the river, which embraces 
the northern part of the South Side, are the 
larger business establishments and within this 
area is located the chief business section. It 
has all of the great depots, except two, the 
Union and the Northwestern, the former of 
which is on the West Side and the latter on 
the North Side, and within it is the loop of 
the elevated railroad. Many factories and 
warehouses are in the southern part of the 
North Side, which also contains Lincoln Park 
and a large residence section. In the eastern 
part of the West Side are many warehouses 
and freight offices, and west of these are retail 
stores and shops, beyond which is an extensive 
section occupied by residences. Many bridges 
cross the rivers, including ample facilities for 
vehicles, street cars, and pedestrians. 

The city is regularly platted and nearly all 
of the streets cross each other at right angles. 
Most of the streets are wide and some of the 
boulevards are exceptionally fine, having a width 
of 120 feet. Western Avenue and Halsted 
Street run north and south almost the entire 
length of the city. The streets aggregate about 
2,450 miles, of which 1,500 miles are improved 
by paving, chiefly macadam and asphalt in the 
residence districts and brick and cobblestone in 
the business section. Rapid transit is almost 
entirely by electric lines, both surface and ele¬ 
vated, the former of which aggregate 1,500 
miles of single track and Ihe latter about 125 
miles of double track. The .elevated lines 
carry passengers north to Evanston, south to 
Sixty-third Street, and west to Oak Park, and 
the main lines have several branches, all of 


29 







CHICAGO 


450 


CHICAGQ 


which center in the loop, which encircles the 
chief business district. The surface lines pass 
to all parts of the city and connect with many 
interurban railways, furnishing direct electric 


transportation to points in western Illinois, 
northern Indiana, and southern Wisconsin. 

Chicago is the focus of many railroads. In 
1850 the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad 
Company, now the Chicago and Northwestern, 
constructed about thirty miles of railway west¬ 
ward, while, in 1852, the Lake Shore and Mich¬ 


igan Southern was the first railway to enter the 
city from the east. Since then about thirty dif¬ 
ferent railway lines have entered the city, pen¬ 
etrating in all directions and representing more 
than 150,000 miles of railroads. These 
are all connected by a belt line, which 
enables freight to be passed through 
the city without local transfer by dray- 
age. Within the city are more than 
1,500 miles of trackage These rail¬ 
road systems connect the great West 
and North with the South and East, 
and make Chicago the greatest railroad 
and grain center in the world, while 
its merchant marine service is con¬ 
stantly increasing. Fully 10,000 ves¬ 
sels arrive and depart from the Chi¬ 
cago docks annually. These include 
liners that communicate directly with 
the chief ports on the Great Lakes and 
indirectly with European and other 
foreign commercial centers. 

Sewage and Water. The site of 
the city is perfectly level, hence its 
drainage was long a question of much 
concern to the city authorities. The 
grade of the streets was raised from 
ten to fifteen feet, and the buildings 
were constructed in conformity with 
these grades in the principal portions 
of the city. In 1890 the Legislature 
of the State formed a drainage dis¬ 
trict in Chicago, which provided for 
the construction of the Chicago Drain¬ 
age Canal, extending from Lake Michi¬ 
gan to a point near Lockport, a dis¬ 
tance of twenty-eight miles, where it 
connects with the Illinois River and 
by it reaches the Mississippi. By 
means of this canal the fresh water 
flows from the lake through the city 
and carries the sewage entirely out of 
the municipality. 

The city supply of water is obtained 
through tunnels from Lake Michigan. 
These tunnels extend from two to four 
miles from the shore, where the cribs, 
or intakes, secure uncontaminated 
water. The water is pumped through 
the tunnels, which are located at dif¬ 
ferent points in the city, whence it is 
forced through the mains that carry it direct 
to the consumers. Both the waterworks and 
the electric-light plant are operated by the 
municipality. 

Parks. The parks cover an area of about: 
2,250 acres and are connected by wide boule¬ 
vards. Seven of the parks, which number about 












































































































































































CHICAGO 


451 


CHICAGO 


forty, are of considerable size, and in addition 
there are many playgrounds to accommodate the 
children who are not near the parks. Sheridan 
Road is one of the many boulevards and ex¬ 
tends north beyond Evanston. Among other 
noted boulevards are Michigan Avenue, Jack- 
son Boulevard, Diversey Avenue, and Lake 
Shore Drive. The entire system of boulevards * 
includes 70 miles of thoroughfares, most of 
which are lined on both sides by splendid resi¬ 
dences. . Drexel and Garfield boulevards are 
beautified by flowers and ornamental shade 
trees. Washington Boulevard extends west and 
is one of the main thoroughfares of the West 
Side. 

Lincoln Park includes 320 acres and is one 
of the attractions of the city. It has fine gar¬ 
dens, conservatories, fountains, and a zoological 
collection. The statues in this park include 
those of Lincoln, Grant, Schiller, Linnaeus, La 
Salle, Shakespeare, Franklin, and Hans Chris¬ 
tian Andersen. Among the noted busts are 
those of Goethe, Beethoven, and Garibaldi. It 
has an equestrian statue of Grant. Near the 
western part of the park is located the Academy 
of Sciences. At Oakwoods Cemetery is a Con¬ 
federate monument, in Humboldt Park is the 
Humboldt Monument, in Union Park is the 
Police Monument, and in Monument Square is 
the Douglas Monument. The site of .Fort Dear¬ 
born is marked by a tablet at the end of Michi- 
gan Avenue. 

Jackson Park, the site of the World’s Colum¬ 
bian Exposition, is the chief park on the South 
Side. It has an area of 524 acres and extends 
along the lake front. It is beautified by.many 
lagoons and driveways, and within it is the 
Field Columbian Museum. The Midway Plai- 
sance, a tract of eighty acres, extends from 
Jackson Park westward past the grounds of 
the University of Chicago to Washington Park. 
The latter is noted for its many species of trees 
and flowers. Douglas Park, Humboldt Park, 
Grant Park, Marquette Park, and Garfield 
Park belong to the south park system. The sys¬ 
tem of parks is under the control of a board 
of commissioners appointed by the Governor of 
the State. 

Buildings. In the heart of the city, bounded 
by Clark, Adams, and Dearborn streets and 
Jackson Boulevard, is the Federal Building, 
which is sixteen stories high and was completed 
in 1903 at a cost of about $5,000,000. Besides 
the post office, it contains the customhouse, the 
United States court, and a branch of the Na¬ 
tional treasury. The city hall and courthouse 
building covers an entire block and is used 
jointly for city and county purposes. The 


Chamber of Commerce, a structure thirteen 
stories high, is in the French-Gothic style, and 
the Masonic Temple, twenty-one stories high, 
is one of the finest buildings of the kind in 
America. Among the many fine office buildings 
may be mentioned the Manhattan, the Monad- 
nock, the First National Bank, the Old Colony 
Building, the Tribune Building, the Rand-Mc- 
Nally Building, the Rookery, the Fisher Build¬ 
ing, and the Borland Building. Many of the 
retail stores are structures of much convenience 
and beauty, such as those of Marshall Field and 
Company, Mandel Brothers, and the Fair Store. 
The Auditorium, on Michigan Avenue and Con¬ 
gress Street, was erected at a cost of $3,750,000. 
It has a tower 225 feet high, contains a theater 
with a seating capacity of 4,050, and within it 
is a large hotel, which, with two annexes south 
of Congress Street, furnishes the finest accom¬ 
modations in the city. 

Chicago is noted as a musical center and 
has many prominent places of amusement. 
Among the theaters are the Auditorium, the 
Garrick, the Studebaker, the Illinois, the Pow¬ 
ers, the Great Northern, McVicker’s and the 
Grand Opera House. The Majestic Theater 
Building, one of the highest in the city, con¬ 
tains the Majestic Vaudeville. Others of this 
class include the Olympic and the Haymarket. 
The Coliseum is used for political conventions 
and exhibitions, and the Orchestra Building is 
the seat of a noted musical society. Among 
the clubs are the Illinois, Chicago, Argo, Cal¬ 
umet, Athletic, Iroquois, La Salle, Standard, 
and Union League. The chief hotels include 
the Auditorium, Palmer House, Great North¬ 
ern, Metropole, Wellington, Grand Pacific, Vic¬ 
toria, Stratford, Virginia, Lexington, Kaiser- 
hof, Brevoort, and Sherman House. The Vir¬ 
ginia, on the North Side, and the Chicago Beach, 
on the South Side, are family hotels. 

Few cities are better supplied with fine 
churches than Chicago. The Cathedral of Saint 
Peter and Saint Paul is a fine Protestant Epis¬ 
copal place of worship, and the Roman Catho¬ 
lics have the Cathedral of the Holy Name, 
which is their finest ecclesiastical edifice in the 
city. Other churches of note include the Plym¬ 
outh (Congregational), Church of Christ 
(Christian Science), First Unitarian, Second 
Presbyterian, and Saint James (Methodist). 

Education. The public schools furnish am¬ 
ple facilities for the instruction of youth and 
courses are maintained from the kindergarten 
to the high school, with which is affiliated the 
Chicago Normal School. Manual training is 
given to boys of the 7th and 8th grammar 
grades, and girls of the same classes receive 






CHICAGO 


452 


CHICAGO 


instruction in household arts, such as cooking 
and sewing. The city has eighteen high schools 
and about 250 graded schools, and in addition 
there are many private and parochial schools. 
Besides English, the courses offer instruction 
in Latin and German. Higher instruction is 
given in the University of Chicago, located near 
Jackson Park; the Northwestern University 
(Methodist), at Evanston, whose dental, law, 
and medical schools are within the city; Saint 
Ignatius’s College (Roman Catholic) ; Lewis 
Institute; Armour Institute; Chicago Lutheran 
Seminary; Western Seminary; and McCormick 
Seminary. The Chicago Music College and 
the Art Institute are representative institutions. 
About 1,500 students are enrolled in the latter 
each year for the study of painting, sculpturing, 
and modeling. 

The charitable institutions are very numer¬ 
ous. They include the Cook County Hospital, 
the largest in the city; the United States Ma¬ 
rine Hospital, one of the largest of its kind in 
America; the Presbyterian Hospital; the Hos¬ 
pital of the Alexian Brothers; the Women’s 
Hospital; and the Saint Luke’s and Saint Jo¬ 
seph’s hospitals. The Armour Institute of Tech¬ 
nology, maintained as a memorial to Joseph 
Armour, affords excellent instruction in religious 
and industrial training. Hull House, modeled 
after Toyndee Hall, London, is a social settle¬ 
ment located in the Ghetto district on the West 
Side. Other settlements of this kind include the 
West Side, the Chicago Commons, the North¬ 
western University settlement, and the Chicago 
University settlement. The Bureau of Hebrew 
Charities, the Chicago Bureau of Justice, and 
other similar organizations do worthy work 
among the poor and for the protection of wage¬ 
workers. Many nurseries, asylums, reformato¬ 
ries,- and relief societies are maintained by the 
city and by societies. 

Libraries. Three great libraries are main¬ 
tained, including the public library, the John 
Crerar Library, and the Newberry Library. 
The public library was founded in 1872 and has 
about 310,000 volumes. It is located in the 
public building erected on Michigan Avenue, 
which is finished in Sienna and Carrara mar¬ 
ble and is ornamented with glass mosaics and 
fine sculptures. The John Crerar Library, 
named from its founder, was endowed with a 
bequest of $2,500,000 and has 150,000 volumes. 
It is located in -temporary quarters and will 
eventually be housed in the south part of the 
city. The Newberry Library was endowed by 
Walter L. Newberry, who bequeathed about 
$2,000,000 to establish it. It contains about 
280,000 volumes, mostly works of general ref' 


erence. Other libraries of note are those main¬ 
tained by the University of' Chicago, which 
has about 400,000 volumes; that of the Chica¬ 
go Law Institute; that of the Chicago His¬ 
torical Society; that of the Field Columbian 
Museum; and that of the Chicago Academy 
of Sciences. 

Commerce and Industry. Various causes 
contributed to the phenomenal development of 
Chicago, and promoted its speedy rise to the 
position of the greatest interior city and market 
of America. Its location on Lake Michigan 
and the construction of the Michigan and Illi¬ 
nois Canal caused the first material growth. 
This canal, constructed in 1836-48, is no longer 
an important link in transportation, having 
served its purpose until the great railways were 
built and the navigation of the Great Lakes 
was fully organized. Chicago ranks next to . 
London, New York, and Antwerp as a com¬ 
mercial port, measured by the tonnage of ves¬ 
sels that carry trade. Lumber is the largest 
lake import, and corn represents about half of 
the value of the exports, while wheat is the 
next item. In live stock and grain Chicago 
takes precedence over all other markets. It is 
noted for its trade in coal, being a distributing 
center for the coal fields of Illinois, aijd it re¬ 
ceives a large tonnage of iron ore, which is 
smelted within the city or in suburbs near by. 
Butter, cheese, machinery, merchandise, fruit, 
and hardware are handled in large quantities. 
Chicago is a center of wholesaling and jobbing, 
and supplies the retailers of many cities with 
wares and merchandise of different kinds.. 

In manufacturing enterprises Chicago takes 
high rank. The establishments of this kind 
employ about 300,000 workmen. Meat packing 
and slaughtering, confined largely to the South 
Side, represents an industry of vast propor¬ 
tions and gives employment to about 26,500 
workmen. Associated with this enterprise are 
the manufacture of by-products, such as leather, 
candles, and soap. It has extensive machine 
shops and foundries, which turn out hardware 
and agricultural implements of various kinds. 
Among the large factories are the Deering 
Harvester Works and the McCormick Harves¬ 
ter Works, now controlled by the International 
Harvester Company. Other manufactures in¬ 
clude textiles, furniture, brick, clothing, liquors, 
and tobacco. It has an enormous output of 
books and printed matter, including many daily, 
weekly, and monthly periodicals. The jobbing 
and wholesale trade is centered on Franklin 
and Market streets and Fifth Avenue. 

History. Chicago is thought to have been j 
named from an Indian word meaning wild 






CHICAGO 


453 


CHICAGO UNIVERSITY 


onion, a plant found abundantly in the locality. 
Marquette and Joliet stopped in the vicinity in 
1673, and the region was afterward visited by 
La Salle and Hennepin. Jean Baptiste Point 
de Salle, a refugee from Haiti, is supposed to 
have built the first log hut on its site, in 1779. 
John H. Kinzie came across the lake from 
Saint Joseph in 1803 and was the first perma¬ 
nent settler. In 1804 the government erected 
a stockade fort near the mouth of the Chicago 
River and named it Fort Dearborn. At the 
beginning of the war with Great Britain, in 
1812, the government ordered the fort aban¬ 
doned. It was destroyed soon after by the In¬ 
dians, but was rebuilt in 1816. In 1832 it con¬ 
tained a dozen families, and on August 10 of the 
next year twenty-eight voters organized the 
town. It was incorporated in 1837 with a popu¬ 
lation of 3,497. 

In October, 1871, Chicago was visited by a 
great fire, which burned 17,500 buildings, cov¬ 
ering 2,500 acres, and 100,000 persons were 
made homeless. The property destroyed rep¬ 
resented a value of nearly $200,000,000. The 
work of rebuilding began immediately after 
the fire, the new structures comprising some of 
the finest and most substantial buildings in the 
world. The frontage was made uniform and' 
the streets were widened and improved in vari¬ 
ous localities. Many substantial fireproof build¬ 
ings, from 10 to 20 stories high, the frames 
being of steel, were erected in place of those 
consumed by the flames. Railroad riots occurred 
in 1877, when United States troops were called 
to quash the disturbances, and in 1886 occurred 
the Haymarket riots in consequence of labor 
troubles. The World’s Columbian Exposition 
was held in Chicago, in 1893, and the Chicago 
Drainage Canal, begun in 1892, was completed 
in 1900. 

The inhabitants of Chicago are largely of 
foreign birth. The Germans number more than 
400,000 and exceed any other class. Next in 
numerical order are the Irish, Swedes, Norwe¬ 
gians, Bohemians, Poles, and Italians. Other 
nationalities more or less strongly represented 
include the Jews, Russians, Arabs, Turks, Ar¬ 
menians, and Negroes. The following census 
reports give an idea of the rapid growth of 
the city: 


Year. 

Population. 

Year. 

Population. 

1840 

4,470 

12,080 

20,035 

28,260 

1865.. 

187,446 

184*; 

1870. 

298,977 

1848 

1875. 

410,000 

1850 

1880. 

• 503,304 

1852 

38,733 

60,652 

83,509 

150,000 

1890. 

1,099,850 

1851 

1900. 

1,698,575 

1855. 

1860. 

1910. 

2,185,283 


CHICAGO DRAINAGE CANAL, a canal 

in the State of Illinois, constructed primarily 
to furnish a means of disposing of the sewage 
of Chicago. It connects the south branch of 
the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River, 
a tributary of the Illinois River, at Lockport, 
Ill. The sewage was formerly discharged into 
Lake Michigan, but by the construction of this 
canal the flow of water was reversed, and a 
strong current now passes by means of the 
Chicago River and the canal to the Des Plaines, 
whence the water passes to the Illinois River 
and through it to the Mississippi. 

Work was begun on the canal on Sept. 3, 
1892, and it was formally opened on Jan. 28, 
1900. It begins at the west fork of the south 
branch of the Chicago River, at Robey Street, 
and extends to Lockport, a distance of 28.05 
miles. The controlling works are- at Lockport, 
where a basin sufficiently wide permits vessels 
to turn, and below Lockport is a tailrace 6,500 
feet long by which the water is carried to the 
Des Plaines River. A bear-trap dam and sluice 
gate control the flow of water, which has suffi¬ 
cient fall to be used profitably for power to pro¬ 
pel electrical machinery. The canal is 160 
feet wide at the bottom and from 175 to 300 
feet at the top, and the minimum depth is 22 
feet. Its capacity is 300,000 cubic feet per min¬ 
ute. The total cost to Jan. 1, 1908, was $42,- 
500,000. The canal is sufficient to carry large 
steamboats to the Des Plaines River, and it is 
designed to improve this stream and the Illi¬ 
nois River sufficiently to permit large boats to 
pass from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mex¬ 
ico, a project supported enthusiastically by all 
the states of the Mississippi valley. See illus¬ 
tration on following page. 

CHICAGO, University of, an institution of 
higher learning in Chicago, Ill., located between 
Jackson and Washington parks. It was opened 
as a Baptist institution in 1857, but through 
lack of funds closed its doors in 1886, and its 
success is due to systematic efforts made by the 
American Baptist Educational Society, through 
whose influence several large endowments were 
obtained. The largest of these was given by 
John D. Rockefeller, who made a gift of $600,- 
000, and later added to this sum, the total of 
his bequests amounting to about $10,000,000. 
Other benefactors include Marshall Field,. Silas 
B. Cobb, S. A. Kent, Charles T. Yerkes, Helen 
Culver, Martin A. Ryerson, and Anne Hitch¬ 
cock. Nearly all the buildings, about 25, were 
erected almost entirely from private donation 
and have a value of $7,500,000, including the 
grounds and equipments. The investments ag¬ 
gregate $9,250,000. At Geneva Lake, Wis., 

































CHICAGO UNIVERSITY 


454 


CHICKAMAUGA 


about 75 miles from Chicago, is the Yerkes 
Observatory, which is one of the buildings of 
the university. The library is the best in Chi¬ 
cago and has about 400,000 volumes. 

Five departments are embraced in the uni¬ 
versity, those of the university press; schools 
and colleges; libraries, laboratories, and mu¬ 
seum ; university extension; and the university 
affiliated schools. A term of 12 weeks is the 
unit, instead of the scholastic year as is the 
case in many institutions, and the year is divided 


into four quarters of 12 weeks each. Students 
may take up or drop work at the beginning of 
any term, and a degree is given at the comple¬ 
tion of the requisite number of courses, com¬ 
puted- by units. University work is organized 
into the two departments known as junior and 
senior, the former corresponding to that done 
in most institutions by freshmen and sopho¬ 
mores, and the latter to that of the juniors and 
seniors. Degrees are granted to students who 
complete courses in the senior colleges of the 
university, and those who graduate from the 


junior colleges receive the degree or title of 
associates in the arts, science, or philosophy. 
Lecture and study courses are given outside 
of Chicago, and a systematic line of work is 
done in correspondence courses, which are ar¬ 
ranged according to the regular university 
schedule, and those who do the work receive 
credits toward degrees. Many publications and 
periodicals are issued by the university press, 
including the Manual Training Magazine, Jour¬ 
nal of Geology, Journal of Political Economy, 
American Journal of Theology, 
The Astro physical Journal, The 
University Record, The Biblical 
World, American Journal of 
Semitic Language and Litera¬ 
ture, etc. About 250 professors 
and teachers give instruction to 
the students, who, including men 
and women, number about 4,000. 

CHICKAHOMINY (chik-a- 
hom'i-m), a river in Virginia, 
rises about twenty miles north¬ 
east of Richmond, and after a 
course of seventy-five miles 
flows into the James River. 
The marshy portions of its val¬ 
ley are often overflooded during 
extensive rainfalls. The river 
banks were the scene of severe 
conflicts during McClellan’s cam¬ 
paigns in June, 1862, against 
Richmond. Among the battles 
of that year were .those of Seven 
Pines, Fair Oaks, Mechanics- 
ville, Savage’s Station, Cold 
Harbor, and White Oak Swamp. 
In 1864 the second Battle of 
Cold Harbor occurred in its 
proximity. 

CHICKAMAUGA (chik-a- 

ma'ga), a small stream that 
rises in Georgia and flows into 
the Tennessee River, about 
six miles above Chattanooga, 
Tenn. 

CHICKAMAUGA, Battle of, an important 

battle of the Civil War, fought on Sept. 19 and 
20, 1863, on Chickamauga Creek, in Tennessee. 
The Union Army consisted of 55,000 men under 
command of Gen. Rosecrans and the Confed¬ 
erates, of 70,000 under Gen. Bragg. Chatta¬ 
nooga was the objective point, of which both 
armies were endeavoring to hold possession, 
owing to its location as the outlet to the fertile 
countries to the south and its railroad lines, 
which were valuable to both the contending 
parties. The Confederates made an effort to 



Map and Profile of Proposed Chicago-Mississippi River Canal. 













CHICKASAW BLUFFS 


455 


CHICORY 


secure the road to Chattanooga and fell back 
to the Chickamauga, where they received rein¬ 
forcements and were deployed for battle. The 
left wing of the Union army was commanded by 
Thomas, the second by Crittenden, and the last 
by McCook. 

The Confederates crossed the Chickamauga 
on Sept. 19 and struck Thomas’s line. The 
latter speedily returned the assault, thereby con¬ 
fusing Bragg’s plans. A second attack was 
made on Thomas the following day, but he 
held his position and was frequently reinforced. 
Owing to a misunderstanding of an order by 
Gen. Wood, the Confederates attacked a weak 
point in the Federal lines and the day was lost. 
The Union army retreated to Chattanooga and 
held that point, thus making the victory at 
Chickamauga of no particular value to the Con¬ 
federates. The Union loss was 16,000, while 
the Confederates lost 18,000. Gen. Thomas dis¬ 
tinguished himself by making a brave defense 
and covered the retreat, owing to which he was 
called the “Rock of Chickamauga.” 

CHICKASAW BLUFFS (chika-sa), Bat¬ 
tle of, a battle that occurred near Vicksburg, 
Miss., Dec. 29, 1862. While conducting the siege 
of Vicksburg, Gen. Sherman sent a strong force 
up the Yazoo River with the design of attacking 
the city on the rear, from the south. At Chick¬ 
asaw Bluffs, located opposite the Chickasaw 
Bayou, the force was confronted by Confederate 
batteries and rifle pits. The Union force 
charged and reached the works, but was driven 
back by heavy fire, and the project was aban¬ 
doned. The Confederate losses were slight, 
but the Union forces lost 1,800 men. 

CHICKASAW INDIANS, an Indian tribe 
of America which inhabited a region between 
the Mississippi River and the Appalachian 
Mountains. They were friendly to the English 
in several wars against the French, and in 1739 
made a treaty with Gen.. Oglethorpe. By a 
treaty in 1786 their territory was fixed with a 
boundary including the Ohio River on the north 
and extending into the State of Mississippi. In 
the Indian wars of 1793 they aided the United 
States against the Creeks. Early in the last 
century a number located in Arkansas. In 
1818 they ceded the lands east of the Missis¬ 
sippi and located in Indian Territory, now Okla¬ 
homa, while the last of the tribe ceded their 
lands in 1834. In the Civil War they sided with 
the Confederacy and lost several leaders and 
their slaves. They long lived under the same 
government with the Choctaws, who speak a 
common language, but separated from them in 
1855. They are now governed locally by a sen¬ 
ate, a house of representatives, and a governor. 


Education has been beneficial to them, many 
showing much advancement in scholarship and 
the arts. Their lands are held in common. The 
number of Chickasaws in 1908 was about 6,000, 
but many are mixed with the blood of whites 
and Negroes. 

CHICKASHA (chTk'a-sha), a city of Okla¬ 
homa, in the Chickasaw nation, 40 miles south¬ 
west of Oklahoma City, on the Saint Louis and 
San Francisco and the Chicago, Rock Island 
and Pacific railroads. It is surrounded by a 
fertile farming country. The manufactures 
include brick, cotton-seed oil, flour, furniture, 
machinery and artificial ice. It has a brisk 
retail and wholesale trade in merchandise and 
produce. The chief buildings include a number 
of fine schools and churches. It has modern 
utilities, such as electric lights and waterworks. 
Population, 1900, 3,209; in 1910, 10,320. 

CHICO (che'ko), a city in Butte County, 
California, about ninety-five miles north of 
Sacramento, on the Southern Pacific Railroad. 
It is surrounded by an agricultural and mining 
country and is an important shipping point. 
The chief buildings include the public library 
^nd a State normal school. Among the indus¬ 
tries are lumber mills, iron works, and flouring 
mills. Gas, oil, and coal are produced in its 
vicinity. Population, 1900, 2,640. 

CHiCOPEE (chik'6-pe), a city of Massa¬ 
chusetts, in Flampden County, four miles north 
of Springfield, on tlie Boston and Maine Rail¬ 
road. It is centrally located in a fertile region, 
on the Connecticut River, and has extensive 
electric railway connections. Among the nota¬ 
ble buildings are a public library of 25,000 vol¬ 
umes and a number of educational institutions. 
Among the manufactures are rifles, bicycles, 
cotton and woolen goods, carpets, and machin¬ 
ery. The streets are paved and improved by 
waterworks, sewerage, and parking. The early 
growth of Chicopee is due to an abundance of 
water power derived from the river. It was 
settled in 1675 and incorporated in 1848. Pop¬ 
ulation, .1905, 20,187; in 1910, 25,401. 

CHICORY (chik'6-ry), or Succory, a plant 
cultivated in various parts of Eurasia and 
America. It thrives best in soil mixed with 
gravel and chalk. The roots are roasted and 
used as a substitute for coffee, and are often 
mixed with genuine coffee. The roasting is 
done in iron cylinders that-are kept revolving 
as in the roasting of coffee. Butter or lard is 
added during the roasting process, from which 
it receives a luster and color similar to coffee. 
Its presence in coffee can be detected by a 
magnifying glass and by placing the mixture in 
cold water, the coffee floating on the surface 



CHIHUAHUA 


456 


CHILD STUDY 


and the chickory becoming discolored and sink¬ 
ing. 

CHIHUAHUA (che-wa'wa), a city of Mex¬ 
ico, capital of a state of the same name, 225 
miles south of El Paso, Tex., on the Mexican 
Central Railway. It is located on the Chihua¬ 
hua River, at an elevation of about 4,650 feet, 
and is surrounded by mountains. The streets 
are regularly platted and many are paved with 
stone and macadam. Within the public park 
is a fine monument erected to Hidalgo and the 
revolutionists of 1810. The manufactures in¬ 
clude carpets, brick, cotton goods, and machin¬ 
ery. It has fine gardens of roses and fruit trees 
and fruits thrive in the vicinity. The surround¬ 
ing country has rich gold and silver mines. 
Population, 1907, 30,905. 

CHILBLAIN (chil'blan), an inflammation 
of the skin and cellular tissue, caused by sud¬ 
den alterations of temperature. The affection 
appears as a small patch of reddened skin, some¬ 
times swelled and painful on pressure, and in 
extreme cases is accompanied by ulceration and 
superficial gangrene. It most frequently attacks 
the foot and sometimes the face, due chiefly 
to frostbites. Persons liable to chilblain should 
avoid the fire when their feet are cold and 
damp, and relief may be obtained by bathing 
the cold parts with alcoholic or other stimulat¬ 
ing liquids. 

CHILDREN, Societies for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to, an organization instituted by 
Henry Bergh in 1874. He established the first 
society of the kind in the world in the City of 
New York. It was' incorporated in 1875, with 
John D. Wright as president. The enterprise 
was encouraged financially by Elbridge T. Gerry 
and G. Fellows Jenkins. From this organiza¬ 
tion originated 160 American and forty for¬ 
eign societies, located in the principal cities of 
the world. The number of complaints received 
in a single year aggregates 8,500, of which a 
number are prosecuted and convicted, while 
more than 5,500 children are rescued and re¬ 
lieved from destitution annually. The work is 
a most beneficent one and is filling a valuable 
mission in the large cities, where children are 
often subjected to vicious treatment and sur¬ 
roundings. The most important foreign society 
is one organized by Benjamin Vaughan in Lon¬ 
don, Aug. 26, 1889. 

CHILD STUDY, the study of children, a 
branch of educational work considered of im¬ 
portance to all who have charge of the training 
of infants and youth. It is a subject which, 
especially in recent years, has very greatly en¬ 
gaged the attention of practical educators, and 
those who have either written or spoken on 


questions concerning the present condition and 
future prospects of society. Courses of study 
and rules of treatment are not prepared with 
the view of being fitted to serve the needs of 
the individual child, but rather to meet the gen¬ 
eral requirements of the average person. Hence, 
it is incumbent upon the instructor to so apply 
them that growth, both mental and physical, will 
be the most rational and best fitted to the in¬ 
dividual to be trained. Child study embraces, 
not only an investigation of the physical capa¬ 
bility and powers, but comprehends child psy¬ 
chology, one of the branches of general psy¬ 
chology. Attention to this department of learn¬ 
ing was first given in Germany, where the 
teachers and phychologists studied it as a nec¬ 
essary department for those engaged in the 
training of children. 

The educational movement to promote child 
study in America had its beginning in 1880, and 
it is now generally incorporated in the educa¬ 
tional systems of the various states of the 
United States and the provinces of Canada. 
Much has been done by the educational associa¬ 
tions and teachers’ institutes along this line, 
since the topic has been made one for discussion 
and addresses on the program of these organ¬ 
izations. It is in the courses of many normal 
training schools, where young teachers are 
instructed in the care and treatment of chil¬ 
dren. In many of these institutions classes of 
children of different ages are organized, and 
those who study for the teachers’ profession are 
thus furnished a practical opportunity to learn 
of the habits of children and the proper man¬ 
ner of disciplining them. 

Child study is concerned with every phase 
of training youth. It embraces a study of all 
the elements of character,—physical, mental, and 
moral. There are propensities to restrain and 
subdue as well as powers to bring out and di¬ 
rect. The teacher must know what there is in 
character to repress or extinguish, and what 
tendencies toward good are to be cultivated 
and encouraged. It is necessary to know the 
dispositions, the likes and dislikes, both in play 
and work. During the period of adolescence, 
which begins at about 14 and continues in fe¬ 
males until 22 and in males until 24, the youth 
passes through a critical period of life and 
requires more than ordinary sympathy and en¬ 
couragement. At all times it is necessary to 
direct youth to self-control, patience, kindness, 
industry, and the many other virtues that make 
up a well-rounded character, and this is done 
by stimulation and direction rather than by the 
infliction of punishment or by severe repri¬ 
mands. Above all, it must be observed that all 


CHILE 


457 


CHILE 


children can never properly be subjected to pre¬ 
cisely the same processes of education, because 
their natures are very different, hence the need 
of pursuing the subject of child study in all of 
its phases. 

CHILE (che'la), a republic extending along 
the Pacific coast of South America, from south 
latitude 17° 57' to Cape Horn. It is from 68 
to 250 miles wide, with an average width of 87 
miles, and is about 2,700 miles long, including 
all the territory in the southern extremity of 
South America except the eastern half of Tierra 
del Fuego, which belongs to Argentina. The 
northern boundary is formed by Peru, the east¬ 
ern by Bolivia and Argentina, and the southern 
and western by the Pacific Ocean. The area is 
given at 290,895 square miles. 

Description. Chile has a very narrow coast 
plain, which- is confined to certain localities, and 
the land rises in most places quite abruptly 
from the sea. Near the sea is an elevated re¬ 
gion known as the Coast Cordillera and along 
the eastern boundary trend elevated chains of 
the Andes, pierced at many places by deep 
fiords that extend to the plains of Argentina. 
The Andes are highest in the northern section, 
where they reach altitudes of about 15,000 feet, 
and in the southern part the ranges vary from 
3,500 to 6,000 feet in height. Aconcagua, locat¬ 
ed northeast of Valparaiso, chiefly in Argentina, 
has a summit of 23,080 feet. The loftiest sum¬ 
mits wholly in Chile include Cerro del Merce- 
dario, 22,000 feet, and Tupungato, 23,000 feet. 
Many of the summits are extinct volcanoes, 
whose peaks are covered with snow the entire 
year. 

The Andes forming the continental divide, 
Chile has few rivers suitable for navigation. 
The Maule, which flows into the Pacific near 
south latitude 35°, is navigable for small craft. 
Other rivers located farther south include the 
Biblio, Imperial, and Bueno, all of which are 
navigable for small boats. In the northern 
part are a number of deserts where rainfall is 
very scant, sometimes at intervals of six months 
or a year. These include the deserts of Ata¬ 
cama and Tarapaca, both located north of 
south latitude 32°. A number of lakes are 
situated in the vicinity of south latitude 40°, 
of which Lake Llanquihue is the largest, and 
in the region south of these lakes are many 
islands. The coast in the northern section is 
very regular, but in the southern part are 
numerous inlets, including Gulf del Corcovado, 
Gulf de las Penas, and Gulf de Trinidad. 

The climate ranges from the tropical in the 
north to the* cold region in the southern part. 
Much of the coast has a climate similar to 


California, with average temperatures in low 
altitudes at 65° in the north and 40° in the 
extreme south. The warmest section is along 
the coast, whence the temperature falls toward 
the elevated inland. Rainfall is most abundant 
in the vicinity of the Strait of Magellan, where 
it reaches about 130 inches, and decreases to¬ 
ward the north, where the coast has less than 
eight inches and parts of the interior are prac¬ 
tically destitute of precipitation. 

Flora and Fauna. Vegetation is most abun¬ 
dant in the vicinity of 40° south latitude, where 
the flora is always green and plants grow luxu¬ 
riantly. Here thrive the cypress, beach, and 
palm, but plant life decreases toward the south 
on account of cold and toward the north as rain¬ 
fall diminishes. The plateaus are well grassed 
and sage brush and cacti abound in the arid 
regions. Among the chief forest trees of Chile, 
besides those already mentioned, are the poplar, 
oak, chestnut, willow, and eucalyptus. The mam¬ 
mals include the puma, otter, fox, guanaco, 
pudu deer, and chinchilla. Birds of song, prey, 
and plumage are very abundant and are repre¬ 
sented by the buzzard, parrot, owl, crane, con¬ 
dor, hawk, humming bird, and many varieties of 
water fowl. The reptiles include lizards, frogs, 
and snakes. The coastal waters are rich in 
marine life, such as fish, seal, whale, and dol¬ 
phin. 

Mining. Many Useful minerals abound in 
Chile, which ranks as one of the chief mining 
countries of South America. Tacna, one of 
the provinces acquired from Peru, has an in¬ 
exhaustible supply of nitrate deposits. They 
are worked chiefly by Europeans, employ about 
25,000 men, and yield 1,500,000 tons annually. 
Copper is mined in the provinces of Atacama 
and Coquimbo, which yield about five per cent, 
of the world’s production. Gold and silver 
ores are found in paying quantities, and 
bituminous coal is mined quite extensively in 
the southern part. Other minerals worked 
more or less include tin, borax, lead, and borate 
of lime. Iron, cobalt, mercury, zinc, and ala¬ 
baster are found in small quantities. 

Agriculture. Farming is confined chiefly to 
the central valley, where the land is held in 
large estates by the wealthy classes. About 
half of the people are engaged ’in agricultural 
pursuits, but much of the work on the exten¬ 
sive estates is done by the natives. Modern 
farming machinery is imported and utilized 
in cultivating the soil and harvesting the 
crops, and the land not occupied is located in 
the section of country where the climate is 
unfavorable, or the rainfall is insufficient. Wheat, 
maize, and barley are the most important crops. 


CHILE 


458 


CHILE 


The vine is cultivated extensively for the manu¬ 
facture of wine, and hemp and flax are grown 
for their seed and fibers. Apples and pears are 
exported. Other crops include potatoes, tobacco, 
alfalfa, and garden vegetables. All the domestic 
animals common to North America are grown 
in Chile, though special attention is given to cat¬ 
tle raising. Goats are reared in the mountains 
and sheep in the central valley. Oxen are used 
extensively for farm work. 

Commerce and Manufacture. Commerce 
with foreign countries is chiefly with Great 
Britain, Germany, and the United States in 
the order named. The exports somewhat ex¬ 
ceed the imports. The former include cereals, 
fruit, nitrate of soda, and live stock, and the 
imports consist chiefly of clothing and iron 
and steel manufactures. Comparatively unim¬ 
portant as a manufacturing country, Chile is 
making advancement in building up industrial 
enterprises under the influence of Europeans, 
especially the large German settlement at Val¬ 
divia. Among the enterprises are sawmills, 
tanneries,, breweries, shipyards, soap works, 
and shoe factories. The first railroad was 
built in 1852, when a short line was completed 
between Copiapo, the capital of Atacama, to 
the port of Caldera. Another line was built 
between Santiago and Valparaiso in 1858. The 
total railway mileage in 1908 was 3,100, of 
which about half was operated by the state. 
In that year the country had 12,500 miles of 
telegraph lines. 

Education. Public instruction is provided 
by the state, but the schools are not in a 
progressive condition. The immigration of Ger¬ 
mans has caused many teachers to be brought 
over from Germany, and many of the schools 
have been reorganized on a modern plan. The 
elementary and graded schools are supported 
by local districts, under the inspection of super¬ 
visors, and a state university is maintained at 
Santiago. This institution has departments of 
medicine and pharmacy, fine arts, political sci¬ 
ence, and physical and mathematical sciences. 
Other institutions maintained by the states or 
nation include the schools of agriculture and 
mining, normal schools, naval and military 
academies, and an academy of painting and 
sculpture. 

v Inhabitants. The native races of Chile are 
classed with the Araucanian tribes. About 
one-fourth of tire native-born inhabitants are 
of Spanish origin, and those of foreign birth, 
in the order named, are Spaniards, French, 
Germans, Italians, English, and Peruvians. 
The language is purely Spanish and Roman 
Catholic is the state religion, but other denom¬ 


inations are respected and tolerated. Santiago, 
the capital, is the metropolis and chief com¬ 
mercial center. Other cities of importance 
include Valparaiso, Concepcion, Talca, Iquique, 
Chilian, Serena, Antofogasta, and Quiron. The 
population is about twelve to the square mile, 
a ratio much greater than that of Brazil and 
Argentina. Population, 1908, 3,250,120. 

Government. The government is a demo¬ 
cratic republic, under a constitution adopted 
in 1833. It guarantees equal political rights 
to all citizens, freedom of instruction, invio¬ 
lability of property, and the right of petitio’n. 
The executive power is vested in a president, 
who is chosen by popular vote for a term, of 
five years. He is assisted by a council of state 
of eleven members, of whom five are nomi¬ 
nated by himself and six by congress, and by 
a cabinet of six ministers, who preside over 
(the departments of the government. A na¬ 
tional congress, consisting of a senate and a 
house of representatives, has general legisla¬ 
tive authority. The senators are elected for 
six years and the representatives for three 
years, the former by the provinces on the 
basis of one senator for each three represen¬ 
tatives, and both are chosen by popular vote. 
The supreme judicial power is vested in a 
high court of justice with its seat at Santiago, 
and the lower courts are distributed among the 
districts and provinces. It has a standing army 
of 9,000 men, and all male citizens between 
the ages of 20 and 40 constitute the national 
guard. 

History. The country was first visited in 
1520 by Magellan, the famous Portuguese ex¬ 
plorer, after sailing through the strait that 
bears his name. Formerly the northern portion 
belonged to the Incas of Peru, from whom it 
was conquered by Pizarro and Almagro in 
1535, while the southern portion was occupied 
by the Araucanian Indians, and was not con¬ 
quered until a comparatively recent date. San¬ 
tiago was founded in 1541 and has since been 
the most important center of European influ¬ 
ence. Chile remained a Spanish colony until 
1810, when a revolution was organized under 
the direction of Gen. San Martin, and after 
seven years it became independent, but Spain 
did not recognize the government until in 1844. 
Chile joined Peru in a war against Spain in 
1865, which terminated in the blockade of the 
coast and the bombardment of Valparaiso, and 
peace was not concluded until 1871, when a 
provisional treaty was signed at Washington, 
D. C. # 

In 1879 Chile declared war on Bolivia and 
Peru on account of the mineral district of 



chillAn 


459 


CHIMNEY 


Atacama, with the result that Chile was vic¬ 
torious and added to her territory the prov¬ 
inces of Tarapaca and Antofogasta. An insur¬ 
rection took place in 1891, owing to a quarrel 
between President Balmaceda and the congres¬ 
sional government, which resulted in the de¬ 
feat of the former and brought on several 
wholesome reforms in the government. In 
this military disturbance the United States 
took sides with the president, which caused 
much ill feeling, and when the steamship Bal¬ 
timore landed her crew was attacked by a 
mob. This caused serious complications be¬ 
tween the two governments, but the authori¬ 
ties apologized and paid $75,000 damages for 
the benefit of the injured soldiers. Since then 
the country has had no revolutionary disturb¬ 
ances, but serious labor difficulties took place 
in the nitrate fields of Tacna in 1908, which 
were suppressed by the federal government, 

' but not until several hundred of the strikers 
were shot. 

CHILLAN (chel-yan'), a city of Chile, 120 
miles northeast of Concepcion. It is situated 
about 700 feet above sea level, near the Itata 
river, and has railway connection with the 
principal cities of Chile. The chief buildings 
include a normal school and >a Franciscan 
missionary church. Southwest of the city are 
sulphur baths. The city was founded in 1579 
and was destroyed by an earthquake, but was 
rebuilt in 1835. It has a growing trade and is 
in a prosperous condition. Population, 1908, 
35,500. 

CHILLICOTHE (chll-lT-koth'e),county 
seat of Livingston County, Missouri, eighty 
miles northeast of Kansas City, on the Wa¬ 
bash, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and 
the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul rail¬ 
roads. It occupies a gently, undulating site 
and is surrounded by a fertile farming coun¬ 
try. Among the chief buildings are the public 
library, the State industrial home for girls, 
the high school, and a normal school. It has 
manufactures of flour, clothing, cigars, and 
machinery. The streets are lighted with elec¬ 
tricity and many are paved with brick. It 
was settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1845. 
Population, 1900, 6,905; in 1910, 6,265. 

CHILLICOTHE, a city in Ohio, county 
seat of Ross County, on the Scioto River and 
the Ohio Canal. It is on the Norfolk and 
Western, the Baltimore and Ohio Southwest¬ 
ern, and the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Day- 
ton railroads. The manufactures include car¬ 
riages, cigars, machinery, implements, furni¬ 
ture, and paper. A public library, the court¬ 
house, numerous churches, and fine schools 


are among its many institutions. Gas and 
electric lighting, street railways, pavements, 
and waterworks are the chief public utilities. 
The city was incorporated in 1802. Population, 
1900, 12,976. 

CHILLON (she-yon'), a celebrated castle 
and fortress of Switzerland, in the canton of 
Vaud. It is situated on Lake Geneva and is 
remarkable for its scenic beauty. The castle 
was built by Amadeus of Savoy in 1238. Byron 
made “The Prisoner of Chillon” the subject of 
a celebrated poem. 

CHILOE (che-16-a'), an island and prov¬ 
ince of Chile. The island and a number of 
others are included in the province. The area 
of the island, including about 100 islets, is 
3,995 square miles. It has fertile soil and vast 
forests, which fu/rnish large quantities of 
lumber for exportation. San Carlos, or Ancud, 
is the ‘chief seaport. Chiloe was discovered in 
1558. Population, 1906, 98,764. 

CHIMAERA (ki-me'ra), in Greek mythol¬ 
ogy, a thre,e-headed, fire-breathing monster. 
The fore part of the body was that of a lion, 
the hind part that of a dragon, and the middle 
part that of a goat. Each of the three heads 
resembled that of one of the three animals. 
This monster was killed by Bellerophon. 
Sculptures of it have been discovered in Lycia, 
and it is said that the finest representation is 
the large bronze in Florence. The term 
chimaera is applied figuratively to unnatural 
or idle fancy. 

CHIMBORAZO (chim-bo-ra'zo), a moun¬ 
tain about ninety miles from Quito, in Ecua¬ 
dor. It has an altitude of 20,703 feet above 
sea level. Nearly 2,500 feet of the slope from 
its summit downward is covered with snow 
perpetually. E. Whymper was the first to 
ascend to the top, which he did in 1880. 

CHIME (chim), a number of bells attached 
to each other in a diatonic succession, and 
used to produce chimes by means of hammers, 
which are moved by a mechanism or by clock¬ 
work. They are used in church towers and 
elsewhere. The number of bells employed is 
not less than- five, usually nine, but often much 
larger. The first chimes were made in 1487 
at Alost, Belgium. Pianoforte music may be 
played on some of the chimes, but the fist in¬ 
stead of fingers is used to strike the keys. 
The Trinity Church, New York City, has one 
of the oldest chimes in America. 

CHIMNEY (chim'ny), an erection designed 
for the passage, from buildings and various 
structures, of the smoke of a furnace or fire 
to the open air. Chimneys were not built to 
any extent before the 13th century. The 


CHIMPANZEE 


460 


CHINCH BUG 


smoke was emitted from the house or struc¬ 
ture through an open hole in the roof, and 
this was covered with a board or some other 
protection in the evening. They are now con¬ 
structed of brick or stone, and in the better 
classes of buildings extend from the base¬ 
ment through the floor's and the roof. An 
opening in the basement serves for cleaning 
purposes, while openings in the various apart¬ 
ments permit the admission of pipes from 
stoves or furnaces. Many of the newer chim¬ 
neys have a double passage, one for the smoke 
and the other for ventilation purposes. The 
tendency of the smoke to pass upward is due 
to the differences in the weight of the heated 
air in the chimney and an equal volume of 
cold air on the outside, the colder pressing 
the warmer upward. In early times stove¬ 
pipes constructed of sheet iron were in gen¬ 
eral use and similar pipes or smokestacks are 
now used in the larger factories and machine 
shops. The chimney in a residence usually 
passes from five to seven feet above the ridge 
of the roof. This arrangement serves as a 
protection against fire and increases the draft, 
which depends largely upon the height of the. 
structure. The opening for smoke in the 
average chimney is about twelve inches square, 
and that for ventilation is about the same, but 
in general it varies with the number and size 
of the stoves or furnaces from which the 
smoke passes through the chimney into the 
open air. 

CHIMPANZEE (chim-pan'ze), a name for¬ 
merly given to several large man-shaped apes, 
but more properly to the native ape of the 
equatorial portion of Western Africa. It is 
closely associated with the gorilla. The face 
is almost hairless, the skin is yellowish, the 
teeth are beautifully white, and the hair is 
long and black. The arms are longer than 
the hind limbs, and, when the animal stands 
erect, they reach below the knee. The height 
of a full grown chimpanzee is about five feet, 
and its structure is much like that of a human 
being. It moves about freely in an erect posi¬ 
tion, is gentle in habit and amiable in dispo¬ 
sition, and easily makes friends. The brain 
is about half the size of a human brain. It 
lives in forests, where it feeds on fruits, 
though it also robs the gardens of the natives. 
Its habitation is largely in the branches of 
trees, in which it constructs a sort of nest and 
rears its young. The habits of the adult in 
the native state are not well known, but in 
captivity they have been thoroughly studied. 
The first accounts given of a chimpanzee were 
written by Hanno, who left Carthage in 470 


b. c. to explore the northwestern part of 
Africa. 



CHIMPANZEE. 


CHINA SEA, an. extension of the Pacific 
Ocean along the southeastern coast of Asia. 
It is divided by Formosa into the East China 
Sea and the South China Sea. The East China 
Sea is bounded on the north by the Yellow 
Sea and Korea, east by Japan and the Riu Kiu 
Islands, south by Formosa, and west by China. 
The South China Sea is bounded on the north 
by China and Formosa, east by the Philippine 
Islands and Borneo, south by Borneo and the 
Java Sea, and west by Anam and the Malay 
Peninsula. The China Sea is important in the 
commerce and the political questions of the 
East. Upon its waters ply some of the largest 
war and commercial ships of the world. Among 
the fortified cities on its coast are Bangkok, 
Canton, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The 
Mekong, the Menam, and the Si-Kiang rivers 
flow into it. 

CHINCH BUG (chinch), a small pestifer¬ 
ous insect, about three-sixteenths of an inch 
long. The wing covers are white, with black 
spots, and the body is dark brown. Its eggs 
are deposited in the ground in the spring and 











CHINCHILLA 


461 


CHINESE EMPIRE 


hatch about the first of June. The young 
insects are very destructive to wheat, barley, 
rye, and other cereals, and move from these 
grains into fields of growing corn, which they 
injure by sapping the juices from the stalk 
and roots. They produce two broods in a year, 
one in early summer and one in autumn. Their 
liability to take infectious diseases has led to 
a means of destroying them in wheat fields, 
and until this discovery was made their de- 



A, Newly hatched larva; B, Larva after first molting; 
C, Larva after second molting; D, Leg of perfect insect; 
B » Pupa; F, Adult insect. 


struction was almost impossible. The plan 
of destroying large swarms of them is to infect 
several insects artificially with a disease and 
place them among the swarms; thus the disease 
will spread very quickly and largely destroy 
them. Cinch bugs occur most commonly in the 
wheat fields of the Mississippi valley and the 
great plains of North America, and thrive best 
in dry seasons. 

CHINCHILLA (chin-china), a small squir¬ 
rellike animal, native to the higher regions of 
Chile and Peru and to the great plains of South 
America. These animals are rodent in habit, 
have long hind legs, soft gray hair, and a 
bushy tail, and the body is about a foot or 
fifteen inches in length. They feed on herbs 
and the roots of plants. The fur is used for 
muffs, tippets, and other articles of ornamental 
apparel. 

CHINESE EMPIRE, or China, an exten¬ 
sive imperial domain of Eastern Asia, com¬ 
prising China proper and the dependencies of 
Mongolia, Tibet, East Turkestan, Jungaria, and 
Manchuria. It comprises nearly one-fourth 
of Asia and one-twelfth of the land area of 
the globe, and is the third largest country 
in the world. The area is estimated at 4,277,- 
170 square miles. It is irregular in outline 
and lies between latitudes 18° and 54° north 
and longitudes 74° and 135° east. The boundary 
on the north is formed by Siberia; on the 
east by Siberia, Korea, the Yellow Sea, East 
China Sea, and South China Sea; on the south 
by Indo-China and India; and on the west by 


Russian Turkestan. Its southern shore is in¬ 
dented by the Gulf of Tonkin and its eastern 
by the Gulf of Pechili. South of it is the 
island of Hainan, separated from the main¬ 
land by the Strait of Hainan. The extent of 
the empire from east to west is about 3,000 
miles and from north to south, 2,400 miles. 

Description. The Chinese Empire consists 
mainly of highlands, characterized by plateaus 
and mountain ranges, except along the coast 
and in the valleys of its great rivers. It is 
separated from Siberia by lofty highlands, 
known as the Altai and Tian Shan mountains, 
from which ranges extend westward through 
Mongolia and finally disappear in the desert 
plateau of the Gobi. The Tibetan Plateau ex¬ 
tends along the western part, and much of the 
southwestern boundary is formed by ranges of 
the Himalayas, which rise to heights of over 
20,000 feet and are crossed by a number of dif¬ 
ficult passes. All of the mountains of southeast¬ 
ern China belong to the Tibetan tableland, 
which is cut up by many great ridges and peaks. 
The Kuenlum Range occupies most of the 
western section. Many of the mountain sys¬ 
tems are interspersed by extensive and fertile 
valleys, but the west central portion is largely 
of desert formation, embracing the Tarim 
Desert, with the Desert of Gobi stretching to¬ 
ward the northeast. 

Drainage. Much of the surface slopes from 
the west toward the east and southeast, and 
the drainage of the northern part is toward the 
northeast. A large part of Mongolia is drained 
by the Amur and its tributaries, and Manchu¬ 
ria is entirely in the Amur basin. The great 
Yangtse-Kiang River rises in the western part 
by a number of branches, flows toward the 
east, and discharges into the Yellow or North 
China Sea. Other important rivers flowing 
east include the Hoang-ho and the Si-Kiang. 
The Selenga River flows north and discharges 
into Lake Baikal, Siberia, while the extreme 
northwestern section is drained by a number of 
rivers that have no outlet to the sea. The 
southwestern portion is drained by the Salwin 
and the Mekong, which flow toward the south. 
Many of the rivers are important as avenues 
of transportation and the valleys are densely 
populated. China has few lakes and all are 
comparatively small. Near the east central 
part is Lake Tung-ting-hu, which is drained 
by the Yangtse-Kiang. In the northwestern 
part are a number of lakes that have no outlet 
to the sea, including Shara and Loo, both of 
which receive the discharge from several rivers. 

Climate. The climate of China is very sim¬ 
ilar to that of the central part of North Amer- 


CHINESE EMPIRE 


462 


CHINESE EMPIRE 


ica, being largely temperate. In the northern 
portion, bordering on Siberia, it is cold; through¬ 
out the interior it is temperate; and in the south¬ 
ern portion it is warm and tropical. At Pekin 
the mean annual temperature is 51° and at Can¬ 
ton it is 69°, while the summer heat at the 
former ranges from 85° to 100° in the shade. 
At Canton the temperature is greatly modified 
by the monsoon winds, but in the interior the 
climate is continental and the range of tem¬ 
perature much greater. The rainfall is exces¬ 
sive on the southern coast, where it averages 
100 inches annually. At Hongkong the rainfall 
is 90 inches and at Pekin, 24 inches, and in 
the northwestern part is a vast extent of terri¬ 
tory that has little rain. The southwest mon¬ 
soons bring most of the rains, and local 
droughts occur in seasons when these winds 
do not blow to the, average extent. Disastrous 
typhoons sweep across the country periodically 
and cause much loss of life and property in 
many sections of the southeastern part. 

Flora and Fauna. China has a vast variety 
of plants useful in the arts and trades. Above 
all, it is the home of the rice, tea, and bam¬ 
boo plants. The first furnishes its most im¬ 
portant article of food; the second, its drink; 
and the third, material useful in providing im¬ 
plements and constructing habitations. Fine 
forests abound in the mountains, but the popu¬ 
lous regions have been cut over and the land 
has been improved for cultivation. Among 
the forest trees are the cypress, pine, cedar, 
banyan, camphor, palm, and a number of hard 
woods. The mulberry is cultivated to promote 
silk culture, and many varieties of fruits abound, 
including the orange, banana, mango, and pine¬ 
apple. 

Many wild animals are still abundant in vast 
tracts of country that are sparsely populated. 
Over 700 species of birds have been described. 
In the southern part many ferocious animals 
abound, including the panther, tiger, leopard, 
wildcat, rhinoceros, and black and brown bears. 
In the same section are many species of bats 
and monkeys, and tapirs and elephants are not 
uncommon. The northwestern part has the 
musk deer, muskrat, badger, weasel, and otter, 
and great swarms of locusts often migrate and 
do much damage. The coastal waters are rich 
in eels, porpoises, sharks, finwhales, and stur¬ 
geons. The reptiles are represented by snakes, 
frogs, turtles, and alligators. 

Mining. All of the valuable minerals are 
found in the empire. Deposits of commercial 
coal are thought to extend over an area of 
400,000 square miles, but it is mined only in a 
few localities. Bituminous coal is mined in 


Pechili and several other eastern provinces, and 
beds of anthracite occur in eastern Shansi. 
Gold is obtained in the auriferous quartz veins 
of Pechili and Shantung, and is washed from 
the sands of the Amur and other rivers. Rich 
deposits of copper occur in Hunan and Yunnan 
and iron ore is mined in Shansi. Salt is ob¬ 
tained from artesian wells at a depth of 1,500 
feet, the brine being evaporated* over furnaces 
in which natural gas is used as fuel. Petro-. 
leum and natural gas are obtained in several 
fields. Other deposits worked more or less 
include tin, quicksilver, silver, kaolin, and 
building stone. The absence of adequate trans¬ 
portation facilities and Chinese prejudice against 
using modern implements are the chief causes 
of a lack of development in mining to the ex¬ 
tent of its possibilities. 

Manufacturing. China is noted for its ex¬ 
tensive manufactures, but the products include 
rather fancy and small articles than the larger 
wares, such as are common to America and 
Europe. The Chinese train early in life to 
secure efficiency in labor and the manual arts. 
Their silk manufacture is the chief industry 
along the line of manufacturing, and in the 
production of silk they excel in varieties and 
quality all other nations in the world. A 
high degree of mechanical skill and artistic 
taste is displayed in the embroidering of silk. 
Cotton and woolen goods are beginning to 
meet with favor for wearing materials, and 
are, to some extent, displacing silk, which is 
the favorite fabric for clothing and is pre¬ 
scribed for officials and people of high rank. 
The Chinese knew of movable types in print¬ 
ing before the time of Gutenberg and Koster, 
and were the first to invent clocks, paper, 
porcelain, gunpowder, the magnetic needle, silk 
textiles, jade, and the art of printing. They 
are skilled in carving, engraving on wood, 
bronze-casting, lacquer work, and weaving. 
They support many factories for making 
matches, brick, powder, steel and iron ware, 
and munitions of war. Modern machinery has 
been introduced within the last few decades 
and all the industries are passing through a 
period of transition. 

Agriculture. China is distinctly an agri¬ 
cultural country, and has developed much skill 
in the care and cultivation of the soil. The 
art of fertilizing and securing the greatest 
possible productiveness has been a matter of 
special attention among the agricultural classes, 
and it is the policy of the government to pro¬ 
mote and encourage this necessary department 
of husbandry. In theory the farmer ranks 
next to the scholar, and is looked upon as being 



CHINESE EMPIRE 


463 


CHINESE EMPIRE 


superior to the artisan and merchant. The 
farming season is inaugurated annually at the 
spring equinox by the emperor, who sows some 
seed in a newly turned furrow. The land is 
held in small estates, usually not over ten acres, 
and when a man ceases to cultivate his land it 
becomes the property of the emperor. Crops 
have been rotated since time immemorial, and 
the cultivation is done with the utmost skill 
and care, hence, a failure of crops is very rare. 
Lowlands are drained and protected from floods 
by embankments, while fertile soil is trans¬ 
ported to the barren hills to render them pro¬ 
ductive. A network of canals and ditches is 
utilized in irrigating the land, even where rain¬ 
fall is ordinarily sufficient, thus insuring abun¬ 
dant moisture at the critical time of plant devel¬ 
opment. 

Farming is developed most extensively in the 
southeastern part of the empire, especially in 
the fertile valleys of the rivers. Rice is the 
staple crop and is grown in the southern and 
middle parts. Tea is cultivated in the south¬ 
eastern section, where it yields three crops per 
year, in April, July, and August. Comparatively 
little rice is cultivated north of the Yangtse- 
Kiang River, except on the southern slopes of 
the hills. The cotton belt extends as far north 
as the Hoang-ho River, where it is grown chiefly 
in the low valleys, while farther south it re¬ 
ceives more attention and produces a larger 
yield. Sugar cane is confined chiefly to the 
provinces bordering on the China Sea. Wheat, 
oats, corn, buckwheat, and rye are grown prin¬ 
cipally in the northern part. Tobacco is a 
staple crop in all parts of the empire, and the 
cultivation of the poppy is a commercial enter¬ 
prise owing to the prevailing habit of opium 
smoking. The mulberry tree is cultivated more 
than any other on account of its value in silk 
^culture, and ginseng, indigo, and vegetables 
receive careful attention. Stock raising is not 
an extensive enterprise, for the reason that 
butter, milk, and cheese are practically un¬ 
known. Fish and eggs are preferred to the 
flesh of domestic animals, and the horse is 
little used for driving, being considered less 
desirable than the men who pull the jinrikisha. 
Camels, elephants, and buffalo are reared to a 
considerable extent. 

Commerce. The tendency to exclusion has 
caused China to be closed against the commerce 
of the world, hence its commercial relations 
with foreign countries is of comparatively re¬ 
cent date. A trading port was established by 
the Portuguese in China in 1522 and some 
trade was carried by the Dutch, the English, 
and the Americans, but the government re¬ 


mained hostile to foreigners and trade contin¬ 
ued to be of secondary importance. Special 
ports were opened to foreign commerce in 
1842 by the Treaty of Nanking, which was 
made shortly after the Opium War with Eng¬ 
land, and up to 1908 forty-two ports were 
opened, including a number located on the 
rivers several hundred miles inland. The im¬ 
port trade greatly exceeds the exports. The 
former includes chiefly flour, ginseng, kero¬ 
sene, cotton textiles, quicksilver, sago, rubber 
shoes, and machinery, while the exports con¬ 
sist principally of tea, hemp, essential oils, fans, 
mats, chinaware, silk products, bamboo ware, 
and hides. Foreign trade is principally with 
Great Britain, Japan, the United States, and 
Germany in the order named. 

Transportation. The rivers and canals of 
China still continue to be the chief highways of 
commerce, and these are peculiarly busy with 
boats and barges of all kinds. A vast volume 
of trade is carried inland by these means, whence 
it is distributed to remote sections by carts and 
other vehicles drawn by hand or by animals, 
such as the horse, elephant, and buffalo. The 
Grand Canal, a waterway 700 miles long, con¬ 
nects Tientsin with Hankau, and has been in 
use more than 800 years. Many railroads have 
been projected and surveyed by foreign corpo¬ 
rations, but railway construction is slow on 
account of hostility of the government, and 
partly because of the impossibility to construct 
them without going through numerous burial 
grounds, which is precluded by the ancestor 
worship of the Chinese. The total railroad 
mileage in 1908 did not exceed 3,500 miles, in¬ 
cluding the lines built through Manchuria by 
the Russians. The projected lines are one from 
Kiauchau to Pekin by a German corporation, 
one from Canton to Hankau by an American 
company, and several branches to extend from 
the lines at Port Arthur and from Pekin to 
Canton. 

Spheres of Influence. A number of nations 
have secured trade concessions in different 
parts of China. This was brought about from 
the fact that the Chinese support customs which 
are opposed to the methods employed in mod¬ 
ern business enterprises, hence the establish¬ 
ment of spheres of influence permit intercourse 
on a commercial basis decidedly advantageous 
to the commerce of the world. The oldest. 
European possession is that of the Portuguese, 
who leased the city and island of Macao, at 
the mouth of the Canton River, in 1586, sub¬ 
ject to an annual payment, and it was ceded 
in sovereignty in 1863. Hongkong, the moun¬ 
tainous island at the mouth of the Canton River, 


CHINESE EMPIRE 


464 


CHINESE EMPIRE 


was ceded to Great Britain in 1842, and sub¬ 
sequently a number of other islands were added 
so the district has an area of 405 square miles. 
Germany acquired a district of 200 square miles 
on the Shangtung coast, known as Kiaochau, in 
1898, and built railroads from this point in¬ 
land to the Poshan coal mines, which are con¬ 
trolled by German capital. France secured a 
concession of 230 square miles on the east side 
of the peninsula of Lienchou, including the 
town of Lienchou-fu, in 1898. Russia had the 
largest sphere of influence in Manchuria prior 
to the Russo-Japanese War, after which it was 
ceded to Japan with certain limitations. 

Religion. Five religions are well estab¬ 
lished in China. These include the Confu- 
cians, Buddhists, Taoists, Mohammedans, and 
Christians, represented numerically in the order 
named. Anciently the Chinese divided their 
worship between God and their ancestors, and 
this double worship is embodied in. the religion 
of Confucius, who laid stress upon the material 
side of life rather than upon the spiritual. It 
has gone through many changes, is the religion 
of the educated classes, and is the basis of 
society and government. Buddhism is on a 
decline, its priests are illiterate, and its monks 
and nuns are mendicants. However, monas¬ 
teries and Buddhist temples are common in all 
parts of China, though those who profess it 
are of the uneducated class. Taoism is a sys¬ 
tem of rationalism, which makes an impersonal 
first principle the parent of all things, and it 
teaches that man must aspire to realize this 
principle through an escape from all mental 
distraction. Its worship is intermixed with 
incantation and alchemy, and partakes of a 
kind of spirit worship. The Arabs introduced 
Mohammedanism and their religion received 
'state recognition. It is estimated that fully 
20,000,000 Chinese profess the Moslem faith, 
and the mosques are numerous and usually in 
good condition. It is thought that Christian¬ 
ity was introduced in the 6th century by the 
Nestorians, but little progress has been made 
by either the Protestant or Roman Catholic 
missions. Those who profess Christianity are 
largely pupils of the missionaries or their de¬ 
scendants, and the total body of Christians 
does not exceed 1,500,000. 

Education. The Chinese hold education and 
literary attainment in high repute, and among 
them illiteracy is looked upon almost as a vice. 
While these people differ in their religion and 
personal likes and dislikes, they make education 
the element that binds them together as a 
nation, and with their educational skill they 
have been able to endure through history longer 


than any of the nations of the world. The 
ability to obtain and hold an office is looked 
upon as a great personal attainment, and fit¬ 
ness for public positions is determined by com¬ 
petitive literary examinations, a system which 
has been in force nearly seventeen centuries. 
All the villages and towns have elementary 
schools, and the teachers' are made up largely 
of a class who were rejected in the examina¬ 
tions for public positions. Technical education 
is provided for at the naval and military schools 
and at Pekin is located the Tung-wen College, 
in which science, literature, and modern lan¬ 
guages are taught. Chinese newspapers are 
published chiefly in the ports within the sphere 
of foreign influence. The Chinese language 
contains only words of one syllable, and each 
word in print is represented by a character, 
hence there are as many characters as there are 
words in the language. It is thought that these 
symbols originated from the hieroglyphic charac¬ 
ters of very ancient times. These characters are 
represented or printed in vertical columns to be 
read from top to bottom. 

Inhabitants. The Chinese have a yellow 
complexion and belong to the Mongolian race, 
which embraces more than one-third of the 
population of the earth. Their eyes and eye¬ 
brows turn upward at the outer extremities, 
the hair is straight and black, and. the forehead 
is wide. In stature they are low and have 
small feet and hands. Beginning in the 6th 
century a. d., the feet of the women of the 
higher classes were bandaged so as to prevent 
them from developing to the normal size. The 
men .wear a braid or queue on the crown of the 
head, with the rest of the head shaved closely. 
They are accustomed to hard work, are free 
from most vices, and live at a small expense. 
Opium smoking, gambling, and the consump¬ 
tion of intoxicating beverages are national 
vices. They are strongly attached to their 
home, support their families by hard toil, and 
respect old age and their parents. Remarkable 
simplicity of manners is exhibited by the in¬ 
habitants of the interior who have not come 
in contact with foreigners, but those acquainted 
with the customs of foreigners are treacherous 
and untruthful in dealing with strangers. 

China has a style of architecture distinctively 
her own, the best types of which are found in 
her temples and public buildings. The culture 
of the silk worm is left almost entirely to the 
women, while the men pursue agriculture, the 
arts, the professions, and laundry work. Death 
is regarded the most important event and mar¬ 
riage has precedence as of second importance. 
Both sexes marry young under contracts made 



CHINESE EMPIRE 


465 


CHINESE EMPIRE 


by parents or professional matchmakers, and 
frequently the future bride and groom do not 
become acquainted until immediately before the 
wedding ceremony. Women are not accorded 
the same social or educational advantages given 
to men, and in the scale of society are consid¬ 
ered of less importance. People in destitute 
circumstances are permitted to put their female 
children to death, but child murder is prac¬ 
ticed very little, though millions of children die 
each year from a peculiar treatment of the 
sick, which prescribes that a child that does 
not respond to remedies is to be regarded -as 
unhuman and for that reason is passed through 
an ordeal of neglect or starvation. The board 
of rites is a department of the government at 
Pekin, and interprets the Li-King or Book of 
Rites, which has been the basis of all rules of 
etiquette and conduct for more than 3,000 
years, and any action that departs from it is 
looked upon as treason or impiety. 

The great mass of Chinese live in houses 
built one story, and in the construction use 
brick, thatch, or bamboo, with the roof made 
of wood or tiling. Chambers are set aside for 
the worship of ancestors in all of the better 
class of dwellings, in which religious ceremo¬ 
nies take place regularly. They have many fes¬ 
tivals and holidays, but regard New Year’s Day 
as the greatest of all, for which they make 
preparation by paying their debts and purchas¬ 
ing new clothing, and it is considered the 
birthday of everybody, no matter on what day 
of the year birth took place. The dress has 
many advantages, since it is graded according 
to the season, and both sexes aim to have gar¬ 
ments of the same kind, the only differences 
being in the footwear. They do not shake 
hands or kiss each other, but are free in con¬ 
gratulating and saluting. Every Chinaman 
has an ambition to be buried properly, hence 
a handsome coffin is looked upon as a very 
desirable present, and very often caskets are 
kept in the home for years so as to have them 
ready when needed. White is the color put on 
by mourners. 

Population. Few foreigners make their 
home in China. The total number of foreign 
birth, in 1908, was 16,850, and they resided 
chiefly in the treaty ports. They included prin¬ 
cipally British, Japanese, Russians, Americans, 
Germans, French, and Portuguese. However, 
the Chinese are widely distributed in every 
civilized and uncivilized country, and emigra¬ 
tion would undoubtedly be much larger, if 
•these people were welcome in the countries of 
America. Though China has many great cities 
in a general sense, they are not centers of pop¬ 

30 


ulation like those known to Europeans, since 
they resemble aggregations of people in a local¬ 
ity rather than cities of social and commercial 
enterprise. Pekin, the capital, is located in the 
east central part. Other cities are Nanking, 
Canton, Tientsin, Hankau, Shanghai, Hoang-ho, 
and Fuchau. The population of the empire is 
not accurately known and the most recent care¬ 
ful estimates place it at 409,775,000. 

Government. The „ government is not cen¬ 
tralized like those of Europe, but the Chinese 
are held together by social, religious, and edu¬ 
cational systems rather than by political force. 
It has a constitution which holds the provinces 
together as a confederation, under which the 
emperor is the chief executive and has supreme 
.direction of affairs, with the assistance of a 
cabinet of ministers of state. Six ministers 
comprise the cabinet, two of whom are Chinese, 
two are Manchu, and two are chosen from the 
great college. The cabinet has control of seven 
government boards or administrative depart¬ 
ments, as follows: the board of civil appoint¬ 
ment, of revenues, of military, of public work, 
of admiralty, of rites and ceremonies, and the 
high tribunal of criminal jurisdiction. Each 
province has a governor and each district a 
magistrate, and between the emperor and the 
provincial governors is the viceroy. A num¬ 
ber of the provinces are united to form vice¬ 
royalties, of which there are ten or twelve, and 
communication between the capital and the 
province is solely through the viceroy and the 
governor. The laws are an outgrowth of cus¬ 
tom through many centuries rather than direct 
legislation, and are repromulgated with various 
modifications when the.dynasty is changed. In 
theory the emperor is the son of Heaven, but he 
may be deposed by the people if his reign is 
unwise or wicked, and if such a change is 
brought about by a rebellion it is said to have 
been willed by Heaven. The present Manchu 
dynasty belongs to a clan of ^conquerors num¬ 
bering about six million people, • and in this 
class there are nine orders of nobility. Patents 
of nobility and honorary titles are conferred 
by the government, and the only permanent 
noble class is confined to the descendants of 
Confucius. 

Manchu generals have charge of the military 
forces, which consist of 170,000 men quartered 
in the larger cities. The war footing is 600,000. 
Modern rifles and cannons have been imported 
from Europe and are manufactured in China, 
but the army still uses the bow and arrow to 
sortie extent, and the firearms in use by the 
cavalry consist of many different kinds of 
weapons. The navy has little strength com- 


CHINESE EMPIRE 


466 


CHINESE EMPIRE 


pared to those of European nations, but the 
empire has forty forts and batteries that are 
armed with high-power guns. The govern¬ 
ment maintains a system of mail service, though 
this is inadequate to the needs, and telephone 
and telegraph lines are used extensively. 

Literature. The literature of China is the 
most extensive national literature of the world, 
its collection of writings extending over an 
epoch of 2,000 . consecutive years. Among the 
early writings are those of Confucius, the most 
eminent of early moralists, but there are frag¬ 
mentary writings that date from about the 
same time, these being counted among the 
Chinese classics. The histories are reckoned 
the most elaborate Chinese works, these being 
divided into dynasties, each containing an elab¬ 
orate account of a dynasty. Chinese literature 
embraces a large collection of biographies of 
noted statesmen and scholars, a feature quite 
important in a country where ancestry worship 
prevails. In connection with each history are 
elaborate chronologies giving the lineage of 
important personages, many of which are of 
little interest and are seldom consulted. How¬ 
ever, there are important treatises on law, 
music, the rights of property, food, and cloth¬ 
ing, astronomy, geography, language, and vari¬ 
ous arts and sciences. One of the most elabo¬ 
rate works is a record entitled “General Exam¬ 
ination of Records and Scholars,” in which are 
recorded important details relating to official 
service and tests of scholarship. 

Though the historians and general writers 
of China are largely men, the poets include 
numerous women writers. “The Book of 
Poetry,” a classic coming down from Confu¬ 
cius, is a work on poetry held of very high 
importance, and those desiring official prefer¬ 
ment are required to be acquainted with its 
contents. Chinese poetry as a whole is made 
up of eiegies, ballads, and songs, some of them 
possessing real intrinsic value, though others 
are of minor . importance. The Chinese writ¬ 
ings of greatest utility are those relating to the 
culture of the tea plant and the mulberry tree, 
those treating of engraving, pottery, medicine, 
and horticulture, and those bearing on the sub¬ 
ject of legislation and the industries. Other 
writings include essays, elegies, orations, leg¬ 
ends, and works relating to Buddhism, alchemy, 
mechanics, and the drama, and numerous treat¬ 
ises of an encyclopaedic nature. Many libra¬ 
ries were destroyed at different times, par¬ 
ticularly by the Tsin dynasty, and at the time 
of the conflict between the Boxers and the 
allied armies in 1901. It is to be observed 
that the Chinese used paper as early as the 1st 


century of our era, and that they were the first 
to employ movable types, which they invented 
about the 8th century a. d. 

PI istory. -The early history of China is 
wrapped in fable, beginning in 2635 b. c., though 
it is reasonably certain that the country was 
densely populated even before that time. It is 
thought that Fu-hi, who lived about that period, 
founded the social order of the Chinese. Con¬ 
fucius begins his record of Chinese history 
with the reign of Yao, in 2357 b. c., and praises 
him as the founder of civilization and pros¬ 
perity. The Chow dynasty organized the gov¬ 
ernment in 1122 and reigned by a succession of 
kings until 255 b. c., a period of about 900 
years, during which the fine arts and literature 
flourished. Confucius was born in 551 b. C., 
at a time when the nation was depressed by 
misrule and civil war. The Chow dynasty was 
overthrown by the Tsin or Chin dynasty, in 
255 b. c., from which China was named, and its 
rulers expelled the Tartars, abolished the feudal 
system, and built the great wall to protect China 
against invasion. Prince Cheng, one of the 
Tsin rulers, regarded a national hero of the 
Chinese, assumed the title of emperor, calling 
himself Che-Hoang-ti. He beheaded hundreds 
of scholars who supported feudalism and claimed 
sovereignty over all the nations of Eastern 
Asia. 

The Han line of rulers reigned from 206 
b. c. until 190 a. d. Within this period many 
Jews settled in China, Buddhism was intro¬ 
duced and competitive examinations as a qual¬ 
ification for office became established. Gen¬ 
ghis Khan and the Mongols overran China in 
the early part of the 13th century. They estab¬ 
lished a Mongol dynasty in 1259, but this was 
displaced by the Ming dynasty in 1368, when 
Hung-wu became the reigning sovereign. The 
latter dynasty was succeeded by the Manchu- 
Tartar dynasty in 1618, and through a line of 
descent still holds the throne. The first ac¬ 
counts published in Europe of the Chinese and 
their industries were from the pen of Marco 
Polo, who traveled in that country in the l^th 
century. Queen Elizabeth attempted to estab¬ 
lish trade relations through the East India 
Company in 1596,.but commercial intercourse of 
noteworthy extent did not take place until 
1792. China declared the opium traffic illegal 
in 1796, but the decree was not enforced until 
1837, when the government decided to suppress 
this traffic and sent commissioners to Canton 
to confiscate the opium in the possession of 
merchants. These officials seized the stores of 
opium and published an edict that vessels en¬ 
gaged in the traffic would be subject to confis- 



CHINESE EMPIRE 


467 


CHINESE EXCLUSION 


cation and the persons who engaged in it were 
declared punishable by death. This brought 
on the Opium War of 1840, which terminated 
favorable to the British, and they compelled 
the opening of the five ports at Amoy, Can¬ 
ton, Ningpo, Fuchau, and Shanghai and the pay¬ 
ment of an indemnity of $21,000,000. Four 
years later commercial treaties were made with 
France and the United States. 

A formidable insurrection occurred in south¬ 
ern China in 1850, known as the Tai-ping re¬ 
bellion, which was finally put down by an army 
raised at the expense of the merchants at 
Shanghai. This army was first commanded by 
an American named Ward and later by Charles 
George Gordon. In the meantime additional 
trade privileges were obtained by the European 
nations, and in 1874 the Chinese became com¬ 
plicated with the Mohammedans in Turkestan, 
which was followed by internal changes and 
the widening of Chinese influence in East Tur¬ 
kestan. China became involved in a war with 
Japan in 1894, as an outgrowth of rival inter¬ 
ests in Korea. The Japanese army and navy 
promptly invaded Chinese territory and suc¬ 
ceeded in winning every combat, both on land 
and sea. Through this war China lost the 
island of Formosa and was required to pay an 
indemnity of about $150,000,000. Japan had 
demanded the cession of the Liaotung penin¬ 
sula, including Port Arthur, but Russia was 
unwilling to lose the foothold she had gained, 
and in conjunction with France and Germany 
protested until Japan gave up her claim and 
Russia secured a lease of the harbor of Port 
Arthur. A large reform party in China sought 
to bring the country into closer commercial re¬ 
lations with other nations, who demanded an 
“open door” market, and this led to serious 
opposition through the organization known as 
the Boxers. 

The Boxers were centered largely in Shan¬ 
tung and through the assistance of several other 
organizations promoted an agitation against for¬ 
eign aggression. These revolutionists advo¬ 
cated the extermination of all foreigners, 
threatened the legations in Pekin, and on June 
20, 1900, murdered Baron von Ketteler, the 
German ambassador, on the streets of Pekin. 
This caused the diplomatic corps and those as¬ 
sociated with them to fortify themselves in the 
British legation, which was besieged for nearly 
two months. To relieve the situation, the allied 
powers, including the United States, Germany, 
France, Russia, England, Japan, and Italy, dis¬ 
patched a large army to China, which was placed 
under the general command of Count Walder- 
see. The allied army captured the Taku forts 


on June 17, and later took possession of Tien¬ 
tsin and Pekin. The royal family of China 
escaped to the interior and the allied army 
marched through the forbidden city. Prince 
Ching and Li Hung Chang were commissioned 
to conclude a treaty with the powers, and it 
•was submitted and approved by the imperial 
government in 1901. This treaty required China 
to pay an indemnity for the damage done to 
the different foreign interests, granted greater 
trade privileges, provided protection against 
members of anti-foreign societies, and gave en¬ 
larged advantages to invest foreign capital in 
constructing public utilities and developing the 
natural resources. 

Little is known of the inner life of Chinese 
royalty, and the chief executive lives a most 
retired life under the etiquette of the court. 
The late ruler, Emperor Kwangsu, was born in 
1872 and is thought to have reigned from 1901, 
but was deprived of all real share in govern¬ 
ment by the dowager empress. Both he and 
the dowager died in 1908, when Hsuen Tung, 
an infant of three years, became emperor under 
the regency of his father, Prince, Chun. Li 
Hung Chang, often called the Bismarck of 
China, attained to the highest reputation in 
modern Chinese statesmanship. He introduced 
many methods and ideas of western civilization. 
However, the sentiment “China for the Chinese” 
has had a permanent growth throughout the em¬ 
pire since the Boxer insurrection. 

CHINESE EXCLUSION, a term ap¬ 
plied to legislation in the United States 
against the permanent settlement of Chinese 
in the country. The vast density of the pop¬ 
ulation of China has led to a tendency to 
emigrate, especially tio the Pacific coast in 
the United States, British Columbia, and Aus¬ 
tralia. The first treaty between China and 
the United States regarding residence and 
travel was effected in 1868. Owing to the 
cheapness of Chinese labor, many American 
laborers were injuriously affected, which led 
to the treaty of 1880, whereby it was sought 
to absolutely prohibit immigration. The act 
of Congress passed in 1884 suspended immi¬ 
gration for ten years. Later, in 1892, the 
Geary law extended, the exclusion provision 
for a further period of ten years, and re¬ 
quired Chinese to register and file pho¬ 
tographs in order to keep a complete record 
of those already in the country. This act was 
reaffirmed in 1902, when Congress further lim¬ 
ited immigration and provided certain restric¬ 
tions upon visiting and traveling. The Chinese 
population in the United States in 1900 was 
119,050. 



CHINESE WALL 


468 


CHIVALRY 


CHINESE WALL, a great artificial struc¬ 
ture extending about 1,500 miles between China 
proper and Mongolia. It was commenced in 
the year 214 b. c., and was intended to protect 
the country against the marauding raids of the 
Tartars. The construction is of brick, rising 
from granite foundations, and the two outer 
walls inclose great masses of stone and earth. 
It is about twenty-five feet wide at the bot¬ 
tom *and fifteen at the top, and is from twelve 
to fifty feet high. It is strengthened by towers 
at regular distances. The great wall winds 
through valleys and over hills, the greatest 
height above the sea at one of the elevations 
being 5,000 feet. Several million men were 
engaged in its construction for a period of ten 
years. 

CHINGTU (ching-too'), a city of China, on 
the Min River, capital of the province of Sze¬ 
chuan. It is inclosed by a wall, has fine streets, 
several libraries, and a number of beautiful 
edifices. It is the seat of several public build¬ 
ings and the residence of the viceroy. Popula¬ 
tion, 800,000. 

CHINOOK (chi-nook'), a family of Ameri¬ 
can Indians, now nearly extinct. They for¬ 
merly inhabited the region along the Columbia 
River, and extended from Oregon to the south¬ 
ern part of British Columbia. They were ex¬ 
pert fishermen, kept slaves, and manufactured 
clothing from skins. From them originated 
the Chinook dialect, a mixture of Indian, 
French and English. The Chinook wind was 
named from this Indian tribe. It is a remarka¬ 
bly pleasant wind common to sections of Wash¬ 
ington and British Columbia, coming inland 
from the Pacific as a direct result of the Japan 
current. In winter it has a warming influence, 
melting the snow and ice, while in summer it 
acts as a cooling and tempering agency. 

CHIPMUNK (chip'munk), the name of a 
class of American squirrels. The body is 
about six inches long and the color is gray or 



CHIPMUNK. 


reddish-brown, with black and white stripes on 
the back. These animals are active and cheery 
and issue a shrill note when alarmed. They 
burrow habitations underground, subsist on 
nuts and cereals, and multiply rapidly. In many 
localities they are a pest in cornfields. 


CHIPPEWA (chlp'pe-wa), Battle of, a 

military engagement between the British and 
Americans at. Chippewa, a village of Ontario, 
in Welland County. This village is a port of 
entry on the Niagara River, three miles above 
Niagara Faljs. The British under Gen. Riall 
were attacked by the Americans under Gen. 
Brown on July 5, 1814. The first charge was 
led by Gen. Porter. He pursued the enemy 
within a few yards of the entire force of Brit¬ 
ish, who made a gallant bayonet charge, and 
the Americans were routed, but Gen. Scott was 
ordered forward and saved the day to the 
Americans. The latter lost 355 men, while the 
British loss was 604. 

CHIPPEWA FALLS, a city in Wisconsin, 
county seat of Chippewa County, on the Chip¬ 
pewa River, ninety-eight miles east of Saint 
Paul, Minn. It is on the Wisconsin Central, 
the Chicago and Northwestern, and the Chi¬ 
cago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul railroads. The 
chief buildings include the county courthouse, 
a State institution for the feeble-minded, the 
public library, and the high school. It has gas 
and electric lights, city waterworks, and other 
municipal improvements. The manufactures 
include machinery, cigars, furniture, and im¬ 
plements. It has a considerable trade in farm 
produce and merchandise. It was settled in 
1838 and incorporated in 1870. Population, 
1905, 9,009. 

CHIPPEWAS (chip'pe-waz), a tribe of 
North American Indians. See Ojibways. 

CHISEL (chiz'el), an edged tool for cut¬ 
ting iron, stone, or wood. It is worked by 
pressure or by striking the upper end with a 
mallet or hammer. A carpenter’s chisel has a 
wooden handle attached to the shank of the 
blade, but those used for cutting metal are en¬ 
tirely of steel. 

CHITON (ki'ton),a class of mollusks whose 
shell is composed of many calcareous pieces, 
eight in number. The parts are transverse and 
overlap each other, and are so formed that the 
animal can roll itself into a ball much like 
the armadillo. In doing so it exposes only the 
hard shell, hence defends itself in this way 
when attacked. Locomotion is by an oval 
foot, which enables the chiton to cling to rocks 
like the limpet. About 200 species have been 
described. They are from eight to ten inches 
long in the coastal waters of California, but in 
the North Atlantic rarely exceed in length more 
than one or two inches. Fossil chitons are 
abundant in the lower silurian rocks. 

CHIVALRY (shiv'al-ry), the knightly sys¬ 
tem of feudal times, especially the system dis¬ 
tinguished by the championship of women and 



CHLORAL 


4C9 


CHLOROPHYLL 


of knightly honor. It had its beginning prior to 
the time of the Crusades, and during their 
greatest strength it attained to its advanced 
stage of development. The principal charac¬ 
teristics of the age of chivalry included the 
thirst for glory, the love of adventure, a war¬ 
like spirit, and a lofty devotion to the female 
sex. From the 9th to the 12th century a knight 
was one who held land in fee from a superior 
and was bound to render him military services. 
During the height of chivalry, it was customary 
to place a young knight in the court of a baron 
or noble knight, under whom he acquired skill 
in arms and in riding. Later he accompanied 
his lord in' battle, when he was known as a 
squire or an esquire. A young man attaining 
the age of responsibility, who inherited estates, 
was pledged to discharge them honorably in a 
ceremony of great splendor. The church added 
solemnity and made the investiture of a youth¬ 
ful knight an imposing religious event, placing 
before him a high moral and religious ideal to 
which he was exhorted to aspire. He was im¬ 
plored to have mercy for vanquished foes, 
purity in youthful relations, and high regard 
for the Christian Church. Notwithstanding 
these instructions, knighthood was often accom¬ 
panied by cruelty and impurity, although the 
poet celebrated and the church counseled the 
moral elevation of the true knight. The feudal 
system was a normal growth from chivalry, 
when that state of society declined. The most 
interesting developments of chivalry were the 
Knights Templar, the Teutonic Knights, and 
the Knights of Saint John, military orders in¬ 
stituted under its direction. It may be said 
that the age of chivalry served a useful pur¬ 
pose in making society braver, more pure and 
compassionate, and that it gave to these virtues 
high rank, the effects of which are still mani¬ 
fested in modern society. 

CHLORAL (klo'ral), a colorless, odorous, 
oily liquid obtained by passing chlorine gas 
through absolute alcohol to saturation. It is 
decomposed into chloroform and formate of 
potassium by the action of caustic potash. It 
changes into a white solid by keeping, but is re¬ 
converted into a liquid by heating. A crystal¬ 
line compound called hydrate of chloral is 
formed by adding water. This compound is 
used in medicine in the form of a syrup, as in 
cases of acute mania, delirium tremens, and 
severe chorea. If taken in proper quantities, 
the effects are restful sleep and nerve quietness, 
in large doses it tends to paralyze the heart and 
is otherwise harmful, and should never be taken 
except under medical advice. In medicine it 
serves both as a hypnotic and an anaesthetic. 


CHLORATE (klo'rat), a compound formed 
by replacing the hydrogen of chloric acid by 
a metallic base. Chlorate of potash is the most 
important of these salts, which, when mixed 
with combustibles, such as sulphur and char¬ 
coal, forms explosive compounds. It is used 
in the manufacture of firfeworks, matches, and 
percussion caps. The chlorates of potassium 
and sodium are used in medicine, especially in 
cases of inflammation and scarlet fever. 

CHLORINE (klo'rin), a yellow-green com¬ 
bustible gas discovered by Scheele in 1774. It 
has a strong, irritating odor, and affects the 
bronchial tubes and lungs. In nature it occurs 
in the form of metallic chlorides, and is artifi¬ 
cially obtained by heating sodium chloride 
(common salt) with black oxide of manganese 
and sulphuric acid. It fs used as a powerful 
bleaching agent, and is of value for destroying 
certain forms of animal and vegetable matter. 
Its property as a disinfectant has given it a 
wide use, and it is applied for this purpose 
much the same as chloride of lime. 

CHLOROFORM (klo'ro-form), a colorless 
liquid of an agreeable odor, having a sweetish 
taste and smell. It owes its discovery to Liebig 
in 1832. The process of preparing chloroform 
consists of distilling water and alcohol with 
bleaching powders or chloride of lime. In 
sunlight it is formed by the direct action of 
chlorine and methane, or marsh gas. The vapor 
of chloroform is four times denser than air, 
boils at 62°, is nearly insoluble in water, and 
may be dissolved readily in alcohol. It decom¬ 
poses by exposing to the light, by which means 
the acid and chlorine are set free. It is used 
in medicine by dissolving in alcohol. In that 
state it is known as chloric ether and used as 
a stimulant. Taken internally, it acts as a 
sedative narcotic and antispasmodic, and is used 
in cases of colic, asthma, cholera, and neuralgia. 
Applied externally, it allays irritation, pain in 
neuralgia, and itching. It is considered one 
of the safest anaesthetics, when administered by 
skillful practitioners, but in the hands of one 
uneducated in medicine it may produce lasting 
injury or death. Its use in surgical operations 
and painful diseases is quite common. Chlo¬ 
roform is also used to dissolve iodine, wax, 
resins, strychnine, and other alkaloids. 

CHLOROPHYLL (klo'ro-fil), the sub¬ 
stance which gives the green color to leaves 
and herbage. It is produced by the proto¬ 
plasm of plants, and separates into two elements 
the # carbonic acid gas taken in by the leaves— 
oxygen and carbon. The oxygen is returned to 
the air and the carbon is converted into starch 
in the presence of light, hence the green of the 





CHOCOLATE 


470 


CHOLULA 


leaves is absent from plants that are deprived 
of light. 

CHOCOLATE (chok'6-lat). Sec Cocoa. 
CHOCTAW INDIANS (chok'ta), a large 
tribe formerly occupying lands along the Gulf 
of Mexico, and extending from the Mississippi 
to the Atlantic. They were friendly to the 
French, but later formed an alliance with the 
English. De Soto engaged them in battle in 
1540. In 1784 they acknowledged the sover¬ 
eignty of the United States. At the beginning 
of the last century they began to emigrate to¬ 
ward the west. In 1820 they ceded a part of 
their territory to the government for lands 
west of the Arkansas, in Indian Territory, now 
Oklahoma. Their lands in the South came 
under the control of Georgia, where many 
Chocktaws were granted the right of citizen¬ 
ship. In 1830 they ceded the remainder of 
their lands and moved with the Chickasaws to 
Indian Territory. In the Civil War they sided 
with the Confederates and lost their slaves, 
about 5,000 in number. Schools are supported 
among them by the government under a treaty 
made in 1866, and they are taught in the arts, 
industries, and sciences, many having made 
much educational advancement. 

CHOIR (kwir), an organized body of sing¬ 
ers. The name is applied to the choral singers 
in churches, cathedrals, and other Christian edi¬ 
fices for worship. In many of the churches, 
both old and new, the choir occupies a particular 
place constructed for its use at one side of the 
altar or chancel, near which is a screen for the 
organ. See Church. 

CHOKE DAMP, the name given to a fire 
damp resulting from an explosion of gas in 
mines. It is also called black damp and after 
damp, and constitutes an irrespirable gas. See 

Carbonic Acid. 

CHOLERA (kol'er-a), the name applied to 
several diseases more or less similar to each 
other. Cholera morbus is characterized by 
vomiting and purgative effects with pain in 
the abdomen and lower intestines, and is ac¬ 
companied by a loss of strength. It is caused 
largely by deleterious food or drink taken in 
the summer season. Cholera infantum is a 
similar disease in children. It is common to 
hot climates and to the hot seasons in the 
temperate regions, and in many instances 
proves fatal. A remedy of much merit consists 
of equal parts of tincture of rhubarb, tincture 
of opium, tincture of cayenne, essence of pep¬ 
permint, and spirits of camphor. This prep¬ 
aration, thoroughly mixed and taken in doses 
of from fifteen to thirty drops every thirty 
minutes, is quite certain to give relief. 


CHOLERA, Malignant, or Asiatic Chol¬ 
era, a much dreaded disease, the germs of 
which are conveyed by means of the air or by 
water, and often proves fatal. It is epidemic 
in. various regions of Asia, and is often spread 
to different parts of the earth. In 1829 it ap¬ 
peared in Europe and reached Britain two 
years later, when thousands of people died. 
It appeared again in 1848, 1854, 1865, 1873, 1875, 
and 1885. In 1892-93 it appeared in New York, 
but was prevented from spreading by prompt 
methods of isolation and sanitation. In 1848 
the disease caused the death of 53,293 persons 
in England and 20,097 in 1854, while in 185o 
not less than 55,000 persons died of it in Egypt. 

The first stage of the disease is a severe 
form of diarrhoea with cramps in the abdo¬ 
men and legs, usually accompanied by marked 
muscular weakness. In the second stage the 
patient* suffers from intense prostration, feeble¬ 
ness, loss of voice, blueness of skin, and cold¬ 
ness of breath. The third stage is marked by 
a state of high fevers, with a tendency to suf¬ 
fer a congestion of the brain, kidneys, lungs, 
or other vital internal organs. In this and the 
second stage death often results. The best 
remedies against cholera are preventive medi¬ 
cines. It is favored and spread by conditions 
of filth and want of sanitation. The disease 
is primarily caused by a germ of a fungus or 
minute form of life propagating itself in the 
food of the alimentary canal. It is thought 
that the germ is conveyed into the system by 
unwholesome foods or impure water. Dr. 
Koch gave the opinion that the disease is due 
to the common bacillus, and that this organism 
is multiplied in the small intestines. Some 
physicians doubt whether these organisms ac¬ 
tually produce the disease, but it is known that 
large numbers of them are found in persons 
suffering from it. 

CHOLULA (cho-lod'la), a city of Mexico, 
in the state of Puebla, sixty miles southeast of 
Mexico. It is situated on a plateau 700 feet 
high, has railroad facilities, and is surrounded 
by a farming and mining country. At the 
outskirts of the city is a brick pyramid about 
170 feet high which covers over twenty acres, 
supposed to have been erected by the aborigines 
in honor of the deity Quetzalcohuatl. Among 
the manufactures are fireworks, textiles, pottery, 
and machinery. It has considerable trade, a fine 
public park, and several schools and churches. 
Cholula is an ancient city and when visited by 
Cortez in 1519 it had many temples and 20,000 
houses. The Spaniards massacred many of the 
inhabitants on account of. their hostility to 
Spanish influence. Population, 1908, 10,240. 


CHOPSTICK 


471 CHRISTIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 


CHOPSTICK (chop'stik), one of two small 
sticks used by the Chinese in conveying food to 
the mouth. Chopsticks are made of wood, ivory, 
or bamboo, and are a substitute for a knife and 
fork. They are used with much dexterity even 
in eating food of a liquid character. 

CHORAGUS (ko-ra'gus), a music director 
among the ancient Athenians, appointed by the 
state to be the leader and trainer of a chorus in 
dramatic contests. It was an office of high dig¬ 
nity and the choragus who was adjudged to 
have exhibited the best entertainment received 
a crown and tripod as a prize. He was permit¬ 
ted to build a monument and on it expose his 
tripod. A street in Athens was formed almost 
entirely by these monuments, known as the 
Street of the Tripods. The monument of 
Lysicrates, erected in 334 b. c., still stands 
intact. 

.CHORD (kord), in music, a combination of 
sounds, the frequency of whose vibrations has 
a simple arithmetical ratio; that is, of sounds 
whose combination is in accordance with the 
laws of harmony. The common chord con¬ 
sists of a bass or fundamental tone and is the 
basis of all harmony. 

CHORUS (ko'rus), a term applied to a 
company of singers and musical recitationists, 
who perform with appropriate gesticulation. 
The term originated from the Grecian and 
ancient tragedy, when choruses were made up 
of troups of males and females. They appeared 
on an elevated stage and engaged in singing 
and dancing as a means of heightening the 
pomp and solemnity at festivals. In comedy 
the number in the chorus was twenty-four 
consisting of one-half males and one-half fe¬ 
males. The chorus in music is that part of a 
composite vocal performance which is executed 
by the singers of a body, or company, and in 
which all take part. It is distinguished from 
the solo airs in that they are rendered by select 
voices. In song it is applied to the stanza in 
which the singer is joined by the company. 

CHOUANS (shoo'anz), a party of French 
royalists, who rose in arms against the revolu¬ 
tionary government in 1791. They were largely 
peasants of Maine and Brittany and carried on 
a warfare against the republicans during the 
French Revolution. Napoleon sent an army of 
30,000 men to suppress them in 1799, but they 
continued more or less aggressive until 1815. 

CHRISTCHURCH (krlst'church), a city in 
New Zealand, capital of the province of Can¬ 
terbury, on the Avon River, about eight miles 
from the sea. The surrounding country is 
fertile. It is connected by a railway with Lyt¬ 
telton, its port. The chief buildings include 


Christ College, the high school, the city hall, 
and a number of churches. Many of the streets 
are paved with stone and asphalt. A street 
railway system, waterworks, electric lights, and 
sewerage are among the utilities. The manu¬ 
factures include clothing, furniture, packed 
meat, and machinery. It has a large interior 
and foreign trade, especially in grain, minerals, 
and live stock. The city was founded in 1849. 
Population, 1906, 49,928. 

CHRISTIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, a 
religious denomination organized by John 
Alexander Dowie in 1896, and whose principal 
seat of influence is at Zion City, Ill. The 
founder of this sect was a minister in Aus¬ 
tralia and came to the Pacific coast of the 
United States to preach and practice faith 
healing, and subsequently settled in Chicago, 
where many became converted to his teaching. 
He founded Zion City on a tract of 6,600 acres, 
which was purchased for the avowed purpose 
of building a model Christian city. The land 
was not sold in fee simple, but instead was 
leased on contracts that expire in the year 
3,000, running for the period of about 1,100 
years. This arrangement was agreed upon for 
the purpose of providing a guarantee against 
any part of the city being used for purposes 
not sanctioned by the church, such as conduct¬ 
ing a drug store or doctor’s office, establishing 
saloons and playhouses, raising swine, or keep¬ 
ing for sale and selling liquors, oysters, and 
tobacco in any form. 

The .Christian Catholic Church carries on 
educational and commercial work as well as 
religious teaching. At Zion City are a num¬ 
ber of primary and grammar schools, and in¬ 
dustrial and general educational work is done 
at Zion College, all of which institutions are 
maintained in common with church work. The 
industries are managed by a board of control. 
They include publishing and printing, the sell¬ 
ing of*general merchandise, and the manufac¬ 
ture of soap, candy, lace, clothing, harness, 
and crackers. The denomination numbers 
about 100,000 souls, distributed more or less in 
the United States and Canada, and has adher¬ 
ents in Australia, England, China, South Af¬ 
rica, and other regions visited by missionaries. 
The teaching is confined generally to the prin¬ 
ciples of the Christian religion and the sacra¬ 
ments are observed. Special prominence is 
given to divine healing, and the dogma that 
diseases are cured in answer to prayer is given 
marked prominence. Trine immersion is prac¬ 
ticed in the sacrament of baptism, and at the 
close of meetings is a united consecration serv¬ 
ice. Among the official publications are Leaves 


CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR 


472 


CHRISTIANITY 


of Healing, “Voices from Zion,” “Elijah, the 
Restorer,” and “Zion’s Conflict with Methodist 
Apostasy.” 

In 1906 the society became involved in finan¬ 
cial difficulties and contentions arose among 
the members. Dowie was deposed by a fac¬ 
tion, while he was on a trip to found a colony 
in Mexico, and Wilbur Glen Voliva was made 
the official head of the organization. General 
nervousness and the mental strain caused by 
financial reverses hastened Dowie’s death, on 
March 9, 1907. The property of Zion City, at 
the time of his death, was worth about $10,000,- 
- 000 . 

CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR, United Soci¬ 
ety of, an association founded by Francis E. 
Clark at Portland, Me., in 1881, for train¬ 
ing the young for the duties of Christian mem¬ 
bership. It has societies in the United States, 
Canada, Great Britain, Australia, China, India, 
Japan, and other countries. In 1908 the num¬ 
ber of societies affiliated with the main body 
numbered 67,342, with a membership of 4,212,- 
500. The membership is distributed among all 
evangelical denominations. No taxes are levied 
and the main bodies assume no authority over 
the societies in the different churches. These 
are regulated and managed locally. The pur¬ 
pose of each local society is to encourage an 
earnest and useful Christian life on the part of 
each member, to increase mutual acquaintance, 
and to develop in all the practical duties of 
Christianity. Annual gatherings are held under 
the auspices of the united societies. The Chris¬ 
tian Endeavor World is the official organ. 

CHRISTIAN ERA, the epoch or era intro¬ 
duced by the birth of Christ. The beginning 
of the epoch was calculated about the year 532 
by Dionysius, a Syrian monk. It is certain 
that he fixed the event too late by four years 
and that Christ was born, according to his cal¬ 
culations, in the year 4 b. c. Hence the year 
1908 should have been written 1912. The Chris¬ 
tian era is sometimes called the Dionysian era. 
Time before the birth of Christ is marked b. c., 
after Christ, a. d. This did not become general 
in Christian countries until about the middle of 
the 15th century. 

CHRISTIANIA (krfs-te-a'ne-a), or Kris- 
tiania, the capital of Norway, located in the 
province of Christiania. It is situated on an 
inlet from Skager Rack, known as Christiania 
Fiord, about sixty miles from the Skager Rack. 
It was named in honor of Christian IV., who 
laid the foundation of the city in 1624. The 
architecture is usually plain and without much 
ornamentation, and the buildings are con¬ 
structed mostly of brick and stone. Among the 


most important structures are the university, 
an observatory, the palace of the King of Nor¬ 
way, the legislative house, or Storthing, and 
several cathedrals. The Aggershuus is an old 
castle which stands on a point of land project¬ 
ing into the’fiord. In connection with the uni¬ 
versity is a museum of antiquities and an ex¬ 
cellent library. Several lines of railroads con¬ 
nect it with the interior of Norway and with 
Sweden. The manufactures include glass, soap, 
ironware, woolen goods, tobacco, leather, paper, 
spirits, machinery, liquors, clothing, and tex¬ 
tiles. Its exports consist largely of iron, ma¬ 
chinery, and lumber. It has' a beautiful loca¬ 
tion, electric street railway connections, gas 
and electric lights, several parks, and numer¬ 
ous statues and monuments. The city is one 
of the cleanest and most healthful in Europe. 
Nearly all the inhabitants are Protestants. 
Population, 1906, 235,783. 

CHRISTIANITY (kris-chan'i-ty), the doc¬ 
trines and precepts taught by Christ; the Chris¬ 
tian religion. The' Christians are separated 
into many sects, but nearly all agree with re¬ 
spect to certain fundamental doctrines. They 
embrace the belief in a Supreme Being, the 
one living and true God. The great majority 
hold to the tenet that in the Divine Unity 
there is a Trinity—the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Spirit—to all of whom worship of 
the highest kind is given. The Father is as¬ 
signed as the first person of the Godhead; 
Jesus Christ as the second person is held as 
God and man; and the Holy Spirit is assigned 
as the third of the Trinity. The Scriptures of 
the Old and New Testaments are held to be 
inspired in a sense in which no other book is 
inspired, and are, therefore, in the highest de¬ 
gree fitted to enlighten the minds of inquirers 
as to religious duties. 

The first followers of Jesus formed a com¬ 
munity or society at Jerusalem shortly after the 
crucifixion of their Master. In the year 65 an 
organization was founded at Antioch, in Syria, 
which assumed the name of Christians, and 
the doctrine of Christianity was soon spread 
through the provinces of the Roman Empire by 
traveling apostles. Christian societies were or¬ 
ganized in the 1st century in Palestine, Asia 
Minor, Syria, Greece, Italy, Northern Africa, 
and the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Fully 
one-third of the inhabitants of the Roman Em¬ 
pire embraced this belief by the beginning of 
the 4th century. 

Branches existed early in Christendom; the 
Gnostics date from the time of the apostles, 
while the Nestorians originated in the 5th cen¬ 
tury. Among the important events of the Chris- 


CHRISTIANS 


473 


CHRISTOPHER’S, SAINT 


tian era are the separation of the Greek Catholic 
and the Roman Catholic churches in the 8th cen¬ 
tury, the Crusades of the 12th century, and the 
establishment and rise of Protestantism in the 
16th century. At present there are 478,000,000 
Christians in the world, of which number 215,- 
000,000 are Roman Catholics, 160,000,000 Prot¬ 
estants, and 130,000,000 Greek Catholics. The 
most numerous of the Protestant sects are the 
Lutherans, Calvinists, and Anglicans, in the 
order named. 

CHRISTIANS, a religious sect, comprising 
the Christian Connection and the Christian 
Church. These Protestant denominations were 
organized under the leadership of Abne'r Jones, 
at Lyndon, Vt., in 1800, and are now largely 
represented in Canada and the United States. 
The Bible is accepted as the only rule of faith, 
and it is interpreted by the. individual rather than 
under the direction of creeds. Members are ad¬ 
mitted on a simple profession of belief in Chris¬ 
tianity and Christian character is the only test of 
membership. They support Sunday schools, 
prayer meetings, and missionary enterprises. 
The majority are trinitarians and teach baptism 
of believers by immersion. In 1908 they had 
1,350 churches and an estimated membership of 
about 1,195,000. They support 150 institutions 
of instruction with more than 5,500 students. 

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE, a form of Chris¬ 
tian religion based upon the Bible, discovered in 
1866 by Mary Baker G. Eddy, who founded the 
denomination and is the author of its text-book, 
“Science and Health, with Key to the Scrip¬ 
tures.” The basic teaching is that God, the infi¬ 
nite Person, is Love; that He is the only Cre¬ 
ator, hence that He has made all that really 
exists, and has pronounced all creation “very 
good,” according to Scripture. From these 
premises, Christian Science deduces the temporal 
and unreal nature of sin, disease, evil, all the 
phenomena of mortal existence, and declares 
that these abnormal and unspiritual conditions 
can be overcome by divine power. Christian 
Science is organized in nearly all countries. It 
is estimated that over a million persons have 
been healed by it and are interested in it. There 
are 957 churches and societies throughout the 
world. Among the denominational publications 
issued by the Christian Science Publishing So¬ 
ciety are Christian Science Journal, a monthly 
periodical; Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly 
paper; Der Christian Science Herold, Christian 
Science Quarterly, and Christian Science Moni¬ 
tor (daily). 

CHRISTMAS (kris'mas), the festival ob¬ 
served by the Christian Church on the 25th day 
of December in commemoration of the birth of 


Jesus Christ. No certain knowledge of the birth¬ 
day of Jesus Christ existed, and its observance 
was not established until some time after the or¬ 
ganization of the first churches. Augustine re¬ 
garded Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Ascension 
Day, and Whitsuntide as the only festivals es¬ 
tablished by the apostles and sanctioned by the 
general council. He declared Christmas to be 
of later origin and of lesser authority. Clement 
of Alexandria mentioned Christmas in the be¬ 
ginning of the 3d century and Chrysostom 
speaks of it in the 4th century as having been 
observed for some time.. The early Christians 
of the Orient thought that both the birth and' 
baptism took place on the 6th of January, while 
Clement of Alexandria held that the 20th of 
May or the 20th or 21st of April should be ob¬ 
served. 

The 25th day of December was advocated by 
Julius I., Bishop of Rome from 337 to 352, as 
the most suitable time to commemorate the birth 
of Christ. This claim was strengthened by the 
church of the East, which held to the view that 
the baptism took place on the 6th of January. 
The day was finally placed on December 25th, 
which made it possible for all nations to observe 
a festival of rejoicing that the shortest day of 
the year has passed. This selection was approved 
by many prominent Christians because it placed 
a festival between Whitsuntide and Good Fri¬ 
day. Christmas festivities with their songs, 
trees, toys, and religious ceremonies are always 
favorites. A special religious service for Christ¬ 
mas day is held by the Greek, Lutheran, Roman, 
and Anglican churches. Catholic priests may 
celebrate three masses on Christmas day. A 
large number of churches hold no celebration on 
the two days immediately following Christmas, 
but nearly all of them have special services. 

CHRISTMAS ISLAND, an island in the 
Indian Ocean, about 250 miles south of the 
western end of Java. It has valuable beds of 
phosphate of lime, which are worked quite ex¬ 
tensively. The island is a British possession and 
is a dependency of the Straits Settlements. An¬ 
other island of the same name is located in the 
Pacific Ocean, with an area of 234 square miles 
and a population of 115. It was discovered by 
Cook in 1777, and is governed from the British 
administration of the Fiji Colonv. 

CHRISTMAS ROSE. See Hellebore. 
CHRISTOPHER’S, Saint, or Saint Kitts, 
an island in the West Indies, one of the Lee¬ 
ward Islands, about five miles wide and twenty- 
five miles long. It has an area of 65 square 
miles. The surface is mountainous, the highest 
peak being Mount Misery, 4,150 feet. Basse¬ 
terre is a seaport and the chief city. Local gov- 


CHRIST’S HOSPITAL 


474 


CHRONOMETER 


ernment is administered by a legislature, and is 
subordinate to the government of the Leeward 
Islands, under the direction of the British. The 
island was discovered in 1493 by Columbus and 
was settled by the English in 1623. Population, 
1906, 30,176. 

CHRIST’S HOSPITAL, a celebrated or¬ 
phan’s school at London, founded in 1553 by 
Edward IV., as a hospital for poor orphans and 
foundlings. It is popularly known as the Blue- 
Coat School, from the picturesque dress of the 
boys who attend the institution. It has a 
boys’ and girls’ preparatory school at Hertford, 
founded in 1682. Two day schools were opened 
in 1890 for 600 boys and 400 girls. King Charles 
II. enlarged the original endowment, and the 
annual income now amounts to $300,000 per year. 
The education is classical, but modern literature 
and languages are taught. The institution, in¬ 
cluding the departments at Hertford and Hor¬ 
sham, has accommodations for 2,500 students. 
A fire destroyed the first building in 1666, but it 
was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. The pres¬ 
ent building was erected in 1825 by Shaw. At 
this institution the following well-known men 
received their education: Camden, Richardson, 
Stillingfleet, Coleridge, Charles Lamb, Leigh 
Hunt, and Sir Henry Maine. 

CHROMATIC (kro-mat'Ik), a term in 
music. A chromatic chord is one which contains 
a note or notes foreign to diatonic progression. 
The eight diatonic tones and five intermediate 
tones make the chromatic scale .—Chromatics is 
the science of colors. 

CHROMIUM (kro'mi-um), one of the me¬ 
tallic elements, discovered in 1797 by Vanquelin. 
It was so named from the number of colored 
compounds which it forms. It is found in com¬ 
bination with iron and chromite, never in a ‘free 
state. The latter is a brownish-black ore and 
is the principal source of chromium. Chrome 
green, or ultramarine green, is a pigment ob¬ 
tained from chromium. Chromium steel is a 
kind of steel which contains about one per cent, 
of this metal, and is valuable for its great hard¬ 
ness and tenacity. Deposits of chromite are 
found in Asia Minor, Bohemia, Norway, and 
the Rocky Mountains of Canada and the United 
States. 

CHRONICLES (kron'i-k’ls), a portion of 
the Bible. It forms but one book in the Hebrew, 
but was divided into two books by the Septua- 
gint translators and was placed directly after I 
and II Kings. The Hebrew name means words 
of day; thus, has the same significance as our 
diaries or journals. The Chronicles are among 
the latest compositions of the Old Testament, 
and show evidences that the writer knew of 


many of the earlier books. In the first nine 
chapters is a line of genealogies which covers 
a period from the creation to the middle period 
of the Persians. The work contains valuable 
contributions to our knowledge of the history 
of the Israelites. 

CHRONOGRAPH (kron'6-graf), an instru¬ 
ment used to measure and record minute por¬ 
tions of time. It is intended specially for 
measurements in astronomy, where a record is 
desired of the exact instant of the occurrence 
of an event, such as the transit of a star. The 
so-called recording chronograph is designed to 
mark the instant of observation in hours, min¬ 
utes, seconds, and hundredths of a second, in 
printed characters, and in a form suitable for 
preservation and reduction. Another form of 
the chronograph is used at horse races and other 
occasions where a seconds watch is not exactly 
suited. It has an ordinary quick-train lever 
movement, carrying hands which move over a 
dial. One of these is a seconds hand, which is 
usually double, consisting of two distinct hands, 
one superposed over the other. Chronographs 
used in astronomical observation are usually 
moved by electricity. 

CHRONOLOGY (kro-nol'6-gy), the sci¬ 
ence of computing and adjusting dates and 
epochs of time by divisions and periods to facili¬ 
tate in assigning events to their proper times. 
The system of chronology differs among the 
nations of the world. The motions of the heav¬ 
enly bodies produce the natural divisions of 
time into days, months, years, and cycles. Exact 
computation can be made only from a point or 
epoch, which is taken to mark the beginning of 
an era. The Jews compute from the creation 
of the world; the Christians, from the birth of 
Christ; the Greeks, from the Olympiads; the 
Romans, from the building of Rome; and the 
Mohammedans, from the Hegira or flight of 
Mohammed. Besides these, there are various 
other epochs and data on which to base the as¬ 
signment of historical facts, scientific discov¬ 
eries, or notable events occurring in the history 
of the world. In the Christian chronology, the 
years before Christ are marked b. c. and those 
after, A. d. (Anno Domini, in the year of our 
Lord). 

CHRONOMETER (kro-nom'e-ter), an in¬ 
strument for the exact measurement of time. 
The term does not especially include clocks, 
watches, hour glasses, and other similar devices 
for the measurement of time, but is restricted 
more particularly to the instruments having 
compensations and adjustments to render them 
independent of the fluctuations of temperature. 
Their chief use is for making astronomical ob- 


CHRYSALIS 


475 


CHURCH 


servations and in measuring longitude at sea. 
The capacity of these instruments to keep accu¬ 
rate time under great variations of temperature 
determines their value. Those used at observa¬ 
tories are carefully tested by exposure to heat 
and cold varying from about —60° to +120°, 
the extremes within which they are expected to 
keep exact time. Chronometers used on ships 
are suspended in gimbals, so the instruments will 
always maintain the same position. 

CHRYSALIS (kris'a-lis), the last stage 
through which moths and butterflies pass when 
going from the larva or caterpillar state to the 
perfect or winged state. In this stage the insect 
takes no food, is inactive, and is inclosed in a 
transparent case composed of fibers spun by the 
larva. Many species, while in this stage, have a 
metallic luster. The length of this period de¬ 
pends upon the species and the season. It is 
attended by changes that take effect in the in¬ 
terior of the insect, its organs securing proper 
development for the support of the future being. 

CHRYSANTHEMUM (kris-an'the-mum), a 
flowering plant common to the temperate parts 
of America and Europe. It belongs to the Com- 
positae order and includes about 150 species. 
Many are cultivated in gardens and parks for 
their flowers. The common species include the 
golden feather, corn marigold, marguerites, and 
ox-eye daisy. Various species have been culti¬ 
vated in China many years and several were 
brought to Europe in 1764, where they have been 
developed by cultivation into many colors and 
forms. They bloom in gardens late in the fall, 
in some localities in October, November, and 
December. In shape they range from the plain 
to the double and semidouble species, and the 
flowers are either erect or reflexed. They are 
propagated by the seeds and by cuttings. 

CHRYSOLITE (kris'6-lit), a mineral com¬ 
posed chiefly of iron, silica, and magnesia. It 
occurs in transparent crystals and is usually of 
a greenish color, but sometimes black, and is 
used as a cheap kind of ornamental stone by 
jewelers. Chrysolite is found in basalt near 
Montreal and other parts of Canada, in the 
Hawaiian Islands, in Arizona, and in New Mex¬ 
ico. The species found in New Mexico closely 
resemble garnet and are called Job's tears from 
their peculiar appearance. 

CHRYSOPRASE (kris'6-praz), a greenish 
variety of chalcedony, valued as an ornamental 
stone. It is found in the mountains of Oregon, 
especially at Riddles, and in several places of 
Germany. Jewelers use it to some extent for 
mountings in rings, and the inferior specimens 
are employed in making necklaces, brooches, 
and seals. Some grades lose their color with 


age, especially if kept in a light and warm 
place. 

CHRYSLER’S FIELD, a locality in Dun 
das County, Ontario, and the site of a battle in 
the War of 1812. The American army was com¬ 
manded by Gen. Wilkinson and the British and 
Canadian troops were under command of Lieu¬ 
tenants Pearson and Morrison. On Nov. 13, 
1813, the Americans made the attack in the 
open fields of John Chrysler, a British military 
captain then in service. The battle lasted five 
hours, victory alternately favoring one and then 
the other. Night ended the conflict with the 
British in possession of the field. The Ameri¬ 
can loss was 339 and the British lost 187 men. 

CHUB, a fish of the carp family, found 
chiefly in the rivers of Europe. The upper parts 
are bluish-black, passing into silvery white be¬ 
neath, and the cheeks are yellow. It weighs 
about five pounds at maturity and is esteemed 
for the table. Anglers find it good game, and 
use worms, cheese, and cured meat for bait. 
The chub spawns in April and May and bites 
best in June and July. Several allied species 
are found in America, including the chub of the 
Columbia River and the river chub of the Alle¬ 
ghenies. 



AMERICAN CHUB. 
RIVER CHUB. 


CHUQUISACA (choo-ke-sa'ka), the name 
formerly given to the capital of Bolivia. It is 
now commonly called Sucre, which see. 

CHURCH, a term first used by the New 
Testament writers to denote the whole com¬ 
munity of Christians, and now applied to the 
whole body off Christians collectively. It is 
employed in a more restricted sense to designate 
a distinct denomination of Christians, as Lu¬ 
theran, Roman Catholic, Greek Church, Meth¬ 
odist, etc. It is also applied to a building set 
apart and consecrated for Christian worship. 
Many public halls or basilicas, courts of adjudi¬ 
cature, and heathen temples were consecrated 




CHURCHILL 


476 


CIDER 


as Christian churches after the conversion of 
Constantine. Later special edifices of wood, 
brick, or stone were built in various styles of 
architecture. These are designated as chapels, 
churches, collegiates, conventionals, or cathe¬ 
drals, this depending upon the style of architec¬ 
ture and the purpose they serve. Many of the 
ancient churches have the semicircular apse, in 
front of which is the altar, and near the latter 
is the choir. This arrangement is maintained 
in some of the newer edifices, but many modern 
churches have neither the apse nor the altar, and 
in some buildings the choir occupies one entire 
upper end of the church. 

CHURCHILL (church'll), an important 
river of Canada, rises between the Athabasca 
and the north branch of the Saskatchewan. It 
has a northeasterly course and flows into Hud¬ 
son Bay. Its entire length is about 850. It 
receives the Beaver River, which rises in Al¬ 
berta, and drains a large number of lakes, includ¬ 
ing Reindeer and South Indian lakes. Missi- 
nippi and English are other names of the 
Churchill River. 

CHURN, a vessel in which cream or milk is 
agitated to effect the separation of the butter 
from the fluid portions. The churn of the pio¬ 
neers is usually made of a conelike tub, in 
which the churn dasher is moved by means of a 
rod or stalk fixed to it. Those of newer manu¬ 
facture have an inner device by which the churn¬ 
ing is effected, or, in other cases, the entire ves¬ 
sel is made to revolve on a shaft. Many of the 
larger farms have churns that are worked by a 
gasoline engine or steam or horse power. The 
churns used in creameries are very large and 
are propelled by steam power. In some cases 
the machine is a combined churn and butter 
worker. 

CHURUBUSCO (choo-roo-boos'ko), a vil¬ 
lage of Mexico, located six miles south of the 
City of Mexico. It was the scene of a battle 
between the Americans under Gen. Winfield 
Scott and the Mexicans under Gen. Santa Anna 
on Aug. 20, 1847. The Mexican army was 
guarding the approach to the city and was en¬ 
tirely defeated. Gen. Scott captured 3,000 pris¬ 
oners and thirty-seven fieldpieces, and gained 
the battle at Contreras on the same day. The 
American loss was 1,053 men, while the Mexi¬ 
cans lost in killed and wounded ah>out 4,000. 

CHUSAN ISLANDS (choo-san'), an island 
group on the east coast of China, the largest of 
which is called Chusan. This island is from 
six to twelve, miles -wide and about twenty-two 
miles long. Much of the surface is mountainous, 
with fertile valleys penetrating among the hills. 
Rice, cotton, tea, tobacco, camphor, and bamboo 


are the leading products. The mountain dis¬ 
tricts dbntain valuable minerals. These islands 
were in the possession of the British in 1840, 
1841, and 1860. The group contains several mon¬ 
asteries and Buddhist temples. Tinghai, a for¬ 
tified town, is the chief settlement. For the 
purpose of administration the islands belong to 
the province of Chekiang. Population, 1908, 
345,540. 

CHYLE (kil), a milky fluid found in the 
lymphatic vessels of the bowels during digestion. 
It is opaque and under certain circumstances 
assumes a yellowish or slightly reddish color. 
After the food is digested in the stomach, it is 
converted into a yellowish liquid known as 
chyme, which passes into the duodenum, where 
it is acted upon by the pancreatic secretion and 
bile. The result is the chyle, which, in the tho¬ 
racic duct, is an oily liquid of considerable tur¬ 
bidity, and is carried into the veins and mingled 
with the blood. The nutritive portion of the 
food is contained in the chyle. 

CICADA (si-ka'da), the name applied to a 
genus of hemipterous insects common to many 
regions of both hemispheres. They are well 
known by their peculiar notes, which are made 
by drumlike appendages attached to the sides of 
the body, called the timbal. The eggs are depos¬ 
ited in the twigs of trees or shrubs by the adult 
female insects. The larvae fall to the ground 
and burrow, and during the larval state feed on 
the juices of roots. Several species occur in 
North America, among them the seventeen-year 


SEVENTEEN-YEAR LOCUST. 

A, Adult; B, Larva. 

locust, which lies beneath the. ground seventeen 
years, after which it emerges to become a per¬ 
fect insect. However, the development is has¬ 
tened by heat; hence, in the warmer localities, 
the broods come out in about thirteen years. 
Some cicadas require much less time in develop¬ 
ing, while different areas are frequented by these 
insects in different stages of development; thus, 
cicadas develop almost every year. In the 
United States a record has been kept of about 
fifteen different broods that appear at definite 
places and times. 

CIDER (sl'der), a liquor made from the 
juice of any fruit, but most commonly from 
apples. In making apple cider the juice is 
pressed from the crushed apples by a cider 






CIENFUEGOS 


477 


CINCHONA 


press and allowed to flow into casks. It fer¬ 
ments in the open air and a clear liquor results. 
The fruit used should be ripe, as the per cent, 
of sugar in ripe apples is much greater than in 
partially ripe or green, and therefore yields a 
larger proportion of alcohol. Fresh cider is a 
sweet, pleasant beverage. Cider brandy,^ or 
applejack, is obtained by distilling fermented 
cider. 

CIENFUEGOS (se-en-fwa'gos), a seaport 
city of Cuba, capital of the province of Santa 
Clara, on the Bay of Jagua, an inlet on the 
southern coast of the island. The city is one of 
the finest in Cuba. It is connected with other 
cities by a number of railroad lines. The ex¬ 
ports include sugar, wax, tobacco, rum, and 
molasses. A large number of trading vessels 
visit it annually and connect it with the leading 
seaports of the world. It has many fine public 
buildings and churches. There are regularly 
established public schools of instruction for free 
attendance in all parts of the city. Electric 
lights and street car lines were built shortly 
after the war with Spain. The city was founded 
by refugees from Santo Domingo in 1819. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1907, 60,142. 

CIGAR (si-gar'), a small roll of tobacco 
made of tobacco leaves and designed for smok¬ 
ing by lighting one end and drawing smoke 
through it. The choicest brands are imported 
from Cuba, or are manufactured from tobacco 
grown in the vicinity of Havana. Cigarettes 
are small cigars made of a small quantity of 
fine tobacco and used for smoking. Cheroots 
are thicker at one end than at the other, and 
are smoked the same as cigars. 

CILIA (sil'i-a), the common name of hair¬ 
like processes that cover the surface of certain 
cells, and line the trachea and bronchia. They 
are in constant motion to sweep out secretions 
and dust. Their arrangement is in rows. The 
size ranges from t.tfo to T 2 .W of an inch in 
length. Cilia occur upon the mucous membrane 
of various organs of the vertebrate animals, 
especially upon the epithelium, and in certain 
invertebrates they serve by the rapid vibration 
as organs of locomotion. In the cells of plants 
the cilia are exceedingly delicate protoplasmic 
fibrils. 

CILICIA (si-lish'i-a), an ancient country of 
Asia Minor, bounded on the north by the Tar¬ 
sus Range, east by the Amanus Mountains, 
south by the Mediterranean, and west by Pam- 
phylia. It included much of the fertile plain 
near the sea, the valley of the Cydnus River, 
and a mountainous region in the western part. 
Tarsus, the chief city, was long important as a 
center of education and commerce. The Cili- 


cians were distinguished for maritime enter¬ 
prise. Their country was invaded by the Assy¬ 
rians, but remained independent until it was 
conquered by the Persians. A Roman army 
under Pompeius subdued the Cilician pirates in 
67 b. c., who had fortified themselves in the 
mountains. 

CIMBRI (sim'bri), the name by which a 
people were known who fought with the Teu¬ 
tons Of northern Germany against the Romans 
in the year 113 b. c. In several great battles 
they were victorious, but were defeated by 
Marcus in the Battle of Verona, in the year 101 
b. c. Their horsemen were armed with helmets, 
spears, shields, and coats of mail. In the early 
battles with the Romans they displayed much 
courage and bravery, even the women showing 
many marks of daring. They are mentioned by 
Greek writers in connection with the Scythian 
Cimmerii of the Crimea, but modern writers 
regard them as Celtic, and connect them with 
the Cymri of Britain. Plutarch and Tacitus 
regarded them as Germans. 



CINCHONA (sin-ko'na), a genus of trees 
found in the Andes of Peru and adjacent coun- 





CINCINNATI 


478 


CINCINNATI 


tries, and subsequently introduced into India, 
Java, and Ceylon. It produces a medical bark 
of much value, known as cinchona hark, from 
which alkaloids, cinchonine, quinine, and other 
valuable drugs are extracted. The bark is taken 
off in strips and is renewed by natural growth. 
In the market the product is known as Peruvian 
hark. The trees are evergreen and have oppo¬ 
site leaves, and the flowers resemble lilacs in 
appearance. The bark is carefully dried when 
peeled off, and afterward is baled in packages 
weighing about 150 pounds. Gathering cinchona 
bark is a growing industry in Peru and Bolivia. 
See Quinine. 

CINCINNATI (sin-sin-na'ti), the second 
largest city in Ohio, county seat of Hamilton 
County, located on the north side of the Ohio 
River, opposite the mouth of the Licking River. 
It is 115 miles southwest of Columbus, 270 
miles southeast of Chicago, 765 miles from 
New York, and the focus of a network of im¬ 
portant steam railroads and electric railway 
lines. The Miami and Erie Canal connects the 
navigation of the Ohio River with that of the 
Great Lakes, hence it has transportation facili¬ 
ties that are rarely excelled. 

Description. The city has an area of thirty- 
eight square miles, with a river frontage of 
nearly fourteen miles. It is built upon two 
picturesque plateaus, the first of which is near 
the river and is sixty-five feet above low water 
mark, while toward the north it rises in abrupt 
steps to a height of 400 feet above the Ohio. 
The elevated portions are surrounded by a series 
of semicircular bluffs, affording a fine view of 
the city and the surrounding country. Im¬ 
proved highways and inclined plane railways 
make the summits of the hills as well as the 
plateaus easily accessible, including the beau¬ 
tiful localities known as Mount Auburn, Price’s 
Hill, Mount Adams, Fairview Heights, and 
College Hill. The city has a number of popu¬ 
lar residence districts and suburban places, such 
as Avondale, Clifton, Winston Place, and East 
Walnut Hills, these being specially noteworthy 
for their fine homes and scenic beauty. Across 
the river, in Kentucky, are Newport, Covington, 
Bellevue, and a number of other towns and vil¬ 
lages. Five bridges cross the river, affording 
ample facilities for passage by trains, vehicles, 
and pedestrians. The mean temperature is 55°, 
while the average in winter is 34° and in sum¬ 
mer 75°. 

Cincinnati is platted regularly and most of the 
streets cross each other at right angles. Many 
large business and office buildings are located 
in the central business section, which is sub¬ 
stantially and compactly built. The Federal 


building contains the customhouse, post office, 
and Federal court, and was erected at a cost 
of $5,000,000. It is three stories high, in the 
Roman-Corinthian style, and is built of a dur¬ 
able quality of freestone. The Masonic Temple, 
Chamber of Commerce, city hospital, city hall, 
county courthouse, Odd Fellows’ Hall, and sev¬ 
eral banks and department stores are among 
the chief buildings, many of which have from 
ten to twenty stories. Many fine churches are 
located in different parts of the city. The First 
Presbyterian Church has a tower 285 feet high. 
Saint Peter’s Cathedral, a Roman Catholic place 
of worship, is in the Grecian style and has a 
stone spire 224 feet high. Saint Paul’s Protest¬ 
ant Episcopal Cathedral, the First and Second 
Presbyterian churches, Saint Paul’s Methodist 
Episcopal Church, the Jewish Synagogue, and 
Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Church are 
splendid examples of ecclesiastical architecture. 
All of the Protestant denominations are well 
represented and have commodious and substan¬ 
tial places of worship. The total number of 
churches exceeds 200. Cincinnati is the seat 
of a Protestant Episcopal bishop and of a 
Roman Catholic archbishop. 

Parks. The parks are a feature of the city 
and cover an area of 575 acres. A collection of 
wild animals is the chief feature of the Zoolog¬ 
ical Garden, which contains sixty acres, and is 
beautiful on account of its fine walks and pic¬ 
turesque ravines. Eden Park, or Garden of 
Eden, located on Mount Adams, incloses 216 
acres and is the seat of the Art Museum and 
Art School. Burnet Wood embraces sixty acres 
and is located in the northern part of the city. 
An avenue 100 feet wide has been constructed 
to Spring Grove Cemetery, the largest and best 
known, which contains 600 acres. Besides it. 
there are about twenty-five other burial places. 
Fountain Square, on Fifth Street, contains the 
Tyler-Davidson Fountain and is beautified by 
many rare flowers and vines. This fountain 
was cast of bronze at Munich, Germany, and 
cost $200,000. At Race and Eighth streets is a 
statue of Garfield, and at Vine and Eighth is 
an equestrian statue of President William Henry 
Harrison. Other statues include those of Lin¬ 
coln and a bronze statue commemorating the 
soldiers who died in the Civil War, the latter 
being located in Spring Grove Cemetery. 

Institutions. The public schools range 
from the kindergarten to the high schools, which 
fit for entrance into colleges and universities, 
and have departments of manual training. 
Among the higher institutions is the University 
of Cincinnati, with an observatory at Mount 
Lookout. It is the seat of the Wesleyan Fe- 


CINCINNATI 


479 


CINCINNATI UNIVERSITY 


male College, Lane Theological Seminary, Ohio 
Mechanics’ Institute, Saint Joseph’s and Saint 
Xavier’s Jesuit College, and a Hebrew college. 
The art and professional schools include musi¬ 
cal and medical colleges and institutions for in¬ 
struction in law, commerce, pharmacy, and den¬ 
tistry. The Museum and Art School, located 
in Eden Park, has a fine collection of statues 
and paintings. The public library, with 325,000 
volumes, is located in a commodious building 
on Vine Street. Other libraries include those 
of the Young Men’s Mercantile Association, of 
the Cuvier Club, of the Ohio Mechanics’ Insti¬ 
tute, and a number of others. Public charities 
are numerous. 

Industries. Important as a railroad center 
and located on the Ohio River, Cincinnati has 
extensive commercial intercourse with the lead¬ 
ing cities of America. The Union Depot on 
Third Street and Central Avenue is the con¬ 
verging point of most of its railways, but sepa¬ 
rate stations are maintained by the Pennsylvania 
and a number of other lines. About 8,000 man¬ 
ufacturing establishments of different kinds are 
located in the city. These include chiefly slaugh¬ 
terhouses, packing establishments, carriage and 
wagons works, foundries, breweries, brickyards, 
machine shops, and boot and shoe factories. In 
pork packing it takes rank next to Chicago. On 
Mount Adams is *the Rookwood Pottery, which 
has a wide reputation for the manufacture of 
artistic and meritorious wares. The city has a 
large trade in cotton and woolen textiles, furni¬ 
ture, butter and cheese, grains of different kinds, 
fruits, and merchandise. It is noted as a cen¬ 
ter of wholesaling. 

Hotels and Theaters. The chief hotels in¬ 
clude the Emery, Grand, Saint Nicholas, Pal¬ 
ace, Dennison, Honing, Burnet, and Gibson. 
Among the chief places of amusement are the 
Grand Opera House, Columbia Theater, Arbiter 
Hall, Walnut Street Theater, and the Lyceum. 
The Music Hall, endowed by Reuben Springer, 
has a seating capacity for 5,400 persons and 
contains one of the largest .organs in America. 
Musical societies are very numerous, owing to 
the large number of German residents. When 
Charles Dickens visited America for the first 
time he found more to commend in the social 
refinement and art advancement of Cincinnati 
than in any other city of the United States. 

History. George Rogers Clark erected two 
small blockhouses on the site of Cincinnati in 
1780, which was probably the first time the local¬ 
ity was visited by white men. The first settle¬ 
ment was made in 1788, when a company from 
Kentucky and New Jersey settled on a tract 
of land purchased from the government by 


John Cleves Symes. Fort Washington was built 
in 1789, and the following year the place was 
named Cincinnati by Gen. Saint Clair, in honor 
of the Society of the Cincinnati. It was made 
the county seat of Hamilton County at this 
time, ‘was incorporated in 1802, and became a 
city in 1819. Its prosperity dates with the open¬ 
ing of steamboat navigation on the Ohio in 1815. 
The Miami Canal was completed in 1830 and 
the first railroad was built in 1843. The citi¬ 
zens of Cincinnati generally opposed antislavery 
agitation, owing to their close social and com¬ 
mercial relations with the South, but sided with 
the Federal government during the Civil War. 
It was threatened by a Confederate force under 
Gen. Kirby Smith in 1862 and for a time was 
under martial law. In 1883 a large part of the 
lower city was submerged by a flood which de¬ 
stroyed many business houses. The famous 
Cincinnati Riot, incited by the light sentences im¬ 
posed upon a number of murderers, resulted in 
burning the courthouse and caused the death of 
forty-five persons. Population, 1910, 364,463. 

CINCINNATI, Society of, an organization 
formed in 1783 by the American and foreign 
officers in the Revolutionary War. The original 
purposes included the care for widows and or¬ 
phans of soldiers who had lost their lives, but 
later it partook more and more of the nature of 
perpetuating mutual friendships and remem¬ 
brances of the noted revolutionary events. It 
was named from Cincinnatus, the great Roman 
hero, because he, like many of the members, 
had been called from the farm in defense of 
the country. The society now consists of a cen¬ 
tral organization with branches in the states of 
Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and 
Rhode Island. Meetings are held triennially, oc¬ 
curring in 1899, 1902, etc. 

CINCINNATI, University of, a coeduca¬ 
tional institution of higher learning at Cincin¬ 
nati, Ohio. It was founded on bequests made 
in 1868 by Charles McMicken, and a number 
of grants were added subsequently by the city. 
In 1873 the university was opened for instruc¬ 
tion; the academic department was added the 
following year, the medical department was or¬ 
ganized in 1896, and the law department was 
consolidated in the following year with the law 
school of the Cincinnati College, founded in 
1833. The university as now organized includes 
the academic, law, medical, and graduate depart¬ 
ments; the college of engineering; and the sum¬ 
mer school. ^Affiliated with it are the Ohio Col¬ 
lege of Dental Surgery and the clinical and 
pathological school of the Cincinnati Hospital. 
It has a library of 95,000 volumes, a faculty of 


CINERARIA 


480 


CIRCLEVILLE 


175 professors and instructors, and an attend¬ 
ance of about 1,250 students. The endowments 
and buildings, including equipments, have a 
value of $3,500,000. 

CINERARIA ( sin-e-ra'ri-a), a genus of 
plants native to South America,, including about 
twenty-five species. They include the garden 
cineraria, which is an annual with simple leaves 
and is popular as a greenhouse plant. It is eas¬ 
ily cultivated and blooms freely, the flowers be¬ 
ing asterlike and include red, white, and purple 
colors. Most plants of this class have lower 
leaves with an ashy appearance, hence the name. 

CINNABAR (sin'na-bar), the name applied 
to the sulphide of mercury. It is blood-red in 
color, crystallizes in the hexagonal system, and 
is found both massive and crystallized. The 
vermilion of commerce is a valuable pigment 
and is an artificial mercuric sulphide, while the 
native cinnabar is mixed with impurites that 
prevent it from being used directly as a pigment. 
Cinnabar is found in several localities of the 
Rocky Mountains, in New South Wales, in 
Austria, and in South Africa. 

CINNAMON (sin'na-mun), an aromatic 
bark taken from the under branches of several 
species of the cinnamon tree, a plant of the 
laurel order. Several 
species are found in Cey¬ 
lon, Malabar, and various 
portions of the East In¬ 
dies. The trees have 
yellow flowers, acorn¬ 
shaped fruit, and oval 
leaves, and attain a 
height of from fifteen to 
thirty feet. The bark is 
a staple article of com¬ 
merce. It is used in the 
culinary arts and for 
manufacturing an essen¬ 
tial oil. Oil of cinnamon 
1. cinnamon. 2. bark. j s prescribed in doses of 
from one to five drops as a stimulant and in 
the treatment of stomach ailments. See Spices. 

CIPHER (si'fer), in mathematics, a char¬ 
acter which of itself possesses no value, but 
when placed after a number increases it ten¬ 
fold. In decimal fractions a cipher before a 
number decreases its value tenfold. See Cryp¬ 
tography. 

CIRCASSIA (ser-kash'i-a), a region in the 
northwestern part of the Caucasus, in Russia. 
It is bounded on the north by the Kuban River, 
on the east by the country of the Lesghians, on 
the south by Mingrelia, and on the tvest by the 
Black Sea. The region is mountainous and is 
inhabited by the Circassians, a class of warlike 


mountaineers. Circassia has been a part of 
Russia since 1829. 

CIRCASSIANS (ser-kash'anz), the name 
applied to a tribe inhabiting Circassia, a moun¬ 
tainous region in the southeastern part of Rus¬ 
sia, in Europe, and including largely the north¬ 
ern slopes of the Caucasus. The inhabitants 
are divided into a number of tribes with differ¬ 
ent languages. In religion they are nominally 
Moslems, but their worship is mixed somewhat 
with Jewish, Christian, and heathen ceremonies 
and traditions. They were an independent peo¬ 
ple in the early part of the 15th century and 
carried on wars against the Tartars, to whom 
they afterward became tributary. With the 
enlargement of Russian territory, they were ab- „ 
sorbed after much resistance, and showed fur¬ 
ther hostilities by leaving Russian possessions 
and emigrating to the provinces of Turkey. The 
men are prized as soldiers, while the women 
are chosen as mistresses by the Turks and 
are among the handsomest in the harems. The 
total number of Circassians is estimated at 
about 150,000. 

CIRCLE (ser'k’l), a plane figure bounded by 
a curved line called its circumference, every part 
of which is equally distant from a certain point 
within called the center. The radius of a circle 
is a straight line drawn from the center to its 
circumference, and a straight linfc drawn through 
the center and terminated both ways by the cir¬ 
cumference is called the diameter of a circle. 
The space inclosed within the circumference is 
called the area of a circle. The circumference 
of a circle is to its diameter about as twenty- 
two to seven or as 3.1416 to one. In astronomy 
the circle is divided into 360 equal parts called 
degrees, each degree containig sixty minutes, 
and each minute sixty seconds. In geography 
a circle upon the surface of the earth is called 
a great circle when its plane passes through 
the center of the sphere, dividing the earth into 
two equal parts; all others are called small 
circles. 

CIRCLEVILLE, .a city of Ohio, county seat 
of Pickaway County, thirty miles south of 
Columbus, on the Norfolk and Western and the 
Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley railroads. 

It is nicely situated on the Scioto River and the 
Ohio and Erie Canal. The manufacturing enter¬ 
prises include flouring mills, a packing estab¬ 
lishment, a canning factory, and machine shops. 

It has a brisk trade in farm produce and mer¬ 
chandise. Among the chief buildings are sev¬ 
eral schools, the county and city buildings, and 
numerous churches. The public utilities include 
electric lighting, a public library, and a water¬ 
works system. Circleville was settled in 1806 



CIRCUS 


CIRCULATION 481 


and incorporated in 1814. Population, 1900, 
6,991. 

CIRCULATION (ser-ku-la'shun), in eco¬ 
nomics, a term used to designate the circulating 
coin and notes that constitute the currency of a 
country. In early times articles were exchanged 
under a system of barter. In the great com¬ 
mercial activity of modern times a monetary 
system is needed to facilitate convenience in 


conducting commercial enterprises on a vast 
scale. The circulation is regulated by the gov¬ 
ernment, restricted to the needs of trade, and 
guaranteed to remain stable in the exchange for 
commodities and the payment of public and pri¬ 
vate obligations. 

In vegetable physiology the term is applied to 


the circulation of the sap in plants. There is no 
close analogy between the circulation of plants 
and that in animals. It was thought formerly 
that sap ascends in the spring and descends in 
autumn, these two movements constituting the 
whole circulation. However, it is' now known 
that ascending and descending currents coexist, 
and that horizontal currents pass between the 
tissues. The current of sap in ascending enters 
the leaves, where it is modi¬ 
fied by certain influences 
which fit it for the nutrition 
of the plant. It is carried 
back *to the roots, by a de¬ 
scending circulation in an 
elaborated condition. The 
circulation in plants is not 
carried on by a central or¬ 
gan as in animals, but rotates 
within the interior of cells, 
the fluid of the cell not com¬ 
municating with the adjacent 
cells. In the lower forms of 
animal life, as in the entozoa, 
there appears to be no circu¬ 
lation, the vital fluid in which 
they live seeming to be im¬ 
bibed by their textures. 

• In animal physiology the 
circulation consists of the 
blood, which is propelled by 
the heart, penetrating the ar¬ 
teries, capillaries, and veins 
of the entire system. Al¬ 
though Galen had observed 
that the blood flows in op¬ 
posite directions in the ar¬ 
teries and veins, the circula¬ 
tion was not discovered until 
1628 when Harvey demon¬ 
strated the connection of the 
heart with the circulatory 
system. Malpighi used a 
microscope, in 1661, to de¬ 
monstrate the passage of the 
blood in a frog’s foot from 
the arteries to the veins by 
the capillaries. The accom¬ 
panying illustration shows 
the principal organs of cir¬ 
culation, including the heart 
as the center of the system. See Artery; 
Blood; Heart. 

CIRCUS (ser'kus), an inclosure of space in 
which sports, games, and various feats of horse¬ 
manship are exhibited. The Roman circus was 
a narrow, long building without a roof in which 
chariot races, athletic exercises, hopse races. 



31 








CISALPINE REPUBLIC 


482 


CITIZEN 


and animal fights were exhibited. It was orig¬ 
inated by Romulus, and was made popular by 
subsequent rulers. The largest of the Roman 
circuses was the Maximus, capable of holding 
from 250,000 to 385,000 spectators. Among the • 
few remains of these structures are those of the 
circus of Caracalla. They were usually oblong 
and from three to five times longer than wid,e. 
The largest in the time of Julius Caesar was 
625 feet wide and 1,875 feet long. In these 
buildings were exhibited games, wrestling, box¬ 
ing, and sea fights; for the latter purpose canals 
were dug. The conquerors usually brought large 
herds of wild animals from foreign countries to 
exhibit in games for the enthusiastic populace. 

When Pompey returned from his expedition 
he gave a circus occupying five days, during 
which twenty elephants and five hundred lions 
were killed. The Roman voters expected can¬ 
didates for office to give extensive circus games 
and to contribute otherwise to the comfort and 
amusement of the partisans. In modern times 
the circus became largely an exhibition of acro¬ 
batic displays, feats of horsemanship, collections 
of wild animals, and hippodrome performances. 
Associated with modern circuses are exhibitions 
of gymnastics, legerdemain, statuary, strange 
and foreign people, and bold feats of equestrian¬ 
ism. Phineas P. Barnum and William Cody are 
among the greatest showmen of modern times. 

CISALPINE REPUBLIC (sis-al'pin), a 
state organized by Napoleon in 1797 and reor¬ 
ganized by Germany. It contained an area of 
16,337 square miles and a population of 3,500,000. 
However, it received the name of Italian Repub¬ 
lic on Jan. 25, 1802, when Napoleon was chosen 
its president. It was a part of Italy from 1805 to 
1814, and was given to Austria in 1815 by the 
congress of Vienna as the Lombardo-Venetian 
kingdom. 

CISTERCIANS (sis-ter'shanz), an order of 
monks and nuns founded in 1098 by Saint Rob¬ 
ert, abbot of Molesme. It is properly a branch 
of the Benedictine order and its members are 
sometimes called Bernardines. The name Cis¬ 
tercians was derived from Citeaux, France, near 
Dijon, where the first monastery was estab¬ 
lished. Originally they wore a brown habit, 
but later adopted a white one supplied with a 
black scapular. Their monasteries were estab¬ 
lished chiefly in lonely valleys. They refrained 
from eating meat, worked hard and slept little, 
and cultivated an interest in art and literature. 
This order was well organized in England when 
Henry VIII. dissolved the monasteries, but at 
present it is represented by only a few monas¬ 
teries in Austria and Belgium, and by one in 
England and two in Ireland. 


CISTERN (sis'tern), a reservoir for water, 
usually constructed underground, and frequently 
supplied with a filter to purify the inflow. A 
cistern receives its water by an artificial chan¬ 
nel, which is generally connected with the roof 
of a house or barn by means of spouting. The 
construction is chiefly of brick laid in cement 
and plastered on the inside to prevent the escape 
of water through the pores of the brick, but 
cheaper kinds are made by using wood or plas¬ 
tering with hydraulic cement direGtly upon the 
earthen walls. The purpose is to obtain soft 
water and store it as needed, but in arid dis¬ 
tricts cisterns serve to provide water for house¬ 
hold use. Artificial reservoirs or tanks are con¬ 
structed aboye the ground where the soil is 
extremely wet. Large cisterns are used for 
storage of water in manufacturing. 

CITADEL (sit'a-del), the strongest part of 
a fortification, intended as the last defense of 
a garrison against a besieging army. Citadels 
are usually supplied with two gates, one com¬ 
municating with the city and the other with 
places that furnish supplies for the army in 
case' of siege. They command the fortifica¬ 
tions and frequently hold out against an enemy 
even after the city they are intended to protect 
has surrendered. When William III. of Eng¬ 
land besieged Namur in 1695, the citadel held 
out a month after the town had surrendered. 

CITIES OF REFUGE, the cities of Canaan 
in which those guilty of involuntary homicide 
could flee for safety. Six of the forty-eight 
Levitical cities belonged to this class, including 
Shechem, Kedesh, and Hebron, on the west 
side of the Jordan; and Golan, Bezer, and Ra- 
moth-Gilead, on the east side. They were 
located so refugees could reach them from all 
parts of Palestine. Once in the City of Ref¬ 
uge, the accused was given a fair trial. If 
found innocent of willful murder, he remained 
until the death of the high priest, when he was 
released and permitted to return to his former 
residence. 

CITIZEN (sit'i-z’n), a member of a state 
or political community. An alien may become 
a citizen by naturalization, when he is known as 
a naturalized citizen. On the other hand, one 
born within the jurisdiction of the country is 
termed a natural-born citizen. In most mon¬ 
archies it is customary to limit the term citizen 
to the residents of a municipality, while the 
word subject expresses the relation of citizen¬ 
ship to the state or country. A citizen of the 
United States is a citizen of the State in which 
he resides. A person may be and usually is a 
citizen both of the nation and of the State, but 
his rights under the two are legally different. 


CITIZENSHIP 


483 


CIVET 


A resident of a Territory is not a citizen of a 
State, but is subject to the Federal law. In 
some states residents are admitted to citizen¬ 
ship in the State, while not eligible to citizen¬ 
ship in the nation. Minors and women are citi¬ 
zens, but the right to vote is withheld from 
them, though in some states women are granted 
full privileges, as in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, 
and Idaho. 

CITIZENSHIP, the state of being vested 
with the rights and privileges of a citizen. In 
the United States citizenship is extended to all 
individuals born in the United States, and not 
subject to any foreign power, except untaxed 
Indians. Children born elsewhere, but whose 
fathers were citizens at the time of their birth, 
are citizens. Women, not citizens, become citi¬ 
zens by marriage to citizens. All persons nat¬ 
uralized are citizens. The Indians who with¬ 
draw from tribal relations and enroll as tax¬ 
payers become citizens. All classes of foreign¬ 
ers, except Chinese, who prove good behavior 
and moral character, may be naturalized after 
five years’ residence within the United States. 
The laws expressly prohibit Chinese from 
becoming citizens. 

CITRIC ACID (sit'rik). an acid obtained 
from the fruit, roots, and leaves of a number 
of plants. It is derived largely from the juice 
of lemons. In preparing it the juice is allowed 
to ferment, after which it is neutralized with 
lime, then filtered, and afterward decomposed 
with sulphuric acid. About five pounds of citric 
acid are obtained from one hundred pounds of 
lemons. Among the common plants that yield 
citric acid are gooseberries, huckleberries, 
tobacco, grapevines, and sugar beets. The 
crystalline salts known as nitrates are obtained 
by combining metals with citric acid. Citric 
acid is used in treating rheumatism, for effer¬ 
vescent drinks, and in calico printing to pre¬ 
vent the formation of colors not wanted. 

CITRON (sit'run), a tree common to the 
warm, temperate, and tropical climates, where it 
is cultivated for its fruit. It has short and stiff 
branches, purple flowers, oblong leaves, and 
large warted fruit. The citron tree was brought 
from Media by the Romans. It furnishes oil 
of citron, which is used in confectionery and 
for culinary purposes. The name citron is 
applied to a variety of watermelon, the rind of 
Which is used for pickles and preserves. It is 
very hard and inedible, and thrives in most 
parts of North America. 

CITRUS (sit'rus), a genus of evergreen 
shrubs and trees native to warm climates, where 
they are cultivated for their fruit. These 
plants include the lime, orange, citron, lemon, 


and grape fruit, or shaddock. In most species 
the leaves are pointed and have jointed petioles. 
A volatile oil is obtained from all the species, 
used largely in the manufacture of medicine 
and perfumery. The flowers are peculiarly 
fragrant and yield a volatile oil, and the fruit is 
pulpy with smooth seeds and spongy rind. 

CITY, the name usually applied to a large 
aggregatipn of population, the term generally 
denoting a more populous place than a town. 
In some states the name is applied to any 
incorporated town, but in others it is limited to 
a town having not less than 10,000 inhabitants, 
and some apply it to a town having at least 
2,000 inhabitants. A city in Canada is a mu¬ 
nicipality of the highest class and is separated 
from the jurisdiction of the county council. 
In Great Britain the term is generally applied 
to all towns that are incorporated and which 
either are or have been sees of bishops. The 
larger cities of Greece more nearly resembled a 
state than a city, as was the case in Athens and 
Sparta, and this form of organization is perpet¬ 
uated in the free cities of Germany. 

CIUDAD REAL (ra-al'), a town in Spain, 
capital of the province of Ciudad Real, about 
one hundred miles south of Madrid. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile plain, five miles south of 
the Guadiana, and has railroad conveniences. 
Among the chief buildings is a hospital founded 
by Cardinal Lorenzand. It has several monas¬ 
teries and churches and is the headquarters of 
the Hermandad, or Holy Brotherhood. The 
manufactures include leather, woolens, flour, 
and olive oil. It was founded in the 13th cen¬ 
tury by Alfonso X., who fortified it as a strate¬ 
gic point. Population, 1906, 15,568. 

CIUDAD VICTORIA (vek-to re-a), a city 
in Mexico, capital of the state of Tamaulipas, 
160 miles southeast of Monterey. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a sugar-growing district, has rail¬ 
road facilities, and is a market for fruit and 
sugar. It is the seat of a bishop and the resi¬ 
dence of several consular agents. The manu¬ 
factures include cigars, sugar, clothing, and 
machinery. It was founded in 1750 and received 
its present name in 1825. Population, 1906, 
16,810. 

CIVET (siv'et), a carnivorous mammal of 
Asia and Africa, resembling somewhat the fox 
and the weasel. The head is long, the ears 
are short and rounded, and the color is gray¬ 
ish with a tinge of yellow. The body is from 
three to four feet in' length, including the tail, 
and about twelve inches high. Several species 
have been described, but the African civet is 
the best known. It ^feeds on birds, reptiles, 
and small quadrupeds, and is regarded a bene- 






CIVILIZATION 


484 


CIVIL SERVICE 


factor in the valley of the Nile for its ability 
to devour the eggs of the crocodiles. From it 
is obtained a fatty substance known as civet. 
It is a pale-yellow or brownish substance, about 
the consistency of honey, and is secreted by the 



AFRICAN CIVET. 


anal glands of this animal. It is removed from 
the bag about twice a week with a small spoon, 
and after being cleaned has a value of $10 or 
$12 per ounce. It is used in making perfume. 
In many sections of Africa civets are kept for 
this product. 

CIVILIZATION (si v-i-li-za'shun), a term 
applied broadly to the . culture of a people in 
contradistinction to those classed^ as barbaric 
or savage. A nation is considered civilized 
when a large proportion of its inhabitants have 
a high state of intellectual and,’ moral develop¬ 
ment, and show evidences of increase with the 
advance of years. Civilization is the outgrowth 
of material prosperity, between which and the 
higher state there are frequent actions and reac¬ 
tions. The state of the society of the world 
exists at the present time with regard to form 
as barbarous, semicivilized, and civilized. 
Many scholars and writers believe that the pres¬ 
ent population of the earth sprung from Noah’s 
family, and that he and all that constituted his 
household were far advanced in civilization. 
Others hold a contrary view, thinking that man 
has shown a systematic growth and develop¬ 
ment to higher conditions through the ages. 
This class assert that man originally occupied 
a barbarous state and that he has advanced 
from century to century until the present time, 
although it is admitted that there are some peo¬ 
ple and nations who have shown no advance, or 
have fallen back into the state of barbarism, 
if they ever possessed any degree of civilization. 

The first stage of society seems to be a highly 
barbarous one, in which the food consists of 
fruits, roots, and fishes. In the second stage 
man is represented as a hunter, bu\ passes into 
the state of a shepherd in the third, in which 
state wild animals are domesticated to avoid the 
uncertainty of the result in hunting. In the 


fourth stage man becomes an agriculturist, and 
finally, in the last and highest stage, engages in 
manufacture and commerce. The possibility of 
civilizing all nations, abolishing wars, and inau¬ 
gurating peace has long been a question of seri¬ 
ous discussion. 

The tendency to higher development seems 
equal only to the spirit of retrogression, and a 
nation once civilized may remain in that state 
only a few decades or centuries. If civilization 
had been a permanent institution, it would have 
matured into world-wide achievements from the 
stages attained in Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, 
and the other ancient nations, and by this time 
have spread to every country. With the rise 
of civilization in Western Europe there came 
a period of retrogression in the East, and this, 
and other examples which might be cited, are 
evidence conclusive that the v^ork of great 
physical, mental, and moral effort to make man¬ 
kind better and wiser must be pursued with 
ever increasing intensity. However, climate, 
food, soil, and the aspects of nature are the 
principal causes of intellectual progress. Viewed 
from this standpoint, it is assumed that reli¬ 
gion, literature, and governments are the prod¬ 
ucts, not the cause, of civilization. 

CIVIL SERVICE, the service of govern¬ 
ment which is distinguished from the military 
and the naval affairs. Government is separated 
into three branches— legislative, judicial, and 
executive. The legislative branch is representa¬ 
tive of the people, and in it is vested the law¬ 
making power. The judicial branch interprets 
and gives meaning to the law, and establishes 
and administers justice. The executive branch 
is the law-enforcing power. Each of the three 
departments of government is more or less con¬ 
cerned with the civil service. Owing to much 


responsibility resting upon the different depart¬ 
ments, the reform and improvement of this 
service in many countries has been long a ques¬ 
tion seriously considered. In the United States 
partisans often biased appointments to office, 
which led to inefficiencies and public criticism. 
Owing to this fact, a system has been estab¬ 
lished by which competitive examinations are 
provided for candidates, and the fitness of ap¬ 
plicants is tested without regard to politics. 
Appointments are given to those showing the 
highest degree of fitness, and these are to 
remain in office during good behavior. By these 
means party politics are removed and the effi¬ 
ciency of public service is increased materially. 
The number of government offices which are 
now in the civil service list is about 100,000. 
Within recent years the appointment to office in 
many cities has been established upon this plan, 


CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA 485 

which is generally called the merit or compet- 
itivc system. 

CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA, the armed 
conflict of 1861-65, between the Northern and 
Southern sections of the United States. Sec¬ 
tional differences had existed from the begin¬ 
ning of the Union, but after the time of the 
Missouri Compromise of 1820 the differences 
were based largely upon the economic and social 
divergence between the North and the South 
caused by the existence of slavery. Frequent 
tendencies to disrupt the government prevailed 
from time to time, but they increased materially 
after 1850, chiefly on account of the passage 
of the Fugitive Slave Law and the incidents 
connected with its enforcement. Other causes 
of dissatisfaction were the repeal of the Mis¬ 
souri Compromise in 1854, the Dred Scott 
Decision of the United States. Supreme Court 
in 1858, the Lecompton Constitution for Kansas 
in 1858, and the John Brown 
Raid at Harper’s Ferry in 
1859. However, the election of 


CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA 



SCENE OF THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 

Lincoln in 1860 brought disunion to a head. 
Seven states seceded between Dec. 20, 1860, and 
Feb. 1, 1861. These were Alabama, Florida, 
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, 
and Texas. The Confederate States of America 
were organized on Feb. 4, 1861, at Montgomery, 
Ala., and the four states of Arkansas, North 
Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia joined the 
Confederate States by July of the same year. 
Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri were divided 
and were represented in both armies, while the 
western counties of Virginia remained loyal to 
the Union and later were organized as the 
State of West Virginia. 

It was at first expected by many citizens of 
both sections that there would be a peaceable 
separation. Buchanan temporized and was suc¬ 
ceeded by Lincoln, who at first could not see his 


course clearly, but when the Confederates fired 
upon Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, 
S. C., on April 12 , 1861, it precipitated the con¬ 
flict. President Lincoln immediately called for 
75,000 volunteers to enforce the ‘authority of 
the Union and declared a blockade on the 
coast of the Southern States. The Confederate 
States likewise called for volunteers and issued 
letters of marque and reprisal. The North was 
rich and had a greater variety of industries 
than the South, where agriculture was the only 
large industry. However, the people of the 
South were better united and were pervaded 
with 3 more enthusiastic military spirit. 

The first blood was shed in Baltimore on 
April 19th in a street attack on the Sixth Mas¬ 
sachusetts Regiment, which was on its way to 
Washington. It was followed by active opera¬ 
tions in the western part of Virginia, which 
each of the contending parties tried to hold. 
The Federals were defeated on June 10 at Big 
Bethel, Va., and on July 21 occurred the first 
Battle of Bull Run, when the Federals under 
Gen. McDowell were completely defeated 
by the Confederates under Generals 
Johnston and Beauregard. The effect of 
the Confederate success at Bull Run was 
to encourage the South and raise a deter¬ 
mined spirit in the North, and to unify 
both sections in support of their respec¬ 
tive policies. 

Though the experiences of the first year 
were decidedly against the Federals, their 
cause was greatly strengthened in 1862. 
Gen. Thomas succeeded in expelling a 
large part of the Confederate soldiers - 
from Kentucky, while Pope, Buell, and 
Grant cleared the upper Mississippi and 
the lower Cumberland and Tennessee, with 
battles at Shilo'h and Corinth, while Far- 
ragut captured New Orleans. Gen. Pope and 
Commodore Foote captured Island No. 10, in 
the Mississippi, and Maj. Gilmore bombarded 
and took possession of Fort Pulaski, near Sa¬ 
vannah, Ga. In March of the same year the 
Confederate* ironclad, Virginia , formerly the 
Merrimac, was defeated in Hampton Roads by 
the newly constructed Monitor. 

Richmond, the Confederate capital, was an 
objective point in 1862, and Gen. McClellan 
undertook its capture with the Army of the 
Potomac. This army was carefully organized 
and disciplined and took a position on the penin¬ 
sula formed by the York and James rivers, and 
in May gained a success at Williamsburgh, Va. 
It advanced to the Chickahominy and in June 
won the Battle of Seven Pines, or Fair Oaks, 
but the Federals were compelled to abandon 














CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA 


486 


CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA 


the project after a hard-fought campaign of 
about four months, which included the Seven 
Days’ Battles, known separately as those of 
Oak Grove, Mechanicsville, Gaines’s Mill, Sav¬ 
age’s Station; Frazier’s Farm, and Malvern Hill. 
McClellan was superseded by Halleck in July 
and the contest was shifted to northern Virginia, 
where occurred the second Battle of Bull Run 
between the Federals under Pope and the Con¬ 
federates under Lee, Longstreet, and Jackson, 
in which the Federals were defeated and driven 
back upon Washington. Lee now concluded to 
strike a master blow by crossing the Potomac 
into Maryland, but he was met at South foun¬ 
tain by McClellan, who defeated him in the 
severe Battle of Antietam and compelled him 
to fall back into Virginia. In September 
Stonewall Jackson recaptured Harper’s Ferry, 
where the Confederates took about 12,000 pris¬ 
oners and valuable stores. The latter made an 
heroic effort to drive the Federals out of Ken¬ 
tucky and Tennessee, and Gen. Bragg with an 
army of 45,000 men entrenched himself at Per- 
ryville, where he was defeated by Rosecrans and 
Van Dorn was repulsed at Corinth. Buell, who 
had been commander of the Army of the Cum¬ 
berland, was succeeded by Rosecrans, who 
engaged Bragg’s army in a battle lasting three 
days at Murfreesboro, after which the Confed¬ 
erates retreated. Among the severe losses of 
the Confederates during the year was the death 
of Gen. Johnstori, who fell at Shiloh, or Pitts¬ 
burg Landing, on the Tennessee, in April. 

The proclamation emancipating the slaves in 
the rebellious states, which had been decreed 
by President Lincoln in September, took effect 
Jan. 1, 1863. During the year the campaigns 
turned the tide in favor of the Federals. 
Hooker succeeded Burnside as commander of 
the Army of the Potomac,' but was defeated in 
a great battle at Chancellorsville, where the 
Confederates lost Stonewall Jackson, and Lee 
understock the second invasion of Maryland. 
Meade succeeded Hooker as commander of the 
Army of the Potomac and immediately pursued 
the Confederates. The armies met at Gettys¬ 
burg in July and fought desperately for three 
days with the result that the Federals gained a 
complete victory. Lee crossed the Potomac into 
Virginia and took a stand at the Rapidan. 
Meanwhile Gen. Grant undertook the capture 
of Vicksburg, which the Confederates had for¬ 
tified, and Pemberton was compelled to sur¬ 
render his army of 30,000 men almost the same 
time that the victory of Gettysburg was won. 
Port Hudson fell in July and gave the Federals 
complete control of the Mississippi, thus divid¬ 
ing the Confederacy into two sections. How¬ 


ever, the Army of the Cumberland under Rose¬ 
crans was severely defeated by Bragg in the 
Battle of Chickamauga. Grant was now made 
commander of the Department of the Missis¬ 
sippi, which included all the armies of the West, 
and in November defeated Bragg at Chatta¬ 
nooga, in the battles of Lookout Mountain and 
Missionary Ridge. The year closed with the 
Federals in control of the Mississippi and in 
possession of the states of Arkansas, Florida, 
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennes¬ 
see. 

The ability of Grant in his remarkable cam¬ 
paigns in the West brought about his appoint¬ 
ment as commander in chief of all the armies. 
In March, 1864, he took personal command of 
the armies in the East and placed Sherman in 
charge of the West and South. Sherman, with 
an army of 100,000 men, defeated the Confed¬ 
erates at Dalton, Rome, and Resaca, but was 
himself defeated at Kenesaw Mountain. He 
occupied Atlanta after it had been evacuated by 
Hood, who-had succeeded Johnston, and two 
months later began his march to the sea, reach¬ 
ing Savannah on Christmas. Hood had made a 
counter movement by invading Tennessee, but 
his army was destroyed by Thomas in the Bat¬ 
tle of Nashville. Meanwhile, the Army of the 
Potomac, under immediate command of Meade, 
undertook the campaign of the Wilderness to 
force the ultimate evacuation of Richmond. The 
Battle of the Wilderness, near the Rapidan, 
was fought in May without either side gaining 
a victory. This was followed by the Battle of 
Spottsylvania Court House, the engagement at 
the North Anna River, and the repulse of the 
Federals at Cold Harbor. Grant now crossed 
the Chickahominy and was met by Lee at 
Petersburg, where he conducted a protracted 
siege. Gen. Early moved rapidly across the 
Potomac and won several successes, including 
that of the Monocacy, and then withdrew into 
the Shenandoah Valley, where he was defeated 
near Winchester by Sheridan and later was 
routed at Cedar Creek. In June of the same 
year the Confederate cruiser Alabama was sunk 
off Cherbourg, France, by the Kearsarge and 
Farragut defeated the Confederate squadron in 
Mobile Bay. 

In February, 1865, Sherman left Savannah 
and marched through South Carolina, where he 
took possession of Columbia and Charleston, 
and pushed northward into North Carolina. 
Johnston undertook to check Sherman at Ben- 
tonville, though met with defeat in this design. 
Lee made an attempt on March 25th to break 
through the Federal line at the Appomattox 
River and captured Fort Stedman, but this was 


CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA 


487 


CLAN 


retaken by the Federals. Sheridan defeated the 
Confederates at Five Forks on March 31, thus 
exposing the connection of Lee with Richmond, 
and on April 2 Grant made an attack on the 
whole line at Petersburg. Richmond was im¬ 
mediately abandoned and Lee retreated to 
Lynchburg, where he was intercepted by Sheri¬ 
dan and surrendered his army to Grant at 
Appomattox Court House on April 9, while 



Johnston surrendered on the 25th. The last 
fight took place on the Rio Grande, May 13, 
1865, and the last armed forces were surren¬ 
dered by Kirby Smith on May 26. Jefferson 
Davis, President of the Confederate States, was 
captured on May 10 and confined at Fortress 
Monroe. At the time of the final victory, on 
April 14, President Lincoln was assassinated. 


The Civil War, from April 12, 1861, when 
Fort Sumter was bombarded, to May 26, 1865, 
when the Trans-Mississippi army surrendered, 
covered a period of about four years. The 
Confederates had about 500,000 men and lost 
95,000 in killed and wounded, while the Feder¬ 
als had 2,666,999 men and lost 359,258. It is not 
certain what number of Confederates were 
killed by accident or disease, but it is estimated 
that the total is nearly 200,000. The war cost 
the Confederate States about two billion dol¬ 
lars and the United States about three and 
one-half billion, and the latter has paid in pen¬ 
sion to Union soldiers about as much as the sum 
spent by it to maintain the Union. It is esti¬ 
mated that the total cost, counting both sec¬ 
tions of the country, aggregates nine billion 
dollars. See Confederate States. 

CLAIRVOYANCE (klar-voi'ans), an 
alleged faculty or power claimed to be possessed 
by some persons while under the influence of 
mesmerism. By means of it the clairvoyant 
claims to be able to see mentally things con¬ 
cealed from sight or at a great distance, to dis¬ 
cover things hidden from sight, and to describe 
clearly events happening at a distance. The 
claim that clairvoyance is a reality is not 
admitted by scientists. See Mesmerism. 

CLAM, the name applied to various bivalve 
mollusks, which are most numerous in the sand 
and gravel between the high and low water 
mark. The best known species are the sea, or 
hen, of the Atlantic; the soft-shelled clam, 
called the cob in England; the edible giant clam 


1 T~ ’ 3 ? 3 

scale of feet. 



GIAJ>IT CLAM. 


of the South Sea; and the fresh-water clam, 
which is properly a mussel. The clam is a 
favorite food, while the shells are used in many 
cities to make ornaments, buttons, snuff boxes, 
knife handles, and beads. Off the East Indian 
coast the giant clam, weighing 500 pounds, is 
found. 

CLAN, meaning offspring or children, the 
name applied to a tribe or number of families 
bearing the same surname, claiming descent 









CLAREMONT 


488 


CLASSICS 


from common ancestors, and united under a 
chieftain who represents that ancestor. The 
clan system still exists among the Arabs, Tar¬ 
tars, and other tribes of Asia and Africa, and 
among a number of other peoples, particularly 
among Indians. A clan system was instituted 
among the people of Scotland in the reign of 
Malcolm II., about the year 1008, but it was of 
much greater antiquity in other countries. The 
members of a clan were kin by birth and were 
united by other ties under a chieftain, who was 
the supreme ruler. Each clan occupied a cer¬ 
tain portion of the country, and wars among 
clans were both frequent and severe. The legal 
authority of clannish chiefs was abolished by a 
law passed in 1747, and the government became 
merged into a system more nearly subject to 
the central authority. During the period that 
clans flourished, they were divided into two 
general classes—those of the Highlands and the 
clans of the Borders. 

CLAREMONT (klar'mont), a town in Sul¬ 
livan County, New Hampshire, forty-eight miles 
northwest of Concord, on the Boston and Maine 
Railroad. It is surrounded by a productive 
farming country and is a center of manufac¬ 
tures. The chief buildings include the Fiske 
Library, the high school, and a number of 
churches. Among its industries are cotton, 
woolen, and paper mills, printing, machine 
works, and marble yards. An abundance of 
water power is obtained from the Sugar River. 
Population, 1900, 6,498. 

CLARENDON (klar'en-dun), Constitu¬ 
tions of, a series of ordinances made by a coun¬ 
cil of the nobles and prelates in England, at the 
village of Clarendon, in Wiltshire, in 1164. 
These laws were favored by Henry II. as a 
means to check the power of the church and to 
limit the clergy in exercising secular jurisdic¬ 
tion. They limited and defined the jurisdiction 
of the Pope in England, and gave the crown 
power to interfere in the election to fill vacan¬ 
cies in offices and dignitaries. By their terms 
it became necessary to secure the consent of 
the king to make appeals to Rome, clergymen 
were forbidden to leave the realm without royal 
sanction,* and clergymen accused of crime were 
taken for trial before ecclesiastical courts, after 
which the law courts were empowered to inflict 
further punishment. 

CLARINET (klar'i-net), or Clarionet, a 
wind instrument with a reed, first made by John 
Christopher Denner of Leipzig, Germany, in 
1690, but since modified by various improve¬ 
ments. Its principal parts include a mouth¬ 
piece, furnished with a single beating reed, and 
a round tube enlarged at the end in the form of 


a bell. The tube is provided with eighteen 
openings in the sides, half of which are closed 
by the fingers and half by the keys. It is used 
extensively in military bands and orchestras. 
Its compass is much greater than that of the 
flute and its music is held in higher favor. * 

CLARKE’S FORK, a river of the United 
States, rises in the Rocky Mountains, in the 
western part of Montana. It flows toward the 
northwest in Montana, crosses the northern 
part of Idaho, flows through the northeastern 
corner of Washington, and enters the Colum¬ 
bia River in British Columbia, near Waneta. 
It is about seven hundred, miles long and has 
abundant water power. Its headwaters are the 
Flathead and Missoula rivers, by which it is 
formed, and it passes through Lake Pend 
Oreille, in Idaho. 

CLARKSVILLE, a city in Tennessee, 
county seat of Montgomery County, on the 
Cumberland River, and on the Louisville and 
Nashville Railroad. The chief buildings include 
the courthouse, the city hall, and the South¬ 
western Presbyterian University. Iron mines 
are worked in the vicinity. It has a large 
trade in tobacco and merchandise. The manu¬ 
factures include cigars, clothing, earthenware, 
and machinery. The city is improved by elec¬ 
tric lights, pavements, waterworks, and a sewer 
system. It was settled in 1780 and incorporated 
in 1785. Population, 1900, 9,431. 

CLARK UNIVERSITY, an institution of 
learning founded by Jonas Gilman Clark 
(1815-1900) in 1887, at Worcester, Mass. The 
institution is nonsectarian and has courses for 
, postgraduates and a department for undergrad¬ 
uates. The latter was organized in 1902 under 
a special bequest of its benefactor. It has a 
library of 25,000 volumes, a carefully chosen 
corps of instructors, and modern equipments. 
The chief publications are the Mathematical 
Review, the American Journal of Psychology, 
and the Pacdagogical Seminary. G. Stanley 
Hall was its president for a long term of years. 

CLASSICS (klas'siks), the writers and pro- 
. ductions of acknowledged excellence and 
authority. The highest glass of Roman citi¬ 
zens were called classici and a man of the 
highest rank was termed a classicus. The term 
classic was applied to writers and productions 
as early as the 2d century after Christ. At 
present it refers to the best writers and produc¬ 
tions of Greece and Rome and to the modern 
works that conform to the best and most per¬ 
fect standards. The classical period of Greece 
extends from Homer to the time of the Roman 
emperor Antoninus and the Latin, from Plautus 
to about 200 a. d. 




CLAY 


489 


CLEAVAGE 


CLAY, a term applied to any form of earth 
which possesses sufficient plasticity to be fash¬ 
ioned like paste by the hand or the potter’s 
lathe, when moistened with water. It is pro¬ 
duced by the disintegration of rocks. Streams 
carry silt, which forms clays when deposited. 
When currents pass into still waters, the heavier 
stones drop first, next the pebbles, and then the 
gravel and sand, and finally the fine silt settles 
to the bottom and forms clay or mud. The 
mud, hardened by drying, becomes shale. The 
purest grade of clay is known as kaolin, of 
which porcelain and white earthenware are 
made. Pipe clay is a plastic and smooth clay 
and flint clay is hard and dense. Fire clay is 
found in coal measures immediately beneath 
the several veins of coal. It constitutes the soil 
of the ancient forests, the remains of which 
have been transformed into coal. It is used to 
make infusible brick. .Other clays are used for 
making drain and sewer tile, brick, earthenware, 
tobacco pipes, and many other products. Loam 
is a mixture of sand and clay, marl contains 
clay and shell remains, and shale is a rock clay. 
Calcareous clay land,s produce the best wheat 
and rye, while the rosaceous produce the best 
fruits. Clay is an important constituent of good 
soil. The manufactured products of clay pro¬ 
duced annually are very extensive. 

CLAYTON-BULWER TREATY (bul'- 
wer), a treaty between the United States and 
Great Britain, relating to the construction of 
a ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific 
oceans, across the Isthmus of Panama. It 
received its name from the commissioners, John 
Middleton Clayton, on behalf of the United 
States, and Bulwer-Lytton (later Lord Dal- 
ling), on the part of Great Britain. It was 
ratified in 1860. The terms include that neither 
nation is to erect fortifications at or near the 
canal, and that these nations will not assume 
dominion over any part of Central America. 
However, the treaty was abrogated in 1901, 
when the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty was concluded 
between the two nations. 

CLEARFIELD, a borough of Pennsylvania, 
county seat of Clearfield County, 170 miles 
northeast of Pittsburg. It is conveniently 
located on the west branch of the Susquehanna 
River and on the Pennsylvania and other rail¬ 
roads, and is surrounded by a fertile agricul¬ 
tural country, which contains deposits of coal, 
fire clay, and limestone. The manufactures 
inclucfe flour, leather, and machinery. It has 
electric lights, waterworks, and other municipal 
utilities. The first settlement in its vicinity was 
made in 1805 and it was incorporated in 1840. 
Population, 1900, 5,081. 


CLEARING HOUSE, a banking institution 
which serves to make mutual payments between 
bankers on drafts and checks. Clearing houses 
are organized by an association of banks. The 
different drafts and checks received by the asso¬ 
ciated banks are brought to the clearing houses 
and offset one another, and only the balances 
are paid in money. Each bank represented has 
a desk at the clearing house, at which the set¬ 
tling clerk or clerks receive in bundles the 
checks and drafts payable by the bank they rep¬ 
resent, and in return draw a statement of the 
demand against other banks. All the checks 
and other evidences of credit are noted care¬ 
fully by an inspector and the separate items 
are examined and approved, after which the 
checks are returned to the respective banks by 
their clerks, and at a stated time the debtor 
banks pay to the creditor banks the balances. 
Clearings are made every business day, usually 
about 11 a. m., and the transactions are subject 
to revision or rectification, not at the clearing 
house, but in the form of verified claims filed 
on the succeeding day or some time later. 

Clearing houses were established in France as 
early as 1667, the first at Lyons, but the present 
system did not originate until the latter part of 
the 18th century. The London Clearing House, 
established about 1775, is one of the oldest. 
New York City has the most important clearing 
house in America, established in 1853, and its 
average daily clearings aggregate about $22,- 
500,000 and the average daily payments approxi¬ 
mate one million dollars. Chicago has the sec¬ 
ond largest clearing house in the United States, 
its annual clearings amounting to twelve bil¬ 
lion dollars, while the annual clearings in New 
York City aggregate ninety billion dollars. 
Other important clearing centers are located at 
Boston, Saint Louis, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, 
San Francisco, and Kansas City. The chief 
clearing houses of Canada are at Montreal, 
Toronto, Quebec, and Vancouver. 

CLEAVAGE (klev'aj), in geology, the direc- - 
tion or manner in which rocks may be split into 
parallel layers. The direction of planes or cleav¬ 
age is frequently in the line of stratification, but 
differs from it in many instances. It is not dif¬ 
ficult to determine the structure of crystallized 
bodies when they are broken, and on examina¬ 
tion it is found that small polyhedrons make up 
the individual fragments. The phenomenon of 
rock cleavage is not easily determined. Some 
writers consider that it is due to the pressure of 
mechanical forces to the planes of cleavage, 
while others look upon it as the result of crys¬ 
talline agency. Nearly all species of rock are 
subject to cleavage, but those of the finer grains 


CLEBURNE 


490 


CLEVELAND 


show it to the best advantage. Slate and schist 
are names applied to rocks which possess the 
property .of cleavage. 

CLEBURNE (kle'burn), a city in Texas, 
county seat of Johnson County, forty-eight miles 
southwest of Dallas, on the Missouri, Kansas 
and Texas, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe, 
and other railroads. The chief buildings include 
the county courthouse, the city hall, and a public 
library. It is the seat of a college and has a 
fine high school. The manufactures include ice, 
farming utensils, and machinery. It has electric 
lighting, waterworks, and sewerage systems. 
Population, 1900, 7,493. 

CLEMATIS (klem'a-tis), a genus of plants 
either herbs or shrubs, usually having climbing 
stems. They are widely distributed throughout 
the different climates, but are most numerous in 
the Temperate zones. Many of the species now 
cultivated have been obtained from plants native 
to Europe and have large flowers of various 
colors, often six inches across. The root of a 
clematis is used by the American Indians as a 
stimulant to revive horses that are overcome at 
races. A number of different kinds are culti¬ 
vated in gardens and greenhouses of Europe 
and America as ornamental flowering plants. 

CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLES, the name of 
two obelisks formerly at Alexandria, but one 
is now located in New York and the other is 
in London. They were erected by King Thoth- 
mes III., of Egypt, at the entrance of the great 
temple of Heliopolis, mentioned as On in the 
Scriptures, and near which Moses was born. 
After the death of Cleopatra, shortly before the 
Christian era, they were removed to Alexandria. 
The obelisk at New York was placed in Central 
Park in 1881.» It was presented to America by 
the Khedive of Egypt. 

CLEPSYDRA (klep-si-dra), or Water 
Clock, an instrument devised by the ancient 
Greeks for measuring time. It consisted of 
one or more pipes with orifices at the bottom, 
and a scale of hours at the outside indicated the 
time in which the water flowed through the ori¬ 
fices. Another form consisted of a uniform 
flow of water through a pipe into a receptacle, 
which had a scale of hours to indicate the rise 
of the water. 

CLERGY RESERVES, the allotments of 
land set apart for the support of the Protestant 
religion in Canada. It was provided by law that 
every seventh lot in the township of the two 
divisions known as Upper and Lower Canada 
be included in the reserves, and the government 
held that the benefits were to apply to the 
Church of England, though other Protestant 
churches received ‘'some of the grants. Roman 


Catholics regarded the reserves as unfavorable 
to their religion and the Baptists and Metho¬ 
dists generally opposed the policy of maintain¬ 
ing them. Opposition grew until 1854, when 
the church and state were formally separated 
by the laws of Canada, and the lands and 
moneys obtained from the sales of these re¬ 
serves were divided equally among the town¬ 
ships according to the number of their inhab¬ 
itants. Upper Canada had the largest number 
of reserves, a total of about 2,500,000 acres. 

CLEVELAND (klev'land), a city in Ohio, 
county seat of Cuyahoga County, on the south¬ 
ern shore of Lake Erie, at the mouth of the 
Cuyahoga River. It is the largest city of Ohio 
and the second largest port of the Great Lakes, 
being exceeded only by Chicago. Cleveland is 
250 miles northeast of Cincinnati, 356 miles east 
of Chicago, and 525 miles northwest of Wash¬ 
ington. It is the focus of many important 
trunk and branch railroad and numerous elec¬ 
tric railway lines. 

Description. The city has a lake frontage of 
ten miles, extends inland five miles, and has an 
area of thirty-five square miles. The site is 
more or less undulating, rises gradually from 
the lake front, and is about 115 feet above the 
surface of Lake Erie. It is divided into two 
unequal parts by the Cuyahoga River, known as 
Eastern and Western, and the portion lying 
west of the river is known as West Cleveland. 
Along the river is a low valley, in which are 
located many factories, coal yards, freight de¬ 
pots, ore docks, and other industrial establish¬ 
ments. Several great viaducts and many bridges 
cross the river, one of which, completed in 1878, 
is 3,210 feet long and cost $2,250,000. 

The streets are wide, from 40 to 130 feet, and 
are beautified by elms and maples, hence Cleve¬ 
land is known as the Forest City. Much of the 
paving is constructed of brick and asphalt, and 
in the business center a substantial grade of 
stone and cement blocks has been used in con¬ 
structing the pavements. Superior Street, the 
principal business thoroughfare, is 132 feet wide 
and on either side has many substantial struc¬ 
tures. Monumental Park, which is in fact fhe 
public square, is a tract of about ten acres, and 
from it the streets diverge in all directions. 
Euclid Avenue, the most beautiful street, begins 
at Monumental Park and extends east beyond 
Lake View Cemetery, whence it merges into 
Euclid Road. This avenue has a number of 
business houses at the western end, but is mainly 
a residence street and contains some of the finest 
homes and most tasteful lawns in the city. Just 
south of Euclid Avenue is Prospect Street, 
which is a noted residential thoroughfare. Case, 



CLEVELAND 


491 


CLICK BEETLE 


Wilson, Jennings, Ingleside, and East Madison 
streets are noted for their fine lawns and beau¬ 
tiful homes. 

Parks and Cemeteries. Rockefeller Park, a 
tract of 800 acres, is situated in the eastern 
part of the city, and near it are Gordon Park 
and Wade Park. Th6 latter has a zoological 
garden and a statue of Commodore Perry, which 
was formerly in Monumental Park. Lake View 
Park extends along the lake shore, and Brook- 
side, Garfield, Riverside, and Shaker-Heights 
are worthy of mention. The chief drives, be¬ 
sides Euclid Avenue, include Ambler, Parkway, 
Ridge Road, Gordon Boulevard, and Grand 
Public Boulevard. Lake View Cemetery is in 
the eastern part of the city and contains the 
Garfield Memorial, which is 165 feet high and 
cost $130,000, and in the crypt beneath are the 
remains of President Garfield. Monumental 
Park contains the statue of Gen. Moses Cleave- 
land and the monument dedicated to the soldiers 
and sailors. Woodland and Riverside ceme¬ 
teries are beautifully improved and contain 
many fine statues and monuments. 

Buildings. The county courthouse, the city 
hall, and the post office and customhouse are 
the most prominent public buildings. Others of 
note include the Chamber of Commerce,- the 
Union Depot, the Sheriff Street Market, the 
Arcade, the New England, the Lennox, the 
Ross, and the Colonial Arcade. Among the 
most prominent churches are the First Pres¬ 
byterian, Plymouth Congregational, Saint Paul’s 
Protestant Episcopal, and the Roman Catholic 
cathedral. The Euclid Avenue Baptist and the 
First Methodist'churches are fine buildings and 
are centrally located. Among the principal ho¬ 
tels may be named the Colonial, Forest City, 
Hollenden, Weddell, Stillman, Kennard, and 
American. The places of amusement include 
the opera house, the Lyceum Theater, and the 
Academy of Music. 

Education. The city maintains an adequate 
number of public schools, including all of the 
elementary departments, as well as a number 
of high and manual training schools. Many 
private and parochial institutions are within the 
city. Higher and professional education is pro¬ 
vided for by the Western Reserve University, 
Baldwin University Law School, Saint Ignatius 
College, Case School of Applied Science, Cleve¬ 
land College of Physicians and Surgeons, and 
Cleveland School of Pharmacy. The public 
library has 175,000 volumes, the Case library has 
50,000 volumes, and other valuable collections 
are contained in many of the schools and col¬ 
leges. All of the charities are well represented 
and many of the leading educational and 


scientific associations have a large member¬ 
ship. 

Industries. Cleveland has a large trade in 
coal and iron ore, being a distributing point for 
the coal of Ohio and the product of the iron 
mines of Michigan and Minnesota. It has a 
vast trade in grain and lumber and is the larg¬ 
est fresh-water fish market in America. As a 
manufacturing city it ranks second among the 
centers on the Great Lakes. The petroleum re¬ 
fineries, shipyards, machine shops, slaughter¬ 
houses, planing mills, paint works, and clothing 
factories are the chief enterprises. Transporta¬ 
tion is facilitated by railroads that reach the 
principal commercial centers of the central parts 
of the United States and Canada. A break¬ 
water protects the harbor, inclosing about 300 
acres, and the Cuyahoga River Jias been im¬ 
proved by dredging so lake steamers have con¬ 
venient wharfage on this stream as well as on 
the lake. The wholesale trade is an important 
feature of Cleveland, which supplies through its 
jobbing houses many points on the lake and in¬ 
land. 

History. The city is located in the Western 
Reserve, a tract of land formerly belonging to 
the State of Connecticut, and a part of this 
was purchased in 1795 by the Connecticut Land 
Company. Gen. Moses Cleaveland, from whom 
the city received its name, platted a village at 
the mouth of the Cuyahoga in 1796. It was 
organized as a town and made the county seat 
of Cuyahoga County in 1810, and five years 
later was incorporated. The Ohio Canal was 
opened between Cleveland and Akron in 1827, 
and from that time dates its prosperous growth. 
A number of adjacent villages and towns were 
united with it at different times, including Ohio 
City in 1853, East Cleveland in 1872, Newburg 
in 1873, and Brooklyn and West Cleveland in 
1893. It has had a constant and steady growth 
and since 1900 it has had a larger population 
than Cincinnati. Population, 1910, 560,663. 

CLICK BEETLE, the name of a family of 
beetles which are peculiar for their movements. 
Some of the species are known as skipjacks, 
elaters, and springing beetles. About 500 spe¬ 
cies are distributed more or less widely in North 
America and the family is well represented in 
all the continents. The eyed elater is a grayish- 
black beetle characterized by two large black 
spots on the thorax. The wireworm is a larva 
of the click beetle and lives at the roots of 
plants and under the bark of trees, frequently 
in rotten wood. It is so named from the sound 
it makes when it regains its feet by a spring, 
after being laid on its back on any hard sub¬ 
stance. 


CLIFF 


492 


CLINTON 


CLIFF (klif), a slope or descent in the sur¬ 
face of the earth. Cliffs are formed by a dis¬ 
location of the earth’s crust, or by the erosive 
action of water, or by volcanic disturbances. 
Waves carve the rocky coast cliffs by beating 
against the shore line, and their action is en¬ 
hanced by the weathering of the rock that ex¬ 
tends above the reach of the waves. The cliffs 
of canyons, gorges, and ravines are formed 
through the erosion of running water. Cliffs 
due to volcanic action are formed when the 
crust of the earth is fractured, a portion being 
elevated so as to form an abrupt cliff. Ex¬ 
amples of this class are seen in many parts of 
the Rocky Mountains, where broken lava cliffs 
resulted from exposing the abrupt faces of 
fractures. 

CLIFF-DWELLERS, a class of people long 
since extinct, though there are a number of 
races still dwelling in cliffs. The ancient cliff- 
dwellers inhabited portions of Mexico, Arizona, 
New Mexico, California, and Central America. 
Their dwellings were made in the rocky cliffs 
of mountains, and divers traces of them still 
remain. The valley of the San Juan River, in 
Utah and New Mexico, has many traces of 
these people, such as rude carvings and habi¬ 
tations in elevated cliffs. In many of them 
human skeletons, tools, utensils, and ornaments 
have been found. It is evident that they cul¬ 
tivated maize, cotton, and tobacco, and raised 
domestic animals. Some writers assume that 
they suffered by prolonged droughts and that 
they were finally extinguished by the Apache 
Indians. See Pueblos. 

CLIMATE (kli'mat), the character of the 
atmosphere in regard to moisture and heat, 
together with meteorological conditions so far 
as they exert an influence on vegetable and ani¬ 
mal life. Climate is affected by latitude north 
and south of the Equator and by elevations 
above the sea. High latitudes have perpetual 
snow and ice, as around the North and South 
poles, while a similar effect is common to the 
elevations on t'he summit of mountain chains, 
as the Andes, Himalayas, and Alps. Isothermal 
lines indicate the condition of the climate, and, 
owing to modifying influences, are irregular 
when compared to the Equator, owing to varia¬ 
tions in altitude. Besides these, there are 
many other modifying influences upon climate, 
such as the direction and position of the coast 
lines of continents and islands, the depth and 
position of the seas, and the source and direc¬ 
tion of winds and oceanic currents. 

The climate that exists on continents is called 
excessive or severe when it is marked by great 
differences between the temperature of the win¬ 


ter and summer, or by extremes in heat and 
cold that characterize the day and the night. 
The interior regions of Asia and North Amer¬ 
ica are the best examples of excessive climates. 
A good illustration of modified climates is that 
of Great Britain, which is greatly influenced by 


the winds of the continent and the breezes and 
currents of the sea. The east wind passing 
over the frozen steppes of Russia, in the win¬ 
ter, renders its climate cold and dry, while a 
south wind coming over the continent of Eu¬ 
rope, in summer, is hot and dry, and a wind 
from the southwest brings moisture and heat. 
Even the effects of spent cyclones from the sur¬ 
face of the Atlantic is manifest in the form 
of rain, heat, and storm. Similar remarkable 
effects may be noticed in the northwestern part 
of North America, where the warm currents 
of the Pacific Ocean greatly modify the cli¬ 
mate of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, and 
the warm Chinook winds modify the greater 
part of British Columbia, Washington, and Ore¬ 
gon. A similar effect is seen in Northern 
Africa, where the Atlas Mountains of Algeria 
shut out the rainfall from the northern part of 
the Siberian Desert. Similar and other effects 
are noticed in many localities of the earth on 
account of the prominent modifying conditions 
of climate. 

It is certain that the climate has undergone 
many distinct and marked changes in the geo¬ 
logical ages, evidences of which abound in the 
fossils of rocks, and in the various formations 
in the different ages or periods. For instance, 
during the carboniferous age both animal and 
vegetable life seems to have been quite uniform 
from the Equator to the Arctic zone, hence 
there must have been only a moderate difference 
in temperature in the various latitudes, and the 
summer and winter seasons appear to have been 
very much alike. Some geologists think that the 
poles were once centers of great heat, which 
have been modified from time to time until the 
present state of excessive cold was reached, with 
conditions more favorable to animal and vege¬ 
table growth at the Equator. Others think that 
the slight alterations in the earth’s orbit tend 
to produce changes in one direction for a long 
period of time, and then in the other for an 
equal period. The effects of these changes, 
which are quite clearly shown in geological 
formations, are well known. 




CLINTON (klin'tun), a city in Iowa, county 
seat of Clinton County, on the Mississippi River, 
136 miles west of Chicago. It is on the Chicago 
and Northwestern, the Chicago, Milwaukee and 
Saint Paul, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, 
and other railroads. The chief buildings include 






CLINTON 


493 


CLOCK 


the Wartburg College (Lutheran), the city hall, 
the county courthouse, and the public library. 
It is noted as a distributing point of timber 
rafted down the river, which is prepared for the 
market in vast saw and planing mills. Other 
industries include flouring mills, canning works, 
iron foundries, furniture works, and machine 
shops. Three immense iron bridges, about four 
thousand feet long, cross the river. Electric 
street railway lines connect all parts of the city. 
It has gas and electric lighting, pavements, 
waterworks, sewerage, and many fine residences. 
Lyons, located a short distance north of the 
main part of the city, was annexed to Clinton 
in 1895. Population, 1905, 22,756; 1910, 25,577. 

CLINTON, a town in Worcester County, 
Massachusetts, 44 miles west of Boston, on the 
Boston and Maine and the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford railroads. It has a public 
library of 26,500 volumes, a central high school, 
and a fine public park. Among the manufactures 
are carpets, ginghams, plaids, clothing, machin¬ 
ery, and utensils. The public utilities include 
waterworks, gas and electric lighting, and street 
pavements. A system of electric railways con¬ 
nect it with other trade centers. It has been 
an incorporated town since 1850. Population, 
1905, 13,105. 

CLINTON, county seat of Henry County, 
Missouri, 88 miles southeast of Kansas City. 
It is on the Saint Louis and San Francisco, 
the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, and other 
railroads. The chief buildings include the high 
school and Baird College. It has manufactures 
of earthenware, flour, pottery, and machinery. 
Large quantities of grain, coal, and live stock 
are exported. It was settled in 1835 and incor¬ 
porated in 1840. Population, 1900, 5,061. 

CLOCK, an instrument for indicating and 
measuring time. The name is probably derived 
from the German word Glocke, meaning bell. 
Time is indicated by means of hands in hours 
and minutes, and in some instruments by simi¬ 
larly noting seconds, days, and months. In 
ancient times clocks similar to those now in 
common use were unknown. Time was meas¬ 
ured by means of the shadow cast on an instru¬ 
ment by the sun, called a sundial. These could 
not show the time on a cloudy day. In some 
countries dials were used to indicate the time at 
night, called moon dials. Later time was indi¬ 
cated by means of water glasses. These instru¬ 
ments consisted of vessels filled with water, with 
small openings at the bottom through which 
the water passed drop by drop into a vessel 
beneath. On the'sides of the vessels were spaces 
indicated by lines, and the .time was marked by 
the height of the water. This form was not 


satisfactory, since water does not pass uniformly 
through an opening, and led to the invention of 
the hourglass, similar to those now used. An 
hourglass is shaped like a figure eight, the upper 
side being filled with fine sand, which passes 
through an opening into the lower part in a defi¬ 
nite time. When the sand has all passed to the 
lower apartment, the instrument is reversed and 
measures time by the sand passing to the apart¬ 
ment formerly at the top. King Alfred the 
Great measured time by a gradual burning of 
candles on which colored rings were placed., to 
indicate the period requisite for the flame to 
consume the material in the candle. 

It is not known when clocks were first in¬ 
vented, but they are of great antiquity. Plato 
invented an instrument in the year 372 b. c.. 



1, Escapement and Pendulum; 2, Train of wheels 
moved by a weight. 


which indicated the hours of night upon organ 
pipes. Archimedes made a clockwork filled with 
springs and weights in about the year 200 b. c., 
and likewise adopted the apparatus to move 
toys and mechanical engines. The invention of 
a mechanism for regulating the speed of the 
going works, on a plan whereby to join wheels 
to a pointer which traverses the dial, is of newer 
date. It is not known when these mechanical 
features of a clock were completed, but they 
are thought to date from about the beginning of 
the 11th century a. d. 

Clocks are mainly of two kinds. The style in 
common use is the one in which the wheels are 
moved by power from the uncoiling of a spring 
and the other kind is moved by a gradual falling 
of a weight, both the uncoiling of the spring 
and the falling of the weight being regulated by 







CLOCK 


494 


CLOUD 


the swinging of a pendulum. The power is ap¬ 
plied to a train of cogwheels. In eight-day 
clocks the train of wheels consists usually of 
four cogwheels. The power tends to move the 
wheels quickly and run down the clock with an 
even motion, but an escapement, fastened to the 
pendulum, is connected with the train of wheels. 
Its effect is to change the even motion into little 
leaps or jerks, thus governing the entire move¬ 
ment. The escapement is adjusted so as to ar¬ 
ticulate with the escapement wheel, the last of 
the train, and which usually has thirty teeth or 
cogs. This is shown in the illustration. As the 
pendulum, which is attached on the pinion E, 
swings to and fro, the two pallets B and D 
strike alternately against the cogs on the oppo¬ 
site sides of the escapement or balance wheel, as 
shown at A and C, and thus regulate the move¬ 
ment. Each full swing of the pendulum in an 
ordinary clock marks two seconds of time, and 
each two revolutions of the escapement wheel, 
one minute. The cogs of the different wheels 
are so arranged that the wheel to which the 
second hand is attached moves around once in a 
minute; the minute hand, once in an hour; and 
the hour hand, once in twelve hours. In cases 
where days, weeks, and longer periods are indi¬ 
cated similar mechanisms are used. At the be¬ 
ginning of the 13th century clocks were placed 
in church towers, and are now frequently seen 
in public buildings and churches. 

Among the most remarkable clocks are those 
in great churches. These usually require large 
pieces of mechanism to overcome friction. The 
clock in the tower of Trinity Church, New York, 
is wound by a crank which is turned about 800 
times in winding the clock. In Strasburg, Ger¬ 
many, the clock in the cathedral is one of the 
most noted ever made. It shows the motion of 
the planets and the sun, and marks the minutes, 
hours, days, months, years, and the important 
festivals of the'year. It contains many figures 
moved by machinery. The statues of 'four old 
men are located in the upper part and strike the 
quarter hours. At every quarter hour death 
comes forward, but Christ meets him with a 
spear and drives him back. At the last quarter 
Christ passes inside, while death comes out and 
strikes the hour with a bone in his hand, which 
is followed by beautiful chimes. 

American inventions have revolutionized the 
manufacture of clocks. Those produced largely 
by the Waterbury Clock Company and other 
similar manufacturers more nearly resemble 
watches than clocks, and they have been ex¬ 
ported to every country in the world. Electrical 
clocks were manufactured as early as 1840, but 
they have been greatly modified and improved 


in recent years. In these clocks one accurate 
clock is connected by wires with others, which 
are controlled and kept in exact time by the 
first. The principal clock has a pendulum that 
makes and breaks a circuit at stated intervals; 
and all the other clocks in the series beat the 
same time. They are used extensively in offices 
and public buildings. In another form of elec¬ 
trical clocks a master clock is attached to a 
number of clock faces by means of electrical 
currents. At the expiration of each minute an 
electrical impulse passes from the master clock 
to the different clocks in the circuit, and the 
hands of the clocks controlled advance one 
stroke each minute. 

CLOISTER (klois'ter), a covered passage 
or gallery running through the walls of certain 
buildings, especially those used for colleges and 
monasteries before the Reformation. In most 
of the buildings of this kind one of the walls 
was formed by the architectural structure to 
which it was attached, while an open arcade or 
a series of windows formed the other side. The 
roof, which was usually vaulted, was supported 
by pillars and arches. Cloisters were used by 
the inmates of the monasteries for exercise and 
recreation, and many of them had an open space 
which contained a well and gardens. The Ger¬ 
man word Kloster has reference to the whole 
establishment, including the chapter house and 
the dormitories as well as the church. Many 
churches of Italy, Germany, England, and France 
retain the galleries or arched ways to which 
the term cloister is applied in a strict sense. 

CLOQUET (klo-kwet'), a city of Minne¬ 
sota, in Carleton County, 20 miles southwest of 
Duluth. It is situated on the Saint Louis River 
and on the Northern Pacific and the Great 
Northern railroads, and is noted for its exten¬ 
sive sawmills and lumber yards. The manufac¬ 
tures include machinery and lumber products, 
such as shingles, furniture, and wood pulp. It 
has a number of excellent schools, waterworks, 
electric lights, and a growing trade in manufac¬ 
tures and merchandise. Population, 1905, 6,117. 

CLOTH. See Weaving. 

CLOTHES MOTH, the name applied. to 
several species of moths, the larvae of which are 
harmful to furs, woolen, cloths, feathers, and 
stuffed animals. Exposure to light and the 
application of turpentine are good preventives. 

CLOUD, a mass of vapor condensed into 
minute drops, differing from fogs chiefly in that 
the drops float in higher regions of the atmos¬ 
phere. Clouds and fogs are derived from vapors 
that rise from the moist earth, from fresh water, 
or from the sea. The minute drops of water 
that constitute clouds and fogs are formed of a 


CLOUD 


495 


CLOUD-BURST 


substance about 800 times heavier than air, and 
are prevented from settling rapidly by the resist¬ 
ance of air. The minute size of drops renders 
this possible. Whenever they exceed a certain 
size, they fall as rain or snow. The warmer air 
usually carries the greater amount of moisture, 
and, when coming in contact with colder air, the 
clouds or fogs result. On the contrary, clouds 
and fogs disappear on the approach of a warm, 
dry wind. 

Clouds are generally higher during the day 
than during the night, and are higher in the 
tropics than in the polar regions. The mean 
height in winter is from 1,300 to 1,500 yards, 
and in summer from 3,400 to 4,400. They often 
exist at a distance of 250 yards above the 
ground, and as high as 7,500 yards, while the 
cirri, light forms of clouds, attain a much 
greater elevation. Although clouds generally 
appear stationary, they are really descending 
slowly, but their lower parts are dissipated by 



-V NIMBUS V'V'STRATUS 
CLOUDS. 


air more highly heated and their upper portions 
become increased by fresh condensations. For 
this reason their descent is disguised, giving 
them a stationary appearance. All are more or 
less charged with electricity, some positively and 
others negatively, but their tension is greatest 
during a thunder storm. Clouds carry the 
moisture needed by plants from the sea, and 
distribute it over the vast interior of islands and 
continents, where it falls in the form of rain, 
snow, or hail. 

Clouds are classified in four primary forms: 
the cirrus, the cumulus, the stratus, and the 
nimbus. Cirrus clouds consist of feathery 
masses of condensed vapor that are suspended 
in the higher regions of the atmosphere. They 
were so named from their resemblance to a lock 
of hair with fiber diverging in all directions. 
Owing to their elevation, the moisture is 
thought to consist of ice particles. The halos 
or circular bands of light around the sun are 


caused by light passing through cirrus clouds. 
Cumulus clouds are denser than the cirrus, and 
are formed % the lower regions of the air. 
where the quantity of vapor is greatest. They 
consist of irregular heaps and rounded masses 
with moderately broad bases. They originate 
from ascending currents of air which have their 
moisture condensed by the cold produced by 
expansion and elevation. They are seen more 
frequently during the hotter part of the day at 
a height seldom exceeding two miles. 

The stratus clouds consist of long, horizontal 
sheets or bands. They are seen more generally 
in the morning and evening, when the ascending 
currents are weak, and are caused by gradual 
settling of the cumulus and other clouds. The 
stratus clouds are the lowest, often falling to 
the surface of the earth and becoming a fog. 
The nimbus are the storm clouds from which 
rain falls. They may be formed by any of the 
various clouds coming together or collecting. 
The nimbus clouds are usually seen as a dense 
cloud spreading out into a cloud of cirrus with a 
shower passing beneath. They are the least 
attractive among the clouds, but are the only 
ones attended by the splendid phenomenon of 
the rainbow, seen only when drops of water fall 
to the earth in the form of rain. Besides these 
several classes of clouds, there are several sec¬ 
ondary forms, known as the cirro-stratus, the 
cirro-cumulus, and the cumulo-stratus. These 
are modifications of the other forms. 

CLOUDBERRY, a plant of the same genus 
as the dewberry, distributed more or less widely 
in America and Europe. It grows to a height 
of eight or ten inches, has few leaves, bears 
large white flowers, and produces an orange- 
red fruit with an agreeable flavor and about the 
size of a dewberry. It is confined chiefly to the 
moors of Great Britain and the central part of 
Europe, but is very abundant in Sweden and 
Norway, where it is highly valued in making 
preserves. 

CLOUD-BURST, the name applied to a 
very heavy local rain, chiefly when the rainfall 
exceeds the rate of ten inches per hour and not 
less than six inches fall during the unusually 
heavy precipitation. Cloud-bursts occur at rare 
intervals on the eastern slope of the Appalachian 
Mountains, especially in the region lying be¬ 
tween Georgia and New York, where heavy 
floods follow excessive rains of a local charac¬ 
ter. They occur more or less frequently on the 
coast of Washington and British Coumbia, in 
the valley of the Amazon, and on the south¬ 
western coast of Chile. It must be noted that 
there is a difference between a heavy rain and 
a cloud-burst, since the former covers a reason- 















CLOVER 


496 


CLUB 


ably large area while the latter is confined to a 
small area, usually a few acres, and is thought 
to be due to thunderstorms or to the fact that 
rapidly ascending currents hold a mass of water 
within the cloud for a brief time, after which it 
falls suddenly to the earth. Cloud-bursts on the 
eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains are ac¬ 
companied by heavy thunderstorms and fill the 
dry channels with large quantities of water, 
causing destructive mountain torrents to sweep 
across the valleys below. 

CLOVER (klo'ver), or Trefoil, the name of 
various plants of the pea family and of the genus 
Trefolium. There are no less than 150 species, 

some of. which are 
weeds, but many 
are valuable food 
of animals and 
serve a useful pur¬ 
pose in increasing 
the fertility of soil. 
The red clover is 
a biennial, consist- 
ing of several 
kinds. It is sown 
with oats, barley, 
or other grain in 
the fall or spring, 
and bears a full 
crop the succeed- 
ing year. The 
Dutch clover bears 
a white flower, is 
a perennial, and is 
sown with various 
grasses when in¬ 
tended as perma¬ 
nent pasture for 
sheep. The French 
clover ripens early, 
is an annual, and 
is useful in pastur¬ 
age. Timothy, rye 
grass, and other 
species of grasses are sown with clover, being 
then cut for hay. Several species are useful in 
bee culture, their flowers being rich in food for 
the production of honey. Many of the poorer 
and exhausted lands may be redeemed and fer¬ 
tilized by clover sown with grains and plowed 
under when six to ten inches high. Alsike or 
Swedish clover has long been cultivated in the 
southern part of Sweden. It is recommended 
for cold climates and as suitable for cultivation 
in moist and heavy soil. It is similar in growth 
and structure to the red clover, and is culti¬ 
vated extensively in North America and Europe. 
The red clover is the best for hay, while the 


white clover, when mixed with grasses, serves 
the best purpose for pasturage. Caterpillars 
and burrowing quadrupeds are common enemies 
to clover. They destroy it either by eating the 
foliage or by damaging its roots. 

CLOVES (klovz), the unexpanded dried 
flowers of the clove tree, used as a pungent aro¬ 
matic spice. The tree is of the myrtle family 
and attains a height of from fifteen to thirty- 
five feet, being an evergreen with leaves from 
three to five inches Long. Its flowers are of a 
purple color. The value of cloves is due to the 
oil of cloves, which constitutes about one-sixth 
of the whole weight. It has an acrid taste and 
a characteristic odor. It is used as a medicine, 
especially as a stomachic and to stimulate the 
appetite, and in cookery is prized for flavoring 
dessert dishes. The tree was first discovered 
by the Dutch in the Moluccas, but is now culti¬ 
vated in India, Zanzibar, Ceylon, and the West 
Indies. 

CLUB, an association of persons combined 
for the promotion of a common object, whether 
social, political, or otherwise. The name prob¬ 
ably comes from knot, meaning a knot or gath¬ 
ering of persons. The earliest club of London 
was organized in the beginning of the 17th cen¬ 
tury, at Mermaid Tavern, on Friday Street. It 
numbered among its distinguished members 
William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, 
Fletcher, Beaumont, and Sheldon. Ben Jonson 
was a prominent figure at the club that met 
near Temple Bar. The Literary Club, estab¬ 
lished in 1760, numbered among its members 
Burke, Goldsmith, Boswell, and Johnson. Clubs 
and kindred associations are maintained at pres¬ 
ent in all the countries, especially in those of 
Europe and America, and the larger organiza¬ 
tions are centered in the cities. 

The club life of America has been greatly en¬ 
larged within the past twenty years. Every 
large city has one or more important buildings 
erected especially as the quarters of some prom¬ 
inent club, such as the Illinois Club of Chicago, 
the Metropolitan Club of New York, and the 
Hunt Club, Cote des Neiges, of Montreal. 
Clubs of this class usually have reading rooms, 
apartments for bathing and playing various 
games, and rooms designed for meetings of a 
business nature. Many men’s clubs admit 
women as visitors, but a large number of clubs 
are maintained distinctly for women. 

Women’s clubs are numerous in all the cities 
of Canada and the United States, and interest 
themselves in religious, professional, temper¬ 
ance, suffrage, social, educational, and other 
lines of study. In some of the larger cities 
these clubs maintain reading rooms and excellent 









CLUNY 


407 


COAL 


libraries. It has been observed that the clubs of 
both men and women serve a useful purpose in 
modern civilization. They are aiding materially 
in philanthropic and educational lines, and there¬ 
by tending toward a betterment of humanity. 

CLUNY (klii-ne), or Clugny, a town of 
France, in the department of Saone-et-Loire, 
twelve miles northwest of Magon. It is situ¬ 
ated on the Grone River, in a valley between 
two mountains, and has extensive manufactures 
of pottery. Cluny is noted chiefly for its his¬ 
tory in connection with a number of monas¬ 
teries. It was a small village until 910, when 
an order of th£ Benedictine monks was founded 
here, and it had fully 2,000 monastic communi¬ 
ties prior to the French Revolution. They were 
known as the Monks of Cluny, or the Congre¬ 
gation of Cluniac Monks, and had establish¬ 
ments in France, Spain, England, Italy, and 
other countries of Europe. The Abbey church 
at Cluny, one of the finest monuments of the 
Middle Ages, was destroyed in 1789. 

CLYDE (klid), a river of Scotland, flowing 
westward a distance of 106 miles. A number of 
important cities are on its banks, including 
Glasgow, Bothwell, and Lanark. Near Lanark 
are four famous falls. The river has been 
deepened and made available for steamboats; 
the first large steamboat launched in Europe 
was on the Clyde in 1812. Near the mouth it 
widens into the Firth of Clyde. The basin 
drained by it contains rich mineral deposits and 
fertile soil, and the manufacturing centers upon 
its banks are among the most important in 
Scotland. 

COACH, a four-wheeled closed carriage for 
private or public conveyance. In ancient Rome 
they were constructed in the form of both cov¬ 
ered and uncovered carriages and constituted 
the chief means of conveying passengers. At 
present these vehicles are built largely for four 
passengers in the inside, and in some countries 
contain arrangements for ten or twelve on the 
outside. In the early history of America, espe¬ 
cially before the Revolution, regular lines of 
coaches and stages were maintained to convey 
passengers and goods between the largest cities. 
Transportation of this kind is still available in 
the sparsely settled regions of the western part 
of the United States and the northern and west¬ 
ern sections of Canada. However, coach con¬ 
veyance has been largely superseded by rail¬ 
ways, automobiles, and street cars. See Car¬ 
riage. 

COAL, a carbonaceous mineral of a black, 
shiny, or dull color, and used extensively for 
fuel. It is composed of about seventy-five per 
cent, of carbon and contains hydrogen, oxygen, 


a small per cent, of nitrogen, and small quan¬ 
tities of earthy impurities. It is formed of com¬ 
pressed and chemically changed vegetable mat¬ 
ter derived from luxuriant growths during for¬ 
mer geological ages. The stems, leaves, and 
spores of jungle growths accumulated, and hy¬ 
drogen and oxygen were evolved with some of 
the carbon. The volume was reduced so as to 
form about one-ninth to one-eighteenth of its 
original bulk, the relative proportion of carbon 
was increased in the mass, and eventually the 
whole was solidified into a decomposed vege¬ 
table pulp very much like peat. The constitu¬ 
ents in every hundred parts of dry vegetable 
matter were about forty-nine per cent, of car¬ 
bon, six per cent, of hydrogen, and forty-five 
per cent, of oxygen. In decomposition, which 
occurred under water, it retained most of the 

5. Drift. 


4- Shale; 


3. Coal. 


2 . Fireclay. 


1 . Shale. 


COAL STRATUM. 

carbon, together with parts of the hydrogen and 
oxygen. 

The different kinds of mineral coal are di¬ 
vided by Dana into anthracite, bituminous coal, 
cannel coal, lignite coal, earthy brown coal, and 
mineral charcoal. Anthracite, bituminous, lig¬ 
nite, and cannel coal are the kinds marketed 
most extensively. Anthracite coal contains 
about ninety per cent, of carbon, burns with 
little flame, and is much used in kilns, furnaces, 
and by blacksmiths. Bituminous coal has more 
or less bituminous matter and is commonly used 
for fuel in heating and in engines. Cannel coal 
has an earthy appearance, burns with a bright 
flame, and is used extensively in gas making. 
The lignite or brown coal contains only, about 
fifty per cent, of carbon and is not used exten¬ 
sively for manufacturing purposes. However, 
it is a valuable fuel in sections where other 
grades of coal are not found, as in North Da¬ 
kota and some sections of Saskatchewan, and 



32 










COAL 


498 


COAL TAR 


burns easily when an extra draft of air is ad¬ 
mitted to the stove. 

In many of the coal fields there are from one 
to four veins, with a thickness of from two to 
fifty feet. It is not often that all the veins are 
workable, nor are all of them of equal value. 
Many deposits consist of drifts, or pockets, and 
others are in great veins and underlie large 
tracts of country. The formations common to 
the coal fields, including both the coal and the 
intervening rocks, are known as the coal meas¬ 
ures. The methods of mining differ with the 
thickness of the veins, the class of coal, and 
the character of the roof, or rocky formation 
covering the deposits. In many localities the 
vein crops out at the hillsides and the coal 


extensively by all civilized people, and is found 
widely distributed in all the continents. The 
United States, Great Britain, Germany, Austria- 
Hungary, and Russia are among the greatest 
coal-producing countries in the world. Coal de¬ 
posits are found in thirty-five of the states and 
territories of the Union, and the products in 
twenty-nine have reached commercial quantities. 
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, 
Alabama, Indiana, and Colorado, are the lead¬ 
ing coal-producing states. The annual produc¬ 
tion of the United States aggregates about 
360,500,000 tons, valued at about $390,500,000. 
Besides, the deposits of the colonial possessions, 
particularly those of the Philippine Islands, are 
known to be of great extent. Canada has ex¬ 



COAL AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES. 


(The black are bituminous and anthracite and the shaded are lignite.) 


may be easily secured, whil^ in others shafts 
are sunk several hundred feet and the coal is 
hoisted by means of steam or electric power. 
The output of bituminous coal greatly exceeds 
all others, but the anthracite is the most val¬ 
uable and is regarded the best for many pur¬ 
poses. 

Coal was not known to the early ancients. 
It appears to have been used in 852 a. d. in 
England, but was not known to the Britons be¬ 
fore the Roman invasion. For a long time it 
was thought to be injurious to health, and a 
common prejudice prevented its entering largely 
into a fuel material in the avenues of manufac¬ 
ture and household economy. It is now used 


tensive deposits of coal and has an annual out¬ 
put of about 15,000,000 tons. The deposits are 
chiefly in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New 
Brunswick, and Alberta. 

COAL TAR, or Gas Tar, a product obtained 
in the manufacture of illuminating gas from 
tar. It is a dark-colored, opaque liquid, is 
somewhat heavier than water, and has a dis¬ 
agreeable odor. Coal tar is made up of many 
compounds, including anthracene, benzine, cre¬ 
osote, ammonia, xylene, naphtha, and carbolic 
acid. It is used in making several kinds of 
dyes and aniline colors and in the manufacture 
of alizarin and salicylic acid. Coal tar formerly 
was considered a waste material, but it now 











COASTAL PLAIN 


499 


COATESVILLE 


constitutes the source of many substances val¬ 
uable in science and the industries. It is used 
as it comes from the factory as a substitute for 
paint in coating shingled roofs and to protect 
wood from rotting, especially such as posts and 
the portions of telegraph poles put in the 
ground. 

COASTAL PLAIN (kost'al), the name gen¬ 
erally applied to the lowlands bordering on the 
sea. The most noted region of this character in 
North America stretches from New York Bay, 
along the Atlantic Ocean, to the Gulf of Mex¬ 
ico, in Florida, whence it extends along the 
northern and western coasts of that body of 
water to the state of Vera Cruz in Mexico. 
It varies in width from 20 to 200 miles, but 
extends inland considerably farther along the 
streams, especially in the Mississippi Valley, 
where it penetrates north to the mouth of the 
Ohio River. A rise known as the Fall Line 
marks the eastern boundary of the Atlantic 
coastal plain, due to the upheaval of rocks near 
the foothills of mountains, and in many places 
the streams pass over precipices and form cat¬ 
aracts, such as those in the James River at 
Richmond, Va., and in the Potomac at Wash¬ 
ington, D. C., below which cities these streams 
are navigable. The formations of the coastal 
plain include those deposited during the Pleis¬ 
tocene, Neocene, Eocene, and Cretaceous pe¬ 
riods, and retain their position quite like that 
acquired during deposition, but are more ele¬ 
vated than originally on account of being up¬ 
lifted above the ocean. 

COASTING, an outdoor pastime originated 
in Russia, and next to skating one of the most 
popular winter sports in the colder parts of the 
temperate regions. It consists of sliding by 
means of a sled down an inclined grade or bank 
covered with snow or ice. The sleds are made 
in a variety of forms, frequently of a frame¬ 
work of iron or of solid board. In the former 
the runner is wholly of iron and extends for¬ 
ward and upward in a curve, while wooden 
runners are usually shod with steel. Coasters 
may either sit or kneel in making the trip, or 
may lie so as to steer with one leg. Coasting 
may take place on a hillside or on an artificial 
embankment or grade, though places used for 
public traffic cannot be used for this purpose. 
See Toboggan. 

COAST RANGE, a range of mountains in 
California, extending from the northern to the 
southern part of the State, and trending parallel 
to the coast. At the southern extremity are San 
Bernardino Mountain, 11,580 feet above the 
sea, and San Jacinto Mountain, 10,987. The 
range is about forty miles wide, is rich in min¬ 


erals, and contains some beautiful and fertile 
valleys, among them the Santa Clara, Los An¬ 
geles, and Sonoma valleys. An extension of 
this range penetrates northward through Ore¬ 
gon, Washington, and British Columbia, where 
it merges into the Cascades on the east and 
the Island Range on the west. Most of the 
mountains belonging to the Coast Range are 
steep and rocky, but the region has fine forests 
and’ several passes penetrate the system. 

COAST SURVEY, a survey of the coast of 
the United States, first recommended by Presi¬ 
dent Jefferson in 1807. By an act of Congress 
the President was authorized to cause the coast 
to be accurately surveyed and a chart of each 
part to be prepared for future reference. The 
work was not commenced until 1817, when E. 
R. Hassler, a German of' Switzerland, was 
secured to begin the surveying and mapping. 
Owing to a want of suitable appropriations, 
the work was nqt prosecuted with much success 
until 1832, when Professor Hassler was author¬ 
ized to employ astronomers to carry forward 
the enterprise with vigor. He remained in the 
work until his death, in 1843, when he was 
superseded by A. D. Bache, who continued to 
superintend operations until his death in 1867. 

Since 1867 the coast and geodetic survey has 
been promoted without intermission under com¬ 
petent superintendence. It is now a bureau 
under the Department of Commerce and Labor. 
The coast lines of the United States, exclusive 
of Alaska, reach a total of 7,050 miles, and, 
including the numerous indentations of bays 
and gulfs, aggregate a total length of 29,350 
miles. The coast survey has for its object to 
determine the position of various points along 
the coast by accurate methods, to secure a defi¬ 
nite knowledge of the coast line and features 
of the land, to survey the channels and shoals 
near the shore, and to note the effects of cur¬ 
rents, tides, and winds upon navigation and 
the bottom of the sea. The work is one of vast 
importance to navigation and commerce, and 
by means of it many advantages have been ob¬ 
tained for the American shipping enterprises. 
Besides saving many lives, it has been the means 
of shortening routes, avoiding dangers, and 
making travel by water much more efficient and 
profitable. 

COATESVILLE (kots'vil), a borough of 
Pennsylvania, in Chester County, forty miles 
west of Philadelphia, on the Pennsylvania and 
the Philadelphia and Reading railroads. It is 
located on Brandywine Creek, is surrounded by 
a fertile country, and has a large trade in prod-- 
uce and merchandise. The manufactures in¬ 
clude silk and woolen goods, ironware, boilers, 


COATI 


500 


COBRA DE CAPELLO 


and hardware. The waterworks are owned and 
operated by the municipality. Coatesville was 
settled about 1800 and has been incorporated 
since 1867. Population, 1900, 5,721. 

COATI (ko-a'te), or Coati-Mondi, a genus 
of carnivorous animals native to the tropical 
regions of South America and Mexico. The 
Mexican coati has a brownish-gray color and 
is found from Panama to southern Mexico, 
while the red coati is native to the northern 
part of South America. Both are closely allied 
to the raccoon and have an elongated snout, 
which is used in rooting up the earth when in 
search of worms and insects. The tail is long, 
covered with hair, and usually held erect. These 
animals have coarse hair, are about three 



feet in length, and easily climb the limbs of 
trees, where they lie quietly most of the day, 
but come out at night in search of food. 

COBALT (ko'bolt), a metal used to form 
compounds of commercial importance. It is 
brittle and compact, may be easily reduced to 
powder, and has a greenish-white or a steel-gray 
color. Cobalt is not found in a pure state, ex¬ 
cept in meteorites, but occurs with lead, iron, 
and other minerals. It is found extensively in 
Saxony and other parts of Germany. The most 
important American productions come from 
Mine la Motte, Missouri. Cobalt, when heated 
with alumina, yields a pigment known as cobalt 
blue or cobalt ultramarine. The oxide of cobalt 
is used by enamelers and to produce a fine blue 
glaze on porcelain. 

COBLENZ (ko'blents), or Koblenz, a forti¬ 
fied city of Rhenish Prussia, at the junction of 
the Rhine and Moselle rivers. It is one of the 


most securely fortified cities of Germany, the 
castle of Ehrenbreitstein being one of the strong¬ 
est points. The fortifications can accommodate 
an army of 100,000 men. They contain magazines 
capable of holding provisions sufficient to sup¬ 
port 8,000 men for ten years, and have reservoirs 
sufficient for supplying water for three years. 
Coblenz was fortified as a bulwark of defense 
against France. The city has several fine 
schools, pavements, electric lights, and rapid 
transit. Among the principal buildings are the 
Church of Saint Castor, founded in 836, the old 
Jesuit College, the public market, and the town 
hall. It has a considerable trade in corn, min¬ 
eral water, and wine. The manufactures include 
clothing, furniture, machinery, cigars, and Japan 
ware. Coblenz was the capital of the depart¬ 
ment of Rhine-Moselle under the French in 
1798 and became a part of Prussia in 1815. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 53,897. 

COBOURG (ko'burg), a city of Ontario, 
capita^ of Northumberland County, sixty-eight 
miles northeast of Toronto. It is located on 
Lake Ontario, on the Grand Trunk Railway, has 
a commodious harbor, and is important as a port 
of entry. The manufactures include woolen 
goods, clothing, machinery, and spirituous liq¬ 
uors. It is the seat of a college and several fine 
schools and churches. The public utilities in¬ 
clude electric lighting, waterworks, and a num¬ 
ber of well-improved streets. Population, 1900, 
4,239. 

COBRA DE CAPELLO (ko'bra da ka-peP- 

16), the Portuguese name of a poisonous snake 
of India, meaning hooded snake. It is allied to 
the cobra or asp found in Northern Africa. The 
color is pale yellow or brownish-yellow with a 
tinge of bluish-white beneath. The head is 
broad and at its rear has nine plates, and the 
neck may be expanded to cover the head like a 
hood. It is sometimes called the spectacled 
snake, owing to the appearance of a pair of 
barnacles on the neck that resemble spectacles, 
when the neck is expanded. It is from four to 
six feet long, is sluggish in habits, and is easily 
killed. Its food consists of lizards, eggs, frogs, 
birds and small reptiles. It is an excellent 
swimmer and delights to invade the water in 
search of food. The bite is exceedingly poison¬ 
ous, recovery from it being rare and death 
often resulting instantly or within a few hours. 
It is estimated that several thousand natives of 
India die from the bite of this snake annually. 
The poison is secreted in a gland located in the 
head of the serpent, and flows through a cavity 
of the tooth into the wound when the animal 
compresses its mouth upon any object. The 
government pays a bounty on the cobra head in 




COBURG 


501 


COCHIN 


order to extinguish it, but it is held sacred by 
some of the Hindu people, and is protected by 
them as a being that has power to injure. 
Indian jugglers charm the snake and have it 



COBRA DE CAPELLO. 


serve their purpose in giving exhibitions. The 
animal may be taught to perform by music and 
keep time by swinging its head and body to the 
delight of spectators. 

COBURG (ko'boorg), capital of the duchy 
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Germany, on the Itz 
River, a tributary of the Main. It is noted for 
its palace of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 
and the ancient castle of the dukes of Coburg. 
In this castle Luther occupied apartments for 
some time, his bedstead and pulpit still being 
objects of interest. The public library has 60,000 
volumes. It has manufactures of clothing, 
woolen and lirren fabrics, and porcelain. The 
public utilities include electric street railways, a 
public park, and waterworks. Coburg was made 
the capital of Saxe-Coburg in 1735. Population, 
1905, 22,488. 

COCA (ko'ka), a shrub native to Peru. It 
attains a height of eight feet. In the Andes it 
is cultivated at an altitude ranging between 
2,500 and 5,000 feet. The leaves are dried and 
mixed with powdered chalk and are chewed as 
a stimulant much like tobacco. Coca leaves 
contain an alkaloid cocaine and a waxy sub¬ 
stance called coca wax. The habit of using it is 
as obnoxious among the Peruvians as the use 
of opium is among the Chinese. 

COCAINE (ko'ka-in), an alkaloid obtained 
from the leaves of the coca plant. The leaves 


of the plant are green, about two inches long, 
and the alkaloid is extracted by alcohol and a 
small quantity of sulphuric acid. It is a color¬ 
less, transparent drug, has a bitter taste, and is 
odorless. The drug is soluble in ether, and is 
used as a local anaesthetic. It is valuable as 
such in operations on the eye, ear, and other 
delicate organs of the body. When taken inter¬ 
nally, it is a powerful nerve stimulant, and, if 
used persistently, causes nervousness and later 
insanity. Cocaine was first made in Peru in 
1885, and vast quantities are now exported from 
that country and Bolivia to the United States 
and Europe. 

COCCULUS INDICUS (kok'ku-lus in'dl- 
kus), the fruit of a climbing plant native'to the 
East Indies. It is about the size of a pea, has 
a dry exterior coat, and somewhat resembles 
the bayberry, but is very poisonous. The bitter 
principle, known as picrotoxin, when taken 
internally in poisojious doses, acts much like 
strychnine. It is used to destroy lice and the 
ringworm and for various purposes in medicine. 
The seeds are sometimes called fishberries from 
the circumstance that they stupefy fish. They 
are used to some extent by fishermen, who cast 
them into the water for the purpose of stupefy¬ 
ing the fish so they may be easily caught by 
hand or in a small net. 

COCCUS (kok'kus), a group of insects 
which include the bark lice, mealy bugs, scalelike 
insects, and a number of others. The species 
are very numerous and differ greatly in appear¬ 
ance, but in most of them the female is wing¬ 
less and the male has a single pair of wings. 
They attach themselves to plants by inserting 
their beak, with which they suck the sap, hence 
are very injurious to hothouse and garden plants. 
These insects include those from which cochi¬ 
neal, gum lac, and kermes are obtained. 

COCHABAMBA (ko-cha-bam'ba), a city of 
Bolivia, capital of the department of Cocha¬ 
bamba, on the Rio de la Rocha. It is located in 
a fertile valley, has wide and regular streets, and 
has considerable trade in produce and merchan¬ 
dise. The manufactures include soap, leather, 
earthenware, and cotton and woolen goods. 
Among the chief buildings are a theater, two 
hospitals, several churches, and the government 
building. The city was founded in 1563. Popu¬ 
lation, 1906, 30,175. 

COCHIN (ko-chen'), a city of British India, 
a seaport in the district of Malabar, eighty miles 
southeast of Calicut. It is important for its 
large foreign and interior trade, has transpor¬ 
tation facilities by railroads and steamship lines, 
and is the seat of extensive shipyards. Many 
classes of Asiatics and Europeans make up the 


COCHIN CHINA 


502 


COCKCHAFER 


r m 


inhabitants, who carry on a large trade in oil, 
cocoa, teak wood, and merchandise. Cochin was 
visited by the Portuguese under Vasco da Gama 
in 1503, but the Dutch captured it in 1662, when 
it was made a great emporium of trade. It has 
been a British possession since 1796. Population, 
1906, 18,250. 

COCHINCHINA (ko'chm chi'na), the 
name applied to the French colony in the south¬ 
ern extremity of the eastern portion of the 
Indo-Chinese peninsula. The designation is 
loosely attached to the former empire of Anam, 
which included three distinct regions: Lower 
Cochin China, Upper Cochin China, and Ton- 
quin. Lower Cochin China is now the French 
colon? of Cochin China. Upper Cochin China 
is the French protectorate known as Anam, and 
the remainder-lying to the north is called Ton- 
quin. These and Cambodia constitute the pres¬ 
ent French possessions in Southeastern Asia. 

Cochin China occupies the southeastern ex¬ 
tremity of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, and 
includes a small part of the territory embraced 
within the former empire of Anam. The area 
is 23,182 square miles. It is bounded on the 
northeast by the region included in Anam, north¬ 
west by Cambodia, south and east by the China 
Sea, and west by the Gulf of Siam. It now has 
a number of railroads and is extensively con¬ 
nected by telephone and telegraph lines, and 
many of its cities are in a growing condition. 
The chief products consist of rice, cotton, hides, 
domestic animals, fish, pepper, and tropical 
fruits. The French government has established 
free schools and erected a number of public 
buildings. There is a French army , of about 
2,000 soldiers, besides about that number of 
Anamese troops. The Mekong River furnishes 
an avenue for interior navigation. A number 
of the seaport cities have a large foreign and 
interior commerce. 

The region was conquered with Anam by 
China in 214 b. c., and became independent as a 
part of Anam in 929 a. d., and in the early part 
of the 15th century was successful in a war 
against China. In 1517 it was made a part of 
the Portuguese possessions. Later it was con¬ 
quered by the Dutch, and in 1789 became tribu¬ 
tary to France. The population is 2,976,521, of 
which 5,000 are French settlers and traders. 

COCHINEAL (koch'i-nel), an insect found 
native on the cactus plants of Mexico and Cen¬ 
tral America. It has been naturalized in the 
warmer portions of Eurasia and Africa. The 
value of the insect consists of its importance in 
preparing cochineal, an article used in producing 
scarlet colors and in making carmine and lake. 
However, the commercial product is obtained 


only from the females, which outnumber the 
males in the proportion of about 150 to one male. 
Each of the females lays about 1,000 eggs, and 
the crops are picked in the period from Decem¬ 
ber until May. The insects are brushed off the 



1, Cochineal insects on cactus; 2, Female; 3, Male. 


plants and killed by the heat of the sun or in an 
oven. A single pound of cochineal contains 
about 70,000 of the insects. The value of these 
insects was first discovered by the Spanish in 
1518. 

COCKATOO (kok-a-tod'), the name applied 
to a genus of birds of the parrot family. They 
have a large head crowned by a tuft of long and 
pointed feathers. The bill is strong and curved 
from the base, and the plumage is'bright, com¬ 
monly white in color, but sometimes mixed with 
red, blue, and yellow. The name was given to 
these birds on account of their peculiar utter¬ 
ance, screamed out harshly. They are able to 
acquire a few words, but are not possessed of 
much imitative power. The chief food consists 
of fruits, seeds, and small insects. Australia and 
the Eastern Archipelago are well populated with 
these birds, where they live in large tribes and 
may be easily domesticated. See illustration on 
following page. 

COCKCHAFER (kok'cha-fer), a class of 
beetles widely distributed in Europe and North 
America. The larvae live from two to five years 
in meadows and pastures, where they burrow in 
the soil and feed on the roots of the grass. In 
the adult state they are about an inch long and 
live only a few days, hence they do little dam¬ 
age to the leaves of trees upon which they feed. 



COCKLE 


503 


COCOA 


This class of insects is known in England as 
May bugs and in America as June bugs, since 
they come out of the ground in May or June. 
In some seasons they occur in great numbers, 



AUSTRALIAN COCKATOO. 


though usually they are not regarded as a pest, 
except in some meadows and strawberry patches. 

COCKLE (kok'k’l), a common name for 
several species of bivalve mollusks. They ate 
found in the sandy shores of the sea, have a 
heart-shaped form, and are much used as food. 
The cockle is nearly equivalvular, with a hinge 
fastening the two parts. 

COCKLE BUR (kok'k’l-bur), or Clotbur, 
the name of several species of troublesome 
weeds found in most of the continents, espe¬ 
cially in the Temperate zones. One species, the 
xanthium canadense, is native to North America, 
and two other species were introduced from 
Europe. The species known as xanthium stru- 
narium is particularly troublesome in the fields 
of Southern Canada and most sections of the 
United States. The plant is branching, has 
coarse heart-shaped leaves, and grows to a 
height of from one to four feet. It is an annual 
plant and produces burs about an inch long cov¬ 
ered with stout prickles. The burs have two 
cells and retain their vitality a number of years, 
hence it is difficult to rid fields of them, except 
by seeding the ground in timothy and clover, or 
some other perennial grasses, thus preventing 


the plants from seeding. Cockleburs are injuri¬ 
ous to the wool industry as the burs fasten them¬ 
selves in the wool, hence stringent laws are in 
force in the south of Africa and other continents 
to eradicate the obnoxious weed. 

COCK OF THE ROCK, a bird found in 
the northern part of South America. It is about 
the size of a large pigeon, has orange colored 
plumage, and the head is crowned by a beautiful 
flattened crest. These birds are so named from 
their habit of building nests on rocks near 
rocky watercourses and on bushy hillsides. The 
males court the females by assembling in cleared 
places, where they display their plumage until 
chosen as a mate by some observant female. 
The skins are valued for millinery purposes and 
command a high price in the market. 

COCKROACH (kok'roch), a genus of in¬ 
sects belonging to the order having straight 
wings. The Oriental or proper cockroach is 
thought to have come originally from India, but 
is now found widely distributed. In the male 
the wings are half the length of the body .when 
mature, while in the female they are but rudi¬ 
mentary. The body is oval, elongated, and has a 
well-marked smoothness on its upper surface. 
The eggs remain in the abdomen of the female 
for six or eight days, when they are attached to 
some solid body by means of a gummy fluid 
secreted by glands. Several species of cock¬ 
roaches in America are widely distributed, some 
of which attain a length of from two to three 
inches. The Croton bug, so named from the 
Croton Aqueduct of New York, has followed 
man to all parts of the globe and is confined 
chiefly to the larger cities. Cockroaches are 
nocturnal in habit, have a ravenous appetite, 
and leave an unpleasant scent on food that they 
are unable to devour. 

COCOA (ko'ko), or Cacao, one of the best 
known and most prized of the palm trees. It is 
found on the coasts of islands and continents 
having a warm climate, and is* common to the 
West Indies, South America, India, and the 
East Indies. The tree thrives best near the 
seacoast, but rare ones are found at an elevation 
of 2,500 feet above the sea. It attains a height 
of from sixty to ninety feet. The trunk is 
slender and is marked by scars when the leaves 
have fallen off, these constituting transverse 
rings. In most cocoa trees the rings serve as a 
means of ascending the trees to secure the fruit, 
and are used for that purpose by the natives. 
The leaves grow in the form of a bunch or tuft 
at the top, are from twelve to fifteen in number, 
and are of gigantic size. About eighty to one 
hundred nuts are produced on an average tree. 
They are used for various purposes in the pro- 



COCOANUT 


504 


COD 


duction of food and other articles valuable in 
commerce. The terminal bud is considered a 
delicate food. The leaves are used for baskets, 
buckets, and thatched dwellings. In a number of 
localities fences are made of them, and they also 
serve as a substitute for writing paper. The 



COCOA. TREE AND FRUIT. 


midribs of the leaves are used for oars, while 
their ashes yield potash, and a portion is used in 
cradles and in the manufacture of clothes. The 
stem of the leaves serves in making drums and 
in constructing huts and furniture. The roots 
yield medicines and serve the natives as a chew¬ 
ing substance. Chocolate is a product from the 
cocoa and is formed as cakes, after the fatty 
substances have been removed and sugar, spices, 
and other ingredients are added. 

COCOANUT, the fruit of the cocoa palm 
growing in tropical countries. It is from three 
to eight inches in length, covered with a fibrous 
husk, and contains a fleshy kernel. It is an 
agreeable article^of food and is used for various 
purposes in manufacture. The interior of the 
nut is of a . whitish color and contains a milkish 
white fluid. In some regions large quantities 
are dried before the oil is expressed, when the 
product of the kernel is known as copra. The 
fibrous covering is used in the manufacture of 
yarn, matting, and cordage, and is known as 
coir. Cups and vessels are made from the hard 
shell of the nuts, which, when polished, serve a 
'useful purpose. The wood of the tree is used 
in the construction of houses and for other 
building purposes. The tree yields a sweetish 
liquid called toddy, which, when distilled, forms 
a spirit called arrack. A sugar is obtained from 
the juice known as jaggery. The nut produces 


the cocoa butter. This butter is used as a substi¬ 
tute for creamery butter, and is sometimes 
mixed with butter and colored with a butter col¬ 
oring. It is usually yellowish white and has a 
weak chocolate odor and - an agreeable taste. It 
does not become rancid when kept. 

COCOON (ko-koon'), the outer covering of 
silky fibers or hair with which the pupae of 
many insects are protected. This silky fiber is 
formed in some insects, as in caterpillars, some 
varieties of spiders, and silkworms. The cocoon 
gathered from silkworms is the article from 
which silk is manufactured. 

COD, the name of a cape and bay in the 
eastern part of Massachusetts. They were so 
named from the large number of codfish that 
abound in and near the bay. See Cape Cod. 

COD, a valuable food fish abundant in the 
waters off Newfoundland and throughout the 
temperate seas of Eurasia and America. There 
are several well-defined species, all belonging to 
the soft-finned fishes.. They feed mostly in 
water about twenty-five to sixty fathoms deep, 
and weigh as much as a hundred pounds. They 
spawn from January to May, at which season 
great numbers crowd together. 'In two years the 
young fish become marketable and reach matu¬ 
rity at the end of three years, when they weigh 
about sixty pounds. The best months for cod 
fishing are October, November, and December. 
The codfish is a good biter at almost any kind 
of bait and ordinarily feeds on worms, mollusks, 
and small fishes. It is a valuable fish for food, 
while isinglass is made of its bladder and cod- 



COMMON COD. 
TOM COD. 


liver oil from its liver. Cod-liver oil was rec¬ 
ommended as early as 1833 for diseases of the 
lungs and in cases of chronic rheumatism. Cod¬ 
fish are caught mostly with hooks and lines, one 
man being able to catch from 300 to 500 in a 
day. However, most of the fishing is done by 






CODE NAPOLEON 


505 


COEDUCATION 


the aid of schooners, from which the fishermen 
put out long lines called trawls, and to these are 
attached shorter baited lines. The fish are taken 
off the lines from time to time and are immedi¬ 
ately dressed and salted. Some of the best cod 
fisheries are adjacent to Newfoundland and off 
the coast of Norway. 

CODE NAPOLEON, the laws of France 
promulgated between 1804 and 1810, which are 
contained in the so-called Five Codes. The laws 
of France were greatly diversified at the time of 
the Revolution and a general or national code 
was demanded by the people. Napoleon pro¬ 
mulgated the first code, generally known as the 
“Civil Code of France,” to which additions were 
made subsequently, and the title was changed 
to Code Napoleon in 1807. Few new laws were 
introduced, but those in existence were codified 
and edited so as to present simple and clear 
statements. It may be said that the Code Napo¬ 
leon harmonized the customary laws of the Ger¬ 
man provinces in the north with the laws of 
southern France. The rapid rise of French 
power caused these laws to be adopted in many 
countries of Europe before 1814,. and many of 
them are still in force in Belgium, Italy, and 
Holland. The code of Louisiana and those of a 
number of republics in Central and South Amer¬ 
ica are based upon the Code Napoleon. 

CODEX (ko'deks), the name applied to the 
wooden tablets coated with wax and used for 
writing by the ancients. Subsequently the name 
was applied to all large manuscripts, as the 
works of the poets and historians, and under the 
emperors of. Rome it designated collections of 
civil and ecclesiastical laws. The oldest and 
most celebrated collections of civil laws are 
those known as the “Codex Theodosianus” and 
“Codex Justinianus.” In more recent times the 
term came to be applied more generally to the 
ecclesiastical writings, such as the “Codex Alex- 
andrinus,” which is written on parchment and 
contain the entire Greek Bible, except the books 
of Matthew, John, and II. Corinthians. In this 
work the Old' Testament is in the Septuagint 
version. The “Codex Rescriptus” is an ancient 
parchment on which the original writing has 
been defaced and upon which a different com¬ 
position has been copied. A parchment of this 
kind is now called a palimpsest. See Palimp¬ 
sest. 

COD-LIVER OIL, a fixed oil obtained from 
the livers of the cod, ling, torsk, and other re¬ 
lated species of fish. The adipose tissue of 
these fish is confined almost entirely to the liver, 
from which it is obtained by heat or by pres¬ 
sure in a cold state. Formerly the fishermen 
put the livers in barrels, where they were kept 


from one to four months, during which time they 
underwent putrefaction and the oil would rise 
to the top and be drawn off into vessels. The 
oil is now obtained in a much cleaner way by 
simply heating the fresh livers for two or three 
hours, after which the oil is pressed out. Cod- 
liver oil has a pale yellow color and is a better 
food than any other oil. It is easily digested 
and is valuable as a food in consumption and 
other wasting diseases. The taste is very dis¬ 
agreeable, hence it is administered in various 
ways, frequently in capsules. A preparation 
known as emulsion has a milky appearance and 
is made by mixing a number of remedies with 
cod-liver oil, usually such as chloroform, elixir 
of sacchrin, malt extract, alcohol, oil of bitter 
almonds, sodium bicarbonate, etc. A tablespoon¬ 
ful taken three times a day is a common dose of 
the pure oil. 

COEDUCATION (ko-ed-u-ka'shun), the 
association of males and females for instruc¬ 
tion in the same institution, school, or class, 
each receiving the same training and culture. 
This system prevails generally in the elemen¬ 
tary public schools of the United States, being 
the most convenient and economical, except in a 
few large cities, such as New York and Boston. 
This practice appears to receive, not only the 
tolerant assent of parents as a necessity, but 
unqualified approval is given in most cases on 
the ground that it is the best to be adopted. 
However, nearly half the private elementary 
schools have separate instruction and courses 
of study for boys and girls, and in 1908 about 
eight per cent, of the pupils receiving elementary 
instruction attended such schools. 

Those who oppose coeducation give a number 
of reasons in support of their views. Among 
these is the chief one that mixed schools do not 
provide instruction and discipline 'quite as well 
fitted to the peculiarities of the sexes. They 
think that the manners of the girls are influ¬ 
enced unfavorably by the coarser conduct of the 
boys, and that on the other hand the boys re¬ 
ceive little or no benefit from the presence of 
the girls. Some think that there is a liability of 
influencing unfavorably the moral character of 
each, which is guarded against by preventing the 
constant presence and intermixing of the sexes 
in the classes and on the playground. Those 
who favor coeducation, on the other hand, think 
that the presence of the girls tends to improve 
discipline and stimulate self-respect and polite¬ 
ness. It is held by this class that both instruc¬ 
tion and one-sided training is prevented, and 
that interest will center in such studies as 
mathematics as well as literature and poetry 
when both sexes meet in recitation work. So 


COEDUCATION 


506 


COFFEE 


far as moral tendencies are concerned they 
think daily association of the sexes is healthful 
and provides a general uplift and induces a 
tendency toward the practice of the good rather 
than toward the more base. 

It must be observed that coeducation is gain¬ 
ing ground steadily in America as well as in the 
more progressive countries of Europe. This is 
true particularly of England and Germany, 
though tile gymnasiums and realschulen of Ger¬ 
many are with few exceptions for boys exclu¬ 
sively. The last few years a struggle of women 
for admission to the universities of Germany 
has been going on, and resistance has not only 
given way to a considerable extent, but many 
advocate coeducation who. formerly opposed it, 
being satisfied by a practical test that coeduca¬ 
tion has many advantages. In England and 
Scotland women are admitted to nearly all the 
universities, though exception is made in some 
to their admission where law and medicine are 
studied, while in Australia women are not only 
admitted as students, but are given places as 
lecturers and professors, and wider privileges 
have been extended in Austria and Russia. All 
the universities of Switzerland are open to 
women on the same terms , as to men. In 1908 
there were 5,450 coeducational high schools in 
the United States out of a total of 5,500, while 
the private secondary schools, which number 
1,960, included 325 for boys and 550 for girls, 
while 1,085 were coeducational. Practically the 
same proportion of coeducational schools are 
maintained in Canada. 

In speaking of separate schools for the sexes 
Jean Richter said: “To insure modesty, I 
would advise the education of the sexes to¬ 
gether; for two boys will preserve twelve girls, 
or two girls twelve boys, innocent, amidst winks, 
jokes, and improprieties, merely by that instinc¬ 
tive sense which is the forerunner of natural 
modesty. But I will guarantee nothing in a 
school where girls are alone together and still 
less where boys are.” Dr. Clark, in his work 
entitled “Sex and Education,” says: “Boys must 
study in a boy’s way, and girls in a girl’s way. 
Appropriate education of the two sexes carried 
as far as possible is a consummation most de¬ 
voutly to be desired; identical education of the 
two sexes is a crime before God and humanity, 
that physiology protests against, and that ex¬ 
perience weeps over.” President Fairchild, of 
Oberlin, said: “During my experience as pro¬ 
fessor—twenty-seven years in all—I have never 
observed any difference in the sexes as to per¬ 
formance in recitation.” James Burrill Angell, 
president of the university of Michigan, said: 
“We have not had the slightest embarrassment 


from the reception of women. They have done 
their work admirably, and, apparently, with no 
peril to their health.” In speaking on this sub¬ 
ject, Caroline Wells no doubt expressed the 
correct view in saying: “Education is to be 
adapted neither to boys nor to girls, but to in¬ 
dividuals. The mother, or the teacher, has 
learned little who attempts to train any two 
children alike, whether as regards to the books 
they are to study, the time it is to take, the atti¬ 
tudes they are to assume, or the amusements 
they are to be allowed.” 

COELENTER ATA (se-len-te-ra ta), a 
branch of the animal kingdom, the next to the 
lowest of the types of Metazoa, which include 
the polyps and jellyfishes. The body cavity 
and circulatory system are not distinctly sepa¬ 
rate, but the food enters through the mouth into 
a system of chambers or tubes, which take the 
place of the body cavity and of the digestive 
system. These chambers serve as a stomach 
for digestion and as a circulatory system in 
conveying food to the different parts of the 
body. Around the mouth are grouped a number 
of tentacles, which serve as organs of touch and 
for taking hold upon food, and some of the spe¬ 
cies have a form of stinging cells that serve to 
stun or paralyze the food. Most of the coelen- 
terates live in the sea, only a few inhabiting 
fresh water. The jellyfish is not regarded as 
a true member of this class of animal life and 
is a free-swimming organism, while the corals, 
hydroids, and sea anemones are fastened to 
some object during their natural life. The 
sponges, though classed with these animals, have 
no tentacles. 

COFFEE (kof'fe), a genus of shrubs cul¬ 
tivated in warm climates, native to Abyssinia 
and Arabia. The coffee plant is now grown in 
the West Indies, Bermuda, and the tropical 
climates of America and other continents. About 
fifty species are grown for commercial purposes. 
Those producing the coffee seeds of the market 
attain a height of from fifteen to twenty feet in 
the native state, but they are treated usually so 
as not to exceed more than ten feet. In this 
way the production is increased largely, since 
the seeds grow mainly on the smaller and newer 
twigs. The seeds or beans are destitute of 
flavor in a raw state, but in roasting a peculiar 
brown oil, known as caffeine, is developed, and 
this gives to coffee its beautiful aroma. Caf¬ 
feine is the most valuable constituent of coffee, 
and is identified closely with the alkaloid theine 
found in tea. It is found in roasted coffee in a 
proportion of about one per cent. Coffee is 
ground and made into a drink which consti¬ 
tutes one of the most wholesome beverages 



COFFEYVILLE 


507 


COHOES 


known. It assists digestion, retards waste, and 
exhilarates the spirits. It is adulterated with 
chickory in a ground form, and is sometimes 
mixed with figs, malt, and raisins. The best 
way to avoid adulteration is to use only the 
coffee beans and grind them as the coffee is 
needed for household use. 

Among the different kinds of coffee are 
Mocha, secured from the region of the Red 
Sea; Java coffee, Jamaica coffee, and the Rio 
coffee of South America. Coffee was entirely 
unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans. 
The Dutch first brought the coffee plant to 
other lands and cultivated it. Seeds were 
brought to Java about 1690, and to Brazil and 
South American countries in 1774. The produc¬ 
tion is continually increasing. The world’s 



COFFEE PLANT. 

A, Flower; B, Fruit Stock; C, Fruit; D, Section of Fruit. 


annual output is about 1,550,000 tons, more than 
one-half of which is grown in Brazil. Other 
countries that are extensive growers of coffee 
include Mexico, India, the Dutch East Indies, 
Arabia, and Central America. The United 
States and Canada secure their supply princi¬ 
pally from Brazil. According to recent author¬ 
ity, the consumption of coffee in Holland is 
twenty-three pounds per year for each person; 
Belgium, eleven; United States, ten; Germany, 
six; France, four; Great Britain, one. 

COFFEYVILLE, a city of Kansas, in Mont¬ 
gomery County, 170 miles southwest of Kansas 
City, on the Santa Fe, the Missouri Pacific, and 
other railroads. It is nicely located on the Ver¬ 
digris River and is surrounded by a fertile 


country which produces fruits and cereals. 
Coal, petroleum, natural gas, and potter’s clay 
are obtained in the vicinity. The manufactures 
include flour, pottery, brick, machinery, and 
cigars. It has a number of fine schools and 
churches, gas and electric lighting plants, water¬ 
works, and a public library. The first settlement 
in its vicinity was made in 1869 and it was incor¬ 
porated two years later. Population, 1900, 
4,953; in 1910, 12,687. 

COFFIN (kof'fin), a box or chest in which 
a corpse is inclosed for burial. Coffins were 
used by the ancients mostly for the bodies of 
distinguished persons. They are mentioned in 
the Scriptures in relation to the embalmed body 
of Joseph. The Egyptians used wooden coffins 
and sometimes placed the bodies in caskets of 
stone and baked clay. The Romans and Greeks 
employed cedar wood in constructing coffins, 
and in later times the former practiced crema¬ 
tion, placing the ashes in urns. However, the 
Greeks placed many corpses in coffins made of 
a limestone known as sarcophagus, which ab¬ 
sorbed the tissues of the body in a few weeks, 
and the name soon came to be applied to the 
coffin itself. The Christians introduced the ex¬ 
tensive custom of burying in coffins. Those used 
in modern times are made of wood or metal. 

COGNAC (kon-yak'), a town of France, in 
the department of Charente, twenty-five miles 
west of Angouleme. It is situated on the Cha¬ 
rente River, has an old castle in which Francis I. 
was born, and is famous for the manufacture of 
Cognac brandy. The surrounding country is 
devoted largely to the cultivation of the vine. 
Among its improvements are electric lights, a 
public library, and extensive transportation facil¬ 
ities by railways. Population, 1906, 19,590. 

COHESION (ko-he'zhun), the force by 
which molecules of the same kind or of the 
same body are held together. It is strong in 
solids, weak in liquids, and absent in gases. It 
varies with the nature of the bodies and with the 
arrangement of the molecules in the same body. 
Thus, the tempering of steel alters the molecular 
arrangement in- that substa'nce, with the effect 
also of altering its cohesion. The hardness, 
ductility, and tenacity arise from modification 
in the cohesion of substances. See Adhesion. 

COHOES (ko-hoz'), a manufacturing city 
of New York, in Albany County, at the conflu¬ 
ence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. It is 
on the Erie and Champlain canals and on the 
New Yark Central and the Delaware and Hud¬ 
son railroads. The chief buildings include the 
public library, the high school, the Episcopal 
Saint John’s Church, and the Roman Catholic 
Saint Bernard’s church. It has iron foundries, 



COINAGE 


508 


COLCHESTER 


machine shops, rolling mills, knitting mills, pm 
and needle factories, cotton mills, and furniture 
factories. Cohoes ranks as one of the leading 
manufacturing cities on the Hudson and has a 
large trade in produce and merchandise. Gas 
and electric lighting, pavements, waterworks, 
public parks, and rapid transit are among the 
improvements. It was settled by the Dutch 
about 1630 and was chartered as a city in 1870. 
Population, 1905, 24,183; in 1910, 24,709. 

COINAGE (koin'aj), the process of making 
money of metal by stamping certain characters 
upon it, giving it a definite legal current value. 
Coinage was practiced early in history, the first 
mention of brass money being made by Homer 
in 1184 b. c. The Lydians coined money of gold 
and silver. The most ancient coins now extant 
were made in the 5th century b. c. In Rome 
metal money was made of brass previous to 269 
b. c., at which time Fabius JPictor began to coin 
silver, and gold was coined in 206 b. c. The 
early coin money of Rome contained the heads 
of deities, or those statesmen and warriors who 
had been granted divine honors. Julius Caesar 
was the first living Roman whose portrait was 
placed on coins, and the example was soon fol¬ 
lowed by various rulers in other nations. Much 
of the coin money of ancient times was made of 
iron and brass, but gold and silver were used 
more or less by 'the richer nations. 

In Great Britain the coinage is regulated by 
Parliament, although the prerogative of coining 
is vested in the crown. The coinage of Canada 
is regulated by the Dominion Parliament and is 
directly in charge of the deputy master and the 
superintendent of the royal mint. Silver is used 
for small change in Canada, and the coins are 
of the same denominations and have the same 
names as those of the United States. Although 
gold is coined extensively, it is rarely seen in 
circulation, practically the whole stock in the 
country being held by the government against 
the 'issue of legal tender notes and as reserves 
in the banks. 

The first coinage laws of the United States 
went into effect in 1792. They provided a 
double standard, that of gold and silver, the 
latter of equal legal value, coined fifteen times 
greater in weight than the former. Since then 
various changes have been made, which are 
fully explained in other articles. The metric 
system is used to a certain extent in determining 
the weight of silver coins, and the monetary 
system is based on the most convenient *scale of 
increase and decrease. Gold coins at the pres¬ 
ent time consist of double eagles, eagles, half 
eagles, three dollars, quarter eagle, and the 
dollar. The coins of three dollars and one dol¬ 


lar are quite rare. The silver coins consist of 
dollar, half-dollar, quarter-dollar, and dime, or 
ten cent, pieces, while the minor coins of nickel 
and bronze include five-cent, three-cent, and 
one-cent pieces. See Mint. 

COIR (koir), the fiber of the coco&nut and 
other palms, used in the manufacture of ropes, 
mats, bags, cables, etc. The fiber is obtained 
from the husk and is divided into two classes, 
the outer or ordinary fiber and the inner or 
brush fiber. Mats are made largely of the ordi¬ 
nary fiber, which is the coarser and less durable, 
while the brush fiber is the finer product and is 
shipped in great quantities to the manufacturers, 
who use machinery in making cable yarn and 
yard matting. The waste or refuse of coir sup¬ 
plies the stuffing for mattresses and other com¬ 
mercial products. 

COKE (kok), an article of fuel obtained by 
heating coal in ovens, or other devices, where 
little air is admitted. It is often prepared in 
heaps, but generally in ovens built for the pur¬ 
pose. The heat is applied until the volatile con¬ 
stituents have been expelled; thus, the coke 
consists largely of impure forms of carbon and 
contains earthy matter and often some sulphur. 
It is brittle, hard, and porous, and floats in 
water until it becomes saturated, when it sinks. 
Coke produces an intense heat when burnt, gives 
off no smoke, and is useful for cooking pur¬ 
poses and in manufactures. It is valuable in 
separating metals from their ores and for refin¬ 
ing and smelting. Coal coke is formed in the 
manufacture of coal gas, being a residue left 
after all the gas has been distilled. Coal yields 
from sixty to seventy per cent, of coke. Large 
quantities of coke are made in Pennsylvania, 
West Virginia, Germany, and England. 

COLBY COLLEGE (kol'bi), an educational 
institution founded at Waterville, Me., by the 
Baptists in 1813. It was first named Waterville 
College, but changed to Colby University, in 
honor of Gardener Colby, a philanthropist, by 
whose generosity the institution prospered 
greatly. In 1899 the name was changed to Colby 
College. It has departments for the education 
of both sexes. The library has 38,500 volumes. 
It has an attendance of about 275 students. 

COLCHESTER (kol'ches-ter), a river port 
of England, in Essexshire, 50 miles northeast of 
London. It is located on a hill near the south 
bank of the Colne River, twelve miles from the 
sea, and has electric and steam railway facilities. 
The manufactures include boots and shoes, 
clothing, and machinery. Among the public 
utilities are waterworks, public baths, a public 
library, and substantial street paving. It is the 
seat of the Albert School of Science and Arts. 




COLCHICUM 


509 


COLLEGE 


Colchester is an old town and dates prior to the 
Roman invasion. Many ancient vases, urns, and 
coins of imperial Rome have been found in the 
vicinity. Population, 1906, 40,425. 

C O L C H I C U M (kol'ki-kum), a gdnus of 
plants allied to the lilies. The meadow saffron 
is a species of colchicum. About thirty other 
species have been described. They are stemless 
and thrive in meadows and pastures. The plants 
attract little attention in the spring, but the flow¬ 
ers are beautiful and appear from August to 
October. Most species are acrid and poisonous, 
but some yield valuable medicine for gout and 
inflammatory rheumatism. 

COLD HARBOR, a locality in Hanover 
County, Virginia, about ten miles northeast of 
Richmond. It was the seat of several battles 
in May and June, 1864, between the Union and 
Confederate armies. The first battle began on 
June 1 and continued three days. Gen. Grant 
commanded the Federal forces and had advanced 
from Spottsylvania to Chickahominy. Gen. 
Sheridan occupied Cold Harbor, where he was 
joined on June 1 by forces from Butler’s army. 
The assault made on the Confederates was par¬ 
tially successful, but resulted in a loss of 2,000 
men to the Union army. An attack was made on 
the right flank of the Confederates on June 3, 
but little advantage was gained, though 7,000 
men were lost. Later the Federal army gained 
some advantage by the battles at Petersburg. 
The several battles at Cold Harbor cost the 
Union army almost 13,000 men, while the Con¬ 
federates lost not over 2,000. 

COLD STORAGE, a system of preserving 
perishable articles of food, such as eggs, meats, 
and vegetables. Cold storage plants are very 
common in the cities having a population of 
10,000 or more, and are controlled and operated 
as private enterprises. They are usually divided 
into a number of rooms or departments, and in 
nearly all cases are associated with plants 
maintained for the manufacture of artificial 
ice. The articles preserved in cold storage are 
placed in rooms where the temperature is little 
above the freezing point, whereby it is possible 
to preserve perishable articles of food so the 
market can be supplied with choice varieties in 
good condition at all times of the year. Cold 
storage is used in large hotels and breweries, 
and in the transportation of butter, fruits, vege¬ 
tables, and meats. Furs are kept in summer to 
a considerable extent in cold storage. 

COLDWATER, county seat of Branch 
County, Michigan, on Coldwater River, about 
forty miles southeast of Kalamazoo: It is 
located in a fertile agricultural country, on the 
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, 


and is a prosperous trading and manufacturing 
center. The city is the seat of a State school 
for indigent children. Among its institutions are 
a public school building costing $100,000, a fine 
courthouse, and numerous churches. Electric 
lights, pavements, and a library are among the 
facilities. It was settled in 1830 and became 
an incorporated city in 1862. Population, 1904, 
6,225; in 1910, 5,945. 

COLGATE UNIVERSITY, an institution 
founded at Hamilton, N. Y., in 1820. The name 
was changed to Madison University in 1846. 
Later the name was changed to Colgate Univer¬ 
sity in honor of James B. Colgate, a leading 
dry goods merchant of New York, who made a 
number of large gifts to~ the institution. The 
university is now endowed with about $2,000,000. 
It has a faculty of forty instructors, 350 stu¬ 
dents, and a library of about 35,500 volumes. 

COLIMA (ko-le'ma), capital of the state of 
Colima, Mexico. It is located on a fertile plain 
and is surrounded by hills and mountains. Near 
it is the volcano Colima, which has an altitude 
of 12,743 feet. The city has railroad connections, 
a number of costly edifices, and a large trade in 
cotton and fruit. Among the chief buildings are 
the city hall, the state capitol, and the Hospital 
de San Juan. Colima was founded in 1522. 
Population, 1906, 22,445. 

COLLEGE (kol'lej), an institution of learn¬ 
ing which offers opportunities for study in al- 
vanced courses. The instruction is usually in 
the liberal arts, with a course of study, either 
fixed, or partly fixed and partly elective, com¬ 
monly requiring four years for completion. Al¬ 
though there are many institutions that claim 
rank as colleges, the courses differ very widely. 
No distinct line of demarkation has yet been 
fixed between the requirements of a course of 
study for an academy and a college, and between 
that of a college and a university. Besides, many 
of the high schools carry courses covering col¬ 
lege branches, in some cases even ranking 
higher in efficiency than some of the colleges. 
A typical college course contains provisions for 
the study of English, German, Latin, Greek, and 
French languages, mathematics, physics, litera¬ 
ture, moral and mental philosophy, civics, engi¬ 
neering, and other allied departments. At the 
completion of a definite course a degree may be 
granted, which, in most cases, is recognized by 
universities where students wish to pursue still 
more advanced work. Some American colleges 
have departments for professional training, es¬ 
pecially for teaching, while some of the univer¬ 
sities have academic or collegiate departments. 
The list of colleges also includes institutions for 
special training, as colleges of pedagogy, theol- 


COLLEGE 


510 


COLLODION 


ogy, medicine, music, agriculture, industrial arts, 
and others. It is thought that colleges had their 
origin in connection with the University of 
Paris, in the beginning of the 15th century. 

Colleges have been established in many cities 
of the United States, some as private enterprises 
and others by State or Federal aid. In the 
leading towns and cities, from Maine to Cali¬ 
fornia and from Canada to the Gulf, there are 
one or more institutions doing college work. 
These institutions are usually open alike to both 
sexes, though there are some exceptions. Many 
have taken pride in building up extensive libra¬ 
ries, collecting museums, and attaching gymna¬ 
siums for the physical development of both 
sexes. The collegiate institutes of Canada oc¬ 
cupy a place between the high school and the 
university, and pupils attending these schools are 
prepared for matriculation in the universities. 
Ontario had 42 collegiate institutes in 1906, and 
a proportional number is maintained in the other 
provinces. The name college, in Canada, as in 
England, refers more specially to the body of 
institutions that constitute a university. Sev¬ 
eral hundred college papers, including weeklies, 
monthlies, and quarterlies, fill a valuable field in 
cultivating an educational sentiment and in fur¬ 
thering knowledge, both among the students and 
general readers. College societies are maintained 
in all institutions of this character, having for 
their object the study of literature and other 
useful lines. In the larger colleges a number of 
these societies are supported, usually with 
courses of study and outlines for research fitted 
for the different classes of pupils, based upon 
age and educational attainments. 

Many colleges have followed the plan now 
maintained by most universities in that they pro¬ 
vide college extension work. By means of this 
department it has become possible for the in¬ 
structors and officers to come in contact with 
people in adjacent cities and states, and to carry 
the benefits of higher study to localities remote 
from educational centers. Thus, a taste for 
higher education has been awakened in younger 
students, while older classes and professional 
and business men have remained in touch with 
wholesome reviews of branches, thereby enlarg¬ 
ing and extending culture and learning. It is 
quite unnecessary to name the different colleges 
of the United States in this article. A number 
of leading institutions have been mentioned in 
special articles. It may be in place, however, to 
say that American colleges are so widely dis¬ 
tributed and carry such a diversity of courses 
that it is possible for any person of thrift and 
brains to attain to educational power and use¬ 
fulness. These colleges are open alike to poor 


and rich, while the expense of attendance has 
been reduced to a minimum. The annual ex¬ 
pense of college attendance in many good in¬ 
stitutions does not exceed $350, though some 
students can barely bridge over a year’s work 
with less than $3,000. This, of course, depends 
upon the habits of economy, the society sur¬ 
rounding college life, and the institution at 
which an education is sought. 

COLLEGE POINT, a locality in Greater 
New York City, in Queens County, on the south 
shore of Long Island Sound, about ten miles 
east of Central Park. It has a number of fac¬ 
tories, which are devoted chiefly to the produc¬ 
tion of India-rubber goods. The streets are 
well improved and many of the edifices are 
costly structures. It is the residence of many 
New York business men. 

COLLIE (kol'ly), or Sheep Dog, the name 
of several kinds of dogs employed extensively 
in controlling flocks of sheep or cattle. It is a 
hardy animal with long hair, stands about 25 
inches high at the shoulders, and is noted for its 
intelligence. The muzzle is tapering and the 
appearance is somewhat foxlike, and the ears 
are carried flat on the side of the head. Dogs 
of this class can be easily trained to take a flock 
of sheep to pasture and drive them home safely 
at the appointed time. Sheep become accus¬ 
tomed to their dog and regard it as a friend. 
It is peculiar in its remembrance of places and 
for protecting flocks from wolves. The collie 
is a favorite sheep dog in Scotland and the 
Scotch breed is a representative of this class. 
Other breeds include the Welsh, the Schipperke, 
and the Pomeranian. The last mentioned is 
known as the Spitz dog and is favored as a 
house pet, being somewhat smaller than the 
Scotch collie. 

COLLINGWOOD (kol'ling-wdod), a port 
town of Ontario, in Simcoe County, 94 miles 
northwest of Toronto, on the Northern Rail¬ 
way. It is nicely situated on Georgian Bay, 
Lake Ontario, and has important steamboat 
transportation facilities. The manufactures in¬ 
clude flour, leather, spirituous liquors, and ma¬ 
chinery. It has a large trade in lumber, manu¬ 
factures, and merchandise. The public facilities 
include electric lights, several fine schools, and 
waterworks. Population, 5,755. 

COLLODION (kol-l6'di-6n), a solution pre¬ 
pared by mixing pyroxylin with alcohol and 
ether, or by treating the pyroxylin in ether and 
afterward adding alcohol until it is completely 
dissolved. The process recommended is to treat 
eight parts of pyroxylin by weight in 125 parts 
of rectified ether and then add eight parts of 
rectified alcohol. The product is very volatile. 



COLMAR 


511 


COLOMBIA 


and on evaporating leaves a film which adheres 
to the surface of bodies, thus making it a con¬ 
venient application to cuts and wounds in the 
place of sticking plaster. It is applied by brush¬ 
ing it alone over the edges of the incision, 
or by spreading it upon strips of ribbon. Collo¬ 
dion is used extensively in photography for pre¬ 
paring sensitive films, which are made by spread¬ 
ing a mixture of collodion and substances sensi¬ 
tive to light over glass plates. It is used in con¬ 
structing small toy balloons, for making wood 
and fabrics waterproof, for coating to render 
pills and other medicinal preparations tasteless, 
and for a variety of other purposes. 

COLMAR (kol'mar), or Kolmar, a city of 
Germany, in Alsace-Lorraine, forty miles south¬ 
west of Strassburg. It is finely situated on the 
Lauch River, near the base of the Vosges, and 
is the converging center of several important 
railroads. The principal buildings include a 
college, a theater, a townhouse, and a cathedral. 
Among the chief manufactures are cotton goods, 
leather, hosiery, cutlery, ribbons, and machinery. 
It has a considerable trade in produce and mer¬ 
chandise. Colmar has electric railways, stone 
and asphalt paving, gas and electric lights, and 
a number of fine public schools. By the Peace 
of Ryswick, in 1697, it was ceded by Germany to 
France, but was returned by the'Treaty of Ver¬ 
sailles is 1871. Population, 1905, 41,791. 

COLOGNE (ko-lon'), (German, Coin), the 
capital of Rhenish Prussia, Germany, on the 
Rhine River. It is strongly fortified, a number 
of its fortifications dating from the Middle Ages, 
but they have been vastly improved by the con¬ 
struction of modern defenses. It has a number 
of famous churches of various styles of archi¬ 
tecture, including the Romanesque, Gothic, and 
Transition. The Cathedral of Cologne (see 
Architecture) is the finest specimen of Gothic 
architecture in Europe. It was built in the reign 
of Charlemagne, and was burned in 1248, but 
was rebuilt soon after, although it was not fully 
completed until 1880. The cost of this magnifi¬ 
cent structure is estimated at more than $10,- 
000,000. The city is remarkable for its beauty 
and educational facilities. Its streets, public 
boulevards, botanical gardens, and zoological in¬ 
stitutions are among the finest in Europe. The 
public school system and higher institutions of 
learning take high rank, while the public library 
and monuments embody much beauty and value. 
It is extensively connected by electric lines and 
railroads, and has a large interior and river 
navigation commerce. The manufactures em¬ 
brace fabrics, clothing, musical instruments, glue, 
toys, tobacco, machinery, and the celebrated eau 
de Cologne, or Cologne water. It has grown 


with remarkable rapidity in commerce since the 
beginning of the 20th century. Cologne dates 
from an early period of European history. It 
was founded about 30 b. c. by the Ubii. In 870 
it became a part of the German Empire, entered 
the league of the Hanseatic cities in 1201, and 
was joined to Prussia in 1801. Population, 1905, 
428,722. • 

COLOMBIA (ko-lom'be-a), a republic of 
South America, located in the northwestern part 
of that continent. It is bounded on the north 
by the Caribbean Sea, east by Venezuela and 
Brazil, south by Ecuador, and west by the Pa¬ 
cific Ocean and the Republic of Panama. The 
location is between latitude 3° south and 12° 
30' north and between longitude 67° 30' and 
83° west. Choco Bay, Tumaco Bay, and Cupica 
Bay are the chief indentations on the Pacific 
Coast, while the Gulf of Darien is the principal 
inlet on the Caribbean Sea. The area is not 
definitely known, since some of the territory 
usually included is claimed by Peru, Ecuador, 
and Brazil, but it is generally given at 473,000 
square miles. 

Description. The surface may be divided 
into two regions, the great plains or llanos of 
the southeastern part and the Andean Cordil¬ 
leras of the western section. A valley separates 
the Cordilleras from the highlands of Panama. 
The central range of the Cordilleras is the most 
elevated, including the volcanoes Tolema and 
Huila, the former reaching an altitude of 18,000 
feet. The valley of the Magdalena River sepa¬ 
rates the central range from the eastern Cordil¬ 
leras, which includes great tablelands and sev¬ 
eral mountains which are about 16,000 feet above 
the sea. In the eastern part is a great plain 
with streams tributary to the Orinoco and Ama¬ 
zon rivers. The coast line, including the in¬ 
dentations, is about 2,800 miles long, about half 
of which is on the Caribbean Sea. 

The rivers belong to three systems of drain¬ 
age, those flowing into the Pacific, those of the 
Caribbean Sea, and those draining by the Ori¬ 
noco and Amazon into the Atlantic. Through 
the east central part flows the Magdalena, which 
traverses the country almost the entire distance 
from south to north and discharges into the 
Caribbean Sea. The Atrato flows northward 
near the western shore and discharges into the 
Gulf of Darien, while the Cauca is the chief 
tributary of the Magdalena. Among the prin¬ 
cipal affluents of the Amazon are the Japura 
and the Uaupes, while the Meta and the Gua- 
viare are the principal tributaries of the Orinoco. 

The climate varies materially in different sec¬ 
tions. It is hot in the valleys, especially where 
the mountains tower to considerable heights. 


COLOMBIA 


512 


COLOMBIA 


and the tablelands are pleasant. Two rainy 
seasons occur in the mountainous parts, while 
the coast region has an abundance of rain at 
all times of the year, and the extreme south¬ 
western part is quite dry. The thermometer fre¬ 
quently registers about 100 at Magdalena and 
in the eastern plains, but sea breezes make the 
climate pleasant along the Pacific. 

Flora and Fauna. The flora is greatly 
varied, ranging from the tropical plant life of 
the lower regions to scant vegetation of the 
elevated tablelands. Among the forest trees are 
many varieties of palms, including the lofty 
wax palm and the usefuTrubber tree. Forests 
of considerable density clothe the mountains 
up to a short distance from the timber line, 
which is located about 10,000 feet above the 
sea. The region is well grassed and produces 
many medicinal plants, such as the aloe and sar¬ 
saparilla. The plains in the eastern part are 
covered with nutritious and useful grasses. 

Colombia has many wild animals, such as the 
tapir, jaguar, sloth, puma, and ant-eater. Sev¬ 
eral species of the red deer are abundant on 
the plateaus, and numerous kinds of monkeys 
are found widely distributed. Among the birds 
are the condor, toucan, vulture, and humming 
bird. The reptiles include serpents, turtles, and 
lizards. 

Mining. Nearly all the precious and useful 
minerals abound, but mining has not been de¬ 
veloped to a considerable extent. Gold mining 
is carried on chiefly in Antioquia, and silver 
mines are worked in Cauca and Tolima. Val¬ 
uable deposits of coal occur in the eastern Cor¬ 
dilleras, and emeralds are found in the state of 
Boyaca. Salt mining is a government monopoly 
and is carried on chiefly in the vicinity of 
Nemocon and Zipaquira, where extensive de* 
posits of salt rock and salt springs abound. 
Other minerals known to exist include lead, 
copper, iron, and platinum. 

Agriculture. Farming is the principal in¬ 
dustry, but the methods are still primitive. It 
is confined largely to the elevated plateau in 
the western part, where the climate and soil are 
very favorable. Sugar cane, coffee, cacao, and 
tobacco are cultivated largely in the warmer dis¬ 
tricts, while corn, maize, and barley are the 
leading crops in the more temperate parts. 
Fruit is grown very extensively, especially the 
banana, orange, apple, and lemon. The tolu, 
valuable for its balsam, thrives in the uplands, 
and the rubber tree is native and yields large 
quantities of commercial rubber. All the do¬ 
mestic animals common to North America 
thrive, but cattle raising is receiving the great¬ 
est share of attention. 


Transportation. Public highways have been 
constructed in the settled districts, but the rail¬ 
road lines do not exceed 500 miles. Many of 
the railways are short, ranging from 15 to 100 
miles, and are operated largely as a means of 
connecting the streams or to penetrate a short 
distance inland from the coast. The Magdalena 
is the most important stream for inland navi¬ 
gation and together with the Cauca reaches the 
chief points of the interior. A considerable dis¬ 
tance of the lower Atrato is navigable, and 
communication with the Orinoco is facilitated 
through the Meta River. Telephone and tele¬ 
graph connections are abundant, and many 
steamers carry trade to the ports of Europe 
and North America. 

Manufactures and Commerce. Manufactur¬ 
ing is confined largely to articles used in domes¬ 
tic consumption. They include straw mattings, 
cotton fabrics, pottery, and Panama hats. Sugar 
is manufactured to a considerable extent, and 
the goverment has a monopoly of the distilla¬ 
tion of liquor from sugar. The chief exports 
include cattle, coffee, minerals, hides, and fruits, 
while the imports embrace principally flour, pe¬ 
troleum, ironware, drugs, chemicals, and ma¬ 
chinery. Trade with the leading nations in the 
order named is with the United Stajtes, Great 
Britain, Germany, and France. The imports 
slightly exceed the exports. 

Government. The government is constitu¬ 
tional, with the chief administrative power vest¬ 
ed in a president chosen for six years by an 
electoral college. A ministry of six members 
assists the president, and there is a council of 
state of six members. The congress has full 
legislative power, and consists of a senate and 
a house of representatives; the former, of 24 
senators, three from each of the eight depart¬ 
ments, and the latter, of 66 representatives. A 
supreme court of seven judges, nominated by 
the president and confirmed by the senate, has 
the highest administration of justice, and sub¬ 
ject to it are the supreme and provincial courts. 
Each of the states has a governor and is divided 
into smaller districts corresponding to a county 
in Canada or the United States. The army and 
navy are made up of all able-bodied citizens, 
but the peace organization embraces only about 
1,500 men. 

Inhabitants. Colombia is inhabited by a peo¬ 
ple of Spanish descent. Roman Catholic is the 
official religion, but other denominations have 
been granted freedom in building churches and 
conducting public worship. The educational in¬ 
terests have been developed by a system of com¬ 
mon schools supported by the government. Ele¬ 
mentary education is free, but not compulsory, 






COLOMBO 


513 


COLONY 


and many private and parochial schools are 
maintained. Among the special and higher in¬ 
stitutions are several normal schools, an agri¬ 
cultural college, four general colleges, and a 
national university. Spanish is the spoken and 
written language. Bogota, in the west central 
part, is the capital and largest city. Barran- 
quilla and Cartagena, both on the Carribean Sea, 
and Buenaventura, on the Pacific, are the prin¬ 
cipal seaports. Magdalena, on the Magdalena 
River, is important as a river port and has 
connection by railway with Cartagena. Other 
cities of importance include Medellin, Pa- 
payan, Sonson, and Socorro. Population, 1907, 
4,279,674. 

History. The country now forming most of 
Colombia was formerly called New Granada. 
It was discovered in 1499 by Alonzo de Ojeda 
and was visited by Columbus in 1502, while he 
was on his fourth voyage’to America. The first 
settlement was made by the Spanish at Santa 
Maria, in the Gulf of Darien, in 1510, and the 
whole region was organized as a province in 
1547 under a captain general. In 1811 New 
Granada declared its independence from Spain 
and effected its liberation with the help of 
Venezuela, after a war lasting eleven years. 
The two states united with Ecuador under the 
name of Colombia, but separated in 1831 into 
three independent republics. New Granada 
adopted a constitution in 1863 and became known 
as the United States of Colombia. In 1884 the 
country was suddenly thrown into a revolution, 
which was terminated in 1886 and a new consti¬ 
tution was adopted, which gave the country a 
more strongly centralized government. Another 
revolution occurred in 1903, when Panama 
broke away from the mother country and organ¬ 
ized as an independent republic. Since then the 
country has had an era of peace and is making 
material strides in constructing internal im¬ 
provements and enlarging its influence among 
the states of South America. 

COLOMBO (ko-lom'bo), a seaport city and 
the capital of Ceylon. It is an important center 
for railway and navigation commerce. Among 
the public buildings are a museum, the govern¬ 
ment house, the supreme court, and several edu¬ 
cational buildings. The post office and the pal¬ 
ace of the governor are on Queen Street, which 
is the principal thoroughfare. A large majority 
of the houses are of one story, each having a 
veranda in front, and few are furnished by 
doors and windows. The harbor affords vast 
accommodations and has been improved by an 
extensive breakwater. Electric lights, street 
railways, and other municipal facilities have been 
provided. The city was founded by the Portu¬ 


guese and was captured by the British in 1796. 
Population, 1906, 161,490. 

COL6N (ko-lon'), or Aspinwall, a seaport 
in the republic of Panama, important on account 
of its location on the Caribbean Sea, forty-nine 
miles northwest of the city of Panama. It is 
situated at the northern terminus of the Isth¬ 
mian Railway, near the Atlantic extremity of 
the Panama Canal, and has a deep harbor on 
Navy Bay. The site is low and somewhat un¬ 
healthful, but has been improved materially by 
constructive work of the United States in the 
Panama Canal zone. The streets are wide and 
regularly platted and are improved by grading 
and drainage. Among the chief buildings are 
a number of schools and churches, several fine 
business establishments, and the structures 
erected by the government. Colon was first 
named Aspinwall from its founder, who built the 
Isthmian Railway, but it is officially known as 
Colon, so named in honor of Columbus. A 
fine statue of Columbus was erected in one of 
its public places in 1883. Population, 1908, 14,825. 

COLONNA (ko-lon'na), Cape, the most 
southerly point of Attica, Greece. The ruins of 
the celebrated temple of Minerva, of which six¬ 
teen columns of white marble remain, are on 
its highest elevation, 270 feet above the sea. 

COLONY (kol'6-ny), a company of people 
who associate together for mutual advantage in 
the settlement of a remote country. The colo¬ 
nists usually have a common object and unite 
on account of similar social interests, or reli¬ 
gious or political views. They may migrate 
from different countries, or from a single coun¬ 
try. This mode of settlement is called coloniza¬ 
tion, and is due largely to the over-population 
or the suppression of certain liberties in the 
mother country. The name colony is commonly 
applied to a foreign dependency of a state or 
country. These dependencies are secured in 
various ways, often by settlement of large num¬ 
bers, by purchase, or by wars of conquest. The 
tendency of Germany for many centuries was to 
direct emigration to various favorable regions 
for commercial enterprises, personal develop¬ 
ment, or religious liberty without seeking to 
profit by foreign possessions. Great Britain 
adopted a policy of colonization, directing emi¬ 
gration thither, and later sought to secure con¬ 
trol by diplomacy or war. Spain and various 
other nations sent armies abroad largely for 
conquest by the sword, though many settlements 
were made under their direction similar to those 
of Germany and England. 

A n c i e*n t Colonies. The Phoenicians, the 
Greeks, and the Romans were the principal pro¬ 
moters of colonization among the ancient nations 


33 


COLONY 


514 


COLONY 


of which we have an authentic history. The 
Phoenicians, though a small people, founded a 
majority of the most powerful colonies of an¬ 
tiquity. Isaiah called Tyre the daughter of 
Sid,on, meaning that Tyre was originally a Sido- 
nian colony. Later Tyre founded important col¬ 
onies, such as Carthage in Northern Africa and 
Cadiz in Spain. Colonies were sent from almost 
every Greek state. They settled the whole of 
West Asia Minor, the islands of the Mediterra¬ 
nean Sea, and southern Italy, and extended into 
southern France. The colonies of the Phoeni¬ 
cians and Greeks were small states with a form 
of government which was almost entirely inde- 
-pendent of the mother country, while Rome 
made her colonies subject to the parent govern¬ 
ment. The Roman colonies were of two classes, 
civil and military. Coins issued for the former 
contained a plow, while those of the latter were 
decorated with warlike designs. The Roman 
colonies extended over a vast area of Eurasia 
and Africa. Where they became sufficiently 
strong, the languages of the native races were 
modified or displaced by the Latin, the effect of 
which is seen in the modern French, Spanish, 
Italian, and Portuguese. The present languages 
of these peoples are modifications of the old 
Roman tongue and bear much similarity to the 
Roman. 

Portuguese and Spanish Colonies. The 
Portuguese rank as the first great colonizers of 
modern times. They descovered Madeira in 
1419, and shortly after followed the discovery of 
the Azores, the Cape Verde Islands, the Congo 
River, the C?pe of Good Hope, and the Malabar 
coast of India. Later they established trading 
posts at Mozambique and Sofala in Southeastern 
Africa, at Muscat and Ormuz on the Persian 
Gulf, on the western coast of India, and at Goa 
and Daman. Their colonies in Ceylon were 
established in 1505, and were followed by settle¬ 
ments in the Moluccas, Brazil, India, and other 
localities. The foreign possessions of Portugal 
now include the Cape Verde and other islands, 
and several districts in Africa and Australasia. 
The Spanish colonization policy was one of the 
most extensive in the world. Columbus sailed 
under the Spanish flag in 1492 and discovered 
the island of San Salvador. His subsequent dis¬ 
coveries and those of other Spaniards caused 
Spain to occupy all of South America, except 
Brazil. The Spaniards also occupied Central 
America, Mexico, the East Indies, the Philip¬ 
pine Islands, large portions of the territory now 
included in the United States, and many other 
regions. However, the Spanish colonies have 
dwindled down to insignificance, owing to con¬ 
tinued wars and dissensions. 


Dutch and Danish Colonies. The Dutch 
were among the greatest colonizers. In 1620 
several companies were formed to monopolize 
trade in the East Indies, at the Cape of Good 
Hope, in South America, in continental Asia, 
Australia, and many islands of the sea. Wars 
with France, Spain, and England caused a loss 
of many Dutch possessions. Their foothold in 
New York was absorbed early by the English, 
and later various other possessions passed from 
their control. The most important possessions 
now controlled by them are in the East Indies. 
Denmark has long pursued a policy of coloniza¬ 
tion. The dependencies of this nation are of 
considerable extent, but of small value. They 
include the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, 
a number of islands of the East Indies purchased 
of France in 1733, and several others colonized 
by them. 

French Colonies. France has long ranked 
as a colonial power. Citizens of France began 
colonizing in 1627 in various portions of the 
world. The most valuable parts of North 
America were once under tire dominion of the 
French, and they likewise possessed vast colo¬ 
nies in Asia and numerous island archipelagoes. 
Their northern possessions in North America 
were lost in several wars with the British, while 
the western portions were sold by Napoleon in 
1803 to the United States. The chief colonies 
of France at present include those in India, Ton- 
quin, Anam, and Cochin China in Southeastern 
Asia; Tunis, Algeria, Madagascar, Guiana, and 
various islands, the .whole constituting a large 
area of valuable regions. 

British Colonies. England began coloniza¬ 
tion in 1585 by encouraging settlements in North 
America, but made little success until 1607, when 
the first permanent settlement was made at 
Jamestown. Later, territories were acquired in 
Asia, Australia, Africa, and many islands of 
the sea. The principal possessions of the Brit¬ 
ish now include Australia, British America, 
South Africa, most of India, Belize, Guiana, 
Ceylon, New Zealand, Tasmania, and vari¬ 
ous islands in different parts of the oceans 
and seas. The British possessions and depen¬ 
dencies embrace nearly one-sixth of the land 
surface of the earth and fully one-seventh of 
mankind. 

German and Other Colonies. Germany has 
mainly directed its emigration to foreign coun¬ 
tries without attempting to secure permanent 
foothold until within recent years. Its colonies 
at the present time are of considerable extent. 
The principal German possessions include a por¬ 
tion of New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, 
Cameroon, Togoland, German East Africa, Ger- 





COLOPHON 


515 


COLORADO 


man Southwest Africa, the Caroline Islands, 
Kiauchau, in China, and a number of islands. 
Various other European powers have a foreign 
colonial policy, especially Italy and Russia. The 
latter country is operating more particularly in 
the northern and western regions of Asia, and 
is endeavoring to control the larger portion of 
that continent, making its possessions largely 
contiguous to its home central government. The 
United States entered upon a colonial policy in 
1898 by the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands. 
After the war with Spain, in 1898, Porto Rico, 
Guam, and other islands were annexed. The 
Philippine Islands are the largest colonial pos¬ 
sessions of the United States. 

The experience of past ages demonstrates 
clearly that the possession of foreign territory 
does not add to the stability of a nation. Hos¬ 
tilities generally growing out of the purchase or 
conquest of a region which is populated by an 
unfriendly people require a vast navy and a 
large colonial army even in the time of peace, 
while racial and commercial complications may 
be the causes of insurrections at any time. 
The colonial policy of Spain, though continuing 
for over 300 years, ultimately almost bankrupted 
the nation, while Great Britain, because of her 
vast colonial interests, has need for large naval 
and military forces. Aside from spreading par¬ 
ticular religious beliefs and languages, no per¬ 
manent advantages have accrued to the nations 
having colonial policies, while many have been 
materially weakened at home and even brought 
to a condition of retrogression. Colonization 
has given to Brazil the Portuguese language, 
and to all the rest of South America, Central 
America, and Mexico the Spanish, while all 
these vast regions have become Roman Catholic 
in religion. The English language has been car¬ 
ried to the United States, British America, Aus¬ 
tralia, and other regions in the same way. 

COLOPHON (kol'o-phon), one of the 
twelve Ionian cities on the coast of Asia Minor, 
located eight miles north of Ephesus, on the 
Halesus River. It was celebrated for its navy 
and cavalry, and was one of the seven cities that 
claimed to be the birthplace of Homer. 

COLOR (kul'er), that quality of bodies by 
which they present different appearances in re¬ 
spect to hue or tint to the eye. In optics, color 
is studied chiefly in connection with the solar 
spectrum, which is the spectrum of solar light. 
The white lines that reach us from the sun dis¬ 
perse or decompose into several colors when 
passed from one medium into another. The 
solar beam may be developed into seven colors 
by means of a prism. They are red, orange, yel¬ 
low, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Red, vio¬ 


let-blue, and yellow are considered fundamental 
colors. Sir Isaac Newton was the first to de¬ 
compose white light by a prism and then recom¬ 
pose it. According to his theory, bodies decom¬ 
pose light only by reflection? their colors depend¬ 
ing upon their reflecting power for the different 
simple colors. Bodies that reflect all colors in 
proportions as they exist in the spectrum are 
white, those that reflect none are black. A wide 
diversity of colors exists between these two lim¬ 
its, this being dependent upon the extent to 
which bodies absorb some colors and reflect 
others. According to this hypothesis, it is pre¬ 
sumed that bodies have no colors in themselves, 
but produce them by the kind of light which 
they reflect. When white light falls on a green 
leaf, all the colors but green are absorbed, and, 
this given off, makes the leaf appear green, A 
red cloth in the same way absorbs all colors but 
red, and therefore appears red. Thus, the dif¬ 
ferent color effects of the beam of light depend 
upon the qualities of the substances on which 
they fall. 

The rainbow is formed by drops of falling 
rain, through which light passes, and is separated 
into its prismatic colors, all the colors of the 
solar spectrum. Plant tissues are largely color¬ 
less, a silvery white, or a pale yellow. The green 
color taken on subsequently is due to the action 
of the solar light, which produces chlorophyll, 
the name applied to the green coloring matter of 
plants. The pigments or colors used by painters 
are distinguished from the colors of the solar 
spectrum. In the arts the pigments blue, red, 
and yellow are the primary hues and may be 
made to form any other colors, but they cannot 
be formed by any others. The national colors 
of the United States are blue, white, and red; 
of Germany, black, white, and red; of Russia, 
white, blue, and red; of Great Britain, red and 
blue; of Australia, red, white, and green; of 
France, blue, white, and red; of Spain, yellow 
and red; of Sweden, blue and yellow; of Den¬ 
mark, red and white; of Switzerland, red and 
white. 

COLORADO (kol-6-ra'do), a western 
State of the United States, located in the center 
of the portion of the United States lying west 
of the Mississippi River. It is bounded on the 
north by Wyoming and Nebraska, east by Ne¬ 
braska and Kansas, south by Oklahoma and New 
Mexico, and west by Utah. The State is quadri¬ 
lateral in shape and is bounded by the parallels 
37° and 41° north and the meridians 102° and 
109° west from Greenwich. It is about 370 miles 
long and 280 miles wide, and has an area of 103,- 
925 square miles. 

Description. The continental range of the 




COLORADO 


516 


COLORADO 


Rocky Mountains extends across the State from 
north to south, near its center. Pike’s Peak, 
west of Colorado Springs, is the most famous 
summit in the State, but not the highest, being 
one of many that have an elevation of 14,000 to 



1, Denver; 2, Greeley; 3, Colorado Springs; 4, Leadville; 
5, Pueblo; 6, Pike’s Peak. Chief railroads shown by dotted 
lines. 

14,500 feet. In the western section are three 
more or less prominent ranges, including the 
White River Mountains in the west, the Park 
and Saguache somewhat farther east, and the 
Front Range near the Saguache. Among the 
mountains are numerous plateaus known as 
parks, of which the surface is quite fertile and 
the climate is healthful. Two natural divisions 
characterize the general surface of the State, 
those embraced in the mountains and the plains, 
the former having an elevation of 5,000 to 14,500 
feet, while the latter is located from 4,000 to 
5,000 feet above the sea. In many places the 
scenery is beautiful and grand, especially in the 
localities known as Monument Park and the 
Garden of the Gods. 

The western part of Colorado is crossed from 
north to south by the great continental divide. 
On the eastern slope, flowing toward the Mis¬ 
sissippi, are the South Platte and Arkansas 
rivers. The Rio Grande drains the San Luis 
Valley, while the Grand flows toward the south¬ 
west. The Yampa and White are tributaries of 
the Green, which unites with the Grand in east¬ 
ern Utah and forms the Colorado River. None 
of these rivers is navigable, but they with their 
numerous branches furnish a supply of water 
for irrigation purposes. A large number of the 
streams flow through canyons which are noted 
for their grandeur, and in many places are cold 
and thermal springs with distinctive medicinal 
properties. The most noted springs are located 
at Manitou, Canon City, Idaho Springs, Glen- 
wood Springs, Hot Sulphur Springs, Steamboat 
Springs, and Pagosa Springs. 


The climate is delightful, the air is dry, and 
the sunshine is abundant. Rains fall throughout 
the warm parts of the year and snows occur in 
winter, but both are moderate in quantity. The 
altitude and dryness minimize the heat in sum¬ 
mer and the cold in winter. The perpetual 
snow line varies between 13,000 and 14,000 feet, 
except on the side of the mountains sloping to¬ 
ward the north and in deep canyons, where it is 
considerably lower. Colorado has a mean an¬ 
nual rainfall of 14.8 inches, and it is distributed 
quite generally throughout the State, though it is 
heaviest in the mountains. In summer time the 
days are frequently quite hot, but the nights 
are cool and bracing. At Denver the mean 
temperature in January is 28.2° and in July, 
71 . 8 °. 

Mining. Colorado leads in the production of 
the precious and allied metals all other states in 
the Union, producing twice as much gold and 
silver as any other State and more than one- 
fourth of the total output of the United States. 
It has extensive coal resources, both bituminous 
and anthracite, and in the output exceeds all the 
states west of Illinois and is seventh in rank 
among the coal-producing states, being surpassed 
only by Pennsylvania, Illinois, West Virginia. 
Ohio, Alabama, and Indiana, in the order named. 
It ranks second among the states in the output 
of anthracite, being exceeded only by Pennsyl¬ 
vania. The coal fields are situated on both sides 
of the Rocky Mountains, those on the western 
slope being the largest and most important in 
quantity and quality. Other minerals found ex¬ 
tensively include lead, iron, copper, zinc, gypsum, 
petroleum, onyx, and kaolin. Cripple Creek, 
Leadville, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Silverton, 
Creede, and Telluride are located in the vicinity 
of productive mining districts. 

Agriculture. Colorado was formerly regard¬ 
ed unsuitable for agriculture, owing to its aridity 
and elevation, but irrigation has been a potent 
influence in developing its resources. The rain¬ 
fall is sufficiently large in some parts of the State 
in particularly favorable seasons, especially to in¬ 
duce the vigorous growth of native grasses, and 
wherever water is available the investments in 
farming are very profitable. The main canals 
and ditches constructed for irrigation have a 
total length of about 12,000 miles and the farms 
average 384 acres, which is much larger than 
the size of the average farm in the United- 
States, due chiefly to the number of holdings 
used for stock grazing. Alfalfa is grown very 
extensively for fodder and yields from one to 
three cuttings per year. The culture of sugar 
beets has grown extensively the last decade, and 
the output is valued at about $7,500,000 annually. 







COLORADO 


517 


COLORADO 


Other crops grown extensively are cereals, 
fruits, potatoes and vegetables. 

The State is favored with the growth of many 
nutritious grasses suitable for grazing, and stock 
raising was an important industry before gen¬ 
eral farming was attempted. Large herds of 
cattle are grown for meat and dairy products, 
both of which form important items in the busi¬ 
ness enterprises. Sheep raising is possible in 
all sections, but the largest flocks are in the 
southern counties. Swine are not raised as 
extensively as in the states of the Mississippi 
Valley, owing to the fact that corn is grown 
on a comparatively smaller area, but horses and 
mules are reared in large numbers. 

Transportation and Commerce. None of the 
rivers is navigable, but the State has many lines 
of railroads, aggregating about 5,250 miles, and 
they are well distributed in all sections. The 
lines include a number of the trunk railways 
which connect the commercial centers of the 
State with the business emporiums of the Mis¬ 
sissippi Valley and the Pacific Coast, including 
many branch lines that penetrate in all direc¬ 
tions, affording unexcelled highways of com¬ 
merce. Denver is noted as a market and whole¬ 
saling and jobbing center. 

Manufacturing. The great variety of raw 
materials give Colorado advantages as a manu¬ 
facturing State. Among the leading industrial 
establishments are the iron and steel works at 
Pueblo and the foundries and machine shops at 
Denver. Coke is manufactured extensively, the 
State ranking fourth in the quantity of this 
product. A fine quality of brick clay is abundant 
in many localities, especially in the vicinity of 
Denver, where the brick plants have a large 
output. Other industrial enterprises include 
flouring and grist mills, canning factories, cream¬ 
eries and cheese factories, printing and publish¬ 
ing plants, beet sugar factories, and gold, silver, 
copper, and lead smelting works. Sawmills are 
located in many places for cutting fir, pine, and 
spruce forests, which cover a large area in the 
mountains below the snow line. 

Education. Ample provisions have been 
made for the education of the youth. The 
State has a permanent school fund obtained 
from the sale and rent of about 3,550,000 acres 
of school land, and the income is apportioned 
among the schools of the State. The Univer¬ 
sity of Colorado is located at Boulder; the State 
School of Mines, at Golden; the State Agricul¬ 
tural College, at Fort Collins; the State Normal 
School, at Greeley; the Mute and Blind Insti¬ 
tute, at Colorado Springs; and the Industrial 
School, at Golden. Many private and denomi¬ 
national schools and institutions of higher learn¬ 


ing are maintained, including Denver Univer¬ 
sity, Denver, and Colorado College, Colorado 
Springs. 

Government. The constitution was adopted 
by a vote of the people in 1876, when the State 
was admitted, but it has been amended several 
times. It requires a residence of six months as 
a prerequisite to vote and extends the right of 
suffrage to both sexes at school elections, and 
in addition provides that the Legislature may 
extend the right of suffrage to women, but such 
an act must be approved by a vote of the people. 
Executive authority is vested in the governor, 
lieutenant governor, secretary, treasurer, auditor, 
attorney-general, and superintendent of public 
instruction, each being elected for two years. 
The legislative functions are vested in the Legis¬ 
lature, which consists of the Senate and the 
House of Representatives. Senators are elected 
for four and representatives for two years. 
The aggregate membership in both houses can¬ 
not exceed 100. At present there are thirty-five 
senators and sixty-five representatives. The ju¬ 
dicial power is vested in a supreme court, the 
district and county courts, justices of the peace, 
and such other courts as may be provided by 
law. Local government is administered by coun¬ 
ties, townships, and municipalities. 

Inhabitants. Colorado has a larger popula¬ 
tion than any of the Rocky Mountain states. 
About one-fifth are of foreign birth, and fully 
forty per cent, reside in the cities with a popu¬ 
lation of over 4,000. Denver, the capital, is the 
largest city and chief commercial center. Other 
flourishing cities include Pueblo, Colorado 
Springs, Leadville, Cripple Creek, Boulder, 
Trinidad, Salida, and Rockyford. The State 
has had a steady growth in population, which, 
in 1900, was 539,700;, in 1910, 799,024. 

History. Colorado was acquired in three 
sections. About one-half was acquired from 
France by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; a 
portion of the west and north, by the Mexican 
Cession of 1848; and the remainder, by purchase 
from Texas in 1850. Coronado visited the re¬ 
gion in 1541. He is supposed to have been the 
first white man to set foot within the present 
limits of the State, which received its name 
from him. Zebulon Pike explored the region 
under the authority of the government in 1806. 
The next expedition was undertaken in 1819 by 
Stephen S. Long, and John C. Fremont began 
a series of five explorations in search of practi¬ 
cal railway routes in 1842. Immigration was 
attracted by the discovery of gold in 1858, at 
which time the parks were inhabited by the Ute 
Indians and the plains were occupied by the 
Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas, and Comanches. 


COLORADO UNIVERSITY 


518 


COLOR BLINDNESS 


In 1861 it was organized as a Territory and was 
admitted as a State in 1876, hence is popularly 
known as the Centennial State. In 1893 the 
State adopted woman suffrage at a special elec¬ 
tion by a majority of about 4,500 votes. The 
capitol building, which cost about $2,500,000, 
was completed at Denver in 1894. 

COLORADO, University of, an educational 
institution at Boulder, Colo. It was incorporated 
by the territorial Legislature in 1861, and became 
the State university by the provisions of the 
constitution of Colorado in 1876. When it was 
opened formally, in 1877, it embraced a prepara¬ 
tory department and the college proper, to which 
were added the medical school in 1883, the law 
school in 1892, and the school of applied sciences 
in 1893. At present it embraces five depart¬ 
ments, including the college of liberal arts, the 
graduate department, the school of law, the 
school of applied science, and the medical school. 
It is maintained by a direct tax upon the prop¬ 
erties of the State and is governed by a board 
of regents. The library contains about 30,000 
volumes. The faculty consists of one hundred 
professors and instructors and the average an¬ 
nual registration of students is about 1,000. 

COLORADO BEETLE, better known as 
potato bug, an American beetle first described 
by Thomas Say in 1824 from specimens found 
by him in Missouri. It was first noticed as a 
pest in the potato fields of Colorado, hence its 
name. Subsequently it moved eastward rapidly, 
and reached the Atlantic coast in 1874. It is of 
a yellowish color, with black stripes along the 
back. The young are reddish, fleshy, and soft, and 
do most of the damage to the growing plants. 


COLORADO RIVER, a river of Texas, 
rises near the southeastern boundary of New 
Mexico, and discharges into the Gulf of Mex- 



COLORADO BEETLE. 

A, Eegs; B, Larvae; C, Pupa; D, Adults; B, Wing (mag¬ 
nified); F, Leg (magnified). 


ico through Matagorda Bay. The Llano, San 
Saba, and Concho are its chief tributaries. 
Among the chief cities located on its banks are 


Austin, Bastrop, Bay City, Lagrange, and Whar¬ 
ton. It is navigable for small boats to Austin, 
a distance of about 200 miles, and the total 
length is about 900 miles. 

COLORADO RIVER, a large river of the 
United States, formed in the southeastern part 
of Utah by the junction of the Green and Grand 
rivers. It flows south and west in Utah, passes 
through the northwestern part of Arizona, and 
forms the boundary between Arizona on the east 
and Nevada and California on the west. Near 
its mouth it passes into Mexico and discharges 
into the Gulf of California. The length of the 
Colorado River proper is 900 miles, but with 
the Green, its largest confluent, it has a course 
of nearly 2,000 miles. It is remarkable for its 
great canyons, the principal one being the Grand 
Canyon. This natural phenomenon is about 300 
miles long, with perpendicular walls at some 
places fully 6,000 feet above the water. In the 
northern part of Arizona the Grand Canyon is 
five to six miles wide at the top and 6,000 feet 
deep, narrowing by successive depressions until 
the narrow and gloomy gorge in which the river 
flows is reached, where the descent is almost 
perpendicular to depths varying from 2,000 to 
3,000 feet. Among the chief tributaries are the 
San Juan in Utah, the Little Colorado and the 
Gila in Arizona, and the Virgin in Nevada. 

COLORADO SPRINGS, a city in Colo¬ 
rado, county seat of El Paso County, sixty-five 
miles south of Denver, on the Denver and-Rio 
Grande, the Santa Fe, and other railroads. It 
is the seat of Colorado College, an institution 
which carries full college courses. This insti¬ 
tution has a library of 35,000 volumes, a faculty 
of forty instructors, and about 675 students. Ten 
miles from the city is Pike’s Peak, which lifts its 
snowy summits in great beauty and may be 
reached by several railways. Manitou is a 
health resort six miles from the city, at the foot 
of Pike’s Peak, and between the two cities is 
the wonderful Garden ,of the Gods. Fine natural 
and artificial scenery make the city one of the 
most delightful in the west. It has good schools, 
a fine trade, and numerous industries. Gas and 
electric lights, pavements, waterworks, and rapid 
transit are among its improvements. It was set¬ 
tled in 1870 and incorporated in 1872. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 21,085; in 1910, 29,078. 

COLOR BLINDNESS, or Daltonism, a 
term used to describe a defect of vision, which 
is not usually accompanied by any other imper¬ 
fection of the eye. It is incurable and peculiarly 
affects, families, being transmitted from parents 
to child. The eye in a normal condition has 
three primary sensations, those of green, red, 
and violet, and color impressions are formed by 


COLOR PRINTING 


519 


COLUMBIA 


the combinations of these. Color blindness is 
due to the absence of one of the primary sensa¬ 
tions, usually the red or green, and very rarely 
the violet. About one per cent, of women and 
from three to four per cent, of men have a color 
blind vision. It is due to a defective retina or 
the admission of an insufficient amount of light. 
The latter is noticeable when examining any 
objects that are more or less colored by artificial 
light, since it is impossible to distinguish colors 
properly at night, except the shades of white 
and black. Color blindness is frequently ac¬ 
quired by the excessive use of tobacco and by 
children being confined in schoolrooms that are 
not sufficiently lighted. It may be detected by a 
selection of colored worsteds, a test devised by 
Prof. Holmgren of Upsala. In many countries 
a strict examination is required for those who 
are employed in the railway service, especially in 
the departments where color signals are used. 

COLOR PRINTING, the art of producing 
several colors in printing. The process formerly 
required as many impressions as colors desired 
in the finished product. A card or chromo in 
which ten colors were desired required passing 
through printing presses ten different times, once 
for each color to be applied. Now color print¬ 
ing is done largely by three impressions. The 
principle involved is that if a photograph be 
taken in three colors of nature—red, blue, and 
green—and plates be made from each photograph 
by.a photomechanical process, impressions of 
the plate may be taken in their appropriate col¬ 
ors, thus producing a combination which involves 
the colors of the original, even showing blend¬ 
ings much as are seen in nature. 

COLOSSEUM (kol-os-se'um), the name ap¬ 
plied to the greatest of Roman amphitheaters. 
It was built in the form of an ellipse, the length 



COLOSSEUM AT ROME. 


being 612 feet and the breadth 515 feet. It was 
begun by Vespasian and was finished by Titus 
in the year 80 a. d. The base covered five acres, 
and there was a seating capacity for about 87,000 
people. It ranked as the largest and most im¬ 
portant inclosure for the celebration of the 


national games, and its ruins are still among the 
interesting relics of antiquity. Titus dedicated 
it by games lasting a hundred days, in which 
5,000 wild animals were slain. It was sur¬ 
rounded by a row ,of pilasters, contained eighty 
openings on the ground story, over which were 
constructed three other stories, the whole rising 
to a height of 160 feet. Open galleries were 
constructed throughout the whole building, pass¬ 
ing beneath the columns. The interior space was 
covered with sawdust or sand, in which the 
games were exhibited in the presence of vast 
multitudes occupying the seats in the different 
stories, arranged in circular order. These games 
were visited by the emperor, senators, and the 
populace, forming the most interesting of public 
demonstrations. 

COLOSSUS (ko-los'sus), a term applied 
generally to statues of great size built by the 
people of antiquity. The most important statue 
of this class built by the Grecians was the 
Colossus at Rhodes, being a brass statue of 
Helios, the sun god, which came to be counted 
among the wonders of the world. It was con¬ 
structed from the spoils left by Demetrius Poli- 
orcetes when he raised the siege of Rhodes. 
The work was done under the sculptor Chares 
of Lindus, who spent twelve years in finishing 
the work, completing it in 280 b. c. An earth¬ 
quake threw it down about 224 b. c. The statue 
is said to have stood upon two moles, a leg 
being extended on each side of the harbor so 
that a vessel in full sail could enter between. 
Some writers assume its height to have been 
from 100 to 125 feet. It was in ruins for near¬ 
ly nine centuries, and when the Saracens cap¬ 
tured Rhodes they pulled it to pieces and sold 
it to a Jew. The Jew transported it to Alex¬ 
andria about 653 a. d., requiring 900 camels to 
effect the transportation. A number of modern 
memorials are known by the general name of 
Colossus from their enormous size, such as' the 
Bavaria at Munich, the Germania at Niedervald, 
on the Rhine, and the statue of Liberty Enlight¬ 
ening the World, in New York Harbor. 

COLTSFOOT (kolts'foot), a genus of 
plants native to Europe and naturalized more 
or less extensively in America. The common 
coltsfoot is a weed and is so named from the 
broad and heart-shaped leaves, which resemble 
the foot of a colt. It has yellow flowers. The 
leaves are somewhat glutinous and the lower 
side is downy. Bees seek the flowers for honey. 

COLUMBIA (ko-lum'bi-a). See District 
of Columbia. 

COLUMBIA, county seat of Boone County, 
Missouri, 114 miles northwest of Saint Louis, 
on the Wabash and the Missouri, Kansas and 



COLUMBIA 


520 


COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 


Texas railroads. It is the seat of the Missouri 
State University, Christian College, Stephens 
Baptist College for Women, and the State Col¬ 
lege of Agriculture. Besides doing a good job¬ 
bing trade, it manufactures flour, woolen goods, 
tobacco, and spirituous liquors. It has a system 
of waterworks and a monument to Thomas Jef¬ 
ferson. The first settlement in the vicinity was 
made in 1820. Population, 1910, 9,662. 

COLUMBIA, county seat of Maury County, 
Tennessee, on the Duck River, forty-five miles 
south of Nashville. It is on the Louisville and 
Nashville and other railroads, and is surrounded 
by a fertile farming country. Phosphate is pro¬ 
duced in the vicinity. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude the courthouse, Jackson College, two sem¬ 
inaries, and a United States arsenal. Flouring 
mills, grain elevators, and cotton mills are among 
its industries. The city has electric lights, 
waterworks, and a sewerage system. It was 
settled in 1811 and incorporated in 1822. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 6,052. 

COLUMBIA, a borough of Pennsylvania, in 
Lancaster County, on the Susquehanna River, 
eighty miles west of Philadelphia. It is on the 
Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia and Reading 
railroads. On the opposite side of the river 
is Wrightsville, with which it is connected by a 
bridge about a mile in length. It has a large 
trade in merchandise. The chief industries in¬ 
clude cotton, flouring, and planing mills, iron 
foundries, stove works, and shops for the pro¬ 
duction of implements, railroad iron, and steam 
engines. Among the public utilities are water¬ 
works, stone and macadam pavements, and elec¬ 
tric street railways. Columbia was founded by 
the Quakers in 1726, when it was known as 
Wright’s Ferry. Population, 1900, 12,316. 

COLUMBIA, the capital of South Carolina, 
in Richland County, on the Congaree River, 128 
miles northwest of Charleston. It is on the 
Seaboard Air Line, the Atlantic Coast Line, and 
the Southern railroads, and has transportation 
facilities by the Congaree River and the Colum¬ 
bia Canal. The site is on a beautiful plateau, 
about 200 feet above the river, and affords an 
excellent view of the surrounding country. The 
city, has broad streets, many of which are mac¬ 
adamized and paved, and the residential sec¬ 
tions are beautified by parkings and avenues of 
trees. The State capitol is a fine structure of 
granite, erected at a cost of $3,000,000. Other 
noteworthy buildings include the Federal court¬ 
house and post office, the city hall, and a num¬ 
ber of excellent public schools and churches. It 
is the seat of the South Carolina University, 
which was organized as a college in 1806 and 
changed to a university in 1880. Other insti¬ 


tutions of learning include the Ursuline Convent, 
the Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the 
Winthrop Normal College. The State Univer¬ 
sity has a library of 40,000 volumes, besides 
which other libraries are maintained. Among 
the industries are commerce and the manufac¬ 
ture of cotton goods, tobacco products, machin¬ 
ery and furniture. It has extensive systems of 
waterworks, sewerage, and electric street rail¬ 
ways. Columbia was settled in 1700 and became 
the State capital in 1786. General Sherman cap¬ 
tured it in 1865, when a large part of the city 
was destroyed by fire. Population, 1910, 26,319. 

COLUMBIAN UNIVERSITY, a coeduca¬ 
tional institution located at Washington, D. C., 
maintained by the Baptists. It was organized 
in 1821 as Columbian College, when it comprised 
courses in theology, medicine, and the classics, 
and it was reorganized under its present name 
in 1873. At present it embraces the Corcoran 
Scientific School, Columbian College, the law 
school, the medical and dental schools, the 
school of jurisprudence and diplomacy, and the 
school of graduate studies. It has a library of 
25,000 volumes, a faculty of 185 instructors, and 
an attendance of about 1,500 students. 

COLUMBIA RIVER, an important river of 
North America, rises in British Columbia, flows 
through Washington, forms the boundary be¬ 
tween Washington and Oregon, and discharges 
into the Pacific Ocean. The total length is 1,350 
miles. Its principal tributaries include the Wil¬ 
lamette, Deschutes, Snake, Spokane, and Okan¬ 
ogan rivers. More than 650 miles are navi¬ 
gable. It contains a number of magnificent falls 
and rapids, and is valuable for its abundance of 
salmon fisheries. The scenery along its lower 
course is grand and in many respects surpasses 
that of the Hudson. 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, an educa¬ 
tional institution in New York City, on Mor- 
ningside Heights. It was chartered by George 
II. as King’s College in 1754, but the name was 
changed to Columbia College after the Revolu¬ 
tionary War, in # 1784. In 1896 the name was 
changed to Columbia University, which desig¬ 
nates the entire institution, while the name Co¬ 
lumbia College is restricted to the undergradu¬ 
ate department. At present it comprises Colum¬ 
bia College, Barnard College, the school of law, 
the college of physicians and surgeons, the 
school of political science and philosophy, the 
school of applied science, the school of fine arts, 
the Teachers’ College, and the summer school. 
It has endowments of $20,000,000, an annual 
income of $880,000, a library of 350,000 vol¬ 
umes, a faculty of 575 instructors, and about 
4,525 students. About 25,500 persons have grad- 


COLUMBUS 


521 


COLUMN 


uated from its courses. Its courses are exten¬ 
sive, ranking among the most thorough in 
America. 

COLUMBUS (ko-lum'bus), county seat of 
Bartholomew County, Indiana, on the east fork 
of the White River, about forty-one miles 
southeast of Indianapolis. It is on the Penn¬ 
sylvania and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago 
and Saint Louis railroads. It is surrounded by 
an agricultural country, and has large flouring 
mills, machine shops, and implement and furni¬ 
ture factories. Among the public utilities are 
waterworks, sewerage, and electric street rail¬ 
ways. It has a brisk trade in merchandise and 
farm produce. Population, 1910, '8,813. 

COLUMBUS, a city in Georgia, county seat 
of Muscogee County, on the Chattahoochee 
River and on the Southern, the Seaboard Air 
Line, and the Central of Georgia railroads. It 
is located about 300 miles from the Gulf of 
Mexico, with which it has steam navigation con¬ 
nections. The water power of the river is 
unlimited, and is utilized largely in manufac¬ 
turing. The manufactures include hardware, 
textiles, machinery, cigars, clothing, and furni¬ 
ture. Its cotton and woolen mills are among 
the largest in the South and produce vast quan¬ 
tities of ginghams and colored goods. Besides 
an extensive public school system, the city con¬ 
tains a male academy, a female academy, and 
several public buildings and churches. The 
streets are broad and improved by pavements 
and avenues of trees. It has gas and electric 
lights, street railways, waterworks, pavements, 
sewerage, and a public library. Columbus was 
platted in 1828 and incorporated in 1829. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 17,614. 

COLUMBUS, the capital of Ohio, county 
seat of Franklin County, on the Scioto River, 
100 miles northeast of Cincinnati. It occupies a 
fine site near the geographical center of the 
State, on the Baltimore and Ohio, the Pennsyl¬ 
vania, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and 
Saint Louis, and other railroads. An extensive 
system of electric railways furnish facilities to 
reach all parts of the city and many suburban 
and interurban localities. Natural gas is utilized 
largely for manufacturing and by private fami¬ 
lies for fuel and lighting. The leading indus¬ 
tries ^include wholesaling and the’manufacture 
of carriages, machinery, implements, cigars, 
clothing, furniture, earthenware, boilers, and 
engines. It has a large trade in coal, petroleum, 
and farm produce. 

The public parks of the city cover about 200 
acres and contain many improvements and at¬ 
tractions. Among the public structures are a 
fine State capitol, the State fair grounds, the 


United States garrison, and the Ohio State 
University. The capitol building is in the Doric 
style and cost about $2,500,000. It is the seat 
of the Capital University (Lutheran), the Co¬ 
lumbus Law School, and the Columbus Art 
Institute. It has a hospital for the insane,, 
asylums for the blind, deaf, and dumb, and a 
State penitentiary. In its public places are mon¬ 
uments erected to James A. Garfield, Salmon 
P. Chase, U. S. Grant, and W. T. Sherman. 
Columbus was platted in 1812, made the capital 
of the State in 1816, and incorporated in 1834. 
Its location in the center of the State and within 
a vast field of iron, coal, petroleum, and gas 
has given it marked commercial advantages. 
Population, 1900, 125,560; in 1910, 181,548. 

COLUMBUS, county seat of Lowndes 
County, Mississippi, on the Tombigbee River, 
and on the Southern and the Mobile and Ohio 
railroads. It is surrounded by coal and iron 
fields, and has cotton mills, machine shops, 
foundries, and lumber yards. Columbus is the 
seat of several educational institutions, including 
the State Industrial Institute. It has a county 
courthouse, a public library, and waterworks. 
It was settled in 1830 and incorporated in 1832. 
Population, 1900, 6,484. 

COLUMN (kol'um), in architecture, a pillar 
or post employed for the purpose of supporting 
a weight, such as a roof or other superstruc¬ 
ture. In some classes of architecture the column 
serves chiefly as a support, but in others it is 
designed both to strengthen the building and to 
serve as an ornament. Many designs and sizes 
of columns were employed by the ancients, 
including those that may be designated as mas¬ 
sive, decorative, smooth, square, and polygonal. 
The Egyptians crowded the columns together 
with the view of giving the building a heavy and 
massive appearance, while those of the Persians 
and Greeks were quite tall and slender. A 
column consists of three parts know,n as the 
base, the shaft, and the capital. The base is' 
the portion on which it rests; the shaft is the 
central part, usually cylindrical in form; and 
the capital surmounts the shaft. Among the 
principal columns are the Doric, Ionic, Tuscan, 
Corinthian, and Composite. 

The Doric column is common among the 
ruins of ancient Greece and is thought to be 
one of the oldest classic orders. It is usually 
without a base and has a plain capital, and 
the shaft is fluted and in height is equal to 
five of its diameters. The Parthenon at Athens 
contains good examples of the Doric column. 
As classical architecture advanced, greater light¬ 
ness and elegance were obtained by diminish¬ 
ing the thickness of the shaft and increasing its 


COLUMN 


522 


COMBUSTION 


height. In this respect preference is given to 
the Ionic column, which was originated by the 
Asiatic Greeks, who made the shaft equal in 
height to eight diameters, ornamented the capi- 



IONIC ORDER. DORIC ORDER. 


tal, and constructed a substantial and decorative 
base. A good example of the Ionic style is 
represented in the Erechtheum, on the Acropolis 
at Athens. 

The Greeks originated the Corinthian style, 
which differs from the Ionic column in that 
the capital is beautifully ornamented, but it was 



COMPOSITE ORDER. 



CORINTHIAN ORDER. 


developed in its higher artistic form by the 
Romans. The latter added the Tuscan, named 
from the Etruscans, and the Composite, which 


is sometimes called the Roman or Italic order. 
In the Tuscan style the ornamentation is sim¬ 
ple, but the Composite column is rich with 
carving and sculptured decorations. The Ro¬ 
mans increased the size of the column as well 
as the material used in construction and com¬ 
bined with it the arch and the architrave. They 
not only employed the column in substantial 
and utilitarian architecture, but utilized it in 
constructing monuments to commemorate per¬ 
sons and events, such as the Column of An- 
tonine and the Column of Trajan. 

The early Christian architecture extended the 
use of the column by employing it in the interi¬ 
ors with the arch in the churches and basilicas. 
It served both for decoration and in the support 
of the roof or galleries, the latter being placed 
above the principal aisles. These columns were 
similar to the piers or pillars of more modern 
times, which divide the nave from the aisles in 
many churches. A second row of columns was 
frequently introduced to support the roof above 
the gallery, but these were usually of the lighter 
Ionic or Corinthian styles, while the lower col¬ 
umns were modeled after the Doric order. The 
column is not used extensively in modern archi¬ 
tecture, neither in constructive work or for 
decorative purposes. 

COMA (ko'ma), a morbid state which is 
regarded a symptom of apoplexy. It is attended 
by heavy, unconscious sleep, stupor, lethargy, 
slow breathing, and fevers of the typhoid type. 
Coma frequently accompanies Bright’s disease, 
alcoholic intoxication, and opium and morphine 
poisoning. It is advisable to arouse the patient, 
if possible, in cases of poisoning. 

COMANCHES (ko-man'chez), a .tribe of 
North American Indians, formerly leading a 
roving life from the regions traversed by the 
headwaters of the Brazos and the Colorado to 
those of the Missouri. The French came in 
contact with them in 1719 and the Spaniards 
afterward engaged them in fierce wars. They 
were skilled hunters and warriors. Once a 
tribe of 12,000, they have been scattered and 
number about 4,000, t*he greater portion being 
located in Oklahoma. 

COMB (kom), a thin piece of horn, metal, 
shell, or other material with one or both edges 
made into teeth, suitable for cleaning, dressing, 
or holding the hair in place. The name is also 
applied to a fleshy crest on the head of a domes¬ 
tic fowl, especially developed in the male. The 
typical form is upright and notched, reddish in 
appearance, and often double or treble. 

COMBUSTION (kom-busfchun), in chem¬ 
istry, the continuous combination of a substance 
with certain elements, as oxygen and chlorine, 



























































































COMEDY 


523 


COMET 


accompanied by light and heat. Generally, com¬ 
bustion is the action or operation of burning. 
Spontaneous combustion is caused by the inter¬ 
nal development of heat without the application 
of fire. It frequently occurs in heaps of slate 
and refuse coal, in rags, oils, moistened hay 
and straw, and in other substances closely con¬ 
fined or stored in large quantities. The alleged 
combustion of the human body caused by the 
saturation of the internal organs with alcoholic 
drinks coming in contact with coal or fire is not 
well authenticated. It is claimed by some 
writers that in advanced stages of drinking, 
besides being advanced in life, the internal 
organs burn with rapidity, after which oily sub¬ 
stances and fetid ashes remain. Most chemists 
believe the combustion of the human body in 
this way to be impossible. 

COMEDY (kom'e-dy), that branch of the 
dramatic art which represents the manners of 
common life, the object of which is to amuse by 
presenting the laughable incidents and humor¬ 
ous style. The masterpieces of French tragedy 
were first called comedies, but later the term 
became confined to the compositions which paint 
the vices and follies of mankind and describe 
ridiculous situations. Comedy is opposed to the 
tragic, serious, or ceremonial form of dramatic 
art. Among the widely known comedies of 
modern literature are the following: Gold¬ 
smith’s “She Stoops to Conquer,” Jefferson and 
Boucicault’s “Rip Van Winkle,” Lessing’s 
“Minna of Barnhelm,” Moliere’s “L’Avare,” 
Sheridan’s “The Rivals,” Sheridan’s “The 
School of Scandal,” Shakespeare’s “Comedy of 
Errors,” “Shakespeare-s “Merchant of Venice,” 
Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” 
Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” Shakespeare’s 
“Twelfth Night.” See Drama. 

COMET (kom'et), a heavenly body so 
named from the hairy appearance of its tail. 
Comets usually consist of three parts—the 
nucleus, the coma, and the tail. The nucleus is 
a bright point in the center of the head, the 
coma is the cloudlike mass surrounding the 
nucleus, and the tail is a luminous train extend¬ 
ing generally in the direction from the sun. 
Some comets have no tail, others have several, 
while some have no nucleus. Those belonging 
to the last mentioned class consist of a fleecy 
mass known to be comets from their rapid mo¬ 
tion in orbits. Comets, unlike planets, are not 
confined to the limits of the zodiac, but appear 
in every quarter of the heavens and move in 
every direction. A comet when first seen pre¬ 
sents a faint spot of light on the background of 
the sky. As it approaches the sun its brightness 
increases, and the tail begins’ to become visible. 


The greatest brightness occurs near perihelion, 
but gradually fades away as it recedes, and is 
finally lost even to the telescope. 

Comets have excited attention in every age, 
and until recently have inspired terror in the 
minds of people who were ignorant of astro¬ 
nomical phenomena. Superstitious fears at¬ 
tended their appearance, and they were looked 
upon as threatening the world with plague, fam¬ 
ine, and war. The Romans looked upon the 
comet that appeared in 43 b. c., after the assas¬ 
sination of Julius Caesar, as a celestial chariot 
conveying his soul heavenward. Josephus enu¬ 
merates among the indications of the destruction 
of Jerusalem “a star resembling a sword which 
stood above the city, and a comet that continued 
a whole year.” Aristotle thought comets were 
not higher than our atmosphere, and that they 
consist of igneous vapors. Seneca published the 
opinion that comets are a kind of planets, while 
Tycho Brahe, in 1577, demonstrated that a cer¬ 
tain comet was at a greater distance from the 
earth than the moon. The concave orbit of a 
comet was ascertained by Hevelius, in 1668, and 
the former notion that a straight line repre¬ 
sented the path was fully disproved. Sir Isaac 
Newton in 1704 proved that comets obey the law 
of gravitation and showed that they move in 
elliptic orbits. Halley demonstrated in 1682 that 
comets are periodic in their returns and that 
their approach may be foretold. He proved that 
the comet appearing in 1531 returned again in 
1607 and again in 1682, and predicted its return 
in 1759, in 1835, and at regular intervals of sev¬ 
enty-six years. This comet was named Halley's 
comet from the discoverer. 

More than 600 comets have been noticed and 
their appearance and characteristics recorded, 
but it is thought that no less than 17,500,000 
exist in connection with our solar system. Only 
a small number of this vast aggregation are 
visible to the naked eye, and a few attract obser¬ 
vation on account of their superior size and bril¬ 
liancy. They move in the solar system and 
respond to the laws of gravitation. While their 
orbits differ from those of the planets, they 
revolve round the sun. The orbit of planets is 
very nearly circular and they never depart so 
far from the sun as to be invisible to us, while 
the paths of the comets are extremely flattened 
ellipses; hence, they may be observed by us 
only through a very small part of their paths. 
Comets that travel in greatly elliptical orbits 
pass vast distances from, the sun, but return 
within a fixed time. However, some are thought 
to have a parabolic course and to pass from our 
solar system. It is probable that they never 
return. 


COMET 


524 


COMMENCEMENT 


Some writers think there are three classes of 
comets—one having an orbit in the form of an 
ellipse, while the other two pass in paths formed 
like a hyperbola and a parabola. Those having 
a highly elliptical orbit sweep very near the 
sun at perihelion and recede to great distances 
during their aphelion. Newton estimated that 
the comet of 1680 was very near the sun and 
that it had a temperature about 2,000 times that 
of red-hot iron, while the comet of 1843 was 
about 30,000 miles from the sun and passed 
around that body in two hours’ time. The 
comet of 1844 was estimated to have a distance 
of over 400,000,000,000 miles from the sun at 
aphelion. Astronomers estimated that the comet 
of 1680 moved at a rate of 277 miles per second 
in perihelion, while the velocity in aphelion was 
only six miles an hour. The density of comets 
is exceedingly small, so small that stars may 
be observed through them by means of a tele¬ 
scope. It is thought that the earth passed 
through the tail of a comet in 1861, its presence 
being indicated by a peculiar phosphorescent 
mist. While it is believed that a comet coming 



DONATl’s COMET. 


in contact with the earth would disturb or 
destroy the surface at the point of direct con¬ 
tact, it would not dangerously affect the earth’s 
orbit. 

It is not known whether comets shine by their 
own or by reflected light, but the latter seems 
to be the most reasonable, since they become 
invisible on going away from perihelion. They 
are thought to decrease in brilliancy at each 
successive revolution round the sun. At the 
first appearance no tail is visible and the light 
is faint. With the increase of velocity, as it 
approaches the sun, the brilliance increases and 
the tail shoots out from the coma and becomes 
longer and of greater splendor each day. The 
tail of the comet of 1843 increased in length 
5,000,000 miles per day. The length of the tail 


depends upon the size and velocity of the comet. 

It often reaches a length of 200,000,000 miles. 
Examination and analysis of the light of comets 
by the spectroscope have shown that these bod¬ 
ies are composed chiefly of carbon combined 
with oxygen. Few other elements have been 
found, but those known to exist in comets 
include iron, sodium, magnesium, and nitro¬ 
gen. 

Among the remarkable comets is one that 
appeared in 1811. It had a head whose diam¬ 
eter was 112,000 miles, the nucleus was 400 
miles, and the fan-shaped tail stretched out 
112,000,000 miles. Its distance at aphelion was 
estimated at 4,000,000,000 miles, fourteen times 
that of Neptune, and it is announced to return 
in thirty centuries. Halley’s comet, mentioned 
above, is one of the most remarkable and best 
known. It appeared in 1835 and has a period 
of 76.08 years. Donati’s comet was discovered 
by Dr. Donati of Florence, June 2, 1858. Its 
periodic time is about 2,000 years. Biela’s comet 
was discovered by W. Biela, a German officer 
of the Austrian army, on Feb. 28, 1826. The 
periodic time of this comet is about 138 weeks. 
It returned in 1832, in 1839, and in 1845. In 
1846 it was separated into two comets, which 
came back together in 1852. Though it has not 
been observed since, its periodic time has been 
distinguished by a more or less prominent dis¬ 
play of meteors. These displays occurred 
notably in 1867, in 1872, and several times since. 
Encke’s comet was discovered by Johann Encke, 
director of the observatory at Berlin, Germany, 
in 1819. It has a periodic time of 1,210 days, 
and an orbit which is ilearer to the sun at all 
points than that of Jupiter. Encke proved that 
this comet is identical with the one appearing 
in 1786, in 1795, and in 1805. With its appear¬ 
ance in 1822 and 1828 it was accurately exam¬ 
ined and measured, and former observations 
were verified at its reappearance in 1881. 

COMMENCEMENT (kom-mens'ment), the 
occasion on which degrees are conferred by col¬ 
leges and universities upon their graduates. 
The term is employed in the University of 
Cambridge, England, and in other institutions 
of Great Britain to designate the day when mas¬ 
ters of art and doctrines received their degrees. 
In the United States it has reference to the ele¬ 
mentary and secondary schools as well as the 
institutions ^of higher learning, and the exer¬ 
cises, usually held at the close of the school 
year, are meant to indicate the commencement 
of a fuller life after graduation. The alumni 
of many institutions hold a reunion at the time 
of the commencement, and usually the literary 
societies hold annual meetings and the presi- 



COMMERCE 


525 


COMMERCE AND LABOR 


dent of the institution receives the report for 
the past year. Members of the class deliver 
orations, those of the highest rank being 
assigned the places of salutatorian and valedic¬ 
torian, and frequently an address or oration is 
delivered by a prominent educator or public 
man. Commencement exercises may be con¬ 
sidered a potent agency in stimulating educa¬ 
tional zeal among the students and their friends, 
and in promoting a spirit of attachment among 
the graduates to their Alma Mater. 

COMMERCE (kom'mers), the exchange of 
goods or property of any kind, especially the 
exchange on a large scale between states, na¬ 
tions, and colonies. The foreign commerce of 
the United States, including exports and im¬ 
ports, is exceeded in value only by the commerce 
of Germany and Great Britain, although the 
interior commerce of the United States is 
greater than that of any other country. In fact 
the collection of raw material from the various 
portions of the United States at the points of 
manufacture or export, the distribution of man¬ 
ufactured products, and the distribution of for¬ 
eign imports give rise to a commerce exceeding 
in extent the commerce of any other two nations 
in the world. This vast commerce has resulted 
largely from the building of extensive railroads, 
canals, and other avenues of transportation. 
Incident to it are the construction of factories 
and the location of vast storehouses. The larger 
commercial centers are in the cities, where the 
principal railroads converge and the vast fac¬ 
tories and storehouses for distribution are 
located. 

The Phoenicians were the great commercial 
nation of the ancient world. Their primitive 
seat was at Sidon and their next center was at 
Tyre. The prophet Isaiah speaks of Tyre in 
these words: “The crowning city whose mer¬ 
chants are princes, whose traffickers are the 
honorable of the earth.” This was written 
about 588 b. c. Their trade was extended to all 
parts of the world which were known at that 
time. The Greeks and Romans ranked as com¬ 
mercial nations. In the Middle Ages the Vene¬ 
tians, the Hanseatic towns, and Flanders took 
the lead in commerce. With the discovery of 
America the Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch, and 
British developed vast commercial interests, 
though the Hanseatic towns in Germany 
remained important commercial centers. 

Germany and Great Britain both have a larger 
foreign commerce than any other nation of the 
world. In this respect the two countries are 
about on the same footing, sometimes one and 
then the other standing at the head, with the 
tendency of growth being in favor of Germany. 


In 1907 the commerce of the countries named 
was as shown below: 


Country 

Imports 

Exports 

Total 

Canada . 

$340,374,745 

1,064,587,361 

2,395,850,280 

2,390,680,240 

1,434,421,425 

$272,206,606 

910,650,450 

1,719,600,925 

1,690,325,840 

1,880,851,078 

$612,581,351 

1,975,237,811 

4,115,451,205 

4,081,006,080 

3,315,272,503 

France* 

Germany. 

Great Britain. 

United States. 


COMMERCE, Chamber of, a board or asso¬ 
ciation organized by the merchants and traders 
of a city to protect the interests of commerce. 
Organizations of this kind are very common in 
the cities of Canada and the United States, 
where they are maintained to further the inter¬ 
ests of trade and to build up manufacturing and 
commercial enterprises. Usually they work in 
harmony with the town or city council, and fre¬ 
quently petition the Legislature for the enact¬ 
ment of laws favorable to the extension of 
trade relations within the states and provinces, 
or among the different sections of the nation. 
These organizations have been united to a large 
extent in building up a system of international 
chambers of commerce, which is designed to 
promote trade within the country and on a lar¬ 
ger scale with foreign nations. 

COMMERCE AND LABOR, Department 
of, one of the executive departments of the 
United States. It was created by an act of Con¬ 
gress on Feb. 11, 1903, and is under the direc¬ 
tion of a secretary, who is a member of the 
Cabinet. The head of this department, like the 
other cabinet officers, is appointed by the Presi¬ 
dent, subject to confirmation by the Senate, and 
the salary is $8,000 per year. The duty devolv¬ 
ing upon this department, as set forth in an 
act of Congress, is to foster, promote, and devel¬ 
op the domestic and foreign commerce of the 
United States, manufacturing, mining, and the 
fishery industry. It is incumbent upon the 
department to promote improvement of trans¬ 
portation facilities, supervise the business of 
insurance, and develop the interests of labor. 
George Bruce Cortelyou (born 1862) was made 
the first Commissioner of Commerce and Labor, 
but he resigned in 1904 and was succeeded by 
Victor H. Metcalf (born 1853), of California. 

The Department of Commerce and Labor 
includes an effective organization of bureaus. 
These are the Bureau of Labor, Bureau of 
Corporations, Bureau of Navigation, Bureau of 
Manufactures, Bureau of Standards, Bureau of 
Foreign Commerce, Census Bureau, and Bureau 
of Statistics of the Treasury Department. With 
it are affiliated the steamboat inspection service, 
the lighthouse board, the lighthouse establish¬ 
ment, the immigration service, and the fish 











COMMERCIAL LAW 


526 


COMMON SCHOOLS 


commission. The Bureau of Corporations is 
presided over by a commissioner of corpora¬ 
tions. This officer receives a salary of $5,000 
per annum, and has partial jurisdiction of the 
investigation and control of trusts and trade 
combinations. It is his duty to investigate the 
business management of any corporation of 
joint-stock companies engaged in commercial 
pursuits, both domestic and foreign, except 
common carriers, whose business is subject to 
the interstate .commerce law. In an investiga¬ 
tion by the commissioner of corporations he 
may subpoena and compel the attendance and 
testimony of witnesses. 

COMMERCIAL LAW, or Mercantile Law, 
the branch of law which regulates the affairs 
of trade and commerce. It originated largely 
from the customs ,of merchants in the Middle 
Ages, when the peaceful arts of exchanging 
commodities began to replace the methods em¬ 
ployed by the stronger nations in conquering 
the less powerful peoples. Though the rela¬ 
tions of the citizen to his family and the state 
may differ widely under climatic and economic 
conditions, it must be admitted that some satis¬ 
factory arrangement for buying and transmit¬ 
ting commodities can be devised among the na¬ 
tions of the world. Besides, each of the nations 
has a system of commercial law which refers 
particularly to the domestic trade. It includes 
the enactments that refer to contracts, promis¬ 
sory notes, bills of exchange, deeds of trust, 
etc. 

COMMISSARY (kom'mis-sa-ry), in mili¬ 
tary, the term applied to the civil officer 
appointed to inspect the musters’ stores and pro¬ 
visions of the army. During the times of war 
a number of commissaries are appointed, each 
being charged with some specific department of 
duty. 

COMMISSION (kom-mish'un), a document 
issued by civil authority conferring designated 
rank, power, or authority on the person or per¬ 
sons therein named. The instrument bearing 
this title is issued by the government to officers 
in the navy and army, postmasters, justices of 
the peace, and other similar officials. Another 
class of commissions are those granted to a 
number of persons who are intrusted with the 
performance of certain duties of a legal or pub¬ 
lic character. 

COMMITTEE (kom-mit'te), one or more 
persons appointed or chosen by a larger num¬ 
ber, or by an organized body, to give special 
attention to some matter or to perform some 
service. In legislative bodies committees are 
appointed in special lines of legislation to exam¬ 
ine bills of a particular character and to report 


on the advisability of their passage. The whole 
body often resolves itself into a committee to 
consider any bill or matter, in which case the 
chair is occupied by some member, called the 
chairman of the committee. The Committee of 
Public Safety was made up of members of the 
French national convention during the first rev¬ 
olution. In 1792 the national convention abol¬ 
ished the monarchy and proclaimed a republic. 
The Committee of Public Safety was appointed 
on April 6, 1793, and had authority to supervise 
the work of several committees, among whom 
the executive functions of the government were 
divided. Later extended powers were vested in 
this committee and all the executive authority 
passed into its hands. The communists estab¬ 
lished a similar committee in March, 1871, but 
it fell about two months later. 

COMMODORE (kom'mo-dor), a naval offi¬ 
cer of the United States, ranking next above a 
captain. A commodore generally has command 
of a few ships of war when they are detached 
for any purpose from the rest of the fleet. 

COMMON LAW, the law of England which 
rests for its authority upon usage and universal 
acceptance, rather than upon any express and 
positive declaration of a legislative body. Black- 
stone classified the civil law of England under 
two divisions, the statute law and the commbn 
law, and defined the latter as a system of laws 
which consist of general customs and are 
accepted by particular courts. The common law 
is overruled by a statute law, but has prece¬ 
dence in cases in which equity is opposed to it. 
The State courts of the United States as well 
as the courts of the provinces of Canada rely 
upon the English common law, which consti¬ 
tutes the basis of the jurisprudence of these 
countries. However, Louisiana is an exception 
to this rule, since the laws in that State are 
based quite largely upon the jurisprudence of 
France. 

COMMONS, the term applied to the common 
people as distinguished from the nobility. In 
England the term includes all the people below 
the peers, comprising the class represented in 
the lower house of Parliament, the House of 
Commons. The term is applied in the same 
way to the Parliament of Canada. 

COMMON SCHOOLS, the term usually 
applied to the public schools below the high 
school, although the educational system of the 
cities includes schools of several grades, such as 
primary, grammar, high, and manual training 
schools. Those located in the rural district 
are called district schools, being under the super¬ 
vision and control of the officers of the school 
district, and those situated in the wards of a 


COMMONWEALTH 


527 


COMO 


city are sometimes called ward schools. The 
schools of most countries are not organized and 
maintained under a national law, but are usu¬ 
ally supported and controlled by the states or 
provinces, or are dependent largely upon local 
taxation. The courses of study in the common 
schools cover eight grades, or years, and outline 
the study in the common branches, which 
include chiefly reading, writing, spelling, arith¬ 
metic, geography, history, physiology, and gram¬ 
mar. In some of the states and provinces a 
number of other branches are included, such as 
music, algebra, drawing,-botany, and civil gov¬ 
ernment. These are supplemented in the high 
schools by courses covering four years of more 
advanced work. See Education; Schools. 

COMMONWEALTH (kom'mun-welth), a 
state in which the government is vested in the 
people, as in a representative republic. The 
term was applied to England after the execu¬ 
tion of Charles I., Jan. 30, 1649, soon after 
which Oliver Cromwell became protector. It 
ended with the restoration to the throne of 
Charles II., on May 29, 1660. > 

COMMUNE (kom-mun'), the smallest terri¬ 
torial and administrative division of France and 
Belgium. It is the unit for local self-govern¬ 
ment and is regarded a legal body, hence may 
sue and be sued, contract debts, and buy and sell 
property. The chief officer, called the mayor, 
is assisted by a deliberative assembly known as 
the conseil municipal. Communes usually em¬ 
brace several villages, but sometimes coextend 
with a town or city, or several communes are 
located within the same city. Those having a 
population of more than 3,000 are more largely 
under the direction of the central government, 
by which the mayor is appointed, while the 
chief officer in the smaller communes is ap¬ 
pointed by the prefect of the department. 

COMMUNE OF PARIS, a revolutionary 
committee organized in Paris in the French rev¬ 
olution of 1789, which soon absorbed the 
supreme authority in the government. The 
leading characters included Danton, Marat, and 
Robespierre. Of this triumvirate Marat was 
assassinated July 13, 1793, Danton was guillo¬ 
tined on June 5, 1794, and Robespierre met the 
same fate on July 28, after being captured at 
the headquarters of the commune at the Hotel 
de Ville. The same name was applied to an 
insurrection in Paris which occurred on March 
18, 1871. The organization was formed to carry 
out the traditions of the old revolutionary com¬ 
mune, and was proclaimed, on the 28th. This 
occurred after a siege by the Germans, when 
the people gave evidence of much discontent 
with the government. Among the notable deeds 


were the burning of the Tuileries and the 
Hotel de Ville, the -destruction of the Column 
Vendome, and the defacement of many notable 
buildings of historic interest. For ten weeks 
the most bloody and desperate fighting contin¬ 
ued, and during the last ten days of May fully 
65,000 communists were killed. On May 28, 
1871, Paris was taken by storm and the Com¬ 
mune fell, many of the leaders being either exe¬ 
cuted or transported. 

COMMUNISM (kom'mu-mz’m), the theory 
of government and social order according to 
which property is held as a common trust, and 
the profits derived from all labors are devoted 
for the general good. This theory involves the 
abolition of all private property and the trans¬ 
fer of everything possessed by individuals to 
the state, which is then charged with the task of 
assigning work to each of the citizens and divid¬ 
ing the profits among them. There are several 
communistic bodies in the United States. A 
number of them are religious organizations, such 
as the Shakers, Altruists, Church Triumphant, 
Bruderhof, Mennonites, and Separatists. Be¬ 
sides these are societies known as the Amana 
Community, the Harmonists of Harmony, Pa., 
and the Oneida Community of New York. A 
certain form of cummunism was advocated by 
Robert D. Owen in his publication of “New 
View of Society’’ in 1833, in Great Britain. 
He attempted- to found a society on the new 
plan, without government assistance, on the 
banks of the Wabash in 1825, but was unsuc¬ 
cessful. The most prominent communistic lead¬ 
ers in France included Saint Simon, Proudhon, 
and Fourier, who operated as communists; in 
Russia they are known as nihilists, and in Ger¬ 
many as socialists. The Amana Community, 
located in Iowa, has been quite successful, but 
many of the communities have not realized the 
hopes of their organizers. See Brook Farm. 

COMMUTE (kom-mut'), to pay in gross 
less than would be paid for each separate item 
combined, or accept an easier, lighter, or differ¬ 
ent kind of payment, obligation, or service 
instead of one formerly understood. The term 
is applied in judicial proceedings to an altera¬ 
tion or reduction of a sentence, as the commu¬ 
tation of the death penalty to imprisonment for 
life. 

COMO (ko'mo), a lake in Lombardy, north¬ 
ern Italy, located at the foot of the Alps, and 
formed mainly by the Adda River, which enters 
it at the north and flows from it at the south¬ 
eastern extremity. The lake is about two and 
one-half miles wide and about thirty-five miles 
long. Its excellent climate and beautiful scenery 
have made it the most celebrated pleasure resort 


COMO 


528 


COMPASS 


in Italy, and caused its shores to be studded 
with fine villas, vineyards, and gardens. It 
was once the residence of Queen Caroline. 
Trout and other valuable fish abound. The lake 
is visited by large delegations of pleasure 
seekers. 

COMO, a city of Italy, in the province of 
Como, twenty-five miles northwest of Milan, 
with which it is connected by a railroad. It is 
situated at the southwestern end of Lake Como 
and is surrounded by a picturesque country. It 
has a fine gothic cathedral of the 14th century. 
Among the chief manufactures are silks, woolen 
textiles, velvet, cigars, and machinery. It has 
a brisk trade in merchandise, fruit, and earthen¬ 
ware. The public utilities include a museum, a 
public library, waterworks, and electric street 
railways. Como is the birthplace of Volta, In¬ 
nocent XI., and Pliny the Elder and the 
Younger. It was anciently known as Comum. 
Population, 1906, 39,125. 

COMORO ISLANDS (kom'6-ro), or 
Comores, a group of volcanic islands in the 
Mozambique Channel, between Africa and the 
northern extremity of Madagascar. The islands 
include Mohilla, Comoro, Johanna, Mayotta, 
and a number of smaller islets. The total area 
is 790 square miles. They have a fertile soil, 
though they are of volcanic origin, and produce 
fruits, sugar cane, and rice. These islands were 
ceded to France in 1886 and are governed as a 
dependency of Reunion. The inhabitants are 
chiefly of Arabic and Negro descent and profess 
Mohammedanism. Population, 1906, 75,500. 

COMPANY (kum'pa-ny)yin business, a num¬ 
ber of persons associated for carrying on any 
business, or for the performance of any duty. 
The shareholders divide the profits among them¬ 
selves in proportion to the amount of capital 
invested. The term is applied in infantry to 
the smallest command of a captain. In the 
United States the full strength of a company is 
one hundred men. 

COMPARISON (kom-par'i-sun), the act of 
setting forth the points of similarity or contrast 
between one thing or person and another. . In 
grammar comparison is that inflection of adjec¬ 
tives or adverbs which indicates difference in 
the degree of quality. The three degrees of 
comparison are positive, comparative, and super¬ 
lative. The last two are usually expressed by 
adding er or est to the positive, or by using 
more or most, less or least, before it. Great, 
greater, greatest; truthful, less truthful, least 
truthful are examples of comparison. 

COMPASS (kum'pas), an instrument for 
determining direction by means of a poised mag¬ 
netic needle. In surveying, such an instrument 


is used for measuring horizontal angles. It 
consists of a rotating telescope, mounted above 
a card showing the cardinal and other points. 
In electricity, an instrument known as a com¬ 
pass is employed for measuring the intensity of 
a voltaic current, in which a small needle is 
placed. The intensity of a current is measured 
from its proportion to the angle of deflection. 
This deflection is ascertained by the instrument, 
after which its corresponding value is obtained 
from a table of tangents. 



mariner’s compass. 


In nautics the mariners compass is used to 
determine the course of a ship. It is usually 
inclosed in a box and this is again placed in a 
larger one, called a binnacle, and located in the 
back part of the vessel. The essential part of 
the mariner’s compass is the magnetized needle. 
This is fastened to the lower part of the card, 
which is made of a leaf of mica, an ordinary 
cardboard, or some similar substance. The 
arrangements are so constructed that the card 
revolves with the needle. On it the four cardi¬ 
nal points, north, east, south, and west, are 
marked and some smaller divisions are indi¬ 
cated so as to constitute thirty-two in all, each 
one having a name compounded from the car¬ 
dinal points. The compass is supported on 
gimbals to keep it in a horizontal position, not¬ 
withstanding the moving and rocking of the 
ship. In large iron or steel vessels a notable 
deviation of the north and south line from the 
magnetic meridian is ordinarily noticed, which 
is due to the permanent magnetism of such ves¬ 
sels. To overcome this a permanent steel mag¬ 
net is placed in the vicinity of the compass, by 









COMPASS PLANT 


529 


COMPROMISE 


means of which an opposite attraction to that 
due to the ship is exerted with equal force. 
The helmsman carefully observes the move¬ 
ment of the compass when steering the ship so 
as to move forward in a continuous and proper 
course. 

It is believed that the Chinese were the earli¬ 
est inventors of the mariner’s compass, using it 
first on land and afterward to guide ships on 
the sea, but the name of its inventor is not 
known. It was brought to Europe by Marco 
Polo, a Venetian traveler, in 1260. The Swedes 
knew of the compass in 1250, in the time of 
King Jarl Biger. The variations at different 
degrees of longitude were first discovered by 
Columbus in 1492, and rediscovered by Sebas¬ 
tian Cabot in 1540. The hanging compass now 
used was invented in 1608. 

COMPASS PLANT, an annual plant of the 
Compositae order, native to the prairies of the 
Mississippi Valley. It was so named from its 
radical leaves, which are sensitive to the light 
and in midsummer point quite nearly to the 
north and south. Asa Gray, the noted botanist, 
attributed this property to the fact that both 
surfaces of the leaves are equally affected by 
the light, hence their edges are turned verti¬ 
cally and their tips assume a north and south 
position so as to receive an equal amount of 
illumination on both sides. The stems contain 
a large per cent, of resinous matter, hence the 
plant is known locally as resin weed. 

COMPOSITAE (kom-poz'i-te), an order of 
plants, distinguished by compound or compos¬ 
ite flowers. The order is given various des¬ 
ignations by writers, such as aster family, com¬ 
posite family, sunflower family, and thistle 
and chicory families. About 12,000 species of 
this order have been described, hence it is the 
largest family of plants that bear flowers. The 
heads of flowers are composed of a number of 
florets congregated upon a common receptacle, 
which is surrounded by bracts in the form of 
leafy or scaly involucres, giving the appearance 
of a single flower. In many species the florets 
are so uniformly arranged that it is common to 
speak of the aggregation as a flower, instead 
of referring to the individuals that make up the 
head as separate and distinct blossoms. How¬ 
ever, in some species the florets differ materially 
in shape, size, and color, and those near the 
outside are frequently imperfect and sterile. In 
the typical flower the stamens are five in num¬ 
ber and are united together by their anthers, 
and the ovary has one cell and one ovule. The 
corolla is above the ovary, and is either tubular 
or strap-shaped, both forms frequently occur¬ 
ring in the same plant. Many species of this 


order are cultivated for ornaments, such as the 
aster, daisy, goldenrod, dahlia, and chrysanthe¬ 
mum. Others are important for their medicinal 
value and for food, including the sunflower, 
chicory, tansy, salsify, lettuce, dandelion, cham¬ 
omile, arnica, wormwood, artichoke, etc. 

COMPRESSED AIR (kom-prest'), the 
name applied to atmospheric air compressed by 
means of pumps and utilized to propel machin¬ 
ery by the general force of expansion. It is 
used for propelling engines constructed quite 
like steam engines; the force of the expanding 
air being exerted against a piston in a cylinder. 
It has been made serviceable in water pumps, 
in elevators, facing machines, hydraulic presses, 
motors, railroad engines, brakes, hydropneu¬ 
matic hoists, for ventilation, and various other 
purposes. In compressing air sufficiently to 
force a hundred cubic feet to occupy one cubic 
foot, it becomes very hot and loses some of its 
force in cooling. However, it serves a useful 
purpose in many respects,^ especially in rock 
drills, mining machinery, and various other pur¬ 
poses in the industries. The first attempt to 
utilize compressed air was made in 1700, since 
which time many improved machines have been 
invented and its use has been vastly extended. 
See Air Compressor. 

COMPROMISE (kom'pro-mlz), an agree¬ 
ment entered into between two parties to refer 
a matter in dispute to arbitration, and to abide 
by the decision of the arbitrator. In recent 
years compromises have been the means utilized 
extensively to settle various disputes between 
nations, such as the boundary dispute between 
the United States and Canada and that of Vene¬ 
zuela and British Guiana. See Ashburton 
Treaty. 

COMPROMISE OF 1833, a tariff measure 
passed by the Congress of the United States 
in 1833, as a compromise for the high tariff 
act of 1828. The latter had caused intense dis¬ 
satisfaction in the Southern States, and its strict 
enforcement brought about the nullification by 
South Carolina and a threat that the State 
would secede from the Union. Henry Clay pro¬ 
posed a compromise in the Senate, but the 
House took up the issue and passed a bill which 
became a law, though it was practically the 
same as that introduced by Clay in the Senate. 
It was designed to reduce the high duties grad¬ 
ually, until after ten years a free trade basis 
should be reached. 

COMPROMISE OF 1850, a name given to 
a series of measures passed by the Congress of 
the United States in 1850, designed as a com¬ 
promise between the antislavery and proslavery 
parties. Clay’s Omnibus Bill was proposed and 


34 



COMSTOCK LODE 


530 


CONCLAVE 


defeated a short time before and the two were 
practically identical. The compromise provided 
that Texas was to receive $10,000,000 for New 
Mexico; California was admitted into the 
Union under a free constitution; Utah and New 
Mexico were organized as territories, with the 
power to adopt or reject slavery; the Fugitive 
Slave law was enacted, under which fugitive 
slaves were returned when their owners made 
certain affidavits; and redress to free colored 
seamen imprisoned in Southern ports was pro¬ 
hibited. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John 
C. Calhoun made celebrated speeches upon the 
various compromise^. The measures thus en¬ 
acted after much controversy were rendered 
futile when Stephen A. Douglas introduced his 
Kansas and Nebraska Bill, in 1854, when the 
whole controversy was opened anew in Con¬ 
gress and on the plains of Kansas. 

COMSTOCK LODE (kum'stok), an 
extremely rich metallic vein on the eastern 
slope of the Virginia Mountains, in the western 
part of Nevada. In this large and productive 
vein the Big Bonanza and other mines have pro¬ 
duced gold and silver to the value of $350,- 
000,000. It was discovered in 1859. The depth 
of the mines is about 2,250 feet. 

CONCENTRATION (kon-sen-tra'shun), in 
pedagogy, the connection between the parts of 
each study and such a spinning of relations and 
connecting links between different sciences that 
unity may spring out of the variety of knowl¬ 
edge. Herbart was the first educator to make 
use of the term, and it is now employed quite 
generally by the Herbartians. The theory of 
concentration makes the child’s mind the center 
for concentrating efforts in education, and uti¬ 
lizes the natural tendency of the mind to unify 
all its ideas, feelings, and incentives. Conse¬ 
quently concentration is concerned chiefly with 
the relation of different studies td each other. 

CONCEPCION (kon-sep'shun), a seaport 
city of Chile, capital of a province of the same 
name, on the Biobio River, about seven miles 
from its mouth. It is a well built city and has 
a number of public buildings and a cathedral. 
Many of the streets are payed with stone, 
lighted by electricity, and traversed by electric 
railways. Its port is Talcahuano on the Bay of 
Concepcion, about eight miles distant, and one 
of the most important in Chile. The city was 
founded in 1550 by Pedro de Valdivia (1510- 
1554). It suffered at various times by attacks 
of the Araucanian Indians and has been dam¬ 
aged frequently by earthquakes. Population, 
1906, 61,786. 

CONCEPTION (kon-sep'shun), the forma¬ 
tion of an idea or image in the mind. It con¬ 


sists of a conscious act of the understanding, 
bringing an object or impression into the same 
class with a number of other objects or impres¬ 
sions, by means of some character or charac¬ 
ters common to them all. Perception, by which 
individual ideas are acquired through the senses, 
is the first step in forming ideas or concepts. 
The power of conception depends largely upon 
the ability of the mind to separate ideas and 
classify them according to qualities, and then 
group them into a class. To cultivate this fac¬ 
ulty it is necessary that the mind receive clear 
and definite ideas of objects and their proper¬ 
ties, that they be deeply impressed so they may 
be permanently retained and readily recalled, 
and that they be associated according to their 
intrinsic or logical relations. Conceptions of 
the highest order can be obtained only by a 
close and accurate observation of the objects 
from which they are derived. When training 
the perception, the instructor is at the same time 
training the conception, but the latter process is 
relatively more important than the former. In 
forming conceptions the mind is greatly influ¬ 
enced by its feeling, and the concepts formed 
under circumstances causing deep emotion, 
either of pain or pleasure, remain almost indel¬ 
ibly. 

CONCERTINA (kon-ser-te'na), a musical 
instrument in which the sounds are produced by 
admitting air through metallic reeds, as in the 
accordion. It was invented by Charles Wheat¬ 
stone in 1829. The form is hexagonal and at 
each end is a keyboard, which is worked by the 
finger while drawing out and pressing the bel¬ 
lows to obtain a pressure of air, which works 
on the reeds as the keys are pressed. Every 
sound in the scale is double and can be pro¬ 
duced by pulling or pressing the bellows. 

CONCH (konk), a name applied to many 
marine univalve mollusks, especially to the rose- 
lined stromb of Florida and the West Indies. 
Large quantities of these mollusks are obtained 
in the Bahama Islands, where they are gath¬ 
ered and exported for cutting shell cameos. The 
fleshy parts are prized as food by the natives 
and the Indians use the shells in making white 
wampum. The triton of the East Indies has a 
large spiral shell that is known as conch, and, 
like that of the stromb, may be perforated and 
fitted with a mouthpiece and finger holes and 
used as a sonorous musical instrument. 

CONCHOLOGY (kon-kol'o-jy), the science 
of shells. See Shells. 

CONCLAVE (kon'klav), the apartments 
where the cardinals of the Roman Catholic 
Church assemble for the election of the Pope, or 
the assembly of cardinals convened for that pur- 


CONCORD 


531 


CONCRETE 


pose. The cardinals are permitted to appoint 
the place for the election, but the conclave is 
usually held in the Vatican or the Quirinal 
palace at Rome. They assemble on the tenth 
day after the death of the Pope, the meeting 
being in a large hall connected with small rooms, 
two of which are assigned to an ordinary car¬ 
dinal and three to one of princely rank. The 
deliberations are held in privacy and all of the 
members of the conclave are locked in and at¬ 
tended by two or three conclavists or attend¬ 
ants. No communication is allowed with any 
one on the outside, and the food is carefully in¬ 
spected so no concealed missive may reach the 
conclave. The vote is by ballot taken twice a 
day until it is possible to secure an election, for 
which a two-thirds vote is necessary. 

CONCORD (kon'kerd), a town of Middle¬ 
sex County, Massachusetts, on the Concord 
River, and on the Boston and Maine Railroad. 
It is the seat of the Massachusetts Reformatory, 
has a public library, and is a market for fruit 
and produce. The manufactures include harness, 
clothing, and rubber goods. At the bridge across 
the river the first shots of the American revolu¬ 
tion were fired on April 19, 1775. A monument 
marks the spot where several British soldiers 
fell. The Battle of Lexington commenced at 
Concord, the Americans pursuing the British, 
who were on a rapid retreat. At that time the 
population of Concord was 1,300, and it sent 174 
men to the army in 1775. The soldiers’ pay was 
raised by the town. Among the persons of lit¬ 
erary eminence who made their home at Con¬ 
cord are Alcott, Hawthorne, Emerson, and 
Thoreau. The town was founded in 1635. Popu¬ 
lation, 1905, 5,421. 

CONCORD, the capital of New Hampshire, 
in Merrimac County, on the Merrimac River, 58 
miles northwest of Boston. It is on the Boston 
and Maine Railroad and several electric inter- 
urban lines. The river divides the city into 
two parts, which are connected by a large num¬ 
ber of bridges. The streets are well paved, 
lighted, and otherwise improved. It has street 
railways, waterworks, and a sewer system. 
Among the educational institutions are the high 
school and the Saint Paul’s School. The city 
has a public library of 15,000 volumes. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are a State insane asy¬ 
lum, the city hall, two orphanages, a home for 
the aged, the State prison, and a beautiful State 
house built of granite. The manufactures include 
hardware, carriages, woolen and cotton fabrics, 
cutlery, flour, shoes, and musical instruments. 
Near it are some of the most valuable granite 
quarries of the East. It as first settled in 1725, 
when it was known as Pennock. In 1816 it be¬ 


came the State capital and was incorporated as 
a city in 1853. Population, 1900, 19,632. 

CONCORD, a city in North Carolina, county 
seat of Cabarrus County, twenty miles northeast 
of Charlotte, on the Southern Railroad. It has 
a public library, several county buildings, and a 
number of educational institutions. The manu¬ 
factures include cotton goods, ironware, cigars, 
and machinery. The city has good municipal 
improvements. It was settled at an early date 
in the Colonial period and was incorporated in 
1793. Population, 1900, 7,910. 

CONCORDANCE (kon-kord'ans), an index 
in alphabetical order to the words or topics of 
a book, especially such an index to the Bible. 
The first known concordance of the Bible in any 
language was that prepared by Saint Anthony 
(1195-1231), who issued such a work in the 
early part of the 13th century under the title 
of “Concordantiae Morales in Sacra Biblia.” 
This work is a concordance of the Latin Vul¬ 
gate. A more elaborate edition was prepared, 
using Saint Anthony’s as a basis, and published 
in 1244. Since then various concordances have 
been published in the Greek, English, German, 
and other languages. The same name is applied 
to a work designed to facilitate reference to 
other works, such as were published to Shake¬ 
speare in 1790, Milton in 1856, and Tennyson in 
1870. 

CONCORDAT (kon-kor'dat), any public act 
of agreement, as a treaty. The term is applied 
most frequently in papal history to an agree¬ 
ment between a papal see and a secular power 
for the settlement and regulation of the ecclesi¬ 
astical affairs. Among the most prominent con¬ 
cordats are those concluded between Pope Calix- 
tus II. and Emperor Henry V. of Germany, in 
1122, which still regulates, to a limited extent, 
the affairs of the Catholic Church of Germany. 
A concordat was effected between Pope Leo X. 
and Francis I. of France in 1516, by which the 
election of the bishop and of several sees was 
regulated. The concordat between Pius IX. and 
Emperor Francis Joseph 1 1. of Austria, in 1855, 
made provisions whereby the legal powers of the 
papacy were defined in application to the empire. 
It was set aside in all the dominions of the Em¬ 
peror of Austria in 1868. Many other concor¬ 
dats were made with different countries. 

CONCRETE (kon'kret), in arithmetic, a 
term used to designate a number or quantity 
applied to certain persons or things as op¬ 
posed to an abstract number. Thus, the expres¬ 
sions five men or eight bushels are concrete 
numbers; five and eight are abstract. In logic, 
the name concrete is applied to any quality which 
is considered in connection with the object to 


CONCRETE 


532 


CONDOR 


which it belongs. Thus, wisdom, when spoken 
of alone, is abstract, but when we speak of a 
wise man the quality is concrete. 

CONCRETE, an artificial stone composed of 
a mixture of gravel or broken stone, sand, and 
hydraulic cement. The proportions of material 
depend upon the purpose for which concrete is 
to be used. In most engineering works one part 
consists of cement, one to three parts of sand, 
and four to six parts of gravel, broken stone, 
pebbles, shells, or some other hard material. 
The value of concrete in construction work con¬ 
sists in its property of changing from a plastic 
condition into a hard and rigid stone, due to the 
fact that the cement paste sets and hardens with 
age. It is estimated that concrete composed of 
two parts sand, one part cement, and six parts 
broken stone at the age of one year has a com¬ 
pressive strength of from one to two tons per 
square foot. 

Within recent years concrete has become ex¬ 
ceptionally popular as building material. This is 
true in all construction work, such as bridges, 
dams, foundations, and even large dwellings. 
For the last-mentioned purpose hollow concrete 
building blocks have come into extensive use. A 
fine example of the value of concrete is seen in 
the great sea wall at Galveston, Tex., which is 
about five miles in length and seventeen feet 
high, and supplies a safe and efficient protection 
of the city from overflows of the sea. This sea 
wall was constructed at an outlay of $3,505,040. 
Concrete has also come into use in the construc¬ 
tion of lighthouses and to reenforce break¬ 
waters. An example of the former is in the 
lighthouse recently completed at the mouth of 
the Boug River, flowing into the Black Sea. 

Prof. I. O. Baker summarizes the use of con¬ 
crete in “A Treatise on Masonry Construction,” 
as follows: “Concrete is admirably adapted to 
a variety of most important uses. For founda¬ 
tions in damp and yielding soils, and for sub¬ 
terranean and submarine masonry, under almost 
every combination of circumstances likely to be 
met with in practice, it is superior to brick 
masonry in strength, hardness, and durability; 
it is more economical, and in some cases is a 
' safe substitute for the best natural stone, while 
it is almost always preferable to the poorer 
varieties. For submarine masonry, concrete pos¬ 
sesses the advantage that it can be laid, under 
certain precautions, without exhausting the 
water, and without the use of a diving bell or 
submarine armor. On account of its continuity 
and impermeability to water, it is an excellent 
material to form a substratum in soils infested 
with springs ; for sewers and conduits; for base¬ 
ment and sustaining walls; for columns, piers. 


and abutments; for the pointing and backing 
of walls faced with brick, rubble, or ashlar 
work; for pavements in areas, basements, side¬ 
walks, and cellars; for the walls and floors of 
cisterns, vaults, etc. Groined and vaulted arches, 
and even, entire bridges, dwelling houses, and 
factories in single monolithic masses, with suit¬ 
able ornamentation, have been constructed of 
this material alone.” 

CONDENSED MILK (kon-denst), an 
important article of commerce made of cow’s or 
goat’s milk. The milk is placed in vacuum pans 
and evaporated to about one-fourth of its vol¬ 
ume. Sugar is added to the amount of about 
one pound to the quart of condensed milk. The 
manufacture of this article is enlarging contin¬ 
ually. See Milk. 

CONDIMENT (kon'di-ment), any season¬ 
ing or sauce used to excite the appetite by com¬ 
municating a pungent taste to food with which 
it is mixed. Many condiments assist in diges¬ 
tion," and, by tempting the palate, stimulate the 
appetite and increase the amount of food con¬ 
sumed. Among the most common are salt, pep¬ 
per, mustard, nutmegs, vinegar, cloves, horse¬ 
radish, and pickles. It is necessary to exercise 
moderation in using condiments, as an over con¬ 
sumption is injurious to digestion. 

CONDOR (kon'dor), the largest vulture of 
South America, native principally to the Andean 
regions of Chile, Peru, and Colombia. The 
favorite haunts of this bird are elevations in 
the mountains, usually from 4,000 to 16,000 feet, 
but at times it soars to the tremendous elevation 
of 21,000 feet above the level of the sea. It 
floats with outstretched and motionless wings 
in airy circles. The size is about nine feet 
measured from wing to wing and four feet 
from the beak to the end of the tail. Humboldt 
found none exceeding this measurement, though 
rare specimens have been found that measure 
eleven feet from wing to wing, and in one in¬ 
stance a condor was captured which measured 
as much as fourteen feet. The head and neck 
are bare, the former being flattened at the top 
and crowned with a comb on the head of the 
male. The plumage is usually a deep black with 
a tinge of gray. The wing coverts in the males 
are white, and the legs are bluish gray. The 
powerful talons are large, but quite smooth and 
blunt. 

These birds make no nest, but instead lay 
their eggs on the bare rocks, usually two in 
number, which are hatched after seven weeks 
by the warmth of the sun. The young are cov¬ 
ered with down of a whitish color, reaching 
maturity at two years, and accompanying their 
parents for some time after being able to fly. 


CONE, 


533 


CONFEDERATE STATES 


The mountain heights are their favorite abode, 
to which they return after descending into 
the valleys and plains for food. Their food 
consists of carrion, but in the absence of an 
abundance they attack sheep, deer, goats, and 
other small animals. Their mode of attack is to 
dart against the eyes of their prey and seek to 
inflict mortal wounds by means of the beak. 
When opportunity occurs they gorge themselves 



CONDOR. 


with carrion and are then easily caught by the 
Indians and hunters. The king vulture is closely 
allied to the condor and is found in the warmer 
parts of America. This bird has a reddish 
plumage above and white beneath, with a bluish- 
gray ruff and a black tail. It attains to about 
the size of a goose. The condor and birds of 
this genus have n,o voice; the only sound given 
out is a sort of snorting. 

CONE, a solid figure that tapers uniformly 
from a circular base to a point. It is a right 
cone when the point lies in the perpendicular 
from the center of the base, other wise it is an 
oblique cone. Cones are similar when their axes 
and the diameter of their bases are proportional. 
In botany the cone is a kind of collective fruit 
shaped like a mathematical cone. The fruit of 
the Scotch fir is a cone. 

CONEMAUGH FLOOD (kon'e-ma), the 
name of a flood occurring in Johnstown, Penn., 
on May 31, 1880. A dam was located across the 


South Fork creek, ten miles above Johnstown, a 
little above its junction with the Conemaugh 
River, by means of which the water formed an 
immense reservoir. The artificial lake was 
stocked with fish, and its vicinity served as a 
pleasure and resort district for the people, most 
of whom were residents of Pittsburg. Heavy 
rain preceding the flood tended to weaken the 
dam and it broke on the afternoon of May 31, 
sweeping everything before it. The loss of life 
was 2,500; fully 99 entire families were lost. 
This loss was partly by drowning and partly by 
burning those who had been blocked in by the 
timbers, which had caught fire from an over¬ 
turned stove. The villages below the lake had 
a total population of about 45,000, and more or 
less damage was done to them by the great 
water wave passing down the valley. 

CONEY ISLAND (ko'ni), an island in New 
York, on the southern shore of Long Island, 
from which it is separated by a narrow tidal 
inlet. It is from a few hundred feet to nearly 
a mile wide and has a length from east to west 
of about five miles. Formerly it was nothing 
more than an entire sand waste. In 1874 a line 
of improvements was begun that transformed the 
district into a highly valuable region. It is 
lined with handsome summer hotels and concert 
and bathing houses, and is crowded with visitors 
the entire summer season. Manhattan Beach is 
located at the east end, constituting the portion 
patronized by the wealthier classes, and is im¬ 
proved by magnificent and expensive hotels and 
other edifices. Music halls, galleries, and con¬ 
cert pavilions furnish ample accommodation in 
the way of amusement and entertainment. Sev¬ 
eral steamboat companies carry passengers at 
regular intervals and land at tubular iron piers 
a thousand feet long. The island is joined by 
several railroad lines to New York City, and 
elevated and surface railways carry the pleasure 
se.ekers to different portions of the island. It 
was annexed to Brooklyn in 1894 and is now a 
part of New York City. 

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMER¬ 
ICA (kon-fed'er-at), the name applied to the 
union formed in 1861, when eleven states seceded 
from the United States. The slave question was 
for many years the cause of extended political 
and social discussion, and the election of Abra¬ 
ham Lincoln to the Presidency was the imme¬ 
diate occasion for taking steps to dissolve the 
Union and establish a separate government in 
the southern portion of the United States. South 
Carolina seceded first and led in the movement 
to dissolve the Union. A convention assembled 
on Dec. 17, 1860, and three days later a resolu¬ 
tion was adopted which declared that the Union 









CONFEDERATE STATES 


534 


CONFEDERATE STATES 


previously existing between South Carolina a. d 
the other states, under the name of the United 
States of America, was dissolved. Mississippi 
followed on Jan. 9, 1861, and proposed a con¬ 
vention to form a Southern Confederacy. The 
convention met at Mpntgomery, Ala., Feb. 4, 
with delegates representing six of the seven 
states that had then seceded. A provisional Con¬ 
stitution was adopted on Feb. 8, with Jefferson 
Davis, of Mississippi, as provisional President 
and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, as Vice 
President. 

The permanent Constitution adopted on March 
11 set forth the doctrine of State sovereignty 
and recognized slavery, though it forbade the 
slave trade. It established free trade, allowed 



members of the Cabinet to speak before Con¬ 
gress, authorized the President to veto single 
items in appropriation bills, and forbade the 
issuance of credit bills. The presidential term 
was fixed at six years, and the President was 
not to be reelected. All the seceded states, in¬ 
cluding South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, 
Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, rati¬ 
fied the Constitution through conventions. Be¬ 
sides these seven states, Virginia, North Caro¬ 
lina, Tennessee, and Arkansas seceded and were 
admitted into the Confederacy. Richmond was 
made the permanent seat of government anJ 
Davis and Stephens were elected President and 
Vice President under the Constitution and in¬ 
augurated on Feb. 22, 1862. Large powers were 
given to the President and he was authorized to 


direct the energetic prosecution of the war. 
Money was obtained by cotton loans, by treasury 
notes, and by requisition, while necessary sup¬ 
plies were acquired by every available means. 
The government secured belligerent rights from 
most maritime nations, but its independence was 
never recognized. The spirit entered upon in 
the war and the alacrity with which the southern 
people responded to the call to arms demon¬ 
strated great bravery and determination to prose¬ 
cute the cause of the Confederacy. However, 
the Federal government never recognized its 
existence and treated its representatives sent to 
Washington as citizens of the United States. 
The history of the confederation is limited to the 
period covered by the Civil War, and the causes 
immediately leading up to it. It ceased to exist 
with the surrender of the Confederate army on 
April 9, 1865, at Appomattox, Va. 

About fifty years have passed since the issues 
of the Civil War divided the nation into two 
great factions, each contending for what was 
held to be a sacred cause, a principle in human 
government worthy to be defended by life itself. 
The feeling of jealousy and mistrust that sepa¬ 
rated the two sections in sentiment long after 
the surrender of Gen. Lee has happily given way 
to a new era of commercial and political fellow¬ 
ship, a period in which all sections are united 
in the uplift that makes for the greatness and 
perpetuity of an intelligent nation. Oratory and 
editorial comment are now tempered with the 
spirit of the times, and the discussion of past 
events and future ambitions is that of a people 
united in every phase of national life. This is 
reflected in a recent article of Dr. G. R. Glenn, 
of the North Georgia Agricultural College, in 
which he says in part: 

“The purpose of the Confederate Constitution 
was not revolutionary. There was in the in¬ 
strument no encroachment on the rights of any 
northern State. All that the southern people 
asked of the United States was to be allowed 
to secede in peace and set up a government that 
comported with the aims and ideals of the gov¬ 
erned. Conservative men on both sides urged 
a peaceful separation. Men like Mr. Greeley at 
the north and Mr. Stephens at the south plead 
for the preservation of the Union and, if that 
could not be preserved, then for a friendly sepa¬ 
ration. 

“When the President of the Confederate 
States called for volunteers men came by the 
thousands to enlist. As we look back now, when 
about half a century has passed, their daring and 
courage seem colossal. Who were these men 
and for what were they to fight? Nine-tenths of 
them were poor and did not own a slave and 








CONFEDERATE STATES 


535 


CONFEDERATION 


certainly they would not engage in a war for the 
preservation of slavery. The President of the 
Confederate States said at the beginning of his 
government that slaves would cease to be prop¬ 
erty, and Gen. Lee, the head of the army, freed 
all of his slaves in 1861. The volunteers were 
offering themselves to their government to de¬ 
fend a Bill of Rights and a Constitution. They 
were educated to believe that their State gov¬ 
ernments were their own, and that any encroach¬ 
ments upon their rights to manage their domestic 
institutions as they saw proper was a violation 
of a sacred compact. Slavery was to them only 
one of the incidents in the quarrel. It may have 
been the occasion; it was not the cause of the 
separation. 

“The Confederacy died, but the cause for 
which it lived and struggled did not die. A 
recent writer says: ‘So deeply, though silently, 
have the minds of the American people been 
impressed by the magnificent struggle of the 
Confederate soldiers for the right of local self- 
government that the hold of that right upon the 
public conscience has steadily increased in many 
of the northern states. Over and over again, 
moreover since the war, has the United States 
Supreme Court affirmed the limitation of the 
authority of the general government to the 
powers distinctly delegated, and the reservation 
to the states of all undelegated power. The 
prediction is made that the future historian will 
say that, while the armies of the North saved 
the Union from dissolution, the armies of the 
South saved the rights of the states within the 
Union.’ ” 

About twenty years ago William D. Kelley, 
known as “Pig Iron” Kelley, said: “The 
development of the South means the enrichment 
of the nation.” The truth of this .expression 
must be apparent to all who take time to study 
the amazing progress of the industries and ad¬ 
vancement in values in the southern states. 
Land in Louisiana that sold at 60 cents per acre 
in 1895 would command $50 at present; the same 
proportional increase in values is true in prac¬ 
tically all the states south, not alone in land, 
but also in iron-ore property, coal fields, and 
other mineral interests. In 1860 the valuation 
of property in the south was $5,200,000,000, and 
in 1870 it was only $3,000,000,000, but at present 
it is $7,500,000,000, an increase of more than a 
hundred per cent, since the close of the war. 
The southern states dominate the cotton market 
of the world, receiving from Europe alone more 
than $400,000,000 per annum for ginned cotton, 
or more than $1,000,000 for every day in the year. 
Rice lands have advanced from $12 to $50 per 
acre; the rice-growing fields of Louisiana and 


Mississippi are especially prolific. This is true 
also of the cultivation of other cereals and 
tobacco, the rearing ,of domestic animals, and the 
output of a large variety of products in the 
manufacturing industry. The following figures 
for 1890 and 1905 are of interest in studying the 
growth of industry in the south: 



1890 

1905 

Number of cotton mills. 

119 

780 

Railroad mileage. 

42,900 

60,250 

Phosphate mined, tons. 

510,299 

1,875,480 

Bales of cotton used. 

546,330 

.2,165,150 

Pig iron made, tons. 

*2,600,500 

3,250,000 

Coke produced, tons. 

2,534,475 

6,245,270 

Number spindles in cotton mills 

1,712,000 

9,205,100 

Petroleum, barrels. 

498,632 

42,495,802 

Coal, tons. 

21,250,000 

70,185,000 

Capital invested in cotton-oil 



mills. 

$12,800,000 

$ 74,600,000 

Capital invested in cotton mills 

60,000,000 

225,000,000 

Lumber products, value. 

90,700,000 

250,000,000 

Value of exports. 

306,000,000 

555,480,000 

Value of cotton crop. 

390,000,000 

680,000,000 

Capital invested in manufactur¬ 



ing. 

659,000,000 

1,500,500,000 

Value of farm products. 

773,000,000 

1,750,000,000 

Value of manufactured products 

917,589,000 

1,765,000,000 

Property assessed. 

4,510,925,000 

6,500,000,000 


CONFEDERATE VETERANS, United, a 

patriotic organization of veterans of the Con¬ 
federate States, founded in 1889 at New Orleans, 
La. The society was established to gather and 
preserve an impartial history of the Civil War, 
to cherish and cultivate the friendships formed 
during the conflict, to commemorate the valorous 
deeds of the dead, and to give aid and support 
to the widows and orphans. All surviving sol¬ 
diers and sailors of the Confederate service are 
eligible to membership. The local organizations 
are classified in three departments, those of the 
Army of Tennessee, of northern Virginia, and 
of the trans-Mississippi. A button with a square 
miniature Confederate flag is worn in the lapel 
of the coat. About 1,500 local camps with a 
membership of about 70,000 comprise the society, 
which holds a general reunion each year. 

CONFEDERATE VETERANS, United 
Sons of, a patriotic organization founded in 
1896 at Richmond, Va. All the male descend¬ 
ants of the veterans who have an honorable 
military record in the Confederate army or 
navy are eligible in the society, which is organ¬ 
ized in the three departments known as those of 
northern Virginia, of Tennessee, and of the 
trans-Mississippi. Local camps are maintained 
in all the southern states and reunions are held 
annually, both by the locals and by the depart¬ 
ments. The membership is about 10,000. The 
society purchased Beauvoir, the home of Jef¬ 
ferson Davis, in 1902, and converted it into a 
home for Confederate Veterans. 

CONFEDERATION, Articles of. See Ar¬ 
ticles of Confederation. 

























CONGO 


536 


CONGREGATIONALISTS 


CONGO (kon'go), or Kongo, a great river 
of the Southern Hemisphere, in the equatorial 
regions of Africa. It was discovered in 1484 by 
Diego Cam and named Pillar River. Shortly 
after the Portuguese explored a portion of it 
and named it Zaire, by which it is still known in 
some countries. The English explored 175 miles 
of its lower course in 1816. Livingstone discov¬ 
ered a number of its tributaries in 1868, and 
Stanley explored and published accounts of it in 
1876-77. The upper portions widen into Lakes 
Moero and Bangweolo, from which the waters 
flow toward the north, then make a bold sweep 
toward the northwest, thence toward the south¬ 
west, and finally enter the Atlantic Ocean. The 
principal northern tributaries are the Ubangi and 
Aruwimi; the southern, the Kassai and Lulongo. 
It is divided into the upper, middle, and lower 
parts. The upper portion is navigable for more 
than a thousand miles by steamers, from Stan¬ 
ley Pool to Stanley Falls; the middle extends 
from the cataract regions to Stanley Pool, about 
260 miles; the lower, from its mouth to the 
cataract region, 110 miles. The total length of 
the river is about 2,550 miles. It ranks as one 
of the ten great rivers of the world. The volume 
of water discharged by it is exceeded only by 
the Amazon. 

CONGO FREE STATE, a colony of Bel¬ 
gium, located in Central Africa, containing an 
area of 900,000 square miles. Its boundary line 
is not well defined, but may be stated in general 
to be formed by French Congo on the northwest, 
German East Africa on the east, British Central 
Africa on the south, and by Angola and the 
Atlantic Ocean on the west. It owes its organi¬ 
zation to the discoveries of Stanley, carried on 
largely under the International Association 
founded at Brussels in 1876, under the presidency 
of the King of Belgium. An international con¬ 
ference was held in Berlin in 1885, at which cer¬ 
tain rights and privileges, such as free trade and 
international navigation, were guaranteed to the 
principal nations. The state was placed under 
the sovereignty of Leopold II., King of Belgium, 
who had contributed largely to the exploration 
and opening of the Congo district. By a treaty 
made in 1890 the king conveyed his rights to Bel¬ 
gium with the privilege of annexing it in the 
year 1900. Much dissatisfaction among the in¬ 
habitants was reported in 1907, owing to atroci¬ 
ties practiced by the authorities upon the natives. 

The Congo region includes the principal part 
of the basin of the Congo River. It is exceed¬ 
ingly fertile and includes many valuable mineral 
and agricultural districts. The river system 
affords no less than 6,000 miles of navigation 
facilities, while a railroad line has been built 


from the ocean to Leopoldville, a point imme¬ 
diately above the cataract. Its interior and for¬ 
eign trade is fast developing under twenty-five 
commercial companies, representing a capital of 
about $25,000,000. The principal products and 
exports consist of caoutchouc, ivory, wax, coj>ra, 
coffee, cotton, fruits, sugar, and many others of 
value commercially. The principal minerals in¬ 
clude gold, lead, iron, copper, and coal. It has 
extensive forests, yielding valuable wood, India 
rubber, palm oil, nuts, and palm kernels. A 
majority of the trade is with Belgium, Germany, 
Great Britain, France, and Holland. Manufac¬ 
tures have been developed by means of excellent 
water power from the numerous falls and cata¬ 
racts of its rivers, and several important railroad 
lines have been built. Among the lakes are 
Moero and Leopold. 

The government is administered by the King 
of Belgium, who is assisted in the affairs of the 
state by two ministers. A governor general at 
Boma represents the government in the state. 
The principal cities are Boma, on the Congo, 
which is the capital, Leopoldville and Equator- 
ville. The last mentioned is located at the junc¬ 
tion of the Bosira and the Congo rivers, under 
the Equator. Numerous other trading points 
have been developed from Belgium, under a com¬ 
mission, of which the king is the chief officer. 
The natives are peaceable and considerably ad¬ 
vanced in civilization and industrial arts. They 
are chiefly of the Bantu race. The European 
population does not exceed 3,000, of which about 
two-thirds are Belgians. The total population is 
estimated at 30,000,000. 

CONGREGATIONALISTS (kon-gre-ga'- 

shun-al-Ists), a body of Christian churches, 
most largely organized in England and the 
United Stages. The doctrine of these churches 
does not differ essentially from the other Protest¬ 
ant denominations, but in government they 
occupy a vastly different field. Each congrega¬ 
tion has independent power of self-government, 
uncontrolled by any bishop, presbytery, or other 
external ecclesiastical authority. Deacons are 
subordinate rulers and ministers are recognized, 
but the congregation itself decides upon its mem¬ 
bership and disciplinary power. They believe 
their form of government to be of divine author¬ 
ity, and to have been that of the apostolic 
churches. This view is rejected by the Presby¬ 
terian, Episcopal and various other churches, 
most of which claim similar descendency. 

Among the first advocates of a system of gov¬ 
ernment similar to modern Congregationalism 
was Robert Brown, born in the middle of the 
16th century. He was a preacher, schoolmaster, 
and lecturer, and led a party in opposition to the 


CONGRESS 


537 


CONGRESS 


constitution of the Established Church. He set 
up a congregation in London about the year 
1593, when the number of his followers was esti¬ 
mated at about 20,000. Owing to opposition 
against the leaders, especially on the part of the 
Established Church of England, he was com¬ 
pelled to remove to Holland, where several 
churches were organized. The history of this 
movement is an interesting one and connects 
Oliver Cromwell and his soldiers wi h the fol¬ 
lowers, then called Dissenters or Independents. 
After vainly petitioning for religious freedom, 
they became alienated from Parliament and the 
Presbyterians. From this time on they grew 
rapidly in numbers, and now constitute the third 
English denomination. In the United States 
they rank as eighth in number. An international 
council was held in Boston in 1899, the second 
in the history of the denomination, at which it 
was decided to establish extensive missions for 
Cuba and Porto Rico. This denomination has 
5,850 ministers, 5,760 churches, and 684,500 mem¬ 
bers in the United States. Their institutions of 
learning include thirty, with more than 500 pro¬ 
fessors, 4,575 students, and an endowment fund 
aggregating about $10,000,000. In Canada and 
Newfoundland they have 155 churches and 12,580 
members. 

CONGRESS (kon'gres), a formal meeting 
of persons regarded as representatives of a 
society or country for deliberation and discus¬ 
sion. The term is especially applied in political 
affairs to assemblies or conferences and to the 
legislative authorities of many nations. It is the 
name given to the legislative branch of the gov¬ 
ernment of the United States, and in history is 
attached to three different bodies. The first was 
the Colonial Congress, which met in New York 
on Oct. 7, 1765, and was constituted of delegates 
from nine colonies. All the colonies except 
Georgia were represented in a similar congress 
at Philadelphia July 5, 1774, and declared certain 
rights. This body became known as the Conti¬ 
nental Congress, and adopted the Declaration of 
Independence on July 4, 1776. The next Con¬ 
gress was the one organized under the Articles 
of Confederation. It met for the first time on 
March 2, 1781, and was succeeded by similar 
assemblies until March 4, 1789, when the Con¬ 
stitution went into effect. The first Congress 
under the Constitution met in New York in 1789, 
then the capital. Its meetings were held at Phil¬ 
adelphia from 1789 until 1800, when the capital 
was moved to Washington. 

The Congress of the United States consists of 
a Senate and a House of Representatives,. in 
which the legislative authority of the United 
States is vested, under the supervision of the 


veto power granted to the President. It has 
power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, 
and excises; to borrow money; to regulate com¬ 
merce; to coin money; to constitute judicial tri¬ 
bunals ; to declare war; to provide and maintain 
a navy; to grant letters of marque and reprisal; 
to raise and support armies; to provide for the 
calling forth of military forces; and to admit 
new states into the Union. Among the provi¬ 
sions common to both houses are the power 
to judge of the election and qualification of its 
members, to compel the attendance of mem¬ 
bers, and to determine the rules of its proceed¬ 
ings. Each may punish and expel members with 
the consent of two-thirds. A quorum of each 
is constituted of a majority, the presence of 
which is required to transact business. Neither 
body can adjourn for more than three days 
without the consent of the other, nor to any 
other than the usual place of meeting. The sal¬ 
ary is $7,000 per annum, payable monthly out 
of the treasury, and an allowance of twenty 
cents for each mile traveled by a usual route. 
The meetings of Congress occur on the first 
Monday in December of each year, but this time 
may be changed by law, and the President may 
convene the Congress in an extra session. 

The first Senate consisted of 26 members. It 
is constituted of 92 members at present. Two 
senators are chosen by the Legislature of each 
state, for a term of six years. The qualifications 
are: age, thirty years; citizenship, nine years; 
and inhabitancy in the State in which chosen. 
The senators are divided into three classes, one- 
third going out of office every two years. They 
may be reelected for an indefinite number of 
terms. The Senate has concurrent legislative 
powers with the House, and, besides, has power 
to confirm appointments made by the President 
and to consent to treaties. In it is vested the 
power to elect the Vice President, in case the 
electoral college fails to make a choice. This 
occurred only in 1837, when Richard M. John¬ 
son was elected Vice President. It is also a 
court of impeachment, having power to try those 
impeached by the House. The Vice President 
is the presiding officer, besides whom a president 
pro tern, is chosen by the body. 

The House of Representatives is made up of 
members elected by the voters of the several 
states, the representation being based upon the 
population in accordance with the national census 
taken every ten years. The representation in the 
first Congress was based on 30,000 inhabitants, 
the membership consisting of 65. In 1901 Con¬ 
gress fixed the number at 386, an increase of 29 
members over the basis of 1890. Each State is 
entitled to at least one representative. The con- 




CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY 


538 


CONJUNCTION 


ditions of eligibility are: age, twenty-five years; 
citizenship, seven years; and inhabitancy of the 
State from which they are chosen. The election 
is held in the even-numbered years, and the 
term is for two years. Each Territory is repre¬ 
sented in the House by a delegate, who may 
speak on any question, but cannot vote. 

Besides having concurrent legislative powers 
with the Senate, the House has original and 
exclusive power fo originate bills for raising 
revenues. It has power to impeach officers of 
the United States, and to elect a President in 
cases where the electoral college fails to make a 
choice. This occurred but twice; in 1801, when 
Jefferson was elected, and in 1825, when John 
Quincy Adams was chosen. The speaker and 
the officers of the House are chosen from the 
members by a general vote. The House more 
particularly represents the people than does the 
Senate, while the Senate represents more par¬ 
ticularly the states. The plan of electing the 
Senators was proposed in deference to the view 
held, in the early history of this country, that 
states have certain rights greater than the 
nation, and which were not relinquished to the 
nation at.the time of forming the Union. There 
is a large class of voters that hold to the ad¬ 
visability of electing both the representatives 
and Senators by popular vote of the people. 

CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY. See Li¬ 
brary of Congress. 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, the printed 
proceedings of the United States Congress. In 
the early history of the republic, up to 1799, the 
Senate held its sessions with closed doors and 
no journal of its proceedings was published, but 
since that time the record is printed daily. ' It 
cannot be said that the Congressional Record is 
an authentic publication, since members are 
permitted to revise their speeches after they 
appear in type, and they are also permitted to 
have remarks and speeches inserted that were 
not delivered in session. From 1789 to 1824 the 
journal was called the Annals of Congress; 
from 1825 to 1837, the Register of Debates; and 
from 1837 to 1874, the Congressional Globe. 

CONIFERAE (k5-mf'er-e), an important 
order of plants, including the fir, yew, pine, 
cypress, larch, juniper, etc. Trees of this group 
are most abundant in the temperate zones and 
are very sparsely represented in the tropics. 
Most of the species have a central shaft extend¬ 
ing almost to the top, while the branches grow 
horizontally and diminish upward, thus giving 
the tree a conical outline. The leaves are slen¬ 
der and firm, well constructed to endure cold, 
but are not formed to supply choice foliage. In 
some of the conifers the leaves are flat and 


broad and in others they consist of disklike 
portions that appress and overlap each other, as 
in the arbor vitae. 

Most species of the Coniferae are evergreen, 
that is they have no regular period of shedding 
their leaves, which fall from time to time as 
new growths take their place. To this there 
are some exceptions, such as the larch, or tam¬ 
arack, which sheds its leaves annually. The 
fruit, which in most species is a cone formed of 
heavy scales, contains a number of seeds. The 



LARCH. 

A, twig with flowers; B, same with cones. 

scales lie firmly against each other until the 
seeds ripen, when they open and the seed is 
carried away by the wind. In this class of co¬ 
nifers the seed is fertilized by a yellowish pol¬ 
len, which becomes effective at the time the seed 
escapes. Some of the species produce berries, 
such as the junipers. These and the pines are 
widely distributed, but the bald cypress and se¬ 
quoia are greatly restricted. Many fossil co- 
'liifers occur in good preservation in all the geo¬ 
logic formations from the middle Devonian t,o 
the most recent. 

CONJUNCTION (kon-junk'shun), in as¬ 
tronomy, the position of a planet when it is in 
the same straight line with the earth and the 









CONNEAUT 


539 


CONNECTICUT 


sun. It is said to be inferior when between the 
earth and the sun, and the conjunction is called 
superior when the planet is outside the earth so 
the latter is the central body, or is beyond the 
sun so the latter is between the earth and the 
planet. The three bodies are never in a truly 
straight line, on account of the inclination of 
the planes of the several orbits. When several 
stars or planets are found together they are 
said to be in grand conjunction. These are of 
course extremely rare, but such a conjunction, 
according to Chinese history, is said to have 
occurred about 2430 b. c., in the reign of 
Tehuen-hiu. A conjunction of the moon, earth, 
and sun is called an eclipse. 

CONNEAUT (kon-ne-at'), a town of Ash¬ 
tabula County, Ohio, in the northeastern corner 
of the State, on Lake Erie, and on the Lake 
Shore and Michigan Southern and other rail¬ 
roads. It has steamboat facilities and a con¬ 
siderable trade in coal and farm produce. Near 
the town, at the mouth of Conneaut Creek, is a 
lighthouse. The manufactures include brick, 

canned goods, and machinery. It is one of the 
oldest towns in Ohio, having been settled in 
1796, and was incorporated in 1832. Population, 
1900, 7,133. 

CONNECTICUT (kon-net'i-kiit), one of 
the original thirteen states of the United States, 
known popularly as the Nutmeg State. It is 

included b e- 

y-W] tween lati- 

' $ tudes 40°59' 

and 42 ° 3' 
y\ north and 

longitude 
•71° 4 7 ' and 
‘ 70°43' west. 
The boundary 
on the north 

is formed by 
Massachu- 

1, Hartford; 2, Bridgeport; 3, New Ha- se tt s > eas t by 
ven; 4, Waterbury; 5, New London. Chief Rhode Island, 
railroads shown by dotted lines. south by Long 

Island Sound, and west by New York. Its 
greatest length from east to west is about 104 
miles and its" greatest breadth is 76 miles, with 
an average width of 57 miles. The total area is 
4,990 square miles, which includes a water sur¬ 
face of 145 square miles. It is the third smallest 
State in the Union, but in population holds 
twenty-ninth rank. 

Description. The surface of Connecticut is 
diversified, but it is not greatly elevated above 
the sea at any point. In the northern section 
are the highest elevations, where the highland 
region extends into the State from Vermont, 



and the surface slopes gradually toward the 
south. The Berkshire Hills, which extend from 
the Green Mountains of Vermont into Massa¬ 
chusetts, traverse the northwestern part of the 
State. In the eastern part the hills are rounded 
and fertile and in the northwestern section 
they are often broken and precipitous, with 
bold bluffs of trap rock. Bear Mountain, the 
highest elevation, is 2,355 feet above the sea. 
Other summits include Girdley Mountain, Pros¬ 
pect Mountain, Riga Mountain, and Ivy Moun¬ 
tain. Level plains extend along the streams, 
and much of the country adjacent to Long 
Island Sound is level or characterized by low 
hills. 

The principal river is the Connecticut, which 
crosses from north to south through the center 
of the State. Three river systems furnish prac¬ 
tically all of the drainage, the Thames and its 
tributaries in the eastern portion, the Connecti¬ 
cut in the central part, and the Housatonic in 
the western section, and all of them flow into 
Long Island Sound. The Pawcatuck forms 
part of the boundary between Connecticut and 
Rhode Island, the Shepaug is a tributary of 
the Housatonic, the Farmington is an affluent 
of the Connecticut, and the Saugatuck drains 
the larger part of Fairfield County. Many of 
the streams flow through formations of solid 
rock and in the highlands the courses are cut 
deeply. In most places they furnish valuable 
water power. 

The climate of Connecticut is quite uniform, 
ranging from a mean temperature of 28° in 
winter to about 68° in summer. In winter the 
temperature falls frequently as low as 10° to 15° 
below zero, while the extreme heat of summer 
ranges from 90° to 100°. Heavy snows fall 
among the hills and mountains, where the win¬ 
ters are quite severe and of long duration, but 
the summers are pleasant and all seasons of the 
year are healthful. The mean annual rainfall 
is about 52 inches and the precipitation is quite 
evenly distributed. In the highlands the soil is 
thin and is. some places barren, but it is of 
value in growing grasses and fruits. The val¬ 
leys and the southwestern part have a dark soil 
of much fertility. Fine forests abound along, 
the Connecticut and other streams, and include 
pine, hickory, walnut, wild cherry, oak, and 
maple. 

Mining. Iron ore has been mined since 1732, 
but the output is .not important as compared to 
the production in Missouri and Minnesota. 
Tungsten ore is mined near Long Hill and 
deposits of lead, copper, and nickel are known 
to occur. Granite is the most abundant of the 
minerals and is quarried extensively for monu- 










CONNECTICUT 


540 


CONNECTICUT 


ments and building purposes. Large quarries 
of brownstone are worked at Portland and near 
Middletown. Limestone, clay, and cobalt are 
obtained in various localities. 

Agriculture. Farming is confined largely to 
the valleys of the rivers, where the soil is mostly 
fertile, but the hills and highlands are generally 
broken and stony. Hay is the most extensive 
crop and is cultivated on an area about three 
times as large as that utilized in growing all 
other crops. Tobacco has been an important 
product since 1640, and is grown chiefly in the 
valleys of the Connecticut and Housatonic riv¬ 
ers. Vegetables of all kinds thrive abundantly 
and large interests are devoted to the culture of 
fruit, especially apples and peaches. All of the 
cereals can be grown profitably, especially rye, 
corn, wheat, buckwheat, and oats, but there has 
been a steady decline on account of more prof¬ 
itable development in other lines, especially dairy 
and vegetable farming. The dairy products in¬ 
clude milk, butter, and cheese, and a ready mar¬ 
ket is found in New York and other commer¬ 
cial centers of the East. Swine, sheep, and 
horses are grown, but dairy cows receive the 
greater share of attention. 

Manufacturing. Manufacturing is the lead¬ 
ing industry, in which about twenty per cent, 
of the people are engaged. The State ranks 
eleventh in the output of manufactures. About 
three-fourths of the total ammunition made in 
the United States comes from Connecticut. The 
State produces forty per cent, of the hardware, 
fifty-six per cent, of brass manufactures, sixty- 
three per cent, of the clocks, sixty-four per 
cent, of the pins and needles, seventy-six per 
cent, of the plated ware, and a large pro¬ 
portion of the rubber goods and textile fabrics 
produced in the United States. In the output 
of its fisheries it takes third rank among the 
New England states. A large share of the out¬ 
put is shipped fresh to market, but much inter¬ 
est is shown in curing and canning. Oyster 
fishing is the largest of the fishing industries 
and next in order are the lobster, cod, and men¬ 
haden fisheries. 

Commerce and Transportation. The export 
trade of Connecticut is largely through the port 
of New York City, but foreign imports are en¬ 
tered direct at Hartford, Stonington, Fairfield, 
New Haven, and New London, all of which are 
ports of entry. Transportation facilities are 
furnished by the Connecticut River, which is 
navigable for large steamers to Hartford, about 
fifty miles, and river boats ascend to Holyoke 
by means of the Windsor Locks. Railroad build¬ 
ing received attention at an early date, hence 
few extensions were made within recent years. 


The lines include a total of 1,050 miles, most of 
which are controlled by the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford Company. The State has 
a large number of finely improved highways and 
many electric urban and interurban railways are 
in successful operation. Safe and commodious 
harbors are furnished by the numerous inlets 
on the coast. 

Education. The State has long occupied a 
foremost position in the educational field, and 
elementary education was provided at public 
expense from the earliest Colonial period. 
About five-sixths of all persons of school age 
attend the public schools, while a nominal com¬ 
pulsory attendance law requires registration in 
some schools between the ages of four and six¬ 
teen. The general supervision and control of 
the educational interests are intrusted to the 
State board of education, and local administra¬ 
tion is vested in a town committee or a board 
of education. Support is given jointly by local 
taxation and by income from the State school 
fund. Normal schools are located at New Ha¬ 
ven and Willimantic. 

Connecticut has no State university, but is 
well provided with representative institutions of 
higher learning. Yale University, one of the 
leading institutions of higher learning in 
America, is located at New Haven. Trinity 
College at Hartford, Wesleyan University at 
Middletown, and the Hartford Theological Sem¬ 
inary are among the chief educational centers. 
An agricultural college is located at Mansfield. 
A hospital for the insane at Middletown, a State 
prison at Wethersfield, a school for the feeble¬ 
minded at Lakeville, training schools for nurses 
at Hartford and New Haven, an industrial 
school for girls at Middletown, and an indus¬ 
trial school for boys at Meridian are among the 
benevolent and reformatory institutions. 

Government. The present constitution was 
adopted in 1818 and has been enlarged by thirty- 
one amendments. It requires that those who 
vote must be able to read and write and have 
resided in the State one year and in the town 
six months. Executive authority is vested in 
the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary, 
treasurer, and comptroller, each elected for two 
years. A majority vote of each branch of the 
Legislature is necessary to overcome the veto 
of the Governor. The Senate consists of thirty- 
five members and the House of 255 members, 
both senators and representatives being elected 
for two years. Regular sessions of the General 
Assembly, as the Legislature is called, are held 
biennially, in even years, beginning on the first 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 
A chief justice and four associate judges con- 


CONNECTICUT 


541 


CONNELLSVILLE 


stitute the supreme court of errors. Other 
courts include a superior court of six judges, 
the courts of common pleas, district courts, and 
justices of the peace. Local government is ad¬ 
ministered by the towns and counties. 

Inhabitants. The population of the State 
has shown a steady and uniform growth the 
past two decades, owing largely to the increase 
in the demand for labor in manufacturing enter¬ 
prises. Nearly sixty per cent, of the people 
reside in cities of over 8,000 population. Immi¬ 
gration has been chiefly from Ireland, Germany, 
England, and Canada in the order named. Hart¬ 
ford, the capital, is located on the Connecticut 
River. The leading cities include Bridgeport, 
New Haven, Waterbury, New London, Meri¬ 
den, New Britain, Norwalk, Danbury, Norwich, 
Stamford, Ansonia, Middletown, Willimantic, 
Rockville, and Bristol. The total population in 
1900 was 908,355; in 1910, 1,114,756. 

History. The history of Connecticut is closely 
linked with the entire period since the early 
settlement of America. • It was inhabited orig¬ 
inally by Indians numbering about 20,000, the 
most numerous being the Pequots. The first set¬ 
tlement was made by the Dutch near Hartford 
in 1633. Two years before that date a grant 
had been given to Lord Say and Sele for a 
tract of land extending from Narragansett Bay 
to the Pacific Ocean. However, this grant, 
though made by the Earl of Warwick, was not 
considered legal, but the town of Saybrook was 
founded under it in 1635. In the meantime a 
number of emigrants from Massachusetts Bay 
settled at Wethersfield and Hartford, and New 
Haven was founded by English Puritans in 
1638. The Dutch relinquished their possessions 
in 1650, and New Haven was annexed to Con¬ 
necticut in 1662. John Winthrop, Jr., had pre¬ 
viously obtained a liberal charter from Charles 
II., who granted absolute autonomy to the col¬ 
ony, but it was demanded by Sir Edmund An¬ 
dros in 1687 and was secreted until 1689. In 
1708 the Congregational Church was established 
and secular and religious affairs were long 
closely associated, but all other denominations 
were tolerated. 

Connecticut furnished about 30,000 men for 
the Continental army in the American Revolu¬ 
tion, and was raided a number of times during 
the conflict. It was the fifth State to ratify the 
United States Constitution, in 1788, and strongly 
opposed the War of 1812, when the celebrated 
Hartford Convention met in its capitol. The 
present constitution was adopted in 1818, by 
the terms of which slavery was abolished. The 
State furnished 56,000 men for the Federal 
army in the Civil War, and Buckingham, the 


war Governor, was a prominent figure of that 
period. Hartford and New Haven were jointly 
the capitals until 1873, when the former was 
made the sole seat of government. 

CONNECTICUT RIVER, the longest river 
in New England, rises in northern New Hamp¬ 
shire, forms the boundary between it and Ver¬ 
mont, flows through Massachusetts and Con¬ 
necticut, and enters Long Island Sound at 
Saybrook. It is about 375 miles long and drains 
and area of about 11,250 square miles. Large 
steamers ascend to Hartford, a distance of fifty 
miles, and it is navigable to Holyoke for river 
boats by means of the Windsor Locks. It fur¬ 
nishes an abundance of water power and has a 
number of falls, including those at Olcott, 36 
feet; Bellow’s Falls, 55 feet; Turner’s, 41 feet, 
and Holyoke, 59 feet. The White, Passumpsic, 
Chickopee, Farmington, and Salmon rivers are 
its principal tributaries. On its banks are many 
important towns and it carries a large inland 
trade. 

CONNECTIVE TISSUE (kon-nek'tiv), one 
of the elementary tissues of animals, found in 
nearly all parts of the body. It originates in the 
middle layer of the embryo, and includes the 
adipose, areolar, cartilaginous, osseous, retiform, 
white fibrous, and yellow elastic connective tis¬ 
sues. Adipose tissue is most abundant at the 
kidneys and under the skin, but is found in most 
parts of the body. It is penetrated by blo(pd 
vessels, but the fatty parts do not have the ter¬ 
mini of nerve fibers. Areolar tissue consists of 
fine fibers which interlace each other, is widely 
distributed in the body, and sheathes the nerves, 
glands, and muscles. Cartilaginous tissue fur¬ 
nishes the attachments for ligaments and mus¬ 
cles, incloses the larynx and trachea, and joins 
the bones to each other. Osseous tissue is the 
chief constituent of the bones. Retiform tissue 
is composed of crossing lines and interstices and 
serves chiefly in the attachments of organs, such 
as the retiform coat of the eye. White fibrous 
tissue makes up the ligaments around joints, 
the tendons of muscles, and the sclerotic coat 
of the eye, and is found in the pericardium 
and the periosteum. It varies materially in the 
number of cells and fibers, and in the main con¬ 
sists of parallel bundles which branch as the 
connections are made. Yellow elastic tissue 
consists of large and coarse fibers and is very 
elastic. It occurs in the trachea, veins, skin, and 
vocal cords. Neuroglia tissue is the connective 
tissue of the nervous system. 

CONNELLSVILLE (kon'nelz-vil), a bor¬ 
ough of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, on the 
Youghiogheny River, fifty-four miles southeast 
of Pittsburg. It is on the Pennsylvania and the 


i 




CONNERSVILLE 


542 


CONSPIRACY 


Baltimore and Ohio railroads. Among the note¬ 
worthy buildings are the public library, the high 
school, and a State hospital. The surrounding 
country has gas and coal deposits and fertile 
agricultural lands. The products of its indus¬ 
tries include flour, tin, brick, hardware, ma¬ 
chinery, and railroad cars. About one-half of 
the coke made in the United States is produced 
here. It was first settled by Zachariah Con¬ 
nell in 1770 and became a borough in 1806. It 
has a good trade and modern improvements. 
Population, 1900, 7,160; in 1910, 12,845. 

CONNERSVILLE (kon'ners-vil), county 
seat of Fayette County, Indiana, sixty-five miles 
northwest of Cincinnati, Ohio, on the White 
Water River and on the Cincinnati, Hamilton 
and Dayton and other railroads. The chief 
buildings include the courthouse, the public 
library, and the high school. It is surrounded 
by a fertile fruit growing and farming country. 
The leading industries are machine shops, flour¬ 
ing mills, iron foundries, and planing mills. It 
has a considerable trade in merchandise. Wa¬ 
terworks, sewerage, and electric lighting are 
among the public utilities. It was incorporated 
in 1813. Population, 1900, 6,836. 

CONSCIENCE (kon'shens), the feeling that 
enables us to distinguish right from wrong in 
character and conduct, which commends us 
when we obey and condemns us when we dis¬ 
obey it. A right conscience is the result of 
wholesome teaching, and is strengthened by wise 
exercise and use. 

CONSCIOUS NESS (kon'shus-nes), the 
power that the mind has to know its own 
actions and states. It implies the state of being 
aware of one’s own existence and of one’s men¬ 
tal acts and states. Consciousness differs ma¬ 
terially in different persons, some possessing 
much greater powers of consciousness. It is 
not under the control of the will. We can be 
conscious only of thinking, willing, and feeling; 
of acts and states, as remembering, choosing, 
and perceiving; and the products of these ac¬ 
tions—our thoughts, concepts, feelings, etc. 

CONSERVATIVES (kon-serv'a-tivz), a 
political party of Great Britain. It is nominally 
the successor of the Tory party, and in leading 
issues stands opposed to the Liberals. The name 
was first used about 1832, when a large number 
of citizens favored the Reform Act of that 
year, and as compared to the Tories its members 
were generally classed as more liberal. Balfour 
and Chamberlain are the chief leaders of the 
Conservatives in recent years. The leading po¬ 
litical parties of Canada are the Liberals and 
the Conservatives. 

CONSERVATORY (kon-serva-to-ry), an 


institution organized to give public instruction 
in and promote the study of music. Conserva¬ 
tories are of ancient origin and were first estab¬ 
lished in connection with religious societies for 
the purpose of improving the character of 
church music. Originally they were charity 
schools and were recruited by orphans and 
foundlings of both sexes. Giovanni di Tappia 
founded the first famous conservatory in Na¬ 
ples, Italy, in 1537. The Paris Conservatory 
of Music was established in 1784 and takes 
rank as the most noted institution of the kind 
in France. Mendelssohn founded the famous 
Conservatorium at Liepzig in 1842, and it still 
takes rank as the leading institution of that 
class in Germany. Five noted conservatories 
are maintained in England, of which the Royal 
Academy of Music, founded in 1822 at London, 
is the most important. Many institutions of this 
kind are maintained in Canada and the United 
States. Those of the former country are repre¬ 
sented in Montreal and Toronto. The chief 
conservatories of the United States include the 
Peabody Institute at Baltimore, the National 
Conservatory in New York, the New England 
Conservatory in Boston, and the Cincinnati Col¬ 
lege of Music. 

CONSHOHOCKEN (kon-sho-hok'en), a 
borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 
on the Schuylkill River, twelve miles north¬ 
west of Philadelphia. It is on the Pennsylvania 
and the Philadelphia and Reading railroads. 
The chief buildings include the public library 
and a number of churches and public schools. 
It has manufactures of cotton goods, flour, iron¬ 
ware, machinery, surgical instruments, and 
earthenware. Electric lighting and water works 
are among the improvements. The surrounding 
country is agricultural. It was founded in 1830 
and incorporated in 1852. Population, 1900, 
5,762. 

CONSONANT (kon'so-nant), a letter of the 
alphabet which cannot be sounded, or but im¬ 
perfectly, by itself, and only perfectly in conjunc¬ 
tion with a vowel. Consonants are divided into 
mutes and spirants. Mutes are sounds in the 
production of which the breath is stopped or 
checked, as b and p. Spirants are produced with 
a partial stoppage of the breath, as in v and /. 
A consonant sound differs from a vowel in that 
it is produced by an obstruction to the breath, 
while the vowel sound is produced by a contin¬ 
uous passage of the breath. 

CONSPIRACY (kon-spir'a-sy), in criminal 
law, a combination of two or more persons, 
by one concerted action, to accomplish some 
criminal or unlawful purpose, or to accomplish 
some purpose, not in itself criminal or unlawful, 


CONSTANCE 


543 


CONSTANTINOPLE 


by criminal or unlawful means. Conspiracies of 
various kinds are defined and their punishments 
are fixed by the laws of all nations. The grade 
of punishment differs according to'the nature of 
the intent on the part of the persons who form 
the conspiracy. 

CONSTANCE (kon'stans), Lake, a fine 
sheet of water located between Germany and 
Switzerland, about 1,295 feet above the sea. 
The Rhine flows through it from east to west, 
a distance of forty-three miles. It is about 
eight miles wide and 960 feet deep, and covers 
an area of 208 square miles. It is surrounded 
by beautiful vineyards, orchards, wooded hills, 
and picturesque castles. There are fine fisheries 
of salmon, trout, and shellfish. Railroad lines 
connect its towns in all directions, while steam¬ 
boats ply upon its surface. It is remarkable for 
beauty and much sought as a pleasure and 
health resort. 

CONSTANTINOPLE (kon-stan-ti-no'p’Ot 
called Stamboul by the Turks, the most cele¬ 
brated city of Turkey in Europe and the cap¬ 
ital of the Turkish Empire. It occupies an 
advantageous site on the Bosporus, having the 
Golden Horn, an inlet to the Sea of Marmora, 
on the north, which affords ample anchorage 
and facilities f,or innumerable ships. 

Constantinople occupies such an important 
position in warfare, commerce, and trade that 
its possession is regarded an international ad¬ 
vantage. Its occupation is sufficiently potent to 
disturb the balance of power in Europe. The 
site is hilly and undulating. It is beautified by 
numerous mosques, palaces, cypress groves, 
monuments, gardens, and towers. The beauty 
of the Thracian Bosporus is almost unrivaled. 
Among its most noted edifices is the Mosque of 
Saint Sophia, a fine example of Byzantine archi¬ 
tecture, which was converted from a Christian 
church into a mosque by the Turks. The 
Mosque of Soliman and the Mosque of the Sul¬ 
tana Valide, built by the mother of Mohammed 
IV., are imposing structures. The palace or 
Seraglio of the Sultan occupies the extreme 
portion of the promontory on which the city is 
located. It and its surroundings consist of 
pavilions, beautiful gardens, and parks which 
occupy a large tract. The principal entrance to 
the palace is a lofty gate called the Bab Hu- 
mayum, or sublime porte, from which the gen¬ 
erally known diplomatic phrase originated. 
Fully 300 mosques are maintained in the . city. 
Many other Turkish and Eastern edifices are 
distributed throughout various portions of the 
city, and it has an Oriental instead of an Occi¬ 
dental appearance. 

The commerce of the city is very extensive 


both by navigation and inland communication. 
Railroad connections have been made with many 
of the principal European cities and with por¬ 
tions of Asia through Asia Minor. The trade 
is largely in the hands of Greeks, Germans, 
Austrians, Italians, French, and British. The 
educational interests are greatly inferior to 
those found farther toward the northwest in 
Europe, but some degree of elementary educa¬ 
tion is given, while several higher institutions 
of learning are under the control of the Porte. 
An institution for medical research is conducted 
by Germans, while several other higher insti¬ 
tutions disseminate knowledge in law, philoso¬ 
phy, commerce, and industrial arts. Both Turk¬ 
ish and Greek public libraries are maintained, 
and several periodicals are published in the 
Turkish and European languages. Many por¬ 
tions of the city have narrow streets, covered 
with filth, and there are large areas with mis¬ 
erable houses of wood and clay. Among the 
newer improvements are electric and gas lights, 
pavements, rapid transit, and a telephone sys¬ 
tem. The Crimean War and several great fires 
did much damage to the older portions of the 
city, which resulted in improvements and build¬ 
ings on a more modern European style. The 
language spoken is Turkish, with Greek and 
other languages in isolated portions. Moham¬ 
medanism is the chief religion, but there are 
several Protestant, Greek Catholic, and Roman 
Catholic places of worship. The Greek Catho¬ 
lic has the most numerous following of any of 
the Christian churches in the city. Among the 
manufactures are tobacco pipes, perfumes, mo¬ 
rocco leather, saddlery, fez caps, embroideries, 
textiles, earthenware, and machinery. Vast for¬ 
ests extend for miles around the city. The 
suburbs are beautified with numerous cemeter¬ 
ies, many of which have served as burying 
places for ages. 

The city was founded by a colony from Me- 
gara about 658 b. c.> and was known for years 
as Byzantium, its ancient name. On account of 
its commanding position' between Europe and 
Asia Minor, it was the center of Persian, Greek, 
Roman, and Turkish ambition for centuries. It 
was occupied by Constantine the Great in 330 
a. d., who made it the capital of the Roman 
Empire, and changed its name to Constantino¬ 
ple, the city of Constantine. The Crusaders 
occupied it in 1204 and held possession until 
1261. The Turks conquered it under Moham¬ 
med II. on May 29, 1453, an event marking the 
extinction of the Byzantine.Empire. Since then 
it has been constantly under Turkish dominion, 
largely because of the intense jealousy existing 
between European powers and the strength of 





CONSTELLATIONS 


544 


CONSTITUTION 


the Ottoman Empire of former years. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 1,031,845. 

CON STELLATIONS (kon-stel-la shunz), 
the groups into which astronomers have 
arranged the fixed stars for convenience in 
studying magnitude and location. The grouping 
is not arbitrary, for the reason that the stars 
may be arranged in as many different groups as 
inventive imagination may direct. For general 
convenience the groups are so planned that the 
several stars occupy points within the limits of 
an imaginary figure, supposed to be traced on 
the vault of the heavens. Ancient astronomers 
agreed upon forty-eight, of which forty-seven 
are still accepted, the constellation of Antinous 
being now included in Aquila. At present there 
are eighty-nine constellations which are gener¬ 
ally recognized. Many of the newer groups as 
classified are located in regions the ancients 
never beheld. The best known figures include 
the Great Bear, the Little Bear, the Ram, the 
Twins, the Great Dog, etc. Eudoxus in 370 
b. c. borrowed from Egyptian astronomers the 
conception of the celestial sphere, brought it to 
Greece, and first outlined upon it the ecliptic 
and equator with the more prominent constella¬ 
tions. 

The small letters of the Greek alphabet are 
used to indicate the more prominent stars of the 
constellations—(a) represents its brightest star, 
(j8) the next, ( 7 ) the third, etc. The Greek 
letter is followed by the Latin genitive of the 
name of the constellation. Thus, («) Orionis 
is the most conspicuous star in the constella¬ 
tion of Orion, ( 7 ) Virginis is the third star in 
the order of brightness in Virgo, etc. Constella¬ 
tions embracing more than twenty-four stars 
that require especial designation are indicated 
by the letters of the Latin alphabet and, if these 
are exhausted, the ordinary Arabic numerals 
follow. The stars visible to the naked eye are 
divided into six classes, called magnitudes, that 
of the sixth magnitude being the smallest vis¬ 
ible without a telescope on clear, moonless 
nights. The twenty brightest stars of the firma¬ 
ment are of the first magnitude, and the num¬ 
ber increases roughly in geometric proportions. 

CONSTITUTION (kon-sti-tu'shun), the 
organic law of any organized body or associa¬ 
tion of persons, or the fundamental law of a 
nation or state. A constitution is the funda¬ 
mental law of each State of the Union, while 
the national Constitution is the organic law that 
binds and holds them all in the national govern¬ 
ment of the United States. In the states the 
constitution serves as an engagement between 
the different portions of society as to the polit¬ 
ical rights they should enjoy, and the power 


which they may respectively exercise. Supreme 
power cannot be wielded successfully by any 
class of men without abuse. The history of a 
multitude of emperors, including such as Nero, 
Caligula, and Tiberius, shows that uncontrolled 
power may be made a destructive and harmful 
element. The real power was in the hands of 
the masses of society during the French Reign 
of Terror, and gives evidence to what depth 
unchecked democracy may descend. The tyr¬ 
anny of popedom in the Middle Ages demon¬ 
strates that unlimited power cannot be safely 
intrusted even in sacred hands. 

In State organization no class should be 
allowed full gratification of its desires, its 
claims should be conceded only with reference 
to the rights and counterclaims of others. In a 
government organized on this basis all classes 
from the lowest to the highest gain real advan¬ 
tage, and liberty is more secure than if the 
common people, nobility, or crowned sovereigns 
had full sway. State and national legislation of 
the United States is vested in the legislative 
power of the State and national legislatures; 
the governors and President have executive 
power, and all these officers are elected for a 
specified term, and are replaced in office at reg¬ 
ular intervals, or may be removed by convic¬ 
tion after impeachment. The judiciary is 
restrained by prescription and statutes, and 
interprets and gives meaning to the law. The 
habeas corpus act guards the rights of the peo¬ 
ple, and they are further protected by the pro¬ 
visions of both the State and natfonal constitu¬ 
tions. The right of trial by jury serves as a bar 
to malicious prosecution. When necessary, the 
constitution of the State or nation may be 
changed by the consent and ratification of the 
people at regularly appointed elections. The 
Constitution of the United States at present 
consists of seven original articles and fifteen 
articles of amendment, the last one enfran¬ 
chising the Negro freedmen. It was framed by 
representatives of the people, who met in con¬ 
vention at Philadelphia, and adopted it on Sept. 
17, 1787. It became the fundamental law of the 
nation on the first Wednesday of March, 1789. 

The constitution of the Dominion of Canada 
went into effect on July 1, 1867, at which time 
the country consisted of the four provinces of 
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, .and 
Quebec. However, provisions had been made 
for the admission at any time as provinces other 
colonies or territories. Accordingly, Manitoba 
was admitted in 1870; British Columbia, in 1871; 
Prince Edward Island, in 1873; and Alberta 
and Saskatchewan, in 1905. The constitution 
is similar to that of Great Britain. The execu- 


CONSTITUTION 


545 


CONSUMPTION 


tive authority is vested in the British crown 
and carried on in its name by a governor-gen¬ 
eral and a privy council. Legislative power is 
vested in a Parliament of two houses, the Sen¬ 
ate and the House of Commons. Each province 
has a separate legislature and a lieutenant-gov¬ 
ernor. The right of suffrage varies somewhat 
in the different provinces and territories. 

CONSTITUTION, a celebrated vessel of 
the United States navy, sometimes called Old 
Ironsides from the hard lumber used in her 
construction. This vessel was launched Oct. 
20, 1797, but was not fully equipped until the 
following year, when she was put under Capt. 
•Nicholson for service against the French, and 
in 1799 was the flagship of Commodore Preble 
in the War with Tripoli. In 1812 she was put 
under Capt. Hull, who started from Annapolis 
and ran into a British fleet of five frigates. 
For three days she avoided an attack by mas¬ 
terly seamanship and escaped after a spirited 
chase without damage. On Aug. 19, 1812, she 
encountered the English frigate Guerriere un¬ 
der Capt. Dacres off Cape Race, and after a 
spirited battle of thirty minutes succeeded in 
wrecking her antagonist. On Dec. 29 of the 
same year she encountered the Java, a British 
vessel under Capt. Lambert, in the West Indies. 
Capt. Bainbridge, who had command, fought 
two hours and forced the Java to surrender. 
In this battle the Americans lost 34 men, while 
the British lost 100 killed and 200 wounded. On 
Dec. 30, 1813, the Constitution, under Capt. 
Stewart, sailed toward the West Indies and the 
following February captured the Picton with 
sixteen guns. In February, 1815, she captured 
the Cyane with thirty-six guns and the Levant 
with sixteen guns, but the latter was afterward 
retaken by a British squadron and the Consti¬ 
tution barely escaped capture. In 1828 the Con¬ 
stitution was reported unseaworthy and the 
navy department concluded to break her up 
and sell her old timbers, but the execution of 
the order was arrested by the opposition of pub¬ 
lic sentiment created largely by the poem of 
Oliver Wendell Holmes entitled “Old Iron¬ 
sides.” She was partly rebuilt in 1877 and 
crossed the Atlantic for the last time the fol¬ 
lowing year, and in 1897 was stored at the navy 
yard in Boston. 

CONSTITUTIONAL UNION PARTY, a 

political organization of the United States. It 
was organized by the remnants of the Whig 
party in the South at a convention held in Balti¬ 
more on May 9, 1860, at which delegates from 
twenty states were in attendance. John Bell of 
Tennessee was nominated for President and Ed¬ 
ward Everett of Massachusetts for Vice Pres¬ 


ident. The platform was of a general charac¬ 
ter, recognizing “no political principle but the 
Constitution of the country, the union of the 
states, and the enforcement of laws.” In the 
election it carried Virginia, Kentucky, and Ten¬ 
nessee, but received no support in the northern 
states. The popular vote cast for its candidates 
was about 600,000. 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED 
STATES. See United States, Constitution 
of. 

CONSUL (kon'sul), the name originally 
given to the two supreme magistrates in the 
Roman Republic. They were placed at the hedd 
of the senate by joint efforts of the patricians 
and plebeians in 509 b. c., after King Tarquinius 
Superbus had been expelled. They were vested 
with equal authority and elected annually. As 
a condition of eligibility the age of forty-five 
years was required. It was further necessary 
that a candidate previously passed through the 
lower offices of quaesfor, aedile, and praetor, 
and that he be in Rome at the time of the elec¬ 
tion. At first patricians were alone qualified to 
hold the dignity, but a plebeian was elected in 
366 b. c., and in 172 two plebeians were placed 
in the office. Their power included declaring 
war, concluding peace, and making alliances, 
and extended almost to the limits of power 
granted to preceding kings. 

Consul is a term applied to one of three 
supreme magistrates in France, designated First, 
Second, and Third consuls, who held office 
between 1799 and 1804.' Napoleon Bonaparte 
was the First Consul and soon assumed abso¬ 
lute power, being proclaimed emperor on April 
10, 1804. At present the term is applied to an 
officer of his own country who resides in a 
specified foreign country, with a view of pro¬ 
moting the commercial interests of the nation 
he represents. On arriving at the foreign coun¬ 
try he shows his credentials to the government, 
and obtains an exequatur sanctioning his ap- 
. pointment, and conveying to him all the rights 
and privileges of the office. He reports annu¬ 
ally or at specified times to his own government 
the state of commerce in the foreign country so 
far as it affects the interest of his own country. 
The office of consul is now recognized by all 
leading nations. It was first instituted in Italy 
in the middle of the 12th century, and was made 
an official position in all European countries 
by the 16th century. There are generally 
three ranks: consul general, consul, and vice 
consul. 

CONSUMPTION (kon-sump'shun), a wast¬ 
ing disease which affects the vital organs, but 
which is most common to the lungs. The 


35 




CONSUMPTION 


546 


CONTRABAND 


greatest number of cases occur between the 
ages of twenty and fifty, and it is more preva¬ 
lent in women than in men. The remote origin 
is often hereditary tendency or constitutional 
predisposition. The complexion of those inher¬ 
iting the disease is sallow or white, the veins 
are conspicuous, the circulation is languid, and 
the strength is small. Tubercles usually first 
become seated in the apex of one of the lungs, 
which cause a dry cough and later a difficulty 
in breathing. A frothylike saliva and blood are 
often expectorated. The average duration of 
the disease is twenty-three months, but death 
frequently results in nine months, and some¬ 
times in three. There are several types, in¬ 
cluding the chronic, latent, and acute. Different 
climates are marked by a fewer or greater num¬ 
ber of cases, though it exists in all countries. 
Florida, Colorado, Alberta, and the Pacific 
coast are the most favorable regions for persons 
afflicted with the disease. Dr. Koch, the great 
German authority, in 1880 announced the doc¬ 
trine that tubercles are masses of bacilli which 
destroy the parts affected. He attained success 
by inoculating the patients with lymph contain¬ 
ing specific morbific matter. Other remedies are 
the inhalation of dry hot air and balsams, and 
a change of climate. The best preventive is 
proper sanitation. In crowded workshops the 
disease is often spread by expectorations. The 
sputa on the floor dries and rises in the form of 
dust. This breathed into the lungs causes the 
bacilli to settle into the tubes and infect the 
individual. To prevent this, the spittoons should 
contain water and be emptied daily into sewers 
flushed by water. 

CONSUMPTION, in economics, the use or 
expenditure of wealth. In general all commodi¬ 
ties are destroyed in entering into new forms 
of wealth. It is in this way that wealth is 
increased by means of adding to the value of 
things existing, and by destroying forms of 
wealth that they may be reproduced as com¬ 
modities of greater value. Consumption is char¬ 
acterized as voluntary or involuntary. The for¬ 
mer implies destruction in one form for the 
purpose of producing another, or for the pur¬ 
pose of immediate gratification; while the lat¬ 
ter implies the natural wear and tear, such as 
rusting of iron or wearing fabrics or metals 
away by friction. Consumption, from the stand¬ 
point of utility, is defined as productive and 
unproductive. Productive consumption is the 
kind that produces commodities of higher value 
or commodities of greater utility, while unpro¬ 
ductive consumption is the form which is 
attended by loss and disappointment. The sub¬ 
ject of consumption in economics is one of per¬ 


sonal and political interest to every citizen. 
Upon the care exercised in commerce or in 
managing the products of labor and industry de¬ 
pends largely the fundamental success of the 
individual and the state. 

CONTEMPT (kun-temt'), in law, a disre¬ 
gard of the authority of a court or legislative 
assembly. It may be either direct, as by refusal 
to obey an order of the court, or constructive, 
as when officers of a court are guilty of any 
corrupt conduct, abuse of process, or culpable 
neglect of duty. The offending party is liable 
to punishment for contempt by summary order, 
without the ordinary form of criminal pro¬ 
ceedings, as indictment and trial by jury. The 
punishment for contempts may be a fine or im¬ 
prisonment, or both, but, if the contempt con¬ 
sists in the omission to perform an act which 
is yet in the power of the person to perform, 
he may be imprisoned until he performs it. All 
judgments and orders of courts are enforced in 
this way, except such as are for the payment of 
money or the delivery of property. 

CONTINENTAL SYSTEM (kon-ti-nen'- 
tal), the blockade of Great Britain ordered by 
Napoleon on Nov. 21, 1806, by the decree of 
Berlin. The object was to exclude England 
from all intercourse with the continent, hence 
the ports of France and its allied states were 
ordered closed against all vessels coming from 
England or her colonies, and it was directed 
that all commerce and correspondence from 
English ports wherever found be seized. The 
English government retaliated by prohibiting 
trade with France and declaring all harbors of 
that country and her allies in a state of block¬ 
ade. Napoleon immediately issued new decrees 
from Milan, Trianon, and Fontainebleau, in 
which Denmark, Russia, and Austria were 
forced to join France against England and all 
ports of Europe were closed against English 
vessels, except those of Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, 
and Sweden. These decrees caused English 
.goods to be smuggled to a vast extent, but 
British commerce lost heavily until 1812, when 
Napoleon declared war against Russia chiefly 
because her ports had been opened to English 
commerce, and his fall in 1814 was followed by 
a reopening of all the ports. The Orders in 
Council issued by England against Napoleon 
were similar to those enforced against the 
United States in 1812, and which were largely 
responsible for the War of 1812. * 

CONTRABAND (kon'tra-band), a term ap¬ 
plied in commerce to all goods and commod¬ 
ities exported from or imported into any coun¬ 
try contrary to law. Commodities imported in 
opposition or defiance of either of the two na- 


CONTRACT 


547 


CONVICT LABOR 


tions engaged in war are regarded contrabands 
of war, and their transportation by neutrals 
may be prohibited by one of the belligerents. 
Gen. Butler regarded Negro slaves contra¬ 
bands of war for the reason that the Negro 
was an element of strength to the Confeder¬ 
ates and aided them in producing munitions of 
war or rendering assistance in active service. 

CONTRACT (kon'trakt), in law, a bargain 
or agreement between two or more persons, 
who bind themselves to do or not to do a par¬ 
ticular thing. A contract may be verbal or writ¬ 
ten , but in some cases, such as the sale of land 
or the transfer of title in personal property 
without a change of possession, the agreement 
must be in writing and acknowledged before a 
notary public or some similar officer. Usually 
contracts are made in express terms, but they 
may be implied from circumstances or the acts 
of the parties who are mutually interested. 

Contracts made in relation to matters for¬ 
bidden by law, such as gambling and fighting, 
are illegal. This is true likewise of contracts 
whose terms are contrary to public policy, such 
as restrain trade or limit the rights of a citizen. 
Contracts that imply or relate to bribery, 
immorality, and the obstruction of justice are 
illegal because they pervert the acts of govern¬ 
ment. A voidable contract is one made under 
duress or misrepresentation, and, though not 
necessarily illegal, may be set aside. An agree¬ 
ment not enforceable by law is said to be void. 
A contract which ceases to be enforceable by 
law becomes void when it ceases to be enforce¬ 
able. 

The contract is the foundation of all the busi¬ 
ness transactions. The common law and the 
constitution of most governments forbid the 
passage of laws which act to impair the obliga¬ 
tion created by a valid contract, and such laws 
would be universally condemned as a violation 
of the fundamental principles of civilized soci¬ 
ety. Almost an indefinite variety of contracts 
arise in the affairs of business. However, all 
depend for their validity upon the capacity of 
the parties to the contract and upon the fact 
whether or not the agreement is based upon a 
sufficient consideration. Those who do not pos¬ 
sess the capacity to contract include idiots and 
lunatics, persons of weak mind, intoxicated per¬ 
sons, minors, and habitual drunkards who are 
under guardianship. Formerly a married wom¬ 
an could not bind herself in a contract, but in 
most states she is given an equal standing with 
the husband. Corporations have capacity to 
contract only in relation to the objects for which 
they were formed. Whether or not a proper 
consideration is the basis of a contract is a 


subject for question by a court. Considera¬ 
tions are of three kinds, that is, good, moral, 
and valuable. An agreement to give or. do 
something in the future, if no payment is made, 
may be regarded a good consideration, but it 
does not bind the party who promises and there¬ 
fore cannot be enforced. However, a transfer 
based upon the love and affection of a near 
relative is a valid agreement. A valuable con¬ 
sideration implies that money has been paid for 
a commodity that is a benefit to the payee. 

CONTRACTION (kon-trak'shun). See 
Abbreviation. 

CONVICT LABOR (kon'vikt), the system 
of employing prisoners at penal and reforma¬ 
tory institutions. The primary object in giving 
employment to prisoners is charitable rather 
than profitable financially, since those confined 
to prisons usually prefer to work and are per¬ 
sonally benefited by the exercise. Many writers 
regard idleness in prison life a much more 
severe punishment than the simple fact of being 
deprived of personal liberty. Three general 
schemes to employ prisoners are in vogue, those 
known as the contract, lease, and public account 
systems. In the contract system it is customary 
for the state to furnish the tools and materials 
with the prisoners, who are supervised by a con¬ 
tractor. Usually the contractor divides the pro¬ 
ceeds from the sale of commodities manufac¬ 
tured with the state, or the contractor furnishes 
all of the tools and material to be used under 
the supervision of the state, receiving an equita¬ 
ble share of the product. In the system of 
leasing prisoners the state turns them over to a 
contractor, who furnishes ample security for 
their care and employment, and all of the prod¬ 
ucts are the property of the contractor, who is 
required to pay a reasonable amount for the 
privilege of the lease. The account system im¬ 
plies that all of the work is to be done by the 
prisoners under the direct supervision of the 
state. 

The employment of convict labor varies 
greatly in different sections. In many places 
the convicts are employed on public enterprises, 
such as road making and the construction of 
drains and canals. However, it is more com¬ 
mon to have them do work within the prison, 
such as bookkeeping for the institution, laundry 
work, baking, and other lines necessarily con¬ 
nected with the prison itself. Additional lines 
of work include the manufacture of buttons, 
pottery, brooms, clothing, boots and shoes, and 
garden and field utensils. Some states work 
their convicts in stone quarries and coal mines. 
Labor unions have usually declared against the 
employment of convict labor in lines where it 



COOKERY 


548 


COOPERAGE 


comes in direct competition with free labor, 
since the tendency is to lower the wage scale. 
This circumstance and the fact that financial 
success should not be placed above prison dis¬ 
cipline are the most potent arguments against 
the employment of convicts in lines that com¬ 
pete with free laborers in the market. 

COOKERY (kook'er-y), the art of preparing 
food by dressing, compounding, and the appli¬ 
cation of heat. It originated from the necessi¬ 
ties of mankind, since the stomach is too small 
to contain sufficient vegetable matter to replace 
the daily waste of the system, hence it is 
required that foods be prepared and concen¬ 
trated. Food is rendered more palatable and 
more easily digestible by cooking, since it loos¬ 
ens the fibers and solidifies the fibrin and con¬ 
nective tissues of meats. It develops the flavor 
and lessens cohesion, thus improving both the 
vegetable and animal foods. The art of cook¬ 
ing is as old as the human race, but cooking 
schools are comparatively of a recent date. 
Schools of this kind were first established in 
Europe, where they were introduced as an addi¬ 
tion to boarding schools. In America, both in 
Canada and the United States, many private 
cooking schools are maintained, and in some of 
the cities cookery is made a branch of study in 
the public schools. These institutions study the 
theory of nutrition and the comparative values 
of foods, as well as to teach the practical appli¬ 
cation of methods in cookery. They aid to in¬ 
still habits of economy in preparing the food 
for table use, and at the same time promote 
interest in the scientific preparation of health¬ 
ful foods. 

Foods are usually divided into meats and 
vegetables, and with the former are included 
fish and eggs. To prepare meats for table use, 
they are either baked, boiled, braised, broiled, 
fried, or roasted. The albumen on the outside 
of meats coagulates as soon as it comes in con¬ 
tact with heat, hence the best soups are made by 
placing the meat in slightly warmed water and 
letting it boil slowly, so the nutritious elements 
will pass largely into the soup, while meat 
intended for table use without soup should be 
placed in very hot water or in an oven highly 
heated so the nutritious parts will remain 
largely within it. Vegetables are prepared for 
the table chiefly by baking, boiling, steaming, or 
frying, though many varieties are eaten in a raw 
state. Cookery includes the baking of bread and 
other foods prepared from ground cereals. All 
foods should be slightly seasoned at the time of 
preparation, and additional seasoning may be 
added at the time of service by each of the 
guests to suit the taste. When foods are not 


properly cooked, either too much or too little, 
they are less pleasurable and possess a smaller 
degree of nutritive qualities. See Bread. 

COOK INLET, a bay of Alaska, extending 
inland about 200 miles from Shelikof Strait. 
Near its entrance is the northern extremity of 
the Alaska Peninsula, which is separated by it 
from the Kenai Peninsula. In the vicinity are 
lofty mountains and highlands, some of which 
are characterized by glaciers. Navigation is 
more or less dangerous on account of severe 
storms and high tides that sweep up the bay 
from the Pacific Ocean. Cook Inlet is so named 
from Capt. Cook, who explored it in 1778, 
thinking it a passage to the Arctic Ocean. It 
receives the inflow from the Sushitna and sev¬ 
eral other rivers. 

COOK ISLANDS, an archipelago in the 
Pacific, located northeast of New Zealand and 
southwest of the Society Islands. They consist 
of six larger and a number of smaller islands 
and reefs, and the total area is 142 square miles. 
The largest island, Raratonga, has an area of 
thirty-one square miles. Coffee, copra, and 
fruits are the chief products. These islands 
were annexed for administrative purposes to 
New Zealand in 1900. They were named after 
Capt. Cook, who discovered the group in 1773. 
Population, 1906, 8,450. 

COOK STRAIT, a channel of New Zealand, 
which is separated by it into the two parts 
known as North Island and South Island. It 
was discovered by Capt. Cook in 1770 and named 
in his honor. Wellington, situated on its north¬ 
ern shore, has a fine harbor and is the chief 
commercial center on its banks. 

COOPERAGE (koop'er-aj), the ancient art 
of making vessels of pieces of wood held to¬ 
gether by hoops. The products are very numer¬ 
ous, including tubs, pails, casks, barrels, and fir¬ 
kins. The staves are upright pieces forming the 
sides of a barrel or cask, at each end of which 
is a head, and the whole is held together by 
metal or wooden hoops or bands. Barrels whose 
staves are widest in the middle are said to bulge 
in the center and taper toward the ends. Those 
having straight staves form a cylinder, or they 
are larger at one of the ends than at the other. 
Cooperage is known as wet or dry, the former 
producing vessels for holding liquids, while the 
latter is concerned in the manufacture of an 
inferior product to hold dry goods, such as 
crockery and chinaware. The best barrels are 
- made of white oak, which must be thoroughly 
seasoned before the work is done, and the parts 
are held together by strong steel bands or hoops, 
which are put on hot so the contraction on cool¬ 
ing binds the work together more firmly.. For- 


COOPERATION 


549 


COOS BAY 


merly much of the work in cooperage was done 
by hand, but now the sawing and cutting is 
wholly .by machinery. 

COOP ERATION (ko-op-er-a'shun), in 
economics, the association of a number of . per- 
1 sons or societies for mutual profit in banking, 
manufacturing, or any of the industrial arts. It 
is a form of partnership in which the profits are 
wholly divided among those interested, in pro¬ 
portion to the contribution of each to the prod¬ 
ucts. The enterprises of this character are usu¬ 
ally divided into the three classes of cooperative 
distribution, cooperative production, and cooper¬ 
ative societies for banking and loaning . How¬ 
ever, in a wider sense all production is cooper¬ 
ative, since it is mutually dependent upon nature, 
labor, and capital. 

Robert Owen, the English social reformer, 
was one of the early advocates of this system in 
America, though it had long been in vogue in 
several European countries. The National As¬ 
sembly of France voted $600,000 at the time of 
the Revolution of 1848 to encourage cooperation 
among the workmen. About 300 cooperative so¬ 
cieties were organized under this appropriation 
as well as others receiving no government aid, 
with more or less success. A large number sprang 
into existence about the same time in Germany, 
Belgium, Italy, and England, most of which were 
organized for cooperation in distribution, but 
some with the view of furthering production. 
Cooperation in distribution is designed chiefly to 
save the retail profits by dispensing with middle¬ 
men. This line is well represented in Canada 
and the United States by cooperative retail 
stores and jobbing houses. 

Among the difficulties to contend with in co¬ 
operative enterprises are the reverses to which 
all business is liable that requires reserve capital 
in order to tide it safely over obstacles, as panics 
or eras of excessive production. If the capital 
employed is only sufficient to conduct the busi¬ 
ness when the times are prosperous, a failure 
may result in panics, or at times when there is 
a stringency of money in the financial centers. 
In ordinary business the employer must be a 
competent man to manage successfully. He 
should have skill sufficient to put capital and 
labor together so as to render them profitably 
productive, and must be an organizer and over¬ 
seer. It is required that he call into use good 
financial ability, ready discernment, judgment in 
buying and selling, and an accurate knowledge 
of the wants of the public. An employer may be 
without capital of his own, but he must have 
the necessary elements to successfully supervise 
and direct the energy and application of the em¬ 
ployees. It is often impossible to secure these 


essentials in cooperative associations, from which 
cause many attempts to establish and conduct 
them on a stable and permanent basis have 
failed. Where all the members are qualified to 
do a certain portion of the work and a competent 
manager and supervisor is available, the sys¬ 
tem, once permanently established, may prove 
highly beneficial and render the most whole¬ 
some returns to all those interested in the 
enterprise. 

COOPER’S CREEK, a river of Australia, 
formed in Queensland by the confluence of the 
Thomson and Victoria rivers. It flows in a 
general southwesterly direction through an arid 
region and discharges into Lake Eyre, which 
has no outlet to the sea. The river is low dur¬ 
ing the dry season and in places the water sinks 
out of sight, but in the rainy times it rises fully 
twenty feet and is about two miles wide. 

COOPER UNION, an institution of New 
York City, established in 1859 by Peter Cooper 
for the advancement of science and art. Instruc¬ 
tion is free for the working classes, who have 
access to courses in art, science, and social and 
political economy through the medium of indi¬ 
vidual teaching and lectures. This institution is 
housed in a large building on the Bowery, at a 
point where that street divides into Third and 
Fourth avenues, and was established at a cost 
of $630,000. It remained practically without en¬ 
dowment until 1900, when Andrew Carnegie 
made a gift of $600,000. The annual income at 
present approximates $100,000, while the endow¬ 
ments are $2,125,000, and the total value of all 
property is $3,250,000. Instruction is given both 
to day and evening classes, so as to meet the 
convenience of working people, and the average 
enrollment is about 3,000 students. The success 
of this laudable institution must in a large meas¬ 
ure be ascribed to its founder and those who 
constituted its original board of trustees. These 
included Peter Cooper, Wilson G. Hunt, Daniel 
F. Tiemann, Abram S. Hewitt, Edward Cooper, 
and John E. Parsons. 

COOSA RIVER (koo'sa), a river of the 
United States, formed in northwestern Georgia 
by the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula 
rivers. It has a general course toward the 
southwest into Alabama, where it flows through 
the southern extremity of the Appalachian 
Range, and near Montgomery is joined by the 
Tallapoosa River to form the Alabama River. 
It is about 340 miles long and the lower part 
of its course is navigable. 

COOS BAY (ko-os'), an inlet of the Pacific 
Ocean, on the western shore of Oregon. It is 
about 15 miles long and one mile wide, and 
receives the inflow from the Coos River. Near 




COOT 


550 


COPIAPO 


its entrance is Cape Arago, and on its banks are 
the cities of Marshfield and Empire City. 

COOT (koot), a bird of the rail family, na¬ 
tive to America and Eurasia, frequenting the 
coasts and inland waters. A number of the spe¬ 
cies are widely distributed, migrating to the 
colder zones in the spring. The common name 
by which most of the species are known is mud 
hen. The American coot has a black head and 
neck and a white bill and frontal plate, and is 
about fifteen inches long. The general color is 
brown or dark slate. Its wings measure fully 
25 inches from tip to tip, and its weight is from 
one to two pounds. It is widely distributed in 



AMERICAN COOT. 


North America from the West Indies to the 
Saskatchewan. The favorite resorts are the 
reed-lined borders of ponds, lakes, and rivers. 
Its skill to run, swim, and fly is well developed. 
The food consists chiefly of seeds, worms, in¬ 
sects, fish, grasses, and other substances found in 
shallow water. Its nest is made in the reeds, in 
which from seven to ten ash-gray eggs, with 
small black spots, are laid. The young are 
skilled in swimming shortly after being hatched. 
While its flesh is eaten, it is not preferred as an 
article of food. 

COPAIBA (ko-pa'ba), or Copaiva, a valu¬ 
able product obtained by making incisions in the 
stems of certain trees native to the tropical parts 
of America. It consists of a resin, known as the 
resin of copaiba, and a volatile oil called the oil 
of copaiba. The product has an acrid taste and 
a peculiar odor, and is valuable in medicine for 
treating chronic catarrh and other diseases. Cas¬ 
tor oil is frequently used to adulterate the bal¬ 
sam of copaiba. 

COPENHAGEN (ko-pen-ha'gen), the cap¬ 
ital of Denmark, situated on the islands of Zea¬ 
land and Amager, which are separated by the 


Kalvebod Strand, an inlet from the Sound. The 
portion situated on the island of Amager is 
called Christianshavn. An excellent harbor is 
located in the Kalvebod Strand, which is deep 
and well protected. The principal part of the 
city is well fortified with old and new fortifica¬ 
tions, the strongest portion being the citadel of 
Frederickshavn. 

The principal streets radiate from the Kon- 
gens Nystrov, an irregular square, in which is a 
fine equestrian statue of Christian V. Among 
the chief buildings are the Church of Our Lady, 
the Church of Our Redeemer, the Holmen’s 
Church, the Palace of Charlottenborg, the Royal 
Academy of Art, and the Exchange Building. 
Many of the larger structures are decorated with 
works of art by Thorwaldsen, notably the Church 
of Our Lady, which contains a kneeling angel 
holding a shell for a font. The national capital, 
royal castle, and many other edifices are substan¬ 
tial in construction and beautiful in style. The 
royal library contains 750,000 voluipes, while the 
National University, founded in 1497, has a li¬ 
brary of 350,000 volumes and is attended by 2,000 
students. Several botanical gardens, boulevards, 
and public parks beautify the city. 

Copenhagen is the focus of many railroad 
lines that connect it in all directions. Electric 
street railways furnish convenient urban and' 
suburban passage. It has gas and electric lights, 
stone and asphalt pavements, and an elaborate 
system of sanitary sewerage. In many parts of 
the city are fine equestrian monuments and foun¬ 
tains. The public schools and educational sys¬ 
tems are efficiently organized and ably supervised 
and rank among the finest in the world. The 
manufactures include fabrics, machinery, cloth¬ 
ing, toys, scientific apparatus, steamboats, mu¬ 
sical instruments, leather, and earthenware. It 
is noted as a publishing center of books and 
periodicals. The commerce, both by railroad and 
ocean navigation, is extensive, and has long taken 
high rank among the most important of Europe. 

The history of Copenhagen may be said to be¬ 
gin with the 12th century, when it was a small 
fishing village. It was fortified in 1167 and soon 
became of commercial importance, owing to its 
good harbor. In 1443 it became the capital of 
Denmark. At present it is the center of Danish 
art, literature, and education. Population, 1906, 
426,540. , 

COPIAPO (ko-pe-a-po'), a city of Chile, 
capital of the province of Atacama, 50 miles 
southeast of Caldera, its port on the Pacific 
Ocean. It is the focus of several railroads arid 
is surrounded by a farming and mining coun¬ 
try. Among the public utilities are a library, 
electric lighting, and a provincial high school. 


COPPER 


551 


COPTS 


It has large smelting works and machine shops. 
In one of the public places is a statue of Juan 
Godoy, who discovered the silver mines in its 
vicinity. The city was founded in 1707. Popu¬ 
lation, 1908, 10,510. 

COPPER (kop'per), a reddish ductile metal. 
It is the most ductile of the metals next to gold, 
silver, and platinum; the most elastic, except 
steel; and the most sonorous, except aluminum. 
Next to silver it is the most powerful conductor 
of heat and electricity. Several alloys are 
formed from copper. Brass is an alloy of one- 
third zinc and two-thirds copper. Bell-metal, 
gun-metal, and bronze are alloys of copper and 
tin. It forms a number of compounds and salts, 
all of which are poisonous. Copper was known 
in prehistoric times, the copper age preceding the 
bronze age. It was used in ancient Assyria and 
is mentioned in the Old Testament in Ezra viii., 
27. The Greeks and Romans brought it in large 
quantities from Cyprus, where it was mined near 
Famagusta. 

The United States ranks as the largest copper 
producing country of the world. The annual 
output was reported in 1907 at 898,750,640 
pounds, which is about the average amount pro¬ 
duced per year. This is about half of the en¬ 
tire annual output of the world. The three most 
important copper producing states are Montana, 
Michigan, and Arizona, in the order named. 
The principal sources of copper, aside from the 
United States, are Spain, Germany, Chile, South 
Africa, Mexico, and British Columbia, but it is 
found more or less widely distributed in all 
countries. It occurs native and with the miner¬ 
als cuprite, azurite, malachite, bornite, tenorite, 
chalcocite, chalcopyrite, etc. In the upper penin¬ 
sula of Michigan, on Lake Superior, it occurs 
largely as native copper. In Montana the ores 
yield about seven per cent, of copper and pay¬ 
ing quantities of silver and gold, while the 
richest in quality found in Arizona yield about 
ten per cent, of copper. The use of copper is 
widening continually. Besides its use in electro¬ 
typing, engraving, and for household utensils, it 
is employed largely in shipbuilding, telephones, 
electrical appliances, cables, trolley wires, and 
cartridges. The world’s supply of copper in re¬ 
cent years greatly exceeds that of former times, 
but the building of electric railways and elec¬ 
trical apparatus has developed a constantly in¬ 
creasing demand. 

COPPERAS (kop'per-as), the hydrated pro¬ 
tosulphate of iron, sometimes called green vit¬ 
riol. It is found in a natural state, resulting 
from the decomposition of pyritous iron, and is 
prepared upon a large scale for various uses in 
art. The manufactured product is generally 


contaminated with various mixtures, such as the 
salts of zinc, .magnesia, alumina, and copper, 
and the oxide of iron. Copperas is used in 
medicine as a tonic, for producing black dyes, 
for making ink and Prussian blue, and for many 
purposes in dye works. 

COPPERHEAD (kop'per-hed), a venomous 
serpent of North America, classed with the rat¬ 
tlesnake family. It is without rattles, but has 
loral plates on the head. The full-grown cop¬ 
perhead is about three feet long, is a sluggish 
animal, and has a light copper color with darker 
transverse bars. It is more abundant in the 
southern than in the northern states, and locally 
is known under the names of moccasin, red 
adder, and cottonmouth. The bite is often 
fatal. 

COPPERHEAD, a nickname given to a 
political faction during the Civil War, which 
was generally considered to be in secret sym¬ 
pathy with the South. The name was applied 
from the copperhead, a poisonous serpent that 
gives no warning of his intended attack, there¬ 
fore typical of a concealed foe. 

COPPERMINE RIVER, a river of North 
America, in Canada. Its source is in Point Lake 
and it has a general course toward the north, 
discharging into Coronation Gulf, an inlet from 
the Arctic Ocean. It is about 300 miles long, 
but is not valuable for navigation, having a large 
number of falls and torrents in its course. 

COPRA, the dried kernal of the cocoanut, 
from which cocoanut oil is expressed. About 
25 pounds of oil are obtained from 500 pounds 
of copra. See Cocoanut. 

COPTS' (kopts), the descendants of the an¬ 
cient Egyptians. They make up the remnant of 
the once numerous church of Egypt that main¬ 
tained the celebrated school of Alexandria. Writ¬ 
ers generally agree that they were converted to 
Christianity by Saint Mark, though they hold 
that one nature, not two, existed in Christ. The 
Greeks tyrannized over them, which caused them 
to submit to the Mohammedans, and to aid them 
in conquering Alexandria in the year 640 a. d. 
There are still about 250,000 Copts in Egypt, 
most of whom reside in its upper provinces. 
Their dress is similar to the apparel of the Mo¬ 
hammedans, and they are of middle height and 
dark complexion, and have curly hair. Their 
language bears the same relation to that of the 
ancient Egypfians that the Italian does to the 
Latin. The nucleus of the language came from 
the ancients, but the spoken tongue is very dif¬ 
ferent from the early spoken tongue on account 
of the foreign words which were inserted by 
long contact with the Greeks, Arabs, and Moors. 
In the 10th century Arabic was used largely in- 


COPYING MACHINE 


552 


COPYRIGHT 


stead of the Egyptian, since which time the lan¬ 
guage has been more or less transitory. The 
Copts speak a dialect of their own, but learn 
the Arabic and use it largely. They maintain 
several convents and a number of secondary 
monasteries, and support a patriarch, bishops, 
presbyters, archdeacons, and other minor church 
dignitaries. 

. COPYING MACHINE, a device for dupli¬ 
cating letters and manuscripts. Machines of 
this class may be divided into two kinds, those 
used in copying writing done by hand or by 
a typewriter and those in which the copy and 
the original are made at the same time. In the 
former it is customary to use a book containing 
leaves of thin paper, so the letters or manu¬ 
scripts can be indexed in alphabetical order, and 
pressure for copying is furnished by a letter- 
press. The ink used is made specially for the 
purpose, or common ink may be thickened by 
adding sugar or some other substance to prevent 
it from drying rapidly, and when letters written 
on a machine are to be copied it is necessary to 
use a copying ribbon. The general method of 
copying is to place the written manuscript in the 
copying book, with a piece of oiled paper be¬ 
neath, then turn a leaf of the book over the 
writing to be copied, which is covered with a 
damp sheet of blotting or unsized paper, and 
over this is placed another piece of oiled paper 
to protect the book from absorbing moisture, 
after which it is placed in the letterpress, and 
the writing is transferred to the page of the 
book which lies between the writing and the 
damp sheet. Pressure is obtained by a screw or 
lever. Several letters can be copied on the same 
page or even on a number of pages at the same 
time. The copying books used most extensively 
contain 1,000 leaves, and when filled they are 
marked on the back and placed in the library 
of records. 

More recently it has become customary to 
write and copy at the same time, which may be 
done either by hand or with the typewriter when 
carbon paper is placed between the sheet con¬ 
taining the original and that on which the copy 
is to be preserved. This method has an advan¬ 
tage where a large amount of business corre¬ 
spondence is necessary with one person or com¬ 
pany, especially where it runs through a period 
of several years. In that case the copies are at¬ 
tached to the letters to which reply is made, 
hence it is possible to file in a systematic order 
both the letter received and the reply sent in 
answer to the same. By using a typewriter it is 
possible to obtain from one to five carbon copies 
from one writing. 

Thomas A. Edison is the inventor of the 


mimeograph, by which an indefinite number of 
copies of either hand or machine writing may 
be obtained. The work is done by placing a 
sheet of thin paper, coated on one side with a 
film of paraffin wax, over a plate of steel, known 
as the baseboard, and writing the copy with a 
fine-pointed steel stylus, using care that the im¬ 
pressions are made entirely over the steel plate, 
whose surface is corrugated much like a very 
fine file. When the stencil, or written page, is 
prepared, it is placed in a frame, which holds 
it tight and smooth, a sheet of paper is laid on 
the baseboard, the frame containing the stencil 
is turned over it, and an ink roller is passed 
over the surface of the latter, the pressure of 
which forces the ink through the stencil and 
produces the writing on the sheet beneath. Sten¬ 
cils prepared by the typewriter are likewise on 
paraffin paper, the type producing the perfora¬ 
tions. A newer form of the mimeograph con¬ 
sists of a device with a revolving cylinder, on 
which the stencil is attached and the ink on the 
inner side is forced through and produces the 
writing on a sheet of paper placed on the base¬ 
board beneath. It is possible to procure several 
hundred copies from the same stencil by either 
method. 

The blue print process is used extensively in 
copying plans and drawings prepared by archi¬ 
tects and engineers. Another device, the hekto- 
graph, may be used in obtaining from fifty to 
one hundred copies, but the original writing-is 
done wholly by hand. It consists of a pad or 
tablet prepared with glycerin and gelatin. The 
original writing is done with an aniline ink, to 
which a small per cent, of glycerin is added, and 
is written on ordinary paper, and this is placed 
face down upon the hiektograph, which receives 
the copy as soon as the writing comes in close 
touch with it. To reproduce the writing, a sheet 
of paper is pressed carefully down upon the 
hektograph, which transfers a copy to the sheet 
of paper. The writing is reproduced by slight 
portions of the ink adhering to the surface, and 
the number that may be obtained depends upon 
the care exercised. 

COPYRIGHT (kop'y-rit), the exclusive 
privilege secured by law to authors and their 
heirs or assigns to publish and sell their produc¬ 
tions for a certain time. In the United States 
the copyright law requires the author, in order 
to secure a copyright, to file in the office of the 
librarian of Congress, or deposit in the mail 
within the United States, addressed to the libra¬ 
rian of Congress at Washington, D. C., a 
copy of the title of the book, or description of 
engraving or article, before publication. He is 
required to send two copies of the production 


COQUIMBO 


553 


CORAL 


to the same office not later than the day of pub¬ 
lication and to pay a fee of fifty cents. A cer¬ 
tificate of the copyright is issued on the pay¬ 
ment of an additional fee of fifty cents. In 
Canada the fee is. the same, but one copy of the 
production must be filed in the library of the 
Parliament of Canada, and one copy in the Brit¬ 
ish Museum, London. The copyright, both in 
the British possessions and the United States, 
extends for twenty-eight years, and, if at the 
end of that time the author is still living, he 
may obtain its extension for fourteen years 
longer; or, if dead, his living representatives 
may obtain its extension, making in all forty- 
two years. However, in Canada the author or 
proprietor must publish a notice of the exten¬ 
sion in the Canadian Gazette. The productions 
that may be copyrighted include books, engrav¬ 
ings, paintings, photographs, maps, blank forms, 
and many others produced by authors, painters, 
draughtsmen, etc. 

In 1878 a movement began in Paris to pro¬ 
mote the international copyright whereby au¬ 
thors and artists hoped to secure protection in 
various countries. A conference met at Bern, 
Switzerland, in 1885, at which representatives 
were present from France, Germany, Spain, 
Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, 
Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, and Mexico 
to consider the copyright interests of those na¬ 
tions.' Great Britain confirmed the Bern con¬ 
vention in 1887 and the United States Congress 
enacted a law in 1891 by whose terms interna¬ 
tional copyrights are recognized. The provisions 
include that the entire manufacture of the for¬ 
eign copyrighted work must be done within the 
country where it is to be protected. 

COQUIMBO (ko-kem'bo), a seaport of 
Chile, in the province of Coquimbo, 10 miles 
south of La Serena, with which it is connected 
by a railway. The surrounding country is agri¬ 
cultural and mining. It has a good harbor and 
a large export trade, chiefly in copper, gold, sil¬ 
ver, and fruits. The principal buildings include 
a theater, a number of schools, and extensive 
warehouses. Population, 1906, 8,530. 

CORAL (kor'al), the hard structure or skele¬ 
ton secreted by the tissues of various marine 
polyps. These organisms so nearly resemble 
plants that they were long classed with plant 
life. They propagate themselves by a kind of 
budding as well as by the production of eggs 
and young similar to other animals. They are 
usually compound, many individuals being united 
into a colony. The coral assumes various forms, 
being branched fanlike, brainlike, featherlike, or 
chainlike. The hard coral formations seen on 
the market are composed of the lime of the 


ocean, which is incorporated among the tissues 
of the body, and in this form the remains of 
these animals make up vast calcareous deposits 
in the warm seas. The calcareous deposition 
begins when the polyp is still newly formed, and 
adheres to a rock or some other object, to which 
it becomes affixed and on which the coral is 
built up or grows. In general the deposits of 
the former generations form the base to which 
the growing young life is attached. The re¬ 
forming coral polyps grow only in regions where 
the winter temperature of the water is never 
lower than 68° Fahr., but there are several spe- 


1, Red Coral; 2. Brain Coral; 3, Tree Coral; 4, Madre¬ 
pore Coral. A, Skeleton; B, Living Corals. 

cies that grow in colder water. The region 
where reef-bearing corals live extends 1,800 miles 
on each side of the Equator, except in the vicin¬ 
ity of Bermuda, which lies in the warm waters 
of the Gulf Stream. The calcareous remains of 
polyps form coral reefs. They are classed as 
fringing, barrier, and encircling reefs, according 
to the particular manner in which they form 
coral islands. 

Coral islands begin as a fringing reef or nar¬ 
row belt of coral rock, lying near the shore of 
an ordinary island. Barrier reefs are wider 
than fringing reefs and lie at a greater distance 
from the shore. An encircling reef is similar to 
a fringing reef and usually encircles the island, 
forming an atoll. A lagoon is formed by the 






CORAL SEA 


554 


CORDUROY ROAD 


island sinking, the coral polyps building upward 
from the reefs, which eventually leave an open 
space of water or lagoon in the center. Polyps 
do not grow at a depth exceeding one hundred 
feet, nor above the surface of the water. The 
action of waves breaks the delicate coral struc¬ 
tures, and these, together with shells from 
various shellfish, are ground into fragments and 
thrown by waves over the general level of the 
water. In-this way reefs and coral islands are 
formed, but they seldom exceed twelve feet in 
height. 

The islands formed by the coral remains be¬ 
come covered with trees and plants, the seeds 
being conveyed through the agency of winds and 
birds from adjacent islands. Reptiles and small 
quadrupeds are carried to them by trunks of 
trees floating in the water. Thus, divers forms 
of life are brought to and extended on the island 
and reefs. Various products made of different 
species of polyps are the coral of commerce. 
Among the valuable classes are the pink, red, 
and black. The industry of coral fishing is car¬ 
ried on in various regions, particularly in the 
Mediterranean Sea. Many forms of coral are 
capable of taking on a polish and are useful in 
manufacturing ornaments, charms, and divers 
commodities useful in domestic and social life. 

CORAL SEA, the name applied to the por¬ 
tion of the Pacific Ocean lying northeast of 
Australia. It is bounded on the north by New 
Guinea and the Solomon Islands, east by the 
New Hebrides, south by New Caledonia and the 
Pacific, and west by Australia. The extreme 
depth, according to soundings made in 1874, is 
14,700 feet. It is so named from the large num¬ 
ber of coral reefs and islands located within its 
confines. 

CORCORAN ART GALLERY, a collec¬ 
tion of works of art at Washington, D. C., 
founded by William Wilson Corcoran and 
opened to the public in 1869. The Corcoran 
donations, including the lot and building, 
amounted to $1,600,000. The building is located 
on New York avenue, opposite the executive 
•grounds, and has a length of 265 feet. It is 
constructed of beautiful white marble in the Neo- 
Greek style, after the plans of Ernest Flagg, of 
New York. The collections include sculptures, 
ceramics, paintings, and portraits, and a school 
of art is maintained to further interest and skill 
in painting and sculpturing. The famous col¬ 
lections include Hiram Powers’s “Greek Slave” 
and Vincenzo Velas’s “Last Days of Napoleon.” 
Visitors are required to pay a small admission 
toward a charity fund and are admitted only on 
special days. 

CORDILLERA (kor-dil'ler-a), a word of 


Spanish origin, applied generally to a ridge or 
chain of mountains. In America it Is the name 
of the vast mountain system which extends 
along the Pacific coast of North and South 
America, from the northern part of Alaska to 
the island of Tierra del Fuego. The Cordilleras 
of these continents include the Andes of South 
America and the mountain ranges of. North 
America known as the Rocky Mountains, the 
Sierra Nevada, the Sierra Madre, and a- num¬ 
ber of chains in Canada and Alaska. 

CORDOVA (kor'do-va), or Cordoba, a city 
of Spain, on the Guadalquivir, capital of the 
province of Cordova. It is situated at the base 
of the Sierra de Cordova, at an altitude of 325 
feet, and has railroad and electric railway facili¬ 
ties. The cathedral, built as a mosque in the 8th 
century, is -in the Moorish style of architecture. 
In the central piazza is an equestrian statue of 
Gen. Paz. Other noteworthy features include 
the university, the government palace, the public 
library, and the observatory. The vineyards, 
parks, and boulevards are very beautiful, though 
some of its streets are quite narrow. It is the 
seat of extensive manufactures and has a brisk 
trade in Cordovan leather, silk, cereals, clothing, 
and silver filigree. The Romans founded Cor¬ 
dova in 132 b. c., later it fell into the hands of 
the Goths, and subsequently became a possession 
of the Moors. It was the leading city of the 
Moorish kings from the 9th to the 12th century, 
and they built many mosques, palaces, and public 
places. Population, 1906, 60,148. 

CORDOVA, or Cordoba, an important rail¬ 
road and commercial city in the interior of Ar¬ 
gentina, capital of the province of the same 
name. It is surrounded by a fertile country, 
which has productive mineral interests. The 
city is an important railroad junction between 
Rosario, on the Parana, and Tucuman. Its man¬ 
ufactures embrace machinery, cigars, flour, cloth¬ 
ing, and furniture. Waterworks, pavements, 
electric lights, and street railways are among the 
improvements. It was founded by the Spanish 
in 1573. The university was built by the Jesuits 
in 1613 and in 1871 it was the seat of the first 
national exposition of Argentina. Population, 
1906, 56,457. 

CORDUROY (kor'du-roi), a kind of cotton 
material in which the pile is cut like that in vel¬ 
vet, but the surface is corded or ribbed. The 
pile weft is bound to the cloth, causing the ribs 
which are separated by a but or division. Cor¬ 
duroy is used extensively in making wearing 
apparel for men. 

CORDUROY ROAD, a highway built in 
marshy places by laying small logs side by side. 

It is so named from its rough or ribbed surface. 


COREA 


555 


COREA 


Corduroy roads are constructed only in sparsely 
settled regions, chiefly in the swamps and 
marshes found in many of the forests, and 
are used principally in hauling timbers and lum¬ 
ber. 

COREA (ko-re'a), or Korea, a country in 
the eastern part of Asia, located between the 
parallels of 34° 17' and 43° north, and between 
the meridians of 124° 38' and 130° and 33' east. 
It is bounded on the north by Manchuria, east 
by the Japan Sea, south by Corea Strait, and 
west by the Yellow Sea. The country occupies 
mainly a peninsula, separated from Japan by 
Corea Strait and partly from Manchuria by the 
Yalu River. The length from north to south 
is about 600 miles; breadth, 135 miles; and area, 
82,100 square miles. 

Description. The surface is generally moun¬ 
tainous, with numerous fertile valleys and a 
productive sea coast. The highest mountains 
are in the northern part, where the elevations 
have a height ranging from 3,500 to 8,000 feet, 
and an elevated ridge extends the entire length 
of the peninsula, lying chiefly along the eastern 
seaboard. Most of the northern part and all of 
the mountains are well wooded, but the hills 
and fertile plains of the west and south have 
few trees. 

Corea has few large rivers and the drainage 
is chiefly toward the south and west.. The Yalu, 
on its northern boundary; the Ta-tung, in the 
central part, and the Keum, in the southern sec¬ 
tion, are the principal rivers, all of which dis¬ 
charge into the Yellow Sea. The Tuman, in the 
eastern part, is the only river of note that flows 
into the Sea of Japan. All sections of the coun¬ 
try have an abundant rainfall, which has an an¬ 
nual average of 36 inches, and most of the pre¬ 
cipitation is during the rainy season between 
May and September. The climate, like that of 
Japan, is equible and healthful. In summer the 
average temperature is 75°, while the range is 
from 5° in winter to 90° in summer. 

Though Corea does not possess an extensive 
flora, it is quite rich in valuable forests. Among 
the chief species are fir, lime, pine, oak, birch, 
ash, bamboo, mulberry, and hornbeam. Forestry 
is prompted as an enterprise and the government 
has a monopoly in ginseng. Many wild animals 
are abundant, especially the fox, badger, deer, 
otter, and squirrel. The birds include the crane, 
ibis, hawk, egret, heron, oriole, cuckoo, king¬ 
fisher, duck, and goose. Water fowls are abun¬ 
dant along the coast. 

Mining. The mining industry is carried on 
chiefly under concessions granted to companies 
organized by capitalists in Great Britain, Ger¬ 
many, Russia, and the United States. Coal de¬ 


posits are worked in the west central parts, and 
gold is obtained by placer mining as well as 
from the ore. The value of the output of gold is 
about $2,500,000 annually. Copper is found in 
many sections and most of the output is ex¬ 
ported. Other minerals worked more or less 
extensively are iron, galena, granite, limestone, 
and sandstone. Most of the coal obtained is 
bituminous, but profitable veins of lignite and 
anthracite coal are worked. 

Agriculture. Farming is the principal occu¬ 
pation, and rice is the most valuable crop. Most 
of the land is held in small estates and the soil 
is tilled with a great deal of care, every avail¬ 
able portion being worked to good advantage. 
Barley, oats, and millet are grown chiefly in the 
northern part, and tobacco, wheat, maize, hemp 
and cotton comprise the principal crops in the 
south. All kinds of vegetables and many varie¬ 
ties of fruit are grown extensively. Cattle rais¬ 
ing has had a small share of attention, but this 
enterprise is being introduced, and milk, butter, 
and cheese, though largely unknown in Corea, 
are coming into use as articles of food. Oxen 
of large size are grown for the market and as 
animals of burden and draft, and the native 
horse is a small animal, not much larger than a 
Shetland pony. Goats, hogs, and poultry receive 
more or less attention. 

Manufacturing. The Coreans possess little 
skill in manufactufing when compared to the 
Chinese and Japanese. Formerly they possessed 
considerable ability in this enterprise, and it is 
largely due to them that the arts and sciences of 
China were introduced to the people of Japan. 
Paper is at present one of the chief manufac¬ 
tures. Next in order are products made from 
hemp and grass, such as mats and cordage. 
Split bamboo screen, inlaid woodwork, brass- 
ware, coarse cotton and silk clothing, hats, and 
umbrellas are among the general manufactures. 
The Coreans make a fine grade of thread and 
a large variety of silk and cotton textiles. Little 
attention is given to the manufacture of mod¬ 
ern machinery, but a large variety of imple¬ 
ments and utensils used in gardening and farm¬ 
ing are produced. The fisheries yield many 
articles of food and for export. Among the 
chief catches are the salmon, halibut, herring, 
shark, sardine, and whale, all of which enter 
more or less prominently into manufacturing 
enterprises, such as curing and canning. The 
meat of the whale is esteemed as an article of 
food among the native Coreans. 

Commerce and Transportation. Corea was 
long tributary to China, hence its trade with 
foreign countries remained limited many cen¬ 
turies. Formerly it was almost entirely with 



COREA 


556 


CORFU 


China and Japan, but eight of its seaports were 
opened to the commerce of the world prior to 
1900. The imports somewhat exceed the ex¬ 
ports. Among the chief imports are kerosene, 
tobacco, metals, and machinery; while the ex¬ 
ports include copper, rice, hides, ginseng, whale 
flesh, and paper. Few highways have been im¬ 
proved in a first-class condition and travel is 
still largely in Sedan chairs and on horseback. 
The rivers are used largely for transportation. 
Railroads were unknown until 1901, when a line 
was constructed between Seoul and Chemulpo, 
a distance of twenty-five miles. A railway was 
built soon after from Seoul to Fusan, on the 
Corea Strait, a distance of 285 miles, and an¬ 
other line extends from Seoul to Wiju, at the 
mouth of the Yula. The total lines in opera¬ 
tion do not exceed 1,000 miles, but there is a 
large mileage of telephone and telegraph lines, 
and electric railways penetrate from Seoul into 
the adjacent country. 

Government. Corea paid tribute to China 
until 1895, when it became an absolute mon¬ 
archy, but the Portsmouth Treaty, in 1905, made 
it tributary to Japan. The government is ad¬ 
ministered by a governor general resident at 
Seoul, the capital, but all diplomatic business is 
transacted from Tokio, the seat of the Japanese 
government. The country is divided for local 
administration into thirteen provinces and 339 
kun or prefectures. In methods of education it 
remained distinctly Chinese until 1895, when a 
new public school system was inaugurated, and 
schools provide work from the primary depart¬ 
ment to the university at Seoul. A number of 
the higher institutions maintain departments for 
languages, including those under the instruction 
of Japanese, Chinese, German, Russian, English, 
and French. A number of mission schools are 
maintained by many of the Christian denomina¬ 
tions. 

Inhabitants.. Corea is populated largely with 
a class of people of Mongolian descent, who 
seem to have sprung from intermarriages of 
the Ainos, Japanese, and Chinese. Some writers 
class the Coreans immediately between the Chi¬ 
nese and Japanese, but they are somewhat taller 
and more robust and have a lighter complexion 
than either of these races, hence some think 
that they contain a mixture of Caucasian blood. 
Polygamy is practised to a limited extent, but is 
not authorized as an institution, and the women 
live in seclusion. Colored clothing and hats 
of horsehair are worn by the nobility, while the 
common people make use largely of white and 
uncolored clothing. Buddhism is the chief reli¬ 
gion, but in practice it is more or less perverted 
by Shamanism, and has developed into a form 


of ancestor and animal worship. The Protes¬ 
tant and Roman Catholic churches find Corea 
a prolific field for missionary work. Seoul, the 
capital, is located near the mouth of the Han 
River. Fusan, on Corea Strait, is important as 
a port of entry. Other cities include Chemulpo, 
Pingyang, and Kai-Ku. Population, 1908, 13,- 
560,108. , 

History. The early history of Corea is 
shrouded in doubt and mystery. The nation is 
thought to have been founded about 1120 b. c., 
but little is known of it until 108 b. c., when it 
was made a part of the Chinese Empire. It 
was divided into principalities about the begin¬ 
ning of the Christian Era, but remained depend¬ 
ent upon China until about 960 a. d., when 
one of the principalites became independent and 
soon after annexed the others. It continued to 
remain an independent kingdom about 300 years, 
in which Buddhism was introduced and the 
arts and sciences made strides of advancement. 
In 1392 the dynasty was overthrown and the 
priests were banished, and the country was suc¬ 
cessively invaded by armies of China and Japan, 
each seeking to secure a preponderance of influ¬ 
ence. Japan retained Fusan as a trade center 
many centuries, but the country was nominally 
a Chinese dependency until 1895, when it became 
an independent monarchy. 

The first treaty with foreign nations was con¬ 
cluded in 1876, when the ports of Gensan and 
Fusan were opened to trade, and all the treaties 
now in force date since that year. The Chino- 
Japanese War of 1894-95 was caused by a con¬ 
test of the two nations to control the trade and 
political tendencies of the country, but the de¬ 
feat of the Chinese army at Pingyang and the 
destruction of their fleet in the naval battle off 
the Yula River decided the fortunes of war in 
favor of Japan. The treaty that followed made 
Corea independent, but the Treaty of Ports¬ 
mouth, concluded after the close of the Russo- 
Japanese War, in 1905, made Corea tributary to 
Japan. Japanese occupation is stimulating inter¬ 
nal improvement, widening educational influ¬ 
ences, and enlarging the commercial and manu¬ 
facturing enterprises. 

CORENTYN (ko-ren-ten'), a river of South 
America, forming nearly all of the boundary 
between Dutch and British Guiana. It rises 
near the boundary of Brazil, in the Tumuc Hu- 
mac Mountains, has a northerly course, and dis¬ 
charges into the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 
400 miles long and is navigable for large steam¬ 
ers only 40 miles, but small vessels navigate it 
about 150 miles. In its middle course are a 
number of large rapids and waterfalls. 

CORFU (kor-fod'), the most northerly of 


CORIANDER 


557 


CORINTHIANS 


the Ionian Islands, located at the entrance of 
the Adriatic Sea. The area is 428 square miles. 
It has a mountainous surface, which is diversi¬ 
fied by a number of fertile valleys, and the 
most elevated point is Pantokrator, 2,995 feet 
above the sea. Much of the soil possesses fer¬ 
tility and produces a fine quality of cereals, 
grapes, and fruits. Mineral salt is abundant. 
It was settled by a Corinthian colony in the 
8 th century b. c. and was a loyal supporter of 
ancient Greece. In 229 b ; g. it was made a part 
of the Roman Empire. Since 1863 it has be¬ 
longed to Greece. The capital, Corfu, is a fine 
city. It contains the government buildings, a 
cathedral, the university, a public library, and 
free schools. It has a good harbor and a con¬ 
siderable commerce. Population, 1906, of the 
city, 21,690; of the island* 128,548, 

CORIANDER (ko-ri-an'der), a plant native 
to many parts of Europe, belonging to the pars¬ 
ley family. When the fresh plant is bruised, it 
has an unpleasant odor, but when dried the 
smell and taste are agreeable. It has a branch¬ 
ing stem from one to three feet high, and is cul¬ 
tivated for its fruit, which is the coriander of 
market. It is used in medicine as a carmina¬ 
tive, and in cookery and confectionery as an 
aromatic. The plant has been naturalized in 
some parts of Canada and the United States. 

CORINTH (kor'inth), county seat of Alcorn 
County, Mississippi, ninety miles southeast of 
Memphis, Tenn., on the Memphis and Charles¬ 
ton and the Baltimore and Ohio railroads. In 
the Civil War it was regarded an important 
point and was held successively by both armies. 
The Confederates evacuated it on May 30, 1862, 
and it was occupied by Gen. Rosecrans with a 
force of 20,000 men until Oct. 3 of the same 
year, when it was attacked by the Confederates 
under Generals Van Dorn and Price, who were 
repulsed. The Confederates lost 8,648 men and 
the Union army, 2,359. At present it has a 
growing trade in farm produce and merchan¬ 
dise. The chief buildings include a library, 
several churches and schools, and a number of 
county buildings. It has manufactures of 
brooms, woodenware, and machinery. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 3,661. 

CORINTH, a famous city of antiquity, on 
the Isthmus of Corinth, a neck of land uniting 
the Peloponnesus with northern Greece. Owing 
to its beauty and commercial importance, it was 
called “The Star of Greece.” It had three har¬ 
bors and was important mainly because of its 
location between the Adriatic and Aegean seas. 
Among the cities of Greece it was highly 
renowned, commanded a point of advantage 
between the trade from Africa and that of 

■ 


Western Europe, and was fortified by walls of 
stone, on which stood its citadel. Its ancient 
splendor and magnificence are evidenced only 
by a few ruins. It was the seat of the Isthmian 
games, which attracted much attention during 
Grecian power. Corinth was founded by Sisy¬ 
phus, an Aeolian, about 1350 B. c. The govern¬ 
ment was under an oligarchy and a king at dif¬ 
ferent times; Periander was its greatest king 
and fostered its growth and prosperity. The rise 
of Athens caused the Peloponnesian War. 
Later the Corinthian War in conjunction with 
Thebes, Athens, and Argos was waged against 
Sparta, and it became the head of the Achaean 
League. Alexander the Great was elected leader 
of the Greeks at Corinth against the Persians. 

The Romans destroyed Corinth in 146 b. c., 
but Julius Caesar rebuilt it and made it a pros¬ 
perous trading center a hundred years later. It 
was the residence of Saint Paul for a year and 
a half, who founded here a Christian church, 
and later wrote his two letters to the Corinthi¬ 
ans. After the fall of Rome it was taken by 
the Slavs, Franks, Turks, and Venetians, and 
later again by the Turks. It was freed from 
the Sultan in 1822, but was destroyed by an 
earthquake in 1858. The city has been rebuilt 
and is enjoying considerable trade, owing to the 
canal cut through the isthmus, Which is the seat 
of a large commerce. It has several railroad 
connections. The new city is more properly 
called New Corinth. During its greatest pros¬ 
perity it had 300,000 inhabitants. Population, 
1906, 5,265. 

CORINTH, Gulf of, an inlet of the Mediter¬ 
ranean Sea, between the Peloponnesus and 
northern Greece, about eighty miles long. It 
is beautifully located, has a large number of 
bays, and the Isthmus of Corinth is toward the 
east. The gulf has the appearance of an inland 
lake. It is sometimes called the Gulf of Le- 
panto. 

CORINTH, Isthmus of, an isthmus connect¬ 
ing the Peloponnesus with northern Greece. It 
is from four to eight miles in width. A ship 
canal 3.91 miles long, twenty-six feet deep, and 
sixty-nine feet wide at the bottom has been 
constructed across it. The canal was opened to 
commerce in 1893. It saves a long detour in 
the coasting trade and avoids rounding Cape 
Matapan. The canal is located along the route 
on which work was prosecuted in the reign of 
Emperor Nero in the year 67 a. d. This canal 
is at sea level and without locks. 

CORINTHIANS, Epistles to the, two ca¬ 
nonical books- of the New Testament, commonly 
called the First Corinthians and the Second 
Corinthians, both written by Saint Paul. The 




CORK 


558 


CORN 


First Corinthians was written at Ephesus in the 
year 57 to the Church at Corinth, which Paul 
had founded in 50, and is a rebuke for vanity, 
self-seeking, party spirit, impropriety at public 
meetings, and disrespect to the apostle’s author¬ 
ity. It emphasizes the doctrine of the resurrec¬ 
tion. In the Second Corinthians the apostle 
makes a summary of his true authority, but it is 
earnest as well as conciliatory in its state¬ 
ments. Both books have been almost universally 
received as genuine letters of Paul, and in 
this respect they rank with the epistles to the 
Romans and the Galatians. 

CORK, a city of Ireland, on the Lee River, 
in the County of Cork. A part of the city is 
on an island, which is joined to the mainland 
by nine bridges, but the principal site is on the 
river banks. Though about fifteen miles from 
the sea, it has a vast commerce and excellent 
railroad connections with the interior. The 
exports consist largely of eggs, ham, butter, 
cereals, bacon, and live stock. Among the man¬ 
ufacturing enterprises are foundries, distilleries, 
tanneries, breweries, and immense shipyards. 
The city contains a number of excellent institu¬ 
tions of learning, among them Queen’s College, 
founded in 1849. It has fin'e Roman Catholic 
and Protestant cathedrals, a customhouse, and 
other public buildings. The public park is a 
finely improved tract of 240 acres and includes 
a race course. Cork is well fortified and has 
ample wharfs and facilities for the anchorage 
of vessels. A part of the trade is carried by 
way of the fine harbor at Queenstown, about 
eleven miles below the city. Gas and electric 
lights, waterworks, pavements, and rapid transit 
are among the improvements. The Danes built 
walls around a portion of the city in the 9th 
century. It was surrendered to Henry II. in 
1172. Two members represent Cork in Parlia¬ 
ment. Population, 1906, 78,122. 

CORK, the light, porous outer layer of bark 
of the cork oak. It is a very elastic tissue, con¬ 
sisting of thin-walled and nearly cubical cells. 
The cork tree or cork oak is abundant in Portu¬ 
gal, Spain, Northern Africa, and most countries 
bordering on the Mediterranean. It attains a 
height of from twenty to sixty feet and a diam¬ 
eter of three feet, and has oblong, evergreen 
leaves. The acorns, which ripen from Septem¬ 
ber to January, depending upon the climate, 
are edible. Specimens are often seen in which 
the trunk has a circumference of fifteen feet, 
owing partly to the thick bark and the great 
age, which sometimes is from 300 to 400 years. 
When the tree reaches an age of from fifteen 
to twenty-five years, the bark is taken off. The 
first cutting is coarse, but the product improves 


by successively taking off the bark. A crop is 
taken off about eVery eight years, the third being 
of the finest quality. It is removed with an ax, 
by which cuts are made both lengthwise and 
crosswise of the tree, and care is used not to 
damage the inner bark, else the tree will die. 
Cork is used extensively for artificial limbs, 
shoe soles, life belts, net floats, and stopples for 
bottles and flasks. For the purpose of manu¬ 
facturing corks, machines are utilized‘by which 
many thousands can be cut in a day. The ma¬ 
chines and instruments used are of superior 
material and have a sharp edge so they cut 
easily. This is necessary, owing to the elasticity 
of the article. 

CORMORANT (kor'mo-rant), the name 
of a large web-footed sea bird of the pelican 
family. Vast numbers of these birds frequent 



CORMORANT. 

islands in most parts of the world. They have 
a long neck, hooked bill, short wings, and stiff 
and rounded tail. The European species is 
larger than a goose, occupies cliffs by the sea, 
and feeds on fish and small quadrupeds. It 
builds its nests on rocky shores and in trees. 
The species of America and Australia are very 
numerous. Some species have been trained to 
fish, for which purpose they are still domesti¬ 
cated and used in China. The common plan is to 
fasten a string around the neck to prevent the 
bird swallowing the fish that it catches. • Later it 
learns to bring the fish to its master without 
this precaution being necessary. The cormorants 
of the Columbia River and the eastern coast of 
North America are highly prized for their 
beautiful plumage. 

CORN, Indian, or Maize, a well-known plant 
of the grass family, one of the most important 
cereals grown in the Temperate Zone. It is cul¬ 
tivated extensively as a food and for many pur¬ 
poses in manufacturing. The stem grows from 
three to twenty feet in height; the average in 
corn-producing districts is about ten feet. The 







CORN 


559 


CORNEL 


stem is filled with a pithy, fibrous structure, is 
divided by nodes at regular intervals, and its 
outside covering is of a siliceous formation. It 
sends out brace roots from the second or third 
nodes to aid in supporting the stalk when reach¬ 
ing its larger size. The ears are developed 
within the leaf-sheaf at one or two of the 
nodes, about four feet from the ground. They 
consist of a cob with from eight to twenty reg¬ 
ular' rows of grains. The grains of the species 
which are grown most extensively are yellow 
or white, but some are red or a mixture of red 
with white or yellow. Threads of corn-silk 



are attached to the germs of the grains, which 
serve to carry pollen from the tassel above to 
the embryo. Corn is considered of greater value 
as a nutritious food than rye, buckwheat, or 
barley. . # , 

The annual production of corn in the United 
States exceeds 2,260,000,000 bushels, which is 
about twice as much as is produced in all the 
other countries of the world combined. The 
value of this enormous product is about $780,- 
000 ,000, nearly twice the value of the gold out¬ 
put of the world, and more than the total value 
of the product of gold and silver. The states 
of Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, 
Ohio, Oklahoma, and Missouri are the leading 


corn-producing states of the Union, though a 
number of others take high rank. The Mis¬ 
sissippi valley 'is the greatest corn-producing 
region in the world. It is grown profitably in 
many parts of Canada, but the largest yield is 
in Ontario, where the annual crop is about 
25,000,000 bushels. Corn is planted by ma¬ 
chinery in the months of April or May and is 
cultivated until about the first of July, and the 
crop is gathered in October and November. It 
yields from fifteen to ninety bushels per. acre. 

Many species of corn are grown and all are 
more or less useful for various purposes. Pop 
corn is a small species which is used for roast¬ 
ing, and is so named because the kernels break 
open when they are exposed to a brisk heat. 
This is due to the fact that they are enclosed 
by a tough covering, which prevents the steam 
from escaping, causing the kernels to burst open 
and turn the inner side outward. Sweet corn 
is used largely for eating before maturity and 
for canning on a very large scale. Flint corn is 
a hardy, yellow species which is grown in the 
regions where the seasons are short, since it 
matures early and is quite hardy. The com¬ 
mon corn, known as dent corn, is the staple 
species for general use. It is used for meal, 
corn bread, cakes, and hominy. Alcohol, whisky, 
starch, and other staple products are manufac¬ 
tured from it. The cob is used for making 
pipes and as a fuel. However, the most impor¬ 
tant use of corn is for feed for hogs, horses, 
cattle, and other domestic animals, for which 
purpose the stalks as well as the grain are used. 
Since the adoption of the newer process of 
grinding grain by roller mills, corn meal has 
been used as an adulteration in wheat flour. 
The government of the United States sent com¬ 
missions to Europe at different times for the 
purpose of stimulating the consumption of corn 
as a food among the laboring classes of the 
densely populated states. Corn is native to 
America. It was introduced by Columbus into 
Europe, though it is believed that the maize 
plant was known in Africa and Asia prior to 
that time. 

CORNCRAKE, a name applied to the land 
rail of England, chiefly because its cry is crek- 
crek. The color is reddish-brown, or brown- 
gray, and it haunts the corn and grass land in 
early summer. The crake is a wader about 
seven inches long. Several species of American 
birds, especially the short-billed rails, are fre¬ 
quently called crakes. 

CORNEL (kor'nel), the name applied to 
various plants of the genus Cornus, which in¬ 
clude about twenty species of shrubs and small 
trees. The Cornus mas, familiarly known as 





CORNELL COLLEGE 


560 


CORN LAWS 


cornel or cornelian cherry, has oval leaves and 
yellow flowers, and was formerly cultivated as 
a fruit tree. The fruit is fleshy, oblong in shape, 
and is eaten raw or used in making preserves. 
In some sections it is gathered green and 
pickled like olives. The cornelian cherry is 
native to Europe. The species common to the 
United States grow in damp woods and their 
fruit is not properly edible. About eighteen 
species are found in North America, some of 
which thrive as far north as central Canada. 
These plants are known locally as dogwood. 

CORNELL COLLEGE, an institution of 
learning at Mount Vernon, Iowa, organized in 
1857. It is under the direction of the Metho¬ 
dist Episcopal Church, and carries classical, sci¬ 
entific, philosophical, and civil engineering 
courses. The Bowman, Chapel, College, Con¬ 
servatory, and Science halls are the principal 
buildings. The library contains 25,500 volumes. 
It is coeducational. Cornell College is noted 
for its high moral and intellectual standards. 
It has a faculty of thirty-six instructors and 
about 750 students. 

CORNELL UNIVERSITY, a coeducational 
institution of higher learning on Lake Cayuga, 
near Ithaca, N. Y. It is situated on a hill 300 
feet high with a view twenty miles down Lake 
Cayuga and seventeen miles up Enfield valley. 
This institution was founded in 1865 as a result 
of the Federal Land Grant Act of 1862, by 
which large tracts of public lands were assigned 
to the states for educational purposes, and 
received a gift of $500,000 and 207 acres of land 
for use as a site from Ezra Cornell (q. v.)*, in 
whose honor it was named. Through the skill¬ 
ful management of western lands by Mr. Cor¬ 
nell and Henry W. Sage and through gifts the 
property of the university has been increased 
to about $12,500,000. It has nineteen main build¬ 
ings, which include the Rockefeller Hall of 
physics, the Morse Hall of chemistry, the build¬ 
ings of the New York State College, of Agri¬ 
culture, the Goldwin Smith Hall of Humani¬ 
ties, j:he University Library with 340,000 vol¬ 
umes, the Law Library with more than 37,000 
volumes, and numerous workshops and machine 
shops. About 150 State scholarships (free tui¬ 
tion) are awarded annually to residents-of the 
State of New York by competitive examination. 
Eighteen undergraduate scholarships valued at 
$400 each and forty graduated scholarships and 
fellowships of the total value of about $16,000 
are distributed annually. The faculty consists 
of 483 professors and teachers. In the years 
1906-07 it had an attendance of 4,225 students 
for all departments, which is about the average 
annual enrollment. 


CORNET (kor'net), a metallic wind instru¬ 
ment of the trumpet class, furnished with 
valves and stoppers. The name formerly ap¬ 
plied to it was cornopean. Its tone is very 
agreeable and it is used largely in military bands 
and orchestras. A number of classes and forms 
are in general use, of which the cornet-a-piston, 
a French term signifying a cornet with pistons, 
is the best known. It is so named from the 
small pistons which are moved by the fingers in 
playing. 

CORN HARVESTER, a machine for har¬ 
vesting corn, fitted with a cutting apparatus and 
a device for binding the stalks into bundles or 
sheaves. The cutting apparatus differs from 
that of a reaping machine in that the knives 
move more slowly, and a balance wheel is util¬ 
ized to maintain their uniformity in speed. 
The device used in binding is quite- like that of 
an ordinary harvester, and it is usually fitted to 
bind the sheaves with sisal or manila twine. 
The machine ordinarily employed cuts' one row 
of standing corn. The stalks are carried to 
the binding frame, where the bundles or sheaves 
are bound and then pushed to the side of the 
machine and dropped on the ground in such a 
position that the horses will not step upon them 
when the next row of corn is cut. Corn cut in 
this way is bound in small bundles or sheaves, 
which are afterward set up to form shocks. 
Other corn harvesters are employed when the 
grain has matured, and these both husk the corn 
and gather the leaves and husks for fodder, or 
they merely strip the ears of their leaves and 
by an elevator carry them into a wagon, leaving 
the stalks and husks on the field as waste ma¬ 
terial. 

CORNING (kor'nmg), a city of Steuben 
County, New York, on the Chemung River, 
about seventeen miles northwest of Elmira. 
It is on the Erie, the Lackawanna, and the 
New York Central railroads. The noteworthy 
buildings include the public library, the city 
hall, the high school, and the Saint Mary’s Or¬ 
phan Asylum. Among the manufactures are 
railroad cars, flint glass, cigars, machinery, and 
clothing. It has electric lights and street rail¬ 
ways, waterworks, and other modern municipal 
facilities. It was incorporated as a village in 
1849 and as a city in 1890. Population, 1905, 
13,515; in 1910, 13,730. 

CORN LAWS 1 , the laws enacted by the 
British Parliament for the regulation of the 
trade in grains, both the exports and imports. 
The exportation of grain was prohibited in 
many European countries during feudal times 
with the view of causing a lower price in food 
products, but this policy worked a hardship upon 


CORNWALL 


561 


CORPORATION 


the agricultural classes of England, and Parlia¬ 
ment passed a law in 1436 which permitted 
exportation when the price of grain fell below 
a certain limit, though duties were still charged 
upon the exports. Subsequently the law was 
amended so as to provide a sliding scale of 
charges on imports, and these remained in force 
until the popular agitation of 1846, when Sir 
Robert Peel declared himself in favor of a 
repeal of the corn laws. The agitation was very 
intense under the leadership of Bright and 
Cobden, who were supported by the Anti-Corn 
Law League, and in June of that year an act 
was passed which provided for the gradual abo¬ 
lition of duties. The importation of grain was 
made entirely free in 1869. It has been a mat¬ 
ter of controversy between protectionists and 
free traders whether the effect of the repeal 
measure has proved beneficial, and the former 
point to a decline in agriculture as a conse¬ 
quence of the policy, but the loss is probably 
more than equaled by the growth in commerce 
and manufacturing enterprises. 

CORNWALL (korn'wal), a port of entry 
and the capital of Stormont County, Ontario, 
sixty-six miles southwest of Montreal. It is on 
the Saint Lawrence River, the Cornwall Canal, 
and the Ottawa and New York Railway. Among 
the noteworthy features are the county court¬ 
house, the high school, and the Lacrosse Club 
building. The manufactures include cotton and 
woolen fabrics, flour, paper, and machinery. 
It has public waterworks and other improve¬ 
ments. Population, 1901, 6,704. 

COROLLA (ko-rol'la), the inner circle or 

S set of leaves of flowers, usually bright colored. 
It is composed of leaves called petals, which 
surround the part that bears the fruit. Some 
flowers have a whorl of leaflike organs inter¬ 
vening between the corolla and the stamens, 
which are considered an appendage of the for¬ 
mer and are prominent in some flowers, as in 
the daffodil. 

CORONA (ko-ro'na), in astronomy, a halo 
surrounding the moon when it is seen projected 
against the disk of the sun in a total eclipse 
of the latter luminary. Some scientists suppose 
it to be the atmosphere of the sun, which at 
other times is invisible, but this view is not gen¬ 
erally accepted, since an atmosphere in the ordi¬ 
nary sense could not exist at so great a distance 
above the surface of the sun. Astronomers now 
generally regard it to be the prototype of the 
terrestrial auroras. 

CORONATION (kor-6-na'shun), the cere¬ 
mony or act of crowning a sovereign, as a king 
or emperor, at which he is invested with roy¬ 
alty. See Crown. 

36 


CORONATION CHAIR, the throne used at 
the coronation of kings in England since the 
time of Edward I. It is kept in Westminster 
Abbey, where the coronation ceremony takes 
place. This chair has the famous Lia Fail, the 
Stone of Destiny, beneath the seat, which was 
used in crowning the kings of Scotland. Ac¬ 
cording to tradition, it is the stone that was 
used by Jacob as a pillow (Gen. xxviii., 11), 
and was taken by Tarra to Ireland in the 5th 
century, whence it was brought to Scotland and 
afterward to England. 

CORONATION GULF, an inlet of the Arc¬ 
tic Ocean, located between Mackenzie and Vic¬ 
toria Land. It receives the inflow of the Cop¬ 
permine River from the south, and extends as 
Bathurst Inlet toward the southeast. Dease 
Strait connects it with Victoria Strait on the 
northeast, and northwest of it is Dolphin and 
Union Strait. Within its confines are many 
islands. 

CORPORATION (kor-po-ra'shun), a cor¬ 
porate body empowered by law to act as a single 
individual and having a common seal. There 
are two classes of corporations—aggregate and 
sole. An aggregate corporation consists of two 
or more persons incorporated according to law 
in a society which is kept up by a succession of 
members, either perpetually or until it is dis¬ 
solved by mutual consent or limitation. A sole 
corporation consists of a single individual and 
his successors, organized^© perpetuate an office 
or function which cannot be done in the per¬ 
sonal or bodily capacity of any man. For in¬ 
stance, the title to certain church property in 
Massachusetts is vested in a sole corporation 
composed of the pastor of the church. In trans¬ 
ferring land to a corporation of this class the 
deed or instrument of conveyance must include 
the words “and his successors.” The office of 
king or .bishop in England is a sole corporation, 
for the reason that the office is regarded per¬ 
petual, and continues to exist though the pos¬ 
sessor may die. 

Aggregate corporations are under general law 
of two classes—public and private. Private 
corporations are organized for the purpose of 
conducting business, societies, cooperative asso¬ 
ciations, manufacturing, hospitals, colleges, and 
other enterprises. Organized in this way, the 
members forming the corporation are individ¬ 
ually exempt from liability of the corporation, 
only the property of the corporation being sub¬ 
ject for indebtedness of the organization. 
However, in some instances the personal lia¬ 
bility extends to the amount of the capital stock 
owned by the individual stockholder. A cor¬ 
poration may sue and be sued as a single indi- 




CORPUS CHRISTI 


562 


CORSICA 


vidual. The great railroad, telegraph, telephone, 
banking, insurance, and other companies are 
organized on a corporate basis. The several 
states and provinces have laws regulating the 
formation of corporations. They supervise their 
organization and fix a minimum to be paid upon 
the capital stock at the time the organization 
is formed. Private corporations adopt articles 
when effecting an organization, in which the 
capital, indebtedness, privileges, and powers are 
limited by agreement. 

Public corporations are those organized for 
the government of towns, cities, counties, prov¬ 
inces, and states. Another class of public cor¬ 
porations are those that have for their object 
the improvement and maintenance of public 
parks, cemeteries, and similar institutions. It is 
customary to adopt written by-laws for the gov¬ 
ernment of corporations by the board of direc¬ 
tors, who are elected by the members of the 
corporation. These by-laws may be changed 
under certain conditions, but must comply with 
the provisions and requirements of the articles 
of incorporation. The business of a corpora¬ 
tion is managed primarily by the board of direc¬ 
tors, who act principally through the officers, 
including the president, vice president, secre¬ 
tary, treasurer, etc. 

CORPUS CHRISTI (kor'pus kris'ti), a fes¬ 
tival in the Roman Catholic Church held in 
honor of the body of Christ. It is observed on 
the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. It was 
first celebrated in 1241-at Liege by the canons 
of Saint Martin and was recommended in a bull 
issued by Pope Urban IV. in 1263, which was 
afterward confirmed by the council of Vienna. 
The name is also applied to a college at Cam¬ 
bridge, England. 

CORPUS CHRISTI, a city and the county 
seat of Nueces County, Texas, on Corpus 
Christi Bay, about 200 miles southwest of Gal¬ 
veston. It is on the San Antonio and Aransas 
Pass and the Mexican National railroads, has a 
good harbor, and is the seat of a large trade in 
fish, oysters, cotton, and cereals. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include the county courthouse, 
the high school, and the customhouse. It has a 
canning factory, machine shops, and cigar and 
tobacco factories. Corpus Christi was settled in 
1849 and incorporated in 1876. Population, 
1900, 4,703; in 1910, 8,299. 

CORRELATION (kor-re-la'shun), in peda¬ 
gogy, the mutual or reciprocal relation of stud¬ 
ies, or the act of bringing under relations of 
union, correspondence, or interaction. Both 
Froebel and Herbart regarded unity as the im¬ 
portant law in education and both wrote much 
on the subject, making it a fundamental law in 


their systems. Recent educators have generally 
supported this principle, and have sought to 
direct teaching with the view of more fully util¬ 
izing the law of association. - For instance, the 
reading lessons are chosen with a view of throw¬ 
ing added light upon contemporaneous lessons 
in history, botany, and geography. In this way 
these and similar lessons are made more service¬ 
able in the school course. 

CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE (kor-rosiv 
sub'li-mat), the bichloride of mercury, prepared 
by heating mercuric sulphate with dry sodium 
chloride. It is a white crystalline solid, very 
poisonous, and is used to preserve both vegeta¬ 
ble and animal substances. Surgeons employ it 
as an antiseptic spray and to clean and sterilize 
their operating instruments. 

CORRY (kor'ri), a city of Erie County, 
Pennsylvania, ninety miles southwest of Buffalo, 
N. Y., on the Erie and the Pennsylvania rail¬ 
roads. The noteworthy features include the 
State fish hatchery, the high school, and a num¬ 
ber of mineral springs. It has flouring mills, 
iron mills, and door, lumber, and sash factories. 
In the vicinity are valuable deposits of oil, coal, 
and natural gas. The surrounding country is 
agricultural. Corry was settled in 1860. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 5,369. 

CORSAIR (kor'sar), a pirate or the vessel 
used by pirates, applied chiefly to the freeboot¬ 
ers of the Barbary States. The Corsairs were 
commissioned by princes to attack the merchant 
ships of foreign nations and for many years 
were a scourge on the Mediterranean. In 1800 
Capt. Bainbridge sailed to Algiers to pay a trib¬ 
ute to the dey on behalf of the United States, 
but war was declared against Tripoli the fol¬ 
lowing year and their capital was bombarded 
in 1804. Algiers declared war against the 
United States in 1815 on account of a disagree¬ 
ment in regard to the tributes paid, but Com¬ 
modore Decatur appeared with a large fleet 
and compelled the dey to sign a treaty. Subse¬ 
quently the Corsairs were annihilated by the 
European governments. 

CORSICA (kor'si-ka), or Corse, an island 
in the Mediterranean, belonging to France, and 
forming a department of the same name. It is 
110 miles long and 52 miles wide. The area is 
3,367 square miles. It is traversed by a 
number of rugged ranges of hills and moun¬ 
tains, but has tracts of merchantable forests. 
Monte Rotondo, the culminating peak, has an 
elevation of 8,620 feet and is crowned with per¬ 
petual snow. Many of the rivers nave their 
sources in the mountain ranges, the principal 
streams being the Golo and the Tavignano; the 
former is navigable for boats. The soil is fer- 


CORSICANA 


563 


COSMOGONY 


tile in the river valleys and on the coast region, 
and produces many kinds of cereals, grasses, 
and fruits. Mineral oil and timber are the 
chief sources of wealth. The minerals include 
marble, iron, lead and petroleum. Large inter¬ 
ests are vested in rearing sheep, horses, cattle, 
mules, and goats. The fisheries are a source of 
considerable profit. Ajaccio, celebrated as the 
birthplace of Napoleon, is the seat of govern¬ 
ment. Bastia is an important city. 

Corsica was colonized by the Phoenicians 
and named Cyrnos. It was conquered by the 
Romans, who gave it the present name. After 
the decline of Rome it passed to the Goths, was 
conquered by the Saracens, and taken by the 
Genoese in the 15th century. France secured 
dominion over it in 1766. It became independ¬ 
ent in 1794 and two years later was again 
made a part of France, to which country it still 
belongs. The industries are not in a high state 
of development, but several railroads have been 
constructed and other modern improvements 
are causing a change toward greater produc¬ 
tion, both in agriculture and manufacture. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1906, 291,160. 

CORSICANA (kor-si-ka'na), a city in 
Texas, county seat of Navarro County, fifty-two 
miles southeast of Dallas, on the Saint Louis 
Southwestern and the Houston and Texas Cen¬ 
tral railroads. It is surrounded by a fertile 
agricultural country, which is rich in petroleum, 
gas, and coal. Among the chief buildings are 
the public library, the State orphan asylum, the 
courthouse, and the Odd Fellows’ widows and 
orphans’ home. The manufacturing industries 
include iron foundries, flouring mills, oil mills, 
machine shops, and cotton compresses. It has 
good public schools, pavements, electric lights, 
street railways, and many fine edifices. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 9,313; in 1910, 9,749. 

CORTES (kor'tes), the national legislature 
of Spain and Portugal, consisting of an upper 
house and a chamber of deputies. . The upper 
chamber in both countries is composed partly 
of hereditary peers and partly of elective mem¬ 
bers. The deputies of the lower chamber are 
elected in Portugal for a term of four years 
and in Spain for five years. 

CORTLAND (kort'land), county seat of 
Cortland County, New York, about thirty-six 
miles south of Syracuse, on the Lehigh Valley 
and the Lackawanna railroads. The chief 
buildings include the courthouse, the public 
library, an academy, and a State normal school. 
Among the manufactures are stoves, furniture, 
carriages and wagons, wire, wall paper, and 
earthenware. The municipal utilities include 
waterworks, street lighting, pavements, and 


street railways. It was settled in 1792 and 
incorporated in 1829. Population, 1910, 11,504. 

CORUNDUM (ko-run'dum), an alumina 
mineral found native in a crystalline state. This 
class of minerals includes a number that are 
highly prized as gems. Pure corundum ranks 
next to the diamond in hardness and its value 
depends upon the color. Sapphire is a blue 
species; ruby is red, emerald is green, amethyst 
is purple, and topaz is yellow. The star sap¬ 
phire, known also as the asteriated sapphire, 
presents a six-rayed opalescent star. Species 
that have a dark color and possess opaque 
qualities are known in the market as corundum, 
while those of a granular formation are desig¬ 
nated emery. Deposits of emery occur in Can¬ 
ada, at Chester, Mass., and in Asia Minor. 
Other species of corundum are widely distrib¬ 
uted in all the continents. 

COSHOCTON (ko-shok'tun), county seat of 
Coshocton County, Ohio, on the Muskingum 
River, twenty-five miles north of Zanesville. It 
is on the Wheeling and Lake Erie and the 
Pennsylvania railroads and on the Ohio Canal. 
The chief buildings include the public library, 
the courthouse, and several fine churches. It 
has electric lights, waterworks, and manufac¬ 
tures of ironware, paper, and machinery. The 
first settlement was made in 1811 and it was 
incorporated in 1833. Population, 1900, 6,473. 

COSMOGONY (koz-mog'o-ny), from the 
Greek kosmos, world; and gone, generation; 
an investigation of the origin or creation of the 
universe. The theories of this science are rep¬ 
resented under three general classes: 1. The 

world as having existed in its present form from 
eternity. 2. The matter but not the form of 
the world as having existed from eternity. 3. 
Both the matter and form of the world having 
been created by a spiritual cause. The theory 
that the universe has existed in substantially its 
present form from eternity has long been ac¬ 
cepted by some writers. It was embraced by a 
number of ancients and was supported by Aris¬ 
totle. The theory that the matter but not the 
form of the world existed from eternity pre¬ 
vailed quite generally among various ancient 
philosophers. They proceeded to reason that 
no substance or body could have been made out 
of nothing, and thought that the elements ex¬ 
isted in a state or condition known as chaos. 
Under modifications and changes covering long 
periods of time, the elements of the chaos were 
united and began to take on the form and con¬ 
ditions now manifest. After many periods or 
ages the present form resulted. The advocates 
of this theory held and still hold that changes 
go on continually, and that they are as rapid in 


COSSACKS 


564 


COSTA RICA 


modern times as they were in any period of the 
history of the world. This theory in various 
modified forms was held by the Assyrians, Baby¬ 
lonians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, and other an¬ 
cient peoples. 

The theory that a spiritual cause brought the 
world into existence is held by the Jews, Chris¬ 
tians, and other classes, and is taught in the 
book of Genesis in these words: “In the begin¬ 
ning God created the heavens and the earth.” 
This theory differs from the second in that it 
does not hold to the eternity of matter. Having 
been created in the beginning, it is held that 
destruction and annihilation will cause it to 
cease existence in the end. On the contrary, the 
theory that matter is eternal presumes its con¬ 
tinual endurance in the future as well as its 
existence forever in the past. The elements 
always existing may change in form by various 
combinations and movements, but cannot be 
destroyed or annihilated. 

COSSACKS (kos'saks), a race of people 
which became known in Western Europe in the 
10th century, when they inhabited the eastern 
and southeastern parts of Russia. They are 
thought to be a mixture of Tartar and Cau¬ 
casian races, though their origin is not clearly 
established. They bear a close resemblance to 
the Russians. Their government was originally 
a kind of democracy with a, chief or hetman 
as their ruler. They maintained both civil and 
military organizations, and were noted for their 
skill and daring in warfare. In the 15th cen¬ 
tury they fought against the Turks and Tartars, 
and were employed by Poland and Muscovy to 
guard the outposts of Russia. Later their dem¬ 
ocratic institutions gradually disappeared, when 
they were absorbed by the Russian dominion, 
under which government they pay no taxes, but 
instead render military services. The period in 
which they are subject to military duty extends 
from the age of eighteen to fifty, and each man 
is obliged to furnish his own horse. 

Cossack cavalry has rendered the Russian 
Empire valuable services in many emergencies. 
The Cossacks were effective during the retreat 
of Napoleon after the burning of Moscow, when 
they inflicted serious damage to his army, as 
well as in the wars against Turkey and on 
numerous other occasions. They have ren¬ 
dered excellent services as scouts and skirmish¬ 
ers. In military service they wear a distinct 
uniform of dark green. Their principal rendez¬ 
vous, called Tcherkask, was located on the Don 
in 1570, but, owing to overflows, New Tcherkask 
was founded in 1805, which is now the capital 
of the province of the Don Cossacks and con¬ 
stitutes a government of Russia. It has an 


area of 63,532 square miles and a population of 
3,125,718. In industry and intelligence the Cos¬ 
sacks have been described as superior to the 
average Russian, and they constitute a sober 
as well as a gallant people. 

COSTA RICA (kos'ta re'ka), a republic of 
Central America, located between Nicaragua 
and Panama. It is bounded on the north chiefly 
by Nicaragua, east by the Caribbean Sea, south¬ 
east by Panama, and west by the Pacific. The 
area is 21,500 square miles. Much of the sur^ 
face is elevated and mountainous. The Tala- 
manca Range of the cordillera of the Isthmus 
of Panama traverses the interior and includes 
a number of lofty volcanic peaks, reaching an 
elevation of 12,700 feet. Irazu and Turrialba, 
the former 11,500 and the latter 11,350 feet 
high, are active volcanoes. The western coast 
is indented by several extensive inlets, of which 
the gulfs of Duke and Nicoya are the most im¬ 
portant. Columbus discovered the region on 
his fourth voyage. It became free from Spain 
in 1821, and has since been a republic. A num¬ 
ber of rivers drain the interior, among them 
the Trinidad, San Juan, Macho, and Duke. A 
large portion of the surface along the coasts 
and in the valleys is exceedingly fertile. Ow¬ 
ing to various altitudes, the climate is divided 
into three zones. The torrid zone lies below 
3,000 feet; the temperate, between 3,000 and 
7,500 feet; and the colder zone, above 7,500 feet, 
where frosts are frequent. 

The principal industry is agriculture, the two 
most important products being coffee and ba¬ 
nanas, but all cereals and fruits are success¬ 
fully cultivated. There are productions of gold, 
silver, iron, copper, coal, and mineral oil. The 
foreign trade is largely with the United States, 
Germany, and Great Britain. The exports ex¬ 
ceed the imports, the former having a value of 
$9,550,500 and the latter, $7,850,500. Railroads 
have been constructed by the government and 
under grants to European capitalists. Tram¬ 
ways and street railways are maintained in the 
larger cities, while the telegraph and telephone 
lines have a large mileage. San Jose is the 
capital. Other commercial cities are Cartago, 
Alajuela, Puntarenas, and Heredia. Limon and 
Puntarenas are the most important seaports. 

The government of Costa Rica is vested in a 
president, whose term is four years, a legisla¬ 
ture of one department, and a national judiciary. 
Education is compulsory. The common schools 
are supplemented by several institutions of 
higher learning. Roman Catholic is the state 
religion, but all denominations are granted lib¬ 
erty of conscience. About 3,200 Protestants and 
350 Buddhists are in the country. Immigration, 



HARVESTING MACHINES. 

The above shows a modern harvesting- machine (a header) at work, as seen in the wheat 
fields of the western part of Canada and the United States. 





















































































































































































































































































i • 































- 




' 






























































COTOPAXI 


565 


COTTON 


manufacturing, and agriculture are encouraged 
by a public policy under governmental super¬ 
vision. In general the social and economic con¬ 
ditions are decidedly the best found in the Cen¬ 
tral American republics. Spanish is the official 
language, but only a portion of the people are 
of purely European descent. 

Columbus visited the region included in Costa 
Rica in 1502. The first permanent settlement 
was made in 1530. It became free from Spain 
in 1821 and was a part of the Republic of 
Mexico until 1823, when it became a part of 
the United States of Central America. Since 
1848 it has been an independent republic, with 
the exception of a brief time in 1897, when it 
was a constituent member of the Greater Re¬ 
public of Central America. The foreigners 
number 6,295 and are chiefly from Spain and 
Germany. Population, 1906, 344,995. 

COTOPAXI (ko-to-paks'e), the most cele¬ 
brated volcano in the world. It is located in 
the Andes of Ecuador, about thirty-two miles 
from Quito. The earliest eruptions on record 
occurred in 1532 and many have since been 
noted. Among the most remarkable are those 
of 1744, 1768, and 1864. During several of the 
eruptions the sounds were heard at a distance 
of 500 miles and ashes were carried 125 miles. 
Outbursts are attended by smoke and flames 
and large quantities of ashes are expelled. The 
volcano is crowned with perpetual snow. It 
was first ascended by Wilhelm Reiss in 1872, 
who estimated the height of the northwest peak 
at 19,500 feet and the peak toward the south¬ 
west at 19,430 feet. 

COTTON (kot't’n), the name applied to the 
fibers that surround the seeds of the plants be¬ 
longing to the genus Gossypium, commonly 
called cotton plants. These plants are native to 
tropical regions, but they are cultivated exten¬ 
sively within the belt lying between latitudes 
35° north and 35° south of the Equator. They 
are shrublike, have lobed leaves, mostly yellow¬ 
ish flowers, and a celled capsule which bursts 
open when ripe and liberates a quantity of black 
seeds covered with the cellular fibers. Several 
species are grown in the United States. The 
short fiber cotton has fibers about an inch long 
and the long fiber, about two inches. The for¬ 
mer is known as upland and the latter as Sea 
Island cotton. In quality the Sea Island cotton 
is the best. It is cultivated upon the lowlands 
in a number of the Southern States and on the 
islands adjacent to the coast. 

Cotton has been grown since immemorable 
times in history. It is spoken of in the writings 
of Herodotus as growing in India and its fibers 
being used in the manufacture of cloth. It is 


mentioned by Aristobulus, one of Alexander’s 
generals, and is referred to a number of times 
by Pliny. The Arabians made cotton goods in 
the time of Mohammed, about 627 a. d., and his 
followers introduced them into Africa and 
Spain. By the 14th century they had spread 
to Italy, and afterward came into use in the 
whole of Europe. Cotton fiber is mentioned in 
English history as early as 1436, when it was 
used on a small scale, but in 1736 it began to be 
made into cloth by machinery invented by Louis 
Paul. Cotton goods are among the leading sta¬ 
ples of the world, and are manufactured exten¬ 
sively in most of the large industrial centers. 



Cotton, showing flowers and bolls. 


In the United States the leading manufacturing 
centers are at Manchester and other cities of 
New England. 

The cotton plant was found native by Colum¬ 
bus in the West Indies and in South America. 
The early Mexicans used cotton cloth exten¬ 
sively. Cotton seed was brought to Georgia in 
1786 and the first cotton mill in America was 
erected two years later at Beverly, Mass. The 
United States produces about 13,500,000 bales 
of cotton annually, which is about two-thirds of 
the world’s product. In 1906 the world’s crop 
was reputed at 19,942,500 bales. The bales are 
made by machinery and are held in position by 
hoops. They weigh about 515 pounds. Texas is 
the leading cotton State. Others taking high 














COTTON 


566 


COTTON SEED 


rank are Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Arkan¬ 
sas, though it is produced in large quantities 
in a number of other states. The principal 
supply of cotton, outside of the United States, is 
secured in India, Egypt, Russia, China, Brazil, 
Mexico, the West Indies, and the Asiatic islands 
of the Pacific Ocean. 

Cotton is cultivated in fields like corn, the 
method differing somewhat.. The ground is 
plowed in the spring and the seeds are drilled 
or planted about three feet apart, the plants 
appearing above the ground in about eight days. 
The young plants are cultivated and weeded, 
this being required two or three different times. 
After the plants flower no further cultivation is 
needed, and the seeds ripen after a period of 
about seventy days. Cotton is gathered within 
eight days after coming to maturity in order to 
prevent tarnishing. The gathering is done by 
picking the cotton fibers from the pods or bolls 
by hand into baskets or bags hung from the 
shoulders of the pickers, which is done several 
times during the picking season, as the bolls do 
not all ripen at the same time. The crop is 
spread out to dry as soon as it is secured. When 
sufficiently dried, the cotton is passed through 
machinery by which it is separated from the 
seeds. It was formerly separated from the seeds 
by hand. The invention of the cotton gin in 
1793 by Eli Whitney greatly revolutionized, 
cheapened, and lessened the labor. By this ma¬ 
chine it is separated rapidly from the. seeds by 
means of teeth projecting through slits in the 
side of the chamber in which the seed cotton is 
placed. It is then baled and made ready for 
shipment to the manufacturer. 

At the factory it is spun into cotton cloth, 
or it is mixed more or less with silk, wool, linen, 
and alpaca to form various fabrics. The early 
cotton-spinning machines were of rude con¬ 
struction. Among the earliest are Hargreaves’ 
spinning jenny and a water frame made by 
Arkwright. In 1779 Crompton invented a ma¬ 
chine propelled by a mule, while in 1785 the 
Cartwright power loom and Watt’s steam engine 
were applied to cotton spinning and weaving. 
The machinery employed at the present time 
for cleaning, pressing, spinning, and weaving 
cotton has reached a high state of perfection. 
It is propelled largely by water, steam, or elec¬ 
tric power. The consumption of cotton in man¬ 
ufacture in the United States is very exten¬ 
sive, and large exportations of the raw material 
as well as manufactured products are made to 
all portions of the world. Raw cotton is ex¬ 
ported chiefly to Great Britain, Germany, France, 
Italy, and Canada. The exports of manufac¬ 


tured goods aggregate about $27,500,000 per 
annum, while the domestic consumption is much 
larger. 

The cotton stalks are used in the manufacture 
of pulp, from which a good grade of writing 
paper is made. A fine class of oil is manufac¬ 
tured from cotton seed. It is useful for food 
and enters largely into the production of lard 
and fine grades of manufactured butter. Cot- 
ton-seed cake is*a valuable food for domestic 
animals. The cotton acreage of the United 
States is about 28,000,000. In 1907 the total 
number of active spindles in the world was 
reputed at 123,332,971, of which 26,395,191 were 
in the United States. The chief uses of cotton 
goods are for wearing apparel, bedding, and 
carpets. Among the principal pests to the cot¬ 
ton plant are the boll moth and the boll weevil. 
The boll moth deposits its eggs on the under side 
of the leaves, where they hatch in about three 
days, and the larva, known as the boll worm, 
is very destructive to the plant. The cotton 
boll weevil is a beetle with an elongated head. 
It punctures the bolls of the cotton plant to lay 
its eggs within, where they produce white mag¬ 
gots, which do much damage. Another pest, 
the redbug, or cottonstainer, is suctorial and 
drains the sap from the bolls. 

COTTON FAMINE, the name applied to 
the failure of the cotton industry in England, 
which occurred in 1861-65, when the Civil War 
was raging in the United States. The war 
caused the supply of raw cotton to be shut off 
and thus compelled the closing of the manufac¬ 
tories. About 300,000 English laborers were 
thrown out of employment and 2,000,000 people 
reduced to the verge of starvation. The gov¬ 
ernment relieved the distress somewhat by 
granting charitable aid. 

COTTON GIN, a machine for separating 
the seeds from cotton fibers. It was invented 
by Eli Whitney in 1793. See Cotton; Whitney, 
Eli. 

COTTON SEED, the seed product of the 
cotton plant. From it the cotton batting, cot¬ 
ton-seed oil, and cotton-seed meal are manufac¬ 
tured. The cotton batting is made from the lint 
that clings to the seed after passing through the 
cotton gin, while the other two products are 
made from the seeds proper. Cotton-seed meal 
is a valuable food product for horses and cattle, 
while the cotton-seed oil, known in the market 
as cottolene, is wholesome as food for table use. 
Cotton-seed oil is employed extensively as a 
substitute for lard, linseed oil, and sperm oil. It 
is used for lubricating, soap making, treating 
leather, and divers other purposes. The annual 
value of cotton-seed oil exported from the 


COTYLEDON 


567 


COURT FOOL 


United States aggregates $15,000,000, while the 
value of lint and oil cake is almost as large. 

COTYLEDON (kot-i-le'dun), the first leaf, 
or one of the first two leaves, developed in a 
plant. In exogens two such leaves are present 
in the embryo in every plant, while in endogens 
there is but one. The two cotyledons on exo¬ 
gens are always opposite, while in endogens the 
second leaf developed is alternate with the first. 
From these well-known characteristics have been 
developed the three primary divisions of the 
vegetable kingdom—the dicotyledons, monocoty¬ 
ledons, and acotyledons. 

COUGAR (koo'gar), the name given to the 
puma in Brazil, formerly called the American 
lion, and now often mentioned as the American 
panther. Formerly it was found throughout 
a vast region of both North and South America, 
but it has been destroyed in all of the former, 
except in its most southerly portions. 

COUGH (kaf), a sudden and violent expul¬ 
sion of air from the chest, caused by the relapse 
action of nervous or gastric disorder, or by irri¬ 
tation in the air passage. Coughing occurs 
when the source of irritation is in or below the 
posterior fauces, and sneezing when the irri- 

W tating cause acts on the nasal mucous membrane. 
It may be dry, as in the first stage of pleurisy; 
or humid, as in certain stages of pneumonia and 
in advanced consumption. The act of coughing 
may be single and with distant intervals, or 
long continued, as in whooping cough and 
bronchial catarrh. In croup and whooping 
cough it has a metallic ring. As a general rule 
coughing may be taken as a symptom of dis¬ 
ease. 

COUNCIL BLUFFS, a city in Iowa, county 
seat of Pottawattamie County, on the Mis¬ 
souri River, opposite Omaha, Neb. It is on the 
Chicago and Northwestern, the Illinois Central, 
the Chicago Great Western, the Union Pacific, 
the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul, the 
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and other rail¬ 
roads. Next to Sioux City, it is the most im¬ 
portant city of western Iowa, and is connected 
by several bridges and electric street railways 
with Omaha, Neb., across the Missouri River. 
The chief buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the Carnegie Library, the Grand Hotel, 
the Federal building, the high school, and the 
Iowa School for the Deaf. Bayliss and Fair¬ 
mont parks are popular public grounds. The 
manufactures include agricultural implements, 
machinery, carriages, engines, ironware, cloth-* 
ing, and earthenware. Its location at the west¬ 
ern termini of a large number of railroads and 
connection with principal Pacific coast lines 
makes it an important jobbing and commercial 


city. It has good municipal facilities, such- as 
street railways, electric lights, pavements, wa¬ 
terworks, and sewerage. The city was named 
from a council held on its site by Lewis and 
Clark with the Indians in 1804. It was settled 
in 1846, when it was known as Kanesville, but 
it was incorporated as Council Bluffs in 1850. 
Population, 1905, 25,231; in 1910, 29,292. 

COUNTERFEITING (koun'ter-fit-ing), to 
make something in imitation of an article of 
value without legal authority and with a fraud¬ 
ulent intent. The act of uttering counterfeit 
coin, bank notes, or other currency is a felony 
punishable by fine or imprisonment. The gov¬ 
ernment, as a safeguard against counterfeiting, 
has its paper currency engraved with designs 
that can be reproduced only at great expense. 
In addition, several secret marks and combina¬ 
tions of letters and figures are employed and 
paper and ink of a peculiar kind are used. The 
counterfeiting of coins consists of imitating the 
genuine by using a cheaper or comparatively 
worthless metal. 

COUNTERSIGN (koun'ter-sin), the signa¬ 
ture of a secretary or other public officer to 
attest that a writing has been signed by a su¬ 
perior. In military affairs the countersign is a 
watchword given daily by the commander of an 
army, in order that the soldiers on guard may 
distinguish whether those wishing to pass are 
friends or enemies. Those who are unable to 
give the countersign are not permitted to pass. 

COUNTY (koun'ty), a name derived from a 
tract of land subject to a count or earl, and 
now applied to a division next smaller than a 
state or province. The name parish is applied 
to these divisions in some states and shire is 
the term used in England. A county has such 
officers as sheriff, attorney, auditor, treasurer, 
coroner, clerk, and commissioners, and in some 
cases a judge. In most states or provinces the 
roads, poor, local elections, and other interests 
are under supervision of the county. The county 
is divided^into townships or parishes. 

COUPE (koo-pa/), a four-wheeled vehicle 
with a low body, drawn by one horse and pro¬ 
vided with a seat for two passengers within and 
a separate outer seat for the driver. ‘Coupes are 
closed carriages and are sometimes called cabs 
and broughams. In continental Europe the 
name is applied to a compartment in a railway 
carriage. 

COURT FOOL, the name givera in ancient 
and medieval times to the professional jesters 
employed at the courts of nobles. It was their 
duty to enliven the wealthy nobles, particularly 
at table, by jests and witty sayings. A jester 
employed by the King of Persia is mentioned in 









COURT-MARTIAL 


568 


COVENT GARDEN 


the writings of Plutarch, but the office of court 
fool attained its highest reputation in the Mid¬ 
dle Ages, when it was customary to employ 
them, not only for court service, but they be¬ 
came an adjunct in the apartments occupied by 
the queens and dauphins. The English kings 
had court jesters up to the time when the last 
Stuarts ceased to reign, after which the practice 
of employing them was abandoned. Court fools 
were clothed in peculiar costumes, made up of 
gay colors and unusual ornamentation, and they 
were permitted to use free speech in ridiculing 
the follies and vices of their contemporaries. 
They were abolished in France about the time 
of the Revolution, and ceased to be an adjunct 
in the courts of Germany and Russia about 
the same time. Shakespeare uses the court 
fool in “As You Like It” and “King Lear.” 

COURT- MARTIAL (kort-mar'shal), a 
court authorized in the military and naval 
service, with jurisdiction to try all offenders in 
the army or navy. Such a court has no juris¬ 
diction over a citizen who is not employed in 
the military service. It is made up of from five 
to thirteen commissioned officers and is pre¬ 
sided over by a judge advocate. 

COURTS, the tribunals established by law 
for the administration of public justice. They 
are composed of one or more judges or jus¬ 
tices, and such other officers as the law author¬ 
izes. The courts are designated as either civil 
or criminal, depending upon the character of the 
business which they transact. In the civil courts 
all civil cases are tried, while criminal courts 
have jurisdiction of public offenses, as felonies 
and misdemeanors. In some instances the so- 
called district courts have jurisdiction of both 
civil and criminal cases. Each State of the 
United States has a supreme court made up of a 
number of justices, while the United States Su¬ 
preme Court has the highest jurisdiction regard¬ 
ing cases which involve questions of national 
jurisdiction. The cases that may be tried in the 
United States Supreme Court involve issues be¬ 
tween states, between individuals and the United 
States, and between the United States and a 
particular State. Most of the State supreme 
courts consist of from five to seven justices, 
while the ‘United States Supreme Court con¬ 
sists of a Chief Justice and eight associates. In 
the states they are in most instances elected by 
popular vote, while those of the United States 
Supreme Court are appointed by the President 
with the ccfhsent of the Senate. 

The Supreme Court of the Dominion of Can¬ 
ada as at present organized was constituted by 
a statute enacted in 1906. It is composed of a 
Chief Justice and five puisne judges, and has 


appellate civil and criminal jurisdiction through¬ 
out the Dominion. Each Province has a su¬ 
preme court, which is presided over by a 
supreme judge and a number of puisne judges. 
Locally, as in the United States, there are dis¬ 
trict and county courts and courts presided over 
by the justices of the peace. The towns and 
cities have municipal or police courts. In Eng¬ 
land the House of Lords constitutes the high 
court as well as the supreme legislative body. 

COVENANT (kuv'e-nant), a stipulation in 
writing between two or more parties whereby 
the truth of certain facts is set forth, or an 
agreement is made to bind one or more of the 
parties to do or not to do some specific act. The 
Old and New Testaments contain a number of 
references to covenants between God and man, 
which were made by God on certain conditions 
of repentance, obedience, and faith on the part 
of man. After the deluge a covenant was made 
with Noah, and another was concluded for 
Abraham and his posterity, which was renewed 
to Isaac. The covenants of the Scriptures which 
are especially recognized by evangelical writers 
are the Covenants of Works and the Covenants 
of Redemption. All of the former are substan¬ 
tially promises of blessings upon the basis of 
obedience, while the latter are the New Testa¬ 
ment promises of blessings upon the basis of 
faith in Jesus Christ. 

COVENANTERS (kuv-e-nant'erz), a term 
applied to a large portion of the people of 
Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries, who 
bound themselves by covenants to defend the 
Presbyterian Church against the Episcopal and 
Catholic churches of Great Britain. Four of 
these covenants were made. The first was sub¬ 
scribed at Edinburgh Dec’. 3, 1557; the second, 
at Perth, May 31, 1559; the third was the Na¬ 
tional Covenant and was signed at Edinburgh, 
Feb. 28, 1638; and the fourth was written by 
Alexander Henderson and accepted by the Scot¬ 
tish general assembly on Aug. 17, 1643. The 
last-mentioned covenant was subscribed to by the 
English Parliament at London on Sept. 25, 
1643, and was regarded a league between Scot¬ 
land and England. Obligation to it was ab¬ 
solved in 1661 and its renewal was prohibited, 
for the reason that the liberty of the church 
was deemed safe. 

COVENT GARDEN (kuv'ent), a square of 
London, famous for its extensive market of 
flowers and fruits. It formerly belonged to the 
* abbot and monks of Westminster. In 1831 the 
Duke of Bedford, the proprietor of the ground, 
erected the present buildings. These buildings 
include a flower market roofed with glass and 
a market house which covers three acres of 


COVENTRY 


569 


COW PARSNIP 


ground. Near it is the Covent Garden Theater, 
built in 1859, which occupies the site of the for¬ 
mer Royal Italian Opera House. 

COVENTRY (kuv'en-try), a city in the 
County of Warwick, England, eighty-five miles 
northwest of London. It was the seat of Par¬ 
liament during the reign of early monarchs 
and the residence of a number of them at vari¬ 
ous times. Saint Michael’s church, built in the 
period between 1230-1395, has a spire 200 feet 
high. Another excellent edifice is Saint Mary’s 
Hall, erected in the 14th century. It has ex¬ 
quisite tapestry, stained windows, and fine fres¬ 
coes. A Benedictine monastery was founded at 
Coventry by Earl Leofric and his wife, Lady 
Godiva, in 1043. The city is noted for its many 
historical events, including the story of the trial 
by battle between the dukes of Norfolk and 
Hereford, an account of which is given by 
Shakespeare in his Richard II. Mary, Queen of 
Scots, was imprisoned here for some time. The 
city has railroad connections with the principal 
cities of Great Britain and manufactures of 
ribbons, bicycles, watches, textiles, and machin¬ 
ery. Among the public utilities are sewerage, 
public baths, a public library, and electric street 
railways. It is a brisk market for produce and 
live stock. Population, 1907, 77,627. 

COVENTRY, a town of Rhode Island, in 
Kent County, twelve miles southwest of Provi¬ 
dence, on the New York, New Haven and 
Hartford Railroad. It is finely situated on the 
Pawtuxet River and has a brisk trade in prod¬ 
uce and merchandise. The manufactures in¬ 
clude woolen and cotton goods, cigars, clothing, 
and machinery. Coventry was the home of Na¬ 
thaniel Greene. It was incorporated in 1741. 
Population, 1905, 5,698; in 1910, 5,848. 

COVINGTON (kuv'ing-tun), a city in Ken¬ 
tucky, county seat of Kenton County, at the 
confluence of the Licking and Ohio river's, op¬ 
posite Cincinnati. It is on the Chesapeake and 
Ohio, the Kentucky Central, and the Louisville 
and Nashville railroads, and has connections 
with other cities by a number of electric rail¬ 
ways. The chief buildings include the county 
courthouse, the public library, the post office, 
the city hall, and the Roman Catholic cathedral. 
It has a German orphan asylum, a hospital and 
foundling asylum, and the Notre Dame Acad¬ 
emy. Among the principal industries are flour¬ 
ing mills, breweries, distilleries, tobacco and 
cigar works, and carriage, wagon, and machine 
shops. It has a number of pork packing 
houses, silk factories, and glass works. The 
city has an extensive electric street railway sys¬ 
tem, sewerage, electric and gas lights, paved 
streets, waterworks, and a large trade. Two 


bridges cross the Ohio River, one of which is a 
suspension bridge, 2,255 feet long, erected at a 
cost of $2,000,000. Covington was settled in 
1812 and incorporated in 1834. Population, 1900, 
42,938; in 1910, 53,270. 

COW, the female of the genus bos or ox, of 
which the bull is the male. It has been bred so 
as to obtain marked differences in color, size, 
and utility. Among the best kinds of beef cattle 
are the Galloway; for general purposes, the 
Hereford, Durham, and Holstein; and for dairy¬ 
ing purposes, the Ayrshire, Jersey, and Guern¬ 
sey. See Cattle. 

COWBIRD, or Cow Bunting, a bird of 
North America, belonging to the blackbird fam¬ 
ily. It deposits its eggs, like the cuckoos, in 
the nests of other birds. Here they are incu¬ 
bated and the young are reared by their foster 
parents. The cowbird is brownish-black, about 



COWBIRD. 


seven inches long, and migrates toward the 
south to spend the winter. In the spring it 
moves northward into Canada as far as Hudson 
Bay and in autumn, usually in September, large 
flocks are seen associated with other blackbirds. 
It has a tendency to go with cattle, probably to 
secure the worms and insects which attend the 
animal. 

COWHAGE (kou'haj), or Cowitch, the 
hairs on the pod of a tropical climbing plant of 
the bean family, native to the East and West 
Indies. The hairs are brownish in color, stiff, 
brittle, and short, and easily penetrate the skin 
when coming in contact with it. They produce 
an intolerable itching, which, instead of being 
relieved by rubbing, is greatly increased. Cow- 
hage is employed in medicine as a mechanical 
vermifuge, being taken in syrup and honey. The 
plant belongs to the genus Mucuna, but is com¬ 
monly called cowhage. 

COW PARSNIP (pars'mp), a large plant of 
the parsnip family, native to the Northern 
Hemisphere. It is cultivated in the temperate 






COWPENS 


570 


CRAB 


regions of Europe. In Scotland, where it is a 
rank weed, it is called kiesh'. The tall branching 
stems grow to a height of two to five feet and 
bear white flowers in broad umbels, and the 
herbage is used as fodder. About fifty species 
have been classified, of which the Siberian is the 
largest, but its stem is quite coarse. Several 
species are common to Canada and the United 
States, and locally they are called wild celery. 
The Eskimos peel the leaf stalks and use them 
as food. 

COWPENS (kou'penz), a village of Spar¬ 
tanburg County, South Carolina, near which 
the Americans under Gen. Morgan defeated 
the British under Col. Tarleton, Jan. 17, 1781. 
Cornwallis sent Tarleton with 1,110 men against 
Morgan, when the latter took a strong po¬ 
sition at Cowpens under the slope of a hill. 
His militia was stationed in front, the reg¬ 
ulars on higher ground, and at the top of 
the slope was Col. Washington with the cav¬ 
alry. The British made the attack and met 
with a deadly volley, after which the regulars 
opened a stormy fire and followed by a bayonet 
charge. At the same time the American cavalry 
struck the right flank of the British and the 
militia formed again behind the lines and 
effected a rout. The British lost 230 killed and 
600 prisoners, while the American loss was only 
seventy-two. This battle was one of the most 
brilliant of the war, when considered in point 
of tactics. 

CO WPOX, an acute contagious disease 
affecting the teats and udder of cows, character¬ 
ized by slight fever and an eruption of the skin 
of the affected parts. The matter contained in 
the vesicles is the vaccine virus used to innocu- 
late the human system as a security against 
smallpox. It was first introduced for this pur¬ 
pose by Dr. Jenner (q. v.). 

COWRY (kou'ry), or Cowrie, a kind of 
mollusks found chiefly in the warm seas of the 
Eastern Hemisphere. Several of the species are 
noted for the beauty of their shells, which are 
used extensively in many parts of Southern Asia 
for money and as ornaments. They differ in 
value according to the size and the coloring of 
their surface. Many tons of cowries are gath¬ 
ered annually in the islands southeast of Asia, 
particularly in the Philippine Islands and the 
East Indies. Specimens with beautiful mark¬ 
ings upon their smoothly polished surface are 
popular for ornaments to the dress and habita¬ 
tions of both civilized and uncivilized nations. 

COWSLIP, the name of several species of 
plants which belong to the same genus as the 
primrose and oxlip. There is a close resem¬ 
blance between the cowslip and the oxlip. The 


flowers are delicate, possess marked beauty and 
fragrance, and are general favorites. In color 
they are greatly variegated, including white, 
yellow, and rose-colored bloom. The cowslip 
has a spreading flower cluster, in this respect 
differing from the common primrose. Its clus¬ 
ters of flowers have been called fairy cups for 
the reason that they were long thought to be 
the haunts of fairies. Many species of cowslips 
are well-known plants in Europe and America. 
One of the American species is known as the 
shooting star. 

COW TREE, a class of trees native to the 
tropical regions, so called from the milky juice 
which is used as a food. The milky product is 
not the juice of the plant, but is derived from 
certain cells found in the stems, known in bot¬ 
any as the laticiferous vessels. It has the ap¬ 
pearance of the milk of a cow and is wholesome 
as a food, and the natives use it in the regions 
where the trees are indigenous. The cow tree 
of Guiana and Venezuela grows to a height of 
80 to 100 feet and has leathery leaves of a 
large size. The product is obtained by making 
incisions in the trunk of the tree. 

COYOTE (ki'o-te), the prairie wolf com¬ 
mon to the plains of the United States and the 
central part of Canada. In size it ranges be¬ 
tween the fox and the ordinary wolf. It has a 
sharp snout and coarse, yellowish-gray fur 
mixed with black. The coyote is about forty 
inches long, with a tail sixteen inches. It has 
a prolonged howling cry. 

CRAB, a class of ten-footed crustacean 
decapoda, of which the edible crab is a type. 
They have a short tail, which is folded under 
the body, short feelers, and a wide shield on 
the back for protection. In the mouth are sev¬ 
eral pairs of strong jaws, and the stomach is 
studded with hard projections that serve for 
grinding the food. A colorless lymph is pro¬ 
pelled to the gills by the action of the heart, the 
liver is a rich yellow substance, and the edible 
portions are contained in the front claws, which 
are much larger than the other legs. Among 
the widely distributed species are the oyster 
crab, the hermit crab, the blue crab, and the 
spider crab. The crab is found in the waters 
near the shore, though there are several species 
that live on land. A species called the swim¬ 
ming crab is a fast runner, burrows in the 
ground, and is fond of fruits. The claws of the 
males are much larger than those of the females, 
and for this reason the former bring the higher 
price in the market. In a natural state the color 
is reddish-brown above and whitish beneath; the 
reddish color seen when in the market is pro¬ 
duced by boiling. 


CRACOW 


571 


CRANE 


The larger crabs in warm climates often weigh 
about ten or twelve pounds. They are caught 
in immense numbers off the coast, both in Can¬ 
ada and the United States, and are sold on the 
market as a delicacy. The front pair of limbs 
does not serve for locomotion, but answers the 

\ 



HERMIT CRAB. 


purpose of defense and for strong claws and 
pincers. All species of crabs molt periodically, 
that is, they throw off their calcareous covering. 
In the molting period the crab is quite helpless 
for several days, after which a new covering 
takes the place of the old one. Their claws are 
easily lost, but grow anew after a short time. 
The eyes are movable and they are capable of 
seeing well and at great distances. The land 
crabs go into the water to spawn. Some species 
live in fresh water, though the larger crabs are 
found in the sea and salt waters. Their food 
consists of dead and living animal matter, but 
some subsist on vegetable substances, such as the 
racer crabs of the West Indies, which live on 
the juices of the sugar cane. Crab fishing is an 
important industry in most countries, particu¬ 
larly in the densely populated regions, where 
many laborers are employed in crab and other 
shell-fish fisheries. 

CRACOW (krako), or Krakow, a city in 
Austria-Hungary, on the Vistula River, 256 
miles northeast of Vienna. The streets are 
well improved by grading and stone and asphalt 
pavements. It has an important river naviga¬ 
tion and railroad trade and a line of important 
manufactures. Among the ancient and noted 
buildings are a Gothic cathedral, a library with 
over 300,000 volumes, and several monuments 
of Polish kings. The monument of Kosciusko 
is located near the city, on an eminence, and is 
120 feet high. It is the seat of a famous uni¬ 
versity with 2,500 students. The manufactures 


include clothing, cigars, textiles, leather, ma¬ 
chinery, and earthenware. Cracow is well forti¬ 
fied by strong walls. It was the ancient capital 
of Poland and the residence of the Polish kings. 
Since 1846 it has belonged to the crown of Aus¬ 
tria. Population, 1907, 104,836. 

CRANBERRY (kran'ber-ry), a plant com¬ 
mon to the swampy regions of the Temperate 
and Arctic zones. The plant is a creeping vine 
with ovate, evergreen leaves, a terminal single- 
flowered peduncle, and a berry of a dark red 
color, about one-fourth of an inch in diameter. 
Several species are cultivated for the market. 
They thrive best in natural bogs or swamps that 
can be drained and flooded by ditches when de¬ 
sired. They are propagated by cuttings set in 
rows about fourteen inches apart, and the 
ground is covered by about three inches of sand 
to retain the moisture of the soil below and 
permit of greater ease in cultivation. The ber¬ 
ries are gathered by hand. Their principal use 
is for pies and preserves. They are exported in 
large quantities from the United States, Canada, 
and Russia. 

CRANE (kran), any bird of the genus grus. 
It differs from the storks and herons in having 
its hind toe higher than the front ones and in 
caring less about wet and marshy regions. All 
the species have long legs and a long neck, pow¬ 
erful wings, and a prominent bill, and are of 
considerable size. The length of the body is 
about forty-five inches.. The plumage is usually 
ash-gray, but in some species it is white or 
bluish. Cranes are migratory, passing north in 
the spring in large wedge-formed flocks, led by 



CROWNED CRANE. 


single leaders, or in a long single line, and 
issue a discordant cry. They usually alight for 
food in daytime and fly continuously by night 
until their destination is reached. Their nests 
are made in rushes, in which two eggs are laid. 
The young are quite helpless and need to be fed 








CRANIAL NERVES 


572 


CRAWFISH 


for several days. The food consists of insects, 
worms, roots, snakes, seeds, and small quadru¬ 
peds. Their means of defense lies in the bill, 
which serves as a dagger. The flesh of some 
species is regarded an excellent food, for which 
they are hunted. The crowned crane inhabits 
the northern and western portions of Africa. 
It has a tuft of slender yellow feathers on the 
head, which it is able to move at will, and is of 
a bluish, ash-gray color. The demoiselle crane 
has two tufts of feathers formed by an elonga¬ 
tion of the ear coverts, and inhabits Central 
Asia and Africa. The whooping crane and 
sandhill crane are native to North America. 

CRANIAL NERVES. See Nerves. 

CRANIUM (kra'm-um), the bony case con¬ 
taining the brain. It is composed of eight 
bones, the occipital, ethmoid, sphenoid, frontal, 
two parietal, and two temporal. These bones 
form a spheroidal inclosure which offers sub¬ 
stantial resistance to external violence. The 
cranium and face constitute the skull (q. v.). 

CRANNOGS (kran'nogs), the fortified lake 
dwellings found in Ireland and Scotland. These 
fortifications were constructed in about the 9th 
century, and were discovered in 1813 by George 
Chalmers, the author of “Caledonia.” Several 
hundred have been located. The weapons and 
utensils found in them are of stone, bronze, and 
iron. They consist mostly of swords, knives, 
axes, daggers, spears, and whetstones. 

CRANSTON (kran^stun), a town of Rhode 
Island, in Providence County, on the New York, 
New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It is a 
popular residential center of Providence busi¬ 
ness men, has a number of libraries, and is well 
supplied with public utilities. Among the public 
institutions are an almshouse, an insane asylum, 
a State prison, and an industrial school for boys 
and girls. The manufactures include cotton and 
woolen goods, clothing, machinery, and spiritu¬ 
ous liquors. The first settlement at Cranston 
was made in 1638 and its incorporation dates 
from 1754. Population, 1910, 21,171. 

CRAPE (krap), or Crepe, a delicate trans¬ 
parent fabric, made of raw silk which has been 
tightly twisted. It is either crisped or smooth, 
but all kinds of crapes are woven and dyed 
with the silk in the raw state. The silk used in 
making crisped crape is spun harder than for 
the single, or smooth kinds. Gum water is 
used to stiffen all classes after they are fin¬ 
ished. The colors are black and dark brown, 
and the former is used extensively as mourning 
apparel. Many countries of continental Europe 
excel in the manufacture of crape, especially 
France and Italy. The crapes made by the 
Chinese and Japanese are white or highly col¬ 


ored, when intended for mourning, but the 
varieties used in trimming hats and for ladies 
scarfs are made in standard colors. 

CRATER (kra'ter), the bowl-shaped depres¬ 
sion forming the outlet of a volcanic vent. 
It is generally circular in form and surrounded 
by a cone of debris. A fissure in the earth is the 
beginning, through which great volumes of 
steam and other gases are evolved, the shat¬ 
tered lava forming the volcanic cone. There 
may be several openings, or the escape may be 
by long fissure instead of the usual form. The 
craters of extinct volcanoes often form lakes. 
The most remarkable one is Crater Lake, in 
Klamath County, Oregon. It is 6,240 feet above 
the sea, 2,000 feet deep, and surrounded by 
great cliffs from 1,200 to 2,000 feet above its 
surface. Springs are the source of its water 
supply and it has no outlet to the sea. 

CRAWFISH (kra'fish), or Crayfish, the 
name of several species of fresh-water crusta- 
ceous animals resembling the lobster in appear¬ 
ance. About thirty species are native to Amer¬ 
ica, where they are popularly called crabs. They 
have a long tail, ten jointed feet, and prom¬ 
inent feelers. The body is divided into two 
parts, the trqnk and a long, six-jointed tail. 
The eggs are fastened to the legs of the mother, 
from which the young escape and molt several 
times before reaching maturity, which requires 



CRAWFISH. 


from three to four years. It is thought the 
molting occurs largely because the shell does not 
enlarge with the growing body. When the shell 
comes off the animal is quite helpless and ex¬ 
posed to many dangers, often causing fatal 
results. Large numbers of crawfish may be 
seen in sluggish streams and bodies of fresh 
water. They burrow in the ground near the 
water, and during the winter live in a semi- 
dormant state. Their food consists of worms, 
insects, small carrion, and the tender forms of 
vegetation, and they even attack each other for 
food. They are widely distributed on the conti- 


CRAWFORDSVILLE 


573 


CRECY 


nents and islands. The larger species are con¬ 
sidered dainty food; the tail and claws being 
the edible parts. The burrowing habits of some 
cause damage to levees and milldams on a num¬ 
ber of streams, particularly on the Mississippi. 

CRAWFORDSVILLE, county seat of Mont¬ 
gomery County, Indiana, about thirty miles 
northwest of Indianapolis, on the Big Four, the 
Terre Haute and Indianapolis, and other rail¬ 
roads. It is surrounded by a fine farming 
country. The noteworthy features include the 
courthouse, the public high school, and Wabash 
College. Among the manufactures are flour, 
ironware, boilers, clothing, cigars, buggies, ma¬ 
chinery, and furniture. It has sewerage and 
waterworks systems. The first settlement was 
made in 1822 and it was incorporated in 1865. 
Population, 1900, 6,649. 

CRAYON (kra'un), a pencil made of chalk, 
charcoal, or pipeclay, colored with various pig¬ 
ments and used for drawing on paper or other 
materials. Chalk is used largely in the manufac¬ 
ture of blackboard crayons, such as are in com¬ 
mon use in schools, and lampblack and pipeclay 
supply the chief materials in making black cray¬ 
ons. Litmus, turmeric, and saffron are among 
the vegetable colors used as materials in making 
pastel, a mixture of chalk and coloring pig¬ 
ments. Crayon painting is practiced to some 
extent as an art, its chief advantage being in 
the facility with which it is executed and the 
richness in outline and coloring. 

CREAM, the light yellow substance which 
rises to the surface of milk after standing a 
brief time. It is rich in fat, which ranges from 
ten to seventy per cent. Good cream for house¬ 
hold use contains from eighteen to thirty per 
cent, of fat. Milk is creamed by two methods, 
that is by setting and by a separator. In the 
former the milk is usually placed in shallow 
pans and the cream rises gradually to the sur-^ 
face by gravity, owing to the fact that the fat 
globules of the cream are lighter than the water 
and other constituents of the milk. It requires 
about twenty-four hours for the cream to rise, 
but the milk must be set immediately after it is 
drawn, and the loss of fat by this method ranges 
from ten to twenty per cent. A better way is to 
put the milk in cans about eighteen inches deep, 
which are placed in cold water with a temper¬ 
ature of about forty degrees, which causes the 
cream to rise more rapidly and completely than 
under a higher temperature. The cream separa¬ 
tor has superseded the shallow and deep setting 
of milk to a large extent, even among farmers, 
and is in general use in creameries. In this 
machine the cream is separated from the milk 
by centrifugal force, the work being done by a 


bowl or drum which revolves at the rate of 
5,500 to 8,000 times per minute. A good sepa¬ 
rator well operated separates practically all of 
the cream from the milk, not more than 0.1 per 
cent, remaining in the skim milk. 

CREAMERY (krem'er-y),a factory at which 
butter is made from the milk or cream of cows. 
Creameries are now operated in practically all 
sections of the country where dairy farming is 
profitable. In farming communities they are 
conducted largely on the cooperative„plan, under 
which the patrons themselves build and operate 
the plant and share equally in the profits. Un¬ 
der this form of organization the company may 
or may not buy milk or cream in addition to 
the product obtained from the stockholders, 
though usually more or less of the material is 
purchased, Another form of operating creamer¬ 
ies is the plan under which a company or cor¬ 
poration purchases all the material, which is 
gathered by teams sent out from the plant or is 
delivered direct from the farms. The value of 
cream and milk is determined by a tester at the 
time the products are delivered. Skim milk is a 
by-product and is either sold or returned to the 
patrons, who use it to feed pigs and calves. 
Butter is the chief product obtained from 
creameries, but in some localities the milk is 
condensed and canned, and in others cheese is 
made as a by-product. Colleges of agriculture 
and government experiment stations have been 
potent factors in stimulating interest in the 
manufacture of butter of a high quality, 

CREAM OF TARTAR, a bitartrate of 
potassium, which is obtained from a variety of 
food products, especially from the tamarinds and 
grapes. It is contained in the crude tartar or 
argol which collects as a crystalline deposit upon 
the bottom and sides of wine casks during the 
fermentation of the wine. To prepare it for 
commercial purposes, the argol is dissolved in 
hot water and the coloring matter is removed 
by clay or egg albumen, after which the cream 
of tartar is separated by crystallization. The 
commercial product is a white crystalline com¬ 
pound, is soluble in water, and contains a small 
per cent, of calcium tartrate. It is used in 
making baking powder, in medicine as a purga¬ 
tive, and for various purposes in the arts. 

CRECY (kres'sr), a small town in the depart¬ 
ment of Somme, France, about 100 miles north 
of Paris. It is celebrated on account of a battle 
on Aug. 26, 1346, between Edward III. with 
30,000 men and an army of 100,000 French led 
by the Count of Alengon. The battle resulted 
in a victory for the English. About 30,000 
French were slain, among them the blind King 
of Bohemia, who was assisting the French 



CREDIT 


574 


CREE 


army. This battle was one of the earliest in 
which the English used cannon. 

CREDIT (kred'it), in economics, the trust 
or confidence placed by one individual in an¬ 
other, when he assigns money or other property 
in loan without stipulating for immediate pay¬ 
ment. It is a postponement of the payment of 
a debt to a future time. Credit is given by the 
party that lends and obtained by the one who 
borrows. The credit system is based on the 
confidence the people have in the general sol¬ 
vency, honesty, and resources of others. It is 
a very important factor in the exchange and 
production of wealth. The man who is able and 
willing to work often has few resources, but, 
with credit extended to him, his ability becomes 
enlarged and his usefulness is correspondingly 
widened. Many men have much ability as or¬ 
ganizers, but without borrowed capital they are 
unable to engage in commercial or industrial 
enterprises. Thus, the noncapitalist is generally 
benefited by an extension of credit, and the 
quality and quantity of his productions become 
vastly enhanced. On the other hand, the cap¬ 
italist is likewise benefited by the credit sys¬ 
tem. Without it all his resources would remain 
in his own hands, and he would incur undue 
liability in endeavoring to manage all of them 
himself; Professional men and women, estates, 
and aged people often have means that they 
cannot well invest or manage in their own en¬ 
terprises, but by the credit system others may 
be assisted while they themselves obtain profit. 
Banking, railroad construction, the development 
of a new country, and the material business in¬ 
terests are all more or less dependent upon a. 
general credit system. 

Another form of trust is the public credit of 
a nation. It is based upon the confidence the 
people have in the expressed or implied promises 
the government makes to meet public obligations 
or payments. National credit is represented in 
bonds, postal money orders, and the credit ele¬ 
ment in the paper currency and subsidiary 
coins. No nation has been able to remain out 
of debt for a long time, or to successfully man¬ 
age its affairs without drawing upon future pos¬ 
sibilities. This element in the credit system 
applies equally to the subdivisions of the gov¬ 
ernments, as in the states or provinces, coun¬ 
ties, and municipalities. For this reason the 
public confidence is vital as an element in the 
success of a state as well as in the enterprises 
of an individual. 

CREDIT MOBILIER (kra-de' mo-be-lya'), 
the name applied to a financial institution organ¬ 
ized under the laws of France in 1852. Its pur¬ 
pose was to promote industrial enterprises of 


various kinds, among them the building of ca¬ 
nals, construction of railroads, sinking of mines, 
and other vast projects. By the terms of the 
law the institution was authorized to hold shares 
in public companies and to meet payments by 
resorting to its own obligations. The opera¬ 
tions conducted by this association assumed a 
very extensive scale. In 1854 large subscrip¬ 
tions were made to the Grand Central Railroad 
Company and the General Omnibus Company of 
Paris, and several large loans were negotiated 
with the government. At first a dividend of 
twelve per cent, was paid. In 1855 the dividend 
was forty per cent., while the next year it was 
reduced to twenty-two per cent., and the fol¬ 
lowing year to five per cent. Owing to public 
mistrust, the speculative features were greatly 
curbed and the operations were lessened until 
the scheme failed totally. 

CREDIT MOBILIER, a joint-stock com¬ 
pany organized in the United States, in 1863, 
and which. gave rise to a great congressional 
scandal known by the same name. The scandal 
was the result of attempts at bribery and cor¬ 
ruption in connection with the construction of 
the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha to the 
Pacific coast. The company at the time of or¬ 
ganizing had a capital of $2,500,000. The char¬ 
ter of this company was sold in 1867 to a 
company which undertook the construction of 
the railroad, and the capital stock was increased 
to $37,500,000. In 1872 it was found that several 
members of Congress and the Vice President 
had been granted a number of shares of stock. 
This caused an investigation to be made by the 
House of Representatives. Oakes Ames, a 
wealthy Congressman from Massachusetts, 
Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the United 
States, and several representatives were impli¬ 
cated in the charges. Resolutions of censure 
were passed by Congress against Ames and 
James Brooks of New York. The scandal died 
out shortly after and subsequent inquiries 
cleared the reputation of a number who were 
charged with bribery. The proposed railroad 
line was constructed and is in successful opera¬ 
tion, being one of the highly important railroads 
in the United States. 

CREE (kre), a tribe of the Algonquin In¬ 
dians, one of the largest and most powerful 
branches of that family. It was chiefly confined 
to British America, inhabiting the country in 
the vicinity of Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatch¬ 
ewan River. The two main divisions are known 
as the Plains and the Wood Crees. Their lan¬ 
guage and customs were related to those of the 
Ojibwas. They are now confined to reserva¬ 
tions and number about 10,000. 


CREED 


575 


CREEPER 


CREED (kred), the statement or profession 
of fundamental points of belief of a religious 
body, or of the Christian Church at large. 
Many creeds sprang up at different periods in 
the development of Christianity, largely from 
the fact that Christ taught the simple truth in a 
concrete and informal manner; hence creeds 
may be said to have resulted from arguments 
and controversies as the teachings of Christ 
were drawn out into more precise and extended 
statements. The leading creeds include the fol¬ 
lowing: 

The Apostles' Creed, so named from the be¬ 
lief that the Apostles composed it, is accepted 
as a summary of the Christian faith by most 
churches. It is thought to date back to about 
150 a. d., but it came down to us in its present 
form from the latter part of the 4th century. 

The Nicene Creed was adopted by the Coun¬ 
cil of Nice in 325 and was promulgated to coun¬ 
teract Arianism. It is accepted as authority 
by the Roman and Greek churches and admitted 
by many of the Protestant denominations. It' 
sets up the doctrine that Christ is of the same 
substance with the Father, and was supple¬ 
mented in 381 by the Council of Constantinople, 
which emphasized the divinity of the Holy 
Ghost. This creed as modified by the Council 
of Constantinople is essentially identical with 
the form in which it appears in the Anglican 
prayer books. 

The Athanasian Creed, which dates from the 
6th century, was so named from Saint Athana¬ 
sius, who supported the doctrine of the Holy 
Trinity and the incarnation of the Son of God. 
It is held as a creed of the Roman and Greek 
churches and is still read by the Protestant Epis¬ 
copal Church of England, but is omitted from 
the services of the latter church in America. 

The Creed of Chalcedon, adopted by the Coun¬ 
cil of Chalcedon in the latter part of the 5th 
century, embraces the Nicene Creed and sup¬ 
plements it with the doctrine of the person of 
Christ. The Council of Trent formulated a 
statement of the doctrines of the Roman Catho¬ 
lic Church, and it was published as a bull by 
Pius IV. in 1864. This bull enforces the doc¬ 
trines of transubstantiation. 

The Augsburg Confession, adopted in 1530, 
embodies the fundamental doctrines of the Lu¬ 
theran Church, which approves of the Apostles’, 
Nicene, and Athanasian creeds. In addition it 
has the Catechisms of Luther, the Articles of 
Schmalcald, and a number of other confessions. 
The Church of England has the Thirty-nine Ar¬ 
ticles, and the Presbyterians support the West¬ 
minster Confession of Faith, one of the most 
elaborate of the creeds. The creeds named are 


the most important, and they constitute in a 
more or less modified form the basis of belief 
in the various churches. “Creeds of Christen¬ 
dom,” published in three volumes, edited by 
Philip Schaff, is a reliable history of the con¬ 
fessions. 

CREEK (krek), an Indian tribe which was 
originally resident on the Coosa, Flint, Chatta¬ 
hoochee, and Alabama rivers and in the penin¬ 
sula of Florida. The Creeks were first met by 
De Soto in 1540, and came completely under 
English influence after the overthrow of the 
French power in America. They joined the 
British in the Revolution and made an attack on 
Wayne’s army in 1782. In 1790 they made a 
friendly treaty, but renewed hostilities two 
years later. Another treaty was made in 1796 
and some land was ceded in 1805. They joined 
the English in the War of 1812, made an attack 
on Fort Minims, Aug. 30, 1813, and massacred 
400 people. After suffering numerous defeats 
they were completely overthrown by Gen. Jack- 
son at Horseshoe Bend, March 27, 1814. A 
treaty followed in which some land was ceded, 
and early in the 19th century a portion of the 
tribe removed to Louisiana and later to Texas. 
In 1825 a treaty ceding some lands was agreed 
upon, but later it was repudiated. 

Soon after the Creeks became divided into 
two factions, one favoring and one opposing 
emigration. A portion aided the Seminoles in 
1836 against the government, and the remainder 
made an attack upon the frontier towns of 
Alabama and Georgia. Gen. Scott was sent 
against them, subduing them after numerous 
battles, and they were subsequently removed to 
a reservation between the Arkansas and Cana¬ 
dian rivers. In the Civil War a portion aided 
the Union and the others sided with the Con¬ 
federates. A large tract of land was ceded by 
them to the government in 1866. This tribe of 
Indians held out against the teaching of the 
government for many years, but lately educa¬ 
tion has taken a firm foothold. Among the 
young people are many men and women who 
have taken readily to the common school and 
higher courses of study. They are skillful in 
the industries and are making rapid progress 
in the arts. 

CREEPER (krep'er), a general name of any 
bird that seeks its food by running or creeping 
in the branches of trees. The common creeper 
of North America is quick and restless in its 
movements, has a curved bill and rigid tail, 
and searches for insects and their eggs among 
the crevices in the bark. The upper part of 
the body is reddish-brown, the head is darker, 
and the rump is lighter. It is widely distrib- 



CREMATION 


576 


CRESCENT 


uted and is often seen in company with the 
smaller woodpeckers and nuthatches. A spe¬ 
cies native to South America is known as the 



TREE CREEPER. 

tree creeper, and is somewhat larger than the 
common creeper of North America. 

CREMATION (kre-ma'shun), the act of 
burning a corpse instead of burying it. This 
process was practiced quite extensively among 
the Greeks and Romans. The Hindus long 
disposed of their dead to some extent by a 
ceremony called mass. Sir Henry Thompson, 
an eminent physician, advocated its introduc¬ 
tion into England in 1873 on sanitary grounds, 
but made little progress, owing to public senti¬ 
ment against the innovation. Lately it was 
introduced in many European countries and 
the annual cremations have increased steadily. 
In 1907 they reached 2,067. The first Ameri¬ 
can crematory was established at Washington, 
Pa., in 1876, but there are now large crema¬ 
tories in New York, San Francisco, Boston, 
Chicago, Detroit, Saint Louis, Philadelphia, 
Buffalo, and many other cities. The number 
cremated in the United States in seven years, 
beginning in 1876, was twenty-five, but since 
then the custom has been making steady 
growth. In 1907 the number of cremations 
performed in that country was 2,682. 

The retort of a crematory, in which the 
corpse is placed, is built of fire brick. Bodies 
to be cremated are placed over a fuel chamber 
in an inclosure heated through holes. The 
construction is of such a character -that* no 
flames reach the body, and the volatile matter 
passes through highly heated chambers and 
dissipates in the atmosphere. Coke and coal 


gas are used chiefly for fuel. The body is en 
tirely cremated in from one to three hours, de 
pending upon the size, during which time it ir 
subjected to a temperature from about 2,000° 
to 2,500° Fahr. In some of the newer cre¬ 
matories the construction is somewhat dif¬ 
ferent, the doors being packed air-tight with 
asbestos, in which the body may be wholly 
incinerated in about fifty minutes. Crema¬ 
tory societies have been organized in Euro¬ 
pean and American cities, who make it an 
object to look after and care for the crema¬ 
tion of corpses. After incineration, the ashes 
are placed in urns in buildings expensively 
designed and decorated. These urns are 
carefully sealed, labeled, and placed in niches 
for future reference, or are incased within 
the monument in the cemetery. 

CREMONA (kre-mo'na), a city of Italy, 
in a province of the same name, 47 miles 
southeast of Milan. It is finely situated on 
the Po River and a number of railroads, and 
has a considerable trade in merchandise and 
manufactures. The streets are wide and well 
improved with paving and sewerage. Electric 
lights, waterworks, a public library, two thea¬ 
ters, and electric railways are among the public 
utilities. It is the seat of a bishop and has sev¬ 
eral fine churches and palaces. Among the 
manufactures are porcelain, earthenware, mus¬ 
tard, cotton and silk textiles, and machinery. 
The Amati family, manufacturers of violins, 
resided at Cremona. It was colonized by the 
Romans in 218 b. c., was destroyed by Vespa¬ 
sian in 70 a. d., and was afterward captured by 
the Lombards. Population, 1906, 40,510. 

CREOLE (kre'ol), the name given to the 
descendants of French and Spaniards born in 
America and the West Indies. The applica¬ 
tion of the term has recently been widened to 
include all descendants of Europeans born in 
tropical America and the West India Islands. 
The Creole dialect is a mixture of different 
languages, including the native languages and 
Spanish, French, and English. Creoles are not 
a strong, robust race of people. 

CREOSOTE (kre'6-sot), an oily, colorless 
liquid obtained chiefly from wood tar and coal 
tar. It was first made in 1832 by Reichenbach, 
who obtained it by the destructive distillation 
of wood. Creosote has a specific gravity of 
1.037 at 68°, evaporates without residue, has a 
burning taste, and mixes readily with ether, 
alcohol, and chloroform. It is used in the 
preservation of meats, in the -treatment of tu¬ 
berculosis, and for various purposes in medi¬ 
cine and surgery. 

CRESCENT (kres'sent), the name applied 




CRESS 


577 


CRETE 


to the moon in its first quarter, when its disk 
is enlarging and its horns are acute. A repre¬ 
sentation of the half-moon with upturned 
horns, called a crescent, was used by the an¬ 
cients, especially the Egyptians and Greeks, as 
a symbol for their moon goddesses. The By¬ 
zantine Empire adopted the crescent as an 
emblem. After the capture of Constantinople 
by the Turks in 1543, it became the permanent 
emblem of the Turks and the Turkish Empire. 
Many of the churches in Russia have a crescent 
on the dome, surmounted with the cross, sig¬ 
nifying that the Russian Church has a Byzan¬ 
tine origin. 

CRESS (kres), the name of several species of 
plants with acrid or pungent leaves, most of 
which belong to the mustard family.. They 
are widely distributed in the temperate and 
northern parts of the earth. The water cresses 
are the most common species. They grow abun¬ 
dantly on the brinks of small streams and 
ponds and are eaten as a salad. The Virginia 
cress is cultivated as a salad in Great Britain 
and many parts of North America. It is easily 
cultivated and thrives best in a damp or -moist 
soil. 

CRESTON (kres'tun), a city in Iowa, county 
seat of Union County, about 70 miles south¬ 
west of Des Moines, on the Chicago, Burling¬ 
ton and Quincy Railroad. It is surrounded by 
a farming country and has extensive railroad 
shops. The chief buildings include the court¬ 
house, the high school, and a number of fine 
churches. It has manufactures of cigars, vehi¬ 
cles, and machinery. The public utilities in¬ 
clude sewerage and waterworks systems. It 
was settled in 1868 and incorporated in 1869. 
Population, 1905, 8,382. 

CRETACEOUS PERIOD (kre-ta shus), 
the division of geologic time which immedi¬ 
ately follows the Jurassic and precedes the 
Eocene. It is so named from the chalk beds of 
England and France, where the term was first 
used, but the Cretaceous system is constituted 
only in part of chalk formations. Cretaceous 
rocks are found abundantly in North America. 
They extend from the mouth of the Mackenzie 
River southward into Mexico, occupy a great 
part of the Atlantic coastal plain from New 
York to Florida, whence they stretch westward 
to Texas and points near the Pacific Ocean, and 
are found in a large scope of the country from 
the mouth of the Ohio River to the Gulf of 
Mexico. Deposits of coal occur in the Creta¬ 
ceous system west of the one hundredth merid¬ 
ian, which coal area embraces many sections of 
the’Rocky Mountains. In some places they con¬ 
tain much greensand or marl, which is used 


extensively for fertilizing land in New Jersey 
and elsewhere. The thickness of the deposits 
vary materially, being about 400 feet in New 
Jersey, 2,000 feet in the Missouri basin, and 
12,000 feet in many sections of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains. This system is rich in both plant and 
animal fossils. The plants include palms, maple, 
willow, poplar, oak, and birch. Among the fos¬ 
sil animals are the crocodile, sponges, fish, sea 
serpents, birds with teeth, dinosaurs, and sea 
saurians. 

CRETE (kret), or Candia, one of the largest 
islands in the Mediterranean Sea, located south 
of the Aegean Sea and the Archipelago. It is 
about 150 miles long, from six. to thirty-five 
miles wide, and has an area of 3,500 square 
miles. The surface is mountainous, including 
several well-defined ranges, of which Mount Ida 
is the culminating peak, 8,050 feet above the 
level of the sea. The mountain ranges extend 
the entire length of the island. They are cov¬ 
ered with forests and penetrated by a number 
of fertile valleys. Much of the coast plain is 
exceedingly fertile. The southern coast has few 
harbors, but the northern coast is indented by 
several inlets, including the Bay of Suda. Many 
of the valleys are irrigated by numerous springs, 
and are covered by a luxuriant vegetation. 
Crete has a mild climate, cool in summer on 
account of northern winds, and distinguished in 
winter by numerous showers of rain. The in¬ 
dustries are not in a high state of development 
at the present time. It has valuable deposits 
of iron, building stone, cobalt, manganese, and 
granite. Agriculture is the principal occupation, 
yielding cereals, cotton, and fruits, while the silk 
industry is securing a strong foothold. The 
fisheries yield valuable products; the vineyards 
produce largely, and from the forests cork and 
essential oils are obtained. Among the domestic 
animals are horses, cattle, poultry, and sheep. 
However, the manufactures and transportation 
are insignificant. Fabrics, machinery, utensils, 
and spirituous beverages are the principal prod¬ 
ucts of manufacture. Most of the harbors of 
former ages are silted up and in poor condition. 

The history of Crete has its beginning in the 
period of Grecian mythology. Saturn, Minos, 
and Zeus are spoken of in Grecian fables among 
its kings. It was once a republic, then became 
the seat of Silician pirates, and was conquered 
by the Romans in 67 b. c. The apostle Paul 
visited Crete and established a church in it. 
In 823 a. d. it passed to the Saracens, but was 
returned to the Greeks in 962 by virtue of the 
conquest of Nicephorus Phocas II. It was given 
by the Byzantines to Boniface of Montferrat, 
who sold it to the Venetians in 1204, undd. 


37 


CRIBBAGE 


578 


CRICKET 


whose dominion it remained until the latter part 
of the 17th century, when it fell to the Turks 
after a struggle of nearly twenty years. An 
insurrection occurred in 1868 against Turkish 
rule, but it was suppressed after a desperate 
struggle. Another insurrection broke out in 
1877, which was followed by a declaration of 
union in 1878 with Greece. Peace was finally 
concluded by a concession of partial self-gov¬ 
ernment under Mukhtar Pasha. Religious dif¬ 
ferences between the Cretans, whose religion is 
Greek Catholic, and the Mohammedans, led to 
difficulties which culminated in new troubles in 
1884 and terminated in a war in 1897, in which 
the Cretans had the support of Greece. A num¬ 
ber of European powers interceded and effected 
a blockade of the island with their fleets, but 
war was prosecuted between Turkey and Greece 
on the continent. While the conflict terminated 
in the success of Turkish arms, the interests of 
Crete were protected by the powers. 

On Nov. 26, 1898, Prince George of Greece 
was announced as high commissioner" of Crete 
by a number of European powers, who had 
agreed upon his nomination. He assumed the 
duties of his office in December of the same 
year. The arrangements acknowledged the suze¬ 
rainty of the Sultan, guaranteed freedom of re¬ 
ligion and security of life and property, and 
established a native army. In 1908 the Cretans 
again declared the union of the island with 
Greece. The language spoken is Greek. Dur¬ 
ing its greatest prosperity Crete had a popula¬ 
tion of 1,200,000 and at the time of the Vene¬ 
tian dominion, about 900,000. Canea, the capital 
and largest city, has a population of 24,856. 
Candia is important as a port. In 1906 the 
island had a population of 312,514, of which 
33,395 were Moslems and the remainder were 
mostly Greek Christians. 

CRIBBAGE (krib'baj), a game at cards 
played by two, three, or four persons with a 
full pack of 52 cards. A game called five-card 
cribbage, played by two persons, is the most pop¬ 
ular amusement of this class. In playing the 
cards have a value as marked, except that the ace 
counts one and the face cards each ten. The 
points are scored by pegs on a board perforated 
with the necessary number of holes, called the 
cribbage board, and sixty-one points constitute 
the game. The advantage lies with the dealer, 
who makes up a third hand for himself, called 
the crib, partly out of the hand of his oppon¬ 
ent, who at the commencement of the game is 
entitled to score three points for having lost 
the deal, which is determined by the players 
cutting for deal. The rules depend somewhat 
upon the game played. Three-handed cribbage 


is played by three persons on a triangular board, 
and in four-handed cribbage two persons play 
in partnership against the others. 

CRICKET (krik'et)', a genus of insects 
which resemble certain kinds of locusts and in¬ 
clude numerous species, among them the house, 
mole, field, and wingless crickets. The wings 
are straight, and, when not in use, are folded 
in a longitudinal position along the back. The 
jaws move transversely, like those of beetles, 
while the head is thick and the feelers are long, 
and they possess remarkable power of leaping 
and making a rasping sound. However, the or¬ 
gans of sound are possessed only by the males, 
and they are used to attract or excite the fe¬ 
males. A large class of these insects, known as 
field crickets , are seen in vast numbers about 
harvest time. The house cricket is about one 
inch long, has a yellowish-brown color, and the 
feelers are about as long as the body. It has 



CRICKET. 

A, house cricket; B, mole cricket. 


been associated with the fireplace of the home, 
largely on account of the noise made by the 
wing covers of the male, and feeds on crumbs, 
finding safety in cracks and crevices of the 
walls. In the daytime it remains secluded, but 
comes out at night in search of food, when 
its familiar noise is heard. The mole cricket 
has large fore legs developed for burrowing. 
Crickets are widely distributed in America and 
the other grand divisions. The Sicilian cricket, 
native to Sicily, issues the loudest noise. 

CRICKET, a popular athletic game, the 
national game of Great Britain. It is played 
on a smooth greensward with bats, balls, and 
wickets. The players form two sides of eleven 
each. A ball, two bats, and two sets of wickets 
and bails are required to play the game. The 
wickets consist of thick wooden stumps, twenty- 
seven inches high, and are placed on the ground 
in sets of three, at a distance of twenty-two 
yards apart. On the top of each set of stumps 
are placed two small pieces of wood, called 
bails. The rival sides toss for first innings, and 
the director of the side that is to play first 
places two of his men at the wicket as batters, 
while a bowler, a wicket-keeper, a long-stop, 


CRIME 


579 


CRIMEA 


and fielders are placed in their several positions 
by the director of the opposite side. After these 
arrangements have been made and the markers 
or scorers are at their post, the umpires take 
their places and the game begins. The rela¬ 
tive merits of the rival sides are decided by the 
total number of runs made by each eleven bat¬ 
ters during two innings, the side whose players 
score the most being the winner. The bowler’s 
object is to direct his ball by a swift movement 
of the arm toward the opposite wickets, at which 
one of the 'batsmen stands, and, if possible, to 
strike down the stumps or knock off the bails; 
while the object of the batsman, on the other 
hand, is to protect his wickets from the bowl¬ 
er’s attack, by either stopping the ball when it 
reaches him or driving it out to the field. 

CRIME, a grave offense against social order, 
morality, and law. The term cannot be defined 
in the same way in all ages and all countries, 
for the reason that the social and legal require¬ 
ments differ widely. It has been made the ob¬ 
ject of statistical investigation for many years. 
Some writers regard crime as a disease, while 
others think that the environments and heredi- 
*■ tary tendencies are largely instrumental in plac¬ 
ing individuals in the list of criminals. The 
bureau of education in the United States made 
an investigation of the subject a few years ago 
and reported that eighty-tw,o per cent, of the 
criminals examined were in good health, while 
eleven per cent, were in fair health at the time 
of committing the offense. Lord Brougham 
stated in 1860 that “criminal statistics are to the 
legislator what 'the charts and the compass are 
to the navigator.” The object of study has been 
largely to ascertain the effects of criminal legis¬ 
lation, and to learn the real nature of crime, its 
extent, increase or decrease, and the influences 
that determine it. 

The different conditions existing in various 
countries, together with the environments of the 
individuals, such as religious tendencies, cli¬ 
matic influences, form of government, scarcity 
of food and clothing, and social surroundings, 
have a marked influence on all material factors 
that enter into the production of the criminal 
type. On examining 82,329 prisoners it was 
found that two per cent, of the offenses were 
against the government; twenty-three, against 
society; twenty-one, against the person; forty- 
six, against property; and eight, of a miscel¬ 
laneous character. Of the offenses committed 
in the United States it was found in a recent 
1 examination that fifty-six per cent, were com¬ 
mitted by persons of foreign birth, and that 
climatic and geographical conditions influence 
in various respects. Those engaged as laborers 


seem to show a greater disposition to commit 
crime against the person of others than against 
property, while the reverse is true of'those en¬ 
gaged in trades and commerce. Males show a 
greater tendency to crime than females, which 
is partly accounted for by the fact that upon 
the former devolve more largely the means of 
getting a livelihood. However, the statistical re¬ 
ports on the relative tendency to crime in the 
sexes must be taken with some allowance, be¬ 
cause in females crimes are often condoned. 
Education shows a marked tendency toward 
overcoming crime, since the illiterate commit 
more numerously the higher crimes. An in¬ 
vestigation made in Germany in 1905 demon¬ 
strates that married men respect property more 
generally than single men. They do not often 
commit the crimes against property, such as 
fraud and robbery, and are less prone to com¬ 
mit offenses against morality and human life. 
The same investigation demonstrated that wid¬ 
owers commit more crimes between the ages 
of thirty and fifty than either the married or 
unmarried men, but their tendency to crime 
decreases with their advancing years. 

Poverty, ignorance, and idleness are the three 
most prolific sources of crime. Individuals 
rarely steal when they have an intelligent con¬ 
ception of life, remunerative employment, and 
a natural bent to industry. The best reforms 
then would seem to lie in wholesome economical 
legislation, universal education, and such restric¬ 
tions that each offender may receive approxi¬ 
mately exact justice. Recent writers quite gen¬ 
erally agree that punishments should not have 
retribution for their object, but the penalty 
should be calculated as to its efficacy in remov¬ 
ing from society the cause of danger. A thor¬ 
ough system of right education induces habits 
of industry in the young, while remunerative 
employment is a preventive against falling into 
the necessity of violating law in order to subsist. 
The education must go beyond the schoolroom; 
it must be furthered by libraries, public policy, 
and the sum of effective external circumstances 
which influence the character of society. 

CRIMEA (kri-me'a), a peninsula in the 
southern portion of Russia, between the Sea of 
Azov and the Black Sea, and attached to the 
mainland by the Isthmus of Perekop. It is 
about 200 miles from east to west and has an 
area of 10,000 square miles. For governmental 
purposes it belongs to the Russian province of 
Taurida. The southern coast is elevated, while 
the remaining parts belong to the regions of 
the steppes. It is watered by numerous small 
streams, of which the Salghir and Alma rivers 
are the most noted. The climate is pleasant in 





CRIMEAN WAR 


580 


CRITICISM 


summer, but quite severe and changeable in the 
winter season. Among the products are flax, 
hemp, tobacco, cereals, and many varieties of 
fruits. In the mountain districts are limited 
areas of excellent forests, which yield good 
building material. The domestic animals consist 
of horses, cattle, swine, and fine-wooled sheep. 

The chief city and part of the Crimea is Se¬ 
bastopol, from which a railroad line extends 
through the central portion and connects with 
all parts of western and northern Russia. Owing 
to its location on the boundary between Europe 
and Asia, it has been the seat of many military 
contentions. It belonged to the Cimmerians in 
early history, passed over to the Greeks, and 
later became a part of Rome. After the decline 
of Rome, it was occupied by barbarian tribes, 
and in 1237 it was overrun by the Mongols under 
Genghis Kahn. The Genoese captured and for¬ 
tified Kaffa in 1261. They occupied large por¬ 
tions of it until 1475, when they were expelled 
by Mahomet II., who made it a dependent khan¬ 
ate. The Russians took possession of it in 1783, 
and it has been under their dominion with more 
or less restriction since that time. 

The Crimean War occurred between Russia 
and the allied forces of France, Turkey, and 
England in 1854-56. The war was caused by 
Russia’s attempt to secure preponderance in the 
eastern part of Europe by crowding the Turks 
out of the Continent, occupying Constantinqple, 
and making Servia, Bosnia, and Bulgaria prin¬ 
cipalities of the Russian Danube territory. Rus¬ 
sia took this step with the avowed purpose of 
securing a protectorate over the Greek Church, 
which brought the issues to a crisis. In the war 
which followed were fought the battles of Alma, 
Tchernaya, Balaklava, and Inkerman. The con¬ 
test terminated by the loss to the Russians of 
their strongest fortress, Sebastopol. The last- 
named fortress had been greatly strengthened 
by Catharine II. in 1786 with the view of over¬ 
awing the Turks. After its fall, a treaty of 
peace was concluded at Paris, April 27, 1856, by 
the terms of which the Ottoman Empire was 
guaranteed independence. The Crimea has a 
population of 583,962, about half of which is 
Russian. The others include principally Tartars, 
Greeks, Jews, Germans, and Bulgarians. 

CRIMEAN WAR. See Crimea. 

CRINOIDEA (kri-noid'e-a), the name of a 
group of sea animals, so called from the fact 
that their body resembles the form of a water 
lily. They consist of an expanded or spreading 
disk upon the end of a long, slender, jointed 
stem, which is attached to the bottom of the sea 
during practically the entire period of their life. 
At present the species are limited to a small 


number, but formerly, especially during the Car¬ 
boniferous Age, they were very numerous, which 
is evident by the large number of fossil remains 
found in the deposits .of that period. The first 
traces of their remains are found in the Silurian 
system, and most of the species appear to have 
become extinct with the formation of the more 
recent carboniferous rock. The animals of this 
class now living feed on spores of algae, minute 
crustaceans, and other food forms common to 
the sea. They are very sensitive to a change of 
temperature, inhabit the deeper water, and when 
disturbed fall on the bottom of the sea or swim 
away by movements of the arms. Their arms 
drop off when the animal is placed in an uncom¬ 
fortable position, but are restored through a 
process of regeneration, if the main body sur¬ 
vives. 

CRINOLINE (krin'6-lm), a stiff fabric for¬ 
merly made of horsehair, but now of various 
material, used for stiffening a collar, skirt, or 
other parts of a garment. The same name is 
applied to a hoopskirt, which has been fashion¬ 
able at various periods. The hoopskirts worn 
in 1740 were three feet across the hips. 

CRIPPLE CREEK, county seat of Teller 
County, Colorado, about ninety-five miles south¬ 
west of Denver, on the Midland Terminal, the 
Florence and Cripple Creek, and other railroads. 
It has a healthful climate and is surrounded by 
a picturesque country. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude the high school, the courthouse, the pub¬ 
lic library, and several fine churches. It has 
extensive systems of street lighting and public 
waterworks. The industries consist chiefly of 
machine shops and enterprises connected with 
mining. Cripple Creek is among the most 
interesting and remarkable of the newer mining 
towns of the West. Gold was discovered in its 
vicinity in 1886, but the more productive veins 
were not found until 1891, when Robert Wo¬ 
mack and others opened up a very productive 
lode. It was soon after developed by the Gold 
King Mining Company, and within a very short 
time the town had a population of 9,000. The 
output in 1891 was $20,000, but this was en¬ 
larged annually until the normal output reached 
about $18,000,000. A fire did considerable dam¬ 
age in 1896, but it was soon rebuilt and im¬ 
proved. In the vicinity are a number of other 
mining towns, including Altman, Anaconda, 
Lawrence, and Victor. Population, 1900, 10,147. 

CRITIC (krit'Tk), one who possesses literary 
qualifications to judge of the qualities of any¬ 
thing by some standard, criterion, or canon. The 
term is applied particularly to one who reviews 
and judges productions of literature and art. 

CRITICISM (krit'i-siz’m), Higher, the term 


CRITTENDEN COMPROMISE 581 


CROCODILE 


applied to the criticism of the origin, form, and 
value of the Bible and other books, in distinction 
from the lower criticism, which is concerned 
with their text A few attempts at this criti¬ 
cism were made in the early centuries of the 
Christian era, but extensive work along this line 
is wholly modern. The first work of any extent 
was published by Jean Astruc in a book entitled 
“Conjectures Concerning the Original Memoirs 
used by Moses in Composing the Book of Gene¬ 
sis,” which appeared in print at Brussels in 1753. 
The literature on this subject is now almost 
without limit. The most complete discussion is 
contained in the “Higher Criticism,” by A. C. 
Zenas, New York. 

CRITTENDEN COMPROMISE, a meas¬ 
ure introduced by John Jordan Crittenden, in 

1860, 'in the United States Senate. The propo¬ 
sition was in the form of a constitutional amend¬ 
ment which would permanently divide the Union 
into a free state and a slave state, the boundary 
being the line of 36° 30'. It provided that the 
United States was to pay the owner for any 
fugitive slaves, that' the Federal government 
could not limit or prohibit the interstate slave 
trade, and that slavery was to be retained in the 
slave. states and in the District of Columbia. 
The proposition caused much discussion in both 
branches of Congress and throughout the coun¬ 
try. On Jan. 14, 1861, it was defeated in the 
House by a vote of 113 to 80, and on Mar. 2, 

1861, in the Senate by a vote of 20 to 19. 

CROATIA AND SLAVONIA (kro-a'shi-a, 

sla-vo'm-a), a province of Austria-Hungary, 
constituting one of the crown lands of Hungary. 
It is bounded on the north by Styria and Car- 
niola, on the east and northeast by Hungary, 
on the south by Servia, Bosnia, and Dalmatia, 
and on the west and southwest by Istria and the 
Adriatic 'Sea. Croatia occupies the southwestern 
and Slavonia the northeastern part. The Drave 
river separates it from Hungary, and through 
the central part flows the Save river, which sepa¬ 
rates Croatia from Slavonia. The area is 16,675 
square miles. 

Most of the surface is mountainous, being cut 
up by ranges of the Julian and Styrian Alps, 
which attain heights of from 2,000-40 4,000 feet. 
Croatia contains the Agram Highlands, the Ka- 
pella, and the Croatian Karst. A fertile coast 
plain and productive valleys characterize the sur¬ 
face of Slavonia. Currents of the Adriatic 
sweep across the coast land of Croatia, hence 
its climate is raw and changeable, and numer¬ 
ous swamps make the climate of Slavonia some¬ 
what unhealthful. The minerals consist chiefly 
of coal, copper, sulphur, and marble. Glass, 
paper, sugar, silk and cotton textiles, spirituous 


liquors, and machinery are the principal manu¬ 
factures. About thirty-five per cent, of the sur¬ 
face is arable land and a considerable portion is 
utilized for meadows and in forestry. Corn and 
wheat are the chief cereals and cattle and hogs 
are grown in large numbers. Fruit, especially 
grapes, and vegetables, are important products. 
Transportation is furnished by the Drave and 
Save rivers and a number of railroads. Fiume, 
on the Adriatic, is a port of entry and has rail¬ 
road connection with the principal cities of the 
country. Porto Re, Zengg, and Agram are com¬ 
mercial centers. 

Both Croatia and Slavonia were a part of 
ancient Pannonia, a province of Rome. They 
comprised border territory in the conflict be¬ 
tween Christianity and Mohammedanism for 
many centuries. Croatia was annexed to Hun¬ 
gary in the eleventh century, but.it has contin¬ 
ued a policy looking toward greater independ¬ 
ence. The Ausgleich of 1867 was partially ap¬ 
plied to both Croatia and Slavonia, and its ban, 
the chief executive, is appointed by the Emperor 
of Austria in the capacity of King of Hungary. 
The inhabitants consist largely of Serbs and 
Croats, with a small mixture of Germans and 
Hungarians. A large majority of the people be¬ 
long to the Roman Catholic church, but the 
Greek Orthodox and a number of Protestant 
denominations are well represented. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 2,425,512. 

CROCODILE (krok'6-dil), a large reptile 
which resembles a great lizard, found in por¬ 
tions of Africa, Asia, the Sunda Islands, and 
the Moluccas. Crocodiles are one of four liv¬ 
ing representatives of the order Crocodilia. The 
other three are lizards, serpents, and the class 
including turtles and tortoises. The group of 
crocodiles includes the crocodiles, alligators, and 
gavials. The alligators are native only to Amer¬ 
ica, while the gavials belong exclusively to Asia 
and are found principally in India. All the 
animals constituting the Crocodilia are' ovipa¬ 
rous; that is, they produce eggs and hatch their 
young outside the body. They are characterized 
by long jaws and four short limbs; the fore 
feet have five toes and the hind feet four, the 
latter being webbed. Square bony plates cover 
the skin; the tail is long and compressed later¬ 
ally. The tear glands are large, the heart is 
four-chambered,-and the nostrils are located at 
the end of the snout, with capacity to close 
against ingress of water. 

Crocodiles live mostly in water, but they are 
seen frequently on the sand in the warm sun. 
Their movement in the water is quick and well 
directed, while on land they move forward rap¬ 
idly, but are slow to turn their bodies. The 





CROCUS 


582 


CROSS 


best way to elude them on land is to turn rap¬ 
idly and repeatedly in making a retreat from 
them. Their food consists of flesh, such as fish, 
quadrupeds, and carrion, and is preferred in a 
state of putrefaction. The eggs, about the size 
of goose eggs, are laid in the banks under cov¬ 
ering and hatched by the warmth of the sun. 
The female of some species guards the eggs and 
shows marks of tenderness to the offspring. 
Crocodiles sometimes attain a length of thirty 
feet and attain a great age. The older individu¬ 
als do not hesitate to attack larger animals and 
man. They are accompanied by a little bird, 
much like the cowbird associated with cattle. 
This bird consumes the insects and worms that 
fix themselves to their bodies and warns them in 
times of danger. They were held sacred by the 


ancient Egyptians. At present they are not 
found on the Nile, except near its head waters. 

CROCUS (kro'kus), a genus of plants native 
to the eastern part of Europe and to Asia Minor. 
Several of the species bloom profusely. The 
flowers are violet, purple, yellow, white, striped, 
or saffron-colored. They are extensively culti¬ 
vated in gardens; a sandy soil is best for pro¬ 
lific growth. According to their period of flow¬ 
ering, they are divided into the vernal and the 
autumnal crocuses. The dried stigma and style 
of several species form a powerful aromatic and 
are used to color an orange-yellow. 

CRONSTADT. See Kronstadt. 

CROOKES TUBES, the sealed vessels 
from which the air has been exhausted to the 
extent that a high vacuum is obtained, and 
which have electrodes at opposite ends. They 
are so named from the inventor, Sir William 
Crookes, and are used to secure various effects 
of electrical discharge. By a high vacuum is 
meant one in which the gaseous pressure is not 


more than one-millionth of that of the atmos¬ 
phere. Tubes somewhat similar were invented 
by Geissler, known as the Geissler tubes. They 
are of various forms and are supplied with 
platinum terminals and filled with different 
gases at different pressures. When the current 
of an electric machine is sent through them, it 
gives rise to many beautiful luminous effects. 
They are used in the spectrum analysis of gases 
and in the production of cathode rays. 

CROOKSTON, a city in Minnesota, county 
seat of Polk County; on Red Lake River, in the 
valley of the Red River of the North. It is on 
the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern rail- 
loads. The surrounding country is fertile, pro¬ 
ducing hay and cereals. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude the courthouse, public library, a gymnasium, 
a business college, and the 
high school. Among the 
manufactures are flour, 
clothing, machinery, and 
farming implements. It 
has systems of water¬ 
works and electric lights. 
It was .settled in 1872 
and incorporated in 1879. 
Population, 1905, 6,794. 

CROQUET (kro- 
ka'), a popular open air 
game played by two or 
more persons with balls 
and mallets. The ground 
should measure 36 by 72 
feet and be raised two 
inches at the border. 
Near each end of the 
ground is a stake, and nine wickets are set at 
convenient points between them. The game 
consists of driving a ball from the stake at the 
head of the ground through the wickets on the 
right hand side and to the stake at the foot of 
the ground, whence the ball is driven to the 
point of the beginning by way of the wickets 
to the left hand. When a ball has made the 
circuit of the field but has not touched the stake 
at the head of the ground, it is called a rover 
and may play on every other ball in the field 
in one turn. A complete croquet set consists 
of eight balls, painted in agreement with eight 
mallets, but in practice two or more persons 
play the game. The player loses his turn when 
he fails to drive the ball through a wicket, 
hence the game may be of considerable dura¬ 
tion. Croquet is a very old game, but its popu¬ 
larity is of comparatively recent date. Inter¬ 
est in it is promoted in England and America 
by national and international associations. 

CROSS, a figure produced by the intersection 



AFRICAN CROCODILE. 











CROSS 


583 


CROSS FERTILIZATION 


of two lines at right angles. In ancient times 
a cross was formed by fastening a piece of 
wood across an upright post or tree, which 
served for the execution of criminals by nailing 
or binding them in an upright position. Christ 



cords. The cross was adopted early as a symbol 
of Christian faith. It was carried by the le¬ 
gions of Christian warriors and was displayed 
in churches, cemeteries, and other places as a 
symbol of loyalty to the Christian cause. The 
cross is still a sign of distinction from the cres¬ 
cent used as a symbol by the Moslems, and is 
seen in Christian print, architecture, and wor¬ 
ship. 

CROSS, Southern, the most conspicuous con¬ 
stellation in the Southern Hemisphere, seen 
near the Antarctic Circle. At a northern lati¬ 
tude of. 30° it is at the southern horizon, but, 
owing to the haze and fog near the sea, it is 
not seen clearly north of the Tropic of Cancer. 
It contains four bright stars, to which Christian 


association and fancy give the shape of a cross. 
In 1679 it was added to the list of constella¬ 
tions by Olaus Romer (1644-1710). 

CROSSBILL, the comnjpn name of several 
species of birds of the finch family, so named 
because the tips of the mandibles cross each 
other. The form of the bill giyes them facility 
to shell pine cones to find the seeds, their prin¬ 
cipal food. The crossbills are found in the 
northern parts of North America and the colder 
parts of Asia and Europe. They attain a length 
of about seven inches. The male is reddish in 
color and the female is yellowish-green. Their 
nests are built in the limbs of trees, where they 
breed. 

CROSS FERTILIZATION, the term used 
by botanists to describe the fertilization of 
plants by bringing the pollen from the stamens 
of a given species in contact with the pistils 
of another. This is done in the course of na¬ 
ture by insects, birds, or the movement of air. 
However, the term has a broader signification 
in the cultivation of plants, since it implies 
bringing together the generative parts of such 
flowers as will result in producing the best 
plants and improving the fruits borne by them. 
In-and-in breeding among animals is known to 
sterilize and degenerate, while cross breeding 
tends to so combine temperaments’and physical 
structures that the offspring may be improved. 
This is true in a great measure with plants, 
and those interested in their culture single out 



CROSSBILL. 


the best species so as to have a combination 
of the stronger and better specimens. 

Cross fertilization in plants, like that in ani¬ 
mals, must be guarded with considerable care, 
since species of vastly different characteristics 











CROTON 


584 


CROW 


do not produce the most healthful and service¬ 
able offspring. Perhaps this is better illustrated 
in the human race, where crosses between indi¬ 
viduals of vastly different races, such as the 
Caucasian and Ethiopian, do not result in an 
advantage to the race more highly developed. 
Bees, humming .birds, and many insects are a 
prolific' source of cfoss fertilization, and where 
botanists conduct experiments it is necessary to 
provide protection against their coming in con¬ 
tact with plants. 

CROTON (kro'tun), a genus of plants 
which include herbs, shrubs, and trees. They 
occur in the warmer parts of both hemispheres. 
The leaves are variable and extremely acrid. 
Important medicines are obtained from the 
wood and seeds. Croton oil is expressed from 
the seeds of a number of species. It is brown¬ 
ish-yellow and has a nauseous taste. In large 
doses it is a dangerous poison, but in moderate 
quantities it acts as a drastic purgative, often 
causing vomiting. It is used as a counter irri¬ 
tant for obstinate constipation and accidental 
poisoning. About thirty species occur in Mex¬ 
ico and the southern part of the United States. 

CROTONA (kro-to'na), or Croton, an an¬ 
cient Greek colony in the southern part of Italy, 
on both sides of the Aesarus River and on the 
east coast of the Bruttian peninsula. It was 
founded by Achaean colonists about 710 b. c., 
and grew rapidly in wealth and commercial im¬ 
portance. The disciples of Pythagoras became 
rulers of the city of Crotona about 530 b. c., 
and the colony furnished a large number of 
men during the war with Sybaris, about 510 
b. c., but the Pythagoreans were soon after ex¬ 
pelled. It suffered greatly during the war be¬ 
tween the Romans and Pyrrhus, when it was 
plundered and nearly destroyed, and was over¬ 
run by its enemies in the second Punic War. 
The modern city is called Cotrone. 

CROTON AQUEDUCT. See Aqueduct. 

CROUP (kroop), a common disease occur¬ 
ring mostly in young children. It takes the form 
of an inflammatory affection of the trachea and 
larynx, and arises largely from exposure to 
wet and cold and from digestive disturbances. 
It occurs most frequently at the ages of two 
and three years, and generally on the fourth or 
fifth day produces death by exhaustion and 
strangulation. The two forms of the disease 
are known as false croup and membranous 
croup. Both are attended by cbughing. In 
false crouf the child has a running from the 
nose and the breathing is labored and noisy. 
Membranous croup is due to the bacillus of 
diphtheria and is contagious and frequently 
fatal. Small pieces of membrane are coughed 


up in severe cases. The operation known as 
tracheotomy, which consists of inserting a tube 
into the windpipe below the inflamed tract, is 
often resorted to in this malady. The tube 
serves as a means of breathing. 

CROW, the common name of any bird of 
the genus Crovus, of which the American crow, 
is the type. The plumage is glossy black, the 
wings are long, and the beak is conical. About 
200 species have been studied. They are intel¬ 
ligent and may be easily domesticated. Nearly 
all species build their nests on the limbs of 
trees, near which they perch and utter their 
harsh but familiar cry. The crow is widely 
distributed in all the continents and islands. 
Its favorite food consists of various kinds of 
carrion, but it feeds on fish, small quadrupeds, 
grains, and nuts, and delights to rob the nests 



of other birds and poultry of the eggs and 
young. Its habits are more or less gregarious, 
but it is frequently seen by itself or in isolated 
pairs. The crow of America is smaller than 
that of Europe, measuring about eighteen inches 
in length. The fish crow is found along the 
southern coasts, resembling the northern species, 
but is somewhat smaller. The rook is a small¬ 
sized species, has a peculiarly bare face, and is 
quite tame. 

The crows are found in climates far north 
at all seasons of the year, but large numbers 
move southward in winter to warmer districts. 
The hooded crow has a small black tufted head, 
which is quite distinguishable from the gray 
body. It feeds on fish and carrion. Other spe- 




CROW 


585 


CRUELTY TO ANIMALS 


cies are found in Ceylon, where they live in 
towns, and several are native to New Zealand, 
New Guinea, and other islands. The jabbering 
crow of Jamaica has a peculiar and active voice. 
The jays, ravens, magpies, and jackdaws are 
closely related species. The flight of the crow 
family is not graceful, being marked by in¬ 
cessant flapping of wings, but most species 
are able to sustain the fatigue of traveling long 
distances. They usually fly in a direct line 
toward their destination, stopping to rest on the 
roadways or on the limbs of trees. Their scent 
is very marked, enabling them to detect and 
locate carrion at some distance. 

CROW, the name of a tribe of North Ameri¬ 
can Indians, a branch of the Sioux family. 
Formerly they inhabited the region of the upper 
Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, but they are 
now confined on a reservation in the State of 
Montana. They were friendly to the whites 
when the main branch of the Siouxs conducted 
a warfare against the settlers, and many of 
them were employed as guides and scouts. At 
present the total number is about 1,975. 

CROWN, the name of a coin issued by sev¬ 
eral European countries. The English crown 
was originally a gold coin, first issued in 1527 
by Henry VIII., but since 1551 it has been 
made wholly of silver. It is worth five shillings 
sterling, or about $1.23 in the money of Canada 
and the United States. The crown of Sweden, 
Norway, and Denmark is equivalent to about 
26.5 cents, and that of Austria-Hungary has a 
monetary value of about twenty cents. 

CROWN, the ornament worn on the head of 
princes, kings, and emperors as a badge of sov¬ 
ereignty. Similar ornaments, called coronets, 
are worn by the nobility. The tiara is a decora¬ 
tion of the Pope. This custom is of consid¬ 
erable antiquity. The first King of Israel, Saul, 
wore a crown, and this is true of the King of 
Ammon. The first Roman sovereign who wore 
a crown was Tarquinius Priscus, in 616 b. c. 
In 306 a. d., when Constantine began to reign, 
he wore a crown. The practice was afterward 
extended to western monarchs, and later sov¬ 
ereigns were represented with crowned heads 
on coins. Many of the crowns are of great 
value. The crown worn by Queen Victoria 
had 227 pearls, four small rubies, one large ruby, 
seventeen sapphires, 147 table diamonds, 1,273 
rose diamonds, and 1,363 brilliant diamonds. In 
the crown of the Prnice of Wales are the Ger¬ 
man words Ich Dien (I serve). The most cele¬ 
brated crowns are those of Germany and Italy. 
The former is spoken of as the silver crown, 
but is a wealth of gold and gems. The latter 
is known as the iron Lombard crovdn, but is of 


solid gold, except that it contains an iron nail 
reputed to have been used at the crucifixion. 

CROWN LANDS, in America, the lands 
located west of the English colonies. All of 
these lands were declared to be crown lands 
by a proclamation of Great Britain after the 
Treaty of Paris, in 1763, and they were held 
as reserves for the Indians and declared to be 
under the jurisdiction of the home government. 
The colonists were not permitted to make pur¬ 
chases of, or make settlement in, any of this 
reserve territory without the royal permission. 
The several states claimed these lands after 
the Revolution. 

CROWN POINT, a town in Essex County, 
New York, on Lake Champlain, 110 miles north 
of Albany. It is on the Champlain Canal and 
the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. Iron ore 
and phosphate of lime are mined in the vicinity. 
It has a public library, electric lighting, and a 
number of churches. Crown Point is noted for 
the ruins of the fortifications constructed here 
by the British at a cost of about $10,000,000, 
although they are now in ruins. Seth Warner, 
at the head of a company of Green Mountain 
Boys, on May 11, 1775, captured the fort, which 
was garrisoned by only twelve men. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 1,890. 

CROYDON (kroi'dun), a market town of 
England, in Surreyshire, ten miles south of 
London. It is located on several railway and 
electric railroad lines, and is a favorite residence 
suburb for merchants and business men of Lon¬ 
don. Among the principal buildings are a 
Gothic church, the Whitgift’s Hospital, and a 
number of fine schools and charitable institu¬ 
tions. The manufactures embrace clocks, cot¬ 
ton and woolen goods, clothing, machinery, and 
spirituous liquors. Many fine drives and parks 
beautify the place, which was once the residence 
of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Its growth 
is comparatively recent, due largely to the de¬ 
velopment of many commercial and manufactur¬ 
ing enterprises. Population, 1907, 154,342. 

CRUCIBLE (kru'si-b’l), a vessel made of 
material which is capable of holding substances 
that are to be -submitted to a high temperature, 
such as the material for melting metallic ores 
or those used in glass-making. The form is 
circular, conical, or triangular. The material 
used for making crucibles is either iron, porce¬ 
lain, graphite, or platinum. 

CRUELTY TO ANIMALS, The American 
Society for the Prevention of, an organization 
incorporated April 10, 1866. It was the first 
society organized in America for the protection 
of animals. Henry Bergh was the founder and 
first president, and to his tireless energy and 


CRUELTY TO CHILDREN 


586 


CRUSADES 


self-sacrifice the laudable work of protecting 
animals in a systematic way owes its origin. 
Through the efforts of this society the first law 
enacted in America for the protection of .ani¬ 
mals was passed by the Legislature of New 
York. The example was followed by the legis¬ 
latures of other states, thus leading to much 
good in the care, use, and protection of all 
kinds of domestic animals. Branch organiza¬ 
tions are now maintained in many parts of the 
United States and in other countries of Amer¬ 
ica and the Eastern Hemisphere. Many cases 
have been attended by the society and its agents. 
The object is to prosecute offenders in the 
courts, temporarily suspend disabled animals 
from labor, humanely destroy animals that are 
past recovery, investigate complaints,- and pro¬ 
vide ambulances for the removal of disabled 
animals from the streets and highways for med¬ 
ical attendance. Our Animal Friends, a monthly 
magazine, is the official organ of the society, 
through which knowledge and interest is dis¬ 
seminated. 

CRUELTY TO CHILDREN. See Chil¬ 
dren, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to. 

CRUSADES (kru-sads'), the expeditions and 
wars conducted by the Christians of Europe to 
uphold the rights of pilgrims at Jerusalem, and 
ultimately to establish a firm foothold for Chris¬ 
tianity in Asia. The Crusaders wore a cross 
made of white, red, or green woolen, sewed on 
the right shoulder of the dress, as a signal 
that they fought for the interests of the Cross 
as against the Crescent of the Moslem. Jeru¬ 
salem and the Holy Sepulcher fell into the 
hands of the Mohammedans in their early con¬ 
quest of Palestine. Notwithstanding, the Chris¬ 
tian pilgrims still thronged to the Holy Land to 
worship on the scenes frequented by the Savior. 

During the ascendency of the Saracens in the 
I^ast the Christians were shown tolerable kind¬ 
ness, largely as a matter of policy, but when 
the Turks secured dominion widespread out¬ 
rages were perpetrated. Many expeditions of 
pjlgrims were insulted, pillaged, or murdered. 
The returning remnants spread complaints of 
Turkish insolence and barbarity throughout 
Europe, causing intense excitement and solici¬ 
tude in the various nations. That they should 
be driven from the region embodying the most 
sacred interest of Christians, and the places 
of concern be occupied by a class foreign and 
adverse to everything pertaining to their spir¬ 
itual welfare, led to a widespread desire to de¬ 
pose the Turks and-establish Christianity on a 
firm basis in the East. The first general agita¬ 
tion ,of a Crusade to the Holy Land began in 
the latter part of the 10th century, when Pope 


Sylvester II. attempted to induce the Christian 
world to succor the afflicted of Jerusalem, but 
to this call only a feeble support was given by 
the people. However, later there were no less 
than eight great movements, including the Chil¬ 
dren’s Crusade ,'to accomplish the object desired. 

I. The first Crusade was induced largely by 
the agitation of Peter the Hermit, who traveled 
throughout Europe for that purpose and aroused 
general interest in the project. He was aided 
by Walter the Penniless and others interested 
in various parts of Europe. The Crusaders un¬ 
der Peter the Hermit numbered about 40,000, 
and under Walter the Penniless about 20,000, 
and besides these were about 15,000 Germans 
and various smaller organizations. As a whole, 
the participants were illy prepared, impatient, 
and poorly equipped to enter upon such an ex¬ 
pedition. Later a stronger organization was 
led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, 
and his brother Baldwin, Count of Flanders, 
aided by several others. Nice was taken in 
1097; Antioch, in Syria, in 1098; and Jerusa¬ 
lem, in 1099, where a Christian kingdom was 
established with Godfrey of Bouillon as sover¬ 
eign. Soon after the Battle of Ascalon was 
fought, in which he defeated the Sultan of 
Egypt. The first Crusade dates from 1096 to 
1099. Palestine was in the hands of the actors 
of this Crusade for fifty years. During their 
dominion the two great military and religious 
orders were formed—the Knights of Jerusalem 
and the Knights Templar. 

II. The second Crusade was undertaken in 
1147 and ended in 1149. It was signaled by the 
fall of Edessa into the hands of the Mohamme¬ 
dans in 1144. Following this Bernard, abbot of 
Clairvaux, traveled over Europe preaching a 
second Crusade much as Peter the Hermit had 
preached the first. In 1147 Conrad III., Em¬ 
peror of Germany, and Louis VII., King of 
France, took up the cross and started upon a 
Crusade with more than 300,000 soldiers. They 
passed through Germany, Hungary, and over 
the straits into Asia. By the unfriendly schemes 
of Manuel, the Emperor of East Constantinople, 
the plan was frustrated and proved an entire 
failure. Conrad was defeated in the mountains 
of Cappadocia and returned in despair to Con¬ 
stantinople. Louis gained a slight triumph over 
the Saracens on the banks of the Meander and 
struggled on through storms and famine until 
he reached Antioch. There he was joined by 
Conrad. They united their forces and entered 
Jerusalem, but failed in their siege of Damascus. 

III. The third Crusade dates from 1189 to 
1192. It was agitated for a number of years, 
finding its greatest support in Italy, Germany 


CRUSADES 


587 


CRUSTACEA 


and France. When the report was spread 
throughout Europe that Jerusalem had fallen 
before Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, and that 
the golden cross which had glittered on the 
Mosque of Omar for 48 years had been tram¬ 
pled in the streets, the enterprise was assured. 
The Italian contingent sailed to relieve the 
Christians in the siege of Acre, .which had 
yielded to Saladin. Later Richard I., of Eng¬ 
land, Frederick Barbarossa, of Germany, and 
Philip Augustus, of France, led large armies 
into Asia Minor. The armies of Philip and 
Richard were weather-beaten and sorely pressed, 
only 5,000 reaching Acre. A detachment sailing 
under Richard for the Holy Land was divided 
by a storm and driven to Cyprus. Jealousies 
arose between Richard and Philip, after which 
the latter returned to France and the former 
was successful in several engagements by which 
he excited the admiration of the Saracens. A 
truce followed for a time with Saladin, in which 
the latter was left potentate in possession of 
Jerusalem. 

IV. The fourth Crusade was brought about 
largely through the efforts of Pope Innocent 
III., and covers the period between 1195 and 
1197. In these expeditions the Western Chris¬ 
tians captured Constantinople from the Greeks 
in the East and founded a Latin kingdom which 
endured fifty-seven years. During the siege of 
Constantinople many precious works of art were 
destroyed and much of the city was burned. 
The purpose was to build up a permanent power 
against the Moslems but in this the enterprise 
failed. 

V. The fifth Crusade dates from 1198 to 1204. 
It resulted in a second siege of Constantinople 
terminating to the advantage of the besiegers. 
Baldwin, Count of Flanders, was elected em¬ 
peror over one-fourth of the Eastern dominions 
and the remaining portion was divided between 
the republic of Venice and the barons of France. 
In the meantime the Crusade of Children was 
organized in 1212. About 30,000 boys and girls 
of France and 40,000 of Germany crossed the 
Alps and pushed forward with the expectation 
that the Moslems would embrace Christianity 
by miracles. Large numbers of them became 
discouraged and returned home, while others 
perished, were sold into slavery, or lost at sea. 
Frederick II., Emperor of Germany, proceeded 
to Jerusalem in 1227, where he secured a treaty 
with the Sultan of Egypt without expenditure 
of human life, under which he was crowned 
King of Jerusalem. However, he returned to 
Germany in 1229. 

VI. The sixth Crusade was conducted by 
Louis IX., King of France, from 1248 to 1254. 


Pie was taken prisoner in Egypt, but secured 
his release by paying an enormous ransom. 
From Egypt he went to the Holy Land, where 
he built a number of forts, but soon returned to 
France. 

VII. The seventh Crusade was started by 
Louis IX., of France, in 1270, but he died of 
pestilence in Tunis. He had been associated 
with Prince Edward of England, later Edward 
I., who landed at Acre in 1271. Nothing was 
accomplished aside from a truce of ten 
years. Subsequently several other efforts to 
secure a permanent foothold were made, but 
they were greatly weakened by those undertaken 
in the early period of the movement. The Latin 
kingdom of Jerusalem expired in 1291. 

The most important events of the Crusades 
include the capture of Jerusalem by the Cru¬ 
saders in 1099. It was retaken by Saladin in 
1187, restored to the Christians by a truce in 
1227, and taken by the Turks in 1239. The em¬ 
pire founded by the Crusaders expired with the 
capture of Acre by the Sultan of Egypt in 1291. 
The Crusades with their attendant interests were 
promoted about two centuries and had a marked 
impression upon the several kingdoms of Eu¬ 
rope. Immense sums of money were spent with¬ 
out securing productive returns, millions of lives 
were lost, and marked changes were wrought 
in the habits and customs of European nations. 
After these conflicts were over, attention again 
turned to commerce, the laboring classes re¬ 
ceiving a new impulse. During this period the 
germs of new ideas were sown in inquiring 
minds, and bigotry and imperialism rapidly di¬ 
minished. While attended by some elements of 
harm, they broke up old feudal systems and 
paved the way for vast commercial and indus¬ 
trial enterprises. 

CRUSTACEA (krus-ta'she-a), a class of 
aquatic arthropods, so named from the hard 
armor which covers the whole body. About ten 
thousand species are included in this group of 
animal life. The shell of the body is jointed, 
forming the principal part of the skeleton, and 
each joint or segment of the body has a pair of 
jointed appendages. Two of the appendages are 
usually modified into antennae or feelers, below 
or back of which is the apparatus for eating. 
The higher classes have the bodies divided into 
three parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen. 
All are oviparous and the sexes are distinct 
in most species. The crust or shell is cast off 
in one piece when it gets too small for the 
growing body and a new one better fitted de¬ 
velops. Limbs lost by accident or in combat 
are replaced by new growth in a short time. 
The outer hard shell consists of many parts 


CRYOLITE 


588 


CRYSTALLOGRAPHY 


and .allows movements by being jointed much 
like the joints formed by cartilages 'in higher 
forms of life. Some species of the Crustacea 
have compound eyes borne upon long stalks, a 
pair of jointed feelers, and gill-like appendages 
for breathing. Various species occur in the 
seas, in fresh water, and on land. Fossil re¬ 
mains of these animal forms have aided greatly 
in studying the age of strata. Among the fa¬ 
miliar examples of the living crustaceans are 
the lobsters, crawfishes, barnacles, and shrimps. 

CRYOLITE (kri'6-llt), a compound of 
sodium, aluminum, and fluorine, so named from 
its fusibility in the flame of a candle. In a 
pure state it is snow-white, partially transpar¬ 
ent, and has a vitreous luster. It is used in 
the manufacture of soda and in making a beau¬ 
tiful glass somewhat resembling porcelain, and 
is a source of sodium hydrate, sodium carbo¬ 
nate, and other salts. Cryolite is found chiefly 
near Arksuk, Greenland, and in El Paso Coun¬ 
ty, California. 

CRYPT (lcript), a chamber under a church 
or beneath a monument to receive the bodies 
of the dead. Originally the term was applied 
to a subterranean chapel in the catacombs and 
later it designated a room near the confessional, 
of which it was an extension or enlargement. 
Crypts were constructed very largely in the 
churches from the ninth to the thirteenth cen¬ 
tury and many are of beautiful construction. 
The crypt under the cathedral at Glasgow, Scot¬ 
land, is one of the finest examples. Others of 
note include those in the Cathedral of Canter¬ 
bury, the Church of Saint Mark at Venice, the 
Cathedral of Strassburg, Germany, and the 
Sainte Chapelle, Paris. 

CRYPT0GAMOUS PLANTS (knp-tog'a- 
miis), or Cryptogams, the name applied by 
Linnaeus to all the plants that do not repro¬ 
duce by flowering. The seed-bearing plants, to 
distinguish them from the crytpogams, -are usu¬ 
ally called phanerogams. Formerly it was 
thought that the distinction between the two 
classes should be based upon the theory that 
the crytogams reproduce by spores and the 
phanerogams by seed, but this view is not cor¬ 
rect, since both groups include representatives 
that produce spores, but the former do not pro¬ 
duce seeds. 

CRYPTOGRAPHY (krTp-tog'ra-fy), a sys¬ 
tem of writing with sympathetic ink, or with 
secret characters or ciphers. The most com¬ 
mon method is to choose a sign or mark for 
every letter of the alphabet, using the substi¬ 
tuted characters in committing the subject-mat¬ 
ter to writing. 

CRYSTAL (kris'tal), in mineralogy and 


chemistry, the solid mathematical form which 
a chemically homogeneous body tends to as¬ 
sume by undisturbed and mutual attraction of 
its particles. Crystals may be developed by dis¬ 
solving crystalline bodies in water, alcohol, or 
other fluids, and then abstracting the fluid by 
evaporation. Crystalline forms occur largely in 
nature. The study of their structure and the 
laws by which they are formed is called crys¬ 
tallography, which is an essential division of 
mineralogy. 

CRYSTALLOGRAPHY (krls-tal-log'ra-fy), 

the science of crystallization, which investigates 
the system of form among crystals, and treats 
of their structure and method of formation. A 
crystal is bounded by plane surfaces, which 
have a symmetrical arrangement around certain 
imaginary lines called axes. Crystals are 
formed in all inorganic substances when solid¬ 
ifying, whether natural or artificial, and many 
thousands of forms are thus produced. Since 
the qualities of crystals depend directly on the 
forces of the ultimate molecules or particles- of 
matter, crystallography constitutes an important 
department of molecular physics and is con¬ 
cerned in the study of cohesive attraction. All 
solidification in inorganic substances is crys¬ 
tallization, hence cohesive attraction in solidi¬ 
fication consists wholly of crystallogenic attrac¬ 
tion. 

The very numerous forms of crystals may be 
classified under six systems. 1. The monomet¬ 
ric system, in which the crystals have three 
lines or axes of equal length, hence are of one 
kind, include such crystals as are formed by sil¬ 
ver, gold, iron pyrites, and common salt. All 
the forms of this system are symmetrical. 2. 
The diametric system has axes of two kinds, 
the lateral axes being equal to each other, but 
differing in length from the vertical axis. Un¬ 
der this system crystallization is in the form 
of square octahedrons, equilateral eight-sided 
prisms, eight-sided double pyramids, and in a 
number of other forms. Among the examples 
are the crystals of tin idocrase and calomel. 
3. The trimetric system includes the forms in 
which the vertical axis is unequal to the lateral 
and the two lateral axes are unequal to each 
other, hence the three axes are all of unequal 
length. The crystalline forms are right rhombic 
prisms and rhombic-based octahedrons. The 
examples include topaz, sulphur, epsom salt, and 
heavy spar. 4. The monoclinic system includes 
the crystals in which two of the axes are at 
right angles to each other and the third is in¬ 
clined. All the axes are of different lengths and 
the crystals are oblique rhombic prisms. Cop¬ 
peras, borax, sugar, and carbonate of soda crys- 


CUBA 


589 


CU#A 


tallize according to this system. 5. The triclinic 
system includes the crystals that have three 
axes of unequal length, all the three inter¬ 
sections being oblique. The forms are oblique 
prisms contained under rhomboidal faces. The 
crystals of this system include those of sul¬ 
phate of manganese and blue vitriol. 6. The 
hexagonal system includes the regular hexag¬ 
onal prisms, in which the vertical axis con¬ 
nects the centers of the bases, and the three 
lateral axes join the centers of the opposite 
lateral faces or edges. It also includes the 
rhombohedron and its derivative forms. Among 
the crystals are those of many kinds of lime¬ 
stone and emerald. 

CUBA (ku'ba), a republic in the West Indies, 
on the island of Cuba, the largest and most 


important of the Greater Antilles. It is situ¬ 
ated mainly between latitudes 19° 20' and 23° 8' 
north and longitude 78° and 85° west, and be¬ 
tween the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean 
Sea. The coast line is very extensive, contain¬ 
ing numerous inlets and safe harbors. The 
northern coast is about 818 miles long and the 
southern 972 miles, the former having thirty- 
two harbors and the latter twelve. From east 
to west the island has a length of 760 miles, 
with an average width of eighty miles, and the 
area, including a number of small islands, is 
45,881 square miles. 

Description. A range of mountains extends 


from southeast to northwest across the island, 
known as the Copper Mountains, which vary in 
height from 1,000 to 4,000 feet. The most ele¬ 
vated summits are in the southeastern part, 
where Turquino, the culminating peak, rises to 
a height of 8,320 feet. Low and marshy lands 
lie west of Cape Cruz, near which is located 
the great Zapota swamp. Coral islands or reefs 
border the northern coast. 

Cuba has no large rivers, but its streams that 
may be classed as rivers exceed 150 in number 
and only few of these a^e navigable. The 
Cauto, wholly in the province of Santiago de 
Cuba, is the largest stream. It is about 150 
miles long and is navigable for a distance of 
fifty miles. The climate is variable inland, but 
along the coast it is very equable. At Havana 


the rainfall is about fifty inches and in the 
northeastern section it ranges from 80 to 100 
inches, but the southeastern region has a smaller 
precipitation. The winter season is marked by 
copious rainfall, but is not cold, while the sum¬ 
mer breezes modify the temperature and render 
it quite pleasant in all portions. In. summer 
the thermometer rarely rises above 90° and sel¬ 
dom falls below 85° in winter, but the mountain¬ 
ous regions have a lower temperature in win¬ 
ter, though rarely less than 50°. Normally the 
climate is healthful, but sickness prevails along 
the low coasts and in the marshy districts. 

Cuba has a tropical vegetation and many of 

































CUBA 


590 


CUBA 


the plants are luxuriant. The prairies abound 
with nutritious grasses and fully one-half of the 
surface is covered with forests, including the 
palm, mahogany, cedar, lignum-vitae, logwood, 
rosewood, acana, and Cuban ebony. Many 
species of fruit are native or have been natural¬ 
ized. Animal life is abundant, especially birds, 
of which there are more than 200 species. They 
include the vulture, grouse, snipe, quail, wild 
turkey, and many birds of song. The reptiles 
are represented by the alligator, lizard, tree 
toad, and turtle. * Many species of insects 
abound, including the scorpion, tarantula, fire¬ 
fly, ant, and a limitless number of others. The 
rabbit, bat, cat, and domestic animals are well 
represented. The waters of Cuba are rich in 
fish, including about 650 species. 

Mining. Iron is found in the province of 
Santiago de Cuba, where it is mined in large 
quantities. The output is about 575,000 tons 
annually, nearly all of which is exported to the 
United States. Asphalt, an important product, 
is obtained chiefly in the vicinity of the Bay of 
Cardenas. Copper has been mined profitably 
for many years and prior to the discovery of the 
deposits in the United States it was exported 
largely for use in the American manufacturing 
enterprises. Salt, gold, silver, petroleum, man¬ 
ganese, and a number of other minerals are 
found in paying quantities. 

Agriculture. Owing to the genial climate 
and general fertility of the soil, agriculture is 
the leading industry. Many of the cultivated 
fields have been tilled fully 200 years without 
artificial fertilization and their riches have not 
been perceptibly affected. Much of the land is 
divided into small tracts, ranging from eight to 
twenty acres, and few of the holdings exceed 
100 acres, except in localities where larger plan¬ 
tations are managed by white owners. Nearly 
half of the farmers are colored tenants, who are 
confined almost exclusively to small tracts of 
lands. Agriculture was set back materially dur¬ 
ing the war with Spain, in 1897, but at present 
it is conducted with much profit. 

Sugar cane has been cultivated since 1523 and 
takes rank as the most important product. The 
sugar plantations are operated on large hold¬ 
ings, usually several thousand acres, and they 
are equipped with private railways, plants to 
manufacture sugar, and numerous buildings for 
the occupancy of the laborers. Tobacco takes 
rank next to sugar as an important crop, and it 
has been cultivated with considerable success 
since 1580. The provinces of Havana and Santa 
Clara are the chief centers of the tobacco fields. 
Maize is cultivated in all parts of the island and 
rice is grown extensively, but the latter does 


not yield sufficient for domestic consumption. 
Wheat and oats are not cultivated extensively, 
but vegetables, especially sweet potatoes, are 
grown in all parts of the island. Cocoanuts, 
lemons, limes, mangoes, guavas, figs, oranges, 
and pineapples are cultivated abundantly. Cat¬ 
tle, horses, swine, sheep, and poultry yield large 
returns. 

Manufactures. Sugar and tobacco products 
are the principal manufactures. The former 
consists chiefly of raw sugar and is made on the 
plantations largely as an adjunct of agriculture. 
Havana is important as a manufacturing center 
of cigars and smoking tobacco, large quantities 
of which are exported. Other manufactures 
include clothing, rum, flour, cordage, fabrics, 
and earthenware. 

Commerce and Transportation. Havana, the 
principal seaport, is the focus of many routes in 
steamship navigation and is touched by numer¬ 
ous transatlantic routes. Cienfuegos and Santia¬ 
go de Cuba, both on the southern coast, are the 
centers of a growing foreign and interior trade. 
The exports somewhat exceed the imports, and 
most of the foreign trade is with the United 
States, Great Britain, and Germany in the order 
named. Railroad construction has advanced rap¬ 
idly within the last two decades. Lines traverse 
the island from Pinar del Rio in the west to 
Santiago de Cuba in the east, connecting all the 
more important cities. The lines aggregate a 
total of 1,500 miles, though some are in a poor 
condition, and about 4,500 miles of telegraph 
lines are in operation. Comparatively little has 
been done in constructing wagon roads, which 
are in a poor state of development. 

Education. The constitution provides for 
free and compulsory attendance upon primary 
schools, which are maintained by the provinces 
and municipalities, but the central government 
may bear the expense in localities where the 
people are unable to make ample provisions for 
instruction. Secondary and higher education is 
under control of the state and culminates in a 
university at Havana. A large number of 
teachers from Cuba received, normal training in 
the United States after the organization of the 
republic, and since then considerable progress 
has been made in public instruction. Many pri¬ 
vate and parochial schools are maintained, ow¬ 
ing to the fact that the inhabitants are largely 
Roman Catholics. 

Inhabitants. The province of Havana is 
densely populated, having 187 persons to the 
square mile. About seventy per cent, of the 
people are white, and the remainder are negroes, 
mixed elements, and Chinese. Nearly half en¬ 
gage in agriculture, about one-fifth in domestic 


CUBA 


591 


CUBA 


service, and one-seventh in mechanical and 
manufacturing pursuits. Havana, the capital, ; s 
the largest city and most important commercial 
center of the West Indies. Santiago de Cuba, 
Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Cardenas, 
and Puerto Principe are among the leading 
cities. The last two censuses were taken under 
the direction of the United States, in 1899 and 
in 1907, from which the following table has been 
prepared: 


PROVINCES. 

POPULA¬ 
TION, 1899. 

POPULA¬ 
TION, 1907. 

Havana. 

424,804 

173,064 

202,444 

356,536 

88,234 

327,715 

518,524 

240.781 
239,866 
457,897 
117,432 

453.782 

Pinar del Rio. 

Matanzas. 

Santa Clara.. 

Puerto Principe. 

Santiago de Cuba. 

Total. 

1,572,797 

2,028,282 


Government. * Cuba is governed under a con¬ 
stitution adopted in 1901, by which the adminis¬ 
tration is vested in a president, who is elected 
by manhood suffrage for a term of four years 
and is limited to a service of not more than two 
consecutive terms. It is required that the presi¬ 
dent be a native Cuban or a naturalized citizen 
who served not less than ten years in the Cuban 
army during the wars for independence. The 
members of his cabinet, who are responsible 
to him for the administration of their offices, 
are appointed and removed at his pleasure. A 
congress of two departments, the senate and 
house of representatives, has full legislative 
power. The former is composed of twenty-four 
senators, that is, four from each province, 
elected by an electoral board of the provincial 
councilmen and electors, and hold office for a 
term of four years. Representation in the lower 
branch of congress is on a basis of one member 
for every 25,000 inhabitants, or a fraction of 
more than 12,500, and the term is for four 
years, one-half retiring every two years. Con¬ 
gress, which meets annually, has general con¬ 
trol of the finances and foreign affairs, and has 
legislative power in matters concerning the re¬ 
public. The chief judicial power is vested in a 
supreme court, members of which are appointed 
by the president subject to confirmation by the 
senate. Citizenship was extended to all Cuban 
and Spanish residents who were on the island 
Sept. 11, 1899, and to all foreigners who resided 
here since Jan. 1, 1899, and those not included 
in these classes may acquire citizenship by 
naturalization, which requires a residence of five 
years. 

The six provinces of Cuba are Havana, Pinar 
del Rio, Santa Clara, Matanzas, Puerto Prin¬ 
cipe, and Santiago de Cuba. Each of these has 


the power to legislate and administrate in regaro 
to matters of local concern, but their laws and 
administration are subject to the constitutioi. 
of the republic. Members of the provincial as¬ 
semblies as well as the governors are elected 
by popular vote. Spanish is the official and 
spoken language, but it is mixed somewhat with 
native dialects. 

History. Cuba was discovered by Columbus 
in 1492 while on his first voyage to America. It 
was first named Juana in honor of Prince John, 
son of Ferdinand and Isabella, and later re¬ 
ceived the name of Fernandina. Afterward 
its name was changed to Santiago in honor of 
the patron saint of Spain, and still later to Ave 
Maria in honor of the Virgin Mary. The name 
applied to it at present is the one by which the 



FLAG OF CUBA. 


natives knew it at the time of its discovery. 
The aboriginies were a peaceful, semisavage 
people, who lived in tranquillity and possessed 
some degree of development in rude industry 
and a primitive form of religion. Columbus 
revisited the island twice after its discovery, 
in 1494 and in 1502. Diego Columbus, son of 
Christopher, organized an expedition of 300 men 
under Diego Velasquez and founded the first 
permanent settlement in 1511. The first settle¬ 
ments in Santiago and Trinidad were formed in 
1514, and the present city of Havana ‘was 
founded in 1519. In the first quarter of the 19th 
century all the continental colonies controlled by 
Spain secured their independence, but Cuba and 
Porto Rico remained faithful to the mother 
country. Many of the Spaniards remaining 
loyal to the mother government left the con- 






















CUBA 


592 


CUBA 


tinental possessions and took refuge in these 
islands, thereby enriching them with their skill, 
energy, and capital. The cultivation of sugar 
cane and tobacco was early developed, and, with 
the income of large capital and superior skill, 
made rapid progress, soon replenishing the cof¬ 
fers of Spain, which had been drained by con¬ 
tinuous foreign wars. 

The colony of Cuba was a seat of contention 
whenever Spain engaged in war with European 
countries. Havana was destroyed in 1534 and 
again in 1554 by the French. The Dutch cap¬ 
tured it in 1624 and the English in 1762. Be¬ 
ginning in 1810, it was governed by a foreign 
captain general. Excessive taxation and other 
differences caused numerous dissensions, which 
led to a rebellion in 1836 and to insurrections 
in 1844 and 1848. A number of parties in the 
United States coveted the possession of the 
island, particularly the slave-holding interests, 
and offered to buy it with the intention of mak¬ 
ing it a permanent possession. In 1850-51 Nar- 
ciso Lopez was assisted by adventurers, known 
as filibusters, from the United States, in an at¬ 
tempt to seize the island, but the expedition was 
expelled by the Cubans. The United States 
issued the Ostend Manifesto in 1854, which de¬ 
clared that the island would be seized if Spain 
refused to sell it. Soon after a strong party 
for liberation from Spain was formed, and 
Maximo Gomez conducted a war for Cuban 
independence during a period of ten years, be¬ 
ginning in 1868. It was terminated by the Elzan- 
jon Treaty in 1878 with the acting captain gen¬ 
eral, Martinez Campos. The treaty provided 
for the early abolition of slavery and guaranteed 
certain personal and political rights to the Cu¬ 
bans. Slavery was abolished in 1886, but the 
policy of Spain remained as before in the inter¬ 
est of the mother country, rather than for the 
benefit of the colony. 

Conditions rapidly formed that led to the 
Cuban revolution of 1895. The native patriots 
were aided by the Cuban exiles, the latter having 
their headquarters at New York. Secret prepa¬ 
rations were carried forward with remarkable ra¬ 
pidity, arms and ammunition were smuggled into 
Cuba, and a formal declaration of war was made 
Feb. 24, 1895. The revolutionary forces were 
placed under the command of Maximo Gomez, 
who was supported with alacrity by the negroes 
and-by the inhabitants of Porto Rico. The war¬ 
fare carried on by the revolutionists partook of 
a guerrilla form, being mostly raids upon planta¬ 
tions and cities. Afterward the forces fell back 
into the mountain districts, where th<^ were 
secure against Spanish troops, but came forward 
successively with surprises to the Spaniards. 


Antonio Maceo landed in Cuba in the spring of 
1895 and was hailed with much enthusiasm by 
the patriots. The total forces of the Spaniards 
numbered 200,000, while the insurgents had 
about 60,000. Gen. Valeriano Weyler, governor 
general, carried on the war with much cruelty, 
whereby needless loss of property and life was 
occasioned. The people of the United States 
. manifested a decided feeling of friendliness 
toward the patriots, who were struggling for 
liberty as the early colonists had done in 1776. 
This occasioned a feeling of hatred on the part 
of the Spanish sympathizers against the United 
States, and culminated in the destruction of the 
United States battleship Maine then on a 
friendly visit to Havana, by a submarine mine, 
on Feb. 15, 1898, in which 262 men and officers 
lost their lives. A commission to investigate the 
conditions surrounding the destruction of the 
Maine was appointed by the President of the 
United States, and the report following the 
investigation intensified the feeling of hostility. 
War was formally declared on April 21. 

The first decisive engagement of the Spanish- 
American War resulted in the destruction of 
the Asiatic fleet of Spain at Manila, in the Phil¬ 
ippines, on- May 1. On July 3 the strongest fleet 
of Spain was destroyed at Santiago by the 
Americans, Rear Admiral Schley commanding in 
action. Gen. Shatter laid siege to Santiago with 
the United States army and fought a decisive 
battle on July 1. Gen. T.oral surrendered his 
army of 25,000 men to the Americans on July 
17. The surrender of the remaining portion 
soon followed and the final treaty of peace was 
signed at Paris on Dec. 10, 1898. By its terms 
Spain ceded Porto Rico to the United States 
and relinquished all sovereignty over Cuba and 
the Philippine Islands. As a partial considera¬ 
tion to secure the relinquishment of the latter, 
the United States paid $20,000,000. The treaty 
was ratified by the Senate on Feb. 6, 1899, by a 
vote of sixty-one yeas to twenty-nine nays, one 
vote more than the two-thirds majority req¬ 
uisite. 

The first president, Tomas Estrada Palma, 
was^elected in 1901, and the United States, hav¬ 
ing exercised supervisory functions in aiding to 
establish the government, withdrew formally on 
May 20, 1902. He was' reelected to the presi¬ 
dency in 1905, and the following year his chief 
opponent raised an insurrection and tried to 
overthrow the government. The rebellion 
operated to destroy social order and render the 
national army powerless, hence the United 
States intervened. President Palma resigned 
and Charles E. Magoon (born in 1861) admin¬ 
istered the affairs as military governor under the 


CUBE 


593 


CUENCA 


direction of the United States. This condition 
continued until January, 1909, when Jose Miguel 
Gomez, a member of the Liberal party, was. in¬ 
augurated as president. The new administration 
was authorized to issue bonds to the amount of 
$15,000,000 annually for three years, the money 
to be devoted to internal improvements. 

CUBE, in geometry, a solid body with six 
equal square faces. A body in which the vol¬ 
ume is one cubic inch has six equal faces, each 
of which is one inch square. The volume of a 
cube is found by multiplying the length by the 
breadth and the product by the height; thus, 27 
is the cube of 3, being equal to 3x3x3. The 
number which is thus multiplied to make the 
cube is called the cube root. The problem of 
the duplication of the cube, or of constructing 
a cube of twice the volume of a given cube, is 
a famous mathematical problem which inter¬ 
ested geometers in the time of Plato. 

CUBEBS (ku'bebs), the berries of a peren¬ 
nial plant of the pepper family, native to New 
Guinea and the West Indies. The berries are 
gathered before they ripen, and when dried are 
about the size of small peas and have a dark 
brown color. They yield a volatile oil, wax, 
resin, and cubebic, all of which are used in medi¬ 
cine, chiefly for the treatment of indigestion, 
chronic catarrh, and affections of the mucous 
membrane. * 

CUCKOO (kdok'oo), a widely distributed 
genus of birds which belong to the climbers. 
They are most abundant in Eurasia and Africa, 

w ■-„T ./A' . 



CUCKOO. 


though a considerable number of species occur 
in America. The species of America are dis¬ 
tinguished from others in that they hatch their 
own eggs, while those of the old world lay 
their eggs to be incubated in the nests of other 
birds. Their custom is to lay one egg in the 
nests of a number of birds, preferring the yel¬ 


low-hammer, titlark, hedge sparrows, green 
linnets, and water wagtails. The young usually 
seek to monopolize the nests of their foster 
parents. It requires about five weeks to develop 
the bird sufficiently for fledging. The color of 
most species is ashy-gray, the belly is white, 
the tail is spotted, and the legs are light yellow. 
The African cuckoo attains a length of about 
fourteen inches. Its peculiar coo-coo cry her¬ 
alds its return in the spring. The food consists 
of dragon flies, moths, caterpillars, and other 
insects. There seems to be a preponderance of 
males as compared with females in the ratio of 
about four to one. The species of the old world 
reach Central Europe in April from Northern 
Africa. The American species are about twelve 
inches long, and olive-green in color, and are 
found more or less widely distributed over the 
entire continent. In the spring they penetrate 
far into Canada, but move southward to winter 
in the warmer regions of the continent and in 
the West Indies. 

CUCUMBER (ku'kum-ber), a genus of 
plants distinguished by their heart-shaped leaves, 
trailing stems, and conisexual male and female 
flowers in the axils of the leaf stalks. They are 
native to Egypt and the southern part of Asia, 
but were brought to Western Europe during 
the Crusades and to America shortly after its 
discovery. Several species form an important 
food product, both for use in the fresh state and 
for pickling purposes. The fruit product is val¬ 
ued only in an immature or green state, turning 
yellow and tough at maturity. The plant is 
attacked by the grub of several insects known 
generally as cucumber beetles , and both the 
young and the mature insects feed upon the 
leaves of the vine. 

CUCUMBER TREE, a forest tree native to 
North America, so named from its fruit, which 
resembles a small cucumber. The tree grows 
to a height of from sixty to ninety feet, has a 
trunk about three to four feet in diameter, and 
the leaves are ovate and deciduous. The young 
leaf is downy and of a pale green color, but at 
maturity it is deep green and from seven to ten 
inches long. Owing to the lightness of the 
wood, it is used for making boats and troughs. 
The cucumber tree is confined to the warmer 
parts of the Temperate Zone and is found in the 
eastern section of the United States. 

CUENCA (kwan'ka), a city of South Amer¬ 
ica, in the Andean tablelands of eastern Ecua¬ 
dor, at a height of 8,650 feet above the level of 
the sea. It is the capital of the province of 
Azuay. Next to Quito, it is one of the most 
important cities, and has a cathedral and uni¬ 
versity, besides several other noted institutions. 


38 





CUFIC WRITING 


594 


CUMBERLAND ROAD 


It has a considerable trade in minerals and mer¬ 
chandise. The city has a number of modern 
improvements, including waterworks, a library, 
and several parks. Population, 1906, 44,484. 

CUFIC WRITING (lcu'fik), an ancient 
form of Arabic writing, so named from the 
town of Cufa, in the pashalic of Bagdad. It is 
supposed to have been introduced in Arabia 
about the sixth century, when it came into use in 
writing manuscripts, marking coins, and in plac¬ 
ing inscriptions on monuments. Cufic charac¬ 
ters wqre used in copying the earliest editions 
of the Koran and it continued to be the form 
•of writing until about the tenth century, after 
which it was used more generally in marking 
coins and inscriptions. 

CUIRASSIER (kwe-ras-ser'), a soldier 
armed with a cuirass. This armor consists of 
a breast and back plate, lapping on the shoul¬ 
ders and buckled together beneath the arms. It 
has remained in use longer than any other form 
of defensive armor for the body and is still 
used in the heavy cavalry of some armies of 
Europe. The early cuirass employed by the 
Greeks was of linen, while the Romans made 
this armor of flexible bands of steel. Several 
regiments of cuirassiers were organized by Na¬ 
poleon and maintained for effective service. A 
body of French cuirassiers swept across the plain 
to embarrass the British army in the first Battle 
of Waterloo. Cavalry equipped in this way is 
maintained by most European powers as an 
essential part of their armies. 

CULLODEN MOOR (kul-lod'en moor), a 
Scottish heath five miles east of Inverness, cele¬ 
brated for the decisive battle fought on April 
27, 1746, between Prince Charles Stuart and the 
Duke of Cumberland. It was the last battle 
fought on Scottish soil, and ended all attempts 
of the Stuarts to recover the throne of England. 
Prince Charles was the pretender and was sup¬ 
ported by a small army of Highlanders, who 
were in an unfit condition for battle, owing to 
exertion in marching, and soon fled before the 
disciplined troops and artillery of the Duke of 
Cumberland. 

CUMAE (ku'me), a Greek city of ancient 
Italy, in Campania, ten miles west of Naples. 
It was situated on the Mediterranean, founded 
by colonists from Chalcis in Euboea and Cymae 
in Asia Minor, and was noted for its extensive 
commerce. Citizens of Cumae built a number of 
port towns, including Naples and Messina. It 
was the most important city in the southern 
part of Italy for 200 years, between 700 and 500 
b. c. It was attacked by the Etruscans, who 
came in contact with it as a maritime power, 
and it was conquered by the Samnites in 417 


b. c. Hannibal failed to capture it in the Second 
Punic War and it held out as the last strong¬ 
hold of the Goths in Italy, but was taken in 552 
a. d., by the Byzantine army. The Saracens 
burned it in the ninth century and it was totally 
destroyed by^the people of Naples in 1205. 

CUMANA (koo-ma-na'), a city of Venezuela, 
in the state of Bermudez, on the Gulf of Cari- 
aco. It is located near the mouth of the Man- 
zanares River, in a hot and unhealthful climate, 
but has a large export trade in sugar, hides, 
coffee, and tobacco. The chief buildings include 
a college, a cathedral, and a number of govern¬ 
ment buildings. It was founded in 1520 and is 
thought to be the oldest city in America. Near 
it are several suburban towns, including San 
Francisco and Serritos. Population, 1906, 
15,350. 

CUMBERLAND (kum'ber-land), a city in 
Maryland, county seat of Allegany County, on 
the Potomac River and on the Pennsylvania, the 
Baltimore and Ohio, and other railroads. The 
chief buildings include the courthouse, the pub¬ 
lic library, an academy, and the high school. 
Gas and electric lighting, street railways, water¬ 
works, and pavements are among the improve¬ 
ments. The surrounding country is rich in fer¬ 
tile soil and valuable deposits of bituminous 
coal. Among the manufactures are flour, iron¬ 
ware, carriages, clothing, cigars, machinery, ce¬ 
ment, glass, and tin plate. It ranks second 
in size of the cities of the State. Cumberland 
was platted in 1785 and incorporated in 1815. 
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal contributed to 
its early growth. Population, 1910, 21,839. 

CUMBERLAND MOUNTAINS, a ridge of 
the Appalachian J^stem, which forms a part of 
the boundary between Kentucky and Virginia 
and passes into Tennessee and Alabama. Its 
highest peaks rise about 2,800 feet above sea 
level. It is about fifty riiiles wide, well covered 
with maple, oak, hickory, chestnut, white ash, 
and pine timber, and is penetrated by numerous 
fertile valleys. Its mineral wealth consists of ex¬ 
tensive coal, limestone, granite, and sandstone 
deposits. 

CUMBERLAND RIVER, a tributary of 

the Ohio, rising in Kentucky. Its source is in 
the Cumberland Mountains, whence it flows to¬ 
ward the southwest into Tenessee, returns to 
Kentucky, and courses north until its waters 
unite with the Ohio. The total length is about 
650 miles, of which 200 are navigable for steam¬ 
boats in favorable seasons. A fall of sixty feet 
is near Williamsburg. 

CUMBERLAND ROAD, a highway built 
by the United States government from Fort 
Cumberland, Md., to Vandalia, Ill., a distance of 


CUNEIFORM 


595 


800 miles. Congress authorized the President 
to appoint three commissioners to lay out the 
road and appropriated $30,000 to cover the ex¬ 
penses. Work was begun soon after and the 
road was completed in 1838. The total sum 
appropriated was $6,821,246. It was known as 
the Great National Pike and was controlled by 
the government until 1856, when the control was 
given to the various states in which the different 
portions were located. This highway was impor¬ 
tant as an avenue for emigrants from the East¬ 
ern states to the West. 

CUNEIFORM (ku-ne'i-form), the name ap¬ 
plied to various inscriptions that were made by 
the peoples of remote antiquity. The name is 
taken from the wedge-shaped characters that 
prevail largely. It is sometimes referred to as 
arrow-headed writing, from the resemblance 
that numerous strokes bear to the head of an 
arrow. Each of the hieroglyphic characters of 
the most ancient forms represents an idea or 
object, like the written characters of the 
Chinese, but they were corrupted later into 
forms found on the monuments of Babylon and 
Assyria. The early Accadians of Chaldaea, who 
spoke a language allied to the Turkish, invented 
the system and from them it was borrowed and 
modified by the Babylonians and Assyrians, who 
belonged to the Semitic races and spoke a lan¬ 
guage entirely different. Later it was used by 
the Persians and other races of Western Asia 
in a still greater modified state. The oldest 
form consists of about 700 characters; the re¬ 
mains of antiquity indicating that they were 
made in a period about 3,000 years b. c. The 
Accadian language ceased to be spoken about 
1700 b. c., but it was employed in these writings 
for a longer period of time. Subsequent modi¬ 
fications made the characters partake more of 
the form of an alphabet, thus decreasing them 
in number but extending the meaning. Since 
the Persian cuneiform writings are among the 
latest, they contain about sixty characters, all 
having divers significations, but as a whole are 
greatly inferior in scope to the system of the 
highly cultured originators. 

Cuneiform characters were regarded mean¬ 
ingless for centuries. By some they were 
thought to be the production of corrosive ele¬ 
ments, .others regarded them as ornaments, 
while still others looked upon them as records 
of hidden treasures. Karsten Niebuhr (1733- 
1815), a German historian and traveler, was one 
of the first to decipher them and give to them 
the vast value which they possess in preserving 
historic records of antiquity. He was followed 
by others, among them Rask, Grotefend, Las¬ 
sen, and Rawlinson, by whose labors means of 


CURACOA 

* 

translation were slowly discovered and per¬ 
fected. 

The cuneiform inscriptions of Babylon and 
Assyria are particularly of value in that they 
throw light upon the discoveries, achievements, 
and governments of ancient peoples. Many of 
the inscriptions are devoted to a history of the 
reigns and wars of the kings. The Persian are 
of special interest since they throw light upon 
the reign of Darius and other Persian sover¬ 
eigns. For the purpose of study cuneiform in¬ 
scriptions are divided into four classes, accord¬ 
ing to the period in which they appear to have 
been made, the Archaic, Hieratic, Assyrian, and 
Later Babylonian. The most celebrated inscrip¬ 
tions are found at Behistun, where large por¬ 
tions of the history of Darius and his ancestors 
are cut upon the face of a rock 1,700 feet high. 
As a rule the inscriptions are found on objects 
made of stone, glass, bronze, clay, and iron. In 
the museums of Berlin, London, and other 
cities many excellent specimens may be seen. 

CUPID (ku'pid), in mythology, the god of 
love, known to the Greeks by the name of Eros. 
He is described as a beautiful naked boy, armed 
with a bow and a full quiver of arrows, with 
which he kindles a desire for love in the human 
heart. Sometimes he is represented with a cov¬ 
ering over his eyes, indicating that love may be 
blind. The darts sent from his how are capable 
of piercing the birds of the air, the fishes of 
sea, and even the Olympian gods. He is repre¬ 
sented as the son of Mercury and Venus. 

CUPOLA (ku'po-la). See Dome. 

CURACOA (koo-ra-s6')> an island in the 
Caribbean’ Sea, about forty-five miles north of 
Venezuela. It is forty miles long, eight miles 
wide, and has an area of 210 square miles. The 
principal harbor is Santa Anna and Willemstad 
is the local seat of government. The climate is 
hot and dry, while the surface is quite hilly and 
partly barren. Salt, sugar, tobacco, maize, and 
cochineal are the principal products. This 
island and Saba, Bonaire, Aruba, Saint Eus- 
tache, and a portion of Saint Martin constitute 
the colony of Holland known as Curaqoa. The 
entire area is 403 square miles. The govern¬ 
ment is administered by the Netherlands 
through a resident governor appointed by the 
sovereign. These islands were discovered by 
the Spaniards in 1527, taken by Holland in 1634, 
and conquered by England in 1798 and again 
in 1806, but were restored to Holland in 1814. 
The school system and commercial interests 
have been developed under Dutch control. A 
kind of bitter orange growing in these islands, 
known as Curagoa, is exported to Holland, 
where it is used in the manufacture of Curagoa 


CURARE 


596 


CURRANT 


liquor. Population, 1905, of the island, 31,090; 
of the colony, 53,466. 

CURARE (ku-ra're), a poison used by the 
Indians of South America for poisoning their 
arrows, made chiefly from the juices of several 
plants. The principal ingredient is obtained 
from a tree which yields mix vomica, and to 
this product are added the scrapings obtained 
from the bark of several plants. Water is 
added to the component parts and boiled to 
form a consistence much like syrup. Death re¬ 
sults from the poison when it is introduced into 
the blood, where it acts on and paralyzes the 
motor nerves, causing paralysis. 

CURASSOW (ku-ras'so), a large bird native 
to Mexico and South America, related to the 
partridges. The bill is strong, surmounted by 
a cere at the base, the wings are rounded, and 
in size these birds are similar to the turkey. 
Several species have been described, of which 
the hclmetcd curassow is the most noteworthy. 
It has a bony excrescence on the top of the 
head, which is bluish in color, and is some¬ 
what larger in the males than in the females. 
The plumage is glossy black with a greenish 
hue on the breast. The flesh is eaten and re¬ 
sembles that of the turkey. This bird is reared 
in Guiana and has been domesticated in conti¬ 
nental Europe. 

CURFEW (kur'fu), a signal given to the 
inhabitants of a town that the time to extin¬ 
guish fire and lights and to retire has arrived. 
The usual time for ringing a curfew bell or 
signal is eight o’clock in the evening. The cus¬ 
tom was introduced into England by William 
the Conqueror, and severe penalties were pro¬ 
vided for those neglecting to comply with the 
requirements. In some countries a bell is rung 
in a similar manner for the purpose of indicat¬ 
ing the time for evening prayer. 

CURLEW (kur’lu), a genus of birds of the 
same family as the woodcock and snipe and 
classed with the waders. The different species 
are widely distributed in most parts of the 
world. They inhabit marshy and wet regions. 
Most species-- have a bright ash color on the 
head and breast, with spots of red and white 
on the back and beneath. The bill is long and 
well adapted to catching animals under water, 
such as mollusks, fish, insects, slugs, and earth¬ 
worms. The greenish eggs are deposited in a 
nest made of dry leaves, usually in rushes. 
A number of species are prized as food and sev¬ 
eral in America have migratory habits. 

CURLING, a game played with smooth 
stones, which are shaped somewhat like a tea¬ 
kettle, weighing from 30 to 45 pounds. A 
handle of iron or wood at the top enables the 


player to grasp it with a firm hold. Two games 
are usually played, known as the rink play and 
as playing for points. The rink game is played 
on ice, upon which a rink about ten yards wide 
and forty-two yards long is platted. The player 
endeavors to throw the curling stone as near the 
mark as possible, as well as to strike off that 
of his antagonist, in case the latter has thrown 
first. Two stones are thrown alternately from 
each end of the course or rink. In the game of 



CURLEW. 


playing for points there are no sides, but each 
player throws with the view of scoring for him¬ 
self. Curling is a Scottish game and is played 
wherever settlements of Scotchmen are found. 
Match games played in a series are called bon- 
spiels. Several national and international bon- 
spiels are promoted in Canada and the United 
States. Interesting contests have been held be¬ 
tween the champions of the two countries at 
Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Chi¬ 
cago, Duluth, and other cities. 

CURRANT (kur'rant), the name of a fruit¬ 
bearing shrub cultivated in orchards and gar¬ 
dens for its fruit. It is grown most extensively 
in the Temperate zones. The different species 
are hardy shrubs, bearing abundantly under cul¬ 
tivation, and their fruit is valuable for food. 
It is eaten raw as a dessert and is used in cook¬ 
ery for jelly, preserves, and pies. In some 
localities it is grown for making vinegar and 
currant wines. Among the species cultivated 
largely in America and Europe are the red and 
white, the latter being a cultivated species of 
the red. The black currant yields abundantly 
in the colder regions and in the higher altitudes. 






CURRENCY REFORM 


597 


CURRENTS 


Most species of currants ripen in May and 
June and are improved by training the shrubs 
against walls. The fruit grows in clustered 
bunches. The dried currants of market are 
made from the fruit of a small grape first 
cultivated on the Isthmus of Corinth, hence its 
name, but it has been naturalized in various 
climates. The fruit of this grape is small and 
is produced abundantly on the vines of the 
plants. Currant plants are greatly injured in 
the season when the fruit develops by the lar¬ 
vae of two sawflies. They are commonly called 
currant worms. 

CURRENCY REFORM (kur'ren-sy), the 
policy advocated by a number of political par¬ 
ties in the United States since the early organi¬ 
zation of the government as a means to reform 
the monetary system. It was the leading issue 
and reached its height of interest in the presi¬ 
dential campaign, of 1896. The currency of the 
United States consists of gold, silver, nickel, 
copper, and paper money. Gold and silver were 
recognized as standard money of final redemp¬ 
tion in the United States under various laws 
from the early organization of the government 
until in 1873, when the use of silver was partly 
limited by acts of legislation. Partially restored 
to its former position in 1878, it continued to 
be used as money with much of its monetary 
functions recognized until in 1900, when the 
single gold standard was given the validity of 
law by Congress. The theory of bimetallism 
and the issuance and control of paper currency 
by the government were advocated by the Dem¬ 
ocratic party, while the Republican party ad¬ 
vocated a single gold standard and the enlarge¬ 
ment of the functions of national banks. Par¬ 
tisans on both sides advocated their positions in 
Congressional and State elections and in Con¬ 
gress, which finally developed a line of national 
legislation relative to the issuance and control 
of the currency. 

The position of the Democrats was supported 
by Senator Chandler of New Hampshire and 
other Republicans, while several Democrats 
supported the Republican position. The Demo¬ 
crats favored the continuance and use of both 
gold and silver as standard money. They de¬ 
manded that the two metals should be coined 
into money of equal exchangeable value, the 
equality to be secured and maintained through 
international agreement, or otherwise, thus 
maintaining the parity in value of the coins of 
both metals. It committed the government to 
the establishment and maintenance of such a 
system of bimetallism as would insure parity 
at all times. They also held that the paper 
currency should be issued and controlled di¬ 


rectly by the government, instead of through na¬ 
tional banks, and favored the eventual payment 
of the national debt in coin. The position taken 
by the Republicans in Congress was favorable 
to the single gold standard and a modification 
of the national banking system. That party, 
having a majority in both houses and the ad¬ 
ministration, enacted a law favorable to this 
position. It passed the Senate on March 6, 1900* 
and the House on March 13, becoming a law 
on March 14 by the signature of the Presi¬ 
dent. 

The law as passed contains ten sections. 
Among them are the following principal pro¬ 
visions : That the gold dollar of 25.8 grains, 
nine-tenths fine, shall be the standard unit of 
value, that all forms of United States money 
shall be maintained at parity with it, and that 
all treasury notes and greenbacks shall be re¬ 
deemable in gold. The sum .of $150,000,000 
in gold is to be set apart by the treasurer for 
the redemption of these notes; he is to main¬ 
tain this fund at not less than $100,000,000, and 
is empowered to issue United States bonds 
bearing interest at not over three per cent. 
The treasurer shall retire and cancel treasury 
notes equal in amount to the standard silver 
dollars that may be coined, and issue silver 
certificates against the silver so coined. Gold 
certificates shall be issued against the gold held 
in the treasury under certain provisions. The 
highest denomination of silver certificates shall 
by ten dollars, and the lowest denomination of 
the United States notes and treasury notes shall 
be ten dollars. The Secretary of the Treasury 
is authorized to refund the United States 
bonded debt in 33-year bonds bearing interest 
at two per cent., principal and interest pay¬ 
able in gold. Any national bank shall be per¬ 
mitted to issue circulation notes of the face 
value of the bonds deposited by such bank as 
security in the United States treasury. See 
Money. 

CURRENTS, the movements of oceanic 
waters with considerable regularity from and 
to the polar and equatorial regions. They re¬ 
semble streams or rivers, but are much broader, 
deeper, and longer. Their temperature is either 
higher or lower than the-waters through which 
they flow. They are formed on the surface and 
at great depths, the upper currents usually 
passing from the equator and the lower currents 
in an opposite direction. Currents are caused 
partly through the agency of evaporation, but 
principally by the variation in the density of the 
waters, owing to a difference between the tem¬ 
perature of the regions of the equator and those 
near the poles. The equatorial waters, becom- 


CURVE 


598 


CUSTOMS DUTIES 


ing lighter on account of the warm tempera¬ 
ture, rise to the surface and flow both north 
and south, their place being taken by the denser, 
colder waters flowing in from the polar regions. 
In this way a constant interchange of the waters 
is effected between the equatorial and polar 
regions, which takes place mostly along the 
bottom from the poles to the equator and along 
the surface from the equator to the poles. Ow¬ 
ing to a low temperature in frozen seas near 
the poles, the interchange is larger between the 
equator and the polar circles. These currents 
would flow due north and south, if the earth 
had no rotation on its axis. They are deflected 
from a direct course between the equator and 
the polar regions on account of the earth’s ro¬ 
tation, the position of the land masses, the 
winds, and differences in the density and level 
of the sea caused by evaporation. 

The currents of the ocean are of utility in 
commercial and agricultural enterprises. By 
means of them the climate of the countries lo¬ 
cated in high latitudes is modified materially 
by the warm equatorial currents, while the 
warmer climates in the tropical regions are 
pleasantly modified by currents from the polar 
regions. The speed of vessels has been ma¬ 
terially increased in certain directions by en¬ 
tering into their paths. Both the Pacific and 
Atlantic oceans have great equatorial and polar 
currents, their courses extending between the 
equatorial and polar circles. In the Indian 
Ocean the movements are largely restricted to 
currents which flow southward, owing to there 
being no outlet toward the north. The Sargasso 
Sea is in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a 
vast expanse of ocean in which seaweeds float 
upon the surface, owing to the water being un¬ 
disturbed by extensive movements. The best 
examples of currents are the Kuro Sivo, or 
Japan Current, in the North Pacific, and the 
Gulf Stream, in the North Atlantic. 

CURVE, in geometry, a line which continu¬ 
ally changes its direction, or a line no part of 
which is straight. The circumference of a cir¬ 
cle is the simplest of all curves. It is defined 
as a curve, each point of which is equally dis¬ 
tant from the center, or one in which each part 
of the line is equally curved. The measure of 
curvature is based upon the circle. The circle 
which would exactly fit any curve at any point 
is called the circle of curvature at that point, 
and its radius is. designated the radius of curva¬ 
ture. Curves, in modern geometry, are classi¬ 
fied according to the degree of equation by 
which they are represented. Thus, a straight 
line is represented by an equation of the first de¬ 
gree and a curve by one of a higher degree. 


CUSCUS, an animal of the phalanger family, 
native to New Guinea, the northern part of 
Australia, and the Solomon Islands. It is 
stoutly built, has a prehensile tail, and is covered 
with a woolly fur. Several species have been 
described, including the gray cuscus and the 
spotted cuscus. These animals are marsupials 
and are hunted for their flesh and fur by the 
natives. The spotted cuscus is about three feet 
long and has a yellowish-white color marked 
with spots of dark brown. 

CUSTOMS DUTIES, the taxes levied on 
imports and exports of commodities. Duties on 
exports are forbidden by the Constitution of 
the United States, owing largely to the disad¬ 
vantage at which the country would be placed 
by the competition of geireral commerce, if con¬ 
sumers in foreign countries were required to 
pay duties to secure American products. The 
import duties are paid by the importers for the 
benefit of the government. Customs duties were 
levied by Greece and Rome. The Venetian 
government and others supported customhouses 
during mediaeval ages. The Tariff Union, or 
Zollverein, as it was called, was maintained by 
the North German States from 1818 until they 
united and formed the German Empire after 
the War of 1870-71. The first customhouse 
was established in London in 1804. Legislation 
establishing the more modern .customs of Great 
Britain dates from the conflict between the 
Parliament and the crown in relation to the 
right of taxation. The term custom was de¬ 
rived from the ..claim made by the crown that 
it had acquired rights in certain import and 
export duties by the right of custom. Begin¬ 
ning with 1846, the legislation of Britain has 
been largely in the interest of free trade, and 
duties are now levied only on a few articles. 

The customs of Canada are collected under 
the Customs Act of 1907. It provides for three 
classes of duties known as the British Prefer¬ 
ential Tariff, the Intermediate Tax, and the 
General Tariff. The British Preferential Tariff 
applies to goods as manufactures imported from 
any British country. On the other hand, the 
Intermediate Tariff applies to imports from any 
British or other country to which its benefits 
have been extended, hence is based upon the 
principle of reciprocity. The General Tariff 
applies .to all goods that may not be admitted 
under either of the other two classes. A surtax 
is levied on imports from the countries which 
treat imports from Canada less favorably than 
those from other countries. The customs col¬ 
lected in 1907 amounted to $53,006,546, which is 
about the annual average. 

Alexander Hamilton, who became the first 


CUTLERY 


599 


CUZCO 


Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, 
adopted tho English system of customs with 
scarcely any modifications. In 1799 the earliest 
customhouse was established in New York City. 
The net revenues at first were barely sufficient 
to pay the officers and clerks employed in its 
management. At present there are about 160 
customhouses in the United States. The ten 
most important are located at New York, Bos¬ 
ton, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, Bal¬ 
timore, New Orleans, Saint Louis, Detroit, and 
Tampa. The receipts at New York aggregate 
about as much, annually as those of all others 
combined. In 1907 the total net receipts were 
$311,985,647. The fiscal year begins on July 1, 
according to an act of Congress in 1842, hence 
the decade from 1841 to 1850 embraces only 
nine and a half years. Following are the total 
receipts by decades of the government through 
the customhouses since the organization of the 
system: 


From 1791 to 1800... 

“ 1801 to 1810. . . 

“ 1811 to 1820. . . 

" 1821 to 1830. . • 

“ 1831 to 1840. .. 

" 1841 to 1850.. . 

** 1851 to 1860. . . 

“ 1861 to 1870... 

" 1871 to 1880... 

“ 1881 to 1890... 

“ 1891 to 1900. • • 

“ 1901 to 1905. .. 


.$ 50,321,485.87 

.' 129,540,517.63 

. 163,804,167.09 

. 198,523,207.69 

. 204,703,913.92 

. 243,666,681.78 

. 544,980,470.30 

. 1,239,458,442.34 

. 1,663,973,043.74 

. 1,992,600,748.76 

. 2,195,396,503.80 

. 1,300,844,840.00 


Total.$9,927,814,022.92 

CUTLERY (kut'ler-y), the general name of 
sharp-cutting and many-pointed instruments, 
made chiefly of iron, steel, and cast steel. The 
first cutting instruments that may be classed as 
cutlery were made of flint and shells, and these 
were superseded by those in which bronze was 
used for the cutting blade. At present steel is 
employed almost exclusively, though the quality 
differs materially. The best grade of cast steel 
is used in making the better class of razors, 
scissors, penknives, and lancets. Knives and 
forks employed for table use are manufactured 
largely of shear steel. Cutlery of all kinds is 
made chiefly by a forging process, either hand 
or machine forging, the former being employed 
for small pieces and the latter for the larger 
articles. After forging, the piece is made true 
by filing, after which it is tempered, ground, 
and polished. Heavy cutting instruments, such 
as axes, are usually made of two kinds of steel, 
the cutting edge of the finest quality and the 
thick part of a soft, cheap, grade of steel 

CUTTER (kut'ter), a small vessel with one 
mast and fitted with fore and aft sails. Most 
cutters are built with special reference to speed. 
They differ from the sloop in having no stay 
to support the jib and are used by yachtsmen 


and for revenue cruisers. Large vessels usually 
carry four or more boats, known as cutters, as 
a part of the equipment. This class is fitted 
either for rowing or sailing. 

CUTTLEFISH (kut't’l-fish), a genus of fish 
which includes the squid, octopus, nautilus, 
sepia, and other species of marine animals. 
They bear the scientific name Cephalopoda. 
The body of the cuttlefish is oblong and de¬ 
pressed, sacklike in form, and provided with 
two narrow lateral fins extending to the anterior 
part of the body. It has ten arms, each con¬ 
taining four rows of suckers. An internal shell 
is lodged in a sack, which is somewhat oval, 
light, and porous. The eyes are very large, 
and the long tentacles, furnished with suckers 
on one side at the extremity, serve as food 
catchers. When not in use, they are carried in 
pockets beneath the eyes, and may be thrown 
out with considerable force and skill in seizing 
the prey. The skin is whitish in color, dotted 
with spots of red, and the length of the fish is 
from eight inches to three feet. 

The cuttlefish is provided with a bag con¬ 
taining a deep brown fluid that is thrown out 
to darken the water in cases of danger. By 
means of it the animal is able to make an easy 
escape. On account of this and its great activ¬ 
ity, much difficulty is found in catching the 
animal. In early times this fluid was used in 
making India ink, but it has been superseded 
by the product made from lampblack and other 
substances. From the blade-shaped cuttlebone 
are made tooth powder, pounce, molds for small 
silver castings, polishing powder, and other use¬ 
ful products. It yields medicine useful for 
stomach and other complaints. 

Cuttlefish are found in almost every portion 
of the sea. They habitate the bottom of the 
ocean and coast indentations, confining them¬ 
selves along the shore and in moderately deep 
water. . Their movements are largely by means 
of two fins through which streams of water are 
squirted in such a manner as to assist in pro¬ 
pulsion. When in search of food, they watch 
the prey in a motionless position, but when 
within easy reach dart their tentacles forward 
with great rapidity and secure the victims. By 
a process of withdrawing air from the limbs, 
they are fastened with a viselike rigor to the 
victim and escape is rendered impossible. Fish¬ 
ermen have found cuttlefish harmful in devour¬ 
ing fish when caught in their nets.^ Some of 
the ancients regarded the flesh of the cuttlefish 
valuable for food. See Octopus. 

CUZCO (koos'ko), a city of Peru, capital of 
a department of the same name. It is located 
in a broad valley between the headwaters of the 























CYAMETER 


600 


CYCLONE 


Urubamba and Apurimac rivers, about 11,250 
feet above sea level. Railroad connections with 
the coast and Lake Titicaca make it an impor¬ 
tant seat of commerce and local industry. The 
manufactures include cotton and woolen goods, 
soap, sugar, leather, clothing, machinery, and 
furniture. It is the seat of a cathedral and a 
a university. Many of the streets are paved 
with stone and macadam. The public utilities 
include a public park, electric lighting, water¬ 
works, and a public library. Among the ancient 
Peruvian cities it held high rank. The Incas 
emperors occupied it as their capital for many 
years and beautified it by fortresses and massive 
architecture, specimens of which still remain. 
Pizarro conquered it in 1534. Population, 1906, 
31,226. 

CYAMETER, an instrument for measuring 
the intensity of the tint of the atmosphere. It 
was invented by Saussure and consists of a 
disk divided into sections, each of which is 
tinted, ranging from white to a deep blue. It 
is held by the observer in such a position that 
the color of the sky may be compared with the 
tints of the instrument, and as the disk is 
turned it is possible to find a color that corre¬ 
sponds with the blueness of the sky. 

CYCLADES (sik'la-dez), the southern group 
of islands in the Aegean Sea, belonging to 
Greece, so named because they encircle the 
sacred isle of Delos. They are mountainous 
and of volcanic origin, but contain fertile soil. 
Among the largest islands are Myconus, An¬ 
dros, Tenos, Paros, Melos, and Naxos. The 
productions include silk, wine, cereals, live 
stock, olive oil, and fruits. 

CYCLAMEN (sik'la-men), a class of plants 

belonging to 
the primrose 
family, na¬ 
tive to 
many parts 
of Europe 
and Asia. 
Two species 
are cultivat¬ 
ed for their 
flowers in 
greenhouses. 
The hardier 
variety is 
native to 
the southern 
part of Eu¬ 
rope and is 
cyclamen. admired for 

i t s flowers, 

which are either white or rose-colored. The 


flower has the appearance of being turned in¬ 
side out, owing to the petals being strongly 
reflexed. 

CYCLE (si'k’l), a period of years or time 
in which particular phenomena or a succession 
of events take place, beginning again at the 
end of the cycle to pass through the same 
course. The cycle of the sun covers a period 
of twenty-eight years; that is, the days of the 
month return to the same days of the week. In 
the calendar the return to their former place is 
marked by the dominical or Sunday letters. 
The cycle of the moon includes a period of 
nineteen years, after the lapse of which time a 
new and full moon occurs on the same days of 
the month. From its discoverer, Meton, the 
latter is sometimes called the Metonic Cycle 
and the Golden Number. 

CYCLING (si'kling), an art developed by 
the perfection and general use of bicycles. ~ In 
many centers of population associations are 
maintained for the purpose of developing the 
art. It is their aim to promote interest with 
the view of establishing bicycle riding as a 
game and for the development of grace and 
skill in its use. Among the most celebrated 
organizations founded are the League of Ameri¬ 
can Wheelmen and the National Cycling Asso¬ 
ciation. The best records made by professional 
riders as to time include the following: One- 
half mile, 40 seconds; one mile, 57; two miles, 
2:30; three miles, 3:52; four miles, 5:21; and 
five miles, 6:45. When the bicycle first came 
into use, wheeling was a fad, but now it is 
employed more specially for business purposes 
and scientific sports. 

CYCLOMETER (si-klom'e-ter), an instru¬ 
ment used to record the revolutions of certain 
parts of machinery, such as the wheel of a car¬ 
riage or bicycle. It is commonly attached near 
the wheel of an automobile, in such a position 
that a cam on the spoke will act upon a project¬ 
ing part at every revolution, causing the clock¬ 
work within the cyclometer to move. The cir¬ 
cumference of the wheel being known, it is 
possible to estimate the distance traveled by 
computing the revolutions recorded in the in¬ 
strument. In most forms the mechanism is so 
arranged that the register will show every five, 
ten, and one hundred miles, as the case may be, 
when the instrument will begin anew in regis¬ 
tering in these denominations. 

CYCLONE (sl'klon), the name applied to 
storms that have a circular or rotary move¬ 
ment. The diameter varies from a small extent 
to 500 miles, the rotary motion being rapidly 
round a center and the advance movement often 
reaching forty miles an hour. Cyclones are 




CYCLOPEAN 


601 


CYNICS 


caused by the rays of the sun falling within the 
tropics and heating the air so it rapidly ascends, 
thereby causing colder currents to rush beneath 
and take its place. The revolving motion is 
produced partly by the rotation of the earth, 
but more directly by the rapid inflow of the 
lower currents of air as the lighter currents 
ascend. No cyclones are experienced directly 
under the Equator. Those south of the Equator 
revolve in a direction the same as that of the 
hands of a watch, while those north of the 
Equator revolve in a diametrically opposite di¬ 
rection. Cyclones are most common to the 
western portions of the United States, the 
West Indies, the China Seas, and the seas sur¬ 
rounding the Mauritius Islands. The cyclones 
frequenting the West Indies originate mostly 
in the Caribbean Sea. This class of storms is 
extremely destructive, often tearing down for¬ 
ests, destroying cities, and causing great loss 
of life and property. Skillful navigators are 
able to escape them by sailing out of their 
course, or, if struck, they avoid serious damage 
by a careful and proper adjustment of the sails. 
The approach of cyclones is marked by a rapid 
fall of the barometer and is preceded by a 
singular calm. They are attended frequently by 
intense electrical disturbances. 

CYCLOPEAN (si-klo-pe'an), the name ap¬ 
plied to a primitive style of architecture, which 
is fabled to be the work of the Cyclops. It 
consists of huge blocks of stone, unhewn and 
uncemented, and the corners are fitted accu¬ 
rately into one another. Other structures of 
this kind consist of regular blocks of equal 
height. Specimens are found in Asia Minor, 
Sicily, at Mycenae, in Greece, and other regions 
of the ancient peoples. 

CYDNUS (sid'nus), a river of Asia Minor, 
in Cilicia, rises in the Taurus Mountains and 
flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Anciently 
it was navigable to Tarsus, about twelve miles, 
but its mouth is now obstructed by bars of sand. 
The Cydnus is celebrated as the meeting place 
of the fleets under Antony and Cleopatra in 41 
b. c. 

CYLINDER (sfl'in-der), a solid geometric 
form consisting of a long, round body, having 
two flat, circular surfaces which are equal and 
parallel. Any cylindrical portion of a machine 
is called a cylinder, especially if hollow and 
proportioned so the length somewhat exceeds 
the diameter, as the cylinder ,of a printing ma¬ 
chine, the chamber in which the force of steam, 
or other power, is exerted on the piston, the 
barrel of a gun, etc. The axis of a cylinder is 
the straight line about which it revolves; the 
bases are the two opposite ends. 


CYMBALS (simr'bals), the name of plates 
of bronze, more or less basin-shaped, to which 
leather straps are fastened for holding by the 
hands in producing sounds in accord with 
music. They were used in very ancient times 
and are represented upon many monuments. In 
1043 b. c. they were mentioned among other 
instruments in connection with the return of the 
ark of David. The Grecians used thjem in wor¬ 
shiping the goddess Cybele. Cymbals now 
made consist of twenty parts of tin and eighty 
of copper. The best are imported from China 
and Turkey. They are used mostly in military 
music and on the bass drum played in orches¬ 
tras. One cymbal is fixed to the drum and the 
other is held in one hand by the player, while 
the drumsticks are held in the other hand. The 
best effect is secured by* being struck together 
with a single sliding motion. 

CYMRI (kim'ri), or Kymry, a branch of 
the Celts of Britain. They succeeded the Gauls 
and drove them west into Ireland, into the Isle 
of Man, and toward the north into the High¬ 
lands of Scotland, while they themselves located 
in and occupied the southern portion of Britain. 
Later they were driven out of the Lowlands 
of Britain into the mountain regions of north¬ 
western England, and into the mountains of 
Wales by the invasion of the Saxons, Angles, 
and Jutes. Descendants of the Cymri are found 
chiefly in Wales at present. 

CYNICS (sin'iks), the name of a school of 
Greek philosophers, founded in the fourth cen¬ 
tury b. c. by Antisthenes, a pupil of Socrates. 
The seat of this school was in the gymnasium 
Cynosarges in Athens, and the most renowned 
disciples included Diogenes, Crates of Thebes, 
his wife Hipparchia, and Menippus. They 
taught that all speculative philosophy is detri¬ 
mental to the real knowledge of truth, that it 
leads to sophistry and the destruction of human 
society, and that the true object of philosophy 
is to show how men might best live morally and 
peaceably. In this they harmonize with the 
Stoics, but differed from them in defining vir¬ 
tue to be the highest possible simplicity in liv¬ 
ing. Their devotion to the simple life *was so 
great that they came to despise labor, decency, 
cleanliness, and the essential requirements of 
society. This caused them to become in disre¬ 
pute. The name Cynic is still applied to one 
who disregards the proprieties of life, doubts 
the jyisdom of protecting personal character or 
motives, or displays singularity in treating the 
social usages. 

CYPRESS (si'pres), a genus of evergreen, 
cone-bearing trees or shrubs. The leaves are 
small and entirely cover the branches, while 


CYPRESS 


602 


CYPRUS 


the globe-shaped cones have woody scales that 
bear numerous seeds. The wood of most spe¬ 
cies is of a yellow or reddish color, very hard 
and durable, owing to 
its resinous constituents, 
and has a pleasant smell. 
It is not subject to de¬ 
struction by insects, re¬ 
sists decay both in the 
dry and under water for 
many years, and is a fa¬ 
vorite wood for cabinet 
work, owing to its beau¬ 
tiful color and property 
of being easily polished. 
It grows profusely in 
swamps and often at¬ 
tains a thickness of from 
ten to twelve feet at the 
ground. Some species 
have large spreading 
tops, while others as¬ 
sume a slender, cone- 




CYPRESS. 

A, male flower; B, female flower; C, fruit. 


shaped form. In the United States there are 
large forests, especially in the south and on the 
Pacific slope, and some species are common to 
the far north of Canada and Alaska. 

The name was derived from Kypros, the 
Greek name of the island of Cyprus, where the 
tree is found in great abundance. It is native 
to Persia, the Levant, and countries adjacent 
to the Mediterranean Sea. The Mohammedans 
planted it largely in burial grounds, which have 
taken on the form of immense forests. The 
Romans and Greeks cultivated it in their parks 
and gardens for ornamental and sanitary pur¬ 
poses. Cypress wood was used largely for cof¬ 
fins by the Greeks and for mummy chests by 
the Egyptians. The doors of Saint Peter’s at 
Rome were originally made of it. Though 
subsequently replaced by brazen doors, they 


answered the purpose for more than a thou¬ 
sand years. The cypress gates of Constanti¬ 
nople served their purpose for an equal length 
of time. Cypress wood is used largely at pres¬ 
ent for building purposes in Europe as well as 
in other portions of the old world. 

CYNTHIANA (sin-thi-a'na), a city of Ken¬ 
tucky, county seat of Harrison County, thirty- 
three miles northeast of Lexington, on the 
Louisville and Nashville Railroad. It is finely 
located on the south fork of the Licking River, 
and is surrounded by a fertile farming region. 
The manufactures include machinery, cigars, and 
spirituous liquors. It has electric lights and 
other municipal facilities, several county build¬ 
ings, and a number of churches and schools. 
In 1864 it was the scene of a battle between the 
Confederates under John Morgan and the Fed- 
erals under General Burbridge, in which the 
former were defeated. Population, 1900, 3,258. 

CYPRUS (si'prus), an island in the east¬ 
ern part of the Mediterranean, south of Asia 
Minor. It is sixty miles wide and 145 miles 
long. The area is 3,584 square miles. Two 
mountain ranges traverse its surface, one along 
the northeastern coast and the other in the 
southern part. Both ranges trend east and west. 
The southern chain is the most prominent, its 
highest point, Mount Troodos, having an alti¬ 
tude of 6,585 feet above sea level. Numerous 
bays and ^inlets indent the coast and furnish 
safe harbors. A number of small lakes occur 
in the eastern and southern parts. The Pedioes 
Potamos is the chief stream. Large areas of 
the surface are exceedingly fertile and produc¬ 
tive. All parts of the island have a pleasant 
and healthful climate. The mountains are cov¬ 
ered with forests of excellent timber and under¬ 
laid by rich mineral deposits. The chief min¬ 
erals include copper and salt, which were pro¬ 
duced in large quantities anciently, but are not 
worked extensively at present. Among the 
products are cotton, wheat, barley, tobacco, 
olives, raisins, carobs, and various vegetables. 
Silk culture is an important industry. The ex¬ 
tensive pasture lands facilitate the rearing of 
large herds of sheep, goats, and cattle. The 
chief exports consist of raisins, cotton, wool, 
carobs, cheese, cocoons, and salt. The imports 
are exceeded greatly by the exports, thus adding 
annually to the wealth of the island. 

The island is divided into the six districts of 
Kyrenia, Larnaca, Nicosia, Papho, Limasol, and 
Famagusta. The government is administered 
by a resident high commissioner with an execu¬ 
tive council, and a legislative council of eight¬ 
een, of whom twelve are elected by popular 
vote. Nicosia, population 14,752, is the seat of 





CYRENAICS 


603 


CZERNOWITZ 


local government. Other towns include Lar- 
naka, Limasol, and Famagusta. Under British 
rule a system of schools has been established, 
supported by public grants. A number of rail¬ 
way lines have been buflt, including one inland 
from Famagusta, where a harbor has been im¬ 
proved. A majority of the inhabitants are 
Greek Catholics and the remainder are mostly 
Moslems. Population, 1906, 238,312. 

Cyprus was colonized by the Phoenicians and 
later fell successively into the hands of the 
Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, and Macedonians. 
It became a Roman province in 57 b. c., and 
was connected with the eastern division of the 
empire. The Cypriotes were visite.d by Saint 
Paul and were among the first gentile people to 
embrace Christianity. They were conquered by 
the Saracens after the decline of Rome began. 
Richard I. of England conquered them in the 
third Crusade to Jerusalem and restored the 
island in 1191 to Guy de Lusignan, but, after 
his line became extinct, it fell into the hands of 
the Venetians, in 1489. The Turks conquered 
it in 1571 and added it to the Ottoman Empire, 
but it was ceded to Great Britain in 1878 by the 
convention of Constantinople, with the provi¬ 
sion that it should revert to Turkey when Ba- 
toum and Kars are restored by Russia. The 
island is rich in relics of ancient peoples. 
Among the remains discovered is the oldest 
copy of the Gospels and other early Christian 
writings of much value. Many of the remains 
may be seen in the museums of London, Ber¬ 
lin, and New York City. 

CYRENAICS (sir-e-na'iks), a school of 
Greek philosophers, founded in 380 b. c. by 
Aristippus of Cyrenaica, a pupil of Socrates. 
It taught that pleasure is the highest object in 
life, that virtue consists in the art of producing 
the highest possible amount of agreeable feel¬ 
ing, and that all should live in moderate activ¬ 
ity, but pains should be shunned. This school 
agreed with the Cynics in despising all specula¬ 
tive philosophy, but maintained a higher plane 
of morality and limited their practice to the 
amiable and moderate enjoyments of life. It 
was succeeded a century later by the philosophy 
of Epicurus, known as Epicureanism. The chief 
philosophers of the Cyrenaic school included 
Aristippus, the founder, his daughter Arete, his 
grandson Aristippus Metrodidactus, and Hege- 
sias. 


CYRENE (si-re'ne), an ancient city of Af¬ 
rica, the capital of Cyrenaica, located about ten 
miles from the Mediterranean. It was situated 
on an elevated tract of land about 1,800 feet 
above the sea, giving it a fine outlook over the 
surrounding country. A colony of Dorians 
founded it in 631 b. c. and made it a center of 
Greek learning. It had a large commerce with 
Greece and Egypt for many centuries. Among 
its famous men are the astronomer Eratos¬ 
thenes, the poet Callimachus, and the philoso¬ 
phers Carneades and Aristippus. Grenna, a 
small town of the province of Barca, now occu¬ 
pies the site. 

CZAR (zar), the title of the emperor of all 
the Russias, probably derived from the Roman 
title Caesar. Ivan IV., the Terrible, was 
crbwned the first Czar of Russia in 1547. Czar¬ 
ina is a term used to designate the empress; 
czarevitch, the heir apparent; and czarevna, the 
wife of the heir apparent. 

CZECHS (cheks), the branch of the great 
Slavonic family of races now having its chief 
seat in Bohemia. Nearly all of the Czech peo¬ 
ple, numbering altogether about 5,900,000, live 
in Austria. About half of these people are in 
Bohemia. They migrated from Carpathia, on 
the upper Vistula, about 451-495 a. d.,. and set¬ 
tled in Bohemia. The Czech language has an 
alphabet of forty-two characters. It is of great 
antiquity and is noted for its high culture. Its 
grammatical construction is complex. The lan¬ 
guage is highly inflectional, admitting of many 
inceptives, frequentatives, derivatives, and di¬ 
minutives. As a musical language the Czech is 
classed next to the Italian. 

CZERNOWITZ (cher'no-vits), the capital 
of Bukowina, a crown land of Austria, on the 
Pruth River, about 136 miles southeast of Lem- 
burg. It is the seat of a Greek Catholic cathe¬ 
dral, several synagogues, and a number of noted 
monuments. The university, founded in 1875, 
has sixty-two professors and lecturers, an excel¬ 
lent library, and is attended by 850 students. It 
has a public library of 60,500 volumes. The 
city is connected by railroads and has modern 
municipal facilities. Among the manufactures 
are carriages, clocks, silver plate, toys, cigars, 
implements, and machinery. It was occupied 
by the Austrians in 1774. A majority of the 
inhabitants are Germans. Population, 1906, 
71,226. 




\ 



( $Qr: j 


D 


DACIA 


D, the third consonant and fourth letter of 
the alphabet. The name in the Greek is delta, 
which is a modification of the Semitic word 
daleth, meaning a door. It is interchangeable 
with t in some languages, since the two letters 
are similar in the mode of pronunciation. In 
English it is always sounded, though often but 
slightly, as in handkerchief. It represents a 
dental sound formed by passing vocalized breath 
into the mouth, after placing the tip of the 
tongue against the roots of the front teeth. In 
Roman numerals D represents 500 and is,equal 
to 5,000 when a line is placed over it, as D. As 
a symbol in music D is the second note of the 
natural scale of C. 

DAB, a species of flatfish belonging to the 
same genus as the plaice and flounder. It is 
allied to the soles, turbots, and halibuts. The 
length seldom exceeds twelve inches. The color 
is brown and yellow and it is characterized by 
a small mouth and eyes. It is common off the 
coasts of England and France. A similar fish, 
the rusty dab, is found on the coast of Nova 
Scotia and New England. 

DACCA (dak'ka), a city of Bengal, capital 
of a district of the same name, on the Burhi 
Ganga, 150 miles northeast of Calcutta. The 
streets are narrow and angular and the older 
portion is not well improved. In the newer 
parts a number of fine buildings are main¬ 
tained. Besides numerous schools, there are 
several colleges and mosques and places of wor¬ 
ship belonging to the Greeks and Armenians. 
Railroad connections have been established with 
many commercial centers. Its navigation trade 
is large, especially in textiles and live stock, 
owing to its favorable location and safe harbor. 
It has numerous modern facilities, including 
tramways, electric lights, and telegraph and tele¬ 
phone lines. It became the seat of the Moham¬ 
medans in Bengal in 1610, and with a short 
intermission remained its capital until 1704. 


Large manufactures of muslins were carried on 
in the city by the Dutch and French in the 
18th century, when it had a population of 
about 200,000. Owing to civil disturbances and 
other causes, it declined for some time, but in 
recent years its prosperity has been revived. 
Population, 1906, 92,342. 

DACE (das), or Dare, a fish common to the 
streams of Europe and New England. The va¬ 
rious species are fine anglers and favorites for 
table use. They are gregarious and swim in 
shoals. Their weight seldom exceeds a pound. 
The dace spawns in April and May. Artificial 



pearls are made of the scales of several species, 
especially of the roach. Several species, such as 
the chubs, are favorite fishes in the streams and 
lakes of the Rocky Mountains. 

DACIA (da'sha-a), an ancient country of 
Europe, located between the Danube and the 
Carpathian Mountains. It was occupied by the 
Daci, a warlike people, and was annexed to 



























DAFFODIL 


605 


DAIRYING 


Rome by Emperor Trajan in 101 a. d., after a 
decisive battle near Torda. The Romans sent 
colonists into the country, constructed high¬ 
ways, and built a great bridge across the Dan¬ 
ube. In 274, in the reign of Aurelian, the Ro¬ 
mans relinquished Dacia and it was occupied by 
the Goths. At present the region is comprised 
in Moldavia, Transylvania, Wallachia, and the 
eastern part of Hungary. 

DAFFODIL (daf'fo-dil), a group of plants 
of the genus Narcissus. Though native to Eu¬ 
rope, many species have been widely acclimated 
and are grown in gardens in America. Most 
of the cultivated plants bear solitary flowers 
with a bell-shaped crown longer than the peri¬ 
anth tube. The flowers are mostly yellow and 
include both single and double forms. 

DAHLIA (dal'ya), a genus of plants native 
to Mexico, named after the Swedish botanist 
Dahl. The plant has been greatly improved and 
its flowers variegated in color by cultivation. 
Specimens were first brought to Europe in 1784, 




DAHLIAS. 

but it is now known almost world-w^^^The 
flowers are general favorites in gardes and 
parks, where the dahlia is cultivated as an orna¬ 
mental plant. Some species have single flow¬ 
ers, but most of them are double, showy, and 
symmetrical. They are propagated by cuttings, 
seeds, and the roots, which are dug up ltmhe 
fall and stored like potatoes in the cellar. r/|The 
corolla of the dahlia yields a beautiful carmine. 

DAHOMEY (da-ho'ma), a French colony in 
Africa, on the. northern coast of the Gulf of 
Guinea, located between Nigeria and the Ger¬ 
man colony of Togoland. It has .been the seat 
of some contention on account of conflicting 


claims of France, Germany, and England. The 
area is about 60,000 square miles and it has a 
seacoast of seventy miles. It consists of two 
divisions, a native kingdom under the rule of* a 
local African prince and a colony comprising 
the settlement of Benin on the coast, with a 
tract of country extending toward the interior. 

The colony is governed by a local governor, 
who is assisted by a council. Two prominent 
residents, one of whom is native and one is 
white, are included with the higher officials. 
The capital is Abomey, near the port of Why- 
dah, and it and Kotonu are the principal trad¬ 
ing points, though considerable commerce is 
carried on at Grand Popo and at Porto Novo. 
The natives of Dahomey are Negroes, who are 
small of stature, but robust, and quite industri¬ 
ous. They .engage in fetish worship. Their 
chief sacrifices are made to trees, snakes, thun¬ 
der, and the sea. Agriculture, trading, hunting, 
and rude manufacture are their chief occupa¬ 
tions. 

The colony has a large area of fertile soil, is 
well watered by small streams, and is valuable 
for its coast line on the Gulf of Guinea. Large 
desert tracts extend throughout the northern 
part. The wild animals include lion, tiger, boa, 
hyena, elephant, and many species of reptiles 
and birds. Among the chief products are to¬ 
bacco, cotton, indigo, sugar, palm oil, India rub¬ 
ber, millet, vegetables, and many varieties of 
fruits. The annual exports have steadily in¬ 
creased the past decade. The export of palm 
oil aggregates about 10,000 tons annually and 
of palm kernels about 20,000 tons. 

Dahomey was organized into a native king¬ 
dom at the beginning of the 18th century, 
but reached its greatest strength under the 
reign of King Ghezo from 1818 to 1858. It 
was placed under the protectorate of Portugal 
in October, 1885, but fell to the French on ac¬ 
count of local differences in 1892. A consistent 
development has been made under French influ¬ 
ence. The slave trade has been abolished and 
the former custom of offering human sacrifices 
is almost extinguished. Population, 1908, 998,500. 

DAIRYING (da'ry-ing), the industry in 
which milk and butter are produced. This 
branch of agricultural industry has been greatly 
extended and radical changes in methods of 
work have been brought about. The improve¬ 
ments are notable not only in the United States 
and Canada, but in the dairying districts of Ger¬ 
many, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, and 
Sweden, where experimental stations and dairy¬ 
ing schools are maintained for the investiga¬ 
tion and study of rearing cattle and making 
butter and cheese. Denmark maintains about a 










DAIRYING 


606 


DAKOTA 


hundred high schools and a dozen agricultural 
institutes in which pupils learn dairying by 
practical work, and, as a result, the industry 
has been placed on a very high basis. About 
fifty institutions teach dairying and related pro- ' 
ductive arts in the United States, where the 
annual output of butter has a value of $115,- 
500,000 and cheese $32,000,000. About 10,000 
creameries and cheese factories are operated. 
The leading dairy schools of Canada are at 
Guelph and Toronto. Cooperation has been 
applied more successfully in dairying than in 
any other branch of industry. Many farmers 
have introduced cooperation in various places, 
uniting the milk products of the farms and 
sharing the results obtained at a central cream¬ 
ery. The effect has been that butter of a 
much higher quality is now obtained, the price 
of the product has been raised, and the quan¬ 
tity has been increased notably. 

Much attention is given by agriculturists to 
the improvement of cattle for dairying purposes. 
As distinct butter producers the Jersey and 
Guernsey cattle have been found preferable, 
since their milk contains the best and largest 
quantity of butter fat and the flavor is of a 
high quality. The Holstein-Friesian cattle yield 
the largest quantity of milk, but their product 
is inferior in solid material, though they pos¬ 
sess a high degree of beef-producing qualities. 
The Ayrshire cattle are midway between the 
Jersey and Guernsey on the one hand and the 
Holstein-Friesian on the other in the quality of 
milk produced, and haye been found excellent 
for cross breeding with other stock on account 
of their rugged constitution. An average cow 
produces about 130 pounds of butter per year, 
while the higher grades of cattle produce from 
300 to 350 pounds, but some individuals yield 
larger quantities. 

The apparatus used in dairying has undergone 
marked improvements. The Babcock milk- 
tester, a centrifugal machine for separating 
cream in small tubes, formerly tested to about 
one-tenth of one per cent., but it has been so 
improved and modified that it is capable of 
testing to one-hundredth of one per cent. It is 
now used largely among dairymen for testing 
cattle by their milk product. Equally beneficial 
improvements have been made in machines for 
mechanical separation. There are now more 
than a dozen separators on the market, by which 
butter fat to within one-tenth of one per cent, 
can be extracted from the milk. Churns and 
machinery for working the butter have been 
improved correspondingly. Another improve¬ 
ment is. in Pasteurizing cream, which is done 
by subjecting it to a temperature of 140° to 


155° Fahr. Pasteurized cream contains forty 
to, fifty per cent, of butter fat, is considered 
highly valuable for hygienic reasons, and retails 
for about forty cents per quart, thus rendering 
better profit than the butter. 

The butter sold on the market is much better 
and more wholesome than that formerly pro¬ 
duced. There are, of course, some exceptions, 
but as a rule it is much cleaner, more healthful, 
and pleasanter to the taste. Many of the im¬ 
provements in manufacturing and in the quality 
of butter and cheese are due to legislation. The 
dairying enterprise as a whole has been bene¬ 
fited through the efforts of commissions' which 
have investigated the industry in foreign coun¬ 
tries and utilized the more important discov¬ 
eries in building up the enterprise in America. 
See Creamery. 

DAISY (da'zy), the common name of the 
well-known flowers and plants of the species 
Beilis perennis. It is widely distributed, being 
common to nearly all inhabited countries. The 
name was derived from its tendency to flower 
almost continually and means the day’s eye. It 
was the emblem of fidelity in love in the age 
of chivalry. The common daisy of Europe has 


DAISY. 

Oxeye Daisy; Common Daisy. 

been greatly improved and is the plant which 
is cultivated most extensively in gardens. It 
includes both single and double flowering spe¬ 
cies and nearly all shades of colors. The Oxeye 
daisy is a species of chrysanthemum. 

DAKOTA (da-ko'ta), a family of Indians 
native to the vast regions between the Missis¬ 
sippi and the Rocky Mountains. It includes 
among others the Winnebagoes, Sioux, Oma- 







DAKOTA RIVER 


607 * 


DAM 


has, Iowas, Poncas, Kansas, Crows, Otoes, 
Missouris, Assiniboins, and Minnetarees. The 
Dakotas seem to have come eastward from the 
Pacific until they met the Algonquins. The 
language shows some similarity to the Mon¬ 
golian, perhaps more than that of any other 
Indian language. The total number of Dako¬ 
tas now aggregates about 60,000. Some writers 
use the name interchangeably with Sioux, since 
they consider the Siouan stock the predominat¬ 
ing influence. 

DAKOTA RIVER. See James River. 

DALLAS (dal'las), a city of Texas, county 
seat of Dallas County, on the Trinity River, 
near the mouth of the West Fork. It is on 
the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, the Southern 
Pacific, the Texas and Pacific, the Texas and 
New Orleans, and other railroads. Lines of 
electric railways connect it with Fort Worth 
and other cities. The chief buildings include 
the county courthouse, the post office, the Car¬ 
negie Public Library, the Protestant Episcopal 
Cathedral of Saint Matthew, the Roman Catho¬ 
lic Pro-Cathedral, and a number of fine public 
schools. It has a fine Confederate monument. 
Oak Cliff and City Park are notable public 
grounds. 

Dallas is surrounded by a productive farming 
country and has extensive wholesaling interests. 
The industries include iron factories, flouring 
mills, cigar and candy factories, cotton gins, 
grain elevators, machine shops, and farm imple¬ 
ment manufactories. Many of the streets are 
substantially paved. It has gas and electric 
lights, waterworks, sewerage, and an extensive 
electric railway system. The first settlement 
was made in 1841. Population, 1910, 92,104. 

DALLES (dalz), the name applied to vari¬ 
ous cataracts in the United States. The Dalles 
of the Saint Louis are cataracts located near 
Duluth, Minn. The Dalles of the Columbia are 
near Dalles City, Ore., on the Columbia River, 
about 200 miles from its mouth and fifty miles 
above the Cascades. Here the river is com¬ 
pressed by basaltic rocks to about one-third of 
its usual breadth, with lofty walls on both sides. 
The chasm formed in this way is fifty-eight 
yards wide, and through it the waters plunge in 
the form of a roaring torrent. The Dalles of 
the Wisconsin, near Kilbourne City, Wis., is 
about seven miles long and sixty feet wide. On 
both sides of the gorge are walls of Potsdam 
sandstone fully 100 feet high. 

DALLES, The, or Dalles City, a city of 
Oregon, county seat of Wasco County, at the 
head of navigation on the Columbia River, 
eighty-eight miles east of Portland. It is on 
the line of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation 


Company. The chief buildings include the high 
school, the county courthouse, and a number of 
churches. It has a large trade in grain, fruit, 
and live stock. The manufactures include flour, 
woolen products, clothing, and machinery. In 
the vicinity and down the river is much beauti¬ 
ful natural scenery. A military post was estab¬ 
lished at The Dalles in 1838 and the place was 
incorporated in 1858. Population, 1900, 3,542. 

DALMATIA (dal-ma'shi-a), a province of 
Austria, extending along the Mediterranean, 
and bounded by Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, 
Herzegovina, and the Adriatic Sea. The area 
is 4,940 square miles. It contains ranges of the 
Dinaric Alps, a large number of coast inlets, 
and numerous small lakes and rivers. The 
greatest elevation is reached by Mount Orien, 
which rises 6,230 feet above the sea level. A 
large per cent, of the soil is fertile and is 
farmed, pastured, or occupied by forests. The 
mountain districts yield minerals, though mining 
is not highly developed. Among the chief prod¬ 
ucts are cereals, fruits, domestic animals, cheese, 
silk, and vegetables. Though the least devel¬ 
oped of Austrian dependencies, it has consider¬ 
able shipbuilding. The people along the coast 
.are largely seafaring and engaged in fisheries. 
A number of thriving cities are located on the 
Adriatic, where the chief centers of manufac¬ 
tures and commerce are situated. Several rail¬ 
way lines connect them with the interior dis¬ 
tricts. 

The province was once an independent king¬ 
dom of considerable strength. It was con¬ 
quered by the Romans in the reign of Augustus. 
Afterward it was overrun by the Goths and 
conquered successively by the Slavonians, Vene¬ 
tians, French, and Italians. Since 1814 it has 
been a part of Austria, with the title of king¬ 
dom. The inhabitants consist mostly of Dal¬ 
matian Slavs, who resemble the Croats, and 
they are the modern representatives of the 
ancient Illyrians. Other elements include Ger¬ 
mans, Italians, and Jews. Population, 1906, 
598,764. 

DAM, a bank or structure to confine the flow 
of a stream in order to raise its level. Dams 
are usually built of stone, earth, or wood, 
though in recent times cement, steel, and cast 
iron have been utilized to a large extent. Those 
constructed in ancient times were largely for 
protection against overflows from rivers, or for 
safeguards against waves and tides on lakes 
and seas. Among the most important modern 
dams of this class are the great dikes of Hol¬ 
land and the levees in the lower course of the 
Mississippi. The former protect the lowlands 
against overflows from the sea, while the lat- 



DAM 


608 


DAMARALAND 


ter provide safety against general overflows 
during excessively rainy seasons: Many dams 
are maintained in streams to obtain power for 
machinery. In this class the water is raised 
sufficiently to permit currents to pass rapidly 
through artificial channels parallel to the main 
bed of the stream, thus obtaining a permanent 
flow of water where the force is applied. An¬ 
other class of dams built which are extensively 
used includes those constructed to provide wa¬ 
ter for cities and for irrigation purposes. The 
New Croton dam, on the, Croton River, was 
constructed to provide an immense storage res¬ 
ervoir for the water supply of New York City. 


It is 290 feet high and 216 feet thick at the 
base, and the solid masonry is 700 feet long, 
besides which an earthen dam lined with a wall 
of masonry is extended to a length of 1,500 
feet. The structure forms a reservoir eighteen 
miles long with a capacity of 32,000,000,000 gal¬ 
lons of water, the cost being about $4,250,000. 

A dam for irrigation purposes at San Diego, 
Cal., is 130 feet high and 545 feet long. It is 
constructed largely of steel and is protected 
from rusting by paints made of semiliquid as¬ 
phalt. The capacity of the reservoir is 14,000,- 
000,000 gallons. A dam almost entirely of steel 
is located near Ash Fork, Ariz., which has a 
capacity of 36,000,000 gallons. One of the nota¬ 
ble dams is located on the South Platte River, 
Col., forming a reservoir for the water supply 
of Denver. The greatest height is 210 feet, 
but its site in a rocky gorge made it necessary 
to build it only twenty-five feet long at the base 
and 500 feet at the top. It is constructed of 
granite blocks, with an inner lining of steel 
plates, and is supported by steel beams. The 
reservoir is 200 feet deep at the dam, 150 feet 
three miles up the river, and fifty feet six miles 
above the dam. It has a storage capacity of 
35,000,000,000 gallons of water. The Roose¬ 


velt dam, across the Salt River, seventy-two 
miles above Phoenix, Ariz., is of the arched 
gravity type and is 284 feet high. It was com¬ 
pleted in 1907. 

The largest dam in the world is maintained 
by the Egyptian government across the Nile at 
the Assuan cataracts. The length of this re¬ 
markable structure is 6,400 feet, the width is 
eighty feet at the bottom and twenty-three feet 
at the top, and the height is ninety-two feet. 
It is constructed of granite masonry, its foun¬ 
dation being solid granite rock. It serves the 
purpose of collecting a supply of water from 
the Nile between November and April for the 
purpose of irrigating the land 
farther north during the 
months of May, June, and 
July. In the dry season the 
water is conducted by canals 
to the different cultivated 
fields. Through the agency of 
this improvement vast regions 
of arid land have been re¬ 
deemed and made productive. 
The. capacity of the reservoir 
is about 280,000,000,000 gallons. 
It is estimated that the entire 
cost of this dam, including 
locks and accessories, was $8,- 
750,000. 

DAMAGES, in law, the 

amount of money a person may recover for 
the injury done by another to his person, prop¬ 
erty, or other rights. If damage is done 
through neglect or by a willful act, the party 
injured may recover in money the amount of 
the loss, and, if the damage results from a ma¬ 
licious act, the amount recovered may be larger 
than the actual loss. The courts of England 
and America generally agree that the person 
damaged may recover to make good the loss 
sustained, which is estimated in money, and in 
addition the defendant is required to pay the 
court expenses. When the damage results from 
causes over which no one has control, such as 
a storm or earthquake, or if it is chargeable to 
an accident for which no one is to blame, such 
as a horse running away, the injured party 
cannot recover. 

DAMARALAND (da-ma'ra-land), the 
northern portion of German Southwest Africa, 
extending from Walfisch Bay to the Kunene 
River. The area is about 100,000 square miles. 
The coast region is arid and desert, but the in¬ 
terior contains fertile tracts adapted to agri¬ 
culture. It has valuable mineral products, in¬ 
cluding gold, silver, iron, and copper. Cotton, 
tobacco, silk, fruits, and live stock are the chief 



Dam at Saint Anthony Falls, Minneapolis, to furnish power for large mills. 


























DAMASCUS 


609 


DAMIETTA 


products. The drainage is largely toward the 
east by tributaries of the Zambezi. A large 
proportion of the inhabitants belong to the 
Bantu and t)amara races. Population, 1905, 
200,000. 

DAMASCUS (da-mas'kus), the capital of 
the Turkish vilayet of Syria, regarded the most 
ancient city of the world, called Dimishk-esh- 
Sham by the natives. The Scriptures mention 
it on numerous occasions, connecting it with 
the time of Abraham and successively with 
other distinguished men, including Saint Paul. 
It is still one of the largest cities of Western 
Asia, is beautifully situated in a fertile plain 
of the same name', and is bounded on the north 
and west by the high mountain range of Anti- 
Libanus. Jerusalem is located about 140 miles 
west of Damascus and a railroad line connects 
it with the Mediterranean Sea at Acre. While 
possessing many points of interest which are 
mentioned by travelers, it contains narrow and 
angular streets, and in the poorer portions has 
many low houses that are filled with filth. The 
courts are paved with marble and ornamented 
with fountains. Many of the public pldces are 
adorned with trees and beautified by fine archi¬ 
tectural structures. The chief buildings include 
the citadel and the Great Mosque built in the 
eighth century. About seventy-five mosques of 
considerable size are maintained in the city, in 
addition to fully 175 chapels for instruction and 
prayer. 

The Moslems regard Damascus one of the 
holy cities. Its general features are thoroughly 
Oriental and it is the gathering place of great 
companies of pilgrims. Pilgrimages to Da¬ 
mascus began soon after the time of Moham¬ 
med, a number of his revelations being asso¬ 
ciated with it. In several portions are colonies 
of Christians and Jews, who are allowed relig¬ 
ious liberty and educational advantages. Among 
its notable features are numerous bazaars, the 
various classes being located by themselves on 
different streets. Among the bazaars are those 
of the saddlers, silversmiths, shoemakers, book¬ 
sellers, and others. In the midst of these 
stands the Great Khan, which forms a market 
place for merchants. Straight Street,, men¬ 
tioned in connection with the conversion of 
Saint Paul, is one of the most important com¬ 
mercial thoroughfares. 

Much of the trade of Damascus is in the 
hands of Europeans. The manufactures in¬ 
clude tobacco, fabrics, silk and cotton goods, 
jewelry, olive oil, damask, soap, and furniture. 
Formerly the celebrated Damascus steel was 
produced largely in the city, but its manufacture 
is no longer carried on. The population is 
39 


made up of many classes, including Kalmuks, 
Turkomans, Afghans, Kurds, Circassians, and 
Europeans. A large trade is carried on with 
the interior of Asia by caravans of camels, 
while within the iipmediate vicinity it is facili¬ 
tated by a number of canals. The building of 
railroads, telephone and telegraph lines, and 
other modern facilities has enlarged its impor¬ 
tance commercially. A macadamized road was 
built between it and Beyrout in 1860. The edu¬ 
cational status is somewhat better than former¬ 
ly, owing largely to the work done by Chris¬ 
tians. Damascus has been the seat of much 
military contention and passed successively un¬ 
der the Israelites, Persians, Greeks, and Ro¬ 
mans. It has been under the dominion of the 
Turks since 1516. Population, 1908, 212,641. 

DAMASCUS STEEL, a kind of steel made 
originally in Syria, so named from Damascus, 
where it was used largely in manufacturing cut¬ 
lery and swords. It has been known to Euro- 1 
peans since the time of the Crusades, but the 
secret of making the Damascus blades, a kind 
of sword, is not well understood. Damascus 
steel is noted for its temper, hardness, and dura¬ 
bility. It requires careful forging and work¬ 
manship and contains a larger per cent, of car¬ 
bon than ordinary steel. The Damascus blades 
are beautified by ornamental designs, including 
inscriptions and landscapes. The art of pro¬ 
ducing these is called damaskeening. 

DAMASK (dam'ask),a rich silk fabric origi¬ 
nally made at Damascus, from which it is 
named. It is distinguished by raised figures of 
animals, landscapes, flowers, and fruits in their 
natural colors embossed upon a white or col¬ 
ored base. The name is now given to various 
products made of silk, wool, linen, or cotton, 
and to a mixture of several of these colored 
differently. Damask textiles are used for win¬ 
dow curtains, fine towels, napkins, tablecloths, 
and furniture coverings. The figures of fruits, 
flowers, vases, and other objects placed on the 
surface are produced by a particular manage¬ 
ment of the warp threads. Damasks of this 
character are made extensively in America and 
Europe. 

DAMIETTA (dam-T-et'ta), a city of Egypt, 
on the eastern branch of the Nile, about five 
miles from the Mediterranean Sea. The main 
part of the city is built irregularly, but some of 
the streets are well improved. It is the seat of 
several European consuls, a Coptic bishop, and 
an Egyptian governor. Among the public im¬ 
provements are^lectric lights, marble baths, and 
a number of ancient mosques. Large vessels 
cannot ascend the river to Damietta, owing to 
sand bars at its mouth. It has railroad con- 




DAMPS 


610 


DANISH WEST INDIES 


nections with Cairo and other centers of com¬ 
merce. The manufactures include clothing, cot¬ 
ton fabrics, and utensils. It was strongly forti¬ 
fied by the Saracen's in the time of the Cru¬ 
sades. The construction of the Suez Canal has 
caused its commerce to decline. Population, 
1906, 32,642. 

DAMPS, the name generally applied to gas¬ 
eous products fatal to animal life. Damps fre¬ 
quently occur in coal mines, wells, and other 
excavations, especially if they are covered up 
and unused for some time. Choke damps are 
composed of carbonic acid mixed with car¬ 
bonic oxide, being so called from their tendency 
to extinguish life and fire. Fire damps consist 
largely of light carbureted hydrogen and are 
so named because of their tendency to explode 
when mixed with atmospheric air, after being 
brought in contact with a flame. 

DAMSON (dam'z’n), the name of a common 
plum tree which bears small oval fruit. Nu¬ 
merous species have been developed by cultiva¬ 
tion. They bear fruit of various colors, such 
as yellow, bluish, dark purple, and black. They 
were imported originally from Damascus and 
are cultivated extensively in the Temperate 
zones. Some species are used in making a con¬ 
fection called damson cheese. 

DANBURY (dan'ber-i), a city and one of 
the county seats of Fairfield County, Connecti¬ 
cut, on the Still River, a tributary of the Housa- 
tonic. It is on the New York, New Haven and 
Hartford Railroad and on several electric lines. 
The noteworthy buildings include the court¬ 
house, the public library, the city hall, and the 
high school. It has a fine public park and two 
monuments, one of which was erected to the 
memory of General Wooster in 1854. Among the 
manufactures are boots and shoes, shirts, cloth¬ 
ing, sewing machines, machinery, and utensils. 
It has paved streets, waterworks, electric lights, 
street railways, and other modern facilities. The 
first settlement was made in 1684 and it was 
incorporated as a city in 1889. At the time of 
the Revolution, in 1777, it was captured by the 
British under General Tryon. Population, 1900, 
16,537; in 1910, 20,234. 

DANCING (dan'sing), an amusement or ex¬ 
ercise in which one or more persons move the 
body successively in rythmical order, usually 
accompanied by music. It consists of steps, 
bounds, and inclinations of the body, and all the 
movements are executed with a care designed 
to make them artistic. In ancient times dancing 
was a part of the religious observances and 
worshipers danced before the altats and images 
of their gods. The Egyptians considered their 
god Thoth the inventor of dancing. In 


Greece it expressed all the different passions 
from the genteel and beautiful to the dance of 
the Furies, which inspired the beholders with 
terror. It played an important part in the 
sculptures of Greece and was classed with poetry 
by Aristotle. In Rome dancing was permitted 
by free citizens only as a religious rite, but in 
Egypt and India it was employed in public, 
where dancing and singing girls entertained on 
public occasions. 

Dancing was not practiced extensively after 
the fall of Rome, largely for the reason that it 
was discouraged by Christianity on the ground 
that it was inherited from the Jews and pagan 
nations. Its revival began in the fifteenth cen¬ 
tury, when it gained favor in Italy and was in¬ 
troduced by Catherine de' Medici into P'rance. 
War and harvest dances were given in Germany 
even before that time. The carole and egg 
dance were among the dances of England. Sav¬ 
age warriors practiced dancing to a considerable 
extent, as exemplified by the American Indians 
in their celebrated war dances. The Protestant 
churches either forbid it or look upon it with 
a measure of disapproval. 

. The art of dancing has been modified from 
time to time and-has varied in the extent to 
which it has been practiced. Among the dances 
characterized as national are the polonaise of 
Poland, the fandango of Spain, the tarantella of 
Italy, the jig of Ireland and Wales, the waltz 
of Germany, and the reel and Highland fling 
of Scotland. The breakdowns are popular 
among the Negroes and the step dances and 
hornpipes are quite common among sailors. 
Among the modern dances common in America 
are the quadrille, the two-step, the polka, the 
lancers, the waltz, the ballet, the galop, the 
cotillion, and the schottish. 

DANDELION (dan-de-li'un), a plant native 
to Europe, but now common in America. It has 
a naked, hollow stock, with a composite, bright 
yellow flower. The leaves rise from a tap root 
in the form of a bunch. The seed has a white, 
downy tuft of hair and is scattered extensively 
by the winds. In many places the dandelion is 
an obnoxious weed in lawns and parks. Its 
blanched leaves are recommended as a salad 
and are eaten as lettuce in the form of greens. 
The plant yields a milky juice, which, in the 
form of extract, is employed for medicine. Its 
roots have been used to adulterate coffee in a 
way quite similar to chicory. Though small in 
the native state, the plants have been greatly 
enlarged and improved by cultivation. 

DANISH WEST INDIES, a group of three 
islands belonging to Denmark, situated east of 
Porto Rico and classed with the Virgin Islands. 


DANISH WEST INDIES 


611 


DANUBE 


The area is 138 square miles, which includes 
some tracts of marshy lands. The area of eadh 
of the three islands is as follows: Saint John, 
21 square miles; Saint Thomas, 23 square miles; 
Saint Croix, 74 square miles. A large part of 
the inhabitants consists of negroes and mulat- 
toes and more than half are on the island of 
Saint Croix. Christiansted, on Saint Croix, is 
the seat of local government. 

The Danish West Indies, though of little im¬ 
portance commercially, possess value as sta¬ 
tions for steamship lines crossing the Atlantic. 



Excellent harbors are located at Christianstad 
and Charlotte Amalie, on Saint Thomas, in fact, 
the latter is one of the deepest and safest in the 
West Indies. Two cable lines, one French and 
the other English, connect Saint Thomas with 
European ports. The exports consist chiefly of 
sugar and rum, and trade is almost exclusively 
with the United States and Denmark. A Span¬ 
ish dialect is the chief language, but English 
and Danish are spoken in the courts. The reve¬ 
nue has been insufficient to cover the expense 
for a number of years, owing to the fact that it 
is obtained chiefly from, customs, and the short¬ 
age arises because trade is not large. Negotia¬ 
tions were made a number of times to sell the 
islands to the United States, but in 1902 the 
treaty of sale was rejected by the Danish Parlia¬ 
ment. It is considered that these islands will be 
valuable after the completion of the Panama 


Canal, and they would add materially to the 
value of Porto Rico as an American trading 
center. Population, 1906, 36,152. 

DANTZIC (dant'zik), or Danzig, a seaport 
of Germany, capital of West Prussia, on the 
west branch of the Vistula River, about three 
miles above its mouth. However, its port, 
Neufahrwasser, is at the mouth of the Vistula. 

It is strongly fortified by a moat and ramparts 
and these are strengthened by twenty bastions 
and several detached forts. Among the princi¬ 
pal buildings are a cathedral built in the four¬ 
teenth century, the Church of Saint Catharine, 
several monasteries, synagogues, observatories, 
and theaters. Langgasse is the finest street in 
the city, and, owing to its lofty gables built 
after the style of architecture common to the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, its appear¬ 
ance is picturesque. Other noteworthy features 
include the public market, the. city library of 
150,000 volumes, and the railway depot. The 
commerce consists largely in wheat, amber, ma¬ 
chinery, wool, starch, and leather. Shipbuilding 
and the manufacture of artillery and machinery 
engage large numbers of workmen. The general 
manufactures' include hardware, clothing, and 
textiles. It has extensive railroad and electric 
railway facilities, municipal waterworks, gas 
and electric lighting, and stone and asphalt 
pavements. The first mention of the city was 
in 997, when it became identified with Christian¬ 
ity. In 1358 it joined the Hanseatic League. It 
has belonged to Prussia since 1793, except when 
it was set apart as a dukedom by Napoleon. 
Population, 1905, 159,648. 

DANUBE (dan'ub), the second largest river 
of Europe, being exceeded in length only by 
the Volga. The Brege and the Brigach, two 
streams having their source in the Black For¬ 
est of Germany, unite at Donaueschingen and 
form the Danube. The length is 1,750 miles 
and the area drained by it includes 315,000 
square miles. At the union of the two rivers 
that form it the height is 2,265 feet above the 
sea level, the average fall is eighteen inches 
per mile, and its waters flow through a delta 
of seven branches into the Black Sea. The 
principal tributaries are the Drave, Save, 
Theiss, and Pruth rivers. After leaving Ger¬ 
many, it passes through Austria, between which 
and Servia it forms a portion of the boundary, 
thence passes between Servia and Rumania, 
thence between Rumania and Bulgaria, and 
thence makes a bold curve north and east to a 
point between Rumania and Russia, where its 
waters unite with the sea. Of its 400 tribu¬ 
taries about one hundred are navigable, while 
Ludwig’s Canal connects it with the Rhine and 





DANVERS 


612 


DAPHNIA 


the Moldau and Muhl canals with the Elbe, and 
several others widen its sphere of commercial 
importance. 

The three principal divisions of the Danube 
system include the river from its source to 
Passau, where it leaves German territory; 
thence the middle course, ending at the Iron 
Gate, below Orsova; thence the lower course to 
the sea. The middle course is especially beau¬ 
tiful in scenery, rapids, and cataracts. At the 
Iron Gate the stream has a width of only 129 
yards and its waters are piled up to a depth of 
twenty-eight fathoms. At each side great 
ledges of rock tower above the surface and 
form a continuous line of beautiful panorama. 
The delta contains a vast area, equal to about 
1,000 square miles, covered with dense rushes 
and cut up by winding channels, where sea 
birds and various animals find a safe and favor¬ 
ite haunt. Three main channels are included in 
the delta. They are known as the Kilia, Saint 
George, and Sulina mouths, and the last named 
is the. one through which ships enter. The 
mouths farthest apart are sixty miles from each 
other. Owing to its favorable location through 
densely populated regions and to its deep water, 
the Danube is one of the most important rivers 
to commerce. Great numbers of steamboats 
ply on its surface and reach hundreds of com¬ 
mercial centers, the total connected navigation 
facilities constituting about 2,500 miles. The 
navigation is controlled by the International 
Navigation Commission, which is composed of 
delegates appointed by the riparian or great 
powers. This commission has made extensive 
improvements in various portions, particularly 
by a great canal at the Iron Gate. 

DANVERS (dan'verz), a town of Essex 
County, Massachusetts, about eighteen miles 
northeast of Boston, on the Boston and Maine 
Railroad. Among the chief buildings are the 
State insane hospital, the high school, and the 
Peabody Institute Public Library. The man¬ 
ufactures include lumber products, boots and 
shoes, ironware, clothing, machinery, and car¬ 
pets. It has systems of waterworks, public 
lighting, and electric street railways. In 1692 
it was implicated in the Salem witchcraft delu¬ 
sion. It was incorporated in 1752. Population, 
1905, 9,063. 

DANVILLE, a city in Illinois, county seat 
of Vermilion County, on the Big Vermilion 
River and on the Big Four, the Wabash, and 
the Chicago and Eastern Illinois railroads. The 
surrounding country is rich in coal deposits, 
building material, and fertile soil. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are the courthouse, the 
Carnegie Library, the post office, the high 


school, and the Y. M. C. A. building. Douglas 
and Lincoln parks are fine public grounds. It 
has systems of paving, sewerage, waterworks, 
and electric street railways. It was settled in 
1830 and incorporated in 1867. The manufac¬ 
tures include hardware, cigars, engines, farm¬ 
ing machinery, clothing, and utensils. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 16,354; in 1910, 27,871. 

DANVILLE, county seat of Boyle County, 
Kentucky, forty miles south of Frankfort, on 
the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. Besides hav¬ 
ing a fine school system, it is the seat of Cad- 
well’s Female Institute, Danville Theological 
Seminary, Southern Collegiate Institute, Morri¬ 
son Female Seminary, Center College, Hogsett 
Academy, and a State institute for deaf-mutes. 
The industries include machine shops, grain ele¬ 
vators, and stock yards. It is surrounded*by a 
rich agricultural and stock-raising country. Dan¬ 
ville was incorporated in 1789. Population, 
1900, 4,285. 

DANVILLE, a borough and county seat of 
Montour County, Pennsylvania, on the north 
branch of the Susquehanna River, 150 miles 
northwest of Philadelphia. It is on the Lacka¬ 
wanna, the Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia 
and Reading railroads. The noteworthy build¬ 
ings include the public library, the high school, 
the courthouse, and the State hospital for the 
insane. Among the manufactures are iron and 
steel wares, silk goods, stockings, suspenders, 
and custom-made clothing. It has extensive 
blast furnaces and rolling mills. The surround¬ 
ing country is rich in agricultural and mineral 
products. Population, 1900, 8,042. 

DANVILLE, a city of Virginia, in Pittsyl¬ 
vania County, on the Dan River, 140 miles 
southwest of Richmond. It is on the Danville 
and Western and the Southern railroads. An 
abundance of water power for manufacturing 
is furnished by the river. The manufactures 
include flour, cotton and knit goods, ironware, 
cigars, tobacco, clothing, and machinery. The 
output of the tobacco factories is particularly 
large. Besides fine public schools, it contains 
the Roanoke Female College, the Danville Male 
Academy, and the Danville Female Academy. 
Among the municipal improvements are gas and 
electric lights, waterworks, pavements, and an 
extensive street railway system. Danville was 
incorporated in 1792. It was the capital of the 
Confederate States for. a short time near the 
close of the war. Population, 1900, 16,520. 

DAPHNIA (daf'm-a), a genus of fresh¬ 
water crustaceans, known popularly as the 
water flea. These animals have a bivalve shell, 
long swimming antennae, and five pairs of feet. 
A compound eye is attached to the head, which 


DARDANELLES 


613 


DARMSTADT 


is elongated into a snout. They are abundant 
in ponds and are important as the diet of many 
fishes. 

DARDANELLES (dar-da-nelz), the Helles¬ 
pont of the ancients, so named from Dardanus, 
the mythical founder of Troy. The strait is 
forty miles long and from one to four miles 
wide. It separates Europe from Asia at this 
point, and connects the Sea of Marmora with 
the Aegean Sea. A current flows through it 
from the Sea of Marmora, which is often in¬ 
creased by winds. The country on the Euro¬ 
pean side is hilly, but is in a high state of cul¬ 
tivation and densely populated, while on the 
Asiatic side is a fertile plain, rising toward the 
range of Mount Ida with gradual ascent. Two 
castles mark the sites ,of the ancient Sestos and 
Abydos, while strong fortifications guard it on 
both sides. In 1841 a treaty was made by the 
five great powers and Turkey to the effect that 
no warship shall pass the strait, except with the 
expressed permission of Turkey. Abydos, on 
the Asiatic side, is celebrated for the story of 
Hero and Leander. It is noted for the passage 
of the armies of Xerxes in 480 B. C., when in¬ 
vading Europe, and that of Alexander in 334 
b. c., when leading his famous expedition into 
Asia. Lord Byron, to demonstrate the possi¬ 
bility of the reputed feat of Leander, swam 
across the strait. 

DARFUR (dar'foor), the name applied to 
the western portion of eastern Sudan, in Africa. 
It has an estimated area of 200,000 square miles 
and a population of 2,500,000. In 1874 it was 
reduced by Ziber Pasha and placed under the 
control of Egypt. The British claims were 
strengthened by an agreement with Germany 
and Italy in 1891. A battle with the French 
troops at Fashoda resulted in an agreement be¬ 
tween France and England, signed March 21, 
1899. By the terms of this treaty the western 
boundary of Darfur is to mark the sphere of 
influence between the two powers in Central 
Africa. The district is drained largely by the 
head waters of the White Nile and Shari rivers. 
It contains large tracts of desert lands in the 
north, but there are quite productive regions 
toward the south. Cotton, wheat, tobacco, 
sesame, maize, and fruits are grown. Cattle 
raising is the principal industry. A majority of 
the inhabitants are Arabs, who profess Islam. 
The government is administered from El 
Fasher, its capital. 

DARIEN (da-ri-en') Gulf of, a gulf extend¬ 
ing from the Caribbean Sea, between the Isth¬ 
mus of Panama and the mainland of South 
America. It receives the inflow of several riv¬ 
ers, including the Atrato, has a number of sea¬ 


ports, and is the most prominent inlet on the 
northern coast of Colombia. The southern por¬ 
tion is known as the Gulf of Uraba. 

DARIEN, Isthmus of, the name applied to 
a neck of land between the Gulf of Darien and 
the Pacific Ocean, and sometimes to the entire 
isthmus which connects North and South Amer¬ 
ica, though the name usually applied to the lat¬ 
ter is Panama. See Panama, Isthmus of. 

DARIEN SCHEME, a proposition to estab¬ 
lish a colony on the Isthmus of Darien with 
the view of controlling the trade between the 
Western and Eastern hemispheres. It was 
formulated by William Patterson, a Scotch¬ 
man, in 1695, and about $4,500,000 was sub¬ 
scribed to finance the scheme. In 1698 about 
1,200 colonists sailed from Scotland to their 
prospective new home, which was called New 
Caledonia. A second company was sent out in 
1699 and a third the following year, but the 
project proved an entire failure. The colonists 
found the region unhealthful, suffered by dis¬ 
ease and starvation, and were harassed by the 
hostile natives and Spaniards. 

DARK AGES, the name applied to a portion 
of the Middle Ages, including a period of 
about a thousand years; from the fall of Rome 
to the revival of letters in the fifteenth century. 
The period properly commences with the inva¬ 
sion of France by Clovis in 486 a. d., and closes 
with the invasion of Naples by Charles VIII. 
in 1495. 

DARLING (dar'ling), a river in Australia, 
the largest tributary of the Murray. It is 
formed by the confluence of several rivers ris¬ 
ing in the Liverpool Range, has a length of 600 
miles, with its tributaries 1,150 miles, and drains 
an area of 197,500 square miles. Its confluence 
with the Murray is at Wentworth, on the boun¬ 
dary between Victoria and South Australia. 
The name is applied to two districts in Aus¬ 
tralia, the Darling District and the Darling 
Downs. The former is in New South Wales 
and the latter in Queensland. 

DARLING RANGE, a chain of mountains 
in the western part of Australia, extending 
parallel with the coast for a distance of nearly 
300 miles. The highest summit, Point D’Entre¬ 
casteaux, has an altitude of 3,700 feet above 
the sea. The general altitude ranges from 1,200 
to 1,500 feet, and many sections of .this range 
are covered with fine forests. 

DARMSTADT (darm'stat), a city of Ger¬ 
many, capital of the grand duchy of Hesse- 
Darmstadt, situated on the Darm River, fifteen 
miles south of Frankfort-on-Main. It is the 
converging center of several railroads and has 
a large jobbing trade. The streets are well 



DARTER 


614 


DARTMOUTH COLLEGE 


paved with stone and macadam. Among the 
chief buildings are the palace of Prince Henry, 
the town hall, the Victoria School, and the 
Grand Ducal Palace. The last mentioned con¬ 
tains a museum of rare paintings and a library 
of 500,000 volumes. A fine Doric column rises 
to the height of 134 feet in one of the public 
squares, upon which is mounted a statue of the 
Grand Duke Louis, who founded the newer 
portion of the city and greatly extended its com¬ 
mercial importance. The manufactures include 
hats, carpets, chemicals, clothing, and earthen¬ 
ware. It has modern municipal facilities, such as 
gas and electric lighting, public waterworks, and 
electric street railways. Darmstadt has been the 
capital since 1567. Population, 1905, 83,123. 

DARTER (dart'er), the name of a group of 
small fishes found in the fresh waters of North 
America, so named from their quick motion. 
These fish belong to the perch family, are from 
six to ten inches long, and are classed among 
the smallest spiny rayed fish. They frequently 
lie concealed under stones at the bottom of 
clear running water, and when hungry or fright¬ 
ened dart suddenly for a short distance. Sev¬ 
eral species are familiar, most of them fre¬ 
quenting the streams of the central and south¬ 
ern parts of the United States. 

DARTER, or Snakebird, a bird native to the 
tropical parts of most continents, closely allied 
to the cormorant. The feet are webbed, the bill 
is longer than the head, and the neck is long 
and slender. They are called darter from their 
quick motion. The name snakebird is applied 
to them from the fact that the head is scarcely 
thicker than the neck, giving that part of the 
body the appearance of a snake. When fright¬ 
ened while sitting on a branch over a stream, 
they dart quickly into the water or fly upward 
and circle in the air like a hawk. They are 
skilled in catching fish, at which they dart with 
a sudden and well-directed aim. The American 
darter is sometimes called water turkey and is 
about three feet long. 

DARTMOOR (dart'mddr), an extensive and 
desolate upland in Devonshire, England, be¬ 
longing to the duchy of Cornwall. It is noted 
because of its rugged scenery and as the source 
of several rivers. A large portion of it fur¬ 
nishes grazing for cattle and sheep during the 
summer months. The extent is fourteen miles 
from east to west and twenty miles from north 
to south, with an area of 150,000 acres. The 
minerals include China clay and tin. • At Lee 
Moor, which is the seat of a meteorological ob¬ 
servatory, are the largest kaolin works in Eng¬ 
land. A number of earthworks, Cyclopean 
bridges, and stone antiquities abound. A prison 


was built on the Dartmoor upland in 1809 for 
the custody of French prisoners of war. The 
British impressed about 2,500 Americaii sailors 
during the War of 1812, confining them in this 
prison until peace was concluded. The prison 
incloses about thirty acres and is now used as 
a depot for convicts. 

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE (dart'muth), 

an institution of higher learning at Hanover, 
N. H. It is the outgrowth of a school which 
was established at Lebanon, Conn., in 1754, for 
the Christian education of Indian youth. This 
school was founded by Eleazer Wheelock and 
was known as Moor’s Indian Charity School, 
so named from Josiah Moor, who contributed 
a house and two acres of land. The college 
received a royal charter in 1769, hence is one 
of the oldest of New England colleges, rank¬ 
ing next to Harvard and Yale. John Went¬ 
worth, the governor of the Province of New 
Hampshire, gave to the college the name of 
Lord Dartmouth, who was its most active pa¬ 
tron in Great Britain, but he and other English¬ 
men who contributed to its support withdrew 
their patronage soon after it ceased to be de¬ 
voted particularly to the education of Indians. 
It is at present one of the foremost institu¬ 
tions of higher learning in New England. 
Though surrounded by religious influences, it is 
nonsectarian, but it remains an institution for 
men only. The departments include those of 
medicine, classics, sciences, commerce and 
finance, and civil engineering. It has a library 
of about 100,000 volumes and 20,000 pamphlets. 
With it are associated the Dartmouth Medical 
School, founded in 1798; the Thayer School of 
Civil Engineering, founded in 1867; and the 
Amos Tuck School of Administration and 
Finance, established in 1900. In 1907 the aca¬ 
demic department of the college was attended 
by 1,150 students drawn from thirty-five states. 
The State of New Hampshire attempted to gain 
control of the college in 1860, which gave rise 
to a famous case in the lower courts and the 
Supreme Court of the United States. See 
Dartmouth College vs. Woodward. 

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE VS. WOOD¬ 
WARD, a case decided by the Supreme Court 
of the United States in 1819. It grew out of 
a controversy between the trustees of Dart¬ 
mouth College and the Legislature of New 
Hampshire. George III. granted a charter to 
found Dartmouth College in 1769, and after 
the Revolution the State of New Hampshire 
claimed the same control as was exercised by 
the throne prior to the independence of the 
United States. William Woodward held the 
offices of secretary and treasurer of the cor- 


DARWINISM 


615 


DATE 


poration of Dartmouth College under the trus¬ 
tees of the college, twelve in number, and a 
controversy arose between him and the trustees, 
who removed him from office. In the mean¬ 
time the State Legislature passed an act to 
amend the charter so as to supervise the affairs 
of the college under a new board of twenty-one 
members. This board appointed William 
Woodward secretary and treasurer, and the old 
trustees brought a suit against him to recover 
the property of the college. A verdict for the 
defendant was given in the superior court of 
New Hampshire, but this was reversed on ap¬ 
peal in the United States Supreme Court and 
the plaintiffs were awarded $20,000 damages. 
The essence of the decision is that the “charter 
of Dartmouth College is a contract within the 
meaning of that clause of the Constitution 
which prohibits the states from passing any law- 
impairing the obligation of contracts.” This 
decision was handed down by Chief Justice 
Marshall. The plaintiffs were represented by 
Daniel Webster. . 

DARWINISM, a term used to designate the 
views advocated by Charles R. Darwin, relating 
to the origin of species of plants and animals. 
The view that all things are susceptible to 
change by cultivation was held by a vast ma¬ 
jority of naturalists before the publications of 
Darwin became known. It had been demon¬ 
strated that hybrids might originate from vari¬ 
ous species, but writers deemed the hybrids 
sterile and regarded any further change impos¬ 
sible. The views of Darwin were held by Al¬ 
fred Russel Wallace and were foreshadowed by 
Aristotle. The theory of transmutation of spe¬ 
cies stands in direct opposition to the belief 
that each species was originally created as a 
separate type. It '•embraces the proposition 
that in every plant or animal exists a certain 
amount of variability. The offspring differ in 
some respects from each other and from the 
parent stock, this becoming aggravated by cli¬ 
matic conditions and environments through long 
periods of time, as is noticed by the domestica¬ 
tion of animals. There is a tendency on the part 
of each animal and plant to multiply at a geo¬ 
metrical ratio, and, if a single one were not 
checked, it would in the course of ages fill the 
earth. On account of this there is a severe 
struggle for existence, in which all forms of 
life engage against other forms, and especially 
against their own kind. 

According to this view, the types best adapted 
for the struggle of life survive, while others die 
by suppression and defeat. Those which en¬ 
dure are said to do so from natural selection. 
As the offspring of each class of animals and 


plants resemble the parent stock in most re¬ 
spects, the less improved forms ultimately be¬ 
come exterminated, and each family is contin¬ 
ued by the representative individual which it 
embraces. The result of this, and of sexual 
preference, leads to an endless progression by 
which evolve higher species, genera, families, 
orders, classes, and even subkingdoms. The 
theory may be illustrated by the claim that 
neither a horse nor an ox existed at a remote 
time in the past, but there was an animal that 
had the characteristics common to both. The 
various changes gave rise to specialized forms, 
until finally the horse came forth from an an¬ 
cestor not so specialized as itself, and the ox 
from another. The theory, more briefly stated, 
is that the “Creator may have breathed life into 
one or more forms of life, from which the 
others originated.” 

DASYURE (das'i-ur), the common name of 
a genus- of marsupial animals native to Aus¬ 
tralia and Tasmania. . They are allied to the 
opossums. Most species are spotted and have 
bushy tails. The dasyure of Tasmania is light 
brown or whitish beneath, gray and whitish 
above, and about two feet long. It lives in 
burrows, feeds on insects and flesh, and is par¬ 
ticularly fond of poultry. Several species of 
Australia resemble the cat and are quite strong 
and fierce. Fossil remains of the dasyure are 
found in many sections of South America. 

DATE, the common name of the fruit borne 
by a number of species of trees which belong 
to the genus Phoenix dactylifera. The tree 
itself is known as the date tree or date palm. 
It is the palm tree mentioned by classic writers 
and in the Scriptures. Its nativity is in India, 
Southwestern Asia, and Northern Africa, where 
it still flourishes, serving a useful purpose in 
the domestic and commercial life of the inhabi¬ 
tants. The trees have a straight stem, from 
twenty-five to sixty feet in height, and are of 
nearly the same thickness throughout the entire 
length. Date palms are divided into male and 
female, the former usually numbering about one 
in twenty-five when found in palm groves. The 
pistillate trees bear from 150 to 200 dates. In 
the larger species the bunches of dates weigh 
from twenty to twenty-five pounds, hanging 
below the leaves, at the top of the tree. The 
Arabs are among the most extensive producers, 
propagating them from suckers. In the eighth 
year they begin to bear. They reach maturity 
at about twenty-five and decline after growing 
fully a hundred years. 

The fruit of the date tree is eaten fresh or 
is preserved by drying. Large cakes are made 
of dates by pounding and kneading them to- 



DATE 


616 


DAVENPORT 


gether, and these form the principal food of the 
Arabian caravans that traverse the deserts. 
Some species are used in the manufacture of 
wine and a sort of vinegar. The date stones 
or seeds are ground and fed to camels, or are 
used as a substitute for coffee. A valuable oil 



DATE. 


A, Male flower cluster; B, male flower; C, female flower 
cluster; D, female flower; B, fruit; F, single date. 

is obtained from the seeds, while in some coun¬ 
tries they are used in making ornaments and 
charms. Baskets, bags, and pouches are made 
from the leaves, while the fibers found near the 
bottom of the tree are used for making ropes, 
and the wood is valuable for fencing and build¬ 
ing purposes. The fruit of several species na¬ 
tive to Asia is used in the manufacture of 
toddy, which forms a pleasant drink. The date 


palm, next to the cocoanut tree, is the most 
interesting and useful of the palms. ' 

DATE PLUM, the name of several species 
of trees of the ebony family, usually large, 
thick-leaved, and hard-wooded. The low- 
growing date plum tree of Europe produces a 
small fruit. It is native to the southern por¬ 
tion of that continent. The American persim¬ 
mon or date plum attains a height of from forty 
to sixty feet. Its fruit is about an inch in diam¬ 
eter, nearly round, very hard, and eatable 
after being frosted. The date plum of China is 
cultivated for its fruit, which resembles a small' 
apple in size, and is useful in making preserves. 

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION, a woman’s society of the de¬ 
scendants of the soldiers and sailors of the 
Revolution, organized at Washington, D. C., on 
Oct. 11, 1890. The purpose is to perpetuate 
the memory of those who fought upon the 
American side in the War of Independence, to 
promote the erection of monuments, and to en¬ 
courage the collection of .relics. A site was 
purchased in Washington, D. C., in 1902 for the 
purpose of erecting in that city a memorial hall. 
The society has about 700 local chapters and a 
total membership of 40,000, and is represented in 
nearly all states of the United States. A num¬ 
ber of chapters are maintained in Canada, the 
Hawaiian Islands, and Europe. 

DAUPHIN (da'fm), the eldest son of a 
French king, prior to the revolution of 1830. 
The title was originally held by the lords of 
Viennois, whose province was called Dauphine. 
It was first assumed about the middle of the 
ninth century. The last lord ceded the province 
to the French king in 1349, on the condition 
that the title should be forever borne by the 
heir apparent. The wife of a dauphin was 
called a dauphine or dauphiness. 

DAVENPORT (dav'en-port), a city in 
Iowa, county seat of Scott County, on the Mis¬ 
sissippi River and oij the Chicago, Burlington 
and Quincy, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pa¬ 
cific, the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul, 
and other railroads. Across the Mississippi is 
Rock Island, Ill., with which it is connected by 
a number of bridges. The public buildings in¬ 
clude the county courthouse, a Federal building, 
the city hall, the public librany, Mercy and Saint 
Luke’s hospitals, Saint Ambrose College, the 
Masonic Temple, and Griswold College, a 
Protestant Episcopal ^institution founded in 
1859. It has a number of fine public schools 
and churches, a State orphan home, and many 
substantial residences. Rock Island, opposite 
the city, is a beautiful island several miles long. 
It is owned by the United States government, 





















DAVIS STRAIT 


617 


DAYTON 


and is the seat of an arsenal and of military 
headquarters. 

Davenport is important as a commercial cen¬ 
ter. It has regular steamship communication 
with ports on the Ohio and the Gulf. Among 
the manufactures are clothing, furniture, flour, 
railroad cars, farming implements, buttons, pot¬ 
tery, and woolen goods. It has large interests 
in shipping grain and in slaughtering. The 
streets are generally well improved by grading 
and paving. Among the public utilities are 
waterworks, sewerage, electric lighting, and elec¬ 
tric street and interurban railways. It was 
settled in 1854 and named after Colonel Geo. 
Davenport. In 1838 it was incorporated as a 
town and in 1851 as a city. Population, 1905, 
39,797; in 1910, 43,028. 

DAVIS STRAIT, the portion of the sea 
which separates Baffin Land from Greenland 
and connects Baffin Bay with the Atlantic Ocean. 
The width is from 180 to 500 .miles. It is val¬ 
ued for its whale fisheries. An Arctic current 
flows southward through this strait and passes 
along the Atlantic coast of America. It is 
thought to be the Ginnunga Gap spoken of in 
the Norse Sagas. 

DAWSON (da'sun), a river port of Canada, 
capital of Yukon, on the Yukon River. It is 
■finely situated at the confluence of the Klondike 
and Yukon rivers, about 330 miles northwest of 
Skagway, on an elevation 1,450 feet above the 
sea. The surrounding country is a gold-mining 
region. Its importance dates from 1896, when 
gold was discovered on Bonanza Creek. The 
chief buildings include a number of schools and 
churches, several theaters, a public library, and 
the buildings occupied by government officials. 
It is connected with the coast by telegraph lines 
and has local telephone service. Transporta¬ 
tion is chiefly by steamers on the lower and 
upper Yukon. It was so named from George 
Mercer Dawson, a noted geologist of Canada. 
Population, 1901, 9,142. 

DAY, the term employed originally to dis¬ 
tinguish the time of daylight from the space of 
night or darkness, but now used more frequently 
to denote the complete alternation of light and 
darkness caused by an entire rotation of the 
earth upon its axis. Only one-half of the earth 
can be in the light of the sun at once, owing to 
its being a sphere. Night is merely the shadow 
of the earth, the two, day and night, covering 
equal portions of the earth’s surface, and to¬ 
gether constituting twenty-four hours. The 
alternations of light and darkness are caused by 
the rotation of the earth upon its axis, and, on 
account of it, the several portions of the sur¬ 
face have each a proportional share of light and 


darkness. The length of each varies at differ¬ 
ent seasons of the year, owing to the continual 
parallelism of the axis of the earth to any for¬ 
mer position. The fact that different portions 
of the earth’s surface are being turned consecu¬ 
tively toward the sun constitutes the cause of 
both the change of seasons and the variations 
of the length of day and night. 

A solar day is measured from the sun’s com¬ 
ing to the meridian and again returning to it. 
Owing to the revolution of the earth around the 
sun, the solar day varies in length. It is about 
four minutes longer than the sidereal day. The 
latter is measured by the time of a star’s coming 
to the meridian and returning to it on the im¬ 
mediate subsequent night. The mean solar day 
is twenty-four hours, and the mean sidereal day 
is twenty-three hours, fifty-six minutes and 
4.098 seconds. This difference is due to the 
sun’s apparent movement at a slow rate to the 
east through the stars, by which they reach the 
meridian in a shorter time than the sun does, if 
estimated by sun time. The interval. existing 
between two successive transits of the sun across 
the meridian is called an apparent day, while the 
astronomical day is a day beginning, since Jan¬ 
uary, 1885, at noon and extending to the next. 
It is divided into twenty-four hours, not into 
two periods of twelve hours each. The day at 
the Equator is always twelve hours, while the 
longest day at the poles is six months. On the 
21st of March and the 21st of September the 
days and nights are equal in all parts of the 
earth. 

In different countries the day is counted to 
begin at different times. The Jews began the 
day at sunset and the Babylonians at sunrise ; 
while the Egyptians and Romans counted from 
midnight, which is the basis used by most mod¬ 
ern peoples. The Latin post meridiem, meaning 
afternoon, is abbreviated by writing p. m. ; and 
ante meridiem (forenoon), by writing a. m. 
These are necessary on account of dividing the 
common clock time, or day, into two portions 
of .twelve hours each. 

DAY LILY, a genus of plants belonging 
to the lily family, native to Europe and Asia. 
Several species are cultivated in the flower 
gardens of America, especially the fragrant yel¬ 
low day lily. These plants include many species 
that are noted for the variegated colors of their 
flowers. The leaves are long and grow from 
the ground and the stem is branching. In some 
parts of Europe the day lily is cultivated to fur¬ 
nish food for cattle. 

DAYTON (da'tun), a city of Kentucky, in 
Campbell County, on the Ohio River, opposite 
Cincinnati. It is on the Chesapeake and Ohio 


DAYTON 


618 


DEAD LETTER 


Railroad. The noteworthy features include the 
city hall, the high school, and the Speers Me¬ 
morial Hospital. Among the manufactures are 
cigars, machinery, cordage, shoes, and spiritu¬ 
ous beverages. It was settled in 1849 and was 
incorporated the same year as Jamestown, but 
the name was changed to Dayton in 1893. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1900, 6,104. 

DAYTON, a city of Ohio, county seat of 
Montgomery County, sixty miles northeast of 
Cincinnati. It is on the Pennsylvania, the Erie, 
the Big Four, the Dayton, Lebanon and Cincin¬ 
nati, and other railroads, and on the Miami and 
Erie Canal, which connects Lake Erie with the 
Ohio River. The city is divided by the Great 
Miami River, which is joined here by the Mad 
River. It is beautifully platted with wide 
streets, has extensive urban and interurban elec¬ 
tric .railways, and in the vicinity are numerous 
macadamized highways. Many of the streets 
are paved substantially with asphalt and stone. 
Twelve bridges span the river, a number of 
which are constructed of concrete. The city has 
fine systems of waterworks and sewers. 

The business section is located near the river, 
whence the ground rises to heights of from 200 
to 300 feet,-and the residence sections are chiefly 
on these more elevated parts. The notable 
buildings include the courthouse, the Union Pas¬ 
senger station, the Steele High School, the 
Y. M. C. A. building, the Dayton State Hos¬ 
pital, and a large number of fine business 
blocks, the last mentioned including the Arcade 
and the Conover. Among the educational and 
charitable institutions are the United Brethren 
Theological Seminary, the Academy of Notre 
Dame, the Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital, and a 
number of manual training and commercial 
schools. The public library is located in the 
center of the city, in Library Park. Near the 
city is the National Military Home for disabled 
soldiers of the Civil War, which occupies a 
beautiful tract of 640 acres.. Dayton is the 
seat of the State asylum for the insane and the 
county orphan asylum. It has a handsome* sol¬ 
diers’ monument and numerous fine boulevards. 

The city takes high rank as a manufacturing 
and wholesaling center. Among the chief man¬ 
ufactures are railway cars, flour, bicycles, elec¬ 
trical machinery, automobiles, steam pumps, 
cash registers, stoves and hardware, cotton and 
woolen goods, and agricultural implements. In 
the vicinity are extensive limestone and marble 
quarries. The first settlement was made on its 
site in 1796, after a tract of land had been pur¬ 
chased from the Indians by a company which in¬ 
cluded Jonathan Dayton, from whom the city 
received its name. In 1805 it was incorporated 


as a town. It received its charter as a city in 
1841 and since then has had a- prosperous 
growth. It was visited by an epidemic of chol¬ 
era in 1849 and was several times damaged by 
floods. Population, 1900, 85,333; 1910, 116,577. 

DEACONESS (de'k’n-es), name cf an or¬ 
der maintained among the women in the Chris¬ 
tian churches. An order of deaconesses is men¬ 
tioned in the New Testament, in I. Tim. v., 
9-10 and Rom. xvi., 1. It appears that this 
order was established in Apostolic times, when 
the deaconesses assisted in the work among 
members of their own sex and to some extent 
supplemented that of the deacons. In the early 
centuries it was connected with the Roman Cath¬ 
olic Church, but was abolished in the twelfth 
century. Theodor Fliedner, a pastor of the 
United Evangelical Church of Germany, 
founded a home for deaconesses in 1836, in 
which it was made the duty of the inmates to 
do charitable work. Since then many similar 
homes were established in Germany and other 
parts of Europe, such as the various sisterhoods 
in the Anglican Church of England. 

Among the first order of deaconesses estab¬ 
lished in America is that of Saint Andrew’s 
Parish, Baltimore, Md., under the auspices of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1855. The 
order is recognized by the Lutheran Church in 
America, which erected the Drexel Home for 
Deaconesses at Philadelphia, Pa., in 1888. In 
the same year the order was established by the 
general conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. It is sanctioned by the Presbyterian 
and other Protestant churches, and many homes 
are maintained both in Canada and the United 
States. The work of the deaconesses in the 
different churches is quite similar. As a whole 
the order may be said to constitute an inde¬ 
pendent society of charitable women, including 
many trained nurses, who do a noble work in 
relieving suffering and in spreading Christian¬ 
ity. 

DEAD LETTER, a letter that lies at a post 
office unclaimed for a certain period, or one 
so defective in address that it cannot be deliv¬ 
ered. The postal departments of Canada and 
the United States maintain dead-letter offices, 
in their seats of government, where all un¬ 
claimed letters are sent, including those that 
do not show the address, or are unstamped. 
These letters are opened at the dead-letter office, 
and, if the address of the writer is found, they 
are returned to the sender; otherwise, they are 
destroyed. Not less than 8,000,000 pieces of 
mail matter that find their way annually to the 
dead-letter office of the Unijted States, of which 
about 4,000 do not contain the addresses of the 


DEAD SEA 


619 


DEAF-MUTES 


senders. The money and drafts found in let¬ 
ters are returned to those by whom the letters 
\yere mailed, if their names and addresses are 
known, while many periodicals, magazines, and 
picture cards are sent to various hospitals and 
libraries. 

DEAD SEA, a remarkable lake in the south¬ 
ern portion of Palestine, in the pashalic of 
Damascus. In the Scriptures it is called the Sea 
of the Plains, Salt Sea, and East Sea, and is 
thought to be the site of the ancient Sodom and 
Gomorrah. It is located about twenty miles 
southeast of Jerusalem and ten miles south 
of Jericho, where it stretches north and south 
a distance of forty-five miles, and has a width 
of. ten miles. It receives the waters of the 
Jordan and numerous other rivers, though its 
surface, owing to the arid climate, is 1,317 feet 
below the level of the Mediterranean. It is 
bordered by lofty cliffs of limestone along its 
eastern and western shores, while its northern 
and southern extremities are marked by low 
and dismal marshes. Violent earthquakes that 
occurred in periods far remote are evidenced 
by lava and volcanic deposits. Thermal and 
sulphur springs, pumice stone, rock salt, and 
other phenomena abound. 

The water of the Dead Dea is remarkable 
for the quantity of its saline ingredients. In 
every hundred pounds of its water there are 
over twenty-six pounds of saline substances, 
more than one-fourth. It is nauseous to the 
taste and smell, and so buoyant that the human 
body floats upon its surface. The maximum 
depth in the central portions is 1,315 feet, while 
the southern lagoon is twelve feet deep in the 
middle, and at the edges not more than three 
feet. Geologists hav.e advanced the theory that 
the inflowing waters carry sufficient saline mat¬ 
ter to transform the lake into solid saline depos¬ 
its within a considerable period of time, unless 
present conditions become greatly modified by 
climatic or volcanic changes. The saline density 
increases as the arid atmosphere carries off in¬ 
flowing moisture by means of evaporation. 

DEADWOOD, county seat of Lawrence 
County, South Dakota, in the Black Hills, on 
the Chicago and Northwestern and the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy railroads. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a mining region which produces 
gold, silver, tin, lead, and clays. The chief 
buildings include the high school, the Franklin 
Hotel, and the Masonic Temple. Among the 
industries are flouring mills, brick and lime 
works, smelters and reduction works, and ma¬ 
chine shops. It has waterworks, electric lights, 
macadamized streets, and telephone connections. 
Deadwood was settled in 1876 and owes its 


growth largely to the development of its mining 
interests. Population, 1905, 4,364. 

DEAF-MUTES (def'-muts), the persons 
who are deprived of both hearing and speech, 
the dumbness resulting principally from deaf¬ 
ness existing either at birth or in very early 
childhood. Dumbness results in this way be¬ 
cause deaf children, being deprived of the sense 
of hearing, are unable to imitate sounds. Imi¬ 
tation being the basis of learning to utter regu¬ 
lar sounds, deafness in early life, therefore, is 
the most prolific cause of dumbness. The per 
cent, of deafness varies .somewhat in the dif¬ 
ferent nations and stages of social and intel¬ 
lectual development, but usually rates one 
affected individual to every 1,500 to 1,800, the 
mean being about the usual average. Among 
the most prolific causes are local or climatic 
conditions, ill health of the mother, scrofula, 
and the heredity of certain physical defects. It 
is certain that deafness is not communicated 
by heredity, since what is transmitted is but 
the tendency to such disease, or some anomaly 
of the auditory organs or of the nervous sys¬ 
tem, of which deafness is the result or symp¬ 
tom. 

Investigations made by the government indi¬ 
cate that about nine per cent, of the children 
born of deaf and dumb parents, or of whom 
one is thus affected, inherit tendencies to deaf¬ 
ness. This is in accord with the law of heredity, 
that the offspring tends to revert to the normal 
type. Deafness is frequently acquired in old 
age and through such diseases as measles, 
paralysis, typhus, smallpox, and other cerebral 
affections, and particularly through violent at¬ 
tacks of scarlet fever, by which the patient 
suffers from an inflammatory state of the 
throat, which extends to the internal ear and 
more or less suppurates and destroys the deli¬ 
cate portions of the auditory organs. No defect 
is visible in most deaf-mutes, and no applica¬ 
tion has yet been discovered to render cure pos¬ 
sible. Deaf-mutes are obliged to observe and 
imitate the expressions and actions which attend 
various states of the mind, by means of which 
they communicate their feelings and desires to 
others. This has resulted in the development 
of the sign language, through whose agency 
deaf-mutes have learned to acquire considerable 
advancement in educational arts. 

Among the early discoverers of the principles 
underlying the teaching of deaf-mutes is Jerome 
Cardan (1501-1576), an Italian physician, who 
published a treatise on the association of writing 
with speech, and speech with thought, pointing 
out the fact that written characters and thought 
can be associated without the intervention of 


DEARBORN 


620 


DEBT 


vocalized sound. The practical instruction of 
deaf-mutes was demonstrated in France in 1743 
before the Academy of Sciences, which institu¬ 
tion attested the methods employed by Jacob R. 
Pereira (1715-1780), a Spanish teacher. In the 
United States there are ninety schools, includ¬ 
ing both public and private, for deaf-mutes. 
They are attended by more than 10,000 students. 
Nearly all the states have institutions sup¬ 
ported by public appropriations for the instruc¬ 
tion of deaf-mutes. A national college is located 
at Washington, and is under the immediate di¬ 
rection of the United 'States. Conventions and 
institutes of deaf-mutes have been held in the 
United States for more than fifty years, while 
the American Annals of the Deaf and Dumb 
has been published since 1847. The method 
employed makes use of the manual alphabet, 
combining it with observations of the lips of the 
teacher. There are two alphabets—a one-handed 
alphabet and a two-handed. 

The method of teaching by watching the lips 
during articulation was first advocated by Sam¬ 
uel Heinicke (1729-1790), an educator of Ger¬ 
many. It is known as the articulation and lip- 
reading method. A public institution based 
upon his theory of instruction was established 
in 1779 at Leipzig, Germany, and the institu¬ 
tions of Germany and Austria are still based 
upon this system. The pupil is taught to recog¬ 
nize words by observing the motion of the lips 
and tongue of the instructor, who also makes 
use of diagrams and pictures to facilitate the 
work. Persons trained by this method are effi¬ 
cient in carrying on a conversation with any one 
not taught in deaf-mute methods, and it is often 
quite difficult to see that the speaker is afflicted 
in any way. In this respect it is superior to the 
alphabet method, but, like the latter, it is used 
within sight of the person with whom the con¬ 
versation is conducted. The German method 
was adopted by the Clarke Institute at North¬ 
ampton, Mass., in 1867. In this system pupils 
are not instructed as early as in public schools, 
or in courses using the alphabet method. How¬ 
ever, it is quite certain that the articulation and 
lip-reading method is the superior, and is either 
used or largely combined with the other method 
in nearly all the schools for deaf-mutes. 

DEARBORN, Fort, a fortress built in 1803 
at the mouth of the Chicago River, near Lake 
Michigan, on the site of Chicago. Its purpose 
was to form a defense against the Indians. 
When war was declared against England in 
1812, General Hull, the commander, ordered its 
abandonment and the withdrawal of the garrison 
to Detroit as a measure of safety. The Ameri¬ 
cans were attacked by Indians while retreating 


and two-thirds were massacred, including twelve 
children. The remainder surrendered on prom¬ 
ise of safety and were permitted to return to 
their homes, -after being taken to Fort Mack¬ 
inaw. In 1816 Fort Dearborn was rebuilt and 
was garrisoned till 1837. The last building was 
destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871. 

DEATH (deth), the extinction of life in 
animals and plants, resulting from a cessation 
of the vital functions. It sometimes occurs 
from decay of nature, as in old age, but more 
commonly from disease and accident. The two 
forms consist of death of the whole body, and 
death of a portion, or the somatic and the inter¬ 
stitial. There are three principal modes of dy¬ 
ing—those that begin at the lungs, heart, and 
brain—and they are respectively designated as 
suffocation, syncope, and coma. Death by suf¬ 
focation begins at the lungs. In this form the 
functions of respiration are suspended, after 
which the heart ceases beating in about three 
minutes, though the pulse may be felt for some 
time after all other signs of life have vanished. 
When the action of the heart ceases from loss 
of blood, death results by syncope, or fainting. 
Death may likewise take place in this form by a 
decline of the aortic pressure of the heart, by 
a loss of nerve power, and by starvation. Death 
by coma begins at the brain. It is indicated by 
profound stupor and the breathing is accom¬ 
panied by snoring. Human life is of longest 
duration in individuals that have exercised the 
powers of the brain, generative system, and 
other vital organs in moderation, and is cur¬ 
tailed both by disuse and excess. Death ensues 
when all vitality and power of action is extinct. 
The claim that a dead body may possess all the 
organizations it had in life is not to be credited, 
since death is an entire cessation of all organiza¬ 
tion and vitality. 

DEBRECZEN (de'bre-tsen), a city of Hun¬ 
gary, capital of the county of Hajdu, 135 miles 
east of Budapest. It is located on a fertile 
plain, has railroad facilities, and is noted as a 
market for cattle and swine. The manufactures 
include soap, clay pipes, flour, sausages, and cot¬ 
ton and woolen goods. Among the buildings is 
the theater, a library, and the Rathaus. It is 
famous as the seat of a Protestant college 
founded in 1531, which has a library of 100,000 
volumes. Debreczen became a Protestant town 
in the seventeenth century and was occupied by 
a German army in 1849. Population, 1906, 
78,843. 

DEBT (det), an obligation, liability, or 
claim incurred. Debts are either personal, cor¬ 
porate, municipal, county, state, provincial, or 
national. It is a well-known characteristic of 


DECALOGUE 


621 


DECLARATION 


many individuals and the government to draw 
financial aid from the prospects of future devel¬ 
opment in commercial enterprises. The total 
indebtedness of the United States, of all inter¬ 
ests combined, though small when compared 
with that of other nations, is so vast that one is 
astounded when contemplating future payment. 
The possibility that individuals or states possess 
for going into debt is often a source of con¬ 
venience and advantage, in that by means of it 
enterprises are developed and the prosperity of 
a country is affected more or less favorably. 
The total national indebtedness of the nations 
has been increasing constantly. In 1793 it ag¬ 
gregated $2,433,250,000, while in 1900 it had 
reached the enormous sum of $31,201,759,000, an 
amount wholly incomprehensible. At the begin¬ 
ning of the Civil War, in 1861, the principal 
of the public debt in the United States was only 
$64,842,288, while the net receipts amounted to 
$55,000,000 per annum. The requirement of 
meeting the expense of the war increased the 
indebtedness until its greatest height . was 
reached on Aug. 1, 1865, being then $2,756,- 
431,571. 

The following is an abstract shoeing the in¬ 
debtedness of the principal countries as ascer¬ 
tained in the early-part of 1907: 


Name op Country. 

Total Hebt. 

Debt 

Per 

Capita. 

Austria-Hungary . 

$1,092,863,255 

$ 23.07 

Brazil.. t < * * 4 * • .. 

512,213,359 

37.83 

Canada . 

253,997,742 

39.44 


5,655,134,825 

143.90 


855,963,454 

14.21 


3.839,620,745 

88.33 


2.767,911,949 

82.37 


932,445,798 

19.43 


222,658,181 

16.32 


4,038,199,722 

1,829,265,995 

458.603,213 

28.64 

98.35 

.. 

18.39 

United States. 

964,435,687 

11.11 


DECALOGUE (dek'a-log)', the ten com¬ 
mandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. 
They are placed in the Bible before the collec¬ 
tion of laws called the Book of the Covenant, 
but are also found in Deut. v., 1-21. Christ 
summed them up in two commandments. 

DEC APOD A (de-kap'6-da), the highest or¬ 
der of crustaceans. The members of this order 
have five pairs of legs, the first pair being en¬ 
larged to form claws, as in the crawfish, lobster, 
shrimp, and prawn. The term is also applied to 
one of the classes of cuttlefish. They have 
eight arms and two tentacles, the latter being 
longer than the arms and serve to seize their 
prey, or to moor themselves safely in a stormy 

DECAPOLIS (de-cap o-lis), a word mean¬ 


ing ten cities, applied to a district of eastern 
Palestine prior to the second century a. d. The 
ten cities included in the district comprised 
Canatha, Damascus, Dion, Gadara, Garasa, Hip¬ 
pos, Pella, Philadelphia, Raphana, and Scythop- 
olis.. It is probable that these cities were built 
by the Romans in 64 b. c. after the conquest of 
Syria, and received grants of certain commercial 
privileges. 

DECATUR (de-ka'ter), a city in Illinois, 
county seat of Macon County, thirty-seven miles 
east of Springfield, on the Illinois Central, the 
Wabash, and other railroads. It occupies a fine 
site on the Sangamon River. The chief build¬ 
ings include the courthouse, the public library, 
and the Millikin University. The manufactures 
comprise flour, woolen goods, spirituous bev¬ 
erages, ironware, farm machinery, engines and 
boilers, linseed oil, and furniture. It has gas 
and electric lights, waterworks, pavements, and 
street railways. The surrounding country is 
agricultural. It was settled in 1830 and incor¬ 
porated in 1836. Population, 1910, 31,140. 

DECCAN (dek'kan), the name applied to a 
large scope of country in eastern India, par¬ 
ticularly to the portion lying between the Kist- 
na and Nerbudda rivers, but also in a general 
way to the whole country lying south of the 
Vindhya Mountains. When applied in the lat¬ 
ter sense, it includes the Madras presidency, 
Mysore, Hyderabad, part of Bombay, Travan- 
core, and other dependent states of India. 

DECEMBER (de-sem'ber). See Month. 

DECEMVIRI (de-sem'vi-rl), the term ap¬ 
plied to the ten men appointed to systematize 
and codify the public laws of Rome. With this 
end in view, a number of commissioners pro¬ 
ceeded to Greece to study the laws of Solon and 
other celebrated Greek legislators. On their 
return in 451 b. c v ten patricians secured an 
appointment to write the laws under the leader¬ 
ship of Appius Claudius. The laws were set 
on twelve tables of wood in the Forum, and 
became known as the Laws of the Twelve Ta¬ 
bles. This action on the part of Rome was due 
to the dissatisfaction of the plebians, because 
the patricians had no written law to direct them. 

DECLARATION (dek-la-ra'shun), the act 
of declaring, or making known, or publishing 
an avowal or affirmation. The most important 
declaration is the one issued by the American 
colonies, which see. A declaration of war is a 
formal notice that, by the practice of nations, 
belligerents are expected to give before hostili¬ 
ties begin. The Declaration of Rights is a doc¬ 
ument which was drawn by Parliament in 1689 
and presented to William III, and Mary, when 
they accepted the crown of England. In this 
























DECLARAT’N OF INDEP’DENCE 622 


DECORATION DAY 


document Parliament announced that the elec¬ 
tion of members of Parliament shall be free, 
that Englishmen have the right to carry arms 
for their own defense, that unusual punishments 
and excessive fines shall not be inflicted, that 
public revenues shall not be collected without 
the consent of Parliament, and that a standing 
army shall not be raised or maintained in times 
of peace. Subsequently the Bill of Rights, a 
formal enactment, contained these articles. The 
Declaration of Paris is an instrument signed by 
the congress of Paris in 1-856, which was subse¬ 
quently accepted by the principal powers. Among 
the declarations it contained these: Neutral 
goods, except contraband of war, are not liable 
to capture under an enemy’s flag; privateering 
should be abolished; the goods of an enemy, 
except contraband of war, may be covered by 
a neutral flag; and blockades must be effective 
in order to be binding. 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 
the solemn declaration that severed the thirteen 
colonies from Great Britain. At the beginning 
of the struggle a permanent separation was not 
contemplated. An independent government was 
so distasteful to the colonies, aside from New 
England, that Congress declared against it on 
July 6, 1775. Subsequent events and the publi¬ 
cation of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” set 
ablaze the spirit of 1776. The Legislature of 
Pennsylvania was so pleased with Paine’s pro¬ 
duction that it voted him a grant of $2,500. The 
Virginia convention instructed its delegates in 
May, 1776, to propose a resolution of independ¬ 
ence. Accordingly Richard Henry Lee offered 
such a resolution on June 7. The Colonial Con¬ 
gress on June 10 resolved to appoint a commit¬ 
tee to prepare a declaration “that the United 
Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and 
independent states.” The committee consisted 
of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin 
Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Liv¬ 
ingston. This committee reported a draft of 
the Declaration on June 28, and on July 2 the 
colonies were declared free and independent by 
resolution. 

The Declaration of Independence was form¬ 
ally passed July 4, 1776. It was written by 
Thomas Jefferson and only a few changes were 
made from the original draft. At that time 
Congress was in session at the State House in 
Philadelphia, known as Independence Hall. The 
old “Liberty Bell” rang out the glad tidings and 
the beating of drums and firing of cannon fol¬ 
lowed. John Hancock was the president of the 
Congress, and the Declaration of Independence 
was signed by him and the representatives from 
the different colonies. Charles Carroll (q. v.), 


of Maryland, was the last survivor of the 
signers. 

DECLINATION (dek-li-na'shun), in as¬ 
tronomy, the angular distance of a heavenly 
body from the celestial equator, measured along 
a great circle passing through the poles of the 
heavens and through the center of the body. 
That is to say, it is the angle which a line drawn 
from the center of the earth to the heavenly 
body makes with the plane of the Equator. The 
place of a star in the heavens is determined by 
its right ascension and declination, which corre¬ 
spond to the longitude and latitude of the earth’s 
surface. Circles of declination are great cir¬ 
cles which pass through the poles and cut the 
Equator at right angles. Twenty-four of these 
divide the Equator into arcs of 15° each, known 
as hour circles or hoary circles. Magnetic de¬ 
clination refers to the magnetic needle in the 
compass, and is the variation of the magnetic 
needle from the true meridian of a place on the 
earth’s surface. The variation may be either 
east • or west of a place, differs at different 
points, and is not the same at a given locality at 
different times. 

DECOMPOSITION (de-kom-po-zish'un), 
in chemistry, the separation of a compound into 
more simple substances. When the red oxide of 
mercury is heated, it undergoes decomposition 
and is resolved into mercury and oxygen. Water, 
when subjected to a current of voltaic elec¬ 
tricity, is decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen. 
Decomposition in vegetable and animal matters 
is due to minute animals or plants, known as 
bacteria and ferments. Many decompositions 
are effected by light, as those of nitric acid and 
of the silver salts used in photography. 

DECORATION DAY (dek-6-ra'shun), the 
day set apart in the United States for commem¬ 
orating by appropriate exercises the services of 
fallen soldiers and sailors. The practice origi¬ 
nated in the South before the war closed, and 
for a number of years was observed by individ¬ 
ual parties in the North. The widespread cus¬ 
tom owes its origin to an official order made by 
Gen. Logan in 1868, then commander of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. This order con¬ 
tained. the following: “The 30th of May, 1868, 
is designated for the purpose of strewing with 
flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of 
comrades who died in defense of their country 
during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now 
lie buried in almost every city, village, hamlet, 
and churchyard in the land. In this observance 
no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts 
and comrades will in their own way arrange 
such fitting services and testimonials of respect 
as circumstances will permit.” 


DECOY 


623 


DEER 


The day is usually called Decoration Day, 
though in some portions of the country the. 
term Memorial Day is used. Different days 
were observed by the various states for some 
years, but the 30th of May has been settled upon 
universally and is a legal holiday in most of the 
states of the Union. In the South it is com¬ 
memorated by decorating the graves of those 
who fought to preserve the Confederacy. Usu¬ 
ally the program includes processions, orations, 
and the floral decoration of the graves. The 
exercises observed on this day are among the 
most appropriate and beautiful connected with 
public events in the history of the United States, 
and have taken a deep hold upon the people. 

DECOY (de-koi'), a contrivance to entice 
wild game into a snare, or lure it to come within 
the range of a weapon. The decoys used differ 
according to the game to be secured. Success in 
the art of alluring depends to a considerable 
extent upon the close observation of animals 
and mechanical skill in constructing the con¬ 
trivances. Wild ducks are attracted by decoys 
which closely resemble the living animals. They 
are placed in the water near the shore in such 
a position that they appear to be swimming. In 
this way it is possible to allure the ducks to 
alight, bringing them within gun range of the 
concealed sportsmen. Other decoys of a simi¬ 
lar kind are used to allure geese, brants, and 
prairie chickens. 

DEDHAM (ded'am), county seat of Nor¬ 
folk County, Massachusetts, ten miles southwest 
of Boston, on the Charles River. It is on the 
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. 
Among the noteworthy features are the court¬ 
house, the public library, the town hall, the His¬ 
torical Society building, and several fine 
churches. The manufactures include pianos, 
brooms, cigars, woolen goods, and machinery. 
The first public school supported by a general 
tax in America was established at Dedham in 
1644. Population, 1905, 7,774; in 1910, 9,284. 

DEDUCTIVE METHOD (de-duk'tiv), 
the mode or process of teaching in which the 
student is taught to proceed from general truths 
to particular facts. It proceeds from rules and 
definitions to particular facts, instead of first 
investigating particular facts and then forming 
and applying rules. To illustrate, an explorer 
who begins at the mouth of a main stream and 
follows it to its source, then explores its tribu¬ 
taries from their mouths upward, employs the 
deductive method, which is the reverse of the 
inductive method. If the explorer were to use 
the latter, he would trace the various rivulets 
from their source to the common debouchure, 
or outlet. In the deductive method the student 


reaches the smaller through the greater, the 
special from the general; while in the inductive 
method the process is reversed, and the greater 
is reached through the less, the general through 
the special. Many branches of study are taught 
by the deductive method, as geometry, in which 
the theorems form general truths, and are 
proven by the demonstration of particular propo¬ 
sitions. In psychology we have attained to laws 
of high generality, hence it offers a wide scope 
for deduction. 

DEE, a river of England and Wales, rises 
in Lake Bala, Merionethshire, and flows by an 
estuary into the Irish Sea, about 20 miles below 
Chester. The chief tributaries are the Alwyn 
and Treveryn, and a canal seven miles long ex¬ 
tends from. Chester to the estuary. It is about 
85 miles long and is connected by canals with 
the rivers of central England. 

DEE, a river of Scotland, rises in the vicin¬ 
ity of Ben Macdhui, and flows into the ’North 
Sea at the harbor of Aberdeen. The Geauley 
is the principal tributary near its source, and 
farther in its course it receives the Lui and 
Feugh. Balmoral Castle is on its banks. It is 
about ninety miles long. Another river of Scot¬ 
land called Dee rises near the northern boundary 
of Kirkcudbrightshire, and after a course of 
about fifty miles flows into the Solway Firth. 
About seven miles of its lower course is naviga¬ 
ble. It is noted for its fine salmon fisheries. 

DEED, an instrument in writing, signed and 
delivered by the party bound to the donee or 
purchaser, conveying title to real estate. In 
some countries it is necessary that the deed be 
executed under seal, but in others the private 
seals have been abolished, hence a deed convey¬ 
ing land may or not have a seal, depending upon 
the state or country where it is executed. In 
most states it consists of an instrument in writ¬ 
ing that has been acknowledged by a notary 
public or other competent officer, who certifies 
to it under his seal or official signature. A 
warrantee deed is one in which the party con¬ 
veying title agrees to defend it against all claim¬ 
ants, while a quitclaim deed conveys only what 
title may be in the party making the deed. 
A deed of trust is similar to a mortgage, 
the title depending upon the payment of money 
from the seller to the purchaser. Instruments 
of this kind, to be valid in some states, must be 
witnessed by two persons. It is universally re¬ 
quired that the wife join the grantor, if he is 
married, in making the deed, and it must be k 
recorded in the office of the county recorder or 
register of deeds. 

DEER, a family of ruminant mammals, most 
species of which are distinguished by decidu- 


DEER 


624 


DEGREE 


ous branching horns or antlers. The horns are 
solid structures growing from the frontal bone, 
with many branches and tines, growing to an 
enormous size. They appear the second spring 
and are shed each year. In the reindeer both 
male and female bear horns, while in other spe¬ 
cies the female is hornless. The horns appear¬ 
ing first consist only of the beams. In the sec¬ 
ond year a basal branch appears, the following 
year a second branch, and in successive years 
a greater or smaller number of subdivisions 
grow from the tnain beam. Each year’s growth 
is at first covered with a sensitive skin or velvet, 
which later dries and peels off, and a bony ridge 
is formed on the antlers just above the base of 
attachment to the frontal bone. The water deer 



RED DEER OF EUROPE. 


of China and the musk deer have no horns. 
There are no deer in Australia and only a few 
species are found in Africa, though antelopes 
take their place, but they are widely distributed 
in many portions of the other continents and 
some of the islands. The smallest of the fam¬ 
ily include the Indian muntjacks, while the lar¬ 
gest are the moose or true elk. Among the spe¬ 
cies common to the colder latitudes are the 
reindeer, elk, caribou, and moose, while in the 
temperate and warmer regions are found the 
fallow deer, stag, roebuck, sambo deer, and 
muntjack. The red deer of Europe is a fine 
animal, of which the female is known as the 
hind and the male as the stag, the latter hav¬ 
ing large antlers. 

The deer family has sharp hoofs with a cleft 
between and the feet have two toes. In most 
species the ears are large and the hair is crisp 


and thick. They vary in color, though they 
are mostly brown with reddish tints and white 
spots. The senses of sight, hearing, and smell 
are highly developed, thus- enabling them to 
guard against their enemies. Swamps, plains, 
and forests are alike favorite haunts, though 
they are seen mostly on hills in the daytime, 
from which they can take a survey of a large 
scope and guard against danger. They are fleet 
of foot, moving with the speed of a race 
horse when danger confronts them. Their abil¬ 
ity to swim is highly developed, the swiftest 
canoe being alone able to overtake them. The 
young are born in the spring and kept in a se¬ 
cluded place, which is visited only at odd times 
in the day by the mother, though it is made her 
exclusive haunt at night. The food consists 
of grasses during the warmer season, and of 
bark, tufts of dried grass, and rushes during 
the winter. While deer are easily tamed, the 
reindeer is the only one of the group that has 
been completely domesticated. 

DEER MOUSE, or Jumping Mouse, a class 
of small mice that resemble the deer in color 
and in being active. They are about four inches 
long and have a tail somewhat longer than the 
body, and the hind legs exceed in length the 
fore legs. The deer mouse of Canada is a rep¬ 
resentative species. It is able to jump ten feet 
at a bound. Other species are distributed in 
various parts of Mexico and the United States, 
and all are rodents that show close resemblance 
to the jerboas. 

DEFIANCE (de-fl'ans), county seat of De¬ 
fiance County, Ohio, fifty miles southwest of 
Toledo, at the junction of the Tiffin and Mau¬ 
mee rivers. It is on the Wabash and Erie 
Canal and on the Wabash and the Baltimore 
and Ohio railroads. The surrounding country 
is rich in agriculture. Among the chief build¬ 
ings are the courthouse, the public library, and 
Defiance College. The industries include wagon 
works, woolen mills, machine shops, and cigar 
factories. It has systems of public lighting, 
waterworks, and street paving. Population, 
1900, 7,579. 

DEGREE (de-gre'), in mathematics, the 
360th part of the circumference of a circle. The 
circumference of every circle is supposed to be 
divided into 360 equal parts, each being called a 
degree. A degree is divided into sixty minutes, 
and a minute into sixty seconds. The signs 
respectively are °, ', ". They are written to 
denote values in this wise: 48° 16' 12", mean¬ 
ing forty-eight degrees'sixteen minutes and 
twelve seconds. It is said that an angle contains 
as many degrees or parts of a degree as there 
are in the arc subtended by an angle at the cen- 






DEGREE 

ter of a circle. We speak of a star as located a 
given number of degrees above the horizon, or 
declined a given number of degrees Jrom the 
Equator. Likewise geographical points are lo¬ 
cated at certain degrees of latitude or longi¬ 
tude. 

A degree of latitude is the 360th part of the 
earth’s circumference, north or south of the 
Equator, while a degree of longitude is the 
360th part of the earth’s circumference measured 
east or west of a fixed meridian. Since the 
length of a degree depends upon the magnitude 
of the circumference of a circle, it is evident 
that the length of the degrees of longitude is 
greatest at the Equator and diminishes grad¬ 
ually as we proceed toward the poles, at which 
a degree equals 0. A degree of longitude at 
the Equator contains sixty geopraphical or 
sixty-nine and one-sixth statute miles. Since 
the earth is flattened at the poles, the de¬ 
grees of latitude increase slightly as the poles 
are approached. The term is also applied to a 
unit of difference in temperature, called a de¬ 
gree of Fahrenheit, when the difference between 
the-freezing point and the boiling point of water 
is divided into 180 parts; Centigrade, when it 
is divided into one hundred parts; and Reau¬ 
mur, when it is divided into eighty parts. 

DEGREE, a mark of distinction conferred 
by colleges and universities on students and 
others as a testimony of scholarship in the arts 
or sciences. It is ordinary, when conferred upon 
students, and honorary, when conferred upon 
members or distinguished strangers as a mark 
of respect. The value and designation of de¬ 
grees depend upon the branches covered by 
college and university courses, though they in¬ 
clude mostly the degrees of bachelor, master, 
and doctor in the branches of medicine, law, 
divinity, music, sciences, and arts. 

DEHORNING (de-horn'ing), the practice 
of preventing the growth or removing the horns 
of cattle. It came into vogue in Europe about 
the middle of the nineteenth century, and is 
now practiced very extensively in Canada and 
the United States. Formerly it was held to be 
cruelty to animals, but actual experience has 
demonstrated that dehorning is beneficial to 
cattle, largely for the reason that it renders 
them more gentle and docile, hence they feed 
and may be housed to better advantage. How¬ 
ever, the horns should be removed when the 
weather is mild and at a season of the year 
when flies are not troublesome. Dehorning is 
done by placing the animal in a substantial stall, 
in which its head is held firmly in place, and 
the horns are cut off near the base with a sharp 
saw. A better way is to prevent the growth of 

40 


525 DELAWARE 

horns as soon as the horn button is beginning 
to develop on the head of the calf, when about 
four or five days old, and this may be done by 
applying caustic potash. It requires only a 
tew minutes to make the application, after which 

a T C 0 ,™ 5 ’ but this faIls off in ab °ut a month, 
and the horns never grow on the smooth poll 
that remains. 

DEISM (de'iz’m), the tenets or doctrines of 
a deist This system of belief admits the being 
of a God and acknowledges a number of his 
perfections, but does not hold to the existence 
and necessity of a divine revelation. 

D n, KALB ( de ' kalb '), a city in Dekalb Coun¬ 
ty, Illinois, in the northern part of the State, 
about fifty-eight miles west of Chicago. It is 
on the Chicago Great Western and the Chicago 
and Northwestern railroads. The chief build¬ 
ings include the city hall, the public high school, 
and the Northern Illinois Normal School. 
Among the manufactures are ironware, furni¬ 
ture, machinery, clothing, shoes, and farming 
implements. It was settled in 1838 and incor¬ 
porated in 1877. Population, 1900, 5,904. 

DELAGOA BAY (del-a-go'a), an indenta¬ 
tion extending from the Indian Ocean into the 
coast of Southeastern Africa. It is about forty 
miles long and from sixteen to twenty miles 
wide. The Crocodile, Maputa, and other rivers 
flow into it. At the northern end is the town 
of Lourenso Marques, one of the chief ports of 
South Africa. This port is of special impor¬ 
tance because it is only 52 miles from the 
Transvaal and about 350 from Pretoria, with 
which it is connected by railroads. Delagoa Bay 
is immediately south of Portuguese South Af¬ 
rica and is under the control of Portugal. The 
bay is available for vessels of large tonnage, 
though there are a number of flats and shoals, 
making navigation quite intricate. In the war 
between England and the South African repub¬ 
lics the bay was a neutral district, and the only 
one by which the two republics had access to 
.commerce not passing over British territory. 

DELAWARE (del'a-war), a State of the 
United States, one of the thirteen original states, 
popularly called the Diamond State. Next to 
Rhode Island it is the smallest State in the 
Union. It is bounded on the north by Pennsyl¬ 
vania, east by the Delaware River, Delaware 
Bay, and the Atlantic, which separate it from 
New Jersey, and south and west by Maryland. 
The greatest length from north to south is 
95 ^miles; greatest width, 35 miles; and area, 
2,050 square miles. It has a water surface of 
90 square miles. Cape Henlopen, opposite Cape 
May, N. J., projects into Delaware Bay. 
Description. The larger part of the State is 






DELAWARE 


626 


DELAWARE 


located in the Atlantic coastal plain and has an 
elevation of about 50 feet above sea level, but 
in the extreme north is a small hilly section. 
The elevations are not more than 280 feet above 
the sea and are highest near the boundary of 
Pennsylvania. Much of the southeastern part 
is characterized by sandy ridges and the region 



near Delaware Bay contains a number of exten¬ 
sive marshes. Cypress Swamp, in the extreme 
southern part, has an area of about 75 square 
miles. 

A number of small rivers supply the interior 
drainage, most of which flow into Delaware 
River and Delaware Bay, and several flow to¬ 
ward the southwest into Chesapeake Bay. The 
soil is generally fertile, with forests in the 
northern and western parts. It has a temperate 
climate, with ample rainfall and healthful con¬ 
ditions throughout the year. In the extreme 
south the average annual temperature is about 
56° and in the northern part it is about 52°. 
The lowest winter temperature is about 17° 
below zero, though this is rare, and the highest 
in summer ranges from 90° to 103°. The earli¬ 
est frosts in autumn occur from the 10th to the 


15th of October and plants begin to grow the 
early part of April. A slightly larger rainfall 
occurs on the coast than in the section inland, 
but the average for the State ranges between 
42 and 48 inches. 

Minerals. Situated entirely within the At¬ 
lantic coastal plain, the State is underlain by 
rocks of recent geological formation. Kaolin 
and a good quality of clay are found in the 
vicinity of Wilmington, where they are quar¬ 
ried for use in manufacturing. In the vicinity 
of that city are deposits of granite and some 
feldspar. A good class of glass sand is widely 
distributed, and marls and bog iron ore deposits 
occur in many places. The output of granite is 
the most important. 

Agriculture. Nearly 75 per cent, of the sur¬ 
face is utilized in farms and agriculture ranks 
as the leading industry. Most of the farms are 
small, ranging from 50 to 75 acres in extent, 
and comparatively few have more than 160 
acres. The soil is tilled with much care and 
fertilizers are used very extensively. Corn 
and wheat are the chief cereals and hay takes 
third rank in the acreage. Stock raising is,a 
secondary industry, but considerable attention 
is given to the rearing of horses and to dairy 
farming. Many large orchards are cultivated, 
the chief products being apples, peaches, and 
many varieties of small fruits. Vegetables are 
grown extensively for the* Philadelphia and 
New York markets. The soil and climate are 
especially adapted to the cultivation of tomatoes, 
and about 15,000 acres are planted in that prod¬ 
uct annually. 

Manufacturing. The location of Delaware 
gives it good opportunities in the manufacturing 
industry, especially in that it has extensive 
transportation facilities and is located near large 
markets. Iron and steel products comprise the 
leading manufactures. The leather industry 
takes rank as the third in the value of the total 
output. Canning is an important enterprise, both 
in fruits and vegetables. Other manufactures 
embrace machinery, railway cars, sailing vessels, 
cotton and woolen goods, carriages and wagons, 
and clothing. The oyster and sturgeon fisheries 
yield large returns, much of the product being 
canned and cured for export. A small output 
of wood is obtained for manufacturing in the 
swampy districts, especially cypress. 

Transportation. The northern part of the 
State is crossed from northeast to southwest by 
two trunk railways, the Pennsylvania and the 
Baltimore and Ohio, and all parts of the State 
have convenient railway facilities. The lines 
in operation aggregate about 400 miles. They 
include the Philadelphia and Reading, the Queen 





DELAWARE 


627 


DELAWARE BAY 


Anne, and the Baltimore and Delaware rail¬ 
roads. Electric railways are operated to a con¬ 
siderable extent and a canal fourteen miles long 
connects the Delaware River with Chesapeake 
Bay. At Lewes, near Cape Henlopen, is an ex¬ 
tensive breakwater that cost about $2,225,000. 
Much of the foreign trade is with Baltimore and 
New York, though a small per cent, is carried 
through the port at Wilmington, which is a 
customs district. 

Government. The executive branch is vested 
in a Governor, who is elected for a term of four 
years, but is not eligible for a third term. A 
similar provision governs the election of the 
Lieutenant Governor, who presides over the 
Senate. Two houses constitute the legislative 
department, the Senate of 17 members and the 
House of Representatives with 35 members. 
Members of the Senate are chosen for four 
years and representatives for two years. Six 
judges constitute the judiciary, one of whom 
is chief justice and one is chancellor. All 
the judges are appointed by the Governor for 
a term of twelve years, subject to confirmation 
by the Senate. Delaware has one representa¬ 
tive in the Lower House of Congress, hence is 
entitled to three electoral votes. 

Inhabitants, The population is 94 to the 
square mile. All of the leading religious de¬ 
nominations are represented, including chiefly 
the Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, 
Protestant Episcopal, Roman Catholic and Lu¬ 
theran. Dover, the capital, is located in the 
central part of the State. Wilmington, the lar¬ 
gest city, is in the northern part, on the Dela¬ 
ware River. Smyrna, New Castle, and Lewes 
are among the business centers. In 1900 the 
State had a population of 184,735. This num¬ 
ber included a Negro population of 30,687, or 
16.6 per cent. Population, 1910, 202,322. 

Education. The system of public schools is 
based upon a plan adopted in 1875. 'Support is 
obtained from direct taxation levied locally and 
from certain fees and licenses. No normal 
schools are maintained by the State, but each 
county has a teachers’ institute. Separate schools 
are maintained for white and colored children. 
Delaware College, which is open to both sexes, 
is located at Newark. A college for colored 
students is maintained at Wilmington and an 
insane asylum at Farmhurst, and ample provi¬ 
sion has been made for the education of the 
deaf, dumb, and blind. 

History. Delaware was so named from Lord 
de la Warr, who explored Delaware Bay in 
1611. The history of the State is closely linked 
with the early settlement and development of 
America. A company of Dutch traders, in 1631, 


planted a colony near the^resent s jt e 0 f Lewes. 
In 1638 a number of Swedes and Finns made 
the first permanent settlement on the site of 
Wilmington, where they built Fort Christina. 
The Swedish claim was under a grant from 
Sweden. Peter Minuit, a Dutchman, was sent 
to purchase the land west of the Delaware River, 
situated between Cape Henlopen and Trenton 
Falls, from the Indians. The_ Dutch laid claims 
to a portion of this district and built Fort Cassi- 
mir, and in 1655 secured control of the entire 
Swedish possessions. 

Delaware, together with New York, passed 
intb the hands of England in 1664, and became 
vested in William Penn by purchase in 1682. 
In 1693 it was organized as a part of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, but was separated as a distinct colony in 
1711. It adopted a constitution as a separate 
State in 1776, supported the Declaration of In¬ 
dependence in the same year, and in 1787 was 
the first State to ratify the Federal Constitu¬ 
tion. Though holding slaves, it did not secede 
from the Union at the time of the Civil .War, 
but many of its citizens joined the Confederate 
army. The Legislature denounced the four¬ 
teenth amendment to the Constitution, and an ill 
feeling prevailed against the negroes for many 
years after the Civil War. In the development- 
of commerce and industrial enterprises it has 
made great strides of progress since 1865. 

DELAWARE, county seat of Delaware 
County, Ohio, 23 miles north of Columbus, on 
the Whitstone (Olentangy) River. It is on 
the Pennsylvania, the Hocking Valley, and the 
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and Saint Louis 
railroads. Among the chief buildings are the 
high school, the courthouse, the public library, 
and the Ohio Wesleyan University (Methodist). 
The manufactures embrace woolen goods, earth¬ 
enware, furniture, machinery, and vehicles. Gas 
and electric lights, waterworks, telephones, and 
pavements are among the improvements. It 
was incorporated in 1827. Population, 1900, 
7,940. 

DELAWARE BAY, a large extension from 
the Atlantic Ocean, separating Delaware from 
New Jersey. It is about 50 miles long and 27 
miles wide, and is important as an avenue of 
commerce. Besides receiving the waters of the 
Delaware River, it receives the inflow of the 
Maurice and other streams. The Delaware 
River is about four miles wide at the mouth, 
and the bay at the entrance between Cape 
May and Cape Henlopen has a width of about 
thirteen miles. The Federal government con¬ 
structed an extensive breakwater from the- lat¬ 
ter point, by which the bay, at Lewes, is made 
an excellent harbor. It facilitates the safe pas- 


DELAWARE RIVER 


628 


DELHI 


sage of the largest vessels to Philadelphia and 
other commercial centers. 

DELAWARE RIVER, an important river 
of the United States. It rises in southern New 
York, forms a part of the boundary between 
that State and Pennsylvania, the boundary be¬ 
tween the latter State and New Jersey, and a 
portion of the boundary between Delaware and 
New Jersey. Its general course is southward, 
though it makes several bold turns, and it dis¬ 
charges into Delaware Bay. It passes through 
the Kittatinny Mountains near Stroudsburg, Pa., 
flowing through the Delaware Water Gap, a 
place remarkable for its beautiful scenery and 
rock gorges. Trenton and Philadelphia are the 
most important commercial centers on the river; 
the former is at the head of navigation and the 
latter is at the point reached by the largest ves¬ 
sels. The entire length of the river is about 300 
miles. Its principal tributaries are the Schuyl¬ 
kill and the Lehigh. Several canals connect it 
with the Hudson River. The fisheries, consist¬ 
ing principally of shad, are noted for their com¬ 
mercial value. 

DELAWARES (del'a-warz), an Indian tribe 
of the Algonquin family. They dwelt originally 
on the Delaware River and were largely under 
the control of the Five Nations. William Penn 
bought a large tract of land from them, and 
important trade relations were maintained with 
them by the Swedes, Dutch, and English. Their 
warriors fought at Braddock’s defeat, aided in 
the war with Pontiac, and assisted the Union in 
the Civil War. Large numbers were converted 
to Christianity by the Swedes and Moravians, 
beginning in 1740. Shortly after the Revolu¬ 
tion the tribe emigrated to Ohio, in 1818 to Mis¬ 
souri, in 1829 to Kansas, and in 1868 to Indian 
Territory (now Oklahoma). The United States 
granted to them the privileges of citizenship in 
1866, divided their money and lands among them, 
and gave them educational aid. They are well 
advanced in the industries and professions, own 
their homes, and fill useful functions in life. 
At present they number about 1,000. Tammany 
was among their best known chiefs. His name 
has been given to an influential political society 
of New York. 

DELAWARE WATER GAP, a narrow 
gorge in the course of the Delaware River, near 
Stroudsburg, Pa., on the borders of New Jersey 
and Pennsylvania. It is a low gap in the Kit¬ 
tatinny Range of the Appalachian Mountains, 
which rise in abrupt cliffs a height of 1,400 feet 
above the water. The region has been converted 
into a popular suiymer resort and is reached by 
rail from New York and Philadelphia. 

DELFT (delft), a city of Holland, on the 


Schie River, about six miles southeast of The 
Hague. It is important as a commercial cen¬ 
ter, being situated on a number of railways 
and intersected by numerous canals. A Gothic 
church, called the Gude Kerk, dates from the 
15th century. Another Gothic church, the 
Nieuwe Kerk, has a tower 375 feet high and 
contains 500 bells. William I. of Orange was 
assassinated in the Prinsenhof, which now 
serves as a museum. Among the educational 
institutions is a polytechnical school with an 
attendance of 700 students. The manufactures 
include delftware, a celebrated kind of earthen¬ 
ware, carpets, ammunition, soap, and cotton and 
Woolen goods. Electric lights, waterworks, and 
extensive electric railway lines are among the 
public utilities. Population, 1906, 33,916. 

DELHI (deTht), a city in the Punjab dis¬ 
trict of India, on the Jumna River, about 830 
miles northwest of Calcutta. Solid stone walls 
secure three sides, through which entrance to 
the city is effected by ten gates, the other side 
being protected by the water front. The site 
of the city is on a high eminence, being clean 
and healthful, and it has important railroad con- % 
nections with the principal commercial centers 
of India and Southern Asia. The forntfer extent 
of this metropolis is marked by vast ruins of 
gardens, pavilions, palaces, and mausoleums. 
Among the noteworthy buildings is the Cele¬ 
brated Shah Jehan palace, commenced in 1631, 
located in the eastern part of the city. It has 
a length of 3,200 feet and a breadth of 1,600 
feet. Its carvings and decorations are among 
the finest in the world. The Great Mosque, 
or Jamma Musjid, is a famous structure after 
the Byzantine-Arabic style, erected in the 17th 
century by Emperor Shah Jehan. Another 
structure of note is the Minar, built in the 
13th century, containing pillars 48 feet in diam¬ 
eter at the bottom and 10 feet at the top, with 
a height of 240 feet. Numerous inscriptions 
from the Koran and fine fresco work adorn 
the winding staircases and the walls. The city 
has been improved greatly within recent dec¬ 
ades. It has broad streets, electric lights, and 
street railways, and is noted as an extensive 
wheat market. Its bazaars are famous for trad¬ 
ing in fabrics, precious stones, and gold and 
silver work. A public school system is main¬ 
tained and a government college, founded in 
1792, constitutes a center of higher learning. 
It has a number of Protestant churches, gov¬ 
ernment buildings, and numerous Eastern places 
of worship. 

Delhi was formerly the largest city of Hin¬ 
dustan and for some years was the capital of 
the Afghans, but subsequently became a part 


DELIRIUM TREMENS 


629 


DELSARTE SYSTEM 


of the Mongol Empire. In 1803 it was made 
a part of the territory of the British, who h^ve 
controlled it since that time, except for a brief 
period during the Sepoy mutiny of 1857. More 
than one-half of the population are Hindus 
Population, 1906, 219,468. 

DELIRIUM TREMENS (de-lir'i-um tre'- 
menz), a derangement of the mind attended by 
extreme nervous agitation and hallucinations, 
due chiefly to the excessive use of alcoholic 
liquors. The disease is most prevalent among 
spasmodic drunkards, the principal symptoms 
being delirium and trembling. The former is 
constantly present, while the latter is not per¬ 
ceptible in many instances. At certain stages 
the sufferer is impressed by seeming to see 
frightful and extraordinary objects, during 
which he suffers great fear and mental agitation, 
which put him in a state of extreme terror. To¬ 
tal abstinence, rest, and wholesome nourishment 
are the chief requirements in the immediate 
treatment. 

DELOS (de'los), the smallest island of the 
Cyclades, in the Grecian Archipelago, with an 
area of about twelve square miles. The sur¬ 
face is a rugged mass of granite, and near its 
center the rocky peak of Mount Cynthus rises 
to a height of 350 feet above sea level. The 
island is celebrated in the song, myth, and his¬ 
tory of Greece. Myths make it the scene of 
the birth of Apollo and Artemis, and, though 
once a floating mass, it was fixed to the bot¬ 
tom of the sea by Zeus that it might become 
celebrated by the birth of these noted person¬ 
ages. It was the scene of a festival to Apollo, 
at which the Greeks from many nations gath¬ 
ered. In 477 b. c. the Confederacy of Delos 
was formed with Athens at its head, the name 
being derived from the meeting of its deputies 
at the temple of Apollo, in which the treasures 
of the confederation were stored. Delos became 
a commercial center after the fall of Corinth 
in 146 b. c., and was famed for its favorite 
markets and fine harbors. Excellent palm 
groves grew in its public places, and brazen 
vessels abounded in vast numbers. In the year 
87 b. c. it was laid waste by the Mithridatic 
War. At present brushwood is quite common 
and small fields of corn are cultivated by the 
natives. 

DELPHI (del'fi), a celebrated town of an¬ 
cient Greece, in the territory of Phocis, noted 
principally on accotmt of the most important 
temple and oracle of Apollo. Its location was 
about six miles from the Corinthian Gulf, 
hemmed in on the north by the wall-like cliffs 
of Mount Parnassus, on the south by Mount 
Cirphis, and on the east by smaller ridges. 


The Plistus flowed from east to west and 
drained the region of its surplus waters. The 
site of the ancient town is occupied at present 
by the village of Castri. The main point of 
interest still remains distinguishable, though it 
was .somewhat altered by an earthquake in 
1870. 

Delphi was noted as the meeting place of the 
Amphictyonic Council and near it the Pythian 
games were held. The celebrated oracles were 
delivered by a priestess, who occupied a tripod 
over an opening in the ground, from which 
came intoxicating vapors accompanied by the 
inspiration of the Delphian god. The replies 
that cable from the oracle were quite obscure 
and dual in meaning, but served in the regula¬ 
tion and support of the political, civil, and 
religious autonomy of the Greeks. These ora¬ 
cles grew in fame from the 9th century b. c. 
until they were abolished, long after the Chris¬ 
tian era, by Emperor Theodosius. The temple 
of Apollo was destroyed, but rebuilt, and added 
to at various times. The last structure was 
built in the 5th century b. c., which was the 
most beautiful and magnificent, costing 300 
talents, about $575,000. In it were statues by 
the great sculptors of Greece, and it was dec¬ 
orated by paintings of the foremost masters 
of the Grecian art. In the times of Pliny, 
Delphi contained more than 3,000 statues, and 
a golden cast of Apollo stood within the tem¬ 
ple. It was plundered at various times, but 
principally by Nero and Constantine. 

DELPHOS (del'fos), a city of Ohio, in 
Allen County, fifteen miles northwest of Lima, 
on the Pennsylvania, the Toledo, Saint Louis 
and Western, and other railroads. It is finely 
located on the Miami and Erie Canal and is 
surrounded by a farming section. Mineral oil 
is obtained in the vicinity. The manufactures 
include lumber products, machinery, and farm¬ 
ing implements. It has a system of waterworks, 
electric lights, and several fine school buildings. 
The first settlement on its site was made in 
1834 and it was incorporated in 1851. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 4,517. 

DELSARTE SYSTEM, the name applied 
to a method of general physical culture now 
highly popular in America and Europe. It has 
been adopted in the schools of many cities, in 
colleges, and in private institutions, and is 
largely employed in regular courses of instruc¬ 
tion. The originator, Francois A. Delsarte, 
asserted that every outward manifestation is 
the expression of an inner state. He classed 
the head as the mental organ, the trunk as the 
emotional organ, and the limbs as the primary 
vital organs. The mental movements proceed 


DELTA 


630 


DEMOCRATIC PARTY 


toward the center, the normal around the cen¬ 
ter, and the vital from the center. In general 
the laws of force, rhythm, direction, reaction, 
succession, velocity, and opposition should 
govern bodily movements. The influence of 
systematic application has been efficient in de¬ 
veloping the high quality of orators, dramatists, 
and elocutionists, giving them a fine quality 
of vocal utterance, gesture, and expression in 
accordance with the higher art of elocution. 
Besides the effect upon physical development, it 
has had a wholesome influence upon delivery 
and expression. 

DELTA (del'ta), the name of the Greek let¬ 
ter which corresponds to the letter D. The 
term was applied to the deposits of silt- at the 



mouth of the Nile, on account of its resem¬ 
blance to that letter. Since then the same name 
has been given to the alluvial tracts deposited 
by many of the great rivers, the waters of which 
flow into the sea by two or more branches. 
Deltas occur only where the mouth of a river 
is sheltered from the ocean and the tides and 
oceanic currents are weak, or in inland lakes 
and seas where the movement., of tides and 
ocean currents are entirely absent. The delta 
of the Mississippi is the largest in America. It 
has an area of 12,300 square miles, two-thirds of 
which is permanently above water, while the 
remaining portion is a sea marsh. It begins a 
short distance south of the confluence of the 
Red River and extends far into the Gulf of 
Mexico. The delta of the Nile, which has its 
outlet into the Mediterranean, has an area of 
about 9,000 square miles, and is enlarging con¬ 
tinually by the sediments deposited annually, 
which are carried from inundated regions. The 
delta of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, .in 
the Bay of Bengal, exceeds the size of the delta 
of the Nile. Countless islands have been formed 
by the deposits and numerous streams wind 
their way among them in various directions. 
Among the most important deltas of Europe 
are those of the Po, Rhone, and Rhine; in 
Africa, those of the Nile, Zambezi, and Sen¬ 


egal; in Asia, those of the Ganges, Brahma¬ 
putra, Euphrates, Indus, Yang tse-Kiang, and 
Hwang-ho. 

DELUGE (del'uj), a flood or torrent of 
water, lava, fire, or melted stone. The name 
is applied in particular to the flood mentioned 
in Genesis vi-ix. This remarkable flood was 
predicted by Noah and is generally credited to 
the year 2348 B. c. There are various stories 
of vast floods similar to those mentioned in 
the Bible. They have been handed down from 
remote antiquity by various races. In the Hindu 
story the god Vishnu is represented as giving 
warning to Prince Satyavarata of an approach¬ 
ing flood, and a vessel was furnished to him 
in which he and a number of others were saved. 
The person told of in the Chaldaean history as 
surviving a flood is Xisuthros, who was carried 
by a ship over a deluge which is said to have 
lasted seven days, and he, like Noah, is said 
to have sent birds out for the purpose of ascer¬ 
taining whether the flood had subsided. The 
people who lived prior to the flood of Noah 
are usually spoken of as antediluvians. 

DEMOCRACY (de-mok'ra-sy), that form 
of government in which the ruling power or 
the principle of sovereignty is exercised by the 
people. It first existed in Greece, where it 
was advocated by Pericles, and is mentioned in 
the writings of Herodotus and Aristotle. The 
result of experience in government for ages 
has demonstrated that public virtue and good 
intention are most likely to abound where the 
people have a voice in making and executing 
the law. The people as a whole generally mean 
to be just and do right, and are, as a rule, 
possessed of a degree of patriotism and public 
spirit. A pure democracy is impracticable in a 
large and populous country, but its principles 
may be embodied in a representative form. In 
such a government the people are represented 
by the voters, whose qualifications to vote are 
generally defined in a constitution called the 
fundamental law of the nation. 

DEMOCRATIC PARTY (dem-6-krat'ik), 
one of the most important political parties of 
America, having been in continual existence 
for more than a hundred years. The rise of 
such a party in the nation under the new Con¬ 
stitution was natural. In the minds of most 
Americans the love of individual liberty was 
native, rather than the desire for a strong cen¬ 
tral government. Those who felt this need 
most strongly were naturally quite likely to 
look with apprehension upon the possibility of 
its being encroached upon by the Federal gov¬ 
ernment. For this reason they advocated a 
strict construction of the Constitution and 


DEMOCRATIC PARTY 


631 


DENISON 


f 

P 


states’ rights. These elements of political 
thought drew the Anti-Federalists together in 
1788, and party feeling was further extended 
by the strong sympathy of many Americans 
with the French revolution. The view that the 
government should extend aid to France in its 
contest with England greatly quickened the 
public pulse. Thomas Jefferson put himself at‘ 
the head of the party drawn together by agree¬ 
ment in these views and led the opposition to 
the Federalists. The party became known as 
the Democratic-Republican, which is still its 
official title. Its members were commonly called 
Republicans before Monroe’s administration 
and since then most commonly Democrats. 

The party was in opposition to the administra¬ 
tion from its origin in 1792 to 1801, and from 
the first was strongest in the Southern States. 
With the election of Jefferson in 1800 it came 
into power. Among the chief tenets of the party 
was belief in the freedom of speech, of the 
press, of religion, of politics; in economical 
government, popular rule, hospitality to immi¬ 
grants, and the avoidance of foreign complica¬ 
tions. The Federalist party went out of exis- 
' tence after the War of 1812 and the Democratic 
party came into the chief possession of the field. 
Later questions regarding commercial revenues, 
free trade, national banks, and other national¬ 
izing measures divided the party and caused 
the organization of the Whigs. In 1829 An¬ 
drew Jackson led a new element into the party 
and gave to it the popular character under an 
enlargement of suffrage. From this time it won 
every presidential election but two until 1860, 
when it was divided regarding the slavery ques¬ 
tion. The Southern leaders advocated slavery, 
while the Northern portion favored preserving 
the Union, thus making it possible for the 
newly organized Republican party to elect its 
President. 

Among the important measures obtained dur¬ 
ing the Democratic administrations may be 
named legislation favorable to agricultural 
interests; the purchase of Louisiana, Florida, 
and the Gadsden tract; and the enlargement 
of the commercial influence of the nation. It 
promulgated the Monroe Doctrine. The Demo¬ 
cratic party carried the nation through the War 
of 1812 and the Mexican War, secured the 
annexation of Texas, discontinued the United 
States bank, and greatly widened civil service 
reform. Among the tenets in regard to which 
it differs from the Republicans at present are 
those relating to a tariff revenue, those in op¬ 
position to a large standing army, those relating 
to conquests in foreign countries, and the or¬ 
ganization of the national system of finance. 


It advocates the election of United States sen¬ 
ators by a direct vote, strict adherence to the 
merit system in civil service, an opposing policy 
to trusts controlling productions and prices, 
and favors public ownership of various institu¬ 
tions of public utility. The presidents elected 
by the party, or representing Democratic views, 
include Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, 
James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew 
Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, 
Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Grover 
Cleveland. These presidents represent admin¬ 
istrations which cover a total of sixty years. 

DEMON (de'mon), a name applied anciently 
to a spirit or immaterial being of supernatural 
powers, supposed to hold a middle place be¬ 
tween men and the celestial deities. The an¬ 
cient Greeks regarded demons in the same light 
that Christians look upon angels, but the name 
is now applied to an evil spirit or a fiend. Evil 
spirits are termed demons in the New Testa¬ 
ment, but in making translations the name has 
come to be displaced by the word devil. 
Demonology , that branch of the science of re¬ 
ligion which relates to demons, is obscured in 
• the treatises of old writers in that the sources 
of information are related wholly to the civilized 
nations, instead of at least in part to the primi¬ 
tive and barbarous tribes. Ideas of demons still 
prevail to some extent even in civilized life, as 
is evident by the so-called spirit manifestations 
of modern times. 

DEMURRER (de-mur'rer), in law, a sus¬ 
pension of the proceedings in a cause until 
some point is determined by the court. A de¬ 
murrer is a plea filed to a petition, answer, or 
reply, and raises a question as to the sufficiency 
of the case as stated by the opposite party, or 
some particular part thereof. Only questions 
of law are raised by a demurrer, which are tried 
by the court. When a demurrer is sustained, 
the effect is to lay the pleadings demurred to 
out of the case, unless the petition is so amended 
as to avoid grounds on which the court sustains 
the demurrer. 

DENARIUS (de-na'rf-us), a silver coin used 
by the Romans. Originally it contained ten and * 
later sixteen of the monetary denomination 
called as, which was a small copper or bronze 
coin. It had a monetary value equal to about 
fourteen cents of the money used in Canada 
and the United States. The gold denarius was 
equivalent to twenty-five silver denarii. 

DENISON (den'i-s’n), a city of Texas, in 
Grayson County, situated near the northern 
boundary of the State. It is on the Saint Louis 
and San Francisco, the Missouri, Kansas and 
Texas, the Texas and Pacific, and other rail- 





DENMARK 


632 


DENMARK 


roads. The noteworthy features include the 
Washington School, the public library, and the 
Saint Xavier’s Academy. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are ice, ironware, canned goods, earthen¬ 
ware, and machinery. It has systems of electric 
lighting, sewerage, waterworks, and street pave¬ 
ments. The vicinity was settled in 1872 and the 
city was chartered in 1891. Population, 1900, 
11,807 

DENMARK (den'mark), a kingdom in the 
northwestern part of Europe, including the 
peninsula of Jutland and an archipelago lying 
east, and comprising among others the islands 
of Laaland, Zealand, Falster, Fiinen, Samso, 
Lesso, Langeland, Aero, Bornholm, and Moen. 
It is bounded on the north and west by the 
North Sea; east by the Cattegat, the Sound, and 
the Baltic Sea; and on the west by Germany. 
A part of the northern shore is on the Skager- 
Rak. The area, including the Faroe Islands and 
the islands of the Baltic Sea, is 15,592 square 
miles. Nearly the entire country is surrounded 
by the sea, the peninsula of Jutland being con¬ 
nected with the continent by a narrow neck of 
land which is less than forty miles wide. 

Description. The North Sea washes the # 
northwestern coast, which is low and cut up by 
bays, but the eastern coast is slightly more ele¬ 
vated and indented by a series of fjords. Lim- 
fjord, in the northern part of Jutland, extends 
across the peninsula from the Cattegat to the 
North Sea. The interior of Jutland is crossed 
by a ridge of hills, extending from the south¬ 
ern frontier to the Limfjord, and forming the 
watershed between the Cattegat and the North 
Sea. Guden Aa, the largest river of Denmark, 
has a length of 100 miles and flows into the. 
Cattegat. About eighty per cent, of the soil is 
productive, the surface having no elevations 
higher than 600 feet above sea level. The coast 
is largely uninhabitable on account of drift 
sands that form a narrow line of unproductive 
flats called klitter. 

Formerly Denmark had extensive forests of 
pine and fir, but these trees are now confined 
chiefly to cultivated lands. The fir was the pre¬ 
vailing tree in former ages, but now the oak and 
• the beech are the most numerous. Other trees 
in the forests include the aspen, ash, elm, birch, 
willow, and pine, the last mentioned having been 
planted to some extent in the marshy and sandy 
districts. At Copenhagen the mean tempera¬ 
ture is about 60° in summer and 32° in winter, 
and the islands have a somewhat milder climate 
than that of Jutland. Mists are frequent in 
summer and heavy rains occur in autumn. 
Aquatic birds are numerous, and salmon, oysters, 
and herring abound in the waters off the coast. 


The climatic conditions are temperate and fa¬ 
vorable to health and commercial activity, owing 
largely to the modifying influence of sea breezes. 

Agriculture. Much of the land is divided 
into small holdings and the system of tenure is 
largely peasant proprietorship. The importance 
of agriculture is constantly increasing, owing to 
the remarkable care and skill exercised in main¬ 
taining fertility and redeeming waste and un¬ 
productive lands. Dairy farming is the chief 
source of profit; the production of milk, butter, 
and cheese greatly exceeds the home consump¬ 
tion of these products. The cooperative plan is 
used in fostering the dairy industry as well as 
some departments of general farming. Oats, 
rye, barley, and wheat are the principal crops. 
Potatoes and beet roots are grown extensively. 
The culture of fruits and small gardening, re¬ 
ceive much attention. Cattle are raised chiefly 
for dairying purposes. Other live stock grown 
extensively include sheep, horses* and swine. 

Manufacturing. Denmark has few mineral 
deposits, hence its manufacturing enterprises are 
conducted chiefly on a small scale. Salt, gyp¬ 
sum, and coal are found to a limited extent, 
though the output of the last mentioned is not 
sufficient to supply the demand of the industries. 
Copenhagen is the chief manufacturing center 
and is noted for its output of porcelain, locomo¬ 
tives, and spirituous liquors. Other manufac¬ 
tures include sugar, pottery, cotton and woolen 
fabrics, boilers, leather goods r and machinery. 
Iron smelting is carried on to some extent and 
fish and oyster canning is a productive industry. 

Transportation and Commerce. All parts 
of Denmark have convenient railroad facilities, 
the lines aggregating about 1,950 miles, most of 
which are under government ownership and con¬ 
trol. The chief commercial centers are located 
on the coast or navigable streams, or are con¬ 
nected by a network of canals. Telegraph and 
telephone lines furnish communication facilities 
with all urban and interurban points. The im¬ 
ports exceed the exports. At present the prin¬ 
cipal trade is with Germany, Great Britain, the 
United States, Sweden, and Russia in the order 
named. 

Education. An excellent system of public 
schools is maintained. Attendance is compul¬ 
sory from the age of seven to fourteen years. 
Practically the entire adult population has been 
educated in the elements of learning, while a 
large per cent, has enjoyed the benefits of 
higher education. The public schools, colleges, 
and universities under state or municipal con¬ 
trol are maintained by public taxation. Schools 
for instruction in the industries and agricul¬ 
tural arts in the provinces are liberally attended. 


DENMARK 


633 


DENMARK 


Hulberg Academy at Soro and the splendid uni¬ 
versity of Copenhagen are the chief institutions 
of higher learning. 

Inhabitants. The people of Denmark are 
almost exclusively Danes, including only a small 
per cent, of Jews and others. They are a Teu¬ 
tonic people of the Scandinavian group, and are 
characterized by a light complexion, blue eyes, 
and light brown or chestnut hair. Lutheran is 
the state religion and is the faith of nearly the 
entire populace, though religious liberty is ex¬ 
tended to all. Copenhagen, the capital and 
largest city, is located on the island of Zealand, 
on the Sound. Other cities of importance in¬ 
clude Aalborg, Aarhuus, Frederiksberg, Odense, 
Randers, Horsens, and Fredericia. Population, 
1906, 2,605,268. 

Government. The governrrient is a constitu¬ 
tional monarchy. Legislative authority is vested 
in the national legislature or Rigsdag which is 
composed of the upper house, or Landsthing, 
and the lower house, or Folkething. At present 
there are 66 members in the Landsthing and 
114 deputies in the Folkething. The king is 
the chief executive and has power to veto bills. 
He is assisted by the eight ministers of finance, 
foreign affairs, interior, navy, justice, war, pub¬ 
lic instruction and worship, and agriculture. 
The supreme court of twenty-four judges is the 
highest judiciary, under which justice is admin¬ 
istered by the courts of appeal and the officials 
in rural communities. The nominal war footing 
is 60,000 men and a standing army of 10,000 
men is maintained. Its navy serves only for 
purposes of coast defense. 

Colonies. The foreign possessions of Den¬ 
mark embrace Greenland, Iceland, and the Dan¬ 
ish West Indies. The last mentioned include 
Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, and Saint John. 
These colonies have a total area of 87,614 square 
miles and a population of 121,500. The colonial 
trade is chiefly with the mother country, and 
Iceland is the' most important colonial posses¬ 
sion. 

Language and Literature. The Danish lan¬ 
guage is a branch of the Scandinavian division 
of the Germanic family of languages, and is 
closely associated with the Swedish and Norwe¬ 
gian. It was modified by the addition of foreign 
words in the 11th century, particularly by 
the introduction of Anglo-Saxon terms, and in 
the 18th century jt was again affected by 
the extension of German culture. As a whole 
it may be classed as the most modern of the 
Scandinavian tongues, being influenced more 
largely by foreign elements than either the Ice¬ 
landic or Swedish, and, as a whole, is soft and 
monotonous, making some of the sounds quite 


difficult for foreign students to learn. Both the 
German and Roman characters . are used in 
writing, and the language as a whole had a large 
modifying influence on the spoken language of 
Norway, owing to the fact that these countries 
were long united for governmental purposes. 
The literature dates from about the 12th cen¬ 
tury, when the codes of the ancient kings were 
collected, and many of the songs and ballads 
of the Scandinavian Sagas were incorporated 
with local folklore and short poetic produc¬ 
tions. Christian Pedersen (1480-1554) translat¬ 
ed the New Testament into the Danish at the 
time of the Reformation, and later published 
the complete Bible and various treatises writ¬ 
ten by Luther. Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754) 
founded the Copenhagen Theater and not only 
wrote poems and plays, but induced interest in 
other writers. He may be regarded the founder 
of the Danish stage, and from his time dates 
the modern period of Danish literature. His 
several writings include “Arabian Powder,” 
“The Pewter Statesmen,” and “History of Den¬ 
mark.” 

Johannes Evald, a writer of considerable note, 
wrote the national song, “King Christian at the 
High Mast Stands,” and several plays, including 
“Harlequin Patriot” and “Baldur’s Death.” Jens 
Baggesen holds first place among the song 
writers; Peder Andres Heiberg, among the 
comic dramatists, and Adam Oehlenschlager 
(1779-1850) is the most celebrated poet of the 
last century. The latter adapted many of the 
interesting details in the mythology of Scandi¬ 
navia and was the means of bringing the tales 
of the Edda and the old Norse heroes to the 
favorable attention of the stage. Adolf Wil¬ 
helm Schack Staffeldt (1770-1826) was a con¬ 
temporary of the former, and took first rank as 
a lyric poet, while Bernhard Ingemann produced 
lyric poetry and dramatic works of value. 

Hans Christian Andersen ranks among the 
most famous Danish novelists. His works are 
largely in the form of short fairy tales, but 
they are charming to a large class of readers, 
and have been widely translated. Steen Blicher 
(died, 1848) is a novelist of note, and his writ¬ 
ings are popular because of the beauty with 
which he describes the customs and characteris¬ 
tics of the people of Jutland. Carl Edvard 
Brandes (born, 1847), one of the leading recent 
writers, is the author of “The Remedy” and 
“Under the Law.” Many Danish writers have 
contributed much of value to the general store 
of history, astronomy, mathematics, geography, 
and music. 

History. The history of Denmark dates back 
to the remote past, when the Saga heroes were 


DENMARK 


634 


DENTIST 


noted for daring voyages and deeds of bravery 
in defense of their country. The oldest inhabi¬ 
tants of which we know were the Cimbri, who 
joined the Teutons and brought terror to Rome 
by successive invasions of the provinces of 
Gaul. Later the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in¬ 
vaded and conquered England, while the Danes 
came from Zealand to take their places. Den¬ 
mark was divided into a large number of small 
provinces for some time, but, invaded by the 
Franks and preyed upon by the famous vikings, 
the people were at last driven to the necessity 
of forming a united federation as a better 
means of defense. Later Gorm the Old united 
the islands and mainland under one dominion 
and opposed the advance of Christianity begun 
by the preceding rulers, though he greatly 
strengthened the general government. 

Sweyn, grandson of Gorm the Old, began the 
conquest of Norway and England, which was ac¬ 
complished by his son, Canute. His successor lost 
England in 1042 and Norway in 1047, and his 
reign was further weakened by the growth of 
the feudal system, by which the poorer class of 
people were reduced to serfdom. Norway was 
conquered by Waldemar I. and Waldemar II. 
made advances upon Germany, though these 
were lost under his successor. Queen Margaret 
ascended the throne in 1387 and established the 
Union of Calmar ten years later, by which Den¬ 
mark, Norway, and Sweden became united and 
were governed with marked success. Under 
the rule of Christian I. Schleswig and Holstein 
were united with the other three, but in the time 
of Christian II. Sweden obtained its independ¬ 
ence, and under Frederick I., who ruled ten 
years, beginning in 1523, Sweden was perma¬ 
nently separated from Denmark, while under 
Christian IV., Denmark took part in the Thirty 
Years’ War and became involved in two un¬ 
fortunate wars with Sweden. 

The peasants asserted their rights in the lat¬ 
ter part of the 17th century, and became free 
from serfdom at the beginning of the 18th. 
The British fleet bombarded Copenhagen and 
destroyed the Spanish fleet April 2, 1801. To 
avoid an alliance with France a second fleet 
was sent by the British in 1807, who demanded 
sa defensive alliance or the surrender of the 
Danish fleet, which resulted in a second bom¬ 
bardment of the capital. Denmark was in the 
hands of Napoleon from that time until 1814, 
when it was forced to cede Helgoland to Eng¬ 
land in exchange for the Danish West Indies, 
and Norway passed over to Sweden. The Ger¬ 
man Confederation, headed by Prussia and Aus¬ 
tria, in 1864 obtained the cession of Holstein, 
Lauenburg, and Schleswig. 


Since 1864 the country has enjoyed a period 
of peace, its people being contented and the 
national conditions decidedly prosperous. Chris¬ 
tian IX. succeeded to the throne in 1863, after 
the death of Christian VIII., and his reign of 
43 years witnessed the material growth of Den¬ 
mark in national and commercial importance. 
Through the marriage of his children, the reign¬ 
ing family became related with the sovereigns 
of many countries of Europe. Among the chief 
events of his time is the establishment of con¬ 
stitutional government in Iceland. He died in 
1906 and was succeeded by his son, Frederick 
VIII. 

DENSITY (den'si-ty), that quality. of a 
body which depends upon the close cohesion of 
its constituents. It is estimated by the propor¬ 
tion which the bulk bears to the weight. Thus, 
in two bodies of equal bulk, but differing in 
weight, the body of greater weight is also of 
greater density. In two bodies of equal bulk, 
but of different density, the body which is of 
greater density contains the proportionately 
greater amount of matter. In the case of two 
bodies containing the same quantity of matter, 
but differing in bulk, the greater density is 
ascribed to the one which is of less bulk; from 
this it is seen that the density is directly pro¬ 
portional to the quantity of matter and inversely 
proportional to the bulk. By a study of astron¬ 
omy and the laws of gravitation the datum for 
ascertaining the density of the earth has been 
secured, which is now assumed to be about five 
times that of water. Since the surface consists 
chiefly of oxygen, it has been suggested that the 
nucleus may be largely of metals. The density 
of gases, fluids, and solids, as compared with 
that of water, is their specific gravity. 

DENTIST (den'tist), one engaged in the 
profession of cleaning, extracting, or repairing 
the teeth, or replacing them with artificial ones 
when necessary. Dentistry rose to a profession 
in the last century. The work now done by a 
dentist was largely in the hands of physicians 
prior to that time. The first institution founded 
in America to further knowledge in this profes¬ 
sion is the College of Dental Surgery, Balti¬ 
more, which was chartered in 1839. Since then 
other excellent schools devoted to this branch of 
knowledge have been founded in the large cities, 
numerous periodicals are published in its inter¬ 
est, and many dental societies are maintained in 
Canada and the United States. 

In dentistry there are two distinct departments 
—mechanical dentistry and dental surgery. The 
former is concerned with the artificial substitu¬ 
tion of lost teeth, while the latter requires an 
extended medical knowledge of the diseases of 


DENVER 


635 


DENVER UNIVERSITY 


the teeth and the general system, and of the 
effects upon the body resulting from operations 
on and treatment of the teeth. The chief opera¬ 
tions involved in dental surgery are scaling the 
tartar, regulating displaced and overcrowding 
teeth, filling the hollows of decaying teeth, and 
extracting teeth that are decayed to such an ex¬ 
tent as not to warrant filling. Crown and bridge 
work are done largely by the use of gold, but 
shell crowns and porcelain are used to some 
extent. Tin and platinum were employed for 
filling broken or decayed teeth in the early his¬ 
tory of dentistry, but now amalgams have come 
into general use. They are made by a combina¬ 
tion of one or more metals with mercury. 

DENVER (den'ver), an important city of 
the United States, capital of Colorado. It is 
situated at the junction of Cherry Creek and the 
South Platte River, 1,025 miles west of Chi¬ 
cago and 1,456 east of San Francisco. It is the 
converging center of many trunk railways, 
which afford transportation facilities in all di¬ 
rections, and has an extensive system of urban 
and interurban electric lines. Among the prin¬ 
cipal railroads are the Union Pacific, the Den¬ 
ver and Rio Grande, the Missouri Pacific, the 
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Atchison, 
Topeka and Sante Fe, the Chicago, Rock Island 
and Pacific, and the Colorado Southern. 

The site is on a level plain located 5,250 feet 
above the level of the sea and about twelve miles 
from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It 
is noted as a healthful city, owing to its clear 
air and dry climate, and is a favorite center for 
the residence of retired and wealthy people. 
The atmosphere is remarkable for its clearness, 
owing to which many of the prominent mountain 
peaks may be discerned in clear weather, though 
located seventy miles and more from the city. 

Denver is divided by Cherry Creek and the 
South Platte River into three natural divisions. 
North Denver is located west and north of the 
South Platte River, between that river and 
Cherry Creek is West Denver, and East Denver, 
the larger part of the city, is situated east of 
these streams. City Park, in the eastern part 
of the city, has an area of 320 acres. It is 
adorned with flowers and shrubbery, has fine 
statuary and zoological gardens, and is beauti¬ 
fied by many lakes and driveways. The entire 
park system consists of twelve public parks, 
including Congress, Lincoln, Jefferson, and 
Plighland parks. In the field of education it 
occupies a high position, having a fine school 
system and many charitable and higher institu¬ 
tions of learning. These include Denver Uni¬ 
versity (Methodist), Baptist Female College, 
College of the Sacred Heart (Roman Catholic), 


Wolfe Hall (Episcopal), and a number of med¬ 
ical, theological, and manual training schools. 
The hospitals and sanitariums are adequate to 
the demand and are well-managed institutions. 
A public library of about 100,000 volumes is 
maintained by the city, and in addition may be 
mentioned the State library and a number of 
others supported by societies and institutions of 
learning. 

Denver owes its commercial importance large¬ 
ly to its favorable location in the proximity of 
productive iron, lead, silver, gold, coal, and cop¬ 
per mines. These natural products make the 
city important as a smelting center. About one- 
fourth of the manufactured products come from 
the smelting and refining works. Those of next 
importance are the machine shops, flouring mills, 
breweries, railroad car shops and foundries. 
The city is noted as a live-stock market and has 
a large jobbing and wholesaling trade, especially 
> in dry goods and groceries. The architecture 
is substantial and includes many large buildings, 
such as the Tabor Opera House, the Equitable 
Building, the Denver Club, and the Brown Pal¬ 
ace Hotel. 

The first settlement in the vicinity of Denver 
was made in 1858. It was named in honor of 
Gen. J. W. Denver, at that time Governor of 
Kansas, of which Colorado was a part. The 
two villages, Auraria, west of Cherry Creek, and 
Saint Charles, east of Cherry Creek, were united 
in 1859 and incorporated, but the incorporation 
of Denver properly dates from 1861, when it 
received its charter from the Territory of Colo¬ 
rado. In 1867 it became the capital of the Ter¬ 
ritory. South Denver was annexed in 1894. 
Denver was the county seat of Arapahoe County 
until 1902, when its government was reorganized 
and it became the city and- county of Denver. 
It has had a remarkable growth since 1870, when 
it had a population of 4,759. Population, 1900, 
133,859; in 1910. 213,381. 

DENVER, University of, an educational 
institution at Denver, Colo. It was founded in 
1864 as the Colorado Seminary, but was reor¬ 
ganized in 1880, when the present name was 
adopted. The university comprises a prepara¬ 
tory school and seven colleges, the latter in¬ 
cluding a college of liberal arts, the Iliff School 
of Theology, a graduate school, the Denver and 
Gross College of Medicine, the Colorado Col¬ 
lege of Dental Surgery, a college of music, and 
the Denver College of Law. Three of its twelve 
buildings are in the heart of Denver and the 
others are in University Park, a suburb of the 
city. The university has a library of 12,500 vol¬ 
umes, a faculty of eighty professors and instruc¬ 
tors, and an enrollment of 1,350. 


DE PAUW UNIVERSITY 


636 


DESERT 


DE PAUW UNIVERSITY, an educational 
institution located at Greencastle, Ind. It was 
organized by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
1837 under the name of Indiana Asbury Uni¬ 
versity, but changed to the present name on 
account of an endowment of $1,500,000 given 
by W. C. De Fauw. The campus comprises 
about 150 acres and the annual income is $56,- 
000. It has an advanced curriculum, in which 
elective studies and courses are permitted. The 
faculty consists of thirty instructors, and the 
attendance is about 825 students. It has a 
library of 35,000 volumes. The alumni num¬ 
ber more than 2,000. 

DERBY (der'bi), a city in New Haven 
County, Connecticut, ten miles west of New 
Haven, at the junction of the Housatonic and 
Naugatuck rivers. It is on the New York, 
New Haven and Hartford Railroad and several 
electric lines. The noteworthy features include 
the public library, the town hall, the Housatonic 
Dam, and several schools. It has manufactures 
of cotton goods, furniture, machinery, and earth¬ 
enware. The first settlement \vas made in 1646, 
when it was known as Paugassett, and it was 
incorporated as Derby in 1675. Population, 1900, 
7,930; in 1910, 8,991. 

DERBY, a city of Derbyshire, England, 
about 120 miles northwest of London, on the 
Derwent River. Among the chief buildings are 
the county hall, a school of art, an infirmary, 
and numerous churches. The chapel of Saint 
Mary’s is a very old building, and the noted 
Tower of All Saints is an excellent specimen 
of architecture with a tower 175 feet high. 
Numerous railway lines furnish extensive in¬ 
land connections. It has electric lights and 
street railways, public parks, and several fine 
monuments. The manufactures include porce¬ 
lain, silk and cotton goods, paper, machinery, 
chemicals, ironware, marble, and spirituous liq¬ 
uors. It is surrounded by an agricultural coun¬ 
try, in'which fluorspar abounds. A station was 
built on the site of Derby by the Romans, to 
whom it was known as Derventio. It became a 
royal borough in the time of Edward the Con¬ 
fessor. The city was the home of' Herbert 
Spencer. Population, 1907, 125,774. 

DERRICK (der'rik), an apparatus for lift¬ 
ing and transporting heavy weights, such as 
stone in a quarry. It consists of a tall mast 
fastened on a pin, on which it may revolve, and 
is anchored by ropes extending from the top to 
the ground. A boom is hinged near the bottom 
of the mast, so constructed that the upper end 
may be raised or lowered by suitable rope tackle, 
which works through blocks fastened respec¬ 
tively near the outer end of the boom and near 


the top of the mast. At the foot of the mast is 
a system of wheels, with which the tackle block 
is attached by a rope, and the weight is moved 
by turning the mast, which causes the boom to 
swing around. The traveling crane has dis¬ 
placed the derrick in most manufacturing estab¬ 
lishments. m • 

DERVISH (der'vish), a Mohammedan devo¬ 
tee, who takes a vow of poverty and austerity 
of life. Numerous different orders are main¬ 
tained. Some dwell in monasteries, others live 
as hermits, and some lead a life as wandering 
mendicants. The dancing dervishes are a class 
that accustom themselves to spin or whirl 
around for hours at a time, uttering Allah, and 
making violent motions of the body. After they 
reach a state of exhaustion, they claim to be 
inspired and to possess the power of curing dis¬ 
eases and interpreting dreams. 

DESCENT (de-sent'), in law, a passing 
from an ancestor to an heir, a transmission by 
’inheritance or succession. The laws of most 
countries are founded upon the principle of 
equal distribution, both of personal and real 
property, among the heirs in the nearest sur¬ 
viving degree. The three classes of kindreds 
are direct descendants, ancestors, and collateral 
relatives; the latter include those who have de¬ 
scended from the same common ancestors. 
There are two sets of collateral relatives, as well 
as two sets of ancestors, the paternal and the 
maternal. Lineal descent is where property de¬ 
scends directly from father to son and from 
son to grandson; collateral descent is where it 
proceeds to a brother or sister, nephew or niece, 
or to other collateral representatives. If an 
individual dies intestate , that is, without rela¬ 
tives or without leaving a will, his property 
usually escheats to the state. 

DESERT (dez'ert), a region in which plant 
and animal life is very scant or entirely absent. 
Some writers class the regions that are barren 
from cold or lack of soil as deserts, such as 
Greenland and the lands of the Arctic and 
Antarctic zones. However, the name is usually 
applied to the localities of continents that have 
a climate quite favorable, but whose barrenness 
is due to the lack of soil or the supply of mois¬ 
ture. Arid deserts are most extensive in Asia, 
Africa, and Australia, are almost entirely un¬ 
known in Europe, and occupy only a small part: 
of the qontinents of North and South America. 
The Sahara Desert, which crosses the north 
central part of Africa, from the Red Sea to the 
Atlantic, is the largest arid belt of the world. 
It extends under different names into Asia, 
where it is known as the Arabian Desert, the 
Desert of Gobi, and the Salt Desert. The 




DES MOINES 


637 


DESSAU 


Kalahari Desert, in South Africa, is bounded 
by the Orange, Zambezi, and Limpopo rivers. 
A large part of the interior of Australia is a 
desert. The Colorado Desert, in California, and 
the Atacama Desert, in northern Chile, are 
among the barren regions of North and South 
America. 

Deserts vary considerably in the character of 
their surface. Some consist chiefly of sand and 
gravel, which frequently drift to form dunes, 
and others have a rocky surface. Oases are 
located in many desert regions owing to the 
presence of springs, or to the streams that rise 
from the precipitation of high mountains, irri¬ 
gating the valleys below. Deserts are due to 
various causes, such as the direction of prevail¬ 
ing winds, which deprive them of moisture; 
long distance from the oceans; and isolation 
through surrounding mountain systems. The 
soil in many parts of the desert is quite fertile, 
needing only a supply of moisture to render if 
productive. See Arid Region. 

DES MOINES (de-moin'), the largest river 
in the State of Iowa. It rises in the southern 
part of Minnesota, flows in a southeasterly di¬ 
rection, and discharges into the Mississippi 
about four miles below Keokuk, after a course 
of 500 miles. Among its principal tributaries 
are the Raccoon and Boone rivers. It drains a 
fertile agricultural country. Belts of hard wood 
timber are on either side in Iowa, and it passes 
through regions rich in coal and limestone de¬ 
posits. Among the cities on its banks are Fort 
Dodge, Des Moines, and Ottumwa. It forms 
the boundary between Lee County, Iowa, and 
Missouri. 

DES MOINES, the capital and largest city 
of Iowa, county seat of Polk County, near the 
geographical center of the State. It is finely 
situated at the junction of the Des Moines and 
Raccoon rivers, both of which are crossed by a 
number of substantial bridges. It is on the Chi¬ 
cago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Chicago Great 
Western, the Chicago and Northwestern, the 
Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul, the Wa¬ 
bash, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and 
other railroads, and has extensive urban and 
interurban electric railway facilities. 

The capitol building, one of the finest in the 
United States, was erected at a cost of $3,000,- 
000. Other public buildings include the United 
States Federal Court and Post Office, the State 
library, the State historical building, and the city 
buildings. The new county courthouse, a fine 
structure of stone, was completed in 1907, and 
the Auditorium, on Fourth Avenue, has a seat¬ 
ing capacity of 3,000. Des Moines is the seat 
of Drake University, Des Moines College, High¬ 


land Park College, several business colleges, and 
a number of parochial schools. The Iowa State 
Fair Grounds are located in the eastern part of 
the city and several fine parks are maintained, 
including Ingersoll and Greenwood parks. The 
State library has about 50,000 volumes, the 
public library has 30,000 volumes, and several 
other libraries are maintained by the educa¬ 
tional institutions. 

Many of the streets are paved substantially 
with asphalt, brick, and macadam. Water power 
is obtained by means of a dam across the Des 
Moines River and the city supply of water is 
procured from the Raccoon River. Near the 
State capitol building is a fine soldiers’ monu¬ 
ment. The chief hotels include the Savery, 
Kirkwood, Chamberlain, and Victoria. Among 
the leading business buildings are the Fleming, 
Van Ginkle, Equitable, and numerous office and 
wholesale buildings. The surrounding country 
is agricultural and stock raising, while the river 
bluffs are rich in coal deposits, giving the city 
a large volume of raw material for transporta¬ 
tion and use in manufacturing enterprises. 
Among the chief manufacturing establishments 
are medical and chemical works, flouring mills, 
furnaces, clothing and cigar factories, type¬ 
writer works, canning and packing establish¬ 
ments, and machine shops. It has a large retail 
and wholesale trade in manufactures and mer¬ 
chandise, and supplies these commodities to 
retail dealers in many towns and cities of Iowa. 
Des Moines occupies the site of Fort Des 
Moines, which constituted a United States gar¬ 
rison in 1832. It was incorporated in 1851 and 
chartered as a city in 1857. Fort Des Moines, a 
United States garrison, is located south of the 
city. Population, 1905, 75,626; in 1910, 86,368. 

DE SOTO (de so'to), a city in Jefferson 
County, Missouri, forty-four miles southwest of 
Saint Louis, on the Saint Louis, Iron Mountain 
and Southern Railroad. It is situated in a zinc 
and lead producing region, and is a shipping cen¬ 
ter of cereals and mineral products. The indus¬ 
tries include grain elevators, flouring mills, and 
machine shops. It has electric lighting, a public 
high school, and other improvements. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 5,611. 

DES PLAINES RIVER (de plan'), a river 
of the United States, rises near Racine, Wis., 
and after a course of 150 miles joins the Kan¬ 
kakee River to form the Illinois River. The 
general course is south to Lyons, near Chicago, 
whence it flows toward the southwest. A low 
ridge separates its basin from Lake Michigan, 
and thirteen miles of its lower course is utilized 
in the Chicago Drainage Canal. 

DESSAU (des'sou), a city of Germany, capi- 



DETROIT 


638 


DETROIT 


tal of the duchy of Anhalt, eighty miles south¬ 
west of Berlin. It is situated in a beautiful 
valley of the Mulde River, near its junction 
with the Elbe, and is surrounded by a fertile 
country. The streets are broad and well im¬ 
proved with substantial paving. Electric and 
steam railroads furnish ample interurban and 
general transportation facilities, making it an 
important commercial center. Among the manu¬ 
factures are cotton and woolen goods, sugar, 
carpets, pottery, tobacco products, and machin¬ 
ery. It has a gymnasium, three large libraries, 
many fine churches, and a number of charitable 
and educational institutions. In its public 
places are monuments of Wilhelm Muller, the 
poet, and Moses Mendelssohn, the philosopher, 
both of whom were born here. Dessau was the 
scene of a battle in the Thirty Years’ War, in 
1626, when Wallenstein defeated Count Mans¬ 
field at the bridge over the Elbe. Population, 
1905, 55,134. 

DETROIT (de-troit'), the chief city and 
port of entry in Michigan, county seat of Wayne 
County, on the Detroit River, opposite the 
Canadian city of Windsor. It is about 18 miles 
from Lake Erie, 10 miles from Lake Saint 
Clair, and 285 miles east of Chicago. The 
site is on a fine eminence, the streets are well 
paved and shaded by avenues of trees, and the 
various portions are connected by a system of 
electric railway lines. It is the focus ,of many 
railways, and has dock facilities for large ves¬ 
sels, giving it extensive conveniences for trans¬ 
portation to the chief cities of America. The 
railroads include the Wabash, the Grand Trunk, 
the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, the 
Michigan Central, and the Pere Marquette. 

The city has a river frontage of nine miles 
and extends about four miles inland from the 
river. The area is 30 square miles, and the site 
rises gradually from the river toward the north. 
Most of the streets are platted to cross each 
other at right angles, but are intersected by 
broad avenues which radiate from a semicir¬ 
cular plot within the city known as Grand Cir¬ 
cus. This park is crossed by Woodward Ave¬ 
nue, which divides the city into nearly equal 
parts, and is the principal business street. It 
becomes a residence street farther from the cen¬ 
ter of the city and is connected with Campus 
Maritus, a fine plot of ground a short distance 
from the river. Griswold Street is the banking 
center, Lafayette and Michigan avenues have 
notable buildings, and Jefferson Avenue and 
West Fort Street contain many fine residences. 

Parks and Buildings. The parks embrace 
about 1,200 acres and are well distributed in 
the different parts of the city. Belle Isle Park 


is located on Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit 
River, and is one of the finest. It is connected 
with the city by a substantial iron bridge, has 
a number of interior lakes and canals, and con¬ 
tains about 700 acres. Palmer Park is located 
on Woodward Avenue, six miles north of the 
city hall. Clark and Voigt parks are beautiful 
grounds. Among the principal buildings are 
the city hall, in City Hall Square, the Majestic 
Building, near the city hall, the post office, the 
county courthouse, the Y. M. C. A. Building, 
and the Cadillac Hotel. The churches include 
Saint John’s Protestant Episcopal, First Presby¬ 
terian, Trinity Protestant Episcopal, Sacred 
Heart of Mary, Fort Street Presbyterian, 
Woodward Avenue Baptist, and the Jewish 
Temple. A fine library is maintained in the 
Museum of Art, which occupies a commodious 
building. 

Educational. Detroit is noted for its finely 
graded system of public schools, which are sup¬ 
plemented by a number, of higher institutions of 
learning. Detroit College, a city normal school, 
Detroit College of Medicine, Detroit College of 
Law, and Michigan College of Medicine and 
Surgery are among the higher and professional 
institutions. The city library has about 200,000 
volumes, and books are distributed in several 
branches for the convenience of reading and 
reference. Many charitable and benevolent in¬ 
stitutions are maintained. It is the seat of the 
Saint Vincent’s Orphan Asylum, Florence Crit¬ 
tenden Home, Protestant Orphan Asylum, Dea¬ 
coness’s Home, and many others. 

Commerce. Detroit is favored in the expanse 
of its commerce and industry by its favorable 
location on navigable waters and numerous 
railroads. Among the northern ports it takes 
second rank in foreign trade, much of which is 
with Canada. The exports include cereals, live 
stock, hides, lumber, and machinery. It is 
favored as a center of wholesaling and ships 
large quantities of manufactures and merchan¬ 
dise to points in Michigan and adjoining states. 
Among the leading manufactures are automo¬ 
biles, furniture, wagons and carriages, matches, 
chemicals and drugs, steel and iron products, 
and machinery. It is a slaughtering and packing 
center and has large establishments for the 
manufacture of paint and varnish. Large ship¬ 
ments of ore are received from points in north¬ 
ern Michigan and Minnesota, and coal is ob¬ 
tained from the mines of Ohio and Pennsyl¬ 
vania, hence its iron and steel industries have 
been making marked advancement. 

History. The first settlement on the site of 
Detroit was. made by the French in 1701, when 
Cadillac, governor of the French territory, built 



DETROIT RIVER 


G39 


DEVONIAN 


Fort Pontchartrain. It remained a French trad¬ 
ing village until 17G0, when it was captured by 
the British. At the close of the French and 
Indian War, in 1763, it became British territory, 
and finally passed to tjie United States in 1796. 
It was incorporated as a town in 1802, but its 
charter as a city dates from 1824. In 1805-37 
it was the capital of the Territory of Michigan, 
and remained the capital of the State until 
1848, when it was superseded by Lansing. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1904, 317,591; in 1910, 465,766. 

DETROIT RIVER, the channel or strait 
which connects Lake Saint Clair and Lake Erie, 
by which the waters of the three upper Great 
Lakes reach the Saint Lawrence. It is about 
twenty-five miles long, three-fourths of a mile 
wide, and navigable by the largest vessels. For 
four months in the year it is ice-bound. Within 
the river are many islands and much fine scen¬ 
ery. The commerce is very extensive. It was 
named from the French, the name meaning 
strait. 

DEUTERONOMY (du-ter-on'6-my), the 
fifth book of the Pentateuch and of the Bible. 
It is thought that Moses himself wrote this part 
of the Holy Scriptures, with the exception of 
the last four chapters, in which the closing 
events in the life of the great lawgiver are 
narrated. It repeats the laws which had previ¬ 
ously been promulgated, hence the name. In 
it is the. history of what passed in the wilder¬ 
ness during about five weeks, from the beginning 
of the eleventh month to the early part of the 
twelfth month, in the fortieth year after the 
Israelites departed from Egypt. Moses re¬ 
counts in Deuteronomy the events which had 
taken place in the Israelitic history, and makes 
comprehensive references to particular phases 
in the law received at Sinai. The books which 
precede Deuteronomy are Genesis, Exodus, Le¬ 
viticus, and Numbers. 

DEVIL (dev'’l), in theology, the sovereign 
spirit of evil, corresponding to the Satan of the 
Hebrews and the Iblis of the Mohammedans. 
In the Bible the devil is represented as the evil 
one and the father of lies. He is regarded a 
rebel against God, a being who is perfect in 
every kind of skill and knowledge, which he 
uses to pervert man and entangle him in the 
meshes of sin. In the Middle Ages, even as late 
as the 17th century, the belief in evil spirits 
was very common. In many instances, when 
a man of genius had made a scientific discovery 
or accomplished some extraordinary feat, it 
was supposed that his mind was assisted by the 
devil in some mysterious way. 

As sovereign of the demons, the devil held 
a prominent place in the practice of magic and 


in many of the poetical legends. In the mys¬ 
teries (q. v.) he was often represented on the 
stage with flaming eyes, hooked nails, cloven 
hoofs, spreading horns, black complexion, and 
sulphuric odor. Milton and Klopstock, the 
former in the character of Satan, and the latter 
in that of Abbadonna, introduced the devil as a 
fallen angel, still somewhat dignified amid the 
disfigurements of sin. The doctrine of the 
fathers of the church, founded upon certain 
passages of the Scriptures, makes him the leader 
of a rebellion among the angels, the enemy of 
God, the author and constant promoter of sin, 
now. suffering chastisement for his crimes, and 
destined to eternal punishment. He is called 
the prince of this world and regarded the cause 
of man’s fall from grace, yet his power was 
broken by the work of Christ, hence Christians 
can rise superior to the might of his influence. 

DEVIL FISH, the name of a fish belonging 
to the ray family, common to the waters of the 
Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It has a winglike 
process on each side and the head is truncated 
in front, giving it a peculiar appearance when 
moving in the water. Divers dread it as a 
dangerous inhabitant of the sea. 

DEVILS LAKE, a city of North Dakota, in 
Ramsey County, on the north shore of Devils 
Lake. This lake is forty miles long, about ten 
miles wide, and its surface is 1,465 feet above 
the sea. The water is saline and shallow in 
many places and the lake has no visible outlet. 
The city is the county seat of Ramsey County, 
located on the Great Northern Railway, and is 
surrounded by a fertile farming country. It 
has a growing trade in produce and merchandise. 
Among the chief buildings are a county court¬ 
house, a high school, and several fine churches. 
Population, 1900, 1,729; in 1910, 5,157. 

DEVONIAN (de-vo'ni-an), one of the rock 
systems of the Palaeozoic period, located be¬ 
tween the Silurian and Carboniferous systems. 
It is so named from Devon, England, where its 
strata were first distinguished from those of 
the Silurian and Carboniferous by Sir R. Mur¬ 
chison. Geologists usually divide it into three 
groups, the Lower, the Middle, and the Upper, 
of . which the last mentioned is notably distin¬ 
guished by the presence of large deposits of 
old red sandstone. The fossil remains are very 
abundant, especially those of fishes, and include 
crustaceans, corals, mollusks, crinoids, and 
cephalopods. The rocks of this system are es¬ 
pecially abundant in the Catskill Mountains of 
New York, where they approximate a thickness 
of 2,000 feet. They are distributed in many 
parts of North America, being found in the 
Black Hills of South Dakota, in Utah and Ne- 


DEW 


640 


DIAMETER 


vada, in many sections of the Appalachian 
Mountains, and in Ontario and other localities 
of Canada. See Geology. 

DEW (du), a condensation of moisture from 
the atmosphere in the form of minute globules 
upon the surface of certain bodies. On a glass 
filled with cold water, set out on a warm day, 
small drops of water form, which are derived 
entirely from the air. This is caused by the 
temperature of the air, coming in contact with 
the cold side, being lowered below the dew 
point; thus, it deposits the surplus moisture be¬ 
yond its power of retention. The dew seen on 
plants and other objects has a similar origin. 
The earth absorbs more heat during the day 
than it emits, and at night, when the supply of 
warmth is cut off, it continues to radiate heat. 
Objects above the surface of the earth cool 
more rapidly than the air or the earth, thus 
resulting in a formation of dew as the air or 
radiated warmth comes in contact with plants 
and other objects above the surface. Dew is 
deposited as hoarfrost when the objects are 
colder than 32° Fahr. 

Dew accumulates much more readily on some 
objects than on others, because some substances 
radiate their heat more rapidly than other 
bodies. The deposit is greater during a clear 
night than when it is cloudy, for the reason 
that the earth and air cool more readily when 
it is clear. The reason that more dew is depos¬ 
ited on a still night than when it is windy is due 
to the fact that air must remain for some time 
in contact with cold objects to enable them to 
lower its temperature and collect its moisture. 
The amount of dew deposited in warm countries 
greatly exceeds that of cold regions, and in some 
regions it is one of the principal sources of 
moisture for the growth and development of 
plants. Air is said to have reached its dew 
point when it contains all the moisture it is 
capable of holding. The dew deposited is from 
a comparatively thin stratum of air in the imme¬ 
diate proximity of the cool object. The general 
precipitations, including rain, snow, and hail, are 
caused by the cooling of large masses of air. 

DEXTRIN (deks'trin), a brownish-white 
compound found in nature, as in the sap of 
plants, and formed by the action of heat or 
acids on starch. It is soluble in water and may 
be purified by precipitating it with alcohol. 
Dextrin is used in medicine as a substitute for 
gum arabic, in calico printing, and in stiffening 
textiles. It is employed to a large extent on 
the back of postage stamps. 

DHAWALAGIRI (da'wa-la-ge're), or 
Dhaulagiri, an elevated peak of the Himalaya 
Mountains, in Nepal. Its height is 26,825 feet, 


the fourth in height of that great system, being 
exceeded by mounts Everest, Kinchin junga, 
and Shumalari. 

DIABASE (di'a-bas), a crystalline rock of 
the igneous group, composed of feldspar, pyrox¬ 
ene, and lime soda. The texture is crystalline 
throughout and the composition is hard and 
compact. Feldspar found in diabase is usually 
formed in bladed crystals, which give the rock 
a mottled appearance, especially if the grains 
of pyroxene are coarse. Some specimens have 
a green color, owing to the presence of olivine. 
Diabase formations are widely distributed. They 
occur in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Lake Su¬ 
perior, in the Palisades of the Hudson River, 
in the Deccan of India, and in several sections 
of the Scandinavian Peninsula. 

DIAL (di'al)> an instrument for ascertaining 
the time by means of the shadow of a stile or 
gnomon, through the agency of the rays of the 
sun or moon thrown upon a graduated plate or 
disk. It is certain that the dial is the invention 
of the Asiatics. When Ahaz went to Damascus 
in 771 b. c., he saw a beautiful altar and sent 
plans of it to Jerusalem. On his return an altar 
was constructed. He set a dial which is men¬ 
tioned in connection with the cure of his son 
Hezekiah thirteen years after the death of 
Ahaz. This is, perhaps, the first dial on record, 
and is some earlier than the eclipse of the 
moon observed at Babylonia as recorded by 
Ptolemy. 

Dials were in general use before watches and 
clocks became common as timekeepers. They 
are of various construction, either upright, hori¬ 
zontal, or inclined. The common dial has a 
horizontal plane, or dial plate. The stile, point¬ 
ing toward the North or South Pole, north or 
south of the Equator respectively, is adjusted 
to retain its parallelism to the earth’s axis. 
This form becomes a polar dial at the Equator. 
The hour lines intersect each other and the stile 
intersects the plane of the dial at all latitudes, 
except at or near the Equator. The shadows 
of the stile or gnomon cast upon the figures of 
the dial mark the several hours of the day, indi¬ 
cating the sun’s distance from the meridian. 
Similar dials are made to indicate the time of 
the night by the shadow of the moon or stars. 
These instruments are not serviceable during 
cloudy weather. 

DIAMETER (di-am'e-ter), a straight line 
drawn through the center of a circle or sphere, 
terminating at two opposite points of the cir¬ 
cumference. A circle is divided into two equal 
parts by its diarpeter, which is its greatest 
chord. A diameter of a cylindrical body is that 
of one of its circular sections. The diameter 


DIAMOND 


641 


DIAPHRAGM 


of a body is found by dividing its circumference 
by 3.1416. 

DIAMOND (di'a-mund), one of the most 
valuable and the hardest of precious stones, 
being the purest form in which carbon is found. 
Its crystals are cubical in form and most com¬ 
monly have twelve faces. Diamonds of the 
finest quality are colorless, perfectly clear, and 
said to be of the first water. Some varieties are 
green, orange, red, yellow, or blue, these being, 
highly prized, if the tint is decided and equal 
throughout. It is transparent. and translucent, 
and is so hard that it can be cut only by itself, 
and will scratch any other substance. When 
cut and polished, a diamond of the purest water 
weighing one carat is valued at about $100, and 
the value increases as the square of the weight 
in carats is multiplied. Its commercial value 
is affected by the slightest tinge of color, though 
blue-colored diamonds are exceedingly rare and 
have commanded enormous prices. 

The annual production of diamonds in South 
Africa is about 2,750,000 carats, equal to about 
five-eighths of a ton. The amount realized by 
the sale of this production is estimated at 
$18,500,000. However, the output varies greatly 
from year to year, being greatest in 1901, when 
the production of the Kimberley fields was sold 
for $23,144,225. Other productive diamond 

fields are located in Brazil, Australia, and India, 
though small quantities are found in various 
other regions, especially in the Ural Mountains, 
California, and several other states of the 

United States. The diamond fields of Brazil 
were discovered in 1728, and the largest single 
specimen found there weighed 254 carats. It 
was sold to the Gaikwar of Baroda for $400,- 

000, and became known as the “Star of the 

South.” 

Diamonds are found in the sand and gravel of 
river, lake, and sea beds, and in diamond-bear¬ 
ing rocks. The stones are separated from the 
sand and rock by washing; this requires elabo¬ 
rate machinery and a large water supply. The 
principal uses of diamonds are for polished 
gems, cutting glass, ornaments, and boring or 
drilling. Engravers use diamonds as etching 
points, for which purpose they are cut in vari¬ 
ous forms, the value depending largely upon 
skill in cutting. Recent experiments tend to 
^show that diamonds may be produced by bring¬ 
ing carbon in contact with fused silicate min¬ 
eral. It is thought that the African diamonds 
were formed in this way, since they are found 
in igneous rock adjacent to carbonaceous 
shale. 

Among the diamonds celebrated in history is 
the Great Mogul, found in 1550, in Golconda, 

41 


which weighed 793 carats and was cut to 279 
carats. The Austrian is a rose cut diamond 
weighing 140 carats. The great Russian dia¬ 
mond, now in the scepter of Russia, weighed 
193 carats. It was purchased by Count Orloff 
for $500,000 and presented to Catharine on her 
birthday in 1772. The Kohinoor, meaning 
“Mountain of Light,” belonged in turn to Shah 
Jehan, Aurungzebe, Nadir Shah, the Afghan 
rulers, and afterward to the East Indian Sikh 
chief, Runjeet Singh. It was surrendered to 
the Queen of England in 1849 by the last ruler 
of the Punjab, when the annexation of his 
dominions to Britain took place. Originally it 
weighed 800 carats, but was reduced by unskill¬ 
ful artists to 279 carats. It was recut in 1852 
and now weighs 103 carats. The Regent or 
Pitt diamond, now in the Louvre, Paris, weighs 
136 carats and is said to be worth $2,500,000. 
Among the largest diamonds found in South 
Africa is one that weighed 302 carats and an¬ 
other weighed 3,000 carats. 

DIANA, Temple of, an architectural struc¬ 
ture of Ephesus, in Asia Minor, one of the 
seven wonders of the world. It was built at 
public expense under plans made by Chersi- 
phron of Cnosus, the chief architect. Pliny 
thought that it required 120 years to complete 
the building, which was 225 feet wide and 425 
feet long, and had d.26 columns that were 60 
feet high and constructed of Parian marble. 
These columns were in four rows, two rows of 
eight columns each across the front and two 
rows of twenty columns each on the sides, with 
an additional number set near the main en¬ 
trance. Herostratus is said to have burned it 
in 356 b. c., when a part of the temple was de¬ 
stroyed. The Goths plundered it in 262 b. c. 
Excavations made in 1869 led to a discovery of 
the site, and a number of sculptures and frag¬ 
ments of the architecture are preserved in the 
British Museum and other collections. 

DIAPHRAGM (dla-fram), the broad, al¬ 
most circular muscle which separates the cavity 
of the thorax from that ,of the abdomen. It is 
thin and in its center has some fibrous tissue. 
Because of the constant pressure of the abdomi¬ 
nal viscera and muscles, it arches up in the 
thorax. Through it pass the oesophagus, aorta, 
thoracic duct, inferior vena cava, and a number 
of the large nerves. During inspiration it as¬ 
cends, thus increasing the capacity of the tho¬ 
rax, whose vacuum is filled with air, and in ex¬ 
piration it assumes its former position. Expul¬ 
sions of air are governed largely by the dia¬ 
phragm, hence it is a factor in laughing, crying, 
sneezing, and coughing. Sudden contraction of 
the diaphragm cause hiccoughing. 




DIARBEKIR 


642 


DIES IRAE 


DIARBEKIR (de-iir'bek-er), or Diarbekr, 
a city of Asiatic Turkey, capital of the vilyet of 
Diarbekir, on the Tigris River. Most of the 
architecture is inferior, constructed chiefly of 
rough stone or of sun-dried brick, but it has a 
number of fine bazaars, mosques, and Christian 
churches. The manufactures consist chiefly of 
utensils and silk and cotton textiles. Copper 
is mined in the vicinity. Anciently it was 
known as 'Amida. Constantinus fortified it, but 
it was captured by the Persians in 502 a. d. 
Population, 1907, 46,500. 

DIATOMS (di'a-tomz), a family of micro¬ 
scopic plants, widely distributed in nearly all 
parts of the world. They were first discovered 
by O. F. Muller near the beginning of the last 
century, and by 1824 only 49 species were known. 
It is thought that not less than 9,000 species 
exist. For some time writers differed as to 
whether they should be classed with the vege¬ 
table or animal kingdom, but from a study of 
their general structure, and more especially 
their modes of reproduction, they are now 
universally classed as plants. The diatoms are 
common to most fresh and salt waters, and 
are devoured in large numbers as food by the 
lower forms of marine animals. When exam¬ 
ined by the microscope, it is seen that the cells 
are solitary, or united into colonies, and each 
cell has a small shell or covering, which in many 
species is beautifully ornamented. 

DICE (dis), the plural of die, small cubes 
of bone, ivory, or serpentine stone, used in 
playing the game of dice. The faces are marked 
with a different number of points, from one to 
six, in such a way that the numbers on any two 
opposite sides count seven. In playing they are 
shaken and thrown from a box on a table, and 
the game depends upon the number of points 
presented by the upper faces. It is thought 
that the game was first used by the Lydiansj 
and was played quite extensively among the 
Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans. 

DICKINSON, a city of North Dakota, coun¬ 
ty seat of Stark County, 115 miles west of Bis¬ 
marck. It is nicely located on the Heart River 
and the Northern Pacific Railroad. The sur¬ 
rounding country is agricultural and s(ock rais¬ 
ing. It has a number of fine school and county 
buildings, several churches, and a large trade in 
produce and merchandise. It is important as a 
grain shipping point and has a number of large 
elevators and lumber yards. Population, 1905, 
3,188. 

DICTATOR (dlk-ta'ter), the highest magis¬ 
trate in the ancient Roman Republic. The dic¬ 
tator was an extraordinary magistrate, endowed 
with absolute authority, and it lay with the 


senate when the services of such an officer were 
necessary. The first dictator was appointed in 
501 b. c., nine years after the Tarquins were 
expelled from Rome. Only those who had been 
previously consuls were eligible to the position. 
Originally the office could be filled only by a 
patrician, but later eligibility was extended to 
the plebeians. No one could legally hold the 
office longer than six months, but Sulla and 
Caesar were dictators for a longer period. The 
dictator had absolute power without any appeal, 
and his official acts could not be questioned by 
the senate. He was prohibited from leaving 
Italy, could not use the public funds, and was 
not permitted to ride on horseback without 
special permission from the people. 

DICTIONARY (dik'shun-a-ry), a book 
which contains a large list of words in any lan¬ 
guage, arranged alphabetically, and treated in a 
systematic order. The equivalent words in an¬ 
other language are usually given, with the spel¬ 
ling, pronunciation, etymology, definition, and 
other illustrative features. The term is fre¬ 
quently applied to works on special subjects, 
such as law, medicine, music, biography, etc. 
Dictionaries of the English language were first 
published in 1573 by John Baret, in 1616 by 
John Bullokar, and in 1755 by Dr. Johnson. 
Noah Webster published the first edition of his 
dictionary in 1828, and the “American Una¬ 
bridged Dictionary” by Joseph E. Worcester 
was published about the same time. The dic¬ 
tionary of Webster is issued at present under a 
number of titles, including “Webster’s Interna¬ 
tional Dictionary” and “Webster’s Imperial Dic¬ 
tionary.” Among the newer dictionaries are the 
“Oxford English Dictionary,” published in Eng¬ 
land, in 1888, the “American Encyclopaedic Dic¬ 
tionary” (1888), “The Century Dictionary” 
(1891), and “The Standard Dictionary” (1895). 
The last mentioned is among the largest, con¬ 
taining about 320,000 words. It is thought that 
the earliest German dictionary was published by 
Hrabanus Maurus, a contemporary of Charle¬ 
magne. The most extensive German work is 
that of Wilhelm Karl Grimm and in the French, 
that of Maximilien E. Littre. 

DIDYMIUM (di-dim'i-um), a metallic ele¬ 
ment discovered by Mosander in 1842, found 
chiefly in the mineral cerite. It is closely related 
to bismuth. Its chemical symbol is Di, and 
its anatomic weight is 145.4. Chemists have 
separated it into two elements, neodymium and 
praseodymium. 

DIES IRAE (di'ez i're), the title given to 
a Latin hymn whose first line is “Dies irae, dies 
ilia.” Its authorship is generally credited to 
Thomas of Celano, a native of the kingdom of 





DIET 


643 


DIGESTION 


Naples, Whose death occurred in 1255. The 
poem is dedicated to the last judgment, and was 
first published in Venice in 1250. Many of the 
eminent scholars of Germany translated it, 
among them Fichte, Schlegel, and Busenbaum. 
No religious poem has undergone as many trans¬ 
lations in various languages, owing to the dif¬ 
ficulty in producing its exquisite religious fer¬ 
vor. Several stanzas were introduced by Sir 
Walter Scott into his “Lay of the Last Min¬ 
strel,” the first of which is as follows: 

The day of wrath! that dreadful day, 

When heaven and earth shall pass away. 

What power shall be the sinner’s stay? 

How shall he iiieet that dreadful day? 

DIET (di'et), the name of several political 
bodies of Europe, corresponding to the Parlia¬ 
ment of Great Britain and the Cortes of Spain 
and Portugal, it is derived from the Latin 
dicta, and signifies a day fixed for the national 
deliberations of public affairs. In this sense it 
is used to designate the Reichstag of Germany, 
the Riksdag of Sweden, the Rigsdag of Den¬ 
mark, and the Rijksdag of the Netherlands. 
The word diet is frequently applied by English 
writers to the legislative assemblies of Germany, 
Austria, and Hungary. 

DIET, the food commonly eaten to compen¬ 
sate for the waste of tissue and provide means 
for the growth and development. See Food. 

DIFFRACTION (dif-frak'shun), in physics, 
the deflection and decomposition of light, caus¬ 
ing the appearances of parallel bands or fringes 
of prismatic colors. It occurs when light passes 
by the edges of opaque bodies or through nar¬ 
row slits, as by the action of a grating of fine 
lines or bars. A glass screen, commonly called 
a diffraction grating, is used in physical labora¬ 
tories to illustrate these phenomena. It con¬ 
sists of from 10,000 to 20,000 parallel lines to 
the square inch ruled on glass, and as the light 
passes through brilliant spectrum colors result. 
A diffraction grating made by ruling lines on 
speculum metal produces a similar effect by re¬ 
flecting the light from the polished and ruled 
surface. Such gratings are used in place of the 
prism in spectroscopic work, and with them 
it is possible to obtain spectra of wide disper¬ 
sion. The spectrum given by the grating is 
called the normal spectrum, since in it the 
distribution of the different wave lengths is uni¬ 
form. Diffraction gives rise to the play of 
colors seen in mother-of-pearl and the feathers 
of some birds. 

DIFFUSION (dif-fu'zhun), the property 
possessed by liquids of intermingling with each 
other when brought in contact. It may be il¬ 
lustrated by placing water colored with blue 
litmus into a glass jar, and then pouring a 


small quantity of sulphuric acid, by means of a 
thistle tube, into the bottom of the jar. The 
acid will change the blue of the litmus to red 
wherever they come into contact. If the jar 
remains in a quiet place, the acid will inter¬ 
mingle with the litmus solution, and after a 
short time the entire contents of the jar will 
be red. Diffusion is more rapid where the sur¬ 
faces of the two liquids are increased, as by 
placing them in a shallow vessel, or by stirring 
with some solid object, such as a spoon or a 
glass rod. Alcohol and water mix readily when 
placed together in a vessel, but water and mer¬ 
cury or oil and water do not mix, since there 
is no adhesion between their molecules. This 
may be illustrated by pouring oil and water 
into a bottle and shaking thoroughly, after 
which the two will separate into two distinct 
layers, the separation being nearly perfect. Dif¬ 
fusion takes place between gases, which may 
be demonstrated by filling two flasks, one with 
chlorine and the other with hydrogen, and con¬ 
necting the two by means of a long tube through 
the corks fitted tightly into their necks. There 
being a difference between the color of chlorine 
and hydrogen, it is possible to observe the dif¬ 
fusion with the eye as the intermingling takes 
place. 

DIGESTION (di-jes'chun), the process by 
which foods are converted into soluble and 
diffusible products, capable of being absorbed 
by the blood. It may be said to begin in the 
mouth, where the solids are broken into small 
pieces, moistened with saliva, mixed with air 
and saliva, and formed into a bolus for swal¬ 
lowing. The saliva, by its active principle 
known as ptyalin, changes some of the starch 
at once into sugar. The glands of the stomach 
are excited to activity by the entrance of food, 
which has been made somewhat alkaline by the 
saliva and mucus, and the presence of acid 
lessens or stops the action of the ptyalin. A 
slight churning process in the stomach thor¬ 
oughly mixes the ingredients, which are sub¬ 
jected to the action of pepsin, the active prin¬ 
ciple of the gastric juice. The starches and 
fats are loosened, the protoplasm is dissolved, 
and the proteids are converted into peptones. 
Food is acted upon in the stomach from three 
to four hours, depending upon its quality and 
quantity, as well as upon the condition of mind 
and physical health, both of which exercise a 
marked influence. 

The partly digested food which passes from 
the stomach through the pylorus into the duo¬ 
denum is known as chyme, and is a grayish 
liquid and is mixed somewhat with large lumps. 
By the action of the bile, the pancreatic juice, 


DIGHTON ROCK 


644 


DINOSAURIA 


and the intestinal secretions, in the small intes¬ 
tines, the starches are converted into sugar and 
the remaining proteids into peptones, and the 
fats are made into an emulsion, or a soapy 
substance. The digested food, known as chyle, 
is absorbed by the portal blood vessels and by 
the lacteals. The contents that pass into the 
large intestine again become acids, owing to 
fermentation, and a small amount of cellulose is 
digested. The absorption of the liquids con¬ 
tained in the fluid mass is an important func¬ 
tion of the large intestine. 

DIGHTON ROCK (di'tun), a large mass 
of granite on the east bank of the Taunton 
River, near Dighton, Mass. It is remarkable 
for an inscription deeply cut with mysterious 
characters and has been the subject of much 
discussion among antiquarians. Mention was 
made of it by colonists as early as 1730. Some 
writers have expressed the view that the in¬ 
scription was made by the Norseman in 1008, 
while others regard it the product of Indians. 

DIJON (de-zhon'), the capital of the depart¬ 
ment of Cote d’Or, France, on a plain near 
Mount Afrique, 1,915 feet above sea level. It 
is conveniently located on a number of rail¬ 
roads and electric railways. The noteworthy 
features include a Gothic cathedral with a spire 
300 feet high, dating from the 13th century. 
Other noted structures are the Church of Saint 
Michael, the theater, and the university. The 
public hall was begun in 1366 and served as 
a palace of the Burgundian dukes. It has an 
excellent museum, a library with 85,000 vol¬ 
umes, and several institutions of advanced learn¬ 
ing. Among the manufactures are hosiery, 
chemicals, cotton and woolen goods, leather, 
machinery, and the celebrated Dijon mustard. 
The Romans knew the city as Dibia. It passed 
from Burgundy to France in the 5th century, 
was ruled by counts in the 9th century, and 
was united to the duchy of Burgundy in 1007. 
After the death of Charles the Bold it became 
a French possession. The German army occu¬ 
pied it in 1870. Population, 1906, 74,113. 

DIKE (dik), in geology, a wall of trap or 
some similar form of igenous rock, which trav¬ 
erses other rocks, and appears to have been pro¬ 
duced by the flowing of melted matter into a 
deep rent or fissure. Dikes differ from veins in 
being larger, and in their contents having greater 
uniformity. They frequently project above the 
surface like a wall, owing to the rocks around 
them being somewhat softer. In thickness they 
vary from a few inches to a mile. Dikes that 
occur between the layers of a sedimentary 
formation are called intrusive sheets. They 
consist chiefly of basalt and quartz porphyry. 


Dikes are found in volcanic regions and are 
widely distributed. 

DILEMMA (di-lem'ma), in logic, an argu¬ 
ment which contains two or more alternatives, 
equally conclusive against an opponent which 
ever alternative he chooses. A person who is 
confronted by a dilemma must admjt one or 
the other, hence is said to be caught between 
the horns of a dilemma. The following dilem¬ 
ma may serve to convey a clearer notion than 
could be formulated in a definition: “If this 
man were wise, he would not speak irrever¬ 
ently of Scripture in jest; and, if he were 
good, he would not do so in earnest; but he 
does it, either in jest or earnest; therefore, he 
is either not wise, or not good.” 

DINAPUR (de'na-poor), a city of British 
India, in the province of Behar, twelve miles 
northwest of Patna. It is nicely situated on 
the Ganges River and a railroad, and has 
strong fortifications. The surrounding coun¬ 
try is fertile, producing cereals and fruits, and 
the city has a large trade in produce and mer¬ 
chandise. In 1857 it was the scene of a mutiny. 
Population, 1906, 35,046. 

DINARIC ALPS (de-nar'ik), a mountain * 
range in southwestern Austria, trending pafdMl 
to the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It^cWns 
connecting line between the wester^^^y^nQiSp 1 
of the Balkan Range and Mount Klec^^rArfe^ 
southern extremity of the Julian Alps. TI?<r! 
highest peak, Mount Dinara, is 6,010 feet 
sea level. 'A 

DINGO (din'go), the wild dog of Australi^ 
thought to have originated from a breed of 1 
the domestic dog. It is from two to three feet 
long and about two feet high, and has an ap¬ 
pearance somewhat resembling that of a wolf. 
The color ranges from pale brown to black, 
usually with tawny markings, the ears are erect, 
and the tail is bushy. In a wild state it utters 
a howl like a wolf, but when domesticated it 
soon learns to bark when placed in company 
with other dogs. The natives have domesti¬ 
cated the dingo and use it in hunting, but also 
hunt wild dingoes for their flesh, which they 
prize as an article of food. 

DINORNIS (di-nor'ms), a genus of extinct 
birds of the ostrich family,, fossil remains of 
which are found in New Zealand. It is rea¬ 
sonably certain that six species existed and 
that the largest specimens had a height of from 
twelve to fourteen feet. They were stupid and 
indolent, incapable of flying, and subsisted on 
vegetable food. Fossils are found in the de¬ 
posits of the post-Pliocene period! 

• DINOSAURIA (di-n6-sa'ri-a), a group of 
large fossil reptiles, classed with the extinct 


DINOTHERIUM 


645 


DIPLOMACY 


.lizards. Remains of these animals are found 
in the Jurassic system of rocks. They re¬ 
sembled the crocodile on the one hand and 
the birds on the other, and most of the species 
walked on their hind legs. To this group be¬ 
longed the claosaurus annecteus, a birdlike ani¬ 
mal whose body was thirty-five feet long. The 



The treatment in diphtheria is both constitu¬ 
tional and local, in which iron, chloride of 
potash, cinchona bark, and quinine are largely 
employed, though carbolic acid, glycerin, and 
chlorine are used more or less extensively. The 
newer method is to use antitoxin in the treat¬ 
ment. In aggravated cases a tube is employed, 
through which. the patient is enabled 
to breathe while the soreness and 
swelling are greatest. Accurate re¬ 
ports made in 1900 show that the mor¬ 
tality has been reduced very largely 
by the use of this remedy. In 1900 it 
was estimated that the death rate in 
Paris was thus reduced from 72 to 12 
per 1,000 population; in Berlin, from 
125 to 32 per 1,000; and in New York, 
from 187 to 45 per 1,000. It is estimat¬ 
ed that fully 1,150 lives were saved in 
Chicago in the two years 1899-1900. 
This estimate is fully borne out by 
the experience in London in 1908. See 
Antitoxin. 


CLAOSAURUS ANNECTEUS. 

smallest of the group were three feet long, while 
the largest, such as the megalosaurus, attained 
a length of forty to sixty feet. This animal 
was carnivorous, feeding on the animals that 
lived in the haunts it frequented, but the igua- 
nodon was herbivorous. 

DINOTHERIUM (dl-no-the'ri-um), a 
genus of extinct mammals allied to the mod¬ 
ern elephant and the extinct mastodon. Fossil 
remains are found in the Miocene and Pliocene 
rocks of Europe, in the region lying between 
Greece and northern Germany. They had no 
tusks in the upper jaw, but two tusks projected 
downward and slightly backward from the 
lower jaw. It is thought that these animals 
did not inhabit America, but they were in 
Southern Asia, from Asia Minor to India. 

DIPHTHERIA (dif-the'ri-a), a blood dis¬ 
ease characterized by a false membrane com¬ 
posed of elastic fibers, found chiefly on the 
pharynx, tonsils, nostrils, palate, tongue, and 
gums, and sometimes on the oesophagus. The 
membrane is of an ashy color and leaves a 
bleeding surface when detached, often terminat¬ 
ing in blood poisoning. It is a disease of all 
ages, spreads by contagion, and is highly dan¬ 
gerous. It frequently accompanies typhoid 
fever, croup, and scarlet fever, the chances of 
recovery in such cases being very doubtful. 
The fatality has frequently been as high as 
ninety per cent, in past years, but with the 
newer modes of treatment it has been materially 
reduced. 


DIPHTHONG, the union of two 
vowels which are pronounced together 
in one syllable, with one impulse of the voice, 
as in out, soil, and lou. The term improper 
diphthong is applied to a word in which two 
vowels are written together, but only one repre¬ 
senting a sound, as in beat, bean, and bread . 
Many diphthongs in modern English were de¬ 
veloped from monophthongs, or simple vowel 
sounds, as, the modern mouse, which was de¬ 
rived from the old English mus. 

DIPLOMACY (di-plo'ma-si), the term ap¬ 
plied to the art of negotiating and arranging 
treaties between nations. This branch of knowl¬ 
edge relates to the forms of international nego¬ 
tiations, the relation of independent states to 
one another, and the management of envoys 
accredited to foreign courts. Intricate diplo¬ 
macy like that of modern times did not exist 
in the nations of antiquity for the reason that 
the scope of civilization was often confined 
within the limits of a single empire. In Greece, 
Rome, Persia, and other ancient nations political 
agents were employed to discuss national af¬ 
fairs. The primitive movement in bringing, 
about the regular intercourse existing between 
civilized powers has been accredited to the 
efforts of Cardinal de Richelieu, though the 
representatives sent by the Florentine republic 
to Charles V. tends to show that he was not 
the first to perceive the benefits to be derived 
from such a system. Among the diplomatic 
agents recognized are ambassadors, envoys ex¬ 
traordinary, ministers plenipotentiary, ministers 
resident, charge d'affaires, secretaries of lega- 



DIPPER 


646 


DISEASES OF PLANTS 


tion, and attaches. The powers and dignities of 
these agents are graded successively in the order 
named. 

DIPPER (dip'per), a bird of the thrush 
family, but quite similar in appearance to the 
wrens. The bill is sharply pointed and almost 
straight, the plumage is compact, and the tail 
turns slightly upward. Several species are 
noted for their song. They live near the banks 
of streams and the shores of lakes, and feed 
on mollusks and aquatic insects. The dippers 
are so named from their habit of dipping the 
head, which is accompanied by an abrupt up- 
jerking of the tail. Several species are found 
in the highlands of the United States and 
Canada, and others frequent many parts of 
Asia and Europe. 

DIPPING NEEDLE, an instrument to test 
the magnetism of the earth at different places. 
It consists of a magnetic needle supported by a 
stirrup or within a frame so as to be free to 
move vertically. When placed horizontally and 
then magnetized, the needle will not remain 
horizontal, but will dip toward the nearer pole 
of the earth. The angle of dip decreases as 
the distance from the magnetic equator in¬ 
creases. There is no dip at the magnetic equa¬ 
tor, but the needle will assume a vertical direc¬ 
tion at the magnetic poles, hence the distance 
increases from zero to ninety degrees. 

DIPSOMANIA (dip-so-ma'm-a), the mor¬ 
bid craving for alcoholic drinks, classed as a 
form of insanity. The ' attacks are periodical 
and when they occur the patient has an un¬ 
controllable desire to drink excessively, but 
during the intervals he seems mentally sound 
and may abstain entirely from the use of 
liquor. The disease has been treated success¬ 
fully in asylums for the inebriates. Institutions 
of this kind are maintained successfully in many 
states and countries. 

DIRECTORY (di-rekt'6-ry), the name ap¬ 
plied to the government in France which was 
established by the constitution of Aug. 22, 1795. 
This body was composed of five members, who 
ruled in conjunction with two chambers—the 
Council of Ancients and the Council of Five 
Hundred. It was deposed by Napoleon Nov. 
9, 1799, who assumed the government with 
Charles F. Lebrun and Jean J. Cambaceres as 
three consuls, on Dec. 15, 1799, his office being 
that of first consul. 

The name directory is applied to a book 
which contains the names of the inhabitants of 
a city or district. Directories are published at 
frequent intervals. In them the names of citi¬ 
zens are given in an alphabetical order, to¬ 
gether with the place of abode and business or 


profession of the individual. Various direct¬ 
ories are issued by the government, the prin¬ 
cipal and most used work of this kind being 
the “Official Postal Guide.” Such a directory 
contains a list of all the post offices, giving the 
counties and political divisions in which they 
are located. 

DISCOUNT (dTs'kount), a deduction from 
a sum of money due at a future date, or from 
the price at which a commodity is generally 
sold. Banks usually deduct a small per cent, 
from the face of a note when purchasing such 
a paper, called bank discount, and this deduc¬ 
tion is an item of profit in addition to the rate 
of interest specified in the note. When a loan 
is made to a customer by a bank, it is quite 
usual to deduct the interest in advance, hence 
the person borrowing receives a sum slightly 
less than the face of the note he gives at the 
time the loan is made. Merchants usually get 
a discount from the wholesaler when they pay 
cash within ten days from the date of shipment, 
or a smaller discount if they pay within thirty 
or sixty days, and quite frequently the merchant 
has a similar system in giving his customers a 
small discount where a bill is paid cash or within 
a short time. Deductions of this kind are said 
to be based on trade or commercial discounts. 

DISEASE (diz-ez'), a state of ill health, 
usually applied to the absence of health from 
all causes except old age. Organic diseases 
arise from an unhealthy condition of the organs 
of the body, while functional ailments are due 
to causes which prevent the organs from doing 
their work properly, though they may be sound. 
Diseases may exist without pain or uneasiness in 
the ordinary meaning of these words, but hardly 
without functional disturbance or incapacity of 
some kind. Bacteria, sudden exposure, and for¬ 
eign substances that cause, poisonous products 
within the body are among the prolific causes 
of physical ailments. Diseases are either dia¬ 
thetic or enthetic, the former arising from pre¬ 
disposition and the latter from without the 
patient. 

DISEASES OF PLANTS, the ill health of 
plants, which causes their death or interferes 
with their normal development. The importance 
of this topic has been developed under a sys¬ 
tematic study of plant life, and writers have 
become able to group and treat plant diseases 
with a high degree of accuracy. They are 
usually classified according to their causes, which 
are fungi, insects, bacteria, and physiological. 
The fungi include such diseases as mildews, 
grape rot, potato rot, and the smuts and rusts 
of grains. Diseases of this kind are spread by 
minute spores, which art carried from plant to 


DISMAL SWAMP 


047 


DISTILLATION 


plant by insects, by the wind, and by other 
agencies. The plant on which they lodge is at¬ 
tacked, if the conditions are favorable, and 
the diseases make rapid progress when they are 
developed, causing either death or decay of a 
part or of the entire plant. 

The diseases due to insects are numerous, es¬ 
pecially in the forests and orchards. The 
phylloxera (q. v.), a prolific cause of disease 
among grapes and orange trees, is much dreaded 
in many parts of Europe. Carnations and many 
other flowering plants are attacked by the 
aphides, and eelworms attack the roots and 
cause galls in many economic plants. Diseases 
due to bacteria include the black rot of cab¬ 
bage, the blight of apples and pears, and a wilt 
disease in cucumbers and melons. Physiological 
diseases are due chiefly to unhealthful condi¬ 
tions that surround the plants, such as unsuit¬ 
able light and heat and improper nutrition. 
Plants subjected to ill health from these and 
similar causes turn yellow and rarely develop 
their fruit. 

DISMAL SWAMP, a tract of marshy land 
located in North Carolina and Virginia. For¬ 
merly it was forty miles long and twenty miles 
wide, but it has been reduced somewhat by 
draining. It is covered largely with trees, con¬ 
sisting mostly of cypress, juniper, and cedar, 
with dense brushwood underneath. In the most 
elevated portions oak and beech trees abound. 
Canals have been constructed through it, being 
utilized for shipping timber for the manufac¬ 
ture of railroad ties, lumber, and shingles. Lake 
Drummond, six miles in length, is a sheet of 
water in the midst of the swamp. A navigable 
canal connects this region with Albemarle 
Sound and Chesapeake Bay. 

DISTAFF (dis'taf), a simple instrument 
used in spinning, employed extensively by the 
people in ancient times. It is in the form of a 
staff, on one end of which the wool was rolled. 
The spinner held it in the left hand while the 
right hand was occupied in drawing out the 
fibers of the wool and at the same time twisting 
them. A small piece of wood called a spindle 
was attached to the thread, the weight of which 
continually carried it down as it was formed. 
When the spindle reached the ground it was 
unfastened, the thread which had been formed 
was wound around it, and it was then again 
fastened near the new thread. A modified form 
of the distaff is still used by the peasants of 
Greece. The Fates are represented in ancient 
and modern art with the distaff, with which 
they are busied spinning the thread of life. 

DISTEMPER (dis-tem'per), a mode of 
painting, in which the colors are coarser than 


those used for higher artistic purposes, and are 
mixed in a watery glue, such as sizing and 
whiting. Formerly it was employed in the 
higher departments of art, but now it is used 
chiefly in making wall paper and in scene paint¬ 
ing. 

DISTILLATION (dis-til-la'shun), the proc¬ 
ess of heating solids or liquids in a retort or 
vessel so constructed that the vapors thrown 
off are collected and condensed. A representa¬ 
tion of the apparatus used is shown in the ac¬ 
companying illustration. The retort or vessel, 



marked a in the figure, is called the body of 
the still, in which the vaporization takes place, 
and from it the vapor is carried by pipe b, to 
the refrigerator, which is cooled for condensing 
purposes by a stream of cold water flowing in 
through pipe e, and out through pipe /. The 
worm tub d contains the coiled tube, or worm c, 
in which the condensation takes place, and the 
distilled liquid flows out at g. Distillation is of 
great value in manufactures and the arts. It 
enables the chemist to obtain pure or distilled 
water. Sea water can be rendered wholesome 
by distillation, while essences and volatile oils 
may be extracted from plants by this process 
with alcohol or water. It is utilized most ex¬ 
tensively in manufacturing alcoholic spirits. In 
the process of manufacture a wort is prepared 
from malt or some other substance at a tem¬ 
perature not above 160° Fahr. After separating 
it from the grain and cooling, a quantity of 
yeast is added. Fermentation takes place readily 
at about 65° Fahr., in which process the sac¬ 
charine matter of the wort is resolved into 
carbonic acid and alcohol, the latter remaining 
in the liquid. The alcoholic mixture is run into 

































































DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 


648 


DIVERS 


a still as soon as the liquor ceases to ferment 
and submitted to distillation. 

The character and strength of the distilled 
product depend upon the construction of the 
still; the first distillation is quite weak, while 
the second has the effect of greatly strengthen¬ 
ing it. In the process the easily vaporized parts 
are separated from the rest and retain the 
flavor of the juice from which they are made. 
The malt liquor is flavored with the essential 
oil of barley, rum with the oil of the sugar 
cane, brandy with the oil of the grape, and gin 
with the oil of the juniper. 

Destructive distillation differs from the proc¬ 
ess described in that the temperature is raised 
sufficiently high to decompose the substance, 
and bodies are produced that do not exist in 
the original matter. The substances are sub¬ 
jected to the action of intense heat out of con¬ 
tact with the air. It is variously conducted, and 
for widely different purposes in the same or 
different substances. Wood is distilled partly 
to secure charcoal and partly for the tar and 
pyroligneous acid. Coal is distilled to obtain 
the gas, anthracene, benzole, and ammoniacal 
water, and sometimes to secure the fixed carbon 
or coke. In the distillation of bones the char¬ 
coal and oil are collected. Shale is submitted 
to the process solely to obtain the oil. 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, a Territory 
of the United States, located between Virginia 
and Maryland, on the east bank of the Poto¬ 



mac River. The area is 64 square miles. It 
has a gently rolling surface, except along the 
Potomac, where flat and marshy tracts occur. 


The southern part is crossed by the Anacostia 
River, which flows into the Potomac, and the 
northern part is traversed by Rock Creek. About 
one-fifth of the surface is in farms and gardens, 
although the soil is light and sandy. The 
remainder is occupied by the city of Washing¬ 
ton, Uniontown, and a number of villages. 
Fruit, flowers, hay, and vegetables are the chief 
products. 

Originally the District of Columbia contained 
100 square miles, of which 64 were ceded by 
Maryland in 1788 and 36 by Virginia in 1789. 
It received the official name of the Territory of 
Columbia in 1791, and the capital was removed 
thither in 1800. The portion south of the Po¬ 
tomac was given back to Virginia in 1846; thus 
it lies wholly east of that river. Congress ad¬ 
ministered the affairs of the district prior to 
1871, but in that year it was placed upon a ter¬ 
ritorial basis. Henry D. Cooke served as Gov¬ 
ernor from 1871 to 1873, and Alexander Shep¬ 
herd from 1873 to 1874. Since 1874 the gov¬ 
ernment has been vested in the hands of a local 
corporation, with an executive branch consist¬ 
ing of three commissioners, one of whom must 
be an officer of the engineer corps and the other 
two are appointed by the President of the 
United States. Subordinate municipal officers 
are appointed by the commissioners, while the 
recorders, justices of the peace, and judicial 
officers are appointed by the President. 

The inhabitants are centered very largely in 
the city of Washington and the villages are- 
properly suburbs. Though Georgetown was 
formerly a separate corporation, it has been 
a part of Washington since 1878. In 1900 the 
total population was 278,178. Of this number 
218,196 were in the old limits of Washington; 
14,529, in the old limits of Georgetown; and 
45,973, in the remainder of the district. In 1905 
the population was 323,143, including 95,695 
negroes. See Washington. 

DIVERS (di'vers), a family of swimming 
birds remarkable for their power and habit of 
diving. They are known by their webbed toes, 
short and rounded tail, short wings, and straight, 
strong, and pointed bill. In flight they are 
remarkably rapid, and their movement under 
water is speedy and well directed. They pur¬ 
sue fish for food by moving rapidly, propelling 
themselves by their feet and wings, and fre¬ 
quently remain under water for some time 
before emerging. Divers are most common in 
the north, where they breed in the summer, and 
they move southward in the autumn. Large 
numbers are found in Northern Europe and 
America. The great northern loon of Europe 
is the largest of the various species, being 






























DIVIDE 


649 


DIVING 


nearly three feet long. It and several closely 
allied birds are valued for fine plumage. 

DIVIDE (di-vid'), or Watershed, in physi¬ 
ography, the crest line which divides the slopes 
of two drainage systems Divides are charac¬ 
terized by various physical features, ranging 
from the low watersheds in regions slightly 
elevated above the sea to the crest lines of 
mountain systems, where the slopes are usually 
quite abrupt or precipitous. However, gentle 
slopes are abundant even in regions elevated 
greatly above sea level. North America has 
three marked divides, those of the east, of the 
central part, and of the west. The Appalachian 
Mountains, in the eastern part of the United 
States, form the divide between the rivers of 
the Atlantic coastal plain and those flowing into 
the Mississippi from the west. The Height of 
Land, situated in the north central part of the 
United States, is the watershed between the 
northern section of the Mississippi valley and 
the rivers of Central Canada, and the Rocky 
Mountains, in the western part of North Amer¬ 
ica, separate the headwaters of the streams 
flowing into the Pacific from those of the cen¬ 
tral part of the continent. In some places the 
divides are low and channels are cut through 
them by streams, causing them to change their 
direction, while in others a slight overflow 
occurs only during high water. Instances of 
this kind occur in the Des Plaines River, Il¬ 
linois; the Twin River Lake, Yellowstone Park; 
and the Cassiquiare River, South America. 

DIVINATION (div-i-na'shun), the art of 
foretelling future things by revelations from 
oracles or omens. Those who profess the power 
to divine or foretell future events rely upon 
observing the flight of birds and clouds and the 
movement of the planets, or base their belief 
on the influence of spirits or supernatural 
causes. Various forms of divination were prac¬ 
ticed by the ancient Romans and Greeks, who 
probably came to believe in the art from the 
practices which prevailed in Egypt and Chaldea. 
The laws of Moses prohibited it among the 
Israelites, who were not permitted to perform 
any kind of divination. The medicine men 
among the Indians of America practiced it to 
some extent, and it still has adherents in 
some countries. 

DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS, the claim 
made by some sovereigns that they hold their 
office by divine appointment. According to this 
view, they assert the right to govern their sub¬ 
jects without interference, opposition to the 
government being regarded in the light of a 
sin. This doctrine was held by numerous Eng¬ 
lish sovereigns and princes, especially in the 


time of the Stuarts. It is a tenet pleasing to 
despotic rulers, and proportionally displeasing 
to the mass of their subjects. It is spoken of 
by Pope in these words, “The divine right of 
kings to govern wrong.” 

DIVING (div'ing), the art of descending and 
remaining for a certain period of time under 
water, especially when using a diving bell. 
As an art diving is important, being highly 
serviceable in fishing for pearls, sponges and 
corals, and in examining the bottom of rivers 
and the sea. It is utilized largely for engineer¬ 
ing purposes, recovering valuable stores of 
sunken ships, and raising or removing sunken 
vessels. A skillful diver may remain under 
water from two to three minutes' without the 
aid of artificial appliances. This form of div¬ 
ing was practiced in early times near the shore, 
but has gone largely out of use. In order to do 
effective service, it is necessary to supply the 



DIVING DRESS AND TUBES. 


workman with apparatus by which fresh air 
can be conveyed in sufficient quantities to enable 
him to remain under water for some time. 
This is done successfully by various appliances. 

The diving bell, though used in quite ancient 
times, was first made of material value in the 
38th century. It is so named from its form, 
being shaped like a bell. The principle em¬ 
ployed may be illustrated by inverting a tumbler 
and pressing it down into a vessel of water. 
While the water rises to some extent in the 
tumbler, yet the upper portion remains per¬ 
fectly dry, and in it a candle will burn for 





DIVISION OF LABOR 


650 


DIVORCE 


a short time with even increased energy, on 
account of the air being condensed by pressure. 
The diving bell is connected above the surface 
of the water by flexible pipes, making it pos¬ 
sible to inject pure air by a force pump, while 
the impure air escapes at the upper part of 
the bell by a cock. It is generally made* of 
cast iron, containing strong convex lenses in 
the roof or upper side for the admission of 
light to the person within and is suspended 
by chains from a vessel above. In the newer 
forms are provisions by which the workmen 
may move the apparatus or raise or lower it at 
pleasure. 

A waterproof diving dress is another appli¬ 
ance used by divers. It is made of India rub¬ 
ber cloth inclosing the entire body, except the 
head. The head is covered by a helmet con¬ 
taining three eyeholes covered with glass and 
protected by guards. An air pump above sup¬ 
plies air by means of a flexible tube connected 
with the helmet and the impure air passes off 
through another flexible tube to the surface of 
the water, though in some the air escapes 
through a valve. The diver sinks to the bot¬ 
tom by leaden weights attached to the soles of 
the shoes or to the feet. A speaking tube en¬ 
ables him to converse with those above quite 
as conveniently as through a telephone. Re¬ 
cently an apparatus utilizing compressed air has 
been introduced. In this form the air is sup¬ 
plied by means of a self-regulating device cor¬ 
responding to the water pressure. This and 
other classes of diving apparatus frequently 
have an appliance attached by which bubbles 
indicate the condition of the diver, and assist¬ 
ants stationed at the top are informed of his 
safety. A diver rarely remains under water 
more than an hour and a half, and about 150 
feet is usually the greatest depth at which ex¬ 
tensive work can be conducted with safety. 

DIVISION OF LABOR, the term applied 
in the industries to a classification of the work 
done by the workman. The more or less clearly 
defined inclination in each individual, especially 
so far as it relates to occupation, and various 
desires in different persons, have led to the 
modern diversification in trade and industry. 
The consequent division of labor has given to 
modern industries enlarged and enormous pro¬ 
ductiveness. It has been found that a given 
number of persons can produce a greater total 
of wealth by confining themselves individually 
to one thing than if each person worked by. 
himself, endeavoring to produce everything he 
desires. 

To illustrate the advantage, each man of a 
thousand working by himself might produce a 


coat, a barrel of flour, and a pair of shoes in 
a certain time, and the one thousand men might 
produce one thousand of each of these articles. 
However, if each one-third of the men devoted 
themselves to the production of one of the 
three different commodities, the output would 
be considerably larger. In this way a work¬ 
man, producing more than one thing which oth¬ 
ers want, can get in exchange more of the 
things he himself wants, and in the end be 
the producer of vastly greater quantities of 
wealth. This principle has been acted upon to 
such an extent that a great diversity of occu¬ 
pation has been caused in every community, and 
by means of it the necessity of greater exchange 
has been created. 

Among the several advantages coming from 
the division of labor may be enumerated econ¬ 
omy of time, strength, skill, and tools. Be¬ 
sides, it facilitates economy of material and 
supplies, and improves, diversifies, multiplies, 
and cheapens the product. The general im¬ 
provement in tools and machinery may be 
largely attributed to the principle underlying it, 
and the massing of labor and capital has like¬ 
wise resulted, though it has had the effect of 
limiting somewhat the usefulness of the work¬ 
man as an all-round laborer. 

DIVORCE (di-vors'), the partial or total 
dissolution of a previously contracted marriage. 
The former constitutes the judicial separation 
of the two parties, while in the latter the mar¬ 
riage itself is set aside. The ancient Spartans 
rarely granted divorces, while the Athenians 
and other Greeks allowed them frequently for 
trivial causes. During the early epoch of Ro¬ 
man history divorce proceedings were extreme¬ 
ly rare, though in the later period, especially 
in the republic, they became common. The right 
to institute divorce proceedings in the Roman 
court was vested both in the husband and wife. 
The Scriptures limit the separation of husband 
and wife to very narrow channels, while in the 
Catholic theology marriages are indissoluble, 
though special dispensations have been granted 
in exceptional cases. 

General provisions were made for the legal 
separation of husband and wife in the early 
history of the American colonies. All the states 
followed this course with the single exception 
of South Carolina, where divorces are not 
granted by law. The proportion of divorces to 
marriages in the United States is one to fifteen. 
However, provisions for granting divorces and 
the conditions justifying them under the laws 
of the several states are extremely various, 
though a divorce decreed by any of the states 
having competent jurisdiction is recognized as 


DIXIE 


651 


DOCK 


effective by the other states. The general com¬ 
plexity of divorce codes has led to a discussion 
favorable to uniform legislation in all the states. 
It is thought that the divorce laws of the Dis¬ 
trict of Columbia are generally satisfactory to 
the various states, and the agitation has been 
largely favorable to modeling the divorce laws 
of the several states after them. A proposition 
to change the Constitution whereby Congress 
would be given power to pass uniform divorce 
laws has been considered at various times, but 
has been uniformly rejected as impracticable. 

In Canada the divorces are less common 
than in the United States. Only 135 were 
granted in the period of 21 years ending in 
1905, and the larger number of these were in 
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This func¬ 
tion of the government is vested in the courts 
or in the legislative bodies, and the number of 
divorces are uniformly larger where they are 
granted by the courts. In some instances the 
divorcees are not permitted to remarry. An 
alimony is an allowance made to the wife out 
of the estate or income of her husband, after 
she has been legally divorced or separated from 
him. 

DIXIE (diks'y), the name of a popular song, 
which became a rival of Yankee Doodle in the 
Southern States during the Civil War. The 
name was first applied to a negro melody origi¬ 
nated in New York, where a man named Dixie 
was a slaveholder. As the abolition sentiment 
grew stronger, he shipped his slaves south, and 
the refrain expressed their regrets on account 
of leaving Dixie’s Land, as his plantation was 
called. Later the term was applied in a happy 
way to all the Southern States. 

DIXON (diks'’n), county seat of Lee Coun¬ 
ty, Illinois, on the Rock River, about ninety 
miles west of Chicago. Ij: is on the Illinois Cen¬ 
tral and the* Chicago and Northwestern rail¬ 
roads. The noteworthy features include the 
high school, the county courthouse, and the 
Northern Illinois Normal School. The manu¬ 
factures include condensed milk, musical in¬ 
struments, furniture, lumber products, machin¬ 
ery, flour, and implements. It has systems of 
waterworks, sewerage, electric lighting, and 
street pavements. The surrounding country is 
a fertile farming district. It was settled in 
1836 and incorporated in 1869. Population, 
1900, 7,917; in 1910, 7,216. 

DNIEPER (ne'per), an important river of 
Russia, next to the Volga and Danube the lar¬ 
gest in Europe. Its source is in the government 
of Smolensk, at the foot of the Valdai Hills. 
It has a southerly course to Kiev, thence makes 
a bold curve toward the southeast, thence south, 


and thence southwest, flowing into the Black 
Sea. The total length is 1,325 miles, and it is 
navigable from a point some distance above the 
city of Smolensk. Among its principal tribu¬ 
taries are the Pripet, Beresina, and Desna. The 
government of Russia removed the rocks form¬ 
ing a cataract between Kiev and Alexandrovsk, 
and otherwise improved it for the enlargement 
of internal navigation. It also caused the build¬ 
ing of numerous canals,-among them one con¬ 
necting the Dnieper with the Diina, thus making 
a continuous water route from the Baltic Sea 
to the Black Sea. The Dnieper is crossed by 
many bridges, has on its banks numerous com¬ 
mercial centers, and is itself of vast value in 
commerce. The lower course is noted for val¬ 
uable fisheries. In the early history of Europe 
it was regarded the largest river in the world, 
except the Nile. 

DNIESTER (nes'ter), a large river of East¬ 
ern Europe, rises in the Carpathian Mountains, 
in northeastern Austria. The main course 
through Russia is toward the southeast, passing 
from near Chotin toward Odessa, near which 
it flows into the Black Sea, after a course of 
about 850 miles. Owing to numerous rapids 
and shallows, it is navigable only for small ves¬ 
sels, though canals have greatly increased its 
service to commerce. It is subject to overflow 
from the effect of snow melting in the moun¬ 
tains in May and June. The principal cities on 
its banks include Bender, Mohilev, and Aker- 
man. 

DOBBS FERRY (dobz), a village of New 
York, in Westchester County, twenty miles 
north of the center of New York City. It is 
located on the Hudson River and on the New 
York Central and Hudson River Railroad, at 
the south end of an expansion in the Hudson 
known as Tappan Bay. Many New York busi¬ 
ness men reside here. It has a number of fine 
churches and many modern public utilities. 
Washington and Rochambeau met in the old 
Livingston mansion at Dobbs Ferry to plan the 
Yorktown campaign. Another conference was 
held at the same place in 1783, between Wash¬ 
ington, Clinton, and Carleton, to consider the 
withdrawal of British troops from America. 
Population, 1900, 2,888. 

DOCK, an artificial excavation or structure 
for receiving ships to be repaired, loaded, or 
unloaded. There are several classes, the most 
common being the wet dopks, dry docks, and 
hydraulic docks. Wet docks are intended for 
loading and unloading vessels. They are made 
either by excavations near the shore, or by 
constructing walls of timber or solid masonry. 
The latter kind is used where tides cause ma- 




DOCK 


652 


DODONA 


terial changes in the level of the water, the 
ship entering at the time of flood tide, and, 
when closed, the water is kept at the desired 
level. This class of docks provides protection 
for ships against storms and the action of tides. 

Dry docks are used to admit vessels to be 
examined and repaired. They are of such con¬ 
struction that gates can be closed after the 
vessel enters, when the water is pumped out, 
leaving the vessel resting on timbers while the 
shipwrights are engaged on the repairs. A 
floating dock is a form of dry dock. It is 
sunk below the surface of the water, allowing 
the vessel to float into it, after which it is 
raised and the water is pumped out of the sur¬ 
rounding tank. Hydraulic ddcks are likewise a 
kind of dry docks. They ordinarily have a 
system of iron columns, each containing a 



DRY DOCK. 


hydraulic press, by means of which the vessel 
is raised above the surface of the water. The 
hydraulic presses are worked simultaneously by 
powerful steam engines. The presses, working 
on iron pontoons, are first properly adjusted, 
and the ship is raised and securely suspended 
above the water by means of girders. After 
the vessel has been raised and secured in its 
position, the pontoon may be floated away and 
used for elevating other vessels, thus furnish¬ 
ing means whereby a number of vessels may be 
inspected and repaired at the same time. 

Wet and dry docks are maintained in all im¬ 
portant seaports. They are usually in charge of 
a dock master, the official who has control and 
general superintendence. Dockyards are in¬ 
closed magazines near harbors, in which all 


kinds of necessary stores and material are de¬ 
posited. Among the principal dockyards of the 
United States, are those of New York, Wash¬ 
ington, Boston, Pensacola, Portsmouth, N. H., 
League Island, Pa., Mare Island, Cal., New 
London, Conn., and Portsmouth, Va. The 
dockyards of Canada include those of Montreal, 
Quebec, Saint John, and Vancouver. Glasgow 
has the most extensive dockyards in Europe. 

DODDER (dod'der), a genus of parasitic 
plants native to the temperate regions. They are 
leafless, climbing plants, and the flowers grow 
in dense clusters. The young plant begins its 
growth in the groupd and twines upward, fas¬ 
tening itself to the plant from which it derives 
nutriment, and later the rootlets become severed 
from the soil. About fifty species have been 
classified, including those that are parasitic on 
hops, flax, clover, alfalfa, nettles, and legumi¬ 
nous plants. Some are very injurious to wheat 
and clover, especially in Europe. About twenty 
species occur in the United States. 

DODO (do'do), a large bird that became ex¬ 
tinct about two centuries ago. It inhabited 
Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean, east of 
Madagascar. Writers class this bird with the 
pigeons, though it was an extreme modification 
of that type. It had strong but ill-shaped legs, 



DODO. 


functionless- wings, and a clumsy aspect, and 
the upper mandible was hooked like that of a 
bird of prey. The plumage was hairlike. In 
size and weight it was larger than a swan. Its 
extinction was caused by its inability to fly and 
the excellent quality of its flesh for food. 

DODONA (do-do'na), an ancient city of 
Epirus, in Greece, about eleven miles southwest 
of the site of modern Janina. It was located 
near Mount Tomarus, surrounded by rugged 












DOG 


053 


DOG 


hills, and was the seat of an ancient oracle dedi¬ 
cated to Zeus. The priestesses received their 
communications by listening to the rustling of 
the leaves of an oak tree, which was supposed 
to be the seat of the deity. In 18&7 extensive 
excavations were made, when an acropolis and 
the temples of Zeus and Aphrodite were lo¬ 
cated. 

DOG (dog), the common name of a family 
of quadrupeds of the genus Canis, with which 
are included the wolf, jackal, and fox. How¬ 



setter. 


ever, the last mentioned is termed a subgenus 
by some writers. The origin of the dog family 
is not known, but the animal is thought to have 
resulted from a crossing of various extinct and 
living species of quadrupeds, as wolves and 
jackals. The question of descent has been de¬ 
bated for many years among writers and nat¬ 
uralists. Though wild dogs inhabit several 
parts of the world, such as the dhole of India 
and the dingo of Australia, they are regarded 
merely domestic species that have merged into 
the wild type by being isolated from settlements 
for long periods of time. The dog has been a 
domestic animal from times far remote. Among 
the earliest allusions to it are those found in 
the books of Moses and in the writings of 
Homer. The figure of a mastiff is carved on an 
Assyrian monument, while an Arabian boar- 
hound with its tightly curled tail is represented 
in Egyptian sculptures. From numerous Ro¬ 
man, Greek, and Celtic writings it is learned 
that dogs were sacrificed to certain deities. 
They were employed very early as executioners, 
and as living tombs for the consumption of car¬ 
rion and human corpses. 

In size and other respects dogs differ very 
largely, which fact has given rise to many 
species and different classifications. Some are 
not more than a few inches high, while others 
attain a height of from two to four feet, and 
are correspondingly proportioned in other re¬ 
spects. They represent all colors, have variously 
formed ears, heads, and limbs, and differ 
largely in the size and character of their hair. 
A species of dogs found in India has no hair 


at all. Some have smooth, others straight, 
others curly or shaggy, and some long, wavy 
hair. The difference in voice and habit is fully 
as great as in size and appearance, and conse¬ 
quently they serve many widely different pur¬ 
poses. 

Hamilton Smith arranged domestic dogs in 
six sections or groups as follows: 1. Wolf 
dogs, including such as the Saint Bernard, New¬ 
foundland, Eskimo, Nootka, Siberian, and shep¬ 
herd dogs. 2. Watch and cattle dogs, embracing 
the German boarhound, matin, dog of the North 
American Indian, and Danish dog. 3. Grey¬ 
hounds, including the Irish hound, greyhound, 
brinjaree dog, lurcher, and Egyptian street dog. 
4. Hounds, embracing the old southern hound, 
bloodhound, staghound, harrier, pointer, setter, 
spaniel, beagle, springer, cocker, poodle, and 
Blenheim dog. 5. Cur dog, including the terrier 
and their allies: 6. Mastiffs, embracing the dif¬ 
ferent kinds of mastiffs, bulldog, and pug dog. 
In this classification he does not reckon the 
dingo, dhole, and several other species of wild 
dogs. These he does not include in the genus 
Canis. Besides, all the recognized species are 
not named uqder each division of this article. 
Other writers have made different classifica¬ 
tions, but the one given here is among the most 
commonly accepted. 

Cuvier regarded the dog as one of the most 
valuable domestic animals, owing to the useful 
purposes that it serves. It is true that each 
individual dog is devoted to his master, assum¬ 
ing largely his manners. It distinguishes and 



SAINT BERNARD. 


defends his property against intruders, often at 
the expense of life. The attachment formed 
remains until death, and springs rather from 
true friendship than from necessity. The highly 
developed sense of smell, strength,. and swift¬ 
ness has made the dog a powerful assistant of 
man in subduing other animals, and in serving 
many conveniences in society. The hunter is 
given valuable service by not only having the 
whereabouts of game located, but, after being 


DOG 


654 


DOGMA 


slain, it is brought to him, even if the danger 
of flood and precipice have to be undergone. 

As a watcher of property in all hours of the 
night and under all circumstances, the dog 
serves a useful purpose and designs to protect 
life and property against the encroachment of 
enemies and the elements. The labor of man 
has been greatly lightened in that the dog has 
been employed in the economy of life and in 
various industries. It is not only an aid in 
securing wild animals for food, but furnisher 
means of conveyance, as in the case of Eskimos 
and Siberians, and in the lighter service of 
going on errands and carrying parcels in cities. 

As a source of relief in danger the ability of 
dogs is illustrated by many adventures in saving 
life at sea and in prolonged and terrific snow¬ 
storms and blizzards. The acuteness of scent 
in some species is so highly developed, particu¬ 
larly in the bloodhound, that they are able to 
follow in the track of a pedestrian at some dis¬ 
tance. The story is told that Robert Bruce, 
in order to escape capture by being tracked by 
bloodhounds, walked in the water of a stream 
for some distance, lifted himself out by the 
branches of a tree, and from its trunk proceeded 
on his course of escape. Bloodhounds were 
employed in many regions of the slaveholding 
states for the purpose of finding the where¬ 
abouts of fugitives and making their capture 
possible. 

Dogs are used in some of the European army 
corps for service as guards in outpost work and 
for carrying ammunition and dispatches. They 
are favorite animals for performance in animal 
shows, and happily entertain audiences with 
many skillful and intelligent actions. They 
render good results in police work in the larger 
cities, where homes for lost dogs are kept, in 
order that those going astray may be killed or 
returned to their owners. In most countries a 
dog is regarded personal property, and the own¬ 
er may be indemnified for willful injury, but 
may be held liable for damage done to others by 
the animal. During the warm summer season 
dogs are required to be muzzled in most of the 
larger cities to prevent injury on account of 
madness. 

Most dogs have a long tail, which is curled 
upward. The teeth are well developed and en¬ 
able the animal to pursue its carnivorous hab¬ 
its, though a portion of the food of some species 
consists of tender vegetable matter. The young 
are born with eyes closed, attaining sight in 
from eight to twelve days. Full maturity is 
reached at about two years, and the average 
life is from ten to twelve years, though a 
period, of twenty years is not rare. The hide is 


valuable in making wearing apparel, such as 
gloves, light shoes, and fur coats. 

DOGBANE (dog'ban), a perennial plant na¬ 
tive to North America, found in open barren 
places from Canada to Alabama. A large num¬ 
ber of species have been classified, including 
both herbs and shrubs. The common dogbane 
grows to a height of two feet, has a smooth 
stem, ovate leaves, pink flowers, and milky 
juice. It is valued for its medical properties, 
obtained chiefly from the bark of the root. The 
Indian hemp, a species quite common in Canada, 
yields a flaxlike fiber used by the Indians in 
making utensils and small wearing apparel. 

DOG DAYS', a period of about forty days 
set apart by the ancients as the hottest season of 
the year, which occurred at the time Sirius, the 
dog star, rose in conjunction with the sun, about 
July 1. Owing to the precession of the equi¬ 
noxes, the time is now different, and is usually 
counted from July 3 to August 11, the time 
being twenty days prior to the heliacal rising 
and twenty days after. The ancients looked 
upon the period of heliacal rising as having an 
evil influence on the earth. 

DOGFISH, a species of fish allied to the 
shark and noted for its voracious and destruc¬ 
tive habits. They are common near the Ameri¬ 
can coast, especially off Massachusetts, and in 
the oceanic waters of Europe. Their character¬ 
istics include more or less spotted skin, black¬ 
ish-brown color, length from three to five feet, 
and rough skin in some species. In weight they 
vary from six to twenty-five pounds. Some 
species are valued as food, but they are caught 
mostly for their oil. 

DOGGER BANK (dog'ger), a large sand 
bank near the middle of the North Sea, about 
midway between Denmark and England. It is 
about 50 miles wide and 175 miles long, ex¬ 
tending in a northeast and southwest direction. 
Near the coast of England it is about 50 feet 
below the surface of the water and the gen¬ 
eral depth is less than 120 feet. Important 
cod-fishing grounds extend across the Dogger 
Bank. 

DOGMA (dog'ma), a word used originally 
to indicate an opinion, but now applied generally 
to an article of belief derived from authority. 
In the latter sense it is applied to the essential 
doctrine of Christianity, based upon the Scrip¬ 
tures or the writings of the Fathers of the 
Church. The English-speaking people prefer to 
use the term doctrine, but in many countries of 
Europe dogma is preferred. A separate profes¬ 
sorship in the study of science of dogmas (Ger. 
Dognien ) is maintained in many of the uni¬ 
versities of Germany. 


DOG STAR 


655 


DOLPHIN 


DOG STAR. See Sirius. 

DOG VIOLET, or Dog’s Tooth Violet. 
See Violet. 

DOGWOOD. See Cornel. 

DOLL, a toy usually representing a little girl, 
but sometimes a boy or man. Dolls are made 
largely in Europe of jointed wood, and else¬ 
where of stuffed cloth, wool, and India rubber. 
Their heads and hands are usually of porcelain 
or wax. The custom is thought to be more an¬ 
cient than civilization, having been found largely 
among savage peoples. With the invention and 
perfection of phonography came the talking 
dolls. These dolls laugh, whistle, sing, and 
talk, and are almost as common as the wax 
dolls so long favorites with children. Dolls 
were displaced to some extent in the United 
States in 1908 by a toy figure representing a 
small bear, called the Teddy Bear, so named 
from President Roosevelt. This toy is inclosed 
in fur or a furlike cloth. 

DOLLAR (dol'ler), a monetary unit of 
value, equal to one hundred cents in the United 
States and Canada. It is coined of silver and 
gold, though the latter is rarely used. The dol¬ 
lar is the smallest denomination of paper money 
now in circulation, and the largest issued in 
silver. The same name is given to coins in 
Mexico, the Philippine Islands, and in many 
countries of South America. Some writers as¬ 
sume that the name was abbreviated from Jo- 
achimsthaler, a coin circulated in 1518, in 
Bohemia, but some German writers derive the 
term from talent, the name applied to a pound 
of gold in the Middle Ages. The Dutch name 
is daler, and the German, thaler. The sign $, 
generally used at present to sig¬ 
nify a dollar, is supposed to date 
from the celebrated Pillar dollar 
of Spain. 

DOLLART (dol'lert), a gulf 
on the northwestern coast of Ger¬ 
many, at the mouth of the Ems 
River, on the boundary of the 
Netherlands. It is about seven 
miles wide and twelve miles long, 
and was formed by inundations of the North 
Sea. The land began to be worn away in the 
latter part of the 13th century and the inunda¬ 
tions continued until about 1540. Many villages 
were destroyed within this period, but some of 
the land has since been reclaimed as polder by 
the construction of dikes. 

DOLLY VARDEN TROUT, a large fish 
found in the cold rivers of the Pacific Coast. 
It has a large head and mouth and a-stout 
body, and the sides are marked with round red 
spots. The tail is almost truncate and the adi¬ 


pose fin is large. It is found in the northwest¬ 
ern part of North America, from the northern 
part of California northward to Kamchatka. 
In Oregon it is called bull trout and toward 
the Russian border it is known as malma or 
golet. 

DOLOMITE (dor6-mit), or Magnesium 
Limestone, a mineral composed of carbonate of 
lime and carbonate of magnesia, found widely 
distributed in all parts of the world. The col¬ 
ors are various, including reddish-white, brown, 
and yellowish-white. Pearl spar, so called from 
its luster, is a crystallized variety. Reddish 
dolomite contains manganese and cobalt, and 
brown spar owes its coloring to the presence of 
iron. Dolomite rock is employed extensively 
for building purposes. It is one of the materials 
that was used largely in the construction of the 
houses of Parliament in London. Large quar¬ 
ries are worked in Vermont, Tennessee, Geor¬ 
gia, and in the southeastern part of Canada. 

DOLPHIN (dol'fin), a genus of fish belong¬ 
ing to the same family as the porpoises and 
narwhals. They are distributed widely from 
the Equator to the poles and commonly swim in 
companies of large numbers, their habits being 
largely gregarious. Their movement is skillful 
and with much velocity, often swimming beside 
the fastest vessels. They display their agility 
by many graceful movements, leaping into the 
air and then plunging through the water with 
a playful and rapid motion. Tourists are often 
delighted by their gambols as they come to the 
surface or may be traced by a slender wake of 
foam beneath the surface. 

The snout is sharp and long, and there are 


DOLPHIN. 

numerous teeth in both jaws, but no organ of 
smell, dolphins being the only mammals having 
this distinction. The flesh is coarse and rank, 
although it is used as food by savages. Their 
food consists chiefly of mollusks, fish, and other 
water animals. A blowhole of a semilunar form 
is located nearly over the eyes, and they come 
to the surface at short intervals to breathe. 
The length varies from six to ten feet. The 
young are watched with care and anxiety by the 
females, who suckle them for some time after 
birth. A species known as the bottle-nosed dol - 




DOME 


656 


DOMINICANS 


phin is most common on the eastern coast of 
North America, extending southward from New 
Brunswick. Other familiar species are the 
black dolphin and the spotted dolphin. A fish of 
the mackerel family, celebrated by poets on ac¬ 
count of changing its color when dying, has 
been given the same name, though it is not a 
true dolphin. This species of fish is called 
Dorado by the Portuguese. It is native to 
tropical waters, attaining a length of from three 
to five feet. 

DOME, the name given to a vaulted covering 
of the whole or a part of a building. It is 
applied more properly to the external part of 
a spherical roof, while the term cupola is used 
to designate both the external and interior parts. 
Most domes or cupolas have a circular form, 
though some are elliptical or polygonal, this 
depending on the figure of the base. A lantern 
or small dome is usually built at the top of a 
large dome, and is supported by the framework 
of the latter. In former times domes were con¬ 
structed largely in the form of hemispheres of 
stone masonry, while those of modern construc¬ 
tion are largely of timbers covered with a me¬ 
tallic surface protection. However, the newer 
domes have a framework almost entirely of 
iron or steel. The Rotunda or Pantheon at 
Rome, constructed under Augustus, is the lar¬ 
gest masonry dome in the world, having an 
internal diameter of 142 feet and an internal 
height of 143 feet. It is still in a perfect con¬ 
dition. Other noteworthy domes are those, of 
the Cathedral of Florence, Saint Peter’s at 
Rome, Saint Sophia at Constantinople, and 
Saint Paul’s at London. The finest dome in 
America is that of the capitol building at Wash¬ 
ington. It is constructed of cast iron, has a 
diameter of 96 feet and a height of 180 feet, 
and is 288 feet above the base line of the east 
front. The weight of the iron in the dome and 
tholus is 8,009,200 pounds. 

DOMESDAY BOOK (doomz'da), the name 
by which an old record of the lands of Eng¬ 
land is known. It contains an account of the 
statistical survey made in 1085-86 under William 
the Conqueror. There are two volumes written 
on vellum, a folio, of 382 pages and a quarto 
of 450 pages. These books contain the names 
of the chief landowners, the value and extent 
of the estates, the kind and value of different 
personal property, and the name of the ten¬ 
ants. The record was made by a number of 
commissioners, who canvassed the country, be¬ 
ing assisted in the work by the people of differ¬ 
ent sections. It furnished a basis for the 
organization of military forces and gave an 
account of the wealth and population, as well as 


titles to property. It was printed in facsimile 
in 1783 and 1816, and since 1861 has been con¬ 
verted to metallic plates. The Domesday Book 
furnishes a valuable record for the investiga¬ 
tion and study of many questions relating to the 
early history of Great Britain. 

DOMINICA (dom-i-ne'ka), or Dominique, 
the largest island of the Leeward group, com¬ 
prising a part of the British possessions in the 
West Indies. It is located between Martinique 
on the south and Guadeloupe on the north, and 
has an area of 291 square miles. The surface 
is mountainous, including some of the highest 
peaks in the Lesser Antilles. Morne Diablotin, 
the most elevated summit, has an altitude of 
5,90Q feet. Many of the valleys are fertile and 
well watered. Few indentations characterize 
the shore, hence the island has few good har¬ 
bors. Among the principal products are indigo, 
coffee, cotton, sugar, and fruits, all of which 
are exported. Roseau, the capital, has a good 
trade and is well fortified. Columbus discov¬ 
ered Dominica on Nov. 3, 1493. In 1814 it be¬ 
came an English possession. Population, 1906, 
29,695. 

DOMINICAL LETTER (do-min'i-cal), 

one of the first seven letters of the alphabet, that 
is A, B, C, D, E, F, G, used in calendars to 
mark the Sundays throughout the year. The 
marking begins with the first seven days of the 
year, and all the succeeding days of the year 
are marked consecutively in sets of seven days; 
hence the 1st, 8th, 15th, etc., of the year are 
marked by A ; and the 2nd, 9th, 16th, etc., by 
B, and so on. The dominical letter would be 
the same year after year, if the number seven 
divided the number of days without a remain¬ 
der but since this is not the case, the dominical 
letters go backward one day every common year 
and two every leap year. Hence, the series 
repeat themselves in four times seven, or 28 
years. The dominical letters are used to dis¬ 
cover on w-hat day of the week any day of the 
month falls in a given year. 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. See Santo 
Domingo. 

DOMINICANS (do-mm'T-kans), the name 
of an order of friar preachers founded by 
Saint Dominic at Toulouse in 1215. Owing to 
a black cloak formerly worn by them, they were 
called Black Friars in England, and in France 
they were known as Jacobins, from the first 
establishment of the order in the church of 
Saint Jacques in Paris. The rules of the order 
are based on those i of Saint Augustine. They 
are bound to observe silence and abstinence 
from fresh meat, and their vows include ob¬ 
servance of poverty, chastity, and obedience. 


DOMINOES 


657 


DORDRECHT 


The special aims of their institutes are the 
study of sacred sciences and ministerial duties. 
The order was confirmed by a bull of Pope 
Innocent III. in 1216. In the Middle Ages they 
divided the paramount influence in the church 
with the Franciscans, and in the 16th century 
the Jesuits took possession of the intellectual 
supremacy exercised by them. They gave to the 
church four popes and about seventy cardinals. 

DOMINOES (dom'i-noz), a game played by 
two or more persons, with flat, rectangular 
pieces of wood, bone, or ivory. The pieces are 
about half as broad as they are long, 28 in 
number, and usually are plain black on the 
back and white on the front, but the latter 
face is divided by a line across the center, on 
each side of which are black dots, except that 
the ends of one set from 1 to 6 are left blank, 
so that upon each domino there is a different 
combination of numbers. Each player takes an 
equal number of the dominoes, selecting them 
after they have been mixed with their backs up. 
The person who has drawn the one which has 
the highest number of points puts it down. 
The next domino played must be one with a 
number the same as one of the two numbers 
represented by the first, and the two similar 
ends are joined. The third player may match 
the remaining number of either the first or 
second domino, and thus the game continues 
until one of the players has put down all his 
pieces and can neither draw nor match. The 
winner scores the number of points equaled 
by the dots on the pieces held by his opponent. 
This game depends partly on chance and partly 
on the memory and calculation. 

DON, a large river of European Russia, hav¬ 
ing its source in Ivan Lake, a small sheet of 
water in the government of Tula. It has a 
southerly course to the Sea of Azov, which it 
enters after flowing about 1,150 miles. The Don 
is navigable for large vessels during the spring 
floods, and at other times is fit only for small 
craft. Owing to numerous shallows, the water 
is spread in some places to a width of 1,750 
feet. It is connected by a canal with the Volga 
system of navigation, and as a whole carries a 
large interior traffic. The principal tributaries 
are the Khoper, Donetz, Manitch, and Sal. Pro¬ 
ductive fisheries abound in the larger portion 
of its course. 

DONALDSONVILLE, a town of Louisi¬ 
ana, capital of Ascension Parish, on the Missis¬ 
sippi River 64 miles above New Orleans. It is 
on the Texas and Pacific Railroad and is sur¬ 
rounded by a rice and cotton growing country. 
The industries include cotton mills, sugar works, 
tobacco factories, and machine shops. It has 
42 


municipal waterworks and an electric light 
plant. The place was settled in 1760 and in¬ 
corporated in 1806. Population, 1900, 4,150. 

DONELSON, Fort, an important fortifica¬ 
tion of the Confederates, on the Cumberland 
River, in the northwestern part of' Tennessee. 
Grant moved his forces to the Cumberland and 
attacked Fort Donelson, after he had captured 
Fort Henry on the Tennessee, Feb. 6, 1862. The 
Confederates at first drove the Federal gun¬ 
boats off, but General Grant’s prompt action 
made it necessary for the fort to surrender. In 
a memorable, letter General Grant demanded the 
surrender to be unconditional. About 15,000 
Confederates were made prisoners and the fall 
of Nashville and Columbus became inevitable. 
General Wheeler made an attempt to recapture 
the place from the Federals on Feb. 6, 1863, 
with a force of 4,500 of' Bragg’s army. The 
garrison of the fort was held by 600 Federals, 
and by successful skirmishes the attack was 
delayed until a gunboat came up the river, caus¬ 
ing the Confederates to withdraw. 

DONGOLA (dSn'go-la), a province of the 
Egyptian Sudan, in the eastern part of Nubia, 
on both sides of the Nile. The surface is level 
and fertile. Wheat, dates, and cattle are the 
leading exports. The inhabitants consist chiefly 
of a mixture of Nubians and Arabs. Moham¬ 
medanism is the chief religion. The province 
was settled by Mamelukes in 1812, after they 
had been expelled from Egypt, but in 1821 it 
was retaken by the Egyptians under Ibrahim 
Pasha. In 1886 a force of British and Egyp¬ 
tians under Kitchener quieted a rebellion, and 
since then the country has been enjoying an era 
of peace. Dongola, or El-Ordeh, the capital, is 
situated on the west bank of the Nile. 

DONKEY (don'ky). See Ass. 

( DORCHESTER (dor'ches-ter), a city of 
New Brunswick, capital of Westmoreland Coun¬ 
ty, at the junction of the Memramcook and 
Petitcodiac rivers. It is nicely situated on 
Shepody Bay and the Intercolonial Railway, 115 
miles northeast of Saint John, and is important 
as a port of entry. Coal and building stone 
are obtained in the vicinity. It has shipbuilding 
yards and is the seat of the penitentiary of the 
Maritime Provinces. Among the prominent 
buildings are , several fine schools and churches, 
and it has electric lights and other public utili¬ 
ties. Population, 1906, 7,108. 

DORDRECHT (dor'drekt), or Dort, a city 
of the Netherlands, in the province of South 
Holland, ten miles southeast of Rotterdam. It 
is located on an island in the Meuse River, and 
has extensive transportation facilities by canals 
and railways, A large Gothic church, a public 


DORIANS 


658 


DOUBLE STARS 


library, a theater, and several fine schools are 
among the chief buildings. The industries in¬ 
clude flouring mills, shipyards, sugar refineries, 
tobacco factories, and iron and salt works. 
Dietrich IIJ. of Holland founded the city in 
1018, and its commercial importance is due 
largely to its membership in the Hanseatic 
League. It was the seat of the Synod of Dort 
in 1618, by which the doctrines of Calvin were 
affirmed. Population, 1906, 44,449. 

DORIANS' (dd'rT-anz), one of the two prin¬ 
cipal branches of the Greeks, the other being 
the Ionians. According to legend, they de¬ 
scended from Dorus, a son of Hellen, and made 
settlement in the Peloponnesus. Among the 
cities of importance founded by them were 
Argos, Sparta, and Messenia. Their colonies 
included Sicily, Crete, and settlements in Asia 
Minor. The dialect of the Dorians was harsh 
and rough, while the Ionian was mild and pol¬ 
ished, yet some admirable features of the 
former caused it to enter largely into hymns 
and choruses. Their philosophy and character 
are visible in the Pythagorean school, which 
shows a strong attachment to the aristocracy. 
The Dorian architecture is distinguished by 
strong and unadorned pillars, while the Ionian 
pillars are slender and profusely decorated. See 
Column. 

DORIC ORDER (dor'ik), the earliest and 
strongest of three Grecian orders of architec¬ 
ture. It is noted for its proportions being the 
same as that of a man; that is, the height of a 
man is about six times the length of his foot. 
In the Doric style the columns are six times the 
diameter. The simplicity and harmony in this 
order are remarkable, and render many of the 
excellent temples, such as those built to Mars, 
Minerva, and Hercules, celebrated on account 
of their long, unbroken lines. Simplicity marks 
the Doric capital, while the frieze and cornice 
are massive, but plain. See Column. 

DORMANT (dor'mant). See Hibernation. 

DORMOUSE (dor'mous), a rodent animal 
appearing to be intermediate between the squir¬ 
rels and the mice. These animals inhabit all 
temperate and warm 
countries, but are most 
common in Eurasia 
and Africa, where 
twelve species are 
found. The fur is soft, 
the eyes and ears are 
large, the tail is long 
and hairy, and the fore 
limbs are short. In 
habits they are quite 
larger than a common 


mouse. The winter is spent largely in a dor¬ 
mant state, from which they have been named 
dormice. Their food consists of nuts, vegeta¬ 
bles, and grains. They are easily domesticated 
and seem to enjoy moving about in a cage. Dur¬ 
ing the warmer days of summer they are active 
in fields and woods laying up a store for win¬ 
ter, but in the rainy or cold seasons they lie 
curled up in their nests and sleep. The young, 
from three to four in number, are brought forth 
in the spring, and by winter are quite able to 
take care of themselves. 

DORTMUND (dort'moont), a city in the 
. province of Westphalia, Germany, on the Ems 
River, about 48 miles^ northeast of Cologne. 
Its rapid growth the past several years is due 
to the development of large coal mines in the 
vicinity and the building of numerous railroads. 
Several thousand persons are engaged in min¬ 
ing, while as many more are employed in manu¬ 
factures and railroad enterprises. Among the 
products are machinery, tobacco, porcelain, tex¬ 
tiles, woolens, cigars, clothing, iron and steel 
utensils, and railroad cars. It has an interest¬ 
ing city hall, a large public library, and munici¬ 
pal baths and gymnasiums. The central railway 
station is an excellent building, and the churches 
and institutions of learning likewise include ex¬ 
pensive and valuable structures. The city has 
well-paved streets, a large park, and many mod¬ 
ern facilites, including electric lights, sewerage, 
and rapid transit. It was a member of the 
Hanseatic league and still has a large trade. 
Population, 1905, 175,577. 

DOUAY (doo'a), or Douai, the name by 
which the version of the Bible used by English- 
speaking Catholics is known. The translation 
was made by divines connected with the Col¬ 
lege of Douay, France, under the direction of 
• Cardinal Allen, the founder of that institution. 
It is based on the Vulgate and is authoritative 
among Catholics, having received the sanction 
of the Pope and the approval of the Council of 
Trent. The Old Testament was published in 
1609, about two years before the authorized 
edition of King James’s Protestant Bible ap¬ 
peared. The New Testament now published 
with the Douay version of the Old Testament 
was first issued at Rheims in 1582. Both have 
been revised at different times. 

DOUBLE STARS', or Binary Stars, a pair 
of stars that revolve about each other, or both 
about a common center. Sir William Herschel 
discovered the first of these stars in 1803, and 
since a large number have been added to the 
catalogues, though the periods of revolution 
have been determined of only a few. About 
10,000 apparently double stars have been cata- 



DORMOUSE. 

timid and in size are 


DOUGLAS 


659 


DOVER 


logued, and it is reasonably certain that 250 are 
binary; that is, they have a revolution round 
their common center of gravity. It requires 
from five and one-half years up to perhaps a 
thousand to complete their periods of revolu¬ 
tion, hence it is difficult to study them with any 
degree of precision. The double stars reveal a' 
duplication of the spectral lines, hence they 
afford curious instances of contrasted colors. 
The color of the smaller star complements that 
of the larger one, the former being blue or 
green and the latter red or orange. 

• DOUGLAS (dug'las), a city of Great Brit¬ 
ain, capital of the Isle of Man, on the east' 
shore of the island, eighty miles northwest of 
Liverpool. It is located on a picturesque bay, 
near which is a fine promenade, and the city is 
popular as a watering place. The streets in the 
older part are narrow and tortuous, but in the 
newer section- they are straight and finely im¬ 
proved. A public library, city waterworks, elec¬ 
tric and gas lights, and a number of fine schools 
are among the public utilties. It has several 
slaughterhouses and a large trade in merchan¬ 
dise. An extensive breakwater and a lighthouse 
afford safety for steamships, with which regular 
communication is maintained with Belfast, Dub¬ 
lin, Liverpool, and Glasgow. Population, 1907, 
23 530 

DOUM PALM (doom). See Palms. 

DOURO (do'roo), a large river of the Span¬ 
ish peninsula, rises in the northern part of 
Spain, and flows west through a portion of 
Spain and the whole of Portugal. The entire 
course is 500 miles and the most important 
tributary is the Pisuerga. Owing to rocks and 
sand banks, only about seventy miles are nav¬ 
igable. The mouth of the river is three miles 
below Oporto, where it flows into the Atlantic 
Ocean. 

DOVE (duv), a pigeon, especially the fa¬ 
miliar species known as the mourning dove of 
North America and the turtle dove of Europe. 
Among the domestic doves are the tumblers, 
fantails, and carrier pigeons. In poetry the 
dove is regarded a symbol of gentleness, while 
in Christianity it typifies the Holy Spirit. See 
Pigeon. 

DOVER (do'ver), the capital of Delaware, 
county seat of Kent County, about eight miles 
west of Delaware Bay, on the Philadelphia, 
Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. It is lo¬ 
cated on elevated ground and has well-im¬ 
proved streets. In the State capitol, which is 
the largest building in the city, is a library 
of 35,000 volumes. Other noteworthy features 
include the county courthouse, the post office, 
the high school, and the Wilmington Conference 


Academy. It has a number of monuments 
dedicated to prominent men of the Revolution. 
The manufactures consist of flour, canned 
fruits, glass, clothing, vehicles, and machinery. 
The surrounding country is largely devoted to 
fruit growing. Electric car lines furnish ample 
means of • conveyance. It was made the State 
capital in 177-7 and was incorporated in 1829. 
Population, 1900, 3,229. 

DOVER, county seat of Strafford County, 
New Hampshire, on the Cocheco River, ten 
miles northwest of Portsmouth. It is on the 
Boston and Maine Railroad. The streets are 
broad and well paved. Among the chief build¬ 
ings are the courthouse, the public library, the 
town hall, the opera house, the Joseph’s Hill 
School, and the Franklin Academy. The man¬ 
ufactures include boots and shoes, cotton and 
woolen goods, machinery, earthenware, and 
prints. It has waterworks, sewerage, and elec¬ 
tric street railways. Dover is one of the oldest 
cities in the State, dating from about the mid¬ 
dle of the 17th century. It was incorporated in 
1855. Population, 1900, 13,207. 

DOVER, a town of New Jersey, in Morris 
County, 27 miles northwest of New York City. 
It is located on the Rockaway River, the Morris 
Canal, and the New Jersey Central and the 
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railways. 
The manufacturing enterprises include iron 
works, machine shops, knitting and silk mills, 
and stove and range works. It has a fine sys¬ 
tem of waterworks and a number of good 
schools. Several summer resorts and a na¬ 
tional powder depot are near the town. The 
first settlement was made in its vicinity in the 
middle of the 18th century. It was incorporated 
as a town in 1869. Population, 1905, 6,353. 

DOVER, an important seaport of England, 
on the Strait of Dover, about sixty miles 
southeast of London. It is the nearest to 
France of the English seaports, being only 
twenty-one miles from the French coast. Nu¬ 
merous railroad lines join it with the interior 
cities, while electric railways furnish ample ur¬ 
ban and suburban connections. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are the churches of Saint 
James and Saint Mary, the Dover College, the 
public library, and the town hall. The Castle 
of Dover, located on the chalk cliffs east of 
the city, was founded by the Romans. It has 
extensive systems of waterworks, sewerage, and 
stone and macadam pavements. The manufac¬ 
tures include fabrics, soap, machinery, clothing, 
and food products. Its harbor has been put 
in excellent condition by recent improvements, 
while the Admiralty Pier protects the entrance. 
The city and surrounding districts are rich in 


DOVER 


660 


DRAGON TREE 


relics of ancient times. Population, 1907, 43,- 
792. 

DOVER, Strait of, the sea channel which 
separates England from France, and connects 
the English Channel with the North Sea. The 
length is 24 miles. It is 25 fathoms deep at the 
time of the spring tides. The narrowest point 
is at Dover, where it is 21 miles wide. Chalk 
cliffs are more or less prevalent on both sides, 
and indicate that at remote ages Great Brit¬ 
ain was connected with the mainland. The 
strait is the site of an important commercial 
life. 

DRACHMA (drak'ma), or Drachm, the 
name of a silver coin and of a measure of 
weight in ancient Greece. The measure of 
weight was composed of six oboli, or a handful. 
A mina contained 100 drachmas and a talent 
contained 1,000. As a unit of weight it varied' 
somewhat at different times, from 6 to 6.5 
grams. The silver drachma had a value of 
from 15.20 to 17.05 cents. The drachma is the 
name of a silver coin now used in Greece. It 
has the same value as the franc of France. The 
dram, a unit of the apothecaries’ weight, con¬ 
tains three scrtiples, or sixty grains. 

DRAFTING, or Conscription, the system 
or method of enlisting men for military ser¬ 
vice under compulsion. In modern times draft¬ 
ing men for the army has been resorted to only 
in cases of emergency, especially when the 
country was involved in a formidable military 
contest. The modern system is based upon the 
military constitution of ancient Rome, where 
conscription was resorted to each year as a 
means to recruit the army. In most countries 
of Europe military service is obligatory on 
every man of sound mind and normal physical 
development. The United States enacted a 
compulsory service law at the time of the Civil 
War, when President Lincoln recruited the 
Federal armies by levying drafts of men. In 
July, 1863, when the Union was in need of 
more soldiers, such a conscription act caused a 
riot in New York, known as the Draft Riots. 
This act required all able-bodied male citizens 
between the ages of 20 and 45 to serve in the 
army, but they were permitted to procure ex¬ 
emption by the payment of $300. 

DRAGON (drag'un), the name applied to 
several species of lizards found in South Amer¬ 
ica, Asia, and Africa. The flying lizard is the 
best type of the genus. It is about ten inches 
in length, has a long tail, and is entirely harm¬ 
less. On each side the skin is expanded in the 
form of a parachute, enabling it to make long 
leaps in passing from branch to branch, though 
it cannot fly in the ordinary sense. Most spe¬ 


cies live in trees and feed almost entirely on 
insects, which they catch with much skill. 

The name dragon applied in mythology to an 
animal or serpent of abnormal form. This 
fabulous animal is represented as serving va¬ 
rious purposes, among them watching the gar¬ 
den of the Hesperides, and whose destruction 
was included with the seven labors of Hercules. 



( 


FLYING DRAGON. 

In various paintings the dragon has the form of 
a winged crocodile, and is said to have dwelt in 
caves among cliffs and mountains. The fossils 
of the pterodactyl found in the rocks of the 
Mesozoic time show some resemblance to the 
flying dragon of mythology. 

DRAGON FLY, the popular name of a large 
number of insects which are widely distributed, 
including not less than 2,000 species, of which 
about 300 occur in North America. They have 
a large, broad head loosely attached to the 
thorax. Their eyes are prominent, often meet¬ 
ing upon the crown of the head. The horny 
mandibles are toothed, the wings are closely 
articulated, and in many species the hind wings 
are about the same size as the anterior. They 
are remarkable for their voracity and feed on 
insects, which they catch with much skill. They 
deposit their eggs on plants growing beneath 
the surface of water, where the larvae and 
pupae lead an aquatic life. Their larval state 
occupies a year, after which the skin bursts 
along the back and the developed insect makes 
its appearance; Many species are from two 
to three inches long, of numerous colors, and 
not dangerous in any way. The common dra¬ 
gon fly of North America is known as the 
devil’s darning-needle. About 75 species of fos¬ 
sil dragon flies have been described, appearing 
in the Lias and more recent formations. See 
illustration on following page. 

DRAGON TREE, a tree native to the 
Canary Islands. The stem is usually short in 
proportion to its thickness, and the short 
branches terminate in tufts of sword-shaped 


DRAINING 


661 


DRAKE UNIVERSITY 


leaves. A celebrated specimen on the island of 
Teneriffe, near Orotava, was visited by Hum¬ 
boldt in 1799 and had a stem over forty feet 
in circumference. It yields a resinous sub¬ 
stance known as dragon’s blood, but this prod¬ 
uct is also obtained from a number of other 
trees, including several species native to the 



East Indies and North and South America. 
This product is a colorless and tasteless sub¬ 
stance, and is used in the preparation of var¬ 
nishes and lacquers. 

DRAINING (dran'ing), a term applied ex¬ 
tensively in agriculture to the process of draw¬ 
ing off superfluous water by artificial means. 
Through the agency of draining, large tracts 
of otherwise wet and waste lands have been 
rendered susceptible to cultivation and the pro¬ 
duction of plants and cereals. The common 
way in extensive flats is to excavate a great 
open channel or ditch, through which the water 
passes off freely after rains or the melting of 
snow or ice. Lands used for cultivation are 
usually drained by the construction of tile 
drains. The common draintile is manufactured 
of clay, is circular in form, commonly twelve 
inches long, and has an inside diameter meas¬ 
uring from three to fifteen inches. The larger 
sizes, which range from eighteen to forty inches 
in diameter, are generally made two feet long, 
either of clay or concrete. In order to con¬ 
struct a proper tile drain it is necessary to 
make a careful survey of the district to be 
drained, forming an estimate of the approxi¬ 
mate amount of water to be carried from the 
region, and locate the tile so a proper fall will 
insure the unobstructed passage of the water. 
A complete system of drainage requires a num¬ 
ber of minor drains or laterals, which carry 
the water to the main drain. The number of 


such laterals depends upon the character of 
the surface and the nature of the soil, since a 
hard clay soil is not so easily penetrated by 
the moisture as the loose and sandy formations. 

In the colder countries the tile drain should 
be sufficiently deep to be below the frost in the 
winter, else water freezing within will burst the 
tile and impair the drain. The best drains are 
at least four feet deep at the shallowest places, 
which necessitates placing them at great depths 
through moles or hills. It has been found that 
the system of draining lands, though quite ex¬ 
pensive in some cases, is a profitable invest¬ 
ment, owing to the fact that the lands redeemed 
are usually the richest and most fruitful. Tile 
factories are operated in practically all of the 
states where drainage is necessary and the 
proper clays are found. By the use of this 
method the amount of arable land has been 
increased largely. There are other forms of 
drainage, such as open ditches made by plows, 
layers of stones covered by earth, and perfor¬ 
ated drainpipe of circular sections covered by 
stones and earth, but the most common is the 
one employing tiles made of clay or concrete. 

DRAINAGE CANAL. See Chicago Drain¬ 
age Canal. 

DRAKENSBERG (dra'kens-berg), an ele¬ 
vated range of mountains in South* Africa, 
extending through the eastern part of Cape 
Colony and along the borders of Natal and the 
Orange River Colony. Champagne Castle, one 
of the highest peaks, has an elevation of about 
11,500 feet. Several railroads cross through its 
passes. During the Anglo-Boer War it was 
the scene of many battles. 

DRAKE UNIVERSITY, a coeducational 
institution at Des Moines, Iowa, the largest 
independent endowed institution of higher 
learning in Iowa. It was organized in 1881. 
The chief benefactor, Gen. Francis Marion 
Drake, made a gift of $20,000 to establish it. 
Afterward he made other donations at different 
times, the total amount of his gifts aggregating 
nearly $250,000. As a mark of appreciation of 
his beneficence the institution was named Drake 
University. Another leading spirit in the found¬ 
ing of the university was George Thomas Car¬ 
penter, the first president, who was made chan¬ 
cellor and held that office until his decease, in 
1894. Barton O. Aylesworth succeeded him as 
president, but resigned in 1897, when William 
Bayard Craig was chosen chancellor. He was 
succeeded in 1903 by Hill McClelland Bell, un¬ 
der whose presidency the institution has made 
phenomenal growth in resources and attend¬ 
ance. 

The chief buildings include the Main Build- 








DRAMA 


662 


DRAMA 


ing, the Auditorium, Science Hall, the Uni¬ 
versity Church, Howard Hall, the Medical 
Building, Cole Hall, Memorial Hall, and the 
Carnegie Library. Six colleges have been estab¬ 
lished in the university, the College of Liberal 
Arts, College of the Bible, College of Law, Col¬ 
lege of Medicine, College of Education, and 
College of Music. In the College of Liberal 
Arts, the work is largely elective, leading to the 
three degrees of A. B., Ph. B., and B. S. The 
library has a capacity of 150,000 books, a hall 
of history, and a number of rooms for officers 
and for recitations. Drake University, in 1908, 
had 110 instructors and 1,875 students. 

DRAMA (dra'ma), a literary production 
which embodies a picture of real life and is to 
be represented on a stage by action. There are 
two principal classes of dramas, tragedy and 
comedy, with a number of minor kinds, such as 
the farce, burlesque, tragic comedy, and melo¬ 
drama. A tragedy is a production intended to 
interest the mind in the highest degree, while 
a comedy is designed merely for amusement 
and merriment. The others are mixtures of 
the two chief classes, and alternately seek to 
interest, instruct, and amuse. Dramatic per¬ 
formances of some kind are found among all 
peoples, and their origin is to be attributed to 
the love of imitating the actions of others or of 
some deified personage. The Old Testament 
contains a number of compositions that par¬ 
take of a dramatic nature, among them numer¬ 
ous, dialogues in the Book of Job and the lyric 
poems in the Song of Solomon. 

The dramatic literature in ancient India and 
China was particularly characteristic, each coun¬ 
try possessing a drama peculiar to itself. The 
Greeks originated the European drama in both 
the tragic and comic forms. It is thought that 
the first comedy was given by Susarion and 
Dolon in Athens on a movable scaffold in 562 
b. c. The first production in tragedy was from 
the pen of Thespis in 536 b. c. Aeschylus intro¬ 
duced dresses on the stage, by which means 
the imitation of action was rendered much 
more natural. The three greatest writers of 
tragedy in Greece are Aeschylus, Sophocles, and 
Euripides, while Aristophanes is the most emi¬ 
nent writer of comedy. In Rome the early 
drama was derived from the Greeks, though it 
never attained to so high a degree of perfection, 
even under Terence and Plautus, the most cele¬ 
brated of Roman writers of comedy, and An- 
dronicus, the writer of tragedy. The only 
dramas of ancient Rome extant are a few speci¬ 
mens coming to us from Seneca. 

The drama of modern European countries 
took rise in the moralities, miracle plays, and 


masterpieces of the Middle Ages, though the 
Italian drama began with the reproduction of 
classical models. Performances at banquets be¬ 
came common in most countries in the 12th 
century, and later scenes from the Bible were 
acted on stages in churches by priests and their 
assistants. The morality plays were fables, in 
which impressive moral lessons were recited 
with the view of overcoming vice and its bane¬ 
ful influences. Among the celebrated Bible 
plays is the famous Passion Play, illustrating 
the life of Christ, which is still counted among 
the most interesting and popular of the sacred 
dramas. In the 18th century the Italian drama 
took a new form of interest, both in comedy 
and tragedy, the later writers including Monti, 
Goldoni, Alfieri, and Manzoni. The other na¬ 
tions developed a taste for dramatic art much 
later than Italy. Spain followed Italy, ^reach¬ 
ing its acme in dramatic art through the works 
of Calderon and Lope de Vega, while the Eng¬ 
lish reached their climax in Shakespeare. 

The first period in the history of English 
drama begins with the reign of Elizabeth and 
terminates with that of Charles I. Within this 
time Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont, 
Greene, Marlowe, and Fletcher were among 
the brilliant dramatists. The second period 
began with Charles II., including among its 
best writers Otway, Lee, Wycherley, Congreve, 
and Dryden. At first the plays of the latter 
period were marked by inferior productions, 
but later notable changes were made for the 
better. The most noted of English writers of 
more recent time include Coleridge, Shelley, 
Byron, Lord Lytton, Browning, and Tennyson. 
However, Shakespeare stands preeminent among 
the English dramatists and his plays are still 
more popular than those of any other English 
writer. Goldsmith’s “She Stoops to Conquer” 
and Sheridan’s “The School of Scandal” are 
very noteworthy. In France the drama was 
greatly improved by the advent of Corneille, 
who is regarded the founder of the higher 
drama in that country. Among the most dis¬ 
tinguished of the later French dramatists are 
Hugo, Racine, Voltaire, and Moliere. 

The German drama was at first largely insti¬ 
tuted by adaptations from the Italian and 
French, but scholarly additions were made by 
Lessing in 1755. He was followed by Schiller 
and Goethe, who rank among the best dramatists 
of modern times, the latter being regarded 
equal to Shakespeare by many critics. Schil¬ 
ler’s “Wilhelm Tell” and Goethe’s “Faust” and 
“The Sorrows of Werther” hold the stage with 
unceasing interest. Other noted German dra¬ 
matic writers are Brentano, Korner, Schlegel, 


DRAVE 


663 


DREAMS 


Ludwig, Freytag, Laube, Kotzebue, and Von 
Moser. Hermann Sudermann, author of “Jo- 
hannesfeuer,” is one of the most recent Ger¬ 
man dramatists. The Dutch drama had its rise 
in the 17th century by the classical tragedies 
of Koster, and reached its acme in Vondel. 
Among the chief Scandinavian dramatists are 
Heiberg, Ibsen, Oehlenschlager, and Bjornson. 

The American drama originated by amateur 
players at Quebec, Canada, in 1694, though it is 
likely that the Spaniards introduced the stage 
in Mexico at an earlier date. Puritans looked 
upon dramatic art with disfavor and passed a 
law whereby players and spectators were fined 
five dollars on conviction of having participated 
in performances. This law was in force for 
fifty years. A company attempting to give a 
performance at Philadelphia in 1749 was bound 
over to their good behavior. The originators 
next went to New York, where they gave per¬ 
formances for sixteen months consecutively, the 
advertisement including “The Historical Trag¬ 
edy of King Richard III., Wrote Originally by 
Shakespeare, and Altered by Colley Cibber, 
Esq.” In the beginning gf the 19th century 
the drama came into general popularity, first 
in the larger cities and later in towns and 
villages. John D. Burke, slain in a duel in 
1808, wrote the successful plays, “Joan of Arc” 
and “Bunker Hill.” John H. Payne, author of 
“Home, Sweet Home,” wrote sixteen plays, 
while both George P. Morris, author of “Wood¬ 
man, Spare That Tree,” and Samuel Wood- 
worth, author of “The Old Oaken Bucket,” 
wrote numerous masterpieces. Among the 
noted American dramatists are Epes Sargent, 
W. E. Burton, and John Brougham. Denman 
Thompson’s “Old Homestead” and Harriet 
Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” have 
been played more extensively than any others. 

DRAVE (dra've), an important river of Eu¬ 
rope, rising in the eastern part of the Tyrol. Its 
course is through Carinthia, Styria, and Croatia. 
It forms the boundary between Hungary and 
Slavonia, after which it joins the Danube a few 
miles east of Eszek. The entire length is 450 
miles, about half that distance being navigable. 
The valley traversed by it is well populated and 
noted for its great fertility. Marburg, Lienz, 
and Eszek are among the cities on its banks. 

DRAVIDIANS (dra-vid'i-ans), the name 
applied to a group of non-Aryan races in the 
southern part of India. They include the peo¬ 
ple who speak a number of dialects, including 
the Canarese, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and a 
number of others. The Dravidian languages 
show no affinity to the Aryan or Indo-Ger- 
manic, except that these tongues have been 


modified on account of contact with the Sans¬ 
krit. About twelve or fourteen dialects are 
spoken and some of these are intelligible to two 
or more of the different members of the group, 
but most of them speak only one dialect. The 
Tamil and Telugu show the highest degree of 
culture and are the dialects of about one-half of 
these Dravidian people. 

DRAWING (dra'ing), the art of delineating 
the forms of objects on a flat surface by means 
of lines drawn with a pen, crayon, pencil, or 
some similar object. It is taught as a branch 
of study in many of the common schools and 
colleges, and is employed in making charts and 
maps. Architects employ drawing in preparing 
plans and views of buildings, machinery, and 
figures. In geometrical and mechanical drawing 
instruments are used to guide the hand, while 
freehand drawing is done from objects without 
an artificial guide, as the name indicates. Me¬ 
chanical drawing includes topographical draw¬ 
ing, ship draughting, and architectural drawing. 
Another class of drawing, the perspective, aims 
to represent the aspect of an object from a 
given point of view as it appears to the eye. 
It approaches the artistic or freehand drawing 
in its results. This branch of instruction has 
proved of inestimable value and is an aid in 
determining relative proportions and forms. 
Paintings in water colors and sketches or col¬ 
ors in oils, in the arts, are usually called draw¬ 
ings. See Painting. 

DREAMS, the ideas or images of a sleeping 
person, in which he seems to see things real 
and substantial. Dreams are accounted for by 
some writers as resulting from uninterrupted 
trains of ideas passing through the mind at all 
times at night as well as by day, and as being 
modified and influenced largely by the thoughts 
of the objects in which the mind is engaged 
during the period of wakefulness. A man full 
of projects in business and perplexed with 
anxieties goes to bed with an active mind, 
which is excited even in sleep by the importance 
of his daily occupation. This leads to imper¬ 
fect sleep and vivid dreams, which remain in 
the memory after awaking. Irregular meals, 
eating shortly before retiring, and other irregu¬ 
larities are prolific causes of mental activity 
during sleep, but the trend of the mind is influ¬ 
enced very largely by the activities experienced 
during the day. 

In dreams the train of ideas appears as a 
series of events passing before the eye, or as 
objects affecting the senses. The periods in 
which dreams occur are often exaggerated, since 
what appears as a long period of time may be 
but a few minutes or seconds. The ideas 


DREDGING 


664 


DRESDEN 


seeming to pass before the eye may cover a 
brief period or extend over several years, 
though the actual time elapsing may be but a 
few minutes. Pleasurable dreams result to 
those who live a life of purity and experience 
an absence of remorse, while the contrary affect 
those whose minds are engaged frequently in 
evil thoughts and imaginations. There are cases 
on record where men claimed to be aided in 
professional and business engagements by the 
effect of mental activity during sleep. Benjamin 
Franklin expressed the view that during dreams 
he was instructed at various times regarding 
issues that were subject to mental study. 
Coleridge asserted that he composed several 
hundred lines of “Kubla Khan” during a dream 
and committed them to paper before he awoke. 

DREDGING (drej'ing), a term applied by 
engineers to the process of excavating material 
under water and thereby improving the means 
of navigation. Many machines for this purpose 
have come into use, but they may be classed 
either as dipper or as grapple dredges. The 
former consist of spoons or scoops for scraping 
sand, mud, and silt from the bed of a stream, 
canal, harbor, dock, or some other body of 
water. On the other hand, the grapple dredges 
are fitted to close around solid earth or stone. 
In this way the landing places for vessels as 
well as channels and inlets are not only deep¬ 
ened, but are made safer and more serviceable 
for large vessels. The work is done by steam 
power applied to machinery. The deposits at 
the bottom of the water are torn up and raised 
sufficiently to be dumped into dredge boats, 
which carry them off, depositing them at some 
distance from the place to be deepened. The 
process of securing oysters, plants, and shells 
from the bottom of the water is usually called 
dredging. The common dredge for catching 
oysters consists of a scraper attached to an iron 
frame. A bag fastened to the frame at the rear 
of the scraper receives the oysters, from which 
they are taken after being landed on the shore 
or on boats. Naturalists employ an apparatus 
for securing specimens of marine forms for ex¬ 
amination, which is constructed similar to that 
of an oyster dredge. 

DRED SCOTT DECISION, a decision of 
the United States Supreme Court delivered by 
Chief Justice Taney on March 6, 1856, regard¬ 
ing a slave named Dred Scott. This slave was 
in the possession of an owner in Missouri. He 
was taken to Illinois and then to Minnesota, 
which was at that time a Territory. Illinois 
and Minnesota were then free soil, and on this 
Dred Scott was kept for a number of years, 
after which he was taken back to Missouri. 


After the death of Dr. Emerson, the claimant 
of the slave, Dred Scott with his family claimed 
to be free, on the ground that they had been 
taken to free territory and could not be held 
in slavery after returning to Missouri. In the 
decision it was stated that Scott had no right 
to sue for liberty, because no colored person 
was regarded by the Constitution as a citizen 
and that colored persons had no rights which a 
white man was bound to respect. The decision 
attracted much attention, because it degraded 
the slave to the level of a machine and showed 
no respect for human sentiment. 

DREIBUND (dri'bdont), the compact 
formed between Germany, Austria, and Italy 
for mutual defense and friendship. Germany 
and Austria formed the Dual Alliance in 1879, 
and, by admitting Italy to the compact in 1882, 
the Dual Alliance was formed into a Dreibund. 
This compact long remained a balance o^ power 
in the continent of Europe and provided an 
important safeguard in the maintenance of 
peace. 

DRESDEN (drez'den), a city of Germany, 
capital of the kingdom of Saxony, situated in 
the valley of the Elbe River. A number of 
boulevards lead up to and surround the city, 
while extensive orchards and vineyards abound 
in the vicinity. Portions of the city are on 
both sides of the Elbe, the newer part being 
especially beautiful by reason of broad streets 
and fine pavements. The population is largely 
Lutheran in religion and supports numerous fine 
churches, many of which have important con¬ 
nection with historical and international events. 
Many of the government buildings are beautiful 
in the interior, though rafcher plain externally. 
The royal library contains 450,000 volumes, in¬ 
cluding many rare and valuable specimens of 
ancient writings and numerous manuscripts. 
The museum attached to the library is famous 
for its ancient treasures as well as productions 
of recent artists and sculptors. Among the 
municipal buildings are several for local gov¬ 
ernment and for public instruction. Besides the 
public school system, there are the Polytechnic 
School, the Conservatory and School of Music, 
the Academy of Fine Arts, and other noted edu¬ 
cational institutions. Dresden is particularly fa¬ 
mous for its gallery of pictures, which is 
counted among the most valuable in the world. 
It contains 80,000 pictures and 375,000 drawings 
and engravings. 

The recent rapid growth of Dresden is due 
to its large commerce and industrial establish¬ 
ments. Among the chief manufactures are pi¬ 
anos, porcelain, jewelry, books and stationery, 
glass, chinaware, clothing, fabrics, and ma- 


DRESDEN 


665 


DRESS 


chinery. Local and general commerce is facili¬ 
tated by extensive electric lines and numerous 
railroad connections, as well as by navigation 
on the river. It maintains systems of water¬ 
works, sewerage, electric and gas lighting, and 
public baths. The streets are kept in a clean 
condition and in many places are adorned by 
monuments and fountains. Among the public 
parks and gardens are the Zoological Garden 
and the Grosser-Garten. 

Dresden is mentioned in history in 1206, and 
has long been a city of importance, both from 
a commercial and educational standpoint. The 
sovereigns made it their residence since 1485. 
It was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 
1491, but subsequently it was extended and im¬ 
proved by Augustus the Strong. The enlarge¬ 
ments and valuable improvements made by Au¬ 
gustus I. and II. in the first half of the 18th 
century gave the city a basis for rapid growth 


DRESS, the costume or clothing worn by a 
person as a protection against heat or cold, and 
at the same time to furnish the conventional cov¬ 
ering of the body in the mode or style peculiar 
to a people. Ideas concerning -modesty in dress 
have differed widely among the people of dif¬ 
ferent ages, but a great majority of the civilized 
nations have worn garments that cover all parts 
of the body, except the head and hands. It is 
quite necessary that wearing apparel should not 
be uniform in all countries, since the seasons 
and general climatic conditions vary greatly, 
making it imperative that the clothing should 
differ materially according to the requirements 
of the climatic and other, conditions which pre¬ 
vail. 

The history of dress is quite as old as that 
of nations, but the earliest information is based 
upon traditions and rude sculptures. A good 
idea of some kinds of costumes is obtained 



STYLES OF DRESS. 

1, Assyrian.. 2, Greek. 3, Roman. 4, German, 14th Century. 5, Spanish, 16th Century. 6, English, 16th Century. 


during the last century and the impetus it has 
at present. During the Seven- Years’ War, the 
Napoleonic wars, and the revolution of 1849 it 
suffered severe los'ses by fire and military de¬ 
struction, which have since been entirely over¬ 
come. Population, 1905, 516,996. 

DRESDEN, Battle of, a battle at Dresden, 
Germany, on Aug. 27, 1813. The French army 
of 30,000 men occupied Dresden and the allied 
army of Austrians, Prussians, and Russians, 
commanded by Schwarzenberg, appeared before 
it on Aug. 23. Napoleon came with the main 
army to relieve it on the 26th and a great 
pitched battle was fought the following .day, in 
which the allies were defeated. The French 
lost about 7,500 men in killed and wounded, but 
the allies lost the same number and 20,000 of 
their men were taken prisoners. 


from the mummies of Egypt and we have rea¬ 
sonably authentic accounts of the garments 
worn by the Babylonians, Assyrians, and 
Egyptians. Mention of raiment for the body 
is made in many places of the Old Testament, 
such as the vestments worn by the early priests, 
but the first account we have is of the rude 
covering of the body made with leaves by Adam 
and Eve. In Exodus xxviii., 42, this injunction 
is given: “And thou shalt make them linen 
breeches to cover their nakedness; from the 
loins even unto the thighs they shall reach.” 
This passage and many others refer to sacer¬ 
dotal vestments. Frequent mention is made of 
the raiment of needlework, of purple and fine 
linen, and of the sackcloth of sorrow and re¬ 
pentance. The mantles worn by the Hebrews 
were four-cornered and were bordered with 














DRESS 


666 


DREXEL INSTITUTE 


fringes and ribbons of blue. The Assyrians 
were advanced in the arts of dyeing, embroider¬ 
ing, and weaving, and their attire was both con¬ 
venient and beautiful. They wore sandals after 
the style of the Egyptians, and their fabrics 
were made quite largely of flax and cotton. 

. The Greeks sought to maintain grace and 
beauty in the fashion of their clothing and wore 
garments that gave perfect freedom of action 
to the body. The chiton, a close-fitting but long 
garment, was worn both by men and women 
and corresponded to the modern shirt. Over 
this the men wore the himation, which was open 
on one side, and the women used a girdle below 
the bust, using a peplos, a sort of woolen shawl, 
as an outside garment. A kind of breast sup¬ 
port was worn by both Greek and Roman 
women, but this differed from the modern cor¬ 
set in consisting of a single band of cloth, and 
it did not have the objectionable tendency of 
compressing the body. Though the character 
of dress in Greece and Rome was simple, the 
garments were well adapted to the climate and 
conditions of life, and the wealthy dignified 
them by fine embroidery and ornamentations. 
The tunic, a kind of chiton, was used extensive¬ 
ly in Rome, over which an outer garment, the 
toga, was worn. Considerable attention was 
given to covering of the feet by sandals or 
shoes, and a legging in the form of the high 
military buskin furnished protection against ex¬ 
treme cold. 

The barbarians of Northern Europe wore 
loose garments made principally of wool, and 
their chiefs had shirts with sleeves and striped 
pantaloons. Their dress was greatly influenced 
by the Roman-invasion, but from them the Ro¬ 
mans came to value the trousers as of practical 
utility. However, they are not the originators 
of this garment, but this distinction belonged to 
the Aryan people of Asia, who came across the 
mountains into the valley of the Euphrates, and 
from them it came to be introduced among the 
people of Europe. While the Chinese and 
Japanese have steadily held to the dress worn 
from a remote period in history, the people of 
Europe, on the other hand, acquired a love of 
change in the form of dress. Careful cutting 
and fitting displaced the simple and loose gar¬ 
ments of the early centuries of the Christian 
era, and the clothing came to be firmly sewed 
and closely fitted about the hips, bust, and 
waist. The loose garments gave way to the 
coat, vest, and pantaloons worn by men, who 
laced or buttoned their garments tightly and 
dressed the feet and legs by using tight-fitting 
stockings .and shoes. 

Exaggeration in the head gear came into 


vogue about the 13th century, when women 
began to wear the hennin, a very large cov¬ 
ering of the head. Later the miter and the 
horned headdress coverings for the head became 
celebrated, against which sermons were preached 
from the pulpit until they went out of use 
about the 16th century, but were followed 
by the grotesque and peculiar footwear in the 
time of Henry VII. The modern corset came 
into use about the time of Catherine de Medici, 
and starch was employed largely in preparing 
the absurd dresses and enormous ruffs of the 
time of Queen Elizabeth. In 1583 Stubbs wrote: 
“There is a certain liquid matter which they 
call starch wherein the devil hath learned them 
to wash and dye their ruffs, which being dry 
will then stand stiff and inflexible about their 
necks.” The farthingale, a contrivance which 
extended the skirts out at the hips, came into 
use among women about this time, when all of 
the clothing tended toward excess in shape and 
ornamentation. 

The French Revolution was followed by a 
tendency to simplify all articles of apparel, and 
may be said to be the beginning of the modern 
era of fashions. At present the older Euro¬ 
pean costumes are worn only in isolated or 
remote sections, while the styles of European 
people are more or less similar and are changed 
quite uniformly. This is made possible through 
the publication of periodicals devoted to fash¬ 
ions, in which the newer styles are shown in 
elaborate plates and discussed quite clearly in 
directions for selecting the materials and mak¬ 
ing the garments. The style of dress changes 
more readily among Europeans than among any 
other class of people, and may be said to be 
transitory as compared with the styles of the 
peoples of Asia and those not materially ad¬ 
vanced in civilized art. Indeed, a well-con¬ 
certed movement for dress reform was inaugur¬ 
ated in 1873, under the auspices of the Crown 
Princess of Saxony, Germany, who pointed out 
the evils of unhygienic clothing worn by wom¬ 
en. The following year an organization was 
formed at Boston, the National Dress Associa¬ 
tion, which declared against shoes with high 
heels and pointed toes, against wearing heavy 
veils, against the use of tightly laced corsets, 
and against garments that lodge a heavy weight 
on the hips. Though all the measures advo¬ 
cated by associations of this kind have not been 
looked upon with favor, it may be observed that 
there is a tendency toward more rational styles 
of dress for women. 

DREXEL INSTITUTE OF ART, SCI¬ 
ENCE, AND INDUSTRY, a coeducational 
institution founded by Anthony J. Drexel at 


DRIFT 


667 


DROWNING 


Philadelphia, Pa., in 1891. This institute was 
established to train and instruct young men and 
women in the industrial arts and sciences. The 
courses include those of mechanic arts, applied 
and fine arts, commerce and finance, electrical 
engineering, domestic science, mechanical draw¬ 
ing and machine construction, physics, English, 
chemistry, and mathematics. Evening classes 
are maintained in the departments in addition 
to the regular academic instruction, and edu¬ 
cational work is promoted through free public 
lectures. This institution has a library of 30,- 
000 volumes, an endowment of $2,000,000, and 
buildings and equipment worth $4,000,000. The 
students in the day classes number 1,250 and 
in the evening courses, 2,000. 

DRIFT, a loose accumulation of transported 
matter, constituting a peculiar geological forma¬ 
tion found in the northern part of Europe and 
Asia and the eastern and central portions of 
North America. The drift matters consist of 
various forms of earth, which in many places 
are from fifty to a hundred feet in thickness. 
The surface of drifts is usually smooth with 
parallel ridges extending for some distances, 
and at places one set crossing another deposited 
at an earlier age. Extensive beds of gravel, 
pebbles, and sand that characterize the drifts 
are thought to have originated from adjacent 
rocks, while large stones show from their com¬ 
position that they were carried long distances. 
Many of the larger rocks and bowlders weigh 
from a hundred pounds to several, tons. Those 
found in the northern drift of Europe extend 
to about 50° north latitude and in North Amer¬ 
ica to about 40°. A similar drift is found in the 
Southern Hemisphere, which disappears be¬ 
tween 40° and 50° south latitude. These drifts 
are more marked as one approaches the poles 
and gradually diminish in thickness toward the 
Equator. Near the Equator several similar 
drifts are found, though these are deposited 
usually around some great mountain, and traces 
of their movements are evidenced by scratches 
and erosion on the bowlders of the mountain 
region. 

The cause of drifts is attributed to the action 
of ice moving southward largely in the form 
of glaciers. The theory includes the view that 
in ages far remote the polar regions possessed 
a warm climate, which later gave way to cold, 
thus causing the formation of great fields of 
ice in the high latitudes. Fed by the polar 
snows, immense glaciers moved toward the 
Equator and melted as they reached the warmth 
of the lower latitudes. In this movement the 
great sheets of ice smoothed the surface of the 
rock and made scratches and erosions until 


they melted in the sun of warmer regions. 
Many of the bowlders and gravel found in all 
portions of the drift region bear evidence that 
they were moved long distances and dropped 
from the glacier carrying them as the warmer 
regions were reached. 

DRILL, a metallic tool for boring holes in 
hard substances, such as stone, metal, wood, or 
ivory. The form and size depend upon the 
material in which the work is done. In stone 
drilling the tool has either a rotary movement 
or is lifted and dropped alternately. The drills 
for rock boring are made largely with black 
diamond, which constitutes the cutting edges. 
In metal and wood the action is rotary and the 
tool is made with two cutting edges, against 
which the work is pressed as the drill revolves. 

DRILLING, a method of sowing seeds in 
parallel rows instead of planting them in hills 
or sowing them broadcast. Among the crops 
commonly drilled are peas, beans, carrots, 
onions, and other vegetables. These are culti¬ 
vated more easily and the ground is kept in 
better condition when drilled so machine culti¬ 
vation can be introduced. Seeds generally sown 
broadcast, such as wheat, barley, and flax, are 
sometimes drilled in rows close- together, espe¬ 
cially in poor soil, where bone dust or other 
fertilizing is needed. Corn is sometimes drilled, 
but is generally planted in hills, as cross culti¬ 
vation is possible when parallel rows extend in 
two directions at right angles. 

DROMEDARY (drum'e-da-ry), the Ara¬ 
bian camel, so called from its ability to travel 
with much speed. It differs from the Bactrian 
camel in that it has a single hump on its back. 
The name is applied commonly only to one¬ 
humped camels that are noted for their swift¬ 
ness in travel. See Camel. 

DROWNING (droun'mg), the form of 
death that results from suffocation in water or 
other liquids. It was. employed as a mode of 
capital punishment in many European countries, 
but lorfg since went out of use as a form of 
punishment in practically all parts of the world. 
This method of execution was abolished in 
Switzerland in 1652, Scotland in 1685, Austria 
in 1776, and Iceland in 1777. 

The deaths which result from drowning at 
the present time are due largely to accidents, 
and by careful treatment life may be restored 
within a limited time after breathing has ceased. 
Recovery is possible only so long as the heart 
beats, after that it becomes impossible. That 
death resulted from drowning is evidenced by 
finding water in the lungs, and usually by small 
objects held in clenched fingers at which the 
drowning person grasped while struggling to 


DRUIDS 


668 


DRUSES 


escape danger. In one or two minutes after 
submersion complete insensibility ensues and 
death occurs in from two to five minutes. 
There are several methods of restoring persons 
apparently dead from drowning. One of the 
most common methods is to pull the body, face 
downward, over a roll of clothing placed under 
the stomach, by which the water may be ex¬ 
pelled from the chest. The head should be sup¬ 
ported *during this movement, and the body 
turned on the back occasionally, though when 
occupying this position the shoulders should be 
supported. 

To restore breathing in persons apparently 
drowned it is best to kneel over the body and 
place both hands on the lower part of the 
chest, immediately below the lowest ribs. By 
pressing forward the ribs may be raised, thus 
permitting air to enter the chest as the capacity 
is enlarged. As soon as the ribs are raised to 
the greatest possible extent, they are allowed 
to recoil to their usual position, by which means 
the air is expelled. By repeating this process at 
least twenty times per minute a tendency to 
restore breathing will soon develop. At the 
same time other persons should be rubbing the 
body and limbs upward with warmed flannel or 
their hands for the purpose of stimulating the 
flow of blood. Small quantities of hot brandy 
and water, hot coffee, or some other stimulant 
may be administered as soon as the patient has 
been restored to a condition in which he is able 
to swallow. To restore and maintain warmth 
after a case of apparent drowning is essential. 
This can be done best by means of rubbing, 
covering the body with warm clothing, and plac¬ 
ing the patient in a suitable bed. 

DRUIDS (dru'idz), the priests of the early 
Celts of Gaul and Britain. Little is known of 
this class of people, though Julius Caesar gave 
some details of interest in regard to their wor¬ 
ship and manner of living. He described them 
as a class that possessed' chief authority among 
the Celtic people; that they had some kqpwledge 
of mathematics, philosophy, and astronomy; 
and that their religion was similar to the forms 
practiced by the Brahmans of India, the Chal¬ 
deans of Syria, and the Magi of Persia. They 
acted as judges, possessed complete control over 
the people, and were the teachers of the young. 
Their worship was in groves, and human sacri¬ 
fice was not uncommon. The mistletoe and 
oak were sacred in their worship. A chief 
druid was elected by the people, who held his 
office for life. Ruins of their stone temples are 
still found in France and Great Britain. They 
were suppressed or exterminated at the time 
of the Roman invasion. 


DRUM, a musical instrument of great an¬ 
tiquity. Several forms are m use. The com¬ 
mon drum is made by stretching parchment 
over the heads of a wooden cylinder or a me¬ 
tallic vessel, which may be slackened or tight¬ 
ened at will by means of cords attached to 
screws or sliding knots. The drum mostly used 
is the long or bass drum with two heads, on 
both ends of which playing is done with stuffed- 
knob drumsticks. Another kind is the side 
drum, having two heads, the upper being the 
only one played by means of two sticks of 
wood; the lower head is formed with strings of 
catgut stripped across its surface. This kind 
is commonly called a snare drum. Another 
kind is the kettledrum, which is usually em¬ 
ployed in pairs. It is formed of hollow brass 
or copper basins, on which a parchment is 
fastened by means of an iron ring. These in¬ 
struments are used mostly in orchestras and 
military bands, where they are called tympani. 
The ancient Egyptians employed them in mar¬ 
tial music and, like the Indians, beat their long 
drums with the hands. Bacchus is said to be 
the inventor of the drum. It is reputed that he 
gave the signal of battle by means of that 
instrument and the cymbal. The sculptures of 
Egypt and other ancient countries contain nu¬ 
merous inscriptions of drums, illustrating their 
use in military parades and in the conflict of 
battle. 

DRUMMOND ISLAND, an island in Lake 
Huron, one of the Manitoulin group, forming a 
part of Chippewa County, Michigan. It is 
about ten miles wide and twenty miles long. 

DRUMMOND LIGHT, an intense light in¬ 
vented by Thomas Drummond, of the British 
navy, in 1826. It is produced by turning two 
ignited streams of gas, one of hydrogen and 
the other of oxygen, upon a ball of lime. This 
light was first used in the coast survey service 
by placing it in a peculiarly shaped mirror, 
which served to reflect the rays in converging 
lines so the entire light was focused toward a 
central point. The light can be thrown in a 
straight line a distance of about one hundred 
miles. 

DRUSES (dru'zez), a peculiar political and 
religious people inhabiting the mountains of 
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. They are of 
mixed Syrian and Arabian origin and combine 
certain tenets of the Mohammedan with several 
of the Christian religion, and constitute a secret 
religious society. Their origin is found in El- 
Hakim Biamr-Allah, the sixth Fatimite caliph 
of Egypt, a fanatical ruler who lived in the 
11th century. According to tradition he dis¬ 
appeared from his subjects while walking in 




DRYADES 


DUBLIN, UNIVERSITY OF 


the vicinity of Cairo, and his followers were 
led to believe in his future return to earth to 
reign over them, though the natural explanation 
is that he was probably assassinated. A Russian 
named Ismail ed Derazi proclaimed the tenets 
of the Druses with such zeal in Lebanon that 
the converts were named after him and not 
after El-Hakim. They number between 75,000 
and 100,000, are engaged largely in producing 
and manufacturing silk, and are noted for their 
sturdy resistance to Turkish dominion. 

The Druses believe in the unity of God, who, 
they think, was manifested in the person of 
several individuals, but last of all in El-Hakim. 
Their day of worship is Thursday and their 
doctrines hold strictly to the transmigration of 
souls. In 1860, 12,000 Druses were cruelly mas¬ 
sacred by the Maronites, when neither male nor 
female children were spared. The uprising was 
about to terminate in a general conflict between 
Christians and Mohammedans, but was -sup¬ 
pressed by the arrival of French and Turkish 
troops. At present they are guaranteed cer¬ 
tain religious and political liberties by Turkey, 
to which country they pay an annual tax. The 
three classes into which their adherents are 
divided include princes, chiefs, and the people. 
The greatest amount of knowledge obtained of 
these people was published by a Frenchman 
named De Sacy in 1838, entitled “An Exposi¬ 
tion of the Religion of the Druses.” 

DRYADES (dri'adz), the tree goddesses or 
nymphs mentioned in the mythology of Greece. 
Each dryad partook of the characteristics of a 
particular tree to whose life it was wedded, 
and ceased to exist when it was felled or so 
injured that it withered and died. 

DRYING OIL, an oil used in painting and 
which has the property of drying quickly. The 
name is applied in a general sense to linseed oil 
and other seed oils, but particularly to oils of 
this class prepared with the special view of 
hastening the drying, which is done by heating 
with oxide of lead. They absorb oxygen when 
exposed to the air, hence become a dry, tough 
mass. Drying oil is used to paint the woodwork 
and other parts of buildings. 

DRY TORTUGAS (dri tor-tod'gas), a 
group of ten small islands of coral formation 
situated southeast of Cape Sable, Florida. They 
are low and barren and most of the surface is 
covered with low brushwood. Two lighthouses 
are maintained by the government, one of which 
is 150 feet high. Fort Jefferson is an important 
fortification on Garden Key, and was used as 
a penal station for Confederate prisoners in 
the Civil War. Prisoners under sentence for 
court-martial are still occasionally confined in 


the fort. For local government the island be¬ 
longs to Monroe County, Florida. 

DUBLIN (dub'lin), the metropolis and capi¬ 
tal of Ireland, in Dublin County, on the Liffey 
River, at the entrance to Dublin Bay. The 
city is divided into two parts by the river which 
is crossed by numerous stone and iron bridges. 
Extensive docks and wharves are located at 
the mouth of the river. It has many beautiful 
streets and thoroughfares, the most noted being 
Sackville Street, which passes through the city 
at right angles to the river, and is '660 yards 
long and forty yards wide. The principal pub¬ 
lic buildings include the castle, the official resi¬ 
dence of the chief officer of Ireland; Trinity 
College; the bank of Ireland; the customhouse; 
the court of justice; the post office; the com¬ 
mercial buildings; the city hall; and other large 
structures. Among the most important edu¬ 
cational institutions are the Dublin University, 
Royal College of Science, College of Surgeons, 
Roman Catholic University, Royal University, 
Royal Irish Academy for Promoting the Study 
of Science, Literature, and Antiquities, Royal 
Hibernian Academy of Painting, Sculpture, 
and Architecture, and the Royal Zoological 
Society. Phoenix Park is a fine public resort 
northwest of the city, with an area of 1,760 
acres. 

The railroad facilities of Dublin are exten¬ 
sive. It has excellent harbor improvements and 
a considerable , commerce. Electric car lines 
furnish convenient connection with all parts 
of the city and many suburban districts. All 
the principal streets are finely paved, beau¬ 
tified by trees and statuary, and lighted by gas 
and electricity. The chief manufactures are 
textiles, earthenware, machinery, and sailing 
vessels. . Trinity College, founded by Queen 
Elizabeth, has a library of 200,000 volumes. 
Besides this library, there are reading rooms 
and libraries under the control of the city and 
educational institutions, and as a whole comprise 
collections of books, manuscripts, and antiqui¬ 
ties of much value in educational arts. The 
city was captured by the Danes in the 9th cen¬ 
tury and taken by the English under Henry 
II. Large portions of the city were destroyed 
by fire in 1190 and visited by several great con¬ 
flagrations since. The royal party of England 
captured the city during the protectorate of 
Richard Cromwell. James II. held a parlia¬ 
ment here in 1681. In 1800 the flag of the 
United Kingdom was raised over the city, when 
Ireland became united with England. Popu¬ 
lation, 1907, 291,842. 

DUBLIN, University of, an institution of 
higher learning at Dublin, Ireland, established 



DUBOIS 


DUCK 


by Queen Elizabeth in 1591. The first Univer¬ 
sity of Dublin was established in 1320, but 
perished from a lack of an endowment and the 
dissolution of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral by 
Henry VIII. The official title is College of 
the Holy and Undivided Trinity, so named in 
the charter of incorporation. James I. granted 
it representation in Parliament, and it now is 
represented by two members in the House of 
Commons. The senate has power to elect the 
chancellor and grants degrees. This body con¬ 
sists of “the chancellor of the university, or, 
in his absence, of the vice chancellor, or such 
doctors and masters of the university as shall 
have and keep their names on the books of 
Trinity College.” At present the faculty con¬ 
sists of a prevost, seven fellows, twenty-six 
junior fellows, and seventy foundation schol¬ 
ars. The fellows are of two grades, senior 
and junior, the former comprising the chief 
officers and the latter the larger part of the 
tutoral force of the college. Instruction is 
divided into a course covering four years. 
Students are admitted by examination. The 
library contains 260,000 volumes. At Dunsink, 
five miles from the college, is located the as¬ 
tronomical observatory. The total attendance 
is about 1,350 students. 

DUBOIS (du-bois'), a borough of Clear¬ 
field County, Pennsylvania, on Sandy Lick 
Creek, about 125 miles northeast of Pittsburg. 
It is on the Pennsylvania and the Buffalo, 
Rochester and Pittsburg railroads. Among 
the noteworthy features are the high school 
and the public library. The principal manu¬ 
factures are machinery, flour, railroad cars, 
spirituous beverages, leather, window glass, 
cotton and woolen goods, and hardware. 
Large quantities of coal and gas are produced 
in the surrounding country. It was settled in 
1873 and incorporated in 1887. Population, 
1900, 9,375; in 1910, 12,623. 

DUBUQUE (du-buk'), a city of Iowa, coun¬ 
ty seat of Dubuque County, on the Mississippi 
River, 200 miles northeast of Des Moines. It 
is on the Chicago Great Western, the Illinois 
Central, the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint 
Paul, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 
railroads. Regular communication is main¬ 
tained by steamboats with ports on the Ohio 
and the Gulf. It is regularly platted with wide 
streets. Several bridges cross the river. The 
manufactures include wagons, farm machinery, 
lumber, cigars, utensils, soap, flour, clothing, 
and hardware. An extensive grain market has 
caused the building of large elevators. The 
pork packing establishments produce packed 
and cured meat. It has large interests in lead, 


being a depot for the lead-producing districts 
of northeastern Iowa. 

The noteworthy buildings include the court¬ 
house, the post office, the public library, and 
the city hall. It is the seat of Wartburg Sem¬ 
inary (Lutheran), the German Presbyterian 
Theological Seminary, an Episcopal seminary* 
Saint Joseph’s College and Academy, Iowa In¬ 
stitute of Science and Art, Saint Mary’s Acad¬ 
emy, and a number of convents and business 
Colleges. Electric street railways, public 
waterworks, stone and asphalt pavements, a 
sewer system, and public lighting are among 
the improvements. The site of the city is a 
portion of the region occupied by the first per¬ 
manent settlement in the State. John King 
established the Dubuqtie VUiior in 1836, the 
first periodical published in Iowa. It was in¬ 
corporated as a town in 1837 and was chartered 
as a city in 1840. Population, 1910, 38,494. 

DUCAT (duk'at), a coin of different value, 
chiefly of gold, and formerly used extensively 
in Europe. Ducats were first made in the 
11th century by the emperors of Byzantine, 
and by the next century were used generally 
in the southern part of Europe, especially in 
Sicily and Italy. In 1559 the diet of Germany 
adopted the ducat, and it soon came into use 
in all parts of Northern Europe. At present it 
is not issued, except in Austria-Hungary, 
where the gold ducats are coined for use in 
foreign trade. The silver ducat used formerly 
had a value of seventy-five cents to $1.10 and 
the gold ducat was valued at about $2.32. 
Ducats coined in ancient Venice were valued at 
about $1.46. 

DUCK, the common name of a large fam¬ 
ily of widely distributed web-footed birds. 
They include many species and are met more 
or less in all portions of the inhabited world. 



MALLARD DUCK—MALE AND FEMALE. 


Many ducks are migratory, going to higher 
latitudes to breed in the summer season. They 
deposit from six to twelve eggs in a nest built 
among the reeds near the edge of bodies of 
fresh water, or in the hollows of trees or crev- 


DUCKBILL 


671 


DUEL 


ices of rocks. Ducks are peculiarly awkward 
in walking, having a waddling movement, but 
their flight is brisk and their ability to swim is 
quite highly developed. The wild species are 
classed as sea ducks and true ducks. Ducks of 
the former class are migratory, being seen fre¬ 
quently in large flocks moving to and from the 
higher latitudes. The most common wild duck of 
Central North America in the primeval period 
was the mallard, a fine game bird, and it is still 
found in many regions. The female is of a 
grayish color, while the male has an attractive 
plumage. In the latter the head is bluish-green, 
the neck is chestnut colored with a fine ring of 
white, and the body is finely marked in vari- 
* ous light, blue, and greenish shades. In the 
duck family the bill is large, though it is greatly 
diversified as to size and shape. Some are flat 
and rounded at the top, others are quite sharp, 
while the scaup duck has a spoon-shaped bill. 
The pintail is characterized by a pointed tail. 
The flesh of ducks is a wholesome and favorite 
food and is much sought at all times, except 
in the season of breeding. Domestic ducks 
have been developed from the wild species, 
probably largefy from the wood duck and the 
mallard. They are grown extensively for the 
flesh and feathers. The eggs, though excellent 
food, are not as well liked as hens’ eggs. Be¬ 
sides, ducks do not produce eggs abundantly. 
The musk duck, a native of South America, 
often erroneously called Muscovy duck, is al¬ 
most as large as a goose and is the largest of 
the duck family. The drake or male of all 
domestic ducks and of many wild species is 
distinguished by marked differences in plumage, 
is somewhat larger than the female, and has 
four curved tail feathers. Its voice is low and 
basslike and quite different from the quack of 
the female. 

DUCKBILL, or Water Mole, an aquatic 
egg-laying animal, the only living species of 
the order Monotremata. It is native to Aus¬ 
tralia and the adjacent islands, including Papua 
and Tasmania. The body is about twenty 
inches long, which includes the bill and tail, 
and is thickly covered with a brown fur. The 
head is small, the teeth are near the base of 
each mandible, and the males have spurs on the 
hind legs. This animal has a horny bill similar 
to that of a duck, but it breathes through nos¬ 
trils at the tip of the bill. Though an aquatic 
animal, it can climb trees with facility, and is 
able to dig long burrows with its feet. The 
fore feet are strong and have five toes, and 
the hind feet are smaller and the five toes are 
armed with claws. It feeds chiefly on worms 
and insects and prefers to live in large colo¬ 


nies. Reproduction is by eggs, which are cov¬ 
ered with a soft and flexible shell, and only a 
few are laid at a time. At birth the young 
are blind and naked, but grow rapidly, sub¬ 
sisting on milk drawn from the milk glands 
of the mother. The duckbill has a gentle dis¬ 
position and its voice resembles that of a 
young dog. 

DUCKING STOOL, a kind of stool used 
for punishing scolds, especially scolding wives. 
It came into common use in many European 
countries in the 15th century, and was em¬ 
ployed as an apparatus for inflicting punish¬ 
ment in Europe and America until the begin¬ 
ning of the 18th century. Many forms of duck¬ 
ing stools were in use, but the most common 
kind consisted of a mechanical arrangement 
whereby the culprit was fastened in the chair 
and moved up and down in the water, the head 
alone remaining above the surface, though it 
was sometimes submerged momentarily. Addi¬ 
son speaks of its use by saying, “Reclaim the 
obstinate and virulent woman, and make the 
ducking stool more useful.” 

DUCKWEED, the name of a small plant 
that floats upon the water, the rootlets hanging 
loosely beneath. It consists chiefly of flat 
green fronds and is found widely distributed 
on the surface of stagnant waters. The flowers 
are unisexual, destitute of calyx and corolla, 
and the fruit is rarely seen, since it propagates 
chiefly by new fronds budding from those al¬ 
ready developed. 

DUCTILITY (duk-til'i-ty), the quality of 
some substances by which they may be drawn 
into wire. Soft metals possessing only slight 
ductility cannot be drawn into wire, but may 
be converted into that form by a process of 
squirting or pressing. The degree of ductility 
in the important metals is in this order: gold, 
silver, platinum, iron, copper, zinc, tin, lead, 
and nickel. These metals are malleable, that 
is, they may be beaten into leaves or sheets, 
but in a relatively different order, as follows: 
gold, silver, copper, tin, platinum, lead, zinc, 
iron, and nickel. 

DUEL (du'el), a word derived from the 
Latin duellum, signifying a premeditated and 
prearranged mortal combat between two per¬ 
sons for the purpose of deciding some point of 
difference, or establishing some question of 
honor. Dueling was practiced in early ages 
and is referred to by some writers as a trial 
by battle. In a modern duel at least four per¬ 
sons are required to be present, including the 
two combatants or principals and a second for 
each principal. The seconds arrange the time, 
place, and mode of fighting the duel, though 


DUERO 


672 


DULCIMER 


the choice of arms belongs exclusively to the 
person receiving the challenge. In former 
times it was thought a mark of honor to resent 
an insult by issuing a challenge, but modern 
public opinion has rendered dueling cowardly 
and disgraceful and has caused it to become 
almost obsolete. However, the practice is still 
regarded as honorable in some countries, par¬ 
ticularly in the Latin states of Europe and 
some countries of Asia. 

It is thought that the practice of dueling 
in modern Europe was the outgrowth of the 
custom of wearing a sword, and was most 
common in the 16th century. In many coun¬ 
tries, particularly in France, challenges were 
issued on the most trivial and commonplace 
grievances, and the practice still occurs among 
students in the German army and some of 
the universities. In the reign of Henry IV. 
of France the number of persons falling in 
duels is estimated at fully 6,000. Sully, min¬ 
ister of Henry IV., opposed the practice with 
much energy, but the king favored it, because 
he thought it tended to maintain a spirit of 
militarism among the people. A decree was 
issued against it in 1602, but with little effect. 
More than 4,000 nobles lost their lives during 
the minority of Louis XIV. From France the 
practice was carried to England in the reign 
of James I., where it became quite common. 
Among the well-known men who fought duels 
in England are included William Pitt and the 
Duke of Wellington. The most celebrated 
duel occurring in America was the mortal 
combat between Alexander Hamilton and 
Aaron Burr, in which the former was slain. 
Great indignation \vas aroused among the peo¬ 
ple in the United States on account of the 
death of Hamilton, and the practice grew less 
common. It is now looked upon as a foolish 
and inhuman act to issue a challenge. 

DUERO, or Douro. See Douro. 

DUGONG (du-gong'), an herb-eating, sea 
mammal of the genus Halicore. Cuvier classed 
it with his order of Pachydermata, which in¬ 
cludes the rhinosceros and other thick-skinned 
animals, but the order is not recognized at 
present. The eyes are small, the upper lip is 
thick and fleshy, and the upper jaw bends down¬ 
ward almost at a right - angle. It has a whitish 
color below and a slate-brown or bluish-black 
above. The common length is eight .or ten 
feet, though some are twenty feet long. It is 
widely distributed in tropical seas, but is most 
common in the waters of Southern Asia and 
the East Indies. Its food is marine vegetation, 
principally algae, which it finds in shallows or 
at the river estuaries. The natives pursue it 


for its flesh, which resembles the beef of young 
cattle and is highly nutritious. The mother has 



DUGONG. 


a feeble voice and shows intense affection for 
her young. 

DUISBURG (doo'is-burk), a city of Ger¬ 
many, in Rhenish Prussia, fifteen miles north 
of Diisseldorf. It is finely located between the 
Ruhr and the Rhine, ( with which it is con¬ 
nected by canals, and is the converging center 
of several railroads. The noteworthy build¬ 
ings include the Church of Saint Salvator, the 
town hall, the public library, and a number of 
gymnasiums and Realschulen. The streets are 
straight and well improved with modern utili¬ 
ties, such as electric street railways, water¬ 
works, sewerage and stone and asphalt pave¬ 
ments. It has manufactures of steel and brass 
wares, glue, tobacco, beet sugar, soap, furni¬ 
ture, chemicals, and machinery. In the vicin¬ 
ity are extensive coal mines and stone quar¬ 
ries. It has a large shipping trade in grain, 
coal, iron ore, and merchandise. Duisburg is 
an ancient town, but its larger growth is com¬ 
paratively recent. Charlemagne fortified it and 
in the 13th century it became a member of 
the Hanseatic League. Subsequently it was 
made a free town, but was annexed to Prus¬ 
sia after the Napoleonic War. Population, 1905, 
192,346. 

DULCIMER (dul'si-mer), a musical instru¬ 
ment used in almost all countries. It dates 
from ancient times. In shape and construction 
it is similar to the dulcimer made many cen¬ 
turies ago, and as a whole the instrument has 
undergone fewer changes that any other mu¬ 
sical device. It consists of a flat box with a 
sounding board crossed by bridges, to which 
wires are fastened and tuned by pegs at the 
sides. The operator performs upon it by strik¬ 
ing the wires with small pieces of wood held 
in each hand, or with two hammers containing 
heads of cork. It differs from the psaltery in 






















DULUTH 


673 


DUMBARTON 


the manner of striking the wires, while a 
pianoforte is in reality a dulcimer on a large 
scale. 

DULUTH (du-looth), a city of Minnesota, 
county seat of Saint Louis County, at the west 
end of Lake Superior. It is on the Northern 
Pacific, the Great Northern, the Chicago and 
Northwestern, the Duluth, South Shore and 
Atlantic, the Duluth and Iron Range, and 
other railroads. Being situated at the western 
extremity of navigation on the Great Lakes, 


opposite Superior, Wis., it is highly important 
as a wholesaling and distributing center. The 
harbor is nine miles long and two miles wide, 
and is protected by a narrow strip of land called 
Minnesota Point, which forms a natural break¬ 
water and is cut by ship canals, through which 
large vessels pass. The largest of these canals, 
which is located near the city, is crossed by 
the celebrated aerial ferry. It is the only 
structure of the kind in America and has the 
advantage of leaving the canal clear, carrying 
pedestrians, vehicles, and street cars at regu¬ 
lar intervals. The United States government 
has expended large sums in dredging and other¬ 
wise improving the harbor for heavy shipping. 

The city occupies a fine site overlooking the 
lake. It stretches along the lake shore a dis¬ 
tance of about twenty miles, and Superior 
Street, the principal thoroughfare, extends 
nearly parallel to the shore the entire dis¬ 
tance. The ground rises rapidly from the 
margin of the water. The business section is 
near the lake, occupying a level and slightly 
elevated tract, while the finer residential sec¬ 
tions are in the higher lands toward the west 
and northwest. It is one of the leading ship¬ 
ping points in the country. Among the indus¬ 
tries are sawmills, grain elevators, machine 
shops, flouring mills, car works and blast fur¬ 
naces. In the vicinity are quarries of sand¬ 
stone and granite. 

Duluth is generally well built and the public 
43 


utilities are modern and well managed. The 
public high school, one of the finest in the 
Northwest, was erected at a cost of $300,000. 
Other noteworthy buildings include the Car¬ 
negie public library, the Federal building, the 
Masonic Temple, the Spalding and Saint Louis 
hotels, the State Normal school, the Board of 
Trade, the Lyceum theater, and many fine 
churches. Lincoln, Chester and Grand View 
are among the public parks. Daniel GresoLon 
(Sieur du Lhut), after whom it was named, 
visited the place in 1680, but it 
was not settled until in 1853. It 
became a town in 1867, and was 
chartered as a city in 1870. The 
growth of the city from 1880 to 
1900 is one of the most remark¬ 
able in the United States, the pop¬ 
ulation of the former year being 
3,843, while in 1900 it was 52,969. 
Population, 1910, 78,466. 

DUMA, or Douma, the lower 
branch of the legislative depart¬ 
ment of Russia, established by an 
imperial manifesto on Oct. 19, 
1905, and frequently referred to 
as the National Assembly. It is composed of 
about 500 members, who are elected by the 
Zemstvos, and has joint legislative power with 
the Council of the Empire, but bills passed by 
both these branches are subject to veto by the 
emperor, and cannot be introduced the second 
time without the royal consent. Among the re¬ 
strictions upon the duma are that it cannot N take 
part in legislation regarding titles of nobility or 
entailed estates. Neither can it discuss the re¬ 
ports of the Minister of Finance, or consider 
charges of malfeasance against members of the 
council or officers of the government. 

DUMBARTON (dum-bar'tun), a seaport 
and the capital of Dumbartonshire, Scotland, 
thirteen miles northwest of Glasgow. It is sit¬ 
uated on the Leven River, near its entrance 
into the Clyde, and has transportation facili¬ 
ties by steamboats and railways. The castle 
of Dumbarton, located at the mouth of the 
Leven, stands on a basaltic rock which rises 
about 560 feet. This castle is maintained by 
the government under the treaty of union be¬ 
tween England and Scotland, whose terms re¬ 
quire that it and three other Scotch castles 
be kept in repair. Sir William Wallace, 
the Scotch hero, was for a time imprisoned 
in the castle. It was a residence of Mary, 
Queen of Scots, before she went to France. 
Dumbarton has extensive shipyards, iron foun¬ 
dries, cordage works, and machine shops, 
and is the center of considerable trade in 



AERIAL FERRY AT DULUTH, MINN. 




















DUMFRIES 


674 


DUNFERMLINE 


merchandise and produce. Population, 1907, 
20,864. 

DUMFRIES (dum-fres'), a river port and 
the capital of Dumfrieshire, Scotland, 72 miles 
southwest of Edinburgh. It is situated on the 
Nith River, nine miles from its entrance into 
the Solway Firth, and has convenient railroad 
facilities. The chief buildings include the post 
office, an infirmary, the Crichton Institution, and 
a number of fine schools and churches. Among 
the manufactures are hosiery, baskets, clothing, 
leather, and boots and shoes. Dumfries is noted 
for its early history. In 1306 Robert the Bruce 
slew the Red Comyn in the Greyfriars’ Monas¬ 
tery, which was built by Devorgilla, the mother 
of John Baliol. Robert Burns, the poet, is 
buried in the Saint Michael’s churchyard. The 
Young Pretender made Dumfries his headquar¬ 
ters in 1745. Population, 1907, 20,150. 

DUNA (dii'na), ,or Southern Dwina, an im¬ 
portant river of western Russia, rises in the 
Valdai Hills, flows toward the southwest, and 
thence makes a bold curve toward the north¬ 
west and discharges into the Gulf of Riga. 
The entire course is about 650 miles, of which 
a large part is navigable, except four months 
of the year, when it is frozen. Canals connect 
it with the Black and Caspian seas, the Gulf of 
Finland, and other navigation centers. The 
course of the Dima is through a fertile and 
densely populated region and its importance in 
commerce is marked, having Jacobstadt, Riga, 
and jFriedrichstadt on its banks. 

DUNABURG (dii'na-boork), or Dvinsk, a 
fortified city of Russia, in the government of 
Vitebsk, 110 miles southeast of Riga. It is 
situated on the Duna River and on the trunk 
railway from Warsaw to Saint Petersburg. 
The surrounding country is fertile. Among 
the manufactures are flour, matches, clothing, 
machinery, tobacco, and spirituous liquors. It 
has a large trade in produce and merchandise. 
Many of the streets are improved by paving 
with stone and asphalt. The French bom¬ 
barded it in 1812. Population, 1906, 75,806. 

DUNDEE (dun-de') 5 the fourth city of Scot¬ 
land, in Forfarshire, fifty miles northeast of 
Edinburgh. It is situated on the Firth of Tay, 
about ten miles from its entrance to the sea, 
and is the center of a large railroad and naviga¬ 
tion commerce. The streets are regular in most 
of the city and are well paved and lighted, and 
many are traversed by electric street railway 
lines. It has a safe harbor and extensive dock¬ 
yards. Among the manufactures are textile 
goods, clothing, confectionery, earthenware, and 
machinery. It is the seat of extensive ware¬ 
houses, flouring mills, and machine shops. The 


northern seal and whale fishery interests make it 
an important depot for operation, thus adding 
largely to its commercial importance. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are the Saint Paul’s 
Episcopal Church, the post office, the county 
courthouse, the Kannaird hall, and the Univer¬ 
sity College. In 1887 the large bridge, about 
two miles long, over the Tay, was blown down 
while a passenger train was passing over. The 
Firth is crossed farther up at present by a 
bridge 3,600 yards long. Dundee was besieged 
and sacked by the Duke of Montrose in 1645, 
and was stormed by General Monk about six 
years afterward. Its history in connection with 
Great Britain is quite interesting. Population, 
1907, 165,748. 

DUNE (dun), the name first given to the 
hills of sand along the coast which are blown 
together by the winds, but later applied to sand¬ 
hills formed similarly in regions of sandy .or 
arid soil. Dunes begin to form where the sand 
is blown against some obstruction, such as a 
log or boulder, and from this beginning low 
hills are built up gradually. They are common 
on the sandy Atlantic coast of North America 
from Cape Cod to Cape Canaveral, where they 
are frequently from ten to thirty feet high, 
and on the coasts of the Bahamas they have a 
height of more than a hundred feet. In France, 
in the department of Landes, the dunes cover 
a large area and encroach farther upon the land 
each year. Others are found among the cliffs 
of England, near the southern end of Lake 
Michigan, and in extensive areas of the Sahara. 

DUNEDIN (dun-e'dm), a city of New Zea¬ 
land, capital of the provincial district of Otago, 
on the east side of South Island. It is con¬ 
veniently located at the head of Otago harbor, 
and has a large interior and domestic trade. A 
railway connects it with the principal cities of 
the island, and steamboats run regularly be- * 
tween it and Melbourne. It is the seat of 
Otago University, opened in 1871, and has street 
railways, waterworks, a public library, a fine 
post office, and several handsome -government 
buildings. The streets are regularly platted and 
well paved with brick and stone. Among the 
manufactures are clothing, brick, pottery, uten¬ 
sils, and woolen goods. The first settlement 
on its site was made in 1848, but its prosperity 
dates from 1861, when extensive gold fields 
were discovered in the vicinity. Population, 
1906, 56,020. 

DUNFERMLINE (dun-ferm'lin), a city of 
Scotland, in the western part of Fifeshire, six¬ 
teen miles northwest of Edinburgh. It has rail¬ 
road and electric railway facilities. The manu¬ 
factures include cotton and linen goods, iron- 


DUNKARDS 


675 


DURANGO 


ware, pottery, clothing, and machinery. Lime 
beds and iron collieries are worked in the vicin¬ 
ity. It has a Carnegie public library, a fine high 
school, a public hall, and several county and 
corporation buildings. Dunfermline was a fa¬ 
vorite residence of the early Scottish kings and 
is the birthplace of David II. and Charles I. 
Malcolm Canmore founded a Benedictine abbey 
here about 1075. The remains of Robert Bruce 
are beneath the pulpit of the Abbey Church. 
Population, 1906, 26,352. 

DUNKARDS (dun'kerdz), a name derived 
from the German word Tunkers, meaning im- 
mersers, and by which a Protestant denomina¬ 
tion is known. The society of Dunkards was 
founded at Schwartzenau, Germany, in 1708. 
It includes the Conservative, Old Order, and 
Progressive Baptists, and the German Seventh- 
Day Baptists. The entire Dunkard denomina¬ 
tion comprises 1,095 churches, 2,885 ministers, 
and 118,875 members. It has-the largest num¬ 
ber of adherents in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indi¬ 
ana, and the states in the Northwest. The pub¬ 
lishing headquarters are at Elgin, Ill. Several 
colleges and seminaries are maintained. The 
bicentennial of the Progressive Baptists was 
held at Des Moines, Iowa, in 1908, when the 
society was renamed Church of the Brethren. 

DUNKIRK (dun'kerk), a city and port of 
entry of Chautauqua County, New York, on 
Lake Erie, about 35 miles southwest of Buffalo. 
It is on the Erie, the New York Central, the 
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, and other 
railroads. The noteworthy buildings include 
the public library, the high school, the Brooks 
Memorial Hospital, and the city hall. Many 
of the streets are paved and improved by grad¬ 
ing and parkings. It was settled in 1809 and 
incorporated in 1837. Among the manufactures 
are flour, machinery, locomotives, clothing, lum¬ 
ber, utensils, and hardware. Population, 1905, 
15,251; in 1910, 17,221. 

DUNKIRK, or Dunkerque, a seaport in 
France, on the Strait of Dover, in the depart¬ 
ment of Le Nord. It is defended by forts and 
outworks, and surrounded by walls. The har¬ 
bor is large and convenient. Among the man¬ 
ufactures are cordage, sugar, spirituous bever¬ 
ages, leather, soap, and machinery. Shipbuild¬ 
ing is an important industry. The railroad and 
electric car line connections are extensive. 
Among the public buildings are a library, the 
Church of Saint Eloi, the museum, and the 
town hall. Dunkirk owes its early growth to 
the church built by Saint Eloi in the 7th 
century. It has an interesting history in con¬ 
nection with that of France. The English 
under the Duke of York tried to capture it in 


1793, but were defeated with much loss. Popu¬ 
lation, 1906, 38,287. 

DUN MO RE (dun-mor'), a borough of 
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, on the Erie 
and the Lackawanna railroads. Extensive an¬ 
thracite coal and clay deposfts are worked in 
the vicinity. It is the seat of the State Oral 
School. Among the industries are steel and 
iron mills, stone works, feed mills, and imple¬ 
ment works. It has gas and electric lighting, 
electric street railways, and municipal water¬ 
works. The place was settled in 1835 and in¬ 
corporated in 1862. Population, 1900, 12,583. 

DUPPEL (diip'pel), a village of Germany, 
in the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein, 
sixteen miles northeast of Flensburg. It is lo¬ 
cated on the coast of the Little Belt, is strongly 
fortified, and has importance as a strategic 
point. In the war between Prussia and Den¬ 
mark, in 1849, it was stormed and captured by 
the Germans. A second engagement took place 
at Diippel in 1864, when the Germans bom¬ 
barded the Danish position and captured it after 
a siege of two months. 

DUQUESNE (dii-kan'), a borough in Alle¬ 
gheny County, Pennsylvania, about ten miles 
southeast of Pittsburg, on the Monongahela 
River and on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The 
chief buildings include the high school and the 
Carnegie Library and Institute. It is an im¬ 
portant manufacturing center and has a grow¬ 
ing trade in coal and merchandise. The manu¬ 
factures embrace ironware, machinery, earthen¬ 
ware, cigars, and utensils. It has modern mu¬ 
nicipal improvements?- such as pavements and 
waterworks. Duquesne was settled in 1885 and 
incorporated in 1891. Population, 1910, 15,727. 

DURANGO (ddo-ran'go), a city of Mexico, 
capital of the state of Durangq, 475 miles north¬ 
west of the city of Mexico. The city is well 
built on an elevation 6,845 feet above sea level, 
has manufactures of cotton and woolen fabrics, 
leather, and machinery, and is the seat of a 
government mint and a cathedral. It has sev¬ 
eral fine school and church buildings. Mining, 
agriculture, and stock raising are carried on in 
the vicinity. It has railroad connections and a 
considerable trade. Population, 1906, 32,902. 

DURANGO, county seat of La Plata Coun¬ 
ty, Colorado, on the Las Animas River and 
on the Rio Grande Southern and the Denver 
and Rio Grande railroads. It is surrounded by 
a fertile country, which yields large quantities 
of agricultural products and contains extensive 
coal deposits. The noteworthy buildings include 
the high school and the county poorhouse. It 
has a considerable trade, and it is the seat of 
iron and steel works. Population, 1900, 3,317. 


DURBAN 


676 


DVINA 


DURBAN (dur-ban'), an important seaport 
of South Africa, the only port city of Natal, on 
the Bay of Natal. The bay has a lighthouse and 
is protected by fortifications. It has a public 
library, a museum, electric street railways, and 
a fine public park, and is the terminus of two 
railway lines. The domestic and export trade 
are important. It has manufactures of cloth¬ 
ing, brick, utensils, and machinery. Durban 
was founded in 1823 by the Dutch. Population, 
1906, 69,894. 

DURHAM (dur'um), county seat of Dur¬ 
ham County, North Carolina, 26 miles northwest 
of Raleigh. It is on the Seaboard Air Line, 
the Southern, and the Norfolk and Western 
railroads. Among the chief buildings are the 
county courthouse, the public library, the Watts 
Hospital, and Trinity College. It is surrounded 
by an agricultural country and has a large trade 
in produce and merchandise. The manufactured 
products include tobacco, furniture, cotton and 
woolen goods, flour, ironware, machinery, and 
implements. Durham was settled in 1855 and 
incorporated in 1869. General Johnston sur¬ 
rendered with a Confederate army to General 
Sherman near the city in 1865. Population, 
1900, 6,679. 

DURHAM, a city of England, situated near 
the center of Durham County, on the Wear 
River. It occupies a site partly encircling a 
steep, rocky eminence, on the top of which are 
a castle and a cathedral. The ancient castle is 
now used by the university, which was founded 
in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 
1837. Durham first became important in 995, 
when a church was located here to enshrine 
the tombs of Saint Cuthbert and others. The 
present cathedral was begun on the site of the 
old church in 1093, and constitutes one of the 
most characteristic specimens of Norman archi¬ 
tecture. The main building has a length of 510 
feet and the central tower is 214 feet high. 
The bishopric of Durham is celebrated for its 
efficient line of bishops, who exercised marked 
influence upon the religious aspect of Great 
Britain. Population, 1907, 15,382. 

DUSSELDORF (diis'sel-dorf), a city of 
Germany, in Rhenish Prussia, on the Rhine 
River, at the mouth of the Diissel. It has com¬ 
munication by lines of steamers, steam rail¬ 
roads, and electric railways, and is one of the 
leading commercial centers in the valley of the 
Rhine. Among its manufactures are carpets, 
tobacco, cotton and woolen goods, leather, iron¬ 
ware, chemicals, machinery, musical instru¬ 
ments, and objects of art. The cotton and iron 
industries are very extensive and merit special 
mention. It has a large export and jobbing trade. 


Diisseldorf is noted as a center of art and 
education. The Academy of Art is one of the 
leading institutions of the kind in Europe. It 
was founded in 1767 and contains paintings by 
Rubens, Bellini, Durer, Janssens and other fa¬ 
mous artsts. Among the noteworthy buildings 
are the palace of justice, the Church of Saint 
Lambert, the museum, and a number of gymna¬ 
siums. Among the public parks may be men¬ 
tioned the Hofgarten, one of the finest in Eu¬ 
rope, and within it are several fine monuments, 
including the War Memorial erected in 1892 
to commemorate the campaigns against Austria 
and France. Diisseldorf was first mentioned 
in the 12th century. It was annexed with the 
Grand Duchy of Berg to Prussia in 1814. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 253,274. 

DUTCH, the language and people of Hol¬ 
land, or the Netherlands. The name was origi¬ 
nally applied to most of the Teutonic peoples, 
but beginning with the 17th century the people 
of Holland were designated as Dutch and all 
others of the Teutonic order as Germans. 

DUTCH EAST INDIES, the territory of 
the East Indies under the control of the gov¬ 
ernment of Holland. These possessions com¬ 
prise Java and Madura; parts of Borneo, Su¬ 
matra, and New Guinea; the Riau-Lingga Archi¬ 
pelago, Banca, Billiton, Celebes, the Molucca 
Archipelago, and the Sunda Islands. The en¬ 
tire area is estimated at 736,500 square miles 
and the population at 35,095,500, of which about 
75,000 are Europeans.. As a whole it has re¬ 
markable fertility of soil and extensive produc¬ 
tions of rice, coffee, sugar, tobacco, cotton, in¬ 
digo, minerals, spices, and fruits. Many min¬ 
erals abound, but the mines are not worked ex¬ 
pensively. The government is administered by 
a governor general, who is appointed by the 
crown and assisted by a council of five mem¬ 
bers. Most of the islands are treated under 
separate titles, which see. 

DUTCH GUIANA (ge-a'na), or Surinam, 
a possession of Holland in South America. See 
Guiana. 

DUTIES, a term which signifies taxes, but 
in general use it is restricted to taxes levied 
upon imports and exports, and has much the 
same meaning as customs. Ad valorem duty is 
the duty levied upon imported merchandise at 
a given per cent, as invoiced by the importer. 
A specific duty is the duty chargeable on im¬ 
ported merchandise by quantity, weight, or num¬ 
ber, without regard to value. The term duty 
on water is applied to the charges levied on 
water used in the irrigation of crops. See Cus¬ 
toms Duties; Tariff. 

DVINA (dve-na'), or Dwina. See Dwina. 



DWARF 


677 


DYEING 


DWARF (dwarf), a term used to designate 
any plant or animal that is much smaller in 
size than the average size of development. 
Individual dwarfs occur in all plant and animal 
life, though those of the human race have 
attracted the greatest share of attention and 
study. Charles I. of England had a dwarf, Jef¬ 
fery Hudson (1619-1682), who was only eight¬ 
een inches high at the age of seven years, but 
afterward grew to three feet ten inches. Wy- 
brand Lolkes, a dwarf born in the Netherlands 
in 1730, was 27 inches tall at the age of sixty 
years, weighing 56 pounds. These and other 
celebrated dwarfs were kept as pets in the courts 
of princes and families of nobles. Dwarfs are 
now shown at exhibitions. Among the most 
celebrated dwarfs of America was Charles S. 
Stratton, known as General Tom Thumb. In 
1863 he married Lavinia Warren. He was 31 
inches in height and his bride was about one 
inch taller. Together with their dwarf child 
and Commodore Nutt, they were exhibited ex¬ 
tensively in America and Europe. A dwarf of 
New York known as General Mite was only 21 
inches tall. 

Many of the dwarfs are unusually strong for 
their size and exhibit considerable intelligence. 
Several races of dwarfs are mentioned in his¬ 
tory and some still exist. Aristotle described 
a race of dwarfs who inhabited caves on the 
banks of the Nile. The Akkas, who inhabit 
Central Africa, are among the most noted of 
existing dwarf races. They were described by 
Stanley in 1881 as a brave people, though their 
average height does not exceed four feet ten 
inches. Several communities of dwarfs dwell 
in the Congo Free State, though they are more 
or less mixed with other tribes. The old Ger¬ 
manic legends mention numerous dwarf na¬ 
tions who had kings and a recognized form of 
government. It is quite probable that any of 
the stories met with as to their advancement 
in arts and sciences have been greatly exag¬ 
gerated. 

DWARFING, the process of training plants 
for ornamentation and useful purposes whereby 
their size is kept much below the normal. The 
process includes a special manner of planting, 
pruning of the roots, and pinching off of the 
stronger shoots. The art is practiced most ex¬ 
tensively in China and Japan, where dwarfing 
is applied to ornamental trees and hedges. Be¬ 
sides pruning the stronger shoots, the limbs are 
bent and twisted in various ways and trained 
to develop into ornamental and beautiful 
forms. Some plants do not possess the char¬ 
acteristics which make them serviceable for 
dwarfing, even in fertile soil and under fa¬ 


vorable climatic conditions. The osage orange, 
the acacia, and the arbor vitae are commonly 
dwarfed for hedges. Some fruits and the,cof¬ 
fee tree yield larger returns when they* are 
kept trimmed. 

DWINA (dwe'na), or Dvina, an important 
river of northern Russia. It is formed by the 
junction of the Jug and Sukhona, has a north¬ 
westerly course, and flows into the White Sea 
by four mouths. It has a length of about 435 
miles from its mouth to the point at which it 
is formed, and about 750 miles to the source of 
the Sukhona. The- Vytchegda- is the largest 
tributary. The entire system drains an area of 
140,000 square miles, affords valuable means of 
inland navigation, and is rich in valuable fish. 
Large vessels cannot enter from .the sea owing 
to shoals at its mouth, and it is obstructed by 
ice for about 175 days in the year. At Arch¬ 
angel it is four miles wide. Canals connect it 
with the Neva and the Volga. 

DYAKS (di'aks), the name applied to the 
aborigines of Borneo, who chiefly inhabit the 
interior. They have made considerable ad¬ 
vancement in agriculture and other arts. Their 
complexion is yellow, and in docility and in¬ 
dustry they rank far above the Malays. In 
worship they are classed as pagans. Consid¬ 
erable advancement has been made in civiliza¬ 
tion, especially in the vicinity of Sarawak. The 
former practice of head hunting, an art in 
which they engaged to secure the heads of 
their enemies, has been abolished in all dis¬ 
tricts where Europeans have exercised influ¬ 
ence. Most of the Dyaks are under the gov¬ 
ernment of Holland. 

DYEING, the art of fixing colors on linen, 
cotton, silk, wool, and other textile fabrics. 

• Owing to a marked difference in which fibrous 
materials take color, it is necessary to pass the 
substances to be dyed through various pre¬ 
liminary operations. All matters preventing 
the dye from having free access, and the natural 
coloring that interferes with the production of 
the clear and bright j;ints, are removed. Bleach¬ 
ing is applied to linen and cotton fabrics before 
bringing them in contact with dyes, while silk 
is boiled to remove the fatty matter, and wool 
is scoured in soda, lye, diluted ammonia, or 
weak soap. The order in which substances 
have attraction for color is: wool, silk, cotton, 
flax, and hemp. Dyes are often applied to 
woolen goods before weaving, in - which case 
they are called wool-dyed. If the coloring mat¬ 
ter is applied after weaving, they are called 
piece-dyed. Some dyes will not adhere to the 
materials which are to be colored without an 
agent to fix them, that is, to cause a combina- 


DYER’S BROOM 


678 


DYNAMITE 


tion between the dyeing color and the stuff to 
be dyed. Such an agent is known as a mor¬ 
dant. 

The dye materials used at present are derived 
from the mineral, vegetable, and animal king¬ 
doms. The most common mineral dyes are 
known as arsenical greens, chrome yellow, co¬ 
balt blues, and Prussian blues. Vegetable 
dyes of different kinds are derived from Rubia 
tinctoria, munjeet, sandalwood, logwood, sap- 
panwood, and Brazilwood. Animal dyes include 
those made from the cochineal insect and kin¬ 
dred species of Insect life. In recent years ani¬ 
line dyes derived from coal tar have been added 
to the list of coloring stuffs. Under various 
forms of treatment many organic substances 
yield coloring matter. Among them may be 
mentioned starch, lichens, wood, sawdust, cot¬ 
ton waste, mosses, soot, sugar, camwood, su-> 
mach, French berries, saffron, and turmeric. 

DYER’S BROOM, or Dyer’s Weed, a low 
and shrubby leguminous plant native to many 
parts of Europe. It has simple leaves and yel¬ 
low flowers and is reputed to be the Genet, a 
bush from which the Plantagenet family ob¬ 
tained its name. The tops are used in making 
a yellow dye, and it is said to possess medicinal 
properties useful in preventing hydrophobia. 
This plant has been naturalized in some parts 
of Canada and the United States. 

DYNAMICS (dt-nam'iks), the science which 
treats of the action of forces. It is divided 
into statics and kinetics. Statics treats of forces 
that counterbalance each other, and which 
therefore produce no motion or change of mo¬ 
tion; while kinetics treats of forces that do not 
counterbalance, and therefore cause motion or 
change of motion. The whole science is gen¬ 
erally called mechanics, while dynamics is re¬ 
stricted to the branch commonly called kinetics. 
The three primary laws of force were first 
stated by Newton, and express the principal 
phenomena of mass motion. These are: 1. 
A body at rest will continue at rest, or a body 
in motion will continue in motion in a straight 
line with a uniform velocity, until acted on by 
some external force. 2. Any change in the 
direction or in the amount of motion is pro¬ 
portional to the force acting, and takes place 
in the direction in which the force acts. 3. Ac¬ 
tion and reaction are equal in amount and in 
opposite directions. 

The first law is sometimes called the law of 
inertia, being a mere statement of the property 
of inertia. Matter at rest will continue at rest; 
or, if in motion, it must continue moving until 
it is acted on by some force, for the reason 
that it has no ability to start itself moving, 


to stop moving, or to change the direction of 
its motion. The second law states the principle 
that the amount and character of motion pro¬ 
duced by any force depends upon the elements 
of a force. An equal force, acting on two 
musses, one twice as large as the other, imparts 
to the smaller mass a motion twice as great as 
to the larger. From this we notice that the 
amount of motion of a mass or body depends 
upon the quantity of matter the body contains, 
as well as upon the intensity of force causing 
its motion. The amount of motion a body pos¬ 
sesses is called its momentum, which is equal to 
the mass of the body multiplied by its velocity. 
The principle declared in the third law is well 
illustrated by the recoil or kick of a gun, when 
a ball is shot from it. The motion in the gun 
is equal to that of the ball and is opposite in 
direction, but the actual velocity imparted 
to the gun is comparatively small on account of 
its mass being much greater than that of the 
ball. Hydrostatics is included in dynamics, when 
a wide construction is applied to the term. 

DYNAMITE (di'na-mlt), a powerful ex¬ 
plosive compound invented by Alfred Nobel, 
a German chemist, in 1867. The name is from 
a Greek word meaning strength. It was first 
produced by combining nitroglycerin with a 
siliceous earth obtained at Oberlohe, in Han¬ 
over, and known in Germany as Kieselguhr. 
Nitroglycerin was discovered by an Italian in 
1846, but was not brought into practical use 
until the invention of dynamite. The propor¬ 
tion of nitroglycerin mixed with kieselguhr is 
seventy-five per cent., the mixture being made 
to diminish the liability of the nitroglycerin ex¬ 
ploding by shock, and not destroying its force 
as an explosive. This earthy matter is highly 
porous and friable, thus containing high ab¬ 
sorbent power. The color of dynamite is red¬ 
dish-brown and has much the appearance of 
raw sugar. Other substances are now used to 
form dynamite, many being superior to kiesel¬ 
guhr for some purposes, among them diatomite, 
sand, charcoal, and sawdust. 

Dynamite is not impaired by age unless ex¬ 
posed to water. Small quantities may be 
burned without danger and give off a yellow¬ 
ish flame, but an explosion results if it is 
heated to a high temperature. As an explosive 
force it is several times more powerful than 
gunpowder, the explosion being effected by a 
fulminating cap. It is used extensively for 
blasting bowlders and may be employed under 
water, though about six per cent, of its power 
is lost when exploded in a submerged state. On 
account of its tendency to break rock into par¬ 
ticles, it is notused for quarrying, gunpowder 




DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINE 


679 DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINE 


still serving for that purpose. Gun cotton is a 
mixture of nitroglycerin and cotton or wood 
cellulose, and has the appearance of soft gela¬ 
tin. It is used for some forms of tunneling 
and blasting in preference to dynamite, on ac¬ 
count of giving off less fumes and having no 
tendency to cause headache to operators. 

Dynamite has gone into use for firing guns 
in warfare, a dynamite gun suitable for that 
purpose having been invented in 1883. The 
dynamite gun made under the direction of Lieu¬ 
tenant Zalinski consists of a mechanism in 
which a tube from forty to sixty feet in length 
is utilized. This tube is supported by a truss 
frame to guard against warping by its own 
weight, and the dynamite projectiles are thrown 
from the tube by means of compressed air. 
The compressed air is stored in a chamber be¬ 
neath the gun carriage, its pressure being 
usually 4,000 pounds, though not more than 
2,000 pounds of effective pressure is applied in 
throwing the projectile. Usually the air is 
introduced back of the projectile at an effective 
pressure of 2,000 pounds, and is increased as 
the projectile moves forward in the tube, this 
being done as a. safeguard against sudden ex¬ 
plosion. By means of this arrangement dyna¬ 
mite projectiles may be thrown a distance of 
three miles, the destruction being effected when 
they explode by reason of the sudden jar with 
which they crash against a fortification or 
some other object at which they are aimed. 
Another dynamite gun is the Maxim-Schupp- 
haus, in which a special powder starts the pro¬ 
jectile with a low pressure and increases the 
velocity by maintaining pressure throughout the 
entire length of the gun. This gun is among 
the latest that has attracted attention and has 
given marked satisfaction, though there are 
others that have been used successfully in 
throwing dynamite projectiles and aerial tor¬ 
pedoes. Guns of this character were first suc¬ 
cessfully employed in actual battle during the 
attack on Santiago by the American forces in 
the war with Spain, but since then have had an 
extended use elsewhere. 

DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINE, a 
machine for generating electricity by mechanical 
action, or for transforming electrical energy 
into mechanical energy. This is the definition 
of a dynamo-electric machine, which may serve 
either as a generator or a motor, depending 
upon whether it is supplied with mechanical or 
electrical energy; hence, whether it is giving out 
electrical or mechanical energy. 

In Fig. 1 are shown the essential parts of a 
simple dynamo. Here the two magnetic poles, 
N S, of opposite polarity, are placed near to 


each other. Between the poles is a field of so- 
called lines of magnetic force, which are repre¬ 
sented in the illustration by dotted lines. As 
the pulley C is revolved rapidly in the magnetic 
field, it cuts the lines of force and an electro¬ 
motive force is induced in the conductor. How¬ 
ever, the magnitude of the electro-motive force 
in the conductor depends entirely upon the rate 
at which the lines are cut. Since one end of 
the conductor is raised to a higher electric po¬ 
tential than the other, owing to this electro¬ 
motive force, there is a tendency for electricity 



DYNAMO. 


to flow along the conductor. If the ends of 
the conductor are connected exterior to the 
magnetic field so as to form a closed circuit, 
a current will flow through it as is indicated 
by the two arrows in the illustration. 

In a dynamo, as shown in Fig. 2 of the illus¬ 
tration, is an armature, A, of soft iron, around 
which a large number of wires are wrapped, 
the armature being revolved rapidly between the 
poles N and S of the large magnets M and M. 
By these means a cujrent of electricity is in¬ 
duced which is conducted along the axis of the 
armature and taken up by brushes of metal and 
conducted over wires to the lamps or motor 
intended to be operated. 

The commutator, C, is fixed on the collar 



















DYNAMOMETER 


680 


DZIGGETAI 


of the axis on which the armature revolves, 
and by means of it the direction of the current 
is reversed. In some machines the commu¬ 
tator causes the currents to be continuous or to 
have the same direction. The power of the ma¬ 
chine depends upon the number of magnetic 
poles, within which the armature is moving, 
and the speed of rotation. 

The effect of a dynamo is practically the same 
as that of a magneto-electric machine, but they 
differ in construction in that the latter has a 
permanent steel magnet instead of the electro¬ 
magnets used in dynamos. The dynamo is su¬ 
perior in that it possesses greater compactness, 
due to the fact that electro-magnets are stronger 
than permanent steel magnets of equal bulk. 
Their extensive use dates from the improve¬ 
ments made in their construction by Gramme of 
Paris in 1870. His invention became known 
as the Gramme machine, by means of which a 
powerful continuous current of uniform strength 
was obtained. Among the greatest dynamos 
ever built are those of Deptford Central Sta¬ 
tion, in London, and at Niagara Falls, the lat¬ 
ter being propelled through the motive power of 
water wheels. At the Columbian Exposition 
there were twelve dynamos that weighed 900 
tons, had a capacity of 180,000 lights, and were 
operated by engines with an aggregate of 12,000 
horse power. Since then other notable dynamos 
have been constructed, those used at the Lon¬ 
don, England, exposition in 1908 being particu¬ 
larly noteworthy. 

DYNAMOMETER (di-na-mom'e-ter), an 
instrument to ascertain the strength of men and 
animals, and to determine the power exerted 
by machines. Three classes of dynamometers 
are in use, including those designed to indicate 
the force of thrust, of traction, and of rotation. 
A thrust dynamometer is attached to the screw 
shaft of a steamship and measures the force 
of the screw in driving the vessel through the 
water. A simple traction dynamometer con¬ 
sists of a spring balance, in which the power 
exerted is indicated by an index upon a scale 


of figures. It may be fastened to a wagon or 
a plow, and when the team of horses pulls the 
load it shows the force exerted. The force of 
a shaft is measured by a rotary dynamometer, 
indicating the force transmitted by the shaft 
to other machinery. 

DYNASTY (di'nas-ty), a succession of sov¬ 
ereigns in one line of family descent, or derived 
from the same ancestral stock, and who govern 
the same country. Among the particularly 
noteworthy dynasties are the Hohenzollern of 
Germany, the Hapsburg of Austria, the Stuarts 
of England, and the Castile of Spain. 

DYNE (din), the absolute unit of force, em¬ 
ployed in the metric system for measuring force. 
It is termed the unit of the centimeter-gram- 
second system (C. G. S.), and is equal to a 
force that, acting upon one gram of matter for 
one second, will give it a velocity of one centi¬ 
meter per second. Since the dyne is a small 
unit, it is more convenient to use the megadyne, 
which is equal to one million dynes. 

DYSODILE (dis'6-dil), a mineral closely 
related to amber, found chiefly in limestone. 
It is of a yellowish or grayish color, and emits 
an odor similar to that of assafoetida when 
burning. 

DYTICIDAE (dl-tis"i-de), a family of wa¬ 
ter beetles which embrace nearly a thousand 
species. The body is flattened and the hind 
legs are furnished with hairs to aid in swim¬ 
ming. They pass the winter in a dormant state 
by being concealed in thick tufts of herbage or 
in mud, and become active in early spring. 
The antennae are smooth. Their habits are 
active, both in swimming and in flying from one 
pond to another. 

DZIGGETAI (dzig'ge-ta), a wild ass found 
on the plateaus of Central Asia, which re¬ 
sembles the horse more than any other animal. 
The color is brown and a black stripe extends 
along the back. Naturalists regard this animal 
of the same family as the kiang and koulan. 
It is thought to be the “half ass” mentioned by 
Pliny and Herodotus. 











E, the fifth letter and the second vowel of 
the English alphabet. It is used more fre¬ 
quently than any other of the 26 letters. Its 
natural or long sound is the same as i in the 
German, Italian, and French languages, as in 
me, mere, and here. The short sound of e is 
represented in words like men, hen, and met, 
while its sound equivalent to a is exemplified in 
there. Several modifications are recognized 
when long and short e are followed by r, as in 
here and her; and the u or dropped sound, as 
in camel. In pronouncing it the mouth is 
opened ta a medium extent, the tongue is ex¬ 
panded to touch the upper molars, and the voice 
is gently expurgated. It is generally silent as 
a final letter, but serves to lengthen the pre¬ 
ceding syllable, as in plume, cane, mane, though 
in some cases it exercises no influence on the 
preceding vowel, as in give and gone. The final 
e was pronounced in most cases up to the end 
of the 14th century, as is the case in Chaucer’s 
“Canterbury Tales.” 

In music it is the third note of the diatonic 
scale of C. E, as a key in music, has four 
sharps in its signature, F, C, G, and D sharp; 
but minor E, as a key, has but one sharp, F. 
The abbreviation E. signifies East. 

EAGLE (e'g’D> the name by which many 
birds of prey are known. They are classed in 
the genus Aquila and the family Falconidae, 
with which the eagles, falcons, and hawks are 
included. Eagles are regarded the most noble 
and courageous of the rapacious birds, and 
soar higher than any other birds of flight. 
The golden eagle has a dark, tawny-brown 
color, with a yellowish tinge on the back of 
the head and neck, and is a large and beautiful 
bird. It attains a length of about three feet 
and is able to seize any kind of poultry, rab¬ 
bits, and small quadrupeds and carry them to 
dts nest in the rocky ledges and cliffs of moun¬ 
tains. This species is a common bird of many 


regions of Eurasia and North. America. The 
sea eagle is found near the coasts of lakes and 
seas and feeds largely on fish and marine life. 
It has a grayish-brown color, white tail, and 
pale-colored head. The bald eagle is found in 



BALD EAGLE. 


America and northern portions of Eurasia, and 
has been adopted as the symbol of the United 
States and some other countries. Its general 
diet is more extended than that of the tree 


681 














EAGLE 


682 


EAR 


eagle, and carrion is even taken in time of need. 
The serpent eagle is found in Southern Asia 
and Northern Africa, and in structure and 
habits approaches the buzzard. Other species 
include the imperial eagle, the eagle hawk, and 
the crested eagle. These birds are fond of fish 
and commonly feed on the dead fishes found 
along the shore. They are frequently seen in 
pursuit of the osprey and other birds, requiring 
them to drop the fish they may have caught. 

EAGLE, the bird most noted as a symbol 
of societies and nations. The Persians bore 
an eagle as a symbol upon a spear in battle as 
early as 401 b. c., and from them it passed as 
a war standard to the Egyptians. Among the 
Romans it was customary to use eagles of silver 
as a standard and rarely of gold, the custom 
being introduced among them in 104 b. c. 
The dynasty of Napoleon adopted the eagle as a 
symbol for France. A double-headed eagle was 
introduced as the emblem of Russia, and Char¬ 
lemagne introduced it into Germany as a stand¬ 
ard. The Russians have an association known 
as the White Eagle Order of Knighthood, and 
in the German Empire are Orders of the Black, 
Golden, and Red Eagles. 

The Prussian Order of the Black Eagle was 
founded by the elector of Brandenburg in 1701, 
and is still maintained with a degree of marked 
respect. Its decoration consists of a Maltese 
cross surmounted by a royal crown. This cross 
is given for meritorious service by the em¬ 
peror. The double-headed eagle is maintained 
as the standard of Austria. France long held 
the eagle in high esteem as a symbol, but it 
was abolished with the rise of the republic in 
1870. The bald eagle is the emblem of the 
United States and is represented with out¬ 
stretched wings, having the olive branch in one 
talon, a bunch of arrows in the other, and a 
shield upon its breast. Its head is surmounted 
by thirteen stars, while in its beak is a band 
bearing the inscription “E pluribus unum.” 

EAGLE, a gold coin current in the United 
States, equal in value to ten dollars. If was 
coined in 1795, weighing 270 grains and contain¬ 
ing 24714 grains of pure gold. Later the gov¬ 
ernment began to coin of the same fineness and 
of proportional value the double eagle, half 
eagle, and quarter eagle. 

EAR, the organ of hearing. It is divided 
into three parts: the external ear or concha, the 
middle ear or tympanum, and the internal ear 
or labyrinth. The external ear consists of a 
passage to the middle ear, is about an inch in 
length and a quarter of an inch in diameter, 
and is formed partly of flesh and partly of 
bone. Around its opening is a lobe, called the 


auricle or pinna, which serves to collect sound 
waves. Rudimentary muscles are connected 
with the external ear and are so well developed 
in some persons that they can move their ears 
as a rabbit or a horse does. The outer half of 
the passage is provided with a number of glands 
that secrete a kind of sticky wax, which pre¬ 
vents dust and insects from reaching the drum 
membrane. The gland secreting the wax grows 



A, anvil; B, hammer; C, stirrup. 

outward towards the surface like the nails and 
prevents it from accumulating. Carelessness in 
picking the ears often causes the wax to crowd 
against the drum membrane and results in 
deafness. 

The middle ear is provided with a special 
mechanism for transmitting the air vibrations to 
the inner ear through two outer cavities. The 
tympanum or middle ear is connected by a 
small aperture with the inner ear. As to the 
size, the breadth of the middle ear is about a 
quarter of an inch and its length a half an 
inch. It is lined with mucous membrane and 
filled with air. The drum membrane is a thin 
leaf which closes the outer end like a drum, 
and a similar membrane closes the aperture to 
the inner ear. The cavity of the middle -ear 
is increased by extending backward into a bony 
projection, which can be felt behind the outer 
ear,, and is called the mastoid process. From 
this a tube, called the eustachian, about the size 
of a knitting needle, passes to and connects 
with the pharynx, and is opened by the act of 
swallowing. A chain of three small bones, 
known as the ossicles, constitutes the essential 
part of the middle ear. These are called the 
malleus or hammer, the incus or anvil, and the 
stapes or stirrup, and extend across the cavity 
from one membrane to another. 

When sound waves strike the ear drum, they- 
are thrown into vibrations, which are trans¬ 
mitted to the inner ear by a chain of bones. 




EARRING 


683 


EARTH 


The vibrations are increased by the tympanum 
and its extension into the mastoid cells, which 
act like the sounding box of a violin. The 
internal ear or labyrinth is the most delicate 
part. At its center it is about an eighth of an 
inch in diameter, this part being called the ves“ 
tibule. A small spiral tunnel extends from the 
vestibule, which is called the cochlea from its 
resemblance to the inside of a snail’s shell, and, 
besides it, there are three other tunnels called 
from their shape the semicircular canals. A 
clear liquid fills the labyrinth, which is lined 
with epithelial cells, and in them the nerves of 
hearing end. Cilia are numerous upon the sur¬ 
face of the epithelium, and among them are 
hard particles called the ear sands. When the 
sound waves reach the liquid, they produce 
waves that beat against the cilia, thus causing 
the sense of sound. 

In order ^:o produce a sound it is necessary 
that the waves in the liquid surrounding the 
nerves occur at least sixteen times a second. 
When they occur more than 38,000 times a 
second, no sound will be heard for the rea¬ 
son that they are too rapid for the nerves to 
take account of their action. The nerves of 
action may be excited by the air in the middle 
ear being too dense or too rare, by too much 
blood circulating in the middle ear, and by a 
blow upon the head or wax in the ear. Quinine 
and other drugs tend to produce abnormal ex¬ 
citement. In some cases an impression passes 
to the brain by the auditory nerve as though a 
real sound had excited the nerves. Other illu¬ 
sions are caused by an excitement of the pulse 
in an insane person. In dreams persons often get 
vivid impressions of sounds, and they are after¬ 
ward recalled to memory and seem to be real. 

Birds and quadrupeds have ears correspond¬ 
ing to those in man. No outer ear is found in 
turtles and frogs, but the drumhead forms a 
visible circle behind the eyes,- just under the 
skin, and the middle ear contains a single bone. 
Snakes have no external or middle ear, but a 
bone extends from the inner ear to a kind of 
membrane immediately below the skin by which 
they are able to hear. The vibrations in fish 
are transmitted only through the skull, since 
they have no external or middle ear, and the 
labyrinth has no cochlea. Other animals have 
ears more or less modified, and those that have 
ears at all possess a modified form of the 
internal ear. See Sound. 

EARRING (er'ring), an ornament suspended 
from the ear, the lower part of which is pierced 
for the purpose. Orientals have prized this 
mode of adorning the person from remote an¬ 
tiquity. Anciently earrings were worn by both 


sexes in many countries of Asia and Africa, 
especially in Persia, Egypt, Babylon, and Car¬ 
thage. The fashion was confined to women in 
Greece and Rome, where the people looked upon 
this ornament as one especially fitted for those 
of rank. In the time of Queen Elizabeth it 
became fashionable to wear earrings by both 
sexes, and the custom still prevails to a consid¬ 
erable extent among men in some countries and 
among certain classes of laborers, especially 
sailors. However, earrings are worn chiefly 
in Europe at present, where the custom is quite 
general, but in America these ornaments are not 
used as extensively • as in the past. Earrings 
are made chiefly of silver and gold, with set¬ 
tings of precious stones. All of the more val¬ 
uable antique earrings are finely ornamented 
and contain settings of pearls. Many orna¬ 
ments classed as earrings are not properly rings, 
but are attached to the ear with a hook, the size 
and value varying greatly according to changes 
in the fashion. 

EARTH (erth), one of the eight planets 
which revolve around the sun and from it re¬ 
ceive light and heat. It is farther from the sun 
than Mercury and Venus, and is larger than 
Mercury, Venus, or Mars. A satellite, called 
Moon, revolves around it at an average dis¬ 
tance, measured from the center of the moon, 
of about 239,000 miles. 

Form and Size. Among ancient peoples the 
Relief was current that the earth is an extensive 
flat surface surrounded by water, though many 
writers of antiquity suggested that its form is 
spherical, and some held the view that it re¬ 
volves around the sun. Its spherical form is 
now admitted by the scholars of all civilized 
countries, and numerous proofs are submitted 
to establish that fact. The form is that of an 
oblate sphere, much like an orange, slightly 
flattened at two opposite sides and somewhat 
enlarged midway between. A diameter imag¬ 
ined drawn through the shorter distance is 
called the axis, the two ends of which are its 
poles, and a line drawn around it midway be¬ 
tween the poles is the Equator. The length of 
the axis is 7,899 miles, and its equatorial diam¬ 
eter is 7,925.6 miles, or about 26.6 miles greater 
than the former. The circumference is 24,899 
miles, and the entire surface is equal to about 
197,000,000 square miles. 

Proofs of Rotundity. Among the proofs 
that the world is round is the fact that men 
have circumnavigated it. Magellan was the 
first navigator to pave the way for this enter¬ 
prise, in 1519. Though he was killed in the 
Philippine Islands two years -later, the voyage 
was completed successfully by Sebastian del 


EARTH 


684 


EARTH 


Cano, one of his officers. Sir Francis Drake 
successfully completed a trip round the earth 
in 1580, and since then many others have done 
likewise. The rotundity is also proven by the 
shape of the great circle of illumination, the 
line separating the portion of the earth’s sur¬ 
face which is in the shadow from the part 
which is lighted by the sun’s rays. Besides 
these are the facts that the horizon has a cir¬ 
cular shape, that the earth’s shadow cast on the 
moon during an eclipse of the moon is circular, 
that the tops of ships are seen first when sailing 
towards us and last when passing away, that 
the horizon of vision becomes larger as we 
ascend in a balloon or to an eminence, and that 
new constellations of stars appear as we pass 
from the Equator to the poles. The actual 
measurement of the arc of a meridian has not 
only demonstrated the earth’s rotundity, but has 


enabled us to know approximately the amount 
of its oblateness. 

Surface Lines. We imagine the earth to be 
encircled by a number of curved lines, for the 
purpose of being able to locate places on its 
surface and to represent certain localities on 
globes and maps. They are divided into great 
and small circles, the former dividing the earth 
into two equal parts or hemispheres, and the 
latter dividing it into unequal parts. The Equa¬ 
tor is a great circle, and divides the earth into 
the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern 
Hemisphere. Meridian circles are great circles 
that pass through the poles, while parallels are 
small circles that pass round the earth parallel 
to the Equator. Latitude is measured north and 
south of the Equator along the meridians by 
the parallels, and longitude is measured on the 
parallels, by the meridians, east and west of a 
prime meridian. Both latitude and longitude 
are reckoned in degrees. 

Density. The density of the earth, that is, 


the quantity of matter it contains, is found by 
'careful calculation to be 5,639 times that of 
water. This means that the real earth weighs 
5,639 times as much as a sphere of water equal 
in size to the earth. The measurement of the 
earth’s density was attempted about a century 
ago by calculating it from the attraction of a 
mountain on two plumb lines, one being sus¬ 
pended on each side. Since plumb lines sus¬ 
pended in this manner are attracted to the 
mountain mass, they indicate lines that con¬ 
verge toward the center of the earth, and by 
them geologists are able to compare the weight 
of the earth with that of the mountain, the 
latter having been first carefully examined and 
its weight calculated in tons. The mountain 
first utilized in making this-important research 
is Schihallion in Scotland. Other methods in¬ 
clude the test made by Cavendish, in which the 
attractive force of tfee earth was 
compared with that of two large 
balls over two other small balls 
by means of the torsion balance, 
that ascertained by the differ¬ 
ence of oscillation of a pendu¬ 
lum when placed at the sea level, 
and when at the top of a moun¬ 
tain, and the pendulum experi¬ 
ments at the top and bottom of 
a deep mine for determining the 
difference of gravity. There are 
other methods, but these are the 
principal ones and are regarded 
of greatest worth. 

Creation. It is thought that 
the earth originally existed in 
a nebular or gaseous state, and that its elements 
and those of other heavenly bodies were gener¬ 
ally distributed throughout space. By the expul¬ 
sive force of heat, the attraction of gravity was 
overcome, and the different portions collected 
about nebulae that formed the centers of the 
various bodies. In this way the earth took on 
its present form, the action covering long peri¬ 
ods of time, perhaps many millions of years, 
each period represented in Genesis as days. 
The mass gradually cooled by radiation, the 
outer surface and the polar regions cooling 
first and forming a crust; while the interior, 
cooling by conduction, still retains a high tem¬ 
perature. The spherical form attests its for¬ 
mer fluidity, while the highly crystalline state 
of rocks formed early and the warm climate 
during the geological past give evidence of 
great central heat during remote ages. That 
the interior is still highly heated is evidenced 
by a rise of temperature equal to 1° Fahr. 
for every 55 feet of descent into the crust. 



hemispheres, showing parallels and meridians. 

















EARTH 


685 


EARTH 


If this general rise in temperature continues, 
it reaches the boiling point at a depth of two 
miles, and at fifty miles below the surface the 
heat is sufficient to melt every solid. 

Interior. As to the condition of the interior, 
various views have been expressed, among them 
that the earth has a solid crust and a solid 
center, with a heated pasty layer between; that 
the earth is solid throughout, but has a highly 
heated interior; and that the crust is solid, but 
the interior is a pasty mass in a highly heated 
condition. The last mentioned view is held 
most commonly and likely is correct, since the 
immense pressure at the center probably oper¬ 
ates to raise greatly the melting point and tends 
to hold the mass in a pasty condition, even if 
the temperature is very high. The cooling 
effect of the heated interior causes the crust to 
contract or shrink, thereby crowding the ma¬ 
terials into a smaller space, and exerting a 
marked influence on the crust. In some cases 
gases exert a marked pressure, rocks are melted, 
and frequently pressure is removed by certain 
portions of the earth’s surface being elevated. 
In some cases water undoubtedly comes in con¬ 
tact with melted rocks by soaking down and is 
converted into steam. By this hypothesis it is 
possible to account largely for the phenomena 
of volcanic action, earthquakes, nonvolcanic ig¬ 
neous eruptions, and gradual elevations and 
subsidences of the crust. 

Motion. The earth has two motions, the 
diurnal and the annual. The diurnal motion is 
its daily motion from west to east around its 
own axis, which requires twenty-three hours, 
fifty-six minutes, four seconds—about twenty- 
four hours—and is the direct cause of our com¬ 
mon day and night. By annual motion is meant 
the revolution of the earth around the sun, 
which is completed in about 365 days and six 
hours, and is one of the causes of our common 
year. The orbit is in the form of an ellipse, 
and has a total length of about 577,000,000 
miles. Since the sun is at one focus of the 
ellipse, the earth is nearer the sun at some 
times in its revolution than at others. The 
earth is at perihelion about the 1st of January 
each year, when it is about 3,000,000 miles 
nearer the sun than at aphelion, six months 
later. Its distance from the sun at perihelion 
is 89,897,000 miles and at aphelion, 92,963,000. 
The average velocity at which the earth moves 
in its orbit through space is about nineteen 
miles per second, while the rotation on its axis 
causes any point on the Equator to move about 
1,042 miles per hour. However, the velocity 
caused by its rotation diminishes toward the 
poles. 


The earth’s axis is inclined 23%° to the plane 
of the ecliptic and points nearly to Polaris, 
the north star. Owing to this it is always ap¬ 
proximately parallel to any former position, 
and different portions of the surface receive 
the vertical rays of the sun. From this it is 
clear that new portions of the surface are 
turned toward the sun every day during the 
revolution, thus causing the change of seasons. 
The winter solstice occurs on December 21 and 
the summer solstice on June 21. On the former 
date the days are shortest north of the Equa¬ 
tor, while on the latter date the reverse is true. 
The vernal equinox occurs on March 20 and 
the autumnal equinox on September 22, at 
which two periods in each year the days and 
nights are of equal length in all parts of the 
earth. At the poles the longest days and nights 
are each six months, being caused by the con¬ 
stant parallelism of the earth’s axis in its revo¬ 
lution. The Arctic Circle bounds the north 
polar zone and the Antarctic the south polar 
zone, each being 23%° from the pole, that being 
the distance the sun shines beyond the pole dur¬ 
ing the respective solstices, and include respect¬ 
ively the North and South Frigid zones. The 
sun shines directly on every point twice in the 
year throughout a region extending 23%° both 
north and south of the Equator, which is called 
the Torrid Zone. The circle in the Northern 
Hemisphere which bounds this region is called 
the Tropic of Cancer and in the Southern Hem¬ 
isphere the Tropic of Capricorn, both being 
called tropics. Between the polar circles and 
the tropics are respectively the North and 
South Temperate zones, each occupying 43°. 

Surface Phenomena. About 150,060,000 
square miles of the surface of the earth are 
water and 46,940,000 square miles are land. The 
water surface is divided into five great oceans 
and numerous bays, seas, gulfs, and channels. 
Lakes, rivers, and glaciers are classed as fea¬ 
tures of the land surface, though the waters of 
most of them flow into the oceans. Tides, cur¬ 
rents, and waves are great phenomena of the 
oceans, while earthquakes, rains, and winds 
equally affect both the water and the land sur¬ 
faces. The Eastern Hemisphere contains the 
greater portion of the land masses, including all 
of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, while 
the Western Hemisphere includes America. The 
only great land masses south of the Equator 
are Australia and portions of South America 
and Africa. Besides the five continents, there 
are numerous detached masses called islands. 
These are known as continental, when near the 
continent; oceanic, when far out in the oceans; 
volcanic, when of volcanic origin; and coral. 


EARTH CURRENTS 


EARTHQUAKE 


when built largely by the coral polyps. The 
greatest depths of the ocean are equal to the 
heights of the loftiest mountains, about 29,000 
feet, and usually are found near the greatest 
land elevations. Land masses have irregular 
coast lines and a surface variously designated 
as valleys, plains, deserts, plateaus, mountains, 
and depressions below the sea level. The three 
kingdoms studied in relation to the earth are 
those of the minerals, plants, and animals. Ac¬ 
cording to the latest reports, the total popula¬ 
tion is 1,500,000,000. See Atmosphere. 

EARTH CURRENTS, the natural electrical 
disturbances which appear to be allied closely 
to the magnetic storms. They are associated 
with the magnetism of the earth. Though not 
well understood, they are known to be de¬ 
pendent upon or affected by the occurrence 
of spots on the sun and by the appearance both 
of aurora borealis and aurora australis. Com¬ 
munication by long lines of tele¬ 
phone or telegraph, and espe¬ 
cially submarine connections, is 
affected constantly by earth cur¬ 
rents. 

EARTHENWARE, any ob¬ 
ject made of clay and dried in 
the sun or baked in a kiln, 
though the term is sometimes re¬ 
stricted to the inferior grades of 
earthenware a s distinguished 
from stoneware and porcelain. 

See Pottery. 

EARTHNUT, the name of 
the tubers of certain plants of 
the parsley family and a num¬ 
ber of others, so called because 
they grow and mature in the 
ground. Pignut and earth chestnut are other 
names of plants of this kind. A species com¬ 
mon to Sweden produces tubers which are 
valued for their nutriment and these form an 
important article of trade. Another species 
is common to Greece. Most of these tubers 
are about the size of a chestnut, have a brown¬ 
ish color and sweetish taste, and grow on 
slender roots from four to six inches below 
the surface. When used as an article of food, 
they are roasted or cooked in soups. Earthnuts 
are prized as feed for swine and are fed in 
some localities for fattening purposes. 

EARTHQUAKE, a sudden undulation of a 
portion of the earth’s surface produced by 
forces acting from beneath. Several theories 
have been advanced as to the probable cause of 
the disturbances, and, while any great concus¬ 
sion upon the surface of the earth may cause a 
diminutive earthquake, steam is clearly the most 


favorable agent, as its sudden generation or 
condensation on a large scale is sufficiently pow¬ 
erful to produce extensive movements in the 
earth’s crust. Water probably finds its way 
through fissures in the earth’s crust to heated 
rocks, where it is suddenly converted into 
steam. Some earthquakes are caused by the 
falling in of the roof of enormous subter¬ 
ranean caves formed by the solvent action of 
water on deposits of rock salt, limestone, or 
gypsum; by various gases that result from in¬ 
ternal heat; and by the general contraction of 
the earth’s crust, resulting from the radiation 
or conduction of heat. Earthquakes are classi¬ 
fied according to the character of the move¬ 
ments, which may be vertical, circular, or wave¬ 
like . The circular or twisting movements are 
rare, but they are the most destructive. 

There is little doubt that the cause of earth¬ 
quake and volcanic action is the same, though 


the latter is governed materially by permanent 
channels through which the discharge is made. 
Certain premonitory symptoms usually herald 
the approach of a great earthquake, such as 
subterranean noises like cars running over a 
bridge. Suddenly the fatal moment arrives, 
some portion of the surface becomes the center 
of impulse, and waves are propagated in all di¬ 
rections through the solid materials of the 
earth’s crust. If the center of impulse is below 
the sea, as it often is, the vibrations of the 
ground are accompanied by inundations of wa¬ 
ter. The earth frequently heaves and swells 
like a rolling sea, fissures being produced in all 
directions similar to those on a broken window- 
pane, various noises accompanying the vibra¬ 
tions. These disturbances may consist of a 
single shock, lasting a few seconds, or a series 
of such shocks continuing for days or weeks. 
The principal shock at San Francisco, in 1906, 



Record of the earthquake at San Francisco. Cal., in 1906, as recorded by the 
seismograph. 










EARTHQUAKE 


687 


EARTHWORM 


had a duration of twenty-eight seconds. It 
was wavelike and the earth moved about two 
inches east and west and three inches north 
and south. Great changes in the surface of 
the earth have been made in a few seconds of 
time, as in the earthquake of Italy in 1908, and 
many towns and many thousands of lives have 
been lost. It is estimated that an earthquake 
occurs somewhere* every day, though most of 
them are barely perceptible. They are more 
numerous in winter than in summer and at 



MAP OF THE REGION DISTURBED BY THE 
EARTHQUAKE OF 1908. 


night than during the day, for the reason that 
the cooling of the earth’s crust is more rapid. 
They are more frequent when the attractive 
forces of the sun and moon act simultaneously, 
which occurs during full and new moons. 

Some of the most destructive earthquakes on 
record are: 742 a. d., Asia, 500 towns destroyed; 
1531, Lisbon, Portugal, 1,500 houses and 30,000 
persons destroyed; 1693, Sicily, 54 towns, 300 
villages and more than 100,000 lives lost; 1731, 
Pekin, China, 100,000 persons killed; 1754, Cairo, 
Egypt, 400,000 lives lost; 1755, Lisbon, Portugal, 
50,000 persons killed. The most severe earth¬ 
quakes ever known in the United States oc¬ 
curred at Charleston, S. C., in 1886, and at San 
Francisco, Cal., and its immediate vicinity on 
April 18, 1906. At the time of the latter a 
large part of San Francisco, many buildings of 
the Leland Stanford Junior University, and 
much property in adjacent towns were de¬ 
stroyed. In the same year, on August 16, a 
destructive earthquake visited Valparaiso and 
other cities of Chile. 


The most destructive earthquake of recent 
times visited Calabria and Sicily in December, 
1908, when Messina and Reggio were almost 
totally destroyed. Suddenly and without warn¬ 
ing, at 5:20 o’clock in the morning, the earth 
began to tremble. At Messina, after the city 
crumbled into ruin, a wave of water 35 feet 
high engulfed the streets at the water front. 
As the wave receded its surface was black with 
human corpses and the wreckage of houses. At 
Reggio a chasm eighty feet wide opened and 
belched out scalding water. The disturbance 
extended from the vicinity of Naples to some 
distance south of Catania, but it was centered 
largely in the Strait of Messina, between Mes¬ 
sina and Reggio, whose shores were greatly 
changed by the upheavals and subsidences. The 
loss of human life is estimated at about 200,000. 

EARTHS, in chemistry, a class of substances 
consisting of a metal combined with oxygen, 
erroneously regarded elementary by alchemists 
and early chemists. They are insoluble, inodor¬ 
ous, and tasteless, and constitute the larger part 
of the soil and gravel. Lavoisier classed them 
as compounds and they are so recognized in 
modern chemistry. The list includes baryta, 
lime, strontia, and magnesia, which are classed 
as alkaline earths, since they are less soluble 
in water than true alkalies. Thoria, zirconia, 
alumina, didymia, glucina, erbia, ceria, yttria, 
and lanthana are true earths. 

EARTH SHINE, the faint light seen on the 
part of the moon not illuminated by the sun, 
but which is cast upon her by the earth. Some¬ 
times the outlines of the full moon are made 
visible by the reflection, which occurs on clear 
nights at the time the moon is very old or 
very new. 

EARTHWORM, or Angleworm, the com¬ 
mon name of many species of worms found 
widely distributed in the tropical and temperate 




EARTHWORM. 

regions. They are called earthworms because 
they burrojv in the earth, but are known in 
some sections as angleworms or fishworms, 
since they are used as bait in angling. After a 
hard rain they are seen on the surface, when 
they are said to have rained down, but their 
coming out of the ground is due to the fact 
that they crawl about in attempting to get away 
from the water. The body is formed of many 
narrow rings in contact with each other, and is 
covered with rows of bristles pointing back- 











EAR TRUMPET 


688 


EASTBOURNE 


ward. It has no tentacles, eyes, ears, or teeth. 
The upper lip is extended, forming a kind of 
proboscis. Those commonly seen in the Tem¬ 
perate zones are three or four inches long, 
though some, when fully extended, are nearly a 
foot in length. They swallow the decaying 
parts of animals and vegetables and take with 
them into the ground a quantity of soil, which 
is subsequently ejected in small heaps called 
worm casts. It is estimated that on an acre 
ten tons of earth is thus improved and enriched 
every year. The passages they burrow in pass¬ 
ing through the soil loosen and stir it, making 
room for roots to grow more easily, and for 
the elements of the air to destroy the poisonous 
alkalies. Charles Darwin expressed the view 
that vegetable soil in its present aspect and 
distribution was produced largely by earth¬ 
worms. Besides their usefulness in the im¬ 
provement of the soil, they are important as 
food for birds, fishes, and insects. 

EAR TRUMPET, an instrument used by 
those who have defective hearing or are par¬ 
tially deaf. Many forms of this contrivance 
are in general use, but they agree in having a 
trumpet-shaped tube to collect and condense 
the sound waves, and thus intensify the im¬ 
pression upon the ear. The ear trumpet is 
held by the hand in the direction where the 
sound originates, while the other end of the 
tube is placed in the cavity of the ear. It is 
not necessary to have an expensive adjustment 
of- the parts, since sound is readily reflected 
along conical tubes, whether they are straight 
or coiled. Small ear trumpets, called cornets, 
are attached to the ear by a spring, hence are 
concealed by the hair" of the wearer, but these 
can be used to an advantage only where the 
hearing is very slightly impaired. 

EARWIG (er'wig), a genus of insects allied 
to the cockroach and classed with -the runners. 
They have six feet well formed for running; 
two pairs of wings, an upper short pair and a 
lower gauzelike pair; a mouth formed for mas¬ 
tication ; and a somewhat flattened body. The 
abdomen has strong pinchers and the head is 
provided with delicate antennae. The earwig 
is so named from the erroneous belief that it 
creeps into the ears of sleepers. Several spe¬ 
cies are widely distributed in Edrope. In 
North America these insects are found only 
on the Pacific Coast and in the central and 
southern parts of the continent. Several small 
centipedes which frequent houses in the United 
States are known as earwigs. 

EASEMENT, in law, the right which one 
person has in the real estate of another, not 
inconsistent with the general property of the 


owner, such as a right of way over it or a right 
to lay. pipes below the surface. It is distinguished 
from a mere license, since an easement is a 
permanent right. An easement is called a dom¬ 
inant right, while the land burdened is termed 
the servient estate. It is acquired either by 
grant or by prescription. The former is usu¬ 
ally by a formal written deed, but an oral 
grant is sufficient when the .possession passes 



Earwigs, showing larvae and perfect insects. 


to the grantee. An easement by prescription, 
or implication, is acquired through continued 
use, when the natural presumption arises that 
a grant was made when possession was obtained 
of the land. An owner of property who does 
not wish to have an easement created without 
his actual consent should not permit the use of 
his property for a long period of time without 
a written agreement or notice to the contrary, 
else such a right may be created by prescription. 

EAST AURORA (a-ro'ra), a village of 
New York, in Erie County, seventeen miles 
southeast of Buffalo, on the Western New 
York and Pennsylvania Railroad. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile farming country, and con¬ 
tains the residences of many Buffalo business 
men. Among the facilities are electric lights, 
public waterworks, and a number of fine school 
buildings. Aurora is noted as the seat of the 
Roycrofts, a printshop which produces fine edi¬ 
tions of standard and current books and hand¬ 
made furniture. Population, 1900, 2,366.' 

EASTBOURNE (est'burn), a seaside resort 
of England, in Sussexshire, on the coast be¬ 
tween Brighton and Hastings. It has railroad 
facilities, electric lights, finely paved streets, 













EAST CAPE 


689 


EAST INDIA COMPANIES 


and a commodious town hall. Along the shore 
is a fine drive two miles long. It has gained 
rapidly in population on account of its health¬ 
ful situation and popularity as a coast resort. 
The town was incorporated in 1883. Popula¬ 
tion, 1907, 44,630. 

EAST CAPE, the most easterly cape of 
Asia, extending into Bering Strait, nearly oppo¬ 
site Cape Prince of Wales, the most westerly 
point of North America. It is a rocky promon¬ 
tory and is almost cut off from the mainland 
by shallow lakes and swamps. The village of 
Uedle is situated,on the northeastern side, con¬ 
taining a population of 300. The' name Cape 
East is also applied to the southeastern extrem¬ 
ity of New Guinea; the eastern headlands of 
North Island, New Zealand; and the eastern¬ 
most point of the island of Madagascar. 

EASTER (es'ter), the festival kept in com¬ 
memoration of the resurrection of Christ. It 
was observed by the early Christians as a con¬ 
tinuation of the feast of the passover and gen¬ 
erally lasted eight days, from Palm Sunday to 
Easter Sunday inclusive. It was a time of 
joy. The austerities of Lent were over; alms 
were given to the poor and needy; sports, 
dances, and farcical exhibitions were indulged; 
and stories ^nd legends were recited by the 
clergy to stir the hearts of the hearers to laugh¬ 
ter. On Easter day the people saluted each 
other with a kiss and the exclamation, “He is 
risen;” to this the reply was, “He is risen, in¬ 
deed.” A long controversy took place between 
the Eastern and Western churches as to the 
proper time for celebrating Easter, but in 325 
it was fixed by the Council of Nice on the first 
Sunday after the full moon occurring upon or 
next after March 21. Easter, the feast of eggs, 
is considered emblematical of the resurrection 
and of a future life. 

EASTERN QUESTION, the problem 
which relates to Turkey in Europe and the oc¬ 
cupation of the Balkan Peninsula. It has been 
a complicated issue of international politics for 
many years, but its modern phase dates from 
1856, when the Congress of Paris made definite 
declarations upon the questions involved in the 
Crimean War. The war between Russia and 
Turkey in 1877 opened the problem anew, after 
which the Congress of Berlin refused to per¬ 
mit the former country to receive the full bene¬ 
fits arising from the new status created by the 
conflict. It was likewise influenced by the an¬ 
nexation of Eastern Rumelia to Bulgaria in 
1885, the war between Greece and Turkey in 
1897, and the establishment of autonomy in 
Crete. The question was again opened in 1908, 
when Bulgaria declared its independence and 

44 


Austria-Hungary proclaimed the annexation of 
Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is not probable 
that the issues will be finally adjusted until the 
territory of Turkey in Europe becomes ab¬ 
sorbed by the nations of Europe, when the 
status existing at the time of the ancient Byzan¬ 
tine Empire will be restored in a measure and 
the Turks will be confined beyond the Helles¬ 
pont. 

EASTERN RUMELIA. See Rumelia. 

EASTHAMPTON (est-hamp'tun), a town 
of Massachusetts, in Hampshire County, four 
miles southwest of Northampton. It is on the 
Boston and Maine and the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford railroads, and has a 
growing trade in merchandise and produce. 
The manufactures include yarn, rubber goods, 
cotton textiles, buttons, and machinery. It is 
the seat of Williston Seminary, a preparatory 
school for boys, and has a fine public library. 
Waterworks, electric lights, and several fine 
schools are among the public improvements. 
The settlement of Easthampton dates from 
1665, and it was organized as a town in 1809. 
Population, 1905, 6,808. 

EAST HARTFORD a town of Connecticut, 
in Hartford County, a short distance east of 
Hartford, on the New York, New Haven and 
Hartford Railroad. It has railroad shops and 
manufactures of paper, tobacco, clothing, and 
machinery. The noteworthy buildings include 
a town library, the Raymond Library, and the 
high school. It has public waterworks and 
electric lighting. The first settlement on its site 
was made about 1645. Population, 1910, 8,138. 

EAST INDIA COMPANIES, the term 
used to designate companies organized in the 
17th and 18th centuries for the planting of col¬ 
onies and the promotion of trade. They were 
organized under the governments of Holland, 
Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark, and were 
given a monopoly of foreign and colonial trade 
within certain districts. The company operat¬ 
ing in a specified region was granted exclusive 
control in the matter of government and was 
permitted to organize armed forces, equip na¬ 
tives, and build defenses for the general good. 
Some of the companies paid an annual tax to 
the home government and in return received 
aid and protection. After a time difficulties 
arose regarding territorial claims, which re¬ 
sulted in several wars between some countries 
of Europe. The first English company was 
granted a charter by. Queen Elizabeth in 1600 
for the purpose of securing East Indian trade. 
It was chartered as “The Governor and Com¬ 
pany of London Merchants Trading with the 
East Indies.” It became the most powerful 


EAST INDIES 


690 


EAST RIVER 


body in its time, represented a large capital, and 
was controlled by a court of proprietors, who 
were large shareholders in the company. Par¬ 
liament appointed a government board of con¬ 
trol in 1784, and in 1858 made India a crown 
province, when the company ceased active ex¬ 
istence, though for several years afterward it 
maintained an organization for the purpose of 
closing up its business. 

In 1602 the Dutch company was organized 
and vied with the British until 1795 for the 
supremacy of the East Indian seas. The Dan¬ 
ish company was founded in 1618 and had a 
varied existence until 1729, when its property 
interests were transferred to the state. In 1664 
the first French company was founded. It con¬ 
tinued operations until 1769, when its business 
interests were merged into the government. 
The Swedish company organized for the In¬ 
dian trade in 1741, and reorganized on a gov¬ 
ernment basis in 1806. Both the Danish and 
French made their chief seat of operations on 
the Coromandel • Coast, while the Dutch oper¬ 
ated in Sumatra, Java, and adjacent islands, 
and their possessions in the Dutch East Indies 
date from the operation of their company. The 
British company settled largely in India proper, 
at Calcutta, in Bombay, Bengal, and Madras. 

EAST INDIES (in'diz), the name applied 
to the region which includes the two great 
peninsulas of Southern Asia and the islands 
located from the delta of the Indus to the 
northern extremity of the Philippines. The 
appellation is made usually to distinguish these 
islands from the West Indies, and quite fre¬ 
quently includes all the islands southeast of 
Asia, except the Philippines and New Guinea. 

EAST LIVERPOOL (liv'er-pool), a city of 
Ohio, in Columbiana County, on the Ohio River. 
It is on the Cleveland and Pittsburg Railroad 
and is surrounded by a fertile country. The 
noteworthy buildings include the public library, 
the high school, the city hall, and several fine 
churches. Many of the streets are substantially 
paved, lighted by gas and electricity, and trav¬ 
ersed by electric street railways. The manu¬ 
factures embrace furniture, cigars, machinery, 
ironware, and farming implements. It has 
large pottery interests and extensive machine 
shops. The place was settled in 1795 and in¬ 
corporated in 1834. Population, 1900, 16,485. 

EASTON (est'un), a city of Pennsylvania, 
county seat of Northampton County, 52 miles 
north of Philadelphia. It is at the junction of 
the Delaware and Lehigh rivers and on the 
Pennsylvania, the Lackawanna, the Central of 
New Jersey, and other railroads. Extensive 
slate quarries and coal and iron fields are 


worked in the vicinity. Bridges connect it with 
South Easton and with Philipsburg in New Jer¬ 
sey. The noteworthy buildings include the pub¬ 
lic library, the county courthouse, and the high 
school. It is the seat of Lafayette College, a 
Presbyterian institution established in 1832. 

Easton is an industrial center and a shipping 
point for coal and produce. The manufactures 
include machinery, wire, clothing, hardware, 
cordage, musical instruments, and food prod¬ 
ucts. It has street railways, gas and electric 
lighting, waterworks, and pavements of stone 
and macadam. The place was laid out in 1750 
and incorporated in 1789. Important treaties 
with the Iroquois were made here in - 1756 and 
1761. Population, 1900,25,238; in 1910, 28,523. 

EAST ORANGE, a city adjacent to Newark, 
N. J., twelve miles west of New York City, on 
the Lackawanna and the Erie railroads. Many 
business* men of New York have handsome 
villas and make it their residence. The chief 
buildings include the public library, the town 
hall, and many schools and churches. It has 
electric lighting, well-paved streets, systems of 
sewerage and waterworks, and electric rail¬ 
ways. It was a part of Orange until 1863 and 
was incorporated as a city in 1890. Population, 
1905, 25,175; in 1910, 34,371. 

EASTPORT, a city and port of entry in 
Maine, in Washington County, the easternmost 
settlement of the United States. It is located 
on Moose Island, in Passamaquoddy Bay, and 
has a deep harbor. The chief industries are 
fishing, shipbuilding, and sardine canning. 
Among the principal buildings are the public 
library, a customhouse, and several schools. 
The first settlement was made at Eastport in 
1782, but it was claimed by England and cap¬ 
tured in 1814. The British governed it under 
martial law until June 30, 1818. Population, 
1900, 5,311. 

EAST PROVIDENCE, a town of Rhode 
Island, in Providence County, across the See- 
konk River from the-city of Providence, on 
the New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail¬ 
road. It is important as a manufacturing and 
commercial center. The chief manufactures in¬ 
clude chemicals, fencing wire, handkerchiefs, 
clothing, and machinery. It was formerly a part 
of the town of Rehoboth together with See- 
konk, Mass., but was set off from the former 
when the boundary line between Rhode Island 
and Massachusetts was definitely fixed. It 
was incorporated in 1862. Population, 1905, 
13,750; in .1910, 15,808. 

EAST RIVER, the name applied to the strait 
between Long Island Sound and New York 
Bay. It is twenty miles long and separates the 


EAST SAINT LOUIS 


691 


ECCENTRIC 


boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens on the south¬ 
east from those of the Bronx and Manhattan 
on the west and north. Blackwell’s, Riker’s, 
and Randall’s are among the islands within 
the strait. It is spanned by the Brooklyn, the 
Williamsburg, and other great bridges. At the 
center of its course the Hellgate rock formerly 
obstructed the passage, but it has been removed 
by blasting. The strait is not properly a river. 
The misnomer probably arose from the pow¬ 
erful action of the tides, which resemble the 
current of a river. 

EAST SAINT LOUIS, a city of Saint Clair 
County, Illinois, on the Mississippi River, oppo¬ 
site Saint Louis, Mo., with which it is connected 
by the famous Eads’s Bridge. About twenty 
railroads enter the city, including the Illinois 
Central, the Wabash, the Baltimore and Ohio, 
the Chicago and Alton, and other lines. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are the public library, 
the city hall, the Howe Literary Institute, a 
Roman Catholic academy, and the public high 
school. Among the industries are rolling mills, 
car shops, gas works, foundries, nail factories, 
breweries, machine shops, flouring mills, and 
glass works. It has one of the largest stock- 
yards in the United States and has extensive 
interests in beef and pork packing. The streets 
are well paved, drained, and lighted. It was 
incorporated as a town in 1861 and as a city in 
1865. A tornado swept over the city in 1896, 
killing about 500 people and destroying property 
valued at $10,000,000. Population, 1910, 58,547. 

EAU CLAIRE (5 klar'), a city of Wiscon¬ 
sin, county seat of Eau Claire County, on the 
Chippewa River, at the mouth of the Eau Claire 
River. It has the advantage of steamboat navi¬ 
gation on the Chippewa, and is on the Wiscon¬ 
sin Central, the Chicago and Northwestern, and 
the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul rail¬ 
roads. The site of the city is divided into three 
parts by the two rivers, which are crossed by 
several bridges. It is the center of an exten¬ 
sive market in lumber and produce. The chief 
buildings include the county courthouse, the 
high school, the public library, and the Fed¬ 
eral building. It is the seat of several institu¬ 
tions, including the Sacred Heart Hospital. 
Among the manufactures are flour, machinery, 
paper, hardware, lumber, and woolen goods. 
Gas and electric lighting, pavements, sewerage, 
and waterworks are among the improvements. 
An abundance of water power for manufac¬ 
turing is obtained from both rivers. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 18,737. 

EBONY (eb'un-i), a hard, heavy wood, usu¬ 
ally dark, susceptible of a high polish, and used 
in many kinds of ornamental cabinet work. In 


various species of trees the heartwood becomes 
black and is the ebony of commerce. The Cey¬ 
lon ebony is, perhaps, the best known, although 
the West India or Jamaica ebony of the bean 
family, a greenish-brown product, and the green 
ebony of the spurge family are of importance 
commercially. On account of jet black ebony 
being free from veins, it is considered the best. 
The different species are variously used for toys, 
mosaics, veneering, and inlaid work.fc 

fiCARTE (a-kar-ta'), a game of cards which 
is popular in France, played ordinarily by two 
persons, but pool ecarte may be played by three 
or more. In the latter the third player and 
others in the game act as advisers, remaining 
close at hand and advising one of the players, 
and, when one player loses a game, his place is 
taken by the adviser. The object is for the 
player to get all the tricks, but it is necessary 
for him to follow suit, if possible, and at other 
times he may trump. The game is interesting 
and is governed by elaborate rules. 

ECBATANA (ek-bat'a-na), an ancient cap¬ 
ital of Media, founded about 728 b. c. It was 
inclosed by seven concentric walls, the inner¬ 
most of which was gilded and the next was 
plated with silver, while the others were painted 
in order orange, blue, scarlet, black, and white, 
respectively. They rose in graduation toward 
the center, hence could all be seen at once by a 
spectator occupying an advantageous point. On 
a conical hill -Stood the beautiful temple of the 
sun. The city was about thirty miles in cir¬ 
cumference during its prosperity. It was cap¬ 
tured by Cyrus in 549 b. c. and later by Darius, 
who found there the edict of Cyrus the Great 
concerning the rebuilding of the temple of Jeru¬ 
salem. Alexander the Great conquered it while 
on his famous Asiatic expedition. On account 
of its beautiful surroundings and mild climate it 
was made the summer residence of first the 
Median, second the Persian, and lastly the Par¬ 
thian monarchs. It was pillaged by the Seleuci- 
dae and later by Antiochus the Great, and fell 
into utter decay, so that its exact site can no 
longer be fixed with certainty, though histori¬ 
ans generally agree that the present Hamadan, 
containing the supposed tombs of Mordecai and 
Esther, occupies its ancient site. 

ECCENTRIC (ek-sen'trik), a contrivance in 
mechanics for securing reciprocating rectilinear 
motion from a revolving shaft. It consists of 
a disc fixed on the axis or center of a wheel, 
which does not pass through the center of the 
other disc. Not being in the center, the result 
of its revolution is the same as a crank.. It is 
used chiefly in machinery where a -subsidiary 
motion of small power is required, as in operat- 


ECCLESIA 


692 


ECHO 


mg the slide valves of steam engines and in 
working the force pumps of steam boilers. 

ECCLESIA (ek-kle'zi-a), a popular assem¬ 
bly of the people, especially of Athens, to dis¬ 
cuss public affairs. According to the laws of 
Solon these assemblages were held four times 
every 35 days, unless special meetings were 
called, when messengers were sent to summon 
the people from the country. Every citizen 
twenty ydfcrs of age could vote and was re¬ 
quired to attend under penalty of a fine. The 
poorer classes were paid a small sum for at¬ 
tendance. The meeting usually began by prayer 
to the gods, after which the business was intro¬ 
duced. Any regularly convened assembly came 
to be called ecclesia, and the name was after¬ 
ward applied to the Church by the New Testa¬ 
ment writers. 

ECCLESIASTES, one of the canonical 
books of the Old Testament, commonly called 
the Preacher in the English versions. In the 
Hebrew it is called Koheleth, meaning the gath¬ 
erer of the people. It is generally ascribed to 
the authorship of Solomon, but modern criti¬ 
cism places it at a much later date. The 
vanity of earthly good and the certainty of 
judgment are the two leading ideas of the 
Preacher. Some writers have imputed an epi¬ 
curean meaning to several passages, but others 
regard them as mere ironical expressions. 

ECCLESIASTICUS (ek-kle-zi-as'ti-kus), a 
book of the Apocrypha, commonly called the 
Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach. The Jews 
and Protestants accept it as an apocryphal writ¬ 
ing, but the Roman and Greek churches class it 
as canonical. It is recommended to be read 
for edification by the Articles of the Anglican 
Church. This book appears to have been written 
in Hebrew at Jerusalem about 250 b. c. It con¬ 
tains rules rather than principles for living, ad¬ 
monishes man to honor the law, and approves of 
the righteous life for the happiness that it brings. 

ECHIDNA (e-kid'na), a genus of toothless 
mammals native to Australia. These animals 
have a long, slender muzzle, toothless jaws, 
long, thick fur intermingled with sharp spines, 
and feet provided with powerful claws. When 
frightened or in danger, they curl up like the 
hedgehog to protect the under parts, which have 
no spines. They are closely allied to the duck¬ 
bill and, like it, propagate by eggs. The food 
consists chiefly of ants and other insects, for 
which they burrow in the earth. The body is 
from a foot to eighteen inches long and some¬ 
what broad and depressed, and the movement is 
quite rapid, considering the shortness of the 
legs. They lie dormant during the seasons of 
drought and come out most frequently at night. 


Their flesh is prized as food by the Papuans 
and other natives. 

ECHINODERMATA (e-kl-no-der'ma-ta), 
one of .the grand divisions into which the ani¬ 
mal kingdom is divided. It constitutes an inde¬ 
pendent assemblage of organisms, formerly 
classed as radiates with the Coelenterates, and 
ranks as the third from the lowest of the divi¬ 
sions of the animal kingdom. The five parts of 
their body radiate from a central axis, hence 
the former classification, and their external skel¬ 
eton is calcareous, which is leathery in some 
species and in others is covered with spines. 
The alimentary canal is distinct from the body 
cavity and is protected by the skeleton, and the 
nervous system is radiate. Reproduction is by 
eggs. The young are greatly different from the 
adult, especially in • that they are bilaterally 
symmetrical, instead of having the radiate struc¬ 
ture. 

Some species of the Echinodermata effect 
locomotion by a peculiar water vascular system, 
by which the water is carried to a system of lo¬ 
comotor tube feet, or ambulacra, these being 
thrust outward and forward to produce move¬ 
ment. In some of the larvae movement is ef¬ 
fected by long arms, which are stiffened by 
slender rods of carbonate of lime. These arms 
are absorbed at the time metamorphosis takes 
place. The sense of touch is well developed, but 
only traces of pigment eyes and of the blood 
system are found in 'some of the species, while 
in others they appear to be entirely absent. All 
the species, of which there are about 3,000 now 
living, are marine and are distributed through 
all seasons. Seven divisions have been made of 
the echinodermata, depending upon the form of 
the body. They include the sea cucumbers, sea 
urchins, brittle stars, starfishes, cystoids, and 
pentremites. See Starfish; Urchin. 

ECHO (ek'o), in Greek mythology, one of 
the Oreades or mountain nymphs, daughter of 
the earth and air. It is related that Echo fell 
in love with Narcissus, who was deaf to her 
entreaties. In her grief she wasted away until 
nothing remained but her bones and her voice. 
Later she was avenged by Nemesis, who inspired 
Narcissus with a love for himself. Many poets 
have used the story as a basis for exquisite 
productions. 

ECHO, a Greek word meaning sound, signi¬ 
fying the repetition of a sound wave, in the air, 
reflected from some obstacle. When the re¬ 
flecting surface is at right angles, the sound 
waves are returned to the person or object 
causing them, but, if oblique, the echo is sent in 
another direction and may be perceived in some 
other locality than the one from which the 


ECLECTICS 


693 


ECLIPSE 


waves were induced. No absolute law can be 
laid down for the exact distance the reflecting 
object must be from the speaker. Sound at 60 0, 
Fahr. has a velocity of 1,120 feet per second. 
If in ordinary speech five syllables are uttered 
in a second, then the speaker, standing in front 
of a reflecting surface 112 feet distant, can hear 
the last syllable. The other syllables are re¬ 
flected, but reach the speaker just as he begins 
the next syllable, hence h£ does not hear them 
as distinct sounds. A sharp, quick sound may 
be heard 56 feet distant. In a properly 
constructed hall the voice of the speaker is 
strengthened in effect by the waves reflected 
by the walls and ceiling. If the walls are too 
close or too far the sound is confusing. Natural 
echoes are produced by woods, hills, rocks, and 
mountains, and many localities have become 
famous on account of them. Some echoes are 
repeated a number of times. It is said that the 
report of a pistol is repeated sixty times by an 
echo in the Simonetta Palace, near Milan, Italy. 
Lake Killarney, in Ireland, is noted for its echo, 
which belongs to this class. 

ECLECTICS, a class of philosophers who 
selected or chose from others whatjhey consid¬ 
ered the best parts of all the recognized systems. 
As a school of philosophy eclecticism necessarily 
had its rise after other systems had been estab¬ 
lished, since it chose what was regard¬ 
ed the best and harmonized it into a 
new system. Since both Plato and 
Aristotle drew from the philosophies 
of those who preceded them, they may 
be regarded as eclectics in a certain 
sense. However, those belonging more 
particularly to this class include Plu¬ 
tarch, Plotinus, and Epictetus. Victor 
Cousin, the French writer on the his¬ 
tory of philosophy, is the most emi¬ 
nent modern eclectic. 

ECLECTIC SCHOOL OF MED¬ 
ICINE, the school of medicine which 
relies upon treating patients as thought 
advisable by the physician rather than 
to follow closely the instruction of 
schools. It is an American system and is known 
also as the New School of Medicine, though 
it may more properly be said to be the mod¬ 
ern representative of a system of healing that 
dates from the year 200 b. c. It must not 
be assumed that the eclectic practitioner is an 
absolute individual, but rather that he relies 
upon individual judgment while at the same time 
he keeps in mind what has been learned in 
medicine and the art of healing by experiments. 
Wooster Beach founded an eclectic college irr 
New York City in 1826, and it may be said 


that the modern eclectic school of medicine 
dates from the early part of the 19th cen¬ 
tury. He published a number of text-books 
which are still looked upon as standard, and 
founded colleges in a number of states. In 
1870 the National Eclectic Medical Associa¬ 
tion was incorporated in New York and since 
then other associations of the same kind have 
been organized, all of which have for their aim 
the improvement in the art of healing. While 
the medicines generally employed in the treat¬ 
ment of diseases are used by this school, in 
theory it does not favor the employment of 
mineral substances and is an advocate of using 
native plants that possess medicinal properties. 
This position in relation to plants has been the 
means of obtaining much information regarding 
American plants useful in the treatment of dis¬ 
eases. In 1908 there were about 875 students 
in attendance at 24 eclectic medical colleges in 
the'United States. 

ECLIPSE (e-klips'), an obscuration, partial 
or total, of a heavenly body by its entering the 
shadow of another body, as when the moon en¬ 
ters the shadow of the earth, or a satellite that 
of a planet. An eclipse may occur by the par¬ 
tial or total disappearance of the sun as the 
effect of the passage of the moon between it 
and an observer. Stars, planets, and the satel¬ 


ECLIPSES. 

S, sun; B, earth; M, moon; P P, penumbra. 

lites of planets may be eclipsed, but the prin¬ 
cipal eclipses are those of the sun and moon. 
An eclipse of the sun begins by an obscuration 
of the western side of the disc and ends on the 
eastern, while an eclipse of the moon begins on 
the eastern and ends on the western side. 

Solar. When the sun and moon are in con¬ 
junction at the time of new moon, the moon is 
necessarily between the earth and the sun, the 
three bodies being in a straight line, as shown 
in Fig. 2. This causes an eclipse of the sun. 
If the moon's orbit were in the same plane as 






ECLIPSE 


694 


ECLIPTIC 


the ecliptic, an eclipse of the sun would occur 
at every new moon; but, since the orbit is in¬ 
clined, an obscuration can occur only at or near 
a node. As a consequence of the diameter of 
the moon being comparatively small, the cone 
of the shadow cannot enshroud to exceed 180 
miles in breadth of the earth’s surface. Within 
this region occurs a total eclipse, and for a cer¬ 
tain distance beyond only a portion of the sun’s 
disc is obscured, where the eclipse is said to be 
partial When the eclipse takes place at the 
time the moon is farthest from the earth, its 
disc does not cover the disc of the sun, thus 
leaving a ring exposed to the vision of the ob¬ 
server. This is known as an annular eclipse. 
The longest duration possible of a total eclipse 


tions in Labrador unsatisfactory, but good re¬ 
sults were obtained in Spain and Northern Af¬ 
rica. The Lick Observatory sent a party to 
Egypt, where a number of fine views were 
taken with photographic telescopes. In that 
region the shadow bands were nearly parallel 
and moved as fast as a walking man. During 
the eclipse little variation was shown by terres- 
tial magnetic elements. 

Lunar. Eclipses of the moon are caused by 
the moon passing through the earth’s shadow, 
as shown in Fig. 1. They can only occur at 
full moon. The moon does not disappear com¬ 
pletely even in a total eclipse, because of the 
refraction of the solar rays in traversing the 
lower strata of the earth’s atmosphere. Since 

a penumbra 



of the sun in any locality is only about eight 
minutes. 

An unusually interesting total eclipse of the 
sun occurred Aug. 30, 1905. In the accompany¬ 
ing illustrations are shown the path of the 
eclipse and the result of observations taken on 
board the Lucania, a vessel belonging to the 
Cunard Company, while at sea during a west¬ 
ward passage. At sunrise the path of the total 
eclipse came in contact with the earth near 
Lake Winnipeg, passed north of Newfoundland 
into the Atlantic, reached Spain at noon, passed 
over Northern Africa, and ended in Arabia. 
The maximum velocity was 2,000 miles per 
hour; average 1,000 miles; width of path of 
N total eclipse, 160 miles; duration of totality, 2% 
to 3% minutes. Cloudy weather made observa- 


surrounds the 
shadow of the 
earth, it some¬ 
times occurs 
that the moon 
does not reach 
the true shad¬ 
ow, p a s si n g 
only partly 
wi t h i n the 
penumbra. 
There never 
can be an an¬ 
nular eclipse 
of the moon, 
for the rea¬ 
son that the 
earth’s shad¬ 
ow exceeds in 
diameter the 
moon’s disc. 
Total eclipses 
of the moon 
are rarer 
events than those of the sun, yet are seen 
more frequently, for the reason that they are 
visible over the entire unillumined hemisphere 
of the earth, and also because of the long dura¬ 
tion of the eclipse, which may last several hours. 

Total solar eclipses at any given point on the 
earth’s surface are exceedingly rare; prior to 
1715 none had been visible at Paris, France, 
for five and a half centuries. In ancient times 
the people were very much frightened during an 
eclipse, and thought them presages of dire 
events. -All manner of frantic efforts were 
made to drive them away. At one time the laws 
of Rome made it punishable blasphemy to talk 
publicly of their being due to natural causes. 
See Sun; Moon. 

ECLIPTIC (e-klip'tic), the apparent yearly 















ECLOGUES 


695 


ECUADOR 


path of the sun around the celestial sphere. It 
was so called by the Greeks for the reason that 
they observed that eclipses of the sun and moon 
can occur only when these bodies are near this 
circle. The earth’s axis is not perpendicular to 
the plane in which the sun appears to move, 
but is inclined 23^2°. If the stars could be 
observed in the daytime, the sun would be 
seen to be moving slowly among them toward 
the east, just as the moon does at night; this 
path is the ecliptic. Now, if the earth’s Equator 
is imagined to be extended as a great circle into 
the heavens immediately above its true position, 
it is known as the celestial equator and cuts 
the ecliptic at the equinoxes. The position of 
the sun on March 21 and Sept. 21 is on the 
Equator or equinoctial points. Then, there are 
two periods in the year when the sun has 
reached its greatest distance from the Equator 
—June 21 and Dec. 21. These four points are 
distant from each other by a quadrant of a 
circle, or 90°. Each quadrant is divided into 
three arcs, or 30°, from which are reckoned 
twelve signs of 30°, called signs of the zodiac, 
being named from constellations through which 
the ecliptic passes. The equinoctial points are 
not fixed, but recede westward about fifty sec¬ 
onds in a year, while the angle at which the 
ecliptic stands to the Equator is diminishing 
also about fifty seconds in a century. The de¬ 
crease, however, has a limit, and there is a point 
beyond which it can never pass. It requires 
8,000 years to change a degree, and this can 
never sensibly affect the seasons. 

ECLOGUES (ek'logz), a class of pastoral 
poems, so named from the Eclogues of Virgil. 
The poems of this class relate the loves and ad¬ 
ventures of shepherds and shepherdesses. Spen¬ 
ser’s “Shepherd’s Calender” is a good example 
of an English eclogue. Pope made this class of 
literature popular in the 18th century. 

ECONOMICS (e-ko-nom'iks). See Politi¬ 
cal Economy. 

SCOLE DES BEAUX ARTS (a-kol' d& 
bo zar'), the national school of fine arts in 
Paris, France, founded as an academic school by 
Mazarin in 1648. The present name was not 
given to it until 1815, and a system of workshops 
were added to the main institution in 1863. It 
is situated in the Villa Medici, on the Pincian 
Hill, and takes rank as one of the most im¬ 
portant schools of fine arts in the world. Both 
men and women between the ages of fifteen 
and thirty have free access to the courses, which 
include drawing, sculpture, painting, engraving, 
architecture, modeling, and gem cutting. For¬ 
eign students are not subject to the age regula¬ 
tion and not eligible to the Prix de Rome, which 


was established in 1666. Students may remain 
as long or short a time as they desire, but the 
regular course is from eight to ten years. About 
40 teachers give instruction, twelve in the work¬ 
shops and 28 in the Ecole proper, and the stu¬ 
dents number approximately 1,350. 

ECUADOR (ek-wa-dor'), a republic of 
South America, located mostly south of the 
Equator. It extends from 5° south latitude to 
1° 45' north latitude. Its northern and eastern 
boundary is formed mainly by Colombia; south¬ 
ern, by Peru; and western, by the Pacific Ocean. 
The boundary between it and Peru and Colom¬ 
bia has been in dispute for many years, hence 
the area cannot be stated with accuracy, but is 
usually given at 118,500 square miles. 

Description. The surface is divided natural¬ 
ly into the extensive plains in the east, the 
elevated mountain regions through the center, 
and a narrow coast region lying between the 
latter and the ocean. Many of the mountains 
are active volcanoes, and the ranges are trav¬ 
ersed by longitudinal valleys and plateaus. 
Two chief mountain ranges, both containing 
snow-clad summits, traverse the country - in a 
direction from north to south, though the west¬ 
ern of these has the more highly elevated peaks. 
It contains the highest summit in Ecuador, 
Chimborazo, elevation 20,500 feet, but its peaks 
as a whole are generally lower than those of 
the eastern range. The loftiest mountains of 
the latter are Antisana, Cayambe and Cotopaxi, 
the last mentioned being 19,612 feet. The sea 
coast is quite uniform, being indented only by 
the Gulf of Guayaquil. Many of the plateaus 
take the form of valleys among the mountains 
and their soil is generally fertile. In the east¬ 
ern part of the country, east of the Andes, is 
an extensive fertile plain belonging to the Ama¬ 
zon basin. 

A larger part of the country slopes toward 
the east, and the drainage is chiefly by tribu¬ 
taries of the Maranon, as the upper course of 
the Amazon is called. These tributaries in¬ 
clude the Napo, the Putumayo, and the Japura, 
and some of these streams furnish transporta¬ 
tion facilities with the Amazon. The rivers of 
the western slope are short and flow rapidly. 
They include principally the Mir. and the Es- 
meraldas. Ecuador has numerous lakes, but all 
of them are small. 

The climate is tropical, but is greatly modified 
by differences in altitude. Excessive heat and 
moisture render the eastern and western plains 
unhealthful, but some parts of the elevated in¬ 
terior are delightful, especially the valleys of 
the Andes that have an altitude of about 8,000 
feet. The regions that have an elevation of 


ECUADOR 


696 


ECUADOR 


more than 9,000 feet have a cold and rigorous 
climate, but habitations are met with at much 
greater heights in many of the mountains. It 
may be said that the dry and the rainy seasons 
form two divisions of the year, the former from 
June to November and the latter from Decem¬ 
ber till May. In the deep river valleys the 
thermometer seldom registers below 80°, while 
the elevated summits are covered with snow 
perpetually. The rainfall is abundant in all 
parts of the country, hence fine grasses and 
thick forests are abundant. Tropical vegeta¬ 
tion thrives in regions elevated less than 6,000 
feet, and above that it becomes more rigid. 
Among the wild animals are the tapir, alpaca, 
jaguar, monkey, vicuna, and many birds of 
prey and plumage. 

Agriculture. Farming is the chief industry 
and cacao is the principal product. It is cul¬ 
tivated extensively in the provinces of Oro, 
Manabi, and Guayas. Coffee takes second rank 
and is grown chiefly in the lowlands. Sugar 
cane is cultivated quite extensively. Indian 
corn, rice, tobacco, wheat, barley, and oats are 
grown profitably. The forests yield chinchona 
bark, sarsaparilla, vegetable ivory, and rubber, 
and the trees yielding these products are grown 
with considerable care. Alfalfa is cultivated 
for hay. All the domestic animals common to 
North American thrive, but sheep and cattle 
receive the larger share of attention. 

Mining. Many minerals are found in the 
mountains, including coal, iron, zinc, and the 
precious metals, but very little has been done 
to develop the mineral resources. Gold is the 
chief mineral product, and copper and petro¬ 
leum are obtained, though in comparatively 
small quantities. The lack of development may 
be attributed both to the lethargy of the people 
and a general lack of transportation facilities. 

Manufactures and Commerce. The manu¬ 
facturing interests are developed but slightly, 
the most important products including flour, 
lumber, leather, cotton goods, clothing, and 
sugar. Coarse fabrics and straw braid used in 
making hats and other straw articles are pro¬ 
duced in considerable quantities. Fruits and 
fish are canned to some extent for transporta¬ 
tion. The exports usually exceed the imports. 
Foreign trade is chiefly with France, Germany, 
Great Britain, and the United States in the or¬ 
der named. 

Most of the interior trade is carried by pack 
animals, owing to the fact that the highways 
are not improved and become almost impassable 
in the rainy season. A good highway is main¬ 
tained most of the way from Quito to Guayaquil, 
the chief port. Not more than 265 miles of 


railways were in operation in 1900, the prin¬ 
cipal line extending from Guayaquil inland, 
but a line from Quito to Aquayaquil, about 300 
miles in length, was completed in 1905. In 
1908 the total lines in operation had a length 
of about 500 miles. Most of the telegraph and 
railway lines were built by foreign capital. 

Inhabitants. The population is composed 
largely of a mixture of Negroes, Indians, Span¬ 
ish Creoles, and Whites. The white inhabitants 
are in possession of most of the land and man¬ 
age the business enterprises, while the colored 
races engage in agriculture and hunting. It 
may be said that the Indians consist chiefly of 
two classes, of which the descendants of the 
Incas are the most numerous and most highly 
developed in civilized arts. Spanish is the of¬ 
ficial and spoken language, and Roman Catho¬ 
lic is the state religion, though other faiths are 
tolerated. Education has made little advance¬ 
ment among the common people, but a number 
of elementary and secondary schools are main¬ 
tained. The national university is located at 
Quito. Quito, the capital, is the largest city 
and Guayaquil, on the Gulf of Guayaquil, is 
the chief seaport. Other cities include Cuenca, 
Riobamba, Latacunga, and Ambato. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 1,450,000. 

Government. Ecuador is divided into six¬ 
teen provinces* The constitution vests the exec¬ 
utive authority in the president and a ministry, 
and the president is elected for a term of four 
years. The congress consists of two houses, 
the senate and the house of representatives, 
the members of which are elected by direct 
vote, in the former for four years and the 
latter for three years. All male citizens who 
have attained to the age of 21 years and are able 
to read and write are granted the right of suf¬ 
frage. The Indians were practically in a con¬ 
dition of slavery and were not represented 
until 1896, when they were admitted to citizen¬ 
ship under certain restrictions. A supreme 
court of six judges constitutes the highest judi¬ 
ciary. The standing army consists of only 3,500 
men and the navy is not materially strong, being 
made up of a few torpedo boats and trans¬ 
ports. 

History. The early inhabitants of Ecuador 
were advanced in many of the arts of civiliza¬ 
tion, and they had many writings and records 
that were destroyed when their dominion was 
overthrown. At the time Pizarro conquered 
Peru for the Spaniards, Ecuador formed part 
of the great empire of the Incas. From 1564 
until 1718 it existed as an independent presi¬ 
dency under Spain, and in the latter year be¬ 
came a part of the state of New Granada. A 


EDDA 


697 


EDINBURGH 


revolution in connection with adjoining coun¬ 
tries against Spain secured its independence in 
1822, when the Spaniards were defeated in the 
Battle of Pichincha, and in 1831 it was or¬ 
ganized as a separate republic. The present 
constitution dates from 1906, and since then 
the country has enjoyed an era of reasonable 
progress. 

EDDA (ed'da), the name by which two an¬ 
cient Icelandic works in literature are known. 
The term means “great-grandmother,” and is 
a fitting appellation of this work, being an in¬ 
teresting forerunner of Scandinavian litera¬ 
ture. The “Poetic Edda” was compiled in the 
13th century and contains mythical poems, while 
the “Prose Edda” was written partly about 1230 
and was discovered in 1628. The poems of the 
^former praise the deeds of Scandinavian 
gods and heroes, while the latter treats of north¬ 
ern myths, exemplifies Scaldic poetry, and com¬ 
ments on the achievements of Haco of Nor¬ 
way, who died in 1263. 

EDDYSTONE LIGHTHOUSE (ed'di- 
ston), a celebrated lighthouse of England, 
situated in the English Channel, on a group of 
rocks called Eddystone. Owing to tides cover¬ 
ing the rocks daily, it became necessary to guard 
against shipwrecks at this point of danger. The 
first lighthouse was completed in 1700, but was 
destroyed by storm in 1703, and the second' 
was burned in 1755. The third was a massive 
structure of limestone, with a granite inclosure 
at the foundation, and of sufficient height to 
cast a light thirteen miles. Owing to erosions 
at the foundation rocks by the action of sea 
waves, a new one was completed in 1882. 
This structure is the highest yet built at this 
place. It is equipped with the newer modern 
appliances and casts a light nearly eighteen 
miles. 

EDEN (e'den), the locality in which the first 
human family had its residence. In the east¬ 
ern part of it was a garden, which was watered 
by a river and from thence the stream parted 
into four channels, though we have been unable 
to locate its exact place. Both the early Hebrew 
and Aryan writers believed that the human 
race first inhabited the mountains of Central 
Asia and that Eden was located in that part 
of the continent At present it is generally as¬ 
signed to Babylon and Armenia, with the pre¬ 
ponderance of argument in favor of the former. 
The New Version of the Bible speaks of it as 
the Garden of Eden, and Milton calls it Para¬ 
dise in his “Paradise Lost.” 

EDENTATA (e-den-ta'ta), or Toothless 
Animals, an order of mammalia established by 
Cuvier. The ant-eaters and pangolins are the 


only edentata that are absolutely destitute of 
teeth; but, with the single exception of the 
armadillo, which has one, none of the order 
have any incisor teeth, and the back teeth are 
very imperfect, being destitute of enamel and 
distinct roots. The sloths belong to one tribe 
of this order and alone subsist on vegetable 
food. The armadillos, pangolins, and ant-eat¬ 
ers subsist on insects or on animal substances 
in a decaying state. No fossil forms of the 
ant-eaters and sloths have been found, but the 
edentata is represented by the extinct Mega¬ 
therium and other mammals of gigantic size. 

EDGEHILL, the locality of the first impor¬ 
tant battle of the Civil War in England. It 
was fought on Oct. 25, 1642, when King Charles 
had decided upon attacking London, but was 
met by 10,000 troops of Roundheads under 
command of the Earl of Essex. The army of 
the king numbered about 12,000, taking a stand 
on Edgehill, and their command rested largely 
with Prince Rupert. This commander led the 
right wing of the Royalists and made a gal¬ 
lant charge upon the left wing of the Round- 
heads, pursuing them for several miles. The 
Roundheads inflicted a severe loss upon the 
royal infantry and succeeded in driving the op¬ 
ponents back. Though the Royalists suffered 
the heavier losses, the battle terminated as an 
indecisive struggle. 

EDICT OF NANTES. See Nantes. 

EDINBURGH (ed'’n-bur-o), the second 
city and the capital of Scotland, in the county 
of Midlothian, 46 miles east of Glasgow. It is 
located on a series of ridges and is surrounded 
on all sides by mountains, except the north, 
where the ground slopes gradually toward the 
Firth of Forth. The site of the ancient city 
was on the central ridge running from west 
to east, which is terminated on the north by a 
high, rocky cliff now containing the Castle, 
and on the east by Holyrood House. Castle 
Hill and Arthur’s Seat, the latter 822 feet 
high, and several other lofty elevations over¬ 
look the city. Prince’s Street, a fine promenade, 
divides the city into the two parts known as 
the Old Town and the New Town. Between 
the two parts are charming recreation grounds 
and the National Gallery and the Royal In¬ 
stitution. Cowgate Street and High Street in¬ 
tersect the Old Town and are the principal 
thoroughfares. Portobello, on the Firth of 
Forth, is included in the city. 

Edinburgh is the seat of the supreme courts 
of Scotland and has several fine government 
buildings. Among the noteworthy structures 
are Saint Giles’s Church, a beautiful edifice in 
the Gothic style; Victoria Hall; Tron Church; 


EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY 


698 


EDOM 


the Bank of Scotland; the Advocates’ Library, 
with 490,000 volumes; .the Signet Library, with 
70,000 volumes; and a fine public library built 
by Andrew Carnegie. The Palace of Holyrood, 
which dates from the 12th century, had its 
origin in the abbey founded by David I. In 
the crown room of the Castle, located on Castle 
Hill, are the crown regalia, known as the 
Honours of Scotland. This building was the 
scene of many events in the life of Mary, 
Queen of Scots, and here her son James was 
born. 

The city is noted for its progressive position 
in the management of public utilities, such as 
the systems of waterworks, sewerage, and gas 
and electric lighting. It is well connected by 
railroads and electric car and telephone lines, 
and has beautiful parks, boulevards, and paved 
streets. Among its leading manufactures are 
beverages, machinery, soap, clothing, paper, fab¬ 
rics, and earthenware. The public school sys¬ 
tem is well established. It is supplemented by 
numerous high schools, academies, and the fa¬ 
mous University of Edinburgh (q. v.). 

Edinburgh is mentioned as having been the 
capital of the King of Northumbria early in the 
7th century, and was named from King Edwin, 
a powerful monarch, who absorbed the Lothians 
and added them to his dominion. Robert Bruce 
made the city a borough and caused the estab¬ 
lishment of a port on the Firth, now called 
Leith. It became the capital of Scotland in the 
15th century, the first wall for its defense being 
built in 1450. After the defeat at Flodden in 
1513, the walls were enlarged to include Cow- 
gate. The English burned the city in 1544, 
and Queen Mary made it the seat of her short 
reign in 1561. When Scotland became united 
with England in 1707, the city was materially 
affected by the removal of the Scottish nobility, 
but in 1745 the Pretender made it his seat of 
action for a brief period. Population, 1907, 
345,747. 

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY, a noted in¬ 
stitution of higher learning in Edinburgh, Scot¬ 
land. It was founded in 1592 under a charter 
granted by James VI., though it did not attain 
its higher sphere of influence until the early 
part of the 18th century. Originally it had only 
four regents, besides the principal professor. 
At present it has a faculty of 125 and main¬ 
tains four extensive departments, including med¬ 
icine, law, arts, and divinity, each conferring 
appropriate degrees on graduation. The gov¬ 
ernment is vested in a body known as the sen¬ 
ate, and the officers consist of a chancellor, rec¬ 
tor, and principal. It is provided that the acts 
of the senate are subject to review by a univer¬ 


sity court, the members of which are appointed 
partly by the town court and partly by the 
university authorities. The present building of 
the university was begun in 1789. In its library 
are 2,500 manuscripts and 220,000 printed vol¬ 
umes, though this is supplemented by several 
large department libraries. In connection with 
it are numerous learned societies and museums 
devoted to natural history, general history, and 
anatomy. A number of fellowships and scholar¬ 
ships are granted annually. The number at¬ 
tending the different departments aggregates 
about 3,15.0. Some of the most eminent English 
teachers have been professors in this institu¬ 
tion, and among its graduates are such prom¬ 
inent men as Scott, Carlyle, Goldsmith, and 
Darwin. 

EDINBURGH REVIEW, a periodical es¬ 
tablished at Edinburgh, Scotland, by Sydney 
Smith in 1802. In this enterprise he was aided 
by Francis Jeffrey, Henry Brougham, Francis 
Horner, and a number of others. This publica¬ 
tion was the first of the critical periodicals to 
be established in the 19th century. It exercised 
a wide influence in favor of the Whig party, but 
was relatively more important as a review of 
and factor in literature. Macaulay 2nd a num¬ 
ber of other eminent writers contributed to this 
periodical. 

EDMONTON (ed'mun-tun), a city of Can¬ 
ada, capital of the province of Alberta, 800 
miles northwest of Winnipeg. It is located on 
the Saskatchewan River and on the Canadian 
Pacific, the Canadian Northern, and the Grand 
Trunk railways, and is surrounded by a fertile 
farming and grazing country. Coal, gold, silver, 
and platinum are mined in the vicinity. The 
principal buildings include those of the govern¬ 
ment, the public library, the city hall, the high 
school, and a number of substantial churches. 
The public utilities, including electric lights, 
waterworks, sewerage, and a gas plant, are well 
established. It is the center of a vast region 
which is easily reached by railways, hence is a 
growing market and has a large retail and whole¬ 
sale trade in produce and merchandise. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 11,167. 

EDOM (e'dum), meaning red, the name 
given to Esau on account of the red pottage 
secured by him from his brother Jacob. The 
name was also given to the country settled by 
Esau, having been previously known as Mount 
Seir. It was about 100 miles long and twenty 
miles wide and was situated between the Dead 
Sea and the Gulf of Akabah, an inlet from the 
Red Sea. Bozrah, now Buseirah, situatednn the 
extreme northern part, was its chief city and 
the capital. During the reigns of David and 


EDUCATION 


699 


EDUCATION 


Solomon, Edom was under subjection to the 
Israelites. Later the Edomites ravaged the 
southern borders of Palestine, and were de¬ 
nounced with considerable vehemence by some 
of the prophets of Israel. After the destruction 
of Jerusalem, in 70 a. d., the name of Edom or 
Idumaea disappeared from geography. 

EDUCATION (ed-u-ka'shun), a word de¬ 
rived from the Latin educare, meaning to lead 
forth. In a philosophical sense education is the 
natural inheritance of every individual, since he 
is impressed and developed for good or evil by 
all with which he comes in contact, everything 
he sees, feels, hears, and does influencing action 
and forming tendencies. According to this view, 
education begins with parental influence and ter¬ 
minates only when life ceases. The more com¬ 
mon application of the term involves the efforts 
premeditated by parents and teachers to induce 
exercise of the powers of the learned in such a 
way as to become the most possible in physical 
strength, intellectual power, and moral goodness. 
To accomplish this high ideal, those instructing 
need to know the laws under which human de¬ 
velopment makes the most efficient progress; 
they must understand the possibilities of the stu¬ 
dent, and also be capable to administer precepts 
and examples to good purpose, in the process 
encouraging what is good to the individual and 
discouraging the tendencies that may result in 
harm. 

Fundamentals. In a rational system of edu¬ 
cation it is necessary to enrich the life of every 
member of society with the fundamental ele¬ 
ments and basic principles that underlie true de¬ 
velopment. This should be done for the univer¬ 
sal good, and to the fullest extent of the per¬ 
sonal capacity of each individual. In addition to 
the general culture that ought to be secured to 
all, there should be more or less technical train¬ 
ing to fit for the calling in life by which the 
learner desires or is likely to support himself. 
Such an education necessitates a well-organized 
system of elementary schools at which all may 
be trained, secondary schools for a smaller num¬ 
ber, and colleges and universities for those ex¬ 
pecting to assume higher responsibilities or enter 
the learned professions. 

However, education is not creative in its na¬ 
ture. Its aim is to attain the fullest development 
and highest right activity of the faculties of 
the body, mind, and soul. To accomplish this it 
is necessary to cultivate by right activity all 
the pliant, plastic innate powers by means of a 
continuous culture well adapted to individual 
needs. The culture must aim at harmonious 
training of all the faculties, having for its ob¬ 
ject the development of existing possibilities 


into realities. It must take account of every 
need in order that the highest possible form 
of learning, development, and efficiency may 
result. 

Threefold Aim. The true aim in education 
is threefold and deals with the physical, intel¬ 
lectual, and moral. Physical culture should 
train the body that it may be strong, healthy, 
vigorous, graceful, skillful, and responsively 
active to the will. Intellectual training should 
engage the mind with and develop the love for 
knowledge, qualify for the independent acquisi¬ 
tion of knowledge, and prepare for regular prac¬ 
tice in the use of knowledge. Moral culture 
should strengthen the conscience and will by the 
formation of habit in carrying out pure feeling 
and good thought, to secure ready obedience to 
law as the embodiment of right, induce a con¬ 
sciousness of individual power and responsibil¬ 
ity, and implant self-faith as the result of faith 
in a divine Providence. 

Educational Systems. The systems of 
schools for the general dissemination of educa¬ 
tion have been and still are greatly diversified 
in courses of study, and the scope of education 
itself has shown marked differences in all ages 
and civilizations. All the countries that take 
some rank in educational arts maintain at least 
a portion of the general system that should be 
fostered in all highly civilized states. A com¬ 
plete system of the schools involves the estab¬ 
lishment of many institutions with diversified 
courses of study, each aiming to cover its por¬ 
tion of a general system, and articulating in a 
well-connected way with others. 

Among the schools recognized by the leading 
nations are: 1 . Kindergartens, schools in which 
the young are trained to develop right activity 
of the body, though some attention is usually 
given to elementary growth in intellect. In 
communities not recognizing this class of 
schools essential in the process of education, 
the elementary work is done largely in the 
homes by mothers or private teachers. 2. Com¬ 
mon schools, institutions designed for teaching 
the rudimentary branches, with courses of study 
so graded as to prepare the pupil for the various 
higher institutions. 3. Schools of agriculture, 
comprising courses in gardening, botany, horti¬ 
culture, geology, vegetable chemistry, zoology, 
pomology, and surveying. 4. Industrial schools, 
including the teaching of industrial labors and 
work and the arts of trade. 5. Schools of fine 
art, those designed for educating artists in the 
various fine arts, such as sculpture, painting, 
music, poetry, and architecture in its character 
as art. 6. Schools of technology, institutions 
designed to teach civil, electrical, and military 


EDUCATION 


700 


EDUCATION 


engineering, geology and mining engineering, 
photography, engraving, building, navigation, 
telegraphy, and astronomy. 7. High schools, 
institutions having courses of study covering 
higher branches of learning than the common 
schools, and designed to prepare pupils for in¬ 
stitutions in which they may secure such train¬ 
ing as will best fit them for their vocation in 
life, among them those named below. 8. 
Schools of business, in which students are 
trained in all classes of business, such as bank¬ 
ing, commerce, manufacturing, and office work. 
9. Laiv schools, institutions for the education of 
lawyers. 10. Normal schools, the institutions 
established exclusively for the education of 
teachers. 11. Schools of medicine, those con¬ 
taining courses and facilities for the education 
of surgeons and doctors of medicine. 12. Col¬ 
leges, institutions where the highest branches 
of knowledge and science are to be taught, and 
having courses designed to prepare a corps o£ 
men devoted exclusively to culture and science. 
13. Universities, the highest institutions of 
learning, in which the most extended courses of 
study are offered to men and women who aspire 
to the more learned attainments in the arts and 
sciences, and to fit them for the greatest activity 
and highest good in the professions of law, 
medicine, ministry, and teaching, and for philo¬ 
sophical work. In each class the highest devel¬ 
opment of the'moral faculty is to be made an 
objective point, which is the case in all the 
schools of the most progressive nations. The 
higher lines of education, above the basic, have 
been designated as moral, political, aesthetic, 
philosophical, and religious. 

History. The history of education is con¬ 
cerned, more or less, with every epoch from 
which any record has passed down to us. Few 
studies are of deeper interest than the one that 
traces the systems under which man’s influence 
upon nature was enlarged through the succes¬ 
sive centuries, and by means of which he at¬ 
tained his present Figh development. Whether 
man in the beginning occupied a higher or lower 
status than at present has been a subject of 
controversy from remote times, though, so far 
as profane history is concerned, it is evident 
that he has been enabled to attain greater 
power and influence through the impulse of ed¬ 
ucational arts. Sacred history represents the 
first parents created in the image of God, and 
accords them efficiency to reason and converse 
with each other. Cain was not only a tiller of 
the soil, but is represented as a builder of a 
city which he named Enoch, after his firstborn 
son. In the seventh generation from Adam, 
and while that patriarch still lived, it is re¬ 


corded that Tubal-Cain “was an instructor of 
every artificer in brass and iron,” and that his 
half-brother, Jubal, “was the father of all such 
as handle the harp and the organ.” 

While it is impossible to determine the exact 
status of antediluvian education, it is evident 
that in the twilight ages man advanced ma¬ 
terially in civilized arts. The invention of the 
organ and the harp, and the skill of artificers in 
brass and iron, imply that many others and 
related discoveries and inventions had been 
made. However, advancement in education 
dates from and is measured largely by the art 
of writing, this art being considered the prime 
meridian from which to measure. Committing 
thought to writing made it possible to pass 
funds of knowledge from generation to gener¬ 
ation with much better results than by story and 
tradition. Besides, all succeeding generations 
were enabled to ponder the achievements of 
preceding ages, as well as profit by the failures 
and successes of the generation that preceded 
them. The writings were not necessarily made 
up of such characters as are used exclusively 
by the Caucasians at present, but included vari¬ 
ous forms of hieroglyphics and symbolical 
characters on monuments, stones, and architec¬ 
tural structures. 

Oriental Nations. Among the early civiliza¬ 
tions and antiquities the Chaldean, Babylonian, 
and Assyrian take high rank, and much knowl¬ 
edge of their skill and progress has come to us 
through various sources by means of monu¬ 
mental writings and architectural ruins, most of 
which are given us by the Greek historian, 
Herodotus, and the German, Max Muller. The 
rise of the Chaldean civilization dates from 
Nimrod, about 2300 b. c., when Babylonia was 
founded. These ancient peoples erected great 
cities, collected vast libraries, founded schools, 
and disseminated knowledge and learning for 
many centuries. Passing from their settlement 
on the Tigris and Euphrates to Egypt, we find 
a high state of civilization and a wide range 
of culture that had their beginning more than 
4,000 years ago. In their city of Alexandria 
was a great university, which taught a system 
of geometry perfected by Euclid, and in accord 
with which and other productions the Egyptian 
intellect towered and expanded, attaining a foot¬ 
hold almost as durable as their gigantic pyra¬ 
mids and the time-enduring sphinx. Their 
system of education, like that of* India, was 
largely characterized by the baneful influence 
of castes, resulting in classes who towered as 
educational giants on the one hand, and de¬ 
scended to the status of intellectual pigmies on 
the other. 


EDUCATION 


701 


EDUCATION 


In scrutinizing human history it is remarkable 
that practically every portion of value in edu¬ 
cation comes generally from the Caucasian race, 
the Mongolian being the only other race that 
presents any original theories and primitive ac¬ 
quirements of material knowledge. The educa¬ 
tional system of China dates from Confucius, 
who lived about 500 years before Christ, and 
ever since his teachings have had a marked in¬ 
fluence upon the Chinese and some effect among 
the Japanese, though Brahmanism and Bud¬ 
dhism have had more or less influence upon the 
education of both peoples. China still adheres 
closely to the educational theories and practices 
of the ancients, neglecting the education of 
women, but grading promotion in state affairs 
entirely upon educational merit, while Japan is 
breaking away from the old with remarkable 
rapidity and inaugurating schools and courses 
of study maintained in the systems of modern 
states. The latter people are distinguished by 
greater energy and independence of character 
than the Chinese, and are willing to inaugurate 
the newer and better, even if many traditional 
and time-tested institutions must be set aside. 

Ancient Classical Nations. From Western 
Asia and Northern Africa education moved 
westward to Greece, and eventually from 
Greece to Rome. According to the writings of 
Homer, it is certain that the early education of 
Greece was patriarchal. Later four divisions 
arose, of which the Dorians and Ionians are 
the most noteworthy. The seat of influence of 
the former was at Sparta, and their higher edu¬ 
cation was largely the outgrowth of the codi¬ 
fied laws of Lycurgus, though the teaching of 
Pythagoras influenced the whole of Greece by 
its strictness and aristocratic tendencies. Solon 
codified the laws of the Ionians. Their center 
of influence was at Athens. Socrates, Plato, 
and Aristotle are the great teachers of Greece, 
and rank highest in power and influence. 

Numa Pompilius founded Roman education, 
though Greek culture was introduced in its en¬ 
tirety about 250 b. c. The great orator, Cicero, 
gave perfection to Roman rhetoric, while Sen¬ 
eca and Quintilian rank as the greatest educa¬ 
tional writers. Greek education aimed to de¬ 
velop especially the beautiful and good. The 
Greeks as well as the Romans maintained a 
highly educated priesthood, though education 
was extended to all save the slaves and ex¬ 
tremely poor. The young were trained early in 
life. Physical and intellectual strength were 
objective in all, while their religious culture 
consisted of the worship of representative gods, 
such as we read of in mythology. These were 
sacredly represented in statuary, temples were 


built to their honor, and the young were ad¬ 
monished to do them reverence. 

Early Christian Era. The influence exercised 
by the teachings of Christ is the most marked 
and contains the essential and basic principles 
of education. They oppose all external distinc¬ 
tion among men, recognize the equality of wom¬ 
en, and make capability the only limit of man’s 
development. By their precepts man is taught 
to become perfect, and live, grow, be active, 
avoid stagnation, and seek progress and expan¬ 
sion. Its injunctions require activity, according 
to the talents possessed. Those who have the 
greater capabilities are presumed to. accomplish 
the most and serve the higher and more useful 
purposes in society. Upon these principles of 
teaching every true system of modern educa¬ 
tion is based. They sustained the severest crit¬ 
icisms of the Middle Ages, were embraced by 
the early educators of modern times, and per¬ 
meate the writings of the great master teachers. 

Education in Europe. The Reformation (q. 
v.) is the beginning of the great epoch of mod¬ 
ern education in Europe. Promoted by Luther, 
Melanchthon, and Wycliffe, it taught the doc¬ 
trine of justification by faith alone and the 
necessity of reading the -Bible. This caused the 
Scriptures to be translated into the modern 
tongues and gave rise to schools which taught 
the people to read and write. Ultimately it 
made possible the great universities, such as 
those at Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Ber¬ 
lin, Paris, and Vienna. Among the teachers 
and writers who influenced educational thought 
in Europe are Bacon, Comenius, Locke, Francke, 
Rousseau, Kant, Fichte, Richter, Hegel, Rosen- 
kranz, Herbart, Beneke, Pestalozzi, Froebel, and 
Spencer. Germany has been rightly named the 
land of pedagogy, and the influence of its great 
teachers has been felt in every civilized country. 
Its institutions have long had the highest repu¬ 
tation on account of their excellence for train¬ 
ing teachers and inducing education, from the 
kindergarten system to the colleges and uni¬ 
versities. 

The education of modern Europe is largely 
statal, attendance is free and compulsory, and 
the courses of study cover, hot only branches of 
classic learning, but disseminate knowledge and 
skill in the arts of industry. The primary 
schools have been given over entirely to women 
teachers, while grammar grades, higher instruc¬ 
tion, and supervision are limited almost ex¬ 
clusively to men. Institutions and associations 
of teachers are maintained and exercise influ¬ 
ences similar to those in America, while period¬ 
icals and books devoted to pedagogy' are read 
extensively. The newer statistics place Sweden 


EDUCATION 


702 


EDUCATION 


in the highest rank among the nations of the 
world on account of its common school educa¬ 
tion, illiteracy there being limited to the lowest 
per cent. It is impossible to speak of all the 
many excellent qualities of European schools in 
this article, and it may be sufficient to say that 
all the progressive nations of Europe, and, for 
that matter, of the world, are giving closer at¬ 
tention to the building of schools and the edu¬ 
cation of the young for the state and for life 
than in any other period of history. 

Education in America. Education has been 
a profound study in America, though the United 
States and Canada represent its greatest de¬ 
velopment and most marked influence. The 
representative form of government makes it 
necessary to educate universally, else our civil 
institutions must fail. The dangers of universal 
suffrage can be overcome only by universal ed¬ 
ucation. In recognition of this fact legislation 
along educational lines was early directed to 
the building of schools and the founding of 
colleges. Massachusetts led the way in 1632 
by requiring all children to be taught to read 
and write. Later, when the United States was 
established as an independent government, Con¬ 
gress set aside lands to aid schools, and in the 
newer states and territories sections sixteen 
and thirty-six of each township were reserved 
for that purpose. Normal training schools for 
teachers are maintained in nearly all the states 
by public taxation,, at which admission is free, 
and through whose influence a strong profession 
of teaching is developing. The Commissioner 
of Education is an important officer of the 
Federal government, whose influence for good 
by means of treatises, lectures, and published 
reports is widening constantly in the entire na¬ 
tion. 

The states maintain either State commission¬ 
ers or superintendents of public instruction, 
while county superintendents and, in some states, 
commissioners, have local supervision." Teach¬ 
ers are called to convene in conventions and 
institutes by proper authorities, and are certifi¬ 
cated to teach either by local officials, county 
superintendents, or State boards of examiners. 
In most of the states school attendance is 
nominally compulsory and in all it is free of 
tuition. Some states maintain free schools de¬ 
voted to the industries and higher learning, 
though many of such institutions are aided by 
the Federal government. Public schools are 
open and alike free to both sexes, but in a num¬ 
ber of Southern States separate schools are 
maintained for the education of Negro children. 
Besides thq public schools and higher institu¬ 
tions, there are many denominational and pri¬ 


vate schools, colleges, and universities. Col¬ 
lectively they represent an immense capital and 
wield a marked influence for good. In states 
which' have compulsory laws, attendance at pri¬ 
vate schools, which have courses similar to the 
public institutions, is considered to be in com¬ 
pliance with law. Among the most prominent 
educators that have exercised a large influence 
in shaping educational theories we may name 
Kant, Richter, Hegel, Asa Gray, Herbert Spen¬ 
cer, Herbart, Rousseau, Froebel, Pestalozzi, 
Horace Mann, Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Fichte, 
Rosenkranz, Haeckel, Max Muller, Locke, and 
Jonathan Edwards, all of whom are treated in 
special articles. To this list may be added the 
following American educators of recent date: 
G. Stanley Hall, W. T. Harris, David Starr 
Jordan, William R. Harper, Herman Eduard 
von Holst, Andrew Dickson White, George 
Payn Quackenbos, Joseph Baldwin, C. W. Eliot, 
Francis Wayland, W. M. Beardshear, Samuel 
Eliot, etc. 

EDUCATION, Commissioner of, the title 

of the chief officer of education in some states 
and countries. The term is applied inter¬ 
changeably with that of superintendent, though 
in some states and provinces it is recognized 
as the exclusive title. It is the duty of a com¬ 
missioner of education to supervise the general 
management of schools and public institutions, 
and to publish recommendations and biennial 
reports upon the methods of teaching and the 
management of educational system. In Can¬ 
ada various names are used in speaking of offi¬ 
cials who have charge of educational work', 
such as minister of education, in Toronto; su¬ 
perintendent of education, in Nova Scotia; and 
commissioner of education, in Saskatchewan. 

The Commissioner of Education of the United 
States is the chief officer of the national Bu¬ 
reau of Education. He is appointed by the 
President with the consent of the Senate. The 
duties are to collect educational statistics, dif¬ 
fuse information regarding the organization and 
management of schools and school systems, to 
promote the cause of education, and to present 
annually to Congress a report embodying the 
result of his investigations and labors. The 
office was established in 1867 with Henry Bar¬ 
nard as the first commissioner. 

EDUCATION, Compulsory, the term ap¬ 
plied to the system of education in which at¬ 
tendance is required by the state for some fixed 
period. Nations have long recognized the im¬ 
portance of training youth for citizenship, hence 
attendance upon some schools has been compul¬ 
sory, though in most cases the parent may 
select the particular school at which the child 


EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION 703 


EGG 


is to attend, that is, the parent may choose to 
enroll the pupil in a public school or in a pri¬ 
vate institution where work of the same kind is 
done in certain branches. The law varies in 
fixing the compulsory period, usually beginning 
with the ages of five to seven years and extend¬ 
ing to the ages of fourteen to sixteen years. 
In a majority of countries the compulsory peri¬ 
od is eight years. 

Since the state requires all of its citizens to 
pay taxes toward the support of the schools, 
it is held reasonable that the citizen should 
expect all children to get the advantages of an 
education. Since the safety of society is de¬ 
pendent upon morality and intelligence, it is 
quite essential to the state that no one should 
grow up without receiving proper training for 
the responsibilities of citizenship. Compulsory 
attendance laws were in force among the an¬ 
cient, especially in Sparta and Athens, where 
training in military affairs and other branches 
was required. Germany has had a compulsory 
attendance law for many years, and similar laws 
are on the statute books of Great Britain, Swe¬ 
den, Denmark, Switzerland, and France. In 
the United States and Canada they are enacted 
by the State or Province, since these countries 
do not retain supervision over the public schools, 
but instead delegated this part of the govern¬ 
ment to the individual states and provinces. 
Truant officers are provided for by the laws, 
and such officers are usually appointed by the 
local boards of education. It is their duty to 
see that the attendance law is enforced, and 
parents are subject to a fine where the child is 
not in attendance in compliance with the law, 
though they cannot be punished without due 
trial. The employment of very young children 
in mines and factories has made it quite neces¬ 
sary that these laws be enforced. 

EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION, a so¬ 
ciety of teachers and educators to study meth¬ 
ods and promote educational work. Many 
forms of societies of this kind are maintained. 
Local organizations are usually made up of 
the teachers and educators in a particular city 
or in a county, and these are tributary to the 
educational association of the State or Prov¬ 
ince. Societies organized within a city or coun¬ 
ty usually meet several times each year, while 
those of a State or Province hold meetings 
annually, and in these the work is assigned to 
different departments, such as that of elemen¬ 
tary schools, high schools, and institutions of 
higher learning. In many states teachers are 
required to attend the meetings, and are paid 
for their attendance the same as if they were 
teaching in the schools. 


The National Educational Association of the 
United States was incorporated in the District 
of Columbia in 1896, when it succeeded the Na¬ 
tional Teachers’ Association, which was organ¬ 
ized at Philadelphia, Pa., in 1857. This associa¬ 
tion meets annually in different parts of the 
country, and at these meetings prominent edu¬ 
cators read papers or lecture upon topics of in¬ 
terest to teachers in the management*of schools 
or the supervision of school systems. A com¬ 
plete report of the proceedings, including the 
principal papers and lectures, are published for 
the benefit of the members. This association 
has had a marked influence upon public instruc¬ 
tion, especially by its celebrated report of the 
Committee of Ten in regard to secondary 
schools. It consists of seventeen departments 
and the National Council, the latter being a 
board which exercises general advisory power. 
The largest meeting of the association was held 
at Boston, Mass., in 1903, when 34,983 members 
were registered. 

EEL, the name of a class of serpent-shaped 
fishes found in nearly all rivers and seas of 
the warmer zones. About fifty species have 
been described, differing somewhat in form, 
but all are covered by a soft, thick, slimy skin, 
some having minute cycloid scales. The gill 
orifices are very small and are situated far 
back, by reason of which they can remain out 
of water a long time. Some species frequent 
the land by night in search of food. Eels pre¬ 
fer to live in the mud, and in cold weather 
bury themselves in the muddy bottom or mi¬ 
grate to warm and sluggish waters. They 
are very sensitive to cold and not found in 
latitudes beyond 64° 30' north or south of 
the Equator. They are particularly abundant 
near the deltas and estuaries of rivers, where 
the adults spawn, and in the spring ‘immense 
numbers of young eels pass up streams and 
canals, overcoming many obstacles in their 
progress. They are excellent and nutritious 
food. The electric eel found in the marshy 
waters of the llanos in South America attains 
the length of four or five feet and discharges 
a perceptible current of electricity when it is 
touched. 

EGG, the cell or ovum and its accompanying 
products which are extruded from the ovary of 
females of various animals, containing the germ, 
origin, or first principle of life. It consists 
essentially of a single cell of protoplasm, in 
which rests the potentiality of life of an in¬ 
dividual corresponding to the parent stock, but 
rarely two or more such cells are contained 
in the egg, when the life product is a deformity 
or results in more than one offspring. Repro- 


EGG 


704 


EGRET 


duction in all animals is by eggs, except in the 
Protozoa, but in some animals the egg is in¬ 
cubated within the body and the new life is 
brought forth in a more or less immature state. 
Young produced in this way are said to be 
born, while those developed from eggs outside 
of the body are said to result from hatching 
or incubating. 

In general the term egg is used only-in con¬ 
nection with animals that do not produce tneir 
young alive, in other words, the oviparous ani¬ 
mals. The most common oviparous animals in¬ 
clude birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, and worms. 
Eggs usually contain, besides the germ, sub¬ 
stances which serve for nourishment of the new 
life. In animals below the birds, the egg has 
only three parts, the germ, the germinal vesicle, 
and the yolk. In the egg of birds, besides 
these, are a calcareous shell, a tough skin, 
and a considerable amount of white or albu¬ 
men. When the young animal is developing, it 
is nourished first by the albumen and then by 
the yolk, both of which aVe consumed before 
it comes out of the shell. 

The eggs of birds and fowls are usually oval, 
but a few are nearly round. In one end of 
the egg, between the skin and the albumen, is 
an air cavity which is thought to facilitate 
the breathing in the early stages of the new 
life. The outer covering of the eggs of rep¬ 
tiles and lizards consists of a parchmentlike 
membrane, while in cartilaginous fishes, such as 
sharks and rays, the egg is inclosed in a four¬ 
sided horny case, with tendrils projecting by 
which it is mOored to floating seaweeds. These, 
after the escape of the young fish, are washed 
upon the shores, where they are familiarly 
known as mermaid’s purses. Eggs of animals 
now extinct have been found in Madagascar 
three feet in circumference, but the ostrich 
lays the largest egg of any animal now living. 

The eggs of birds and fowls are hatched by 
being kept at a temperature of about 104° 
Fahr. for a period of from two to four weeks. 
Crocodiles, alligators, and turtles bury their 
eggs in the sand, where they are incubated by 
the heat of the sun or by the warmth of de¬ 
caying vegetation. Eggs of the turtle are in 
repute as an article of food and luxury, and 
those of gulls, guillemots, and wild ducks are 
much sought by the inhabitants of the Orkney 
and Shetland islands, as well as Iceland and 
other northern regions. On the coast of Lab¬ 
rador an extensive business has developed 
by the eggers, who collect the eggs of sea birds 
and carry them to the markets of Canada and 
the United States. Tremendous precipices are 
braved by men, whom their companions let down 


by means of ropes to gather the eggs from 
ledges. 

Birds differ ‘ greatly in the number of eggs 
which they lay for a set or clutch, but in this re¬ 
spect the individuals of the same species are 
quite uniform. The larger birds of prey and 
many waterfowl lay only one egg in the year, 
while others, as the hen, produce a large num¬ 
ber. Field and woodland birds, as the robin 
and crow, usually lay from five to seven, while 
the titmouse ordinarily deposits about ten. In 
some instances the color is quite similar to 
that of the nests, but it includes white, brown, 
greenish, and variously spotted species. The 
egg of the hen is the most important as a com¬ 
mercial product. It consists of 73.7 parts 
water, 13.4 parts protein, and 10.5 parts fat. 
Other eggs sold on the market are those of 
the duck, turkey, goose, and guinea. Besides 
being valuable as food, eggs are used for pu¬ 
rifying liquids and the albumen is useful in pre¬ 
paring photographic paper. See Evolution; 
Nest; Poultry. 

EGGPLANT (eg'plant), a plant of the 
nightshade family, so named because the fruit 
resembles an egg in shape. It is native to the 
tropics, but may be grown in the northern por¬ 
tion of the United States and the southern part 
of Canada, when planted in a hotbed. About a 
dozen species are cultivated for the fruit, which 
is cooked in a variety of ways as a table vege¬ 
table. The species that yield a purple colored 
fruit is the best for general use, such as the 
New York purple and the black Pekin. The 
plant grows to a height of about two feet, 
has prickly leaves, and flowers of a. violet color. 
The fruit varies from the size of a hen’s egg 
to specimens from six to eight inches in diam¬ 
eter, depending upon the season and the rich¬ 
ness of the soil. 

EGOISM (ego-iz’m), the doctrine of a class 
of philosophers, according to which a person 
can be certain of nothing but his own exist¬ 
ence, and that of the operations and ideas of 
his own mind. As affecting mental sensations, 
egoists involuntarily regard the body as ego, 
that is, the being itself; but, so far as cogni¬ 
tion is concerned, the body is regarded object¬ 
ive, or non-ego. Egoism, in an ethical sense, 
is now used as an antonym to altruism (q. v.). 

EGRET (e'gret), the name of several species 
of heron, especially those that have a well- 
developed crest during the breeding season, and 
whose back is adorned with long, loose flowing 
plumes. The American egret is about 37 inches 
long, measured from the tip of the beak to 
the end of the tail, and the extent of the wings 
is 55 inches. The snowy egret, native to the 


EGYPT 


705 


EGYPT 


region bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, is a 
beautiful bird. It is hunted for the sake of the 
plumes during the breeding season, hence is 
becoming rapidly exterminated. The reddish 
egret is remarkable in that some birds of the 



SNOWY EGRET. LITTLE EGRET. 


same species are nearly white while others have 
a bluish-slate color, and it.appears that the dif¬ 
ferences in color are not dependent upon sex, 
age, or season. Several species are native to 
Europe and Asia, including the European and 
the white heron. 

EGYPT (e'jipt), a country of Africa, situ- 
uated between the Red Sea and the Libyan 
Desert, and extending from the Mediterranean 
Sea to the Nubian Desert. It is bounded on 
the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the 
east by Syria and the Red Sea, on the south 
by a line drawn from the Red Sea to a point 
about 200 miles west of Wadi Haifa, and on the 
west by a line drawn from about 200 miles 
west of Wadi Haifa to the southeastern point 
of Tripoli, and thence north to the Mediter¬ 
ranean. The southern boundary coincides 
nearly with the latitude of 22° north, it in¬ 
cludes the eastern third of the Libyan Desert. 
The extent from east to west is about 500 miles 
and the length north and south is 670 miles. 
The area of Egypt proper is 394,240 square 
miles. 

Description. Most of the surface consists of 
a sandy desert, the cultivated portion being 
confined to the country more or less affected by 
the annual inundations of the Nile and the coast 
plains along the Mediterranean. This fertile 
45 


region includes only about 10,000 square miles, 
and contains almost the entire population of 
the country. The Nile flows through it from 
south to north, though it has no tributaries 
.within Egypt, owing to the arid condition of the 
country. West of the Nile are the barren 
wastes of the Libyan Desert, much of which is 
elevated only a few hundred feet above the 
sea, while many small localities are below it 
and derive their water by infiltration from the 
Nile. In the eastern part is a region of moun¬ 
tains, extending from Assuan and Berenice in 
the south to Cairo and Suez in the north. The 
mountains cover a district about 150 miles wide 
and are highest near the Red Sea, where their 
summits approximate 7,000 feet. The country 
south of Assuan is made up largely of sand 
plains and desert hills, which form the north¬ 
ern part of the Nubian Desert. 

The course of the Nile through Egypt is 
about 800 miles. A short distance south of 
Assuan is the First Cataract, the only one in 
Egypt, where a great dam is maintained to 
regulate the supply of water for irrigating pur¬ 
poses. The annual*overflow of the Nile has a 
tendency to fertilize the soil and render it ex¬ 
ceedingly productive. Usually the overflow be¬ 
gins • the middle of July and is occasioned by 
excessive falls of rain in the mountains and 
lake region near the Equator. The irrigated 
land begins to dry in October and the crops are 
sown in November, maturing in March, when 
they are harvested. Southwest of Cairo is a 
fertile, tract, the depressed valley of Fayum, 
and near its northern extremity is the lake 
of Birket-el-Kerun. Many of the localities ad¬ 
jacent to the Nile and some of its banks are 
characterized by masses of rock and broken 
cliffs. Extensive forests are entirely unknown 
in the upper valley, but small clusters of trees 
are found in some localities. 

The atmosphere is dry and the sky is clear 
most of the year. At Cairo the rainfall is less 
than two inches per year, while at Alexandria, 
on the coast, it is about eight inches. Near 
the sea the temperature rarely reaches the freez¬ 
ing point, but the thermometer sometimes reg¬ 
isters 114°. In April and May a large part of 
the country is visited by the khamsin winds, 
which cause a rapid rise of the temperature and 
fill the air with dust and sand. The sycamore 
is the prevailing tree and is rivaled only by 
the date palm. Many species of trees have been 
introduced and are cultivated in the regions 
where moisture is sufficient. The lotus and the 
durra, the almost extinct papyrus, are Egyptian 
plants. Fish are abundant in the Nile and off 
the coasts, and birds and insects are numerous* 













EGYPT 


706 


EGYPT 


The fox, jackal, wild ass, leopard, lion, and 
striped hyena are among the wild animals. 

Agriculture. About two-thirds of the peo¬ 
ple are engaged in agricultural pursuits. Three 
crops are grown annually in the districts that 
are well irrigated, this being possible on ac¬ 
count of the large amount of organic matter 
deposited by the waters of the Nile. Clover, 
wheat, barley, and vegetables grow best from 



December to March; sugar cane, rice, cotton, 
millet, and fruit thrive from April to July. 
The Nile Delta is the richest region and pro¬ 
duces most abundantly.- Among the tropical 
fruits are the orange, lemon, and fig, and the 
grape, pomegranate, apple, plum, and quince 
thrive in nearly all parts where moisture is 
sufficient. Raw silk is produced to some ex¬ 
tent and tobacco can be grown profitably, but 
its cultivation is not permitted. The live stock 
industry is on a profitable basis, and especial 


attention is given to the rearing of sheep, cat¬ 
tle, and camels. Swine are raised by the Copts, 
and horses and mules are quite common in the 
cities. 

Mining. Egypt is not rich in mineral wealth, 
though it is possible that deposits exist which 
have not been discovered. Gold mines were 
worked anciently in the rugged mountains of 
eastern Egypt and some of them have been 
rediscovered. Salt is obtained in the salt 
marshes of the Nile Delta and considerable salt¬ 
peter is manufactured. Vast deposits of lime¬ 
stone, granite, and sandstone were worked in 
ancient times, but comparatively little is done 
in this line at present. The material used 
in the construction of the great pyramids and 
many temples was obtained from the granite 
deposits near Syene, where the supply is in¬ 
exhaustible. 

Transportation and Commerce. Alexandria 
is the chief seat of foreign commerce, being 
favored by its location on the Mediterranean 
and a number of important railways. A large 
trade is carried on at Cairo and other points 
on the Nile and the Suez Canal. Inland trade 
is chiefly by caravans, by railways, and by. 
transportation on the Nile, which is navigable 
the entire distance in Egypt. Many of the high¬ 
ways have been improved and are being main¬ 
tained by local taxes. The country has 2,500 
miles of railways, most of which are owned by 
the government. The Cape-to-Cairo Railroad 
is the most important line and will furnish 
transportation facilities to Cape Town. Tele¬ 
phones are utilized in the cities and many rural 
districts, and all of the principal trade centers 
have telegraph communications. Great Britain 
has the largest share of foreign trade, and 
next in order are Turkey, France, Germany, 
Austria, Italy, and the United States. 

The weaving of fez and linen is an ancient 
industry, but modern customs in dress nave 
caused it to decline. Sugar is manufactured 
quite extensively by the employment of foreign 
capital, and Eg)q)t is an exporter of that 
product. Other manufactures include cotton 
and woolen goods, cigarettes, clothing, utensils 
and machinery of different kinds. Cotton, cot¬ 
ton seed, meat, hides, and fruit are the chief 
exports, while coal, wood, textiles, and metal 
products are imported. 

Government. The government is a form of 
monarchy, tributary to Turkey, and the chief 
executive is the Khedive or Governor General. 
He is assisted by six ministers in the admin¬ 
istration of government, those of justice, inte¬ 
rior, finance, war, foreign affairs, and public 
works and public instruction. France formerly 







EGYPT 


707 


EGYPT 


exercised the greatest influence politically, but 
since the rebellion of Arabi Pasha the pre¬ 
dominant influence has passed to England and 
the public defenses are under the control of 
that country. Local conditions are such that 
internal improvements have been going for¬ 
ward and trade relations have been enlarged 
materially within the last two years. The leg¬ 
islative power is vested jointly in the legisla¬ 
tive council and the general assembly. Local 
government is administered by six governor¬ 
ships and fourteen provinces. 

Inhabitants. Native Egyptians comprise the 
greater part of the inhabitants, but a majority 
of these are known as fellahs, who comprise 
the lower class. The people in the smaller 
towns are wholly Egyptians, while the larger 
cities contain many foreigners. Among the for¬ 
eign inhabitants are the Arabs, Greeks, Ital¬ 
ians, British, French, Germans, and Persians. 
Nearly all of the Mohammedans are of the 
Sunnite faith, constituting about 92 per cent, 
of the entire population. Next in order of 
number are the Christians, chiefly Copts, and 
Jews. Cairo, the capital, is located on the Nile 
in lower Egypt. Alexandria is on the Mediter¬ 
ranean and Port Said is the chief town on the 
Suez Canal. Other cities include Rosetta, 
Damietta, Suez, Tanta, Assiut, Gizeh, and Man- 
sourah. The total population of Egypt is 10,- 
134,405, which includes 112,810 foreigners. 

Language and Literature. Comparatively 
little is known in regard to the origin of the 
language spoken by the ancient Egyptians. It 
showed some affinity to the Semitic languages, 
but as a whole was quite distinct in its general 
construction. The history of the language is 
divided usually into four periods, including 
those in which prevailed the four systems of 
writing known as the hieroglyphic, hieratic, 
demotic, and Coptic. It is not known when 
the hieroglyphic system of writing originated, 
but there is an abundance of evidence that it 
prevailed extensively as early as 3000 b. c. 
The hieratic writings are those of the priests or 
sacerdotal class, while the demotic, a popular 
form of hieratic writing, came into literary use 
■about the 7th century b. c. Greek letters were 
used frequently to write demotic words and 
later Semitic forms came to be added, thus giv¬ 
ing rise to the Coptic language, the latest form 
of the Egyptian. At present it is employed 
only in the liturgy of the Coptic Church, and 
in its stead the Arabic is now in common use. 

Though the Egyptian language underwent 
marked changes, there is a notable similarity 
in the literature of the different periods. In 
the epoch of history included in the reign of 


the Rameses inventive genius was especially 
encouraged, particularly such talent as led to 
the production of novels and works of amuse¬ 
ment. However, by far the most important 
writings are of a historical character, especially 
in the time of the Ptolemies, when the lore of 
the East was energized by western scholars, 
particularly by the Greeks. The works in re¬ 
ligion are numerous, especially in the Coptic 
period, when church rituals, homilies, and other 
Christian literature were introduced. 

Among the Egyptian writings is an interesting 
work entitled “Book of the Dead,” a copy of 
which was found in a 
tomb of a queen of the 
11th dynasty, which is 
thought to date from 
about 3000 b. c. It con¬ 
tains an account of the 
adventures of the soul 
after death, and gives 
directions by which it is 
possible to reach the hall 
of Osiris. The writings 
on astrology,, moral phi- 
1 o s o p h.y, agriculture, 
medicine, physics, eco¬ 
nomics, ethics, mathe¬ 
matics, and poetry are 
numerous. A work o n 
geometry, entitled “The ancient statue. 
Principle of Arriving at the Knowledge of 
Quantities,” dates from about 1100 b. c. Euclid, 
the Greek mathematician, who flourished at 
Alexandria about 300 b. c., gave impetus to 
mathematical research and wrote his “Elements 
of Geometry,” a work still recognized as au¬ 
thoritative. “The Romance of Setna,” written 
about the 3d century b. c., and “The Tale of 
Two Brothers,” probably written about the 
time of the exodus, are two works in story 
form. Many writings are in the form of epis¬ 
tolary letters and epic poetry. In the “Epic of 
Pentaur” are described the events connected 
with the war conducted by Rameses II. against 
the Kheta. 

History. No country contains greater won¬ 
ders of remote antiquity than Egypt. The 
Sphinx and pyramids are remarkable for their 
great size and wonderful endurance through the 
centuries. When Napoleon and his legions 
reached the vicinity of these relics, he was led 
to exclaim, “Soldiers, forty centuries look down 
upon you.” The catacombs and labyrinth of 
Upper Egypt are likewise remarkable curiosities. 
The labyrinth is partly under ground, cut out 
of marble, and originally consisted of twelve 
palaces and 3,000 chambers. Anciently the 











EGYPT 


708 


EIDER DUCK 


Egyptians possessed a wonderful civilization, 
and built vast palaces, monuments, and canals. 
They were superior as scholars and statesmen. 
On many of the ancient ruins are forms of 
■ hieroglyphic writings from which we have 
learned much of their system of mathematics, 
astronomy, architecture, and religion, and of 
their utensils, machinery, costumes, and imple¬ 
ments of war. Their commerce was among the 
most extensive of the ancient world, and their 
civil institutions ranked with the best. Mod¬ 
ern Egypt is but the shadow, the ruins, of a 
once powerful civilization. 

Egypt has a history extending back, accord¬ 
ing to different writers, to the year 3892 b. c., 
though some writers of profane history place 
its beginning about the year 5004 b. c. The 
priest Manetho arranged and published, in 250 
b. c., a list of thirty Egyptian dynasties, and 
this record is still considered the best extant. 
In the reign of the fourth dynasty the great 
pyramids were built, the largest by the three 
kings, Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerinos—ac¬ 
cording to Lepsius, the German philologist and 
Egyptologist, within about the period of 2800- 
2700 b. c. The Pharaohs ruled the country until 
the Egyptians were conquered in 520 b. c. by 
Cambyses, King of Persia. It is thought Ram- 
eses II. was the Pharaoh who oppressed the 
Israelites, and that the exodus occurred in the 
time of his successor, Merneptah. The country 
was subject .to Persia until Darius was van¬ 
quished by Alexander the Great, which occurred 
in 322 b. c. 

After Alexander’s time Egypt passed to the 
Ptolemies, becoming under them and Greek in¬ 
fluence one of the most progressive kingdoms. 
The Ptolemies controlled it nearly 300 years, 
after which it was made a Roman province and 
was held by them about 650 years. In 337 
a. d. it became a part of the Eastern Empire, 
but the Romans were finally expelled by the 
Saracens under Caliph Omar in .640 a. d. The 
last dynasty of the Saracens was overthrown by 
the Mamelukes in 1250, who held the supreme 
power more than two centuries, but they were 
subjugated by the Turks in 1517 under Selim 
I., the Ottoman Sultan. 

Napoleon I. conquered Egypt for France in 
1798, though his army was driven out by the 
British and the country returned to Turkish 
rule in 1801. Mohammed Ali became pasha in 
1805, after completely vanquishing the Mame¬ 
luke chiefs, and introduced the elements of 
European civilization. He was succeeded by 
Said Pasha, during whose reign the French en¬ 
gineer, M. de Lesseps, commenced the Suez 
Canal, which was opened in 1869. Within re¬ 


cent years both the French and the English 
have sought to enlarge their influence in Egypt. 
The latter under General Kitchener defeated the 
dervishes in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, 
while Fashoda was occupied by the French, 
on account of which complications arose between 
the two nations, but all differences were settled 
by arbitration on Jan. 9, 1899. The terms of 
the treaty place a portion of the Egyptian Su¬ 
dan district under the English and a portion 
under the French authority. In 1907 the coun¬ 
try had a financial crisis, but it was over¬ 
come the following year, and since then the 
industrial conditions have improved greatly. 

EGYPTOLOGY (e-jip-tol'o-jy), the study 
of Egyptian antiquities. The object of this 
branch of learning is to investigate the early 
life, language, customs, and achievements of 
the people of ancient Egypt. The study was 
induced largely by the discovery of the famous 
Rosetta stone by M- Boussard, a captain of 
Napoleon’s army, in 1799. This stone contains 
a proclamation written in hieroglyphics, and 
is the key by which many of the inscriptions 
on Egyptian monuments may be deciphered 
ultimately. In 1883 a society was formed to 
explore the ancient temples and tombs, its object 
being to make historical investigations for the 
purpose of endeavoring to ascertain the history 
of the sojourn and exodus of the Israelites. 
The society has been able to enrich many of 
the museums of Europe and America with 
valuable specimens, and several works have 
been published in which descriptions and maps 
are given of many important ruins and relics 
found in the valley of the Nile between As¬ 
suan and Cairo. 

EHRENBREITSTEIN (a-ren-brit'stin), a 
town and important fortress of Rhenish Prus¬ 
sia, Germany, situated opposite the confluence 
of the Moselle with the Rhine, and connected 
with Coblenz by a railroad viaduct and a pon¬ 
toon bridge. It is built on a precipitous rock 
387 feet above the river and is inaccessible from 
three sides. The fortifications were begun in 
the latter part of the 17th century, but were 
destroyed by the French. They were rebuilt 
in 1816-26 at a cost of $6,000,000. The fortress' 
has ample accommodation for 14,000 men and 
capacity for storing provisions sufficient to main¬ 
tain an army of 60,000 for a year. The town 
is unimportant and has a population of 6,500. 

EIDER DUCK (i'der), a species, of duck 
which is nearly twice the size of the common, 
duck. It inhabits the rocky shores and islands 
of America and Europe. The male is black 
and white spotted, while the female has reddish- 
drab colors mixed with black, and white bands 


EIGHT-HOUR DAY 


709 


EKATERINBURG 


on the wings. This species of aquatic birds 
subsists on insects, shellfish, small fish, and 
tender shoots of plants. The eggs are gathered 
by eggers for the market, while the down from 
the breast of the female is the well-known, 
eider down of commerce. This down is used by 
the female to line its nest and cover the eggs. 
It is useful for its superior warmth and elas- 



KING EIDER; 2, EIDER DUCK. 


ticity in making beds and coverlets. In the dis¬ 
tricts of Iceland and Norway, where these 
birds abound in great numbers, they are guarded 
as valuable property. The king eider is an 
allied species, resembles the eider duck, and in¬ 
habits the same regions. 

EIGHT-HOUR DAY, the term applied to 
what has been proposed as the ideal working 
day by trade and labor unions. It was first 
made an issue in Eilgland in 1833, and trade 
unions advocated it with more or less vigor in 
public meetings subsequent to that time. In 
1869 a congress of tradesmen held at Birm¬ 
ingham passed a resolution which demanded 
the adoption of the eight-hour day in Great 
Britain. The issue was taken up by the Na¬ 
tional Labor Union of the United States in 
1866, and it became . the theme of much dis¬ 
cussion in all sections of the country, especially 
after the strikes of 1872. It was put into effect 
by the national government at the navy yard in 
1869, and it is now the working day in all de¬ 
partments of the government. Nearly all the 
states have recognized it, either in part or all 


of the branches of work, and it is the common 
working day in all the mines and many other 
industrial enterprises. The socialists of Eu¬ 
rope have made it an issue and secured its adop¬ 
tion more or less completely in a number of 
countries, but it is more completely in force in 
Germany than in the other nations of Europe. 
New Zealand and Australia have made notable 
progress in legalizing the eight-hour day. The 
movement to adopt it has large elements of 
strength in Canada, where it has been in vogue 
in most of the mining and a number of other 
industries. 

EISENACH (i'sen-ak), a city of Saxe- 
Weimar, Germany, situated on the northwestern 
limit of the Thuringian Forest. It is cele¬ 
brated on account of the castle of Wartburg, 
which was built in 1067 on an elevation 600 feet 
above the site of the city. Luther occupied the 
castle as an asylum for ten months, in 1521-22, 
in accordance with the wishes of the elector of 
Saxony, remaining there for nearly a year after 
May, 1521. Visitors are still shown the chapel 
in which Luther preached, the chamber he oc¬ 
cupied, and the point struck by the inkstand 
thrown at the head of the Evil One. The city 
has well-paved streets, statues of Luther and 
Sebastian Bach, and a palace erected in 1742. 
Among the churches are^ those dedicated to 
Saint Nicholas and, Saint George. The manu¬ 
factures include woolen, cotton, and linen goods, 
carpets, machinery, leather, soap, and meer¬ 
schaum pipe bowls. It has electric street rail¬ 
ways, municipal waterworks, and stone and as¬ 
phalt paving. Population, 1905, 35,153. 

EISLEBEN (is'la-ben), a city of Prussian 
Saxony, Germany, about 25 miles northwest of 
Merseburg. It is celebrated as the place where 
Luther was born and where he died. The city 
contains numerous memorials of Luther, a fine 
bronze statue erected to his honor in 1883, and 
the house in which he was born, the latter hav¬ 
ing been consumed partly by fire, though it is 
still preserved with studious care. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include the Church of Saint 
Andrew, in 'which are many memorials of 
Luther and Melanchthon. Eisleben has rail¬ 
way and electric railway facilities and consid¬ 
erable trade. Copper is rained in the vicinity. 
It has belonged to Prussia since 1815. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 25,121. 

EKATERINBURG (ye-ka-tye-ren-boork'),’ 
a fortified city of Russia, in the province of 
Perm, 180 miles southeast of Perm. It is lo¬ 
cated on the Isset River, near the eastern slope 
of the Ural Mountains, and is surrounded by a 
productive mining region. The trade is chiefly 
in iron, cattle, tallow, and cereals. A branch 









EKATERINODAR 


710 


ELBA 


connects it with Cheliabinsk, on the Trans-Si¬ 
berian Railway, giving it good transportation 
facilities. It has a public museum of mineralogy, 
a government mint, a chemical laboratory, and 
a number of schools and churches. The public 
utilities include electric lights, waterworks, and 
electric railways. Peter the Great founded the 
city in 1722 and it was named after Cath¬ 
erine I., Empress of Russia. Population, 1906, 
62,503. 

EKATERINODAR (yg-ka-tye-re-na-dar'), 
a city of Russia, capital of the Kuban territory, 
950 miles south of Moscow. It is located on 
the Kuban River, about 100 miles from its 
mouth, and is surrounded by a low and swampy 
region. The streets are regularly platted, but 
are not well improved by draining and sew¬ 
erage. The chief buildings include a cathedral, 
a museum of natural history, and several gov¬ 
ernment buildings. It has a considerable trade 
in cattle and cereals and is the seat of annual 
fairs. Cossacks founded the city in 1794 and 
named it in honor of Catherine II. Population, 
1906, 68,704. 

ELAM (e'lam), an ancient country of Asia, 
known by the Greeks as Susiana and Cissia. It 
comprised the great plain east of the lower 
Tigris and included the Zagros and Pushti 
mountains. The country formed a part of the 
ancient Persian Empire. Susa or Shushan was 
its chief city. It appears from the cuneiform 
inscriptions that Babylon and Assyria were con¬ 
quered by a king of Elam about 230 b. c ., but 
the Babylonians subsequently captured Susa. 
In 694 the Elamites overran Assyria and humil¬ 
iated Sennacherib, and many of the Assyrians 
were carried away in captivity. Elam was con¬ 
quered and Susa was razed to the ground in 
642 b. c., when many of their valuable books 
and images were carried away to Nineveh. 

ELAND (e'land), a species of antelope 
found in South Africa. Livingstone speaks of 
it as the most magnificent of all antelopes. It 
more nearly resembles cattle than other species 
of antelopes, having a broader muzzle, heavier 
limbs, and a greater bulkiness o4 form than 
the common antelope. The height at the shoul¬ 
ders is about five feet and the weight is from 
700 to 900 pounds. The horns are two feet 
long, extending backward and outward, and the 
face has a gentle and ovine expression. Large 
herds formerly frequented the fertile hills and 
low plains, but European settlements have 
diminished very materially their numbers. They 
are hunted for their flesh and hide, both being 
highly* esteemed in the market. 

ELASTICITY (e-las-tic'i-ty), that property 
of matter by which it resists change of shape, 


and returns to its original form when the dis¬ 
torting force is withdrawn. If a body com¬ 
pletely recovers its original volume the instant 
the stress is removed, its elasticity is perfect. 
Air and all gases as well as water and all 
liquids are perfectly' elastic. Solids do not act 
this way, and their elasticity of shape is not 
perfect. For example, glass might be ex¬ 
pected to be perfect, but experience proves that 
it is not, showing a notable degree of imperfec¬ 
tion in the torsional elasticity of glass fibers. 
On the contrary, in copper, brass, soft iron, 
steel, and platinum, providing the distortion does 
not exceed a certain limit, the elasticity of shape 
is much more perfect than in glass. If the 
strain is too great, the body either breaks or 
receives a permanent bend. The elasticity of 
water was proved by John Canton (1718-1772) 
in 1762. Elasticity in gases is measured usually 
by the height of a column of mercury they sus¬ 



ELAND. 


tain. The term compressibility is used frequent¬ 
ly in connection with elasticity of volume, and 
rigidity is employed in reference to the change 
of shape. 

ELBA (el'ba), an island belonging to Italy, 
situated in the Mediterranean, six miles from 
the mainland, and separated from it by the 
Strait of Piombino. It is eighteen miles long 
and varies from three to eleven miles in 
breadth. It'is traversed by a mountain range, 
the highest elevation being 3,500 feet above 
the sea level. The coast is rugged and precip¬ 
itous, the moifntains are bare, and the valleys 
and lowlands produce fruit, wheat, Indian corn, 
vegetables, and watermelons. Domestic ani¬ 
mals common to the continent abound. Iron of 
an excellent quality, associated with granite and 
marble, forms a mountain two miles in circum¬ 
ference and 500 feet high. The island is fa¬ 
mous in history for having been Napoleon’s 


ELBE 


711 


EL DORADO 


place of exile from May 4, 1814, till Feb. 26, 
1815. Porto Ferrajo is the capital. Population, 
1906, 24,515. 

ELBE (el'be), an important river of Europe, 
rises in the Riesengebirge of northern Bohemia, 
near the frontier of Prussian Silesia. It is 
navigable for seagoing vessels from its mouth to 
Hamburg, about 85 miles, and for smaller ves¬ 
sels a distance of 525 miles. The total length 
is 725 miles. An extensive system of canals 
connects it with numerous points of commer¬ 
cial interest. Among its principal tributaries 
are the Havel, Mulde, Moldau, Saale, and Eger. 
The general course through Germany is north¬ 
west and the mouth is at Cuxhaven, where its 
waters flow into the North Sea. Its extensive 
estuary is obstructed by numerous shoals and 
islands. It ranks as an important waterway 
and is rich in valuable fish. Since July 1, 1870, 
the navigation has been free to commerce from 
Melnik, Bohemia, to Hamburg. 

ELBERFELD (el-ber-felt'), a city in Rhen¬ 
ish Prussia, Germany, about fifteen miles east 
of Diisseldorf, on the Wupper, a small tribu¬ 
tary of the Rhine. It ranks as one of the 
leading commercial centers of the empire, owing 
to its extensive trade and manufactures, and 
has communication by electric and steam rail¬ 
way lines. Among the noteworthy buildings 
are the courthouse, the city hall, the public li¬ 
brary, and the normal school. It has a fine 
public park and many monuments dedicated to 
prominent men. The manufactures include 
clothing, machinery, paper, ironware, and cotton, 
woolen, and silk goods. Large exportations of 
ribbons, tape, buttons, laces, carpets, and musical 
instruments are made. Among its numerous 
dyeworks are the celebrated Turkey red, which 
has given the city a reputation in the markets of 
the world. The city is a center of much wealth 
and has many modern improvements. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 162,853. 

ELBING (el'bing), a seaport city of West 
Prussia, Germany, on the Elbing River, near 
its confluence with the Frisches Haff. It is con¬ 
nected with the Nogat by a canal, has good 
railroad facilities, and is the focus of several 
interurban railways. Among its noted buildings 
are the city hall, the gymnasium, and the public 
library of 35,000 volumes. The manufactures 
consist chiefly of cotton, linen, and woolen 
goods, soap, leather, clothing, beverages, and 
machinery. It is the seat of the Schichau ship¬ 
building works. Elbing dates from the 13th 
century and was long an important member of 
the Hanseatic League. It has belonged to Prus¬ 
sia since 1772. Population, 1905, 55,627. 

ELBURZ (el'boorz), a mountain range of 


northern Persia, trending parallel to the south¬ 
ern coast of the Caspian Sea. The average 
height of the peaks is from 5,000 to 8,000 feet, 
while the culminating peak, Mount Demavend, 
is 18,600 feet. Mount Demavend is a famous 
volcano. A short distance southwest of it is 
Teheran, the capital of Persia. 

EL CANEY (el ka'na-e), Battle of, an en¬ 
gagement of the Spanish-American War, which 
occurred on July 1, 1898. The Spaniards had a 
force of 520 men at the town of El Caney, about 
four miles from Santiago de Cuba, and were 
commanded by Gen. Vara del Rey. General 
Lawton with 4,500 Americans made the attack 
and met with desperate resistance, but the 
Spaniards were defeated. The Americans lost 
423 men and the Spaniards lost about 400, in¬ 
cluding 100 prisoners. 

ELDER (el'der), a large shrub or tree found 
in both hemispheres, including several species. 
Most species have pinnate leaves and a small 
creamy-white flower, which clusters in terminal 
cymes, usually appearing in June. The berries 
are nearly black and are used to make a kind 
of wine. They are considered wholesome food, 
especially in the form of pies and jellies. The 
wood of the tree is yellowish, takes a fine polish, 
and is used in making mathematical instruments. 
Young shoots of the elder have a very large 
pith, which, when pushed out with a rod, leaves 
a hollow cylinder and in this form are used by 
boys in making popguns. The pith, being very 
light, is employed for various electrical experi¬ 
ments. 

EL DORADO (el do-ra'do), meaning the 
golden or gilded land, a term used by the Span¬ 
ish conquerors of America to describe a coun¬ 
try which they imagined to exist. Their vivid 
imaginations were stimulated largely by the suc¬ 
cesses in Mexico and stories told them by na¬ 
tives. Among the incidents of interest is the 
one connected with the vain attempt of Ponce 
de Leon to find a spring in the new world that 
would confer perpetual youth upon all who par¬ 
took of its waters. Another is the story of 
fabulous riches reported by Orellana, a Spanish 
officer of Pizarro, after sailing down the Ama¬ 
zon in 1540. These stories inspired many Span¬ 
iards to enter upon voyages, and thereby stimu¬ 
lated the discoveries and settlements of many 
regions. Sir Walter Raleigh imitated the Span¬ 
iards by twice visiting Guiana in search of fab¬ 
ulous riches. El Dorado is the poetic name ap¬ 
plied to a country which Orellana pretended he 
had discovered between the Orinoco and Ama¬ 
zon rivers. To this region he attached accounts 
of immense quantities of precious metals that 
he claimed to have discovered, and vividly de- 


ELDORADO 


712 


ELECTIVE COURSES 


scribed a city called Manoa, which he repre¬ 
sented as the capital of that country. 

ELDORADO, a city of Kansas, county seat 
of Butler County, 135 miles southwest of To¬ 
peka, on the Santa Fe and the Missouri Pacific 
railroads. It is situated on the Walnut River 
and is surrounded by a fertile farming and 
dairying country. The industries include flour 
mills, carriage works, limestone quarries, and 
machine shops. It has electric lights, a number 
of fine schools, and several county buildings. 
The first settlement on its site was made in 
1858 and it was incorporated in 1870. Popula¬ 
tion, 1904, 3,665. 

ELECAMPANE (el-e-kam-pan'), a plant 
closely allied to the aster, native to Europe, and 
naturalized in various parts of North America. 
It attains a height of three or four feet, has 
root leaves about two feet long, and bears large 
yellow flowers. The root has an agreeable aro¬ 
matic odor when dried, somewhat like that of 
camphor, and is used in medicine as a tonic and 
stimulant, especially in chronic diseases of the 
lungs. Several species are cultivated in gar¬ 
dens for their orange-colored flowers. 

ELECTION (e-lek'shun), the act or pro¬ 
ceeding of selecting a person or persons for 
office, especially if done at a meeting in which 
the voting is by ballot. In the United States, 
Congress has power to fix the time for electing 
all Federal officers, except the President and 
Vice President. These two officers are chosen 
under a direct provision of the Constitution, by 
virtue of which the different states appoint elec¬ 
tors under laws enacted by the legislatures of 
the several states. All general elections are 
governed by the laws of the states and electors 
are admitted to vote by State authority, subject 
to certain constitutional restrictions. In most 
of the states the right of suffrage is extended 
to any male citizen of the age' of 21 years 
who has been a resident of the. State, county, 
and election precinct for the period required by 
law, except those under sentence of imprison¬ 
ment in the penitentiary and idiots. In certain 
states paupers are excluded. The right of suf¬ 
frage has been extended in some states to wom¬ 
en in school elections and elections to create 
bonded indebtedness, while in several the full 
right of suffrage has been accorded to them. 
Registration laws requiring voters to register 
their names and addresses a limited time before 
election day are in force in many states, but in 
some they apply only to the elections held in 
cities of a limited class. 

The right to vote comes from the State, the 
power to abridge or extend voting privileges 
being vested in the Legislature. Naturalization 


as a citizen of the United States can take place 
only under Federal law. The right to vote at 
all elections has been extended to aliens who 
have declared their intention to become citizens 
in nearly half of the states, and they thus enjoy 
equal voting privileges with citizens of the na¬ 
tion. However,' citizens of the United States 
are the only individuals who may vote in some 
of the states. The Federal naturalization laws 
provide that an alien may be naturalized only 
after five years’ residence; this applies alike to 
all the nation. A limited educational qualifica¬ 
tion, such as ability to read and write, is re¬ 
quired in a number of states, while a property 
qualification is provided for only in Rhode 
Island. The 15th amendment to the Constitu¬ 
tion, adopted March 30, 1870, extends full suf¬ 
frage to Negroes. The Australian ballot sys¬ 
tem, a favorite system of voting, has been 
adopted in a more or less modified form in most 
of the states. 

In Canada the constitution provides that the 
government shall be similar in principle to that 
of the United Kingdom. The members of the 
House of Commons, who are the highest officers 
chosen directly by the people, are elected for 
five years, unless that body is sooner dissolved. 
They are dependent for their election upon the 
constituencies in the provinces, by which the 
franchises are controlled. The voting is by bal¬ 
lot, but the qualifications, for voting at the elec¬ 
tions vary in the several provinces. 

ELECTIVE COURSES (Mek'tiv), the 
term applied in American schools and colleges 
to the courses of study that may be chosen by 
undergraduate students.. Formerly all students' 
were required to pursue certain courses of study, 
but this plan has been supplanted in most of the 
institutions of higher learning. At present only 
a few institutions adhere absolutely to a re¬ 
quired curriculum, and students are accorded 
the privilege of directing their studies along 
special lines or in accord with their inclination. 
However, the courses are divided into groups so 
each student must select certain studies from 
each group under the advice of members of the 
faculty. This arrangement avoids the danger of 
students selecting work that may be classed as 
one-sided, or regarded as unsuitable for the 
symmetrical development of the mental faculties. 
Harvard University, one of the older institu¬ 
tions, was a leader in the movement toward 
establishing elective studies and elective courses. 
At present nearly all of the State universities 
are conducted on this plan, while most of the 
institutions where it has not been fully adopted 
are giving at least some choice to students in 
the selection .of particular studies. 


ELECTOR 


713 


ELECTRIC FISH 


ELECTOR (e-lek'ter), or Prince Elector, 
the title of those princes who had the privilege 
of electing the Emperor of Germany. This title 
was established in 1256, when there were seven 
electors, those of Saxony, Cologne, Bohemia, 
Mentz, Treves, Brandenburg, and the Palatine. 
Later the electoral dignity was transferred from 
Palatine to Bavaria, but it was restored to the 
former in 1648, hence there were eight electors. 
In 1692 the number was increased to ten, but 
the office became obsolete on the dissolution of 
the Holy Roman Empire, in 1806. The term 
elector is applied to each of the persons chosen 
to elect the President of the United States. See 
Electoral College. 

ELECTORAL COLLEGE (e-lek'ter-al), 
the body of men chosen by the people of the 
several states to elect the President and Vice 
President. The college is constituted of the 
entire body of electors chosen by the different 
states. Each State is entitled to select a num¬ 
ber of electors equal to the whole number of 
members sent to both houses of Congress. Any 
person holding the office of Senator, Represen¬ 
tative, or other position of trust or profit under 
the United States cannot serve as an elector. 
The first Tuesday after the first Monday in 
November is the day fixed by law of Congress 
for choosing electors. The electors of each 
State meet in the respective State capitals on 
the second Monday in January next after they 
are chosen for the purpose of casting their bal¬ 
lots for President and Vice President. 

No discussion of the merits of the candidates 
takes place, the electors voting for the particular 
persons previously placed in nomination by con¬ 
ventions called for that purpose. This is a per¬ 
version of the intention of the authors of the 
Constitution, since they were originally intended 
to cast their votes according to their own judg¬ 
ment. In casting the ballots, electors are re¬ 
quired to vote for candidates, one of whom, at 
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
State with themselves. Lists of- persons voted 
for at each capital are made, signed, and certi¬ 
fied by the electors and transmitted to the seat 
of government of the United States, each list 
being directed to the President of the Senate. 
By law of Congress three certificates of all the 
votes given are carefully prepared, of which one 
is delivered in person to the president of the 
Senate at the seat of government, a second is 
sent to him by mail, and a third is delivered to 
the judge of the district court in the district in 
which the electors assemble. 

At a joint meeting of both houses of Congress 
held on the second Wednesday of February fol¬ 
lowing the reception of the certificates, the re¬ 


ports are opened by the president of the Sen¬ 
ate and canvassed in the presence of both 
houses. The persons having the greatest num¬ 
ber of votes for President and Vice President 
are declared elected, but, if no candidate has a 
majority, the members of the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives choose the President by ballot from 
the three who received the greatest number of 
votes in the electoral college, each State being 
entitled to one vote, while the Senate chooses 
the Vice President in a similar manner. John 
Q. Adams was elected President by the House 
of Representatives in 1828, and R. M. Johnson 
was chosen Vice President by the Senate in 1837. 

ELECTORAL COMMISSION, a commis¬ 
sion appointed by an act of Congress, Jan. 29, 
1877, to investigate certain alleged frauds re¬ 
garding the electoral votes of Oregon, Florida, 
Louisiana, and South Carolina in the presiden¬ 
tial election of 1876. The appointment of a 
commission in relation to the election has been 
deemed unconstitutional by a number of able 
jurists. Tilden and Hayes were the respective 
Democratic and Republican candidates for Pres¬ 
ident. The commission consisted of five repre¬ 
sentatives, five senators, and five associate 
judges of the Supreme Court. It was consti¬ 
tuted of the following: George F. Edmunds, 
Oliver P. Morton, Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, 
Thomas F. Bayard, Allen G. Thurman, Henry 
B. Payne, Eppa Hunton, Josiah G. Abbott, James 
A. Garfield, George F. Hoar, Nathan Clifford, 
William Strong, Samuel F. Miller, Stephen J. 
Field, and Joseph P. Bradley. Much political 
spirit was shown in the sessions of the commis¬ 
sion. On February 27 the Presidency was given 
to Hayes by a strict party vote of eight to sev¬ 
en, and on March 2, 1877, the commission ad¬ 
journed. The House voted to reject, the Senate 
to accept the findings of the commission, but 
on a concurrent session of both houses it was 
finally ’approved. 

ELECTRIC BATTERY. See Galvanic 
Battery. 

ELECTRIC CLOCK. See Clock. 

ELECTRIC FISH (e-lek'trik), the popular 
name of a fish that.has the power of giving sen¬ 
sible shocks of electricity when touched with the 
hand. About fifty species of marine animals 
have this power. A fresh-water eel of South 
America is the most powerful of these animals 
in this respect. The body is from five to eight 
feet long, blackish in color, and about the same 
thickness throughout. Little is known in regard 
to its generation of electricity, but it is certain 
that this force is-used in killing fish for food. 
The electric organs are intimately connected 
with the nervous system. The torpedo, a mem- 


ELECTRIC GENERATOR 


714 


ELECTRICITY 


ber of the ray family, is an electric fish found 
off the Atlantic coast of North America. A 
catfish common to the Nile, known as the raash, 
is about four feet long, and gives an electric 
shock about equal to that of a Leyden jar. 
ELECTRIC GENERATOR. See Dynamo. 
ELECTRIC HEATING, a system of arti¬ 
ficial heating by converting electricity into heat. 
The essential principle of an electric heater is 
that the temperature of a conductor which offers 
great resistance is raised by passing through it 
a current of electricity. Such a heater is made 
by constructing coils or circuits of some refrac¬ 
tory metal, which are surrounded by air or some 
insulating material, and the heat is thrown off 
by means of a metallic box or radiator. When 
a current is passed through such a device, it 
heats the coils by meeting resistance, and the 
heat is carried off by the radiator. Another 
system is to pass the current through broad 
strips or plates of metal, which are covered by 
an enamel, the latter serving to carry off the 
heat generated, while the current passes through 
the metal. 

By electric heating it is possible to obtain an 
efficiency of 80 to 87 per cent. It is used ex¬ 
tensively in obtaining heat for housekeeping 
purposes, such as boiling and baking. An ordi¬ 
nary cooking stove in which solid fuel is used' 
yields but two per cent, of the heat generated, 
since 12 per cent, is lost in obtaining the fire, 
16 per cent, radiates into the room, and 70 per 
cent, passes out through the chimney. Electric 
heating is used extensively in bath rooms, street 
railway cars, and in many waiting rooms. It is 
employed largely in welding iron and steel, and 
many other metals which require a high temper¬ 
ature to unite firmly, having the advantage that 
no flux is required and that the surfaces do not 
oxidize. 

ELECTRICITY (e-lek-tris'i-ty), the science 
which treats of an invisible agent producing 
various manifestations of energy, which is gen¬ 
erally rendered active by some molecular dis¬ 
turbance, such as rupture, friction, or chemical 
action. The name was derived from the Greek 
word elektron, meaning amber, from the cir¬ 
cumstance that the Greeks were acquainted with 
the fact that amber, when rubbed, attracts light 
particles, such as leaves, straw, or small pieces 
of wood. 

Definitions. The general science of elec¬ 
tricity embraces a consideration of statical and 
dynamical electricity, or electric force in a state 
of rest and electric force in motion. The for¬ 
mer is often termed frictional electricity, since 
it is usually produced by friction, but also re¬ 
sults from greatly increasing the intensity of 


dynamical electricity. The latter is developed 
by magnetism, heat, chemical action, and other 
forms of energy, and exhibits its power in the 
form of currents. Electricity resulting from 
chemical action on metals is termed voltaic, or 
galvanic, electricity. The phenomenon of stat¬ 
ical or frictional electricity on a simple scale 
may be observed by rubbing a piece of glass 
with dry silk, and then placing the glass near 
small pieces of paper or pith, which will at 
once be attracted to it. Similar experiments 
may be made with amber, rosin, gum shellac, and 
sealing wax. 

Formerly all substances that can be electrified 
easily were called electrics and all others were 
termed nonelectrics. When the subject of con¬ 
duction of electricity came to be investigated, it 
was found that the substances formerly termed 
electrics are nonconductors, and the nonelec¬ 
trics are conductors of electricity. Since all 
bodies can be electrified under proper circum¬ 
stances, the terms electrics and nonelectrics were 
abandoned as incorrect, and the terms conduc¬ 
tors and nonconductors were adopted, this 
classification depending on the ability to conduct 
electric currents, though there are no perfect 
nonconductors, with the possible exception of 
dry gases. The term insulator is applied to a 
substance that has small conductive power, and 
the word resistance is used to express the oppo¬ 
sition which the conducting substances forming 
the circuit offer to the passage of electricity. A 
good conductor is said to have low resistance, 
and a good insulator to have high resistance. 
The following is a partial list of substances hav¬ 
ing low and high resistance, with the best con¬ 
ductors and the best nonconductors named first; 


Conductors. 

Nonconductors. 

All metals. 

Shellac. 

Charcoal. 

Amber. 

Plumbago. 

Resins. 

Concentrated acids. 

Sulphur. 

Dilute acids. 

Wax. 

Saline solutions. 

Jet. 

Spring water. 

Glass. . 

Rain water. 

Mica. 

Snow. 

Diamond. 

Vegetables. 

Ebonite. 


Electricity is produced for general purposes 
by a conductor being rubbed on a nonconductor, 
as in an ordinary electrical machine having ap¬ 
pliances to cause glass to rub against an amal¬ 
gam. Two opposite kinds of electricity are 
manifested by substances electrified, known as 
positive and negative, the positive accumulating 
in one of the substances and the negative in 
the other. The presence of the same kind of 
electricity in different bodies causes them to 
repel each other, while those being charged with 









ELECTRICITY 


715 


ELECTRICITY 


opposite kinds attract each other. It was long 
thought that electricity is a fluid, but scientists 
now regard it a condition of strain among the 
molecules of a body, a form of molecular mo¬ 
tion, capable of being communicated like a 
fluid. However, nothing is known of its nature, 
and we are able only to understand the laws in 
accordance with which its phenomena are mani¬ 
fested. When a body is excited electrically, it 
is said to be charged. If the charge of two 
bodies is equal and opposite, it is neutralized by 
putting them in contact. When a body is 
charged positively, it is said to be at high po¬ 
tential ; if charged negatively, at low potential, 
and when discharged, at zero potential. 

The Electroscope. The electroscope is an 
instrument used to indicate the presence of elec¬ 
tricity, and to identify electrical charges as 
positive or negative. A simple electroscope con¬ 
sists of a pith ball hung by a fine silk fiber from 
a glass support. It detects the charge by moving 
toward or away from the charged body, as in 
D and E. To illustrate: If the ball be charged 
from ebonite, it is negative. Now bring the ball 
near to a body whose charge is unknown. If 
it be attracted as in E, the charge is negative; 
but, if it be repelled as in D, the charge is posi¬ 
tive. 

Electrification. Electrical induction is the 
induced electrification of a body when brought 
near to an electrified body. The electrification is 
always of opposite kind to that of the inducing 
body on the side nearest the latter, and of the 
same kind on the farthest side. This may be 
illustrated by bringing an insulated conductor, 




SIMPLE ELECTROSCOPE. 

as the cylinder AB shown in the figure, near a 
positively charged ball, C, fixed on a glass sup¬ 
port, when the cylinder will acquire a negative 
charge at the end nearest the ball, and a* posi¬ 
tive charge at the opposite end. The pith balls 
attached to the cylinder will show by their 
movement that the ends of the cylinder are ex¬ 
cited most highly electrically, while the parts 


near the middle-are practically neutral. All the 
electric charge on an insulated conductor lies 
on the outside of the conductor. However, this 
is true only of an electric charge. When the 
electricity is in steady motion, as an electric cur¬ 
rent, the current passes through the whole sub¬ 
stance of a conductor. 

When electrification passes from a higher to 
a lower potential, along a conductor, it is called 



ELECTROSTATIC INDUCTION. 


an electric current. This occurs when any 
other form of energy is converted into elec¬ 
tric energy, and two bodies, charged to different 
potentials, are joined together by wire. In 
such a case there is a sudden and complete 
change to equal potentials by a momentary 
current through the wire, and a continuous cur¬ 
rent may be maintained by applying the electrifi¬ 
cation to the two bodies as fast as it is trans- 
. ferred; or, in other words, there must be a con¬ 
stant difference in potentials. In a voltaic bat¬ 
tery the difference of potential is maintained 
by an expenditure of chemical energy; in a 
thermo battery, by an outlay of heat' energy; 
and in a dynamo, at the expense of mechanical 
energy. The force produced by changing any 
other form of energy to electric energy is called 
electromotive force, and the means producing it 
is termed the electric source. 

While light has a velocity of 186,000 miles 
per second, electricity has an estimated velocity 
of 230,000 miles per second. However, its ve¬ 
locity is not definite, since it depends largely 
upon the source and the condition of the con¬ 
ductor. Practical experience has demonstrated 
that its velocity is greater along lines suspended 
on poles in the air than those laid in subter¬ 
ranean passages. Since the former method 
combines speed with economy in construction, 
it is commonly employed, except in cities, where 
a multiplication of wires is objectionable. 

Electrical Quantities. George Simon Ohm, 
a German physicist, was the discoverer of the 
law in accordance with which electricity flows, 
or passes, through a circuit, which is commonly 
known as Ohm’s Law. This law, briefly stated, 















ELECTRICITY 


716 


ELECTRICITY 


implies that the current passing through any 
circuit is directly proportional to the electro¬ 
motive force acting on the circuit, and inversely 
proportional to the resistance of the circuit. 
In computing electrical quantities certain units 
are employed, which are called the volt, ohm, 
and ampere. The volt is the unit of electro¬ 
motive force, and was so named from Alessan¬ 
dro Volta (1745-1827), an Italian physicist. It 
is about equal to the blue-stone cell. The ohm, 
named from Dr. Ohm, is the unit of electric re¬ 
sistance, and is approximately equal to the 
resistance offered by two miles of ordinary cop¬ 
per trolley wire. The ampere is the unit of elec¬ 
tric current. It was so named from Andre 
Marie Ampere, and is equal to such a rate of 
current as will pass through a circuit whose 
resistance is one ohm, under an electromotive 
force of one volt. 

Uses of Electricity. The discovery of elec¬ 
tric phenomena and the invention of instru¬ 
ments and machinery to practically apply elec¬ 
tric forces in the arts, sciences, and industries 
have caused a remarkable revolution in all lines 
of economic enterprise. Having a prolific heat¬ 
ing effect, electricity has entered as a heating 
agency into homes, offices, and railway cars. It 
is utilized to a large extent in electric welding. 
For lighting it possesses greater utility than 
any other form of energy, and its power to pro¬ 
pel and move machinery exceeds the dreams of 
ancient philosophers. The electric spark serves 
in overcoming the danger formerly experienced 
in firing explosives, while it speeds symbols 
and words to all parts of the world, through the 
medium 'of the telephone and the telegraph, 
with the rapidity of lightning. The X-ray 
(q. v.) has added much of value to physical 
-research and the practice of medicine. Among 
the latest electrical developments is a process 
for sending portraits and drawings by means of 
an electric current over a copper wire. This 
.invention, called the electrograph, promises to 
be of vast value to newspaper publishers and in 
the detective service. 

Past experience has demonstrated that water 
power is the most economical agent to generate 
electric currents, though coal, coke, gas, and 
mineral oil are in extensive use to produce 
steam for propelling electrical machinery. In 
many regions, as, for instance, at Niagara Falls, 
vast machinery is propelled by water power, 
and the electricity is conveyed by wire to fac¬ 
tories at long distances. It is noteworthy that 
storage batteries at the places of consumption 
have proven highly profitable in manufacturing 
centers. While the use of electricity has greatly 
revolutionized many lines of industry and no¬ 


ticeably modified the arts, it is not improbable 
that the greatest discoveries and the most use¬ 
ful applications of this force are yet to be 
made. Certainly, it offers a vast field for study 
and experiments. 

Historical. As early as the 6th century b. c. 
the Greek philosopher Thales, one of the seven 
wise men, wrote of the attractive force of am¬ 
ber when rubbed with silk, and expressed the 
view that amber possesses a soul. Aside from 
this phenomenon, nothing was known of elec¬ 
tricity until the 16th century, wheq, William 
Gilbert (1540-1603), physician to Queen Eliza¬ 
beth, made some valuable experiments and pub¬ 
lished a work entitled “On the Magnet.” Otto 
von Guericke, a German physician, the inventor 
of the air pump (q. v.), invented the first elec¬ 
trical machine about 1675. In this machine a 
ball of sulphur, so arranged that it turned on 
an axis, was electrified by friction with the 
hand, receiving negative electricity, while the 
positive flowed through the person to the earth. 
The Dutch writer Musschenbroek invented the 
Leyden jar and first exhibited it at Leyden, 
Holland. This ' invention made it possible to 
gather a greater quantity of electricity than 
ever had been produced before his time. He 
was not only able to discharge gunpowder by 
means of the current, but adapted a metallic 
conductor in transmitting electricity, and suc¬ 
cessfully demonstrated that the discharge along 
two miles of wire was practically instantaneous. 

Benjamin Franklin in 1752 proved the identity 
of lightning and frictional electricity by means 
of a kite, which he elevated during a thunder¬ 
storm, tying a key at the end of a hemp string, 
and insulating the whole by fastening it to a 
post by a long piece of silk lace. Later he 
charged a Leyden jar and in both experiments 
obtained sparks. However, the former experi¬ 
ment was very dangerous, and a similar test 
later resulted in several experimenters being 
struck lifeless by electric currents. Friction 
was the only artificial source of electricity em¬ 
ployed until Luigi Galvani in 1790 accidentally 
brought the limbs of a frog in contact with two 
metals. He noticed that when they came in 
contact with the metal a convulsion occurred as 
if they were in pain, and concluded that the 
effect was produced by what he termed animal 
electricity. It was his view that this electricity 
was “different from that caused by friction, and 
that he had discovered the agent by which the 
will controls the muscles. Alessandra Volta 
(q. v.) rejected the idea of animal electricity, 
and developed the discovery of Galvani until he 
produced the galvanic or voltaic battery. 

Hans Christian Oersted (1777-18^1), of Co- 


ELECTRICITY 


717 


ELECTRIC LIGHT 


penhagen, Denmark, made discoveries in 1820 by 
which electricity and magnetism began to be 
studied as allied branches, instead of distinct 
studies. Andre Marie Ampere (q. v.), a French 
physicist, discovered that two parallel wires con¬ 
veying an electric current in the same direction 
attract each other, but repel each other when 
in opposite directions. With this discovery the 
whole subject of electro-magnetism became gen¬ 
eralized, and scientists turned their attention 
to the invention of the electric telegraph and 
hundreds of other modern devices. Among the 
inventors who made discoveries of vast value 
in the field of electricity are S. F. B. Morse, 
Thomas A. Edison, George Simon Ohm, A. G. 
Bell, Nikola Tesla, Michael Faraday, W. C. 
Roentgen, William Marconi, and Ernst Werner 
Siemens, all of whom are treated in special arti¬ 
cles. See Dynamo; Electrolysis; Galvanism; 
X-Rays. 

ELECTRICITY, Medical Use of, the em¬ 
ployment of electricity in the treatment of dis¬ 
eases. In medical practice three forms are in 
general use; that is, the galvanic, static, and 
faradic. Galvanic electricity is obtained from a 
galvanic battery (q. v.), and is used extensively 
in treating many diseases of the nervous sys¬ 
tem. It produces a contraction of the muscle 
upon which it acts, and its application is ac¬ 
companied by a sensation of heat and a buzzing 
sound. Static electricity is produced by a ma¬ 
chine in which glass plates are revolved rapidly 
against chamois rubbers, and is seen in a suc¬ 
cession of sparks that pass into the body of the 
patient, who is seated on a chair in which the 
feet are of glass. It has a great electro-motive 
force and is employed in medicine as a treat¬ 
ment of functional weakness, since it encour¬ 
ages respiration, secretion, circulation, and nu¬ 
trition. Faradic electricity is obtained from a 
faradic battery, invented by Faraday (q. v.) in 
1845, in which the current is made and broken 
with extreme, frequency and rapidity. The cur¬ 
rent is applied by means of electrodes to the 
human body. It is used in treating paralysis of 
the musclcS,' hysteria, gout, and rheumatism. 
Another form of electrical machines is used in 
cauterizing and removing diseased or foreign 
tissues. Surgeons employ for this purpose an 
instrument in which the electrodes are joined by 
fine wire, the current raising th$ latter to a white 
heat. See X-Rays. 

ELECTRIC LIGHT, the light obtained by 
conducting a current of electricity through a 
resisting medium, as a gas or a carbon wire. 
Many, devices are employed for utilizing the 
luminous effects of electricity for lighting and 
in electrolysis. The chief systems for lighting 


may be grouped as the arc and incandescent, 
both of which are in common use. In each of 
these a conductor conveys the current from a 
battery or dynamo D, and a brilliant light is 
obtained at any point where the current is bro 1 
ken. The so-calied arc light is produced by 
connecting the two ends of the wire with two 
pointed sticks or pencils of carbon, and, when 
.the carbon pencils are separated about one-tenth 
of an inch, the current passing from the posi¬ 
tive to the negative pole, a light rivaling sun¬ 
light in whiteness' results. The brilliant arc of 
light, called the voltaic arc, continues as long 
as the pencils are adjusted the proper distance 
from each other, which is provided for by a 
self-feeding mechanical contrivance. An intense 
heat is generated in an arc light, which is suffi- 




Fig. 1, arc lights; Fig. 2, incandescent lights. 


cient to fuse quartz and magnesium and melt 
platinum. Both carbons decrease in size, though 
the positive decreases more rapidly than the neg¬ 
ative, and the latter remains pointed. The in¬ 
tense heat tends to volatilize the carbon, causing 
small particles of the positive carbon to be car¬ 
ried in the form of an arc or bow and to be¬ 
come condensed in the form of graphite. Arc 
lights give a light too brilliant for small rooms, 
but are favored greatly for large buildings and 
for street lights. The dynamo must yield a 
current of constant strength, but of varying po¬ 
tential, according to the number of lamps. In 
some systems of lighting as many as fifty or 
even seventy-five lamps are lighted by one ma¬ 
chine, each lamp ranging in intensity from 500 
to 2,000 candle power. 

The incandescent lamp is obtained by ren¬ 
dering incandescent a thread or filament of car- 



























ELECTRIC LIGHT 


718 


ELECTRIC MACHINE 


bon by passing through it a current of elec¬ 
tricity. While there are various modes of ob-* 
taining the carbon filament, the common way is 
to press a carbonaceous paste in a die plate, and 
then finish by carbonizing. In the Edison in- 



ELECTRIC LIGHT. 


A, carbon pencils; B, arc lamp; C, incandescent lamp. 

candescent lamp a filament of bamboo, little 
thicker than a horsehair, is carbonized in the 
form of a loop. The ends of the filament are 
fixed to two insulated platinum wires, and, as 
the carbon readily burns in the air, practically 
all the air in the glass chamber must be ex¬ 
hausted. The lamp is then screwed into a socket, 
where the wires within the glass chamber are 
brought in contact with two insulated brass 
plates, in which the wire of the circuit termi¬ 
nates. Usually a large number of incandescent 
lamps are connected with the same wire, and 
all take current from one of the line wires, re¬ 
turning it to the other wire of the circuit as 
shown in the illustration. However, all the 
lamps in a given system require the same cur¬ 
rent as every other. A turn-off enables one to 
close or open the circuit, thus lighting or ex¬ 
tinguishing any one or all the lamps. A sixteen 
candle power incandescent lamp requires a cur¬ 
rent of about a half an ampere at 110 volts, or 
55 watts. 

Improvements of vast value in electric lighting 
were made in 1907, when the flaming arc lamp 
came into use. In this lamp the carbon is im¬ 
pregnated or cured with metallic salts, whose 
luminous vapors give increased light. Other 
newer forms include the helion, the tungsten, 
and the metallized carbon lamps, but, while 
they have a greater candle power efficiency. 


they are more costly and more fragile than the 
ordinary carbon lamp. Other improvements 
include those made in the mercury vapor 
lamp, which has been made highly serviceable 
in photography and other arts in which a bril¬ 
liant white light is essential. Glass has been- 
displaced to some extent in making the tube, 
from which the air is exhausted, and an intense 
light results when an electric current is passed 
from one electrode to the other through the 
vapor of mercury. 

The electric currents ordinarily employed 
produce no marked mechanical effect, as those 
from a battery of Leyden jars, or a flash of 
lightning (q. v.), in which the results are de¬ 
structive, especially if the path is formed of 
poor conducting material. Electric light, like 
solar light, acts chemically on chloride of silver 
in the photographic process. It is an important 
means of chemical analysis. When a current 
of electricity passes between two terminals or 
electrodes, through a compound liquid or elec¬ 
trolyte, it has the effect of decomposing the 
molecules of the electrolyte into constituent 
parts called ions or radicals. Decomposition oc¬ 
curring in this manner is called electrolysis. 

ELECTRIC MACHINE, the name gener¬ 
ally applied to any mechanism employed to con¬ 
vert mechanical energy into electric current. 
There is a very wide difference in construction 
and capacity of the machines in common use 
for producing powerful electrical effects. Any 
machine depending upon the principle of the 
electro-magnet is now generally called a dyna¬ 



TOEPLER-HOLTZ MACHINE. 


mo, which see. The mechanisms more properly 
designated electric machines include the two 
classes that depend upon friction and electro¬ 
static induction, and are known respectively as 
friction and influence machines. The so-called 
plate electric machine is a common example of 
the former. It has. a circular plate of glass, 
which may be turned on an axis by an insulated 































ELECTRIC METER 


719 


ELECTRIC RAILWAY 


handle. A rubber with a surface coating of an 
amalgam is pressed by a spring against the plate, 
and is in electrical contact with an insulated 
conductor, termed the negative conductor. At 
the opposite side is a device with metallic 
points, which connect the positive conductor. 
When the handle is turned, a negative charge is 
manifest in the rubber, and a positive charge in 
the glass. As the motion of the machine con¬ 
tinues the negative charge is conducted to the 
negative conductor and the positive conductor 
becomes charged positively by the electricity on 
the glass. The Toepler-Holtz machine, which 
is generally a revolving electrophorus, comprises 
a common electrostatic induction machine. The 
machines generally used in experiments in high 
schools and colleges belong usually to one of 
these classes, but there are mechanisms of 
similar construction sufficiently powerful to 
serve many purposes in the arts and industries. 

ELECTRIC METER, an appliance for 
measuring and recording the amount of elec¬ 
tricity consumed. Three kinds are sold on the 
market, those know r n as clockwork recorders, 
motor meters, and chemical meters. The clock¬ 
work recorder has a stylus by which a record 
is made upon a chronograph sheet driven by 
clockwork as the current passes through a gal¬ 
vanometer. It is not used extensively on ac¬ 
count of being expensive and because the clock¬ 
work devices are not easily maintained. The 
chemical meter is a zinc voltometer, and a rec¬ 
ord is obtained by weighing the plates, from 
time to time. The motor meter is in general 
use. It is an electric motor, the speed of which 
is recorded by a dial device by means of a 
clockwork. This clockwork is connected .with 
an armature, which revolves according to the 
speed of the current that passes through the 
meter. The watt, which is a current of one 
ampere, with a pressure of one volt, flowing 
for one hour, is the unit of measure. Each 
consumer of electricity usually has an electric 
meter, which is read once a month, and the 
amount paid for service depends upon the elec¬ 
tric energy consumed. 

ELECTRIC MOTOR, a machine used to 
convert electrical energy into the form of me¬ 
chanical power. It is constructed on the plan 
of a dynamo (q. v.), but differs from it is that 
it is supplied with a direct electric current from 
an outside source, while the dynamo is used to 
generate electric currents. The iron masses or 
electro-magnets, called armatures, are set in mo¬ 
tion by the action on them of stationary electro¬ 
magnets, hence the armature revolves as the 
effect of repulsion and attraction. The move¬ 
ment is at a uniform rate of speed, in case the 


current is constant and the resistance even. 
In general any dynamo is reversible and can be 
used as a motor, but these machines are con¬ 
structed for particular purposes and in practice 
are not interchangeable. Dynamos are much 
more powerful than motors and may furnish 
the power necessary to operate a number of 
motors, which may be located a long distance 
from the dynamo and from each other. Two 
motors of fifty horse power each, or ten motors 
of ten horse power each, may be supplied with 
power by a dynamo having 100 horse power. 

Many machines are now operated by means 
of the electric motor, such as printing presses, 
cutting machines, elevators, pumps, etc. The 
advantage of the electric motor is chiefly in its 
convenience. It does not require a skilled op¬ 
erator and can be utilized in running machinery 
on a moment’s notice. The power may be turned 
off as soon as a particular job or a definite part 
of the work is finished. The plant in which 
the dynamo is located may be a long distance 
from some or all of the motors, and the work 
of firing or looking after the power plant be¬ 
comes centralized. In large factories, where 
work is done in many'departments, the power 
plant may be in an isolated part of the build¬ 
ing, and the employment of motors under such 
conditions entirely obviates thd use of expensive 
belting, shafting, and pulleys. 

ELECTRIC RAILWAY, a means of rapid 
transit on which the motive power is electricity. 
Various different mechanical devices are em- 


L 



ployed for this purpose, all depending upon the 
frictional or rolling contact of electricity sup¬ 
plied to a motor on the car or locomotive, either 
from a generating plant or from a storage bat¬ 
tery. The electric railways are built similarly 
to the steam railroads, but in general the road¬ 
bed is not graded as level and is more tortuous, 
although the best service can be obtained on a 
straight and level track. The ties are of wood 
and the rails are iron* or steel, but neither are 
quite as heavy as those used in steam railways. 
In cities the ties are now commonly laid in 
cement, so as to furnish a solid foundation for 
the street pavement, but in the outlying districts 








ELECTRIC RAILWAY 


720 ELECTRO-CULTURE OF PLANTS 


and in the country they are usually placed in a 
trench excavated about four to six inches from 
the surface of the roadbed. The size and con¬ 
struction of the cars differ greatly, both for the 
freight and passenger service, and the manner 
of applying the electric current is not uniform 
in all systems. In most of the American lines 
the power plant is located at some convenient 
point on the line, from which the conducting 
current is carried on a copper wire L in a con¬ 
tinuous circuit immediately overhead of the cen¬ 
ter, of the street railroad track, where it is sus¬ 
pended from a line of poles. The motor car, 
to which trailers, or other cars, may be con¬ 
nected, has a trolley CC' attached to the roof, 
and by it the current is conducted by means of 
a wire through the switch S to the motor m, 
which has connection by gearing with the axles 
of the car wheels. Short copper wires or plates 
are bolted so as to connect the rails of the 
track, or the rails are united by electric welding, 
thus supplying a continuous circuit for the elec¬ 
tric current, which passes through the motor 
into the car wheels, and thence back to the 
dynamo by the connected rails R. 

Other methods include the underground or 
conduit, the third-rail, and the storage-battery 
systems. In the underground or conduit sys¬ 
tem the current is obtained by a sliding shoe, or 
some similar device, attached to an arm under 
the car, which comes in contact with an electric 
wire in a channel or conduit. The third-rail 
system is quite similar in its general operation 
to the overhead system, but differs from it in 
that a third rail is attached to the ties by means 
of insulated supports. Beneath the car is a 
sliding shoe, which operates to conduct the cur¬ 
rent to the motor, and it thence returns by the 
track rails. In the storage-battery system each 
car or train employs a storage battery, which is 
charged at the power plant, and usually carries 
sufficient power to supply motive force for one 
or more trips. All these systems are in use 
more or less, though the latter three more 
largely in Europe than America, while the over¬ 
head trolley system is the general system em¬ 
ployed in America. The third-rsfil system is 
quite popular in Europe, and has the advantage 
of overcoming the overhead obstruction of trol¬ 
ley wires, but greater care must be exercised to 
guard against danger to pedestrians. Many of 
the elevated railroads make use of the third- 
rail system, as is evidenced in Chicago and other 
American cities. • 

Railway companies are now using electric 
locomotives to a considerable extent. They re¬ 
semble the steam locomotive and are fully equal 
to it in power. The transmission used is either 


the overhead trolley or the third rail. Loco¬ 
motives of this kind have been in use for some 
time on some branches of the Baltimore and 
Ohio and other systems. A large locomotive 
has four motors of about 600 horse power each. 
It is provided with a whistle, sand boxes, and 
automatic air brakes. 

The history of the electric railways dates 
from 1879, when Dr. Siemens (q. v.), of Berlin. 
Germany, demonstrated their practicability on a 
track 220 yards long at the Berlin Exposition. 
Two years later an electric railroad a mile and 
a half long was put in successful operation in 
Berlin, and from thence the enterprise .spread 
to other European cities, and then to America. 
The first line in the United States was built at 
Allegheny, Pa., in 1882, though Edison experi¬ 
mented with a line at Menlo Park, N. J., some 
time before. At present practically all the cities 
of Canada and the United States with a popu¬ 
lation of about 10,000 or more have electric 
railways, and in the , thickly settled portions 
hundreds of miles are operated through subur¬ 
ban and rural districts. There is scarcely a 
thriving city in the world that has not intro¬ 
duced electricity as a lighting or propelling 
agent, except in various portions of Asia. In 
1906 Canada and Newfoundland had 1,073 miles 
of electric railways in operation, while the 
United States had 36,212 miles. 

ELECTRO-CHEMISTRY (S-lek'tro-kenT- 
ls-try), the branch of chemistry which treats of 
the chemical changes that are due to electrical 
energy, and investigates the chemical changes by 
which electricity is produced. That electricity 
causes chemical changes may be illustrated by 
placing two platinum rods in a strong solution 
of common salt, then connecting them with a 
battery or a dynamo, when the current will de¬ 
compose the solution and the sodium will be set 
free at the negative electrode, while caustic 
soda will be formed as the sodium combines with 
the water, and at the same time the chlorine 
wijl escape in bubbles through the liquid being 
set free at the positive electrode. That chemical 
action produces electricity is demonstrated by 
placing a zinc bar in a solution of zinc sulphate 
and a , copper bar in a solution of copper sul¬ 
phate, the solutions being separated by a porous 
partition, and as soon as the rods are connected 
by wire a current of electricity will pass through 
the circuit. Electro-chemistry is employed in 
the manufacture of various chemical products, 
in extracting metals from their ores, and in 
electrotyping and electroplating. It enters into 
the manufacture of carborundum, chlorine, soda, 
and potassium chlorate. 
ELECTRO-CULTURE OF PLANTS, the 


ELECTROCUTION 


721 


ELECTRO-MAGNETISM 


method of stimulating the growth and develop¬ 
ment of plants by the use of electricity. Prac¬ 
tical use has shown conclusively that electricity 
may be used as a stimulus in the form of elec¬ 
tric, light and by applying the current to the 
soil, the'' seed, and the plant. It has been dem¬ 
onstrated that seeds germinate more rapidly 
by applying electric stimuli before planting, re¬ 
quiring about half the time needed for seed 
untreated. Another method is to electrify a 
plot of ground by placing a system of wires in 
the soil, which are attached to a battery or elec¬ 
tric machine at stated intervals. By either of 
these methods it is possible to increase the pror 
duction of vegetables, especially peas, parsnips, 
tomatoes, beets, onions, and carrots. Both the 
arc and incandescent lights have a visible effect 
upon growing plants, in that they furnish bene¬ 
ficial rays and prevent injurious rays from 
passing through them. The flowering of Easter 
lilies has been hastened as much as ten days 
and at the same time the colors have been im¬ 
proved, while the yield of lettuce has been in¬ 
creased considerably. The use of electricity in 
the culture of plants is comparatively new, but 
it is reasonably certain that the yield of both 
flowers and fruit can be increased sufficiently 
to cover the expense. 

ELECTROCUTION (Mek-tro-ku'shun), 

' the method of inflicting corporal punishment by 
passing a current of electricity through the body 
of the criminal. The State of New York 
adopted this method in 1888, and since then it 
was adopted in Ohio and recommended by many 
commissioners and committees. It is looked 
upon as more humane than either hanging or 
decapitation, since death is painless and instan¬ 
taneous. 

ELECTRODE (e-lek'trod), the terminals 
by which electricity is conveyed into and out of 
different media. The' term is applied especially 
to the ends of the wires or conductors which 
lead from the source of electricity and terminate 
in the medium traversed by the current. Fara¬ 
day introduced the terms anode and cathode, 
the former being' the positive and the latter the 
negative electrode. The term is' applied espe¬ 
cially to the poles of the voltaic pile or battery. 

ELECTROLYSIS (e-lek-trol'i-sis), the de¬ 
composition of chemical compounds by the ac¬ 
tion of a current of electricity. When an elec¬ 
tric current is passed between suitable terminals 
or electrodes, through a compound liquid, or 
electrolyte, it decomposes The molecules of the 
electrolyte into two constituent parts.called ions 
or radicals, which appear at the positive and 
negative electrodes. The electro-positive ions 
or radicals appear at the negative electrode, and 
46 


the electro-negative ions or radicals, at the 
positive electrode. In salts of the metals, the 
metal itself is electro-positive, and the element 
or elements with which it is combined are elec¬ 
tro-negatives. Electrolysis has been a subject 
for much discussion in the cities where strong 
electric currents are utilized in the . .industries, 
since it tends, to destroy the metal pipes that 
are used in the construction of sewers' and for 
gas and water mains. It is due to unsuitable 
lines for carrying return currents, of electricity, 
hence these .find their way back to the plant 
through the metal pipes lying underground. The 
subject has been one of considerable contro¬ 
versy between street railway companies and cor¬ 
porations having control of plants which utilize 
metal pipes, such as gas plants and waterworks. 

ELECTRO-MAGNET (e-lek-tro-mag'net). 
See Magnetism; Electro-Magnetism. 

ELECTRO-MAGNETISM, the scienee 
which treats of the development of magnetism 
by voltaic electricity. Though the exact nature 
of electricity and magnetism is unknown, they 
are generally thought to be allied phenomena, as 
is evidenced by the .fact that an electric current 
always produces a magnetic flux, or magnetism, 
when flowing through a conductor. Besides, a 
magnetic flux always causes electro-motive force 
when crossing an electric conductor, and enters 
or emerges from a bend or curve in a conduc¬ 
tor. It has , been observed that a mag¬ 
netic flux, surrounding a conductor through 
which an electric current is passing, flows 
around the conductor in concentric circular 
paths, and decreases in intensity as the distance 
from the conductor increases. The direction of 
the flow is dependent upon the electric current, 
and changes with every change in the direction 
of the current. Since the flux of all magnets 



ELECTRO-MAGNET. 


flows from one pole and returns to the other, 
as shown by the armature A in the illustration, 
it follows that the loop or loops of an active 
conductor act as a magnet, and are similar to 
it in having two poles. The magnet produced in 
this way by an electric current is termed an 
electrcHnagnQt, 








ELECTROMETER 722 ELECTROTYPING 


The strength of an electro-magnet depends 
upon the quantity of magnetic flux flowing 
through the magnet. The strength of the mag¬ 
net is increased by increasing the strength of 
the current, but also in the same current by in¬ 
creasing the number of loops. Thus, the 
strength of an electro-magnet depends on the 
number of turns or loops, or upon the strength 
of the current; both facts are taken advantage 
of in the construction of electric machinery. 
There is an attractive force between two un¬ 
equally strong electro-magnets in proportion to 
the square of the sum of both currents. The 
accompanying cut shows the horseshoe magnet, 
which is the form preferred, since the two 
poles are sufficiently near together to permit 
the application of the armature A to both at 
once. 

ELECTROMETER (e-lek-trom'e-ter), an 
instrument used in measuring the difference of 
potential between two charged conductors. The 
difference of potential is also measured by a 
galvanometer, but this is generally of high re¬ 
sistance, and, if calibrated to read volts, is 
called a voltmeter. Other devices used to indi¬ 
cate the amount of electricity with which a 
given conductor is charged are the 
torsion balance and the electroscope. 

Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) 
is the inventor of the electrometer, and 
his quadrant-electrometer is the prin¬ 
cipal form of this instrument now in 
use. It has a needle of thin aluminum 
suspended over four quadrants which 
are connected in pairs; and the needle 
is attracted by one set and repelled by 
the other when the charges of elec¬ 
tricity are communicated to the quad¬ 
rant, the deflection depending upon the 
potential difference to which the quad¬ 
rants are charged. Another form of 
the instrument has a small movable 
mirror suspended by a fine thread, and 
by it a spot of light from a lamp is re¬ 
flected to a paper scale. The spot of light is 
seen in the middle of the scale when the two 
conductors have the same potential, and the po¬ 
tential difference, if any, is indicated by its 
movement to either side. These instruments are 
sufficiently delicate to indicate the potential dif¬ 
ference of the two plates of a single galvanic 
cell. 

ELECTRO-MOTIVE FORCE (S-lek'tro- 
mo'tiv), the force which produces, or tends to 
produce, electricity or an electric current. The 
words electro-motive force usually are con¬ 
tracted for convenience E. M. F. Any device 
by means of which an electro-motive force is 


produced is called an electric source. A voltaic 
cell, a dynamo-electric machine, or a frictional 
electric machine is an example of an electric 
source. 

The term electro-motive force is sometimes 
used to express the degree of electrification as 
equivalent to potential, or, more properly, the 
difference of potential at the terminals of a cell 
when it is on an open circuit. It is the sum of 
all the differences of potential in the circuit 
when a cell is sending a current. The practical 
unit of electro-motive force is the volt, which 
is about equal to the electro-motive force of 
a standard Clark’s cell at a temperature of 15 
C. Wires carrying an electro-motive force of 
less than 200 volts are not considered danger¬ 
ous, but those connected with a large dynamo 
usually carry a voltage of from 800 to 2,000. 

ELECTROSCOPE (e-lek'tr6-skop). See 
Electricity. 

ELECTROTYPING (e-lek'tr6-tip-ing)., the 
process of producing copies of engraved plates, 
printing type, woodcuts, and other devices used 
in printing by means of an electric deposition 
of copper upon a mold taken from the original. 
The process consists of taking an impression of 


the object on beeswax, ozocerite, or gutta¬ 
percha, this being done on a powerful press. 
Various methods of treatment are employed, 
differing somewhat according to the material 
used. If beeswax is used, which is not a con¬ 
ductor of electricity, the surface is brushed with 
plumbago to render it a conductor. The mold 
is then suspended in a solution of copper sul¬ 
phate in a vessel M, as shown in the illustration, 
from the negative pole B of a galvanic battery 
P, and a plate of copper is hung opposite on the 
positive pole A. As the copper is decomposed 
by the electric current, the metal goes to the 
negative pole and is deposited upon the mold. 



APPARATUS FOR ELECTROTYPING. 































ELEGY 


723 


ELEPHANT 


On the other hand, the acid, passing to the pos¬ 
itive pole, operates to dissolve the copper, 
thereby preserving the Strength of the solution. 
While the process here described is still used, 
it is now common to obtain the electric current 
from a dynamo-electric machine. 

After the process is completed, which usually 
takes several hours, the thin shell formed in 
the mold is removed from the beeswax and 
backed up with electrotype metal. When 
smoothed, it is ready for the printing press, is 
mounted on blocks provided with ratchet and a 
foot, or attached to a wooden block, making it 
type high in either case. Electroplating is a 
similar process, but the coating is of silver or 
gold. It is usually preferred to use German 
silver,, copper, brass, or nickel silver as the base, 
as both gold and silver are readily deposited on 
these. It is necessary to thoroughly cleanse the 
articles to be plated. In plating with silver a 
plate or bar of silver is hung on the positive 
pole, and in about five minutes a coating is de¬ 
posited to conceal the other metal, which may 
then be polished. Gold plating is a similar 
process. 

ELEGY (el'e-ji), a poem written in an earn¬ 
est, melancholy style. The ancient Greeks and 
Romans applied the term to the martial lyrics, 
and the erotic poems, and sometimes extended 
its use to describe the lessons of practical wis¬ 
dom by such writers as Solon. Catullus was 
the first great elegiac writer of the Romans, and 
after him came Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid. 
Modern literature contains many fine lyrics, such 
as Tennyson’s “In Memoriam,” Milton’s “Lyci- 
das,” and Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country 
Churchyard.” 

ELEMENTS (el'e-ments), the constituent 
principles of anything which have never been 
resolved into more simple forms of matter. The 
term has a different signification in modern sci¬ 
ence than it had formerly. The Greek philoso¬ 
phers assumed that four elements—fire, air, wa¬ 
ter, and earth—give rise to all the things that 
are manifest. Modern science considers mat¬ 
ter as existing in four forms—imponderable, 
gaseous, liquid, and solid—while the elements 
are treated as the component ingredients of 
bodies under whatever form they exist. Neither 
air, water, nor earth are elements, and fire is a 
component of heat. For example, water is com¬ 
posed of two parts of hydrogen and one of 
oxygen. If a molecule of water be divided into 
three atoms, two of hydrogen and one oxygen, 
each division is an element. The number of 
elementary substances is not known, but about 
seventy are now admitted without further inves¬ 
tigation. Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and car¬ 


bon are the chief constituents of all organic 
matter. Rocks are composed chiefly of oxides, 
silicon, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, iron, 
sodium, potassium, and carbon. These, to¬ 
gether with sulphur, hydrogen, chlorine, nitro¬ 
gen, and oxygen, constitute by weight 99-100 of 
the earth’s entire crust. See Chemistry. 

ELEPHANT (el'e-fant), the largest living 
land animal, and the sole surviving represen¬ 
tative of the suborder Proboscidea. Only two 
species of the family Elephantidae remain, the 
Asiatic and the African. The former is dis¬ 
tinguished from the latter by its greater height, 
smaller ears, concave forehead, and four exter¬ 
nal hoofs on the hind foot, while the African 
has three. Elephants, when full grown, are 
from nine to fifteen feet high and weigh from 
4,000 to 9,000 pounds. They live one hundred 
years and upwards. Elephants have remarkably 
large bodies, a thick skin, a scant growth of 
hair, a short neck, an enormous head, large legs 
and feet, and a proboscis or trunk. The pro¬ 
boscis is a huge elongation of the nose and 
upper lip, and is composed almost wholly of a 
mass of muscles, numbering, according to Cu¬ 
vier, fully 40,000, which give it the greatest di¬ 
versity of motion. The trunk is very strong and 
serves alike for respiration, smell, taste, touch, 
and prehension. At the extremity of the trunk, 
on the upper surface, are two fingerlike projec¬ 
tions with a thick tubercle below, which acts the 
part of the thumb, the whole forming an organ 
of prehension comparable in many respects to 
the human hand. 

With the trunk the animal collects food and 
takes in drink. It exercises extreme caution in 
using the trunk in combat; without it the ani¬ 
mal is helpless, even to feed itself. It breathes 
through the openings in the trunk, which it can 
easily hold above the surface of the water 
while bathing or crossing a stream. Indeed, it 
is fond of an abundance of water and swims 
with ease and skill. It has no canine teeth and 
only two incisors on the upper jaw, which as¬ 
sume the character of tusks and .attain an enor¬ 
mous size; a single tusk often weighs from 100 
to 200 pounds. These tusks comprise the most 
elastic and best form of commercial ivory. In 
some species they attain a length of seven or 
eight feet, and serve to break off small branches, 
tear climbing plants from trees, loosen roots, 
fight other animals, and, in a state of domesti¬ 
cation, to ply or carry timbers and move stones. 
Elephants have an ability to run quite equal 
to that of a horse. In lying down they do not 
place the hind legs beneath the body, but ex¬ 
tend them backward in the manner of a person 
kneeling. The female breeds at fifteen years of 


ELEPHANTA 


724 


ELEPHANT SEAL 


age, bearing a single young at a birth;' the 
period of gestation is about 21 months. The 
young elephant sucks with its mouth and not 
with the trunk. 

Elephants associate together in considerable 
herds,, under the guidance of a single leader, 
usually the most powerful animal. It gives the 
alarm in case of peril and controls the move¬ 
ments of the herd. In times of danger the herd 
is remarkably anxious to protect it, which is 
done by crowding so eagerly to the front that 
the hunters often shoot some less valuable in¬ 
dividuals before it can be reached. Sometimes 
an elephant is driven from the herd, and is 
never allowed to join another, but ever after 
leads a solitary life. Such individuals are 
known as rogues, or lowrcastcs, and are by far 
the most dangerous to meet. Elephants are 
domesticated and serve for tiger hunting, beasts 
of burden, and in time of. war. The Romans 
were frightened when Hannibal brought a troop 
of elephants over the Alps, but later learned to 
use them in war and various arts of peace. It 


A. Asiatic elephant; B, African elephant. 

is indicated from fossil remains of the genus 
elcphas that at least fourteen species lived in 
former times, while the species classed with the 
allied genus mastodon were still more numerous. 
Fossil remains appear in the Pliocene of North 
and South America and in the Miocene and 
Pliocene of Europe, but they became extinct 
in the Western Hemisphere and emigrated from 
Europe to Asia and Africa in the Pleistocene 
period. 

ELEPHANTA (el-e-fan'ta), a small island 
of British India, in the Bay of Bombay, about 
five miles from the mainland. It is five miles in 
circuit and the surface consists of two hills 
with a valley between them. Near the main 
landing place are a number of temples or caves 
cut into the solid rock. The largest of these is 
130 feet long and 123 feet broad, the roof is 


supported by pillars of great magnitudes, and 
the walls are sculptured by the Hindu trinity, 
Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. These temples are 
used by the Baniya caste for certain Hindu 
festivals. It is thought that the temples are 
more recent than the birth of Christ. 

ELEPHANT BEETLE, a giant beetle of 
Central America, so named from its large size. 
The length is about five inches, including a 
forked horn which projects from the head. It 
has a blackish color, but is covered with a yel¬ 
lowish fur. This fur is soft and upright and is 
easily removed by rubbing, hence most of the 
specimens are bare and appear almost black. 

ELEPHANT FISH, the common name of 
the chimaera, s<? called from its upper extension 
of the nose, which resembles a proboscis. The 
flesh is esteemed as food, for which it is caught 
off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope and 
other regions of the South Pacific. 

ELEPHANTIASIS (el-e-fan-ti'a-sis), a dis¬ 
ease of the skin and areolar tissues, epidemic in 
the East and West Indies. It begins with head¬ 
ache and fever, after which the leg or 
arm becomes inflamed and tender and 
serum afterward exudes. Attacks will 
follow each other and the affected limb 
will become very large in size. Some 
cases are due to malarial infection, 
while others result from the bite of 
certain mosquitoes. The elephantiasis 
of the Greeks is a form of leprosy. 

ELEPHANTINE (el-e-f an'te-mi), 

an island in the upper Nile, opposite 
Assuan, known anciently as Syene. It 
is formed of granite covered with a 
fertile soil, and is about a half a mile 
wide and one mile long. Herodotus 
mentions it as the boundary between 
Egypt and Ethiopia, but afterward Phyle 
was regarded as the southern landmark of 
Egypt. The island contains many ancient ruins,, 
including several temples, fragments of pottery 
with Greek inscriptions, and a gateway of the 
time of Alexander. The Persians as well as 
the Romans fortified Elephantine as an impor¬ 
tant strategic point. 

ELEPHANT SEAL, the proboscis seal, or 
sea elephant, so named from the proboscislike 
projection of the upper lip of the male. It is 
the largest of the seal famify,, often attaining a 
length of twenty to thirty feet. The female is 
much smaller than the male and has no pro¬ 
boscis. Two species have been described, one 
found off the coast of western Mexico and Cali¬ 
fornia, and the other in the vicinity of the Ker¬ 
guelen Islands, < Heard’s Island, and Patagonia. 
Ho“wever, both are becoming rare because of 










ELEUSIS 


725 


ELEVATOR 


extensive slaughter. These animals are hunted 
for their oil, which burns with a clear flame, a 
single individual yielding about twenty gallons. 
The skin is useful in making harness and other 
products made of leather. 

ELEUSIS (e-lu'sis), a celebrated city of 
ancient Attica, formerly situated on the Bay of 
Eleusis, near the confines of Megaris, and con¬ 
nected with Athens by the Sacred Road. Its 
fame is due largely to the festivals observed by 
the Greeks in honor of Demeter. The Eleusin- 
ian Mysteries, as the festivals were called, were 
divided into the greater and lesser, and, ac¬ 
cording to general account, held every five years. 
The lessons taught were of the highest moral 
character and were intended to inculcate the 
doctrine of the immortality of the soul. It 
was held that the souls of those who partici¬ 
pated in them were filled with sweetest hopes, 
both of this and the future world, and that in 
them no one was sad. The ceremonies were 
awe inspiring, and their secrecy was • strictly 
enjoined by the death penalty. Initiation in the 
lesser prepared for admittance to the greater, 
the initiation into both being followed by nu¬ 
merous games given amid great rejoicing. 

ELEUTHERA (e-lu'ther-a), an island of 
the Bahamas, about seventy miles long and from 
two to ten miles wide. The area is 235 square 
miles. It produces Eleutheria bark, a bitter, 
aromatic bark sometimes called cascarilla, 
fruits, live stock, and Cereals. Governor’s 
Harbor is the chief town. Population,- 1908, 
8,843. 

ELEVATED RAILWAY, a line of railway 
built in large cities, .usually on-a framework 
erected on the surface of the street. Formerly 
the framework was constructed of timbers, but 
now it is entirely of iron pillars, spanned by 
crossbeams, and mounted by plate girders. Pas¬ 
sengers ascend by stairways or elevators to 
the stations, which are usually from two to 
four blocks apart, and the fare is generally col¬ 
lected when passing from the depot to the plat¬ 
form at which the car is entered. Elevated 
railway transportation has the advantage of be¬ 
ing more rapid than surface lines, since the cars 
stop only at the stations and are not obstructed 
by traffic on the streets. In 1867 the first ele¬ 
vated railway was built in New York, and the 
success of the enterprise caused the system to 
be extended in that city and established else¬ 
where. Extensive lines are now operated in 
Brooklyn, New York, Boston, and Chicago. The 
principal elevated railways of Europe are in 
Berlin, Paris, and Liverpool. Electricity is the 
chief motive power. Some of the cities in Ger¬ 
many have suspended railways, in which the 


cars are suspended beneath the girder, such as 
the line between Barmen and Elberfeld. 

ELEVATOR (el'e-va-ter), an apparatus 
consisting usually of a cage or movable plat¬ 
form, and used to raise and lower persons and 
goods in large buildings. These mechanical 
contrivances are comparatively modern and are 
in extensive use in the large cities of America, 
Australia, and Europe. They have materially 
increased the usefulness and convenience' of 
high buildings. The public has become accus¬ 
tomed to the Use of elevators, and general con¬ 
fidence in the efficiency and safety of these 
beneficial devices has led to their extensive em¬ 
ployment. The security of the passenger ele¬ 
vator is assured by the multiplication of cables, 
by means of which the elevators are lifted and 
lowered while under perfect control of the op¬ 
erator. Four cables are usually employed to 
facilitate movement, two for attaching counter¬ 
balance weights, and' several safety appliances 
are attached to guard against danger from mov¬ 
ing downward at an excessive speed. The mod¬ 
ern improvements added have rendered it as 
safe to ride in an elevator as on an ordinary 
street car, while the time consumed in passing 
to the highest fifteen or twenty story buildings 
has been reduced to only a moment. 

Passenger elevators are operated either by 
hydraulic or electric power. The water pressure 
in hydraulic elevators is supplied from tanks, 
which are filled by means of powerful pumps 
located in the basement, air-pressure devices 
being utilized quite extensively for that purpose; 
By means of hydraulic passenger elevators it is 
possible to ascend with much smoothness of 
motion and entire safety at a rate of from 300 
to 400 feet per minute. Withim recent years 
the electric elevators of various construction 
have gone into general use, and are preferred to 
the hydraulic kind for various purposes. They 
ai*e constructed in such a manner that a rope 
is wound around a large drum by the agency of 
electric motors, thus causing the cage or plat¬ 
form to be moved up or down with entire satis¬ 
faction. This form is simpler than the hydraulic 
and can be operated at a much smaller -cost. 

The construction of tall buildings with forty 
or more stories has made the hydraulic and the 
ordinary electric elevators undesirable, since the- 
former occupies too much space and the latter 
requires a drum which is too large in size. Ac¬ 
cordingly, a new type of the electric elevator has 
been devised, in which either the direct traction 
or the cable drive is employed. In both of 
these systems the application of power is identi¬ 
cal with that employed in street railways. The 
term elevator is applied to buildings used for 


ELGIN 


726 


ELK 


the storage of large quantities of grain. It is 
applied also to a mechanical contrivance con¬ 
sisting of a belt to which boxes or buckets are 
attached, being used for the purpose of elevating 
grain and commodities. A good example of the 
latter is found in threshing machines. See 
Grain Elevator. 

ELGIN (el'jin), a city of Illinois, in Kane 
County, on the Fox River, about 35 miles north¬ 
west of Chicago. It is on the Chicago and 
Northwestern and the Chicago, Milwaukee 
and Saint Paul railroads and on the Chicago, 
Elgin and Aurora Electric Railway. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include the Northern Illinois 
Hospital for the Insane, the public high school, 
the Gail Borden Public Library, the Elgin Acad¬ 
emy, and a college of music. Water power 
for industrial purposes is obtained from the 
Fox River. Among the manufactures are car¬ 
riages, watches, farming implements, washing 
machines, cigars, and condensed milk. It has 
several cotton and soap factories and meat-pack¬ 
ing establishments. The output of watches ag¬ 
gregates about 2,000 daily, in which industry 
2,800 skilled laborers are employed. The streets 
are generally well paved and improved by grad¬ 
ing and drainage. Elgin was settled in 1835 
and incorporated in 1854. Population, 1900, 22,- 
433; in 1910, 25,976. 

ELGIN MARBLES, the celebrated collec¬ 
tion of ancient sculptures brought from Greece 
by Thomas, seventh Earl of Elgin, and pur¬ 
chased in 1816 by Parliament for the British 
museum at a cost of $175,000. The sculptures 
are among the best that adorned certain build¬ 
ings on the Acropolis of Athens. They include 
those of Theseus or Hercules, the torso of 
Cecrops, the Fates, Proserpina, Iris, Ceres, the 
torsos of Neptune and Minerva, the heads of 
the horses of Hyperion, and one of the horses 
of Night. Their removal to England was gen¬ 
erally condemned as an act of injustice, a view 
in which Lord Byron concurred. 

ELIZABETH (e-liz'a-beth), a city of New 
Jersey, county seat of Union county, on Staten 
Island Sound, four miles southwest of Newark. 
It is on the Pennsylvania, the Central of New 
Jersey, and several electric railroads. The 
noteworthy buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the post office, the public library, and a 
number of churches, schools, and hospitals. It 
is important as a shipping point of coal, iron, 
and merchandise. Among the principal manu¬ 
factories are those producing cordage, sewing 
machines, ironware, railroad cars, machinery, 
fertilizers, and sailing vessels. The surrounding 
country is fertile and produces large quantities 
of cereals, fruits, and live stock. It has gas 


and electric lighting, waterworks, sewerage, and 
a growing wholesale trade. The place was 
settled in 1609 by representatives of the East 
India Company. In the Revolutionary War 
it was the scene of a battle, and was made 
the point for exchanging prisoners during that 
period. It was chartered as a city in 1855. 
Population, 1905, 60,509; in 1910, 73,409. 

ELIZABETH CITY, a city in North Caro¬ 
lina, county seat of Pasquotank County, on the 
Pasquotank River, forty miles south of Norfolk, 
Va. It is on the Norfolk and Southern and 
other railroads. The chief buildings include 
the high school, the customhouse, and the State 
normal school. It has a good harbor and a 
large trade in cotton, oysters, fish, and tobacco. 
Among the manufactures are cotton textiles, 
flour and grist, wagons, brick, lumber products, 
and machinery. Oysters are cultivated in the 
vicinity. It has systems of public sewerage and 
lighting. Settled in 1793, it was incorporated 
the same year. Population, 1900, 6,679. 

ELIZABETH ISLANDS, a group of six¬ 
teen islands between Vineyard Sound and Buz¬ 
zard’s Bay, belonging to Dukes County, Mas¬ 
sachusetts. Naushon has an area of eight 
square miles, is the largest of the group, and 
contains handsome private and summer resi¬ 
dences. John Anderson gave Penikese, an 
island of this group, with an endowment of 
$50,000 to Louis Agassiz, in 1873, for conduct¬ 
ing a summer school, though the institution has 
since been discontinued. In summer the islands 
are visited by tourists and pleasure seekers. 
Population, 1900, 164. 

ELK, or Moose Deer, .the largest living spe¬ 
cies of the deer family, native to Europe and 
Asia. It stands, when full grown, about six 
feet and in weight averages about 1,000 pounds. 
The neck is very short and thick, adapting the 
animal for draft purposes. In all species, the 
head is large, fully two feet long, and crowned 
with prominent horns, which branch out almost 
from the base into a broad, palmate form, with 
numerous snags. A single antler frequently 
weighs fifty or sixty pounds. The limbs are long 
and quite graceful. A fully developed elk will 
draw a sledge more than 200 miles a day, the 
gait being a shambling trot. The elk is timid 
and inoffensive, except when wounded, when 
it becomes aggressive. A single, well-directed 
stroke of its forefoot is sufficient to kill the 
largest dog. The flesh is esteemed a good kind 
of venison and is much sought as an article of 
food. 

The so-called American elk does not belong 
to this class of animals, since it more nearly 
resembles the red deer, and the proper name 


ELKHART 


727 


ELM 


is Wapiti (q. v.). Occasionally one of these 
animats is seen in the northern part of the 
United States, but they are fast disappearing 
even in Canada. They inhabit marshy and 
dense timber regions and live separately, except 
during the rutting season. The Irish elk, which 
is now extinct, was closely allied to the fallow 
deer. Remains of it are found occasionally in 
the bogs and caves of the British Isles and the 
western part of Europe. This animal was re- 



WAPITI, OR AMERICAN ELK. 


markable for its large antlers, which in some 
specimens measured as much as eleven feet 
from tip to tip. 

ELKHART (elk'hart), a city of Indiana, in 
Elkhart County, at the confluence of the Saint 
Joseph and Elkhart rivers, 98 miles east of Chi¬ 
cago, Ill. It is on the Lake Shore and Michi¬ 
gan Southern and other railroads, and is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile agricultural country. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the Car¬ 
negie library, the high school, the city hall, and 
the Elkhart Institute. The principal manufac¬ 
tures include paper, starch, musical instruments, 
machinery, carriages, flour, and brass novelties. 
It has extensive railroad machine shops and 
other industries. The streets, are well graded 
and paved, principally with brick, and the 
municipality has systems of sewerage and light¬ 
ing. It is the center of a large trade in prod¬ 
uce and merchandise. Population, 1900, 15,184. 

ELKHORN, a river of Nebraska, rises in 
Rock County, flows in a general southeasterly 
direction, and joins the Platte River about 20 
miles west of Omaha, after a course of 250 
miles. The valley of the Elkhorn is noted for 
its fertility. It contains numerous enterprising 


cities and is traversed by the Chicago and 
Northwestern Railroad. 

ELKS, Benevolent and Protective Order 

of,, a benevolent and fraternal society founded 
in 1868 in New York City. It is the outgrowth 
of a social club known as the Jolly Corks, a 
society of members of the theatrical profes¬ 
sion, and its purposes are social and philan- 
thropical. The largest membership is in the 
United States, where the order has about 950 
subordinate lodges with a membership of 
250,000. Eligibility to membership is limited to 
white male citizens of the United States of good 
moral character, 21 years of age, and subordi¬ 
nate lodges are not permitted in cities that 
have a population less than 5,000. This order 
has many fine buildings in the larger cities. 
Its official organ, the Elks-Antler, is a monthly 
publication. 

ELLESMERE LAND (elz'mer), the name 
of a large tract of land in the Arctic region 
of North America. It is located north of 
Jones Sound and west of Greenland, from 
which it is separated by Smith Sound. It is 
part of the northernmost region of the Western 
Hemisphere and consists chiefly of a barren and 
uninhabited plateau. William Baffin visited it 
in 1616, and it was partly explored in 1899, 
when it was found that Hayes Sound does not 
separate it from Grinnell Land, which lies im¬ 
mediately north. 

ELLIPSE (el-lips'), an important figure in 
geometry. It is a plane curve, the sum of the 
distances of two straight lines drawn to two 
fixed points within the curve being always the 
same. These two points are called the foci, 
each being a focus. The diameter drawn 
through them is the major axis; the minor 
axis bisects the major at right angles. The 
distance from the center to the foci divided 
by the semimajor axis is called the eccentricity 
of an ellipse. The less the eccentricity, the 
nearer the figure approaches a circle. Kepler 
made the discovery that the planets’ orbits 
around the sun are ellipses, the sun occupying 
a position in one of the foci. 

ELM, a genus of trees which includes thir¬ 
teen well-marked species, all native to the North 
Temperate Zone. In most species the branches 
are numerous and spreading, the bark is rugged, 
and the leaves are alternate, ovate, and doubly 
serrate. The flowers are small, but numerous 
and in clusters, and the fruit is either a small, 
one-sided nut, forming a winged samara, or a 
drupe. Elm wood is compact and very durable 
in water. The trees commonly grow to the 
height of 60 to 100 feet, and in some cases as 
high as 150 feet. Wagon hubs and ship locks 





ELMIRA 


728 


ELWOOD 


are made of the wood of the white elm, which 
is also largely taking the place of oak in the 
manufacture of the cheaper grades of furniture. 
The slippery or red elm, a native tree of Amer¬ 
ica, contains a mucilaginous inner bark, while 
the wyeh elm, or wych hazel, is indigenous to 
Europe. Another species is the weeping elm, 
which is the most ornamental of the genus. 
The old white elm tree of the Boston Commons, 
destroyed by a storm on Feb. 15, 1876, meas¬ 
ured 22 feet in circumference. 

ELMIRA (el-mi'ra), a city of New York, 
county seat of Chemung County, on the Che¬ 
mung River. It is on the Pennsylvania, the 
Lehigh Valley, the Erie, and the Lackawanna 
railroads and is the focus of several electric 
lines. The streets are regularly platted, cross¬ 
ing each other at right angles, and are im¬ 
proved by grading and paving. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are the post office, the 



ENGLISH ELM. 


SLIPPERY ELM. 


Courthouse, the public library, and the city 
hall. The public school system culminates in 
an excellent high school course and is supple¬ 
mented by Elmira College, an institution hav¬ 
ing an endowment of $250,000. Among the 
charitable institutions are an industrial school, 
an orphanage, a home for the aged, the Arnot- 
Ogden Memorial Hospital, and the Anchorage. 
It is the seat of the State reformatory. 

Elmira is important as a market and an in¬ 
dustrial center. The manufactures include 
clothing, silk and woolen goods, engines and 
boilers, boots and shoes, steel plate, cigars, 
and machinery. It was settled in 1788 and in¬ 
corporated in 1815. During the Civil War it 
had a Federal prison in which many Confed¬ 
erates were confined. Population, 1910, 37,176. 

ELMO’S FIRE, Saint, the popular name of 
a meteoric appearance seen during thunder 


storms at the tops of masts and other pointed 
objects. It is more frequent in southern than 
in northern climates, and is due to currents of 
electricity. It appears either as one or two 
flames. The former phenomenon, known as 
Helena, is regarded a bad omen by sailors, 
while the latter, called Castor and Pollux, is 
looked upon as a good sign. ' 

ELORA (el-lo'ra), or Ellora, a village of 
Hindustan, near Dowlatabad, celebrated on ac¬ 
count of its remarkable temples hewn in rocks. 
These temples number about 35, some of which 
are cave temples, while others consist of exca¬ 
vations in higher strata of rock. Many of the 
larger structures are about 150 feet wide and 
275 feet long, and are adorned by sculptures, 
sphinxes, and obelisks cut from solid granite. 
The caves are thought to have been constructed 
in the 7th century. 

EL PASO (el pa'so), a city of Texas, county 
seat of El Paso County, on the Rio 
Grande. It is on the Southejn Pacific, 
the Mexican Central, the Texas Pacific, 
and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 
railroads. The site is 3,830 feet above 
sea level, with a mean annual tempera¬ 
ture of 63° Fahr., and the surrounding 
country has large interests in stock rais¬ 
ing and general farming. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are the county 
courthouse, the high school, the Llotel 
Sheldon, the Federal building, and sev¬ 
eral private schools and hospitals. The 
streets are well paved and drained. It 
has a sewer system, gas and electric 
lighting, and electric street railways. 
The industries include smelting, cigar 
making, and machine shops. El Paso 
was settled in 1827 and incorporated in 
1869. Near the city is a United States military 
post. Population, 1900, 15,906; in 1910, 39,279. 

EL RENO, county seat of Canadian County, 
Oklahoma, on the Canadian River, 25 miles 
west of Oklahoma. It is on the Chicago, Rock 
Island and Pacific and other railroads. The 
surrounding country is fertile. Among the 
chief buildings are the high school and the 
county courthouse. It has manufactures of 
flour, earthenware, and machinery.. The city 
maintains a system of waterworks and has elec¬ 
tric lighting. Population, 1900, 3,383. 

ELVES 1 , the term applied to the mythical 
spirits supposed to inhabit wild and desolate 
places, and in various ways to exercise a mys¬ 
terious power over man. See Fairies. 

ELWOOD (cTwood), a city of Indiana, in 
Madison County, 37 miles northeast of Indian¬ 
apolis. It is on the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chi- 



ELY 


729 


EMBALMING 


cago and Saint Louis and the Lake Erie and 
Western railroads. Natural gas is obtained in 
the vicinity. The chief buildings include the 
county courthouse, the high school, and the pub¬ 
lic library. It has gas and electric lighting and 
electric street railways, and is a growing mar¬ 
ket for cereals and live stock. The manufac¬ 
tures include glass, machinery, cigars, and cloth¬ 
ing. The municipality maintains systems of 
sewerage and waterworks. Population, 1900, 
12,950. 

ELY (e'li), a town in the county of Cam¬ 
bridge, England, on the Ouse River. It has a 
superb cathedral founded by Etheldreda, daugh¬ 
ter of the King of East Anglia, about the year 
673. This building was burned by the Danes 
in 870, rebuilt as a Benedictine abbey in 970, 
and greatly enlarged after the first Norman 
conquest. It includes different parts which are 
built in the various styles of architecture that 
prevailed in Britain from the Conquest to the 
Reformation, is 517 feet long, and has a tower 
275 feet high. The town is surrounded by a 
gardening district which produces vegetables for 
the markets of Cambridge and other cities. 
It was the last stronghold of the Saxons after 
the Conquest. Population, 1907, 8,471. 

ELYRIA (e-lir'i-a), county seat of Lorain # 
County, Ohio, about seven miles south of Lake 
Erie, on the Black River. It is on the Balti¬ 
more and Ohio and the Lake Shore and Michi¬ 
gan Southern railroads, and is surrounded by 
an agricultural and dairying country. The/chief 
buildings include the county courthouse and the 
public library of 17,500 volumes. Sandstone is 
quarried in the vicinity and shipped in large 
quantities. The manufactures include clothing, 
cheese, tobacco, machinery, and confectionery. 
It has pavements, electric lighting, and a large 
trade in produce. Population, 1900, 8,791. 

ELYSIUM (e-lizh'um), or Eylsian Fields, 
in mythology, the place in which the souls of 
the blessed were supposed to dwell .after death. 
The Orientals and most other peoples consid¬ 
ered this abode to be in the upper regions of 
the sky, but the Greeks located it in the west, 
or beneath the earth, where the sun goes down. 
Homer described it as the Isle of the Blessed, 
where men live without toil or care, where 
snow and winter’s storms are unknown, where 
the lovely and cooling zephyrs blow unceas¬ 
ingly with light murmur, and where the favor¬ 
ites of the gods are carried when passing from 
this life. He thought that Rhadamanthus, the 
most just of men in the upper world, alone 
ruled Elysium. Hesiod speaks of the happy 
isles of the ocean, but Pindar and the later 
poets put it beneath the earth. 


EMANCIPATION (e-man-si-pa'shun), the 
liberation from bondage, applied in American 
history especially to the release of the negroes 
from slavery. The early constitution framed 
in Vermont abolished slavery in 1777 and Mas¬ 
sachusetts did likewise in 1780. Acts of grad¬ 
ual emancipation were passed by Pennsylvania 
in 1780, New Hampshire in 1783, Rhode Island 
in 1784, Connecticut in 1784, New Jersey in 
1804, and New York in 1799, though in the 
last-mentioned State an act of absolute eman¬ 
cipation took effect July 4, 1827. Slavery was 
permitted in the remainder of the colonies, and 
in the case of new states the question was 
settled at the time of admission. Soon after the 
Civil War commenced President Lincoln was 
urged by northern abolitionists to abolish slav¬ 
ery by proclamation. As early as 1862 laws 
were passed abolishing slavery in the territories, 
freeing escaped slaves of persons in rebellion, 
and abolishing slavery in the District of Co¬ 
lumbia, the owners receiving compensation. 

The Northern States entered upon the war to 
maintain the Union, not to liberate slaves. On 
Aug. 22, 1862, President Lincoln stated: “My 
paramount object is to save the Union, and 
not either to save or destroy slavery. If I 
could save the Union without freeing one slave 
I would do it; if I could save it by freeing all 
the slaves I would do it; anddf I could save it 
by freeing some and leaving others alone I 
would do that.” As the war progressed it be¬ 
came evident that slavery was a source of much 
military strength to the seceded states, and free¬ 
ing them was decided on as a war measure. 
President Lincoln issued a proclamation on 
Sept. 22, 1862, in which the seceded states were 
notified that unless they returned to their alle¬ 
giance by Jan. 1, 1863, he would declare their 
slaves forever free. Since the states in rebel¬ 
lion did not heed the notice, the Emancipation 
Proclamation followed on Jan. 1, 1863, by which 
all slaves in these states were declared free. 
It was given effect as rapidly as the Federal 
troops secured control of the territory held by 
the Confederates. In the proclamation the 
President declared it an act of military neces¬ 
sity, enjoined the freed slaves to abstain from 
violence, and offered to engage them in the 
military and naval service. 

EMBALMING (em-bam'ing), the art of 
preserving the dead bodies of men and animals. 
There are many evidences that the art was 
practiced extensively in ancient Egypt, where 
the process was known at least 4,000 years b. c., 
this being evidenced by the embalmed bodies 
of Cheops and other sovereigns of the early 
dynasties. The origin of embalming is ascribed 






EMBARGO 


730 


EMBROIDERY 


by the Egyptians to Anubis, who embalmed 
his father, Osiris. One of the earliest records 
of embalming is that of the patriarch Jacob. 
We learn from reliable sources that the body 
of Joseph was thus prepared and transported 
out of Egypt. The practice prevailed, though 
not so extensively, among the nations of Asia 
and in Greece and Rome. Usually the bodies 
of the poorer classes were dried in the sand 
or w r ashed in myrrh, and then salted for a 
period of seventy days. 

Embalming among the middle classes con¬ 
sisted of removing the brain and soaking the 
corpse in a solution of natron, which destroyed 
the viscera and soft portions, leaving prac¬ 
tically only the skin and bones. The wealthy 
frequently paid $3,000 for the embalming of a 
single body, the process being nearly the same 
as among the middle classes, except that the 
corpses were swathed in linen bandages sat¬ 
urated with gum, and perfumed with aromatic 
substances. Within and about the bodies, of 
different mummies have been found sulphate of 
soda, saltpeter, salt, soda, oil of cedar, turpen¬ 
tine, asphalt, myrrh, and cinnamon. Extended 
knowledge of the use and effect of chemicals 
has led to the employment of various com¬ 
pounds that are effective in artificial embalm¬ 
ing, such as arsenic, sulphate of zinc, corrosive 
sublimate, and spirit compounds. They are 
forced into the blood vessels and cavities soon 
after death ensues, or the body is immersed 
for some time in spirits. At present the corpses 
are embalmed chiefly to prevent contagion, to 
make transportation less dangerous, and to 
overcome the necessity of immediate burial. 
See Mummy. 

EMBARGO (em-bar'go), a prohibition by 
government authority of the departure of ships 
or merchandise from some or all its ports. It 
is either hostile or pacific, the former having 
reference to the detention of vessels of a for¬ 
eign country and the latter to its own vessels. 
A hostile embargo is declared either as a means 
to settle a dispute, or to make a reprisal, while 
a pacific embargo is laid as a public policy or 
to protect the merchant vessels of a neutral 
nation. The first general embargo was laid 
by the United States in 1794. It was effective 
upon all vessels for sixty days, and was laid 
as a retaliatory measure against the British 
orders in council dated June 8, 1793. At the 
time of the War of 1812 another embargo was 
laid, in 1813. 

EMBER DAYS, certain days in each of the 
four seasons set apart for prayer and fasting, 
one theme for supplication being that the bless¬ 
ings of God may descend on. the crops. They 


are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after 
the first Sunday in Lent, after Whitsunday, 
after the 14th of September, and after the 13th 
of December. 

EMBOSSING (em-bos'ing), the art of pro¬ 
ducing raised figures upon plain surfaces, such 
as paper, leather, bronze* and wood. In the 
two last mentioned the figures are said to be 
in alto-, mezzo-, or bas-relief, according to 
whether they are more or less prominent. Pa¬ 
per, leather, and the textile fabrics are em¬ 
bossed by powerful presses, in which the dies 
give their pattern to the object to be embossed. 
Steam is employed to keep the plate at a suit¬ 
able temperature, depending upon the material 
to be embossed, and the power is applied by a 
treadle to straighten a bent arm, as in the old 
form of the printing press. Wood to be em¬ 
bossed is softened by steam and the impres¬ 
sions are made by iron molds into which it is 
forced. Metal is embossed largely by hand, the 
workman beating it up from the under side, and 
this method is called repousse work: In em¬ 
bossing textile fabrics, it is done largely as 
needle work embroidered over figures padded 
with various materials, such as wool felt. 

EMBROIDERY (em-broid'er-y), the name 
applied to ornamental needlework produced 
* upon fabrics of any kind. Its production was 
one of the most important of the early arts in 
Oriental countries, and it is still practiced with 
much skill and diligence, the best work being 
done upon silk. The figures are either in col¬ 
ored silk or in threads of silver and gold. They 
consist of men, horses, dragons, etc., and are 
outlined with gold and filled with shades of 
silk, though sometimes are ornamented with 
beads, spangles, pearls, and precious stones. 
The fabric is stretched usually on a frame, with 
the design to be worked drawn upon it, or 
some other contrivance is used to guide the 
worker. 

From the earliest times embroidery has been 
used to decorate the sacerdotal vestments, but 
it likewise has served other ecclesiastical uses. 
In modern times it has been employed to a 
large extent in women’s dresses and undergar¬ 
ments. The Jews derived their skill in pro¬ 
ducing embroidery from the Egyptians. It ap¬ 
pears to have been a common art, since even 
barbarous tribes were skilled in making showy 
designs upon cloth and other fabrics, using both 
linen and wool for the purpose. Many of the 
nomadic tribes of Asia and Africa still prac¬ 
tice it as a domestic art. The process of doing 
embroidery work, even in modern times, em¬ 
ploys simple tools and the work is largely by 
hand. They consist chiefly of needles of dif- 


EMBRYOLOGY 


731 


EMERALD ISLE 


ferent sizes and scissors to cut the thread. The 
thread left on the surface of the cloth after 
each ply of the needle is called a stitch. The 
stitches differ in accord with the work to be 
done and include principally those known as 
the cross, darning, running, crewel, feather, 
rope, cushion, buttonhole, chain, canvas, and 
couching stitches. Various machines for mak¬ 
ing embroidery are now in use. 

EMBRYOLOGY (em-bri-6T6-gy),that 
branch of biology which treats of the formation 
of organisms. The study of this division of 
learning as a science dates from the last cen¬ 
tury, though Aristotle, Galen, and Harvey con¬ 
sidered the subject and laid the foundation for 
the recent embryologists. The epoch of life 
in placental mammals, to which the study of 
embryology ordinarily is limited, extends from 
the time of conception to the period at which 
the anatomical connection between the young 
and mother is severed, though in a general 
sense it embraces the entire period from con¬ 
ception to the attainment of the perfect form. 
By conception is meant the fertilization of the 
ovum, which takes place through a sperma¬ 
tozoon, or male germ cell, penetrating into it, 
both in animals and plants. However, there 
are radical distinctions that give rise to divers 
limitations. 

In most fishes and some other animals the 
embryo and parent have no anatomical connec¬ 
tion, while fertilization of the ovum in many 
of these is effected outside the female. In ovip¬ 
arous animals the female retains the ovum 
within the body for some time after fecunda¬ 
tion, where it is retained in a condition largely 
independent of the maternal body, though se¬ 
curing from it heat and protection. After a 
definite number of eggs have been ejected, the 
mother begins external incubation, which is 
continued until the young life bursts from the 
shell. However, a filial relationship exists after 
incubation by reason of which the new life is 
supplied with protection and food, while in 
other animals the lacteal function of the mother 
supplies the helpless young with support quite 
as vital as the nourishment previously extended 
through the placenta. 

The laws announced by Rudolf Virchow 
(q. v.) and Karl Ernst von Baer (1792H876), 
two German scholars, form the basis of study 
in modern embryology. The laws of the former 
imply that the organs and cells of new life 
forms originate primarily from cells deposited 
in the ovulum and gradually become complex 
through cell divison and cell specialization, or 
the physiological division of labor. Von Baer’s 
law maintains that the'form primarily assumed 


by an individual in the process of development 
is similar to that assumed by many types, later 
its organism becomes more specialized and, 
when fully developed, stands wholly apart from 
parallel types. Thus, the process of develop¬ 
ment leads to the special from the general, to 
the heterogeneous from the homogeneous. 

Herbst explains the whole process of em¬ 
bryonic development by asserting that the pro¬ 
toplasm responds in a very intricate way to its 
surroundings; that it depends upon physiologi¬ 
cal responses to stimulations that come from 
without; in other words, that the cells and or¬ 
gans in the embryo move and change form in 
response to various stimuli, especially in eggs 
containing- a considerable quantity of yolk. The 
yolk being food for the embryo, it is certain 
that the latter gives off waste products in the 
process of rapid growth, and later moves away 
to portions of the yolk not contaminated by 
such wastes. 

It is quite well known that the development 
of the embryo differs materially in different 
animals, though in the successive stages there is 
much analogy, even in the human foetus, to 
the- embryo or adult of the lower life forms. 
However, in this connection arises the discus¬ 
sion of the theories of evolution and epigenesis. 
According to the former theory the embryo ex¬ 
ists preformed in the ovum and begins to un¬ 
fold into the adult as soon as fecundation takes 
place; while in the latter we find the theory 
that holds the growth of the embryo to be a 
process of new formation, the cell mass giving 
birth to new cells in their own interior by stim¬ 
ulation from without, a view now most gen¬ 
erally adopted. 

EMERALD (em'er-ald), a variety of beryl, 
being distinguished in having an emerald-green 
color, in place of pale green, light blue, yellow, 
or white hues, which are the colors of the 
beryl. The emerald green of this gem is pro¬ 
duced by the presence of chromium. Jewelers 
obtain the finest emeralds from Peru, but fine 
species are found in other places of South 
America, and an inferior quality is native to 
Europe. The emerald is usually in the form 
of a prism, and is most valuable when the sur¬ 
face is perfectly straight and smooth, so as to 
cast no darkening shadow on any of its par¬ 
ticles. It is one of the softest of the precious 
stones, but acids will not affect it. Emeralds 
are cut on a copper wheel with emery dust, 
and polished on a tin wheel with rotten stone. 
As a gem it is considered inferior only to the 
diamond and ruby. 

EMERALD ISLE, the popular name of Ire¬ 
land, applied to it on account of the rich green 





EMERY 


732 


EMINENT DOMAIN 


color of its vegetation. It came into general 
use through Dr. Drennan (1754-1820), who first 
used it in his poem entitled “Erin.” 

EMERY (em'er-y), a variety of corundum, 
being allied to the sapphires, the ruby, and other 
precious stones. It is granular in texture and 
the hardest substance found native, next to the 
diamond. Emery is a dense, opaque, dull gray¬ 
ish-black substance, occurring in bowlderlike 
masses and as granulates in soils. It is found 
in the islands of the Greek Archipelago, in 
Asia Minor, at Chester, Mass., and elsewhere. 
As a powder it is used extensively for cutting 
and polishing precious stones and for smooth¬ 
ing the surfaces of lenses and plate glass. When 
employed in this form, it is prepared by first 
breaking the stone into small lumps, then crush¬ 
ing them into powder by stampers. Emery paper 
and emery cloth are made by sifting the pow¬ 
der over strong sheets of paper or cloth, after 
brushing them with liquid glue. Emery wheels 
are commonly made of wood covered with 
leather or coarse cloth, with a surface of em¬ 
ery, or a compound of emery and caoutchouc 
molded into the shape of a grindstone and vul¬ 
canized. 

EMIGRATION (em-i-gra'shun), the re¬ 
moval from one country or region for the pur¬ 
pose of settling or residing in another. In¬ 
habitants leaving a country are called emi¬ 
grants, while those coming into a country or 
state are spoken of as immigrants. Among the 
principal causes that have led to emigration are 
over-population, political and social discontent, 
compulsory military service, religious persecu¬ 
tion, the desire to attain greater liberty, and 
the general betterment of industrial conditions. 
The barbaric tribes of ancient times were in¬ 
duced to migrate and occupy territory more con¬ 
ducive to their arts of warfare and life, while 
civilized people have migrated more or less for 
higher purposes, especially to carry the benefits 
of civilization and religion to remote lands. 
All of Europe was settled by the over-popula¬ 
tion that pressed westward from Asia, and 
later, when the population of European coun¬ 
tries became dense, the inhabitants in turn 
sought newer lands and greater opportunities. 
The fact that people are governed by certain 
laws of migration, such as passing to countries 
having a similar climate, the same natural re¬ 
sources, and an approximately equal altitude, 
has been well established. 

Emigration to America on a large scale began 
with the departure of the Puritans, who planted 
colonies in New England. Soon after the Dutch 
colonized New York, the Germans settled Penn¬ 
sylvania, the French occupied Canada and 


Louisiana, the Spaniards made settlements in 
Florida, and the Swedes established a foothold 
in Delaware. In 1815 such an extensive break¬ 
ing-up occurred in Europe that alarm was oc¬ 
casioned, though afterward it became manifest 
that the emigrants were made up largely of the 
over-population of various countries. The last 
century marks the greatest epoch of migration 
in the world’s history, a period in which the 
Spanish and Portuguese languages were planted 
in Central and South America, the English in 
North America and Australia, and the Dutch, 
English, German, and French in various por¬ 
tions of Africa, Asia, and the Oceanic islands. 
Perhaps the planting of language is even over¬ 
shadowed by the establishment of certain forms 
of religion, industries, and customs, and the 
molding of a new civilization. The colonial 
policy pursued in recent years by the great 
powers of Europe is tending to direct the over¬ 
population to various colonies, and thereby to 
strengthen more and more the foothold that 
these nations have in regions far remote from 
the mother country. This is particularly true 
of the Russians in Asia, and the Portuguese, 
French, Germans, English, and Italians in Af¬ 
rica. 

EMIGRES (a-me-gra'), the name given to 
the royalists who fled for safety from France 
during the Revolution of 1789. The movement 
began shortly after the storming of the Bastile 
on July 14, 1789, When Prince Conde became 
alarmed at the course of events and was joined 
by many nobles in emigrating to Germany and 
the Netherlands. In October of the same year 
a concerted attack was made on Versailles, 
causing the royal family to remove to Paris, 
and this was followed by a renewal of emigra¬ 
tion on a larger scale. The emigres collected 
an army of 80,000 men at Coblentz under the 
Duke of Brunswick and the king made a dis¬ 
astrous attempt to join the forces, but was cap¬ 
tured on the night of June 20, 1791. Conde and 
his adherents joined the Prussian army in 
Champagne, which caused the French govern¬ 
ment to confiscate their property and to pro¬ 
claim the death penalty upon many for treason. 
When Napoleon gained the consulship, they 
were permitted to return, but the charter of 
1814 made it impossible for them to regain their 
estates or former privileges. In 1825 the gov¬ 
ernment voted to compensate them for the loss 
of their estates, but this was annulled as a result 
of the Revolution of that year. 

EMINENT DOMAIN (em'i-n§nt do-man'), 
the supreme right possessed by a country or 
state to take or control private property for 
public use without the consent of the owner. 


EMOTIONS 


733 


EMULSION 


This right is justified in all civilized nations 
because it serves to promote the general wel¬ 
fare. It is not a confiscation of the property, 
since it is required that full and adequate com¬ 
pensation be made to the owner, and is to a 
large extent the outgrowth of the feudal system 
of land tenure in England and elsewhere. The 
Parliament of Great Britain provides for rea¬ 
sonable compensation to the owner of property 
taken for public use, but this is done rather as 
an act of justice than because of legal obliga¬ 
tion. In the United States it is a constitutional 
requirement that no person shall be deprived of 
property without due process of law, and “pri¬ 
vate property shall not be taken for public use 
without just compensation.” Nearly all of the 
states have similar constitutional provisions, and 
under them, or the statute laws, property may 
be taken for public use in the same way as it 
may be taken by the national government. The 
right of eminent domain is essential and neces¬ 
sary, since otherwise it might become impossible 
to construct public buildings, highways, canals, 
and railroads. 

EMOTIONS' (e-mo'shuns). See Feelings. 

EMPEROR (em'per-er), the title of a sov¬ 
ereign who rules over an empire, considered 
superior to the rank of a king. It originated 
from the title of Imperator, which was con¬ 
ferred by the ancient Romans on the consuls in 
their military capacity. In later times it des¬ 
ignated the highest authority in the state and 
Julius Caesar assumed this title and made Rome 
an empire. Charlemagne, who founded the 
German Empire, received the title of Emperor 
of the Romans in 800 a. d., and it was borne by 
his successors until 1806, when the Holy Roman 
Empire was dissolved. At present it is the offi¬ 
cial title of the emperors of Germany and Aus¬ 
tria-Hungary. The King of England is Em¬ 
peror of India, and the Czar of Russia is fre¬ 
quently alluded to as an emperor. China, Japan, 
and Turkey are empires. 

EMPIRICISM (em-pir'i-slz’m), a system of 
practice based on the results of observation 
rather than on the scientific investigation of 
principles. It is evident from the very nature 
of progress in the learned professions that the 
early methods employed were more largely em¬ 
pirical than after material advancement had 
been made, though the value of any system of 
learning depends to a large extent upon prac¬ 
tical observations based upon successful and 
continuous experiments. In the greater activ¬ 
ities of modern civilization scholars aim to take 
advantage of every useful discovery and method 
made in previous ages, and, by a system of con¬ 
tinuous investigation, to supplement such newer 


and advancing methods as are evolved in con¬ 
sequence of thorough application. From this it 
is evident that all methods are to take into ac¬ 
count the benefits of systems originated in the 
past, and to further accumulate and enlarge by 
experience and observation. 

EMPORIA (em-po'ri-a), county seat of 
Lyon County, Kansas, on the Neosho River, 
120 miles southwest of Kansas City. It is on 
the Missouri, Kansas and Texas and the Atchi¬ 
son, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads. The sur¬ 
rounding country is a fertile farming region. 
Among the chief buildings are the county court¬ 
house, the Carnegie library, a conservatory of 
music, and the College of Emporia, a Presby¬ 
terian institution. It is the seat of a State 
normal school. The manufactures include ve¬ 
hicles, ironware, canned goods, flour, dairy 
products, and works in marble. It has systems 
of electric railways, waterworks, and gas and 
electric lighting. Emporia was settled in 1856 
and incorporated in 1870. Population, 1904, 9,346. 

EMS (ams), usually called the Bath of Ems, 
a bathing place of Germany, about four miles 
from Coblentz, on the Lahn River, in the prov¬ 
ince of Hesse-Nassau. The thermal springs 
belong to the class which contain soda, have a 
temperature of 78° to 135°, and the waters are 
used both for drinking and bathing. It has 
numerous bathing establishments, many of 
which are finely constructed. The town is noted 
for its fine hotels, theaters, and private lodging 
houses. Thousands of visitors throng the place 
annually. The value of the springs was known 
to the Romans. Population, 1905, 7,614. 

EMU (e'mu), or Emeu, a large bird closely 
allied to the cassowary, standing from five to 
six feet high. It is native to Australia and the 
adjacent islands. The color is a dull brown 
mottled with gray-white, but the young are 
striped with black. The head is devoid of a 
helmet, as found in the cassowary, and the bill 
is depressed. Australian natives value the flesh 
and eggs for food, the former having a taste 
which resembles that of beef. Emus are easily 
domesticated and breed readily in that state. 
The eggs are not as large as those of the os¬ 
trich, being only about four inches in diameter, 
but require three months for incubation, which 
is sometimes performed by the male. They live 
on roots, fruits, and herbage. The only sound 
uttered is a loud, booming cry made by the fe¬ 
male. This species of birds is unable to fly, 
but it possesses much speed in running. See 
illustration on following page. 

EMULSION (e-mul'shun), a medical prep¬ 
aration composed of a soft liquid resembling 
milk in consistency and color, its oily or resin- 




ENAMEL 


734 


ENCYCLOPAEDIA 


ous property being united with water by a sac¬ 
charine or mucilaginous substance. Among the 
best known is the emulsion of cod-liver oil, 
used in treating pulmonary disease. 

ENAMEL (en-am'el), the name given to 
vitrified substances of various composition, ap¬ 
plied to the surface of metals. It is generally 
put on like paint, with a brush, and then heated 
sufficiently to melt the enamel, which causes it 
to become a fixed part of the surface. The 
art was practiced by the Egyptians and’ Etrus¬ 
cans on pottery, and passed from them to the 
Greeks and Romans. In Western Europe, es¬ 
pecially among the Saxons and Normans, it 
was early employed in manufactures. It is 
used for producing artistic designs, figures, and 



CASSOWARY. , EMU. 


ornaments, when it belongs to the fine arts, and 
is employed in making the dial plates of watches 
and clocks and for coating culinary vessels. 
The basis of all enamels must be an easily 
fusible, colorless silicate or glass. All bases 
on which it is applied must be cleaned with 
weak acid, or some similar preparation, and 
moistened with gum water. Copper is the best 
base, but iron is used for ordinary purposes. 

ENAREA (i-na're-a), a region of Africa, 
in the southern part of Abyssinia, between 7° 
and 9° north. It is inhabited by natives of the 
Gallas tribes. The government is hereditary 
and absolute. Among the chief products are 
coffee, cloth, embroidery, gold, live stock, and 
fruits. In religion the people are largely Mo¬ 
hammedans. The slave trade is still sanctioned, 
though it has been abridged greatly in recent 
years. The government is administered from 


Saka, a city near the Gibbe River. Population, 
1908, 42,500. 

ENCAUSTIC PAINTING (en-kas'tik), the 
method of fixing colors upon objects by the proc¬ 
ess of burning. The ancient Greeks employed 
the encaustic art in decorating the inner and 
outer walls of buildings and in ornamenting 
sculptures in marble. It was a common kind 
of painting among the artists of Rome during 
the empire. The colors were mixed with wax 
and resin, and the pictures were finished by the 
application of a hot iron, hence it gave the 
product a more glossy surface than that ob¬ 
tained in water-color painting. It has the ad¬ 
vantage of being very enduring, henca the art 
has been revived to some extent. Polygnotus’s 
“The Battle of Marathon” is a good example of 
encaustic painting and was preserved in an open 
portico at Athens about ten centuries. 

ENCYCLOPAEDIA (en-si-klo-pe'di-a), 
Encyclopaedia, or Cyclopaedia, a work in 
which the various branches of science and art are 
treated separately, or in particular departments, 
and usually in alphabetical order. The authors 
of early encyclopaedias attempted to treat all 
subjects of human knowledge exhaustively, but, 
as knowledge extended, vocabularies enlarged, 
and specialists multiplied, it became necessary to 
confine the treatise to a smaller limit of sub¬ 
jects or make the work departmental and spe¬ 
cialized. It is assumed that Terentius Varro 
wrote the first extensive work of an encyclo¬ 
paedic nature in the year 30 b. c. Pliny the Eld¬ 
er soon after prepared his well known “Nat¬ 
ural History,” which long ranked as a highly 
superior work. Farabi, an Arabian writer, pre¬ 
pared an encyclopaedia in the Arabian in the 
10th century, while Dominican Vincent of Beau¬ 
vais, under the patronage of Louis IX. of 
France, collected the whole sum of knowledge 
of the Middle Ages, to which an anonymous 
author appended a valuable addition several 
years later. In 1677 Johann Jacob Hoffman 
published his great German work, “The Uni¬ 
versal Lexicon,” at Basel, Switzerland, and in 
1697 Pierre Bayle, the French critic, issued his 
well-known “Dictionary of History.” The most 
extensive of the newer German works are Mey¬ 
er’s “Neues Konversations-Lexikon” and Brock- 
haus’s “Konversations-Lexikon.” Ange de Saint- 
Priest’s “Encyclopedic du XlXeme siecle” is a 
modern work in French. 

The first English encyclopaedia containing 
subjects in alphabetical order was the “Lexicon 
Technicum” published in 1704. Among the 
newer English works are the “Encyclopaedia 
Britannica/’ published at Edinburgh in 1788, 
Charles Knight’s “Penny Encyclopaedia,” and 








ENDOGENS 


735 


ENFIELD 


“Chambers’ Encyclopaedia.” The English pub¬ 
lications have been revised from time to time 
and have had a large sale in America. To make 
them more suitable in Canada and the United 
States, American supplements or additions have 
been combined with the English publications. 
The most extensive encyclopaedia ever pub¬ 
lished in the world is the Chinese “Encyclo¬ 
paedia of Literature and Science,” containing 
5,040 volumes. It embraces information on 
practically every subject known to the people of 
the Celestial Empire. Among the leading 
American publications are “The Americana,” 
“Johnson’s Universal Cyclopaedia,” and *‘The 
New International Encyclopaedia.” Besides 
these are smaller editions of general character 
and numerous works treating on special sub¬ 
jects, such as biography, anatomy, ethnology, 
zoology, etc. 

ENDOGENS (en'do-jens), one of the two 
primary classes of plants into which the veg-- 
etable kingdom is divided, the other being exo¬ 
gens. This designation of character is deter¬ 
mined from the structure of the stem, which 
has the wood in threads mixed with the pith 
and scattered throughout every part, never 
forming layers, and from the wood of which 
the bark cannot be peeled, because of its being 
I partly developed in the interior of the stem. 

The embryo has but one cotyledon, the leaves 
| are nearly always parallel-veined, and the flow¬ 
ers have their parts in threes or a multiple of 
three, very rarely in twos or fours, but never in 
fives. In germination the original radicle issues 
from a sheath, and, in growing upward, each 
successive shoot of the stem issues from a for¬ 
mer sheath. Palms, bananas, lilies, grasses, and 
sedges belong to this division. 

ENEMY, in military, the term applied to 
either of two nations which are at war with 
each other. The state of enmity begins with a 
declaration of war, which may be either docu¬ 
mentary or by actually taking up arms. Both 
parties in an armed conflict are called combat¬ 
ants, while all others that are interested but 
exempt from the operations of hostilities are 
known as noncombatants. During a state of 
war, when two or more nations are enemies to 
each other, all commercial relations are sus¬ 
pended. In some cases a state may permit its 
own citizens to trade with the enemy, but as a 
rule contracts made with an enemy cannot be 
enforced in the courts of law. 

ENERGY (en'er-jy), the capacity to do 
work. Work is done at the expense of energy. 
All natural phenomena are caused by energy 
acting on matter. Whenever it is expended to 
produce a phenomenon, such energy must be 


drawn or transferred from some stock of exist¬ 
ing energy. For example, when the spring of 
a watch is run down, and has thus expended the 
energy it possessed, it requires a new store of 
energy to be imparted to it. If a book falls 
from the table to the floor, it requires that en¬ 
ergy be imparted to it in order to raise it from 
the floor to the table. When the book reaches 
the table, it has acquired energy sufficient to en¬ 
able it to do work exactly equal to the amount 
expended on it in raising it that disfance. This 
energy of motion is called kinetic energy. So 
long as the book rests on the table the distance 
times the weight of the book is stored in the 
book, and the energy so stored is called po¬ 
tential energy. 

Experiments in great number have proved 
that there is never any destruction of energy. 
It may be transferred from one body to another, 
or differently distributed among bodies at dif¬ 
ferent times, but the sum total in all the bodies 
is not lost. Matter and energy never change. 
In order to effect transmission, when there is 
no solid or fluid matter to act as a conductor, 
it must either leap through empty space, or be 
carried by something in space which we cannot 
see or otherwise detect. Hence, physicists as¬ 
sume the existence of a medium called ether. 
The energy which resides in ether waves is 
called radiant energy. The form of energy 
is known by diversified terms, dependent upon 
the nature of its work. It is designated as light, 
when it affects the eye; heat, when it raises the 
temperature; actinic, when it produces chem¬ 
ical changes; and electric, when it gives rise to 
conditions of electrification. 

Since the sum total of energy in the universe, 
like the sum total of matter, must constantly re¬ 
main the same, it gives rise to the general law 
known as the conservation of energy. Accord¬ 
ing to this law no form of energy can be pro¬ 
duced except by the expenditure of some other 
form, nor can it be annihilated except by 
being reproduced in some other form. The 
general theory known as the dissipation of 
energy is based upon the tendency of all 
energy to be converted into heat, and in the 
form of heat it radiates into space and apparent¬ 
ly is lost forever. According to this view, the 
sun will eventually become a cool and dark body 
like the earth, since its heat is constantly radi¬ 
ating off and is not returned to it. 

ENFIELD (en'feld), a town of Middlesex 
County, England, nine miles north of London. 
It is celebrated on account of the manufacture 
of rifles and small arms for the government. 
The noteworthy features include the town hall, 
the public library, and the remains of a royal 






ENFIELD 


736 


ENGLAND 


palace of Edward III. Enfield has a celebrated 
school at which Keats studied. It was the home 
of Charles Lamb. Population, 19'07, 49,631. 

ENFIELD, a town of Hartford County, 
Connecticut, on the Connecticut River, about 
ten miles south of Springfield, Mass. It is on 
the New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail¬ 
road. Within the town is a community of 
Shakers known as Shaker Station. It has a 
public library and several fine schools. Among 
the enterprises is the famous Thompsonville 
carpet factory, in which about 350 looms are 
employed, having a capacity of 6,000,000 yards 
annually. It is the seat of the Hazzardville 
powder mills, one of the largest institutions of 
the kind in the world. Other factories produce 
vehicles, plows, sewing machines, timber prod¬ 
ucts, and implements. Population, 1910, 9,719. 

ENGINE (en'jin), a machine of complicated 
parts for utilizing some force in nature to 
perform work. See Steam Engine. 

ENGINEERING (en-ji-ner'ing), the art of 
making, building, or using engines and machines, 
or of designing and constructing public works, 
requiring special knowledge of materials, ma¬ 
chinery, and the laws of mechanics. The range 
of knowledge required for the different depart¬ 
ments is quite diversified, and each of these 
does not admit of strict definition as now di¬ 
vided. The six principal divisions of this 
branch of learning consist of military, marine, 
mechanical, civil, electrical, and mining. Mili¬ 
tary engineering includes the planning, con¬ 
structing, and maintenance of fortifications and 
gunnery, artillery, and telegraphy as applied in 
warfare. Marine and naval engineering are 
. concerned with works partly of a military and 
partly of a naval character, such as the plan¬ 
ning and construction of vessels of war, en¬ 
gines, and torpedoes. Mechanical engineering 
requires efficiency in the invention, contrivance, 
and adjustment of machinery. It is necessary 
that the mechanical engineer be acquainted with 
the quality and strength of the materials used, 
the power of steam, and the parts of engines. 
In addition it is essential that he should un¬ 
derstand the construction of various kinds of 
mills, including those propelled by steam, water, 
and wind. 

The work of a civil engineer covers the most 
diversified field of study and was not developed 
in England until about the middle of the 18th 
century. The engineers employed in that coun¬ 
try prior to that time were generally secured 
from Holland. Civil engineers have to do with 
the construction of railroads, canals, aqueducts, 
harbors, highways, bridges, and drainage works. 
Electrical engineering as an art sprang into rec¬ 


ognition in recent years, owing to the larger 
and more diversified uses of electricity in ma¬ 
chinery and the arts. The work of an electrical 
engineer has to do with the construction, fitting,, 
and care of electrical machinery and the build¬ 
ing of electrical car lffies, telephones, and tele¬ 
graph and oceanic cables. Mining engineering 
is concerned with the construction and opera¬ 
tion of copper, iron, coal, and other mines. 
The general tendency is to specialize more 
closely from time to time the various depart¬ 
ments of engineering. 

Many important associations of engineers have 
been Organized and are maintained in the United 
States. The most important among them are 
the American Institute of Mining Engineers, 
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 
Ajnerican Institute of Electrical Engineers, 
American Society of Civil Engineers, and West¬ 
ern Society of Engineers. All of these have 
meetings at specified times to discuss important 
questions in relation to their interests, prepare 
published reports, and support libraries and 
periodicals for the general dissemination of 
knowledge and skill in their respective fields. 

ENGLAND (In'gland), a country of Great 
Britain, the most important member of the 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 
It occupies all of the southern portion of the 
island of Great Britain, except the region in 
the west, which is included in Wales. It is 
separated from Scotland by the Solway Firth, 
the Cheviot Hills, and the Tweed River. The 
outline is in the form of a triangle, with the 
southern base 315 miles long, and the greatest 
distance north and south about 360 miles. Its 
coast line is greatly lengthened by numerous 
windings and indentations, the most important 
of which are the Bristol Channel, the estuary 
of the Severn, Morecambe Bay, Solway Firth, 
the Wash, the mouth of the Thames, Lyme Bay, 
and Plymouth Sound. It is separated from 
Europe by the North Sea, the Strait of Dover, 
and the English Channel, and Saint George's 
Channel and the Irish Sea separate Wales and 
England from Ireland. The area, according to 
official determinations, is 50,930 square miles. 

Description. The surface in the eastern and 
southern parts is low and gently undulating, 
and is nicely diversified by slightly rounded ele¬ 
vations and broad, fertile valleys. Ranges of 
mountains and hills characterize the northern 
and northwestern part, some of which extend 
into Wales and form a continuation of the 
highlands of Scotland. The highest elevations 
include the Cornish Heights, the Cumbrian 
Mountains, and the Cheviot Hills; the last 
mentioned trend from Solway Firth parallel 
























































9 





























































































































0 - 




















✓ 




































ENGLAND 


737 


ENGLAND 


to the boundary line of Scotland. Scafell, one 
of the highest summits of England, is in the 
northern part and has an elevation of 3,210 
feet. The Cumbrian Mountains, a region famed 
as the Lake District, is in the northwestern part 
of England and has peaks that rise about 3,000 
feet above the sea. Toward the south, extend¬ 
ing through Wales, are the Welch or Cambrian 
Mountains, and in the high peninsula of Devon 
and Cornwall are the lower simmits of the 
Devon Range. As a whole the surface of Eng¬ 
land is more productive and better adapted to 
agriculture than any other part of the British 
Isles. 

Numerous small streams drain the surface, 
the larger number of which flow into the North 
Sea, hence the general slope is toward the east. 
Among the rivers which flow into the North 
Sea are the' Thames, Huber, and Tyne, all 
of which are important for navigation. The 
Severn, Mersey, and Wye flow into waters trib¬ 
utary to the Atlantic, and are rendered useful 
for navigation by various improvements and 
canals. Other streams include the Trent, Wear, 
Avon, Tees, Dee, and Eden. However, the Sev¬ 
ern is the most important in commerce since it 
has tides of extraordinary height, flows through 
productive coal fields, and is the longest of the 
streams. The Mersey has its source in the 
Pennine Mountains, and flows through a great 
manufacturing district. All of the streams and 
the coastal waters are rich in fish, including the 
cod, herring, mackerel, and haddock. Hull, 
Grimsby, and Yarmouth are centers of the fish¬ 
ing industry, but London takes rank as the 
most extensive fish market in the world, having 
its center at Billingsgate. The annual produc¬ 
tion of fish is valued at $32,500,000. 

Mining. Coal is the most important mineral. 
It is produced in large quantities in Yorkshire, 
Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire. 
Durham and York are among the centers of the 
coal mining region. Iron takes second rank in 
the mineral output and in its production Eng¬ 
land is exceeded only by the United States and 
Germany. Yorkshire and Derbyshire produce 
the greater portion of iron ore and tin is ob¬ 
tained chiefly in Devon and Cornwall. Lead 
and zinc are mined in Northumberland and 
small quantities of copper, gypsum, and salt are 
obtained in different sections. Building stone 
of all kinds is abundant, including limestone, 
granite, and sandstone. 

Agriculture. The land is owned by a small 
per cent, of the population. Fully eighty-five 
per cent, of the surface which is under cultiva¬ 
tion is rented in small tracts. Much care is ex¬ 
ercised in tilling the soil and maintaining fer- 
47 


tility. Estimated upon an acreage basis, more 
is paid for rent, labor, machinery, and fertili¬ 
zers than in Canada or the United States. A 
large number of agricultural laborers have been 
displaced by the adoption of labor-saving ma¬ 
chinery, especially in the sections where cereals 
are the principal crops. Indian corn is not 
grown, hence wheat, rye, barley, and oats are 
the chief cereals. Beans and peas receive much 
attention and considerable profit is obtained 
from fruit farming and gardening. Most of 
the farming is a mixture of crop growing and 
raising of live stock. England is noted for the 
Durham, Devon, Hereford, and Sussex breeds 
of cattle and the Cotswold, Southdown, and 
Leicestershire sheep. The Berkshire breed of 
hogs, which are grown extensively, have been 
naturalized in nearly all countries. Dairy farm¬ 
ing receives marked attention. A superior class 
of horses is raised. 

Manufactures. Manufacturing is the prin¬ 
cipal industry. In the output of manufactures 
England is exceeded only by the United States. 
Fully five times as many persons^ are engaged 
in this enterprise as upon the farms. This con¬ 
dition is brought about from the natural ad¬ 
vantage of having an abundance of coal and 
iron, and the additional fact that England has 
a large merchant marine to encourage foreign 
trade in the output of the manufacturing estab¬ 
lishments. The textile industry is of first im¬ 
portance and the output consists largely of cot¬ 
ton and woolen goods. Manchester is the great¬ 
est center of cotton manufacture in the world, 
while Leeds has the largest woolen mills. Shef¬ 
field and Birmingham are centers of the iron 
and steel industry. Linens are made in large 
quantities at Leeds and Barnsley and silk manu¬ 
facturing is carried on in Coventry and Mac¬ 
clesfield. Other manufactures include pottery, 
earthenware, chemicals, machinery, pins and 
needles, steel pens, chinaware, cutlery, and fire¬ 
arms. England has some of the largest ship¬ 
yards in the world. 

Transportation. A fine system of canals 
was constructed before railroads were built 
and these are maintained in a high degree of 
proficiency. Almost every part of the country 
can be reached by the navigable waterwa)^, 
which consist of the coastal waters, estuaries, 
and streams, and a system of canals that pene¬ 
trates the trade centers. However, the bulk of 
the transportation is by railways, which have 
lines in England and Wales that aggregate 
16,500 miles. Many of the canals are controlled 
by the railways and most of them have trunk 
lines into London. Much of the local traffic 
is carried by electric railways, which penetrate 










ENGLAND 


738 


ENGLAND 


from the cities into nearly all sections of the 
country. 

Commerce. See Great Britain. 

Cities. London, situated on the Thames, is 
the capital of the United Kingdom and of Great 
Britain and is the largest city in the world. 
Fourteen cities, including London, have a popu¬ 
lation of more than 200,000. These include, in 
the order of size, Liverpool, Manchester, Bir¬ 
mingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, Bradford, 
West Ham, Kingston-upon-Hull, Nottingham, 
Salford, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Leicester. 
Eighteen other cities have a population of more 
than 100,000, including Portsmouth, Bolton, Sun¬ 
derland, Oldham, Croydon, Blackburn, Brighton, 
Willesden, Rhondda, Preston, Norwich, Birken¬ 
head, Gateshead, Plymouth, Derby, Halifax, 
Southampton, and Tottenham. About seventy- 
eight per cent, of the people of England and 
Wales live in towns and cities. 

Education and Inhabitants. England is di¬ 
vided into forty counties, each of which has the 
right of local self-government similar to that 
of the counties in Canada and the United States. 
Educational facilities are provided under a sys¬ 
tem of local taxation and grants by the state. 
A nominal compulsory school attendance law 
is well enforced. Much of the instruction is 
in private and denominational schools. A board 
of education has control of elementary educa¬ 
tion under a law which went into effect in 1900, 
by which the efficiency of instruction has been 
greatly increased. Oxford and Cambridge 
were the only great centers of higher learning 
at the beginning of the 19th century, but within 
that century four others were organized. These 
include Victoria University and the universities 
of London, Durham, and Birmingham. The in¬ 
habitants number about 610 to the square mile. 
Emigration and immigration have been about 
equal the last decade. Those coming into the 
country are chiefly from other parts of Great 
Britain, Russia, Germany, and Belgium. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1901, 30,805,466. See Great Britain. 

Government. See Great Britain. 

Language. The English language spoken in 
modern times is entirely Germanic in its gen¬ 
eral character and grammatical construction, 
though it resembles more nearly the Low Ger¬ 
man than the higher class in general use. There 
are three periods in its history, including the 
Old English, Middle English, and Modern Eng¬ 
lish. The first of these extends from the 
German Conquest of England in about 450 to 
.the Norman Conquest in 1066; the second to 
about 1400; and the last embraces all the period 
from the latter date. Old English or Anglo- 
Saxon included several dialects, all of which 


were highly inflected. Two languages were 
spoken from the Norman Conquest until about 
the middle of the 13th century, but these be¬ 
came greatly mixed, and, after a time, the 
French merged with the Anglo-Saxon, forming 
the Middle English, the language of Chaucer, 
Langland, and Wycliffe. Modern English dif¬ 
fers so materially from the older forms that 
few words of the latter resemble the English of 
the present time. Discoveries, inventions, di¬ 
versifications of industries, and advancement in 
science and sublety of thought have all modi¬ 
fied and enlarged the language, and, for that 
matter, all others. It is estimated that the Eng¬ 
lish language is spoken by about 115,000,000 
people, though it is understood by fully 120,- 
000,000. 

Literature. English literature is naturally 
divided into three periods—from its beginning 
to the Norman Conquest in 1066, from the Nor¬ 
man Conquest to the Reformation under Henry 
VIII. in 1527-47, and from the Reformation to 
the present time. The literature of the period 
antecedent to the conquest may be divided into 
Celtic, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon, and is of a 
form that cannot be read except by students 
making its study a specialty. The most eminent 
Celtic writers include Llywarch Hen and Mer¬ 
lin or Merddhin, and the Latin writers embrace 
Ethelwerd and Bede. The Norman period ex 
tends from the Conquest in 1066 to the com¬ 
mencement of English literature in 1255. Prior 
to the Conquest a form of Anglo-Saxon litera¬ 
ture had developed. It was represented chiefly 
in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which continued 
to be published until 1154, when the native lan¬ 
guage went practically out of use. At that time 
Latin was generally used in history, law, and 
philosophy, while French was employed in po¬ 
etry and the literature for general reading. 

After the loss of Normandy, in 1204, the 
English-speaking people gradually attained to a 
majority, and we find English employed by Rog¬ 
er Bacon, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Geoffrey 
Chaucer. The last mentioned is regarded the 
first great poet of England, and, though a stu¬ 
dent of French romance and chivalry, he wrote 
verse in the English. He translated “The Ro¬ 
mance of the Rose” into English, and in later 
years made a study of Italian literature, thus 
giving the English the benefits of translations 
from Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch. Among 
the most famous writings of Chaucer are “The 
Assembly of Fowls,” “The House of Fame,” 
and “Canterbury Tales.” Though city-bred, 
Chaucer was a lover of the fields and flowers 
and showed a marked sensitiveness to the charm 
and beauty of the world. His “Canterbury 


ENGLAND 


739 


ENGLAND 


Tales” is the most noted of his works. It is 
written in a poetic form and relates the plan of 
a company of thirty who journeyed from Lon¬ 
don to Canterbury, where they designed to visit 
the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket. The 
poem relates the different stories told by each 
member of the company. Among the contem¬ 
porary writers of Chaucer are the poets, John 
Gower (1325-1408), Robert Langland (1332- 
1406), and the prose writer, John Wycliffe 
(1324-1384). The writings of this period took 
on the form of the English as written at the 
present time. 

The writers of England between the time of 
Chaucer and the end of the 16th century were 
largely imitators of that poet, including James • 
I. of Scotland, John Skelton (1460-1529), and 
Sir Thomas More (1478-1535). It may be 
said that this period was generally barren, but 
with the invention of printing an appetite for 
literature began to awaken. This was due large¬ 
ly to the fact that the crusades came in contact 
with Greek scholarship in Constantinople and 
Southern Europe, where a taste for Greek and 
Roman literature was still alive. When the 
Turks drove the Greek scholars from Constan¬ 
tinople in 1453, they spread rapidly toward the 
west and found many young persons eager to 
learn the classics and philosophy of Greek and 
Roman masters. There was not only a tendency 
to journey to Italy for the purpose of studying, 
but scholars were induced to come to Western 
Europe and gradually found their way to Eng¬ 
land. It was the height of ambition to be able 
to read Homer and Plato, and to discourse on 
the writings of Demosthenes and Cicero. 

The discovery of America induced a greater 
interest in geography, opened new avenues of 
commerce and social activity, and rapidly pre¬ 
pared for a transition from the Middle Ages to 
the dawn of learning. While Erasmus, the 
Dutch scholar and philosopher, was teaching 
Greek at Oxford, he aroused an interest in 
the New Testament, and published “The Chris¬ 
tian Soldiers’ Dagger.” William Tyndale trans¬ 
lated the New Testament into English, which 
he published in Germany in 1525, and circulated 
it extensively in England. In the meantime the 
Reformation in England came on in the reign 
of Henry VIII., who separated England from 
Rome, thus paving the way for the enthusiasm 
always attending a great epoch prominently af¬ 
fecting a large number of people. Sir Thomas 
More, the author of “Utopia,” was beheaded, 
and many other writers suffered a similar 
fate. 

Among the prominent literary men immediate¬ 
ly after the Reformation are Sir Thomas Wyatt, 


the first artistic po^:, and Henry Howard Sur¬ 
rey, a writer of sonnets and blank verse. These 
and other writers gave an impetus to literature 
by making songs and sonnets national, and pre¬ 
pared the way for the Elizabethan age of litera¬ 
ture. This age is famous because of the large 
number of men who came forward with writ¬ 
ings of merit, such as Edmund Spenser, Wil¬ 
liam Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Roger Ascham, 
Francis Bacon, and Lyle the Euphuist. Other 
writers of this period include Peele, Marlowe, 
Greene, Herbert of Cherbury, Middleton, Mars- 
ton, Raleigh, and North. The writings of 
Shakespeare, which appeared between 1585 and 
1616, are the most prominent of the. period and 
in many respects are the finest in English litera¬ 
ture. They possess a wealth of imagination 
rarely equaled, and embody passages of the 
gravest wisdom, the purest motives, and the 
tenderest feeling. 

Ben Jonson holds a high rank as a song 
writer and produced a number of excellent com¬ 
edies and other plays. Philip Massinger (1583- 
1640) ranks among the dramatists of this peri¬ 
od; Abraham Cowley (1618-1667), among the 
lyric poets; Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), among 
the historians; and John Milton, among the po¬ 
etical and prose writers. Milton’s “Paradise 
Lost” is a masterpiece of English literature. 
Other writings of Milton include “Paradise Re¬ 
gained,” “II Penseroso,” “Hymn on the Na¬ 
tivity,” and “L’Allegro.” Other religious writ¬ 
ers of the same period include James Usher 
(1581-1656), Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), John 
Biddle (1615-1662), and Richard Baxter (1615- 
1691). John Bunyan, author of “Pilgrim’s 
Progress,” marks an epoch in English litera¬ 
ture. Few works have been so widely translated 
and so extensively read as his masterpiece, the 
“Pilgrim’s Progress.” 

John Dryden wrote many popular plays after 
the Restoration. He is the author of “Hind and 
Panther,” a religious discussion, and “Absa¬ 
lom and Achitophel,” a famous satire. The 
death of Dryden in 1700 marks the beginning of 
the Augustian age in English literature and its 
greatest poet is Alexander Pope. This age 
witnessed the advent of many scientific and 
philosophical writers, among them Sir Isaac 
Newton, John Ray, John Locke, Richard 
Steele, Joseph Addison, Jonathan Swift, James 
Thompson, and Thomas Gray. James Thomp¬ 
son is best • remembered by his “Seasons,” 
Thomas Gray by his “Elegy Written in a Coun¬ 
try Churchyard,” and Daniel De Foe by his 
“Robinson Crusoe.” Samuel Richardson pub¬ 
lished “Pamela,” one of the first modern novels, 
and Henry Fielding is favorably known by his 


ENGLAND 


740 


ENGLAND 


“Joseph Andrews,” “Tom Julies,” and -other 
novels. 

Samuel Johnson stands as the literary repre¬ 
sentative of the second half of the 18th century. 
His most famous works include “Lives of the 
Poets” and “Vanity of Human Wishes.” The 
name of Oliver Goldsmith is inseparably con¬ 
nected with that of Johnson. He is the writer 
of “Vicar of Wakefield,” “The Deserted Vil¬ 
lage,” and the comedy “She Stoops to Con¬ 
quer.” William Cowper is an eminent poet of 
the latter part of the 17th century and is noted 
for his introduction of profound religious senti¬ 
ment. Richard B. Sheridan is the author of 
“School for Scandal” and a number of other 
popular writings. David Hume, Adam Smith, 
Edmund Burke, and Edward Gibbon are among 
the most eminent historians and political writ¬ 
ers of the latter part of the 18th century. 

The 19th century is the greatest in the history 
of English literature, both in the character of 
the productions and in the number of writers. 
The early writers of this period include Samuel 
T. Coleridge, whose “Ancient Mariner” rep¬ 
resents the finest type of ballads; William 
Wordsworth, author of “Recollections of Early 
Childhood,” and Sir Walter Scott, writer of 
“Ivanhoe,” “Rob Roy,” “Kenilworth,” “Lay of 
the Last Minstrel,” and “Lady of the Lake.” 
Other poets of the 19th century include Lord 
Byron, Percy Shelley, John Keats, George 
Crabbe, Leigh Hunt, Thomas Moore, Alexan¬ 
der Smith, Elizabeth Browning, Robert Brown¬ 
ing, Lord Lytton, Robert Buchanan, Alfred 
Tennyson, William Morris, Matthew Arnold, 
and Charles Mackay. The novelists embrace 
Jane Austen, Lord Lytton, Benjamin Disraeli, 
Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Charles 
Reade, Charles Kingsley, George Eliot, Wil¬ 
liam Thackeray, George Meredith, R. D. Black- 
more, George MacDonald, and Thomas Hardy. 
Among the philosophical writers are John Stu¬ 
art Mill, Alexander Bane, Sir W. Hamilton, 
Charles Darwin, Herbert Spencer, Max Mul¬ 
ler, Thomas H. Huxley, John Tyndall, and T. 
H. Greene. The historical and biographical 
writers include Thomas B. Macaulay, Thomas 
Carlyle, John R. Green, Lesley Stephen, John 
Morley, Cornwall Lewis, James A. Froude, 
Alexander W. Kinglake, William E. Lecky, and 
Dean Stanley. Among the prominent theolog¬ 
ical writers are Isaac Taylor, Julius Hare, 
Stopford Brooke, Henry P. Liddon, Augustus 
Hare, John H. Newman, Richard Whately, and 
John Maurice. Other writers of note include 
John Ruskin, Harriet Martineau, W. E. Glad¬ 
stone, Sir Arthur Helps, Matthew Arnold, Thom¬ 
as De Quincey, George Grote, Michael Far¬ 


aday, Edward A. Freeman, and Thomas Henry 
Hall Caine. 

The beginning of the 20th century marks a 
period of great activity in the field of litera¬ 
ture. In 1907, which is a representative year, 
there were issued a total of 7,701 new books in 
England, besides 2,213 new editions of books 
formerly published. The greatest number were 
in the line of fiction, a total of 1,862 new books 
and 920 new editions of old books. Those com¬ 
ing next in numerical order are books on the 
arts and sciences, theology, history, politics, ed¬ 
ucation, and poetry. The period is noticeable 
for its greater exchange of books with Canada 
and the United States, especially in the lines of 
fiction, theology, and politics. Among the more 
widely read recent authors may be named Wins¬ 
ton Churchill, H. Rider Haggard, Alfred Aus¬ 
tin, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Edith Wharton, 
Rudyard Kipling, James Bryce, George Otto 
Trevelyan, Arthur James Balfour, Andrew 
Lang, and John Morley. 

History. England was invaded by the mili¬ 
tary forces of Caesar in 55 b. c. and later be¬ 
came a Roman possession. Its history proper 
begins with the withdrawal of the Roman 
forces in the early part of the 5th century 
a. d., when the Germanic people invaded por¬ 
tions of what was known as Albion or Britain. 
These Germanic people first moved west from 
Germany into the lands now called Denmark 
and Schleswig. Later many removed to Eng¬ 
land, being attracted by opportunities of devel¬ 
opment and numerous settlements that had pre¬ 
viously been made by the Gauls, Germans, Ibe¬ 
rians, Dacians, Italians, Phrygians, and others 
that located in the country during the time of 
the Roman occupation. Those conquering the 
country were made up largely of Jutes, Angles, 
and Saxons, the term Anglo-Saxon originating 
from the latter two, and the country itself de¬ 
riving its name from the Angles or Inglisc. 

The German ideas and forms of local gov¬ 
ernment began to be introduced about the 
middle of the 5th century, and from them the 
language and civil institutions largely originated. 
From this mixture of races, which was influ¬ 
enced, no doubt, by non-Aryan races that pre¬ 
ceded them, among them the Euskarians and 
Celts, sprang the English, a self-reliant, indus¬ 
trious, ambitious, and daring people, who built 
up a language and institutions which have in a 
large measure influenced the trend of modern 
arts and civilization. 

The early history and events that led to the 
final building of an independent kingdom were 
complicated by many civil and religious 
struggles, which extended themselves over a 




ENGLAND 


741 


ENGLAND 


period including many centuries. The Jutes 
formed settlements in the Isle of Wight, Kent, 
and adjacent regions, while the Saxons occu¬ 
pied tracts in the south, and the Angles in the 
north. The struggle for supremacy which re¬ 
sulted from conflicting claims cover a period 
of 150 years. It finally terminated to the ad¬ 
vantage of the Teutonic tribes, who ultimately 
occupied the entire southern portion of Britain, 
except only Wales, West Wales, and Strath¬ 
clyde. The territorial divisions were small, 
though seven of the most important formed an 
alliance of friendship known in history as the 
Heptarchy . This protracted struggle in the 
course of time resulted in annexing the smaller 
divisions to the more powerful neighbors. Eg¬ 
bert succeeded in securing sovereignty over the 
seven kingdoms in 827, and made himself ruler 
of a large part of the country, to which the 
name England was first applied. Prior to the 
Teutonic conquest Britain was largely isolated 
from continental Europe, but soon after the 
learning and culture of older civilization was 
introduced, a closer intimacy was established, 
and a written literature began to form. Though 
the conquerors were strangers to Christianity, 
they were converted district by district after a 
severe contest, which reached its height in the 
7th century. Soon after the Danes began to 
make incursions. About fifty years after the 
formation of the United Kingdom they became 
masters of the whole of England, though their 
reign was only momentary. 

Alfred the Great ascended the throne in 871 
and succeeded in defeating the Danes at Ethan- 
dune in 878. The nine succeeding monarchs 
were more or less in conflict with Danish in¬ 
cursions, the latter of whom, Edmund II., was 
compelled to surrender a portion of his king¬ 
dom to Canute, and, when the former was 
assassinated in 1017, the sovereignty of the en¬ 
tire country fell into the hands of the Danes. 
The name Great was attached to Canute on 
account of his personal qualities and the extent 
of his possessions, which included, besides Eng¬ 
land, Denmark and Norway. He was followed 
by two Danish kings who managed the govern¬ 
ment with moderation, though their reign was 
disturbed by Norman incursions and Saxon re¬ 
volts. Two Saxon kings followed the Danish,. 
but in 10G6 the country was conquered by Wil¬ 
liam of Normandy. This military achievement, 
known in history as the Norman Conquest, 
caused the country to be governed by Norman 
kings 69 years. After the death of Henry I., 
Stephen, son of the Count of Blois, raised an 
army in Normandy with which he proceeded 
to England and claimed the kingdom. Civil 


war was carried on for a series of years, but 
finally terminated in a peace, in which Stephen 
was recognized as sovereign for life, but Henry, 
son of Matilda, daughter of Henry I., was to 
succeed him on the throne. As Stephen died 
in 1154, Henry II. became his successor, and 
the Plantagenet line of succession ruled England 
for 245 years. 

During the reign of the Plantagenet line the 
country was more or less disturbed by conflict¬ 
ing claims of the people against the feudal sys¬ 
tem of land ownership established after the 
Norman Conquest. Wars with Wales and Scot¬ 
land likewise tended to distress the govern¬ 
ment, but they operated to unite the people of 
England as against foreign invasion* although 
they were divided by the conflicting pretensions 
of the Lancasters and Yorkites. The claims of 
the people to their ancient rights and liberties 
were recognized in the Magna Charta, called 
the Great Charter, on June 15, 1215, and, under 
the leadership of Simon de Montfort, Henry 
III. was seized and required to pledge the or¬ 
ganization of Parliament, which gave the people 
the right of representation and led to the per¬ 
manent establishment of the House of Com¬ 
mons. Richard II. was compelled to surrender 
to 60,000 malcontents. He was succeeded in 
1399 by Henry IV., the first representative of 
the house of Lancaster, which governed Eng¬ 
land for 62 years. The prosecution of the 
Lollards took place in the reign of Henry IV. 
He was succeeded by Henry V., in 1413, who 
gained marked successes over the French and 
was to succeed to the throne of France. How¬ 
ever, the advantages he gained were lost by 
his son, Henry VI., largely through the achieve¬ 
ments of Joan of Arc. His reign was succeeded 
by the York dynasty after a long line of 
struggles for supremacy. 

Henry Tudor gained the Battle of Bosworth 
in 1485, in which Richard III. was slain, and 
the throne was ascended by Henry VII. Dur¬ 
ing the reign of his successor, Henry VIII., 
England was disturbed by the Reformation. 
Events formed quickly by which Elizabeth as¬ 
cended the throne and became the nominal head 
of the Protestant faith. Her reign was charac¬ 
terized by remarkable rivalry in architecture, 
literature, and commercial competition for col¬ 
onization in opposition to Spain. She was suc¬ 
ceeded by James VI. of Scotland, son of Mary, 
Queen of Scots, who assumed the title of James 
I. of England. This placed the Stuarts upon 
the throne after a long contention, but their 
sovereignty was weakened by constant disputes 
with the Parliament and the rise of the repub¬ 
lican forces, stimulated largely by Oliver Crom- 


ENGLAND 


742 


ENGLAND 


well. The people finally wrung from the king 
the right of petition, by which the power to 
levy taxes became vested in the House of Com¬ 
mons, and the king was abridged in his author¬ 
ity to govern in many matters of vast interest. 
Cromwell succeeded in establishing the Com¬ 
monwealth in 1649, with himself as Lord Pro¬ 
tector, though it survived him but a short time, 
terminating abruptly under the feeble protec¬ 
torate of his Son, Richard, and Charles II. was 
called to the throne by the Restoration of 1660. 

The old dissensions between the king and 
Parliament soon broke out anew and William 
of Orange, supported by the Whig party, drove 
James II., successor of Charles II., from the 
country^ and became the first parliamentary king. 
When Queen Anne ascended the throne, she 
found the grand alliance with Holland and 
Germany of much value. Her government was 
further strengthened by the success of her army 
at Blenheim in 1704 and at Ramilies in 1706, 
under Marlborough. The history of England 
became merged into that of Great Britain in 
1807, by virtue of the act of union passed in 
that year uniting England and Scotland. In 
1714 the Hanover dynasty succeeded to the 
throne and the last attempt of the Stuarts was 
thwarted in 1715. For more recent history, see 
Great Britain. 

Below is a complete list of English sover¬ 
eigns : 


Dynasty and Title. 


Anglo-Saxon Line. 

Alfred. King of Wessex. 

Edward I., King of Wessex. 

Athelstan, King of England .... 

Edmund I. 

Ed red.. 

Edwy. 

Edgar. 

Edward II. 

Ethelred. 

Edmund II. 

Danish Line. 

Canute.. 

Harold I. 

Hardicanute. 

Saxon Line. 

Edward III. 

Harold II. 

Norman Line. 

■ William I. 

William II. 

Henry I. 

House oe Blois. 
Stephen . 

Plantagenet Line. 

Henry II. 

Richard I. 

John. 

Henry III. 

Edward I. 

Edward II. 

Edward III. 

Richard II. 


Began. 

Years. 

871 

30 

901 

24 

925 

15 

940 

6 

946 

9 

955 

4 

959 

16 

975 

3 

978 

38 

1016 

1 

1017 

19 

1036 

3 

1039 

2 

1041 

25 

1066 


1066 

21 

1087 

13 

1100 

35 

1135 

19 

1154 

35 

1189 

10 

1199 

17 

1216 

56 

1272 

35 

1307 

20 

1327 

50 

1377 

22 


Dynasty and Title. 

Began. 

Years. 

House of Lancaster. 

Henry IV . 

1399 

14 

JJcilfy V. 

1413 

9 

VI. 

1422 

39 

House of York. 

Edward IV . 

1461 

22 

Edward V... 

1483 


Richard III. 

1483 

2 

House of Tudor. 

Henry VII.*.... 

1485 

24 

Hpnrv VTTT . 

1509 

38 

Edward VI . 

1547 

6 

]Vf^ry t . 

1553 

5 

Elizabeth. 

1558 

45 

Stuart Line. 

James I. 

1603 

22 

Charles I. 

1625 

24 

Commonwealth. 

Oliver Cromwell. 

1649 

- 10 

Richard Cromwell. 

1658 


Stuart Line. 

Charles II. 

1660 

25 

James II. 

1685 

3 

House of Orange. 

Wilfiam and Mary. 

1688 

14 

Stuart Line. 

Anne . 

1702 


Hanover Line. 

George I. 

1714 

13 

George II... 

1727 

33 

George III. 

1760 

60 

George IV. 

1820 

10 

W311inm TV. .. 

1830 

7 

Victoria. 

Edward VII. 

1837 

1901 

64 


ENGLAND, Church of, the dominant reli¬ 
gious body of England and the established 
church of that country. It claims to be a true 
and apostolical church, teaching and maintain¬ 
ing the doctrines of the apostles. The law rec¬ 
ognizes it as the national church and protects it 
in the endowments; that is, the gifts of land 
and tithes made to it in ancient times. As at 
present organized, it dates from the time of 
Henry VIII., who abolished papal authority in 
England and established the independence of 
the Church of England. He became the su¬ 
preme head of the church, dissolved the monas¬ 
teries, and convoked an assemblage of clergy¬ 
men to pass upon ten articles of faith drawn up 
at his suggestion. This convocation declared 
against the invocation of saints, the worship of 
images, and the belief in purgatory, and ex¬ 
pressed the view that the whole Christian faith 
is to be found in the Bible. This was soon fol¬ 
lowed by the publication of the Bible in Eng¬ 
lish, which greatly, tended to spread the re¬ 
formed doctrine, and prayers and services be¬ 
gan to be in English. During the short reign 
of Edward VI., son of Henry VIII., the re¬ 
forming element had complete sway, and came 
to look with favor upon the teachings of Lu¬ 
ther and Calvin, but a strong reaction occurred 
when Mary, who was a Catholic, ascended the 
throne. She exerted an unrelenting influence 


> 






































































ENGLEWOOD 


743 


ENGRAVING 


to reestablish Catholicism, and many of the re¬ 
formed clergy escaped to the continent, while 
those remaining in England were persecuted as 
heretics or compelled to retract. 

Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1658 
and favored the Reformation, but contentions 
now arose with the Puritans, who had gained 
many adherents during the reign of Queen 
Mary. The Thirty-Nine Articles, originally 42 
in number, but now 39, had been drawn up in 
1551 under Cranmer and Ridley, and 
these were reviewed and revised. A 
convocation of the clergy accepted the 
amended articles and they were ratified 
by the queen, and Parliament legalized 
them in 1563 and later made it compul¬ 
sory for the whole clergy to subscribe 
to them. Together with the homilies 
and prayer books, they constitute a com¬ 
plete exposition of the tenets held at 
present by the Church of England on 
all the main points of doctrine and dis¬ 
cipline. The church has possession of 
the ancient religious edifices and the 
cemeteries attached to them. It is pro¬ 
tected by law in the exercise of its right 
and its teaching is accepted by the state. 

It is one of the states of the realms and 
has an integral part in all legislation. 

The government of the Church of England is 
under a system of jurisprudence made up of 
three elements; namely, the common law, the 
canon law, and the statute law. The first con¬ 
sists of customs and precedents; the second, of 
canons passed or accepted by the English syn¬ 
ods ; and the third, of acts of Parliament relat¬ 
ing to the church. Two archbishops, those of 
Canterbury and York, preside over the two 
provinces into which the country is divided, but 
the Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of 
all England. The provinces are divided int 9 
dioceses, which are presided over by bishops, 
and those subject to them include the archdea¬ 
cons, deans, canons, prebendaries, rectors, vicars, 
and curates. Missionary work is carried on in 
all parts of the civilized world. The Episcopal 
Church (q. v.) is a branch of the Church of 
England. 

ENGLEWOOD (en'g’I-wood), a city of 
New Jersey, in Bergen County, fourteen miles 
north of New York City. It is situated near 
the Palisades of the Hudson River, on the Erie 
Railroad, at the edge of the Hackensack Val¬ 
ley. The chief buildings include the public li¬ 
brary, a hospital, and the high school. Many 
New York business men reside in Englewood. 
It was incorporated as a village in 1860 and char¬ 
tered as a city in 1896. Population, 1905, 7,922. 


ENGLISH CHANNEL, an important body 
of water which connects the Atlantic Ocean 
with the North Sea and separates France from 
England. On its eastern end it is connected 
with the Strait of Dover, where it is twenty-one 
miles wide, and at the western end it has a 
width of about one hundred miles. A strong 
current running eastward passes through the 
channel, influenced largely by the Gulf Stream, 
and its waters are often disturbed by storms. 


The Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands are 
within the channel. Among the English ports 
are Brighton, Dover, Falmouth, Plymouth, and 
Southampton. The French ports include Bou¬ 
logne, Calais, Cherbourg, Dieppe, and Havre. 
A plan to construct a railway tunnel from Do¬ 
ver, England, to Calais, France, was proposed 
as early as 1875. Several bills were before 
Parliament in 1908 and since, but no material 
progress has been made, aside from surveying 
the route from Dover to Sangatte. The esti¬ 
mated cost of the tunnel is $80,000,000. 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE. See England. 

ENGLISH LITERATURE. See England. 

ENGRAVING (en-grav'ing), the art of cut¬ 
ting marks or figures on wood, stone, or metal. 
Engraving is very ancient, being mentioned in 
Exodus xxviii, 36. The oldest records were cut 
in stone, some by making depressions and others 
by cutting the stone away and leaving the char¬ 
acters in relief. In Egypt the hieroglyphics 
were cut in the granite monoliths * and on the 
walls of tombs and chambers. Later the Greeks 
learned the art from the Egyptians and Phoe¬ 
nicians. The discovery of the practicability of 
taking impressions upon paper from an engrav¬ 
ing was made by a Florentine artist named 
Maso Finiguerra, about 1440. In taking a cast 
in sulphur of some engraved church ornaments, 



ROUTE OF PROPOSED TUNNEL FROM ENGLAND TO 
FRANCE. 






ENGRAVING 


744 


ENSILAGE 


a quantity of dust and charcoal, which had gath¬ 
ered in the lines of the engraving, came out 
upon the sulphur and gave an unexpected and 
suggestive effect. 

Many kinds of engravings are employed in 
the arts, depending upon the purposes they are 
to serve. They include line engravings on metal 
plates, usually copper or steel; etchings on 
metal in which the lines are corroded by means 
of acid; mezzotints, in which there are no lines, 
but only shades produced by roughening the 
surface of the metal; and zvoodcuts. Wood en¬ 
gravings intended for printing long preceded 
those made of metal. 

The process of printing from engravings was 
common in China in the 10th century, but it 
remained a secret with them for many years. 
The Italians and Germans attained considerable 
skill in engraving as early as the 13th century, 
but the earliest known niello proof on paper 
was made in 1452. Within the three succeeding 
centuries the art became extremely productive 
under such artists as Albert Diirer (1471-1528) 
and Peter P. Rubens (1577-1640), and devel¬ 
oped until imitations of all varieties of engrav¬ 
ings were made in woodcuts, but the practiced 
eye sees at a glance that the result is nothing 
but a woodcut. Through lack of encourage¬ 
ment, change of fashion, and the adoption of 
other cheaper methods of production the wood- 
cut and line engravings are going rapidly out 
of use. Besides, there are not sufficient induce¬ 
ments for young men to pursue study in this 
particular process of engraving, for the reason 
that the newer and more rapid methods are 
supplanting it. 

Copper is used extensively in making plates 
for certain kinds of engravings, especially those 
in which a soft metal is serviceable. The in¬ 
vention of steel engraving in the United States 
has brought that metal into use for the finer 
pictures, owing to its greater hardness, which 
enables it to overcome the wear of printing and 
makes it possible to take a larger number of 
impressions than can be gotten from a copper¬ 
plate. Etchings are made by covering a pre¬ 
pared metallic surface with a thin coat or 
ground, which is not affected by acid. The de¬ 
sign is traced with a pointed tool, which lays 
the metal bare wherever it touches. A wall of 
wax is raised around the design to ho]d the 
diluted acid, when poured on. For a copper¬ 
plate this consists of five parts water and one 
part nitrous acid; for steel, pyroligneous acid 
one part, nitric acid one part, water six parts. 
The acid corrodes on the lines made through 
the ground. This is called biting in. When a 
sufficient depth is attained for lighter tints of 


the etching, the acid is removed and the surface 
is washed and allowed to dry. The parts of 
sufficient depth are now varnished and, when 
dry, another biting in deepens the lines not var¬ 
nished, and, when deep enough for the second 
tint, it is removed again. This may be repeated 
several timbs, if necessary. The process of 
deepening the lines in this way is called rebit¬ 
ting. Etchings are sometimes finished by a 
graver and partake of the character of a line 
engraving. Glass may be engraved in a similar 
manner. Soft-ground engraving is another of 
the many ways of drawing the design. In mez¬ 
zotint engraving the entire surface of the plate 
is roughened slightly, after which the drawing 
is traced, and then the portions intended to 
show high lights or middle lights are scraped 
or burnished, and the shadows are strengthened. 
Engravings so produced resemble photographs. 

It is to be noted that the photomechanical 
processes of engraving have been improved ma¬ 
terially since 1880. These include the half-tone 
process invented by Frederic E. Ives, an Ameri¬ 
can, in 1881; the line-relief process; the in¬ 
taglio-engraving process; and the wax process. 
The half-tone is used largely in the better class 
of magazines; the line-relief process, for cheap 
newspaper illustrations; the chalk-plate, for 
small newspaper cuts and generally by the gov¬ 
ernment in making weather maps; and the wax 
process, for making railroad, geographical, 
state, county, and town maps. 

ENID (e'nid), county seat of Garfield 
County, Oklahoma, about 35 miles north of 
Kingfisher. It is on the Saint Louis and San 
Francisco, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pa¬ 
cific, and other railroads, and is surrounded by 
a fertile farming region. The chief buildings 
include the high school, the county courthouse, 
and several churches. It is important as a 
shipping center for grain and live stock. The 
manufactures include flour, brick, ice, clothing, 
confectionery, and machinery. It has grown 
very rapidly since 1893, when the Cherokee strip 
was opened for settlement. Population, 1900, 
3,444; in 1910, 13,799. 

ENSILAGE (en'si-laj), in agriculture, a 
process of preserving green forage crops for 
stock food. Dairy farmers have a method of 
storing green fodder in mass and covering it 
over in deep trenches cut in a dry soil, by 
which the natural condition is readily preserved, 
though the ordinary way of handling ensilage 
is by cutting the crop, usually corn, and placing 
it in an air-tight mow or silo for curing. The 
crop product is stored as near as practicable to 
the place of feeding in order to insure - the 
greatest possible convenience, In corn culture 


ENTOMOLOGY 


745 


EPACT 


for ensilage farmers aim to produce the largest 
possible quantity of both corn and forage. The 
crop is cut a brief period before being ripe 
enough for ordinary cutting. It is then taken 
to the mow and, after being cut in proper 
lengths, is carefully stored by placing successive 
layers and tramping them as firmly as possible. 
The ensilage may be stored to a height of 
20 or 30 feet, and, after settling several days, 
the upper portion may be refilled. Another 
method which has been introduced recently is 
to cut the fodder by a machine, which at the 
same time elevates the finely cut product into 
the top of the silo by a current of air. The 
silo should be air tight and so constructed that 
it can be emptied from the side. This class of 
forage crops is a very nutritious and wholesome 
food for cattle, sheep, and horses. Successive 
experiments have proved that more food can be 
secured per acre by the culture of crops and 
their preservation as ensilage than in any other 
way. 

ENTOMOLOGY (en-to-mol'o-jy), the sci¬ 
ence which treats of insects. Aristotle called 
attention to one of the essential characteristics 
by pointing out that the bodies of insects are cut 
or divided into segments, from which their 
name was derived. See Insects. 

ENTOZOA (en-to-zd'a), the name given 
by Karl Asmund Rudolphi (1771-1832), a 
Swedish naturalist, to a class of animals living 
within the bodies of other animals. They are 
found in the intestines, liver, brain, muscles, 
and other tissues. According to a group of 
writers the entozoa are divided into three 
classes: coelelmintha, or hollow worms; sterel- 
mintha, or solid worms, as the tapeworms; and 
accidental parasites. Some writers treat them 
as equally mature and immature; the latter, in¬ 
closed in cysts, being far the most dangerous 
when found in inclosed cavities, as the lung or 
liver. See Parasites. 

ENVELOPES (en'vel-ops), in botany, the 
whorls of alternated leaves designed to protect 
the organs of fructification from injury. In 
very rare cases there are none, sometimes one, 
though generally two—the calyx and the corolla. 
The name also applies to paper coverings for 
letters or notes that came into extensive use 
with the growth of the postal system. They 
are now shaped, folded, and gummed by ma¬ 
chinery. A single machine of the larger type has 
a capacity to turn out 50,000 envelopes per day. 

ENVIRONMENT (en-vi'run-ment), a term 
used to indicate the sum of external conditions 
that limit or direct the activities of an individ¬ 
ual. It is frequently used in distinction of the 
term heredity, which is the tendency possessed 


by an individual to resemble the ancestral Stock 
in general characteristics, while environment in¬ 
cludes everything which' is not identified with 
the individual self. The subject divides itself 
into two kinds, the physical and the social. The 
former includes all the outside influences with 
which one may come in contact, such as climate, 
food conditions, the physical features of a 
country, the absence or presence of enemies, 
etc. Social environments embrace principally 
the customs, habits, industries, religion, insti¬ 
tutions, etc. Physical environments exercise a 
marked influence upon both animal and plant 
life, and social environments refer more par¬ 
ticularly to the animal kingdom. 

The word environment, in the field of educa¬ 
tion, expresses best the things which make for 
character by their silent influence. These mold 
lives from day to day by their silent impres¬ 
sions upon the individual. Children reared in 
clean and tidy homes, under the influence of 
moral and humane teaching, obtain a bent of 
desires and thoughts toward the orderly and 
noble. The home and the school share, per¬ 
haps, equally the responsibility of early impres¬ 
sions, hence the need of providing such en¬ 
vironments as will tend toward and uplift the 
moral and physical life of the young. Such in¬ 
fluences, together with the part exercised 
through outside factors, are potent in determin¬ 
ing the character of an individual as well as of 
the community in which he lives. It may be 
said that under primitive conditions of civiliza¬ 
tion social environments exercise a minor influ¬ 
ence, but with the advancement of society and 
the enlargement of communities comes the need 
of exercising great care in selecting or shaping 
the environments with which the young may 
come in contact. 

EOCENE (e'6-sen), in geology, the first 
great division of the Tertiary period. It was 
the dawn of the present order of shells and 
mollusks, a few birds, reptiles, and all the in¬ 
vertebrate animals still living. Among the 
plants both endogens and dicotyledons were nu¬ 
merous. Man had not appeared upon the earth. 
The Eocene strata consist of marl, limestones, 
clays, and sandstones. In most cases the strata 
were deposited in salt or brackish waters. 

EOZOIC (e-6-zo'ik), the name given to 
rocks of the Laurentian age, in which, so far 
as at present known, the earliest traces of life 
are found. 

EPACT (e'pakt), a number introduced into 
the Gregorian calendar, employed to express in 
days the age of the moon on Jan. 1, and thus 
to determine its age on March 21. The Council 
of Nice appointed Easter Sunday to be the first 


EPHESUS 


746 


EPIDERMIS 


Sunday after the first full moon following the 
vernal equinox, and this Sunday is now found 
by a formula. When the epact is known, it is 
possible to calculate the dates of all the follow¬ 
ing lunar phases throughout the year. To find 
the epact it is necessary to know the golden 
number, which is ascertained by adding 1 to 
the date of the year and dividing the sum by 
19. The remainder is the golden number, ex¬ 
cept when the remainder is 0, when the golden 
number is 19. Having found the golden num¬ 
ber, the epact of any year between 1900 and 
2199 may be found by the following table. Sup¬ 
pose the golden number to be 15, it will be seen 
that the epact is 3: 


Golden 

Number 

Epact 

Golden 

Number 

Epact 

1 

29 

11 

19 

2 

10 

12 

30 

3 

21 

13 

11 

4 

2 

14 

22 

5 

13 

15 

3 

6 

24 

16 

14 

7 

5 

17 

25 

8 

16 

18 

6 

9 

27 

19 

17 

10 

8 




EPHESUS (ef'e-sus), an ancient city of 
Asia Minor, situated in Lydia, near the mouth 
of the Cayster River. It was classed with the 
twelve Ionian cities founded by the Greeks, 
and was regarded sacred from an early period, 
though its importance dates from a time quite 
more recent than the Trojan War. The first 
of its great temples was founded about 650 b. c., 
completed after - 120 years, and destroyed in 356 
by Herostratus. It passed successively under 
the possession of the Lydians, Persians, Greeks, 
and Romans. In the time of Augustus it at¬ 
tained its greatest importance as a trade center, 
and was for three years the residence of Saint 
Paul, who afterward wrote his “Epistle to the 
Ephesians,” while in prison at Rome, to the 
church at Ephesus. The second magnificent 
temple was destroyed by the Goths in 262 a. d., 
and they so plundered the city that it never 
again recovered its importance. The Third 
Ecumenical Council of the Christian church 
was held at Ephesus in 431, at which resolutions 
condemning Nestorius were agreed upon. 

The famous temple of Diana, counted among 
the seven wonders of the world, was located a 
mile east of the city, and at the birth of Alexan¬ 
der the Great the Ephesians burned it to add 
luster to his name. Many contributions were 
given and heavy taxes levied for the purpose of 
rebuilding it with even greater splendor, the 
new structure being the greatest of Grecian 
temples and containing 130 columns. This re¬ 
markable structure was 225 feet wide and 423 


feet long, and contained statues and pictures 
of the most noted Grecian masters. Nero 
robbed it of its treasures and the Goths burned 
it, and its destruction was finally accomplished 
by an edict issued in 381 against pagan worship 
by Theodosius I. After numerous excavations 
were made by Europeans, the site of the temple 
was discovered in 1869, and many interesting 
remains were secured. In 1899 the Austrian 
Institute at Ephesus excavated several valuable 
relics, among them statues, a great market place, 
and a remarkable theater. Aiasoluk, a small 
village, is near the site of the city. 

EPIC (ep'ik), a poem characterized by its 
narrative and descriptive style, especially one 
that celebrates in stately, formal verse the real 
or mythical achievements of heroes or great 
personages. Epic poetry is distinguished from 
lyric by giving prominence to the narration of 
action rather than the expression of emotion, 
and from drama in that the epic contains fre¬ 
quent allusions to the author as narrator. Among 
the great sacred epics of the world are Dante’s 
“Divina Commedia” and Milton’s “Paradise 
Lost.” The heroic epics include Homer’s “Il¬ 
iad” and “Odyssey,” Virgil’s “Aeneid,” Tasso’s 
“Jerusalem Delivered,” and Aristo’s “Orlando 
Furioso.” Among humorous epics are Pope’s 
“Rape of the Lock,” “Battle of the Mice,” and 
“Reynard the Fox.” Byron’s “Childe Harold” 
is written in a narrative style, but abounds in 
sentiment, and is both epic and lyric. This is 
true of Burns’s “Cotter’s Saturday Night,” Bry¬ 
ant’s “Thanatopsis,” and Longfellow’s “Evange¬ 
line.” 

EPIDEMIC (ep-i-dem'ik), a disease which 
attacks many persons at the same time, spread¬ 
ing suddenly, often extremely virulent and fatal 
at first, then gradually becoming spent and 
feeble, so that the earliest stages are usually 
the worst. The plague, cholera, influenza, and 
la grippe are epidemics, while scarlet fever, 
typhoid fever, smallpox, diphtheria, and chick¬ 
en pox are usually so regarded. However, 
some of these are classed more generally as 
contagious diseases. All that can be said with 
certainty about epidemics is that at the begin¬ 
ning there must be some distempered condi¬ 
tions around us, and our systems be predisposed 
to the reception of the specific poison, which 
causes the disease. 

EPIDERMIS (ep-T-der'mis), in anatomy, 
the cuticle or scarfskin, constituting the ex¬ 
ternal layer of the skin and protecting inner 
ones. In man it is thickest on the palms of the 
hands and soles of the feet. It possesses an 
organized structure, but has no nerves or blood 
vessels. The outermost layer of cells covering 








EPIGRAM 


747 


EPISCOPAL CHURCH 


the surface of plants, when there are several 
layers of tissue, is also called epidermis. 

EPIGRAM (ep'i-gram), a name given by the 
Greeks to a poetic inscription on a public mon¬ 
ument. It was applied originally to a short 
verse or poem having only one subject, and was 
finished by a witty or ingenious turn, but is now 
applied to any short composition expressed 
neatly and happily, as “The child is father of 
the man.” 

EPILEPSY (ep-i-lep'sy), or Falling Sick¬ 
ness, a disease which derives its name from the 
suddenness of the attack. Usually the patient 
becomes unconscious and falls to the ground 
convulsed, turgid, and livid. This condition is 
generally accompanied by frothing at the mouth, 
a choking sound in the windpipe, biting of the 
tongue, and a suffocating tendency.' After the 
patient reaches an exhausted, comatose condi¬ 
tion, life is no longer in danger. Epilepsy may 
be caused by fear, passion, or an injury to the 
brain. In severe cases there is little hope of a 
cure, but patients may be afflicted with it from 
childhood until old age. Children often out¬ 
grow it at the period of adolescence. 

EPILEPTICS (ep-i-lep'tiks), the persons 
afflicted with epilepsy. Within recent years con¬ 
siderable progress has been made in colonizing 
persons suffering with this disease, the purpose 
of which is to treat and care for them in the 
most satisfactory and efficient manner. The 
first colony for epileptics was established by 
Pastor von Bodelschwingh near Bielefeld, Ger¬ 
many, in 1867, and is known as the Bethel Col¬ 
ony. In 1890 the settlement contained, with 
its officers, physicians, nurses, and employees, 
about 3,600 persons. Under frugal treatment it 
has been possible to render much good to the 
unfortunates afflicted with the disease, the num¬ 
ber of cured discharged at the end of each year 
aggregating twenty-one per cent, of the entire 
number treated, while about the same per cent, 
are discharged as incurable. 

The marvelous development and success of 
the German colony led to a widespread move¬ 
ment in Europe and America to establish like 
institutions. Similar colonies are now located 
at Zurich, Switzerland; in Holland, France, and 
England, while the movement in the United 
States has attracted the attention of many State 
legislatures. The colony for epileptics in the 
State of New York is located at Sonyea; that 
of Pennsylvania, at Oakbourne; that of Massa¬ 
chusetts, at Monson; and that of New Jersey, 
at Skillman, though there are many others. 
Colonies of this class are usually located on 
farms comprising from 200 to 1,200 acres of 
land, on which the labor of those afflicted is 


utilized in facilitating the support. A late re¬ 
port shows that the number of epileptics in the 
United States is 135,000, of which 9,500 are 
in Illinois, 12,500 in New York, and a propor¬ 
tional number in the other states and territories. 

EPIPHANY (e-pif a-ny), a festival of the 
Christian church, instituted to commemorate the 
visit of the Magi or wise men to the infant 
Jesus Christ, for whom they brought presents 
from the East. It is celebrated on January 6th 
and is sometimes termed the manifestation of 
Christ to the Gentiles. 

EPIRUS (e-pi'rus), a country of ancient 
Greece, surrounded by Illyria, the Ambracian 
Gulf, the Pindus Mountains, and the Ionian 
Sea. It corresponded quite nearly to modern 
Albania. Among the interesting towns were 
Donoa and Ambracia. The region was noted 
on account of its supply of heavy timber and 
the production of corn and domestic animals. 
Among the people were several colonies, the 
Grecians proper occupying largely the southern 
coastal district. Pyrrhus was the most cele¬ 
brated king of Epirus and long waged war upon 
the Romans, but it finally became a province of 
Rome in 168 b. c. To prevent further insur¬ 
rections the Romans plundered the country, 
razed seventy towns, and sold 150,000 of the 
people into slavery. It shared in the fortunes 
of the Roman and the Byzantine empires for 
many centuries, and was conquered by the 
Turks in the 15th century. Since the 14th cen¬ 
tury a large per cent, of the inhabitants have 
been made up of Albanians. A small strip of 
land situated east of the Arta River was ceded 
by Turkey to Greece in 1881, along with most 
of Thessaly. 

EPISCOPAL CHURCH (e-pis'ko-pal), or 
Protestant Episcopal Church, a Christian de¬ 
nomination, the American branch of the Church 
of England. It became an independent ecclesias¬ 
tical body in 1789, when it adopted its constitu¬ 
tion at Philadelphia, Pa. It adheres strictly to 
the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the 
mother church, but the prayer book is altered 
so as to be consistent with the changes in the 
political condition of the country. Little prog¬ 
ress was made in extension work until 1811, 
and within a period of ten years churches were 
organized in thirteen of the states. A move¬ 
ment toward suppressing the outward develop¬ 
ments of what is known as ritualism caused 
extended controversies, especially in the gen¬ 
eral conventions of 1868 and 1874, and the two 
factions came to be known as the low church 
and the high church parties. Those opposing 
the ritual belong to the former, but the high 
churchmen are_the dominant influence. 


EPITAPH 


748 


EPWORTH LEAGUE 


Changes in the prayer book or the constitu¬ 
tion of the church can be made only by the 
general conference, which holds a session every 
three years. This body is composed of two 
houses, known as the house of clericals and lay 
deputies, and as the house of bishops. Within 
the United States there are 65 dioceses and 
22 missionary jurisdictions, and an extensive 
line of missionary work is done in all the con¬ 
tinents. In 1907 the church had 7,564 parishes 
and missions, 5,203 clergy, and 860,998 com¬ 
municants. Among the organizations to pro¬ 
mote Christian and charitable work are the 
Brotherhood of Saint Andrew, the Daughters 
of the King, the Church Temperance Society, 
and the Foreign and Domestic Missionary So¬ 
ciety. 

EPITAPH (ep'i-taf), an inscription upon a 
tomb or monument in honor or memory of the 
dead. The Egyptians first used epitaphs, usu¬ 
ally with some prayer to Anubis or Osiris, and 
a similar custom was in vogue among the 
Greeks and Romans. Subsequently the prac¬ 
tice became general throughout all Christian 
nations. The usual characteristic features in 
modern epitaphs are the name, date of birth 
and death, and some sentiment or expression of 
faith or affection. In many cases the sentiment 
is a quotation from the Bible, though epitaphs 
exemplify every variety of sense and taste, from 
lofty pathos to the vilest scurrility. Curious as 
it may seem, books containing collections of 
epitaphs are among the most amusing. 

EPITHELIUM (ep-i-the'li-um), the layer 
of cells which lines the internal surfaces of 
the body, being continuous with the epidermis, 
which covers the external surface of the skin. 
Its main function is to act as a covering for 
the soft and moi-st surfaces that secrete the 
various fluids of the body. It lines the entire 
respiratory tract and the alimentary canal, and 
forms essential elements in the true glands, such 
as the pancreas and liver. The ciliated epitheli¬ 
um has hairlike projections known as cilia (q. 
v.), which have a continuous vibratory motion. 
Epithelium of this kind is found in the bron¬ 
chial tubes, the air passages, the Eustachian 
tube, and the lachrymal appendages. 

EPIZOA (ep-i-zo'a), the name given to par¬ 
asitic animals which live upon the external sur¬ 
face of other animals, such as lice, itch insect, 
etc. See Parasites. 

EPIZOOTIC (ep-i-zo-ot'ic), an epidemic 
disease among animals. It is usually mispro¬ 
nounced in America as ep-i-soo-tic. The very 
fatal contagious catarrhal fever which raged 
throughout the country in 1870 and at differ¬ 
ent times since was a form of the disease. 


Thousands of horses and cattle died at that 
time. Some pathologists claim to trace a con¬ 
nection between this disease and la grippe. See 
Influenza. 

E PLURIBUS UNUM, meaning one out of 
many, the national motto of the United States. 
Adams, Franklin, and Jefferson were a com¬ 
mittee to prepare a seal and proposed this mot¬ 
to, which was adopted on July 4, 1776. 

EPOCH (ep'ok), or Era, a point in the 
course of history from which preceding and en¬ 
suing years are computed. The creation of the 
world and the birth of Christ are the most im¬ 
portant epochs, and on the former are based 
many notable chronologies. The Era of Crea¬ 
tion is placed by Catholics and Protestants at 
4004 b. c., the Era of Constantinople at 5508 
b. c., the * Era of Antioch at 5502 b. c., and the 
Era of Alexandria at 5492 b. c. In Jewish writ¬ 
ings the creation is placed at 3760 b. c., on 
which the Jews base their era. The Christian 
Era, a mode of computing time from the birth 
of Christ, went into extensive use among Eu¬ 
ropeans about the year 1000, though it was in¬ 
troduced in the 6th century. The event of 
Christ’s birth took place four years earlier 
than the date written in our calendar. The 
Julian Epoch begins with 4713 and is based on 
the coincidents of the lunar, solar, and indic- 
tional periods. Mohammedans compute time 
from July 16, 662, this being the anniversary of 
the Hegira of Mohammed. Among the Chi¬ 
nese it is customary to compute time by cycles 
of sixty years, and to apply a different name to 
every cycle. 

EPPING FOREST (ep'ping), a beautiful 
pleasure resort near London, England. It com¬ 
prises’5,600 acres of magnificent woodland, rises 
760 feet above sea level, and is improved by 
many structures and conveniences. In early 
ages it formed a portion of the hunting ground 
of the kings, and constituted a part of the for¬ 
est that covered all of Essexshire. The crowded 
populations of London utilize this resort exten¬ 
sively for pleasure walking and driving. 

EPSOM SALT (ep'sum salt), or Magne¬ 
sium Sulphate, a cathartic salt, so named be¬ 
cause it was first obtained from the famous? 
mineral springs of Epsom, a market town of 
England. It is soluble in water and is used as 
a purgative. This salt is obtained by an arti¬ 
ficial process from magnesian limestone, the lat¬ 
ter being treated with sulphuric acid, or by dis¬ 
solving it in boiling water and allowing the in¬ 
soluble matter to settle. Afterward the water 
is evaporated from the solution, leaving the 
salt. 

EPWORTH LEAGUE (ep'wurth leg), a 





EQUATOR 


749 


EQUITY 


young people’s religious society-of the Metho¬ 
dist Episcopal Church, organized in 1889. In 
1908 it had 31,340 chapters and a membership of 
2,700,000. The chapters are classed as senior 
and junior, about one-fourth of the members 
belonging to the latter class. The object is to 
promote an earnest, practical, intelligent, and 
loyal spiritual life in the young people of the 
church, and corresponds to societies maintained 
for similar purposes by the Baptist, Lutheran, 
Catholic, Presbyterian, and other churches. It 
is the largest denominational society in the 
world. The Epwortli Herald is the official or¬ 
gan. 

EQUATOR (e-kwa'ter), the great circle 
imagined drawn around the earth midway be¬ 
tween the poles, and which divides it into the 
Northern and Southern hemispheres. The dis¬ 
tance from it to the poles is 90°. It forms the 
basis for measuring the latitude of places both 
north and south. Twice in the year, on Sept. 
21 and March 21, the rays of the sun shine 
vertically on the Equator, when the days and 
nights are equal all over the earth, from which 
the name equinox has been derived. The mag- 
netic Equator of the earth corresponds quite 
nearly to the geographical Equator, and marks 
the point midway’between the magnetic poles. 
On the Equator the magnetic needle is hori¬ 
zontal, and, as the poles are neared, the dip of 
the needle increases, while at the poles it points 
vertically downward. Lines connecting places 
which have the same angle of dip are isoclinal 
and correspond in a very remarkable manner to 
the isothermal lines, showing a dependence of 
the intensity of magnetism on the distribution 
of the sun’s heat. 

EQUATORIAL TELESCOPE ( e-kwa-to'- 
ri-al tel'e-skop) an instrument mounted upon a 
fixed axis parallel to the axis of the earth, 
which renders its motion parallel to the plane of 
the ecliptic. The principal axis turns upon a 
second movable axis, making it possible to con¬ 
tinuously observe and note the right ascension 
and declination of heavenly bodies. Some equa¬ 
torial telescopes revolve round the polar axis 
by an attached clockwork, which may be regu¬ 
lated to vary the velocity of rotation to meet 
the requirement in examining a particular heav¬ 
enly body, such as a planet, a fixed star, a sat¬ 
ellite, or the sun. 

EQUESTRIAN ORDER (S-kwes'tri-§n), 
or Equites, an order of the people in ancient 
Rome. Originally they were a military organ¬ 
ization and formed the cavalry of the army. 
Livy attributed their origin to Romulus, who is 
said to have selected the first three hundred out 
of the three chief divisions of the patricians. 


They were divided into turnioe of thirty men 
each and again subdivided into ten, and in the 
time of war were obliged to serve on horse¬ 
back. The equites continued as an exclusively 
military body until 123 b. c., when a law was 
enacted that required that the jurors ( judices ) 
be selected from them. In addition they en¬ 
joyed the privilege of officiating as publicani, 
or farmers, of the public revenues. They wore 
a robe with a narrow purple border and a gold 
ring to distinguish them. During the republic 
they exercised much influence, but disappeared 
from the political life under the later emperors. 

EQUINOX (e'qwi-noks), the time at which 
the sun, in passing the Equator, renders the 
days and nights of equal length over the entire 
earth. This occurs when it enters one of the 
equinoctial points, the two equinoctial points 
being where the ecliptic and celestial equators 
intersect each other. The vernal equinox oc¬ 
curs on March 21, when the sun is in the first 
part of Aries, and the autumnal equinox takes 
place on Sept. 21, when it is at the first of 
Libra. At all other times of the year the length 
of the day and night is unequal, the greatest 
difference occurring at the poles. After the 
vernal equinox, the sun passes from south to 
north, causing the days to lengthen in the 
Northern Hemisphere; while, after the autum¬ 
nal equinox, it passes from north to south, 
causing the days to shorten in the Northern, but 
lengthen in the Southern Hemisphere. The 
precession of the equinoxes is due to the equi¬ 
noctial points moving westward at the rate of 
50" in a year. The equinoxes, in March and 
September, are accompanied by gales which are 
known as equinoctial storms. They are most 
severe on the Atlantic coasts of America and 
Europe. 

EQUITY, in law, a particular system of jur¬ 
isprudence, which is based upon justice rather 
than precedent. It is sometimes defined as nat¬ 
ural justice to distinguish it from the fixed and 
technical rules of law. In some countries, as in 
England, equity is administered by courts of 
chancery, but in some states the cases in equity 
are referred to the courts of law. The aim is 
to extend relief in causes which are not recog¬ 
nized in a strict sense by the law, hence the 
decisions are based upon modifying circum¬ 
stances rather than upon the statutory law. 
Usually the plaintiff and defendant state their 
claim and defense in a formal statement, which 
is termed pleadings, and the question raised in 
this way constitutes the issue. In some in¬ 
stances the issues of fact are disposed of by the 
judge and jury, while in some countries the 
cases in equity are tried only to the court. In 








ERA OF GOOD FEELING 


750 


ERIE 


general, it may be said that courts of equity 
serve to bring all parties interested in a cause 
before the tribunal and adjust the rights of the 
several parties according to the circumstances 
which bear upon the issues. 

ERA OF GOOD FEELING, the name ap¬ 
plied to the period of United States history be¬ 
tween 1817 and 1823, during the administration 
of President Monroe. At that time national 
.political contests were suspended, the Defflo^ 
cratic party had a large majority, and the Fed¬ 
eralists had dwindled down to a very small 
number. It succeeded the War of 1812, when 
the new issues of tariff and internal improve¬ 
ments had not arisen, which soon after came 
into prominence and caused much political 
strife in Congress and the nation. 

EREBUS AND TERROR, the names of 
two volcanoes in the Antarctic region, located in 
the northern part of South Victoria Land. 
They were discovered by Sir James C. Ross 
in 1841 and were so named from the two Ves¬ 
sels used in the expedition, Mount Erebus is 
12,370 feet high and is situated 30 miles east of 
Mount Terror, which has an elevation of 10,900 
teet. 

ERECHTHEUM (er-ekh-the'um), the name 
of a sacred edifice on the Acropolis, in ancient 
Athens. It was so named from Erechtheus, a 
fabulous hero of Greece, and it is thought to 
have contained the shrine of that hero and of 
Athene. The original building was burned by 
the Persians, but a new temple was built on the 
same site in 393 b. c. and dedicated to the Ionic 
order. It had three porticos and contained the 
sacred olive tree of Athene and a salt spring 
said to have been made by the trident of Posei¬ 
don. The ruins of this building, located north 
of the Parthenon, contain the Porch of Cary¬ 
atides, in which six female figures somewhat 
larger than life support the entablature. 

ERFURT (er'fdort) a city of Germany, in 
the Prussian province of Saxony, 145 miles 
southwest of Berlin. It is conveniently con¬ 
nected by numerous railroad lines with the im¬ 
portant commercial and educational centers of 
continental Europe. The cathedral, a splendid 
Gothic structure, is one of the finest in Ger-. 
many. This structure has a famous bell, th<5 
Maria Gloriosa, which weighs thirteen tons. 
The University of Erfurt was founded in 1378, 
but was suppressed in 1816, and now ranks as 
an academy of science. Its buildings have been 
well maintained and its library contains about 
75,000 volumes. The monastery is now called 
Martinsstift (Martin’s establishment) and has 
been converted into an orphanage. It was the 
residence of Luther from 1501 to 1508. The 


surrounding country is agricultural. The city 
has modern facilities and produces woolen, cot¬ 
ton, silk, and linen goods, machinery, tobacco, 
leather, chemicals, and scientific instruments. 
The city was founded in the early part of the 
5th century, when it was called Erpesford from 
its founder, Erpes. In the Middle Ages it 
grew rapidly, became strongly fortified, and 
Uhtil 1873 was counted a fortress of second 
rank. Owing to Its convenient location, it has 
been a point of contention by foreign invaders, 
became a part of Prussia in 1803, and was the 
seat of the celebrated congress of Erfurt in 
1808, which was attended by the Emperor of 
Russia, Napoleon, and various German mon- 
archs. Population, 1905, 98,849. 

ERGOT (er'gut), a fungus found in rye, 
wild rye, and other grasses, the principal symp¬ 
tom being that the seed, besides becoming black, 
grows elongated so as to resemble a rooster’s 
spur, whence the name ergot comes. When the 
disease begins, Sphacelae appear upon the pistils, 
and after a time a viscid fluid exudes from 
them. The disease is very fatal to the plant9 
attacked, and, if eaten with sound grain, is 
dangerous to both man and animals. It causes 
contraction of the minute arteries by acting on 
their muscular walls, and is useful to check 
bleeding in parturition. In large quantities it 
produces nausea, delirium, stupor, and death. 
On the western plains it appears largely in wild 
rye, often causing much damage to large herds 
of domestic animals. 

ERIE (e'ri), a city in Pennsylvania, county 
seat of Erie County, on Lake Erie. It is on 
the Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia and Erie, the 
Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie, the Lake 
Shore and Michigan Southern, and other rail¬ 
roads. The harbor is one of the best on Lake 
Erie, being the only harbor in Pennsylvania, 
and is protected by Presque Isle, a peninsula 
which forms a natural breakwater about six 
miles long. The city is midway between Cleve¬ 
land and Buffalo, in close proximity to the coal 
and natural gas fields of Pennsylvania. It has 
a large export and import trade with the cities 
on the Great Lakes, being on the route of many 
steamship lines. The streets are well lighted 
and paved. They are lined with elegant man¬ 
sions and beautified by fine trees and gardens. 
An abundant water supply is secured from the 
lake, the water being pumped into a tower 251 
feet high, which is classed as the highest water 
pipe in the world. 

Erie has an area of about seventy square 
miles. The noteworthy buildings include the 
county courthouse, the Federal building, the 
public library, and the high school: It has a 


ERIE 


751 


ERITREA 


number of fine public parks, a soldiers’ monu¬ 
ment, and several well-improved boulevards. 
Among the noted institutions are the Soldiers’ 
Home, Saint Vincent’s Hospital, Home for the 
Friendless, Erie Academy, Clark’s Business Col¬ 
lege, Erie Art School,- and Saint Benedictine 
Academy. 

As an industrial and jobbing center it holds a 
high rank. It has extensive machine shops, re¬ 
fineries, and foundries. The manufactures in¬ 
clude fabrics, lumber products, tobacco, bever¬ 
ages, machinery, ironware, and hardware. Erie 
.occupies the site of Presque Isle, a French 
fort built in 1753. The English captured it in 
1760. In the War of 1812 it was the headquar¬ 
ters of Commodore Perry. The first settlers 
came here in 1795 and it was incorporated in 
1805. Population, 1900, 52,733; in 1910, 66,525. 

ERIE, Battle of Lake, a naval engagement 
of the War of 1812, fought near the island of 
Put-in-Bay, in the western part of Lake Erie, 
on Sept. 10, 1813. The American fleet under 
Commodore Perry consisted of nine small ves¬ 
sels, which had been built hastily at Presque 
Isle, and the British fleet under Commodore 
Barclay had six vessels. Commodore Perry 
used the Lawrence as his flagship, on which 
the British concentrated their fire and disabled 
it, hence he was compelled to shift his flag to 
the Niagara. The fighting became general and 
the British were compelled to strike their col¬ 
ors. Perry reported the victory to the govern¬ 
ment official^ in these words: “We have met 
the enemy, and they are ours—two ships, two 
brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.” As a re¬ 
sult of the battle the Americans secured control 
of the Great Lakes and the Northwest Terri¬ 
tory. 

ERIE CANAL, the largest and most impor¬ 
tant canal of the United States, extending from 
Buffalo to Albany, N. Y., a distance of 351 
miles. The canal was first suggested by Gou- 
verneur Morris and he was appointed at the 
head of a commission of seven members in 
1810. The project was delayed by the War of 
1812, but a law authorizing it was enacted in 
1817, and the first canal boat passed through 
from Buffalo on Nov. 4, 1825, Governor Clinton 
being a passenger on the same. This canal 
greatly revolutionized trade with the lakes and 
the interior, since railroads were yet unknown. 
By means of it the time of travel between 
Buffalo and Albany was shortened from twenty 
to ten days, and the freight per ton was reduced 
from $100 to $3. The canal as originally con¬ 
structed was forty feet wide and four feet deep, 
and cost $7,602,000. In 1895 the sum of $9,000,- 
000 was appropriated to deepen the canal to 


nine feet and otherwise improve it. However, 
the work cost more than twice that amount. 
Up to 1871 the propelling power consisted al¬ 
most entirely of horses, though at that time 
steam-propelled boats were introduced, and at 
present electric motive power is used with suc¬ 
cess. However, the greatest share of freight is 
still carried in tow boats drawn by horses. The 
canal is twice carried over the Mohawk River 
on aqueducts, contains 72 locks, of which 57 
are double-lift locks, and is considered one of 
the most scientific canals in the world. 

ERIE, Fort, a fortified place in Welland 
County, Canada, on the Niagara River, nearly 
opposite the city of Buffalo, N. Y. It was oc¬ 
cupied by the British under General Vincent, 
who abandoned and fired it with all its stores 
on May 28, 1813. The same day it was occu¬ 
pied by the Americans, who afterward withdrew 
from the Canadian shore, and the British re¬ 
built it. General Brown invaded Canada in 
July of the same year and required the fort to 
surrender. The fort was now strengthened by 
the Americans, and in August of the same year 
the British under General Drummond assaulted 
it and captured the main bastion of the fort, 
but a magazine blew up and rendered the at¬ 
tack unsuccessful. In November, 1814, the 
Americans finally abandoned Canada and Fort 
Erie was blown up. 

ERIE, Lake, one of the five Great Lakes of 
North America, between lakes Huron and On¬ 
tario. It washes part of the northern boundary 
of New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, the east¬ 
ern shore of Michigan, and the southern shore 
of the Province of Ontario. The discharges of 
lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron flow into 
it through the Detroit River, while the outflow 
is into Lake Ontario by the Niagara River. Its 
width is from 30 to 65 miles; length, 260 miles, 
and area, 9,600 square miles. The Sandusky, 
Maumee, Detroit and Grand (in Canada) are 
the principal rivers flowing into it. Canal con¬ 
nections are maintained with the Hudson Riv¬ 
er by the Erie Canal, with the Ohio by the 
Ohio and Miami, and with Lake Ontario by the 
Welland. It has excellent fisheries and a large 
commerce. The naval victory gained by Com¬ 
modore Perry over the British in the western 
part of the lake is commemorated by a monu¬ 
ment at Cleveland and by a stone on the island 
of Gibraltar, near which the battle was fought. 
Among the chief harbors in the United States 
are those of Erie, Buffalo, Sandusky, Cleveland, 
Toledo, and Dunkirk. Those of Canada include 
Harrow, Rondeau, Port Rowan, and Welland. 

ERITREA (a-re-trVa), or Erythrea, a pos¬ 
session of Italy, on the western coast of the Red 







ERMINE 


752 


ERZERUM 


Sea, extending as a narrow strip of country 
about 670 miles along the coast, from Nubia 
to French Somaliland. The area is about 50,500 
square miles. It is inhabited chiefly by nomadic 
tribes of Arabs, but the southern part has some 
settlements of Afars or Danikils. A resident 
civil governor is nominated by the King of 
Italy and is under the direction of the Italian 
minister of foreign affairs. Farming is largely 
pastoral, its products being butter, meat, and 
hides, supplied by cattle, sheep, and goats. 
There are pearl fisheries of considerable impor¬ 
tance along the coast, while the import and ex¬ 
port trade is quite large. Massowah is the 
capital and local seat of government, with a 
population of 9,250. It is connected with Saate 
and several other points by railroad and tele¬ 
graph lines. Numerous wars between the Ital¬ 
ians and dervishes have occurred, though the 
boundary line was fixed at its present limit in 
1897. Population, 1906, 279,551. 

ERMINE (er'min), or Stoat, a small mam¬ 
mal allied to the weasel family, found in the 



ERMINE. 


northern portion of Europe, Asia, and America. 
The body in summer is reddish-brown above 
and white beneath, and in winter it is wholly 
white, except the tip of its tail. Its body is 
•about ten inches long, without the tail, which 
is about five inches. The fur-is soft and silky 
and is used for ladies’ winter garments, and in 
some countries for robes of kings, judges, and 
other high officials. When used as linings for 
cloaks, the black tufts of the tail are sewed to 
the skins at irregular intervals. The ermine 
lives in holes in the ground and under rocks, 
and feeds on mice, rats, birds, chickens, and 
other small animals, sucking the blood. 

ERNE (ern), a river and lake of Ireland, in 
Ulster County. The river rises in Lake Gowna 
and flows into Donegal Bay, passing through 
Lough Erne in Fermanagh County. It is sixty 
miles long and is navigable from Ballyshannon 
to the outlet. Lough Erne consists of two 
lakes, the upper and the lower, and is usually 


known as Lake Erne. It is rich in fish and eels, 
and the scenery is interesting and attractive. 

EROSION (e-ro'zhun), in geology, the in¬ 
fluence of running water, waves, and wind in 
wearing away rocks and other substances. Im¬ 
mense quantities of silt are deposited at the 
mouths of rivers as deltas, which show that the 
geological structure of the earth’s crust is 
changing from this agency. The erosion theory 
attributes the excavation of valleys and other 
depressions chiefly to the erosive power bf 
water in the form of glaciers, instead of re¬ 
garding them as due to depressions, cracks, or 
fissures in the strata produced by strains during 
upheavals through volcanic action. 

ERRATIC BLOCKS, or Erratics (er-rat'- 
lks), in geology, the boulders on the surface of 
the ground which have been transported from 
their original location by the action of glaciers 
and icebergs. They consist largely of granite, 
and in some cases were transported great dis¬ 
tances from their original location. Many rocks 
of this class are found in the south central part 
of Canada and the north central part of the 
United States, extending from Saskatchewan 
through North and South Dakota and south¬ 
ward into Iowa. 

ERYSIPELAS (er-i-sip'e-las), an inflamma¬ 
tory disease of the skin. It is attended by fever 
and diffused redness and swelling of the parts 
affected, and later by peeling off of the scarf- 
skin in the milder forms, or by suppuration of 
the deeper parts in severer cases. There is 
usually considerable pain, with heat and tingling 
in the affected parts. The treatment consists 
for the most part in watching closely the prog¬ 
ress of the case, keeping the bowels well regu¬ 
lated, and obviating special dangers as they may 
occur. Iron is sometimes used as a specific 
remedy. The disease is frequently an epidemic. 

ERZERUM (erz-room'), a city of Turkish 
Armenia, situated in the southern portion of a 
wide valley, at an elevation of 6,200 feet, and 
surrounded by mountains of considerable eleva¬ 
tion. It is the capital of a Turkish vilayet, 
which has an area of 19,180 square miles and a 
population of 645,728. The streets'of the city 
are angular and the houses largely ancient, 
though there are numerous fine buildings, ba¬ 
zaars, and public edifices. The manufactures 
consist largely of ironware, clothing, copper, 
fabrics, and utensils. Erzerum forms an im¬ 
portant strategical center. It has considerable 
trade with many points in Western Asia and 
the Persian pilgrims gather here in large num¬ 
bers, when on their way to worship at Mecca. 
In 700 a. d. it fell into the hands of the Arabs, 
and was later successively conquered by the 



ERZGEBIRGE 


753 


ESKIMOS 


Byzantines, Mongols, and Turks. The Rus¬ 
sians took possession of it in 1829 and again 
in 1878, though later restored it to the Turks. 
The governments of Germany, France, Russia, 
and England maintain consul residences and are 
represented officially. Population, 1907, 41,865. 

ERZGEBIRGE (erts'ge-ber-ge), a range of 
mountains in Europe, trending a distance of 
120 miles and forming a natural boundary be¬ 
tween Bohemia and Saxony. The name in Ger¬ 
man means Ore Mountains and originated from 
the wealth of iron, copper, cobalt, lead, silver, 
coal, and arsenic found in the region. The 
culminating peaks in Germany attain a height 
of 3,850 feet and the average elevation is 2,500 
feet. 

ESC AN ABA (es-ka-na'ba), a city in Michi¬ 
gan, county seat of Delta County, near the cen¬ 
tral part of the northern peninsula of the State. 
It is on the Chicago and Northwestern and the 
Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul railroads, 
has a good harbor on Green Bay, and is -nan 
important shipping point. The chief buildings 
include the county courthouse, the high school, 
and the public library. Among the manufac¬ 
tories are mills, iron foundries, and wooden- 
ware factories. Among the municipal improve¬ 
ments are waterworks, gas and electric light¬ 
ing, sewerage, and street 
paving. It was settled in 
1863 and incorporated as a 
city in 1883. Population, 
1910, 13,194. 

ESCAPEMENT (es- 
kap'ment), a mechanical 
device intervening be¬ 
tween the power and the 
time measurer of a clock 
or watch, and whose pur¬ 
pose is to secure uniform¬ 
ity in the rate of move¬ 
ment. It consists of two 
principal parts, the es¬ 
capement wheel a and the 
lock d j, and through these the power imparts 
to the pendulum c, or balance wheel (time 
measurer), an impulse sufficient to overcome 
the friction and resistance of the atmosphere, 
and thus keeps up the vibration. These alter¬ 
nate motions of the lock serve to arrest and 
release the escape wheel at uniform intervals, 
thus governing the movement of the timepiece. 
The principle is the same whether the moving 
power consists of springs or weights. Among 
the different escapements in use are the chro¬ 
nometer, anchor, lever, cylinder, duplex, and 
horizontal. 

ESCURIAL (es-ku'ri-al), or Escorial, a 
48 


building about 30 miles northwest of Madrid, 
Spain, celebrated as a palace, church, convent, 
and burial place. It was built by Philip II. 
on a slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama, about 
3,700 feet above sea level, and dedicated to 
Saint Lawrence in commemoration of the vic¬ 
tory of Saint Quentin over the French on Saint 
Lawrence’s day, Aug. 10, 1557. Since Saint 
Lawrence suffered martyrdom by being broiled to 
death on a sort of gridiron, its form is consid¬ 
ered to be on the plan of a gridiron. The main 
building was begun in 1563 and completed after 21 
years. This great building has a length of 740 
feet, a width of 580, and a dome with a height 
of 220 feet. Its collection of pictures long 
ranked among the finest in Europe, but large 
numbers of the more noted were transferred 
to Madrid in 1837. A fire injured the library 
in 1691, but Ferdinand VII. restored it, and in 
1808 the French army inflicted damages to the 
masonic portion. Marble tombs contain the re¬ 
mains of all the kings of Spain from Charles V. 
to Alfonso XII., except Philip V. and Ferdinand 
II., the tombs being in .tiers over each other in 
niches constructed in the walls. A bolt of light¬ 
ning struck the Escurial in 1872, by which seri¬ 
ous damage resulted. 

ESDRAELON (es-dra-e'lon), or Plain of 
Jezreel, a fertile valley of Palestine, extending 
from the Mediterranean toward the Jordan, 
along the eastern side of the Carmel range. It 
is drained by the Kishon River and noted for 
its present high state of cultivation, though prior 
to 1869 it was laid waste periodically by the 
Arabs. This valley is the site of Gideon’s vic¬ 
tory over the Midianites and that of Napoleon 
over the Turks in 1799. 

ESDRAS, Books of, the name of two apoc¬ 
ryphal books of the Old Testament. They are 
usually given as the First Book of Esdras and 
the Second Book of Esdras, and generally ap¬ 
pear as the first two books of the Apocrypha. 
The former contains a portion of Nehemiah, the 
Book of Ezra, and two chapters of II Chron¬ 
icles, and was translated from the Hebrew. The 
latter, according to recent critics, was composed 
about the year 90 a. d., and was written in He¬ 
brew or Greek. See Bible. 

ESKIMOS (es'ki-moz), or Esquimaux, a 
race of people supposed to be of Turanian 
descent, found native in the northern part of 
North America, Greenland, the Arctic islands, 
and the northeastern portions of Asia. The 
name applied to them is supposed to be of In¬ 
dian origin, meaning eaters of raw fish, though 
the designation they applied to themselves is 
Inu-it. There are at least three principal divi¬ 
sions of this race—the Eskimo proper, in Labra- 







ESKIMO 


754 


ESPERANTO 



Government among the Eskimos is tribal. 
The oldest are selected as chiefs, who officiate 
among the tribes and groups of tribes. Large 
numbers have been converted to Christianity 
by Danish missionaries, though some still ad¬ 
here to totem worship. As hunters and fishers 
they show much skill with spears, arrows, and 
lances, these usually having bone or metal 
points. The Eskimo dog is their only domestic 
animal, and serves as a valuable help in hunt¬ 
ing and drawing sledges. It is larger than the 
English pointer arid has short, but strong, legs, 
and from its bushy tail has a wolfish appear¬ 
ance. By means' of a team of trained 
dogs the Eskimo is able to travel sixty 
miles a day. The total number of Eski¬ 
mos is now placed at 45,000. 

ESKIMO DOG. See Eskimo. 
ESPARTO (es-par'to), a species of 
grass grown extensively in Spain and 
Northern Africa. It is especially val¬ 
uable for its strong fiber, which is used 
in the manufacture of paper, maps, nets, 
and cordage. It has been acclimated in 
the United States and is grown to some 
extent as a commercial product. 

ESPERANTO (a-spa-ran'to), a uni¬ 
versal language invented by L. L. Za- 
menhof, a scholar of Warsaw, Russia. 
He prepared an exhaustive grammar in 
that language in 1887, which has since 
been translated into about thirty of the 
leading languages, and a large number 
of publications are issued regularly to 
disseminate interest in its use. Espe¬ 
ranto societies are maintained in the 
leading cities of Europe and America. 
Regular courses of study are carried by 
many periodicals, such as the English 
Review of Reviews. The new language 
combines the more commendable fea¬ 
tures of the leading languages of Eu¬ 
rope, in which respect it is superior to 
the Volapiik (q. v.) and students may 
learn to read and speak it with facility 
in a comparatively short time. The English 
sentence, “The international language should he 
comprehensible to the whole educated world,” 
appears as follows in Esperanto: “La lingvo 
internacia estas komprenita de la tuta mondo 
edukita.” 

Some one language has occupied a place of 
supremacy at all times. The Babylonian tongue 
was the language of diplomacy in the 2d cen¬ 
tury b. c. Alexander the Great made Greek the 
leading language, but it in turn gave way to 
Latin during the prosperity of Rome, which re¬ 
mained the language of scholars in Europe 


dor; the Greenlanders; and those occupying the 
country west of Baffin Bay and extending west¬ 
ward along the Arctic region to a district about 
400 miles west of Bering Strait. Their height 
and coarse, black hair correspond to those of 
the American Indians, but the color of the skin 
shows a tendency toward brown. The eyes are 
often oblique, the cheek bones are prominent, 
the nose is flattened, and the weight is quite 
large considering the average height. Their 
summer residence consists of. tents made with 
poles and skins. 

In the winter time the Eskimos build houses 


ESKIMO FAMILY AND DOGS. 


of snow and ice, though in some cases their 
habitations are permanent, being constructed of 
stone in which turf is used for cement. The 
food consists of the flesh of the walrus, whale, 
seal, and other animals, though this is usually 
eaten raw. They use a boat, or kyak, made of 
oiled skins with much skill. From fifty to sev¬ 
eral hundred inmates occupy a single house, 
which in the winter time is warmed by lamps 
consuming whale oil as fuel. The attire of the 
males and females is similar, consisting of trous¬ 
ers and a coat or sack, with a hood of skins 
drawn over the head. 








ESQUIMALT 


755 


ESSEX 


throughout the Middle Ages. French became 
the language of diplomacy in the 18th century. 
English sprang into use as the language of 
commerce in the 19th century, while German 
came to be indispensable to the scholar. 

In a perfect system of communication each 
idea has its own separate symbol, as we find 
in the mathematical formulas and the chemical 
signs, but the connotation in the natural lan¬ 
guages is very imperfect. English is the most 
imperfect in respect to spelling, while the in¬ 
flected languages, as Latin and German, de¬ 
mand plural forms of the article, adjective, and 
verb with the plural nouns. An artificial lan¬ 
guage is intended to correct these and other 
difficulties. In Esperanto these faults are re¬ 
duced to a minimum and each sound repre¬ 
sents only one idea. Since it has no synonyms, 
puns are impossible in Esperanto. Those who 
have taken a leading part in the spread of the 
language maintain an organization known as 
the International Esperanto Congress. The 
fourth meeting of this body was held at Dres¬ 
den, Germany, in 1908, at which about thirty 
countries were represented by delegates. 

ESQUIMALT (es-kwi'malt), a seaport of 
Canada, in British Columbia. It is located on 
Vancouver Island, three miles southwest of 
the city of Victoria, on the Strait of San Juan 
de Fuca. The harbor is landlocked and con¬ 
tains a navy yard and a dry dock. Esquimalt is 
the headquarters of the British Pacific squad¬ 
ron, is strongly fortified, and is connected by 
railway with the coal mines at Nanaimo. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1906, 1,845. 

ESSAY (es'si), a literary composition shorter 
and less formal than a treatise, and which 
embodies the opinion of the writer on some 
general subjects. The term is sometimes used 
interchangeably with the word treatise. The 
writing of essays as a separate form of litera¬ 
ture began in the 16th century, although such 
ancient writers as Plutarch and Cicero are 
rightfully classed with the essayists. Montaigne, 
the eminent French writer, may be credited as 
the father of the essays. Voltaire, Lamartine, 
and Rousseau are among the leading French 
essayists, and those of Germany include Lessing, 
Schlegel, and Hermann Grimm. The following 
list contains the leading essays of European and 
American literature: 

Joseph Addison’s.“The Spectator” 

Matthew Arnold’s....“Essays in Criticism” 

Francis Bacon’s.“Of Studies” 

Thomas Carlyle’s.“Sartor Resartus” 

Ralph W. Emerson’s.“Conduct of Life” 

Hermann Grimm’s...“Fifteen Essays” 

Oliver W. Holmes’s.. .“Breakfast Table Series” 


Washington Irving’s.“Salmagundi Papers” 

Samuel Johnson’s.“Rambler” 

Alphonse de Lamartine’s.“Confidences” 

Charles Lamb’s.“Essays of Elia” 

Gotthold E. Lessing’s.“The Laokoon” 

Johfl Locke’s.“Essay on the Understanding” 

James Russell Lowell’s.“Among My Books” 

Thomas B. Macaulay’s.“Milton” 

Jean Jacques Rousseau’s.“Emile” and 

[“Confessions” 

John Ruskin’s.“Sesame and Lilies” 

Friedrich von Schlegel’s.. .“Philosophy of Life” 

Henry David Thoreau’s.“Walden” 

Jean Voltaire’s.“Essay on the Nations” 

ESSEN (es'sen), a city of Germany, in the 
kingdom of Prussia, about twenty miles north¬ 
east of Diisseldorf. Numerous railroads and 
electric car lines connect it with cities at a 
distance. The streets are well paved and its 
architecture is durable and imposing. The 
cathedral, founded in 873, contains many treas¬ 
ures of art. Other noteworthy buildings in¬ 
clude the courthouse, the town hall, the munic¬ 
ipal theater, and many schools and hospitals. 
A fine monument of Alfred Krupp stands in 
front of the town hall. Among its industries 
is the celebrated Krupp steel and iron works, 
rated among the most extensive establishments 
in the world. These works were founded with 
only two workmen in 1827, but at present oc¬ 
cupy a site of 1,000 acres and give employment 
to 45,500 workmen. The guns, steel plate, and 
munitions of war produced at this establish¬ 
ment are known in all the civilized countries. 
Other manufactures include clothing, fabrics, to¬ 
bacco, earthenware, and machinery. The munic¬ 
ipality maintains systems of sewerage and wa¬ 
terworks. Essen was founded in the 9th cen¬ 
tury, but its growth is comparatively recent. In 
the 17th century it was captured by the Dutch 
and the Spaniards. Since 1813 it has belonged 
to Prussia. Population, 1905, 231,360. 

ESSEQUIBO (is-sa-ke'bo), the largest river 
of British Guiana, rises in the Tumuc Humac 
Mountains, and flows into the Atlantic near 
Georgetown. It has a course of about 600 
miles and its estuary is 20 miles wide. Several 
tributaries flow into it, chiefly from the west, 
and the region through which it flows has fine 
forests of ebony, locust, ironwood, and green- 
heart. 

ESSEX, the name of a United States frigate 
used in the War of 1812, then under command 
of David Porter. The Alert, a British sloop 
of war, commanded by Captain Laugharne, 
made an attack upon the Essex on Aug. 13, 
1812, but was captured by its opponent. Later 
the Essex was attacked at Valparaiso, South 
America, by two British men-of-war P the 




















ESTATE 


756 


ETHICS 


Phoebe and the Cherub, and her crew was 
forced to surrender. This engagement took 
place on March 28, 1814. 

ESTATE, the interest which an owner may 
have in property, either real or personal. The 
term fee simple is applied where the owner¬ 
ship is absolute, hence the owner may encum¬ 
ber or sell it as he may choose. An estate 
in fee tail is one which is owned by the pos¬ 
sessor, but he may dispose of it only to his own 
issue. A life estate pertains to the ownership 
of land, but the title is held only during the 
lifetime of the possessor. In general, the term 
estate has reference to the degree, quantity, 
nature, and extent of interest which a person 
has in real estate. From this circumstance we 
speak of an estate in expectancy, in remainder, 
in common, in reversion, etc. 

ESTHER, Book of, a book of the Old Tes¬ 
tament, so named from Esther, a Jewish maiden 
and the foster-daughter of Mordecai. It re¬ 
counts how Esther was raised to the position 
of queen by Ahasuerus, King of Persia, that 
she and her uncle Mordecai frustrated the plans 
of Haman to extirpate the Jews, that Haman 
fell and was succeeded by Mordecai, and that 
a festival was instituted to commemorate the 
deliverance of the Jews from their enemies. 
Recent critics think that it was written about 
640 b. c. The language of the original manu¬ 
script is Hebrew, intermingled with numerous 
Persian words. The purpose of the book is to 
illustrate that God takes care of His people. 

ESTHETICS. See Aesthetics. 

ETCHING. See Engraving. 

ETESIAN WINDS (S-te'zhan), the name of 
winds that prevail in the southern part of 
Europe during the summer season. They blow 
from the north and northeast across the Med¬ 
iterranean, and are due to the sun heating the 
surface under the Tropic of Cancer, causing 
the air to be drawn in over the desert of 
Sahara. Though the air is charged with mois¬ 
ture in passing across the Mediterranean, the 
clouds are dispersed when they reach the mar¬ 
gin of the hot sands and the vapor is dissipated 
in the rarefied air. 

ETHER (e'ther), in astronomy and physics, 
the tenuous fluid that fills all space. It is re¬ 
garded the medium for the transmission of 
light, heat, and electric action, through the mole¬ 
cules of solids and liquids as well as through¬ 
out all gases. This medium is thought to be 
more elastic than any ordinary form of mat¬ 
ter. Electric and magnetic phenomena are but 
strains and pulsations in the ether. Physicists 
assume the existence of ether from the wave 
theory of the motion of light (q. v.). 


ETHER, the name of a volatile liquid, usu¬ 
ally divided into two classes known as simple 
ether and compound ether, or as ether and 
ethereal salt. These liquids are fragrant sub¬ 
stances, burn easily, and have a wide use in 
medicine. Ether is employed in the solution 
of iodine, sulphur, phosphorus, strychnine, and 
other alkaloids. It is useful in the prepara¬ 
tion of freezing mixtures. When inhaled, it 
produces intoxication. Sulphuric ether, so 
called from the use of sulphuric acid in its 
preparation, is employed to dissolve fats and 
resins. It is much used in medicine as a stimu¬ 
lant and anaesthetic. 

ETHICS (eth'iks), or Moral Science, the 

science which relates to human duty. It in¬ 
vestigates the nature and the right of conduct, 
actions, and aims, embracing the supreme good 
and the ultimate ground of obligation. Writers 
usually treat the science of ethics under two 
divisions—theoretical and practical. Theoret¬ 
ical ethics aims to ascertain the principles of 
the ideal moral manhood and life, while prac¬ 
tical ethics applies these principles in directing 
man to the attainment of the ideal character 
and life. 

Ethics as a science is frequently compared in 
various aspects to geometry. In geometry we 
have an intuitive idea of extension; then spe¬ 
cial forms of extension, as a line, a circle, etc.; 
and finally we arrive at intuitive truths called 
axioms. Similarly, in ethics we first have an 
intuitive idea of right; then an idea of particu¬ 
lar forms of right, as kindness, honesty, etc.; 
and ultimately recognize certain principles, as 
“it is right to be kind,” “it is our duty to be 
honest,” which may be regarded moral axioms. 
Various systems of ethics have been proposed, 
all differing more or less widely in their con¬ 
clusions as to the origin and nature of the fac¬ 
ulty by which human duty is recognized. Many 
of the systems had their origin in antiquity, 
and with them the names of Socrates, Plato, 
Epicurus, Aristotle, and the Stoics are asso¬ 
ciated. With the introduction of Christianity 
ethical speculation turned on a new element, and 
among Christians moral obligation came to be 
based on the injunctions of the Scriptures. 

Most modern writers regard the true, the 
beautiful, and the good as the three rational 
ideas of the mind, and of these the good, which 
is by some called the right, is held to be the 
highest idea. There has been a wide difference 
of opinion as to the question of right, the es¬ 
sential query being as to what it is that makes 
a thing right. Among the answers proposed 
are utility, highest happiness, divine law, the 
divine nature, and the eternal nature of things. 






ETHICS 


757 


ETHIOPIA 


Those holding to the view founded on utility 
urge that whatever is best adapted to the wel¬ 
fare of man is right, while the opposite things 
are regarded as wrong, because they retard 
the individual and the race in progress toward 
the ideal life. Those holding that right is 
based on the highest happiness of the individual 
similarly commend all that is essential to the 
happiness of man. By divine law is meant the 
revealed will of God, which some writers hold 
to be the ultimate right, but there is a wide 
difference of opinion as to what the revealed 
will of God is, which is likewise the case of 
the character of divine nature. Those holding 
that right is based on the eternal nature of 
things regard right and wrong as self-exis¬ 
tent. Viewed from this aspect, they are said 
to have no origin, and that they are eternal. 
The view that right and wrong are eternal prin¬ 
ciples is probably correct, since we cannot con¬ 
ceive a condition under which either can change 
or be terminated. When looked upon from 
this high plane, we conceive that right is 
wrapped up in the universe, one ever-existing 
ultimate principle. 

Locke, in his “Essay on the Understanding,” 
assailed the theory that morality is intuitive, 
and urged that there are no principles univer¬ 
sally received among men, that children are 
not possessed of any moral rules, and that 
moral rules require a reason to be given for 
them, these all being conclusive that virtue is 
not innate. In reply to this view, writers have 
urged that all nations agree in enjoining some 
moral rule, but this is a departure from the 
original question, since we are to determine 
which of any opposite standards of morality is 
correct, as, for instance, monogamy or polyg¬ 
amy. Those who oppose the idea of innate 
virtue usually hold that the idea of right is 
the product of education. According to this 
view virtue depends wholly upon the manner 
of instruction, which likewise determines how 
the individual will class conduct in the cate¬ 
gories of right and wrong. Others hold that 
education does not account wholly for the origin 
of the idea, but refer its development at least 
partially to instinct. In the philosophy of Kant, 
reason is held to recognize the obligation of 
right conduct, and action is classed as good 
only when it is done from a good motive, 
though the motive must be entirely freed from 
natural inclination to the act performed. Adam 
Smith, in his “Theory of Moral Sentiments,” 
suggests that the sympathetic feelings of the im¬ 
partial and well-informed witness of an act con¬ 
stitute the criterion of right, while William 
Paley (1743-1805) holds that virtue consists in 


doing good to mankind for the sake of ever¬ 
lasting happiness. 

ETHIOPIA (e-thi-6'pi-a), the Kush of 
sacred history, the ancient name applied to all 
the nations inhabiting the Southern Hemi¬ 
sphere, as known in early ages. However, some 
writers applied the name to the dark-brown or 
black-colored people, who are generally spoken 
of as Ethiopians, meaning, sunburned. Later * 
it had reference particularly to the country 
lying south of Egypt and the Red Sea, which 
corresponded to modern Abyssinia, Nubia, Kor- 
dofan, and other districts, though the boundary 
was not clearly defined. It was also applied 
to an island formed by two tributaries of the 
Nile, known as the kingdom of Meroe, whose 
capital was Napata. This island was fertile, 
producing an abundance of cereals, animals, and 
metals. It was given credit as the site of an 
oracle of Jupiter Ammon. Ethiopia, as a coun¬ 
try, had a large trade with Egypt, Libya, Car¬ 
thage, Arabia, and even India, but it attained 
its greatest prosperity about 1000 b. c., and 
formed a distinguished and powerful kingdom 
of ancient history. About the middle of the 8th 
century b. c. it became independent of Egypt, 
secured a predominating influence in the valley 
of the Nile, and imposed a dynasty on Lower 
Egypt. 

The Persian Cambyses invaded Ethiopia in 
the 6th century b. c., though independence was 
maintained until it became a possession of the 
Romans in the reign of Augustus, the Ethiopian 
queen, Candace, becoming one of his vassals. 
The only evidences remaining of the ancient civi¬ 
lization of Ethiopia are numerous ruins of 
monuments and temples on which battles, re¬ 
ligious ceremonies, and the industries are rep¬ 
resented by sculptures. Their first king was 
Menelihek, who is supposed to have been the 
son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The 
names of thirty kings and queens have been 
found sculptured on some of the ruins. Later 
the country came to be known as Abyssinia, 
but the monarchs of the present Abyssinia still 
designate themselves rulers of Ethiopia. The 
language of the Ethiopians, more correctly 
called the Geez language, was introduced from 
South Arabia, and formed the ancient ecclesias¬ 
tical and official language of Abyssinia. Semitic 
in construction, it resembles the Hebrew, Ara¬ 
maic, and Arabic. The modern nomadic tribes 
of the Sudan and Tigre speak a language quite 
closely allied to it. The literature of the 
Ethiopian language includes a translation of 
the Old and New Testaments and the Apoc¬ 
rypha, besides other important Christian litera¬ 
ture. 


ETHNOLOGY 


758 


ETHNOLOGY 


ETHNOLOGY (eth-nol'6-gy), the science 
which treats of the various races of mankind, 
investigates their distribution, and attempts to 
trace them to their origin. The science was de¬ 
veloped from ethnography, which relates to par¬ 
ticular tribes and localities, and to which it has 
a relation similar to the connection between 
geology and geography. Anthropology is the 
general science or natural history of mankind, 
of which ethnology and ethnography are im¬ 
portant branches, while anthropology again is a 
branch of biology. In this article we can give 
only the leading facts of the unity of plurality 
of the species of mankind, since the whole study 
covers a wide range of details to be investigated. 
The distribution of man is much more general 
than that of lower animals, owing to the greater 
power of adaptation to change of circumstances. 
On account of. this, man is found in all cli¬ 
matic zones and at all elevations above sea level, 
except only the small areas above the snow line. 

The view that all mankind descended from a 
single family or species is the one most com¬ 
monly supported. This view holds that Adam 
and Eve were the first parents, the common 
progenitors of all, racial differences now exist¬ 
ing being attributed to climatic influences act¬ 
ing on individual families for a long period of 
time. Another view is that the various types 
have not descended from a single family, but 
were created separately in different localities. 
The advocates of this theory maintain that the 
physical form, personal characteristics and gen¬ 
eral appearance of mankind could not have 
been so greatly diversified, as demonstrated by 
*the different races, through mere climatic con¬ 
ditions. However, the difference in color, 
stature, size, and intelligence is largely over¬ 
come by the anatomical structure, which is in¬ 
variably the same in all races. Besides, the 
racial differences are characterized by almost 
insensible gradation, which points to a gradual 
.modification of an original race through changes 
in external circumstances, by means of which 
the principal species were produced. Accord¬ 
ing to this view, it is assumed that all the va¬ 
rieties of races have descended from the Cau¬ 
casian. Other evidences pointing to a single 
parent family are found in the similarity of 
earlier myths and legends, from which it is 
reasonably certain that the remote ancestors of 
the various races originally dwelt together. 
There is a close resemblance of the language 
of widely separated races, this being regarded 
the strongest proof of the early unity. By 
extended comparisons many scholars have been 
led to believe that the ^languages had their or¬ 
igin in the one parent nation, which dwelt in 


the neighborhood of Mount Ararat in prehis¬ 
toric times. 

Various classifications of mankind have 
been attempted. However, it has been difficult 
to find physical characteristics that belong ex¬ 
clusively to a single race, though there are 
some that predominate in certain races. The 
Dutch anatomist, Pieter Camper (1722-1789), 
attempted to make a scientific racial distinction 
by measurement of the facial angle. Though 
Camper’s method illustrates nicely existing dif¬ 
ferences, they may be paralleled quite as dis¬ 
tinctly by variations found in a single com¬ 
munity. He classifies, for instance, the facial 
angle of the anthropoid apes at 42°, the African 
Negro at 70°, and the Europeans at 80°. J. 
F. Blumenbach (1752-1840), a German eth¬ 
nologist, classified the human family into five 
races, basing the distinction on the differences 
found in the shape of the head, while Cuvier 
classified mankind in three divisions. As clas¬ 
sified by this writer, the races are Caucasian, 
Mongolian, Ethiopian, Malay, and American, 
the two last mentioned being considered by 
him as subdivisions of the Mongolian. There 
is a more recent classification into three strongly 
marked types, the Caucasian, Mongolian, and 
Negro, and the three secondary races, the 
Malay, American, and Australian. 

The Caucasian race is found in Southwestern 
Asia and most of Europe and America, and is 
widely distributed in small colonies in other 
portions. The Negro type prevails most largely 
in Africa and the Mongolian in portions of 
Eurasia not occupied by the Caucasian. Among 
the chief characteristics of the Caucasians are 
a round, oval face, fair complexion, arched 
forehead, symmetrical features, vertical teeth, 
smooth hair, and ample beard. The Mongol¬ 
ians have an angular face, broad head, oblique 
eyes, straight, coarse, black hair, high cheek 
bones, pale lemon to brownish-yellow skin, and 
a scanty beard. This race includes the inhabi¬ 
tants of most of Asia, the Laps and Finns of 
Northern Europe, the Magyars of Hungary 
and the Turks. The Eskimos, who inhabit the 
northern portion of North America and North¬ 
eastern Asia, are commonly classed with this 
race. The Negro race is characterized by a 
narrow and elongated head, projecting jaws, 
thick lips, crisp, curly hair, black or dusky skin, 
scanty beard on upp^r lip, and broad feet. It 
shows great differences in civilization, ranging 
from the cruel and vindictive Gallas to the de¬ 
based Hottentots, from the cringing slave to 
most profound and enlightened scholars. This 
race is found in large numbers on the conti¬ 
nent of Africa and has migrated to all portions 


ETIOLATION 


759 


ETON COLLEGE 


of the warmer zones. The Malay race re¬ 
sembles the Mongolian. However, the eyes are 
horizontal, the hair is coarse and straight, and 
the skin is mostly a dark olive color. It is 
found in large numbers on the island of Mada¬ 
gascar, the southern Malay peninsula, and the 
islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. 

The Australian race is considered a sub-spe¬ 
cies of the Papuan branch of the Malays. It 
is characterized by deep-set eyes, large head, 
abundant beard, dark hair, and dark brown skin. 
In civilization it is wholly destitute and has 
shown little, if any, tendency to improve under 
a system of education. The American race re¬ 
sembles the Mongolian in some respects, though 
it is characterized by the top of the skull 
being more rounded and the sides less angular. 
This race once occupied all of America, though 
since the discovery and settlement it has been 
more or less assimilated. This is true espe¬ 
cially of South and Central America, where the 
most highly advanced tribes of this race were 
found. At the time of discovery of America 
the people of the Andean plateaus were ad¬ 
vanced in civilization, understood the art of 
working metals, and possessed remarkable tem¬ 
ples, tombs, aqueducts, and pyramids, while 
those of Central America showed evidences of 
a still higher and more ancient civilization. The 
former probably were of Asiatic origin, while 
the latter have been traced by some writers to 
a Semitic or an Egyptian source. Placing the 
entire population of the earth at 1,500,000,000, 
the numerical strength of the different races is 
as follows : Mongolian, 650,000,000 ; Caucasian, 
575,000,000; Negro, 175,000,000; Malay, 40,000,- 
000; America, including all of the red race, 20,- 
000,000; Australian and mixed races, 40,000,- 
000 . 

ETIOLATION (e-ti-6-la'shun), the process 
of bleaching plants by excluding the light of 
the sun. It is made use of in bleaching celery, 
by which it is rendered quite tender and less 
acrid. Plants subjected to etiolation for some 
time become pale and. almost colorless, since 
no chlorophyll is produced in the absence of 
sunlight. See Chlorophyll. 

ETNA (et'na), a borough of Pennsylvania, 
in Allegheny County, on the Allegheny River, 
opposite the city of Pittsburg. It is on the 
Pennsylvania and the Pittsburg and Western 
railroads, and has electric railway facilities. 
Etna has extensive furnaces, rolling mills, and 
machine shops. Population, 1910, 5,830. 

ETNA, or Aetna, the most celebrated vol¬ 
cano in Europe, situated in Catania, Sicily, tow¬ 
ering 10,865 feet above sea level. This moun¬ 
tain rises abruptly from the sea, having a 


circumference of over one hundred miles at 
the base, and ends in a single cone, in which 
a crater nearly three miles in circumference and 
1,000 feet deep has been formed. A number of 
smaller cones are situated on the side of the 
mountain, the principal one being Monti Rossi, 
formed during the eruption of 1669. The moun¬ 
tain contains three climatic zones—the lower 
mild region, the central temperate, and the 
upper or snow covered. In the milder regions 
many varieties of lemons, oranges, date palms, 
olives, almonds, figs, and bananas are culti¬ 
vated. The temperate belt has forests of oak, 
birch, chestnut, cork oak, maple, and pine, and 
in the upper part is a desert region covered 
partly with stunted vegetation and partly with 
ashes, lava, and sand, and much of it is buried 
most of the year with snow. A splendid view 
of the whole of Sicily, Malta, Calabria, and 
the Lipari Islands is obtained from the sum¬ 
mit. At the height of 9,080 feet is an observa¬ 
tory, which is the highest inhabitated struc¬ 
ture of Europe. 

Several great eruptions of Mount Etna oc¬ 
curred long before the Trojan wars. They 
are related in the mythical writings of the 
ancients. The earliest to which a definite date 
is given occurred in 475 b. c. and the most re¬ 
markable overwhelmed Catania in 1169, when 
15,000 persons were destroyed. In an eruption 
in 1329 a new crater opened. About a century 
later, in 1444, a large cone formation fell into 
the crater during an eruption^ and in 1669 a 
chasm twelve miles long burst open and lava 
flowed over the country for forty consecutive 
days. An earthquake accompanied the eruption 
in 1693 and caused the destruction of 60,000 
lives. Vast eruptions occurred in 1832, 1853, 
1865, 1874, and 1879, and there were numerous 
minor manifestations of external disturbances, 
numbering in all about one hundred, fully 
twenty of which occurred in the last century. 
Premonitory symptoms generally precede erup¬ 
tions, thus giving ample warning to the people 
that danger is imminent. 

ETON COLLEGE (e'tun), an educational 
institution situated in Eton, England, about 
twenty miles from London. It was founded by 
Henry VI. in 1440, though its completion was 
retarded by political contentions until 1523. The 
institution is managed by a board or govern¬ 
ing body, whose members are nominated by 
learned electors, including those of Oxford and 
Cambridge. Students from Eton may obtain 
valuable scholarships at Cambridge on merit, 
which is determined by competitive examina¬ 
tions. The buildings are substantial and con¬ 
venient and associated with them are libraries, 


ETRURIA 


760 


ETYMOLOGY 


apparatus, a beautiful campus, and several 
parks. The attendance numbers about 1,000. 
Its courses of study are still based somewhat 
on the mediaeval idea that Greek and Latin 
are the basis of all good education. Among 
its distinguished graduates are Fielding, Fox, 
Chatham, Bolingbroke, Channing, Gray, Hal- 
lam, Wellington, Shelley, and Gladstone. . 

ETRURIA ( e-troo'ri-a), the ancient name of 
the portion of Italy which is situated south of 
the valley of the Arno and west of the Tiber 
and the Apennines. In its greater prosperity 
it embraced the valley of the Arno, extending 
south of the Tiber, when it included the valley 
of the Po. For practical purposes it may be 
said that Etruria corresponded to modern Tus¬ 
cany, but included several adjoining regions. 
The traditional history of the Etruscans begins 
about 1044 b. c., and its fairly authentic history 
precedes the foundation of Rome more than 
two centuries. The state was formed as a con¬ 
federation of twelve great cities or cantons, 
each of which constituted a representative re¬ 
public. Among the most flourishing of these 
cities were Cortona, Veii, Caere, Volsinii, Tar- 
quinii, and Perusia. Veii was a rival of Rome 
for four centuries, and in its prosperity covered 
sixteen square miles, but was destroyed under 
Camillus in 396 b. c. The famous tomb of the 
Tarquins is located at Caere. Volsinii resisted 
Roman attacks for many years and constituted 
one of the most powerful centers of Etruscan 
strength. 

The naval power of the Etruscans was a 
strong element in their prosperity, enabling them 
to control large portions of the Mediterranean, 
establish supremacy over central and northern 
Italy, and include Rome itself within their ter¬ 
ritory for several centuries. From them the 
Romans secured the circus, many arts of indus¬ 
try, architectural methods, and the gladiatorial 
combats. They formed an alliance with the 
Carthaginians in 538 b. c. for the purpose of 
expelling Greek colonists from Corsica, fought 
against the Greek colony of Cumae in 525 b. c., 
and were rated the greatest military power of 
Italy in 467 b. c., though two years later their 
strength was partly shattered by the Greeks. 
Subsequently their territory was invaded by the 
Gauls, Samnites, Greeks, and Romans. The 
Roman victory over Veii in 396 b. c. completely 
destroyed Etruscan power, while their last de¬ 
termined resistance ended at the Battle of Lake 
Vadimonian in 283 b. c. Even after this their 
state was considered an independent ally of 
Rome, though Roman customs were gradually 
adopted until the final union was effected in 89 
b. c., after which many of the leading families 


of Etruria attained to high positions in the 
Roman government. 

The name applied to the people of Etruria 
by the Romans was Etrusci, while the Greeks 
called them Tyrrheni. These people constituted 
a sturdy race. They were characterized by 
black hair, a dark color, and a large head, and 
more nearly resembled the people of Western 
Asia than the Europeans. Their civilization 
was marked by culture, a definite literature, 
codified laws, and a flourishing commerce. Al¬ 
though their poems, dramas, and histories are 
numbered among the extinct writings of the 
past ages, we know something of their ability 
to compound and apply medicine, calculate 
mathematical and astronomical problems, mine 
and work metals, build highways, and construct 
architectural edifices by studying their ruins 
and deciphering the inscriptions found on mon¬ 
uments and in the tombs. 

Many products of the Etruscans are extant, 
such as vases, lamps, and utensils. The vases 
made by this race are especially noteworthy, 
being ornamented by bands of beautiful foliage 
and figures of a highly artistic character. It 
is known from excavations that their homes 
were adorned with decorated walls, mirrors, 
jewelry, pottery, and convenient furniture, 
though in art they borrowed largely from the 
Greeks. Many of the exquisitely painted vases 
known and preserved as Etruscan were un¬ 
doubtedly the production of Grecian workmen, 
for the reason that many of the inscriptions 
are in the Greek. The language of the Etrus¬ 
cans is known as Rasena and was spoken for 
about 1,000 years before the Christian era, 
when it gave way to the Latin. Numerous coins 
and gems bearing inscriptions in Rasena are 
extant. 

ETRURIA, a kingdom founded in Italy by 
Napoleon I. in 1801. It comprised the territory 
of Tuscany and was governed by the Bourbons 
of Parma until 1808, when it was incorporated 
with the empire of France. Elise Bacciocchi, 
a sister of Napoleon, was made Grand Duchess 
of Tuscany in 1809, but it reverted to Ferdi¬ 
nand III. after the fall of Napoleon in 1814. 

ETRUSCAN VASES (e-trus'kan). See 
Etruria. 

ETYMOLOGY (et-i-mSl'o-jy), that branch 
of philology which treats of the origin, form, 
and meaning of words. Numerous Greek phi¬ 
losophers, including Plato, the grammarians of 
Alexandria, the Roman Varro, and scholiasts 
of different ages, wrote on etymology and 
traced the origin and history of particular 
words and forms of language. In more recent 
times the intense interest given to the investi- 



\ s ' , . ' • • X ^ 

/ - . _ 

EUBOEA 761 

gation of Sanskrit has led to its scientific study. 

By means of extended investigations language 
has been classed in groups and families and the 
similar and dissimilar words have been studied 
from the standpoint of relationship and origin. 
This has led to a recognition of the fact that 
the growth of language is not accidental or pre¬ 
meditated, but enlarges or declines under cer- 
• tain laws. In grammar etymology is the di¬ 
vision which treats of the parts of speech, their 
inflections, and the elements of the sentences. 

EUBOEA (u-be'a), an island of the Aegean 
Sea, formerly called. Negroponte. It is ninety 
miles long and thirty miles broad at its widest 
point, and is the largest island in the Aegean 
Sea. The narrow channels of Talanti and 
Egripo ( Euripus ) separate it from Greece. 
Much of the surface is fertile and well wooded, 
though several mountain peaks rise to a height 
of about 7,000 feet. Chalcis and Karysto are 
the principal towns and trading centers. Be¬ 
sides minerals, there are productions of live 
stock, cereals, and fruits. Euboea was settled 
by the Ionians in 1100 b. c., after which it be¬ 
came the home of Aristotle and the seat of the 
Euboean school of philosophy. Athens subdued 
it after the Persian wars and it became a pos¬ 
session of the Turks in 1470. It is now a 
province of the kingdom of Greece. Popula¬ 
tion, 1907, 107,218. 

EUCALYPTUS (u-ka-lip'tus), a genus of 
trees, mostly native to Australia, which grow 



EUCALYPTUS. 


to the height of 480 to 500 feet, and form one 
of the most characteristic features of the vege¬ 
tation in that" part of the world. The leaves, 
instead of having one of their surfaces toward 
the sky, often grow with each side equally ex¬ 
posed to the light. Many of the species abound 


EUFAULA 

in resinous secretions and are known as gum 
trees. The bark is thick and hard, containing 
a large per cent, of tannin. In the red gum, 
bay king, and iron bark species, a red juice flows 
freely from a wound and hardens into irregu¬ 
lar, inodorous, transparent masses called euca- 
lyptin, which is analogous to tannin. The wood 
is used extensively for shipbuilding. A species 
of the eucalyptus known as the blue gum tree 
has been introduced into Cape Colony, Algeria, 
Mexico, Roman Campagna, and elsewhere. The 
climate and soil of many parts of California 
and Florida are well fitted for the cultivation of 
the eucalyptus tree, hence it has been intro¬ 
duced with good results. It has acquired a 
reputation for drying marshy soils and absorb¬ 
ing malaria, on account of which it is called 
the fever tree. A saccharine substance similar 
to sugar, a powder having the qualities of qui¬ 
nine, and a secretion resembling manna are ob¬ 
tained from these trees. 

EUCHRE (u'ker), a game of cards played 
by two, three, or four persons, but only the 
aces, kings, queens, jacks, tens, nines, and 
eights are used. The cards rank in the order 
named, except that the trump suit jack is called 
the right bower, which is the highest, while the 
jack of the next suit which is like in color is 
called the left bower, hence is the second high¬ 
est card. The game is one of the most popular 
played with cards. 

EUDIOMETER (u-di-om'e-ter), an instru¬ 
ment used to determine the composition of 
gases. Priestley invented an apparatus of this 
kind to analyze atmospheric air and determine 
its proportion of oxygen. Many forms of the 
eudiometer are now in use, but the kind em¬ 
ployed most extensively is a U or V shaped 
graduated glass tube, one end of which is closed 
and provided with electrodes fused into the 
glass. The air is tested by removing the car¬ 
bonic acid contained in the air within the tube 
by means of a strong liquor potassae over a 
mercury bath, when the proportion of carbonic 
acid in the atmosphere is indicated by a rise of 
the mercury within the tube. An electric cur¬ 
rent is used, by means of the electrode, to ex¬ 
plode a given quantity of hydrogen introduced 
in the tube. The volume of free oxygen in 
the tube is determined after cooling, and is 
equal to one-third of the loss of gas in the ex¬ 
plosion. It is necessary to use a very thick 
tube in order to withstand the shock. 

EUFAULA (u-fa'la), a city of Barbour 
County, Alabama, on the Chattahoochee River, 
eighty miles southeast of Montgomery. It is 
on the Central of Georgia Railroad. The chief 
buildings include the high school and the Union 










EUGENE 


762 


EUROPE 


Female College. The surrounding country is 
agricultural and fruit growing. It has manufac¬ 
tures of cotton goods, vehicles, canned fruit, 
lumber, and tobacco. The municipality owns 
and operates the waterworks. Population, 1900, 
4,532; in 1910, 4,259. 

EUGENE (u-gen'), a city of Oregon, county 
seat of Lane County, 125 miles south of Port¬ 
land. It is finely situated on the Willamette 
River and the Southern Pacific Railroad, and is 
surrounded by a fertile farming and fruit-grow¬ 
ing country. The Willamette River furnishes 
excellent water power for manufacturing pur¬ 
poses. Among the manufactures are leather, 
lumber, furniture, brick, and flour. It is the 
seat of the University of Oregon and has a 
number of fine public schools and churches. 
Electric lights and waterworks are among the 
public utilities. The first settlement in its vi¬ 
cinity was made in 1854 and it was incorporated 
in 1864. Population, 1900, 3,236. 

EUPHRATES (u-fra'tez), an important 
river of Western Asia, rising by two head 
streams in the Anti-Taurus range, in Armenia. 
The western branch, known as Kara-su, rises 
about 25 miles northeast of Erzerum and joins 
the Murad Chai, the eastern branch, some dis¬ 
tance to the southwest of that city. The great 
river is joined by the Tigris at Kurna, and the 
united streams take the name of Shat-el-Arab 
for the remaining distance to the Persian Gulf, 
into which its waters flow. The total length of 
the Euphrates is 1,740 miles, and the area of its 
basin is &60,000 square miles. It is navigable 
about 1,200 miles, though the larger warships 
cannot safely ascend farther than 125 miles, 
owing to rapids and shallows. During May and 
June vast floods are caused by the melting 
"snows on the Taurus and the Anti-Taurus 
ranges, causing the current to rise in velocity 
from three to five miles an hour and often oc¬ 
casioning great floods. The Bible mentions the 
Euphrates as one of the four rivers of the 
Garden of Eden, in Gen. ii., 14. In the prosper¬ 
ity of Babylon extensive canals served in irri¬ 
gating the flood lands. Nebuchadnezzar con¬ 
nected that city by canals with the interior, and 
converted the flood lands into the most pro¬ 
ductive district of the ancient world. 

EURASIA (u-ra'shi-a), the region included 
in the two continents of Europe and Asia. The 
term Eur-Asiatic is frequently applied to the 
geological formations of the two continents. In 
like manner, Eurasian has reference to both 
Europe and Asia, as the Eurasian plain. • 

EURASIANS (u-ra'shans), the name applied 
to the people of India who descended from 
Hindu and European parents. They are the 


result of inter-marriages, and are usually edu¬ 
cated in the manner of Europeans. Though 
they speak English quite well, their pronuncia¬ 
tion is not clear and concise. Young men of 
this class engage in mercantile pursuits or en¬ 
ter the government service, and many of the 
girls marry British officers. The Eurasians have 
a much darker complexion than the Europeans. 

EURE (er), a river of France, rises in the 
department of Orne, and flows into the Seine 
after a course of 115 miles. It receives the in¬ 
flow from the Iton, its principal tributary, and 
is navigable about 50 miles. 

EUREKA (u-re'ka), the exclamation of Ar¬ 
chimedes when he discovered a method of de¬ 
tecting the exact amount of alloy in the crown 
of King Hiero, the meaning being “I have 
found it.” The word is now used to signify 
an expression of triumph at the time of making 
a discovery. 

EUREKA, county seat of Humboldt County, 
California, on Humboldt Bay, 225 miles north 
of San Francisco. It has a good harbor and is 
a shipping point for lumber and produce. The 
noteworthy buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the Carnegie library, the high school, 
and several churches. Sequoia Park is a fine 
public resort and contains a tract of redwood 
forest in its virgin state. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are dairy products, lumber products, wool¬ 
en goods, and machinery. It has a large export 
trade in wool, lumber, fruits, butter, and fish. 
The surrounding country is lumbering, mining, 
and agricultural. It was settled in 1850 and 
incorporated in 1856. Population, 1900, 7,327. 

EUREKA, a city of Utah, in Jaud County, 
65 miles south of Salt Lake City, on the Rio 
Grande Western and the San Pedro, Los An¬ 
geles and Salt Lake railroads. It is surrounded 
by a productive gold, silver, and lead mining 
district. Near the city is a canyon of the 
Oquirrh Mountains, which is noted for its val¬ 
uable silver mines. It has several fine schools 
and a considerable trade. Population, 1900, 
3,085. 

EUROPE (u'rup), a grand division lying 
north of Africa and west of Asia, and with the 
latter forming Eurasia. From the standpoint 
both of history and politics it is the most im¬ 
portant of the grand divisions. It is the most 
densely populated, but is smaller than any of 
the others, except Australia. The northern 
boundary is formed by the Arctic Ocean; east¬ 
ern by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, and 
the Caspian Sea; southern by the Black Sea 
and the Mediterranean; and the western by the 
Atlantic Ocean. The extreme northern point 
is Cape North; eastern, a point in Russia lying 







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PHYSICAL MAP OF EUROPE 

763 







EUROPE 


764 


EUROPE 


about 65° east of Greenwich; southern, Punta 
da Tarifa, in the Strait of Gibraltar; and 
western, Capt Finisterre, in the Iberian Penin¬ 
sula. Its greatest length from north to south, 
between Capt Matapan and Cape North, is 
2,400 miles, and the greatest distance from east 
to west is 3,400 miles; that is, measured from 
Capt Saint Vincent on the west to Ekaterinburg 
on the east. The total area is 3,782,000 square 
miles. 

The coast line is characterized by a large 
number of indentations, hence it has a more ir¬ 
regular and extended coast in proportion to its 
size than any of the other grand divisions. In¬ 
cluding the more important indentations, the 
coast line is about 25,000 miles, but it is nearly 
double that length if all of the indentations 
are followed. Many islands lie off its southern 
and western coasts. The former, which are the 
more important, include Ireland, Iceland, the 
British Isles, and the Faro Islands. South of 
Europe are Corsica, Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, 
Malta, the Ionian Islands, and the Balearic 
Islands. Numerous seas and inland waters 
abound near all of its coast line. These include 
Cheskaya Bay, the White Sea, the North Sea, 
and the Baltic Sea on the north; the Caspian 
Sea, the Black Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the 
Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean on the 
south; while the expansive Bay of Biscay is on 
the west. The Mediterranean and other seas 
have arms extending far inland, such as the 
Sea of Azov, the Gulf of Genoa, the Gulf of 
Finland, and the Gulf of Bothnia. No lakes 
occur in the eastern part of Europe, and those 
of considerable extent are in the northern por¬ 
tion. These include Onega and Ladoga, in 
Russia, and Vener, Vetter, and Malar, in Swe¬ 
den. 

Surface. The surface of Europe is charac¬ 
terized by a great plain extending from the 
Black Sea to the White Sea, and occupying the 
interior from the mountains in the south and 
west to the Asiatic boundary on the east. Its 
mountains form several complicated groups be¬ 
longing to different geological ages, and occupy 
largely the southern and western portions. The 
most prominent system extends in a curved line 
from the Strait of Gibraltar along the Mediter¬ 
ranean to Asia Minor, and continues as the 
Caucasus Mountains between the Black Sea 
and the Caspian. This system is highest in the 
center, where the Alps attain a general eleva¬ 
tion'of about 12,000 feet, though Mont Blanc 
is 15,787 feet above sea level and forms the 
highest peak in Europe. However, Jungfrau, 
Matterhorn, and Monte Rose are but little in¬ 
ferior in height. Communication between the 


north and the south through these mountains 
is made possible by a number of famous rail¬ 
way tunnels, which include the Simplon, Mount 
Cenis, and Saint Gothard tunnels. 

Several ranges extend from the central group, 
among them the Cevennes and adjoining ranges 
in France and the Cantabrian and Pyrenees in 
Spain, the latter containing peaks over .11,000 
feet high. The system extends eastward in 
two curves to the Black Sea by the Transyl¬ 
vanian and Carpathian, which trend north of 
the Balkans and Dinaric Alps. North of the 
Alps are the ranges lying between the valleys 
of the Upper Danube and the Oder, and the dif¬ 
ferent chains extending through Austria-Hun¬ 
gary. The mountains in the Scandinavian pen¬ 
insula extend from the southern point of Nor¬ 
way to the Arctic Ocean, a distance of about 
900 miles, the highest summit being about 8,000 
feet. These ranges include the Kjolen and sev¬ 
eral broad plateaus that descend abruptly into 
numerous deep-cut valleys called fiords, and 
which are penetrated by the sea almost to the 
heart of the plateaus. The Ural Mountains ex¬ 
tend along the boundary between Europe and 
Asia, in the north, and some distance to the 
west of the boundary in the center, trending on 
a line almost parallel to the meridians, and ter¬ 
minate in a plain north of the Caspian Sea. 

Rivers. Most of the rivers flow in a south¬ 
easterly direction, and have their source either 
in the great central plain or in the mountains 
of the central west. The four largest rivers 
rising in the Alps are the Danube, Rhine, Po, 
and Rhone. Of these the Po flows into the 
Adriatic; the Danube, into the Black Sea; the 
Rhine, into the North Sea; and the Rhone, into 
the Mediterranean. These four rivers have 
large, deltas. The central plain is drained to¬ 
ward the northwest by the Dwina and Petchora 
into the Arctic; by the Oder, Vistula, Duna, 
and Nieman into the Baltic; and by the Rhine, 
Weser, and Elbe into the North Sea. Toward 
the south and east it is drained by the Dnieper, 
Don, and Dniester into the Black Sea and the 
Sea of Azov, and by the Ural and Volga into 
the inland basin of the Caspian. Numerous riv¬ 
ers are found in all the peninsulas, the most im¬ 
portant of these being the Tagus, Douro, and 
Gaudiana in Spain and Portugal; the Po in 
Italy; the Loire, Seine, and Garonne in France; 
the Ebro and Guadalquivir in Spain; and the 
Glommen in the Scandinavian peninsula. 

In the northern part of Europe the lakes are 
frozen the greater part of the year, especially 
lakes Onega and Ladoga, in Russia, and Stor 
Lake, in Sweden, but the lakes of the south, 
though small, are important for their fisheries 













































* 













. 





























EUROPE 


.765 


EUROPE 


and as a basis for inland commerce. The most 
important of these are located near the Alps. 
Those south of the Alps include lakes Iseo, Co¬ 
mo, Maggiore, Garda, and Lugano; those on 
the north include lakes Thun, Geneva, Zurich, 
Lucerne, Neuchatel, and Constance. 

Climate. The climate of Europe is peculiarly 
genial, though it is marked by periods of ex¬ 
treme cold in the north. The shores are ex¬ 
posed to the warm winds and warm oceanic 
currents from the southwest, by which the tem¬ 
perature is moderated and rendered favorable 
to the development of plant and animal life. As 
we proceed east the extremes of temperature 
become greater, the summer being hotter and 
the winter having greater cold. The most fa¬ 
vorable effects of the oceanic currents are those 
experienced on the British Isles and the Scan¬ 
dinavian peninsula, in fact these otherwise 
would be almost uninhabitable. Northern Rus¬ 
sia and the extreme north of the Scandinavian 
peninsula lie partly within the Arctic zone, and 
correspond in temperature to the extreme north¬ 
ern parts of North America. 

As a whole, the climate of Europe is less se¬ 
vere in the western than in the eastern part, 
since the mean temperature is not perceptibly 
affected by the sea in the interior. At Sartov, 
in eastern Russia, the mean temperature is 41° ; 
at Warsaw, 45° ; at Berlin, 48° ; and at Green¬ 
wich 49°. All parts of the grand division have 
an abundance of rainfall, but in some places it 
does not occur at the time of the growing sea¬ 
son. This is true of Spain, where irrigation 
is resorted to in agriculture. However, rainfall 
is most abundant on the western coast and de¬ 
creases toward the east in proportion of the in¬ 
crease of distance from the Atlantic. 

Minerals. Europe is rich in the useful min¬ 
erals and many of these have been worked from 
times immemorial. Carboniferous coal deposits 
are abundant between the parallels of 40° and 
60° north. They are worked with a high de¬ 
gree of efficiency in Great Britain, Germany, 
France, Belgium, and Austria-Hungary. Iron 
ore is found in the same or adjoining fields. 
The output of iron is especially important in 
Spain, Germany, and Great Britain. Sweden 
has large deposits of superior steel-making 
ores, hence the products of this country are 
shipped very extensively. Nearly all of the 
world’s supply of platinum is obtained from 
Russia, while sulphur is secured in large quan¬ 
tities from Sicily and Italy. In the production 
of gold in the world, Russia takes fourth rank, 
while Germany ranks fourth in the output of 
silver, and Spain and Portugal are exceeded 
only by the United States in the production of 


copper. Fine grades of marble are obtained in 
Italy, and granite, limestone, and other building 
materials are abundant-in widely separated re¬ 
gions. Other mineral products obtained largely 
include petroleum, tin, quicksilver, and lead. 

Vegetation. The great range of temperature 
makes Europe suitable for many species of plants. 
In the north, which extends beyond the Arctic 
Circle, the continent assumes the aspect of the 
tundra, where vegetation is very scant or en¬ 
tirely absent. Here thrive the saxifrage, crow¬ 
foot, poppy, scurvy-grass, and other forms com¬ 
mon to the Arctic region. Forests of consider¬ 
able value extend almost to Cape North, where 
the birch predominates, and farther south are 
fine forests of fir. The northern part of Rus¬ 
sia and the Scandinavian peninsula do not yield 
cereals, but barley can be grown as far north 
as 70° north latitude and wheat thrives at about 
60°. As we proceed south from this locality, 
we come in contact with fine forests of oak and 
beech and enter sections where all classes of 
cereals thrive. 

Rye is grown extensively in many parts of 
Europe, while maize, oats, and barley yield 
abundantly. Rice is cultivated in some parts of 
Spain and Italy. Much attention is given to 
the culture of the mulberry in the vicinity of 
the Mediterranean. Many varieties of fruits 
thrive in the southern portion, such as lemons, 
oranges, vines, olives, almonds, and peaches, 
while the hardier varieties are cultivated ex¬ 
tensively far into the north. The steppes of 
Russia are very similar to the great prairies of 
North America and extend as treeless plains 
from the borders of Holland to the Ural Moun¬ 
tains. They are especially rich in grasses and 
have been converted into a productive field for 
agriculture. 

Animals. Formerly the continent was pe¬ 
culiarly rich in wild animal life, but it is now 
quite rare, except in the northern part and in 
regions under government protection. Polar 
bears and reindeer are numerous in the north, 
while wolves, foxes, bears, and lynxes infest 
the forests and mountains. Other species more 
or less widely distributed include the roebuck, 
ibex, porcupine, stag, and fallow deer. The 
fisheries are valuable, especially those bearing 
the cod, anchovy, salmon, mackerel, herring, and 
tunny. Much interest is vested in the rearing 
of domestic animals, hence the grades are su¬ 
perior from careful-breeding. They are very 
similar in all sections of the grand division, 
except in the extreme nolth, where dogs and 
reindeer are used as animals of draft. 

Inhabitants. The people of Europe belong 
to various races and are greatly intermingled in 


EUROPE 


766 


EUROPE 


most of the states. At an early period the 
Celts occupied the region from the Alps to the 
British Isles, but they were driven westward 
by successive waves of migration under the 
Roman conquests and the insurrections of the 
Germanic tribes until they were pressed largely 
to the extreme west, or were assimilated by 
the most powerful divisions of the Germanic 
people. The Celtic language is represented at 
present only by the Gaelic in the islands of 
Scotland, the Irish in portions of Ireland, the 
Cymric in Wales, and the Armorican in Brit¬ 
tany. Next eastward we find the Teutonic 
races, comprising the Germanic and Scandina¬ 
vian divisions. In the former the Germans, 
Dutch, and English are included, while the lat¬ 
ter comprise the Danes, Norwegians, and 
Swedes. Farther east the Slavonians are mixed 
with the Teutons to a greater or less extent. 
The different branches comprise the Russians* 
Poles, Bohemians, Czechs, Servians, Croatians, 
and other minor branches. The Greek and 


GERMANIC. ROMANIC. 

Latin people occupy the south and southwestern 
parts of Europe. Among the Latin, or Roman, 
races are the French, Spanish, Portuguese, and 
Italians. All the peoples named above are of 
the Aryan or Indo-European family. 

The Mongolian race is represented in Europe 
by the Turks, Magyars, Lapps, and Finns, all 
these having emigrated into Europe within com¬ 
paratively recent times and secured a foothold 
by successive conquests or friendly terms of set¬ 
tlement. Another class comprises the Basques, 
who are thought to belong to the Turanians. 
Owing to the great mixture of the population 
it is difficult to classify them on a racial basis; 
the better way is, perhaps, to base the classifi¬ 
cation upon languages. By this test it is found 
that the Teutonic language is spoken by 125,- 
000,000; the Slavonian, by 110,000,000: the Ro¬ 
man, by 114,000,000; the Letts and Lithuanian, 
by 3,000,000; Armenian, by 1,150,000; Greek and 
Albanian, by 5,450,000; Celtic, by 3,600,000: and 


the non-Aryan, by about 18,000,000. Each of 
the languages has numerous dialects, though the 
number of distinct forms of tongues is about 
fifty. 

The Christian religion prevails almost ex¬ 
clusively, the only exceptions being the Jewish 
in widely distributed but minor communities 
and the Mohammedan in Turkey. In the west¬ 
ern part of the grand division various sects of 
the Protestant and Roman Catholic religion 
prevail, while the Greek Catholic is the predom¬ 
inating religion of Greece and Russia. Europe 
holds an important place in the field of educa¬ 
tion, but the advancement in educational lines 
has its greatest development in the Protestant 
nations of the western part, especially in Ger¬ 
many, England, and the Scandinavian Penin¬ 
sula, where illiteracy has been reduced to a min¬ 
imum. However, great universities are main¬ 
tained in France, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and 
Russia, arid the educational uplift in all the 
countries is marked. 

Political Divisions. The countries of Eu¬ 
rope as at present organized are governed whol¬ 
ly as independent states, and all of the more 
powerful nations have extended their political 
influence by the acquisition and control of ter¬ 
ritory in other grand divisions. All of them 
are monarchies, except Andorra, France, and 
Switzerland, which have republican govern¬ 
ments. The alphabetical list of European states 
is as follows: Andorra, Austria-Hungary, Bel¬ 
gium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, 
Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lux¬ 
emburg, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Portu¬ 
gal, Rumania, Russia, Servia, Spain, Sweden, 
Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Turkey. 

History. According to some writers, Europe 
was named from Europa, a mythical person of 
Greece, who was carried off by Jupiter, though 
other authorities attribute its origin to the Phoe¬ 
nician traders, who applied it to the land of 
sunset, from the word Erebh, meaning dark¬ 
ness. 

It is quite certain that Europe was first peo¬ 
pled by successive waves of migration that 
moved westward from Asia, each pressing the 
weaker farther and farther westward toward 
the Atlantic Ocean. The date of these great 
movements is unknown, though their occur¬ 
rence is evidenced clearly by the present and 
past settlements in the European countries. 
Writers generally agree that authentic history 
dates in Greece from about 776 b. c. All the 
earlier periods are estimated from circumstan¬ 
tial evidence. The most successful epoch of 
Greece is assigned to about 430 b. c., and this 
date marks approximately the time when all 




EUROPE 


767 


EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE 


colonies pressed westward. Grecian education 
moved westward to Rome and made it the pre¬ 
dominating influence for many centuries. 
Greece was conquered by Rome in 146 a. d., and 
the latter soon made itself master of Spain, 
Gaul, Helvetia, Illyria, Dacia, and portions of 
Germany and Brittany. Roman extension car¬ 
ried superior laws, greater industrial activities, 
and social advancement to the' regions con¬ 
quered, and by its theory of government pro¬ 
vided favorable conditions for the spread of 
Christianity. The northern nations migrated 
extensively shortly after the Roman Empire 
began to decline, and paved the way for great 
commercial and educational activities in the 
northwest. These movements were accompanied 
by the settlement of the Anglo-Saxons in Eng¬ 
land, the Franks in France, the Lombards and 
Ostrogoths in Italy, and the Visigoths in Spain, 
who by superior arts rendered the original in¬ 
habitants subject to their institutions or became 
assimilated with them. 

A great Germanic empire was established 
under Charlemagne in 771. After the decline 
of the Holy Roman Empire, as the German na¬ 
tion came to be called, the territory was organ¬ 
ized into the kingdoms of Germany, France, 
Burgundy, Italy, Lorraine, and Navarre. These 
movements were followed shortly by the popu¬ 
lations of Eastern Europe establishing them¬ 
selves in regions now more or less influenced by 
their occupation. The most prominent move¬ 
ments among them were directed toward estab¬ 
lishing kingdoms in the north of Germany, Bo¬ 
hemia, Russia, and Poland, while the Magyars 
invaded Hungary and the Normans established 
principalities and governments in France, Eng¬ 
land, and various regions of the southeast. 

The Christian Crusades, organized to rescue 
Jerusalem from the Mohammedans, exercised 
a wide influence on the habits and learning of 
the western peoples, while the Turkish con¬ 
quest of Constantinople, in 1453, distributed the 
Greek teachers and philosophers throughout 
Western Europe. This caused a great impetus 
in the revival of learning, led to the invention 
of printing, and ultimately resulted in the Ref¬ 
ormation. Spain became the most powerful na¬ 
tion shortly after the discovery of America. 
France soon after rose to a high plane of influ¬ 
ence and the territories of Prussia and Russia 
were greatly enlarged and the sphere of their 
power was widened. A vast emigration to 
America greatly affected all the countries that 
had become over-populated and was the indi¬ 
rect cause of several extended wars. These 
conflicts were followed by the French Revolu¬ 
tion, the Napoleonic wars' the dissolution of the 


German Empire, and the colonial development 
of several nations. 

Among the more recent events in European 
history may be enumerated the independence of 
Greece; the absorption of Poland by several 
states; the unification of Italy; the consolida¬ 
tion of Germany into an empire; the establish¬ 
ment of the French Republic, as a result of the 
Franco-German War; the curtailing of Turk¬ 
ish influence by the independence of Bulgaria, 
Rumania, Servia, and Montenegro; and the 
War of 1897 between Greece and Turkey. The 
Anglo-Boer War (1899) strengthened the foot¬ 
hold of Great Britain in South Africa, the 
Russo-Japanese War (1904) deprived Russia of 
its preponderance of influence in the East, and 
the dissolution of the union between Sweden 
and Norway (1905) restored the independence 
of Norway among the nations. 

EUSTACHIAN TUBE (u-sta'ki-an), in 
anatomy, the canal extending from the pharynx 
to the middle ear. Its function is to equalize 
the pressure of the air on either side of the 
tympanic membrane. In birds, reptiles, and 
mammals it is closely connected with the audi¬ 
tory organs. Diseases of the Eustachian tube 
impair the hearing. 

EUTAW SPRINGS (u'ta), Battle of, an 

engagement of the American Revolution, fought 
about sixty miles northwest of Charleston, S. 
C., on Sept. 8, 1781. General Greene com¬ 
manded the American forces of 2,000 men, while 
the British under General Stuart numbered 
2,300. The former made an attack at four 
o’clock in the morning and were victorious, but 
the British rallied and held their position until 
night, when they withdrew to Charleston. The 
Americans lost 554 and the British lost about 
800. Though a tactical defeat for the Ameri¬ 
cans, it proved a strategic victory in that the 
British were shut up in Charleston. 

EUTERPE (eu-ter'pe), in mythology, one 
of the nine Muses, the inspirer of delight. 
She presided over lyric poetry and played on 
the flute, of which she was the inventor. In 
sculpture she is usually represented as a virgin 
crowned with flowers, holding a flute or some 
other musical instrument in her hand. 

EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE (e-van-jel'i- 
kal al-ll'ans), an association of Christians of 
various denominations. The first effort to form 
such an organization was made at London, 
England, in 1846, when a meeting was held by 
representatives of a large number of Protestant 
churches. About 800 persons were in attend¬ 
ance, representing the Baptists, Lutherans, 
Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Mora¬ 
vians, and a number of other denominations. 


EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION 768 


EVAPORATION 


Among the countries represented were Eng¬ 
land, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, 
and the United States. A branch was organ¬ 
ized in America in 1867, and this is well repre¬ 
sented in Canada and the United States. Gen¬ 
eral conferences in the form of Protestant ecu¬ 
menical councils represent officially the whole 
Alliance, but influence is exercised only to pro¬ 
mote moral and spiritual lines of action. The 
purpose is to unify the Protestant missionary 
work, to cooperate along lines of Christian 
work without interference of denominational 
barriers, and to extend religious liberty in all 
parts of the world. This association has ac¬ 
complished much good in obtaining reform and 
greater religious liberty in Japan, Russia, and 
Turkey. 

EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION (as-so- 
si-a'shun), a religious denomination founded by 
Jacob Albright in Pennsylvania in 1807. He 
was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church and traveled as an evangelist in the 
large German settlements of his native State, 
and carried on a line of effective work in pro¬ 
moting a higher religious life. The book of 
discipline does not differ in essential points 
from that of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
which it resembles in polity, government, and 
methods of worship. In 1891 a division was 
made on account of a difference of opinon in 
regard to church government, which resulted in 
organizing the United Evangelical Church. 
This branch has about 40,000 members and the 
Evangelical Association proper has 115,000 com¬ 
municants. The latter is represented by or¬ 
ganizations in Canada, the United States,' Ger¬ 
many, Japan, and Switzerland. Originally thq 
members were exclusively German or of Ger¬ 
man descent, but now a large membership is 
English-speaking. Many charitable, missionary, 
and educational societies are maintained. The 
Young People’s Alliance is an auxiliary organ¬ 
ization. 

EVANSTON (ev'anz-tun) a city of Illinois, 
in Cook County, about twelve miles north of 
Chicago, with which it is connected by surface 
and elevated electric street railways. It is on 
the Chicago and Northwestern and the Chicago, 
Milwaukee and Saint Paul railroads. The site 
is on a beautiful plat of ground on the margin 
of Lake Michigan. It is the seat of the North¬ 
western University, the Norwegian-Danish The¬ 
ological School, the Garrett Biblical Institute, 
and the Visitation Academy. The streets are 
finely paved and lighted by electricity. Evans¬ 
ton was the home of Frances Willard. It was 
settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1890. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1900, 19,259. 


EVANSTON, a city of Wyoming, county 
seat of Uinta County, in the southwestern part 
of the State. It is located on the Bear River 
and the Union Pacific Railroad, and is sur¬ 
rounded by an agricultural and coal-mining dis¬ 
trict. The manufactures include flour and ma¬ 
chinery. Mineral oil and building stone are ob¬ 
tained in the vicinity. It is the seat of the 
State institution for the insane and has a num¬ 
ber of fine schools. Population, 1905, 2^741. 

EVANSVILLE (ev'anz-vil), a city of Indi¬ 
ana, county seat of Vanderburgh County, on the 
Ohio River, about 160 miles northeast of Saint 
Louis. It is on the Louisville and Nashville, 
the Illinois Central, the Southern, and other 
railroads, and has communication by regular 
lines of steamboats. Productive coal fields are 
worked in the vicinity. It has a large shipping 
trade in coal, timber, brick and tile, flour, pork, 
grain, and tobacco. Arqong the manufactories 
are flouring mills, iron foundries, furniture fac¬ 
tories, cotton mills, sawmills, breweries, and 
machine shops. 

Evansville has regularly platted and well-im¬ 
proved streets. Much of the paving is of brick, 
stone, and asphalt. The chief buildings include 
the county courthouse, the Federal building, the 
city hall, and the Willard Library; It has a 
marine hospital, an insane asylum, and a fine 
high school. Cooks and Garvin parks are well- 
kept public resorts. Evansville was founded in 
1816 and so named from Gen. Robert M. Evans. 
It was incorporated in 1847. Population, 1900, 
59,007; in 1910, 69,647. 

EVAPORATION (e-vap-6-ra'shun), the 
conversion of a liquid or solid by heat into va¬ 
por. Some solids, such as arsenic and camphor, 
pass into a state of vapor and are said to be 
sublimated. The rapidity at which evaporation 
proceeds depends upon the extent of surface ex¬ 
posed, for the reason that it takes place at the 
surface; the quantity of the same vapor already 
present in the air, because when the air is sat¬ 
urated no more of the liquid can evaporate; on 
the removal of the air, because evaporation 
ceases when the air over the liquid is saturated; 
on the temperature, because warm air can hold 
more vapor than cold air; and on the pressure 
on' the surface, since diminished atmospheric 
pressure increases the rapidity of evaporation. 
From every water surface and even from 
masses of ice and snow there is constantly 
arising, at all temperatures, an invisible vapor. 
A volatile liquid, when placed in a vacuum, rap¬ 
idly evaporizes without external heat. If a 
drop of such liquid be passed into the emoty 
space above the mercury of a thermometer tube, 
it disappears by changing into vapor. When 


EVELETH 


769 


EVERETT 


the vapor more than fills the vacuum, the mer¬ 
cury is depressed, thus showing that it pos¬ 
sesses tension. If more liquid be passed into 
the tube, it reaches a point when no more can 
be evaporated, but simply floats on the surface 
of the mercury. The vapor is then at its great¬ 
est tension and the space it occupies is said to 
be saturated. 

The pressure remaining the same, there is 
for every liquid a certain temperature at which 
it boils. After it boils, all the heat it receives 
is rendered latent, and it can never be raised 
above that temperature while its vapor is al¬ 
lowed to escape. When vapor loses heat and 
condenses, the latent heat again appears as sen¬ 
sible heat. Thus, large buildings are heated 
by steam being passed through pipes, and, as it 
condenses, these pipes give out its latent heat. 
We are cooled by fanning because the warm air, 
thus brought in contact with the skin, causes 
a rapid evaporation of the moisture of the skin, 
thereby lowering the temperature. If water be 
placed in a vacuum space and the vapor which 
escapes from it be removed as rapidly as it 
forms, it is frozen by its own evaporation. 
Various machines used in manufacturing ice 
utilize this principle. The moisture taken up 
by the atmosphere in the form of vapor rises 
to considerable heights, forms clouds by partial 
condensation, and descends in rain when the 
point of saturation is reached. 

EVELETH (ev'e-leth), a city of Minnesota, 
in Saint Louis County, seventy miles northwest 
of Duluth, on the Duluth and Iron Range and 
the Duluth, Missabe and Northern railroads. 
It is surrounded by an iron-mining district. 
The chief buildings include a number of schools 
and churches. It has a large trade in merchan¬ 
dise and produce, and is important on account 
of the enterprises connected with the iron in¬ 
dustry. Population, 1905, 5,332. 

EVENING SCHOOLS, a class of schools 
established in many, countries, generally in large 
cities, as a part of the public school system. 
The purpose is to give to those of school age, 
who cannot avail themselves of the advantages 
of the day school, an opportunity to obtain an 
elementary education and to enable adults, who 
have finished the course of instruction in the 
public day school, to acquire additional knowl¬ 
edge, especially on subjects relating to their 
particular occupation or profession. Schools of 
this class are now maintained in Austria, 
France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, 
and other countries of Europe. In some coun¬ 
tries they are supported at the expense of the 
state and are attended by both sexes, and the 
purpose is to furnish educational facilities for 
49 


children employed in factories. Schools for the 
education of the children belonging to the in¬ 
dustrial classes were formerly open on Sunday 
and evening schools more recently succeeded 
the Sunday schools, though in some countries 
the two are combined. 

The evening schools of America may be said 
to date from 1850, when they were made an 
adjunct to the educational system in many large 
cities. They have been particularly proficient in 
teaching the English language to foreigners, and 
for that purpose many employ teachers who 
speak the language of the students. However, 
the main purpose is to teach the common school 
branches and to give instruction in commercial 
lines. The Drexel Institute of Philadelphia and 
Cooper Union of New York City are among 
the noted institutions that maintain evening 
classes for general and special instruction. Ex¬ 
perience has demonstrated that evening schools 
constitute an essential part of every common 
school system, particularly in large communities, 
in which many children are obliged to leave the 
day school before they acquire the rudiments of /( 
an education. The office of technical schools, 
while different, is no less important, since an 
increase of skilled labor in any community is 
one of the most valuable elements of its wealth 
and prosperity. 

EVEREST (ev'er-est), Mount, the highest 
mountain peak in the world, situated in Nepal, 

Asia, among the great peaks of the Himalayas. 

Its height is 29,002 feet above sea level. The 
name was applied in honor of Sir John Everest 
(1790-1866), who was surveyor general of In¬ 
dia. 

EVERETT, a city of Massachusetts, in Mid¬ 
dlesex County, in the extreme eastern part of 
the State. It is on the Boston and Maine 
Railroad and a number of electric intenirban 
lines. The noteworthy buildings include thfc 
Whidden Memorial Hospital, the Parlin and 
Shute libraries, and the high school. It has 
systems of sewerage and waterworks, graded 
and paved streets, and a large trade in produce. 

The manufactures include bicycles, chemicals, 
baby carriages, furniture, hardware, and gloves. 

The surrounding country is agricultural. It 
was settled in 1643 and became a city in 1892. 
Population, 1905, 29,111; in 1910, 33,484. 

EVERETT, a city of Washington, county 
seat of Snohomish County, on Puget Sound, 
about 35 miles north of Seattle. It is on the 
Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, and other 
railroads, and has a fine harbor. The custom¬ 
house, the public library, the high school, the 
county courthouse, and the theater are the chief 
buildings. It has extensive shipyards, railroad 


EVERGLADES 


770 


EVOLUTION 


shops, flouring mills,: machine shops, and smelt¬ 
ing; mills. The public utilities include electric 
lights,, sewerage, waterworks,, and paving. It 
was, settled in 1891 and incorporated in 1893. 
In recent years it rhas had a rapid growth 
in wealth and commerce. Population, 1900, 
7*838; in 1910, 24,298. 

EVERGLADES (ev'er-glads), a tract of 
swampy land in the southern part of Florida, 
150 miles long, and 50 miles wide. It includes 
numerous marshy islets covered with dense 
thickets and groves of pines and palmettoes^ 
Many shallow streams and lakes characterize 
the region. Formerly it was infested by vast 
numbers , of alligators, The Everglades were 
made historical by the Seminole Indian War, 
in which the chief, Osceola, took a prominent 
part against Gen. Andrew Jackson. 

EVERGREEN, the trees and shrubs which 
retain their verdure through all seasons, as the 
fir, laurel, .cedar, holly, cypress, juniper, etc. 
Evergreens usually shed their leaves in the 
spring, after their successors have reached a 
state of development, but in some instances a 
set of leaves lasts several years. The leaves 
are generally of thicker and firmer texture than 
those: of .deciduous trees,,and the undiminished' 
thickness of the foliage, characteristic of the 
northern scenery both in summer and winter, 
affords’exceptional winter shelter for animals. 
Evergreens; form very popular ornamental shade 
trees, and their boughs are used on festive oc¬ 
casions for decorative purposes. 

EVERLASTING FLOWER, the popular 
name of various flowering plants, the bloom of 
which may be kept many years without a ma¬ 
terial diminution of beauty. They include the 
amarath, some species of cudweed, and a num¬ 
ber; of others, ., $ee~' Immortelles. 

EVIDENCE (ev'j-dens), in law, that which 
tends to prove or disprove any matter in ques¬ 
tion. It differs from the proofs by which hu¬ 
man judgment is ordinarily determined in non¬ 
judicial matters, chiefly in certain rules estab¬ 
lished for, the sake of felicity in disposing of 
complicated questions of fact, or of public pol¬ 
icy, when by lapse of time or other causes there 
would be a deficiency of evidence. The rules 
under which evidence is admitted differ more 
or less, though in general they have many points 
in common, and for convenience are reduced 
under four heads, as follows: 1. Cases in which 
evidence is excluded on the ground of being un¬ 
trustworthy and tending to show by its very na¬ 
ture. that it likely is untrue. 2. Cases in which 
a rule is-prescribed for the purpose of getting 
at a-certain,conclusion, thougharbitrarily, when 
the subject is intrinsically liable to doubt from 


the remoteness, discrepancy, or actual defect of 
proofs. 3. Cases in which a legal presumption 
is substituted for actual proof, or in place of 
what could be proved, being supposed to be 
more consistent with the real rights of the par¬ 
ties than any result which could be expected 
from positive testimony. 4. The graduation of 
the weight of evidence, which will be found in 
some instances to be arbitrary in its origin, and, 
perhaps, not altogether in accordance with the 
ordinary process of judgment. 

Evidence is usually studied under four heads: 
oral or documentary, direct or circumstantial, 
primary or secondary, and prima facie or con¬ 
clusive. Oral evidence consists of statements 
made under oath by witnesses in court, while 
documentary evidence includes proofs in writ¬ 
ing, which are submitted to the court or jury 
for inspection. Direct evidence is proof in 
itself of the existence of a fact, while circum¬ 
stantial evidence is indirect, tending to show 
by circumstances that the fact sought to be es¬ 
tablished has existence. Primary evidence 
proves a fact by the best evidence obtainable, 
while secondary evidence is admissable only 
when primary evidence cannot be shown. For 
instance, when a case hinges upon a written 
contract, the agreement in writing must be pro¬ 
duced if possible, but, if it is shown that it can¬ 
not be procured as evidence, then its existence 
may be proven by a copy or by oral testimony. 
Prima facie evidence is such as the law de¬ 
clares, or in fact appears, to be. sufficient proof, 
while conclusive evidence establishes a fact and 
renders inadmissible any evidence to contradict 
it. While the rules governing evidence are very 
extensive, the essence of this branch of the law 
hinges upon what can be proved, rather than 
what is true. 

EVOLUTION (ev-6-lu'shun), in biology 
and geology, the steps by which organic and 
inorganic matter came to exist in their present 
forms. It is evident to every inquiring mind 
that times come when both the infantile and 
philosophic are led to ponder the question of 
the origin of things. In attempting to answer 
man has constructed a cosmogony which seeks 
to give an account of the origin of the universe. 
There are three classes of cosmogonies that 
merit thought. These represent that the world 
has existed in its present form from eternity; 
that the matter, but not the form, of the world 
existed from eternity; and that the matter and 
form of the world are due to a spiritual cause. 
The last two are termed evolution and creation, 
respectively. Evolution seeks to trace the 
growth of the world and the expansion of life 
forms from cause to effect, while creation dis- 


EVOLUTION 


771 


EVOLUTION 


poses of the whole matter by attributing all 
laws of the universe, of life and being, to a di¬ 
vine godhead. 

The very nature of the universe, with its 
varied changes through long periods of time, 
renders philosophies attempting to account for 
the laws that underlie cause and effect incapable 
of being grasped by even the highest effort of 
the intellect, and they are contradicted by vari¬ 
ous other philosophies and by the evidence of 
experience. The study of natural sciences has 
thrown light upon various questions relative to 
astronomical, geological, and biological phenom¬ 
ena. Through it have been fathomed many 
questions formerly incomprehensible, but there 
always remain conditions that point to a first 
cause which the most powerful intellect cannot 
comprehend. The theory of evolution involves 
a hypothesis which precludes a sudden and un¬ 
explained bursting forth of worlds and abrupt 
formations of physical laws to hold them in 
space, a miraculous springing up of life forms 
to inhabit and utilize nature’s forces, but aims 
to account for all phenomena by natural laws, 
as the consequence of positive forces that oper¬ 
ate under the will of a creator, or assume forms 
and undergo changes as the natural result of 
fitness. As a theory it superseded the crude 
anthropomorphisms that did not recognize the 
growth of the universe as the unfolding of a 
cosmic drama, as a development under laws that 
bear scientific scrutiny. 

In former times it was held that the universe 
is permanent and at rest, having neither mo¬ 
tion nor sensible change. The static views of 
ancient astronomers gave way to those of Kep¬ 
ler, Copernicus, Galileo, Herschel, and Newton, 
by which a conception of the kinetic forces was 
recognized and the nebular hypothesis was es¬ 
tablished, which assumes to explain the com¬ 
mencement and motion of the planets and the 
sun by gradual, condensation from a nebulous 
mist that occupied space. Geology led to a 
study of the earth’s crust and to the belief that 
our sphere was once a globe of fire, which grad¬ 
ually contracted by cooling and caused the 
formation of an outer crust. The condensation 
of atmospheric waters gave rise to the oceans, 
which finally became confined to definite regions 
and left large tracts of projecting lands, and 
after successive ages rivers and mountains were 
formed. 

That life existed during at least a large por¬ 
tion of the time required to form the earth’s 
crust is demonstrated by fossil remains of ani¬ 
mals and plants, which abound in many of the 
aqueous and metamorphic rocks. These rocks 
bear evidence that the lowest forms of life ap¬ 


peared first, and the. higher gradually: succeeded 
them and in many cases , caused the disappear¬ 
ance of the earlier forms. The earlier ani¬ 
mals were the protozoa, and after thenvas if 
from evolution, came successively the radiates, 
articulates, mollusks, and'finally the vertebrates. 
The earlier mollusks were followed by fishes, 
then came reptiles, later . . amphibious animals, 
and lastly mammals and man.. 

As a whole the fossil remains indicate that 
early life forms were general in character and 
gradually developed into the special; or, in 
other words, the evolution proceeded from the 
general to the particular, from the homogeneous 
to the heterogeneous. The changes. were not 
abrupt, but proceeded gradually, one distinct 
form existing long periods of time after an¬ 
other had come into life.' It is evident that 
the reptiles. succeeded the fishes, though both 
existed afterward contemporaneously, and the 
reptiles were succeeded in a similar manner by 
birds. In this way the different forms of ani¬ 
mals passed into each other by slight changes, 
though these effected very various results after 
long periods of time. In the process of. evolu¬ 
tion, rudimentary or useless organs gave: way, 
and later became either entirely lost or existed 
only as an evidence 1 of the changes that had 
previously occurred. To illustrate, the; fins of a 
fish were small organs, though afterward they 
became modified as the wings of. a bird, and 
later the paws of a dog, and. still later the arms 
of a man. In the life forms still existing there 
are evidences of rudimentary organs, such as 
teeth rarely found in some birds, and hind legs 
concealed under the skin in some species of 
snakes. . : 

All that is true of animal life in the process 
of evolution is true of plant life. The lower 
forms which prevailed at first gradually ex¬ 
tended into other species, and after successive 
changes multiplied into thousands of forms that 
exist at present. Besides, it must be borne in 
mind that there are fully as, many extinct forms 
of plant as of animal life, the extinct species 
having been crowded out by others more nearly 
fitted to exist under the changed conditions,, of 
climate, and doubtless, possessing greater ability 
to battle for place. In connection with this 
phenomenon may be mentioned the evolution of 
mind from the uncultured and crude to the 
alert, scrutinizing, and moral. In society mind 
has undergone a long line of evolution,; by 
means of which it has acquired useful arts and 
has developed a higher life and .a more com¬ 
plete civilization. 

Among recent writers on the theory of. evo¬ 
lution are Huxley, Haeckel, Darwin, and Spen- 


EXCHANGE 


772 


EXCISE 


cer. Huxley speaks of evolution as the system 
that “embraces in one stupendous analogy the 
growth of a solar system from molecular chaos, 
the shaping of the earth from the nebulous cub- 
hood of its youth, through innumerable changes, 
and development of a living being from the 
shapeless mass of protoplasm we term a germ.” 
Spencer attributes all the changes of nature to 
three agencies—force, matter, and motion— 
while Haeckel traces both the vegetable and 
animal kingdoms to one very low form of life, 
consisting of a cell, and supposes this cell to be 
produced by or from inorganic matter by spon¬ 
taneous generation. This he asserts to be pos¬ 
sible for the reason that some forms of animal 
and vegetable life are so nearly similar that it 
is difficult to classify them. Darwin in his 
“Origin of Species” intimates his belief that 
life may have been originally breathed by the 
Creator into a few forms or into one, and that 
the others sprang from them in successive 
stages. See Darwinism. 

EXCHANGE (eks-chanj'), the division of 
economics which treats of the interchange of 
articles of value, as in commerce, or the trans¬ 
fer of commodities between different parties. 
The conditions peculiar to life confine the 
sphere of human activity largely to a particular 
place, while human wants are satisfied only by 
the productions from many different region!?. 
From this localization of the efforts of man 
and the vast extent of his needs comes the ne¬ 
cessity of transportation and trade. To be 
equitable, the exchange must be mutual and vol¬ 
untary between two or more parties, and the 
right of property must exist. These are pri¬ 
mary conditions, since transfer without a con¬ 
sideration is a gift, involuntary relinquishment 
is robbery, and no exchange can be effected 
unless the parties interested possess a right to 
the property exchanged. 

The general law of exchange requires that 
value be given for value. In this connection 
the term value is used in a relative sense. It 
is defined as the estimate of the sacrifice requi¬ 
site to come in possession of a desired object, 
and is sometimes spoken of as the cost of pro¬ 
duction. Hence, prices depend upon the supply 
and demand of a given article, or the quantity 
offered for sale on the one hand and the desire 
to possess on the other. It is understood that 
the desire must be more than mere longing, 
and must be attended by ability to purchase. 

To promote exchange is one of the prime 
objects of government. In order to promote 
commerce and bring about the most beneficent 
results, legislation must aim to foster interna¬ 
tional and domestic trade, provide a wholesome 


monetary system, and regulate banking. It 
must guard against the evils which are likely to 
result from the monopolistic control of cer¬ 
tain avenues of trade and transportation, as well 
as the limitation of certain lines of production 
for the purpose of controlling prices. 

The term exchange is likewise applied to a 
class of transactions in commerce by which the 
debts of persons or corporations located in a 
distant city or country are canceled by a bill 
of exchange, as a check or draft, without the 
actual payment of money. This is effected by 
the payer depositing specie or its equivalent in 
a bank for the purpose of forming a basis 
whereby the checks or drafts issued can be re¬ 
deemed. The greatest volume, both of domestic 
and foreign business, is transacted by this sys¬ 
tem of exchange. 

EXCISE (ek-siz'), a tax levied upon com¬ 
modities produced at home, as distinguished 
from customs or duties on imports. It is used 
generally in Great Britain to describe the sys¬ 
tem known as internal revenue in the United 
States. The excise system of England dates 
from 1643, when the Long Parliament levied 
duties to support the army against Charles I. 
After the restoration of the monarchy, it was 
continued, and subsequently it became wide¬ 
spread and oppressive. Sir Robert Peel headed 
a movement to repeal a number of the excise 
tax laws, and many of these duties were re¬ 
duced or abolished after 1844. Excise taxes 
are levied in many countries upon beer, wine, 
tobacco, and cigars, such as are provided for by 
the laws of France, Germany, and the United 
States. 

The first excise law of the United States was 
advocated by Alexander Hamilton and was 
adopted after an excited debate in 1790. It 
levied a tax ranging from nine to twenty-five 
cents per gallon upon liquors distilled within 
the country, and a higher rate was charged on 
imported liquors, but lower rates were estab¬ 
lished in 1792. Much opposition finally caused 
the Whisky Insurrection of Pennsylvania in 
1794. The excise was abolished in the admin¬ 
istration of Thomas Jefferson, but was revived 
during the War of 1812, when a tax was im¬ 
posed on sugar, salt, liquors, carriages, and in¬ 
struments of exchange. These duties were re¬ 
pealed in 1817 and no excise duty was levied 
until 1862, during the Civil War. This system 
was finally merged into the internal revenue, 
which continues to the present time. At the 
outbreak of the Spanish-American War. in 
1898, the tax on tobacco and liquors was 
doubled and many proprietary articles were 
made subject to taxation. Subsequently the 


EXECUTIVE 


773 


EXODUS 


excises were reduced and the war tax was dis¬ 
continued in 1902. See Tax. 

The excise duties' of Canada are levied chiefly 
on spirits and tobacco, in addition to which the 
manufacturers of these products pay a nominal 
license. However, both, the duties and the 
licenses are preferential in favor of those who 
make the products from commodities produced 
within the country. The distiller pays a license 
of $250; the brewer, $50; the manufacturers 
in bond for exportation, $300; and the manufac¬ 
turers of cigars and tobacco from Canadian 
products, $50, and when cigars and tobacco are 
made from imported leaf tobacco, $75. The 
tax per proof gallon on spirits is $1.90; on to¬ 
bacco per pound, $0.05; on cigars made of 
domestic tobacco per thousand, $3; and on malt 
per gallon, $0,015. 

EXECUTIVE (egz-ek'u-tiv), the branch of 
a nation, state, municipal government, or cor¬ 
poration which controls the administrative func¬ 
tions. All • free governments recognize three 
departments—the executive, legislative, and ju¬ 
dicial—and no state can long exist without a 
distribution of its power and functions. The 
term executive is applied to the chief magis¬ 
trate, whether he is a governor, president, king, 
or emperor, and extends more or less to the 
principal officers in all civil institutions. In the 
United States the chief executive power is 
vested in the President, who is assisted by a 
Cabinet which has advisory functions.. The 
President is by the terms of the Constitution 
made ex-officio commander in chief of the army 
and navy of the United States and of the mili¬ 
tia of the several states, when engaged in the 
actual service of the nation. The principal 
officer of each department of the government 
may be required to furnish to the President an 
opinion in writing on questions relative to pub¬ 
lic interest. With the advice and consent of the 
Senate, the President is empowered to make 
treaties and nominate certain civil, military, and 
naval officers of the United States. Besides 
the duties especially enumerated in the Consti¬ 
tution, it devolves upon the President to control 
the subordinate departments whose heads are 
known as Attorney-General, Postmaster-Gen¬ 
eral, and secretaries of State, Treasury, In¬ 
terior, War, Navy, Agriculture, and Commerce 
and Labor. The business of the government is 
carried on through these departments under the 
direction of the President, statutes are enforced, 
and special laws passed by Congress are put in 
operation. 

EXETER (eks'e-ter), a city and river port 
of Devonshire, England, on the Exe River, 
about 170 miles southwest of London. The 


site is on the summit and slopes of a beautiful 
ridge rising 150 feet from the bank of the river; 
It is surrounded by an agricultural country and 
has many industrial enterprises. The modern 
utilities include steam and electric railways, 
stone and asphalt paving, and gas and electric 
lighting. Though dating from the early his¬ 
tory of England, it has been outgrown by many 
newer Gities. Among the manufactures are 
agricultural implements, machinery, clothing, 
paper, gloves, and Honiton lace. The build¬ 
ings of interest include Saint Peter’s Cathedral, 
Saint Michael’s Church, Albert Memorial 
Museum, and the remains of the castle of 
Rougemont. A canal connects the city with 
the tideway and provides convenient access for 
ships and steamers. The city was founded be¬ 
fore the invasion of the Romans, was cap¬ 
tured by the Danes in 876, and was taken by 
William the Conqueror in 1068. A new the¬ 
ater building burned on Sept. 5, 1887, at which 
time 190 lives were lost. Population, 1907, 
43,368. 

EXETER COLLEGE, an educational insti¬ 
tution located at Oxford, England, and formerly 
called Stapledon Hall. It was founded by Wal¬ 
ter de Stapledon and received its present name 
at the request of Edmund Stafford, Bishop of 
Exeter, who added two fellowships. Exeter 
College is a department or college of Oxford 
University. 

EXETER HALL, an assembly hall with a 
seating capacity for 5,000 persons, situated on 
the Strand in London, England. It was com¬ 
pleted in 1831 and in 1880 was purchased at 
$100,000 for the Young Men’s Christian Asso¬ 
ciation. Formerly it was used for religious as¬ 
semblies of various kinds and for musical con¬ 
certs. At present it is the headquarters of 
the local Y. M. C. A. and is let for religious 
assemblies. 

EXHIBITION (eks-hi-bish'un). See Ex¬ 
position. 

EXODUS, the second book of the Pentateuch 
and of the Old Testament. It consists of two 
distinct parts, which include an account of the 
deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and 
a description of the giving of the law. The 
book begins with the death of Joseph, recounts 
the oppression of the Hebrews in Egypt, the 
birth and call of Moses, the deliverance from 
Egypt, and the way to Sinai. It includes a de¬ 
scription of the tabernacle, the wanderings in 
the desert, and the establishment of the Cove¬ 
nant with Jehovah. Tradition and evidence af¬ 
firm the Mosaic authorship of the Book of Exo¬ 
dus, but it is questioned by a number of emi¬ 
nent scholars. 


EXOGEN 


774 


EXPOSITION 


EXOGEN (eks'6-jen), or Dicotyledon, a 

plant whose stem increases in thickness by suc¬ 
cessive, additions on the outside of what sur¬ 
rounds the central pith. The* structure is best 
seen in the bodies of trees having a central 
pith, which is. surrounded by as many concen¬ 
tric layers as the tree is old in years, and the 
whole is inclosed by a cylindrical sheath of 
bark. Rays called medullary radiate from the 
central pith to the bark. Exogens have two 
seed leaves, or cotyledons, and are now gen¬ 
erally called dicotyledons. The leaves, with a 
few exceptions, are reticulated, while the flower 
usually has four or five parts. In all these 
respects exogens differ from endogens. The 
greater numbef of the trees in tropical climates 
and all of those in cold regions are exogens. 

EXPANSION (eks-pari'shun), in physics, the 
increase in bulk which a body undergoes in 
consequence of a change in its temperature, so 
that it occupies a greater space while the weight 
remains the’same. Heat is the most common 
cause of expansion. Water in cooling ceases to 
contract at 39,2° < Fahr. and, in lowering its 
temperature, it expands again until frozen, 
when the expansion reaches about one-eleventh 
of its original bulk. Thus water, when at its 
greatest; density, which is at 39.2° Fahr., pre¬ 
sents the curious: phenomenon of expanding 
whether heat or cold be applied. Expansion is 
common to all substances, though gases ex¬ 
pand more f than liquids, and liquids more than 
scrlids., It is .duet to this force that wagon tires 
are made somewhat smaller than the wheel. 
Hence,' when heated, they may be slipped on 
easily, arid in cooling contract sufficiently to 
hold the parts of the wheel securely together. 
Winds are. caused by the air expanding under 
the heat of the sun, and the phenomenon of 
oceanic currents is due to.the same cause*. 

EXPLOSIVES (eks-plo'sivs), the substances 
which may cause an explosion by their sud¬ 
den combustion or decomposition. The remark¬ 
able fact that explosives will not explode in 
vacuums was discovered early after gunpow¬ 
der came into use, though the first definite ex¬ 
periments imade' in this connection were those 
of Priestly more than a century ago. These 
experiments wore effected by placing gunpow¬ 
der in vacuums and heating it by concentrating 
the turns rays on it with a lens or burning 
glass. Some writers have expressed the opin¬ 
ion that the discovery of .explosives has been, 
next to that of printing and the application of 
steam power, the most valuable. It is true that 
their utility in the arts Of peace is very impor¬ 
tant, as otherwise the vast engineering enter¬ 
prises of modern times would have been entirely 


impossible or required a vast additional expen¬ 
diture of time and labor. 

As a matter of convenience, explosives are 
classed as explosive mixtures and explosive 
compounds. Explosive mixtures are those that 
can be separated mor.e or less completely by 
mechanical means not involving chemical action. 
In a separate condition the ingredients, as a 
rule, do not possess explosive properties. Ex¬ 
plosive compounds are chemical compounds or 
chemical combinations which possess a definite 
explosive molecule, and contain both the com¬ 
bustible and the supporter of combustion in a 
closely united form. Most explosive mixtures 
require a particular period of time for combus¬ 
tion, while in explosive compounds the action 
is much more sudden and violent. Among the 
list of explosives may be classed gunpowder, 
nitrate mixtures other than gunpowder, chlorate 
mixtures, compounds containing nitroglycerin, 
and gun cotton. To these may be added the 
nitro-substitution compounds, including picric 
powders, springel explosives, and fulminates. 
Aside from these are numerous compounds that 
may be grouped with each of the above classes, 
all more or less valuable in war, for mining, 
and for purposes which require the sudden de¬ 
velopment of a powerful force. Some of the 
newer explosives that have gone into use are 
smokeless, or are unaccompanied by a loud re¬ 
port at the time the explosion takes place. How¬ 
ever, explosions in these, as in all others, is due 
to the sudden formation and expansion of gases, 
owing to chemical agencies acting upon them. 
See Gunpowder. 

EXPOSITION (eks-po-zish'un), a national 
or international exhibition of the works of art 
and industry for the purpose of stimulating pub¬ 
lic interest, promoting manufactures, and ex¬ 
panding trade. The first great industrial ex¬ 
position of the world was held at Paris in 1798, 
and its success caused a similar display of 
French industries to be made in 1802. The ef¬ 
fects of these expositions were so widespread 
and the results so beneficial that many other 
European and American nations were induced 
to organize similar enterprises. Great exposi¬ 
tions of more or less importance to the indus¬ 
trial arts were held prior to 1850 at Berlin, 
Vienna, Saint Petersburg, Brussels, * Moscow, 
Stockholm, Dublin, Lisbon, Madrid, Manches¬ 
ter, Philadelphia, New York, and other great 
centers of population. Among the noteworthy 
international expositions held since are several 
that attracted the attention of practically every 
civilized nation. The first British exhibition 
of an international character was held at Crys¬ 
tal Palace, London, in 1851. Soon after, in 



EXPOSITION 


775 


1853, the United States made its first general 
effort in this direction at New York.- The first 
universal French exposition was opened in Paris 
in the Champs Elysees in 1855 and contained 
exhibits of about 24,000 different persons and 
interests. A great international expositon was 
given in Haarlem, Holland, in 1861. The Bel¬ 
gians opened a similar enterprise at Brussels 
in the same year, and Great Britain followed 
with an international exhibition in 1862. 

The second international exposition of France 
opened on the Champ de Mars in 1867. It was 
followed by the exposition at Philadelphia, 
Pa., in 1876, to commemorate the centennial 
of the Declaration of Independence. The main 
building of the Centennial Exposition alone had 
a floor space of twenty acres, being 460 feet 
wide and *1,180 long, while the other buildings 
were proportionally grand and extensive. 
^France held a third international exposition at 
Paris in 1878, the area of its site being 140 
acres, and in 1889 gave the fourth to com¬ 
memorate the centenary of the French Revo¬ 
lution. One of the prominent features of this 
exposition was the famous Eiffel Tower (q. v.). 
The next great exposition was held at Chicago, 
Ill., in 1893, being designed to commemorate the 
400th anniversary of the discovery of America. 
In many respects it may be said to have been 
the most successful and popular display ever 
made in the Western Hemisphere. However, 
it was closely rivaled by the Louisiana Pur¬ 
chase Exposition held at Saint Louis, Mo., in 
1904, to commemorate the Louisiana Purchase. 
Both before and since the Chicago exposition 
numerous national or district expositions have 
been given, such as the Cotton States Exposi¬ 
tion at Atlanta, Ga., the Trans-Mississippi at 
Omaha, Neb., the Pan-American at Buffalo, 
N. Y., and the Alaska-Yukon Pacific at Seattle, 
Wash. The most successful and greatest of 
European expositions was held in Paris in 1900. 
It attracted a large number of visitors and the 
most valuable exhibits ever made in the arts 
and sciences. 

The leading expositions of the last thirty 
years, with the total paid and free attendance 
and the total receipts, including admissions and 
concessions, are as follows: 


Expositions. 

Attendance. 

Receipts. 

Vienna, 1872. 

7,254,687 

9,910,996 

16,032,725 

28,149,353 

27,539,521 

50,120,540 

18,741,073 

% 6,917,832 
3,813,724 
2,531,650 
8,300,000 
14,117,332 
24,788,360 
10,162,380 

Philadelphia, 1876. 

Paris, 1878. 

Paris, 1889.. 

Chicago, 1893. 

Paris, 1900. 

St. Eouis, 1904. 


See World’s Columbian Exposition. 


EXPRESS 

EX POST FACTO (eks r post fak'tS), a law 
which is retroactive and makes an act fcriminal 
that was not criminal : when committed,' or 
increases the severity of the punishment attached 
to the crime when it was committed. The 
United States and the several states are for¬ 
bidden by the Constitution to pass such a law. 

EXPRESS (eks-pres'), a system of rapid 
conveyance and safe delivery of merchandise 
and parcels. The'express business of the United 
States is the Outgrowth of the custdm under 
which stage-coach drivers, railroad : conductors, 
and others were intrusted with parcels for de¬ 
livery, and was' formally organized' by William 
F. Harnden (1813-1845), of Boston, in 1839. 
Fie contracted with the Boston and Worcester 
Railroad Company for the transmission of‘pack¬ 
ages. The project commended itself to business 
men, and soon after express lines were organ¬ 
ized and connections established in all directions. 
In 1849 the Adams & Company’s California Ex¬ 
press was established; in 1852, the Wells, Fargo 
& Company’s; and in 1855, the American-Euro- 
pean Company’s. The express business is car¬ 
ried on by theseand similar companies " under 
contract with the railroad companies, the latter 
furnishing carriage along their lines, while the 
express companies attend to the receipt and SafC 
delivery of parcels. 

At present the capital stock of the express 
companies amounts to millions of dollars, the 
leading organizations being the Adams Express 
Company, United States ; Express Company, 
American Express Company; and Wells, Fargo 
& Co. These and other lines have direct con¬ 
nections with responsible express' companies 
in Canada, Newfoundland, and the leading 
countries of the world. Among the leading com¬ 
panies of Canada are the Dominion Express 
Company, the Canadian Northern Express Com¬ 
pany, and the Canadian Express Company. The 
business comprises, besides delivering parcels of 
merchandise, the issuance of checks, collection 
of accounts, and in some cases the care of de¬ 
posits. A system of CO. D. business; meaning 
collect on delivery, comprises the plan of trans¬ 
porting goods to consumers or dealers and col¬ 
lecting the purchase price when delivered. 

In most European countries the carrying serv¬ 
ice is performed by the post office system under 
the direction of the government, though in Great 
Britain the railroad companies themselves 
handle this branch of business on all lines -where 
the parcel post has not been established. The' 
law includes express companies with the list of 
common carriers, by which they are held liable 
for losses the same as such’carriers, even though 
their bills of lading declare otherwise. Express 















» 


EXTENSION 776 EYE 


money orders are receivable at banks, and pay¬ 
able in nearly all civilized countries of the 
world on an equal basis with drafts issued by 
banks or government postal money orders. 

EXTENSION (eks-ten'shun), in physics, 
that property by virtue of which matter occupies 
space and possesses volume. An atom is exceed¬ 
ingly small, yet it has definite size;'that is, it 
has extension, or occupies space in three dimen¬ 
sions—length, breadth, and thickness. Exten¬ 
sion is necessarily possessed by molecules and 
masses and is, therefore, a general property of 
matter. 

EXTRACT (eks'trakt), in pharmacy, the 
products obtained by evaporating solutions that 
contain medical principles. The substances are 
chiefly of vegetable origin and yield solids and 
liquids, the former being known as extracts and 
the latter as fluid extracts. Solid extracts are 
obtained by digesting vegetable substances with 
water, alcohol, ether, or acetic acid, and evapo¬ 
rating the products until they are reduced to a 
pasty or dry consistence. Liquid extracts are 
made by crushing the plants to obtain the juices, 
which are heated and evaporated. Various 
methods are employed, the process depending 
\upon the kind of extract to be obtained. In 
jome cases the juices are allowed to stand a 
brief time after the masceration, when they are 
carefully filtered, and then are evaporated or 
distilled a number of times to obtain the strength 
required. 

EXTRADITION (eks-tra-dish un), the 
right to demand the delivery of a fugitive from 
justice from one state or nation to another. In 
the absence of treaties it is not the duty of a 
nation to turn over a fugitive criminal to the 
state from which he has fled, a position main¬ 
tained both in England and the United States, 
hence extradition between nations is based upon 
treaties. However, extradition between the 
states or provinces of a particular country is 
usually regulated by the constitutional or na¬ 
tional law. This is provided for by the Consti¬ 
tution of the United States, which requires that 
“a person charged in any State with treason, 
felony, or other crime who shall flee from jus¬ 
tice and be found in another State, shall, on 
demand of the executive authority of the State 
from which he fled, be delivered up to and be 
removed to the State having jurisdiction of the 
crime.” 

The Jay Treaty of 1794 was the first treaty 
of the United States to provide for extradition, 
but it was not carried into effect by an act of 
Congress. The Treaty of 1842 was the first to 
provide for extradition between Great Britain 
and the United States. It is the general rule 


that a criminal who has been extradited for a 
particular, offense cannot be tried on another 
charge. This question arose in 1875, when the 
United States procured the extradition of a 
criminal who had committed an offense not 
mentioned in the treaty, being extradited on 
one and then tried on another, and against this 
Great Britain protested. Extradition treaties 
are in force among all the leading nations. 

EYE, the organ of sight, consisting of a 
globe about an inch in diameter, situated in a 
bony cavity of the skull, and protected by the 
overhanging brow. It is formed of a tough 
membrane called the sclerotic coat, which gives 
form to the eye, the transparent, convex part 
in front forming the cornea. A thin, black 
membrane, termed the choroid coat, lines the 
sclerotic coat, which contains the blood vessels, 
while its black color serves to prevent the reflec¬ 
tion of the rays of light. A very thin and 


cf 



THE HUMAN EYE. 

A, semilunar fold; B, iris; C, pupil; D, eye-brow; E, eyelid; 

F, cornea; H, sclerotic coat. 

transparent membrane, called the retina, is in¬ 
side the choroid coat and is an expansion of 
the optic nerve. The anterior and posterior 
chambers are filled with a liquid, that in the 
former being a thin, clear liquid called the 
aqueous humor, and that in the latter a thick, 
jellylike fluid termed the vitreous humor. These 
humors serve to keep the eye distended and 
in shape. Between the two chambers is the 
crystalline lens, which operates to bring the rays 
of light to a focus on the retina and is kept in 
place by the ciliary process. A curtain, called 
the iris, is hung behind the cornea, whose cen¬ 
ter is a hole called the pupil. The several 
colors observed in the eyes of different persons 
are merely the iris, which varies from blue to 
a dark brown and is seen through the pupil. 
The colorless effect seen in the eyes of the al¬ 
bino is due to the absence of color cells; the 
pink tint often seen in them is caused by the 
blood affecting the appearance of the iris on 
account of the absence of other coloring mat¬ 
ter. 


EYE 


777 


EYE 


The eye is protected by close-fitting shutters 
called eyelids, and by a padding of fat situated 
between the eyeball and the walls of the orbit 
in which it is situated. A mucous membrane 
lines the inner side of the eyelids, and, by being 
exceedingly sensitive, aids in protecting the eye 
from irritating substances. The edges of the 
lids are lubricated by oil glands situated within 
the eyelashes, which prevent them from adher¬ 
ing to each other. Besides, the lashes guard 
against dust, while, with the lids, they serve 
to shield against a blinding light. The mucous 
membrane and cornea are moistened by a salt¬ 
ish fluid called tears, which is secreted by the 
lachrymal glands, two oblong bodies situated 
immediately above and to the outside of the 
eyeballs. Several ducts facilitate a flow of tears 
upon the inner surface at the outer edge of the 
upper eyelid, thus washing the eye and keep¬ 
ing it clean from dust, the tears passing into 
a little basin at the inner part of the eye near 
the nose, called the lachrymal lake, from which 
they are drained into the nose by the nasal 
duct. The lachrymal lake overflows upon the 
face in disease, old age, and when crying. 

The phenomenon of sight is one of intense 
interest to the student of natural history. It is 
dependent upon a substance called ether, which 
is infinitely more subtile than air and is thought 
to be a thin gas filling all space. Waves of 
light are produced in the ether as sound waves 
are caused in the atmosphere. The motion 
waves of ether are produced by a light, for 
example a lamplight, pass through the pupil 
of the eye to the retina, and are carried by the 
rods and cones through the optic nerve to the 
brain, where the light is seen. The variously 
shaped rods and cones serving to carry the light 
are to the eye what bristles, otoliths, and Cor- 
tian fibers are to the ear. The optic nerve, 
which has its root in the brain and enters the 
eyeball, is itself insensible to light. There are 
no rods and cones at the point where it enters 
the eye and this is called the blind spot. The 
rays of light are bent by the convex lens so 
they meet at a point called the focus; a good 
example of this can be given by the use of a 
common burning glass, through which the focus 
point is heated to burning by bending the rays 
of the sun. When entering the eye, the rays 
of light are converged similarly by being 
brought to a focus on the retina, and are in¬ 
fluenced somewhat in a like manner by the 
cornea and the humors of the eye. 

Distant objects tend to diverge rays of light 
less than those near by, and under such 
conditions the crystalline lens does not need 
to bend so much as in seeing objects near at 


hand. This property of adjusting the lens of 
the eye to far or near vision is called accom¬ 
modation. The ordinary adjustment of the eye 
muscles when at perfect rest is of such a char¬ 
acter that objects at all distances over twenty 
feet can be seen clearly. Objects at a smaller 
distance than twenty feet away from the eye 
require that the muscles adjust the lens to a 
more curved position. In this way it is pos¬ 
sible for the eye to see clearly at a distance 



of about five inches, while vision is best at about 
ten inches from the eye. 

The field of view in which a person can 
clearly recognize objects is confined to a small 
space immediately in front of the eye, while 
only indistinct shadows seem to occupy the 
remainder of space near at hand. In reading 
not more than two or three words can be seen 
distinctly, but by rapid and unconscious move¬ 
ments of the eyes sidewise the field of view is 
greatly enlarged. When the eyes are directed 
toward an object, the sensation of sight is pro¬ 
duced almost instantly, but the image persists 
about one-tenth of a second. It is due to this 
property that a lighted stick waved rapidly by 
the hands appears as a circle of fire. Exhibit¬ 
ors take advantage of it by throwing a suc¬ 
cession of pictures of a moving object upon a 
screen at a particular rate, and thus convey to 
the auditors the effects of movement without 
interruption. If two shining lights are waved, 
they appear as one, and two colors revolved 
quickly give the effect of a mixture of two. 
Thus, a yellow and a blue surface placed side 
by side and revolved quickly before the eye 
appear as a single green spot. The eye is sub- 








EYE 


EYRE 


ject to many illusions, which is taken advantage 
of by exhibitors and in the manufacture of 
many toys and fireworks. The Vertical lines in 
the illustration are perfectly parallel, but the 
diagonal hatching, as the result of' contrast, 
cause them to appear tapering in alternate direc¬ 
tions. 

Color-blindness is due to an impairment of 
the nerves of the retina, leading to an inability 
to recognize certain colors. Since locomotive 
engineers and sailors are guided by differently 
colored signals,, this defect is a serious one. 
The retina becomes exhausted when the''eye 
looks, steadily at an object for a long. time. 
It is fatigued by bright-colored objects much 
more readily than others, and during a state 
of exhaustion is often confused in the.recogni¬ 
tion of colors, being made color-blind. The 
intensity of light has an effect upon the pupil, 
bright light causing a contraction. This results 
from a strong light exciting the reflex centers 
of the optic tubercles’ and has the effect' of 
contracting the muscles of the iris. In the dark, 
on the other hand, the pupil is enlarged so as 
to admit all the light possible.. In /this - way, 
and by m^ans of the muscles that control/ the 
upper and lower lids and the eyebrows, it is 
possible for the eyes to protect themselves 
against a light too strong to be admitted, fhbugh 
the contracted muscles become easily tired and 
pain results. Farr '' and nearsightedness are 
caused by defects in . the crystalline lens. If 
the leiis is too convexj the rays are brought to 
a focus before they reach the retina; if too 
flat, the retina is reached'before coming to a 
focus. In each case the sight is more dr less 
indistinct. Another common defect is . a flat¬ 
tened or elongated shape of the globe of the 
eye. Farsightedness results when the globe is 
flattened and nearsightedness when it is elon¬ 
gated. The former is overcome by convex and 
the latter by concave lenses. 

The care of the, eyes is an important matter, 
since the loss of vision is a source of much 
sorrow. Glasses' should be worn when they 
serve to improve the sight, since straining im¬ 
paired power results in even greater weakness. 
Fine print and reading by a : dim light are harm¬ 
ful, while the sight is often impaired by read¬ 
ing on cars, ; for the reason that the lens be¬ 
comes wearied by striving to adapt itself to 
continuous variations of distance. Light should 
never be in front when reading or working, but 
should come over the left shoulder. Alcohol 
and tobacco tend to cause dimness of vision by 
weakening the optic nerve. Roentgen (q! v.) 


discovered a kind of light produced by electric¬ 
ity, in 1895, which penetrates flesh, wood, and 
Other Substances. By means of this light it is 
possible to determine by sight the forms of 
different organs of the body, to examine the 
bones in the living body, and to locate many 
substances foreign to the system. Several val¬ 
uable discoveries relative to the eye have been 
made by means of it. 1 . 

The eyes of fishes, reptiles, birds, and quad¬ 
rupeds^ are. essentially the, same as in man. In 
insects the eyes are immovable and have a 
dome, shape. Thousands of smaller eyes like 
honeycomb make up each of the two eyes. At 
the bottpnl of the cavity is a nerve to which 
each little eye may conduct light by means of 
a lens. .As the Scale of animal life descends, 
there is a marked decrease in the power of 
vision. For instance, in the leech the nerves of 
sight end in a spot of dark coloring matter pf 
the, skin by means of which it is able to receive 
some idea of its surroundings. Still lower in 
the scale We find life forms that are barely 
able to recognize the difference between light 
and darkness, while those that live wholly in 
the ’ dark lose the use of this organ, as, for 
instance, the fish found in the Mammoth Cave 
of Kentucky. 

EYELIDS. See Eye; Lachrymal Glands. 

EYLAU (i'lou), a town in Germany, 22 
miles ' south of Konigsberg, on the Pasmar 
River. Jt was the scene of an indecisive battle 
on Feb. 8, 1807, between Napoleon and the 
allied forces of the Prussians and Russians un¬ 
der Count Levin Bennigsen (1745-1826). The 
army under Napoleon .consisted of about 80,000 
men, while the allied forces were smaller, but 
the latter possessed more artillery. A brisk 
struggle continued during the day, and as night 
approached the troops of Napoleon were driven 
befofe the allies. In the night the French army 
retreated. The loss on -each side is estimated at 
about 18,000 men. The town has a population 
of 1 3,600 and is connected by railway with 
Konigsberg. 

EYRE (ar)„one of the largest lakes in Aus¬ 
tralia, in the State of South Australia, at an 
altitude of 80 feet. It has an area of 3,708 
square miles. Its name is from Edward John 
Eyre, who discovered it in 1840. The water is 
highly salty and in dry seasons evaporates 
largely, leaving a great salt marsh. The waters 
of the Macumba, Cooper, and Warburton rivers 
flow into it, but it has nO outlet to the sea.. A 
railway extends from Lake Eyre to Spencer 
Gulf. ' • 





F FACIAL ANGLE 


F, the sixth letter and fourth consonant of 
the Latin and English alphabets. It is formed 
by the passage of breath between the upper 
front teeth and the lower lip, is classed with V 
as a labio-dental, and belongs to the class of 
consonants called aspirates. The. figure of F 
corresponds to the diganima of the Greek and 
resembles it closely in power. F, in music, is- 
the fourth note of the natural diatonic scale of 
C. F major, as a key, has one flat at its signa¬ 
ture, namely, B flat. The tone F is called fa in 
Italy, France, and some other countries. 

FABLE (fa'b’l), a feigned story or tale in¬ 
tended to enforce some moral precept. In mod¬ 
ern literature the fable is confined to short 
stories, either in prose or poetry, in which inan¬ 
imate things and animals are represented with 
human interests and passions. By the novelty 
and utter impossibility of the representation, the 
interest of the hearer or reader is excited, and 
thus its symbolic meaning and moral become 
apparent to him, at least if the fable is well con¬ 
trived. The ancient fabulists were simple, clear, 
and earnest, and seem to have sprung up in 
"the East. Among the more celebrated are 
Bidpai, or Pilpai, and the Arabian Lokman, 
who lived at the time of King David. Among 
the Greeks the greatest fabulist is Aesop. 
Phaedrus, the most celebrated Roman fabulist, 
cleverly imitated Aesop, but with considerable 
modification, thus giving force to his writings. 
In later times Gay among (he English, Lessing 
and Gellert among the Germans, and Krylov 
among the Russians are celebrated. La Fon¬ 
taine, a French writer of fable, for delicate 
sarcasm, sagacity, and felicity of expression 
takes high rank. 

FACADE (fa-sad'), the exterior face or 
front of a building. This term is applied chiefly 
to classic architecture and buildings of sorrie 
magnitude. The'fagade contains the principal 
entrance. The term is used with a qualifying 


adjective when it refers to other faces of a 
building, as court fagade, rear fagade, and laU 
eral fagade. Many mediaeval churches have 
fcrlse fagades, which are different in outline 
than the buildings themselves. 

FACE, the front part of the human head, ex¬ 
tending from the chin : to the line of the hair on 
the forehead. It includes the nose, eyes, chin, 
mouth, cheeks, and forehead. The bony founda¬ 
tion is gomposed of fourteen bones, twelve of 
which occur in pairs. The single bones are the 
vomer, which separates the nostrils, and the 
bone of the lower jaw, or inferior maxillary, 
which is the only one that is movable. The su¬ 
perior maxillary, or upper jaw bone, Contains 
the upper teeth. Two malar bones form the 
cheeks; two palate bones, the palate ;/ and two 
turbinated bones, the outer walls of the nos¬ 
trils. Between the eye Socket and the nose are 
two lachrymal bones. The bridge of the nose 
is formed by two nasal bones. All of the bones 
of the face, are irregular in form. Beneath the> 
frontal bones,, which belong to the cranium, are 
two deep quadrangular cavities, called the 
orb is, which cofitain the eyeballs, the tear appa¬ 
ratus, and the protective organs of the eye. In 
the depressions and. small cavities are located 
glands, nerves, and blood vessels. 1 : Projecting 
jaws ^nd a receding forehead are prominent 
features in the face of brutes. 

FACIAL ANGLE (fa'shal an'g’l), an angle 
forhied by two imaginary lines—one drawn 
from the most prominent part of the forehead 
to a point opposite the incisor teeth; the Other 
fi-orti the external ek't to the same point, the 
object being to measure the elevation of the 
forehead. This angle was made thb basis for 
classifying the races by the Dutch anatbtnist, 
Pieter Camper, and is sometimes called Cam¬ 
per’s Angle. While it has served a useful pur¬ 
pose in ethnology, it is not an infallible criterion 
of the intellectual capacity of an individual. 














FACTORY 


780 


FACULTY 


The general facial angle of anthropoid apes is 
40°, of the African Negro 70°, and of the Euro¬ 
peans 80°. Since angles almost as varied can 



be found in a single large community, the Cam¬ 
per method has been superseded by those of 
Blumenbach, Cuvier, etc. 

FACTORY (fak'to-ry), a name derived 
from the word factor, which, in Great Britain, 
has reference to an agent who sells goods for 
another. In America it is more common to 
call such an agent a commission merchant, since 
his compensation is based on a commission or 
a percentage upon the goods he buys or sells. 
On the other hand, the word factory has ref¬ 
erence to the place or house where such agents 
transact business. 

Within recent years the term factory has 
come to be applied to an establishment devoted 
to the manufacture of various articles of com¬ 
merce. In this sense it includes the machinery 
and buildings necessary to such manufacture. 
The establishment of great factories is com¬ 
paratively recent and resulted from the inven¬ 
tion of useful machinery, the extensive subdi¬ 
vision of labor, and the construction of vast 
avenues of commerce that facilitate the trans¬ 
portation of manufactured commodities to dis¬ 
tant consumers. Doubtless material advantages 
have sprung up from the factory system. They 
include the increased productiveness resulting 
from the division of labor; greater mechanical 
accuracy and a lessening of the cost of produc¬ 
tion, two results of bringing together different 
laborers with varied capacity; and the whole¬ 
some effects that follow cooperation and co¬ 
partnership among the masses of the working¬ 
men. Trades unions and the various forms of 
organization that have sprung into existence are 
the direct result of the concentration of laborers 
in manufacturing centers. 

It is probable that the good which springs 
from the factory system is counterbalanced to 
a large extent by the curtailment of indepen¬ 
dent intelligence, which follows the minutely 
subdivided operations resulting from the piece¬ 
work of each individual workman. Other dis¬ 
advantages urged against the factory system 


are the evil influences upon the health of the 
workmen, brought about by being crowded into 
small rooms; the contract system, by which 
large colonies of foreign laborers are imported; 
and a reduction of wages as a natural conse¬ 
quence of employing many children and women. 

The factory system as now found in America, 
both in Canada and the United States, has made 
it necessary to regulate by law the manner of 
managing workshops, mines, and factories. 
Legislation along this line has been intended 
to improve the sanitary conditions of all places 
where large numbers of workmen are employed 
by making them subject to public inspection, and 
establishing rigid rules under which vast enter¬ 
prises may be managed efficiently. Among the 
primary objects of legislation are the protec¬ 
tion of life and health of the workmen, pre¬ 
vention against spreading infectious diseases 
and vermin by reason of the manufactured 
product, and protection of the laborers and 
operators against strikes, disorders, and general 
disorganization of institutions. Legislation has 
been directed more commonly with respect to 
the number of hours the workmen may be 
employed daily and the improvement of the 
conditions of factory work. Other objects have 
been to limit the labor of women and minors 
and to regulate the manner of and time for 
which laborers shall receive compensation. 

Statutory provisions in some cases forbid 
the employment of minors under certain ages, 
while in others it is necessary for children to 
be able to read and write, or to have attended 
school for a certain period, before being admit¬ 
ted to the factory. These safeguards are in¬ 
tended to prevent the corruption of morals 
among children and vouchsafe to them condi¬ 
tions under which they may secure a suitable 
education. The supreme courts in a number of- 
states, among them Ohio, Pennsylvania, Mis¬ 
souri, West Virginia, and Illinois, have decided 
that laws which require the payment of laborers 
in money are unconstitutional, though others 
have held them sound and operative. Among 
the many questions of general concern, in 
which a large number of people are interested, 
those relating to the rights and privileges of 
both the employer and employee take high rank. 
However, the legislation which may tend to 
secure the best business conditions, which will 
operate to the highest interest of both the cap¬ 
ital and labor employed in the factory system, 
is yet awaiting solution by statesmen and legis¬ 
lators. 

FACULTY (fak'ul-tv), the term employed 
to designate collectively the teachers and pro¬ 
fessors of an institute, college, or university, or 





FACULTY 


781 


FAIRIES 


the instructors in any department of such an 
institution, as the faculty of law, of theology, 
of arts, or of medicine. It is applied collec¬ 
tively to the members of the learned professions, 
as the faculty of advocates, the medical faculty. 

FACULTY, in mental science, a natural 
power of the mind by which it acts uniformly 
and with facility in some specific way. Hewett 
defines faculty as a power under the control of 
the will, having a specific work to do, and as 
examples enumerates memory, seeing, love, and 
judgment. Crabb holds that faculty is a power 
derived from nature, and differs from ability in 
that the latter is derived either from circum¬ 
stances or otherwise. 

FAiENCE (fa-e-ans'), a term applied gen¬ 
erally to all classes of porcelain and glazed 
earthenware. The name was derived from the 
town of Faenza, Italy, where majolica, a fine 
grade of pottery, was manufactured in the 14th 
century. The faience manufactured at present 
was invented in the 16th century as an imitation 
of majolica and obtained.its name in France. 
However, the faience of the market is made of 
a ruddy earth, covered with an enamel, and is 
frequently painted in rich colors. 

FAINTING (fant'ing), or Syncope, a sud¬ 
den loss of consciousness, with pallor and fee¬ 
ble respiration and heart action. The morbid 
condition generally continues from a few .sec¬ 
onds to a minute, but in some cases lasts for 
hours and even days. It is produced by loss 
or sight of blood, pain, or impure air generated 
in overcrowded public buildings. Fright and sud¬ 
den joy or grief may cause fainting in some per¬ 
sons. It rarely ends in death and more com¬ 
monly affects women than men. Recovery is 
most rapid when the body is in a recumbent 
position. Fresh, cool air, cold water sprinkled 
on the face, and the loosening of any tight arti¬ 
cles of dress contribute to a speedy close of the 
syncope. 

FAIR, a stated or regular market where buy¬ 
ers and sellers gather to transact either a par¬ 
ticular or general class of business. Fairs of 
this character originated on account of the 
convenience resulting from the buyers and 
sellers of agricultural products common to a 
region coming together. The fairs held in the 
Middle Ages were chartered by public officials, 
who announced them by proclamation. This 
class never obtained a wide foothold in Amer¬ 
ica, though there are fairs at which an exhibit 
of agricultural products, manufactures, and 
other articles of value are exhibited for public 
inspection and study. The term is applied in a 
general sense to bazaars where fancy articles 
are offered for sale either at special times or 


permanently, atfd to the agricultural and indus¬ 
trial exhibitions held under the direction of 
counties, states, or nations. In Europe it is 
quite common to hold fairs at which buyers 
and sellers are brought together. Among the 
great periodical fairs are those held at Novgo¬ 
rod, Russia; Lyons, France; Leipzig and Frank- 
fort-on-Main, Germany; the Donnybrook Fair, 
Ireland; the Glasgow Fair, Scotland; and the 
Greenwich Fair, England. 

FAIRFIELD, a city of Iowa, county seat of 
Jefferson County, 48 miles northwest of Bur¬ 
lington, on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 
and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific rail¬ 
roads. It has a fine county courthouse and is 
the seat of Parsons College. The manufac¬ 
tures include wagons, clothing, machinery, tile, 
and farming implements. It has electric lights, 
waterworks, and a considerable trade in prod¬ 
uce and merchandise. The first settlement 
in the vicinity was made in 1839 and it was 
incorporated in 1847. Population, 1905, 5,009. 

FAIRHAVEN. See Bellingham. 

FAIRIES (far'iz), the name applied to 
imaginary beings, ordinarily small and of grace¬ 
ful human form, but capable of assuming any 
shape and working good or evil to mankind. A 
belief in fairies has been among the supersti¬ 
tions of many peoples. Some other names for 
these imaginary creatures are elves, brownies, 
goblins, dwarfs, pixies, kelpies, and gnomes. 
It is difficult to give any scientific definition of 
the nature of fairy superstitions, because they 
followed no regular law, human or divine, but 
obeyed the impulse of their own caprice. Hence, 
every fairy tale differs from others in some 
respects. In the parts of the world where there 
are mountains, mists, cataracts, and stormy 
oceans all superstitions are naturally exaggerat¬ 
ed, while in flat and well-cultivated countries 
the fairies are simple and homely, and connect 
themselves with matters of domestic routine, 
such as sweeping the floor, skimming milk, 
preserving butter, and other household duties. 
In Scandinavian countries the fairy people are 
connected with storms and convulsions. They 
are represented in the act of betraying people 
into dangerous places, flying away with them 
into cloudland, or as leading them through end¬ 
less caverns within the earth. They have been 
spoken of in Ireland as a wandering remnant of 
fallen angels. 

The tales of some nations divide fairies into 
three classes—those that dwell in the upper air, 
those within the interior of the earth, and a 
third class that frequent the waters. The last 
mentioned are known as mermaids and sirens. 
Fairy stories were introduced into France and 


FAIRMOUNT 


782 


FAITH CURE 


Germany as early as the 12th century. They 
became generally popular in the latter part of 
the 17th century, the Italians taking the most 
extended interest in them. Literature in all 
countries abounds more or less with fairy tales. 
Arnong the best collections of later times are 
those of the Grimm brothers in Germany, Knight- 
ley’s and Craker’s in English, and Hans Ander¬ 
sen’s in Danish. Many fairy tales and legends 
have been translated into modern languages and 
ill this way became the commoii properly of all. 
The translations have been devised suitably for 
home and school reading. Many of the emi¬ 
nent teachers, among them Herbart, Froebel, 
and Pestalozzi, have recommended them as of 
special value in child culture during the forma¬ 
tive period. Their use for that purpose in 
American and European schools is very exten¬ 
sive. 

It is quite probable that fairy tales and 
legends are the outgrowth of mythology and 
folklore. Since primitive peoples are unable to 
express ideas in the abstract, their customary 
forms gave rise to the use of familiar and con¬ 
crete terms. The mystery of storms* zephyrs, 
caves, ocean waves, mountain echoes, passage 
of clouds, and the strangeness of life and death 
all had more or less influence to impress them 
with awe and to inspire and amaze. The early 
history passed from generation to generation, 
not in written story, but as a living tale, and 
later became perverted in mythology, folklore, 
and fairy tales. To their own legends were 
added those of near or distant peoples, by 
which the tales they told grew into vast num¬ 
bers and took on diversified and complicated 
forms. The giant stories of the Orient, the 
one-eyed Cyclops tales of Asia Minor, and the 
mysteries of the Greek and Roman gods were 
capable of almost indefinite expansion and con¬ 
traction, especially when brought in contact 
with the northern heroes and the tales of the 
Nibelungenlied. In pondering the early peo¬ 
ples it is not difficult to comprehend how the 
folklore, mythology, and hero worship became 
prolific sources for the growth of numerous and 
diversified tales, and, associated with the ro¬ 
mance of the ages, gave rise to a vast number 
of stories that have come down to us. Many 
of the fairy tales remain highly interesting and 
fruitful objects of study. 

* FAIRMOUNT (far'mount), a city in West 
Virginia, county seat of Marion County, on the 
Monongahela River, 75 miles southeast of 
■Wheeling. It is on the Baltimore and Ohio 
^and other railroads. The surrounding country 
is a farming and coal-producing region. Among 
the noteworthy features are the county court¬ 


house, the high school, and a State normal 
•school. 'The manufactures include earthenware, 
flour, cigars, machinery, and furniture. It has 
•systems of eledtric lighting, sewerage, and water¬ 
works. Population, 1910, 9,711, 

FAIR OAKS, a railroad station in Virginia, 
near the Chickahominy River, in Henrico 
County, six miles east of Richmond. It was the 
scene of a battle between the Confederates un¬ 
der General Johnston, numbering 38,000 men, 
and a detachment of General McClellan’s army 
under Gefl. Silas Casey (1807-1882) and Gen¬ 
eral Keyes, including about 11,000 troops. The 
‘ Engagement at Fair Oaks took place on May 
31, 1862, after General Johnston had retreated 
from Williamsburg toward Richmond, and was 
the first important encounter between the army of 
the Potomac and the army of northern Virginia. 
General LongstrCet drove the Federals back 
toward the Chickahominy and at nightfall the 
victory seemed to rest with the Confederates. 
However, the following day the Federals were 
reenforced and the-battle continued at Seven 
Pines, about a mile east of Fair' Oaks, when 
the Confederates were repulsed and withdrew 
to the immediate vicinity of Richmond. The 
loss on the Union side in both engagements was 
5,031 and on the Confederate side, 6,134 men. 
General Lee succeeded General Johnston while 
the- battle was in progress and General McClel¬ 
lan likewise succeeded General Casey. The bat¬ 
tle ground may be reached by an electric rail¬ 
way. A national cemetery is maintained at 
Seven Pines. 

FAIRWEATHER, a mountain on the west¬ 
ern coast of North America, in Alaska, between 
Glacier Bay and the Alsek River. Southeast 
of it are a number of elevated peaks, including 
Mount Crillon. It is 15,292 feet above the sea, 
is covered perpetually with snow, and is the 
source of several glaciers. 

FAITH CURE, the treatment of diseases 
without the use of drugs, usually practiced by 
making an appeal to the hope or belief of the 
patient. It differs from hypnotism and healing 
by mental science in that its methods require 
the exercise of religious faith, but the term 
faith cure is applied in a broader sense by some 
who believe in treating diseases without em¬ 
ploying material means, and when applied in 
this form it includes every method of treat¬ 
ment in which the patient is to rely upon hope 
and faith. The practice of using home reme¬ 
dies and patent medicine is sometimes desig¬ 
nated as a form of faith cure and some include 
Christian Science, but the latter term is not 
admitted to be similar by those who believe in 
it. 


FAKIR 


783 


FALCON 


Faith cure is not qf modern origin, hut, in¬ 
stead, dates from the most ancient times. That 
prayer is of-utility in effecting cures has, been 
taught by the Christian Church from its orjgin, 
and many eminent divines have preached that 
prayer is potent in the cure of bodily ills as,, 
well as in the forgiveness of sin, Some have 
gone so far as to teach that the atonement in¬ 
cludes the healing of the body, since, as they 
believe, God would be dishonored if it were 
claimed he could not do more than preserve, 
the soul. To this class -belongs A. B. Simpson, 
of New York, who anointed with oil and 
practiced the apostolic methods. John Alex¬ 
ander Dowie, first apostle of the Christian 
Catholic Church, taught that diseases may, be 
cured by prayer and the laying on -of the hands. 
In the chapel of that church at Zion City are 
many canes, crutches, and trusses that, are 
claimed to have been left there by people who 
came diseased and crippled and went away 
healed. Many others could be named who 
practiced the art and professed to effect cures. 
Those who believe in some form of faith cure 
have multiplied greatly within the last, few 
decades. 

While the cure of diseases and the: treatment 
of patients must necessarily involve the -use of 
material means and the employment of drugs,,, 
it is admitted on every hand that hope and ex¬ 
pectation are mental states of great utility in 
those who suffer pain and disease. Digestion 
is favored by happiness, emotions stimulate ac¬ 
tion of the bladder, and sorrow causes secre¬ 
tion of tears in the lachrymal glands., There is 
no difference between those who practice medi¬ 
cine and those who believe strictly in faith 
cure so far as the favorable influence of hope 
and expectation is concerned, but the disagree¬ 
ment lies. in the fact that one employs drugs 
and other material means, while those who hold 
distinctly to faith cure rely exclusively upon 
some mental or psychological influence, or place 
reliance wholly in the efficacy of prayer, No 
doubt, many forms, of nervous diseases .can 
be remedied by faith,-cure methods. However, 
their efficiency in the treatment of other ail¬ 
ments likely depends largely upon improved con¬ 
ditions, of living and a change to better con¬ 
duct and habits. It. is undoubtedly natural for 
those who become converted to a new teaching^ 
or a different plan of living than that they for¬ 
merly embraced, to have mental change^ which 
influence, more or less. In some diseases, such 
as consumption, cancer, and diphtheria, few if 
any cures are reported, though conditions are 
frequently improved. 

FAKIR (fa'ker), a Mohammedan religious 


mendicant who jvanders from place to place. 
A fakir is regarded, by the : common classes of 
Mohammedans as a character of - sanctity, 
though fakirs are .of the lowest .priesthood., 
The ,term is applied by some writers to the An- 
gjp-lndian and the Hindu mendicants, but the 
lattqr are more properly called Gosavee. In 
some regions of the Mohammedan countries 
they live in communities, but usually the life is 
splitary.: Their attire is coarse and generally 
black or brown, while the headwear consists of 
a black turban, over which is tied a red hand¬ 
kerchief. To gain the veneration of the lower 
classes, they often mutilate their persons and 
practice absurd penance. 

FALCON (fa'k’n), a long-winged, high- 
couraged, raptorial bird, which takes its prey 
as it moves in the air. Technically, in falconry, 
the female alone is termed a falcon, the male, 
which is smaller’ and less courageous, being 
known, as a tiercel pr tiercelet. Naturalists gen¬ 
erally apply the name falcon to various birds of 
prey, -which 
they separate 
into distinct 
groups,, includ?- 
ing. .,ithe pere¬ 
grine falcon, 
northern - fair 
con, desert faU 
c Q,n., merlin 
and hobby. For 
s y .m m e t r y, 
strength, and 
power of flight 
the falcon is 
the mpst per- 
fect of the 
feathered race. 

The beak is 
strong and 
short-hooked at 
the point, the 
upper mandible 
having a notch 
or tooth on its 
cutting edge. 

I,n all species 
the legs are 
h e a v y q; n d 
stout, the claws 
a,re ,.s,harp s and 
lpng, apd the, 
wings are powerful. The average length of 
falcons is about two feet. The peregrine is 
most commonly used in falconry and is ex¬ 
ceedingly swift, its flight being fully 65 miles 
per. hour. 



FALCONRY 


784 


FALLACY 


FALCONRY (fa'k’n-ry), or Hawking, the 
pursuit of game by means of falcons or hawks. 
In ancient times the sport was called hawking, 
when the hawk was employed, but later the 

peregrine and oth¬ 
er falcons became 
popular. The his¬ 
tory of this pas¬ 
time has been 
traced back to a 
period prior to the 
Christian era. At 
one time, in Ger¬ 
many, even kings 
and nobles devoted 
the greater portion 
of the hunting sea¬ 
son to it. After 
the Norman Con¬ 
quest, England in¬ 
dulged in the sport 
until the rank of 
the individual was 
indicated by the 
particular species 
of hawk carried 
on his gloved hand 
or wrist. Later it 
went largely out 
of fashion, but at 
present an attempt 
is being made to 
restore this sport, 
which is attended 
with growing suc¬ 
cess. The training of hawks is a matter requir¬ 
ing much care and patience. They are usually 
taken while young and hooded with a piece of 
leather, leaving an aperture for the beak, and are 
trained to sit on the hand and to eat from the 
lure. The lure is a device made of a piece of 
wood or leather covered with the wings and 
feathers of a bird and attached to a cord, to 
which a piece of meat is fastened. The fal¬ 
coner swings the baited lure round and round 
his head, accompanying the action by some call. 
When the falcon has been taught to obey the 
lure, it is trained to catch live birds, and soon 
learns to seize the game. The hood is kept on 
the falcon during hunting excursions, until 
the bird is wanted to fly. 

FALKLAND ISLANDS (fak'land), a group 
of islands belonging to Great Britain, situated 
in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 295 miles 
east of the Strait of Magellan. The total num¬ 
ber of islands is about one hundred, with an 
area of 6,490 square miles, of which the two 
larger are East Falkland and West Falkland, 


containing respectively 3,000 and 2,300 square 
miles. The surface is hilly, with bogs extend¬ 
ing from various points on the shore toward 
the interior region. Forest trees are entirely 
absent, but many grasses abound, on which 
herds of cattle and sheep are reared with much 
success, this constituting the principal industry. 
Many penguins and other sea fowls are native 
to the islands. The fisheries are valuable. The 
climate is healthful and well adapted to the pro¬ 
duction of cereals found in temperate climates. 

The Falkland Islands were discovered by John 
Davis (1550-1605), Aug. 14, 1592, and were 
named by Captain Strong while cruising in 1689, 
in honor of Lord Falkland. Permanent settle¬ 
ments were first made by the French and later 
immigration followed by the Spaniards and 
English, the last mentioned securing perma¬ 
nent control in 1833. The principal exports are 
wool, hides, skins, and tallow. Machinery, 
wearing apparel, and building material are the 
chief imports. Local government is adminis¬ 
tered by direct appointees of the crown, and 
education is supported by government grants 
and local taxation. Stanley, on East Falkland, 
with a population of 916, is the capital. Popu¬ 
lation, 1906, 2,065. 

FALLACY (fal'la-si), in logic, an invalid 
process of reasoning, which leads to an erro¬ 
neous conclusion. Since fallacy is a violation 
of some logical law, many rules have been de¬ 
vised to govern sound reasoning and when 
one of these is violated the result is a logical 
fallacy. No agreement has been reached as to 
the proper classification, though the subject 
has been one for extended discussion from re¬ 
mote antiquity. Writers usually divide falla¬ 
cies into three classes, assumptions, sophisms, 
and aberrancies. 

An assumption is that which is taken as true 
without evidence. It may be true or false; but, 
resting on no basis of evidence, it is, in both 
cases, invalid, not because it is known to be 
false, but because it is not known to be true. 
To assume an assumption false, because of its 
lack of evidence, would be a procedure as in¬ 
valid as to assume it true. Assumptions arise 
from want of attention, superstition, prejudice, 
hasty generalization, and preconceived opinions. 

A sophism is an invalid argument, and may 
be said to constitute a. fallacy that is designed 
to deceive. It originated from the Sophists of 
ancient Greece, who doubtless cared little for 
truth or morality, and merely professed to 
teach how to make the worse appear the better 
reason.^ Sophistry is a fallacious reasoning 
which is sound in appearance only and puzzles 
the inquirer after truth. 






FALLING BODIES 


785 


FALL RIVER 


An aberrancy is a wandering from the con¬ 
clusion warranted by the premises and drawing 
another which is unwarranted. One who in¬ 
fers the reasoning valid because the conclusion 
is true is misled by an aberrant fallacy, since 
it does not follow, because the conclusion is 
true, that the argument is valid. Many unsound 
arguments have escaped detection, because the 
conclusion of the speaker coincided with the 
opinions of the hearers. Again, one who in¬ 
fers that the conclusion is false because the 
premises are false, or the reasoning is illogi¬ 
cal, is misled, since the proper inference is not 
that the conclusion is false, but that it is not 
proven. • 

FALLING BODIES, a term used in physics 
when demonstrating the force of gravity. All 
terrestrial bodies, if unsupported, fall or move 
toward the earth’s center by this force. That 
the acceleration due to gravity is the same for 
all masses was proved by Galileo. His experi¬ 
ments consisted in dropping unequal balls of 
iron from the top of the leaning tower of Pisa. 
He discovered that, whatever their masses, the 
balls reached the ground at the same instant. 
Using balls of iron and wax, he found that 
the iron balls struck the ground first. From 
this phenomenon he concluded that bodies less 
dense are similarly influenced by gravity, but 
that the unequal velocities are due to the re¬ 
sistance of the air acting on different extents 
of surface. It was later demonstrated by New¬ 
ton that all bodies in a vacuum fall with the 
same velocity, which proves that the effect of 
gravitation on bodies is proportional to their 
masses, but the resistance of the air causes the 
apparent exception to the law. 

In a body falling freely from a state of rest, 
the velocity at the end of the first second is 
equal to about 32.16 feet per second. At the 
end of the next second it is 32.16 times two, 
and equals 64.32 feet per second; at the end of 
the third second it is 144.72 feet, etc. If the 
time is known, the distance through which a 
falling body passes may be found by multiply¬ 
ing the square of the time in seconds by 16.08. 
Thus, in two seconds, 2x2x16.08=64.32. The 
acceleration varies in different parts of the 
earth’s surface, being least at the Equator and 
increasing slightly with the latitude to a max¬ 
imum at the poles. 

The distances fallen by an unsupported body 
in successive seconds increase at the odd num¬ 
bers. Thus, a body falling from a state of 
rest passes through 16.08 feet during the first 
second, and attains a velocity of 32.16 feet. 
During the next second it falls through 3x16.08 
feet, or 48.24 feet, and the third second, 5x16.08 
50 


feet, or 80.40 feet. The total distance in feet 
through which a body falls in a given time is 
proportional to the square of the time, and is 
equal to the square of the time in seconds mul¬ 
tiplied by 16.08. Thus, a falling body passes 
four times as far in two seconds as in one sec¬ 
ond and nine times as far in three seconds as in 
one second. In the first second a body falls 16.08 
feet, and in the next second it falls 48.24 feet. 
At the end of the second second it has fallen 
through a total distance of 48.24+16.08=64.32 
feet. Thus, 64.32 feet is four times 16.08 feet, 
or 2x2x16.08, as per the statement above. 

FALLOW DEER (fal'lo), a species of deer 
native to Europe and Northern Africa. In a 
wild state it is found chiefly in the mountain¬ 
ous regions of the southern part of Europe, 
but it is very common in the parks and forest 
reservations. The male or buck has palmated 
antlers, about 25 inches long, and is somewhat 
larger than the female or doe, which is without 
horns. It has a brownish color, characterized 
by pale spots, and the hair is smooth and fine. 
The young fawn is mottled and accompanies 
the mother at an early age. Fallow deer go in 
herds under a master, an old buck, who keeps 
an outlook for danger and appears to command 
the herd. The flesh is highly esteemed for food. 

FALLOW LAND, the name applied to 
ground which is left untilled in crops, but is 
plowed in the summer, as a means to re¬ 
gain productiveness after continuous cultivation. 
Such plowiiig is usually called summer fallow. 
All land, no matter how productive, if used 
continually for a number of seasons, becomes 
partly exhausted, and this method is employed 
to allow it to rest and recover its fertility. In 
other instances various forms of fertilizing are 
used for the same purpose. Strictly speaking, 
the land should remain idle the entire year, 
but the term is likewise applied to various 
modes of treatment, such as plowing the ground 
immediately aftei*the removal of a spring crop, 
known as bastard fallow; or planting the 
ground with some crop that can be planted in 
rows, as corn or potatoes, which admits of the 
intermediate spaces being cleaned, stirred, and 
pulverized during the growth. The latter is 
known as green-crop fallow. 

FALL RIVER, a city of Massachusetts, in 
Bristol County, on the Taunton River and 
Mount Hope Bay, an arm of Narragansett Bay, 
about fifty miles southwest of Boston. It is on 
the New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail¬ 
road and many electric railway lines. The site 
is at the head of deep-water navigation, form¬ 
ing the terminus of steamships from New York 
and other ports. It is the greatest cotton goods 



FALSE IMPRISONMENT 


78G 


FAN 


Manufacturing- city in America, employing about 
3,200,000 spindles. The products include calico, 
yarn, gingham, and thread. Calico printing and 
the dyeing of cotton goods are extehsive; en¬ 
terprises. Other manufactures include nails, 
boots and shoes, soap, rope, carriages, and 
granite quarry products; 

Fall River is a modern and regularly platted 
city. The streets are well graded, lighted, and 
paved with stone and macadam. Among the. 
public buildings are the city hall, the United 
States customhouse and post office building, the 
State armory, and the public library. Other 
"buildings of note include the Mount Hope 
School, the Fall River Conservatory of Music, 
the Notre Dame College, the Union Hospital, 
and the Boys’ Club. In 1887 the Durfee high 
school building was donated to the city. It is 
a fine structure of granite and is well equipped 
with apparatus for teaching the sciences. Fall 
River was a part of Freetown until 1803, when 
it was incorporated under its present name. In 
1804 it was named Troy, but the present name 
was restored in 1834. The growth of the city 
is due largely to an abundance of water power 
obtained from Fall River, the outlet of Wa- 
tuppa Lake, which is located on the eastern 
border of the corporation. Population, 1905, 
105,697; in 1910, 119,295. * 

FALSE IMPRISONMENT, the unlawful 
restraint of one’s liberty by detention without 
authority, of law. The false imprisonment of a 
person is a crime, whether the detention is in 
a prison, police station, or a private house, even 
if confined without bars or bolts, and a person 
guilty of the offense is liable to prosecution, as 
well as reparation to the party injured. How¬ 
ever, several exceptions are made, such as de¬ 
taining a madman or persons who are known 
to have committed a crime. Other exceptions 
are those made in favor of parents, guardians, 
and teachers, who restrain children under their 
authority within reasonable limits. 

FALSE PRETENSES, in law, the willful 
misrepresentations of fact to obtain money or 
other property of value. Any person who is 
guilty of obtaining a valuable consideration in 
this way may be punished by fine or imprison¬ 
ment or both. However, the pretenses must 
relate to a fact or state of facts which are rep¬ 
resented as existing at the time or already 
passed. Representation or promises as to what 
a party will do or what facts will occur in 
the future, no matter how false or groundless, 
are not considered misdemeanors. Besides, the 
party claiming to be defrauded by a false’pre¬ 
tense must have relied upon the representations 
as true. 


FALSETTO (fal-set'to), in music, the arti¬ 
ficial tone of the voice. The voice contains 
three registers—chest voice, head voice, and 
a third, which is not natural, and is called fal¬ 
setto or false voice. It is usually blended, by 
practice,, with the chest voice so as to make no 
perceivable break. 

FAMILY COMPACT, the name of an alli¬ 
ance concluded between France and Spain in 
1761. It was designed to unite all the branches 
of the house of Bourbon as a counterpoise to 
the maritime ascendency of England. By its 
terms the American colonies secured the aid of 
Charles III. of Spain, and Pitt proposed to de¬ 
clare war against that country, but he was out¬ 
voted and resigned. • ; 

FAMINE (fam'in), a widespread and dis¬ 
tressing scarcity of food, usually resulting from 
drought, war, flood, or insects. Tropical cli¬ 
mates subject to irregular rainfalls are most 
commonly affected by famines, though defective 
economic systems, such as the absence of articles 
of food and imperfect means of transportation, 
are prolific causes. In the Middle Ages famines 
were more numerous than at present for the 
reason that modern communication and trans¬ 
portation makes it possible to supply quite suc¬ 
cessfully the districts in want with the neces¬ 
sary means of sustenance. The most wide¬ 
spread famines of recent times have been ex¬ 
perienced in Asiatic countries, particularly in 
India and China. The great famine visiting 
northwestern India in 1837-38 caused 800,000 per¬ 
sons to perish, and the one occurring in Bengal 
and Orissa in 1865-66 resulted in about a mil¬ 
lion deaths. In 1847 a famine visited Bengal, 
but it was not excessively destructive of human 
life for the reason that supplies were transport¬ 
ed rapidly to the afflicted districts, though nearly 
a half million died during the great famine in 
1877, which visited Bombay, Mysore, and Ma¬ 
dras. It is estimated that 9,000,000 persons per¬ 
ished at the time of the great famine in China 
in 1877-78, while the one in 1888-89, caused by 
the ! Overflow of the Yellow River, was equally 
destructive. One of the most remarkable fam¬ 
ines of India occurred in 1897, which was fol¬ 
lowed by a very destructive and widespread 
dearth of food in 1900. The most destructive 
famine of recent times visited China in 1902, 
when about a million people died of starvation. 

FAN, an instrument for agitating the air by 
the movement of a flat Surface, especially for 
cooling the face or causing the movement of 
air in a room. Devices for cooling the face 
by agitating the air were in use among the 
Greeks and Romans, and were introduced into 
western European countries shortly after the 


FANATICISM 


787 


FAR EASTERN QUESTION 


Roman invasion of Gaul and Germany. Those 
generally used are made of palm leaves, 
feathers, thin skin, wood, paper, or ivory, and 
are of various construction. Ventilating fans 
are propelled by steam or electric power. Those 
of the latter class have a simple motor with 
alternating electric currents, a fifty-volt trans¬ 
former current usually being sufficient to propel 
the fan. These ventilating fans are frequently 
seen in department stores, offices, and dining 
rooms, where currents of air are put in motion 
for the cooling effects. In mining, for" winnow¬ 
ing grain, urging combustion, cooling fluids, and 
other purposes contrivances of flat disks or 
waves are utilized, which, when propelled by 
machinery, revolve rapidly and induce strong 
currents, the force of the current depending 
upon the velocity at which the fan moves. See 
Blowing Machine. 

FANATICISM (fa-nat'i-siz’m), the term 
used to designate intemperate zeal or fero¬ 
cious enthusiasm. The spirit of fanaticism 
has frequently characterized political and re¬ 
ligious movements, in which advocates of re¬ 
forms were unduly enthusiastic, and often re¬ 
sorted to radical measures in endeavoring to 
further their ends. 

FANCY (fan'sy), in psychology, a term used 
in connection with imagination, of which it is 
a form. When the imagination combines the 
subjects it uses in such a way as to give a 
result that is pleasing, light, and playful, but 
still shows nothing of high purpose or of noble 
and cultivated taste, it is called fancy. Images 
of the fancy are dealt with by many of the 
poets and orators. The comparison made by 
Longfellow, in which the moon is likened to 
the paper kite of a school boy, is a mere fancy. 
In early life the imagination inclines more com¬ 
monly to the fanciful. This is evidenced by 
the productions of great writers, particularly of 
Shakespeare, whose early writings partake more 
of the fancy than do his later productions. 

FANDANGO (fan-dan'go), a famous dance 
of the Spanish people, dating from the Moorish 
occupation of Andalusia, though it is rarely 
danced, except at theaters and in parties given 
by the lower classes. It is said to have come 
into favor on account of the ecclesiastical au¬ 
thorities in Spain threatening to prohibit danc¬ 
ing. Accordingly, two parties were brought 
before the judges of a court, in which the fan¬ 
dango dance was given, and this resulted in its 
approval. In this form of dancing the parties 
never touch each other, but retreat, approach, and 
pursue each other in varied movements, volup- 
tousness being indicated by the movements. 
FAN PALM. See Palms. 


FARALLONES (far-ral-lonz'), an island 
group off the coast of California, situated 
thirty miles west of the Bay of San Francisco. 
It belongs to the State of California. The group 
consists of six islands, on the largest and most 
southern of which is a lighthouse with a flash 
light of the first order, at an elevation of 360 
feet above sea level. Great numbers of gulls 
and murres breed on these islands and furnish 
. vast quantities of eggs, which are gathered for 
the market of San Francisco. Many sea lions 
and several species of seals frequent the group. 

FARCE. See Drama. 

FAR EASTERN QUESTION, the prob¬ 
lem of international politics which at present 
is receiving attention from the leading nations 
of the world. In respect to territory it refers 
to Farther Asia, which in this sense includes all 
of the eastern portion of that grand division. 
It may be said that this issue of international 
politics dates from the time Prince Henry the 
Navigator explored an eastward route to the 
Indies, since which time the leading European 
powers have sought to control both the territory 
and commerce of the Orient. However, the be¬ 
ginning of the 20th century intensified interest 
in Far Eastern politics, particularly since the 
means of navigation have been improved and 
railroad building has become greatly extended, 
by which changed conditions western people have 
been enabled to compete more successfully in 
the Asiatic market. 

The rise of Japan as a political power is a 
potent factor in the Far Eastern Question, and 
the war between Japan and China in 1894-95 
is the beginning of an important epoch. The 
United States became more directly interested 
by annexing the Philippines in 1898, though it 
had already established itself as a factor by the 
annexation of the Hawaiian Islands. The policy 
of the United States has been to advocate the 
preservation of the integrity of China, and it 
has .insisted that all nations, irrespective of 
spheres of influence, be granted equal rights 
of trade in the Chinese Empire. Russia has 
long sought preponderance in Manchuria, prin¬ 
cipally because the control of that region is an 
essential in securing a broad outlet to the 
Pacific for the great Siberian railway system. 
However, Russian influence became greatly les¬ 
sened through the fortunes of war with Japan, 
and the latter country is not only a claimant to 
consideration, but is destined to exercise a wide 
influence in forming the future policy in regard 
to China and its industrial development. Ger¬ 
many, Great Britain, and France are the other 
three powers most concerned, since each has a 
foothold on the eastern shore of Asia. The 


FARGO 


788 


FARMERS’ ORGANIZATIONS 


trade of Shan-tung and the fertile valley of the 
Yellow River are largely in the hands of Ger¬ 
many, while Great Britain is strengthening her 
position in the Yangtze valley, and France is 
endeavoring to cross China with a railway line 
from French Indo-China to connect with the 
Trans-Siberian Railway in Russian or Japanese 
territory. 

In 1900 occurred the Boxer outbreak against 
foreigners, which was designed to preserve . 
China for the Chinese. The promoters of this 
movement look upon railroad building as par¬ 
ticularly favorable to the nations that advocate 
establishing spheres of influence until all of 
China is controlled by the commercial nations 
of Europe and America. No doubt the whole 
question will turn upon railroad building, and 
already transcontinental lines have been pro¬ 
jected both north and south. When completed 
these lines will carry a vast trade and furnish 
the means which will bring Europe into control, 
as well as open and maintain a wide market 
for the manufactures produced by modern 
methods. 

FARGO (far'go), a city of North Dakota, 
county seat of Cass County, on the Red River 
of the North, opposite Moorhead, Minnesota. 
It is on the Great Northern, the Northern 
Pacific, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint 
Paul railroads. The surrounding country is a 
fertile region, producing large quantities of hay, 
wheat, flax, oats, and other cereals. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are the post office, the 
county courthouse, the public library, the public 
high school, and the Protestant Episcopal and 
Roman Catholic cathedrals. It is the seat of 
Fargo College (Congregational) and of the 
State Agricultural College. Island and Wood¬ 
land parks are public resorts. The chief manu¬ 
factures include flour, clothing, brick, and ma¬ 
chinery. It has a large retail and jobbing trade 
in merchandise. Electric lights, sewerage, pave¬ 
ments, and public waterworks are among the 
improvements. It was settled in 1871 and incor¬ 
porated in 1875. Population, 1905, 12,512. 

FARIBAULT (far'i-bo), county seat of 
Rice County, Minnesota, at the confluence of 
the Cannon and Straight rivers, 52 miles south 
of Saint Paul. It is on the Rock Island, the 
Chicago Great Western, the Chicago, Milwaukee 
and Saint Paul, and other railroads. The sur¬ 
rounding country is fertile and contains many 
productive farms and dairying establishments. 
Among the manufactures are woolen goods, 
clothing, machinery, and cigars. The notewor¬ 
thy buildings include the county courthouse, the 
high school, the State institutions for the deaf, 
dumb, and feeble-minded, the Bethlehem Acad¬ 


emy for girls, the Seabury Divinity College, the 
Shattuck School for boys, and Saint Mary’s 
School for girls. It has electric lights, pave¬ 
ments, waterworks, and street railways. The 
principal manufactures are flour, woolen goods, 
musical instruments, clothing and machinery. 
It was settled in 1850 and incorporated in 1877. 
Population, 1905, 8,279. 

FARMERS’ INSTITUTE (In'sti-tut), the 
organization maintained for the purpose of pro¬ 
viding opportunities for discussion and advance¬ 
ment of agriculturists and stock raisers. The 
plans under which farmers’ institutes are or¬ 
ganized differ somewhat. In some instances 
they are conducted under the direction of offi¬ 
cials appointed by a board of agriculture, 
while in others the state or government makes 
an annual appropriation, by means of which 
institute meetings may be organized and main¬ 
tained throughout the agricultural districts. 
The course of study pursued includes topics 
relating to improved methods of cultivation, 
fertilization, care of machinery, stock raising, 
wool, mutton, and pork productions, transpor¬ 
tation to market, beautifying of farm life, and 
many other kindred subjects. It is usually 
customary to have experienced professors of 
agriculture and mechanic arts give a series of 
lectures in order to bring the practical experi¬ 
ence of the central stations in direct contact with 
the practical cultivators of the soil, the rearers 
of domestic animals, the workers in dairy es¬ 
tablishments, horticulturists, etc. In some in¬ 
stances the institutes are in session for several 
weeks consecutively, while in others local meet¬ 
ings are held at various points in the county 
or district, thereby facilitating the attendance of 
a larger per cent, of the industrial classes. 

In some instances, as in Michigan and sev¬ 
eral other states, the institutes are under the con¬ 
trol of a board of agriculture. The state appro¬ 
priation to defray the expenses of the institutes 
in New York aggregates annually about $15,000, 
while in Iowa the appropriation to each county 
may not exceed $50 per annum. Other states 
have plans whereby the same object may be 
attained, though the methods are very much 
diversified. Similar provisions have been made 
in Canada. The institute movement has pro¬ 
gressed most successfully in the states of the 
north and northwest and in Ontario and the 
western provinces of Canada. 

FARMERS’ ORGANIZATIONS ( or-gan- 
l-za'shuns), the societies or parties organized by 
farmers for the purpose of bettering the con¬ 
dition of agriculturists, and influencing legis¬ 
lation favorable to the various lines of agri¬ 
culture, horticulture, floriculture, stock raising, 


FARNE ISLANDS 


789 


FAST 


and dairying. Among the first organizations of 
this kind was the Patrons of Husbandry, organ¬ 
ized by William Saunders, Aug. 5, 1867. This 
was formed on the plan of fraternal societies, 
under which certain degrees were given to mem¬ 
bers. The subordinate lodges or granges organ¬ 
ized under the system were governed by the Na¬ 
tional Grange and numbered about 26,000 in 1890. 
Later other organizations were formed, having 
a more or less political significance, among them 
the National Agricultural Wheel, the National 
Farmers’ Alliance, and the National Farmers’ 
Political League. In 1892 a convention of dele¬ 
gates from the various farmers’ organizations, 
together with delegates of the Knights of Labor 
and the People’s party, was held in Omaha, Neb. 
A platform declaring their principles was adopt¬ 
ed on the Fourth of July. Among the tenets 
declared were those of a graduated income tax, 
free coinage of gold and silver, government 
ownership of telephones and telegraph lines, 
reclamation of lands from aliens, and the eight- 
hour labor law. Gen. J. B. Weaver, of Iowa, 
was nominated for President and Gen. James 
Field, of Virginia, for Vice President. The 
party organized in this way received 1,055,424 of 
the popular and 22 of the electoral votes. 

FARNE ISLANDS (farn), or Fern Isles, 
a group of islands in the North Sea, off the 
east coast of England, opposite Northumberland. 
The group includes seventeen islets of rocky 
formation. Navigation in the vicinity is very 
dangerous. They were the scene of the heroic 
deeds of Grace Darling in 1838, when the 
Forfarshife was lost. A tower built to the 
memory of Saint Cuthbert is on one of the 
islands. They belong to Great Britain. 

FAROE ISLANDS (faro), a group of 25 
islands situated in the North Atlantic, between 
Iceland and the Shetland Islands. The coast 
lines are largely rugged cliffs, rising abruptly 
to a height of 500 to 2,000 feet, while the inoun- 
tains of the interior contain extensive tablelands, 
none of which exceeds 3,000 feet above the sea 
level. These islands belong to Denmark. They 
are governed by resident representatives ap¬ 
pointed under the direction of the king. The 
inhabitants are descendants of Scandinavian 
people who settled here largely in the 9th cen¬ 
tury. Stromo is the largest island and'contains 
the capital, Thorshavn, which has a population 
of about 1,000. The islands are treeless, but 
have valuable deposits of peat and coal. Build¬ 
ing material and machinery are imported largely 
from Norway. The chief industries of the 
people consist of fishing, hunting, and sheep 
culture. Only seventeen of the islands are in¬ 
habited. The religion is exclusively Lutheran. 


Numerous schools are supported by government 
grants. Population, 1906, 15,821. 

FARTHING (far'thing), a coin of Great 
Britain, the fourth part of a penny. It was first 
coined by the Saxons, but the copper farthing 
did not come into use until 1665. A farthing 
is equal to about one-half a cent in the money 
of Canada and the United States. 

FASCINATION (fas-si-na'shun), any irre- 
sistable influence which captures or controls 
the will or intellect. That human beings are 
fascinated more or less easily by certain natural 
influences is admitted on every hand, but some 
go so far as to seek to revive widespread be¬ 
lief in the evil eye, an influence that the super¬ 
stitious thought existed, and by which individu¬ 
als could be compelled to act contrary to their 
wishes. Some naturalists think that certain 
snakes and other animals have this power over 
mice, squirrels, and birds, but it has been neither 
satisfactorily explained nor demonstrated. 
However, some think that serpents emit nar¬ 
cotic fluids whereby the weaker animals become 
stupefied, while others regard the force or in¬ 
fluence analogous to hypnotism. 

FASHION (fash'un), the prevailing style of 
usages, ornaments, and dress which is adopted 
by society and accepted by its members in ac¬ 
cord with a general law of interest. The 
fashions change from time to time. They are 
supposed to take form in line with the most 
serviceable in practice and the most elegant 
and decorous in design. When the various 
fashions of past ages are examined, it is 
found that the changes were rapid and marked, 
and that caprice was more often the cause than 
utilitarian motives. However, the desire to 
dress in fashion, to have every part of the ap¬ 
parel agree with the accepted style, is notice¬ 
able throughout the period of history. 

FASHODA (fa-sho'da), a town of the Egyp¬ 
tian Sudan, on the White Nile. It was occupied 
by the French under Captain Marchand in 1898. 
The British demanded its evacuation, but the 
French refused to comply with this demand 
until they themselves received commercial con¬ 
cessions in the region of the upper Nile and an 
approval to the extension of their possessions in 
the Central Sudan. Fashoda was founded by 
the government of Egypt in 1867 and is situ¬ 
ated in an unhealthful region. It has consider¬ 
able trade in produce and merchandise. 

FAST (fast), the voluntary abstention from 
food, a practice which originated as a religious 
discipline. It may be either a total abstinence 
for a brief time from all food, or only from 
certain kinds, as meat or leavened bread. The 
origin of the practice is very obscure, but it 








FAT 


790 


FATIGUE 


probably did not at first occupy nearly so 
prominent a place in Christian rituals as that 
to which it. afterward attained. Ahiong the 
ancient Egyptians fasting seems to have been 
associated with many religious festivals, notably 
that of Isis, but it was not compulsory. Among 
the Jews fasts were numerous, but the day of 
atonement was the only fasting day enjoined 
by the law of Moses. Mishna speaks of four 
others commemorating, respectively, the storm¬ 
ing of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the burn¬ 
ing of the temple by Titus, the sacking of 
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and the recep¬ 
tion of the news of the destruction of Jerusa¬ 
lem by Ezekiel and other captives. Other fasts 
were proclaimed by royal or other authority 
on special occasions. 

The New Testament enjoins no stated fasts, 
but several came into vogue subsequently, the 
fast of Lent taking the lead. In the 3rd cen¬ 
tury the Latins fasted on the seventh day. 
The Council of Mentz, in 813 a. d., ordered a 
fast the first week in March, the second week 
in June, the third week in September, and the 
last full week preceding Christmas. In the 
Roman Catholic Church there is a distinction 
between the days of fasting and of abstinence. 
The principal fast days of that church are the 
forty days of Lent, All Saints, the Immaculate 
Conception, Rogation Days, Assumption of the 
Virgin, Whitsuntide, and the eves or vigils be¬ 
fore certain festivals, as before Christmas day. 
To these are to be added the Ember Days, these 
being the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 
after the first Sunday in Lent, Whitsuntide, the 
14th of September, and the 13th of December. 
Abstinence is practiced on every Friday. 

The Greek Church observes as fast days 
Wednesdays and Fridays; Easter, 48 days; 
Christmas, 39 days; and several others. The 
Episcopal and Anglican churches recognize 
the fast as being praiseworthy, but give no 
directions concerning it. Their fasting days 
are every Friday, except Christmas day; the 40 
days of Lent; the three rogation days before 
Holy Thursday; and the Ember Days at four 
seasons. The Protestant churches in general 
do not observe fast days, but uniformly re¬ 
quire moderation in eating and drinking whole¬ 
some food. However, some denominations, as 
the Adventists, abstain from certain foods, such 
as the flesh of swine. 

FAT, an animal substance of a more or less 
oily character deposited in vesicles in the 
adipose tissue. It is a compound of oxygen, 
hydrogen, and carbon, and occurs mainly under 
the skin and on the surface of muscles, but also 
collects in considerable quantities around cer¬ 


tain organs, as the heart and kidneys. Fat sur¬ 
rounds the joints and is found in large quan¬ 
tities in -the marrow of the bones. Being light, 
soft and elastic, it forms an excellent packing 
material in the body, giving a rounded con¬ 
tour and smooth surface to the frame. Its 
chief use is for the purpose of nutrition, but, 
not being a good conductor of heat, it enables 
the body to retain a reasonable uniformity in 
temperature. In extremely cold climates fat 
is the principal food of man; for instance, the 
Eskimos subsist almost wholly on the fat of 
bears, seals, and whales during the season of 
extreme cold. Fatty degeneration is an ab¬ 
normal condition brought on by defective nu¬ 
trition or excessive use of alcohol, on account 
of which fatty granules take the place of 
healthy protoplasm in the heart, kidneys, 
muscles, and arteries. The sufferer retains the 
appearance of health, but is impaired by want 
of energy and muscular weakness. 

FATALISM (fa'tal-iz’m), the doctrine of an 
unchangeable destiny, according to which all 
things are preestablished by the Creator, or 
by'the.fixed laws of nature. It has given rise 
in theory to doctrines or predestination, and, 
in moral science, to such systems as those of 
Hegel and Spencer. The ancient Greeks held 
to the belief in fate so strongly that they re¬ 
garded it the controlling power of even the 
gods, while in 'modern times the Mohammedans 
regard all things predestined or decreed by fate, 
and consider the occurrence of an accident an 
impossibility. 

FATA MORGANA (fa'ta mor-gafria), a pe¬ 
culiar kind of mirage seen in Italy, especially 
between the coasts of Calabria and Sicily. It 
occurs in still mornings, when the waters are 
unruffled by breezes or currents, and the rising 
Sun shines down upon the smooth surface at 
an angle of 45°. Objects upon the opposite 
shore, of Sicily, upon the dark background of the 
mountains of Messina, are seen refracted and 
reflected upon the water in mid-channel, repre¬ 
senting large and duplicated images. Gigantic 
figures of men and horses move over the picture, 
interspersed with trees, castles, and palaces. 
Anciently it was supposed that the phenomenon 
is due to the fairy Morgana, hence the name. 

FATIGUE, the weariness which follows a 
long sustained application of the body or mind. 
It is a lassitude or exhaustion of strength 
which is due to continued bodily labor or mental 
exertion. A reasonable amount of fatigue is 
beneficial to both the body and mind, since it 
operates to increase the power of the muscular 
and nervous tissues, thus giving a larger meas¬ 
ure of strength and providing for greater future 



FATIMITES 


791 


FEATHER GRASS 


capability. However, the young and those who 
have a weak constitution need to exercise care 
in practicing sustained exertion, since it may 
have the effect of overtaxing certain muscles 
or nerves. Excessive muscular fatigue is fol¬ 
lowed by a loss of the contractile power of the 
muscle. In the nerves and brain it causes shrink¬ 
age of the nerves and a loss of sensibility and 
mental power. 

The term fatigue of materials is applied to 
the injury which results from stresses that ex¬ 
ceed the elastic limit of materials. If a bar of 
wrought iron has an ul¬ 
timate strength of 55,000 
pounds per square inch, 
in which the elastic limit 
is 25,000 pounds, a single 
application of a load will 
not cause a rupture un¬ 
til the ultimate limit of 
strength is reached. 

However, when the ap¬ 
plication exceeds 25,000 
pounds per square inch,, the molecular structure 
is altered, causing the iron to become brittle, 
and a rupture may occur under a stress much 
less than its ultimate strength, perhaps at 35,000 
pounds per square inch. Engineers have form¬ 
ulated elaborate rules governing the fatigue of 
materials and make allowance for repeated 
stresses by means of definite formulas. See 
Strength of Materials. 

FATIMITES (fat'i-mits), the descendants of 
Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed. They con¬ 
stituted a powerful dynasty which ruled Egypt 
and Syria for more than two centuries, at the 
time the Abbasside caliphs reigned at Bagdad. 
They claimed as their founder Ismael, one of 
the imams who descended from Ali and Fatima, 
and attained the throne under Adu Mohammed 
Obeidallah, who became the ruler in 909 a. d. 
The dynasty was extinguished in 1171, on the 
death of Adhed, the fourteenth caliph. It was 
succeeded by a new dynasty established by 
Saladin the Great. 

FATTY DEGENERATION (de-jen-er-a'- 
shun), in pathology, a term which signifies a 
gradual displacement of-the healthy protoplasm 
by fat globules. These globules have no ele¬ 
ment essential in life, hence are destructive to 
the living tissues. They are liable to affect any 
of the tissues, especially the cellular and muscu¬ 
lar, and are a frequent cause of diseases of the 
heart and liver. Fatty degeneration of the kid¬ 
neys occurs in many cases of Bright’s disease. 
It is more common in old age, likely due to de¬ 
fective nutrition, and requires careful medical 
treatment. 


FAUBOURG (fo-boor'), the name applied 
in France to the suburb of a city, or to" a district 
recently annexed to the municipality: Saint 
Germaine, a fashionable quarter of Paris, is 
a faubourg of that city. 

FAULT, in geology, a displacement of strata 
of rocks along a plane Of fracture. Faults are 
frequently met with in working beds of coal, 
the miner Coming unexpectedly against an 
abrupt wall of other strata. The angle this 
makes in a plane of the bed he is working in¬ 
dicates whether he must look up or down for 


FAULTS IN STRATA OF ROCKS. 

its continuation on the other side of the dislo¬ 
cation, Beds are thus heaved from a few feet 
to several hundred or even a thousand feet. 

FAYAL (fi-al'), an island of the Azores, 
belonging to Portugal. It has an area of sev¬ 
enty square miles., A part of the surface is 
mountainous, rising to a height of 3,290 feet. 
The soil is fertile and the climate is favorable 
to Europeans. Among the chief products are 
live stock, cereals, fruits, and miscellaneous 
manufactures. Plorta, situated on an eminence 
3,000 feet above sea level, is the principal town. 
Population, 1908, 27,045. 

FAYETTEVILLE (fa'et-vil), county seat 
of Cumberland County, North Carolina, at the 
head of navigation on the Cape Fear River. It 
is on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and has 
communication ; by steamship lines. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include the county courthouse, 
the Donaldson-Davidson Academy, and the 
State normal school for colored students. 
Among the manufactures are cotton goods, ve¬ 
hicles, ice, woodertware, and tobacco products. 
It has a large trade in lumber, cotton, flour, and 
naval stores. The municipal facilties include 
waterworks, sewerage, and electric lights. It 
was settled in 1762‘and incorporated as a city in 
1893. It suffered severe losses during the Civil 
War, especially in 1865, when it was occupied 
by General Sherman. Population, 1900, 4,670. 

FEATHER GRASS (feth'er), a genus of 
grasses distinguished by their elegant and feath¬ 
erlike awns. The common feather grass is na¬ 
tive to the southern part of Europe, where it 
is found on the dry hills. It grows in closely 














FEATHERS 


792 


FEDERAL PARTY 


matted tufts, having numerous tall flower stalks 
with small florets, and the leaves have a dark 
green color. The tufts, if gathered before the 
seeds are ripe, retain their beauty throughout 
the winter. The esparto grass somewhat resem¬ 
bles feather grass. A species known as rush- 
leaved feather grass is native to the western 
part of North America. 

FEATHERS, the dermal growths forming 
the external covering or plumage of birds. 
Though chemically similar to the hair on the 
skin of mammals, they differ widely from it in 
form and color. As a general rule, feathers 
consist of a central shaft, which is tubular at 
the base, and is imbedded in the skin like a plant 
in the earth. On either side of the shaft is a 
web, beard, or wane consisting of barbs and 
barbules. Feathers are of two kinds —quills 
and plumes. The quills grow mainly on the 
wings and tail, while the plumes are generally 
diffused. Being poor conductors of heat, they 


are useful in preserving the temperature of the 
bird. They are renewed once or twice a year, 
which renewal is called molting. Some feath¬ 
ers are known as down and are the first feathers 
of the birds. Most birds are provided with an 
oil gland at the base of the tail, whose secre¬ 
tion the animal distributes at various times 
over the feathers by means of the bill. Feath¬ 
ers form an extensive article of commerce and 
are used for ornaments, plumes, bedding, pens, 
and many other useful purposes. 

FEBRUARY (feb'ru-a-ry), the second 
month in our present calendar. It has 28 days, 
except in a leap year, when it has 29 days. It 
was first placed after January by the decemvirs 
of Rome in 252 b. c. Originally it had 29 days, 
but, when the seventh month was named after 
Augustus, a day was taken from it and added to 
August, making the latter month the same 
length as July. 

FEDERAL HALL (fed'er-al), the name of 
the building used as the capitol in New York 


City, in which Congress met when that city was 
the seat of government. It w.as originally 
erected as a city hall, located on Wall and Nas¬ 
sau streets, and was rebuilt and placed at the 
disposal of Congress. However, New York re¬ 
tained the national capitol only a short time, as 
it was removed to Philadelphia in 1790, whence 
it was removed to the District of Columbia in 
1801. Federal Hall was torn down in 1836 and 
its site is now occupied by a subtreasury. 

FEDERALIST, The, a series of essays pub¬ 
lished in favor of adopting the Federal Consti¬ 
tution of the United States. They were writ¬ 
ten by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and 
James Madison, in 1787 and 1788, and appeared 
in the newspapers over the signature Junius. 
The Federalist had a wide influence and is 
counted among the political classics of the 
United States. Many editions with comments 
and indexes have been published. 

FEDERAL PARTY, the first political party 
which had control of the government in 
the United States after the adoption of 
the Constitution. When the Constitu¬ 
tion had been framed and sent by Con¬ 
gress to the states, in 1787, for ratifica¬ 
tion or rejection, those favoring accep¬ 
tance were called Federalists and those 
opposing it were known as Anti-federal¬ 
ists. The Federal party was led by 
Washington, Pickering, Adams, Ames, 
Jay, Hamilton, and Morris. By it the 
machinery of the new government was 
established, but in this enterprise the 
prominent leaders of the Anti-federalists 
were consulted. The district, circuit, 
and supreme courts were organized by the Fed¬ 
eralists ; the departments of State, Attorney- 
General, Treasury, and War were established; 
the debt created by the Continental Congress 
was funded; the debts of the states caused by 
the Revolution were assumed and funded; plans 
to repay money borrowed from Holland, France, 
and Spain were made, and, in 1791, the first na¬ 
tional bank of the United States was chartered. 
A strong opposition to some of these measures 
was conducted by the Anti-federal party under 
the leadership of Jefferson, Monroe, Randolph, 
Madison, Gallatin, Gerry, and others, who after¬ 
ward became leaders of the Democratic-Repub¬ 
lican party. In order to secure the consent of 
the southern and agricultural states, it was nec¬ 
essary for the Federalists to consent that the 
national capital be located on the banks of the 
Potomac River. 

The second measure of importance was the 
founding of the Bank of the United States un¬ 
der the leadership of Hamilton. In 1789 thq 



FEATHERS. 

Marabou Pheasant Toucon Bird of Paradise Ostrich 




FEEBLE-MINDED 


793 


felegyhAza 


system of levying duties on imports was com¬ 
menced. Each of these measures was carried 
out by a strict sectional vote, and the agricul¬ 
tural sections of the north and the. south began 
to oppose the tariff system, which gave Jefferson 
and Madison a source of strength in organizing 
the new party. Later the Federalists endeav¬ 
ored to bring the country into war with France, 
this being prevented only by the policy of Ad¬ 
ams, but it tended to divide the party. In 1798 
the passage of the alien and sedition laws for¬ 
ever destroyed its popularity. The party suc¬ 
ceeded in the election of Washington and Ad¬ 
ams, the latter being defeated by Jefferson, in 
1800, for reelection by a decisive vote. As an 
opposition party the Federalists took a strict- 
constructionist ground, while some of its lead¬ 
ers engaged in projects for the disruption of 
the Union. The policy pursued by the party 
during the War of 1812, and its general distrust 
of the people, caused its strength to wane and 
ultimately destroyed all hopes of permanent sue- 
ccss. 

FEEBLE-MINDED (fe'b’l minded), the 
state of being weak in intellectual power, or 
being mentally infirm, vacillating, or irresolute. 
It is a form of imbecility and differs from in¬ 
sanity in that it is less violent, being a form of 
feebleness rather than mental derangement or 
unsoundness. Little was done to build up a 
system of education which would aim at a suit¬ 
able treatment of those subject to feeble-mind¬ 
edness until 1848, when Samuel G. Howe, super¬ 
intendent of the Perkins Institute for the Blind 
at Boston, Mass., elaborated a plan of educa¬ 
tion for the feeble-minded. Formerly they 
were looked upon as idiotic and either treated 
in hospitals for the insane, or given such care 
as was possible in public schools or private in¬ 
stitutions. 

Massachusetts established a State institution 
for the feeble-minded in 1851, the first State 
institution in America founded exclusively for 
these unfortunates, and subsequently many of 
the states established such schools. The edu¬ 
cation of the feeble-minded is now considered 
a necessary and important part of the system 
of public schools, since it provides training for 
those unfitted to take up the regular work of 
instruction, and who are not sufficiently infirm 
to be taken to hospitals for the insane, since 
their training must be of a kind which will 
strengthen them mentally and tend to develop 
them to the highest degree of efficiency under 
a system of training which must begin at an 
early period in life. 

Institutions for the feeble-minded are gener¬ 
ally located on a large tract of land within 


easy reach of some town or city. In this way 
the inmates are removed from harmful influ¬ 
ences common to a populous section, and they 
are brought in contact with the things of na¬ 
ture and the influence of their teachers under 
more wholesome environments than those asso¬ 
ciated with the city. These institutions are in 
fact a home for the idiotic and the imbecile, who 
remain there permanently or until such a time 
as their mental condition will permit them to 
return home, or to fill some function in life 
safely and independently. The purpose is to 
keep the inmates occupied in pleasant and agree¬ 
able work, and at the same time teach them the 
rudiments of an education. The educational 
work is largely in the form of kindergarten ex¬ 
ercises, but those capable of mental progress 
learn to read, write, and sing. The male adults 
are taught to do work in the garden or orchard, 
while the females learn to knit, crochet, mend, 
and embroider. Much patience and diligence 
is required on the part of the teacher, who has 
charge of a small number of inmates, and the 
latter are graded as nearly as possible accord¬ 
ing to their age and state of mental develop¬ 
ment. 

FEELING, in psychology, the power of the 
mind by which it is capable of experiencing or 
perceiving a mental act connected with some 
need or activity arising through the physical or 
the psychological nature. Psychical feelings 
have a purely mental source and arise from 
some conception or mental state. They are con¬ 
nected with some desire or activity, are accom¬ 
panied by pleasure or pain, and ordinarily are 
preceded by knowledge, leading to volition. 
The feelings are the source of all joy and sor¬ 
row, and furnish the motives in view of which 
we choose to act or do. At first thought it 
may appear that knowledge alone leads to voli¬ 
tion, but the influence exercised by desire and 
aversion is too apparent to be left out of ac¬ 
count. Feelings are classified as emotions, af¬ 
fections, and desires. The simple feelings, as 
of joy and comfort, are emotions; those that 
go out toward an object, as of love, are affec¬ 
tions ; and those in which a wish to possess is 
manifested, as to possess food or clothing, are 
desires. See Touch. 

FELDSPAR (feld'spar). See Felspar. 
felegyhAza (fa'led-y’-ha-so), a city of 
Hungary, 65 miles southeast of Budapest, with 
which it is connected by railway. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile farming country and has 
a considerable market in fruit, wine, grain, 
and cattle. The manufactures include pottery, 
clothing, cigars, and machinery. It has elec¬ 
tric and gas lighting, waterworks, and paved 


FELLAH 


794 


FENCE 


and macadamized streets. Population, 1906, 
35,403. 

FELLAH (fel'la), an Arabic word meaning 
peasant or farmer, applied to a laboring and 
agricultural class in Egypt. They form the 
bulk of the population and are descendants of 
the ancient Egyptians, intermingled with Arabs, 
Syrians, and other races of Africa and Eurasia. 
In social position they, are inferior to the Bed¬ 
ouins. The men are of medium height, have 
& dark color, a large head with a facial angle 
of about 90°, thick lips, and small hands and 
feet. The women tattoo themselves and marry 
at an early age. Fellahs exhibit the moral 
qualities of the ancient Egyptians, being intel¬ 
ligent, grave, and sober on the one hand; but 
idle, jealous, licentious, and of unbending ob¬ 
stinacy on the other. A few are Copts, but 
Mohammedanism is the chief religion.- 

FELLOWSHIP (fel'lo-ship), the name of 
a position provided in many of the institutions 
of higher learning, both in America and Eu¬ 
rope. The holder of such a positon is called 
a fellow, who is appointed to the place for em¬ 
inent scholarship, the object being to make it 
possible for him to pursue advanced studies. 
In some institutions the appointment is for a 
year only, while in others the . period ranges 
from five to seven years, and the holder of a 
fellowship receives an annual stipend and other 
valuable perquisites. The ranks of the facul¬ 
ties are frequently recruited from the fellows. 
In England many fellowships are tenable for 
life, though in some institutions, such as Cam¬ 
bridge, they are for a definite term of years. 
However, the income in England is larger than 
in America, since the fellows receive from $500 
to $2,500 annually. The trustees in some in¬ 
stitutions of the United States are called fel¬ 
lows. 

FELSPAR (fel'spar), or Feldspar, a group 
of minerals which embraces many species. In 
some form, it is the principal constituent of 
granite, gneiss, greenstone, and many other 
rocks, while clays seem. to have resulted very 
generally from its decomposition. The min¬ 
erals of this group occur in crystals and crystal¬ 
line masses, are vitreous in luster, and break 
rather easily in two directions at right angles 
to each other. The colors are usually white, 
flesh-red, bluish, or greenish. All kinds of fel¬ 
spar are so hard that they cannot easily be 
scratched with a knife. They are fused with 
difficulty, but are quite soluble in acids. Sev¬ 
eral species are of a fine grade, including those 
known as potash felspar, lime felspar, and 
soda felspar. A nearly colorless, variety, known 
as moonstone, is often cut into ornaments and 


is prized almost as a gem. Another species with 
golden-yellow specks, called sunstone, is very 
rare and beautiful and commands high prices. 
Labradorite, obtained chiefly in Labrador, and 
Amazon stone, found in the Ural Mountains, 
are esteemed as precious stones. In decomposi¬ 
tion felspar not only yields clay, but also the 
mineral kaolin, both of which are essential ele¬ 
ments in the manufacture of fine pottery and 
porcelain. Felspar of commercial value is ob¬ 
tained in Greenland, in the Adirondack region 
of New York, in the Rocky Mountains of Brit¬ 
ish Columbia and Colorado, and in other sec¬ 
tions. 

FELT, a kind of cloth made without weav¬ 
ing by taking advantage of the natural tendency 
of the fibers of hair and wool to interlace with 
and cling to each other. The materials are 
carded more or less perfectly, steamed or moist¬ 
ened with hot water, and passed between beat¬ 
ers and rollers which press them into compact 
cloth or felt. This class of material is used 
extensively for carpeting and in padding coats, 
caps, cloaks, and . other garments. It is valu¬ 
able in making table covers, carriage-linings, 
upholstery work, and piano hammers, and for 
sheathing boilers and hot-water reservoirs. 
When saturated with pitch, coal tar, or asphalt, 
it is used for covering sheds and similar build¬ 
ings. Beaver hats are made in the same man¬ 
ner of the fur of beavers, rabbits, raccoons, 
and other animals. 

FEMUR (fe'mur). See Skeleton. 

FEN (fen), a tract of low land which is sub¬ 
ject to overflow, or is partially Or wholly cov¬ 
ered with water. The name is used extensively 
in England, where it has reference to the Fens, 
or Fen District, which consists *of a moor or 
boggy land that produces coarse grasses. These 
regions have a peculiarly rich soil and are fre¬ 
quently redeemed by drainage and the construc¬ 
tion of dykes. 

FENCE, an inclosure constructed of posts 
set in the ground, having fastened to them 
wire, rails, or boards. The posts are usually 
of wood, though iron is used for that purpose 
to some extent, and in regions having a large 
supply of rocks some fences are constructed of 
stone. Fences that inclose a yard are commonly 
made of boards of woven wire, while the larger 
fields and ranches are fenced with barbed wires. 
In some sections many fences are made' by 
planting shrubs together closely in rows, such 
as willow or osage orange, but these are not as 
common now as formerly, since they require 
considerable care and to some extent interfere 
with the growth of crops near the fence line. 
Barbed wire used for fencing is usually twisted 


FENCING 


795 


FERMENTATION 


of two strands, and the main wire has barbs 
from throe to four inches apart. It is the chief 
material in constructing fences, though its use 
is not permitted in the cities and along the 
roads in some states, where smooth wire is used 
instead. See Wire. 

FENCING, the art or practice of attack and 
defense with the sword or rapier. The instru¬ 
ment used chiefly is a small sword made to 
taper gradually from the hilt to the point, and 
the size depends upon the rules governing the 
practice. The rapier is a straight sword with 
a narrow and finely pointed blade, and is used 
only for thrusting. A blunt weapon called a foil 
is used chiefly in gymnasiums. It resembles 
a small sword in the main, but is usually lighter 
and has a button at the point to prevent acci¬ 
dents in practice. Fencing became popular 
among the noble and knightly class at the close 
of the 15th century, when it consisted chiefly 
of rapier and dagger play, and those engaged 
in the practice were covered with armor or 
carried a shield. It took first rank as a favorite 
form of exercise in the schools and gymnasiums 
of European countries, where it. is still prac¬ 
ticed quite extensively, but in America it never 
rose to a place of considerable importance as a 
school practice. The Amateur Fencers’ League 
of America, which is associated with the Ama¬ 
teur Athletic Union, is the most important fenc¬ 
ing organization in the United States. It has 
four competitive contests each year, the most 
important being with dueling swords and sa¬ 
bers, while the others are with foils. Fencing 
teams are maintained by the principal colleges 
and universities and these hold intercollegiate 
contests. New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and 
Montreal are classed as the leading fencing cen¬ 
ters of America. 

FENIANS (fe'm-ans), the name derived 
from a class of ancient Irish warriors, the 
Fianna or Fionna, founded as home guards in 
the 3d century. In modern times it was made 
the name of a political association that has for 
its aim the forcible liberation of Ireland from 
British sovereignty. The Fenian movement of 
the last century dates from 1857, when John 
O’Mahoney, James Stephen, O’Donovan Rossa, 
and other prominent leaders established a broth¬ 
erhood in America. The object was to make 
the United. States the base for operations in 
Ireland and Canada against the English, the 
central headquarters being in New York City. 

In 18G3 large sums of money were collected 
to organize for aggressive hostilities, and a con¬ 
vention was held at Chicago for the purpose 
of formulating plans. An attempt to invade 
Canada was made in 1866, but the object was 


frustrated by a capture of the stores of arms 
and provisions 'by United States authorities. 
About the same time an uprising in Ireland 
was suppressed by seizing the Irish People, a 
Fenian publication at Dublin, and arresting a 
number of leaders. Another effort was made 
to invade Canada in 1871, which likewise proved 
unsuccessful. An attempt to destroy British 
ships and prevent shipbuilding by the use of 
dynamite was designed in 1883, though the en¬ 
terprise met with little success, the principal 
promoters being apprehended and sentenced to 
penal servitude for a term of years. Within 
recent years the brotherhood, although having 
many sympathizers in Europe and America, has 
not pursued active operations, but organizations 
are still maintained. 

FENNEC (fen'nek), a small animal of Afri¬ 
ca, resembling a small fox. The tail is nearly 
as long as the body, which has a length of a 
foot, and the ears are three inches in length. 
It has a yellowish color, except the tip of the 
tail, which is black and bushy. The fennec is 
native to the Sahara Desert and is called Sa¬ 
hara fox by some writers. It burrows in the 
ground, where it spends most of the day, and 
at night comes out in search of food. It sub¬ 
sists on insects, birds, mice, lizards, and the 
tender -parts of plants. 

FENNEL (fen'nel), a fragrant umbellifer¬ 
ous plant cultivated in gardens to a considerable 
extent for its aromatic qualities. The flowers, 
are small and yellow or white, and the leaves, 
sometimes used in cookery, are finely divided. 
Among the common species are the giant fen¬ 
nel, common fennel, sweet fennel, and Indian 
fennel. The seeds are carminative and are 
used in medicine. 

FERGUS FALLS (fer'gus fals), a city in 
Minnesota, county seat' of Ottertail County, on 
the Otter Tail River, 186. miles northwest of 
Minneapolis. It is on the Northern Pacific and 
the Great Northern railroads. The noteworthy 
buildings include the county courthouse, the 
high school, the public library, the Park Region 
Lutheran College, and a State hospital for the 
insane. It has manufactures of flour, iron¬ 
ware, clothing, cigars, and machinery. The- 
Otter Tail River supplies an abundance of 
water power, by which various manufactories, 
an electric light plant, and several mills are op¬ 
erated. It was settled about 1861 and incorpor¬ 
ated as a city in 1863. Population, T905, 6,692. 

FERMENTATION (fer-men-ta'shun), a 
change which takes place in most animal and 
vegetable substances when they are exposed to 
air and moisture at ordinary temperatures. It 
is a chemical decomposition of an organic com- 


FERNANDINA 


796 


FERNS 


pound induced by chemical agents or by living 
organisms. In the, former, called unorganized 
or chemical ferments, the enzyme causes a struc¬ 
tural change without losing its identity, as in 
digestion; while in the latter, called organized 
ferments, the action is due to the growth of the 
ferment, as in the formation of acetic acid from 
alcohol by the action of the vinegar plant. The 
various organisms which produce fermentation 
apparently derive their nourishment from the 
original compound, and yield products that are 
poisonous to the ferment. It is for this reason 
that chemical decomposition ceases when fer¬ 
mentation products are in excess, or the nutri¬ 
ment is exhausted. It is arrested by certain 
substances, such as salt and alcohol, called anti¬ 
septics, as well as by heat and cold. 

Several kinds of fermentation are recognized, 
the name depending upon the specific product 
obtained. In alcoholic fermentation the sugar 
contained in liquids is converted into carbonic 
acid, alcohol, and glycerin; in acetic, the spirit¬ 
uous liquors become acid and produce acetic 
acid; and in putrid fermentation, organic sub¬ 
stances are altered in various ways, the altera¬ 
tion depending upon the nature of the sub¬ 
stance, and poisonous gases are generally set 
free. Besides these are ammoniacal, yielding 
ammonia; benzoic, yielding benzoic acid ; 
amylic, yielding amylic alcohol; viscous, yield¬ 
ing a gummy mass; lactic, yielding lactic acid; 
and 'butyric, yielding butyric acid. 

The various kinds of fermentation may be 
effected at different degrees of temperature, 
varying from about 24° to 104° Fahr. In diges¬ 
tion the ferments of the pancreas act on fibrin 
at 90°. Viscous fermentation, in which wine 
is made thick and viscous so it forms threads 
when poured, Occurs at a temperature of from 
60° to 104°. Alcoholic fermentation under cer¬ 
tain condition takes place readily at 24° to 30°. 
The ferments employed to excite fermentation 
are mostly organic, though there are many of 
an inorganic nature. Among the most com¬ 
mon fermented liquors containing alcohol and 
used as beverages are wine, made from the 
juice of grapes; mead, from honey; cider, from 
'apples; ale or beer, from an infusion of malt; 
and chica, from maize. The last mentioned is 
made in large quantities in South America. 
See Beer. 

FERNANDINA (fer-nan-de'na), a city of 
Florida, county seat of Nassau County, on 
Amelia Island, 35 miles northeast of Jackson¬ 
ville. It is on the Florida Central and Penin¬ 
sular Railroad and has a good harbor on the 
Amelia River, which separates the island from 
the continent. The city has a large trade, both 


inland and foreign, in lumber, cotton, phos¬ 
phates, and merchandise. A fine shell road ex¬ 
tends to Amelia Beach. Cumberland Island, 
located near the city, was the home of Gen. 
Nathaniel Greene and is the burial place of 
Light Horse Harry Lee. Fernandina was set¬ 
tled by the Spaniards in 1632, and was incor¬ 
porated in 1859. Population, 1900, 3,245. 

FERNANDO PO (fer-nan'do po'), an island 
belonging to Spain, located in the Bight of 
Biafra, about 20 miles off the west coast of 
Africa. It is 42 miles long and 20 miles wide, 
and has an area of 768 square miles. The sur¬ 
face is mountainous, but the soil is fertile and 
well watered. Clarence Peak, the highest sum¬ 
mit, has an altitude of 11,025 feet. The climate 
is hot and unhealthful. Among the chief prod¬ 
ucts are rice, bananas, corn, yams, and live 
stock. The Portuguese discovered the island in 
1471, but it became a part of Spain in 1787. 
Santa Isabel, the chief town, has a population 
of 1,500. The island is inhabited chiefly by na¬ 
tive Negroes and Portuguese. Population, 1908, 
21,346. 

FERNS, a class of leafy but flowerless plants, 
springing from a rhizome, which creeps on the 
surface of the ground, or rises in the air like 
the trunk of a tree. This trunk does not taper, 
but is of equal diameter at both ends. The re¬ 
productive organs consist of spore cases and 
are attached to the veins at the under surface 
of the leaves, or at their margins. Most ferns 
are comparatively small, while some tree ferns 



reach sixty feet in height. Seventy-five genera 
and about 4,000 species are known. Some ferns 
yield products useful for food, while other 
species contain properties which are of value in 
medicine for expelling tapeworms. The fronds 
of ferns, or their impressions, are frequently 


FERRARA 


797 


FERRY 


met with in a good state of preservation as early 
as the middle of the Silurian period. 

FERRARA (fer-ra'ra), a city in Italy, capi¬ 
tal of a province of the same name, situated on 
the Po River, about 26 miles northeast of Bo¬ 
logna. The site is low and unhealthful, but the 
streets are broad and well paved. It is an an¬ 
cient city and has many towers and bastions. 
Among the most beautiful of ancient buildings 
are the old ducal palace and several cathedrals. 
A number of fine monuments are in the public 
places, one being dedicated to Savonarola, who 
was born here. The public library contains 
100,000 volumes. It has modern municipal facil¬ 
ities, while railroad and telephone connections 
are well established. Among the manufactures 
are pottery, clothing, utensils, and machinery. 
Ferrara was an important city in ancient times, 
when it had 100,000 inhabitants, and its uni¬ 
versity dates from 1264. It was long held as a 
fief of the popes, came under the rule of the 
house of Este, and in 1797 was united with the 
Cisalpine Republic. In 1814 it was restored to 
the popes, but has been a part of Italy since 
1859. Population, 1906, 88,064. 

FERRET (fer'ret), a carnivorous animal of 
the weasel family, but closely allied to the pole¬ 
cat. In form and size it approaches the com¬ 
mon mink. It is native to Africa and cannot 



FERRET. 


endure excessive cold. The representative spe¬ 
cies are about fourteen inches long and of a 
yellowish color. Ferrets are much used, both 
in America and Europe, for destroying rats and 


for driving rabbits out of their places of seclu¬ 
sion. Several species are carefully bred in 
captivity, in which state they subsist on bread, 
raw meat, and milk. The black-footed ferret, 
found in the western plains of North America, 
is a species of the weasel. It is about two feet 
long, has a pale brown color, and the feet and 
tip of the tail are black. This animal is seen 
in the towns of prairie dogs, upon which it 
feeds. 

FERRIS WHEEL, an immense structure de¬ 
signed and invented by G. W. G. Ferris, and con¬ 
structed in Chicago in 1893 as a popular feature 
in the Midway Plaisance at the Columbian Ex¬ 
position. This great wheel, the largest ever 
built, contained two wheels of the same size 
that were securely connected by struts and rods. 
An axle thirty-one inches in diameter and forty- 
five feet long was at the center, while the spokes 
were iron rods two and a half inches in diame¬ 
ter, placed in pairs thirteen feet apart at the 
crown connection. Thirty-six cars were hung 
on the periphery, each having a convenient 
seating capacity for forty passengers. The 
weight of the wheel and passengers was 1,200 
tons, this immense burden being supported by 
substantial mechanical devices and a solid con¬ 
crete foundation. The circumference of the 
wheel was 825 feet; diameter, 250 feet; and 
elevation above the ground, fifteen feet, making 
a total height of 265 feet. It was * lighted 
throughout the exposition season by 3,000 elec¬ 
tric lights. The total cost of construction 
aggregated $300,000, while the number of pas¬ 
sengers carried during the period of operation 
was 1,454,013. It was taken down at the close 
of the exposition and erected near Lincoln Park, 
Chicago, and in 1904 was removed to the expo¬ 
sition in Saint Louis. 

FERROL (fer-rol')* a city of Spain, in the 
province of Coruna, on the Bay of Betanzos, 
twelve miles northeast of Coruna. It has a fine 
harbor and is strongly fortified. The manu¬ 
factures include hardware, leather, chocolate, 
cutlery, and firearms. Among the chief build¬ 
ings are those of the government, a number 
of churches, and several schools. The streets 
are wide and regular and are beautified by 
several squares and promenades. Electric lights 
and street railways are among the public util¬ 
ities. Ferrol was made a naval station by 
Charles III., and still has the largest shipbuild¬ 
ing interests in Spain. The French captured it 
in 1809 and in 1823. Population, 1907, 26,875. 

FERRY (fer'ry), a passage by boat across a 
small body or stream of water. Ferryboats ply 
back and forth across water to carry passengers, 
horses, vehicles, or any other form of traffic. 





FERTILIZERS 


FEUDAL SYSTEM 


Any mode of power may be used to propel the 
boat, which is usually fastened to a cable 
stretched from "bank to bank. Sometimes a 
pulley is placed over the cable and the action 
of the water in a running stream carries it 
across. Large ferries are propelled by steam 
and furnish transportation for several thousand 
passengers, as those operated in New York 
City across the Hudson and the East rivers. 
In some cases entire trains are transported by 
steam ferry, as across Hampton Roads, the 
Columbia River, and the Straits of Mackinac. 

FERTILIZERS (fer'ti-li-zerz), the general 
name of substances that are used to enrich the 
soil and promote the growth of plants. It is 
common to distinguish between homemade and 
commercial fertilizers, the former being known 
as manure and the latter as fertilizers. In a 
restricted sense the latter applies only to the 
materials that pass through some process of 
manufacture before being utilized in farming 
or gardening. They include such inorganic ma¬ 
terials as nitrate of soda, sulphate and chloride 
of potash, and variously prepared forms of 
sulphatic rock. Another class embraces such 
organic substances as guano, bone dust, and the 
refuse from slaughterhouses. Desiccated and 
ground sheep manure is a kind of commercial 
fertiliser. 

Stable manures are usually spread on the 
ground and plowed under, while commercial 
fertilizers are drilled into the soil in connec¬ 
tion with wheat, corn, rye, and other grains, 
and in this way the plant food comes in direct 
contact with the roots of the growing plants. 
The manufacture of commercial fertilizers is 
regulated by law in many states and provinces, 
requiring in most countries supervision under 
the state or government, and the different 
classes are tested and graduated on the basis of 
their utility as plant food. This is quite neces¬ 
sary, since the agricultural classes otherwise 
would be unprotected against the use of worth¬ 
less or harmful materials. See Manure. 

FESTIVALS (fes'ti-valz), or Feasts, a 
period of one or more days consecrated to com¬ 
memorate some important event or the observ¬ 
ance of some religious rite. Festivals were held 
by most ancient nations and have continued to 
be observed throughout the modern centuries, 
though in a modified form. At the time Homer 
wrote the “Iliad” it was customary among the 
Greeks to keep two principal festivals—those of 
the harvest and the vintage—in which the deities 
were borne through the assemblages, animals 
were sacrificed, and the sounds of music rent 
the air. The six sacred festivals of the Jews are 
enumerated in Leviticus xxiii. The ancient 


Greeks celebrated the festivals of Dionysia and 
Eleusinia and the Pythian, Olympic, Nemean, 
and Isthmian games, the four last mentioned 
constituting their great national games. Many 
festivals 'were celebrated in ancient Rome, but 
the Cerealia, Lupercalia, and Saturnalia con¬ 
stituted the more important. Many of the civil 
festivals of the Romans and Greeks were simi¬ 
lar in that they constituted warlike games and 
exercises. 

The festivals kept by the Christians give dis¬ 
tinct reference to Christ and other personages 
held important in the history of the church. 
Formerly each festival was known as a holy 
day , hence the name holiday. The observance 
of Sunday is of most frequent occurrence. 
Other festivals designated in the Christian 
calendar have reference to events in the life of 
Christ, such as Christmas, Annunciation, Puri¬ 
fication, Easter, Ascension, Corpus Christi, 
Epiphany, Transfiguration, and Trinity. Nu¬ 
merous festivals are set apart to commemorate 
saints, apostles, and angels, though in most of 
the churches every day of the year is dedicated 
to some personage or event. The term holiday 
at present has particular reference to the days 
set apart by the government to commemorate 
some important personage or event. See Holi¬ 
day. 

FETICH (fe'tish), or Fetish, a word intro¬ 
duced by Charles de Brosses (1709-1777) in 
1760 in his publication, “Du Culte des Dieux 
Fetiches.” It was derived from the Portuguese 
word feitigo, meaning magic, a term which ex¬ 
presses the idea held by the Portuguese concern¬ 
ing the religion of the natives found in Western 
Africa. The name was applied by Comte in a 
general way to the primitive theories of religion, 
but Sir John Lubbock assigns it as the second 
stage in the evolution of religious thought, 
rather than as a form of religion. He takes 
this view for the reason that the idea of worship 
is not necessarily involved, since the Negro be¬ 
lieves that his deities can be compelled to com¬ 
ply with his desires by means of his fetich. 
Fetichism is a form of superstition which sup¬ 
poses the earth, feathers, trees, mountains, 
plants, serpents, and other animate or inani¬ 
mate objects to have a spirit, and that the per¬ 
son having possession of the object can utilize 
that spirit as a servant. If the spirit does not 
attend to all the possessor requests, he beats the 
object as if to inflict pain as punishment. 
The most extensive forms of fetich worship 
prevail in Guinea qnd other portions of Western 
Africa. 

FEUDAL SYSTEM (fu'dal), an economic 
system or condition in force throughout Europe 


FEVER 


799 


FEZ 


for many centuries. It was distinguished by 
the political and social ranks which were based 
on the tenure of feuds and fiefs, given as^ com¬ 
pensation for military service rendered by chiefs. 
Under these owners the land was sublet by allot¬ 
ment to their subordinates and vassals in con¬ 
sideration of like service to be rendered. Ac¬ 
cording to the feudal system, the king was the 
owner of all the land in his dominion, while 
noblemen held .certain tracts under grants from 
him at his pleasure, but usually on condition of, 
military service. When the Teutonic conquer¬ 
ors of the Roman Empire acquired paramount 
power, the feudal system made it possible for 
them to hold possession under the influence of 
noblemen, who were personally benefited. It 
had spread over all of France and Germany by 
the time William the Conqueror led his expedi¬ 
tion into England, and soon after all the land 
was seized and a feudal system was established. 
It prevailed in England in a widespread form 
until the restoration of Charles II. However, 
traces of it are still abundant, but the condi¬ 
tions are greatly modified. 

The people of England, who had acquired ab¬ 
solute possession under the Angles and Saxons, 
universally opposed the establishment of feu¬ 
dal ownership. Here the lands were said to 
be allodial to distinguish them from the feudal 
lands. Later both classes of ownership were 
recognized, the allodial estates being held by 
the noble and ordinary freemen and the feudal 
by those who were bound to serve some superior 
lord. The latter system possessed some ad¬ 
vantage in that it furnished greater security of 
life and property, hence it came to predominate 
as a matter of necessity. Even the minor nobles 
who owned estates voluntarily placed themselves 
for protection under some more powerful earl 
or duke, which gradually gave rise to the pow¬ 
erful principalities of Germany and the whole 
continent. 

The feudal system began to crumble with the 
rise of learning. Other causes of its decline 
include the spread of civilization, a wider 
knowledge of the rights of citizens, the rise of 
cities, and a change in the modes of warfare. 
Traces more or less prominent are still found 
in some countries, such as landowners holding 
title only as tenants from lords or titled nobles. 
On the banks of the Rhine and in many regions 
of Germanic and Romanic countries are re¬ 
mains of the system, such as castles formerly 
occupied by feudal barons and numerous vil¬ 
lages in which dependents were grouped for 
religious worship and educational instruction, 
FEVER (fe'ver), a disease or group of dis¬ 
eases characterized by an accelerated pulse and 


increased heat of the skin. Fevers usually 
commence with chills, loss of. appetite, feeling 
of lassitude, pains in the back and limbs and 
nausea. They are classified into continued 
fevers, such as typhus or typhoid; intermittent, 
occurring at regular periods; remittent, such as 
yellow fever; and eruptive fevers, as smallpox, 
measles, and scarlet fever. Fevers are. com¬ 
monly named from the ailments w.ith which 
they are associated, as lung fever, which is con¬ 
nected with inflammation, of the lungs. The 
temperature in a low fever usually ranges from 
100° to 102°, which is not considered much 
above the normal, but in high fevers it frequently 
reaches 103° or even 105 9 . When the tempera¬ 
ture excels 105°, it is considered dangerous and 
may prove fatal. 

FEVERFEW, the common name of a peren¬ 
nial plant native to America and Europe, found 
near hedges and in waste places. It is allied 
to the wild chamomile, but has flat leaves and 
smaller flowers. The stem has many branches, 
is about two feet high, and has a strong aro¬ 
matic smell. It was so named from its use as 
a medicine in treating ague and fever and is 
still used as a tonic and stimulant. A double 
flowering species is cultivated in gardens: and 
a related plant yields the Persian insect powder. 

FEZ, the largest city in Morocco, capital of 
the province of Fez and the principal seat of 
government in Morocco. It is situated in a val¬ 
ley of the Atlas Mountains about 100 miles east 
of the Atlantic and 85 south of the Mediter¬ 
ranean. The valley is fertile and is drained by 
the Fez River, on which the city is located. 
Ancient walls surround the principal part and 
the city consists largely of inconvenient houses. 
It has angular streets and extremely poor sani¬ 
tary regulations. Among the public buildings 
are numerous mosques, one of which is the lar¬ 
gest in Northern Africa. The palace- of the 
'Sultan is an ancient structure, but it is in a 
state of good preservation. Many of the edi¬ 
fices have fine porticos and are beautified by 
trees and gardens. The university, founded in 
1859, is important as a seat of Moorish learn¬ 
ing. It has a large library, botanical gardens, 
and about 850 students. Among the municipal 
utilities are a number of public parks and 
some modern facilities, such as telephones, 
sewerage, and tramways. 

The commercial importance of Fez dates from 
times far remote, although domestic commerce 
is still carried on largely by caravans from and 
to the interior. The trade with Europe is ex¬ 
tensive, the exports consisting largely of grain, 
live stock, fruit, and local manufactures. 
Among the manufactured products are leather. 





FEZ 


800 


FIELD GLASS 


silk, woolen cloaks, fez caps, handkerchiefs, pot¬ 
tery, and utensils. Fez was founded in 793 a. 
d., by Edris II. It was the capital of an in¬ 
dependent state from 1202 until 1548, during 
which period it attained widespread prosperity, 
and was long famous as - a fc seat of Arabian 
learning. The inhabitants consist mostly of 
Moors, Arabs, Jews, Berbers, and Negroes. 
Population* 1908, 141,385. 

FEZ, a kind of brimless hat made of fine red 
wool, so named from Fez, Morocco, where it 
was first manufactured. It fits the 
head closely, has a blue or black 
tassel upon the crown, and is 
worn extensively by the Turks. 

The name tarbush is applied to it 
in Africa. 

FEZZAN (fez-zan'), a state in 
Northern Africa, situated south 
of Tripoli and attached to it for 
governmental purposes. The 
length from east to west is 380 
miles; width, 300 miles; and area, 

110,000 square miles. TJie surface 
is hilly and is traversed by the 
Jebel-es-Soda or Black Mountains, which trend 
east and west 170 miles and are not elevated 
above 3,000 feet: Much of the interior is made 
up of small oases, but the northwestern part is 
a waterless plateau and the southern section is 
a desert. It is largely unproductive, owing to 
an excessively hot climate and the absence of 
sufficient rainfall. The domestic animals consist 
largely of goats, sheep, camels, and cattle. 
Among the chief agricultural products are cot¬ 
ton, barley, wheat, millet, tobacco, vegetables, 
and fruits. The government is administered by 
a lieutenant governor under the pashalic of 
Tripoli, hence it is a dependency of Turkey. 
Murzuk is the principal town, having a popula¬ 
tion of 7‘,250. The inhabitants consist chiefly of^ 
Tuaregs, Moors, Arabs, Berbers, and Negroes. 
Little advancement has been made in the in¬ 
dustries and arts, many of the people being un¬ 
able to read and write. Arabic is the chief lan¬ 
guage and Mohammedanism of the Sunnite sect 
is the prevailing religion. The Romans con¬ 
quered the region in 19 b. c., when it was known 
as Phazania, and the people became Christians 
in the 6th century. In the 7th century it was 
conquered by the Arabs. Population, 1906, 
72,380. 

FIBER (fi'ber), or Fibre, a small thread, 
string, or filament of which the tissues of ani¬ 
mals and plants are constituted. Asbestos is 
the only mineral fiber known. The utility of 
fibers in the arts and manufactures depends 
upon the length, structure, strength, and ability 


to retain colors in dyeing. Among the more 
common animal fibers in use are wool, silk, and 
furs (q. v.). Vegetable fibers are employed ex¬ 
tensively in the arts and are obtained from dif¬ 
ferent parts of a large number of useful plants. 
Cotton fibers surround the seed of the cotton 
plant. Jute, hemp, and flax fibers are obtained 
from the bark of plants. The husk of the cocoa- 
nut and the leaves of various palms are used 
for making rope and mattiiag. In recent years 
the fiber of the sisal hemp has come into ex¬ 


tensive use for binding twine and rope. Ramie, 
or China grass, corn husks, Esparto grass, 
broom corn, Spanish moss, and vegetable sponge 
furnish fibers for manufacturing purposes. A 
majority of the finer textile fibers are obtained 
in the Temperate zones, but the larger number 
of fibers come from the warmer countries. See 
Cotton, Linen, Paper. 

FIBRIN (fi'brTn), a white proteid compound 
obtained when blood is coagulated, as by stirring 
fresh blood with a bundle of twigs. The fibrin, 
adhering in fibrous layers, is washed with water 
to remove the coloring matter. It is insoluble 
in water, but dissolves in an aqueous solution of 
nitrate of potassium, when heated to 40° Fahr. 
Normal human blood contains 2.55 per cent, of 
fibrin. Vegetable fibrin is a nitrogenous sub¬ 
stance resembling animal fibrin, and is separated 
from the seeds of cereals, and other plants. 

FICHTELGEBIRGE (fik'tel-ge-bgr-ge), a 
mountain range of Germany, on the northern 
frontier of Bavaria, about midway between the 
Bohmer Wald and the Erzgebirge. It has a 
general elevation of 3,000 feet, but Schneeberg, 
the highest peak, is 3,415 feet above the sea. 
This range of mountains separates the affluents 
of the German Ocean and the Black Sea, being 
the source of the Naab, the Main, the Saale, 
and the Eger. Much of the surface is covered 
with firs and pine. Copper, lead, and iron ores 
are mined extensively. 

FIELD GLASS, a small binocular, portable, 
terrestrial telescope for determining the exact 



FIBER OF HEMP. 

The light part shows the fibers after the pulp has been scraped off by a knife 
or stripping machine. 




FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD 801 


FIGHTING FISH 


distance of an object from the observer. It is 
used largely in armies to ascertain the distance 
of the enemy, and to range the guns on the basis 
of observations made by means of it. The 
common field glass resembles the telescope 
made by Galileo, having a large object glass to 
secure a brilliant image and a negative, or con¬ 
cave, eyeglass. An achromatic telescope, having 
from three to eight joints, being from fifteen 
to thirty inches long, is designated by the same 
name. 

FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD, the 

name of the place where Francis I. of France 
and Henry VIII. of' England met from June 
7 until 20, 1520, for an interview. The locality 
of the meeting is on a plain between Arde and 
Guisnes in the department of Pas-de-Calais. 
It was so named from the splendor of the ban¬ 
quets and the gorgeous trappings and apparel 
used by the participants. The meeting occured 
because Francis I. sought the friendship of 
Henry VIII. against Charles V. of Germany, 
but in this he was not successful. Interviews 
took place shortly after at Calais and Grave¬ 
lines between Henry VIII. and Charles V. 
Shakespeare gives a graphic description of the 
meeting on the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 
his “Henry VIII” 

FIERY CROSS (fi'er-y), a cross made by 
the Highlanders of Scotland, who called it the 
Crantara. It was constructed of light, dry 
wood and the extremities were burned to a 
char, after which the fire was extinguished by 
dipping in the blood of a goat. The Fiery 
Cross was carried from place to place as a sig¬ 
nal for men to hasten to arms in defense of 
their country. 

FIFE (fif), a small, shrill-toned, martfal 
instrument, either of wood of metal, in the 
form of a tube, having fingerholes and a blow¬ 
hole or mouthpiece. It is variously pitched, 
usually from D on the fourth line of the treble 
staff upward, and the compass is two octaves. 
The notes are shrill and somewhat harsh. Fifes 
and drums have been a source of much inspira¬ 
tion in the army during long marches and are 
still held in high esteem. 

FIFTEEN DECISIVE BATTLES. See 
Battle. 

FIG, a small fruit tree native to Asia Minor, 
but now cultivated in all the countries adjacent 
to the Mediterranean. About 300 known species 
are recognized, most of which are characterized 
by large leaves. Some are trailing vines and 
others are great trees. The average height of 
the fig tree grown for its fruit is about twenty 
feet. In favorable climates it produces*two 
crops of figs yearly, in the spring and autumn. 

51 


The fruit is a fleshy receptacle of a conical 
form. It is attached to the twig by the narrow 
end. At the larger end is a small opening as in 
a pear, the flower and seeds lining the interior. 
The fig is used as food and is employed in medi¬ 
cine as a demulcent and laxative. In a fresh 
state for table use it can be transported only 
a short distance, hence it is dried extensively 



FIG. 

A, Female Flower; B, Section of Fruit. 


and packed in boxes for the market. Dried 
figs form an important article of commerce, 
the best grade being imported .from Turkey 
and the Levant. However, the culture of the 
fig has been extended very largely the past few 
decades, especially in Australia and California, 
where the quality of the fruit is thought to be 
equal to that of Smyrna. 

FIGARO (fe-ga-ro'), the name of a journal 
issued in Paris, France, celebrated for publish¬ 
ing contributions from Jules Janin, Jules San- 
deau, George Sand, and a number of other 
able writers. It was so named from the 
comedies of Beaumarchais entitled “The Mar¬ 
riage of Figaro” and “The Barber of Seville.” 
The name was afterward adapted by Mozart 
and Rosini, by the former in his “Marriage of 
Figaro” and by the latter in his “Barber of 
Seville.” 

FIGHTING FISH, a small fish allied to the 
perch family, so named because it is used in 
captivity for fighting purposes. It is a small 
fish and is kept in glass globes. The color is 
dull, when the fish is quiet, but assumes a 
metallic luster when it becomes excited. Fight- 



FIGURES OF SPEECH 


802 


FILE 


ing fishes are native to the southeastern part 
of Asia, where they are used for gambling pur¬ 
poses. They attack each other immediately on 
coming in contact, hence much money is spent 
in betting on the result of the contest. 

FIGURES OF SPEECH, the variations of 
the literal or ordinary form of expression, the 
intention being to make the thought more at¬ 
tractive or more striking. The principal fig¬ 
ures of speech include the simile, metaphor, 
allegory, personification, antithesis, synecdoche, 
apostrophe, hyperbole, climax, and irony. They 
are usually divided into figures of rhetoric, 
figures of etymology, and figures of syntax. 
Figures of rhetoric are used extensively in 
poetical composition, being figures of thought 
rather than of grammatical form. Figures of 
etymology refer to the forms of words, as in 
the use of o’er instead of over, while figures 
of syntax have reference to variations in the 
construction of sentences. 

Simile is an expression of resemblance be¬ 
tween two different things, as in the sentence, 
'‘Religion is to the soul what life is to nature.” 
Metaphor is another figure which is founded 
upon the resemblance of one thing to another, 
but it differs from simile in that the expression 
is implied instead of being formally expressed. 
“Life is like an isthmus between two eternities” 
is a simile, while “Life is an isthmus between 
two eternities” is a metaphor. Allegory is 
founded upon resemblance, but the comparison 
is more extended than in simile and metaphor. 
It is designed to teach some abstract truth by 
the use of symbolic language, hence is in the na¬ 
ture of a short fable or parable. Personification 
consists in attributing life to inanimate things, 
as in the sentence, “The hungry flames swept 
onward.” Antithesis is founded upon unlike¬ 
ness, in which things are contrasted or opposed 
to each other. The expression “Science is 
deep as eternity; speech is shallow as time,” 
is antithetical. Apostrophe is direct address 
to the dead as if they were living, or to the 
absent as if they were present. A figure of 
synecdoche consists in putting a part for the 
whole, or the whole for a part, as in the exam¬ 
ple, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Hyper¬ 
bole is an exaggeration, as in saying “I am 
tired to death.” Climax is an ascending series 
of thoughts or statements which gradually in¬ 
crease in importance, as in “Liberty was lost,— 
all was lost!” Irony is disguised satire. We 
make use of this figure when we praise a thing 
and really mean to ridicule it. 

FIJI ISLANDS (fe'je), an island group in 
the South Pacific Ocean, consisting of about 
250 distinct islands, of which one-third are in¬ 


habited. They are situated 7,450 miles from 
San Francisco, east of the New Hebrides, and 
have an area of 8,050 square miles. The two 
largest are Vanua Levu and Viti Levu, the for¬ 
mer having an area of 2,600 square miles and 
the latter, 4,250 square miles. Most of the is¬ 
lands are of volcanic origin, but the group con¬ 
tains many atolls and coral reefs. Volcanic ac¬ 
tion and earthquakes are not infrequent. The 
climate is healthful, the soil is productive, and 
the natives have become largely educated and 
Christianized. Among the principal products 
are live stock, maize, . cotton, copra, sugar, 
peanuts, tobacco, pearl shells, and fruits. The 
government maintains two public schools and an 
industrial institute, at which about 200 pupils at¬ 
tend. The Wesleyan missionaries direct al¬ 
most entirely the educational affairs, their 
schools numbering 2,075, at which 35,500 pupils 
attend. Besides these, there are 145 schools of 
the Roman Catholic mission, at which 2,150 
pupils are enrolled. 

The Fiji Islands present one of the most 
favorable examples of effective Christianizing, 
fully 110,000 of the inhabitants being Christians, 
while not more than 75 years ago the natives 
ranked as the -fiercest of cannibals. Abel J. 
Tasman (1602-1659), a Dutch navigator, dis¬ 
covered them in 1643, and Captain Cook cruised 
among them in 1773. An influx of European 
settlers began in 1866, principally from Aus¬ 
tralia and New Zealand, and soon after the 
commercial interests of the Fijis grew to im¬ 
portance. Since 1874 they have been formally 
governed by Great Britain as the Fiji Colony. 
Suva, on the south coast of Viti Levu, is the 
seat of government. The inhabitants consist 
chiefly of Fijians, Indians, Rotumans, and Eu¬ 
ropeans, the last mentioned numbering 2,459. 
Population, 1906, 125,085. 

FILE, a .steel instrument for abrading or 
smoothing surfaces, having raised cutting sur¬ 
faces or teeth made by indentations of a chisel. 
Files are of various shapes, sizes, and fineness 
of cut. Those in common use are either flat or 
triangular in form. They are said to taper 
when they are thinner toward the point; to 
be parallel, when they are of the same dimension 
throughout; and blunt, when they grade between 
a taper and a parallel. Some types are square, 
round, or half-round. They are either single¬ 
cut, having but one row of teeth, or double¬ 
cut, having two sets of teeth crossing each 
other obliquely. A rasp is a similar instru¬ 
ment, but has coarser teeth and is used on 
soft materials, such as wood and the hoofs of 
horses. The file is one of the most ancient 
instruments, and is mentioned as early as 109 








FILEFISH 


803 


FINDLAY 


b. C. Only high grade steel is used in manu¬ 
facturing files. The cutting and tempering in¬ 
volve much skill and the use of complicated 
machinery. 

FILEFISH (firfish), a class of small fishes 
native to the tropical and temperate waters, 
so named because the stout dorsal spine is 
armed with two rows of barbs, giving the ap¬ 
pearance of> a file. Both jaws are furnished 
with teeth, each having eight teeth in a row, 
and the body is covered with hard rhomboidal 
scales. The barnacle eater, a species of file- 
fish, occurs in the Atlantic off New England 
and Newfoundland. It attains a length of 
eighteen inches, has a tawny color, and is fre¬ 
quently seen in aquariums. A species native 
to the Mediterranean is about two feet long. 
The filefish is allied to the trigger fishes. 

FILIBUSTER (ffl'i-bus-ter)., a name ap¬ 
plied originally to the pirates of the West In¬ 
dies. The word is of Spanish origin, in which 
language it designates a fast-sailing vessel or 
. flyboat. It came to be the name of the adven¬ 
turers who organized expeditions in the United 
States to gain control of West Indian and 
Central American regions with the hope of hav¬ 
ing them annexed to the United States, and 
thus to extend the slave territory. Gen. Wil¬ 
liam Walker, who was captured, court-martialed, 
and shot Sept. 12, 1860, was the most noted 
of the filibusters. The term filibuster has been 
introduced recently to designate the members 
of the minority of a legislative body, who seek 
to delay or defeat the adoption of measures 
obnoxious to them by raising questions of par¬ 
liamentary law, making motions to adjourn, or 
calling for yeas and nays. 

FILTRATION (fil-tra'shun), a process by 
which solid particles are separated from a liquid 
by causing the latter to pass through porous sub¬ 
stances, which retain the solid particles or im¬ 
purities. In constructing a filter it is necessary, 
to use materials that contain interstices or pores 
through which the liquid may pass, but they must 
be sufficiently fine to retain the solid particles. 
Ordinary plans for filtering may be illustrated 
in a device utilized in constructing cisterns, in 
which the water is passed through a porous 
substance, such as sandstone, brick, charcoal, 
silicated carbon, wood, gravel, powdered glass/ 
or others by which the solid particles may be 
retained. The most serviceable plan is to con¬ 
duct the water through a pipe to the filter, which 
is commonly made of various layers, such as 
sand,.gravel, charcoal, and other substances alter¬ 
nated, and, after passing through them, it is 
dropped into the cistern or tank beneath. A 
partition wall of brick, through which the water 


passes, is not an uncommon form, the water 
being dropped in on one side of the wall and 
drawn out for use at the other side. 

In order to preserve a good sanitary condi¬ 
tion it is necessary to have the filter constructed 
in Such a way that it may be removed and 
cleansed or replaced by other substances at 
least once or twice a year, otherwise the pores 
become clogged, or the mass solidifies by the 
particles retained, and thereby it becomes in¬ 
operative or impure. In filtering oils, syrups, 
ale, beer, and other similar substances it is cus¬ 
tomary to use horsehair, cloth, felt, skins, cane, 
clay, wool, capillary threads etc., this depending 
upon the character of the liquid to be purified. 
Charcoal made of bones is much more servicea¬ 
ble than wood charcoal, since it removes both 
the solid matter and many gases, and is utilized 
to reduce the color of alcoholic beverages and to 
whiten sugar. Mechanical devices are now used 
extensively to clean the water in tanks and cis¬ 
terns. They -are placed in the water and, by 
manipulating a valve, the entire body is forced 
through a small filtering cylinder, by means of 
which the particles become separated and are 
thrown out. However, it must be borne in mind 
that filtration removes only substances suspended 
mechanically in the liquid, while impurities or 
foreign substances existing in a dissolved state 
can be removed only by distillation. See 
Distillation. 

FINCH, the popular name of various small 
birds, many of them having fine plumage and a. 
beautiful song. They are usually called hard¬ 
billed song birds to distinguish them from the 
warblers or soft-billed songsters. Not less than 
550 species have been described, of which 135 
are found in Canada and the United States. 
Various species of the finches inhabit nearly all 
parts of the globe, except Australia, but they 
are most abundant in the Northern Hemisphere. 
They are variously known as bullfinch, chaffinch, 
hawfinch, and pinefinch. These birds may be 
distinguished by their strongly formed bill, suita¬ 
ble for crushing seed, which is their favorite food. 

FINDLAY (find'la), a city in Ohio,- county 
seat of Hancock County, on the Blanchard 
River, about 42 miles south of Toledo. It is 
on the Big Four, the Cincinnati, Hamilton and 
Dayton, the Lake Erie and Western, and other 
railroads. The surrounding country has ex¬ 
tensive deposits of petroleum, natural gas, and 
fire and potter’s clay. Among the noteworthy 
buildings are the county courthouse, the city 
hall, the public library, and the high school. 
It is the seat of Findlay College (Church of 
God-) and has a hospital and an orphans’ home. 
Among the manufactures are vehicles, machin- 


FINE ARTS 


804 


FINLAND 


ery, ironware, earthenware, clothing, glass, 
baskets, flour, pottery, and stoves. It is the 
focus of several electric interurban railways. 
The city has waterworks, pavements, sewerage, 
and a public park. It was incorporated in 1837. 
Population, 1900, 17,613. 

FINE ARTS. See Art; Architecture; 
Sculpture, etc. 

FINGAL’S CAVE (fin'gals kav), a cele¬ 
brated natural cavern on the island of Staffa, 
off the western shore of Scotland. The ba¬ 
saltic columns consist of immense dikes with 
diversified though symmetrical forms, and are 
joined to the rocks with much beauty. At the 
entrance it is 42 feet wide and at the end it 
has a width of 22 feet. It is 227 feet long. 
The height of the arched roof is 65 feet. The 
cave can be entered by small boats, since the 
low-water mark in the cave is about 20 feet. 
This cavern presents one of the most pictur¬ 
esque of the many nonvolcanic igneous erup¬ 
tions found in the earth’s crust. 

FINLAND (fin'land), a grand duchy of 
Russia, in the northwestern part of Europe, with 
an area of 144,550 square miles. It is bounded 
on the north by Norway, east by the govern¬ 
ments of Archangel and Olonetz, south by the 
Gulf of Finland, and west by Sweden and the 
Gulf of Bothnia. The region includes many 
lakes and marshes, the largest of the lakes 
being Kalla, Enare, Tornea, Saima, Payanne, and 
Ladoga. Many of these lakes are connected 
by canals, whereby commercial enterprise has 
been greatly facilitated. The railroads, with 
a total of 2,090 miles, are under government 
control and furnish connection with all the 
important commercial centers. The rivers are 
unimportant, and no great mountain eleva¬ 
tions exist. It has vast forests of conifers and 
oaks, which cover about one-third of the land 
surface, though coal and extensive fossils do 
not abound. Granite, copper, and iron ore are 
the chief minerals. Among the chief agricul¬ 
tural products are wheat, oats, rye, and bar¬ 
ley. The climate is affected by the adjacent 
water surface, rendering it suitable for the pro¬ 
duction of pears, apples, cherries, and small 
fruits, but the larger species thrive only in the 
southern portions. Many of the lakes and 
streams abound with salmon, trout, perch, pike, 
and other food fish. All the domestic animals 
common to Europe are reared with profit, es¬ 
pecially cattle, horses, sheep, and swine. The 
principal exports are fish, meat, leather, tex¬ 
tile fabrics, lumber, and grains. Coal, raw cot¬ 
ton, and foodstuffs are imported. The largest 
share of trade is with Sweden, Russia, and 
Germany. 


Government. The executive authority is 
vested in the Czar of Russia, who is the Grand 
Duke of Finland. A new constitution went 
into force in 1907, under which the legislative 
function is exercised by a diet of 200 members, 
who are elected by universal suffrage without 
distinction of sex. The state of education, like 
that of the Scandinavian countries, is on a 
high plane of efficiency, and greatly excels 
that of any other portion'of Russia. Nearly 
the entire population is able to read and write, 
the result of compulsory attendance laws and 
a free school system for both sexes. Helsing¬ 
fors is the seat of literary life and impulse. A 
university supported by government grants is 
maintained at Helsingfors, which has an at¬ 
tendance of 2,350 students. 

Inhabitants. The people consist mostly of 
Finns, whose language, the Finnish, is gen¬ 
erally spoken, but the higher classes generally 
speak Swedish. Lutheran, the established re¬ 
ligion, is the faith of practically the entire pop¬ 
ulation ; only 48,500 belong to the Greek 
Church. Only a small per cent, of the inhab¬ 
itants are Russians, but the country has a con¬ 
siderable number of Swedes, Lapps, and Ger¬ 
mans. Helsingfors is the capital and chief city. 
Other cities include Abo, Tammerfors, and 
Wiborg. Population, 1905, 2,982,088. 

Language. The Finns are allied to the Mag¬ 
yars of Hungary and the Laplanders, and differ 
in language and habits from the Russians and 
Swedes. The language is classed with the 
northern division of the Turanian or Uralo-Al¬ 
taic family, which is spoken by the people of 
Lapland, Olonetz, and Archangel. Their lit¬ 
erature is valuable on account of the richness 
and beauty of its poetry, and the language is 
not only agreeable, but has a wealth of vowels 
and diphthongs, and is uncommonly flexible. 
Within recent years several lexicons and treat¬ 
ises on their history, language, and literature 
have been published, while their tongue is taught 
in many of the higher educational institutions. 

History. The Finns had independent chiefs 
up to the 12th century and were a warlike peo¬ 
ple. They were conquered by the Swedes 
about 1150 and their conversion to Christianity 
followed soon after. Peter the Great of Rus¬ 
sia secured a portion of their territory by 
treaty in 1721, and Russia conquered the re¬ 
mainder from the Swedes in 1809; since which 
time it has belonged to that country. In 1903 
the privilege of autonomy was removed, but it 
was restored in 1905, at the time of the general 
strike in Russia. At the same time woman 
suffrage was established and social and finan¬ 
cial reforms were inaugurated. 




FINLAND, GULF OF 


805 


FIRE 


FINLAND, Gulf of, an extensive arm of the 
Baltic Sea, extending to the east between Fin¬ 
land on the north and the Russian governments 
of Saint Petersburg and Esthonia on the south. 
The width is from 10 to 75 miles and the length 
is 250 miles. It receives the outflow from 
Lakes Ladoga and Onega. Within the gulf 
are numerous islands, sandbanks, and shoals. 
The Russian government maintains several 
forts on the gulf. The shores are rocky and 
precipitous and the waters only slightly salty. 
It has a number of fine harbors, including those 
of Wiborg, Kronstadt, Reval, and Helsingfors. 

FINS, the organs of fish which serve to pro¬ 
pel, balance, or steer them in the water. They 



FISH, SHOWING FINS. 


usually consist of rays of bones covered with 
an elastic membrane. The pectoral or breast 
fins, a short distance behind the gills, are mod¬ 
ifications of the anterior limbs in other verte¬ 
brate animals, and the anal fins, near the anus, 
correspond to the hind limbs. The dorsal or 
back fin$ are from one to four in number, de¬ 
pending upon the species, and the ventral or 
belly fin usually is a modification of the skin. 
The tail is known as the caudal fin. Fins are 
usually divided into paired' and unpaired, the 
former including the pectoral and sometimes 
the anal and the dorsal. The term fin is often 
applied to the paddles.of a whale, but never to 
the hind feet of seals or the webbed feet of 
birds. 

FIORD (fyord), or Fjord, a name first used 
by the’ Scandinavians in describing a narrow 
bay that penetrates inland, and which is charac¬ 
terized by steep, rocky walls. Inlets of this 
kind are very common in Norway, and are 
thought to have originated from the combined 
action of glaciers and waves. Sogne Fiord, 
the most notable fiord of Norway, extends 
inland about 100 miles, and for this entire dis¬ 
tance has very high and precipitous walls of 
rock. Similar inlets occur on the coasts of 
Nova Scotia and New England, and they pre¬ 
vail more or less in British Columbia, Green¬ 
land, Patagonia, and New Zealand. The lochs 
and firths of Great Britain are in many respects 
similar to fiords. 

FIR (fer), a name once used coextensively 
with the widest sense of the word pine, but 


now restricted by botanists to the one genus 
Abies, which includes the spruce fir, silver fir, 
Norway spruce, and other species. The trees 
of this genus belong to the family Coniferae. 
They are distinguished from the pines by the 
flat, rounded apex of the scales of their cones, 
and by leaves not in clusters of definite number. 
Fir trees are found in many parts of Eurasia 
and America, where they occur in fine forests, 
and the lumber and other products derived 
from them are important articles of commerce. 
From the Norway spruce is obtained lamp¬ 
black, tar, turpentine, resin, and Burgundy 
pitch. The bark is used in tanning and for 
making baskets, the roots yield fibers for cord¬ 
age, and the wood is employed for fuel, house¬ 
building, and making masts and spars of ships. 
In the market the wood of the Norway spruce 
is known as Christiania deal and Dantzic deal. 
The white spruce, or white fir, which ranges 
from Lower California to British Columbia, 
is one of the finest trees of that region and 
attains a height of 300 feet. Hemlock forms 
dense forests in the northern part of the United 
States and Canada, extending as far as Hud¬ 
son Bay. The bark is valued for tanning, 
while the wood is used for construction pur¬ 
poses. In the northwestern part of North 
America is found the Douglas fir, often grow¬ 
ing 250 feet high. Spruce beer is made from 



BALSAM FIR. 


small branches of the black spruce, and Canada 
balsam is obtained from the balm of Gilead hr. 

FIRE (fir), the evolved heat and light pro¬ 
duced by ignition or combustion. The vividly 
perceptible ascending stream or current exhib¬ 
ited in the combustion of gases is called a flame. 
In ancient times it was regarded one of the 




FIRE ALARM 


806 


FIRE ENGINE 


four primary elements of which all things 
w T ere thought to be composed, the other three 
being earth, air, and water. Among the an¬ 
cients and even within comparatively recent 
times many superstitions regarding fire were 
common, such as led to fervid and devoted 
fire worship. Many uses of fire were known 
very early, though some of the common meth¬ 
ods of producing and controlling it are quite 
recent. The newer methods include its pro¬ 
duction by inflammable matches and its extinc¬ 
tion by chemical compounds, as by a mixture 
of dried ferrocyanide of potassium, chlorate of 
potassa, and sugar set in action by sulphuric 
acid, or by mechanical agencies. 

FIRE ALARM (a-larm'), an apparatus for 
communicating warning of a fire, either elec¬ 
trical or mechanical. An automatic arrange¬ 
ment is now in use which depends for its action 
upon the increased temperature of the air in 
the vicinity of the fire, or of the burning away 
of certain connecting cords which are stretched 
in exposed situations. In large cities there are 
stations where any person discovering a fire 
may turn in an alarm by touching an electric 
button, which immediately gives the street and 
number of the house on fire, at the central sta¬ 
tion, whence relief may be speedily despatched. 

FIREARMS. See Cannon; Gun; Rifle, etc. 

FIREBALL. See Meteors. 

FIRE CLAY, a variety of clay found in a 
stratum below the coal formations and some¬ 
times elsewhere. It is used in the manufacture 
of brick, tile, gas retorts, and other vessels 
suitable to withstand high temperatures. The 
principal constituents of fire clay are silica and 
alumina, accompanied by small proportions of 
iron, lime, magnesia, water, and organic mat¬ 
ter. Fire clay is found extensively in Canada 
and the United States and occurs in all the 
continents. 

FIRECRACKERS. See Fireworks. 

FIRE DAMP, an explosive coal-gas gener¬ 
ated in coal mines, consisting chiefly of light 
carburetfed hydrogen. When fire damp is 
mixed with from five to fourteen per cent, its 
volume of atmospheric afr, it is explosive. It 
is very dangerous to miners, the principal pro¬ 
tection being the safety lamp, though in most 
cases danger can be avoided by a good system 
of ventilation. Edison invented an electrical 
safety lamp which gives a strong light for sev¬ 
eral hours at a very trivial expense and, when 
any accident occurs to break the globe, the 
light instantly becomes extinguished. 

FIRE DEPARTMENT (de-part'ment), an 
organization maintained in towns and cities as 
a means of protection against fires. This de¬ 


partment of a municipal government is sup¬ 
ported by general taxation and may be cither 
paid or voluntary. A paid fire department is 
one in which the chief and his assistants are 
employed regularly on a salary, while a volun¬ 
teer department is made up of members who 
serve only when called by a fire alarm, and 
they are paid only for the time they actually 
attend fires. Some cities maintain both classes 
of organizations, as a means of security during 
large conflagrations, and the volunteers are 
paid only for the actual time of service. 

Paid fire departments are maintained in prac¬ 
tically all towns and cities that have a popula¬ 
tion of more than 9,000, and those in charge 
as employees of the city give their entire time, 
both day and night, to the duties incumbent 
upon them. The smaller cities have a single 
fire station, while the more populous places 
have a central and several branch stations, 
where the fire engines, ladders, chemical en¬ 
gines, hose carts, and other supplies are kept 
ready for use. One or more teams of well- 
trained horses are kept ready for call in. the 
stalls at the station. When an alarm is given 
by electrical devices, they take their places 
under the harnesses which are suspended in 
position before the engine or fire wagon, and 
the men, who promptly slide down poles from 
the room above, clasp the harnesses and are 
ready to start for the scene of the fir# without 
delay. Hose are attached to the hydrant of the 
waterworks, which supplies the necessary pres¬ 
sure, or, where an engine is used, the pressure 
is obtained through it, and the water is pumped 
direct from the hydrant. In many instances 
chemical engines are used and in some cases 
the work is supplemented 1}y a hook and lad¬ 
der company. 

FIRE ENGINE (en'jin), a machine de¬ 
signed to throw water for the purpose of ex¬ 
tinguishing fires. Mechanical devices for sav¬ 
ing buildings and cities from destruction by 
fire were used more or less for many centuries, 
though it is only within recent years that they 
have been brought to a high state of efficiency. 
They are mentioned in Roman history by Pliny, 
and appear to have formed a part of the muni¬ 
cipal facilities of Athens, Carthage, and Alex¬ 
andria. Several mechanical devices for throw¬ 
ing water to considerable heights were used 
extensively in Europe in the 16th century, the 
most successful of which were built in Augs¬ 
burg, Germany. Similar machines were con¬ 
structed at Nuremburg in 1657 and at London 
in 1730. They came into use in the cities of 
Canada and the United States about 1731. At 
present some form of fire engine is a part of 







FIRE ESCAPE 


807 


FIREFLY 


the necessary equipment for municipal protec¬ 
tion, not only in every city, but in all the towns 
and hamlets. 

Fire engines are a class of force pumps by 
which the water is subjected to a pressure suf¬ 
ficient to raise it to the necessary height, and 
are now generally worked by steam. In the 
smaller engines a cistern holds the supply of 
water, though in the larger a direct connection 
with the city water supply furnishes the neces¬ 
sary quantity to be rapidly thrown to great 
heights on burning structures. Steam fire en¬ 
gines have either rotary or piston pumps con¬ 
structed on a single or double plan, with either 
tubular flue or coil boilers. The larger weigh 
about five tons, though engines weighing about 
three tons are preferred on account of greater 
facility in moving them hastily to the point of 
danger. The capacity of these engines is from 
200 to 900 gallons per minute, the flow of water 
being controlled by an automatic relief valve. 

Fire engines are commonly drawn by horse 
power, though steam is employed in the larger 
cities, with good results. The first fire engine 
to be propelled by steam was used successfully 
in New York City in 1873. Many seaports 
have fire engines that are mounted on fire 
boats. In smaller cities and villages chemical 
fire engines are used with good results. By 
these a stream of water from one fourth to 
three fourths of an inch may be thrown 200 
feet by means of a chemical mixture with 
water, which produces carbonic acid gas and 
supplies the pressure necessary. A hose cart is 
used in connection with fire engines. It con¬ 
sists of a four-wheeled vehicle, supplied with 
about 1,000 feet of hose, and is moved along 
with the fire engine* to the place of danger, but 
in many of the newer chemical engines the hose 
is carried on the engine itself. The hose is 
made of cotton fabric. It is usually lined with¬ 
in and covered without by rubber, though there 
are several varieties manufactured for the 
trade. 

FIRE ESCAPE (es-kap'), a device for en¬ 
abling persons to escape from the upper parts 
of high buildings. Most tall, modern construc¬ 
tions are provided with iron ladders extending 
from the top of the building to the ground on 
the outside of the brick or stone work. They 
are put up as the masonry is built. Ladders 
capable of being drawn out like a telescope are 
preferred in some classes of buildings. Rope 
ladders with hooks at one end are a part of 
the equipment of many of the more important 
hotels and of some travelers. In many cases 
large nets of stout sailcloth or slender ropes 
are utilized for lowering persons to the ground, 


or for them to jump into while held from the 
ground by the firemen. Persons weighing 200 
pounds can safely jump one hundred feet into 
these nets. Some cities are provided with a 
cannon that shoots a projectile with a cable or 
rope attached over the building in which the 
danger occurs, and it is then fastened to form 
a means of escape. The construction and use 
of fire escapes are regulated by law in most 
countries. 

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS (eks-tin'gwish- 
erz), the chemical agents utilized in extinguish¬ 
ing fires. Various compounds are recom¬ 
mended for the purpose, the most common 
being a mixture of chlorate of potassa, sugar, 
dried ferrocyanide of potassium, and water, and, 
when sulphuric acid is brought in contact with 
it, gases are liberated and the whole is directed 
to quench the flame. All rooms in first-class 
hotels, passenger cars, and passenger compart¬ 
ments in steamboats are supplied with bottles 
of chemical fire extinguishers, by means of 
whidh conflagrations may be averted by prompt 
action. 

FIREFLY, the name commonly applied to 
all winged luminous insects. They abound in 
all the warmer latitudes, especially near wet 
and marshy grounds. Some have a steady 



GLOW WORMS. 

Male winged. Female wingless. 


glow, but most species, as they fly, emit and 
•conceal their light with much regularity at 
intervals of three or four seconds. In most of 
these insects the light proceeds from the last 
three segments of the abdomen. An adult fire¬ 
fly is shown in the accompanying figure, to¬ 
gether with a larva and a glow worm (q. v.). 
In most species of elaters the larva is more or 
less luminous. The common firefly or lightning 
bug is not much over half an inch long. Some 
species found in the West Indies are larger 
and emit light so powerful that small print may 
be read by means of it, while a fair light may 
be secured by confining a number in a glass 








FIREPROOFING 


808 


FISH 


vessel. Several species native to the West 
Indies emit light from two eyelike tubercles 
on the thorax. 

FIREPROOFING, a term used to describe 
the construction of buildings, treatment of por¬ 
tions of buildings, or apparatus by which they 
become partly or wholly invulnerable to dam¬ 
age by fire. The safeguards adopted early in 
the history of constructive building consisted 
of using brick or stone, and later iron entered 
into doors, lintels, and stairways. These and 
other methods are now in common use, while 
in large cities every building must be con¬ 
structed according to certain specified conditions 
provided by the city authorities. Wood treated 
with silicate of soda is made largely proof 
against fire, since the application of strong 
heat fuses it into a kind of glass that forms a 
shield of protection. Cloth or wood does not 
blaze, if impregnated with certain saline sub¬ 
stances, such as phosphate of soda or ammonia, 
borax, alum, and many other chemicals. Cloth 
may be treated with graphite in a bath and then 
placed in an electro-metallic bath apparatus by 
which the cloth is coated with metal. Woolen 
and ordinary fabrics are rendered fireproof by 
being treated with borax, alum, or soluble glass. 

Papers and valuable documents are preserved 
in fireproof safes, which are constructed with 
double walls, having the intervening space filled 
with a nonconductor of heat. In the tall build¬ 
ings of cities marked precaution is taken in the 
construction of all portions exposed to view, 
and, as a further safeguard, metal shutters are 
used to protect the outside windows against the 
entrance of fire from a neighboring building 
while burning. Besides, water pipes extend 
from the basement to the upper story, these 
being connected with pumps below, and there 
are water buckets, hand grenades, and mechan¬ 
ical extinguishers for protection against incipi¬ 
ent damage by fire. In many structures are 
stairways and openings by which entrance and 
passage of firemen to all parts of the building 
are facilitated. By these and similar means it 
is possible to protect and guard the larger 
centers of commerce against widespread fires, 
such as have destroyed portions of London, 
New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and other 
cities at different times. 

FIREWORKS, the common name of prepa¬ 
rations containing combustibles and explosives, 
such as charcoal, niter, and sulphur, with 
chemicals producing colored lights or scintil¬ 
lations in burning, and used to make displays 
at festivals, expositions, or at times of public 
rejoicing. Many forms are made, according to 
the effects desired, such as crackers, rockets, 


squibs, Roman candles, torpedoes, balloons, 
wheels, and other arranged pieces. Some are 
contrived with ingenuity and skill, and, when 
ignited, represent various pictures and devices. 
The powder utilized in fireworks is made ac¬ 
cording to the same principle as gunpowder, but 
with it are used charcoal, niter, sulphur, and 
other substances to influence the explosive 
properties and give tint or coloring. Filings 
of zinc impart a bluish color, iron or steel 
filings increase brightness, while a greenish 
tint is secured by copper filings. Besides this 
class, such chemicals as salt, lampblack, amber, 
and resin are used'. , 

The Chinese and Hindus manufactured fire¬ 
works many centuries before they became 
known to the Europeans, largely for the reason 
that they knew of gunpowder much earlier 
than western peoples. They utilized them at 
festivals and celebrations. Many of the dif¬ 
ferent devices employed in producing noise and 
illuminations at night are of Chinese manufac¬ 
ture, though within recent years large estab¬ 
lishments have been built in Europe and Amer¬ 
ica at which all classes of fireworks are manu¬ 
factured. The largest establishment of this 
character is located in New Jersey. Fire¬ 
crackers are among the most popular devices 
used at celebrations. They consist of a tube 
made of strawboard, are from two to fifteen 
inches in length, and have a diameter equal to 
about one-tenth of the length. The newer 
process of manufacture has made it possible 
for one person to make about 2,500 tubes per 
day. These tubes are plugged with pasteboard 
wad, cord, or pith at one end and at the other 
with clay or wood pulp, and in the latter a 
fuse is placed. The explosive is on the interior 
and with it the fuse articulates. When finished, 
the firecrackers are covered with an artistic 
red paper, dried, and packed ready for the 
market. 

FIRE WORSHIP. See Parsees. 

FISH, a group of vertebrate animals which 
live in water and breathe by gills. They are 



SKELETON OF FISH. 


distinguished by having paired fins and by not 
breathing by lungs in any stage of life. Their 
form is^ well adapted to permit them to move 


FISH 


809 


FISH CULTURE 


easily and rapidly through the water, tapering 
toward the extremities, but exceptions are nu- 
v merous. The typical character of the skeleton 
is evidently homologous with those of quadru¬ 
peds and man. The four limbs belonging to the 
usual structure of vertebrate animals assume the 
forms of fins. Fins, gills, and, most generally, 
scales are distinguishing features of fish. The 
heart contains only one auricle and one ventri¬ 
cle, receiving venous blood only, and sending it 
to the gills, where it is oxygenated and passed by 
the dorsal vessel into the greater and only cir¬ 
culation. Fish, with few exceptions, are cold¬ 
blooded animals; that is, they have a tempera¬ 
ture little above that of the water in which they 
live. When taken from the water, they die 
in consequence of the drying up of the fine 
fringes of the gills. 

In most fish the gills are situated at the back 
part of the sides of the head, usually four on 
each side, and consist of folds of membrane 
attached to the surface of the gill cavities, or 
a multitude of vascular membranous plates, 
generally in double fringelike rows fixed by 
the base. The gill orifices are covered by a 
bony plate whose motion expels the water, 
which is taken in by the mouth to. supply the 
gills with air. Fishes possess nerves and or¬ 
gans of all the senses, although the senses of 
touch and taste are dull compared with those of 
many other animals. Some fish are destitute 
of sight, while most species have large eyes 
and a very acute vision. Others have no teeth, 
but many species have a large number. The 
air bladder, an organ aiding them to maintain 
an equilibrium in the water, is found in many 
kinds. 

Fishes reproduce by means of spawn , or eggs, 
which, in some species, are fertilized in the 
body of the female and in others fecundation 
takes place at the time or after they have been 
extruded. The eggs are usually deposited in 
sand or gravel where the water is shallow. 
Many species leave the depths of the ocean and 
pass into fresh water for this purpose. A 
single codfish is said to lay nine million eggs. 
As a rule, they show no parental care either 
for their eggs or young, but some species build 
nests and watch over them. Fish, being cold¬ 
blooded, need no covering for warmth; hence, 
the scales serve for protection or as a defensive 
armor. While the skin of cartilagineous fish 
yields shagreen and the bladder of some fishes 
isinglass, by far their most important use con¬ 
sists in supplying man with food. 

Many species known as deep-sea fish are very 
peculiar and formerly were not known to exist. 
Many of them have no eyes, for the reason 


that sunlight is absent from the depths at 
which they thrive. Their peculiar structure 
enables them to withstand the low temperature 
and enormous pressure that are common at 
great depths. They live almost, if not entirely, 
upon animal life, as plants do not grow without 
the influence of sunlight. Many of the species 
have extended mouths and dilatable stomachs, 
which enable them to swallow and digest bodies 
much larger than themselves, or strain out 
material from sediment that settles down from 
above. The fins and tail are long and delicate, 
because of the perfect calm at such depths. See 
Fins. 

FISH CULTURE (kurtQr), the industry 
embracing the education and labor devoted to 
the growth and propagation of fish. The an¬ 
cient Egyptians and Chinese were highly 
skilled in pisciculture and gave it marked at¬ 
tention, for the reason that the subsistence of 
large masses depended to a vast extent upon 
the food-producing qualities of their interior 
and adjacent waters. Since then the art may 
be traced through successive centuries. It is 
not difficult to realize the vast benefit that the 
industry yields to the people of Western 
Europe, and its wholesome influence upon the 
commercial aspects of America. Since the 
large fish feed upon the smaller, and the latter 
upon the eggs, it is apparent that these influ¬ 
ences, in connection with the fishing industry, 
tend to greatly limit and ultimately depopulate 
the waters of the finny tribe. 

The discoveries made by Stephen Ludwig 
Jacobi, of Westphalia, Germany, in 1748, led 
to the art of increasing fish by stripping the 
females of their eggs and fertilizing them by 
the milt taken from the male fish. From this 
discovery and those made later by L. J. R. 
Agassiz it became possible to breed and rear 
fish more extensively than had been possible 
previously, and by skillful application and care 
preserve, feed, and fatten them. We find as a 
result that waters before unproductive have 
been populated with various species, such as 
the California salmon, California brook trout 
char, whitefish, shad, and German carp. Many 
streams and lakes have been populated with 
fish, as the shad, which has been planted in the 
rivers of Georgia, and the whitefish fry has been 
introduced in Lake Erie. Besides, the waters 
of California, Canada, and many European 
countries have been restocked, and the more 
valuable kinds have been greatly increased in 
numbers. 

Much advancement has been made in fish cul¬ 
ture in the United States, where it is now pur¬ 
sued more extensively than in any other country. 


FISHERY 


810 


FISK UNIVERSITY 


The industry is under the jurisdiction of the 
United States Fish Commission, a bureau estab¬ 
lished by act of Congress, Feb. 9, 1871. The 
primary object originally was to investigate 
the food fish of the seacoast and inland waters 
of the United States. Since then the duties of 
the bureau have been widely extended, and the 
whole now constitutes one of the most import¬ 
ant functions in the service of. the government. 
Many valuable reports and bulletins have been 
distributed annually, these relating to various 
branches in the different phases of the industry. 
They have been instrumental in disseminating 
accurate and scientific knowledge of the art. 
The several states have, been supplied with vari¬ 
ous kinds of fish, the annual distribution often 
aggregating 200,000,000 eggs and fish, of which 
three-fourths are infant and adult fish and about 
one-fourth are eggs. At colleges of agricul¬ 
ture and other institutions under State and Fed¬ 
eral control, such as are now quite common, the 
industry has been carefully studied. Along with 
fish culture proper, the artificial culture of lob¬ 
sters, oysters, mussels, and other Crustacea is 
growing in importance. 

FISHERY (fish'er-y), the business of catch¬ 
ing fish or other aquatic animals, but relating 
also to the locality where marine life and fish 
are found in paying quantities. The objects 
for which fishing is conducted include pearls, 
corals, sponges, whales, turtles, shellfish, seals, 
and many others, besides the various species of 
fin fish. Among the chief methods of fishing 
are those employing drawnets,spears, lines, and 
dredges. The most important of the fresh-water 
fisheries include those of the salmon, in which 
sportsmen employ fly hooks, while fishers gen¬ 
erally use stakenets- and drawnets. Other im¬ 
portant fresh-water fish embrace the perch, eel, 
trout, pike, and catfish. Measured from the 
standpoint of profit, the oyster, cod, herring, and 
haddock are the most productive sea fisheries. 
Countries bordering on the sea naturally possess 
the most valuable fisheries, among which Can¬ 
ada and the United States take very high rank. 

Disputes regarding fishery rights have taken 
on the form of international questions, and have 
occupied the attention of diplomats, especially 
those involving the United States and Great 
Britain at different times. The Bering Sea 
question, which occupied the attention of both 
governments for some time and attracted par¬ 
ticular attention in 1896, is one of the most im¬ 
portant. Under the fishery laws the owner of 
the soil and streams, or bodies of water, is en¬ 
titled to the exclusive right to fish in such water. 
Where the owner has land adjacent to both sides 
of the stream, he enjoys the sole right to fish in 


the entire stream lying between his property, 
and, where his possessions are only on one side, 
his right extends to the center of the stream. 
In streams and bodies of water belonging to 
the State or Federal government the right to 
fish is abridged or authorized by general laws. 
In many of the states fishing is strictly pro¬ 
hibited, except at certain periods of the year, 
even in the bodies of water belonging to private 
owners, while in some it is made unlawful to 
fish with drawnets and to use more than two 
or three hooks on a line. Such legislation is 
deemed necessary In order to protect the waters 
from being totally depopulated, and to preserve 
a fair aggregate of the different kinds of fish 
at all times. Besides, damaging influences, . 
such as dams, the discharged sewage, and other 
unwholesome and obstructive agencies, are pro¬ 
hibited under suitable penalty, and it is made 
the duty of officers to prosecute investigation 
for proper protection. 

Newfoundland has some of the most valuable 
fisheries in the world, especially in cod, herring, 
and haddock. The Great Lakes yield whitefish, 
sturgeon and Michigan herring. Salmon are 
caught in large numbers on the Pacific coast, es¬ 
pecially at the mouths of the Fraser and Colum¬ 
bia rivers. Manitoba and Minnesota are es¬ 
pecially noted for the fisheries in hundreds of 
lakes. Rapid transportation by railways has 
made it possible to supply many sections of the 
country with fresh fish, even in the summer 
season. 

FISH HAWK, an eagle or other rapacious 
bird which preys upon fish, as the bald eagle 
or the osprey. This genus of birds is widely 
diffused, being found both in warm and cold 
climates, and is grouped with the family Fal- 
conidae. It is singular among the falcons in 
preying exclusively upon fish, and to this end its 
whole structure and habits are adapted. The 
fish hawk is about 22 inches long, and has a 
dark brown color variegated with gray and 
white. It has a short, broad, rounded bill, a 
long tail, expansive wings, and remarkably 
rough scaly, pointed toes, suitable for grasping 
its slippery prey. The feathers are destitute of 
supplementary plumes and very oily. These 
birds are found near the sea, lakes, or rivers, 
and are everywhere birds of passage, going 
toward the warmer zones soon after the appear¬ 
ance of frost. They catch their prey by diving 
into the water and grasping it with the talons. 
See illustration on following page. 

FISK UNIVERSITY, an institution of 
higher education for colored persons, organ¬ 
ized by Clinton Bowen Fisk at Nashville, Tenn., 
in 1865. The institution is coeducational under 



FITCHBURG 


811 


FLAG 


the nominal jurisdiction of the Congregational 
Church, and maintains courses of study in medi¬ 
cine, theology, normal teaching, industrial arts, 
and advanced sciences. It has about 30 instruc¬ 
tors, 550 students, a fine line of apparatus, and 
a library containing about 10,000 volumes. The 
annual income is about $7,500. 



OSPREY. 


FITCHBURG, a city and one of the county 
seats of Worcester .County, Massachusetts, on 
the Nookagee River, fifty miles northwest of 
Boston. It is on the Boston and Maine and 
the New York, New Haven and Hartford rail¬ 
roads. The public buildings include numerous 
churches, several high schools, a public library 
and art gallery, and a public hospital. Educa¬ 
tional advancement is facilitated by a number 
of scientific societies. It is the seat . of the 
Fitchburg State Normal School. Among the 
manufacturing establishments are iron found¬ 
ries, machine shops, cotton, woolen, and flour 
mills, paper mills, shoe and .shirt factories, and 
wood-turning establishments. The streets are 
finely paved, well lighted, and connected with 
suburban districts by electric car lines. It has a 
growing trade in merchandising and farm prod¬ 
uce. Fitchburg was settled in 1719, was a 
part of Lunenburg until 1764, and was incor¬ 
porated as a city in 1872. Population, 1905, 
33,017; in 1910, 37,826. 

FIUME (fe-oo'ma), a seaport city of Hun¬ 
gary, on the Adriatic Sea, at the mouth of the 


Fiumara River. It has a fine harbor on the 
Gulf of Quarnero and has convenient railroad 
facilities. The manufactures include paper, 
tobacco, machinery, soap and clothing. Among 
the principal buildings are a municipal theater, 
a naval academy, the town hall, and the Church 
of Saint Vitus. It has a large interior and 
foreign trade. Fiume was a town of the Byzan¬ 
tine Empire. It became a possession of Aus¬ 
tria, in 1471, and since 1779 has been an imperial 
city of Hungary. Population, 1905, 39,603, 

FIVE FORKS, the site of a battle fought in 
Dinwiddie County, Virginia, April 1, 1865. It 
was Grant’s intention to cut General Lee off 
from Petersburg, and he accordingly dispatched 
Sheridan with cavalry and Warren with in¬ 
fantry to the extreme left, where Lee had 
stationed Pickett. Sheridan attacked the in- 
trenchments at Five Forks held by Pickett’s 
corps, but was driven back. On the next day 
he was reinforced by Warren’s corps and car¬ 
ried the fortifications, taking 5,000 prisoners. 
The Union loss was 1,000 men. As a result 
Petersburg evacuated on April 2, and Richmond 
fell soon after. 

FIVE NATIONS. See Iroquois. 

FIXED STARS. See Stars. 

FLAG, a banner used as a mark of distinc¬ 
tion by a company, party, sovereign, or. na¬ 
tion. It consists of a piece of cloth, usually 
square, oblong, or triangular. The material is 
commonly of bunting, either plain or bearing 
a device, and is displayed as a standard, sym¬ 
bol, or signal by being attached by one edge to 
a staff, or to a halyard, by which it may be 
hoisted on a pole. The Egyptians originated 
the idea of standards early in their history, 
which is verified by inscriptions on very ancient 
sculptures and temples.- That the Greeks and 
Romans followed by the adoption of standards 
and ensigns is clearly borne out by the gon¬ 
falon, which was borne in. the Roman army 
near the commander in chief during an engage¬ 
ment. In the Middle Ages the pennon was used 
by; a knight, while the standard served the pur¬ 
pose of distinguished persons. The cross ap¬ 
peared in the banners of the Crusaders during 
their historic upheavals in mediaeval European 
history. 

The flag of Denmark. is the oldest among 
European standards. It is red with a white 
cross and dates from the 13th century. The 
union of the three crosses of Saint George, 
Saint Andrew, and Saint Patrick .first des¬ 
ignated the union of Scotland with the king¬ 
dom of Great Britain, and later it symbolized 
the union of this kingdom with Ireland. It is 
known as the union jack, which at present con- 








FLAG 


812 


FLAGEOLET 


stitutes the naval flag. In the British flag is a 
quartered field, one quarter blue, one quarter 
yellow, and two quarters red, which bears the 
insignia of Ireland, Scotland, and England. 

The imperial flag of the German Empire is 
yellow, containing in the center the imperial 
arms and a gold shield. It is divided into 
quarters by the iron cross, three black eagles 
and the crown appearing on each of them. The 
Turkish Empire has a red flag, with eight point¬ 
ed stars and a crescent moon; the latter be¬ 
came historic in distinction from the cross of 
the Crusaders. Russia has a yellow flag, on 
which the Russian arms are conspicuously dis¬ 
played, but its naval flag is white with diagonal 
bars of blue. All nations and many sovereigns, 
states, principalities, and provinces have flags ap¬ 
propriate to their purpose, usually bearing a 
more or less decorative field in commemoration 
of some historic event. 

Flags are borne on the masts of ships to de¬ 
signate the country to which they belong and 
to indicate the rank of the commanding officer. 
The regiments of an army are distinguished 
from each other by the flags they bear. A yel¬ 
low flag borne on a vessel denotes, quarantine 
and a red flag, that powder has been taken on 
board. A white flag is by the consent of all 
nations a flag of truce, and a vessel bearing 
such a flag is met by a vessel or boat under 
charge of a commissioned officer bearing a 
white flag. When a flag is lowered or hoisted 
to half the height of the staff on land or to 
half the mast of a ship, it indicates mourning. 
A flag is lowered or is pulled down as a mark 
of respect for a superior officer. To indicate 
distress, it is reversed. Aside from their use 
as emblems and to designate certain officers, 
flags serve an important purpose in mercantile 
and national navies as signals by which to com¬ 
municate. They are used extensively for 
weather, railway, survey, and other signals. 

In America the Colonies used the British flag 
prior to the separation from England, though 
several others had been proposed early in the 
agitation for separation. The first was one 
bearing the inscription “Jon 1 * or die,” and, 
when the purposes of resistance to the British 
began to assert themselves more forcibly, a 
flag bearing a rattlesnake was designed. It bore 
the motto “Don’t tread on me.” However, 
Canada continues to use the imperial flag of 
Great Britain, but it also has a banner of its 
own, the Federal flag of Canada. See Canada. 

The present national flag of the United States, 
called the stars and stripes, originated June 14, 
1777, when the Continental Congress resolved 
that “the flag of the United States be thirteen 


stripes, alternate red and white, and that the 
union be thirteen white stars on a blue field.” 
Congress changed the flag to fifteen red and 
white stripes and fifteen stars in 1794, but in 
1818 an act was passed by which the original 
thirteen stripes and fifteen stars were restored, 
as the addition of a new stripe *for each addi¬ 
tional State would make the flag unwieldy. At 
that time it was provided that the thirteen hori¬ 
zontal stripes, which represent the thirteen origi¬ 
nal states, should be continued, while a new star 
should be added to the number with the admis¬ 
sion of a new State into the Union, the addition 
to take effect on the Fourth of July next suc¬ 
ceeding the admission. The first flag un<Jer 
this law was hoisted over the Capitol of the 
United States in 1818. It remains unchanged, 
except as to the number of stars. The last ad¬ 
dition of a star was made in 1907 after Okla¬ 
homa was admitted to the Union. 

FLAGELLANTS (flaj'el-lants), a class of 
Christians which originated about the year 900, 
who thought that flagellation is a reasonable 
penance. It was recommended by the abbot 
of Prum, in Rhenish Prussia, about that time, 
but did not become popular until 1260, when it 
came into prominence in connection with the 
struggle between the Guelphs and the Ghibel- 
lines. The second outbreak occurred in 1349, 
when the black plague was raging in Europe, 
and a third movement took place in 1414, at 
which time many became dissatisfied with the 
rule of the popes. The Flagellants enrolled for 
a period of 34 days; that is, one day for each 
year Christ lived on earth. They were strip¬ 
ped to the waist and scourged themselves with 
knotted whips as they marched from place to 
place, carrying banners and singing songs of 
praise. When blood was drawn as the re¬ 
sult of flagellation, it was thought to atone 
for their own and others’ sins. Since they 
belonged to the party of the Guelphs, they were 
permitted to continue their practices by the 
Pope, but in 1349 Clement VI. issued a bull 
against them. Gregory VI. designated them as 
heretics in 1372, because they were said to con¬ 
sider flagellation more important than the 
sacraments. This sect had adherents through¬ 
out Western Europe, extending from Italy to 
Denmark and England. 

FLAGEOLET (flaj'6-let), a wind instru¬ 
ment with a mouthpiece like a common whistle. 
It resembles the flute and is usually made of 
boxwood or ivory. Most instruments of this 
class are provided with a large aperture near 
the mouthpiece and six or more finger holes. 
The range is two octaves and the tone re¬ 
sembles that of the piccolo, but is softer in 


FLAG OFFICER 


813 


FLAMINGO 


quality. Flageolet tones is the name given to 
the harmonic notes of the violin, violoncello, 
and other stringed instruments, which notes 
are produced by lightly touching the strings 
with the finger, thus producing a node, the 
string vibrating on both sides of the finger. 
See Harmonics. 

FLAG OFFICER, a term used to designate 
a naval officer of rank high enough to com¬ 
mand a fleet, or a subdivision of a fleet. Such 
an officer carries at the masthead a flag in¬ 
stead of a pennant, and is the naval equivalent 
of the general officer in the military. The ves¬ 
sel of the flag officer is called the flagship. 

FLAG OF TRUCE, a signal that one of two 
contending naval or military forces desires to 
suspend hostilities. The flag used for such 
a purpose is white, and indicates that the party 
displaying it wishes to communicate or sur¬ 
render. Firing upon a flag of truce is a breach 
of the naval or military code, and such an of¬ 
fense subjects the guilty party to severe re¬ 
taliation and punishment. A flag of truce is 
sent by the senior officer to one of like rank, 
but the party who is to receive it may refuse 
acceptance, and the party bearing it may be 
warned not to proceed farther by a shot fired 
across the bow. A failure to stop when thus 
warned renders the party liable to be fired 
upon. A flag of truce is not permitted to be 
used to obtain private information, but 
serves only as a signal that the party 
displaying it desires to communicate. 

FLAGSTONE, or Flag, the name of 
any rock that splits into tubular masses 
or flags, suitable for curbing, sidewalks, 
or doorsteps. Flagstones may be ob¬ 
tained from a variety of rocks, such as 
sandstone, limestone, and brownstone. 

A class of sandstone of the Devonian 
age yields bluestone which is well adapt¬ 
ed for paving purposes. 

FLAMBOYANT (flam-boi'ant), in 
architecture, a showy style of decoration 
used extensively in the 15th century. 

It originated in France and is a form of 
Gothic architecture. Its realistic and 
pictorial treatment of decorative sculp¬ 
ture corresponds to the Penpendicular 
style used in England about the same 
time. The windows and panels are dis¬ 
tinguished by flamelike tracery. The 
masterpieces of this style include the 
choir of Saint Severin in Paris and the 
fagades of the cathedral in Rouen. 

FLAME, Temperature of, the condition, 
with respect to heat, of a blaze rising from a 
burning body. A flame usually consists of sev¬ 


eral parts which differ from each other in 
temperature as well as in color and illuminat¬ 
ing power. The flame of a lighting device, 
such as a lamp or a gas jet, consists of an in¬ 
ner dark cone and a brilliant white envelope. 
In the center there is no combustion, hence the 
dark part of the flame, and the heat and the 
illuminating power are greatest where the com¬ 
bustion is most complete. The temperature of 
flames is a subject to which Rossetti gav£ much 
thought in 1878. After conducting careful in¬ 
vestigations with his calorimeter, he announced 
the following table of results: 


Locatelli lamp.1,688° Fahr. 

Stearin candle.1,724° Fahr. 

Petroleum lamp, with chimney.1,886° Fahr. 

Petroleum lamp, without chimney— 

Illuminating part.1,688° Fahr. 

Sooty envelope.1,436° Fahr. 

Alcohol lamp.2,147° Fahr. 

Bunsen burner.2,480° Fahr. 


The temperature of an electric arc, as de¬ 
termined by Violle, is about 6,332° Fahr. 

FLAMINGO (fla-min'go), a genus of mi¬ 
gratory birds which until recently were placed 
among the waders, but they are now generally 
classed among the swimmers. However, they 
very seldom use their webbed feet for swim¬ 
ming, the web formation being designed rather 
for support on the soft, muddy bottoms. 
The body is not large, but the long neck and 
legs permit them to stand from three and a 


FLAMINGO. 

half to four feet high. In many respects the 
bill resembles that of a duck, but it turns sud¬ 
denly downward near the middle, the mandi¬ 
ble being furnished with small toothlike edges. 



















FLAMINIAN WAY 


814 


FLATHEAD 


which serve to prevent the escape of crusta¬ 
ceans, mollusks, worms, fish, or seeds, the 
common food. Flamingoes are birds of power¬ 
ful wings and fly either in single file or in 
wedge-shaped flocks like geese, a single bird 
leading the way for the flock. The prevailing 
color is pinkish or reddish. The nest is made 
of mud scraped into a mound with the feet 
and hollowed out on top, in which two or three 
white Qggs are laid and hatched, the young 
reaching maturity in about a year. Flamingoes 
inhabit Eurasia, Africa, and America. When 
feeding, they keep their feet continually going 
to stir up the mild. Some of the older birds 
act as sentinels for security to the rest, 

FLAMINIAN WAY (fla-min'i-an), the 
chief road leading from ancient Rome to the 
northern provinces, so named from Caius 
Flaminius the Elder. It was platted tc Armin- 
ium by Flaminius in 220 b. c., at the time 
he was censor, and subsequently branches were 
laid out to all the important towns in the 
northern part of Italy. The length of the 
main road was 222 miles, which distance in¬ 
cluded many large grades and substantial 
bridges, remains of which are still found at 
some places. 

FLANDERS (flan'derz), the former name 
of a region of Europe, extending along the 
German Ocean. It is now included in Bel¬ 
gium, Holland, and France, forming the prov¬ 
inces of East and West Flanders, in Belgium; 
the southern part of Zealand, in Holland; and 
all of Le Nord, in France. The original in¬ 
habitants were Belgic tribes, who were sub¬ 
dued by Ceasar, and the region was added to 
Roman Gaul. Later it came into the posses¬ 
sion of the Franks and was added to Neustria 
by the Treaty of Verdun. Philip the Bold 
erected the territory into a government district 
in the 0th century and assigned it to his son- 
in-law, Count Baldwin I. In 1016 the town of 
Valenciennes was added and Ghent and the 
Zealand Islands became a part of the district 
about the same time. Hainaut, Alost, and 
Tournai were added in the reign of Baldwin 
V., after whose death the region was divided 
and passed consecutively to various countries. 

In the 12th century the manufactures and 
commerce of Flanders rose to vast impor¬ 
tance, and in the former part of the 14th cen¬ 
tury the Flemings were able to contest suc¬ 
cessfully with France. The latter country re¬ 
signed its claims to Flanders in 1526. After¬ 
ward it passed to the united houses of 
Austria and Spain, though Charles V. .of Ger¬ 
many ultimately secured control of the larger 
portion. A part was united with the Nether¬ 


lands by the Treaty of Westphalia, and other 
portions to France by the Treaty of the Pyre¬ 
nees in 1659, the Treaty of Nimeguen in 1678, 
and the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The other 
portions then remaining independent now form 
the provinces of East and West Flanders in 
Belgium. 

East Flanders has an area of 1,158 square 
miles and, in 1906, had a population of 1,052,970. 
The area of West Flanders is 1,249 square 
miles and the population, in 1906, was 812,962. 
Ghent is the capital of the former and Bruges 
of the latter. The soil is productive and care¬ 
fully cultivated, while the manufactures of the 
various products, such as laces, linens, and dam¬ 
asks, excel in quality. Both provinces have ex¬ 
tensive communication by canals, electric rail¬ 
ways, and steam railroads. 

FLANNEL (flan'nel), a woolen fabric dif¬ 
fering from broadcloth and cashmere in being 
woven of yarn which is twisted more loosely. 
It varies in degree of fineness, and is used 
very extensively for shirts and undergarments. 
By allowing the perspiration easy passage and 
not appearing -cold to the body, if damp, it 
is cooler in summer and warmer in winter 
than other fabrics. A class of loosely woven 
fabrics made of cotton are known as outing 
flannels. They have a napped face and many 
of the designs are colored attractively. An¬ 
other class, the domett flannels, are made with 
cotton warp and woolen filling. 

FLATFISH, the common name of all fishes 
that swim on their side, such as the sole, 
flounder, turbot, plaice, and halibut. The body 
is much compressed. The "side which is turn¬ 
ed toward the bottom is generally colorless. It 
is called the blind side, from the absence 
of an eye, since both eyes are on the upper 
side of the head. Some flatfishes have the 
right and others the left side turned toward 
the bottom. 

FLATHEAD, the name applied to various 
Indian tribes, owing to their custom of flatten¬ 
ing the skulls of infants by pressure. This 
practice was common to the fish-eating Chi¬ 
nook Indians on the Pacific coast; to the 
ancient natives of. Peru, both previous and 
subsequent to occupation by the Incas; among 
the Caribs of Florida and Central America; 
and, it is thought, among the mound builders 
of the Mississippi valley. The civilized Selish 
Indians are improperly called Flatheads, as 
they do not flatten the skulls of their children. 
They originally inhabited the valley of the 
Saint Mary’s River, but conveyed their lands 
to the United States, and were removed to 
Idaho in 1871, where they occupied the Jocko 


FLAX 


815 


FLEABANE 


reservation. They always were peaceable and 
are now advanced in education and the in¬ 
dustries. 

FLAX, an annual plant with alternate 
linear-lanceolate leaves, many-flowered broad 



cymes, usually yellow, blue, or white, and 
crenulate petals.. It embraces about a hundred 
species, which grow more or less widely dis¬ 
tributed in all warm and temperate climates. 
A large yield is reported in the United States, 
where, in 1907, the product was 25,862,000 
bushels. More than one-half of the crop was 
grown in North Dakota. The States which 
ranked next are Minnesota and South Dakota. 
Other regions which produce large quantities 
of flax are Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Argen- 
' tina, Russia, India, and Austria. How¬ 
ever, Argentina generally takes- the first rank in 
the production of flaxseed, while Russia is 
the leading flax fiber producing country in the 
world. Flax is grown very extensively, on 
account of the commercial value of the seed as 
w£ll as for its fiber. In most countries the 
virgin soil, when first broken, produces the 
best yield of flax. The ground is plowed in 
autumn or in the spring, depending upon the 
locality, and the seed is sown either in drills 


or broadcast, usually in April. When the crop 
is ripe, generally in August, it is cut with a 
harvester and is afterward thrashed with a 
machine to obtain the seed. 

A large amount of labor is required to se¬ 
cure the fibers in the best condition. For this 
purpose the crop is usually pulled up by hand, 
roots and all, and the seeds are removed by 
a process, called rippling. To obtain the lint, 
or flaxen fiber, from the boon, or core, of the 
stem, the bundles are steeped in water until 
the boon begins to rot, when it can be separat¬ 
ed readily from the fiber by means of a 
scutching blade or a machine. It is next hac¬ 
kled, or combed, after which it is spun into 
threads and woven into cloth. Linseed oil is 
pressed from the seed, and the residue is 
a highly fattening food for hogs and cattle. 
Flax was cultivated extensively in ancient 
times, both in Egypt and Asia, and linen is 
spoken of in the Book of Joshua. See Linen, 
Linseed Oil. 

FLEA (fle), a wingless insect, belonging to 
the hopping Diptera. It has two. lancetlike 
mandibles, a sucker, and a slender, bristle¬ 
like tongue, the whole incased between two 
three-jointed plates. The entire body is cover¬ 
ed with a tough integument. It is very ac¬ 
tive and can leap two hundred times its length 
in a single bound. The common flea thrives 
particularly in the nests of poultry and on the 
tfowls themselves. Some species infest the 
furs of animals and often prey upon man. In 
favorable weather fleas hatch in five or s’ix 
days, in about twelve days they inclose them¬ 
selves in a cocoon, and after eleven days 
more come out perfect insects. They are 



DOG FLEA. COMMON FLEA, a, proboscis. 


most numerous in dry climates and in filthy 
and uncouth places. 

FLEABANE (fle'ban), the name of several 
species of plants, widely distributed in all the 
continents. The common fleabane of England 
groWs to a height of fifteen inches, has pani- 
cled flowers, and is used in treating diarrhoea 
and dysentery. A species native to California 
yields ingredients useful in manufacturing the 
Persian insect powder and is recommended 





FLEMISH 


816 


FLINT 


for its medicinal properties. Horseweed, but- 
terweed, and sweet scabious are names ap¬ 
plied to species found in the Mississippi Val¬ 
ley, especially in the northeastern section. 

FLEMISH (flem'ish), the language spoken 
in a number of Belgian provinces, portions of 
Holland and France, and several countries ad¬ 
jacent to these. It is a form of Low German, 
or Platt-Deutsch, and differs but slightly from 
the German in pronunciation and orthography. 
In East and West Flanders, Limburg, Antwerp, 
and Brabant it is the universal tongue and gives 
evidence of but little change in dialect since the 
8th century. The language spoken is very simi¬ 
lar to the form of speech used by the Council 
of Liptines in 742, while preparing a creed in 
which pagans renounced idolatry when they 
embraced the Christian faith. 

The Flemish literature is comparatively 
modern, and before the 19th century it was 
identical with the Dutch. However, some of 
the early writers of the literature which be¬ 
longs to the Netherlands may be said to have 
laid a distinct foundation for the Flemish of 
modern times. Jakob Van Maerlant is regard¬ 
ed the father of Flemish poetry. He wrote 
several romances in which he treats the “Holy 
Grail,” while “Reynard the Fox” and the “Mir¬ 
ror of History” were produced in the same 
period. In 1618 a translation of the Bible was 
made into the Flemish. It contains such ele¬ 
gance of expression that it is regarded the 
standard authority in orthography and con¬ 
struction. French ascendency tended to limit 
the language and literature, but after the re¬ 
volution of 1830 it began to revive and take 
on its present form. Among the noted leaders 
in the revival of Flemish may be named 
Blommaert, Conscience, Van Duyse, Snieders, 
DeVries, Willems, Van Rijswijk, David Bor¬ 
mans, Willem Bilderdijk (1756-1831), and 
Snellaert. 

FLENSBURG (flens'bdorg), a city of Ger¬ 
many, in the province of Schleswig-Holstein, 
about forty miles northwest of Kiel. It is 
located on the Flensburg Fiord of the Baltic 
Sea and has railroad and electric railway facili¬ 
ties. The chief buildings include a court¬ 
house, a theater, a public library, and the 
Marienkirche. Among the manufactures are 
carpets, oil, machinery, clothing, and sailing 
vessels. It has a large trade in coffee, grain, 
and live stock. Flensburg was founded in the 
12th century. Population, 1905, 53,771. 
FLEUR-DE-LIS (fler-de-le'). See Iris. 

FLICKER (flik'er), the popular name for 
the golden-winged woodpecker, a beautiful 


bird common to the eastern part of Canada 
and the United States. It is about a foot in 
length, has an olive-brown color, with black 
and white markings,, and the head and neck 
are ash-colored. It winters in the southern 
part of the United States, moving northward 
on the early approach of spring. The food 
consists of worms and insects, which it ex¬ 
tracts from the trees, but it also feeds on ber¬ 
ries and the tender parts of plants. A large 
number of species of the flicker have been 
listed, including about 35. The red-shafted 
flicker is common to the region west of the 
Rocky Mountains, from Mexico to Alaska. 
Yellow-hammer, sap-sucker, and high-holder 
are other names locally applied to birds of 
this class. 

FLINT, a mineral regarded as a species of 
quartz, or as intermediate between quartz and 
opal, consisting almost entirely of silica. It 
has slight traces of oxide of iron, lime, and 
carbon, and contains some organic matter. 
Flint is usually gray, smoke-brown, or brown¬ 
ish-black, but is sometimes spotted or mottled. 
Dark-colored varieties are usually found im¬ 
bedded in chalk and are abundant wherever 
chalk formations prevail. Flint, when struck 
with steel, produces a spark of fire, which 
property was formerly made use of in fire¬ 
arms and for starting fires. Knives, axes, 
arrowheads, and various sharp weapons and 
cutting instruments are among the most in¬ 
teresting relics of antiquity. 

FLINT, a river of Georgia, rises in Clay¬ 
ton County, and flows by an irregular course 
to the southwest corner of the State, where 
it joins the Chattahoochee to form the 
Apalachicola River. The entire course of 300 
miles is through a rich agricultural and mineral 
country. Light-draft steamers navigate it as 
far as Albany, a distance of about 140 miles 
from its mouth. Larger steamers reach Bain- 
bridge, a distance of 50 miles. 

FLINT, a city of Michigan, county seat of 
Genesee County, on the Flint River, about 
sixty miles northwest of Detroit. It is on the 
Pere Marquette and the Grand Trunk rail¬ 
roads. Electric car lines, waterworks tele¬ 
phones, pavements, and electric lighting are 
among the municipal facilities. It has a fine 
courthouse, a public library, and a commodious 
high school building. It is the seat of Oak 
Grove Home, an institution for the feeble¬ 
minded, and of the State institution for the 
deaf and dumb. The principal manufactures 
include clothing, woolen goods, flour, ma¬ 
chinery, cigars, vehicles, and utensils. The sur- 


FLINT GLASS 


817 


FLORENCE 


rounding country produces large quantities of 
cereals and fruits. Flint was settled in 1820 
and incorporated as a city in 1855. Popula¬ 
tion, 1904, 14,884; in 1910, 38,550. 

FLINT GLASS. See Glass. 

FLINT IMPLEMENTS, the utensils for¬ 
merly used in performing manual labor and as 
instruments of war. Specimens are found fre¬ 
quently in the places which were occupied by 
settlements in prehistoric ages. While they 
occur in all regions where settlements were 
maintained in early times, they are met with 
most numerously in European countries, par¬ 
ticularly in Denmark, the Netherlands, and 
other regions of the northern and western 
parts of Europe. These implements consist of 
chisels, knives, daggers, saws, scrapers, arrow¬ 
heads, axes, and borers, and served a useful 
purpose, though modern savages do not employ 
such tools. The American'Indians made arrow¬ 
heads and other instruments of flint, many 
specimens occurring in different sections of 
America, but they are more abundant in the 
Mississippi valley than elsewhere. 

FLINTLOCK, a small gun originated by the 
Spaniards in the 17th century. It has a small 
piece of flint in the jaw of the hammer, which, 
when released, strikes a piece of steel,, and the 
sparks ignite and explode the charge. William 
III. introduced flintlock muskets into England, 
where various forms of this class of firearms 
continued in use until about 1840. Arms of 
this kind formerly were used both in war and 
in sporting, but they have been superseded by 
modern weapons, such as breech-loading guns 
and rifles. 

FLOATING ISLANDS, the formations 
caused in lakes and other inland waters by the 
aggregation of driftwood carried down by 
rivers, and by deposits of soil and vegetable 
matter, or by detachments of elevations adja¬ 
cent to the banks of rivers or on shores of 
lakes. These islands occur more numerously 
in tropical countries and receive their early 
consistency by interlacing roots of plants, and 
later by the growth of shrubs and even trees. 
Some of the islands are large enough to fur¬ 
nish pasturage and are met with from fifty to a 
hundred miles from the mouths of the large 
rivers of Asia, Africa, and America. 

FLODDEN (flod'den), Battle of, a severe 
military contest that occurred on Flodden Hill, 
Scotland, Sept. 9, 1513, between the English 
army commanded by the Earl of Surrey and 
the forces of James IV. of Scotland, in which 
the latter were defeated. The English army 
52 


consisted of 32,000 men and the Scottish of 
30,000. Both sides lost heavily. The English 
army lost 4,000, while the loss of the Scots was 
much heavier and included several earls and 
other officers of high rank. A description of 
the battle is given in Sir Walter Scott’s “Mar- 
mion.” 

FLOOD PLAIN, a level tract of land on 
the border of a river, formed by sand and silt 
deposited during overflows. In many places 
the surface is highest near the margin of the 
river bank, where the greater amount of silt is 
deposited during an overflow, and some dis¬ 
tance back are marshes and swamps, which are 
sometimes fed by springs or remain wet for 
want of sufficient drainage. The flood plains 
in the lower course of the Mississippi are very 
fertile. Formerly they were covered by mead¬ 
ows or swampy forests, but now they yield 
large quantities of agricultural products. Other 
tracts of this kind are located on the middle 
course of the Rhine and Danube and on the 
lower course of the Nile, Po, and Ganges. See 
Delta. 

FLORA (flo'ra), the goddess of flowers, who 
was held in the highest esteem by the Romans. 
Her festival, the Floralia, was celebrated from 
April 28 to the first of May. The festi¬ 
val was one of universal merriment, in which 
houses, streets, and vehicles were profusely 
decorated with flowers. Two temples were 
built at Rome to this deity. She typified the 
season of spring, and was the reputed guardian 
and protectress of every blossom. 

FLORENCE (flor'ens), county seat of Lau¬ 
derdale County, Alabama, on the Tennessee 
River, 126 miles southwest of Nashville, Tenn. 
It is on the Southern and the Louisville and 
Nashville railroads, at the foot of the Muscle 
Shoals Canal, and is surrounded by a fertile 
agricultural and fruit-growing country. The 
noteworthy buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the public high school, a State normal 
school, an academy, the Synodical Female Col¬ 
lege, and the Southern University for Women. 
Wildwood Park is a fine public resort. Among 
the manufactured products are cotton goods, 
cigars, machinery, vehicles, and building ma¬ 
terial. Near the city is one of the largest In¬ 
dian mounds in the State. Coal deposits abound 
in the vicinity. Florence was settled in 1819 
and incorporated in 1889. Population, 1900, 
6,478; in 1910, 6,689. 

FLORENCE, a city of Italy, capital of a 
province of the same name, on the Arno River, 
about 140 miles northwest of Rome. The site 


FLORENCE 


818 


FLORIDA 


is in a beautiful valley surrounded by hills, while 
a number of bridges cross the Arno and join 
both portions. Several important railroad lines 
connect it with the commercial emporiums of 
Italy, and electric street railways, telephones, 
and other municipal facilities add to the con¬ 
venience and comfort. Besides its commercial 
importance, it takes high rank in the manufac¬ 
ture of woolen and silk goods, porcelain, mo¬ 
saic, hats, musical instruments, toys, and nu¬ 
merous objects in the fine arts. 

The public buildings include several beauti¬ 
ful palaces and impressive structures, and 
many piazzas or squares give the city a reputa¬ 
tion for elegance and convenience. Among the 
principal buildings is the cathedral founded in 
1298, and dedicated with much display and im¬ 
pressive ceremonies in 1887. Michael Angelo 
found the dome of this historic structure a 
convenient model for Saint Peter’s. In the 
cathedral are numerous sculptures by master 
artists, among them Michael Angelo. Other 
churches contain almost an equal wealth of 
master productions in sculpture and painting. 
The celebrated buildings include the Uffizi, 
Vecchio, Signoria, Pitti, Strozzi, II Bargello, 
and Riccardi palaces. The cathedral of Santa 
Maria del Fiore is the most remarkable build¬ 
ing in the city. Many eminent Tuscans were 
buried in the church of Santa Croce, which 
has many fine decorations and celebrated 
tombs, among them those of Galileo, Michael 
Angelo, Alfieri, and Machiavelli. Dante’s mon¬ 
ument by Piazzi is situated in the Piazzi Santa 
Croce, A national library of more than 200,000 
volumes and 12,000 manuscripts is located in the 
Pitti Palace, which also contains the celebrated 
Florentine gallery of art. Florence has numer¬ 
ous literary and educational establishments, a 
public school system, and institutions devoted 
to the arts, sciences, and higher educational-in¬ 
terests. The Florence school of art is the most 
important in Italy. 

Florence was founded by the Romans in the 
1st century b. c., and probably named from 
Fiesole, a beautiful mountain near its site. It 
came under the dominion of Pope Gregory VII. 
in the 11th century, and by the middle of the 
13th century it rose to commercial importance, 
ranking for many years as one of the first cities 
of Italy. An independent republic was estab¬ 
lished at Florence in 1283, and about fifteen 
.years later great strife arose between rival 
parties under the names of Blacks (Ghibellines) 
and Whites (Guelphs), which resulted in the 
defeat of the latter and the banishment of the 


leading members, among them the poet Dante. 
The republic fell in the 16th century and it was 
placed under # Charles V. of Germany, who be¬ 
came • known as the Duke of Florence, and 
was a member of the Medici. This dynasty 
ruled until 1737, when it was succeeded by 
Francis of Lorraine, who afterward became 
Emperor of Germany. The history of Flor¬ 
ence is merged into that of Tuscany from that 
time until it became united with the kingdom 
of Italy. From 1864 to 1871 it was the pro¬ 
visional capital of the kingdom, whence dates 
its recent prosperity. Among the great men 
produced by Florence are Amerigo Vespucci, 
Galileo, Dante, Boccaccio, Michael Angelo, 
Vinci, Cellini, Andrea del Sarto, Medici, Ma¬ 
chiavelli, and Petrarch. Population, 1906, 212,- 
308. 

FLORICULTURE (flo'rT-kul-tur), the cul¬ 
tivation of flowers or ornamental plants. While 
this branch of the industries has been carried 
on in Eurasia from remote ages, it is of com¬ 
paratively recent date in America, and has been 
pursued as a business only about a century. 
In 1890 the government census detailed the first 
general information in regard to floriculture in 
the United States, but much of material value 
was added by the census investigations of 1900. 
The number of floral establishments in 1908 was 
about 9,125, of which 580 were operated by 
women. Establishments of this kind are oper¬ 
ated in all the states, over 1,000 acres of land 
are utilized for the purpose, and the value of the 
annual output is $35,250,000. Employment is 
given to about 22,500 men and women. The 
states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsyl¬ 
vania take the leading rank in floriculture. On¬ 
tario and Quebec are the leading provinces in 
the floriculture of Canada. Among the products 
are cut flowers, rose bushes, plants, and shrubs. 
Roses, carnations, violets, chrysanthemums, and 
lilies are the leading flowers sold on the market, 
in the order named. 

FLORIDA (flor'i-da), a southern State of 
the United States, popularly called the Ever¬ 
glade State. It is bounded on the north by 
Alabama and Georgia, east by the Atlantic 
Ocean, and south and west by the Gulf of 
Mexico, and west by Alabama. The larger part 
of the State is a peninsula, extending about 400 
miles south from Georgia, the remainder being 
a narrow strip of land, the western point of 
which lies 350 miles west from the Atlantic 
Ocean. The western boundary is formed by * 
the Perdido River, which enters the Gulf of 
Mexico at Perdido Point. About four-fifths of 


FLORIDA 


819 


FLORIDA 


the State is contained in the peninsula. The 
area is 58,680 square miles, including a water 
surface of 4,440 square miles. 

Description. The southern portion is gen¬ 
erally low and marshy, while the northern part 
is more elevated and somewhat broken, though 
no part of it rises to a greater altitude than 300 
feet above the sea. At Key Biscayne is the 
northern extremity of the Florida Keys, which 
stretch toward the southwest in a curved line 
about 200 miles. They consist of coral reefs 
and include a number of habitable islands, the 
surface of which is about ten feet above sea 
level. The Dry Tortugas, Key Large, and Key 
West are the larger of these islands. Among 
the larger coast indentations are 
Apalachee Bay, Tampa Bay, Biscayne 
Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Choctaw- 
hatchee Bay, and Pensacola Bay. 

The Atlantic coast line is about 470 
miles and the coast of the Gulf of 
Mexico is 675 miles long. 

Florida has about 1,200 lakes, most of which 
are located in the peninsula. Lake Okeechobee, 
with an area of 650 square miles, is the largest 
of the lakes. Others include lakes George, 
Apopka, Harris, and Kissimmee. The Saint 
Mary’s River forms a part of the boundary 
between Florida and Georgia, and the Saint 
John’s has its outlet into the Atlantic. Lake 
Okeechobee is drained by the Caloosahatchee, 
which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The 
Peace flows into Charlotte Harbor; the Apa¬ 
lachicola and Suwanee, into the Gulf; the Choc- 
tawhatchee, into Choctawhatchee Bay; and the 
Escambia, jnto Pensacola Bay. The rivers have 
about 1,000 miles of navigable water. 

Climate. Its favorable situation between the 
temperate and tropical regions gives Florida 
an equable and agreeable climate. The freez¬ 
ing point is rarely reached, while the whole¬ 
some influences of the gulf and oceanic waters 
modify the climate agreeably during the warmer 
parts of the year. About 43° to 90° include the 
limits, though the temperature sometimes falls 
below 32° for brief periods in the northern part. 
The average annual temperature at Jackson¬ 
ville is 69°; at Key West, 78°; and at Pen¬ 
sacola, 68°. In the swamp region the climate is 
unhealthful, but statistics accord the other 
parts of the State a very high position in the 
record of favorable climate, which fact is util¬ 
ized by many invalids of the north, who seek a 
genial and healthful region during the winter 
season. Saint Augustine, Key West, and Jack¬ 
sonville are among the popular winter resorts. 
Copious rains fall during the winter, while the 


summers are characterized by moderately dry, 
but agreeable and favorable, conditions. In 
some places the rainfall is 60 inches and at 
Jacksonville it is 54 inches. 

Minerals. Metallic mines are not worked in 
the State. Phosphate rock is the most impor¬ 
tant mineral product and is mined extensively 
for the manufactur^of fertilizers. Deposits, of 
this mineral occur most extensively between 
Tallahassee and Lake Okeechobee. Limited 
quantities of lignite coal and petroleum are ob¬ 
tained. Deposit’s of fuller’s earth are worked 
in the vicinity of Quincy. Agate, chalcedon, 
and carnelian are among the precious stones. 

Agriculture. Farming has increased con- 



150 MILES. 


stantly since the 
close of the 
Civil War and 
continues to 
rank as the 
leading indus¬ 
try.- About 
one-third of the 
farmers are Ne¬ 
groes, who 
work tracts that 
average about 
half the size of 
those operated 
by the whites. 

A very limited 
proportion o f 
the land in the 1 . Tallahassee; 2, Jacksonville; 3, 

„ it, Pensacola; 4, Tampa; 5, Miami; 6, 
Everglades has Saint Augustine. Chief railroads 
been brought are shown by dotted lines. 

into a state of cultivation, but large districts are 
subject to reclamation and here the soil is ex¬ 
ceeding fertile. The crops vary somewhat with 
location north and south. Orange culture has 
taken rank as an important industry and the 
State has about half the orange acreage of Cali¬ 
fornia. Corn is grown extensively in the north¬ 
ern part, and the last decade shows a consider¬ 
able increase in the acreage of that cereal. Oth¬ 
er crops include rice, oats, potatoes, tobacco, 
arrowroot, cassava, and many varieties of fruit. 
Several species of cotton thrive, including the 
sea-island cotton. Sugar cane, hay, sweet po¬ 
tatoes, peanuts, pepper, ginger, cloves, and pi¬ 
mento are other products of importance. 




FLORIDA 


820 


FLORIDA 


Stock raising receives considerable attention. 
Cattle are grown chiefly for meat, but the 
dairying interests are well established. Horses, 
mules, swine, and sheep are grown profitably. 
The favorable climate causes plants to grow 
with vigor and rapidity, and flowers bloom in 
all seasons of the year. Grassy and marshy 
plains characterize the northern part, which 
has an abundance of timber, including the pine, 
live oak, and palmetto. Other species more or 
less distributed are the magnolia, persimmon, 
and pitch pine. Wild turkeys, ducks, geese, and 
partridges are abundant in the newer sections 
of the State. 

Manufacturing. The manufacture of cigars 
and tobacco is an important industry, and a 
part of the raw material is imported from Cuba. 
Tar and turpentine are made for exportation. 
The fisheries yield a large output, especially of 
shad, mullet, and sponges, much of the product 
being prepared for the market. Fruit is canned 
to a considerable extent. Other manufactures 
include fertilizers, railway cars, and sailing 
vessels. 

Commerce and Transportation. The State 
has a large domestic and foreign trade, which 
centers chiefly at Tampa, Pensacola, Jackson¬ 
ville, and Key West. Phosphate, cigars, fruit, 
vegetables, turpentine, fish, and forest products 
are among the chief articles of commerce. 
Tampa and Key West are especially noted for 
their large trade in cigars, while Carrabelle is 
important as a market for turpentine and Punta 
porda for fish and vegetables. Transportation 
is facilitated by 3,500 miles of railway, includ¬ 
ing the important line recently built to Key 
West. Many of the streams are navigable, 
which, together with navigation on the Atlan¬ 
tic and the Gulf, afford first-class facilities. 

Education. Educationally, Florida is mak¬ 
ing material progress, its educational institu¬ 
tions being well established and liberally pat¬ 
ronized. The common schools, high schools, 
and State institutions maintain well-articulated 
courses of study. A college of agriculture is 
located at Lake City. The East Florida Sem¬ 
inary and Military Institute is at Gainesville; 
the South Florida Military and Educational In¬ 
stitute, at Bartow; the West Florida Seminary, 
at Tallahassee; a State normal school for 
whites, at De Funiak; and a State normal 
school for colored teachers, at Tallahassee. A 
number of benevolent and reformatory, institu¬ 
tions are maintained. The leading religious and 
civic organizations are represented by State and 
local institutions. Saint Augustine has a State 


institution for the blind and dumb and the State 
reformatory is at Marianna. School attendance 
has been increased materially by a process of 
transportation of the pupils, but the number 
of schools decreased somewhat. 

Government. The present constitution was 
ratified in 1886. It vests the chief executive 
power in the Governor, who is elected for four 
years and is not eligible to succeed himself. 
Other State officials, including the secretary, 
treasurer, attorney-general, comptroller, com¬ 
missioner of agriculture, and superintendent of 
schools, are likewise elected for four years. 
The senate consists of 32 members elected for 
four years, and the general assembly has 68 
members elected for two years. Legislative 
sessions are held biennially and are limited to 
sixty days. A chief justice and two associates, 
elected for six years, comprise the supreme 
court, which is the tribunal of highest judicial 
power. The State is divided into circuits for 
judicial purposes, each having circuit judges. 
The towns, cities, and counties elect their re¬ 
spective officers, most of whom serve for terms 
of four years. 

Inhabitants. About eighty per cent, of the 
people reside in the country and in small 
towns. Fully one-half belong to the Methodist 
church. The remainder are divided among the 
Baptists, Presbyterians, Protestant Episcopal, 
Catholic, and other denominations. Tallahassee, 
in the northern part of the State, is the capital. 
Other cities include Jacksonville, Key West, 
Saint Augustine, Tampa, and Pensacola. The 
State has had a steady growth since, the Civil 
War, both in wealth and in the number of in¬ 
habitants. The total population, in 1900, was 
528,542; in 1910, 752,619. 

History. The history of Florida begins with 
its discovery by Ponce de Leon in 1512, while 
he was in search of a mythical fountain whose 
waters would confer perpetual youth. It was 
discovered on Easter Sunday, the Pascua Flor¬ 
ida of the Spaniards, hence the name Florida. 
De Soto explored it in 1539. In 1560 the 
French Calvinists founded a settlement, but 
they were shortly after massacred by the Span¬ 
iards. The region remained in possession of 
Spain until 1763, when it was ceded to Eng¬ 
land in exchange for Cuba, though the Span¬ 
iards regained the country in 1781. The United 
States purchased Florida in 1819, but the treaty 
was not finally ratified until 1821, when it was 
organized as a Territory, and it was admitted 
as a State in 1845. This treaty relinquished all 
Spanish authority over the region west of the 


FLORIDA, BAY OF 


821 


FLOUR 


Rocky Mountains, claimed as belonging to the 
Louisiana Purchase, but not previously ac¬ 
knowledged by Spain. Many of the settlements 
were disturbed by the Seminole Indian wars in 
1835-42, though these Indians were removed to 
Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, shortly after. 
In 1861 Florida seceded from the Union, but 
was readmitted under the reconstruction policy 
of President Johnson. The State played an 
important part in the national election of 1876, 
when the contest for President was decided by 
the Electoral Commission (q. v.). 

FLORIDA, Bay of, the name of the narrow 
channel between Florida and Cuba, lying west 
of the Bahama Islands. It is separated from 
Florida Bay by the Florida Keys, and is trav¬ 
ersed by the Gulf Stream. It is about 60 miles 
long at the northern extremity and 130 miles 
at the southern, and has a length of 225 miles. 

FLORIDA KEYS, a group or chain of 
islands at the southern extremity of Florida, 
belonging for the purpose of government to 
Monroe County. It stretches in a curved line 
fully 200 miles from Biscayne Bay toward the 
southwest into the Gulf of Mexico. The group 
includes thousands of islands, some of coral 
formation, and many are low, marshy, and un¬ 
inhabitable. Key Largo is the largest, but Key 
West is the most important. The latter con¬ 
tains the city of Key West and a naval station. 



FLORIDA KEYS, BAY OF FLORIDA, AND KEY WEST 
RAILROAD. 


A railroad extends from the mainland across 
the principal chain of islets, connecting them 
by massive iron and concrete bridges. 


FLORIN (flor'in), a coin so named from 
Florence, Italy, where it was first issued in 
1254. Coins of the same name and of differ¬ 
ent values have been‘issued in many countries. 
The gulden, originally issued in Germany, was 
until a comparatively recent time the mone¬ 
tary unit of Austria, and the guilder is still 
used in the Netherlands. A silver piece with 
a value of two shillings is in circulation in 
Great Britain, and bears the official name of 
florin, but the gold florin of England has not 
been issued since the Middle Ages. The Eng¬ 
lish florin'is worth here about 50 cents; the 
Dutch guilder, about 40 cents; and the German 
gulden about 35 cents. 

FLOTSAM (flot'sam), the name applied in 
the English law upon the goods that float upon 
the surface of the water after a shipwreck, or 
such as are thrown overboard to lighten the 
cargo. They belong to the crown if they are 
not claimed by their owner after recovery. 
Goods that are cast from a ship in peril are 
sometimes called jetsam, and those that are tied 
to wood or a cask before being cast out are 
designated as ligan. These words are now sel¬ 
dom used, but the term jettison is employed in 
connection with insurance. 

FLOUNDER (floun'der), a genus of fishes 
of the flatfish family, found along the shores of 
almost all countries. The body is often a foot 
or more in length, extremely flattened at the 
sides, and about one-third as wide as it is long. 
Like other flatfish, they usually swim on the 
left side, but reversed specimens are common. 
About 150 species of the flounder have been 
studied, most of which occur in salt water, but 
several of the species thrive in lakes and other 
bodies of fresh water. The color varies ac¬ 
cording to the ground where the fish live. 
Flounders are excellent and favorite food fish. 

FLOUR, the ground and bolted portions of 
cereals, though specifically applied only to the 
products made of wheat. When applied to the 
finely ground substance of any other cereal it 
is usually specified, as rye flour, buckwheat flour. 
Among the principal food products flour is of 
vastly greater importance than any other, and, 
as an edible substance, enters into manifold 
convenient forms, such as bread, biscuit, cake, 
pudding, and crackers. Rice being the favorite 
food of the Mongolians of Asia and entering 
quite largely the edible substances of other peo¬ 
ple, it is the only cereal that rivals flour as food 
for man. The cultivation of cereal plants is as 
old as the history of man, which likewise is 
true of the use of their seed for food. 

Various relics of remote antiquity indicate 






FLOUR 


822 


FLOWER 


that crude devices were employed in the manu¬ 
facture of flour from wheat and rye. The proc¬ 
ess consisted of crushing the grains in a cavity 
cut in stone by means of a conical piece of por¬ 
phyry, crystal, or marble. In the later period 
of ancient Egypt and the early times of Rome, 
the pestle and mortar served for crushing grain, 
which were soon displaced by the ox mill and 
later by the water mill. In early water mills 
the process of grinding was effected by an upper 
and lower millstone. The latter had a slightly 
convex surface, over which the concave surface 
of the former fitted. The grain passing between 
the two in a slow but constant stream was 
ground to a mixed mass of flour, middlings, and 
bran, each of which was afterward separated 
from the others. Modified forms of this class 
of mills are still used in newly settled countries 
and among people who do not manufacture vast 
quantities of flour. 

In modern flour milling it is customary to 
convey the wheat from railway cars, in which 
it is shipped from the agricultural districts, into 
bins. From the bins it is carried by means of 
elevators into storage rooms at the top of the 
mill building, where it is kept until needed for 
grinding. The machinery for manufacturing 
flour is located usually on the first floor, and 
as the grain is let down all foreign matters are 
separated from it. In the cleaning process all 
the oats, chaff, dirt, dust, cockle, and other im¬ 
purities are taken out by means of blasts of air, 
sieves, and powerful magnets, the latter remov¬ 
ing all particles of iron that may have mixed 
with the grain in threshing and in transporta¬ 
tion. After this process of cleaning, it passes 
consecutively between rollers or cylinders hav¬ 
ing spiral corrugations that operate to crush it. 
The first of these are coarse and serve to break 
the wheat into particles, but they become finer 
and are set more closely together until the last 
of the series effects a very high degree of 
crushing. 

After the wheat is crushed sufficiently, the 
product is carried to complicated machinery in 
which the flour, middlings, and bran are sepa¬ 
rated. This machinery has been perfected to 
such a high state that remaining impurities can 
be removed and all portions of the wheat are 
utilized to the best purpose. Formerly the mills 
were somewhat unpleasant because of the flying 
particles of flour. However, this has been over¬ 
come by a dust collecting machine, which 
creates a vacuum through the agency of a fan, 
causing the suspended particles to be drawn by 
currents of air into a chamber, from which they 
are removed at certain intervals. Roller mills 
are now employed in manufacturing flour both 


from spring and winter wheat, and are propelled 
successfully by water, steam, or electric power, 
though the first named is far the most inex¬ 
pensive. 

About 18,500 flouring mills are operated in 
the United States. Those at Saint Anthony 
Falls, Minneapolis, are propelled by water power 
and are the largest in the world. Pennsylvania 
has the largest number of mills, though most 
of them are small. Canada holds the second 
rank in the list of North American countries 
as a producer of flour. The vast wheat fields 
of. the central-western section have made this 
possible. Winnipeg is one of the great flour-- 
producing cities of the world. Other centers 
are at Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver. A na¬ 
tional association of millers is supported in the 
United States, which has numerous branches 
in the several states where milling is an im¬ 
portant industry. With it are associated a num¬ 
ber of mutual insurance companies. About 16,- 
500,000 barrels of flour are exported from the 
United States annually, while the domestic 
market requires 75,500,000 barrels. 

FLOWER (flou'er), the bloom or blossom 
of a plant, tlfe terminal bud inclosing the or¬ 
gans of reproduction. The stamens and pistils 
are the essential parts of a flower. These are 
usually surrounded by floral envelopes, the 
calyx and corolla, but in the lily, crocus, and 
other endogenous plants they are not distin¬ 
guishable. The leaves of the calyx are called 
sepals, and those of the corolla are known as 
petals. In flowers the stamens, or male organs 
of reproduction, are composed of the filament, 
anther, and pollen.- The pistils, or female or- 
• gans, consist of the style, stigma, ovary, and 
ovules. Where both stamens and pistils ap¬ 

pear in the same 
Pistil . - flower, it is said to be 
hermaphrodite or per¬ 
fect, but, if only the 
stamens appear, it is 
unisexual or imper¬ 

fect. A flower which 
has only the pistils 

is said to he barren 

or sterile. Sometimes 
both calyx and co¬ 
rolla are wanting, 
when it is said to be 

naked. If both the stamens and pistils are 

wanting, the flower is termed neuter or empty. 
An assemblage of flowers on a plant is called 
an inflorescence. If there is no flower stalk, 
or peduncle, of which the totus is the upper 
part, the flower is said to be sessile. 

Tie primary object of the flower is to fur- 



Peduncle 


PARTS OF A FLOWER. 




FLOWERS, ADOPTION OF 


823 


FLOWERS, LANGUAGE OF 



nish the necessary elements of reproduction. To 
accomplish this essential function, the pollen 
must be transported from the stamen to the 
pistil, which may be done through the agency 
of insects, but in most cases is effected by the 
pollen falling or being blown through the air. 
The best results come from fertilization by 
pollen from a different flower of the same plant 
or from a different plant. Much has been done 
in floriculture to develop both a high degree of 
fertilization and showy blossoms. 

FLOWERS, Adoption of, the selection of 
flowers as symbols by certain states and na¬ 
tions. Floral symbols came into use in very 
I early times and mention is made of them in 
the early history of China and in biblical liter-* 
! ature. The lotus, or sacred lily, was conse¬ 
crated to the gods in Egypt, and afterward be¬ 
came the national emblem. Many nations of 
antiquity used a code of floral symbols in deco¬ 
rating the surfaces of monuments and in mak¬ 
ing inscriptions in temples, but these are not 
understood. Throughout history is a line of 
records that conveys information in regard to 
the extensive use of flowers in national cere¬ 
monies, but the selection of particular flowers 
came about rather as a matter of sentiment than 
by legal or national adoption. Edward I. of 
England wore the red rose, from which cir¬ 
cumstance the rose became the national emblem 
of that country. However, the British coat- of 
arms contains the English rose, the Irish sham¬ 
rock and the Scotch thistle. In Canada the 
maple leaf has been the national emblem since 
1834. It is the leaf of the sugar maple of the 
forest, which is renowned for the brilliant col¬ 
ors of its foliage in autumn. The following is 
a partial list of the national emblems: 

Maple Leaf 
Rose 
Lotus 

Fleur-de-lis, or Iris 
Cornflower 
Blue Violet 
Lotus 
Shamrock 
White Lily 
Chrysanthemum 
Prickly Pear 
Rose 
Thistle 

Scarlet Pomegranate 
Rare Edelweiss 
Goldenrod 

Many of the states of the United States 
adopted flowers by a vote of the public school 
children, and in others adoptions were made by 
acts of the legislatures. The following is a 
partial list of the State flowers: 


Alabama 

Sunflower 

Arkansas 

Apple Blossom 

California 

Poppy 

Colorado 

Columbine 

Delaware 

Peach Blossom 

Georgia 

* Cherokee Rose 

Idaho 

Syringa 

Indiana 

Corn 

Iowa 

Wild Rose 

Kansas 

Sunflower 

Louisiana 

Magnolia 

Maine 

Pine Cone and Tassel 

Michigan 

Apple Blossom 

Minnesota 

Moccasin 

Mississippi 

Magnolia 

Missouri 

Goldenrod 

Montana 

Bitterroot 

Nebraska 

Goldenrod 

Nevada 

Sage-brush 

New York 

Rose 

North Dakota 

Goldenrod 

Oklahoma 

Mistletoe 

Oregon 

Grape 

Rhode Island 

Violet 

Texas 

Bluebonnet 

Utah 

Sego Lily 

Vermont 

Red Clover 

Washington 

Rhododendron 

West Virginia 

Rhododendron 

Wyoming 

Gentian 


FLOWERS, Artificial, the product of man¬ 
ufacture embracing imitations of real flowers, 
made of various materials. The Italians were 
the first to bring the art of making flowers to 
a high state of perfection, although the early 
Egyptians and Romans had developed it to a 
considerable extent. At present the Americans, 
Germans, and French excel in the output. 
About $250,000. worth each are exported from 
Germany and France annually. They are used 
chiefly for: ornamenting ladies’ and children’s 
hats and bonnets. The materials used are vari¬ 
ous, including wax, shell, horn, whalebone, pa¬ 
per, rubber, ribbons, velvet, cambric, jaconet, 
calico, muslin, blown glass, crape, gauze, and 
satin. 

FLOWERS, Language of, the method of 
using flowers as types to express thoughts and 
feelings. The art of using flowers to convey 
messages originated in ancient times, when the 
custom was better understood and more gen¬ 
erally practiced thaft at present. An extensive 
flower language was developed in the western 
part of Asia at a remote period, but the Greeks 
and Romans conveyed to us the most authentic 
record of its use and application. Though na¬ 
tions widely remote from each other cultivated 
the use of such a language, it is interesting to 
note that they agreed in applying the same 
sentiment to many of the flowers. For instance, 
the amaranth signifies immortality.; the oak leaf, 


Canada 

England 

Egypt 

France 

Germany 

Greece 

India 

Ireland 

Italy 

Japan 

Mexico 

Persia 

Scotland 

Spain 

Switzerland 
United States 







FLUIDS 


824 


FLUOROSCOPE 


power; the moss rosebud, a confession of love; 
and the white rose, happy love. The following 
is a partial list of the more important flowers 
used in expressing sentiments: 


Amaranth 

Immortality 

Anemone 

Anticipation 

Apple Blossom 

Preference 

Aspen Leaf 

Fear 

Brier 

Insult 

Buttercup 

Riches 

Camellia 

Illness 

Calla 

Pride 

Candytuft 

Indifference 

Cornflower 

Heaven 

Cowslip 

Youthful Beauty 

Cypress 

Death 

Daffodil 

Unrequited Love 

Daisy 

Simplicity 

Dandelion 

Coquetry 

Evergreen 

Hope 

Everlastings 

Undying Affection 

Fern 

Forsaken 

Five-leafed Clover 

Bad Luck 

Forget-Me-Not 

True Love 

Four-leafed Clover 

Good Luck 

Foxglove 

Insincerity 

Geranium 

Deceit 

Goldenrod 

Encouragement 

Heather 

Loneliness 

Heliotrope 

Devotion 

Hepatica 

Anger 

Honeysuckle 

Fidelity 

Hyacinth 

Sorrow 

Ivy 

Trustfulness 

Laurel 

Fame 

Lilac 

Fastidiousness 

Lily 

Majesty, Purity 

Lotus 

Forgetfulness 

Marigold 

Contempt 

Moss or a dry twig 

Old Age 

Myrtle 

Wedded Bliss 

Narcissus 

Vanity 

Oak Leaf 

Power 

Orange Blossom 

Marriage 

Oxalis 

Pangs of Regret 

Palm Leaf 

Conquest 

Pansy 

Loving Thoughts 

Poppy 

A Tryst at Evening 

Rosemary 

Remembrance 

Rue 

Repentance 

Scarlet Geranium 

A Kiss 

Snowdrop 

A Friend in Need 

Sting Nettle 

Rudeness 

Sweet William 

Gallantry 

Tuberose 

Bereavement 

Tulip 

Boldness 

Violet 

Yellow Rose 

Modesty 

Jealousy 


^^UIDS (flu'ids), the substances whose 
molecules change places freely by slight pres¬ 
sure. They include liquids and gases, as op¬ 
posed to solids. Liquids possess no definite 
shape, but assume that of the vessel in which 


they are kept, except at the upper surface, which 
is level. Gas inclosed in a bottle presses up¬ 
ward against the cork as well as against the 
sides and base. From this fact liquids are said 
to be nonelastic fluids and gases are termed 
elastic fluids. 

FLUKE WORM (fluk'worm), or Fluke, the 

name of several kinds of worms found in the 
liver and biliary ducts of sheep, in which it 
causes the disease commonly called rot. The 
eggs, which are laid in the liver, pass to the 
exterior, by means of the gall and the intestines 
and hatch on the wet grass. After undergoing 
a complicated process of development, they 
crawl about on the grass and are eaten by the 
sheep, and inside of the stomach undergo an¬ 
other form of metamorphosis. Later they bore 
through the animal tissue and find lodgment in 
the liver, where they reach sexual maturity. 
Other species attack birds and fishes, and a 
kind common to Egypt infests different organs 
and tissues of man. 

FLUORESCENCE (flu-6-res'sens), t h e 

property possessed by some transparent bodies 
which causes them to produce at their surface, 
or within their substance, light of a different 
color than that of the mass of the material. 
This may be demonstrated by exposing green 
crystals of fluor spar to light, when the reflec¬ 
tions are blue. This is due to the' property 
which the substance has of modifying the light 
striking upon it. Glass colored of a yellow tint 
with oxide of uranium, known as canary glass, 
produces fluorescence of a brilliant green tint. 

FLUORINE (flu'or-in), a nonmetallic ele¬ 
ment separated from fluor spar or fluoride of 
calcium by the action of sulphuric acid. It is 
not found native and can be isolated only with 
great difficulty, since it combines very readily 
with different substances. The stems of grasses, 
mineral springs, sea water, and many animal 
substances contain fluorine. Compounds of 
fluorine are used in preserving food, in etching 
glass, and for antiseptic purposes. It has the 
property of corroding objects with which it 
comes in contact, hence must be preserved in 
lead or ceresin bottles. 

FLUOROSCOPE (flfi-or'o-skop), an in¬ 
strument employed to transfer X-rays into light. 
This light enables an observer to see through 
several inches of wood, observe the bones of 
the living body, or other objects of dense con¬ 
struction in bodies usually opaque. The fluoro- 
scope was invented by Thomas A. Edison, who 
tried over 800 different salts in experimenting 
to perfect a suitable instrument. The most 
satisfactory fluoroscope consists of a rectangu¬ 
lar box a foot long, tapering toward the far- 



FLUOR SPAR 


825 


FLYING FISH 


ther end, at which a fluorescent screen is placed. 
The inside of the box is painted black. The 
screen is made of pasteboard, covered with 
white paper and then coated with collodion, on 
which fine crystals of calcium tungstate are 
sifted. In passing four amperes through a 
Crookes tube, and holding an object between it 
and the fluoroscope, the observer can see 
through the screen and the object, and thus 
study visually the phenomena discovered by 
Roentgen. 

FLUOR SPAR (flu'or spar), the fluoride of 
calcium, which occurs especially in deposits of 
cobalt, tin, silver, lead, and other beds of met¬ 
als. It is usually blue, green, yellow, or pink, 
though it occurs also in colorless and trans¬ 
parent forms. Fluqr spar occurs in Norway, 
England, and Germany. The annual American 
product is valued at about $115,000, and is ob¬ 
tained chiefly in Kentucky and Illinois, It is 
used as a flux in iron smelting, and in the 
manufacture of opalescent glass and hydro¬ 
fluoric acid. 

FLUTE (flut), one of the oldest wind musi¬ 
cal instruments. It has four joints, tapers 
toward one end, and contains a number of holes 
to be covered with the fingers or by ke} r s. Some 
flutes have a mouthpiece, but others are played 
by placing the lower lip close against the hole 
of the outside and blowing the air so its pas¬ 
sage is broken against the opposite edge of the 
hole, causing the air inside the hole to vibrate. 
Its soft, pleasant tone and wide range in com¬ 
pass make it an important instrument in orches¬ 
tral music. 

FLUX (flux), a substance used to promote 
the fusion of minerals, or to cause their decom¬ 
position. Many materials are employed for 
this purpose, depending upon the nature of the 
body to be treated and the chemical action de¬ 
sired. Limestone unites with the alumina and 
silica of iron ores, hence is the usual flux em¬ 
ployed in the blast furnace. Borax forms fu¬ 
sible compounds with silica and other bases and 
is used very generally as a flux. Cyanide of 
potassium is employed both as a flux and a 
reducing agent and niter and litharge are good 
fluxes and oxidizing agents. Many substances, 
such as litharge, boracic acid, and red lead, are 
used as .flux in making pottery. 

FLY, an insect characterized by possessing' 
but two wings, the posterior set being reduced 
to a pair of so-called balancing rods, or legs. 
The proboscis or underlip ends, in two flaps, 
which are used for lapping. A long list of 
pests belongs to the order Diptera, or two¬ 
winged insects, such as gadflies, bat flies, blow¬ 
flies, and the common house flies. About 


40,000 species have been described, but these 
are thought to be only about one-eighth of the 
number which at present are represented by 
living species. To these may be added a long 
list of extinct and fossil flies. Not less than 



1, muscid; 2, syrphus; la, fly's foot. 


. 1,500 species have been described from the 
fossils found in the shale beds of Florissant, 
Colo., and many other sources are fully as 
prolific. 

The eggs of a fly hatch into larvae in about 
a day. They then pass into a quiescent pupa 
stage for several days more, whence they issue 
as full-grown insects. In warm climates flies 
are seen the entire year, but where the winters 
are cold they disappear on the approach of heavy 
frosts. A few survive the winter in sheltered 
places. These, together with some of the eggs 
and pupae, preserve the species. Flies are en¬ 
abled to walk on smooth surfaces and ceilings 
with their backs downward by a hairlike cushion 
which serves to hold them in place, partly by a 
glutinous fluid secretion and partly because of 
their ability to remove the q,ir from below the 
feet by means of suckers through the hair, the 
pressure of the air on the outside serving to 
support the insect. The muscid, or house fly, 
and the syrphus, or drone fly, are well-known 
species of these insects. 

FLYCATCHER (fli'kach-er), the common 
name of many birds native to America, so 
named from their ability to catch flies and 
other insects. They have the habit of wait¬ 
ing until the insect comes very near, when they 
dart suddenly to secure it, after which they 
return to the same place. Birds of this class 
are seldom seen on the ground or in the act 
of chasing insects in the air like swallows. 
The Savannah flycatcher is common to the 
southern part of the United States. About 350 
species are native to North America, and they 
are widely distributed from Panama to the 
northern part of Canada, but are best repre¬ 
sented where insects are most numerous. Only 
four species are native to Europe, including 
the spotted flycatcher seen both in Great Britain 
and on the continent. The kingbird (q. v.) be¬ 
longs to the family of flycatchers. 

FLYING FISH, a name applied to all fishes 
which have large pectoral fins and are able to 







FLYING MACHINE 


826 


FLYING MACHINE 


sustain themselves in short seeming flights 
above the water. A large number of species 
belong to this class, about thirty, and two 
families, most of which are common to the 
warm zones. They swim in shoals near the 



surface and, leaving the water, often dart 
through the air for a distance of several hun¬ 
dred feet. Little, if any, force is acquired 
while the fish are in the air, but, instead, the 
strong tail seems to be the only source of mo¬ 
tive power, the winglike pectoral fins serving 
rather as parachutes to support the body in 
the air. It does not seem true that these 
fishes leave the water merely to escape danger 
as has been asserted by some writers, but they 
do so as a means of exercising in the air, of 
which they appear to be fond. The flying gur¬ 
nard , a spiny fish of the Gulf of Mexico and 
the Atlantic coast, emits a phosphorescent light 
in the night. Flying fish rarely rise more than 
four feet abovfc the water, but when a school 
is met by a small boat they move in all direc¬ 
tions and sometimes a few fall upon the 
deck. They are about a foot long and are held 
in high esteem as food. 

FLYING MACHINE, a mechanical struc¬ 
ture designed to navigate the air. It differs 
from a balloon mainly in that a flying machine 
is heavier than the air, while a balloon is 
lighter. Efforts to navigate the air by means 
of mechanical apparatus have been made for 
about five centuries and, though some degree of 
success was made in the last century, the suc¬ 
cessful solution of the problem has been ap¬ 
proached only within the last decade. Aero¬ 
nauts constitute a class who think air naviga¬ 
tion possible only by means of balloons, while 
aviators have been multiplying In numbers, be¬ 


lieving it possible to perfect flying machines 
with which movement in the air will be as safe 
and rapid as upon the land or the water. They 
have studied the structure and flight of large 
birds and from them have drawn lessons so 
valuable that the perfection of a safety fly¬ 
ing machine is fast nearing its culmination. 

In the 17th century Bernier, of Sable, 
France, constructed two pairs of wings, 
which he fastened to the shoulders and 
ankles with leather straps. By means of 
these mechanical devices he was able to 
guide himself in the air and fly for some 
distance, especially when starting by run¬ 
ning from an elevation and thence moving 
over the valley beneath. In 1896 the sec¬ 
retary of the Smithsonian Institute, Prof. 
S. P. Langley, completed his aerodrome, 
a flying machine which he sent up with 
much success, and perfected it to such a 
state that it was possible to move, ascend, 
and return successfully. O. Chanute, of 
Chicago, in the same year carried on elab¬ 
orate experiments with his aeroplane, 
which enabled him to fly and soar quite 
successfully. 

The German aviator, Otto Lilienthal, up to 
1901 attained the greatest success in flying. 
In construction his machine was very closely 
modeled after the characteristics of birds. The 
apparatus had outspreading wings, which were 
made in imitation of the spreading pinions of 
a bird, and was constructed of light wooden 
frames covered with cotton drilling. In flying, 
the legs of the operator were free, thus enabling 
him to start by running or from elevations 
much like the larger birds. The construction 
was such that he was suspended safely with¬ 
in the lower part, leaving the body and limbs 
quite free to move, and in this way he was 
. permitted, at least to some extent, to direct 
the course to be taken. On a number of occa¬ 
sions he soared to heights far above the start¬ 
ing point and moved over considerable dis¬ 
tances. Dr. Danilewsky, of Charkov, Russia, 
completed and used a flying machine in 1898, 
which combined with aviation the principle of 
a balloon, and gave rise to the newer dirigible 
balloons. In the meantime the United States 
appropriated $25,000 for experiments relating 
.to aerial navigation. The investigations were 
instrumental in obtaining a number of im¬ 
provements, such as combining steam, electric, 
gas, and compressed-air motors with the ma¬ 
chines to secure motive power. At the same 
time many screw and fan devices to guide and 
propel were invented. On July 2, 1900, Count 
Zeppelin, a German cavalry officer, made a 


















































































































































FLYING SQUIRREL 


827 


FOLKLORE 


successful flights with his dirigible balloon, 
which combines the principles of a balloon and 
a flying machine. Later he improved on this 
form of an airship so he was able to sail 
with safety at the rate of forty miles per 
hour, which he did in 1908. 

Henry Farman, the French aeronaut, won 
the Deutsch-Archdean prize of $10,000 with 
his flying machine in 1908. It sailed at a 
height of about fifty feet at the rate of 25 miles 
an hour and was under perfect control during 
the entire time. This machine, like the heli¬ 
copter e or screw flyer of Santos-Dumont, is 
heavier than air and is one of the earliest 
types of this class. Another machine of this 
pattern is the air ship of M. Le Baudy, which 
has a record of sixty miles in two hours and 46 
minutes. At the head of the list of success¬ 
ful inventors stand Orville and Wilbur Wright, 


two American aeronauts, whose aeroplane, the 
Bird of Prey, demonstrated much capacity for 
flying in 1908 and since. This machine, together 
with the. operator, weighs about 700 pounds. 
They were the first to demonstrate that a 
machine, when mounted on light bicycle wheels 
and,driven along the surface of the ground, can 
be made to rise in the air. See illustration on 
following page. 

FLYING SQUIRREL, a species of the 
squirrel family, about five inches long, having 
a fold of skin extending along each side between 
the fore and hind legs. The tail is about four 
inches long and has two horizontal rows of hair, 
which aid to direct its motion and support the 
body in the air. It does not fly, but sails through 
the air as a parachute, getting its momentum by 
springing from a tree at a considerable height, 
descending obliquely until .very near the ground, 


when it glides upward and usually alights at 
about one-third of the height from which it 
started. It has a brownish-gray color. The 
food consists chiefly of the young shoots of 
trees, nuts, insects, and small birds. 

FOG, a thick mist at or near the earth’s 
surface, resulting whenever the temperature 
of the 'air is reduced slightly below the dew 
point. The minute drops of water that form 
fog, though 800 times heavier than air, are 
prevented from settling rapidly by the resist¬ 
ance of the atmosphere. This is rendered pos¬ 
sible by the minute size of the drops, which 
are much smaller than the relatively heavier 
dust particles common in the air and wafted 
about by the wind. Fogs disappear on the 
approach of warm winds. Off the banks of 
Newfoundland the warm, moist air of the Gulf 
Stream is cooled by the cold air of the Labra¬ 
dor ocean current, hence fre¬ 
quent and almost constant fogs 
arise. 

FOG SIGNALS, the signs 
communicated in foggy weath¬ 
er by sounding a whistle, ring¬ 
ing a bell, firing guns, or by 
other methods in order tp 
avoid collisions and prevent 
vessels from running upon 
places of danger. Light and 
other signals cannot be seen, 
so notice can be given only by 
sound. The steam siren fog¬ 
horn invented by Cagnard de 
la Tour, now employed by the 
United States lighthouse board, 
is the most effective signal 
used, and can be heard a dis¬ 
tance of twenty to thirty miles. 
A class of fog signals are used on railways to 
indicate a safe distance at which trains may ap¬ 
proach each other, or to indicate points of dan¬ 
ger on the track, such as broken rails, landslides, 
and defective bridges. They are in the form of 
small torpedoes in which a detonating powder, 
when they are struck by the wheels of the en¬ 
gine, makes a loud report. 

FOLKLORE (fok'lor), a term used to sig¬ 
nify the scientific study of popular customs, 
tales, superstitions, and primitive belief and 
usages. The term was compounded from sev¬ 
eral German words employed to designate this 
study, such as Volkslied and Volksfest. Though 
many trivial matters are taken into cognizance, 
the study has marked value in that it throws 
light on the origin and development of political 
and religious beliefs and ceremonies, as well as 
different ideas regarding the relationship between 



H, H, Lifting propellers; P, Driving propeller; G, Rudder; 
M, Motor; S, Aeronaut’s seat. 





























FOLKLORE 


828 


FONTENOY 


races. It is this feature of folklore that has 
made it of special value to historians, sociolo¬ 
gists, and writers on ethnology. Besides, through 
its study more comprehensive views have been 
formed. The science owes its origin to the. 
Grimm Brothers, who began collecting stories 
as told by peasants, and after a research of 
more than twelve years published their col¬ 
lection. Soon after intense interest was aroused 
in the establishment of folklore societies, the 
founding of journals, and the publication of 
various books relative to. these researches. 


The American Folklore Society was founded 
in 1888 at Cambridge, Mass., and has directed 
its energies largely to the publication of 
books and periodicals relative to the folklore 
of North America. Its official publication is 
the Journal of American Folklore. Such in¬ 
stitutions as Johns Hopkins University have 
given their energies to the furtherance of in¬ 
terest in the science. North American folklore 
has been extended largely within recent years, 
and now represents an interesting fund of 
knowledge relative to the Indians, Aztecs, and 


Eskimos. Institutions having a like object are 
maintained in the countries of South America 
and Eurasia. By means of extensive research 
it has been possible to add a very useful and 
extensive fund of knowledge to the history 
of primitive races. 

FOND DU LAC (fon du lak'), a city in 

Wisconsin, county seat of Fon du Lac County, 
on the Fon du Lac River, about sixty miles 
northwest of Milwaukee. It is on the Wiscon¬ 
sin Central, the Chicago and Northwestern, and 
the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul rail¬ 
roads. Being on Lake Winnebago, it has 
communication with the Great Lakes by 
the Fox River. It is surrounded by a 
fine farming and dairy region. Among 
its principal buildings are an opera 
house, the county courthouse, the high 
school, the public library, and Grafton 
Hall, an Episcopal school for girls. The 
manufactures include flour, ironware, 
woolen goods, furniture, machinery, and 
utensils. The municipal facilities include 
street railways, gas and electric lighting, 
pavements, waterworks, and several 
parks. It was settled in 1836 and in¬ 
corporated in 1852. Population, 1905, 
17,284. 

FONTAINEBLEAU (fon-tan-blo'), 
a town in the department of Seine-et- 
Marne, France, near the Seine River, 
about 37 miles southeast of Paris. It is 
a clean, quiet place with broad streets, 
and owes its fame chiefly to the palace 
of the kings. This is one of the most 
beautiful palaces in France. It was 
founded by Robert the Good in the 10th 
century and has been greatly improved 
by many succeeding kings. The cha¬ 
teau, or park, in which it is situated is 
a magnificent expanse of forest, in which 
are fountains, statues, flowers, and arti¬ 
ficial lakes. Napoleon detained Pope 
Pius VII. as prisoner at Fontainebleau 
for two years. He signed his. abdication 
here in 1814 and again in 1815. The 
town manufactures porcelain and wines 'and, 
owing to its extensive pleasure grounds, ranks 
as a favorite resort for visitors. Population, 
1906, 14,381. 

FONTENOY (font-nwa'), a village in the 
province of Hainaut, Belgium, five miles south¬ 
east of Tourney. It is celebrated on account of 
a battle, on May 11, 1745, between the allied 
forces of Austrians, Dutch, and British and the 
army of France, each side numbering about 
60,000 men. The French were commanded by 
Marshal Saxe and the allies by the Duke of 



ORVILLE AND WILBUR WRIGHT’S AEROPLANE. 
















FOOCHOW 


829 


FOOD 


Cumberland. The result was a forced retreat 
of the allies with a loss of 7,000 on each side. 

FOOCHOW (foo-chou'), or Fu-Chow, cap¬ 
ital of the province of Fo-Kien, China, situated 
on the Min River, about 25 miles from its 
mouth. Massive walls surround the city, while 
its streets and buildings show more than the or¬ 
dinary Asiatic progress. In 1843 it was thrown 
open to foreign trade, since which time it has 
developed large manufacturing and commercial 
enterprises. It has extensive dockyards and an 
arsenal, which are under the direction of Euro¬ 
pean influences. The city is the seat of several 
scientific societies and numerous missionary or¬ 
ganizations. Population, 1908, 638,250. 

FOOD, any substance that, being taken into 
the body of animals or plants, serves, through 
organic action, to build up normal structure or 
replace the waste of tissue. Plants feed on the 
carbonic acid gas of the atmosphere and a series 
of chemical compounds found in the soil. The 
living plants change the soluble air foods into 
plant tissues, cells, and granules under the in¬ 
fluence of sunlight. Certain materials fitted to 
become the food of man or animals are stored 
in various parts of the structures, notably the 
roots, stem, and seeds, of which such as fats, 
sugar, starch, and proteids constitute the most 
noteworthy. Animals of the higher scale do not 
possess the power of changing the compounds 
of the soil and air into animal tissues. For this 
reason they feed directly upon the products of 
plant growth, or indirectly by eating flesh of 
other animals, and build up the complex animal 
muscle, fats, starches, and proteids, which are 
suitable for the food of man. 

Liebig classified foods into those that serve 
for nutrition of organized tissue, or flesh-form¬ 
ers, known as nitrogenized elements of nutrition, 
and those which are consumed in respiration, or 
heat-givers, called nonnitrogenized elements. 
These elements exist in some form of combina¬ 
tion in almost every substance known as food, 
and are subservient to the function of organic 
action in the process of digestion. The list of 
diets of most peoples includes fats and oils, 
the vegetable oils in the warm regions and the 
fats in the cold and temperate. Milk contains 
all the necessary food elements in the best form. 
Nitrogenous food-stuffs are found principally in 
the flesh of birds, animals, and fish; in milk, 
cheese, and eggs; in barley, wheat, oats, corn, 
and flour; and in beans, peas, and vetches. They 
are formed exclusively in plants, and undergo 
but little alteration when consumed as food and 
stored up by animals. 

Fats are derived principally from milk, the 
bodies of birds and animals, and the blubber of 


sea animals. The oils are obtained mostly froi\ 
the olive, the palm, the cocoanut, the rape, cot¬ 
ton seed, and fish. Corn and some other grains 
contain more or less oil substances and these, 
like most vegetable oils and fats, resemble those 
of animals. Starchy foods are of much im. 
portance in a normal diet. The starchy sub 
stances are derived mostly from the vegetable 
kingdom, and constitute the principal portion of 
the food of people who live in the tropical and 
temperate regions. The starches of the tubers, 
roots, grains, fruits, and milk embrace this class. 
These and other vegetable products contain 
hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, but they differ 
in physiological properties from the oils. Water 
and salts are as essential for healthy nutrition 
as the proteid class, the former constituting 68 
per cent, of the human body. It is one of the 
important constituent parts of many articles of 
food. Besides, there are accessory foods, such 
as vinegar, coffee, tea, relishes, and spices, which 
are used more or less habitually, though the 
exact nutritive value of many of them is not 
known definitely. 

The body needs a variety of food to support 
the different tissues. In the economy of growth 
it is required that both the carbonaceous and 
nitrogenous elements be taken in sufficient quan¬ 
tities. The very instinct of man suggests, the 
blending. Bread is eaten with butter; maca¬ 
roni is prepared with cheese; rice is boiled with 
milk; pork is baked with beans, and other food 
articles are mixed similarly. Food is oxidized 
in each cell of the body, though only a small 
portion of the albumen eaten is required in their 
reconstruction; the remainder, and the fats and 
sugars, are oxidized without becoming a part 
of the living cells of the body. 

The average man, in order to repair the waste 
caused by the oxidation of the cells, and to 
supply the requisite amount of heat and energy, 
must assimilate daily about four ounces of 
albumen, four of fat, and five of sugar or starch. 
To oxidize this it is necessary to breathe 24 
ounces of oxygen. The weight of the body is 
increased by albumen being changed to fat, 
which occurs when more food is eaten than this 
amount of oxygen can oxidize. An increase in 
the breathing capacity enables the body to oxi¬ 
dize more food and lessens the bad effects of 
overeating. Too much food causes plethora, 
while ‘depriving the body of one kind of food 
for a considerable time causes it to suffer. 
When plain food is eaten slowly, hunger and 
taste are the most reliable guides as to quantity. 

The subject of pure food has received much 
attention in the leading governments of Europe 
and America the past decade. This movement 


FOOLS 


830 


FOOTBALL 


was brought about by widespread adulteration 
of medicine, beverages, and articles of food. 
The Federal food and drug act which went into 
effect on Jan. 1, 1907, is the most important 
legislation of this class enacted in the United 
States. This law made it unlawful to manu¬ 
facture or sell within any territory of the Union, 
or to engage in the interstate or foreign com¬ 
merce of any article of food or drug, which is 
adulterated or misbranded. This law requires 
that the weight marked upon a package shall 
be the actual weight, not an approximate weight. 
If drugs are imitations, they are held to be 
misbranded. Pure food laws have been enacted 
generally in the states of the Union and in 
the provinces of Canada. 

FOOLS, Feast of, a festival celebrated for 
several centuries in a number of countries of 
Europe,' especially in France and Spain. It 
was a season of Christian merrymaking and 
partook of a childish character. The festival 
was celebrated more or less during the entire 
period between Christmas and Epiphany (Jan. 
6), but belonged especially to Innocent’s Day 
(Dec.-28). It resembled the Roman Saturnalia, 
and the chief participants included the subdea¬ 
cons and laity. In the exercises they chose a 
mock bishop, archbishop, or pope, who presided 
at the meeting in the church, and the rites of 
Christianity were gone over in the ceremonies. 
Dancing, the singing of commonplace songs, 
and the wearing of masks and disguises were 
practiced. The Protestant Reformation coun¬ 
teracted the extravagancies of these festivals 
and put an end to them in Germany and Eng¬ 
land, but they survived in France until 1644. 

FOOT, a unit of linear measurement, con¬ 
taining 12 inches. A surface, each side of which 
is 12 inches, is a square foot, and is equal to 
144 square inches. A cube whose sides are 12 
inches is a cubic foot and contains 1,728 cubic 
inches. The foot unit was derived from the 
human foot. It is used extensively as a common 
measure, though its length varies in different 
countries. In music and poetry, a foot is a 
term used to denote a melodic figure of notes 
with only one accent, or a succession of ac¬ 
cented or unaccented syllables, which, being 
repeated, produce rhythm. The four principal 
feet in England poetry are the anapest, the dac¬ 
tyl, the iambus, and the trochee. 

FOOT, the extremity of the leg below the 
ankle, and on which the body is supported. In 
man the foot is composed of seven tarsal and 
five metatarsal bones, so arranged and con¬ 
nected as to form an arch from the extremity 
of the heel to the ball of the toe, and the pha¬ 
langes. The bones, where they articulate with 


one another, are covered with a considerable 
layer of elastic cartilage. Between the bone at 
the heel and the ends of the metatarsal bones 
is a heavy ligament known as the plantar liga¬ 
ment, which not only holds the bones together 
in the form of an arch, but protects the blood 
vessels, nerves, and muscles that lie above it in 
the hollow of the foot. Another very strong, 
elastic ligament holds the heel bone and the cen¬ 
tral bone of the arch together. The head of the 
key bone, upon which the tibia sits, rests upon 
this ligament. The different motions of the foot 
are effected by five muscles. They include the 
calf, attached to the thigh and leg and below by 
the tendon of Achilles to the heel bone, which is 
the largest tendon in the body and sustains its 
weight in walking; the posterior tibial, attached 
at one end to the tibia and the other to the 
instep bone (scaphoid) ; the short fibular, at¬ 
tached to the fibula at one end and to the outer 
metatarsal bone at the other; the anterior tibial, 
which raises the toes and turns the. foot out¬ 
ward; and the third fibular, whose tendons pass 
in front of the ankle on either side of the foot 
and raise the inner or outer border of the foot. 
The bottom of the foot is padded with fat and 
covered with a. strong, tough skin. It forms 
the sole of the foot. 

FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE, an in¬ 
fectious disease common to domestic animals, 
especially swine and cattle. It occurs most fre¬ 
quently in Europe and Asia, but sometimes 
spreads to Africa and other continents. During 
a wide-spread attack of the contagion, it some¬ 
times affects sheep, goats, and man, being con¬ 
veyed to the last mentioned by the use of milk 
or meat from diseased animals. It is often 
fatal to young animals, but in adults it partakes 
of a lighter form, usually as a fever or consti¬ 
tutional weakness. The bacteria which causes 
the disease is not well understood, but it is 
known that the period of incubation is from 
three to six days, and that the virus may be 
destroyed by exposure to sunlight or antisep¬ 
tics, such as formaldehyde and carbolic acid. 
Animals affected have symptoms like those of 
pneumonia and bronchitis and their feet, mouth, 
and other parts are subject to eruptions from 
which virus exudes. The treatment recom¬ 
mended is that affected animals be separated 
from others and quarantined, and the affected 
parts may be treated with antiseptic solutions. 

FOOTBALL (fdot'bal), a popular game 
played by pupils in the higher grades of the pub¬ 
lic schools and by students of colleges and uni¬ 
versities, especially during the colder season of 
the year. It is an ancient game, having been 
popular during the prosperous eras of ancient 




















































































































































































J 


































































FOOT ROT 


831 


FORCE 


Greece and Rome. The northern countries of 
continental Europe adopted it about the time of 
the Roman invasions, while the Danes popular¬ 
ized it in England where it became famous as 
a Shrove Tuesday sport as early as the 12th 
century. Though popular for centuries, it has 
taken a wider hold on the world of sport* within 
recent years and is played with an ever-increas¬ 
ing fervor. Among the numerous and widely 
known associations are those called Rugby As¬ 
sociation, Australian, and American Intercol¬ 
legiate. Each of these and many others have 
definite rules, under which the members prac¬ 
tice in the art of playing*, and at specified times 
engage in competitive games with other asso¬ 
ciations. The associations* organized at Har¬ 
vard, Princeton, Yale, and the University of 
Pennsylvania have been known as the Big Four, 
while similar association ties have been accorded 
to the Western, Canadian, Indian, and other 
groups of organizations. 

The game is played by teams of from 11 
to 22 players, upon a level field. Scoring is 
possible in the field of the opposing side, either 
by getting the ball through or over a goal, or 
by passing it over a certain line. Each side, 
therefore, with the view of scoring, sends the 
ball in the direction of the opponents’ end of the 
field. This may be done in two ways—by 
kicking and running, or by advancing it in any 
way except by running. The field is usually 
160x330 feet, and the ball is made of leather, 
having a large ellipsoidal form. Among the 
officials are two linemen, an umpire, and a ref¬ 
eree. The losses and advances on either side 
are watched by the linemen, fouling is prevented 
by the umpire, and the referee keeps account 
of the ball. In most associations the entire time 
of the game is '90 minutes, divided into two 
portions of 45 minutes, with an intermission of 
10 minutes intervening. The principal rules 
are known as the Association Rules and the 
Rugby Rules. 

FOOT ROT, a disease common among sheep. 
The most prevalent form is due to an unusual 
growth of hoof, which causes the margin or 
toe to turn downward and ultimately crack, 
thus causing openings in which dirt and sand 
readily lodge. As a consequence the feet be¬ 
come swollen and ultimately ulcerated between 
the toes, where proud flesh forms and causes 
decay. 


FORAGE (for'aj), a term used to designate 
any food suitable for horses, cattle, and sheep, 
including such as hay, straw, and ensilage. 
Among the forage plants cultivated extensively 
are clover, orchard grass, alfalfa, timothy, corn, 
broom corn, and sorghum. However, the straw 


and chaff of many cereals, such as wheat and 
oats, are important animal food products. The 
species of plants cultivated for forage depend 
upon the temperature and aridity quite as much 
as upon the different kinds of soil. In many 
portions of the West native grasses still con¬ 
stitute an important forage crop, while in the 
East and the arid regions of the far West for¬ 
age plants are grown with a high degree of 
care. In the West and Southwest, where moist¬ 
ure is supplied by irrigation, the larger forage 
plants are cultivated extensively, such as alfalfa, 
sorghum, and millet. 

FORAMINIFERA (fo-ram-i-mf'e-ra), a 
group ot small animals, classed with the mol- 
lusks on account of having beautiful shells. 
However, a few of the species are naked, while 
many have very complicated and remarkable 
coverings. They belong to the protozoan 
group and, like them, reproduce in all three 
ways common to that form of life. The species 
are widely distributed, but are most common in 
salt water. Fossils of these animals are very 
numerous, and vast beds of rock are constructed 
almost entirely of their shells. The chalk 
cliffs of England and the Silurian beds of Rus¬ 
sia are examples of fossils of these animals. 

FORCE (fors), an exertion or influence that, 
if made to act on a body, has a tendency to 
affect or stop it if in motion, or to move it 
when at rest. Light, heat, gravitation, elec¬ 
tricity, motion, cohesion, magnetism, and chem¬ 
ical affinity are thought to be manifestations of 
the force from which originate all phenomena 
of the material world. Mechanical force origi¬ 
nates from life, gravitation, and the sources of 
heat, light, and electricity. Two systems are 
used for measuring force, the Metric system 
and the English system, the dyne being the 
standard of measure in the former and the 
poundal in the latter. To measure the effect 
produced by any mechanical force it is neces¬ 
sary that three things be known—the point of 
application at which the force acts, the direc¬ 
tion in which the force acts, and the intensity 
with which it acts. When two or more forces 
act in the same direction, the resultant is equal 
to the sum of the forces. If two equal forces 
act in opposite directions, thus opposing one 
another, the body acted upon remains at rest, 
but, if the forces acting are unequal, it moves 
in the direction of the greater with a force 
equivalent to their difference. Two forces act¬ 
ing at an angle with each other produce a re¬ 
sultant in an intermediate direction, the force 
of which equals the mean of the two acting 
forces. The resolution of a force is the sepa¬ 
ration of it into the components which produce 









FORCE BILL 


832 


FOREST 


that force, and the composition of forces is the 
combining of two or more into one. 

Various terms are used to designate forces 
according to their nature and the manner in 
which they act. The most common classifica¬ 
tion includes parallel forces, constant forces, 
accelerating forces, resultant forces, uniform 
forces, and variable forces. By parallelogram 
of forces is meant the method of determining 
the direction and intensity of two forces, while 
unit of force implies a single force, whose 
terms being known, serves as a unit to ascer¬ 
tain the amount of any other force. The force 
exerted in a direction outward from the cen¬ 
ter, by a body moving in a circular path, is 
called the centrifugal force, while the centripe¬ 
tal force is exerted from without toward the 
center. Since the centrifugal force is a conse¬ 
quence of the rotation, it ceases when the cen¬ 
tripetal force ceases, and the body moves in a 
straight line known as a tangent. The area 
in which a force acts is called the Held. Cen¬ 
trifugal force is proportional to the mass and 
to the square of the velocity of the rotating 
*body. If the mass of the rotating body be 
doubled, it requires twice the amount of force 
to prevent it from moving away from the cen¬ 
ter of motion, and, if the velocity be doubled, 
four times the force is necessary for it to re¬ 
tain its position. The motion of the planets 
around the sun affords good illustrations of 
centrifugal and centripetal forces. These bodies 
constantly tend to move away from the sun 
by reason of the motion originally given to 
them, while the attraction of the sun holds 
them in an almost circular path. 

FORCE BILL, the name applied to several 
bills passed by the Congress of the United 
States. In 1828 a protective tariff act created 
much discontent and South Carolina claimed 
that the State had power to nullify objection¬ 
able Federal enactments. Congress passed a 
bill to enforce the tariff law in 1833, known as- 
the Force Bill or the Bloody Bill. A bill for 
the enforcement of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth 
amendments to the Constitution became law 
May 31, 1870. It made punishable by fine or 
imprisonment all attempts at intimidation, 
bribery, or hindrance in the matters of regis¬ 
tration and qualifying for voting. A much more 
stringent law was enacted in 1871 to put down 
the conspiracies against civil rights by the 
Ku-Klux Klan. The name Force Bill has been 
applied to the Lodge election bill which passed 
the House July 2, 1890, “to amend and supple¬ 
ment the election laws of the United States, 
and to provide for a more efficient enforce¬ 
ment of such laws/’ This bill was defeated in 


the Senate by a combination of those who fa- I 
vored the adoption of free coinage legislation. I 

FOREST (for'est), a large tract of land 
covered with a natural growth of trees and 
underbrush, though often with intervening 
spaces of open ground. The countries of 
Europe have provided protection by law, by 
which it is designed to preserve the forests for 
judicious use and prevent wholesale and need¬ 
less destruction. Such acts of preservation oper¬ 
ated to preserve many desirable tracts in Aus¬ 
tria, Germany, France, and other countries, of 
which Epping Forest, near London, is a good 
example. Similar laws have been passed in 
Canada and the United States, and, besides, 
there has been legislation aiming to extend 
rather than abridge the forest area. The tim- ! 
ber-culture law passed in the United States in 
1872 remained in force 21 years, and provided 
that 160 acres of the public domain could be 
acquired by cultivating ten acres of trees for 
a period of eight years. Under this act about 
50,000,000 acres of trees were planted and cul¬ 
tivated in the great prairie regions of the West. 
The Nebraska State board of agriculture in 
1874, under the suggestion of J. Sterling Mor¬ 
ton, recommended that a day be dedicated each 
year to the planting of trees. This suggestion 
was acted upon by all the states and territories, 
not only through individual effort, but by the 
formal effort of public schools. As a conse¬ 
quence many trees and tracts of timber have 
been planted and cultivated on private and pub¬ 
lic property. See Arbor Day. 

Natural forests are found widely distributed 
where moisture is abundant and the temperature 
is favorable to plant growth. The forests of 
the Torrid Zone are the most luxuriant and 
cover vast areas along the streams and bodies 
of water, even to a considerable height above 
sea level. As we proceed north and south from 
the Equator we find the forests gradually de¬ 
creasing in density and size of trees up to the 
higher latitudes, where they finally become rare 
and gradually disappear. The most extensive 
forests of the world are found in the valleys of 
the Amazon and Orinoco,' the lake region of 
Africa, and in the southern parts of Eurasia. 
The higher altitudes, even in tropical countries, 
are destitute of forest growth, though plant 
life thrives in such regions at a much higher 
elevation than in the Temperate Zone and 
extends far into the higher latitudes, even to 
regions having much soil perpetually below the 
freezing point of water. 

The forest area of the United States is placed 
by the Department of Agriculture at about 500,- 
000,000 acres. Alaska has excellent timber and 








Among the Giant Redwood Trees in the Mariposa Grove of California, 


















FOREST 


833 


FOREST 


comparatively little of it has been put on the 
market. The output of lumber in the United 
States is 30,500,000,000 feet annually, of whrch 
the largest part is obtained in Wisconsin, 
Michigan, Minnesota, and on the Pacific coast. 
About one-fourth of the output is obtained in 
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, which 
states yield an excellent quality of pine, hem¬ 
lock, and the hard woods. Pine, fir, and spruce 
lumber is obtained in large quantities in Ore¬ 
gon, Washington, and California. The product 
is used chiefly in manufactures, railway con¬ 
struction, fencing, for building purposes, and 
for fuel. While there is danger of the visible 
supply decreasing beyond legitimate limits, the 


larger use of steel for construction purposes is 
relieving notably the demands annually made 
upon the forests. Besides, the consumption is 
affected by the increased use of coal, gas, and 
electricity for motive and heating purposes. 

Forests are the natural home of many birds 
and wild beasts and have marked utility for 
their influence upon the occupations of man. 
They supply material for dyes, medicines, and 
numerous articles of value in the arts. The 
soil is enriched by the decaying trunks and 
foliage of trees. They furnish shelter from 
winds and storms in the winter and are a pro¬ 
tection against the scorching heat of the sum- 
.53 


mer. Their roots penetrate the soil and facili¬ 
tate the entrance of water after rains and the 
shadow of their branches retards evaporation. 
In this way they extend the surface of moisture 
and visibly affect rainfall. This point of ad¬ 
vantage is further accelerated by the fact that 
forests prevent accumulated snows from melting 
rapidly, thereby counteracting floods, such as 
result where the forest area is robbed of its 
timber. Where forests do not abound, the rain¬ 
fall rapidly runs off the .surface and finds its 
way back to the ocean. Besides causing floods, 
this tendency visibly influences temperature and 
productiveness. 

The forest areas in the United States equal 


about one-third of the area of the country, 
exclusive of Alaska. About seven-tenths of 
the timbered area is between the Mississippi 
and the Atlantic coast. Of the entire forest 
wood 75 per cent, is coniferous, which requires 
about three-quarters of a century to grow to 
maturity. Timber of much value is obtained 
from the Philippines, where the forest areas 
exceed 40,000,000 acres. Canada has about a 
million square miles of standing timber and 
contains the largest white pine areas in the 
Western Hemisphere. The annual production 
of lumber aggregates $80,000,000 per year, about 
one-third of which is exported to the United 



















FORESTERS 


834 


FORGE 


States. Russia has the largest forest areas in 
the world, a total of 812,640,600 acres, three- 
fourths of which belong to the "government. 
Forest fires and the clearing of the ground for 
cultivation are prolific sources of forest de¬ 
struction. Great carelessness has been dis¬ 
played in lumbering and in setting fires to 
brush left on the ground softer the more valua¬ 
ble trees have been cut. However, the gov¬ 
ernment has displayed much wisdom in pro¬ 
tecting the forests and in encouraging schools 
of forestry. 

FORESTERS, Ancient Order of, a frater¬ 
nal organization founded in Yorkshire, Eng¬ 
land, in 1745. Though it has been maintained 
continuously since that time, its material growth 
dates from the early part of the 19th century. 
The first court was established in America in 
1832, at Philadelphia, Pa., and since then it has 
spread rapidly in Canada and the United States. 
In 1908 it had about 9,500 courts, with 1,000,000 
members, of whom about 50,000 were in Can¬ 
ada and the United States. Courts are main¬ 
tained in 36 countries. It is one of the largest 
beneficiary societies of the world. The benefits 
distributed annually aggregate $5,000,000. 

FORESTERS, Independent Order of, a 
society founded in 1874 at Newark, N. J. It 
was reorganized in 1881 and maintains courts 
in Canada, the United States; Great Britain, 
Australia, and other countries. The society 
has about 5,000 local courts, which are under 
the direction of high courts, and the general 
government is vested in a supreme court. The 
order is both fraternal and benevolent, has 
240,000 members, and has disbursed in benefits 
about $19,500,000 since its organization. 

FORESTERS OF AMERICA, a benevo¬ 
lent and fraternal society, reorganized under 
its present name in 1895. It originated from 
the Ancient Order of Foresters (q. v.), intro¬ 
duced in America in 1832, but separated from 
the mother Organization in 1889. In 1908 it 
had 1,750 courts and 250,000 members. The 
annual payments as benefits approximate $1,125,- 
000. Since its organization about $13,500,000 
has been disbursed. 

FORESTRY, the management and preser¬ 
vation of trees in communities. This branch of 
economic study is concerned with the planting of 
trees and the utilization of both cultivated and 
native forests with the view that the best pos¬ 
sible good may be obtained. Man has been the 
worst enemy of forests in America since the 
discovery of this continent. Lumbering has 
greatly lessened the visible supply, but forests 
are also destroyed by insects, fungous diseases, 
drought, forest fires, and the grazing of ani¬ 


mals. Attention has been directed to forestry 
both with the view of planting new forests and 
preserving old ones, and it is designed to pre¬ 
vent ruthless destruction as well as to utilize 
to the best advantage the supply of timber for 
fuel and for construction. 

Forestry has been a branch of study in the 
institutions of Europe for many years, especially 
in Germany, whose foresters are considered 
the best prepared and most skillful in the 
world. The need of some rational system of 
forest management is recognized by the leading 
nations. Canada has forest reserves of about 
12,500,000 acres and has a well-disciplined corps 
of officials to aid in diffusing knowledge of 
forestry and protecting the forests on the pub¬ 
lic lands. The Bureau of Forestry, established 
in 1901 under the Department of Agriculture, 
is an important branch of the government in 
the United States. The chief aim is to develop 
scientific forestry. In literature sent out by this 
bureau the benefits of studying forestry are 
shown, which include an investigation of cli¬ 
matic influences upon shrubs and trees. 

Among the advantages of forests are that 
they conserve moisture and thereby increase 
rainfall. They temper hot and cold winds and 
are useful in reclaiming tracts of almost bar¬ 
ren land. The benefits of wind-breaks are seen 
on the great prairies of Canada and the United 
States, where innumerable hedges and groves 
have been planted. Parks and clusters of trees 
furnish covering for birds and add to the enjoy¬ 
ment of man. The schools of forestry aid in 
studying the adaptation of various trees to par¬ 
ticular localities, especially as they are influ¬ 
enced by soil, moisture, and temperature, and 
much valuable information has been given in 
regard to the selection of land for reforesta¬ 
tion and the care to be given growing trees. 

The interest in forestry is promoted not only 
by the general government, but likewise by 
the several states and minor subdivisions. In 
1885 New York created a forest commission, 
and that State has a reservation in the Adiron¬ 
dack and Catskill regions amounting to 1,250,000 
acres. Constitutional provisions for . forestry 
have been made in many states, while in others 
the regulations are by legislative enactments. 
Colleges of agriculture have placed forestry in 
the regular courses and the American Forestry 
Association has promoted interest by holding 
meetings and issuing reports. 

FORGE (forj), an open fireplace or hearth 
with forced draft for heating iron, steel, or 
other substances. The term is also applied 
to a workshop where metals are hammered and 
shaped by the aid of heat. Forges were for- 





FORGERY 


835 


FORMOSA 


merly made of brick, with a large leather bel¬ 
lows to furnish the blasts of air, but at present 
are made largely of iron and the blast of air is 
obtained from a rapidly rotating fan wheel. All 
heavy forging is done by hammers run by ma¬ 
chinery. In the great Krupp works at Essen, 


blacksmith's forge. portable forge. 

Germany, is the largest forge hammer in the 
world. It is constructed so skillfully that it 
can be manipulated to gently crack a small nut 
or sufficiently forceful to crush a thick bar of 
iron. 

FORGERY (for'jer-y), in law, the act of 
falsely making or materially altering a writing 
or written instrument, with intent to defraud. 
Forgery consists essentially in making a false 
instrument appear to be legal and genuine. It 
is a grave offense, punishable by fine or impris¬ 
onment in the penitentiary. The national gov¬ 
ernments of all countries provide punishment 
for forgery by legal enactments, and additional 
protection is provided by laws in the states and 
provinces. In most countries the Federal gov¬ 
ernment has exclusive jurisdiction of cases 
which arise from forging, uttering, or publish¬ 
ing as true any papers relating to the nation, 
while the states and provinces have jurisdiction 
of those arising under their laws. The false 
making or altering of papers with intent to de¬ 
fraud are not the only defenses that come under 
the head of forgery, but such offenses as chang¬ 
ing records and altering brands or stamps are 
included. 

FORGET-ME-NOT (for-get'me-not), a 
genus of plants generally diffused over. the 
North Temperate Zone. The flower is small 
and is blue in most species. It has five petals 
and a salver-shaped corolla. On account of its 
brilliancy of color, and, being the emblem of 
constancy in friendship and love, it is a favor¬ 
ite flower in most countries. The dark blue 
forget-me-not of the Azores is cultivated ex¬ 
tensively. The present name is from the Ger¬ 
man Vergiss-mein-nicht, while the former Eng¬ 
lish name, scorpion grass , is rarely used at 
present. 

FORKS. See Cutlery. 


FORLORN HOPE (for-lorn'), a military 
term applied to a body of men selected from 
an army for the performance of some excep¬ 
tionally dangerous duty, such as leading the 
assault upon a fortress or heading a perilous 
charge in battle. Those who undertake such a 
task usually are volunteers, and a liberal re¬ 
ward is generally given to those who survive. 

FORMIC ACID (for'mik), a simple fatty 
acid of organic chemistry, so named from its 
being found in the bodies of ants. It is pre¬ 
pared artificially by dissolving sugar, starch, 
or tartaric acid in water, then adding sulphuric 
acid, and distilling the mixture on peroxide of 
manganese. Pure formic acid solidifies at a 
low temperature, forming a crystalline mass. 
It is strongly acid, colorless, and transparent, 
and has a pungent odor. It is very corrosive 
• and, when placed on the skin, causes intense 
irritation. 

FORMOSA (for-mo'sa), or Taiwan, an 
island lying off the eastern coast of China, in 
the Pacific Ocean. It is separated from the 
province of Fo-Kien by a strait about 85 miles 
wide. The island has a length of 240 miles, 
an average breadth of 72 miles, and an area of 
13,418 square miles. The surface is mountain¬ 
ous, especially in the interior. Mount Morri¬ 
son is the culminating peak, having a height of 
14,360 feet. A part of the surface is made uft 
of barren clay hills, but the plains and valleys 
are fertile. Among the principal products 
are sugar, rice, silk, tea, tobacco, camphor, 
vegetables, coal, and fruits. The climate is 
favorable and healthful and the rainfall is abun¬ 
dant. Formosa was opened to foreign trade 
by the Treaty of Tien-tsin in 1858, when Takow, 
Tainan, Anping, and Tamsui were made free 
ports. Japan, China, and Great Britain have 
the principal part of the trade. Camphor, salt, 
and opium are controlled as government monop¬ 
olies. About 450 miles of railways are open to 
■ traffic and a number of others have been pro- 
jected. 

China undertook to explore and settle For¬ 
mosa as early as 603. The Dutch controlled a 
large portion of the island in the 17th century, 
but it remained a Chinese territory the greater 
part of the time. About 500,000 Chinese immi¬ 
grants settled in the western portion during the 
Chinese occupation of the island. They greatly 
modified the industries which prior to that time 
were under the exclusive control of the Malays. 
After the war between China and Japan, in 
1895, it was ceded to the latter country by 
treaty, and now constitutes a Japanese posses¬ 
sion. A native revolt occurred in 1897, but it 









FORT DEARBORN 


836 


fortification 


was suppressed by the government, and local 
officials were enjoined to show a spirit of fair¬ 
ness and benevolence in the administration of 
public affairs. Many schools and public insti¬ 
tutions have been established by the Japanese. 
The native inhabitants are chiefly Hakkas and 
the aboriginal tribes and clans. Population, 
1906, 3,081,962. 

FORT DEARBORN. See Dearborn, Fort. 

FORT DODGE, a city of Iowa, county seat 
of Webster County, on the Des Moines River, 
about 85 miles northwest of Des Moines. It is 
on the Chicago Great Western, the Illinois Cen¬ 
tral, the Minneapolis and Saint Louis, and other 
railroads. Intercommunication is by electric 
urban and interurban railways. The chief 
buildings include the post office, the county 
courthouse, the public library, the high school, 
the First National Bank, and a number of fine . 
churches. Among the manufactures are flour, 
ironware, clothing, oatmeal, tile, pottery, stucco, 
and machinery. The surrounding country is 
fertile, possesses extensive dairy interests, and 
is rich in coal, gypsum, and fire clay deposits. 
Among the municipal facilities are paved streets, 
waterworks, electric and gas lighting, and a 
system of sanitary sewerage. It has a large 
trade in cereals and merchandise. Population, 
1905, 14,369; in 1910, 15,543. 

. FORT DUQUESNE (du-kan'). See Pitts¬ 
burg. 

FORT ERIE. See Erie, Fort. 

FORT FISHER (fish'er), a fortress below 
Wilmington, N. C., at the entrance to Cape 
Fear River. General Butler led a force of 6,000 
men against the fortress in December, 1864, 
and was aided by Admiral Porter with a fleet 
of ironclads. The project of taking the for¬ 
tress was abandoned after two days, but on 
Jan. 13, 1865, a second attempt was made by 
General Terry and Admiral Porter, which re¬ 
sulted in its capture. The Union army took 
2,000 prisoners and 170 heavy guns. 

FORTH, a firth and river of central Scot¬ 
land, formed by the confluence of the Dhu and 
Duchray in Perthshire. The river is 170 miles 
long and merges into the Firth of Forth, a 
body of water extending fifty miles east from 
Alloa to the North Sea. It has important salm¬ 
on and herring fisheries. The celebrated Forth 
Cantilever Bridge, a railway viaduct at Queens- 
ferry, is 4,000 feet long. This bridge is 8,295 
feet, or about a mile and a half long, and the 
cantilevers cover about one mile. It was com¬ 
pleted in 1889 at a cost of $13,000,000. 

FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON, two 
forts erected by the Confederates in Tennessee, 
near the border of Kentucky. Fort Henry was 


located on the Tennessee River, about twelve 
miles from Fort Donelson, which was on the 
Cumberland River, being about forty miles from 
where these rivers flow into the Ohio. They 
were strongly manned in 1861 and constituted 
important strategic points, since they controlled 
the entrance into the Southwest by means of 
the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. General 
.Grant, assisted by a river fleet under Commo¬ 
dore Foote, decided to attack Fort Henry on 
Feb. 2, 1862. On the 6th Commodore Foote 
made a vigorous attack and compelled the sur¬ 
render of the works, but the Federal military 
forces were delayed and the Confederate garri¬ 
son meanwhile escaped to Fort Donelson. Gen¬ 
eral Grant made a vigorous attack upon the 
latter on Feb. 13, 1862. Two days later Gen¬ 
eral Buckner addressed a communication to 
General Grant in which he requested that a 
commission be appointed to settle upon terms 
of capitulation. To this Grant sent his famous 
reply: “No terms except unconditional and 
immediate surrender can be accepted. I pro¬ 
pose to move immediately upon your works.” 
The terms were accepted by Buckner, who 
surrendered 14,000 prisoners. 

FORTIFICATION (for-ti-fi-kashun), a 
military defensive work, erected for the pur¬ 
pose of strengthening a place or position. The 
term also applies to the science of fortifying a 
position in such a way that it may be held by 
a body of men much inferior in numbers to 
their assailants. It implies a knowledge of the 
resistant power of materials as well as advan¬ 
tage in positions, so the construction may be 
devised in a manner that the enemy in attack¬ 
ing must of necessity suffer great loss. De¬ 
fensive works are either regular or irregular as 
to construction, and, with respect to time, are 
distinguished as permanent and temporary, or 
field, fortifications. 

The history of fortifications is as old as that 
of offensive and defensive warfare, though the 
process of construction has undergone numer¬ 
ous modifications, which were necessitated 
largely by the modern improvements in the im¬ 
plements of war. The student of history finds 
numerous references to defensive fortifications 
as the different peoples are studied. Thus, we 
recall the story of Troy, in which it is related 
that the city stood safely against the Grecians 
until the colossal wooden horse was taken 
within its walls against the admonition of Laoc- 
oon. The walls of Babylonia were 32 feet 
thick, 100 feet high, and strengthened by great 
towers. The walls of Jericho resisted the in¬ 
vading hosts of Israelites, and, according to 
the Scriptures, crumbled before them only after 




FORTIFICATION 


837 


FORTIFICATION 


divine aid was extended. Many ancient walls 
of Asiatic cities still remain. Though having 
answered a good purpose in resisting the at¬ 
tacks with battering rams and ancient imple¬ 
ments, they serve but illy when brought to a 
test against modern ordnance. 

Soon after gunpowder became known to the 
Europeans, the modern nations began to de¬ 
vise new implements of war, and likewise 
sought to counteract their effect by powerful 
works of defense. The Italians began in the 
15th century to construct bastions, while the 
French engineer, Sebastian de Vauban (1633- 
1707), who served under Louis XIV., devel¬ 
oped the bastion system to such an extent that 
it still prevails in France as the general type 
of fortifications. However, this system has 
given way largely in most countries to the Ger¬ 
man polygonal system, which is sometimes 
called the caponiere system on account of em¬ 
ploying numerous caponieres to span ditches, 
thus utilizing them instead of bastions for de¬ 
fensive purposes. 

In constructing field fortifications, engineers 
take advantage of position with the view that 
the enemy will be exposed to fire and cross fire 
in making the attack. The general plan aims 
to require a hazardous march across an open 
field, in which those within the line of fortifi¬ 
cations may at an advantageous time send forth 
detachments to make counter charges. Among 
the field fortification works are the redan, 
which forms an angle in front of the enemy. It 
has two parapets protected by a ditch; the re¬ 
doubt, an inclosure with a parapet and ditch 
encircling it; and the lunette, a redan construc¬ 
tion with numerous short flanks. These works 
are so constructed that they flank each other 
within the range of rifle fire,, and are further 
strengthened by entrenched camps and by a 
series of rectangular or square redoubts. In 
case the time to construct is limited, such sim¬ 
ple entrenchments as shelter trenches are speed¬ 
ily thrown up. These temporary forms consist 
of earth thrown toward the front, back of it 
being a ditch in which the rifleman lies securely 
protected from the fire of lighter implements. 
An abatis of felled trees and barbed wire fences 
is effective in impeding the advance of the 
enemy. Barbed wire has been used extensively 
for this purpose within recent years. 

The fortifications of seaports are quite differ¬ 
ent from those constructed for the defense of 
interior positions. Heavy ordnance which throw 
dynamite shells and other powerful explosives a 
distance of six or eight miles have made it nec¬ 
essary to greatly revolutionize defensive warfare. 
The largest guns obtainable are securely 


mounted, and by means of them the enemy’s 
ships can be reached by the most powerful ex¬ 
plosives and leaden balls. For additional pro¬ 
tection the enemy’s ships are watched with the 
aid of powerful electric lights and swift steam¬ 
ers are utilized to scout. In many instances 
torpedoes plow under the water, by which it is 
aimed to strike the enemy’s ships from below. 
The outer defensive works consist of submarine 
mines, which are set off by the enemy’s ships, 
or by means of electric connection from the 
shore. 

Permanent fortifications are constructed of 
massive stone and iron works and are designed 
to defend important cities or strategic points. 
It is doubtful whether any fortress can be built 
that would form a serious obstacle to a modern 
land and naval attack, if the assailants were 
supplied with the most powerful modern guns. 
The greatest fortress in the world is the cele¬ 
brated stronghold of Gibraltar, on the coast of 
Spain. It is considered impregnable to mili¬ 
tary assault, though this is due to its natural 
situation rather than to its artificial strength. 
Since modern guns have been able to obliterate 
practically all the older forms of fortresses, the 
newer are designed for offensive action rather 
than great strongholds of defense. They are 
constructed on the spherical plan, supplied with 
guns of the heavier caliber, and designed for 
special effect against ricochet firing. Places 
permanently fortified are inclosed by ramparts; 
the upper surface, called the terreplein, serves 
as the location of troops and cannon. Parapets 
or breastworks protect the terreplein against 
the fire of the enemy, while embrasures, through 
which the guns are fired, pierce the parapets at 
convenient intervals. Ditches about twelve 
feet in depth are excavated outside the ram¬ 
part, often filled with water, and rendered serv¬ 
iceable in delaying the enemy’s advance, along 
with wire fences and by other obstructions. 
The United States has permanent seacoast de¬ 
fenses at about forty localities. They include 
Hampton Roads, Va., Boston, Mass., New York, 
N. Y., Washington, D. C., Charleston, S. C., 
Key West, Fla., New Orleans, La., Galveston, 
Tex., San Francisco, Cal., and the mouth of the 
Columbia River, Ore. and Wash. Many cities 
and seaports of Canada are protected by forti¬ 
fications, of which those at Quebec, Quebec, 
Esquimault, British Columbia, and Halifax, New 
Brunswick, are the most noteworthy. Indeed, 
Halifax is the chief naval station of the British 
in North America. It is defended by eleven 
forts and batteries, one of which, the Citadel, 
is counted, next to Quebec, the strongest forti¬ 
fication in America. 


FORT MADISON 


838 


FORT SCOTT* 


FORT MADISON (mad'i-s’n), a city in 
Iowa, county seat of Lee County, on the Mis- 
isissippi River, eighteen mijes southwest of 
Burlington. It is on the Chicago, Burlington 
and Quincy and the Atchison, Topeka and 
Santa Fe railroads. Among the chief build¬ 
ings are the county courthouse, the State peni¬ 
tentiary, the Catermole Memorial Library, and 
the high school. The manufactures include 
furniture, machinery, woodenware, flour, boots 
and shoes, paper, and leather. It has electric 
lighting and other public utilities. The city has 
an important trade in farm produce and mer¬ 
chandise. It was settled in 1832 and incor¬ 
porated in 1836. Population, 1905, 8,767. 

FORT MIMS, Massacre of, an assault dur¬ 
ing the Creek War, Aug. 30, 1813, at Fort 
Mims, about 35 miles north of Mobile, Ala. 
The fort was a temporary stockade under com¬ 
mand of Dixon Bailey and about 550 persons 
had assembled there for. protection. Weathers- 
ford, a half-breed, made an attack with a force 
of Indians. The fort made a vigorous defense, 
but was overpowered by superior numbers, and 
only fifteen escaped, all the others being massa¬ 
cred. 

FORT MONROE (mun-ro'), or Fortress 
Monroe, the strongest fortification in the 
United States, situated on Hampton Roads, 
Virginia. It was erected for the defense of 
the Norfolk navy yard, on the coast of Virginia, 
and occupies a fine site at Old Point Comfort. 
The plans and construction were completed 
under a French engineer. It is on a reservation 
of 282 acres and has within it detached build¬ 
ings for workshops, barracks, officers’ quarters, 
storehouses, and an artillery school. Many 
tourists visit the place, owing to its fine cli¬ 
mate and extensive hotel, railway, and steam¬ 
boat connections. In the Civil War it was an 
important Confederate stronghold. Jefferson 
Davis was imprisoned for two years at Fort 
Monroe after the war closed. 

FORT MOULTRIE (mol'tri), a fortifica¬ 
tion situated on Sullivan’s Island, near the en¬ 
trance to Charleston harbor, South Carolina. 
The fort was originally constructed of earth 
and logs, but was afterward rebuilt in masonry. 
A British fleet made an unsuccessful attack 
upon it in 1776. It was then known as Fort 
Sullivan and was defended by 6,500 Americans, 
of whom 435 were stationed at the fort. The 
British fleet under Sir Peter Parker and a 
force of regulars under Sir Henry Clinton 
made a combined attack, but they were com¬ 
pelled to abandon the invasion of the South. 
However, it surrendered to the British on May 
7, 1780. The name was changed during the 


Revolutionary War to. Fort Moultrie in honor 
of Col. William Moultrie, who defended it at 
the beginning of the war. In December, 1860, 
it was abandoned by Major Anderson, when it 
fell into the possession of the Confederate 
forces. 

FORT NIAGARA (ni-ag'a-ra), a fort near 
the mouth of the Niagara River, on the Ameri¬ 
can side, located by La Salle as a fortified 
trading post in 1669. This was afterward de¬ 
stroyed and abandoned and Fort Niagara was 
built on the same place by the French in 1725. 
The English under Sir William Johnson cap¬ 
tured it during the French and Indian War, in 
1759, hence the French were cut off from all 
their posts in the interior. During the Ameri¬ 
can Revolution it was a center of British in¬ 
fluence, whence many expeditions were sent 
to points farther south. It was evacuated by 
the British in 1796 as provided in the Treaty 
of 1783 and became the seat of an American 
garrison. In 1813 it was captured by the Brit¬ 
ish, who crossed over from Canada and made 
a night attack upon the fort, but in 1815 it was 
again surrendered to the United States. It 
ceased to be a fort in 1826, when the Federal 
garrison was withdrawn. 

FORT PICKENS (pik'enz), a fort in Flor¬ 
ida, on Santa Rosa Island, at the entrance of 
Pensacola Harbor. A Federal force under 
Adam J. Slemmer was in possession of the fort 
at the beginning of the Civil War, and was 
besieged by the Confederates under Braxton 
Bragg. In April, 1861, reenforcements were 
sent to relieve the fort and it was held by the 
Federals throughout the war. Fort Pickens 
is a defense to the United States navy yard 
at Warrington. 

FORT PILLOW, a fort on the Mississippi 
River, in Tennessee, forty miles north of 
Memphis. It was so named from General Pil¬ 
low, under whose direction it was constructed 
by the Confederates in 1862, but a small Fed¬ 
eral force captured it soon after. General 
Forrest made an attack upon it April 12, 1864, 
and the garrison was reduced after stubborn 
resistance. It was asserted that many of the 
Federals, about half of whom were Negroes, 
were massacred after they had surrendered, 
but this charge was denied by the Confederates 
on the ground that the garrison conducted a 
reckless defense, hence many of the soldiers 
were killed after resistance was futile. 

FORT SCOTT, a city in Kansas, county seat 
of Bourbon County, on the Marmaton River, 
98 miles south of Kansas City. It is on the 
Missouri Pacific, the Missouri, Kansas and 
Texas, and other railroads. The surrounding 


FORT SMITH 


839 


FORT WORTH 


country is fertile and contains valuable de¬ 
posits of cement rock, flagstone, and bitumi¬ 
nous coal. A system of street lighting, elec¬ 
tric railways, a public park, and a city library 
are among the facilities. The public buildings 
include a United States courthouse and post 
office, a high school, an academy for girls, and 
a normal college. The manufactures include 
woolen goods, beet sugar, cigars, clothing, flour, 
machinery, soap, vehicles, and sorghum. It 
was settled in 1838 and incorporated as a city 
of the first class in 1886. Population, 1904, 
14,081. 

FORT SMITH, a city in Arkansas, county 
seat of Sebastian County, on the Arkansas and 
Poteau rivers, 130 miles northwest of Little 
Rock. It is on the Kansas City Southern, the 
Saint Louis and San Francisco, and other rail¬ 
roads. The chief buildings include the county 
courthouse, the United States customhouse, the 
high school, and the public library. It is the 
seat of a United States district court. The 
manufactures include cotton seed oil, cigars, 
furniture, ice, cotton goods, and machinery. 
Electric lights, rapid transit, pavements, and 
waterworks are among the improvements. It 
was settled in 1838, incorporated as a town in 
1842, and chartered as a city in 1886. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 11,587; in 1910, 23,975. 

FORT STANWIX (stan'wiks), a fort built 
by the English under Brigadier Stanwix in 
1758, on the site occupied by Rome, N. Y. 
It was an important strategic point, owing to 
its location on the principle route between 
Canada and points in the State of New York. 
In 1768 Sir William Johnson made a treaty 
at this place with the Six Nations, who sur¬ 
rendered title to a large part of the region 
now included in West Virginia, Kentucky, and 
Pennsylvania. It was rebuilt in 1776 and 
named Fort Schuyler. The following year it 
was attacked by a British force under Saint 
Leger, who had advanced from Canada. See 
Oriskany, Battle of. 

FORT SUMTER (sum'ter), a fortification 
situated at the entrance to Charleston harbor, 
South Carolina, and named after Thomas Sum¬ 
ter, an American leader in the Revolutionary 
War. South Carolina seceded in December, 
1860, and Major Anderson, the commanding 
officer, abandoned the adjacent forts and oc¬ 
cupied Fort Sumter with 100 men and 52 light 
guns. General Beauregard led an attack on 
the fort April 12, 1861, and two days later-it 
was compelled to surrender. This event was 
the beginning of the Civil War, and the news 
of it immediately spread the fire of enthusiasm 
over the entire North and brought that sec¬ 


tion to arms. The Confederates held the fort 
until after the evacuation of Charleston, but 
surrendered it on April 14, 1865, four years 
after its capture. Soon after the loss of Fort 
Sumter to the Confederates, Richmond was 
^evacuated, the Confederate forces surrendered, 
and their cause was entirely abandoned. Since 
the Civil War it has been rebuilt and greatly 
improved. 

FORT WAYNE (wan)*: a city of Indiana, 
county seat of Allen County, on the Maumee 
River and the Wabash and Erie Canal, about 
150 miles southeast of Chicago, Ill. It is on 
the Wabash, the Pennsylvania, the Lake Erie 
and Western, the Lake Shore and Michigan 
Southern, the Grand Rapids and Indiana, and 
other railroads, and is the converging cen¬ 
ter of several electric interurban railways. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the coun¬ 
ty courthouse, the Carnegie public library, the 
Federal building, the Concordia College (Lu¬ 
theran), the Indiana School for Feeble-Minded 
Youth, and a Roman Catholic academy. The 
architecture is modern and substantial, includ¬ 
ing many tall office, bank, and hotel buildings. 
It is surrounded by a productive farming 
country and has a large wholesale and jobbing 
trade. Among the chief manufactures are 
agricultural implements, furniture, steam en¬ 
gines, car wheels, electrical apparatus, leather, 
stoves, woolen goods, and hardware. It has 
extensive systems of sewerage, stone and mac¬ 
adam paving, waterworks, and gas and electric 
lighting. Fort Wayne was so named from 
Gen. Anthony Wayne, who built a fort here 
in 1794, and a monument has been erected to 
his honor. It was chartered as a city in 1839 
and became prosperous in 1840, after the com¬ 
pletion of the Wabash and Erie Canal. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 45,115; in 1910, 63,933. 

FORT WORTH, a city of Texas, county 
seat of Tarrant County, at the junction of the 
Trinity, Clear, and West rivers, about 170 
miles north of Austin. It is on the Fort Worth 
and Denver, the Texas and Pacific, the Chi¬ 
cago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Gulf, Colo¬ 
rado and Santa Fe, and other railroads, and is 
connected with Dallas, thirty miles east, by 
an electric railway. The Clear River and nu¬ 
merous artesian wells furnish an ample supply 
of water for manufacturing and sanitary pur¬ 
poses. An extensive street railway system 
penetrates all parts of the city, while electric 
lighting, waterworks, public libraries, ' and an 
excellent school system are among the gen¬ 
eral facilities. It is the seat of the Natatorium, 
a bathing establishment costing $50,000. Among 
the educational institutions are the Fort Worth 


FORUM 


840 


FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 


University, the Polytechnic College, the Fort 
Worth Medical College, and a Roman Catho¬ 
lic academy. The city hall, courthouse, high 
school, and chamber of commerce building are 
convenient and costly edifices. It has manu¬ 
factures of wire, flour, hardware, jute, cloth¬ 
ing, cotton and woolen goods, leather, and 
machinery. Fort Worth has a large trade in 
farm produce, live stock, and merchandise. It 
was settled in 1849 and incorporated in 1872. 
Population, 1900, 26,688; in 1910, 73,312. 

FORUM (fo'rum), in Roman history, a pub¬ 
lic place or square in a city where markets and 
public assemblies were held and where justice 
was administered. The most noted in Rome 
was the Forum Romanum, situated between 
Mount Palatine and the Capitoline Hill, which 
was adorned with exquisite statuary and mag¬ 
nificent buildings, and beautified by foliage, 
flowers, and walks. The government of Italy 
has recently made excavations and is pre¬ 
serving the more valuable relics for study. 
Legally, the term forum implies a court where 
an action may be instituted. 

FOSSILS (fos'sils), the organic bodies that 
were buried in past ages by deposits of earth, 
and which preserved their form or substance 
so as to be capable of identification. The term 
is .also applied to indentations made by ani¬ 
mals on rocks while forming, as the imprints 
of birds walking on pasty deposits. Some 
fossils consist of vegetable and animal parts 
in a good state of preservation, as the trunks 
of trees or the bones, teeth, and horns of ani¬ 
mals, and the shells of mollusks. The process 
of fossilization is due to the decomposition of 
the least permanent in the organic structure 
and its replacement with some mineral matter. 
In some cases new material is substituted for 
the entire decomposed mass, while in others 
the organic remains are preserved in an almost 
perfect state. Shells, wood, and other sub¬ 
stances are frequently changed into various sili¬ 
ceous fossils by subjecting the organism to 
the action of water containing silica in solu¬ 
tion. Similar results take place when the min¬ 
eral matter is iron oxide, pyrite, or calcium 
carbonate, while in rare cases barite and fluor¬ 
ite have a like effect. When the organic por¬ 
tions pass away in decay, the mineral matters 
slowly take their place. 

Fossil footprints of extinct animals have 
been discovered in the Triassic and Carbonif¬ 
erous rocks of Eurasia and in the Cambrian, 
Silurian, and Carboniferous of America. The 
imprints are largely those of birds, reptiles, 
mollusks, fish, and insects, and were made 
either by the feet in walking or by the body in 


making impressions in the mud after death. 
Fossil botany now includes many extinct plants, 
among them those of the Dakota group of 
cretaceous deposits, found in America; those 
of the Fayette formation, and those of the 
Florissant, found in Colorado, each of these 
including a large number of species. Among 
the recent publications on this subject are 
F. H. Knowlton’s “Catalogue of Cretaceous 
and Tertiary Plants of North America” and 
A. C. Seward’s “Fossil Plants for Students of 
Botany and Geology.” 

FOSTORIA (fos-to'ri-a), a city of Ohio, in 
Seneca County, about twelve miles west of 
Tiffin. It is on the Lake Erie and Western, 
the Baltimore and Ohio, and other railroads, 
and has a large trade in produce and merchan¬ 
dise. The surrounding country is fertile, pro¬ 
ducing cereals and fruit, and gas and oil fields 
are worked in the vicinity. Among the note¬ 
worthy buildings are the high school, the city 
hall, and the Ohio Normal University. The 
manufactures include flour, cigars, machinery, 
glass, and utensils. Gas and electric lights, 
street railways, waterworks, and fine school 
buildings are among the improvements. Fos- 
toria was named from the father of Charles 
Foster, who was Governor of Ohio. The pres¬ 
ent charter dates from 1889. Population, 1900, 
7,730. 

FOUNDRY (found'ry), an establishment 
which is supplied with the necessary machin¬ 
ery to melt and mold cast iron and other metals 
on a large scale. Foundries are usually located 
near the blast furnaces, or have such furnaces 
within the main or adjacent buildings, and 
from these the products of pig iron are obtained 
for the second fusion, which is the special 
object of the foundry. The process of shap¬ 
ing metallic figures is done by poujjing the 
molten materials into molds in which it cools 
and solidifies. This operation is called found¬ 
ing or casting (q. v.). The mold used is usu¬ 
ally in two parts, one containing the pattern, 
which is surrounded by a fine molding sand, 
and the other part is tightly fitted to it. When 
the pattern is completely packed, it is removed 
carefully, leaving the sand so it forms a per¬ 
fect mold for the object to be cast. The mol¬ 
ten metal is poured into ladles, by which it is 
transmitted into the mold through small holes 
made through the sand. Much care is required 
in founding complicated parts of machinery. 
The manufacture of stoves, hollow ware, and 
various castings for machinery comprise the 
more important products of foundries. See 
Casting; Furnace. 

FOUNDLING HOSPITAL, an institution 


FOUNTAIN 


841 


FOX 


for the reception and support of deserted chil¬ 
dren. Two classes are maintained, those sup¬ 
ported by the government and those depend¬ 
ing for support on private or sectarian aid. 
Abandoned children are known as foundlings, 
and the cause of their desertion is in most 
cases illegitimate birth, though quite a number 
are abandoned, as a result of poverty or un¬ 
happy wedlock. Formerly the county poor 
farm was the only place provided for found¬ 
lings, but more recently better provisions have 
been made, especially in the larger cities, where 
foundling hospitals are very essential. The 
death rate in these institutions on an average 
is about 75 per cent., though it is frequently 
much higher. This is due to the circumstance 
that children received there are not in a good 
state of health, or are weakened by the anxi¬ 
ety and poverty of the mother. Children re¬ 
ceive careful medical treatment and those that 
survive are usually placed in homes. The first 
foundling hospital was established in Milan, 
Italy, in 787. Soon after they became common 
in many cities of Europe. At present private 
or public institutions of this kind are main¬ 
tained in many of the great cities of the United 
States and in some of the cities of Canada. 

FOUNTAIN (foun'tin), an artificial basin 
containing water for’drinking or other useful 
purposes, and connected by an arrangement of 
pipes through which water is forced to specific 
heights in ornamental jets. The pressure of 
the water at the head of the pipes is sufficient 
to cause it to rise to almost the same height 
at the orifice of issue. Many of the larger 
cities maintain elaborate fountains in public 
parks and squares for refreshing and ornamen¬ 
tal purposes, while very beautiful effects are 
seen in connection with them at the great ex¬ 
positions. Among the most noted fountains 
are those at Rome, Berlin, and Paris. Those 
in Paris are mostly at the Place de la Con¬ 
corde and at the Tuileries. The fountains seen 
at the international expositions are beautifully 
illuminated by electric lights, by means of which 
it is possible to secure elaborate color effects 
at night. Fine examples of these were fur¬ 
nished in the Fountain of the Republic, at Chi¬ 
cago in 1893; the fountains of Man, Nature, and 
Progress, at Buffalo in 1901; and the Cascades, 
at Saint Louis in 1904. 

FOUR-CORNERS, a locality in Elgin Coun¬ 
ty, Ontario. General Proctor was stationed 
at this place with a British force and was at¬ 
tacked by the Americans under General Har¬ 
rison on Oct. 1,* 1813, a short time before the 
Battle of the Thames. The Americans were 
repulsed at Four Corners. 


FOUR-O’CLOCK (fdr'6-klok), an orna¬ 
mental flowering plant .native to Peru, but nat¬ 
uralized extensively in all the continents. It 
is so called because it blooms from about four 
o’clock in the afternoon until the next morn¬ 
ing. Many varieties of colors have been ob¬ 
tained by cultivation. Most species are culti¬ 
vated extensively in flowering beds and gar¬ 
dens. The calyx is often mistaken for a corolla, 
from its brilliance and calyxlike involucre. 

FOWL, a term formerly used as a syno¬ 
nym of bird, but now restricted more particu¬ 
larly to the genus of birds known as Gallus, of 
which the East India jungle fowl is thought 
to be the original. The domestic fowl, includ¬ 
ing the cock and hen, belong to this class. That 
the domestication of fowls is of great antiquity 
is attested by figures on Egyptian monuments 
and the traditions of the Chinese, according 
to which they received their poultry from 
western countries as early as 1400 b. c. Among 
the best known species are the Leghorn, Span¬ 
ish, Hamburg, Cochin, Brahma, Bantam, Plym¬ 
outh Rock, Langshan, and Dorking. See Poul- 

try. 

FOX, an animal which is allied to the dog, 
having a long, bushy tail and erect ears. The 
pupil of the eyes is vertically elliptical. In 
all species the skull is rounded, the nose is very 
pointed, and the limbs are slender. However, 
they differ in size, color, and weight, but all 
exhibit the same artifices in obtaining prey 
and escaping danger. Foxes are so cunning 
that they are not easily caught in a trap. 
They burrow in the ground and live on animal 
food, unless pressed with hunger, when they 
feed on vegetable substances, especially seeds. 
Among the best known American species are 
the red, gray, cross, and Arctic foxes, which 
are hunted and trapped for their furs. The 
Arctic fox is smaller than the common fox, is 
pure white in winter, and abounds in the far 
north of the continent. It is gregarious and 
much more easily tamed than other species. 
Several species of the fox are found in Eura¬ 
sia and'Africa, though those common to the 
high latitudes are almost universally smaller in 
stature than those which frequent the warmer 
countries. 

The cunning of the fox has caused it to 
enter largely as a popular figure into stories 
and fables. Some of these stories, especially 
those relating to its skill in getting food and 
in evading its enemies, are so remarkable that 
they are not universally believed. It is thought 
that this cunning developed as the result of the 
inherited experience of many generations. The 
cry is a yelping bark, but older ones learn to 




FOX 


842 


FOXHOUND 



imitate the voice of other animals and use this 
means to decoy their prey. Some species live 
out in the woods, but most of them burrow 
in the ground, or select a deserted nest of a 
rabbit or a badger. The home of a fox usually 
consists of several rooms or compartments, 
such as an outer room or hole, a supply room, 
and an apartment for sleeping. The male gen¬ 
erally occupies the outer room, while the fe¬ 
male and the young are back in the part which 
is best protected from intruders. In most cases 
the litter consists of from four to six, brought 
forth in April. During the day the fox re¬ 
mains in hiding, but it comes out at night and 


HOME OF THE FOX. 

moves about rapidly, often committing havoc 
among the poultry. The fox chase is looked 
upon as a favorite sport in England, where this 
animal is protected by law, except at a specified 
period, when it is pursued with dogs and horses 
which are trained especially for this purpose. 
The sport consists of seeing the cunning meth¬ 
ods by which the animal seeks to avoid cap¬ 
ture. It will often feign death and endure 
rough treatment, seeking thereby to make good 
its escape. 


FOX, the name of two rivers that rise in 
Wisconsin, though both are also known by 
other appellations. The Fox, or Pishtaka, has 
its source in Waukesha county, flows in a 
southerly direction and joins the Illinois River 
at Ottawa, Illinois. The Fox, or Neenah, rises 
in Green Lake county, makes a bold turn to¬ 
ward the west and north, after a tortuous 
course passes into Lake Winnebago, and thence 
flows northeast into Green Bay. Its entire 
course is about 250 miles. Near its headwater 
it approaches within two miles of the Wiscon¬ 
sin River, with which it is connected by a 
canal at Portage City, thus providing a union 
between Lake Michigan and 
the Mississippi River. 

FOX B A T , the general 
name of any large bat, or 
flying fox, which is charac¬ 
terized by its habit of eating 
fruit. Seventy species have 
been catalogued, all of which 
are native to Asia, Africa, 
and the Malay Archipelago. 
The species are mostly large 
and tailless. They have large 
eyes and pointed teeth, and 
have the color of the red fox. 
They Tio much damage to 
mango and cocoanut planta¬ 
tions. In habit they are noc¬ 
turnal. coming out at night 
in search of food. Their 
flesh is eaten by the natives. 

FOXGLOVE, the com¬ 
mon name of a genus of 
plants known as Digitalis, 
which includes a number of 
species that are native to Eu¬ 
rope and Asia. The common 
foxgloves have erect stems 
with numerous large leaves 
at their bases. At the upper 
end of the stems are racemes 
of variously colored flowers. 
Several of the species have 
been greatly improved by cul¬ 
tivation and are grown as flowering plants in 
gardens and parks. They thrive best in light, 
rich soil. The drug known as digitalis, which is 
obtained from a species of foxglove, is a bit¬ 
ter substance and has sedative arrd narcotic 
properties. 

FOXHOUND (fox'hound), one of several 
breeds of dogs which are of value in fox hunt¬ 
ing. It is noted for its fleetness, perseverance, 
physical strength, and fine scent. Its average 
height is 21 inches. The foxhound is supposed 




















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FOX INDIANS 


843 


FRANCE 


to be a cross between the staghound and the 
bloodhound. 

FOX INDIANS, a tribe of North American 
Indians belonging to the Algonquin family. 
Formerly it occupied portions of Iowa, Ne¬ 
braska, and Kansas, but. now only few rem¬ 
nants remain in these states and in Oklahoma. 
Many of these Indians are industrious and 
progressive, having acquired both educational 
advancement and financial stability. See Sacs 
and Foxes. 

FOX SPARROW (spar'ro-), a handsome 
species of sparrow native to Canada and the 
United States. It has a rusty red plumage, 
but the breast is whitish. The eggs are thickly 
spotted and are laid in thickets or in tufts of 
grass: The song is loud and cheerful, resem¬ 
bling that of a thrush. It is migratory, passing 
far into the north of Canada to breed. 

FOXTAIL GRASS, the name applied to sev¬ 
eral grasses with brush-like spikes which re¬ 
semble the tail of a fox. Several species 
abound in meadows and pastures. They pos¬ 
sess nutritive qualities, though some, from 
their hardy nature and remarkable tendency 
to multiply, are obnoxious weeds in cultivated 
lands. A number of species are naturalized in 
North America and are cultivated as forage 
plants. 

FOX TERRIER (ter'ri-er), a small dog 
which is useful in following the fox to its 
habitation. The weight is about eighteen 
pounds. Its spirit is keen and lively, and it is 
adapted in every way for companionship and 
service in the hunt. 

FOYLE (foil), a river in Ireland, formed 
by the junction of the Finn and Mourne. It 
forms the boundary between Donegal and Lon¬ 
donderry counties and flows into Lough Foyle, 
an inlet on the northern coast of Ireland, four 
miles below the city of Londonderry. The 
entire length is about seventy miles. It is 
famous for its salmon fisheries. 

FRACTION (frak'shun), in algebra and 
arithmetic, an expression of one or more of 
the equal parts of a divided whole, or an ex¬ 
pression for an unexecuted division, originally 
invented to represent a quantity less than a unit. 
The dividend number is called the numerator, 
because it numbers how many parts are taken, 
and the divisor is called the denominator, be- 
i cause it names the parts, thus, in the fraction 
%, 3 is the numerator and 4 is the denomina¬ 
tor. A fraction is said to be proper when the 
denominator is greater than the numerator, 
and improper, when the numerator is greater 
than the denominator. In the former case the 
value is less and in the latter more than 1. 


If both terms of the fraction are equal, it 
represents 1, or unity. A decimal fraction is 
one whose denominator is 1 with zeros an¬ 
nexed, in which the denominator is not writ¬ 
ten, but is understood from a point being pre¬ 
fixed, with zeros, if necessary; thus, .086 for 
T §|fo. All the fundamental operations in 
arithmetic, that is, addition, subtraction, multi¬ 
plication, and division, may be performed in 
fractions, but the denomination must be the 
same. In decimal fractions the denomination 
depends upon the position of the decimal point, 
as .1, .01, .001. Common fractions are reduced 
to a common denominator by multiplying both 
terms of each fraction by the denominator of 
the other fractions. 

FRAMINGHAM (fra'ming-ham), a town of 
Massachusetts, in Middlesex County, on the 
Sudbury River, twenty miles west of Boston. 
It is on the Boston and Albany and the New 
York, New Haven and Hartford railroads. 
Among the chief buildings are a State normal 
school, a hospital, a public library, and a home 
for the aged. The manufactures include chairs, 
woolen cloth, rubber goods, and boots and 
shoes. The first settlement, made about 1647, 
was known as Danforth’s Plantation. It was 
incorporated in 1700. Population, 1905, 11,548. 

FRANC (frank), a silver coin of France, 
divided into ten decimes and 100 centimes. It 
was first coined in 1795 and was adopted by 
Belgium in 1833 and by Switzerland in 1849. 
It corresponds in coinage to the cent of Canada 
and the United States, in that it is issued in 
different denominations, such as 1, 2, and 5 
franc pieces. The value of a franc is about 9% 
pence in English money and a little over 19 
cents in the money of Canada and the United 
States. 

FRANCE (frans), a republic of Western 
Europe, located between latitude 42° 20' and 
51° 5' north and longitude 4° 48'. west and 
7° 31' east from Greenwich. It is bounded on 
the north by the English Channel, the Strait 
of Dover, and the North Sea; east by Belgium, 
Germany,. Switzerland, and Italy ; south by the 
Mediterranean Sea and Spain; and west by 
the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. 
Its greatest breadth from east to west is 552 
miles, and its length from north to south * is 
605 miles. In size it ranks fourth among the 
countries of Europe. The numerous coast in¬ 
dentations afford many good harbors, thus ren¬ 
dering the country capable of supporting an 
extensive maritime system. Numerous islands 
abound off the northwestern shore, the largest 
of which are Re, Belle Isle, and Oleron. The 
total area is 207,107 square miles. This in- 



FRANCE 


844 


FRANCE 


eludes Corsica and a number of small islands, 
which have a surface of 3,700 square miles. 

Description. The eastern portion of France 
is traversed by numerous mountain chains, of 
which the Pyrenees, Cevennes, and Vosges are 
the most prominent. These mountain ranges 
form the principal watershed, the rivers flow¬ 
ing from them to the west and north toward 
the Atlantic, and on the opposite side to the 
south and easfcinto the Mediterranean. Vig- 
nemale, the highest peak of the Pyrenees in 
France, has an altitude of 10,792 feet. Mont 
Blanc, height 15,781 feet, is the culminating 
peak of the Alps, and is on the line between 
France and Italy, near Switzerland. The in¬ 
terior of France is marked by several volcanic 
groups known by the general name of Au¬ 
vergne, while the coast region along the Eng¬ 
lish Channel is largely level and exceedingly 
fertile. The Pyrenees separate France from 
Spain and have a general altitude of 9,000 feet. 
Passes for railroads are located at both ends 
of the range, near the coasts, but few highways 
cross these mountains. The Alps separate 
France from Switzerland and Italy, with cele¬ 
brated passes and railway tunnels in the vicin¬ 
ity of Mont Cenis. The Jura Mountains are 
between France and Switzerland, and the Vos¬ 
ges extend from the western border into Ger¬ 
many. Corsica, where Monte Cinto has an 
elevation of 8,900 feet, belongs physically to 
Italy rather than France, and is united with it 
by a submarine plateau. 

Many important river basins are formed by 
the foothills and mountains, through which 
flow numerous navigable streams. The entire 
number capable of navigation is about 200, 
and the total length of interior navigation ag¬ 
gregates 6,000 miles. Among the larger streams 
are the Rhone, the Loire, the Garonne, and the 
Seine. The largest of these is the Rhone, 
which passes from Switzerland through a gap 
between the Jura and the Alps into France, 
receives the Saone, another tributary, and flows 
southward into the Mediterranean by a delta. 
The Garonne rises in Spain, flows through a 
mountainous section in the upper course, and 
discharges into the Atlantic through the estuary 
of the Gironde. The Loire and Seine likewise 
discharge into the Atlantic. Other streams in¬ 
clude the Isere, Durance, Dordogne, Mayenne, 
Eiire, Charente, and Sarthe. Lake Geneva is 
the most important inland water, but a portion 
of it lies in Switzerland. Bourget and Annecy 
are other lakes of the Rhone Basin, and aside 
from those mentioned there is none of consider¬ 
able size. A number of lagoons are located 
along the coast. 


Climate. As a whole the climate is favora¬ 
ble and among the most healthful in Europe. 
The isothermal lines of France indicate a nor¬ 
mal temperature of about'50°. The regions in 
the southeast are the warmest and those in the 
northwest are the coldest, though all portions, 
except the most elevated mountain ranges, are 
susceptible to profitable cultivation, and are 
marked by atmospheric brightness and salu¬ 
brity. At Paris the temperature averages 36° 
in January and 65° in July. The rainfall aver¬ 
ages about thirty inches for the whole country, 
ranging from ten inches in the elevated north¬ 
ern plains to forty - inches along the sea coast 
and in the Cevennes. 

Flora and Fauna. France has a flora quite 
like that of the other countries in continental 
Europe, except in the more recently formed 
summits, where lichens and mosses abound. 
Forests of ash, oak, pine, and spruce charac¬ 
terize the regions of medium elevation, and 
the chestnut and mulberry are common to the 
less elevated sections in the south of France. 
Nutritious grasses are very common. Wild 
animal life is not abundant, owing to the 
country having been settled a long period of 
time. The chamois is found in the mountains, 
the mouflon is met in Corsica, and the fallow 
deer and wild boar are preserved in private 
estates and on reservations. Many birds of 
song and plumage are common, and water- 
fowls are numerous along the coasts. The fish¬ 
eries yield many valuable catches, including 
oysters. 

Mining. Valenciennes, in the northeastern 
part, is the center of productive coal fields, 
which are estimated at about 2,250 square miles. 
The deposits consist chiefly of a good grade of 
bituminous coal, valuable in manufacturing, 
but anthracite is found in the department of 
Isere and lignite coal occurs in the Pyrenees. 
Iron ore is obtained in considerable quantities, 
especially in the Jurassic rocks and in the 
Pyrenees, but the output is not adequate to 
the demand. Some copper is obtained near 
Lyons. Other metals include zinc, nickel, sil¬ 
ver, lead, and antimony. France is rich in 
building material and quarry products. Gran¬ 
ite, limestone, and sandstone are abundant, and 
a fine grade of marble is quarried in the Alps 
and the Pyrenees. Roofing slate is quarried in 
the Ardennes and phosphate rock occurs in 
several localities. The latter is used in the 
manufacture of fertilizers. 

Agriculture. France is distinctly an agricul¬ 
tural country, being favored by a mild climate 
and general fertility of the soil. The methods 
employed by the peasants are modern and til- 


FRANCE 


845 


FRANCE 


lage is conducted with great care. About 6,750,- 
000 people are employed in agricultural pur¬ 
suits and fifty-eight per cent, of the land is un¬ 
der cultivation. Wheat, rye, barley, and oats 
are the staple cereals. In the production of 
wheat France exceeds all countries of Europe, 
except Russia. Beets are grown extensively 
for the manufacture of sugar. The govern¬ 
ment has a monopoly in. the cultivation of to¬ 
bacco. Other products include flax, maize, po¬ 
tatoes, rape, hemp, and buckwheat. Vegetables 
are produced in all sections, while fruits abound 
extensively, though they are grown most suc¬ 
cessfully in the southern portion, where the 
peach, pear, orange, lemon, fig, and citron 
thrive. The adaptable condition of the soil for 
the production of forage crop has caused France 
to rank as a leading country in the rearing of 
cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. However, it is 
necessary to import meat, but eggs, honey, and 
dairy products are exported. Dairying is an 
important industry and in many sections is as¬ 
sociated more or less with the rearing of swine. 
The culture of silkworms receives marked at¬ 
tention in the warm portions, where it is fos¬ 
tered on a large scale. The vineyards are es¬ 
pecially prolific and about one twenty-fifth of 
the whole surface is planted to vines. 

Commerce. France has fostered a policy of 
tariff protection, especially during the period 
following the War of 1870-71, but more liberal 
rates have prevailed since 1882. Raw cotton, 
wool, raw silk, timber, cereals, and coal and 
coke are the chief imports, while the exports 
include leather, cotton and silk textiles, metal 
goods, chemical products, wine, and clothing. 
The nations that have the largest share of for¬ 
eign trade are Great Britain, Belgium, Ger¬ 
many, Algeria, and the United States in the or¬ 
der named. The foreign trade has an annual 
value of $2,250,000,000 and the exports slightly 
exceed the imports. Foreign trade is promoted by 
an efficient merchant marine, which consists of 
about 1,500 steamers and 15,000 sailing- vessels. 

Manufactures. France ranks as the fourth 
manufacturing country, being exceeded only by 
Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. 
In the output of textile fabrics, especially silk 
goods, it has long held a prominent place. The 
textile fabrics center largely at Lyons, Rouen, 
and Paris. Cotton and woolen goods are made 
in large quantities at Rheims and Amiens; lace 
and gauze, at Saint Quentin; tapestry at Paris 
and Beauvais; and carpets, at Abbeville.. Large 
quantities of safes, files, hardware, jewelry, 
and optical instruments are manufactured for 
exportation. In the manufacture of wine 
France has held a foremost position many cen¬ 


turies, and its cognac is still the leading prod¬ 
uct of the kind in the world. It likewise has 
taken a foremost position in the manufactures 
of engines, motors, and automobiles. Fruit 
canning is carried on extensively and the fish¬ 
eries yield many products employed in manu¬ 
facturing. Special mention may be made of the 
tunny, anchovy, oyster, mackerel, and sardines, 
all of which are cured and canned. 

Transportation. Extensive railroad and 
canal facilities make it possible to carry on a 
vast interior commerce, and to bring the prod¬ 
ucts for shipment to the principal seaports. 
The railways are largely under direct govern¬ 
ment supervision and in efficiency take a pe¬ 
culiarly high rank. They aggregate a total of 
28,750 miles, hence Germany and Russia are the 
only European countries that have a larger mile¬ 
age. Paris is the converging center of all the 
railway systems of France, with the exception 
of one line. The canals aggregate 2,975 miles 
and the navigable streams have a length of 
5,500 miles. In addition there are many electric 
railways throughout the more populous sections 
of the country, and the highways are generally 
in a good condition. The canals connect the 
various river basins and facilitate transporta¬ 
tion to the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, and 
the Mediterranean. Among the most important 
of the canals are the canal of Languedoc, which 
connects the Garonne with the Mediterranean; 
the Rhone and Rhine canal; and the canal of 
Bourgogne. Telegraph and telephone lines are 
everywhere manifest and efficiently managed, 
and, like the canals and railroads, are largely 
under direct government supervision and own¬ 
ership. 

Government. The government of France is 
a constitutional republic, in which three depart¬ 
ments of government are recognized, and dates 
from Sept. 4, 1870, when the second empire was 
overthrown as a direct result of the Franco- 
German War. Its legislative authority is vested 
in two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies and 
the Senate. Representation in the former is 
elective and in the latter it is appointive by 
officials of the departments. In the Chamber 
of Deputies are 584 members, chosen for four 
years, and the Senate is composed of 300 mem¬ 
bers, elected for nine years, one-third retiring 
every three years. The entire country is-di¬ 
vided into 87 departments. Each of these is di¬ 
vided for election purposes into arrondisse- 
ments, and these are subdivided into smaller di¬ 
visions for the purpose of local government. 
The system of justice, like that of Canada and 
the United States, originates in inferior courts, 
and, after passing through courts of appeals. 




FRANCE 


846 


FRANCE 


terminates in the supreme court of the state, 
which has its seat at the capital. Cases of at¬ 
tempt against the safety of the state or of plot¬ 
ting to change the form of government are tried 
by the Senate, which is then constituted as a 
high court of justice. The president is elected 
for a term of seven years by the two chambers, 
a majority of both bodies being necessary to a 
choice. He has the appointment of civil and 
military posts, and is assisted by twelve minis¬ 
ters whom he appoints. The ministry consists 
of ministers of the interior, finance, war, jus¬ 
tice and public worship, marine, colonies, public 
instruction, foreign affairs, commerce, agricul¬ 
ture, public works, and labor. 

Education. Educationally France occupies a 
high position among the countries of South¬ 
western Europe. The minister of public instruc¬ 
tion, who is appointed by the president and is a 
member of the cabinet, has supervision of all 
the branches of education and is assisted by an 
educational council. Primary, secondary, and 
high schools are maintained under appropriate 
courses of study, and they are supplemented by 
colleges and universities devoted to industrial 
art, law, theology, literature, and medicine. All 
the communes are required to have primary 
schools, but, where the population exceeds 500, 
the schools for boys and girls are separate. In 
the capital of each department and some other 
cities- are institutions of higher learning, the 
whole number being about 275. In 1908 the sec¬ 
ondary schools were attended by 127,642 and 
the universities by 34,368 students. 

Defense. Military service is obligatory on 
every Frenchman from the age of 20 to 45 
years, who is not declared unfit for military 
duty. The present peace footing is 575,000 men 
and officers, though the entire war strength, in¬ 
cluding the colonies, aggregates 3,500,000 men. 
France occupies a high position in the naval 
administration, which is divided into three ma¬ 
rine divisions. The number of. men and officers 
in the navy is placed at 54,350. It has 44 bat¬ 
tleships completed or in the course of construc¬ 
tion and a proportionately large number of pro¬ 
tected cruisers, torpedo boats, and torpedo boat 
destroyers. The principal sources of revenue 
are land taxes, registration, customs and ex¬ 
cises, railroads and telegraphs, and licenses. The 
total national debt is larger than that of any 
country in the world, being about $6,800,000,- 
000, and the revenue and expenditures are cor¬ 
respondingly large. 

Inhabitants. More than a million of the in¬ 
habitants of France proper are foreigners, most¬ 
ly of European birth, while the rate of increase 
in population is very small, but there is a small 


preponderance of births over deaths. However, 
the increase of the last several decades may be 
attributed to immigration. The three chief re¬ 
ligious denominations are Roman Catholic, Lu¬ 
theran, and Jewish in the order named. Reli¬ 
gious worship has been free since the adoption 
of the Organic Articles in 1802, but the three 
churches named were subsidized by the state 
until 1905, when the law which separates the 
church and the state came into force. About 
two-thirds of the people are nominally Roman 
Catholics. Fifteen cities have a population of 
more than 100,000. Paris, the capital and larg¬ 
est city, is one of the most important centers of 
population in the world. The other cities of im¬ 
portance include Lyons, Marseilles, Bordeaux, 
Lille, Toulouse, Nantes, Saint Etienne, Havre, 
Rheims, Roubaix, Rouen, Rennes. The popular 
tion of France, exclusive of the colonies, in 
1906, was 39,252,267. 

Colonies. The colonial possessions of France 
have an area of 4,055,150 square miles and a 
population estimated at 56,675,000. They are 
variously distributed in Asia, Africa, America, 
and Oceania, and have been the means of 
greatly increasing foreign trade and influence. 
The larger part of these possessions is African 
and the colonies of Oceania are not particular¬ 
ly valuable. The latter include New Caledonia 
and a number of dependencies. 

The French colonies of America are Guiana, 
Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Pierre, and Mi¬ 
quelon, and those of Asia include Indo-China, 
Annam, Cambodia, Cochin-China, Tonkin, and 
Laos. The African possessions embrace Al¬ 
giers, French Congo, French Guinea, Comoro 
Isles, Dahomey, Ivory Coast, Mayotto, Mada¬ 
gascar, Somali Coast, Reunion, Senegal, Niger, 
Senegambia, Tunis, and Western Sahara. 

Language. Before the Romans occupied 
Gaul, Celtic was the chief dialect spoken in the 
region now occupied by France, and that lan¬ 
guage is still spoken in Brittany. The French 
language is classed with the Romanic group, 
of which it is the most important dialect, the 
other languages of this group being the Spanish, 
Italian, Portuguese, Provencal, and the Wal- 
lachian or Romanic. After Roman occupation 
the Gallic, Celtic, and other local dialects grad¬ 
ually became modified by the introduction of 
new elements, and by the 8th century a marked 
distinction existed between the popular lan¬ 
guage of France and the classic Latin. They 
were distinguished by the names Romana and 
Latina, and, when the new Romance tongue be¬ 
came generally adopted, it was named French. 
Louis the German in 842 took an oath in the 
Romance tongue in Strasburg, and this is re- 




FRANCE 


847 


FRANCE 


garded the oldest written document in that dia¬ 
lect extant. Francis I. prohibited the use of 
Latin at court in the beginning of the 16th cen¬ 
tury, since which time French has been recog¬ 
nized as the national language. French is spo¬ 
ken generally throughout the country, but Flem¬ 
ish and German are used locally on the border 
of Belgium and Germany, and Italian is spoken 
in the southeastern part. It has been the lan¬ 
guage of diplomacy, cookery, fine art, and the 
European aristocracy since the Middle French 
period. Its greatest popularity was attained in 
the reign of Napoleon, though it is now the lan¬ 
guage of about 50,000,000 people, and its liter¬ 
ature is exceptionally rich. 

Literature. The literature of France is both 
extensive and valuable, embracing many prod¬ 
ucts of a large number of eminent writers. It 
may be said to begin with the 11th century, 
when numerous poems were collected and pub¬ 
lished. These poems embrace at least three 
classes, including those that relate to the 
achievements of Charlemagne 'and his descend¬ 
ants; those relating to ancient history, particu¬ 
larly Alexander the Great; and those detailing 
the life and achievements of King Arthur. 
Philippe de Comines (1445-1509) is one of the 
first historians of eminence, dealing with the 
' life and times of Louis XI. and his contempo¬ 
raries, but the writings of Froissart (1337-1410), 
which include a collection of poems and tales 
of the chivalry of the 14th century, are per¬ 
haps the most popular productions of the early 
period. French literature was greatly modified 
by the revival of classical learning, when public 
thought was directed to classical study and sa¬ 
cred history. The humorist Rabelais (1490- 
1553) belongs to the same period, as also does 
the essayist Montaigne (1533-1592). In that 
period the great theological work of John Cal¬ 
vin, entitled “Institution of the Christian Re¬ 
ligion,” exercised a wide influence upon the 
public thought of France, and was the cause of 
inducing many writers to turn with renewed 
vigor to works in prose. Clement Marot (1495- 
1544) wrote numerous witty poetic productions, 
while Margaret of Navarre issued popular tales, 
and Jodelle (1532-1573) gave an impetus to 
tragedy. 

With the advent of Louis XIV. came the 
golden age of French literature. At that time 
Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) wrote his master¬ 
pieces, entitled “Horace,” “Cid,” “Cinna,” and 
“Polyeucte;” Pascal (1623-1662) created inter¬ 
est by his “Provencal Letters;” and Racine 
(1639-1699) wrote his “Iphigenie Phedre,” 
“Athalie,” and other noted comedies for the 
stage. Fine works in prose were added to the 


general writings by Jean Louis Balzac (1594- 
1654) and Voiture (1598-1648), while Descartes 
produced works of high philosophical value. 
Moliere wrote his familiar plays, “School of 
Women,” “Misanthrope,” and “Tartufe,” and 
elegant sermons were added to French litera¬ 
ture by Massillon, Bossuet, and Bourdaloue. 
Other writers of the 17th century include the 
historians, Cardinal de Retz and Madame de 
Sevigne; the biographical writers, Saint Evre- 
mond and La Rochefoucauld; and the miscel¬ 
laneous writers, Le Sage and Bernard Fonte- 
nelle (1657-1757). 

Many works of philosophical value were 
added to the literature in the 18th century, but 
that period likewise produced much of value in 
other essential lines. Voltaire not only wrote 
valuable works in philosophy, but also holds a 
high place as a historian, dramatist, and poet, 
and for more than half a century stood at the 
head of French letters. The satirist, Montes¬ 
quieu, is the author of “Persian Letters” and 
of many historical and general works, including 
“Spirit of the Laws.” As a writer of elegant 
style and profound thought Rousseau stands 
next to Voltaire, his chief works being “Nou- 
velle Heloise” and “Confessions,” while his 
“Social Contract” and “Emile” continue to .ex¬ 
ercise a wide influence in education and politics. 
The “Encyclopaedic,” an extensive review of 
general subjects, though quite hostile to reli¬ 
gion, was published by Diderot and D’Alem¬ 
bert. Other works of importance include Pre- 
vost’s “Manon Lescaut,” Saint Pierre’s “Paul 
and Virginia,” Beaumarchais’ “Barber of Se¬ 
ville,” and Buffon’s “Natural History.” Hel- 
vetius, Lamettrie, Condorcet, and Condillac may 
be mentioned as other writers of note. 

The 19th century produced a large number 
of writers, owing largely to the brilliant achieve¬ 
ments of Napoleon and the general. establish¬ 
ment of schools and institutions of higher learn¬ 
ing. In that period rose the so-called Romantic 
School, of which Victor Hugo, Alfred de Vigny, 
and Alexandre Dumas are leading representa¬ 
tives. “Les Miserables” is the masterpiece of 
Hugo, while “Cinq-Mars” is the best novel 
from the pen of De Vigny, and “Three Guards¬ 
men” and “Count of Monte Cristo” are popular 
works by Dumas. Among the novelists of emi¬ 
nence are Honore de Balzac, who belongs to the 
so-called Realistic School, George Sand, Eu¬ 
gene Sue, Gustave Flaubert, Victorien Sardou, 
and Octave Feuillet. Jules Simon, Bastiat, and 
De Tocqueville rank among the eminent writers 
on political economy; Guizot, Thiers, Victor 
Duruy, and Henri Martin among the historians; 
Victor Cousin, Auguste Comte, and Lamennais 


FRANCE 


848 


FRANCE 


among the philosophical' writers, and Cuvier 
and Saint-Hilaire among the scientific writers. 
Stanislas Julien and Burnouf added much of 
value to Oriental knowledge; Leconte de Lisle, 
Gautier, and Theodore Aubanel to poetry, and 
among the essayists and literary critics are Gus¬ 
tave Planche, Theophile Gautier, and Paul de 
Saint-Victor. 

The beginning of the 20th century witnessed 
unusual activity in French literature. It is 
evident that the century will be unusually pro¬ 
lific and that the productions will excel in num¬ 
ber and value those of the previous period. 
Among the eminent historians are Ernest La- 
visse and M. Rambaud; among the poets, Henri 
de Regnier and Paul Verlaine; among the crit¬ 
ics, Charles Bernard Renouvier and Edgar 
Quinet; and among the general writers, Emile 
Zola, Marcel Monnier, Alphonse Daudet, Emile 
Faguet (born in 1847), and Frederick Masson. 
For several years at the beginning of the cen¬ 
tury much was written upon social and political 
events, owing to the long discussion of the 
Dreyfus affair. Such writers as Emile Zola 
and Anatole France wrote much on the side of 
Dreyfus, while Bourget, Barres, and Brunetiere 
took a position in opposition to the, influences 
created by the affair. The period has been es¬ 
pecially prolific in the field of fiction and the 
drama. 

History. Julius Caesar, who wrote regard¬ 
ing his invasion and conquest in 59 b. c., fur¬ 
nishes the first authentic history of France. 
The Roman name was Gallia, while the early 
English was Gaul, and the people were largely 
Celtic in race, though other settlements were 
maintained, especially by the Aquitani and Bel- 
gae, with here and there tribes of Germans and 
Greeks. At that early period it contained parts 
of Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium, as well 
as the whole of France. The name France was 
derived from the Franks, a Germanic tribe that 
made settlements in Gaul after the decline of 
the Roman Empire. By the 2d century a. d. it 
was Romanized in civilization, language, and 
religion. Under the Roman rule it advanced 
materially in civilization and refinement and 
the population increased rapidly. Gradually ag¬ 
riculture and manufacture took the place of the 
^simpler arts of the semisavage people. 

The Franks by the end of the 5th century 
made themselves masters of nearly all of France 
and conquered adjacent territory east of the 
Rhine. In 481 Clovis, a descendant of Merovig, 
established the first dynasty, called the Mero¬ 
vingian, with his capital at Paris, and reigned 
until his death in 511, when his kingdom became 
divided among his four sons. The country was 


subsequently divided among other rulers under 
a general law of inheritance, by which numerous 
principalities rose. The last of the first dy¬ 
nasty terminated in 752, when the Carlovingian 
arose, its greatest representative being Charle¬ 
magne, who was the second ruler. At that time 
there was no real kingdom of France, for the 
reason that the first dynasty was Germanic, and 
Charlemagne founded a German rather than a 
French empire. 

The true founder of the French monarchy 
was Hugh Capet, who established the Capetian 
dynasty in 987, and added the fiefs of Orleans 
and Paris to the monarchy. For two centuries 
the Capetian dynasty endeavored to reconquer 
former prerogatives from vassals, and strained 
its powers in resisting English pretensions to the 
crown of France. The first branch of Capetian 
kings became extinct with the death of Charles 
IV., in 1328, for the reason that the Salic law 
excluded female succession. At that time the 
crown passed to Philip of Valois, who ascended 
the throne as Philip VI., which led to a series 
of wars with England on account of the claims 
made by Edward III. to the throne, and these 
continued for 125 years. The most important 
battles occurred at Crecy in 1346, Poitiers in 
1356, and Agincourt in 1415. All of these re¬ 
sulted more or less favorably to England and 
gave that country many of the best provinces, 
while the Treaty of Troyes, drawn shortly af¬ 
ter the Battle of Agincourt, recognized the suc¬ 
cession of Edward III. to the crown of France. 
The animation of the French, due to the noble 
deeds of Joan of Arc between 1429 and 1431, 
caused a complete change and drove the English 
from the country, the only possession remain¬ 
ing to them being Calais. 

Louis IV. laid the foundation of a great 
monarchy in 1461, largely restored internal 
peace, and brought back a feeling of national¬ 
ism. The Valois-Orleans branch of the Valois 
line succeeded to the throne in 1498, but in 1515 
the crown reverted to another branch of the 
house of Valois in the person of Francis I. 
This sovereign carried forward the attempts to 
conquer Italy begun by previous monarchs, and 
became involved in five great wars with Ger¬ 
many, which terminated in the loss of some 
prestige and the transfer of Savoy and Pied¬ 
mont by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, 
though this loss was at least partly balanced by 
securing Calais, the last possession of the Eng¬ 
lish in France. Francis II. reigned only in 
1559-60, but during this brief time the Catholic 
house of Guise attained power, while the op¬ 
posing movements for the reforms were led 
by the house of Bourbon. The religious wars 





FRANCE 


849 


FRANCE 


of this epoch shed much blood and retarded 
the industrial growth of France. Within this 
period occurred the massacre of Saint Barthol¬ 
omew, and the great national debt which 
weighed upon France more than two centuries 
was fastened upon the country. The religious 
wars terminated only when Henry IV., previous¬ 
ly King of Navarre, went over to the Catholic 
Church from the leadership of the Huguenots. 

Louis XIII. succeeded to the throne in 1610 
and inaugurated a new policy by siding with 
Richelieu, a Protestant prince, in a reforma¬ 
tion. At his death in 1643, Louis XIV. began 
a memorable reign, which was marked by a still 
more vigorous policy and led to the highest 
power and widest influence attained by the 
French monarchy. Under his wise direction 
French literature, art, and science developed to 
a higher plane than before known, education 
flourished, and the borders of France were ex¬ 
tended to the Rhine. The efficient service of 
the military engineer, Sebastien Vauban (1633- 
1707), strengthened French fortifications, while 
its ministers secured advantageous commercial 
treaties. Louis XV. added Corsica and Lor¬ 
raine to France by the Treaty of Paris. How¬ 
ever, in 1763 French colonies were largely ceded 
to England on account of misfortunes in war. 

The weakness of Louis XVI., the success of 
the American Revolution, and the great spirit 
of unrest that marked the closing of the 18th 
century led to the revolution of 1789. War 
raged with all its horrors and cast an unfortu¬ 
nate people into a great sea of bloodshed, which 
finally led to the execution of Louis XVI., in 
January, 1793. This was followed by a^ treaty 
of peace and the general amnesty of 1795. The 
French Republic was recognized by the Treaty 
of Basel in the same year, while a new consti¬ 
tution was formulated by the convention, which 
finally dissolved in October. The scheme of 
government provided a chamber of 500 to pro¬ 
pose Jaws, the chamber of ancients to approve 
them, and the executive of five members called 
the Directory. Napoleon Bonaparte soon be¬ 
came the most prominent man in France. His 
successes led to the overthrow of the Directory 
and the establishment of the Consulate, himself 
being appointed first consul for a term of ten 
years. The brilliant victory won on the battle¬ 
field of Marengo and the extension of France 
to the Rhine led to the proclamation in 1804, 
by which he became emperor, and was soon af¬ 
ter confirmed by a popular vote of the people. 
Pope Pius VII. consecrated Napoleon emperor 
at Paris, and crowned him King of Italy in 
1805. 

Though an extensive coalition was formed 
54 


against Napoleon by European powers, they 
were unable to check his career and France be¬ 
came the greatest power of Europe. The great 
Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 caused the King 
of Naples to be dethroned, Holland became a 
vassal kingdom, and Prussia was humiliated. 
At that time the kingdom set up by Napoleon 
extended from Naples to Denmark and the 
capitals were Amsterdam, Paris, and Rome. 
The Russian invasion of 1812 cost France 300,- 
000 men, but the allied forces were defeated in 
the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. fn 1814 the al¬ 
lied armies drove the French from Germany 
and captured Paris, on March 30. Napoleon 
was required to abdicate and retired to Elba as 
a mere prince. Louis XVIII. became King of 
France and concluded the Peace of Paris, but 
was soon driven from power by the return of 
Napoleon, who assumed authority without re¬ 
sistance. The allied powers reorganized, 
brought on his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815, 
and sent him a prisoner to Saint Helena. 

The long line of French kings ended with 
Louis Philippe, who was driven into exile by 
the revolution of 1848, and a republic was pro¬ 
claimed with Louis Napoleon as the president. 
By a vote of the people he was made emperor 
in 1851, with the title of Napoleon III. The 
growing discontent of the people caused him to 
declare war against Gerriiany in 1870, which re¬ 
sulted in a disastrous loss to the French army 
upon every battlefield, and the empire ended 
with the capture of Napoleon and 83,000 men at 
Sedan. As a war indemnity France was re¬ 
quired to cede Alsace and a part of Lorraine 
to Germany and pay $1,000,000,000 in gold. 
Civil war broke out in Paris under the leader¬ 
ship of the Commune, which was put down with 
difficulty. 

The second republic having been organized, 
M. Thiers was chosen the first president. With 
the overthrow of the administration in 1873 
came the election of Marshal MacMahon, who 
resigned the presidency in 1879, and was suc¬ 
ceeded by Jules Grevy. The last mentioned was 
followed in the presidency by Sadi Carnot in 
1887. After the assassination of Carnot in 
1894, Jean Casimir-Perier succeeded to the pres¬ 
idency, and, when the latter resigned in 1895, 
Felix Faure attained the election. President 
Faure died on Feb. 16, 1899, and was succeeded 
by M. Loubet. In 1906 Clement Armand Fai¬ 
lures was elected president by the liberal party. 
The present republic has enjoyed a long era of 
prosperity, an epoch in which France has be¬ 
come the seat of great expositions and larger 
industrial enterprises, and has taken a high rank 
in the arts of peace. 


FRANCHISE 


850 


FRANCOLIN 


FRANCHISE (fran'chiz), a special privi¬ 
lege granted by government to individuals or 
corporations, and which do not belong to the 
citizens of the state or country by common 
right. In a political sense the term franchise 
denotes the right of suffrage and is commonly 
callec the elective franchise. However, it is 
generally applied to special privileges granted 
for the purpose of constructing improvements 
for profit, such as the establishment and opera¬ 
tion of toll bridges and ferries. Towns and 
cites grant franchises to gas, water, heating, 
and electric light companies, and the alleys and 
streets are used for the purpose of promoting 
the business in which such concerns are inter¬ 
ested. Formerly franchises of this kind were 
granted by the town or city council, but in most 
states and countries such privileges can be ob¬ 
tained only by a direct vote of the majority of 
the people, the proposition to make the grant 
being submitted to the electors at a regular or 
special election. A common instance of a fran¬ 
chise or charter is one granted by the state or 
province to certain persons, which authorizes 
them to engage in business as a corporation. 
Franchises of this kind as well as those granted 
by towns and cities to operate and control pub¬ 
lic utilities are in most cases subject to a spe- 

Clcll tclX 

FRANCIS MOUNTAINS, a group of the 
White Mountains, in New Hampshire, from 
which they are separated by the White Moun¬ 
tain Notch. Mount Lafayette, height 5,295 
feet, is the highest peak. Many beautiful lakes, 
steep precipices, and natural forests give the 
region a grand and beautiful aspect. 

FRANCO-GERMAN WAR, a military con¬ 
test between France and Germany, caused chiefly 
by the jealousy of Napoleon III. of the growing 
importance of Prussia. Bismarck had deter¬ 
mined to place Prussia at the head of a united 
Germany, owing to which Austria was excluded 
after the war of 1866, when the growing senti¬ 
ment for German nationality threatened to 
isolate France. The crown of Spain was offered 
by General Prim to Leopold of Hohenzollern, 
a prince.of the reigning family of Prussia, 
which excited the jealousy of Napoleon, who 
demanded that Leopold should retire as a can¬ 
didate. Although the King of Prussia refused 
to demand this of Leopold, the latter declined 
the Spanish crown voluntarily, when Napoleon 
insisted that the King of Prussia should furnish 
a guarantee that the refusal would be final. 
This demand was of course refused, hence the 
French government formally declared war on 
July 19, 1870. 

Both countries entered upon the prosecution 


of the war with marked enthusiasm, but France 
was comparatively illy prepared for the conflict. 
While that country had about 250,000 men 
ready to move forward in August, 1870, it had 
few available reserves. On the other hand, the 
North German Confederation was able to put 
450,000 men into the field at once and had nearly 
that number of reserves available for active 
service. Napoleon had hoped that the* South 
German States would refuse to join Prussia, 
but these, enthused with the sentiment of na¬ 
tionality, threw their influence against France. 
Three armies moved upon French territory, the 
first under General von Steinmetz at Treves, 
the second under Prince Frederick Charles in 
Rhenish Palatinate, and the third under the 
Crown Prince of Prussia on the frontier of 
Baden. 

The German armies, after winning successes 
at Weissenburg and at Worth, succeeded in 
separating the two divisions of the French army 
under Marshals Bazaine and MacMahon. The 
former was repulsed in the Battle of Mars-la- 
tour, after which he took a position at Grave- 
lotte, where he was defeated on August 18th by 
an army of 200,000 Germans. Bazaine now fell 
back upon Metz, where he was beseiged until in 
September, when he was compelled to surrender 
with an army of 175,000 men. In the meantime 
MacMahon was surrounded at Sedan, where he 
was defeated on September 2d and surrendered 
with an army of 83,000 men. Both Napoleon 
and MacMahon were among the prisoners of 
war. 

The capture of Napoleon caused a revolution 
in Paris, where the republic was proclaimed two 
days after the fall of Sedan. However, the 
victorious armies marched upon Paris and 
placed it in a state of siege. Although efforts 
were made to relieve the capital, it was forced 
to surrender in February, 1871. The prelimi¬ 
nary terms of peace with Germany were ar¬ 
ranged by Thiers in the same month, and they 
were approved by the national assembly in 
March. France was required to cede Alsace 
and a part of Lorraine and pay a war indemnity 
of $1,000,000,000. It was provided in the treaty 
that German troops should occupy certain de¬ 
partments until the entire sum was paid. The 
final treaty of Frankfort was signed in May, 
1871. As a result of the war, Germany was con¬ 
solidated into an empire and France became a 
republic. 

FRANCOLIN (fran'ko-lm), the name of 
several species of birds related to the par¬ 
tridges, native to Asia and Africa. The plum¬ 
age is variieg^fted, but in most species it is a 
yellowish brown with black and white mark- 



FRANKFORT 


851 


FRANKFORT-ON-THE-ODER 


ings and the bill and tail are long. The flesh 
is much esteemed for food, hence these birds 
are hunted as game. When alarmed, they con¬ 
ceal themselves in the brushwood or run with 
considerable speed, taking wing only when they 
are in danger. They feed early in the morn¬ 
ing and late in the evening, when they search 
for grains, insects, and bulbous roots. Their 
flight is accompanied by a whirring sound, and 
their cry, uttered chiefly when in search of 
food and at pairing time, is something like a 
shrill laughter. 

FRANKFORT (frank'furt), a city in In¬ 
diana, county seat of Clinton County, on Prairie 
Branch River, forty miles northwest of Indian¬ 
apolis. It is on the Lake Erie and Western, the 
Vandalia Line, and other railroads, and is sur¬ 
rounded by a rich agricultural, dairying, and 
fruit-growing country. Among the noteworthy 
buildings are the county courthouse, the public 
library, the high school, and a number of fine 
churches. It has electric and gas lighting, street 
paving, and a sewerage system. Among the 
manufactures are pottery, carriages, flour, 
cigars, machinery, and ironware. It has exten¬ 
sive railroad machine shops. Population, 1900, 
7,100. 

FRANKFORT, a city of Franklin County, 
Kentucky, capital of the State and of Franklin 
County, on the Kentucky River, sixty miles east 
of Louisville.- It is on the Louisville and Nash¬ 
ville and the Chesapeake and Ohio railroads, in 
the center of the blue grass region, and occupies 
a fine site on both sides of the river, which is 
spanned by a suspension bridge 700 feet long. 
The chief buildings include the State capitol, 
the State arsenal, the Governor’s mansion, the 
State prison, an institution for feeble-minded 
children, and the State normal school for col¬ 
ored students. It has several fine monuments, 
including those erected to the soldiers who died 
in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. The 
State library contains over 100,000 volumes. 

Frankfort has manufactures of pottery, twine, 
barrels, lumber products, vehicles, whisky, cot¬ 
ton goods, and machinery. It has extensive sys¬ 
tems of electric street railways, sewerage, and 
public lighting. Franklin Cemetery, on one of 
the hills near the city, contains the grave of 
Daniel Boone. Frankfort was founded in 1786 
by Gen. James Wilkinson, and became the capi¬ 
tal of the State in 1892. Population, 1900, 9,487. 

FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, a city in 
the province of Hesse-Nassau, Germany, twenty 
miles northeast of Mainz, on the Main River. 
The older part has narrow streets and many 
buildings in which the high gables project over 
the walls, but the newer section is modern and 


has many fine residences and tall structures of 
steel and stone. Ziel street is the chief thor¬ 
oughfare and merges into Kaiserstrasse. The 
market place, or Romerberg, is in the heart of 
the older part of the city. Many tourists are at¬ 
tracted to the house where Luther lived, the one 
in which Goethe was born, and the noted Roths¬ 
child Library. Besides the public schools, it 
contains the Stadel Art Institution, a museum 
of history, and many important societies of 
literature and art. In its squares and public 
parks are numerous statues of celebrated citi¬ 
zens, among them those of Gutenberg, Goethe, 
and Schiller. The most prominent of its build¬ 
ings include the Cathedral of Saint Barthol¬ 
omew, the public hall, the opera house, the 
courts of justice, and the central railroad sta¬ 
tion, the depot being one of the finest in Eu¬ 
rope. Frankfort is one of the wealthiest cities 
of modern Europe and contains the ancestral 
home of the Rothschilds. It holds high rank as 
a center of manufacturing and in the volume of 
its jobbing trade. The streets are generally 
paved with stone and asphalt and traversed by 
electric street railways. Systems of sewerage, 
waterworks, and gas and electric lighting are 
operated by the municipality. Among the manu- 
factuied products are perfumery, ironware, 
soap, chemicals, clothing, sewing machines, 
leather goods, and fabrics. It received its name 
from Charlemagne, who made it the seat of a 
political and religious council in 794. The city 
became Protestant as early as 1530. It was the 
place of meeting for the German diet in 1816-36. 
In the 13th century it became a free city and 
after 1562 it was the place of election and coro¬ 
nation of the German emperors. Here have 
been concluded many important peace treaties, 
among them the treaty closing the Franco-Ger¬ 
man War, which was signed in May, 1871. 
Among the banking and money markets of 
Europe Frankfort takes very high rank. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 334,978. 

FRANKFORT-ON-THE-ODER, a com¬ 
mercial city in the province of Brandenburg, 
Germany, on the Oder River, about fifty miles 
southeast of Berlin. Several railroad lines con¬ 
nect it with the national capital and the cities of 
Central Europe. The noteworthy buildings in¬ 
clude the Church of Saint Mary, the Reformed 
Church, the city hall, or Rathaus, the theater, 
and the railway station. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are leather, machinery, fabrics, clothing, 
chemicals, pottery, furniture, toys, and porcelain. 
The river is navigable and is connected by ca¬ 
nals with the Elbe and Vistula, thus giving am¬ 
ple outlet for its manufactured products, jobbing 
trade, and passenger traffic. Telephones, elec- 


FRANKINCENSE 


852 


FRANKLIN 


trie railways, a public library, the gymnasium, 
waterworks, and an extensive system of gas and 
electric lighting are among the public utilities. 
The city became a free municipality in 1253 and 
was important as a member of the Hanseatic 
League. It suffered greatly during the Thirty 
Years’ War. Nearly all the inhabitants are 
Protestants. Population, 1905, 64,304. 

FRANKINCENSE (frank'in-sens), a gum 
or resin, which, when burning, yields aromatic 
fumes and is used extensively as an incense in 
religious services. The Greeks and Jews, as 
well as other ancient peoples, employed olib- 
anum, the product of a tree found in India, and 
it is still employed chiefly in the East. ■ In 
Europe and North America it is more common 
to use the exudations of certain coniferous 
trees, such as the silver fir, which are resinous 
products. They exude from the trees and 
harden by exposure to the air. The taste is 
balsamic and the odor when burning is pleasant. 

FRANKING PRIVILEGE, the right of 
sending letters and packages by mail free of 
charge. This privilege was extended in England 
to members of Parliament by the Postmaster- 
General and later by statute, but it was abol¬ 
ished in 1840. Official correspondence and public 
documents are transmitted through the emails 
by officials of the government free of charge in 
most countries, though this privilege pertains 
only to business which is related strictly to cer¬ 
tain officers of the Federal departments. The 
United States granted the franking privilege to 
soldiers of the Revolutionary War, but indi¬ 
viduals have not had privilege to send mail in 
this way since 1873. Envelopes and wrappers 
of packages used for official purposes are 
marked Official Business, both in Canada and 
the United States, and in some countries stamps 
bearing the imprint Official are used. Persons 
not entitled to the privilege of sending mail in 
such wrappers or under such stamps are subject 
to a heavy fine in case they procure and use 
them. 

FRANKLIN (frank'lm), or Frankland, the 
name of a proposed State formed by the in¬ 
habitants of what is now Tennessee. They 
revolted from the control of North Carolina in 
1784, framed* and ratified a constitution, elected 
a Legislature and State officers, and undertook 
to conduct a civil war against North Carolina. 
John Sevier, the Governor of Franklin, raised 
an army, but was defeated in an engagement 
and taken prisoner. In 1788 the Legislature of 
North Carolina pardoned the offenders in 
Franklin, and two years later the territory was 
ceded to the United States government, hence 
the disturbance was quieted. 


FRANKLIN, a large district in the northern 
part of the Dominion of Canada, including the 
Arctic Archipelago. It is located chiefly north 
of the Arctic Circle, only a small portion of 
Baffin Land extending farther south. The chief 
islands are Grinnell Land, Prince Albert Land, 
North Devon, Melville Island, and Baffin Land. 
Animal and vegetable life are very scant and 
the inhabitants, consisting chiefly of Eskimos, 
are not numerous. Important fisheries and 
minerals abound. The area is about 500,000 
square miles. 

FRANKLIN, a city of Indiana, county seat 
of Johnson County, twenty miles south of In¬ 
dianapolis, on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago 
and Saint Louis and other railroads. It has 
several fine county buildings and is surrounded 
by a fertile farming region. The manufactures 
include flour, cigars, ironware, and machineryv 
It is the seat of Franklin College, a Baptist in¬ 
stitution. Electric lights, waterworks, and a 
system of drainage are among the improve¬ 
ments. Population, 1900, 4,005. 

FRANKLIN, a town of Massachusetts, in 
Norfolk County, 25 miles southwest of Boston, 
on the New York, New Haven and Hartford 
Railroad. It has a public library and a number 
of fine schools. The Dean Academy, a coeduca¬ 
tional institution, is located here. The manu¬ 
factures include pianos, clothing, and cotton and 
woolen goods. Franklin was incorporated in 
1778. Population, 1905, 5,344. 

FRANKLIN, a city of New Hampshire, in 
Merrimac Count)', 95 miles northwest of Bos¬ 
ton, Mass., on the Boston and Maine Railroad. 
It is located at the junction of the Winnepe- 
saukee and Pemigewasset rivers, which form 
the Merrimac at this place. Water power for 
manufacturing is utilized extensively and the 
industrial enterprises are well established. 
Needles, hosiery, machinery, paper, woolen 
goods, and clothing are the manufactures. 
Waterworks and electric lights are included 
among the public utilities. Franklin is the seat 
of the New Hampshire Orphans’ Home, and is 
noted as the birthplace of Daniel Webster. It 
was incorporated in 1828 as a town and its city 
charter was issued in 1895. Population, 1900, 
5,846. 

FRANKLIN, county seat of Venango Coun¬ 
ty, Pennsylvania, on the Allegheny River, about 
seventy miles north of Pittsburg. It is on the 
Erie, the Pennsylvania, and other railroads, and 
has a large trade in farm produce, coal, and 
merchandise. The county courthouse, the pub¬ 
lic library, and the high school are among the 
chief buildings. It has two public parks, street 
pavements, and sewerage and waterworks sys- 


FRANKLIN, BATTLE OF 


853 


FRATERNITIES 


terns. Among the manufactured products are 
machinery, flour, fabrics, oil, vehicles, and 
cigars. Valuable deposits of mineral oil and 
coal abound in the vicinity. Franklin was set¬ 
tled in 1753 and incorporated in 1795. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 7,317. 

FRANKLIN, Battle of, an engagement of 
the Civil War in America, at Franklin, Tenn., 
on Nov. 30, 1864. General Hood, to counteract 
Sherman in his march to the sea, had taken a 
large force of Confederates into Kentucky and 
Tennessee, and was threatening an invasion of 
the states farther north. General Thomas, who 
had been with Sherman’s army was sent north 
to Nashville, and General Schofield operated 
with a Federal force against Hood’s army. 
Schofield strengthened his position at Franklin, 
on the Harpeth River, where he was attacked 
by the Confederates, who made desperate as¬ 
saults, but were beaten back each time with 
considerable loss. The Federals withdrew to 
Nashville during the night, where they joined 
the army under Thomas. The Federals engaged 
in the Battle of Franklin numbered 25,000, while 
the Confederates had about 40,000 men. Both 
sides fought with remarkable gallantry. 

FRANKS, the name of a number of German 
tribes that inhabited the regions of the Lower 
Rhine in the 3d century. They defeated the 
Romans in Gaul and controlled France from 
that time until the rise of the Capetian dynasty 
in 987, giving to that country the Merovingian 
dynasty, from 481 to 987. For security against 
hostile tribes, they lived in villages. They 
committed their laws to writing, were indus¬ 
trious, and gave France the Salic laws. The 
descendants from these peoples now form the 
chief Germanic element of northern France 
and the western part of Germany. 

FRANZ JOSEPH LAND (frants yo'zef), 
an island archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, 
north of Nova Zembla. It was discovered by 
the Payer-Weyprecht expedition in 1873 and 
was named in honor of the Emperor of Aus¬ 
tria, Francis Joseph I. The group includes 
about sixty islands, many of which are sep¬ 
arated from each other by deep and narrow 
fiords and channels. They include Zichy Land, 
Wilczek Land, and Alexandra Land. The sur¬ 
face is generally rocky and level, from 150 to 
500 feet above the sea, and several peaks have 
an altitude of 2,800 feet. Grass, mosses, and 
lichen are the chief plants. Polar bears, foxes, 
seals, and wild fowls are plentiful. The islands 
are not inhabited by man. 

FRASER (fra'zer), the largest river of Brit¬ 
ish Columbia, rises in the lake region of the 
Rocky Mountains. It has a general course to¬ 


ward the south, and, after flowing 740 miles, 
discharges into the Gulf of Georgia. The 
Fraser is navigable for more than 150 miles, 
contains valuable salmon fisheries, and flows 
through a mineral country rich in gold and 
silver deposits. Its principal tributaries are 
the Stuart, Thompson, and Chilcoten rivers. 
The lower valley, which is very fertile, is trav¬ 
ersed by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Among 
the towns on its banks are New Westminster, 
Hope, Yale, and Lytton. 

FRATERNAL SOCIETIES (fra-ter'nal). 
See Benefit Associations. 

FRATERNITIES', the name applied to vari¬ 
ous organizations of students in the colleges 
and universities of the United States. They 
are frequently termed College Secret Societies, 
or Greek-letter Fraternities, and members of 
them are sometimes spoken of as Frats. The 
names are taken from several letters of the 
Greek alphabet, as Phi Beta Kappa, and from 
these the secret motto of the fraternity is re¬ 
membered, since these letters are the beginning 
of the words in the motto. The fraternities 
are composed of chapters, the latter being 
branches in the various colleges that belong to 
a particular fraternity. The largest proportion 
of the members belong to the academic de¬ 
partments, though all students in the different 
collegiate courses are eligible to membership. 
Conventions are held annually or biennially by 
each fraternity, which is usually composed of 
from two to eighty chapters. Some of the fra¬ 
ternities are strictly professional, as those of 
law and medical institutions, but the greater 
number are maintained for literary advance¬ 
ment and social enjoyment. 

The first Greek-letter society was organized 
at the College of William and Mary, Virginia, 
in 1776, and named Phi Beta Kappa. Its pur¬ 
pose was announced to be friendly intercourse 
and literary advancement among scholars. 
However, the present fraternity system of the 
United States originated in 1825, when a num¬ 
ber of students of Union College, New York, 
organized the Kappa Alpha. Similar organiza¬ 
tions which are maintained by young women 
who attend colleges and universities are known 
as sororities. The first of these, known as 
Kappa Alpha Theta, was organized in 1870 at 
De Pauw University, Indiana. Since then 
many others have been established. The mem¬ 
bers who attend college are styled active and 
afterward they become known as alumni. 
Catalogues, magazines, and song books are 
published by many of the fraternities and a 
large number maintain chapter houses. Though 
opposition to societies of this kind has sprung 


FRAUD 


854 


FREDERICTON 


iip, they are defended by many leading edu¬ 
cators, who have generally expressed their be¬ 
lief in the practical utility of college fraterni¬ 
ties. 

FRAUD, in law, any cunning or deception 
used to cheat or deceive another. It is essen¬ 
tially a false representation of some matter of 
fact, and is intended to deceive another as to 
his legal injury. The law distinguishes a 
false representation of fact, which is necessary 
in committing a fraud, from a mere expression 
of opinion. Frauds are classed as either actual 
or constructive. An actual fraud is one in 
which the perpetrator is guilty of dishonest in¬ 
tention. Constructive fraud consists of acts 
which may not be dishonest in intention, but 
which are considered in law as being in bad 
faith. The case of a person charged with the 
duty of selling property for another, in which 
he himself is the purchaser, is considered con¬ 
structive fraud, since it is assumed that he will 
make the purchase at the best price possible. 
A party who is guilty of fraud may be pun¬ 
ished under the criminal code and at the same 
time be required in a civil suit to return the 
goods or settle the damages sustained by the 
owner. 

FREDERICK (fred'er-ik), a city in Mary¬ 
land, county seat of Frederick county, 32 
miles northwest of Washington, D. C. It is 
on the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroads. The surrounding country is 
agricultural and contains rich deposits of iron, 
copper, slate, and limestone. It is the seat of 
a fine school system, Frederick College, and 
a State asylum for the deaf and dumb. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the coun¬ 
ty courthouse, the Emergency Hospital, and 
the public library. It has manufactures of 
flour, coaches, tobacco and cigars, machinery, 
and woolen goods. The public utilities include 
waterworks, sewerage, and street paving of 
stone and macadam. The two battles of South 
Mountain and Monocacy occurred near the 
city. Francis S. Key was a native of the 
county and is buried in Mount Olivet Ceme¬ 
tery. Frederick was settled in 1745 and in¬ 
corporated in 1817. The first Methodist 
church in America was organized here by Rob¬ 
ert Strawbridge in 1764. Population, 1900, 
9,296. 

FREDERICKSBURG, a city in Spottsyl- 
vania County, Virginia, about sixty miles north 
of Richmond, on the Richmond, Fredericks¬ 
burg and Potomac and the Potomac, Freder¬ 
icksburg and Piedmont railroads. It is sur¬ 
rounded by a hilly but productive country. The 
site is on the Rappahannock River, which is 


crossed by several bridges, and is noted for its 
beautiful Confederate and Federal cemeteries. 
It has a public park, a fine high school, and a 
library. The manufactures include cigars, 
leather, flour, silk and woolen goods, and ma¬ 
chinery. It was incorporated in 1782. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 5,068. 

FREDERICKSBURG, Battle of, one of the 
important battles of the Civil War. It occurred 
at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Dec. 13, 1862. 
General Burnside had resolved to march upon 
Richmond, and, accordingly, moved his troops 
to the heights opposite Fredericksburg, on the 
north side of the Rappahannock. His army 
consisted of 125,000 men, the right wing of 
which was commanded by Sumner, the center 
by Hooker, and the left by Franklin. The 
army under General Lee numbered 80,000 men, 
with Jackson as commander of the right wing 
and Longstreet of the left. The Federal forces 
crossed the river by three' pontoon bridges in 
the two days preceding the battle. It was 
planned that Burnside should make the chief 
attack and hold the road, while Sumner and 
Hooker should carry the stone wall which ran 
along the foot of the hill and ultimately storm 
the heights. An insufficient number of troops 
had been assigned to Franklin to effect the ob¬ 
ject intended. The attacks made by Hooker 
and Sumner were unsuccessful, but failed 
largely for want of support from Franklin. 
The Confederate loss was 5,250, while the 
Union army lost 12,350, and the entire battle 
proved disastrous to the Federals. Two days 
later Burnside withdrew from Fredericksburg, 
and he and Franklin were relieved of their 
commands shortly after. General Hooker was 
appointed to succeed Burnside in command of 
the Army of the Potomac. 

FREDERICTON (fred'er-ik-tun), a city of 
Canada, capital of New Brunswick and of 
York County, on the Canada Eastern, the 
Canadian Pacific, and other railways. It is 
located on the Saint John River, 60 miles north¬ 
west of Saint John, 84 miles from the Bay of 
Fundy. It has broad and well-improved 
streets and is important as a commercial and 
manufacturing center. The chief architec¬ 
tural structures include a hospital, the legis¬ 
lative library, a customhouse, several schools, 
and the Parliament buildings. It is the seat of 
an Anglican bishopric and of the New Bruns¬ 
wick University. Among the manufactures are 
lumber products, leather, machinery, and boots 
and shoes. The domestic and foreign trade 
is important, owing to its convenient location 
on railways and on the Saint John River, 
which is navigable for large vessels to this 


FREDONIA 


855 • 


FREEMASON 


point. It was founded as Saint Anne in 1740. 
The name was changed to Fredericton in 1785, 
and two years later it became the capital of 
New Brunswick. Population, 1901, 7,117. 

FREDONIA (fre-do'm-a)^ a town of New 
York, in Chautauqua County, 45 miles south¬ 
west of Buffalo, on the Dunkirk, Allegheny 
Valley and Pittsburg Railroad. It is the seat of 
a State normal school. Among the enterprises 
are machine shops, canneries, nurseries, and 
an electric light plant. It has a public library, 
waterworks, and several fine schools. The first 
settlement in its vicinity was made in 1803 and 
it was incorporated in 1829. Population, 1905, 
5,148; in 1910, 5,285. 

FREE CHURCH, the general name of a 
religious denomination which originated from 
an established church. The most important 
are the Free Church of England and the Free 
Church of Scotland. The former is a Protes¬ 
tant Episcopal organization founded in 1844. 
While the ritual is practically identical with 
that of the national church, it is free from 
state control, and claims the liberty of estab¬ 
lishing a liturgical service on an evangelical 
basis. The Free Church of Scotland became 
a separate body in 1843, when it organized as 
a branch of the Presbyterian church, as distinct 
from the Established Church. The separation 
was brought about by a law of the general as¬ 
sembly passed in 1834, which provided that a 
majority of the male heads of families, who 
were full members of the church, could veto 
or bar the appointment of a minister who was 
not acceptable to a parish church. This act 
of legislation caused a conflict between the 
civil and ecclesiastical powers, but the House 
of Lords, in 1839, set aside a decision of the 
civil courts which had annulled the act, hence 
a large number of members, under the leader¬ 
ship of Chalmers and Candlish, .established 
the Free Church of Scotland. While it re¬ 
nounced the benefits of establishment, it main¬ 
tains the doctrine and discipline of the Church 
of Scotland. 

FREE CITIES, a name applied to cities that 
form independent governments or states by 
themselves. At the time of the French Revo¬ 
lution there were about fifty free cities in 
Europe, mostly members of the German Con¬ 
federation, but at present there are only three, 
the cities of Liibeck,- Bremen, and Hamburg, 
and they retain their privileges under the re¬ 
constituted German Empire. All others lost 
their special privileges on account of interna¬ 
tional political changes. 

FREEDMEN’S BUREAU (fred'menz bu'- 
ro), formerly a branch of the War Department 


of the United States, organized by an act of 
Congress in 1865 with the view of providing 
for the needs of liberated slaves, and to aid in 
fitting them to become self-supporting citi¬ 
zens. Gen. O. O. Howard was appointed com¬ 
missioner. The bureau was discontinued in 
1870. In the five years of its existence it han¬ 
dled a fund of nearly $20,000,000, which was 
raised by grants, bounties, and prizes, and gave 
valuable assistance to the freedmen during 
temporary need. 

FREELAND (fre'land), a borough of Penn¬ 
sylvania, in Luzerne County, 38 miles south of 
Wilkesbarre, on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. 
It is surrounded by a farming and anthracite 
coal mining region. The manufactures include 
hardware, machinery, cigars, and clothing. It 
has a growing market in merchandise, coal, 
and produce. Population, 1900, 5,254. 

FREEMASON (fre'ma-s’n), a member of a 
secret fraternity known as the Freemasons, 
which dates from the Middle Ages. Originally 
membership was limited to skilled artisans, but 
now it includes a far wider range, and the 
fraternity has branches and lodges in all civ¬ 
ilized countries. The present form of organ¬ 
ization was adopted in 1717, when the fraternity 
was reorganized on the avowed principles of 
charity, brotherly love, and mutual assistance. 
According to the legends of the craft, it is 
traced back through the centuries to the build¬ 
ing of Solomon’s temple, and according to some 
to the tower of Babel and the building of 
Noah’s ark. Many interesting details are given 
as to its early organization. Its slow but steady 
development is traced from the times of Sol¬ 
omon, Hiram, King of Tyre (II Samuel v., 11), 
the Pharaohs, the ancient Roman nation, and 
lastly the Knights Templar. 

The modern fraternity of Freemasons has 
its true source in the building corporations 
maintained in the mediaeval period, when 
members of those organizations passed to dif¬ 
ferent pcrrtions of Europe to hew stone and 
construct massive and durable forms of archi¬ 
tecture. Certain signs and passwords were 
used by the skilled workmen, which served as 
a sign of fraternity, efficiency, and worthiness, 
such signs being kept a secret among the craft. 
The most distinct types of production by the 
stonemasons are found in the monasteries and 
other massive edifices of Germany. In Eng¬ 
land they date from 926, when a conference of 
masons was held at York, attended by King 
Athelstan. In the 12th century the}' - proceeded 
to Scotland, of which fact many massive ab¬ 
beys give evidence. The reorganization of 1717 
occurred at London, while branches were es- 


FREE METHODISTS 


856 


FREETHINKERS 


tablished in France in 1725; America, in 1730; 
Russia, in 1731; Germany, in 1740; and later 
in all civilized countries. From the first branch 
lodge established in New Jersey sprang many 
thousands of others, until at present there are 
sixty grand lodges in the United States and 
British America, about 12,000 subordinate 
lodges, and a membership of 1,198,845. 

Findel’s “History of Freemasonry,” trans¬ 
lated into the English in 1889, is the most sci¬ 
entific and complete work on the subject of 
Freemasonry. It contains an intensely inter¬ 
esting account of the growth and development 
ol the fraternity. At various times, like other 
secret societies, it has been declared useless 
and harmful by divers religious councils. In 
the United States and elsewhere there are nu¬ 
merous degrees, to which applicants are ini¬ 
tiated under a system of instruction and tests. 

The election of new members is by ballot 
and various signs, passwords, and grips are 
given, by which members in need of assistance 
and succor may be tested before more than 
ordinary or usual benefits are extended. The 
grand and subordinate lodges elect officers by 
ballot, who are eligible to reelection. Careful 
study of a suitable course is incumbent upon 
the members and officers, in order to secure the 
greatest degree of efficiency and skill in con¬ 
ducting the business appertaining to the fra¬ 
ternity. 

FREE METHODISTS, a Protestant sect 
organized at Pekin, N. Y., in 1860. It is an 
outgrowth of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and was formed by the followers of two min¬ 
isters who did not approve of the decisions of 
a conference held at Genesee, N. Y., on points 
of Christian practice. In the main Free Meth¬ 
odists agree with the Methodist Episcopal 
church on points of doctrine. They do not 
recognize the office of bishop, but instead have 
an elective superintendent, who serves four 
years. The singing in churches is strictly con¬ 
gregational, without instrumental rfiusic, and 
the seats in the church are free. They insist 
upon plainness of dress and simplicity in liv- 
v ing, approve of and practice freeness in prayer 
and testimonial meetings, and encourage ex¬ 
temporaneous preaching. The doctrine of 
Christian perfection is insisted upon. ‘The 
church has about 32,500 members, 1,200 church 
buildings, and promotes religious work through 
Sunday schools and protracted meetings. Mis¬ 
sions - are maintained in all the continents. The 
Free Methodist, published in Chicago, is one 
of the leading church journals. 

FREEPORT (fre'port), a city and the coun¬ 
ty seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, 108 miles 


northwest of Chicago, on the Pecatonica River. 
It is on the Illinois Central, the Chicago and 
Northwestern, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and 
Saint Paul railroads, and has communication 
by electric railways. The chief buildings are 
the courthouse, the public library, and the 
Saint Francis Hospital. Besides having a fine 
public school system, it is the seat of Freeport 
College, a Presbyterian institution founded in 
1872. Among the manufactured products are 
carriages, flour, bicycles, farm machinery, vine¬ 
gar, hardware, and cigars. Douglas and Lin¬ 
coln had a noted debate at Freeport in 1858, 
when the former declared a doctrine regard¬ 
ing Dred Scott case which afterward became 
known as the Freeport heresy. The vicinity 
was settled in 1835 and Freeport was chartered 
as a city in 1885. Population, 1910* 17,567. 

FREE PORTS, a name applied to ports at 
whose wharves vessels of all nations are per¬ 
mitted to load, reload, or unload free of com¬ 
mercial charges and customs duties, paying only 
a nominal harbor fee. Free ports were estab¬ 
lished in the Middle Ages for the purpose of 
attracting trade to certain cities, and these en¬ 
joyed special advantages when prohibitive or 
protective customs went into effect in other com¬ 
mercial centers. Since 1888 the free port cities 
have become greatly limited, among the few re¬ 
maining in Europe being Hamburg, Bremen, and 
Trieste. Those not European include Hong¬ 
kong, Singapore, Livingstone, in Guatemala, 
and several others. 

FREE-SOIL PARTY, a political party of 
the United States, organized at Buffalo, N. Y., 
in 1848. It maintained an opposition to the 
extension of slavery as its cardinal principle. 
At first it was made up of different minor par¬ 
ties, such as the Barnburners, Liberty party, 
Whigs, and Abolition party. The first candi¬ 
date for President of the Free-Soil party was 
Martin Van Buren and its last was John P. 
Hale, the former in 1848 and the latter in 1852. 
As neither candidate received a considerable 
number of votes, the party was merged into 
the newly formed Republican party in 1856. 

FREETHINKERS (fre'thmk-erz), a term 
originated in England and applied to a class of 
deists in the 17th and 18th centuries, who held 
tenets in favor of natural as against revealed 
religion. In the time of Frederick the Great 
the term began to be '■used in Germany. In 
France it was applied to such writers as Dide¬ 
rot, Voltaire, and Helvetius, and in England 
it had reference to a class which included Hume 
and Lord Bolingbroke. At present the term is 
common among Christians as well as others, 
since it is taken to designate rationalism. 


FREETOWN 


857 


FREEWILL BAPTISTS 


FREETOWN, a city of West Africa, capital 
of the British colony of Sierra Leone, about 
five miles from the Atlantic coast. It is located 
on the Sierra Leone River, 32 miles by rail 
from Songotown, and is surrounded by a low 
tract, which is separated from the inland by a 
chain of mountains. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude a mission house, a supreme court, a 
cathedral, and a number of schools. It is an 
imperial coaling station and has a large export 
trade in palm oil, hides, India rubber, and 
fruits. The city has only about 200 European 
inhabitants. Population, 1908, 38,063. 

FREE TRADE, the term applied to national 
and interstate commerce when it is unrestricted 
by tariffs or customs. Advocates of this sys¬ 
tem hold that commerce among the nations 
should be as unrestricted as the trade among 
the various states of the Union, or among the 
provinces of Canada, though some think that 
duties should be levied, but only to obtain rev¬ 
enue and without regard to the effect on do¬ 
mestic industries. Among the advantages ar¬ 
gued in favor of such a system are that it is 
the method of nature, by which every individ¬ 
ual has a right to buy in the cheapest market 
and sell in the dearest, and that attempts to 
check this right result sooner or later in an 
artificial commercial condition and cause finan¬ 
cial disaster. It is held that the right of prop¬ 
erty implies freedom for every one to do the 
best he can with his own, so long as he does 
not infringe on the rights of others, and that 
protection benefits only a minority of a nation 
at the expense of a great majority. As to pro¬ 
tecting infant industries, it is held by free 
traders that long experience has demonstrated 
that individuals benefited by a tariff system 
continue to advocate taxation for their personal 
gain, and that the institutions meant to be 
matured after years of paternal assistance 
never reach maturity. In 1846 Great Britain 
made a step toward free trade by opening the 
ports to the unlimited and untaxed admission 
of grain, and since then has gradually ‘extended 
the free list until the commercial policy is 
practically one of free trade. 

No great political party of the United States 
has yet advocated an absolute; system of free 
trade. The free list has been enlarged greatly 
by placing on it commodities and raw materi¬ 
als not produced within the country, largely 
through the advocacy of a policy of tariffs for 
revenue only, thereby making the object rather 
one of collecting revenue than for the limita¬ 
tion or prohibition of imports. The principle 
of Iree trade is in direct opposition to a sys¬ 
tem of stimulating industry by bounties or lim¬ 


iting importation by so-called protection or a 
protective tariff system. It is claimed on one 
hand that nations like England, consuming more 
of the principal products than they produce, 
thrive under a system of free trade, while, on 
the other hand, the countries producing largely 
the food and apparel products can be benefited 
best by a partial free list and limited tariffs, 
though local conditions largely tend to modify 
or restrict the particular legislation which is 
most essential to the common weal. In this 
respect the experience of Germany, where high 
tariff rates are maintained, furnishes numer¬ 
ous examples. 

FREE WILL, the power to choose between 
two courses of conduct without-external com¬ 
pulsion. The freedom of the will has long been 
a subject for discussion in theology and psy¬ 
chology. This controversy hinges upon the 
question whether the will is free to choose, or 
whether it is limited by various circumstances 
that -make free choice impossible. Those who 
think the will is not free to act believe that it 
is influenced beyond control by various condi¬ 
tions and circumstances, that it acts in accord¬ 
ance with the natural law, that it is governed 
by previous activity and experience, and that 
these, acting separately or in unison, make free 
choice between alternatives impossible. On 
the other hand, it is argued that the will ena¬ 
bles man to select for himself his own course 
of action and put forth force or effort for the 
execution of the course he has chosen. How¬ 
ever, it is necessary to make choices and put 
forth effort in accordance with the fixed laws 
of nature. Only when man is conscious that 
he makes a free choice and acts accordingly, 
it is possible for him to feel responsible for 
his actions. According to this view, he may 
be prevented from executing his volitions by 
human interference, but in the matter of mak¬ 
ing the choice he is not subject to limitation. 

FREEWILL BAPTISTS, a denomination 
of evangelical Christians founded by Benjamin 
Randall (1749-1808). He was a member of 
the Baptist church in South Burwick, Me., but 
began to differ from that denomination soon 
after entering the ministry. In 1780 he found¬ 
ed a new church at New Durham, N. H. The 
distinctive tenets of the Freewill Baptists are 
the doctrines of free salvation and open com¬ 
munion, as opposed to those of election and 
closed communion. This denomination is rep¬ 
resented by organizations in Canada and the 
United States and.has about 100,000 members. 
It is strongest in New England. Bates College 
at Lewiston, Me., is one of its many educa¬ 
tional institutions. It has about 1,600 churches 


FREEZING 


858 


FREMONT 


and promotes missionary work through Sunday 
schools and numerous missions. 

FREEZING (frez'ing), the changing of a 
liquid into a solid under the influence of cold. 
A large body of water cannot be cooled below 
the temperature of 32° Fahr., since, when 
brought to that condition, the entire mass 
changes to ice. During the change from water 
to ice heat is liberated from the water, the 
amount being correspondingly greater than any 
other substance liberates in cooling. Conse¬ 
quently, an equal amount of heat disappears 
when ice is changed into water. All liquids 
solidify at a given temperature, known as the 
freezing point, which differs in the different 
liquids. Thus, water solidifies at 32° ;, mer¬ 
cury at —39° ; sulphuric .acid, at —40° ; and al¬ 
cohol, at —203°. The terms melting point and 
point of fusion are used interchangably with 
the term freezing point. 

Advantage is taken of the cooling produced 
by the solution of solids to obtain low temper¬ 
atures, and freezing mixtures are made by 
combining solids, or liquids and solids, which, 
when mixed, dissolve and cause a reduction of 
temperature. A simple mixture of this kind 
consists of 33 parts of common salt and 100 
parts of snow, with which a temperature as 
low as —5.8 Fahr. can be obtained. The most 
powerful mixture known, which will make al¬ 
cohol of the consistency of oil or melted wax, 
is made by dissolving solid carbonic acid, or 
solid nitrous oxide gas, in sulphuric ether, giv¬ 
ing a temperature of —120° to —200° Fahr. 
When matter passes from a liquid to a gaseous 
state, heat is again liberated, the degree of cold 
varying with the rapidity and extent of evap¬ 
oration. See Ice. 

FREIBERG (fri'berg), a city of Germany, 
in the kingdom of Saxony, 35 miles southwest 
of Dresden. It is situated on the northern 
slope of the Erzgebirge, and is surrounded by 
a productive mining country. Commerce is 
facilitated by important railway and electric 
railroad lines. The manufactures include wool¬ 
ens, leather, fertilizers, machinery, and cloth¬ 
ing. In the districts adjacent to the city are 
numerous smelters, which utilize the silver, 
lead, and copper mined in the vicinity. Frei¬ 
berg is the seat of a gymnasium, a celebrated 
mining academy, and chemical and assay labo¬ 
ratories. It has a fine Gothic cathedral con¬ 
structed in 1490, and contains the castle of 
Freudenstein. Gas and electric lighting, stone 
and asphalt paving, sqwerage, waterworks, and 
a public library are among the municipal im¬ 
provements. The city was made a part of 
Saxony in 1485. Population, 1906, 30,806. 


FREIBURG (fri'boorg), a city of Baden, 
Germany, on the Dreisam River, 32 miles 
northeast of Basel. It has several beautiful 
specimens of Gothic architecture, the most im¬ 
portant being the Gothic cathedral, which is 
built of red sandstone and rivals the noted 
Minster of Strassburg. This edifice has a 
tower 380 feet high and is remarkable for 
lightness and elegance. It was begun in 1122 
and completed in 1513. It is the seat of the 
University of Freiburg, founded in 1457 by 
the Archduke Albert of Austria. This insti¬ 
tution has 1,500 students and a library of 275,- 
000. Other noteworthy buildings include the 
Ludwigskirche, the Rathaus, the Merchants’ 
Hall, the grand ducal palace, and several thea¬ 
ters and museums. It has manufactures of 
clothing, potash, tobacco, paper, chicory, tex¬ 
tiles, and machinery. Several railroads and 
electric car lines furnish ample means of com¬ 
munication, while many modern municipal fa¬ 
cilities abound, such as telephones and elec¬ 
tric lights. Freiburg was founded in 1090 and 
became a free city in 1120. It has belonged 
to Baden since 1806. Population, 1905, 74,098. 

FREIGHT (frat), the general name of mer¬ 
chandise in the process of transportation, either 
on ships or on railway cars. Originally the 
term was applied to the cargo carried by a 
vessel, and later iit came to be used to desig¬ 
nate the price paid to the charterer of a ship 
for the carriage of goods. Now it is used to 
describe the goods carried on land as well as 
on water. The conditions of carriage are usu¬ 
ally set forth in a bill of lading, which is issued 
by the party receiving the freight to the ship¬ 
per, and is evidence that the goods were re¬ 
ceived in the proper condition for carriage and 
delivery at some particular place. See Carrier. 

FREMONT (fre-mont'), a city in Ohio, 
county seat of Sandusky County, on the San¬ 
dusky River, thirty miles southeast of Toledo. 
It is on the Lake Erie and Western, the Lake 
Shore and Michigan Southern, and other rail¬ 
roads, and has transportation facilities by elec¬ 
tric railways and by navigation on the San¬ 
dusky River, being at the head of river navi¬ 
gation. Among the chief buildings are the 
county courthouse, the Birchard public library, 
and the high school. It is the seat of a normal 
and business college, and has city waterworks 
and gas and electric lights. The manufactures 
include flour, boilers, butter and cheese, woolen 
fabrics, machinery, and vehicles. It was a 
trading post as early as 1785 and became Fort 
Stephenson in 1812. The name was changed 
to Fremont in 1850, in honor of General Fre¬ 
mont, Population, 1900, 8,439. 


FREMONT 


859 


FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS 


FREMONT, a city in Nebraska, county seat 
of Dodge County, on the Platte River, 35 miles 
west of Omaha. It is on the Union Pacific and 
the Chicago and Northwestern railroads. The 
surrounding country is fertile, and noted for its 
production of cereals and domestic animals. 
Among the chief buildings are the Fremont 
Normal School, the courthouse, the public 
library, and the high school. It has sewerage, 
electric lighting, graded and paved streets, 
waterworks, and telephone connections. The 
manufactures include flour, cigars, woolen 
goods, ironware, cured meat, machinery, and 
dairy products. It was settled in 1857 and in¬ 
corporated in 1871. Population, 1900, 7,241. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS, the name 
usually applied to four wars between the 
French and the English in America. They 
occurred in the period of exploration and set¬ 
tlement, in the 17th and 18th centuries, and 
were due in-part to conflicting claims in Amer¬ 
ica and partly to divergent interests in Europe. 
The French had settled chiefly on the Saint 
Lawrence and Mississippi, and based their 
claims upon the theory that a settlement at the 
source of a river gave title to all the basin, while 
the English held the view that settlement on the 
Atlantic coast extended their right across the 
continent to the Pacific. Migration, induced 
by an expansion of the colonies toward the 
west, caused the rival claimants to build forts 
on the frontier, which soon brought on active 
hostilities. 

1. King William's War, the first of this 
series, began in 1689, when William and Mary 
ascended the throne of England. War was 
declared between England and France and at 
once spread to the colonies. Governor Fron- 
tenac of Canada, in 1690, sent three expedi¬ 
tions against the English frontiers. These ex¬ 
peditions included many Indians, who killed 
and scalped a large number of the settlers. 
Sir William Phipps was sent with a fleet and 
1,800 men against Acadia and Port Royal, both 
of which he captured, but they were retaken .by 
the French in 1691. In 1696 the French took 
possession of Newfoundland and captured An¬ 
dover and other points in Massachusetts, but 
the Treaty of Ryswick, in 1697, ended the war. 

2. Queen Anne's War began in 1702, when 
the War of the Spanish Succession commenced 
in Europe. James Moore of South Carolina, 
with a force of whites and Indians, destroyed 
several Spanish settlements in Florida. The 
French made an attack upon Charlestown in 
1706, but were repulsed. A body of Canadians 
and Indians obtained possession of many points 
in New England and punished the English 


severely at Deerfield, and Haverhill, Mass. 
Three expeditions were sent by the English 
into Acadia, and the last of these, in 1710, 
proved successful. In 1713 the war was ended 
by the Treaty of Utrecht, which ceded Aca¬ 
dia, Newfoundland, and the Hudson Bay terri¬ 
tory to England. 

3. King George's War began in 1744, when 
the War of the Austrian Succession commenced 
in Europe. An attack was made by the French 
upon the northeastern settlement and privateers 
from Louisbourg, in Cape Breton, harassed the 
coast of New England. William Pepperell of 
Maine was sent with a force against Louis¬ 
bourg, which was captured on June 17, 1745, 
after a siege of two months. Another expedi¬ 
tion was organized against Quebec, but the 
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle terminated the war 
in 1748. By the terms of this treaty Louis¬ 
bourg was restored to France, and the terri¬ 
torial conditions remained as they were before 
the war. 

4. The French and Indian War was the 
American phase of the Seven Years’ War, and 
was the final struggle between France and 
England for the- possession of North America. 
France claimed the region west of the Alle¬ 
ghenies as part of the basins of the Missis¬ 
sippi and the Saint Lawrence, and had about 
80,000 whites and the friendship of many 
Indians. The English had about 1,100,000 
white colonists, but their people were divided 
into thirteen discordant governments. George 
Washington with a force of Virginian volun¬ 
teers made an attack upon Great Meadows and 
was soon after compelled to surrender at Fort 
Necessity, a strategic point erected to defend 
the western frontier. In 1755 the English sent 
an expedition under Braddock against Fort 
Duquesne (Pittsburg), but they were attacked 
and completely routed. Other expeditions were 
made by way of Champlain and Fort Niagara 
with the view of capturing the French posts 
near Nova Scotia, but these proved unsuccess¬ 
ful. The English were defeated in all their 
projects until William Pitt became the head 
of the ministry in England, in 1757, when a 
general scheme was formed to conquer Amer¬ 
ica. The following year Wolfe and Amherst 
captured Louisbourg, Forbes reduced Fort Du¬ 
quesne, and Bradstreet captured Fort Fron- 
tenac. Ticonderoga and Crown Point were 
captured by Amherst in 1759 and Niagara was 
taken by Prideaux in the same year. General 
Wolfe captured Quebec as a result of the Bat¬ 
tle upon the Plains of Abraham, in the same 
year, and the following year Montreal fell, 
thus completing the conquest of Canada. By 


FRENCH BEAN 


860 


FRENCH REVOLUTION 


the Treaty of Paris, in 1763, France ceded all 
lands east of the Mississippi to England, and 
all the lands west of the Mississippi were 
ceded to Spain, while Spain ceded Florida to 
England. This war enforced the necessity of 
union upon the colonists and left Spain as the 
only rival of England in America. 

FRENCH BEAN, a twining annual plant 
with alternate leaves, whitish flowers, and 
seeds more or less kidney-shaped. Several 
species are cultivated, the most common being 
the Lima bean. They are native to the East 
Indies, whence they were brought to Europe 
by the French, but are now grown very ex¬ 
tensively in all countries. 

FRENCH BROAD, a river of the United 
States, rises in Transylvania Count}'’, North 
Carolina, and flows through that State and 
Tennessee. It joins the Holston River four 
miles above Knoxville, after a course of about 
200 miles. The country through which it 
passes is famed . for its scenery, especially 
from Asheville to the Tennessee border, 
where many deep and beautiful gorges charac¬ 
terize the banks, some of which are 300 feet 
high. 

FRENCH CONGO (kon'go), a large colon¬ 
ial possession of France in West Africa, 
bounded on the north by Wadai; east and south 
by Egyptian Sudan and the Congo Free State; 
and west by the Atlantic, Kamerun (Cameroon), 
and Nigeria. It extends north to Lake Tchad 
and is separated from the Congo Free State 
largely by the Congo, the Uvangi, and the 
Welle rivers. The area is estimated at 590,000 
square miles. A number of bays and many 
lagoons diversify the coast. The southeastern 
part is in the valley of the Congo, which is 
fertile and well timbered. Among the princi¬ 
pal rivers are the Gabun, Sanga, and Ogowai. 
Although the country is valuable for its min¬ 
erals and fertility of soil, the climate is un¬ 
healthful. 

The native inhabitants are chiefly savage, en¬ 
gaging in hunting, fishing, and rude forms of 
agriculture. Among the exports are caout¬ 
chouc, ebony, palm kernels, coffee, redwood, 
ivory, palm oil, elephants’ teeth, and drum 
opal. The French title to this possession is 
based on the explorations of M. de Brazza. 
He obtained concessions from the natives and 
occupied Gabun, a region along the coast which 
is now included with the colony. The country 
possesses valuable timber, fertile soil, and is 
susceptible to material development. Libre¬ 
ville, on the Gulf of Guinea, is the capital, 
whence the colonial government is administered 
under the direction of France. Other cities 


are Mayumba, Baraka, Lambarene, Brazzaville, 
and Franceville. Population, 1906, 12,480,000. 

FRENCH GUIANA (ge-a'na). See 
Guiana. 

FRENCH GUINEA (gin'e), a colonial pos¬ 
session of France, on the western coast of 
Africa, between Sierra Leone and Portuguese 
Guinea. It extends inland to Senegal and the 
French territory in the Sudan. The area is 
about 106,200 square miles. It is largely a 
mountainous country, but has a favorable cli¬ 
mate and valuable forests. The drainage is 
partly by the Niger and partly toward the 
west by the Grande. Among the chief produc¬ 
tions are live stock, cereals, ivory, palm oil, 
India rubber gum, and sesame. The region 
was explored by the Portuguese at an early 
date, but the French have carried on a trade 
since 1685 and took possession of the country 
in 1869. It was made a separate colony in 
1890. Konakry, on the island of Tombo, is the 
capital and chief port. It is connected with 
the mainland by a bridge. The estimated pop¬ 
ulation, in 1908, was 1,460,500. 

FRENCH INDO-CHINA. See Indo- 
China. 

FRENCH LANGUAGE. See France. 

FRENCH REVOLUTION, the political and 

military contest of France which overthrew 
the old feudal regime and the Bourbon mon¬ 
archy. It began in 1789 with the meeting of 
the States-General and ended in 1799 with the 
establishment of the consulate, of which Na¬ 
poleon Bonaparte was proclaimed consul for 
life in 1802. Previous to the Revolution, 
France was disturbed by a great spirit of un¬ 
rest, which was intensified by the success of 
the American Revolution and the weakness of 
Louis XVI. The distress of the people had 
increased rapidly and the state of the finances 
became more desperate. Prominent men and 
women, who discussed political abuses and 
their remedies with dangerous fluency, crowd¬ 
ed the royal palace and the salons of Paris. 
The government finally yielded to a general 
clamor for the reassembling of the States- 
General, and the election of members for the 
states took place with indescribable tumult. 
Meanwhile Paris was flooded with pamphlets 
upon the absorbing theme, and when the 
States-General met at Versailles on May 5, 
1789, it ended the monarchy and was the im¬ 
mediate cause of the Revolution. 

Great pomp was displayed when the States- 
General convened and much was expected from 
that body. It first undertook to settle the 
question of method in voting, which had for¬ 
merly been by class instead of by poll. Under 


FRENCH REVOLUTION 


861 


FRENCH REVOLUTION 


this plan the clergy and nobles, acting to¬ 
gether, had a decided advantage over the third 
estate, or the commons. Five weeks were 
spent in useless parleys, when the commons 
decided to be the national assembly, and pro¬ 
ceeded to deliberate upon the affairs of the 
state without reference to the other bodies. 
Louis XVI. now suspended the meetings and 
convened a royal sitting, at which he ordered 
the members of the States-General to assem¬ 
ble in their respective rooms. The clergy and 
nobles obeyed, but the commons refused to 
have the Assembly dissolved and. through 
Mirabedu declared: “We are here by the will 
of the people, and nothing but the bayonet 
shall drive us hence/’ This signaled the loss 
of the royal authority, and the clergy and no¬ 
bles joined the third estate. 

The royal authority having failed, no re¬ 
source but submission or the bayonet was open 
to the king. • The first wave of intense ex¬ 
citement passed over the country on July 12, 
when it was reported that Necker had been 
dismissed and troops were rapidly collecting 
at Versailles. Two days later the Bastille was 
stormed by an immense crowd, and many of 
the prisoners were murdered and their bleeding 
heads were borne on pikes along the streets. 
It was the first scene in the tragedy of the 
Revolution. Soon after the Assembly abol¬ 
ished all feudal rights and privileges and 
adopted a Declaration of the Rights of Man, 
which outlined the leading principles of a 
limited monarchy based upon a constitution. 
This was followed by the organization of the 
National Guard, but the Commune of Paris 
was fast getting control of the Revolution. 
A mob of men and women made an attack 
upon Versailles, where the royal guards were 
put to death, and the king and queen were 
required to return to Paris. 

Although the king had taken an oath to 
support the new constitution, his sincerity 
was under suspicion, since concerted efforts 
were made by the emigres (q. v.) to secure 
assistance from foreign powers as a means to 
end the Revolution. The king and queen es¬ 
caped from Paris in 1791, but were arrested 
at Varennes, about seventy miles from Paris, 
and were forced to return. In 1791 the Na¬ 
tional Assembly had declared its members in¬ 
eligible to reelection, which body was now 
succeeded by the Legislative Assembly. This 
body was made up of three powerful factions; 
the Girondists, who were republican; the 
Feuillants, who supported the constitution; 
and the Mountain, a party that was made up 
largely of demagogues and anarchists. Louis 


unwisely dismissed the Feuillant ministry and 
appointed a Girondist cabinet, and war was 
soon after declared against the empire by 
Prussia and Austria. 

The campaign against foreign enemies proved 
a failure, causing the breach between the king 
and the Assembly to widen. He soon dis¬ 
missed the Girondist ministry and sought an 
alliance with friendly princes, but the Jacobins 
and Girondists instigated an insurrection. Oil 
June 20, 1792, a mob made an attack upon the 
Tuileries, but the leaders were persuaded to 
disperse the people. The second attack upon 
the Tuileries took place on Aug. 10, which 
was sacked and plundered by the frenzied 
mob. Louis threw himself upon the mercy of 
the Legislative Assembly, which was compelled 
by the mob to'put him in prison and suspend 
him from office. On Sept. 20 the National 
Convention, as the next Assembly was called, 
met to take up the government. It included 
some of the most violent revolutionists, such 
as Danton, Marat, Camille Desmoulins, and 
Robespierre, and immediately abolished roy¬ 
alty and proclaimed the republic. The > ex¬ 
tremists finally carried a measure to confis¬ 
cate the property of the nobles and priests, and 
promoted a policy favorable to the annexation 
of Belgium. A German army had previously 
invaded France, but was defeated by Dumou- 
riez at Valma. Louis was accused of plot¬ 
ting against the liberty of the people, and after 
a stormy debate was declared guilty and sen¬ 
tenced to die. He asked for a respite of three 
days, but was refused and executed while the 
crowd shouted Vive la Republique! This 
aroused the nations of Europe and a concerted 
organization was affected by Holland, Eng¬ 
land, Spain, and Germany to strangle the Rev¬ 
olution, which threatened to overthrow the 
royalties and aristocracies of Europe. The 
# Austrians defeated Dumouriez, who soon after 
joined the allied camp against the revolution¬ 
ists. 

The government now organized the Com¬ 
mittee of Public Safety and France was thrown 
into the Reign of Terror. The Jacobins, under 
the lead of Robespierre, ordered the Girond¬ 
ists arrested, and those who escaped were 
outlawed and pursued with unrelenting ven¬ 
geance.' All the prisons were crowded, some 
of the most illustrious citizens were condemned, 
and the guillotine was kept at work in every 
part of France. Among those executed were 
Madame Roland, Philippe Egalite, and Queen 
Marie Antoinette. Lavoisier, the chemist; 
Bailly, the astronomer; and De Noailles, the 
marshal of France, were among the many il- 


FRENCH SOMALILAND 


862 


FRIAR 


lustrious persons who were hurried to the 
scaffold. Many churches and convents were 
plundered, tombs were rifled, Notre Dame was 
converted into a Temple of Reason, and red 
caps were worn to indicate that liberty had 
been enthroned. At length the terrorists were 
divided and Robespierre, who had been the 
most conspicuous figure among them, was be¬ 
headed on July 28, 1794. The Reign of Ter¬ 
ror was now at an end, the Jacobin Club was 
disorganized, thousands of prisoners were re¬ 
leased and the Terrorists were disarmed. 
Many defenders of the new republic volun¬ 
teered to protect the frontiers against foreign 
invasions. The States-General was organized 
into two houses, the Council of Five Hundred 
and the Council of the Ancients, the former to 
propose and the latter to pass 'or reject laws. 
Executive power was lodged in a directory of 
five persons. Napoleon Bonaparte was called 
to defend the Tuileries. He planted cannon 
that swept the insurgents as they came within 
range of his pitiless guns, thus ending the last 
insurrection of the people. 

FRENCH SOMALILAND (s6-ma'le-land), 
a colonial possession of France in the north¬ 
eastern part of Africa, bordering on the Gulf 
of Aden. It is bounded on the north by Eri¬ 
trea, east by the Gulf of Aden, south by Brit¬ 
ish Somaliland, and west and southwest by 
Abyssinia. The area is 45,000 square miles. 
The surface is hilly along the coast and much 
of the interior is an elevated plateau, ranging 
about 4,000 feet above sea level. Gold, cof¬ 
fee, ivory, and fruits are exported; and food¬ 
stuffs, machinery, tobacco, and cotton and silk 
textiles are imported. Jibuti, the chief port, is 
connected with the interior by a railway and is 
the seat of colonial government. A part of the 
possession has belonged to France since 1855, 
when Obok was made a French port. Subse¬ 
quently the boundary was moved inland and. 
treaties were made with Italy, England, and 
Abyssinia in the period of 1887-96, definitely 
fixing the boundaries. The government is ad¬ 
ministered by a governor, who is assisted by a 
general council of six members. Galla and 
Danakil races constitute the larger portion of 
the natives. Population, 201,500. 

FRENCHTOWN, a village in Michigan, the 
site of which is now occupied by the town of 
Monroe, about 22 miles southwest of Detroit. 
It was the scene of a battle on Jan. 14, 1813, 
when an American force of 650 men under 
Colonel Lewis defeated a force of British and 
Indians under Major Reynolds. ,A second 
engagement occurred at the same place on 
Jan. 22, 1813. The British under Colonel 


Proctor made an attack upon General Win¬ 
chester, who now commanded at Frenchtown, 
and the Americans were compelled to sur¬ 
render. Many of the latter were massacred 
by the Indians, hence the affair is sometimes 
called the Massacre of the Raisin River. 

FRENCH WEST AFRICA, a territorial 
possession of France, including nearly all of 
the Sahara. It was made a governor general¬ 
ship on Oct. 17, 1899, and in 1902 was divided 
into Dahomey, Ivory Coast, Senegal, French 
Guinea, Senegambia, and the military territory 
of the Niger. Government authority over all 
of these possessions is exercised by the gov¬ 
ernor general of French West Africa, who has 
his seat at Saint Louis, in Senegal. 

FRESCO (fres'ko), the art of painting with 
water colors on fresh plaster, or on a wall 
covered with mortar not entirely dry. The 
most satisfactory results are obtained when 
the plaster is laid on as the painting proceeds, 
since the unhardened fresh plastered walls per¬ 
mit the color to sink and form a more satis¬ 
factory surface. It was highly developed as 
an art by the ancients, and is now generally 
employed for large pictures on walls and ceil¬ 
ings. Numerous well-preserved frescoes are 
to be seen in many of the temples. Splendid 
specimens of ancient frescoes were found in 
Pompeii, Egypt, India, and Mexico, though the 
art was not brought to the greatest perfection 
until the rise of the finer Italian art in the 16th 
century. Many of the ancient paintings were 
executed in what is called fresco secca, which is 
quite distinct from genuine fresco, since it is 
executed on dry walls and ceilings, previously 
moistened with limewater. 

FRESNO (frez'no), a city of California, 
county seat of Fresno County, about 40 miles 
north of Tulare Lake and 200 miles southeast 
of San Francisco. It is on the Southern Pa¬ 
cific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 
railroads. The noteworthy buildings include 
the Carnegie public library, the Federal build¬ 
ing, the county courthouse, and the high school. 
It has systems of waterworks, electric light¬ 
ing, pavements and electric street railways. 
Among the manufactures are flour, furniture, 
agricultural implements, ironware, cigars, and 
wine. The surrounding country is fruit, ce¬ 
real, sheep, and mineral producing. An abun¬ 
dance of water power is drawn from the falls 
of the San Joaquin River, about 30 miles dis¬ 
tant. Population, 1900, 12,470. 

FRIAR, a member of a monastic brother¬ 
hood, especially one who belongs to such men¬ 
dicant orders as the Dominicans, Franciscans, 
Carmelites, and Augustinians. The term is 


FRICTION 


863 


FRISIANS 


commonly used to distinguish members of 
modern religious communities in the Roman 
Catholic church from the older title of monk, 
which has special reference to the Benedic¬ 
tines and their branches. In reference to the 
clothing worn, the Dominicans were formerly 
called Black Friars; the Franciscans, Gray 
Friars; and the Carmelites, Barred Friars. 
The monks are generally called friars in Ire¬ 
land. 

FRICTION (frik'shun), in mechanics, the 

K resistance arising when two or more bodies 
move while the surfaces are in contact. It is 
usually classified as sliding or rolling, the for¬ 
mer being exemplified by the sliding of a sled 
or skate and the latter by the friction of the 
wheels of a wagon on the ground. All bodies 
have elevations and depressions, more or less 
prominent, and the projecting points of one 
body render movement more difficult by en¬ 
tering the cavities of the other. However, the 
intensity of friction depends to some extent 
upon pressure and slightly upon adhesion. 
Friction is greatest when a body at rest begins 
to move, thereby making it difficult for a 
force to displace the body, owing to its iner¬ 
tia being influenced by friction. The inert¬ 
ness is greatest in large and heavy bodies. Oil 
and other lubricants are used to lessen fric¬ 
tion in machinery and instruments. Friction 
is a retarding force in nature, and gives sta¬ 
bility to bodies which otherwise would be eas¬ 
ily displaced. Since friction generates heat, 
it is one of the chief means of developing 
electricity. 

FRIDAY (fri'da), the sixth day of the week, 
following Thursday and preceding Saturday. 
It occurs on the same day as the Mohamme¬ 
dan Sabbath and is the day for general fasts 
and obligation in the Anglican, Greek, and 
Roman churches. Friday was named from 
Freya (q. v.), a Scandinavian goddess. 

FRIENDLY ISLANDS, or Tonga Islands, 
an island group in the South Pacific Ocean, 
about 250 miles southeast of the Fiji Islands. 
The islands, about 150 in number, are divided 
into three groups by two narrow channels and 
have a total area of 390 square miles. Ton- 
gatabu, having an area of 125 square miles, is 
the largest and contains Nukualofa, the cap¬ 
ital. About 30 of the islands are inhabited by 
friendly natives. They are partly of volcanic 
and partly of coral origin and have a fertile 
soil. A number of the volcanoes are active, 
including Tofoa, height 2,785 feet, and Late, 
height 1,790 feet. Copra, sponges, coffee, wool, 
and tropical fruits are the chief products. 
Manufacturing is in a primitive state, the 


products including rude machinery, pottery, 
and wearing apparel used by the natives. 
Christian missionaries began active work in 
1877, since which time the Christian cause has 
secured many adherents, schools have been 
established, and a general advance has been 
made in moral and intellectual development. 
The government is directed by a native Chris¬ 
tian chief and is administered under a consti¬ 
tution, which provided for a representative 
parliament and a well-established judiciary. 
European customs, education, machinery,' and 
utensils -have been introduced to a large ex¬ 
tent. The island group was discovered in 
1643 by Tasman. It was visited in 1777 by 
Captain Cook, who applied the present name. 
The islands were declared neutral by the Dec¬ 
laration of Berlin in 1886, but Germany, Great 
Britain, and the United States held special 
treaties. In 1899, with the assent of Germany 
and the United States, Great Britain proclaimed 
a protectorate. Population, 1906, 21,661. 

FRIENDS, Society of. See Quakers. 

FRIGATE (frig'at), a name applied origi¬ 
nally to a class of long vessels common in 
the Mediterranean, navigated with sails and 
oars. It is now used to designate warships that 
have a high speed and great fighting power. 
Many of the largest men-of-war belong to this 
class and carry from twenty to forty guns, 
sometimes more than that number. 

FRIGATE BIRD, a tropical web-footed bird, 
related to the pelican and sometimes called 
frigate pelican and man-of-war bird. It is so 
named from its fierce attack upon other birds, 
especially when they are carrying articles of 
food. The bill is longer than the head, the tail 
has twelve large feathers and is forked, and 
the extent of wing is about seven feet. Birds 
of this kind have great power of flight and are 
frequently seen a thousand miles from land. 
They often fly in flocks so high that they are 
scarcely visible, but are very awkward in mov¬ 
ing about on the land. These birds are com¬ 
mon to the intertropical coasts of the Atlantic 
and Pacific oceans, and are rarely found north 
of South Carolina. 

FRISIANS (frizh'anz), an ancient German 
race that dwelt in the northwestern part of 
Germany, between the Rhine and the Ems. The 
Romans under Drusus made them tributary, 
but later they instigated several revolutions on 
account of Roman oppression. Subsequently 
their district was reduced to Friesland, but in 
the 9th century they obtained their independ¬ 
ence, which they maintained until 1498, when 
their history became merged into that of Ger¬ 
many and Holland. They are an industrious 





FROBISHER BAY 


864 


FROST 


people, have a fine literature, and include a 
number of eminent historians, poets, and sci¬ 
entists. Modern Frisian is usually divided into 
East and West Frisian, but both branches 
have been influenced very largely by the Ger¬ 
man, especially by the Platt Deutsch. 

FROBISHER BAY, an inlet on the south¬ 
eastern coast of Baffin Land, about 20 miles 
wide and 200 miles long, and marked by pre¬ 
cipitous, rocky shores. It is located about mid¬ 
way between Hudson Strait and Cumberland 
Sound, west of the southern point of Greenland, 
and at its entrance is Resolution Island. The 
fisheries are valuable, but the catching season 
is short on account of extremely cold winters. 

FROG, a tailless amphibian animal which be¬ 
longs to the leaping Batrachians. It has four 
legs, a flat head, a rounded nose, a very large 


mouth, and teeth on the upper jaw and palate. 
The hind legs are very long and stout and 
the feet are webbed. On the hind feet are 
five toes, while the front feet have only four. 
The tongue is thick and fastened in front to 
the lower jaw so the back part may be thrown 
out of the mouth very quickly, thus enabling 
it to catch insects, bugs, and various other 
forms of life on which it feeds. It swims by 
means of its hind legs and lives much of the 
time in the water. However, an adult frog 
cannot live wholly in the water, having lungs, 
thus being required to come to the surface at 
intervals to breathe. In winter it lies bur¬ 
rowed in the mud, and its harsh croak may be 
heard in spring as soon as the sun has loos¬ 
ened the frost. 

The female frog lays from 600 to 1,200 eggs, 
usually in March or April, which consist of a 


gelatinous mass with minute, black globules. 
By the end of April they have enlarged and 
hatched, the young being known as tadpoles. 
The tadpoles breathe by means of gills and 
have a tail, swimming about like small fish. 
Their hind legs appear first, later the fore legs, 
after which they remain dormant and the 
tail is absorbed, when they are said to “live 
on their tail.” Soon after they quit the water 
and begin to breathe by lungs instead of gills. 
The process of breathing is carried on by the 
action of the muscles of the throat and abdo¬ 
men. * • 

All species of frogs are destitute of ribs. 
They make a loud, croaking sound, especially 
the bullfrog of North America, which grows 
to a length of fifteen to twenty inches. While 
frogs are usually green in color, they -often 
have stripes or spots of dark-brown on 
the back, and the throat is yellow. The 
eggs of the frogs, like those of fishes, 
are fertilized after they are laid. Many 
people consider the hind legs of the 
American bullfrog excellent food. Sev¬ 
eral species known as wood frogs, live in 
timber districts, frequenting the trunks 
and limbs of trees in search of food. 

FRONDE (frond), the name of a 
political faction in France which headed 
an insurrectionary movement during the 
latter part of the minority of Louis 
XIV. It was so named from frondeurs, 
meaning slingers, since their attacks 
upon Cardinal Mazarin were said to re¬ 
semble the act of boys throwing stones 
with slings. The movement started in 
1648, when the Parliament refused to 
register certain objectionable royal edicts 
that followed the breaking up of the 
feudal system, and, when the king compelled 
that body to register, the people rose in defense 
of their rights. The struggle continued until 
1652, by which time the nobles had won great 
constitutional reforms, but they had no definite 
object except selfish profit and were not directed 
by a strong leader, hence Mazarin regained his 
former power. As a whole, the War of the 
Fronde may be classed as a useless political and 
military contest, since the loss of advantages 
that had been gained temporarily contributed 
to make Louis XIV. an absolute monarch. 

FROST (frost), the minute crystals of ice 
formed directly from the vapor of water. 
At a temperature of 32° Fahr. the watery va¬ 
por becomes so cold that it cannot condense into 
water, but falls to the earth in the shape of 
frost instead of dew. This is known as white 
or hoar frost. The name is often applied to 



METAMORPHOSIS OF THE FROG. 


1, egg; 2, egg partly incubated; 3, newly hatched tadpole; 4, tadpole 
with gills; 5, outside gills replaced by internal ones; 6, tadpole with 
hind limbs; 7, tadpole with four limbs; 8, tadpole with rudimental tail; 
9, adult frog. 




FROSTBURG 


865 


FUCHSIA 


moisture hardened by cold after it has fallen 
in the form of dew, or to the inside of window 
panes in a warm room. Frost is very destruc¬ 
tive to plants, as the water in the juices ex¬ 
pands when it freezes and thereby bursts the 
vesicles. Clouds and smoke act as a covering 
to check radiation. Winds bring fresh masses 
of air into contact with the cold objects and 
prevent frost, which accounts for dew and 
frost falling most abundantly at night when 
there is little movement in the atmosphere. 
Black frost is caused by cold so severe that 
plants freeze and change color without showing 
any signs of hoar frost. A frostbite is a state 
of numbness of any part of the body of an 
animal, but especially of the extremities, by 
exposure to extreme cold. In like manner plants 
partially frosted are said to be frost-bitten. 
Slight frostbites in animals often cause chil¬ 
blains, which are annoying but not very dan¬ 
gerous, but in severe cases gangrene may set 
in or they may result in permanent injury or 
even death. Rubbing and applications of snow 
or cold water are recommended as soon as 
the injury is discovered. 

FROSTBURG (frost'b,urg), a town of Mary¬ 
land, in Allegheny County, in the western part 
of the State, on the Cumberland and Pennsyl¬ 
vania Railroad. The location is on a fine 
plateau between Dan’s and the Savage moun¬ 
tains, about 2,150 feet above the sea, and the 
surrounding country has extensive coal mines 
and deposits of fire clay. It is the seat of a 
State normal school. The manufactures in¬ 
clude brick, machinery, clothing, and cigars. 
Frostburg is popular as a summer resort. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1900, 5,274. 

FRUIT (frut), in botany, a mature ovary of 
a plant, which contains the seeds, especially 
such plant products as are pleasant to the 
taste and eaten by man and animals. Other 
parts of the flower, most frequently the calyx, 
sometimes remain after the flowering is over, 
undergo a further development, and form part 
of the fruit. All that is external to the seed 
in ripe fruit is called the pericarp and is the 
edible portion, except in such berries as grapes, 
gooseberries, and others, whose pulpy matter 
is formed from the placentas of the seeds. The 
value of fruit to man exceeds that of all other 
parts of plants. Among the more important 
fruits in the temperate climates are apples, 
peaches, plums, cherries, melons, apricots, mul¬ 
berries, strawberries, raspberries, and others, 
while with those of the warmer regions may be 
included the dates, olives, figs, grapes, oranges, 
bananas, nuts, etc. Fruit is grown very exten¬ 
sively for the market, both in Canada and the 
55 


United States, although the latter country has 
a wider range of climate and produces a greater 
number of species than Canada. See Horticul¬ 
ture. 

FUCA, Juan de (hdo-an' da foo'ka), a strait 
between the United States and British Amer¬ 
ica, separating Vancouver Island from the 
State of Washington. It connects the Pacific 
Ocean with Puget Sound and the Strait of 
Georgia, the former lying south and the latter 
north of its eastern extremity. It is from 15 to 
30 miles wide, about 100 miles long, and contains 
a number of islands. The Strait of Juan de 
Fuca was so named from Juan de Fuca, a Greek 
navigator, who discovered it about 1592. 


FU-CHOW. See Foochow. 

FUCHSIA (fu'shi-a), a genus of flowering 



FUCHSIA. 


shrubs native to Mexico, South America, and 
New Zealand, and so named from the discov¬ 
erer, Leonard Fuchs (1501-1566), a German 







FUEL 


866 


FULLER’S EARTH 


botanist. About seventy species have been de¬ 
scribed. The calyx is funnel-shaped and four- 
parted, with the four petals set alternately, the 
style is long, and the stigma is capitate. Popu¬ 
larly they are called ladies’ eardrops, from the 
appearance of the pendulous flowers. They 
are favorites as house and garden plants and 
thrive in a light, rich soil, though growing 
best in a mixture of loam and peat. New 
plants may be developed from young cuttings 
set in sand or loam. 

FUEL (fu'el), the material with which a fire 
is fed, including various forms of carbona¬ 
ceous matter, such as gaseous, liquid, and solid 
substances. The phenomenon of heat arises 
by combining fuel with oxygen, as by com¬ 
bustion, and forms an essential element for 
manufacturing and domestic purposes. Natu¬ 
ral gas, common coal gas, and acetylene gas are 
used -very extensively for heating, lighting, and 
manufacturing. Among the liquid fuels are 
alcohol, creosote, petroleum, shale oil, and va¬ 
rious vegetable and animal oils. Each of these 
is employed with success for divers purposes, 
though petroleum and creosote constitute the 
principal kinds used in the large manufactur¬ 
ing establishments. Crude petroleum has come 
into extensive use on locomotives as well as 
steamboats. Alcohol is a valuable fuel where 
a small volume of heat, which can be easily 
regulated, is wanted for small manufacturing 
enterprises and in experiments. Among the 
solid fuels are wood, coal, peat, wood charcoal, 
and coke. 

In pioneer settlements and countries desti¬ 
tute of mineral fuel, wood and its products are 
the principal forms used, though coal and its 
products constitute by far the most important 
fuel used in the great centers of manufacture, 
ocean navigation, railroad operation, and for 
heating purposes. The extensive natural gas 
deposits in America and Eurasia are having 
a marked influence, not only in propelling ma¬ 
chinery, but in smelting and refining. Within 
recent years lighting by electricity has displaced 
the consumption of fuel for street illumination 
and largely as material for house lighting, espe¬ 
cially in large centers of population. At the 
present rate at which electricity is coming into 
use for heating purposes, it is not improbable 
that some plan will be devised to displace many 
other forms by this inexhaustible agent. 

FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW (fu ji-tiv), the 
statutes of the United States which provided 
for the return of the slaves who escaped from 
the State in which they were held in servitude. 
The surrender of slaves that had escaped to 
another State was a matter of mere comity un¬ 


der the colonial government as well as under 
the Articles of Confederation. Though the 
word slave is not used in the Constitution of 
the United States, a clause in Article IV. di¬ 
rects that escaped slaves be returned to their 
masters. In 1793 the first law of Congress was 
passed under this provision, and it directed that 
escaped slaves and criminals be returned. The 
provision imposing on magistrates of the states 
certain duties under Federal statutes led to 
some complications, but an attempt in 1818 to 
amend it failed. A new and more stringent 
law was provided by the Compromise of 1850, 
under which the refusal of the marshal to 
execute writs under the act subjected him to 
a fine. He was made liable for the value of 
slaves escaping from his custody, and those 
obstructing an arrest or attempting a rescue 
were made subject to a fine together with im¬ 
prisonment. A commissioner who investigated 
and adjudged the prisoner a slave was allowed 
a fee of $10.00, but only $5.00 was paid to him, 
if the person was set free, and the testimony 
of the person claimed as a slave was never 
taken. These provisions caused a large number 
of free Negroes in the North to be kidnapped. 
Many northern states passed personal liberty 
laws, by which the breach preceding the Civil 
War was widened. The fugitive slave laws 
were not repealed until 1864. 

FUJIYAMA (foo-ji-ya'ma), or Fuju-San, 
the highest elevation of Japan, situated on the 
island of Hondo, in the province of Suruga, 
about 60 miles west of Tokio. Its crater is 500 
feet deep. The mountain was active at numer¬ 
ous times prior to 1707, but since then has been 
dormant. It has an elevation of 12,365 feet 
above sea level. The Buddhists hold it sacred 
and wander in large companies to its higher 
places of interest from July to September, when 
the snow is melted under the more direct rays 
of the sun. Many shrines and temples are main¬ 
tained at different elevations. 

FULAH (foo'la), a race of Negroes native 
to Africa, found chiefly in the basin of the 
Senegal River, but distributed more or less 
widely throughout the Sudan. The color is 
light brown; the stature, medium; the head, 
long; the speech, Negroid; and the hair, wooly, 
but not frizzled. They give evidence of con¬ 
siderable shrewdness and intelligence, and are 
skilled in manual labor and the manufacture 
of native clothing and utensils. In the east¬ 
ern part of the Sudan they are mixed largely 
with the Ethiopian races. 

FULLER’S EARTH, a kind of greenish 
white clay found in many parts of Europe. It 
is formed chiefly from alumina, with which are 


FULMAR 


867 


FUNGI 


mixed lime, silica, and several other ingredients. 
This clay is much used by manufacturers in 
cleansing the oil from woolen fabrics, since 
it is much cheaper than soap. 

FULMAR (ful'mar), a species of aquatic 
birds belonging to the petrels, native to the 
island of Saint Kilda and many of the Arctic 
coasts. These birds are about the size of a 
domestic duck. They feed on whale blubber, 
fish, and putrid animal matter. The fulmar 
is valued for the oil obtained from its stomach 
and for its feathers and eggs. The natives 
gather the eggs, considering them excellent as 
food. Several species of the fulmar are found 
in the Pacific Ocean, though they are larger 
than those native to the Arctic regions. 

FULMINATION (ful-mi-na'shun), the sud¬ 
den decomposition of bodies by percussion or 
heat. It is accompanied by light and a loud 
report. Fulminates or fulminating compounds 
are explosives formed by preparing fulminic 
acid with gold, silver, platinum, mercury, or 
other bases. The percussion caps contain ful¬ 
minate of mercury, which forms the priming. 
Fulminating powder is a mixture of niter, sul¬ 
phur, and potash. 

FULTON (ful'tun), a city of New York, 
in Oswego County, 25 miles northwest of 
Syracuse, on the New York Central and the 
Lackawanna railroads. It is located on the Os¬ 
wego River and the Oswego Canal. A public 
library, waterworks, electric lighting and pave¬ 
ments are among the public improvements. It 
has an academy, a hospital, and several fine 
churches. The manufactures include cutlery, 
flour, condensed milk, and machinery. The first 
settlement on its site was made in 1791 and its 
present charter dates from 1902, when the vil¬ 
lages of Fulton and Oswego Falls were united. 
Population, 1905, 8,847; in 1910, 10,480. 

FUNCHAL (foon-shar), a city in the island 
of Madeira, of which it is the capital. It is 
located west of Morocco and southwest of Gib¬ 
raltar, and is important as a Spanish coaling 
station. The chief buildings include an opera 
house, a cathedral, a museum, and the govern¬ 
ment building. Its site rises abruptly from the 
sea, hence many of the streets are narrow and 
steep, but they are nicely lighted by electricity 
and improved by grading. The harbor is well 
fortified and is the only port in Madeira that 
can be reached by large steamers. Its favorable 
climate has caused it to be popular as a health 
resort. Population, 1907, 20,986. 

FUNCTION (funk'shun), the term applied 
in the study of animal or vegetable life to 
designate the specific office or work which any 
organ or system of organs is intended to per¬ 


form. The vital functions are those which are 
necessary to life. In the higher animals they 
consist of the specific office or work of the heart, 
brain, and lungs. The functions relating to the 
external world, such as voluntary motion and 
the senses, are called animal functions. On the 
other hand, the processes of assimilation, res¬ 
piration, absorption, digestion, and expulsion 
are called natural or vegetative functions. 

FUNDY (fun'di), Bay of, an inlet of the 
Atlantic, separating Nova Scotia from New 
Brunswick. It is 165 miles long and has an 
average width of 35 miles. At its upper ex¬ 
tremity it branches into Chignecto Bay and 
Minas Channel and Basin, which are separated 
from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by a narrow 
isthmus. Navigation is rendered dangerous by 
tides that rise and fall rapidly from fifteen to 
seventy feet. Grand Manan and other islands 
are at the southern entrance. The Saint Croix 
and Saint John rivers flow into the bay. A ship 
railway connects Chignecto Bay with Northum¬ 
berland Strait. 

FUNGI (fun'ji), a large group of flowerless 
plants, which, in their different forms, are 
known as mushroom, toadstool, blight, mold, 
rust, smut, mildew, and by other appellations. 
Fungi are closely akin to the lichen, but are a 
lower order and occur in different situations, 
chiefly drawing their food from the objects on 
which they are found. Their structure is cel¬ 
lular and they are propagated by spores. Some 
species grow in green pastures and others on de¬ 
caying trees, or on grasses or grains, which they 
destroy. Many thrive on books and other ob¬ 
jects when they are stored in damp places and 
some are found on man and animals in certain 
diseases. Fungi are present wherever decay is 
going on. Many species grow very rapidly, 
springing up in a single night and dying as 
quickly, and some grow very slowly, adding to 
their main body year by year. Various forms 
of fungi are so small that they can scarcely be 
seen, while others measure several feet in cir¬ 
cumference. Several species are used for food 
and some are valuable for medicine. 

Fungi occur in all parts of the earth where it 
is not too cold for vegetable growth, but they 
are most plentiful in moist, temperate climates. 
Edible mushrooms, well-known species of fungi, 
grow wild in Europe and America, and are 
largely cultivated for food. Some species are 
grown in great quantities for the market. Truf¬ 
fles. are fungi growing under ground like the 
potato and are used for flavoring sauces and 
meats. They commonly grow about a foot un¬ 
der ground in loose soil, where they are located 
by dogs trained to search for them as they do 


FUR 


868 


FURNACE 


for game. Truffles are about the size of a hen’s 
egg, white or brownish in color, and rough and 
warty on the outside. They are native to Eu¬ 
rasia, but are grown in America. Mildew, rust, 
and smut grow on plants and destroy them, and 
are dreaded by gardeners and farmers. There 
is scarcely any plant that it entirely free from 
affection by fungus growths, the condition of 
climate having much to do with their effect. 
Mold grows on bread or cheese, while mildew 
appears under certain conditions on cloth or 
paper, destroying the fiber. 

FUR, the short, soft coat of hair which cov¬ 
ers the skin of many mammals. In some species 
the fur proper is found next to the skin and 
under the hairs, which are longer and coarser. 
Fur, in its usual trade acceptation, is a dressed 
skin containing the short, fine hairs and from 
which the long hairs have been pulled. Before 
it is fit for use, a skin must be thoroughly 
cleaned, steeped, and scoured in a bath of meal, 
alum, and salt, after which it is washed in soap 
and soda, cleaned and dried. Other methods 
are used to prepare for tanning. Furs are often 
colored, the fur of the seal being commonly 
changed from a dirty yellow to a rich brown. 
A1 the chief fur-bearing animals, such as the 
sable, marten, mink, ermine, beaver, and otter, 
are treated in special articles, which see. The 
use of furs or fur pelts for covering the body is 
coeval with the earliest history of all northern 
nations or tribes. Subsequently it grew into an 
article of barter and trade, first among them¬ 
selves and then with their neighbors of more 
temperate climes, where it became an article of 
fashion, ornament, and luxury. 

The fur trade, in the early history of Amer¬ 
ica, gave rise to vast commercial ventures on 
the part of individuals and companies, who oper¬ 
ated to facilitate settlement and the discovery 
of unknown wealth. Russia extended its do¬ 
minion over Siberia to secure the rich fur trade. 
Practically the same motive induced the Dutch 
East India Company to turn its attention to 
America. The French, after establishing trading 
posts at Montreal and Quebec and exploring the 
Great Lakes, battled against England many 
years to retain possession of the region rich in 
fur-bearing animals. The Hudson’s Bay Com¬ 
pany, organized in 1670, had exclusive trade with 
the Indians nearly 200 years, but the royal grant 
was taken from it in 1868. Since then there 
have been private collectors and dealers through¬ 
out Canada, who compete in the open market 
for a share of the trade. This likewise is true 
of Alaska and other regions which are rich in 
furs. London and Leipzig are the most impor¬ 
tant fur markets of the world. The enterprise 


in the United States, although quite extensive, 
has been conducted by individuals rather than 
corporations. The Alaska Fur Company holds 
two of the Aleutian Islands with exclusive right 
to kill not to exceed 100,000 fur seals yearly. 
New York City has the largest fur trade in 
America. 

FURLONG (fur'long), meaning furrow- 
length, an English measure of 40 rods, perches, 
or poles, equivalent to one-eighth of a mile, or 
220 yards. 

FURNACE (fur'nas), a chamber in which 
fuel is burned for the production of heat. The 
heat generated in such structures is commonly 
utilized in steam engines, melting ores or metals, 
warming houses, baking bread, and making pot¬ 
tery. While there are various forms of con¬ 
struction, they should be so built that a perfect 
combustion of the fuel may be possible, and to 
apply effectually the greatest possible amount of 
heat. Unless the plans are carefully made, the 
heat will dissipate without being concentrated 
directly on the substance to be acted upon in the 
process of heating. The constructor must like¬ 
wise aim to supply means whereby an operator 
can easily control at pleasure the degree of heat 
necessary. Furnaces are variously designated 
according to the draught applied. Those in 
which the draught is natural are called air fur¬ 
naces, those into which a strong current of air 
is injected by artificial means are termed blast 
furnaces, and those in which a low arch roof 
is utilized to turn the flame upon the object 
against which the heat is to be directed are 
termed reverberatory furnaces. 

Several classes of furnaces are in use for 
heating residences and other buildings, such as 
hot air, hot water, and gas furnaces. In hot¬ 
air furnaces the heat is radiated through large 
pipes into the apartments to be warmed, while 
in hot-water systems the pipes are connected 
with radiators in the different apartnjents, which 
are filled with water, and this is induced to cir¬ 
culate by applying the heat to a definite portion 
of the system, thus causing hot water to pass to 
the different rooms and the colder to flow back 
into contact with the heater. Heating by steam 
requires practically the same kind of apparatus. 
Gas furnaces are those in which gas is utilized 
for fuel. They are constructed in a manner 
that either hot air or hot water can be applied. 
In electric heating the current is obtained from 
a dynamo, which is propelled by steam generated 
through the agency of a furnace, or by water 
power. The outer framework of an electric 
heater is commonly of thin cast iron, having 
projections to radiate the heat. Coils of re¬ 
sistance wire, from which the heat of the elec- 


FURNEAUX ISLANDS 


869 


FUSIYAMA 


trie current radiates, are within the framework. 
From five to twenty amperes are necessary to 
produce an equable amount of heat on a three- 
foot heater, on a 110-volt circuit. The heaters 
are placed where required, connected by wire, 
and so constructed that the current may be 
turned on or off by means of a switch, as in an 
incandescent lamp. 

FURNEAUX ISLANDS (fur-no'), a group 
of islands between Australia and Tasmania, so 
named from Tobias Furneaux (1735-1781), who 
discovered them in 1773. They are located at 
the east end of Bass Strait. Flinders Island, 
the largest of the group, is 10 miles wide and 35 
miles long. Cape Barran Island, the second in 
size, is separated from Flinders Island by Frank¬ 
lin Strait. These islands, fpr the purpose of 
local government, belong to Tasmania. 

FUR SEAL, or Sea Bear. See Seal. 

FURTH (flirt), a city in Bavaria, Germany, 
six miles northwest of Nuremberg, at the junc¬ 
tion of the Rednitz and Pegnitz rivers. It is a 
prosperous city and has extensive railway and 
electric railroad facilities. The chief buildings 
include the Church of Saint Michael, the public 
library, the Rathaus, and several secondary 
schools. It has a large trade in hops and mer¬ 
chandise. Among the manufactures are jewelry, 
toys, machinery, lead pencils, and scientific in¬ 
struments. Gustavus Adolphus occupied it in 
1632, but was defeated by Wallenstein at Alte 
Veste, three miles southwest of the city. Fiirth 
has belonged to Bavaria since 1806. Population, 
1905, 60,635. 

FUSAN (foo-san'), or Pusan, a city and sea¬ 
port of Corea, on the southwestern coast of the 
peninsula, seven miles from the mouth of the 
Nan-tong River. It is connected with Seoul, 
the capital, by a railway and has a safe and 
commodious harbor, which is protected by Deer 
Island and several others. Many of the inhabi¬ 
tants are foreigners, chiefly Japanese, to whom 
the place is known as Kan (the post). It has a 
large trade in rice, fish, cotton, hides, and mer¬ 
chandise. Fusan has been an open port since 
1876. Population, 1907, including Tong-nai, 
39,865. 

FUSE (fuz), or Fuze, a tube or casing filled 
with combustible material and used for igniting 
a charge in a,mine, for blasting, and in dis¬ 
charging a hollow projectile. Fuses were in¬ 
vented as soon as hollow projectiles came into 
use, and are made in various forms appropriate 
to the purpose for which they are designed. In 
mining, blasting, and for submarine purposes a 
cord or tube which contains a slow-burning 


composition is used, thereby allowing the opera¬ 
tors time to ge't to a place of safety before it 
burns down to the charge. Many of these, such 
as the Bickford fuse, are covered with pitch, 
contain gunpowder, and burn at the rate of one 
yard in seventy seconds. Percussion and con¬ 
cussion fuses are used for hollow projectiles. 
The former contain a capsule charged with ful¬ 
minate, which is exploded with a plunger, or its 
equivalent, when the projectile strikes, while 
the concussion fuse is designed to explode the 
charge when the shell strikes the object. Time 
fuses and mechanical fuses are used in some 
forms of torpedoes with dynamite, gun cotton, 
and other powerful explosives, and are adapted 
to burn at different times by cutting off a por¬ 
tion of the cord, or are timed by the character 
of the composition used. Electric fuses are 
used extensively in the newer implements of 
war and methods of blasting, and are adapted 
to ignite by passing an electric spark through 
them, thereby bringing the current in contact 
with the explosive composition within. 

FUSEL OIL (fu'sel), a heavy, inflammable 
product formed during the fermentation of mo¬ 
lasses, potatoes, corn wort, beet roots, and the 
juice of grapes. In the rectification of spirits it 
is separated and occurs as an acrid, or oily, liquid, 
in the last stages of distillation. It has a pecul¬ 
iar odor, a pungent taste, and is poisonous, pro¬ 
ducing nervous depression and headache. Its 
presence in brandy, whisky, and other beverages 
can be detected by rubbing them on the hand, 
when ethyl alcohol will evaporate and the fusel 
oil may be readily recognized. 

FUSING POINT, the degree of heat at 
which any substance begins to melt or liquify. 
Every substance can be fused at a certain tem¬ 
perature, which is the same in a given substance, 
if the pressure is constant and uniform, but 
is very different in different metals and sub¬ 
stances. Whenever the fusing commences, the 
temperature of the body ceases to rise, no matter 
what the intensity or the source of the heat, 
and the temperature remains constant until the 
body is completely fused. On the Fahrenheit 
thermometer the fusing or melting point of 
mercury is placed at —37.80°; ice, -j-32° ; butter, 
4-89.6°; phosphorus, -fl09.4°; sulphur, 4-237°; 
tin, 4*395°; lead, 4*619°; zinc, 4*680°; anti¬ 
mony, -f-809°; silver, -|-1,832°; gold, 4*2,282°; 
and iron, 4-2,732°. The term vitreous fusion is 
applied in the case of substances that melt 
gradually and have no definite point of fusion. 

FUSIYAMA. See Fujiyama. 





G GADFLY 


G, the seventh letter and the fifth consonant 
in the English alphabet. The Greek name 
gamma is an adaptation of the Canaanite term 
gimel, meaning camel. It has two sounds, the 
hard and soft, and is formed by placing the 
tongue against the roof of the mouth, then low¬ 
ering the tongue and giving utterance to voice. 
The hard sound occurs before a, o, and u, as in 
gate, god, and gun; before the consonants 1 and 
r, as in gloat, and groan; when preceding e and 
1 in beginning a word, as in get and give; and 
when final, as in big. The soft sound was un¬ 
known in Anglo-Saxon. It corresponds to ch, 
as in church, and is represented by g before e, 
i, and y, as in gem, gin, and gymansium. G is 
silent before n, as in gnat. As a symbol it rep¬ 
resents the seventh of the Dominical letters. 
In music it is the fifth note of the normal scale 
of C, called sol, and the lowest note of the grave 
hexachord. 

GABELLE (ga-bel')> a French term derived 
from the German word Gabe, meaning gift or 
tribute, and applied to the duty imposed upon 
salt. It was first levied in 1286 as a means to 
protect the trade in salt, which was made a gov¬ 
ernment monopoly. This tax was very unpopu¬ 
lar, since it carried with it the provision that 
every family was compelled to purchase a cer¬ 
tain amount of salt per week, and officers in¬ 
trusted with the enforcement of the law col¬ 
lected it directly from the people. The law was 
finally repealed in 1790, owing to a widespread 
rebellion in some of the provinces. 

GABLE (ga'b’l), the upper, exterior part of 
a wall at the end of a building, which receives 
the roof. It is triangular in form, the roof 
sloping from the ridge to the eaves, and com¬ 
prises the gable end of the wall. In classical 
architecture, such as the Greek temples, it forms 
the pediment. During the Middle Ages the 
gable was usually narrow and pointed, owing to 
the construction of steep roofs. In Gothic 


architecture it became quite ornamental, because 
of the introduction of varous decorative fea¬ 
tures, including tracery and other ornamenta¬ 
tions. Gables continue to be a prominent fea¬ 
ture of residential buildings, especially in Eu¬ 
rope, but in the newer buildings of cities they 
have been displaced largely by the walls in con¬ 
tinuous blocks. 

GABUN (ga-bdon'), or Gaboon, an estuary 
near Libreville, on the western coast of Africa, 
articulating with the Gulf of Guinea. It is fifty 
miles long and from seven to ten miles wide. 
The Como and several other rivers flow into it 
and it is sufficiently deep for the largest vessels. 
The country surrounding it was formerly known 
as the Gaboon territory, which now forms a 
part of the French Congo. See French Congo. 

GADFLY (gad'fli), or Horsefly, the com¬ 
mon name applied to various two-winged flies 
found in the woods and elsewhere during the 



1, GADFLY; 2, BOTFLY. 


hot weather. These insects are smaller than 
the botfly (q. v.). They suck the blood of man 
and animals and cause a large lump’ which 
forms a tumor and secretes pus, wherever they 
feed for some time. The eggs are deposited 
in the skin of animals, and the young subsist 
upon the pus that exudes from the tumor. The 
tnouth has six sharp needles. These constitute 


870 
















GADSDEN 


871 


GAINESVILLE 


a proboscis, or sucker, with which they pene¬ 
trate the thickest skin. Many species have been 
described, including the common black gadfly. 
Another species, the mourning horsefly, has a 
greenish head and golden eyes. 

GADSDEN (gadz'den), county seat of Eto¬ 
wah County, Alabama, on the Coosa River, 
sixty miles northeast of Birmingham. It is 
on the Southern, the Louisville and Nashville, 
and the Chattanooga Southern railroads. The 
surrounding country produces fruits, timber, 
and minerals, especially coal and iron. It has 
a number of fine schools and county buildings. 
The manufactures include flour, machinery, iron¬ 
ware, cotton goods, and tobacco products. Gads¬ 
den was settled about 1845 and incorporated in 
1867. Population, 1900, 4,282; in 1910, 10,557. 

GADSDEN PURCHASE, a tract of land 
which is now included in New Mexico and 
Arizona. It embraces an area of 45,535 square 
miles, and is bounded on the north by the Gila 
River, on the east by the Rio Grande, on the 
south by an arbitrary line, and on the west by 
the Colorado. The average width from north 
to south is 120 miles. It was purchased from 
Mexico in December, 1853, for the United States 
by Gen. James Gadsden for $10,000,000, and 
the treaty was ratified the following year. The 
sale of this territory was opposed by many 
Mexicans and caused Santa Anna to be ban¬ 
ished in 1855. 

GAD WALL (gad'wal), or Gray Duck, a 
water fowl found in the northern part of both 
hemispheres, but confined chiefly to bodies of 
fresh water. It is smaller than the mallard and 
is a bird of passage. The flesh is highly prized 
as food. In autumn it moves southward, but 
returns early in the spring to bree'd in the 
northern part of the United States and the 
southern section of Canada. The color is black 
and white, but the feathers are variously 
shaded with brown, giving it a grayish appear¬ 
ance. 

GAEL (gal), or Gail, the name of the north¬ 
ern and western branch of the Celtic family of 
nations. They inhabited the highlands of Scot¬ 
land, the Isle of Man, and Ireland. Those of 
the latter country were generally known as Gael 
of Erin and the others as Gael of Albion. The 
term Gaelic is now generally applied to the 
dialect spoken in the highlands of Scotland, 
which is a branch of the Celtic language, while 
the people of Ireland and the Isle of Man speak 
the Irish and Manx, respectively. 

GAETA (ga-a'ta), a fortified seaport city of 
Italy, on the Gulf of Gaeta, about seventy miles 
northwest of Naples. The city is located on a 
promontory, which is crowned by the tomb of 


Manatius Plancus, who was a friend of Au¬ 
gustus. This structure, known as the Torre 
d’Orlando, is 160.feet high and is 158 feet in 
diameter. Gaeta was originally occupied by 
the Greeks, who constructed many fine public 
buildings, but it was later conquered by the 
Romans, who improved and fortified it. Later 
it was made a part of the Byzantine Empire, 
was, annexed to Sicily in 1184, and was finally 
captured by the forces of Victor Emmanuel in 
1861. Its importance is based largely upon its 
fortifications, though it has some industries and 
is visited by tourists for its historical associa¬ 
tions. Population, 1906, 5,638. 

GAG RULE, a name applied to any con¬ 
certed effort to suppress the exercise of the right 
of a citizen, especially the right of petition. It 
orginated in 1836, when Congress adopted a 
rule that all petitions be laid on the table un¬ 
noticed. This action was caused by many peti¬ 
tions for the abolition of slavery being pre¬ 
sented to Congress. The gag rule was the re¬ 
sult of a motion made by John C. Calhoun, but 
it tended to increase the desire to file petitions, 
and John Quincy Adams upheld the anti-slavery 
principles in Congress during ten years. The 
gag rule was finally rescinded on Dec. 3, 1844. 

GAINES’S MILL (ganz'ez), Battle of, one 
of a series of battles occurring in Hanover 
County, Virginia, during the peninsular cam¬ 
paign conducted by McClellan. A part of the 
Federal army crossed the Chickahominy under 
command of McClellan, while Fitz-John Porter 
occupied a position on the north bank of the 
river with a force of 35,000 men. Generals Lee 
and Stonewall Jackson made an attack on Por¬ 
ter, June 27, 1862, with a Confederate army 
numbering 55,000 men. The Federals were 
driven back with much loss after a two hours’ 
struggle, and were finally forced to give way 
before superior numbers. Porter crossed the 
Chickahominy in rapid retreat, burning bridges 
behind him. His total loss was 6,387 men and 
22 guns, and the Confederate loss was some¬ 
what larger. The Battle of Cold Harbor was 
fought in the same vicinity two years later. 

GAINESVILLE, a city in Texas, county 
seat of Cooke County, about eight miles south 
of the Red River and sixty miles north of Fort 
Worth. It is on the Missouri, Kansas and 
Texas and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe 
railroads. The surrounding country is agri¬ 
cultural and stock raising. It has a county 
courthouse, a public library, a high school, and 
several fine churches. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are soap, ice, brick, flour, brooms, ma¬ 
chinery, and utensils. It was settled in 1851 and 
incorporated in 1873. Population, 1900, 7,874. 


galApagos 


872 


GALENA 


galApagos (ga-la'pa-gos), an archipel¬ 
ago of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, 
about 650 miles west of Ecuador, of which they 
comprise a possession. The group includes 
twelve islands of considerable size, of which 
Albemarle is the largest. The total area is 
2,400 square miles. Much of the surface is 
mountainous, but the soil is productive. The 
climate is healthful and favorable to occupa¬ 
tion by Europeans. Sugar, fruits, cattle, and 
goats are the principal products. The islands 
are remarkable for the presence of many birds, 
though the flora is limited. Many species of 
turtles and porpoises prevail and lizards and 
snakes are well represented. These islands were 
discovered in 1570 and Darwin explored them in 
1836. The government of Ecuador has made 
a number of attempts to colonize the larger 
islands, but they are very sparsely settled. Popu¬ 
lation, 1909, 415. 

GALATIA (ga la'shi-a), the name anciently 
applied to an extensive region of Asia Minor, 
so called from a large number of Gallic inhabi¬ 
tants, who settled there about 277 b. c. The 
Gallic invaders of Greece in the 3d century b. c., 
under Brennus, not only took possession of 
Byzantium, but crossed the Hellespont, and 
subdued a large portion of Phrygia and Troas. 
Later they were confined to certain districts by 
Attalus, King of Pergamus, the settlements be¬ 
ing bounded by Phrygia, Lycaonia, Pontus, Cap¬ 
padocia, Paphlagonia, and Bithynia. The Gala¬ 
tians retained their old Celtic language more or 
less distinctly for several centuries, were twice 
■ visited by Saint Paul, and produced numerous 
scholars. In government they were divided into 
three tribes and twelve tetrarchies, each being 
under a chief. Saint Paul addressed one of 
his epistles to the churches in Galatia. 

GALATIANS (ga-la'shanz), Epistle to the, 
a book of the New Testament, addressed by 
Saint Paul to the churches of Galatia. Many 
Hebrew converts belonged to the churches of 
Galatia and they had incorporated Jewish rites 
with the ordinances of Christian worship. Paul 
recalls them to the, simplicity of the Gospel in 
this epistle, in which he vindicates his apostolic 
commission, urges the doctrine of salvation as 
the cardinal truth of Christianity, and concludes 
with exhortations and a benediction. It is 
thought that this epistle was written earlier than 
those addressed to the Thessalonians. 

GALATZ (ga'lats), or Galacz, a city of 
Rumania, in Moldavia, on the Danube River, 
85 miles above the Sulina mouth.. It is situated 
between the mouths of the Perth and the Sereth 
and is important for its railroad and river trans¬ 
portation facilities. The trade consists chiefly 


in grain, tallow, wine, cheese, wool, and fruits. 
Among the manufactures are clothing, earthen¬ 
ware, machinery, cigars, and leather. It is the 
seat of a bishop and several schools. Among 
its principal buildings are a convent, a hos¬ 
pital, several Greek churches, and a number of 
large bazaars. It has been the scene of many 
battles between the Turks and Russians. In 
1883 it was made a free port. Population, 1907, 
65,503. 

GALENA (ga-le'na), or Lead Glance, the 
sulphurate of lead, the ore which furnishes 
most of the lead of commerce. Pure galena 
contains 13.3 per cent, of sulphur and 86.7 of 
lead, but it is usually mixed with a small pro¬ 
portion of copper, silver, zinc, antimony, or 
selenium. The color resembles that of lead, 
but it has a metallic luster. It is usually found 
massive, but sometimes granular or crystallized. 
The fragments are cubical, into which it is 
easily broken. It is found in beds, veins, 
and imbedded masses, frequently accompanying 
other metallic ores. Argentiferous galena is 
the name applied to deposits that contain a 
large proportion of silver. Deposits of galena 
occur in many parts of Canada and the United 
States, especially in the Rocky Mountains. It 
is mined near Galena, Ill., in Missouri, Colo¬ 
rado, Wisconsin, British Columbia, and other 
sections of North America. 

GALENA, county seat of Jo Daviess County, 
Illinois, on the Fevre River, eighteen miles 
southeast of Dubuque, Iowa. It is on the Chi¬ 
cago, Burlington and Quincy, the Illinois Cen¬ 
tral, and the Chicago and Northwestern rail¬ 
roads. The noteworthy buildings include the 
county courthouse, the public library, the Fed¬ 
eral building, and the high school. Grant Park 
contains a statue of U. S. Grant. The sur¬ 
rounding country is agricultural and produces 
zinc, lead, and other minerals. Among the 
manufactured products are furniture, ironware, 
boots and shoes, machinery, brick, cigars, dairy 
products, and woodenware. The city has elec¬ 
tric lighting, a sewerage. system, and water¬ 
works. Ulysses S. Grant resided in Galena a 
number of years. It was settled in 1827 and in¬ 
corporated in 1839. Population, 1910, 4,835. 

GALENA, a city in Cherokee County, Kan¬ 
sas, in the southeastern part of the State, seven 
miles , west of Joplin, Mo. It is on the Mis¬ 
souri, Kansas and Texas, the Saint Louis and 
San Francisco, and other railroads, and is 
surrounded by a lead and zinc producing coun¬ 
try. The chief buildings include a public 
library and several fine public schools and 
churches. It has a foundry, grain elevators, 
and several smelters. The vicinity was first 


GALESBURG 


873 


GALILEE, SEA OF 


settled in 1877 and owes its development largely 
to its mineral interests. Population, 1900, 
10,158; 1905, 6,449. 

GALESBURG (galz'burg), a city and the 
county seat of Knox County, Illinois, about 163 
miles southwest of Chicago, on the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy, the Atchison, Topeka 
and Santa Fe, and other railroads. The sur¬ 
rounding country is agricultural and dairying, 
and contains an abundance of bituminous coal 
deposits. It has a fine county courthouse, a 
public library of 25,750 volumes, and a park. 
The institutions include Knox College, Lom¬ 
bard University, Saint Joseph’s Academy, and 
the Ryder Divinity School. Among the mu¬ 
nicipal facilities are paved streets, gas and elec¬ 
tric lighting, electric street railways, and a 
system of city waterworks. The manufactures 
include flour, brooms, carriages, tobacco, steam 
engines and boilers, and farming machinery. 
Population, 1900, 18,607. 

GALICIA (ga-lish'i-a), a province of Aus¬ 
tria, whose boundary is formed by Russia on 
the north and east, and by Bukowina, Hungary, 
and Silesia on^the south and west. It has an 
area of 30,315 square miles. The Carpathians 
trend between it and Hungary. Its chief rivers 
are the Dniester and several tributaries of the 
Danube and Vistula. Among the principal 
products are cereals, beef and dairy cattle, 
horses, poultry, fruits, silk, and divers manu¬ 
factures. The minerals include coal, alabaster, 
copper, rock salt, iron, marble, and calamine, 
of which iron and rock salt are the most im¬ 
portant. The inhabitants consist chiefly of two 
Slavic peoples, the Poles and Ruthenians, but 
they include many Germans and Greeks. A 
well-organized public school system is main¬ 
tained, which terminates in the celebrated uni¬ 
versities of Lemberg and Cracow. Lemberg is 
the capital. Among the other important cities 
are Cracow, Przemysl, and Tarnapol. Exten¬ 
sive lines of railroads and navigable streams 
facilitate commercial intercourse. Owing to its 
productive soil and other natural resources, the 
province holds a position of importance in the 
Austrian commonwealth. 

Galicia was originally inhabited by Germanic 
peoples, but the Poles and Ruthenians immi¬ 
grated in large numbers in the Middle Ages. 
In the 12th century it was made an independ¬ 
ent state, but it soon became tributary to Po¬ 
land. In 1772, at the first partition of Poland, 
it was annexed to Austria. It has been the 
scene of many revolts, but still remains a crown 
land of the house of Hapsburg. Population, 
1906, 7,412,399. 

GALILEE (gal'i-le), the name applied an¬ 


ciently to one of the four Roman divisions of 
Palestine. It was bounded by the Jordan 
River on the east, by Samaria on the south, by 
the Mediterranean and Phoenicia on the west, 
and by Syria and the mountains of Lebanon 
on the north. The northern portion is wooded, 
but the lower part is level and exceedingly 
fertile. In the time of Christ the former was 
usually called Upper Galilee and the latter was 
known as Lower Galilee. At present the whole 
of Galilee is included im the vilayet of Syria. 
Within this region were situated the twenty 
towns given by Solomon to Hiram, King of 
Tyre, as compensation for his assistance in 
building the temple. 

Galilee was the early seat of Christian influ¬ 
ence and its four towns, Nazareth, Capernaum, 
Nain, and Cana, are. closely associated with 
the life and travels of Christ. The inhabitants 
consisted chiefly of Greeks, Syrians, Phoeni¬ 
cians, Arabs, and Jews, and occupied themselves 
largely as fishermen. They were held in con¬ 
tempt by the educated Jews because of their 
simplicity of manner and lack of education, on 
account of which the name Galileans was early 
applied to Christians. Galilee became the seat 
of the Jewish doctors of law after the destruc¬ 
tion of Jerusalem, and Jewish learning cen¬ 
tered largely at Tiberias. Numerous ruins still 
exist in some portions of Galilee, though most 
of the region is populated by a destitute people 
and the towns are stricken with poverty and 
indolence. 

GALILEE, Sea of, an inland lake of Syria, 
also called Sea of Tiberias, Lake of Gennes- 
aret, and Sea of Chinneroth. It is situated on 
the east central boundary of Palestine. The 
surface is 682 feet below the Mediterranean 
sea. Its extent from north to south is twelve 
miles; width, seven miles; and general depth, 
825 feet. The basin is of volcanic origin, the 
water is fresh and cool, and the northern and 
eastern coasts are precipitous and barren. It 
receives the inflow from the Jordan and sev¬ 
eral other streams, abounds with edible fish, and 
is known for its association with many impor¬ 
tant events connected with Christ and the apos¬ 
tles. The region surrounding the lake was 
densely populated in the time of Christ, though 
at present there are only the remains of ruined 
towns, including Capernaum, Magdala, Tibe¬ 
rias, and several others of minor importance. 
A railroad line connects the lake region with 
the Mediterranean Sea, and offers assurance 
that at least a limited amount of prosperity will 
come to the people within the next few de¬ 
cades on account of increased commercial, fish¬ 
ing, and manufacturing enterprises. 


GALION 


874 


GALLIPOLIS 


GALION (gal'i-un), a city of Crawford 
County, Ohio, eighty miles southwest of Cleve¬ 
land, on the Erie and the Cleveland, Cincin¬ 
nati, Chicago and Saint Louis railroads. The 
surrounding country is cereal, fruit, and stock 
producing. It has a public library, a fine high 
school, and several costly church and business 
buildings. Among the manufactures are vehi¬ 
cles, ironware, flour, pottery, brick, tobacco, 
and machinery. It is well improved and has 
many modern facilities, such as electric light¬ 
ing and street pavements. The place was plat¬ 
ted in 1831 and incorporated in 1878. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 7,282. 

GALLAS (gal'las), or Oroma, a race of 
Ethiopian people who inhabit the eastern part 
of Africa, chiefly south and east of Abyssinia. 
They seem to hold an immediate place between 
the Negroes and the Arabians. Their color 
is dark brown, their hair is. strong and frizzled, 
and their eyes are small. In stature they are 
generally large and well formed, the lips are 
moderate, and the nose is quite straight. Some 
writers think the Gallas among the best de¬ 
veloped races of Africa. They are engaged 
chiefly in agriculture and stock raising. A 
majority are pagans, but quite a number belong 
to the Mohammedan faith and to the Christian 
church of Abyssinia. 

GALL BLADDER, a pear-shaped sac at¬ 
tached to the liver, lodged in a groove on the 
lower side of that organ. It contains the bile, 
which is stored for a brief time, or as needed 
for use in digestion. The bile enters through 
the cystic duct into the gall bladder, where 
it becomes viscid and of a darker color, and 
passes from it to the gall duct when the food 
enters the small intestines. Three coats com¬ 
pose the walls of the gall bladder: the inner 
or mucous coat, the intermediate or muscular 
coat, and the serous or outer coat. The sphinc¬ 
ter muscle, which opens and closes the opening 
into the duodenum, is subjected to a reflex 
movement when the bile is discharged. See 
Bile. 

GALLEY (gal'ly), a vessel formerly used 
extensively in the Mediterranean. It is low 
and flat-built, has one deck, and is navigated 
with sails and oars. The length varied from 
100 to 200 feet, the medium sizes being known 
as half galleys and the smallest as quarter 
galleys. On each side were twenty oars, which 
were worked by several men, and there were 
two masts covered with lateen sails. The gal¬ 
leasses were the largest in size. They had 
beams thirty feet long, carried three masts 
and about twenty guns, and were propelled by 
about 250 rowers. In the reign of Charles VI. 


they were introduced into France, but were 
abolished in 1748 by Louis XV. These vessels 
were used for offensive and defensive warfare, 
and in the time of peace served in furthering 
commercial enterprises. Similar vessels were 
kept by the ancient Greeks and Romans for 
war purposes, but during the time of peace 
they aided in commerce and colonization along 



VENETIAN GALLEASS. 


the seacoast. In printing, a galley is an oblong 
tray, used to receive the type from the com¬ 
posing stick, and which serves to arrange it 
in a column or page. The galley has a flange, 
about one-half an inch in height, on both sides 
and at one end. After being taken from the. 
galley to the imposing stone, the type is ar¬ 
ranged in a chase. 

GALLIPOLI (gal-lep'6-le), a seaport city 
of European Turkey, in the vilayet of Adri- 
anople, 125 miles southwest of Constantinople. 
It is located at the northern end of the Darda¬ 
nelles and was once strongly fortified, but its 
commerce has declined and the fortifications 
are in a dilapidated condition. The streets are 
irregular and poorly paved, but it has a num¬ 
ber of fine bazaars and many mosques. The 
manufactures include cotton and silk goods, 
leather, clothing, and utensils. The town was 
of great importance in ancient times, since it 
commands the entrance into the Sea of Mar¬ 
mora. The Turks captured it in 1354 and in 
1854, during the Crimean War, it was the land¬ 
ing place of the allied forces. Population, 1906, 
28,590. 

GALLIPOLIS (gal-li-po-les'), a city of 
Ohio, county seat of Gallia County, 56 miles 
southeast of Chillicothe. It is located on the 
Ohio River and on the Toledo and Ohio Cen¬ 
tral and other railroads. The surrounding 
country contains valuable coal deposits. The 
manufactures include stoves, furniture, leather, 
and machinery. Waterworks, electric lights', 
and sewerage are among the improvements. It 
is the seat of Gallia Academy, has a public 
library, and contains several fine schools and 




GALLIUM 


875 


GALVANIC BATTERY 


churches. It was settled by French colonists 
in 1790 and was chartered as a city in 1865. 
Population, 1900, 5,432. 

GALLIUM (gal'li-urn), a chemical element 
discovered in 1875 by the French chemist 
Lecoq de Boisbaudran. It resembles aluminium 
in the character and composition of its com¬ 
pound, and is obtained in a number of zinc 
blends, especially on the Rhine. It has a gray 
color and a brilliant luster, and may be ham¬ 
mered into thin plates that do not break easily 
by bending. See Chemistry. 

GALLON (gal'lun), a measure of capacity 
used in measuring liquids. The standard gal¬ 
lon, sometimes called wine gallon, contains 231 
cubic inches and is used in the United States. 
It is equal to 8.3388 avoirdupois pounds, or 
3.7853 liters. A gallon contains four quarts 
and is equal to eight pints, or thirty-two gills. 
The English imperial gallon contains 277.274 
cubic inches and is equal to ten pounds avoir¬ 
dupois of distilled water. 

GALLS, or Gallnuts, the abnormal growth 
produced on growing plants by a number 
of- insects or closely allied mites. These 
insects deposit their eggs in the bark or 
leaves, and within the galls that subse¬ 
quently develop are nourished and devel¬ 
oped the young in certain stages of their 
growth. The deformities vary in form, 
color, and texture, ranging from the sim¬ 
ple pouchlike bulging of the leaf to the 
most imperfect and complicated structure. 

Many gallnuts are important as articles 
of commerce, especially those obtained 
from the dwarf oak in Western Asia. 

They are brought to America principally 
from Syria and Asia Minor, and vary in'size 
from that of a pea to that of a nutmeg. Those 
gathered when of good size, but before the in¬ 
sect by which they are caused has eaten its way 
out, are the best commercial product. They are 
known as black or blue galls and are rich in gal¬ 
lic acid, which is used in medicine and for the 
manufacture of ink and dyes. Those gathered 
after the insect has escaped are called white galls 
from their lighter dingy color. Those engaged 
in the enterprise of cultivating trees for their 
galls examine them carefully about the season 
of gathering, in .order that they may be col¬ 
lected in their best condition. Gall insects are 
very numerous. They include the gadfly, the 
sawfly, and some species of mites, aphides, 
and spiders. 

GALLSTONES. See Bile. 

GALT (gait), a city of Ontario, in Waterloo 
County, on the Grand River, 54 miles from its 
entrance into Lake Erie. It is on the Canadian 


Pacific and the Grand Trunk railways and is 
surrounded by a fertile region. Waterworks, 
electric lighting, and street pavements are 
among the public utilities. The manufactures 
include flour, woolen goods, ironware, edge- 
wfare, and machinery. It has a considerable 
trade in produce and merchandise. Several 
educational institutions, including a collegiate 
institute, are located here. It was named from 
John Galt, the Scotch author. Population, 1901, 
7,866. 

GALVANIC BATTERY (gal-van'ik), or 
Voltaic Battery, a combination of two metals 
in a liquid chemically acting upon one to a 
greater extent than the other. The discovery is 
due to Luigi Galvani (q. v.), from whom the 
name was applied. In experimenting with the 
legs of recently killed frogs he noticed that, 
when hung up against an iron balustrade and 
the large nerves of the frogs’ legs were brought 
in contact with the metal, they twitched as vio¬ 
lently as in life. This phenomenon was due to 
bringing the muscles into electric connection. 


He ascribed the action to a vital fluid, which he 
thought came out of the nerves and flowed 
through the iron to the muscles. The experi¬ 
ments attracted the attention of Volta, a dis¬ 
tinguished physicist of Pavia, who showed that 
these movements were caused by electricity and 
constructed an arrangement called a voltaic 
battery or pile, by which powerful continuous 
currents could be readily produced. 

The simplest form of the voltaic cell consists 
of a plate of zinc and a plate of copper im¬ 
mersed in water containing sulphuric acid. The 
accompanying illustration shows a single vol¬ 
taic cell and a battery of two cells, showing the 
method of coupling up the plates of continuous 
cells. No action takes place, if the zinc is pure, 
until a complete circuit is made by connecting 
the plates with a wire, but the plates must not 
come in contact with each other in the liquid. 
The action occurs between the liquid and the 
zinc, and hydrogen gas is seen to escape in mi- 



























GALVANISM 


876 


GALVESTON 


nute bubbles from the copper. This gas, being 
produced by the current of electricity, continues 
to flow in the circuit as long as the chemical 
action continues. In this simple voltaic cell the 
end of the projecting copper plate is the positive 
pole or terminal, and the corresponding end of 
the zinc plate is the negative pole or terminal. 

Many forms of voltaic cells are in use, but 
usually they are arranged in two classes—sin¬ 
gle-fluid cells and double-fluid cells. In the 
former only a simple electrolyte is employed, 
and in the latter two different electrolytes are 
used, one for each element of the voltaic cou¬ 
ple. Ordinary zinc is impure and, when the 
circuit is broken, is wasted by the electrolyte 
acting upon it. This tends to weaken the 
strength of the current when the circuit is re¬ 
placed. The waste may be averted by amalga¬ 
mating the zinc, which is done by dipping it in 
acid and then rubbing mercury over its surface. 
A battery consists of two or more voltaic cells 
so connected as to secure a stronger current 
than can be obtained from a single cell. By 
constructing a battery with a large number of 
cells it is possible to overcome a powerful re¬ 
sistance or to supply a strong current. 

GALVANISM (galVa-niz’m), the branch of 
electric science which treats of current elec¬ 
tricity arising from chemical action, as dis¬ 
tinguished from that generated by heat or in¬ 
duction. The term came into use from Gal- 
vani, the discoverer of animal electricity. See 
Galvanic Battery; Electricity, etc. 

GALVANIZED IRON (gal'va-mzd), the 
name given to iron which is covered by a coat' 
of zinc, with or without galvanic deposition. 
Properly galvanized iron is a sheet of iron first 
plated with tin and then immersed in a sal am¬ 
moniac and zinc mixed fluid, which forms an¬ 
other coating. Less properly the iron is cleaned 
by diluted acid and friction, heated, and, with¬ 
out any galvanic current, is plunged into a bath 
of melted zinc covered with sal ammoniac and 
stirred until the surface becomes coated with 
zinc. Articles made of galvanized iron, such 
as household utensils, fencing wire, roofing 
sheets, and water pipes, are proof against cor¬ 
rosion as long as the iron is covered with the 
coating. 

GALVANOMETER (gal-va-nom'e-ter), an 
instrument used for measuring or indicating 
delicate currents of electricity. Many forms of 
this instrument are in common use, but all of 
them take advantage of the force exerted by 
currents on movable magnets in their neighbor¬ 
hood. The common form consists of an electro¬ 
magnet, on which a magnetic needle is balanced. 
The direction of the current is indicated as the 


needle is turned toward the right or the left, 
and a scale of degrees indicates the strength of 
the current as the needle moves. In the tangent 
galvanometer, which is used to measure stronger 
currents, the conducting wire is carried in the 
circumference of a circle entirely around the 
needle so that its diameter is ten or twelve 
times the length of the needle. The current in 
these instruments is proportional, not to the 
angle through which the needle turns, but to 
the tangent of the needle. 

GALVESTON (gal'ves-tun), a city of 
Texas, county seat of Galveston County, on 
Galveston Island, at the entrance of Galveston 
Bay. It is on the Southern Pacific, the Mis¬ 
souri, Kansas and Texas, the International and 
Great Northern, and other railroads, and has 
direct steamboat connection with the leading 
ports of America and Europe. The bay is from 
ten to twenty miles wide and about thirty miles 
long, and the island has a width of three miles 
and a length of about thirty. An extensive 
breakwater has been constructed to protect the 
harbor, which affords unexcelled anchorage for 
the largest vessels. Intercommunication is by 
a network of electric railways, with which are 
connected several suburban and interurban 
lines. The city is. protected from overflows by 
a sea wall of cement and concrete. This struc¬ 
ture, completed in 1904, is 17,595 feet long, five 
feet wide at the top and sixteen feet at the 
base, and is seventeen feet higher than the mean 
low tide. 

The city has an area of about fourteen square 
miles and is built mainly toward the inland 
side of the island. It has well-improved streets, 
especially the newer part, where much has been 
done to raise the surface by grading. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are the county court¬ 
house, the customhouse and post office, the Ball 
High School, the Rosenberg Library, the Ma¬ 
sonic Temple, the Y. M. C. A. building, and 
many business houses and hotels. It is the 
seat of the medical department of the State Uni¬ 
versity, two Roman Catholic academies, Saint 
Mary’s Hospital, two orphan asylums, and other 
institutions. A railroad bridge nearly two miles 
long connects the island with the mainland. 

As a cotton market Galveston is one of the 
most important centers in the United States, 
while its trade in lumber, wool, live stock, and 
cereals is correspondingly large. Among the 
manufactures are flour, ironware, beverages, 
cotton-seed oil, clothing, fabrics, and machinery. 
It ranks second in exports among the export¬ 
ing cities of the United States and its exports of 
cotton are paralleled only by those of New Or¬ 
leans. The municipal improvements, such as 



GALVESTON BAY 


877 


GAMBOGE 


gas and electric lighting, waterworks, sewerage, 
and pavements, are well established. Galveston 
was settled in 1837 and incorporated in 1839. 
General Magruder captured it for the Confed¬ 
erates in 1863. In 1900 a large part of it was 
destroyed by a severe storm, but it was rebuilt 
with an enterprise equaled only by the activity 
of its business men. Population, 1910, 36,981. 

GALVESTON BAY, an inlet on the south¬ 
eastern shore of Texas, extending about thirty 
miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. It is 
separated from the latter by Galveston Island, 
which is connected with the mainland by a 
railway, whose terminus is at Port Bolivar, op¬ 
posite Galveston. The area is about 450 square 
miles. 

GALWAY (gal'wa), a seaport city of Ire¬ 
land, capital of Galway County, 120 miles west 
of Dublin. It is located at the mouth of the 
Corrib River, on the northern shore of Galway 
Bay, and has a large export trade in wool, fish, 
marble, and agricultural produce. The manu¬ 
factures include flour, canned fish, ironware, 
and spirituous liquors. The older part of the 
town has crooked streets, but the newer part is 
well platted and built of substantial material. 
Among the chief buildings is the Church of 
Saint Nicholas, founded in 1320. It has a fine 
county courthouse, * five nunneries, and three 
monasteries, and is *the seat of Queen’s Col¬ 
lege. The city has railroad and electric railway 
facilities, waterworks, and gas and electric 
lighting. The Irish language is spoken by 
many of the people. Population, 1906, 13,634. 

GALWAY BAY, an important bay on the 
western coast of Ireland, extending inland from 
the Atlantic, between the counties of Clare and 
Galway. It is from six to twenty miles wide 
and thirty miles long, and at its entrance are 
the Arran Islands. Galway, a seaport of west¬ 
ern Ireland, is situated on the northern shore. 

GAMBIA (gam'bi-a), the oldest and most 
northerly British colony on the west coast of 
Africa. It has an area of 69 square miles. The 
surrounding sphere of influence tributary to 
Gambia comprises with it a colony and a pro¬ 
tectorate of 3,061 square miles. Rice, cotton, 
corn, hides, beeswax, and rubber are exported. 
The district contains some exceedingly fertile 
tracts of land, though much is unproductive. 
As a colonial possession it is important mainly 
on account of commanding the Gambia River, 
which furnishes extensive means for interior 
navigation and trade. The government is ad¬ 
ministered through a local executive and a 
legislative council. Bathurst, situated on the 
island of Saint Mary, is the chief town and has 
7,500 inhabitants. Only a comparatively few 


of the inhabitants are whites, about 200, and a 
majority of the natives are Mohammedans. A 
considerable missionary work has been done 
by the Christian churches. The slave trade 
was abolished in 1906. Population, 1906, of 
the colony, 13,945; of the protectorate, 77,284. 

GAMBIA, an important river of Western 
Africa, rises in the mountains north of Liberia, 
flows in a northwesterly direction to the At¬ 
lantic, and has a total length of 725 miles. The 
estuary has a width of 25 miles some distance 
from its mouth, but at the place where its wa¬ 
ters join the Atlantic it is only about two miles 
wide. The lower valley is overflowed in the 
rainy season, leaving rich alluvial deposits, 
which greatly enhance the annual productions. 
Vessels navigate the river for 650 miles from 
June to November, but large craft sail only 
about 90 miles inland. 

GAMBLING (gam'bling), the practice of 
playing a game of chance for pecuniary profit. 
It was the custom in very early times to exer¬ 
cise some legal control over the sports and pas¬ 
times of the people, especially those involving 
an element of game or gambling. Certain 
games were reserved for people of the higher 
classes in society, or were prohibited altogether. 
In modern times legislation has been directed 
toward suppressing the games that are consid¬ 
ered dangerous to life, as well as those in 
which gambling is made the direct object. Bet¬ 
ting is a form of gambling and is prohibited in 
most countries, though prizes are permitted, 
such as those awarded to the winner in a foot 
race or to the successful side in a game of ball. 
The laws of England and the United States 
provide a penalty for those who keep a gam¬ 
bling house as well as for those who actually 
engage in gambling. 

GAMBOGE (gam-booj'), a gum resin used 
in painting and for lacquer work. It is ob¬ 
tained from the gamboge tree, which is native 
to the East Indies and Southern Asia. It grows 
to a height of forty feet and has oval leaves, 
small flowers, and clusters of edible fruit. The 
gum resin is obtained by making an incision in 
the tree, when the gamboge exudes as a yel¬ 
lowish juice, and after exposure to the air be¬ 
comes hard. It is collected in earthen vessels 
and left to thicken, or is poured when semi¬ 
fluid into the hollow joints of the bamboo, thus 
giving it the form of cylindrical sticks. The 
finer quality of gamboge is brittle and of a red¬ 
dish-orange color, has no odor, and is acrid to 
the taste. Powdered gamboge has a bright 
yellow color. Several species of trees in Mex¬ 
ico yield gamboge, but the quality is inferior 
to that obtained from Asia. 


GAME 


878 


GANGES 


GAME, the general name applied to birds and 
animals that are hunted for their flesh or for 
various commercial purposes. These animals 
are pursued and captured by some persons as a 
vocation and for purposes of recreation. Game 
laws have been enacted to regulate the hunting 
of game, otherwise many species of Useful ani¬ 
mals would be exterminated by useless destruc¬ 
tion. At first legislation was directed more par¬ 
ticularly to prevent hunting for a brief period 
during the breeding season, but now the laws 
are more stringent and either prohibit killing 
some animals at any time, or limit the hunting 
seasons to a short period each year. In some 
countries it is required that a license be taken 
out before any kind of game can be killed, while 
in others hunting under any circumstances is 
prohibited. The ruthless destruction of the 
buffalo and elk has exterminated them in the 
hunting grounds and they are found at present 
only in parks and reservations. Such animals 
as the quail, deer, duck, goose, brant, and 
grouse may be hunted only at certain seasons, 
depending upon the locality and the habits of 
the species. 

Game preserves are grounds set apart for 
breeding and protecting of game. They are 
either private or public. Private preserves are 
very numerous in Europe, where the wealthy 
maintain them to breed and hunt useful species. 
Such estates are the property of the nobles, es¬ 
pecially in Germany, Austria-Hungary, and 
Great Britain. Many large preserves are main¬ 
tained in Canada and the United States, in 
which it is aimed to protect the primeval scenery 
as well as many species of game. The Roberval 
Club of Canada has a preserve of 500 square 
miles in the Laurentian Mountains, and the 
most notable government preserve of Canada is 
that of Henri Menier, which consists of the en¬ 
tire Anticosti Island, in the Gulf of Saint Law¬ 
rence. The Vanderbilt game preserve at Bilt- 
more, N. C., is the largest private reservation 
of this kind in the United States. That coun¬ 
try has many public reservations, such as the 
Yellowstone National Park, where animals and 
natural scenery are protected for the benefit of 
the people. 

GAMES, a class of amusements or sports, 
played either as a pastime or to test physical or 
mental skill. Among many ancient* peoples, es¬ 
pecially the Greeks and Romans, it was cus¬ 
tomary to play games at regular intervals. 
These games were in the form of public exhibi¬ 
tions of skill and strength. They were main¬ 
tained under the patronage of the government 
and usually accompanied with religious cere¬ 
monies. The Grecian games included the Isth¬ 


mian, Nemean, Olympian, and Pythian. The 
gladiatorial games of Rome made famous the 
circus and the amphitheater. Among the most 
popular modern games may be mentioned base¬ 
ball, cards, croquet, tennis, billiards, football, 
etc. See Athletics; Circus; Olympic Games. 

GANGES (gan'jez), one of the most im¬ 
portant rivers of Asia, rises in Garhwal, at 
the western slope of the Himalaya Mountains. 
It is formed by the junction of the Bhagirathi 
and the Alaknanda rivers, at Deoprag, about 
ten miles east of Srinagar. The Bhagirathi is 
regarded a sacred stream by the natives, has its 
head 13,800 feet above sea level, and is consid¬ 
ered the source of the Ganges, though a larger 
volume of water is brought from a great dis¬ 
tance by the Alaknanda. Among the principal 
tributaries of the Ganges are the Jumna, Gan- 
dak, Son, and Kusi, though there are numerous 
other tributaries, while the Brahmaputra re¬ 
ceives the main channel of the delta, called the 
Padna, or Padda, and the other streams of the 
delta flow into the Bay of Bengal. The lower 
basin constitutes the great valley of Hindustan. 
It contains much fertility and is one of the most 
important regions of Asia. Branches begin to 
flow out from the main stream about 225 miles 
from its mouth, forming a vast delta in the 
nature of level and waste swamps, through 
which many channels course and intersect each 
other at various points. The entire length is 
1,550 miles and the basin drained embraces 
395,000 square miles. The largest branches of 
the delta are the Hugli and the Meghna, the 
former being on the west side and the latter on 
the east, and these begin about 200 miles or 
more from the sea. 

Among the principal cities situated on the 
banks of the Ganges are Cawnpore, Faruck- 
abad, Bahar, Benares, Calcutta, Patna, Allaha¬ 
bad, and Murshedabad. Navigation extends a 
distance of nearly 1,250 miles from the Bay of 
Bengal, which makes it an important avenue 
for commercial and passenger intercourse, 
though within late years several railroad lines 
have been constructed in various directions 
through and along the valley. In the hot sea¬ 
son of the year the volume of water is de¬ 
creased slightly, while in the rainy season great 
floods cover the lower country, when the water 
extends over a region about one hundred miles 
wide. The floods recede about the middle of 
August, leaving rich alluvial deposits to greatly 
fertilize the soil. The river is held sacred by 
the Hindus, who either bathe in it or partake 
of its waters. From this custom a consider¬ 
able industry has arisen, and the water is bot¬ 
tled and carried as an article of commerce to 


GANGES CANAL 


879 


GARBAGE 


the remote interior districts. Bathing in the 
Ganges is considered necessary, in order to ex¬ 
empt the dead from returning to the earth to 
recommence life anew. The Hindus think that 
those who partake of the water have assurance 
of eternal bliss. Throngs of pilgrims visit 
various points annually, especially at Allaha¬ 
bad, where a great fair is held periodically. 

GANGES CANAL, an artificial canal of 
India, constructed to overcome the obstructions 
of the Ganges River above Allahabad. It was 
commenced in 1848 and cost about $25,000,000. 
The total length is about 700 miles, 400 miles 
of which are navigable, while the remainder and 
a large number of branches are used to irrigate 
the country which lies between the Ganges and 
the Jumna. 

GANGLION (gan'gli-on), in anatomy, an 
enlargement of the nerves, consisting of a small 
rounded or elongated nervous mass, usually of 
a reddish-gray color. Two kinds of nervous 
ganglia are recognized, those of the sympathetic 
system and those of the cranial system of 
nerves. They serve to strengthen nervous im¬ 
pulse, or act as centers for communication with 
distinct sets of nerves. 

GANGRENE (gan'gren), or Mortification, 
the loss of life in any of the soft parts of the 
body, without extinction of the vital powers in 
the rest of the organism. It is either partial 
or complete. In the former case it does not 
completely destroy the sensibility of the nerves, 
hence the local loss of action may be recov¬ 
ered, while in the latter it results in the death 
of a part. Gangrene is fatal in case it affects 
a vital part, such as the stomach, but ampu¬ 
tation may be resorted to when it attacks a 
limb or an exterior wound. Modern methods 
of applying aseptic remedies have overcome the 
danger of gangrene in wounds, though former¬ 
ly many deaths resulted from this cause. 

GANNET (gan'net), a web-footed bird re¬ 
lated to the pelican and classed with the sea 
fowls. The bill is longer than the head, the 
beak is strong, and beneath the throat is a small 
pouch. The plumage is white, except the top 
of the head, which is yellowish, and some 
species have gray and black markings. Gan- 
nets swim well and have a powerful flight. 
They capture fish by plunging several hundred 
feet through the air, striking headlong down¬ 
ward to the surface of the water. They are 
migratory, passing from the Gulf of Mexico in 
the spring to breed on the northern coasts of 
the United States and in Southern Canada. In 
Europe they breed as far north as the coast of 
Norway and in autumn move southward to 
the Madeira Islands. 


GAPES (gaps), a disease common to fowls 
and other birds, due to parasitic worms. The 
gapeworm causes the bird to choke and induces 
inflammation. It may be removed, after treat¬ 
ing the throat with spirits of turpentine, which 
is done by thrusting a moistened feather into 
the windpipe. Mammals are affected by simi¬ 
lar organisms lodging in the air passages, but 
their presence is not easily detected, hence no 
effective treatment can be given. 

GAR, or Gar Pike, a fish of the ganoid fam¬ 
ily, found in the fresh waters of North Ameri¬ 
ca. It has an elongated body, is somewhat cylin¬ 
drical in form, and is covered with bony scales. 
The teeth are sharp and set in the jaws of a 
prolonged bill. The garfishes range from Can¬ 
ada to Texas and live by preying upon other 
fishes. They are sometimes called billfishes, or 
bony pikes, and are not considered good for 
food. The marine garfishes are larger, from 
three to five feet long, and are widely dis¬ 
tributed. They often leap high out of the 
water in pursuit of the flying fishes, which they 
pursue for food. These fishes are numerous in 
the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies. 

GARBAGE (gar'baj), the discarded rem¬ 
nants of materials which accumulate in cities. 
Within recent years the authorities of the great 
centers of population have turned their atten¬ 
tion to utilizing garbage in fertilizing and 
increasing the productiveness of the soil. 
In New York, Boston, Montreal, and other 
American cities these wastes are removed by ve¬ 
hicles. Usually they are classified as waste and 
usable, after which portions are utilized and 
the remainder is disposed of in a manner best 
calculated not to impair public health. In many 
of the cities of Europe garbage is transported 
by convenient and well-protected means to out¬ 
lying districts, and, as a result, large areas of 
waste and unproductive lands have been re¬ 
claimed and rendered valuable. This process 
of utilizing offal and sewage has largely im¬ 
proved the sanitary conditions, lessened the lia¬ 
bility of breeding trichinae in hogs fed with 
refuse matter, and tended to maintain the purity 
of the city water supply. Many cities maintain 
garbage furnaces, which were first installed in 
Great Britain, and they are utilized to burn 
the class of waste matters that are considered 
dangerous to public health. It is not difficult 
to realize how sanitary conditions may be im¬ 
proved by lessening the amount of decaying lit¬ 
ter which is often found in cellars and other 
places throughout many cities. The garbage 
disposal of New York City, not including the 
ashes and light wastes, is esitmated at about 
300,000 tons per year. In Chicago much of the 


GARDA 


880 


GARNET 


garbage materials has been used in filling and 
grading, both in the low lands and in making 
land along the lake front. 

GARDA (gar'da), a lake of Italy, the largest 
in that country. It is 35 miles long, about 8 
miles, broad, and covers 190 square miles. The 
lake is fed by the melting of the Alpine snows 
and by the inflow of the Sarca River, and its 
surplus is conveyed by the Mincio to the Po 
River. It is a beautiful sheet of water and is 
traversed by numerous steamers. On its shores 
are many villas and towns, including Salo and 
Gardone-Riviera. 

GARDEN CITY, a village in Nassau Coun¬ 
ty, New York, about eighteen miles east of New 
York City, on Long Island, on the Long Island 
Railroad. It was laid out by A. T. Stewart as 
a model villa town, intended for residential 
purposes, and is beautified by numerous boule¬ 
vards and avenues of trees. Among the build¬ 
ings are a fine Gothic cathedral, a memorial 
school for boys, a female seminary, and other 
extensive structures. The Protestant Episcopal 
bishop of Long Island has his residence in Gar¬ 
den City. It is a popular residence of many 
New York business men. 

GARDEN OF THE GODS, the name of a 
region in Colorado, near Colorado Springs. 
The name applies to a tract of 500 acres, re¬ 
markable for the grotesque forms of huge red 
and white sandstone, many of which bear local 
names, such as Seal Rock and Cathedral Spires. 
Near the entrance is the gateway, formed of 
bright red rocks fully 325 feet above the sur¬ 
rounding surface. 

GARDINER (gard'ner), a city of Kennebec 
County, Maine, at the junction of. Cobbossee 
and Kennebec rivers, six miles south of Au¬ 
gusta, on the Maine Central Railroad. An 
abundance of water power facilitates the oper¬ 
ation of numerous manufacturing establish¬ 
ments, including sawmills, machine shops, and 
flouring mills. It has a public library and a 
number of fine schools. Among the municipal 
improvements are electric lights, waterworks, 
pavements, and a system of sewerage. It was 
settled in 1760 and chartered as a city in 1849. 
Population, 1900, 5,501. 

GARDNER, a town of Massachusetts, in 
Worcester County, on the Otter River and 
on the Boston and Maine Railroad. The sur¬ 
rounding country is fruit growing and agricul¬ 
tural. An almshouse, the Levi Heywood Li¬ 
brary, a home for the aged, and Crystal Lake 
Park are noteworthy. Among the manufac¬ 
tures. are furniture, ironware, implements, 
clothing, and machinery. It was incorporated 
as a town in 1785. Population, 1905, 12,012. 


GARFIELD (gar'feld), a borough of New 
Jersey, in Bergen County, on the Erie Rail¬ 
way. It is located on the Passaic River, oppo¬ 
site Passaic, and is important as a shipping and 
manufacturing center. Among its chief indus¬ 
tries are chemical works, machine shops, and 
cotton and woolen mills. It has electric lights, 
waterworks, and a considerable trade in mer¬ 
chandise. Population, 1905, 5,092. 

GARLIC (gar'lik), a perennial plant allied 
to the onion, composed of a compound bulb 
of ten or twelve smaller ones, called cloves. 
The plant has 
long pointed 
leaves, quite nar¬ 
row and flat, and 
whitish or pinkish 
flowers, similar to 
those of the onion. 

It is indigenous to 
the southern part 
of Europe. In 
some countries it 
is cultivated ex¬ 
tensively, especial¬ 
ly in Portugal, 
where peasants eat 
slices of it with 
bread. Most spe¬ 
cies have a highly 
pungent taste and 
a d i s a g r e eable 
odor. In medicine 
it serves as a stim¬ 
ulant, expectorant, 
and diuretic, but 
its mildness ren¬ 
ders it useful as a 
diet rather than as 
a medicine. 

GARNET (gar'net), a class of minerals, in¬ 
cluding various species that are prized highly. 
They occur usually in mica slate or in gneiss, 
but sometimes in limestone and granite, or in 
serpentine and lava beds. The three species of 
garnet which bring the highest prices are known 
as alumina garnet, iron garnet, and chrome gar¬ 
net. These vary in color, such as red, brown, 
green, black, and yellow, according to the amount 
of coloring oxides contained in them. Some 
iron garnet contains enough metal to be at¬ 
tracted by the magnet. Garnets are found in 
Brazil, Peru, Ceylon, Bohemia, Siberia, and in 
many mountainous districts, the finest being the 
Syrian. Garnets which are transparent scarlet 
and. crimson are known as carbuncles. A black 
variety is known as melanite and a green kind 
is called demantoid. Common garnet is often 



GARLIC. 

A. Stalk; BB, Flowers; C, Bulb; 











GARNISHMENT 881 

powdered and used for cutting and polishing 
other stone. 

GARNISHMENT (gar'msh-ment), a proc¬ 
ess of attachment whereby a creditor levies upon 
money or property of his debtor in the posses¬ 
sion of a third person. By this process such 
property is held subject to the payment of a 
debt, and advantage may be taken of it at the 
time of beginning a cause or after a judgment 
has been rendered. The person who is noti¬ 
fied to hold such property subject to the order 
of the court is called a garnishee. This process 
is commonly used in cases-where the wages of 
a debtor are seized to secure payment of a 
debt. 

GARONNE (ga-ron'), a river in the south¬ 
western part of France, rises in the Pyrenees 
at an altitude of 6,142 feet above sea level and 
flows toward the northwest, discharging into 
the Atlantic. It receives numerous tributaries, 
among them the Save, Lot, Baise, Ratz, and 
Dordogne, and, after forming a junction with 
the last-mentioned, is called the Gironde, a dis¬ 
tance of about fifty miles, where it constitutes 
an important estuary. The basin of the Ga¬ 
ronne includes 22,050 square miles, is fertile, 
and contains numerous thriving commercial 
centers. The Central Canal joins the Garonne 
at Toulouse and unites it with the Mediterra¬ 
nean Sea, thus forming an important connection 
between that and the Atlantic. Several other 
canals join it, one of which crosses the river at 
Agen by a viaduct. 

GARROTE (gar-rot'), a method of execu¬ 
tion practiced by the Spaniards. It is a form 
of strangulation and was originally performed 
by placing a heavy cord around the neck of 
a criminal, who was seated on a stool fastened 
to a stake, and the cord was twisted by insert¬ 
ing a stick between the rope and the back of 
the neck, then twisting until strangulation took 
place. Another method was by means of a 
brass collar placed around the neck, and pres¬ 
sure was obtained by means of a screw. The 
garrote was used extensively during the Inqui¬ 
sition. The name is sometimes applied to a 
species of robbery in which the victim is sur¬ 
prised by the highwaymen, who produce tempo¬ 
rary strangulation by drawing a cord or hand¬ 
kerchief about the neck, when the pockets are 
rifled. 

GARTER, Order of the, one of the most 
celebrated and ancient orders of knighthood. 

It was probably originated by Edward III., 
about Jan. 18, 1334, and served to reward the 
distinguished military personages who assisted 
in the struggle against France, though its found¬ 
ing is sometimes assigned to Richard I. It is 

56 


GAS 

related that Edward III. was dancing with the 
Countess of Salisbury when her garter dropped, 
and, after putting it around his own leg, re¬ 
stored it with the expression of “Dishonored be 
he who thinks evil of it,” which was afterward 
changed slightly to form the motto of the or¬ 
ganization. Numerous revisions of the statutes 
of the order were effected in the reigns of 
Henry V., Henry VIII., Edward VI., and in 
1805 under George III. 

Originally there were 26 knights, inclusive 
of the sovereign, who was the recognized head. 
The statute passed in 1786 recognized and main¬ 
tained this number, but admitted as supernu¬ 
merary members certain of the princes. The 
common title of the order was Order of Saint 
George prior to the reign of Edward VI., and 
the same term is still applied synonymously 
with that now used. A dark blue ribbon, edged 
with gold, is used to represent the garter as the 
emblem. On it the motto appears, Honi soit 
qui mal y pense (Shame to him who thinks 
evil), together with a buckle and pendant. It 
is worn below the knee of the left limb. How¬ 
ever, there are other marks of distinction, such 
as a hood, mantle, gown, plume, star, ribbon, 
golden collar, and a figure of Saint George on 
horseback in contact with the dragon. The 
members use the initials K. G. to designate the 
order, which are written after their names. 
From some authorities we learn that ladies 
were members prior to the reign of Edward 
IV. The Prince of Wales is a member by vir¬ 
tue of his title. 

GARTER SNAKE, the name applied to va¬ 
rious small snakes of North America. The 
common garter snake is found widely distrib¬ 
uted from Mexico to Canada, but in appear¬ 
ance the species vary somewhat. Most of them 
are brown or black, and those of the warmer 
section have spots or crossbars, while the spe¬ 
cies common to the colder regions are striped 
with greenish color. They retain their eggs 
until they hatch, bringing the young forth 
alive, frequently as many as fifty at a time. 
The mother defends the young by rushing at 
the enemy with extended mouth, though the 
bite is not poisonous. In the winter they find 
shelter in the ground, where they lie dormant 
until spring. They subsist on worms, frogs, 
and other small forms of animal life. 

GAS, one of the three forms of matter, the 
other two being solids and liquids, and which 
constitutes a fluid that cannot be liquefied nor 
solidified at ordinary temperatures and pres¬ 
sure. Air was practically the only gas known 
to the ancients, but artificial gas was referred 
to as spiritus by writers as early as, the 14th 


GAS 


882 


GAS 


century a. d. The term gas soon came to 
be applied to all elastic fluids that differ from 
common gas, and which were thought to be 
permanent. However, Faraday liquefied vari¬ 
ous gases by reducing the temperature and in¬ 
creasing the pressure, and since then the term 
has been applied generally to all substances in 
an elastic aeriform state. Experiments in lique¬ 
fying gases-have established the fact that none 
is permanent, and that even air may be reduced 
to a liquefied state, this being first demonstrated 
in 1878. To reduce a gas to a liquid state it is 
necessary to make application of cold or pres¬ 
sure, or a combination of- both. The point at 
which the distinction between a gas and a 
liquid is lost is called the critical point of tem¬ 
perature, and there is a particular temperature 
for any given pressure at which the critical 
point of temperature can be reached. It is only 
at or below this particular temperature that 
pressure converts a gas into a liquid. 

Gases are generally distinguished from liq¬ 
uids by the term elastic fluid, while liquids are 
termed nonelastic fluids, this being due to 
the circumstance that liquids have compara¬ 
tively little or no compressibility. Though 
all liquids have elasticity, they expand after 
compression is removed to their former state, 
while gases expand to an indeterminable ex¬ 
tent and in every direction when left uncon¬ 
fined. As a general rule the density of a gas 
depends upon the pressure to which it is sub¬ 
jected, or, in other words, an increase of pres¬ 
sure reduces the volume of gases proportion¬ 
ally. This is in accord with the law announced 
by Edme Mariotte (1620-1684), a French physi¬ 
cist, which is substantially as follows: The 
volume of a given mass of gas varies inversely 
with the pressure to which it is subjected. 

Two or more gases brought into contact mix 
in any proportion and diffuse themselves uni¬ 
formly regardless of their gravities. This may 
be verified by filling a bottle with hydrogen and 
another with oxygen, whose specific gravity is 
sixteen times that of hydrogen, or with car¬ 
bonic acid, whose density is twenty-two times 
as great, and connecting the two bottles with 
a glass tube about ten inches long. Diffusion 
of the gases will begin at once, and within a 
few days they will be found to have the same 
proportion to each other in both bottles, even 
if a porous substance, as a thin membrane, be 
placed in the tube. The kinetic theory of gases 
accounts for the power of motion inherent in all 
parts of aeriform matter. According to it a 
gas consists of molecules sparsely distributed 
through space, but which move about with much 
velocity, <A.n increase of temperature has the 


effect to greatly increase the molecular energy, 
when the pressure within the vessel will be in¬ 
creased correspondingly, while lowering the 
temperature has an opposite effect. 

Gas is a valuable agent in lighting, heating, 
and for various other purposes in the arts and 
industries. Large quantities are derived from 
natural sources, but the greater supply is ob¬ 
tained front coal, wood, resin, peat, water, coke, 
oils, and fats. In many localities gas issues 
from the surface of the earth, as in Pennsyl¬ 
vania, Texas, Ohio, New York, and various 
parts of Eurasia, especially at Baku, and is now 
used very extensively for illuminating and 
heating purposes. The Chinese have utilized 
gas for centuries in various industries and even 
transported it to different parts of their own 
country, which they did in ancient times by 
confining it in bamboo tubes. It may be said 
that the artificial manufacture of gas in Europe 
dates from 1739, when an inflammable gas was 
obtained in England by subjecting coal to heat 
in a closed vessel and conducting the fluid 
through a small tube into bladders. A simple 
experiment consists of placing particles of 
bituminous coal in the bowl of a tobacco pipe, 
then closing the top with moist clay and heating 
to a red heat. When reaching the point of dis¬ 
tillation, a yellowish smoke issues from the 
stem of the pipe, which yields a bright flame 
when lighted. 

In the manufacture of coal gas the coal is 
placed in an iron or clay retort, in which it is 
heated until it expands to twice its bulk and 
forms coke, while the gas generated is con¬ 
ducted by a pipe into a receiver. The tanks 
used in factories have a large capacity, some 
having storage room for 3,000,000 cubic feet of 
gas. In distilling the coal it gives off heat, 
steam, ammonia, tar and gas. The ammonia 
and tar are run off into cisterns, while the gas 
is passed over lime before running it into gas 
storage tanks for the purpose of freeing it 
from acids. 

In an analysis made by Robert W. Bunsen 
(q. v.) it was found that the products of the 
destructive distillation of bituminous coal in¬ 
clude the following: Coke, sixty-eight per cent.; 
tar, twelve; water, eight; marsh gas, seven; 
carbonic oxide, one; and carbonic acid, on£. In 
addition to these are generated small quantities 
of olefiant gas, hydrogen, ammonia, and nitro¬ 
gen. Coal gas is used largely for heating and 
lighting, and for that purpose is passed to 
houses and factories by pipe lines. Small pipes 
carry the gas to lamps and burners in different 
parts of the buildings. A gas meter, through 
which the gas passes, is usually in each building, 


GASCONADE 883 > GASTRITIS 


and the quantity consumed is measured quite 
accurately. 

Wood gas contains more illuminating power 
than olefiant gas and its specific gravity is 
greater than coal gas, hence, it requires burners 
with larger orifices. Resin gas has a high illu¬ 
minating power, but the supply is necessarily 
limited. Peat gas is distilled in retorts similar 
to those used in wood gas. Water gas is made 
by forcing steam and the vapor of crude pe¬ 
troleum into retorts, which are subjected to a 
high temperature. This product is cheaper and 
more satisfactory for illuminating than coal 
gas. Oil gas is obtained by dry distillation, or 
by running oil -or petroleum through tubes 
which have been raised to a red heat. This gas, 
stored in cylinders and subjected to pressure, is 
used generally in lighting railway cars. Crude 
petroleum is used extensively in making gas for 
illuminating purposes. See Natural Gas; Acet¬ 
ylene. 

GASCONADE (gas-ko-nad'), a river in 
Missouri, rises in Wright County, and flows in 
a general course toward the northeast. It dis¬ 
charges into the Missouri River at Gasconda, 
about 35 miles below Jefferson City, after a 
course of 250 miles. The basin includes a large 
portion of the slopes of the Ozark Mountains 
and the course of the river is quite tortuous. 

GASCONY (gas'ko-m), or Gascogne, a 
former duchy in the southwestern part of 
France. It was bounded by the Bay of Biscay, 
the Pyrenees, and the Garonne River, corre¬ 
sponding to the present departments of Gers, 
Landes, and Hautes-Pyrenees and portions of 
four other departments. The inhabitants were 
generally known as Gascons, who descended 
from the Goths and the Basques. They submit¬ 
ted to the Franks in 1602, but maintained a semi¬ 
independent government, and later were con¬ 
quered by Pepin. Th€ region was a possession 
of England from 1152 until 1453, when it was 
reconquered by France. 

GAS ENGINE, an engine in which the mo¬ 
tion of the piston is produced by the combus¬ 
tion or sudden production or expansion of gas. 
Machines of this kind now in extensive use re¬ 
ceive their motion by an explosive mixture of 
gas and air being forced into the working cylin¬ 
der and ignited there by a gas flame or an elec¬ 
tric spark. The largest number are gasoline en¬ 
gines, in which gasoline gas produces the mo¬ 
tion, but natural gas, illuminating* gas, and gas 
from naphtha or other petroleum products are 
employed. These engines vary in construction 
and efficiency, ranging from very small ma¬ 
chines to those having a capacity of 650 horse 
power. Besides having valves for the admis¬ 


sion and escape of gas from the cylinder and 
igniting apparatus, they possess the essentials 
of the steam engine, having a piston within 
the cylinder, a connecting rod, a crank, and a 
fly wheel. Motion is induced by admitting gas 
into the cylinder, where it is exploded by an 
electric spark, causing the piston to be thrown 
forward, which acts to cause a partial vacuum 
within the cylinder, into which more gas is 
admitted, which, on being exploded, causes 
another forward movement of the piston. The 
burned gas escapes at the return of the piston, 
when the exhaust valve is thrown open. The 
movement would be irregular and ineffective 
without a fly wheel, which moves rapidly and 
maintains uniformity in the rate of speed. The 
inflow of gas, as the intake valve is thrown 
open, is regulated by a governor attached to the 
fly wheel. Gas engines are used extensively 
where power is required periodically, especially 
in such structures as motor bicycles, automo¬ 
biles, "hoisting machines, yachts, etc. See illus¬ 
tration on following page. 

GASTRIC JUICE (gas'trik), a colorless 
liquid secreted by the stomach, containing 98.5 
per cent, of water. It has a salty, acid taste, 
the active principle being pepsin. The function 
of gastric juice is to dissolve the nitrogeneous 
elements of food, such as albumen, fibrin, and 
casein. It affects portions of the vegetable food 
and all animal food, except fat, converting them 
into what is known as peptones. The acid in 
some cases seems to be largely of a hydrochloric 
nature. In others hydrochloric and lactic, or 
even butyric and acetic acids are present, but 
they are thought to be due to the change under¬ 
gone by the food in the process of digestion. 
When the food has been thoroughly mixed with 
the liquid of the stomach, it is known as chyme, 
which passes into the intestines as a thick but 
sticky substance. About fourteen pounds of gas¬ 
tric juice are secreted daily in the human adult. 
Artificial gastric juice can be made by extract¬ 
ing pepsin from the coat of the stomach of 
animals by means of glycerin, and adding water 
to the filtered liquid, with a small per cent, of 
hydrochloric acid. 

GASTRITIS (gas-tri'tis), an inflammation 
of the stomach, especially of the mucous mem¬ 
brane of that organ. The early symptoms in¬ 
clude a pain in the stomach and a severe head¬ 
ache, which are usually followed by fever and 
nausea. A common form is- known as acute 
catarrhal gastritis, which is usually due to care¬ 
less dieting. Toxic gastritis is caused by an ex¬ 
cessive use of stimulants, especially alcohol. 
An acute and persistent form is known as 
chronic gastritis, which causes a general decline 


GASTROPODA 


884 


GAUGE 


of health. Wholesome exercise and careful diet¬ 
ing are recommended in all forms of this dis¬ 
ease. 

GASTROPODA (gas-trop'a-da), a class of 
mollusks that have distinct head, bearing eyes 
and tentacles, and movement is by means of 


a large creeping disk or foot. In most species 
the body is not symmetrical, but the head and 
foot are usually well formed. All the species 
have a more or less clearly defined hump upon 
the back, which is extended in some to a con¬ 
siderable size, and in it are contained the vis¬ 


ceral masses, including the stomach, circulatory 
organs, and the glands of reproduction. The 
shell is single or univalve, usually coiled in a 
spiral. The greater number of mollusks with 
univalve shells belong to this class, but it also 
contains some species with multivalve shells, 
such as the chitons. Among the 
species of gastropods are the 
limpets, snails, slugs, and cow¬ 
ries. 

GATH, one of the five chief 
cities of Philistia, frequently 
mentioned in the Bible in con¬ 
nection with David and the Jews. 
Goliath, who was slain by David, 
lived in Gath. It was alternate¬ 
ly independent or under the pow¬ 
er of the Jewish Kings, except 
for a short period when it was 
under Syrian rule. The Philis¬ 
tines defended it against David 
and Solomon, and it still re¬ 
mained a center of influence un¬ 
til the time of Jerome. It is not 
known where Gath was, but it 
is thought to have been located 
between Ashdod and Ekron. 

GATINEAU (ga-te-no'), a 
river in the province of Quebec, 
Canada, the largest tributary of 
the Ottawa. It has its origin in 
a number of lakes, flows in a 
general southerly direction, and 
enters the Ottawa River about a 
mile below the city of Ottawa. 
It receives a number of tribu¬ 
taries and is about 400 miles 
long. Only a short distance is 
navigable, but it is utilized ex¬ 
tensively in rafting timber and 
lumber. * 

GAUCHOS (gou'choz), the 
name of a nomadic class of peo¬ 
ple in South America, confined 
largely to Argentina and the 
Pampas in the basin of the La 
Plata River. They descended 
from whites and Indians, are 
tall and handsome, and engage 
chiefly in stock raising. They 
are skilled in using the lariat. 
The Gauchos are good horsemen 
and are independent and warlike. 

GAUGE (gaj), or Gage, the name of many 
instruments used in the mechanical arts. The 
distance between the inner sides of the rails of 
a track is known as the gauge of railways and 
to ascertain it an instrument known as a gauge 

















































































































GAUL 


885 


GAZA 


is used. It serves to set the rails to the proper 
space apart and to measure the distance when 
the rails require adjustment. An instrument 
known as a steam gauge is fixed to the boilers 
of engines, serving to register the force of the 
steam. It consists of a cylindrical box of metal 
furtiished with a dial and the force is indicated 
by a needle, which is moved by a spring ac¬ 
cording to the pressure of the steam, which acts 
through a tube upon a movable piece of metal 
attached to the spring. The spring is com¬ 
pressed according to the pressure of the steam, 
and the needle indicates on the dial the pres¬ 
sure per square inch in pounds. A water gauge 
is one to indicate the level of the water in a 
boiler. It consists of a vertical glass tube, 
which communicates at both ends with the 
boiler, hence the water in the tube will rise to 
the same level as that in the boiler. Some 
boilers are provided with gauge cocks in addi¬ 
tion to the vertical gauge. 

GAUL, or Gallia, the name applied anciently 
to the country situated between the Rhine and 
the Pyrenees, which was the region occupied 
chiefly by the Gauls, the most numerous branch 
° riginal ^ e ^ s * The principal divisions of 
the region consisted of the district on the 
Roman side of the Alps and the one beyond the 
Alpine Mountains. In the course of time the 
former became known as Gal¬ 
lia Cisalpina, and the latter as 
Gallia Transalpina, though each 
was variously modified in ex¬ 
tent by the fortunes of war 
and insurrectional disturbances. 

The Gallic people were first 
brought into history about 397 
b. c., when they crossed the 
Alps and engaged in a series 
of wars with the Etruscans and 
Romans. In 390 b. c., they in¬ 
flicted a defeat upon the Ro¬ 
mans at Allia, burned a large 
part of Rome, and planted their authority far 
toward the East. 

In 280 b. c., the Gauls conducted successful 
compaigns into Greece, penetrated across the 
Hellespont into Asia Minor, and made impor¬ 
tant settlements under the name of Galatians, 
with which the early Christian teachers came in 
contact. Their foothold along the Danube was 
lost as a result of the conquest of the Germanic 
peoples, who occupied the entire region tribu¬ 
tary to the Rhine. The Cisalpina Qauls were 
prominent factors in contending against Roman 
power until the first Punic War, when an armed 
conflict of six years’ duration compelled them 
to submit to the Roman authority, in 220 b. c. 


The march of Hannibal across the Alps to re¬ 
duce Rome gave them an opportunity to again 
rise with prospects of success, but, when the 
Carthaginians were defeated by the Romans, 
the Gauls were again reduced to submission. 
A Roman invasion in 128-122 b. c. reduced and 
made them tributary, the Romans establishing 
Provincia, a name since perpetuated as Pro¬ 
vence. Later the successful incursions of Ger¬ 
manic and Cimbrian armies tended still fur¬ 
ther to reduce the Gallic tribes, and they were 
ultimately subdued by the Romans in a war last¬ 
ing nine years, conducted under the proconsul¬ 
ship of Julius Caesar, from 58 to 50 b. c. 

GAUR (gar), or Gour, a wild ox native to 
Southern Europe, found chiefly in India. It 
stands about five feet high at the shoulders, 
has strong and much curved horns, and is one 
of the largest species of the ox tribe. The color 
is brown or blackish, except the legs below the 
knee,, which are white. The hide is very thick 
and is used in making shields. 

GAVIAL or Gharial, a species of 

crocodile native to Southern Asia, found chief¬ 
ly in the region of the upper Ganges and its 
tributaries. It is peculiar for its long and nar¬ 
row jaws, which have numerous sharp and 
slender teeth. The food consists principally of 
fish and small reptiles. An adult gavial is~ 



GANGES GAVIAL. 

about twenty feet long. The male has a large 
hump upon the snout, formed of cartilage, and 
in this the nostrils open. Though closely allied 
to the crocodile and alligator, it has a much 
narrower and feebler jaw. 

GAZA (ga'za), a town of Syria, three miles 
from the Mediterranean, and fifty miles south¬ 
west of Jerusalem. It occupies an important po¬ 
sition on the caravan road between the desert 
and the Mediterranean, hence has been important 
as a trade center from remote antiquity. The 
Egyptians were an important factor in extend¬ 
ing its commercial influence, but it was con¬ 
quered by the Philistines and became their most 
important city. Alexander the Great captured 









GAZELLE 


886 


GEM 


it after a siege of two months, in 832 b. c., 
and its final destruction, which occurred in 96 
b. c., is referred to in Acts viii., 26. The 
Romans rebuilt it, but it was more distinctly 
a Greek city, and for a long time rivaled 
Athens and Alexandria in culture. Omar cap¬ 
tured and destroyed it in 634, but it was rebuilt 
by the Crusaders and defended by the Temp¬ 
lars. The modern city is known as Ghazzeh. 
It has a considerable trade, but the buildings 
are poorly constructed. A large majority of the 
inhabitants are Mohammedans. Population, 
1906, 38,530. 

GAZELLE (ga-zel'), the type of antelopes, 
including about twenty species, most of which 
frequent desert and mountain regions. They 
are found mostly in North Africa, Persia, and 



GAZELLE. 


Arabia. The various species are gentle in dis¬ 
position, light fawn colored, and have lustrous 
eyes. Both sexes have horns. The gazelle is 
preyed on by the lion and hunted for its flesh 
and hide. Though gregarious in habits, they 
are shy and difficult to approach. The admi, or 
mountain gazelle, is a familiar species of the 
Sahara highlands. Other well-known species 
include the dama of the Sudan, the Loder’s of 
Algeria, and the common gazelle of Arabia. 

GEARING (ger'ing), the name applied to a 
set or system of wheels in machinery, con¬ 
structed so motion is communicated from one 
part of the machine to another. A gearing 
usually consists of a train of friction wheels, 
screws, or toothed wheels, and frequently of a 


series or combination of them. A machine is 
said to be out of gear when all parts are not 
adjusted for communication and in gear when 
it is set ready for use. The velocity of a ma¬ 
chine depends upon the construction of its gear¬ 
ing,* which may be so adjusted as to increase or 
diminish the speed of the part which does the 
work. Gear wheels are of various forms, de¬ 
pending upon the velocity desired and the na¬ 
ture of communicating motion. A beveled gear 
wheel has teeth set radially in the face of a 
cone, while a spur gear wheel is one in which 
the teeth are parallel to the axis of’the wheel. 
In a worm wheel the teeth are cut spirally, hence 
have the effect of a screw. 

GECKO (gek'o), the common name of an 
extensive family of lizards. They are small 
animals, seldom exceeding eight inches in length, 
and the body is covered with numerous round 
warts. The head is flattened, the body is short 
and thick, and the eyes are large. The species 
vary greatly in color, which is usually quite 
dull. Formerly it was thought that their bite 
is poisonous, but such is not the case. On the 
other hand, they are entirely harmless, and 
are useful in feeding upon insects and worms. 
They are found quite frequently in cellars and 
under wet boards and logs. Species closely re¬ 
lated are common to all the continents. 

GEHENNA (ge-hen'na), in Hebrew, the val¬ 
ley of Hinnom, a gorge with precipitous and 
rocky sides, situated a short distance southwest 
of Jerusalem. The Jewish kings made it a 
favorite place for the celebration of religious 
ceremonies and idolatrous rites. When the pure 
religion of the fathers was restored in the 
reign of King Josiah, he defiled the valley in 
making it a charnel district by covering it with 
the sewage of the city. It was common to burn 
the offal and carcasses of animals in order to 
make the place one of disagreeable repute and 
thereby destroy it as a resort for idol worship. 

GELSENKIRCHEN (gel'zen-kerk-en), a 
city of Germany, in the province of Westphalia, 
five miles north of Essen, with which it is con¬ 
nected by electric and steam railroads. It is 
surrounded by a productive coal-mining region 
and is noted chiefly as an industrial center. 
The noteworthy buildings include the townhall, 
the public library, and a number of fine schools 
and churches. Among the principal industries 
are machine shops, iron works, flour mills, and 
soap factories. The rapid growth of the city 
dates from 1855, when coal was discovered in 
the vicinity, and it was incorporated in 1875. 
Population, 1905, 147,005. 

GEM, a precious stone, especially one in¬ 
tended for an ornament. Gems are sometimes 




GEMINI 


887 


GENEVA 


found with a natural polish and crystallized in 
regular shapes, but more commonly with a 
rough surface and of irregular form. The 
term is applied particularly to a stone cut and 
finished ready for setting and wearing as an 
ornament, as the ruby, sapphire, diamond, .and 
emerald. Other stones are used for ornament 
to which the term does not properly apply, such 
as carnelian and agate. The manufacture of 
artificial gems has made notable progress in 
recent times. A kind of glass known as paste 
or strass, which contains about fifty per cent, 
of oxide of lead and is peculiar for its bril¬ 
liancy and hardness, is a common base for 
artificial gems. Recently some progress has 
been made in producing gems artificially. These 
consist largely of rubies, sapphires, and others 
of the corundum class. Genuine diamonds 
have been made by a chemical process, but the 
expense and labor is too great to make the pro¬ 
duction profitable. Another product of value 
is obtained by fusing small chips or imperfect 
stones in an electric furnace. When the fused 
product is cut and polished, gems of good size 
and color are obtained. 

GEMINI (jem'i-nl), the twins, a constella¬ 
tion of the zodiac, containing the two stars 
Castor and Pollux. The former star is a dou¬ 
ble one. The constellation may be seen in the 
Northern Hemisphere during the evenings of 
December and January. Gemini is a sign of 
the zodiac, which is entered by the sun about 
May 21, and the sun passes from it June 21. 

GEM SB OK (gemz'bok), the name of a 
large antelope in South Africa, called kookam 
by the natives. It is a stout animal, about four 
feet high and five feet long, and has straight 
horns about two feet in length. It has a dark 
gray color above, white on the under part, and 
markings of white and black on the head. The 
gemsbok frequents the mountainous districts 
and usually congregates in small groups when 
upon the open plain. It is found in many bar¬ 
ren desert tracts, where it appears to subsist 
a long time without water. Its inability to run 
with great speed is partly compensated for by 
its strength, which enables it to withstand the 
attacks of the lion. The flesh is esteemed 
highly. 

GENDARMES (zhan-darm'), meaning men 
at arms, the name formerly applied in France 
to the corps of cavalry that formed a body¬ 
guard to the kings. At present the name refers 
to a military police composed largely of soldiers 
taken from the army. About 21,000 men make 
up the gendarmes at the present time. They in¬ 
clude both cavalry and infantry, receive higher 
pay than other men in the army, and form a 


national police in the departments and colonies 
of France. Similar forces are maintained in 
Russia and Germany, where they serve both as 
soldiers and national police officers. 

GENERALIZATION (jen-er-al-i-za'shun), 
in psychology, the act of bringing individuals 
or particulars under a class, or deducting a gen¬ 
eral principle from particulars. Some writers 
use the word generalize to mean the forming of 
logical concepts, while others employ it to sig¬ 
nify scientific classification. It may be defined 
as the power of grasping the common qualities 
of objects and uniting them into a single notion 
comprehending them all. From this it will be 
seen that generalization is the power of com¬ 
bining the individual with the general, of unit¬ 
ing the manifold into one. See Conception. 

GENESEE (jen-e-se'), a river of western 
New York, which has its source in Potter 
County, Pennsylvania, and, after coursing north¬ 
ward into New York, discharges into Lake On¬ 
tario, seven miles north of Rochester. The 
total length is 140 miles. It passes through a 
fertile valley, has falls at Portage and Roches¬ 
ter, and is navigable for small craft about fifty 
miles. 

GENESIS (jen' e-sis), meaning creation or 
origin, the name of the first book of the Bible. 
It is one of the most ancient of existing books, 
giving an account of the creation, of the origi¬ 
nal happy state and the fall of man, of the 
Deluge, and of the dispersion of mankind, end¬ 
ing with the calling of Abraham'and the rise 
and progress of the Jewish nation. Moses is 
regarded the author of the book of Genesis, but 
it is supposed that he derived a large part of 
his materials from written documents coeval 
with the events recorded, being infallibly guided 
by inspiration in the entire work. Some writers 
think that a few additions were made to Gen¬ 
esis after the death of Moses, probably by Ezra. 
See Pentateuch. 

GENET (jen'et), a carniverous mammal na¬ 
tive to Europe and Africa. Only one species is 
found in the southern part of Europe, whence 
it extends into Western Asia. Five species are 
found exclusively in Africa, ranging from the 
Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope. The 
common genet has a dark gray color, thickly 
spotted with black, and is nearly allied to the 
civet. It has retractile claws and a faint smell 
of musk, and the pupil of the eye is narrow and 
vertical. The fur is valuable as an article of 
commerce. # It is easily domesticated and is em¬ 
ployed in many places to destroy rats and mice. 

GENEVA (je-ne'va), a city of Ontario 
County, New York, on Seneca Lake, about fifty 
miles southeast of Rochester. It is on the 


GENEVA 


888 


GENOA 


Seneca and Cayuga Canal and on the Lehigh 
Valley, the New York Central, and other rail¬ 
roads. Among its municipal facilities are pave¬ 
ments, street railways, electric lights, water¬ 
works, and a library. Besides having a good 
system of public schools, it contains Hobart 
College, the State agricultural experiment sta¬ 
tion, the Delancey Divinity School, and the De- 
lancey School for Girls. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are steam heating apparatus, clothing, sci¬ 
entific instruments, machinery, engines, and boil¬ 
ers. The surrounding country is agricultural 
and contains many thousand acres cultivated in 
nurseries. Geneva was incorporated as a city in 
1898. Population, 1905, 12,250; in 1910, 12,446. 

GENEVA, a city of Switzerland, capital of 
the canton of the same name. It is situated on 
the western shore of Lake Geneva, at the point 
where the Rhone issues, and is connected with 
European cities by extensive railroad systems. 

The city is located on both sides of the lake, 
though the larger portion is on the south bank 
of the Rhone, over which several bridges are 
maintained and facilitate free public intercourse. 
The two portions of the city are known as the 
upper and lower, the former containing excel¬ 
lent edifices and beautiful hotels. On the other 
hand, the lower city is the seat of the commer¬ 
cial institutions and manufactories and the resi¬ 
dences of the poorer classes. Among the man¬ 
ufactures are gold, silver, and other metal 
wares, silk, cotton and woolen goods, leather, 
calico, hats, musical instruments, clocks and 
watches, machinery, and chemicals. Of these 
jewelry, musical instruments, and watches are 
the most important. 

Communication is facilitated by steam navi¬ 
gation on Lake Geneva, the Rhone, and numer¬ 
ous canals, besides by many electric railway lines 
that center in the city. As a seat of science 
and literature Geneva takes high rank, its insti¬ 
tutions of learning, libraries, museums, and gal¬ 
leries of art ranking with the most famous of 
Europe. Among the eminent men who resided 
at Geneva and influenced its learning are Cal¬ 
vin, Knox, Necker, Rousseau, Beza, Sismondi, 
and Huber. Its cathedrals, public parks, elec¬ 
tric lighting system, and statuary take high 
rank. The university was founded ip the 12th 
century. It carries advanced courses of study 
and is attended by 1,150 students. 

Though originally a Gallic city, it was after¬ 
ward included in the Roman Provincia, and 
later passed to the Burgundians and Franks. 
In the 12th century it witnessed ttie contro¬ 
versies between the bishops, who were feudatory 
to the German Empire, and the counts of Savoy, 
each striving for supremacy. During these con¬ 


tentions the citizens secured numerous advan¬ 
tages, among them religious and political liber¬ 
ties and commercial independence. An alliance 
was concluded with Freiburg in 1518 and subse¬ 
quently with Berne, thus making Geneva an 
important member of the Swiss Confederation. 
In the Reformation it was a seat and strong¬ 
hold of Protestantism, becoming so largely un¬ 
der the preaching of William Farel and Calvin. 
Besides impressing the people with rigid mor¬ 
ality, these teachers awakened a taste for the 
exact sciences. The aristocratic party contin¬ 
ued to oppress the people for centuries, although 
in the 18th century the popular party gained 
much strength, but the contests that followed 
might have ended even more dangerously to 
the people if France and the adjacent cantons 
had not interfered. France annexed the canton 
of Geneva in 1798 as the department Du 
Leman, but, with the overthrow of Napoleon in 
1815, it became independent and formed the 
twenty-second canton of the Swiss Confedera¬ 
tion. Population, 1907, 116,387. 

GENEVA ARBITRATION. See Alabama 
Claims. 

GENEVA CONVENTION. See Red 
Cross Society. 

GENEVA LAKE, or Lake Leman, a beau¬ 
tiful fresh-water lake between France and 
Switzerland, though the- larger part of it belongs 
to the latter country. It is formed as a cres¬ 
cent, has a length of 48 miles from east to west, 
and is 1,215 feet above sea level. The area is 
225 square miles; the greatest breadth, nine 
miles; and the maximum depth, 980 feet. It is 
rich in fish, especially trout, pike, salmon, and 
German carp. The lake is valuable in naviga¬ 
tion, being never entirely frozen over in winter. 
It is entered from the upper end by the Rhone, 
which pours its turbid and silt-laden water into 
it, but passes from it clear and transparent. 
Near the lake are the mountains of Savoy, 
while Mont Blanc is visible, though sixty miles 
distant. The city of Geneva is situated at the 
point where the Rhone River flows from the 
lake. Many adjacent localities are celebrated 
in literature, among them the places treated by 
Rousseau and Schiller. Byron in “Childe Har¬ 
old” and “The Prisoner of Chillon” has added 
interest to the lake. 

GENNESARET (gen-nes'a-ret). See Gali¬ 
lee, Sea of. 

GENOA (jen'6-a), a seaport city of Italy, 
capital of the province of Genoa, on the north¬ 
ern shore of the Gulf of Genoa, an inlet from 
the Mediterranean. It occupies a fine site at 
the foot and on the slope of the Ligurian Alps. 
Extensive fortifications surround the city and 


GENOA 


889 


GENTILE 


crown the heights near it. The older portions 
have narrow streets with lofty buildings, while 
those of the newer part are spacious and regu¬ 
larly platted and beautified by tall edifices and 
fine palaces. Orchards and groves of pome¬ 
granate and orange trees cover the hills adja¬ 
cent to the city, and above them rise lofty ranges 
of towering mountain peaks. The harbor is 
protected by piers and moles, and is studded 
with innumerable vessels that carry on an im¬ 
portant navigation trade in fruits, cereals, min¬ 
erals, and manufactured articles produced in the 
city and surrounding region. Among the-manu- 
factures are Italian marble, macaroni, paper, 
ironware, machinery, cheese, flour, jewelry, 
gloves, textile fabrics, and scientific instru¬ 
ments. 

Many of the buildings are famed in history, 
among them the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, built 
in the 10th century; the churches of Santo 
Stefano and Santa Maria di Carignano; the 
university, with 1,425 students; and the ducal 
palace (Palazzo Ducale), built in the 13th cen¬ 
tury. Other noted buildings include the Theater 
Carlo Felice, the palaces of Balbi, Doria, Serra, 
and several others, the town hall, the Plazzo 
Reale, and the central railway station. The 
city has a well-organized public school system, 
schools of fine arts, a military school, the Royal 
Marine School, a theological seminary, and 
numerous parochial schools and hospitals. In 
the public parks are numerous statues, among 
them several fine marble memorials of Colum¬ 
bus. The Saint George bank building is used 
as a customhouse and was anciently one of the 
most stable banks of deposit and circulation in 
Europe. Its celebrated cemetery, known as 
Campo Santo, is remarkable for its beauty and 
the large number of eminent men whose graves 
it contains. The city is beautified by modern 
lighting, has electric street railway service, im¬ 
portant railroad connections, and is noted for its 
large commercial and passenger traffic. 

Genoa was famous as a seaport under the 
Romans. It was organized as an independent 
republic and presided over by doges subsequent 
to the division made by Charlemagne. Saracen 
incursions in 935 led the Genoese to form an 
alliance with Pisa, though in 1119 the two cities 
engaged in wars and continued hostile until 1294, 
when Pisa was given a crushing defeat. In the 
meantime Venice had risen as a successful rival, 
which led to periodic wars from the 12th to the 
14th centuries, and, after discordant strife in¬ 
ternally, it became subject to Milan and later to 
France. Napoleon secured permanent posses¬ 
sion of Genoa after the Battle of Marengo, in 
1800, and formally annexed it in 1805. In 1815 


it became a part of the kingdom of Sardinia, 
and with it was annexed to Italy. Historically, 
the Genoese are noted for their spirit of liber¬ 
ality and enterprise. They fostered learning, 
encouraged industrial arts, established civil re¬ 
forms, and built internal improvements. The 
annexation to Italy within recent times has 
given the city its present prosperity. Population, 
1906, 241,617. 

GENTIAN (jen'shan), a genus of plants na¬ 
tive to all the continents, but found chiefly in 
the temperate regions. The common gentian, or 



ALPINE GENTIAN. 


yellozv gentian, is native to the mountains of 
Southern Europe and is found in the meadows 
of the Alps and Pyrenees. It has opposite 
leaves, a stem from three to four feet high, 
and whorls of yellow flowers. The root is em¬ 
ployed for medicine to increase the appetite and 
promote digestion. It is used as a stomachic tonic 
and is given in the form of a solid, a tincture, 
an infusion, and as fluid extract. The dried 
root is a spongy texture with a faint odor, and 
is intensely bitter to the taste. A species known 
as the blue fringed gentian is found in the 
southern part of Canada and the northern part 
of the United States, and other species are more 
or less widely distributed in North America. 
The root of the Alpine gentian of Europe, which 
has cup-shaped, blue flowers, is considered the 
best in medicine, but similar medical properties 
are contained in other species. 

GENTILE (jen'tll), the name applied by the 
Jews to all who were not of their own nation¬ 
ality. The Jews and Gentiles had an aversion 



GENUS 


890 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 


for each other, and the latter were generally- 
regarded in the same spirit as the Christians 
regard the heathens, though the Jews did not 
extend to the Gentiles the privileges accorded 
to pagans by the Christian people. The court 
of the Gentiles about the temple was the outer 
space, marked 'off by a wall or balustrade about 
four feet high, within which strangers were for¬ 
bidden to enter, though they might come as far 
as the barrier to present their offerings. Paul 
refers to this when he says that “the middle 
wall of partition” between Jews and Gentiles 
was broken down by the Gospel. 

GENUS (je'nus), in scientific research, a 
classification of plants or animals which em¬ 
braces one or more species, closely agreeing in 
certain characteristics by which they are dis¬ 
tinguished from all others. The term applies to 
forms subordinate to order, tribe, and family. 
A genus may be constituted of a single species, 
as the giraffe, which possesses certain charac¬ 
teristics belonging to no other species. In oth¬ 
ers there are several or many species. To illus¬ 
trate, the Mus constitutes a genus containing 
such animals as the mouse and the rat, which 
differ in size and are clearly distinct species, 
but still have a similarity of structure obvious 
to all. Among plants the Rosa includes the 
various species of the rose. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION (je- 
o-graf'i-kal dis-tri-bu'shun), the term applied to 
the diffusion of animals and plants in the 
different regions by natural and artificial 
means. For centuries the view was held that 
all species of both the vegetable and animal 
kingdoms were created within the geographical 
regions to which the different forms originally 
were common, but, when the idea came to be 
held that species are allied and that they origi¬ 
nated from a common source, the implication 
gained widespread foothold that the ancestral 
stock had a definite birthplace, and from this the 
various kinds were distributed widely to dif¬ 
ferent provinces and regions. In studying the 
distribution of plant and animal life it is essen¬ 
tial to investigate the means for diffusion and 
the natural barriers that offer effective obstacles 
against migration. Animals possessing much 
power of locomotion, such as fishes, birds, and 
many land animals, may become easily dispersed 
to the most remote regions of the continents, 
and in many cases to adjacent grand divisions. 

It is of interest to note that with one excep¬ 
tion the mammals of North America are allied 
to those of the West Indies. From this we may 
infer that the ancestors of the West Indian 
animals inhabited the American continent, and 
that, by some means, they secured passage to 


those islands. It is likewise interesting to note 
that the marsupials are confined wholly to 
America and Australia, that the tapirs are found 
only in South America and the Malay Islands, 
that there is a greater difference in the flora of 
the Pacfic coast of North America and Japan 
than between that of the latter country and the 
Atlantic coast plain, and that the birds of North 
America are more closely allied to those of 
Europe than to the species which are common 
to South America. Similar notable instances of 
distribution may be alluded to in relation to 
various regions of the continents and oceans, 
each showing a remarkable dispersement in lati¬ 
tude and longitude of the different forms of life, 
all, of course, being attributable to some natural 
cause either clearly known or inferred. 

The means to facilitate distribution are quite 
various and their effectiveness depends more or 
less upon divers circumstances. In the scope of 
this article it is possible to call attention only 
to the more important, since the subject is one 
which may be treated more properly in works 
especially, designed to throw light upon the vari¬ 
ous phases, such as Wallace’s “Geographical 
Distribution of Animals,” Engler’s “Distribution 
of Plants Since the Tertiary Period,” and Dar¬ 
win’s “The Origin of Species.” 

Besides the normal facilities to disperse which 
are found in the different species, various other 
means must be taken into account. Seeds of 
many classes of plants become widely diffused 
by winds carrying them to regions remote from 
their native locality, especially those provided 
with feathery appendages, while animals, insects, 
and the movements of water by waves, currents, 
and streams largely transport and disperse them. 
Oceanic currents likewise carry animals to re¬ 
mote regions, especially in the polar vicinities 
by ice floes and icebergs. The branches and 
trunks of trees frequently carry animals and 
seeds long distances down streams, across 
straits, and even over extensive bodies of water. 
Fur-bearing animals often disperse seeds that 
cling to the fur, and birds of plumage likewise 
carry them to distant regions. Aquatic birds 
transport the spawn of amphibian animals and 
the seeds of plants to remote districts and fresh¬ 
water bodies of inland waters. In like manner 
they distribute shellfishes, seeds of marine 
plants, and various forms of marine life. It is 
certain that wide distribution has been effected 
by seeds clinging to the hoofs of animals and 
to insects driven by strong winds, and often 
unintentionally by man. 

Among the barriers against rapid and wide 
diffusion are climatic conditions, elevated moun¬ 
tain ranges', and vast expanses of water surface. 


GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETIES 


891 


GEOGRAPHY 


It is quite certain that a large per cent, of the 
general distribution, as occurring in recent times, 
was effected by the sinking of islands and conti¬ 
nents, thus detaching a portion of the land 
masses and with it its proportional share of 
animal and plant life, such as was likely effected 
by the detachment caused by the sinking of large 
areas of the Pacific, thereby forming the great 
archipelago southeast of Asia and other island 
groups equally noteworthy. The more recent 
diffusions, however, were effected by migration, 
which doubtless occurred in the usual manner 
by marine life passing over isthmuses, and 
land forms, including both plants and animals, 
being carried across straits and narrow channels 
of water. The most important and widespread 
distribution of the higher animal and plant life 
is due to the commercial designs of man. As a 
source of profit the various domestic animals 
and highly cultivated cereals, vegetables and 
other plants have been carried to climates and 
latitudes agreeable to their production and use. 

GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETIES, the or¬ 
ganizations formed to obtain and disseminate 
geographical knowledge. In 1821 the first im¬ 
portant association to promote and extend geo¬ 
graphical knowledge was organized in Paris, 
known as the Society of Geography, which 
founded the Bulletin of the Society of Geog¬ 
raphy in 1822. The celebrated German society, 
the Berlin Association of Geography, was 
founded in 1828, and its proceedings are pub¬ 
lished annually in Reports of the Berlin Asso¬ 
ciation of Geography. The Royal Geographical 
Society, founded in 1830, is the leading organ¬ 
ization of this kind in Great Britain. Among 
the societies devoted to the study of geography 
is the American Geographical Society, .founded 
in New York in 1852; the National Geographi¬ 
cal Society, organized at Washington, D. C., in 
1888; and the Geographical Society of Philadel¬ 
phia, established in 1891. 

GEOGRAPHY (je-og'ra-fy), the science 
that treats of the earth. As a study it is pur¬ 
sued under four departments or branches — 
mathematical, political, physical, and commer¬ 
cial. Mathematical geography is that branch of 
general science which treats of the earth in its 
relation to the sqlar system, and forms the true 
basis for accurate geographical knowledge, since 
by means of it we are enabled to form clear 
conceptions of the laws governing terrestrial 
phenomena. Through its agency we learn of 
the location of the earth in space; its form, size, 
and movements; its divisions by lines and cir¬ 
cles imagined to be drawn; and the method of 
representing portions of it on maps. 

Political geography embraces the description 


of the earth in relation to government and soci¬ 
eties of mankind. It treats of the manner of 
life of the people, and of their civilization and 
government. Physical geography is a treatise 
of the physical condition of the earth, its rela¬ 
tion to nature and the natural laws by which it 
is governed. It treats especially of the atmos¬ 
phere, the natural divisions of land and water, 
'the aerial currents and movements of oceanic 
waters, and the distribution of animate and in¬ 
animate objects found upon the surface of the 
earth. These are described not only in a given 
locality, but the causes of their existence and 
the natural results are discussed with a view of 
learning their causes and effects. Commercial 
geography includes an investigation of the prod¬ 
ucts of merchantable commodities, the migra¬ 
tions of plants and animals, the routes of travel 
and transportation, and the natural laws that 
govern or facilitate commerce and commercial 
relations. In the scope of geographical institu¬ 
tions the student is brought in contact with 
various other branches, such as geology, history, 
astronomy, and zoology, though these are all 
separate sciences, the relationship serving prin¬ 
cipally to facilitate general advancement and to 
broaden culture in basic principles. 

In ancient times geographical knowledge was 
necessarily limited, owing to the insufficient 
means to navigate the vast expanse of ocean 
and proceed with any degree of rapidity across 
the continents. Besides, the absence of power¬ 
ful offensive weapons of war prevented explor¬ 
ing parties from making material progress 
against the hostile peoples occupying distant and 
unexplored regions. The expanse of geographi¬ 
cal knowledge is coordinate with that of ex¬ 
plorations and discoveries effected by expedi¬ 
tions and vast cruising enterprises. Among the 
ancient geographers was Eratosthenes, who 
flourished about 240 b. c. Greater, however, 
were Strabo, who lived in the reign of Augustus 
and Tiberius, and Ptolemy, who flourished at 
Alexandria about 139 a. d. As a people the 
Phoenicians made the greatest geographical 
progress in early history. They not only ex¬ 
plored the Mediterranean, but passed through 
the Strait of Gibraltar, cruised along the Atlan¬ 
tic coast of Africa and Europe, and made voy¬ 
ages as far south as the Tropic of Capricorn 
and north to the British Isles. 

Various views were held by early geographical 
writers in regard to the universe. They re¬ 
garded the earth a disk with their own country 
forming the center. The poems of Homer lead 
to the conclusion that the Greeks in the 9th 
century b. c. thought the earth to be a circular 
plane bounded by water and from which the 






GEOGRAPHY 


892 


GEOLOGY 


various streams had their source. In the time 
of Alexander the Great geographical knowledge 
was extended by his famous expedition to the 
interior of Asia, and subsequently by cruises on 
the Indian and Mediterranean waters. Eratos¬ 
thenes considered the earth a sphere and was the 
first to use lines to indicate latitude and longi¬ 
tude, and to employ mathematical principles in 
the construction of maps. Strabo, also men- * 
tioned above, wrote extensively regarding geog¬ 
raphy as understood in his time, and furnished 
valuable descriptions and drawings of the coun¬ 
tries adjacent to the Mediterranean. Ptolemy 
prepared a geography of a large portion of Eur¬ 
asia and Africa, including the British Isles, 
Germany, large ports of Russia, and all the 
region between the last mentioned country and 
the Mediterranean. His geography embraced 
Northern Africa and large regions of Western 
Asia. 

The ancient geographers remained standard 
authority during the Middle Ages, and new ma¬ 
terial of note was not added until the extensive 
voyages of Marco Polo in the 13th century, who 
published the first accounts of Japan and the 
East Indies. However, the discovery of Amer¬ 
ica in 1492 by Columbus, the doubling of the 
Cape of Good Hope in 1497 by Vasca da Gama, 
and the discovery of Tierra del Fuego in 1520 
by Magellan, with contemporary discoveries and 
explorations, gave geography an enlargement 
and interest not previously known. Other 
achievements worthy of note in this connection 
are the extensive explorations of Vasco da 
Gama in Eastern Africa and Southern Asia, the 
expeditions of Frobisher in 1576, of Davis in 
1585, of Hudson in 1607, and of Baffin in 1616, 
all of which led to the enlargement of accurate 
knowledge. The Dutch navigators Tasman and 
Van Diemen made fruitful explorations in the 
Pacific about the middle of the 17th century and 
added Australia to the explored portion of the 
earth. Subsequently Captain Cook explored 
innumerable islands in the Pacific. 

The explorations of the 19th century were de¬ 
voted more largely to discoveries in the polar 
regions and the interior of Africa. Exploring 
expeditions were sent to the Antarctic regions 
from America, England, and France in 1840, 
when Victoria Land and the Antarctic continent 
were discovered. Another important discovery 
was that of the northwest passage around 
North America by way of Bering^ Strait and 
Baffin Bay. It was made in 1850 by an expedi¬ 
tion under McClure. Among the most cele¬ 
brated explorers to add knowledge of the in¬ 
terior of North America are Lewis and Clark, 
Humboldt, Spix, and Fremont, while the interior 


of Asia and Australia likewise became known 
largely in the latter part of the last century. 
The explorations and discoveries of interior 
Africa by such eminent men as Livingstone, 
Schweinfurth, Stanley, Bruce, Barth, and Rohlfs 
have led European nations to occupy practically 
the entire continent. They not only claimed the 
regions as colonial possessions, but constructed 
canals, founded cities, and built vast railroad 
enterprises. Interior Asia is now in-a fair way 
to become similarly controlled by European peo¬ 
ples. Not satisfied with their successes, the 
more ambitious are still making venturous ex¬ 
ploits to the polar seas, and are promoting 
extensive excavations to determine complicated 
questions in physical geography. School text¬ 
books are assuming scientific completeness and 
institutional instruction is becoming of greater 
pedagogic worth. The schools of Germany have 
long led in both these important lines. 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (je-6-log'i-kal 
sur'va), the name of a bureau maintained by 
most governments, which has charge of investi¬ 
gations of the mineral resources and geological 
structure of the country. Bureaus of this kind 
are under the supervision of a director, who is 
controlled directly by a cabinet or ministerial 
officer. In Canada the Geological Survey De¬ 
partment is under the Minister of the Interior 
and the work is divided into two divisions, 
known as (a) Geological Survey and ( b ) Mines 
Branch. The direct supervision is under an of¬ 
ficer known as assistant director, chemist, and 
mineralogist, while each of the two divisions is 
supervised by a director. 

The United States Geological Survey was or¬ 
ganized as a bureau in 1879, when a plan for 
unifying the four independent surveys that have 
been maintained was adopted by Congress. It 
is under the control of a director, who submits 
an annual report of plans and operations of the 
department to the Secretary of the Interior. 
Among the duties of this department are the 
making of surveys in regard to the geological 
formations, the classifications of public lands, 
the surveys for the irrigation of arid regions, 
the examination of mineral deposits, the survey 
and mapping of the areal geology, and detailing 
information of the rock formations. Maps pre¬ 
pared by the department indicate the character 
of the surface, the distribution of ores, and the 
character of the soil. Many pamphlets are pub¬ 
lished to distribute information in regard to 
physical and chemical research, mining and 
mineral resources, and various other subjects of 
interest coming under consideration of the de¬ 
partment. 

GEOLOGY (je-61'o-jy), the department of 


GEOLOGY 


893 


GEOLOGY 


natural science that treats of the present consti¬ 
tution and structure of the earth and the opera¬ 
tions of its physical forces. It investigates the 
history of geological formations in past ages, 
together with the causes and modes of physical 
changes, and the formation of inorganic and 
organic structures. The study of geology re¬ 
ceived attention many centuries ago, but it has 
taken high rank among the studies only since 
the beginning of the last century. Herodotus 
gave the subject much careful thought. He de¬ 
voted studious consideration to the formation 
and fertility of the soil in Egypt, and traced 
their cause to the silt-laden waters of the Nile 
that overflow the delta and Lower Egypt peri¬ 
odically. Strabo flourished in the 1st century 
a. d. and ranked as the greatest of early geolog¬ 
ists. He took up the discussion of the origin 
of fossils (q. v.), which long formed the subject 
of much controversy, and maintained that they 
were organic when entombed. 

Dr. Abraham G. Werner (1750-1817), pro¬ 
fessor in the school of mines at Freiburg, Ger¬ 
many, in 1775, gave modern geology its wide¬ 
spread interest. He held that a series of uni¬ 
versal deposits had been formed by the action 
of a chaotic fluid, which evaporated and fell on 
the earth’s crust in periodical succession and 
otherwise operated to erode and deposit silts. 
He thought this action aided in cooling and 
thickening the crust, and that it had a marked 
influence upon the distribution of materials 
which exuded or were thrown from volcanic 
craters. In 1788 James Hutton published his 
“Theory of the Earth,” in which he directed at¬ 
tention to the causes that now exist in produc¬ 
ing formations. He held a contrary view to Dr. 
Werner in that he thought granite and basalt 
are of igneous origin. 

At present there are three recognized schools 
of geology, those known as catastrophism, uni- 
formatarianism, and evolutionism. Thos? hold¬ 
ing to catastrophism maintain that there have 
been a series of creations and catastrophes, life 
forms springing into existence and after a 
great lapse of time meeting with universal de¬ 
struction, as in the deluge of Noah. Of this 
school Sir Roderick Murchison is a representa¬ 
tive. Those holding to the theory of uniformi- 
tarianism think that causes now in operation 
alone constitute the reasons of all geologic phe¬ 
nomena. To this theory Sir Charles Lyell 
holds, and he exemplifies it in his “Principles of 
Geology.” He cites in support of his opinion 
the action of rivers, tides, currents, and ice as 
the causes of stratified rock and other forma¬ 
tions, directs attention to the action of volcanoes 
and earthquakes as agencies in producing igne¬ 


ous and metamorphic results, and states his be¬ 
lief that collectively they are sufficiently potent 
to cause nearly every phenomenon witnessed in 
studying the earth’s crust. Those holding to 
evolution (q. v.) accept all the theories of the 
uniformitarians, except those referring to the 
development of life forms. Of this school 
Darwin and Huxley are representatives, the 
latter assigning from 1,000,000 to 300,000,000 
years as the time required for the production 
of the present conditions in geological phe¬ 
nomena. 

It is probable that both the surface and in¬ 
terior of the earth were once highly heated, a 
condition probably still existing within the earth, 
and after cooling gradually formed a thin layer 
or crust at the surface. The lowest rocks, being 
of igneous or heat formation, are called igneous 
rocks, of which granite is an example. Owing 
to the presence of intense heat while forming, 
life could not exist, hence fossils do not abound. 
At that time the waters which now cover a 
large portion of the earth hung over the surface 
as dense vapor, but, as soon as a thin crust had 
formed, the cooling atmosphere tended to bring 
the vapor to the dew point and it fell to the 
surface in the form of rain. By continued cool¬ 
ing the crust became thicker, while contractions 
wrinkled the surface and, caused portions to 
form dry land by emerging from the ocean. By 
the action of the water and that of heat and 
cold vast quantities of materials were broken 
up and ground into sand, clay, gravel, and other 
forms, which were carried to particular loca¬ 
tions and stratified into strata of slate, sand¬ 
stone, shale rock, and other common forms. 
These rock formations are known as aqueous or 
sedimentary, and contain more or less fossil re¬ 
mains. The heated interior long remained the 
seat of volcanic disturbances, which formed 
channels through the crust, and still give evi¬ 
dence of internal action and general contraction 
by occasional, though diminished, eruptions. 
The rocks modified by the action of heat are 
known as metamorphic. 

Geologists make subdivisions of time based 
on the main rock systems, in each of which 
peculiar characteristics and organic remains, if 
present, have been studied and classified. These 
are shown in an ascending order in the follow¬ 
ing table: 


Lire PERIODS. 


ROCK SYSTEMS. 


f Recent—Alluvial. Peat, 

Post-Tertiary or Quaternary_■< etc. 

( Pleistocene. 


Tertiary or Cenozoic 


{ 


Pliocene. 

Miocene. 

Oligocene. 

Eocene. 



GEOLOGY 


894 


GEOMETRY 


LIFE PERIODS. 
Secondary or Mesozoic 


Primary or Palaeozoic 


Archaean, Laurentian, or 


ROCK SYSTEMS. 
'Cretaceous. 

T J Oolitic. 

.<i Jurassic j Liassic . 

„Triassic. 

'Permian or Dyas. 
Carboniferous. 

J Devonian and Old Red 

. Sandstone. 

Silurian. 

^Cambrian. 

Fozoic<! Fundamental Gneiss. 


The five principal periods or times are divided 
into ages in which the forms of life are classi¬ 
fied in an ascending scale as follows: 


Quaternary.■{ The Age of Man. 

Cenozoic. < The Age of Mammals. 

Mesozoic."4 The Age of Reptiles. 

fThe Age of Coal Plants. 


Palaeozoic. 


Archaean. 


J The Age of Fishes. 

■ | The Age of Inverte- 
L brates. 

J The Lifeless Age and 
' | Dawn of Life. 


The Archaean time witnessed the dawn of life. 
It included an extensive era, and the tempera¬ 
ture was so extremely high that life could not 
have existed. However, the simpler forms be¬ 
gan to be created toward its close. The rocks 
of this period resulted from cooling of the 
molten mass of the earth and became the cover¬ 
ing of the entire surface, including the regions 
below the ocean. On'the older archaean rocks 
sedimentary rocks less ancient were deposited. 
At this period North America was largely sub¬ 
merged. Only portions in the vicinity of Lake 
Superior, the Iron Mountains of Missouri, the 
Blue Ridge range, the Wind River Mountains, 
the ranges farthest east in Colorado, and the 
New Jersey Highlands projected above the 
highly heated water. These portions constitute 
the oldest part of North America. It was with¬ 
in this time that iron was formed, the rocks of 
this period containing a large per cent, of iron 
ore. The Laurentian and Huronian are among 
the North American rocks that then existed, the 
former in the vicinity of the Saint Lawrence 
and the latter near Lake Huron, from which 
they were named. 

In the Palaeozoic time the animals and plants 
but slightly resembled those now living. Fossil 
remains are mostly those of mollusks, protozoa, 
radiates, and articulates. The rocks were made 
under water and consist of vast deposits of 
limestone, sandstone, and shales, which are either 
largely or entirely formed of the remains of 
shellfish, clams, oysters, and other similar forms 
of life. This is known as the Silurian or Age 
of Invertebrates. The Devonian Age followed, 
in which the first vertebrates appeared in the 
form of fishes. Plants became abundant and 
vast swarms of insects appeared. In the Car¬ 
boniferous Age the surface was covered with 


many fernlike and other plants which were of 
gigantic size and ultimately formed beds of 
coal (q. v.) by the remains decaying under 
water. The period was characterized by alter¬ 
nated elevations and subsidences, thus forming 
in some regions two or more coal veins by 
being tilted, as in many regions of the Allegheny 
Mountains. In this period .all the animals of 
the subkingdoms lived and reptiles began to 
appear. 

In the Mesozoic time, known also as the Age 
of Reptiles, the plants and animals began to re¬ 
semble existing species. The reptiles were 
greatly in preponderance and included many 
species of snakes, turtles, and crocodiles. The 
ichthyosaurus, an animal that swam in the sea 
or paddled in the mud, and the plesiosaurus, a 
large reptile with a snakelike neck, were com¬ 
mon in this period. Great birds, such as the 
archaeopteryx (q. v.), lived at this time and 
left their foot imprints as fossil remains by 
walking over the forming rocks. 

In the Cenozoic time North America was 
largely above the sea, though numerous large 
lakes with, fresh water were abundant, the 
largest of which extended from Texas north¬ 
easterly to Nebraska. This period bears evi¬ 
dence that vegetation was still abundant in the 
Arctic zone, where fine forests of redwood, 
magnolia, and other species native to warm cli¬ 
mates extended over vast regions. Large ani¬ 
mals, including elephants, were abundant in the 
Rocky Mountains, of which fossil remains are 
not uncommon. The glacial period swept over 
the northeastern ’ portion of the continent of 
North America at that time with its destructive 
effects upon life forms, causing vast drifts and 
carrying great boulders, reaching south to about 
the 40th parallel. The glacial period was fol¬ 
lowed by the Champlain period, in which alter¬ 
nating floods and varying climates followed in 
succession. Subsequently the climate was again 
tropical, when many animals inhabited the for¬ 
ests, while slowly through long periods of time 
the temperature gradually fell. In the Quater¬ 
nary Age the present animals and plants ap¬ 
peared and man was created. Geologists differ 
as to the length of the creation period measured 
in years, and many do not undertake to assign 
any given number of years. They commonly 
call all time before life appeared Azoic and the 
appearance of life Eozoic, and classify all subse¬ 
quent time as exemplified above. 

GEOMETRY (je-om'£-try), the science that 
relates to the measurement of definite portions 
of space, such as lines, angles, surfaces, and 
volumes. The various divisions of geometry in¬ 
clude plane and solid geometry, analytical geom- 










GEORGE, FORT 


895 


GEORGETOWN 


etry, descriptive geometry, and higher geometry. 
Plane geometry and solid geometry treat of 
right lines and plane surfaces, and of circles 
and spheres. In higher geometry are treated 
the conic sections, curved lines, and bodies gen¬ 
erated from them. In analytical geometry are 
involved the various calculi in algebraical forms, 
while descriptive geometry embraces an exten¬ 
sion of the principle of projections. 

The origin of geometry is traced to the 
Hindus, but the Egyptians appear to have pos¬ 
sessed a knowledge of it at the times the pyra¬ 
mids were built. Thales, who flourished in 639- 
548 b. c., is among the first of the Grecian ge- 
ometrists, and .to him is attributed the discovery 
of the properties of triangles. Pythagoras was a 
disciple of Thales. He greatly extended the 
knowledge of the geometry of polygons by dis¬ 
covering the theorem of the square of the 
hypotenuse. He demonstrated that the area of 
a circle is greater than that of any plane figure 
having an equal perimeter, and that the sphere 
has the greatest volume of the bodies which are 
bounded by an equal surface. Many other 
Greeks followed in adding to the science, among 
them Anaxagoras, Hippocrates, Plato, and 
Euclid. The last mentioned founded a • school 
of mathematics in Alexandria, Egypt, some time 
in the reign of Ptolemy I., in 323-284 b. c. He 
published a treatise on “Porisms,” a book on 
“Data,” and his “Elements of Geometry.” Most 
of his works are lost, but his “Elements” are 
still in use in many schools and colleges. 
Among the celebrated geometricians of recent 
times are Kepler, Descartes, Pascal, Newton, 
and Carnot. 

GEORGE, Fort, a small fortress of Can¬ 
ada, near Queenstown, Ontario, on the Niagara 
River. General Brock took up his headquarters 
at Fort George in 1812, where he was attacked 
on May 27, 1813, by a force of Americans, who 
landed their troops under cover of the guns of 
the fleet. The Americans were under General 
Dearborn and the British were defeated, after 
which the fort was abandoned. Forts Erie and 
Chippewa were abandoned soon after, and the 
whole Niagara frontier passed into the hands 
of the Americans. 

GEORGE, Lake, a beautiful lake in north¬ 
eastern New York, extending from southwest 
to northeast. The length is thirty-five miles, 
breadth, from one to three miles; and greatest 
depth, 400 feet. The surface has an elevation 
of 310 feet above sea level. On its northern 
shore are the ruins of Fort Ticonderoga. The 
shores are beautified by lofty hills, on which 
picturesque forests abound. The outlet is into 
Lake Champlain, which is a short distance to¬ 


ward the north. Lake George is a popular re¬ 
sort for rriany artists and tourists. 

GEORGE JUNIOR REPUBLIC, the name 
of a community maintained for boys and girls 
near Freeville, N. Y., about, eight miles west of 
Ithaca. It was established by William R. 
George in 1895. The purpose is to afford em¬ 
ployment and training for unfortunate children, 
most of whom are obtained from the cities. 
This community has a constitution modeled 
after that of the United States, which provides 
for the election of legislative, judicial, and ex¬ 
ecutive departments. Mr. George was the first 
president, but this and all other offices have 
been filled by boys since 1896, though the power 
to veto is retained by Mr. George. It is in¬ 
cumbent upon the members of the community to 
work at some occupation, such as carpentry, 
printing, blacksmithing, farming, or domestic 
science. The buildings include a store, a library, 
a bank, and a school, and several hotels, restau¬ 
rants, and workshops. Primary and grammar 
schools are provided for all children under six¬ 
teen years of age and the courses fit the students 
for academic or college work. The trustees of 
the enterprise control about 400 acres. At pres¬ 
ent the average attendance is about 225 children. 

GEORGETOWN (jorj'town), the capital of 
British Guiana, situated near the mouth of the 
Demerara River, in Demerara County. It is 
the most important city of the Guianas. The 
streets are regularly platted, with fine shade 
trees and buildings, arid the city is connected 
with adjoining trade centers by railways. 
Among the public buildings are the town hall, 
the Parliament building, the Episcopal cathe¬ 
dral, Queen’s College, a mariners’ hospital, a 
public library, and a museum. Besides its pub¬ 
lic school system, there are a number of flour¬ 
ishing historical and scientific societies, and 
divers religious and economic associations. The 
streets articulate with several canals which fur¬ 
nish convenient connection with the harbor. 
Most of the buildings are placed on piers to 
elevate them above the low site. The principal 
exports include coffee, sugar, fruits, and rum. 
Among the imports are machinery, fabrics, and 
manufactured articles. The city is the center 
of the export and import trade of the colony, 
has a good harbor, and is well fortified. Three- 
fourths of the inhabitants are Negroes and peo¬ 
ple of native birth. Population, 1906, 54,692. 

GEORGETOWN, a city of South Carolina, 
county seat of Georgetown County, 55 miles 
northeast of Charleston, on the Georgetown and 
Western Railroad. It is located at the head of 
Winyah Bay and is important as a seaport. The 
trade consists chiefly in rice, fish, turpentine, 




GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY 


896 GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV. 


cotton, and machinery. It has electric lights, 
waterworks, and a number of fine school and 
county buildings. The first settlement was 
made on its site about 1700 and its incorporation 
dates from 1805. Population, 1900, 4,138. 

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, an edu¬ 
cational institution in Georgetown, D. C., which 
is now included within the’ limits of Washing¬ 
ton. The university was founded in 1799 and 
later, in 1815, it was empowered by Congress to 
grant academic degrees. It is under the aus¬ 
pices of the Society of Jesus, an order of the 
Roman Catholic^ church, and carries courses in 
dentistry, medicine, law, philosophy/ and the¬ 
ology. Degrees are conferred in arts, dentistry, 
law, medicine, and philosophy. About 750 stu¬ 
dents attend the different departments. The 
library contains 90,000 volumes. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVER¬ 
SITY, an institution of higher learning located 
at Washington, D. C., the origin of which dates 
back about ninety years. It was originally the 
Columbian College of the “District of Columbia 
and was chartered by a special act of Congress 
on Feb. 9, 1821, with all the powers commonly 
granted to American colleges. By a special act 
of March 3, 1873, Congress changed the name 
to the Columbian University. By another spe¬ 
cial act Of Congress on Jan. 23, 1904, the Colum¬ 
bian University was authorized, on compliance 
with certain formalities, to take a new name, 
the name chosen to be approved by the Secre¬ 
tary of the Interior and the Commissioner of 
Education. These formalities were complied 
with, and on Sept. 1, 1904, the present name was 
adopted. On March 3, 1905, Congress recog¬ 
nized the George Washington University by 
this name and conferred upon it additional pow¬ 
ers of the most comprehensive nature for car¬ 
rying on higher education. It may, under its 
charter, apply in whole or in part the English 
system of carrying on undergraduate work 
through colleges which are educationally under 
its jurisdiction. Such colleges are oi^anized by 
permission of the university under a special in¬ 
corporating act contained in the university 
charter. Each college has its own trustees, 
faculty, and financial foundation, separate and 
distinct from the university. All are, however, 
so under the jurisdiction of the university that 
they must conform to the standards set by it 
and can only present to it their candidate for 
degrees, all degrees being conferred by the uni¬ 
versity. It carries on graduate work directly 
through its special university lectures. All the 
existing university systems may thus be applied 
by it in carrying on its work; and by this com¬ 
posite plan of organization, combining the ad¬ 


vantages of a federal and a unitary system, 
the work of the university is standardized.and 
coordinated, the time of the student is econo¬ 
mized, and the institution is kept at the highest 
point of efficiency. 

In addition to its power to permit the incor¬ 
poration of colleges in the District of Columbia 
which are educationally under its jurisdiction, 
the university is authorized to affiliate with 
itself ‘ institutions of learning outside the Dis¬ 
trict, which may desire to have the benefit of 
university affiliation at Washington. This fea¬ 
ture enables colleges to enter into arrangements 
whereby their students may do some of their 
work in the national capital and receive credit 
for it towards the degree given by the college, 
while these students may, at the same time, be 
pursuing graduate or professional studies and 
taking their graduate or professional degree at 
the university. 

A provision of the charter reads as follows: 
“Persons of every religious denomination shall 
be capable of being elected trustees; nor shall 
any person, either as president, professor, tutor, 
or pupil, be refused admittance into the univer¬ 
sity or be denied any of the privileges, im¬ 
munities, or advantages thereof, for or on ac¬ 
count of his sentiments in matters of religion.” 
The board of trustees is organized so that no 
religious denomination has a control. The 
charter provides for a board of visitors, which 
may be representative of the interests of the 
country at large, and which will assure the ob¬ 
servance of every provision of the charter. 

The university has, in its various faculties, 
over two hundred professors and teachers. It 
has fourteen hundred students, every State in 
the Union being represented, as well as foreign 
countries. It gives full day instruction in all 
its colleges and departments. Undergraduate 
work in arts' and sciences is done by Columbian 
College, which is a corporation recently organ¬ 
ized under the provisions of the charter, a Col¬ 
lege of Engineering, and a College of Pharmacy. 
The possibility of giving undergraduate in¬ 
struction through colleges under the jurisdiction 
of the university, on the broadest as well as on 
the most specific and practical lines, is thus illus¬ 
trated. The graduate work of the university is 
done through a graduate department of the arts 
and sciences. It has a department of medicine, 
a department of law, a college of the political 
sciences, and a teachers’ college. 

The college of the political sciences carries 
on undergraduate, graduate, and professional in¬ 
struction in American history, politics, econom¬ 
ics, finance, international law, «and diplomacy. 
It has distinguished teachers and lecturers and 


GEORGIA 


897 


GEORGIA 


has graduated many young men who now hold 
important positions in the civil and foreign 
service of the United States. 

GEORGIA (jor'ji-a), a State of the United 
States, one of the original thirteen, popularly 
called the Empire State of the South. It is 
bounded on the north by Tennessee and North 
Carolina, east by South Carolina and the At¬ 
lantic, south by Florida, and west by Alabama. 
Its length from north to south is 330 miles; 
width, 253 miles; and area, 59,475 square miles, 
including 495 square miles of water surface. 

Description. The State lies partly in the 
coastal plan and partly in the Appalachian high¬ 
lands. In the eastern part are- the Blue Ridge 
Mountains, which cross into the State from 
North Carolina and terminate in the northern 



1, Atlanta: 2, Augusta; 3, Columbus; 4, Maconj 5, Sa¬ 
vannah; 6, Brunswick. Chief railways are shown 
by dotted lines. 


part of Georgia. These mountains have a gen¬ 
eral elevation of from 3,000 to 5,000 feet, culmi¬ 
nating in Sitting Bull Mountain, which has an 
elevation of 5,046 feet above sea level. In the 
western part is the Cohutta group, which is a 
continuation of the Unaka Mountains of Ten¬ 
nessee, and the Lookout and Sand Mountain 
ranges are in the northwestern corner. A broad 
plain characterizes the coastal region, where the 
surface is slightly elevated above the sea, but 
it rises quite uniformly toward the interior. 
Between the coastal plain and the mountains is 
a broad area known as the Piedmont plateau, 
which extends over about one-third of the 
State. Numerous swamps prevail in the low 
region of the coast, but the largest marshy tract 
57 


is the Okefinokee Swamp, which is 30 miles 
wide and 45 miles long, and a small part of it 
extends into Florida. Off the coast are numer¬ 
ous islands, including Ossahaw, Saint Cather¬ 
ine’s, Sapelo, Saint Simon’s, and Cumberland. 

The rivers form a valuable network of drain¬ 
age and furnish considerable transportation 
facilities. Much of the northeastern boundary 
is formed by the Savannah River, which is 
navigable to Augusta. A large part of central 
Georgia is drained by the Altamaha, which re¬ 
ceives the inflow from the Oconee and Oc- 
mulgee, and is navigable to Macon. Other 
rivers that flow into the Atlantic include the 
Ogeechee, the Satilla, and the Saint Mary’s, 
the last mentioned forming a part of the north¬ 
ern boundary of Florida. The Coosa and sev¬ 
eral of its tributaries, which belong to the 
Alabama River basin, drain the northwestern 
part of the State. A number of rivers flow 
southward into the Gulf of Mexico, including 
the Appalachicola, which is formed at the south¬ 
western corner of the State by the junction of 
the Flint and the Chattahoochee, the latter 
forming a large part of the western boundary. 
No lakes of importance are located within the 
State, but a number of lagoons and sounds 
characterize the coast. 

The State has a wide range of climate. On 
the coast in the southern part the annual aver¬ 
age temperature is 70°, while in the valleys of 
the mountain regions it falls somewhat below 
40°. In the northern part the climate is quite 
equable, no season of the year being severe or 
marked with extremes. Snow and frosts are 
very rare in the southern part, where the sum¬ 
mers are long and the climate is similar to that 
of. Florida. Brunswick has a mean tempera¬ 
ture of 69°; Athens, 63°; and Atlanta, 61°. 
The State has an average rainfall of 48 inches, 
being greatest in the northern and smallest in 
the southern part. Fevers and malaria are not 
infrequent in the marshy region, but all other 
parts are healthful the entire year. Far to¬ 
ward the interior extend beautiful forests of 
palmetto, oak, beech, magnolia, elm, and other 
useful species of timber. The wild animals in¬ 
clude alligators, wildcats, bear, opossum, and 
many species of birds and waterfowl. 

Mining. Many minerals are found in the 
mountainous region of the northwestern part. 
Both coal and iron are obtained in considerable 
quantities, hence supply a considerable share of 
the material used in manufacturing. Gold has 
ben produced in paying quantities for about a 
century, and the State yields nearly one-half of 
the manganese produced in the United States. 
Georgia marble is a peculiarly valuable product, 








GEORGIA 


898 


GEORGIA 


both for monuments and the construction of 
bridges and buildings. It is especially valuable 
for finishing stone. Other materials include 
silver, bauxite, limestone, granite, amethyst, and 
beryl. 

Manufacturing. Within recent years the 
manufacturing interests have been greatly en¬ 
larged and diversified, and the State takes a 
high rank in this respect among the southern 
states. The forests yield vast quantities of tur¬ 
pentine and tar, and a large part of the lumber 
products is utilized in making furniture and 
machinery. However, in the value of the out¬ 
put, the first place is held by textiles. In the 
manufacture of cotton products Georgia is sur¬ 
passed by only three of the New England 
states. These products include textiles, hosiery 
and knit goods, cottolene, and cotton-seed oil 
and cake. The manufacture of fertilizers has 
made rapid progress, which is true likewise of 
railway cars, machinery, flour, clothing, and 
rosin. 

Agriculture. About seven-tenths of the sur¬ 
face is in farms, hence agriculture is the leading 
industry. A larger acreage of land is improved 
at present than at any former period, and the 
farms average a smaller size. This is accounted 
for by the fact that many of the large planta¬ 
tions have been subdivided and are worked by 
Negro farmers, though fully 65 per cent, of the 
land is worked by the whites. Cotton and corn 
are the chief crops, and the value of the product 
of these is about equal, though formerly cotton 
held a much larger place than corn. Sea-island 
cotton of a fine quality is grown extensively 
along the coast and on the islands, and the up¬ 
land species thrive in all parts of the State. 
In 1900 the State had 3,343,083 acres in cotton 
and 3,477,684 acres in corn. Oats and wheat, 
which are grown on about an equal area, have 
an acreage of less than one-tenth of either corn 
or cotton. Other farm products include rice, 
hay, potatoes, peanuts, and sugar cane. Cattle 
are grown both for meat and dairy purposes, 
each of which receives marked attention. Other 
domestic animals are mules, swine, horses, 
sheep, and poultry. Fruits of all kinds can be 
grown profitably. The State has very large in¬ 
terests in the culture of oranges, lemons, pine¬ 
apples, peaches, pears, apples, and garden vege¬ 
tables. 

Transportation. The State has a coast line 
of 128 miles and a large mileage of navigable 
streams. In 1900 the railroad lines aggregated 
6,125 miles, exclusive of the many interurban 
lines of electric railways. All of the counties 
have railway or river transportation facilities, 
hence every section can be reached conveniently. 


Atlanta, Savannah, Albany, Macon, Columbus, 
Rome, Athens, and Waycross are among the 
principal railway centers. Savannah is the chief 
export city, being located near the mouth of the 
Savannah and on a number of railways. Bruns¬ 
wick and Saint Mary’s have a considerable for¬ 
eign commerce. The chief exports include 
cereals, cotton, turpentine, granite and marble, 
machinery, manganese, and textiles. The fish¬ 
eries, especially shad and oysters, furnish con¬ 
siderable material for exportation. 

Education. Educationally, Georgia has at¬ 
tained to an enviable position among the states 
of the South. Common schools are maintained 
throughout the State and .are instrumental in 
causing illiteracy to decrease rapidly. Funds 
are supplied liberally to maintain high schools 
in the larger centers of population, while nor-r 
mal schools and other institutions of higher 
learning are rapidly multiplying and increasing 
in effective value. The number of higher insti¬ 
tutions maintained for white pupils include sev¬ 
eral universities, and about forty colleges and 
private institutes, while the needs of the Negro 
youth are met by six higher institutions. The 
State University of Georgia, which is at the 
head of the system of education, is situated at 
Athens. Other institutions which are main¬ 
tained under State support include the North 
Georgia Agricultural College at Dahlonega, a 
normal and industrial school for girls at Mil- 
ledgeville, a technological school at Atlanta, and 
an industrial college for Negroes near Savan¬ 
nah. Besides these are numerous denomina¬ 
tional and nonsectarian institutions of higher 
learning, among them Mercer University at Ma¬ 
con, Emory College at Oxford, the Wesleyan 
Female College at Macon, and the Lucy Cobb 
Institute at Athens. 

Government. Georgia is governed by a con¬ 
stitution which was ratified by the people in 
1877. It confers the right of suffrage to all male 
citizens 21 years of age, with the requirement 
that they shall have been citizens of the State one 
year and of the county six months, and that they 
have registered and paid assessed taxes. The 
Governor is elected for a term of two years 
and is ineligible for four years after having 
served two terms. He has the power to veto 
bills passed by the Legislature, but his veto may 
be overcome by a two-thirds vote of each house. 
Representation in the Legislature depends upon 
a population basis, and bills appropriating 
money must originate in the house of repre¬ 
sentatives. The legislative branch consists of 
two houses, the senate and house of representa¬ 
tives, and the members of each are elected for 
a term of two years. A chief justice and five 


GEORGIA 


899 


GEORGIAN BAY 


associate judges make up the supreme court, in 
which the terms of service are six years. Each 
judicial district has a superior court judge, who 
is appointed for four years by the General As¬ 
sembly. The justices of the peace, who are 
elected for four years, have local jurisdiction 
in the militia districts. 

Inhabitants. The State has eleventh rank 
in the number of inhabitants and next to Texas 
is the most populous southern State. In some 
counties the Negroes greatly outnumber the 
whites, especially in the southern part of the 
State, and the whites are most numerous in the 
mountainous regions. Atlanta, the capital, is the 
largest city. Savannah, on the Atlantic coast, 
is the chief seaport. Other cities of importance 
include Augusta, Macon, Athens, Rome, Bruns¬ 
wick, Thomasville, -and Columbus. In 1900 the 
State had a population of 2,216,331. This num¬ 
ber included 1,035,122 colored persons, or 46.7 
per cent. The total Negro population was 
1,034,199; in 1910, 2,609,121. 

History. The history of Georgia begins in 
1540, when De Soto visited that region with 600 
Spaniards in search of gold. However, not un¬ 
til 1733 were permanent settlements made. At 
that time James Oglethorpe founded a colony 
for the refuge of poor debtors and the perse¬ 
cuted Protestants of Germany, and named the 
colony in honor of George II. The settlement 
founded developed into the city of .Savannah, 
but in 1752 the charter granted Oglethorpe was 
surrendered to the British and Georgia became 
an English province. During the Revolution 
the people of Georgia entered into the struggle 
for liberty with . much enthusiasm, but many 
were compelled to leave their homes by the in¬ 
vading armies of England. The first constitu¬ 
tion was framed in 1777, and on Jan. 2, 1788, 
the Constitution of the United States was rati¬ 
fied. In 1838 the Creek and Cherokee Indians 
were removed to Indian Territory, now Okla¬ 
homa, after prolonged troubles and local wars. 

In the Civil War Georgia sided with the 
South, seceding in 1861, and furnishing an ef¬ 
fective force for the Southern army. Its own 
capital, Atlanta, was for a brief time the capi¬ 
tal of the Southern Confederacy. Sherman 
marched through the heart of the State when on 
his famous expedition to the sea. The recent 
history is one of large agricultural, manufac¬ 
turing and mining development. Several indus¬ 
trial exhibitions have attracted attention to the 
superior resources of the State, such, as the 
National Exposition held at Atlanta in 1881. 
The State enacted a law in 1907 which forbade 
the sale of liquor after Jan. 1, 1908. 

GEORGIA, formerly a kingdom of Europe, 


but now a part of the Russian Empire. It com¬ 
prises the territory lying south of the Cau¬ 
casian Mountains, between the Caspian and the 
Black seas, and is bounded on the south by 
Persia and Asiatic Turkey. The region is di¬ 
vided into the Russian governments of Kutais, 
Baku, and Tiflis. Anciently it comprised the 
kingdoms of Albania, Colchis, and Iberia. The 
Georgians trace their history back to Japhet, 
but little is known of them until the time of 
Alexander the Great, who conquered their coun¬ 
try, and after his death they established a gov¬ 
ernment of their own. In the 4th century they 
became Christianized, but many of them are 
now Mohammedans. Georgia prospered until 
the 13th century, when it was conquered by the 
Mongols, and Timur laid it waste in the 14th 
century, but it was liberated in the 15th cen¬ 
tury by George VII. He was succeeded by 
Alexander I., who divided the territory among 
his three sons. It was invaded a number of 
times by the Persians and Russians until 1802, 
when Paul, Emperor of Russia, proclaimed it a 
part of his royal dominion. The Georgians 
speak X language that is regarded a link be¬ 
tween the tongues of Eastern Asia and those of 
the Indo-European peoples. 

GEORGIA, Strait of, a large inlet from the 
Pacific Ocean, in the northwestern part of 
North America, which separates Vancouver 
Island from the mainland. It is about 250 miles 
long, in a direction from southeast to north¬ 
west, and has an average width of 25 miles. 
The Fraser River discharges into it. It is con¬ 
nected with the Pacific Ocean at its northern 
end by Queen Charlotte Sound and at its south¬ 
ern end by the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 

GEORGIA, University of, a State institution 
of higher learning at Athens, Ga., chartered in 
1785. It was formally opened in 1801 and is the 
oldest State institution of the United States. 
In 1872 it received the proceeds arising from 
the sale of lands granted to Georgia under an 
act of Congress passed in 1862, and since that 
time it has greatly increased its facilities. The 
institution comprises the State College of Agri¬ 
culture; Franklin College; North Georgia Agri¬ 
cultural College, situated at Dahlonega'; the law 
school; the medical college, situated at Au¬ 
gusta; the Normal and Industrial School for 
Girls, situated at Milledgeville; the School of 
Technology, situated at Atlanta; the State nor¬ 
mal school, and the industrial college for col¬ 
ored persons. It has a library of 35,000 
volumes, a faculty of 165 members, and an at¬ 
tendance of 2,250 students. 

GEORGIAN BAY, an inlet from Lake 
Huron into Canada, extending into the south 






GERA 


900 


GERMAN EAST AFRICA 


part of the Province of Ontario. It is about 
120 miles long and 50 miles wide. The deepest 
water, which is in the southwestern part, is 
about 300 feet. Manitoulin Island and the pen¬ 
insula of Cabot’s Head partly separate it from 
Lake Huron, with which it is connected by 
North Channel and a short channel south of 
Manitoulin Island. 

GERA (ga'ra), a city of Germany, capital 
of the principality of Reuss, on the White Els- 
ter, 44 miles southeast of Weimar. It is regu¬ 
larly platted and well built. The chief buildings 
include the post office, the palace of the prince, 
the theater, and a number of schools. It has 
manufactures of woolens, carpets, jewelry, cig¬ 
ars, brick, leather, and machinery. The streets 
are well paved with stone and macadam. It has 
extensive systems of waterworks, sewerage, and 
electric urban and interurban railways. Gera 
dates from the 12th century and became a pos¬ 
session of the house of Reuss in the 14th cen¬ 
tury. Population, 1905, 46,909. 


GERANIUM (je-ra'ni-um), the name of a 
flowering plant, popularly called crane's bill, 
which constitutes the typical genus of the order 



GERANIUM. 


Geraniaceae. A number of species are culti¬ 
vated for their flowers, of which the spotted 
crane's bill is the largest. It has a stem about 
two feet high and bears light purple flowers. 
Most species have a bitter rootstock, which is 
used in medicine, when it is known as alum 
root . They thrive best in rocky places, on sandy 


shores, and on the slopes of mountains. By 
cultivation a large number of plants with beauti¬ 
ful flowering qualities have been originated. The 
geraniums commonly cultivated are grown as 
flowering plants and are known in botany as 
Pelargoniums. They are native to the southern 
part of Africa, especially to Cape Colony. These 
have been widely acclimated and are popular for 
window culture and greenhouse decoration. 
They are easily propagated by cuttings, and 
bloom almost continuously under proper care. 

GERMAN EAST AFRICA, the largest col¬ 
ony of Germany, on the east coast of Africa, 
with a coast line of 620 miles. It is bounded 
on the north by British East Africa, east by the 
Indian Ocean, south by Portuguese East Africa 
and British Central Africa, southwest by 
Rhodesia, and west by the Congo Free State. 
The northern boundary crosses Lake Victoria 
Nyanza, the western boundary passes through 
the middle of Lake Tanganyika, and the north¬ 
eastern part borders on Lake Nyassa. It in¬ 
cludes the Island of Mafia, in the Indian Ocean. 
The area is 384,176 square miles. 

A narrow coastal plane extends along the In¬ 
dian Ocean, whence the surface rises gradually 
toward the interior, where the country assumes 
the aspect of a wide plateau with an altitude of 
from 3,000 to 4,000 feet. A range of highlands 
extends through the central part, trending north 
and south, where some of the mountains have 
a height of 6,000 feet. The highest elevations 
are in the northern part, where the volcanic 
peak of Mount Kilimanjaro rises to a height of 
19,720 feet, forming the highest point in Africa. 
Many streams water the country, most of which 
is drained into lakes Victoria Nyanza and Tan¬ 
ganyika, which have their outlet through the 
Nile and the Congo. Few of the rivers, such 
as the Rufiji and the Panzani, are navigable by 
small boats, but many streams are available for 
irrigation. The climate is tropical and plant 
life is numerous and luxuriant. Malaria pre¬ 
vails in the lowlands, but the more elevated 
regions are healthful. The annual temperature 
is 78° along the coast, although it is somewhat 
higher in the lowlands of the interior. Rain¬ 
fall is excessive in some parts. 

The colony has extensive deposits of coal, 
salt, iron, and petroleum. Gold and silver are 
found in the southwestern part, but mining has 
not been developed to a large extent. Agricul¬ 
ture is the chief occupation. The products in¬ 
clude coffee, rice, wheat, tobacco, maize, cotton, 
and tropical fruits. Sugar beets are grown suc¬ 
cessfully in many parts of the colony. The 
domestic animals include cattle, horses, sheep, 
and goats. Timber, India rubber, tobacco, and 













GERMAN OCEANICA 


901 


GERMANTOWN 


live stock are the leading exports. Textiles, 
hardware, and machinery are imported. The 
principal ports are at Dar-es-Salaam, Lindi, 
Tanga, Kilwa, and Pangani. Several lines of 
railroads have been built, including one from 
Dar-es-Salaam inland, and the Cape-to-Cairo 
Railway is projected through the east central 
part. 

The administration is under a governor, who 
is appointed by the crown and assisted by a 
legislative council. Dar-es-Salaam is the capital 
and leading seaport. Schools are maintained 
under the government in the leading towns, with 
higher instruction at Tanga, Bagamoyo, and 
Dar-es-Salaam. The first German settlement 
was made on the eastern coast of Africa in 
1884, but the territory was turned over to the 
German East Africa Company the following 
year, under which trade and colonization were 
promoted. The Sultan of Zanzibar renounced 
his claims to the coast in 1891, when the colony 
came under the control of Germany. About 
1,500 of the inhabitants are Europeans. The 
natives belong chiefly to the Bantu race. Popu¬ 
lation, 1905, 7,365,500. 

GERMAN OCEANICA (o-she-an'£-ka), the 
portion of the Pacific Ocean which lies between 
the Coral Sea and the Marianne Islands and 
extends from the northern part of eastern 
New Guinea to the Gilbert Islands. It includes 
the northeastern part of New Guinea, or- Kai¬ 
ser Wilhelm’s Land, Dampier Island, Long 
Island, the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the 
Samoan or Navigator Archipelago, two chains 
of the Lagoon Islands, the Eastern Carolines, 
part of the Solomon Islands, the Pelew Islands, 
the Western Carolines, part of the Marianne 
Islands, part of the Gilbert Islands, the Ad¬ 
miralty Islands, and a number of others. These 
islands have a considerable trade, but their 
administration requires imperial aid. In recent 
years the revenues have been improving and 
they will likely soon yield returns to the gov¬ 
ernment. 

GERMAN SILVER, an alloy of nickel, cop¬ 
per, and zinc in varied proportions. This alloy 
was first made at Hildburghausen, Germany, 
of 2.6 parts iron, 25.4 parts zinc, 31.6 parts 
nickel, and 40.4 parts copper. The proportions 
commonly used at present are one part zinc, 
one part nickel, and two parts copper. It is 
whiter and harder than silver and takes a 
high polish. Strong acids attack it and some 
organic acids, such as vinegar, affect it ma¬ 
terially. It is used largely in the manufacture 
of forks and spoons, knife and fork handles, 
candlesticks, and watch cases. 

GERMAN SOUTHWEST AFRICA, a 


colonial possession of Germany, bounded ]by 
Portuguese West Africa on the north, British 
South Africa on the east, and by Cape Colony 
and the Atlantic Ocean on the south and west. 
The area is 322,450 square miles. Among the 
chief rivers either wholly or partly in the re¬ 
gion are the Orange, Cubango, Cunene, and 
Zambezi. Walfisch Bay receives the water of 
the rivers draining the interior. It contains 
the most important harbor, besides which are 
Swakopmund, Luderitz Bay, and Sandwich 
Harbor. About 480 miles of railroads are in 
operation. The mission schools are attended 
by 5,650 students. 

The coast region is sterile, but the interior is 
susceptible to cultivation and yields agricultu¬ 
ral products, cattle, horses, hides, and ostrich 
feathers. Deposits of copper -and other min¬ 
erals are found in paying quantities. Since the 
war between the Boers and British a consider¬ 
able number of Boer agriculturists settled in 
the fertile regions of the interior and are aid¬ 
ing in rapidly developing its productive re¬ 
sources. German merchants established trad¬ 
ing posts on the coast in 1883. Several insur¬ 
rections have been raised by the native Here- 
ros, but they were finally subdued in 1906. 
Other native tribes include Hottentots, Bush¬ 
men, and Bechuanas. Windhoek, on Wolfisch 
River, is the seat, of local government and is 
connected by a railway with the harbor at 
Swakopmund. Population, 1908, 246,800. 

GERMANTOWN, a town which was an¬ 
nexed to Philadelphia, Pa., in 1845. It was 
the scene of an important battle between the 
American army under Washington and the 
British under Howe, on Oct. 4, 1777. Howe 
occupied Philadelphia and sent a detachment 
to seize forts Mercer and Mifflin, which caused 
Washington to make an attack at Germantown, 
where he hoped to crush the British. Early in 
the morning two columns of the American army 
advanced upon the village under Sullivan and 
Greene, but the Americans were thrown into 
a state of confusion on account of a heavy 
fog which occasioned a mistake and led Greene 
to charge upon the left center of the American 
army, causing a panic and the loss of the bat¬ 
tle. Washington conducted a retreat in good 
order before the advance of Cornwallis, who 
had hurried from Philadelphia with two bat¬ 
talions. The American loss was 673 men and 
the British lost 575. Germantown was settled 
by Palatinate Germans in 1683. They estab¬ 
lished the first paper mill in America at this 
place in 1690 and published the first American 
edition of the Bible in 1743. At present it is 
a pleasant part of Philadelphia, about six miles 


GERMAN UNIVERSITIES 


902 


GERMANY 


north of the center of the city, and has fine 
gardens and superior buildings. 

GERMAN UNIVERSITIES, the term ap¬ 
plied to the more important institutions of 
learning founded in the German-speaking 
countries, but located principally in Germany, 
Austria, and Switzerland. These institutions 
are the most efficient and constitute the great¬ 
est organizations of institutional learning in 
the world. Twenty-one of these institutions 
are in Germany, of which thirteen are Protes¬ 
tant, four are Roman Catholic, and four have 
mixed faculties. This system includes 4,820 
instructors and professors and about 48,500 
students, and numbers among the alumni some 
of the leading thinkers and writers, both living 
and dead. The institutions maintained in Ber¬ 
lin, Munich, Leipzig, Bonn, Freiburg, Halle, 
Breslau, and Gottingen are the largest. How¬ 
ever, the University of Heidelberg is the oldest, 
having been founded in 1386. Those classed 
as Roman Catholic are at Freiburg, Munich, 
Munster, and Wurzburg and those having 
both Protestant and Roman Catholic facul¬ 
ties are at Bonn, Breslau, Strassburg, and Tu¬ 
bingen. All the courses of study articulate 
with those of preparatory schools, though for¬ 
eigners are admitted to membership without ex¬ 
amination on certificates from foreign institu¬ 
tions of recognized merit. 

The discipline is rigid and expulsion from 
one university constitutes a bar to admission 
to the others. In the higher courses are in¬ 
cluded medicine, philosophy, theology, and law, 
though the natural sciences, civics, higher ped¬ 
agogy, music, political economy, civil and elec¬ 
trical engineering, architecture, and other de¬ 
partments are maintained. The studies are 
largely elective, which gives students the priv¬ 
ilege of pursuing such advanced work ars seems 
best adapted to their needs, while they may 
enroll contemporaneously in different institu¬ 
tions for the purpose of taking additional and 
supplementary work. These universities are 
under the control of appointees of the govern¬ 
ment, who constitute, with the minister of pub¬ 
lic instruction, the managing, directing, and 
guiding officers for particular institutions. 

The expense of maintaining these universi¬ 
ties is borne largely by the state, only about 
ten per cent, being paid by students in the 
form of fees. Among the university museums, 
libraries, and publications those of Germany 
take high rank. In all the great centers of 
learning are adequate requirements to facili¬ 
tate references and home reading, while the 
scientific societies, especially those which fos¬ 
ter original research, are represented by a wide 


range of organizations. Instruction is mostly 
by lectures, the preparatory work being done 
largely in laboratories and during private hours. 
Students may secure lodging and board in pri¬ 
vate families, but ample facilities are provided 
at the dormitories and may be utilized at small 
expense. Most of the courses cover four years 
of work, though in medicine it is often five. 
The class of degrees issued depends largely 
upon previous preparation. A large propor¬ 
tion of the students are from foreign coun¬ 
tries, including many from America, for whose 
accommodation advanced and special post¬ 
graduate courses are maintained in some of 
the institutions. 

The leading German universities of Austria- 
Hungary are at Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, Czer- 
nowitz, and Prague, but the last mentioned 
maintains a faculty in Bohemian. Basel, Bern, 
Geneva, Lausanne, and Zurich have the chief 
German universities of Switzerland. The al¬ 
phabetical list of the universities of Germany 
is as follows: 


Berlin, 

Kiel, 

Bonn, 

Konigsberg, 

Breslau, 

Leipzig, 

Erlangen, 

Marburg, 

Freiburg, 

Munchen, 

Giessen, 

Munster, 

Gottingen, 

Rostock, 

Greifswald, 

Strassburg, 

Halle, 

Tubingen, 

Heidelberg, 

Wurzburg. 

Jena, 



GERMANY (jer'ma-m), or German Em¬ 
pire, one of the great powers, situated in the 
north central part of Europe. From east to 
west it extends through 17° of longitude, about 
750 miles, and its breadth is 600 miles. Its 
northern boundary is formed by Denmark and 
the North and Baltic seas; eastern and south¬ 
ern by Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Switz¬ 
erland ; and western by France, Belgium, and 
Holland. The coast on the North and Baltic 
seas has a length of 1,200 miles, which is equal 
to about one-third of the entire frontier. The 
position occupied by it brings it in closer touch 
with the leading nations of Europe than any 
other country and the leading highways of the 
continent pass through it. It has a total area, 
exclusive of the colonial possessions, of 212,028 
square miles, about one-sixteenth of that of all 
Europe. 

Surface. The northern one-third is a low 
plain and the remainder of the empire may be 
classed as highland. In the southwestern part, 
on the boundary of Switzerland, are the high 



WILLIAM IT. 

William II., King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany, eldest son of Frederick III., 
was born January 27, 1859. He studied in the Gymnasium of Cassel and the University of 
Bonn. In 1881 he married Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He succeeded his 
father as Emperor in 1888. His eldest son, Frederick William, the crown prince, was born 
in 1882. 













































































































































































































































































































































GERMANY 


903 


GERMANY 


elevations of the Alps. Toward the north of 
these, extending far into central Germany, are 
the Mittelgebirge, or Secondary Mountains, 
and north of these are the low plains. No 
great elevations exist, the highest being the 
Bavarian Alps, of which Zugspitze, in Bavaria, 
is the culminating peak. It has an altitude of 
9,675 feet. Other elevations include the Vos¬ 
ges, 4,710 feet, and Feldberg, in the Black 
Forest, 4,910 feet. "The Harz Mountains are 
near the central part, forming the northern 
elevations of the highland. Toward the south 
of these are the Black Forest, the Bavarian 
Forest, and the Swabian and Franconian Jura. 
Connected with them by lower ranges are the 
ridges of the Erzgebirge, the Bohmerwald, the 
Riesengebirge, and the Fichtelgebirge. All of 
these elevations have rounded summits and in 
and through them extend broad valleys of 
great fertility. Numerous streams water the 
highland and fine grasses and forests are abun¬ 
dant. Many inlets characterize the shore, but 
the good class of harbors are confined to the 
mouths of rivers, where the streams have 
worn channels through the rather shallow sea. 
The lowlands form a somewhat sandy plain, 
which is diversified by elevations attaining 
heights of about 750 feet. In the northeastern 
part are many lakes, including a number of 
inlets known as Haffs, of which Kurisches 
Haff and Frisches Haff are the most impor¬ 
tant. In the southern part are Chiem See, 
Ammer See, and Lake Constance, the last men¬ 
tioned forming a part of the boundary with 
Switzerland. 

Drainage. Three drainage basins charac¬ 
terize the surface: those of the Danube, of the 
North Sea, and of the Baltic Sea. They are 
penetrated more or less by tributaries of navi¬ 
gable streams and the valleys are formed of 
loam mixed with sand. The greater portion is 
drained toward the north into the North and 
Baltic seas by the Vistula, Oder, Elbe, Weser, 
Ems, and Rhine, each of which receives the 
inflow frojn numerous tributaries. Its south¬ 
ern part, especially Bavaria, is drained by the 
upper Danube and its numerous affluents into 
the Black Sea. The Memel and the Pregel 
drain the extreme northeastern part, and the 
Vistula, which rises in Russia, flows through 
the eastern section into the Gulf of Dantsic. 
The Rhine, in the western part, has its lower 
course in Holland and is the most important 
highway of commerce. The rivers are largely 
connected by canals and furnish a vast net¬ 
work of means to navigate the interior, while 
many jetties have been constructed to deepen 
and improve the rivers. 


Climate. Germany has a temperate climate 
and the high elevations of the southern part 
render it quite equable. The colder section is 
in the northeastern part, bordering on the Bal¬ 
tic, and the warmer region is in the basin of 
the Rhine. Ice obstructs navigation a part of 
the year at the ports of the Baltic, but those of 
the North Sea are open practically the entire 
year, where the climate is influenced noticeably 
by the warm winds from the Atlantic. The 
mean temperature fpr the year is about 70°, 
ranging somewhat above that in the southern 
part and a little below it in. the northern part. 
All sections of the empire have an abundance 
of rain for the germination and growth of all 
classes of plants common to the Temperate 
Zone, though it varies considerably according 
to locality and season. The heaviest precipi¬ 
tation is in the vicinity of some of the moun¬ 
tain ranges, where it reaches 40 inches, while 
the northern section has from 25 to 30 inches. 
Heavy storms and . winds do not prevail, but 
the northern part has a heavy snowfall. 

Flora and Fauna. Nearly one-fifth of the 
empire is covered with forest, consisting chiefly 
of deciduous trees, and these receive as much 
care as the cultivated fields. Among the chief 
species are oak, elm, beech, fir, and pine. 
Coniferous trees are most abundant in the 
eastern part, and the beech may be said to be 
the most prominent tree in the eastern sec¬ 
tion. More than seventy per cent, of the en¬ 
tire area is under cultivation, either for agri¬ 
cultural or horticultural purposes. 

Small game is abundant in the forests and 
wolves and wild boars are found in reserva¬ 
tions and some of the mountains. The wild 
goat, marten, fox, otter, deer, chamois, and 
badger frequent the. Alpine region, and the 
elk and fallow deer are protected in the pre¬ 
serves. The region of plains in the north is 
frequented by aquatic birds, such, as the duck, 
snipe, and goose, which migrate there from 
the northern seas. Storks are abundant and 
are frequently found in the high buildings of 
cities, where they are protected by government 
regulations. The coast and stream fisheries 
are very valuable and produce merchantable 
quantities of the clam, eel, trout, salmon, carp, 
tunny, and oysters. 

Mining. The geological formations are di¬ 
versified, the principal characteristics being the 
recent sand loam deposits of the northern por¬ 
tion, Jurassic rocks in the central part, and 
Palaeozoic rocks in the southern section. Min¬ 
ing is an important enterprise, especially in 
coal and iron, in which Germany takes third 
rank, being exceeded only by Great Britain 


GERMANY 


904 


GERMANY 


and the United States. These minerals are 
widely distributed over the country, especially 
in the southwestern part, and the output comes 
largely from Bavaria, Baden, and Alsace-Lor¬ 
raine. A large number of the mines are owned 
and operated by the government. Formerly 
bituminous and anthracite were mined exclu¬ 
sively, but the larger demand for fuel in the 
manufactories has caused a large output of 
lignite coal. Prussia is a heavy producer of 
copper, lead, zinc, nickel, and cobalt, though 
these minerals are distributed more or less over 
the empire. The silver mines take rank as the 
richest in Europe. Rock and other salts and 
potash salts are abundant. Other minerals in¬ 
clude limestone, granite, sandstone, petroleum, 
and ocher. The quarries yield a large output 
for building purposes and monumental work. 

Agriculture. About two-thirds of the sur¬ 
face is in a high state of cultivation and is used 
either for pasturage or the growing of crops. 
Though one-third of the people engage in agri¬ 
culture, the products are not sufficient to sup¬ 
ply the demand. Great care is exercised in 
cultivating the soil, and many of the hillsides 
and mountain slopes are terraced to make hus¬ 
bandry possible. A large majority of the farms 
are small, ranging in extent from five to twenty 
acres, and the number that exceed 300 acres is 
comparatively insignificant. Modern methods 
are employed in all departments of farming, 
and a large number of steam plows, seeders, 
self-binding harvesters, and steam threshers 
are in use. This is accounted for largely by 
the increase of manufacturing enterprises, 
which have been the means of producing and 
introducing newer methods. 

Rye is grown most extensively of the cereals, 
and is cultivated on about three times more 
land than either wheat or barley, though these 
can be raised profitably in all sections of the 
empire. Oats take second rank among 'the 
cereals. Corn is grown chiefly in the southern 
part. The acreage of hay is about equal to 
that of rye, being an important crop on account 
of the extensive interests in dairying. Ger¬ 
many has first place in the production of sugar 
beets and in this product has made greater 
progress than any other country, the enterprise 
being encouraged by bonuses paid by the gov¬ 
ernment. The vine is a staple product along 
the Rhine, Main, Moselle, and in Swabia and 
Brandenburg, and the Rhine wines are famous 
in the markets of the world. Garden vegeta¬ 
bles of all kinds, flax, tobacco, hops, barley, 
spelt and rape* are cultivated extensively. All 
classes of domestic animals thrive, but the 
largest share of attention is given to raising 


cattle for their meat and dairy products. Next 
in the order of importance are horses, sheep, 
swine, and goats. The Prussian studs and the 
Holstein cattle have a wide reputation. 

Manufacturing. Germany ranks as the third 
manufacturing country of the world, being ex¬ 
ceeded in the output only by Great Britain and 
the United States. About forty per cent, of 
the entire population are engaged in manufac¬ 
turing enterprises, which include about 275 dis¬ 
tinct industries. In the production of beet su¬ 
gar it takes first rank, and it is classed among 
the leading nations in the output of steel and 
iron manufactures. However, the largest per 
cent, of persons engaged in any of the manu¬ 
facturing industries are employed in making 
clothing, and those next in order are the build¬ 
ing trades and the manufacture of foods. The 
textile industry furnishes a very large share 
of the commodities exported, especially the 
preparation of flax and the weaving of linen 
fabrics, although the output of cotton and 
woolen goods takes high rank. Other enter¬ 
prises of this class include those of the velvet, 
silk, carpet, lace, and damask industries. Large 
interests are vested in the manufacture of 
toys, scientific instruments, armor plate, hard¬ 
ware, sailing vessels, spirituous liquors, earth¬ 
enware, leather, paper, and heavy artillery 
pieces and projectiles. Large shipyards are 
located at Hamburg, Stettin, Bremen, Kiel, 
and Dantzic. Germany has extensive interests 
in the manufacture of rubber and gutta-percha 
goods, carved wooden specialties, clocks and 
musical histruments, and glassware. 

Transportation. Germany had an extensive 
system of transportation even before steam and 
electricity came into use, which consisted of 
well-improved highways, canals, and navigable 
streams. The Rhine, Elbe, Weser, Oder, and 
Vistula are navigable, and these and others 
have been materially improved by the construc¬ 
tion of jetties and canals. Among the principal 
canals are the Finow, 40 miles long, in Bran¬ 
denburg; the Ludwig’s, 110 miles, in Bavaria, 
which unites the Black Sea and the North Sea 
by connecting the Danube and the Main; and 
the Kiel and Ider Canal, 21 miles, which unites 
the North and Baltic seas. The Great Canal 
extends from Kiel to the Elbe, facilitating the 
movement of the largest vessels, and is now 
used extensively for commerce between the 
North and Baltic seas. The Kaiser Wilhelm 
Canal affords a short outlet from the Baltic to 
the Atlantic. 

Germany has 36,943 miles of railway lines 
and is exceeded in railroad mileage only by 
Russia and the United States.' These lines are 



GERMANY 


905 


GERMANY 


owned principally by the national government, 
or by that of the states, and they are operated 
as public enterprises. Berlin is the most ex¬ 
tensive railroad center in the empire, but lines 
penetrate every section of the country. In 
addition there are a large number of electric 
railways, both in the cities and throughout 
many parts of the country. The government 
maintains an efficient mail service and systems 
of telephone and telegraph lines. Stone and 
macadamized highways are numerous and in 
good condition. 

Commerce. The foreign commerce of Ger¬ 
many is of vast importance and is exceeded 
only by that of Great Britain. At present the 
annual imports aggregate $1,750*000,000 and 
the exports, $1,500,000,000, being larger than 
the combined exports and imports of the United 
States, which aggregate $2,750,000,000. Tex¬ 
tiles, chemicals, coal, machinery, scientific in¬ 
struments, leather goods, and clothing are the 
chief exports, while the imports consist prin¬ 
cipally of breadstuffs and raw materials. The 
greater share of trade is with Russia, Great 
Britain, the United States, Austria-Hungary, 
France, Argentina, India, Belgium, the Nether¬ 
lands, Italy, and Switzerland. 

Colonies. The development of colonial pos¬ 
sessions and commercial interest is a national 
policy. Its colonies include Kamerun, German 
East Africa, Togoland, German Southwest Af¬ 
rica, Kaiser Wilhelm’s Land, the Ladrones, the 
Carolina Islands, the Marshall Islands, Kiau- 
chua in China, the Bismarck Archipelago, the 
Pelew Islands, the Marianne Islands, the Solo¬ 
mon Islands, and part of the Samoan Islands. 
These possessions have an area of 1,027,950 
square miles and a population of 12,500,000, 
and are governed through a centralized bureau¬ 
cracy. Trade with the colonies has increased 
steadily the past decade, the imports amount¬ 
ing to $12,500,000 and the exports from the 
colonies being $7,500,000, of which the mother 
country received about fifty per cent. The ex¬ 
penditures on account of the colonies have been 
somewhat larger than the .receipts, though the 
burden has been lessened materially by the 
development of a growing trade. 

Education. The educational affairs of Ger¬ 
many are in a prosperous and effective condi¬ 
tion, its schools, colleges, and universities tak¬ 
ing the highest rank among the nations of 
Europe. For many years it was the land of 
pedagogy, in which teachers flourished who 
gave impulse and enthusiasm to its educational 
arts, promulgated basic principles vital in the 
education of man, and paved the way for 
progress in other lands. Elementary schools, 


or Volkschulen, are supported in all communi¬ 
ties, while institutions disseminating knowledge 
of industry, arts, sciences, and higher educa¬ 
tion are established and maintained under state 
and national supervision. The elementary 
schools include 61,500, in which 125,500 teachers 
give instruction and 8,980,000 pupils attend. 
Higher education is centered in 21 universities, 
at the head of which is the University of Ber¬ 
lin (q. v.), and the Lyceum Hosianum at 
Braunsberg, which has faculties in theology 
and philosophy. The institutions of secondary 
learning are numerous, including scientific 
schools, academies, and gymnasiums. The uni¬ 
versities carry courses in medicine, law, the¬ 
ology, and philosophy. Many of these institu¬ 
tions are equipped to teach political and do¬ 
mestic economy, civil and electrical engineering, 
the natural sciences, and the trades, and all 
have museums, libraries, and collections of art. 
The scholars of Germany are renowned for 
faithful research, patience, and thoroughness, 
and have given the world many authorities on 
the important sciences and for professional 
reference. Newspapers, magazines, and peri¬ 
odicals have a wide circulation and are made 
up of superior educational, scientific, and intel¬ 
lectual material. Attendance at school is com¬ 
pulsory from six to fourteen. The number of 
normal schools for the training of teachers is 
reported at 185. 

Government. Germany may be considered 
the successor of the Holy Roman Empire, 
which came to an end in 1806. However, Aus¬ 
tria does not belong to the present confedera¬ 
tion. The states included at present are the 
four kingdoms of Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony, 
and Wiirttemberg; the seven grand duchies of 
Baden, Brunswick, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwer- 
in, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, and Saxe- 
Weimar; the four duchies of Anhalt, Saxe- 
Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, and Saxe-Meiningen; 
the seven principalities of Lippe, Reuss-Greiz, 
Reuss-Schleiz, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schwarz- 
burg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, 
and Waldeck; the three free cities of Bremen, 
Hamburg, and Liibeck, and the crown land of 
Alsace-Lorraine. 

The government is a constitutional monar¬ 
chy, based upon the constitution adopted in 
1871, which recognizes the Kaiser, or em¬ 
peror, as the highest executive officer. It pro¬ 
vides that all the states of Germany are to 
“form an eternal union for the protection of 
the realm and the care of the welfare of the 
German people.” The office of emperor is 
hereditary and in it is vested the power to rep¬ 
resent the empire in concluding treaties and 


GERMANY 


906 


GERMANY 


alliances, declaring war, and concluding peace, 
and the emperor has chief command of the 
army and navy. Internal trade is free, while 
a high protective tariff is in force in relation 
to other countries, which, with the revenues 
from railroads, telegraphs, the postal system, 
and excises, constitutes the chief source of 
government receipts. The legislative power is 
vested in the upper and lower houses, which 
are known as the Bund&srath and the Reichs¬ 
tag. In the former are 58 members, appointed 
by the several states, and the latter has 397 
members, elected by a universal ballot. The 
term of office in each branch is five years. 
The chancellor is appointed by the emperor 
and is the president of the Bundesrath. He 
•has a seat in the lower house by virtue of his 
office, where he represents and defends the 
government in public measures and policies. 
In his general duties he is assisted by eleven 
secretaries, who are at the head of the sev¬ 
eral departments of the government. The pro¬ 
ceedings of the legislative branch are public. 
A bill, to became a law, must have a majority 
vote in both branches, be assented to by the 
emperor, and receive the signature of the chan¬ 
cellor. 

The political parties are organized similarly 
to those of Canada and the United States and 
include the liberal, conservative, and clerical. 
The liberal party advocates a united Germany 
on constitutional lines, the conservatives con¬ 
stitute the imperial party proper, and the cleri¬ 
cal, known also as the ultramontane, is the 
Roman Catholic Party. These, besides the 
social democratic and several other parties, 
comprise the leading factors and are maintained 
by aggressive organization work. The 25 states 
and the crown land of Alsace-Lorraine are 
pledged to a perpetual union, none of which 
has the power to secede or withdraw from the 
confederation. The laws of the empire are 
fundamental and all others must harmonize and 
conform to them. 

Every male citizen of sound health and con¬ 
stitution is required to serve three years in the 
imperial army, in the reserve four years, and in 
the militia or landwehr five years. No one 
may be represented by a substitute, but the 
three years’ compulsory service may be reduced 
one year by the completion of a course in the 
gymnasia. The navy has been enlarged within 
recent years, especially since the war with China 
in 1900, and now comprises one of the most 
powerful in the world. It includes 30 first- 
class battleships, 45 cruisers, 125 torpedo boats, 
18 dispatch vessels, and numerous others. The 
peace footing is 510,350 men and 23,500 officers; 


the war footing, 3,450,000 men. As a whole 
the army and navy are well organized and 
thoroughly disciplined and constitute an ef¬ 
fective and mobile force. 

Inhabitants. The people of Germany are 
classed as Low German and High German. 
This classification includes, respectively, the 
people of North and South Germany, the term 
being applied on account of the difference of 
elevation in the different sections. Emigration 
from Germany has exceeded that of any other 
country, except Ireland. The number of Ger¬ 
mans in the United States is about 8,000,000, 
exclusive of the American descendants who 
have lost the identity of language. The total 
number of German people residing in other 
countries is about 50,000,000, of which the 
greater number reside in the United States, 
Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, and 
Australia, and they are otherwise distributed 
to various sections of the world and in colo¬ 
nies. About 65 per cent, of the population of 
the empire are Protestants and 35 per cent. 
Roman Catholics, the latter being resident most 
largely in Alsace-Lorraine, Bavaria, and Baden. 

In 1905 the population was officially reported 
as 60,641,278, and in 1909 it was estimated at 
65,003,500. It ranks next to Russia in popula¬ 
tion of the European countries, but its density 
is greater, being about 310 to the square mile. 

Nineteen cities have a population of over 
200,000. These include Chemnitz, Charlotten- 
burg, Stettin, Diisseldorf, Essen, Magdeburg, 
Bremen, Hanover, Nuremberg, Frankfort-on- 
Main, Cologne, Dresden, Breslau, Leipzig. 
Konigsberg, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, and 
Berlin. In 1905, Berlin, the capital, had a 
population of 2,04^0,148, and Greater Berlin, 
which includes a number of suburbs, had a 
population of 2,870,000. The remarkable growth 
of German cities within recent years is ac¬ 
counted for by the vast increase in the manu¬ 
facturing enterprises. 

Language. The German language is a branch 
of the Indo-European group of languages. It is 
commonly divided into three parts, known as 
Old High German, Middle High German, and 
New High German. In this classification the 
word “high” has a mere geographical distinc¬ 
tion, and is used to distinguish from the German 
spoken in the low countries, which is known as 
Plattdeutsch. As to time the periods are classi¬ 
fied to include the years 600-1100, from the rise 
of the Franks to the Crusades; 1100-1500, from 
the Crusades to the Reformation; and from 
1500 to the present. While the different prov¬ 
inces still have a somewhat variant dialect, the 
official language and that taught in the schools 


GERMANY 


907 


GERMANY 


is universal, and there is a constant tendency to 
unify the spoken tongue in all parts of the 
region where the German language is officially 
recognized. The language is especially rich in 
synonyms, making it prolific in words to express 
emotion and adapting it to the purposes of the 
orator and poet. There is little difference be¬ 
tween the German alphabet and that of the Eng¬ 
lish, but the orthography and pronunciation 
differ considerably. While the grammar is more 
complicated by the fuller inflection and conjuga¬ 
tion of words, it is notable that the orthography 
is much more in line with natural sounds, and 
as a result spelling and pronunciation are less 
difficult. 

Literature. The year 600 a. d. is fixed as the 
time when Gothic influence began to decline and 
the Franks took the lead in German history. 
After gaining control of Middle and South 
Germany, they embraced Christianity. Collec¬ 
tions of folklore and legends were made as 
early as the time of Charlemagne. That dis¬ 
tinguished sovereign not only encouraged liter¬ 
ary art, but also made a collection of popular 
German poetry, mostly songs. The age of the 
Minnesingers, or singers of love, began about 
1200, when companies of poets visited the castles 
and courts of nobles, where they sang the story 
of King Arthur and the history of Troy. To 
this period belong the “Nibelungenlied” and 
“Gudrun,” in which the story of the heroic com¬ 
bats of Siegfried is related, and in them is a 
detailed account of how Griemhild, the beautiful 
daughter of King Gunther, was won by the 
gallant Siegfried. They relate the story of 
sinking the Nibelungen treasure in the Rhine, 
detail the death of Attila the Hun, and give a 
glowing account of the death of Hagen at the 
hands of Griemhild. 

Another epoch is marked by the introduction 
of the mysteries and passion plays. These 
plays attained to the height of popularity in the 
15th century, and not only gave rise to the Ger¬ 
man drama, but still continue in such interest¬ 
ing exhibits as are periodically witnessed at 
Oberammergau. Though all these and Walther 
von der Vogelweide, the greatest of the Minne¬ 
singers, had an extended influence upon the 
language and literature, it remained for Martin 
Luther to institute the era known as that of the 
New High German. This he did by translating 
'the Bible into the German, thereby giving the 
language a fixed literary value, and he also 
wrote many songs which still engage the atten¬ 
tion of singers in many tongues. Hans Sachs 
(born in 1494) was a contemporary of Luther, 
and his permanent place in literature is due to 
the 6,048 poems from his pen. 


Johannes Fischart (1545-1591) is the author 
of numerous works, including “Christian Edu¬ 
cation,” “The Luckship,” and “The Marriage 
Book,” the last named depicting the joy and 
peace of home life. To this epoch belong the 
popular stories written by the same author 
known as “The Wandering Jew” and “Eulen- 
spiegel.” The 17th century witnessed a period 
of great revival in learning and culture. At this 
time were translated many of the classics, while 
biography, romance, history, and philosophical 
works received marked attention. Martin Opitz 
(1597-1639) is the author of “German Poetry,” 
a work celebrated on account of its purity in 
language and diction. Other writers of this 
period include Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676), one 
of the greatest hymn writers. 

German literature in the 18th century be¬ 
came quite free from foreign influence, and 
exercised a marked impression in Switzerland 
and the low countries. Johann Gottsched (1700- 
1766), is the most eminent literary man of the 
early part of the 18th century, and may be re¬ 
garded the most eminent philologist prior to 
Grimm. His chief writings include the drama, 
“Dying Cato,” while Johann Jakob Bodmer 
(1698-1783) translated “Paradise Lost” and 
published the “ Nibelungenlied.” Frederick 
Gottlieb Klopstock (1724-1803) is one of the 
noted poets of this period and the author of a 
religious epic entitled “Messias,” while Chris¬ 
toph Wieland (1733-1813) takes high rank with 
the cultured poets. His best known productions 
include “Oedron,” a tale of fairy lore, and he 
made numerous translations from Shakespeare. 
However, the most eminent poet of this period 
is Gotthold Lessing, who not only published 
comedies and tragedies of much value, but 
greatly benefited literature by elevating style 
through efficient criticism. His writings include 
“Nathan the Wise,” “Hamburg Dramaturgy,” 
and “The Young Scholar.” J. G. Herder (1744- 
1803), a contemporary of Lessing, is noted 
chiefly for his searching criticisms. Among 
the eminent writers of the latter part of the 
18th century are J. W. von Goethe and J. C. F. 
Schiller, two of the most distinguished charac¬ 
ters in German literature. The names of these 
two writers are inseparably linked to each other, 
and their productions rank with the most emi¬ 
nent in the world’s literature. See Articles.' 

The system of public schools and universities 
of Germany placed the literature on a high 
plane, a result to be expected from the fact that 
its scholars are recognized the foremost in the 
world. Among the philosophical writers are 
such eminent men as Schelling, Haeckel, Kant, 
Fichte, Hegel, Lotze, Schopenhauer, and von 



GERMANY 


908 


GERMANY 


Hartmann, whose productions have been widely- 
translated. The historians include Niebuhr, 
Ranke, and Mommsen; the biblical writers, 
Strauss, Schleiermacher, Paulus, Neander, De 
Wette, and Baur, while Humboldt, Agassiz, and 
Max Muller, who wrote both in German and 
in English, hold eminent places as naturalists 
and scientific inquirers. Heinrich Heine, Lud¬ 
wig Uhland, August von Schlegel, Ferdinand 
Freiligrath, and H. Fallersleben are classed with 
the later poets, Karl Gutzkow (1811-1878) and 
Gustav Freytag (1816-1895) are among the nov¬ 
elists, and George Ebers takes rank as an Egyp¬ 
tologist and general writer, producing among 
others “Cleopatra,” “In the Blue Pike,” and 
“Barbara Blomberg.” The satirists include Jean 
Paul Richter; the humorists - , Fritz Reuter; the 
dramatists, C. F. Hebbel, and the miscellaneous 
writers, Gottfried Keller, Paul Heyse, and Wil¬ 
helm Jordan. The Grimm brothers are noted 
for their eminent services to philology. 

German literature includes the best known 
authoritative works on music, and the master 
musicians have so fully touched the hearts of 
the people that their names are known in all 
civilized lands. These include such eminent 
composers as Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, 
and Handel, in the 18th century, and Meyerbeer, 
Mendelssohn, Weber, Wagner, Schumann, Schu¬ 
bert, Liszt, and Franz Abt (1819-1885), in the 
19th century. Among the eminent educational 
writers are Froebel, author of “Education of 
Man;” Henry Pestalozzi, writer of “How Ger¬ 
trude Educates Her Children;” and Kant and 
J. F. Herbart, two well-known philosophers and 
writers of works on psychology. Among the 
eminent writers of the 20th century are Her¬ 
mann Sudermann (born in 1857), who takes 
high rank as a novelist and dramatist, among 
his productions being “Dame Care,” “Sodom’s 
End,” “Love in a Grove,” and “Honor.” Ger¬ 
hart Hauptmann (born in 1862) is famous as 
a dramatist, his works including “Weavers” 
and “Sunken Bell.” Other writers of this per¬ 
iod include the historians, Ludwig Hartmann, 
Hans Prutz, Paul Hassel, and Johann Penzler; 
the literary critics, P. Schwanke, Karl Federn, 
B. D. Diederich, and M. Neckar; and the writ¬ 
ers of fiction, Max Dreyer, Wilhelm Polenz, 
Hermann Stehr, William Armenius, and Paul 
Lindau. 

History. The German people are descend¬ 
ants of the Indo-Germanic or Aryan race. In 
history they are first mentioned in the year 
113 b. c., when they came in contact with the 
Romans. At that time they occupied a region 
east of the Rhine and north of the Danube, 
and were divided into'numerous separate and 


independent tribes, being bound together by 
language and racial ties. In the time of Alex¬ 
ander the Great the Germanic tribes of the 
Baltic coast were met with, but'"the first au¬ 
thentic history of them appeared in the “Com¬ 
mentaries” of Julius Caesar in 58 b. c. The 
Celtic name given to these tribes was Germani 
and was the name used by the Romans, but 
the term by which they designated themselves 
was the present name Deutsch, meaning peo¬ 
ple. There were about fifty tribes, most of 
which were united in the 1st' century and suc¬ 
ceeded in overthrowing Roman control, driving 
the legions of Varus from their possessions. 
In the year 200 a. d. the Germanic peoples in¬ 
vaded the territory of the Romans and threat¬ 
ened their capital. Later the different tribes 
formed numerous groups, the most powerful 
being known as the Frisians, Burgundians, Sax¬ 
ons, Goths, and Franks. Soon after the .Huns, 
who were pressing them southward, caused 
them to cross into the Roman Empire, and for 
many years they controlled more or less of the 
former Roman possessions. 

The Franks under Clovis defeated the Roman 
governor in 486 and established their seat of 
government near the present site of Paris. 
After subduing the Alemanni, Visigoths, and 
other minor tribes, Clovis became the ruler 
of Gaul, and, after his death, in 511, these pos¬ 
sessions were divided among his four sons. 
The dynasty of Clovis was known as the 
Merovingian and controlled the destiny of the 
German tribes until the rise of Charlemagne, 
who became emperor in 800, founded the Car- 
lovingian dynasty, and gave rise to a long line 
of kings and emperors who for more than 1,100 
years occupied the throne of Germany. The 
empire of Charlemagne, known as the Holy 
Roman Empire, was reared on, the ruins of 
Rome. It brought about marked changes in the 
civilization and intellectual status of the Ger¬ 
mans, and impressed them with a nationalism 
sufficient to endure, though it was suppressed 
at intervals. The vast empire was divided 
among the successors of Charlemagne and sub¬ 
divided successively until many small principal¬ 
ities with potentates having absolute power 
came into existence. In 887 the French and 
Germans became finally separated, at which 
time there existed five powerful divisions 
among the Germans. These constituted the 
Bavarians, Saxons, Lorrainers, Swabians, and 
Franks, of whom the last were the most pow¬ 
erful, and in 911 succeeded the descendants of 
Charlemagne in the government of Germany. 
Duke Henry of Saxony is counted the founder 
of the German Empire, since he was the first 


GERMANY 


909 


GERMANY 


to establish a government distinctly German, 
and largely strengthened the five dukedoms by 
greatly reforming the military system, building 
fortresses, and providing for internal improve¬ 
ments. The Saxons reigned about one hundred 
years, during which time the Wends rose in 
rebellion in 928 and the Magyars in 933, and 
other local differences occurred. However, the 
Saxons maintained their sovereignty and were 
followed by the house of Franconia, which 
ruled until 1125. 

Conrad II. was the first Franconian king. 
He ruled energetically in 1024-39 and succeeded 
in subduing the nobles and establishing an alli¬ 
ance with Canute, the celebrated Danish , king. 
In 1138 the Hohenstaufen dynasty began its 
reign with Conrad III. (1093-1152), who ranks 
as one of the most celebrated kings of mediae¬ 
val history. The reign of this dynasty is noted 
because of prolonged conflicts between the im¬ 
perial powers and that of the Pope and for the 
organization of the early Crusades, Frederick, 
surnamed Barbarossa, being the most celebrat¬ 
ed in this line. The first Crusade was under¬ 
taken in 1095. In the second, organized in 1147, 
Conrad III. took a conspicuous part. He amal¬ 
gamated the strength of his nation into a vast 
army, but both he and his soldiers perished in 
an attempt to reclaim the Holy City, his death 
occurring in the third Crusade, after a reign 
of fourteen years. The Hohenstaufens gov¬ 
erned until 1273, when the Carlovingian line 
became extinct, and the next king was chosen 
by the nobles, who, after long contests, decided 
upon Rudolph I., founder of the Hapsburg 
dynasty, which is still the ruling line in Aus¬ 
tria. Within the period of his reign the royal 
authority was largely extended, important con¬ 
quests were made in southeastern Germany, 
and the influence of the princes was curtailed 
largely. 

In the reign of Albert of Austria, in 1298- 
1308, began the prolonged revolutionary move¬ 
ments for the independence of the Swiss can¬ 
tons. Within the succeeding century occurred 
sanguinary contentions among rival claimants 
of the throne, and in 1415, in the reign of Sigis- 
mund, terminated the persecutions of the fol¬ 
lowers of John Huss, who was burned at the 
stake on a charge of heresy, but this event was 
only a forerunner of the Reformation. Luther 
began to preach the Protestant faith under 
Maximilian I., and the reign of Charles V., 
from 1519 to 1556, fully grounded that faith in 
Germany. The seeds of civil discord germi¬ 
nated during the great religious movements 
resulted in the Thirty Years’ War, which began 
its depressing ravages in 1618. 


The weakened condition of commerce, the 
stagnation of interior trade, and the heavy 
burdens of taxation occasioned by the prolonged 
war brought a desire for the cessation of hos¬ 
tilities, which was first secured by the Peace 
of Augsburg. However, the terms of the 
treaty gave offense to various adherents of 
Luther, Calvin, and the Catholics, and war soon 
broke out anew. In the meantime Wallenstein 
led the army against Bohemia for the exter¬ 
mination of the Protestants, and these move¬ 
ments continued until the Swedes, under Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, came to the rescue of the 
Protestants, when the latter obtained his mem¬ 
orable victory at Liitzen in 1634. The ascen¬ 
sion of Ferdinand III. to the throne, in 1637, 
made possible the Treaty of Westphalia in 
1648, which adjusted religious matters, though 
Germany was divided into 203 independent 
states, and each gave only nominal support to 
the emperor. Besides, Switzerland and the 
Netherlands were separated from the empire, 
while Alsace was ceded to France. After the 
Treaty of Westphalia, Prussia gained strength 
and became the controlling power in Germany 
and the stronghold of Protestantism. This 
led to the rise of the house of Hohenzollern, 
as the house of Hapsburg was Catholic, giving 
Prussia marked advantage over Austria. In 
1702-13 the war of . the Spanish Succession 
brought marked glory to the rising power of 
Germany, but it did not operate to solidify 
and strengthen the internal affairs of the em¬ 
pire. Soon after, in 1756-63, occurred the 
Seven Years’ War, which gave Prussia addi¬ 
tional advantages over Austria. Frederick the 
Great of Prussia strengthened the power of 
the army, replenished the treasury, and made 
that country the center of German unity. 

The power of Germany was almost destroyed 
by the wars immediately following the French 
Revolution. In 1806 Francis II. resigned the 
title of Emperor of Germany, having assumed 
that of Emperor of Austria, with which the 
Holy Roman Empire ended. In 1813 the allied 
forces of Prussia, Russia, Sweden, and Eng¬ 
land frustrated the plans of Napoleon to add 
most of the German states to France, at the 
Battle of Leipzig, and the vigorous assault of 
Bliicher with 30,000 Prussians destroyed his 
last hope at Waterloo in 1815. The congress 
of Vienna now endeavored to restore order 
and organized a German Confederation, of 
which the Emperor of Austria was chosen 
president, Frederick William III. as ruler of 
Prussia, receiving one-third of Saxony. In 
1848 the national assembly, which met in Ber¬ 
lin for the purpose of framing a national con- 





GERMANY 


910 


GERMINATION 


stitution, was prevented from rendering mate¬ 
rial aid by the rivalry of Austria and Prussia, 
and was followed by a Revolution, but Frederick 
William IV. restored order by promising a con¬ 
stitution. The growing popularity of Bismarck 
and his firm rule led to a final union of many 
of the states. 

In 1866 occurred the war between Austria 
and Prussia, known as the Seven Weeks’ War, 
which was the last great struggle for German 
unity, and, under the leadership of von Moltke, 
the Austrians were utterly routed at Sadowa, 
in Bohemia, on July 3. The Prussians occupied 
Vienna on August 23, and the war terminated 
after seven weeks. In the peace treaty which 
followed Austria was shut out from the fed¬ 
eration formed north of the Main River. 
France, jealous of the rising power of the 
house of Hohenzollern, found occasion to de¬ 
clare war when Leopold, a member of the 
family, was offered the crown of Spain. War 
was declared on July 19, 1870, and the South 
German states were enthusiastic from the first 
in supporting Prussia, while the northern 
states showed an equal degree of interest in 
the cause of unity. Two powerful armies in¬ 
vaded France and by a spirit of marked en¬ 
thusiasm won battle after battle, captured Na¬ 
poleon III. with an army of 90,000 men, and 
sent him to Germany as a prisoner. A siege 
of Paris caused that city to surrender on Jan. 
29, 1871. The treaty which followed required 
France to pay $1,000,000,000 as a war in¬ 
demnity and cede Alsace and the German por¬ 
tion of Lorraine to Germany. The most im¬ 
portant result of the war with France was the 
solidification of the German states, the de¬ 
velopment of a spirit of nationalism, and the 
restoration of the old empire. King William 
was proclaimed emperor with the title of Wil¬ 
liam I. on Jan. 18, 1871, before leaving the 
capital of France, and was received, on his re¬ 
turn by his own people with signal demonstra¬ 
tions. 

Among the subsequent events of the empire 
are its constant growth of influence, colonial 
expansion, the building of great railroads and 
canals, and vast improvements in economic 
and social life. The triple alliance formed 
by Germany, Austria, and Italy on March 9, 
1888, strengthened the peace aspect of Europe 
and was renewed by Caprivi, the chancellor 
who succeeded Bismarck. William I. was suc¬ 
ceeded by Frederick, his son, on March 9, 
1888, but the new emperor suffered from a 
cancerous affection in the throat and died 
June 15, and was succeeded by his son Wil¬ 
liam II. The latter at once adopted the policy 


of William I. and Bismarck in extending the 
colonial empire, enlarged the army and navy, 
and vigorously supervised the internal condi¬ 
tions of his dominion. He visited many of 
the leading courts of Europe in 1889, two years 
later he appointed Chancellor Caprivi to suc¬ 
ceed Bismarck, and in 1894 selected Prince 
von Hohenlohe for that position. 

William II. 'visited Palestine in 1898, where 
he took a prominent part in consecrating an 
Evangelical church, the Church of the Re¬ 
deemer, at Jerusalem. The empire became in¬ 
volved in a controversy with China in 1900, 
owing to the murder of the German minister 
at Pekin, Clemens A. von Ketteler (1853- 
1900), and sent ah army and warships for the 
purpqse of securing to the empire an adjust¬ 
ment of important issues between the two na¬ 
tions. Other complications followed and led 
to an alliance of European powers and the 
United States, the allied army being command¬ 
ed by Count Waldersee. The contentions re¬ 
sulted in an extension of. foreign interests in 
China, Germany securing its share of the 
benefits, in addition to a payment for individ¬ 
ual damages sustained. A disagreement be¬ 
tween the emperor and Hohenlohe in regard 
to the policy relating to China caused the lat¬ 
ter to resign, when Count von Billow became 
chancellor. 

GERMINATION (jer-ml-na'shun), in bot¬ 
any, the sprouting of a plant from a seed. It 
depends upon the seed coming in contact with 
moisture and warmth at the proper time. Few 
kinds of seeds will grow after keeping them for 
five or six years, while some must be brought 
in contact with the ground as soon as they 
ripen, and others may be kept safely for fifty 
or sixty years. It is impossible to tell whether 
the germ of a seed will grow, and this can be 
determined only by placing it in a condition un¬ 
der which it will germinate. The seed of the 
soft maple ripens in the spring and germinates 
in early summer, while corn and wheat can be 
kept several years, and the seed of the sensitive 
plants have been preserved over fifty years. 

A seed consists of two parts, the embryo and 
the cotyledons. The former is a miniature plant 
and the latter is the food stored to promote its 
growth. Seeds differ in the number of cotyle¬ 
dons ; corn and rye have but one, the bean and 
pea have two, while the pine and a number of 
others have more than two. When the seed is 
brought in contact with moisture and warmth, it 
swells a little and the tiny stem of the embryo 
begins to lengthen and soon bursts through the 
coats of the seed. Later the two leaves straighten 
and grow larger and the seed coats are thrown 


GERMINATION 


911 


GERM THEORY OF DISEASE 


off, leaving the plantlet stand in the soil. It 
must be observed that the little stem which first 
comes oyt of the seed turns downward and 
points into the earth, giving rise to the roots 
and rootlets, while the other end of the stem 
turns upward and lengthens into the stalk and 
leaves. It is not known why the roots grow 
downward and the stem turns upward, though 
some botanists assert that these phenomena are 
due at least in part to the rotation of the earth 
upon its axis. 

The seedling plant is complete in all parts at 
the time of germination and it develops into a 
matured organism through growth. It has all 
the organisms of vegetation found in any plant 
before blossoming, and its life and development 
depend upon nutriment derived from the soil 
and the air. As the root begins to branch out 
into rovtlets, a little bud called the plumule ap¬ 
pears on the top of the stem, just between the 
stalks of the two seed leaves, and it enlarges 
and develops into a leaf. This leaf is soon 
raised upon a new piece of stem, which carries 
it upward a short distance, and another leaf 
soon appears on the summit of this joint of 
stem, and is likewise raised upon its joint of 
stem. At an early stage of growth the plant 
obtains food wholly from the cotyledon, later 


it is nourished partly by the cotyledon and 
partly by the soil and air, and in due time the 
nourishment is derived entirely from the soil 
and air and the cotyledon, which has now be¬ 
come useless, falls off, though in some plants it 
is consumed entirely by the young growth. 

The nourishment in the cotyledon consists in 
its starch and albumen, but neither is available 
for use by the plant until it has been acted 
upon and made soluble. This takes place when 
it becomes moist, causing fermentation, through 


which the starch is changed to dextrin and 
sugar. Chemical changes of this kind cause a 
rise of temperature, but fermentation does not 
set in unless the moistened seed is subjected to 
sufficient warmth. About 85° Fahr. is the best 
temperature, though it may vary according to 
the nature of the seed. Germination takes place 
in wheat in temperatures ranging from 41°,to 
108° and in corn from 48° to 115°, while the 
most favorable temperature for the former is 
85° and for the latter 98°. Corn having one 
cotyledon, the cotyledon remains under ground 
and is absorbed by the plant. This is true also 
of the pea, both of which have a true leaf at 
the beginning. In the bean, which, like the 
pea, has two cotyledons, the cotyledons appear 
above the ground and there undergo certain 
changes, furnishing nutriment until they cease 
to be necessary, when they fall to the ground. 

GERMS. See Bacteriology; Germ Theory 
of Disease. 

GERM THEORY OF DISEASE, a view 

according to which a specific germ exists for 
each definite disease infectious to the various 
organs. The theory implies that these germs of 
living organisms are communicated from an in¬ 
fected person, principally by food, drink, or air, 
and grow and multiply in the body they come 
in contact with, producing the disease of 
which they are characteristic. The par¬ 
ticles df contagious matter retain their 
vitality during definite periods; this, like 
their growth and promulgation, varies in 
the different forms. It has been demon¬ 
strated that they succumb when subjected 
to a temperature of 200° to 300° Fahr., 
and to a low temperature of from 30° to 
75° below zero, ‘though in each case the 
infectious matter must be exposed for a 
definite time. In the 17th century Haupt¬ 
mann, a German physician, expressed the 
view that invisible germs existing in the 
air may cause epidemic diseases, and all 
the more important discoveries in relation 
to contagion have been made since that 
time. 

The living germs are grouped as micro¬ 
organisms and vary greatly in size and form. 
They multiply largely by fission, especially the 
bacterium and micrococcus. The former is rod¬ 
shaped and about one ten-thousandth of an inch 
in length, and the latter is round in form and 
about one thirty-thousandth of an inch in 
length. Other forms are the vibrio, spirillum, 
and bacillus, the last mentioned being formed 
like rods, slightly larger than the bacterium, 
and multiply by spores and divisions. Animals 
having died from splenic f^ver contain blood 



Germination of a Maple Seed, showing successive stages from the 
seed to the plant with leaves and rootlets. 











GETHSEMANE 


912 


GETTYSBURG 


laden with swarms of bacilli, which multiply 
and throw off spores that can be cultivated, and 
the production may be continued through dif¬ 
ferent classes of fluids. A rabbit or guinea pig 
can be inoculated with artificially developed con¬ 
tagion, and death ensues from the same disease 
as that of the animal from which the contagion 
germ was taken. For many centuries tubercles 
were known to be hereditary and were regarded 
noninfectious, but the tubercular bacilli have 
been discovered. 

Dr. Koch, of Berlin, cultivated the bacillus 
organism and communicated ■ it to animals, in 
whose bodies it was found after death. In 1876 
he published an important treatise on the life 
history of this form of germ life, and in 1882 
announced his discovery of a microorganism 
in tubercles which he regarded the principal, if 
not the only, cause of consumption of the lungs. 
Later he demonstrated that the expectorations 
of consumptive patients contain microbes which 
multiply by spores and infect other persons with 
the disease, even after having dried, in which 
form they are scattered in the air and breathed 
in the regular course of respiration. In 1883 
Dr. Koch discovered peculiar bacilli in cholera 
patients. These organisms are formed like a ’ 
comma and are found in large numbers in the 
intestines of persons who succumb to the cholera 
epidemic. 

The germ theory of disease was investigated 
by Pasteur, who also supported it, and contrib¬ 
uted much valuable information regarding sev¬ 
eral forms of bacilli. Germs enter the body 
and give rise to disease through various chan¬ 
nels, particularly through the. mouth, nose, eye, 
ear, and broken surfaces of the skin. The 
mucous membranes are especially susceptible to 
certain species of germs, as the mucous mem¬ 
brane of the intestine to the bacillus of typhoid 
fever and that of the respiratory tract to the 
bacilli of pneumonia and diphtheria. At first 
the effect is feeble, but the germs multiply rap¬ 
idly and soon cause direct local and injurious ( 
results. A general knowledge of the conditions 
of life of the various kinds of organisms has 
greatly decreased the spread and harmful effect 
of contagion, while pending investigations prom¬ 
ise valuable and specific discoveries of more 
particular and complicated forms. 

GETHSEMANE (geth-sem'a-ne), a place 
about three-quarters of a mile southwest of 
Jerusalem, at the foot of Mount Olivet, and 
contiguous to the garden noted as a favorite 
resort of Christ and his disciples. In this gar¬ 
den Christ retired the night before the cruci¬ 
fixion and suffered the agony mentioned in the 
New Testament. Its exact location is not 


known definitely at present, but is pointed out 
to tourists in a locality where a number of olive 
trees stand in an enclosure. 

GETTYSBURG (get'tiz-burg), Battle of, a 
celebrated battle that occurred July 1-3, 1863, at 
Gettysburg, Pa., about 36 miles southwest of 
Harrisburg. It is considered the turning point 
in the Civil War. The Union army was under 
the command of General Meade and the Con¬ 
federates were commanded by General Lee, each 
numbering about 80,000 men. The latter had 
invaded the Shenandoah Valley, crossed the Po¬ 
tomac at Williamsburg in the latter part of 
June, and was pressing forward to Harrisburg. 
General Meade had just superseded General 
Hooker in command of the Union forces, and 
his plan was to engage the enemy at Pipe 
Creek, but this was frustrated by the Confed¬ 
erates’ attack on Reynolds’ division at Gettys¬ 
burg on July 1, when General Meade hastened 
forward to his assistance. 

The battle raged for three days with fearful 
carnage. On July 3 the Confederates made 



their last charge on the Union army, but met 
with fearful slaughter and were repulsed. As 
a result, Lee was obliged to retreat with his 
shattered columns across the Potomac into 
Maryland. The Union army lost 23,190 and the 
Confederate nearly 30,000, the losses on both 
sides including many generals and officers. The 
successes for the Federate at Gettysburg and 
Vicksburg occurred at the same time. Both 
being decisive, they greatly added to the enthusi¬ 
asm of the North. The national cemetery at 






GEYSER 


913 


GHENT 


the town of Gettysburg was dedicated by Presi¬ 
dent Lincoln, Nov. 19, 1863, and the govern¬ 
ment erected a fine monument in its center at a 
cost of $50,000. In this cemetery are the graves 
of 3,580 Union soldiers. 

GEYSER (gi'ser), a word derived from the 
Icelandic name Geysir, meaning to burst or gush 
forth, and applied to intermittent hot springs in 
various portions of the earth. The most notable 
specimens include those in the Yellowstone re¬ 
gion of the Rocky Mountains, New Zealand, 
Tibet, the Azores, and those of the southwestern 
division of Iceland, thirty miles northwest from 
Mount Hecla. About 100 separate geysers are 
active within a small area of Iceland, situated 
within a radius of two miles. They throw out 
jets of hot water through steaming apertures 
at intervals lasting five or six minutes, though 
some throw jets continuously for a half hour. 
However, the Great Geyser and the New Geyser 
are the largest. The former has an opening 
about eight feet in diameter, and throws up 
columns of hot water to the height of 75 to 100 
feet. In the upper portion the opening is about 50 
feet in diameter, which is gradually widening. 
Its action is preceded by subterranean noises 
resembling the firing of cannon, a slight move¬ 
ment of the earth’s crust, and, after throwing up 
immense volumes of water, steam begins to 
take its place. After a time the fountain ceases 
to act, but the process is renewed after a short 
intervening period. The New Geyser, or Strok- 
kur, as it is called by Icelanders, is supposed to 
be connected with Mount Hecla, which is, per¬ 
haps, true of all those in that region. The 
phenomenon is explained by Tyndall in that he 
thinks the water is brought to the boiling point 
under pressure, after which it explodes into 
steam, and this, occuring periodically, gives rise 
to the intermittent ejections. 

The geysers in the Yellowstone region of the 
Rocky Mountains are the most picturesque and 
powerful yet discovered. About 50 distinct 
geysers are located within an area of 30 square 
miles in the vicinity of the Fire Hole River, 
and throw up water jets from 50 to 200 feet, 
though some jets rise to about 250 feet. Of 
these geysers Old Faithful is the most celebra¬ 
ted. It has an opening six feet in diameter, 
and at intervals of 50 minutes throws water to 
a height of from 75 to 150 feet. Another won¬ 
derful geyser is the Beehive, which acts once 
every 24 hours, and throws up a jet 175 feet. 
The geysers of New Zealand are situated in the 
hot land district of Auckland and present won¬ 
derful phenomena. In this vicinity are numer¬ 
ous natural terraces that form reservoirs for 
cisterns, and near them are thermal springs and 
58 


boiling geysers. Several are characterized by 
emitting continually dense volumes of steam. 
Geysers occur only in volcanic regions. They 
are connected more or less closely with earth¬ 
quakes and volcanic disturbances. Geologists 
generally hold the view that their action tends 
to relieve the interior. It furnishes an outlet 
for matters under the action of heat or pressure, 
and in this manner counteracts and greatly mod¬ 
ifies the more extensive volcanic disturbances. 

GHATS (gats), or Ghauts, the name of two 
chains of mountains in Hindustan, located in the 
eastern and western sections of that country. 
The chain of Ghats in the eastern part have an 
altitude of 1,500 feet and disappear at Cape 
Comorin. The Ghats in the western part are 
higher, ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 feet, and 
extend across India to the Bay of Bengal. They 
are important in that they form a great water¬ 
shed and have gold deposits of considerable 
value. 

GHEBERS (ge'berz), or Guebres. See 
Parsees. 

GHENT (gent), a city of Belgium, capital 
of the province of East Flanders, 31 miles 
northwest of Brussels. It is situated in a fer¬ 
tile plain at the junction of the Scheldt and 
Lys rivers, which are crossed by many bridges, 
and has communication by numerous canals and 
railroads. Several of the canals divide it into 
a number of islands, which are connected by 
275 bridges. The city has well-organized pub¬ 
lic schools and is the seat of a university. 
Among the public buildings are the Cathedral 
of Saint Bavon, a Gothic structure built in the 
10th century; the Church of Saint Nicholas, 
begun in the 10th and completed in the 13th 
century; and the Church of Saint Michael, 
which contains valuable paintings by Van Dyke. 
Other buildings include the town hall, the 
Hotel-de-Ville, the Palace of Justice, and the 
Institute of Sciences. It has beautiful parks, 
gardens, and promenades. The university car¬ 
ries extensive courses of study. It has a li¬ 
brary of 115,000 volumes and 750 manuscripts. 
The manufactures include sugar, hosiery, to¬ 
bacco, paper, ribbons, vehicles, machinery, and 
cotton, linen, silk, and woolen goods. It has 
many flouring mills, machine shops, and rail¬ 
road car works. The harbor is spacious and 
furnishes ample moorage for 450 vessels. It 
has had remarkable prosperity within recent 
years, owing to its conveniences in navigation 
and steam and electric railway transportation. 

Ghent is first mentioned in history in the 7th 
century. Baldwin, the first Count of Flanders, 
erected a fortress on its site in the year 868 to 
defend it against the Normans. It was made* 


GHENT, TREATY OF 


914 


GIANTS 


the capital of Flanders in the 12th century and 
in the 14th supported an army of 75,000 men. 
By reason of wealth and unity the people of 
Ghent were able to maintain their liberty and 
defend themselves 1 successfully against the 
feudal lords, who came from Burgundy and 
Spain to encroach upon them. Jacob Van Arte- 
velde led two revolts respectively in 1338 and 
1369 against Burgundy, and in 1504 it was de¬ 
prived of its privileges by Charles V. of Ger¬ 
many. This conquest caused its prosperity to 
decline, particularly during^ the reign of Philip 
II. of Spain. France conquered it in 1792 and 
made it tile capital of the department of Scheldt. 
In 1814 it was added to the kingdom of the 
Netherlands, with which it was included until 
the separation of Holland and Belgium in 1830, 
when it became a part of the latter. The peace 
treaty between the United States and England, 
known as the Treaty of Ghent, was concluded 
and signed here in 1814. Population, 1906, 
163,079. 

GHENT, Treaty of, a treaty between Great 
Britain and the United States, concluded at 
Ghent, Belgium, on Dec. 24, 1814. It termi¬ 
nated the War of 1812 and was ratified on Feb. 
17, 1815. The British commissioners for nego¬ 
tiating it were Henry Gouldburn, William Ad¬ 
ams, and Lord Gambier, and those representing 
the United States were James A. Bayard, Henry 
Clay, John Quincy Adams, Jonathan Russell, 
and Albert Gallatin. The treaty, as signed, 
provided for the restoration of all Conquered 
territory and for the appointment of commis¬ 
sioners to examine and report to their respec¬ 
tive governments on certain boundary questions. 
Singularly it failed to settle the chief causes of 
the war, which were the impressment of Ameri¬ 
can seamen, the rights of neutrals, and the- par¬ 
ticipation of citizens of the United States in the 
Newfoundland fisheries. 

GHOST, the name applied to an apparition, 
or the departed human spirit as seen or imag¬ 
ined by the living: The belief in ghosts is very 
ancient and has existed to some extent in all 
countries and in every age. Various religious 
theories are based upon the belief in ghosts, 
especially ancestor worship, witchcraft, and to- 
temism. The conception of a ghost seems to 
originate with dreams, a state or condition in 
which the body is inert and unconscious while 
the mind is at least partially active. It is not 
hard to. understand that a savage may be sud¬ 
denly awakened from a sleep, and that his mind 
has a vivid impression of a dream in which 
some departed person was thought of, hence 
the conclusion that the person actually came in 
contact with the living. Besides, many have re¬ 


garded death and sleep quite closely related, 
and instead of believing that the body has de¬ 
parted at the time of death, they look upon it 
as still existing somewhere in its living form, 
ready to pass unseen great distances, or to do 
superhuman acts when brought under the proper 
influence. 

The ancient Egyptians taught that the soul 
has separate phases and that the ka, a phase of 
the soul, remains near the corpse. This belief 
was made plausible to them in connection with 
their art of embalming, since the bodies of the 
dead were to be preserved indefinitely under 
the watchful influence of the ka. To some a 
ghost acts with magic, while others look upon 
such a being as having the spirit manifested at 
the time the person died. Hence, when the de¬ 
ceased, died in peace and contentment, the ghost 
was thought to have a peaceful disposition, but 
one who came to death by violence or under 
great mental agony was thought to have a 
spirit of the same kind. This caused fear to 
be felt by those closely associated with the de¬ 
ceased, a view still evident by those who believe 
certain houses or places to be haunted. 

GIANTS (ji'ants), the persons having ex¬ 
traordinary large stature, size, and bulk. His¬ 
tory mentions giants and races of giants, but 
the occurrence of nations of giants is assigned 
chiefly to the early stages of civilization. Among 
the races of giants mentioned in historical 
legendry are the Laestrygones and Cyclopes, 
while in the English folklore are mentioned the 
Cornish and Welsh giants. The Bible makes 
mention of giants in Genesis, vi., 4, in which the 
sons of Anak, who resided in the vicinity of 
Hebron, are described by spies as of such gigan¬ 
tic size and proportion that they themselves 
were relatively as small as grasshoppers. The 
Bible frequently mentions the Rephaim race of 
giants and the giants of Emim and Zuzim. In 
Greek mythology giants are regarded largely as 
personifications of natural force, and the term 
became applied to anything possssing unusual 
or ^superior power. The natives of Patagonia, 
South America, have an average height of six 
feet and are among the tallest of the living 
races. 

While individual giants have lived at various 
times, there are at present persons who have a 
height, no doubt, fully as large as any that ever 
lived. Among the persons attaining to high 
stature may be named Maximinus, a Roman em¬ 
peror, who was nearly nine feet tall. Queen 
Elizabeth had a Flemish porter who was seven 
feet six inches tall; Cajanus, a giant of Sweden, 
was nine feet; Patrick Cotter (O’Brien), who 
flourished in Ireland, in 1783, was eight feet 


GIANTS’ CAUSEWAY 


915 


GIBRALTAR 


eight inches; and the Swedish guard employed 
by Emperor Frederick William I., of Prussia, 
measured eight feet six inches. It has been 
found by careful investigation that giants die 
comparatively early and have a more feeble 
mind and body than persons of average stature. 
Their parts are usually out of ordinary propor¬ 
tion. Among the more prominent differences 
are broad shoulders and haunches, a small fore¬ 
head and brain, a large lower jaw and a weak 
muscular system. The disproportion between 
the trunk and limbs is greatest. Though the 
cause for unusual growth in the different parts 
is not understood, it is known that some por¬ 
tions grow more quickly than others, and often 
continue to gain in size after other parts have 
ceased to grow. 

GIANTS’ CAUSEWAY, a promontory 
which extends into the North Channel from the 
coast of Antrim, Ireland. It is a portion of the 
basaltic formations found in Antrim County and' 
near Londonderry. Large quantities of basalt 
appear to have been forced outward during the 
Tertiary period, since which time the intruding 
rocks have been dissected by erosion, leaving a 
line of perpendicular cliffs exposed. Some of 
the cliffs are 500 feet high. The Giants’ Cause¬ 
way is exposed for 300 yards, consisting of 
many thousands of vertical columns of largely 
six-sided formations, though many of them 
have five, seven, eight, or nine regularly formed 
sides. While the columnar structures vary in 
size, they range from 20 to 30 inches in diam¬ 
eter. 

GIBBON (gib'bon), the name of an anthro¬ 
poid ape native to the East Indies. It belongs 
to the same division as the orangs, gorillas, and 
chimpanzees, but is smaller and has a more 
slender form. The arms are sufficiently long to 
reach nearly to the ground when the animal 
stands erect. Several species have been studied. 
The active gibbon is remarkable for its power 
to swing itself from one tree to another. Other 
species include the lar, the hoolock, and the 
white-handed gibbon. These animals, while ac¬ 
tive in moving about among the boughs of trees, 
are not able to move rapidly on the ground. 

GIBEON (gfb'e-on), an ancient city of Pal¬ 
estine, about five miles northwest of Jerusalem. 
It was inhabited by Hivites at the time Joshua 
conquered Canaan, but they obtained safety and 
protection from Israel by professing to have 
come from a far country. When the deception 
was discovered, the Gibeonites were degraded 
to the condition of hereditary “hewers of wood 
and drawers of water unto all the congrega¬ 
tion.” The five kings of the Amorites besieged 
Gibeon because it had concluded an alliance with 


Israel, but Joshua marched against them and it 
is said that “the sun stood still, and the moon 
stayed, until the people had avenged themselves 
upon their enemies.” Saul persecuted and near¬ 
ly exterminated the Gibeonites and their land 
was possessed by the tribe of Benjamin, but 
later it became a possession of the Levites. The 
sanctuary was at Gibeon in a part of the reigns 
of David and Solomon. The village of El-Jib, 
located on a summit of a hill characterized by 
massive ruins, is supposed to be the site of 
Gibeon. 

GIBRALTAR (ji-bral'ter), a town in the 

southwestern 'part of Spain, situated on the west 
side of a strongly fortified rocky peninsula of 
the same name, both belonging to Great Britain. 
The town occupies a site north of the place 
where the peninsula terminates in Europa Point, 
bn Gibraltar Bay, and has a convenient and 
spacious harbor. It is a free port, has impor¬ 
tant commercial business, and is utilized by the 
British as a distributing station for their manu¬ 



factures. The principal street is about one mile 
long, with which others intersect at right angles. 
It has many large "buildings, including barracks, 
two theaters, a naval hospital, the governor’s 
building, several churches, and the admiralty. 
The chief export commodity from the town is 
wine, though there is a considerable trade in 
fruits, textiles, and machinery. Several remains 
of cathedrals of Moorish construction are in evi¬ 
dence, and near the town are the celebrated Al¬ 
ameda Gardens. The lighthouse, built in 1841, 
is situated on Europa Point, casting a light 150 
feet above the sea, which can be seen fully 
twenty miles. The population of the town, in- 











GIBRALTAR 


916 


GILDING 


eluding the garrison of about 6,000 men, is 26,- 
382. 

The rocky peninsula of Gibraltar rises to an 
elevation of 1,410 feet. It is three miles long 
and three-fourths of a mile wide, and is con¬ 
nected with the mainland by a sandy isthmus 
known as the neutral ground. On the west is 
the Bay of Gibraltar, and its eastern and south¬ 
ern shore is washed by the open sea. Powerful 
artillery is planted on the entire rocky precipice. 
The south side is almost inaccessible, while the 
precipitous and rugged extremity on the we^t is 
made impregnable by powerful batteries. Cav¬ 
erns and galleries sufficient for the passage of 
carriages have been cut through the solid rock 
in various angular and parallel lines, and at 
intervals of twelve yards portholes have been 
drilled, which serve for firing heavy ordnance. 
Besides these are numerous caverns, of which 
the Hall of Michael is the largest, having a 
height of 70 feet, a width of 90 feet, and a 
length of 225 feet, with stalactite pillars support¬ 
ing the roof. The entrance to this cavern is 
1,106 feet above the sea. 

This precipitous peninsula was known to the 
Greeks as Calpe. The Saracens, under their 
leader Tarik Ibn-Zeyad, first fortified it in 711- 
12, after whom it was called Gebel-al-tarik, from 
which its present name was originated. Later it 
fell into the hands of the Moors and was con¬ 
quered by the Spaniards in 1462, who so 
strengthened the works that engineers consid¬ 
ered it impregnable. After a vigorous bom¬ 
bardment by the Dutch and English forces in 
1704, it was reduced and captured. The Peace 
of Utrecht conveyed it to the English in 1713, 
in whose hands it has since remained, though 
desperate efforts to dislodge them were made by 
the French and Spanish in 1779, but they were 
completely repulsed after battling in vain for 
six days. It is no longer the key to the Medi¬ 
terranean, since modern warships are able to 
pass it without sustaining effective damages by 
the guns of the fortress, and, besides, it is not 
at all likely that the fortress would hold out 
against modern implements of war. The rocky 
eminence of Gibraltar and Abjla, now called 
Ceuta, a precipitous cliff across the Strait of 
Gibraltar, were anciently called the pillars of 
Hercules. 

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow channel 
connecting the Mediterranean with the Atlantic. 
It is 36 miles long and has an average 
depth of 900 feet. At its narrowest point, west 
of Gibraltar, it is about ten miles wide. A 
strong and continual current flows in the center 
of the strait into the sea from the Atlantic, an 
opposite current passing at the bottom along the 
9 


coasts, into the ocean. The strait separates the 
Iberian Peninsula from Africa. 

GIBRALTAR, Strait of. See Gibraltar. 

GILA (he la), a river of the United States, 
rises in the northwestern part of New Mexico, 
flows westward through Arizona, and joins the 
Colorado at Yuma, about fifty miles from the 
mouth of the latter river. The length is 500 
miles. Among its tributaries are the Rio San 
Pedro, Rio Santa Cruz, and Rio Verde. The 
Rio Santa Cruz discharges into the Gila only 
part of the year, being lost in the sand much of 
the time. Ruins of a prehistoric people are 
found in the Gila basin, and in its proximity are 
mines that yield gold and silver. 

GILA MONSTER, a poisonous lizard, one of 
the largest in North America, fo.und in the re¬ 
gion of the Gila River and the sandy deserts of 
Mexico. It is inactive and stupid. The average 
length of the body is about one foot. At the 
base of the teeth, which are grooved like those 
of snakes, are large salivary glands. The bite 
is fatal to small animals and is considered 
somewhat dangerous to man. The gila mon¬ 
ster is classed with the hcloderma, a genus of 
North American lizards, which embraces only 
two species. 

GILBERT ISLANDS, an archipelago in the 

Pacific Ocean, located on the Equator, almost 
south of the Marshall Islands. The group in¬ 
cludes sixteen small islands, chiefly of coral 
formation, and the area is 166 square miles. 
Cocoanut, taro, and various tropical fruits are. 
the chief products. The climate is favorable 
and the inhabitants are mostly semicivilized, 
but a number have been converted to Chris¬ 
tianity. A part of the islands formerly be¬ 
longed to Germany, but since 1892 they have 
been British territory. Population, 1906, 35,036. 

GILDING (gild'ing), the process of apply¬ 
ing a thin layer of gold to a surface, such as 
the surfaces of wood, paper, metal, leather, 
plaster of Paris, etc. While the processes of 
gilding differ with the nature of the substance 
to be gilded and the kind of effect required to 
be produced, they may all be classified under 
three heads: mechanical gilding, chemical gild¬ 
ing, and encaustic gilding. In a common meth¬ 
od of mechanical gilding or oil gilding, from 
four to ten coats of whiting mixed with white 
glue are applied, each in turn being smoothed 
down with sandpaper and a pumice stone. This 
surface receives the gold leaf, which is put on 
by means of a brush. 'A false gilding, although 
an old invention, is now used extensively to 
make a cheap and quite durable gilding. The 
molding is first covered with silver leaf or tin 
foil and then is coated with a yellow paint. 




GILEAD 


917 


GINSENG 


Metals are usually gilded by a process of 
electrotyping (q. v.), but, besides this, various 
methods of chemical gilding are employed. 
Water or wash gilding consists in applying to 
metal a wash of an amalgam of gold and mer¬ 
cury and afterward evaporating the mercury by 
heat, leaving the gold firmly adhering to the 
surface of the metal. It is worth noticing that 
this process of gilding is the best form, being 
more durable than electro-gilding, and is now 
used in the more costly kinds of decorative 
work. Fully 30,000 buttons an inch in diame¬ 
ter may be gilded with one ounce of gold. 
Other methods of chemical gilding are cold 
gilding, Grecian gilding, and gilding by immer¬ 
sion. Encaustic gilding is applied usually to 
glass and porcelain. An amalgam of gold pro¬ 
tosulphide with iron and turpentine, or other 
substances, is painted on the ware, and the 
whole is subjected to heat, which fixes the gold, 
the luster being brought out by burnishing. 

GILEAD (gil'e-ud), a mountainous region 
in Palestine, lying east of the Jordan. It be¬ 
came famous because of being allotted to the 
tribes of Gad, Manasseh, and Reuben, being 
of much pastoral value for their large herds. 
The Scriptures mention its fertility in produc¬ 
ing grasses and forests, and names Jabesh, 
Ramoth, and Jazer as its important cities. 
Among its rivers were the Arnon and the Jab- 
bok. It was rich in aromatic plants. 

Gilead was conquered from Sihon and Og 
and was held against the Midianites, Ammon¬ 
ites, and Syrians. However, it was finally cap¬ 
tured by the Assyrians, who carried the people 
away in captivity. David found an asylum in 
Gilead during the rebellion of Absalom. Here 
Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, was proclaimed 
King by Abner. Jesus visited the region sev¬ 
eral times. 

GILLS, the respiratory organs of aquatic 
animals, as fishes, amphibians, mollusks, and 
crustaceans, serving to breathe the air dissolved 
in water. In fishes they consist of vascular 
processes of mucous merpbrane on either side 
of the neck. Water is taken into the mouth 
and forced out through the gill slides, which 
act upon the blood as it circulates through the 
vascular fibrils. The gills in invertebrates are 
variously situated. 

GILOLO (je-lolo), or Jilolo, an island of 
the East Indies, the largest of the Moluccas or 
Spice Islands, and sometimes called Halma- 
hera. It has an area of 6,350 square miles. 
The surface is mountainous, the coasts are ir¬ 
regular, and the climate is tropical. Much of 
the soil is fertile. Among the chief products 
are spices, sago, fruits, timber, and edible 


birds’ . nests. Cattle, horses, and sheep are 
grown successfully. Galela and Potani are the 
chief towns. The island belongs to the Nether¬ 
lands. Population, 1906, 120,108. 

GIN (jin), an alcoholic liquor distilled from 
grain and flavored with common salt, juniper 
berries, oil of turpentine, and various allied 
substances. In making gin, as in other bever¬ 
ages, each rectifier has his own recipe for regu¬ 
lating the quantities of flavor used. The most 
renowned article comes from Schiedam, Hol¬ 
land. Alcohol constitutes about fifty per cent, 
of high grade gin. 

GIN, a machine used for raising weights. 
A common form of the gin consists of three 
long poles fastened together at one end, having 
a pulley attached, and the poles are set up¬ 
right with the lower ends equal distances apart. 
A rope is passed through the pulley and fas- 

* tened to a windlass, by the revolution of which 
the weight is raised. The gin for raising coal 
and other substances from mines is made by 
erecting a shaft with a large drum, to which 
is attached a transverse beam, having a horse 
hitched at one end. The horse is driven in a 
circle to raise the weight. The horse power 
is disappearing rapidly before the steam engine, 
but the drum is still in common use. 

GINGER (jin'jer), a genus of plants indig¬ 
enous to the East Indies, but now cultivated 
in the West Indies, South America and West 
Africa. The ginger of commerce is obtained 
from the rootstalk, which is about the thickness 
of a man’s finger. A very noted grade of gin¬ 
ger comes from Jamaica. It is used as a medi¬ 
cine, especially in a powdered form, and in 
preparing mild drinks, such as ginger ale. In 
medicine it is used chiefly as a stomachic. Es¬ 
sence of ginger, which is properly a tincture 
prepared of alcohol and ginger, is of value 
for flavoring. 

GINGHAM (ging'am), a class of cotton 
dress goods woven of plain dyed yarn, usually 
in checks or plaids. Real ginghams differ from 

• calico in that the colors are woven with the cloth 
instead of being stamped on after weaving. Al¬ 
though gingham was first made in the East, es¬ 
pecially in India, it is now an important article 
of manufacture in Europe and America. 

GINSENG (jin'seng), the root of the Panax 
ginseng, which is native to Asia and North 
America. It is so named from a Chinese word 
which signifies likeness of a man, owing to the 
fact that specimens are sometimes found which 
resemble the human form. These are particu¬ 
larly valuable and often sell for their weight in 
gold. The ordinary prices range from $2 to $4 
per pound. The Chinese employ ginseng for 





GIRAFFE 


918 


GIZZARD 


aromatic purposes, but principally as a Jfhnacea 
in cases of bodily weakness, though its virtues 
are limited. Ginseng is collected in many parts 
of the United States for exportation. It is 
cultivated in so’me places, but not very profita¬ 
bly, since it requires about five years for the root 
to mature. 

GIRAFFE (ji-raf'), or Camelopard, the 
tallest of quadrupeds, constituting' a distinct 
family of ruminants and the only species of 
its genus. It is a native of Africa, ranging 
from Nubia to the Cape of Good Hope. 


GIRAFFE. 

Upper view shows prehensile tongue- 

Giraffes are gregarious in habit, living in small 
herds, and feed on the leaves, and small 
branches of trees. They' stand eighteen feet 
or more in height/which is due to the long 
fore legs and neck. When browsing on grass, 
the fore legs are stretched apart as' far as 
possible so as to permit the head to reach the 
ground. The body slopes back, the legs are 
slender, and the hoofs are cloven. On the 
head are two protuberances called horns, which 
are covered with skin, hair, and bristles. The 
tongue is. very long and prehensile, being em¬ 
ployed to grasp food, for which purpose it may 


be protracted and retracted at will. The hair 
is short and smooth, of a reddish-white color, 
and is marked with rusty-brown spots. Their 
peculiar gait in running resembles ja pace. 
Giraffes are inoffensive, seeking safety in flight, 
and in captivity become docile and playful. 
Their flesh is eaten, being quite nutritious, but 
is not esteemed as food by Europeans. They 
supply only a limited quantity of milk. 

GIRARD COLLEGE, an institution of 
learning at Philadelphia, Pa., established in 
1832 under a will made by Stephen Girard. It 
was founded for the purpose of provid¬ 
ing facilities to educate and maintain poor 
white male orphans. Admission is open 
to students between six and ten years, 
and they may attend the institution until 
the age of eighteen years is reached, when 
they are to be bound out in the arts and 
trades. The founder provided that ap¬ 
plicants for admission are to be given 
preference in the following order: those 
coming from Philadelphia; next, Pennsyl¬ 
vania; next, New York; next; New Or¬ 
leans. Since then the courses of study 
and the regulations have been modified to 
provide for the newer conditions which 
resulted from industrial progress. The 
institution has 75 professors and instruc¬ 
tors, 1,800 students, and’ a library of 
18,000 volumes. The value of the proper¬ 
ty aggregates $18,500,000 and the net in¬ 
come is $1,150,000. Some of the ablest 
and most eminent men of America are in¬ 
cluded in the alumni. 

GIRONDISTS (ji-ron'dists), a politi¬ 
cal party of France during the Revolution. 
They were so named from the department 
of Gironde, whose deputies were the ac¬ 
knowledged leaders of this organization. 
Among the chief representatives were 
Guadet, Brissot, Petion, Vergniaud, Du- 
mouriez, and Roland. The Girondists 
were a party of moderate republicans, but 
their opponentSfthe Jacobins, charged them 
emphatically with plotting against the unity of 
the nation. In 1793 twenty-two of the leaders 
were arrested, including Madame Roland, who 
was an active supporter of the party. Most 
of them were taken prisoners and beheaded, or 
died by their own hands. 

GIZZARD, a part of the alimentary canal of 
birds and some invertebrates, whose function 
is to grind up the food. In this respect it an¬ 
swers the purpose of the teeth in many ani¬ 
mals. In birds the gizzard is the second, or 
true, stomach, in which the food is crushed 
after it is softened in the glandular stomach, 










Crevasse in Muir Glacier, Alaska, the Depth Being Over 200 Feet. 













GLACE BAY 


919 


GLACIERS 


or crop, which is situated in the lower part of 
the esophagus. The interior is lined by a 
horny epithelium, or shelly plates. The gizzard 
is assisted in grinding the food by small pieces 
of gravel and other hard substances, which are 
swallowed for that purpose by most birds. 

GLACE BAY (glas), a city of Cape Breton 
Island, on the northeastern coast, fifteen miles 
northeast of Sydney. It is on the International 
Railway and has a good harbor. The surround¬ 
ing country contains productive coal mines. It has 
a large trade in merchandise, machinery, coal, and 
produce. Among the principal buildings are sev¬ 
eral fine schools, a public library, and many sub¬ 
stantial business blocks. Population, 1906, 7,845. 

GLACIAL PERIOD (gla'shal). See Gla¬ 
ciers. 

GLACIERS (gla'sherz), the immense masses 
of ice and snow which move almost impercep¬ 
tibly from higher to lower levels, found chiefly 
in the more elevated valleys and slopes of 
mountains. In the upper parts they consist 
of soft snow, which is later pressed into com¬ 
pact masses, and at the lower portion the ac¬ 
cumulations are constituted of clear, hard ice. 
The great quantities of snow which form above 
the snow line press in masses slowly down the 
slopes. By the pressure, due to the weight of 
the layers, the air confined in the snow is 
pressed out, and the lower part of the glacier 
is thus changed into a compact mass of pure 
ice. In some cases ice is formed from the 
snow by successive thawing and freezing, 
though this phenomenon more or less affects 
all glaciers below the snow line. 

Glaciers resemble rivers, since the solid ma¬ 
terial which passes into them moves as drain¬ 
age within their channel. However, the cur¬ 
rent is much slower, often imperceptible. The 
larger glaciers, like rivers, have numerous af¬ 
fluents, and peculiarities of flow and velocity. 
Where tributaries unite and flow on with the 
main mass, they do not intermingle as the 
waters of rivers, but the mass coming from 
each affluent may be distinctly traced through¬ 
out the remainder of the course. Owing to the 
diminished friction at the top and middle por¬ 
tions, these parts move more rapidly than those 
at the bottom or sides, and in this respect are 
similar to rivers. On the surface they are usu¬ 
ally quite smooth, but at regular intervals in 
the direction of a valley and in the slope of 
the bed they are broken into deep fissures called 
crevasses. These occur most frequently at the 
bend of a valley, where one side is compressed 
and the other extended, and at such places the 
crevasses extend obliquely up the stream, and 
at abrupt descents in the bed directly across. 


The crevasses vary from less than an inch 
to great chasms over one hundred feet in 
width, and in the larger openings the depth is 
generally greatest. On the surface the appear¬ 
ance is a dirty white, while down the walls of 
the crevasses the ice has an appearance of 
deep azure blue. Where glaciers flow from 
elevated mountains in the temperate, climates, 
they usually melt in the warm months of the 
year as they proceed downward, and are thus 
transformed into streams of water. In this 
way they frequently give rise to rivers. Among 
the rivers that have their origin in glacier 
streams are the Rhine and Rhone of Europe 
and the Ganges of Asia. The velocity of the 
ice and the rapidity with which it melts gov¬ 
ern the extent of the glacier below the snow 
line. They retreat up tfie mountain during an 
unusually wprm summer, following a ’light 
snowfall in winter, and, on the contrary, advance 
further down the valley when heavy snows in 
the winter are followed by a cool summer. 

Glaciers possess much transporting power, 
and carry to a lower level large, volumes of 
stone and dirt which accumulate on the surface 
of the moving mass, after rolling down from 
adjacent elevations. The accumulations are 
called moraines. Generally the moraines are 
most abundant at the side of glaciers, where 
they are called lateral moraines. At the point 
where two glaciers unite the meeting edges are 
marked by a crevasse which is called the medial 
moraine, and at the end of the glacier a termi¬ 
nal moraine ex tends across the valley in a wide 
curve. Medial moraines one hundred feet in 
height are not uncommon, while terminal mo¬ 
raines; attain to several hundre’d feet. The 
erosive power of glaciers is very effective and 
tends to greatly deepen the valleys through 
which they move. Evidences of extinct gla¬ 
ciers are found in many localities, and their 
former existence is attested by deep grooves 
cut in.the bottom and sides of the valleys, and 
by deposits formed of rock, mud, and bowlders 
carried by their moraines. When glaciers ex¬ 
tend into the sea, like those of Greenland, the 
base is undermined by the warmer -waters of 
the ocean and the waves break off great frag¬ 
ments, which form floating mountains of ice 
called icebergs. These are carried into warmer 
latitudes by ocean currents, where they drop 
their load of moraine by melting. Icebergs 
appear most numerously in the north Atlantic, 
into which they descend from the extensive 
Arctic glacier region. 

The total number of glaciers in the world is 
not less than 1,100, of which one hundred are 
of large size. In the tropical and temperate 


GLADIATOR 


920 


GLADIATOR 


climates they abound only in the more elevated 
portions of mountains, while whole continents 
and islands are apparently covered by them at 
the poles. Those of the Antarctic regions are 
probably sheets of ice fully 10,000 feet thick. 
The Muir glacier, in Alaska, is about 150 miles 
long and 500 feet deep, and is probably the 
largest in the world. In the north polar region 
they abound extensively, but those of Green¬ 
land and the islands north of North America 
are the only ones known to any extent in that 
region. Others are more or less widely dis¬ 
tributed in the continents. Those of the cen¬ 
tral Alps of Europe have been studied with the 
best results. The most widely known of these 
is the Mer de Glace, which rises on the slopes 
of Mont Blanc and has three large branches, 
descending into the vale of Chamouni. The 
longest glacier of the Alps is Aletsck, which 
has a course of fifteen miles, while the Aar 
glacier has an estimated depth of 1,515 feet, 
being regarded the deepest. 

The Glacial period, or Age of Ice, is so 
named from the climatic conditions which pre¬ 
vailed in the Northern Hemisphere at a time 
when intense cold and sheets of ice prevailed 
in what are now temperate latitudes. It began 
in the Newer Pliocene period and terminated 
before the close of the Post Pliocene, though 
Arctic conditions prevailed only at intermittent 
times. The occurrence of great glacial action 
is evidenced by numerous traces in North 
America and Eurasia. In the Alpine regions 
evidences of early glacial action are common, 
and it is certain that the plants now found on 
the summits .of these mountains were brought 
down from the Arctic regions at that time. 
Man existed during the latter part of the two 
distinct glacial periods traceable in the Alps. 
The cause of these phenomena in past ages is 
explained by Sir Charles Lyell by assigning to 
the north polar regions vast elevations, from 
which the streams of ice moved southward. 
Sir John Herschel attributes astronomical rea¬ 
sons, which seem the more probable. ,The chief 
cause assigned is the varying eccentricity of the 
earth’s orbit. In 1800 a. d. it was .0168, but 
210,000 years prior to that time it was .0567, 
making the difference of 10,250,000 of miles 
and the winter days 27.8 in excess. However, 
the possibility of astronomical causes is mili¬ 
tated against by the absence of glacial periods 
prior to the Newer Pliocene time. 

GLADIATOR (glad'i-a-ter), in Roman an¬ 
tiquity, a man who fought with deadly weapons 
against another gladiator or wild beast, especially 
in the amphitheater, for the amusement of the 
people. The first gladiatorial fight occurred at 


the funeral of Brutus in 264 b. c. between his 
sons, Marcus and Decius. Originally, a gladiator 
was a prisoner, a slave, or criminal; later the 
performance became a mere spectacle, and 
knights, senators, and even women and em¬ 
perors entered the arena. The gladiatorial ex¬ 
hibits were announced by private circulars or 
proclamations. Gladiators marched to the arena 
on the day of the performance, where they were 
matched in pairs and their weapons were for¬ 
mally examined. In many cases the combats 
were fought between a man without arms, but 
provided with a net in which to ensnare his op¬ 



ROMAN AMPHITHEATER. 


ponent and a three-pronged fork with which to 
spear him when caught, and an opponent in full 
armor, who sought safety in evading his enemy 
while seeking to pursue and kill him. The 
audience witnessing the combat became frantic 
with excitement, and yelled and applauded while 
rising in their seats, shouting their approval 
when ghastly blows were dealt, followed by 
blood spouting forth. In most places the aren.a 
was protected from the rays of the sun by a 
gorgeous awning, while strains of music floated 
in the air, drowning the cries of death. It was 
not uncommon to distribute Syrian perfumes to 





























































GLADIOLUS 


921 


GLANDS 


overcome by their odor the scent of blood, and 
the spectators were delighted by the most bril¬ 
liant scenic decorations. , 

The gladiatorial battle opened at the sound 
of a bugle and a shout of command. A gladi¬ 
ator dropped his weapons when severely wound¬ 
ed, and as a plea for life held up his forefingers. 
This was sometimes in the gift of the people, 
but more often was vested in the vestal virgins. 
During the empire the power to spare life was 
lodged in the sovereign. Mercy was signaled by 
waving handkerchief or by a turned down 
thumb, while all hope was forbidden by a 
clenched and upright fist. Only the brave were 
accorded mercy. In the time of Julius Caesar 
it was common to give exhibits by couples fight¬ 
ing. He gave a show in which 320 were en¬ 
gaged. Titus provided an exhibition that con¬ 
tinued one hundred days. In it the gladiators 
fought with wild beasts. The great gladiatorial 
exhibition of Trajan engaged 10,000 men, who 
fought with each other and wild beasts, contin¬ 
uing 123 days. 

The wild beast fights were the most revolting, 
and by them many Christian martyrs lost their 
lives. Among the animals engaged were ele¬ 
phants, rhinoceroses, camelopards, hippopotami, 
tigers, lions, and many others of a ferocious 
nature. During naval fights the arena was 
flooded with water. A naval fight given by Au¬ 
gustus engaged 30 vessels, and during the com¬ 
bat 36 crocodiles were pursued and killed. The 
combatants were classified according to the arms 
they carried. Thus, one carrying a shield, hel¬ 
met, sword, and breast armor was called sam- 
nite; those carrying a lasso or noose, the la- 
guearii; those armed with Thracian buckles and 
a short sword were known as secutores. Gladi¬ 
atorial games were forbidden in the reign of 
Emperor Honorius, about 404 a. d. 

GLADIOLUS (gla-di'6-lus'), a genus of or¬ 
namental plants of the Iris order. They have 
bulbous roots, a tubular two-lipped corolla, a 
trifid stigma, and ensiformed sheathing leaves. 
Many species are native to South Africa and 
Eurasia. The flowers are beautiful and richly 
colored, and many species have been improved 
by intercrossing. In color they are greatly vari¬ 
egated and include pure white, violet, crimson, 
scarlet, and yellow. Each of these is vari¬ 
ously modified and shaded. As house plants 
they are popular, the majority of those culti¬ 
vated in America coming originally from Cape 
Colony. 

GLANDERS (glan'derz), a contagious dis¬ 
ease which affects certain domestic animals 
and which may be communicated from them 
to man. It is especially harmful to the ani¬ 


mals that have an undivided hoof, such as 
horses and mules, but swine, cattle, and sheep 
are subject to it. The disease is due to a spe¬ 
cific microbe discovered in 1882. At present 
no treatment is known under which a cure can 
be effected, though in rare instances the affected 
animal may recover. It makes its appearance 
in swellings of the submaxillary glands, ac¬ 
companied by a dry cough and discharges from 
the nose. These discharges cause the disease 
to spread, especially when left in contact with 
the harness, stables, vehicles, or the watering 
places. As the disease advances small bunches 
or nodules form under the skin, which after¬ 
ward break open and form ulcers. It is rec¬ 
ommended that animals affected with the glan¬ 
ders be killed and that the places. frequented 
be carefully disinfected. 

GLANDS, in anatomy, the organs of the 
body that secrete or separate some particular 
fluid from the blood. Anatomists divide them 
into two great classes, known as true secret¬ 
ing glands and ductless glands. Secreting 
glands are special organs, such as the liver, 
kidneys, and pancreas, and the mammary, lach¬ 
rymal, and salivary glands. The ductless 
glands include the spleen, the thyroid, the thy¬ 
mus, and the parotids. An ordinary secreting 
gland consists of a number of follicles, all of 
which open into a common duct by which the 
glandular product is discharged. The follicles 
are contained in the interior cells, which are 
the active agents in the secreting process, while 
their exterior is surrounded by a network of 
capillaries, from whose contents the materials 
of secretion are extracted. 

In the lower class of animals the glands 
are quite simple as compared to the same or 
similar glands in the higher forms of animal 
life. The mammary gland, which is quite com¬ 
plex in the higher mammal, presents a very 
simple arrangement in the lower types of this 
class, being merely a cluster of follicles, each 
of which discharges its contents by its own 
orifice. The thymus gland is located partly be¬ 
hind the sternum and partly in the lower part 
of the neck, and is largest in infants, disap¬ 
pearing at or about maturity. Its function is 
to form colorless corpuscles in the blood, and 
it likely supplies a need in the infant that is 
cared for by other organs at maturity. Hiber¬ 
nating animals have this gland, which is en¬ 
larged by the presence of fat during activity, 
and appears to supply nourishment and main¬ 
tain temperature during the period of hiber¬ 
nation. The sudoriferous are the sweat glands; 
the parotid glands are the seat of the disease 
known as mumps; and the submaxillary, parot- 


GLASGOW 


922 


GLASS 


id, buccal, and sublingual secrete the saliva. 
Inflammation and solid swelling are among the 
diseases that affect the lymphatic glands. 

GLASGOW (glas'ko), the largest and most 
important city of Scotland, situated on the 
Clyde River, in Lanark County. The southern 
part of the site is level, while the northern 
portion is situated largely on convenient eleva¬ 
tions of varying heights. Many of the streets 
are platted at right angles, being both wide 
and straight, and the buildings are mostly of 
freestone. For architectural beauty Glasgow 
ranks among the best cities of Great Britain. 
A Gothic cathedral in the northeastern part 
of the city is the most historical structure. It 
was. commenced in 1240 and completed within 
200 years. The length is 320 feet; breadth, 63 
feet; and height, 90 feet, with a spire from the 
cenfer 225 feet high. Among the buildings of 
modern construction are the Bank of Scotland, 
the general post office, the Merchants’ House, 
the Royal Exchange, the Stock Exchange, and 
the Central Station and the Saint Enoch Sta¬ 
tion hotels. The institutions of learning in¬ 
clude the University of Glasgow (q. v.), Free 
Church College, Glasgow and West Scotland 
Technical College, Saint Mungo’s College, 
Saint Margaret’s College for Women, and An¬ 
derson’s College of Medicine. The Mitchell 
Library, which receives a grant from the city 
and serves the purposes of a public library, 
has 125,000 volumes. 

George Square, the finest public place in the 
city, contains many monuments of great beau¬ 
ty, including those of Queen Victoria, Sir 
Robert Peel, Sir Walter Scott, and the Prince 
Consort. It has many fine public parks, nu¬ 
merous boulevards, electric lights and street 
railways, telephone and telegraph connections, 
and is the junction of numerous railroads. 
Among the manufactures are woolen, cotton, 
silk, and linen goods, calico prints, dyed and 
bleached textiles, iron and steel, machinery, 
chemicals, pottery, tobacco, sugar, glass, bev¬ 
erages, jute, and leather. In 1895 a central 
underground railroad was opened for traffic, 
which affords rapid transit to many parts of 
the city. Since 1894 it has owned and operated 
the system of street railways. Practically all 
of the public utilities, such as the waterworks, 
meat markets, harbor ferries, and systems of 
gas and electric lighting, are owned by the 
municipality. 

The importance of Glasgow is due largely 
to its location near the mouth of the Clyde, 
which permits navigation by the largest ves¬ 
sels. The interior highlands and adjacent dis¬ 
tricts are reached by means of capals, railways, 


and electric lines. Its harbor and docks are 
very extensive and near them are vast marine¬ 
engineering and shipbuilding yards, which are 
noted for their large output of vessels. In 
the vicinity of the city are deposits of coal and 
iron, through which the manufacturing enter-’ 
prises have been largely facilitated. Glasgow 
was founded in 560 a. d., when the Celts that 
populated the region were induced by Saint 
Kentigren to embrace Christianity and a small 
church was erected on the site of the great 
cathedral. However, its prosperity began in 
1707, when its commerce became widened and 
shipbuilding took on large proportions. At 
present it has seven representatives in Parlia¬ 
ment. Population, 1907, 847,584. 

GLASGOW, University of, an institution of 
higher learning of Great Britain, located at 
Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded by Bishop 
Turnbull in 1451, but was reorganized by acts 
of Parliament in 1858 and in 1889. The uni¬ 
versity is governed by a special court, which 
consists of the principal, the rector, the lord 
provost of Glasgow, and a number of repre¬ 
sentatives of the city and university. . The 
chancellor is elected by the general council 
and holds his position for life, while the rector 
is appointed for three years by the students. 
The departments include those of science, art, 
law, medicine and surgery, and theology. It 
has a fine botanical garden, an observatory, 
and a library of 215,000 volumes. The attend¬ 
ance averages about 2,350 students. Many 
noted scholars and scientists are included in the 
alumni. 

GLASS (glas), the compound product of 
silica, having at least two metallic oxides, the 
most common -being those of calcium or lead 
and potassium or sodium. It is brittle and 
sonorous at ordinary temperatures, generally 
transparent or translucent, and is made soft 
and ductile by heating. The point of melting 
and fusion varies with its composition. Hy¬ 
drofluoric acid acts upon it, though ordinary 
solvents do not. It breaks with a vitreous 
fracture. Its discovery is not known, though 
as a commodity of utility and commercial im¬ 
portance it is as old as any known production 
of man. The Egyptians made use of glass be¬ 
fore the Hebrew exodus. Their monuments 
and ruins bear evidence that they used it for 
vases, beads, and various ornaments as early 
as 3250 b. c. The Assyrians, Babylonians, Phoe¬ 
nicians, Greeks, and Romans were all more or 
less acquainted with and skilled in its manu¬ 
facture. The vases made by the Romans were 
among the most beautiful productions of their 
arts, being finely finished by engraved figures 


GLASS 


923 


GLASS 


and relief forms, variously colored on shaded 
background, and sometimes more or less trans¬ 
parent. Among the surviving specimens still 
preserved is the famous Portland or Barberini 
vase, though relics of inferior productions of 
great antiquity are abundant. 

The use of glass for windows is much newer 
than its manufacture for other purposes. It 
was not utilized in buildings until 250 years 
after the beginning of the Christian era. Euro¬ 
peans began to use glass extensively to admit 
light into dwellings and public buildings in the 
latter part of the 3d century, though for the 
purpose of lighting churches it was used fully 
four centuries earlier. The early Puritan set¬ 
tlers of Jamestown, Va., began its manufacture 
in 1608, and from their rude beginning it has 
sprung into a vast industry in America. The 
production in the United States represents a 
total annual value of about $68,500,000. Prac¬ 
tically all classes of glass are manufactured in 
Canada and the United States and several 
varieties, such as pressed glass, are American 
inventions. The principal manufactures of 
Europe are located in Germany, Belgium, and 
France, though the enterprise is carried on 
with more or less success wherever civilization 
extends. In window glass the American prod¬ 
uct exceeds all others in quality, while in the 
finer plate glass and the grade used for opti¬ 
cal instruments the manufactures of Europe 
still exceed those of America. Among the 
states producing glass extensively are Pennsyl¬ 
vania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, 
Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri. 

In manufacturing the various kinds of glass 
different materials are used, such as fine sand 
or powdered flint, together with salt, alkali, al¬ 
kaline earth, or metallic oxide. Crown, sheet, 
and plate window glass are made of silica, 
lime, and soda. Flint glass used for dishes, 
lamp chimneys, goblets, and bottles is more 
brilliant and tough than window glass and is 
made of silica, lead, and potash, though some 
forms of bottle glass are made of a variety of 
mixtures containing alumina. Any kind of 
glass may be colored by metallic oxides, though 
other substances are employed. In applying 
the coloring matter it may be mixed with the 
other ingredients while in a melted state, or 
a partially colored effect may be secured by 
taking the melted material from two vessels— 
the one colored and the other transparent— 
and in manufacturing the product so construct 
the desired article that a coat of colored glass 
will cover the other. Alumina and silver pro¬ 
duce a yellow color; copper, gold, and oxide of 
iron, the reddish; cobalt, bluish; oxide of cop¬ 


per and oxide of iron, the greenish; chloride 
of silver with peroxide of iron, the orange 
color. To destroy the transparency of glass it 
may be roughened on the ‘ surface, when it is 
called frosted glass, and has the appearance of 
hoar frost. It is used in buildings where light 
is admitted, but the view is obstructed. Among 
the most important properties of glass is its 
transparency, and, next to it, its effective re¬ 
sistance to acids. When heated, it can be 
formed into any shape, or may be spun into fine 
threads and used for ornaments and wearing 
apparel. It is a very efficient nonconductor of 
heat. When cold, it is most effectively cut by 
the diamond. 

In glass manufactories the furnace is con¬ 
structed of fire brick. Two openings are ar¬ 
ranged in the furnace; one contains large melt¬ 
ing pots and the other is employed to facilitate 
placing the half-blown product into the heat 
for softening it. Gas and crude oil are used 
for fuel, as most other fuels emit too much 
smoke. The melting pots are of the best fire 
clay and cement, usually three feet high, about 
four feet in diameter, and are open at the top. 
They are made with much care in order to 
bear the immense heat required in melting the 
sand and other materials of which the glass is 
made. Under ordinary care pots serve about 
two months and the furnace about two years, 
though neither should be allowed to cool. The 
melted material contained in the pots is dipped 
by workmen with an iron tube, called a blow¬ 
pipe, this being turned over and over until a 
sufficient quantity gathers and assumes an oval 
form. After placing the melted glass in a 
proper mold, it is blown and formed into the 
desired shape, such as a bottle, vase, tumbler, 
or some other vessel, this depending on the mold 
used. 

The engraving on glass is effected by means 
of a sand blast, while glass cutting is done by a 
process of grinding on a cast-iron wheel, with 
which water and sand is brought in contact. 
Cut glass is prized for its brilliancy and is used 
in making fine grades of table glass. The or¬ 
namentation is not put on until after the glass 
has been annealed, a process under which it is 
gradually cooled, and requires about 36 hours. 
Sheet glass is made by taking the melted ma¬ 
terial from the pot, when it is blown and 
whirled until it assumes a cylindrical form. 
The ends are then cut off, the cylinder is cut 
open longitudinally, and the sheet is heated, 
pressed and rubbed until it is flattened out. 
Plate glass is made by pouring the melted ma¬ 
terial upon a table, which has a marginal edge 
equal in height to that desired for the thick- 


GLASTONBURY 


924 


GLOBE 


ness of the glass. It is then flattened out by 
a roller passed over the table, resting on the 
edges, and thus secures equal thickness through¬ 
out. In making stained glass, the paint, which 
is usually compounded of the oxides of metals 
and oil of turpentine, is applied when cold and 
the colors are afterward stained into the glass 
by heating the latter. Mosaic glass painting is 
a department of art painting and is not to be 
associated with glass manufacture. The most 
common mosaic glass painting is executed with 
an enamel or a stain, though stained glass is 
often used for the background. 

GLASTONBURY (glas'tun-ber-i), a town 
of Somersetshire, England, on the Brue River, 
about twenty miles southwest of Bath. It has 
some export trade and various manufacturing 
establishments. In the vicinity are mineral 
springs. Glastonbury is noted chiefly for its 
ancient tradition and history. It is famous 
on account of the legend that Joseph of Ari- 
mathea came there with the Holy Grail and 
founded the first church in Britain. In 1539’ 
the supposed grave of King Arthur was dis¬ 
covered while excavating for the abbey and 
a church. The abbey is one of the oldest in 
England. Population, 1906, 4,185. 

GLAUBER’S SALT (glou'berz), the popu¬ 
lar name of a salt found native in sea water 
and the water of many mineral springs and 
saline lakes. It was so named from J. R. 
Glauber (1604-1668), a German chemist, who 
first prepared it by decomposing sodium chlo¬ 
ride with sulphuric acid. Glauber’s salt has a 
bitter saline taste, is soluble in water, and be¬ 
comes liquid when heated. It loses most of 
its water by crystallization and becomes a white 
powder when exposed to the air. The chief 
use of this product is as a purgative, medicine, 
especially in veterinary practice. It is used in 
fixing lead mordants in dyeing and printing 
and in the production of certain kinds of glass. 

GLAZING (glaz'ing), the art of imparting a 
smooth, shining surface to anything, such as 
pottery, gunpowder, and paintings, to prevent 
them from being penetrated by fluids. The 
most common mixture for earthen vessels is 
constituted of ground flint with oxide of lead, 
which is generally used, but in various propor¬ 
tions and with different tints. 

GLEIWITZ (gli'vits), a city of Germany, 
in the province of Silesia, 98 miles southeast 
of Breslau. It is on the Klodnitz River and’ 
the Klodnitz Canal, has steam and electric 
railways, and is regularly platted and well 
paved. The manufactures include paper, glass, 
hardware, cigars, clothing, and machinery. Glei- 
witz is first mentioned in the 12th century, but 


its larger development dates since the last two 
decades. Population, 1905, 61,336. 

GLENCOE (glen'ko), a celebrated valley of 
Scotland, in the County of Argyll, near Loch 
Etive. The sides are almost perpendicular, ris¬ 
ing abruptly to heights of 3,000 feet above the 
valley and giving the locality a wild and sub¬ 
lime aspect. In 1692 it was the scene of the 
Massacre of Glencoe, when Mac Ian, chief of 
the Macdonalds of Glencoe, was destroyed by 
his enemies under the leadership of Sir John 
Dalrymple. It had been arranged that he and 
his followers should have pardon if they sub¬ 
mitted to William III. and Mary before Dec. 
31, 1691, but the delay in the surrender caused 
his enemies to take advantage of the technical¬ 
ities and treacherously destroy about sixty 
men, women, and children. Though the morn¬ 
ing was stormy, about 300 men and women es¬ 
caped, but a number of them perished from 
cold and hunger. 

GLENS FALLS, a village of Warren Coun¬ 
ty, New York, on the Hudson River, 55 miles 
north of Troy. It is on the Delaware and 
Hudson Railroad. The noteworthy buildings 
include the Crandall Free Library, Glens Falls 
and Saint Mary’s academies, the Parks Hos¬ 
pital, and an old ladies’ home. Among the 
manufactures are machine shops, iron foun¬ 
dries, brick works, paper mills, and cigar, shirt, 
and furniture factories. It has electric street 
railways and lights, waterworks, and a sewer¬ 
age system. The surrounding country contains 
valuable deposits of limestone and black mar¬ 
ble. It was incorporated in 1837. Population, 
1900,12,613; in 1910, 15,243, 

GLENVILLE (glen'vil), a village of Ohio, 
in Cuyahoga County, five miles from Cleve¬ 
land, of which it is a suburban residential cen¬ 
ter. It is situated east of Gordon Park, on the 
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, 
and is a well-improved place. The manufac¬ 
tures consist chiefly of furniture and machin¬ 
ery. It was settled in 1804 and incorporated 
in 1872. Population, 1900, 5,588. 

GLOBE, a sphere used in geography apd 
astronomy for the study of terrestrial and 
celestial phenomena. A terrestrial globe is a 
common schoolroom apparatus and is a use¬ 
ful supply in the study of geography. A globe 
of this kind may be made of plaster, metal, or 
pasteboard, upon the surface of which is a 
map or a representation of the surface of the 
earth. The extremities of an axis passing 
through the center represent the poles of the 
earth, and it is usually so constructed that it 
may be turned upon the axis to indicate the 
rotation of the earth. Meridians and parallels 


GLOMMEN 


925 


GLOWWORM 


of latitude are indicated by lines drawn upon 
the surface. The meridians are usually drawn 
through every 15° of the Equator, hence each 
two indicates points that differ by one hour in 
time. The globe is suspended in a brass ring 
somewhat larger than the diameter, within 
which it turns upon the axis, and is usually 
mounted on a wooden stand. In size globes 
vary from those six inches to four feet in 
diameter, though much larger ones have been 
constructed. A celestial globe has represented 
upon its surface the stars, which are placed 
in positions to indicate their actual situation 
in the skies. 

GLOMMEN (glom'men), the most impor¬ 
tant river of Norway, rises in Lake Aur- 
sundsjo, and flows into the Skager Rack. Its 
source is in the province of South Trondhjem, 
near the town of Roros, and its course of 350 
miles is in a general southwesterly direction. In 
its course it passes the fortress of Kongsvinger 
and at its mouth is the city of Fredrikstad. The 
Vormen is its chief tributary. It is navigable 
for about thirty miles, but numerous falls and 
rapids interfere with its navigation farther up 
the course. 

GLOUCESTER (glos'ter), a river port and 
city of England, on the Severn River, about 
ninety miles northwest of London. Numerous 
railroads and canals facilitate important com¬ 
mercial enterprises, for which it is noted. 
Among the noteworthy buildings is the cathe¬ 
dral, one of the largest in England, being 140 
feet wide and 420 feet long. The tower is 225 
feet high. It contains the Great Peter’s Bell, 
weighing more than three tons. Other buildings 
include the public library, a theological college, 
King’s School, and an asylum for the insane. 
Among the manufactures are flour, cordage, cut¬ 
lery, ships, ironware, and machinery. Glouces¬ 
ter was a Roman station under Aulus Plautius. 
At the time of the Saxons it was an important 
center of trade. Population, 1907, 52,435. 

GLOUCESTER, a port of entry in Essex 
County, Massachusetts, thirty miles northeast of 
Boston. It is on the Boston and Maine Rail¬ 
road, near Cape Ann, and includes Riverdale 
and several other villages. The municipal im¬ 
provements include waterworks, electric and gas 
lights, stone and asphalt pavements, and elec¬ 
tric street railways. It is distinctly a com¬ 
mercial city and its domestic fisheries are the 
most important in America. Those employed 
in mackerel and cod fishing include about 5,000 
persons. It is the seat of a United States pis- 
cicultural station, is the center of a large for¬ 
eign trade, and has a convenient harbor. The 
manufactures include clothing, machinery, muci¬ 


lage, tents, seines, sails, canned fish, and granite 
products. In 1765 it had a population of 3,763, 
since which time it has grown steadily. Popu¬ 
lation, 1905, 26,006. 

GLOUCESTER CITY, a railroad center of 

Camden County, New Jersey, on the Delaware 
River. It is on the West Jersey and Seashore 
and the Atlantic City railroads, one mile south 
of Camden, and is connected with Philadelphia 
by steam ferry. The chief industries are fishing 
and manufacturing. Among the manufactures 
are canned fish, calicoes, ginghams, and machin¬ 
ery. It was settled in 1677 and incorporated in 
1868. Population, 1905, 8,055. 

GLOVE (gluv), a covering worn on the 
hand, having a separate sheath for each finger. 
Gloves are made of various materials, such as 
silk, wool, linen, cotton, fur, and different 
classes of leather. Several kinds of the finer 
gloves are manufactured of the real skins of 
goats, but most kid gloves are made of lambs’ 
skins. The so-called dogskin, buckskin, and 
doeskin gloves are manufactured chiefly from 
sheepskin. In manufacturing this class of 
gloves the leather is dressed as light as possible 
and each glove is cut by means of a die. Much 
of the sewing is done by machinery. The 
glove is stretched over a metal hand, which is 
first heated on the inside, and the material is 
smoothed or dyed as desired. Gloves are 
cleaned with oil of turpentine, camphor, or ben¬ 
zine, the last mentioned being the cheapest and 
most serviceable substance now in use. Ma¬ 
chine sewing is used largely in the cheaper 
grades, the best being hand-stitched. Glovers- 
ville, N. Y., contains large gloveworks, though 
factories are located in the larger cities through¬ 
out Canada and the United States. The finest 
and most expensive gloves produced in the 
world are made in France. 

GLOVERSVILLE (gluv’erz-vil), a city of 
Fulton County, New York, on the Cayadutta 
River, fifty miles northwest of Albany. It is 
on the Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Rail¬ 
road. The streets are mostly broad and well 
paved. It has sewerage, stone and macadam 
pavements, electric lights, and street railways. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the high 
school, the Nathan Littauer Hospital, and a 
public library with 10,000 volumes. The manu¬ 
factures include machinery, vehicles, cigars, 
gloves, and buckskin and other mittens. In the 
manufacture of gloves it takes very high rank 
among the cities of America. It was known 
as Stump City until 1832, when it received its 
present name, and was incorporated as a city 
in 1890. Population, 1905, 18,672; 1910, 20,642. 

GLOWWORM, a name applied to several 


GLOXINIA 


926 


GLUCOSE 


species of serricorn beetles. They somewhat 
resemble a caterpillar and are remarkable for 
the luminosity of some of the segments of the 
abdomen. The male has wings and emits a 
very faint light when flying about at night, and 
is attracted to the female by her soft, but 
strong, light. The luminous matter is capable 
of mixing with warm water, which increases 
its brilliancy. Though both sexes are luminous, 
the light in the female is much stronger than 
that of the male. The latter is wingless. See 
Firefly. 

GLOXINIA (gloks-in'i-a), a genus of her¬ 
baceous plants native to the tropical parts of 
America. It was so named from B. P. Gloxin, 
a German botanist, who developed a number of 
the species into fine flowering varieties. The 



GLOXINIA. 


common gloxinia has soft, velvety leaves and a 
nearly bell-shaped corolla. It flowers profuse¬ 
ly. It is a favorite plant in flower gardens, 
both for the richly colored leaves and the grace¬ 
ful flowers. 

GLUCOSE (glu'kos), a sugar found in the 
vegetable kingdom and in honey. It occurs in 
small quantities in various animal substances, 
as in the blood and liver. Another name for it 
is grape sugar or starch sugar. It is less sweet 
than cane sugar and is manufactured in con¬ 
siderable quantities both in solid and liquid 
forms. A report made in 1840 by a committee 
of the National Academy of Science to the com¬ 


missioner of internal revenue placed the sweet¬ 
ening power of ordinary glucose at about two- 
thirds that of cane sugar. The manufacture in 
the United States is principally from corn and 
in Europe it is made chiefly from potatoes. Its 
use is mostly for table syrups and confection¬ 
ery, though it is employed in making artificial 
honey, in brewing beer and ale, and as a food 
for bees. In the production of artificial honey, 
the comb is made of paraffin and the cells are 
filled by machinery with a pure grade of glu¬ 
cose. Though less sweet than real honey, it is 
inviting, has a fine appearance, and can be sold 
at about one-half the price of genuine honey. 
As bleached grape sugar it is often mixed with 
table sugar and is used largely in the manufac¬ 
ture of condensed milk. A bushel of corn yields 
from 30 to 45 pounds of glucose. Manufac¬ 
turers recognize four substances in corn, ali of 
which are useful, but they need to be separated 
in order to secure the product desired. They 
comprise starch, oil, gluten, and bran. 

The first process in manufacturing glucose is 
to soak the corn in water, in large wooden 
tanks, which hold from 500 to 1,000 bushels of 
corn. A temperature of 80° Fahr. is necessary, 
and fumes of burning sulphur are injected for 
the purpose of dissolving the gummy properties 
that bind together the gluten and starch. After 
soaking from one to three days, the corn is 
washed with fresh water and ground between 
corrugated rollers and crushed. Next the 
crushed material is placed in tubs and stirred 
mechanically with the view of separating the 
germs from the other portions. This is done 
for the purpose of afterward extracting the oil 
in the germs, which is about 50 per cent., and is 
valuable as a salad oil, for mixing paints, and 
in making toilet soaps. The oil is extracted 
from the germs by means of powerful hydraulic 
pressure of about 4,000 pounds, which causes it 
to run in a stream into tanks below, and the 
residue is utilized as a food for cattle. Next 
the gluten is removed from the starchy matter 
by means of a filter press, and is then dried and 
sold at about $18 per ton for cattle food. 

After practically all the ingredients unneces¬ 
sary in the manufacture of glucose have been 
removed from the starchy material, the residue 
is mixed with water, and, by a process of filter¬ 
ing several times under the influence of sul¬ 
phuric and muriatic acid, it is converted into a 
syrup. The converting is done most effectually 
under a pressure of from 25 to 40 pounds, the 
starch being heated by means of steam, about 
an hour being necessary to complete the process 
of converting starch to glucose or grape sugar. 
The product at this stage contains about 35 per 








GLUE 


927 


GLYPTODON 


cent, of solid matter and is of a yellowish- 
brown color. To clarify it the liquid is passed 
through animal charcoal, by which all foreign 
substances and the coloring matter are removed, 
though for the higher grades a second filtration 
is necessary. After this process, the liquid is 
evaporated in a vacuum until it has reached the 
desired consistency for syrup or takes on the 
form of sugar. 

The manufacture of glucose from beets dif¬ 
fers somewhat from the process employed in 
using corn, though the steps employed in the 
later stages are similar. The amount of corn 
consumed annually in the manufacture of glucose 
in the United States is about 48,000,000 bushels, 
though the quantity varies somewhat with the 
price of corn and sugar, many factories limiting 

■ the output when corn is high in price and sugar 
is cheap, and increasing the capacity when the 
reverse is true. Within recent years glucose 
manufactured from beets has been encouraged 
under government supervision and has attained 
to the rank of an important industry. See 
Sugar. 

GLUE, a viscid cement or adhesive prepara¬ 
tion, usually a form of impure gelatin derived 
from boiling certain animal substances. Glue 
is used for uniting pieces of wood and other 
materials. It is made largely of the offal and 
heads of fish in seacoast towns, and from rem¬ 
nants of slaughterhouses, such as the feet, 
heads, cartilage, and sinews of hogs, cattle, and 

B sheep. In some places it is made in large quan¬ 
tities from the fleshings, ears, horn piths, and 
intestines. These portions are freed from dirt 
and hair by boiling before they are actually 
utilized in the manufacture. The product is 
sold in the market either as thin, hard, or brittle 
cakes, which are afterward dissolved for use, 
or in a liquid form ready to be applied. Gelatin 
is made much the same as glue, but the parts 
used are selected with a view of making that 
product and are cleaned with greater care. 
Fish glue is made of isinglass dissolved in 
water. Commercial isinglass glue is manufac¬ 
tured of isinglass soaked in cold water, which, 
when swelled, is put in spirit of wine and later 
powdered chalk is added. Marine glue is made 
of equal parts of caoutchouc and shellac dis¬ 
solved separately in naphtha and then mixed. 
Waterproof glue is derived from isinglass, for 
which purpose it is boiled in skim milk until 
the required consistency is obtained. Fish glue 
is used largely in making fine confectionery, and 
as a gum for sealing letters. 

GLUTEN (glu'ten), or Vegetable Fibrine, 
an elastic albuminous substance of a grayish- 
yellow color, obtained from the flour of wheat 


and other cereals. The flour of good wheat 
contains about twenty per cent, of gluten. When 
gluten is heated, it crackles and swells, and 
when dried it loses more than one-half of its 
weight. It gives tenacity to the paste of flour 
and is important for its nutritive quality. Care¬ 
ful analyses have proven that the bran of wheat 
contains a larger per cent, of gluten than is 
found in the flour and, consequently, is more 
nutritious than the finely bolted flour. Since 
gluten gives tenacity to the dough, it is possible 
■to judge of the quality of flour by test. The 
juices of certain plants, as well as oats, rye, 
barley, and other grains, contain gluten. 

GLUTTON (glut't’n), a carnivorous mem- 
mal of the badger family, ranging intermediate¬ 
ly between the weasel and bear. It is found in 
the northern part of Eurasia and North Amer¬ 
ica, extending as far south in the United States 
as Great Salt Lake. The common name applied 
generally is wolverine. Its fur is a valuable 
article of commerce, being used for muffs and 
sleigh robes. 

GLYCERIN (glis'er-in), an oily, transpar¬ 
ent liquid compound, nearly colorless, with a 
sweetish taste. The different varieties are ob¬ 
tained by the decomposition of animal fats and 
some vegetable substances under treatment with 
alkalies, or superheated steam. It was first dis¬ 
covered by Scheele in 1779 while saponifying 
lard with the oxide of lead. Glycerin serves 
many useful purposes in the arts. It is of value 
as a preparation to keep more or less moist 
substances useful in the arts, such as paper for 
printing, tobacco, modeling clay, and materials 
used in rope making, spinning, weaving, and 
tanning. Glycerin is employed to lower the 
freezing point of water and as a preservative of 
meat and natural history specimens, and is the 
basic substance for many chemical products, 
among which nitroglycerin is one of import¬ 
ance. It is insoluble in ether, absorbs moisture 
from the air, and may be dissolved by a mixture 
composed of alcohol and water. In the manu¬ 
facture of soap it serves a useful purpose in 
that it has the tendency to soften the skin, and 
as a medicine it is employed largely as a sooth¬ 
ing and healing substance. Manufacturers of 
confectionery employ it. In some instances it 
is used as an adulterant of beer, wine, and milk, 
and is itself adulterated with cane sugar and 
glucose. 

GLYPTODON (glip't6-don), a large ex¬ 
tinct mammal, a member of the armadillo fam¬ 
ily, formerly common to the southern part of 
North America and the northern part of South 
America. Fossil remains are found in many 
parts of Florida, Texas, Mexico, and as far 







GNAT 


928 


GOAT 


south as Argentina. Four species have been 
described. The back and sides of the animal 
were covered with bony plates and the tail was 
encased in a sheath of horny scales. It resem¬ 
bled the Galapagos tortoise rather than the 
armadillo, but its size was much larger, since 
the fully developed specimens measured from 
six to eight feet in length. 

GNAT (nat), a genus of insects found in 
marshy places, having wings laid flat on the 
back when at rest. The mouth of the female 
is furnished with a long, projecting proboscis 
adapted for piercing the skins of animals and 
sucking the blood, while the male has a pro¬ 
boscis with featherlike projections more suit¬ 
able for sucking honey from plants. The eggs 
of the gnat are laid on the surface of stagnant 
water, hatching in about three days, and the 
young live in the water until they are fully 
grown. Several generations of gnats hatch in 
a single summer. The common mosquito be¬ 
longs to this genus of insects. 

GNEISS (nis), a term introduced from the 
German to designate a variety of metamorphic 
rocks composed of mica, feldspar, and quartz. 
Gneiss differs from granite in that the con¬ 
stituents are arranged in layers instead of form¬ 
ing a confused aggregate mass. Originally it 
was sand or mud, having been acted on by heat 
in the course of time, and was converted into 
a hard, tough crystalline rock. It contains no 
fossil remains, since they were destroyed by the 
action of heat, but it is rich in copper, iron, 
cobalt, gold, silver, and other metallic ores. 
Large deposits are found in Northern Europe, 
especially in Norway, and in the Alpine region 
of that continent. New Brunswick, New Eng¬ 
land, and New York have large deposits of 
gneiss. 

GNOSTICISM (nos'ti-siz’m), a system of 
philosophy devised to solve the origin of evil, 
and which flourished extensively from the 1st 
to the 6th centuries. It occupied a middle 
ground • between Christianity and paganism, 
holding that knowledge rather than faith is the 
key to salvation. It promulgated the doctrine 
that there is an eternal God of infinite power, 
wisdom, and goodness. While there were many 
systems of gnosticism, all Gnostics agreed that 
God is incomprehensible, that all the natural and 
spiritual existences are derived from emanations 
from the supreme Deity, and that Christ was a 
superior emanation. 

The two main branches of the Gnostics were 
generally distinguished as the Jewish and the 
Greek. Many sects of Jewish origin sprang up, 
including mainly the Sethians, the Cainites, and' 
the Ophites, the last named being serpent wor¬ 


shipers. Meander and Cerinthus were the lead¬ 
ing Jewish Gnostics. The Greek Gnostics be¬ 
longed chiefly to the schools of gnosticism 
founded - by Basilides, Valentinus, Heracleon, 
and Ptolemy. Basilides and Valentinus were 
the founders of the Alexandrian Gnostics, which 
constituted the most important branch of the 
Gentile Gnostics. The literature of the Gnostics 
is extensive, but the sects did not endure be¬ 
yond the 5th century. 

GNU (nil), a kind of antelope found in small 
herds in South Africa, belonging to the rumi¬ 
nating animals. The hair is black, or yellowish, 
and bristly, the mane is white and stiff, and the 



GNU. 


tail resembles that of a horse. The average 
length of the body is nine feet. In all species 
the female is somewhat smaller than the male, 
but both have horns and cloven feet, and move 
with a gallop like a horse. When caught young, 
they can be domesticated. The flesh is consid¬ 
ered a nutritious article of food. 

GOAT, a hollow-horned ruminant quadruped 
which is allied to the sheep. It differs from 
the latter in having erect or keeled horns, an 
arched forehead, a short tail, and a bearded chin. 
The male is characterized by an unpleasant 
odor. Goats are common to mountain regions. 
They are skilled in passing over precipitous 
and rocky ledges, springing with much precision 
from rock to rock, and subsist on coarse and 
scanty food. It is thought that the domestic 
goat descended from the wild species of West¬ 
ern Asia, since they resemble those largely in 
size, form, and habits. Many species are known 
in both the wild and the domestic states, but 
they are commonly subdivided into goats proper 
and ibexes. Some are valuable for their pro¬ 
duction of wool or hair, flesh and milk. Many 
species are reared extensively in Eurasia for 
their flesh, which resembles mutton, and for 
general dairying purposes. The skin yields 









GOAT ISLAND 


929 


GOD 



leather known as morocco, which is valuable 
in the manufacture of gloves and shoes. The 
intelligence of goats is proverbial, many species 
being known for their playfulness, ingenious 
habits, skill in seeking protection, and contriv¬ 
ing cuteness in obtaining food. Innumerable 
species have been domesticated in all inhabitable 
portions of the world. The food consists prin¬ 
cipally of grass and herbs, though they partake 
of many forms of vegetation and are fond of 


HIMALAYAN GOAT. ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT. 


the younger shoots and bark of many shrubs 
and trees. The Angora goat (q. v.) has silky 
hair eight or nine inches long which hangs in 
curly locks from its sides. It is of a silver 
white color and useful in the arts and manufac¬ 
tures. The Cashmere goat (q. v.), a native of 
Cashmere, is rather undersized and has fine silky 
hair. Other species, including the Maltese and 
Nubian goats, are known for their superior milk, 
skin, and flesh. The Rocky Mountain goat is a 
native of the western portion of Canada and the 
United States, where it is generally known as 
the goat antelope. 

GOAT ISLAND, an island in the Niagara 
River, at Niagara Falls. It divides the current 
where it plunges over the precipice, being situ¬ 
ated between the American Falls and the Ca¬ 
nadian Falls. The island is reached from the 
city of Niagara Falls, N. Y., by a fine stone 
bridge. It is covered with beautiful evergreen 
and deciduous trees and is improved by walks 
and drives. A fine view of the falls is obtained 
from the west end of the island. 

GOATSUCKER (got'suk-er), the common 
name of the European nightjar, which is allied 
to the night hawk, whip-poor-will, and other 
birds of North America. The goatsucker is so 
named from the popular belief that it sucks the 
milk of goats and cows and in so doing infects 
these animals with a deadly disease. The name 
nightjar comes from a jarring or purring sound 


which it utters. Birds of this class have large 
mouths and at dusk frequent the ground in 
search of insects, from both of which facts the 
erroneous belief that they suck animals likely 
arose. 

GOBI (go'be), Desert of, a vast stretch of 
desert in Central Asia, called Shamo, or Sand- 
Sea, by the Chinese. It is included in China, 
Turkestan, and Mongolia. The length is about 
1,750 miles; breadth, 375 miles; and area, 290,- 
850 square miles. Spurs of the Altai, Tian 
Shan, and Yablonoi mountains traverse the 
northeastern part. The general elevation above 
sea level is 4,000 feet. The boundary is desig¬ 
nated by a gradual rise in a series of marked 
terraces and several interior rivers. The central 
point is at Ozon Khoshu, which is the lowest 
region in Central Asia, and is elevated about 
1,940 feet above the sea. The interior is thought 
to have formed a vast sea in former times, but 
now is occupied by different Mongolian tribes, 
who utilize the region in rearing sheep, horses, 
cattle, and camels. 

GOD, or Supreme Being, the infinite, eter¬ 
nal, immutable Creator and Preserver of all 
things, and the object of human sacrifice and 
worship. In Christian theology there is a gen¬ 
eral agreement that God is a perfectly good, 
true, and righteous personal spirit, that he is 
eternal, and that he possesses omnipotence, 
omnipresence, and omniscience. Christians gen¬ 
erally agree as to the trinity of God; that is, 
he is held to be one individual, but constituted 
of three persons—God the Father, God the Son, 
and God the Holy Ghost. The three are held 
to have existed from eternity, not as three dis¬ 
tinct beings, but as one God, the glory equal and 
the majesty coeternal. In the doctrine of the 
trinity, which is most elaborately defined in the 
Athanasian Creed, the persons of the Godhead 
are not to be confounded nor is the substance 
to be divided. God the Son is worshiped as 
Jesus (q. v.), who came to the earth, born of 
God and the Virgin Mary, to redeem fallen man 
under a plan of salvation instituted by the 
merciful God for his creatures. The Holy 
Ghost, the third person of the trinity, the Father 
being the first and the Son the second, is held 
to proceed from the Father and the Son, though 
is equal to them in substance and majesty. His 
function as a spirit of holiness is to apply to 
the hearts of men the benefits of Christ’s death, 
and to sanctify them by inducing a belief in the 
truth as it is in Jesus. The Jewish people gen¬ 
erally hold to the belief in Jehovah (q. v.), but 
reject Christ as the redeemer, and believe that 
the Saviour is yet to come. 

Practically all peoples, even the most savage, 













GODAVARI 


930 


GOLD 


manifest belief in a being higher than man. 
There seems to be an innate feeling, a potent 
something, in man that renders him a worship¬ 
ing being and leads him to stand in awe when 
contemplating the greatness and wisdom of the 
Creator and Preserver of the universe as a 
whole, and of the immutable laws under which 
organic and inorganic substances either multiply 
their kind or endure without material change. 
Within man dwells either a living faith in the 
superiority of his. power to nature, which in¬ 
duces a feeling, an experience, that grounds his 
belief in God, or he denies his superiority to 
nature and is without faith in God, in which 
aspect he experiences nothing in existence but 
necessity and fate. Hence, the argument for 
the existence of God is based upon certain fun¬ 
damental principles involved in our mental and 
moral being, such as causation and design. The 
existence of God is likewise argued from the 
manifestations he has made to man, either by 
miracles, visions, or personal contact, but even 
Christian theists admit that they cannot be ac¬ 
cepted as real unless faith in the divine exis¬ 
tence was previously held by those receiving 
them. 

Various terms are employed to designate be¬ 
lief or disbelief in God. Theism is a system of 
belief in. God as the Creator and Preserver; 
atheism implies, not a denial of the existence of 
a Deity, but an absence of any definite idea on 
the subject; polytheism is the doctrine that there 
are more gods than one; and agnosticism is the 
belief that God is unknown or unknowable. 
Monism is the doctrine which attempts to ex¬ 
plain the cosmos by one principle of being , or 
ultimate substance and may be materialistic, 
idealistic, or pantheistic. Materialistic monism 
holds that all spiritual phenomena are from 
matter; idealistic monism, that both spiritual 
and material phenomena are from spirit; and 
pantheistic monism, that both mind and matter 
are from one original substance, neither being 
substantial. Materialism is a denial of the doc¬ 
trine that man possesses any immaterial part. 
Fetichism is a form of worship which implies 
the ability of man to force the Deity to comply 
with his wishes, and totemism is a kind of na¬ 
ture worship in which stones, trees, rivers, etc., 
are adored. 

GODAVARI ( go-da'var-e), a river of cen¬ 
tral India, the largest stream of the Deccan. 
It has its source near the Indian Ocean and, 
after a course of 900 miles, enters the Bay of 
Bengal by a delta of seven mouths. The entire 
basin drained includes an area of 112,000 square 
miles, a large portion of which is fertile. Along 
its banks is much beautiful natural scenery. At 


various places the water is led by canals from 
the narrow channel and utilized for irrigating 
purposes. The river is held sacred by the Hin¬ 
dus, and is the objective point of numerous pil¬ 
grimages. Among the chief tributaries are the 
Purna, the Maner, and the Manj era. 

GOD SAVE THE KING, the national song 
of Great Britain. The words were probably 
written by Henry Carey (1696-1743) and the 
music was adapted from the national air of 
Germany, entitled “Heil Dir Mein Vaterland.” 
The popular patriotic song of the United States, 
“My Country, ’Tis of Thee,” is sung to the same 
tune. In Great Britain the song, “God Save the 
King,” is played and sung on all solemn and 
festive occasions. 

GOKSCHA (gok-cha'), or Sevanga, a lake 
of Russia, in the government of Erivan. It is 
situated almost due west of Baku, between the 
Black and Caspian seas, and is surrounded by 
high mountains. The surface is 6,350 feet 
above the sea and covers an area of 540 square 
miles. The Sanga carries the overflow to the 
Aras River, which discharges into the Caspian 
Sea. An Armenian monastery is located on 
Sevang, an island near the northwestern part 
of the lake. 

GOLCONDA (gol-kon'd'a), a ruined city 
and fortress of India, seven miles west of Hy¬ 
derabad. Golconda was the capital of the prin¬ 
cipal kingdom of the Deccan, but was conquered 
by Aurungzebe in 1687. The fortress now serves 
as a military post and treasury of Nizam. It 
has extensive interests in cutting and polishing 
diamonds, which is the chief employment in the 
city, diamonds being mined some distance from 
it, at Partial, on the southeastern boundary of 
Nizam. 

GOLD, a bright yellow precious metal, noted 
for its value, ductility, and malleability. The 
specific gravity is nineteen; the atomic weight, 
196; and the melting point, about 2,282° Fahr. 
It has a ductility so great that a grain can be 
drawn into a wire 500 feet long and the same 
quantity is sufficient to gild two miles of silver 
wire. The malleability of gold makes it possi¬ 
ble for one grain to be beaten out so as to cover 
56 square inches, when it has a thickness of only 
sstjJso P art an i* 10 * 1 - Water and oxygen do 
not act upon it at any temperature. Air does 
not tarnish it, and it may not be dissolved by 
hydrochloric, nitric, or sulphuric acid, but it is 
soluble in a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric 
acids. Gold crystallizes in cubes and other reg¬ 
ular forms and yields two series of salts, aurous 
and auric. It is extracted from the quartz ore 
by pulverizing, and, after adding a quantity of 
mercury with some sodium, the amalgam 


GOLD 


931 


GOLDEN FLEECE 


heated to liberate the. mercury. In this process, 
which is called cupellation, the sulphur and ar¬ 
senic are set free by highly heating the aurifer¬ 
ous pyrites before treating them with the amal¬ 
gam. 

Pure gold is 24 carats fine, but it is used in 
the arts to form an alloy for the reason that 
pure gold is too soft to serve useful purposes. 
One-fourth of copper and three-fourths of gold 
form the usual alloy used by jewelers. In gold 
coinage two parts of copper and 22 parts of 
gold form the standard, making it 22 carats fine. 
The highest degree of fineness commonly used 
by jewelers is eighteen parts of gold to six of 
alloy; thus the degree of fineness is eighteen 
carats. Both gold and silver occur as an alloy 
in nature, this form of the metal being of a 
paler yellow than pure gold, while the copper 
alloy has a more reddish-yellow color. Gold 
serves a useful purpose in medicine, especially 
in scrofulous diseases, while dentists use gold 
leaf in filling teeth. 

Gold has been sought from early historic 
times. The Bible makes mention of this metal 
in the second chapter of Genesis. It is found 
in alluvial deposits, occuring in small particles 
or nuggets, and is separated by washing in 
troughs and pans, by which the foreign matter 
is separated from the gold dust, grains, or nug¬ 
gets. However, it occurs most numerously in 
sandstone, slate, quartzite, granite, and serpen¬ 
tine. The most celebrated gold fields are in 
Australia. Those of California, discovered in 
1848, in El Dorado County, brought on the so- 
called gold fever of 1849. Gold found in Alas¬ 
ka occurs largely as placer deposits, while in 
many of the extensive mountain regions, as in 
Colorado, portions of the Pacific coast, and in 
South Africa, it is found in fissures or in quartz 
veins. The mining Is done by vast machinery 
in the larger mines and the rock is crushed, 
after which the gold is separated from the rock 
and other ore bodies by excessive heat; natural 
gas, coal, and electricity are employed as agents 
in smelting. 

Gold deposits have been found in more or less 
paying quantities in many of the states and in 
all the countries of the world, though in some 
regions the deposits are not sufficiently rich to 
warrant the application of time and labor. It 
is estimated that the value of the world’s pro¬ 
duction of gold from 1493 to 1905 equaled $11,- 
298,890,300. The present annual production of 
the world is estimated at $407,775,020, which was 
the total output for 1906. Of this amount 
North America produced $126,065,682; South 
America, $10,043,714; Europe, $28,088,571; Asia, 
$24,575,711; Africa, $134,914,114; and Austral¬ 


asia, $84,087,228. The largest pure gold nugget 
ever found was taken from the diggings at Bal¬ 
larat, Australia, shortly after the discovery of 
the Australian gold fields in 1857. It weighed 
130 pounds. Colorado, California, and South 
Dakota produced the largest output of gold in 
1907, in the order named. Other very important 
gold fields are found in Alaska, Montana, British 
Columbia, Yukon, Saskatchewan, Utah, Arizona, 
Nevada, and Idaho. In 1907 Canada produced 
gold valued at $12,023,932 and the output of the 
United States was $96,101,400. 

GOLD COAST, a British colony of West 
Africa, lying along the Gulf of Guinea. It has 
a coast line of 345 miles and extends inland 300 
miles. The area is 16,500 square miles, but a 
protectorate of 46,600 square miles belongs to 
the colony. Among the principal towns are Ac¬ 
cra, Elmina, and Cape Coast Castle. The first 
British colony within the region was founded in 
1821. In the meantime several settlements were 
made by the Dutch, but they ceded their hold¬ 
ings to the British for trading privileges in 
1872, since which time the English have had 
supreme control. Among the chief productions 
are live stock, gold, coffee, palm oil, copal, rub¬ 
ber, timber, monkey skins, and cocoa. Several 
railway lines connect the coast towns with the 
interior, while numerous canals and highways 
facilitate trade. The climate is quite unhealth¬ 
ful for Europeans. In 1908 the population was 
placed at 1,487,634, including about 500 Euro¬ 
peans. 

GOLDEN AGE, the term applied in mythical 
history to the early period of many nations. It 
refers to a time when all animals were sup¬ 
posed to be at peace with each other, the earth 
produced the fullness of all necessary fruits for 
comfort, and innocence and happiness were 
general among mankind. The Egyptians be¬ 
lieved that the gods sent successive conflagra¬ 
tions and deluges to purify the earth of guilt, 
and after these man was pure for a time, but 
when he was again degenerated a catastrophe 
once more came for his destruction. Roman 
literature was in its golden age from 150 b. c. 
to 14 a. d., when flourished the great Cicero, 
Caesar, Sallust, Ovid, Virgil, and Horace. In 
English literature the golden age includes the 
‘reign of Queen Anne, which period was made 
famous by the writings of such men as Pope, 
Addison, and Dryden. 

GOLDEN BULL. See Bull. 

GOLDEN FLEECE, in mythical history, a 
fleece taken by Phryxus from the ram Chrys- 
omallus and nailed by Aetes in the Grove of 
Ares, where it was guarded at the entrance of 
the grove by an immense dragon which never 







GOLDEN GATE 


932 


GOLF 


slept. To secure the fleece Jason made his 
Argonautic expedition to Colchis, and, while 
Medea put the dragon to sleep, he carried the 
treasure away. The name was applied to an 
order of knighthood, founded in Austria and 
Spain by Philip III. in 1429, which still survives 
and continues to be the highest order bestowed 
in those countries. 

GOLDEN GATE, a passage from the Pa¬ 
cific to the Bay of San Francisco, about one 
mile wide. It separates two peninsulas and is 
defended by two forts, one on the inner and one 
on the outer side. The channel was named the 
Golden Gate by Sir Francis Drake in 1578. 

GOLDEN HOUSE, a structure erected in 
Rome by Nero, located between Palatine and 
Esquiline hills. It covers an area of a square 
mile, including the baths, vineyards, and colon¬ 
nades. In the court was a bronze statue of 
Nero, 120 feet high, and the portico was 3,000 
feet long. The Golden House was taken down 
about 75 a. d., and the remains were used for 
the baths of Titus and Trajan. Though sub¬ 
stantially constructed, only a few remains of 
the palace are now extant. 

GOLDEN-ROD, a genus of plants allied to 
the aster, including more than one hundred 
species, most of which are native to America. 
The stems are rodlike, the leaves are alternate, 
and the flowers are closely bunched and yellow 
in color. In some communities the leaves are 
used for tea. The general distribution of the 
golden-rod has caused some states to adopt it 
as a state flower. It was selected as the na¬ 
tional flower of the United States in 1899 by a 
vote taken among interested people. 

GOLDFINCH (gold'finch), the name of 
several birds which are noted for their beauti¬ 
fully variegated colors, mostly yellow, red, 
black, and white. The bill is sharp and the 
song is exceptionally pleasing. A number of 
species are widely distributed, some being favor¬ 
ites as cage birds. They lay four or five purple 
and brown spotted eggs in nests built of twigs 
and moss, inlaid with wool, and most frequently 
breed in hedges and orchards. The goldfinch is 
found largely in America, Eurasia, and other 
grand divisions. A familiar species, the Ameri¬ 
can goldfinch, or yellowbird, is found in most 
parts of North America. 

GOLDFISH, a beautiful species of carp 
largely distributed in the fresh waters of China 
and Japan, whence it was introduced into Europe 
in the 17th century. In the native state it is 
greenish-brown in color, but by artificial breed¬ 
ing and selection a golden-yellow hue has been 
acquired. At present the goldfish is cultivated 
extensively, being kept largely in aquariums for 


ornament. When propagated in large bodies 
of water, the artificially bred revert to the 
color of the original stock. The silver fish is a 
species of the same class of fishes. 

GOLD LACE, a kind of fabric made by 
weaving gilded silk threads, but so constructed 
that the product is quite flexible. The manu¬ 
facture of this product requires an unusual 
degree of skill, since it involves the work of 
making sheets of gold much thinner than can 
be obtained by beating. The usual method is 
to burnish leaves of gold upon a rod of silver," 
which is then drawn into a very fine wire, after 
which it is further extended by flattening be¬ 
tween polished steel rollers, and the finishing 
is done by passing it through perforated dia¬ 
monds or other gems. By this process it, is 
possible to make a film much thinner than 
beaten gold leaf, which may be seen from the 
fact that an ounce of gold is sufficient to cover 
a wire fully 100 miles long. This flattened 
wire, being delicate and covered with the gold, 
is wound over the silk thread. In making sil¬ 
ver lace the same method is used, except that 
the wire is not coated with gold. 

GOLDSBORO, a city and Ihe county seat of 
Wayne County, North Carolina, on the Neuse 
River, 47 miles southeast of Raleigh. It is on 
the Atlantic Coast Line, the Southern, and 
other railroads. The noteworthy buildings in¬ 
clude an Odd Fellows’ Orphan Home, a State 
normal school for Negroes, the high school, 
and the Eastern Insane Asylum. Among the 
manufactures are tobacco, cotton-seed oil, fur¬ 
niture, machinery, pottery, and cotton goods. 
It has waterworks, electric lighting, and several 
county buildings. The surrounding country is 
a fertile agricultural region. It was settled in 
1838 and incorporated in 1841. Population, 
1900, 5,877. 

GOLF, an outdoor game of Scottish origin, 
played with balls and clubs. It may be played 
on any greensward. The players number one 
or more on each side, and each is provided 
with a separate ball. The player who can land 
his ball in a given series of holes with the few¬ 
est strokes of his club is the most skillful. To 
place the ball in a proper position for striking 
off is called teeing, and the plot on which the 
game is played is termed the putting ground. 
The balls generally used are made of hard 
gutta-percha, about five inches in circumfer¬ 
ence, and the golf clubs are of various sizes 
and shapes. The latter include those known as 
driver, cleek, iron, lofting iron, mashie, nib¬ 
lick, and putter. A large amount of literature 
has been published on the subject, and the rules 
governing the game differ somewhat according 


GONDOLA 


933 


GOOSE 


to the country in which it is played. Many 
clubs are maintained in Canada and the United 
States, and frequent contests for national and 
international championships take place. The 
Royal Montreal Golf Club, organized in 1873, 
is one of the most noted in Canada. Those of 
the United States are very numerous, includ¬ 
ing the United States Golf Association, the Chi¬ 
cago Golf Club, the Newport Golf Club, the 
Florida Golf Association, etc. Most of the 
associations are governed by the rules of the 
Saint Andrew’s Club of Scotland. 

GONDOLA (gon'do-la), a class of barges 
used at Venice to navigate the canals. A gon¬ 
dola of medium size is rowed by one man, has 
seats amidships, and is about thirty feet long 
and four wide. The ends terminate with point¬ 
ed projections about six feet high. Usually the 
larger sizes are rowed by two men, one at either 
end, each using a single oar. 

GONG (gong), a musical instrument shaped 
like a tambourine, made of copper alloy, and 
struck by a padded drumstick. It gives out a 
combination of harmonies, serving to pro¬ 
duce signals and to add intensity to martial 
music. 

GONIOMETER (go-m-om'e-ter), an in¬ 
strument for measuring the angles formed by 
the faces of crystals. It consists of a graduated 
semicircular arc with a fixed and a rpovable 
radius, between which the crystal is placed, 
each radius being made to coincide with the 
plane of one of its faces. The angle of their 
opening may then be read off on the arc. This 
instrument is called Hauy’s goniometer, and it 
cannot be depended upon for obtaining abso¬ 
lutely accurate results. A more complicated 
instrument has crystals with 
clear faces, which distinctly re¬ 
flect the image of a dark line 
across a clear light, and its grad¬ 
uated arc is furnished with a 
vernier, by which the degrees are 
divided into minutes. 

GOOD FRIDAY, the fast 
kept in memory of the cruci¬ 
fixion of Christ, on the Friday 
before Easter. Nearly all the ] 

Protestant and Catholic churches 
observe the feast with much sol¬ 
emnity. It is named good be¬ 
cause of the beneficent effect that 
comes from keeping the day, and 
during its observance special prayers are in¬ 
cluded for all classes of people. 

GOOD TEMPLARS, Independent Order 
of, a total abstinence society organized in New 
York City in 1851. In 1859 it adopted a plat¬ 


form of absolute prohibition, no license, and 
total abstinence. It organized branch lodges in 
Europe in 1868, and in 1870 established a grand 
lodge in England. Both sexes are admitted 
and adults and juvenile members are recog¬ 
nized, though in different branches. About 
fifty official periodicals are issued in different 
languages. At present branch organizations 
are maintained in all parts of the civilized 
world. The membership in the main organ¬ 
ization is 416,125, while the juvenile branch 
has 181,840 members. 

GOOD WILL, the advantage of an estab¬ 
lished reputation to the interest of a particular 
business. It is sometimes described as a fa¬ 
vorable disposition of persons to extend their 
patronage to a particular line of trade, or a 
certain locality, which is considered a benefit 
in addition to the capital invested. The good 
will of a business is often sold with it, hence 
the purchaser receives a promise, either oral or 
written, that the person or company selling 
will not engage in the same business in the 
vicinity for a definite time. In cases where the 
good will is purchased along with the business, 
it is an advantage to have an expressed agree¬ 
ment that the former owner will not engage in 
the same or a similar business, and it should 
state some particular sum to be forfeited as 
liquidated damages in case the agreement is 
violated. 

GOODWIN SANDS, a stretch "of shifting 
sand banks off the coast of Kent, England. 
The region is dangerous to navigation and has 
been the scene of many noted shipwrecks. A 
ridge divides the sands into two portions, which, 
during low water, are partly uncovered. 


GOOSE (gods), a web-footed bird of the 
duck family. In all species the body is large 
and heavy, the bill is conical, and the upper 
mandible is slightly hooked. The head is small, 
the neck is long, the wings are powerful, and 



















GOOSEBERRY 


934 


GORILLA 


the toes are short. Geese are migratory and 
move from the polar regions toward the warmer 
zones on the approach of winter. They swim 
less than ducks and do not dive, but commonly 
search for food by submerging the head under 
water. The domestic goose is thought to have 
originated from the Anser ferus, the typical 
genus of the subfamily Anserinae. Many spe¬ 
cies of geese are grown, all of which are valua¬ 
ble for their flesh, eggs, and feathers. Most 
of the wild species are gray in color and the 
domestic breeds are largely white. An aver¬ 
age-sized goose is two feet ten inches long, the 
extended wings measuring five feet in expanse. 
Among the geese of North America are the 
snow goose, white-front goose, bean goose, 
Canada goose, China goose, Toulouse goose, 
Pomeranian goose, and cravat goose. The 
Canada goose is the most widely distributed 
wild species in North America. Several of the 
species are noted for their longevity. There 
are instances on record showing that they live 
to an age of eighty years. The male is com¬ 
monly called gander. 

GOOSEBERRY (gooz'ber-ry), a class of 
shrubs allied to currants, but differing from 



GOOSEBERRY. 


them in having thorny stems. They grow wild 
in North America and Eurasia, but have been 
greatly improved by cultivation. The leaves 
are three-lobed and the flowers are small and 
yellow in most species. The fruit is succulent 
and variously colored when ripe, as green, yel¬ 
low, whitish, and red. Plants four years old 
bear the best quality of fruit. The berries are 
eaten as a dessert and form a favorite material 
for jelly, pie, vinegar, and preserves. ' New 
plants may be propagated from the seeds or 
from slips. 

GOGSEFOOT. See Pigweed. 


GOPHER (go'fer), a class of burrowing 
animals native to North America. The name 
was first applied by the French to the species 
which honeycomb the ground by burrowing. 
Among the common species are the gray bur¬ 
rowing squirrel, the striped squirrel, and the 
pocket gopher. All these are mammals. The 
pocket or pouched gopher has peculiar pouches 
on the sides of the head, which facilitate piling 
up mounds in fields and meadows. Gophers 
are destructive to corn in the early stages of 
growth. 

GORAMY (gd'ra-my), or Gourami, a fish 
in the fresh and brackish waters of China 
and the East Indies. The body is flat and 
short. It is covered with large scales and the 
dorsal and anal fins have numerous spines. The 
ventral fins are prolonged backward and have 
long filaments. In size these fish are from two 
to five feet long. They are remarkable for build¬ 
ing nests at the breeding season, using stems 
and leaves of grasses for that purpose. The 
nest is watched by both the male and female 
to prevent intrusion by other fish until the spawn 
is hatched. It is considered a fine fish for the 
table and has been acclimated in Australia and 
other continents. 

GORDIAN KNOT (gor'di-an not), a knot 

bound by Gordius, a peasant of Phrygia, in 
tying the yoke of his chariot. This was done 
so intricately that the oracle of Delphi promised 
the empire of Asia to him who would untie it. 
When Alexander the Great arrived at Gordium, 
he wished to inspire his soldiers with courage 
and spread the belief among his enemies that 
he was destined to conquer. Accordingly, he 
cut the knot with his sword and claimed that 
he had fulfilled the oracle. To “cut the gor- 
dian knot” has since implied the removal of a 
difficulty by. bold means. 

GORILLA (go-ril'la), the name applied as 
early as the 5th century b. c. to the largest 
animal of the ape family, which is native to 
the western part of Africa. An adult gorilla 
is from five to six feet tall when standing erect. 
It has black hair on the back and reddish-brown 
to black on its belly. The shoulders are broad 
and massive, above which is a heavy neck and 
a somewhat conical head. It subsists chiefly 
on vegetables and fruits. The gorilla is allied 
to the chimpanzee, but is larger. In the num¬ 
ber of teeth, height of the body while standing, 
bones in the hand, ribs, and brain structure it 
corresponds to man, though the brain measures 
only from 23 to 35 cubic inches, while in man 
it measures from 62 to 114 cubic inches. In 
physical strength the gorilla is powerful, being 
the strongest of the anthropoid apes. The 


gOrlitz 


935 


GOSSAMER 


voice resembles a bark, though it is like a roar 
when the animal becomes enraged. Gorillas 
live in familes and build hammocks in trees as 
places to sleep and rest. 



gorilla. 


Male, female, and infant. 

GORLITZ (ger'lits), a city of Germany, in 
the province of Silesia, 62 miles east of Dres¬ 
den. It occupies a fine site on the Neisse River 
and has railway communication. The chief 
buildings include the Church of Saint Peter 
and Saint Paul (Protestant), the Gothic 
Frauenkirche, the city hall, and the public 
library. It has many gymnasiums and benevo¬ 
lent institutions and is the seat of the Upper 
Lusatian Scientific Society, which has a library 
of 75,000 volumes. The manufactures consist 
chiefly of clothing, toys, machinery, cigars, 
earthenware, and jewelry. It has an extensive 
jobbing trade. Qorlitz was founded about 
1200. It was the capital of the Duchy of Gor- 
litz from 1377 until 1396. In the 17th century 
it was annexed to Saxony and became a part 
of Prussia in 1815. Population, 1905, 83,766. 

GOSHAWK (gos'hak), the name of several 
species of hawks widely diffused in Europe and 
Asia. They include five or six species and are 
distinguished from the true falcons by a fes¬ 
toon on the edge of the upper mandible, while 
the latter have a sharp tooth. Their wings are 
shorter, reaching to the middle of the tail. In 
flying at game and other birds, they do not rise 
in the air to descend upon them, but pursue a 
straight line in making the attack. The gos¬ 
hawk native to America is larger than the Euro¬ 
pean species. It is abundant in Canada and 
Alaska during the summer and moves south¬ 
ward to the southern part of the United States 


during the fall. Locally it is known as the 
chicken hawk or hen hawk. 

GOSHEN (go'shen), an ancient district of 
Egypt, the territory assigned to Jacob and his 
family after they left their native land. It in¬ 
cluded the region around Heroopolis, near the 
eastern border of the Nile delta, but its exact 
boundaries, are not known. Goshen was spoken 
of as fertile land and suited for grazing. The 
Hebrews resided here until they were enslaved 
by the Egyptians, after which they were de¬ 
livered by Moses, who led them through the 
wilderness and within sight of Canaan.* 

GOSHEN, a city in Indiana, county seat of 
Elkhart County, on the Elkhorn River, mid¬ 
way between Chicago and Toledo. It is on the 
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis 
and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern 
railroads. The public library, the high school, 
and the county courthouse are its chief build¬ 
ings. An abundance of water power is secured 
from the Elkhart River, which has facilitated 
building up many manufacturing establishments. 
Among the manufactures are wagons, plows, 
flour, oil, woolen goods, machinery, and cigars. 
The lumber, grain, and fruit trade is extensive. 
It has regularly platted streets, gas and electric 
lighting, brick and macadam pavements, and a 
municipal system of waterworks. Population, 
1900, 7,810. 

GOSPEL (gos'pel), meaning a joyful mes¬ 
sage, any one of the four histories of the life 
and teachings of Christ written by Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, and John. The first three give a 
summary or synopsis of the ministry of Christ 
and were probably written between 60 and 70 
a. d. It is certain that they were completed 
before the destruction of Jerusalem, to which 
they refer as a future event. The Gospel of 
John was probably written near the close of the 
first century, at Ephesus, since writers generally 
assign its completion to the year 90. They are 
not complete biographies of Jesus, but contain 
an account of the events that appeared most im- * 
portant to each evangelist as a means of leading 
the people to believe that Christ is the Savior 
of mankind. The Gospels were received and 
used in the churches before the end of the 2d 
century, which is confirmed by Origen and 
other ante-Nicene fathers of the Church. 

GOSSAMER (gos'sa-mer), a term applied 
by German and French writers to the flakelike 
webs seen floating in the air on calm autumn 
days. They are composed of silk emitted by 
many species of immature spiders. Being 
lighter than the atmosphere, they float in the 
gentle breezes. The threads are spun to con¬ 
nect different blades and plants, and, by reason 












GOTHA 


936 


GOTHS 


of the loosening effect resulting from autumnal 
breezes and the shrinking of plants, the gossa¬ 
mer becomes detached and is carried to various 
heights and frequently long distances. The 
name gossamer applies to a light waterproof 
cloak worn by ladies. 

GOTHA (go'ta), a city of Germany, capital 
of the duchy of Gotha, fifteen miles southwest 
of Erfurt, with which it is connected by rail¬ 
way. It is located near the northern border of 
the Thuringian Forest, is well platted, and has 
a large number of fine and substantial build¬ 
ings. The palace of Friedenstein, a massive 
structure of the 17th century, contains a library 
of 200,000 volumes. Other buildings of note 
include the museum, an art gallery, a theater, 
the post office, and the town hall. The manu¬ 
factures consist chiefly of porcelain, stoves, cot¬ 
ton and woolen goods, boots and shoes, ma¬ 
chinery, and tobacco products. It has extensive 
machine shops and railway repair shops. Gotha 
passed to the electors of Saxony in 1440 and 
has been the capital of the duchy of Gotha 
nearly 400 years. Population, 1905, 36,947. 

GOTHARD, or Gotthard, Saint, a mountain 
group in Switzerland, belonging to the Helve¬ 
tian Alps, and famous for the Saint Gothard 
pass over the Alps. The highest peak of this 
mountain group is about 12,000 feet, and the 
point at which the Saint Gothard Hospice stands 
is 10,810 feet. A carriage pass across the Alps 
was completed in 1832. One of the most im¬ 
portant railroad tunnels in the world, known as 
Saint Gothard’s, passes through the mountains 
between Airolo on the south and Goschenen on 
the north, and by it the railroad systems of 
Italy, Switzerland, and Germany are connected. 
The tunnel was commenced in 1872 and opened 
for traffic in 1882. It is nine and one-half miles 
long and cost about $12,000,000. 

GOTHENBURG. See Gottenburg. 

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE (goth'ik), 
the style of architecture which is characterized 
’by the pointed arch and makes use of the cross¬ 
vault or groin-vault. In a wider ■ sense it in¬ 
cludes the forms introduced by the barbaric 
tribes that overthrew Rome. It prevailed large¬ 
ly in Europe from the 6th to the 16th century, 
though in a newer classification it dates only 
from the 11th century, when it took on an im¬ 
proved form. The term is generally used in 
history to distinguish the Gothic from the clas¬ 
sic architecture as well as from the transition 
> styles introduced by the Norman-Franks. Be¬ 
sides the pointed arches, it is marked by a pro¬ 
longation of vertical lines, an absence of square 
edges, a want of columns and rectangular sur¬ 
faces and the general substitution of various 


surfaces and grouped shafts. It stands in con¬ 
trast to other styles because of its multiplication 
of different ornamental forms. Excessive deco¬ 
ration of the perpendicular lines and ornamenta¬ 
tion of the horizontal by starring caused the 
Gothic to lose favor, but it is now reviving 
somewhat. Many of the most noted historic 
buildings of Germany, Spain, France, England, 
Norway, Sweden, and other countries of West¬ 
ern Europe are in the Gothic style. The two 
principal forms of the Gothic architecture are 
known as the perpendicular and the decorated. 
The former originated in Germany and the lat¬ 
ter in England. 

GOTHLAND (got'land), an island in the 
Baltic Sea, about 52 miles east of Sweden, to 
which country it belongs. It has a rocky 
coast, but much of the soil is fertile. The sur¬ 
face is about 250 feet above sea level and the 
area is 1,210 square miles. It has several good 
harbors. The larger cities are connected by 
railway and carry on an important trade in 
cereals and fish. Wisby is the chief city, hav¬ 
ing a population of 7,645. The island became 
a part of Sweden in the 9th century, was cap¬ 
tured several times by the Danes, and has be¬ 
longed permanently to Sweden since 1645. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1906, 53,290. 

GOTHS (goths), an ancient race of German 
people who occupied a large portion of Europe 
and Asiatic Russia. In the early part of the 
3d century they inhabited the country north of 
the Black Sea, and by numerous conquests came 
into possession of much territory and powerful 
military forces. They were divided into three 
great tribes, known as Ostrogoths (eastern 
Goths), Visigoths (western Goths), and Moeso- 
goths (the Goths of Bulgaria). Before their 
division into the eastern and western branches, 
their king, Filmer, led an army and occupied 
Euxine, from which region the different his¬ 
torical branches sprang. War was waged by 
their king, Ostrogotha, against the Romans in 
248, and extensive contests were conducted in 
the eastern provinces of Rome for eighteen 
years, but subsequently Claudius defeated them. 
Emperor Aurelian was compelled, in 272, to 
cede the province of Dacia to them, where the 
Visigoths formed their chief settlement, while 
the Ostrogoths remained in the region of the 
Black Sea. Ermanric attained much power 
and included the region from the Gulf of Both¬ 
nia to the Black Sea, extending far toward the 
east. „ Internal disputes caused a division in the 
year 369, after which the Visigoths formed a 
separate kingdom west of the Danube and the 
Ostrogoths became confined to the section east 
of that river. Alaric, King of the Visigoths, in- 


GOTTENBURG 


937 


GOURD 


vaded Greece in 396, conquered the Peloponne¬ 
sus, and obtained the government of Illyria. 
He invaded Italy in 409-10, captured Rome, and 
carried away much of the riches of that city. 
Shortly after the death of Alaric, in 410, the 
Visigoths invaded Spain and Gaul. In the 5th 
century they established the seat of their gov¬ 
ernment at Toulouse, their principal provinces 
being Languedoc, Provence, and Catalonia. The 
Visigoths were finally vanquished by the Moors, 
who crossed into Spain from Africa, and for 
many years constituted the principal factor in 
the Iberian Peninsula. Roderick, who died in 
711, was the last king of the Visigoths. 

The kingdom of the Ostrogoths was over¬ 
thrown by the Huns in 375, after which they 
largely followed a nomadic life. At the time 
Attila, the Hun, invaded Gaul he was sup¬ 
ported by a vast horde of Ostrogothic warriors, 
and, when the empire of the Huns came to an 
end, they settled near Vienna, and later in 
Moesia, now called Bulgaria, from which they 
became known as Moesogoths. The Ostro¬ 
goths attained vast military power under Theo- 
doric. This ruler was educated at Constanti¬ 
nople as a Roman nobleman and in 474 was 
made king by the Ostrogoths. Odoacer the 
Usurper conquered the western empire in 476. 
In 489 Theodoric invaded Italy with a vast 
army, and four years later was recognized king. 
He reigned successfully until his death in 526, 
and in 554 the kingdom came to an end. Dur¬ 
ing its greatest prosperity the Ostrogothic king¬ 
dom included Italy and large portions of Switz¬ 
erland, Hungary, Austria, and Rumania. Sub¬ 
sequently the Gothic people lost th£ir identity 
as a nation and. became assimilated by other 
peoples. 

The German, English, and Scandinavian lan¬ 
guages may be traced to the Gothic tongue, the 
first two to the Visigothic and the last to the 
Ostrogothic. A translation of the Bible into 
Gothic was made by Bishop Wulfila, a man of 
profound learning, about 375. Several portions 
of this work are extant, with which are includ¬ 
ed a number of explanations of the gospels. 
The language attained its highest literary cul¬ 
ture during the occupation of Italy, though it 
did not long survive the Gothic peoples. A 
number of literary works and the translations 
from the Bible are of great value in studying 
the growth and history of the early Germanic 
languages. 

GOTTENBURG (got'en-burg), or Gothen¬ 
burg, a city and seaport of Sweden, called Gote- 
borg in Swedish. It is situated on the Catte- 
gat, about 25 miles southwest of Stockholm, 
and has an excellent harbor and extensive canal 


and railroad connections. Among the notewor¬ 
thy buildings are the market place, the cathe¬ 
dral, the governor’s palace, the public library, 
and the arsenal. It has a fine museum and a 
scientific society founded in 1778. Systems of 
gas and electric lighting, stone and macadam 
pavements, and electric • street railways are 
maintained. The city ranks among the best 
built cities of Sweden, having extensive ship¬ 
building yards, excellent institutions of learn¬ 
ing, and important factories. Among the prod¬ 
ucts are cotton and woolen goods, sail cloth, 
spirituous beverages, machinery, sugar, tobacco, 
paper, glass, and furniture. It is important for 
its exports of fish, iron, copper, tar, pitch, and 
lumber. The imports include cereals, food prod¬ 
ucts, and salt. Since 1865 a successful system 
of municipal regulation has been in force, under 
which companies are licensed for the manage¬ 
ment of public houses, and, after retaining six 
per cent, as profit on the capital invested, they 
turn the balance over to the city. Gottenburg 
was founded in 1619 by Dutch settlers, who 
platted the town and built several canals. In 
1806, during the continental blockade, it rose to 
commercial importance. Population, 1906, 156,- 
927 -.. 

GOTTINGEN (get'tmg-en), a city of Ger¬ 
many, in the province of Hanover, on the Leine 
River, about 58 miles south of Hanover. It has 
connections by several railroads, a fine school 
system, and a hospital. However, it is famous 
chiefly as the seat of the celebrated University 
of Gottingen, which was founded in 1734 by 
George II., King of England and Elector of 
Hanover, and formally opened in 1737. The 
university contains an observatory, a museum, 
botanical gardens, anatomical collections, and 
a library with 515,000 volumes and 6,000 manu¬ 
scripts. It has 135 professors, 1,550 students, 
and an alumni that includes many of the emi¬ 
nent German masters, among them Blumenbach, 
Gieseler, Gauss, Herbart, Muller, the Grimm 
brothers, and Weber. Among the illustrious 
Americans who studied there are Longfellow 
and Bancroft. The city is supplied with all 
municipal facilities, such as telephones and elec¬ 
tric conveniences. It has manufactures of 
woolen and cotton goods, scientific instruments, 
chemicals, and musical instruments. Gottingen 
was founded in the 10th century and was prom¬ 
inent as a member of the Hanseatic League. 
Population, 1905, 34,081. 

GOURD (gord), a plant related to the cu¬ 
cumber, having large yellow flowers, ovate or 
oblong fruit, trailing stems, and hairy leaves. 
Many varieties have been produced by propaga¬ 
tion, some of which are edible, and others yield 


GOUT 


938 


GOVERNMENT 


a tough outer shell useful for bottles, dippers, 
and other household vessels. Several species 
are native to Astrakhan and the East and West 
Indies, but many have been naturalized and are 
cultivated in America and Europe.. The gourd 
family includes the watermelon, muskmelon, 



squash, cucumber, pumpkin, and musk gourd. 
Many members of this, family of plants have 
been highly improved by cultivation. They fur¬ 
nish valuable food for man and cattle and form 
important articles of commerce. 

GOUT, a constitutional disorder arising from 
an excess of uric acid in the blood, caused by 
an impaired condition of the kidneys. It arises 
from excessive' indulgence in wines, { fermented 
beverages, and inactivity, and is not uncommon 
among those who partake of undue quantities 
of nitrogeneous foods., However, it is inherited 
by some individuals, but seldom appears before 
the age of thirty. Gout is more common among 
males than among females. It is characterized 
by pains in the joints, but more commonly af¬ 
fects the great toe, the heel, and the calf of the 
leg. Gout affecting the internal organs is most 
dangerous. The best preventives, are regular 
habits, proper diet, and abstinence from alco¬ 
holic drink. 

GOVAN (guv'an), a city of Lanark County, 
Scotland, on the Clyde River, immediately west 
of Glasgow, of which it is a suburb. It con¬ 
tains extensive manufactures and hais important 
shipbuilding yards. Electric and steam railways 
connect it with Glasgow and other cities. It 
was one of the largest towns of Scotland in 
the 16th century, when it was known as Meikle 
Govane. Population, 1907, 84,513. 

GOVERNMENT (guv'ern-mgnt), that 
power of influence which is exercised by one 
person or thing over others. The mainspring 
of a watch, gravitation, the parental head of a 
famity, and civil officers are agencies that gov¬ 
ern in their respective spheres of influence. The 
term is applied most commonly to the power 
exercised by recognized officers of a state or 


nation. Government is an essential element in 
civilization, indeed, without it citizens would 
be unprotected in their personal safety and se¬ 
curity of property against the attacks of lawless 
vandals and marauders. Thus, the term gov¬ 
ernment implies the organized means of a state 
or nation maintained to vouchsafe protection to 
the industrial, political, social, and moral rights 
of the people, and for perpetuating its own ex¬ 
istence. 

Governments vary in their form, the most 
ignorant and barbarous people being governed 
by tyrants and despots, while the more intelli¬ 
gent and law-abiding are governed under a 
system in which each individual has certain 
recognized rights to be protected, and certain 
powers which he may exercise in promoting 
and enforcing the laws. The principal forms of 
government known in history are patriarchal, 
theocratical, monarchial, aristocratic, demo¬ 
cratic, and republican. In general' the patri¬ 
archal is the family government and existed as 
the first and oldest. The father is the recog¬ 
nized head of the family, and exercises an in¬ 
fluence in shaping the welfare of the household. 
Though patriarchal governments do not exist 
at present, yet the family government is the 
true basis of national security and intelligence. 
In a theocratic form of government the people 
are governed as were the Israelites, by the im¬ 
mediate direction and administration of God. 

In a monarchiaU government a monarch is the 
supreme ruler, who bears the title of king, em¬ 
peror, czar, sultan, pasha, or some other term 
implying sovereignity. Monarchies are limited 
when the ^>ower of the sovereign is restricted 
by a constitution and established laws, but 
absolute when unlimited power is vested in the 
chief ruler, and he is responsible to no earthly 
tribunal. China, Morocco, and Persia are abso¬ 
lute monarchies, while Germany, England, Italy, 
Austria, and Spain are limited. A hereditary 
monarchy is one in which the sovereign inherits 
the title to the throne, and in an elective mon¬ 
archy the sovereign owes his position to an 
election by the people. In an aristocratic gov¬ 
ernment the supreme power is vested in a ffew 
men of wealth, usually comprising the clergy 
and a titled nobility, though both these classes 
are not uncommon in monarchial governments. 
A democratic government is one in which the 
people exercise absolute power, and not only 
have a voice in making the laws, but in seeing 
that they are enforced. A republican govern¬ 
ment is representative. In it the people auth¬ 
orize officers to serve them in making and en¬ 
forcing the laws. The government of the 
United States is sometimes called a democratic- 





GOVERNMENT 


939 


GRACE 


republican government for the reason that the 
people may direct their lawmakers to some ex¬ 
tent and are represented, by them in making 
laws, while by public approval or disapproval 
they may induce the officers chosen to admin¬ 
ister the laws wisely and justly. On the other 
hand, Canada is governed as a limited mon¬ 
archy, in which the people have large powers 
in managing local and provincial affairs, while 
the general government of the country is vested 
by heredity in the crown of Great Britain. 

Three distinct branches are recognized in 
every well-established government—the execu¬ 
tive, legislative, and judicial. Executive power 
in the United States government is vested in 
the President, who is advised in his duties by 
nine cabinet officers. The cabinet officers are 
appointed by the President with the consent of 
the Senate. Legislative power is vested in a Con¬ 
gress, which contains two branches—the Senate 
and House of Representatives. The Senate is 
composed of two members from each State, 
who hold office for six years. Members of the 
House of Representatives, who are elected by a 
popular vote in the states, or in various con¬ 
gressional districts of each State, hold office for 
two years. The judicial department, consisting 
of a system of Federal courts, culminates in a 
Supreme Court, which is composed of a’Chief 
Justice and eight associate justices. These are 
appointed by the President with the consent of 
the Senate and hold office during good behavior. 
Each State has a local government modeled 
after the essential features of the general gov¬ 
ernment, and which the Constitution of the 
United States guarantees to maintain. The ex¬ 
ecutive officer of the State is the Governor, the 
legislative power is vested in the General Assem¬ 
bly, and the judicial authority is in a Supreme 
Court having jurisdiction within the particular 
State. In Canada the government is very simi¬ 
lar, but the Governor General, who represents 
the Crown, takes the place of the President. 
This official is the chief executive officer within 
the Dominion and is appointed by the home 
government. Each Province, instead of a gov¬ 
ernor, has a Lieutenant Governor, who is ap¬ 
pointed by the Governor. General. The legisla¬ 
tive functions for the country and the provinces 
are exercised respectively by the Dominion and 
the provincial parliaments. 

■ Among the principal resources of the general 
government of most countries are customs 
duties, internal revenue taxes, proceeds of the 
sale of public lands, and its ability to borrow 
money. The required amount of revenue is 
devoted to the general expenses of the govern¬ 
ment, and all surplus revenue is expended for 


the gradual reduction of the public debt or for 
constructing internal and general improvements. 

GOVERNOR (guv'ern-er), a mechanical 
device serving to regulate the admission of 
steam to an engine according to the rate of 
velocity. It is formed of a vertical shaft, on 
which two bails are suspended, and, when the 
shaft revolves, the balls swing outward. The 
centrifugal force increases with the rate of 
velocity at which the shaft rotates, hence the 
balls are caused to swing farther from the axis 
of rotation. The object is to secure the uni¬ 
form velocity of the engine, which is done by 
this arrangement, since the admission of steam 
is restricted by a valve as the balls swing out¬ 
ward, but is admitted more freely when they 
swing nearer to the axis of rotation. A similar 
contrivance is utilized in mills to equalize the 
motion of machinery. In high-class motors the 
ball governor is being displaced rapidly by the 
inertia governor. This invention overcomes 
the objection that a ball governor does not act 
on the valve until the speed is increased. The 
inertia governor consists of weights and springs, 
is set in the flywheel of the engine or motor, 
and acts by its inertia. When there is a ten¬ 
dency of the speed to increase, the inertia of 
the weights acts in opposition to this tendency, 
affects the eccentrics, and through them the 
valves. By means of this device it is possible 
to check a tendency to increase speed in less 
than one revolution of the fly wheel. Other 
governors include those which regulate the 
inflow of gas and water, each class being used 
for various purposes. 

GOVERNOR’S ISLAND, an island in New 
York Bay. It has an area of 65 acres. Since 
the War; of 1812 it has been occupied by the 
War Department. Besides containing a number 
of forts, it is headquarters for the Department . 
of the East. It is the seat of a military museum 
in which are a number of interesting relics, 
among them the horse ridden by Sheridan from 
Winchester, which has been substantially 
mounted. 

GOVERNOR’S ISLAND, an island of Mas¬ 
sachusetts, in Boston Harbor, about two miles 
east of Boston. For government purposes it 
belongs to Suffolk County. Fort Winthrop, at 
its northern end, is the principal fortification. 
The island is occupied by the national govern¬ 
ment. 

GRACE, Days of, a short period, usually 
three days, allowed for the payment of a bill 
of exchange or a promissory note, after the 
day indicated for payment on the face. In 
most countries, as in Great Britain and the 
United States, there are three days of grace, 




GRAFTING 


940 


GRAFTON 


but in some instances the time is longer, vary¬ 
ing from three to thirty days. Such an allow¬ 
ance is now almost universal; hence a bill does 
not become due, either in law or in fact, on the 
day stipulated, but on the last day of grace. 
If the last day of grace is a holiday, so the 
banks are closed, the obligation is due the date 
preceding the last day of grace. 

GRAFTING (grafting), the process of in¬ 
serting a scion or bud, taken from a vigorous 
tree or shrub, into a closely allied species so as 
to cause them to unite organically and enable the 
graft to receive greater nutritive power than it 
could otherwise obtain. Among the advantages 



GRAFTING. 

A. Cleft grafting; B, splice grafting; C, tongue grafting; 
D, saddle grafting; E, side grafting; F, scion receiving 
moisture partly from a vessel; G, part of stock. 

of grafting are the rapid multiplication of spe¬ 
cies, the propagation of particular types which 
cannot be obtained from seed, and the cultiva¬ 
tion of tendencies to bear fruit several years 
earlier than is otherwise possible. The fruit 
borne by the graft does not partake of the 
identical kind common to the stock, but pre¬ 
serves its own peculiarities. Thus, it is possible 
to propagate several species of fruit or flowers 
on one stock. This is shown in the illustration, 


since the scion F receives support in part tem¬ 
porarily from water contained in the vessel, 
while the twig G is a part of the stock. 

The principal methods of grafting are by 
approach, scions, and buds. In approach graft¬ 
ing several parts of two or more plants grow¬ 
ing from different stocks are united by bringing 
the roots, branches, or stems together. To 
effect this it is necessary to remove equal parts 
of the bark and unite the wounds by air-tight 
inclosures of grafting wax, ligature, or clay. 
Scion grafting includes various methods, some 
of which are known as cleft, side, splice, tongue, 
saddle, crown, and whip grafting. In all of 
these forms it is necessary to bring the grow¬ 
ing parts into apposition; that is, the edges of 
the bark must be arranged so the alburnum of 
both parts will be in close contact. The scion 
method may be performed both in woody and 
herbaceous plants, but union takes place only in 
case the processes of life are freely exercised. 
Bud grafting is practiced largely in fruit trees 
and roses. It consists of transferring the buds 
of one plant, along with a small section of the 
bark, to another plant in which a wound has 
been made. In all forms of grafting it is neces¬ 
sary to exclude air from the wound. Among 
the common materials used for this purpose 
are India rubber, clay, and a mixture of bees¬ 
wax and tallow. See Budding. 

GRAFTON (graf'tun), a town of Massa¬ 
chusetts, in Worcester County, seven miles 
southeast of Worcester. It is on the Boston 
and Albany and the New York, New Haven 
and Hartford railroads, and has a large trade 
in produce and manufactures. The' chief in¬ 
dustries include cotton mills, boot and shoe fac¬ 
tories, and machine shops. It has electric lights, 
waterworks, and several fine schools and 
churches. The first settlement was established 
by John Eliot in 1660 and the town was incor¬ 
porated in 1735. Population, 1905, 5,002. 

GRAFTON, a city of North Dakota, county 
seat of Walsh County, forty miles northwest of 
Grand Forks, on the Northern Pacific and the 
Great Northern railroads. It is nicely located 
on the Park River, in a fertile farming dis¬ 
trict. Among the enterprises are flour mills, 
stock yards, machine shops, grain elevators, and 
a creamery. It is the seat of a State institution 
for the feeble-minded. Population, 1905, 3,523. 

GRAFTON, a city in West Virginia, county 
seat of Taylor County, on the Tygart Valley 
River. It is on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail¬ 
road. The surrounding country is lumber and 
coal producing. Among the noteworthy build¬ 
ings are the State reform school, which is at 
Pruntytown, the courthouse, and the high 


















GRAHAMLAND 


941 


GRAM 


school. Near the city is a national cemetery 
with 1,265 graves. It has manufactures of rail¬ 
road cars, machinery, flour, and ironware. 
Grafton was platted in 1854 and incorporated 
two years later. The growth of the city is due 
largely to the machine shops of the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad. Population, 1910, 7,563. 

GRAHAMLAND, a region discovered in 
1832 in the Antarctic Ocean and claimed for 
Great Britain by Captain Biscoe. It is situated 
south of 68° south latitude, has an apparently 
large area, but is snow and ice bound and of 
little value. 

GRAIL, or Graal, Greal, Grasal, and San- 
grael, according to legends, the cup used by 
Christ at the Last Supper, preserved by Joseph 
of Arimathea, and by him used to receive some 
blood of Christ at the crucifixion. An account 
of this vessel is given in the gospel of Nico- 
demus, a work not accepted as canonical. Many 
of the Moorish and Christian remains of early 
times indicate traces of the tradition and the 
use of various forms of worship into which a 
symbolic vessel entered. According to a legend, 
the Holy Grail, as it became known, was brought 
to England by Joseph of Arimathea in 63 a. d. 
Later the vessel was lost because the possessor 
to whom it had passed committed sin, and a 
search undertaken for the lost treasure by King 
Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table 
became known as the Quest of the Holy Grail. 
At the capture of Caesafea by the Crusaders, 
in 1101, a dish made of a single large emerald 
was found which was regarded as the Holy 
Grail, and is still preserved at the Cathedral of 
San Lorenzo in Genoa. The Holy Grail was 
reputed invisible to persons not pure and holy, 
and when anyone approached who was unholy 
the cup vanished. Wagner accords the story of 
the Holy Grail a prominent place in the opera 
of “Parsifal” and Tennyson gives it a place in 
his “Idylls of the King.” Lowell’s “Vision of 
Sir Launfal” makes mention of it. The numer¬ 
ous romances and poems found in literature re¬ 
ferring to the Holy Grail are of much interest, 
particularly those of Arthur and the Knights 
of the Round Table. 

GRAIN, a term applied to the common ce¬ 
reals, as growing plants, in gathered condition, 
or as seeds in bulk. Many of the grains are 
used in making meal or flour. They include 
corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, rice, buckwheat, 
flax, and cotton. The principal constituents of 
grain seeds are starch, gluten, sweet mucilage, 
and an aromatic substance. Among the largest 
grain fields of the world are those of the Mis¬ 
sissippi Valley in North America, the Parana 
valley in South America, the Nile valley in 


Africa, and the valleys of the Po, Volga, and 
Ganges af Eurasia. 

GRAIN ELEVATOR, a building used for 
elevating, storing, and loading grain for trans¬ 
portation into cars or vessels. Buildings for 
these purposes are maintained in all the grain- 
producing districts and in the large cities where 
the grain market centers. The capacity of 
grain elevators situated in the trade centers and 
shipping ports is very large. Some of the 
larger elevators of Chicago have a capacity of 
50,000,000 bushels; New York, 29,000,000 bush¬ 
els; Minneapolis and Winnepeg, 26,000,000 
bushels; Buffalo and Toronto, 15,000,000 bush¬ 
els; Saint Louis, 15,000,000 bushels; and To¬ 
ledo, 7,000,000 bushels. The largest elevators 
in Chicago are 150 feet wide and 550 feet long 
and have a height of 160 feet. In construction 
the bins and the buildings were formerly largely 
of wood, and the outside was encased by a 
brick or fireproof metallic covering. At present 
the construction is principally of steel, modeled 
after the methods of constructing blocks of 
steel in cities, and thus furnish ample protection 
against fire. This form of construction pro¬ 
vides greater convenience and durability. The 
newer elevators are built largely of brick and 
concrete, though the frame and bins are of 
steel and iron. See Elevator. 

GRAKLE (grak'd), or Grackle, the name of 
several birds found in both hemispheres. The 
name was first given to various birds of the 
starling family, such as the paradise grakle, 
which is native to India. These birds are rep¬ 
resented in America by the crow blackbird and 
the rusty grakle. The former is widely dis¬ 
tributed, some species of which are known 
locally as the jackdaw. Most species have a 
long tail and the male is uniformly glossy black, 
while the female is gray or brownish. The 
rusty grakle extends from the eastern part of 
the United States to the northwestern part of 
Canada. 

GRALLATORES (gral-la-to rez), or Wad¬ 
ers, an order of birds which frequent shores, 
banks, and marshy places. They have long legs, 
necks, and beaks, and wade in the shallow water 
in search of worms and insects. Some of the 
species dive to obtain food at the bottom of the 
water. Among the representative birds of this 
order are the plovers, coots, snipes, curlews, 
and herons. 

GRAM, or Gramme, the unit of weight in 
the metric system. It is intended to be exactly 
equivalent to the weight in a vacuum of one cubic 
centimeter of pure water at its maximum den¬ 
sity. In comparison with the English system it 
is equal to 15.432 grains. A gram degree, in 


GRAMMAR 


942 GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC 


physics, is a unit of heat, being the amount of 
heat necessary to raise the temperature of one 
gram of pure water one degree centigrade. 

GRAMMAR (gram'mer), the, science which 
treats of the principles and usage of language. 
English grammar is divided into four parts, 
orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody. 
Orthography treats of elementary sounds, let¬ 
ters, syllables, and spelling; etymology, of the 
classification, derivation, and properties of 
words; syntax, of the construction of sentences; 
and prosody, of the quality of syllables, of ac¬ 
cent, and of the laws of versification. Every 
language has a grammar peculiar to itself. 
Comparative grammar is based on the study of 
words, analyzes them, and accounts for the 
changes they have undergone. It properly em¬ 
braces a study of the growth of languages. 
However, comparative grammar is of recent 
origin. It dates from the development of 
knowledge of the Sanskrit as associated with 
the Indo-European group of languages. Among 
the eminent students of comparative grammar 
are Grimm, Max Muller, Pott, and Schleicher. 

GRAMOPHONE (gram'6-fon), an appara¬ 
tus to reproduce sound, invented by Emile Ber¬ 
liner. It differs from the phonograph and 
graphophone in that the record is on a disk in¬ 
stead of a cylinder. The disk contains the rec¬ 
ord on a rubber surface and the stylus or needle 
is connected with a diaphram, which travels 
along a spiral groove as the disc revolves hori¬ 
zontally under the impulse of a spring clock¬ 
work. The gramophone is now used quite ex¬ 
tensively as a phonograph (q. v.). 

GRAMPIANS (gram'pi-ans), a group of 
highlands in Scotland, stretching a distance of 
150 miles from the northeast to the southwest. 
The average height is about 2,500 feet, but Ben 
Macdhui and Ben Nevis, the highest summits 
of Scotland, have elevations of 4,048 and 4,406 
respectively. Beautiful valleys intersect the. 
Grampians. A mountain system in the western 
part of the province of Victoria, Australia, is 
known by the same name., 

GRAMPUS (gram'pus), the popular name 
of a genus of large dolphins. The common 
grampus differs from the porpoise in having a 
thicker body. It has no teeth in the upper jaw, 
only a few teeth in the front part of the lower 
jaw, and the color is gray with Streaks of white. 
The larger species are about twenty feet long. 
The common grampus feeds on small fish, squid, 
and mollusks. The name is applied to nearly all 
the cetaceans that are too small to be classed 
with the whales and too large to be grouped 
with the porpoises. 

GRANADA (gra-na'da), a former Moorish 


kingdom of Spain. It had an area of 11,060 
square miles, but is now included with the three 
Mediterranean provinces of Almeria, Granada, 
and Malaga. Grenada became a separate king¬ 
dom in 1225 and was made a part of Spain in 
1492. The products of the region are cereals, 
domestic animals, sugar cane, fruits, and min¬ 
erals, especially lead and iron. Granada, one 
of the chief cities, is the capital of the province 
of Grenada. 

GRANADA, a city of southern Spain, capital 
of the province of Granada and formerly of the 
Moorish kingdom of Granada. It is situated 
on the Jenil River, at the foothills of the Sierra 
Nevada, and occupies a site about 2,000. feet 
above sea level. Its streets are tortuous, but 
the houses are well built in the Moorish style. 
The city is connected by several railroads and 
within recent years has had a healthful com¬ 
mercial growth. It has manufactures of salt¬ 
peter, woolen textiles, gunpowder, silks, and' 
machinery. Among its public institutions are a 
splendid cathedral, a university, several public 
parks, and a number of schools and academies. 
The university was founded in 1531, carries ad¬ 
vanced courses of study, and is attended by 
several hundred students. Granada was found¬ 
ed by the Moors in the 8th century. It became 
the capital of the Moorish kingdom in 1235, and, 
when conquered by Ferdinand and Isabella, in 
1492, it had a population of nearly 500,000. In 
1610 the Moors were expelled from Spain, which 
caused the city to decline. At present it is sur¬ 
rounded by a strong wall. It still contains the 
Moorish palace of Alhambra and an unfinished 
palace commenced by Charles V. Population, 
1906, 76,090. 

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC, a 

patriotic society of the United States, founded 
at Decatur, Ill., on April 6, 1868. The principal 
object is to promote a feeling of fraternal 
friendship among the sailors and soldiers who 
took part in the naval and military forces of 
the Federal government during the Civil War, 
to perpetuate the memory and history of the 
dead, and to extend aid and comfort to the 
orphans and widows. All the sailors and sol¬ 
diers who were called into active service be¬ 
tween April 12, 1861, and April 9, 1865, and 
received an honorable discharge, are eligible to 
membership. The list of eligibles also includes 
those who were members of State regiments, 
hence were subject to the Federal officers. An¬ 
nual encampments are held in the leading cities 
and meetings of state and territorial depart¬ 
ments usually meet each year. The official badge 
consists of a ribbon showing the national flag, 
to which is attached the brass star of the mem- 





GRAND FORKS 943 GRAND RAPIDS 


bership badge. The membership in 1890 was 
409,489, but there has been a constant decrease 
owing to the annual deaths, which have averaged 
about 9,000. In 1908 the membership 'was 216,- 
832. Though the society is not organized as a 
political body, its members have in many cases 
influenced the election of members of the Legis¬ 
lature and of Congress. All the presidents 
from Grant to McKinley saw service in the 
Civil War, and they polled nearly the entire 
vote of the society. Much has been done by 
the organization to promote legislation, relieve 
suffering, and maintain a fraternal feeling 
among its members. 

GRAND FORKS, a city in North Dakota, 
county seat of Grand Forks County, on the Red 
River of the North, about -75 miles north of 
Fargo. It is on the Northern Pacific and the 
Great Northern railroads, and is surrounded by 
a fertile agricultural country. The noteworthy 
buildings include the high school, the county 
courthouse, the Northwestern Normal College, 
the Federal building, and a number of banks 
and hotels. Besides being the seat of Saint 
Bernard’s Ursuline Academy, it contains a Luth¬ 
eran college and the University of North Da¬ 
kota. Among the manufactures are farming 
implements, flour, woolen goods, cigars and ma¬ 
chinery. It has electric lights, waterworks, 
pavements, and other municipal improvements. 
Grand Forks was settled in 1871 and incorpor¬ 
ated in 1881. Population, 1905, 10,127. 

GRAND HAVEN, a port city on Lake 
Michigan, county seat of Ottawa County, Michi¬ 
gan, near the Grand River, about 31 miles west 
of Grand Rapids. It is on the Pere Marquette 
and the Grand Trunk railroads, and is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile agricultural and fruit¬ 
growing country. The city has a good harbor, 
two lighthouses, and a large trade in grain and 
lumber. Among the manufactures are furni¬ 
ture, machinery, sailing vessels, ironware, and 
cigars. The fisheries are an important factor in 
its prosperity. Several steamboat lines furnish 
regular communication. It is improved by elec¬ 
tric lights, waterworks, etc. The chief buildings 
include the high school, the public library, and 
the Ackley College for girls. It was first set¬ 
tled in 1835. Population, 1910, 5,856. 

GRAND ISLAND, a city in Nebraska, coun¬ 
ty seat of Hall County, on the Platte River, 148 
miles west of Omaha. It is on the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy, the Union Pacific, and 
other railroads, and has extensive railway ma¬ 
chine shops. The noteworthy buildings include 
a fine courthouse, the Grand Island College 
(Baptist), the public library, the Saint Francis 
Hospital, and the Nebraska Soldiers’ and Sail¬ 


ors’ Home. It is an important grain and stock 
shipping center, and manufactures flour, beet 
sugar, wire fences, brooms, machinery, farming 
implements, and cigars. It has systems of sew¬ 
erage, parking, electric lights, waterworks, and 
telephones. It was settled in 1869 and incor¬ 
porated in 1872. Population, 1900, 7,554. 

GRAND JURY. See Jury. 

GRAND MANAN (ma-nan'), an island of 
Canada, in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, 
at the entrance to the Bay of Fundy. It is 
about twenty miles long and five miles broad 
and is well timbered with hardwood and ever¬ 
green trees. The shores are high and the sur¬ 
face is fertile, though the island is not greatly 
elevated. Good drives and roads have been con¬ 
structed and the island is popular as a summer 
resort. At Indian Beach, on the northern shore, 
is a small settlement of Quoddy Indians. Grand 
Harbor is the principal settlement. The island 
has a population^ of 2,750. 

GRAND PRE (gran pra), a village of Nova 
Scotia, in Kings County, on the Windsor and 
Annapolis Railway. It is about fifteen miles 
from Windsor and is famous in literature as 
the central theme in Longfellow’s “Evangeline.” 
The French settled it in 1604 and it became a 
British possession in 1713. However, the ex¬ 
pulsion of the Acadians did not occur until 
1755. Population, 1900, 874. 

GRAND RAPIDJ3, a city and the county 
seat of Kent County, Michigan, at the head of 
navigation on the Grand River. It is on the 
Grand Trunk, the Michigan Central, the Pere 
Marquette, the Lake Shore and Michigan South¬ 
ern, and other railroads, and has Communica¬ 
tion by a network of electric railways. . An 
abundance of water power is obtained from the 
rapids in the Grand River. The streets are 
well paved with brick and asphalt and lighted 
with gas and electricity. The architecture is 
generally substantial, including many tall and 
fireproof buildings. Among the* noteworthy 
structures are the Federal buildings, the county 
courthouse, the public library, the Masonic 
Temple, the Pythian Temple, and, many public 
schools and churches. It is the seat of the’ 
Michigan Soldiers’ Home, Saint John’s Orphan 
Asylum, State Masonic Home, city home for 
the treatment of contagious diseases, and nu¬ 
merous hospitals. 

Grand Rapids is important as a, manufacturing 
and jobbing center. It has a large trade in 
lumber,, fruit, grain, quarry products, and mer¬ 
chandise. Among the manufactures, are fur¬ 
niture, flour, clothing, machinery, utensils, and 
hardware. Near the city are gypsum quarries 
that product an immense quantity of stucco. It 





GRAND RAPIDS 


944 


GRAPE 


has extensive productions of brick and tile. The 
furniture manufactories rank as the largest in 
the world. Grand Rapids was settled in 1833 
and received its charter as a city in 1850. Popu¬ 
lation, 1904, 95,718; in 1910, 112,571. 

GRAND RAPIDS, a city of Wisconsin, 
county seat of Wood County, 95 miles west of 
Green Bay. It is on the Wisconsin River and 
on the Chicago and Northwestern, the Chicago, 
Milwaukee and Saint Paul, and other railroads. 
It has a public library, electric lighting, water¬ 
works, and a growing trade in merchandise and 
agricultural products. The manufactures in¬ 
clude paper and wood pulp, furniture, flour, 
machinery, and clothing. It has a number of 
fine county and school buildings. A bridge 
connects the city with Centralia, which was 
annexed to Grand Rapids in 1900. Population, 
1905, 6,157. 

GRAND REMONSTRANCE (re-mon'- 
strans), a document presented by the House of 
Commons to Charles I. of England in 1641. 
It was adopted by a majority of 11 votes at a 
time when the king was absent in Scotland, 
and consisted of 204 sections in which real or 
alleged irregularities of the government were 
enumerated. Among the principal grievances 
stated were that the government had levied 
forced loans, practiced excesses in the courts 
of the Star Chamber, injured the people by 
building up commercial monopolies, and illegally 
enlarged the royal forests* The king at first 
ignored the manifesto and later issued an eva¬ 
sive reply, but afterward tried to impeach the 
leaders who promoted it in the House of Com¬ 
mons. This unsatisfactory policy on the part 
of the king was one of the causes that brought 
on the Civil War and the establishment of the 
Commonwealth. 

GRAND RIVER, a tributary of the Colo¬ 
rado, rises in Grand Lake, and after a course 
of 350 miles joins the Green River in Utah to 
form the Colorado. It flows through a moun¬ 
tainous country in the greater part bf its course, 
and in several localities passes through deep 
canyons. The Dolores and Gunnison are its 
chief tributaries. 

GRAND RIVER, a river of the United 
States, rises in Iowa, and after a course of 300 
miles flows into the Missouri. Its direction is 
mainly toward the southeast, entering the Mis¬ 
souri River at Brunswick, Mo. The country 
through which it flows is highly fertile and in 
its lower course are valuable forests. 

GRANGE (granj), or Patrons of Hus¬ 
bandry. See Farmers’ Organizations. 

GRANITE (gran'it), an unstratified rock, 
generally consisting of the three minerals, 


quartz, mica, and feldspar. The crystal grains 
of which it is formed vary in size, thus giving 
rise to the fine-grained and coarse-grained va¬ 
rieties. The latter is commonly called pegma¬ 
tite. The grain crystals range from the size of 
a pin head to a two-foot cube. Such minerals 
as beryl, garnet, and tourmaline are found in 
granite formations, often in small particles scat¬ 
tered through the body. Granite is classed as 
an igneous or fire-formed rock, and originated 
under great heat and pressure beneath the sur¬ 
face of the earth, the pressure being produced 
in most cases by earth, but also by water and 
steam. It was forced from the pre-Cambrian 
to the Tertiary ages, the granite of the Alpine 
region of Europe being of the more recent 
formation. It is widely distributed and con¬ 
stitutes the most durable material for buildings 
and monuments. Among the productive granite 
districts of the United States are those of New 
England, New York, California, Michigan, and 
other states. It is quarried extensively in Can¬ 
ada, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, and in 
Africa. The red granite of Scotland and the 
Barre granite, a gray species, of New Hamp¬ 
shire, are used extensively in monuments. 

Granite varies greatly in hardness and color, 
according to the proportion of its constituents. 
The varieties in which feldspar predominates 
are inclined to crack, hence they do not possess 
much value for building. The harder species 
are used for building monuments, bridges, pub¬ 
lic buildings, and fortresses. Its hardness makes 
the expense for quarrying and cutting consid¬ 
erable, though this is at least in part overcome 
by its durability and beauty. Most species take 
on a fine polish. Those containing considerable 
feldspar are reddish, the flesh shade of some 
being due to mica, while others are grayish-blue, 
gray, yellowish, pinkish, or drab. Among the 
ancient Egyptians granite was highly prized as 
building material and for tombs and monu¬ 
ments. Their statues were made largely of 
Oriental basalt found in the deserts of Egypt, 
while Oriental red granite served for monu¬ 
ments, such as Cleopatra’s Needles and Pom- 
pey’s Pillar. The ancient method of polishing 
brought out good results, and usually the finished 
product was decorated with finely cut hier¬ 
oglyphics. Egyptian ruins bear evidence that 
they preferred to use the species which are 
darkened by the presence of hornblende, the 
grayish, and those containing a flesh color due 
to the presence of feldspar. 

GRAPE, the wine plant or its fruit. It be¬ 
longs to the genus Vitis, is a climbing vine, and 
has lobed and somewhat hairy leaves. The 
stock is woody and is supported by strong ten- 


GRAPE 


945 


GRASS 




drils. Nearly all the plants have very long and 
branching stems, from which the outer bark 
is easily removed. It is thought that the best 
fruit-bearing plants are native of the region 
surrounding the Caspian Sea, extending as far 
west as the Crimea. Several species of wild 
grape of inferior quality are native to many 
countries and grow extensively in the forests 
of America. The cultivated species thrive in 
the warm and temperate zones. They produce 
berries in clusters, some of which are seedless, 
but others have from one to four stony seeds. 

The Phoenicians introduced the grape into 
Europe from Asia, where it has been grown 
from remote antiquity, and it was brought to 
America as soon as permanent settlements were 
made in the new world. Since then many'of 
the native plants have been improved by culti¬ 
vation and new species originated by mixture 
with those of Eurasia. The grape plant may 



GRAPE VINE. 


be propagated by inoculation, cuttings, graft¬ 
ing, and seeds. Grades of sweet wine are made 
from grapes which are allowed to be left on 
the vines until overripe, when they contain a 
larger per cent, of saccharine matter. The wine 
products of France, Spain, and Germany are 
noted, while for productiveness and large spe¬ 
cies few countries exceed South Australia. In 
many of the warmer climates the wine plant 
bears twice a year. The application of arti¬ 
ficial heat has materially increased the produc¬ 
tion, though this was not practiced extensively 
until within the last century. California is the 
greatest wine-producing State of the United 
States, and its products now rival those of Ger¬ 
many and France. 

Not less than 500 species of grapes are in¬ 
digenous to North America, but the number 
cultivated is comparatively small. The plants 
are usually obtained by cuttings and are set in 
rows about ten feet apart. In most cases the 
ground is cultivated in other crops one or two 
years, after which it is subjected to clean culture 
and the vines are supported on trellises. Care¬ 
ful trimming is necessary to secure a large yield 
of good quality. Among the popular species of 
grapes grown for the market are the Concord, 

60 


Catawba, Niagara, Clinton, White Frontignan, 
Madeira, and Black Prince. 

GRAPESHOT, a class of spherical shot put 
up in stands, generally consisting of three tiers 
with three shots in each tier. The use of case 
shot has superseded largely that of grapeshot. 

GRAPHITE (graf'It), a mineral carbon, also 
called black lead and plumbago. It is found in 
the oldest rock formations, occurring in many 
portions of the Altai Mountains, Germany, and 
the United States, especially in New York, Penn¬ 
sylvania, Michigan, Alabama, and California. 
Extensive deposits are found in Canada, notably 
in the Laurentian rocks at Brougham, Bohemia, 
and Ceylon. It occurs in masses or beds, hav¬ 
ing a chemical composition similar to anthracite 
coal, and may be made artificially from coal.' 
The marketable grades have a highly metallic 
luster, a granular texture, and an iron-gray 
color. They are soft to the touch and quite un¬ 
changeable in the air. Graphite may be heated 
in a closed vessel without effecting a change. 
Its use is largely for crucibles, portable fur¬ 
naces, and pencils. It is employed in electro¬ 
typing, for protecting iron from rust, and vari¬ 
ous other purposes in the arts and industries. 
The manufacturing establishment founded at 
Stein, Germany, by A. W. Faber is one of the 
oldest and largest in the world engaged in the 
manufacture of pencils. In making pencils the 
larger blocks of pure graphite are utilized in 
their natural state by cutting them into pieces 
and forms of proper size, while the cheaper 
grades of pencils contain graphite secured by 
grinding the smaller particles of powder and 
purifying them by washing, and afterward dry¬ 
ing and pressing into proper forms. The 
harder varieties of graphite pencils are made 
by adding a small quantity of clay. 

GRAPHOPHONE (graf'6-f on). See 
Phonograph. 

GRASS (gras), an important and extensive 
order of endogenous plants, including about 
450 genera and 4,500 species. They are distin¬ 
guished from sedges by their generally cylin¬ 
drical, pointed, and hollow stems, while sedges 
are largely triangular in shape, pointed, but 
solid. There are two classes of grasses, arti¬ 
ficial and natural. The former include such 
cultivated plants as trefoils, sainfoin, and clover 
grown for fodder, and the latter embrace the 
grasses proper. Both of these are of incalcula¬ 
ble value on account of the nutritious herbage 
furnished for stock and the various textiles em¬ 
ployed in manufacturing. The soil is enriched 
by the decaying substances of grasses, and 
washing away of the surface soil by rains is 
hindered largely by their roots. Many of the 









GRASS CLOTH 


946 


GRATZ 


grasses are annuals, but those growing in for¬ 
ests and many having woody structure are not. 
Different species are commonly found on hills, 
slopes, valleys, and marshes, and the quality of 
the soil is often indicated by the kind of grass 
it bears. The growth in a single season varies 
from minute forms to heights of fully one hun¬ 
dred feet. Bamboo grasses are woody, while 
grains rank with the herbs. The different 
cereals and their products, such as beer, paper, 
sugar, rum, medicine, bread, and starch, are 
treated in separate articles. 

GRASS CLOTH, the name of certain beau¬ 
tiful fabrics manufactured from ramie, or 
China grass. The name is somewhat mislead¬ 
ing, since the fibers from which the product is 
made do not belong to the grasses,. and the 
kinds of cloth made from the fiber of true 
grasses are very coarse. Some varieties of 
cloth made from ramie resemble silk in fineness 
and luster and are extremely durable. 

GRASSHOPPER (gras'hop-per), an order 
of insects characterized by large, strong hind 
legs fitted for leaping. They are allied to the 



GRASSHOPPERS. 


At A, A, Adults depositing eggs; B, eggs; C, group of eggs. 



locusts, crickets, and cockroaches. Distinguish¬ 
ing and characteristic sounds are produced, as 
in the locust, by rubbing the wings and wing 
covers together during flight, and others by 
rubbing the serrated hind legs against the wing 
covers, while the peculiar sounds of the katydid 
and cricket are caused by rubbing one wing 
cover on the other. • The common grasshoppers 


have long, threadlike antennae and the wings 
are folded together like the sides of a roof. 
In some species they are rudimentary and usu¬ 
ally are grayish or green in color. They are 
numerous in all parts of the world, often occur¬ 
ring in such numbers as to be destructive to 
vegetation. In some of the arid regions, as in 
western Kansas and Nebraska, they have been 
known to obscure the sun for hours in their 
flight, and, when alighting, to be so numerous 
as to greatly damage the growing crops. Some 
species are said to live on insects, but the 
greater number feed on grass and herbage. 

GRASS TREE, the common name of tree¬ 
like plants native to Tasmania and Australia, 
so called from the grasslike foliage. Six spe¬ 
cies have been described, all of which have up¬ 
right stems with tufts of long narrow foliage 
at the upper part, and clusters of flowers are 
borne amid the tufts of leaves. The bases of 
the inner leaves are edible and are prepared 
for the table by roasting. A balsamic gum 
useful in medicine is obtained from the stem 
by incisions. The stem rarely reaches a height 
of more than six feet, though usually it is about 
four feet high, and the diameter is sometimes 
a foot. 

GRASS VALLEY, a city of California, in 

Nevada County, 68 miles northeast of Sacra¬ 
mento, on the Nevada County Railroad. It is 
surrounded by a rich gold-mining region. The 
industries include quartz mills, machine shops, 
and marble works. It is the seat of Saint 
Mary’s Academy, has electric lights and a pub¬ 
lic library, and is the center of a growing trade 
in merchandise and manufactures. The first 
settlement on its site was made in 1849. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 4,719. 

GRATZ (grats), or Graz, a city in Austria, 
capital of Styria, on the Mur River, about 
ninety miles southwest of Vienna. The site of 
the city is a beautiful eminence about 400 feet 
above the river, the streets are well improved, 
and important railroad connections facilitate 
commercial enterprise. Besides a well-organ¬ 
ized school system, it has a university founded 
in 1586 which is attended by 1,725 students and 
has a library of 90,000 volumes. Other note¬ 
worthy buildings are the Gothic cathedral, 
founded in 1456 by Frederick III., a Gothic 
church, numerous monasteries, several govern¬ 
ment buildings, and many splendid residences. 
The manufactures include silk, woolen, and 
cotton goods, machinery, ironware, vehicles, 
soap, sugar, railroad cars, wine, and candles. 
It has electric lights and street railways, water¬ 
works, pavements, several public parks, and 
many fine monuments. Gratz was founded in 







GRAVEL 


947 


GRAYLING 


the 12th century. The Hungarians made an 
attack upon it in 1481, but they were repulsed. 
It was captured by the French in 1797 and in 
1809. The building of railways and the devel¬ 
opment of manufactures since 1860 has caused 
it to grow rapidly. Population, 1906, 158,212. 

GRAVEL (grav'el), the general name of 
small stones or pebbles mixed with sand, loam, 
or clay. It is formed by the action of water- 
disintegrating rocks, the particles appearing 
first as bowlders, but later are worn down to 
pebbles, sand, and even silt. Gravel forms use¬ 
ful material in building highways and ballast¬ 
ing railroad grades. 

GRAVELOTTE (grav-lot'), a village in 
Lorraine, about eight miles west of Metz, Ger¬ 
many. It is noted as the scene of a severe 
battle on August 18, 1870, between the Germans 
and the French. The German army consisted 
of 211,000 men under the personal direction of 
King William of Prussia, and the French army 
of 140,000 was under Marshal Bazaine. The 
German losses were 20,000 and the French 
13,000, but the army of the latter was com¬ 
pelled to retreat to Metz, where the w'hole force 
surrendered to Prince Frederick Charles. 

GRAVITATION (grav-i-ta y shun), the force 
with which all heavenly bodies attract each 
other, often called the attraction of gravitation. 
That heavenly bodies attract each other was 
believed by Democritus and Epicurus and later 
by Bacon, Galileo, and Kepler, but it was left 
for Newton to discover the universality of 
gravitation and the law of its action between 
all bodies. The law he announced is that every 
particle of matter in the universe attracts every 
other particle of matter with a force directly 
proportional to its quantity of matter, decreas¬ 
ing as the square of the distance increases. In 
all heavenly bodies two opposing forces are 
constantly at work, one an attractive and the 
other a projectile force. If the attraction of 
gravitation alone operated, all planets would 
fall into the sun; or, if the projectile force 
alone existed, all planets would go off into 
space and move in a straight line forever, un¬ 
less ultimately brought to rest by some external 
agency. 

The two forces of gravitation are so nicely 
balanced that all heavenly bodies move around 
the central luminary with an exact precision, 
and when a planet is nearest the sun its pro¬ 
jectile force is increased to exactly balance the 
increased force of attraction. Not only are the 
planets attracted by the sun, but they attract 
the sun. Their revolution is not properly 
around the sun, but all heavenly bodies, includ¬ 
ing the sun, revolve around the center of gravi¬ 


tation, which is a point at or near the center of 
the sun. The same law operates in the case of 
all the satellites and primary bodies; they all 
attract each other directly as their respective 
masses, and inversely as the square of their dis¬ 
tance. The laws of gravitation are well known, 
but why interposed substances will not inter¬ 
rupt gravitational tendencies, and how it can 
act at a distance without contact or connection, 
are problems not yet fathomed. 

GRAVITY (grav'i-ty), the natural force ex¬ 
erted on all terrestrial matter, by which all 
bodies have a tendency to fall toward the center 
of the earth. This attraction holds all objects, 
as rock, water, animals, air, buildings, metals, 
and wood, and from it they receive the property 
called weight. The term specific gravity has 
reference to the relative weight or density of 
substances. If gravity did not exist, all objects 
loose on the earth’s surface would be inclined 
to pass off into space by themselves. It is 
greatest at the surface of the earth, and dimin¬ 
ishes as one goes upward, being a thousandth 
part less on a mountain 10,000 feet high. It is 
exerted alike on all bodies of equal density, and 
remains constant at a given place. At the poles 
its influence is greatest and it gradually de¬ 
creases toward the Equator. Tests with spring 
balances have demonstrated that bodies appear 
to become heavier as we proceed toward the 
poles. This is due to the centrifugal force 
caused by the revolution of the earth upon its 
axis, which is greatest at the Equator and has 
a tendency to throw bodies off the earth. The 
difference in weight is or a body weighing 
194 pounds at the Equator weighs 195 pounds 
at the poles. From this is learned that if the 
earth turned seventeen times faster upon its 
axis than it does, gravity would be overcome, 
and bodies would lose the property of weight. 
Gravity is measured by the acceleration of a 
falling body and by an oscillating pendulum. 
Increase in the weight of a falling body on the 
line between Canada and the United States is 
about 50.2 feet per second, and the variation of 
acceleration in different places determines the 
gravity. A pendulum oscillating once a second 
at sea level in the latitude of New York moves 
slower or faster at places having greater or less 
gravity, hence it must be shorter or longer re¬ 
spectively to oscillate the same number of times. 
All heavenly bodies have gravity, the intensity 
of which is modified by their volume, density, 
velocity, and the attraction of gravitation. 

GRAYLING (gra'Hng), the name of a genus 
of edible fish, resembling in habits and external 
appearance the small salmon. The body is slen¬ 
der, the head is somewhat elongated, and the 



GREAT BARRINGTON 


948 


GREAT BRITAIN 


mouth is small. It is active and considered a 
good game fish. The flesh is highly prized for 
table use. Two species are widely distributed 
in North America. These include the arctic 
grayling of Canada and Alaska, which is about 
eighteen inches long and weighs from one to 
two pounds. The other species, generally known 
as the Michigan grayling, is found in various 
parts of the United States, but especially in 
Michigan and the head streams of the Missouri 
River. The European species are abundant in 
the northern part of that continent and extend 
as far south as northern Italy. 

GREAT BARRINGTON, a town of Massa¬ 
chusetts, in Berkshire County, forty miles west 
of Holyoke, on the New York, New Haven and 
Hartford Railroad. It is surrounded by pictur¬ 
esque scenery, hence is popular as a summer re¬ 
sort. The manufactures include cotton goods, 
machinery, cigars, and electrical. apparatus. It 
has electric lights, a public library, and water¬ 
works, and is the seat of Sedgwick Institute. 
In 1786, during Shay’s Rebellion, it was the 
scene of an insurrection. William Cullen Bry¬ 
ant was the town clerk of Great Barrington for 
several years. It was settled in 1725, but formed 
a part of Sheffield until 1761, when it was in¬ 
corporated. Population, 1905, 6,152. 

GREAT BASIN, a vast triangular plateau 
between the Wasatch and Sierra Nevada moun¬ 
tains. It includes nearly all of Nevada and part 
of Idaho, Oregon, and California. Its length 
from north to south is 800 miles, and its breadth 
in a line crossing Great Salt Lake equals about 
500 miles. The surface is diversified by valleys 
and mountains, among which numerous streams 
and salt lakes abound, but none has an outlet to 
the sea. In early geologic times the basin 
formed a vast lake. 

GREAT BEAR LAKE, a large fresh-water 
lake in the western part of North America, situ¬ 
ated in the district of Mackenzie, Canada. Its 
coast line is irregular and, being crossed by the 
Arctic Circle, its waters are frozen half of the 
year. Keith and McVicar bays are the princi¬ 
pal coast indentations. The surface area is 14,- 
000 square miles and the elevation above the sea 
is about 225 feet. It discharges into the Mac¬ 
kenzie by the Great Bear River. 

GREAT BRITAIN, the English Empire, in¬ 
cluding the British Isles and extensive colonial 
possessions, and known officially as the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The 
British Isles embrace two principal islands, the 
most important of Europe, the largest of which 
contains the three political divisions of England, 
Scotland, and Wales, and the smaller, Ireland. 
Five groups of islands are included, of which 


the Scilly and Channel islands belong properly 
to England, and the Orkney, Hebrides, and 
Shetland islands, to Scotland. Other islands 
adjacent and belonging to Great Britain include 
Wight, Man, and Anglesey. The eastern bound¬ 
ary of the British Isles is formed by the North 
Sea; the southern, by the Strait of Dover and 
the English Channel; and the western and north¬ 
ern, by the Atlantic Ocean. Ireland is separated 
from the larger island by the North Channel, 
Irish Sea, and Saint George’s Channel. The 
area of the British Isles is 130,979 square miles. 
It has a coast line, including indentations, of 
about 4,000 miles. 

Surface. The surface is greatly diversified, 
being mountainous and rugged in the northern 
portion, especially in Scotland, while the south¬ 
ern part consists of undulating plains. Immense 
bogs characterize the interior of Ireland, but its 
coastal regions are fertile and of moderate ele¬ 
vation. The most elevated peaks of Scotland 
are the Grampians, which attain to heights of 
about 4,410 feet. In Wales the highest eleva¬ 
tion is Snowdon, 3,375 feet, and the most ele¬ 
vated in Ireland is Carrantual, 3,414 feet. The 
mountain regions extend from Scotland and 
Wales into England and culminate in Scafell, 
3,210 feet. On the border between England 
and Scotland are the Cheviot Hills, separated 
from the Pennine Chain by a low strip of coun¬ 
try, but a larger part lies in Scotland. These 
highlands enabled Scotland to maintain a sepa¬ 
rate political existence for many years, and 
transportation lines are still mainly around the 
ends, where they are lowest. 

Rivers. Numerous rivers and lakes furnish 
ample interior water surface for navigation, 
fisheries, and facilities to propel machinery and 
supply cities with water. However, the rivers 
are not of great length and volume, owing to 
numerous mountains and the comparatively 
small extent of the surface. The Clyde and the 
Severn are the two longest rivers, the former 
in Scotland and the latter in England. The 
Clyde has been greatly improved by widening 
and deepening and is an important avenue of 
commerce. Next to the Severn, which is nearly 
250 miles long, is the Thames, about 200 miles, 
among the river systems of England. Both 
have sluggish currents and are benefited for 
navigation by the tides. The Thames is one of 
the most important avenues of commerce in the 
world, estimated on the basis of the volume 
transported. Other streams of importance in¬ 
clude the Don, Tay, Dee, Spey, Forth, Trent, 
and Tweed. In the northwestern part of Eng¬ 
land is the Lake District of the Cumbrian 
Mountains, and a famous lake region is in the 



GEORGE V. 


George V., King of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, born June 3, 1865, is the son 
of Edward VII. and Alexandra, eldest daughter of Christian IX., of Denmark. He was trained to 
become a sailor, after which he spent five years in cruising, and in 1892 entered the House of Lords 
as Duke of York. He succeeded his father in 1910. He married Victoria May, daughter of the Duke 
of Teck, in 1893. Edward Albert, the heir apparent, was born June 23, 1S94. 





























0 


i 








1 











. 

































GREAT BRITAIN 


949 


GREAT BRITAIN 


Highlands of Scotland. Among the lakes of 
the latter are included Loch Katrine, Loch I^o- 
mond and Loch Rannoch. 

Climate. The climate- as a whole is health¬ 
ful. The summers are cool and the winters 
are moderately cold, while the rainfall is quite 
large. These characteristics are due to the prox¬ 
imity of the sea, since the location in latitude is 
about that of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in 
North America. The harbors do not become 
ice bound at any time of the year and snowfalls 
are rare, except in the higher altitudes, but none 
of the mountains are covered with snow in the 
summer. In winter the average temperature is 
about 25° and in summer it is about 60°, while 
the annual average may be placed at 48°. Clouds 
are very frequent and the land is covered with 
fogs quite often. The inland and the western 
part have the heaviest rainfall, but the annual 
average for the country is about 40 inches. It 
is much greater in Wales, where it reaches 60 
inches. As a whole the climate of the British 
Isles is favorably modified by the Gulf Stream, 
which sweeps across the Atlantic Ocean from 
North America, and by the prevailing southwest 
winds. These causes combine to render it equa¬ 
ble and highly salubrious. 

Industries. The wealth of Great Britain 
originated from extensive agricultural and min¬ 
ing interests, and upon these were built vast 
manufacturing enterprises. By aid of an ex¬ 
tensive marine it was possible to open the chan¬ 
nels of commerce for the exchange of products 
and the increase in the output of manufactories. 
All the available land fit for cultivation is util¬ 
ized with much care and the fertility is main¬ 
tained by a high state of cultivation and by the 
use of fertilizers. All the domestic animals 
common to North America are grown success¬ 
fully, especially milch cows, dairying being an 
important enterprise. The agricultural products 
were nearly sufficient for the food supply of the 
people until the middle of the 19th century, but 
with the advent of steam power and improve¬ 
ment in machinery the demand for raw materials 
rapidly increased and the cost of foreign food¬ 
stuffs was cheapened. For these reasons it be¬ 
came impossible to compete longer with grain 
grown in foreign countries, and thousands of 
agricultural laborers left the farms and sought 
employment in the manufactories. Great Brit¬ 
ain at present exceeds all countries in the im¬ 
portation of food products and the supply grown 
at home is far short of the requirement. 

Commercially Great Britain holds an impor¬ 
tant position among the nations. On the one 
hand it is the largest importer of food products, 
and on the other hand exports a vast quantity 


of manufactured articles. The total imports 
received annually are valued at $3,150,000,000, of 
which about one-half is paid for articles of food 
and drink, and the bulk of the balance is ex¬ 
pended for raw material for shipyards and fac¬ 
tories. At present the domestic exports aggre¬ 
gate about three-fifths of that of imports and 
nearly all of this represents manufactured or 
partly manufactured articles. The manufacture 
of cotton, woolen, linen, and silk textiles have 
been renowned for many centuries. Its pro¬ 
ductions of tinware, ironware, machinery, glass, 
furniture, porcelain, and other useful commodi¬ 
ties take high rank among the products of the 
world. It not only holds a high place among the 
most important manufacturing nations, but in 
the production of merchant-marine vessels and 
general shipbuilding it occupies first place. The 
annual output of vessels is about 750, with a 
tonnage of 1,850,000. 

Great Britain possessed good transportation 
facilities long before the advent of the era of 
railroad building. None of the manufacturing 
or commercial centers is far from the sea, not 
more than 75 miles, and all of the cities that 
have a large trade are near rivers or canals. The 
Thames River was improved by the government 
as early as 1423, and the vast network of main 
and auxiliary canals now in use aggregate a 
length of about 3,250 miles.. The Manchester 
Ship Canal, 35 miles in length, is one of the 
most important waterways for large ocean ves¬ 
sels. Many of the rivers, such as the Severn, 
Thames, and Clyde, have been canalized. The 
railroads are exceptionally well built and 
equipped and include a total of 23,500 miles, ex¬ 
clusive of the lines operated in Ireland. With 
the exception of the United States and Germany, 
no country of the world has risen to the high 
development in commerce enjoyed by Great 
Britain. The import trade, based on values, in 
the order of importance, is with the United 
States, France, Germany, Holland, Russia, Bel¬ 
gium, Spain, and Denmark. The exports are 
largely to the colonies, though it has a large ex¬ 
port trade with France, Germany, and Brazil. 

Education and Religion. Educationally the 
British Isles take a high rank, though the per 
cent, of illiteracy is much greater than in Ger¬ 
many and the Scandinavian countries. Until 
1870 education was voluntary, but in that year 
measures to promote elementary education were 
passed, arid soon after attendance was made 
compulsory for all children between the ages of 
five and fourteen. A school attendance law for 
Scotland was enacted in 1872, by whose terms 
attendance was made compulsory from five to 
fourteen years. The Board of Education ere- 


GREAT BRITAIN 


D50 


GREAT BRITAIN 


ated in 1899 has charge of educational affairs in 
England and Wales, but in the latter division 
the instruction includes a department in the 
Welsh language. Schools are maintained gen¬ 
erally by taxation and public grants. Support 
is given by the government to many industrial 
institutes which teach agriculture, dairying, com¬ 
merce, mining, and the fine arts. In Ireland the 
educational status is not as well advanced as 
in the other portions, but a spirit in favor of 
progressive teaching and for greater educational 
advancement is becoming more marked. 

Among the higher institutions of Great Brit¬ 
ain are the universities at Cambridge and Ox¬ 
ford, which rank among the most celebrated of 
Europe. Other universities in England include 
those at Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bir¬ 
mingham, London, and Leeds. The University 
of Dublin is the most noted in Ireland, and the 
four celebrated institutions of Scotland are at 
Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Saint An¬ 
drews. Besides these, there are about ninety 
colleges in the British Isles, which are supported 
partly by public grants, but mostly by private and 
religious societies. All forms of religious wor¬ 
ship are tolerated. However, in England and 
Wales the Protestant Episcopal and in Scotland 
the Presbyterian churches are favored by state 
endowments. In this portion of the British 
Isles the people are largely Protestants, while 
in Ireland about two-thirds belong to the Roman 
Catholic Church. Among the numerically 
strongest Protestant sects in Ireland are the 
Presbyterian, Methodist, Independents, Baptist, 
and Friends. 

Government. The government is a constitu¬ 
tional monarchy. It was gradually developed 
from the feudal period to a popular form. The 
two leading features, which are an administra¬ 
tive ministry and representation of the people in 
the legislature of two houses, have been adopted 
by many of the republics of the world. How¬ 
ever, the constitution is unwritten and consists 
of important manifestoes and treaties, royal de¬ 
crees relating to adminstration, and numerous 
precedents and judicial decisions. The Magna 
Charta of 1215, the Declaration of Rights in 
1689, the Act of Settlement in 1771, the Act of 
Union with Scotland in 1777, and the Act of 
Union with Ireland in 1800 are the most impor¬ 
tant of the constitutional instruments. Nomi¬ 
nally the executive power is vested ip the king 
or queen and the two houses of Parliament, but 
it is actually exercised by a committee of minis¬ 
ters known as the Cabinet. The Parliament has 
supreme legislative power, and the laws made 
by that body are administered through the Cab¬ 
inet. Since the cabinet officers are dependent 


largely upon Parliament and the latter body may 
name the sovereign when the question of suc¬ 
cession arises, it is apparent that the principal 
governmental powers in the kingdom ultimately 
are vested in the Parliament. 

Succession to the crown is vested in the eldest 
child of the preceding ruler and male heirs are 
preferred over female heirs; At the age of 
eighteen the heir apparent comes into possession 
of his title, being Duke of Cornwall by heredity 
and Prince of Wales by grant. The Protestant 
Episcopal church being official, it is required that 
the heir and crown affiliate with it. The sover¬ 
eign is the nominal head of the Church, presides 
over the highest ecclesiastical bodies, may grant 
pardons and issue passports, has power to de¬ 
clare war and make treaties, is the commander 
of the navy and army, and may appoint and re¬ 
move certain administrative officers. It is with¬ 
in his range of power to summon, open, pro¬ 
rogue, and dissolve Parliament, but the last- 
mentioned function is not exercised without the 
advice of the ministry. Though he has the veto 
power in legislation of Parliament, this right has 
not been exercised since 1707. 

When a new Cabinet is to be chosen, the sov¬ 
ereign selects the leader of the majority party 
in the House of Commons as Premier, who, 
after holding consultations with the members of 
his party, selects a ministry. The ministers 
chosen by the Premier are appointed by the 
sovereign, and they may be members of either 
house of Parliament. They not only retain their 
seats in Parliament, but as ministers propose 
many subjects for legislation and are leaders in 
the debate. Twenty ministers make up the Cab¬ 
inet, but all of them are not directly engaged in 
the work of council. When a majority of Par¬ 
liament become dissatisfied with the action of 
the Cabinet, they declare that the ministry no 
longer has their confidence, and they must either 
change their course in deference to the wishes 
of the majority or resign. 

The'legislative functions of the government 
are exercised by the two houses of Parliament, 
the House of Lords and the House of Com¬ 
mons. The Great Council, as the Parliament 
was originally called, was first a gathering of 
nobles and bishops, but in 1265 the commoners 
were given representation. Edward I., in 1295, 
issued writs ordering the election of two citi¬ 
zens from each city or borough and two knights 
from each county. In the 14th century the Par¬ 
liament was divided into the two houses, and 
this arrangement has continued up to the pres¬ 
ent. The lords hold their seats by hereditary 
right; by virtue of office, as bishops of the Es¬ 
tablished Church; by creation of the sovereign; 


GREAT BRITAIN 


951 


GREAT BRITAIN 


by election for the duration of Parliament, as 
in the case of Scottish peers; or by election for 
life, as in the case of Irish peers. In 1900 the 
number of names on the roll of lords was 593. 
Power to revise all bills that come from the 
House of Commons, except those relating to 
public revenue and expenditure, is vested in the 
House of Lords. The expenditures of the na¬ 
tion, are controlled by the lower house. All the 
members of the House of Commons are chosen 
by .qualified electors. The right to vote is re¬ 
stricted to male citizens who are twenty-one 
years of age or over and who possess a property 
qualification. The total membership of the 
commons is 67(1 members, being one representa¬ 
tive for each 54,000 inhabitants, and a few of 
the towns and the great universities have rep¬ 
resentation. Women are permitted to vote 
under certain conditions for city and county 
councils and school boards, and are eligible to 
serve as members of the latter, but they are not 
permitted to vote for members of Parliament. 

Great Britain being one of the largest political 
powers in the world, necessarily has vast in¬ 
terests in different lines of government, both 
local and colonial. Local government is admin¬ 
istered in six distinct lines, including those of 
parishes, rtfral districts, urban districts, school 
districts, boroughs, and counties. In these ad¬ 
ministrative districts the government is vested 
very largely in the people themselves, subject 
only to the law and constitution of the nation* 
Wales has been governed as a part of England 
since 1536, and the privileges of its inhabitants 
are coextensive with that of other English sub¬ 
jects. Scotland is represented in Parliament by 
16 peers and 72 commoners, and the administra¬ 
tion is through the Chief Secretary for Scotland. 
Local government is similar to that of England, 
but there is a separate system of civil and crim¬ 
inal courts, though the House of Lords is the 
highest judicial tribunal to which appeals may 
be taken. Ireland is governed through a per¬ 
sonal representative of the crown, who is known 
as the Lord Lieutenant. He is aided by the 
Chief Secretary for Ireland, who, like the Chief 
Secretary for Scotland, is usually a member of 
the Cabinet. Ireland has 28 peers and 103 com¬ 
moners in the British Parliament, but has no 
Parliament of its own. Here the local govern¬ 
ment conforms quite generally to that of Eng¬ 
land, and its system of courts culminates in the 
supreme court of judicature, from which appeals 
may be taken to the British House of Lords. 

The colonies are divided into four classes, de¬ 
pending upon the system under which govern¬ 
ment is administered. Those of the first class 
include the possessions that are practically inde¬ 


pendent of the mother country, such as Canada 
and Australia; those of the second class are 
semiindependent, where the legislature is partly 
elected by the people and partly appointed by 
representatives of the crown, such as Ceylon and 
Malta; those of the third class are known as 
crown colonies and are governed by a council 
and governor appointed by the crown, such as 
British Honduras and the empire of India; and 
those of the fourth class embrace the protecto¬ 
rates, in which native agencies conduct the gov¬ 
ernment. To these may be added a fifth class in 
which the government is administered by char¬ 
ters through trading companies. Egypt is in a 
class by itself, where the influence of Great 
Britain is paramount, but the government is 
nominally administered through Turkey. 

Great Britain has the largest navy in the 
world. It includes, besides others, 60 battle¬ 
ships, 20 armored cruisers, 100 protected cruis¬ 
ers, 80 torpedo boat destroyers, and 100 torpedo 
vessels. The total displacement of vessels is 
estimated at 1,150,000 tons. The revenues of 
the government for all purposes are derived 
from various sources, but the most important 
of the direct taxes is the income tax, which is 
levied on the income of individuals in graduated 
rates. In addition to this are the excise duties, 
inheritance tax, customs duties, house duties, 
stamp duties, and land tax. In 1908 the national 
debt amounted to $3,875,000,000. Many of the 
public utilities are owned by the government, 
such as the postal service, which includes a par¬ 
cel post, and the telegraph lines. 

Inhabitants. The population of Great Brit¬ 
ain, including Ireland, has been increasing stead¬ 
ily. However, Ireland has shown a constant 
decrease for many decades. London, the cap¬ 
ital of the British Empire, located on the 
Thames, is the largest city in the world. In 
1907 fourteen cities of England, two of Ireland, 
and two of Scotland had a population of more 
than 200,000. Owing to the great uplift in man¬ 
ufacturing enterprises, there has been a con¬ 
stant increase in urban population. Fifteen per 
cent, of the people of Wales speak Welsh only, 
45 per cent of Ireland speak Irish only, and 63 
per cent, of Scotland speak Gaelic only. The 
inhabitants of the United Kingdom in 1907 were 
44,100,231. Of this number 4,378,568 were in 
Ireland, 4,776,063 were in Scotland, and 34,945,- 
600 were in England and Wales. 

Colonies. The colonial possessions of Great 
Britain are more extensive than those of any 
other nation. The entire possessions embrace 
about one-seventh of the land area and nearly 
one-fourth of the inhabitants of the earth. All 
the more important islands and continental prov- 


GREAT BRITAIN 


952 


GREAT BRITAIN 


inces are treated in separate articles. The 
table published in connection with this article 
does not include some of the minor possessions 
and some of the unsurveyed territories of Af¬ 
rica may contain a greater or smaller area and 
population than stated. However, based upon 
the most recent reports, the table may be con¬ 
sidered sufficiently accurate. 


Great Britain and Colonial 
Possessions. 

Area 

in Square 
Miles. 

Popula¬ 

tion. 

In Africa: 

35 


Ascension Island. 

260 

Basutoland... 

10,293 

348,840 

Bechuanaland Protectorate. 

386,200 

120,770 

Cape Colony. 

Central Africa Protectorate 

277,000 

2,409,800 

(British). 

East Africa (British, Uganda, 

40,980 

1,000,500 

and Zanzibar). 

289,258 

8,200,000 

Mauritius and dependencies. 

Natal (including Zululand, Ama- 

877 

400,000 

tongaland, and other districts). 

35,371 

1,108,750 

Nigeria. 

310,000 

25,000,000 

Orange River Colony. 

50,392 

387,315 

Rhodesia. 

750,000 

925,000 

Saint Helena. 

47 

3.882 

Seychelles. 

148 

20,275 

Somaliland Protectorate. 

60,000 

300,000 

Transvaal........ 

West African Colonies (Gold 

111,196 

1,354,200 

Coast, Lagos, Gambia, Sierra 



Leone) . 

In America: 

138.260 

4,263,700 

Bermudas. 

18 

23,317 

Canada... 

Falkland Island and South 

3,619,946 

5,371,315 

Georgia. 

7,500 

2,044 

Guiana (British). 

90,500 

302,170 

Honduras (British). 

7,562 

39,968 

Newfoundland. 

40,200 

. 220,000 

Labrador. 

In Asia: 

120,000 

4,000 

India (British and Native States) 

1,766,642 

294,361,056 

Ceylon. 

25,333 

3,812,931 

Cyprus... 

3,584 

237,022 

Hong Kong. 

32 

335,000 

Aden, Perim, and Kuria Muria.. 

101 

41,406 

Sokotra. 

1,382 

12,000 

Bahrein Islands.... • • • 

270 

70,000 

Borneo (British North). 

31,106 

200,000 

Labuan Island. 

31 

8,411 

Brunei. 

4,000 

12,000 

Sarawak. 

Straits Settlements (Singapore, 

41,000 

500,000 

Penang, and Malacca). 

Federated Malay States (Perak, 

1,542 

572,249 

etc.). 

26,380 

678,595 

Wei-Hai-Wei (in Shantung). 

In Australasia: 

1,785 

150,000 

Australia, Commonwealth of.... 

2,972,918 

3,925,000 

British New Guinea. 

90,540 

350,000 

New Zealand. 

104,751 

857,000 

Fiji. 

In Europe: 

7,435 

121,773 

United Kingdom. 

121,089 

41,458,721 

Isle of Man. 

227 

54,752 

Jersey and Guernsey. 

76 

95,700 

Gibraltar. 

2 

26,830 

Malta. 

Pacific Islands: 

117 

202,134 

Tonga, or Friendly Islands. 

390 

18,959 

Other Islands. 

West Indies: 

9,000 

200,000 

Bahamas. 

5,450 

56,135 

Barbados. 

166 

199,000 

Jamaica and dependencies. 

Leeward Islands (Virgin Islands, 

4,424 

806,690 

etc.). 

701 

127,536 

Trinidad (including Tobago). 

1.868 

273,900 

Windward Islands. 

498 

170,171 


History. As a distinct name Great Britain 
was first used to distinguish the English govern¬ 
ment from that of Britainy in France, though 
it was employed only in a poetic sense until 1603, 
when James I. began to style himself King of 
Great Britain. In that year the crowns of Eng¬ 
land and Scotland were united by the accession 
of James' VI. of Scotland to the throne of Eng¬ 
land as James I., but an independent legislative 
body was retained by each. The name Great 
Britain became legalized in 1707, when the two 
countries became organized as one inseparable 
union. Queen Anne, the last of the Stuarts, 
ascended the throne in 1702 and died in 1714. 
She was succeeded by George I. of the present 
house of Hanover. Twelve new peers had been 
created in 1711 and this gave the Tories a ma¬ 
jority in the lords, but the rise of the house of 
Hanover caused the Stuarts to be exiled, and 
the insurrections that followed were soon sup¬ 
pressed. King George was supported by the 
Whig party, which 'remained in undisputed 
power nearly fifty years. During his reign 
Walpole rose to power and was a potent factor 
in overcoming the panic that followed the fail¬ 
ure of the South Sea Company. He was the 
first of the premiers, though he did not assume 
the title, and remained influential after the suc¬ 
cession of George II., in 1727. 

In 1739 Great Britain became involved in a 
war with Spain, though Walpole tried to avert 
it, and three years later he resigned rather than 
assume the responsibility of the Austrian Suc¬ 
cession. He was succeeded by the ministry of 
Carteret, who participated in the War of the 
Austrian Succession, which proved unprofitable 
to England, but was rather fortunate for the 
house of Hanover. Charles Edward Stuart, the 
Young Pretender, invaded England while the 
war was in progress, but was finally defeated at 
Culloden in 1746. Ten years later, in 1756, 
William Pitt entered the Cabinet. He supported 
Frederick the Great in the Seven Years’ War 
and advocated the war against France, which 
resulted in the loss of Louisiana, Canada, and 
India to the French. George II. was succeeded 
by George III. in 1760, and the new king imme¬ 
diately began to plan for a restoration of many 
of the royal powers that had been lost by his 
two predecessors. Pitt resigned from the Cab¬ 
inet in 1761 and was succeeded by Lord Bute, 
but the latter soon gave way to Lord North, 
during whose ministry the Revolution in Ameri¬ 
ca began. The Treaty of Paris conferred inde¬ 
pendence on the American colonies in 1783, and 
as a result of the dissatisfaction that followed 
the younger Pitt became Prime Minister, retain¬ 
ing this position until his death in 1806. 




























































GREAT BRITAIN 


953 


GREAT KANAWHA 


The general attitude of republicanism in 
France after the Revolution along with other 
causes brought on a war with France in 1793. 
It resulted fortunately to England, since Nel¬ 
son’s victory at Trafalgar made Great Britain 
the supreme naval power, while the successes of 
Wellington in Spain and Portugal forced the 
Congress of Vienna to grant favorable terms to 
the British. However, Ireland undertook to 
obtain independence by force of arms and Eng¬ 
land soon after became involved in the War of 
1812 with the United States. The reign of sixty 
years by George III. was ended in 1820, when 
George IV. ascended the throne. He had al¬ 
ready served as regent for his insane father, 
during whose term of service the country had 
contracted an enormous debt, which greatly re¬ 
tarded economic and political reforms. In 1822 
England opposed the alliance between Austria, 
Prussia, and Russia for the suppression of 
democracy, and five years later assisted the 
Greek patriots against Turkey. George Canning 
became Premier in 1827, but was soon succeeded 
by Wellington, who promoted a policy of re¬ 
form. Catholic emancipation was granted in 
1829. William IV. ascended the throne in 1830 
and the following year Lord Russell introduced 
the first of the famous reform bills, which was 
indorsed after an appeal to the country by a 
large majority. Slavery was abolished in the 
colonies in 1833, new poor laws were enacted in 
1834, and Upper and Lower Canada were united 
into one Dominion in 1837. 

Queen Victoria began her long reign of 64 
years in 1867. She exercised a very limited po¬ 
litical influence, since the government was large¬ 
ly in the hands of the ministry. Among the 
principal events of her reign are the extension 
of territory and political power in India, the 
repeal of the Corn Laws, the invasion of Af¬ 
ghanistan in 1839, the Crimean War in 1854, the 
Opium War in China in 1840, the Sepoy Mu¬ 
tiny in 1857, the disestablishment and disendow- 
ment of the Irish Church in 1871, the proclama¬ 
tion of Victoria as Empress of India in 1877, 
the Anglo-Boer War in 1899, and the agitation 
for home rule in Ireland. Edward VII. suc¬ 
ceeded his mother, Queen Victoria, in 1901, 
while the Anglo-Boer War was still in progress. 
At the conclusion of peace, in 1902, the territory 
of the Orange River Republic and of the Trans¬ 
vaal Republic was annexed to the British pos¬ 
sessions. The past fifty years of history are im¬ 
portant in the newer progress of the great em¬ 
pire, especially in its educational, commercial, 
and military development. Within this period 
lived many of the eminent statesmen who for¬ 
mulated its newer policies, including Gladstone, 


Ewart, Disraeli, Salisbury, and Campbell-Ban¬ 
nerman. See England. 

GREAT EASTERN, the first of the large 
steamships built in Europe. It was constructed 
in 1854-58 at Millbank, England, for the East¬ 
ern Navigation Company, after designs made by 
Scott Russell, and intended for service to Aus¬ 
tralia by way of the Cape of Good Hope. The 
length was 680 feet; breadth, 83 feet; and height 
to the bulwarks, 70 feet. It had one mast of 
wood and five of iron and a capacity of 11,000 
horse power, and could spread 7,000 yards of 
sail. The capacity was ample for 5,000 persons 
when all compartments were fitted out, though 
the design was to carry only about 1,000 passen¬ 
gers and devote the remaining space to the car¬ 
go. The cargo capacity was 20,000 tons. It cost 
$300,000 to launch the vessel, which was done on 
the Thames, Sept. 8, 1859. The expense of man¬ 
ning and keeping up repairs made the enterprise 
disastrous. After laying the Atlantic Cable and 
making a number of trips across the Atlantic, 
the vessel was used to transport troops and later 
as a coal hulk at Gibraltar in 1884. Subsequent¬ 
ly it served as a curiosity. In 1888 it was sold 
at auction in Liverpool and broken up for re¬ 
pair and building material. Although the Great 
Eastern was considered too large to be practical 
at the time it was in use, it has been greatly sur¬ 
passed in size and power by the modern vessels. 
For instance, the Kaiser Wilhelm II. is 683 feet 
long and the Lusitania is 760 feet long. 

GREAT FALLS, a city in Montana, county 
seat of Cascade County, on the Missouri River, 
near its falls at the mouth of the Sun River, 98 
miles northeast of Helena. It is on the Great 
Northern and other railroads, within a region 
which produces large quantities of gold, silver, 
iron, coal, copper, and sandstone. Among the 
chief buildings are the county courthouse, the 
public library, the high school, and the Federal 
building. It has seven parks with a total area 
of 560 acres. Immense water power is derived 
from Rainbow and Great falls. Among the 
manufactures are earthenware, clothing, cigars, 
machinery, and brick. It has large smelting and 
refining works. Great Falls was settled in 1884 
and incorporated in 1888. Population, 1900, 14,- 
930; in 1910, 13,948. 

GREAT FISH, or Back River, a stream of 
Northern Canada, rises near Lake Aylmer, and 
flows into the Arctic by a wide estuary. Its 
source is in Mackenzie, whence it has a course 
of about 500 miles toward the northeast. It 
was discovered and explored by Sir George 
Back in 1834. 

GREAT KANAWHA (ka-na'wa), an im¬ 
portant river flowing into the Ohio, rises in the 





GREAT LAKES 


954 


GREECE 


Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Its 
entire length is 410 miles, about 100 of its lower 
course being navigable. The upper portion is 
called New River, which has a general direction 
toward the northeast through Virginia, but 
makes a bold turn into West Virginia, and 
thence the Kanawha has a northwesterly course. 
Among the towns on its banks are Charleston, 
W. Va., and Pearisburgh, Va. The region 
through which it passes is rich in coal,and iron 
deposits. 

GREAT LAKES. See Lakes, The Great. 

GREAT PEDEE RIVER (pe-de'), a 
stream formed in North Carolina by the con¬ 
fluence of the Yadkin and Rocky rivers. It 
passes into South Carolina, where it receives 
the Little Pedee, and flows into Winyaw Bay 
at Georgetown. It has a total length of 415 
miles and is navigable to Cheraw, a distance of 
150 miles. 

GREAT SALT LAKE, a body of salt water 
situated in the northern part 'of Utah. It is 
about 85 miles long, from 20 to 48 miles wide, 
and is 4,150 feet above sea level. Its only out¬ 
let is by' evaporation, hence the water is one of 
the most concentrated salt brines known in the 
world, containing about 20 per cent, of sodium 
chloride and slight quantities of other salts. No 
fish subsist in the lake, but its shores are fre¬ 
quented by gulls and wild fowl. The discharge 
from Lake Utah, a fresh-water lake, is carried 
into it by the Jordan from the south. Other 
rivers flowing into it include the Ogden, Bear, 
and Weber. 

The first account of this lake was made in 
1689 by Baron La Hontan (1667-1715), who 
based his report on information given by the In¬ 
dians. In 1776 Escalanta, a Franciscan friar, 
mentioned the lake and Fremont explored it in 
1843. The adjacent geological formations give 
evidence that in early times the lake was an im¬ 
mense body and at least 1,000 feet deeper than 
ar present. The present average depth is about 
18 feet and at its deepest point it is about 35 feet. 
The valleys' lying adjacent have been improved 
greatly by irrigation, and now constitute the 
richest part of the State. Numerous railroad 
lines traverse the adjacent country, and near it 
are the thriving cities of Salt Lake City, Ogden, 
and Logan. A line of the Southern Pacific 
Railroad crosses the lake, passing almost due 
west from Ogden. 

GREAT SLAVE LAKE, a large, irregular 
fresh-water lake in Mackenzie, Canada, about 
325 miles long and 80 miles wide. The area is 
7,100 square miles. It has irregular shores and 
numerous islands, and is frozen over half the 
year. The discharge from Athabasca Lake flows 


into it, and its surplus waters are carried to the 
Arctic by the Mackenzie River. 

GREAT WALL OF CHINA. See Chinese 
Wall. 

GREBE (greb), the name of a water bird 
common to Europe and America, peculiar in 
that the feet are not webbed. Each toe has a 
separate membrane, which is united with the 
membrane opposite. It has no visible tail. The 
bill and head are of nearly equal length, the 
wings are short, and the legs are thin and not 
well fitted for walking. In water they are skill¬ 
ful and swim rapidly, and when frightened they 
dive quickly and pass under water for consid¬ 
erable distances. The common grebe is about 
ten inches long and is hunted for the silky 
plumage of the under part, which is used in the 
manufacture of muffs and trimmings. Nine 
species are common to North America, ranging 
from Mexico to the southern part of Canada. 
They are quite numerous along the eastern coast 
and are known locally as dippers and hell-divers. 
The crested grebe is one of the larger species 
and has the finest plumage. 

GREECE, a kingdom in Southeastern Eu-‘ 
rope, occupying the most easterly of the three 
peninsulas that project from Europe into the 
Mediterranean. The northern boundary is 
formed by Turkey, eastern by the Aegean Sea, 
southern by the Mediterranean, and western by 
the Ionian Sea. It extends from latitude 40° 
north southward to latitude 36° 23'. The length 
from north to south is about 250 miles and the 
greatest breadth is 180 miles. Many islands are 
located in the Aegean and Ionian seas, most of 
which appear to be the summits of sunken vol¬ 
canic formations. The boundaries of the in¬ 
terior provinces are formed largely by mountain 
ranges, all of which have associated with them 
historic incidents of much interest. Together 
with the Ionian Islands, the Euboea and 
the Cyclades, it has an area of 25,040 square 
miles. 

Description. A continuation of the Balkan 
Mountains, known by the general name of Pin- 
dus, extends across the boundary line from Tur¬ 
key and divides and subdivides into numerous 
chains. The coast line is extraordinarily irreg¬ 
ular, being indented by many gulfs and bays val¬ 
uable in commercial enterprises. The numerous 
islands that belong to Greece are separated from 
the mainland and from each other by navigable 
channels, and like the mainland contain numer¬ 
ous mountain elevations. Olympus, 9,750 feet 
high, supposed to have been the dwelling place 
of the gods in ancient times, is located on the 
northern boundary. It belongs to the eastern 
extremity of the Cambunian Mountains. Other 


GREECE 


955 


GREECE 


mountain peaks include Parnassus, 8,075 feet, 
and Cithaeron, 4,615 feet, in central Greece; and 
Taygetus, 7,900 feet, situated in the Pelopon¬ 
nesus. A number of plains are located in dif¬ 
ferent sections of the country, but all of them 
are surrounded by chains of mountains. The 
great plains of Thessaly, 1 in the northern part of 
Greece, are the most extensive. They are level 
and woodless, but have a very fertile soil and 
may be regarded the granary of the kingdom. 
Other plains are located in Argolis, Boeotia, and 
Messenia. 

The rivers of Greece are numerous, but all are 
quite small and unimportant, except as they are 
associated with legends and history. None of 
the streams is important for navigation or water 
power. The greater number dry up during the 
summer, others disappear in sinks in limestone, 
and 'only the largest flow the entire year. The 
Achelous, which flows into the Ionian Sea north 
of the Gulf of Patras, is the most important 
river. The Iri (Eurotas) and the Alpheus are 
the chief rivers of the Peloponnesus. Aside 
from the Messongi; on the Island of Corfu, 
there are no streams in the islands. The moun¬ 
tainous regions have a number of lakes, many 
of which have no visible outlet to the sea, the 
surplus being drained through porous limestone. 
Lake Copais in Boeotia is the largest inland body 
of water. The Gulf of. Lepanto or Corinth, 
located northwest of Athens, is almost sur¬ 
rounded by land, and is connected with the Gulf 
of Patras, an inlet from the Ionian Sea, by a 
narrow channel. 

Climate. As a whole, the climate is temper¬ 
ate and salubrious. The atmosphere is remarka¬ 
ble for its clearness and beauty, rivaling the 
Italian sky, and the country is generally health¬ 
ful, though it is not thought to be as agreeable 
as it was in ancient times. The sirocco winds 
from Africa make some of the summer days 
very hot, almost unendurable, and the cold of 
winter is somewhat intensified by the winds 
blowing from the snowy mountain summits of 
the north. Frosts and snowfalls rarely occur in 
the lowlands, but the summits of mountains are 
visited by heavy snows in the winter. The 
eastern part is subject to droughts, hence irri¬ 
gation is necessary for many farm crops, but 
the western region has an abundance of rain¬ 
fall. A larger part of the precipitation takes 
place in autumn and winter and the summers 
are generally very dry. On the plains and some 
of the coasts the soil is quite fertile, hence the 
yield of produce gives greater returns than any 
time since Greece had its ancient prosperity. 

Mining. Lead is the most important of the 
minerals, the yield being about 30,000 tons per 


year. Lignite coal is found in Euboea, but the 
supply is quite limited. Important deposits of 
iron and copper are known to exist, but the 
scarcity of fuel has prevented them from being 
worked to any extent. Gypsum, salt, and sul¬ 
phur deposits of considerable value are found 
in various localities. Fine marble is obtained in 
Paros and Pentelicus and emery occurs in 
Naxos and other islands. Building stone, espe¬ 
cially limestone, is very abundant. 

Agriculture. Greece is principally an agri¬ 
cultural country. The ownership of the land is 
vested largely in the peasant farmers, who must 
depend to a considerable extent upon irrigation. 
Nearly half of the tilled land is used in the 
cultivation of cereals, but the supply of wheat 
and other grains is not sufficient for the home 
demand. In the region of Elis, where the lands 
are low and well watered, a superior quality of 
rice is grown. Fruits are cultivated very ex¬ 
tensively, especially currants, grapes, figs, lem¬ 
ons, oranges, apples, and pomegranates. The 
mulberry tree is propagated extensively as an 
adjunct of the silk industry and vegetable gar¬ 
dening is an enterprise of much value. Sheep 
are the most important of the domestic animals, 
while goats are reared for their milk, from 
which butter and cheese are made. Other do¬ 
mestic animals include horses, cattle, and swine. 
Bee culture has been practiced from ancient 
times. The forest area is very small, this being 
due to the fact that the large number of goats 
tend to kill the young trees, but some attention 
is given to forestry. 

Manufacturing. Greece is especially adapt¬ 
ed to the production of wines that are rich in 
color and alcohol, hence their manufacture re¬ 
ceives marked attention. Most of the manufac¬ 
turing enterprises are conducted in small shops, 
many of which are located near the towns and 
in the country. Peasant women weave carpets 
in their houses and engage locally in spinning 
and sewing. Flour is ground in many of the 
towns and cites. Piraeus is the center of cotton, 
wool, and silk factories. The fisheries yield 
many commercial products, especially the sponge 
fisheries of the Aegean Sea. Other manufac¬ 
tures include machinery, clothing, utensils, toys, 
leather, soap, and sailing vessels. 

Transportation and Commerce. Greece had 
950 miles of railways in 1908. Electric lines and 
tramways are operated in the cities and in some 
sections of the rural districts. About 2,200 miles 
of good highways are maintained and 6,500 
miles of telegraph lines are in operation. Much 
of the transportation is by the sea. The Corinth 
Canal, completed in 1893, crosses the Isthmus 
of Corinth and connects the Aegean with the 




GREECE 


956 


GREECE 


Ionian Sea. It is the seat of an important com¬ 
merce, since it furnishes a short and safe route 
between points in Italy and Constantinople. A 
railway line parallel to the Gulf of Corinth has 
been in operation a number of years, furnishing 
transportation facilities between Athens and Pa¬ 
tras, and important lines are being constructed 
to connect the chief centers of Greece with those 
of the central part of Europe. The imports 
exceed the exports, the former being about 
$26,500,000 and the latter $17,500,000. Foreign 
trade is chiefly with Great Britain, Russia, Aus¬ 
tria, Turkey, Germany, France, and Italy. 

Education. The state of education has been 
greatly neglected, in consequence of which many 
of the people are unable to read and write, the 
proportion of illiteracy being about 25 per cent. 
This is due not so much to the inclination of the 
Grecians, but more particularly to the fact that 
the country has been subject to distracting in¬ 
ternal and foreign wars. These causes have 
brought about a low state in the national 
finances. Within recent years the school sys¬ 
tem has been modeled after that of Germany, in 
which the Realschulen are important factors in 
fitting for the industries. By national law all 
children between six and twelve years of age 
are required to attend school, but the law has 
not been enforced strictly in the more impov¬ 
erished districts. Besides the public elemen¬ 
tary schools, there are private institutions and a 
system to promote higher education, including 
numerous colleges, academies, and the national 
university at Athens. A number of European 
and American colleges have been established to 
promote the investigation and study of antiqui¬ 
ties with the view of adding to general knowl¬ 
edge of Grecian art and history. Religious wor¬ 
ship is free and unrestricted, though a very large 
majority of the people belong to the Greek Cath¬ 
olic Church, which is the official religion. The 
Christian sects aside from the Greek number 
about 25,000, while the Mohammedans have 
about the same strength and 6,000 are Jews. 

Government. The government is a consti¬ 
tutional monarchy, of which the king is the 
chief executive. Legislative power is vested in 
a chamber of deputies known as the Boule, 
which meets in Athens annually, and its mem¬ 
bers are elected by popular vote. The six heads 
of departments compose the ministry, and they 
are responsible to the chamber of deputies. 
Service in the army is compulsory from the ages 
by nineteen to forty years, if necessary, though 
two years’ service with the colors enables admis¬ 
sion to the reserve, and the remainder to the 
Landwehr, these three divisions constituting the 
army. On a peace footing the military force 


numbers 25,180 men and the reserve is 98,000. 
The entire navy as now organized is composed 
of forty vessels of all classes. The drachma, 
equivalent to the franc, is the monetary unit. 
Greece adopted the metric system of weights 
and measures in 1898 and maintains an efficient 
postal Service. 

Inhabitants. The modern Greeks resemble 
the Iberians of Spain and the Ligurians of Italy. 
In stature they are medium, averaging about 
five feet six inches, and the hair, skin, and eyes 
are dark. About one-tenth of the people are 
Albanians and the remainder of the inhabitants 
are Greeks. Not more than one-third of the 
Greek people live in Greece, the remainder being 
distributed largely in European Turkey, Crete, 
Asia Minor, Cyprus, and the United States. 
Athens, the capital, is the largest city and 
chief center of trade. Other cities include 
Corfu, Piraeus, Patras, Larissa, Volo, and Za- 
kynthos (Zante). The total population in 1907 
was 2,631,952. 

Language. The Greek language is a branch 
of the great family of Jndio-European lan¬ 
guages, and was spoken as early as the 15th 
century b. c. From Asia Minor and southeast¬ 
ern Europe it was carried by colonies of Greeks 
to Sicily, lower Italy, and other regions on the 
Mediterranean. Ultimately it became the spoken 
language of Macedonia, Syria, Egypt, and the 
Byzantine Empire. Ancient writers, especially 
those associated with Greece and Rome, trace 
the language to a race of people called by them 
Pelasgi, who were regarded by some more re¬ 
cent writers as of Gothic origin, and who were 
undoubtedly the people from whom both the 
Greeks and Romans had their origin. Little 
was known of the Greek language to the people 
of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, 
but with the revival of learning came a re¬ 
newed interest in the language and literature 
of the Greeks, who came to be known as a 
people of much culture and refinement. The 
Dutch scholar, Erasmus (q. v.), not only in¬ 
duced a widespread interest, but carried Greek 
as a branch of study to Cambridge University 
in 1510. 

Three distinct dialects, known as the Ionic, 
Doric, and Aeolic, were spoken in the historic 
period of ancient Greece. Of these the first 
two were the most important, since they entered 
more largely into the literary treasures of the 
Greek masters. The Ionic was the dialect used 
by Homer, Hesiod, and Herodotus, and thus is 
embodied in the master productions known to 
modern students. In northern Greece and the 
colonies the Doric prevailed largely, and it 'is 
represented in the writings of Pindar and Theo- 


GREECE 


957 


GREECE 


critus. As a whole, the language was remark¬ 
able for its beauty and elasticity, on account of 
which many of its elements are retained in the 
modern European languages. The spoken tongue 
was greatly influenced by the Roman conquest, 
after which many Latin words were incorpo¬ 
rated with the vocabulary. However, the classic¬ 
al forms are well preserved in the modern lan¬ 
guage, making it possible for a student of 
ancient Greek to read the modern tongue quite 
readily. The Germanic languages, especially 
the English and German, have incorporated many 
words from the Greek, but the words of Greek 
origin are comparatively few as compared with 
the number derived from a Latin source. 

Literature. Much of Greek literature, as 
known to modern writers, is as old as the his¬ 
tory of the Greek language. The first works 
known to us as Greek writings are the “Iliad” 
and the “Odyssey,” two productions generally 
attributed to Homer. They are unlike the first 
writings that have come down to us from other 
nations in that their language is highly cultured, 
instead of being a recital of simple fable or 
folklore. From this it is evident that learning 
had flourished long before the time of Homer, 
and that the poetic art had a firm hold upon the 
Greeks many centuries before the Christian era. 
Both these productions are epic poems, the 
“Iliad” treating of the war against Troy, and 
the “Odyssey” reciting the adventures of Odys¬ 
seus, a celebrated Greek hero of the Trojan 
War, while on his return voyage to Greece. It 
is generally assumed that these epics were 
passed from generation to generation in a 
spoken form, and that they were not committed 
to writing until after many years. This cir¬ 
cumstance has given rise to doubts as to their 
authorship, it being quite probable that Homer 
only collected and compiled them into conven¬ 
ient form. 

Hesiod, the eminent poet of nature, flourished 
about a hundred years after the time of Homer 
and is the author of “Works and Days,” an epic 
treating of farm life and work. It contains 
many general reflections on domestic virtues, 
industry, and poetic art. The same writer gives 
a genealogy of Greek gods and heroes in his 
“Theogony.” Lyric poetry had its rise in the 
latter part of the first period, and its finest ex¬ 
amples are embodied in the writings of the 
poetess Sappho, and Alcaeus, Aleman, and Pin¬ 
dar. The latter was, perhaps, the greatest of all 
lyric poets, his productions treating of the 
heroes associated with the Olympian and other 
festal games. It was the custom in Greece to 
recite the epics in the family before retiring at 
night, while the lyrics were sung at the festi- 


’ vals given on state occasions and in the homes 
of the wealthy classes. 

Greek literature is particularly rich in drama 
and history and attained its height of import¬ 
ance in the oratory of Attica. In the Golden 
Age of Greece the literature reflected the politi¬ 
cal glory and educational importance of the 
Hellenes. The drama rose as a means to edu¬ 
cate the common people in religious duties, as 
well as to instruct them in government and the 
industries. The dramatical works reached their 
highest perfection in the Age of Pericles, when 
vast theaters were built to accommodate large 
audiences, the largest at Athens. Sophocles, 
Aeschylus, and Euripides are among the best 
known writers of tragedy, and Aristophanes 
has the highest place among the writers of com¬ 
edy. Herodotus stands preeminent as the great¬ 
est historian of Greece. We are indebted to 
him for much of our knowledge of early peo¬ 
ples, including the Chaldaeans and Babylonians, 
and many events in the Persian wars. Other 
historians of note were Thucydides and Xeno¬ 
phon. The former is best known for his “His¬ 
tory of the Peloponnesian War,” and the latter 
by his “Recollections of Socrates” and “Cycro- 
paedia,” a history of Cyrus the Great. 

Socrates stands preeminent among the phi¬ 
losophers and is closely associated with Plato 
and Aristotle, these three being the greatest 
philosophical teachers of antiquity. We are in¬ 
debted to Plato for a knowledge of the teach¬ 
ing of Socrates, the latter leaving no written 
works. Plato is the author of “Dialogues/* a 
work that has exercised marked influence on 
modern thought. Aristotle wrote on meta¬ 
physics, logic, economics, physics, and rhetoric. 
No less important than Grecian philosophy is 
the oratory of the Hellenes. To be an orator 
was not only regarded a high accomplishment, 
but oratory was taught as a special branch of 
study, and expert teachers found lucrative em¬ 
ployment in writing speeches. Antiphon was 
the first of the ten great orators, but Demos¬ 
thenes ranked as the most eminent, and his ef¬ 
forts are taken as the highest perfection in the 
art. The most noted oration of the former is 
“On the Murder of Herodes,” while the oration 
of Demosthenes entitled “Oration on the 
Crown,” which was directed against Aeschines, 
and his “Philippics” against Philip of Macedon, 
were the most effective in arousing the Athe¬ 
nians against the Macedonians. Other great 
orators include Pericles, Lysias, and Isocrates. 
The three philosophical schools of Greece were 
the Stoics, Epicureans, and Skeptics, with which 
are associated respectively the names of Zeno, 
Epicurus, and Pyrrho. 


GREECE 


958 


GREECE 


The Alexandrian Age of Greek literature is 
the last period in the literary development of 
ancient Greece, being so called from the rise 
of Alexandria in Egypt. It embraces the epoch 
from the division of the empire founded by 
Alexander the Great to the conquest of Greece 
by the Romans, from 300 to 140 b. c. In this 
period Greek scholars influenced learning in 
Egypt and aided in producing the Septuagint 
version of the Old Testament, the name applied 
to the translation from the Hebrew into the 
Greek made by seventy scholars at Alexandria. 
Among the writers of this period are Theocri¬ 
tus, author of “Idylls,” Euclid, Archimedes, and 
Aristarchus, the last mentioned being a fore¬ 
runner of Copernicus. The scientist, Strabo (50 
b. c.) ; the astronomer, Claudius Ptolemy (150 
a. d.) ; and the historian Plutarch, are among 
the later writers to enrich the literature. Plu¬ 
tarch, a Greek-Italian writer of the 14th cen¬ 
tury, had a modifying influence on Greek litera¬ 
ture'as the author of “Parallel Lives,” in which 
he contrasts many Greek soldiers and statesmen 
with the leaders of Rome. 

Modern Greek literature has its beginning 
with the fall of Constantinople, in 1453, but the 
early productions of this period are character¬ 
ized by the defenses of orthodox traditions as 
against the Latin heresy. In this respect they 
are a continuation of the spirit of Byzantine lit¬ 
erature. However, comparatively little of per¬ 
manent value was produced until the 18th cen¬ 
tury, when the works in fiction and poetry began 
to multiply. In the 18th century many dramati¬ 
cal works were translated from Lessing, Shake¬ 
speare, Schiller, Goethe, and other English and 
German writers by Alexander Rangabe and 
Demetrios Bernardakis. A revival of the spirit 
of nationality in the 19th century has stimulated 
many current works. The improved condition 
of schools and institutions of higher learning is 
having a wholesome and elevating effect in lit¬ 
erary lines. 

History. Historically, Greece occupies an 
important position, though mostly because of 
its glory in the remote past. Hellen is its fabled 
ancestor, who was regarded the son of Deucalion 
and Pyrrha, two survivors of the deluge. From 
him descended the four celebrated divisions— 
the Dorians, Ionians, Aeolians, and Achaeans. 
Collectively, these were called Hellenes and the 
country became known as Hellas, the names 
by which the Grecians still call themselves and 
their country. The Italians originated the word 
Greek from their northern tribes Graeci which, 
through the Romans, passed into common usage 
among the Europeans. The Achaeans were re¬ 
nowned in war, but the Ionians and Dorians 


were the most important divisions, and respect¬ 
ively founded the two great cities of Athens and 
Sparta. A people called the Pelasgians occu¬ 
pied the country before the Grecians secured 
possession, but they probably were earlier Aryan 
immigrants from Asia, since they were readily 
assimilated by the intellectually superior Gre¬ 
cians. Phrygia in Asia Minor is regarded the 
nativity of the Grecians before coming to Greece, 
and it is thought that they came by way of the 
Hellespont to the islands of the Aegean Sea. 
Civilization and religious rites were brought 
over from Egypt and Phoenicia. 

The Heroic Age of Greece has reference to 
the historic events of Hercules, Theseus, Minos, 
Jason, and the celebrated Trojan War, all of 
which are treated in special articles. It is 
thought that the Trojan War occurred about 
1194-84 b. c. Authentic history begins about 
1000 b. c., at which time the celebrated Dorian 
invasions of two centuries were ended. These 
were followed by the establishment of the 
Dorian states in the Peloponnesus, the succes¬ 
sive invasions of Asia Minor, and the con¬ 
quests of Crete, Rhodes, Cos, and other islands 
of the Ionian and Mediterranean seas. The best 
picture of early Greek life is given in the famous 
works of Homer, the “Iliad” and “Odyssey.” 
While mixed with poetic fancy, they make us 
acquainted with the Grecian deities, customs, in¬ 
dustries, games, commerce, and arts of war. 

The Dorians and Ionians were long powerful 
rivals for supremacy among the Hellenes. While 
the former established their stronghold at Spar¬ 
ta, the latter made Athens their seat of influ¬ 
ence. Lycurgus prepared a code of laws for the 
Spartans, under which the people secured greater 
rights and developed material prosperity. The 
culture of Sparta was military, a condition 
brought about largely by the need of means of 
defense and the promotion of commerce. At 
Athens, Solon prepared a code of laws-, repeal¬ 
ing many that inflicted severe forms of punish¬ 
ment. His laws made ample provision for the 
intellectual, physical and moral culture. Under 
the legislation introduced by Solon splendid 
temples and public improvements were built, 
libraries were founded, and learning was patron¬ 
ized. Though hostile to each other, the several 
states of Greece united when King Darius of 
Persia landed at Marathon in 490 b. c. for the 
purpose of conquering the Athenians. In the 
battle that ensued, Miltiades led an army of 
10,000 Athenians and succeeded in defeating the 
Persians, the battle being classed as one of the 
decisive engagements of the world. 

In 432 b. c. the Spartans began a general war 
to conquer Athens and after 27 years established 


GREECE 


959 


GREEK CHURCH 


Spartan supremacy. The oppressions that fol¬ 
lowed caused an alliance between a number of 
the states and the Persian king, and in 371 led 
to the defeat of the Spartans at Leuctra. Greece 
attained its height of prosperity and military 
power during the Macedonian supremacy, partic¬ 
ularly under Alexander the Great, son of Philip 
of Macedon, who reigned in 336-323 b. c. This 
great leader defeated Darius, overthrew the 
Persian Empire, annexed large parts of Asia 
and Africa, and among other cities founded 
Alexandria. The brief reign of Alexander was 
followed by internal dissensions and an inva¬ 
sion by the Gauls in 279 b. c., and the nation was 
threatened by the states that rose in the West. 
Had Greece remained united by strong internal 
ties, it might have predominated over the 
Romans, but, owing to local differences, all of 
Greece became a Roman province after the cap¬ 
ture of Corinth in 146 b. c. Under Roman rule 
a period of peace and prosperity prevailed. 

The Goths invaded Greece in 395 a. d. and 
captured many of its cities. However, Rome 
was divided in the same year into the Eastern 
and the Western empires, by which the country 
became incorporated with the former. It re¬ 
mained an integral part of the Byzantine Empire 
(q. v.), with its capital at Byzantium, until that 
city, whose name had been changed to Constan¬ 
tinople, was captured by the Turks in 1453. 
While belonging to the Byzantine Empire it 
retained renown for its learning and was turned 
from paganism to Christianity. 

In 1453 Greece was conquered by Mohammed 
II., and in 1669 it came under absolute control 
of the Turks. A war of independence began in 
1821 under the leadership of Alexander Ypsi- 
lanti. With the help of Russia, France, and 
England it finally threw off Turkish rule in 
1828. The Greek statesman, Count Capo d’ Is- 
tria, became president, but in October, 1831, he 
was assassinated. The powers in 1832 elected 
Otho, second son of the King of Bavaria, as 
King of Greece, who reigned thirty years and 
abdicated. 

George I., the present sovereign, ascended the 
throne in 1863. He is the second son of the 
late Christian IX. of Denmark, and owes his 
election to the national assembly. He granted 
a liberal constitution, which went into effect in 
1864, and the widespread brigandage that for¬ 
merly prevailed was finally suppressed in 1870. 
Owing to the cruel treatment of Greek Chris¬ 
tians in Crete by the Turks, hostilities continued 
more or less for several centuries, and war 
broke out anew between Greece and Turkey in 
1897, which proved disastrous to the Grecian 
army in every battle. The treaty of Constanti¬ 


nople required Greece to pay a war indemnity 
of $18,000,000 and rectified the frontier between 
the two countries. In 1898 the powers required 
Turkey to withdraw from Crete,, which was 
made nominally independent of Turkey under 
the protection of Greece. The war with Turkey 
aroused anew the spirit of nationalism, which is 
exemplified in its present efforts for greater 
prosperity. 

GREEK CHURCH, one of the Christian 
sects, whose official title is Holy Orthodox Cath¬ 
olic and Apostolic Church. Its membership is 
confined largely to the countries formerly under 
the Byzantine Empire and to Russia. Three 
distinct branches of this faith are recognized, 
which are known as the Orthodox Church in the 
Turkish Empire, the Orthodox Church of Rus¬ 
sia, and the National Church of Greece. Each 
of these has a definite head, but in points of 
doctrine and practices they are closely allied. 
The Orthodox Church in the Turkish Empire 
is presided over by the patriarch of Constanti¬ 
nople, who is under the protection of the Sul¬ 
tan, and with it are affiliated the patriarchates 
at Alexandria, Antioch, and, Jerusalem. The 
Holy Synod of Saint Petersburg is the primary 
influence of the Orthodox Church of Russia, 
but the Czar is the temporal head of it and of 
the whole Greek Church. The Holy Synod of 
Greece, established in 1833, is at the head of 
the National Church of Greece. Prior to 1054 
the adherents of the Greek Church were a part 
of the Roman Catholic denomination, but in that 
year the two branches became separated, largely 
on account of contentions regarding papal su¬ 
premacy and vital doctrinal points. 

The Greek Catholics teach seven sacraments, 
those of baptism, confirmation, eucharist, pen¬ 
ance, extreme unction, holy orders, and mar¬ 
riage. They reject the word purgatory and the 
papal supremacy, but admit there is purgation 
after death and pray for the dead. They prac¬ 
tice triple immersion, teach transubstantiation, 
and use leavened bread in giving the Lord’s 
Supper. The pictures of the saints and the 
Bless.ed Virgin are very common in churches, 
but the crucifixes are not used. No seats are 
provided for the worshipers, who stand during 
the entire service, and instrumental music is not 
permitted in the churches. Many formal cere¬ 
monies are used and periods and days for fasting 
are numerous. Clergymen are usually required 
to marry before they are ordained, but bishops 
do not marry. Formerly the archbishop of 
North America was resident in Alaska, but his 
seat is now in New York City. The Greek 
Church of the world at present has a total mem¬ 
bership of about 100,000,000, of which 90,300,000 






GREEK FIRE 


960 


GREENHOUSE 


are in Russia. The Greek Orthodox Church 
has 101,500 communicants in the United States 
and the Russian Orthodox has 40 churches and 
68,000 members. 

GREEK FIRE, the name applied to several 
inflammable and destructive compounds used in 
military operations during the Middle Ages. A 
preparation of this kind was employed exten¬ 
sively by the Greeks of Constantinople, who 
used it both in naval and military warfare. The 
simplest weapon was the hand tube, which was 
filled with combustibles of various kinds and 
flung by the hand against the buildings and upon 
the vessels of the enemy, serving to inflict dam¬ 
age and set fire by the explosion that followed. 
The use of explosive compounds of various 
kinds gave the Greeks superiority for centuries, 
and the art of manufacturing them was con¬ 
cealed for a long time at Constantinople. They 
were made principally of sulphur, naphtha, and 
niter. A compound of sulphur, saltpeter, and 
lampblack has been used for a similar purpose in 
modern warfare. Bunsen made an agent of this 
kind and called it the kakodyl, which somewhat 
resembles the Chinese stinkpot, both having a 
deadly efficiency through the use of arsenic. 

GREENBACK PARTY, a political organi¬ 
zation of the United States, formed in 1876, 
called by its members the Independent National 
party. The name Greenback was attached to it 
because it favored the larger use of “green¬ 
back” currency, a class of legal tender notes 
issued by the government during the Civil War. 
It had for its main tenets the repeal of the spe¬ 
cie resumption law enacted in 1875, suppression 
of national bank paper, and the circulation of 
United States notes. It advocated the freer 
use of silver money. Peter Cooper, its candi¬ 
date, received 81,740 votes for President in 1876; 
J. B. Weaver, 308,578, in 1880; and B. F. Butler, 
175,375, in 1884. Ultimately it became merged 
in the People’s party. 

GREEN BAY, a city in Wisconsin, county 
seat of Brown County, on Fox River, 112 miles 
north of Milwaukee. It is on the Chicago and 
Northwestern, the Chicago, Milwaukee and 
Saint Paul, and other railroads, and has com¬ 
munication by steamboats and electric railways. 
The harbor is ample for the accommodation of 
the largest lake steamers. The noteworthy 
buildings are the public library, the county court¬ 
house, the high school, the post office, and the 
State reformatory. Hagemeister Park is a fine 
public resort. The streets are well paved and 
improved by modern facilities. Among the man¬ 
ufactures are flour, clothing, furniture, soap, 
fermented beverages, cigars, and machinery. 
The surrounding country is agricultural. Nu¬ 


merous calcic magnesic springs are within a 
short distance of the city, which have made 
Green Bay a favorite health resort. It has a 
large trade in lumber, cereals, live stock, and 
dairy products. Green Bay was settled in 1745 
and chartered as a city in 1854. Fort Howard 
was united with it in 1896. Population, 1905, 
22,854; in 1910, 25,236. 

GREEN BRIER (bri'er). See Smilax. 

GREENBUSH. See Rensselaer. 

GREENFIELD, county seat of Franklin 
County, Massachusetts, in the valley of the 
Green and Connecticut rivers, eighty miles north¬ 
west of Boston. It is on the Boston and Maine 
Railroad and several electric lines. The sur¬ 
rounding country is farming and stock raising, 
which makes the town a central shipping point. 
Among the chief buildings are the public library, 
the Franklin County Hospital, the townhall, and 
several fine schools. It has a monument erected 
to the soldiers. The manufactures include boots 
and shoes, machinery, bicycles, and cutlery. It 
was settled in 1686 and was incorporated as a 
town in 1753. Population, 1905, 9,156. 

GREEN GAGE, the name of a luscious kind 
of plum, cultivated quite extensively in America 
and Europe. The tree is small and spreading, 
but bears abundantly and quite regularly, and 
the fruit ripens in August. Chancellor Living¬ 
ston brought it from France to America, and it 
has been cultivated for many years in the east¬ 
ern part of the United States and the southeast¬ 
ern section of Canada. The fruit is juicy and 
of a green or yellowish color. 

GREENHEART, or Bebeeru, the name of 
a valuable tree of South America, found chiefly 
in Guiana and the northern part of Brazil. It 
yields the bebeeru bark, which is used in medi¬ 
cine. The seeds are rich in starch and the na¬ 
tives use them as food. However, the green- 
heart tree is most valuable for its wood, which is 
hard and durable and takes a high polish. It is 
used extensively in turnery and shipbuilding. 
The tree has a tapering trunk about fifty feet 
high and four feet in diameter, hence yields a 
large quantity of lumber. 

GREENHOUSE, a structure designed to 
furnish protection for plants. Formerly green¬ 
houses were built principally to protect exotic 
and other tender plants that were grown for 
ornamental or scientific purposes, but more re¬ 
cently structures of this kind came into wide use 
as forcing houses for the growth of plants out 
of their season. Greenhouses are kept for the 
latter purpose either to grow-plants for resetting 
or to raise them for the early market, and are 
sometimes called hothouses, conservatories, or 
warm houses. The construction is usually sim- 


GREENLAND 


961 


GREENLAND 


pie, consisting of a framework of wood, or of 
wood and iron, and the principal walls and the 
roofs are of glass. This form prevents the es¬ 
cape of artificial heat and admits a large amount 
of light and heat from the sun. In colder re¬ 
gions the greenhouses are heated by systems of 
steam or hot water heating, but in warmer sec¬ 
tions, such as the southern part of the United 
States, they can be maintained for at least some 
purposes without artificial heating. The con¬ 
struction of large greenhouses has made it pos¬ 
sible to market flowers and ornamental plants 
at all seasons of the year, as well as to place 
vegetables on sale much earlier than they can 
be grown in gardens. 

GREENLAND, called Gronland by the Ger¬ 
mans and Danes, a large island situated north¬ 
east of North America. It is separated from the 
continent by Smith Sound, Baffin Bay, and Davis 
Strait. Although the area has not been deter¬ 
mined, it is thought to be 512,000 square miles. 
It is 1,500 miles long and 690 miles wide at the 
broadest point and extends a short distance 
south of latitude 60° north. The northern por¬ 
tions are unknown, owing to the vast fields of 
ice common to that region and its extreme se¬ 
verity of climate. All of the interior is unin¬ 
habitable and is characterized by^great glacier 
sheets of ice, many of which rise to heights ap¬ 
proximating 9,000 feet. The average thickness 
of the ice mass in the northern portion is esti¬ 
mated at 1,000 feet. Great fiords indent the 
coast and vast icebergs drop into the sea. 

Only the southern part of Greenland is inhab¬ 
ited, the settlements being confined to a narrow 
strip along the coast. Cultivation is carried on 
in the valleys of the low shore regions and sev¬ 
eral of the many islands lying off the warmer 
coasts in the southern part. The trees include 
alder, birch, and pine, but they partake more of 
the nature of shrubs. Barley and oats have been 
cultivated to a limited extent, but vegetables, 
including potatoes, radishes, cabbages, and tur¬ 
nips, are the leading agricultural products. Fish¬ 
ing and hunting are the principal occupations. 
The fisheries yield whale, halibut, seal, shark, 
cod, and stock fish, while the chase is rich in 
ermine, lemming, polar bear, Arctic fox, musk 
ox, and Arctic hare. The Eskimo dog and rein¬ 
deer are the principal domestic animals, but 
some interests have developed in raising sheep 
and cattle. In the summer time sea fowl are 
abundant, moving from the south to breed in the 
warmer parts of the island. Many forms of 
mineral products abound, among them cryolite, 
lignitic coal, copper, iron, graphite, asbestos,, and 
nickel. The sun is constantly above the hori¬ 
zon in June and July, when the warmer season 
61 


occurs, but the short summer is followed by a 
dark, long, and dreary winter. 

Greenland is usually classed as a possession 
of Denmark, but the region within the Danish 
colony does not exceed 50,000 square miles. The 
Greenland Commission at Copenhagen has gen¬ 
eral charge of the administration, whose head is 
appointed by the crown. The colony is divided 
into two districts of North and South Greenland, 
each being under an inspector general. The 
trade is chiefly with Denmark. Cryolite, feath¬ 



ers, eiderdown, reindeer skins, and furs are the 
chief exports. Godthaab is the capital of South 
Greenland and Godhavn is the capital of the 
Colony and of North Greenland. 

An Icelander named Gunnbjorn discovered 
Greenland about 876. In the 10th century Scan¬ 
dinavians from Iceland and Norway made settle¬ 
ments, and in 1264 it was united with Norway 
for political purposes. Two settlements, known 
as West Bygd and East Bygd, flourished in the 
14th century, but later gradually disappeared. 







GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS 


962 


GREENVILLE 


Danish expeditions sent for the inspection of 
the colonies from 1585 to 1670 were unsuccess¬ 
ful in finding them. The only evidence of their 
former existence consists of inscriptions and 
numerous relics. In 1721 the Danes founded a 
colony, the expedition being led by Hans Egede, 
and it became known as Good Hope Settlement. 
Nansen crossed the interior from east to west in 
1888, which was the first extensive interior ex¬ 
pedition. Subsequently explorations were made 
by Peary and Nordenskjold. Only 228 of the 
inhabitants are whites, the others being Eski¬ 
mos. Population, 1906, 12,093. 

GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS, the name of 
a band of Vermont mountaineers who took part 
in the American Revolution. They were led by 
Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold on May 10, 
1776, when they captured Fort Ticonderoga with 
50 British prisoners and 200 cannon. Other no¬ 
table victories include those of Crown Point and 
the Battle of Bennington. They rendered effi¬ 
cient service throughout the Revolution. 

GREEN MOUNTAINS, a range of the 
Appalachian system, dividing Vermont into two 
nearly equal portions. Mansfield is the highest 
peak, 4,280 feet high, and five others range over 
4,000. The mountain sides are covered with fine 
forests of spruce and other evergreen and de¬ 
ciduous trees. They contain valuable deposits of 
gneiss, granite, slate, iron, and marble. Numer¬ 
ous streams have their sodrces in the Green 
Mountains, flowing through fertile valleys. The* 
region was first settled by the patroons and 
others and became famous in Colonial and Rev¬ 
olutionary history. 

GREENOCK (gren'uk) a city and seaport 
of Scotland, in Renfrewshire, on the Firth of 
Clyde, eighteen miles northwest of Glasgow. It 
has an excellent harbor, is beautifully located 
along the coast, and back of it are picturesque 
cliffs. Among the public buildings are several 
educational institutions, the townhall, and several 
fine churches. Sugar refining and shipbuilding 
are the principal industries. Other manufactures 
include anchors, cordage, steam engines, cloth¬ 
ing, textiles, and sails. The prosperity of the 
city dates from 1707, when its commerce with 
the West Indies and America became important. 
Visitors are shown the grave of Burns’s “High¬ 
land Mary” and places frequented by Watt, who 
was born here. Greenock was a small fishing 
village in 1635. Population, 1907, 71,269. 

GREEN RIVER, a river of the United 
States, rises in the Wind Range Mountains of 
Wyoming, and joins the Grand River to form 
the Colorado. From the western part of Wyo¬ 
ming it flows in a general direction toward the 
south, passing through a small part of north¬ 


western Colorado and joining the Grand River 
in southeastern Utah. Green River, Wyoming, 
is the principal town on its banks. It has a 
length of about 500 miles, the greater part of 
its •course being through deep and rugged can¬ 
yons. 

GREEN RIVER, a river of the United 
States, rises in Lincoln County, near the central 
part of Kentucky, and flows into the Ohio about 
six miles above Evansville, Ind. The Echo 
River of the Mammoth Cave is a subterranean 
affluent of the Green River. The lower valley 
of the Green River has vast coal deposits and its 
upper course is through a region of limestone. 
It is about 300 miles long and the construction 
of dams and locks have made it. navigable nearly 
200 miles. 

GREENSBORO (grenz'bur-o), a city in 
North Carolina, county, seat of Guilford Coun¬ 
ty, about eighty miles northwest of Raleigh. It 
is on the Southern and the Cape Fear and Yad¬ 
kin Valley railroads, and has manufactures of 
clothing, textiles, earthenware, cigars, hosiery, 
and machinery. Among the chief buildings are 
the public library, a State college of agricul¬ 
ture, Bennett College, and Greensboro College. 
The surrounding country produces large quanti¬ 
ties of cereals, live stock, and fruits. It has 
deposits of iron and copper. Greensboro was 
settled in 1808 and became a city in 1870. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 10,035. 

GREENSBURG, a city in Indiana, county 
seat of Decatur County, 45 miles southeast of In¬ 
dianapolis.' It is on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chi¬ 
cago and Saint Louis and other railroads. The 
noteworthy buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the high school, and the State Odd Fel¬ 
lows’ Home. It is surrounded by a fertile coun¬ 
try and has a large trade in produce. The 
manufactures include clothing, furniture, flour, 
carriages, and machinery. The city has good 
municipal improvements. Population, 1900, 
5,034. 

GREENSBURG, a borough of Pennsylvania, 
county seat of Westmoreland County, thirty 
miles southeast of Pittsburg, on the Pennsyl¬ 
vania Railroad. The surrounding country has 
rich deposits of gas and coal. Among the manu¬ 
factures are glass, brick, flour, engines, and 
hardware. It has a number of fine schools, sev¬ 
eral county buildings, and institutions for sec¬ 
ondary education. The village of Hanna’s 
Town, located in the vicinity, was destroyed by 
the Indians in 1782. Population, 1900, 6,508. 

GREENVILLE, a city in Mississippi, county 
seat of Washington County, on the Mississippi 
River, 98 miles northwest of Jackson. It* is on 
the Southern and the Yazoo and Mississippi 



GREENVILLE 


963 


GRENADA 


Valley railroads. The industries include oil 
mills, cotton compresses, and lumber mills. It 
has a public park, a fine courthouse, and several 
large schools. Electric lights, waterworks, and 
telephones are among the improvements. Its 
annual shipment of cotton is very extensive. 
Population, 1900, 7,642. 

GREENVILLE, county seat of Darke Coun¬ 
ty, Ohio, on Greenville Creek, 35 miles north¬ 
west of Dayton. It is on the Cleveland, Cin¬ 
cinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis and other rail¬ 
roads and is surrounded by a fertile farming 
country. It has a Carnegie public library, a 
children’s home, and a fine county courthouse. 
The manufactures include vehicles, furniture, 
and machinery. It is a grain-shipping center. 
A public park, waterworks, and electric lights 
are among the facilities. Greenville occupies 
the former site of an Indian village in which 
Tecumseh made his home. General Wayne 
made it his headquarters in 1794. It was incor¬ 
porated in 1832. Population, 1900, 5,501. 

GREENVILLE, a city in South Carolina, 
county seat of Greenville County, on the Reedy 
River, 160 miles northeast of Atlanta, Ga. The 
manufactures include carriages, cotton goods, 
tobacco, clothing, and machinery. It is the seat 
of Furman University, the Greenville Female 
College, and Chicora College. Other note¬ 
worthy buildings include the public library and 
the county courthouse. It has systems of elec¬ 
tric street railways, electric lights, waterworks, 
and pavements. The surrounding country is 
fertile, producing large quantities of cotton, ce¬ 
reals, fruits, and live stock.. It was settled in 
1784 and incorporated in 1831. Population, 1900, 
11,860. 

GREENVILLE, a city in Texas, county 
seat of Hunt County, 56 miles northeast of 
Fort Worth, on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas 
and other railroads. The noteworthy buildings 
include the high school, the county courthouse, 
and the Holiness and Burleson colleges. It is 
surrounded by a fertile region and has a large 
trade in farm produce and merchandise. The 
chief manufactures are utensils, cigars, clothing, 
and machinery. It has systems of waterworks, 
sewerage, and electric lighting. Greenville was 
settled in 1844 and incorporated in 1875. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 6,860; in 1910, 8,850. 

GREENWICH (gnn'ij), a borough of Lon¬ 
don, in Kent, England, situated on the south 
side of the Thames, about five miles southeast 
of London. The most important building is the 
Greenwich Hospital, founded in 1694 by Wil¬ 
liam and Mary for the care and maintenance of 
British soldiers, but it was not completed until 
eleven years later. Its original cost was $250,- 


000, but subsequently additions were made by 
which the hospital was enlarged and rendered 
much more serviceable. Other noteworthy build¬ 
ings include the Royal Naval College, a naval 
museum, and the Royal Observatory. It is con¬ 
nected with London and other centers of popu¬ 
lation by railroads, electric car lines, and tele¬ 
phones. Among the enterprises are extensive 
rope works, shipyards, machine shops, and en¬ 
gineering establishments. It is the birthplace 
of Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth. Longitude 
is reckoned from Greenwich by English geog¬ 
raphers, and it is made the basis of calculations 
by American writers in connection with the 
American basis, which is at Washington. Popu¬ 
lation, 1907, 192,519. 

GREENWICH OBSERVATORY, an in¬ 
stitution situated in Greenwich, England, where 
it was erected in a park containing 190 acres 
and designed for the advancement of nautical 
astronomy and navigation. It was founded by 
William III. and completed in 1705. The courses 
of study pursued at present fit the students 
either for the navy or the merchant service. 
This institution is one of the oldest and most 
celebrated observatories in the world and is 
equipped with all modern apparatus. From it 
the exact time is telegraphed to various English 
cities. 

GREGORIAN CALENDAR (gre-go'n- 
an). See Calendar. 

GREIFSWALD (grifs'walt), a city of Ger¬ 
many, in the province of Pomerania, three 
miles from the Baltic Sea. It is located on the 
Rick River, has railroad facilities, and is the 
seat of the University of Greifswald. This in¬ 
stitution was founded in 1456. It has a library 
of 140,000 volumes. Other buildings include 
the gymnasium, a geographical and scientific 
museum, and a number of fine churches. Among 
the manufactures are machinery, sailing vessels, 
tobacco, chicory, and canned fish. It has a 
large foreign trade in fruit preserves, fish, ma¬ 
chinery, and grain. Greifswald was an impor¬ 
tant member of the Hanseatic League, became 
a possession of Sweden in 1631, and has be¬ 
longed to Prussia since 1815. Population, 1905,’ 
23,767. 

GRENADA (gren-a'da), an island of the 
West Indies, In the Windward group. It has 
an area of 133 square miles. The surface is 
mountainous, especially in the interior, where 
the peaks rise to a height of about 3,000 feet 
above the sea. The valleys and coastal regions 
are fertile, yielding cocoa, sugar cane, spices, 
and cereals. Columbus discovered Grenada in 
1498 and the French colonized it in the 17th 
century. In 1763 it was captured by the British, 





GRENADIER 


964 


GRIQUALAND 


but was retaken by the French in 1779. It was 
restored to the British in 1793 and has since 
been a British colonial possession. Saint George, 
the capital, is strongly fortified and has a fine 
harbor. In 1906 the island had a population of 
69,784, of which'the greater part was colored. 

GRENADIER (gren-a-der'), the name of a 
class of troops distinguished by their height and 
fine appearance. The name was originally ap¬ 
plied to the soldiers who threw the hand gre¬ 
nade, a small explosive shell filled with gun¬ 
powder and furnished with a fuse. It origi¬ 
nated in 1594 and was employed chiefly to be 
thrown from parapets upon the besiegers below, 
and later came into use in naval service in close 
action. Grenadier troops continued to use the 
grenade until the modern musket was invented, 
and now the name is applied to a company of 
picked men attached to most European regi¬ 
ments. 

GRENOBLE (gre-no'b’l), a city of France, 
capital of the department of Isere, sixty miles 
southeast of Lyons. It is well located on the 
Isere River, has transportation facilities by 
railways, and is surrounded by high mountains. 
The chief buildings include the University of 
Grenoble, a military school, and a public library 
of 170,000 volumes. The streets are finely paved 
and lighted, and a system of electric railways 
provides transportation facilities with urban and 
interurban points. Among the manufactures 
are leather, cement, liquors, gloves, and cotton 
and woolen goods. Anciently it was called Cul- 
aro and was fortified by the Romans, who 
changed its name to Gratianopolis in honor of 
Gratian. Population, 1906, 73,022. 

GRETNA GREEN, a village in Dumfries¬ 
shire, Scotland, near the head of Solway Firth. 
It is famous as the place for contracting many 
irregular marriages. The Scotch law relating 
to marriage, being more liberal than that of 
England, caused young couples from the latter 
country to resort to Gretna Green to take the 
marriage vows. In the most widespread preva¬ 
lence of this practice, about 1771, the marriages 
there often reached 200 per year. The marriage 
laws were revised in 1856, whereby those con¬ 
tracted at Gretna Green were invalid unless one 
of the contracting parties had been a resident of 
Scotland at least 21 days previous to the cere¬ 
mony. 

GREYHOUND. See Dog. 

GRIFFIN (grif'fm), or Gryphon, a fabu¬ 
lous monster of ancient India, supposed to have 
watched over the treasury. It is represented 
as half bird and half beast, and is said to 
have guarded the gold of the Hyperborean re¬ 
gions from the one-eyed Arimaspians. In fable 


and poetry the ancients describe it as.having the 
head and wings of an eagle, the ears of a horse, 
and the body of a lion. It was common to have 
the figure of the griffin in heraldry. 

pRIFFIN, a city in Georgia, county seat of 
Spalding County, forty miles south of Atlanta, 
on the Southern and the Central of Georgia 
railroads. The State Experimental Farm is 
near the city. It has manufactures of furniture, 
cigars, machinery, canned fruits, and utensils. 
The surrounding country produces large quan¬ 
tities of cotton, fruits, cereals, and live stock, 
thus giving it considerable trade advantages. 
Among the municipal improvements are water¬ 
works, sewerage, and pavements. Population, 
1900, 6,857. 

GRINDING, the operation of breaking and 
reducing any hard substance to fine particles by 
friction or attrition. The process is used in 
various mechanical arts, such as grinding corn 
and wheat, and fitting for use various metals 
and stones. In grinding glass into facets it is 
generally customary to use stone lapwheels, 
while in grinding needles and steel pins a proc¬ 
ess called dry grinding, which is effected by 
dry grindstones, is employed. Diamond dust is 
used in grinding diamonds and other precious 
stones. Grinding is employed variously, de¬ 
pending upon the material to be affected by 
friction. The mechanical implements used are 
variously constructed and are propelled either 
by hand, steam, or electric power. 

GRINDSTONE (grInd'ston>, a sandstone 
disc, more or less circular, used for abrading 
hard substances. A horizontal axle rests upon 
a support on either side of the stone. The 
stone, in its simplest form, is rotated by means 
•of a handle or a foot treadle, while in machine 
shops or factories grindstones are turned by 
belts or some other appliances. Grindstones 
are used extensively for sharpening many kinds 
of edged articles and in smoothing and polish¬ 
ing rough surfaces. 

GRIPPE (grip). See Influenza. 

GRIQUALAND (gre'kwa-land), a region of 
South Africa, in Cape Colony, so named after 
the Griquas, a class, of people that originated 
from native and Dutch ancestry. Griqualand 
East is an eastern district of Cape Colony. It 
has an area of 7,594 square miles and a popula¬ 
tion of 225,500, including about 5,000 whites. 
Jt has been a dependency of Cape Colony since 
1875. Kokstad is the capital. Griqualand West 
is a northern district of Cape Colony and has 
an area of 15,187 square miles. In 1871 it was 
annexed to Cape Colony. Kimberley, the capi¬ 
tal, is surrounded by a productive diamond¬ 
mining region. Population, 1906, 84,278. 


GRISTLE 


965 


GROUSE 


GRISTLE (gris"l). See Cartilage. 

GRODNO (grod'no), a city of Russia, capi¬ 
tal of the government of Grodno, 160 miles 
northeast of Warsaw. It is located on the Nie- 
men River, has extensive railroad facilities, and 
is surrounded by a fertile region. The city is 
not well built, but it has a large trade in mer¬ 
chandise and grain. Among the manufactures 
are soap, tobacco, paper, pottery, and machinery. 
In 1793 it was the seat of a conference that 
agreed upon the partition of Poland, and it be¬ 
came a part of Russia two. years later. The 
French occupied in 1812. Population, 1908, 
51,092. 

GRONINGEN (gro'mn-gen), a city and port 
of the Netherlands, capital of a province of the 
same name, on the Hunse River, 92 miles north¬ 
east of Amsterdam. It is connected by several 
railroads and has canal facilities through the 
Hunse and the Aa rivers, by means of which 
large vessels reach the city. Among the im¬ 
portant buildings are a beautiful Gothic church 
with a tower 345 feet high, a university founded 
in 1640, and several government buildings. It 
has an observatory, a museum of natural his¬ 
tory, an academy of architecture and navigation, 
and a library of 95,000 volumes. Many electric 
railway lines furnish communication to subur¬ 
ban and interurban- localities. Among the manu¬ 
factures are ships, soap, white lead, paper, cloth¬ 
ing, furniture, and machinery. Extensive dikes 
protect it against the encroachments of the sea, 
while substantial fortifications make it an im¬ 
portant strategic point. Groningen dates from 
the 11th century, when it was known as Villa 
Cruoninga. Population, 1906, 73,278. 

'GROSBEAK (grds'bek), the general name of 
a number of birds, especially those that have a 
large bill of sufficient strength to break the 
stones of olives, cherries, and other fruit. The 
common grosbeak of North America winters in 
the southern part of the United States and 
breeds as far north as Maine and Manitoba. It 
is a favorite bird of song, has a rose-red breasfi 
and is commonly called the rose-breasted gros¬ 
beak. The pine grosbeak breds far north in 
Canada and winters in the latitude of Wash¬ 
ington, D. C., and southward. Other species in¬ 
clude those known as the blue grosbeak, the 
evening grosbeak, and the black-headed gros¬ 
beak. Birds of this class belong to the finch 
family and the hawkfinches. The hawk finch of 
England is usually classed as a grosbeak. 

GROSSWARDEIN (gros'var-din), or 
Nagyvarad, a city of Hungary, capital of the 
county of Bihar, 36 fniles southeast of Debrec- 
zin. It is situated in a beautiful plain, has rail¬ 
road facilities, and is notable as a miltary cen¬ 


ter. The buildings include a number of fine 
cathedrals, the Church of Saint LadislAs, and' 
several educational institutions. Among the 
manufactures are pottery, wine, starch, liquors, 
machinery, and earthenware. Electric lights 
and street railways, stone and asphalt paving, 
and waterworks are among the public utilities. 
The sulphur springs of Hajo are six miles 
south of the city. Population, 1906, 49,508. 

GROUND HOG. ^ee Woodchuck. 

GROUND SQUIRREL, the name of a class 
of rodent mammals intermediate in character 
between the marmots and the true squirrel. The 
common ground squirrel has short legs and a 
slender body and lives chiefly on or in the 
ground. It is an active and restless animal, has 
longitudinal stripes on the back and sides, and 
emits a peculiar chirping sound when calling its 
mate. The chipmunk belongs to the ground 
squirrels. Other species are the dickertail of 
North Dakota and Saskatchewan and the striped 
gopher of the northwest. The pocket gopher 
has peculiar pouches on the sides of the head 
and is troublesome in piling up mounds in the 
meadows. Allied species are found in Asia and 
other continents. 

GROUSE, the common name of various 
game birds abundant in the northern sections of 
both hemispheres, belonging to the group of 
gallinaceous birds, distinguished by a naked 
band in place of an eyebrow. They are char¬ 
acterized by their plump bodies and the feet, 
legs, and nostrils are covered more or less with 
feathers. In many species a loose, bare sac is 
suspended on each side of the neck. They are 
the most delicate game birds that come to the 
table. Among the different species are found 
the ptarmigan, red grouse, ruffed grouse, pin¬ 
nated grouse, and sage hen. To the same fam¬ 
ily belong the quail and various domestic fowls, 
including the cock and hen, turkey, guinea 
fowl, and peacock. 

The ptarmigan is a species native to the Arc¬ 
tic regions, whose plumage in winter is snow- 
white. It somewhat resembles the red grouse, 
sometimes called the European ptarmigan, which 
is found in Scotland and does not turn white 
in winter. The ruffed grouse is common to 
America. It is known in the eastern states 
as pheasant, farther west as partridge, and 
in the western states by its proper name— 
grouse. This species prefers to frequent tim¬ 
ber and brushy lands, is shy and quick in 
movement, and the color is closely adapted to 
the gray of the underbrush. A distinguishing 
habit of the male is a drumming sound, made 
while standing upright, by strokes of the wings 
;upon the earth or some hard substance with 




GRUNBERG 


966 


GUADELOUPE 


such rapidity and strength as to be heard at a 
considerable distance. 

Several species closely allied to the ruffed 
grouse are found in Eurasia, but do not drum. 


The pinnated grouse, or prairie chicken, inhabits 
the central and western plains and is protected 
by the laws of the states, except for a short 
period in the fall of the year. The oom-oom-boo 
produced by the male in the breeding season is 
well known to hunters, and is made by means 
of the large, orangelike sacs on its neck. These 
.sacs are covered with long, winglike tufts of 
feathers, which, when booming, stand up like 
ears, giving it a peculiar appearance. In size 
the prairie chicken is equal to the common hen 
and has a speckled-grayish color. The sage 
hen is the largest American grouse and is found 
principally on the western plains of Canada and 
the United States, especially in the arid, regions 
of the Rocky Mountains. It lives on wild sage, 
which renders it inferior for food to other 
members of the grouse family. 

GRUNBERG (griin'berg), a city of Ger¬ 
many, in the province of Silesia, thirty miles 
northwest of Glogau. It is located on a tribu¬ 
tary of the Oder and has convenient railway fa¬ 
cilities. The surrounding country is noted for 
its extensive production of grapes and other 
fruits. Among the manufactures are wine, flour, 
yarn, clothing, and machinery. Population, 1905, 
21,630. 

GUADALAJARA (gwa-tha-la-ha'ra), a city 
in Mexico, capital of the state of Jalisco, the 
second city of the republic. It is situated in the 
fertile valley of the Rio de Santiago, about 280 
miles from the city of Mexico, and ranks as an 
important manufacturing and commercial cen¬ 


ter. The streets are regularly platted and well 
paved with stone and asphalt. The most im¬ 
portant buildings include a government mint, 
the cathedral, several convents, and the univer¬ 
sity. Among the manufactures are pot¬ 
tery, paper, jewelry, cotton and woolen 
goods, leather, and machinery. It has ' 
good railroad and electric railway facil¬ 
ities. The city was founded in 1530. 
Population, 1909, 106,802. 

GUADALQUIVIR (ga-dal-kwiv'er), 
the largest and most important river of 
Spain, rises near the frontiers of Murcia. 

It has a general course toward the south¬ 
west, flowing into the Atlantic north of 
Cadiz. Its length is 375 miles, of which 
85 miles, or from the sea to the city of 
Seville, are navigable by large vessels. It 
has been improved by canals and jetties 
and is noted for its production of fish. 

GUADALUPE HIDALGO (gwa-tha- 
loo'pa e-thal'go), Treaty of, a treaty con¬ 
cluded between Mexico and the United 
States at the conclusion of the Mexican 
War. It was negotiated at Guadalupe 
Hidalgo, a small town near the city of Mexico, 
on Feb. 2, 1848. The Senate ratified the treaty 
on March 16th and the ratifications were ex¬ 
changed the following May. By the terms of 
the treaty Texas, New Mexico, and Upper Cali¬ 
fornia were ceded by Mexico to the United 
States and the Rio Grande was fixed as the 
boundary between Texas and Mexico. The 
United States assured protection to the Mexi¬ 
cans and their property within the ceded terri¬ 
tory, assumed the payment of claims of Ameri¬ 
can citizens against Mexico in the amount of 
$3,250,000, and agreed to pay Mexico $15,- 
000,000. 

GUADELOUPE (ga-da-loop'), a colonial 
possession of France in the Lesser Antilles, 
consisting of two islands, Grande Terre and 
Basse Terre, which are separated by a narrow 
'channel called Riviere Salee, meaning Salt 
River. The colony, together with five small de¬ 
pendent islands, has an area of 688 square miles. 
Basse Terre is the larger of the two main is¬ 
lands, having a length of 27 miles and a breadth 
of 15 miles; while Grande Terre is 29 miles long 
and about 10 miles wide. The islands are of 
volcanic formation, but in several regions of 
the group are large tracts constructed by corals. 
The climate is marked by humid atmosphere, 
generally hot and unhealthful, and the soil is 
fertile. Among the principal exports are to¬ 
bacco, sugar, coffee, pepper, dye and cabinet 
woods, cacao, and a large variety of tropical 
fruits. The imports consist of machinery, fab- 



GUADIANA 


967 


GUANACO 


rics, and various implements. Most of the trade 
is with France. In 1897 the islands were dis¬ 
turbed by destructive earthquakes and in 1899 
by a disastrous hurricane. Basse Terre is the 
capital and Pointe-a-Pitre is the chief commer¬ 
cial center. A senator and two deputies repre¬ 
sent the colony in the chambers at Paris. Co¬ 
lumbus discovered these islands in 1493 and 
they were colonized by the French in 1635. They 
belonged to England and France at different 
times, but have been French territory since 1814. 
Population, 1906, 183,108. 

GUADIANA (gwa-tke-a'na), a river of the 
Iberian peninsula. It rises in New Castile, 
Spain, has a general course toward the west 
until it enters Portugal at Monsaras, and thence 
flows south into the Atlantic. Its entire course 
is 520 miles, but the navigable portion is only 
about 40 miles. The Ardilla and Giguela are 
its chief tributaries. 

GUAM (gwam), an island in the Pacific 
Ocean, the largest of the Ladrone Islands, situ¬ 



ated about 1,500 miles east of Manila. It has 
an area of 190 square miles. Guam is thirty 
miles long and from two to twelve miles wide. 
It has a mountainous surface, but the soil is 
fertile, producing rice, indigo, sugar cane, and 
fruits. Agana, situated on Agana Bay, is the 
capital and contains more than half of the popu¬ 
lation of the island. This possession is of little 
importance except as a port of transit and as 
a naval station, for which purpose the harbor 


of Apra has been improved, but the principal 
station is at the capital. 

The inhabitants consist chiefly of Chamorros 
intermixed with Malays and Tagalos, and they 
engage largely in fishing and agriculture. Do¬ 
mestic animals were imported by the Spaniards, 
who introduced the cultivation of rice, fruits, 
and vegetables. Sugar and indigo are produced 
to some extent, and the climate is generally fa¬ 
vorable and healthful. Since 1 1898 Guam has 
belonged to the United States, having been cap¬ 
tured by the cruiser Charleston in the Spanish- 
American War and ceded by the Treaty of 
Paris. It is governed by a naval officer acting 
under the direction of the Secretary of the 
Navy.' Important reforms were instituted by 
Captain Leary, the first governor, and the pres¬ 
ent policy is to encourage agriculture, restrict 
the sale of intoxicating liquors, and extend edu¬ 
cation among the natives. Population, 1906, 
10,798. 

GUAN (gwan), a bird of Central and South 
America, where it is found both wild and do¬ 
mesticated. It belongs to the same family as 
the curassow and in many respects is similar to 
the grouse and partridge. The color is dark 
brown or black, marked with green and white, 
and the throat is wattled and nearly bare. Some 
of the species have the head crested. The tail 
and wings are quite* long in all the species. 
These birds are seen in flocks most of the year, 
but during the breeding season separate into 
pairs, and incline to live a considerable part of 
the time in the high forest trees. The guan, or 
chachalaca, of North America, is found in the 
valley of the lower Rio Grande, both in Texas 
and Mexico. It is about two feet long, has a 
glossy grooved tail, and the general color is dark 
brown with lighter shades below. It builds its • 
nests on the ground, in bushes, or in the limbs 
pf trees. 

GUANABACOA (gwa-na-va-ko'a), an im¬ 
portant suburban town of Cuba, situated about 
four miles east of Havana, with which it has 
railroad and telephone connections. It is noted 
for its beautiful gardens, parks, and hot and 
and cold baths for invalids. The streets are 
regularly platted and many of its buildings are 
of good material and on modern plans. Popu¬ 
lation, 1907, 21,805. 

GUANACO (gwa-na'ko), a kind of llama 
found in various parts of South America, espe¬ 
cially on the plains of Patagonia and the high¬ 
lands of Peru and Ecuador. It is somewhat 
smaller than the alpaca and llama, which are the 
domesticated species. The height at the shoul¬ 
ders is about four feet. It has slender legs. 
The flesh and skin are valuable. It can be eas- 





GUANAJUATO 


968 


GUATEMALA 


ily domesticated, in which state it furnishes milk 
and flesh for food, and wool and skin for cloth¬ 
ing. It is greatly improved by domestication 
and artificial breeding. 

GUANAJUATO (gwa-na-hwa'to), a city of 
southern Mexico, capital of the state of Guana¬ 
juato, situated among mountain ranges which 
are 6,780 feet above sea level. The streets are 
irregular, but many of the buildings are sub¬ 
stantial and modern. It is connected with other 
cities by railroads, surrounded by one of the 
richest mineral countries in the world, and has 
manufactures of implements, clothing, ma¬ 
chinery, jewelry, and fabrics. The institutions 
include several public schools, convents, and 
churches. Guanajuato was founded by the Span¬ 
iards in 1554 and became a city in 1741. Popu¬ 
lation, 1906, 56,042. 

GUANO (gwa'no), the decomposed excre¬ 
ment of fish-eating sea birds, intermixed with 
the remains of seals and sea fowls. It has ac¬ 
cumulated to the depth of eighty to a hundred 
feet on the Chincha Islands and the coasts of 
Peru and Chile. For centuries innumerable 
flocks of sea birds have bred and roosted on 
these shores, thus causing the deposits. Its 
value for fertilizing has been known in Peru 
for centuries, but it was not transported to other 
countries as a commercial fertilizer until 1846. 
Eight million tons were taken from the Chincha 
Islands in 1853-72. Guano contains nearly all 
the inorganic matter required by plants and,, 
therefore, is one of the best fertilizing agents 
for the different crops.. It has been found in 
greater or less quantities in various places, but 
Peru still remains the chief source of supply. 
However, the available quantity there and else¬ 
where is becoming considerably limited. The 
Chilean government has control of the business, 
wliich for a number of years has proved a lu¬ 
crative enterprise. The principal supply of 
guano used in the United States and Canada is 
now produced at slaughterhouses from refuse 
flesh and blood, called flesh guano and blood 
guano , and at the fisheries from refuse of edible 
fish or from undesirable species. The men¬ 
haden are utilized largely for this purpose, 
though the oil is extracted before the fish are 
converted into fertilizer. Another class of this 
product, known as bat-guano, is obtained in 
caves from the manure and remains of bats. 

GUAPORE (gwa-po'ra), or Itenez, a navi¬ 
gable river of South America, which at its con¬ 
fluence . with the Mamore forms the Madeira. 
It rises in the province of Matto Grasso, Brazil, 
forms a portion of the boundary between Brazil 
and Bolivia, and has a total length of 950 
miles. 


GUARANTEE (gar-an-te'), or Guaranty, a 

promise or contract to be responsible for the 
payment of a debt or the performance of an 
obligation of another. In most countries a 
verbal promise to assume the debt of another is 
not binding in law, although it implies a moral 
obligation, and a valid agreement to answer for 
the default of another is made legally binding 
only by a written agreement. Such a contract 
should state definitely the obligation or extent 
of liability assumed, since a guarantor can be 
held only to the extent expressed in the written 
instrument. The business of guaranteeing risks 
of others is an important commercial enterprise. 
It differs materially from the risks taken by in¬ 
surance companies, since it is based upon the 
ability of a contracting party to perform certain 
definitely stated obligations. However, experi¬ 
ence has demonstrated that it is less hazardous 
than the business of insurance companies. 

GUARDAFUI (gwar-da-fwe'), Cape, a 
point of land in Africa, next to Ras Hafun the 
most eastern point of that continent. The south¬ 
eastern shore is washed by the Indian Ocean 
and the northwestern by the Gulf of Aden. It 
forms the headland of an immense promontory. 

GUARDIAN (gard'i-an), in law, one who 
has the care and management of the person or 
property of another. Guardians are appointed 
by the judge of a court or some other qualified 
officer prescribed by law, and are intrusted with 
the care and management of those incapable of 
directing their own affairs, such as a minor 
child, a person of unsound mind, a drunkard, 
or a spendthrift. A person appointed to such 
a duty must account for all the profits as well 
as the estate of his ward, whose money can be 
invested only by the order of the court. It is 
incumbent upon him to provide for the main¬ 
tenance and education of a minor ward, but all 
the estate and profits must be used judiciously, 
for which the guardian is required to give a 
good and sufficient bond. When a ward attains 
majority, the guardianship ceases. Guardians 
appointed to look after the interests of drunk¬ 
ards, spendthrifts, or persons of unsound mind 
continue to act under the direction of the court 
as long as their services are required. 

GUATEMALA (ga-te-ma'la), the most 
northwesterly republic of Central America, 
bounded on the west and north by Mexico; east 
by British Honduras, the Gulf of Honduras, 
Honduras, and Salvador; and south largely by 
the Pacific Ocean. It has an area of 48,225 
square miles. The surface is largely mountain¬ 
ous and elevated, the principal mountain chains 
being a continuation of the Andes. They trend 
from northwest to southeast, sending off a num- 


GUATEMALA 


969 


GUATEMALA 




K ber of irregular branches. Among the moun¬ 
tains are numerous volcanoes, of which sev¬ 
eral are active, the most noted being Fuego, 
12,075 feet high, and Agua, 14,875 feet. The 
drainage is in various directions, though mostly 
toward the east and north. Among the impor¬ 
tant rivers are the Belize, Dulce, and Motagua, 
which flow into the Gulf of Honduras, and sev¬ 
eral tributaries of the Usumacinta, a river sys¬ 
tem whose waters flow into the Gulf of Campeche. 

Productions. Agriculture and stock raising 
are the principal occupations. The fertile and 
productive districts are largely in the valleys 
and along the coast, where diversified farming 
is carried on successfully. Cattle, sheep, mules, 
horses, and swine are reared profitably. Among 
the products are tobacco, cacao, maize, wheat, 
coffee, and many species of tropical fruits. The 
forests are abundant, yielding quantities of valu¬ 
able building material, rubber, and fiber prod¬ 
ucts. The minerals are numerous and occur 
in rich deposits, though mining has not yet de¬ 
veloped exceedingly. Among the principal prod¬ 
ucts are sulphur, tin, lead, salt, copper, silver, 
and gold. Manufacturing has received encour¬ 
agement from the government, especially the 
rubber industry. Among the general manufac¬ 
tures are cotton and woolen goods, ironware, 
earthenware, sugar, cordage, furniture, bever¬ 
ages, and utensils. Much of the traffic former¬ 
ly carried on by pack mules is being brought to 
seacoast points by railroads. The principal rail¬ 
road line connects Santo Tomas, on the Bay of 
Honduras, with San Jose, on the Pacific, passing 
through the capital city and being connected by 
branch lines in various directions. In 1909 the 
country had 450 miles of railroads in operation, 
but the lines were owned by German and Ameri¬ 
can companies. The highways are generally 
good, while several canals have been cut for the 
improvement of river navigation. 

Government and Inhabitants. The govern¬ 
ment of Guatemala is. republican in form, of 
which the president is the chief executive, hold¬ 
ing office for six years. He is assisted by a 
cabinet of advisers, who include the heads of 
the six departments of foreign affairs, justice, 
war, public credit, interior, and public instruc¬ 
tion. The national assembly of a single cham¬ 
ber is the chief legislative body, the members of 
which hold office four years and are elected by 
popular vote. A supreme court and a well- 
organized system of inferior courts constitute 
the judicial branch. The army consists of 56,- 
000 men, but the standing army disciplined for 
immediate service includes only 7,000. Roman 
Catholic is the dominant religion, but all forms 
of religious worship are unrestricted and no 


state church is recognized. Education is free 
and school attendance is compulsory. The 
school system includes elementary and high 
schools, normal schools, industrial schools, and 
several universities. About one-third of the 
inhabitants are Europeans and various classes 
of mixed descent, while the Indian races include 
Aztecs, Mayas, and Toltecs. Spanish is the of¬ 
ficial language, though some of the natives re¬ 
tain their own distinct tongues, which are fast 
giving way to the general language under a 
system of public education. 

Guatemala ranks as one of the most progres¬ 
sive countries of Central America, due largely 
to its growth in wealth and the development of 
its cities. Guatemala, situated about eighty 
miles from the Pacific, is the capital. Other 
cities include Coban, Mazatenango, San Pedro, 
Santo Tomas, Zacapa, and Quezaltenango. 
Population, 1904, 1,842,134. 

History. The history of Guatemala dates 
frofii 1524, when it was conquered by Cortez. 
After three centuries of Spanish dominion, the 
country declared its independence and a confed¬ 
eration was formed in 1821, which administered 
the government successfully for eighteen years. 
Rafael Carrera, a native Indian, conquered the 
country in 1839 and ruled until 1865. After his 
death the country was organized under a con¬ 
stitution modeled after that of the United States, 
and from that time dates its greatest progress 
and prosperity. Insurrections have occurred at 
various times, but they have been successfully 
suppressed and the republic has maintained its 
integrity. 

GUATEMALA, a city of Central America, 
capital of the re'public of Guatemala, about 
eighty miles east of the Pacific, on an elevation 
4,975 feet above sea level. The streets are 
platted regularly and are paved and drained. 
It contains several excellent government build¬ 
ings, a fine cathedral, a university, an archbish¬ 
op’s palace, and numerous modern municipal 
facilities. Among its manufactures are pottery, 
woolen and cotton textiles, machinery, utensils, 
cigars, spirituous beverages, embroidery, furni¬ 
ture, and jewelry. In 1774 it became the capital, 
at which time Old Guatemala, situated some 
distance to the southeast, was destroyed by an 
earthquake. It has railroad connections with 
the coast, both east and west, and with many 
interior towns. The public school system is 
well organized and numerous periodicals and 
scientific societies are maintained. It has an ex¬ 
tensive system of electric railways. The city 
was first founded in 1524, but it was twice de¬ 
stroyed by earthquakes, hence the present city 
dates from 1773. Population, 1904, 96,568. 





GUAVA 


970 


GUERNSEY 


GUAVA (gwa'va), the common name of 
many small tropical trees found in Asia and 
America. The larger number of these trees are 
native to the tropics of America, but the more 
useful species have been widely acclimated in 
the warm climates. They yield important des¬ 
sert fruits, which are fleshy and have the shape 
of apples or pears. The lemon guava attains a 
height of twenty feet, has white fragrant flow¬ 
ers, and yields fruit about the size of a hen’s 
egg. The fruit is exported or used in making 
jelly. Another species, the red guava, is culti¬ 
vated extensively in the West Indies. • The 
strawberry guava produces small fruit of excel¬ 
lent flavor. 

GUAVIARE (gwa-ve-a'ra), a river of South 
America, rises in the Andes near Bogota, Colom¬ 
bia, and flows eastward into the Orinoco. The 
basin of the Guaviare is largely a level country, 
but it is very sparsely settled. The river has a 
length of 700 miles and the greater part of it is 
navigable. 

GUAYAQUIL (gwl-a-kel'), a seaport city 
of Ecuador, capital of the province of Guayas, on 
the Guayaquil River, about forty miles from the 
Gulf of Guayaquil. The site is on low and moist 
ground, on account of which fevers are com¬ 
mon. The noteworthy buildings include a na¬ 
tional university, several hospitals, the govern¬ 
ment buildings, and a number of churches. It 
has a fine harbor on the river, which is two 
miles wide at this point, and has extensive rail¬ 
road connections with interior mining and trad¬ 
ing centers. As a port city it is one of the best 
on the west coast of South America, the principal 
exports being coffee, cacoa, fruits, timber, nuts, 
India rubber, and mineral products. It has a 
considerable trade in ivory, live stock, tobacco, 
and drug materials. A waterworks system and 
a tramway are among the municipal improve¬ 
ments. It was founded in 1535 and owes its 
prosperity to its extensive shipping facilities. 
In 1896 damage to the amount of $30,000,000 
was done by fire. Severe disturbances by earth¬ 
quake shocks have also destroyed portions of 
the city at various times. Population, 1908, 74,- 
642. 

GUDGEON (guj'un), a fish found in the 
fresh-water lakes and streams of central and 
temperate Europe. It has a lengthened and 
rounded body, short dorsal and anal fins, and a 
labial barbel at each corner of the mouth. The 
head is flattened, the snout is obtuse, and the 
low r er jaw i.s somewhat the shorter. It has no 
teeth in either jaw, but triangular bones near 
the entrance of the throat serve to grind the 
food. The gudgeon is a small fish, measuring 
from five to'six inches in length, but it is prized 


for its fine flavor. A species of gudgeon about 
five inches long is found in the Niagara River, 
while five species occur in Europe. 

GUELPH (gwelf), a city in Ontario, county 
seat of Wellington County, on the Speed River. 
It is on the Canadian Pacific and the Grand 
Trunk railways and is important as an inland 
port of entry. The noteworthy buildings in¬ 
clude the Ontario Agricultural College, the pub¬ 
lic library, the high school, and the county build¬ 
ings. Extensive water power is obtained from 
a fall of thirty feet in the river. Among the 
manufactures are flour, woolen goods, sewing 
machines, farming implements, furniture, musi¬ 
cal instruments, soap, and shoes. Building 
stone of a fine quality is quarried in the vicinity. 
John Galt, the Scotch author, founded the city. 
Population, 1901, 11,496. 

GUELPHS AND GHIBELLINES (gib'el- 
1ms), the names of two important political par¬ 
ties that contended for supremacy in Germany 
and Italy from the 11th to the 14th centuries. 
The party names originated from two families 
known as the Waiblingen and Welf, who were 
rival parties in the German Empire, the latter 
being still represented in the ruling house of 
England. These names sprang into existence 
from the Battle of Weinsberg, which occurred 
between Emperor Conrad of Hohenstaufen and 
Welf in 1140. The Welfs became known as 
Guelphs, receiving their chief support in the 
Italian cities of Bologna, Florence, Vienna, 
Modena, and Milan, while the Waiblingens took 
on the name of Ghibellines and were supported 
principally by the cities of Lucca, Pisa, and 
Arezzo. During the conflicts many of the cities 
and communities changed in accord with the in¬ 
terests peculiar to different localities. In the 
main the Ghibellines supported the imperial au¬ 
thority of Germany in Italy, while the Guelphs 
were in opposition. Toward the latter part of 
the 13th century the bitter feuds partook more 
of the nature of a personal warfare. After the 
14th century both parties disappeared from his¬ 
tory. 

GUERNSEY (gern'zi), the most westerly 
and the second largest of the Channel Islands. 
It is located 45 miles southwest of Cherbourg, 
France, and 69 miles southeast of Start Point, 
England. The length is nine miles, the breadth 
is about five miles, and the circumference is 
thirty miles. The surface is elevated in the 
southern part, where the coast is picturesque, 
and the northern part is level. It is the nativity 
of the Guernsey breed of cattle, which are noted 
for their rich milk. Other products include 
flowers, fruits, and granite. Saint Peter Port 
is the seat of government, The inhabitants speak 


GUIANA 


971 


GUIANA 


a Norman-French dialect. Population, 1907, 
41,037. 

GUIANA (ge-a'na), an extensive region 
lying between the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, 
South America. It is properly divided into five 
divisions: Portuguese Guiana, now united with 
Brazil; Spanish Guiana, now connected with 
Venezuela; and the three European colonies of 
Dutch, British, and French Guiana. The entire 
territory has a length of 1,200 miles from east 
to west and a breadth of 800 miles, including 
an area of 690,000 square miles. However, the 
portions united with Venezuela and Brazil have 
largely lost their identity, and in modern geog¬ 
raphies the name is applied only to the Euro¬ 
pean colonies. These colonies are enclosed by 
Brazil, Venezuela, and the Atlantic Ocean. 

Europeans first explored Guiana in 1499, but 
settlements were not made until 1613, when the 
Dutch established themselves at Essequibo. The 
English founded a colony at Surinam in 1650, 
and in 1664 the French settled at Oyapok. Fol¬ 
lowing these settlements numerous conflicting 
claims arose, which were marked by various 
contests until 1803, when the history of British 
Guiana begins and the various possessions as¬ 
sumed their present geographical forms. The 
. coast regions and valleys are exceedingly fertile, 
and the chief wealth consists of an exhaustless 
; soil and many tropical products. As a whole 
the climate is moist and hot. The rainfall 
i ranges from 70 to 98 inches, and the tempera¬ 
ture varies from 75° to 90° Fahr. Within the 
territory are many navigable rivers, splendid 
tracts of forest, and rich deposits of gold, sil¬ 
ver, iron, and other minerals, especially in the 
southern region of the country. 

British Guiana, or Demerara, is bounded 
on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, east by Dutch 
Guiana, south by Brazil, and west by Brazil and 
Venezuela. The area, including a portion claimed 
by Venezuela, is 90,277 square miles. Ranges 
of mountains belonging to the Parima system 
trend on the eastern boundary and the Awari- 
wa highlands characterize the southern part. 
The principal rivers include the Essequibo, 
Guyuwini, Berbice, and Corentyn, the last men¬ 
tioned forming part of the eastern boundary. 
The principal products include live stock, to¬ 
bacco, coffee, maize, indigo, rice, butter, sugar, 
fruits, and cereals. Gold and silver are mined 
in the mountain districts on the south and east. 
The forests are luxuriant and yield large quan¬ 
tities of valuable timber. Among the leading 
exports are fish, rice, timber, vegetables, and 
fruits. Several railroads and numerous tele¬ 
phone lines have been built, connecting the sea- 
coast towns with the interior. The government 


is administered by a resident governor, who is 
appointed by the crown, and he is assisted by 
an executive council and by a court of policy. 
Several colleges and many public schools are 
maintained jointly by taxation and government 
grants. Georgetown is the capital and principal 
seaport. Other thriving cities are Hope Town 
and Amsterdam. The inhabitants consist of 
natives, Africans, mixed races, and 16,900 Euro¬ 
peans. Population, 1906, 306,959. 

Dutch Guiana, or Surinam, a colonial pos¬ 
session of Holland, situated between French and 
British Guiana. It has a seacoast of 240 miles 
and an area of 46,060 square miles. The gov¬ 
ernment is administered through a resident 
governor, council, and the colonial legislature. 
All the coast region and many extensive valleys 
are highly fertile. Ranges of the Tumuc Humac 
Mountains extend into the southern part from 
Brazil. They contain valuable deposits of gold, 
silver, coal, petroleum, and other minerals. TEe 
principal products are sugar, cacao, lumber, live 
stock, cereals, tobacco, rice, and tropical fruits. 
Numerous connections have been made by means 
of telephone, telegraph, and railroads, and 
schools and institutions of higher learning are 
maintained by government grants and taxation. 
The principal rivers include the Corentyn on 
the western boundary, the Maroni on the east¬ 
ern boundary, and the Carapion, Surinam, and 
Coppename flowing through the interior. Its 
exports and imports are about equal, and the 
productive resources are developing rapidly. 
The government is administered by a governor 
general, who is appointed by the crown, and as¬ 
sisted by a council. Legislative authority is ex¬ 
ercised by an assembly, which is constituted of 
four members appointed by the governor and by 
one member chosen for each 200 voters. The 
population includes many Europeans, but it is 
made up chiefly of Negroes and Indians. Reli¬ 
gious liberty is granted to all classes. Paramar¬ 
ibo, on the Surinam River, is the capital and 
chief city. In 1905 the country had a population 
of 75,465. 

French Guiana, or Cayenne, a colonial pos¬ 
session of France, located between the Atlantic 
Ocean and Dutch Guiana. The surface is large¬ 
ly level, though there are several ranges of 
mountains in the southern part. Besides the 
Maroni River on the western boundary, there 
are a number of smaller streams, among them 
the Sinamari and Aprouague. The total area 
is 46,697 square miles. Cayenne, a city of 12,- 
000 inhabitants, is the capital. The climate is 
exceedingly moist and unhealthful. Pepper, 
cloves, nutmegs, cinnamon, fruits, timber, cere¬ 
als, gold, live stock, and asphalt are the princi- 





GUILD 


972 


GUINEA 


pal products. The colony has not been material¬ 
ly prosperous, owing to its unhealthful climate. 
From 1853 to 1864 it formed a penal colony of 
France, but since the latter date no convicts 
have been transported there. However, Captain 
Dreyfus was imprisoned on Devil’s Island, 
which lies off the coast. The government is 
vested largely in a governor, who is appointed 
from Paris and is assisted by a privy council of 
seven members.* The city of Cayenne contains 
about one-third of the population of the entire 
possession. It has been improved by public 
works and is the seat of a good public school 
system. Besides containing several government 
buildings, it is the seat of the Royal Astronomi¬ 
cal Society’s station. Population, 1906, 33,256. 

GUILD (gild), the name of various associa¬ 
tions that flourished in the Middle Ages, being 
designed to further commerce, handicrafts, and 
various business enterprises. These associations 
were advantageous in obtaining municipal and 
civil liberty as against the oppression of the 
nobles and for mutual development and protec¬ 
tion in the industrial arts. The German guilds 
of craftsmen attained the height of their influ¬ 
ence in the 13th century, when they were em¬ 
powered to defend their interests by force of 
arms, but a decree issued in 1240 by Emperor 
Frederick II. restricted them in various respects 
with the intention of destroying further growth 
in political power. This decree and others is¬ 
sued subsequently were inoperative, and the 
guilds remained influential in Germany until the 
beginning of the 19th century, when the practice 
of all trades became unrestricted in all German 
states. Austria established freedom of the 
trades in 1860. The guilds secured a foothold in 
England early in the 7th century, remaining 
powerful factors in the trades and arts until 
Henry VIII. issued a decree confiscating their 
property. However, they were maintained in a 
general way until 1835, when every form of re¬ 
striction on the trades and arts was abolished 
and since then various corporations have suc¬ 
ceeded them, France and other European coun¬ 
tries as early as 1739 took like steps for the pur¬ 
pose of giving all parties freedom of choice in 
the pursuits of trades and business enterprises. 
At present trades unions take the place of guilds 
in the matter of protecting the interest of work¬ 
ingmen, but they do not restrict the young in 
the selection of a business or occupation. 

GUILFORD COURTHOUSE (gil'ferd), 
Battle of, an engagement of the Revolution in 
America, fought on March 15, 1781. Greene 
with an American army pursued Cornwallis 
after the Battle of Cowpens and joined Morgan 
in the Catawba Valley, and the two American 


forces were finally united at Guilford Court¬ 
house, N. C. Cornwallis had an army of 2,215 
veterans, while the Americans numbered 4,440. 
The British made a well-directed charge and at 
first were successful, but a regiment of Mary¬ 
land troops was followed by a cavalry charge, 
causing the British to fall back. Cornwallis re¬ 
treated toward Wilmington and abandoned the 
Carolinas. The Americans lost 400 and the 
British lost 600. This battle is considered a 
strategic victory for the former. 

GUILLEMOT (gil'le-mot), the popular 
name of several birds of the auks family. The 
common guillemot is from twelve to fifteen in¬ 
ches long, has almost completely black plumage, 
and is native to the northern parts of Europe, 
Asia, and America. A rare species known as 
the sooty guillemot has a white ring about the 
eye. The bill in all species is straight, the legs 
are short, and the wings are pointed. Great 
numbers of these birds breed in the rocky 
shores of the northern coasts, where their eggs 
are hunted for the market. The feathers are 
used for making clothing by the natives, who 
eat their flesh and eggs. 

GUILLOTINE (gil'16-ten), an apparatus 
named from its supposed inventor, Joseph Ig- 
nace Guillotin (1738-1814), and used by the . 
French government for executing criminals. A 
similar invention for beheading was used in the 
Middle Ages, but the form adopted by the con¬ 
vention at the time of the French revolution 
contained a number of improvements. A high¬ 
wayman was executed on April 25, 1792, at the 
Place de Grede, Paris, being the first to be 
guillotined. The common guillotine consists of 
two posts placed upright on a platform about 
twelve feet square, between which an ax is sus¬ 
pended. In the ordinary guillotine the ax is 
formed much like a hay knife, running in 
grooves between the posts, where it is suspend¬ 
ed by a loop in the halyards, and held in place 
by a button at the top. The person to be ex¬ 
ecuted is bound to the platform and the knife 
is dropped upon his neck by its own weight, 
which is sufficient to cause the head to be sev¬ 
ered from the body. The Persians and Italians 
used a similar instrument for beheading crimi¬ 
nals, and one called the maiden was employed 
in Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries. It 
is commonly supposed that the inventor perished 
by the machine of his own invention, but this 
is erroneous, since he founded the academy of 
medicine after the guillotine was abolished and 
lived until 1814. The name guillotine is com¬ 
monly applied to a machine for cutting straw, 
paper, and other substances. 

GUINEA (gin'e), the name of a region in 


GUINEA 


973 


GULF STREAM 


West Africa, bordering on the Gulf of Guinea. 
As a geographical term it came into use in the 
14th century, when the Portuguese explored 
and traded along the coast, and later the region 
became the center of a large, slave trade. At 
present it is not used extensively, being dis¬ 
placed by names given to particular localities by 
European nations, but in a restricted sense it 
is applied to Angola and Portuguese Guinea. 
Formerly the region from Sierra Leone to 
French Congo was known as Upper Guinea and 
the region south was called Lower Guinea. An- 
nobon, Fernando Po, Principe, and Sao Thome 
were known as the Guinea Islands. 

GUINEA, a coin formerly used in Great 
Britain, so named because it was first made 
from the gold brought from the coast of Guin¬ 
ea. It came into use in the reign of Charles 
II., in 1664, and was superseded by the sover¬ 
eign in 1817. The value of the guinea was 21 
shillings, or about $5.06. This coin is rare at 
present, but it is still customary to use the name 
for various purposes, especially in estimating 
professional fees and the price of pictures. 

GUINEA, Gulf of, the name applied to a 
large portion of the Atlantic Ocean, on the west 
coast of Africa, washing the shore between Cape 
Lopez and Cape Palmas. The bights of Biafra 
and Benin are within the gulf. It receives the 
waters of the Niger and contains the islands 
of Saint Thomas, Fernando Po, Principe, and 
Sao Thome. 

GUINEA FOWL, or Pintado, a genus of 
birds of the turkey family, belonging to the ge¬ 
nus Numida, native to Western Africa. About a 



GUINEA FOWLS. 


dozen species are included in the group, the best 
known being the common guinea fowl, which 
has been domesticated and is reared extensively. 
It is about the size of a common fowl, has' a 
quarrelsome disposition, a peculiar harsh cry, 
and seeks to tyrannize other poultry. The spe¬ 
cies which are grown most extensively are shy. 


They have slate-colored plumage with speckled 
feathers alternating and a naked head, and lay 
small eggs with a strong shell. The eggs are 
esteemed for food. Usually the guinea fowl is 
kept partly as a barnyard ornament and because 
of its inclination to defend other fowls against 
their enemies. In the West Indies they are met 
with in flocks in a wild state, and are seen fre¬ 
quently in numbers ranging from 25 to 50. Some 
species of Africa and Asia have a pure white 
plumage. In the time of Roman prosperity the 
guinea fowl was a favorite bird of the chase 
and its flesh was highly esteemed. 

GUINEA PIG, a class of rodent mammals 
native to South America. They are a species of 
cavy and are domesticated and grown exten¬ 
sively as pets. Most of these animals are white, 
reddish, or white and black spotted. They are 
very small, about twelve inches long, and re¬ 
semble the pig only in their grunting voice. 
Among the common characteristics are short 
and rounded ears, timid habits, the absence of 
a tail, and a low degree of intelligence. In 
South America they occur in large numbers on 
the banks of the La Plata, in Brazil, Bolivia, 
and other countries. They most commonly fre¬ 
quent the forests during the daytime in a se¬ 
cluded manner and come out in the evening for 
food. Their stupidity makes them an easy prey 
to various serpents and flesh-eating animals, 
though their loss by destruction in this manner 
is at least partly overcome by their rapidity in 
multiplying. They begin to bear young, when 
only two months old, produce from one to five 
at a birth, and commonly bring forth from 
three to six litters each year. See illustration 
on following page. 

GUITAR (gi-tar'), a stringed musical instru¬ 
ment which has a hollow body somewhat resem¬ 
bling the violin. It is played by plucking or 
twitching the string with the right hand, while 
the left is used to form notes by pressing the 
strings against the frets on the. finger board. 
It is used principally to accompany the voice in 
singing. The Moors introduced it into Spain, 
where it has remained a popular instrument ever 
since. Those of modern manufacture have six 
string-.. The three lowest strings are made of 
silk, covered with a fine wire, and the three 
highest are of gut. At present it is used exten¬ 
sively in all civilized countries. 

GULF STREAM, one of the most extensive 
and best known of the oceanic currents, receiv¬ 
ing its name from the Gulf of Mexico. All the 
currents of the ocean are so nearly continuous 
that they in fact resemble one vast mdvement. 
Any given current in the ocean is influenced 
more or less by the movement of all other 













GULF STREAM 


974 


GULL 




oceanic streams. The winds and differences in 
the density of oceanic waters cause large vol¬ 
umes to pass from near the Equator into the 
Caribbean Sea, thence through the Yucatan 
Channel into the Gulf of Mexico, whence it is 
known as the Gulf Stream, a name applied until 


GULL. 

rear from two to four young. The most com¬ 
mon species include the black-hcaded gull, glau¬ 
cous gull, common American gull, common her¬ 
ring gull, and sea mew. Sea mews have a cry 
quite similar to that of a cat, hence the name. 


GUINEA PIGS. 


it finally disappears as a distinct current, after 
passing across the Atlantic. 

In the Gulf of Mexico it has a temperature 
of about 50°, Fahr., flows as a definite warm 
current through the Strait of Florida, courses in 
a northeasterly direction a short distance from 
the coast of the United States, and has a width 
varying from 50 to 300 miles. In the Straits 
of Florida its velocity is about six miles per 
hour, whence it gradually diminishes, being 
about four miles per day at its greatest width 
in the Atlantic. The coast of Europe divides it 
into two parts, one passing southward along the 
coast of Spain and to the northeastern part of 
Africa, and the other flowing to the Arctic 
Ocean by way of the north coast of Norway. 
The waters become denser as heat is radiated. 
On account of this circumstance the stream 
appears as a middle or lower current farther on 
in its course. 

The effect of the Gulf Stream it^on the tem¬ 
perature of the Bermudas is marked, giving 
these islands a semitropical climate. On the 
other hand, its union with currents moving to¬ 
ward the northeast along the shores of Europe 
has a modifying effect upon the climate of Great 
Britain and the Scandinavian peninsula. How¬ 
ever, when considered by itself, it cannot "be 
said to iiave a material influence upon the climate 
of Europe, since it is not sufficiently wide or 
deep to be highly effective. In commerce it is 


quite important from the fact that sail-vessels 
moving in the current are enabled to derive 
some advantage in navigating portions of the 
ocean, but in this respect it is of no utility in 
steamship navigation. 

GULF WEED, a genus of seaweeds floating 
in the Atlantic Ocean within an area of 
about 250,000 square miles, and so called 
because they are found chiefly in the Gulf 
Stream. The best known of the large 
areas covered by seaweeds is the so-called 
Sargasso Sea, situated north of the Tropic 
of Cancer, in the north Atlantic, and west 
of the Azores. They propagate them¬ 
selves by breakage. See Algae. 

GULL, a widely distributed genus of 
web-footed sea birds. They are distin¬ 
guished by large wings, small hind toes, 
slender legs, and a straight bill. Fully 
sixteen species of gulls have been studied, 
of which the color is variegated, though 
the prevailing hues are blackish-slate, 
pearl-gray, and whitish. Some species 
have black and white markings on the 
head that vary at different seasons of the 
year. The young are brownish and have 
a dark bill, but at maturity both sexes are 
very similar in color. They frequent the shores 
of lakes and the sea, while some species are 
seen far out from the land and appear to be 
tireless in their flight. They feed on fish, in¬ 
sects, and various forms of putrid food with 
much voracity. Their nests are along the shore 
or in rushes, where they breed once a year and 























































GUM 


975 


GUN 


The flesh of sea gulls is coarse, though their 
eggs are prized for table use, and the plumes 
serve as trimming for ladies’ hats. 

GUM, a vegetable secretion that exudes from 
intercellular spaces of certain trees, among them 
the peach, plum, and cherry. Gums are vi$cid. 
The purest varieties are transparent or translu¬ 
cent and pale yellow in color, but sometimes are 
several shades darker. Among the more valua¬ 
ble gum products are those known as gum 
arabic, gum Senegal, East India gum, cherry- 
tree gum, and Barbary gum. The gum taken 
from the spruce tree is prepared for chewing 
gum and sold in the market, and there are vari¬ 
ous other classes of this product prepared and 
sold in the form of confections. Gum resins 
are the inspissate juices of certain plants which 
contain both gum and resins. They are ob¬ 
tained from various plants either by spontaneous 
exudations or from incisions. They include asa- 
foetida, myrrh, aloes, and many others. 

GUM ARABIC (ar'a-bik), a gum obtained 
from the acacia arabica, a plant abundant in 
Arabia and India. For the purpose of securing 
a large yield it is necessary to make incisions in 
the bark, from which the gum exudes spontane¬ 
ously. The product is transparent, often colored 
yellow or brown by impurities. It is inodorous 
and brittle and has a bland taste. Gum arabic 
is useful in calico printing, for cement, for ink, 
in pharmacy, and in finishing fabrics. 

GUM RESINS, the dried products obtained 
from various plants, consisting of a mixture of 
gum and one or more resins. Alcohol dissolves 
the resin, leaving an insoluble residue of gum, 
while the latter is dissolved by rubbing with 
water. If gum resins are brought in contact 
with water, the gum dissolves and the insoluble 
resin forms an emulsion, hence a gum resin re¬ 
quires both water and alcohol to be completely 
dissolved. The principal products of this class 
include ammoniac, asafoetida, gamboge, myrrh, 
and ivy gum resin. These products are solid 
and opaque, have a strong taste and smell, and 
are employed chiefly in medicine. Substitute 
gums are made from the starch of wheat and 
potatoes by roasting or baking and are used to 
some extent as substitutes for the more expen¬ 
sive real gums. 

GUMTI (goom'te), or Goomti, an impor¬ 
tant river of India, rises in a small lake in the 
Northwest Provinces, and flows into the Ganges 
near Benares. The course is generally toward 
the southeast and is remarkable for its many 
turns and windings. It is about 485 miles long 
and it is navigable for small craft to Lucknow, 
about 300 miles. 

GUN, a term applied to any weapon which 


has a barrel designed to receive and discharge a 
missile, in the projection of which powder, gun 
cotton, or air may be employed. The various 
implements ranging from the hand gun or pistol 
to the largest cannon are described by the name, 
but in common use it is customary to limit the 
term to the sporting gun. When gunpowder first 
came into use different terms were applied, such 
as bombards in Italy and crackeys in England. 
The early cannons were about the size of large 
muskets and by means of them it was as com¬ 
mon to throw stone and iron as leaden balls. 
They were not only comparatively small, but 
were hard to manipulate, and firing was slow 
and ineffective as compared with the newer im¬ 
plements of modern times. The most rapid fir¬ 
ing in 1638 by the musketeers was from seven 
to ten shots per hour. At that time it was quite 
common to use a match-firing gun, but soon 
after the flintlock came into general use, this 
being an invention of highwaymen, who found 
that firearms in which matches were employed 
were liable to lead to their discovery. 

The flintlock guns were in common use in 
Europe until 1840, when more effective and 
rapid-firing weapons took thtir place. As early 
as 1540 it was common to use pistols in warfare 
and for personal protection, the weapons being 
confined to a place of concealment and used as a 
surprise to the enemy. The pistols used in the 
18th century contained a cylinder with four 
barrels, which revolved much like the cylinders 
of newer implements of a like character. At an 
early date the art of aiming and firing by hold¬ 
ing the implement in one hand developed into a 
very skillful practice, equaled only by pioneers 
and herdsmen who usually are adepts in the use 
of the pistol. The modern magazine gun has a 
shorter barrel and a smaller bore than the old 
musket, yet the carrying power is greater and 
its accuracy is of a much higher character. This 
is due largely to the rifling or grooving of the 
barrel, an art developed in the last century. The 
larger implements of war are classed as cannon, 
which include mortars, howitzers, and siege 
guns. In the larger cannon the barrels are about 
sixty feet long. These implements weigh 125 
tons, carry projectiles or shells weighing 1,800 
pounds, and consume 900 pounds of powder in a 
single charge. The cannon commonly used in 
the army and navy weigh about sixty tons, are 
forty feet in length and five feet in diameter at 
the larger end, and have a rifle bore. Beside 
these, mention may be made of the rapid-firing 
and machine guns, by means of which it is pos¬ 
sible to fire as high as 800 shots per minute. 

All the different varieties of guns are made of 
steel. They are thoroughly tested before being 




GUNBOAT 


976 


GUNNERY 


used in the public service. The Gatling gun, 
invented in America and adopted in 1866 for the 
United States service, was capable of firing 
1,200 shots per minute in special tests. The 
Krag-Jorgensen gun is in extensive use in the 
infantry of many countries, having been widely 
adopted in 1896 and since. The largest estab¬ 
lishment for manufacturing guns is the cele¬ 
brated Krupp works at Essen, Germany. The 
guns manufactured there have gone widely into 
use and are among the best in the world. The 
most remarkable single gun manufactured at 
that establishment was completed in 1886, by 
means of which it was possible to throw a ball 
weighing 2,300 pounds a distance of nine miles 
with sufficient force to penetrate iron plates 
four feet thick. All the modern guns are breech¬ 
loading, the projectile being first inserted, after 
which the propelling force is placed back of the 
projectile, and the breech is plugged by means 
of a substantial screw plate. 

GUNBOAT, a vessel of small size, usually 
supplied with a single gun. Vessels of this 
class are employed in war for attacking armored 
vessels, or for defenses on the coast and in 
rivers. Those of modern construction are armed 
largely with one heavy gun, which is mounted on 
the deck. It is commonly set on a pivot in such 
a manner that it may be turned in any direction. 
In other gunboats a single gun is so constructed 
that it may be raised or lowered by means of 
an engine, and in maneuvering it is necessary to 
turn the vessel. Iron-plated steam gunboats are 
a powerful aid in a fleet and are employed ex¬ 
tensively as auxiliaries. 

GUN CARRIAGE, the vehicle or support 
upon which a cannon is mounted for service. 
It may or may not be adapted for transporting 
the gun. Those used for siege and field pur¬ 
poses have a carriage designed for traveling^ 
which consists of a fore part with two wheels, 
called a limber, and with the carriage proper 
forms a four-wheeled vehicle. The limber 
serves for the attachment of horses, but for 
action it is unlimbered, when it rests on a strong 
support called the trail and its own wheels. 
Land gun carriages include casemate, barbette, 
siege, and field carriages. The. first two are in¬ 
tended to be kept in position at a particular for¬ 
tification, while the last are adapted for trans¬ 
portation as well as for stationary service. The 
iron carriages of modern construction contain 
elaborate mechanical parts, combining conven¬ 
ience in transportation and firing, and are* suffi¬ 
ciently substantial to endure elaborate use. 

GUN COTTON, or Pyroxylin (pi-roks'i- 
lin), a powerful explosive substance prepared 
by the action of nitric acid on cotton wool. It 


was discovered by Christian F. Schonbein (1799- 
1868), a German chemist, in 1845. His experi¬ 
ments in mixing nitric and sulphuric acids with 
cotton wool demonstrated that the product pos¬ 
sesses a highly combustible property and that 
its burning results in an explosion. It is pre¬ 
pared at present by drying cotton wool at 100°, 
then submerging it in a mixture consisting of 
one volume of nitric acid and three volumes of 
sulphuric acid, and leaving it immersed for 24 
hours. Next it is washed with water or a prep¬ 
aration of alcohol to remove the lower nitrates. 
It explodes at about 165°, if finally divided, 
though when compressed it burns like tinder, 
but may be exploded by a mercuric fulminate. 
If washed in soda, it retains its explosive prop¬ 
erties to the best advantage. The principle ad¬ 
vantage of gun cotton over gunpowder is that 
it can be conveyed safely in a moist state with¬ 
out injury and is almost smokeless. In mining 
and for torpedoes it serves a highly useful pur¬ 
pose. It has been introduced as an effective 
agent in warfare. In photography an imperfect 
chemical form of gunpowder, known as collo¬ 
dion, is used. This is soluble in a compound of 
alcohol and ether. ' 

GUNNERY (gun'ner-y), the branch of sci¬ 
ence which treats of the construction and mode 
of firing guns. The term is commonly used in 
contradistinction to musketry, which refers es¬ 
pecially to like purposes in small arms. Much 
has been written on the subject of gunnery, the 
first standard work being that of Niccolo Tar- 
taglia (1500-1559), an Italian mathematician, 
who published a treatise called “The New Sci¬ 
ence” in 1537. Other publications of note are 
the “Dialogues on'Motion” published by Galileo, 
in 1638, and the “New Principles of Gunnery” by 
Benjamin Robbins in 1742. The latter writer, 
besides treating of the resistance of air, bore 
of guns, methods of taking aim, and force of 
gunpowder, produced an invention for measuring 
the velocity of cannon balls, a mechanism not 
superseded until 1862. By a study of the theory 
of gunnery it has become possible to solve many 
problems relative to the best systems of con¬ 
structing firearms for the purpose of securing 
the most serviceable motion of projectiles 
through the air, and for manufacturing imple¬ 
ments of the proper length, rifle bore, thickness, 
weight, and strength. It has aided in solving 
the problems involved in actual firing, such as 
calculating the necessary velocity, range, angle 
of elevation, rotation of projectiles while passing 
through the air, and other problems involved 
both in individual firing and in handling a large 
number of guns in the time of war. 

The guns that are manufactured according to 



GUNPOWDER 


977 


GUNPOWDER 


the better methods take into account the neces¬ 
sary velocity of the projectile and the effect 
upon it by the recoil, as well as the construction 
most effective in the different kinds of fire, as 
direct fire, vertical fire, and enfilade fire. By 
direct fire is meant the discharge of projectiles 
horizontally against the front of a column. In 
vertical fire the gunner aims at a high angle of 
elevation with the object that the projectile will 
be caused to fall at a vulnerable point of the 
enemy. In enfilade fire the projectiles sweep 
against the earthworks or lines of men. Many 
circumstances must be l^ken into account in en¬ 
deavoring to make firing effective. They in¬ 
clude the direction and velocity of the wind, the 
drift due to the rotation of the projectile, the 
state of the atmosphere a^ regards heat and 
moisture, and the movement of the ship and of 
the enemy. No perfectly satisfactory range 
finder has yet been discovered, but high classes 
of guns combined with careful experiments and 
practice have developed a high degree of pro¬ 
ficiency in firing. 

GUNPOWDER, an effective explosive mix¬ 
ture of charcoal, saltpeter, and sulphur. The 
composition varies according to the uses for 
which it is employed. The ingredients are pul¬ 
verized separately into fine particles and mixed 
carefully in the proportion of about 75 per cent, 
of saltpeter, the remaining 25 per cent, being 
divided equally between sulphur and charcoal. 
In manufacturing the mixed materials are sub¬ 
jected to great pressure for the purpose of form¬ 
ing a solid cake, which is then ground into frag¬ 
ments and the grains are separated by sieves. 
The necessary apparatus includes a series of 
sieves or screens, by means of which the dif¬ 
ferent sizes are separated from each other. The 
dust particles remaining are again pressed into 
cakes, the proper sizes being utilized in forming 
the different grades of gunpowder, and the 
coarser residue, if any, is broken into finer par¬ 
ticles. 

The pressure is applied while the material is 
in if moist state and determines the character 
of the explosive, high pressure giving violent 
action, while the milder pressure causes the 
product to be less violent as an explosive. When 
the grains are first separated, they contain 
sharply marked points, but these are worn off 
by placing the granulated powder in barrels and 
revolving them for a period of four to twenty 
hours. This process is accomplished while the 
powder is still moist and is necessary to give the 
grains a perfectly smooth surface. After this 
process, the granulated powder is glazed with 
graphite and subjected to a process of drying in 
a large room under a temperature of 135°.., 

62 


The most common grades of powder are 
known as mammoth, cannon, mortar, and mus¬ 
ket powder. The last mentioned is the finest 
grained and is used largely in the smaller fire¬ 
arms. However, coarser-grained powder is 
more serviceable in the larger guns, since the 
strain produced by it tends rather to move the 
projectile forward than to effect an influence by 
which its force is lost before the projectile is 
started, as is the case with small-grained pow¬ 
der. In recent years much progress has been 
made in the use and effectiveness of smokeless 
powder. This class is used almost exclusively 
in small and rapid-fire guns by the principal na¬ 
tions, and many of them employ it for field and 
heavy cannon. The reason that smokeless pow¬ 
der possesses superior value is that the dense 
volumes of smoke arising from rapid firing tend 
to obstruct the view and impede the successful 
operation in time of battle. 

The powders usually classed as smokeless are 
more properly designated as semi-smokeless, 
since they produce a small amount of smoke. 
Powders containing ammonium nitrate as a 
principal ingredient yield products that are 
largely gaseous and almost invisible. There are 
three classes of true smokeless powder, of which 
the ingredients consist mainly of nitrocellulose, 
a mixture of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin, 
and those containing nitro-derivatives of the 
aromatic hydrocarbons. Among the objects 
sought in manufacturing an effective and serv¬ 
iceable powder may be named the property of 
being smokeless. To this must be added high 
and uniform velocities with safe and regular 
pressure, the property of not excessively foul¬ 
ing in the gun, the virtue of not being unusually 
liable to ignite from the effect of friction or a 
shock, and that it be not excessively difficult to 
ignite when placed in the gun ready for use. 

, Besides these essentials, high grade powders 
must not be impaired by temperature, age, and 
moisture, and be free from obnoxious and irres- 
pirable gases when used in firing. Manufac¬ 
turers take into account the chemical and phys¬ 
ical effects of powder upon the gun, and seek to 
produce grades that will not rapidly erode or 
corrode the barrel. 

The history of gunpowder properly dates from 
the 7th century, when it was employed by the 
Byzantine emperors to defend Constantinople 
against the Saracens. However, it is of great 
antiquity among the Chinese, who employed it 
for blasting rocks and in manufacturing fire¬ 
works long before the Christian era. It is quite 
certain that the discovery was made by the Chi¬ 
nese while accidentally mixing saltpeter with 
sulphur and charcoal, and that the products used 




GUNPOWDER PLOT 


978 


GUTHRIE 


by them were greatly inferior to the varieties in 
use at present, or even during the Middle Ages 
in Europe. A German monk named Berthold 
Schwartz made valuable discoveries in 1836, 
which greatly facilitated the manufacture and 
increased its propulsive power. Guns were used 
by the British as early as 1327, during the inva¬ 
sion of Scotland by Edward III. In 1342 pow¬ 
der was employed at the siege of Algeciras by 
the Moors and shortly after attracted the atten¬ 
tion of various European nations. The manu¬ 
factories of gunpowder established in Germany 
and Italy were among the first in Europe and 
the first in England were founded about 1590. 
The American colonists brought gunpowder to 
America, but even before their time it was 
used extensively by navigators and explorers 
who cruised on the American shores. At pres¬ 
ent the United States ranks as one of the prin¬ 
cipal powder manufacturing countries in the 
world, its product being both large in quantity 
and efficient as an explosive projectile agency. 

GUNPOWDER PLOT, a celebrated con¬ 
spiracy formed in England in 1604 by Robert 


GURNARD (gur'nerd), a family of spiny- 
rayed fishes, including those called grunters, 
cuckoos, and sea robins. The common gurnard 
has an angular head covered with bony plates 
and the elongated body is tapering and nearly 
round. It has many sharp spines and peculiar 
appendages. The flying gurnard has enormous 
spreading wings and is able to lift itself out of 
the water with ease. Most species of these 
fishes utter a peculiar note when above the 
water, hence the names piper and cuckoo have 
been applied to them. They frequent the 
eastern coast of Canada, and the United States 
and are found off the coasts of Europe and 
Asia. None of the species is. more than eight¬ 
een inches long and some are regarded good 
food fishes, though their uncouth appearance 
has caused them to be eaten only to a very 
limited extent 

GUTHRIE (guth'ri), the capital of Oklaho¬ 
ma, county seat of Logan County, on Cotton¬ 
wood Creek, 32 miles north of Oklahoma City. 
It is on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the 
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, and other rail¬ 


Catesby and several Roman 
Catholics of rank for the pur¬ 
pose of blowing up Parliament 
and the king as a matter of re¬ 
venge on account of the pas¬ 
sage of the penal laws directed 
against their faith. The time 
fixed for the execution of the 
plot was Nov. 5, 1,605, and it 
was designed to destroy the 
commons, lords, and king by 
one blow. The plan was to 
excavate a channel so as to 
form an underground passage, 
but later a cellar under the 
chamber of Parliament was 
rented, and in this the powder 
was stored. An anonymous 
letter was sent to Lord Mount- 
eagle, a Catholic peer, advising 
him not to be present at the 
meeting of Parliament, which that gentleman 
delivered to Cecil, then Secretary of State, 
and from this the plot became known. An 
investigation led to a discovery of 36 barrels 
of powder and several large quantities of other 
explosives, together with billets and faggots. 
Guy Fawkes was arrested while starting to ignite 
the explosives, while several others were appre¬ 
hended, tried at Westminster, and executed on 
Jan. 30 and 31, 1606. A later investigation dem¬ 
onstrated that the Catholics, with few excep¬ 
tions, were not implicated and knew nothing of 
the plot. 



FLYING GURNARDS. 

roads. The surrounding country has large in¬ 
terests in agriculture and dairying. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are the State capital, the 
Carnegie public library, the city hall, the high 
school, and the Federal building. Other build¬ 
ings include the Scottish Rite Temple, a Federal 
prison, and Saint Joseph’s Academy. Among the 
manufactures are flour, furniture, vehicles, ma¬ 
chinery, cigars, and cotton products. It has gas 
and electric lighting, systems of waterworks and 
sewerage, and electric street railways. Guthrie 
was founded in 1889, became the capital of Okla¬ 
homa Territory the next year and was made the 
































































































: 



























































































































































































GUTTA-PERCHA 


979 


GYPSIES 


capital of the State in 1907. Population, 1907, 
11,652. 

GUTTA-PERCHA (gut'ta-per'cha), the in¬ 
spissated juice of the gutta-percha tree, which 
somewhat resembles caoutchouc, but differs from 
it in being more soluble and stronger, but less 
elastic. The gutta-percha tree has a trunk of 
two or three feet in diameter, grows to a height 
of sixty or seventy feet, and abounds in south¬ 
eastern Asiatic islands, principally in Borneo, 
Singapore, and Sumatra. The juice is extracted 
by tapping. It is brownish-red in color when 
pure, becomes hard and tough below a tempera¬ 
ture of 90°, and can be molded into various de¬ 
signs at a temperature of 145" Fahr. Its prin¬ 
cipal use is for coating submarine telegraph 
wires as a protection against salt water. In a 
modified form it is used for the soles of boots, 
ear trumpets, door handles, bottles, and hose 
tubes. 

GWALIOR (gwa'le-or), a fortified city of 
India, capital of the state of Gwalior, about 
sixty miles south of Agra. Its fortifications are 
situated on an elevated rocky eminence and are 
accessible only by steps, the whole constituting 
the most formidable strategic point in India. 
The older portion of the city is situated at the 
base of the rocky heights. It contains a pre¬ 
ponderance of stone buildings and is noted for 
its ancient temples of interesting Hindu archi¬ 
tecture. The old town has narrow and illy im¬ 
proved streets, but the newer part, known also 
as Sashkar, is situated toward the southwest and 
is well graded and drained. It has systems of 
pavements and electric street railways. Gwalior 
has had a long and eventful history and took 
a leading part in the mutiny of 1857. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 120,208. 

GYMNASIUM (jim-na'zi-um), a name ap¬ 


plied by the Greeks to the public places and 
buildings where the Grecian youths exercised 
themselves by running, leaping, wrestling, box¬ 
ing, and throwing the spear. The most noted 
of these were located at Athens. That city con¬ 
tained seven resorts classed as gymnasiums, 
which were frequented not only for gymnastic 
exercises, but likewise for instruction by rhet¬ 
oricians, philosophers, and the eminent teachers 
who delivered their lectures as a means to culti¬ 
vate the intellectual faculties of youth. The 
term gymnasium is used to designate a system 
of schools in Germany, which occupy a place 
immediately between the elementary schools and 
universities, serving as feeders of the latter. 
Collectively they are known as Gymnasia or 
Realgymnasia. In these institutions the youth of 
Germany are trained especially for admission to 
the universities, and before completing the 


course are required to take a critical examina¬ 
tion in at least one modern language, history, 
Greek, and Latin. 

GYMNASTICS (jim-nas'tiks), a word de¬ 
rived from gymnasium and used to designate 
any system designed to discipline the physical 
and muscular powers of the body by exercising 
in feats of bodily skill. Games for the purpose 
of encouraging outdoor exercises by children 
are as old as human history, though the various 
games have been characterized by marked dif¬ 
ferences in the various ages. Among the most 
common games to develop physical strength and 
skill which are popular at present are those of 
baseball, football, tennis, croquet, rowing, and 
others designed especially for children younger 
than those adapted to playing the recognized 
standard games. However, the term gymnas¬ 
tics is applied more strictly to indoor exercises, 
usually those that involve muscular activity under 
system, and are performed in special rooms or 
departments set aside for the different sexes in 
many of the schools, colleges, and universities. 
It' has been found that these exercises are help¬ 
ful in invigorating especially the students of 
sedentary habits, giving greater strength to mus¬ 
cles and frame, and imparting such a degree of 
general vigor to the system that intellectual de¬ 
velopment becomes more marked and rational. 

Perhaps the ordinary infantile and childhood 
pastimes are sufficient to engage the attention 
of most children until twelve years old, but 
from that time to the age of thirty-five it is 
highly beneficial to take rational and suitable 
exercise at regular intervals, though much care 
is necessary lest the system be overtaxed and 
the vital organs fatigued. For this reason it has 
been found highly profitable to place the gymna¬ 
sium under special supervision of competent di¬ 
rectors and guide the gymnastic training of each 
pupil in accordance with individual needs. This 
is true especially in beginners for the reason 
that some experience is necessary in order to 
estimate the proper amount of invigorating ex¬ 
ercise wholesome to the system. 

GYPSIES (jip'syz), a peculiar race of people 
found widely distributed in most parts of the 
world. They are known among themselves as 
Romani. The name Romani was derived from 
Rom, the Egyptian word meaning man, and 
Romni, meaning woman. Formerly the French 
called them Bohemians for the reason that they 
regarded them banished Hussites from Bohemia, 
while to the Germans they are known as Zigeu- 
ner, a term thought to have been derived from 
the Italian Zingari. The name Romani seems to 
imply their descent from the early Egyptians, but 
the language, which is the same among the wan- 







GYPSUM 


980 


GYROSCOPE 


dering companies in all countries, indicates de¬ 
scendance from the people of India, probably 
from the Hindus. Like the Jews, they have 
been able to preserve their identity and language 
in a remarkable degree. 

The color of the typical Gypsies is yellowish- 
brown, the hair and eyes are jet black, the limbs 
are symmetrical, the teeth are extremely white, 
and the size is medium. They are rarely content 
to make permanent settlements, but prefer to 
wander in emigrant wagons or live in tents. The 
older women turn a few pennies by telling for¬ 
tunes, the younger women engage extensively in 
selling wares and fruits, while the men vend no¬ 
tions, trade horses, perform sleight of hand 
tricks for exhibition purposes, or engage as 
general traders. Their musical skill is remarka¬ 
ble and many of their melodies have become in¬ 
corporated with the most noted operas and can¬ 
tatas. 

The vocabulary of the Gypsy language is 
limited to about 5,000 words, which are taught 
by vocal sounds, and no idea of a general educa¬ 
tion is possessed. They marry and divorce 
without much ceremony, have no particular re¬ 
ligion, exhibit much delight at turning a good 
bargain, and are given to amusements and 
games. As a rule the children are reared in in¬ 
dolence and ignorance, while traits of supersti¬ 
tion and boastfulness are common. Historical 
writers generally agree that they appeared as a 
wandering people in Germany, Italy, Switzer¬ 
land, and France about 1417, thence moved into 
Spain about 1445, into Russia about 1500, and 
into Sweden and England about 1514. The 
kings and princes of many countries have been 
friendly to them on account of their harmless 
disposition, though in some’ localities they were 
charged with being spies and kidnaping children 
for the purpose of securing ransom. Straggling 
parties emigrated to America shortly after per¬ 
manent settlements were made, and at present 
the Gypsy population in the United States is 
considerable. The total number of Gypsies in 
the world is estimated at 650,000, though this 
does not include those that have become assimi¬ 
lated by other peoples, which, however, does 
not occur with much frequency. 

GYPSUM (jip'sum), a mineral occurring in 
monoclinic strata as alabaster in a compact state 
and as selenite in a crystallized form. It is 
found extensively in the form of a soft, chalky 
stone, this being transformed into plaster of 
Paris by kiln-drying. The common characteris¬ 
tics of gypsum are its color, which includes 
white, gray, yellow, blue, reddish-brown, and 
black. It is often transparent, though usually 
opaque. The grade designated as soft and 


chalkish stone occurs largely in Michigan, Kan¬ 
sas, Texas, New York, Iowa, Ohio, Canada, 
Austria, Germany, France, Arabia, and else¬ 
where. At Paris, France, it is found in exten¬ 
sive masses, hence its name, plaster of Paris, 
when manufactured. The rock masses contain- 
ing gypsum may be found in any geological 
age, but occur most frequently in the alluvial 
formations of the more recent periods. Gyp¬ 
sum is still being formed by the action of wa¬ 
ter, which holds irt solution different ingredi¬ 
ents, such as calcareous rock particles carried 
by mineral waters in volcanic regions, from 
the combination of sulphuric acid, from iron 
pyrites, or as a deposit from water in which 
it is held in a soluble state. It occurs most 
abundantly in combination with water aqd is 
the substance to which the hardness of water 
is due. Among the uses of gypsum are its em¬ 
ployment for fertilizing, cornice moldings, in¬ 
terior decorations for buildings, models in statu¬ 
ary, and in preparing articles for ornamentation, 
though for most of these purposes it must be 
subjected to varied forms of treatment. France 
is the leading producer of gypsum and its prod¬ 
ucts, but it is followed closely by both Canada 
and the United States. 

GYPSY MOTH, an insect native to Europe, 
where it is highly destructive to the fruit and 
shade trees. In 1869 specimens were brought 
to America by Leopold Trouvelot of Massachu¬ 
setts, who experimented to find some hybrid 
that-would be free from certain diseases of silk¬ 
worms. Several specimens escaped and the au¬ 
thorities were notified, but efforts to extermin¬ 
ate the insect proved futile, although several 
million dollars were expended for the purpose. 
These insects lay their eggs on fences, trees, and 
other objects in August. The eggs hatch the 
following • spring, when the caterpillars attack 
the leaves of trees and many plants. In July 
they become full grown caterpillars, when they 
form loose cocoons and after two weeks more 
the moths emerge. The female is white and 
does not fly, while the male is brown and flies 
quite rapidly. 

GYROSCOPE (ji'ro-skop), an instrument 
used to demonstrate various properties of rota¬ 
tion. It consists of a circular disk so balanced 
in gimbals that its axis is free to take any direc¬ 
tion with the least possible resistance. A rea¬ 
sonably clear idea may be obtained from the 
toy gyroscope, which differs from a top in that 
both ends of its axis are supported by being 
mounted in a circular frame. When the disk is 
put in motion, the entire apparatus not only re¬ 
tains its position as long as the disk revolves 
rapidly, but it takes up a slow horizontal mo- 


GYROSCOPE 


981 


GYROSCOPE 


tion (gyration) in the reverse direction to that 
in which the upper periphery of the disk is mov¬ 
ing. In the illustration, one end of the outer 
frame, or gimbal, rests on the support D, the 
arrows indicating the direction of the two move¬ 
ments, which, as long as they continue, prevent 
the instrument from falling from the position 
E to the ground at F. This action is due to the 
principle that a mass set in rotation about its 
principal axis of inertia continues to revolve 



TOY GYROSCOPE. 


about it, the direction of the axis remaining un¬ 
changed unless extraneous force is applied. 

The gyroscope was invented by Johann Bohn- 
enberger (1765-1831), a German astronomer and 
mathematician. He first described it in 1817, 
after employing it in astronomical experiments 
to show that the apparent rotation of the stars 
about the earth is due to a real rotation of the 
earth itself in the opposite direction. In 1862 
Jjean Foucault, the French physicist, made a 
similar application. He set a large gyroscope 
in rotation and, by using a telescope, observed 
the apparent change in the plane of its rotation 

Of fit?” I PJfcHpftf! & ' 0 •; 


r,:iwr 

•i IttVp'I- o! 


due to the movement of the earth. Sir William 
Thompson devised the gyrostat, a modification 
of the gyroscope, and used it to illustrate the 
dynamics of rotating rigid bodies. It consists 
essentially of a fly wheel, the axis of which is 
fixed within a massive rim, and the rotation is 
upon fine steel pivots inside a rigid case. 

Although the gyroscope was long considered 
merely a toy, it has recently been adapted to 
very practical uses. Otto Schlick of the German 
navy, in 1904, suggested it as an instrument with 
which to give ships a steady motion even in very 
rough water. He devised a gyroscopic appara¬ 
tus which weighed 1,100 pounds and rotated at a 
velocity of 1,600 revolutions per minute. The 
first experiment was with the torpedo boat 
Seebdr, which is 115 feet long and has a dis¬ 
placement of 56 tons. The results obtained were 
entirely satisfactory. Subsequently many pas¬ 
senger vessels have been equipped with the appa¬ 
ratus, the object being to secure greater stability 
and correspondingly reduce the cases of sea¬ 
sickness. Another notable instance of applying 
the gyroscope is that of Louis Brennan (b. 
1852), an Australian inventor of Irish descent, 
who is the first to suggest the monorail railzvay. 
In 1907 he exhibited at London a locomotive 
which moved rapidly and safely on a single rail, 
being held in position by two gyroscopes located 
in an air-tight case. A partial vacuum was 
maintained in the case and the revolutions were 
at the rate of 7,500 per minute. Subsequently 
locomotives and trains of cars have been con¬ 
structed for experimental purposes, the gryo- 
scopic apparatus being driven by electric power 
and weighing about five per cent, of the weight 
of each engine or individual car. In such a 
train, when it moves rapidly around curves, the 
gyroscopes lean inward in the manner of a 
cyclist when rounding a curve. 


' • / 














H, the eighth letter and sixth consonant of 
the English alphabet. It is usually classed as 
an aspirate rather than a consonant for the rea¬ 
son that its sound is a mere breathing or aspira¬ 
tion of vocalized breath. Its distinctive sound 
occurs when it is written as the first letter of a 
word and when it follows w, as in help, heavy, 
hope, where, and whither. In combination with 
other letters it is used to represent sounds in 
digraphs, such as child, this, than, and shift, and 
in others in which the diagraph is silent, as in 
plough and bough. In some cases it is com¬ 
bined with consonants to represent the sound of 
f, as in tough and enough. In words taken from 
the Greek, ch generally has the sound of k, as in 
chyle and chemistry. H is used in chemistry as 
the symbol of hydrogen. 

HAARLEM (har'lem), a city in the Neth¬ 
erlands, capital of the province of North Hol¬ 
land, ten miles west of Amsterdam, on the 
Spaarne River. It is connected by important 
railroad lines and traversed by a system of ca¬ 
nals, and its buildings are largely of the typical 
style found in the Netherlands. The cathedral 
of Saint Bavon, one of its finest buildings, is an 
ancient and famous structure. It was erected 
in the I5th century, is 425 feet long, and is 
crowned by a tower 253 feet high. Other build¬ 
ings include the public library, the townhall, and 
the meat market. It has numerous scientific 
schools, associations of general learning, and fine 
parks and statuary. The manufactures include 
machinery, beverages, woolen goods, clothing, 
silk, laces, and embroidery. It ranks high as a 
center of trade in flowers and merchandise, and 
is noted as the seat of the most extensive type 
foundry and printing establishment in Holland. 
Among the celebrated men born in Haarlem is 
Lourens Coster, an accredited inventor of mova¬ 
ble types for printing. Haarlem dates from the 
13th century and obtained municipal rights in 


1245. In 1572 it was besieged by Don Frederico, 
a son of the Duke of Alva, but was finally freed 
from Spain by the Prince of Orange. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 69,701. 

HABEAS CORPUS (ha'be-as kor'pus), a 
legal writ of relief directed to the person de¬ 
taining another, and demanding him to produce 
the body of the prisoner at a specified time and 
place. The term is of Latin origin, meaning 
you may have the body. A writ of habeas corpus 
may be issued in all cases where a person in 
custody claims to be illegally detained or wrong¬ 
fully refused bail, or who desires to be removed 
to a different court than the one in which the 
case is pending. In England, where this writ is 
called the writ of right, it is based upon the 
Magna Charta, which declares that “no freeman 
is to be deprived of his life, liberty, and property 
except by the judgment of his peers and the law 
of the land.” The writ of habeas corpus is as¬ 
sured to all persons by the Constitution of the 
United States and by those of most of the states. 
It can be withheld only in cases of rebellion or 
invasion, or when the public safety may require 
its suspension. 

HABIT (hab'it), the tendency of the body 
or mind to repeat the same action more or less 
involuntarily. Habits are acquired through the 
inclination of the nervous system to repeat its 
own acts in the same way from time to time. 
They have a wide range in all our mental and 
bodily actg, and are likewise concerned in the 
improvement or debasement of our moral and 
spiritual nature. It has never been satisfactorily 
explained why singular facility is acquired by 
repeated action in accomplishing what at first 
was either difficult or impossible, but it is gener¬ 
ally thought to be due to a condition of nerve 
force as influenced by the movement of its cur¬ 
rents. That is, when a current traverses a 
nerve tract, it produces a tendency in the nerve 





HACK 


983 


HADRIAN 


center to induce a similar current again under 
like conditions, and as the currents are repro¬ 
duced from time to time the nerves become 
habituated to their passage. Some psychologists 
find a reason for this power of habit in the sym¬ 
pathetic nerves and others trace it to the asso¬ 
ciation of ideas. However, it is universally 
recognized that both mental and bodily habits 
depend upon the repetition of the same act. This 
gave rise to the useful educational maxim, 
“Practice makes perfection.” 

Children and youth need special care to influ¬ 
ence the formation of right habits. At that time 
of life the nervous system is in a plastic condi¬ 
tion and may be influenced to act with facility, 
hence the training should aim to inculcate a tend¬ 
ency toward the formation of wholesome hab¬ 
its with the view of inducing the highest possible 
physical, intellectual, and moral development. It 
is important to detect and eradicate bad habits, 
if such have been acquired, and to replace them 
with those which tend toward right thought and 
action. This is important for the reason that 
right habits economize both time and strength 
and at the same time tend toward proper and 
right action. The man for whom education has 
done all that it can do, who has received the ex¬ 
tent of its benefits, finds habit not his master 
but his most useful servant. Rosenkranz says in 
this connection: “Education must procure for 
the pupil the power of being able to free himself 
from one habit and to adopt another. Through 
this freedom, he must be able not only to re¬ 
nounce any habit formed, but to form a new 
one; and he must so govern his system of habifs 
that it shall exhibit a constant progress of de¬ 
velopment into greater freedom. We must dis¬ 
cipline ourselves, as a means toward the ever- 
changing realization of the good in us, constant¬ 
ly to form and to break habits.” 

HACK, or Hackney Coach, a coach or car- 
.riage which is let out for hire. It is usually a 
vehicle with two seats inside facing each other. 
The term is commonly applied to a cab. 

HACKBERRY (hak'ber-ry), a tree of the 
nettle family, sometimes called sugar berry, net¬ 
tle tree, and hoop ash. The common hackberry 
of North America ranges from Canada to Ten¬ 
nessee, extending westward to the Pacific. It 
is about three feet in diameter and from 80 to 
120 feet high, and has rough bark and nearly 
horizontal branches. The wood is coarse-grained 
and heavy and in value may be classed with that 
of the elm. Other species are found in different 
parts of Canada and the United States, includ¬ 
ing the species usually known as sugar berry. 
The lotus tree of Europe and Asia is a species 
of the hackberry. It attains a height of about 


70 feet, and the wood is used in carving and for 
making furniture. 

HACKENSACK (hak'en-sak), the county 
seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, on the 
Hackensack River, eight miles southeast of Pat¬ 
erson. It is on the New Jersey and New York 
and other railroads and has communication by 
several electric lines. Among the conveniences 
are city lighting, pavements, a public library, and 
several fine school and church buildings. It has 
manufactures of brick, silk, jewelry, and uten¬ 
sils. Many business men of New York City 
have their residences at Hackensack. The place 
was settled about 1640 by the Dutch. Washing¬ 
ton, while retreating through New Jersey, 
stopped here in 1776, but it was afterward occu¬ 
pied by the British. Population, 1905, 11,098. 

HADDOCK (had'duk), a fish belonging to 
the same family as the whiting, coalfish, and cod. 
In size it is smaller than the cod, but it resem¬ 
bles that fish. It has three dorsal fins and a 
pale-brown back, but the under part is silvery- 
white. The forehead is flattened between the 
eyes. This species of fish is valued for food, 
weighs from two to eight pounds, and breeds in 
the northern seas in February and March. The 
haddock is a common fish on the Atlantic coast 
of North America and Europe. An allied spe¬ 
cies called the Norway haddock is smaller and 
is abundant off the coast of Newfoundland. 
The salted and smoked flesh of the haddock, 
known as finnan haddie, was first prepared by 
the Scotch, whence the name. 

HADES (ha'dez). See Hell. 

HADJ. See Hajj. 

HADRIAN (ha'drf-an), Arch of, a tri¬ 
umphal arch at Athens, southeast of the Acrop¬ 
olis, erected by Hadrian or his successors. It 
is in a good state of preservation. The struc¬ 
ture is 44 feet wide and 59 high. It was 
erected to divide Hadrianopolis from the ancient 
city of Theseus. Another structure erected by 
Hadrian is his tomb in Rome, which is no& 
known as the Castel Sant’ Angelo. It was com¬ 
pleted under the direction of the emperor about 
135 a. d. and was surrounded by beautiful gar¬ 
dens which extended to the Tiber. Though in a 
good state of preservation, the Tomb of Ha¬ 
drian is partly concealed by works of fortifica¬ 
tions that were erected in comparatively recent 
times. The Villa of Hadrian was located near 
Tivoli, about fifteen miles from Rome, and had 
an area of several square miles. It contained 
fine baths, theaters, terraces, libraries, and gar¬ 
dens, and the decorations were largely those ob¬ 
tained from Greece or made specially in imita¬ 
tion of Greek masters. The most important 
treasures now extant are in the museums of 


HAGEN 


984 


HAIL 


Rome, but many ruins are still found where the 
villa was located. 

HAGEN (ha'g€n), a city of Germany, in the 
Prussian province of Westphalia, 42 miles from 
Cologne. It is located on the Volme River and 
several railroads and is surrounded by a produc¬ 
tive agricultural country. The manufactures in¬ 
clude cotton goods, tobacco, iron and copper 
products, and machinery. It has electric lights 
and railways, stone and asphalt pavements, and 
a large trade in produce and merchandise. It is 
the seat of several technical schools. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 77,567. 

HAGERSTOWN (ha'gerz-toun), a city in 
Maryland, county seat of Washington County, 
in the Cumberland valley, 86 miles northwest of 
Baltimore. It is on the Baltimore and Ohio, 
the Norfolk and Western, and other railroads. 
The chief buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the Kee Mar College, the Washington 
County Library, and several schools and 
churches. The city is noted for its social, re¬ 
finement, beautiful streets, and electric and 
steam railway facilities. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are vehicles, farming implements, cigars, 
fertilizing, flour, pottery, brooms, and machin¬ 
ery. The surrounding country is agricultural 
and fruit growing. Hagerstown was settled 
about 1740 and is governed under a charter is¬ 
sued in 1885. Population, 1900, 13,591. 

HAGFISH (hag'fish), or Hag, the name of 
a class of fishes structurally related to the 
lamphrey. They live as parasites upon other 
fishes. The shape of the body resembles that of 
an eel, but they have no visible eyes and the 
mouth is round and formed for suction. Eight 
tentacles or barbels surround the mouth, which 
has a single tooth in the upper part, and two 
rows of strong teeth are attached to the tongue. 
The body is slimy and has no scales or bones, 
but is membranous and cartilaginous. They at¬ 
tach themselves to fishes and bore their way to 
the inside by means of the mouth, and in the 
course of time consume the body, leaving only 
the skeleton and entrails. The common hagfish 
is about fifteen inches long. It is very abundant 
off the west coast of North America and on the 
east coast from Cape Cod north, where it is 
known as the slime cel. 

HAGUE (hag), The, a city in the province 
of South Holland, capital of the Netherlands, 
fifteen miles northwest of Rotterdam. It is 
pleasantly situated three miles from the North 
Sea, 23 miles southwest of Amsterdam, and is 
connected in all directions by canals and rail¬ 
roads. It has communication by steamship lines 
with the leading ports of Europe. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are the palaces of the 


general government, several historic churches, 
a system of public schools, a number of colleges, 
and a university. The royal library contains 
525,000 volumes, besides which are other public 
institutions, such as a public museum of antiqui¬ 
ties and modern art, several parks and zoologi¬ 
cal gardens, an electric street railway system, 
and stone and asphalt pavements. The Hague is 
the most fashionable and modern city in Hol¬ 
land, and about three miles from it is the cele¬ 
brated Scheveningen, a favorite bathing and 
pleasure resort on the coast. The royal villa of 
Huis ten Bosch, located in a forest near the city, 
has costly decorations and valuable collections 
of art. 

The Hague does not rank high in commerce, 
but it is the seat of many industries. Among 
the manufactures are firearms, jewelry, furni¬ 
ture, musical instruments, clothing, hats, ma¬ 
chinery, and textile fabrics. Owing to its ex¬ 
cellent facilities for entertaining visitors, it has 
been a favorite place for holding international 
congresses. Among the most recent held here 
is the peace conference suggested by the Czar 
of Russia in 1899. This conference was called 
for the purpose of considering the gradual dis¬ 
armament of civilized nations, whereby, if con¬ 
summated, the burdens of vast standing armies 
would be.lessened greatly. 

The Hague was made a princely residence un¬ 
der William II. in 1250. In the 16th century it 
became the seat of the stadtholder of Holland 
and from the 17th to the 18th centuries it was 
the diplomatic capital of Europe. The Treaty 
of Ryswich, concluded in 1697, was signed at 
the castle of Ryswich. About three-fourths of 
the inhabitants are Protestants. Population, 
1906, 248,995. 

HAIL, the small masses of frozen rain or 
congealed vapor falling from the clouds in 
showers or storms, constituting pellets or hail¬ 
stones of variable size and shapes.. Hail result^ 
when considerable differences of temperature 
exist between the lower and higher strata of air, 
and the presence of intense cold causes the 
moisture to condense suddenly. Usually there 
are several layers of dark, grayish clouds which 
move in different directions and have a varying 
temperature. Two kinds of hail are generally 
recognized, one consisting of small grains, which 
usually precedes the fall of snow, and the other 
being composed of hailstones. The latter class 
occurs most commonly in the spring and sum¬ 
mer, but reaches its greatest severity and fre¬ 
quency in tropical climates. It is probable that 
the small hail pellets are formed by raindrops 
freezing as they fall through strata of colder air 
than those in which they were formed as rain- 


HAIL 


985 • 


HAIR 


drops. The larger class of hailstones are thought 
to be due to the coming together of clouds of 
vastly different temperatures. 

On examining a large hailstone it is found to 
be constituted of concentric layers, similar to 



THEORY OF HAIL BY ROTARY MOVEMENT. 


those of an onion, arranged around a central 
nucleus formed generally of snow, but some¬ 
times of ice. The stones are more or less sphe¬ 
roidal in shape and weigh from a few grains to 
several ounces, though hailstones weighing sev¬ 
eral pounds sometimes occur. The theory that 
accounts for the layers is that there are currents 
of wind which rotate like cyclones, but instead 
of having vertical axes, the movements are hori¬ 
zontal. In such cases several horizontal and al¬ 
most parallel strata of clouds form some dis¬ 
tance apart, the upper layer of snow and the 
lower of rain. The nuclei of the hailstones are 
formed in the upper layer in the form of snow¬ 
flakes, are caught in the rotating currents of 
wind and carried alternately through the two 
layers of clouds, and in this way receive succes¬ 
sive coatings of snow and ice until they finally 
fall to the ground. 

Some naturalists attribute the influence of 
electrical attraction and repulsion as formative 
agencies of hail, since thunder and lightning in¬ 
variably attend hailstorms. Other writers hold the 
view that there are many alternate layers of dif¬ 
ferent clouds during the formation of large hail¬ 
stones, and, in falling from the upper stratum 
through the different lower strata, they take on 
the peculiar characteristics by whirling through 
the successive cloud formations. Hailstones 
measuring about one-fourth of an inch in diam¬ 
eter are most frequent, but stones having a 
diameter of from two to five inches sometimes 
occur. In hot climates they are frequently of 
the larger size and effect much damage to grow¬ 
ing crops. Noteworthy hailstorms are those 
which occurred in New Hampshire in 1851, at 
the Cape of Good Hope in 1860, and in Moravia 
in 1889. At the time of these historic hail¬ 


storms stones weighing from eighteen ounces 
to four pounds fell to the ground, destroying 
much vegetation and some human life. In many 
localities hailstorms occur in which the bark of 
trees is punctured, the heaviest plate-glass win¬ 
dows are broken, and the shingles of houses are 
destroyed. 

HAINAN (hi-nan'), an island in the China 
Sea, east of the Gulf of Tonquin, belonging to 
the province of Kwangtung, China. It is sepa¬ 
rated from the mainland by the Strait of Hai¬ 
nan. The area is 13,600 square miles. It is well 
wooded and has fine groves of palm and cocoa- 
nut trees. Cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar cane, and 
fruits are grown profitably. A large majority 
of the inhabitants are Chinese. Kiang-chow, an 
important seaport on the northern coast, is the 
capital. Population, 1908, 2,450,850. 

HAIR, one of the threadlike structures that 
grow from the skin or outer covering of mam¬ 
mals, serving as a protection similarly to the 
feathers and down of birds and the scales of 
fishes and reptiles. All species of mammals in 
an adult state have hairs, which vary greatly in 
structure, as is noticed by comparing the finer 
kind of wool with the bristles of the hog and 
the quills of the porcupine. The hairs of the 
human head furnish a protection in heat and 
cold and serve as a shield against blows. All 
parts of the body, except the palms of the hands 
and the soles of the feet, contain more or less 
hair growths, and the parts usually described as 
destitute cff hairs are covered with a small color¬ 
less growth. In some males the breast, arms, 
shoulders and other portions have hairs much 
like those common to the head. 

Each hair is hard and compact on the out¬ 
side, and contains layers of colorless scales over- 
lying one another like the shingles of a roof. 
The interior is porous and is thought to contain 
the liquids by which it is nourished. It is a 
modified form of the epidermis, growing from 
a tiny bulb called the papilla, which is an eleva¬ 
tion of the cutis at the bottom of a little hollow 
in the skin. The hair is produced from the sur¬ 
face of the bulb, like the cuticle, by the constant 
formation of new cells at the bottom, the old 
cells being pushed forward to constitute a por¬ 
tion of the hair shaft. Minute pigment gran¬ 
ules, which are contained in the cells of the hair, 
determine its color. 

Race characteristics greatly influence the color 
of the hairs, but it is likewise modified by age, 
sex, climatic conditions, and various other cir¬ 
cumstances. In infancy the color is light and 
with age it becomes darker and less fine. A 
growth of hairs commences in the armpits and 
on the breast at the age of puberty in both sexes 










HAIR 


HAIR DRESSING 


and in males a beard begins to appear. If the 
hair bulb is destroyed, the hair never grows 
again, but, if uninjured when a hair is pulled 
out, a new one is produced. Baldness is due 
usually to an affection of the papillae, which re¬ 
sults generally from an impairment of the blood 
circulation in the scalp, and grayness is attrib¬ 
uted to the same cause, or to a deficiency in the 
amount of pigment granules in the hair cells. 
The hairs themselves are destitute of feeling, 
but nerves are located in the hollow in which 
each hair is rooted, thus accounting for the pain 
experienced when a hair is pulled. Small glands 
are connected with the hairs, which serve as 
lubricators to them and the skin by secreting 
an oily substance. 

The tendency of hairs to stand erect under 
the influence of cold or electricity is due to 
muscles interlacing among the fibers of the skin. 
In some animals these muscles are so well de¬ 
veloped that the hairs may be moved to drive 
away flies, as is the case in horses, cattle, and 


Italy, Germany, France, and other European 
countries peasant girls sell their hair to dealers 
for the purpose of manufacture, these products 
being best when taken from living subjects. 
Other purposes to which hairs are put include 
the manufacture of brushes and hair pencils for 
painters, dusting brushes, and numerous fancy 
articles. 

HAIR DRESSING, the art of taking care 
of the hair. It has been a subject of much study 
from remote antiquity, especially by the fashion 
mongers and the people engaged in hair dress¬ 
ing. In the costume of some classes it forms 
an important agent to convey an idea of per¬ 
sonal dignity or rank in the community, but 
more frequently it is entirely decorative to the 
person. The ancient Egyptians were ex¬ 
tremely careful in taking care of the hair, as 
may be seen from their paintings and bas-re¬ 
liefs, which show that the hair was carefully 
curled or plaited. False hair and beards were 
worn in many parts of Western Asia, where the 



HAIR DRESSING. 


Egyptian Roman 15th Century 16th Century 17th Century 18th Century 


sheep. Next to the bones and teeth, the hairs 
are the most indestructible portions of the body 
and the color is preserved for many years after 
death. The hair structure in plants is an out¬ 
growth of the epidermis and may be either a 
single cell, a cell row, a cell surface, or a cell 
mass. These hairs usually consist of minute 
transparent tissues more or less elongated, ar¬ 
ranged in a single row, and are of various 
types, such as scabrous, stellate, and uncinated 
hairs. 

Hairs constitute an important material for 
manufacturing, but those taken from horses, 
cattle, goats, sheep, hogs, camels, and alpacas 
are the most valuable. The purposes to which 
hairs are best adapted include the manufacture 
of upholstered furniture, haircloth, brushes, and 
fishing lines. They are employed in plastering, 
spinning, and weaving various kinds of textile 
fabrics. Human hairs are used extensively in 
the manufacture of beards, wigs, watch chains, 
and other articles of dress and ornament. In 


Hebrews and others considered a bald head very 
unbecoming. The custom was taken to Greece 
and Rome, where the hair was worn short by 
artisans and warriors, but many of rank prided 
themselves on having a fine growth of long hair. 

The practice of elaborate hair dressing 
reached its height in the 15th and 16th centuries. 
At that time the men had their beards tightly 
curled and gummed, while the women took pride 
in wearing the hair on cushions or supports, 
giving the appearance that the growth of hair 
was very prolific. In the 18th century, during 
the reign of Louis XVI. of France, the women 
wore the hair in a fantastic style. It was 
combed upward and stiffened with wire, hence 
gave the appearance of being about twice as 
large as the. head, and at the upper part were 
decorations of beads, ribbons, and feathers. The 
practice of wearing wigs continued during this 
period and is still fashionable, but the forms are 
much smaller than those of former times. 

The chignon, or waterfall, worn formerly is 



HAIRLESS DOG 


987 


HALF TONE 


not fashionable at present, but the so-called rat, 
a form of dressing the hair above the forehead 
to give it the appearance of fullness, is used ex¬ 
tensively in costumes by women. Men almost 
universally wear their hair cut short and the 
majority shave the face smooth or wear a small 
mustache. As a whole there has been a ten¬ 
dency toward simplicity in hair dressing, with 
the design that it serves for ornamentation to 
suit the individual. Hair dyes are used to a con¬ 
siderable extent to conceal approaching age or 
retain the natural color of youth. Substances 
used for this purpose include preparations made 
of sulphur, bismuth, and various vegetable 
juices, such as the juice of oak bark and of 
green walnut shells. 

HAIRLESS DOG, a kind of dog whose skin 
is almost entirely naked, or whose body has a 
few hairs scattered in different parts. The hair¬ 
less dog of Mexico is the best known American 
species and is frequently seen at the exhibits of 
pet dogs. It somewhat resembles the black- 
and-tan terrier, but is less active and lacks the 
keen eye, and the skin in most specimens is 
wrinkled. The African hairless dog resembles 
the greyhound in form and is entirely naked, 
except that it has a few tufts of hair on the 
legs, around the mouth, and near the tail. A 
naked dog of China, known as the Oriental 
hairless, is formed like the small greyhound ter¬ 
rier and is cooked and eaten by the Chinese 
as a delicacy. The hairless dog of the Philip¬ 
pine Islands is another well-known species. It 
is popular as a pet among the natives, especially 
the Tagals. 

HAITI. See Hayti. 

HAJJ (haj), or Hadj, the pilgrimage to the 
Kaaba at Mecca, performed by the Moham¬ 
medans. One who makes the pilgrimage be¬ 
comes known as a hadji, which Orientals re¬ 
gard a respectable salutation or a title of honor. 
The pilgrimage dates from the time of Mo¬ 
hammed, who grew more fond of the Kaaba 
as his years increased, and he visited it for the 
last time the year .before his death. The insti¬ 
tution of the pilgrimage as one of the five car¬ 
dinal duties of every Mohammedan dates from 
that time. While the visit may be made any 
time, the full rites of the Hajj, which includes 
a visit to Mount Arafat, is carried out only in 
the twelfth month of the Mohammedan calen¬ 
dar, called Dhul Hajjeh. Some of the pilgrims 
begin the journey one or two months before 
the appointed time of the meeting, depending 
upon the distance to be traveled. The number 
of pilgrims varies greatly, but a concourse of 
100,000 is not uncommon. Many travelers have 
made the pilgrimage in disguise, including T. 


F. Keane, in 1878, who published an account of 
the journey. ' 

HAKODADI (ha-ko-da'de), or Hakodate, 

a seaport city of Japan, near the southern ex¬ 
tremity of the Island of Yezo. It is located on a 
bay extending inland from Tsugaru Strait, has 
an extensive harbor, and is strongly fortified. 
The architecture is singularly Japanese, including 
a naval school and a commodious townhall. 
Transportation is facilitated by tramways. It 
has electric lighting, waterworks, and well-paved 
streets. The city is a treaty port, hence has a 
large foreign trade. It is the seat of several 
mission schools and consulates. The port was 
opened for commerce in 1859. Population, 1903, 
85,313. 

HALBARD (hol'berd), or Halberd, a weap¬ 
on employed in warfare during the Middle Ages. 
It consists of an ax blade balanced by a pick, 
having an elongated pike head at the end of a 
staff from five to six feet in length. The ear¬ 
liest halbards were used in the 14th century. 
The English halbardiers were troops who per¬ 
formed special duties, such as defending the col¬ 
ors, and reached their height of efficiency in the 
16th century. 

HALBERSTADT (hal-ber-stat'), a city of 
Germany/ in Saxony, 28 miles southwest of 
Madgeburg. It is located on the Holzemme 
River and several railways, and has considerable 
trade in merchandise and manufactures. The 
chief buildings include the Cathedral of Saint 
Stephen, the Church of Our Lady, the market, 
and a number of schools. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are leather, sugar, cigars, soap, gloves, 
and machinery. The city became a part of 
Brandenburg in 1648. Population, 1905, 45,529. 

HALCYON (hal'si-on), the poetical name 
applied to the kingfisher from early historic 
times. According to Greek mythology, Halcy- 
one and her husband, King Ceyx, were trans¬ 
formed into kingfishers, hence the name hal¬ 
cyon. The idea of the ancients was that these 
birds lay their eggs in nests floating on the sur¬ 
face of the sea in calm weather, before and after 
the shortest day of the year, when the gods 
were supposed to keep the water smooth and 
tranquil for their benefit. Hence, the term hal¬ 
cyon days signifies a period of rest and un¬ 
troubled felicity. This Grecian legend is men¬ 
tioned by Shakespeare, Socrates, Aristotle, and 
other writers. 

HALF TONE, a kind of plates made from 
photographs and engravings, used extensively 
in the illustration of books and periodicals. The 
best half tones are made from photographs, but 
they can be obtained by the reproduction of en¬ 
gravings and drawings. The process consists 


HALIBUT 


988 


HALIFAX 


mainly in making a negative of the picture to 
be reproduced, which is done by a camera hav¬ 
ing a screep of two glass plates that are ruled 
diagonally with very fine parallel lines. When 
the plates are placed together, the lines form 
diamond-shaped checks. They are held to¬ 
gether with some resinous substance, such as 
Canada balsam, and in the camera are placed 
near the plate that is to contain the negative. 
The purpose of the screen is to produce the 
shadow effect in the half tone'. 

The negative is developed and placed face 
downward upon a sensitized copper plate, which 
is prepared by carefully polishing the surface 
and covering it with a thin film of sensitized 
material. The action of light causes this mate¬ 
rial to harden. When the negative and the plate 
are exposed for a short time to a strong electric 
light, certain chemical changes take place and 
the picture is reproduced upon the copper. It 
will be seen that some portions of the sensitive 
film were not acted upon and that different 
parts were affected differently, hence by wash¬ 
ing, the portions not acted upon are reduced, 
while those acted upon remain to protect the 
surface of the copper. After placing the plate 
thus prepared in an acid bath and etching it, the 
surface is cleaned and the plate is mounted on 
a block for printing. Screens having about 200 
lines to the square inch make good half tones, 
but coarser screens are generally better when 
the surface of the paper used in printing is not 
of a fine quality. 


HALIBUT (hol'i-but), a genus of fish allied 
to the turbot, so called because it was formerly 
eaten extensively on holidays. It is among the 



HALIBUT. 


largest of flat fishes, specimens often weighing 
600 pounds or more. Though esteemed for its 
food qualities, it is considered inferior to the 
turbot. The genus is characterized by having 
both eyes on the same side of the head. The 
lips are large and ffeshy. Nearly all'species are 
dark brown on the upper surface, have small 
smooth scales, and the lower surface is white. 
The oil is valued and is extracted largely from 
the bones. Halibut fisheries are especially pro¬ 


ductive off the northeastern coast of North 
America, Iceland, the Scandinavian peninsula, 
and Western Europe, though various species are 
distributed widely in the Pacific. 

HALIFAX (hal'i-faks), a town in the Coun¬ 
ty of York, England, situated on the Hebble 
River, 38 miles southwest of York. It contains 
numerous substantial buildings, has municipal 
facilities^ importance, and is connected by im¬ 
portant railroad lines. The noteworthy build¬ 
ings include All Souls’ Church*, the townhall, the 
Blue Coat School, the Heath Grammar School, 
and an observatory. It has a public library, a 
market house, public baths, and electric rail¬ 
ways. Among the manufactures are woolen 
goods, carpets, chemicals, ironware, and ma¬ 
chinery. The large output of carpets and worst¬ 
ed goods has given the town an extended repu¬ 
tation. Halifax was governed under the manor 
rule until 1848, when it received its charter. 
Population, 1907, 110,138. 

HALIFAX, a seaport city and the capital of 
Nova Scotia, on a small peninsula in Halifax 
harbor, on the Atlantic coast. It is on the Cana- 



VICINITY OF HALIFAX, N. S. 


dian Pacific, the Inter-Colonial, and the Nova 
Scotia railways. The harbor offers easy access 
and anchorage for the largest sea-going ves¬ 
sels. It is the principal harbor and naval sta¬ 
tion of the British possessions in America, is 
strongly fortified, and has an extensive export 
and import trade. The noteworthy buildings 
include the Dominion Building, the Provincial 
Parliament, the Saint Paul’s church, the Roman 
Catholic cathedral, and the Dalhousie Univer¬ 
sity. It has several scientific associations and 



HALLE 


989 


HALLUCINATION 


institutions for the blind, deaf, and dumb. The 
manufactures include tobacco, machinery, paper, 
leather, soap, and canned fish. Halifax was 
founded in 1749 and supplanted Annapolis as 
the seat of government in 1750. Population, 
1906, 42,807. 

HALLE (hal'le), a city of Germany, in 
Prussian Saxony, on the Saale River, twenty 
miles northwest of Leipzig. It is an im¬ 
portant railroad center, has well-improved and 
wide streets, and is the converging center of 
many electric lines. As an educational center it 
has long taken high rank. The celebrated uni¬ 
versity located here has been famous since the 
17th century. Other noteworthy buildings in¬ 
clude the Church of Saint Maurice, the Market 
Church, the townhall, the normal school for 
teachers, and the central railroad station. It has 
fine statues of Handel, Roland, and other promi¬ 
nent personages. The city has fine public school 
buildings and several equestrian monuments. 
Among the manufactures are chemicals, ma¬ 
chinery, dies, oil, and malt. Within the vicinity 
are extensive mineral springs that yield great 
quantities of salt. Halle contained a castle as 
early as the 8th century. It was important as a 
member of the Hanseatic League and was a 
stronghold of Lutheranism in the Reformation. 
The French captured it in 1806, but it was an¬ 
nexed to Prussia in 1813. Population, 1905, 169,- 
916. 

HALLE, University of, an institution of 
' higher learning at Halle, in the province of Sax¬ 
ony, Germany. It was founded as a Lutheran 
center of education in 1694, when it had over 
700 students. It has taken high rank as a theo¬ 
logical school since , the beginning. During the 
Napoleonic wars it was twice suspended, but was 
shortly after reopened, and the University of 
Wittenberg was united with it in 1817. The li¬ 
brary has over 215,000 volumes. In 1909 it had 
2,150 students, including a large number from 
foreign countries. The names of Francke, Gene- 
sius, and Schleiermacher are closely associated 
with this institution. 

HALLELUJAH (hal-le-lu ya), or Halle¬ 
luiah, an ascription of adoration to God, occur¬ 
ring at the commencement of many psalms, 
meaning praise ye Jehovah. It is a doxologyln 
the Jewish synagogues and was probably re¬ 
tained in Christian translations on account of its 
signification and poetic sound. The name has 
been adopted for many musical productions, as 
the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel’s “Messiah,” 
which is considered a masterpiece of choral 
music. 

HALL OF FAME, a building at University 
Heights in New York City, on the grounds of 


the New York University. It is one of the 
buildings inclosing the campus, consists of a 
colonnade about 500 feet in length, arid is built 
about the library. It contains 150 panels, in 
which will be set bronze tablets for the names of 
that number of great Americans. The selection 
of the subjects to be honored is intrusted to a 
committee of 100, made up of college presidents, 
educators, chief justices, and others, the selec¬ 
tions finally to be approved by the senate of the 
New York University. Originally only persons 
born in the United States and deceased at least . 
ten years were eligible, but in 1904 an apart¬ 
ment was set aside for women and foreign-born 
Americans. Twenty-nine names were chosen in 
1900, eleven others were selected in 1905, and 
five will be added every fifth year, until in the 
year 2000 the roll of 150 shall be complete. 
Helen Gould made a liberal gift toward con¬ 
structing the Hall of Fame, which will cost 
$250,000 when fully completed. 

The names selected in 1900 and 1905 are: 
George Washington, John Adams, John Quincy 
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, 
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Henry 
Clay, Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln, John 
Marshall, James Kent, Joseph Story, John Paul 
Jones, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, 
Asa Gray, David G. Farragut, Robert E. Lee, 
Robert Fulton, Eli Whitney, Samuel F. B. Morse, 
John Audubon, Louis Agassiz, Jonathan Ed¬ 
wards, Horace Mann, William E. Channing, 
Henry Ward Beecher, Washington Irving, Na¬ 
thaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, 
Henry W. Longfellow, James R. Lowell, John 
G. Whittier, Gilbert Stuart, Peter Cooper, 
George Peabody, Mary Lyon, Emma Willard, 
and Marie Mitchell. 

HALLOWEEN (hal-16-en'), an abbreviation 
of Alle halowene tyd, meaning all hallows tide, 
and applied to the evening of October 31 on ac¬ 
count of that day being the eve or vigil of All 
Saints, which occurs on November 1. It is 
-known in America principally on account of the 
practical jokes and youthful pranks that are 
played upon unsuspecting neighbors. In many 
countries it forms a time for evening fireside 
meetings and was made the subject of Burns’s 
poem, “Hallowe’en.” 

HALLUCINATION (hal-lu-si-nashun), a 
mental sensation which has no corresponding 
external cause, or the perception of objects which 
have no reality. This phenomenon is due to a 
disorder of the nervous system, as in a case of 
delusion or delirium tremens. In general, de¬ 
lusions differ from hallucinations, especially in 
that the former may arise from an error in in¬ 
terpreting a real sensation, while a hallucination 






HALO 


990 


HAMILTON 


arises from a derangement of some mental fac¬ 
ulty. While all the senses may be affected, hal¬ 
lucinations are most closely associated with the 
sense of hearing. Rest and regularity in habits 
are recommended as essentials in the treat¬ 
ment. 

HALO (ha'lo), a circle of light seen fre¬ 
quently around the sun and moon, caused by the 
presence in the air of small particles of ice and 
snow, by which the rays of light are reflected, 
refracted, dispersed, and diffracted. Smaller and 
less distinct halos are caused by raindrops and 
vapors constituting clouds. There are at least 
three distinct forms of these phenomena; halos 
proper, caused by the snow and ice particles; 
coronas , circles of light caused by condensed 
vapor; and paraselenae , mock moons that ap¬ 
pear on a lunar halo and resemble suns or 
moons. A fourth halo, observed by aeronauts 
on the upper surface of clouds, is called aureola. 

HAM, the thigh of an animal, such as that 
of the hog, sheep, or ox, but especially the thigh 
of the hog when cured by salting and smoking. 
The curing of hams is an important part of 
slaughtering and meat packing, since this class 
of meat is considered among the best obtained 
from domestic animals. Hams are first pickled 
in brine and then smoked by burning wood, 
hickory being preferred, and in some cases pow¬ 
dered mahogany is added to the burning. See 
Bacon. 

HAMATH (ha'math), or Hamah, an ancient 
city of Syria, on both sides of the Orontes River, 
frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. It 
is situated in a fertile valley, about 110 miles 
north of Damascus. The manufactures include 
flour, clothing, carpets, woolens, and jewelry. 
Though once a city of vast importance politi¬ 
cally and commercially, it is now less fortunate. 
About 10,000 of the inhabitants are Greeks and 
fellahs. Population, 1909, 48,503. 

HAMBURG (ham'burg), a free city of Ger¬ 
many, on the north branch of the Elbe, about 
eighty miles from the North Sea. The site of 
the city proper has an area of 30 square miles, 
but the region included in the state of Hamburg 
embraces 159 square miles. With it are included 
a number of contiguous districts and the island 
of Neuwerk, in the estuary of the Elbe. Many 
orchards, gardens, and dairy farms surround the 
city. 

Hamburg is the most important commercial 
city of continental Europe, having a fine harbor, 
wharves, and steamboat connections. It con¬ 
tains excellent public institutions, numerous cen¬ 
ters of higher learning, several libraries, ob¬ 
servatories, and botanical gardens. Among the 
chief buildings are the Exchange, the govern¬ 


ment house, the townhall, the churches of Saint 
Michael and Saint Nicholas, and the public li¬ 
brary of 115,jpo volumes. It has monuments of 
Lessing, Schaper, Schilling, and the soldiers who 
fell in the Franco-German War. Besides elec¬ 
tric railways, it has waterworks, electric light¬ 
ing, boulevards, sewerage, and many parks. The 
importance of its harbor is increased by con¬ 
venient railroad and canal facilities. As a 
money exchange it is, next to London, the most 
important of Europe. Among the manufactures 
are sugar, spirituous beverages, scientific instru¬ 
ments, cured meats, engines, machinery, cotton, 
woolen, and silk goods, cordage, and tobacco. 
Its shipbuilding yards are extensive and of vast 
importance. 

Educationally Hamburg is in a flourishing 
condition. In religion the people are largely 
Protestant. It dates from 809, when it was 
founded by Charlemagne. However, its com¬ 
mercial importance began in 1189, at which time 
it was made a free city. In 1241 it led in the 
formation of the Hanseatic League of towns 
and soon after increased its territory. It was 
occupied by the French in 1806, annexed to 
France four years later, and, when French do¬ 
minion ceased in 1814, it had lost much of its 
commercial importance. In 1815 it became one 
of the four free cities of the German Confedera¬ 
tion, and since then has enjoyed phenomenal 
prosperity, though vast damage was done by a 
fire in 1842. It includes the suburban towns of, 
Cuxhaven, Ritzebuttel, and several others. These 
and Hamburg proper constitute the most impor¬ 
tant passenger and emigrant center of Northern 
Europe. Population, 1905, Hamburg City, 802,- 
793; Hamburg State, 874,878. 

HAMILTON (ham'il-tun), a town of Aus¬ 
tralia, capital of Dundas and Normanby coun¬ 
ties, in the western district of Victoria. It is 
located on Grange Burn Creek, fifty miles north¬ 
east of Portland, and is surrounded by a fertile 
farming and stock-raising country. It has elec¬ 
tric lights, waterworks, and railroad connection 
with the principal cities of Australia. The 
chief buildings include several churches and 
schools and a number of structures erected for 
city and county governmental purposes. Popu¬ 
lation, 1901, 4,026. 

HAMILTON, a town on Hamilton Island, 
capital of the Bermudas. It has a safe and com¬ 
modious harbor and is the seat of a considerable 
trade in fruit, sugar, and merchandise. The 
place was founded in 1790. Population, 1901, 
2,246. 

HAMILTON, a city in Ohio, county seat 
of Butler County, on the Great Miami River, 25 
miles north of Cincinnati. It is on the Miami 


HAMILTON 


991 


HAMMOND 


and Erie Canal and on the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, 
Chicago and Saint Louis, the Cincinnati, Hamil¬ 
ton and Dayton, and other railroads. Many of 
the streets are finely paved, lighted by gas and 
electricity, and improved by sewerage, water¬ 
works, and avenues of trees. The noteworthy 
buildings include the county courthouse, the pub¬ 
lic library, the high school, and several charita¬ 
ble institutions. The chief, manufactures are 
stoves, steam engines, candy, laundry machinery, 
hosiery, earthenware, vehicles, furniture, cord¬ 
age, spirituous beverages, and textile fabrics. It 
has a large trade in farm produce and merchan¬ 
dise. The place was settled in 1791, when Gen. 
Arthur Saint Clair built Fort Hamilton, and it 
was incorporated in 1810. Population, 1900, 23,- 
914; in 1910, 35,279. 

HAMILTON, the capital of Wentworth 
County, Ontario, Canada, at the west end df 
Lake Ontario, seventy miles northwest of Buf¬ 
falo, N. Y. It is on the Grand Trunk, the Cana¬ 
dian Pacific, and other railways. The site is a 



VICINITY OF HAMILTON, ONT. 


fine tract on Burlington Bay, an inlet from Lake 
Ontario, and the port is connected with deep 
water by a canal through a sand bar, which 
serves as a breakwater for the inner harbor. 
I It has regularly platted and well-graded streets, 
many of which are paved with stone and mac- 
! adam. The chief buildings include the county 
courthouse, the Dominion post office, the town- 
hall, and many fine schools and churches. It 
has a public library, gas and electric lighting, 
systems of waterworks and sewerage, and inter¬ 
communication by electric railways. The race 
course is one of the finest in America. As a 
manufacturing center it takes high rank among 
I Canadian cities, the products including canned 
goods, flour, ironware, machinery, glassware, cot¬ 
ton and woolen goods, shoes, and musical in¬ 


struments. Hamilton was platted in 1813, but 
its larger growth has been realized within the 
past two decades. Population, 1901, 52,634. 

HAMITES (ham'its), or Hamitic, the 
name of a race of people in the northern part 
of Africa, so named because they are supposed 
to have descended from Ham. They belong to 
the white or Caucasian branch of the human 
family and were the earliest to develop a high 
civilization. In language they are related to the 
Semites, but there are three principal dialects, 
those known as the Berber, Egyptian, and Ethi¬ 
opian. Though Egypt is supposed to have been 
their original seat, they, extended their settle¬ 
ments to the Canary Islands and southward on 
the continent to the southern limits of German 
East Africa. At present they are divided into 
numerous branches, many of which are strongly 
negroid. They include principally the Copts, 
Gallas, Berbers, Kabyles, Tuaregs, Tubus, Fala- 
shas, Somalis, Danakils, and Guanches. 

HAMM, a city of Germany, in Westphalia, 
on the Lippe River, 23 miles northwest of Arns- 
berg. It is important as a railway junction and 
manufacturing center. The streets are regu¬ 
larly platted and well paved. It has a church 
which dates from 1510. The manufactures in¬ 
clude gloves, leather, machinery, clothing, and 
brick and tile. It was for many years an im¬ 
portant member of the Hanseatic League. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 38,429. 

HAMMER, an instrument for driving nails 
or beating metals, consisting of the head and 
the handle. The small hammers in use among 
blacksmiths have an iron or a steel head fixed 
to a wooden handle. One end of the head is 
usually larger than the other, one being fitted 
for drawing nails or for hammering larger 
pieces of metal than the other. The larger use 
of steam and electricity has caused power ham¬ 
mers to come into general use for manufactur¬ 
ing purposes, some of which are large machines, 
-especially those used in forging iron and steel. 
See Steam Hammer. 

HAMMOND (ham'mund), a city of Lake 
County, Indiana, on the Grand Calumet River, 
three miles from Lake Michigan and twenty 
miles southeast of Chicago. It is on the Erie, 
the Baltimore and Ohio, the Wabash, the Mo- 
non, the Michigan Central, and other railroads, 
and has direct connection with Chicago by elec¬ 
tric railways. The noteworthy buildings include 
the Carnegie library, the Federal building, 
the courthouse, the public high school, and a 
number of fine churches. Among the industries 
are starch-works, machine shops, iron foundries, 
flouring mills, meat-packing establishments, and 
publishing houses. Many of the highways adja- 






HAMPTON 


992 


HANCOCK 


cent to the city have been finely macadamized. 
Among the public utilities are sewerage, water¬ 
works, and street pavements. Hammond was 
settled in 18G9 and incorporated in 1883. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 12,376. 

HAMPTON (hamp'tun), a town of Virginia, 
county seat of Elizabeth City County, on the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. It is located 
on the north side of Hampton Roads, about 
two miles northwest of Fortress Monroe, and 
has considerable trade in oysters, fish, vegeta¬ 
bles, and agricultural produce. The public in¬ 
stitutions include the Hampton Normal and 
Agricultural Institute. It has the Church of 
Saint John built in 1660, a national soldiers’ 
home, and a national cemetery where 3,325 
bodies are buried. The first settlement on its 
site was made about 1610. Population, 1900, 
3,521. ' 

HAMPTON COURT CONFERENCE, a 

conference held at Hampton Court, an English 
royal palace on the north bank of the Thames. 
It met in 1604, shortly after the accession of 
James I., for the purpose of discussing religious 
differences with the Puritans. The latter had 
presented a petition for a more liberal use of 
the Prayer Book and other reforms within the 
church, but the king, angered by the use of the 
word presbyter, refused to grant the points 
petitioned for by the Puritan party. The last of 
the three sessions of the conference, held on 
Jan. 18th, was the beginning of Puritan opposi¬ 
tion to the house of Stuart. 

HAMPTON NORMAL AND AGRICUL¬ 
TURAL COLLEGE, an institution of gen¬ 
eral learning and industrial arts at Hampton, 
Va., to which only Negroes and Indians are 
admitted. It was opened in 1868 under the 
auspices of the' American Missionary Associa¬ 
tion, under the direction of Gen. S. C. Arm¬ 
strong, and received a state charter in 1870. 
The grounds contain 185 acres on the Hampton 
River, on which about 60 buildings are main¬ 
tained, and five miles distant is a farm of 600 
acres that is worked by students. Besides 
teaching the fundamental courses in educational 
work, instruction is given in carpentry, paint¬ 
ing, blacksmithing, horticulture, agriculture, 
stock raising, and other industrial arts. The 
industrial department continues throughout the 
year, but the schools of general education have 
a vacation during the summer. About 60 per 
cent, of the graduates engage in teaching, but 
a large number become successful farmers, car¬ 
penters, blacksmiths, and workers in other lines. 
Booker T. Washington, president of the Tuske- 
gee Institute and Normal School, is one of the 
graduates. The institution has about 600 stu¬ 


dents, an annual income of $170,000, and a 
library of 15,000 volumes. 

HAMPTON ROADS, an inlet from Chesa¬ 
peake Bay, in Virginia, forming the mouth of 
the James River. The channel is wide and 
deep, amply sufficient to accommodate the lar¬ 
gest vessels, and on its shores are many good 
harbors, including those of Norfolk and New¬ 
port News. On the northern shore is Fortress 
Monroe, which on March 8, 1862, was the scene 
of an important naval battle between the Con¬ 
federate ironclad Virginia, previously called the 
Mernmac, and the Union vessels Congress and 
Cumberland, which resulted in the destruction of 
the latter two. On the following day the Moni¬ 
tor, a Union ironclad of a new type, appeared 
on the scene of battle, and after a fight of four 
hours comoelled the Virginia to withdraw. 

HAMPTON ROADS CONFERENCE, an 
informal conference of the United States, held 
on board of the River Queen near Fortress 
Monroe on Feb. 3, 1865. The purpose was to 
discuss the differences arising from the Civil 
War between the two sections of the country. 
President Lincoln consented to this meeting as 
a means of perpetuating the Union, in which he 
was aided by Secretary Seward, while the Con¬ 
federacy was represented by Alexander H. 
Stephens, Vice President, Robert M. T. Hunter, 
and John A. Campbell. The meeting had been 
promoted by Francis P. Blair as a means of 
uniting the two sections with the view of abol¬ 
ishing slavery and expelling the French from 
Mexico. While Lincoln declared himself in 
favor of admitting the Southern States after 
their surrender, he expressed himself opposed 
to modifying the Emancipation Proclamation 
and to any treaty with the Confederate States 
as an independent government. No agreement 
was reached during the four hours that the con¬ 
ference was in session. 

HAMSTER (ham'ster), a genus of rodent 
animals closely allied to the rat, but belonging 
to the family of mice. The tail is short and 
the body is from eight to twelve inches long. 
They have large cheek pouches in which they 
carry grain and other food into their burrows. 
The food consists chiefly of cereals, vegetables 
and other forms of plant growth. Several of 
the species are noted for carrying corn and 
other seeds into their subterranean abodes for 
use as food in the winter. The common ham¬ 
ster ranges throughout the dry region of Europe 
and Asia. 

HANCOCK (han'kok), a town of Michigan, 
in Houghton County, on Lake Portage, oppo¬ 
site Houghton. It is located on the Duluth, 
South Shore and Atlantic Railroad and has 


HAND 


993 


HANG-CHOW 


transportation facilities by water through a ship 
canal to Lake Superior. The surrounding coun¬ 
try is noted for its rich deposits of copper and 
near it are the famous Calumet and Hecla 
mines. It has foundries, smelting works, ma¬ 
chine shops, and a large trade in merchandise. 
It is the seat of a Finnish college, has electric 
lighting and waterworks, and contains Monte¬ 
zuma Park. The place was settled in 1859 and 
incorporated in 1863. Population-, 1910, 8,981. 

HAND, the part of the fore limb which is 
attached to the lower extremity of the fore¬ 
arm and is adapted for grasping. It is pos¬ 
sessed by man, apes, monkeys, and lemurs, but 
in its highest perfection belongs only to man. 
The hand of apes and kindred animals serves 
partly for prehension and grasping, and to some 
extent it is necessary for support and locomo¬ 


tion. Twenty-seven bones comprise the frame¬ 
work of the human hand. In the wrist are eight 
separate bones, called the carpal, consisting of 
two rows, each containing four bones. The 
five bones of the inner hand and lower part 
of the thumb are called metacarpal, while in the 
fingers and thumb are fourteen bones, three in 
each finger and two in the thumb, these being 
known as the phalanges. The thumb, standing 
apart from the rest, possesses a well-known 
freedom of motion, and is thereby especially 
useful in seizing and grasping when brought in 
63 


contact with the fingers. The outer phalanges 
form hinge joints, but the first bone of each 
finger is attached to the corresponding meta¬ 
carpal bone so as to be movable in several di¬ 
rections. Fingers are named in order—the little,, 
ring, middle, and index finger, and the thumb. 
When closed they fit the hollow of the hand, 
and are thus capable of more easily grasping 
objects of varying size. When clasping a ball, 
the tips of the fingers are in a straight line. 

All parts of the hand are supplied with strong 
ligaments and muscles, thereby giving much 
freedom of motion, elasticity, and power of 
activity in numerous directions and for a great 
diversity of purposes. Artists have studied the 
elegance of outline, beauty of color, and deli¬ 
cacy of mold in the human hand, while its ex¬ 
traordinary mobility and adaptation to various 
uses have led many philosophers to at¬ 
tribute superiority to man fully as much 
on account of the hand as for his higher 
intellectual powers. The numerous 
nerves of the hand and fingers give the 
latter a more acute sense of touch than 
is found in any other part of the body. 
In linear measure the hand is assumed 
to be four inches and is frequently used 
in measuring the height of horses. 
Palmistry relates to the lines of the in¬ 
ner hand. Those who make it a study 
claim to be able to predict regarding the 
future. 

HANG-CHOW (hang'chou), a port 
and city in China, capital of the prov¬ 
ince of Che-kiang, on the Tsien-tang 
River, at the place where it flows into 
.Hang-chow Bay. It is the southern ter¬ 
minus of the Grand Canal, which fur¬ 
nishes transportation facilities to Tien¬ 
tsin. Walls about twenty feet thick and 
from thirty to forty feet high surround 
the older parts, but the finest buildings 
are outside the walls, in the suburbs. 
The city has some of the most beautiful 
monuments, temples, .and edifices of 
China. It ranks as one of the leading 
literary, religious, and commercial centers and 
is noted, for its public improvements and well- 
paved streets. Among the manufactures are 
silks, tapestry, furs, lacquered ware, carpets, 
porcelain, jewelry, fans, and machinery. The 
foreign trade is transacted chiefly at Chapu, 
its seaport, about twenty miles nearer the sea. 
At the time of its greatest prosperity it had a 
population of over 2,000,000. The Taipang re¬ 
bellion of 1861 caused temporary decline, but 
it is rapidly gaining in population and industrial 
rank. Marco Polo visited the city in the 13th 



HAND. 

a. Bones; b, c. Muscles; d, e, hand of the Chimpanzee. 









HANGING 


994 


HANOVER 


century and described it as a center of much 
grandeur and wealth. In 1896 it was opened to 
foreign commerce. Population, 1906, 768,550. 

HANGING, a mode of inflicting capital pun¬ 
ishment. This method is of great antiquity and 
was first practiced by hanging a murderer upon 
a gibbet near the place where the crime was 
committed. It was first used in England in 
1241, when the son of a nobleman was hanged 
for piracy. At present it is the ordinary mode 
of executing in the United States and Great 
Britain, but in a few of the states in the former 
country electrocution has been adopted. Hang¬ 
ing causes the windpipe to become compressed 
by the rope or cord, which prevents the flow 
of blood to a considerable extent and in some 
instances causes a fracture or dislocation of the 
vertabrae. Although attended by violent strug¬ 
gles in some cases, it is considered one of the 
most humane methods and is usually adminis¬ 
tered without unnecessary publicity. The courts 
that pronounce the sentence usually direct that 
the convict “be hanged by the neck until he is 
dead.” 

HANGING GARDENS, a structure built 
at Babylon and classed among the seven wonders 
of the world. The construction of these gar¬ 
dens is attributed to Nebuchadnezzar about five 
centuries b. c., although others ascribe them as 
the work of Queen Semiramis, fully seven cen¬ 
turies earlier. Several historians who attribute 
them to Nebuchadnezzar think they were built to 
gratify his Median queen, Amytis, for the pur¬ 
pose of making the plains of Babylonia less 
dreary to her when contrasted with the mountain 
scenery of her native land. The gardens cov¬ 
ered an area of four acres, were supported on 
arches of masonry of terrace construction, and 
rose to a height of 75 feet. A reservoir at the 
top supplied water, which was pumped by a 
force of men from the Euphrates, to irrigate the 
flowers, shrubs, and trees by artificial channels 
and fountains. Banqueting rooms were main¬ 
tained in various parts of the gardens, and beau¬ 
tiful scenic walks and resting places were locat¬ 
ed at convenient localities. 

HANKOW (han-kou'), a river port and city 
in China, at the junction of the Yang-tse-kiang 
and the Han River, in the province of Hupeh. 
The site is mainly in the angle formed by the 
two rivers, hence is quite level and not well 
drained. It is on the line of the trunk railway 
which is eventually to connect Canton on the 
south with Pekin on the north. Regular steam¬ 
ship communication is maintained with the 
leading ports of China. It is important as a 
commercial center and is the chief industrial 
city in the green tea district. The manufac¬ 


tures include porcelain, clothing, jewelry, earth¬ 
enware, and silks. It was opened to foreign 
commerce in 1862. The trade is chiefly with 
Great Britain, Japan, and Germany. Population, 

1906, 585,500. 

HANLEY (han'li), a manufacturing city of 
Staffordshire, England, near Stoke-upon-Trent, 
about 148 miles northwest of London. It is on 
a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal and 
has extensive steam and electric railway con¬ 
nections. The municipality maintains a market, 
public baths, a cemetery, and a public library. 
Among the manufactures are chinaware, cloth¬ 
ing, pottery, and machinery. Hanley was grant¬ 
ed a municipal constitution in 1857. Population, 

1907, 67,174. 

HANNIBAL, a city of Missouri, in Marion 
County, on the Mississippi River, 112 miles 
northwest of Saint Louis. It is on the Wabash, 
the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy, and other railroads. 
The chief buildings include the public high 
school, the city hall, the Federal building, and 
a public library of 15,000 volumes. In the vicin¬ 
ity are deposits of coal and limestone. Among 
the manufactures are flour, lime, pottery, ma¬ 
chinery, tobacco, utensils, and railway cars. The 
city has a large trade in produce, grain, and 
merchandise. It was settled in 1819 and incor¬ 
porated in 1839. Population, 1910, 18,341. 

HANOI (ha-noi'), a city of Annam, capital 
of French Indo-China, on the Sonkoi or Red 
River. It is situated in a beautiful region about 
110 miles from the China Sea and has wide and 
well-built streets. The chief buildings include 
a large Buddhist temple, the palace, the citadel, 
and several Christian churches. It is lighted 
with gas and electricity, has a system of water¬ 
works, and is the seat of a large trade, both 
domestic and foreign. The manufactures in¬ 
clude embroidery, mats, leather, silk and cot¬ 
ton textiles, and fireworks. About one per 
cent, of the inhabitants are Europeans. Several 
French newspapers are published within the city 
and it is the seat of many European public and 
missionary schools. It has been a possession of 
France since 1882. Population, 1906, 110,508. 

HANOVER (han'6-ver), or Hannover, a 
province of Prussia, in the northwestern part 
of the German Empire. It has an area of 14,869 
square miles. The surface is an undulating 
plain, with alluvial flats and moors in the 
northern portion. It is well watered by the 
Weser, Elbe, and Ems rivers and their numer¬ 
ous tributaries. Nearly one-half of the province 
is arable and about one-seventh is covered with 
timber. Farming and stock raising are exten¬ 
sive industries, but it likewise has considerable 


HANOVER 


995 


HAPSBURG 


interests in fruit culture and fishing. It is pene¬ 
trated by many steam and electric railways and 
is noted for its production of beet sugar. The 
mines yield vast quantities of copper, iron, lead, 
asphaltum, coal, zinc, and • silver. Among the 
chief manufactures are clothing, canned fish, 
paper, glass, linen, woolen, and cotton goods, 
sugar, machinery, and musical instruments. 

Hanover is divided into the six administrative 
districts of Liineburg, Hanover, Stade, Hildes- 
heim, Aurich, and Osnabriick. These districts 
are divided for local government into 78 circles. 
It holds high rank in education, its system of 
schools culminating in the famous University of 
t-rottingen. Hanover was formerly an independ¬ 
ent kingdom, but, siding with Austria in 1866, 
it was annexed to Prussia in the same year. 
Hanover is the capital. The inhabitants are 
chiefly Protestants. Population, 1905, 2,759,544. 

HANOVER, a city in Germany, capital of 
the province of Hanover, at the confluence of 
the Leine and Ihme rivers, 65 miles southeast of 
Bremen. It is noted for its beautiful streets, 
extensive railroad connections, and commercial 
importance. The chief buildings include the 
royal palace, the Church of Christ, the railway 
station, the townhall, and the Royal Theater of 
Hanover. Among the manufactures are ma¬ 
chinery, chemicals, cotton and woolen goods, 
tobacco and cigars, musical instruments, porce¬ 
lain, and toys. Gas and electric lights, stone 
pavements, electric street railways, and systems 
of waterworks and sewerage are among the im¬ 
provements. It is first mentioned in history in 
1163, joined the Hanseatic League in 1481, and 
became the capital of Hanover in 1486. Since 
1866 it has belonged to Prussia. Population, 
1905, 250,024. 

HANOVER, a town of New Hampshire, in 
Grafton County, on the Connecticut River, 55 
miles northwest of Concord. It is opposite 
Norwich, Vt., with which it is connected by a 
bridge. Hanover is noted as the seat of Dart¬ 
mouth College (q. v.), which was established 
here in 1769, and is one of the important educa¬ 
tional institutions of America. The town is a 
beautiful place, having an advantageous site, 
scenic gardens, and many fine churches and resi¬ 
dence buildings. Population, 1900, 1,884. 

HANOVER, a borough of Pennsylvania, in 
York County, forty miles northwest of Balti¬ 
more, Md., on the Pennsylvania and the West¬ 
ern Maryland railroads. It is surrounded by a 
productive, agricultural region. Deposits of iron 
ore and clay are worked in the vicinity. The 
manufactures include shoes, cigars, carriages, 
clothing, and machinery. It has a large trade 
in merchandise and farm products. The first 


settlement on its site was made in 1730. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 5,302. 

HANSEATIC LEAGUE (han-se-at'ikleg'), 
or Hansa, an association of certain German 
and adjacent cities formed in the 13th century 
for the purpose of mutual protection and the 
development of commercial interests. The first 
steps in the direction were taken by Hamburg, 
Hadeln, and Ditmarsh in 1219 to protect them¬ 
selves against pirates that infested the North 
Sea. In 1241 the city of Liibeck was added 
with the view of joining Hamburg in protecting 
travel on the highway across Holstein between 
the Baltic and the North Sea. Brunswick 
joined in 1247, when the general name applied 
to the league originated. During its most pros¬ 
perous period the association included 85 cities, 
embracing both inland and maritime towns from 
Amsterdam to Reval, and from Cologne to Bres¬ 
lau and Cracow. Liibeck was recognized as 
the principal member and was the meeting place 
of the deputies who governed the league. The 
association attained much political influence 
by supplying money and extending trade to 
various countries. 

The Hanseatic League, as a safeguard and 
for mutual protection, maintained armies and 
navies. It constructed canals, developed the 
principles of mercantile law, adopted a system 
of weights and measures, and made treaties with 
various countries to further commercial inter¬ 
ests. In 1370 its army gained victories over the 
kings of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, and 
for a time the association claimed the power to 
choose the sovereign of the last mentioned 
country. Since the seaport cities possessed ad¬ 
vantages over inland towns, the league began 
to lose power in the 16th century, and most of 
the countries with which it had treaties revoked 
them before the beginning of the 17th century. 
After 1628 the only cities to maintain an organ¬ 
ization were Hamburg, Liibeck, and Bremen, 
but these were joined by Frankfort-on-Main 
in 1813. In 1866 Frankfort was incorporated 
with Prussia and the other three became a part 
of the German Empire in 1870. Since 1889 
these cities have belonged to the German cus¬ 
toms union. 

HAPSBURG, House of, the reigning dy¬ 
nasty of Austria. The name was derived from 
the castle of Hapsburg in the Swiss canton of 
Aargau, on the Aar River. Bishop Werner of 
Strassburg built the castle in 1027, and his suc¬ 
cessor, Werner II., was the first to assume the 
title of Count of Hapsburg, about 1090. From 
him descended Albert, who is mentioned as 
Count of Hapsburg in 1152, and Emperor Fred¬ 
erick I. appointed him landgrave of upper Al- 


HARA-KIRI 


996 


HARE 


sace. The family attained to much power in 
Swabia under his son, Rudolph I., and in 1273 
Rudolph, son of Albert IV., secured the elec¬ 
tion as Emperor of Germany. He became hered¬ 
itary monarch of Austria in 1282. From him 
descended all the Hapsburg monarchs of Austria 
to Charles VI. With the marriage of Marie 
Theresa to Francis Stephen of Lorraine, it be¬ 
came known as the house of Hapsburg-Lor- 
raine, and Francis II. assumed the title of Em¬ 
peror of Austria. The house of Hapsburg has 
furnished numerous sovereigns of Austria, Ger¬ 
many, and Spain, Francis Joseph I. being one of 
its most distinguished members. 

HARA-KIRI (ha'ra-ke'ri), or Seppuku, a 
method of committing suicide, formerly permit¬ 
ted by the government of Japan. It was prac¬ 
ticed by those of the Samurai and nobles who 
preferred self-disembowelment to some disgrace. 
At first it took the form of a custom, but in 
1500 it was adopted as a mode of punishment, 
and noblemen and gentlemen were permitted 
to demand the hara-kiri instead of being exe¬ 
cuted like common criminals. Afterward this 
mode of punishment developed into execution 
by the best friend of the accused, who usually 
beheaded the criminal in the presence of friends 
and several official witnesses. Hara-kiri has 
been abolished as a mode of punishment, but 
suicide is sometimes committed by this method. 

HARBOR (har'ber), a port for ships, nat¬ 
ural or artificial, on the coast of a sea, lake, or 
some other body of water. The importance of 
a harbor depends upon the depth of its water, 
freedom from breakers, and natural protection 
against storms. Inlets and indentations on the 
shore of lakes and the ocean ordinarily fur¬ 
nish the best roadsteads for ships. Many gov¬ 
ernments have made liberal expenditures to 
dredge and otherwise improve the harbors locat¬ 
ed on rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Indeed, the 
designing and construction of harbors constitute 
one of the most difficult departments of civil 
engineering. Among the essential parts of har¬ 
bors are docks, quays, piers, jetties, wharves, 
and breakwaters. A harbor which is designed 
primarily for shelter, usually called a harbor of 
refuge, must have an artificial or a natural 
breakwater. Commodious docks are maintained 
in many harbors, whereby loading and unload¬ 
ing is facilitated by keeping the water surface 
practically at a common level. 

HARBOR GRACE, a port of Newfound¬ 
land, on the west coast of Conception Bay, 27 
miles northwest of Saint John’s. It is connected 
with the interior by the Newfoundland Railway. 
The chief buildings include the cathedral, the 
public library, and the courthouse. The harbor 


is well protected by the beach. It has many 
mercantile establishments, fishery supply houses, 
and manufactures of clothing, earthenware, and 
machinery. The place is noted for its fine scen¬ 
ery, well graded streets, and extensive facilities 
for bathing and boating. It has an important 
commercial trade, both inland and foreign. 
Population, 1908, §,264. 

HARBURG (har'boorg), a city of Germany, 
in the province of Hanover, on the Elbe River. 
It has extensive railroad and electric railway 
facilities and a large trade in farm produce and 
merchandise. An old castle on the Elbe, a real 
gymnasium, and several schools and churches 
are among the noteworthy buildings. The man¬ 
ufactures include chemicals, jute, linseed oil, 
cement, boilers, glass, machinery, and gutta¬ 
percha wares. An electric railway connects it 
with Hamburg, which is seven miles north. It 
has been a part of Prussia since 1866. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 55,676. 

HARDNESS (hard'nes), the property of 
matter which causes bodies to resist being 
scratched or worn by other bodies. Since there 
is no such thing as an absolutely hard or soft 
body, it follows that hardness is a relative prop¬ 
erty. Heating and cooling change the degree 
of hardness of some metals. If iron and steel 
are heated and then cooled slowly, they become 
softer, but they are hardened by being cooled 
quickly after raising the temperature to a red 
heat. On the other hand, copper is softened by 
cooling quickly and hardened by cooling slowly. 
The diamond is the hardest of all natural sub¬ 
stances and diamond dust is used to cut other 
stones. Glass, which is harder than wax, is 
softer than the diamond. Both glass and steel 
are hard, but the former is brittle while the lat¬ 
ter is tough. 

HARE, a class of rodent quadrupeds which 
belong to the genus Lepus. They are character¬ 
ized by a short tail, long ears, a cleft upper lip, 
and long hind legs. Hares are similar to rab¬ 
bits in all general respects, but differ from them 
in that the latter are inclined to burrow more 
extensively and show more sociability in living 
in families, while hares are solitary and prefer 
to find an abode in grasses and underbrush. 
About forty species have been described, fully 
half of which are indigenous to America. The 
polar hares of North America are noted for 
their pure white color in winter and large size, 
while the prairie hares, a class embracing the 
jack rabbits, are distinguished for their large 
body and long limbs. The timidity of these ani¬ 
mals is proverbial, though their lack of courage 
and cunningis overcome largely bymarked acute¬ 
ness of hearing and sight and by their remarka- 


HAREBELL 


997 


HARMONY OF THE SPHERES 


ble swiftness in leaping- and running. Most 
species lie secluded during the day and come out 
at twilight in search of food, which consists 
mainly of green vegetation, roots, and the bark 
of trees, but in populated districts they feed also 
on cereals. The voice somewhat resembles that 
of a child, but it is never heard except when they 
are wounded or seized. The flesh is prized as 
an article of food, but it is much more valuable 



HARE. 


during the fall and winter than in the summer 
season. It is rare sport to pursue the hare, es¬ 
pecially after a light fall of snow, when it may 
be tracked to its place of hiding. The fur of 
hares enters into the manufacture of hats, and 
is used to a limited extent for linings and gar¬ 
ments. 

HAREBELL (har'bel), or Bluebell, the 
name of a plant native to Europe and America, 
so named from its bell-shaped flower. The stem 
is slender and about five inches high and the 
flowers are variously colored. Most of the spe¬ 
cies have blue flowers, hence they are called 
bluebells in some localities. The harebell thrives 
in cold regions and the flowers are often seen 
among the snow and ice on the rocky slopes of 
mountains. It is believed they generate suffi¬ 
cient heat to permit their growth and endurance 
under such conditions. 

HAREM (ha'rem), the set of apartments re¬ 
served for the female members of a Moham¬ 
medan family, at which all males are forbidden 
entrance, except the husband and near relatives. 
Harems are maintained only by the richer Mos¬ 
lems and in them the wives, concubines, and 
children have their abode, being attended by 
female slaves and eunuchs. The inmates spend 
their lives largely in dressing, bathing, pleasura¬ 
ble occupations, and in the society of other 


Turkish women. It is commonly reported that 
the Sultan of Turkey maintains the greatest 
harem in the world, most of his women being 
Circassians and Georgians. The apartment-s oc¬ 
cupied by them are of magnificent architecture 
and contain elaborate decorations and furniture. 
At the time of the Spanish-American War much 
interest centered in the Sultan of the Sulu 
Islands, one of the Philippines, who maintained 
a harem of considerable size. 

HARLEM RIVER (har'lem), the name 
given to the tide channel that separates Man¬ 
hattan Island, on which New York City is 
mainly situated, from the mainland. It connects 
the Hudson River with the channel called East 
River, which separates Manhattan from Long 
Island. Harlem River begins at Kingsbridge, 
where Tibbet’s Brook flows into Spuyten Duy- 
vil Creek, and extends for a distance of seven 
miles toward the southeast to Randall’s Island, 
near Hell Gate. At low water the depth is nine 
feet and at high water fifteen feet. The Speed¬ 
way, a beautiful roadway, extends along the 
western shore of the Harlem and the buildings 
of New York University are On the lofty emi¬ 
nence on the opposite shore. 

HARMONICA (har-mon'i-ka), an i n s t r u- 
ment for producing musical sounds by means of 
glasses of different sizesv The glasses are fixed 
to a spindle, which is set jn motion by a treadle 
worked with the foot, and they are touched by 
the moistened finger of the player as they re¬ 
volve. This instrument was improved by Benja¬ 
min Franklin, who invented the revolving spin¬ 
dle, and in this form the instrument became 
fashionable in America and England. Miss 
Davis, a relative of Franklin, became celebrated 
as a player on the harmonica. However, the 
instrument was known at the time Goldsmith 
mentioned the musical glasses in his novel. The 
name harmonica is applied to a flat instrument 
with delicate brass reeds, which is played by 
the inhalation or exhalation of the breath, and 
is sometimes called mouth organ. 

HARMONICS (har-mon'iks), in music, the 
attendant or secondary .tones produced by the 
vibration in aliquot parts of the same body or 
string that gives, by its complete simultaneous 
vibration, the primary or fundamental tones. 
They are sometimes called overtones. The vi¬ 
bration of a piano is so regulated that higher 
harmonics than the seven are not present. Har¬ 
monics serve to modify tones and give them 
their distinctive quality or timbre, and may be 
detected without difficulty by the practiced ear. 

HARMONY OF THE SPHERES, a kind 
of music supposed by the ancients to be pro¬ 
duced by the motion of the heavenly bodies. 





HARNESS 


998 


HARPY 


Pythagoras and a number of early philosophers 
taught that the harmony of the spheres is audi¬ 
ble at all times, but that it cannot be contrasted 
with absolute silence, since the latter is a con¬ 
dition entirely unknown. It was the general 
impression that this music was produced under 
fixed laws, which could be expressed in num¬ 
bers like those used in designating the harmony 
of sounds. 

HARNESS, the equipment of a horse for 
drawing a coach, wagon, or a vehicle or load of 
any kind. It consists essentially of leather 
straps, either simple or padded, fastened or 
united by sewing, buckles, or rings. Formerly 
harnesses were either sewed or riveted by hand, 
but at present they are made almost entirely 
by sewing machines. The principal parts of a 
harness consist of the saddle, collar, tugs, bridle, 
checkrein, hames, and lines. Harnesses intended 
for heavy work are usually plain and strong, 
while those for light driving are mounted or 
ornamented with silver or gold plate. 

HARP, a stringed instrument of triangular 
form. It is of great antiquity. The sculptures 
and ruins of the Egyptians and Syrians give 
evidence that it was a favorite instrument among 

them. It is 
mentioned a t 
numerous 
places in the 
Scriptures, and 
long remained 
in popular fa¬ 
vor among the 
Greeks, Rom- 

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HARPS. anS ’ anC J var ^“ 

ous peoples of 

Western Europe. The instruments of this class 
used in ancient times were about seven feet 
high, and, like those of more modern manufac¬ 
ture, were furnished with gut strings. The 
harp mentioned in the Bible was somewhat 
smaller and could be carried easily from place 
to place by strolling musicians. In Western 
Europe the harps were similar to those of East¬ 
ern peoples, and formed a popular musical ac¬ 
cessory for many centuries. The Italian harp, a 
kind popular in Italy several centuries ago, is 
rarely used at present, and the triangular harp 
of mediaeval construction has likewise gone out 
of general use. The so-called pedal harp, in 
which pedals are utilized to raise the pitch of 
all the strings chromatically, is the one now 
generally preferred. A harp on this plan was 
patented in 1810. It is provided with seven 
pedals, contains 43 strings tuned according to 
the diatonic scale, and may be readily adjusted 
to produce beautiful and diversified tones. 


HARPER’S FERRY, a town of Jefferson 
County, West Virginia, at the confluence of the 
Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, 55 miles north¬ 
west of Washington. It is on the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad. The surrounding country 
is fertile, producing cereals, tobacco, and vege¬ 
tables. It is the seat of Storer College, a nor¬ 
mal school for Negroes. Harper’s Ferry is cel¬ 
ebrated on account of the historic raid made by 
John Brown in 1859 for the purpose of forcibly 
liberating the slaves. When Virginia seceded, 
in 1861, it was abandoned by the Union garri¬ 
son, consisting of only 45 men. The following 
year it was again occupied by the Federals, but 
General Jackson captured it on Sept. 15, 1862, 
and procured about 12,500 prisoners. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 896. 

HARPOON (har-poon'), an implement of 
iron used in killing large fish and whales. It 
consists of a shank terminating at one end in a 
socket, to which a long rope is attached, and at 
the other end is a broad flat head, sharpened 
so as to penetrate with facility. It is furnished 
with barbs or withers. The rope, called the 
whale line, is coiled in the boat and is quite 
long, so the whale may dive after the harpoon, 
which is about three feet long, has been fast¬ 
ened into its body. Whalers may throw the 
harpoon by hand, or it may be shot from a har¬ 
poon gun. More recently the bomb lance has 
come into use. It is shot from a gun and ex¬ 
plodes when the body of the whale is entered, 
causing almost instant death. 

HARPSICHORD (harp'si-kord), a stringed 
instrument with a keyboard somewhat resem¬ 
bling a modern pianoforte, and now largely 
superseded by it. A superior kind of harpsi¬ 
chord had two keyboards, one for producing the 
soft notes and the other the louder tones. They 
contained stops for modifying the tones, being 
thereby rendered suitable for different classes 
of music. The sounds were produced by the 
keys raising oblong slips of wood, called jacks, 
which were supplied with appendages that struck 
the wires in a manner quite similar to the ham¬ 
mers used in the modern pianoforte. 

HARPY (har'py), a large eagle of South 
America, considered one of the most powerful 
birds of prey. The bill is strong and curved 
at the tip, the toes have powerful claws, and the 
spread of wings is from five to six feet. The 
feathers of the breast are long and loose and the 
general color is black above and white below. 
The Indians use its feathers in making arrows 
and for decorative purposes. It lives in the 
dark forests, especially near the border of great 
rivers, and subsists on large birds, sloths, mon¬ 
keys, young deer, and other quadrupeds. Nat^ 








HARRISBURG 999 

uralists agree that it is one of the most power¬ 
ful and bold birds of prey, but the current idea 
that it attacks man is not well founded. The 
harpy is most numerous in South America, but 
is met with in various parts of Central America 
and Mexico. 

HARRISBURG (har'ris-burg), the capital 
of Pennsylvania, county seat of Dauphin County, 
on the Susquehanna River, 104 miles west of 
Philadelphia. It is on the Pennsylvania, the 
Philadelphia and Reading, the Cumberland Val¬ 
ley, and other railroads, and has communication 
by suburban and interurban electric railways. 
The site is a beautiful tract along the river, 
which is spanned by many bridges. It has broad 
and regularly platted streets and many fine pub¬ 
lic buildings, among them ttys State capitol, an 
arsenal, an insane asylum, a Roman Catholic 
cathedral, a State library of 105,000 volumes, 
and numerous beautiful churches. The State 
capitol, erected at a cost of $5,000,000, has a 
frontage of 520 feet and a dome 241 feet high. 

It was dedicated to public use in 1906, when 
President Roosevelt delivered the dedicatory 
address before a large concourse of people. 
Other noteworthy buildings include the high 
school, the county courthouse, the Federal build¬ 
ing, the Grand Opera House, the Y. M. C. A. 
building, and many tall bank and office buildings. 

The importance of Harrisburg as a manufac¬ 
turing center is to be attributed to large depos¬ 
its of coal in the vicinity, and to its excellent 
transportation facilities by river navigation and 
railways. Among the manufactures are rail¬ 
road engines and cars, hats, ironware, machin¬ 
ery, cotton and woolen goods, flour, shoes, pot¬ 
tery, silk textiles, musical instruments, and 
brooms. The extensive iron and steel interests 
are worthy of special mention. It has a large 
trade in grain, lumber, coal, building stone, and 
merchandise. The streets are well graded and 
paved with stone and asphalt. Harrisburg was 
first settled in 1726 by John Harris, an English 
trader. It was platted in 1785, became the cap¬ 
ital in 1812, and was chartered as a city in 1860. 
Population, 1900, 50,167; in 1910, 64,186. 

HARRISON (harri-sun), a city of Hudson 
County, New Jersey, on the Passaic River, oppo¬ 
site the city of Newark. It is on the Erie, the 
Pennsylvania, and the Lackawanna railroads. 
The surrounding country is agricultural and 
fruit .growing. Among the manufactures are 
cutlery, linoleum, thread, electric fixtures, wire, 
machinery, and clothing. It is the seat of the 
State Soldiers’ Home, has communication by 
electric railways and maintains a system of 
waterworks. Harrison was settled in 1668 and 
incorporated in 1873. Population, 1910, 14,498. 


HARTFORD 

HARROW, an implement for pulverizing 
and smoothing plowed land, either before or 
after sowing the seed. It consists of an iron 
•or a wooden frame, either square or rhomboidal, 
to which iron teeth are fastened by bolts .or 
otherwise. Originally the harrow was made 
entirely of wood, but later iron teeth were 
driven through the woodwork, projecting down¬ 
ward about eight inches, and now many harrows 
are entirely of metal. Revolving disks of steel, 
fastened to heavy iron bars, have to some ex¬ 
tent displaced the common harrow. The work 
with these implements is done by dragging them 
across the land with horses or mules. 

HARTFORD (hart'ferd), a city and the 
capital of Connecticut, county seat of Hartford 
County, on the Connecticut River, 110 miles 
northeast of New York City. It is on the New 
York, New Haven and Hartford and the Con¬ 
necticut Valley railroads. The large vessels 
reach it from Long Island Sound, which is 50 
miles distant, and it has communication by 
many electric lines. It has a fine site, which 
commands a view of the Connecticut valley. 
The streets are regularly platted and improved 
with grading and stone and asphalt pavements. 
Charter Oak Park contains the race tracks and 
fair grounds. The State capitol is located in 
Bushnell Park, which embraces 46 acres. 

Hartford is generally well built and has many 
large and modern structures. The State cap¬ 
itol, which is built of white marble, is a large 
and imposing building. The city hall, which 
was formerly the State house, is famous as the 
seat of the Hartford Convention. Other note¬ 
worthy buildings include the post office, the 
Hartford Theological Seminary, the Cheney 
building, the Saint Joseph Cathedral, the Wads¬ 
worth Athenaeum, and the buildings of the 
Aetna Life, the Phoenix Mutual Life, and the 
Connecticut Mutual Life insurance companies. 
It is the seat of asylums for orphans, for the 
insane, and for the deaf and dumb. Trinity 
College, an Episcopal institution, is located near 
the city. The library of Trinity College has 
50,000 volumes, and, besides it, there are several 
other libraries. Hartford has been a port of 
entry since 1887 and has an extensive commer¬ 
cial and insurance business. The manufactures 
include sewing machines, silk and woolen goods, 
firearms, vehicles, machinery, hardware, flour, 
bicycles, stoves, and furniture. In 1633 the 
Dutch built a fort ori its site and in 1635 a 
colony settled here from Massachusetts. It was 
incorporated as a city in 1734 and until 1873 
was the joint capital of the State with New 
Haven, but in that year became sole capital. 
Among the sights of interest shown visitors for 


HARTFORD CITY 


1000 


HARVESTING MACHINERY 


a number of years was the celebrated Charter 
Oak, the tree in which the charter of Connecti¬ 
cut was hidden when Governor Andros demand¬ 
ed its surrender. Population, 1910, 98,915. 

HARTFORD CITY, a city and the county 
seat of Blackford County, Indiana, 72 miles 
northeast of Indianapolis. It is on the Pitts¬ 
burg, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis and 
the Lake Erie and Western railroads. The 
chief buildings include the courthouse, the high 
school, and several fine churches. It has manu¬ 
factures of flour, paper, glass, vehicles, and ma¬ 
chinery. Electric lights, telephones, waterworks, 
and a library are among the facilities. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 5,912. 

HARTFORD CONVENTION, an associa¬ 
tion of delegates proposed by the Legislature of 
Massachusetts. It convened at Hartford, Conn., 
Dec. 15, 1814, and adjourned Jan. 5, 1815. The 
Federalists of the New England states opposed 
the war with Great Britain, which was then in 
progress. The war was especially injurious to 
the interests of New England because it operated 
to destroy the commercial importance and the 
fisheries of that region. The object of the con¬ 
vention was to devise means for security that 
would prevent total destruction, but it met be¬ 
hind closed doors, and was carefully watched 
by a government military officer. From time to 
time the conclusions of the convention were 
published in the form of measures looking to 
the protection of the citizens against compul¬ 
sory military service, but there was a widespread 
suspicion that the members of the convention 
designed to disseminate a sentiment favorable to 
the establishment of a kingdom in New England. 
Since the delegates consisted of leading Feder¬ 
alists who had favored an eastern confederacy 
in 1804 and the work of the convention was 
designed against the Democratic administration, 
a public sentiment was formed against the Fed¬ 
eralists and entirely ruined them as a party in 
the election of 1816. Subsequently it was shown 
conclusively that the reports of treason* were 
not well founded and that the delegates had in 
mind only the interests of their section of the 
Union. 

HARTSHORN (harts'horn), a volatile 
preparation of ammonia, now obtained from 
carbonate of ammonia and other sources, but 
formerly prepared from the horn of the com¬ 
mon stag. The product was derived by distilla¬ 
tion and sold as oil of hartshorn or spirits of 
hartshorn. It is employed for many purposes in 
medicine, especially in cases of fainting and 
nervous weakness. The scent is very strong, 
serving as a relief in headache. 

HARVARD UNIVERSITY, an important 


institution of higher learning, situated in Cam¬ 
bridge, Mass. It was founded under an appro¬ 
priation of $2,000 voted by the general court of 
the Massachusetts Bay Colony and established on 
Oct. 28, 1636, being the oldest university in 
the United States. No material advancement 
was made until 1638, when John Harvard be¬ 
queathed half his estate valued at $4,000 and 
his library of 300 volumes to the proposed in¬ 
stitution. In the same year it was organized as 
Harvard College. The first class of nine grad¬ 
uates completed the course in 1642. Henry 
Dunster, the first president, succeeded in ob¬ 
taining a charter on May 31, 1650, when it was 
legalized as the President and Fellows of Har¬ 
vard College. This document was signed by 
Gov. Thomas Dudley and is now in the custody 
of the trustees. It provides for the manage¬ 
ment under a board of overseers, but the char¬ 
acter of this board has been changed by several 
acts of the State Legislature. At present the 
candidates for members of the board are nom¬ 
inated by postal ballot, both residents and non¬ 
residents of the State being eligible, and the 
election is held annually on commencement day. 

The name Harvard College is still used to 
designate the central portion, which grants the 
degree of A. B., while the entire complex insti¬ 
tution is known as Harvard University. As a 
whole it includes seventeen departments, each 
of which is finely equipped with such aids in 
teaching as are demanded in its particular line. 
At present there are about 25 college buildings, 
an endowment fund of $23,500,000, and de¬ 
partmental libraries with 790,800 volumes and 
485,500 pamphlets. In 1908 it had 558 instructors 
and 6,472 students, of whom 143 were from 
foreign countries. The courses include those of 
law, divinity, medicine, zoology, veterinary, den¬ 
tal science, and liberal arts. In connection 
with it is a college of liberal arts for women. 
The laboratories and observatory are thoroughly 
equipped. Its museum of comparative zoology 
is known as the Agassiz Museum, from the cir¬ 
cumstance that it was endowed by Professor 
Agassiz. In 1907 the uniyersity celebrated the 
300th anniversary of the birth of its founder. 

HARVEST BUG, the name of a-mite of a 
bright red color, so called from the fact that it 
attacks the workmen at harvest. It makes its 
appearance in July, when it is found on blades 
of grass, whence it comes in contact with the 
legs and thighs of persons in the field. It is 
annoying both to man and various animals, 
such as dogs and sheep. The mite is very small 
and causes an intolerable itching of the skin. 

HARVESTING MACHINERY, the imple¬ 
ments used in harvesting the crops of agricul- 


HARVEST MOON 


1001 


HASHISH 


turalists. The first machines of this character 
known in history were used by the Gauls before 
the Christian Era. It consisted of a box fixed 
on wheels and had a cutting apparatus in front 
that gathered the heads of standing grain as an 
ox pushed the ihachine from the rear. At 
present three principal classes of machines are 
used for harvesting small grain. These are 
known as headers, reapers, and harvesters. 
Headers are utilized for cutting the heads of 
standing cereals, as wheat and oats, and some of 
the more modern structures thresh and bag the 
grain while the machine is propelled forward, 
though in most cases the heads are gathered 
and threshed afterward. In reapers the grain 
is cut, bound by hand, and, after being stacked, 
or stored in barns, is threshed by machines. 
Harvesters consist either of self-binders, which 
bind the grain with sisal or manilla cord and 
carry the bundles into rows upon the field, or 
machines on which two men bind the grain by 
hand, though the latter form has gone practically 
out of use. Besides the implements employed 
in harvesting small grains, there are numerous 
machines for cutting grass, clover, and corn. 

Among the earliest of the modern machines 
were those of Patrick Bell, who patented a har¬ 
vester in Scotland in 1826, and the machine in¬ 
vented by Cyrus H. McCormick in the United 
States in 1834. Since then various excellent im¬ 
plements have been invented for harvesting 
many grains and grasses with the result that all 
classes of farming have become more profitable. 
They give the advantage that harvesting may 
be carried on with much less physical exertion 
than formerly. As a consequence agricultural 
enterprises have been extended over vast areas 
formerly not cultivated. In the manufacture 
of harvesting machines the United States has 
long occupied the foremost position. Its prod¬ 
ucts have gone into all the markets of the world. 
The machines of newer manufacture are almost 
exclusively of steel, which has been made serv¬ 
iceable because of improved methods of temper¬ 
ing metals. The improvements due to the gen¬ 
eral use of ball bearings has greatly lightened 
the draft of machines on the one hand and in¬ 
creased their durability on the other. See 
Corn Harvester. 

HARVEST MOON, the name given to the 
moon at the time she is in that part of her orbit 
where she makes the least possible angle with 
the ecliptic. This occurs about the autumnal 
equinox, in September, in high northern latitude 
and during March in southern latitude. Ordi¬ 
narily the moon rises about fifty minutes later 
each succeeding evening, owing to her changing 
position in the sky, this difference being called 


retardation. At the time of full moon, during 
the autumnal equinox, when the retardation is 
at a minimum, the farmers have the advantage 
of moonlight nearly the entire night on several 
successive nights. Before harvesting machinery 
came into general use, they worked nearly all 
night to take care of the grain, hence the har¬ 
vest moon was looked upon as of much benefit. 

HARVEY, a city of Illinois, in Cook County, 
twenty miles south of the courthouse in Chi¬ 
cago, on the Illinois Central, the Cleveland, Cin¬ 
cinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis, the Grand 
Trunk, and other railroads. It is a residential 
and manufacturing suburb of Chicago. Among 
the chief industries are machine shops, stove 
works, and machine and automobile factories. 
The city was incorporated in 1892. Population, 
1900, 5,395; in 1910, 7,227. 

HARZ (harts), or Hartz, the most north¬ 
erly mountain chain of Germany, extending be¬ 
tween the Weser and Elbe and trending from 
the northwest to the southeast. The range is 
about twenty miles wide and sixty long, rising 
quite abruptly from the plains in irregular 
ridges. It is covered in many places with native 
forests. The average elevation is about 1,500 
feet. Brocken, the predominating peak, is ele¬ 
vated 3,741 feet above sea level. The range is 
divided into two portions, the southeasterly 
being known as the Lower Harz and the re¬ 
mainder as the Upper Harz, the latter being the 
higher and including Brocken. Many historic 
incidents are connected with these mountains, 
chiefly because they form a natural boundary 
between the High and Low German peoples. 
They have entered largely into German litera¬ 
ture, lending a realistic vividness to poetic im¬ 
agination. The mineral deposits are exceedingly 
rich, including zinc, copper, silver, iron, arsenic, 
lead, marble, granite, slate, alabaster, and por¬ 
phyry. The region has valuable forests, fertile 
valleys, and fine pasture lands. 

HASHISH (hash'esh), or Hasheesh, a term 
applied to the tops and tender sprouts of a va¬ 
riety of hemp native to India and to an intoxi¬ 
cating preparation made of this plant. Hashish, 
in various forms, is smoked, drunk, and taken 
in confections. The habit of using hashish pre¬ 
vails extensively in the East, where it enters 
to some ^xtent into the practice of medicine. 
The juice of the plant contains narcotic proper¬ 
ties and exudes from it in the form of resinous 
matter. Whether taken as a beverage, with con¬ 
fections, or smoked, it has a marked stimulating 
influence. When taken 'in excessive quantities, it 
has an intense intoxicating effect, which is ac¬ 
companied by results quite similar to those af¬ 
fecting persons using alcoholic beverages ex- 


HASTINGS 


1002 


HAVANA 


cessively. The effects partake largely of the 
nature of hallucinations and merriment, but are 
frequently accompanied by boisterous, quarrel¬ 
some tendencies. 

HASTINGS (hast'ingz), a seaport of Eng¬ 
land, on the Strait of Dover, in Sussex County, 
54 miles southeast of London. It forms, to¬ 
gether with Saint Leonards, an important rail¬ 
road and trade center. The principal industries 
are fishing and boat building. During the great¬ 
er part of the year it is frequented by large 
numbers of invalids, who bathe in its waters or 
take treatment for pulmonary complaints. The 
town is of great antiquity, possessing importance 
in the early times of the Anglo-Saxons. King 
Harold garrisoned it as a means of defense 
against William the Conqueror, but it surren¬ 
dered to the latter without much resistance* He 
made it his permanent base of operations and 
on Oct. 14, 1066, the celebrated Battle of Hast¬ 
ings occurred between the two leaders at Sen- 
lac Hill, in which Harold was defeated and his 
army was destroyed. This battie is classed 
among the fifteen decisive engagements of the 
world. Population, 1907, 67,477. 

HASTINGS, a city in Nebraska, county seat 
of Adams County, situated in a fertile agricul¬ 
tural country, 95 miles west of Lincoln. It is 
on the Missouri Pacific, the Chicago and North¬ 
western, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, 
and other railroads. Among the public build¬ 
ings are the city hall, the Masonic temple, the 
county courthouse, the State asylum for the in¬ 
sane, a Roman Catholic academy, Hastings Col¬ 
lege, and the high school. It has a large trade in 
live stock, cereals, and fruits. The city has 
waterworks, electric lights, street railways, and 
a public library. The manufactures include 
flour, canned and packed goods, pottery and 
brick, machinery, utensils, and cigars. Hastings 
has an extensive jobbing trade. It was incor¬ 
porated in 1874. Population, 1910, 9,338. 

HAT, a covering for the head, generally with 
a crown and brim and of various materials, 
shapes, and styles. The manufacture of hats 
originated with the ancients, who employed dif¬ 
ferent fibers for making outdoor covering for the 
head. Hats began to resemble those now worn 
at the time of Alexander the Great, when the 
Greeks made hats of round felt callejd petasos. 
Extensive manufactures of headwear began in 
Western Europe in the latter part of the 15th 
century. In 1760 silk hats were made and came 
into style at Florence, but the manufacture did 
not assume its present aspect until 1828. The 
exhaustion of certain fur products and many 
changes of style in hats for both men and 
women has led to the use of various classes of 


material. At present they are made largely 
of cloth, felt, silk, splints, grass, and straw. 
They serve as a protection for thf head or as an 
ornament, or for both purposes. 

HAVANA (ha-van'a), in Spanish, La Ha~ 
bana , the capital of Cuba and the largest city 
of the West Indies, situated on the northwest¬ 
ern coast of the island and on an extensive 
natural harbor. The entrance to the harbor is 
about 330 yards wide. It is defended by Punta 
Castle on the west and La Cabana and Morro 
Castle on the east, all of which occupy con¬ 
venient heights. above the place where vessels 
pass. The old portion of the city has narrow 
streets, but the new'er part contains many ex¬ 
cellent buildings and is adorned by beautiful 
avenues of palm trees. All the principal streets 



AVENUE IN HAVANA. 


are improved by pavements, street railway lines, 
waterworks, and sewerage. Railroad and tele¬ 
phone connections are extensive and the streets 
are lighted by electricity. The public buildings 
include a cathedral built in 1724, an orphan asy¬ 
lum, the governor’s palace, the public library, 
the Tacon Theater, and the government build¬ 
ings. It has many parochial and public schools, 
at the head of which is the University of Ha¬ 
vana. Colon Park is the largest of the many 
public grounds. 

Havana ranks as the most important sugar 
market in the world. It has extensive manufac¬ 
tures of cigars and smoking tobacco. Other 
products include molasses, hats, woolen fabrics, 
clothing, wax, earthenware, machinery, and im- 


















iprfp 

wkmm 


."■Zj H-40r*iT^> » 

*k2m*§> 


M 


r-» O 

Cl SO 






















































































































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HAVERFORD COLLEGE 


1003 


HAWAII 


plements. The shipyards of Havana for many 
years produced the principal portion of the 
vessels for the Spanish fleet. At present the 
export and import trade is important, especially 
with the United States. Since the Spanish- 
American War the city has made rapid im¬ 
provements. Many of the streets have been re¬ 
paved and a new system of sewers has been 
installed. Havana was founded by the Spanish 
in 1515, under the direction of Diego Velasquez, 
but its growth dates from 1519, when it was 
replatted and improved by public buildings. 
Buccaneers burned it in 1528. It was taken by 
the English in 1762, at which time it was the 
center of trade in the West Indies, but it re¬ 
mained under Spanish dominion until 1898, 
when it was occupied by the United States and 
the revolutionists. On Feb. 15, 1898, the United 
States battleship Maine was destroyed in the 
harbor of Havana while on a friendly visit and 
262 officers and men were lost. About one-fifth 
of the inhabitants are of foreign birth. Popula¬ 
tion, 1902, 262,395. 

HAVERFORD COLLEGE (hav'er-ferd), 
an institution of learning established by the 
Society of Friends at Philadelphia, Pa., in 1830. 
It was opened for instruction in 1833. The 
purpose is to supply the need of religious train¬ 
ing as well as literary culture. It has a faculty 
of 25 instructors and about 200 students. At 
present the endowments amount to $1,050,000. 
The library contains 40,000 volumes. 

HAVERHILL (ha ver-H), a city of Massa¬ 
chusetts, in Essex County, on the Merrimac 
River, 32 miles north of Boston. It is on the 
Boston and Maine Railroad and has an exten¬ 
sive system of electric railway lines. The site 
overlooks the river, which is crossed by a num¬ 
ber of iron bridges, connecting it with Grove- 
land and West Newbury. Among the note¬ 
worthy buildings are the public library, the city 
hall, the Masonic Temple, the Hale Hospital, 
and a number of fine churches and schools. 
Haverhill is the birthplace of John G. Whittier. 
It contains a monument to commemorate the 
historic liberation of Hannah Dunston from her 
Indian captors in 1697. The city takes high 
rank in the manufacture of boots and shoes. 
Other products include fine hats, leather, brick, 
clothing, woolens, and machinery. It has a 
large trade in merchandise. The place was set¬ 
tled about 1640. It was chartered as a town 
in 1645 and incorporated as a city in 1870. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 37,818; in 1910, 44,115. 

HAVERSTRAW (hav'er-stra), a village of 
Rockland County, New York, on the Hudson 
River, 35 miles north of New York City. It 
is on the West Shore and the New Jersey and 


New York railways. At this place the river 
‘expands to form Haverstraw Bay. The town 
has manufactures of brick, paper, and copper 
products. It was settled by the Dutch and be¬ 
came a precinct in 1719. The home of Thomas 
H. Smith, known as the “Treason House,” was 
the meeting place of Arnold and Andre. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 6,182; in 1910, 5,669. 

HAVRE (ha'ver), a city and seaport in the 
department of Seine-Inferieure, France, on the 
estuary of the Seine, about 108 miles north¬ 
west of Paris. Besides numerous steamboat 
lines, it has connections by a network of rail¬ 
roads. The noteworthy buildings include the 
palace of justice, the customhouse, the museum, 
the Church of Notre Dame, and the commer¬ 
cial exchange. It dates from 1516, when it was 
a small fishing village, but its harbor was im¬ 
proved and fortified by Francis I., after which 
it grew to importance. At present it ranks next 
to Marseilles as the most extensive commercial 
center of France. It has manufactures of paper, 
cotton and woolen goods, clothing, earthenware, 
chemicals, cordage, oil, glass, beet sugar, and 
machinery. Its export trade with the United 
States is extensive. It is noted for its large 
emigration traffic, the most important of France. 
The city has beautifully improved streets, in¬ 
cluding electric lights and street railways, wa¬ 
terworks, public parks, and stone pavements. 
Population, 1906, 132,430. 

HAWAII (ha-wl'e), or Hawaiian Islands, 
an archipelago of twelve islands in the Pacific 
ocean, formerly called Sandwich Islands, and 
now known politically as the Territory of Ha¬ 
waii. They are located about 2,200 miles south¬ 
west of San Francisco and 4,890 miles from 
Hong Kong. Geographically they form the ex¬ 
treme northeastern group of Polynesia and ex¬ 
tend in a chain from southeast to northwest for 
' about 400 miles. Eight of the islands are in¬ 
habited. The entire group has an area of 
6,450 square miles. The following is a list of 
the eight inhabited islands, in which are shown 
the area and population as reported in 1910: 



AREA, 

SQ. MI. 

POPULA¬ 

TION 

Hawaii. •• ... 

4,015 

69 

544 

728 

135 

262 

97 

600 

55,382 

85 

13,400 

25,856 

1,460 

3,146 

10,552 

82,028 

Kahool a wc . 

Kauai.. .. 

Maui..... 

Lanai. 

Molokai. 

Niihau. 

Oahu. 

Total. 

6,450 

191,909 



Description. The islands are volcanic in 
origin, having been raised by eruptions from 
the sea, but considerable surface has been added 




















HAWAII 


1004 


HAWAII 


through the growth of coral reefs. Groups 
and chains of mountains occur in the larger 
islands, the most elevated peaks being in Ha¬ 
waii, the largest island, where Mauna Kea rises 
to a height of 13,805 feet and Mauna Loa, 13,675 
feet. Kilauea, one of the most noted volcanoes 
in the world, is situated on the eastern slope of 
Mauna Loa. The most recent eruptions of this 
crater occurred in 1880 and 1887, when lava 
flowed for a period of eight months, spreading 
in a stream from two to forty miles in width. 
Some of the coasts are low and sandy, but 
nearly all the islands have bold cliffs that rise 
quite abruptly from the sea. Kauai and several 
other islands are eroded with deep ravines and 
gorges and the coast is more or less indented 
with deep bays. Fertile plains and valleys ex¬ 
tend between the mountains and the coasts. 
Few lakes and rivers characterize the surface 
and the streams are chiefly short mountain tor¬ 
rents. Most of the rivers are located on the 
northern slopes. 

The climate is mild and temperate and the 
thermometer seldom falls below 50° Fahr. and 
rarely rises above 90°. In the lowlands the 
average temperature is 70° in January and 78° 


in July. Summer and winter make up the two 
seasons. The rainfall is greatest in winter, 
when the northeast trade winds cause consid¬ 
erable precipitation. Vegetation is most abun¬ 
dant on the northeastern side of the highlands, 
owing to this fact, and in Hawaii Island an 
almost arid tract is located on the southwestern 
sides of the mountains. The rainfall at Hono¬ 
lulu is 32 inches per year, but in some locali¬ 
ties it ranges from 80 to even 240 inches. Euro¬ 
peans find the climate agreeable and healthful, 
though it is not favorable to those who are af¬ 
flicted with pulmonary diseases. Hurricanes 


and thunderstorms are rare and frosts occur 
only on the mountains, where snow sometimes 
remains the entire year, though only on the 
highest peaks. 

Flora and Fauna. The plants resemble 
those of Australasia, but include some species 
common to America. Many flowering plants 
have been described, of which fully 600 are 
peculiar to the islands. Formerly the forests 
were very abundant, especially those of the 
screw pine, and large areas of the uplands still 
have considerable timber. Tree ferns are espe-’ 
daily numerous and all of the vegetation is 
luxuriant. Birds of song and plumage are 
abundant, but the mammals are not well rep¬ 
resented. Aside from a species of lizards there 
are no reptiles. The mammals include wild 
swine, rats, dogs, and a species of bat that flies 
by day. 

Transportation. The harbor of Honolulu is 
protected by a coral reef and is counted one of 
the best in the Pacific. Pearl Harbor, a short 
distance north of Honolulu, may ultimately be 
made the chief center of commerce, as it has 
unlimited port facilities. In general the islands 
have good landing places, since the water near 
many of the shores is 
deep. Steamers land reg¬ 
ularly on routes out of 
San Francisco, Hong 
Kong, Vancouver, Yoko¬ 
hama, and ports in Aus¬ 
tralia and New Zealand. 
Railways have been built 
on several of the islands, 
the largest mileage being 
on Oahu, where a line ex¬ 
tends from Honolulu 
along the coast to Kahu- 
ku. Several short lines 
are in operation, including 
a number that transport 
commodities from and to 
the sugar plantations. 
Industries. Agriculture 
is the chief industry. The climate and soil are 
favorable to the cultivation of a large variety of 
plants, but considerable of the surface is moun¬ 
tainous and much of the area is covered with 
lava. Sugar cane is cultivated extensively and 
the sugar industry is the most important indus¬ 
trial enterprise. It is confined largely to the 
low plains, where the soil is exceptionally fertile, 
and the higher lands are utilized for raising 
fruit, coffee, and vegetables. The level lands 
near the sea are well adapted to the cultivation 
of rice, which takes rank next to sugar cane in 
the acreage, but nearly the entire crop is con- 


NIIHauTT/ jkealla 


Kaula 


HANAPEPE 


OAHU 




"TO MANILA 5600NULLS 


C/^ 


WAIANA^aSitMI-O^? .... 

:Kj>wAlLUKU 


KAWAIHAE 


HAWAII 

f*KOHALA 


HAWAII 

Scale 

o tt SO 75 HO 12 * 

122 Statute Miles to oiu inch 
Capital it Other Cities• 


KAILUA^ 
-C7 kealakekua; 



* im jhilo. 

V 

>)aaluAla 
















HAWAII 


1005 


HAWAII 


sumed at home. Bananas and pineapples *are 
grown most extensively of the fruits and large 
quantities are exported. Potatoes thrive and 
corn can be raised profitably in many localities. 

The islands do not contain coal deposits, 
hence the supply of fuel i| quite limited. This 
has had a marked influence upon manufactur¬ 
ing enterprises, which are confined chiefly to 
the products obtained through the sugar plan¬ 
tations. Sugar is the principal manufactured 
product, and next are fertilizers, machinery, 
and clothing. Among the chief minerals are 
basalt, sandstone, and coral rock, but no metals 
abound. The export and import trade is chiefly 
with the United States and has been augmented 
by the fact that home manufactures are lim¬ 
ited. Coal is the most important import and 
is followed by machinery, clothing, and uten¬ 
sils. The chief exports include sugar and fruits. 
Cattle, hogs, horses, mules, and sheep are 
reared, but they do not furnish a large volume 
of materials for export. 

Education. Education is free, universal, and 
compulsory. A department of public instruc¬ 
tion, consisting of a superintendent of public in¬ 
struction and six commissioners appointed by the 
Governor, have control of education through-* 
out the Territory. It has 155 public schools 
with 18,206 pupils and employing 466 teachers. 
There are 51 private schools with 4,881 pupils 
and employing 154 teachers. A college of agri¬ 
culture and mechanic arts, established by the 
Territory at Honolulu in 1908, is maintained 
jointly by the Territory and the Federal gov¬ 
ernment. A normal school, a high school, and 
a girls’ industrial school, at Honolulu; a boys’ 
industrial school at Waialua; Lahainaluna 
School, an industrial and manual training school 
for boys, at Lahaina; and a high school at Hilo, 
are maintained by the department of public 
instruction. Of schools on private foundation 
are Oahu College, Kamehameha Schools, Saint 
Louis College, Iolani College, Mills Institute, 
Kawaiahao Seminary, Convent of Sisters of the 
Sacred Heart, and Saint Andrew’s Priory, at 
Honolulu; Maunaolu Seminary for Girls, at 
Makawao; Hilo Boarding School, at Hilo; and 
Kohala Seminary, at Kohala. The English lan¬ 
guage is the basis of instruction in all schools. 

Government. The government has been that 
of a territory since 1900. It has a territorial 
representative in Congress and the chief execu¬ 
tive is a Governor, who is appointed by the 
President of the United States. Legislative 
power is vested in a senate of fifteen, elected 
for four years, and a house of representatives 
of thirty members, elected for two years. The 
chief charitable institution is the leper settle¬ 


ment on the island of Molokai, at which about 
900 are provided for by public grants. This 
settlement is on a peninsula which is isolated 
from the mainland by mountains and those 
confined here are permitted a large measure of 
local self-government. A large majority, of the 
people of Hawaii are Protestants, but the Cath¬ 
olics and various Oriental faiths are repre¬ 
sented. 

Inhabitants. The inhabitants are greatly 
diversified, consisting of Japanese, Chinese, 
Caucasians, Hawaiians, and South Sea Island¬ 
ers. Immigration from the United States has 
been considerable since the islands were an¬ 
nexed. At present there are about 4,250 inhab¬ 
itants who were born in the United States and 
the total foreign born population is placed at 
12,500. In 1778, when Captain Cook visited the 
islands, the native .population was estimated at 
400,000, but the census of 1900 shows that the 
purely native inhabitants number only 29,834. 
In the same year the total population was 153,- 
727, which included 25,767 Chinese, 28,533 Cau¬ 
casians, and 61,111 Japanese. Honolulu, on 
the island of Oahu, is the capital and principal 
city. Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, has a pop¬ 
ulation of about 2,500. The inhabitants have 
increased within recent years. In 1910 the pop¬ 
ulation was 191,909. 

History. The island group was discovered in 
1542 by Gaetano, a Spanish explorer. It was 
visited by Captain Cook in 1797, who was killed 
by the natives the following year. The govern¬ 
ment previous to the last century was vested in 
separate kings resident on the diffe/ent islands, 
but in the early part of the century Kameha¬ 
meha I. consolidated them into one monarchy, 
in which form they were governed by him and 
his successors until about 1886, when the people 
secured numerous concessions. Kamehameha 
II., who was friendly to Europeans and encour¬ 
aged missionary work, visited England and in 
1824 died at London. A constitution was grant¬ 
ed to the people in 1840 by Kamehameha III., 
and the former despotic government was suc¬ 
ceeded by a limited monarchy, in which the 
affairs were in the hands of the king and an 
assembly of nobles. During his reign Euro¬ 
peans governments came to look upon the 
islands as important on account of their posi¬ 
tion, and France and England united in guaran¬ 
teeing their independence in 1843. Kamehameha 
IV. ascended the throne in 1854 and was suc¬ 
ceeded by Kamehameha V. in 1863, but the lat¬ 
ter died ten years later and the Kamehameha 
dynasty became extinct. 

In 1874 Kalakaua was elected as king. He 
reigned successfully until 1891, when he was 






HAWK 


1006 


HAY 


succeeded by his sister, Queen Liliuokalani. 
The government of this queen did not meet 
with the approval of the large foreign element 
and the progressive party, since she adopted a 
policy to set aside the constitution. She was 
deposed in January, 1893, when a republic was 
organized. Sanford B. Dole was chosen pro¬ 
visional president and was confirmed chief ex¬ 
ecutive of the islands on July 4, 1894, when the 
new government was officially proclaimed. 

Annexation to the United States was advo¬ 
cated immediately after the republic was pro¬ 
claimed. President Dole visited Washington 
to promote an interest in making the islands 
territory of the United States. Congress soon 
after passed a joint resolution, which was ap¬ 
proved by President McKinley, and the islands 
were officially annexed on July 7, 1898. To 
carry out the provisions of 'annexation, a com¬ 
mission was sent to the islands with instruc¬ 
tions to formulate a plan of government. On 
August 12, 1898, Annexation Day was celebrated 
at Honolulu with imposing ceremonies, and the 
islands were formally declared a possession of 
the United States in the presence of a great 
crowd. In 1900 the islands were’ organized as 
a territory and in that year Sanford B. Dole 
became the Governor. He was succeeded by W. 
F. Frear in 1905. 

HAWK, the name of several species of birds. 
It is frequently applied to all birds of prey, ex¬ 
cept the vultures, owls, and eagles. The fal¬ 



cons are included with the hawks proper, though 
the latter differ from them in that their beaks 
are smaller and the wings are shorter. The 
goshawk and sparrow hawk are widely distrib¬ 
uted in the continents and islands. They are 
noted for their rapacious and fierce habits and 
the swiftness with which they pursue animals 
and birds for the purpose of catching them. 


The American hawk preys upon insects, small 
quadrupeds, and domestic chickens. It is a 
common bird in many parts of the United 
States and Canada. The color of most species 
of hawks is grayish-brown. See Falcon. 

HAWKSBILL, ©r Caret, the name of a 
large sea turtle. It is found in the tropical 
sea and different species inhabit the Indian 
and Pacific oceans. The beak is horny and 
formed somewhat like that of a bird of prey and 
the tail is used as a weapon of defense. This 
turtle furnishes the tortoise shell of commerce. 

HAWTHORN (ha'thorn), a shrub or small 
tree found in Europe and Asia, but naturalized 
in many parts of North America. The plant 
reaches a height of 25 feet, has deciduous 
leaves, and bears crimson flowers. It produces 
a red fruit with yellow pulp which remains on 
the tree after the leaves fall off in autumn. 
The hawthorn is cultivated to some extent as 
a hedge, since it bears pruning, and the fruit 
is used in making a fermented liquor. An 
American plant, the thorn apple, belongs to the 
same genus of plants. 

HAY, the stems of grasses and other plants 
.cut and dried for fodder. The United States 
is the principal hay-producing country of North 
America. It has an area of 42,500,000 acres 
cultivated in hay, which yields an annual product 
of 65,500,000 tons, the crop being valued at 
$450,500,000. Among the states producing the 
largest crops of hay are Iowa, New York, Kan¬ 
sas, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Illinois, and Ne¬ 
braska, but the annual output varies largely on 
account of the difference in the amount of rain¬ 
fall, it being quite necessary that the early part 
of the growing season be favored with an abun¬ 
dance of moisture. Canada holds a high rank 
in the output of hay, the largest yield being in 
Ontario and Manitoba. 

The best quality of hay from the different 
plants is secured when the saccharine matter is 
most abundant, which occurs when they are in 
full bloom. The grasses are harvested by 
mowing machines, which cut swaths four to 
six feet wide. On large farms the hay is allowed 
to cure a short time and is then tedded mechan¬ 
ically and loaded on wagons by means of ma¬ 
chinery, to be stored in stacks or haymows. In 
many of the larger western hayfields it is cus¬ 
tomary to push the hay by means of hay sweeps 
to the stacks, where it is lifted by horse power 
under roofing. To obtain a nutritive quality 
of hay it is necessary that the weather be dry, 
since grasses are more or less damaged by 
moisture in the process of curing, and thereby 
lose much of their flavor and nutritive qualities. 
Timothy, clover, alfalfa, red top, and native 






HAY FEVER 


1007 


HAYTI 


grasses are the chief plants utilized to make 
hay. Other plants that *yield hay include oats, 
barley, cowpea, vetch, and orchard grass. Some 
plants, such as clover and alfalfa, yield rowen, 
which is made by cutting the second growth or 
aftermath. 

HAY FEVER, an affection that is similar 
to a .severe cold, sometimes called hay asthma 
or autumnal catarrh. It is so called for the 
reason that it affects some people in July, at 
the time of the haying season, but is more prev¬ 
alent in August. It usually disappears in Octo¬ 
ber, or on the approach of autumn. The disease 
is characterized by sneezing and discharges 
from the nose and the patient usually has weep¬ 
ing eyes, headache, irritability, slight fever, and 
a loss of appetite. Those affected are likely to 
have it with more or less regularity every sum¬ 
mer. It is caused by the pollen of some plants 
or the dust arising from molding vegetation, 
and in some persons is due to nasal deformity. 
The disease seems to be more violent in Ameri¬ 
ca than in Europe, and the best method of ob¬ 
taining relief is to change climate. Hay fever 
patients usually find it advisable to go to higher 
altitudes or a region that has a colder climate 
than the place of their residence. 

HAY-PAUNCEFOTE TREATY, the 
name of a treaty negotiated in 1901 between the 
United States and Great Britain. It was so 
named because John Hay acted for the former 
and Lord Pauncefote for the latter country. Its 
purpose is to control the policy of the United 
States in the construction and maintenance of a 
canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 
Attention was called to the necessity of con¬ 
structing an isthmian canal by President McKin¬ 
ley in his message to Congress in 1898, which led 
to the opening of negotiations by which the 
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty would be modified so 
that the American government could proceed 
with the construction of the canal without af¬ 
fecting the general policy of neutrality. This 
treaty gives to the United States control of the 
canal, vesting the sole power of guarantee of its 
neutrality in this country. Under this treaty the 
work was taken up and promoted without inter¬ 
ruption. 

The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty was agreed upon 
by the two representatives on Nov. 18, 1901, and 
was transmitted by President Roosevelt to the 
Senate on December 5th, in which body it met 
some resistance but was duly ratified on De¬ 
cember 16th. The following provisions are con¬ 
tained in this treaty: 

I.—The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty is abrogated, 
but the neutralization of the canal is maintained 
on the same basis as the Suez Canal 


II. —Neither Great Britain nor any other 
power is to guarantee neutrality of the canal, 
but it is to be constructed and managed by the 
United States. 

III. —The canal is to be free and open to all 
nations for commercial purposes, but the United 
States is allowed certain undefined rights of 
control in time of war. While the canal must 
be kept open and free from blockade, the United 
States is permitted to erect fortifications with 
the view of commanding the canal, or its adja¬ 
cent waters, and it may maintain a military 
force to protect it against lawlessness. 

HAY RIVER, a river of Canada, rises in 
the northeastern part of British Columbia, and 
after a course of 350 miles flows into Great 
Slave Lake. It has a general course toward the 
northeast, and in the northwestern part of Al¬ 
berta passes through Hay Lake. Alexandria 
Falls, about 250 feet high, occur in its course. 
It is navigable for small boats about 135 miles. 

HAYTI (ha'ti), or Haiti, a republic which 
occupies the western part of the island of Hayti, 
the eastern portion being the republic of San 
Domingo. The island of Hayti is, next to Cuba, 
the largest of the West Indies. It is separated 
from Cuba by the Windward Passage and from 
Porto Rico by Mona Passage. Its length from 
east to west is 400 miles; width, 155 miles; and 
area, 28,250 square miles. The coast lines are 
irregular and afford good landings for vessels. 
Much of the surface is mountainous, but there 
are extensive valleys, savannas, and coast plains. 
The highest mountain chain trends trough the 
central part, Loma Tina, with an elevation of 
10,165 feet, being the culminating peak. The 
climate, like that of other West Indian islands, 
is variable, the seasons being designated as wet 
in May and June and dry during the time of 
lower temperature, but it ranks as the most 
healthful of the entire group. Numerous 
small streams drain the interior, but most of 
them are swift and only a few are fitted for 
navigation by small boats. Several large lakes, 
including *Lake Enriquillo, are in the western 
part. Extensive and valuable forests abound. 

Hayti was discovered by Columbus in 1492, 
when about 2,000,000 natives inhabited the 
island, but under Spanish rule they were re- 
‘ duced to slavery and many perished. The 
French settled in the western part in 1630 and 
secured a cession of that portion from Spain in 
1697. Under the leadership of Toussaint l’Ou- 
verture, who was recognized as the generalissi¬ 
mo by the natives, the Negroes led a revolt 
against France in 1791. An independent repub¬ 
lic was established, but this was suppressed by 
Napoleon in 1801, when Toussaint was captured 


HAYTI 


1008 


HAZLETON 


and deported to France. Another revolt was 
led by Dessalines in 1803, when he was made 
emperor, but was assassinated three years later, 
and Spain again gained possession of the entire 
island. After many years of war and bloodshed 
the two portions became separated and now 
maintain their integrity as independent republics. 

The republic of Hayti has an area of 10,204 
square miles. In 1909 the country had 25 miles 
of railways, the principal line being between 
Cape Haytien and Grande Riviere. The official 
language is French and the prevailing religion 
is Roman Catholic. Public schools of an ele¬ 
mentary nature are maintained in most of the 
districts, but are in a backward condition. The 
government is vested in an assembly of two 
chambers, the senate and the commune, and a 
president, whose term is seven years. Among 
the industries are agriculture, lumbering, com¬ 
merce, mining, and manufacturing. The soil 
being productive, agriculture is the principal in¬ 


dustry. Among the chief products are rum, 
coffee, tobacco, cotton, sugar cane, cacao, and 
many species of tropical fruits. Gold, silver, 
tin, iron, clay, and granite are the principal min¬ 
erals. The forests yield logwood, pine, satin- 
wood, mahogany, and dyewoods. Among the 
domestic animals are cattle, swine, mules and 
horses. The export and import trade is largely 
with the United States, Germany, France, and 
Great Britain. Hayti has extensive pearl and 
other fisheries, but they have not been developed 
to their full capacity. The manufactures include 
soap, matches, candles, cigars, utensils, fabrics, 
toys, and machinery. 

The inhabitants are Negroes and mulattoes, 
about ninety per cent, being of the former class. 
Port au Prince is the capital and largest city. 
Other cities include Cape Haytien, Aux Cayes, 
Gonaives, and Port de Paix. Population, 1906, 
1,503,048. See San Domingo. 


HAZE, a slight obscuration in the atmos¬ 
phere, causing objects, to appear dim and ob¬ 
scure. When the haze is very dense, it obscures 
the light of the sun to a considerable extent, 
and a light haze deadens the blueness of the 
sky so objects in the distance appear dim or 
dull. It is due to the presence of small particles 
of solid matter, which are raised by ascending 
currents of hot air or by wind. This kind 
is ordinarily called heat haze. The presence of 
small particles of water or ice give the sky a 
light gray color, when the haze is said to be 
aqueous. Other forms are those caused by 
smoke from peat bogs or forest fires, or by the 
particles of matter thrown into the air during 
volcanic eruptions. Many parts of India and 
China are frequented by dust clouds and dust 
haze is seen frequently in autumn in most 
countries, especially if the season is somewhat 
dry. 

HAZEL, a class of shrubs or small trees 
which belong to the genus Co- 
rylus, widely distributed in 
North America, Eurasia, and 
Africa. Twelve recognized 
species have been described. 
They bear nuts much favored 
as food and for the production 
of hazelnut oil. The larger 
nuts borne by the hazel tree 
are called filberts and the 
smaller are known as hazelnuts. 
They have staminate and pis¬ 
tillate flowers and are among 
the first plants to bloom in the 
spring. The wood of many 
species is used for making bas¬ 
kets, hoops, crates, and char¬ 
coal, and the roots are serviceable in veneering. 
The charcoal of the hazel tree is valuable for 
painting and in the manufacture of gunpowder. 
A species common to Italy yields woods useful 
in refining turbid wine. See illustration on fol¬ 
lowing page. 

HAZLETON (ha'z’l-ton), a city of Penn¬ 
sylvania, in Luzerne County, 98 miles northwest 
of Philadelphia, on the Lehigh Valley and other 
railroads. The surrounding region is noted for 
its immense production of anthracite coal. It 
has a State hospital for miners, the Hazleton 
Seminary, a fine high school, and the Saint 
Gabriel’s Academy. Among the manufactures 
are ironware, machinery, coffins, brushes, and 
earthenware. Street railways, telephones, water- 
worxs, and pavements are among the improve¬ 
ments. Hazleton was settled in 1820 and in¬ 
corporated as a city in 1890. Population, 1900, 
14,230; in 1910, 25,452. 








HEAD 


1009 


HEALTH, BOARD OF 


HEAD, that part of the body of an animal 
which contains the brain and the organs of the 
special senses. The head of man has 22 bones, 
which form a cavity for the protection of the 
brain and the organs of smell, hearing, sight, 
and taste. These bones are immovable, except 
the lower jaw, which is hinged at the back so 
as to allow the mouth to be opened and closed. 
The skull bones are composed of two compact 
plates, with a spongy layer between. These 
bones are joined at the outer portions by su¬ 
tures in a way termed dovetailing by carpenters. 
Within the skull is the delicate brain, peculiarly 
protected by the oval shape of the bones. The 
smaller and stronger structure of the skull is to¬ 
ward the front, where danger is greatest, while 
the spongy packing between the layers serves to 
deaden a blow that might fall'upon the head. 
Nerves pass through openings in the skull and 
communicate with the brain. The skull proper 
consists of eight bones—two temporal, two 
parietal, and a frontal, occipital, ethmoid, and 
sphenoid. Fourteen bones constitute the frame¬ 
work of the face, including the vomer and the 
inferior maxilla, and two each of superior max¬ 
illae, nasal, malar, lachrymal, turbinated, and 



HEAD. 

1, frontal hone; 2, parietal; 3, temporal; 4, sphenoid; 5, eth¬ 
moid; 6, superior maxillary; 7, malar; 8, lachry¬ 
mal; 9, nasal; 10, inferior maxillary. 

palate. Many animals of the lower forms of life 
are destitute of heads. 

HEADACHE, or Cephalalgia, the name ap¬ 
plied to any pain in the upper or back part of 
the head. In itself it is not a disease, but is a 
symptom of many widely differing conditions, 
though the seat of the disease causing the head- 
64 


ache may be seated at a place remote from the 
pain. An unhealthy liver may cause a general 
headache, while typhoid and many other fevers 



HAZEL. 

If Flower. 2, Leaves and Fruit. 


have a severe headache as a symptom. Those 
suffering with Bright’s disease are frequently 
sufferers of frontal headache. Gastric dyspep¬ 
sia, malaria, gout, indulgence in alcoholic bev¬ 
erages, and eye-strain are other prolific causes. 
Careful diet and regularity in habits should be 
adopted by persons suffering from an attack, but 
a skillful physician is needed in chronic head¬ 
ache. Meningitis or brain diseases cause very 
severe headache and need the most careful treat¬ 
ment. Drugs usually given, such as morphia, 
aconite, belladonna, quinine, and antipyrine, are 
frequently very dangerous and tend to produce 
drug habits. Drugs of this kind should be taken 
only upon the advice of a physician. 

HEALTH, Board of, an organization estab¬ 
lished and maintained by the government to pro¬ 
tect the health of the citizens. Organizations of 
this kind are maintained in the various politi¬ 
cal divisions of most countries and are formed 
on such a basis that the people in all the com¬ 
munities have some form of protection. Local 
boards of health, such as town and city boards, 
are more or less subject to the regulations of 
the state or general boards of health, and the 
latter work in harmony with various depart¬ 
ments of the national government. The func¬ 
tion of a State board in most cases is advisory, 
and its requirements are carried out by the 
boards of townships and municipalities. A 
county or parish physician is usually the advis¬ 
ory officer of a township board, while municipal 












HEART 


1010 


HEAT 


boards are aided by a health officer, who is re¬ 
quired to be a physician, and is appointed or 
elected for that purpose. In most countries, as 
in the United States, though no national board 
of health is maintained, the duties devolving 
upon such an organization is performed under 
the direction of the Department of the Interior. 

The duty of the board of health is not to 
provide for the. treatment of diseases, but rather 
to prevent the spread of influences that are 
harmful to health in a general way. It con¬ 
sists mainly in enforcing vaccination and quar¬ 
antine regulations to prevent the spread of con¬ 
tagious diseases, to prevent fraud in preparing 
medicine and food, to control drainage and 
plumbing, to look after the ventilation and fire 
escapes of buildings, to regulate the slaughter¬ 
ing of animals, to provide for the removal of 
dirt and filth, and to consider and direct in re¬ 
gard to any matter that may injuriously affect 
the health of the community. In many cases 
the local board of health has exclusive charge 
of disinfecting the buildings in which patients 
were treated for contagious diseases, and in 
some instances provide for medical treatment 
of those unable to secure a physician. See 
Hygiene. 

HEART, the organ that propels the blood 
and causes it to circulate through the arteries, 



HEART. 


A, right ventricle; B, left ventricle; C, right auricle; D, 
left auricle; B, tricuspid valve; F. bicuspid valve; G, semi¬ 
lunar valves; H, valve of the aorta; I, inferior vena cava; 
K, superior vena cava; L, pulmonary veins. 

veins, and capillaries. It is muscular, pear- 
shaped, and about the size of the fist. The 
heart has four chambers, the two upper being 
called auricles and the two lower, ventricles. 


The auricles are receiving chambers and the ven¬ 
tricles are expelling chambers, but the auricles 
and ventricles on each side communicate with 
each other, while the right and left halves of 
the heart are distinct and perform different 
offices. The red blood is propelled by the left 
side and the dark blood by the right. In man 
the heart hangs point downward in the left cen¬ 
tral part of the chest and is inclosed by a loose 
sack of serous membrane, called the pericardium. 
It is held in place by the attachment of the peri¬ 
cardium to the diaphragm and by the large 
blood vessels that communicate with it. The 
heart has an alternative contraction and expan¬ 
sion movement; the former is called the sys¬ 
tole and the latter the diastole. Blood flows into 
the heart during the diastole movement and is 
expelled by the systole. The beating of the 
heart is due to these movements and may be 
distinctly heard between the fifth and sixth 
ribs. 

The impure blood coming from the system 
enters the right auricle through the inferior and 
superior vena cava, thence passes into the right 
ventricle through the tricuspid valve, and is then 
driven past the semilunar valves through the pul¬ 
monary artery to the lungs to be purified. It 
next returns as bright-red blood through the 
four pulmonary veins to the left auricle, is 
forced past the bicuspid valve to the left ventri¬ 
cle, and is driven through the semilunar valves 
into the great aorta, whence it passes into the 
general circulation. 

HEAT, a form of energy which is generated 
by the transformation of some other form of 
energy, as by chemical action, combustion, or 
the stoppage of mass motion by friction. All 
bodies possess some heat, since cold is merely a 
relative term, but the degree of heat which is 
known as temperature, differs greatly in various 
forms of matter. Heat possesses the power of 
vaporizing, expanding, melting, and decomposing 
bodies. It has the effect of raising the tempera¬ 
ture of objects and of passing through space 
with the velocity of light. It may be manifested 
as light, as temperature, and as chemism, or in 
all of these ways at the same time. 

The theory of heat now generally accepted is 
that of Macedonio Melloni (1798-1854), an 
Italian physicist. This theory is called the the¬ 
ory of undulation, and supposes that heat is 
caused by a vibratory or oscillatory motion of 
the particles of the body and is a condition of 
matter, not a substance. The hottest bodies are 
those in which the vibrations move quickest 
through the widest space. The theory implies 
that the molecules of solid bodies are in constant 
vibration. When this oscillation is increased, 


HEAT 


1011 


HEBREWS 


the body becomes heated; when it is decreased, 
the body is cooled. Ether fills the vacant spaces 
between the molecules. The ether puts the mole¬ 
cules in motion, or it is thrown into vibration by 
them, in the same manner as the air moving 
through the leaves of a tree sets its boughs in 
motion, and in turn may be kept in motion by 
the waving of branches. The sources of heat 
are chemical and mechanical energy, the stars, 
and the sun. 

That friction and percussion produce motion 
may be illustrated in bringing a moving mass 
in contact with one at rest, by which the motion 
of the mass is changed into motion among mole¬ 
cules. Chemical action is seen in fire, in which 
the oxygen of the air has an affinity for the car¬ 
bon and hydrogen of the fuel, and, by combining 
the chemical energy, there is a transformation 
into that of sensible heat. The cause of heat 
coming from the sun and stars is the rapid vibra¬ 
tion of the molecules. By them waves of ether 
are set in motion, which are propagated across 
the intervening space, and give up their motion 
when they meet the earth. The effect of heat 
upon all solid, liquid, or gaseous bodies is to 
expand them, while a material reduction of the 
temperature causes them to contract. This 
gives rise to the popular term, “Heat expands; 
cold contracts.” The only partial exception to 
the rule is water (q. v.). At a certain tempera¬ 
ture heat vaporizes liquids, but in solids it pro¬ 
duces fusion. By conduction and radiation it 
may be transmitted to other bodies. The term 
radiated heat implies the heat produced by radi¬ 
ation, which gives rise to the terms thermal ray, 
ray of heat, and calorific ray, these being used 
in correspondence to the terms luminous ray and 
ray of light. 

In propagating radiate heat from a hotter to 
a colder body the intervening medium is not 
heated. Both heat and light are transmitted by 
the same medium. They are similar in that they 
are the vibrations of an elastic medium, obey 
the same laws of reflection, interference, refrac¬ 
tion, and polarization, and are subject to the 
general laws of wave motion. Two bodies 
placed in contact with each other give off heat 
to each other. If they are equally hot, the ex¬ 
change of heat is mutual, and it appears as if 
no heat passes between them, and they are then 
said to be of the same temperature. However, 
if one of them is more highly heated than the 
other, it gives more heat than it receives, and is 
therefore at a different temperature. Instru¬ 
ments used to measure temperature are called 
thermometers. Different scales or units of 
measurement may be adopted for measuring 
heat and various chemicals, such as mercury and 


spirits, serve in the preparation of thermometers. 
The branch of science that treats of the meas¬ 
urement of quantities of heat is called calorime¬ 
try. 

HEATH (heth), the common name of any 
plant of the heath family, which includes about 
500 species. They are widely distributed in 
Europe and South Africa, but only a few spe¬ 
cies are native to North America. The common 
heath of England, a low evergreen shrub with 
small leaves and clusters of rosy flowers, is 
found chiefly on the waste lands. It grows in 
beds on the sides of mountains, and the stems 
are from three to four feet in length. The flesh- 
colored heath is found on the mountains of 
Europe. In- this plant the leaves come out early 
in the spring, causing it to be looked upon as a 
harbinger of the growing season. Several spe¬ 
cies native to South Africa are cultivated exten¬ 
sively as greenhouse plants and are favorites for 
the beauty and variety of their flowers. Small 
tracts of land in which small evergreen shrubs 
comprise the dominant plant types are commonly 
called heaths. Small regions of this kind are 
found in Canada and the northern part of the 
United States, in which the junipers and bear- 
berry are the prevailing plants. The huckle¬ 
berry, cranberry, and trailing arbutus are famil¬ 
iar species allied to the heath. 

HEAVEN (hev”n), in science, the expanse 
which surrounds the earth and seems like a 
great dome or arch containing the sun, moon, 
and stars. It appears to rest on the horizon, and 
is in reality merely the aspect that a spectator 
sees when looking into the immeasurable space 
of the universe. In theology, heaven signifies 
the abode of God, where the Most High and the 
angels dwell and are especially manifest. Among 
the Jews heaven is regarded as the special abode 
of God and it is held to be high above the earth. 
Christians believe that Christ came from heaven, 
and, after fulfilling His mission on earth, re¬ 
turned there to prepare a place for the saved. 
Those who reach heaven shall- not experience 
hunger or thirst, nor feel undue heat nor any 
sorrow. This condition is to be reached after 
the resurrection, when mortality shall become 
immortal and incorruptible.. 

HEAVES. See Broken Wind. 

HEBREWS (he'bruz). See Jews. 

HEBREV/S, Epistle to the, one of the ca¬ 
nonical books of the New Testament. It was 
addressed to the. converted Jews for the purpose 
of fortifying them in the Christian faith. The 
chief purport of it is to demonstrate the preemi¬ 
nence of Christ over Moses and the angels and 
of the Gospel over the law, and to show that the 
latter was typical of the former and was abol- 






HEBRIDES 


1012 


HEIDELBERG 


ished by it. Luther suggested Apollos as the 
author, and this view was held by a number of 
prominent Christian writers. However, the 
Greek fathers ascribed the authorship to Paul, 
though no Latin writer attributed it to him until 
about the 4th ceritury. 

HEBRIDES (heb'ri-dez), or Western Is¬ 
lands, a chain of islands off the western coast 
of Scotland. The total number includes about 
500 islands and islets, of which only 90 are in¬ 
habited. They are classed in two groups, known 
as the Outer and the Inner Islands. Barra, 
North Uist, South Uist, Benecula, and Saint 
Kilda belong to the Outer Islands, while Skye, 
Mull, Jura, Coll, and Tiree belong to the Inner 
Islands. They belong to the counties of Inver¬ 
ness, Ross, and Argyle. The climate is humid 
and the soil is largely poor. Agriculture, cattle 
rearing, and fishing are the principal industries. 
The Hebrides were colonized by the Norwegians 
in the 9th century and remained subject to Nor¬ 
way until 1266, when they were annexed 
to Scotland. They were governed by 
chiefs for a number of decades, who as¬ 
sumed the title of Lord of the Isles, and 
were made a crown possession of Scot¬ 
land in 1540. Population, 1908, 98,045. 

HEBRON (he'brun), an ancient city 
of Palestine, located in the valley of 
Eschol, twenty miles south of Jerusalem. 

It is situated in the region which an¬ 
ciently belonged to the tribe of Judah. 

The streets are narrow and crooked. It 
has tombs which are alleged to be those 
of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others of 
the patriarchs. The surrounding country 
is noted for its fruits, especially grapes 
and olives. Abraham and David resided 
in Hebron a number of years. It was 
captured by Saladin in 1187. Population, 1906, 
19,020. 

HECLA (hek'la), or Hekla, an Icelandic 
volcano, situated 20 miles from the southwestern 
coast, elevated 5,100 feet above sea level. It is 
covered with snow perpetually, contains several 
craters, and is composed largely of lava and 
basalt. The most extensive eruption on record 
occurred in 1783, when a stream of lava was 
thrown out which extended a distance of 45 
miles and was 15 miles wide. Other notable 
eruptions were those of 1845 and 1878. The dis¬ 
charges consist largely of ashes, lava, and 
masses of pumice stone. 

HEDGEHOG (hej'hog), a mammal native 
to Eurasia and Africa, belonging to the insec¬ 
tivorous animals, and remarkable for its cover¬ 
ing of spines instead of hair. It has small black 
eyes and short legs. The body is about ten 


inches long. It defends itself against its ene¬ 
mies by contracting special muscles whereby it 
is rolled into a ball, causing the spines to stand 
quite rigid. The hedgehog inhabits small thick¬ 
ets and feeds on insects, worms, snails, and 
sometimes on vegetable matter, which it seeks at 
night. During the winter it hibernates. From 
three to eight young are born in a litter. The 
spines develop soon after birth. Fourteen spe¬ 
cies have been described, most of which have 
only a rudimentary tail and none is native to 
America or Australia. A closely related spine¬ 
bearing mammal, called the Canada porcupine, is 
native to the northern part of North America. 

HEGIRA (he-ji'ra), Hejra, or Hijra, an 
Arabian word, meaning goiifg away, and used to 
describe the flight of Mohammed from Mecca 
on Sept. 13, 622 a. d. This is the beginning of 
the Moslem era. A calendar made by Caliph 
Omar in 639 begins with the first day of the 
month in which the flight occurred. The Mos¬ 


lem year consists of 354 days and 9 hours, hence 
is about 11 days shorter than the Gregorian 
year. This makes it difficult to reduce the Chris¬ 
tian to the Mussulman year, but it may be rough¬ 
ly done by subtracting 40 from the former and 
adding 622 to the remainder. Since 1328 of the 
Hegira corresponds to the year 1910, it will be 
seen that 1328—40—{-622=1910. 

HEIDELBERG (hi'del-berg), a city of Ger-> 
many, in the grand duchy of Baden, on the 
Neckar River, ten miles southeast of Mannheim. 
It occupies a beautiful site in a valley between 
the river and the slope of the Konigstuhl, an 
elevation 1,860 feet high, and has several beau¬ 
tiful streets. The noteworthy buildings include 
a castle of much beauty begun in the 13th cen¬ 
tury, the Church of the Holy Ghost, the Church 
of Saint Peter, the city hall, the public library, 
and the University of Heidelberg. Among the 



HEDGEHOG AND YOUNG. 











HEIDELBERG, UNIVERSITY OF 1013 


HELGOLAND 


manufactures are musical and scientific instru¬ 
ments, fabrics, clothing, and machinery. The 
celebrated Heidelberg tun is kept under the 
castle. It has a diameter of 26 feet, a length of 
36 feet, and a capacity of 50,000 gallons of wine. 
Heidelberg has many beautiful parks, electric 
lights and street railways, pavements, and ex¬ 
tensive railroad connections. The city dates 
from the latter part of the Middle Ages and 
suffered much during the Reformation. In 1803. 
it was annexed to Baden. Population, 1905, 
49,527. 

HEIDELBERG, University of, a famous 
! institution of higher learning at Heidelberg, 
Germany, founded by Elector Rupert I. in 1386. 
Although a Roman Catholic center of learning 
at the beginning, it became a powerful influence 
of the Protestants in the 16th century. Here 
Melanchthon preached the reformed faith. The 
500th anniversary of the university was celebrat¬ 
ed with imposing ceremonies in 1886. It has a 
library of 500,000 volumes, a faculty of 160 in¬ 
structors, and an attendance of about 1,600 stu¬ 
dents. 

HEILBRONN (hil-bron'), a city of Ger¬ 
many in Wiirttemberg, 32 miles north of Stutt¬ 
gart. It is located on the Neckar River, which 
is navigable at this place, and is at the junction 
of several railways. Among the chief buildings 
is the Church of Saint Kilian, a Gothic structure 
of the 11th century. It is the seat of a gymna¬ 
sium, a school of agriculture, a large public 
! library, and a meteorological observatory. The 
chief manufactures include sugar, jewelry, salt, 
cigars, chemicals, and machinery. It has a large 
! trade in groceries, coal, merchandise, and farm 
produce. Near tit are several mineral springs, 
which were visited by Schiller and a number of 
prominent sovereigns, including Gustavus Adol¬ 
phus and Charles V. Heilbronn became a free 
city in 1360. It suffered greatly during the 
Thirty Years’ War. Since 1802 it has belonged 
to Wiirttemberg. Population, 1905, 40,004. 
i HEIR, in law, one who succeeds to his estate, 
not by the will of a decedent, but by the death 
of another. Such inheritance comes to the heir 
by operation of the law. This may be said to be 
a restrictive use of the word, since the term is 
used in some countries to describe the descent of 
| property both by will and by the natural law of 
descent. An heir is said to be direct when the 
line of descent is direct, as from parents to chil¬ 
dren or grandchildren. All others, as brothers, 
sisters, cousins, uncles, etc., are termed collat¬ 
eral heirs. One who is certain to inherit prop¬ 
erty, provided he outlives another, is called an 
heir apparent. 

HELDER (helper), a city of the Nether¬ 


lands, in the province of North Holland, at the 
entrance to the Zuyder Zee. It is strongly 
fortified and is protected from the sea by a dike 
built of Norwegian granite. This dike is five 
miles long and thirty feet wide at the top. It 
serves as a roadway from Helder to Nieuwe- 
diep, the harbor at the entrance to the North 
Holland Canal, by which Helder is connected 
with Amsterdam. The city has a large local 
and foreign trade. It is the seat of a naval hos¬ 
pital, shipyards, barracks, and magazines, and 
a military school. In 1673 it was the scene of a 
famous battle between the allied fleets of France 
and England, on one side, and the naval forces 
of Holland under Tromp and De Ruyter, in 
which the latter were successful. Population, 
1906, 26,982. 

HELENA (hel'e-na), county seat of Philips 
County, Arkansas, on the Mississippi River, 
about eighty miles below Memphis, Tenn. It is 
on the Saint Louis, Iron Mountain and South¬ 
ern, the Arkansas Midland, and other railroads. 
The chief buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the high school, and the Southland Col¬ 
lege. It is surrounded by a fertile country and 
has a large trade in cotton and lumber. Among 
its manufactures are shingles, cotton-seed oil, 
machinery, lumber, and utensils. In 1863 it was 
the scene of a battle between the Confederates 
under General Holmes and the Federals under 
General Prentiss, in which the latter were de¬ 
feated. Population, 1900, 5,550; in 1910, 8,772. 

HELENA, the capital of Montana, county 
seat of Lewis and Clarke County, in the Prickly 
Pear valley, about fourteen miles west of the 
Missouri River. It is on the Northern Pacific 
and the Great Northern railroads and has inter¬ 
communication by electric lines. The site is a 
fine tract of land, sufficiently rolling to be well 
drained, and is surrounded on all sides by ele¬ 
vated ridges of the Rocky Mountains. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include the State capitol, the 
public library, the county courthouse, the Fed¬ 
eral building, the high school, Saint John’s Hos¬ 
pital, and several fine churches. It is the seat 
of the Montana Wesleyan University, a Metho¬ 
dist Episcopal institution. The surrounding 
country is agricultural, and contains valuable 
deposits of gold, silver, ruby, and sapphire. 
Among the manufactures are harness, vehicles, 
flour, machinery, implements, lumber, and quartz 
products. It has extensive machine shops and 
foundries. Helena was a mining camp in 1864, 
but was platted the same year and incorporated 
in 1881. Population, 1900,10,770; 1910, 12,515. 

HELGOLAND (hel'go-lant), or Heligo¬ 
land, an island in the North Sea belonging to 
Germany, situated 38 miles from the mouth of 




HELICON 


1014 


HELLEBORE 


the Elbe. It is a half a mile wide and two miles 
long. The area was formerly much larger, but it 
has been worn away by encroachments of the 
sea. The coast lines rise perpendicularly from 
the sea, but the soil is very fertile. It is culti¬ 
vated largely in orchards and gardens. The fish¬ 
eries are important, especially those yielding had¬ 
dock and lobsters^ and as a summer resort it is a 
favorite gathering place. Helgoland is impor¬ 
tant mainly as a strategic point and has been 
strongly fortified by the German government. 
In 1807 England forced Denmark to evacuate 
the island, when it was ceded to the British, 
and in 1890 it was formally ceded to Germany. 
Population, 1905, 2,385. 

HELICON (hel'i-kon), or Sagara, a moun¬ 
tain range in the southwestern part of Boeotia, 
Greece, and the fabled resort of the ancient 
Grecian muses. In these mountains were tem¬ 
ples dedicated to the Muses and Apollo. They 
contained the fountains of Aganippe and Hip- 
pocrene, which gave inspiration to the poet 
Hesiod. Paleo-Vuno, the loftiest peak, is 5,730 
feet high. 

HELIOPOLIS (he-li-op'6-lis), meaning city 
of the sun, the city called On, Bethshemesh, or 
Rameses in ancient Egyptian writings, but now 
known as Matarich. It is situated on the Pe- 
lusiac branch of the Nile, near the canal which 
connects that river with the Red Sea, eight miles 
northeast of the present city of Cairo. Under 
the Pharaohs it was the most populous city of 
Egypt, being beautified by lakes and canals that 
connected it with the Nile, and in it were many 
temples and schools* These schools were vis¬ 
ited by Eudoxus and Plato. Mention is made 
of the place by Herodotus and Strabo, but in the 
time of the latter it was little more than a de¬ 
serted village. It is thought to have been the 
place where Joseph and Mary found refuge in 
their exile with the infant Christ. The pillar of 
On still stands near the present village. The 
obelisk now in Central Park, New York, was 
first brought to Alexandria from Heliopolis 
and thence to America. 

HELIOTROPE (he'li-6-trop), a genus of 
plants, including both annual and perennial spe¬ 
cies. They occur mostly in the warmer climates 
as herbs or undershrubs, but many are now 
cultivated extensively in all countries as orna¬ 
mental plants and for the manufacture of per¬ 
fumes. The leaves are oblong and small, the 
flowers are white or pale red and of beautiful 
fragrance, and the fruit is in the form of four 
drupes covered by a fleshy inclosure. A species 
known as Indian heliotrope is an Asiatic plant, 
but now grows wild in the Mississippi valley. 
It has hairy leaves. The heliotrope thrives best 


in a light, rich soil and may be propagated by 
cuttings. 

HELIOTROPE, or Bloodstone, a form of 

quartz allied to chalcedony or jasper. The color 
is usually deep green with red Spots. It is high¬ 
ly prized for seals, signet rings, and various 
other purposes. Deposits occur in practically all 
countries, but the finest specimens come from 
Asia, particularly from Persia, Tartary, and Si¬ 
beria. 

HELIUM (heli-um). See Chemistry. 

HELL, the place of punishment for the 
wicked after death. The term is used with 



HELIOTROPE. 


more or less distinctness in nearly all forms of 
religion, though the precise nature of the pun¬ 
ishment varies widely. The three most common, 
views are that it is a place where a future life 
is to be spent in eternal misery,,with no idea of 
moral retribution, that the offenders punished 
there for deeds done in this life may escape after 
a period of torment, and that it enters as an im¬ 
portant factor in the moral government of the 
universe, serving as a place or condition in 
which the wicked are punished rigorously. The 
terms used in the Hebrew from which transla¬ 
tors have drawn in compiling different works 
are sheol, meaning a grave or pit, and gehenna, 
a term referring to the valley of Hinnom. The 
Greek hades, the unseen, is now used with its 
original meaning, and those said to enter there 
are thought to pass into an unseen or invis¬ 
ible state. In the New Testament gehenna is 
translated into the word hell, which is de¬ 
scribed as a place where the fire is not quenched. 
It is especially stated that hell was instituted 
as a place of punishment for the devil and his 
angels. 

HELLEBORE (hel'le-bor), the common 
name of several species of plants. The common 


HELLESPONT 


1015 


HELVETII 


hellebore of Europe is a perennial herb with 
short root-stalks. It has leathery leaves and 
variously colored terminal flowers. The black 
hellebore has evergreen leaves, white flowers 
tinged with red, and is commonly called Christ- 

m a s rose, 
since it has 
a rose-like 
flower and 
blooms early 
in the sea¬ 
son. In this 
species both 
the leaves 
and flower 
stalks origi¬ 
nate from 
the root- 
stalks. A 
species 
known as 
green helle- 
b o r e has 
been natur¬ 
alized in the 
eastern part 
o f Canada 
and the 
United 
States, where it is cultivated and grows wild to 
a considerable extent. The white hellebore does 
not properly belong to this class of plants, but is 
a member of the lily family. Hellebore is a 
drug used in medicine for its cathartic proper¬ 
ties. Formerly it was thought to be useful in 
cases of insanity and was used by the ancients 
for treating that malady. 

HELLESPONT. See Dardanelles. 

HELL GATE, the name of a formerly dan¬ 
gerous pass in the East River, between New 
York and Long Island. This pass is a portion 
of the strait which connects Long Island Sound 
with New York Bay. In 1885 the obstruction 
was removed by extensive submarine mining and 
the use of powerful explosives. As these ob¬ 
structions no longer interfere with the passage 
of vessels, much value has been added to the 
East River for navigation purposes. 

HELMET, a covering or protection for the 
head, formerly worn as a piece of armor. The 
helmet was made of iron or steel throughout the 
Middle Ages, when it had appendages to be 
drawn over the neck and face during an engage¬ 
ment. It was intended particularly to furnish 
protection from behind and from above, since 
i the warrior was expected to defend the face 
chiefly by an adroit use of the sword or some 
other weapon. The helmet is of very ancient 


origin, being mentioned by Homer in connection 
with the Trojan War. 

HELOTS 1 (he'lots), the name applied to the 
slaves in ancient Sparta, which had authority to 
assign them to citizens and alone had power to 
dispose of their life and freedom. They were 
employed largely by citizens in agricultural and 
mechanical pursuits, but during the time of war 
they were required to bear arms. They gave 
evidences of especial bravery during the Pelo¬ 
ponnesian War, for which about 2,000 were 
granted liberty in 431 b. c. Since they were the 
most numerous element in Sparta, they were kept 
under close observation by the Ephors, who ex¬ 
ercised a wide administrative authority in the 
government. See Sparta. 

HELSINGBORG (hel-sing-bor'y’), or Hal- 
singborg, a city of Sweden, located on the 
Sound, opposite Elsinore, Denmark. It is the 
converging center of several railroads and has a 
safe and commodious harbor. The manufactures 
include sugar, cured meats, canned fish> machin¬ 
ery, and sailing vessels. It has a large export 
trade in earthenware, iron ore, and fish. The 
imports consist chiefly of fertilizers and coal. 
The city is strongly fortified and has been the 
scene of several battles. Population, 1906, 31,- 
404. 

HELSINGFORS (hel-sing-fors'), a city and 
seaport of Russia, capital of Finland, on the 
northern shore of the Gulf of Finland. As a 
naval station it is next in importance to Cron- 
stadt. The prominent buildings include the gov¬ 
ernor’s palace, the parliament house, the Luther¬ 
an Church of Saint Nicholas, the Russian church, 
and the commercial exchange. It is the seat of 
the University of Helsingfors, which has a li¬ 
brary of more than 200,000 volumes. The city 
has many fine parks and charitable institutions. 
It is a flourishing trade and railroad center, has 
an excellent harbor, and engages largely in the 
manufacture of woolen and linen goods, sail 
cloth, machinery, and tobacco. The trade in fish, 
lumber, and corn is important. It was founded 
in the 16th century by Gustavus I. of Sweden. 
Since 1809 it has been a part of Russia. Popu¬ 
lation, 1905, 117,317. 

HELVETII (hel-ve'ti-i), the ancient people 
who inhabited the regions now occupied by 
Switzerland. They were of Gallic or Celtic or¬ 
igin. In 58 b. c. Julius Caesar, then governor of 
Gaul, came in contact with them. At that time 
they attempted to emigrate in large numbers 
from their possessions and occupy southern Gaul, 
but were defeated by Caesar at Bibracte, in Bur¬ 
gundy, and made subject to Roman authority. 
In the “Commentaries” written by Caesar an ac¬ 
count is given of these people. Later they re- 




HEMATITE 


1016 


HEMP 


fused to recognize Roman supremacy, which 
caused Vitellius to send General Caecina to sub¬ 
due them. After that the Helvetii disappear 
from history and their territory was occupied by 
the Alemanni. 

HEMATITE (hem'a-tit), or Specular Iron, 

a common ore of iron, divided on account of the 
color into red and brown hematite. Both kinds 
occur in stratified and igneous rocks. The crys¬ 
tals are in the hexagonal system, and some of 
the varieties have a characteristic metallic lus¬ 
ter. The red hematite is an important mineral, 
containing about seventy per cent, of iron, and is 
widely distributed. The most extensive deposits 
of North America are in the Lake Superior re¬ 
gion, where the ranges of Gogebic, Vermilion, 
Menominee, Mesabi, and Marquette are located. 
Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob, Missouri, are 
the most noted regions producing this mineral 
in the Mississippi valley. 

HEMIPTERA (he-mip'te-ra), the name of 
an order of insects, so called because many of 
the species have wings formed partly of horny 
and partly of membraneous matter. All have 
the mouth formed like a beak or proboscis for 
piercing the plants or animals on which they 
feed. Metamorphosis is incomplete, though the 
young do not have a close resemblance to the 
adults. Some of the species are wingless. 
Among the insects belonging to this order are 
the cicada, louse, bedbug, water scorpion, chinch 
bug, and squash bug. See Insects. 

HEMISPHERE (hem'i-sfer), one of two 
equal parts into which a globe or sphere is di¬ 
vided by a plane passing through its center. 
Geographers use the term in describing the sur¬ 
face of the earth, which they divide into the 
land and the water hemispheres. Another di¬ 
vision is to classify the surface as the Eastern 
Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere, the 
former comprising Africa, Asia, Australia, and 
Europe, and the latter containing North America 
and South America. See Earth. 

HEMLOCK (hem'lok), a genus of poison¬ 
ous plants of the parsley family. They have a 
tall, hollow stem and white flowers in com¬ 
pound umbels surrounded by an involucre of 
three or more leaflets. The best known species 
is the poisonous hemlock, or spotted hemlock, 
found extensively in waste places in Europe, 
but it is now naturalized in America. This plant 
grows from two to six feet tall, has a spotted 
stem, and closely resembles parsnip in its root 
growth. The poison contained in the different 
species is an alkali, which causes weakness and 
later death by paralysis. Extracts of the leaves 
and fruit have valuable medicinal properties and 
are used as powerful sedatives. The Grecians 


administered capital punishment by giving a de¬ 
coction of hemlock to criminals, and this is the 
form of death which Socrates died. In medi¬ 
cal practice it is now used as a substitute for 
opium. It is valuable in treating chronic rheu¬ 
matism, whooping cough, and cancerous and 
other sores. The hemlock spruce^ a species of 
spruce, is a widely distributed and valuable ever¬ 
green tree of North America. It yields large 
quantities of lumber. See illustration below. 

HEMLOCK SPRUCE. See Spruce. 

HEMP, a class of plants with unisexual flow¬ 
ers, native to Asia, but now naturalized in all 
portions of the world. Hemp is cultivated ex¬ 
tensively in the Philippines, the United States, 
Italy, Russia, 
and many oth- 
e r countries. 

It is an an¬ 
nual plant and 
varies in 
height from 
two to twenty 
feet, accord¬ 
ing to climatic 
conditions. 

The quantity 
of seed sown 
per acre is 
from o n e t o 
two bushels. 

It is drilled in 
rows for the 
reason that 
the male 
• plants mature 
earlier than 
the female, 
the latter 
growing larger and requiring a month longer 
to ripen the seed. A pithy matter fills the stem, 
the latter being constituted of woody fibers 1 
and covered with a fibrous bark. In India it 
is cultivated for the narcotic drug commonly 
called hashish (q. v.) and in other countries 
largely for the fibers, which are useful in the 
manufacture of sail cloth, ropes, cordage, and 
other coarse fabrics. The finer species are 
used extensively in manufacturing shirting, 
sheeting, and other fabrics suitable for wearing 
apparel and household purposes. These products 
are coarser than those made from flax fibers, but' 
they may be bleached with equal success and are 
much more durable. The seeds produced by the 
female plant yield an oil highly valuable for 
mixing paints and varnish, and in' the manufac¬ 
ture of soap and illuminating products. Cage 
birds are fed chiefly with hemp seed. Kentucky 










HENDERSON 


1017 


HERALDRY 


is the principal hemp-producing State. Manila 
and sisal hemp are not classed with the true 
hemps. 

HENDERSON (hen'der-sun), a city in 
Kentucky, county seat of Henderson County, on 
the Ohio River, 148 miles west of Frankfort. 
It is on the Illinois Central, the Louisville and 
| Nashville, and other railroads. The river is 
crossed here by a large bridge. The chief build¬ 
ings include the courthouse, the high school, the 
public sanatorium, and several churches. Atkin¬ 
son Park includes a tract of 100 acres. Electric 
lights and street railways, pavements, and water- 
f works are among the improvements. The chief 
manufactures are cotton and woolen goods, ve¬ 
hicles, ironware, machinery, and spirituous bev- 
• erages. Henderson was one of the first settle¬ 
ments on the Ohio River. It was incorporated 
in 1797. Population, 1900, 10,272; 1910, 11,452. 

HEN HAWK. See Goshawk; Hawk. 

HENLEY REGATTA (re-gat'ta), a fa¬ 
mous rowing contest held annually at Henley- 
on-Thames, England. The regatta was organized 
in 1839, as a result of rowing contests held pre¬ 
viously between the students of Oxford and 
Cambridge. Only two boats at a time are per¬ 
mitted in the races, since the river is narrow at 
this place, and both English and foreign ama- 
- teurs are eligible. The course is about one and a 
third miles in length. The contests are held in 
the month of July and continue for three days. 
They are attended by vast assemblages of peo¬ 
ple from the United Kingdom and foreign coun¬ 
tries. 

HEPATICA (he-pat'i-ka), a plant common 
i to the temperate parts • of Europe and North 
| America, where it blooms in the early part of 
spring. It belongs to the genus Anemone. The 
stalk is hairy, the leaves are three-lobed, and 
the flowers are somewhat similar to the butter¬ 
cup. Owing to the bloom coming early, the he- 
patica is used in the study of nature in ele¬ 
mentary schools. Some of the species are cul¬ 
tivated for their beautiful flowers, which are 
pink, white, or blue. 

HEPTARCHY (hep'tark-y), a frequent ap¬ 
pellation of the seven principal kingdoms estab¬ 
lished in England by the Saxons. These estab¬ 
lished governments did not all exist simultane¬ 
ously, nor were they entirely independent of 
each other. They included Essex, Sussex, Mer¬ 
cia, Wessex, Kent, North Umbria, and East 
Anglia. In 827 they were ( united by King Eg¬ 
bert of Wessex, who assumed the title of King 
of England. 

HERALD (her'ald), an,officer employed in 
ancient and mediaeval times to carry messages 
of courtesy or defiance between sovereigns or 


persons of knightly rank, to challenge to battle, 
and to proclaim war or peace. In more recent 
times the official duties of a herald included 
the granting of arms, marshaling processions 
and public ceremonies, treating and drawing up 
genealogies, recording the creation and succes¬ 
sion of peers and others, and to determine and 
regulate all matters in connection with the use 
of armorial bearings. It is probable that the 
office originated as early as the origin of coats 
of arms. In England heralds are appointed by 
the earl marshal. Most European countries still 
continue the office of a herald', but the duties 
are modified from those pursued in former 
times. 


HERALDRY (her'ald-r^), the science that 
treats of blazoning or describing armorial bear- 



HEPATICA. 


ings or coats of arms, and of determining gen¬ 
ealogies, precedent, and other matters in con¬ 
nection with titular rank. Historians trace the 
origin of heraldry to remote antiquity and find 
it practiced by the early Egyptians and the 
twelve tribes of Israel. It is exemplified by the 
Roman eagles. It is probable that signs and 
emblems were first used for clans and families 
to distinguish each other, each bearing different 
coats of arms. During the Crusades it was 
necessary to use heraldric arms extensively for 
the purpose of distinguishing the commanders 
of the different military organizations from each 
other, which led to an extensive adoption of 
heraldric practice in Western Europe. The 
coats of arms borne consisted of an escutcheori 
or shield, on which were displayed the emblems 
to distinguish the different commanders or 
bands of warriors. Besides indicating the rank 









HERAT 


1018 


HEREFORD 


of the bearer, many designated the name and 
residence, and others the country or province in 
which the ruler held sway. The Herald’s Col¬ 
lege was incorporated in England in 1484, and 
in it was vested the power to inquire concern¬ 
ing rights and titles in heraldry, to regulate the 
use of heraldric devices, and to inquire into 
claims and violations growing out of the sys¬ 
tem. The rules now recognized by the college 
are modified largely from those first enforced, 
but in many respects they are similar to those 
of other European courts. 

HERAT (her-at'), a city of the northwestern 
part of Afghanistan, on the Hari-Rud River, 
about 370 miles west of Cabul. It is surrounded 
by a rich agricultural and fruit-growing coun¬ 
try, has an important market, and is famous as 
a strategic military and political stronghold. 
Its trade is controlled chiefly by the Hindus and 
consists largely of rice, wool, dyes, indigo, asa- 
fetida, and leather. The imports from Europe 
include principally ironware, machinery, textile 
fabrics, and sugar. Though not extensive, the 
local manufactories are noted for their produc¬ 
tion of cloaks, harness, carpets, shoes, sword 
blades, and sheepskin caps. It was the capital 
of Afghanistan for many years, but at pres¬ 
ent is the capital of the western division. Ti- 
mour captured the city in 1381. It passed into 
the hands of the Persians in 1510, but has been 
a part of Afghanistan since 1863. Population, 
45,500. 

HERB, any plant whose stem does not be¬ 
come woody, but dies down to the ground after 
the growing season. Many herbaceous plants, 
such as annuals, die entirely and are propagated 
from the seed, while others die only to the 
ground and may be grown either from the seed 
or the root. To the former belong the pea, 
bean, tomato, melon, and sunflower, while the 
latter include the caraway, parsley, sage, and 
horseradish. Herbs are useful in medicines and 
for food. Many species of aromatic plants are 
employed in the preparation of viands, such as 
dill with cucumber pickles and sage in dress¬ 
ings with delicate meats. 

HERCULANEUM (her'cfi-la'nS-um), an 
ancient city of Italy, situated about five miles 
southeast of Naples, near Mount Vesuvius. A 
vast eruption greatly damaged it in 63 a. d., 
and in the reign of Titus, in the year 79, it 
was totally buried by the lava flowing from 
the volcano. It was entirely forgotten until 
1709, when its site was discovered by a well 
being dug at Pesina. The city lies under from 
35 to 100 feet of ashes, but in 1713 some relics 
were found. In 1738 the first extensive excava¬ 
tions were commenced. Since then much work 


has been done and many works of ancient art 
have been secured from the entombed city. 
Many of the remains, including numerous writ¬ 
ings on papyrus, may be seen at Naples. 

HERCULES, Pillars of. See Gibraltar. 
HERCULES BEETLE, a giant beetle of 
Brazil, remarkable both for its great size and 
the peculiar head of the male. It is about six 
inches long. The male has two large horns, 
the larger of which is upon the head and the 
smaller upon the thorax. These projections 
have the appearance of a pair of pincers and 
are powerful weapons for offensive and de¬ 
fensive warfare. 

HEREDITY (he-red'i-ty), the tendency pos¬ 
sessed by animals and plants to resemble the 
ancestral stock in many essential characteris¬ 
tics. There is in each animal or plant a tend¬ 
ency or peculiarity which causes it to resemble 
in certain respects the individuals from which 
it sprang. In animals the resemblance may be 
either in mental or physical characteristics, or 
in both, and the similarity may be noticeable 
in early infancy or may appear as the individual 
develops by growth and age. Among the more 
noticeable points of similarity may be men¬ 
tioned the form and size of the body, the de¬ 
gree of intelligence, the color of the eyes and 
hair, and the tendency toward industry and 
activity. In some instances the marked heredi¬ 
tary tendencies may be traced to only one and 
in others to both parents, or they may origi¬ 
nate from one or more generations which pre¬ 
cede the immediate parent. Sometimes the 
hereditary tendencies alternate in the children. 
However, in all instances some minute differ¬ 
ences are certain to arise. These dissimilarities 
in some cases tend to be reproduced in succes¬ 
sive generations, but generally the movement is 
in a contrary direction, reproducing a reversion 
to ancestral types. Darwin, Herbert Spencer, 
Haeckel, and Wallace have written extensively 
on this subject and have introduced heredity as 
a doctrine into zoological study. See Embry¬ 
ology, Evolution. 

HEREFORD (her'e-ford), a town of Eng¬ 
land, in a county of the same name, 51 miles 
south of Shrewsbury. It is on the Wye River 
and is surrounded by a productive farming and 
stock country. The chief building is a fine 
cathedral dating from 1079, having a frontage 
of 325 feet. It has manufactures of leather, 
gloves, and hardware. The celebrated Here¬ 
ford cattle, noted for their meat and production 
of milk, are native to the vicinity of Hereford. 
The city has pavements, several fine schools, 
and railway connections. It was first chartered 
as a city by King John. Population, 1907,22,070. 


HERESY 


1019 


HERON. 


HERESY (her'e-sy), a word employed in 
the New Testament to denote a sect or a school 
of opinion among the Jews. Mention is made 
of the heresy of the Sadducees and the Phari¬ 
sees. Saint Paul, when speaking to Agrippa, 
said: “After the strictest heresy of our reli¬ 
gion 1 lived a Pharisee.” Christianity was spok¬ 
en of by certain Jews in the beginning of its 
history as the heresy of Nazarene. Later the 
term came to be applied to the belief of any 
person who differed from the standards of the 
church, though he professed Christianity. The 
Gnostics were among the first to be called here¬ 
tics among the early Christians, and Gnosticism 
(q. v.) continued as a potent influence up to the 
6th century. The church maintained a syste¬ 
matic policy of repressing heresy, as the be¬ 
liefs differing from the dominant church came 
to be called, up to the time of the Protestant 
reformation, when the era of religious liberty 
had its beginning. 

E lt was a common practice for the Roman 
Catholics to be enjoined in communicating in 
sacred matters with heretics, and many papal 
bulls were publicly read in Rome as a warning 
to the faithful against prevalent error. Pius • 
IX., as late as 1864, issued his celebrated “Syl¬ 
labus of Errors,” in which he condemned as 
erroneous eighty current opinions. Huss, Wy- 
cliffe, and Luther are among the many reform¬ 
ers who were designated as heretics and their 
teachings in the main were stigmatized as here¬ 
sies. A long line of persecution was practiced 
in France, Italy, and Spain from the latter 
part of the 12th to the 16th century, but greater 
moderation was shown to those who differed 
from the dominant church in the states of Ger¬ 
many. Many people were burned or tortured 
in England on the charge that they were here¬ 
tics. At present the ecclesiastical authorities 
may pass upon points of doctrine and declare 
certain beliefs to be heresy, but no punishment 
aside from excommunication can be inflicted. 

HERKIMER (her'ki-mer), a village of New 
York, county seat of Herkimer County, eighty 
miles northwest of Albany. It is located on 
the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal and has 
transportation facilities by the New York Cen¬ 
tral Railway. The public library contains about 
10,000 volumes. It is the seat of the Folts 
Mission Institute, has a free public library, 
and maintains a municipal system of water¬ 
works. The manufactures include mattresses, 
clothing, and machinery. It is surrounded by 
a fertile farming and dairying region and has 
considerable trade in merchandise and farm 
produce. Population, 1910, 7,520. 

HERMIT (her'mit), a person who retires 


from society to live in solitary contemplation 
and devotion. The word was probably derived 
from Paul the Thebaid, who lived for many 
years as a recluse in the deserts of Egypt, dying 
there at the age of 113 years. Saint Anthony 
and other historic characters were imitators of 
the first hermit and from them the name has 
gone into general use. The term gave rise to 
the word hermitage, which is generally applied 
to the home of some prominent person who 
lives in retirement and to many places of re¬ 
treat, as the home of Andrew Jackson near 
Nashville, Tenn., and Rousseau’s retreat in the 
valley of Montmorency, France. 

HERMIT CRAB, the name applied to sev¬ 
eral species of crustaceans, found most com¬ 
monly in the tropical seas. Each individual 
of the family consists of a fleshy mass, and 
for protection occupies the cast-off univalve 
shell of suitable size, which it carries until its 
size is too large, when it takes up its abode in 
one larger. See Crab. 

HERMON (her'mun), Mount, the most ele¬ 
vated mountain of Syria, rising 9,150 feet above 
the Mediterranean. It belongs to the Anti- 
Lebanon group. The modern name is Jebelesh- 
Sheikh. It is mentioned in the writings of 
Moses by the names Sion and Hermon. 

HERMOSILLO (har-mo-sel'yo), a city of 
Mexico, capital of the state of Sonora, about 
ninety miles north of Guaymas. It is located 
in a fertile valley which produces large quan¬ 
tities of cereals and vegetables. The buildings 
are chiefly of stone and adobe. Among the im¬ 
provements are a public library, a government 
mint, and several schools and churches. It is 
connected with Guaymas, its port on the Gulf 
of California, with a railway. Population, 1908, 
18,250. 

HERNIA (her'm-a), the protrusion of some 
vital part from the cavity in which it normally 
belongs. It is due to an unnatural or acci¬ 
dental opening of the walls of the cavity that 
contains the organ affected. Rupture is the 
common term applied to abdominal hernia, in 
which the abdominal viscera may become par¬ 
tially or totally displaced. Other organs af¬ 
fected include the heart, the brain, and the 
lungs, and the protrusions give rise to hernial 
tumors. Formerly abdominal hernia was en¬ 
tirely neglected by the medical profession, but 
it is now the subject of careful attention of 
the most eminent physicians in all countries. 
The less severe cases can be cured by careful 
treatment, and temporary or permanent relief 
may be obtained by wearing a truss or sup¬ 
port to retain the organ in its natural position. 

HERON (her'un), a wading bird allied to 





HERRING 


1020 


HESSE 


the flamingoes, storks, and spoonbills, belong¬ 
ing to the family Ardeidae and the genus Ardea. 
The species are numerous and widely distrib¬ 
uted. The green heron and the great heron, 
sometimes called th t great blue heron, are na¬ 
tive to North America, In all species the bill 
is sharp, straight, and longer than the head. 
The common heron has a grayish color, black 
quill feathers, and a glossy plume, and meas¬ 
ures about three feet from the bill to the end 
of the tail. It builds its nests in trees, but 
some nest on low bushes, laying three to four 
eggs. The different species inhabit the vicinity 
of ponds, marshes, fresh-water streams, and 
lakes, and aboffnd on the seashore. They feed 
on insects, frogs, fish, rats, mice, the young of 
other birds and mollusks. Some species are 



COMMON GRAY HERON. 


esteemed for table use, but they are not gen¬ 
erally eaten, except by natives. 

HERRING (her'ring), the name of a large 
family of soft-rayed fishes, of which the com¬ 
mon herring of the North Atlantic is the most 
valuable. The head is one-fifth its total length. 
It has small teeth in both jaws. The upper 
side is blue-green in color and the length is 
from eight to twelve inches. The herrings are 
remarkable for rapid propagation. As many as 
70,000 eggs have been found in a single female. 
The travel in schools, live on the small ani¬ 
mals of the sea, and are widely distributed. 


The herring fisheries of the North Sea and the 
North Atlantic are the most important. There 



they accumulate in large groups to spawn in 
the summer months, when they are caught in 
countless numbers by fishers, and are preyed 
upon by sharks, seals, whales, and predatory 
birds. The small eggs are heavy, cling to¬ 
gether, and settle on rocks, shells, and other 
solid surfaces at the bottom of the water. It 
is thought that the herring used for food sub¬ 
sist mainly on minute Crustacea and small fishes. 

• The artificial propagation of herring has at¬ 
tained to much success and is pursued exten¬ 
sively. As a food fish the herring is of much 
value and is utilized largely for curing as well 
as for fresh consumption. In Norway the an¬ 
nual catch aggregates 1,000,000 barrels. Other 
extensive herring fisheries are found off Nova 
Scotia, Holland, France, New England, and in 
the North Sea. 

HERZEGOVINA (her-tsa-go-ve'na), a 
province of Austria-Hungary. It is bounded on 
the north by Bosnia, east by Montenegro, and 
southwest by Dalmatia. The area is 3,530 square 
miles. It is mountainous, the highest peak 
ranging about 7,850 feet above the sea, and 
much of the surface is barren and rocky. The 
valley of the Narenta River, the largest stream, 
is fertile. Other tracts are fruitful, but the 
fertile lands are confined chiefly to the valleys. 
Fruits, grains, tobacco, and live stock are the 
principal products. 

Herzegovina was formerly a part of Dalma¬ 
tia, but became a dukedom in 1440. The Turks 

• made it tributary in 1463, after which it was a 
battlefield for many years between the Chris¬ 
tians and Mohammedans. It was transferred 
to Austria-Hungary by the Treaty of Berlin in 
1878, in which condition it remained until 1908, 
when it was annexed as a crown land to the 
dual empire. Mostar is the capital and chief 
city. The inhabitants consist mostly of Slavs 
and Germans. Population, 1908, 203,080. 

HESSE (hes), or Hesse-Darmstadt, a 


















HESSE-CASSEL 


1021 


HIBISCUS 


grand duchy of Germany. It is eighth in size 
among the German states. The area is 2,965 
square miles. Hesse-Nassau divides it into two 
separate portions, the most northern of which is 
entirely inclosed by that state. The Rhine, 
Main, and Neckar are the chief rivers. The 
soil is productive and yields large quantities of 
cereals, grasses, and fruits, particularly of the 
vine. Among the minerals are manganese, iron, 
and peat. The manufacturing industries pro¬ 
duce furniture, shoes, chemicals, cotton and 
woolen goods, machinery, cigars, and leather. 
Hesse is a hereditary constitutional monarchy 
and the chief executive authority is vested in 
the grand duke, who is assisted by three min¬ 
isters. About 850 miles of railways are in op¬ 
eration, most of which are owned and operated 
by the government. Darmstadt is the seat of 
government and Mentz is the largest city. Oth¬ 
er cities include Bingen, Worms, and Giessen. 
In 1567 the landgraviate of Hesse was divided, 
from which the grand duchy of HesSe origi¬ 
nated. It was formed into Hesse-Cassel and 
Hesse-Darmstadt in 1604. Napoleon enlarged 
the latter in 1806. In 1866 it was ceded to Prus¬ 
sia as one of the results of the Austro-Prussian 
War. About two-thirds of the inhabitants are 
Protestants. Population, 1905, 1,209,175. 

HESSE-CASSEL (hes'-kas'sel), a district 
of Cassel, in the province of Hesse-Nassau, 
now a part of Germany. The history begins 
with 1567, when it was organized as a land¬ 
graviate by William IV. Napoleon made it a 
part of the kingdom of Westphalia in 1806, but 
it was restored to an electorate in 1813. In 
the Seven Weeks’ War it sided with Austria, 
which caused it to be occupied by a Prussian 
army, and in 1866 it was incorporated with 
Prussia. 

HESSE-NASSAU (hes-nas'sa), a part of 
the German Empire, being a province of Prus¬ 
sia, situated between the Rhine and the Weser. 
It is composed of portions of Hesse-Cassel, 
Nassau, and Hesse-Homburg. The area is 
6,055 square miles. It is generally elevated, but 
has rich soil and is well fitted for agriculture 
and forestry. Iron, coal, zinc, lead, and copper 
are mined extensively. Cassel is the capital. 
Fulda, Frankfort, and Wiesbaden are flourish¬ 
ing cities and manufacturing centers. Popula¬ 
tion, 1905, 2,070,052. 

HESSIAN FLY (hesh'an), a small dipter¬ 
ous insect, the larvae of which are exceedingly 
destructive to rye, barley and wheat. It is about 
an eighth of an inch in length, the color is 
brown, the wings are dusky-gray and fringed 
at the outer sides, and the males are somewhat 
smaller than the females. The eggs are laid in 


May and September on young plants, where 
they hatch after from ten to fourteen days, and 
the larvae develop into flies in about ten days. 
The damage to growing crops occurs during the 
larval state, when the young suck the juices of 
the joints and roots. In many sections of the 
country the erroneous view is held that the Hes¬ 
sian fly was brought to America by the Hes¬ 
sians employed by the British in the Revolution, 
hence the name., Tlie first extensive ravages in 
America occurred in 1786 and 1789, but since 
then they have been quite destructive to small 
grain, except oats, at various times both in 
America and Europe. 

HIBBING (hib'bing), a town of Minnesota, 
in Saint Louis County, eighty miles northwest 
of Duluth. It is on the Great Northern and 
the Duluth, Missabe and Northern railways. 
The surrounding country is rich in timber and 
deposits of iron ore. It has electric lights, a 
fine high school, and a number of well-built 
churches. Recently it has grown rapidly and it 
has a large trade in merchandise and manufac¬ 
tures. Population, 1905, 6,566; in 1910, 8,832. 

HIBERNATION (hl-ber-na'shun), the state 
of torpor in which many animals that inhabit 
cold or temperate climates pass the winter. On 
the other hand, in dry and hot countries various 
animals pass into a similar condition in the hot¬ 
test season of the year, this state being known 
as aestivation. Many species of insects hiber¬ 
nate, some in the egg, others in the caterpillar, 
and still others in the chrysalis state. Hiberna¬ 
tion is a physiological condition which is fa¬ 
vored, but not produced, by cold. In severe 
winters many hibernating animals perish, since 
the temperature of their bodies is reduced to 
nearly the same degree as that of the surround¬ 
ing atmosphere. Among the hibernating mam¬ 
mals are the porcupine, hedgehog, dormouse, 
badger, bear, and squirrel. Bats pass almost 
the entire winter in a state of sleep. Reptiles 
hibernate in«both cold and temperate climates, 
which is likewise true of many amphibious ani¬ 
mals. Among the hibernating reptiles are the 
tortoises, lizards, crocodiles, and serpents. Dur¬ 
ing hibernation the digestion and respiration are 
either almost or entirely suspended. 

HIBERNIA (hi-ber'm-a), or I v e r n a, the 
name given to Ireland by Julius Caesar and the 
classical writers. Though the island was never 
conquered by the Rjomans, it was well .known 
to jthem. It is mentioned by Aristotle as one 
of the two islands situated in the ocean beyond 
the Pillars of Hercules. ’ Ptolemy described a 
number of the rivers and harbors and speaks of 
the island as Juverna or Iverna. 

HIBISCUS (hi-bis'kus), the name of a large 


HICCOUGH 


1022 


HIEROGLYPHICS 


genus of plants, including herbs, shrubs, and 
trees. They belong to the mallow family and 
are widely distributed in both hemispheres. 
Many of the species have very beautiful flow¬ 
ers, including several obtained from Syria, 
which are cultivated extensively as ornamental 
shrubs in Great Britain and the United States. 
Another species is a tree native to Florida and 
the West Indies. It yields material for matting 
and cordage and the wood is light and useful in 
manufacturing. The Deccan hemp of India be¬ 
longs to this class of plants and is useful for 
its valuable fiber. Other species, mostly trop¬ 
ical, are cultivated for their fruit or seed, or 
are favorite garden plants because of the beau¬ 
ty of their flowers. 

HICCOUGH (hik'kup), a spasm of the dia¬ 
phragm and the glottis. The sharp sound which 
accompanies a hiccough is caused by the rush 
of air into the larynx. It is usually due to an 
unusual distension of the stomach, caused by 
eating rapidly or eating and drinking excessive¬ 
ly. Hiccough is a symptom of some diseases, 
such as gangrene and peritonitis. A mild at¬ 
tack may be overcome by taking long inspira¬ 
tions of air or by drinking water. 

HICKORY (hik'6-ry), the name of several 
species of forest trees, formerly classed with 
the natural order Walnut. They grow to a 
great height, frequently 95 feet, and are stately 
and beautiful. Unless barked, the wood is rap¬ 
idly damaged by worms, but when cared for is 
of much value in the manufacture of whip han¬ 
dles, axles, shafts, cogged wheels, and other pur¬ 
poses where a strong and durable wood is ser¬ 
viceable. Among the valuable hickory nuts are 
those borne by the shagbark, or shellbark, and 
the pecan, but the wood product of these species 
is also very valuable. They thrive in many 
parts of the Mississippi valley and regions far¬ 
ther east. The nutmeg hickory is a species 
common to South Carolina and elsewhere, but 
its fruit is of little value. Though, an American 
tree, the hickory has been naturalized and is cul¬ 
tivated in Europe. 

HIDES, the skins of animals, especially when 
considered material for leather or when made 
into leather. The trade in hides of cattle, 
horses, and other domestic animals has long 
been an important industry. At slaughter¬ 
houses the hides are removed from cattle, pro¬ 
tected,by a layer of salt, and transported to the 
tannery, where they are prepared for manufac¬ 
ture into boots, shoes, harness, belts, and many 
other articles for which leather is utilized. For¬ 
merly the chase supplied large quantities of 
hides, especially those taken from the buffaloes 
of North America and the wild horses of South 


America, but at present the leather used in man¬ 
ufactures is derived almost exclusively from do¬ 
mestic animals. 

HIERARCHY (hi'er-ark-y), a form of gov¬ 
ernment administered in the church by bishops, 
archbishops, and patriarchs, and in a lesser de¬ 
gree by priests. Theological writers apply the 
name to the whole government and ministry 
body of the church, btit in this sense it can be 
applied only to the Christian denominations 
that are ruled by bishops, such as the Anglican 
church and the Roman Catholic church. The 
term was applied especially to the papal hier¬ 
archy in the Middle Ages, when the Pope exer¬ 
cised both spiritual and civil authority, although 
he was limited more or less in the latter by 
councils and princes. In the latter part of the 
14th century a powerful movement began 
against the exercise of hierarchical powers, and 
the Protestant revolution made possible the 
separation of the government of the state and 
the church. 

HIEROGLYPHICS (hl'er-6-glTf'iks), a 
term originated by Greek and Latin scholars 
to describe the writings sculptured on build¬ 
ings and monuments in Egypt and Babylonia. 
Subsequently it came to be applied to the writ¬ 
ings of other peoples, including the picture 
writings of the ■ Mexicans, Peruvians, and 
North American Indians. The name originated 
because it was thought the Egyptian writings 
related exclusively to sacred subjects and that 
they were legible only to priests. All attempts 
made by Western peoples to read the Egyptian 
hieroglyphics were abandoned in the 17th cen¬ 
tury and these writings were wholly unknown 
until 1777, when the French discovered a stone 
among the ruins of Fort Saint Julien, near the 
Rosetta branch of the Nile, which has since 
been called the Rosetta Stone, and is now in 
the British Museum. This stone contains an 
inscription of the coronation of Ptolemy V. 
and was probably sculptured in 95 b. c. It af¬ 
forded a key by which the language and writ¬ 
ings of the Egyptians became known to Euro¬ 
pean scholars. 

Four modes of more or less closely asso¬ 
ciated ancient writings of the Egyptians are 
generally recognized. They are known as the 
hieroglyphic, the hieratic, the demotic, and the 
Coptic. The hieroglyphic is the earliest and is 
formed by figures of objects with various sym¬ 
bols, most of which are arbitrary or mathe¬ 
matical. Later it assumed the form of a lapi¬ 
dary script and was traced in ink or painted 
on public monuments. Hieratic writing is 
known as the priestly and contains two sym¬ 
bols. The demotic form came into use in the 


HIGH PRIEST 


1023 


HIMALAYA 


9th century b. c., and was used in commercial 
and social relations. Coptic writing is a form 
employed in the more recent period of ancient 
Egypt. On the Rosetta Stone the inscription 
is written in both the hieroglyphic and hieratic 
characters, hence it furnished a key to hiero¬ 
glyphic writing which enabled scholars to trans¬ 
late extensively from Egyptian monuments. 

The hieroglyphics found in Mexico and Peru 
are thought to have originated from the Aztec 
kings. Their earlier forms consisted of picture 
designs, but later they became modified into 
alphabetical characters. It was thought by 
Baron Houghton (1809-1885) and Stephan Lad- 
islaus Endlicher (1804-1849) that the Assyrian 
and Chinese writings rose from the earlier 
hieroglyphics, and that the cursive forms which 
now constitute their alphabet were derived 
from the sculptured forms of objects formerly 
; employed on monuments and in temples. See 
Egypt. 

HIGH PRIEST, the principal religious dig¬ 
nitary in the hierarchy of the Jews. Aaron was 
the first high priest and from him the office suc¬ 
ceeded to Eleazer, his eldest son, and thence to 
his successor. The Mosaic law provided that 
the office be held for life. It vested in the high 
priest the duties of overseeing the sanctuary. 
The high priest had charge of the service and 
the treasure and entered the Holy of Holies on 
the Day of Atonement. About the beginning of 
the Christian erk conflicts began to arise between 
the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, hence the 
: office ceased to be hereditary and the high priests 
I were appointed or removed by the civil rulers. 

! The pontificate in the time of the Maccabean 
princess reached its highest brilliancy, since they 
joined regal to priestly authority in the exercise 
of the office. 

HIGH SCHOOL. See Education. 

HIGHWAY, the road or way over which the 
public generally has a right to pass. In popular 
usage the term is restricted to ways or roads 
upon land, such as are used by pedestrians and 
vehicles, but in law it is applied to all ways 
that are open to public convenience, including 
paths, roads, streets, bridges, canals, ferries, 
public squares, and navigable streams. In Eng¬ 
lish law it is usually called the king’s highway, 
since by the theory of that law it was considered 
i as having been originally given by him. Vehi¬ 
cles meeting in a highway in England are sup- 
( posed to turn to the left, while in the United 
States the teams are expected to turn to the 
right. The law has recognized this rule to a 
! certain extent, and proof of a violation in case 
of accident is quite essential where action is 
brought for damages. 


A highway may be created by an act of gov¬ 
ernment, as in the case where a new country 
is laid out for settlement, when the highway is 
located on the section line and is usually 66 feet 
wide. New highways may be established in a 
section of country already settled either by con¬ 
demnation or by dedication. In the former case 
it is located by the civil authorities and the own¬ 
er of the land is compensated according to its 
value, and in the latter instance the land is 
given free by the owner of the property, though 
it does not became a public highway until it is 
legally accepted by the proper officers. In case 
property is used as a highway for a considerable 
length of time to the knowledge of the owner, it 
becomes a highway through such use and cannot 
afterward be closed. Formerly extensive inter¬ 
state or national roads were maintained, but the 
practice has been abolished very largely since 
the building of railways, and the authority over 
highways at present is vested in the smaller 
political divisions, such as the parish, town, or 
county. Though the public is permitted to use 
the whole or any part of a highway, the property 
right is usually vested in the owner of the abut¬ 
ting land and in case the highway is vacated it 
reverts to him. Those obstructing a highway are 
liable to a fine and imprisonment, or both, and in 
most instances legal restrictions limit the use to 
some extent, such as prohibiting stock to remain 
on the same without an attendant. It is unlaw¬ 
ful to drive faster than a walk, or more than a 
certain number of head of stock at one time 
across the larger bridges. 

HILLSBORO (hilz'bur-o), a city in Texas, 
county seat of Hill County, in the central part 
of the State. It is on the Saint Louis South¬ 
western and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas 
railroads. The chief buildings include the 
county courthouse, the high school, and an 
academy. Among the manufactures are flour, 
hosiery, candy, clothing, machinery, and cotton¬ 
seed oil. It has electric lights, waterworks, and 
a considerable trade in live stock, cereals, and 
merchandise. Population, 1900, 5,346; 1910,6,115. 

HILO (he'lo), a seaport and the largest city 
of the island of Hawaii, situated on Hilo Bay. 
It is the second city of the Hawaiian Islands, 
being exceeded in size only by Honolulu. The 
noteworthy buildings include the customhouse, 
the public library, the courthouse, and several 
fine schools. It has delightful drives and is 
ornamented by tropical plants and parkings. 
The city has a large trade in fruit, rice, fish, 
sugar, and coffee. Many of the inhabitants are 
Americans, but the natives and Chinese pre¬ 
dominate. Population* 1910, 6,745. 

HIMALAYA (hi-mii'la-ya), meaning snow 







HINDU-KUSH 


1024 


HIPPOPOTAMUS 


abode, the most elevated mountain system in the 
world, situated in the southern part of Asia. As 
a whole the system contains several parallel 
ranges, which have a length of about 1,500 
miles and an average width of 180 miles. The 
Himalayas form a natural boundary between 
Tibet and India, contain numerous fertile val¬ 
leys, and are the source of many important 
rivers, among them the Brahmaputra, Ganges, 
Indus, and Ghara, which belong 1 6 the water¬ 
sheds tributary to the Bay of Bengal and the 
Arabian Sea. The general height of the Hima¬ 
layas is approached only by the Andean system 
of South America. They contain the most mag¬ 
nificent snow-capped peaks in the world. The 
highest elevations are Mount Everest, 29,002 
feet, the highest mountain in the world; Mount 
Godwin-Austen, 28,250 feet; Kunchinginga, 
28,160 feet; Dhwalagiri, 26,825 feet; and Nanda- 
Devi, 25,675 feet. Other peaks are thought to 
be as high or even higher than Mount Everest, 
but their exact altitude has not been ascertained. 
The geological structure consists largely of 
granite, with important deposits of mica slates 
and gneiss. Metamort)hic rocks and more re¬ 
cent alluvial deposits occur at the lower slopes, 
while the entire region is rich in zinc, coal, cop¬ 
per, iron, petroleum, gold, silver, and other min¬ 
eral deposits. Vast forests of spruce, pine, deo¬ 
dar cedar, silver fir, and deciduous trees abound 
in the regions which have altitudes suitable to 
their growth. The Hindus regard the mountains 
sacred. Many pilgrims visit annually the sources 
of the Ganges and other localities especially in¬ 
teresting to them in religious rites and legends. 

HINDU-KUSH (hin'doo-koosh), a system 
of mountains in Central Asia, lying west of the 
Himalayas, of which the Hindu-Kush form a 
continuation. The Indus River passes between 
them, and the Himalayas. Their breadth is 
about 200 miles and the length is 370 miles, 

, separating Afghanistan from British India. Hin- 
dukoh, north of Cabul, is covered perpetually 
with snow and is regarded the culminating peak. 
Its height is 20,225 feet. Several tributaries of 
the Oxus River rise in the northern slopes of 
the Hindu-Kush, and from the southern slope 
flow the Helmond and the Cabul. 

HINDUSTAN (hin-du-stan'), a name ap¬ 
plied to the Punjab and Ganges valley. It is 
frequently, but less correctly, used to describe 
the whole of British India. See India. 

HIPPOCAMPUS (hip-po-kam'pus), or Sea 
Horse, a genus of fish allied to- the pipefishes, 
of the suborder Syngnathi, found in the Med¬ 
iterranean and the Atlantic. The head bears 
a curious resemblance to the head of a horse, 
and, when swimming, is held in a nearly vertical 


position. Several species have been described, 
most of which have a length of from seven to 
twelve inches. The young are hatched and 
reared for a time in a marsupial sack under the 



Hippocampus. Pipefishes. 


tail of the male. Several species are described 
in fables as monsters consisting of half horse 
and half fish. 

HIPPODROME (hip'po-drom), a word ap¬ 
plied by the Greeks to the place where horse 
and chariot races were given for public exhibi¬ 
tion. The hippodrome at Constantinople in the 
Byzantine period was especially noted and cor¬ 
responded generally to the Roman circus. 
Olympia had a hippodrome which was 350 feet 
wide and nearly a mile long. In modern times 
the .name is associated with the circus, but differs 
from it in that the exhibition consists mainly of 
horse and chariot racing and gorgeous displays 
by large vehicles. 

'HIPPOPOTAMUS (hip-po-pot'a-mus), the 
river horse of Africa, a genus of a family of 
ungulates, which contains only two living spe-. 
cies. One of these is large and occurs in the 
swamps, rivers, and lakes of Africa, while the 
smaller species is found principally in the vicin¬ 
ity of Lake Tchad and the rivers flowing into 
the Atlantic Ocean. The larger species' is char- 










































































HIPPOPOTAMUS 


1025 


HISTORY 


acterized by a large head, small eyes and ears, 
a thick skin, few hairs, and a reddish fluid ex¬ 
uding from the skin. It delights to swim and 
dive in the waters of lakes and rivers and feeds 
on the plants growing in or near the water. In 
ancient times it was found in Lower Egypt, but 
its tendency to interfere with tilled fields has 
caused it to be driven from the cultivated por¬ 


tions. The size of the body is large, being next 
to that of the elephant, but its legs are very 
short; hence, it appears much smaller. While 
the length is often seventeen feet, it stands only 
from four to six feet high. The feet are small, 
the hoofs are short, and each foot has four toes. 
The flesh is esteemed as food and is sought by 
the natives, who capture the animal by arrang¬ 
ing pits from which escape is impossible. The 
feet and tongue enter into the manufacture of 
jelly, while the teeth furnish ivory, and the hide 
is serviceable for leather of a heavy kind. 
When not pursued, it is peaceable and apparently 
indifferent, but when attacked it becomes dan¬ 
gerous. Fossils of this animal do not occur in 
America, but there are remains of several ex¬ 
tinct species both in Europe and Asia. Com¬ 
mentators on the Bible regard the behemoth 
65 


mentioned by Job to be the hippopotamus now 
found in Africa. 

HIROSHIMA (he-ro-she'ma), a commercial 
city of Japan, in the province of Aki, at the 
southwestern extremity of the island of Hondo. 
It is about three miles from an inlet of the 
Seto Uchi, has railroad and electric railway fa¬ 
cilities, and is the seat of several fine temples 
and schools. The manufac¬ 
tures include clothing, carpets, 
furniture, metal wares, and lac¬ 
quered products. It has a large 
domestic and foreign trade. 
Population, 1903, 121,196. 

HISTOLOGY (his-tol'o- 
jy), the branch of science 
which classifies and describes 
the microscopical structure of 
living organisms. It is subdi¬ 
vided into vegetable histology, 
which treats of the tissues of 
plants; comparative histology, 
which treats of the tissues of 
fhe lower animals; and human 
histology, which treats of the 
tissues of man. The history 
of this science dates back to 
an early period in the Chris¬ 
tian era, but very little prog¬ 
ress was made until the early 
part of the 19th century, when 
the compound microscope and 
the camera enabled scientists 
to make important investiga¬ 
tions. These instruments were 
the means of discovering the 
nature of cell structure as well 
as that of the tissues, and the 
camera proved especially use¬ 
ful in preserving the result of 
the investigations made by scientists. Since 
most of- the diseases are due to some disorgan¬ 
ization of the cells, it has been possible to de¬ 
termine the effect of many ailments by bring¬ 
ing the tissues and glands under the microscope 
at different stages, then preserving the records 
by means of the camera. 

HISTORY (his'to-ry), a systematic record 
or narration of events and circumstances relat¬ 
ing to man, especially those having reference to 
his social and political conditions. In giving a 
record of the past it treats of facts concerning 
both nations and individuals, tracing to some 
extent the causes of the present condition of 
different peoples. As to accuracy, the facts re¬ 
lated depend remotely upon contemporary wit¬ 
nesses and various circumstantial evidences. 
Although history as now understood is pre- 



HIPPOPOTAMUS. 









HISTORY 


1026 


HISTORY, TEACHING OF 


served in written form and is being added to 
constantly, it need not necessarily be committed 
to writing, as historic facts may be passed from 
generation to generation in the nature of story, 
when it is called tradition. This is substantially 
the form common among barbaric peoples, a 
circumstance due to their primitive mode of life 
and the absence, of both desire and ability to 
preserve a written record of events. However, 
authentic history dates only from the invention 
of writing, whether uncial or cursive. 

The ancients used hieroglyphic characters to 
inscribe important events on monuments, tombs, 
and temples. By them we have come into pos¬ 
session of valuable information touching their 
political and social life. However, ancient his¬ 
tory as known to us is limited to a few nations 
and to a comparatively small area of the sur¬ 
face of the earth. The regions included com¬ 
prise Northern Africa, Southern and Western 
Asia, and Southern Europe; the history con¬ 
nected with the other portions of these grand 
divisions is either mediaeval or modern. There 
are evidences that America and Australia, as 
well as all the continents, were inhabited in the 
remote past, but our knowledge of the peoples 
occupying these regions is limited to the in¬ 
formation obtained from fossil remains and 
ruins of temples and dwellings. This is true 
particularly of portions of America and Europe. 
It is evidenced in many remains met with in 
Peru, Mexico, and the Mississippi valley in 
America, and in various cliffs and lakes of Eu¬ 
rope. Modern history is not only more exten¬ 
sive than that coming to us from the preceding 
periods, but it is vastly more accurate. This is 
due at least partly to the circumstance that early 
peoples studied to make their records artistic 
rather than instructive. 

Writers have divided history into various 
classes, these serving to detail information ac¬ 
cording to style in writing or as related to time. 
Chronological history is a record of successive 
times, narrative history is a story of events or 
a series of events, and philosophical history 
considers the causes of events and traces their 
results. History is sometimes classed as sacred 
and profane, the former being the history re¬ 
corded in the Bible and the latter that of secu¬ 
lar events. As to time, history is either ancient, 
mediaeval, or modern. Ancient history ends 
with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, 
in 476 a. d., including Jewish, Oriental, Greek, 
and Roman history. Mediaeval history closes 
with the revival of learning and the Protestant 
Reformation, in 1517. Modern history includes 
the period from 1517 to the present. Biographi¬ 
cal history treats of the lives of individuals. 


HISTORY, Methods of Teaching, the or¬ 
derly process or procedure by which to give in¬ 
struction in the facts and events of history. 
The purposes are to stimulate patriotism and to 
give information concerning the development 
and the underlying principles upon which na¬ 
tions are established. Other objects are to 
strengthen the character, train the judgment, 
and direct the reading of the students. 

Interest. The first essential step in teaching 
history is to arouse interest. Students are in¬ 
terested in that of which they know something. 
One of the fundamental principles of pedagogy 
is to “proceed from the known to the unknown.” 
It is a mistake to employ an overwhelming list 
of books to begin with. One book at a time and 
that the right one is a wholesome motto. In 
many instances it is well to vary from the 
chronological order, although the general meth¬ 
od is to begin with the ancient history and 
drift down to modern times. While the usual 
plan is to teach modern history by reading 
backward from effect to cause, it may be said 
that to proceed from cause to effect appears 
to be fully as pedagogical. In general, the 
instructor should seize upon that which is al¬ 
ready known as the starting point and thus 
proceed to the unknown, irrespective of whether 
the reasoning is onward from cause to effect, 
or backward from effect to cause. However, 
with children it is more philosophical to begin 
with modern history, especially with that of 
our own country, rather than with that of Eu¬ 
rope, mediaeval or ancient. 

Primary Work. In the primary grades the 
teaching should be oral and the instructor should 
exercise skill and tact in presenting stories from 
history. When the learner enters school at 
about the age of six years, he may receive a 
bias from history which will avail much in his 
future life. He may be taught to tell the teacher 
in what town, in what county, and in what 
country he lives. Later may follow instruction 
as to who the chief executive officers are, where 
the capital is located, and what certain lines 
and illustrations on maps mean. These simple 
points, repeated until they are fixed in the 
memory, may seem of little consequence, but 
they invariably stimulate thought. They sug¬ 
gest local, state or provincial, and national gov¬ 
ernment. Later may be added pleasing anec¬ 
dotes from the lives of distinguished men, such 
as the exploits of Captain John Smith, the voy¬ 
ages of Columbus, and the adventures of La 
Salle and Daniel Boone. In this connection it 
is more essential to dwell upon the explorations, 
developments, and inventions than upon the 
achievements and contentions of war. Action 


HISTORY, TEACHING OF 


1027 


HISTORY, TEACHING OF 


is the keynote of history and implies actors who 
do things. Brief sketches from the lives of 
Washington, Lincoln, and other distinguished 
Americans lend interest in studying the events 
which have an 'important influence in training 
for citizenship. 

The work in the primary grades should lead 
up to the grammar school course. This implies 
that a line of supplementary reading may be 
placed in the hands of the students, making it 
possible to articulate the instruction in the lower 
grades. Suitable books for this purpose include 
Johonnot’s. “Stories of Our Country,” Mow- 
ry’s “American Inventions” and “American Pio¬ 
neers,” Coffin’s “Boys of 76” and “Boys of ’61,” 
and Hale's “The Man Without a Country.” 
Regular text books well suited for this work 
should be afterward introduced, including Mow- 
ry’s “First Steps in the History of Our Coun¬ 
try,” Eggleston’s “A First Book of American 
History,” or Channing’s “First Lessons in Unit¬ 
ed States History.” 

Grammar Grades. The larger part of teach¬ 
ing history is done in the higher grades of the 
grammar school. Very properly, it consists 
almost everywhere in the study of the history 
of our own country. This requires both a good 
text book and a skillful teacher. In order to 
arouse real enthusiasm, it is well to have a half 
dozen or more different books, besides the use 
of supplementary work drawn from the refer¬ 
ence department of the school library. . Happily, 
the recent texts abridge the stories of wars and 
devote a larger amount of space to the triumphs 
of peace. However, care should be taken to 
discriminate between important paragraphs and 
those of less value. Facts are to be learned in 
their relations and care is to be taken that the. 
words of the text are not memorized. Regular 
sequence of facts in chronological order is not 
enough. Relations of one fact to others and 
a strong grasping of cause and effect should be 
clearly pointed out. Maps and pictures are of 
much importance, especially as they fix localities 
and the early customs in the mind, but the in¬ 
telligent use of reference books is relatively es¬ 
sential. As a whole the work in the grammar 
schools should lay a broad and liberal founda¬ 
tion for general work in history in the higher 
institutions of learning. 

Academic and Higher Work. A general 
outline of ancient and mediaeval history should 
be pursued in the high schools and academies, 
especially in connection with the study of the 
ancient languages. While the higher institutions 
have agreed upon the general plan of studying 
history, many colleges and universities, as well 
as many individual professors, have specialized 


methods for particular branches or divisions of 
the course. The purpose is not merely to be¬ 
come acquainted with the achievements of men 
in past times, or to study cause and effect, al¬ 
though these are important matters, but in addi¬ 
tion to observe the various degrees of civiliza¬ 
tion and enlightenment through which the hu¬ 
man race has passed in reaching the present 
stage. Here the study of the uplift of human¬ 
ity becomes, of vital importance. Indeed, what¬ 
ever in history shows the progress of mankind, 
the steady advancement of the human race, is 
worth studying, and ordinarily only that. 

Dates and Outlines. The important dates 
should be memorized by the student, but too 
large a number sometimes confuses the learner. 
Such important dates as the discovery of Amer¬ 
ica by Columbus, the English settlement at 
Jamestown, the landing of the Mayflower at 
Plymouth Rock, the expedition of Braddock, the 
eapture of Quebec by the English, and the sur¬ 
render of Burgoyne at Saratoga are among 
those that can profitably be memorized. In 
order to teach both dates and the general facts 
of history, the instructor should place outlines 
of the subjects upon the blackboard as the study 
proceeds from day to day. These outlines are 
to be constructed so as to embrace the important 
facts of the lesson in chronological order, giv¬ 
ing the important names, dates, causes, effects, 
etc. Each lesson should include a brief review 
of one or more previous lesson’s and suggest 
facts for study in the lesson to be assigned 
for the succeeding day. 

Migrations. In the study of general history 
it is well to emphasize the fact that migrations 
promote civilization. The four distinct move¬ 
ments in very ancient times of large bodies of 
people toward the west, from the banks of the 
Indus, in Asia, to Europe are notable examples. 
From these sprang the Celtic, Teutonic, Pe- 
lasgic, and Slavic peoples who produced the 
civilization of modern Europe. Then we may 
notice the great migration of from two to three 
centuries ago from Europe to North America, 
especially to the French and English colonies, 
which later gave rise to the United States and 
to the Dominion of Canada. Although the im¬ 
migrants came from different countries and 
spoke a number of languages, they were brought 
together and eventually formed two of the lar¬ 
gest and most enlightened countries in the 
world. At first these migrations peopled the 
Atlantic slope and the valley of the Saint Law¬ 
rence, but they moved westward across the 
plains and over the Rocky Mountains to the 
Pacific Coast. They were a hardy set, owing 
to the life of exposure which they had lived 



HITTITES 


1028 


HOBOKEN 


in the eastern section of the country. To the 
early pioneers and their descendants were added 
many thousands who came directly from Great 
Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Sweden, 
Norway, Denmark, and Austria. Later a large 
stream of immigrants came from countries of 
Southern Europe, including Italy and Portu¬ 
gal, and many immigrated from Russia, Japan, 
and other countries. Although at first hetero¬ 
geneous in language and customs, these peoples • 
are becoming welded together under the Amer¬ 
ican system of education into a homogeneous 
whole. 

Peace Rather Than War. Although the es¬ 
sential campaigns and battles should be under¬ 
stood, it is of vitally more importance to study 
the causes leading to the wars and the results 
of these conflicts upon the nation. One cam¬ 
paign, as that of Burgoyne in the Revolutionary 
War, may be taken as a type and the others 
studied less exhaustively. Hitherto text books 
of history magnified the periods of war and 
neglected the triumphs of peace. The newer 
books have been improved by shortening the de¬ 
scriptions of campaigns and dwelling more upon 
the progress made in times of peace. They have 
added chapters or divisions on railroad and 
steamboat lines, canals and jetties, under land, 
and water tunnels, wireless telegraphy, subways 
and elevated railroads, passenger and freight 
elevators, sewing machines, commerce and min¬ 
ing, and many other inventions and industries. 
It may be shown that we have attained a higher 
position in creative art and many of the sciences 
than any country of the world in the same per¬ 
iod of time. This fact of history in our nation 
may well be emphasized in teaching youth in 
our schools. In connection with this it may be 
observed that the civilized world has made ma¬ 
terial progress in developing the spirit of uni¬ 
versal, international peace, and that the different 
nations now regard each other as members of 
one vast family, rather than conflicting and an¬ 
tagonistic countries. All this has been stimu¬ 
lated by the modern development of commerce 
and the more liberal education of the masses. 

HITTITES (hit'tits), the name of a power¬ 
ful tribe of Syria, which occupied the region be¬ 
tween the Orontes and the Euphrates. The first 
mention of the Hittites in the Scriptures is in 
connection with Abraham at Hebron, who 
bought of them the field and cave of Machpelah. 
From them Esau obtained his first two wives. 
They occupied a part of Canaan at the time of 
the Jewish invasion under Joshua. Uriah, one 
of the chief officers under David, was a Hittite, 
and they appear to have remained with the Jews 
even up to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, 


They are referred to in the cuneiform inscrip¬ 
tions of Egypt, in which they are called Khita 
or Kheta. It is probable that they were a far 
greater people than the biblical mention of them 
indicates, since their outposts seemed to have 
extended as far west as the Aegean Sea about 
1200 b. c. 

HIVES, or Nettle-Rash, the common name 
of eruptions of the skin. They appear as white 
rounded elevations, but later turn red, causing 
an intense itching. Hives result from certain 
drugs, such as balsams and often from eating 
certain kinds of food, as crabs or lobsters. 

HOANG-HO (hwang'ho), or Yellow River, 
one of the important rivers of China, rises north 
of Tibet, flows toward the Khingan .Mountains, 
thence south to the ‘Pe-ling Mountains, 
and thence northeast into the Gulf of Pe-chi-li. 
Its banks are protected by levees, but it often 
overflows, the most noted of its inundations oc¬ 
curring in 1887. The entire length is 2,600 miles 
and the area of its basin is about 390,000 square 
miles, which constitutes one of the most pro¬ 
ductive and populous regions of China. The 
principal tributaries include the Tao-ho, the 
Wei-ho, and the Ta-tung-ho. It is designated 
Yellow River on account of the quantities of 
yellow earth held in solution by its waters and 
carried as silt into the Yellow Sea. 

HOBART (ho'bert), the capital of Tas¬ 
mania, on the Derwent River, near its entrance 
into Storm Bay. It is located on the south 
coast of the island, has a railroad and electric 
railway facilities, and is the seat of considerable 
trade. The chief buildings include a college, an 
art gallery, a public library, a museum, and the 
Parliament buildings. The streets are regularly 
platted and well improved. Near the city is 
Mount Wellington, which is visited by many 
tourists. It has manufactures of clothing, soap, 
flour, earthenware, and machinery.. Regular 
steamship communication is maintained with 
London and the important ports of New Zea¬ 
land and Australia. The city was founded in 
1804. Its prosperity is due largely to an exten¬ 
sive import and export trade. Population, 1906, 
33,318. 

HOBOKEN (ho'bo-ken), a city and port of 
entry in Hudson County, New Jersey, on the 
Hudson River, immediately above Jersey City 
and opposite New York City. It is on the Erie, 
the West Shore, the Delaware, Lackawanna and 
Western, and other railroads. A number of 
European steamship lines have their termini 
here. The city is at the base of the Palisades and 
the principal streets run north and south, par¬ 
allel to the river. Among the noteworthy build¬ 
ings are the Stevens Institute of Technology, 


HOBSON’S CHOICE 


1029 


HOLLY 


the Saint Mary’s Hospital, the public library, 
and a number of fine schools. It has a firemen’s 
monument, situated in Church Square Park, and 
maintains Hudson Park. 

Hoboken is an .important coal and produce de¬ 
pot and has a large trade in fruits, cereals and 
live stock. The manufactures include lead pen¬ 
cils, machinery, leather goods, coffins, paper, silk 
goods and tobacco products. Extensive electric 
street railway lines, sewerage, gas and electric 
lighting, and stone and macadam pavements are 
among the facilities. The site was a part of the 
patroonship granted to Michael Pauw in 1630 
and was first called Hobocan Hacking. It was 
settled in 1640, but the city was really founded 
by John Stevens in 1804. It was incorporated as 
a town in 1849 and became a city in 1855. The 
city was visited by a destructive fire in 1900, but 
the damaged parts were rebuilt on an improved 
plan shortly after. Population, 1910, 70,324. 

HOBSON’S CHOICE, a phrase originating 
from Tobias Hobson, the first keeper of a 
livery stable in England. The Spectator, a peri¬ 
odical published in London, related that Hobson 
had forty horses in his barn, and that he always 
kept near the door the one he wished to have 
used. Travelers coming to the barn were in¬ 
duced to allow him to choose the horse, when 
he always took the one nearest the door, hence 
“Hobson’s Choice” came to signify an apparent 
rather than a real choice. 

HOCHKIRCH (hoh'ktrch), a town in Sax¬ 
ony, Germany, famous on account of a battle 
fought there in the Seven Years’ War, on Oct. 
14, 1758. The Prussians under Frederick the 
Great were defeated by the Austrians under 
General Daun, but after retreating to the 
Heights of Drehsa the Austrians were routed 
completely. 

HOG. See Swine. 

HOHENLINDEN (ho-en-lm'den), a village 
in Bavaria, Germany, twenty miles east of Mu¬ 
nich. It is celebrated for the victory of the 
French over the Austrians, in which the latter 
lost 8,000 killed and wounded, while the French 
lost 5,000 men. Marshal Moreau commanded the 
French and Archduke John had command of the 
Austrians. The battle occurred on Dec. 3, 1800, 
and shortly after the Peace of Luneville was 
concluded. 

HOHENZOLLERN (ho'en-tsol-lern), a 
province of southern'Germany, forming an ad¬ 
ministrative district of Prussia. The area is 
480 square miles. It is entirely surrounded by 
Wiirttemberg. In 1905 it had a population of 
66,780. The house of Hohenzollern, a princely 
family of Germany, derived its name from this 
region. It descended from Count Thassilo, a 


Swabian noble of the time of Charles the Great, 
who founded a castle on the Zollern Heights 
in the 9th century. This dynasty has continued 
in an unbroken line until the present. Emperor 
William II. of Germany is a representative, 
though the most distinguished name associated 
with it is that of Frederick II. the Great. 

HOLIDAY (hol'i-da), a day set apart for 
the commemoration of some important event, as 
a religious or national festival. Besides the 
Sunday or Sabbath, the more important are 
New Year’s Day, Washington’s Birthday, Good 
Friday, Decoration Day, Fourth of July, Labor 
Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas. This 
list of holidays is observed in nearly all parts 
of the United States, but in most states others 
are quite generally observed, particularly Lin¬ 
coln’s Birthday, Lee’s Birthday, Arbor Day, and 
Election Day. 

The statutory holidays of Canada are Sun¬ 
days, New Year’s Day, the Epiphany, Good 
Friday, the Ascension, Ash Wednesday, Con¬ 
ception Day, Easter Monday, All Saints’ Day, 
Christmas Day, the birthday of the ruling sov¬ 
ereign, Victoria Day, Dominion Day, Labor 
Day (the first Monday in September), and 
any day appointed by proclamation for thanks¬ 
giving or a general fast. This list applies to 
the Dominion and in addition certain days are 
observed by some of the provinces, as Arbor 
Day and any day appointed by the Governor 
General. 

HOLLAND (hol'land), a city of Michigan, 
in Ottawa County, on the Black River, about 
three miles from Lake Michigan. It is on the 
Pere Marquette Railroad and regular steam¬ 
boat lines of the Great Lakes. It has a large 
trade in grain and lumber. The manufactures 
include leather, flour, ironware, machinery, and 
utensils. It has many churches, a fine public 
school system, and good municipal improve¬ 
ments, including electric lights, waterworks, and 
pavements. It is the seat of Hope College, an 
important educational institution of the Re¬ 
formed Church, with an attendance of 300 stu¬ 
dents and a library of 18,000 volumes. Holland 
was founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1867. 
The city has a large number of citizens of 
Dutch extraction. Population, 1910, 10,490. 

HOLLAND. See Netherlands. 

HOLLY (hol'ly), a genus of plants which 
includes many,species of evergreen shrubs and 
trees, found mostly in temperate climates. The 
leaves are glossy, the flowers are whitish or 
white with yellow shading, and the fruit is 
mostly scarlet. The tree is from ten to forty 
feet high and of conical shape. Its ability to 
bear clipping makes it an excellent plant for 


HOLLYHOCK 


1030 


HOLYOKE 


hedges and fences that are kept dwarfed. The 
wood is white and hard and is useful for knife 
handles, musical instruments, and turnery work. 



AMERICAN HOLLY. EUROPEAN HOLLY. 


The leaves and twigs are used extensively for 
decorating houses and public buildings, especial¬ 
ly at Christmas. From the bark a mucilaginous 
substance is secured, which serves in preparing 
birdlime. The holly tree is widely distributed 
in North America, Europe, and Africa. Sev¬ 
eral species are cultivated as ornamental plants. 
The mate,, or Paraguay tea, of South America, 
is the leaf of a species of holly. 

HOLLYHOCK (hol'li-hok), a plant native 
to China, but now cultivated for its ornamental 
flowers in gardens and parks. Though perennial 
in warm countries, it is classed with the biennials 
in temperate climates. It has a tall, branchless 
stem. The flowers are either single or double on 
the upper part and are greatly variegated in 
color. As cultivated in gardens, it reaches a 
height of from five to twelve feet, and is popu¬ 
lar on account of its blooming until late in au¬ 
tumn. The leaves are rough and heart-shaped, 
the sessile flowers are large, and the corolla 
has five petals. In some countries the flowers 
are used in medicine. Some of the double flow¬ 
ering species are grown extensively. 

HOLSTON (hdl'stun), a river of Tennessee, 
rises on the eastern slope of the Clinch Moun¬ 
tains, and at Kingston joins the Clinch River to 
form the Tennessee. Its length is about 200 
miles, most of which is navigable for light-draft 
river boats. 

HOLY ALLIANCE, a league formed by 
Alexander I. of Russia, Frederick William III. 
of Prussia, and Francis of Austria on Sept. 26, 
1815. It was concluded at Paris and signed by 
the sovereigns in their own hand. The purport 
of the league was to make the precepts of 
Jesus Christ the basis of administration, but the 
real purpose consisted of maintaining the power 


of the existing dynasties. The Holy Alliance 
came to an end by the events of 1848. 

HOLY FAMILY, in art, the name applied 
to representations of the Virgin, the infant Sa¬ 
vior, and their attendants. Many paintings 
known by this title are extant, the first of which 
date from the 6th century. Among these is the 
famous production in which the Virgin is rep¬ 
resented sitting on a seat, now in the Catacomb 
of Saint Calixtus in Rome, and later painters 
substituted a throne for the seat. Subsequently 
the Prophet Isaiah and angels were introduced 
as prominent attendants. Other figures fre¬ 
quently seen in these paintings include the moth¬ 
er of the Virgin, the infant John the Baptist, 
Saint Catherine, Saint Anna, and Saint Joseph. 
The Madonna and Child later became prominent 
subjects of paintings, although they were com¬ 
paratively unknown in art before the 13th cen¬ 
tury. Among the leading painters who produced 
works in which the Holy Family is a prominent 
figure include Raphael, Leonardo, Perugino, 
Giovanni Bellini, and Andrea del Sarto. 

HOLY GHOST, or Holy Spirit. See God. 

HOLYOKE (hol'yok), a city of Massachu¬ 
setts, in Hampden County, on the Connecticut 



River, eighty miles west of Boston. It is on 
the Boston and Maine and the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford railroads. Extensive water 
power is obtained from the river, which has a 



HOLYOKE 


1031 


HOME RULE 


fal1 ?* sixt y feet at th j s place. The municipal 
facilities include electric lights, waterworks, a 
public library, and an extensive street railway 
system, by which it is connected with Spring- 
field and other cities. The public schools rank 
among the best in the State, and the public 
buildings include many valuable and massive 
structures. They include the Federal building, 
the city hall, the public library, and many 
schools and churches. Among the manufactures 
are machinery, cutlery, cotton and woolen goods, 
screws, rubber, sealskin, blank books, and wire. 
Holyoke was long called Ireland Parish as it 
was originally settled by the Irish. From 1786 
until 1850 it was a part of West Springfield. It 
was chartered as a city in 1873. Population, 
1905, 49,124; in 1910, 57,730. 

HOLYOKE, Mount, a ridge situated in 
Hampshire County, Massachusetts. It is about 
seven miles long. The highest point is 1,122 
feet above sea level. It separates Hadley and 
Amherst townships from Granby and South 
Hadley. Mount Holyoke College is situated in 
Hadley township, on the northern side of the 
ridge, and is the oldest college for women in the 
United States. It was established in 1837, has 
85 instructors, 700 students, and contains a 
library of 25,000 volumes. The college property 
has a value of $1,580,000. 

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, a vast domin¬ 
ion established in the western part of Europe. 
It dates from the year 800, when Charlemagne 
was crowned at Rome as successor of the Roman 
emperors, but the name Roman Empire was not 
used until 962, when Otho the Great was 
crowned by Pope John XII. and inaugurated 
the Roman Empire of the German nation. The 
empire included all of the territory in which the 
people recognized the German monarch and 
Italy, and at different times it included Den¬ 
mark, Hungary, Poland, Cyprus, and Jerusa¬ 
lem. Frederick Barbarossa, in 1152, prefixed 
the word Holy, after which the dominion be¬ 
came known as the Holy Roman Empire. The 
Hohenstaufen (q. v.) dynasty represented the 
stronger monarchs of this imperial realm, and 
after their time the title was rather honorary 
than imperial, Switzerland became independent 
from the empire in the 15th century, the Neth¬ 
erlands obtained their independence by the 
Peace of Westphalia in 1648, and other territory 
was gradually lost or became semi-dependent. 
All but two of the emperors after 1438 belonged 
to the house of Hapsburg. In 1806 the title 
Holy Roman Emperor became extinct, as Fran¬ 
cis II., two years previous to that, had been 
crowned as Emperor of Austria. 

HOLY SEPULCHER (sep'ul-ker), the 


tomb in which Jesus lay. It was located near 
the place of crucifixion, having been hewn out 
of a rock near the walls of Jerusalem. The 
place called Golgotha, meaning a skull, which 
has been anglicized as Calvary, is the place of 
the crucifixion. Not far from it, near a road 
and within a garden, was the tomb, which is 
said to have belonged to a rich man by the name 
of Joseph. Within the modern city of Jerusa¬ 
lem, about 450 yards west of the northern part 
of the Haram esh-Sherif, or temple area, is the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which covers the 
traditional site of both Golgotha and the tomb 
of Jesus. See Jerusalem. 

HOLY WATER, a consecrated mixture of 
salt and water used in the ritual of the Roman 
Catholic Church. The use in churches is very 
ancient and many believe it to have been de¬ 
rived from a similar custom practiced by the 
ancient Hebrews. The water, after being blessed 
by a priest, is sprinkled on the worshipers and 
some of the objects in the church, such as the 
images, vestments, and bells. It is used at vari¬ 
ous domestic occasions, especially at marriages 
and funerals. 

HOLY WEEK, the last seven days of Lent, 
the week before Easter, and frequently spoken 
of as Passion Week. It is kept as a peniten¬ 
tial season to commemorate the passion and 
death of Christ. The special days included are 
Palm Sunday, Spy Wednesday, Holy Thursday, 
Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. The Roman 
Catholic church commands abstinence from 
wine and flesh for all the days, but absolute 
fast is enjoined for the Friday and Saturday. 

HOMEOPATHY (hd-me-Sp'a-thy), or Ho¬ 
moeopathy, the name of a system of medical 
practice introduced by Samuel Hahnemann. 
The distinguishing characteristic of the system 
is based upon the principle that “like cures 
like.” He set forth the essence of^the system 
in the following words: “Every powerful me¬ 
dicinal substance produces in the human body 
a peculiar kind of disease; the more powerful 
the medicine, the more peculiar, marked, and 
violent the disease. * * * We should imi¬ 
tate nature, which sometimes cures a chronic 
disease by superadding another, and employ, 
in the disease we wish to cure, that medicine 
which is able to produce another very similar 
artificial disease, and the former will be cured.” 
See Allopathy. 

HOME RULE, a term applied in British 
politics to the movement made by the Irish 
home rule party with the view of establishing 
a Parliament in Ireland for the purpose of 
legislating in relation to local affairs, but sub¬ 
ject to the imperial Parliament of the empire. 


HOMESTEAD 


1032 


HONDURAS 


It designed to make the local government simi¬ 
lar to that now common to Canada and Aus¬ 
tralia. The movement originated at Dublin in 
1870, and four years later 60 members of Par¬ 
liament were elected who favored the home rule 
policy. In 1885 there were 86 members under 
the leadership of Parnell. The project received 
a new impetus by the support of Gladstone. 
A large party of Irishmen favor absolute inde¬ 
pendence, but the adoption of local self-govern¬ 
ment is held by many to be both feasible and 
of mutual interest to all concerned. John Red¬ 
mond and Justin McCarthy are among the in¬ 
fluential leaders within the last decade. 

HOMESTEAD (hom'sted), a borough of 
Pennsylvania, on the Monongahela River, eight 
miles above Pittsburg. It is on the Pennsyl¬ 
vania and the Pittsburg and Lake Erie rail¬ 
roads. The surrounding country produces large 
quantities of coal, which caused large steel, 
iron, and glass industries to be built up at 
Homestead. It is the seat of the steel works 
established by Andrew Carnegie, in which ex¬ 
tensive labor disturbances occurred in 1892. The 
place has good municipal facilities, electric street 
railways, and a number of fine schools and 
churches. It is noted especially for its exten¬ 
sive production of steel plate. Population, 1900, 
12,554; in 1910, 18,713. 

HOMESTEAD ACT, a law enacted in 1862 
by the Congress of the United States, under 
which it became possible for the head of a fam¬ 
ily, or any person at least 21 years of age, to 
acquire by settlement and improvement title to 
160 acres of public land. The only condition 
provided is the payment of a registration fee, 
improvement as a residence, and occupation for 
five years. This law carries with it the com¬ 
mutation privilege, by which ti£le can be ac¬ 
quired to not more than 160 acres after four¬ 
teen months’ occupation and the payment of 
$1.25 per ^icre, but $2.50 if situated within 
United States railroad grants. So-called home¬ 
stead exemptions are recognized in all the 
states. These provide that a specified amount 
is exempt from execution for debt to the head 
of a family, but the amount in different states 
varies greatly. 

In Canada a homestead entry may be made on 
160 acres by any male over eighteen years of 
age, but it must be applied for personally at the 
district land office. The entry fee is $10. Resi¬ 
dence upon the land is required at least six 
months in each of three years. The homestead¬ 
er must cultivate a portion of the land each 
year and not less than fifteen acres must be 
under cultivation at the end of that time. A 
patent is issued at the end of three years upon 


proof of residence and improvement as required 
by law. 

HOMICIDE (hom'i-sid), the act of killing 
a human being. It may be either criminal or 
justifiable, depending upon the circumstances 
under which the act is committed. Justifiable 
homicide includes the taking of a human life 
in self-defense, by accident, or under an order 
issued by a court to an officer. It is especially 
declared in the law of most countries that 
whoever kills a humgn being with malice afore¬ 
thought, either expressed or implied, is guilty 
of murder. This constitutes criminal homicide, 
which is usually divided into three classes, those 
of murder- in the first degree, murder in the 
second degree, and manslaughter. 

HONDURAS (hon-ddo'ras), a republic of 
Central America, bounded on the north and east 
by the Gulf of Honduras and the Caribbean 
Sea, south by Nicaragua and San Salvador, and 
east by Guatemala. It has an area of 43,300 
square miles. The climate is similar to that of 
Guatemala, being hot in the low regions and 
quite equable and pleasant where the country is 
elevated considerably. Among the minerals are 
coal, gold, silver, cobalt, iron, zinc, and lead, 
but iron is the most important. Much of the 
soil is fertile. In the southwestern portion 
trend lofty mountain ranges, but the northern 
and eastern parts consist of valuable coast and 
valley lands. The streams flow almost exclu¬ 
sively into the Gulf of Honduras and the Car¬ 
ibbean Sea, and include- the Guangues, Cutcha- 
butan, Roman, Tinto, Barba, Catago, and Cape 
rivers. 

Agriculture is the principal industry. The 
various products include sugar, coffee, tobacco, 
wheat, indigo, maize, rice, and a large variety 
of tropical fruits. The forests yield valuable 
dyewoods, tamarinds, cabinet woods, rubber, 
and vegetable ivory. Cattle raising and dairy¬ 
ing are important industries. The country has 
considerable trade with the United States, Ger¬ 
many, and Great Britain, in the order named. 
Several short lines of. railway have been con¬ 
structed, by which the Gulf of Honduras is con¬ 
nected with Puerto Cortez and other interior 
points, and several lines penetrate the coast and 
valley regions. In 1909 the railroads included a 
total of 112 miles. A large part of the interior 
is reached only by mules and ox-carts. Tegu¬ 
cigalpa is the capital. Other important cities are 
Juticalpa, Nacaome, La Esperanza, Santa Rosa, 
and Choluteca. 

At present the country comprises fifteen de¬ 
partments. A national constitution proclaimed 
in 1894 .vests the chief executive authority in a 
president, who is elected by popular vote for a 


HONDURAS 


1033 


HONG-KONG 


term of four years. The president is assisted 
by ministers of the interior, finance, war, public 
instruction and justice, and public works. Leg¬ 
islative authority is vested in a national con¬ 
gress, which is constituted of deputies elected 
by popular suffrage. It has a standing army of 
500 men and a national militia of about 20,000. 
The inhabitants are largely of Spanish descent 
and the dominant faith is Roman Catholic, but 
religious liberty is extended to all. Education 
is gratuitous and nominally compulsory. Span¬ 
ish is the spoken and official language. Besides 
the system of common schools, there are twelve 
colleges or institutes. 

Columbus discovered the coast of Honduras 
in 1502. Settlements were made by the Span¬ 
iards in 1524, when the town of Triumfo de la 
Cruz was founded. The region was made a 
royal province of Spain two years later and aft¬ 
erward it became a captain generalcy of Guate¬ 
mala. It revolted from Spain in 1821 and was 
annexed to Mexico. In 1823 it joined the states 
of Central America, but since 1838 it has been 
an independent republic. At several times it 
has been disturbed by revolutions and wars 
with neighboring countries. Population, 1905, 
500,136. 

HONDURAS, Bay of, an important inlet 
of Central America, extending from the Carib¬ 
bean Sea. It is bounded largely by Honduras* 
Guatemala, British Honduras, and Yucatan. 
The bay contains several important islands, in¬ 
cluding Turneffe and the Bay Islands, a'nd on its 
shore are several growing seaport cities. 

HONE, or Whetstone, a kind of stone used 
to sharpen edged tools, such as knives, scythes, 
and razors. Hones are of finer grain than either 
ordinary whetstones or grindstones. The fin¬ 
est kinds are very hard and compact and are 
commonly called oilstones. They are made of 
several species of slate and are used in sharpen¬ 
ing the finer class of instruments. The best 
hones for scythes obtained in America are made 
of sandstone found in Arkansas. The finer 
classes of slate or oilstones come from Bohe¬ 
mia and Siberia. 

HONEY (hun'y), a vegetable food product 
deposited by bees in the cells of their honey¬ 
comb. It is a sweet, thick liquid, quite clear and 
transparent, and when kept for some time solid¬ 
ifies into a granular white mass. The neuter 
bees collect the sweet juices of flowers by 
means of their proboscides, thence it is trans¬ 
ferred to the honey-bag, and by certain chem¬ 
ical changes honey is produced, which is depos¬ 
ited in store for food during winter. When 
elaborated by young bees, it is whiter than in 
other cases and is called virgin honey. The 


product of older bees is more or less of a yel¬ 
lowish hue. The flavor of honey is dependent 
largely upon the plants from which it is col¬ 
lected. In many countries the culture of bees 
is an important industry, the milder climates be¬ 
ing best adapted to the enterprise. Besides be¬ 
ing a valuable .food, it is used in medicine as a 
promoter of expectoration, with vinegar as a 
gargle, in pastry and cooking, and for the manu¬ 
facture of mead. Both extracted and cfomb 
honey are sold in the market, while an artifi¬ 
cial product is made of glucose placed in cells 
of wax. Where apiaries are kept, it is custom¬ 
ary to prepare bee food by cultivating clover 
and other plants. Clover is a favorite food 
plant because honey made from its flowers is 
almost white and of excellent flavor. 

HONEY LOCUST, a leguminous forest tree 
widely distributed in North America, but found 
most extensively in the southern part of the 
Mississippi valley and the Atlantic coast plain. 
The flowers are greenish, usually in spikes, and 
generally unisexual. They are followed by 
pods, which are more or less twisted and from 
a few inches to two feet long. Within the pods 
are the seeds, enveloped in a pulp, and they be¬ 
come quite sweet when ripe. The leaves /are 
pinnate and the foliage is elegant in appearance. 
Long thorns develop on the limbs, which make 
the plant a favorite for ornamental hedges and 
for fencing. The wood is of an inferior quality 
and decays rapidly. Several species of locusts 
grow to a height of 80 to 100 feet, having fine 
spreading branches. 

HONEYSUCKLE, a genus of shrubs and 
twining plants found in the Northern Hemis¬ 
phere. About 100 species have been described, 
of which the common honeysuckle is the best 
known. It is found largely in Europe and 
North America, where it blooms from June to 
September. The flowers are tubular in form 
and red without and yellow within. The fruit 
consists of scarlet berries. This species is cul¬ 
tivated extensively for its flowers. In North 
America there are nine different species of 
honeysuckle. The Australian honeysuckle is so 
called because of the sweet liquid found in the 
flowers. The trumpet honeysuckle is cultivated 
largely in the United States as a twining plant 
in gardens and at porches. 

HONG-KONG (hong'kong'), or Hiang- 
Kiang, meaning sweet water, an island near 
the mouth of the Canton River, off the south¬ 
eastern coast of China, forming a possession of 
Great Britain. It is separated from the main¬ 
land by a narrow channel called Ly-e-Mun. The 
area is 32 square miles. Much of the surface 
is rocky and barren and the shores are steep. 


HONOLULU 


1034 


HOOSICK FALLS 


The general elevation above the sea is from 
1,000 to 2,000 feet. Population, 1906, 328,638. 

Hong-Kong, in a larger sense, is a crown 
colony of Great Britain. It consists of the 
island of Hong-Kong and the leased district of 
Kowloon. The latter is in the southeastern 
part of China and was leased to Great Britain 
in 1898 for 99 years. This portion of the colony 
has an area of 376 square miles and a popu¬ 
lation of 89,012. Victoria is the capital. It ex¬ 
tends several miles along the bay. Its harbor 
is one of the finest in the world, being strongly 
fortified, and it is the center of a vast trade. 
The local products consist of various manufac¬ 
tures, such as clothing, cigars, textiles, utensils, 
and machinery. Among its buildings are a gov¬ 
ernment house, the courthouse, a cathedral, the 
university, and a number of other public build¬ 
ings. The island was ceded by China to the 
British in 1842 after the close of the opium war. 
Since then it has developed an enormous trade, 
the value of. its annual imports amounting to 
about $20,000,000 and the exports to $12,000,000. 
The trade is chiefly with Great Britain, Japan, 
the United States, Germany, and France. 

HONOLULU (ho-no-ldd'ldo), the largest 
city and the capital of the Hawaiian Islands, 
on the southern coast of the Island of Oahu. 
The site is beautiful and is surrounded by 
groves of fruit and ornamental trees. It has a 
pleasant and healthful climate. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are the public treasury, 
the post office, the customhouse, the capitol, the 
public library, a museum, and a cathedral and 
several churches. It has many hospitals and 
fine schools. The harbor is well protected, 
giving the city considerable advantage in for¬ 
eign trade. It has manufactures of clothing, 
earthenware, canned fruits and fish, and uten¬ 
sils. The general facilities include sewerage, 
electric lights, waterworks, pavements, public 
parks, rapid transit, and railroad connections. 
It has had a rapid growth .in wealth and popu¬ 
lation. In 1815 it was little more than a fishing 
village. It became the capital of the archipela¬ 
go in 1820. Population, 1910, 52,183. 

HOOD, Mount, an elevated mountain of 
Oregon, in the Cascade Range. It is located in 
the western part of Wasco County, about fifty 
miles southeast of Portland. It has an altitude 
of 1-1,935 feet. The summit affords a fine and 
extensive view of the surrounding country. 

HOODED SEAL. See Seal. 

HOOKER, Mount, a lofty peak, of Canada, 
one of the highest summits of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains. It is situated on the border between Al¬ 
berta and British Columbia and has an altitude 
of about 15,710 feet. 


HOOPOE Jhoop'o), a genus of birds native 
to the warmer parts of the Old World. These 
birds are classed according to some with the 
honey eaters and by others with the horn-billed 
birds. The bill is long and slightly curved, the 
tail is broad, and the eyes are large. Two near¬ 
ly parallel rows of long feathers form a crest 
on the head. In most species the color is buff, 
but variegated with black and white. The male 
is about twelve inches long, somewhat larger 



HOOPOE. 


than the female, and is more vivid in color. The 
nest is built in the holes of trees, in which five 
or six eggs of lavender-gray are laid. They 
feed largely on insects, worms, and filthy accu¬ 
mulations. The double whoop uttered has orig¬ 
inated its name. 

HOOSAC TUNNEL (hoo'sak), an impor¬ 
tant railroad tunnel on the line from Boston to 
Troy, in the western part of Massachusetts. It 
is built through the Hoosac Mountain, a range 
extending into Massachusetts from the Green 
Mountains of Vermont. It was completed in 
1875 at a cost of about $18,000,000, is nearly 
five miles long, and contains a double railway 
track. 

HOOSICK FALLS (hod'sik), a village of 
Rensselaer County, New- York, on the Hoosick 
River, 27 miles northeast of Troy. It is on the 
Boston and Maine Railroad. The chief build¬ 
ings include the high school, a parochial school, 
and several churches. The manufactures con¬ 
sist principally of clothing, farming machinery, 
utensils, knitted goods, and ironware. It was 
settled in 1688 and was first incorporated in 
1827. Population, 1905, 5,251; in 1910, 5,532. 






■■I 


HOOSICK RIVER 


1035 


HORN 


HOOSICK RIVER, a stream in eastern 
New York, flows toward the west, and joins the 
Hudson about fourteen miles above Troy. It 
is noted for its vast water power, which is util¬ 
ized extensively for manufacturing purposes in 
towns along its banks. The valley is highly 
fertile. 

HOP, a perennial plant of the nettle family. 
A single species is found native in North Amer¬ 
ica and Europe, but under cultivation it has 


been greatly varie¬ 
gated. The peren¬ 
nial root annually 
sends forth long, 
weak, rough, twin¬ 
ing stems. The 

flowers are male 
and female. The 

latter, occurring in 
cones, are greenish 
in color and con¬ 
stitute the hops 

HOP-VINE AND FLOWER. S0 ^ * n mar k et - 

These cones are 

gathered when ripe, and, after being carefully 
dried, are. used to communicate an aromatic 
| bitter flavor to beer. Hop culture is an im¬ 
portant industry and is pursued extensively in 
all civilized countries. About 80,000,000 pounds 
of hops are grown annually in the United 
States, the supply coming chiefly from New 
York, Oregon, Washington, and California. 

Large quantities are grown in Ontario and 

i British Columbia. The County of Kent, in 
England, is noted for its production of hops. 
Besides being used in the manufacture of beer, 
hops enter into the preparation of medicine on 
account of their tonic and narcotic properties. 
They are placed in pillows to induce sleep. In 
some countries the young shoots are bleached 
and eaten like asparagus, while the fibers of old¬ 
er stems enter into the manufacture of cordage. 
Hops are an important ingredient in the manu¬ 
facture of yeast for baking and general leaven¬ 
ing purposes. 

HOPKINSVILLE (hop'klns-vil), a city in 
Kentucky, county seat of Christian County, sev¬ 
enty miles northwest of Nashville, Tenn. It is 
on the Illinois Central, the Louisville and 
Nashville, and other railroads. The surround¬ 
ing country produces large quantities of wheat 
and tobacco and has extensive deposits of coal 
and iron. Among the manufactures are car¬ 
riages, farming machinery, earthenware, flour, 
and tobacco products. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude the county courthouse, the high school, 
and several churches. It is the seat of the South 
Kentucky College, a State insane asylum, and 



two seminaries. It was settled in 1797 and in¬ 
corporated the following year. Population, 1900, 
7,280; in 1910, 9,419. 

HOREB (ho'reb), Mount. See Sinai. 

HOREHOUND (hor'hound), a labiate plant 
found in Europe and Asia. Most of the spe¬ 
cies are herbaceous. The common horehound 
of Europe has downy leaves and stems, dense 
whorls of flowers, a bitter flavor, and an aro¬ 
matic smell. It yields a volatile oil and a bitter 
fluid, which are used in the preparation of a 
tonic given as lozenges for coughs and colds. 
Many species have been naturalized in the 
United States. 

HORN, the name applied to a modification 
of the epidermis in animals, as the hoofs and 
horns of ruminants, the spines of porcupines, 
and the claws- of birds. These parts are con¬ 
stituted of substances similar to those forming 
the anatomical structure of animals, but differ 
from them in the proportion of their parts. 
There are three classes of horns borne for de¬ 
fense on the heads of animals—those composed 
of bone, as the antlers of the deer; those con¬ 
sisting of epidermis or skin formations, as the 
horns of the rhinoceros and the buffalo; and 
those partly bone and partly epidermis, as in the 
case of the cow. Horns are either solid or hol¬ 
low, and differ from each other in that some 
are single, while others contain a number of 
branches or prongs. Generally the single horn 
is hollow, and those containing prongs are of 
solid or bone formation throughout. 

In commerce the term horn is often applied 
to the hoofs, claws, nails, bills, and quills of 
animals, and to the shell of the tortoise, but in 
a narrower sense it refers only to the append¬ 
ages on the heads of animals. Horn forma¬ 
tions contain both animal and mineral matter. 
They are tough, may be softened by heat, and 
are usually semitransparent. The horn growth 
differs widely in various animals, as, for in¬ 
stance, in the stag only the males have horns. 
Both sexes of most cattle have horns, but some 
species are hornless. In deer the horns are 
shed annually, while a horn once destroyed in 
cattle, goats, and sheep does not grow again. 

’The various kinds of horns are employed to 
manufacture many articles of commerce. They 
are used in making handles for knives and 
forks, canes, umbrellas, and walking sticks. 
Some enter into the manufacture Qf buttons, 
combs, snuffboxes, pipe tips, and ornaments. 
Besides, they serve a useful purpose in prepar¬ 
ing a convenient vessel for powder and in mak¬ 
ing hat racks and decorative articles. Horn 
can be softened by heat and pressed into molds 
or split into sheets. When cooled, it resumes 




HORN 


1036 


HORNED TOAD 


its former toughness and flexibility. Many dyes 
and other coloring matters can be employed to 
give it a lasting tint in color. 

HORN, the name applied to a large number 
of different kinds of wind instruments. They 
were made formerly of the horns of animals, 
but these have fallen more or less into disuse. 
The musical instrument now designated partic¬ 
ularly by that name is manufactured largely in 
France. It consists of a metal wind instrument 
furnished with a mouthpiece and a bell. The 
Saxe horn and other military horns, as well as 
those used in bands, are usually some form of 
the French horn. Instruments which belong to 
the class known as horns are seldom played 
singly in the orchestra. A pair and more fre¬ 
quently two pairs are employed. 

HORNBEAM (horn'bem), the name of a 
small tree, so called because the wood has been 



A, Flowers; B, C, Fruit. 

used extensively for making yokes for cattle. 
The common hornbeam, or yoke elm, is native 
to Western Asia and the temperate parts of 
Europe. The trunk is frequently flattened and 
twisted and covered with a smooth and light 
gray bark. The roots descend deep into the 


ground. In moist and shady places this species 
frequently attains a height of sixty to ninety 
feet. The wood is white and quite hard and is 
used by carpenters and wheelwrights. The 
hornbeam of North America is a smaller tree, 
usually from twenty to forty feet in height, and 
is found from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico. 
Locally it is called ironwood, blue beech, or 
water beech. A similar tree known as hop 
hornbeam, locally known as leverwood, is of 
slow growth and has very hard and heavy wood. 

HORNBILL, the name of a family of large 
birds native to Africa and the East Indies. 
They are related to the kingfishers and toucans, 
and, like the latter, have very large bills. The 
bill is broad at the base and compressed toward 
the tip, and in most species a large bony pro¬ 
tuberance surmounts the upper part. The rhi¬ 
noceros hornbill is the largest species. It has 
an expanse of wings of about three feet, is four 
feet long, and the upper mandible has a peculiar¬ 
ly large protuberance. It is stupid and cow¬ 
ardly, showing little boldness except when in 
search of food, and the flight is rather slow. 
The female, after laying four or five eggs, sits 
on the nest until the young are fully fledged, 
usually eight or ten weeks. In the meantime the 
male plasters the opening of the nest over with 
clay, leaving only a slit three or four inches long 
and sufficiently wide to permit the entrance of 
its head, and through this the female and young 
are fed. During this time the male becomes 
lean, but the female gets very fat and is con¬ 
sidered a dainty by the natives. 

HORNBLENDE (horn'blend), a subvariety 
of aluminous amphibole. It is one of the five 
most abundant simple minerals of which rock 
is composed. The others are mica, quartz, feld¬ 
spar, and carbonate of lime. It occurs in vari¬ 
ous forms, differing in the composition of its 
crystalline particles. In color it is greatly di¬ 
versified. It is found as a constituent of trap 
rock and with such igneous forms as granite 
and gneiss. Some speqies of hornblende are 
transparent and others are opaque. The colors 
predominating are white, brown, and black. 

HORNED TOAD, or Horned Frog, a 
genus of horny lizards of North America, which 
somewhat resemble a toad or frog. They are 
found chiefly in the western part of North 
America, especially in the arid plains and moun¬ 
tains, extending from Alberta to the central part 
of Mexico. .They lie close to the ground, usu¬ 
ally among weeds and cacti, and the color some¬ 
what resembles that of the surrounding objects. 
Several species have been described, but all have 
a more or less circular or oval body, which is 
flattened and covered with scales surmounted 




HORNELLSVILLE 


1037 


HORSE 


by horny spines. They are sluggish in their 
movements and pass' the winter in holes dug by 
various rodents. The food consists of ants, 
flies, and other insects. 

HORNELLSVILLE (horn-elz'vil), a city 
of New York, in Steuben County, on the Canis- 
teo River, 57 miles south of Rochester. It is 
on the Erie and other railroads. The chief 
buildings include the high school, an academy, 
and a public library of 15,000 volumes. It has 
a growing trade in merchandise. Among its 
industries are railroad shops, tanneries, glove 
factories, iron foundries, potteries, and brick¬ 
yards. The public utilities include sewerage, 
pavements, waterworks, and electric street rail¬ 
ways. It was settled in 1790 and was called 
Upper Canisteo until 1820, when it was incor¬ 
porated under its present name. Population, 
1905, 13,259; in 1910, 13,617. 

HORNET (hor'net), a stinging insect of the 
family Vespidae and the genus. Vespa. It is 
larger than the common wasp, being about an 
inch long, and has a more venomous sting. 
The hornets are widely distributed in North 
i America and other grand divisions. They are 
usually black or dark brown and are ornamented 
with white and yellow. Several species of 



HORNET AND NEST. ' 


Asiatic hornets attain to a length of fully two 
• inches and are peculiar for their bright color¬ 
ings. Their nests are built in the large trunks 
of trees and in old walls, and some species con- 
, struct a kind of paper work, which is hung, in 
the branches of trees. They live in communities, 
which consist of about 200 insects. Hornets 
feed on the sap of trees and on fruit and honey. 
Some prey on other insects. The sting is very 


painful, that of some species causing fevers in 
men and cattle. 

HORSE, a genus of quadrupeds classed with 
the zebra and the ass. It is distinguished by 
an undivided hoof, a mane on the neck, a 
simple stomach, and lips and teeth adapted for 
cropping short herbage. Careful breeding has 
developed many kinds of horses, all of which 
are distributed more or less widely. They serve 
more important purposes than any other animal 
as beasts of burden and draft. It is thought 
that Central Asia is the nativity of the horse, 
but some contend that it was first domesticated 
in Egypt. Writers generally agree in expressing 
the view that the horse was brought to Western 
Europe at an early date, a fact evidenced by 
remains found in caves in Switzerland and 
figures of horses cut on rocks. 

The‘Scriptures mention the horse in connection 
with warfare and with the arts of peace among 
the ancient Egyptians. Prior to the discovery 
of America, horses were unknown in the West¬ 
ern Hemisphere. Those met with in a wild 
state in South America descended from animals 
introduced by Spanish settlers. Fossil remains 
found in America indicate that an animal similar 
to the.horse existed in remote ages, but it was 
much inferior to the species common to the Old 
World, even to those known in Egypt during 
the time of the Pharaohs. Forty or more species 
have been discovered in the Tertiary deposits 
of North America, but all were comparatively 
small and none was represented by living forms 
at the time of the discovery by Columbus. It 
is assumed that the horse developed from a 
small and inferior class of animals, about three 
feet tall, and that this early class is now ex¬ 
tinct, the wild horses of Tartary and other 
regions being descendants of animals that 
escaped from domestication and gradually de¬ 
veloped into the present wild and inferior form. 

The horses of Arabia are classed as the most 
beautiful breed and excel in swiftness, endur¬ 
ance, and perseverance. The European breeds 
came largely from importation of the Arabian, 
and have been more or less intermingled with 
the different classes which were previously com¬ 
mon to the West. In America horse breeding 
has attained a high state of development and 
constitutes one of the important industries. 
Among the classes used for draft and agricul¬ 
ture are the Clydesdale, Percheron, and Bel¬ 
gian; those used for speed embrace the Ham- 
bletonian, Morgan, and French coach; and the 
ponies include the Shetland, Galloway, and In¬ 
dian. These races of horses are interbred more 
or less with each other and with other grades, 
and represent classes possessing qualities of su- 














HORSE 


1038 


HORSE POWER 


periority for various purposes, including several 
species which may be considered strictly Ameri¬ 
can, such as the Kentuckian. 

The horse is characterized by its acuteness of 
the senses, ability to observe danger, and 
strength of memory. By suitable food and care¬ 
ful treatment it can be made to serve man in 
all the arts of war and peace. The period of 
gestation is a trifle over eleven months and the 
age of puberty is reached at two years. At the 



1, percheron; 2, Belgian. 


age of from three to four years the horse be¬ 
gins to come into its higher state of usefulness, 
but lives to an age of from twenty to thirty 
years, serving with more or less profit during 
the entire time after being broken for work. 
In docility it surpasses all the domestic animals, 
except the dog and possibly the elephant. 

Corn, hay, oats, barley, and beans constitute 
the principal food for horses, but they thrive 
well when given a variety of these and small 
quantities of linseed, bran, carrots, and straw. 


For driving and running purposes it is best to 
feed oats largely, while for heavy work corn is 
the staple food. Until about nine years old the 
age can be estimated by the marks on its teeth, 
but after that it is difficult to determine. Horse 
flesh is used for food in some countries. The 
hide is an important material for the manufac¬ 
ture of leather and in making robes and rugs, 
and the tail and mane are utilized for hair cloth 
and upholsterers’ products. The introduction of 
electric street cars, bicycles, and automobiles has . 
lessened the use of horses to> some extent, but, 
on the other hand, the development of natural 
resources in new countires has widened it corre¬ 
spondingly. The running record of American 
race horses is among the best in the world. 
“Black Beauty,” written by Anna Sewell, is 
one of the most beautiful works on the horse. 
Literature abounds with valuable and interest¬ 
ing productions relating to the horse and its 
uses. 

HORSE CHESTNUT, a genus of trees 
widely distributed in North America and other 
continents. The leaves are opposite and quite 
large, and the seeds are unpleasantly bitter. The 
seeds contain considerable starch, which is pre¬ 
pared for the market by freeing it from bitter- " 
ness through repeated washing with ah alkaline 
solution. The species native to North America ' 
do not have wood of material value and the 
seed is quite small, but the true chestnut has ; 
nuts that are quite valuable as food for swine, 
sheep, oxen, and horses. The latter is native j 
to Tibet and has been naturalized in many parts 
of Europe, where it is cultivated for its wood 
and for the nuts. The chestnut of North Amer¬ 
ica ranges from Canada to Mexico and is es¬ 
pecially abundant in various parts of the Missis¬ 
sippi Valley. 

HORSE POWER, the unit of force em¬ 
ployed in measuring the power of engines, water¬ 
wheels, and other prime movers. The term was 
obtained by Boulton and Watt from observing 
the dray horses employed in London. They 
found that a horse is able to go at a rate of two 
and one-half miles per hour, and at the same 
time raise a weight of 150 pounds by means of 
a rope placed over a pulley, hence they estimated 
the horse power, the horse working eight hours 
per day, at 33,000 foot pounds per minute. From 
this circumstances it is estimated that a horse 
power is equal to a force which will raise a 
weight of 33,000 pounds one foot in one minute. 

An engine of ten horse power has the power to 
raise the same weight ten times that distance in 
one minute. In practice it is necessary to deduct 
one-tenth for friction, hence the estimate given 
is theoretical. 





HORSE-RADISH 


1089 


HORTICULTURE 


HORSE-RADISH, a perennial plant with 
long stalks, cylindrical roots, and whitish flow¬ 
ers. It is cultivated in many portions of Amer¬ 
ica, but grows vigorously in all kinds of soil 
after once getting a foothold. The roots pos¬ 
sess medicinal qualities. They are used ex¬ 
tensively as a condiment for table purposes. 
Their medicinal qualities are diuretic, stomachic, 
and diaphoretic. Several preparations are em¬ 
ployed as external applications. 

HORSESHOE, a plate of iron bent into the 
form of the hoof of a horse, and fastened to the 
bottom of the same by nails driven through the 
outer layer and clinched upon the outside. 
Shoes intended for use upon icy roads are pro-- 
vided with steel points called corks, one at the 
toe and one at each heel of the shoe. Those used 
for horses employed for draft purposes on soft 
roads have corks of iron, and those for shoeing 
driving horses are quite smooth or have blunt 
corks. Iron shoes are used to some extent for 
oxen, but they are of two parts on account of the 
clefts in the foot, and are made to fit the bottom 
of the hoof. The practice of providing a protec¬ 
tion to the feet of horses and mules is quite an¬ 
cient, and originated from the utility of furnish¬ 
ing security against these animals becoming foot¬ 
sore in the time of war. Xenophon and other 
writers mention certain methods of rendering 
the hoofs harder as a protection against rough 
and stony roads. Leather coverings are used to 
some extent to protect the feet of camels on 
long journeys. The lower part of these is made 
from oxhide much like heavy soles in the shoes 
of modern times. Horseshoes made of iron 
were introduced into Europe about the 9th 
century and the custom was taken to England 
by the Normans. At present this class of horse¬ 
shoes is used in practically all countries, es¬ 
pecially for draft and driving horses, but those 
used in farming are generally unshod. 

HORSESHOE CRAB. See King Crab. 

HORSETAIL RUSH, or Scouring Rush, 
the common name of the Equisetum, a genus of 
small plants belonging to the fernwort family. 
About 25 species are represented in the living 
flora, and they are classed with an extensive race 
of plants that predominated in the Mesozoic and 
Carboniferous times. Formerly they were. of 
great size, in fact enormous trees, but the living 
species are quite small. They are characterized 
by having spore-bearing leaves. The plants are 
unisexual; that is, different plants produce the 
male and female organs. 

HORTICULTURE (hor'ti-kul-tur), the art 
or science relating to the cultivation of garden 
plants for decorative and useful purposes. The 
main divisions of horticulture are pomology, or 


fruit growing; floriculture, or flower growing; 
and olericulture, or vegetable growing. It is 
properly a branch of agriculture an(l like the 
latter has made rapid progress in America. 
Many species of shrubs, flowers, and fruit-bear¬ 
ing trees have been naturalized in the different 
soils and climates, thereby rendering the garden 
and orchard more productive and profitable. In 
planting gardens and orchards it is essential to 
take into account the character of the soil, the 
drainage, and the slope of the surface. Fruit 
trees usually thrive best in a rich, dark loam, 
while early crops and vegetables yield the best 
returns in a sandy loam. Systematic drainage 
is essential for the reason that cultivation is 
most effective in well-drained surfaces, and 
freezing is thereby rendered less injurious.to the 
growing trees. A slope facing the sun is prefer- ' 
able for orchards in some climates, but in north¬ 
ern latitudes, where frosts appear late in the 
spring, it is much better to select a slope toward 
the north for the reason that the early sap flow 
occasioned by the warm sun in the early part 
of the year will, when followed by frost, cause 
a rupture of the cells and consequently result in 
damage to the tree. 

Next of importance to selecting choice species 
of plants and a suitable location is the careful 
fertilization and cultivation of the soil. Thor¬ 
ough tilling permits the essential elements of the 
air to penetrate to the roots, while the destruc¬ 
tion of weeds and insects is essential in preserv¬ 
ing both the tree and the vigor of its fruit. To 
succeed in the culture of flowers and ornamental 
plants it is quite necessary to construct plant 
houses, pits, greenhouses, and other structures 
with the view of securing early development. 
The art of grafting and propagating plants has 
led to wholesome resuits and greater profit. 
Suitable instruments, tools, and various forms 
of machinery patented within recent years have 
facilitated the culture to a great extent. Be¬ 
sides, the operation of railroad lines in various 
directions has opened a wider market in city 
and country districts for fruit and ornamental 
products, making it possible for the inhabitants 
of the colder regions to enjoy largely the more 
delicate products grown in the warmer climates. 

The United States is the leading fruit-growing 
country of North America. Apples, which can 
be grown in all the states, comprise the leading 
crop and yield about 80,000,000 barrels per year. 
California has first place in the yield of citrus 
fruits and ships about 32,500 car loads annually. 
Florida holds second rank in the production of 
citrus fruits. Peaches, pears, tomatoes, grapes, 
bananas, strawberries, and many other fruits 
are grown more or less extensively. Canada 




HOSPITAL 


1040 


HOT SPRINGS 


and the southwestern part of the United States 
have made remarkable progress in the number 
of species and the quantity of fruits produced. 
Both countries make large shipments to foreign 
ports. 

HOSPITAL (hos'pit-al), an institution for 
the reception, care, and medical treatment of the 
sick and wounded. The term was applied for¬ 
merly to a place of hospitality for those in need 
of shelter and maintenance. This application is 
still made to institutions built for the care of 
children, and in some cases to retreats or alms¬ 
houses for the poor. Hospitals of a general char¬ 
acter established in modern times are designed 
for those who are more or less dependent upon 
the public, or who are afflicted so as to make it a 
matter of public policy to extend aid. However, 
many institutions of this kind are built with the 
view of supplying the demand of those who pre¬ 
fer to be treated when sick in a hospital rather 
than in the home. Frequently private families 
and societies have special departments in readi¬ 
ness for use when needed in such institutions. 
In many instances the hospitals are maintained 
by appropriations or donations made by private 
individuals, but more largely by the city, county, 
or state under a system of general taxation. In 
these institutions departments or wards are pro¬ 
vided, each being in charge of a separate force 
of attendants, and the whole is supervised by a 
matron, house surgeon, and apothecary. Pa¬ 
tients afflicted with contagious diseases are kept 
and treated separately. Special departments are 
provided for those having ailments likely to 
prove fatal. 

During the time of military operations field 
and naval hospitals are maintained for the care 
of sick and wounded soldiers and seamen. The 
hospitals are either temporary or permanent, the 
former serving immediate wants, while in the 
latter prolonged cases are treated. Sick or 
wounded seamen are usually taken on board of 
hospital ships, where they are given treatment 
for a brief period. Later they are transferred 
to the nearest permanent hospitals, or conveyed 
to their homes. The care and treatment of sick 
and wounded military men have made material 
progress within recent years. They have at¬ 
tracted the attention of philanthropists and of 
various societies, such as the famous Red 
Cross. 

General hospitals were first established in the 
4th century of the Christian era, and since then 
have spread to all the civilized nations. The 
United States, Canada, and the countries of Eu¬ 
rope have excellent facilities for the care of un¬ 
fortunates in hospitals. Some of the finest insti¬ 
tutions provided by the government are main¬ 


tained for that purpose. The hospitals of New 
York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Saint Louis, San 
Francisco, Montreal, and Toronto are especially 
noteworthy. The most important of Europe are 
in London, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, and Saint 
Petersburg. In Europe the institutions of this 
character date largely from the early part of the 
16th century. 

HOTEL (ho-tel')> a large inn or house for 
the reception and entertainment of strangers or 
travelers. The larger hotel buildings of the lar¬ 
ger cities are among the finest and best equipped 
institutions of modern times. They are usually 
built fireproof throughout, or have fireproof 
construction in one or more of the lower floors, 
and are equipped with electric lighting, steam 
heating, hot and cold water service, baths, tele¬ 
phones, and elevators. The basement usually 
contains the heating and electric lighting plants,* 
the laundry, the sample rooms, and a general 
lavatory. The first floor of a modern hotel has 
the office, the lobby, the news and cigar stands, 
one or more reception rooms, and rooms for the 
cafe, a drug store, a barber shop, a gents’ fur¬ 
nishing store, and several small offices. In most 
instances the parlor and one or more writing 
rooms are on the second floor, which likewise 
has the best rooms for guests. All of the floors 
are reached by elevators and are furnished with 
fire escapes. 

Two general plans of service are in vogue, 
known as the European and the American. The 
European plan is to place a price upon each par¬ 
ticular kind of food enumerated on a bill of 
fare and extend to the guest the privilege of or¬ 
dering what he pleases. In fact, the matter of 
board is entirely separate from lodging, since 
the guest registers only to take a room at a spec¬ 
ified rate per day, and he may secure his meals 
wherever he chooses. This practice has been 
adopted with more or less favor in many of the 
American cities. The American plan is to serve 
a general meal without special orders. Under 
this plan the guest pays for his lodging and 
board at a specified price per day or per week. 

HOT SPRINGS, a city in Arkansas, county 
seat of Garland County, fifty miles southwest of 
Little Rock, on the Chicago, Rock Island and 
Pacific and the Saint Louis, Iron Mountain and 
Southern railroads. The noteworthy buildings 
include the Federal Army and Navy Hospital, 
the high school, the public library, and the Park, 
Eastman,. Arlington, and Majestic hotels. Build¬ 
ing stone is quarried in the vicinity. It has a 
large trade in cotton, fruit, and merchandise. 
Hot Springs is celebrated for its thermal springs, 
about 75 in number, some of which have a tem¬ 
perature of 130° Fahr. Electric lights, water- 


HOTTENTOT 


1041 


HOUSTON 


works, rapid transit, and sewerage are among the 
improvements. The place was settled in 1804 
and was incorporated as a city in 1879. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 9,973; in 1910, 14,434. 

HOTTENTOT (hdt't’n-tot), the descend¬ 
ants of the aborigines of the southern part of Af¬ 
rica. When South Africa was first visited by 
Europeans, this peculiar race occupied a terri¬ 
tory including about 100,000 square miles, from 
the Cape of Good Hope to the Orange River, 
but subsequently the number has been reduced 
greatly. A late census of Cape Colony places 
the Hottentot population at 90,000, but these are 
mixed more or less with other races, the total 
number of purely Hottentot inhabitants being 
about 20,000. The name was first applied to 
them by the Dutch; they call themselves Qua- 
qua. The complexion is light brown, the hair 
is wooly, the nose is flat, the nostrils are wide, 
the beard is scant, and the cheekbones are high. 
Though symmetrical in form, their faces are 
quite ugly, and the general appearance is not 
pleasant. Formerly the dialect consisted of three 
classes, but at present they have a language 
mixed largely with the Dutch and English. They 
wear European dress. 

HOUGHTON (ho'tun), a village of Michi¬ 
gan, county seat of Houghton County, 95 miles 
northwest of Marquette, on the Copper Range 
and the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic rail¬ 
roads. It is located on Portage Lake, near Lake 
Superior, and has transportation facilities by a 
canal. The surrounding country is a rich min¬ 
eral district, chiefly of copper. The principal 
buildings include the high school, the county 
courthouse, and a number of fine ward schools 
and churches. It is the seat of the Michigan 
College of Mines. Electric lights, waterworks, 
and a library are among the public utilities. 
Population, 1904, 4,345; in 1910, 5,113. 

HOUND, a class of dogs useful in hunting, 
noted for their ability to locate game by the 
scent. The best known species include the blood¬ 
hound, staghound, foxhound, beagle, harrier, and 
greyhound. In the last named the scent is less 
acute. Hounds are noted for their docility and 
attachment to man and, when properly trained, 
are of much service. See Dog. 

HOURGLASS, an invention made at Alex¬ 
andria, Egypt, in the 3d century, and used for 
measuring time. It consists of two hollow glass 
bulbs connected by a narrow neck, through which 
dry sand or some other substance passes. The 
instrument is not absolutely accurate, as the 
sand is impeded or affected by the fluctuations 
of temperature and the humidity contained in the 
air. Hourglasses are divided into hourglasses 
proper, and those having a shorter period, as 
66 


half-hour and three-minute glasses. In the 16th 
and 17th centuries hourglasses were used as reg¬ 
ular pulpit furniture to jpdicate the length of 
the sermon, being placed where the congregation 
could see the grains of sand falling from the up¬ 
per to the lower bulb. 

HOUSATONIC (hoo-sa-ton'ik), a river of 
western Massachusetts and Connecticut. It rises 
in the former State, flows through Connecticut, 
and after a 'course of 150 miles discharges into 
Long Island Sound. It passes through a rich 
country, affords an abundance of water power 
for manufacturing, and is affected by tide water 
for fourteen miles. 

HOUSE BOAT, a raft with a flat bottom, 
designed as the support of a house with several 
rooms. The first structures of this kind were 
made by fishermen, who designed them as habi¬ 
tations during the fishing season, and later they 
came into use for the homes of people who were 
unable to own land. More recently structures of 
this kind have been built for the use of families 
or parties who wish to spend the summer season 
in fishing, or as a season of recreation. House 
boats are very common on the, Thames River 
during the summer. They have come into use 
on the Saint Lawrence River and other streams 
of North America, especially on the lakes. The 
smaller house boats are propelled by means of 
poles or oars and the larger ones by gasoline 
engines. Some of these structures have houses 
with three or four well-furnished rooms, and of¬ 
fer good accommodations to those who wish to 
spend a short season in rest or recreation. 

HOUSEFLY. See Fly. 

HOUSELEEK, or Live-Forever, a genus 
of plants with thick, succulent stems and leaves. 
They are cultivated for their ornamental flow¬ 
ers. Several species are native to the region ex¬ 
tending from Siberia to Italy, but the cultivated 
plants have been improved and are popular in 
gardens and parks. The common houseleek has 
flowering stems from six to twelve inches in 
height, and is the cyphel that grows on the rocky 
soil of the Alps in Europe. The flower stems 
and the blossoms have a beautiful roseate hue. 
It is hardy under cultivation and the flowers 
vary in color, though they are usually red or 
yellow. The juices of the leaves are considered 
cooling v^hen applied to ulcers, burns, and in¬ 
flammations. 

HOUSTON (hus'tun), a city in Texas, 
county seat of Harris County, fifty miles north¬ 
west of Galveston. It is on the Missouri, Kan¬ 
sas and Texas, the International and Great 
Northern, the Southern Pacific, the Gulf, Colo¬ 
rado and Santa Fe, and other railroads. The 
chief buildings include the Carnegie Public Li- 


HOWITZER 


1042 


HUDSON BAY 


brary, the high school, the Federal building, the 
county courthouse, the Masonic Temple, the Rice 
Polytechnic Institute* and the cotton exchange. 
It has a fine union railroad depot. Among the 
manufactures are furniture, spirituous beverages, 
oil, cotton and woolen goods, railroad cars, farm¬ 
ing machinery, and packed beef. The cotton¬ 
seed oil factories are among the largest in the 
United States. The surrounding country is ag¬ 
ricultural and fruit producing and contains de¬ 
posits of cement-producing minerals. Among the 
facilities are electric street railways, street light¬ 
ing, sewerage, pavements, and an extensive sew¬ 
er system. The place was settled in 1836 and 
was named in honor of Samuel Houston. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1900, 44,633; in 1910, 78,800. 

HOWITZER (hou'its-er). See Gun. 

HOWLER (houl'er), or Stentor, a kind of 
monkey native to South America, so named from 
the hideous howls it utters. The hyoid bone is 
expanded into a hollow drum, which communi¬ 
cates with the larynx and acts as a resonator. 
In the males it is much larger than in the fe¬ 
males. The hair is long, the tail is prehensile, 
and the thumbs are large. In size this monkey 
is the largest of America. Ten or twelve species 
of howling monkeys have been listed. The ursine 
howler is black or dark brown with yellow mark¬ 
ings, and the golden howler has a chestnut-red 
color diversified with yellow on the back. The 
latter furnishes the principal food for the na¬ 
tives in many parts of the Andes. Some of the 
species are peculiar in that they hang from the 
limbs of trees, suspended by their tails, and utter 
sounds that can be heard more than a mile at 
night. 

HOWRAH (hou'ra), a city of India, on 
the Hugh River, opposite Calcutta, with which 
it is connected by a floating bridge. The chief 
buildings include many churches, temples, 
schools, hospitals, and government structures. 
It has good railroad and electric railway con¬ 
nections. The manufactures include fabrics, 
furniture, machinery, utensils, and toys. How¬ 
rah is a modern city and has many municipal 
utilities. In 1785 it was little more than a small 
village of huts. It is now a suburban section of 
Calcutta. Population, 1907, 161,535. 

HUCKLEBERRY (huk'k’l-ber-ry), or 
Whortleberry, a small shrub native to the tem¬ 
perate part of the Northern Hemisphere. It be¬ 
longs to the genus Vaccium. Many species are 
included in the genus, some of which are com¬ 
mon throughout North America. They have 
bell-shaped flowers and berries with many seeds. 
They thrive best in the dry soil of woods and 
mountain sides and yield dark purple berries, 
which are used in preserves. Species called bil¬ 


berry grow in moist and marshy places, but their 
fruit is less serviceable, owing to greater tart¬ 
ness. Most species attain a height of from one 
to two feet. 

HUDDERSFIELD (hud'derz-feld), a city in 
the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, on the 
Colne River, sixteen miles southwest of Leeds. 
The chief buildings include the townhall, the 
public library, the Market hall, and the technical 
school. The place is noted for its manufactures 
of steam engines and machinery. It produces 
cotton, woolen and silk goods, and utensils. The 
city has extensive railroad connections and sev¬ 
eral lines of electric railways. The public utili¬ 
ties include sewerage, pavements, several parks, 
and a system of waterworks. It is the seat of 
Huddersfield College, which is affiliated with the 
University of London. Population, 1907, 94,814. 

HUDSON (hud's’n), a town of Massachu¬ 
setts, in Middlesex County, 27 miles west of 
Boston, on the Boston and Maine Railroad. It 
is situated on the Assabet River and is sur¬ 
rounded by a productive farming country. The 
manufactures include clothing, boots and shoes, 
leather, machinery, and cigars. It has a public 
library, electric lights, waterworks, and well- 
improved streets. Several school buildings and 
churches, a townhall, and a number of substan¬ 
tial business blocks are among the chief build¬ 
ings. Population, 1905, 6,217; in 1910, 6,743. 

HUDSON, county seat of Columbia County, 
New York, on the Hudson River, 28 miles be¬ 
low Albany. It is on the Boston and Albany, the 
New York Central, and other railroads. The site 
is on the slope of Prospect Hill. Among the 
chief buildings are the county courthouse, the 
State Armory, the State House of Refuge for 
Women, the city hospital, and the Hudson Or¬ 
phanage Asylum. The Public Square and the 
Franklin Square Park are points of interest. 
The manufactures include steam engines, car 
wheels, pianos, carriages, cotton and woolen 
goods, and farming implements. It has electric 
street railways, electric lights, pavements, wa¬ 
terworks, and a sewer system. The place was 
settled by New Englanders in 1783, when it was 
known as Claverack Landing, but the present 
name was adopted in 1784 and it was chartered 
the following year. Population, 1910, 11,417. 

HUDSON BAY, a large bay, or inland sea, 
situated in the northeastern part of North 
America. Its length is about 1,000 miles; 
breadth, 600 miles; and area, 400,000 square 
miles. It is inclosed wholly by British territory, 
communicates with the sea through Fox Channel 
and Hudson Strait, and receives the drainage of 
a large portion of Canada. Numerous reefs 
and islands abound along the western shore. In 


HUDSON RIVER 


1043 


HUGUENOTS 


the southern portion is James Bay. The streams 
flowing into it include the Great Whale, Church¬ 
ill, East Main, Albany, Nelson, Fish, Seal, and 
Severn rivers. It is open to navigation about 
five months in the summer, and the remainder 
of the year its surface is covered with ice or 
largely obstructed by drift ice. Several harbors 
are situated in the southern part, where the ad¬ 
joining regions are adapted to stock raising and 
farming. The fur trade and white whale fisher¬ 
ies are especially profitable, but considerable 
quantities of fish are also secured in the summer 
season. 

HUDSON RIVER, an important river of 
New York, rises by two small streams in the 
Adirondack Mountains, at a height of 4,325 feet 
above sea level. Its course is almost due south 
and about 340 miles long. It flows into the Bay 
of New York. The Hudson is navigable a dis¬ 
tance of 145 miles, to Albany, for the largest 
vessels. Beautiful falls of 50 feet are at Glens 
Falls, 56 miles north of Troy, where great water 
power has been developed by means of a dam. 
Its course is through regions both historical and 
beautiful. It was named from its discoverer, 
Henry Hudson. Upon it sailed the first steam¬ 
boat made by Fulton. A tunnel under it con¬ 
nects Jersey City and New York, and it is 
spanned by many valuable bridges. Near its 
mouth are the Palisades, which rise from 300 
to 500 feet above the surface of the water. Tap- 
' pan Sea, about three miles wide, and Haver- 
straw Bay are features between the Palisades 
and the Highlands. About 50 miles north of 
New York is the West Point Military Academy, 
near which the historic treason of Arnold took 
* place. The upper Hudson is noted for its pre¬ 
cipitous banks and picturesque scenery. Albany, 
Yonkers, Troy, Peekskill, and Poughkeepsie are 
among the cities on its banks. 

HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY, a corpora¬ 
tion chartered by Charles II. of England in 1670, 
in which Prince Rupert and other noblemen 
were interested. The company secured sole con¬ 
trol of the large region known as Rupert’s Land, 
consisting of all that portion of Canada which 
drains into Hudson Bay. The object was to 
control the fur and skin trade. Later the com¬ 
pany secured control for a like purpose of pos¬ 
sessions extending to the Pacific, but in 1869 its 
rights were transferred largely to the crown in 
consideration of $1,500,000. However, the com¬ 
pany reserved rights to certain ports, about 50,- 
000 acres of land, and exclusive control of the 
chase in certain regions. It has still a large 
trade in furs and in the sale of its lands to spec- 
* ulators^and settlers. 

HUE (hoo-a'), a city on the Hue River, in 


Anam, ten miles from the China Sea. It is the 
capital of Anam and is noted for its importance 
as a military and trade center. The French for¬ 
tified it in 1801, to whom it is subject. It con¬ 
tains a garrison of troops and several public 
buildings, but the houses of the natives are in¬ 
ferior. The inhabitants are mostly Annamites, 
but include 850 Chinese and 380 Europeans. 
Population, 1906, 53,041. 

HUE AND CRY, a phrase that originated 
with the Anglo-Saxons from the manner in 
which criminals were apprehended. If the of¬ 
fender could not be found, the hue and cry was 
raised, and all the people joined in the search 
until the offender was seized. For many years 
all persons informed of a criminal offense were 
by law required to raise the hue and cry, but it 
was abolished many years ago. 

HUGLI (hoo'gle), or Hoogly, an important 
river of British India, the principal channel of 
the delta of the Ganges. It is formed by the 
confluence of three branches of the Ganges, 
known as the Churni, Bhagirathi, and Jalangi, 
and has a length of 160 miles. At the mouth it 
is about fifteen miles wide and at the time of the 
southwest monsoon it is traversed* by a bore 
seven feet high. Shoals obstruct the entrance of 
the river in many places, but ships drawing 25 
feet of water may ascend as far as Calcutta. 
The city of Hugh, population 30,500, is located 
about 27 miles north of Calcutta, on the west 
bank of this river. 

HUGUENOTS (hu'ge-nots), a term which 
probably originated from Hugues, an obscure 
religious advocate, and applied to the Protestants 
of France during the Reformation and in the re¬ 
ligious struggles of the 16th and 17th centuries. 
Among the early Protestants of France were 
Farel and Margaret of Valois, sister of Francis 
I. and Queen of Navarre. The movement was 
opposed by Francis I., but, when Henry II. of 
Germany joined the Protestant party and gave 
it encouragement in 1547-59, the Reformation 
made powerful advances in both France and 
Germany. In the reign of Francis II. it was 
headed by the Bourbon family and supported 
with vigor by the Queen of Navarre and the 
Prince of Conde. The Guises led the Catholic 
party. Under their leadership a fanatical perse¬ 
cution of the Protestants was pursued, when 
many were executed or banished and their prop¬ 
erty was confiscated. The events rapidly formed 
under which the Protestants took up arms. 
They named Louis I., the Prince of Bourbon- 
Conde, as their leader, and at a meeting in Nan¬ 
tes, on Feb. 1, 1560, resolved to petition the king 
for the removal of the Guises and the freedom 
of religion. It was also agreed that, if the peti- 


HUGUENOTS 


1044 


HULL 


tion be ignored, the king should be seized and 
Conde proclaimed regent of the realm. Shortly 
after the king was informed of the intention and 
fled to Amboise, and 1,200 Protestants -were 
made prisoners and executed. 

After the death of Francis, in 1560, it became 
necessary for Charles IX. and his mother, Cath¬ 
erine de’ Medici, to curb the power of the 
Guises by encouraging the Protestants. Accord¬ 
ingly, the Guises were removed, an edict freeing 
the Huguenots from penalty of death was issued, 
and in 1562 they received the freedom of re¬ 
ligious worship on their own estates. An attack 
made by adherents of the Duke of Guise on a 
Protfestant meeting, in 1562, brought about a pro*- 
longed series of religious wars, by which France 
suffered great losses in life and property for 
many years. The Protestants were defeated at 
Dreux by the Duke of Guise, but he was assas¬ 
sinated on Feb. 18, 1563, while marching upon 
Conde at Orleans. The Peace of Amboise, con¬ 
cluded by Catherine, granted freedom of religion 
in many portions of France, but an alliance with 
Spain caused a renewal of hostilities and the exe¬ 
cution of about 3,000 Huguenots. Conde was 
killed in battle at Jarnac on March 3, 1569, and 
shortly after Catherine began to plan the sup¬ 
pression of the Protestants by a general massa¬ 
cre. This scheme was inaugurated in 1572 by 
the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, and within 
a few months about 30,000 Protestants were 
slain in France. The Protestants fled for pro¬ 
tection to their fortified towns and carried on a 
defensive war with varying success until 1580, 
when peace was concluded. 

In 1584 Henry of Navarre became heir to the 
throne on account of the death of the Duke of 
Anjou, but the Duke of Guise laid claim to the 
throne of France. He revived~the Holy League, 
formed an alliance with the Pope and Spain to 
exterminate heresy, and inaugurated the so- 
called “War of the Three Henries.” The Prot¬ 
estants secured troops from Germany and some 
from England, and under the leadership of 
Henry of Navarre presented a formidable oppo¬ 
sition. In this conflict the Duke of Guise, Car¬ 
dinal Lorraine, and the King of France were 
assassinated, and Henry of Navarre ascended 
the throne. On April 13, 1598, the famous Edict 
of Nantes was issued, by which the Protestants 
were given freedom of worship. Previous 'to 
this, in 1593, Henry of Navarre went over to the 
Catholic party for the purpose of maintaining 
himself on the throne. 

In the meantime the Protestant influence con¬ 
tinued to develop, and successive hostilities oc¬ 
curred in 1615, 1622, and from 1624 to 1629, 
when a war was waged against the Protestants 


by Richelieu, which ended in the latter year by 
the capture of the Huguenot stronghold, La Ro¬ 
chelle. However, the Protestants still continued 
to enjoy freedom of conscience under the minis¬ 
try of Richelieu and Mazarin, but they were re¬ 
quired to surrender their strongholds. Later 
Louis XIV. and Madame de Maintenon inau¬ 
gurated a new series of persecutions, which 
caused many thousands to seek refuge in Ger¬ 
many, Switzerland, Holland, and England. 
Those remaining were guarded by dragoons or 
compelled to abjure' their fgith. Louis revoked 
the Edict of Nantes on Oct. 23, 1685, which was 
followed by horrible persecutions and the in¬ 
dustry of thousands of Huguenots was carried 
to foreign countries. These persecutions in¬ 
cluded the annulling of marriages, the ruthless 
murder of women and children, the execution of 
preachers, and the closing of convents. Louis 
XV. issued an edict of suppression, though this 
was revoked because of general opposition. The 
Protestants attained equality only with the Rev¬ 
olution of 1789, when they secured a recognition 
of their political and civil rights. 

The first Huguenots came to the American 
colonies in 1630, when they were induced to set¬ 
tle in the Carolinas under the charter granted to 
Sir Robert Heath. About the same time large 
numbers settled in Virginia. When the Edict 
of Nantes was revoked, their immigration 
reached its height, and large parties came to 
Virginia and other American colonies in 1700.’ 
They founded a settlement at Charleston, S. C., 
and made settlements in the middle states, par¬ 
ticularly in New York. The industry of the 
Huguenots added greatly to the early develop-, 
ment of the colonies, since they possessed superi¬ 
or skill, thrift, and energy. Besides engaging in 
agriculture, they introduced dyeing, the manufac¬ 
ture of woolen goods, and glass making. 

HULL, a city of Quebec, capital of Ottawa 
County, on the Ottawa River, opposite the city 
of Ottawa. It is on the Canadian Pacific and 
the Pontiac Pacific railways and a number of 
electric railway lines. The Ottawa River is 
crossed by two extensive bridges, the Chaudiere 
bridge over the Chaudiere Falls and the Inter¬ 
provincial, or Alexandria bridge, a short dis¬ 
tance farther down stream at Nepean Point. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the Church 
of the Holy Redeemer, the Notre Dame de 
Grace, the Church of Saint James, the 
courthouse and jail, the city hall, the Notre 
Dame College, the Notre Dame Hall, the 
Scott block, the Graham block, and many public 
schools. It has manufactures of cement, matches, 
clothing, cured and packed meat, lumber prod¬ 
ucts, hardware, and machinery. The municipal- 


HULL 


1045 


HUMMING BIRD 


ity maintains a modern fire department, water¬ 
works, an electric lighting plant, sewerage, and 
street pavements. Hull was first settled in 1800 
and was incorporated in 1870. It suffered great¬ 
ly by a fire in 1900, but has been rebuilt on a 
more substantial plan. The prosperity of the 
city is due to its extensive trade. Population, 
1908, 14,765. 

HULL, or Kingston-upon-Hull, a river port 
of England, in the East Riding of York, on the 
north bank of the estuary of the Humber, where 
it is joined by the Hull. The Trinity Church, 
the townhall, the corn exchange, and several hos¬ 
pitals are. among the noted buildings. It is noted 
for its spacious docks and an extensive trade. 
The city has many modern improvements, such 
as gas and electric lights, street railways, stone 
and asphalt pavements, and systems of sewerage 
and waterworks. The manufactures include 
ships, steamboats, flax and cotton goods, oil, 
cordage, machinery, and utensils. It is noted" as 
a commercial and educational center, has a fine 
public school system, and is the seat of several 
large churches, a public library, and Hull Col¬ 
lege. The city was chartered by Edward I. in 
1299. In the Civil War it was held by the Par¬ 
liamentary forces, and successfully repulsed the 
Royalists at two different sieges. Population, 
1907, 266,792. 

HULL HOUSE, a social settlement in Chi¬ 
cago, situated at 335 South Halsted street. It 
was founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Starr 
in 1889, and was so named from Charles J. 
Hull, who occupied the site as a tenement resi¬ 
dence and junk shop. The portion of the city 
surrounding the site is occupied largely by for¬ 
eigners, including chiefly Jews, Italians, and 
French. Under wise management, the institu¬ 
tion has been made highly beneficial, and its 
property includes a gymnasium, a library, a cof¬ 
feehouse, and numerous buildings used in edu¬ 
cational and industrial work. The Hull House- 
takes rank as a leader in the social settlement 
movement of North America, and many of its 
former residents have held responsible positions 
in city and state offices and as inspectors and su¬ 
perintendents of industrial enterprises. 

HUMBOLDT (hum'bolt), an inland river 
of Nevada., rises by two forks in Elko County, 
and after a course oP390 miles flows into Hum¬ 
boldt Lake, an inland body of water in the west¬ 
ern part of that State, about 4,000 feet above 
sea level. The Humboldt River is remarkable 
because its water contains a large per cent, of 
soda. It flows through an arid valley which has 
large tracts of sagebrush. The dry air causes 
the water to evaporate and become less in vol¬ 
ume toward the mouth. The river is followed 


from its source to its mouth by the Central Pa¬ 
cific Railroad. 

HUMIDITY (hu-mid'i-ty). See Rain. 

HUMMING BIRD, the name applied to a 
family of small birds, so named from the sound 
made by their wings in flight. They are native 
only to America and the West Indies, and are 
more abundant in the tropical than in the tem¬ 
perate regions. Most species are very small, 
some not larger than a bumblebee, but all are 
noted for their beauty of color and plumage, 
their quickness in darting through the air, and 
the peculiar manner in which they gather the 
food from flowers and foliage. In taking food 
they never alight, but feed while hovering on 
the wing before a flower, supporting themselves 
by vibratory movement of the wings, thus pro¬ 
ducing a peculiar humming sound. Most species 
have a long, slender beak, either curved or 
straight, and a tongue which they are capable of 



HUMMING BIRDS. 


protruding some distance in securing food. Their 
food consists partly of the nectar found in flow¬ 
ers, but they also feed on insects, and carry 
away flies caught in the webs of spiders. The 
female lays two eggs in a nest built of vegetable 
fibers or cotton. Both sexes display much bold¬ 
ness in defending their young, and with much 
vigor strike their enemies, usually aiming to 
inflict a wound in the eyes. No less than 400 
species of humming birds have been described, 
some of which are migratory and are seen far 
in the north of the Temperate Zone. The 
tufted-necked humming bird of northern Brazil 
is the most remarkable species of these birds, 
and is noted for its variety of color and beauti¬ 
ful plumage. The only sound given out by hum¬ 
ming birds is a chirp, with a vigor equal to that 
of a cricket. Their flight is so rapid as to elude 
the eye. The larger species are about the size 
of a wren. 





HUNDRED 


1046 


HUNGARY 


HUNDRED (hun'dred), an ancient territo¬ 
rial division of England, which occupied an in¬ 
termediate place between the parish or town¬ 
ship and the shire or county. The name prob¬ 
ably originated from a convenient grouping of 
one hundred families for local government. It 
is thought to have been a Danish institution, 
adopted by King Alfred about 897. The name 
wapentake, which has reference to the military 
side of the organization, is generally connected 
with the Danish occupation. The hundreds were 
represented in the shire mote, which, under the 
presidency of its bishop, sheriff, or earl, regu¬ 
lated the affairs of the county. In the time of 
Edgar the hundred became responsible for the 
administration of justice, and a fine or some 
other punishment was imposed upon it if crim¬ 
inals were not brought to the law. 

HUNDRED DAYS, a term applied to the 
second reign of Napoleon I. as Emperor of 
France. It began on March 20, 1815, when he 
entered Paris after the return from Elba, and 
ended on June 28 of the same year, when Louis 
XVIII. was restored to power. Napoleon, on 
hearing that the restoration of the Bourbon 
monarchy was unpopular in France, left Elba 
and landed near Cannes with 900 men. Imme¬ 
diately the soldiers rallied to the support of their 
old leader, but- 800,000 men were sent against 
him by the allies, who had pledged themselves 
to forever prevent Napoleon from disturbing 
the peace of Europe. He swore to support a 
liberal constitution and succeeded in raising an 
army of 287,000 men, but was defeated at Water¬ 
loo. He abdicated in favor of his son and gave 
himself up, after attempting to flee to America. 

HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR, the name of a 
long struggle between England and France, in 
which the English kings sought to obtain the 
territory and crown of the French kings. It 
began in 1337 and continued with several inter¬ 
missions until 1453. Edward III. of England, 
who was a son of a sister of Charles IV. of 
France, claimed the crown of that country. 
War was declared in 1337, but the early contests 
were those of diplomacy rather than of arms, 
and in 1346 the English gained a substantial 
victory at Crecy, after which Calais became an 
English possession. The French were again 
defeated at Poitiers in 1356, where the leader¬ 
ship of the Black Prince was a potent factor in 
obtaining victory for the English. In 1360 a 
short intermission was secured by the Peace 
of Bretigny, but when Charles V. ascended the 
throne of France he had the help of Du Guesc- 
lin in regaining the lands lost by his predeces¬ 
sor. He was succeeded by Charles VI. in 1380, 
when few possessions were left to the English 


in France, and a truce for 28 years was signed 
in 1396. War broke out again in 1415, owing 
largely to the Civil War in France, hence the 
English under Henry V. found comparatively 
little resistance. The latter compelled Charles 
VI., in the Treaty of Troyes, to recognize him 
as his heir and the regent of France. At that 
time the English were in possession of nearly the 
whole of France, but in 1429, through the 
achievements of Joan of Arc, the French were 
victorious on every hand. When the war closed, 
in 1453, the English held no territory except 
the city of Calais and a small district adjoining, 
and this was regained by the French in 1558. 

HUNGARY (hun'ga-ri), a political division 
of Europe, forming the eastern part of the mon¬ 
archy of Austria-Hungary. It has an area of 
125,430 square miles, and comprises, besides 
Hungary proper, Croatia, Slavonia, and Tran¬ 
sylvania. In 1900 it had a population of 19,254,- 
559. The surface is well adapted to agriculture, 
which is the principal industry. It may be 
regarded a natural basin around which extend 
mountain chains, except on the south, where 
the valley of the Danube stretches into Servia. 
The Theiss, Danube, and Drave, with their 
tributaries, form the drainage, practically all 
of which is by the Danube into the Black Sea. 
Two lakes, the Balaton Lake and the Neusied- 
ler Sea, are situated between the Drave and 
Danube, and form the principal lake basins. 
They have a depth of about forty feet and. in¬ 
clude extensive marshes, but the water evapo¬ 
rates from the latter in dry seasons. 

The productions, climate, and general indus¬ 
tries of Hungary are practically the same as 
those of Austria. Hungary is exceedingly rich 
in minerals, forests, soil products, and internal 
improvements. The canals and navigable rivers 
have a length of 3,150 miles, while railroad lines 
penetrate all portions of the country, the differ¬ 
ent lines including about 12,500 miles. Among 
the minerals are iron, lead, copper, cobalt, salt, 
gold, silver, coal, petroleum, zinc, antimony, and 
peat. The soil products consist of wheat, cot¬ 
ton, tobacco, hay, barley, rye, a large variety of 
fruits, and many valuable forest products. 
Stock raising, dairying, and manufacturing are 
of growing importance. About 35 per cent, of 
the adult inhabitants are illiterate, but schools 
and colleges are maintained under government 
grants, and school attendance is compulsory. 
The religious affiliations are diversified greatly, 
as also are the races represented in the various 
portions. Among the numerically strongest sects 
are the Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, 
Greek Catholics, Arminians, Unitarians, and 
Israelites. All forms of worship are free and 


HUNGARY 


1047 


HUNGARY 


marked liberalism is shown in the treatment of 
all classes. The races most numerous are Hun¬ 
garians, Germans, Servians, Croatians, Bohe¬ 
mians, Moravians, Slovaks, and Jews. How¬ 
ever, the Hungarians constitute about one-half 
of the inhabitants. 

History. The Hungarians, or Magyars, are 
an Asiatic people of the Turanian race and are 
allied to the Finns and Turks. Formerly they 
occupied a large district in southern Russia 
adjacent to the Caspian Sea, but under their 
leader, Arpad, they crossed the Carpathians 
in 889 and established a foothold in the plain of 
the Danube. Subsequently they conquered the 
regions now occupied by Transylvania and 
Hungary and made incursions into Germany 
and France. Otho-I. of Germany defeated them 
with great slaughter, after which they became 
less warlike and developed agriculture and civil¬ 
ized arts. They established a kingdom in the 
latter part of the 10th century. In 997 Steven 
I. became their king, ruling until 1030. During 
his time the Hungarians embraced Christianity, 
established churches, founded cities, developed 
the arts of peace and laid the foundation for 
their present power. Steven was made a saint 
by Pope Sylvester II. and was given the title 
of Apostolic King. During the reign of suc¬ 
ceeding kings the boundary line was extended. 
Croatia and Slavonia were added in 1089 by 
King Ladislaus and Dalmatia was annexed in 
1102 by King Coloman. 

In 1222 the nobles secured from Andrew II. 
the Golden Bull, the so-called Magna Charta of 
Hungary, by which the civil rights were defined. 
Andrew III. was the last of the house of Ar¬ 
pad, died in 1301, and was succeeded by Charles 
Robert of Anjou in 1309. During his reign 
Hungary became one of the greatest military 
powers of Central Europe. In 1342 Louis I. 
became king. In his reign of forty years he 
annexed Red Russia, Moldavia, Poland, and a 
part of Servia. Sigismund, who ascended the 
throne in 1387, was elected Emperor of Ger¬ 
many. His reign became famous for the wars 
with the Turks and the Hussites. He estab¬ 
lished an academy at Buda and secured vari¬ 
ous reforms. Matthias Corvinus became king 
in 1458, founded a university at Pressburg, de¬ 
fended the country against the Turks, and added 
territory to his dominion. The next sovereign 
of note was Ladislaus II., who reigned from 
1490 to 1516, and was succeeded by Louis II., 
reigning until 1526. While the last two sover¬ 
eigns occupied the throne the country was dis¬ 
turbed by domestic troubles and incursions of 
the Turks. At Mohacs the Hungarian army 
was defeated by Soliman the Great and 30,000 


people were carried into slavery. A large por¬ 
tion of the Hungarian provinces remained under 
Turkish dominion for 160 years. Ferdinand of 
Austria, a brother-in-law of Louis II., subse¬ 
quent to the death of the latter entered upon a 
conquest of Hungary. After a dispute between 
him and John Zapolya, of Transylvania, the 
Protestants sided with Ferdinand and the house 
of Hapsburg obtained control of Hungary. In 
1687 Leopold I. forced the Hungarians to declare 
the crown of Hungary forever hereditary in 
the house of Hapsburg. 

Francis Rakoczy induced the Hungarians to 
rebel against Austria in 1703, but the effort 
proved futile. Charles VI. succeeded in gaining 
the approval of the Hungarians by granting re¬ 
forms and adopting the Pragmatic Sanction, 
under which Maria Theresa eventually became 
ruler. Both Germany and France disputed her 
claim, but the invaders were repelled by the 
Hungarians. The queen showed her gratitude 
by granting religious freedom, building schools, 
and encouraging agriculture. Joseph II., son 
of Maria Theresa, governed Hungary without 
regard for its constitution, but, when Francis 
I. succeeded him, the Hungarians gave the lat¬ 
ter valuable support in money and troops to 
defend the Hungarian constitution against the 
claims of Napoleon. Later he imposed exor¬ 
bitant taxes, but in 1825 a diet was summoned 
to devise reforms, which discontinued the Latin 
language in public debates and adopted the 
Magyar. The diets of 1830 and 1832 again raised 
questions regarding absolute religious views, 
popufar suffrage, and the rights of the common 
people, in which such men as Francis Deak 
and Louis Kossuth were prominent factors. 
These patriots were first imprisoned, but, when 
the French Revolution of 1848 gained strength, 
it gave an impulse to the demands for greater 
rights and equality to the people of Hungary, 
and soon after many concessions were granted 
by the court of Vienna. 

Kossuth published the first Hungarian daily 
newspaper and spread the doctrine of human 
rights broadcast in the land, advocating equal 
taxes for all, freedom of speech and the press, 
and equality in citizenship. The government 
began to operate secretly against these demands, 
but the Austrians, who were also clamoring for 
reforms, encouraged a revolt of the Croats and 
Wallachians, inducing them to invade Hungary. 
An Austrian army sought to suppress the revo¬ 
lution, but after a number of battles the suc¬ 
cesses were on the side of the Hungarians, and 
Austria was obliged to enlist aid from the 
Russians. After struggling for some time, 
the Hungarians were obliged to surrender, and 


HUNS 


1048 


HUNTINGTON 


many of the rebellious statesmen and soldiers 
were executed. The Battle of Sadowa, in 1866, 
brought about a separation between Austria 
and Germany, and the demands of Hungary 
were now heeded by the granting of a consti¬ 
tution. In 1867 Francis Joseph was crowned 
King of Hungary with a splendid public cere¬ 
mony. Since then the government has been a 
constitutional monarchy. Hungary has its own 
parliament for local government and sends its 
share of delegates to the national assembly, a 
form of home rule long contended for by Ire¬ 
land. Budapest is the capital. It is a beautiful 
city of thrift and enterprise. Other important 
cities include Szegedin, Maria Thcresiopel, 
Pressburg, Debreczin, and Temesvar. See 
Austria-Hungary. 

HUNS, a Turanian race of nomadic and 
warlike people, who, prior to the Christian era, 
were confined to Asia. They had a yellow com¬ 
plexion, a low and strong structure, a flat nose, 
and eyes deeply sunken in the head. To prevent 
the growth of the beard they scarred their 
faces with lashes and consequently possessed a 
peculiar ugliness. In habits they were roving, 
built no houses or cities, clad themselves in 
skins, and were noted for excellent horseman¬ 
ship. Their families and all their possessions 
were carried in huge wagons, and their means 
of subsistence was secured largely from the 
chase and rude agriculture. 

The Huns organized a powerful state in Mon¬ 
golia. In the year 200 b. c. they overran the 
Chinese Empire, and after consecutive defeats 
compelled the Chinese Emperor, Kao-ti, to 
make a treaty. In the reign of Vou-ti, about 
the year 80 b. c., they were defeated by the Chi¬ 
nese, and subsequently large waves of emigrants 
began to move westward in search of posses¬ 
sions in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea. They 
settled between the Ural and Volga rivers. 
About 372 a. d. many Huns crossed the Volga, 
conquered the Alani and the Ostrogoths, and 
caused the Visigoths to emigrate and settle west 
and south of the Danube. Successive waves of 
immigrants followed each other until the for¬ 
mer possessions of the Goths became a strong¬ 
hold of the Huns, and their powerful chief, 
Rugias, in 432, secured from Theodosius II., 
Emperor of Byzantium, valuable tributes and 
territorial possessions. 

Their greatest warrior was Attila, who called 
himself the scourge of God. He gathered a 
half million savages, with whom he moved 
westward from his wooden palace in Hungary, 
and vowed that he would not stop until he 
reached the sea. The army of Theodosius was 
beaten in three battles and Macedonia, Thrace, 


and Greece were completely overrun by the 
Huns. Subsequently Attila conducted a cam¬ 
paign against the Germans on the Rhine and 
proceeded into France. On the field of Chalons, 
in 451, the Huns were defeated by Aetius, the 
Roman general in Gaul, and Theodoric, King 
of the Goths, and Europe was saved to Chris¬ 
tianity and Aryan civilization. Attila next 
crossed the Alps and descended into Italy, where 
city after city was taken. While marching 
upon the city of Rome, he was met by Pope 
Leo I., and by his majestic mien and exemplary 
character inspired Attila to spare the city. The 
death of Attila and the defeat at Chalons were 
heavy blows against the Huns. Later they 
were defeated in successive battles by the Goths 
and other Germanic tribes. This not only scat¬ 
tered their forces, but required them to remain 
principally on the east side of the Danube. 
HUNTING. See Game. 

HUNTINGDON (hun'ting-dun), a borough 
and the county seat of Huntingdon County, 
Pennsylvania,. on the Juniata River, 98 miles 
west of Harrisburg. It is on the Pennsylvania 
Railroad. Among the chief buildings are the 
county courthouse, the high school, and several 
fine churches. It is the seat of Juniata College 
and of the State Industrial Reformatory. The 
surrounding country has extensive deposits of 
iron, lead, coal, and building stone. Among the 
manufactures are railroad cars, flour, ironware, 
cigars, and machinery. It was settled in 1760 
and incorporated in 1796. Population, 1900, 
6,053; in 1910, 6,861. 

HUNTINGTON, a city in Indiana, county 
seat of Huntington County, on the Little River, 
24 miles southwest of Fort Wayne. It is on the 
Erie and the Wabash railroads. The noteworthy 
buildings include the high school, the public 
library of 12,500 volumes, and a United Breth¬ 
ren College. The surrounding country is agri¬ 
cultural and produces the famous Huntington 
white lime. The general facilities include water¬ 
works, electric railways and lights, and good 
public schools. Among the manufactures are 
woolen goods, cigars, flour, shoes, bicycles, 
stoves, and ironware. It is the seat of important 
railroad shops. The place was settled in 1834 
and incorporated in 1848. Population, 1900, 
9,491: in 1910, 10,272. 

HUNTINGTON, a town of New York, in 
Suffolk County, thirty miles northeast of New 
York City. It is located on Long Island Sound 
and on the Long Island Sound Railroad, has 
electric railroad facilities, and is surrounded by 
a fertile farming district. The manufactures 
include pottery, machinery, brick, clothing, and 
cigars. It is popular as a residential center 


HUNTINGTON 


1049 


HUSBAND AND WIFE 


and as a summer resort. The public library has 
about 5,000 volumes. In the town is a monu¬ 
ment to commemorate the spot where Nathan 
Hale was captured by the British. Population, 
1905, 10,236; in 1910, 12,004. 

HUNTINGTON, a city of West Virginia, 
county seat of Cabell County, on the Ohio River, 
52 miles west of Charleston. It is on the Ches¬ 
apeake and Ohio, the Baltimore and Ohio, and 
other railroads. The surrounding country is 
fertile and produces large quantities of iron, 
coal, salt, fruits, and lumber products. Among 
the chief buildings are the county courthouse, 
the high school, the Carnegie Library, Marshall 
College, and the West Virginia Asylum for the 
Insane. The enterprises include woolen and 
flouring mills, car and broom factories, iron 
works, tobacco factories, and railroad machine 
shops. Electric street railways, pavements, 
public lighting, and waterworks are among the 
municipal facilities. Huntington was settled 
and incorporated in 1871. Population, 1900, 
11,923; in 1910, 31,161. 

HUNTSVILLE, a city in Alabama, county 
seat of Madison County, called “Queen City of 
the Mountains.” It is on the Nashville, Chatta¬ 
nooga and Saint Louis and the Southern rail¬ 
roads, and is beautifully situated on a spur of 
the Cumberland Mountains. The surrounding 
country is agricultural, dairying, and fruit rais¬ 
ing. It is the seat of the Central Alabama 
Academy, the Huntsville Female College, a 
I State normal and industrial school, and the 
Huntsville Female Seminary. Other noteworthy 
buildings are the high school and the county 
courthouse. The manufactures include railroad 
machinery, farming implements, ironware, 
cotton, cotton-seed oil, ice, and lumber prod- 
j ucts. Gas and electric lights, waterworks, and 
a public library are among the facilities. It was 
• settled in 1775 and incorporated in 1800. Pop- 
i ulation, 1900, 8,068; in 1910, 7,611. 

HURON (hu'run), Lake, one of the five 
Great Lakes of North America, located between 
the State of Michigan on the west and the 
Province of Ontario on the east and south. It 
joins lakes Superior and Michigan on the north 
and Lake Erie on the south. The length is 256 
■ miles; the width, 190 miles; and the area, 22,322 
square miles. It is from 200 to 700 feet deep 
and its surface is 582 feet above the sea. With¬ 
in the lake are about 3,000 islands, of which 
Grand Manitoulin is the largest. The bays 
are Saginaw and Thunder on the west and 
Georgian on the east, though there are numerous 
1 others of less importance. The water is pure 
and clear. Many valuable species of fish abound. 
Good harbors are plentiful, including those at 


Bay City, Port Huron, and Cheboygan, Mich.; 
and Collingwood, Kincardine and Goderich, On¬ 
tario. The most important streams flowing into 
it include the Saginaw and Au Sable rivers. 
Lake Huron receives the discharge from Lake 
Superior through the Saint Mary’s River, and 
is connected with Lake Michigan by the Strait 
of Mackinaw. It discharges into Lake Erie 
through the Saint Clair River, Lake Saint Clair, 
and the Detroit River. 

HURON INDIANS, a tribe of North 
American Indians, which formerly occupied the 
lake region of Ontario. They were classed with 
the Huron-Iroquois family. Among the Indians 
they were generally spoken of as the Wyandottes 
and they have been known by that name since 
1751, but they were designated as 'Hurons 
throughout the early colonial times. They were 
frequently at war with the more powerful Iro¬ 
quois, for which purpose they became allied 
with the Algonquins at different periods, but 
by the middle of the 17th century were driven 
westward to the vicinity of Lake Superior. In 
1632 the Jesuits started missions among them, 
and by 1670 they had caused most of the tribe 
to settle in the vicinity of Mackinaw. The 
operation of these missionaries induced many 
to embrace the Catholic religion and to learn 
the French language. Subsequently some of 
them drifted into territory which is now occu¬ 
pied by the United States. In 1812 they aided 
the British and in 1832 a reservation was formed 
on the present site of Kansas City, Kan., which 
was known as the Wyandotte. Subsequently 
the larger part of the tribe was settled on the 
Quapaw reservation, where it numbers about 
300. The Hurons remaining in Ontario, Canada, 
occupy a region near Quebec, where they have 
been intermixed largely with the French. Many 
have adopted civilized arts and are advanced in 
education, 

HURRICANE (hur'ri-kan). See Storms. 

HUSBAND AND WIFE, the two parties 
to a marriage contract, after the same has been 
suitably ratified through solemnization by a 
minister or a civil officer empowered to perform 
that act. The laws which govern the marital 
relation are among the most important of those 
which prevail in any community. Though they 
have been looked upon in this respect from re¬ 
mote antiquity, many marked changes have 
taken place within the last two centuries in the 
legal relations existing between husband and 
wife. The common law of England formerly 
regarded the person of the wife as merged in 
that of the husband, and all of her property 
rights were transferred to him at the time of 
marriage. This law did not give to woman 




HUSBAND AND WIFE 


1050 


HYACINTH 


that place and those rights which place her on 
an equality with the husband, and since then 
many changes have taken place in the equity of 
England as well as in the statute law of Ameri¬ 
ca. At present the marriage relations between 
husband and wife may be said to be those of 
practical equity, and they are governed by the 
laws enacted in the State or Province. Since 
equity and statute law differ somewhat in the 
various states and as there is no national law 
governing marriage relations, it is impossible 
to give more than a general outline of the more 
important common law rules in the scope of 
this article. 

Since the residence of the husband is that of 
the wife, it being her duty to reside with him, 
the husband has the right to determine the resi¬ 
dence of the family. He is required to support 
the wife according to his ability and income, 
and she is obligated to furnish reasonable and 
necessary domestic service. In some states the 
husband is liable for debts contracted by the 
wife before marriage, but generally neither 
husband nor wife is liable for the debts or lia¬ 
bilities of the other incurred before marriage. 
At common law, when a man married a woman, 
he became liable for all the debts she owed 
when married, but she was not competent in law 
to contract a debt in her own name after mar¬ 
riage. At present she may purchase necessaries 
for the home, such as clothing, articles of food, 
and essentials in furthering the reasonable edu¬ 
cational advancement of the family, but in gen¬ 
eral the wife does not possess the power to make 
contracts, this right being vested in the husband. 

Previous to a marriage the parties may make 
agreements between themselves about their sep¬ 
arate properties, and, if these are not unreason¬ 
able or against the policy of the law, they will 
be enforced after marriage. In the absence of 
such a contract, neither the husband nor wife 
can dispose of real property without the consent 
of the other, since the right of dower is attained 
at the time of marriage in the absence of a 
contract. Under the common law neither the 
husband nor wife could sue the other, except 
for separation or divorce, but now the law of 
most countries permits either party to sue for 
the recovery of property or in equity for other 
rights. However, neither is a competent wit¬ 
ness against the other, except in actions at law 
where one of the parties sues for protection 
against the other. The presumption of the hus¬ 
band’s influence over the wife still exists to the 
extent that, if she commits a crime in his 
presence, she is punishable for it if it is shown 
that she did it of her own free will. While 
married women have been emancipated from 


many of the disabilities imposed upon them by 
the common law, the statutes and courts still 
recognize the husband as the head of the family. 

HUSSITES (hus'its), a powerful organiza¬ 
tion that honored John Huss and Jerome of 
Prague as martyrs, and after the death of the 
former took up arms in defense of their reli¬ 
gious principles. Under the leadership of Jo¬ 
hann Ziska they captured Prague and success¬ 
fully opposed Emperor Sigismund, whom they 
charged with breaking his pledge in furnishing 
safe conduct to Huss. There were two parties 
among the Hussites, known as the Calixtines 
and Taborites. The former comprised the so- 
called moderate Hussites, who, later, by the 
compact of Prague, in 1433, united with the 
Catholics. During the union of both branches 
the priests and monks were punished excessively, 
but when they became separated a weakness 
appeared and the Taborites were defeated in a 
battle at Bomischbrod on May 31, 1434. Sub¬ 
sequently their political influence declined and 
for religious purposes they became united with 
the Bohemian Brethren. 

HUTCHINSON (huch'in-sun), a city in 
Kansas, county seat of Reno County, on the Ar¬ 
kansas River, 225 miles southwest of Kansas 
City, on the Missouri Pacific, the Chicago, 
Rock Island and Pacific and the Atchison, To¬ 
peka and Santa Fe railroads. In its vicinity 
are vast beds of pure rock salt, which are 
worked extensively. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude the county courthouse, the high school, 
and the public library. It is the seat of the 
State reformatory, has many beautiful resi¬ 
dences, and is a center of trade in merchandise. 
The municipal facilities embrace electric lights, 
waterworks, a sewerage system, and a street 
railway. It has manufactures bf matches, 
creamery butter, ironware, flour, salt, cigars, 
and machinery. It was settled in 1872 and in¬ 
corporated in 1874. Population, 191-0, 16,364. 

HYACINTH (hi'a-sinth), a genus of flower¬ 
ing plants which belong to the order of Liliaceae. 
It includes many species, several of which are 
highly popular as garden flowers, especially the 
bluebell hyacinth. Dutch traders first brought 
the hyacinth to Europe from its nativity in the 
Levant in the early part of the 16th century. 
Since then it has been greatly improved by cul¬ 
tivation and bears many kinds of beautiful 
flowers of various colors. The bulb is stout 
and onionlike, the leaves are fleshy and linear, 
the stamens are six in number, the style is sin¬ 
gle, and the seeds are numerous. At Haarlem, 
Holland, are the most extensive bulb gardens 
in the world, where the finest double-flowering 
species have been originated. In early times it 


HYBRID 


1051 


HYDRA 



BLUEBELL HYACINTH. 


was cultivated in Asia Minor and as far east as 
Persia, where it is still a favorite flower. Many 
beautiful romances and literary productions 

mention the Ori- 
e n t a 1 hyacinth, 
but it has entered 
modern litera¬ 
ture of all coun¬ 
tries with even 
greater latitude. 

HYBRID 
(hi'brid), an ani¬ 
mal or plant 
which ispro- 
duced by the 
union of two dis¬ 
tinct but closely 
allied species or 
genera. Exten¬ 
sive experiments 
have been made 
in relation to the crossing of species, and, while 
material knowledge and productive results have 
been obtained, there is yet a wide field for ex¬ 
perimental investigation. It is quite certain that 
successful crossing extends largely to different 
genera, but reproduction will not take’place from 
the union of different orders. Plant hybrids are 
produced artificially by applying the pollen of 
one species to the stigma of a plant closely 
allied. The theory that hybrids are uniformly 
sterile and that this sterility is provided in na¬ 
ture to prevent the confusion of species was 
long held by scientists. Darwin pointed out in 
his ‘‘Origin of Species” that this view is gen¬ 
erally erroneous, and that two fundamentally 
different facts have been confounded by many 
writers, namely, the sterility of species when 
first crossed, and the impotence of the hybrids 
produced from them. His views imply that the 
sterility of various hybrids has arisen from di¬ 
vers causes and not from natural selection. He 
asserts that crosses between the progeny result¬ 
ing from two breeds, called mongrels, are not 
uniformly sterile. From this fact he elaborates 
the view that there is nothing in the phenomena 


of hybridization from which to conclude that 
species had not existed at first as varieties. 

Hybrids are secured between the toad and 
the frog and between the swan and the goose. 
In fishes they result from artificial impregnation, 
as between different species of the carp. Among 
mammals they are produced from the copula¬ 
tion between the tiger and the lion, the fox and 
the' wolf, the ibex and the goat, the horse and 
the ass, the he goat and the female sheep, and 
the horse and the zebra. In many cases the 
hybrids are sterile, even though the crossing 


may be brought about without difficulty, while 
in other cases the act of conjunction may be 
more difficult but the hybrids produced are fer¬ 
tile. Generally it is impossible to secure off¬ 
spring from crossing different species, but where 
it is possible it takes place between animals or 
plants having a fair degree of likeness. Some 
hybrids are sterile among themselves, but fer¬ 
tile with their parents. Usually the degree of 
fertility depends upon various physical peculiari¬ 
ties differing in degree among various species. 

HYDE PARK, a popular pleasure resort at 
London, England, occupying an inclosure of 400 
acres. Formerly it was a park of the manor 
of Hyde, Belonging to Westminster Abbey, but 
in the reign of Henry VIII. the grounds came 
into possession of the crown. 

HYDE PARK, a town of Norfolk County, 
Mass., on the Neponset River, about eight miles 
south of Boston. It is on the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford Railroad, has electric rail¬ 
ways and is a favorite residence place for Bos¬ 
ton business men. The chief buildings include 
the public library and a number of schools and 
churches. It has systems of waterworks, pave¬ 
ments, and drainage. The manufactures include 
machinery, cotton and woolen goods, and curled 
hair. Population, 1905, 14,492; in 1910, 15,507. 

HYDERABAD (hl-der-a-bad'), or Haidar- 
abad, capital of the state of Hyderabad, situ¬ 
ated on the Musi River, in the southeastern part 
of India. It is elevated 1,800 feet above the 
sea and is important as a trade and railway 
center. The principal buildings include the Ni¬ 
zam’s palace, the British government buildings, 
and a number of important Mohammedan in¬ 
stitutions, among them a college founded in 
1590. The Jama Musjid, a celebrated mosque, 
is built on the pattern of the great mosque at 
Mecca. It has many fine schools, churches, 
hospitals, and municipal improvements. The 
city has beautiful streets, several parks, and 
extensive gardens. It is noted for its manufac¬ 
ture of silks, turbans, woolen and cotton goods, 
and machinery. In recent years it has grown 
rapidly and is the fourth city of India. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 452,646. 

HYDRA (hi'dra), in Greek mythology, a 
monster serpent with nine heads. It was the 
offspring of Typhon and Echidna and infested 
the vicinity of Lake Lerna, where it committed 
great depredations among the herds. To slay 
this monster was one of the twelve labors of 
Hercules. Accordingly he proceeded in the 
task, being assisted by his servant Iolaus, but 
as the heads were stricken off by his club two 
new ones grew forth. Hercules next burned 
away the heads of the hydra, but the center 



HYDRA 


1052 


HYDRAULIC RAM 


head, being immortal, he buried under an im¬ 
mense rock. Into the poisonous blood of the 
monster he dipped his arrows, which ever after¬ 
ward rendered wounds inflicted by them incura¬ 
ble. 

HYDRA, an island of Greece, off the east 
coast of Morea, near the Bay of Hydra. It is 
about eleven miles long and three miles wide, 
and has an area of 22 square miles. The surface 
is broken and barren and the shores are steep 
and rocky. The inhabitants are classed among 
the best sailors of Greece and during the war 
of independence performed important services. 
Hydra, the'capital of the island, is located on 
a barren height near the northwestern shore. 
It has manufactures of soap, leather, and silk 
and cotton textiles, and carries on considerable 
trade with foreign countries. In 1825 the popu¬ 
lation was about six times larger than at present, 
but the decline of its trade has caused a de¬ 
crease, being due to the improvement of other 
harbors. At present the inhabitants are centered 
almost entirelv in the town of Hydra. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 7,086. 

HYDRA, or Hydroid, a fresh-water polyp 
found in ponds, so named because its buds re¬ 
semble the Hydra of mythology. It is usually 
found attached by a basal sucker to sticks, 
stones, and other objects in the water. The 
body is extensible and the terminal mouth is 
surrounded by a varying number of tentacles. 
It is one of the simplest'forms of many-celled 
animals, the body being a simple tube. Young 
hydras bud out from the side of the older ones, 
and after a short time become detached and 
take on the form of their parents. If the body 
be divided into pieces, each piece will grow 
into a complete hydra. The food consists of 
small insects which are paralyzed by the barbed 
cells of the tentacles, and by them are carried to 
the mouth of the hydra, through which it en¬ 
ters into an internal digestive cavity, where 
the nutritive parts are absorbed, after which 
the indigestible portions are expelled through 
the mouth. 

HYDRANGEA (hi-dran'je-a), a genus of 
plants which belong to the saxifrage family, in¬ 
cluding about fifty species. They are favorite 
plants on account of the size and beauty of 
their flowers. The stalk is shrubby, the leaves 
are oval, and the flowers are showy and greatly 
variegated in color. They are employed in 
Japan to make a kind of tea and elsewhere in 
the preparation of medicine. The cultivated 
species include the' snowy-leaved and oak¬ 
leaved hydrangeas. 

HYDRAULIC ENGINE (ht-dra'ITk), a 
machine which is propelled by the pressure of 


a column of water. It differs from the steam 
engine in that the piston of the cylinder is 
driven by water power instead of by steam. In 
construction machines of this kind are similar 
to steam engines, but, as the pressure under 
which they work is greater, they are usually 
smaller than the engines employing steam. The 



plungers in the cylinders are forced outward 
by the water being admitted through valves, 
and, when the outward stroke is completed, the 
water escapes from the cylinder, the plungers 
slide inward, and are again forced outward by a 
new supply of water. Some hydraulic engines 
are known as single-acting, while others of a 
different construction are double-acting. Gen¬ 
erally the entire water pressure is cut off at the 
end of the outstroke, and the water exhausts by 
a valve after serving its purpose. The speed is 
usually slow, as power is increased by a corre¬ 
sponding decrease of speed, but the pressure is 
magnified so intensely that engines of this class 
are exceedingly powerful. 

HYDRAULIC RAM, a machine for raising 
flowing water to a greater height than that of 
its source. It is utilized only where there is an 
abundant supply'of water, for the reason that a 
.portion of the water is wasted in the operation. 
In the hydraulic ram the momentum imparted 
to water in falling is utilized, this being suffi¬ 
cient to carry it to a height greater than that 
of the source, where it is held in place by the 
uplifting valve E. Valve D is located in a 
supply pipe AB beyond the uplifting valve E, 
which is closed periodically by the velocity of 



HYDRAULICS 


1053 


HYDROCARBON 


water running down the supply pipe. Succes¬ 
sive reaction causes alternate jets of water to 
pass the uplifting valve E, into the chamber G 
above, in which the air becomes compressed. 
The valve D at the end of the supply pipe opens 
as soon as the pressure into the air chamber 
ceases, when the uplifting valve E closes, and 
the water passes through the supply pipe AB. 
The end valve D is closed again as soon- as 
sufficient velocity is gathered, and * water is 
forced into the air chamber G. A continued 
series of operations forces the water to the 
proper height to be utilized for the purpose in¬ 
tended, flowing out of pipe H in successive jets. 
The first self-acting hydraulic ram was invent¬ 
ed in 1796 by Joseph M. Montgolfier (1740- 
1810), who secured a gold medal at the exposi¬ 
tion of 1802 held in France. 

HYDRAULICS, the branch of science which 
treats of liquids in motion. It describes the 
flow and elevation of liquids, and the machines 
for moving liquids or intended to be moved by 
them. Water is taken as the type,-and in the¬ 
ory its principles are those of falling bodies, but 
they cannot be relied upon in practice except 
when verified by experiment. The discrep¬ 
ancy arises from various conditions, such as 
the shape of the orifice; the changes of temper¬ 
ature, which vary the fluidity of the liquid; 



and friction. Hydraulic engineering treats of 
the control and management of water by the 
practical application of the mechanics of fluids, 
particularly such as are concerned in water 
power, artesian wells, canals, hydraulic machines, 
waterworks, pumps, dams, and water motors. 
The energy or capacity for work found in pres¬ 
sure transmitted by water is termed hydraulic 
power, and is exemplified in engineering by 
the water pressure in pipes, cylinders, and chan- 

When a fluid is confined in a vessel and a 
certain amount of pressure is exerted on a 
given area, an equal amount is transmitted in 
all directions to every equal area on the walls 




of the vessel. If the area of the external pres¬ 
sure surface is decreased, the whole pres¬ 
sure may be increased proportionately. It is on 
this principle that such mechanical structures as 
jacks, hydrostatic presses, rail benders, elevators, 
punches, and lifts are operated successfully. 
Hydraulic engineering likewise is concerned 
with the velocity of rivers, water motors, under¬ 
shot wheels, overshot wheels, turbines, and 
breast wheels. In the construction of machinery 
to employ hydraulic power the principle is 
utilized that pressure is equal in all directions, 
area for area, as well as in all parts, which 
makes it possible to obtain increased pressure 
by giving a larger surface to the working area 
against which the pressure is exerted. In this 
way a magnified pressure is obtained at one end 
from only a small pressure at the other. 

The first hydrostatic press for utilizing this 
principle dates from 1796, but at that time only 
the simplest form of the apparatus was known. 
Since then vast strides of progress have been 
made in the application of hydraulic power. It 
may be said that improvements in this line have 
kept pace with the use of compressed-air ap¬ 
paratus and electric motors. Where great power 
is required for short intervals, hydraulic power 
is preferable, since it is not expensive when idle. 
It is utilized extensively in sheet-punching ma¬ 
chines and in riveting. The hydrostatic press is 
to some extent taking the place of the steel 
hammer for forming wrought iron and steel. 
Some of these have a capacity of 4,000 tons. 
Notable examples of vast machinery of this 
class may be found in some of the larger man¬ 
ufactories of Pennsylvania, in which from six to 
twenty tons of pressure is secured to the square 
inch. Another use to which this powef is now 
applied extensively is in tunneling operations. 
The machinery thus employed is adequate to 
penetrate through various formations with suc¬ 
cess, and serves to push aside small boulders 
with little difficulty. Wherever the nature of 
the ground permits it, tunneling is carried on 
most extensively by hydraulic shields. Notable 
incidents of successful operations of this char¬ 
acter within recent years are those at the Saint 
Clair River and the tunneling under the Thames, 
in London, in 1897. 

HYDROCARBON (hi-dr6-car'bon), a com¬ 
pound containing only hydrogen and carbon, 
such as benzine and methane. This compound 
occurs in many plants as wax or essential oil, 
in natural gas, gutta-percha, petroleum, caout¬ 
chouc, etc. The hydrocarbons are of consider¬ 
able commercial importance. Th'ey are insoluble 
or slightly soluble in water. The natural decom¬ 
position of organic substances is the chief source 














HYDROCHLORIC ACID 


1054 


HYDROMETER 


of hydrocarbon, but they may be produced by ar¬ 
tificial means, such as making gas by the de¬ 
structive distillation of coal. 

HYDROCHLORIC ACID (hi-dro-klo nk), 
or Muriatic Acid, a corrosive gas consisting of 
equal volumes of hydrogen and chlorine. It is 
colorless, has a suffocating odor, and has a 
marked affinity for water. Great quantities are 
obtained in making soda, by the acting of sul- 
* phuric acid on common salt. During volcanic 
eruption this gaseous compound is set free, hence 
is found in the water of lakes and rivers that 
have their source in volcanic formations. In 
medicine it is used in a greatly diluted form as a 
tonic and an astringent. Its chief commercial 
use is in manufacturing bleaching powder and in 
preparing phosphorous, glue, artificial waters, 
and carbonic acid. 

HYDROFLUORIC ACID (hy-dro-flu-or'- 
lk), a volatile liquid obtained by the action of 
sulphuric acid on fluorite. It is colorless and 
very corrosive and has a pungent, suffocating 
odor. Since it attacks all silicates, such as glass 
or porcelain, it is employed chiefly for etching 
upon glass and to decompose and dissolve sili¬ 
cates in mineral analysis. To preserve it for 
use, it is necessary to have it in a vessel made 
of lead, caoutchouc, platinum, or gutta-percha. 

HYDROGEN (hi'dro-jen), an element 
which is very abundant in nature, occurring as a 
constituent of water and of all organic com¬ 
pounds. It may be obtained by pouring hydro¬ 
chloric acid over granulated zinc. If this mix¬ 
ture be confined in a tall jar, an effervescence 
arises and gas forms at the mouth of the jar, 
which may be lighted by applying a match, when 
a large stream of very pale flame shoots into the 
air. Water may be decomposed into its ele¬ 
ments, hydrogen and oxygen, by the action of 
an electric current. It may be obtained by 
bringing the vapor of water in contact with red- 
hot iron filings. Hydrogen is the lightest sub¬ 
stance known, being 14% times lighter than air 
and 11,160 times lighter than water; hence, it is 
taken as a standard in comparing atomic weights 
and volumes. If it be breathed in a pure state, 
death results, not by poisoning, but from the ab¬ 
sence of oxygen. Six volumes of air with two 
of hydrogen form an explosive. In blast fur¬ 
naces requiring unusual heat it is burned in oxy¬ 
gen gas, these two elements being necessary to 
produce the most intense heat. 

Pure hydrogen is a gaseous element, is odor¬ 
less, tasteless, colorless, and slightly luminous 
when lighted, .but intensely hot. It is a power¬ 
ful refractor of light and is the only gas that 
conducts heat. It combines with many of the 
other elements, but under ordinary circumstances 


its affinities are not very pronounced. Heat is 
required to bring about the union of hydrogen 
and oxygen, and chloride combines with it un¬ 
der the influence of light. Compounds of much 
utility and importance are formed with or of it, 
such as ammonia, when combined with nitrogen; 
hydrochloric acid, when united with chlorine; 
and hydrofluoric acid, when combined with flu¬ 
orine. It does not occur extensively in a free 
state, but escapes as a gas in many of the petro¬ 
leum regions, such as are met with in Pennsyl¬ 
vania and Ohio. Hydrogen forms, in combina¬ 
tion with oxygen, one-ninth part by weight of 
water. 

HYDROGRAPHY (hi-drog'ra-fy), the art 
of surveying bodies of* water, such as lakes, riv¬ 
ers, and the ocean. It relates to the determina¬ 
tion of the contour, depth, character of the bot¬ 
tom, and other phenomena of bodies of water. 
As a branch of geography, it relates to tfie wa¬ 
ter surfaces of the earth, including the general 
characteristics of currents, icebergs, winds, and 
other phenomena that affect the sea. It treats 
of the systems of rivers, of lakes, and other 
bodies of water that are associated with the 
land. Hydrographic departments are maintained 
by all the leading governments. The purpose of 
these is to make coast surveys, direct soundings, 
and conduct other work of research which tends 
to promote navigation and other industrial en- 1 
terprises. 

HYDROGEN DIOXIDE (di-oks'id), a col¬ 
orless liquid obtained by the action of acid on 
barium peroxide. Oxygenated water and perox¬ 
ide of hydrogen are other names for this com¬ 
pound. It resembles water, but has a bitter, 
sour taste. It is found in nature in small quan¬ 
tities, especially in some plants and in rainwa¬ 
ter. Large quantities are manufactured for an 
oxidizing and bleaching agent, such as are used 
for bleaching hair and textiles. In medicine it 
is used as a tonic to overcome indigestion and in 
the treatment of diphtheria. 

HYDROMETER (hi-drom'e-ter), an instru¬ 
ment used to determine the specific gravity of a 
liquid. It consists of a small glass tube to which 
two larger bulbs are sealed, one above the other. 
In order to keep the stems of the instrument 
vertical, a .weight, either mercury or small shot, 
is put into the lower bulb. The upper end of 
the stem is graduated decimally, and the instru¬ 
ment sinks to the point marked zero when im¬ 
mersed in water. A liquid that is heavier than 
water will not permit it to sink to the zero point, 
while one lighter than water will permit it to 
sink below the point marked zero. Special forms 
of hydrometers are used for particular liquids. 
A lactometer is used for testing the purity ol 


HYDROPHOBIA 


1055 


HYDROTHERAPY 


milk, and an alcoholmeter for determining the 
per cent, of absolute alcohol in spirits. 

HYDROPHOBIA (hi-dro-fo'bi-a), or Ra¬ 
bies, a disease which is communicated by the 
bite of a rabid animal, due to a specific virus in 
the saliva. Dogs are the most liable to be afflicted 
with madness, but there are other animals sub¬ 
ject to the disease, particularly cats, wolves, rac- 
| coons, and foxes. In hydrophobia the patient 
experiences great nervous disturbance, difficulty 
i of swallowing, convulsive dread of water, and 
spasmodic muscular contractions. The symp¬ 
toms of the disease appear from six weeks to 
eighteen months after the bite is inflicted and 
death results about three days after the specific 
symptoms begin. To prevent affection it is ad¬ 
visable to impede the circulation from the wound 
by bandages, stopping the flow of blood, and 
cauterizing with an iron at a white heat, or with 
nitrate of .silver, but any burning or cauterizing 
agency may be used. In 1884 M. Louis Pasteur 
announced that protection against hydrophobia 
can be secured by inoculation with a prepared 
virus. Inoculations are effected by marrow tak¬ 
en from a rabid animal and are made consecu¬ 
tively, first with weak virus and then with 
, stronger, and they are increased gradually in 
strength until the strongest obtainable is in¬ 
jected into the system. In this way the parasitic 
; cause of the disease may be destroyed. Insti¬ 
tutes have been established in New York, Paris, 
and other cities where this method has been 
thoroughly tested and the patients treated are 
! cured almost universally. Out of 21,631 cases 
| treated at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, 
in a period of fourteen years, all the patients 
j except 99 were cured. 

HYDROSTATICS (hi-dro-stat'iks), the 
1 branch of science which treats of the pressure 
and equilibrium of liquids. Its principles apply 
to all liquids, but water, on account of its abun¬ 
dance, is taken as the type. A liquid placed in 
! several vessels communicating freely with each 
other comes to rest in all at the same level, or 
height. Two or more liquids placed in the same 
! kind of vessels arrange themselves according to 
their relative densities, after which the equilibri¬ 
um continues firm and distinct. The law relating 
to hydrostatics as announced by Pascal is con¬ 
sidered fundamental. From it we learn that 
j pressure exerted anywhere upon a mass of 
! liquid is transmitted in an undiminished degree 
in all directions, and acts with the same force in 
all directions, and in - a direction at right angles 
to the surfaces upon which it is exerted. It 
may seem impossible at first thought that a pres¬ 
sure of one pound is sufficient to produce a 
pressure of 100 pounds, but this is only an ex¬ 


emplification of the general law of mechanics 
that applies to both liquids and solids. If a 
force of one pound on one square inch causes 
motion by pressing through the medium of 100 
square inches, the velocity of the body moved is 
only one-hundredth of that of the body applying 
the pressure. 

In the hydrostatic press this principle is taken 
advantage of by filling two connected cylinders 



HYDROSTATIC PRESS. 


with water, as shown in the illustration. If 
the smaller cylinder, A, has an area of one 
square inch, and the larger cylinder, B, 100 
square inches, then a downward pressure of one 
pound on each square inch, by means of the lev¬ 
er, P, acting on a piston in the small cylinder, 
lifts a weight of 100 pounds. C is a platform 
and D a strong frame, between which the com¬ 
pression takes place. If the pressure downward 
be 100 pounds, it balances 10,000 pounds, and in 
like proportion the pressure of the hydrostatic 
press may be increased tt> 200 or 300 tons. This 
class of machinery is utilized extensively in rais¬ 
ing heavy weights, for testing anchors, and for 
other purposes where immense pressure is nec¬ 
essary. Other matters investigated in the study 
of hydrostatics are the equilibrium of floating 
bodies, the buoyancy of liquids, the specific 
gravity of liquids, and the four laws of equilib¬ 
rium. These laws embrace: 1. At any point 
within a liquid at rest the pressure is the same 
in all directions. 2. The pressure increases with 
the depth. 3. The pressure does not depend on 
the shape or size of the vessel, but on the area 
and depth. 4. Water seeks its level. 

HYDROTHERAPY (hi-dro-ther a-py), or 
Water Cure, a method of treating diseases by 
the frequent and copious use of water, both in¬ 
ternally and externally. It has long been recog¬ 
nized that water is an efficient agent in the 






































HYENA 


1056 


HYGIENE 


cure of numerous forms of diseases. Hippoc¬ 
rates employed it to a considerable extent, and it 
has continued to be advocated as a remedial 
agent, especially in the treatment of acute and 
some forms of chronic disorders. Many institu¬ 
tions of Canada and the United States use the 
hydropathic treatment, either as supplementary 
or exclusive, though it is generally recognized by 
physicians that this method is not efficient in all 
maladies. However, it is looked upon as a po¬ 
tent stimulating remedy, and is efficient in that 
it cleanses the body and tends to produce greater 
uniformity and vigor in the various organs. 
FeVers are reduced by bathing, sore throat atfd 
tonsilitis are relieved by hot and cold water 
compresses, the circulation is stimulated by lo¬ 
cal bathing,.and various other forms of treat¬ 
ment are universally recognized as efficient. 

HYENA (hi-e'na), a genus of flesh-eating 
quadrupeds found in Asia and Africa. They are 
characterized by strong teeth well adapted to 
breaking the bones of their prey, extended claws, 



SPOTTED HYENA. 


a rough tongue, prominent eyes, long and acute 
ears, and fore legs longer than the hind limbs. 
Their gait is shambling, but they are able to 
move with considerable speed. Long, coarse 
hairs cover the body and form a mane and en¬ 
largement on the back. They feed on carrion, 
but also on fresh flesh, and devour carcasses in 
an advanced state of decay. Their claws are 
well adapted for digging, on account of which 
they are reputed to dig into newly made graves. 
At night they come out of their places of seclu¬ 
sion and gather in packs like coyotes, often at¬ 
tacking domestic animals and even children. At 
least four species are recognized, of which the 


striped hyena of Western Asia and Northern 
Africa has been known the longest. The ancients 
knew of these animals and attributed many pe¬ 
culiar habits to them. A closely .related species 
called the spotted hyena is found in South Af¬ 
rica. It has a yellowish color with numerous 
spots, and is more ferocious and somewhat 
smaller than the striped hyena. The strand wolf 
is a species allied to the spotted hyena, has a 
grizzled-brown color, and is found in the vicinity 
of the Orange River. The brown hyena is native 
to Natal and the southeastern part of Africa. 
Remains of extinct species occur in Germany, 
France, and England. They are known as the 
cave hyena, from their remains occurring in 
caves formed during the glacial epoch. 

HYGIENE (hl'ji-en), the branch of medical 
science which relates to the preservation and 
improvement of health, both in individuals and 
communities. This branch of study has been re¬ 
ceiving increased attention within recent years, 
and by means of modern agencies it has been 
possible to both improve the general 
health and prolong materially human life. 
The period in which delicacy was consid¬ 
ered an element of beauty has passed 
away, and it is now sought to so develop 
the body in its powers and usefulness that 
it may be a fit dwelling for the mind and 
soul. Strength and vigor physically are 
looked upon as personal and national 
blessings, while weakness and timidity are 
deplored. Not only is it sought to pro¬ 
vide the most highly sanitary conditions 
for the preservation of health in individ¬ 
uals, but a public policy is pursued by the 
authorities, and institutions are maintained 
under which the most favorable condi¬ 
tions of healthy living may be vouchsafed 
to all classes of people in rural and urban 
districts. The establishment of sewer sys¬ 
tems in the cities, the provision of a 
water supply, the removal of waste ma¬ 
terials, and the regulation of lighting 
and ventilation of public buildings are the out¬ 
growth of economic study. They exhibit the 
public concern that civilized nations have for the 
best interest of each individual community. 

Though public hygiene has been made a sub¬ 
ject of investigation by the leading nations for 
many centuries, definite aims regarding the pro¬ 
motion of public health and the prolongation of 
human life did not take form until the begin¬ 
ning of the 18th century. Besides, it cannot con¬ 
cern itself specially with the diet of persons, 
since each individual may choose for himself in 
relation to the diet of his household and the use 
of medicines so long as they do not interfere 







HYGIENE 


1057 


HYMNOLOGY 


with the rights and welfare of others. However, 
conditions have been provided generally, where¬ 
by individuals may take advantage of public con¬ 
veniences, that both the comforts and sanitary 
conditions may be rendered of the highest char¬ 
acter for all. 

Legislation has been directed with the view of 
Supervising the sale of drugs, liquors, and arti¬ 
cles of food. The aim is principally to protect 
purchasers against adulterations and to counter¬ 
act the tendency of unscrupulous manufacturers 
to take advantage of the public by placing on 
sale articles of great inferiority, with the view of 
inducing their purchase by consumers under the 
apprehension that they are pure and genuine. 
Instances of this are seen in the laws regulating 
the sale of oleomargarine, those preventing the 
sale of diseased meats, and those forbidding the 
exposure of persons affected with contagious dis¬ 
eases. Pure air is an important essential in pro¬ 
moting public hygiene, since we consume it in¬ 
finitely beyond our consumption of food. This 
has been recognized by the government and city 
authorities, which is evidenced in the regulations 
requiring cleanliness in cities, providing for the 
grading of sites, and stimulating numerous Other 
sanitary measures. Material advancement in our 
knowledge of the sciences and the regulation by 
law of the practice of medicine, especially such 
as requires rigid examinations for admission to 
practice the profession, have likewise been ma¬ 
terial agencies in public hygiene. Such discov¬ 
eries as those of Jenner in relation to vaccina¬ 
tion against smallpox, those of Koch in the 
treatment of consumption, the discoveries of an¬ 
titoxin as a remedy in diphtheria, and many oth¬ 
ers equally important have had a marked influ¬ 
ence in preserving human life as well as prevent¬ 
ing a weakening of the general system by dis¬ 
eases long affecting the individual. A proper 
knowledge and observance of hygienic laws are 
thus lessening greatly the number of persons 
afflicted with such diseases as consumption, rheu¬ 
matism, dyspepsia, gout, cholera, hydrophobia, 
smallpox, and others. 

It is found that one-half the children in some 
parts of England die before they reach the age 
of five years, and it is estimated that 100,000 
persons die annually in that country from causes 
easily preventable. What is true of England is 
true of other countries to a varying extent. The 
movement now in progress looking toward bet¬ 
ter observance of individual and public rules of 
health will lessen fatalities at immature ages 
very materially. Besides, the advancement of 
education and public intelligence is having a 
wholesome effect. One of the most prolific 
reforms ever instituted is that in the case of 
67 


scurvy, a disease formerly prevalent among 
sailors, but now entirely avoided by the use of 
vegetables or lime juice. Much progress has 
been made in the construction of jails and pris¬ 
ons, which formerly contained few provisions 
calculated to maintain the health of those con¬ 
fined, while now the most wholesome sanitary 
rules are enforced with much care. 

Another prolific movement in stimulating the 
public health is found in the construction of 
school buildings. We have learned from past 
experience that the early years of life need es¬ 
pecial consideration, since during the formative 
period it is very important that the different or¬ 
gans of the body be provided with conditions fa¬ 
vorable to growth and that overstrain of imma¬ 
ture organs be avoided. To effect this the cloth¬ 
ing, food, and cleanliness of children need care¬ 
ful attention, while schoolhouses must be well 
ventilated, lighted, warmed, and provided with 
adequate sanitary drainage. Child study has be¬ 
come a branch of intense interest. Teachers ev¬ 
erywhere are concerning themselves with the 
study of the individual capacity of each child, 
its powers, inclinations, and weaknesses, thereby 
becoming better fitted to provide especially for 
the nature and need of each child life. It is not 
now a question whether children should begin 
study at four or eight years, but rather when 
each individual child possesses maturity and 
strength sufficient to begin the work of the 
schoolroom. Thus, the prevention of disease by 
culture, disinfection, sanitary regulations, pure 
food and water, and other measures for individ¬ 
ual and public health have been and are among 
the immediate duties. To cure a disease is 
wholesome, but to prevent it is far better, such 
prevention being the object of intelligent ap- 
, plication of effort in medicine, instruction, and 
all lines of progressive institutional develop¬ 
ment. 

HYGROMETER (hi-grom'£-ter), an instru¬ 
ment for measuring the degree of moisture con¬ 
tained in the atmosphere. Various forms of this 
instrument are in use. It is an essential sup¬ 
ply in the weather bureau of the government. 
The Daniell hygrometer consists of a bent glass 
tube terminating in two bulbs, one of which is 
covered with muslin, and the other is of black 
glass or is coated with metal. The latter con¬ 
tains some ether and a thermometer. When 
ether is poured on the muslin, the black ball, 
cooled by the evaporation of the ether within, is 
soon covered with dew. At this time the in¬ 
closed thermometer indicates the dew-point, and 
this, compared with the reading of a thermom¬ 
eter in the air, determines the humidity. 
HYMNOLOGY (him-nol'6-jy), the science 


HYMNOLOGY 


1058 


HYPODERMIC INJECTION 


of sacred miracle poetry, or the hymns used at a 
particular time or place. Formerly the term was 
restricted to hymns which were written to praise 
God in the form of songs, but it is now defined 
as a lyric expression of ’religious feeling. The 
Greeks dedicated many hymns to their gods and 
heroes and these were usually sung at festivals. 
The older Greek hymns, as those written by 
Homer, are chiefly descriptive and are classed 
with the epics, while those of Pindar and the 
later poets are largely lyric. Many hymns are 
contained in the sacred books of the Orient, es¬ 
pecially the Vedas, and these have been trans¬ 
lated extensively into the languages of Europe. 
However, the Jewish psalms are the most fa¬ 
miliar of all the sacred poems of antiquity and 
they have become familiar to all the Christian 
churches. Ambrose and a number of other Lat¬ 
in hymn writers have enriched literature with 
many lyric poems that have become well known 
in the civilized nations. These include “Stabat 
Mater” (The Mother Stood), “Dies Irae” (q. 
v.), and “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” (Come, Holy 
Spirit). 

The Reformation gave birth to much interest 
in sacred songs, which were made an instru¬ 
ment by the Protestants in spreading the new 
faith among the nations. It is especially note¬ 
worthy that Luther was a potent factor in form¬ 
ing and directing the writing of hymns, chiefly 
because he wrote in the common language of the 
people. His “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott” 
(A Mighty Fortress is Our God) is still in wide 
use. To the same period belongs Martin Rink- 
art, the composer of “Nun danket alle Gott” 
(Now Thank We all Our God). Paul Ge'rhardt 
(q. v.) wrote a large number of sacred hymns 
and many of these were translated into English 
by John Wesley, including “O Sacred Head Once 
Wounded.” Isaac Watts (1674-1748) is one of 
the most prolific English writers of hymns and is 
frequently referred to as the “father of English 
hymnody.” His collection published under the 
title “Divine and Moral Songs for Children” 
was long a standard and popular work. Charles 
Wesley (1707-1788) is the author of about six 
thousand hymns, several hundred of which are 
still in popular use, and at least twenty may be 
classed among the favorite sacred songs in the 
English language. Other English writers of 
hymns include John Keble, William Cowper, 
Frances Ridley Havergal, and John Henry New¬ 
man, the last mentioned being the author of 
“Lead, Kindly Light.” 

The evangelistic movement of the 19th century 
was the means of producing and making popu¬ 
lar a favorite class of church hymns. Some of 
these were not of a high order, but many were 


exceptionally appropriate and are at present in 
great favor among the Christian churches. These 
include “Nearer, My God, To Thee,” by Sarah 
Flower Adams; “Just as I am Without One 
Plea,” by Charlotte Elliot; “My Faith Looks 
Up to Thee,” by Ray Palmer; “Battle Hymn of 
the Republic,” by Julia Ward Howe; “One 
Sweetly Solemn Thought,” by Phoebe Cary; 
“Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour,” by Frances 
Jane Crosby; “My Country, ’tis of Thee,” by 
Samuel Francis Smith; and “Onward, Christian 
Soldier,” by Arthur S. Sullivan. 

The music in use for hymns among the early 
Christians was heavy and somber, and many mel¬ 
odies were in the form of chants. These were 
rarely sung in the common language, but were 
more generally chanted in the Latin. Luther 
translated many of the popular tunes into Ger¬ 
man, thereby seizing the opportunity for re¬ 
forming the church music as well as making it 
an instrument of education and public worship. 
Johann Sebastian Bach (q. v.) developed the 
structural side of music and emphasized the 
rythmic element. The movement of reform in 
music spread to France and England in the 18th 
century. The popular epoch was reached in the 
latter country through the hymns of Isaac 
Watts and Charles Wesley. In the earlier peri¬ 
od of this movement the music was rather som¬ 
ber and solemn, but later it became livelier in 
character. To .the latter class belong the hymns 
used extensively by Moody and Sankey in 
America. 

HYMNS (himz), National. See National 
Hymns. 

HYPNOTISM (hip'no-tiz’m), a method of 
artificially inducing sleep, formerly called ani¬ 
mal magnetism and mesmerism, but the results 
differ from sleep by several striking peculiari¬ 
ties. See Mesmerism. 

HYPODERMIC INJECTION (hip-6-der'- 
mik), a method of treating disease by intro¬ 
ducing medicine beneath the skin, where it is 
taken up directly by the blood. It was first used 
by Alexander Wood of Edinburgh, Scotland, 
who injected remedies by means of a fine hollow 
needle connected with a small syringe. Medi¬ 
cine injected in this way is absorbed speedily. 
The pain is felt less acutely if the point of the 
needle is lubricated with carbolic oil or some 
similar preparation. This method is particularly 
valuable in cases where the stomach or other or¬ 
gans make it inadvisable to administer by the 
mouth, and it requires less bulk and is more rap¬ 
id in its effects. Morphia and other vegetable 
alkaloids are often administered in this way, but 
all the drugs and instruments used should be 
carefully sterilized. 


HYPOTHESIS 


1059 


HYSTERIA 


HYPOTHESIS (hi-poth'e-sis), a supposi¬ 
tion made without evidence, or with insufficient 
evidence of its own, in order to deduce con¬ 
clusions in agreement with real facts. In this 
sense it may be said to be a defective kind of 
proof, there being some missing link, and the 
question is raised upon the proposition that this 
be made good in other ways. In the geological 
investigation concerning the transportation of 
boulders, we have various suppositions regarding 
icebergs, glaciers, and water currents, and by 
verifying observations and making deductions we 
are able to arrive at a strictly scientific theory, 
which accounts for the existence of boulders at 
certain localities. Newton’s supposition was 
that celestial attraction is the same force as ter¬ 
restrial gravity. He thus proceeded upon a 
known cause, the hypothetical element being the 
extension of gravity to the sun and planets. 
The great amount of coincidence in this case 
has justified the assumption that the two at¬ 
tractions are the same, hence the hypothesis has 
been proven by its consequences. As no rival 
supposition has ever stood the same test, the 
theory of Newton is considered as beyond the 
reach of challenge. 

HYRAX (hi'raks), a genus of small mam¬ 
mals native to Asia and Africa, somewhat simi¬ 
lar in size and appearance to the rabbit. The 
body is covered with fur, the tail is short, and 
the snout or muffle is split like that in the ro¬ 
dents. A species called klipdas is native to 
South Africa, where it is also known as the 
Cape hyrax. These animals have the pads of 
the feet so arranged as to give a slight suction, 
hence they are able to climb about smooth rock 


and the lower limbs of trees with much agility. 
A species native to Syria is called cony in the 
Bible and is known locally as the daman. The 
flesh is eaten by the Arabs and others, but it is 
not considered very palatable by Europeans. 
The skin is used in making cloaks and other 
wearing apparel. 

HYSSOP (his'sup), a genus of labiate plants 
native to Southern Europe and Asia, but now 
cultivated extensively in gardens. They are 
perennial, shrubby plants, grow to a height of 
two feet, flower from June to September, and 
have an agreeable aromatic odor. They yield a 
kind of camphor, but are cultivated more largely 
for their beautiful blue flowers. Many species 
are grown in flower gardens, some of which are 
mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments. 
They are spoken of as the symbol of spiritual 
purification from sin. 

HYSTERIA (his-te'ri-a), an affection of the 
nervous system, in which the excitability is ex- 
aggerated and the will power is reduced corre¬ 
spondingly. While it affects both sexes, it oc¬ 
curs almost exclusively in women. The chief 
symptoms are a choking sensation, uncontrolla¬ 
ble laughing and crying, and convulsive and 
irregular movements of the head and limbs. 
Hysteria is often due to worry, overwork, irreg¬ 
ular habits, and great mental excitement. Though 
formerly regarded as of little consequence, it , 
often takes the form of a dangerous disease. 
It is generally curable by mental treatment 
alone, but requires a removal of the causes 
that produce the disease, and the patient should 
have wholesome nourishment and healthful ex¬ 
ercise. 



I, the third vowel and ninth letter of the 
English alphabet. In the early Phoenician and 
Greek alphabets, from which it was derived, it 
was formed somewhat like the letter z. Up to 
a comparatively late date I and J were regarded 
as one character, and in dictionaries the words 
beginning with these letters were classed to¬ 
gether. It has two principal sounds, the long 
and short. The long sound is represented in 
such words as find, bind, •wind and the short 
sound, in bill, pin, fill. In addition to these, it 
has three minor sounds, as in dirk, intrigue, and 
the consonantal sound of y, when followed by a 
vowel, as in billion and Christian. I is the pro¬ 
noun by which a speaker or writer denotes him¬ 
self, being the nominative case of the first per¬ 
sonal pronoun of the singular number. 

IBADAN (e-ba'dan), an important town of 
Western Africa, in the Yoruba country, 75 miles 
north of the Bight of Benin. The town is sur¬ 
rounded by walls and is connected with Lagos by 
a railway. It contains 25 mosques, a system of 
Mohammedan schools, and numerous temples. 
The trade is important, especially in cotton, live 
stock, clothing, and fruits. Population, 1908, 
198,408. 

IBAGUfe (e-va-ga'), a city of Colombia, cap¬ 
ital of the department of •Tolima, sixty miles 
west of Bogota; It is situated on a fertile plain 
and has a healthful climate. The surrounding 
country is rich in silver and sulphur mines. 
Ibaque was founded in 1550. Population, 1906, 
16,475. 

IB A JAY (g-va'hi), a town of the Philip¬ 
pines, on the island of Panav, about sixty miles 
northwest of Capiz. It has considerable trade in 
amber, rice, tobacco, and fruit. Population, 
1906, 11,875. 

IBARRA (e-bar'ra), a city of Ecuador, capi¬ 
tal of the department of Inbabura, sixty miles 
northeast of Quito. The surrounding region is 
volcanic and the city has suffered from earths 


quakes at different times, hence it has declined 
somewhat in importance. The chief industries 
are cotton and woolen mills, machine shops, and 
brickyards. Population, 1905, 13,506. 

IBERIA (i-be'ri-a), the name by which 
Spain was known to the Greeks and other an¬ 
cient peoples. It was probably derived from the 
Iberus or Ebro River, and the inhabitants were 
called Iberians. These people are represented 
in the modern Basques (q. v.), who speak a lan¬ 
guage derived from that of the ancient Iberians. 
They were of low stature and are sometimes 
identified with the Piets and other groups. Eng¬ 
lish writers generally apply the term Iberian to 
the Mediterranean race. In this larger sense 
the Iberians form the basts of the inhabitants in 
Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy. 

IBEX (i'beks), the general name of several 
species of wild goats, of which the common 
ibex is the- best known. This species, called 
bouquintin by the French and steinbock by the 
Germans, is about five feet long from the nose 
to the tip of the tail, and is two feet eight inches 
high at the shoulders. The horns are large, 
about thirty inches long, have flattened sides, 
and contain numerous ridges and knots. The 
hairs are short and thick, reddish-brown in sum¬ 
mer and grayish-brown in winter, and the beard 
is short and dark. The females have shorter 
horns than the males and are of an ashy color. 
This species of ibexes inhabits the Alps of Eu¬ 
rope and the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. 
Three other species are found in Asia and in the 
Abyssinian Mountains, of which the Himalayan 
ibex is the most important. The ibexes have 
similar habits to those of other wild goats, pre¬ 
ferring the highest mountains. They are skilled 
in passing over precipitous places. 

IBICUI (e-be-kwe'), or Ibicuy Guassu, a 
river in the province of Rio Grande do Sul, 
Brazil, which is formed by the Rio de Santa 
Maria and several other sources, and after a 


10.60 









IBIS 


1061 


ICE 


course of 400 miles joins the Uruguay near 
Yapeyu. Its upper branch is called Ttuzaingo. 

IBIS (i'bis), a genus of wading birds allied 
to the storks, herons, and spoonbills. The 
species, of which there are ten or twelve, are 
widely distributed in America, Eurasia, Africa, 
and the islands of the sea. Tlte red or scarlet 
ibis is an American bird and is found most 
abundantly in the Amazon region of South 
America. It is about three feet long, the ex¬ 


tended wings measure over three feet, and the 
bill is about seven inches long. Th e white ibis 
abounds in Florida, the strawneck ibis is native 
to Australia, and the glossy ibis, a bird of fine 
silky plumage of dark green color, is found in 
Eurasia and Egypt. The wood ibis found in 
the southern part of the United States is not 
an ibis, but belongs to the stork family. How¬ 
ever, the most remarkable species of this genus 
of birds is the sacred ibis, which is found 
throughout Africa. It wa$ worshiped by the 
ancient Egyptians. They reared and cared for 
this bird in their temples and embalmed the body 
after death. It is about the size of a common 
fowl, has white plumage with black tips on the 
wings, and the head and neck are bare. It for¬ 
merly inhabited the Lower Nile, but is found 
farther south at present, in the regions of the 
lakes and Central Africa. The flight of ibises 


is rapid. They lay three or four eggs, which 
are considered excellent as food, but the flesh is 
not eaten, except by natives. Being aquatic 
birds, they prefer to feed on fish, mollusks, 
frogs, and other forms of animal life common to 
rivers and the sea. 

ICA (e-sa ), or Putumayo, a river of South 
America, rises in the Andes of Colombia, and 
joins the Amazon near San Antonio, in Brazil. 
The general course is toward the southeast. It 
is about 1,000 miles long and the greater 
part of this distance is navigable. The 
valley of the Iga is covered with fine 
forests and the region is sparsely settled. 

ICE, the name of water when it is 
congealed or frozen into a solid mass. 
This occurs in case the temperature 
is reduced to 32° Fahr., when a condi¬ 
tion is reached which is designated as 
zero on the Reaumer and Centigrade 
scales. At 39.2° Fahr. water begins to 
expand as the cooling process goes on, 
and continues until 32° is reached. Thus 
a given quantity of ice is lighter than 
an equal quantity of water, on account 
of which ice floats on the surface of 
water. It is due to this fact that the 
lakes and oceans do not freeze solid, 
since the protective covering formed by 
ice on the surface prevents the escape 
of heat stored in the water. If it were 
not for this phenomenon, the solid 
masses of ice formed in large bodies of 
water would not be melted by the heat 
of a tropical sun in the warmer seasons 
of the year, and at least three-fourths 
of the earth would be incapable of sus¬ 
taining its present life. 

The freezing point of water is affected 
by various circumstances, such as pressure and 
ingredients held in solution by liquids. With an 
increase of pressure on a liquid the freezing 
point is lowered, and it is raised by a removal 
of pressure. Bodies of water holding salts in 
solution, as is the case in the ocean and many 
lakes, freeze at a lower temperature than pure 
water. The freezing point of sea water is about 
28° Fahr., varying somewhat with its saline in¬ 
gredients and the atmospheric pressure. Water 
at perfect rest and not containing dust particles 
requires a lower temperature to be congealed 
into ice, since in that stat£ it more effectually 
retains its latent heat, but it is influenced to 
some extent by the depth. In freezing, the 
saline matters are separated from the salty 
water, hence fresh and pure water may be pro¬ 
cured by melting the ice. 

The formation of ice has a marked effect in 




ICE 


1062 


ICELAND 


disintegrating rocks and stones. This is due to 
the circumstance that water fills the cavities and 
pores, and the expansion which results in freez¬ 
ing causes particles or even large pieces to 
break off the main body. The largest masses of 
ice occur in nature in the form of glaciers and 
icebergs, and in their clefts the deep blue of 
pure ice is most beautiful. 

Ice formed in nature and by artificial proc¬ 
esses is an important article of commerce, and 
is transported in large quantities for general 
consumption. Ice-cutting tools for harvesting 
the ice of rivers and ponds are numerous. The 
ice is cut into large blocks by an ice plane, which 
is usually moved by one or two horses. These 
blocks are cut about two feet wide and four feet 
long, though this depends somewhat upon the 
thickness, about eighteen inches being preferred. 
After the blocks are cut they are severed from 
each other and loaded in wagons to be trans¬ 
ferred to an ice house, in which the ice is pre¬ 
served for consumption. The ice houses usually 
have two or .three walls, between which are 
spaces of dead air, and the ice is packed in saw¬ 
dust or spent tan bark. 

Manufacture of Ice. The manufacture of 
ice is an important industry in countries where 
it does not form in nature. It is made in vast 
quantities even in moderately cold climates, 
but especially in the large manufacturing estab¬ 
lishments where perishable articles are produced, 
such as packing houses and canning factories. 
This enterprise began to develop about 1850, but 
the industry assumed extensive proportions only 
within recent years. The process involves low¬ 
ering the temperature below the freezing point 
by permitting pure ammonia liquid to expand 
within iron pipes that are coiled in tanks filled 
with salt brine, from which the heat is drawn 
by the ammonia in evaporating. The machines 
consist generally of a congealer, in which the 
evaporization of the ammonia takes place; a 
pump for aspirating the gas as it forms in the 
vaporator; and a condenser. In the condenser 
the gas is compressed by a pump, the liquefac¬ 
tion being aided by a condensing stream of cold 
water, and by this means the ammonia is re¬ 
stored * to its original state, being used suc¬ 
cessively for the same purpose. Cans filled with 
pure water are set into the brine tanks and there 
are frozen. The cans contain from 100 to. 300 
pounds of ice. Another plan is to produce the 
ice in plates or sheets, in which form it is gen¬ 
erally known as plate ice. It is obtained in this 
form from pure water in sheets about eight by 
twenty feet in size, and with a thickness of ten 
to fifty inches. When frozen and reduced to a 
comparatively low temperature, the plates are 


cut into blocks suitable for transportation. It 
requires from five to ten days to form plate ice 
of these dimensions, the time depending some¬ 
what upon the outside temperature. In some 
factories sulphurous oxide is utilized instead-of 
ammonia, and the brine is made of magnesium 
chloride instead' of salt. Scientists have per¬ 
fected machinery for the production of liquid 
air (q. v.), which may take the place of ice in 
refrigerators and for other purposes, but at pres¬ 
ent its production is too expensive for commer¬ 
cial use. See Refrigeration. 

ICEBERG (is'berg), a large mass of ice, 
usually floating in the ocean, but sometimes 
located on the shores or on breakers. These 
phenomena arise from glaciers that move 
through channels, from which, when they reach 
the shore of the sea, large masses glide into the 
ocean, thus forming icebergs. They are seen 
both in the northern and southern seas in lati¬ 
tudes between 68° and 70°, but increase as we 
proceed toward the poles, finally merging into 
the frozen seas which inclose the polar region. 
Icebergs rarely drift nearer the Equator than 
40° N. and 39° S., owing to their melting in the 
warmer regions. In size they differ widely, 
sometimes attaining a circumference of several 
miles and rising to a height of 250 to 300 feet 
above sea level. However, only about one-ninth 
of their volume is seen above the surface. The 
bluish-green tint of the solid ice masses is very 
beautiful, and in their cavities fresh water often 
occurs from the melting ice. In some regions 
they are carried by winds and oceanic currents 
into warmer seas, where they give rise to fogs, 
but melt rapidly. Large masses of rocks and 
earth are carried by them, and they likewise 
transport seeds of plants and sometimes ani¬ 
mals. Ice which covers a large portion of the 
sea is called an ice -field, a small field is desig¬ 
nated a floe, and a field which is broken up forms 
an ice pack. Field ice covers a vast portion of 
the sea in winter, but it is broken up on the ap¬ 
proach of summer. 

ICELAND (Is'land), an island of volcanic 
origin, situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, 
about 230 miles southeast of Greenland and 600 
miles west of Norway. The area is 39,756 
square miles. It is 300 miles long from east to 
west, with a central breadth of 200 miles. Its 
coast lines are indented by great bays or fiords, 
and adjacent to it are many small islands. The 
surface is diversified by several mountain chains, 
a number of which contain active volcanoes. 
Numerous lakes abound and many streams pene¬ 
trate through the valleys, of which the Thjorsa, 
Skja Danda, Jokulsa, and Axarfirdi rivers are 
the most important. Geysers are distributed in 


ICELAND 


1063 


ICHNEUMON 


niany portions, but are found most numerously 
in the southwestern part, near Reykjavik. Sul¬ 
phur is the most abundant mineral, but it has 
workable deposits of rock crystal, chalcedony, 
refracting spar, and brown coal. 

The climate of Iceland is extremely cold, but 
mild considering the latitude, while the sum¬ 
mers are short and damp. Vegetation abounds 
only in narrow confines, mostly along the coast, 
and the timber is limited to several stunted 
species, the principal tree being the birch. 
Other plants include the willow, bilberry, heath, 
and lichens. Nutritious grasses of different 
kinds mingle with the shrubs and afford good 
grazing for sheep. The manufactures are largely 
of a domestic nature, such as earthenware, 
clothing, utensils, leather, and canned fish. The 
principal imports include breadstuffs, timber, 
hardware, clothing, sugar, and tobacco. Among 
the chief productions are cattle, sheep, potatoes, 
radishes, vegetables, horses, and ponies. The 
exports include seal skins, sulphur, wool, cattle, 
fish, eider down, and the edible Iceland moss. 

The inhabitants are of Scandinavian origin 
and speak the oldest form of the Scandinavian 
group of languages. Their literature is exten¬ 
sive. It has been enriched by translations from 
many master productions of German and Eng¬ 
lish writers. The Sagas are histories and works 
of a romantic character, and have been trans¬ 
lated into various languages, forming at present 
an interesting portion of reading matter for 
schools in many countries. 

The government is administered under a con¬ 
stitution adopted in 1874. It is vested in the 
governor general, who is appointed by the King 
of Denmark, and in the althing or parliament. 
The latter is the local legislative body. It con¬ 
sists of thirty-six members, six members being 
nominated by the King of Denmark and forming 
the upper division, and the remainder, or lower 
division, being elected by popular suffrage. 
Practically all the people belong to the Lutheran 
Church. The educational institutions include 
elementary schools, several colleges, and a uni¬ 
versity at Reykjavik. This city, located in the 
western part, is the most important seaport and 
the capital of the island. 

The history of Iceland begins with the end of 
the 8th century, when scattered settlements were 
made by Irish emigrants. Shortly after people 
immigrated from the Scandinavian countries, 
and in 870 Harold Haarfager by his arbitrary 
rule caused many Norwegians to emigrate to 
Iceland. By 925 the coast regions were largely 
populated and an aristocratic republic was 
formed, which maintained itself through several 
centuries. In 981 Christianity was introduced, 


schools were established, and considerable ad¬ 
vancement was made in agriculture, commerce, 
and other civilized arts. At that time Iceland 
attained to its highest degree of prosperity. 
Within that period Greenland was discovered, in 
983, and North America was visited under Lief 
Ericsson about 1001. Magnus VI. of Norway 
annexed Iceland to his dominion in 1264. In 
1380 it was made a territory of Denmark, and 
since then has remained a Danish possession. 
Population, 1906, 78,685. 

ICELAND MOSS, the name of several spe¬ 
cies of lichens found in cold climates, so named 
from its wide distribution in Iceland. It is 
widely distributed in Northern Europe, especial¬ 
ly in Norway, and is found on the upper parts 
of many elevated mountains. Iceland moss is 
gathered as a food by the inhabitants of Iceland 
and Lapland, and is either boiled with milk or 
the plant is dried and used in making bread. To 
render it palatable and remove a bitter taste, it 
is necessary to steep it in water. It is important 
in the manufacture of sizing paper, in dressing 
warp in weaving, and as a diet for those suffer¬ 
ing of pulmonary diseases. 

ICELAND SPAR, a transparent variety of 
calcite, so named from the fact that the best 
specimens are obtained from Iceland. Being 
transparent and having a double refraction 
property, it is employed in optical instruments. 


ICE PLANT, the name of an annual herb 
native to Africa and Europe, so named because 
the leaves are covered with vesicles that appear 



ICE PLANT. 


like crystals of ice. Several hundred species 
have been described and all of them are native 
to moderately warm climates. A few of the 
plants have been introduced in California, where 
they are cultivated fQr their flowers. The na¬ 
tives of the Madeira Islands use the seeds as 
food, and the ashes of the plant yields carbonate 
of soda, useful in making glass and soap. 

ICHNEUMON (ik-nu'mon), a genus of car¬ 
nivorous animals which belong to the civet fam- 


ICHNEUMON FLY 


1064 


ICONOCLAST 


ily. They are noted for their destruction of rats, 
mice, reptiles, and insects. They are especially 
fond of the eggs of crocodiles, on account of 
which they were held sacred among the Egyp¬ 
tians. The best known ichneumon is found in 
Egypt and a smaller kind is native to India. 
Several of the species are kept as useful domes¬ 
tic animals in many homes of Egypt and Asia, 
serving to destroy pests. The Egyptian ichneu¬ 
mon is somewhat larger than a cat. It is yel¬ 
lowish-brown in color and has a long tail. This 
species is popularly known as Pharaoh’s rat, 
while the Indian ichneumon is now commonly 
called mongoose. 

ICHNEUMON FLY, an insect of a large 
group of Hymenoptera, including about 5,000 
known species. They deposit their eggs either 
on the bodies or within the eggs of other insects 
and spiders. The larvae devour the eggs, in¬ 
sects, or animals, either mature or immature, 
in which they are developed. When the insect 
reaches maturity, the worm on which it fed ex¬ 
pires from exhaustion, and the fly begins to feed 
on the juices of plants. In this way they are 
of vast benefit to man, since they destroy grubs, 
caterpillars, the Hessian fly, and other pests, 
while they themselves are harmless in a state of 
maturity. The adult ichneumon does not attack 



ICHNEUMON FLY. 


insects, except to make a deposit of eggs, which 
it does by making a minute puncture. 

ICHNOLOGY (ik-nol'6-jy), the branch of 
science which treats of fossil imprints. The 
rocks bearing fossil footprints or other impres¬ 
sions are found largely in deposits which were 
in the form of mud at the time imprints were 
made, but many occur in sandstone. The Jura- 
Trias sandstones of North America contain 
many trails, tracks, and other impressions, 
especially of birds, fishes, and ornithopod dino¬ 
saurs, all of which have been studied systemat¬ 
ically. See Fossils, 


ICHTHYOLOGY (ik-thi-ol'o-jy), the 

branch of zoology that treats of # fishes. Aris¬ 
totle is the most eminent ancient authority on 
this science, and is practically the only writer 
of antiquity to furnish data of value regarding 
fishes, their habits, and their culture. Modern 
treatises on ichthyology date from the middle 
of the 16th century. Among the most eminent 
writers are Max-Muller, Agassiz, Cuvier, Owen, 
and Pierre Belon (1518-1564). See Fish Cul¬ 
ture. 

ICHTHYOSAURUS (Ik'thi-6-sa'rus), a re¬ 
markable fossil reptile which inhabited the sea 
in the period when the secondary strata were 



FOSSILS OF THE ICHTHYOSAURUS. 


deposited. The form was somewhat like that of 
the porpoise. It had four paddlelike limbs, an 
enormous head, a long tail, and broad vertebrae, 
the last mentioned resembling those of fishes. 
Fossil remains of this animal occur from the 
lower Lias to the Chalk periods, but they are 
most numerous in the Lias Oolite. More than 
thirty species have been discovered, some re¬ 
sembling the gavial of the Ganges and others the 
common crocodile. They are represented in the 
deposits of Australia, Europe, Asia, and South 
America. Only one species, the Baptanodon, is 
found in North America. 

ICONOCLAST (i-kon'6-klast), the name 
given in the 8th century to one who supported 
a movement against the religious use of images. 
Those who worshiped images were called icono- 
laters and they became particularly numerous 
in the Eastern church. At first images of bish¬ 
ops and martyrs were used to commemorate 
their lives, but later they were worshiped and 
incense was offered to them on altars. Leo III., 
Emperor of Byzantium, promulgated an order 
against the worship of images, and directed that 
pictures and other movable objects should be 
placed sufficiently high so as to prevent people 
from kissing them and showing other marks 
of devotion. In 842 a council at Constantinople 
sanctioned the worship of images in the Greek 
church, and this order was subsequently affirmed 
by other councils. Similar decisions were made 
by the popes, hence image worship became es¬ 
tablished and has since been practiced in the 








IDA 


1065 


IDAHO 


Western church. Iconoclasm became quite gen¬ 
eral in some sections of Europe during the 
Reformation, when many sacred statues and 
images were destroyed. During the time of 
Cromwell it reached its height in England. 

IDA, a mountain range of Asia Minor, form¬ 
ing the southern boundary of the Troad. It 
extends from Phrygia into Troad and overlooks 
the valley of Troy. Mount Gargarus, height 
5,745 feet, is the culminating peak. This range 
of mountains is celejbrated in ancient mythology 
as the place from which the gods witnessed the 
battles of the Trojan War. The highest peak 
of the mountain chain that trends the island of 
Crete from east to west is known by the same 
name. It is covered by beautiful forests of ma¬ 
ple, cedar, and pine, and is noted for its alleged 
connection with the education of Zeus, the 
chief Grecian god. Its height above sea level is 
8,050 feet. 

IDAHO (i'da-hd), a northwestern state of 
the United States, so called from the Indian 
language, the name meaning Gem of the Moun¬ 
tains. It is bounded on the north by British 
Columbia, east by Montana and Wyoming, south 
by Nevada and Utah, and west by Oregon and 
Washington. The length from north to south 
is 490 miles and the width varies considerably, 
being 45 miles at the northern boundary and 
about 300 at the southern. It has an area of 
84,800 square miles, including 510 square miles 
of water surface. . 

Description. The State consists chiefly of an 
elevated and mountainous region. It lies mainly 
between the Cascades on the west and the Rocky 
Mountains on the east, and a large part of the 
southern portion is in Great Basin, which has 
an elevation of from 2,000 to 5,000 feet above 
sea level. Many mountain summits in the north¬ 
ern and eastern parts are elevated above the 
snow line. The Bitter Root and Salmon River 
ranges are highest near the eastern border, but 
spurs extend from them in a westerly direction 
almost across the State. In the northern part 
are the Cabinet and Coeur d’Alene ranges, which 
extend to the border of Canada, and the Black- 
foot and Snake River ranges are in the south¬ 
eastern part. Many of the valleys lying between 
the ranges have a soil of great fertility, though 
much of the surface is made up of regions of 
canyons and sandy and rocky formations. 

Though the State has many streams of con¬ 
siderable size, the drainage is almost exclusively 
into the Columbia, which receives the inflow 
from the Snake, Clark Fork, Spokane, and Koo¬ 
tenay rivers. The Snake, which is the largest of 
these rivers, flows through the south central 
part, forms a part of the western boundary, and 


near Lewiston enters the State of Washington. 
It drains a basin of about 60,000 square miles 
and receives the inflow from the Salmon, Boise, 
Wiser, and Clearwater rivers. In its course are 
the three falls known as the Salmon, the Sho¬ 
shone, and the American, the first mentioned hav¬ 
ing a descent of nearly 200 feet. A small portion 
in the southeastern part of the State is drained 
into Bear Lake and Great Salt Lake, the former 
of which is situated partly in Idaho. Several 
lakes are located in the northern part, including 
Coeur d’Alene, Kaniksu, and Pend Oreille. The 
two last mentioned discharge by the Clark Fork 
into the Columbia near Waneta, Canada. 



IDAHO. 


,1, Boise; 2, Lewiston; 3, Pocatello; 4, Moscow; 5, Wallace 
6, Montpelier. Chief railroads are indicated by dotted lines. 

winter, but the plains and valleys are exception¬ 
ally free from extreme. The mean temperature 
at Boise City is 51°, and in the moderately ele¬ 
vated parts in the north it is 54°. In summer 
the thermometer may rise as high as 100° in 
the southern part of the State, but the refresh¬ 
ing mountain breezes have an invigorating ef¬ 
fect. The rainfall is very light in the south, 
but an abundance of moisture is common to the 






IDAHO 


1066 


IDAHO 


northern part of the State, where the western 
winds give up their humidity when coming in 
contact with the elevated ranges. Fine grazing 
is afforded on the uplands. In many places are 
valuable forests of evergreen and deciduous 
trees, especially along the streams and in the 
mountains. 

Mining. The mineral resources are of great 
importance. Gold was first discovered about 
1861, and this mineral is distributed in nearly 
all parts of the State. Placer mining has been 
conducted to a considerable extent, but quartz 
mining has been developed to a high degree of 
prominence. Silver and lead are obtained in 
the Coeur d’Alene district, which is one of the 
richest in the United States. Dredging for gold 
is conducted chiefly in the bed 'of the Snake 
River and its tributaries, and quartz mining has 
been developed in several localities, especially in 
the Thunder Mountain district. Other minerals 
include coal, iron, salt, soda, magnesia, and 
quicksilver. The annual output of all the mines 
has a value of about $25,500,000. 

Agriculture. Though much of the State is 
arid and not capable of being reclaimed, much 
has been done in developing the agricultural re¬ 
sources. The valleys and many of the uplands 
have a rich alluvial soil that produces excellent 
crops of cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Farm¬ 
ing can be carried on without irrigation in the 
northern part. The Snake River and a number 
of other streams have deep channels, hence irri¬ 
gation is not possible the entire length of these 
streams, or is quite expensive in some sections. 
However, much has been done in reclaiming fer¬ 
tile but arid tracts, and in such regions farming 
is highly profitable. Hay and forage take rank 
among the principal crops, and particular atten¬ 
tion is given to the cultivation of alfalfa. Wheat 
is the most important cereal and holds a high 
place both in the quantity grown per acre and 
in its quality for making flour. Other cereals 
include corn, oats, barley, rye, and spelt. Ap¬ 
ples and prunes are cultivated profitably and all 
kinds of vegetables thrive. 

The pasture lands cover an area of 25,750,000 
acres, and the grasses are peculiarly nutritious. 
Live stock is kept on the elevated table lands 
during the summer, and in winter it is with¬ 
drawn to the valleys along the streams, where 
the climate is less severe and both cattle and 
horses can subsist without much feeding. Sheep 
raising is an important enterprise of the State, 
and the annual production of wool has a value 
of about $2,750,000. Swine are not grown ex¬ 
tensively, owing to the fact that corn is not 
raised on a large acreage, but large interests are 
vested in the rearing of mules, horses, and cat¬ 


tle. The Bitter Root Timber Reserve, which 
comprises an area of fine pine and fir forests, is 
located chiefly in Idaho. 

Manufactures. Rapid progress has been 
made in manufacturing the last two decades. 
Since the State has about 20,000,000 acres of 
valuable timber, much material for manufactur¬ 
ing is available. To this may be added the 
product of the mines, which furnish large quan¬ 
tities of products for smelting and other indus¬ 
trial enterprises. Many flouring mills are oper¬ 
ated profitably,- although they are devoted chiefly 
to the grinding of wheat. Other manufactures 
include machinery, cigars, clothing, utensils, and 
lumber products. 

Transportation. Several transcontinental rail¬ 
way lines pass through the State, all of which 
have numerous branches in different directions. 
The Oregon Short Line crosses the State from 
east to west, affording convenient transportation 
from Granger, in Wyoming, through the Snake 
River Valley. Four lines cross the northern 
part of the State, including those of the Oregon 
Railroad & Navigation Company, the Northern 
Pacific, the Great Northern, and the Chicago, 
Milwaukee and Saint Paul railroads. The total 
railroad lines aggregate 1,500 miles, but this is 
insufficient to supply the demand, since a large 
portion of the central part of the State is with¬ 
out railroad communication. Many wagon 
roads have been constructed and numerous tele¬ 
phone and telegraph lines are in operation. The 
export trade is chiefly with ports on the Pacific, 
especially through San Francisco, Tacoma, and 
Seattle. Gold, silver, lead, wool, lumber, hides, 
and live stock are the chief products exported. 
The imports consist mainly of manufactured 
articles. 

Government. The present constitution was 
adopted in 1889. It vests the executive authority 
in the Governor and other State officials, who 
are elected for terms of two years by popular 
vote. The legislative branch consists of the sen¬ 
ate .and house of representatives, the former 
having 24 and the latter 60 members. Meetings 
of the Legislature begin in January of even 
years, but extraordinary sessions may be con¬ 
vened by the Governor. Members of both 
branches are elected for terms of two years by 
popular vote at the time and place of voting for 
State officers. Local judicial power is vested in 
justices of the peace. Each county has a prose¬ 
cuting attorney, who is elected for two years. 
The higher courts consist of those organized in 
the judicial district, and the supreme court has 
final jurisdiction. The latter consists of three 
judges, who are elected for a term of six years 
by the people of the State. 


IDAHO 


1067 


IDEALISM 


Education. The common school system is 
very similar to that of all other states of the 
Union. The school district is the territorial 
unit and is.composed of an indefinite and vary¬ 
ing number of families residing within its lim¬ 
its. A board of three trustees, elected by the 
qualified voters of the district, has general 
charge of the school property, employs teachers, 
and supervises locally the buildings and the 
school. The county, superintendent, elected for 
two years, has general supervision of all the 
schools within the county, issues certificates to 
teachers, and stimulates professional interest by 
correspondence and personal contact. The State 
Superintendent has supervision over all the 
schools and the work of county superintendents. 
This officer prepares the courses of study for 
use in the schools and the questions to be used 
in the examinations for county and state certifi¬ 
cates and life diplomas, the two last mentioned 
being issued by the State Board of Education. 

The schools and public instruction are sup¬ 
ported by a system of local taxation, which is 
supplemented by an income from the State fund. 
The latter is obtained from the lease and sale of 
school lands, consisting of sections 16 and 36 
of the congressional townships. Only 4.6 per 
cent, of the population ten years of age and over 
were unable to read and write in 1900, a record 
of illiteracy smaller than that of the whole 
country. The University of Idaho is located at 
Moscow and is the chief institution of higher 
learning. An agricultural and mechanical col¬ 
lege is located at Idaho Falls, two normal 
schools are maintained at Albion and Lewiston, 
and a State academy is at Pocatello. The pri¬ 
vate and denominational institutions include 
Saint Aloysius Academy, Lewiston; College of 
Idaho, Caldwell; Episcopal College, Lewiston; 
Saint Teresa’s Academy, Boise; and an indus¬ 
trial school for Indian girls, Desmet. Ample 
provisions have been made for the care of un¬ 
fortunates, and for benevolent, reformatory, and 
correctional purposes. An asylum for the insane 
is located at Blackfoot, a soldiers’ home near 
Boise, an industrial and reform school at Saint 
Anthony, and a penitentiary at Boise. 

Inhabitants. The population of the State 
formerly consisted largely of miners and ranch¬ 
ers, but the development of agriculture, lumber¬ 
ing, and manufacturing has caused all industrial 
and professional classes to be well represented. 
About one-sixth of the people are foreign born 
and the male sex is- considerably in excess. 
Boise, in the western part of .the State, is the 
capital. Other cities include Idaho Falls, Mos¬ 
cow, Pocatello, Wallace, Lewiston, and Mont¬ 
pelier. The State has grown constantly in popu¬ 


lation since it^was admitted into the Union, the 
growth in the last decade being 92 per cent. In 
1900 its population was 161,772. This included 
a total colored population of 7,277, of which 293 
were Negroes, 1,291 Japanese, 1,467 Chinese, and 
4,226 Indians. In 1910 the population was 
325,594. 

History. Idaho was acquired by the Louisiana 
Purchase. The first explorations were made by 
Lewis and Clark in 1805 and 1806. A mission 
was established at Coeur d’Alene in 1842, but 
those who visited the region were largely hunt¬ 
ers and prospectors. Gold was discovered in 
1858 on the Oro Fino Creek, after which set¬ 
tlements began to develop rapidly, and on March 
3, 1863, Idaho was created a Territory by act of 
Congress. In 1890 it was admitted to the Union 
as the forty-fourth State and the thirty-first 
under the Federal Constitution. Considerable 
hostility was shown against the Mormons, who 
formed large settlements in the southern part 
and for some time practiced polygamy, but in 
1893 the leaders of that denomination renounced 
polygamy as an institution. Several strikes took 
place at the Coeur d’Alene mines, those of 1892 
and of 1899 being the most noteworthy. As a 
whole the State is on a sound educational and 
industrial basis, and its public institutions are ' 
making rapid strides of development. 

IDAHO, University of, a State institution 
established in 1892 at Moscow, Idaho. Free in¬ 
struction is offered to students of both sexes 
who reside within the State and others are re¬ 
quired to pay a nominal tuition. Five regents 
•have general control. The courses comprise in¬ 
struction in the sciences, classics, agriculture, 
civil and mining engineering, and military tac¬ 
tics. The library has about 20,000 volumes, in¬ 
cluding books and pamphlets, and the institution 
is endowed by a large grant of land. About 400 
students attend, about one-half of whom are in 
the collegiate department. The annual income 
approximates $70,000. 

IDEA (i-de'a), any product of mental appre¬ 
hension or activity considered as an object of 
thought. Plato regarded ideas as the eternal 
and immaterial forms of all material things, 
while Kant treated them as the primitive ele¬ 
ments of intelligence, not as products, and modi¬ 
fied and developed the Platonic theory of innate 
ideas into the modern doctrine of intuitions. See 
Intuitions. 

IDEALISM (i-de'al-iz’m), in philosophy, the 
doctrine held in contradistinction to realism. 
According to realism three positively distinct 
things are implied and involved in any act of 
vision. For instance, in seeing a book there are 
the book, the image or apprehension of the book, 




IDES 


1068 


IGNEOUS 


and an apprehending mind, ego, or self. These 
three facts are dealt with in idealism as sub¬ 
jective, objective, and absolute. Subjective ideal¬ 
ism embraces the view that the book and the 
image are' one thing and that a modification of 
the mind is the only fact which is perceived. 
According to objective idealism the book and the 
mind are existences equally real or ideal, but 
they are regarded manifestations of an objective 
fact of some kind. Absolute idealism teaches 
that the only thing really perceived is the idea 
or relation, of which the mind and the book are 
but two terms, and to which idea or relation they 
owe all the reality they have. Idealism has 
been influenced more or less by the teachings 
of Plato. The modern advocates of it include 
Fichte, Kant, Schelling, Berkeley, Hegel, and 
Descartes. 

IDES (idz), a term applied by the Romans 
to the 15th day of March, May, July, and Octo¬ 
ber, and to the 13th of the other months. 
Caesar’s assassination occurred on the ides of 
March, on account of which it was an a ter dies, 
or black day, when the senate did not convene. 

IDIOT (id'i-ot), a person who is in a large 
degree destitute of intelligence, or who suffers 
from a condition of mental imbecility. Al¬ 
though the term is of Greek origin, it expresses 
a condition different from the idea contained in 
the root from which it was derived. In ancient 
Greece an idiot was primarily the private indi¬ 
vidual, in distinction from an educated man or 
one who took part in public affairs. The Spar¬ 
tans used the term to describe an ignorant or 
unlettered man, and it finally came to be applied 
to those who did not possess the capacity to 
learn. Idiocy is now regarded as an arrest of 
mental development, either from congenital de¬ 
fect or some disease occurring subsequent to 
birth. In idiocy the will has but partial control 
over the muscular system and external impres¬ 
sions are not readily communicated to the mind. 
The brain of idiots is sometimes quite regular 
in conformation, but in most cases it is abnor¬ 
mal. In many instances the forehead is de¬ 
pressed and flattened, sometimes receding back¬ 
ward from a point near the eyebrows, and in 
others the back part of the head is greatly en¬ 
larged. Idiots rarely live beyond the age of 
forty years, due probably to their inactivity or 
certain sensual emotions. The education of 
idiots received attention as early as the 17th 
century. At present they are classed largely 
with the feeble-minded, but separate institutions 
for the training of this class are maintained in 
many countries. 

IDOL (i'dol), an image intended to represent 
a divinity and as such to be worshiped. One 


worshiping an image is called an idolator and 
the worship is known as idolatry. However, it 
must be distinguished from iconolatry, in which 
the mind is directed to the Deity or saints rep¬ 
resented, while in idolatry the things themselves 
are worshiped. Various forms of idolatry have 
been practiced from remote antiquity, the wor¬ 
shipers making greatly diversified things the ob¬ 
jects of their worship, such as the sun, moon, 
stars, the elements, heroes, animals, and various 
forms of manufactures. The Phoenicians are 
thought'to have originated the worship of heav¬ 
enly bodies and objects of nature, while to the 
Egyptians is attributed the origin of animal wor¬ 
ship, such as that of the sacred ibis, oxen, and 
ichneumon. Hero worship was general in 
Greece and Rome. The mythology of these peo¬ 
ples deals chiefly with such gods as Zeus, Jupi¬ 
ter, Apollo, Mars, Neptune, and many others. 
Idol worship has been practiced by many of the 
Chinese from remote antiquity, and the con¬ 
struction of earthen and other images of human 
form still prevails among them and other classes. 
Many of the savages prepare peculiar figures 
representing animals and human beings, which 
they adore with feelings of intense devotion. 
Some writers regard idolatry among the so- 
called heathens as a degradation of the true 
God, while others think it is the result of an 
innate longing common to the human breast and 
through which a knowledge of the true God is 
sought. Man is a worshiping being, and activity 
in this line is common among all peoples, wheth¬ 
er it prevails in the worship of one God, in that 
of idols, the imaginary deities, or the lower 
forms of fetichism. 

IDYL (i'dil), or Idyll, the term usually ap¬ 
plied to a poem that represents scenes of pas¬ 
toral life, or which is highly descriptive in 
treating one or more subjects. Theocritus, who 
published 31 idyls, is a famous ancient writer 
of this class of poems. Tennyson’s “Idylls of 
the King” embraces twelve poems based on the 
romances of Arthur. They include “The Com¬ 
ing of Arthur,” “Gareth and Lynette,” “The 
Marriage of Geraint,” “Geraint and Enid,” “Ba- 
lin and Balan,” “Merlin and Vivien,” “Lancelot 
and Elaine,” “The Holy Grail,” “Pelleas and 
Ettarre,” “The Last Tournament,” “Guinevere,” 
and*“The Passing of Arthur.” 

IGNEOUS (lg'ne-us), the term applied in 
geology to rock which is formed by the action 
of heat intense enough to produce fusion, in¬ 
cluding such as basalt, lava, and granite. Rocks 
of this class occur with formations of different 
geological ages, on account of being forced up 
from below the surface. They prevail in an 
unstratified condition. 



IGNIS FATUUS 


1069 


ILLINOIS 


IGNIS FATUUS (lg'ms fat'u-us), a Latin 
term applied to a luminous appearance in the 
atmosphere a few feet above the ground in 
marshes, burial grounds, and other places where 
there is vegetable or animal matter in a state of 
decay. It appears to recede when approached. 
The cause is thought to be the escape of gaseous 
substances liberated from decaying bodies, which 
ignite spontaneously by a union- of different 
forms of gases. Common names applied to this 
phenomenon are Jack-o’-lantern and Will-o'+the- 
wisp. The best examples of it are found in the 
marshes of Ireland and the low regions of Ger¬ 
many near the North Sea. 

IGORROTE (e-gor-rd'tft), ,a race of people 
native to the Philippine Islands. The Igorrotes 
are a mixture of Malay and Mongol races and 
may be classed as warlike. They are found 
chiefly in the island of Luzon, but the term is 
applied generally to any uncivilized Filipinos of 
Malay blood, such as the Ygolots. 


IGUANA (!-gwa'na), a genus of lizards na¬ 
tive to tropical America, including about a hun¬ 
dred species. The common iguana is from two 



to five feet long and is mostly of a greenish 
color. Natives consider the flesh edible, but it 
is not particularly wholesome. The female lays 
from four to six eggs in the sand, where they 
are incubated by the sun. The eggs are hunted 
by the natives and form a wholesome food. In 
the adults the claws are sharp, enabling them 
to crawl on trees. They paddle through the 
water with a rapid, serpentine movement, being 
aided by the long, flat tail They feed largely 
on vegetable substances, such as fruits, fungi, 
and tender plants. The spiny agama, an allied 
animal about seven inches long, is native to 
South Africa. 

IGUANODON (i-gwa'nd-don), an extinct 
lizard of immense size, *so called from the simi¬ 
larity of its teeth to those of the iguana. Fossil 
remains indicate that the fore feet were com¬ 
paratively small and the hind ones were large. 
While walking the animal moved largely on its 


hind legs. Fossil remains have been found in 
the British Isles and other European countries, 
and from them it is held that the animal was 
between twenty and forty feet long. These ani¬ 
mals are represented in North America by the 
Laosaurus and the Camptosaurus, of which re¬ 
mains are found in the Mesozoic deposits. 

ILION (il'i-un), a village of New York, in 
Herkimer County, twelve miles southeast of 
Utica, on the West Shore and the New York 
Central railroads. It is located on the Mohawk 
River and the Erie Canal. The surrounding 
country is fertile. It has manufactures of bicy¬ 
cles, firearms, clothing, and machinery. Electric 
lights, waterworks, and a public library are 
among the general utilities. It has considerable 
trade in farm produce and manufactures. Uion 
was settled about 1816 and its incorporation 
dates from 1852. Population, 1910, 6,588. 

ILLIMANI (el-ye-ma'ne), Mount, a lofty 
peak of the Andes, situated in Bolivia, about 25 
miles southeast of La Pas. The summit is 
21,040 feet above sea level. Vegetation ceases 
at about 11,400 feet and the snow line is 14,900 
feet above the sea. In its vicinity are rich de¬ 
posits of minerals and fine forests. 

ILLINOIS (il-li-noi'), a state of the United 
States, one of the north central section, popu¬ 
larly called the Prairie State. It is bounded 
on the north 
by Wisconsin; 
east by Lake 
Michigan, In- 
d i a n a, and 
Kentucky; 
south by Ken- 
t u c k y ; and 
west by Mis- 
s o u ri and 
Iowa. It is 
separated 
from Iowa 
* and Missouri 
by the Missis¬ 
sippi, from 
Kentucky by 
the Ohio, and 
partly from 
Indiana by 
t h e Wabash 
River. The 
length from 
north to south 
is 376 miles, 
and the great¬ 
est breadth is 
212 miles. The area is 56,650 square miles, in¬ 
cluding a water surface of 650 miles. 



1. Springfield; 2, Chicago; 3, East 
Saint Louis; 4, Peoria; 5, Quincy; 6 , 
Rock Island; 7, Rockford; 8, Joliet; 
9, Cairo. Chief railroads are shown by 
dotted lines. 





ILLINOIS 


1070 


ILLINOIS 


Description. The surface is' largely a gently 
undulating plain, containing practically no waste 
lands,, and constituting an extensive fertile area. 
Next to Delaware and Louisiana, it is the most 
level State, though the surface is made up of 
broad valleys and low, smooth hills. In the 
southern part the altitude is 300 feet above sea 
level, whence it rises gradually toward the north, 
where the general elevation is 800 feet. The 
highest land is in the south central part, where 
a spur of the Ozark Mountains extend into it 
'from Missouri, having an altitude of 1,150 to 
1,400 feet. In this section the hills are more 
or less abrupt, especially on their northern 
slopes, and the descent southward to the Ohio 
is quite gradual. The general slope of the State 
is toward the south and southwest, which is the 
direction of nearly all of the larger streams. 

Since the State borders on Lake Michigan 
and the boundary is formed in part by the Wa¬ 
bash, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers, it is supplied 
with important waterways for transportation. 
The three rivers mentioned receive the dis¬ 
charge from nearly all streams within the State. 
The Illinois River, which is formed by the junc¬ 
tion of the Des Plaines and the Kankakee, 
drains the central part of the State, and dis¬ 
charges into the Mississippi. It receives the 
inflow from the Sangamon, Mackinaw, Ver¬ 
milion, Spoon, Fox, Kankakee, and Des Plaines, 
and through the last mentioned has connection 
with the Chicago Drainage Canal. The Rock 
River is in the northern part, and the Embarras, 
Little Wabash, Kaskaskia, and Big Muddy drain 
a large portion of the southern section. Lake 
Peoria, formed by an expansion of the Illinois 
River, is in the central part of the State. Grass 
and Fox lakes are in the northeastern part, and 
a number of other lakes are located in the vicin¬ 
ity of Chicago. 

Climate. The climatic conditions are tem¬ 
perate, the mean temperature ranging from 46° 
to 54°. The summers are pleasant and marked 
by cooling breezes, while the winters are mod¬ 
erate, though the thermometer occasionally falls 
below zero. In the southern part the climate is 
considerably warmer than in the northern sec¬ 
tion, but in general the State is subject to 
marked changes in temperature. Vegetation be¬ 
gins to grow in the early part of April, which 
is the principal month for seeding, and the first 
' frosts occur late in September. All parts of 
the State_have an abundance of rainfall, which 
averages 38 inches, but is somewhat heavier in 
the south than in the north. As a whole the 
climate is healthful and favorable to agriculture. 

Mining. Though mining has been developed 
to a considerable extent, it is surpassed in im¬ 


portance by agriculture and manufacturing. In 
the output of bituminous coal Illinois takes high 
rank, and the total mined is equal to ten per 
cent, of the amount produced in the entire coun¬ 
try. The coal area is estimated at 42,500 square 
miles, most of which is workable, and the de¬ 
posits are south of a line drawn through Rock 
Island and Joliet. Several veins of marketable 
coal are located from 80 to 1,200 feet below the 
surface, ranging in thickness from three to nine 
feet, but most of the mines now operated do not 
exceed a depth of 400 feet. The annual output 
'of coal in Illinois is about 52,500,000 tons, mak¬ 
ing the State second in the production of coal, 
being exceeded only by Pennsylvania. Zinc is 
obtained in the northern' part and sandstone, 
limestone, and commercial clays are abundant- in 
nearly all sections. Petroleum is obtained in 
the southeastern part and galena, a lead ore, is 
worked in the northwestern section. Gypsum 
and limestone are abundant, hence cement and 
lime are manufactured extensively. 

Manufacturing. Illinois ranks third as a 
manufacturing State, being exceeded only by 
New York and Pennsylvania. This favorable 
condition is accounted, for largely by its ex¬ 
tensive coal fields and convenient location for 
collecting and distributing. Fully seventy per 
cent, of the manufactured products of Illinois 
are credited to Chicago, which is the most im¬ 
portant meat-packing center of America. All 
parts of the slaughtered animal are utilized, 
hence a number of industries have developed 
aside from the enterprise of producing fresh, 
cured, and canned meats. These include princi¬ 
pally the manufacture of leather, soap, candles, 
brushes, and lard and tallow products. South 
Chicago and Joliet are centers for the manufac¬ 
ture of iron and steel products, the ore being 
obtained from the mines of Minnesota and Mich¬ 
igan. Elgin and Aurora are noted for the man¬ 
ufacture of watches and clocks; Moline, Dixon, 
and Rock Island have extensive factories of ag¬ 
ricultural implements; and Peoria has the lar¬ 
gest distilleries in America. Other manufactures 
include clothing, musical instruments, electrical 
apparatus, flour, lumber products, bicycles and 
automobiles, railway cars, and earthenware. 
Among the manufactures depending fof raw ma¬ 
terials upon agriculture are cheese, butter, and 
condensed milk. About twenty per cent, of the 
corn crop of the State is consumed in manufac¬ 
turing enterprises, including chiefly spirituous 
liquors and glucose. 

Agriculture. The farm acreage embraces 
92 per cent, of the land area and agriculture is 
the leading industry. In the volume of farm 
products the State long held first rank and at 



ILLINOIS 


1071 


ILLINOIS 


present it is exceeded only by Iowa. The soil 
is exceptionally rich and free from stones. Much 
of the surface has .been improved by tile drain¬ 
age and the cultivation of crops which invigor¬ 
ate the land, such as clover. Aside from stable 
manure, only a small quantity of fertilizers is 
employed, and the methods of farming are mod¬ 
ern and progressive. Corn is the principal 
cereal, the annual production ranging from 
350,000,000 to 410,000,000 bushels. Oats is the 
second crop of importance, hay the third, and 
wheat the fourth. Considerable quantities of 
potatoes, rye, barley, and spelt are produced. 
Fruit, though grown in all sections of the State, 
is especially abundant in the southern part, 
where both the soil and climate are favorable 
to the endurance of orchards for a long term of 
years. The chief varieties grown generally are 
grapes, apples, plums, strawberries, and cher¬ 
ries, and pears, quinces, and peaches thrive best 
in the central and southern parts. Formerly 
heavy belts of timber extended along the streams 
and through the valleys of the southern section-, 
but a large part of the area formerly in forests 
are utilized for farming and pasturage, though 
considerable valuable timber still abounds along 
the streams and in artificial groves. 

Although Illinois is located near the great 
markets of Chicago, Peoria, and Saint Louis, 
stock raising has continued to bd* an important 
industry. This is accounted for largely by the 
fact that agriculturalists appreciate the value of 
feeding their hay and grain upon the farms as 
a means to maintain the fertility of the soil. In 
the number of milch cows Illinois is exceeded 
only by Iowa and New York. Though all de¬ 
partments of dairy farming are well developed, 
fully 65 per cent, of the income is obtained from 
the sale of milk. Large quantities of swine and 
cattle are fattened for the market each year. 
The State ranks next to Iowa in the number of 
horses, and particular attention is given to the 
rearing of well-blooded animals. In the num¬ 
ber of domestic fowls it ranks next to Missouri. 
Mules and sheep are grown profitably, though 
there has been a noticeable decrease in the lat¬ 
ter for several decades. 

Transportation. Illinois has the-largest rail¬ 
road mileage of the states, the lines aggregat¬ 
ing 11,750 miles. It likewise holds high rank 
in the mileage of electric railways, both urban 
and interurban. Chicago, located at the termi¬ 
nus of many lines articulating in all directions, 
is the greatest center of railways in the 'world. 
The'lines that cross the State include the Chi¬ 
cago and Alton, the Chicago, Burlington and 
Quincy, the Chicago and Northwestern, the Chi¬ 
cago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul, the Chicago 


Great Western, the Chicago, Rock Island and 
Pacific, the Illinois Central, the Wabash, and 
thS Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, all of which 
furnish extensive communication toward the 
southwest, west, and northwest. The Erie, the 
Nickel Plate, the Wabash, the Pennsylvania, the 
Baltimore and Ohio, the Monon, the New York 
Central Lines, and the Grand Trunk furnish the 
principal connections toward the southeast, east, 
and northeast. Rock Island, Alton, East Saint 
Louis and Cairo are the principal cities of the 
Mississippi. Peoria, Springfield, and Blooming¬ 
ton are thriving inland cities. Chicago, on Lake 
Michigan, is the largest inland port city of the 
world. Lake Michigan is connected by the Illi¬ 
nois and Michigan canal with the Illinois River 
at Lasalle. It is probable that the Chicago 
Drainage Canal will eventually become a ship 
canal. 

Education. The educational institutions take 
a high rank and include some of the finest 
schools of America. Free schools have been 
maintained since 1855. The rate of illiteracy is 
4.2 per cent, of the population over ten years of 
age, as compared with 10.7 for the entire coun¬ 
try. The system of schools is under the super¬ 
vision of a State superintendent, who is as¬ 
sisted by superintendents in the cities and 
counties. All the rural communities have dis¬ 
trict schools, the terms ranging from seven to 
nine months per year, and township high schools 
may be organized where the people vote to es¬ 
tablish them. The University of Illinois, located 
at Urbana, is at the head of the school system. 
Five normal schools are maintained for the in¬ 
struction of teachers at Carbondale, Charleston, 
De Kalb, Macomb, and Normal. A noted train¬ 
ing school, the Cook County Normal School, is 
situated in Chicago. About 35 institutions that 
are classed as colleges and universities are with¬ 
in the State, all of which carry representative 
courses of study and are liberally patronized. 
Among these may be mentioned the Northwest¬ 
ern University, Evanston; the Illinois Wesleyan 
University, Bloomington; the University of Chi¬ 
cago, Chicago; the Augustana College, Rock Is¬ 
land ; the Lincoln University, Lincoln; the Knox 
College, Galesburg; the Illinois College, Jack¬ 
sonville; the Armour Institute of Technology, 
Chicago; the Rush Medical College, Chicago; 
the Lake Forest University, Lake Forest; and 
the Monticello Seminary, Godfrey. 

Illinois maintains a high class of correctional 
and charitable institutions. It likewise has sev¬ 
eral hospitals and homes for the care of sol¬ 
diers’ orphans and for the soldiers and sailors of 
the wars. The correctional institutions include 
a penitentiary at Joliet, a reformatory at Pontiac, 


ILLINOIS 


1072 


ILLINOIS 


a home for juvenile female offenders at Geneva, 
and a prison at Chester. Among the charitable 
institutions are the Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home* at 
Normal, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home at 
Quincy, the Soldiers’ Widows’ Home at Wil¬ 
mington, hospitals for the insane at Elgin, Jack¬ 
sonville, Anna, and Kankakee, and institutions 
foHthe blind and the deaf and dumb at Jack¬ 
sonville and Chicago. Many scientific and edu¬ 
cational societies are in a flourishing condition, 
most of which are centered in Chicago, and ref¬ 
erence and reading libraries are maintained in 
all the towns and cities. 

Government. The present constitution was 
ratified by a vote of the people in 1870. By it 
the chief executive authority is vested in the 
Governor, who is elected for a term of four 
years by popular vote. The other State officers 
include the lieutenant governor, auditor, secre¬ 
tary, treasurer, attorney general, and superin¬ 
tendent of instruction, who are elected for four 
years, except the treasurer, who is elected for 
two years and cannot be reelected to succeed 
himself. Legislative authority is vested in the 
General Assembly, which consists of a senate of 
51 members elected for four years and of a 
house of representatives of 153 members elected 
for two years. In voting for representatives 
each elector is allowed three ballots, which he 
may cast for one candidate, or he may cast one 
and a half ballots for each of two candidates, or 
he may cast one ballot for each of three candi¬ 
dates. This provision works to the advantage of 
the minority party. Local judicial jurisdiction 
is exercised by police magistrates and justices of 
the peace. Counties having a population of 
more than 50,000 inhabitants may have probate 
courts, but each county has a judge, a clerk of 
courts, and an attorney, all being elected for four 
years. In addition there are circuit and inferior 
appellate courts. The highest judicial authority 
is vested in the supreme court, constituted of 
judges from seven districts, who are elected for 
terms of nine years. 

Inhabitants. About one-fourth of the inhab¬ 
itants are of foreign birth, this portion in 1900 
numbering 966,747. Germans of foreign birth 
constitute over one-third of the foreign born 
population and next in order are the Scandina¬ 
vians, Irish, and Slavs. More than half of the 
people reside in cities and towns. The density 
of population is 86 per square mile. All of the 
leading Christian denominations are well repre¬ 
sented, including principally the Methodist Epis¬ 
copal, Lutheran, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Chris¬ 
tian, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian churches. 
The United Brethren and Congregational sects 
likewise have a large membership. Springfield 


is the capital of the Stdte. Other important cit¬ 
ies are Chicago, Peoria, Quincy, Rockford, 
Bloomington, Aurora, Elgin,- Galesburg, Belle¬ 
ville, Decatur, Rock Island, East Saint Louis, 
Jacksonville, Danville, Moline, Alton, Cairo, 
Streator, and Freeport. In 1900 Illinois held 
the third rank in population among the states, 
being exceeded only by New York and Pennsyl¬ 
vania. In that year the population was 4,821,550. 
This number included 86,677 colored inhabitants, 
of whom 85,078 we.re Negroes. Population, 
1910, 5,638,591. 

History. Illinois was first visited by white 
men in 1673, when Louis Joliet and Father Mar¬ 
quette ascended the Illinois River, and by way of 
the Des Plaines and Chicago rivers reached Lake 
Michigan. In 1680 La Salle and several compan¬ 
ions erected Fort Crevecoeur on the Illinois 
River, and Catholic missions were established 
about the same time. The region came under 
English dominion by the conquest of Canada in 
1763, when many French settlers removed to the 
towns in the Mississippi Valley, especially to 
Saint Louis and Natchez. Kaskaskia, the oldest 
town in the State, was settled in 1680, but it de¬ 
clined after the English occupation. In 17B7 it 
was included with the Northwest Territory. 

Illinois was erected into a territory in 1809, 
comprising at that time the region now included 
in the presenUstates of Illinois, Wisconsin, Min¬ 
nesota, and part of Michigan. Fort Dearborn 
(Chicago) was destroyed and the garrison was 
massacred in 1812. The first constitution was 
adopted and it was admitted into the Union in 
1818. The Black Hawk War of 1832 terminated 
in the removal of all the Indians to regions far¬ 
ther west. Congress made appropriations for 
the improvement of the Chicago River in 1834. 
In 1840 the Mormon excitement occurred. About 
that time a large number of Mormons removed 
from Missouri to Nauvoo, Ill., and four years 
later Joseph and Hiram Smith were confined in 
the jail at Carthage and-there murdered. Sub j 
sequently about 20,000 emigrated under the lead¬ 
ership of Brigham Young and settled in Utah. 
The State furnished six regiments of troops for 
the Mexican War. The Illinois and Michigan 
Canal, from Lake Michigan to Lasalle, was 
opened for traffic in 1848. A great fire destroyed 
a large part of Chicago in 1871, but it was rapid¬ 
ly rebuilt, and in 1893 was the seat of the 
World’s Columbian Exposition. The capital was 
located successively at Kaskaskia, Vandalia, and 
Springfield. At the time of the Civil War Illi¬ 
nois furnished 260,000 men to support the Union. 
It has since made rapid strides of advancement 
in wealth, commerce, education, and influence in 
the national government. 





ILLINOIS, UNIVERSITY OP 


1073 


ILLYRICUM 


ILLINOIS, University of, an educational in¬ 
stitution situated between Champaign and Ur- 
bana, Ill. It was established in 1867 as the Illi¬ 
nois Industrial University and assymed the 
present name in 1885. At first the institution 
was open for men only, but women were ad¬ 
mitted as students in 1870. It consists of the 
six colleges of law, agriculture, literature and 
arts, science, engineering and medicine. Courses 
are maintained in military science, art and de¬ 
sign, music, pedagogy, and preparatory work. 
It has 25 buildings, 310 instructors, and about 
4,125 students, of whom about one-fourth are 
of the undergraduate college. The library con¬ 
tains 100,000 volumes. The buildings and 
grounds are valued at $1,250,000. 

ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL, a 
waterway that connects Lake Michigan with the 
navigable waters of the Illinois River, hence 
furnishes transportation facilities from the Gulf 
of Mexico to the Great Lakes. It extends from 
the south branch of the Chicago River to the 
Des Plaines, thence follows that stream to the 
mouth of the Kankakee, and thence follows the 
valley of the Illinois River to its terminus at 
Lasalle. The canal is 96fniles long, has sev¬ 
enteen locks, and is six feet deep and sixty 
feet wide at the bottom. Work upon it was 
commenced in 1836, and it was opened for 
traffic in 1848, costing a total of $8,750,000. 
Formerly it was important as a waterway, but 
the construction of railways has caused it to be 
used very little at present. 

ILLINOIS INDIANS, a family allied to the 
Dakotas, who formerly inhabited Illinois and 
tracts west of the Mississippi. They were 
classed with the Algonquins, constituted a brave 
race, and were identified with the French in 
their wars against various Indians, especially 
the Sacs and Foxes. They now occupy a small 
reservation in Oklahoma and have taken kindly 
to the arts of peace and education. 

ILLINOIS RIVER, the most important 
river of Illinois. It is formed in Grundy Coun¬ 
ty by the Kankakee and Des Plaines rivers, re¬ 
ceives the Fox and Sangamon, and after a 
course of about 500 miles joins the Mississippi 
fifteen miles above Alton. Formerly it was 
navigable only to Peru, a distance of 250 miles, 
but it is now serviceable for vessels to points 
farther up by reason of its receiving the water 
of the Chicago Drainage Canal, which enters 
the Illinois River through the Des Plaines. 

ILLITERACY (ll-lit'er-a-sy), the term used 
generally to denote inability to read and write. 
Although it is not important as to how many 
persons in any community are unable to read 
and write, this fact is of interest in that it 
68 


marks the dividing line between those who are 
hopelessly ignorant of books, and are therefore 
deprived of all the advantages to be derived 
from perusal or study, and those who have at 
least the rudiments of an education. This 
standard, though marking a primitive degree in 
the development of culture and intelligence, is 
at present a dividing line to which a large ma¬ 
jority of the people have not attained. How¬ 
ever, the statistics exclude all who have not 
reached school age, which differs somewhat in 
the various countries, and in some cases an age 
limit is fixed in the census reports. For in¬ 
stance, the law of Italy fixes the age under 
which children are omitted at six years while 
in the United States those under ten years are 
not counted. Since Germany has enforced the 
compulsory school attendance laws a long term 
of years, it occupies the foremost position in 
the world when measured on an educational 
standard, although Sweden and Norway hold 
a very high rank in elementary instruction. 
Illiteracy in the United States is somewhat 
higher than could be expected, this being due 
to a large colored population. Below is a 
table showing the per cent, of illiteracy for the 
different countries. 


Germany. 

PER CENT. 
. 0.11 

Ireland. 

PER CENT. 

.17.00 

Sweden. 

. 0.11 

Austria..._ 

.23 80 

Switzerland.... 

. 0.30 

Hungary. 

.-..28.10 

Scotland. 

.. 3.57 

Greece. 

.30.00 

Holland... 

. 4.00 

Italy. 

.38.30 

France. 

. 4.90 

Russia.. 

....61.70 

England... 

.. 5.80 

Spain.... 

.....68.10 

Canada... 

. 10.20 

Portugal. 

.79.00 

United States.. 

. 10.70 

Servia.;.. 

.86.00 

Belgium. 

..12.80 

Rumania. 

.89.00 


ILLUSION (ll-lu'zhun). See Eye. 

ILLYRICUM (Il-lir'i-kum), or Illyria, the 
name of an ancient country in Europe, which 
extended from the northeastern coast of Italy 
into Macedonia. Philip of Macedon conquered 
the country as far west as the Drino River and 
annexed it to Macedonia. The western portion 
comprised the territory corresponding to Bosnia, 
Croatia, Dalmatia, and Herzegovina, and this 
region remained independent until the middle 
of the 18th century before the Christian era, 
when it was made a Roman province. Illyricum 
was generally divided into two parts, known as 
Illyris Graeca and Illyris Romana, and both of 
these divisions were afterward incorporated 
with the Eastern Empire. Napoleon organized 
the Illyrian provinces in 1809, but they were 
formed into a kingdom and annexed to Austria 
in 1816. Later the kingdom was dissolved and 
the territory was subdivided into provinces, all 
of which are now Austrian possessions, except 
Albania, which is a part of Turkey. 






















ILOILO 


1074 


IMMIGRATION 


ILOILO (e-16-e'lo), a city of the Philip¬ 
pines, capital of the province of Iloilo, located 
on the southeastern shore of the island of 
Panay. It has an excellent harbor on Iloilo 
Strait, which separates Panay from the island 
of Guimaras. The chief buildings include a 
cathedral, several schools, a seminary, and the 
buildings used by the government. It ranks 
next to Manila as a commercial center in the 
Philippines, and has a large trade in coffee, 
sugar, rice, tobacco, and dyewoods. A foundry, 
a machine shop, and a pottery are among the 
industrial enterprises. The United States bom¬ 
barded and occupied the city in 1899, at the 
time of an insurrection. Population, 1906, 19,- 
150. 

IMAGINATION (im-aj-i-na'shun),that fac¬ 
ulty of the mind by which it receives concepts 
of absent objects, not as they are or were, but 
as they might be. The original material with 
which it builds is derived through memory by 
sense perception, thus imagination is created in 
a limited sense. The material secured in this 
v/ay is used with modification, or it may be 
modified and then used, and thus new images 
or mental pictures are created that differ from 
any product that memory gives. In the combin¬ 
ing of images, or the formation of new ones, the 
laws of the association of ideas govern the 
operation, but imagination is governed at least 
partially by the will, for by it the thoughts are 
controlled to some extent and the limits are 
determined within which the laws of association 
are to act. The products of imagination are 
termed according to the results, as phantasmal, 
fanciful, artistic, and inventive. Imagination 
makes possible the culture of fine arts, gives 
vividness and force to language, lightens life’s 
burdens, and leads to the attainment of success 
in the practical affairs of life. Its culture is 
important, since it may serve a good or evil pur¬ 
pose, this depending upon its early and right 
training. 

IMAM (i-mam'), or Iman, a priest among 
the Mohammedans, one who is looked upon as 
a leader among the learned men. He has the 
ordinary care of a mosque, calls the people to 
prayer, and reads the. prayers before the con¬ 
gregation. The imam is elected by the people 
and is ecclesiastically independent from the 
mufti or chief priest. Imam is the name which 
is applied to the founders of the four principal 
Mohammedan sects, but among the Shiites it 
refers especially to the twelve legitimate suc¬ 
cessors of Ali. The Sultan, being supreme in 
ecclesiastical affairs, has the title of imam. 

IMMIGRATION (lm-mi-gra'shun), the act 
of coming into a country for the purpose of 


residing there permanently. It is closely asso¬ 
ciated with colonization, since progress in the 
development of a new country increases labor. 
Immigration is not only encouraged by the au¬ 
thorities of a new country, but a gain in popu¬ 
lation is considered an advantage. In the past 
century the over-populated states of Europe 
have had a constant movement of emigration 
to the newer portions of the world, especially 
to the United States, Canada, Australia, Africa, 
and South America. The annual immigration 
to Argentina is 112,000 persons and to Uruguay 
it is about 10,000. These countries continue to 
attract settlers owing to their extensive natural 
resources being undeveloped. In 1908 Canada 
received 218,500 immigrants, of which number 
about one-third came from the United States. 
Formerly the immigrants into Canada came 
largely from Europe, but since 1905 a constant 
stream of settlers moved from the United States 
into the new country of the Canadian west, es¬ 
pecially to Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, 
and British Columbia. The newer element in 
general includes Galacians, Germans, Hungar¬ 
ians, Mennonites, Chinese, and Negroes. Aus¬ 
tralia has been' receiving about 60,000 immi¬ 
grants annually, who are attracted chiefly by its 
gold mines and fertile lands. 

Immigration to the United States has varied 
greatly from year to year since 1850, and was 
smallest in 1862, owing to the progress of the 
Civil War. Below is a table showing the an¬ 
nual immigration since 1850: 


PERIOD. 

IMMIGRANTS. 

1851. 


1852. 


1853. 


1854. 


1855. 


1856. 


1857. 


1858. 


1859. 


1860. 


1861.. 


1862.. 

. 72 183 

1863.. 


1864. 


1865. 


1866. 


1867. 


1868.. 


1869. 


1870. 


1871. 


1872. 


1873. 


1874. 


1875. 


1876. 


1877. 


1878.. 


1879. 



PERIOD. 

IMMIGRANTS. 

1880. 


1881. 


1882. 


1883. 


1884. 


1885. 


1886. 


1887. 


1888. 


1889. 


1890.. 


1891. 


1892. 


1893..... 


1894.. 


1895. 


1896.. 


1897.. 


1898. 


1899. 


1900. 


1901. 


1902. 


1903. 


1904. 


1905. 


1906. 


1907. 


1908. 



Following is a table showing the immigration 
into the United States for each decade since 
1821, and giving the population at the beginning 
of each period of ten years: 































































IMMIGRATION 


1075 


IMPEACHMENT 


DECADE. 

IMMIGRANTS. 

POPULATION AT 
BEGINNING. 

1821-1830. 

143,439 

599,125 

1,713,251 

2,598,214 

2,314,824 

2.812,191 

9,633,822 

1831-1840. 

12,866,020 

1841-1850. 

17,069,453 

1851-1860. 

23,191,876 

1861-1870. 

31,443,321 

1871-1880. 

38,558,371 

1881-1890. 

5,246,616 

50.155,783 

1891-1900.. 

3,844,420 

62,622,250 


In this connection is given the following table, 
showing the population and foreign-born inhab¬ 
itants for each year stated: 


YEAR. 

EOREIGN BORN. 

POPULATION. 

1850. 

2,244,602 

23,191,876 

I860 .. 

4,138,697 

5,567,229 

31,443,321 

1870 . 

38,558,371 

1880. 

6,679,943 

50,155,783 

1890. 

9,308,104 

10,460,085 

63,069,756 

1900. 

76,303,387 


Immediately following the close of the Civil 
War a large number of immigrants came from 
Germany, Sweden, and other countries of Eu¬ 
rope to take advantage of the cheap lands and 
excellent opportunities afforded by the new 
country in the Northwest. However, at present 
the largest number of foreign born are attracted 
to the cities. Below is given a list of eighteen 
cities, showing the foreign-born and native pop¬ 
ulation in 1900: 


CITIES. 

EOREIGN BORN. 

POPULATION. 

New Bedford. 

25,529 

62,442 

Holyoke. 

18,921 

45,712 

Manchester. 

24.257 

56,987 

Lowell t ,,. 

40,974 

94,969 

Woonsocket. . .. 

12,518 

28.204 

Lawrence. 

28,577 

62,559 

Pawair ... 

12,900 

27,777 

Fall River.,, 111 . 

50,042 

104,863 

Milwaukee,... ... 

88,991 

285,315 

Detroit. .... 

96,503 

285,704 

Buffalo ■« .. 

104,452 

352,387 

Louis.... 

111,356 

575,238 

San Francisco. 

116,885 

342,782 

Cleveland.,,«.......... 

124,631 

381,786 

Boston ..t*t.-. 

197,129 

560,892 

Philadelphia. 

295,340 

1,293,697 

Chicago.. 

587,112 

1,698,575 

New York. 

1,270,080 

3,437,202 


In 1900 the foreign born constituted 13.7 per 
cent, of the total population of the United 
States, of which number only about half a 
million were in the Southern States. The North 
Atlantic states had 4,762,796 of foreign birth, 
and the North Central states had 4,158,474. In 
the Western states there were 846,321. Immi¬ 
gration to America comes largely from Western 
Europe. The number of inhabitants of the 
United States in 1900 who came from Italy were 
484 207; from Austro-Hungary, 579,042; from 
Russia, 807,606; from Sweden, Norway, and 
Denmark, 1,064,309; from England, Scotland, 


and Wales, 1,169,737; from Ireland, 1,618,567; 
and from Germany 2,666,990. 

IMMORTALITY (im-mor-tal'i-ty), the 
term employed to designate the endless life of 
the soul. In theology it is applied to the eter¬ 
nal, personal, and conscious existence and union 
with God. Belief in the immortality of the 
soul is very ancient. It implies a continuation 
of our personality, or consciousness, and of the 
will. The most rude people hold views regard¬ 
ing a future state, one in which the arts of this 
life will be pursued with even greater satisfac¬ 
tion than the present existence affords, a state 
in which nature and the chase will yield en t 
larged gratifications. Among the ancient Egyp-. 
tians the idea of immortality led to a belief in 
a dwelling place of the dead and of a future 
judgment. Their beneficent god Osiris judged 
the departed, and, “having weighed their hearts 
in the scales of justice, he sends the wicked to 
the regions of darkness, while the just are sent 
to the god of light.” 

Among the early Grecians the belief was prev¬ 
alent that the departed passed into the realms 
of light or hades, the place for the dead. Thus 
we read of Achilles, the ideal hero, that he 
declared he would rather till the soil than live 
in pale Elysium. Socrates discourses on the 
doctrine of immortality in the “Apology” and 
the “Phaedo,” and concludes that the soul is 
the immaterial and superior part, and is not 
dispersed into nothingness when separated from 
the body. He thought that to study how to die 
calmly is true 'philosophy, and that the soul 
spends the rest of its existence with the gods, 
freed from the evils of humanity. The Chris¬ 
tian religion teaches the immortality of the soul, 
as do also other religions, and some Christians 
and others hold to the belief in a state where 
purification of the soul takes place after death. 
Man is taught by reason and religion to strive 
for continued perfection, and that the truthful 
and rightful will not pass unrewarded. 

IMMORTELLES (im-m6r-telz'), or Ever¬ 
lasting Flowers, a term applied to a class of 
flowers which do not lose their color or beauty 
in drying. They are native to Northern Africa 
and Western Asia, and are cultivated extensively 
in gardens and greenhouses. The name immor¬ 
telles was compounded in France, where they 
are grown extensively and used in making 
wreaths. In many countries wreaths made of 
immortelles are placed on graves to symbolize 
immortality. 

IMPEACHMENT (lm-pech'ment), the call¬ 
ing into question of the motives of an individual 
or of the validity of the law. It is applied par¬ 
ticularly to the accusation and prosecution of 



























































IMPERATOR 


1076 


INAGUA 


an officer for maladministration, by a legisla¬ 
tive body. The proceeding is sanctioned in 
England, where the House of Commons is the 
prosecutor and the House of Lords is the trial 
court. Lord Latimer was the first to be prose¬ 
cuted by this method. However, the proceeding 
is now practically obsolete. 

In the United States the Constitution vests the 
right of impeachment exclusively in the House 
of Representatives, but the right of trial is 
vested in the Senate. The officers liable to im¬ 
peachment are the President, Vice President, 
and all civil officers of the United States. 
Among the causes for which an officer may be 
impeached are treason, bribery, and other high 
crimes and misdemeanors. In the trial by the 
Senate the regular officer presides, but when 
the President is impeached the Chief Justice 
of the Supreme Court is the presiding officer. A 
two-thirds vote of the senators present is nec¬ 
essary for conviction. Punishment extends only 
to removal and lisqualification to hold any of¬ 
fice under the Constitution of the United States, 
but the offender is still liable to an ordinary 
trial by law. Impeachments of State officers 
are provided for by the cSnstitutions of the 
various states. In the United States seven Fed¬ 
eral officers have been impeached, two of whom 
\veie convicted. The number embrace Senator 
William Blunt of Tennessee, in 17177; District 
Judge John Pickering of New Hampshire, in 
1803; Supreme Judge Samuel Chase of Mary¬ 
land, 1804; District Judge James H. Peck of 
Missouri, 1830; District Judge West H. Hum¬ 
phreys of Tennessee, 1862; President Andrew 
Johnson, 1868; and Secretary of War William 
R. Belknap, 1876. The only convictions secured 
Were in the trials of John Pickering and West 
H. Humphreys. 

IMPERATOR (im-pe-ra'tor), the term ap¬ 
plied to a military commander in ancient Rome. 
During the time of the republic the term im- 
perator followed the name, but when the em¬ 
pire was organized it was changed to emperor 
»and as a title preceded the name of the supreme 
ruler. Tljp title became extinct with the fall 
of the Byzantine realm in 1453. Charlemagne, 
the founder of the German Empire, assumed the 
title of emperor. The term imperator was ap¬ 
plied to triumphant generals throughout the 
Roman Empire. 

IMPERIALISM (Tm-pe'ri-al-izm), the pol¬ 
icy of territorial extension by conquest, the 
spirit of empire, or the system of government 
under an emperor or empress. The term is Used 
in France to designate the revival of the Napo¬ 
leonic empire, and in England it refers to a 
policy of territorial extension. In the presi¬ 


dential campaign of 1900, in the United States, 
the term was employed largely for the purpose 
of designating the policy of the national ad¬ 
ministration in dealing with the Philippine Is¬ 
lands. 

IMPRESSIONIST (im-presh'un-ist), the 
name applied to a painter of the school of paint¬ 
ing whose aim is to produce works of art in 
exact accord with nature. The painters of this 
group are usually called impressionists, since 
they seek to reduce to the canvas an exact im¬ 
pression of their subjects, so. they will impress 
the mind in a way similar to the object or scene 
painted. From this circumstance they are some¬ 
times called naturalists, owing to the fact that 
they seek to reproduce according to nature. 
Formerly these terms applied more particu¬ 
larly to painters, but now they are used likewise 
in reference to sculpture and literature. The 
impressionist school of painting is concerned 
chiefly in rendering the effects of light and 
shade. The painters of this school oppose the 
practice of painting in the studio, because they 
think it gives untrue tones, but instead do their 
painting in full light. 

IMPRESSMENT (lm-pres'ment), the act of 
impressing into the public service, or of seizing 
property for public use. Formerly the power of 
impressment was claimed by many governments, 
but since the War of 1812 it has been aban¬ 
doned by most countries. The British govern¬ 
ment claimed the right of searching American 
vessels prior to the War of 1812, and of im¬ 
pressing into service British seamen who were 
employed under the American flag. At that 
time England was at war with France and 
claimed the service of all her maritime citizens, 
refusing to recognize allegiance to the United 
States even by naturalization. The willful im¬ 
pressment of many American sailors was in¬ 
strumental in bringing about the embargo sys¬ 
tem and the War of 1812. 

IMUS (e'moos), a town of the Philippines, 
on the island of Luzon, in the province of 
Cavite. It is located a short distance from 
Manila Bay, about eighteen miles south of 
Cavite, and is surrounded by a fertile farming 
and fruit-growing region. The manufactures 
include clothing, pottery, and machinery. It has 
a cathedral and a number of schools. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 15,808. 

INAGUA (e-na'gwa), Great and Little, the 

names of two islands in the West Indies, be¬ 
longing to the Bahama group. Great Inagua, 
the larger of the two, is located sixty miles 
northeast of Cuba and has an area of 660 
square miles. Little Inagua, located ten miles 
northeast of Great Inagua, has area of 35 square 


INCA 


1077 


INCOME TAX 


miles. The population of the two islands is 
1,040. 

INCA (in'ka), the name of the governing 
class of the Peruvian Indians, and later the 
title of the chief or imperial head of the Em¬ 
pire of Peru. The Incas took rank with the 
Aztecs and the Mayas in the scale of intellec¬ 
tual and industrial advancement. Their terri¬ 
tory extended from the Equator southward a 
distance of about 38°, and embraced the Andean 
region south of the Equator and much of the 
slope toward the east, extending far into the 
valleys of the Amazon and the Orinoco. Their 
capital was at Cuzco until a short time before 
the Spanish conquest, when it was removed to 
Quito by Atahualpa. At that time the Incas 
were highly developed in agriculture and fruit 
raising. They maintained a considerable com¬ 
merce, manufactured clothing and implements, 
promoted mining, and built substantial forms of 
architecture. They were finally conquered by 
the Spaniards in 1532, when their empire had a 
population of about 10,000,000. Prescott, the 
historian, in speaking of the Peruvians, says 
that “they originated civil and social institutions 
of much perfection, possessing an indefinite 
power of expansion, and suited to the most 
flourishing condition of the empire, as well as 
to its infant fortune.” Many relics of Incan 
architecture are found in Peru and other coun¬ 
tries of South America. They constructed of 
adobe bricks and of stone, built aqueducts 
and waterways, and attained to much proficiency 
in embalming and entombing the dead. Many 

I of the respected and educated people of the An¬ 
dean countries of South America trace their 
ancestry to the Incas. 

INCARNATION, the manifestation of the 
Deity in a human form, as in the union of God 
and man in the person of Christ. The doctrine 
is clearly stated in the first chapter of the Gos¬ 
pel according to John, in which Christ is spoken 
of as the Word. Here it is made clear that the 
Word is God, existing from the beginning, but 
yet in some sense He is different from God. 
The doctrine of incarnation is a vital part of the 
religion of the Hindus, who believe in many 
incarnations, as the nine incarnations of Vishnu. 

INCENSE (m'sens), an aromatic substance 
which emits a sweet odor when burned. Per¬ 
fumes of this kind were used from remote times 

f in religious rites. The substance employed con¬ 
sisted anciently of a mixture of gums, spices, 
and balsams, which form a large portion of the 
ingredients still used. Among the Jews incense 
I was burned on a special altar, called the altar of 
incense. They employed it only as an act of 
worship, and not as a sacred offering. The 


worshiping of gods in ancient Assyria, Baby¬ 
lonia, Egypt, India, Greece, and Rome included 
incense burning daily, a practice usually per¬ 
formed in the morning and evening. It is still 
employed by the adherents of divers religions of 
Asia, especially by the Buddhists. The Greek 
and Roman churches both employ incense in 
worship, especially in the most sacred services, 
such as high mass, in funerals, and the conse¬ 
cration of churches. 

INCLINED PLANE (m-klind' plan), any 
plane surface that makes an angle with a hori¬ 
zontal surface, used for raising heavy weights. 
If a ball is placed upon a horizontal plane, it 
retains its position and presses' upon the plane 
with its entire weight. However, as soon as one 
end of the plane is raised, the entire weight of 
the ball will not rest upon the plane and it will 
begin to roll toward the lower end. It is one of 
the machines designed to use force advantage¬ 
ously, as in loading a barrel of salt upon a 
wagon, when one end of a plank may rest upon 
.the ground and the other upon the wagon, and 
the barrel may be rolled over the plank to much 
better advantage than in lifting it direct. Steep 
grades in constructing highways are avoided 
by building them in a winding position around 
a hill. 

INCOME TAX (m'kurn), a tax levied upon 
the annual income of individuals, investments, 
and corporations. This form of taxation has 
been levied more or less extensively since me¬ 
diaeval times. In 1646 the first income tax lev¬ 
ied in America went into effect under the direc¬ 
tion of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Massa¬ 
chusetts has maintained a tax of this character 
during most of its history. It and a few other 
states still impose this class of taxes. In Great 
Britain the first income tax of modern times 
was levied in 1799, a form of taxation still ex¬ 
isting in that country. The first income tax im¬ 
posed by the United States went into effect in 
1861, when a tax of three per cent, was levied 
on incomes of $800 per annum and over, and the 
following year Congress imposed an income tax 
of three per cent, upon the excess of incomes 
above $600 to $10,000, and five per cent, on the 
excess above $10,000. The graduated scale was 
somewhat revised in 1864 and in 1867, and in 
1872 the law was repealed. From the available 
statistics it is learned that the taxes collected 
under these laws were as follows: 

1868.$41,455,598 


1863. 

.$ 2,741,858 

1868..., 

1864. 

. 20,294,732 

1869..., 

1865. 

. 32,050,017 

1870... 

1866. 

. 72,982,159 

1871..., 

1867. 

. 66,014,429 

1872..., 


The total amount derived from the income 
tax, including some arrears, was $346,911,760.48. 














INCUBATION 


1078 


INDEPENDENTS 


In 1894 Congress imposed an income tax of two 
per cent, upon the excess of all incomes above 
$4,000 per annum, and included all corporations, 
companies, and associations other than partner¬ 
ships. On May 20, 1895, the law was declared 
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the 
United States. This decision was based upon the 
theory that, although a direct tax, it was not 
apportioned among the states according to popu¬ 
lation. Since the tariff reduction effected by the 
same law that included the income tax, known 
as the Wilson Law, did not provide sufficient 
revenue aside from that of the income tax, a 
deficit in the funds of the nation was created. 
Much criticism has been made of the court on 
account of rendering this decision. 

INCUBATION (in-kQ-ba'shun). See Egg. 

INCUBATOR (m'ku-ba-ter), a machine 
used for hatching eggs by artificial heat. Vari¬ 
ous forms have been manufactured and are in 
common use by those who raise poultry. How¬ 
ever, the enterprise of hatching eggs by artificial 
incubation is very old. It is certain that this 
method was practiced anciently in China and 
Egypt. The earliest forms of incubators were 
formed like a barrel and the heat was obtained 
by fermenting manure. Modern incubators are 
divided into a number of chambers suitable to 
receive the eggs and the heat is furnished by a 
lamp, which either warms the air direct or con¬ 
ducts it to a reservoir filled with water, whence 
the warm water is conducted by pipes so as to 
maintain the temperature uniformly. The proper 
temperature ranges between 90° and 100°, a 
somewhat higher degree being necessary during 
the first week, after which it should be lowered 
gradually. The eggs should be turned frequently 
during the first few days of incubation, and a 
thermometer should be adjusted so as to permit 
observing the temperature at any time. The 
incubators in use range in size from a capacity 
of a few dozen eggs to several hundred. About 
eighty per cent, is the average hatch of fertile 
eggs, but to obtain the best results much expe¬ 
rience and careful attention to details are re¬ 
quired. 

INCUBUS 1 (m'kfi-bus), a male sprite or de* 
mon connected with the superstition of the Mid¬ 
dle Ages. It was commonly believed that these 
demons were the cause of nightmare. The cor¬ 
responding female demon was known as suc- 
cuba. 

INDEPENDENCE (in-d£-pend'ens), a city 
in Iowa, county seat of Buchanan County, on the 
Wapsipinecon River. It is on the Illinois Central 
and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific rail¬ 
roads. The surrounding country is farming and 
dairying. It has an excellent high school and 


is the seat of the State hospital for the insane. 
Among the facilities are a public library, electric 
street railways, waterworks, and street lighting. 
Population, 1905, 3,838. 

INDEPENDENCE, a city of Kansas, coun¬ 
ty seat of Montgomery County, 85 miles south¬ 
west of Fort Scott, on the Missouri Pacific and 
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads. 
It is located on the Verdigris River, in an agri¬ 
cultural section, and is surrounded by a pro¬ 
ductive petroleum and natural gas region. The 
chief buildings include the public library, the 
county courthouse, the city hall, and several 
schools and churches. It has a growing market 
for agricultural produce and merchandise. The 
manufactures include glass, sugar, crackers, 
flour, pottery, and machinery. The rapid and 
healthful growth of the city in recent years is 
due to the development of its manufacturing 
and commercial enterprises. Population, 1905, 
11,206; in 1910, 10,480. 

INDEPENDENCE, a city in Missouri, 
county seat of Jackson County, five miles east 
of Kansas City. It is on the Missouri Pacific, 
the Chicago and Alton, and other railroads. The 
noteworthy buildings include the Kansas City 
Ladies’ College, Woodland College, the county 
courthouse, the high school, and the public 
library. It has many fine residences and is the 
home of many Kansas City business men. The 
surrounding country is agricultural and fruit 
growing. It has manufactures of flour, woolen 
goods, ironware, and machinery. Pavements, 
street lighting, waterworks, and other improve¬ 
ments are among the municipal facilities. It 
was settled in 1827 and received an influx of 
many Mormon settlers in 1831, before their re¬ 
moval to Utah. The place was chartered as a 
city in 1889. Population, 1910, 9,859. 

INDEPENDENCE DAY, the national holi¬ 
day of the United States, celebrated on the 4th 
of July in commemoration of the signing of the 
Declaration of Independence (q. v.). 

INDEPENDENCE HALL, a building 
erected between 1729 and 1734 as a meeting hall, 
on Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. In 1775 it 
was the meeting place of the Continental Con¬ 
gress, when Washington was made commander 
in chief of the American army. On July 4, 
1776, that body adopted the Declaration of Inde¬ 
pendence, which was read to a vast public as¬ 
semblage in the street. The structure is of 
brick, though much of the woodwork and fin¬ 
ishing has been replaced or restored. It is now 
used as a museum of historical relics and is open 
to the public. 

INDEPENDENTS, the name of a Protest¬ 
ant sect that originated in England in the 16th 


INDEX LIBRO. PROHIBITO. 


1079 


INDIA 


century. Robert Brown, an English clergyman, 
organized the sect in 1586, and for some time 
they were known as Brownists or Separatists. 
They included those Protestants who believed 
that each individual church should administer 
its own affairs, instead of being under the au¬ 
thority of a civil or ecclesiastical official or 
potentate. Later the members were merged 
largely with the Congregationalists, who repre¬ 
sent a strong following both in England and 
America at the present time. 

INDEX LIBRORUM PROHIBITOR- 
UM, the name of a catalogue of books pro¬ 
scribed by the Roman Catholic church, which 
its members are not permitted to read. Such a 
catalogue was first prepared by the Council of 
Carthage in the year 400, but a much larger edi¬ 
tion was compiled by the inquisition at Rome 
under the direction of Pope Paul IV. in 1557. 
This work forbade the reading of the works of 
Luther, Calvin, and other reformers, and later 
other authors of the Protestant faith were placed 
on the list. With these publications were includ¬ 
ed a number of books relating to magic, mes¬ 
merism, and some of the sciences, but it was 
I provided that bishops could permit educated peo¬ 
ple to read some of the works of the prohibited 
| list. The Index Expurgatorius is a similar cat¬ 
alogue. The latest edition of the latter was is¬ 
sued in 1895, under the direction of Leo XIII. 

INDIA (Tn'di-a), a region of Asia, the most 
populous member of the British Empire. For¬ 
merly the name Hindustan was frequently used 
instead o.f India, but it has reference to the land 
of the Hindus, which is located in the north 
| central part of India. The Empire of India, as 
t the subject of this article is known officially, is 
in the form of a great triangle. It extends from 
north to south a distance of 2,000 miles, which is 
about the extent east and west when Baluchis¬ 
tan is included. The northern boundary is 
j formed by Afghanistan and the Chinese Empire; 
the eastern, by the Chinese Empire, Siam, and 
the Bay of Bengal; the southern, by the Indian 
Ocean; and the western, by the Arabian Sea, 
Persia, and Afghanistan. The area, including 
‘Burma, Baluchistan, and the native states, is 
1,766,650 square miles. Popularly the native 
states and the dependencies are spoken of as 
Hither and Farther India. With the empire are 
officially included Aden, on the Arabian Coast, 
and Socotra, a dependency of Aden. 

Description. India is separated from the in¬ 
terior of Asia by the great ranges of the Hima¬ 
layas, Hindu Kush, and Sulaiman mountains. 
The surface is naturally separated into three 
vast regions. In the southern portion is the 
table-land of Deccan, with a general elevation 


of from 1,800 to 3,000 feet; north of it is the 
Great Plain, which is the most fertile and popu¬ 
lous region; and the elevated highlands of the 
Himalayas, which comprise the northern part. 
These mountains are the most lofty in the world, 
many of the peaks rising to heights of from 20,- 
000 to nearly 30,000 feet above sea level. They 
include vast regions that are perpetually covered 
with snow. Mount Everest, the loftiest of the 
Himalayas, is the highest mountain in the world. 
The Hindu Kush extend in ranges westward 
from the Himalayas, and chains of the Sulai¬ 
man and Hala stretch southward along the west¬ 
ern border. These mountains can be crossed 
only by lofty passes, some of them fully 18,000 
feet above the sea, hence they have served as a 
great barrier against invasions from the north. 
They constitute the height of land between the 
slopes of India and the Chinese Empire, and the 
drainage is generally toward the south, being 
toward the southwest in the western part and 
toward the southeast in the eastern section. 

The Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus, and Irra¬ 
waddy are the four largest rivers of India, the 
last mentioned being in Burma. The Brahma¬ 
putra and the Ganges drain the northeastern 
section. They have their sources on the southern 
slopes of the mountains, where the rainfall is 
heaviest, hence they carry an immense volume 
of water in proportion to their length and the 
basins drained. Both discharge by many mouths 
into the Bay of Bengal, where they have deposit¬ 
ed an immense quantity of silt. In the north¬ 
western part is the Indus, which receives the 
inflow from the Chenab and the Sutlej rivers. 
It drains an immense basin into the Arabian 
Sea, which it enters by an extensive delta. 
Among the rivers of the Peninsula are the Ner- 
budda and Tapti, flowing into the Arabian Sea; 
and the Godavari, the Kistna, and the Kavery, 
discharging into the Bay of Bengal. The Jumna, 
a tributary of the Ganges, drains a large por¬ 
tion of the central plain. As a whole the coast 
line is quite regular and not deeply indented, 
the largest inlet being on the western shore and 
including the Gulf of Cutch and the Gulf of 
Cambay. The only lakes are Kolar and Chilka, 
both of which are located near the eastern coast. 

Climate. In most parts of India the climate 
is tropical, with two distinctive periods, the 
rainy season and the dry season. ‘ The rainy 
distribution of humidity is more or less irregular 
season continues from November until March 
and the dry from May until November, but the 
on account of which droughts are not infrequent. 
In the summer or dry season the heat is very 
great, especially in the southern portion, but the 
elevated interior and the mountains in the north 






INDIA 


1080 


INDIA 


have a moderate climate. A marked influence is 
exercised by the monsoons that blow across the 
country from the Indian Ocean, which carry 
considerable humidity against the mountain 
slopes, where the rainfall is excessive. In the 
northwest, in the region of the Indian Desert, 
the mean temperature for July is about 96°, 
which is the hottest part of the country. As a 
whole the climate is healthful for Europeans, ex¬ 
cept in the jungle and marsh land along the 
coast and in the lower courses of the larger 
streams. In the north central part is an arid 
region, where famines are quite frequent on ac¬ 
count of excessive droughts. The precipitation 
at Madras is 52; at Bombay, 74; and at Cal¬ 
cutta, 65 inches. The heaviest rainfall occurs 
in Assam and Lower Burma, where the precipi¬ 
tation ranges from 500 to 600 inches per year. 

Flora and Fauna. The growth of vegetation 
is diversified according to elevatiqn and the dis¬ 
tribution of rainfall. Desert conditions prevail 
in the region lying east of the Indus, in the vi¬ 
cinity of the Gulf of Cutch, where plant life is 
very scant. Dense jungles are located along the 
Gulf of Bengal and in the lower course of the 
Ganges, where the plants are numerous and of 
large size. In the Deccan, east of the Western 
Ghats, the rainfall is scant and the plants are 
correspondingly limited, and in the mountain 
region the flora is arctic in form. The alluvial 
lands of the Indus and the Ganges are very fer¬ 
tile, and these regions are the seat of a vast 
population and the nativity of many useful 
plants. Among the forest trees are the sandal¬ 
wood, blackwood, cedar, teak, and many species 
of palms. Numerous .fruit trees abound, espe¬ 
cially the mango, banana, and cocoanut. The 
large species of wild animals are becoming 
scarce, though the elephant, wild cattle, deer, 
antelope, and wild goats are still met with. The 
lion, tiger, and numerous birds and reptiles are 
plentiful. Many species of the ape, bear, rhi¬ 
noceros, jackal, leopard, and jungle fowl occur 
in different sections. 

Mining. Though India has vast mineral 
wealth, the mining industry has not been devel¬ 
oped to a considerable extent when compared to 
its possibilities. The construction of railways 
and the building of manufacturing enterprises 
have stimulated a greater interest in the coal 
resources of the country, and the output of this 
product shows a steady increase the past two 
decades. Most of the coal mining is confined to 
the province of Bengal, but profitable mines are 
worked in Assam and a number of places in the 
peninsula. Gold is found in the river gravels 
of the Himalayas and elsewhere and quartz de¬ 
posits are worked in Mysore and other regions, 


Petroleum is obtained in large quantities from 
Upper Burma, being used in the manufacturing 
enterprises and for fuel. A monopoly is exer¬ 
cised by the government in the production of 
salt, which is obtained principally by the process 
of evaporation along the coast and in some of 
the small lakes of the interior. Other minerals 
obtained in paying quantities include lead, cop¬ 
per, and manganese. Though India was long 
famous for its diamonds, the output of this 
mineral is now insignificant. Building stone 
and commercial clays are abundant. 

Agriculture. The people of India have 
looked upon agriculture as an important enter¬ 
prise for many centuries and it still takes prece¬ 
dence as the chief industry. Improved means 
of tillage and harvesting are utilized, including 
much steel machinery, and a vast area has been 
reclaimed by irrigation. Little farming can be 
done in Sindh and Lower Punjab without an 
artificial supply of water, and this is true like¬ 
wise of many other sections, especially in the 
Deccan and some districts of the upper region 
of the Ganges. The irrigated lands aggregate 
38,500,000 acres, though the need of supplying 
water artificially varies somewhat with the pre¬ 
vailing winds at certain seasons of the year. 
Rice is the most important crop and the acreage 
cultivated in that product is nearly five times 
as great as that devoted to the cultivation of 
wheat. Hay is grown on about half the area 
cultivated in rice. Other important crops in¬ 
clude pulse, cotton, flax, sugar cane, opium, tea, 
indigo, tobacco, and coffee. Rice is cultivated 
extensively in the region of the deltas and 
along the coast, while wheat is the leading 
cereal in the northwest provinces, and sugar 
cane is grown largely in Bengal. The latter 
likewise has large interests in the cultivation 
of indigo. 

Stock raising does not take rank with that 
enterprise as developed in Canada and the 
United States. This is due to various reasons, 
especially to the fact that people in tropical 
climates subsist largely on a vegetable diet, and 
because the caste or religious prejudices bar a 
large number of Hindus from eating pork and 
beef. To these must be added the circumstance 
that excessive droughts during the dry season 
deprive a large scope of country almost entire¬ 
ly of vegetable growth, owing to which stock 
is frequently reduced almost to starvation. The 
cattle grown in India belong to the humped 
variety, a breed that is scarcely known in Amer¬ 
ica. Buffaloes are the chief animals of draft 
and burden. Interest is developing in the rear¬ 
ing of horses and mules and considerable en¬ 
terprise is shown in growing sheep and goats. 


INDIA 


1081 


INDIA 


Manufacturing. The people of India have 
j been celebrated from ancient times for their 
I skill in manufacturing textile fabrics and beau¬ 
tiful metal work. They do not engage exten¬ 
sively in building large enterprises, but work of 
this kind is done chiefly in small shops or in the 
houses of the natives. Very simple implements 
are used and the labor is done almost entirely 
by hand. Rugs, carpets, and laces obtained 
from India are in a class by themselves, and 
are remarkable for their beautiful designs and 
exquisite workmanship. Within recent years 
modern machinery has been introduced, espe¬ 
cially in the manufacture of cotton and woolen 
textiles, flour, sugar, spirituous liquors, and 
' paper. Many of the larger manufacturing en¬ 
terprises are fostered by English capital and 
superintended by expert laborers, but the work 
is done chiefly by natives who have been care¬ 
fully trained by Europeans. Large smelters and 
machine shops have been constructed and sev- 
j eral extensive shipyards are operated.' Euro- 
I pean methods have been introduced in the man- 
I ufacture of copper, brass, and steel products, 

I but work in ivory and wood carving is still 
done by native artisans by ancient methods. 
The sawmills and manufactories, especially 
; those- producing fqrniture and other lumber 
products, employ European methods and ma¬ 
chinery. Formerly large quantities of various 
I commodities that are now manufactured within 
the country were imported. The list of home 
manufactures is constantly increasing. 

|' Transportation. India has a larger mileage 
of railways than all the other countries of Asia 
, combined. Important lines cross it in all di- 
i rections, hence the chief centers of industry 
i and population have extensive connections for 
transportation purposes. This fact is a potent 
factor in promoting the welfare of the coun¬ 
try, both in the development of its resources 
and in conducting the affairs of the government, 
i Lord Dalhousie originated a policy in 1850 to 
extend the construction of railways, under 
which private corporations were guaranteed a 
reasonable income on the capital invested for a 
; term of years. In 1870 the government began 
! to build and operate new lines and at present 
the publicly owned lines represent about one-half 
of the total mileage. In 1908 there were 28,500 
miles in operation. A number of canals com- 
j* municate with some of the principal railway 
lines, while others connect or supplement the 
rivers, hence all the sections have adequate 
transportation facilities, except the mdtmtain- 
1 ous regions in the northern part. Navigation 
is possible for long distances on many of the 
rivers, particularly on the Indus, Ganges, and 


Brahmaputra. The country has 85,000 miles 
of telegraph lines, mostly under government 
control, and the postal system includes 30,750 
post offices. Many highways have been im¬ 
proved with macadam, affording communication 
to points considerable distances from the cities 
and railroads. 

Commerce. India has held high rank in the 
trade of the world from an early period of the 
history of Asia. This is due to the fact that a 
large number of commodities of value in com¬ 
merce are produced, as well as to its convenient 
location on important routes of oceanic trans¬ 
portation. The East India Company established 
trading posts in India as early as 1600, and 
through its commercial relations the influence 
of England was greatly augmented in the trade 
of Asia. At present the total annual imports 
have a value of $352,500,000 and the exports 
are placed at $387,280,000. Great Britain con¬ 
tinues to have * the largest share of the trade. 
Other countries • that participate to a great ex¬ 
tent in its foreign commerce include Germany, 
France, the United States, Belgium, Egypt, and 
Japan. Calcutta on the east and Bombay on 
the west are the two principal ports of foreign 
trade, and both have commodious and safe 
harbors. Extensive harbors have been com¬ 
pleted recently at Rangoon and Madras. The 
exports consist chiefly of rice, cotton, coffee, 
opium, indigo, jute, tea, leather, wool, wheat, 
drugs, silks, and gunny bags. Formerly con¬ 
siderable raw material was imported, but at 
present the imports consist chiefly of manufac¬ 
tured products. Manufactured cotton has been 
imported for many years and still continues to 
be an important item. Other imports embrace 
woolens, sugar, iron and steel manufactures, 
farming utensils, machinery, and railway sup¬ 
plies. A very large majority of the articles 
represented in the foreign trade are carried by 
vessels under the flags of Great Britain, Ger¬ 
many, and Austria-Hungary. 

Government. In 1858 the Parliament of Eng¬ 
land declared the king of that country to be 
the sovereign of India, and in 1876 the queen 
was proclaimed its empress. The government 
is administered by the Secretary of State for 
India, who is a member of the British Cabinet. 
He has the assistance of an undersecretary and 
a council of fifteen members. The executive 
functions are vested in a Viceroy, or Governor 
General, who is appointed by the crown for a 
term of six years, and his residence is at Cal¬ 
cutta. He is under the control of the Secretary 
of State for India, is assisted by a council of 
five members, and has general jurisdiction of 
foreign affairs, This council, of which he is a 




INDIA 


1082 


INDIA 


member, is increased by sixteen additional mem¬ 
bers chosen by the Viceroy, some of whom are 
natives. In this body is vested the power to 
make all laws of British India, but certain re¬ 
strictions are placed upon it. For local govern¬ 
ment India is separated into a number of presi¬ 
dencies and states, each under the control of a 
single executive officer, such as a governor or 
commissioner. The provinces are divided into 
districts for purposes of local administraton, and 
each district is under the direct charge of a 
deputy commissioner. The British government 
at Calcutta has direct political control of three- 
fifths of the area in India, this portion being 
included in fourteen local governments and 
administrations, and the remaining two-fifths 
comprise feudatory states under native rulers. 
It is the policy of the British government to 
permit the native inhabitants, as far as possible, 
to have the responsibility of local government. 
This is true in a large measure of the local 
courts, but the courts of appeal are in the hands 
of Europeans. The courts of appeal are located 
at Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and Allahabad, 
the judges being appointed by the home govern¬ 
ment, but supreme judicial power is exercised 
by the privy council in England, which is the 
court of last resort. The army of India proper 
consists of 210,000 men, including that of the 
feudatory states, about 350,000, and the officers 
are almost exclusively Europeans. 

Education. About three-fourths of the in¬ 
habitants descended from the tribe known as 
Arya, from whom the term Aryan is obtained, 
and these people are generally known a's Hin¬ 
dus. The language of this class is spoken by 
a large majority, but the dialects differ materi¬ 
ally. This fact, and the circumstance that 
caste exercises a wide influence, has made it 
difficult to promote a system-of education mod¬ 
eled after that of Europe and America. In¬ 
struction is given in the native languages, though 
English is included in the advanced courses. 
The school-attendance is about 6,500,000, though 
the males in attendance greatly exceed the fe¬ 
males. Many schools and institutes are main¬ 
tained by foreign missionary societies, all of 
which have an influence for the betterment of 
social, religious, and educational conditions. 
Numerous colleges and high schools are main¬ 
tained throughout India and there are five 
universities of note, including those in Bombay, 
Calcutta, Madras, Allahabad, and the Punjab. 
The present system places special stress upon 
higher education, but much is done by the 
government to further instruction in the trades 
and in agriculture. As a rule the state schools 
reach the middle classes, while those conducted 


by the missionaries are attended principally by 
those belonging to the lower castes. 

Many forms of religious worship are conduct¬ 
ed and the creeds professed are very numerous. 
However, Brahmanism is the faith of a great 
majority of the people, being professed by over 
200,000,000 of the inhabitants. Mohammedan¬ 
ism has been extending since its introduction 
in the 11th century, the number of adherents 
throughout India being placed at 62,625,000. 
The inhabitants of Burma are largely Bud¬ 
dhists, who include about 9,500,000 adherents in 
India. Those who worship nature are placed 
at 8,500,000, while the Sikh religion is professed 
by 2,000,000, and the adherents to Jainism 
number 1,050,000. The Christians embrace 3,- 
125,000 souls. The denominations represented 
by the largest numbers include the Roman 
Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Syrians, Luther¬ 
ans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congrega- 
tionalists. 

Inhabitants. India is densely populated and 
contains nearly one-fifth of the population of 
the world. It has about 190 inhabitants to the 
square mile, as against about 26 in the United 
States and 283 in China. The valley of the 
Ganges contains about two-fifths of the entire 
population, and the greatest density is in the 
province of Bengal. A small number of inhab¬ 
itants speak European languages, such as Eng¬ 
lish, German, and French, but these are con¬ 
fined to the cities and to those who hold official 
positions. The native dialects include principal¬ 
ly the Bengali, spoken by about 45,000,000, and 
the Hindi, which is the vernacular of about 
87,500,000 people. The languages or dialects 
are numerous, but they belong chiefly to the 
Indo-Germanic group of tongues, which in dif¬ 
ferent forms are common to about 215,000,000 
people. English is spoken by about 240,000 of 
the inhabitants. 

Calcutta, in the province of Bengal, is the 
capital and largest city. Twenty-two cities, in 
1906, had a population of more than 130,000. 
These included, in the order of size, Calcutta, 
Bombay, Madras, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Ran¬ 
goon, Benares, Delhi, Lahore, Cawnpore, Agra, 
Ahmedabad, Mandalay, Allahabad, Amritsar, 
Jaipur, Bangalore, Howrah, Poona, Patna, Ba¬ 
reilly, and Nagpur. The population of India 
has increased steadily the past several decades. 
In 1891 it was 287,314,691; in 1901, 294,360,356; 
in 1906, 301,054,108. 

History. The history of India begins with 
legends and sketches from Sanskrit literature. 
The first authentic facts come to us from about 
the year 2000 b. c., when the original inhab¬ 
itants were subdued by the Aryans, a people of 


INDIA 


1083 


INDIA INK 


much advancement in civilization and industrial 
arts, who inhabited the regions in the northwest¬ 
ern part of India. In 518 b. c. a Persian army 
under Darius invaded India, and in 327 Alexan¬ 
der the Great led an expedition to the Indus. 
Buddhism was established in the 3d century b. c., 
but it yielded almost entirely to Brahmanism in 
the several succeeding centuries. The Moham¬ 
medans invaded India in 711 a. d., and in 1001 
the entire country was occupied by them, under 
Mahmud of Ghazni. Powerful invasions oc¬ 
curred under Genghis Khan in the 13th cen¬ 
tury, and under Timour, or Tamerlane, in the 
15th century. In 1525 the Mogul Empire was 
established by Sultan Baber. From 1556 to 
1607 Akbar, a grandson of Baber, reigned suc¬ 
cessfully and extended the boundaries so as to 
include almost the entire peninsula in his do¬ 
minion, his government being the most impor¬ 
tant and powerful under the Indian sovereigns. 
After his death the empire became divided and 
Europeans began to manifest an interest in the 
riches of India. Travelers, traders, and mis¬ 
sionaries of various European nations frequent¬ 
ed the country in the beginning of the 16th 
century. The first of these to secure a foot¬ 
hold were the Portuguese, who established for¬ 
tresses and trading posts on the Malabar coast, 
and soon after obtained control of the ports of 
Persia, India, and the adjacent islands. 

The Dutch established a foothold in India 
in 1595 and carried on important trade relations 
with interior river points. In 1613 the British 
East India Company formed a settlement at 
Surat and later obtained territory at Madras 
and Calcutta. The French founded settlements 
about the same time, giving rise to conflicting 
claims, and in 1746 a war occurred in which the 
French won Madras, but later restored it by the 
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The Deccan and 
Carnatic were under the influence of the French 
governor, Dupleix, at Pondicherry in 1751, and 
soon a second war resulted, after which Car¬ 
natic fell into the hands of the British, and in 
1757 Clive won Bengal by a victory over the 
Moguls at the Battle of Plassey. Charters 
were granted to a company soon after, which 
were renewed successively, and at each renewal 
more control became vested in the home gov¬ 
ernment. In 1838 an effort to establish a British 
' protectorate over Afghanistan failed. The^ Se¬ 
poy mutiny occurred in 1857, in which British 
residents at Cawnpore and other localities were 
massacred. However, Queen Victoria had al¬ 
ready assumed the government of the principal 
territories of India in 1855, giving the British 
decided advantage in the occupation of many 
strategic points. The mutiny was finally sup¬ 


pressed in 1858, after which vast internal im¬ 
provements in canal and railroad building 
were carried forward. In 1877 Victoria as¬ 
sumed the title of Empress of India. Wars 
with Afghanistan and Upper Burma occurred 
in 1878 and in 1884, and the latter was annexed 
in 1886. 

The boundary between India and Afghanis¬ 
tan was surveyed under the supervision of the 
home government, which was practically deter¬ 
mined upon by the Durand Treaty of 1893. 
In the same year the Earl of Elgin became 
Viceroy, in whose administration much was 
done to improve the condition of the natives. 
A region lying in the basin of the Chitral River, 
known as Bashgal, was taken from the sphere 
of British influence and annexed to Afghanis¬ 
tan in 1895. Two years later a serious outbreak 
occurred on the Afghan frontier, in which the 
British were victorious after several decisive 
engagements. Several million people were af¬ 
fected by the severe famine of 1899, which was 
attended by local revolts against the government. 
In the same year Lord Curzon of Kedleston 
became Viceroy, gold was established as the 
monetary standard, and several regiments were 
sent to assist the British in the war in South 
Africa. 

Complications arose in 1903 between England 
and Russia on account of the affairs in Tibet, 
which both countries determined to protect as 
neutral territory. The British government sent- 
an expedition under Colonel Younghusband 
into the country as a means of protecting ce'rtaifi 
commercial rights, which had been denied by 
the grand lama, but that official fled when the 
expedition took Lhasa after some severe fight¬ 
ing. Though Russia objected to the proceed¬ 
ings, the English government announced that 
its policy was to maintain the commercial rights 
of India and not to annex Tibet. Gilbert' John 
Elliot, who held the position of Governor Gen¬ 
eral of. Canada from 1898 to 1904, was made . 
Viceroy of India in 1905. 

INDIA INK, the name of a kind of black 
ink originally made in China and Japan, but so 
named because it became known to Europeans 
from its manufacture in India. It is a true 
black ink, having no tinge of some other hue, 
and is indelible. Soot or lampblack is used in 
its manufacture by the Chinese, who mix with 
it glue or size and a little camphor. Another 
variety is made from the dried pigment of cer¬ 
tain cuttlefishes, which is browned by the action 
of an alkali and is known as sepia i The Chi¬ 
nese use India ink for writing and painting. In 
America and Europe it is employed in pen and 
ink drawing. The depth of the shade can be reg- 



INDIANA 


1084 


INDIANA 





JOO MILES 


ulated by the -amount of water used in mixing 
the ink. 

INDIANA (In-di-an'a), an east central State 
of the United States, popularly called the Hoo- 
sicr State. It is bounded on the north by 
Michigan and Lake Michigan, east by Ohio, 

south by Ken- 
t u c k y, and 
west by Illi- 
n o i s. The 
southern half 
of the west¬ 
ern boundary 
is formed by 
the Wabash 
River and it 
is separated 
from Ken¬ 
tucky b y t h e 
Ohio River. 
It has a length 
of 275 miles 
from north to 
south and the 
greatest 
breadth is 145 
miles. The 
area is 36,350 
square miles, 
which i n - 

1, Indianapolis; 2, Fort Wayne; 3, Evans- eludes 440 
ville; 4, South Bend; 5, Terre Haute; 6 , ., 

New Albany; 7, Michigan City. Dotted square miles 
lines indicate chief railroads. Heavy line of water SUr- 
shows Wabash and Erie Canal. face 

Description. The surface is an undulating 
plain, sloping toward the southwest. Along the 
Ohio River is the lowest land, being 300 feet 
above the level of the sea in the southwest cor¬ 
ner. The northwestern part has an elevation 
of 500 to 650 feet, and in the northeastern sec¬ 
tion th'e elevation attains a height of 1,200 feet. 
Sandy hills extend along the shore of Lake 
Michigan, which are interspersed more or less 
with swamps, and the counties bordering on the 
Ohio have a broken and hilly surface. Several 
large marshes abound in the sandy region of 
the north, some of which assume the form of 
shallow lakes, and these are characterized by 
a growth of rushes, slough grasses, and ever¬ 
green trees. Much of the surface is a fertile, 
rolling prairie. Several large caverns occur 
in the south central part, especially in Crawford 
County, where is located the celebrated Wyn- 
dotte Cave. 

Among the principal rivers are the Wabash, 
White, and Kankakee, all of which belong to the 
Mississippi system. In the northern part is 
the Saint Joseph River, which flows into Lake 


INDIANA. 


Michigan,, and the northeastern section is 
drained by the Maumee into Lake Erie. How¬ 
ever, the larger part of the State is drained by 
the Wabash, which receives the inflow from 
the Eel, Salamonia, Tippecanoe, Wild Cat, and 
Mississinewa rivers before reaching the west¬ 
ern border, and about fifty miles from its con¬ 
fluence with the Ohio it receives the White 
River. English Lake, Turkey Lake, and Tip¬ 
pecanoe Lake, all in the northern part of the 
State, are the largest bodies of water. 

Climate. The climate is very similar to that 
of Ohio and Illinois. In the southern part the 
mean temperature is considerably warmer than 
that of the northern section. The mean annual 
temperature of the State is about 62°, with ex¬ 
tremes ranging from 22° below zero in winter 
to 95° above in summer. Cold winds blow 
across the lake and noticeably affect the climate 
in the winter. Vegetation appears in April and 
early frosts occur in September. All parts of 
the State have an abundance of rainfall, which 
is somewhat heavier in the south than in the 
north, and the average is about 42 inches. 
Heavy snows fall in the winter, usually afford* 
ing from one to three months of sleighing. 

Mining. The coal fields are estimated at 
•6,500 square miles, located chiefly in the west¬ 
ern and southwestern part. In quality the prod¬ 
uct takes rank as a good grade of bituminous 
coal, being similar to that of Illinois, and it is 
used and shipped largely for heating purposes. 
In 1908 the output was about 12,500,000 tons. 
Petroleum is a valuable product and is found 
extensively in the Lima district, which includes 
the counties of Adams, Blackford, Grant, Jay, 
and Wells. The State has a natural gas field 
of about 2,550 square miles, located chiefly in 
the central part, and a large quantity is trans¬ 
ported by pipe line to Whiting and other manu¬ 
facturing points near Chicago. Limestone and 
sandstone quarries are worked extensively and 
a grade of rock known as Bedford limestone, 
which is exported in large quantities, is classed 
among the best known building material in 
America. Marls used in manufacturing cement 
and brick and fire clays are abundant. 

Agriculture. The soil generally is fertile 
and well adapted to the production of agricultu¬ 
ral products. Most of. the rivers and smaller 
streams are skirted by valuable belts of timber, 
and forests of greater or less extent are found 
in different regions of the State, but a large 
area formerly well timbered is utilized in farm¬ 
ing. About 95 per cent, of the tillable land is 
cultivated. The farming is conducted on pro¬ 
gressive methods, involving careful cultivation 
and fertilization. Much of the surface formerly 






INDIANA 


1085 


INDIANA 


* wet and marshy has been redeemed by drainage. 
Corn is the chief cereal and the acreage plant¬ 
ed is nearly equal to that cultivated in both 
wheat and hay. It holds a high rank among 
the leading corn and wheat growing states, both 
in the quality of the product and in the yield 
per acre. Other products include oats, potatoes, 
rye, and vegetables. Fruit is grown in all parts 
of the State, but the best quality of quinces, 
pears, and peaches thrive in the southern section. 
Vast interests are vested in the live-stock in¬ 
dustry. Horses, cattle, and swine receive an 
equal share of interest, and mules and poultry 
are grown profitably. There has been a de¬ 
crease in the number of sheep, but the interests 
in dairying have grown steadily with every dec¬ 
ade. 

Transportation. Michigan City is the only 
port on Lake Michigan, and through it commu¬ 
nication is maintained by steamship navigation 

I with the leading cities of the Great Lakes. The 
Ohio River is navigable the entire distance along 
the southern border, and the Wabash furnishes 
communication for small boats. Transportation 
facilities are provided by the Wabash and Erie 
Canal and the Whitewater Canal. The Na¬ 
tional Road, though not important at present, 
formerly constituted a highway of much value. 
Few states are as well provided with steam 
and electric railways as Indiana. It has a total 
steam railway mileage of 6,750 miles. The 
railroads crossing the State include lines of the 
great systems that connect Chicago with the 
commercial centers of the east and south, hence 
they furnish direct connection with New York, 
Philadelphia, and Saint Louis. Indianapolis, 
located in the center of the State, is the focus 
of many railways and is noted as a jobbing 
and manufacturing center. 

Manufacturing. Since the State has a large 
supply of coal and natural gas, in addition to 
being located conveniently to the coal fields of 
Illinois and Ohio, it is highly favored in facil¬ 
ities to manufacture. In addition must be con¬ 
sidered its favorable situation for transporta¬ 
tion, giving it points of vantage rarely excelled. 

' Steel and iron take high rank among the manu¬ 
factured products. The quality and quantity 

/ of its glass products have opened a market in 
many countries of Europe. Terre Haute is a 
center of distilling interests. Many of the cities 
are noted for their output of flour and meal. 
Gary, East Chicago, Hammond, and Whiting 
are among the manufacturing centers. located 
near Chicago, and their growth in various en¬ 
terprises, such as the manufacture of machin- 

• ery, books, packed meats, and steel and iron 
products, give evidence of constant and health¬ 


ful growth. Other manufactures include paper, 
railway cars, furniture, clothing, textiles, car¬ 
riages and wagons, and butter and cheese. 

Government. The government is organized 
under a constitution which was ratified by the 
people in 1851. It vests the chief executive 
power in the Governor and the Lieutenant 
Governor, who are elected for a term of four 
years. Other State officers include the treas¬ 
urer, secretary, auditor, attorney-general, and 
superintendent of public instruction, each elected 
for two years. The General Assembly consists 
of a senate and a house of. representatives. In 
the former are 50 members elected by districts 
for four years, while the latter has 100 mem¬ 
bers elected for two years. Annual meetings 
are held by the Legislature and all revenue 
bills must originate in the house, but amend¬ 
ments may be proposed by the senate. Circuit 
courts, an appellate court and the supreme court 
comprise the judicial system. Superior courts 
may be established in the large cities. Justices 
of the peace are elected in the townships. Local 
government is vested in the towns, cities, and 
counties. 

Education. Indiana has an efficient system 
of public instruction, which is maintained under 
the supervision of a state superintendent, who 
is assisted by county and city superintendents. 
The township is the smallest unit in the edu¬ 
cational system and is under the direct manage¬ 
ment of a trustee, who is elected by the voters 
of the townships, while the county superintend¬ 
ent is chosen by the school trustees of the entire 
county. Adequate and well articulated courses 
of study are maintained, hence the instruction is 
in a systematic order from the lower schools 
to the higher institutions. Indiana University, 
situated at Bloomington, is the highest institu¬ 
tion in the system of the State. A large pro¬ 
portion of the teachers have received training 
in normal schools and colleges. The state 
normal school, with an attendance of about 
2,000 students, is located at Terre Haute. Other 
institutions of higher learning include the 
Northern Indiana Normal School, Valparaiso; 
the Tri-State Normal, Angola; the Eastern In¬ 
diana Normal University, Muncie; the Roches¬ 
ter Normal University, Rochester; the Concor¬ 
dia. College, Fort Wayne; the De Pauw Uni¬ 
versity, Greencastle; the Earlham College, 
Richmond; the Butler College, Irvington; the 
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame; and 
the Indianapolis University, Indianapolis. 

An efficiently managed system of correctional 
and charitable institutions is maintained by the 
State, some of the institutions being supported 
partly by the county, and other benevolent insti- 



INDIANAPOLIS 


1086 


INDIANAPOLIS 


tutions are maintained by private interests. 
Knightstown has.a soldiers’ orphans’ home, La¬ 
fayette has a soldiers’ home, Jeffersonville has 
a reformatory, Michigan City has a peniten¬ 
tiary, and Indianapolis has a school for the deaf, 
dumb, and blind. Hospitals for the insane are 
located at Evansville, Indianapolis, Logansport, 
and Richmond. The public institutions main¬ 
tained for charitable and reformatory purposes 
are generally under the control of non-partisan 
boards. Indianapolis is noted for its efficiently 
managed system of public schools. 

Inhabitants. The population is made up 
largely of native-born inhabitants and a large 
number who settled in the State from Virginia, 
Kentucky, and South Carolina. About half of 
the foreign born are Germans. Indianapolis is 
the capital and largest city. Other cities include 
Evansville, Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, South 
Bend, New Albany, Lafayette, Logansport, 
Richmond, Michigan City, Elkhart, and Jeffer¬ 
sonville. In 1900 the total population was 2,516,- 
462. This included 57,960 colored inhabitants, 
of whom 223 were Indians and 57,505 were 
Negroes. Population, 1910, 2,700,876. 

History. The territory comprised within the 
present limits of Indiana was first visited by 
white men in 1679. La Salle crossed the State 
the following year, when he visited the Illinois 
Indians. The first settlement was made at Vin¬ 
cennes, bn the Wabash River, in 1702 by the 
French under La Salle. It was a part of New 
France until 1763, when it became a possession 
of England. The United States acquired it in 
1783, having been conquered under George 
Rogers Clark and a number of frontiersmen 
during the Revolution. In 1800 the Territory of 
Indiana was separated from Ohio; Michigan 
Territory was cut off in 1805; Illinois Territory, 
in 1809; and what remained was admitted as a 
State in 1816. Indian wars occurred at various 
times, but the success of General Harrison at 
Tippecanoe in 1811 terminated the more impor¬ 
tant contests. The center of population of the 
United States was calculated by the census of 
1890 at a point southwest of Greensburg, the 
county seat of Decatur County, twenty miles 
east of Columbus. Ten years later, in 1900, the 
center of population in the United States was 
in southern Indiana, about six miles southeast 
of Columbus, the county seat of Bartholomew 
County. Its growth in wealth and population 
has been uninterrupted from its admission into 
the union. 

INDIANAPOLIS (in-di-an-ap'6-Hs), the 
capital and largest city of Indiana, county seat 
of Marion County, 182 miles southeast of Chi¬ 
cago, Ill. It is located on the White River, in 


the center of the State, on the Pennsylvania, 
the Monon, the Big Four, the Lake Erie and 
Western, and other railroads. The surrounding 
country is rich in agricultural resources and in 
its vicinity are productive coal fields. Though 
an inland city, it is the seat of a large com¬ 
merce. A belt railway encircles the city, by 
which it is possible to handle a large volume of 
freight with facility. The street railway sys¬ 
tem includes 140 miles of tracks, and with it 
are connected numerous interurban electric lines 
that furnish transportation facilities with other 
centers of commerce. Near the principal busi¬ 
ness section is a handsome union depot, into 
which the railway passenger trains enter. 

Indianapolis is noted for its beautiful streets, 
which are regularly platted and substantially 
paved. From a circular plaza in the center of 
the city, called Monument Place, radiate the 
four principal avenues. Georgia, Market, Mary¬ 
land, and Washington are the most important 
business streets. Many of the thoroughfares 
are beautiful on account of fine lawns and impos¬ 
ing residences, and all are amply lighted by gas 
and electricity. Delaware, Meridian, and Penn¬ 
sylvania are especially noted as residential 
streets. The parks include 1,250 acres. River¬ 
side Park, extending along the White River, 
Woodruff Place, and Military, Garfield, Uni¬ 
versity, and Saint Clair parks are among the 
most noted public grounds. Many fine monu¬ 
ments and statues ornament the public places. 
The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, designed 
by Bruno Schmitz of Berlin, was erected in 
Monument Place to commemorate the Union 
veterans of the Civil War. In the capitol 
grounds is a monument of Thomas A. Hen¬ 
dricks and University Park has a statue of 
Schuyler Colfax. Among the statues are those 
of William Henry Harrison, Oliver Perry Mor¬ 
ton, and George Rogers, and a fine memorial 
has been erected to the memory of Benjamin 
Harrison. The cemeteries include Greenlawn, 
Crown Hill, and those maintained by the Luther¬ 
an, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and other denom¬ 
inations. 

Indianapolis is noted as a center of learning. 
The public school system has a national reputa¬ 
tion for its carefully articulated courses of study, 
which range from the kindergarten through the 
grades to the high school, and are designed to 
prepare for college and university work. It is 
the seat of the University of Indianapolis, which 
has an academic department known as Butler 
College, and maintains departments of dentistry, 
medicine, and law. Other institutions of learn¬ 
ing include the State institutions for the educa¬ 
tion of the blind and of the deaf and dumb, a 




INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO 


1087 


INDIAN RESERVATIONS 


Roman Catholic seminary, United Brethren Col¬ 
lege, and several schools of law and medicine. 
It is the seat of numerous charitable and re¬ 
formatory institutions. The principal buildings 
include the city hall, the county courthouse, the 
public library, the Commercial Club, the Colum¬ 
bia Club, the post office, the Claypool Hotel, 
and numerous office buildings. All of the lead¬ 
ing Christian denominations have fine churches. 
The State capitol, erected at a cost of $2,125,000, 
occupies two large blocks and is a fine specimen 
of modern architecture. 

The city has large interests in various manu¬ 
factures and other enterprises. It has many 
grain elevators and extensive stock yards. The 
chief manufactures include cotton and woolen 
goods, pianos, sewing machines, furniture, rail¬ 
road cars, flour, drugs, terra cotta, and milling 
machinery. It is an extensive market for grain, 
fruit, and merchandise, and has a large jobbing 
and wholesale trade that extends far beyond the 
borders of the State. The first settlement on its 
site was made in 1819. Two years later it be¬ 
came known as the village of Indianapolis. It 
was made the capital of the State in 1825, when 
the seat of government was removed from Cory- 
don. Its growth as a commercial center dates 
from 1847, in which year it was connected by a 
railway with the Ohio River at Madison. Nat¬ 
ural gas was piped to the city in 1889 and intro¬ 
duced in manufacturing enterprises. In popula¬ 
tion it takes rank as the twenty-first city of the 
United States. Population, 1910, 238,650. 

INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. See Malay 
Archipelago. 

INDIANA UNIVERSITY, a coeducational 
institution of learning at Bloomington, Ind., 
founded in 1820 as Indiana Seminary. It was 
chartered as a State institution in 1838, since 
which time it has been a part of the public 
school system. The departments include those 
of law, philosophy, medicine, engineering, and 
collegiate work. A biological station is main¬ 
tained at Winona Lake. Degrees of bachelor 
of law, bachelor of arts, master of arts, and 
doctor of philosophy are conferred. It has a 
library of 60,000 volumes, a faculty of about 
100 and endowments amounting to $650,000. 
The attendance is about 1,700 students. 

INDIAN CORN. See Corn. 

INDIAN MALLOW, or Stamp Weed, a 
plant of the mallow family, found native in 
many parts of Asia. It has been naturalized in 
Canada and the United States, and is trouble¬ 
some as a weed in the cultivated lands of the 
Mississippi Valley and elsewhere. The leaves 
are heart-shaped, the flowers are orange-yellow 
colored, and the stem grows to a height of three 


to four feet. It is difficult to destroy by cul¬ 
tivating with machines, hence it becomes ob¬ 
noxious in corn fields during the principal part 
of the growing season. 

INDIAN OCEAN, the third in size of the 
five great oceans. It lies south of Asia, west of 
the Sunda isles and Australia, north of the Ant¬ 
arctic Ocean, and east of Africa. A line drawn 
from the southern extremity of Tasmania to the 
Cape of Good Hope is its southern boundary, 
from which it' gradually narrows toward the 
north. India divides it into the Bay of Bengal 
and the Arabian Sea, and from the latter the 
Persian Gulf and the Red Sea branch toward 
the northwest. Its length from north to south 
is about 6,500 miles, and the breadth is from 
4,000 to 6,000 miles. The Equator passes through 
it, along which the equatorial current flows from 
east to west. Its navigation is influenced by 
periodic monsoons and trade winds. The prin¬ 
cipal rivers flowing into it include the Limpopo 
and Zambezi from Africa; the Ganges, Indus, 
Tigris, Euphrates, and Irrawaddy from Asia; 
and the Ashburton, Gascoure, and Murchison 
from Australia. Ceylon and Madagascar are 
the- only large islands, though there are many 
small islands and several important groups of 
islets. Its depth is greatest near the coast of 
Asia, southeast of Java, where soundings^to a 
depth of 20,340 feet have been made. The great¬ 
est depth in the Arabian Sea is 15,000 feet and in 
the Bay of Bengal it is about 13,500 feet. Its 
depth near the southeastern coast of Africa 
ranges from 7,500 to 12,000 feet. 

INDIANOLA (m-di-an-6'la), a city of 
Iowa, county seat of Warren County, eighteen 
miles south of Des Moines, on the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy and the Chicago, Rock 
Island and Pacific railroads. It is surrounded 
by a fertile agricultural and coal-mining region. 
The principal buildings include a courthouse, a 
public library, and several fine schools and 
churches. It is the seat of Simpson College, a 
Methodist Episcopal institution founded in 1867. 
Population, 1905, 3,396. 

INDIAN RESERVATIONS, the tracts of 
land set apart for the Indians by treaty or by 
executive orders. It was long the policy of the 
government of the United States to reserve 
certain tracts of land for the Indians, frqm 
which white trespassers were excluded, and 
the Indians themselves could not pass beyond 
the limits except for necessary purposes or by 
special permission. This system of reserving 
lands had its origin in the difficulty of keeping 
peace in the frontier territory. After being de¬ 
feated in war, the Indians usually agreed to a 
treaty of peace that bound them to retire to a 


INDIAN RIVER 


1088 


INDIANS 


certain reservation, where they could live by 
themselves and under the peaceful protection of 
the government. In some cases the tribes agreed 
to accept the value of a part of their posses¬ 
sions in money, hence released it and confined 
their residence to a smaller area. Reservations 
of the latter class were usually made by an act of 
Congress, while the former were set apart by an 
executive order under the approval of the Sen¬ 
ate. The largest reservation at present is that 
of the Navajo Indians in Arizona, which em¬ 
braces 9,500,000 acres. Several reservations in 
South Dakota cover an area nearly as large. 
The total number of reservations in the United 
States at present is about 140. An agent or 
superintendent has charge of the affairs of a 
reservation and is responsible to the commis¬ 
sioner of Indian affairs who is under the direc¬ 
tion of the Secretary of the Interior. Citizen¬ 
ship is not extended to Indians on reservations, 
but they may settle on other lands and thus 
become entitled to the privileges of a citizen. 
Many Indians have lost their racial character¬ 
istics and are now regarded as white citizens, 
but purely Indian citizens in the United States 
who are entitled to vote exceed 20,000. 

INDIAN RIVER, a tidal inlet of Florida, 
located in Brevard and Volusia counties, extend¬ 
ing along the east coast of the State. It is 
about ninety miles long and communicates with 
the Atlantic Ocean at Indian Inlet. The width 
varies from several hundred feet to three miles, 
but it is shallow and can be navigated only by 
boats drawing not more than five feet. Several 
resorts for invalids and sportsmen are located on 
its banks. 

INDIANS', American, the collective name 
applied to the people found in America when it 
was discovered by Columbus. The name orig¬ 
inated from the in¬ 
correct idea that the 
continent is a part of 
India, and that these 
people were only a 
portion of the great 
population of South¬ 
ern Asia. However, 
they generally called 
themselves O n k w e 
Honwe, meaning men. 
More recently they 
came to be called the 
American or Red 
race. 

Indian Population. The most trustworthy 
early writers place the number of Indians east 
of the Mississippi River at the time America 
was discovered at 200,000. Aside from this we 


have no reliable data, but it is generally assumed 
that the Indian population of both North and 
South America was fully 12,000,000. California 
alone, at the time of the gold discovery, had an 
estimated Indian population of 200,000. At pres¬ 
ent Alaska has 29,536; British America, 100,000; 
and the United States, 266,760, or a total of less 
than 400,000. 

Distribution. The distribution of the Indi¬ 
ans at am early period depended upon the exist¬ 
ence of forests and game. They lived in tribes 
and clans. All were members of one great fam¬ 
ily, but they ranged from the rudest savages to 
the cultivated Aztecs of Mexico and the Peruvi- I 
ans of South America. In the extreme north 
were the Eskimos^, who still occupy the northern 
part of the British possessions. Those formerly 
dwelling in the vast regions south of the Eski¬ 
mos have been widely diversified by intermar¬ 
riage and scattered from the regions they for- , 
merly occupied. The tribes occupying the north¬ 
eastern portion of the United States were classed | 
either with the Algonquin or Iroquois races. j| 
Those in the northwest, extending far into Can¬ 
ada, were classed as Siouan Indians, while in 
the southern regions were the Mobilians and the 
Natchez. The Aztecs occupied large portions of 
Mexico and Central America, but in these re¬ 
gions were also the Otomis, Maya, and Quiches 
Indians. The Peruvians of South America were , 
advanced in civilized arts quite as much as the 
Aztecs, and included the Inca and the Aymaras j 
races. In Chile were the Araucanians; on the 
Atlantic slope, the Guaranis; and on the north¬ 
ern coast, the Caribs, who also occupied most of 
the West Indian islands. In the extreme south J 
lived the tall Patagonians. 

Indian Wars. The Algonquins and Iroquois 
included many branches, but these two great 
families were continually at war with each oth¬ 
er for supremacy, and later offered formidable 
resistance to the onward march of the Europe¬ 
ans. At intervals they made incursions toward 
the West, where they were met by the warriors 
of the many affiliated tribes of the Sioux In¬ 
dians, who were often at war with each other j 
when not in conflict with their more powerful 
rivals of the East. The English first engaged in j 
hostilities with the Indians in Virginia in 1622, 
and these were followed by engagements in New 
England in 1637. The Indian wars waged be¬ 
tween 1790 and 1795 against the Miami Confed¬ 
eration in Ohio were the most destructive of 
human life, but General Wayne dealt a crushing 
defeat to them in 1793. The success of General 
Harrison at Tippecanoe, in 1811, checked them 
materially, but in the following year the Indians 
became allied with the British, and were again 







CHIEF STANDING BEAR. 


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INDIANS 


1089 


INDIANS 


defeated by Harrison in 1813 at the Thames, 
when Tecumseh was killed. General Jackson in 
the same year conducted operations against the 
Creeks in the south and defeated them at Talla¬ 
dega and the Horse Shoe Bend of the Tallapoosa 
River. He likewise defeated the Seminoles in 
Georgia and Alabama in 1817, and on the same 
expedition executed two Englishmen, Arbuth- 
not and Ambrister, after conviction by court- 
martial on a charge of inciting the Indians to 
cause disturbances. The last battle with the 
Indians taking rank as a severe contest oc¬ 
curred on the Little Big Horn River, near 
the Black Hills, in 1876, when General Custer 
was slain. 

Government and Industries. Government 
among the Indians was loosely administered, 
and, though confederations were formed among 
the tribes, they were not of long duration. Their 
occupations were principally hunting and fishing. 
They dwelt largely in tents and other perish¬ 
able buildings, but some, as the Pueblos, built of 
stone or adobe, or constructed kivas, or public 
rooms, underground. Some tribes developed 
skill in the culture of corn, beans, and tobacco, 
and the more highly civilized of Mexico and 
Peru were considerably advanced in civilized 
arts. They built dwellings and cities; con¬ 
structed aqueducts, canals, and highways; had a 
recognized system of government and a fixed 
form-of worship; and left to future generations' 
massive pyramids and innumerable mummies. 
The manufactures of the Indians in the region 
now occupied by the United States and Southern 
Canada included bows, arrowheads, pottery, 
snowshoes, stone pipes, canoes, baskets, and oth¬ 
er articles useful to them in domestic life and 
in the arts of war. Their dress was largely of 
the skin of animals, and their food consisted of 
vegetables and a few cereals, but principally of 
the wild game which was then very abundant. 
They had few domestic animals aside from the 
dog, but became very fond of horses, which they 
first obtained from the Spaniards. 

Religion and Characteristics. In religion 
the Indians held that there is a future life and 
that the spirit after the death of the body en¬ 
joys the happy hunting grounds. It was com¬ 
monly believed that a spirit animates every liv¬ 
ing plant and animal. Whileftnany of the tribes 
believed that virtue and bravery constitute essen¬ 
tials to welfare in. this life, they did not make a 
distinction as to the influence that the conduct 
in the present life might have in attaining to 
happiness beyond. The name Red race originat¬ 
ed from the reddish tint observable in their 
complexion, which varies from almost white to 
dark brown. In nearly all Indians the hair is 
69 


long and straight, usually black, but sometimes 
brownish. The eyebrows are heavy, the beard 
is scant, the eyes are sleepy and dull, the lips 
are compressed, and the face is broad. Some 
ethnologists think they descended from the 
Mongolian race, while others regard them a 
mixture of the Polynesian and Caucasian with 
the Mongolian. From the tradition of their 
tribes it is learned that they themselves thought 
that they emigrated from some region, but know 
not from whence. The sun worship of the In¬ 
cas and Aztecs has been taken to indicate some 
connection with early Asiatic peoples, while the 
Eskimos of North America are quite identical 
with those of Siberia. 

Policy of the Government. The policy of 
the government in Canada and the United States 
for many 
years has been 
to make citi¬ 
zens of the In¬ 
dians by giving 
them every 
possible en¬ 
couragement 
in educational 
facilities, land¬ 
ed possessions, 
and financial 
support. It 
has been the 
aim from an 
early date to 
make them 
self - support- 
i n g . Indian 
Territory was 
set apart for 

this purpose ,4, Tomahawk; B, Head dress; C, 
by the United Stone implements; D, Quiver and bow 
States with case * 

the view of inducing them to found homes and 
give them greater opportunities in educational 
and industrial advancement. When that region 
was annexed to Oklahoma, in 1906, this policy 
was continued. However, the larger number of 
Indians are on reservations, both in Canada and 
the United States, and each country maintains 
a Department of Indian Affairs. The Indians 
in territory of the United States are located 
principally as follows: Oklahoma, 64,455; Alas¬ 
ka, 29,536; Arizona, 26,480; Michigan, 6,354; 
South Dakota, 20,225; Minnesota, 9,182; Cali¬ 
fornia, 15,377; Montana, 11,343; Mississippi, 
2,203; Oklahoma, 11,945; North Dakota, 6,968; 
New Mexico, 13,144; New York, 5,257; Nevada, 
5,216; Oregon, 4,951; Kansas, 2,130; Nebraska, 
3,322; Idaho, 4,226; Utah, 2,623; North Caro- 



INDIAN implements. 







INDIAN SUMMER 


INDIGO 


1990 


lina, 5,707; Wisconsin, 8,372; Washington, 10,- 
039; and Wyoming, 1,686. 

Many of the tribes do not look with favor up¬ 
on an intermingling with the whites, but others 
take readily to education and intermarry ex¬ 
tensively. Some of the Indians have attained to 
much educational advancement and have become 
famous as scholars and educators. Large num¬ 
bers attend the higher institutions of learning, 
where they make an honorable record. Be¬ 
sides taking up farming and other industries, 
they engage in the practice of medicine and law, 
the publication of newspapers, and the various 
arts and trades. Under certain conditions the 
Indians are admitted to full citizenship, when 
they may hold office under the government, ex¬ 
ercise the right of suffrage, and have all privi¬ 
leges and benefits accorded to other citizens. 
The condition under which these privileges are 
extended is that they stipulate with the govern¬ 
ment to waive all claims to public support. 

INDIAN SUMMER, the name of a season 
of warm and pleasant weather that occurs late in 
the fall, usually in October or November, and is 
confined chiefly to the northern part of the United 
States and the southern part of Canada. Usu¬ 
ally it occurs but once in a season, though some¬ 
times it may be noticeable two or three times. 
It is distinguished by a dry and somewhat hazy 
atmosphere. A similar season in England is 
known as All Hallow Summer or Saint Martin’s 
Summer, and in Germany it is called Saint 
Luke’s Summer and Old Woman’s Summer. 
The name Indian Summer is supposed to have 
been derived from predictions of fair weather 
made by the native Indians while in conversation 
with the early settlers in America. 

INDIAN TERRITORY, a former territory 
of the United States, located south of Kansas 
and west of Missouri and Arkansas. It was set 
apart in 1834 for Indian reservations, but was 
united with Oklahoma in 1906, which was ad¬ 
mitted as a State the following year. The 
Creeks, Choctaws, Cherokees, and Chickasaws 
settled in this region in 1834. Later the Semi- 
noles and other* tribes received reservations. 
The name Five Civilized Nations was applied to 
those mentioned, and the others were distributed 
on seven reservations within the region. See 
Oklahoma. 

INDIA RUBBER, or Caoutchouc, a soft, 
flexible, and very elastic substance derived from 
the milky sap of various tropical plants. It is a 
composition formed chiefly of carbon and hydro¬ 
gen. Many species of shrubs and trees produce 
gummy products that have commercial value. 
The principal tree yielding juices from which 
India rubber is manufactured is tall and pos¬ 


sesses an abundance of the fluid. The juice is 
secured by making incisions in the trunks of 
the trees, under which receptacles are placed. 
From ten to twenty-five gallons of the juice are 
obtained from a single tree in a season, and 
about two pounds of good rubber is secured 
from a gallon. The rubber is obtained in a 
crude form by evaporating the juice in the sun, 
or in tanks placed over a fire. It may also be 
coagulated by mixing with it sap from the be- 
juco vine. Tfie raw material is purified by boil¬ 
ing and subsequently by pressing through power¬ 
ful machines, after which it is rolled into plates 
and dried. 

The India rubber of commerce is produced 
largely in Mexico, Central America, South 
America, Java, Singapore, Assam, Penang, and 
the Congo basin of Africa. In 1823 Mackintosh 
patented a water-proofing process by which In¬ 
dia rubber came largely into use. At present its 
applications are innumerable. It is now rarely 
employed in a pure state, but is vulcanized by 
heating the pure rubber with sulphur. In this 
way it is hardened and serves many useful pur¬ 
poses, such as for belting, shoes, hose, tires, 
cloth, combs, bracelets, furniture, paper knives, 
water packing, life preservers, paving, gas bags, 
and gloves. The harder products, such as but¬ 
tons, inkstands, rulers, canes, and artificial teeth, 
are secured from rubber which is vulcanized un¬ 
der an application of sulphur exposed to a high 
temperature. In making covering for telegraph 
wires it is vulcanized with asphalt, sulphur, and 
oils. 

INDIGIRKA (en-dye-ger'ka), a large river 
of Eastern Siberia, rises in the Stanovoi Moun¬ 
tains, and after a course of 900 miles flows into 
the Arctic Ocean. It enters the sea through a 
large delta about 450 miles east of the mouth of 
the Lena. The region traversed by it consists 
largely of frozen marshes, and the inhabitants 
support themselves chiefly by the chase. 

INDIGO (in'di-go), a vegetable dyestuff 
that yields a beautiful and very durable blue dye. 
It is employed extensively in forming a basis 
for black dye in woolen goods, for dyeing, and 
for calico printing. The product is obtained 
from numerous plants of a shrubby and herba¬ 
ceous character which thrive in equatorial re¬ 
gions. These plartts belong to the order of 
Legnminosae, of which the Indigofera tinctoria 
is a genus. The plants are from two to six feet 
tall, have rounded leaves, and bear blue, purple, 
or white pea-shaped flowers. Ordinarily they 
are classed with the bean family. They are cut 
at the time of blooming, which occurs when the 
plants are about three months old. The seeds 
are sown early in the spring and the cutting 




INDIGO BIRD 


1091 


INDO-EUROPEAN 


takes place in midsummer. After several 
months a second crop shoots up, and in some 
localities a third. The indigo market of South¬ 
ern Asia centers largely at Bengal, whence large 
quantities are exported to the ports of Europe 
and America. The plants which yield indigo 
are now grown extensively in warmer parts of 
Europe, Africa, and America, especially in Cen¬ 
tral America. Only from fifty to sixty per cent, 
of the indigo of commerce is pure indigo blue, 
and the other portion consists of indigo yellow, 



INDIGO PLANT. 
A, Fruit. 


indigo gluten, indigo red, or some allied sub¬ 
stances. From history it is learned that indigo 
has been produced in India from remote times. 
It was imported from that country by the Phoe¬ 
nicians, Grecians, and Romans. 

INDIGO BIRD, a North American finch, 
native to the southern part of the United States, 
Mexico, and Central America. In the summer 
time it comes north as far as Missouri, where it 
is captured and domesticated as a cage bird. It 
is about six inches long. The general color is 
greenish-blue, but the wing feathers are brown, 
and it is black beneath the bill. It nests in the 
tallest trees and is noted for its beautiful song. 
The female is somewhat smaller than the male 
and has a yellowish-brown body with the wings 
several shades darker. From three to four eggs 
of a pale bluish-white, without spots, are laid 
early in the spring. 

INDIUM (Tn'di-um), a metal found in vari¬ 
ous zinc minerals, in some galenas from Italy, 
and in the flue dust of the furnaces in which 
zinc .ores are treated. Reich and Richter discov¬ 
ered this metallic element in 1863 with the aid 
of the spectroscope, while analyzing specimens 


of zinc blende obtained from Freiburg. In a 
pure state the metal has a bluish-silvery luster, 
and in softness and ductility it resembles lead'. 
It is slightly volatile, has a very low fusion 
point, and tarnishes slowly in air. See Chem¬ 
istry. 

INDO CHINA (in'do chi'na), a name fre¬ 
quently applied to the larger part of the south¬ 
eastern peninsula of Asia, which is situated be¬ 
tween the Bay of Bengal on the west and the 
gulfs of Siam and Tonquin and the China Sea 
on the east. The area is estimated at 363,422 
square miles. It includes Anam, Laos, Cambo¬ 
dia, French or Lower Cochin China, and Ton¬ 
quin. The name is sometimes applied to the en¬ 
tire peninsula, in which sense it includes Bur- 
mah. This region contains natural resources of 
much commercial value and has been developed 
under a colonial policy fostered largely by 
France. Railroad construction, canals for navi¬ 
gation and irrigation, telegraph and telephone 
lines, and municipal facilites have received aid 
from the French government. The exports and 
imports are alike extensive. Among the chief 
imports are machinery, woolen goods, cotton 
products, and various manufactured articles. 
The exports embrace principally rice, rawhides, 
pepper, volatile oil, copra, cocoa, and many spe¬ 
cies of fruits. Mining has developed in copper, 
coal, tin, iron, and zinc. It has productive fields 
of gas and mineral oils. The region is well wa¬ 
tered by the Menam and Mekong rivers and 
their tributaries, which furnish extensive navi¬ 
gation facilities and supply water for the irriga¬ 
tion canals. Stock raising and lumbering are 
important industries. The governor general of 
the French possessions is resident at Hanoi, 
which is the chief seat of political influence, and 
in the separate divisions are local and subordi¬ 
nate governors. 

INDO-EUROPEAN (m-do-u-ro-pe f an), In- 
do-Germanic, or Aryan, the names applied to 
the most important of the groups of languages 
into which human speech has been classified. It 
is subdivided into numerous branches, of which 
the Germanic or Teutonic is the most important, 
which includes the German, English, Dutch, 
Scandinavian, and extinct Gothic. Other 
branches are the Slavonic, including the Russian, 
Polish, and Bohemian; the Latin or Italic; the 
Celtic, which embraces the Breton, Irish, Welsh, 
and Gaelic; the Lithuanian; the Greek; the 
Persian; the Armenian; and the Sanskrit. The 
oldest literature is included in the Sanskrit and 
is found among the Hindus. All these branches 
of the Indo-European language descended from 
a parent or ancestral tongue which prevailed at 
a remote period in Central Asia, and spread 


INDRA 


1092 


INDULGENCE 


through succeeding centuries into India and 
westward through Asia to the western extremi¬ 
ties of Europe. Searching study has demon¬ 
strated that there is a similarity in construction 
and meaning sufficient to warrant a classifica¬ 
tion through succeeding ages, tracing the tongues 
to a common source. 

INDRA (in'dra), a diety of the Hindus, wor¬ 
shiped as the supreme god throughout the Vedic 
period. He lost his supremacy by the rise of 
Brahma, Siva, and Vishnu, and is now assigned 
a subordinate place in the Pantheon. In paint¬ 
ings and sculpture he is represented with nu¬ 
merous eyes and four arms and is seated on an 
elephant. His powers include the control of rain 
and shade, the hurling of thunderbolts, and the 
restoring of the sun to the sky. He has also 
been assigned a supervisory influence of Swar- 
ga, a paradise in which pious men and inferior 
deities dwell in eternal felicity. Indra is inter¬ 
esting to the student of history for the important 
connections given him in the literature and leg¬ 
ends of the Hindu peoples. 

INDUCTION (in-duk'shun), a term in logic 
which implies the process of reasoning by which 
we proceed from the particular to the general. 
It is used in contradistinction to deduction, a 
process of reasoning from the general to the 
particular. In following the inductive method 
we not only arrive at conclusions of generals, but 
rise into higher generalities. It involves the proc¬ 
ess of proceeding from the known to the un¬ 
known, and obtaining a conclusion broader and 
deeper than the premises. In other words, in¬ 
duction is the process by which we conclude that 
what is true of certain individuals of a class is 
true of the whole class, and what is true in cer¬ 
tain times will be true at all times. The impos¬ 
sibility of observing all particulars makes it nec¬ 
essary to reason inductively with much care, lest 
the conclusion be erroneous. The basis of in¬ 
duction is the established fact that nature is 
uniform, and by observing in detail every ma¬ 
terial fact the conclusion arrived at must be true. 

INDUCTION, in electrical science, a term 
used to describe the action by which an un¬ 
charged body will exhibit electrical forces when 
it is brought near an electrified one. An insu¬ 
lated conductor charged either positively or neg¬ 
atively so acts on bodies in a natural state 
placed near it as to decompose the neutral fluid, 
attracting the opposite kind of electricity and re¬ 
pelling the same kind. Heinrich D. Ruhmkorff 
(1803-1877), a German inventor, produced an 
instrument called the induction coil (q. v.), by 
which induced currents of great electro-motive 
force are secured in a long secondary coil by 
means of rapidly making and breaking the cur¬ 


rent of electricity in a primary short coil of 
wire. The principle of induction is illustrated 
in the Leyden jar, in which mutual induction 
takes place between the two coatings, one being 
charged positively and the other negatively. 

INDUCTION COIL, or Ruhmkorff Coil, 
an instrument used for the purpose of getting 
induced electric currents of high potential dif¬ 
ference. Michael Faraday was the first to state 
the fundamental fact of electro-magnetic in¬ 
duction, which he did in a paper read before 
the Royal Society of London in 1831. The form 
in use at present is that of Ruhmkorff, who de¬ 
vised a superior method of winding the coil. 
The essential parts are a soft iron core, a pri¬ 
mary coil of insulated wire connected with a 
battery, a secondary coil of fine insulated wire, 
a brake arrangement to work automatically be-, 
tween the battery and the primary coil, a con¬ 
denser connected with the primary circuit on 
each side of the break, point, and a switch to 
make and break the current. When the induc¬ 
tion coil is attached to the battery and the switch 
is turned on, the current passes through the pri¬ 
mary and the iron core is acted upon as a mag¬ 
net. The soft iron armature, which it attached 
to a vertical spring, is attracted and breaks the 
current at C, but when this is done the core 
ceases to be a magnet, hence the armature is 
thrown back by the spring, and the movement 
of coming in contact and being released is re¬ 
peated from time to time in rapid succession. A 
strong potentiality is secured in the induced cur¬ 
rent through the length of the secondary coil 
and the fineness of the wire. When the binding 
posts of A and B, which are at the opposite ends 
of the coil, are brought near each other, a spark 
passes between them. Peculiar physiological ef¬ 
fects are obtained by taking hold of the terminals 
in a small secondary coil, but the effect of a large 
coil is quite painful. Induction coils are used 
in telephones, in telegraphy, and in medical lab¬ 
oratories. 

INDUCTIVE METHOD. See Deductive 
Method. 

INDULGENCE (in-dul'jens), a partial or 
total remission of the temporal punishment 
which still remains due to sin after its guilt is 
forgiven, or has been remitted by penance. It 
is a point of doctrine in the Roman Catholic 
church that without indulgence the offender 
must undergo temporal punishment here or in 
purgatory. An indulgence cannot be granted for 
an unforgiven sin, or as a permit to sin in the 
future, but it can be gained only after the sin has 
been remitted by repentance. A partial indul¬ 
gence is granted for a specified length of time, 
while a total indulgence is a remission of the en- 


INDUS 


1093 INFANTRY 


tire temporal punishment. These indulgences 
are never absolutely gratuitous, but can be ob¬ 
tained only by those who are in full communion 
with the church and have resorted to the sacra¬ 
ment of penance, which, after due contrition and 
confession, is alone sufficient for the remission 
of the penalty of sin. In the Middle Ages indul¬ 
gences were granted to those who made pilgrim¬ 
ages, gave alms,. or engaged in holy war, and 
later they were extended for fighting against 
heretics. The thesis of Luther published in 1517 
were directed against the selling of indulgences. 
k I n 1563 the Council of Trent reaffirmed the be¬ 
lief that the church has power to grant them, 
but laid down the principle that indulgences are 
to be granted gratis. 

INDUS (in'dus), an important river in the 
northwestern part of India. It rises in Tibet, 
on the north side of the Himalaya Mountains, 
flows northwest, thence makes a bold curve and 
assumes a course toward the southwest. The 
length is 1,800 miles. It has a basin of 375,000 
square miles, and the delta extends about 130 
miles along the coast of the Arabian Sea. Its 
source is 18,000 feet above the sea, on account 
of which the flow is rapid in many portions of 
its course. The Indus is valuable as a highway 
of commerce and vessels enter safely by a num¬ 
ber of the mouths of the delta. Among the trib¬ 
utaries are the Gartok, which enters it before it 
passes the Himalayas, the Shayok, the Sutley, 
the Chenab, and the Kabul. It is navigable to 
its confluence with the Kabul, about 900 miles 
from the sea. Many edible fish, waterfowl, and 
crocodiles are abundant. The valley of the In¬ 
dus is famed for its fertility. 

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL (in-dus'tri-al), 
an institution devoted to the dissemination of 
knowledge in the industrial arts, such as agri¬ 
culture, mining, dairying, horticulture, etc. 
Many institutions of this character are supported 
either jointly by the national and state govern¬ 
ments, or by either of them separately. Another 
class of these schools is maintained as private 
institutions, in which these arts are combined in 
^ courses with other branches of learning. In 
many the instruction is coextensive to both sexes. 
The term is likewise extended to many reforma¬ 
tory institutions established under state supervi¬ 
sion in which youthful offenders of law and va¬ 
grant children are confined for correctional pur¬ 
poses. They aim to teach the arts of industry 
along with the elements of an education. Many 
governments support industrial schools of this 
character for both sexes in different localities. 
The schools in which industrial and mechanical 
arts are taught as regular branches of study are 
abundant in European countries, those of Aus¬ 


tria, Germany, Denmark, France, and Russia tak¬ 
ing the highest rank. 

INERTIA (m-er'shi-a), the incapability of 
matter to change its state, whether that be one 
of motion or of rest. From this follows the two 
laws: That a body at rest continues at rest for¬ 
ever unless acted upon by some force; and that 
a body in motion continues in motion forever 
unless some counteractive force, like that of 
gravity, acts upon it. The resistance which, 
especially at first, a body at rest gives to a force 
operating to move it, is called the power of in¬ 
ertia. Newton established the idea that inertia 
can be measured and that it is a fundamental 
property of matter. 

INFANT, in law, a person who is too young 
to bind himself by what he says, or in a con¬ 
tract. In the law of England and America the 
term is applied to all persons who have not at¬ 
tained their majority, which is reached at the age 
of 21 years. Females reach their majority in 
some states and countries at the age of 18 years. 
In general the term minor is applied to a male 
who is under 21 and to a female under 18 years 
of age. Contracts made by infants are not 
binding, except for necessaries essential to their 
life and health, and for the purpose of provid¬ 
ing for their wants they are subject to their 
parents or guardians. Though infants may be 
punished for criminal offenses, the penalty in¬ 
flicted varies somewhat in degree and kind from 
that imposed upon adults. The father is the 
natural guardian of his children until they are 
21 years of age, and in case of his death or in¬ 
ability, in some states, this power becomes vested 
in the mother. An infant cannot contract mar¬ 
riage, except with the consent of the parents or 
guardians. 

INFANTRY (m'fan-try), the portion of a 
military system which is armed and equipped for 
marching and fighting on foot. It constitutes 
the largest organization of the military forces of 
all countries and comprises the most powerful 
branch of an army, but modern warfare has 
somewhat changed the importance and effective 
fighting force of the‘infantry. Formerly the in¬ 
fantry moved upon the enemy in the form of a 
solid phalanx, sometimes from ten to twelve 
files deep, but the rapid-fire guns of modern 
times throw bullets with sufficient force to pene¬ 
trate several ranks, hence rapid movement and 
great perfection in discipline is required. The 
infantryman of Greece was equipped with hel¬ 
met, shield, and breastplate, and the fighting 
was done at close range with swords, battle- 
axes, or javelins. At present firing usually be¬ 
gins at about 600 yards, but this depends upon 
position and the character of the arms used. 




INFINITE 


1094 


INJUNCTION 


From fifteen to twenty miles per day is the aver¬ 
age distance marched by infantry. The loss of 
life in the infantry is ordinarily about three 
times as great as that either in the cavalry or 
the artillery. In the Franco-German War, which 
may be taken as a reasonable basis, the percent¬ 
age of loss in the German infantry w r as. 17.6; 
in the artillery, 6.5; and in the cavalry, 6.3. 

INFINITE (m'fi-nit), an unlimited or 
boundless quantity in space or time. The term 
is used in mathematics to designate a sum 
greater than any assignable quantity of the same 
kind. It is employed in music to designate cer¬ 
tain forms, sometimes called perpetual fugues, 
which are so constructed that the performance 
may be incessantly repeated, their ends leading 
to their beginnings. The term infinite is used 
as opposed to finite., the former being boundless 
and immeasurably great, while the latter is lim¬ 
ited in degree, capacity, or quantity. An infini¬ 
tesimal quantity, although immeasurably small, 
is greater than zero. 

INFLECTION (in-flek'shun), the term used 
in grammar to designate the variation of the 
terminations of nouns and pronouns in declen¬ 
sion, verbs in conjugation, and adjectives and 
adverbs in comparison. The agglutinative lan¬ 
guages, as the Turkish and the Hungarian, com¬ 
bine many of the root words, while in the high¬ 
ly inflectional tongues, as the German and Old 
English, the endings of many words are in¬ 
flected. In modern English the analytic form 
has encroached upon the inflectional. However, 
many philologists have raised the question 
whether this marks an advance in the expres¬ 
sion of ideas. 

INFLORESCENCE (in-flo-res'sens), the 
arrangement of flowers upon a branch or stem. 
When the axis in a flower cluster terminates 
with a flower, the infloresences is said to be 
definite; otherwise it is designated as indefi¬ 
nite, indeterminate, centripetal, acropetal, or 
botryose. 

INFLUENZA (m-flu-en'za), or Grippe, a 
contagious and often epidemic catarrhal inflam¬ 
mation of the mucous membrane of the air pas¬ 
sages. The early symptoms are similar to those 
in a cold. It is accompanied by frontal head¬ 
ache, sleepless nights, loss of appetite, dis¬ 
charge from the nose, and feverishness. The 
affection is not usually fatal, but unless care is 
exercised it sometimes becomes complicated with 
bronchitis or pneumonia. Under good care the 
patient recovers in from four to eight days. In 
certain seasons and localities it is especially 
prolific in its spread, and often assumes larger 
proportions than any other disorder. Epidemic 
influenza is usually designated la grippe. 


INFUSORIA (in-fu-so'ri-a), the name of 
certain microscopic animals, regarded the high¬ 
est or most specialized class of protozoans. For¬ 
merly the name was applied to many kinds of 
microscopic organisms common to organic in¬ 
fusions, but some of these later became known 
as forms of vegetable matter. They occur in 
both fresh and salt water. Several species are 
parasites on other animals, in which they are 
sometimes the cause of disease. They are re¬ 
produced by division, by budding, and by spore 
formation. 

INGERSOLL (in'ger-sul), a town of On¬ 
tario, in Oxford County, nineteen miles north¬ 
east of London. It is located on the Thames 
River and the Grand Trunk Railway, and is sur¬ 
rounded by a productive farming country. The 
manufactures include cheese, machinery, woolen 
goods, and farming implements. It has a well- 
organized public school system, electric lighting, 
and a number of fine church buildings. Popula¬ 
tion, 1901, 4,572. 


INHERITANCE TAX (in-her!t-ans), an 

assessment on the property passing from a de¬ 
ceased person to his heirs or legatees. The Ro¬ 
mans imposed a tax of this kind before the ad¬ 
vent of the Christian era, and it has been the 
source of considerable revenue in the countries 
of Europe for many centuries. Since the time 
of Gladstone such taxes are known as death du¬ 
ties in England, and this term is applied in many 
of the British colonies where such assessments 
are made, especially in Australia and New Zea¬ 
land. The United States government imposed 
an inheritance tax during the Civil War, but sub¬ 
sequently it was repealed. However, inheri¬ 
tance taxes are imposed by a number of the 
states, though in some instances they apply only 
where the property inherited does not pass to 
direct heirs. In most cases the rate is progres¬ 
sive, graduated on a percentage basis according 
to the amount inherited and the degree of rela¬ 
tionship. Some of the states exempt the smaller 
estates entirely, extending the free limit in most 
cases from $500 to $5,000. 

INI A (in'i-a), the name of a mammal 
classed with the dolphin family, of which only 
one species is known. The body is seven to nine 
feet in length, and the color is usually pink 
mixed somewhat with black. It is found in the 
lakes of Peru and the Amazon and its tributar¬ 
ies. This animal is remarkable in that it resem¬ 
bles a mammal found in the Ganges, and because 
it is common to waters located a long distance 
from the sea. 

INITIATIVE (in-ish'i-a-tiv). See Referen¬ 
dum. 

INJUNCTION, in law, an order issued by 




INK 


1095 


INNS OF CHANCERY 


a court to restrain one or more persons or cor¬ 
porations from doing some act which they threat¬ 
en to commit, or to continue the prosecution of 
some act which is already in progress An in¬ 
junction is likewise issued to restore certain 
rights to a plaintiff. The Romans originated 
the injunction, but their process, which was 
somewhat different, was known as an interdict. 
Now these writs are designated as preventive, 
when they are issued to restrain, and mandatory, 
when they operate to restore rights. A tem¬ 
porary or preliminary injunction is issued to re¬ 
strain only until the defendant may answer, af¬ 
ter which, if good cause is shown, it may be 
made perpetual. Those who disobey an injunc¬ 
tion are guilty of contempt of court and may be 
fined or imprisoned. The term government by 
injunction originated from the employment of 
the injunctions in restraining interested parties 
from interfering in strikes and other labor trou¬ 
bles. 

INK, a liquid used for writing or printing, 
the different classes being known as writing, 
printing, marking, and copying inks. Writing 
ink consists either of finely divided colored pre¬ 
cipitates held in suspension in a liquid by means 
of gum, or of colored liquids. The inks used by 
the peoples of ancient times were made'with es¬ 
pecial care to insure blackness and durability, 
two qualities in which they surpassed most inks 
of modern manufacture. Black inks contain as 
ingredients sulphate of iron, gum arabic, and 
gallotannic taken from gallnuts. Gallnuts also 
contain pectose, by which gallotannic .acid is con¬ 
verted into gallic acid when it is exposed to the 
air. Durability and blackness in inks are se¬ 
cured by utilizing iron salt with an infusion of 
gum and gallnuts, and exposing the compound to 
the air for some time. The addition of carbolic 
acid, essential oils, crushed cloves, or corrosive 
sublimate prevents ink from becoming moldy. 

Copying ink differs from the ordinary writing 
ink in being thicker and in drying less quickly. 
It is prepared by the addition of a little sugar or 
glycerin to ordinary black ink. Marking ink is 
made of a solution of silver nitrate colored by 
lampblack and thickened by gum, but some kinds 
are colored with sap green. Printing ink is much 
thicker than writing ink. It is made by boiling 
linseed oil and mixing with it lampblack or other 
pigments, and sometimes soap and rosin are 
added to give it the proper consistency. Colored 
inks contain various solutions of coloring mat¬ 
ter, such as cochineal and Brazil wood for red 
and Prussian blue for blue. In printing ink 
lead chromate is used for yellow, vermilion for 
red, and ultramarine for blue. The ink used in 
lithographing is variously composed of lamp¬ 


black, Paris black with shellac, virgin wax, dry 
white soap, and tallow or lard. Various kinds 
of sympathetic ink are used in secret correspon¬ 
dence. They leave no trace of color upon the 
paper, but exposure to heat causes chemical ac¬ 
tion by which the characters become legible. 
Substances used for that purpose include lemon 
juice, solutions of cobalt, and dilute sulphuric 
acid. 

INKERMAN (ink-er-man'), a town in the 
government of Taurida, Russia, situated at the 
eastern extremity of Sebastopol harbor. It is 
celebrated on account of a battle that occurred 
on Nov. 5, 1854, between the Russian army and 
the allied French and English forces. The Rus¬ 
sians led an attack early in the morning under 
cover of darkness, but were defeated by the al¬ 
lies. On the battlefield is a monument to com¬ 
memorate the event. 

INNOCENTS’ DAY, a day set apart to 
commemorate the massacre of the children at 
Bethlehem, who are called the Holy Innocents 
and considered as the earliest martyrs in the 
Christian cause. It is sometimes called Childer¬ 
mas and Feast of Holy Innocents, and is cele¬ 
brated on Dec. 28th by the Roman Catholic and 
Anglican churches. The Greek church observes 
this day on Dec. 29th. 

INNSBRUCK (ms'prook), a city in Austria, 
capital of Tyrol, situated on the Inn River. Its 
site has an elevation of 1,875 feet above sea 
level and near it are ranges of mountains from 
7,500 to 8,60p feet high. It is well connected by 
several trunk railroads and electric railway lines. 
The manufactures include silks, machinery, 
woolen and cotton goods, ribbons, and gloves. 
It has considerable trade in merchandise, live 
stock, and fruits. Its important buildings in¬ 
clude a celebrated university founded in 1677, 
the Franciscan Church, containing an elaborate 
monument to Maximilian I., a number of monas¬ 
teries, and an imperial palace. The university 
has 98 instructors, 1,150 students, and a library 
of 100,000 volumes. A famous monument of 
Walther von der Vogelweide stands in a public 
place. The streets are handsomely improved, 
being well paved and drained, and are orna¬ 
mented by many statues and beautiful parks. 
Population, 1906, 28,065. 

INNS OF CHANCERY, the name of cer¬ 
tain buildings in London, England. They were 
erected as places of residence and study for law 
students, and formerly were subordinate to the 
Inns of Courts. Several are still maintained as 
societies, but now have no public function, and 
are occupied mainly by solicitors. The principal 
buildings of this class at present are Clifford’s 
Inn and Furnivall’s, 






INNS OF COURTS 


1096 


INSANE ASYLUM 


INNS OF COURTS, the four sets of build¬ 
ings in London, England, that belong to the legal 
societies in which is vested the exclusive right of 
admitting persons to practice at the bar. These 
four buildings are known as Lincoln’s Inn, the 
Inner Temple, Gray’s Inn, and the Middle Tem¬ 
ple, and they belong to the four legal societies 
of the same name. They had their origin about 
the end of tire 13th century, and as early as the 
Middle Ages became famous as schools of law. 
The members consist of students, barristers, and 
benchers. Each inn is self-governing under a 
committee or board of the benchers, who are 
usually senior council or king’s council. This 
governing board is self-perpetuated. It has the 
right to admit to the bar, disbar from practice, 
and reject a candidate without stating its rea¬ 
sons for refusal. One of the benchers is elected 
annually as treasurer, and this election qualifies 
him to be the presiding or chief officer. The 
term barrister is applied to all those members 
who are at least 21 years of age, and who have 
been called to the bar by the benchers of the inn 
of which they were students. 

INOCULATION (m-ok-fi-la'shun), the art 
of communicating the virus of a particular dis¬ 
ease to the system through the skin, or other¬ 
wise. Its purpose is to produce a mild form of 
some contagion and thereby protect the human 
body against contracting a highly dangerous 
form of the disease. Emanuel Timoni, a Greek 
physician, wrote a letter from Constantinople in 
1713 favorable to inoculation, but it was not 
firmly established as a safeguard against small¬ 
pox until 1798, when it was introduced by Dr. 
Jenner. Inoculation is efficient only in dis¬ 
eases which attack the body but once, such as 
smallpox and measles. A mild form of the 
disease is experienced by the person artificially 
inoculated and this protects him against the 
contagion, but the disease in a dangerous form 
may be communicated to others. 

INQUISITION (m-kwi-zish'un), a court or 
tribunal established by the sanction of the Ro¬ 
man Catholic Church in various countries for 
the purpose of examining and punishing heretics. 
This tribunal was suggested by Saint Dominic, 
but was not founded until in the pontificate of 
Gregory IX., when a synod at Toulouse, in 1229, 
resolved upon it, and it became formally estab¬ 
lished in 1233. The plan instituted carried with 
it the appointment of a priest and several lay¬ 
men in every parish for the purpose of bringing 
heretics before the bishops. Soon after the pow¬ 
er of trial was delegated to the Dominicans, and 
the tribunal became known as the Holy Office or 
the Holy Inquisition. The practice continued 
for several centuries, torture being applied in 


some cases to extract evidence, but in 1560 the 
power of tribunal courts was transferred to the 
bishop. The Inquisition was introduced into 
Italy, France, and other countries, but attained 
the most widespread influence in Spain. In that 
country were large numbers of Mohammedans 
and Jews, who professed Christianity for the 
sake of shelder from persecution, but continued 
the practice of their religious rites and even 
sought converts to their respective faiths. 

In 1481 the Inquisition was established at Se¬ 
ville under formal sanction of Ferdinand and 
Isabella. Two Dominicans were made the first 
judges. Later it extended to other towns, where 
it was popular among the clergy and lower or¬ 
ders, but was opposed by the middle classes and 
the nobles. Fully 2,000 persons were held by 
the Inquisition the first two years and burned 
alive. In 1571 it was introduced into Mexico 
and Peru. Napoleon I. suppressed it in 1808, 
and it was likewise abolished by the Spanish 
Cortes in 1813, but was reestablished in 1814 
and again*abolished in 1820. The decree of Na¬ 
poleon in 1808 against the Inquisition abolished 
it in Italy, but Pius VII. restored it to Rome in 
1814. 

The Inquisition never became established in 
England. When Conrad of Marburg made an 
attempt, in the 13th century, to establish the In¬ 
quisition in Germany, he was assassinated, and it 
never gained a firm foothold there. Juan An¬ 
tonio Llorante (1756-1823), a Spanish historian, 
estimates that the victims of the Spanish In¬ 
quisition, in the period of 481 to 1808, num¬ 
bered 341,021 persons, of whom 32,000 were 
burned alive and 17,659 were burned in effigy. 
In 1848, when the dungeons of the Inquisition 
were opened in Rome, a powerful sentiment 
was created throughout Europe against the 
institution and the Papacy, causing the prac¬ 
tice to decline. However, Archbishop Spalding 
and other creditable authorities assert that it is 
difficult to prove an instance of death for heresy 
at Rome. The Inquisition is now known as the 
Congregation of the Holy Office, under which 
the press censorship has been supervised for 
some time. The purpose is to suppress so-called 
heretical literature. 

INSANE ASYLUM (in-san' a-si'lum), an 
institution established for the care and treat¬ 
ment of the insane. The monasteries were the 
retreats of those who suffered with unsoundness 
of the mind in an early period of the Christian 
era, and out of these grew the bedlams, or beth- 
lehems, formerly common to England. In many 
countries the insane were greatly neglected. 
They were imprisoned, tormented, and even ex¬ 
ecuted as criminals, A more humane view was 


INSANITY 


1097 


taken as civilization advanced, and they came to 
be looked upon as specially unfortunate or 
stricken for some mortal sin by the Divine. 
However, asylums for the insane are strictly 
modern institutions, and they may be said to 
date from the early part of the 19th century. 
They are maintained chiefly as institutions be¬ 
longing to the state or province, and are open to 
all who are adjudged insane after due examina¬ 
tion by a competent committee or commission. 
In some instances the afflicted are kept at the 
state asylum until they are cured or until it 
becomes established that they are incurable, and 
in the latter case they may be turned over to the 
authorities in the county from which they were 
sent, when they are placed as incurable inmates 
in a county hospital. The treatment of the in¬ 
sane is conducted on a humane basis, at the ex¬ 
pense of the state, and a large number of cures 
are reported every year. 

INSANITY (m-san'i-ty), a general term ap¬ 
plied to disorders of the intellect, or unsound¬ 
ness of the mind. The nervous textures are pri¬ 
marily involved in this disease. Since the mind 
manifests itself by the brain, a restoration of 
the perverted functions of the brain by appropri¬ 
ate treatment of its structures- is necessary to ef¬ 
fect a cure. Many terms are employed by med¬ 
ical writers to designate the different phases of 
insanity, but the most common are idiocy, ma¬ 
nia, dementia, melancholia, cretinism, and aber¬ 
ration. Idiocy is a congenital or an acquired de¬ 
fect of the mental faculties, and prevails as a 
total want or partial defect of the understand¬ 
ing. Malformation of the cranium or brain is a 
common origin of congenital idiocy, while a dis¬ 
ease of the brain, mechanical injury to the brain, 
or excessive sensual indulgences may result in 
acquired idiocy. Mania is a form of furious in¬ 
sanity resulting from disorder of one or more of 
the faculties, and is generally accompanied by 
frenzy and blind impulses. 

Dementia differs from idiocy in being curable. 
It is a gradual weakening of the mental pow¬ 
ers, such as loss of memory, confusion of 
thoughts, weak-mindedness, and loss of volition. 
Melancholia is characterized by a depression of 
the spirits, brooding over mournful ideas, and 
grieving about a real or apparent loss. This 
form is brought on by failure in matters of busi¬ 
ness, love, religion, and personal ambitions, and 
not infrequently results in suicide. Cretinism 
is a form of idiocy and is associated with a 
bodily malformation. Aberration is a form of 
mental eccentricity. It is manifested in ram¬ 
bling thoughts and by error in perception, and is 
due largely to an abnormal state of the percep¬ 
tive faculties. 


INSECTICIDE 

Institutions for the care and treatment of the 
insane are maintained by provincial or general 
governments in all civilized nations. Marked 
strides of advancement have been made in these 
institutions, though insanity is apparently on 
the increase. It is of interest to note that the 
excessive use of tobacco at an immature age 
and the intemperate use of alcoholic drinks, 
opium, and morphine are prolific causes, and 
that during the time of financial panics the 
per cent, of insane cases, like suicide, are most 
numerous. Insanity is an excuse in law for 
the commission of acts which in others would 
be crimes, for the reason that an insane person 
has no intention. It likewise deprives a person 
from entering into any valid contract. 

INSECTICIDE (m-sek'ti-sid), a prepara¬ 
tion used for destroying insects. The insecti¬ 
cides are in many cases similar to the fungicides, 
which are used for destroying fungi. Agencies 
to destroy insects are especially valuable in hor¬ 
ticulture, since otherwise the plants are defoliat¬ 
ed and the fruit is injured. Various devices 
and methods are employed for this purpose, but 
the application of poisonous substances through 
the spray pump or some similar device is in 
most common use. However, they must be ap¬ 
plied with much care, else the person engaged 
in the work may become poisoned, or the appli¬ 
cation may be made at a time when the fruit 
itself will be injured or rendered unwholesome. 
The best time to spray the plants is when the 
insects or fungi make their first appearance. 
All parts of the plant should be carefully 
sprayed, which usually requires a ladder, espe¬ 
cially where the application is to be made to 
bushes and trees. Plants should not be sprayed 
while they are in blossom, especially those from 
which the fruit is to be used. 

The successful application of insecticides de¬ 
pends upon the insect coming in contact with the 
poison, or in absorbing a part of it while feeding 
upon the sap or leaves of the plant. A good so¬ 
lution for spraying consists of adding one pound 
of slaked lime to twenty gallons of water, to 
which two ounces of Paris green is added before 
mixing. An arsenite of lime obtained in the 
manufacture of aniline dyes, known as London 
purple, is used in the same way as Paris green, 
but it is somewhat more caustic on the foliage. 
Sucking insects can be destroyed by an emul¬ 
sion of kerosene. It may be prepared by dis¬ 
solving a pound of hard soap in a gallon of hot 
water, to which a gallon of kerosene is added 
and thoroughly mixed. This may be diluted 
by twenty gallons of water, if a strong solution 
is wanted, and about twice that amount may be 
added for a weak solution. Scale insects and 


INSECTIVORA 


1098 


INSECTS 


bark lice common to fruit trees may be destroyed 
by using a lye wash. The principal fungicides 
are made of sulphur, copper carbonate, and cop¬ 
per sulphate. 

INSECTIVORA (in-sek-tiv'6-ra), an order 
of placental mammals, including about 250 spe¬ 
cies, none of which is large in size. They are so 
named because they subsist largely on insects, 
although many are not exclusively insectivor¬ 
ous. Nearly all of the animals belonging to this 
order are timid and nocturnal in their habits, 
and they serve the useful purpose in nature of 
counteracting an undue increase of worms and 
insects. The molar teeth are fitted to break the 
coverings of insects, the legs are short, and most 
species step squarely on the soles of their feet. 
This order of mammals includes the mole, 
hedgehog, and shrew. 

INSECTS, a group of anthropods known as 
the class Insecta or Hexapoda. They comprise 
the most numerous class of animals, of which 


the typical species have their bodies divided 
into three parts—the head, the thorax, and 
the abdomen. Formerly centipedes and spiders, 
and some other animal forms, were enumerated 
with the insects, but now only animals having 
three pairs of legs are classed as insects. How¬ 
ever, a perfect classification has not been estab¬ 
lished. Linnaeus classified the insect;, into the 
seven groups known as the Coleopic/a, or the 
beetles; the Diptcra, or the two-wingcd insects; 
the Hymenoptera, or gauze-winged insects; the 
Lepidoptera, or the moths and butterflies; the 
Hcmiptera, or stinging and sucking insects; the 
Orthoptera, such as the grasshoppers and cock¬ 
roaches; and the Neuroptera, or those having 
membranous wings and mouth organs fitted for 
chewing. The legs of insects are all affixed to 


the thorax, have from six to nine joints, and 
are designed to move with facility, enabling the 
insect to walk, run, swim, and in a few cases to 
facilitate flight. Two pairs of wings are pres¬ 
ent in most species, though in some one or the 
other of the pairs may be wanting. Two an¬ 
tennae or feelers facilitate movement, or rather 
aid in guarding against danger, while the eyes 
are in pairs, but usually compound. The respi¬ 
ration is by air tubes or trachea, which extend 
through every part of the body. 

The typical insect has thirteen segments, one 
of which constitutes the head, three the thorax, 
and nine the abdomen. The mouth is of two 
forms, masticatory and suctorial; the former is 
typified in the beetles and the latter in butter¬ 
flies and mosquitoes. The organ of circulation 
is called the dorsal vessel and consists of a con¬ 
tractile organism with circulatory functions. The 
alimentary canal is constituted of a gullet, .crop, 
gizzard, stomach, and intestine, and terminates in 
a cloaca. A series of 
ganglia make up the 
nervous system. Most 
insects are oviparous, 
the sexes are in dif- 
f erent individuals, 
and the reproduction 
is sexual, but in some 
species nonsexual re¬ 
production occurs. 

Most species of in¬ 
sects have a more or 
less horny skin, and 
all pass through three 
stages of develop¬ 
ment. These phases 
of life include that of 
caterpillar, larva, or 
grub ; that of the 
chrysalis or pupa; 
and that of the perfect winged insect or imago. 
The life of an insect depends somewhat upon 
climate and season, though the larval state is 
of longest duration, and that of the perfect 
insect is the shortest. Some species die im¬ 
mediately after laying their eggs, others live 
th i remainder of the season, and some endure 
a number of years, as in the case of the queen 
bee, whose life sometimes extends to a period 
of five years. Most insects have ample means 
of protection, though this exists principally in 
their ability to fly rapidly, and some protect 
themselves by defensive organs, as in the case 
of hornets and bees. It is thought that there 
are fully a half million species of insects, but 
about 200,000 are known, and these are more 
or less confined to particular regions. Thus, 



A, Cotton Boll Weevil; B, Chinch Bug; C, Hessian Fly; D, Cotton Boll Moth, 











INSECTS 


1099 


INSTINCT 


the insects of China differ from those of 
Europe, and those of North America are no¬ 
ticeably different from the species which are 
common to other grand divisions. However, 
some of the species are widely diffused, of 
which the painted lady butterfly is a noted ex¬ 
ample. 

Many species of insects are cumbersome pests 
to man. Some display great hostility and al¬ 
most constitute a barrier to his success in some 
portions of the earth, yet they are a very neces¬ 
sary and useful part of nature. Among the 
helpful purposes they serve are that they fer¬ 
tilize plants, furnish food for birds, beasts, and 
reptiles, and consume much of the decaying mat¬ 
ters that would otherwise render the climate of 
some regions extremely unhealthful. They per¬ 
vade nature everywhere. Some burrow in the 
ground, bore in trees, live under and above 
.water, or thrive on and in plants. Many species 
subsist in other insects or larger forms of life 
as parasitic animal forms. 

Among the most useful insects is the bee, 
wh ch furnishes honey and in some countries 
produces beebread for the support of human 
life. Silkworms yield material for clothing, and 
their culture is a vast industry in many coun¬ 
tries. The common wood ant is used extensive¬ 
ly in Europe for the manufacture of vinegar, 
and in France as a valuable material in produc¬ 
ing flavoring. In some countries the locusts, 
though destructive to vegetation, constitute a 
valuable food for man an animals. The cochi¬ 
neal insects supply a valuable coloring matter, 
while even the grub is a useful article of food 
in the West Indies. The bee furnishes wax, the 
blister beetle supplies useful irritant juices, and 
others serve like economic purposes. 

Among the insects which are most injurious 
to man may be named the Hessian fly, potato 
bug, chinch bug, army worm, cotton boll weevil, 
cotton boll moth, and grasshopper, all of which 
attack growing crops. The moths, lice, fleas, 
bedbugs, mosquitoes, flies, ants, and others in¬ 
vade the home, if proper precaution is not taken. 
Though generally pestiferous, the mosquito is a 
source of much good in that it is utilized in 
Central Africa for the manufacture of a form 
of cakes and serves a wise purpose in devour¬ 
ing decaying substances. While insects inhabit 
practically all parts of the world, they are much 
more abundant in tropical climates, where they 
live longer and attain to larger forms than in 
the colder zones. Among the noted persons who 
have written extensively on insects and made 
valuable discoveries are Aristotle, Humboldt, 
Linnaeus, Cuvier, Marcello Malpighi (1628- 
1694), Haeckel, and Pasteur. In America, as 


in . Europe, many experimental stations are 
maintained in connection with colleges of agri¬ 
culture for the purpose of investigating the uses 
of insects and the agencies that operate to de¬ 
stroy them. Besides, it is aimed to discover new 
species which are still unknown in their rav¬ 
ages, such as the minute forms in France which 
for years destroyed the grape industry. How¬ 
ever, these and many others have been success¬ 
fully counteracted by the application of de¬ 
structive . agencies. Among the substances used 
against insect pests are Paris green, London 
purple, sulphur, hellebore, kerosene, soaps, to¬ 
bacco, lime, naphthalene, and arsenate of lead. 

INSESSORES (in-ses-so'rez), a name ap¬ 
plied by many writers to a large order of birds, 
which includes the perchers. The order em¬ 
braces all those that live habitually among trees, 
excluding only the climbing birds and the birds 
of prey. Their feet are adapted to walking and 
perching. They possess much contriving inge¬ 
nuity in building their nests. The order of in- 
sessores embraces all the more noted and 
beautiful birds of song. 

INSOMNIA (in-s6m'm-a), or Sleepless¬ 
ness, a condition due to some emotional dis¬ 
order, such as exhaustion, worry, or excitement. 
It is treated by removing the cause, if it can 
be ascertained, and by applying hygienic meas¬ 
ures. Although in practice it is customary to 
resort to drugs, ventilation, careful dieting, 
massage, and hot baths are the best curative 
agents. 

INSPIRATION (in-sp!-ra'shun), in theol¬ 
ogy, the influence exercised upon the human 
mind by the Holy Spirit, through the influence 
of which the understanding is widened and all 
the mental faculties are quickened. It is in 
this sense that the term inspiration -is used in 
regard to the Scriptures, which are held to be 
the writings of men who were inspired by the 
divine mind to reveal and communicate to man 
what is essential for his salvation. However, 
the degree and extent as well as the mode of 
inspiration are subjects of dispute. 

INSTINCT (m'stinkt), a natural impulse by 
which animals are directed without reasoning 
toward the actions that are essential to their 
existence, preservation, and development. The 
theories advanced regarding animal instinct in¬ 
clude at least three. These are that each species 
is endowed by the Creator with various facul¬ 
ties and impulses; that the instincts have result¬ 
ed from consecutive repetition, and these have 
been transmitted by inheritance to subsequent 
generations; and that they arise from unknown 
causes, though the more complex are modified 
through natural selection and the simpler actions 


INSTITUTE 


1100 


INSULATOR 


of an instinctive nature. In some animal forms 
the instincts are developed to a high state of 
perfection, as is the case in bees, by which they 
are enabled to construct cells with a perfection 
that would tax quite highly the reasoning pow¬ 
ers of man, and he would be able to secure 
equal results only by the application of the 
higher mathematics. Darwin thought that ani¬ 
mals in the past as now have varied in mental 
qualities, and that those variations are inherited. 
He likewise thought that by natural selection 
the instincts of many animals have been devel¬ 
oped to a higher degree. 

INSTITUTE (in'sti-tut), a scientific body 
or society established under certain rules for 
the promotion of some particular object, as a 
literary or philosophical association. The term 
is applied in France to the principal society of 
its kind in the world, which was formed in 1795 
by the union of the four principal royal acade¬ 
mies—the Academie des Belles-Lettres et In¬ 
scription, Academie Frangaise, Academie Royale 
des Sciences, and Academie Royale d’Architec¬ 
ture. Since 1848 it has been known officially as 
the Institut National de France, but English 
writers usually term it the Institute of France. 
At present this great institution embraces five 
distinct divisions, each of which represents a 
particular field of knowledge. The divisions are 
Academie Frangaise, Academie des Beaux-Arts, 
Academie des Sciences, Academie des Inscrip¬ 
tions et Belles-Lettres, and Academie des 
Sciences Morales et Politiques. In each division 
is a distinct organization, but all are closely 
affiliated, and the control of the finances of 
each academy is under a distinct board. Mem¬ 
bership is for life, with a salary of 1,500 francs. 
To become a member df this celebrated organ¬ 
ization is a worthy ambition of every French¬ 
man of educational advancement. 

INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH (in-sti-tu'- 
shiun-al), the name given to a form of organi¬ 
zation in a church or society to distinguish it 
from the so-called ritualistic church. In the 
former it is made an objective point to secure 
the general development of the individual, a line 
of training that involves mental, physical, and 
moral elevation through personal activity, while 
in the ritualistic church the belief, sacraments, 
and forms of worship are emphasized. The 
movement to demand activity and apparent re¬ 
sults in the improvement of both the outward 
and inward life of the members has gained 
much ground in England and America since 
1840. Though the new function originated about 
1840, it may be said that a recognized movement 
did not begin until fifty years later, and an im¬ 
petus was added by the extension of university 


settlements, evangelistic efforts, and the Salva¬ 
tion Army, and through these agencies many 
were reached that could scarcely be brought into 
contact with Christian influences by the use of 
other recognized lines of church work. Besides 
calling upon the members for personal work 
along religious lines, the institutional church 
required activity in social, educational, and phys¬ 
ical effort. To promote these lines extensively, 
it is made an objective point to establish libra¬ 
ries, gymnasiums, employment bureaus, hospitals, 
night and day classes, and lecture courses, in all 
of which the Christian work is made an impor¬ 
tant feature. In 1894 the Open and Institutional 
Church League was organized in New York 
City. It is supported by a number of prominent 
so-called institutional churches, including the 
Berkeley Temple, Boston; People’s Palace, Jer¬ 
sey City; Pilgrim Church, Cleveland; People’s 
Church, Saint Paul; Plymouth Church, Indian-, 
apolis; Judson Memorial, New York; the Taber¬ 
nacle, Denver; All Souls’ Church, Chicago; and 
People’s College, Detroit. 

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC (in-stru-men- 
tal), the music which is produced by instru¬ 
ments, as distinguished from singing or vocal 
music. Purely instrumental music was known 
in ancient Greece, and it is said that the flute 
was played publicly at the Pythian games. How¬ 
ever, the art of arranging the part of a compo¬ 
sition for the orchestra, which is known as in¬ 
strumentation, is of comparatively recent origin. 
Johann Sebastian Bach is properly regarded the 
originator of modern instrumentation, and his 
masterpieces are unrivaled even at the present 
time. Proficiency in instrumentation, which is 
also called orchestration, requires a thorough 
knowledge of music and of musical instruments, 
since some instruments sound chords in a man¬ 
ner to produce exquisite harmony, which, when 
sounded by others, result in discordant strains. 
Beethoven, Hayden, Mozart, Schubert, Wagner, 
and Weber are among the celebrated masters of 
orchestration. 

INSULATOR (m'su-la-ter), a body or sub¬ 
stance which offers great resistance to the pas¬ 
sage of electricity. A body that carries the charge 
readily is called a conductor, while one which 
carries it with difficulty is termed an insulator. 
Wire is a good example of the former, though 
it is not an absolute conductor, since there are 
no substances that act as perfect conductors or 
insulators. Among the more notable insulating 
materials are glasfe, paper, silk, shellac, gutta¬ 
percha, and dry wood. Both temperature and 
moisture have a decided effect upon the con¬ 
ductivity of bodies. Dry air is an insulator, 
while moist air is a conductor. Porcelain and 


INSURANCE 


1101 


INSURANCE 


glass cones are used as insulators at points 
where telegraph and telephone wires are sup¬ 
ported on posts or brackets. Wires carrying 
currents for electric lights usually pass through 
porcelain cones adjusted in the woodwork of 
buildings, thus furnishing insulation as protec¬ 
tion against electric sparks that may result 
through a short circuit, or otherwise, in case 
the covering of the wire becomes impaired. 

INSURANCE (m-shur'ans), a system by 
which a company, in consideration of a sum of 
money paid, becomes bound to indemnify the 
insured or his representatives against losses by 
accident, fire, or storm, or, in case of life insur¬ 
ance, to pay a certain amount in the event of 
death. The different classes of insurance now 
recognized include principally fire and lightning 
insurance, life insurance, accident insurance, ma¬ 
rine insurance, and insurance against cyclones 
and tornadoes. Among the earliest instances of 
insurance is the one connected with the Second 
Punic War against the Romans. The first sys¬ 
tematic insurance mentioned in modern times 
is that of Barcelona, where the magistrates is¬ 
sued ordinances, in 1435, relating to this class of 
business, though special instances of insurance 
by potentates in cases of marine commerce and 
losses in agriculture by storms are mentioned 
much earlier. In the reign of Elizabeth, in 
1601, the English statutes first recognized insur¬ 
ance, but in continental Europe it was systema¬ 
tized and legalized some earlier. Marine insur¬ 
ance is the oldest form, and was instituted for 
the encouragement of commercial relations with 
other countries among many of the governments 
of the Middle Ages. 

At present insurance has assumed vast pro¬ 
portions and represents a large volume of ac¬ 
cumulated capital. It has become greatly di¬ 
versified, each class of insurance being subdi¬ 
vided into many departments and covering 
greatly diversified classes of risks on life and 
property. Some of the most beautiful and costly 
buildings in the world are owned by insurance 
companies as an investment, and they* likewise 
hold large interests in government and railroad 
bonds, canal securities, stocks, farm and city 
loans, and mining stocks and bonds. In the 
insurance business two distinct classes are rec¬ 
ognized, mutual and stock companies. The mu¬ 
tual insurance companies are the newer and 
represent organizations in which the individual 
insured participates in all the profits of the com¬ 
pany and contributes directly in case of losses, 
while in stock companies individuals are insured 
for a definite amount and receive definite pay¬ 
ments in case of loss. Besides these classes are 
fraternal insurance companies, in which the fra¬ 


ternal and insurance features are combined in 
a society or in an association. In this class and 
several others the assured is assessed each month 
to cover the losses by deaths. Mutual companies 
are maintained to a considerable extent among 
farmers and other classes, in which they insure 
each other against property losses by fire, light¬ 
ning, or storms. 

Life insurance is based upon the experience 
of different companies, on which they assume 
risks and calculate their sources of profit and 
loss. Below is a synopsis of an insurance table, 
in which is shown the experience of thirty life 
insurance companies: 


AGE, 

YEARS. 

deaths 

PER 

1,000 

UFE 

EXPECTA¬ 
TION in 
YEARS. 

AGE AT 
PROBABLE 
DEATH IN 
YEARS. 

20... 

7.29 

41.49 

61.49 

30. 

8.43 

34.43 

64 34 

40. 

10 36 

27.28 

67 . 2 Z 

50. 

15.94 

20.18 

70.18 

60. 

30.34 

13.77 

73.77 

70. 

64.93 

8.54 

78.54 

80. 

140.41 

4.78 

84.78 

90. 

323.73 

2.11 

92.11 

99. 

1,000.00 

.50 

99.50 


A number of terms are used in the insurance 
business, these being recognized both in law 
and contracts as more or less clearly implying 
certain parties or facts. Among them are the 
terms underwriter or insurer, meaning the party 
taking the risk. The assured or insured is the 
party who is promised compensation in case of 
loss. The premium is the amount paid for in¬ 
surance, the policy is the written contract, the 
risks or perils constitute the events insured 
against, and the insurable interest is the interest, 
subject, or right to be protected. The laws of 
all the civilized countries have been constructed 
with a view of bearing upon the insurance inter¬ 
ests and protecting the assured against fraud or 
loss by unsound companies. In all companies 
the premium paid is governed by. the nature 
of the risk taken. Property which is exposed 
to unusual danger requires the payment of a 
higher premium, while the age and class of in¬ 
dividuals influence largely the premium in life; 
insurance companies. Although the adjustment 
of these matters is left largely to individual 
companies, they are under legal supervision, and 
adequate security to the insured is explicitly de¬ 
manded under all circumstances. 

The enormous business done by life insurance 
companies of the United States has had more 
or less attention the past decade. Twenty-five 
leading companies wrote $1,250,000,000 of new 
insurance in 1908, and the new policies of these 
companies for the last three years were $3,500,- 

















INTELLECT 


1102 INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE 


000,000, which is a billion more than all insur¬ 
ance in force in the country twenty years ago. 
To obtain the business in 1908 premiums amount¬ 
ing to about $50,000,000 were paid. Fully $32,- 
000,000 of the premiums went for commissions 
to solicitors and $11,000,000 was paid for estab¬ 
lishing agencies and for advertising. Nearly 
half of all the insurance in the country is car¬ 
ried by three-companies in New York City—the 
Equitable, the Mutual Life, and the New York 
Life. In 1908 a total of 6,050,000 life insurance 
policies were in force, and the total amount in¬ 
sured was $12,235,000,000, or a little more than 
$2,000 to the policy. These figures dp not in¬ 
clude industrial life insurance, which is about 
twice as large as ordinary life. 

INTELLECT (Tn'tel-lekt), the power or 
faculty of the human soul by which it knows. 
It is sometimes defined as the soul acting. 
Ideas are communicated to us by the senses 
or by other means. Through the intellect the 
soul becomes able to perceive objects in their 
relations, upon which depends its power of judg¬ 
ing, reasoning, and comprehending. It is dis¬ 
tinguished from the other two powers of the 
soul; namely, the power to feel and the power 
to will. 

INTEREST (in'ter-est), an allowance or 
premium for the use or detention of money. 
The profit paid on borrowed money is called 
interest, the money on which interest is paid 
is. termed the principal, and the interest and, 
principal taken together constitute the sum or 
amount. . Interest is either simple or compound. 
Simple interest is computed at a certain rate 
for the whole time on the loan. Compound in¬ 
terest arises when the simple interest is not paid 
.when due. To illustrate: $100 at six per cent, 
for one year amounts to $106. For the second 
year the principal is $106, the interest is $6.36, 
and the amount is $112.36. The rate of interest 
depends upon various conditions, among them 
the amount of money in circulation in a given 
country or state, the demand for money, the 
amount offered for investment, and the nature 
of the security offered, or the personal liability 
of the borrower. The legal rate of interest is a 
rate allowed by law, and any excess charged is 
termed usury. In some states a rate higher 
than the legal rate may be provided by contract, 
as in Iowa, where the legal rate is six per cent., 
but by contract eight per cent, may be stipulated. 
Contracts providing more than the rate of in¬ 
terest allowed by law are void and not collec¬ 
tible. 

INTEREST, in mental science, the excite¬ 
ment of feeling, either pleasant or painful, which 
accompanies special attention to some object. It 


involves a more or less conscious recognition of 
some relation to self, and is essential to the best 
success of any mental effort. To awaken interest 
in worthy things* as in the subjects of instruc¬ 
tion, is an indispensable condition to the true 
success of the teacher. Primarily the young 
pupil feels no interest in the school studies, since 
the immature mind is unable to appreciate their 
importance and has no desire to acquire a 
knowledge of the subjects of which they treat. 
But the skillful teacher is able to stimulate curi¬ 
osity and impress upon the mind of the pupil 
the idea that he is acquiring knowledge, and 
thus to awaken an interest in the process of in¬ 
struction. It is easy to sustain the interest when 
these processes are appropriate and natural, and 
a lack of interest is usually due either to previ¬ 
ous defective teaching or to the endeavor to 
teach subjects for which the mind of the pupil 
is not prepared. Psychologically the mind has 
as much appetite for knowledge of the right kind 
as the body has physically for proper food. 
Hence, the teacher needs to study to determine 
the character of mental food proper for every 
age, so as to supply the kind that will stimulate 
and satisfy the mental appetite. 

INTERIOR (m-te'ri-er), Department of 
the. See United States, Departments of the. 

INTERLAKEN (m-ter-la'ken), meaning be¬ 
tween the lakes, a village of Switzerland,, situ¬ 
ated in the valley of the Aar, between lakes 
Brienz and Thun. It was founded by Augustine 
monks in 1130, and is noted as a favorite health 
and pleasure resort. About 35,000 tourists visit 
the place annually. It has an old monastery 
which was founded in 1130, in which both 
Protestant and Catholic services are held during 
the season. The railroad connections are con¬ 
venient, making it possible for tourists to visit 
many points of historical interest and witness 
the most celebrated glaciers and other noted 
natural sceneries within its vicinity. Population 
1908, 3,041. 

INTERMEZZO (en-ter-med'z6), an inter¬ 
lude inserted between two main parts of instru¬ 
mental works, such as a drama or an opera. 
The name is sometimes applied to the entire 
production, intended to be played independently 
or between two more extensive pieces. Origin¬ 
ally the intermezzos were short musical inter¬ 
ludes designed to be performed between the acts 
of a tragedy. In the 17th century they treated 
largely of mythological subjects or were comic, 
and these were performed between two serious 
acts. 

INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE (In-ter- 

nash'un-^1), a line drawn arbitrarily near the 
180° meridian of longitude, in the Pacific Ocean, 


INTERNATIONAL LAW 


1103 INTERNATIONAL PEACE CONF. 


' This line is located quite closely to the 180° 
meridian of longitude from the South Pacific 
to the Bering Sea, whence it passes. through 
Bering Strait. It designates the place where 
a navigator on a trans-Pacific voyage changes 
his date of reckoning time. The use of the word 
international in connection with this date line is 
sanctioned only by practice, as the principal na¬ 
tions have not created a joint commission to 
locate such a line definitely, but the term has 
come into general use and the meridian desig¬ 
nated is quite generally accepted by navigators. 
That the 180° meridian has been chosen is based 
upon the fact that it is located exactly twelve 
hours from Greenwich, though this is not essen¬ 
tial or material, as any point could have been 
chosen by agreement or established by practice. 
However, the fact that it is located near the 
middle of the Pacific Ocean, a great distance 
from civilization and populous countries, is a 
practical reason for choosing this locality, and 
.no doubt this fact offers the best argument in its 
favor. 

The explanation for having a date line is 
founded on the fact that a person traveling west 
or east lengthens or shortens his day one hour 
for every 15° traveled, since he moves with the 
sun in traveling west and in the opposite direc¬ 
tion from the sun in traveling east. In moving 
eastward, a traveler shortens each day four 
minutes for every terrestrial degree he travels, 
and when having gone entirely around the earth 
he will have gained one day. To him the first 
of the month is the second, and according to his 
reckoning Sunday is Monday. On the other 
hand, a traveler who moves westward lengthens 
each day four minutes for every terrestrial de¬ 
gree traveled, and if he passes entirely around 
the earth he will have lost one 'day when he 
returns to the point from which he started. To 
him the second of the month is the first, and 
Monday to him is Sunday. If two persons were 
to start from the same place and travel around 
the earth in opposite directions, they would dif¬ 
fer from each other® two days in their reckoning, 
when they met in the place from which they 
started. The reason for having a date line is 
clear from this explanation, else it would be 
impossible to reckon days correctly, and travel¬ 
ers would differ in their time from that kept by 
people located at considerable distances east or 
west from the starting point. 

INTERNATIONAL LAW, the term ap¬ 
plied to what was formerly called the law of na¬ 
tions. It comprises the rules and established 
doctrines that govern states and nations in their 
conduct toward one another, and defines the 
relations of citizens of different countries in 


their social and commercial affairs. The system 
was created by modern nations and is recognized 
by the civilized peoples of the world. New rules 
are introduced by war and by treaties of peace. 
Among the more important matters provided for 
by international law is the equal and common 
right to sail upon the high seas, where all na¬ 
tions have equal authority to enforce their own 
laws and the established laws of nations. The 
domains of other nations cannot be interfered 
with, and, if a fugitive from justice escapes into 
a foreign state, the nation from which he es¬ 
caped has no right to enter the foreign country 
for his arrest, but may request that he be sur¬ 
rendered. 

The commercial relations of different coun¬ 
tries may be regulated by treaty without the in¬ 
terference of other nations, for which purpose 
all nations may send and receive public ministers 
or delegations, and their persons and property 
must be protected properly. Any visiting for¬ 
eigner is required to obey the laws of the coun¬ 
try in which he sojourns, and is entitled to the 
same treatment as the natives. In making 
treaties ministers usually treat with each other 
or with duly qualified representatives, but the 
compacts formed are not deemed binding and 
formal until they have been ratified by the re¬ 
spective governments. Liberties are granted to 
all nations alike for the purpose of extending 
their navigation, improving commercial and agri¬ 
cultural ‘industries, developing , national re¬ 
sources, making exploring expeditions, and 
establishing trade relations. In the time of war 
the property of the different nations involved, as 
well as of the persons engaged in unfriendly 
acts, are subject to capture anywhere, and neu¬ 
tral nations are bound to maintain impartiality 
as between the contending countries. Besides, 
neutral nations are understood to prevent every 
interference on the part of their subjects in 
the matter of aiding the hostile country or 
in any manner giving aid or support to the 
enemy. 

INTERNATIONAL PEACE CONFER¬ 
ENCE, a conference held in The Hague, in 
the Netherlands, from May 18 to July 29, 1899. 
It was convened at the suggestion of the Czar 
of Russia, who advanced an invitation to the 
principal nations of the world to participate 
in a conference with the view of securing a 
gradual reduction of the naval and military 
armaments. Twenty-six countries of the world 
participated, and the total delegates in attend¬ 
ance numbered 101. The principal work of the 
conference consisted of adopting a perfected 
code of the rules of war, recommending the 
larger use of balloons in warfare, and recom- 


INTERSTATE COMMERCE 


1104 


INTUITION 


mending that the question of the rights of neu¬ 
trals and private property be considered by fu¬ 
ture conventions. 

INTERSTATE COMMERCE, the name 
applied to the trade among the several states 
of the United States. Though considerable 
commerce was carried among the states at an 
early period in history, its rapid development 
properly began with the construction of rail¬ 
ways. In 1887 Congress passed an act known 
as the Interstate Commerce Act, intended to 
regulate trade between the states. Previous 
to the enactment of this law all common car¬ 
riers, either by rail or water, were permitted 
to discriminate against individuals or localities 
in granting rates and providing facilities to carry 
freights. It was charged that the railroad 
showed favoritism to certain shippers, and that 
they granted favorable rates under certain con¬ 
ditions, and, on the other hand, frequently made 
them exorbitant and oppressive. By the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Act all this was prohibited, and 
the transportation companies were barred from 
concealing the rates charged, from changing 
rates without due notice, and from pooling the 
traffic and dividing the profits. This act created 
a commission of five members, known as the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, with power 
to investigate alleged violations of the.act and 
to require reports from carriers in regard to 
their operations. An important amendment was 
enacted in 19J36, by which the commission be¬ 
came empowered to fix the rates to be charged 
and to set aside those found to be unreason¬ 
able. The operation of the law has been to 
protect the small shippers against the destruc¬ 
tive competition of the larger ones. It has 
tended toward benefiting smaller communities 
or cities, in that it operated to cause the rates 
to be less advantageous to the larger distrib¬ 
uting points. 

INTESTINES (m-tes'tinz), the portion of 
the digestive organ situated below the stomach. 
It is commonly divided into the small and large 
intestines. The former has an average length 
of about 23 feet and includes the duodenum, 
jejunum, and ileum, while the latter, which ex¬ 
tends nearly around the small intestine, includes 
the caecum, colon, and rectum? The small in¬ 
testine extends from the pylorus of the stom¬ 
ach to a valvelike opening at the entrance of 
the large intestine, near the right groin. It is 
from one to one and a half inches in diameter. 
The first ten inches, known as the duodenum, 
receives the inflow from the ducts of the pan¬ 
creas and liver. The upper two-fifths of the 
remainder constitutes the jejunum, and the lower 
three-fifths forms the ileum. On the interior 


are many transverse projections and an im¬ 
mense number of minute threadlike processes 
called villi. These villi stand up and resemble 
the pile of velvet when immersed in water. 
Each villus contains a lacteal, a vein, and an 
artery. Food in the stomach moves forward 
through peristaltic action, which consists of slow 
and successive contractions of the muscular 
fibers within the tube. 

The large intestine is from five to six' feet 
long, from one to two and a half inches wide, 
and is greatly wrinkled and sacculated. Only 
a few glands occur in the depression of its 
mucous membrane, which is smooth and con¬ 
tains no villi. Between the small intestine and 
the colon is a valve of two segments, which 
prevents the contents of the colon from return¬ 
ing to the small intestines. Projecting from the 
lower end of the first part of the colon is a 
narrow, tapering tube known as the vermiform 
appendix. In this round objects sometimes stop, 
such as cherry stones, causing pain or inflam¬ 
mation. 

INTOXICATION (in-toks-I-ka'shun), the 
state produced in the system by the excessive 
use of a stimulant, such as opium, chloral, bella¬ 
donna, and alcoholic liquids. The intoxication 
is acute when a considerable quantity of poison¬ 
ous substances are taken at once, especially by 
a person not accustomed to its use. In the 
first stage of slight intoxication the blood cir¬ 
culates quite rapidly and the nervous and men¬ 
tal processes are stimulated. This state of ex¬ 
citement is soon followed by the second stage, 
in which the baser traits are manifested and 
the sense of propriety is lost. In the third stage 
an intoxicated person suffers from dizziness, 
stupor, double vision, and greatly weakened con¬ 
sciousness, and in some cases by fits of delirium. 
Delirium tremens often results from habitual 
intoxication and sometimes it causes alcoholic 
insanity. The excessive use of liquor frequently . 
induces vomiting, especially in those not accus¬ 
tomed to it. A cathartic, an emetic, or a Turk¬ 
ish bath may relieve a peVson when becom¬ 
ing drowsy from intoxication, and in extreme 
cases a stomach pump may be employed. 

INTUITION (in-tu-ish'un), the power of 
the mind by which we obtain ideas and truths 
not derived through the special senses, nor by 
an elaboration of the understanding. The prod¬ 
ucts of intuition are termed primary ideas, and 
include those of space, time, cause, identity, be¬ 
ing, right, and personal identity. Primary ideas, 
or primary truths, as they are sometimes called, 
are all self-evident, as the axioms of logic and 
mathematics. The ideas derived through the in¬ 
tuitive power spring up immediately in the mind 


INVERNESS 


1105 


IONA 


upon the presentation of the proper occasion. 
They are not the product of sensation or per¬ 
ception, but arise spontaneously. Some writers 
associate intuition with the instinct. Kant 
speaks of the intuitive power as the reason, 
a term quite appropriate, since it appears to be 
the element of the mind that gives to it a con¬ 
dition of rationality. 

INVERNESS (in-ver-nes'), a town in Scot¬ 
land, capital of Inverness-shire, on the Ness 
River, 105 miles northwest of Aberdeen. It is 
located near the Moray Firth, on the Caledonian 
Canal, and has railway transportation facilities. 
The chief buildings include the county hall, the 
cathedral, an insane asylum, and the Royal 
Academy. Among the manufactures are leather, 
cordage, spirituous liquors, woolen goods, iron¬ 
ware, and sailing vessels. It has considerable 
trade, gas and electric lighting, and substan¬ 
tially paved streets. Inverness was the capital 
of the Piets. It was destroyed by Charles 
Stuart in 1746. Population, 1S06, 22,103. 

INVERTEBRATA (in-ver-te-bra'ta), a 
subdivision of the animal kingdom. It includes 
the animals which have no vertebral column or 
backbone, and are distinguished from the higher 
group that possess a vertebral column, the latter 
being known as vertebra ta. In the invertebrate 
animals nothing resembling a cartilaginous spinal 
column is found, and the more solid portions of 
the body are on the outside, thus constituting 
a protective shell, as in the case of the oyster, 
lobster, and clam. Naturalists now recognize 
five different divisions of the invertebrate ani¬ 
mals : the mollusca, protozoa, annulosa, coelen- 
terata, and echinozoa or annuloida. 

INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION (in- 
vo-lu'shun, ev-6-lu'shun), in mathematics, two 
operations which are converse to each other. 
The object of involution is to raise a number 
to any power, which is done by multiplying the 
number by itself, as 2X2X2—8. Thus, the third 
power of two is eight. On the other hand, evo¬ 
lution is the extraction of a root of any num¬ 
ber; that is, by means of it we may find what 
number, when raised to a certain power, gives 
the known number. For instance, 64 is the 
power of some number, and by evolution we find 
that eight is the square root; thus eight multi¬ 
plied by eight equals 64. 

IODINE (i'o-din), a bluish-black non-me- 
tallic elementary crystalline substance. When 
heated it yields fumes of a rich violet hue. Io¬ 
dine belongs to the halogen group of elements, 
similar to bromine and chlorine. It is obtained 
principally from the ash of seaweeds called kelp, 
but occurs likewise in oceanic waters and min¬ 
eral springs. Iodine is found more or less 
70 


abundantly in marine molluscous animals, in 
cod-liver oil, and in certain plants common to 
the land. The lead, silver, and zinc ores of 
Mexico and Chile contain this product. It is 
employed in medicine and photography. In 
medicine it is used either in the pure state or 
as iodide potassium, and is useful in the treat¬ 
ment of scrofula, rheumatism, spleen and liver 
diseases, and many maladies as an agency to 
kill parasites. It is used in photography to pre¬ 
pare aniline colors and for other purposes. 
In the treatment of glandular affections, chlo¬ 
rosis, scrofula, and other diseases iodide of iron 
is a valuable remedy. 

IODOFORM (i-od'o-form), a compound of 
iodine, carbon, and hydrogen. It is similar to 
chloroform, but differs from the latter in that 
the chlorine is replaced with iodine. Iodoform 
is a yellow crystalline substance with a pene¬ 
trating odor and a sweetish taste. In water it 
is nearly insoluble, but it may be dissolved 
readily in ether or alcohol. It is valuable as 
a medicine, both as an antiseptic and an anaes¬ 
thetic. Being a solid, it is not employed as a 
general anaesthetic by inhalation, but is used 
as a local application to relieve pain, as in sores 
and ulcers. It is employed for cold in the head 
in the form of a snuff, but its disagreeable odor 
makes it difficult to use in this way. 

IOLA (i-6'la), a city in Kansas, county seat 
of Allen County, on the Neosho River, 37 miles 
west of Fort Scott. It is on the Missouri Pa¬ 
cific, r the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, and the 
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads, and 
is surrounded by a farming and natural gas pro¬ 
ducing country. The noteworthy buildings in¬ 
clude the county courthouse, the high school, 
and a number of churches. It has manufactures 
of ironware, brick, cement, clothing, cigars, and 
machinery. Electric and gas lighting, water¬ 
works, and pavements are among the public 
utilities. Iola was settled in 1857 and was char¬ 
tered as a city in 1898. Its prosperity is due 
largely to the abundance of natural gas in the 
vicinity and to its extensive smelters and roll¬ 
ing mills. Population, 1910, 9,032. 

IONA (e-6'na), the modern name applied to 
the most celebrated island of the Hebrides, an 
island group lying northwest of Scotland. The 
length is three and a half miles; breadth, one 
and a half miles; and area, 2,265 acres. It has 
a history beginning in 563, when Saint Columba 
landed with twelve disciples and built a mon¬ 
astery. The soil is exceedingly fertile and from 
early times yielded extensively. Potatoes, bar¬ 
ley, and oats are the chief products. The mon¬ 
astery established by Saint Columba was the 
first church of the Piets. It has furnished many 


IONIA 


1106 


IOWA 


interesting pages in the development of the 
Catholic faith in the British Isles. 

IONIA (i-6'ni-a), the name applied anciently 
to the most flourishing country of the Ionian 
Greeks in Asia Minor. According to tradition 
it was so named from Ion, one of the five Greek 
tragic poets, reputed a son of Apollo. The 
Ionian Greeks settled in Asia Minor about 1050 
b. c., when they were driven from the Pelopon¬ 
nesus by the Achaians. They built twelve towns 
of much importance, including Ephesus, Miletus, 
Smyrna, and Colophon, which formed the basis 
the iQnian League. Albthe cities of Ionia were 
captured by Croesus, King of Lydia. In 557 
b. c. the region became a possession of Cyrus, 
King of Persia, but it was acquired in 331 b. c. 
by the Greeks under Alexander the Great. In 
the year 64 b. c. the entire region was added to 
the Roman Empire by Pompey, and subsequently 
the Turks devastated and destroyed most of 
the evidences of early civilization, as the temples 
and amphitheaters. The Ionic dialect was com¬ 
monly spoken by the people of Ionia, and was 
noted for its smoothness on account of contain¬ 
ing a large number of vowel sounds. 

IONIA, county seat of Ionia County, Michi¬ 
gan, on the Grand River, 33 miles east of*Grand 
Rapids. It is on the Grand Trunk and the Pere 
Marquette railroads. The surrounding country 
is agricultural. Among the chief buildings are 
the high school, the county courthouse, the State 
Asylum for Insane, and the State House of 
Correction. It has manufactures of clothing, 
farm machinery, earthenware, and lumber prod¬ 
ucts. Ionia was settled in about 1832 and was 
incorporated in 1873. Population, 1910, 5,030. . 

IONIAN ISLANDS, a chain of about forty 
islands stretching along the southwestern coast 
of Greece, of which Cephalonia, Corfu, Zante, 
Ithaca, Paxos, and Santa Maura are the most 
important. The total area is 1,117 square miles. 
Much of the surface is mountainous, but the 
valleys and many of the slopes are fertile. Dis¬ 
turbances by'earthquakes have been numerous, 
but they have not been very destructive. Most 
of the inhabitants are of Greek descent. They 
engage in agriculture, fruit growing, and manu¬ 
facturing. , Among the exports are fruits, oil, 
salt, wine, soap, textile fabrics, and ornamental 
articles. The Venetians ceded the islands to 
France in 1797, but they were seized by Russia 
and Turkey two years later, and by the Treaty 
of Tilsit were restored to France in 1807. Later 
they became the scene of various political dis¬ 
turbances, but in 1863 were made a part of 
Greece, to which country they have belonged 
since. Population, 1908, 267,095. 

IONIAN SEA, the name applied since an¬ 


cient times to the portion of the Mediterranean 
which lies between Greece and Italy. It is 
connected by the Strait of Otranto with the 
Adriatic. The Gulf of Taranto, on the coast 
of Italy, is an extension toward the west. It 
contains the Ionian Islands, which lie near the 
shore of Greece. An extensive navigation and 
coastwise trade is carried on in this part of the 
Mediterranean. 

IONIC ORDER (i-on'ik), a style of Gre¬ 
cian architecture that originated in Ionia, and 
which is distinguished particularly by the capi¬ 
tal of the columns. It derived several features 
from Assyria and entered largely into many 
celebrated temples erected in Greece and Asia 
Minor. The best examples still existing include 
the Acropolis at Athens, the Temple of Minerva 
Polais, and the Temple of Fortuna at Rome. 
A modified form of this order is known as 
the Roman-Ionic, of which the last named 
temple is a representative. See Column. 

IOWA (i'6-wa), a west central state of the 
United States, popularly called the Hawkeye 
State, situated between the Mississippi and Mis¬ 
souri rivers. It is bounded on the north by 
Minnesota, east by Wisconsin and Illinois, south 
by Missouri, and west by Nebraska and South 
Dakota. Its length from east to west is about 
300 miles, its breadth from north to south is 
200 miles, and the area is 56,025 square miles. 
The eastern boundary is formed by the Missis¬ 
sippi River and the western by the Big Sioux 
and the Missouri rivers. 

Description. The surface is an undulating 
plain, watered by numerous streams. It has 
an average elevation of about 900 feet and has 
no mountains. The lowest point of the State is 
at the junction of the Des Moines and Missis¬ 
sippi rivers, which is 445 feet above the sea, 
while the most elevated point is in Dickinson 
County, near Spirit Lake, where the elevation 
is 1,690 feet. Along the Mississippi and Mis¬ 
souri rivers are bluffs ranging from 200 to 400 
feet above the valleys, which are from one to 
twelve miles in width. The northern half of 
the State is more nearly level than the south¬ 
ern half, and along some of the interior rivers, 
especially the Des Moines, are rugged hills and 
rocky canyons. 

The drainage of the greater part of the State 
is into the Mississippi, but the western and 
southern portions are drained into the Missouri. 
The divide between the two systems runs from 
southeast to northwest, about two-thirds being 
drained toward the southeast into the Missis¬ 
sippi. A greater part of the central portion of 
the State is drained by the Des Moines, which 
rises in Minnesota, flows in a general direction 







IOWA 


1107 


IOWA 


toward the southeast, and discharges into the 
Mississippi at Keokuk. The Boone and Rac¬ 
coon are its principal tributaries. Other rivers 
flowing into the Mississippi include the Turkey, 
Red Cedar, Iowa, Skunk, and Wapsipinicon. 
The Big Sioux, Little Sioux, Soldier, and Nish- 
nabotna flow into the Missouri. A number of 
streams which discharge into the Missouri cross 
the boundary on the south, including the Noda¬ 
way and Grand rivers. Several lakes are located 
in the north central part, near the line of Min¬ 
nesota. These include Clear Lake, Spirit Lake, 
Okoboji Lake, Storm Lake, and Swan Lake. 

Climate. The climate is similar in all parts 
of the State and varies mainly on account of 
latitude, the altitude not being sufficiently di¬ 
versified to affect it materially. In type it is 
continental, having a wide range of temperature 



1, Des Moines; 2, Cedar Rapids; 3, Davenport: 4, Dubuque; 
5, Sioux City; 6, Council Bluffs; 7, Bpone. Chief railroads 
are indicated by dotted lines. 


between winter and summer. The average an¬ 
nual temperature is about 48°, but in the south¬ 
ern part it is notably higher than in the north¬ 
ern section. The extremes of summer range 
from 90° to 100° in July and August to from 
10° to 20° below zero in winter. All parts of 
the.State have an abundance of rainfall, which 
averages 31 inches, and the greatest amount of 
precipitation occurs in the spring and summer 
months. Considerable snow falls in the winter, 
but there is rarely sufficient in the southern 
part to make sleighing possible, except for short 
periods at rare intervals. 

Mining. Iowa has an extensive area of bi¬ 
tuminous coal beds, which include about the 
southeastern quarter of the State. In the out¬ 
put of this product it exceeds all the states west 
of the Mississippi River except Colorado. The 
veins are from two to seven feet thick, and in 
some places there are two workable veins of 
marketable coal. Mahaska, Wapello, Appanoose, 


Monroe, Polk, and Boone counties are among 
those that have extensive interests in coal min¬ 
ing. In 1908 the output was 7,500,000 tons. 
Valuable deposits of lead ore occur in the 
northeastern part of the State, in the vicinity 
of Dubuque. Gypsum is mined extensively near 
bort Dodge, in Webster County, which is noted 
as a center for the manufacture of cement. 
Limestone, sandstone, and fire and potter’s clay 
are widely distributed. The supply of building 
stone of the finest quality is inexhaustible. 

Manufacturing. The State has shown a 
steady advancement in manufacturing enter¬ 
prises the past two decades. This is accounted 
for by the abundant coal supply and the presence 
of other raw materials, which includes large 
quantities derived from agricultural sources. It 
takes third rank in the manufacture of dairy 
products, including cheese, butter, and condensed 
milk. The slaughtering and meat-packing in¬ 
dustry produces about one-fifth in value of the 
manufactured products of the State. Flour and 
grist mill products are considerable, including 
principally wheat flour, corn meal, and oatmeal. 
The manufacture of pearl buttons is an impor¬ 
tant enterprise at Muscatine and other cities 
on the Mississippi, in which is obtained a fresh¬ 
water mussel valuable for its shell. Other man¬ 
ufactures include machinery, cement, brick and 
tile, earthenware, pottery, canned goods, ve¬ 
hicles, clothing, cigars, and farming imple¬ 
ments. 

Agriculture. Iowa is one of the leading 
agricultural states, and at present exceeds all 
others in the value of farm products. It con¬ 
tains practically no waste land unfit for farm¬ 
ing, the only exception being the rugged margin 
of its larger streams, but these are valuable for 
pasturage. There has been a noticeable decrease 
in the size of farms, which average about 150 
acres. Over 86 per cent, of the area included 
in farms is improved, and the soil is sufficiently 
fertile to produce abundantly without artificial 
fertilizers. Though formerly almost exclusively 
prairie land, the State is now well dotted with 
fine groves planted artificially, and belts of 
hard timber extend along the streams. A fine 
growth of native grasses furnishes a supply of 
hay or serve for pasturage, but the larger . 
part of the hay grown is now obtained by culti¬ 
vating clover, timothy, and alfalfa. Cherries, 
grapes, apples, and small fruits thrive in all 
parts of the State. Peaches are grown success¬ 
fully in the southern section. 

Corn is the chief crop and in value is about 
equal to all the other crops. The State usually 
holds first place in the production of both corn 
and oats, but in the yield of corn it is some- 





IOWA 


1108 


IOWA 


times exceeded by Illinois. Wheat is grown 
most extensively in the northern part. In the 
production of barley the State takes second 
rank. Other important crops are rye, buck¬ 
wheat, flax, potatoes, vegetables, and sorghum. 
The abundance of land suitable for pasturage 
and the growing of hay places Iowa among 
the leading stock-growing states. It usually 
takes first rank in rearing swine and second 
rank in the number of cattle, being exceeded 
in the latter only by Texas. Cattle are grown 
for meat and for dairying purposes. In the 
number of milch cows it exceeds the State of 
New York, which long held first place. Other 
farm animals include horses, mules, sheep, An¬ 
gora goats, and poultry. The grade of stock 
raised has been highly improved by careful 
breeding, this being true especially of milch 
cows and draft horses. Large quantities of 
fatted swine and beef cattle are exported to the 
markets of Chicago, Kansas City, and Omaha. 

Transportation. The navigation is confined 
to the two border streams, the Mississippi and 
the Missouri, both of which are navigable the 
entire distance. However, the construction of 
railroads and electric railways has made the 
navigation of these streams less important than 
formerly. Texas is the only State west of the 
Mississippi River that exceeds Iowa in railroad 
mileage, the lines of the latter comprising 9,500 
miles. Trunk railway lines extend across the 
State from north to south and from east to west, 
and the latter include a number of the important 
links in the transcontinental avenues of trans¬ 
portation, such as the Chicago, Milawukee and 
Saint Paul, the Chicago and Northwestern, the 
Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific, the Illinois 
Central, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quin¬ 
cy. Every county has one or more railway 
lines. Interurban electric railways are operated 
in many sections of the State. The commerce 
has shown a steady growth during every decade 
since the Civil War. Among the chief articles 
of trade are manufactures, live stock, hay, grain, 
dairy products, meat, buttons, coal, and food¬ 
stuffs. 

Government. The present constitution dates 
from 1857. It vests the chief executive power in 
the governor, lieutenant governor, auditor, sec¬ 
retary of state, treasurer, attorney-general, rail¬ 
road commission, board of control, and superin¬ 
tendent of public instruction, the election to 
these positions being by popular vote for two 
years. The legislative branch consists of fifty 
senators elected for four years and 107 repre¬ 
sentative selected for two years. The senators 
are divided numerically into two classes, hence 
the senate is a continuous body, the term of one- 


half of its members expiring every two years* 
A supreme court of six judges, elected for six 
years, constitutes the highest judicial tribunal. 
Subordinate to it are the district courts, which 
have jurisdiction in districts that are composed 
of several contiguous counties and are presided 
over by two to four judges, who are elected for 
four years. Superior courts may be established 
in the cities by a vote of the people. The county 
and township officers are elected by popular 
vote and administer local government. 

Education. Iowa has long occupied a fore¬ 
most position in educational affairs, its per cent, 
of illiteracy being among the lowest. Only 2.3 
per cent, of the population over ten years of 
age are unable to read and write, as compared 
with 10.7 for the whole country. This condi¬ 
tion has been brought about in part by compul¬ 
sory school attendance laws, which require at¬ 
tendance from seven to fourteen years of age. 
The schools are supervised by a State and by 
county and city superintendents. Adequate and 
articulated courses of study are pursued in all 
the schools, making it possible to assign studies 
in consecutive order as pupils are promoted from 
the lower to the higher departments and insti¬ 
tutions. The State University of Iowa, at Iowa 
City, is at the head of the educational system 
and is supported partly by contingent fees and 
partly by state appropriations. Iowa has a larger 
school fund, obtained chiefly from the sale of 
school lands, and the income together with local 
taxation furnish adequate support. Candidates 
to become teachers are examined either by the 
county superintendent or the state board of ex¬ 
aminers, but all the licenses, or certificates, to 
teach are issued under the direction of the state 
department. A large and well equipped State 
normal school is maintained at Cedar Falls 
and the Iowa College of Agriculture and Me¬ 
chanical Arts is at Ames. Among the many 
private institutions of higher learning are the 
Drake University, Des Moines; the Iowa Col¬ 
lege, Grinnell; the Cornell College, Mount Ver¬ 
non ; the Central University, Pella; the Univer¬ 
sity of the Northwest, Sioux City; the Luther 
College, Decorah; the Highland Park College, 
Des Moines; the Des Moines College, Des 
Moines; the Simpson College, Indianola; the 
German-English College, Charles City; the 
Wartburg College, Clinton; and the Tabor Col¬ 
lege, Tabor. 

Ample provisions have been made for the 
unfortunate and to provide punishment for the 
incorrigible. Asylums for the insane are locat¬ 
ed at Cherokee, Clarinda, Independence, and 
Mount Pleasant. Two state prisons are main¬ 
tained, at Anamosa and Fort Madison. Eldora 




IOWA 


1109 


IOWA INDIANS 


has an industrial school for boys and Mitchel- 
ville has a similar institution for girls. The 
school for the deaf is at Council Bluffs, the 
home for feeble-minded children is at Glen- 
wood, the college for the blind is at Vinton, 
and the inebriate hospital is at Knoxville. 
Marshalltown is the seat of the State Soldiers’ 
Home. 

Inhabitants. Iowa takes tenth rank in the 
number of inhabitants. In 1900 it had 305,920 
persons of foreign birth, two-thirds of whom 
were Germans and Scandinavians. In the same 
year the colored population was 13,186, of which 
number 382 were Indians and 12,693 were Ne¬ 
groes. All of the Protestant denominations 
are well represented, but the Roman Catholics 
are more numerous than any other body of 
Christians. The Protestant denominations which 
have the largest number of communicants in¬ 
clude the Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, 
Baptists, Christians, and Congregationalists. 
Des Moines, located in the central part of the 
State, is the capital and largest city. Other 
cities include Dubuque, Davenport, Sioux City, 
Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, Burlington, 
Clinton, Ottumwa, Keokuk, Muscatine, Fort 
Dodge, Marshalltown, Fort Madison, and Boone. 
In 1905 the State had a population of 2,- 
210,050; in 1910, 2,224,771. 

History. Iowa was named from an Indian 
word which means “the beautiful land.” It was 
included in the region inhabited by the Iowa, 
Illinois, and Sac and Fox Indians. Marquette 
and Joliet visited the region in 1673, but no at¬ 
tempt to found a settlement was made until 
about a century later. Julien Dubuque, a French 
Canadian, in 1788 obtained a grant of land near 
the present city of Dubuque, where he operated 
lead mines and carried on trade with the In¬ 
dians. The first permanent settlements were 
made in 1833 near Burlington. It was organized 
as a part of Michigan Territory in 1834, became 
a part of Wisconsin Territory in 1836, and was 
organized as the Territory of Iowa in 1838. 
Flourishing settlements had in the meantime 
grown up in the eastern part of the State and 
along the Des Moines River. Iowa City was 
made the capital in 1839 and a constitution was 
formed in 1844, but the State was not admitted 
into the Union until Dec. 28, 1846. Ten years 
later the capital was removed to Des Moines. 
The Sioux Indians perpetrated a massacre upon 
the whites at Spirit Lake in 1857, but this did 
not check the rapid immigration from states 
farther east and from Europe. Railroad build¬ 
ing was promoted rapidly, and as early as 1885 
there was not a locality within the State farther 
than fifteen miles from a railway. A consti¬ 


tutional amendment to prohibit the manufacture 
and sale of spirituous liquors was adopted in 
1882, but it was declared unconstitutional by the 
courts. For more than fifty years the State has 
enjoyed an unbroken era of growth in popula¬ 
tion, industrial enterprise, and intellectual de¬ 
velopment. 

IOWA, State University of, an institution 
of higher learning for both sexes, located at 
Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1855 with 
an endowment by Congress of two townships of 
land, and it was reorganized in 1860. It com¬ 
prises the colleges of medicine, law, engineering, 
homeopathic medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, 
natural sciences, and liberal arts, and the Iowa 
School of Political and Social Science. A sum¬ 
mer school for library training and a summer 
session for teachers are maintained by the col¬ 
lege of liberal arts. The system of accredited 
high schools in the State brings the university 
in close touch with various- educational institu¬ 
tions, and it maintains university extension and 
lecture courses. It has a library of 100,000 vol¬ 
umes, one of the finest in the State. The uni¬ 
versity includes eighteen buildings, valued at 
about $1,550,000, and has an annual income of 
$450,000. The faculty of instructors numbers 
170 members and the enrollment of students is 
about 2,150. 

IOWA CITY, a city in Iowa, county seat 
of Johnson County, on the Iowa River, 54 miles 
west of Davenport. It is on the Chicago, Rock 
Island and Pacific Railroad and on several elec¬ 
tric lines. The surrounding country is fertile 
and has large interests in dairying and farming. 
The noteworthy buildings include the county 
courthouse, the State University of Iowa, the 
Mercy Hospital, the opera house, and the Iowa 
City Academy. Among the manufactures are 
paper, flour, gloves, vehicles, packed pork, .iron¬ 
ware, and machinery. It has electric lighting, 
street railways, waterworks, pavements, and 
other improvements. Iowa City was founded in 
1839, was the capital from 1839 until 1856, and 
was incorporated in 1853. Population, 1910,10,091. 

IOWA COLLEGE, a coeducational institu¬ 
tion of higher learning at Grinnell, Iowa, the 
oldest college in the State. It was founded at 
Davenport in 1847 by Congregationalists, but 
was removed to Grinnell in 1860. It includes 
three departments, the academy, the college, and 
the school of music. The buildings and grounds 
are valued at $250,000. It has a library of 
35,000 volumes, an income of $50,000, and an 
endowment of $500,000. The faculty consists of 
45 instructors. In 1908 it had an attendance of 
653 students. 

IOWA INDIANS, an Indian tribe of the 


IOWA RIVER 


1110 


IRANIANS 


Dakota family that formerly lived in the vicinity 
of the Mankato River, Minnesota. In 1700 the 
tribe numbered about 1,500, but at present there 
is a remnant of only about 125, who are colon¬ 
ized on reservations in Oklahoma and Kansas. 
Tliis tribe led several destructive wars against 
the Osage Indians. The Iowas have taken kind¬ 
ly to the industries. 

IOWA RIVER, an important river of Iowa, 
rises near the Minnesota boundary, and after 
a course of 300 miles discharges into the Missis¬ 
sippi. It flows through a fertile agricultural 
country, is skirted by a belt of valuable timber, 
and contains many varieties of fish. Among the 
cities on its banks are Eldora, Marshalltown, 
and Iowa City. 

IOWA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRI¬ 
CULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS, an 

educational institution for both sexes, situated 
at Ames, Iowa. It was established by an act of 
the State Legislature in 1858, and four years 
later came into possession of certain lands, 
granted by Congress to promote agricultural and 
mechanic education. In 1869 it was formally 
opened. The departments include those of en¬ 
gineering, agriculture, veterinary medicine, 
science, and domestic economy. In connection 
with it is the Iowa Experiment Station, which 
affords facilities for investigating agricultural 
problems. A campus of 120 acres has been set 
apart from the college domain, which embraces 
about 800 acres. Free tuition is granted to all 
residents of the State, while others pay a very 
nominal fee. Students are admitted from ac¬ 
credited schools or upon examination. It has 
been proven by experiments that this institution 
has been of much value in developing the indus¬ 
trial ar^l intellectual forces of Iowa and other 
states. The endowment is $750,000,. the value 
of all college property is $1,550,000, and the an¬ 
nual income is about $200,000. It has an excel¬ 
lent supply of apparatus and a library of nearly 
20,000 volumes. About 2,350 students comprise 
the average enrollment. 

IPECACUANHA (lp-e-kak-u-an'a), the 
name of a plant of South America, found chiefly 
in the damp and shady woods. It is a shrub, has 
a few leaves near the ends of the branches, and 
bears small white flowers. The fruit is a dark 
purple berry. It is valuable for the root, from 
which a medical substance known as ipecacuanha 
is obtained. This product has a bitter taste, is 
mildly irritant, and is commonly known as ipe¬ 
cac. As a medicine it is used as a stomachic 
tonic, as an expectorant, and in disorders of the 
skin. 

IPSWICH (ips'wich), a town and river port 
of Suffolk County, England, on the Orwell 


River, about 68 miles northeast of London and 
twelve miles from the North Sea. The streets 
are tortuous and narrow. Within recent years 
it has made material development on account of 
its navigation and railroad commerce. It has 
several fine schools, hospitals, and churches. 
The manufactures include flour, soap, beverages, 
machinery, agricultural implements, and fabrics. 
Shipbuilding is an extensive enterprise. It 
lias electric lights and street railways. Ips¬ 
wich has remains which date from the Roman 
occupation of England, but no mention is made 
of it until 991. It received a charter from King 
John in 1199. Population, 1907, 72,825. 

IPSWICH, a town of Massachusetts, in Es¬ 
sex County, on the Ipswich River, 26 miles 
northeast of Boston. It is on the Boston and 
Maine Railroad and has communication by elec¬ 
tric railways. The noteworthy buildings include 
the public library, the town hall, and the Man¬ 
ning High School. It has manufactures of soap, 
hosiery, isinglass, and machinery. The munici¬ 
pality maintains systems of waterworks and san¬ 
itary sewerage. Ipswich was settled by John 
Winthrop in 1633, when it was known as Aga¬ 
wam, but the name was changed to Ipswich the 
following year. It was the home of Anne 
Bradstreet and other pioneers of colonial times. 
Population, 1905, 5,205; in 1910, 5,777. 

IQUIQUE (e-ke'k&), a city and s’eaport of 
Chile, capital of the province of Tarapaca, on the 
Pacific coast. It is connected by railways with 
other trade centers. In its vicinity are extensive 
mining interests, including those of silver, iron, 
borax, iodine, saltpeter, and nitrate of soda. It 
has a large trade in live stock, fruit, lumber, and 
minerals. The climate is quite hot, but health¬ 
ful, and earthquakes are not infrequent. Prior 
to 1881 it belonged to Peru, but in that year it 
became a possession of Chile. Population, 1906, 
43,502. 

IRAN (e-ran'), the name used by the na¬ 
tives of Persia to designate their country. It is 
of ancient origin and has been applied to a region 
much larger than is included in that country at 
the present time, usually to the portion of Asia 
lying between the Tigris and the Indus. In his¬ 
tory it is frequently applied to the region bound¬ 
ed by the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, and Rus¬ 
sian Turkistan on the north; by the Tigris, the 
Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea on the west 
and south; and by the Indus on the east. 
Within it was embraced the territory now in¬ 
cluded in Afghanistan. See Persia. 

IRANIANS (l-ra'm-anz), or Persians, a 
people belonging to the Aryan or Indo-European 
family. They are so named from Iran, the an¬ 
cient name of Persia. The Medes, who are men- 


IRAWADI 


1111 


IRELAND 


tioned as early as 2400 B. c., are the first of these 
people of whom we have historic record. Both 
the Medes and the Persians were highly ad¬ 
vanced in civilization at an early date. The 
Iranian language may be divided into three gen¬ 
eral groups, which include the Old Persian cu¬ 
neiform inscriptions; the Zend or Old Bactrian, 
the language in which the sacred writings of the 
Parsees is committed; and the Middle Iranian or 
Pehlevi languages, in which the Zend-Avesta 
commentaries are preserved. The modern Per¬ 
sian is Iranic, but it contains many Arabic words. 
In this language many celebrated masterpieces 
of literature were produced. The modern Iran¬ 
ians inhabit regions west of the Indus River. 
Among them are the Kurds, the Ossetians, the 
Baluchis, the Afghans, the Tajkis, and the Per¬ 
sians. 

IRAWADI (lr-a-wa'di). See Irrawaddy. 

IRELAND (ir'land), popularly called the 
Emerald Isle, an island located 60 miles west of 
England, from which it is separated by Saint 
George’s Channel and the Irish Sea. It is the 
smaller of the two principal islands included in 
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire¬ 
land. It is bounded on the south, west, and 
north by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the north¬ 
east by North Channel, which separates it from 
Scotland. The greatest length, measured from 
Fair Head in the northeast to Mizen Head in the 
southwest, is 304 miles. Its breadth varies con¬ 
siderably, being about 110 miles through the cen¬ 
tral part, between the bays of Galway and Dub¬ 
lin, and 210 miles from Benwee Head in the 
northwest to Carnsore Point in the southeast. 
The area is 32,583 square miles, including'a wa¬ 
ter surface of 52 square miles. 

Description. The surface is diversified, in¬ 
cluding large tracts of undulating districts and 
elevated ranges with hills and mountains, the 
greatest height being about 3,500 feet. Mount 
Carrantual, a peak of the Macgillicuddy’s Reeks, 
in the southwestern part, has an elevation of 
3,414 feet. In the southeastern part are the 
mountains of Wicklow, rising about 2,750 feet 
above the sea. The coast varies from gradual 
elevations to precipitous heights, but the general 
surface may be described as basin-shaped, the in¬ 
terior being a vast plain with extensive tracts 
of bogs and lakes. A number of islands abound 
along the. west shore, of which Clare and Achill 
are the most important. Many excellent harbors 
are furnished by numerous coast indentations, 
and the entire coast line, including the inlets, 
has a length of 3,000 miles. The principal inlets 
are the bays of Donegal, Galway, Dingle, Bantry, 
and Dundalk. Lough Foyle is an 1 important in¬ 
let on the north coast 


An irregular line drawn from Lough Foyle in 
the north to Mizen Head in the southwest marks 
the dividing line from which the rivers radiate, 
but the divide is not distinguished by striking 
surface features. Many of the streams widen in¬ 
to long lakes or loughs, owing to the fact that 
rainfall is abundant and the slopes are gradual. 
The Shannon, in the west, about 250 miles long, 
is the largest river in the United Kingdom. 
About half of it above the estuary is made up of 
the three lakes Derg, Ree, and Allen. In the 
north is the Erne River, which drains a part of 
the central plain and flows into Donegal Bay. 
The Boyne, rising in the central plain, is not 
made up of lakes. In the south is Waterford 
Harbor, into which flow the Suir and Barrow 
rivers. Other streams having a southward 
course include the Lee, the Bandon, and the 
Blackwater. The inland lakes include Lough 
Derg, Lough Ree, Lough Mass, Lough Neagh, 
and Lough Erne. 

The climate of Ireland is greatly modified by 
the westerly winds blowing from the Atlantic 
Ocean, where they are tempered by passing over 
its comparatively warm surface. From this cir¬ 
cumstance the climate is milder and more equa¬ 
ble than that of England, and the mean winter 
temperature is 25° higher than that of the same 
latitude as the Atlantic region of America. 
While it has the advantage of a moderate tem¬ 
perature and ample rainfall, the disadvantages 
of damp winds and heavy fogs are felt in nearly 
all parts of the island, but particularly along the 
west and south coasts. In the interior the at¬ 
mosphere is somewhat drier, the rainfall being 
about 35 inches, while the wetter districts have 
a rainfall of 42 inches. Owing to favorable cli¬ 
matic conditions, Ireland is clothed A with the 
verdure of numerous plants, many of which 
are native to the island and winter in the open 
air. 

Mining. Though Ireland has valuable de¬ 
posits of iron ore, this mineral is not worked ex¬ 
tensively, owing to the absence of large deposits 
of coal. Most of this product is obtained in An¬ 
trim County. A limited supply of anthracite 
coal exists, but the coal measures consist chiefly 
of an inferior grade of bituminous coal. About 
125,000 tons are produced annually. Copper 
mining, though formerly extensive, is not im¬ 
portant at present. Sandstone, limestone, and 
granite suitable for building purposes are abund¬ 
ant. Other minerals found in various quantities 
include alum, slate, salt, and lead ore. 

Agriculture. Though the arable surface is 
rich in having a productive soil, large districts 
are made up of moorland. The land titles are 
vested in large owners, who lease the estates to 


IRELAND 


1112 


IRELAND 


peasants, and much of the land is sublet in small 
tracts. This condition arose from the English 
occupation of the island, when much of the land 
was confiscated and granted to English citizens. 
In the latter part of the 19th century the gov¬ 
ernment adopted a policy to enable the peasants 
to purchase land, under which money was ad¬ 
vanced for that purpose, and the peasants were 
permitted to repay by remitting annual install¬ 
ments. This resulted in dividing many of the 
larger estates, though much of the land is still 
held under conditions that require the payment 
of excessive rents. However, the methods of 
farming are improving, and much of the land 
has been redeemed by drainage and enriched by 
fertilizers. 

A large per cent, of the land is in meadows 
and pastures. This condition has been aug¬ 
mented through the live-stock industry and as a 
means of improving the soil. The area culti¬ 
vated in clover and other grasses for hay com¬ 
prises nearly one-half of the cultivated lands. 
The acreage of oats is about one-half that de¬ 
voted to the production of hay. Other crops 
grown extensively include potatoes^ turnips, bar¬ 
ley, beet roots, and wheat. Flax is grown chief¬ 
ly in the northern part. Vegetables and small 
fruits are abundant in all sections of the island. 
Cattle raising is the principal'live-stock industry, 
and the interests in dairying and for meat pro¬ 
duction are about equal. Sheep are grown 
chiefly in the highlands, where the grasses and 
climatic conditions are peculiarly favorable. 
Poultry raising is carried on almost universally 
among the peasants. Other domestic animals 
include horses, mules, swine, and goats. Forests 
of commercial value are abundant on the larger 
estates. # 

Manufactures. The manufacturing indus¬ 
tries are not important, when compared to the 
resources. A large proportion of the live-stock 
marketing is shipped to Great Britain, and many 
commodities that could be manufactured profita¬ 
bly are imported. Linen, silk, and woolen tex¬ 
tiles are the principal manufactures. Belfast has 
been noted as a center of the linen textile en¬ 
terprise for several centuries. Ulster is a cen¬ 
ter of manufacture of woolen and worsted 
goods. Large shipyards are located at Belfast, 
where the Celtic and the Oceanic of the White 
Star Line were constructed, and shipbuilding is 
well established at Dublin and Londonderry. 
Other 'manufactures include machinery, clothing, 
embroidery, lace, leather, and spirituous liquors. 
Considerable material for the manufacturing in¬ 
dustry is supplied by the fisheries, which yield 
large catches of cod, herring, pilchard ? and sal¬ 
mon. 


Transportation. Railways are operated in all 
parts of Ireland, thus connecting the coast with 
the productive interior points. The total lines 
aggregate 3,500 miles. Many of the streams are 
navigable in their lower courses for small boats, 
but the Shannon supplies the most important riv¬ 
er transportation, and ocean steamers ascend it 
as far as Limerick. A number of the rivers 
have been canalized and connected by systems 
of canals. The highways are in a well-improved 
condition, affording means for transportation by 
wagon from the railway and canal centers. Eng¬ 
land has most of the Irish trade, which consists 
in large parts of the exportation of raw prod¬ 
ucts and the importation of manufactured arti¬ 
cles. The chief exports are live stock, grain, 
fish, whisky, and dairy products, while the im¬ 
ports include wheat, corn, flax, tea, tobacco, and 
machinery. The trade with foreign countries is 
principally with the United States, Germany, 
Belgium, and Russia. 

Government. Ireland has been an integral 
part of the United Kingdom since 1801. Chief 
executive authority is vested in the Lord Lieu¬ 
tenant, who is assisted by a privy council, and is 
the representative of the crown of Great Brit¬ 
ain. The government is conducted by the Chief 
Secretary for Ireland, who is president of the lo¬ 
cal government board and a member of the Cab¬ 
inet. While Ireland has no Parliament of its 
own, it is represented in the British House of 
Lords by 28 peers and in the House of Com¬ 
mons by 103 commoners. The judicial system is 
modeled upon that of England and culminates in 
the supreme court of judicature. For the purpose 
of local government, Ireland is divided into four 
provinces and 32 counties, the provinces being 
Leinster, Munster, Ulster, and Connaught. 

Religion and Education. The prevailing re¬ 
ligion is Roman Catholic, the clergy of which is 
supported by voluntary contributions. Nearly 
one-third of the people are Protestants, the sects 
being Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, In¬ 
dependents, Baptists, and Quakers, in the order 
named. The Anglican, or Episcopal Church, 
was the established church until 1860 and has 
620,500 adherents, while the Presbyterian Church 
has 454,500 communicants. Elementary schools 
are under the management of the commission¬ 
ers of national education and are maintained in 
all the districts. Besides the common and high 
schools, several colleges, seminaries, and uni¬ 
versities are supported. Of the higher institu¬ 
tions the most important are the University of 
Dublin; Queen’s colleges of Belfast, Cork, and 
Galway; University College, Dublin; Saint Pat¬ 
rick’s College, Maynooth; and the Royal College 
of Science. 



IRELAND 


1113 


IRELAND 


Inhabitants. The majority of the inhabi¬ 
tants belong to the Celtic race, and the earlier 
immigrants from England have completely amal¬ 
gamated themselves with the native people. Set¬ 
tlements of English and Scotch are numerous in 
the northeastern part. This element is Protes¬ 
tant and furnishes a large part of the Orange 
population. The native inhabitants are decend- 
ants of the ancient Celts, by whom the island 
was inhabited during the Roman occupation of 
England, but they are now called Irish. Large 
numbers of the Irish people have come to Can¬ 
ada and the United States, where they comprise 
a large and influential element, and have taken 
a prominent part in the social and industrial de¬ 
velopment. They are noted for their wit and 
industry. 

Dublin, on Dublin Bay, an inlet of the Irish 
Sea, is the largest city and seat of government. 
Other cities include Cork, Belfast, Limerick, 
Queenstown, Waterford, Rathmines, Galway, 
Kingstown, Newry, and Wexford. The popula¬ 
tion of Ireland has decreased materially the past 
fifty years. At present it is 140 per square mile, 
or less than one-fourth that of England. This 
decrease is due chiefly to emigration, especially 
from the rural districts. In 1841 the island had 
a population of 8,196,000. In 1901, fifty years 
later, it was only 4,458,775. Population, 1907, 
4,378,568. 

Language. The Irish language is a branch 
of the Celtic and belongs to the Gaelic, being al¬ 
lied to the Manx and Scotch Gaelic, and to the 
British dialects known as the Cornish, Welsh, 
and Armoric. About 65,000 people of Ireland 
speak only Irish, while 890,000 speak both the 
English and the Irish. A widespread movement 
is now in progress by which it is designed to 
preserve the language and extend its use, a plan 
projected both in Ireland and the United States. 
At the head of this movement is the Society for 
the Preservation of the Irish Language, which 
has maintained headquarters at Dublin since 
1877. The literature of the Irish is extensive, 
including legendry, history, poetry, and many 
works of value in theology and romance, some 
of the earlier dating from the 5th century. Many 
of the most eminent men classed with the Eng¬ 
lish scholars and authors are more properly 
Irish. These writers include Thomas Moore, 
Justin McCarthy, Geoffrey Keating, and Douglas 
Hyde (b. 1860). The Irish scholars have given 
to the English language some of the most beau¬ 
tiful poems, searching historical writings, and 
eloquent orations. 

History. The early history of Ireland is 
wrapped in fable. It is thought that the Iberi¬ 
ans, or a branch of the Mediterranean race, were 


the earliest inhabitants. Later the Celts settled 
in Ireland, coming there at different times, and 
still later came large numbers of Scots. The 
controlling influence seems to have been vested 
in various tribes until the Scoti, which was the 
most powerful, subdued the others. Subsequent¬ 
ly they made incursions into Gaul and Britain, 
which was then a Roman colony. In the middle 
of the 5th century Christianity was introduced 
by Saint Patrick, a man of Scottish birth, who 
was taken a slave to Ireland while still young. 
Later he escaped to Rome and returned to Ire¬ 
land with the avowed intention of introducing 
Christianity. His work was attended by much 
success and Ireland became a seat of learning, 
while its monasteries supplied many noted mis¬ 
sionaries to operate in continental Europe. 
However, the various political elements contin¬ 
ued to be hostile toward each other, which had 
a depressing influence upon the national feel¬ 
ing, and the prosperity was more or less affected 
by the incursions of the Danes and other in¬ 
vaders from the north. 

In 1167, while Henry II. was King of Eng¬ 
land, the Norman invasion occurred. At that 
time the island was districted into counties, the 
lands were divided among Norman barons, and 
English courts were established at Dublin. Then 
likewise originated the feudal titles to lands, 
which are still a hindrance to the prosperity and 
success of the common people. A heroic defense 
was made against the invaders, and at the begin¬ 
ning of the 16th century the English were still 
unable to conquer the larger part of Ireland. An 
act of the Irish Parliament granted Henry VIII. 
the title of King of Ireland, instead of lord, as 
was the case in the reign of Henry VII. This 
sovereign confiscated the lands of the church 
and attempted to force the people away from 
the Catholic religion, a measure bitterly opposed 
by the Irish. Elizabeth instituted a Protestant 
clergy, but the movement occasioned numerous 
uprisings under the Earl of Tyrone. 

At the time of the Civil War in England, in 
the reign of Charles I., the Irish rose in rebellion 
and attempted to become free from the English 
dominion, but they were subdued by Cromwell in 
1649. Many atrocities were perpetrated on both 
sides during this contest for supremacy in Ire¬ 
land, and after the Irish and Loyalists were de¬ 
feated they were generally banished to Con¬ 
naught, while the English and Scotch settlers oc¬ 
cupied the other portions. The struggle for in¬ 
dependence continued during the reigns of 
Charles II. and James II., but, when the Irish 
preferred James to William III., the latter in¬ 
vaded Ireland in 1690, and in the Battle of the 
Boyne defeated the forces of James. In 1691 the 


IRELAND 


1114 


IRIS 


Irish were defeated at Galway and Limerick, but 
a treaty was concluded by which the Catholic 
Irish were given religious liberty. This treaty 
was violated by Parliament granting about one 
million acres of land to the Protestants, and 
severe penal laws were passed against the Cath¬ 
olics, by which it was aimed to exterminate that 
faith. The enactment of these laws excited bit¬ 
ter opposition. 

When the war for American independence be¬ 
gan, it gave the Irish an apparent opportunity to 
become free. Some of the penal laws were mod¬ 
ified to appease the people, privileges to erect 
schools were extended, and some of the restric¬ 
tions previously placed on the Catholics were 
withdrawn. However, a declaration of inde¬ 
pendence was made by the Irish Parliament in 
1782 under the leadership of Grattan and Flood. 
The uprising was supported by both Protestants 
and Catholics in Ireland, who were alike anxious 
to secure more wholesome legislation for the 
common people, as well as to obtain complete 
liberty of conscience. When the French Revo¬ 
lution began, in 1798, the Society of United 
Irishmen was instrumental in making another 
desperate effort for independence, but the move¬ 
ment was crushed after much loss of life. The 
government at London now resolved to unite 
the Irish and English parliaments into one body. 
This was done by the Act of Union, which was 
adopted by the Irish Parliament in 1800. On 
Jan. 1, 1601, Ireland was united by proclamation 
with England in the same manner that Scotland 
had beetf assimilated, except that it was not per¬ 
mitted to have as large a measure of local gov¬ 
ernment, and the English Parliament became the 
supreme legislative authority. This measure was 
universally unpopular in Ireland from the begin¬ 
ning, causing several rebellions, and continues 
to be the source of much contention. 

In 1829 the Catholic emancipation act went in¬ 
to effect, a measure making Catholics eligible to 
most public offices and to membership in Par¬ 
liament. Since then many strenuous efforts 
have been made to secure the independence of 
Ireland, particularly in 1848 and 1865. The 
movement of the latter year is known as that of 
the Fenians, being promoted by the Fenian So¬ 
ciety, and it received financial support from 
many Irishmen who were citizens of the United 
States and other countries. Several attacks 
were made on the Canadian frontier in 1866, but 
the American government interceded to main¬ 
tain neutrality. This was followed by the dis¬ 
establishment of the Irish Episcopal church in 
1869 and slight modification of the land tenure 
laws. Subsequently agitation for Home Rule be¬ 
came the leading question, a movement designed 


to give Ireland a local Parliament and local self- 
government under English sovereignty, similar 
to that of Canada and Australia. Among the 
distinguished leaders in favor of this movement 
may be named Parnell and Isaac Butt (1813- 
1879), while the cause was ably defended by 
such Englishmen as Gladstone and Bryce. The 
National Land League was organized in 1883, 
which succeeded the Land League. This organ¬ 
ization had for its object the acquisition of title 
to land by Irish tenants and was generally sup¬ 
ported by the people of Ireland irrespective of 
political affiliations. In 1903, after an extended 
discussion, Parliament finally passed the Land 
Purchase Bill, under which the tenants or sub¬ 
tenants may purchase tracts of land from the 
landlords and pay for it in annual installments. 

The principal issue which now engages the 
public men of Ireland is that of Home Rule. 
Augustine Birrell (b. 1850), who was for some 
time chief secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of 
Ireland, introduced a measure of this kind in 
the Parliament in 1907. The discussion turned 
largely on the point of establishing an adminis¬ 
trative council in Ireland, but up to the present 
no definite action has been taken. In the mean¬ 
time the people of Ireland continue to advocate 
industrial emancipation along with some meas¬ 
ure of political independence. 

IRIDIUM (l-rid'i-um), a metal discovered 
in 1803, so named from the colors exhibited by 
its solutions. It occurs native with platinum, 
osmium, and rhodium, in alloys of various pro¬ 
portions of these metals. Iridium is insoluble in 
mineral acid, and may be readily alloyed with 
copper, lead, gold, and other metals. It is used 
in the manufacture of standard weights, the fine 
edges of balances, and many articles that are to 
be preserved for a long time from the influence 
of the atmosphere. It is found in the Ural 
Mountains and the Pacific coast of North 
America. See Chemistry. 

IRIS, the name of a genus of beautiful 
plants, sometimes called flag and fleur-de-lis, and 
native to the temperate climates. It includes 
many species, some of which are noted for their 
med ; cinal properties and others on account of 
their beautiful flowers. Most species grow in 
wet and marshy places and bear a variety of 
flowers, of which the most common tint is blue. 
The best known species of North America in¬ 
clude the blue flag and the common iris, the for¬ 
mer growing in marshy places and the latter be¬ 
ing distinguished on account of its grassy leaves. 
The common iris has ornamental flowers of a 
violet-blue color, but they are variegated with 
veins of white-green or yellow. Its stems are 
about three feet high. Among the naturalized 


IRIS 


1115 


IRON 


species grown in gardens are the beautiful Span¬ 
ish, Chalcedonian, Persian, and snake 1 s-head. 
Many are cultivated as border plants. 



COMMON IRIS. 


IRIS, the colored portion of the eye that 
surrounds the black central pupil, which is an 
aperture in the iris. It consists of a muscular 
curtain of three layers, the anterior, posterior, 
and middle fibrous. The surface is variously 
pigmented, giving the eye its color. Iritis is an 
inflammation of the iris, due to a prolonged use 
of the eye, to injury or accident, or to rheuma¬ 
tism or some other constitutional disease. 

IRISH LANGUAGE. See Ireland. 

IRISH MOSS, or Carrageen, the name of 
several species of seaweed common to the coast 
of Ireland and other countries of Europe. They 
are not mosses, but are algae, and* thrive on 
rocky and stony coasts. The common carrageen 
yields the greater part of the Irish moss of 
commerce. It is used as medicine and as an 
article of food. The plant is branched, grows to 
a length of from two to twelve inches, and is 
reddish brown in color. It is prepared in the 
form of jelly and blancmange by boiling in wa¬ 
ter or milk, then adding some sugar and spices. 
Iceland moss, although used in a similar way, is 
a different plant, being a lichen. 

IRISH SEA, a body of water located be¬ 
tween Ireland and Great Britain, connected with 
the Atlantic Ocean on the north by North Chan¬ 
nel and on the south by Saint George’s Channel. 
Its length is about 135 miles and the width va¬ 
ries from 60 to 120 miles. Several islands are 
located within it, including Anglesey and the Isle 
of Man. 


IRITIS (l-ri'tis). See Iris. 

IRKUTSK (ir-ko6tsk'), a city of Siberia, 
capital of a government of the same name, and 
the residence of the governor general of Eastern 
Siberia. It is located near Lake Baikal, on the 
Trans-Siberian Railway, 3,385 miles from Mos¬ 
cow. It is well built, has broad and substantial¬ 
ly paved streets, and maintains public water¬ 
works and electric street railways. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are. the museum, the public 
library, and several public schools. It has a 
number of fine hospitals, churches, and semina¬ 
ries. The manufactures include linen goods, 
leather, machinery, furniture, and woolens. The 
trade in tea, furs, and cereals is very extensive. 
Irkutsk was founded in 1652, but its prosperity 
dates from • the railroad development and the 
growth of Russian influence on the Chinese 
boundary. Population, 1906, 60,382. 

IRON (Turn), the most important of all 
metals. It is found in nearly all forms of clay, 
earth, and rock, though rarely in a pure state. 
When pure, it is silvery-white, very tenacious, 
malleable, and ductile. The commercial product 
is derived from ores, which are abundant and 
widely distributed, and are known as magnetite, 
hematite, siderite, and limonite. Ores classed 
as magnetite, when pure, contain 72 per cent, of 
iron and are so named because the iron in them 
occurs as magnetic oxide. Hematite may be red, 
blue, or specular. Limonite consists of hydrated 
oxides and includes the bog and other ores. 
Siderite contains carbon dioxide. Iron is found 
in varying proportions in both sea water and 
mineral water, and forms an essential constituent 
of plants and animals. The sun and stars con¬ 
tain iron, and it constitutes a large portion of 
meteorites that fall from space to the earth. 

Pure iron burns before reaching the melting 
point. For this reason it must be combined with 
other substances to make it of the greatest util¬ 
ity, such as sulphur, copper, silicon, carbon, ar¬ 
senic, phosphorus, and other metals with which 
it forms important alloys. Absolutely pure iron 
is seldom seen, except in laboratories, where it 
is used for experimental purposes. Cast iron 
is a commercial iron produced in a blast furnace 
and contains a large proportion of carbon, is 
neither ductile nor malleable, and may be easily 
cast in molds. Pig iron is the form in which cast 
iron is made at the furnace, being run into molds, 
called pigs. Wrought iron is usually fibrous, 
ductile, and malleable, is produced in a puddling 
furnace or a forge, and contains very little car¬ 
bon or other impurities. Weld iron, bar iron, 
and steel are different compounds of iron. They 
contain less carbon than cast iron and more than 
wrought iron, and can be forged, tempered, cast, 



IRON 


1116 


IRON 


and materially hardened by heating to redness 
and cooling suddenly. The several varieties of 
iron manufactured differ in the degree of their 
properties as well as in the proportions of their 
constituents, and by different applications serve 
man in an unlimited field of useful purposes. 
Salts of iron are used largely in medicine as 
tonics. 

The iron deposits of North America are very 
extensive. In the production of pig iron the 
United States exceeds every other country in 
the world. Nearly all states of the. Union and 
most of the provinces of the Dominion have iron 
deposits, though there are some districts in 
which they are especially abundant. The most 
productive iron fields operated at present are 
those of the Lake Superior region, from which 
about two-thirds of the iron ore is obtained. 
Other vast deposits are in Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, and Missouri. 
Pennsylvania leads in the manufacture of iron 
products, but Minnesota ranks first in the out¬ 
put of iron. The highly productive deposits of 
that State are chiefly in the Vermilion and Me- 
sabi ranges, where mines were first opened in 
1884. This district extends northward into On¬ 
tario and eastward by the Gogebic and Menomi¬ 
nee ranges of Wisconsin and Michigan. In 1688 
the first blast furnace of Pennsylvania was op¬ 
erated under the direction of William Penn, 
and in 1817 the first rolling mill was established 
at Plumstock, Pa. The iron industry of the 
Southern States is making rapid progress, owing 
to the vast iron ore and coal deposits in that re¬ 
gion, while marked attention is also directed to¬ 
ward the industry in the states of the West, es¬ 
pecially Colorado. 

The world’s production of pig iron, as re¬ 
ported in 1908, is 62,524,500 tons. Of this quan¬ 
tity 25,850,000 tons were produced in the United 
States, 12,850,500 tons in Germany, 10,340,250 
tons in Great Britain, and 3,425,000 tons in 
France. In the same year Canada produced 562,- 
450 tons. Other countries producing iron ex¬ 
tensively are Austria, France, Russia, Belgium, 
Sweden, and Norway. The finest grade of iron 
produced in Europe is taken from the mines at 
Dannemora, Sweden, and is used extensively for 
horseshoe nails. These mines have been oper¬ 
ated continuously since the 15th century and are 
inexhaustible. The manufacture of all forms of 
machinery and utensils and the construction of 
large buildings have increased remarkably the 
demand for iron and steel. There are few ma¬ 
chines now produced that do not consist largely 
of these metals. The impetus of railroad build¬ 
ing in Africa, Asia, South America, and Aus¬ 
tralia has greatly increased the foreign demand 


for the American product. However, the grow¬ 
ing markets abroad are tending to develop on a 
large scale the output of native products in 
many sections of the Old World. 

History. Iron is one of the metals earliest 
known in history, being mentioned in the Bible 
as early as Genesis iv., 22, where Tubal-Cain is 
spoken of as “instructor of every artificer of 
brass and iron.” Egyptian sepulchers represent 
butchers sharpening their knives on a round bar 
of metal. It is reasonably certain the discovery 
of iron at Mount Ida dates from 1406 b. c. The 
vast deposits of iron ore in India were known 
from remote times, and the Romans utilized 
products of iron at an early period. Iron mines 
were operated in Britain as early as 54 b. c., and 
much earlier in continental Europe, especially in 
Germany, Spain, and Italy. When the Egyptian 
obelisk was removed from Alexandria to New 
York, in 1880, a piece of pure iron was discov¬ 
ered under its base, which was estimated to have 
been situated there over 1,900 years. Tools 
made of iron and steel by the ancients more 
than 3,000 years ago are preserved in the muse¬ 
ums at Rome, Berlin, London, Paris, and other 
cities of Europe. 

After' the decline of Rome, Spain became 
noted for the production of iron and steel, the 
most extensive furnaces being located in the 
province of Catalonia, in the north of Spain, 
whence the Catalan furnace was named. The 
Catalan furnaces are still used for low blast, and 
serve a useful purpose where iron ore is reason¬ 
ably pure. With the discovery that all ores can¬ 
not be melted in Catalan furnaces, it became nec¬ 
essary to construct higher furnaces, with an 
opening at the top into which the ore is thrown. 
This is the form of structure utilized in modern 
blast furnaces, and their invention dates from 
the early part of the 14th century, when a native 
of Germany introduced this form and utilized it 
extensively for the production of iron from ore 
secured in the Rhine provinces. These furnaces 
were introduced into France in the middle of 
the 15th century and into England about the 
same time. 

Coal did not come into general use in blast 
furnaces until 1713, charcoal being used previ¬ 
ously, but the latter was displaced because it 
does not furnish sufficient heat. The imperfect¬ 
ly worked iron ore left in Britain by the Romans 
supplied materials for some of the high grade 
furnaces for nearly 300 years, being rendered of 
value because of the increased heat obtained 
from coal and coke. In 1585 iron deposits were 
discovered in North Carolina by an expedition 
sailing under Sir Walter Raleigh. The iron 
first used in America was smelted in Europe, 


IRON AGE 


1117 


IRON CROWN 


but the American products began to be used in 
manufacturing in Virginia as early as 1619. 
However, material progress was not made until 
1643, when blast furnaces were built near Massa¬ 
chusetts Bay, at the present site of Lynn, where 
deposits of bog ore are found. Among the val¬ 
uable improvements in the manufacture of iron 
may be mentioned those of Cort, who, in 1783, 
secured a patent on machinery used in rolling 
and the next year was granted a patent on de¬ 
vices employed in puddling. Dalton discovered 
the hot blast in 1827 and Bessemer, in 1856, dis¬ 
covered the method of converting crude iron 
into steel by the Bessemer process. See Blast 
Furnace; Rolling Mill; Steel. 

IRON AGE, a term used to indicate the 
degree of civilization and culture of a people 
considered from the material of which their 
tools and weapons are made. The three prehis¬ 
toric stages .are known as the ages of stone, 
bronze, and iron. This succession in the use of 
tools and weapons was not followed universally 
in every part of the world. In some portions, as 
in America, Africa, and the islands of the South 
Pacific, the natives passed directly from the 
use of stone to iron. The age of iron be¬ 
gan in Greece in the time of Homer, the Ho¬ 
meric poems alluding to the transition, from 
bronze to iron. From the southern portion of 
Europe the age of iron moved northward. It 
reached Scandinavia about the period of the 
Christian era, and became fully established about 
the year 800 a. d., when the Scandinavians were 
converted to Christianity. In the stone age im¬ 
plements and weapons were cut from native 
rock, in the bronze age they were cast, and in 
the iron age they were hammered into shape 
and ornamented by curved lines. The iron age 
was characterized in most countries by the in¬ 
troduction of alphabetic characters, by which a 
basis was laid for history and literature. The 
present time is often spoken of as the age of 
steel, and sometimes as the age of electricity. 

IRONCLAD VESSELS, the naval vessels 
that are protected from the fire of the heavy 
guns by iron or steel plates. Ironclad vessels 
are of comparatively modern invention, and were 
first tried on some of the French floating bat¬ 
teries at Kinburn in 1855. The experiments 
were not satisfactory until 1858, when the French 
vessel La Gloire was constructed, and the fol¬ 
lowing year Great Britain began to introduce 
armor-clad vessels into the navy. Since then 
marked improvements have been made, and war 
vessels have taken on a powerful and secure 
form. The first test of a protected vessel, in 
actual military contact occurred in the Civil 
War, when the Confederates covered the Merri- 


mac with railroad rails and other heavy irons, 
naming it Virginia, and in this way succeeded in 
damaging the Union navy. This was followed 
by the invention of the Monitor, a protected tur¬ 
ret ship, by Ericsson, and from it resulted an 
entire revolution in naval warfare. 

The first ironclads were constructed of wood, 
with steel or iron plates protecting the entire 
exposed surface, but at present iron and steel' 
enter extensively into the general construction, 
while the firing from them is done through port¬ 
holes, or from central turrets or citadels.. The 
plate formerly used was from three to five inches 
thick, the thinner being near the bow and stern, 
but those of more recent manufacture have ar¬ 
mor from six to fifteen inches in thickness on the 
sides, and a deck plate from two to four inches 
thick. The most important manufactories of ar¬ 
mor plate afe located at Essen, Germany, known 
as the Krupp works. All the powerful nations, 
such as the United States, Great Britain, Ger¬ 
many, France, Russia, and Italy, have ironclad 
vessels for offensive and defensive operations. 
The navy of Great Britain has more ironclad 
vessels than that of any other country. Such 
battleships as the Oregon and the- Minnesota, 
of the United States navy, are representative 
types of first-class armored vessels. Italy long 
had two of the largest ironclads in the. world, the 
Lepanto and Italia, each having a displacement 
of 13,840 tons. However, they are exceeded in 
size by the Minnesota, the Connecticut, and the 
Louisiana, each of which has a displacement of 
16,000 tons. 

IRON CROSS, a military decoration given 
for distinguished service by the German gov¬ 
ernment. It was first given by Frederick Wil¬ 
liam III. of Prussia in recognition of distin¬ 
guished services in war. During the war with 
France, in 1870-71, it was revived. The decora¬ 
tion consists of a Maltese cross of iron bordered 
with silver, and is suspended from the neck by 
means of a cord. A similar decoration, known 
as the grand cross, is awarded to officers of high 
rank. 

IRON CROWN, a crown used at the coro¬ 
nation of the kings of Lombardy and afterward 
by the German emperors, when the latter were 
sovereigns of that country. It is made of six 
pieces and is adorned with jewels, enamels, and 
golden roses. The cross was so named from an 
iron circle, which, according to tradition, was 
forged from a nail used in the crucifixion of 
Christ. Charlemagne, when he united Italy with 
Germany to form the Holy Roman Empire, wore 
this crown. Subsequently it was worn by 
Charles V., by Napoleon I., and by two emper¬ 
ors of Austria. In 1866 it was placed in the 


IRON GATE 


1118 


IROQUOIS 




Church of Saint John the Baptist at Monza, 
Italy. 

IRON GATE, a narrow place in the Danube 
River, near Gladova, a short distance below the 
point where the river crosses the boundary of 
Hungary. It is formed by the Transylvanian 
Alps. Formerly it obstructed navigation. In 
1890 vast excavations were begun to widen and 
deepen the river bed, which were completed in 
about ten years. 

IRON MOUNTAIN, a city in Michigan, 
county seat of Dickinson County, near the Me¬ 
nominee River, fifty miles west of Escanaba. 
It is on the Chicago and Northwestern and the 
Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul railroads. 
In the vicinity are productive iron mines. The 
chief buildings include the county courthouse, 
the high school, and a number of churches. It 
has manufactures of mining and agricultural ma¬ 
chinery, clothing, and utensils. Sewerage, pave¬ 
ments, electric lighting, and waterworks are 
among the utilities. It was settled in 1873 and 
was incorporated in 1888. Population, 1904, 
8,585; in 1910, 9,216. 

IRON MOUNTAIN, or Iron Mount, a fa¬ 
mous hill in Saint Francois County, Missouri, 
81 miles south of Saint Louis. It has an area 
of 500 acres and rises to an altitude of 200 feet 
above the surrounding country. The deposits 
consist of specular or hematite iron ore and ap¬ 
pear to be inexhaustible, constituting one of the 
richest and purest iron ores in the United States. 
Near it is Iron Mountain, a village having im¬ 
portant railroad connections and containing blast 
furnaces and factories. 

IRONTON (i'urn-tun), a city in Ohio, 
county seat of Lawrence County, on the Ohio 
River, about thirty miles above Portsmouth. It 
is on the Norfolk and Western, the Cincinnati, 
Hamilton and Dayton, and other railroads. On 
the opposite side of the river is the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad, which reaches the city by a 
free ferry. The surrounding country has de¬ 
posits of bituminous coal, iron ore, and brick 
and fire clays. Among the chief buildings are 
the high school, the Masonic Temple, the county 
courthouse, the Odd Fellows Hall, and the 
Briggs Public Librar}'. It has stove works, ma¬ 
chine shops, brickyards, foundries, cement works, 
and rolling mills. Gas and electric lighting, 
street railways, pavements, and waterworks are 
among the public utilities. Ironton was settled 
in 1832 and incorporated in 1849. Population, 
1900, 11,868; in 1910, 13,147. 

IRON WOOD, the name of several species 
of hornbeam, a tree native to North America. 
This tree is rather small, rarely exceeding six 
inches in diameter, and the wood is hard and 


tough. A similar forest tree is native to South 
America. The ironwood of commerce is ob¬ 
tained from a myrtle of the eastern part of Asia. 
This wood is extremely hard, dark colored, and 
so heavy and dense that it sinks in water. The 
natives of China and the East Indies use it for 
anchoring. From its hardness and density, eb¬ 
ony is sometimes called ironwood. 

IRONWOOD, a city of Michigan, in Goge¬ 
bic County, on Montreal River, 150 miles west 
of Marquette. It is on the Wisconsin Central 
and the Chicago and Northwestern railroads. 
The iron industry is the most important enter¬ 
prise, its mines yielding large quantities of rich 
ore. Among the chief buildings are the city hall, 
the Carnegie Library, the high school, and a 
number of churches. It has manufactures of 
dgars, ironware, machinery, furniture, and uten¬ 
sils. The surrounding country is included in 
the rich Gogebic iron range of Michigan and 
Wisconsin. It has systems of public drainage, 
lighting, and waterworks. The place was set¬ 
tled in 1884 and incorporated three years later. 
Population, 1904, 10,019; in 1910, 12,821. 

IROQUOIAN INDIAN (ir -o-kwoi'an), one 
of the largest groups of American Indians, com¬ 
prising the most important linguistic stock. 
Originally they appear to have occupied the re¬ 
gion in the lower part of the Saint Lawrence, 
whence they spread up the river and to the sec¬ 
tion bordering on the Great Lakes. They com¬ 
prise the Iroquois, the Eries, the Hurons, the 
Tuscaroras, and many others. Cartier first came 
in contact with them in 1535, when they were 
well established in the region now included in 
Quebec, Ontario, New York, and Pennsylvania. 
These Indians are closely related in language to 
the Cherokees, but the latter appear to have sep¬ 
arated from the parent stock at a very early 
date. See Iroquois. 

IROQUOIS (ir-6-kwoi'), or Six Nations, 

a celebrated confederation of North American 
Indian tribes. They were first known as the 
Five Nations, which included the Mohawks, 
Onondagas, Senecas, Oneidas, and Cayugas. In 
1712 they were joined by the Florida Tusca¬ 
roras, when the union became known as the Six 
Nations. They carried on extensive hostilities 
against the French in the 17th century, when 
they numbered about 15,000, but suffered severe 
losses. Subsequently they became allied to the 
Dutch, later to the English, and afterward joined 
Pontiac. A peace concluded was broken in 1774, 
but another treaty was made in 1784 with the 
United States, and the greater portion moved 
across the lakes into Ontario. In the War of 
1812 the American and Canadian branches were 
pitted against each other, but at the close of that 


IRRAWADDY 


1119 


IRRIGATION 


war a lasting peace was concluded. At present 
the Iroquois number about 12,000, many of whom 
have embraced Christianity and become ad¬ 
vanced in educational arts. The larger part of 
those in the United States are in New York, 
Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. Their most dis¬ 
tinguished men include Brant, Cornplanter, and 
Red Jacket. 

IRRAWADDY, or Irawadi, a river of 
Southern Asia, rises in the Himalaya Moun¬ 
tains, has an almost southerly course of 1,500 
miles, and flows by an extensive delta into the 
Bay of Bengal. The river valley is exceedingly 
fertile. As a highway of commerce it is more 
important than either the Indus or the Ganges. 
During the Burmese wars it furnished the chief 
nieans for British advancement, and now carries 
the bulk of the trade through central Burmah. 
Levees are maintained for a distance of 100 
miles from the sea to protect the lowlands from 
overflows. Among the tributaries are the Ran¬ 
goon, the Bhamo, and the Bassein. The cities 
on its banks include Mandalay, Rangoon, Ava, 
and Prome. 

IRRIGATION (ir-ri-ga'shun), a system by 
which the fertility of soils is produced or in¬ 


creased by supplying an adequate amount of wa¬ 
ter for the production of crops. The term is 
likewise applied to a system of periodical inun¬ 
dation, whereby the fertility is increased, or by 
which the tillage of rice is made possible. Irri¬ 


gation is necessary in most instances where the 
rainfall is less than twenty inches per year, but 
this depends somewhat upon the character of 
the soil, the kinds of crops grown, the amount 
of evaporation, and whether the precipitation is 
chiefly in the growing season. The value of ir¬ 
rigated land ranges from $10 to $1,000 per acre, 
depending upon the locality and the classes of 
plants that are cultivated. 

The cultivation of lands under a method of 
irrigation is one of the oldest of industries and 
was utilized extensively in prehistoric ages in 
regions where natural rainfall was insufficient. 
It was practiced extensively in Egypt more than 
2,000 years before the Christian era, when great 
artificial lakes and canals were built for the pur¬ 
pose of conducting the water across the barren 
and otherwise unproductive surface to the tracts 
containing elements of fertility. The same sys¬ 
tem was in common use among the peoples of 
Persia, India, China, Mesopotamia, and other 
Eastern countries which have an arid climate. 
In New Mexico and Arizona, as well as other 
portions of the United States, are traces of 
systems of irrigation that were built by prehis¬ 
toric peoples. However, in many localities the 
physical conditions have 
changed materially. In some 
instances the supply of water 
has become exhausted and 
the rivers have dried up en¬ 
tirely, or have become low¬ 
ered in their channels to such 
an extent that the irrigated 
regions are left far above and 
remote from the former 
source of water. In the Salt 
River valley of Wyoming are 
remains of former irrigation 
systems that have been fol¬ 
lowed more or less by mod¬ 
ern canals, and the leveling 
performed centuries ago by 
forgotten races is still a 
source of utility. Old as the 
industry is, there have been 
few changes from the meth¬ 
ods employed in remote times. 

In the western portion of 
North America, both in Can¬ 
ada and the United States, 
are large tracts -of land where 
rainfall is not sufficient for 
the production of crops, and formerly served 
only for pasture lands. Many localities of this 
region have been improved by irrigation and 
other tracts may be, but there are vast districts 
that do not have a sufficient supply of water and 







IRRIGATION 


1120 


ISHPEMING 


can never be redeemed. In many portions of 
Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, California, Oregon, 
Utah, Washington, Montana, New Mexico, Ne¬ 
vada, Wyoming, and Alberta much value has 
been added to lands by irrigation. In some re¬ 
gions the water supply is drawn from rivers, 
while in others vast reservoirs are maintained 
to catch the water coming from melting snows, 
and this is distributed by means of canals at 
the proper season. In the western portion of 
North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, 
Oklahoma, and portions of Texas and Sas¬ 
katchewan, the rainfall is sufficient at certain 
periods, and irrigation is provided when there is 
less than the usual amount of rainfall. In some 
states, particularly in South Dakota and Cali¬ 
fornia, irrigation is effected to a considerable 
extent from artesian wells. In portions of 
South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, and 
other states irrigation takes on the form of in¬ 
undation, which is an essential in the cultivation 
of rice. 

The United States has an arid region esti¬ 
mated at 175,000,000 acres, of which about 10,- 
000,000 have been reclaimed by irrigation. Cal¬ 
ifornia reports the largest area of reclaimed land, 
about 2,100,000 acres, while Colorado has 1,500,- 
000 acres, Montana 700,000 acres, Idaho 500,000 
acres, and Utah 400,000 acres under successful 
cultivation. The largest irrigated area is in 
India, where 25,000,000 acres have been re¬ 
claimed. Egypt has 6,500,000 acres of reclaimed 
land, and this region will be greatly increased 
as the benefits of the Assouan dam are utilized 
more fully under projected extensions of the 
canal district. Italy has the largest irrigated 
area of Europe, about 3,000,100 acres, while 
Spain has 500,000 acres, and France has 410,000 
acres. 

Congress passed the Reclamation Act on June 
17, 1902, which is greatly facilitating progress in 
reclaiming arid regions. Under this law 50,000 
acres of land in Nevada were supplied with wa¬ 
ter in 1905 by the great Truckee-Carson system. 
It is so named from the Truckee and Carson 
rivers, which rise on the eastern slopes of the 
forest-clad Sierra Nevada Mountains in Cali¬ 
fornia, and flow in a general northeasterly direc¬ 
tion into Nevada. The drainage basin of the 
former contains a number of beautiful lakes, in¬ 
cluding Lake Tahoe, all of which are to be util¬ 
ized for flood storage. In Nevada these rivers 
flow for some distance parallel to each other, 
and at one point not more than twenty miles 
apart. The Truckee River then flows north¬ 
ward from Wadsworth, passing into Pyramid 
and Winnemucca lakes, and the Carson River, 
dividing into three channels, ultimately disap¬ 


pears into Carson Sink. The illustration shows 
the Diversion Works on the Truckee River, 
- where its water is turned into a large canal 31 
miles in length and carried into the Dam Site 
on the Carson River, where the combined flow 
is directed into two large canals, one on each 
side of the river, which are the feeders for a 
distributing system of ditches hundreds of miles 
in length. It is estimated that 350,000 acres will 
be reclaimed eventually at an expenditure of 
$9,000,000. Similar projects have been carried 
out or are under way in Colorado and other 
states. 

IRTISH (lr'tish), or Irtysh, a river of Asia, 
the most important tributary of the Obi. It 
rises in the Altai Mountains, in China, and after 
a northwesterly course of 1,625 miles joins the 
Obi near Samarova. The valleys of the upper 
Irtish and its tributaries are among the best 
cultivated and well populated districts of Siberia, 
and through the region passes the Trans-Si¬ 
berian Railroad. Tara, Omsk, and Tobolsk are 
among the ports on the Irtish. 

IRVINGTON, a town of New Jersey, in 
Essex County, adjoining the city of Newark. 
It is noted as a residential center and has well- 
platted and improved thoroughfares. It has a 
public library and several fine schools and 
churches. The manufactures include clothing, 
wall paper, brushes, and machinery. Electric 
lights, street railways, and a system of sewer¬ 
age are among the public utilities. The first 
settlement on its site was made in 1666. It was 
incorporated in 1898. Population, 1910, 11,877. 

ISCHIA (es'ke-a), an island in the Mediter¬ 
ranean, situated about six miles west of Italy, 
near the Bay of Naples. The area is eighteen 
square miles. It is of volcanic origin, contains 
many thermal springs, and is noted for its 
healthful climate and production of excellent 
wine and fruits. Monte Epomeo, the highest 
point, is 2,617 feet above the sea. Among the 
chief industries are fruit culture, fisheries, and 
the entertainment of many tourists who visit 
it annually. Ischia is the capital and most im¬ 
portant city, having a population of 7,008, and 
other towns are Forio and Casamicciola. 
Earthquakes are not infrequent, the most im¬ 
portant of recent date occurring in 1883, when 
about 5,000 persons were killed. In the city of 
Ischia is a picturesque castle built by Alfonso I. 
of Aragon, in the 12th century. Population, 
1908, 27,034. 

ISHPEMING (ish'pe-ming), a city of Mich¬ 
igan, in Marquette County, fifteen miles west of 
Marquette. It is on the Duluth, South Shore 
and Atlantic and the Chicago and Northwestern 
railroads. The city is noted because large quan- 



ISINGLASS 


1121 


ISLE ROYALE 


tities of red hematite iron ore are mined in the 
surrounding country. Among the manufactures 
are ironware, clothing, carriages, cigars, machin¬ 
ery, steam boilers, and utensils. The public 
school system carries a fine course of study. 
Among the municipal facilities are electric 
lights, pavements, a public library, and an ex¬ 
tensive system of street railways. It was set¬ 
tled about 1857 and was incorporated in 1873. 
Population, 1904, 11,623; in 1910, 12,448. 

ISINGLASS (i'zin-glas), the popular name 
of mica, a mineral of a metallic luster found in 
large deposits, remarkable for its tendency to 
split easily into thin, transparent, elastic plates. 
It is used as a substitute for glass in windows 
in Mexico, Siberia, and some countries in South 
America, and for lanterns, having the property 
of bearing sudden and marked changes in tem¬ 
perature without breaking. In the manufacture 
of stoves it is used for ornamental portions. It 
constitutes a valuable substitute for glass on war 
vessels, since it is not easily broken by the jar 
from the discharge of guns. 

ISINGLASS, a gelatinous substance made 
from the air bladder of various kinds of fish. 
The best quality is secured from the bladder 
of the sturgeon, but the American product is 
made from the cod, hake, and other fishes.* The 
purposes for which it is used include the manu¬ 
facture of glue, court-plaster, a cement for glass 
and porcelain, and for refining sherries and 
white wine. It likewise serves for stiffening 
silks, linens, gauzes, and other textiles. 

ISLAM (Tz'lam), a word used by the Mo¬ 
hammedans to signify full submission to God, 
.hence to designate their religion. It is applied 
to the whole body of believers who accept the 
formula of faith: “There is no God but Allah, 
and Mohammed is his prophet.” In this pro¬ 
fession of faith is included the acknowledgment 
of the divine unity and of the submission of 
Mohammed, the observance of prayer, alms giv¬ 
ing, keeping the fast of Ramadan, and the pil¬ 
grimage to Mecca. To this the Shiites, who 
are dominant in Persia, add: “Ali is the vicar 
of God.” However, the orthodox Moham¬ 
medans, who comprise the majority of the 
Church, of Islam, reject the position thus as¬ 
signed to Ali. 

ISLAND (I'land), a small body of land sur¬ 
rounded by water. The islands differ from the 
continent in that they are smaller in size, and 
range from very small islets to large tracts of 
land, such as Cuba and Great Britain. They 
were formed by corals, by volcanic action, or 
by being separated from the mainland through 
the action of waves and currents. To the last 
mentioned class belongs Great Britain, which 
71 


was probably separated by the action of currents 
from the continent of Europe. Oceanic or 
pelagic islands are located in the ocean, while 
continental islands lie near the continents and 
resemble them in geological structure. Oceanic 
islands are either coral or volcanic, with few 
exceptions. An archipelago consists of a group 
of islands, such as the Hebrides and the West 
Indies. The action of waves causes many 
changes on the coasts of islands, as in the case 
of Helgoland, which has been greatly reduced in 
the historic period. 

ISLAND NUMBER TEN, an island for¬ 
merly in the Mississippi River, near the bound¬ 
ary between Kentucky and Tennessee, about 
forty miles below Columbus, Ky. It was so 
named from its position below Cairo, Ill., being 
the tenth of a series of islands. The Confeder¬ 
ates under General Pope had fortified it, and 
after the fall of forts Henry and Donelson it 
was commanded by General Mackall with a part 
of Beauregard’s army. Commodore Foote, com¬ 
manding seven Federal gunboats, bombarded it 
three weeks. At the same time an army under 
Pope operated against it, and the Confederates 
were compelled to surrender on April 7, 1862. 
About 7,000 prisoners and an immense quantity 
of ammunition and supplies were captured by 
the Federals. The river gradually washed the 
island away, the last portion of it disappearing 
in 1866. 

ISLANDS OF THE BLESSED, in Greek 
mythology, the name of certain islands of the 
western ocean, regarded the abode of departed 
spirits and of certain favored mortals who were 
rescued from death by the gods. The locality 
is referred to by Homer as the Elysian Plain. 
The inhabitants were thought to enjoy an abun¬ 
dance of everything and live eternally in ease 
and comfort. 

ISLAY (i'la), one of the.Hebrides Islands, 
included in Argyllshire, Scotland. It is a short 
distance southwest of the island of Jura, from 
which it is separated by the Sound of Islay. 
The area is 220 square miles. It is the richest 
and most productive of the Inner Hebrides, 
hence is often called “Queen of the Hebrides.” 
Population, 1907, 6,982. 

ISLE OF PINES. See Pines, Isle of. 

ISLE ROYALE, an island in the northwest¬ 
ern part of Lake Superior, located a short dis¬ 
tance south of Port Arthur, Canada, and form¬ 
ing a part of Houghton County, Michigan. The 
surface is rocky, but it is rich in copper mines 
and fisheries. Low spruce and fir trees cover 
a considerable part of the island. It is about 
ten miles broad and forty miles long, and near 
it are a number of small islets. Siskawit Bay 


ISLES OF SHOALS 


1122 


ITALY 


* is on the southeastern shore, and is the princi¬ 
pal inlet. 

ISLES OF SHOALS, a group of eight 
small islands off the coast of New Hampshire, 
about ten miles southeast of Portsmouth. They 
are inhabited by fishermen and are noted as a 
favorite resort for bathing, fishing, and general 
recreation. On Star and Appledore islands, 
containing 150 and 400 acres respectively, are a 
number of hotels for summer visitors, and on 
White Island is a revolving light 87 feet above 
the sea. Steamers run regularly from Ports¬ 
mouth to the principal landings on the islands. 
Champlain discovered these islands in 1605 and 
they were visited by Captain Smith in 1614. The 
permanent inhabitants consist mostly of fisher¬ 
men. 

ISOBARS, or Isobarometric Lines, the 

lines which join places that have an equal at¬ 
mospheric pressure. They are employed in mak¬ 
ing weather maps and charts. Formerly they 
were used to show only the pressure at sea 
level, but now such maps indicate the variations 
of gravity at different places. Charts construct¬ 
ed in this way usually indicate the places that 
have the same monthly and annual atmospheric 
pressure, hence are of importance in forecasting 
the weather. The so called gradient of pressure 
is the rate of change of pressure in a unit of 
horizontal distance. It is greatly influenced by 
the movement of air, especially strong winds, 
the latter tending to lessen the difference of at¬ 
mospheric pressure. The gradient of pressure 
is greatest around a storm center and is least 
in the strongest currents of wind. 

ISOTHERMAL LINES (t-so-thermal), 
the lines on a globe or map passing through 
places in which the mean temperature is the 
same. The first observations and collection of 
facts bearing on isothermal lines were made by 
Humboldt. Isocheimenal lines are drawn over 
places in which the winter temperature is the 
same, and isotheral lines are used to designate 
places having the same mean summer tempera¬ 
ture. 

ISPAHAN (is-pa-han'), an ancient city of 
Persia, capital of the province of Irak-Ajemi, 
on the Zendarud River, about 210 miles south 
of Teheran. For centuries it was the capital 
of Persia and is still an important commercial 
center , of the interior. It is situated in a fer¬ 
tile valley. A wall about 23 miles long incloses 
the city. The noteworthy buildings include the 
palace, a royal mosque, and many bazaars. It 
is ornamented with a large number of parks 
and public gardens of shrubs and flowers. The 
trade, though large, is carried on principally 
by caravans. It has manufactures of cotton, 


woolen, satin, and velvet goods, glass, firearms, 
earthenware, brassware, sword blades, pottery, 
and trinkets. The surrounding country pro¬ 
duces large quantities of tobacco, opium, and 
cereals. Ispahan attained to much power dur¬ 
ing the reign of the caliphs of Bagdad. It was 
captured by Timour in 1387. In the 17th cen¬ 
tury it contained a population of about 900,000. 
The capital was removed to Teheran in 1722, 
after Ispahan had been ravaged by the Afghans. 
It is now the seat of the high priest and the 
religious center of Persia, containing many in¬ 
stitutions of educational importance. Popula¬ 
tion, 88,581. 

ISRAELITES (Tz'ra-el-Its). See Jews. 

ISTHMIAN GAMES (is'mi-an), one of the 
four great national festivals of Greece, cele¬ 
brated on the Isthmus of Corinth, the other 
games being the Nemean, Olympian, and Pyth¬ 
ian. They were celebrated in April or May of 
every alternate year, and consisted of boxing, 
wrestling, foot and chariot racing, gymnastics, 
throwing the discus, and contests in music and 
poetry. These games were of very ancient ori¬ 
gin and were established in honor of Neptune 
(Poseidon). With the spread of Christianity 
they began to decline, but they were still cele¬ 
brated in the time of Constantine and Julian. 
Those who took a prize were originally awarded 
with a garland of pine leaves, and later cash 
awards were given to the victors. 

ISTHMUS (ls'mus), a narrow passage of 
land connecting two larger bodies, or uniting 
a peninsula with the mainland. The ancient 
Greeks applied the name Isthmus without any 
addition to designate the Isthmus of Corinth, 
which connects the Morea with northern Greece. 
The Isthmus of Suez, connecting Africa and 
. Asia, and the Isthmus of Panama, connecting 
North and South America, are the most promi¬ 
nent isthmuses. 

ISTRIA (Is'tri-a), a peninsula in the north¬ 
eastern part of the Adriatic Sea, forming the 
crown land of Istria, a part of Austria. With 
it are included the islands of Cherso and Veg- 
lia, the whole possession including an area of 
1,910 square miles. The surface is diversified, 
being mountainous in the north and efuite level 
in the south. Monte Maggiore, the highest 
peak, is 4,600 feet above the sea. Valuable 
forests abound. The minerals include salt, 
alum, and lignite coal, and the cultivated lands 
yield fruit and cereals. Large quantities of 
wine, olive oil, and lumber products are man¬ 
ufactured. Parenzo is the capital. It became 
a possession of Austria in 1797. Population, 
1906, 345,506. 

ITALY (lt'a-li), a kingdom of Europe, com- 


ITALY 


1123 


ITALY 


prising chiefly the middle peninsula of the 
three that project from the southern coast of 
the continent into the Mediterranean Sea. Be¬ 
sides this, it includes the islands of Sardinia, 
Sicily, Elba, and about 65 others of more or 
less importance. Its length from Sicily to the 
-Alps is about 690 miles, and in width it varies 
from 90 to 350 miles. The boundary line is 
formed on the north by the Alps, which trend 
from east to west in irregular ranges, and the 
Mediterranean and Adriatic seas form the prin¬ 
cipal portion of the remainder of the boundary. 
It is separated from the Balkan Peninsula by 
the Strait of Otranto, 47 miles wide. On the 
east it is bounded partly by Austria, on the 
north by Austria and Switzerland, and on the 
west by France. The western shore is washed 
by the Ligurian and the Tyrrhenian seas and 
the southern by the Ionian Sea, all being por¬ 
tions of the Mediterranean. Sicily, which ex¬ 
tends almost across the Mediterranean, is sep¬ 
arated from the mainland by the Strait of Mes¬ 
sina. The mainland has an area of 91,000 
square miles and the islands equal 19,684, mak¬ 
ing a total of 110,684. 

Description. The Apennine Mountains tra¬ 
verse centrally the entire peninsula and attain 
to heights of from 10,000 to nearly 14,000 feet 
above sea level. In the vicinity of Naples the 
Apennines are little less than 10,000 feet, and 
in the northern portion the greatest height is 
13,650 feet. Many of the summits are volcanic, 
though Vesuvius, on the Bay of Naples, is the 
only active volcano in the continent of Europe. 
Mount Aetna, in Sicily, is the highest vol¬ 
canic elevation of Europe. Others of historic 
interest include Mount Stromboli in the Lipari 
Isles. In the northern part of Italy is the 
valley of the Po, popularly called the Plain of 
Lombardy, which embraces an area of 37,000 
square miles. Much of the Italian mountain 
scenery is picturesque, the vegetation is abun¬ 
dant, and the valleys are remarkable for beauty 
and fertility. 

Though the drainage is carried by numerous 
streams, the only rivers of large size are the 
Po and the Adige, both of which flow into the 
Adriatic Sea. The former is navigable to 
Turin, and with its tributaries affords naviga¬ 
tion a distance of 600 miles. It is fed by the 
snows of the Alps and the rains of the Apen¬ 
nines, and enters the sea by a large delta. 
Among the rivers of the peninsula are the 
Arno, the Brenta, and the Tiber, but these and 
others of their class flow swiftly and are sub¬ 
ject to great changes between the dry season 
in summer and the seasons of heavy rains. 
Many beautiful lakes are located in the central 


and northern parts, among them Como and 
Bolsena, while Garda and Maggiore extend 
partly beyond the northern border. A system 
of canals is maintained in the basin of the Po 
and several of the rivers have been canalized, 
both for transportation and for irrigation of 
rice lands. 

The climate varies greatly on account of the 
extent in latitude and vast differences in eleva¬ 
tion. In the northern part the climate is con¬ 
tinental, similar to that of Central Europe, but 
in the southern part it resembles that of Africa, 
being affected by the dry atmosphere and the 
sirocco winds that blow across the Mediter¬ 
ranean. The mean annual temperature on the 
peninsula is about 57°, while in the extreme 
south and on the islands it varies from 60° to 
64°. The largest rainfall occurs in autumn and 
winter, hence irrigation must be utilized dur¬ 
ing the growing season in many parts of the 
kingdom. The valley of the Po is particularly 
fertile and is one of the best agricultural re¬ 
gions in the world. Extensive swamps are 
located in different sections, such as the Pon¬ 
tine marshes, the Maremma in Tuscany, the 
Campagna of Rome, and the swampy lands of 
the lower Po. These marshy regions are sub¬ 
ject to pestilence and fevers, but all other parts 
are singularly healthful. The clearness and 
beauty of the Italian sky is famous. 

Mining. The mineral wealth of Italy is not 
extensive. Coal, though found in limited quan¬ 
tities, is not produced to the extent that the 
output supplies the demand, hence the. manu¬ 
facturing enterprises are necessarily abridged. 
Lignite coal is obtained in Tuscany and in Sar¬ 
dinia, and small quantities of anthracite are 
mined in Piedmont. Sulphur is the most im¬ 
portant mineral, constituting about one-half of 
the mineral output. The most productive sul¬ 
phur mines are worked in Sicily, and small 
quantities are obtained in the mainland. The 
Italian sulphur mines are the most important 
in the world. A good grade of iron ore is 
found in the island of Elba. The zinc mines 
are confined chiefly to Sardinia and Lombardy. 
Copper is obtained in Tuscany and Piedmont, 
rock salt in Calabria and Sicily, and quicksilver 
in Tuscany. The marble quarries of Carrara 
are famous, but marble is obtained in other 
localities, especially in Massa and Serarezza. 
Other minerals include small quantities of gold, 
silver, and antimony. The mineral waters in 
various localities of the Apennines and the vol¬ 
canic regions are especially suited for bathing 
and medicinal purposes. 

Agriculture. About 72 per cent, of the land 
is productive; hence agriculture maintains its 


ITALY 


1124 


ITALY 


position as the leading industry. The land is 
held under three classes: peasant proprietor¬ 
ship, a system of rent, and a form of cooper¬ 
ative partnership. An extensive arid region 
and large stretches of swamp land have inter¬ 
fered with farming to a considerable extent, 
but the government is promoting a system of 
irrigation and drainage, through which several 
millions of acres will be added to the agri¬ 
cultural area. Wheat is the most important 
product and it is grown in all parts of the king¬ 
dom, but the crop is not sufficient to supply 
the demand. Corn is likewise grown in all 
parts of the country, but most largely in the 
provinces of Milan and Caserta, though some 
importation of this cereal is necessary to sup¬ 
ply home consumption. The production of rice 
holds third rank, and the quantity grown is 
sufficient to supply the demand and to furnish 
considerable for exportation. Other important 
crops include oats, rye, barley, potatoes, hay, 
turnips, and vegetables. Small quantities of 
flax, cottoji, and hemp are produced. 

The breeding of live stock has not been de¬ 
veloped to the extent of that industry in Eng¬ 
land and Germany, neither in the quantity and 
in the rearing of improved grades. Horses, 
cattle, swine, and sheep are exported, and cat¬ 
tle and goats are grown largely for meat and 
dairying to supply the home demand. The sheep 
industry is, confined largely to the elevated and 
poorer regions of the peninsula, while the most 
extensive interests in cattle are in the northern 
part. Poultry and eggs are exported in large 
quantities. In Italy, having a favorable climate, 
much of the land area is devoted to the culti¬ 
vation of fruits and silk cocoons. Fine groves 
of lemons and oranges are met with in the 
southern part, especially in Sicily and Sardinia. 
Italy produces a larger quantity of olives than 
any country in the world, and has large inter¬ 
ests in such fruits as figs, dates, apples, -quinces, 
and melons. The mulberry tree is grown in 
connection with silk culture, and is cultivated 
most extensively in the central and northern sec¬ 
tions. Tobacco is cultivated profitably. A large 
forest area is maintained, much of which be¬ 
longs to the government, and practically all of 
the timber land is under government supervi¬ 
sion. The trees include the olive, myrtle, mul¬ 
berry, lemon, chestnut, and numerous others. 

Manufactures. The absence of extensive 
fuel resources has made it impossible for Italy 
to develop rapidly as a manufacturing country, 
much of its coal supply being imported. Raw 
silk is the most important manufactured prod¬ 
uct, and is produced extensively in Lombardy, 
Piedmont, and Venetia. Cotton and wool are 


spun and woven to a considerable extent, but 
the output is not sufficient to supply the de¬ 
mand. Macaroni is produced in large quantities, 
both for home consumption and for exporta¬ 
tion. Considerable progress has been made the 
last two decades in the iron and steel industry, 
but the enterprise is greatly abridged by the. 
absence of a sufficient supply of fuel. Butter 
and cheese of a fine grade are produced. Other 
manufactures include pottery, glassware, ala¬ 
baster, chemicals, leather, and straw-plait'ed 
goods. The government has a monopoly of 
the manufacture of tobacco and salt, and gov¬ 
ernment supervision is exercised over the manu¬ 
facture of powder, sugar, chicory, alcohol, and 
beer. Having a favorable soil and a genial cli¬ 
mate, large quantities of grapes are grown, and 
the manufacture of wine is correspondingly im¬ 
portant. 

Transportation. The railways include a to¬ 
tal of 11,200 miles. This is a smaller mileage 
than is now operated in any of the leading coun¬ 
tries of Europe, but it is compensated for to 
some extent by the large transportation facil¬ 
ities along the coast of the Mediterranean, from 
which Italy secures great trade advantages with 
the cities of Southern Europe and on the At¬ 
lantic. Most of the railroads were built by the 
government or with government support, but 
they are now operated by private companies 
with the condition that they will revert to the 
state after they have been operated sixty years, 
or either party may terminate the contract at 
the expiration of each period of twenty years. 
A fine system of highways is maintained, partly 
by the nation and partly by the provinces and 
communes. These means of transportation, 
connected with the facilities afforded by rivers, 
canals, and steam and electric railways, afford 
communication with all the principal cities and 
districts of the country. The postal and tele¬ 
graph systems are conducted by the government, 
and lines of telephones under public and pri 
vate ownership afford excellent facilities. Sub¬ 
marine cables extend from the principal ports 
to the leading commercial centers in the world. 

The trade of Italy is not as extensive as that 
of the principal European countries. At pres¬ 
ent the exports are-somewhat exceeded by the 
imports. The largest foreign trade is with Ger¬ 
many, Austria, Switzerland, France, Great Bri 
tain, and the United States. Silk, wine, sul¬ 
phur, raw flax, eggs, fruit, and olive oil are 
the chief exports. Among the leading imports 
are coal, wheat, raw cotton, machinery, fish, and 
raw wool. A large and active merchant marine 
is maintained. 

Education. The system of schools is main- 








ITALY 


1125 


ITALY 


tained and regulated by the government, either 
entirely or in conjunction with the communes 
or provinces. Attendance is compulsory in most 
parts of the kingdom, but the law is not effi¬ 
ciently enforced and the per cent, of illiteracy 
is considerably larger than in the countries of 
Northern Europe. Within recent years educa¬ 
tion has made rapid progress among the people, 
but in the southern part of the kingdom illit¬ 
eracy is practically general. However, the high¬ 
er institutions are efficient. The country has 21 
universities, some of which have been celebrated 
many centuries for efficient work, especially 
those at Pisa, Padua, Genoa, Naples, Rome, and 
Palermo. The kindergarten system is modeled 
after that of Germany and the common schools 
are known as lower grade and higher grade ele¬ 
mentary schools. Religious instruction is given 
to those whose parents request it. In addition 
-are maintained night schools, Sunday schools, 
normal schools, gymnasia, colleges, and an ex¬ 
tensive system of private educational institu¬ 
tions. Roman Catholic is the dominant reli¬ 
gion, the Pope residing at Rome. Protestants 
and Jews constitute only a small portion of the 
people, but the exercise of religion is free to 
all. 

Government. The government is a consti¬ 
tutional monarchy, dating from 1848, and for 
government purposes the kingdom is divided 
into 69 provinces. Chief executive authority is 
vested in the king, who holds his office by 
heredity. At present the royal family is that 
of Savoy. The king has power to negotiate 
treaties and declare war, and is commander of 
the army and navy. Though clothed with large 
prerogatives, the sovereign is dependent upon a 
minister to have his official acts made valid, 
which minister assumes personal responsibility 
when countersigning imperial orders. The de¬ 
partments of government include those of the 
treasury, interior, foreign affairs, war, marine, 
finance, justice and religion, public works, com¬ 
merce, industry and agriculture, public instruc¬ 
tion, and posts and telegraphs. Legislative 
power is vested in the parliament, which con¬ 
sists of a senate and a chamber of deputies. 
The former is composed of princes of the royal 
blood and members of the latter are elected by 
citizens over 21 years of age who can read and 
write. The senate contains 320 members and 
the chamber of deputies is comprised of 508 
members. Military service is obligatory from 
21 to 39 years of age, the period of active 
service ranging from two to five years. At 
present the army consists of 250,000 men and 
officers, which is increased on a war footing 
to 3,200,000. It is divided into the three divi¬ 


sions known as the territorial militia, the mobile 
militia, and the permanent army. Its navy, 
though not equal to the most powerful, is in 
a state of healthful growth and includes a 
number of modern vessels. 

Italy has not been particularly successful in 
its scheme of colonial expansion, its policy of 
'keeping abreast with the great powers being 
at least a partial failure. At present the colonies 
are limited to Africa, where it has Italian 
Somaliland and Eritera. The former has an 
area of 100,000 square miles and the latter, 
95,000 square miles. These possessions are 
populated mostly by nomadic peoples and have 
a population of about 730,000. The metric sys¬ 
tem is used in all weights and measurements and 
the monetary system is the same as that of 
France, except that the method of issuing paper 
money is somewhat different. 

Inhabitants. The inhabitants of Italy are 
of small stature and quite dark in complexion. 
Only a small number of foreigners reside in the 
country. The foreign inhabitants include prin¬ 
cipally French, Albanians, Greeks, Slavs, Ger¬ 
mans, and Spaniards. A heavy emigration has 
been going on the last quarter of a century, due 
chiefly to the unsatisfactory condition of public 
affairs. Those who leave the country seek 
homes principally in the United States, Brazil, 
Argentina, and other countries of North and 
South America, and a considerable number find 
new homes in France, Germany, Austria, and 
Switzerland. In 1906 the total emigrants num¬ 
bered 787,977, of whom 10,032 came to Canada 
and 358,569 to the United States. 

# Rome, on the Tiber, is the capital and largest 
city. Other cities of importance include Naples, 
Milan, Turin, Palermo, Genoa, Florence, Bo¬ 
logna, Messina, Venice, and Ravenna. The 
population has increased about fourteen per 
cent, in the last twenty years, and the density 
at present is 285 people to the square mile. In 
density of population it ranks third among the 
countries of Europe, being exceeded only by 
Belgium and the Netherlands. Population, 1907 
33,1340,710. * 

Language and Literature. The language of 
Italy is the Italian, which descended from the 
Latin. From the same source sprang the Span¬ 
ish and French, but they are allied with other 
local elements, which make them more distinct 
from the Latin than the language of Italy. The 
German emperor, Frederick II., who ruled in 
Italy from 1212 to 1250, established the Uni¬ 
versity of ^Naples and made the Italian his Court 
language in Sicily. This circumstance may be 
taken as the first step to place the Italian lan¬ 
guage among those to survive the general up- 


ITALY 


112G 


ITALY 


heaval after the Middle Ages, and soon after 
writers and teachers began to multiply, espe¬ 
cially in Tuscany. By the end of the 13th cen¬ 
tury Italian, owing to its accuracy and poetic 
beauty, began to take precedence as the lan¬ 
guage of literature. It was greatly extended 
in popularity by the writings of Dante (1265- 
1321), who gave it the form in which it has 
prevailed in an almost unchanged condition un¬ 
til the present. The “Divine Comedy” is Dante’s 
masterpiece, and still continues a work of much 
popularity. Petrarch and Boccaccio, in the 14th 
century, wrote works in prose that greatly im¬ 
proved the language in grammatical accuracy. 
The. best known work of Petrarch is his “Par¬ 
allel Lives,” while to Boccaccio we are indebted 
for his “Decameron,” a work in prose from 
which Chaucer, Schiller, and other subsequent 
writers drew much inspiration. 

Florence became the great center of classic 
learning after the Middle Ages, but other noted 
centers of education aided in extending a taste 
for literary work. Alberti (1406-1472), an emi¬ 
nent poet and prose writer, is best known by his 
“On the Family.” The great political reformer, 
Savonarola, added valuable orations to the lit¬ 
erature. Ariosto (1474-1533), an eminent poet, 
is the author of “Orlando Furioso,” an epic of 
chivalry which is still popular. Among the his¬ 
torians of this period is Machiavelli (1469-1527), 
who is the writer of “Prince,” a work trans¬ 
lated into many languages. Benevenuto Cellini 
(1500-1571) gave tone and tendency to litera¬ 
ture by fine, artistic work, while Torquato Tasso 
wrote many dramas and poems, the latter in¬ 
cluding “Jerusalem Delivered,” and to the same 
period belong the painters Titian and Raphael. 
Galileo, in the 17th century, produced numerous 
scientific writings which for clearness and pur¬ 
ity of prose, linked with his discoveries in as¬ 
tronomy, gave immortality to his name. At the 
end of the 18th century we note the tragic writ¬ 
ings of Alfieri, including “Agamemnon,” “Phil¬ 
ip II.,” “Antigone,” and “Marie Stuart.” Vin¬ 
cenzo Monti (1754-1828) made an excellent 
translation of the “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” while 
Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793) ranks as a famous 
comedian, and Silvio Pellico (1788-1854) pro¬ 
duced numerous patriotic and historical writ¬ 
ings. Among the writers of the 19th century 
are Gabriele Rossetti (1783-1854), a poet of 
considerable renown, and the novelists Manzoni 
and Rosini. The historians of this period in¬ 
clude Capponi and Balbo, the political writers, 
Joseph Mazzini, and the satirists, Giusto. 

Italian literature, though quite extensive in 
scope and character, has hardly touched the 
people with as marked an impression as that of 


France, Germany, and England, largely because 
education has not been so widely disseminated 
within the regions where the Italian language 
prevails. However, with the larger encourage¬ 
ment of schools and higher institutions of learn¬ 
ing there came a notable increase in interest, 
and the 20th century opened with prospects that 
before its close additions of wide scope will 
be made and general interest will become greatly 
extended. Among the recent writers of Italy 
may be named the historians Giovanni Monti- 
colo and Vittorio Fiorini; the poets, Arturo 
Graf, Giosue Carducci, and Gabriele d’Annunzio; 
the novelists, Matilde Serao; the dramatist, 
Roberto Bracco; and the general writers, Eu¬ 
genio Rossi and Nicola Zingarelli. 

History. The history of Rome (q. v.) in¬ 
cludes the early history of Italy. Prior to 
Roman supremacy Italy was peopled by various 
Italian tribes, including the Etruscans, Oscans, 
Latins, Umbrians, and Sabines. Of these the 
Latins attained to the greatest power and gave 
their language and name to the people. At 
present there are few traces of the first in¬ 
habitants. In the northern part the Germanic 
element is mingled with the native peoples, 
especially in Lombardy, while in the southern 
section are many descendants of former Greek 
colonists. At present the people of Italy par¬ 
take of the characteristics of the' early Romans, 
Gauls, and Germanic peoples. 

The history of Italy proper begins with 476, 
when Rome fell under the invading Heruli, who 
comprised the barbarian tribes that proclaimed 
Odoacer King of Italy. Theodoric the Great, 
King of the Ostrogoths, obtained possession 
in 493, and by wise administration gave Italy 
a more wholesome government than had been 
experienced since, the first decline of Roman 
prosperity. However, the Eastern emperor, 
Justinian, vanquished the Ostrogoths in 552, 
and Italy was governed from Constantinople, 
where the Eastern Empire had held sway since 
395. The Germanic Lombards secured domin¬ 
ion in 568, and in 800 Charlemagne became the 
recognized ruler of Italy. 

The Carlovingian dynasty gave eight kings 
to Italy, and in 951 Otto, King of Germany, re¬ 
duced Berengarius II. to vassalage and ten 
years later was crowned King of Italy and 
Emperor of Rome. For more than two centuries 
German kings governed Italy. However, 
numerous wars for supremacy took place 
periodically between the popes, emperors, and 
the independent cities, and at that time rose 
the famous contest between the Guelphs and 
Ghibellines. Frederick 'Barbarossa, the emperor, 
stipulated a six years’ peace at Venice in 1177, 





VICTOR EMMANUEL III. 

The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III., was born November 11, 1869. He 
studied at Rome and received a command in the national division of troops 
stationed at Naples. In 1896 he married Princess Helene of Montenegro. He 
succeeded his father, Humbert I., in 1900. 

























































. 


























































































ITALY 


1127 


ITALY 


and concluded a treaty with the Lombard towns 
in 1183. The municipalities of Genoa, Venice, 
Milan, and Pisa flourished during' this period, 
and Venice became the supreme power in the 
Levant, after the capture of Constantinople, 
The popes became temporal sovereigns of Rome 
• i n 1278, and an effort made by Henry VII. to 
S restore German supremacy was defeated in 
\ 1312 by the Guelphs. Three years prior to this, 

! in 1309, the papal seat was established at Avig¬ 
non, and from there the papal power was ex- 
| ercised for seventy years. The history of Italy 
as an integral political body ceases in the 14th 
century, when five powers controlled the coun- 
( try and continued to hold supremacy until about 
the end of the 15th century. These five powers 
include the former republics of Venice and 
Florence, the duchy of Milan, the kingdom of 
„ Naples, and the Papacy. 

In Florence arose the Medici family, which 
by its wealth and sagacity had almost absolute 
sway, but the Battle of Pavia, in 1525, gave 
the German emperors appointive power over 
several of the states. With the rising power 
of Florence was exemplified the influence of 
Savonarola, under whose activities political 
opinion was influenced largely. Within the 16th 
century the rival armies of different claimants 
struggled for supremacy, particularly those of 
Charles V. of Germany and Francis I. of 
France, by which the papal influence gained in 
strength. Francis I. was expelled from Italy 
shortly after the Battle of Pavia, after which 
Rome was captured and Pope Clement VII. 
became the prisoner of Charles V., in 1527. Two 
years later Charles V. attained supremacy by 
the Peace of Cambrai, and his son Philip was 
recognized undisputed sovereign by the Treaty 
of Cateau-Cambresis, giving the Hapsburgs 
undisputed control. The establishment pf the 
order of the Jesuits and the Inquisition 
strengthened the Papacy, and in 1684 Venice 
conquered the Peloponnesus. However, the 
Peace of Utrecht, in 1713, gave Austria su¬ 
premacy in Milan, Naples, and Sardinia. After 
prolonged wars the condition of Italy was one 
of apathy, its spirit of nationalism remaining 
crushed until the rise of the French Revolu¬ 
tion, when it began to take on new life. 

In 1796 ‘Napoleon invaded Italy, was suc¬ 
cessful against the Austrians in the Battle of 
Marengo, in 1800, and five years later was 
crowned king. Soon after several districts were 
annexed to France and the following year, in 
1806, Joseph Bonaparte became King of Naples, 
who, two years later, was succeeded by Murat. 
Napoleon held undisturbed sway in Italy until 
1814, when Murat and Austria cooperated 


against Napoleon, but Murat was dethroned 
and by court-martial was sentenced to death. 
In 1815 the Congress of Vienna restored Italy 
to its former state. At the same time the house 
of Savoy received Sardinia, the Plapsburg-Este 
family secured several principalities, and the 
wife of Napoleon, Maria Louise, received 
Parma. Lucca was given to the Duke of Parma, 
the Austro-Lorraine dynasty received Tuscany, 
the Pope was restored in the papal states, the 
Bourbons received Naples, and Monaco and 
San Marino secured independence. 

These conditions existed more or less undis¬ 
turbed until the Revolution of 1848, which 
broke out in Milan and Sicily, and the Italian 
people again became involved in a war for na¬ 
tional union against foreigners. The movement 
received the support of the Pope in the begin¬ 
ning, but later it was withdrawn, whereby the 
national cause was weakened materially. In 
1849 the Pope fled from Rome, a republic was 
proclaimed, and Mazzini became president. A 
French army of occupation restored the Pope 
in 1850 and other sovereigns were restored also, 
making the revolution fruitless. Victor Em¬ 
manuel II., King of Piedmont, gave aid to the 
national cause and was supported by Cavour 
of Sardinia and by Garibaldi. The Austrian 
army was defeated on June 14, 1859, at the 
Battle of Magenta and on June 24 at Solferino, 
after which the Peace of Villafranca was con¬ 
cluded. Victor Emmanuel was declared King 
of Italy in February, 1861, by the Italian par¬ 
liament in session at Turin. 

In the War of 1866 between Prussia and 
Austria, Italy was allied with the former, and, 
after the victory at Sadowa, Venetia was an¬ 
nexed by treaty to Italy and about the same 
time the capital was removed from Turin to 
Florence. In 1867 the national party under 
Garibaldi made an attack upon Rome, but was 
opposed by the papal army. However, on Sept. 
20, 1870, Victor Emmanuel entered Rome, this 
being made possible by Napoleon III. with¬ 
drawing his troops to participate in the Franco- 
German War, and the emancipation of Italy 
was assured. The Pope was given a yearly 
donation of $622,500. He retained possession 
of the Lateran Palace, the Vatican, the Church 
of Saint Maria Maggiore, and the villa of Castel 
Gandolfo. Reunited Italy entered with enthusi¬ 
asm upon an era of nationalism, developed in¬ 
ternal improvements, and regained its place 
as one of the great powers of Europe. In 
1872 destructive eruptions of Vesuvius occurred, 
when much property and many lives were de¬ 
stroyed. Victor Emmanuel died in 1878. He 
was succeeded by his son, Humbert I., who 


ITCH 


1128 


IVORY COAST 


ruled with success until 1900, when he was as¬ 
sassinated, being succeeded by his son, Victor 
Emmanuel III. Italy became a member of the 
Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria in 
1883. Though financially embarrassed at various 
times on account of protracted wars, the finances 
are assuming greater stability under continued 
national development. An earthquake destroyed 
the cities of Messina and Reggio in 1908 and 
changed the contour of the Strait of Messina. 
See Earthquake. 

ITCH, a contagious disease of the skin, 
characterized by the appearance of small pus¬ 
tules, irritation, and uneasiness, by which the 
patient is inclined to rub the affected parts. 
It is caused by the itch mite, a microscopic in¬ 
sect that burrows within the epidermis. The 
eggs are laid in the skin by the female, hatch 
.in about ten days, and give rise to the disease. 
An application of lard and sulphur to the af¬ 
fected parts is a common remedy. 

ITHACA (ith'a-ka), a city in New York, 
county seat of Tompkins County, at the south¬ 
ern end of Cayuga Lake, 36 miles south of 
Auburn. It is on the Lehigh Valley, the Dela¬ 
ware, Lackawanna and Western, and other rail¬ 
roads. The surrounding country is agricultural 
and dairying. The noteworthy buildings include 
the county courthouse, the Ithaca Conservatory 
of Music, the high school, and many fine churches. 
Cornell University occupies a fine site near the 
lake. It has electric lights, a public library, 
waterworks, pavements, and street railways. 
Among the manufactures are vehicles, paper, 
farming machinery, flour, clocks, musical instru¬ 
ments, typewriters, leather, glass, and firearms. 
The vicinity was settled in 1789. Ithaca was 
incorporated as a village in 1821 and became a 
city in 1888. Population, 1910, 14,802. 

ITHACA, now called Ithaki , an island of the 
Ionian group, situated west of Greece. It is 
sixteen miles long and four wide. The area is 
38 square miles. It has a mountainous surface, 
some of the elevations rising to a height of 
2,600 feet. The inhabitants engage largely in 
agriculture, fruit growing, and marine life. 
Ithaca is mentioned by Homer in the “Odys¬ 
sey” and contains many interesting relics. 
Vathi is the present capital, has a population of 
6,010, and engages in commercial enterprises. 
The island has a population of 11,508. 

IVORY (T'vo-ry), the hard substance that 
constitutes the greater part of the tusks of cer¬ 
tain animals, as the elephant, narwhal, hippo¬ 
potamus, mammoth, and walrus. The value of 
ivory is. in its elasticity, hardness, whiteness of 
color, fine grain, and capability of taking a 
high polish. Elephant ivory obtained in equa¬ 


torial Africa is considered the most valuable 
on account of its exquisite fineness, close ar¬ 
rangement, and frequent curvature of the tu¬ 
bules. The tusks of elephants commonly weigh 
about 60 pounds each, bub some reach 180 and 
even 200 pounds. Ivory is useful in making 
ornaments, handles for knives and forks, bil¬ 
liard balls, pianoforte keys, and many other use¬ 
ful articles. Ivory taken from the hippopota¬ 
mus is much harder and of a clearer white than 
elephant ivory,' and is preferred by dentists. 
Mammoth ivory is secured from Siberia, where 
it is found as a fossil of that extinct animal. 
Ivory black is a black powder used in painting, 
and is made from sawdust and shavings of 
ivory by burning. Different colors, such as 
green, red, and black, can be given to ivory by 
staining or dyeing. In ancient times ivory was 
quite as valuable as at the present, ranging in 
price from $200 to $350 per hundredweight, the 
value depending upon its purity. Solomon 
brought ivory from Tarshish and used it in 
making a throne of ivory and gold. Ivory is 
mentioned by Homer. In the year 400 B. c. 
Phidias made statues from it, plating them with 
gold. Specimens of ivory used in manufacture 
in the times of Moses are still preserved as 
Egyptian relics, while in many European mu¬ 
seums are carvings in ivory made in Nineveh 
and other ancient Asiatic cities. The annual 
ivory trade of Africa is considerable, on ac¬ 
count of which the elephant is gradually de¬ 
creasing in numbers. 

IVORY, Vegetable. See Ivory Palm. 

IVORY COAST, a colony of France in 
West Africa. It is bounded on the north by 
Senegal and the French Military Territories, 
east by the British Gold Coast, south by the 
Gulf of Guinea, and west by Liberia. The 
possession has a coast line of 400 miles, along 
which the surface is flat, and in the southwest¬ 
ern part is Cape Palmas. The area is 125,250 
square miles. As a whole the climate is hot 
and unhealthful to Europeans. Large tracts of 
forest characterize the interior, interspersed 
with extensive savannas. The western bound¬ 
ary is formed by the Cavalry River. Other 
streams include the Songan, Bandama, and 
Tanno. Toward the north the country gradu¬ 
ally rises, but all of the vegetation is luxuriant. 
The forests yield large quantities of mahogany, 
palm oil, rubber, and resinous plants. 

All parts . of the gold coast have an abun¬ 
dance of rainfall, but the greatest precipitation 
occurs between February and July. In the 
months of August and September is a short 
dry season, but copious rains begin to fall in 
October. Considerable trade is carried in vari- 



IVORY PALM 


1129 


IZTACCIHUATL 


ous products, especially in coffee, bananas, maize, 
pineapples, rubber, and cocoanuts. The larger 
portion of the trade is with France. Grand 
Bassam and Grand Lahou are the chief seats 
of trade, and gold deposits occur near the for¬ 
mer. Bingerville is the seat of administration. 
Ivory Coast has been a French possession since 
1842, when several forts were established, and 
the extensive explorations of the . interior date 
from 1885, under Captain Binger. The period 
of development began in 1887. Subsequently 
a railway line and telephone and telegraph com¬ 
munication were established. The colony is 
profitable territory, since it has great wealth in 
natural resources, especially in its extensive 
forests. It As administered by a lieutenant gov¬ 
ernor, who is subject to the governor general 
of French West Africa. Population, 1908, 2,- 
054,000. 

IVORY PALM, a plant native to South 
America, found in the Peruvian Andes and on 
the Magdalena River, valuable in commerce on 
account of yielding the vegetable ivory. It is 
palmlike, rather low growing, and occurs prin¬ 
cipally in damp localities. Its leaves are very 
large, different plants bear male and female 
flowers, and the fruit forms in clusters or 
drupes, often the size of a man’s head. The 
drupes are massed together, having from five 
to nine nuts about as large as hens’ eggs, and 
contain a close-grained and very hard albu¬ 
men, resembling in color and texture the finest 
ivory. Ivory-palm albumen is used extensively 
in the manufacture of ornaments, buttons, um¬ 
brella handles, knobs for doors, and small trink¬ 
ets, and is known as vegetable ivory. The seeds, 
called corozo nuts, are exported in large quan¬ 
tities from the northern part of South America 
to foreign markets. 

IVY, a climbing plant of the ginseng or ivy 
family. It is native to Europe and Asia and 
is Cultivated extensively as a climbing shrub 
for the. walls of churches and dwellings, the 
stems becoming attached by means of radiat¬ 
ing fibers. In the wild state the lower branches 
spread on the ground, and the main stems climb 
upon trees and other supports by means of 
aerial rootlets. The leaves are evergreen, have 
a smooth and shining surface, and are from 
three to five lobed. Many species of these 
plants are widely distributed, most of which 
bear greenish flowers and deep green or black¬ 
ish berries. They include the common ivy, 
the 'Japanese ivy, and the Virginia creeper. 
Some of these plants attain a-great age, grow¬ 
ing to the top of high buildings, and develop¬ 
ing stems several inches in diameter. Both the 
roots and leaves have medicinal properties, but 


they are not important. In some countries the 
plant serves in the manufacture of baskets and 
other useful articles. The American ivy found 
commonly in the woods is a species of wood¬ 
bine. 

IXGAQUIXTLA (eks-ka-keks'tla), a town 
of Mexico, in the state of Puebla, southeast 
of the City of Mexico. It was the scene of 
an important battle between the Mexican revo¬ 
lutionists under General Mier of Teran and 



IVY. 

1. Ivy with aerial rootlets; 2, Five-lobed leaves. 


the Spanish forces under La Madrid. The town 
is occupied at present by native Mexicans and 
Indians. In its vicinity are numerous remains 
of antiquity. Population, 1906, 5,105. 

IXTAPALAPA (e-sta-pa-la'pa), a town of 
Mexico, ten miles southeast of the capital, cele¬ 
brated in early history for its splendid gardens 
of the Aztec emperors. It contains remains of 
ancient temples and altars of Aztec priests, but 
few traces of the ancient city now remain. At 
the time of the conquest by Cortes it was an 
important place. Population, 1906, 5,046. 

IZALCO (e-sal'ko), Mount, a volcano of 
Central America, in Salvador, 35 miles north¬ 
west of the city of San Salvador. It belongs 
to a group of extinct volcanoes, but itself is 
almost constantly in action, giving to the earth 
a trembling and rocking motion. This vol¬ 
cano was' formed in 1770 and since then has 
been destructive at various times. The height 
is about 2,000 feet, but it is becoming higher 
gradually. It is one of the few incidents known 
to recent geographers where a mountain was 
formed in an open plain, thereby changing sev¬ 
eral streams and drainage basins. 

IZTACCIHUATL (es-tak-se'what’l), an ex¬ 
tinct volcano of Mexico, situated near Popoca- 



IZtlCAR 


1130 


IZUCAR 


tapetl, forty miles southeast of the City of amoras Izucar is sometimes applied to it in 

Mexico. It is covered with snow perpetually, honor of the Mexican patriot of that name. It 

whence the name, which means White Lady. has good railroad connections and is noted tor 

The height is 16,705 feet above sea level. its sugar market. The chief buddings include 

IZUCAR (e-soo'kar), a city of Mexico, in the cathedral and several parochial schools, it 

the state of Puebla, situated in a sugar district has considerable trade and divers manufactures, 

near the volcano Popocatapetl. The name Mat- Population, 1906, 12,985. 


~ ’ -m hi:; -rot® fit 

: - 

' 

-■ •••;. «. hft /' v V ' ** 

•.; OO,; !: s • 

' 

■»d ■ r t. 

i \ rd 









JACKAL 


J, the seventh consonant and tenth letter of 
the English alphabet. It is classed as a palatal, 
its sound being that of g in gem, or of dg in 
ridge. Formerly it was interchangeable with i, 
the same character being used for both, and the 
separation of the two letters in English lexicons 
is comparatively recent. The sound does not 
occur in the Anglo-Saxon and was introduced 
from the French. It is used as a symbol in 
medical prescriptions at the end of a series of 
numbers, as vij=seven, viij=eight. 

JABIRU (jab'i-roo), the name of several 
birds of the stork family, native to Africa, 
Australia, and the tropical parts of South Amer¬ 
ica. An American species is sometimes seen as 
far north as Florida. The body is about four 
feet long, with a wing extension of seven feet, 
and the plumage is white. The head and neck 
are black with reddish markings and are desti¬ 
tute of feathers. It is the only true American 
stork. 

JACANA (jak'a-nii), the name of several 
species of small wading birds native to the 
warmer parts of the continents. They are re¬ 
lated to the plovers, but quite closely resemble 
the rails. The toes and claws are remarkably 
long and slender, enabling them to walk on the 
floating leaves of water lilies and other aquatic 
plants while in search of food. The common 
jacana of South America is about ten inches 
long, has a black color marked with bright 
chestnut, and is abundant in Brazil and Guiana. 
The purple jacana is met with in Mexico and 
Texas and is peculiar in having a strong spur 
at the bend of each wing, which it uses in 
fighting its enemies. Several species are native 
to Australia and Africa, including the so-called 
lotus bird, named from its habit of frequenting 
places where the lotus grows. 

JACK, a mechanical or hydraulic apparatus 
for lifting heavy weights. The simplest form 


is the screw jack, which serves to apply much 
lifting power, while with a hydraulic jack a 
single man is able to raise ten tons one foot 
in a minute and a half. Jack is a nickname for 
John. It is the name of a flag used in the navy 
of the United States and Great Britain, which 
is displayed nearest the staff or on the end of 
the bowsprit. Jack is likewise the name of a 
species of the breadfruit tree f6und in the 
South Sea islands, which bears a large fruit, 
often weighing thirty pounds. The fruit is eaten 
extensively by the natives. 

JACKAL (jak'al), an animal which is simi¬ 
lar to the dog, native to many parts of Asia 
and Africa. It somewhat resembles the fox and 



JACKAL. 


wolf, but is smaller than any of the wolves. 
The pupil of the eye is circular, as in the dog 
and wolf, but the tail is more nearly like that 
of the fox. Jackals live in holes in the ground, 
have a dirty color, and eat any kind of flesh. 
They come out of their places of hiding to 
search for food during the night, often in large 
packs, running down the - animals on which 
they feed. In some countries they skulk around 


1131 

















JACKDAW 


1132 


JACKSON 


the camps of armies where they devour the 
refuse matter or dig up the hastily buried dead. 
The jackal is easily domesticated and inter¬ 
breeds with the dog. 

JACKDAW (jak'da), a common bird of the 
crow family, belonging to the genus Corvus. 
It is smaller than the rook, has white eyes, a 
short bill, a gray neck, and glossy blapk back 
and wings. The jackdaw is native to all the 
continents, but is more common in the Old 
World. It frequents towns and cities, often 
building its nest in chimneys, spires, towers, or 
other elevated places. The female lays five or 
six greenish eggs, covered with dark brown 
spots. Its food consists of larvae, insects, and 
worms. Jackdaws, like the crows, are very 
social birds, being easily domesticated, and 
learn to imitate the human voice. 

JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT, or Indian Tur¬ 
nip, a flowering plant common in moist and 
shady woods. It is a perennial herb, has a 
turnip-shaped root, and usually bears two leaves 
made up of three leaflets. The root is acrid, 
or biting, and is used to some extent in medi¬ 
cine. It has small flowers grouped together 
and surrounded by a greenish leaf, which falls 
away and the red berries become exposed. 
About the middle of the summer all parts 
wither, except the stem and the berries. This 
plant thrives in gardens when planted in a cool 
and .moist place. 

JACK RABBIT, the name of a very large 
rabbit which is found on the plains of North 
America, but is seldom seen east of the Missis¬ 
sippi River. It has large ears and is noted for 
its long leaps and great speed. Though gray 
in summer, it becomes white in winter. The 
jack rabbit is sometimes confounded with the 
Norwegian hare, which has been introduced 
into the United States, but has a much heavier 
body. 

JACKSON (jak'sun), a city of Michigan, 
county seat of Jackson County, on the Grand 
River, 35 miles south of Lansing. It is on 
the Grand Trunk, the Lake Shore and Michi- 
gan Southern, the Michigan Central, and other 
railroads. Large quantities of fruit and agricul¬ 
tural products are grown in the vicinity. The 
noteworthy buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the public library, the Federal building, 
the State prison, and the high school. It has ex¬ 
tensive car and machine shops of the Michigan 
Central Railway. The manufactured products 
include machinery, vehicles, pumps, cigars, agri¬ 
cultural implements, beverages, and wooden- 
ware. Near the city are extensive coal mines, 
which supply a large portion of the fuel required 
in manufacturing. It has an extensive jobbing 


trade. The vicinity was settled in 1829 and the 
city was incorporated in 1857. Population, 1904, 
25,300'; in 1910, 31,433. 

JACKSON, a city of Mississippi, the capital 
of the State and the county seat of Hinds Coun¬ 
ty, on the Pearl River, 180 miles north of New 
Orleans, La. It is on the Illinois Central, the 
Queen and Crescent, and other railroads. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the State 
capitol, the institutions for the blind, deaf, and 
dumb, the Federal building, the public library, 
and the Governor’s mansion. It is the seat of 
the State penitentiary, Millsaps College, Bell- 
haven College, and Mary Holmes Industrial 
Seminary for colored girls. The municipal 
facilities include paved streets, waterworks, elec¬ 
tric lighting, and a system of sewerage. Among 
the manufactures are cotton goods, farming im¬ 
plements, and tobacco products. It has a large 
trade in merchandise, cotton, and farm prod¬ 
ucts. The region was settled about 1828 and 
the place was incorporated in 1840. General 
Grant occupied it with a Union force in 1863 
and the next year it was partly destroyed by 
General Sherman. Population, 1910, 21,262. 

JACKSON, a city of Ohio, county seat of 
Jackson County, 45 miles northeast of Ports¬ 
mouth, on the Baltimore and Ohio Southwest¬ 
ern, the Detroit Southern, and other railroads. 
It has a county courthouse and several fine 
schools. Extensive coal and iron mines are 
worked in the vicinity. The manufactures in¬ 
clude leather, woolen goods, ironware, flour, 
and machinery. Electric lights, waterworks, and 
sewerage are among the public utilities. It was 
settled in 1795 and incorporated in 1847. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 4,672; in 1910, 5,468. 

JACKSON, a city in Tennessee, county seat 
of Madison County, on the south fork of the 
Forked Deer River, 85 miles northeast of Mem¬ 
phis. It is on the Mobile and Ohio, the Illinois 
Central, and other railroads. Among the note¬ 
worthy buildings are the county courthouse, the 
public library, the Memphis Conference Female 
Institute, the Southwestern Baptist University, 
a colored female seminary, and numerous fine 
business blocks and private residences. High¬ 
land Park is a fine public resort. The manu¬ 
factures include flour, woolen goods, ironware, 
ice, cigars, furniture, pottery, cotton-seed oil, 
and farming implements. The surrounding 
country is agricultural and produces large quan¬ 
tities of cotton, cereals, and live stock. It is the 
seat of a large and important jobbing trade. 
The city has street railways, electric lights, pave¬ 
ments, waterworks, and other conveniences. It 
was settled in 1810 and incorporated in 1854. 
Population, 1900, 14,511; in 1910, 15,779. 


JACKSONVILLE 


1133 


JACOB TOME INSTITUTE 


JACKSONVILLE, a city of Florida, county 
seat of Duval County, on the Saint John’s River, 
150 miles southwest of Savannah, Ga. It is on 
the Southern, the Seaboard Air Line, the Flori¬ 
da East Coast, and other railroads. Steamship 
lines connect it with the leading ports of Cuba 
and the Atlantic coast. The noteworthy build¬ 
ings include the county courthouse, the Union 
Depot, the Federal building, the Windsor Hotel, 
the Confederate Soldiers’ Home, the Masonic 
Temple, the Duval high school, the Church of 
the Good Shepherd, and many charitable insti¬ 
tutions. It has a fine beach and many hotels 
for the accommodation of invalids and visitors. 
Among the manufactures are cigars, clothing, 
packed fruit, spices, ice, and machinery. Large 
quantities of cotton, fruits, and lumber are ex¬ 
ported. 

Jacksonville is the largest city of Florida. It 
has long been a popular resort. Many of the 
streets are well paved with macadam and vitri¬ 
fied brick. The waterworks and electric light 
plant are owned by the city. It was founded in 
1822 and named in honor of Andrew Jackson. 
A fire destroyed many blocks of the city in 
1901. . Population, 1900, 28,429; in 1910, 57,099. 

JACKSONVILLE!, a city of Illinois, county 
seat of Morgan County, 34 miles west of Spring- 
field. It is on the Wabash, the Chicago and Al¬ 
ton, the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy, and 
other railroads. The city is noted for- its nu¬ 
merous educational institutions, among them the 
Illinois Woman’s College, the Jacksonville Col¬ 
lege for Young Women, and the Illinois College, 
which includes Whipple Academy. It is the seat 
of the State institutions for the blind and the 
deaf and dumb. Other noteworthy features are 
the Carnegie public library, the county court¬ 
house, the high school, and the Morgan County 
fair grounds. The leading industries include 
flouring mills, machine shops, and a woolen 
mill. It has manufactures of ice, vehicles, 
draining tile, railroad cars, candy, boilers, pa¬ 
per, and soap. The city is beautified by paved 
streets, public parks, waterworks, and an ex¬ 
tensive street car system. It was platted in 
1825 and incorporated in 1807. Population, 1900, 
15,078; in 1910, 15,320. 

JACKSTONES, a game played with small 
marbles or with pieces of iron. It is a popular 
amusement among children and is played in a 
variety of ways.. Anciently it is said to have 
been played with the knuckle bones of sheep. 
Usually it is played with five stones, which are 
thrown in the air and caught on the back of 
the hand. Another way is to hold the five stones 
in the hand, then toss one of them into the 
fair, the test being to lay the remaining, four 


stones on the ground and catch the one that has 
been tossed up before it can land. 

JACOBINS (jak'6-binz), the niost celebrated 
political club maintained during the French Rev¬ 
olution. It. was organized at Versailles in 1789, 
when it was called the Club Breton. When the 
national assembly was removed to Paris, it in¬ 
creased rapidly in numbers and importance. 
Gradually it grew to greater controlling power 
than the national assembly, and by the year 1791 
had 1,200 subordinate societies. Its height of 
power was reached in 1792, when it was fore¬ 
most in the insurrectionary movements. The 
Commune of Paris was originated by the Ja¬ 
cobins, and through Robespierre they ruled su¬ 
preme until his overthrow in 1794. After the 
execution of Robespierre, the club was prohib¬ 
ited by law and its halls were closed. Extreme 
revolutionists and those holding radical views in 
politics are often designated Jacobins. 

JACOBITES (jak'or-bitz), the name of a 
Christian sect of Western Asia, confined chiefly 
to Syria and Mesopotamia. They were so 
named from Jacobus Barbadaeus, Bishop of 
Edessa, who united them into a distinct religious 
sect. They are Monophysites in belief; that 
is, they maintain that the divine and human na¬ 
tures in Christ were so united as to form only 
one nature. The patriarch of Antioch is the 
head of the present Jacobites, and his appoint¬ 
ment is subject to confirmation by the Sultan 
of Turkey. Three bishops' and eight metropol¬ 
itans are under the patriarch, who has his seat 
at the monastery of Zaphran, near Mardin. 
The Copts of Egypt originated from the Jac¬ 
obites and like them hold to the doctrine of 
the single nature of Christ. They use the 
Syriac language in their church service, prac¬ 
tice circumcision before baptism, and in most 
other respects they resemble the orthodox Greek 
Church. 

JACOBITES, a party in Great Britain, who 
adhered to the male line of the house of Stuart 
after the revolution of 1688. They were nu¬ 
merous and powerful in Scotland, and for more 
than half a century continued to advocate the 
restoration of the dethroned James II. and-his 
descendants. They rose in revolt in 1715 and 
in 1745, but the party became extinct after the 
death of the Pretender, Charles Edward, in 
1788. In Ireland the Jacobites were supported 
by the Celts against the Saxons and by the 
Roman Catholics against the Protestants. 

JACOB TOME INSTITUTE, an educa¬ 
tional institution at Port Deposit, Md., estab¬ 
lished in 1894 by Jacob Tome. It was founded 
to promote secondary education, hence serves 
as a preparatory school for entrance into col- 


JACQUERIE 


1134 


JAIPUR 


themselves in sacrifice by throwing themselves 
on the ground for the purpose of having the 
car on which the idol is mounted pass over their 
bodies. The deluded and confiding worshipers 
thought that this form of death was instru¬ 
mental in conveying them into heaven. Since 
European occupation the practice has gone grad¬ 
ually into disuse, deaths occurring at the festi¬ 
vals now being rather accidental than designed. 

JAGUAR (ja-gwar'), the American tiger, 
the largest representative of the cat family in 
America. It abounds chiefly in South America, 
though it is found in the region south of a 
line drawn due west from the boundary between 
North and South Carolina. It has a soft, rich 
fur, usually yellow, with large black spots, and 
within them are rings with smaller black spots. 



lege or technical and professional schools. The 
departments include the kindergarten, a junior 
school for boys and girls, a high school for 
girls, a boarding school, and a high school for 
boys. The annual tuition is $100, except for 
residents of Maryland, who are admitted free. 
The endowment is $2,125,000, the library has 
10,000 volumes, and the value of the property is 
$850,000. About 600 students are in attendance. 

JACQUERIE (zhak-re), Insurrection of 
the, the name of a war conducted by the peas¬ 
ants against the nobles of France. It began in 
1358, at the time John II. of France was a pris¬ 
oner in England. The insurrection was caused 
by the tyranny of the nobles and had its begin¬ 
ning near Paris, whence it extended rapidly to 
the valley of the Marne and elsewhere. At 
first the peasants were successful and 
committed many atrocities, but they 
were defeated near Meaux by Charles 
the Bad of Navarre. The nobles re¬ 
taliated by killing many peasants and 
burning their villages. The name 
Jacquerie signifies clowns, or Jaques, 
and is derived from Jacques Bon- 
hoinme, a name frequently applied to 
French peasants. 

JADE, the name of a species of 
hornblende. It is composed chiefly of 
silica, calcium, magnesium, and alum¬ 
ina, and is valued for its hardness and 
toughness. The primitive peoples used 
it for making ornaments and utensils, 
and it is still employed as material for 
carved objects by the Chinese. Jadeite 
implements are found among the pre¬ 
historic ruins of Mexico, Peru, France, 

Spain, and Central America. Axes and 
adzes made of jade are seen frequently 
in museums, such as the famous adze found at 
Oaxaca, Mexico, which is now in the American 
Museum of Natural History in New York City. 

JAFFA. See Joppa. 

JAGANNATH (jug-u-nat'), or Juggernaut, 
meaning “Lord of the World,” the name applied 
to the Indian god Krishna. The term likewise 
has reference to the eighth incarnation of Vish¬ 
nu and to numerous images of this deity, the 
most celebrated being at Puri, a city near the 
Bay of Bengal. The first mention of this god 
occurred in 318 b. c., and numerous temples 
and statues were erected to him at various 
times since. The image is wooden and has a 
black face, red body, and gilt arms. The mouth 
is usually extended and the eyes are formed of 
brilliant stones. It is worshiped on festal occa¬ 
sions by assemblages of pilgrims who give of¬ 
ferings in money. Formerly they dedicated 


JAGUAR. 

In strength it is little inferior to the tiger, being 
nearly three feet high. The limbs are large, the 
body is thick, and the tail is long and of nearly 
equal thickness throughout. The jaguar is the 
largest carnivorous animal native to America. 
Its favorite abode is in the timber, where it 
lives chiefly on birds, monkeys, peccaries, and 
other animals. It can readily climb trees and 
often springs upon its prey. The hide of the 
jaguar is valuable for footwear and gloves. 

JAIPUR (ji'poor), or Jeypore, a city of 
India, capital of a native state of the same 
name, situated 850 miles northwest of Calcutta. 
It is important as a railway center, is inclosed 
by fortified walls, and has a large trade in 
produce and merchandise. The chief buildings 
include the palace of the Maharaja, the Mayo 
Hospital, the Sanskrit College, a school of art, 
and a meteorological observatory. It is lighted 



JALANDHAR 


1135 


JAMAICA 


by gas and electricity, has wide and substantially 
paved streets, and supports a well-constructed 
system of waterworks. The public park has a 
fine zoological section. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are muslins, jewelry, clothing, and carpets. 
The city was founded in 1728. Population, 1906, 
168,109. 

JALANDHAR (ja'lun-dur), or Jullundur, 

a city of India, capital of a district of the same 
name, 75 miles east of Lahore. It is located 
in the Punjab, in a fertile agricultural region, 
and is important as a railway and commercial 
center. The streets are regularly platted and 
well paved. It dates from an early period in the 
history of Asia. In the 4th century b. c. it was 
the capital of the kingdom of Rajput Katoch. 
Population, 1906, 69,235. 

JALAP (jal'ap), a well-known purgative 
medicine obtained from the tuberous root of 
several plants found near Jalapa, Mexico, hence 

its name. It grows 
on a tableland 
6,000 feet above 
sea level, and is a 
twining plant with 
large white flowers 
and a turniplike 
root. Jalap is a 
valuable cathartic, 
but, being disa¬ 
greeable and nau¬ 
seous, is seldom given alone. It is very useful 
in some forms of dropsy, diseases of the brain, 
and febrile affections of children associated with 
constipation. 

JALAPA (ha-la'pa), or Xalapa, a city of 
Mexico, capital of the state of Vera Cruz, 54 
miles northwest of the city of Vera Cruz. It is 
situated on an elevated slope and is surrounded 
by a fine farming and fruit-growing re¬ 
gion. The healthful and genial climate 
causes it to be favored as a health re¬ 
sort. Among the principal buildings are 
those erected by the government, a large 
cathedral, a Franciscan convent, and a 
commodious railway depot. The snow¬ 
capped summit of Orizaba may be seen 
from Jalapa. The city was founded at an 
early date in the Spanish occupation of 
Mexico. In 1847 it was occupied by the 
United States troops. Population, 1905, 20,275. 

JAMAICA (ja-ma'ka), the largest island of 
the British West Indies, one of the Greater An¬ 
tilles, situated 90 miles south of Cuba and 100 
miles west of Hayti. The greatest length from 
east to west is 145 miles; greatest width, fifty 
miles; total area, 4,225 square miles. A num¬ 
ber of islands which are politically attached to 


Jamaica have an area of 224 square miles. The 
western part is made up chiefly of lowlands, 
whence the surface rises toward the east, cul¬ 
minating in peaks with an altitude of 7,000 feet. 
The Blue Mountains, which occupy the eastern 
part, comprise the most important and highest 
chain. Most of the highlands are covered with 
forests of logwood, mahogany, braziletto, lig- 
num-vitae, and other species of trees. Many 
indentations characterize the coast' and furnish 
good harbors, such as Old Harbor and Port 
Royal, the harbor at Kingston. The rivers are 
short and unimportant, except for irrigation, 
and include the Salt, the Black, and the Garden 
rivers. The coast has a hot climate, but in the 
higher regions it is delightful. Rainfall is 
abundant in most sections. The year is di¬ 
vided into four seasons—two wet and two dry 
periods. 

The government is administered by a Gov¬ 
ernor, who is appointed by the crown and as¬ 
sisted by a privy council. The legislative coun¬ 
cil consists of thirty members, half of which 
are appointed by the Governor and half are 
elected by popular suffrage. Kingston is the 
capital and seat of government. Other cities of 
importance are Spanish Town, Montego Bay, 
Savannah-la-Mar, and Falmouth. Schools are 
maintained by government grants and local tax¬ 
ation. Several normal schools, academies, and 
industrial schools are similarly supported. The 
interior commerce is facilitated by a number of 
railways, the total including about 245 miles. 
The principal exports include coffee, rum, 
sugar, vegetables, tobacco, and a large variety 
of tropical fruits. Among the imports are prin¬ 
cipally fish, rice, cotton goods, and flour. 

Columbus discovered Jamaica in 1494, while 
on his second expedition to America. Several 


settlements were made by the Spaniards in 1509. 
The island was taken by Cromwell in 1655, and 
by the Treaty of Madrid was ceded to England 
in 1670. The abolition of slavery, while prov¬ 
ing beneficial to the moral aspect, caused a de¬ 
cline in its prosperity, owing to the fact that a 
large portion of the mongrel races are destitute 
of thrift. Signs of discontent on account of 



JALAP. 






JAMAICA 


1136 


JANESVILLE 


British occupation manifested themselves at 
various times, a serious revolt occurring in 1865 
and another in 1899, due largely to the prevail¬ 
ing system of taxation. For the purpose of re¬ 
lieving the laboring classes at least to some ex¬ 
tent, the British government imposed an income 
tax, increased the land revenue, enlarged the 
stamp duties, and placed the colony under con¬ 
trol of the colonial office. The islands politi¬ 
cally dependent on Jamaica include the Turks, 
the Cayman, and the Caicos islands. The in¬ 
habitants consist chiefly of halfbreeds, Indians, 
and Chinese, only about 15,000 being whites. 
Population, 1906, 803,906. 

JAMAICA, a town of New York, county 
seat of Queens County, twelve miles east of 
Brooklyn. It is located on Long Island and has 
direct connection with Brooklyn by railway and 
electric railroad lines. In 1898 it was included 
in the Borough of Queens of Greater New York. 

JAMES, a river formed in Alleghany Coun¬ 
ty, Virginia, by the union of the Cowpasture 
and Jackson rivers. The length is 450 miles, 
the course is largely toward the southeast, and 
it is navigable for large steamers to its con¬ 
fluence with the Appomattox, at City Point. 
Its largest northern tributary is the Chickahom- 
iny. The sixty miles nearest its mouth is an 
important estuary which articulates with Chesa¬ 
peake Bay, while the James River and Kanawha 
Canal extends from Richmond to White Sul¬ 
phur Springs. At Richmond it is obstructed for 
navigation by rapids which fall 100 feet in six 
miles. Lynchburg and Richmond are the most 
important cities on its banks, while Jamestown, 
the site of the first English settlement in Amer¬ 
ica, is 32 miles from its mouth. 

JAMES, or Dakota, a river of the north¬ 
western states, rises in the east central part of 
North Dakota, flows south through South Da¬ 
kota, and joins the Missouri about eight miles 
below Yankton. The James flows through a 
fertile prairie country and is about 400 miles 
long. It is popularly called the Jim River. 

JAMES BAY, the southern part of Hudson 
Bay. It is 300 miles long from north to south 
and about 160 miles wide. Near the central part 
is Agomska Island, which is about 70 miles long. 
Moose Factory, an important station of the 
Hudson’s Bay Company, is located near its 
southwestern extremity. Thomas James win¬ 
tered near the bay in 1631-32, while in search of 
the northwest passage, hence the name. 

JAMESTOWN, a city of Chautauqua Coun¬ 
ty, New York, on the navigable outlet of Chau¬ 
tauqua Lake, about 68 miles southwest of Buf¬ 
falo. It is on the Erie and the Jamestown and 
Chautauqua Lake railroads. The noteworthy 


buildings include the high school, the Erie de¬ 
pot, and the James Prendergast Free Library 
of about 20,000 volumes. The popular resort 
of Celoron, on Lake Chautauqua, is similar to 
Coney Island (q. v.). It has well-paved streets, 
a system of public waterworks, and gas and 
electric lighting. The manufactures include 
flour, pianos, cotton goods, ironware, furniture, 
bicycles, boots and shoes, and worsted goods. 
The surrounding country is dairying and agri¬ 
cultural. Jamestown was platted in 1815 and in¬ 
corporated in 1827. Population, 1910, 31,297. 

JAMESTOWN, a city of North Dakota, 
county seat of Stutsman County, eighty miles 
west of Fargo. It is located on the James 
River and on several branches of the Northern 
Pacific Railroad, and is surrounded by a fertile 
farming country. In the vicinity are numerous 
artesian wells. Among the chief buildings are 
the county courthouse, the high school, the State 
hospital for the insane, and several large busi¬ 
ness blocks. The industries include grain ele¬ 
vators, machine shops, flouring mills, stock- 
yards, and railway shops. Electric lights, tele¬ 
phones, and waterworks are among the public 
utilities. Population, 1905, 5,093. 

JAMESTOWN, the locality in James City 
County, Virginia, where, in 1607, the first Eng¬ 
lish settlement was made in America. It is 
about 32 miles fropi the mouth of the James 
River, on an island, which was formerly a penin¬ 
sula, having been partly destroyed by the fluctu¬ 
ations of the river. The town was almost to¬ 
tally destroyed by Nathaniel Bacon in 1676 and 
was never rebuilt. It contains the ruins of a 
church and the fort. 

JAMESTOWN TER-CENTENNIAL 
EXPOSITION, an international exhibition on 
the south shore of Hampton Roads, five miles 
from Norfolk, Va., to commemorate the 300th 
anniversary of the first permanent English set¬ 
tlement in America. The exposition was open 
from April 26 to November 30, 1907. The total 
appropriations, including those of the several 
states and the Federal government, aggregated 
$5,444,500. About 2,500 classified exhibits were 
on the grounds and in the buildings, including 
those of the arts and sciences, agriculture and 
horticulture, machinery and transportation, for¬ 
estry and game, manufactures and liberal arts, 
education and social economy, mines and metal¬ 
lurgy, etc. Considering the splendid location, 
few American exhibits have been more inter¬ 
esting to tourists. The total admission was 
2,800,000, of which about 1,500,000 were paid. 

JANESVILLE, a city in Wisconsin, county 
seat of Rock County, on the Rock River, sev¬ 
enty miles southwest of Milwaukee. It is on 


JANIZARIES 


1137 


JAPAN 


the Chicago and Northwestern and the Chicago, 
Milwaukee and Saint Paul railroads. The chief 
buildings include the county courthouse, the 
high school, the public library, the Y. M. C. A. 
building, and the State school for the blind. 
Among the public utilities are electric lights, 
paved streets, waterworks, and electric street 
railways. Tlie manufacturing enterprises in¬ 
clude iron foundries, machine shops, a cotton 
mill, woolen factories, 2nd flouring mills. It 
has manufactures of vehicles, boots and shoes, 
and farming implements. The surrounding 
country is agricultural and noted for the breed¬ 
ing of high-grade horses and cattle. Janesville 
was settled in 1837 and incorporated in 1853. 
Population, 1905, 13,770; in 1910, 13,894. 

JANIZARIES (jan'i-za-ryz), a corps of 
Turkish infantry organized by Sultan Orkhan in 
1330. It was the first regular standing army or¬ 
ganized by the Turks, was comprised largely of 
children captured from Christian parents and 
brought up as Mussulmans, and used principal¬ 
ly for garrison duty. According to an edict, 
they were provided with no habitation but their 
quarters, were forbidden to marry, enjoyed nu¬ 
merous special privileges, and took the field 
only when the Sultan was in command. The 
army of Janizaries numbered 10,000 in 1362, but 
later developed a strength of 100,000 men, while 
the irregular militia ir.cludedJ150,000. • Their re¬ 
markable bravery and daring won Ottoman vic¬ 
tories for more than two centuries, but later 
they degenerated into lawless and insubordinate 
bands, and planned several successful plots to 
assassinate Turkish nobles* and sultans. In the 
War of 1826 with Russia they revolted, which 
led Mahmoud II. to determine upon their de¬ 
struction. Large numbers were' banished by 
proclamation and others were executed, but 
those remaining made a desperate resistance. 
They lost 16,000 in killed and 7,000 were burned 
in barracks. In the organized military forces 
of Turkey they were succeeded by the nizavi, 
the regular Turkish army, organized and dis¬ 
ciplined on the general plan adopted by Euro¬ 
pean powers. 

JANUARY (jan'u-a-ry), the first month of 
the year in the Gregorian calendar. It is named 
from‘Janus. According to Roman tradition it 
was first added to the calendar, together with 
February, by Numa. Originally it had 29 days, 
to which Julius Caesar added two more. The 
Roman year originally consisted of only ten 
months and began with March. It was known 
by the Scandinavians as the month of Thor. 
The'Parliament of England, in 1751, made Jan¬ 
uary the first month of the year. 

JAPAN (ja-pan'), an island empire of East- 

72 


ern Asia, situated in the Pacific Ocean, east of 
Corea. It consists of a chain of islands located 
north of the Philippines, from which it is sep¬ 
arated by the Bashi Channel, and its western 
shore is washed by the Sea of Japan. The en¬ 
tire Archipelago consists of an immense num¬ 
ber of islands, about 4,000, all of which appear 
to be the more elevated portions of a partially 
submerged mountain system. These islands, 
which embrace Japan proper, include 500 that 
are inhabited. In addition the empire includes 
20 islands of the Bonin group and 55 islands 
of the Loo-choo group, and the colonial posses¬ 
sions of Yezo, Pescadores, Formosa, Corea, the 
Kurile Islands, and the southern half of Sak¬ 
halin. From north to south it has a length of 
nearly 2,400 miles, but the greatest width does 
not exceed 250 miles. The total area, including 
Corea, is about 244,000 square miles. The fol¬ 
lowing table contains a list of the principal 
islands and possessions, together with the area: 


Names. 


Sq. Mi. 


Iki . 

Oki . 

Awaji 

Tsushima. 

Sado-- 

Shikoku . 
Sakhalin . 
Formosa . 
Kiushiu .. 

Yezo. 

Corea 
Hondo ... 


51 

131 

219 

266 

336 

7,031 

12,250 

13,418 

15,588 

36.299 

82,000 

87,771 


Description. It may be said that the main 
group of islands is crescent-shaped, with the 
convexity toward the Pacific Ocean, the several 
portions being separated by narrow channels in 
which numerous islets abound. The coasts are 
indented by many gulfs and bays, but possess 
few good harbors. In most of the islands the 
coasts rise abruptly from the sea in rocky preci¬ 
pices, which continue in the form of mountain 
chains and diversify the surface with marked 
elevations, alternated with beautiful and fertile 
valleys. The dormant volcanic mountain Fusi- 
yama, situated on Yezo, 60 miles southwest of 
Tokyo, rises' 12,365 feet above sea level and is 
the culminating point of the Japanese group of 
islands. However, Mount Morrison, in For¬ 
mosa, is somewhat higher, rising to an elevation 
of 14,360 feet. Lofty ridges extend in a gen¬ 
eral direction from north to south through the 
central part of Hondo and Kiushiu. Numerous 
active volcanoes occur in different localities, 
while earthquake action is frequent, the most 
# damaging disturbances on record occurring in 
1707, 1783, and 1792. In the earthquake of 
1792 fully 55,000 people were killed by the erup¬ 
tions of Wauzendake, on Kiushiu. Along the 
streams and near the coast are level tracts of 














JAPAN 


1138 


JAPAN 


land. Tall grasses and forests occur in the 
mountains and where the land is not cultivated. 
The geological formations are largely igneous. 

The islands being narrow and mountainous, 
Japan has no long rivers, though all parts of 
the country are well watered. Streams or 
streamlets furnish drainage in all of the valleys, 
which are beautified by many cataracts and wa¬ 
terfalls. The Ishikari, in Yezo, is the longest 
stream. It drains most of the central part, has 
a course of 407 miles, and discharges into the 
Sea of Japan. The Shinanogawa, in Hondo, 
flows northwest into the Sea of Japan, after a 
course of 320 miles. Few of the other streams 
exceed a length of 100 miles, and most of them 
•are rapid and furnish navigation for only short 
distances. Numerous lakes are located in the 
larger islands, but only few are of any great ex¬ 
tent. Lake Omi, in the south central part of 
Hondo, is 37 miles long and 10 miles wide. It 
is famed for its beauty, and is much visited by 
tourists in the summer season. 

Climate. Owing to the vast extent in lati¬ 
tude, the physical features are variously marked 
by climatic influences. The Kurile Islands have 
an extremely cold climate, where the sea freezes 
over in winter and the snow and ice never en¬ 
tirely disappear. On the other hand, snow and 
ice are never seen in the Loo-choo group, where 
the heat is great and the conditions are subtrop¬ 
ical. In Hondo and the central part of the coun¬ 
try, the climate is equable and moderately tem¬ 
perate, this being due in part to the warm cur¬ 
rents in the Pacific Ocean. Although snow falls 
in Kiushiu and the southern part of Hondo, it 
remains only a short time, but in Yezo and the 
northern part of Hondo the winters are quite 
severe. While the country has an abundance of 
rainfall, precipitation depends largely upon the 
winds, hence some parts of the year are quite 
dry. The heaviest rains occur in June and Sep¬ 
tember, and in some parts of the year it is nec¬ 
essary to resort to irrigation. At Hakodate the 
annual fall is 57 inches; at Yokohama, 70; and 
at Tokyo, 65. In general the climate is health¬ 
ful, though the temperature frequently rises to 
96° in the summer. 

Flora and Fauna. Japan is rich in the vari¬ 
ety and luxuriant growth of its plants. Many 
of the species known to us as garden plants 
grow wild in different sections. These include 
the bluebell, violet, gladiolus, iris, and lily of 
the valley. The ferns are well represented and 
about 150 species of evergreen trees abound. 
Among the forest trees are the holly, cypress, 
yew, box, myrtle, camphor tree, mulberry, ma¬ 
ple, birch, banyan, wax tree, lacquer tree, and 
many species of bamboo. Flowering plants are 


very numerous, both wild and cultivated, and 
the Japanese .are noted for their festivals in 
which flowers play a leading part. Many shell 
and fin fishes abound in the streams and coastal 
waters, including numerous species that are im¬ 
portant in the industries. Among the mammals 
are the fox, wolf, black bear, weasel, flying 
squirrel, hare, and deer. The birds of song and 
plumage are abundant, including about 360 spe¬ 
cies. Flies, cicadas, crickets, and other insects 
are numerous. Many species of monkeys are 
met with in the southern part of the country. 
The reptiles are represented by 300 species, in¬ 
cluding numerous snakes, frogs, and lizards. 

Mining. Though not especially rich in min¬ 
erals, Japan has mining interests of consider¬ 
able extent. Coal is mined extensively in Kiu¬ 
shiu and Yezo and is found in various other 
parts of the country, especially in Formosa. 
Iron ore occurs in nearly all the islands and 
copper is likewise well distributed. Silver 
mines are worked in Hondo and gold is ob¬ 
tained chiefly from the alluvial sands and grav¬ 
els, though auriferous quartz exists in Sado and 
various parts of Hondo. Petroleum has been 
obtained in small quantities since the year 668 
a. d. Other mineral products include lead, 
manganese, antimony, sulphur, graphite, tin, salt, 
and mercury. Granite and other building stones 
occur in many sections of the country, but they 
are not used extensively at present in general 
building, aside from the construction of bridges 
and aqueducts. 

Fisheries. The Japanese depend in a large 
measure upon the fisheries for their supply of 
food, since rice and fish are quite indispensable. 
Many species abound in the fresh and salt wa¬ 
ters, and the abundance and variety seen in the 
markets are not surpassed in any country of the 
world. Fishes of the mackerel family are most 
numerous, and the golden bream is the most 
prized as a food fish. Many salmon-curing es¬ 
tablishments are maintained, but they are most 
abundant in Yezo. Several large plants for the 
hatching and rearing of fish are operated under 
the supervision of the government as a means 
to replenish and maintain the supply. Sperm 
whales infest the waters of the northern section, 
yielding an abundance of ambergris. Other 
classes of fish include the shad, trout, flounder, 
halibut, sturgeon, haddock, sole, perch, and tur¬ 
bot. 

Agriculture. Farming ranks as the chief in¬ 
dustry, nearly half of the inhabitants being en¬ 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. Rice is the sta¬ 
ple food and the principal crop, fully 215 species 
being cultivated, and rice land is worth about 
three times as much as any other arable land. 


JAPAN 


1139 


JAPAN 


The annual production of rice is about 215,000,- 
000 bushels. Much of the product is used in 
the manufacture of saki, the beverage consumed 
most extensively. An area of 120,500 acres is 
utilized in the cultivation of the tea plant, and 
the production averages about 63,500,000 pounds 
of tea per annum. Other products include corn, 
pulse, millet, buckwheat, tobacco, rye, wheat, 
barley, and vegetables. Large interests are 
vested in the production of cotton, sugar, indigo, 
hemp, and silk cocoons. It must be noted that 
the variety of crops is very great, owing to the 
extent of the country in latitude, but the pro¬ 
ductions of any one section are not so greatly 
varied as would seem from the list of crops as¬ 
signed to the entire country. To the list of 
productions enumerated above must be added a 
large number of fruits, such as the orange, per¬ 
simmon, plum, banana, apple, cocoanut, grape, 
and strawberry. Sugar cane is an important 
product in the southern section. 

Formerly little attention was paid to the rear¬ 
ing of herds and flocks, owing to the fact that 
the religious teaching of the Buddhists forbids 
the taking of life. However, the government 
more recently began to give much attention to 
the live-stock enterprise, and experimental farms 
are maintained to breed cattle, horses, and sheep. 
Butter, cheese, and milk were formerly un¬ 
known, but dairying has been introduced, and 
much attention is given to the rearing of cattle 
for milk and meat. Horses have likewise come 
into extensive use. Sheep rearing is promoted 
profitably in the elevated regions where farm¬ 
ing is otherwise unprofitable. As a whole it may 
be said that the tillage of the soil is conducted 
with much care. The animals reared, especially 
poultry and sheep, are of a superior grade and 
receive marked attention. 

Manufactures. The manufactures of all 
kinds have grown extensively within recent 
years. Japan, like China, continues to hold a 
high place in the production of fine ceramics, 
wood, stone, and bone carving, lacquer work, 
and inlaid articles. Pottery and porcelain prod¬ 
ucts are made at 4,750 establishments. Paper, 
silk, and cotton textiles, machinery, and clothing 
are manufactured on a large scale. Shipbuild¬ 
ing is an important enterprise at Nagasaki, a 
port of Kiushiu. Saki and soy brewing, salt 
making, and the manufacture of sugar and to¬ 
bacco are important industries. Other manu¬ 
factures include gunpowder, earthenware, 
matches, fireworks, chemicals, and cotton and 
silk textiles. 

•As a general rule the factories are compara¬ 
tively small and employ an average of from 
forty to fifty men, though the aggregate capital 


invested is extensive. Until recently the large 
machinery used in manufacturing and in agri¬ 
culture was imported from America and Eu¬ 
rope, but the rapid strides made in education 
and the industrial arts have led to a utilization 
of the native resources, the government encour¬ 
aging the same by grants and efficient super¬ 
vision. The Mikado has not only recommended 
appropriations for this purpose, but skilled la¬ 
borers have been invited to Japan to teach and 
direct in utilizing its wealth of natural re¬ 
sources in the modern arts of manufacture. 
Perhaps no people in history have made more 
marked changes than the Japanese in the last 
half century, particularly in the use of ma¬ 
chinery, modes of living, and educational arts. 
Since’they^have in large quantities all the essen¬ 
tial substances for manufactures, such as timber, 
coal, iron, and stone, and possess the necessary 
intellectual and physical capacity, it is but nat¬ 
ural that their cities should rise, factories de¬ 
velop, canals and Vailways extend, and all the 
institutions of civilization thrive. 

Transportation. Railways were not built in 
Japan until in 1872, when a line was constructed 
from Tokyo to Yokohama. At presept the em¬ 
pire, exclusive of Formosa and Corea, has in 
operation 5,250 miles, of which about two-fifths 
belong to the government. Canals have been 
constructed to connect a number of the streams 
and to provide means ior reaching several of 
the interior lakes. Extensive transportation fa¬ 
cilities are provided by its long coast line, which 
accounts for the maintenance of a large mer¬ 
chant marine, including about 1,375 steamships 
and 4,150 sailing vessels. Ocean steamers ply 
regularly between the leading ports of Japan 
and those of the principal countries of the 
world, including Canada, the United States, 
Australia, Germany, England, India, and Italy. 
A system of highways is maintained jointly un¬ 
der government and local supervision, and much 
attention is given to carriage by the jinrikisha, 
of which 225,500 are in use. The telephone and 
telegraph are used extensively, and submarine 
cables supply communication with the leading 
nations of the world. The American postal 
system was adopted almost as an entirety in 
1871, and much of the mail is delivered by free 
carriage. 

Japan has an extensive commerce, both do¬ 
mestic and foreign. The former has been great¬ 
ly augmented by the construction of steam rail¬ 
roads and electric railways, as well as by the 
establishment of larger manufacturing enter¬ 
prises than were maintained formerly. The im¬ 
ports somewhat exceed the exports, and the total 
foreign trade aggregates annually about $425,- 


JAPAN 


1140 


JAPAN 


000,000. Among the chief exports are matches, 
textiles, copper, rice, tea, coal, cotton yarn, and 
raw and manufactured silk, and the imports in¬ 
clude petroleum, tobacco, sugar, iron and steel, 
machinery, and cotton and woolen goods. The 
leading nations to participate in the foreign 
trade are Great Britain, the United States, Ger¬ 
many, China, France, Italy, and Belgium. 

Government. The government is a limited 
monarchy, modeled after the constitution of,the 
German Empire. In 1889 the present constitu¬ 
tion was adopted, a representative government 
having been promised by Metusu Hito, who as¬ 
cended the throne in 1808. The chief executive 
is known as Emperor, or Mikado, and is as¬ 
sisted by the imperial cabinet, the privy councii, 
and the nine ministers of finance, foreign affairs, 
navy, war, justice, home affairs, communica¬ 
tions, education, and agriculture and commerce. 
Legislative authority is vested in the diet or 
parliament, which meets annually and is consti¬ 
tuted of an upper and a lower house. The up¬ 
per house is composed of princes and titled 
classes who are members for life, while the 
lower house is constituted of representatives 
elected by direct vote of the people. The right 
to vote is based upon residence, one year in the 
voting district, the payment of direct taxes 
amounting to at least $7.50, and male citizens 
who have attained the age of 25 years. At 
present the lower house has 300 members, cho¬ 
sen in 258 electoral districts. Each parliament 
continues for a term of four years, unless previ¬ 
ously dissolved. Government is administered 
locally in districts, each having an assembly 
elected by the people and a governor. The sys¬ 
tem of courts extends from the local and dis¬ 
trict courts to the supreme judiciary, which is 
the tribunal of final appeal. 

The financial system is based upon the gold 
standard, which was adopted in 1897, though 
silver and subsidiary coins are circulated ex¬ 
tensively. For the purpose of providing an ade¬ 
quate volume of money, paper currency re¬ 
deemable in coin is in general circulation. The 
unit of value in the monetary system is the yen, 
which is worth in United States currency about 
fifty-two cents, while silver coins in circulation 
have a value of fifty, twenty, and ten cents. The 
coins which have a value of five are of nickel, 
and two, one, and one-half cents are of copper. 
The resources of the government consist of the 
collection of revenues accruing from imposts, 
excises, registrations, customs, income taxes, 
state services, and the telegraph and telephone 
systems. The standing army numbers 167,650, 
which, on a war footing, is increased t6 675,000 
men and officers. Japan has a modern navy 


made up of serviceable and powerful ships, and 
as a naval influence takes rank as the fifth 
among the nations of the world. 

Education. The public school system is un¬ 
der the superintendence of the general govern¬ 
ment. Attendance is free and compulsory at 
specified ages. Equal care is exercised in the 
education of both sexes. All grades of work 
with suitable courses of study from the kinder¬ 
garten to the university are maintained. Ele¬ 
mentary schools are located in all the communi¬ 
ties and culminate in a high school. The higher 
institutions include normal training schools for 
teachers, industrial schools to disseminate 
knowledge in the industries, and colleges and 
universities. The Imperial University at Tokio 
is the culminating institution of higher learn¬ 
ing. Its courses of study articulate with those 
of other higher institutions maintained in col¬ 
lege centers. This noted central institution was 
reorganized in 1886 and maintains departments 
of science, literature, law, economics, medicine, 
engineering, and civics. Its faculty of instruc¬ 
tors includes ten German professors, nine Eng¬ 
lish, two American, and two French. About 
3,125 students receive instruction at this center 
of learning, at which they have access to a large 
library and utilize the most modern apparatus. 
Another noted university is maintained at Ky¬ 
oto. Newspapers, magazines, and books are be¬ 
ing produced extensively and read widely, while 
liberal translations have been made from the 
productions of other countries. In 1908 the 
countr}'- had 115 public libraries with a total of 
1,448,950 books. The public library belonging 
to the government contains more than 200,000 
volumes and numerous manuscripts. A strict 
newspaper censorship is maintained, while im¬ 
prisonment for publishing matter derogatory to 
the government is not infrequent. 

Religion. The religion of Japan is largely 
Shintoism, a form of worship according to 
whose tenets the Mikado is held to have de¬ 
scended from the sun goddess. It was intro¬ 
duced before the historical period as the ancient 
nonidolatrous religion. Later Buddhism and 
Confucianism were brought over, from China. 
Religious worship is free to all and state sup¬ 
port is not given to any sect. The country has 
about 96,500 Shinto temples, many of them.beau¬ 
tiful structures and quite similar in design. 
Those in the large cities are magnificent and 
costly buildings, the most celebrated being the 
Temple of Asava at Yeddo. Worship is ob¬ 
served at the temples, where a profound spirit 
of reverence and piety is displayed, while An¬ 
cestral worship also prevails. Respect for the 
gods and the living parents is held to be the 




JAPAN 


1141 


JAPAN 


source of all virtues. Mission stations and 
churches are maintained by all the leading 
Christian denominations and Christianity is 
making rapid progress. 

Characteristics. The Japanese speak vari¬ 
ous dialects of the same tongue, the only excep¬ 
tion being the Ainos of Yezo, who number 
about 15,000. It is thought that the race is a 
mixture of the Malays of the islands situated 
toward the south and the Tartars who emigrated 
from Corea, and that their marrying and inter¬ 
marrying finally resulted in the present marked 
Japanese type. The Aino race probably consti¬ 
tuted the early population, which, after many 
centuries of wars, has become isolated to the 
island of Yezo. Among the characteristics of 
the Japanese type are an oval head and face, a 
well-shaped and curved nose, slightly oblique 
eyes, and somewhat rounded frontal bones. The 
expression inclines to the sordid, the complexion 
is rather pallid and yellowish, and the male face 
is almost hairless, but. quite often is marked 
by a short and narrow mustache. They are sev¬ 
eral shades darker than the Chinese. The limbs 
are short in proportion to the trunk, though 
the stature is undersize, and the hair is dark 
brown, or black, and straight. The dress of 
both men and women has undergone marked 
changes within recent decades. The footwear 
consists of a small sock, called a tobt, which has 
a separate compartment for the great toe, is 
ankle high, and is covered by a sandal of straw 
or a wooden clog, but this covering is removed 
when treading on matted floors. • Though the 
footwear of men and women is the same, there 
are marked differences in the headgear and 
dress. In 1886 a national law was enacted re¬ 
quiring the government officials to wear Euro¬ 
pean dress when on duty, and women of the 
higher classes began to appear in public with 
European garments. Since then dress reform 
has been advancing rapidly even in the lower 
classes, and the former garments, somewhat al¬ 
lied to the Chinese, have either become modi¬ 
fied or are fast disappearing. 

As a people the Japanese are cleanly, courte¬ 
ous, frugal, kind, and pathetic. The children 
are admonished to parental obedience and are 
carefully disciplined, and all classes are re¬ 
quired by law to secure at least an elementary 
education. Tobacco smoking is a common evil 
among both men and women, the theater is a 
place of popular amusement, and flowers and 
foliage are favorite decorations for all public 
places and the home. The architecture, though 
ornamental, lacks solidity and proof against fire. 
While their builders are skilled as turners, join¬ 
ers, and carvers of wood, they lack a knowledge 


of the more substantial and serviceable in arch¬ 
itecture. Most of the furniture is plain and sim¬ 
ple and is kept unpainted. The interior furnish¬ 
ings of edifices are rather grotesque than beau¬ 
tiful. The employment of European and Amer¬ 
ican engineers and architects in the construc¬ 
tion of railroads and electric car lines has 
brought about revolutionary movements in the 
construction of public buildings, harbors, and 
aqueducts, and in shipbuilding. Modern forms 
of masonry and the use of steel are rapidly dis¬ 
placing the looser and less endurable Eastern 
style. The jinrikisha, a two-wheeled carriage 
with two shafts drawn by a man, is still the 
common vehicle for conveyance, this having 
displaced the larger palanquin , though street 
railways, carriages, bicycles, and automobiles 
are coming into use in the larger cities and grad¬ 
ually gaining favor among the high*er glasses. 
Buffaloes and zebus are used as beasts of bur¬ 
den, while the horse and ox serve mostly for 
agriculture and draft purposes. 

Inhabitants. Comparatively little is known 
of the population of Japan prior to 1872, when 
the first reliable census .was taken. At that 
time the inhabitants numbered 33,110,825. Since 
then the country has not only become more pop¬ 
ulous by the extension of territory, but there 
has been an increase through the excess of 
births over deaths. Within the last quarter of 
a century the urban population has increased 
noticeably, owing chiefly to the larger develop¬ 
ments of the factory system. Tokyo, in Hondo, 
is the capital and largest city. Other cities of 
importance include Yokohama, Nagasaki, Osaka, 
Hiroshima, Kobe, Sendai, Hakodate, and Kyoto. 
About eighty cities have a population of over 
20,000. Japan, in 1908, exclusive of Corea, had 
a population of 49,674,460. 

History. The history of Japan dates from 
660 b. c., but the accounts published for the 
period of fully 1,000 years following this date 
are legendary. Authentic history begins in 500 
a. d. Jimmu Tenno is the reputed founder of 
the present dynasty and, according to Japanese 
historians, ascended the throne in 660 b. c. Em¬ 
press Jingo invaded Corea in 201 a. d., from 
which time the Corean civilization is said to 
date. The Rongo and Scnjimon, two sacred 
Chinese books, were introduced into Japan in 
285 by the Coreans. Buddhism gained a foot¬ 
hold in 552 and became the established religion 
in 595, and in 624 the government established a 
Buddhist hierarchy. Chinese civilization was 
assimilated largely through commercial rela¬ 
tions, and after 646 great strides of advance¬ 
ment were made in government, science, and ed¬ 
ucational arts. 


JAPAN 


1142 JAPANESE-BRITISH ALLIANCE 


The Fujiwara family established a superior 
form of civil service several centuries before 
792, but by that time the military classes rose, % 
and Yoritomo became shogun or generalissimo. 
This ruler is known generally to Europeans as 
Tycoon, the name applied by the Chinese. 
While he was not recognized as the person in 
whom the reigning power was vested, he really 
governed, but paid homage to the Mikado, who 
was regarded as the spiritual emperor. At that 
time the spirit of militarism spread to all parts 
of the dominion. In many cases the Buddhist 
monasteries even became military centers, which 
continued until 1603, when Tokugawa Iyeyasu 
instituted an era of peace by reason of his su¬ 
perior statesmanship. He made Yeddo the cap¬ 
ital and center of power, from which his lineal 
descendants governed until 1868. This dynasty, 
known? as the Tokugawa, repelled the Portu¬ 
guese invasion in 1638, prevented the spread of 
Christianity, built great cities, and maintained 
a commerce and interior development distinctly 
Japanese, excluding entirely all classes of for¬ 
eigners. 

In 1853 Commodore Perry entered the harbor 
of Uraga with a United States squadron. He 
secured a treaty with the shogun, on March 31, 
1854, which caused Japan to be opened to the 
commercial nations after its seclusion for 216. 
years. Since then modern civilization and arts 
have overwhelmed the Japanese like a conta¬ 
gion. The feudal system that rose under mili¬ 
tary fiefs was overcome largely. In 1867-68 the 
shogun was overthrown and replaced by a pow¬ 
erful empire under the Mikado. Yeddo was re- 
named Tokyo, or Tokio, a constitution was 
granted, and modern arts were introduced in ev¬ 
ery branch of the government and the indus¬ 
tries. 

The effective strength of the Japanese military 
force was ably demonstrated in the Chinese- 
Japanese War in 1894-95. This war resulted 
from internal dissensions in Corea, in 1894, 
which were incited largely by the factions of 
Japanese and Chinese in that country. Each 
of these respectively appealed to Japan and Chi¬ 
na for aid to quell insurrections, and, as each 
complied, a formal war was declared in August. 
A Japanese army promptly invaded China, while 
its navy destroyed that of the Chinese within a 
period of three months. The loss of immense 
stores and 25,750 men prompted China to ask for 
peace early in February, 1895. .The conditions 
of the treaty ratified a month later provided 
for a cash war indemnity of $150,000,000, the 
independence of Corea, and the cession of For¬ 
mosa to Japan. Among the important events oc¬ 
curring since are those in relation to commer¬ 


cial treaties with other nations, the extension 
of vast internal improvements, and the prom¬ 
inent part taken in the Chinese War of 1900-01. 

In 1904 Japan became involved in an extended 
war with Russia, because the latter country had 
occupied Manchuria. Important battles were 
fought early in May on the Yalu River, where 
General Kuroki with a large army defeated the 
Russians under General Sassulitch. Port Ar¬ 
thur fell in 1905. Japan won the great Battle 
of Mukden, and Admiral Togo destroyed the 
Baltic fleet, which events were followed by the 
peace treaty at Portsmouth, N. H. Subsequent¬ 
ly Japan suppressed a rebellion in Formosa, 
absorbed Corea, and strengthened its position 
as a factor in Manchuria. In 1905 it concluded 
a treaty with Great Britain. An imbroglio was 
threatened with the United States in 1907, owing 
to an unfriendly attitude of a large faction in 
America against Japanese immigration, but the 
issues were adjusted by wise diplomacy in both 
countries. See Russo-Japanese War. 

JAPAN CURRENT. See Kuro Sivo. 

JAPANESE-BRITISH ALLIANCE, an 
agreement concluded between Great Britain and 
Japan. It was signed at London Aug. 12, 1905, 
by Lord Lansdowne, Foreign Secretary, on be¬ 
half of the former, and Baron Ha’yashi, envoy 
extraordinary of Japan, on behalf of the latter. 
The agreement has for its avowed object the 
maintenance of general peace in the region of 
Eastern Asia and India and the independence 
and integrity of the Chinese Empire. The treaty 
is as follows: 

The governments of Great Britain and Japan, 
being desirous of replacing the agreement con¬ 
cluded between them on Jan. 30, 1902, have 
agreed upon the following articles: 

ARTICLE i. 

It is agreed that whenever, in the opinion of 
either Great Britain or Japan, any of the rights 
and interests referred to in the preamble of 
this agreement are in jeopardy, the two gov¬ 
ernments will communicate with one another 
fully and frankly, and will consider in common 
the measures which should be taken to safe¬ 
guard those menaced rights or interests. 

ARTICLE II. 

If by reason of unprovoked attack or ag¬ 
gressive action, wherever arising, on the part of 
any other power or powers, either contracting 
party should be involved in war in defense of its 
territorial rights or special interests mentioned 
in the preamble of this agreement, the other 
contracting party will at once come to the as¬ 
sistance of its ally, and will conduct the war in 
common, and make peace in mutual agreement 
with it. 




JAPANNING 


1143 


JASMINE 


ARTICLE ip. 

Japan possessing paramount political, mili¬ 
tary, and economic interests in Corea, Great 
Britain recognizes the right of Japan to take 
such measures of guidance, control, and protec¬ 
tion in Corea as she may deem proper and nec¬ 
essary to safeguard and advance those inter¬ 
ests, provided always that such measures are not 
contrary to the principle of equal opportunities 
for the commerce and industry of all nations. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Great Britain having a special interest in all 
that concerns the security of the Indian frontier, 
Japan recognizes her right to take such meas¬ 
ures in the proximity of that frontier as she 
may find necessary for safeguarding her In¬ 
dian possessions. 

ARTICLE V. 

The high contracting parties agree that neither 
of them will, without consulting the other, en¬ 
ter into separate arrangements with another 
power to the prejudice of the objects described 
in the preamble of this agreement. 

. article vi. 

As regards the present war between Japan 
and Russia, Great Britain will continue to main¬ 
tain strict neutrality unless some other power 
or powers should join in hostilities against Ja¬ 
pan, in which case Great Britain will come to 
the assistance of Japan, and will conduct the 
war in common, and make peace in mutual 
agreement with Japan. 

'article vii. 

The conditions under which armed assistance 
shall be afforded by either power to the other in 
the circumstances mentioned in the present 
agreement, and the means by which such assist¬ 
ance is to be made available, will be arranged 
by the naval and military authorities of the con¬ 
tracting parties, who will from time to time con¬ 
sult one another fully and freely upon all ques¬ 
tions of mutual interest. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

The present agreement shall, subject to the 
provisions of Article VI., come into effect im¬ 
mediately after the date of its signature, and re¬ 
main in force for ten years from that date. 

In case neither of the high contracting parties 
should have notified twelve months before the 
expiration of the said ten years the intention of 
terminating it, it shall remain binding until the 
expiration of one year from the day on which 
either of the high contracting parties shall have 
denounced it. But if, when the date fixed for 
its expiration arrives, either ally is actually en¬ 
gaged in war, the alliance shall, ipso facto, con¬ 
tinue until peace is concluded. 

JAPANNING (ja-pan'mng), the art of coat¬ 


ing articles of wood, leather, metal, and papier- 
mache with a variety of varnishes, which are 
caused to adhere by means of a high tempera¬ 
ture applied in hot chambers during the drying 
process. The first step is to dry the article to 
be japanned, after which several coats of var¬ 
nish are applied to constitute the priming, and 
subsequently the ground tint is mixed with the 
varnish. Several designs are secured by paint¬ 
ing with colors, after which additional coats of 
varnish are applied to insure permanence. The 
grades of varnish used are largely mastic and 
shellac, though copal, dissolved in alcohol, is used 
to add fineness and durability. As a general 
process japanning is immediately between paint¬ 
ing and enameling, and* is done largely in imita¬ 
tion of Japanese and Chinese lacquered work. 

JAPURA (zha-poo-ra'), or Yapura, a river 
of South America, rises in the Andes, where it 
is sometimes called the Caqueta River. It flows 
through the department of Cauca, in Colombia, 
and is the first great tributary of the Amazon 
above the Negro. In part of its course it forms 
the boundary between Ecuador and Colombia. 
It is navigable a distance of 620 miles, to the 
Cupaty Falls, and above the falls it is navigable 
for small vessels several hundred miles. The 
valley of the Japura contains a luxuriant growth 
of forests, which yield rubber and sarsaparilla. 
The entire length is 1,350 miles. 

JARNAC (zhar-nak'), Battle of, a military 
engagement at the town of Jarnac, department 
of Charente, France, between 15,000 Hugue¬ 
nots under Louis, Prince of Conde, and 26,000 
Catholics under the Duke of Anjou. Owing to 
the superior numbers of the latter, they gained 
a decisive victory. 

JASMINE (jas'min), a group of flowering 
shrubs of the genus Jasminum, including about 
100 species. They are native to Asia, but some 
species are found in 
Southern Europe and 
Central Africa. In tem¬ 
perate climates they are 
cultivated in gardens for 
their evergreen foliage 
and very fragrant white 
flowers. Oil of jasmine 
is prepared from the 
flowers. Many of the 
species are twining 
plants. The leaves are 
simple or compound, the 
corolla is tubular, the 
ovary is two-lobed, and 
the fruit is berrylike. A species known as Caro¬ 
lina Jasmine is common to South Carolina and 
other sections of the South. 



JASMINE. 



JASPER 


1144 


JAVA 


JASPER (jas'per), an opaque mineral be¬ 
longing to the quartz family. It is very abun¬ 
dant and is prized for ornamental purposes, be¬ 
ing susceptible to a high polish. Many shades of 
color, according to the impurities present, are 
found in jasper, including dark green, reddish 
brown, and brownish black. The different vari¬ 
eties of jasper include the Egyptian jasper, 
with distinct stripes; agate jasper, found in lay¬ 
ers with chalcedony; and porcelain jasper, a 
kind of natural pqrcelain formed by the action ' 
of fire. Heliotrope, or bloodstone, is a variety 
of quartz having blood-red - particles of jasper 
embodied in its mass. 

JASSY (yas'se), or Yassy, a city of Ru¬ 
mania, formerly the capital of the principality 
of Moldavia. It is situated near the Kopoberg 
Mountains, in a beautiful valley of the Bachlui, • 
a tributary of the Pruth, about 200 miles north 
of Bucharest. The city contains numerous edi¬ 
fices that date from the 14th century. Many of 
its streets are tortuous. It is connected by 
railroads and rapid communication lines, and is 
important as a commercial and manufacturing 
center. The business of the city is conducted 
mainly by-Jews. Among its public facilities are 
several libraries, electric street railways, an art 
gallery, and numerous parks. Population, 91,- 
500., ‘ 

JASZBERENY (yas'be-ran-y), a town of 
Hungary,.qn the Jazyva River, forty miles east 
of Budapest. The surrounding country is ag¬ 
ricultural. It has a brisk trade in wine, corn, 
and live stock. It is a railway center, has elec¬ 
tric lights, and contains a monument that marks 
the burial place of Attila. The inhabitants are 
chiefly Magyars. Population, 1906, 26,506. 

JATS (jats), the name of a native race of 
India, confined chiefly to the Punjab and in the 
Northwest Provinces. About 5,000,000 of the 
inhabitants of India are classed as Jats. It is 
probable that they descended from ancestors 
who immigrated from Afghanistan. The Jat 
language belongs to the Sanskrit. These people 
are chiefly Brahmans, but a considerable num¬ 
ber adhere to the Sikh and the Mohammedan 
faiths. They are dark in complexion, wear long 
beards, and engage chiefly in agriculture and 
stock raising. 

JAUNDICE (jan'dis), or Icterus, a morbid 
condition due to the presence in . the blood of 
an abnormal quantity of the bile. It is an in¬ 
dication rather than a form of disease, though 
a malignant attack is often followed by fatal 
results. Jaundice is marked by a yellowish 
color of the skin and eyes, peculiar languid¬ 
ness and weakness, and constipation. It results 
frequently from a diseased condition of the liv¬ 


er, or an obstruction of the bile duct that con¬ 
nects with the intestines. 

JAVA (ja'va), the principal island of the 
Dutch East Indies and the most important colo¬ 
nial possession of the Netherlands. It is sepa¬ 
rated from Sumatra by the Strait of Sunda, 
which bounds it on the west. The boundary on 
the north is formed by the Java Sea, on the 
east by the Strait of Bali, and on the south by 
the Indian Ocean. Its length from east to west 
is 600 miles; breadth, from 30 to 125 miles; 
and area, 50,554 square miles. The surface is 
rolling, being generally characterized by torrent¬ 
like streams and precipitous ravines. Several 
large marshy tracts occur in the northern part. 
The southern coast line rises abruptly in un¬ 
broken cliffs, several of which extend as ridges 
over the island. They attain their culminating 
peaks in Slamat, height 11,325 feet, and Semern, 
height 12,240 feet above sea level. The Solo 
River, 175 miles long, is the largest stream. 
Coal, salt, sulphur, manganese, and marble are 
the principal minerals. The climate is genial, 
being moderated by sea breezes, and is favorable 
to the production of cereals, fruits, forage 
crops, and domestic animals. Birds of fine 
plumage and song abound. The tiger cat, 
snakes, wild hog, rhinoceros, panther, tiger, 
deer, several species of monkeys, and large bats 
are indigenous. 

The soil is generally fertile and the valleys 
and slopes of the mountains are generally cov¬ 
ered with fine forests. Among the native trees 
are the teak, sandalwood, mahogany, camphor, 
and many other tropical species. Bamboo, rat¬ 
tan, flowering shrubs, and vines are very nu¬ 
merous. The principal exports are tea, coffee, 
supar, cinchona, tobacco, pepper, indigo, horses, 
buffaloes, and cattle. Manufactories have been 
established, producing textiles, toys, and earth¬ 
enware. Machinery, metals, petroleum, spirits,* 
and clothing are imported to a large extent. 
Cable lines connect Java with Australia and Eu¬ 
rope, and several railroads, electric car lines, 
and canals are operated. At present the rail¬ 
road lines aggregate 1,650 miles. The trade is 
chiefly with the Netherlands,. Germany, Japan 
and the United States. 

The ancient history of Java is clothed in leg- 
endry, the first authentic date being 412. a. d., 
when several records were made of Hindu col¬ 
onies. Under the Hindu dynasties the natives 
were converted to Brahmanism, but this form 
of religion was succeeded by Mohammedanism 
in 1478. The island came - under control of the 
Portuguese in 1511. In 1610 the Dutch made set¬ 
tlements, but they were suppressed by the Eng¬ 
lish from 1811 to 1817, since which time the 


JAY 


1145 


JEFFERSON CITY 


Dutch have governed the island as a colony 
without interruption. The natives belong large¬ 
ly to the Malay race and in religious affiliations 
to the Moslems, though there is a small per 
cent, of Christians, Brahmans, and Parsees. 
Several thousands of the natives are' Chris¬ 
tians. Dutch occupation has brought signal 
prosperity, developed the material resources, 
built an important commerce, and disseminated 
education and industrial arts through schools 
and several institutions of higher learning. Ba¬ 
tavia is the capital. Soerabaya is the largest 
city. Besides these are numerous important 
seaports, among them Samarang, a thriving city. 
The standing army numbers 41,500 men and of¬ 
ficers, of whom about half are Europeans. 
Population, 1905, 30,098,008. 


JAY, a genus of birds of the crow family, 
smaller than the magpie and common crow. 
They are distinguished from the crow by having 



BLUE JAY. EUROPEAN JAY. 


a shorter bill and wings and a blue or brownish- 
red color instead of black. About twenty spe¬ 
cies are well known, nearly all of which have 
a tuft of feathers on the top of the head and a 
long rounded tail. The wings are considerably 
shorter than the tail, which in some species is 
about as long as the body. They are found in 
both hemispheres, and live on insects, seeds, 
fruits, eggs, and young birds. The blue jay is 
one of the best known and handsomest species. 
It, like all others, has a peculiarly harsh, grat¬ 
ing note, but when tamed partially imitates the 
human voice. The English jay is somewhat 


larger than the American blue jay and the gen¬ 
eral color is a light brown, inclining to red. An¬ 
other familiar species, the Canada jay, is widely 
distributed in the northern part of North 
America. 

JAYHAWKER, a name which originated in 
Kansas at the time of the contest over slavery. 
The name was derived from jayhawk, a vicious 
bird of prey, to which the irregular and free- 
booting soldiers who were first called jayhawkers 
were likened. Later the term was used gener¬ 
ally in the states of the West and South 
throughout the Civil War. 

JAY TREATY, the name of a treaty con¬ 
cluded between the United States and Great 
Britain in 1794. The former country was rep¬ 
resented by John Jay and the latter by Lord 
Grenville. It provided for peace and friendship 
between the two countries, free commercial in¬ 
tercourse on the American continent, the evac¬ 
uation of the British posts in the United States 
by June, 1796, a commission to determine the 
northeast boundary between Canada and the 
United States, unrestricted navigation of the 
Mississippi, and indemnity to citizens of the 
United States who suffered losses through the 
capture of American merchantmen after the 
close of the Revolution. The treaty was gen¬ 
erally unpopular in the United States, since it 
made no reference to the impressment of sea¬ 
men and restricted the trade of that country in 
the West Indies. After a hard struggle the 
treaty was ratified on June 24, 1795, by a vote of 
twenty to ten in the Senate. It was declared 
that both Jay and Washington had been corrupt¬ 
ed by money, and the former was burned in 
effigy in many places. In 1796 the House of 
Representatives voted by a narrow margin that 
the treaty ought to be carried into effect. 

JEANNETTE (jen-net'), a borouglr of 
Pennsylvania, in Westmoreland County, 26 miles 
southeast of Pittsburg, on the Pennsylvania 
Railroad. It has well-graded streets, water¬ 
works, and lighting by natural gas. The sur¬ 
rounding country is agricultural and contains 
rich deposits of coal. Among the manufactures 
are window glass, rubber goods, hardware, and 
machinery. It has several fine school's and mu¬ 
nicipal buildings. The borough was incorporat¬ 
ed in 1889. Population. 1910, 8,077. 

JEFFERSON CITY, the capital of Mis¬ 
souri and the county seat of Cole County, on 
the Missouri. River, about 123 miles west of 
Saint Louis. It is on the Chicago and Alton, 
the Missouri Pacific, and the Missouri, Kansas' 
and Texas railroads. The location is on a lofty 
site, about 600 feet, and is nearly in the geo¬ 
graphical center of the State. Among the note- 



JEFFERSONVILLE 


1146 


JENA 


worthy buildings are the State capitol, the Lin¬ 
coln Institute, the county courthouse, the State 
prison, a female seminary, and numerous 
churches and public schools. It is the seat of 
Jefferson City College and a normal school for 
Negroes. The manufactures include brick, bev¬ 
erages, farming machinery, vehicles, and pot¬ 
tery. The surrounding country is agricultural 
and contains valuable deposits of limestone and 
bituminous coal. Among the general facilities 
are pavements, electric and gas lights, city 
waterworks, and street railways. The place 
was settled.in 1826 and incorporated in 1839. 
Population, 1900, 9,664; in 1910, 11,850. 

JEFFERSONVILLE, a city in Indiana, 
county seat of Clark County, on the Ohio 
River, opposite Louisville, Ky. It is on the 
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis 
and the Baltimore and Ohio railroads. The 
chief buildings include the high school, the 
county courthouse, the Indiana reformatory, the 
United States quartermaster’s supply depot, and 
numerous churches. It has electric and gas 
lights, city waterworks, pavements, and a system 
of sewerage. Among the manufactories are 
machine shops, foundries, shipyards, railroad 
car works, shot factories, oil refineries, and flour 
and lumber mills. It has a considerable trade 
in manufactures, coal, and produce. Population, 
1900, 10,774; in 1910, 10,412. 

JEHOVAH (je-ho'va), the most sacred of 
the name applied to the Supreme Being in the 
Old Testament, in which it is used especially to 
designate the God of the Jewish people. Its 
meaning is explained in Exodus to be, “I am 
that I am,” thus predicating self-existence in a 
sense that it cannot be applied to any other 
being. To the Jews the meaning implied is 
the personality of the Creator and Ruler of 
the universe, their Theocratic Guide, the First 
and the Last, and the Being above all gods. The 
name is of Phoenician origin and was used in 
a limited sense among the Israelites up to the 
time of Samuel, when its use spread rapidly. 
As a name it was deemed so holy by the Jews 
that they were guarded in allowing it to escape 
their lips, and therefore took means intentional¬ 
ly to mispronounce it or apply less sacred 
names, such as Adonai, which signifies lord, and 
Elohim. The latter is a less sacred name 
employed in some portions of the Pentateuch. 
Some writers think the name arose from Iao, 
the Phoenician sun god in the several seasons, 
especially in autumn, while others think it origi¬ 
nated from Iao, the Chaldaean intelligent light. 

JELLY, the juices of fruits or meats boiled 
with sugar so as to form an elastic consistence. 
This product is made most commonly from the 


juices of currants, grapes, raspberries, and 
plums, from which the liquid is pressed and 
afterward boiled with sugar to form the proper 
consistent when cold. 

JELLYFISH, a bell-shaped fish, belonging 
to the radiated animals, so called because, when 
lying on the sea-sand, it looks like a mass of 
jelly. It is familiarly known as sea-blubber 
and sea-nettle, two names originating from its 
long, stinging tentacles. In the water it appears 
exceedingly beautiful, moving with much rapid¬ 
ity by alternately contracting and expanding its 
crystallinelike body. Many of the jellyfishes 
show a phosphorescent light at night. They 
live on crustaceans and small fish, which they 
seize with their tentacles. Several orders and 
many species have been described. They are 
devoured in immense numbers by the right 
whales and other animals Of the sea. 

JEMAPPES (zhe-map'), a town of Belgium, 
in the province of Hainault, noted chiefly as the 
scene of the Battle of Jemappes. This battle 
was fought on Nov. 6, 1792, between the French 
under Dumouriez and the Austrians under the 
Duke of Saxe-Teschen. The French army of 
46,000 men consisted largely of inexperienced 
volunteers and was sent in three columns against 
the Austrians, who had an army of 26,000 vet¬ 
erans. At first the French were beaten back 
with great losses, but they were rallied by Louis 
Philippe, who subsequently became king, and 
the engagement resulted in a defeat of the Aus¬ 
trians. At present the town has railroad com¬ 
munication and manufactures of various kinds. 
Population, 1906, 12,983. 

JENA (ya'na), a city in the grand duchy of 
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Germany, about twelve 
miles southeast of Weimar. It is famous on 
account of the celebrated University of Jena, 
which was founded by John Frederick of Sax¬ 
ony in 1547, and was opened for instruction in 
1558. The founder intended to build a great 
seat of learning at Wittenberg as a means to 
disseminate the evangelical doctrines. It soon 
rose to eminence and now attracts, as it has for 
several centuries, students from all parts of the 
world. The work in biology, philosophy, and 
theology is especially noteworthy. It has an 
average attendance of 800 students. Among 
the eminent men who were associated with the 
institution are Fichte, Hegel, Schelling; Schle- 
gel, and Schiller. The university is supported 
by public taxes from all the Saxon states, has 
a splendid museum, zoological gardens, fine 
works of art, and a library containing 250,000 
volumes. The city is beautified by numerous 
statues and parks. Population, 1905, 26,360. 

JENA, Battles of, two important engage- 


JERBOA 


1147 . 


JERSEY CITY 


merits between the Prussians and French, which 
occurred on Oct. 14, 1806, one near Auerstadt, 
Germany, and the other near Jena. In the 
former battle General Davout commanded 30,000 
French and the Duke of Brunswick led 48,000 
Prussians, while in the latter Napoleon I. com¬ 
manded 90,000 French, and Prince Hohenlohe 
had the superior command of 65,000 Germans. 
The French were victorious in both battles, 
thereby securing advantage over the whole of 
Prussia. 

JERBOA (jer-bo'a), or Gerboa, a genus of 
small rodents which are closely related to the 
rats and mice, remarkable for their long hind 
legs. These animals use their fore legs more 
like hands than as feet, and the prolonged hind 
legs cause tneir movements when running to 
appear as though they were flying. They bur¬ 
row in the ground with the fore limbs, these 
being armed with powerful claws, and the long 



EUROPEAN JERBOA. 


tail aids in holding the body in position while 
standing upon the hind legs, forming a kind of 
triangular support. In the winter they hiber¬ 
nate, especially in the colder countries, instead 
of storing up a supply of food as is the habit 
of mice. A number of species are native to 
Africa and Asia, and a similar ratlike rodent 
is found in the northern part of Europe. The 
jumping mouse common to North America be¬ 
longs to the same class of animals. It is known 
locally as deer mouse. 

JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA (ha-rath' d& 
la fron-ta'ra), or Xerez, a city of Spain, in the 
province of Cadiz, sixteen miles northeast of 
the city of Cadiz. It is situated on the Guada- 
lete River, has railroad facilities, and is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile country, which produces 
large quantities of fruits, especially grapes. The 
chief buildings include a Moorish castle, the 
public library, the high school, the Convent of 
La Cartuja, and several theaters. It is fa¬ 
mous as a market for wine and as a place for 


bullfights. The place is mentioned as a Ro¬ 
man colony. In 711 it was the scene of a great 
battle between the Saracens and the Visigoths, 
in which the latter were overwhelmed. Popu¬ 
lation, 1905, 64,743. 

JERICHO (jer'i-ko), a famous city of an¬ 
cient Palestine, on a plain eighteen miles north¬ 
east of Jerusalem and six miles west -of the 
Jordan River, near where that stream discharges 
into the Dead Sea. In the time of Solomon it 
was a flourishing city, exporting spices and bal¬ 
sam. Joshua made it his headquarters after his 
first entry into Canaan. It was destroyed by the 
Israelites and rebuilt by Hiel, the Bethelite, in 
918 b. c. Later it was the seat of a school of 
prophets and the home of Herod the Great. 
Mark Antony assigned a portion of it to Cleo¬ 
patra, Queen of Egypt. Subsequently it was de¬ 
stroyed in Vespasian’s reign and rebuilt under 
Hadrian. It was repeatedly captured by the Cru¬ 
saders and finally completely destroyed. The 
village of Er-Riha, with less than 300 inhabi¬ 
tants, now occupies the sjte. 

JERICHO, Rose of, the name of a small 
plant of the mustard family, native to Arabia. 
It is a climbing shrub, with a singularly shaped 
blossom of a greenish-yellow color. When dried, 
the leaves and blossoms fold together upward, 
but open again when placed in water, and this 
process can be repeated several times. The 
plant was brought from Palestine to Europe by 
the Crusaders. 

JERSEY (jer'zi), the largest of the Channel 
Islands, located in the English Channel, 16 miles 
west of the coast of France. It is about 12 
miles long from east to west, has a width of six 
miles, and the area, is 45 square miles. The sur¬ 
face is high and rocky, but many of the valleys 
are unusually fertile. It has a rainfall' of 30 
inches, a mean annual temperature of 50°, and 
an equable and healthful climate. Large quanti¬ 
ties of apples, pears, grapes, peaches, and other 
fruits are exported. Shipbuilding and oyster 
fishing are productive industries. The Alderney 
and Jersey breeds of cattle are grown extensive¬ 
ly for dairying and export purposes. Saint 
Helier is the principal town. Population, 1906, 
52,986. 

JERSEY CITY, a city in New Jersey, coun¬ 
ty seat of Hudson County, on the Erie, the Cen¬ 
tral of New Jersey, the Pennsylvania, the West 
Shore, and other railroads. It is situated on the 
Hudson River, opposite New York, with which 
it is connected by ferries and by the tunnel of 
the Pennsylvania Railway. Several transatlantic 
and other steamship lines sail regularly from this 
port. Communication is likewise furnished by 
the Morris Canal and many electric urban and 


JERUSALEM 


1148 


JERUSALEM 


interurban railways. In population it ranks as 
the second city of New Jersey, being exceeded 
only by Newark. 

Jersey City is well built, much of the archi¬ 
tecture being of vitrified brick and stone. The 
chief buildings include the county courthouse, 
the Hasbrouck Institute, the city hall, the Fourth 
Regiment Armory, the Saint Peter’s College, and 
the public library with more than 100,000 vol¬ 
umes. It has thirty substantial public school 
buildings. In the northern part of the city are 
the southern ridges of the Palisades, where many 
modern and costly residences have been built. 
Other features include the soldiers’ and sailors’ 
monument, the West Side Park, and the Hudson 
County Boulevard, which extends entirely 
through Hudson County and beyond. 

The streets are platted at right angles, well 
paved, lighted by gas and electricity, and con¬ 
nected with Hoboken and suburban districts by 
electric street railway lines. Among the numer¬ 
ous manufacturing establishments are potteries, 
planing mills, and engine and car works. It has 
manufactures of jewelry, rubber goods, fire¬ 
works, copperware, castor and linseed oil, hy¬ 
drants, oakum, tobacco, lead pencils, etc. The 
trade in crucibles, live stock, grain, and fruit is 
especially extensive. It has a growing jobbing 
trade in all classes of merchandise. The site on 
which Jersey City stands was formerly called 
Paulus Hook, but was named City of Jersey in 
1820 and was chartered as Jersey City in 1838. 
In size it takes rank as the seventeenth city of 
the United States. Population, 1910, 267,779. 

JERUSALEM (je-ru'sa-lem), an ancient and 
interesting city of Palestine, in the Turkish 
province of Syria, noted as -the holy city of the 
Jews.. It is situated 15 miles west of the Dead 
Sea and 32 miles east of the Mediterranean, 
about 2,500 feet above sea level, on the slopes,of 
two hills. Near it are two ravines, the valley of 
Hinnom being toward the south and the valley 
of Jehoshaphat toward the east. A third depres¬ 
sion, the Tyropean Valley, extends through the 
city from north to south. Mount Zion, a cele¬ 
brated eminence on the southwest, rises 300 feet 
above the surrounding surface. Other eminences 
include Mount Akra on the northwest, Mount 
Bezetha on the northeast, Mount Moriah on the 
east, and Mount of Olives east of the city. 

Jerusalem is mentioned as early as 1500 b. c., 
when the Jebusites were in possession. Joshua 
conquered a portion of the city, but they main¬ 
tained control of at least the upper part until 
the time of David, who made it his capital and 
strengthened the portion known as Zion. In 
the time of Solomon it attained its greatest pros¬ 
perity, but began to decline shortly' after his 


death. Nebuchadnezzar took it from Zedekiah 
in 586 b. c. after a protracted siege, carried 
many of the Jews to Babylon in captivity, and 
left it in a desolate condition. Cyrus permitted 
the Jews to return from captivity. In 515 
they rebuilt the temple, but the walls were not 
replaced until 455, in the time of Ezra and Nehe- 
miah. Shortly after it was possessed by the 
Persians and passed consecutively to the Mace¬ 
donians, Syrians, Egyptians, and Romans. It 
was sacked at various times, its temples were 
burned, and the city was razed. 

Hadrian ordered Jerusalem rebuilt in 131 a. d., 
though it remained in a poor condition until 
Rome became Christianized, when it prospered 
for a time under the protection of Constantine 
the Great and his successors. With the Mo¬ 
hammedan conquest, in 636, it became a pos¬ 
session “of Caliph Omar, an Arabian, and con¬ 
tinued under Moslem rule until 1099, when the 
Crusaders planted the cross upon its domes 
and converted it into the seat of a Christian 
monarchy. A desperate war between European 
Christians and Moslems prevailed for 87 years, 
in which much life was spent and many institu¬ 
tions were ruined, but finally the city was taken 
by Saladin in 1187 and was never retaken by 
the armies of the Crusaders. Since 1244 it has 
been constantly un.^er Moslem rule, being under 
the Turks since 1517, and still remains a part 
.of the Ottoman Empire. The last seven centu¬ 
ries have been largely times of peace, Europeans 
being permitted to explore, settle, and build in¬ 
stitutions within its confines. 

The various parts of Jerusalem are of in¬ 
tense interest to the Jewish and Christian trav¬ 
elers as they explore the old portions of the 
city, visiting the various historic places, such as 
the site of Solomon’s temple, the palace of Jew¬ 
ish kings, the localities frequented by Jesus 
Christ, and the place of the Holy Sepulcher. 
Many excavations have been made to study 
localities of interest, while the ruins and struc¬ 
tures remaining intact have been scrutinized 
with a devoted reverence. Formerly three walls 
provided amply against invasions, though these 
are now largely among the ruins. It is remark¬ 
able that far more of the old city-remains than 
is left of either Carthage, Corinth, Tyre, or 
even Rome, yet many of the buildings are illy 
constructed, almost windowless, and marked by 
low and dingy ceilings. A majority of the build¬ 
ings are one-story and present a unique appear¬ 
ance as they skirt the numerous tortuous streets. 
The manufactures are not important, including 
chiefly jewelry, clothing, fabrics, crucifixes, and 
utensils. In 1893 a railroad was opened to 
Joppa. The railroad commerce, telegraphic 


JESTER 


1149 


JESUITS 


connections, and other modern facilities have 
since been enlarged and brought into exten¬ 
sive use. 

Besides the beautiful Church of the Holy 
Sepulcher, there are numerous Christian edifices, 
convents, and institutions of learning. Several, 
mosques are maintained in conspicuous places, 
the most important being the Mosque of Omar, 
which occupies the site of Solomon’s temple. 
Fifty years ago the inhabitants all lived within 
the city walls. At present nearly one-third re¬ 
side in the suburbs. The Jews are immigrating 
rapidly and have fully 70 synagogues. They 
occupy the southwestern part of the city; where¬ 
as, th-e Christians reside chiefly in the western, 
and the Mohammedans in the eastern, including 
the Haram, or temple area. Christians and Jews 
are vicing with each other to secure the best 
sites. The different classes of people are Turks, 
Greeks, Armenians, Copts, Abyssinians, Syrians, 
Georgians, Jews, and others, the whole present¬ 
ing a great mass of conglomerated humanity. 
The city has several fine hospitals, seminaries, 
and elementary schools. An extensive society 
known as Zionists, well organized in Europe and 
America, constituted of wealthy and represen¬ 
tative Jews, is vigorously promulgating a plan 
whereby the city is to be reoccupied and invig¬ 
orated by the Jewish people. At present the 
population is 61,348, two-thirds of whom are 
Jews, about 9,000 are Christians, and 5,500 are 
Mohammedans. See Zionists. 

JESTER (jest'er). See Court Fool. 

JESUITS (jez'u-its), or Society of Jesus, a 
celebrated religious order of the Roman Catho¬ 
lic Church, founded in the 16th century under 
the leadership of Ignatius Lovola. It was sanc¬ 
tioned by a papal bull in 1540, when the first 
generalship was vested in the founder.. He 
was supported wfth much zeal by Saint Francis 
Xavier, the so-called ‘‘Apostle of the Indies,” 
who did much effective missionary work in 
India and Japan. The original design of the 
originator and his five associates was to make 
a pilgrimage to Palestine and convert infidels, 
but, as this was averted by a Turkish war, the 
organization turned its efforts to meet the new 
conditions that had arisen after the Reformation. 
The vows include those of chastity, poverty, im¬ 
plicit obedience to superior authority, and com¬ 
pliance with the mandates of the Pope in going 
to any country or under any conditions to con¬ 
vert heretics and infidels. Popes Paul III. and 
Julius III. recognized the influence that the 
Jesuits might wield and granted them extraor¬ 
dinary privileges, among them the power to 
absolve from all sins and ecclesiastical penal¬ 
ties, to exercise all priestly functions, and to 


dispense themselves from the prohibitions of 
meat and observance of fasts, to which were 
added extraordinary privileges in the use of 
the breviary. Their efforts were directed with 
particular zeal against the rise of Protestantism. 
In their practices they carefully avoided the ap¬ 
pearance of pride, seclusion, and superiority, 
rather mingling promiscuously with the common 
people and adapting themselves to various local 
circumstances. 

Besides opposing Protestantism, the Jesuits 
labored against the claims of monarchs to coun¬ 
teract the establishment of papal power. Their 
influence spread rapidly, more or less affecting 
all European countries, even the new settlements 
of America, though the work was less effective 
in the United States than in Canada, Mexico, 
or the countries of South America. Their re¬ 
markable rise of power at European courts and 
among the people led many institutions of learn¬ 
ing, professors, and the non-Jesuit clergy to 
fear them. • It was largely for this reason that 
the parliament of France resisted the Jesuits in 
their attempts to obtain a foothold, though by 
the assistance of the Guises they succeeded in 
getting legal recognition in 1652, but were re¬ 
quired to renounce some principles and assume 
the name of Father of the College of Clermont. 
Their power in Germany gave them marked 
prestige after 1549, when they secured chairs in 
a number of universities and exercised political 
influence, but they lost some power by the Jan- 
senist controversy. Soon after the famous 
“Provincial Letters” from the pen of Pascal 
weakened their influence, by pointing out doc¬ 
trines and practices which he considered dan¬ 
gerous and vacillating, and called attention to 
their consecration to the policy that “the end 
justifies the means.” 

In 1773 Pope Clement XIV. suppressed the 
whole Jesuit order by a papal bull, but in 1814 
it was restored by Pope Pius VII. During the 
suspension of the society the excellent institu¬ 
tions founded by the Jesuits in Canada were 
either confiscated by the government or de¬ 
stroyed, but since then they have been replaced 
and greatly enlarged. Among the more noted 
institutions in Canada are the Saint Mary’s 
Academy in Montreal, which is unrivaled by any 
other Canadian institution of the kind, the 
church in Montreal, and the Saint Boniface in 
Manitoba. In the United States they possess a 
large number of educational institutions, the * 
most noteworthy being in New York City; 
Washington and Georgetown, D. C.; Baltimore, 
M. D.; Buffalo, N. Y.; Saint Louis,. Mo.; New 
Orleans, La.; Denver, Col.; Cincinnati ana 
Cleveland, Ohio; Omaha, Nebr. ;.and San Fran- 


JET 


1150 


JEWS 


cisco, Cal. The Jesuits have not had legal ex¬ 
istence in Italy since 1861. .They were expelled 
from Germany in 1872. These two countries 
are unfriendly to the order on account of the 
opposition of the Jesuits to the present govern¬ 
mental organizations, which they opposed during 
the formative period. France expelled them 
from their conventional establishments in 1880, 
which caused many Jesuits to settle in Great 
Britain. Within recent times they have taken 
unusual interest in ecumenical councils, labored 
earnestly among the American Indians, and 
exercised influence in shaping the higher policy 
of the Pope and the church. 

JET, a black and compact variety of lignite. 
It is light, hard, and capable of being turned 
easily, or cut into articles for charms and orna¬ 
ments. It takes a fine polish. Jet is found in 
many parts of Europe and Asia, particularly in 
Asia Minor, France, and at Whitby, in Eng¬ 
land. The jewelry and various articles of or¬ 
nament used fo’r mourning are made largely of 
jet, though excellent imitations are produced 
from tempered India rubber and glass. The 
products made of the former are more properly 
known as ebonite or vulcanite. 

JETTY (jet f ty), a construction of masonry 
or wood which projects into the sea, or some 
other body of water, as a wharf or pier for 
•landing and shipping, or as a mole to protect a 
harbor. Jetties of another kind are constructed 
in rivers for the purpose of increasing the 
current and depth by narrowing the channel. 
Among the most noteworthy in the United 
States are those at the mouth of the Missis¬ 
sippi, which have caused the depth of the river 
to be increased from seven to thirty feet. These 
were planned and constructed by Capt. James 
B. Eads (q. v.), in 1875, under an order of Con¬ 
gress to improve the South Pass of the Missis¬ 
sippi. He built two parallel jetties with a chan¬ 
nel of 350 feet, the west jetty being 7,800 feet 
and the east jetty being 11,800 feet long. The 
longest, jetty in the world, that at the mouth of 
the Columbia River, is nearly five miles long. 
Other American jetties are at Charleston, S. C., 
in the Saint John’s River, Florida; and at the 
mouth of Sabine Pass, Texas. Among the 
many jetties of Europe those in the Danube 
are of greatest utility, since they have increased 
the depth of the main channel of its principal 
mouth twenty feet and made navigation by the 
largest steamships possible. In numerous places 
jetties are serviceable in retarding the advance 
of sand and gravel bars. 

JEW, The Wandering. See Wandering 
Jew. 

JEWELRY (ju'el-ry), the precious stones, 


gems, and ornaments prepared by jewelers, also 
the art of mounting precious stones. Jewelry 
made of metals, amber, alloys, coral, and other 
materials were used as personal adornments 
from the earliest periods of history, and were 
commonly worn by peoples in all stages of sav¬ 
agery and civilization. Relics found in the 
tombs of ancient Egypt, Peru, and Mexico in¬ 
dicate that jewelry was highly prized. Many 
antiquities obtained in Egypt indicate that gold 
work of the highest quality was used extensive¬ 
ly for ornaments about 3,000 years ago. In 
many of the European museums are splendid 
specimens of ancient Roman and Greek jewelry 
produced by Etruscan artists, these being se¬ 
cured from the tombs of Etruria. Most jew¬ 
elers of Oriental countries still pursue the prim¬ 
itive methods of manufacture common many 
centuries ago, and by their dexterity and refined 
taste secure products that display rare taste, 
but their products are surpassed in finish by 
those made by workmen who employ modern 
methods. The jewelry trade of modern times is 
an important branch of industry. In America 
its greatest center is in New York, while Paris, 
Berlin, Vienna, and London are important Eu¬ 
ropean centers of the manufacture and trade in 
jewelry. 

JEWFISH, the name of several large fishes 
found along the coast of California and in the 
Gulf of Mexico. The common jewfish, or black 
grouper, has a large head and mouth and at rna- 
turity weighs about 300 pounds. It is found off 
the coast of Florida and -in the West Indies. 
The jewfish of California is much larger, fre¬ 
quently weighing 500 pounds. It frequents 
rocky islands, has a brownish color, and is 
commonly called black sea bass. This fish is 
prized for food and command^ a high price in 
the market. 

JEWS, a race of Semitic people which de¬ 
scended from Abraham, frequently called He¬ 
brews and Israelites, but the last two names ap¬ 
ply more properly to them prior to the Baby¬ 
lonian captivity. In their early period they were 
linked closely with Palestine. 

Ancient History. The Jewish history dates 
from the time when the patriarch Abraham left 
Ur of the Chaldees and settled in Canaan or 
Palestine. He and his descendants, the. houses 
of Isaac and Jacob, flourished in the southeast¬ 
ern part of Palestine until Joseph, a son of Ja¬ 
cob, became a high official of Egypt. At the 
time of a widespread famine Jacob and his oth¬ 
er eleven sons were induced to emigrate to 
Goshen, Egypt, where their descendants flour¬ 
ished with marked prosperity for 430 years, 
though during the latter part of the period they 


JEWS 1151 JEWS 


were treated as bondsmen and held in abject 
slavery. 

It is thought Rameses II. was the Pharaoh 
who first oppressed the Israelites, and that 
their deliverance was effected in the reign of 
his son. In 1320 b. c., or according to others in 
1491, Moses became their deliverer and led them 
out of bondage, directing their famous exodus 
and wandering in the wilderness in the vicinity 
of Kadesh, near the boundary of Palestine. 
During this period they numbered several mil¬ 
lion. ^ They were divided into twelve tribes ac¬ 
cording to their descent from the twelve sons of 
Jacob, receiving in the wilderness through 
Moses, direct from God, the ten commandments 


on Mount Sinai and a complete polity of gov¬ 
ernment. All the laws imposed upon them in 
the Pentateuch were given as eternally binding. 
Their government was theocratic. The heredi¬ 
tary priesthood was vested in the tribe of Levi, 
originally under the direction of Aaron, the el¬ 
der brother of Moses, and constituted the cen¬ 
tral idea of national unity. 

At the close of the extended wanderings in 
the wilderness they marched northward to found 
settlements in Palestine, but Moses died before 
setting foot upon the land of promise and was 
succeeded by Joshua, who led the hosts of Israel 
and successfully conquered the regions west of 


the Jordan from the Canaanites in 1274 b. c. 
However, the native peoples were not entirely 
subjugated at that time, though the lands were 
divided among the twelve tribes, each receiving 
a district more or less separated from those of 
the others, and the whole was governed as a 
union of states under local chiefs. The grazing 
lands lying east of the Jordan were allotted to 
the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the semitribe of 
Manasseh, and the others—Benjamin, Simeon, 
Dan, Judah, Ephraim, Zebulon, Asher, Naphtali, 
and the second semitribe of Manasseh—received 
lands west of the Jordan. The priestly tribe of 
Levi secured 48 cities, was allotted the tenth 
part of all agricultural products, and received 


authority to frequent any portion of the terri¬ 
tory. 

Joshua died about 1220 b. c., after which 
period the bonds of unity between the tribes 
were less rigid, of which fact the Philistines, a 
people inhabiting the coast plains along the 
Mediterranean, took advantage and brought a 
portion of the Israelites under subjection. These 
-wars were followed by the heroic age of the 
Jewish people, during which time they were 
governed by a succession of fifteen judges, of 
whom the most noted were Deborah, Gideon, 
Jephthah, Samson, and Samuel. Samuel was 
the most successful ruler since Moses, the last 






















































JEWS 


1152 


JEWS 


of the judges, and, after popular entreaty by 
the people, inspired Saul, a Benjamite, to be¬ 
come king, he anointing him as ruler of all the 
Jews. Though a successful warrior, Saul lacked 
statesmanship, but succeeded in numerous bat¬ 
tles against the Philistines until his final defeat 
and death at Mount Gilboa. He was succeeded 
by David, his son-in-law, who ruled from 1055 
until 1015. The successful reign of David 
caused him to become known as the greatest 
king of the Jewish throne. The period includ¬ 
ing the reigns of David and Solomon is desig¬ 
nated the golden age of Jewish history. 

David rose from the tribe of Judah. He was 
a native of Bethlehem, came in conflict with 
Saul until the death of the latter, and estab¬ 
lished a separate principality with Hebron as its 
capital. After a war of seven years,-all the 
tribes acknowledged David king, who now trans¬ 
ferred the seat of government to Jebus, a for¬ 
tress conquered from the Canaanites, which he 
‘named the City of David, and later Jerusalem. 
During the long reign of forty years he con¬ 
quered the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, 
and Philistines, and extended his dominion from 
Damascus to the northeast of the Red Sea. Sol¬ 
omon reigned in 1015-977. Pie built the -great 
temple in Jerusalem, negotiated treaties with 
Tyre and Egypt, and extended the commerce 
from Africa to Java and Sumatra. This sov¬ 
ereign effected many internal improvements and 
showed a wisdom that became proverbial, but 
in the later years of his life he wa.s weakened 
greatly in influence by various causes which 
led to interior dissensions and insurrections. 
In 975 the Jewish people became divided into 
two nations, the kingdom of Israel under Jero¬ 
boam and the kingdom of Judah under Reho- 
boam. The latter kingdom consisted of the 
tribes of Benjamin and Judah, while Israel was 
constituted of the other ten tribes. 

The capital of Israel was first established .at 
Sichem, but later was transferred to Samaria. 
Rehoboam made a number of unsuccessful at¬ 
tempts to reconquer Israel, but was. prevented 
by an Egyptian invasion under Shishak, and 
some time after Judah averted annihilation by 
Israel through an alliance with the. Syrians. 
After varied successes in wars covering many 
generations, Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, sub¬ 
dued Israel in about 720 b. c., and carried many 
of the leading citizens away into captivity. The 
succeeding Assyrian king, Sargon, completely 
destroyed the government of Israel and settled 
the principal inhabitants in Media and Assyria, 
while Assyrian colonists occupied the different 
regions, intermarried, and largely formed the 
historic Samaritans. Among the most noted 


kings that governed Israel during its prosperity 
are Jeroboam I., Jeroboam II., Ahab, Joram, 
and Pekah. 

Judah was less powerful and prosperous than 
Israel. The kings of the house of David num¬ 
bered twenty, the most successful being Jehosh- 
aphat, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Josiah. These 
kings were the most devoted to the laws of 
Moses and the worship of Jehovah. This king¬ 
dom was invaded by armies from Egypt and As¬ 
syria and later became tributary to Babylon. In 
588 Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and 
carried away its riches, making the leading citi¬ 
zens captives. When Cyrus captured the throne 
of Babylon, in 538, he set the Jewish people free, 
after a captivity of about seventy years, restor¬ 
ing them to their former possessions, but made 
Judah a Persian province. About 42,000 Jews i 
returned to the vicinity of Jerusalem in 538 and 
built the second temple in 51G. In 458 Ezra, the 
priest, led a second return of exiles to Pales¬ 
tine in the reign of Artaxerxes, and Nehemiah 
was appointed Persian governor, under whose 
reign the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. In 
the period between the return of Nehemiah and 
the fall of the Persian Empire, the Jews were 
Persian subjects, but this formed an epoch dur¬ 
ing which they enjoyed their owiv religious and 
educational institutions. j 

When Alexander the Great led the hosts of 
Grecian warriors into Asia, he penetrated to-, 
ward the east and conquered the Persian Em¬ 
pire. In 332 b. c. the Jews submitted to him 
under promise that they be permitted to exer- I 
cise freely their religious rites. After the. em¬ 
pire founded by Alexander became divided, 
Palestine was made a possession of the Ptole¬ 
mies of Egypt. About 100,000 Jews were taken 
to Alexandria and Cyrene and settled chiefly 
in the region from Libya to Ethiopia. Under a 
system of equal rights with the Egyptians they 
prospered. They aided in building the great 
schools and libraries of Alexandria and trans¬ 
lated the Old Testament, this translation being 
known as the Septuagint, or Greek version. 

About 198 b. c. a Syrian and an. Egyptian 
party rose among the Jews of Palestine. This 
resulted in civil strife and finally brought on 
an invasion by Antiochus IV., in 170, which 
led to great slaughter and an effort to compel 
the Jews to change their religion. About this 
time the Maccabees attained power, and, after 
struggling fourteen years, succeeded in driving 
the Syrians out and establishing the sanhedrim, 
a national council. The Jewish reign of this 
epoch is marked by the establishment of the 
Pharisees and Sadducees, two rival sects. A 
controversy between Hyrcanus II. and Aris- 










JEWS 


1153 


JEWS 


tobulus over the title to the throne caused local 
disturbances and led the Pharisees, in 63 b. c., 
to ask aid of Pompey^ who made Palestine a 
Roman province. The Roman senate recognized 
Herod the Great as King of Judea, who exer¬ 
cised sovereign prerogative in setting aside. Jew¬ 
ish manners. Within his reign, in 4 b. c„ Christ 
was born at Bethlehem, and in 6 a. d. Samaria 
and Judea became a united Roman province, 
being governed by a procurator from Caesarea. 
In 26 a. d. Pontius Pilate was made procurator. 


in whose reign Christ pursued his ministry and 
suffered death. Herod Agrippa was king in 
41-44, persecuted the Christians, and caused the 
apostle James to suffer martyrdom. An insur¬ 
rection occurred in 65, which resulted in the 
capture and destruction of Jerusalem five years 
later by Titus. Hadrian razed it to the ground 
about 135 a. d., and erected a gentile city in its 
place, called Aelia Capitolina. He forbade the 
Jews under penalty of death to enter it, and 
not until' the time of Constantine was the name 
of Jerusalem revived. 

After the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, 
the Jewish people became scattered extensively 
to all countries. Since that time they have 
' lived either as aliens or as citizens by adoption. 
In the time of Emperor Julian they made &n 
unsuccessful attempt to build a new temple at 
Jerusalem. This movement resulted in a re¬ 
vival of the sanhedrim at Tiberias and the 
establishment of two presidencies of the san¬ 
hedrim, one at Tiberias and the other at Bag¬ 
dad. From them the Jewish people attained 
a foothold among the learned and professional 
institutions suitable for the culture and higher 
education of the rabbis. Among the celebrated 
products of their scholars is the Talmud, com¬ 
pleted in the year 500, which contains exposi¬ 
tions of the Old Testament with additions and 
annotations. By reason of their superior busi¬ 
ness sagacity and continued application, the 
Jews became ruling spirits in the commerce of 
the world, established great banking centers, 
and rose to stations of business and political 
importance. They flourished alike in the coun¬ 
tries of Christians and Moslems,, though during 
the supremacy of the Moors in Spain their 
learning and prosperity were greatest. In the 
11th century they were largely colonized on 
particular streets in the cities of Germany, Italy, 
and France, as a class of inferior or dishonored 
people, and often suffered by political and social 
oppression. In the 15th century Spain and Por¬ 
tugal required them to be baptized, to which 
they either consented, were put to death, or 
were banished from the peninsula. 

Modern History. At the beginning of the 

73 


19th century the different nations began to treat 
the Jews as other citizens. Shortly after the 
French Revolution they were placed on an 
equality in France. Russia followed the lead of 
France in 1811, and Denmark did likewise in 
1814. Great Britain admitted them to Parlia- 
nient in 1858 and Norway sanctioned their im¬ 
migration in 1860. Other countries modified 
their laws more or less in harmony with France 
and Germany, though disturbances have pre¬ 
vailed periodically, the most noted of recent 
times occurring in Russia in 1892 and in France 
in connection with the Dreyfus affair in 1899. 
In the United States they have always had equal 
rights with other peoples. The tenacity with 
which the Jews of modern times retain their 
racial characteristics, and cleave to the reli¬ 
gion of their fathers among alien nations and 
peoples, i-s remarkable. Some of the greatest 
names in modern history are those of Jews, 
among them Rothschild, Disraeli, Mendelssohn, 
Spinoza, Heine, Meyerbeer, etc. The greatest 
number of Jewish people are in Russia, where 
they aggregate 5,850,000; Austria-Hungary, 1,- 
950,000; the United States, 1,145,000; Germany, 
615,000; and Rumania, 450,000. The total Jew¬ 
ish population of the world is estimated at 11,- 
800,000. 

Language. The Jewish language is a branch 
of the Semitic family of languages. Perhaps 
originally it was the language spoken by the 
Phoenicians, and was adopted from those people 
by Abraham and his family at the time that 
patriarch settled in Palestine. The religious and 
moral notions of all Hebrews caused many dis¬ 
tinct characters to be impressed upon it, as also 
did the long residence in Egypt and the sojourn 
in the wilderness, thus making it a dialect dis¬ 
tinct in many essentials. While the oldest sa¬ 
cred writings known to us are in the Hebrew, 
there are secular works and inscriptions coming 
to us from older sources. It is quite common to 
distinguish the language by two distinct periods, 
including the time up to the Babylonian exile, 
and from the exile up to the present. In the 
former period comparatively few foreign words 
were mixed with the language, while in the latter 
time many Arabian and Aramaic elements be¬ 
came incorporated. No material progress was 
made in securing a grammatical treatment of 
the language until about the .6th century a. d., 
when several technical texts were published. In 
the written language are many accents and 
marks of punctuation, but it has no capital 
letters. It has twenty-two consonants, five let¬ 
ters have a separate final form, and the vowels 
are designated by marks above or below the 
letters. 





JEW’S-HARP 


1154 


JINRIKISHA 


Literature. The literature is of vast impor¬ 
tance because of its wide influence on the Chris¬ 
tian and Mohammedan nations. It surpasses 
the literature of all other ancient peoples on 
account of the vigorous style of its poetry and 
its religious characteristics, and at the same 
time is the most reliable source of the. early 
history of the human race. The Bible (q. v.) 
is the greatest product of Jewish literature. No 
work of ancient or modern times has been read 
and studied with an equal interest and devo¬ 
tion, and its precepts have influenced human 
action more than any other works, either singly 
or collectively. The first period of Jewish lit¬ 
erature extends to 143 b. c., and one of its 
greatest products is the “Midrash,” a work 
making inquiry into the meaning of sacred writ¬ 
ings. In the second period, extending from 143 
b. c., to 135 a. d., the “Midrash” was divided 
into the “Halacha” and “Hagada,” the former 
relating to common law, and the latter em¬ 
bracing the religious teachings. Josephus in 
this period wrote his “History of the Jewish 
Wars,” Philo compiled various philosophical 
works, and divers writers produced the differ¬ 
ent books of the New Testament and the Apoc¬ 
rypha. The latter is now seldom published in 
the edition of the Bible which is commonly 
used by Protestants. 

The third period is included between 135 and 
475 a. d., in which time the schools of Palestine 
and Rome gave instruction from the “Halacha” 
and “Hagada.” In this time the scholars versed 
in the “Mishna,” the oral law, exercised a wide 
influence, and the “Talmud,” a work containing 
the “Mishna,” was written. From this time on 
the Jewish people became widely scattered in 
many countries, thus causing them to acquire 
the language of the lands of their adoption. 
Many writers of modern nations are of Jewish 
extraction, the products being in various lan¬ 
guages, and including works in philosophy, law, 
science, poetry, music, medicine, mathematics, 
philology, and higher criticism. 

JEW’S-HARP (juz'harp), a metallic musi¬ 
cal instrument. The sound is produced by in¬ 
haling and ejecting air from the lungs, while 
the instrument is held between the teeth, the 
metallic tongue, or spring, being struck by the 
finger. Instruments of this kind are made 
wholly of steel. The sizes vary from small 
toys to those used to produce musical tones of 
considerable volume and in ryhthmical order. 

JEYPORE. See Jaipur. 

JHELAM (jelum), or Jhelum, a large river 
of India, in the Punjab, one of the affluents 
of the Chenab. It rises in Kashmir, passes 
through the Himalayas in the defile of Baram- 


bula, and thence has a southward course. It 
discharges into the Chenab River after a course 
of 490 miles. The Jhelam is navigable for a 
distance of 300 miles, and is noted for its 
fisheries. 

JIGGER (jig'ger), or Chigoe, a kind of 
small flea, native to the West Indies and South 
America. It resembles the common flea, but 
is somewhat smaller. Its bite is at first indi¬ 
cated by a slight itching, .but later it becomes 
quite painful. Several species have been de¬ 
scribed, some of which attack the eyelids of 
poultry. The name is applied in the United 
Stat.es to a small scarlet insect that is trouble¬ 
some to the skin of man. It is common to the 
grasses in the Southern States, where it sub¬ 
sists most of its life. When it attacks the skin, 
it burrows and deposits its eggs, causing quite 
an annoyance by producing an itching and tin¬ 
gling sensation. Salt-water bathing has a re¬ 
lieving effect. 

JINGOISM (jin'go-iz’m), a term applied to 
an individual or party who advocates a warlike 
policy. The expression, by jingo,, originated 
from a corruption of the Basque word Jinkoa, 
and from it the term jingoism was coined in 
.1877, when the political parties in England dis¬ 
agreed as to the policy of intervening in the 
war between Russia and Turkey. Gladstone and 
the Liberals advocated a neutral policy, while 
Beaconsfield and the Conservatives favored in¬ 
tervention to aid Turkey against Russia. Since 
then the term has been in popular use in Great 
Britain and the United States, and is usually 
applied to the advocates of an imperial policy. 
The doggerel sung at a musical hall in London 
at the time has been widely published: 

“We don’t want to fight; 

But by Jingo, if we do. 

We’ve got the ships. 

We’ve got the men. 

We’ve got the money, too!” 

JINRIKISHA (jm-rik'i-sha), a light car¬ 
riage drawn by a man, who goes between the 
shafts. This vehicle has two wheels and is con¬ 
structed to carry either one or two persons. 
Some are provided with a hood, which is at¬ 
tached to the upper part of the seat, and two 
springs make the vehicle quite easy. The man 
employed to pull this vehicle is called the hiki. 
Where long distances are to be made or a heavy 
load is to be drawn, he is assisted by one' or more 
outrunners, who pull by cords attached to the 
crossbar. The jinrikisha was invented in 1868 
and was shortly after introduced in China, 
Japan, and India, where a large number are in 
use. The rate charged is from one to five cents 
a mile, depending upon the speed and the char¬ 
acter of the road to be covered. 





JITOMIR 


1155 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY 


JITOMIR (zhe-to'mer), or Zhitomir, a city 
in Russia, capital of the government of Volhynia, 
on the Teterev River, about eighty miles west 
of Kiev. It is a commercial center and con¬ 
tains numerous manufactories. The place has 
railway facilities, several schools, and a num¬ 
ber of government buildings. Population, 1908, 
82,084. 

JOB’S TEARS, the name of a grass native to 
India, grown as a cereal in a manner similar to 
corn. It is so named from the seeds, which are 
tearlike, hard, shining globules. The seed is 
used in India for food. The plant has been 
naturalized in Canada and the United States 
as an ornamental grass. 

JOHANNESBURG (yo-han'nes-burg), the 
largest city of South Africa, in the Transvaal 
Colony and in the center of the Witwatersrand 
gold fields, 35 miles south of Pretoria. It is 
regularly platted with wide streets, which inter¬ 
sect each other at right angles, and they are gen¬ 
erally well improved by grading and pave¬ 
ments. The chief buildings include the stock 
exchange, the post office, the public library, the 
city hall, and many business blocks. Much of 
the architecture is of stone and vitrified brick 
laid in cement. It has a system of public wa¬ 
terworks, gas and electric lighting, and electric 
street railways. Among the manufactures are 
clothing, brick, pottery, tobacco, machinery, 
leather, soap, packed meat, and jewelry. It has 
a large trade in produce, merchandise, grain, 
and live stock. 

Johannesburg was founded by the Boers in 
1886. Three railways were opened to it in 1892, 
giving it communication facilities with Pre¬ 
toria, Cape Town, Dunbar, Port Elizabeth, and 
Delagoa Bay. In 1895 the famous Jameson 
raid was made upon the city, which resulted in 
the capture of the insurgents, and four of the 
principal leaders were sentenced to death, but 
the sentence was afterward commuted to a cash 
payment of $125,000 each. The fortifications 
constructed by the Boers long prevented Brit¬ 
ish occupation, but it was captured by Lord 
Roberts in 1900. About half of the inhabitants 
are whites. Population, 1906, 174,284. 

JOHN, the name of 23 popes, who reigned 
within the period from 523 to 1417, of whom 
John VIII. and John XXIII. are the most note¬ 
worthy. The former was Pope from 872 to 
882. He succeeded Adrian II. and attained re¬ 
markable success in overcoming Saracen influ¬ 
ences. John XXIII. reigned from 1410 to 1415. 
He was of noble descent, and became noted be¬ 
cause of prolonged controversies regarding pa¬ 
pal succession with Gregory XII. and Benedict 
XIII. See Pope. 


JOHN DORY, the English name of a fish 
native to the warm seas of the Eastern Hemi¬ 
sphere. A species common to the Mediterra¬ 
nean is prized as a food fish. It is about twenty 
inches long and has bony jaws fitted for the 
passage of large objects taken in as food. It 
is rather sluggish and inactive, except when in 
pursuit of other fish, upon which it feeds. The 
body is covered with spinous scales and has an 
olive-brown tail, marked by a large circular 
brownish spot on each side. According to 
legends, this fish was caught by Saint Peter in 
the Lake of Gennesaret, the marks being the 
impression of his thumb and finger. Several 
other species occur in the tropical seas, all of 
which have a compressed body, with a protrud¬ 
ing under jaw. 

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, an in¬ 
stitution of higher learning at Baltimore, Md., 
founded by Johns Hopkins, who bequeathed the 
sum of $3,500,000 for this purpose. The uni¬ 
versity was incorporated in 1867, six years before 
the death of the founder, and the first president, 
Daniel C. Gilman, was inaugurated in 1876. 
Graduate and collegiate courses were first of¬ 
fered and in 1893 a medical department, to which 
only college graduates were admitted, was 
opened. President Gilman retired from office 
in 1901, when Ira Remsen, the professor of 
chemistry, was elected president. 

The buildings of the department of philosophy 
and the arts are situated not far from the cen¬ 
ter of the city and include a central building; 
laboratories for zoology and botany, chemistry, 
geology and mineralogy, and physics; a gymna¬ 
sium ; and a Christian Association building. A 
beautiful site of 125 acres was given to the uni¬ 
versity in 1902, when the permanent endowment 
was increased by the sum of one million dollars 
contributed by friends and the alumni. The 
buildings of the medical department adjoin the 
Johns Hopkins Hospital, with which it is closely 
affiliated and upon which it is dependent for its 
clinical advantages. The funds of the univer¬ 
sity amount to about $4,500,000, the grounds and 
buildings are valued at $1,750,000, and the 
library and scientific apparatus have a value of 
$390,000. About 135,000 bound volumes and 
many pamphlets are contained in the library. 

Instruction is given in mathematics, physics 
and astronomy, chemistry, geology and mineral¬ 
ogy, zoology and botany, Greek, Latin, Sanskrit 
and comparative philology, Semitic language, 
English language and literature, German and 
Germanic philology, Romance languages, his¬ 
tory, political economy, political sciences, phil¬ 
osophy and psychology. Instruction is given in 
all the branches of medicine and surgery. The 



JOHNSTOWN 


1156 


JOINTS 


three degrees offered are Bachelor of Arts, 
Doctor of Philosophy, and Doctor of Medicine. 
Twenty-two fellowships and 91 scholarships are 
offered to students of ability and promise. 
About a dozen journals are issued regularly 
from the Johns Hopkins Press. The faculty 
consists of 196 instructors and the enrollment is 
about 700 students. 

JOHNSTOWN, a city of New York, county 
seat of Fulton County, forty miles northwest of 
Albany. It is on Cayadutta Creek and the 
Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Railroad. 
The chief buildings include the Carnegie public 
library, the county courthouse, the public prison, 
and the high school. Among the manufactures 
are gloves, shoe leather, cigars, machinery, and 
knit goods. Gas and electric lighting, pavements, 
street railways, and waterworks are among the 
municipal facilities. It has a large and growing 
trade. The region was settled in 1760 under the 
direction of Sir William Johnson, after whom 
the place was named. It was chartered as a city 
in 1895. Population, 1905, 9,845; in 1910, 10,447. 

JOHNSTOWN, a city of Cambria County, 
Pennsylvania, at the confluence of Stony Creek 
and the Conemaugh River, forty miles south¬ 
west of Altoona. It is on the Pennsylvania and 
the Baltimore and Ohio railroads, and is sur¬ 
rounded by a country rich in coal, fire clay, and 
iron deposits. Among the noteworthy buildings 
are the public library, the high school, the city 
hall, and the Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hos¬ 
pital. Grand View Cemetery is a fine burial 
ground. The manufactures include iron plate, 
brick, cement, furniture, pottery, and hardware. 
It has street railways, waterworks, pavements, 
gas and electric lights, and other improvements. 
Johnstown was settled about 1790. The city was 
almost totally destroyed May 31, 1889, by the 
bursting of a dam in the Conemaugh River, 
which formed Conemaugh Lake above. The 
total loss of life was 2,500 persons and 99 entire 
families were lost. Contributions sent for the 
relief of the sufferers amounted to $4,116,801.58. 
However, the city soon recovered from this 
calamity and developed rapidly in trade and 
wealth. Population, 1900,35,936; in 1910, 55,482. 

JOHORE (jo-hor'), an independent state in 
the southern part of the Malay Peninsula. It 
comprises an area of 8,980 square miles. The 
larger part is covered with a dense growth of 
primitive forests. Timber, gambier, rattans, 
fruits, and black pepper are the chief products. 
The soil is fertile and well adapted to the culti¬ 
vation of cereals, sugar cane, tobacco, and the 
coffee tree, but comparatively little advancement 
has been made in agricultural arts. Johore 
Barhru, the capital, is a small town located a, 


short distance northeast of Singapore. In 1885 
the British concluded a treaty to control the 
foreign affairs. The country is populated chiefly 
by Malays and Chinese. Population, 1906, 195,- 
506. 

JOINT, in anatomy, a connection between the 
bones and cartilagenous formations of the skele¬ 
ton. The joints permit the movements of the 
animal frame, contribute to the strength of the 
skeleton, especially of the back and the lower 
limbs, and give form and shape to the body. 
They are either movable or immovable. The 
former embrace such as the joints of the hip, . 
shoulder, and ankle, and the latter include the 
frontal and parietal bones. The end of one bone 
in a joint is usually convex, that of its com¬ 
panion bone is concave, and both ends are cov¬ 
ered by a thin layer of elastic cartilage. This 
cartilage has a highly polished surface and serves 
to facilitate motion and to deaden shock. The 
moveable joints are usually divided into plani- 
form, hinge, and ball and socket joints. 

In the planiform joints the surfaces are more 
or less plane, permitting a gliding movement, as 
in the tarsal and metatarsal articulations of the „ 
foot. They permit only a limited motion, but 
impart elasticity and slight flexibility. The hinge 
joints, which permit motion in two directions, 
are provided with very strong ligaments on the 
sides, as in the elbow, ankle, and finger. In the 
joints of the ankle and the fingers the tendons 
of certain muscles replace the ligament. In the 
ball and socket joint there is a cuplike cavity in 
one of the bones, into which a headlike extrem¬ 
ity of the other bone is fitted, the latter being 
held in place by a membranous capsule. This 
class of joints permits great freedom of motion 
in all directions, as in the joints of the hip and 
the shoulder. The socket in the latter is not as 
deep as that of the hip, hence there is greater 
freedom of motion, but the joint is more easily 
dislocated. A secretion called synovia is sup¬ 
plied by a thin membrane that surrounds the 
joints, serving to moisten and salubricate them. 

JOINT-FIRS, the common name of several 
species of small trees and shrubs closely related 
to the coniferous plants. A number of these are 
native to the southwestern part of North Ameri¬ 
ca, and others are found in the warmer parts of 
Asia and Europe. They are so named from 
their jointed stems. The juices are not. resinous, 
but are watery or somewhat gummy. 

JOINTS, in geology, the fissures of a pecu¬ 
liar kind that divide rock masses. They usually 
occur in parallel lines of a system of clefts. 
Joints are due either to the passage of earth¬ 
quake waves or faults resulting from strains by 
the forces that elevate the surface. They differ 





JOINT-STOCK COMPANY 


1157 


JORDAN 


from dividing surfaces of strata in that the tex¬ 
ture is the same on both sides of the dividing 
line, and from cleavage by the fact that the 
blocks are thicker and that they have little or 
no tendency to split in the same direction. Joints 
are designated as strike, dip, and diagonal joints, 
depending upon whether they run parallel to the 
strike or to the dip, or extend diagonally across 
either of these. A 

JOINT- STOCK COMPANY, the name 
usually employed to designate a partnership in 
which the capital is distributed among a number 
of partners. They assume in certain respects a 
corporate form, but possess legally none of the 
peculiar attributes or powers of corporations. 
Joint-stock companies are either limited or un¬ 
limited, and they may become incorporated un¬ 
der the law by complying with its requirements. 
A limited company is one of two forms, in one 
of which each member is limited to the amount 
unpaid on the shares that he stipulated to pur¬ 
chase, and in the other the liability of each mem¬ 
ber is limited to the amount he agrees to con¬ 
tribute to the assets should the business of the 
company be discontinued. In an unlimited com¬ 
pany the liability of the members has no legal 
limit. The word limited must be added to the 
name of the company, in case the liability* is to 
be restricted, which serves to give notice to the 
public of the character of the organization. In 
addition there must be a record kept by the com¬ 
pany to show the place of business, the amount 
of capital, the limit or the amount of guarantee, 
and the object for which the association of in¬ 
dividuals is established. 

JOLIET (jo'li-et), a city in Illinois, county 
seat of Will County, on the Des Plaines River, 
forty miles southwest of Chicago. It is on the 
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the Chicago and 
Alton, the Michigan Central, the Chicago, Bur¬ 
lington and Quincy, and other railroads, and on 
the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The surround¬ 
ing country is a fertile agricultural and dairying 
district, which also produces an excellent quality 
of Silurian limestone and bituminous coal. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the post 
office, the county courthouse, the public library, 
the township high school, the State penitentiary, 
the workingmen’s clubhouse, and Saint Francis 
and Saint Mary academies. It has manufactures 
of flour, lime, lumber products, pottery, farming 
utensils, tombstones, cigars, bridges, furniture, 
and Bessemer steel. Among the general facili¬ 
ties are electric street railways, sewerage, water¬ 
works, and pavements. The place was settled in 
1831 and incorporated in 1852. Population, 1900, 
29,353; in 1910, 34,670. 

JOLIETTE (zho-lyet'), a city of Quebec, 


capital of Joliette County, 42 miles east of Mon¬ 
treal. It is connected with the Saint Lawrence 
River by a railway of twelve miles and is on 
the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The manufac¬ 
tures include leather, lumber products, and ma¬ 
chinery. It has a hospital, a college, waterworks, 
and electric lighting. Limestone quarries are 
worked near the L’Assomption River, on which 
the town is located. Population, 1901, 4,220. 

JOPLIN (jop'lin), a city and one of the 
county seats of Jasper County, Missouri, fifteen 
miles southwest of Carthage, on the Missouri, 
Kansas and Texas, the Missouri Pacific, the 
Saint Louis and San Francisco, and the Kansas 
City Southern. In the vicinity are extensive 
deposits of zinc and lead. The average annual 
output of the mines within the adjacent district 
is valued at $9,500,000. Large quantities of 
fruits are produced in the vicinity. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include the Carnegie library, 
the high school, the Federal building, the opera 
house, and the Y. M. C. A. building. Among 
the manufactured products are machinery, iron¬ 
ware, cigars, steam boilers, soap, and flour. The 
smelting works and foundries give employment 
to a large number of laborers. It has a large 
trade in produce and merchandise. It was set¬ 
tled in 1870 and incorporated in 1873. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 26,023; in 1910, 32,073. 

JOPPA, or Jaffa, a city in Palestine, 33 miles 
northwest of Jerusalem, on the seacoast of 
Syria. It is a very ancient city and in the time 
of Solomon was the port of entry to Jerusalem, 
being the place to which the cedars of Lebanon 
were floated from Tyre for the building of the 
temple. The Jewish prejudice concerning the 
Gentiles and the Christian religion was correct¬ 
ed after a vision seen by Peter at Joppa. In 
the time of the Crusades the city reached its 
highest prosperity, being the principal place of 
landing. The French under Bonaparte captured 
it in 1799. In 1832 Mehemet Ali reduced the 
city, but the Turks, with the assistance of the 
Austrians and British, took possession of it in 
1840. At present Joppa is an export city for 
live stock, cereals, fruits, and various manu¬ 
factures. In September, 1892, it was made the 
terminus of a railroad to Jerusalem. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 45,048. 

JORDAN (jor'dan), a celebrated river of 
Palestine, lying in a valley that stretches from 
north to south in the eastern part of Syria. It 
has several sources, rising in the southern de¬ 
clivities of the Libanus and Anti-Libanus, is 150 
miles long, and its mouth is 1,312 feet below the 
surface of the Mediterranean. In its course 
from Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon to 
the Dead Sea it passes through the lakes Huleh 










JORULLO 1158 JOURNALISM 


(the waters of Merom) and Bahr Tubariyeh 
(Sea of Galilee or Tiberias). Its bed varies 
greatly in breadth, many places having rocky 
and precipitous banks, while others are flat and 
sandy. The average width of the Jordan is 
from thirty to fifty yards. It is spanned by very, 
few bridges, the one most famous being Jacob’s 
bridge, situated north of the Sea of Galilee. 
The total fall of the Jordan is 2,300 feet. Many 
Christians regard it a special privilege to be 
baptized in the Jordan, from the circumstance 
that Christ was baptized in the stream by John. 

JORULLO (ho-rool'yo), a volcanic moun¬ 
tain about 150 miles west of the city of Mexico, 
thrown up by volcanic force on Sept. 29, 1759. 
It consists of numerous cones, some of which 
give out vapor. The highest elevation is 4,250 
feet above sea level. Owing to the gradual loss 
of temperature, foliage and forest trees have 
slowly moved upward and now cover most of 
the region. 

JOTUNS (yo'tunz), the name of immense 
giants and magicians, especially those spoken of 
in Scandinavian mythology. They are credited 
with living in dark caves in their kingdom 
known as Jotunheim. The Jotuns were thought 
to be destructive -forces and the possessors of 
much cunning, but had an inferior intellect. 
They are represented as being skilled in the arts 
of witchcraft. 

JOURNALISM (jur'nal-iz’m), the business 
of managing, editing, or writing. for newspa¬ 
pers or other periodical publications. It has 
come to. be one of the important occupations in 
the promulgation of knowledge and the diffu¬ 
sion of intelligence. Within recent years peri¬ 
odicals have been founded in practically all parts 
of the world inhabited by civilized and semi- 
civilized peoples. They have come to be re¬ 
garded important avenues for the spread of 
news, and for instruction in politics, morals, 
arts, industries, theology, sport, and sociology. 
At the time of the operations of the Roman im¬ 
perial armies accounts were published regarding 
their movements. These were under the direc¬ 
tion of the generals, served as communications 
of intelligence to the officers of the different 
divisions, and are regarded the first systematic 
means of bearing tidings. Modern journalism 
dates from the 15th century and had its begin¬ 
ning in Germany, the first newspaper sheets 
being issued regularly in Saint Augsburg, Nu¬ 
remberg, Ratisbon, and Vienna. However, the 
first publication resembling newspapers published 
at the present time was the Notizie Scritte, es¬ 
tablished at Venice in 1566. The name applied 
to this publication caused the word gazette 
to be coined, and shortly after gazettes were 


issued regularly in many of the large European 
cities. 

Nathaniel Butter founded the first newspaper 
in England, which appeared as the Weekly News 
in 1662, and in the same year the London 
Weekly Courant was established. The latter 
was published as a daily in 1702, but consisted 
only of a small sheet printed on one side. Ad¬ 
vertisements did not appear in periodicals until 
the latter part of the 17th century, and came 
to be inserted on account of notices given of 
new books as they were published. These 
notices attracted the attention of the public and 
led to the conclusion that advertisements of 
merchandise and other matters kept for sale 
would prove remunerative. At present news¬ 
paper advertisements are among the most profit¬ 
able departments of the business, and are 
thought to be fully as remunerative to the ad¬ 
vertisers as to the publishers. 

It was estimated in 1909 that the number of 
newspapers in the world was 93,500. The num¬ 
ber credited to the United States is 23,806; 
Germany, 12,480; France, 5,600; Great Britain 
and Ireland, 5,500; Austria-Hungary, 4,950; 
Italy, 2,800; and Canada, 1,478. In the other 
countries of Europe and in the other grand di¬ 
visions the periodicals are limited to a smaller 
number, though more or less appear in all 
countries. They are published in practically all 
the languages. 

The first newspaper founded in America was 
Publick Occurrences in 1690. This was- fol¬ 
lowed by the Boston News Letter in 1719, and 
immediately after many others were established 
in various parts of the colonies. They rapidly 
gained circulation amonf the people in towns 
and later among those residing in districts re¬ 
mote from common centers Benjamin Frank¬ 
lin was one of the early publishers to gain in¬ 
fluence. He established the Pennsylvania Ga¬ 
zette in 1729, which was merged into the North 
American in 1745. Other noted journalists of 
America include James Gordon Bennett, foun¬ 
der of the Herald, and Horace Greeley, foun¬ 
der of the Tribune. Since then many great 
newspapers and other journalistic enterprises 
have developed in all the large cities of Canada 
and the United States. 

Many of the leading publishers have been 
induced by the rapid growth and phenomenal 
success in newspaper enterprises to invest their 
surplus capital in substantial fireproof buildings, 
which are used for publishing and general office 
purposes. These buildings are fine specimens of 
modern architecture, and add convenience to 
the management as well as serve to beautify 
the cities where located. Among the most 



JOURNALISM 


1159 


JUBILEE 


prominent are those of the New York World, 
New York Times, Washington Post, Omaha 
Bee, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 
San Francisco Chronicle, Portland Oregonian, 
and Saint Louis Globe-Democrat. 

Each newspaper has a business manager, 
whose business it is to make contracts with ad¬ 
vertisers, keep the office records, purchase the 
necessary supplies, and attend to the payment of 
employees. The. business manager works to the 
same end as the editor, both striving to make 
the publication successful and to keep its ten¬ 
dency in accord with the views of the owner. 
The editor has charge of the editorial work and 
supervises the reading matter that goes into 
the newspaper. Much of the general news is 
gathered and furnished by organizations known 
as press associations. The first association es¬ 
tablished to gather news was in New York 
City, though a number of newspapers prior to 
that furnished each other news under a local 
agreement, and this is quite commonly the case 
with newspapers at present. Intelligence syn¬ 
dicates have successful news gatherers in all 
sections of the world, and usually make arrange¬ 
ments with authors and special contributors at 
certain times for signed articles. These con¬ 
tributions are generally sold to one newspaper 
in a city, and are published by the different 
newspapers simultaneously. 

The leading newspapers have branch offices 
in many large cities for the purpose of both 
gathering news and distributing their daily 
papers to the public. These offices are managed 
by American companies, not only in the United 
States, but in Paris, London, Berlin, and other 
foreign cities, though more particularly for the 
purpose of gathering the news. The larger 
organizations send special correspondents to 
legislatures, congresses, and the seat of war 
for the purpose of having the news gathered 
and promptly telegraphed to the central office. 
Readers residing out of the city of publication 
■receive their papers through the mails or news 
venders, or buy them on the trains, while within 
the city of publication they are delivered largely 
by special carriers. The press is free in Canada 
and the United States to publish all matters of 
news, but may be held liable for damages or be 
subject to an action in libel. In most European 
states a strict censorship is maintained over 
newspapers, while during the time of war the 
military authorities of all countries guard care¬ 
fully the transmission of intelligence regarding 
military movements. 

The American people are the most extensive 
readers of newspapers, largely because of the 
high state of literacy, rapid means of transpor¬ 


tation, and remarkable business activity. It is 
estimated that the total number of separate 
newspapers published in the United States in 
1896 was 4,681,113,530, but in 1908 the number 
reached the marvelous total of 10,500,000,000. 
The great daily newspapers are wonderfully 
productive in the amount of published matter 
of various kinds, covering all branches of 
knowledge and relating to all the countries of 
the world. This is true especially in the Sun¬ 
day edition, which usually includes sufficient 
subject-matter to constitute a book of fair size. 

JOURNALISM, School of, an institution 
founded by Joseph Pulitzer (q. v.) in 1903, 
forming a college of Columbian University, in 
New York City. He endowed it with a grant of 
$2,000,000. The purpose is to train men in the 
art of journalism with the view of maintaining 
a high standard in the newspaper profession, 
and to increase the power and prestige of the 
press as an agency in promoting the cause of 
government and good citizenship. Students 
have access not only to a course of study in the 
law and ethics of journalism, but pursue ad¬ 
vanced courses in literature, rhetoric and com¬ 
position, commercial law, sociology, economics, 
political science, and United States and contem¬ 
porary European history. Though the course of 
study covers a wide range, the instruction is 
designed particularly to supply the requirements 
for practical newspaper work. 

JUAN FERNANDEZ (hoo-an' fer-nan'- 
deth), an island about 400 miles off the coast 
of Chile, to which country it belongs. The 
island was discovered in 1574 by a Spaniard 
whose name it bears. It is about thirteen miles 
long and four broad, rocky, mostly high, but 
with some parts fertile. The chief products 
include cereals, cherries, peaches, figs, apples, 
grapes, melons, etc. It is famous on account 
of the story of Robinson Crusoe written by 
Daniel Defoe (q. v.), which is thought to be 
founded upon the solitary confinement and resi¬ 
dence of Alexander Selkirk (1676-1723), a 
Scotch pirate, on the island of Juan Fernandez. 
He quarreled with the captain and at his own 
request was put off on the island, where he 
lived on fruit and wild goats for four years. 
The island is at present occupied by a number 
of Chilean settlements. 

JUBILEE (ju'bi-le), a festival celebrated by 
the Jews every fiftieth year, the year succeeding 
every. seventh sabbatical year. During this 
year all slaves were set at liberty, all lands lay 
fallow, and all estates that had been sold re¬ 
verted to the heirs of the original owner, to 
whom the land had been parceled out in the time 
of Joshua. The design of this institution was 





JUDE 


11G0 


JULEP 


to check the rise of any great inequality of social 
conditions, and to prevent the rich from oppress¬ 
ing and enslaving the poor. It strengthened the 
bonds of families and bound the people to their 
country, by leading them to cherish an affection 
for estates derived from their ancestors and to 
be transmitted to their posterity. It was ob¬ 
served both prior and subsequent to the Baby¬ 
lonian captivity, but ultimately fell into disuse. 

JUDE, Epistle of, the last of the 21 epistles 
of the New Testament. It was probably written 
in Palestine about the year 62, and is directed 
against heretics and false teachers. In early 
times of the Christian church its authority was 
contested on the ground that it contains citations 
of apocryphal writings, though belief in its 
divine inspiration was general in the church. 
Most commentators maintain that it was written 
by Judas Thaddeus (q. v.). 

JUDEA (ju-de a), or Judaea, the name used 
in ancient geography to designate the kingdom 
of Judea to distinguish it from the kingdom of 
Israel. After the Babylonian captivity and up 
to the time of the Roman occupation it denoted 
the whole of Palestine. The Romans used the 
name in a general sense to signify the land of 
the Jews. In a restricted sense it applied to 
the southern part of Palestine, which was bound¬ 
ed on the north by Samaria, east by the Jordan 
and the Dead Sea, south by Idumaea, and west 
by the Mediterranean. See Palestine. 

JUDGE, an officer who has authority to hear 
and determine causes at law. The term is some¬ 
times used interchangeably with justice, or lord 
justice, and extends to the presiding officer in 
courts of both equity and civil and criminal law. 
Although a justice of the peace is in a certain 
sense a judge, he is not usually spoken of in 
this respect, since the term applies more properly 
to the judges of district, circuit, and supreme 
courts. These officers are sometimes spoken of 
as a district judge, circuit judge, or supreme 
judge. It is necessary that a judge be an en¬ 
tirely disinterested party, hence one who has a, 
private or pecuniary interest is disqualified from 
hearing a case. Although a judge may be proses 
cuted for a violation of the law, he cannot be 
held for damages in consequence of his deci¬ 
sions. 

JUDGES, Book of, one of the historical 
books of the Old Testament. It is so named be¬ 
cause it narrates the deeds of the thirteen judges 
of Israel from Othniel ben-Kenaz to Samson, 
-the first and the last of the judges. Though 
fragmentary and somewhat disconnected, it gives 
a reasonably full account of Beborah and Barak, 
Giddeon, Jephthah, and Samson. This book 
shows at its beginning that the calamities suf¬ 


fered by the Hebrews after the death of Joshua 
were due to their apostasy from Jehovah. 

JUDGMENT, in psychology, the operation 
of the mind that involves comparison and dis¬ 
crimination, by which a knowledge of the values 
and relations of things is obtained. In forming 
a logical judgment or thought the mind has 
before itself two concepts, or a single percept 
and a single concept, and through a process of 
comparing decides wherein they agree or dis¬ 
agree, hence, every judgment involves two con¬ 
cepts and the decision respecting them. The 
concepts may be simple or very complex, and in 
either case knowledge is made more valuable 
through the forming of a logical judgment. 

JUGGERNAUT (jug-ger-nat'). See Jag- 
annatha. 

JUGGLER, one who produces tricks by 
sleight of hand, or performs feats in legerde¬ 
main. The magicians of Egypt were skilled in 
apparent sleight of hand performances, and 
delighted to. repeat the wonders performed by 
Moses and others mentioned in ancient history. 
Tricks of different kinds have been devised by 
jugglers as matters of amusement or wonder¬ 
ment. Performers of this kind were common 
among the Romans and other ancient peoples. 
The art is still practiced largely in all countries, 
but particularly at exhibitions and various enter¬ 
tainments. 

JUGULAR (ju'gu-ler), the name of a large 
vein in the neck, through which the greater part 
of the blood that circulates in the neck, face, 
and head is returned to the heart. There are 
two of these veins, located on either side of 
the neck, one of which is near the skin and the 
other is somewhat deeper, the external jugular 
returns blood from the face and neck, and the 
internal jugular from the brain and interior of 
the skull. 

JUJUBE (ju'jub), the name of a small tree 
native to Africa and the warmer parts of Asia 
and Europe. The common jujube is a small 
spiny tree and produces a reddish-yellow fruit 
about the size of an olive, which, when dried, 
is sold on the market as a sweetmeat. It was 
formerly used to make jujube paste, a well- 
known confection, but this product is now ob¬ 
tained by compounding sugar, gum arabic, and 
the whites of eggs. Several species of these 
plants have been naturalized in Mexico' and the 
southern part of the United States. According 
to tradition, the spines of the jujube were used 
in preparing the crown of thorns placed upon 
the head of Christ. 

JULEP, in medicine, a refreshing drink flav¬ 
ored with aromatic herbs. It is a sweet demul¬ 
cent liquid and is used chiefly as a vehicle. The 






JULIUS 


1161 


JUNGFRAU 


name is likewise applied to a beverage composed 
principally of whisky or some other spirituous 
liquor. A drink made'with brandy or whisky 
and mixed with sugar and sprigs of mint is 
called a mint julep. 

JULIUS (jCd'yus), the name of three popes 
of Rome, who reigned, between 337 and 1555. 
The most notable of these is Julius II. He was 
born at Albisold Marina in 1443; died Feb. 21, 
1513. Julius II. occupied the papal throne from 
1503 until his death. It is said of him; “he 
made his tiara a helmet and his cross a sword.” 
See Pope. 

JULY, the seventh month in the Gregorian 
calendar, but formerly the fifth month of the 
year, when it was called Quintilis. It has 31 
days and is so named in honor of Julius Caesar, 
who was born on the twelfth day of July. 

JULY, Column of, the name of a memorial 
erected in Paris, France, to commemorate those 
who fought for the liberty of that country on 
July 27, 28, and 29, in the year 1830. It is lo¬ 
cated in the Place de la Bastille, and on four 
bands that encircle the column are the names of 
the 615 who fell in the Revolution. Beneath 
the column are the vaults that contain their re¬ 
mains, together with those of the victims con¬ 
nected with the Revolution of 1848. 

JULY REVOLUTION, the revolution that 
overthrew the Bourbon dynasty and restored 
the house of Orleans to the throne of France. 
It occurred in July, 1830, in Raris, and was the 
means of giving the crown to Louis Philippe. 
The Bourbon dynasty had become unpopular 
through the reactionary policy of Louis XVIII. 
and Charles X., and matters came to a climax 
when the latter undertook to interfere with the 
liberty of the press and to greatly abridge the 
right of franchise. By the July Revolution the 
influence of the clergy in the administration was 
removed. Contemporary revolts occurred in 
Poland and Belgium, with the result that the 
latter country gained its independence. 

JUMPING MOUSE. See Jerboa. 

JUNCO (jun'ko), the name of several birds 
common to North America, from Mexico to 
Canada, sometimes called black snowbirds. The 
plumage is ashy above and nearly white below. 
The nests are built of grasses and rootlets on 
or near the ground, and are frequently lined 
with hair and feathers. Birds of this class 
move southward as far as the Gulf of Mexico 
in autumn, and in the spring migrate to the 
northern part of the United States and Southern 
Canada. 

JUNCTION CITY, a city of Kansas, county 
seat of Geary County, 135 miles west of Kansas 
City, at the confluence of the Smoky Hill and 


Republican rivers. It is on the Union Pacific 
and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroads. 
The surrounding country is fertile and produc¬ 
tive and near the city are extensive limestone 
quarries. Large quantities of grain, flour, and 
live stock are shipped. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude those maintained by the county and several 
schools and churches. Electric lights and water¬ 
works are among the utilities. A military post 
is located at Fort Riley, which is two miles east 
of the city. The first settlement was made in 
the vicinity in 1858 and it was incorporated the 
following year. Population, 1910, 5,598. 

JUNE, the sixth month in our calendar, so 
named from the Roman surname Junius. For¬ 
merly it was the fourth month and consisted of 
26 days, to which four were added by Romulus. 
Numa took one day from it, but Julius Caesar 
again lengthened the month to 30 days. 

JUNEAU (ju-no'), a city and the capital of 
Alaska on the Gastineau Channel, opposite 
Douglas island. It is located 110 miles south of 
Skagway, and is surrounded by a productive 
gold and silver mining district. Steamships ply 
regularly between it and Seattle, Vancouver, 
San Francisco, and other cities of the Pacific 
coast. The enterprises include cigar factories, 
iron works, sawmills, bottling works, breweries, 
and supply houses. It has a large market in 
furs, lumber, and merchandise. Among the im¬ 
provements are electric lights waterworks, a 
courthouse, and several schools and 'churches. 
It was made the capital of Alaska by an act of 
Congress. Population, 1900, J,864. 

JTJNEBERRY, the name of several trees 
and shrubs found in Canada and the United 
States. Many species are included in this class 
of plants, some of which are cultivated for their 
flowers and others are grown for their fruit. 
The fruit is known as the juneberry, which is 
of a purple color and about the size of a cran¬ 
berry. The fruit is known locally as the service 
berry and the mountain whortleberry. 

JUNE BUG, or May Beetle, a large beetle 
common to North America. It is attracted by 
lamplight and often enters houses in the even¬ 
ing during early summer. When on the ground 
it is quite clumsy, but it flies swiftly through the 
air with a buzzing sound, and frequently strikes 
objects and falls from the stun received. The 
larvae are white grubs that injure the roots of 
grasses when numerous, and the adult beetles are 
harmful to the foliage of fruit and shade trees. 

JUNGFRAU (yoong'frou), meaning the 
maiden, a celebrated mountain of Switzerland, 
situated in the Bernese Alps. It has an eleva¬ 
tion of 13,670 feet above sea level. The peak is 
beautified by the presence of great snow de- 




JUNGLE FOWL 


1162 


JUPITER 


posits. It was first ascended in 1811. A rail¬ 
way line passes to the summit from Lauter- 
brunnen. 

JUNGLE FOWL, the name of a bird native 
to the East Indies, regarded the source of the 
barnyard poultry. It resembles our domestic 
fowls. The cocks crow and the hens cackle and 
cluck like the domestic species of chickens. Sev¬ 
eral allied species are native to India. They are 
so named from the jungles of that country, in 
which they are found in large numbers. They 
live in small parties and frequently come out 
of the forests to feed in the cultivated fields. 

JUNIPER (ju'm-per), a genus of hardy ex¬ 
ogenous shrubs and trees, belonging to the 
cypress subfamily of the cone-bearing group. 
Twenty species are known, all of which are 
evergreen, and abound chiefly in the temperate 
and cold regions of both hemispheres. The com¬ 
mon wild juniper is generally a shrub from two 
to seven feet high, but in rare cases attains 



JUNIPER SHRUB. JUNIPER TREE. 


the height of twenty to thirty feet. In this genus 
the leaves are awl-shaped and the flowers are 
whitish. The fruit is bluish-black, about the 
size of a currant, and requires two years to 
come to maturity. Within the fruit is a stone 
that yields oil of juniper, which constitutes a 
powerful diuretic, and the product of some spe¬ 
cies serves as a local irritant. The juniper tree 
found in Virginia is the red cedar of North 
America. It bears bright blue berries. Juniper 
trees often attain a height of from 25 to 50 
feet. The wood is valuable for manufacturing 
lead pencils, cigar boxes, and cabinet products, 
and the berries of many species are used in 
flavoring gin. 

JUNIUS (jun'yus), a signature affixed to 
seventy letters which were published between 
January, 1769, and January, 1772, in the Public 
Advertiser, in London, England. These letters 
became celebrated on account of the boldness 
with which various institutions, tendencies, and 
officials were attacked. Though the author never 


became known, public suspicion was fixed 
strongly on Burke and Viscount Sackville. It 
is now generally believe'd that the letters were 
written by Sir Philip Francis, but the evidence 
is wholly circumstantial. The most character¬ 
istic statement made by Junius to George III. 
was: “Remember that while the crown was 
acquired by one revolution, it may be lost by 
another.” Henry S. Woodfall, the editor of the 
Public Advertiser, collected and published them 
in one volume. He was afterward prosecuted,but 
on some legal technicality escaped punishment. 

JUNK (junk), a Chinese vessel used in navi¬ 
gating their seas, but which has served for 
voyages extended to America and Europe. It is 
the largest of the Chinese vessels and has no 
prominent stem or keel. The bow on deck is 
square, the stern is full, and the rudder extends 
beneath the bottom of the vessel. The sails are 
usually of matting and stretched on large cen¬ 
ter masts. 

JUNTA. See page 1163. 

JUPITER, the largest planet of the solar 
system, fifth in order of distance from the sun, 
being situated in space an average of 478,500,000 
miles from that luminary. The mean diameter 
is about 86,000 miles and the polar diameter is 
about 82,200. It has a density of about one- 
fourth that of the earth, but the bulk is nearly 
1,250 times greater. It is estimated that the 
weight is 300 times as great as that of our 
planet. The orbk of Jupiter is inclined to the 
ecliptic at the angle of 1° 18' 40", and its period 
of revolution round the sun is eleven years and 
ten and one-third months. It is believed that 
the interior mass is intensely heated, which gives 
rise to light and dark belts. They are usually 
parallel to each other, but often merge into one 
another, and somewhat resemble the spots seen 
on the sun. When viewed with the naked eye, 
it is the brightest planet, next to Venus. In 1610 
Galileo discovered four of the satellites, or 
moons, of Jupiter. The principal characteristics 
of each are as follows: 


SATELLITES OF JUPITER. 


NAME. 

Mean 

Distance 

From 

Jupiter. 

Diameter, 

Miles. 

Density 

Water 

As 1. 

Sidereal 

Period. 

I. Io. 

267,380 

2,352 

114 

D. H. M. 
1 18 28 

II. Europa. 

425,156 

2,099 

171 

3 13 4 

III. Ganymede. 

678,393 

3,436 

396 

7 3 43 

IV. Callisto. 

1,192,823 

2,929 

222 

19 16 32 


To the above list must be added at least three 
others, one discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1892, 
another by C. D. Perrine in 1904, and still an¬ 
other by the same astronomer in 1905. How- 


















JUNTA 


1163 


JURY 


ever, these are small and comparatively insignifi¬ 
cant. The satellites of Jupiter, like that of our 
planet, revolve once upon their axis while mak¬ 
ing one complete revolution round the planet. 
They are eclipsed in the shadow of Jupiter and 
also by their own shadows, and appear to move 
in lines nearly parallel from one side of the 
planet, thus evidently having orbits similar to 
the orbit of Jupiter, but within the plane of the 
ecliptic of that planet. In 1706 the Danish as¬ 
tronomer, Olaus Romer (1644-1710), carefully 
observed the eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites and 
discovered the progressive movement of light. 
Prior to his time light was considered instanta¬ 
neous, but he became convinced that it requires 
sixteen and one-half minutes to travel the orbit 
of the earth, which has since been verified by the 
phenomena of the aberration of light, and the 
velocity has been fixed at 186,000 miles per sec¬ 
ond. 

JUNTA (jun'ta), the Spanish name given to 
legislative assemblies and administrative coun¬ 
cils. The assemblies of the representatives of 
the nation called by the monarch in the Middle 
Ages were termed general juntas, and Charles 
II. established a great junta to regulate the com¬ 
petency of the Inquisition. Subsequently the 
name was extended to assemblies of a strictly 
legal character. 

JURA (ju'ra), a range of mountains in Eu¬ 
rope, chiefly in France, Germany, and Switzer¬ 
land. These highlands trend from northeast to 
southwest and form the principal boundary be¬ 
tween France and Switzerland. In Germany the 
range is called the German or Franconian Jura. 
The name is derived from the Jurassic lime¬ 
stone which constitutes the principal geological 
formation, though this is alternated with sands 
belonging to the lower Cretaceous series. Sever¬ 
al gorges cross the mountain range, and it is 
otherwise characterized by stalactite caves in 
which the bones of extinct animals are numer¬ 
ous. The Ain and Doubs rivers rise in the west¬ 
ern slopes and form tributaries of the Rhone. 
Among the highest peaks are Cret de la Neige, 
elevation 5,650 feet; Reculet, 5,648 feet, and 
Mont Tend*re, 5,520 feet. 

JURASSIC (jii-ras'sik), a system of rocks, 
so named from the Jura Mountains in Switzer¬ 
land, found above the Triassic and below the 
Cretaceous systems. Rocks of this system occur 
in all the continents, but they do not correspond 
in all cases with the system of Europe. In gen¬ 
eral they are assigned to the Mesozoic Era, and 
in most instances are associated with the forma¬ 
tions designated as the Lias and the Oolite. 
They cover large areas of France and Germany, 
where they contain several thousand species of 


fossils, and are traceable in Colorado, California, 
British Columbia, and other sections of North 
America. The reptiles are very prominent 
among the fossils, especially the lizards and the 
Pterosaurja, a class of flying reptiles. 

JURUA (zhdo-rdo-a'), a river of Brazil, rises 
in the Andes of western Peru, flows toward the 
northeast, and joins the Amazon some distance 
above Fonteboa. Its entire length is 1,100 miles, 
of which about 560 miles are navigable. The 
valley of the Jurua is timbered heavily and 
yields large quantities of rubber. 

JURY (ju'ry), a body of men selected under 
legal provisions, impaneled, and sworn to inves¬ 
tigate questions of fact, and to return a true 
verdict or decision according to evidence legally 
placed before them. Two kinds of juries are 
maintained in connection with courts of justice, 
grand juries and petit, or common, juries. 
Grand juries generally consist of less than twen¬ 
ty-four men and more than eleven, who are sum¬ 
moned by the county, or parish, sheriff and duly 
impaneled for service, though in some states the 
jurors to serve are limited to five or seven, these 
being selected by lot from the whole number 
summoned, and those remaining are excused. 
After administering the necessary oath, the pre¬ 
siding judge instructs them in their duty, wheh 
they repair to a closed room and select a fore¬ 
man from their number. Their duties include 
the consideration of various accusations brought 
before them by the county attorney, or others, 
and if they agree by unanimous vote that certain 
charges against individuals are based upon fact 
and are of indictable character, they return a 
true bill or indictment, which forms the basis of 
subsequent prosecution in the court of record, 
otherwise the accusations are dismissed for want 
of sufficient foundation. Grand juries hear only 
one side of criminal procedures. They are relics 
of the Star Chamber abolished by the Magna 
Charta, a document which was exacted by the 
people of England from King John in 1215. 
They have been abolished in a number of the 
states. 

Petit juries in most instances consist of twelve 
men, unless a smaller number is agreed upon 
by the parties to a cause. A petit jury is sum- * 
moned to serve both in civil and in criminal 
cases. The decision of a trial jury, known as the 
verdict, is reached by a unanimous agreement. 
In the lower courts and in some special cases, 
juries consist of a smaller number of men, usu¬ 
ally six. The panel for juries in courts of rec¬ 
ord includes generally twenty-four men, of 
which twelve are selected by parol, though a 
number of those chosen in this way may be ex¬ 
cused peremptorily, or all may be challenged for 




JUSTICE 


1164 


JUTE 


cause. After the trial jurors have been finally 
chosen, they are sworn by the clerk or the judge. 
They hear the evidence in the cause, listen to 
the plea of the attorneys, are instructed by the 
judge in relation to points of law, and retire for 
the purpose of agreeing upon a verdict. 

After an agreement has been reached, the 
jury reports by a written and sealed verdict to 
the judge at the session of court immediately 
following an agreement, and before being dis¬ 
charged from service. However, if they cannot 
reach an agreement, they are discharged from 
service and a new jury may be impaneled to try 
the same cause at the same or a subsequent ses¬ 
sion of the court, though causes of a criminal 
nature cannot be taken up for trial a second 
time in case the accused is found not. guilty. In 
cases of death by accident or violence, a coro¬ 
ner’s jury is summoned for the purpose of de¬ 
termining the cause from which death resulted. 
It is under the direction of the county coroner, 
or an officer corresponding to a justice of the 
peace. The investigation may be made at the 
place where death occurred and in the presence 
of the body, and, in some cases, a corpse may be 
exhumed for that purpose. The person or per¬ 
sons who are designated by a coroner’s jury as 
being guilty of a crime are subject to indict¬ 
ment by the grand jury, and triable by the petit 
jury. However, in many instances, as in a case 
of death by accident or from an unknown cause, 
it is impossible to determine who is responsible 
when no one is accused. 

JUSTICE, Department of. See United 
States, Departments of. 

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, a subordinate 
official in Great Britain and the United States, 
elected or appointed to exercise certain subor¬ 
dinate administrative functions within the limit 
of a town, borough, or county. Such an officer 
in the United States is elected by the people and 
has jurisdiction in minor civil and criminal 
cases. He may act as coroner and solemnize 
marriages in some of the states. In most in¬ 
stances he has the power to hold a preliminary 
examination of those who are charged with 
grave offenses, and he may either dismiss or 
bind them over to appear for trial in the upper 
courts. The duties of the justice are practically 
uniform in most divisions of Great Britain, but 
in England this officer is appointed by the Lord 
Chancellor, and the judicial functions are sup¬ 
plemented by certain executive duties. 

JUSTIFICATION (jus-ti-fi-ka'shun), a 
doctrine of Christian theology. It is based upon 
the writings of Saint Paul, particularly on his 
epistles to the Galatians and the Romans. The 
doctrine teaches that justification is an act by 


which the individual is accounted just or right¬ 
eous in the sight of God. It is not a mere re¬ 
mission of sin, but embraces the sanctification 
and renewal of the inward man through the vol¬ 
untary reception of the grace of God. The 
doctrine had its beginning at the time of the 
Reformation, when Luther came to his spiritual 
liberty and taught the doctrine of justification by 
faith. 


JUTE (jut), the fiber of two plants of India, 
belonging to the natural order Tiliaceae. They 
are cultivated extensively in the warmer coun- 



jute (Corchorus ccipsularis). 


tries of Asia and elsewhere. The plants are 
annuals, have yellow flowers, and attain a height 
of from five to fifteen feet. The fiber forms the 
inner bark and is separated from the outer by 
steeping in water for several days. It is of fine 
texture, possesses a shining surface, and the in¬ 
jury that accrues w r hen exposed to water ren¬ 
ders it illy adapted for canvas and cordage. 
However, it is used profitably for carpets, gunny 
bags, and in a mixture with hemp for cordage 
and mats. Paper is made from the smaller frag¬ 
ments and cuttings. Though cultivated and used 
in manufactures in India for many centuries, 
jute did not come largely into use in America 
until 1830. Within recent years the plant has 
been naturalized and is now grown successfully 
in the southern part of the United States. Gun¬ 
ny-bags are employed largely in transporting cot¬ 
ton, rice, pepper, coffee, and other articles of 
commerce from Asiatic ports, while the raw ma- 


JUTES 


1165 


JUTLAND 


terial is transported to the manufactories of 
America and Europe. Dundee, Scotland, is 
noted as a center of the jute manufacturing 
industry. The annual importation of jute to 
the United States is valued at $3,500,000. In 
1908 the 'total consumption of the world was 
7,500 tons. 

JUTES, the name of a people who resided 
in the lowlands of Germany at the beginning of 
the Christian era. They were closely associated 
with the Angles and Saxons in the conquest of 
England in the 5th century. Bede (q. v.), the 
Saxon writer of. England, classifies the Teutons 
who conquered England into Angles, Jutes, and 
Saxons, but some writers treat the Jutes as 
Frisians. 


JUTLAND (jut'land), in Danish Jylland, 
an important peninsula of Europe, located north 
of Germany. On the east, north, and west it is 
bounded by the Cattegat, Skager Rack, and the 
North Sea. It comprises the principal portion 
of Denmark. The area is 9,746 square miles. 
Nearly all the surface is low, but a ridge of _ 
hills runs through the center from north to 
south, the highest point being 564 feet above the 
sea. The inhabitants have preserved the customs 
and language of the ancient Jutes, who were a 
powerful people of Northern Europe in the 5th 
century, and with the Angles and Saxons con¬ 
quered and settled portions of Britain. Aalborg 
and Aarhus are the principal seaports. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 1,124,694. 


K 



K, the eleventh letter and eighth consonant 
of the English alphabet. It has a guttural artic¬ 
ulation before all consonants and vowels, except 
before n, where it is silent, as in knell, knife, and 
knit. From the 16th to the 18th centuries it was 
written after c at the end of a word for the pur¬ 
pose of strengthening the hard c, as in pnblick, 
musick, and almanack. In the French the letter 
k is used only in a few Greek derivatives, and in 
the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese it has gone 
out of use. In German some words are written 
either with c or k, as Carl or Karl, Coin or 
Koln. As a symbol, in chemistry, K stands for 
potassium (kalium). K signifies knight; K. B., 
Knight of the Bath; K. G., Knight of the Gar¬ 
ter. 

KAABA (ka-a'ba), or Caaba, an oblong 
stone structure in the great mosque of Mecca. It 
constitutes the sacred shrine to which Moslems 
make their pilgrimages for religious worship. 
According to legendry, it is located on the spot 
where Adam offered his first worship after be¬ 
ing expelled from the Garden of Eden. Some 
writers assert that a tent was sent from heaven 
in which the worship took place, but others hold 
that Adam built a structure of stone and clay, 
which was destroyed by the deluge, but was aft¬ 
erward rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael. The 
structure is 45 feet wide, 55 feet long, and about 
40 high. It occupies a place in the sacred area 
of the mosque, which is surrounded by a wall 
and colonnades. The black-stone, or Keblah, is 
at the southeast corner of the Kaaba, where it is 
held by masonry, and toward it every pious 
Moslem directs his face when praying. To kiss 
the Kaaba is the supreme object of every pil¬ 
grim. 

KABUL (ka'bul), or Cabul, the capital. of 
Afghanistan since 1774, when it was made such 
by Timour. It is situated in a province of the 
same name, at the junction of the Loghar and 
Kabul rivers, on a productive plain southwest of 


KADIAK 

the Hindu-Kush Mountains, at an altitude of 
6,375 feet above the sea. The walls of former 
times are largely in ruins. Besides a number of 
government buildings, it contains a Jewish syna¬ 
gogue, several mosques, and the tomb of Sultan 
Baber. The manufactures consist chiefly of 
marble products, guns and ammunition, textiles, 
and machinery. It has systems of electric light¬ 
ing and waterworks, but the streets are not well 
paved. Many of the buildings are of wood and 
adobe brick. It has an important trade in mer¬ 
chandise, fruits, jewelry, and live stock. Many 
of the bazaars are large and are noted for their 
trade in fine carpets and rugs. Kabul was cap¬ 
tured by the British in 1842 and 1879. Within 
recent years it has been influenced more or less 
by the advances of Russia. The inhabitants in¬ 
clude Afghans, Hindus, and Jews. Population, 
1908, 68,502. 

KADESH BARNEA (ka'desh bar'ne-a), a 
city mentioned in the Scriptures as the place of 
encampment of the Israelites as they journeyed 
on their exodus from Egypt. It was the death 
place of Miriam, sister of Moses, and became 
celebrated on account of Moses and Aaron of¬ 
fending the Lord by presuming that water would 
flow from the rock when struck before the peo¬ 
ple with a rod in their own name, rather than by 
the help of God. For this sin Moses and Aaron 
were punished by being forbidden entrance into 
the promised land. The district of Kadesh is 
prominent in the accounts written of Abraham, 
Hagar, and Ishmael. 

KADIAK (kad-yak'), an island immediately 
south of Alaska. It is about 100 miles long and 
60 miles wide. The area is 4,680 square'miles. 
Much of the surface is rugged. Numerous in¬ 
lets characterize the coast, which is rocky and 
more or less precipitous. The climate is made 
disagreeable by dense fogs and frequent rains. 
The principal industries are fishing, canning, and 
furring. The salmon canning industry employs 


1166 






KAFIR CORN 


1167 


KAISER 


1,250 hands and derives its supply of fish mainly 
from the Karluk River. Saint Paul, the prin¬ 
cipal town, is a shipping point of fur and fish. 
The population, consisting chiefly of Eskimos, is 
about 2,500. 

KAFIR CORN, a species of sorghum which 
is native to South Africa. It has been natural¬ 
ized in the arid region of the United States, 

where it is* grown 
extensively for 
fodder and for its 
seed. Large fields 
of this product are 
grown in the re¬ 
gion extending 
from western Ne¬ 
braska to the Gulf 
of Mexico. It is 
drilled in rows 
similar to sor¬ 
ghum and c u It i - 
vated in the early 
growing season 
like corn. The 
crop is harvested 
with a corn har¬ 
vester, by which 
the stalks are 
bound in bundles 
or sheaves, after which it is either thrashed 
to separate the seed, or both the stalks and the 
seed are fed to stock. 

KAFIRISTAN (ka-fe-res-tan'), meaning the 
country of infidels, the name applied to a region 
of Asia, located southeast of Afghanistan. The 
area is about 5,000 square miles. It is situated 
between the Hindu-Kush Mountains and India. 
The country is mountainous and is inhabited 
by the Siaposh, or Kafirs, a native race con¬ 
sisting of tribes that vary greatly in stature 
and complexion. They engage chiefly in agri¬ 
culture, fruit growing, and cattle raising. They 
have become distinguished for their love of in¬ 
dependence and their strenuous resistance to 
the Mohammedan faith. Their dress is mostly 
of goatskins and fabrics woven from the hair of 
goats. Some writers consider the Kafirs of Asia 
an admixture of Greeks and Hindus. The total 
number of these people is about 200,450. 

KAFIRS (kaf'erz), or Kaffirs, an Arabic 
word meaning unbelievers, the common name of 
the most important native race of Southeastern 
Africa, a branch of the Bantu family. The re¬ 
gion occupied by these people extends with more 
or less variation from Delagoa Bay to Cape Col¬ 
ony. The head of the Kafir is shaped more like 
that of Europeans than the head of Negroes. 
The nose is high, the hair is frizzled, and the 


complexion is brown, with lighter variations in 
those found in the southern districts. In their 
habits they are frugal and simple. The race gen¬ 
erally is tall and muscular and the occupations 
pursued chiefly are hunting and cattle raising. 
The women engage to some extent in the culti¬ 
vation of cereals, vegetables, and fruits. Sev¬ 
eral distinct branches of Kafirs have been de¬ 
scribed, including the Swazi, Pondos, Fingoes, 
and Zulus. The last named tribe is especially 
numerous in the British colonies of Natal and 
Cape Colony, and has shown marked improve¬ 
ment under the influence of missionaries and 
teachers. As a rule the Kafirs are deficient in 
sentiments of religion. They are exceptionally 
superstitious and generally believe in witchcraft. 

The first accounts of the Kafirs were published 
in 1617, when they came in contact with the 
Dutch colonists, who began to make settlements 
near the Cape of Good Hope. After 1688 they 
are mentioned frequently in the colonial records 
kept by the Dutch. After settling in Cape Col¬ 
ony, the British began to press them and claim 
their lands, which resulted in several wars, no¬ 
tably those in 1811-12, and at numerous times 
since. The War of 1846 led to the reservation 
of a district known as Kaffraria, which in 1853 
was made a crown colony. Originally they oc¬ 
cupied territory which comprised 1,000,000 
square miles, but with the general occupation of 
Africa by European powers they have been 
largely localized and their habits of living have 
been greatly modified. The total number at 
present is about 3,000,000. See Zulus. 

KAGOSHIMA (ka-go-she'ma), a city of 
Japan, situated on the Kagoshima River, at the 
southern end of the island of Kiushiu. It is an 
important seaport, contains a college, and has a 
large trade. The manufactures include earthen¬ 
ware, clothing, silks, and machinery. It has 
electric lights, waterworks, and well-paved 
streets. The export trade is chiefly in tea, rice, 
and camphor. Population, 1903, 59,001. 

KAILAS' (ki-las'), an elevated mountain 
peak of the Himalayas, situated near the Sutlej 
and Indus rivers. The summit is 20,230 feet 
above sea level. It is celebrated as a sacred 
mountain of the Hindus. The slopes are cov¬ 
ered with fine forests of deciduous and ever¬ 
green trees. 

KAISER (ki'-zer), a word derived from the 
Latin term Caesar and applied as the official 
title of the Emperor of Germany. The title was 
originated from certain provinces near the Dan¬ 
ube formed by Diocletian and, though anciently 
assigned to a Caesar, they became a part of 
the German Empire in 1438. When William III. 
of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor of Ger-' 





KAISER WILHELM CANAL 


1168 


KALI 


many at the conclusion of the Franco-German 
War, in 1871, the ancient title of the German 
Emperor was revived. 

KAISER WILHELM CANAL, an artifi¬ 
cial waterway of Germany, extending from 
Holtenau on the Baltic to Brunsbiittel on the 
Elbe. It connects the navigation of the North 
Sea with that of the Baltic Sea. The width at 
the bottom is 85 feet and at the surface it is 
190 feet. It is 29 feet deep and 61.3 miles long. 
This canal shortens the distance from the Bal¬ 
tic to the North Sea about 200 miles. It was 
constructed by the government of Germany for 
naval and military purposes, but is utilized in 
the freight and passenger traffic. The canal was 
completed in 1885 at a cost of $39,500,000. 

KAISER WILHELM’S LAND. See New 
Guinea. 

KAISERSLAUTERN (ki-zers-lou tern), a 
city of Germany, in the Bavarian Palatinate, 
forty miles west of Mannheim. It has conven¬ 
ient railway facilities, an industrial museum, 
fine public schools, and a large Protestant 
church. The manufactures include furniture, 
cotton and woolen goods, boots and shoes, ma¬ 
chinery, and ironware. It contains the ruins of 
a palace built by Frederick Barbarossa in the 
12th century. In 1801 it was made a part of 
France, but in 1816 became a possession of 
Bavaria. Within recent years it has grown rap¬ 
idly, owing to the establishment of large manu¬ 
facturing enterprises, and it is supplied with 
electric lights, waterworks, and street railways. 
Population, 1905, 52,306. 

KALAHARI (ka-la-ha're), a vast desert in 
South Africa, located north of the Orange River 
and east of German Southwest Africa. The 
extent from east to west is 400 miles and from 
north to south, 600 miles. Much of the surface 
is level, having an elevation of 3,500 feet, and 
vegetation thrives in various parts of the in¬ 
terior. Rains fall copiously from August to 
April, but the rivers and most of the lagoons 
dry up during the season of drought. Bush¬ 
men and Bakalahari are the principal inhabi¬ 
tants. The giraffe, lion, leopard, antelope, and 
other wild animals are met with. Melons, 
grasses, shrubs, and thorny trees comprise the 
principal plants. 

KALAMAZOO (kal-a-ma-zoo'), a city in 
Michigan, county seat of Kalamazoo County, 
on the Kalamazoo River, forty miles from Lake 
Michigan. It is on the Lake Shore and Michi¬ 
gan Southern, the Michigan Central, the Grand 
Rapids and Indiana, and other railroads. Large 
quantities of celery, fruits, and grain are grown 
in the vicinity. The noteworthy buildings in¬ 
clude the post office, the city hall, the public 


library, and the Y. M. C. A. building. It is the 
, seat of the Michigan Female Seminary, the Kal¬ 
amazoo College, the Michigan Asylum for the 
Insane, and an academy of music. Among the 
industries are flouring mills, iron foundries, 
and factories for the production of windmills, 
plows, vehicles, machinery, sleds, cigars, and 
furniture. The place was settled in 1829, in¬ 
corporated as a village in 1843, and chartered as 
a city in 1884. Population, 1910, 39,437. 

KALAMAZOO, a river in the United States, 
rising near the southern boundary of Michigan, 
in Hinsdale County. It has a general course of 
200 miles toward the northwest, flowing into 
Lake Michigan 28 miles south of Grand Haven. 
The mouth is deep and is entered by large ves¬ 
sels. Along its banks are fine forests and it 
furnishes excellent water power. Kalamazoo 
and Battle Creek are on its banks. 

KALEIDOSCOPE (ka-li'do-skop), an op¬ 
tical instrument which produces an endless 
variety of symmetrical and beautifully colored 
designs, invented in 1817 by David Brewster. 
It is made of a tube with two plane mirrors, 
usually formed of slips of glass from six to 
twelve inches in length, darkened at the back. 
It tapers in width from about three inches at one 
end to one inch at the other. Some varieties 
are made rectangular, but the trapezoidal form 
is the most common. The mirrors are adjusted 
so their reflecting surfaces face each other and 
form any angle of which 360 is a multiple, the 
usual angle being 60°. The conical tube is made 
of paper, tin, or brass. It is a trifle larger than 
the mirrors, and of sufficient diameter at its 
wider end to inclose their points. A metal 
plate containing a small hole at the center closes 
one end of the tube, to which the eye is applied. 
The opposite end contains two plates, the one 
next the eye being of clear glass and the other 
being ground, between which a number of 
beads or small pieces of colored glass are placed 
so they may move freely: When applied to the 
aperture, the eye sees beautiful symmetrical fig¬ 
ures produced by the mirrors, and these are 
greatly diversified whenever the tube is shaken 
or turned. It has been a favorite toy from its 
invention, but also serves a useful purpose for 
illustrating the optical problem of the multipli¬ 
cation of images produced by reflection. It is 
used by designers to secure patterns for- calico, 
carpets, and wall papers. 

KALI (ka'le), the name of a Hindu goddess, 
formerly worshiped with sacrifices of human 
beings. She is one of the forms of the wife of 
Siva, and is the goddess of cholera and other 
epidemics. In statuary she is represented stand¬ 
ing on the body of her husband, wearing a 


KALISPEL 


1169 


KAMERUN 


necklace of skulls and a belt of serpents. A 
famous shrine built to her memory is maintained 
at Calcutta, where goats and other animals are 
- offered as a blood sacrifice on her alters. 

KALISPEL, or Pend d’Oreille, a tribe of 
Indians in the United States, found chiefly in 
Idaho and Washington. Formerly they occupied 
territory along Pend d’Oreille Lake, whence 
they came annually to the plains to hunt the 
buffalo. They made a treaty with the govern¬ 
ment in 1855 and the larger portion was removed 
to Montana, where they are federated with the 
Flatheads and Kootenai Indians on the Flat- 
head reservation. 

KALK (kiilk), a town of Germany, in Prus¬ 
sia, on the Rhine. It is located opposite Co¬ 
logne, with which it is connected by railway and 
electric lines. It has well-paved streets, electric 
lights, and many modern business and residen¬ 
tial buildings. The manufactures include porce¬ 
lain, machinery, chemicals, and electric appara¬ 
tus. Formerly it was a part of Deutz, but be¬ 
came a separate city in 1867. Population, 1905, 
•25,478. 

KALMIA (kal'mi-a), a genus of shrubs na¬ 
tive to North America, consisting mostly of 
evergreen species. The common kalmia attains 
a height of three feet and bears corymbs of 
beautiful flowers. To this class of plants be¬ 
longs the mountain laurel, which is native to the 
Allegheny Mountains, where it grows to the 

k height of thirty feet. It has been naturalized in 
Europe as a favorite garden shrub. The leaves 
are poisonous to many animals. 

KALMUCKS (kal'muks), or Calmucks, a 
people of the Mongolian race. In character 
they are warlike and nomadic and engage largely 
in agriculture and stock raising. The Kalmucks 
are native to the Chinese Empire and certain 
districts of Siberia and European Russia, ex¬ 
tending westward as far as the Volga. They 
are colonized in large settlements on the Volga, 
Ural, and Don rivers. In stature they are of 
middle height, possess considerable strength, and 
are marked by prominent cheek bones, a short 
chin, a thin beard, and very shaggy hair. Their 
religion is Lamaism. The language is allied 
closely to the Mongolian proper, and is written 
with a similar alphabet and grammatical con¬ 
struction. The total number includes about 
700,000, of which one-half reside in China, about 
125,000 in Russia, and the remainder in Central 
Asia. They have conducted numerous wars 
against the Tartars, Chinese, and Russians. 
Those in Europe have been converted largely to 
the Greek Church by Russian missionaries. 

KAMA (ka'ma), a river of Russia, the lar¬ 
gest branch of the Volga. Its source is in the 
74 


province of Vyatka. It makes a bold turn 
through Perm and flows into the Volga in the 
province of Kazan, about forty miles below the 
city of Kazan. The Kama forms a part of the 
principal highway of commerce for boats be¬ 
tween Saint Petersburg and Siberia, is free from 
ice about eight months of the year, and has been 
improved by several canals. The total length 
is 1,300 miles. It is navigable about 850 miles. 
A canal connects it with the Dwina, thus unit¬ 
ing the White and Caspian seas. 

KAMA, or Kamadeva, the god of love 
among the Hindus, corresponding to Cupid of 
the Romans and Eros of the Greeks. He was 
the son of Brahma and lost his'life while try¬ 
ing to tempt Siva, but was born again as, the 
son of Kirshma. After his second birth he was 
called Pradyunma, another name for Cupid. 
In statuary he is represented with a bow made 
of sugar cane, which is strung with a line 
formed of bees, and he bears five arrows orna¬ 
mented with the blossoms of flowers. With 
these arrows he*is able to overcome the five 
senses. 

KAMCHATKA (kam-chat'ka), or Kamt- 
chatka, a peninsula which extends from north¬ 
east to southwest in the northeastern part of 
Asia. It is bounded on the east by Bering Sea, 
south by the Pacific, and west by the Sea of 
Okhotsk. The area is 104,000 square miles. It 
varies in width from 70 to 250 miles, being the 
widest in the central part, and is about 700 
miles long. The climate is cold, though vegeta¬ 
tion during the warmer parts of the year is 
remarkably luxuriant. The Kamchatka is the 
most important river, having a length of 110 
miles, and flows northward through the most 
fertile and populous portion of the peninsula. 
Among the minerals are iron, copper, mica, 
lignite, and sulphur, which are mined largely 
under Russian supervision, but the principal 
products include furs and fish. Many fur¬ 
bearing animals are native to the region, in¬ 
cluding the beaver, bear, sable, and Arctic fox. 
The inhabitants consist chiefly of Kamtscha- 
dales, Koryaks, and Russians. Since 1706 it has 
been a possession of Russia. It is governed 
from the local capital, Petropavlovsk, a town 
of 1,200 population. The total population of the 
peninsula is 7,250. 

KAMERUN (ka-ma-roon'), or Cameroon, 
a German colony on the west coast of Africa, 
extending from the Cross River to the mouth of 
the Rio del Rey. It is bounded on the north by 
Lake Tchad, east by French Congo, south by 
Spanish Rio Muni, and west by Nigeria. The 
area is 191,130 square miles. A part of the col¬ 
ony is mountainous, being crossed by the Ka~ 




KANAKA 


1170 


KANGAROO ISLAND 


merun Mountains, which have peaks of 13,760 
feet. The Kamerun River, from which it de¬ 
rived its name, flows into the Bight of Biafra by 
an estuary over twenty miles wide. Much of the 
colony is fertile and produces grasses and other 
plants in profusion. The rainfall is abundant 
and the climatic conditions are favorable to 
agriculture and stock raising. Among the prod¬ 
ucts are tobacco, vanilla, palm oil, cloves, and 
cereals. The mines yield cobalt, iron, silver, 
and gold. Rubber, ivory, fruits, palm oil, grains, 
and live stock are exported. The chief town is 
Kamerun, on the Atlantic coast, and the most 
important trading stations are Campo, Bibund, 
and Victoria. 

The colony is governed under an imperial 
governor, wha is assisted by a chancellor and a 
legislative council. Buea is the capital and lar¬ 
gest town. Schools are maintained at Garna, 
Victoria, Duala, and other points. Kamerun 
became a colony of Germany in 1884. The 
boundary between it and the Niger Coast Pro¬ 
tectorate was formerly settled in 1893. Most 
of the inhabitants are Bantus. In 1908 the col¬ 
ony contained 1,225 whites. Population, 1906, 
3,850,640. 

KANAKA (ka-na'ka), the name applied by 
white traders and sailors to a native of the 
Hawaiian Islands. Later the term came into 
use to designate the natives of New Caledonia, 
the New Hebrides, and other oceanic islands. 
The term kanakas is now used in the sense of 
the name coolies, when speaking of the native 
laborers of Hawaii. 

KANAZAWA (ka'na-za'wa), a city of 
Japan, situated near the northeastern coast of 
the island of Hondo. It contains numerous 
public institutions, several famous temples, and 
ruins of old fortifications. The manufactures 
include porcelain, silk, toys, and paper. It has 
railroad connections, waterworks, several parks, 
and a large trade. Population, 1903, 99,657. 

KANDAHAR (kan-da-har'), or Candahar, 
one of the principal cities of Afghanistan, sit¬ 
uated 250 miles southwest of Kabul, at an eleva¬ 
tion of 3,400 feet. Its location on a general 
route to India makes it an important commercial 
and strategical center, which fact has induced 
the government to* fortify it with strong works. 
A wall with a thickness of from ten to sixteen 
feet, a height of twenty-five feet, and a length 
of four miles has been built around it. A strong 
fortress is located two miles north on a precipi¬ 
tous rock, which has proven of much utility 
against the attacks of invaders. Few modern 
conveniences have been introduced. Excellent 
bazaars are maintained by numerous Persian 
and Hindu merchants. It contains the tomb of 


Ahmed Shah. The manufactures include earth¬ 
enware, clothing, jewelry, shawls, and utensils. 
It is thought that Alexander the Great founded 
the city, though it appears to be entirely of 
Persian origin. Population, 1906, 61,385. 

KANDY (kan'de), a town in the island of 
Ceylon, located on an elevated plain, about 
eighty miles from Colombo. It has railway 
facilities, electric lights, and several large build¬ 
ings occupied by the government. Near it are 
the famous botanical gardens of Peradenia. 
It contains the palace of its former kings and 
has several ancient monuments and Buddhist 
temples. Population, 1906, 26,625. 

KANE, a borough of Pennsylvania, in Mc¬ 
Kean County, 95 miles southeast of Erie, on the 
Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and Ohio, and 
other railroads. The surrounding country pro¬ 
duces oil and natural gas. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are glass, brushes, machinery, cigars, and 
lumber products. It has a healthful climate and 
is a favorite summer resort. Population, 1900, 
5,296; in 1910, 6,626. 

KANGAROO (kan-ga-roo'), a species of 
herbivorous quadrupeds native to Australia, 
Tasmania, and New Guinea. The kangaroos 
were first made known to the Europeans by 
Captain Cook in 1770. They are distinguished 
by long hind legs, small fore legs, a huge tail, 
a small, deerlike head, and large.ears. When 
standing erect, they are about the height of a 
man. They spring from ten to fifteen feet by 
means of the hind legs and tail, and are able 
to resist an attack with much skill and fury, 
though they have a timid disposition and are 
easily domesticated. The principal food is grass 
and other vegetable forms. Owing to the con¬ 
sumption of large areas of grass by herds of 
kangaroos, they have been hunted for destruc¬ 
tion, but also for their skins, which are val¬ 
uable in the manufacture of gloves and shoes. 
A peculiar pouch or marsupium is attached to 
the lower part of the body of the female, in 
which the nipple of the mammary glands open, 
and serve for the protection of the immaturely 
born young for a period of about eight >months. 
The flesh of these animals is prized for food, 
resembling venison, while the tail is a favorite 
article for soup. Many species of kangaroos 
have been described, of which the great kan¬ 
garoo described in this is the best - known. 
Other species include the red kangaroo, brush 
kangaroo, and agile kangaroo. The kangaroo 
rat and kangaroo bear are other marsupials 
found in Australia and New South Wales. See 
illustration on following page. 

KANGAROO ISLAND, an island at the 
entrance of Saint Vincent Gulf, South Aus- 


KANKAKEE 


1171 


KANSAS 




tralia, about 102 miles southwest of Adelaide. 
It is separated from the mainland by Investi-" 
gator Strait. The surface is barren and the 
island is valuable mainly for its fisheries. The 
area is 1,675 square miles. 

KANKAKEE (kan-ka-ke'), a city in Illi¬ 
nois, county seat of Kankakee- County, on the 
Kankakee River, which supplies an abundance 
of water power. It is on the Illinois Central, 
the Illinois and Iowa, the Cleveland, Cincin¬ 
nati, Chicago and Saint Louis, and other rail¬ 
roads. The noteworthy buildings include the 
high school, the county courthouse, the public 
library, the Y. M. C. A. building, and Saint 
Viateur’s College. It is the seat of the Eastern 
Illinois Hospital for the Insane. The sur¬ 
rounding country is agricultural and fruit grow¬ 
ing and has valuable deposits of limestone. 
Among the manufactures are clothing, flour, 
ironware, nails, machinery, and cigars. It has 
street railways, electric lights, pavements, and 
a sewerage system. The place was settled in 
1853 and incorporated the next 
year. Population, 1910, 13,986. 

KANKAKEE, a river of the 
United States, rising near the 
northern boundary of Indiana. 

It has a general course toward 
the west until it reaches Wal¬ 
dron, Ill., where it is joined by 
the Iroquois, after which it flows 
toward the northwest until ir 
joins the Des Plaines to form 
the Illinois River. The valley of 
the Kankakee is highly fertile. 

Kankakee, in Illinois, is the prin¬ 
cipal city on its banks. 

KANSAS (kan'zas), a central 
state of the United States, situ¬ 
ated in the geographical center 
of the Union, popularly called 
the Sunflower State. It is bound- 
' ed on the north by Nebraska, 
east by Missouri, south by Ok¬ 
lahoma, and west by Colorado. 

In shape it is rectangular, with 
- a length of 410 miles from east 
to west and a breadth of 210 miles from north 
to south. Its geographical position is between 
94 ? 37' and 102° west longitude. In latitude 
it extends from the 37th to the 40th parallels. 
The area is 82,080 square miles, being the tenth 
State in size." 

Description. The State consists largely of 
an undulating plain that slopes toward the 
i southeast, and lies within the Great Plains 
which extend from the Missouri River to the 
Rocky Mountains. The surface rises gradually 


from the eastern border, where the altitude is 
750 feet, to a height of 3,875 feet on the western 
border. Sherman County, in the northwestern 
part, is the highest point in the State, having 
an altitude of 4,425 feet. Fertile valleys with 
belts of timber extend along the streams. The 
rivers of the eastern part are characterized by 
bluffs that rise from 100 to 200 feet above the 
valleys. The average altitude is about 2,000 
feet above sea level, which is the height of a 
line passing a little west of the center. Though 
the surface is quite elevated, none of the emi¬ 
nences rises more than 500 feet above the gen¬ 
eral level. A sandy region about 100 miles in 
length is located in the southwestern part, 
south of the Arkansas River. 

None of the rivers is navigable, except the 
Missouri, which forms the northeastern bound¬ 
ary. All of the streams belong to the Missis¬ 
sippi system, and the drainage is principally 
by the Kansas River into the Missouri and 
the Arkansas into the Mississippi. The north¬ 


AUSTRALIAN KANGAROO. 

ern half of the State is drained by the Kansas 
and its tributaries. The Arkansas drains most 
of the remainder, flowing eastward to about the 
south central part, where it forms a bold curve 
and after a general course toward the south¬ 
east passes the border into Oklahoma. The 
Cimarron, a tributary of the Arkansas, drains 
the southwestern part. Other tributaries of the 
Arkansas include the Neosho and the Verdi¬ 
gris. The chief tributaries of the Kansas are 
the Republican, Smoky Hill, Solomon, Saline, 








KANSAS 


1172 


KANSAS 


and Big Blue rivers. While timber is found 
along most of the streams and water courses, 
the forests are most extensive in the eastern 
portion. 

The climate is agreeable and is marked by 
windy but usually mild winters. The summers 
are tempered by breezes and the nights are re¬ 
freshing and cool, except in the hottest part of 
the year, when they sometimes become quite 
warm. Owing to limited rainfall in the extreme 
west, that portion is not so favorable to the 
cultivation of cereals as the other parts of the 
State, though the soil contains marked elements 
of fertility. Rains fall most largely from April 
to July, which is the principal growing season, 
and the mean rainfall for the State is 27 inches. 
In the eastern part it is about 35 inches, whence 
it decreases toward the western border, where 
it ranges from 12 to 20 inches. In the north 



1, Topeka; 2, Kansas City; 3, Wichita; 4, Leavenworth; 5, 
Pittsburg; 6, Junction City. Dotted lines show chief rail¬ 
roads. 


the mean annual temperature is 52°, whence it 
rises gradually toward the south, where it is 
58°. Though snow falls in the winter, it does 
not lie on the ground a great length' of time. 
A large portion of Kansas was formerly covered 
with the so-called buffalo grass, but this prevails 
at present only in the western portion, while the 
valleys are covered with an excellent and abun¬ 
dant growth of blue : stem and other bladed 
grasses valuable for hay and pasture. 

Mining. The mining industry is centered 
largely in the southeastern part. Lead and 
zinc are mined in the vicinity of Galena, and 
the output is smelted in works that utilize fuel 
products obtained within the State. In the 
output of coal Kansas ranks third among the 
states west of the Mississippi River, and the 
yield has increased steadily for several decades. 
Cherokee and Crawford counties are located in 
the center of a large coal field. Allen County 
is noted for its output of natural gas and min¬ 
eral oil. The yield of petroleum is about 3,125,- 


000 barrels per year, and the output of coal is 
about 6,750,000 tons. Large quantities of salt 
are obtained in the central portion. The most 
important gas deposits are in the vicinity of 
Iola and Independence, and much of the out¬ 
put is utilized in smelting and various manufac¬ 
turing enterprises. Workable quantities of gyp¬ 
sum, red and yellow ocher, fire and brick clays, 
and stone suitable for construction and monu¬ 
ments are obtained in many localities. 

Agriculture. Farming was formerly con¬ 
fined chiefly to the eastern half of the State, 
but it now extends to the western border. This 
has been made possible in part through irriga¬ 
tion canals, but mainly by introducing plants 
suitable to an arid climate, and by the adoption 
of a system of farming calculated to aid in re¬ 
taining moisture in the cultivated lands. About 
80 per cent, of the surface is utilized in farm¬ 
ing, and the average size of farms is about 240 
acres. In the acreage cultivated it is exceeded 
only by Iowa. In the production of hay and 
corn it usually holds third rank. Corn is grown 
most extensively in the east, where the climate 
and rainfall are peculiarly favorable. Other 
crops grown include wheat, oats, potatoes, vege¬ 
tables, flax, and fruits. It holds high rank in 
the production of apples, tobacco, sugar beets, 
broom corn, and castor beans. Alfalfa yields 
abundantly throughout the State, while timothy 
and clover are grown more successfully in the 
east. Among the leading crops of the western 
part are alfalfa, kafir corn, millet, wheat, rye, 
and vegetables. 

Large interests are vested in stock raising. 
Cattle are reared both for meat and dairy pur¬ 
poses, and butter and cheese making are im¬ 
portant industries. Horses, mules, and swine 
are raised most extensively in the east, while the 
grazing lands of the west have contributed to 
the development of ranches for rearing sheep, 
cattle, and horses. Kansas City is one of the 
largest slaughtering centers of the United 
States, and much of the stock produced in the 
State is transported to that market. 

Manufactures. The manufacturing enter¬ 
prises have grown in importance with every dec¬ 
ade, but are not developed to the extent of 
their possibilities. Kansas City, on the eastern 
border, has large slaughtering and meat-pack¬ 
ing establishments, and is a center for the manu¬ 
facture of soap, candles, and leather. The 
products next in importance are flour and meal, 
which are produced in nearly all parts of the 
State. Condensed milk, butter, and cheese are 
exported in large quantities. The presence of 
vast deposits of natural gas, petroleum, and 
bituminous coal has caused a large increase in 




KANSAS 


1173 


KANSAS 


the smelting and refining industries. Other 
manufactures embrace cigars, brick and tile, 
glass, beet sugar, brooms, railway cars, earth¬ 
enware, wagons and carriages, and farming ma¬ 
chinery. 

Transportation. River transportation is 
confined wholly] to the Missouri. Railroad 
building has been promoted extensively since 
1875, and the State is favorably situated with 
reference to transcontinental traffic. It is 
crossed by a number of trunk lines, several of 
which furnish direct communication with ports 
on the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. The 
eastern part is particularly favored in having 
numerous branches and electric railways. The 
total lines of steam railroads aggregate 9,200 
miles. All of the larger cites are important as 
railway centers, especially Topeka, Kansas City, 
Wichita, Coffeyville, Fort Scott, Hutchinson, 
and Pittsburg. The telephone, telegraph, and 
electric railways are utilized extensively. Large 
quantities of live stock, fruit, wheat, wool, 
packed meats, corn, and dairy products are ex¬ 
ported. The imports consist chiefly of mer¬ 
chandise, clothing, and machinery. 

Government. The present constitution came 
into effect in 1861. It vests the executive power 
in a governor, lieutenant governor, auditor, 
treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, 
secretary of State, attorney-general, secretary 
of horticulture, superintendent of insurance, 
and secretary of labor statistics, all of whom are 
elected for two years. In addition there are 
the board of railroad commissioners, the State 
agricultural society, the free employment agen- 
' cy, the board of control of charitable institu¬ 
tions, and the executive council, the last men¬ 
tioned being constituted of the Governor and 
six other State officials. The Legislature is 
composed of the senate and the house of rep¬ 
resentatives, the former having 40 and the 
latter 125 members. The senators are elected 
for four and the representatives for two years, 
and the legislative sessions are held biennially. 
A supreme court of seven judges elected for 
three years is the highest judicial tribunal. 
Subordinate to it are the district judges, who 
preside over the courts in districts made up of 
several counties. The judges of the supreme 
court serve for six years, while the district 
judges are elected for four years. Each coun¬ 
ty has a clerk of the district court and a pro¬ 
bate judge. Justices of the peace are elected 
in the townships. 

Education. Kansas has a high rank in edu¬ 
cational affairs among the states. It contains 
the highest proportion of native born citizens. 
In 1900 the illiterate population was only 2.3 


per cent, of the inhabitants. This result was 
attained largely because of a compulsory at¬ 
tendance law and the excellent system of pub¬ 
lic schools maintained in the State. A large 
majority of the inhabitants reside in rural dis¬ 
tricts, hence the elementary schools are well dis¬ 
tributed in all the more densely populated sec¬ 
tions. All the towns and cities have high 
schools, which are graded under a course of 
study prepared by the state department, and 
the public system terminates in the University 
of Kansas, situated at Lawrence. The State 
normal school is at Emporia, at-which a large 
proportion of the teachers receive training, and 
a number of private normal schools and depart¬ 
ments of other institutions furnish special 
courses for those who desire to enter the pro¬ 
fession of teaching. Licenses are granted to 
teachers on the basis of training and experience, 
ranging from those issued in the counties to 
the State certificates granted by the State 
board of examiners. The average length of the 
school year is a little less than eight months, but 
all of the cities and many rural districts have 
nine months per year. 

The State has many private institutions of 
higher learning. These include Washburn Uni¬ 
versity at Topeka; Baker University, Baldwin; 
Bethany College, Lindsborg; Friends’ Univer¬ 
sity, Wichita; Ottawa University, Ottawa; 
Fairmount College, Wichita; Lane University, 
Lecompton; Salina Wesleyan University, Salina; 
Southwest Kansas College, Winfield; and Saint 
Benedict’s College, Atchison. Kansas City has 
an institution for the blind. Olathe has a school 
for the deaf and dumb, and Leavenworth has 
a national soldiers’ home. The soldiers’ or¬ 
phans’ home is at Atchison, the State peniten¬ 
tiary is at Lansing, and the industrial reforma¬ 
tory is at Hutchinson. Beloit has an industrial 
school for girls. Topeka has a reform school 
for boys, and Leavenworth has a Federal prison. 
Osawatamie is the seat of an insane asylum. 

Inhabitants. The inhabitants consist largely 
of American-born citizens, many of whom im¬ 
migrated from states farther east. The per 
cent, of foreign-born is smaller than that in 
most states of the Mississippi Valley. The ur¬ 
ban population is comparatively small, owing to 
the fact that the State has no large cities, none 
of them having more than 75,000 inhabitants. 
Topeka, on the Kansas River, is the capital. 
Other cities include Kansas City, Leavenworth, 
Wichita, Atchison, Pittsburg, Lawrence, Fort 
Scott, Parsons, Hutchinson, Emporia, Coffey¬ 
ville, and Independence. In 1900 the State had 
a population of 1,470,495. Of this number 54,- 
176 were colored inhabitants, including 2,130 










KANSAS, UNIVERSITY OF 


1174 


KANSAS CITY 


Indians and 52,003 Negroes. In 1905 the popu¬ 
lation was 1,544,968; in 1910, 1,690,949. 

History. The larger part of Kansas constitut¬ 
ed a portion of the Louisiana Purchase acquired 
from France in 1803, but the region lying south 
of the Arkansas River and west of longitude 
100° W. was ceded in 1850 by Texas to the 
United States. It was first visited in 1541 by 
Coronado, a Spaniard, and was partly explored 
in 1819-20 by Major Long of the United States 
army. The region was a part of Missouri Ter¬ 
ritory until 1821, and then remained unorgan¬ 
ized until the. Kansas-Nebraska bill, in 1854, 
formed the Territory of Kansas, which then in¬ 
cluded part of the present State of Colorado. 
After much controversy between opposing par¬ 
ties to make Kansas a free or a slave State, it 
was admitted to the Union on Jan. 29, 1861, 
under the Wyandotte Constitution, prohibiting 
slavery. Prior to its admission occurred the 
celebrated border war, resulting from an at¬ 
tempt of people from the Northern and South¬ 
ern states to influence its final position as to 
slavery. 

Kansas furnished a larger proportion of men 
for the Civil War than any other State. It was 
not a direct battle ground, but Quantrell’s 
guerrillas invaded the State from Missouri and 
captured Lawrence, where a large number of 
citizens were killed. About 40,000 Negroes mi¬ 
grated from the South into Kansas in 1878 and 
1880. Prohibition became incorporated in the 
general laws shortly after 1880, after a period 
of extended discussion. It continues to attract 
considerable attention from time to time. 

KANSAS, University of, a coeducational 
State institution at Lawrence, Kansas, estab¬ 
lished in 1864. It comprises the schools of 
pharmacy, medicine, arts, law, engineering, and 
fine arts. With it are included a graduate 
school and the University Geological Survey. 
Admittance is free to all residents of Kansas, 
and students from other states are required to 
pay a small tuition. The institution has a 
library of 45,000 volumes, property valued at 
$1,125,000, and an attendance of 2,050 students. 
It is governed by a board of seven regents, con¬ 
sisting of the chancellor of the university and 
six members appointed by the Governor for 
four years. 

KANSAS CITY, the largest city in Kan¬ 
sas, county seat of Wyandotte County, sepa¬ 
rated from Kansas City, Mo., by the State 
boundary. It is on the Union Pacific, the Chi¬ 
cago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Missouri 
Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, 
and other railroads. The site extends to both 
sides of the Kansas River, at its confluence 


with the Missouri, and includes an area of 
twelve square miles. A part of the city is 
on the low bottom of the rivers, but the larg,e 
part extends along the slopes and over the 
bluffs. Several bridges across the Kansas 
River unite the two parts of the city. It is 
also closely connected with Kansas City, Mo., 
by well-graded streets and a system of electric 
railways. The streets are well paved with 
brick and asphalt. 

Kansas City, Kan., is the seat of Kansas City 
University, a Methodist Episcopal institution. 
It has a fine Carnegie library valued at $80,000. 
Other noteworthy buildings include the public 
high school, the county courthouse, the State 
institution for the blind, and many churches and 
schools. The live stock business ranks as the 
second largest in the world. It is one of the 
most important packing-house centers in the 
United States, and those located in the city have 
given a world-wide reputation to the two cities. 
It has many large grain elevators and numer¬ 
ous manufacturing enterprises. Among the gen¬ 
eral manufactures are soap, leather, flour, can¬ 
dles, hardware, and machinery. Kansas City 
was chartered in 1886, when it was formed of 
Armstrong, Wyandotte, Armourdale, and sev¬ 
eral other villages. Population, 1910, 82,331. 

KANSAS CITY, the second city in Mis¬ 
souri, situated in Jackson County, on the south 
bank of the Missouri River, separated by the 
State boundary from Kansas City, Kan. It 
is one of the most important railroad centers 
in* the Mississippi Valley, being on the line of 
numerous trunk railroads, some of which pass 
through while others have their terminus in 
the city. They include the Chicago and Alton, 
the Wabash, the Chicago Great Western, the 
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the Chicago, 
Rock Island and Pacific, the Kansas City South¬ 
ern, the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul, 
the Chicago, Burlington - and Quincy, the Mis¬ 
souri Pacific and other railroads. Most of 
the lines use in common a large union depot, 
and a terminal circular railway furnishes in¬ 
tercommunication among the different? lines. 
Several great bridges have been constructed 
across the Missouri River, which at this place 
receives the inflow from the Kansas River. A 
fine system of electric street railways has lines 
to all parts of the city, and suburban and inter- 
urban transit is furnished by branches and lines 
extending to various points in Kansas and Mis¬ 
souri. Additional transportation facilites are 
furnished by steamboat lines on the river. 

The streets are broad, regularly platted, and 
improved by asphalt, brick, and stone paving. 
The site of the city is on a rolling and rather 


KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 


1175 


KAOLIN 


uneven tract of land, but it has been greatly im¬ 
proved and beautified by grading and leveling. 
Many of the buildings in the business section 
are from ten to eighteen stories high. The con¬ 
struction is modern and of substantial material, 
mostly of stone. Among the noteworthy build¬ 
ings are the Federal courthouse, the city hall, 
the United States customhouse, the board of 
trade building, the Kansas City' Club building, 
the art gallery and museum, the public library, 
and the Y. M. C. A. building. It has many tall 
structures and office buildings, such as the Scar- 
ritt, the Dwight, the Midland, the Commerce, 
and the New York Life buildings. The public 
institutions include the Kansas City College of 
Law, Scarritt Training School, the University 
Medical College, and a number of hospitals. 
Among the leading parks are Holmes Square, 
Scarritt Point, and Fairmont and Washington 
parks. All the leading Christian denominations 
have commodious church buildings. Many fine 
public and private schools are maintained. 

Kansas City is a distributing point for a large 
region in the Southwest and has an extensive 
wholesale and jobbing trade. It is important as 
a market for grain and live stock, and contains 
extensive mills and elevators. The milling prod¬ 
ucts, including flour, oatmeal, and cornmeal, 
take rank as the most important manufactures 
within the city. Other products include cloth¬ 
ing, malt liquors, confectionery, machinery, 
leather, hardware, brick and tile, and foundry 
products. The first settlement on its site was 
made by French fur traders in 1821 and it was 
platted as a town in 1838. It was incorporated 
in 1853, when it was known as Westport Land¬ 
ing. The early growth of the city is due to the 
navigation, facilities of the Missouri River, by 
which it was built up before the construction of 
railways. It received its first impetus as a com¬ 
mercial city in 1865, when it was reached by 
the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In 1903 it suf¬ 
fered much damage by an overflow of the Mis¬ 
souri River. Population, 1910, 248,381. 

KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL, the name of 
a bill introduced in the Congress of the United 
States by Stephen A. Douglas in 1854, which 
was passed in the same year. It is so named be¬ 
cause it separated and organized the territories 
of Kansas and Nebraska, and its importance is 
in the fact that it practically repealed the Mis¬ 
souri Compromise. It embodies the squatter 
sovereignty idea of Douglas, in that the ques¬ 
tion of slavery in the two territories was to be 
settled by the people residing therein, and if the 
people decided to adopt slavery the fugitive 
slave law was to apply. Nebraska was easily 
settled as a free territory, but the passage of the 


bill was the occasion of much trouble in Kan¬ 
sas. It was one of the causes that hastened the 
Civil War. • 

KANSAS RIVER, a river of Kansas, 
formed in Dickinson County by the union of the 
Solomon and Smoky Hill rivers. It is joined 
near Junction City by the Republican and near 
Manhattan by the Big Blue River. After an 
easterly course of about 200 miles, it joins the 
Missouri at Kansas City. The valley of the 
Kansas River is highly fertile, producing large 
quantities of fruits and cereals. 

KANSAS STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, 
institution of learning at Emporia, Kas., estab¬ 
lished by an act of the Legislature in 1863. In 
1901 the Western Branch State Normal School 
was organized at Hays and two years later the 
Manual Training Auxiliary was founded at 
Pittsburg. The management of these schools 
is by law vested in one board of regents and 
the president of the normal school at Emporia 
is president of the three schools. These insti¬ 
tutions are conducted for the instruction of per¬ 
sons in the art of teaching all grades of work 
from the kindergarten to the high school. On 
completion of two, three, and four years of 
work, respectively, state certificates for one year, 
three years, and life are granted. An advanced 
course of collegiate grade at Emporia confers 
the degree of bachelor of arts and education. 
The special features at Emporia are kindergar¬ 
ten and primary methods, the school "of music, 
the practice school, the commercial department, 
and the advanced college course. The library 
of 25,000 volumes with its new building and 
equipment offers good opportunity for the prac¬ 
tical training of teachers in primary methods. 
Among the special organizations for students are " 
the literary societies, debating clubs for young 
men and women, the Y. M. and Y. W. C. A., 
the music society, the orchestra, and classes in 
chorus work. 

In addition to the main building, there are 
separate buildings for the library, the training 
school, the gymnasium, the hospital, the boiler 
house, and the science department. Special at¬ 
tention is given to athletics, football, baseball, 
golf, tennis, and other out-of-door sports. The 
teaching force for the three schools is composed 
of 85 instructors, with a student attendance of 
approximately 2,700 students. 

KAOLIN (ka'6-lm), a hydrated silicate of 
alumina, so named by the Chinese from a hill 
in China called Kaoling. It is a soft clay 
formed by the decomposition of rocks and con¬ 
tains mica, feldspar, and quartz. This product 
is now obtained in various parts of Germany, 
France, England, and the United States. De- 




KARAKORUM MOUNTAINS 


1176 


KAZAN 


posits of considerable extent occur at Schnee- 
berg, in Saxony; at Cornwall, in England; and 
in various parts of Georgia, Pennsylvania, and 
Vermont. The proportion of silica to alumina 
varies in different countries. It is used ex¬ 
tensively in the manufacture of porcelain and 
white earthenware and in paper making. It 
somewhat resembles mortar in the natural state, 
but becomes pure white when burned. 

KARAKORUM MOUNTAINS (ka-ra-k5'- 
rum), an elevated range in the central part of 
Asia, extending from the Himalayas into Kash¬ 
mir and Eastern Turkestan. These mountains 
terminate at the Pamir, where they merge into 
the Hindu Kush. Mount Godwin-Austin, ele¬ 
vated 28,278 feet above the sea, is the culminat¬ 
ing peak and one of the highest summits in the 
world. The Karakorum Pass is one of many 
lofty passes that connect the intervening valleys. 

KARIKAL (ka-Te-kaT), a French possession 
on the Coromandel Coast of India, in the Brit¬ 
ish district of Ivanjore, 150 miles south of 
Madras. It has an area of 63 square miles and 
is inhabited chiefly by natives. This possession 
was made French territory in 1759, but was 
captured by the English in the early part of the 
19th century, and was restored to the French in 
1814. It has considerable trade with France 
and the French colonies, chiefly in rice and fruit. 
Karikal, the chief town, in 1906, had a popula¬ 
tion of 17,511. Population, 1906, 71,554. 

KARLSBAD. See Carlsbad. 

KARLSRUHE. See Carlsruhe. 

KASCHAU (ka'shou), or Kassa, a city of 
Hungary, capital of the county of Adauj-Torna, 
168 miles northeast of Budapest. It is located 
on the Hernad River, has railroad conveni¬ 
ences, and its streets are regularly platted. The 
surrounding country produces large quantities 
of wine and cereals. It has a fine Gothic ca¬ 
thedral, a royal law school, a coeducational sem¬ 
inary for teachers, and several schools and Prot¬ 
estant churches. The manufactures include 
flour, paper, cigars, spirits, and clothing. In 
1241 the region was settled by German colo¬ 
nists. It was the scene of a battle between the 
Austrians and the Hungarians in 1849, in which 
the latter were defeated. Population, 1906, 
43,150. 

KASHAN (ka-shan'), a city of Persia, in 
a province of the same name, 120 miles south of 
Teheran. It has public baths, a Mohammedan 
college, and numerous mosques and bazaars. 
The manufactures include faience, jewelry, and 
silk and woolen textiles. Population, 30,500. 

KASHGAR (kash-gar'), a city of Asia, in 
East Turkestan, on the Kashgar River. It is 
surrounded by mud walls and the new part of 


the town is defended by a citadel. The man¬ 
ufactures consist chiefly of textiles, carpets, and 
jewelry. It has considerable trade and is the 
seat of several native schools and mosques. 
Population, 65,808. 

KASHMIR. See Cashmere. 

KASKASKIA (kas-kas'ki-a), a river in Illi¬ 
nois, rises in Champaign County, flows south¬ 
east and enters the Mississippi at Chester. It 
has a length of 200 miles and is navigable for 
about 50 miles. The first settlement in the State 
was founded by the French on the Kaskaskia 
River, about seven miles from its mouth, in 
1680. Kaskaskia was the first capital of Illi¬ 
nois. It is now a small post village. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 177. 

KATAHDIN (ka-tadm), or Ktaadn, a cele¬ 
brated mountain peak, the most elevated in 
Maine. It is situated in the central part of the 
State, about eighty miles west of Bangor, and 
has a height of 5,385 feet above sea level. 

KATRINE (kat'rin), Loch, a lake of Scot¬ 
land, in Perthshire, five miles east of Loch 
Lomond. It is eight miles long and about two 
miles wide, and is visited annually by many 
tourists. Ellen’s Isle, located in this lake, is the 
scene of Scott’s “Lady of the Lake.” 

KATTEGAT. See Cattegat. 

KATYDID (ka'ty-did), a pale green insect, 
about an inch and a half long, allied to the 
grasshopper. Several widely distributed species 
have been studied. The name is an imitation 
of their peculiar note heard at night, which is 
caused by the friction of membranes attached 
to the covers of the wings. It is made only by 
the males, being a call to the noiseless females. 

KAUKAUNA (ka-ka'na), a city of Wiscon¬ 
sin, in Outagamie County, on the Fox River, 22 
miles above Green Bay. It is on the Chicago 
and Northwestern Railroad, which maintains 
extensive shops at this place. Other industries 
include brick and tile works, flouring mills, and 
paper mills. It has electric lighting, water¬ 
works, and several fine schools. Water power 
for manufacturing is obtained from the Fox 
River. Population, 1905, 4,991. 

KAW (ka), or Kansa, a tribe of Sioux In¬ 
dians who formerly occupied the lower valley 
of the Kansas River, in Kansas. They speak a 
dialect of the Osage language. 'At the beginning 
of the 19th century they numbered about 1,300, 
but at present not more than 200 full-bloods re¬ 
main. In 1846 they were removed to Okla¬ 
homa, where they occupy a reservation with the 
Osage Indians. 

KAZAN (ka-zanV), the chief city and cap¬ 
ital of the Russian government of Kazan, on 
the Kazanka River, near its junction with the 



KEARNEY 


1177 


KEEWATIN 


Volga. It is strongly fortified. The industries 
include tanneries, soap factories, machine shops, 
and establishments for wool combing, weaving, 
and dyeing. Near it is a government dockyard. 
Its convenient navigation and railroad facilities 
make it an important market for flour, hemp, 
timber, and cereals. As an educational center it 
ranks among the most important of Russia. 
The university was founded by Alexander 
I. in 1804. It has an extensive observatory, bo¬ 
tanical gardens, and a library of 100,000 volumes, 
and is attended by 1,000 students. Near the 
city are the shipyards in which Peter the Great 
built the Russian fleet, which became famous on 
the Caspian Sea during his reign. Kazan was 
founded in the 13th century, but originally the 
town was thirty miles farther east than the pres¬ 
ent location. It was the capital of the khanate 
of Kazan under the Tartars. The Russians un¬ 
der Ivan the Terrible captured it in 1552 after 
a prolonged siege. Population, 139,250. 

KEARNEY (kar'm), a city in Nebraska, 
county seat of Buffalo County, on the Platte 
River, about 125 miles west of Lincoln. It is 
on the Union Pacific and the Chicago, Burling¬ 
ton and Quincy railroads, and is surrounded by 
a fertile stock and agricultural country. The 
noteworthy buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the high school, the public library, the 
city hall, the opera house, and the Nebraska In¬ 
dustrial School for Boys. Lake Kearney, which 
covers about forty acres, is near the city. 
Among the manufactures are brick, machinery, 
canned articles of food, crackers, cigars, and 
flour. The municipal facilities include systems 
of sewerage and waterworks. Kearney was set¬ 
tled in 1871 and incorporated in 1872. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 5,634; in 1910, 6,202. 

KEARNY, a town of Hudson County, New 
Jersey, on the Passaic River, opposite Newark. 
It is on the Erie and other railroads and is pop¬ 
ular as a residential center. The chief build¬ 
ings include the townhall, an Italian orphan asy¬ 
lum, a State soldiers’ home, the public library, 
and the high school. It has electric street rail¬ 
way connections with Jersey City, is important 
as a manufacturing center, and has a growing 
trade in merchandise. Kearny was first settled 
by Germans, when it was known as New Barba- 
does, and it was incorporated under its present 
name in 1871. Population, 1910, 18,659. 

KEARSARGE (ker'sarj), a famous battle¬ 
ship of the United States, which was used for 
effective service in the Civil War. It was 
launched at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1861, and on 
June 19, 1864, engaged in battle the Confederate 
cruiser Alabama off the harbor of Cherbourg, 
France, disabling and sinking that privateer, 


which had destroyed a large part of the Ameri¬ 
can merchant marine. In 1894 the Kearsarge 
was wrecked in the Caribbean Sea, though the 
officers and crew were saved. The vessel was 
burned by natives before a wrecking party ar¬ 
rived. 

KECSKEMET (kech’ke-mat), a town of 
Hungary, capital of the district of Pesth-Solt, 
fifty miles southeast of Budapest. It is sur¬ 
rounded by an agricultural and stock-growing 
country, and is the seat of an important annual 
cattle fair. The chief buildings consist of grain 
elevators, several churches, and a number of sec¬ 
ondary educational institutions. Most of the in¬ 
habitants are Magyars. Population, 1906, 60,- 
045. 

KEEL, the lower timber of a wooden ship 
or vessel, answering to the spine, and giving the 
main support to the ribs and the whole struc¬ 
ture. In most wooden vessels an additional tim¬ 
ber beneath is called a false keel, and a piece 
bolted to the keel on the inside is called the 
keelson. Iron vessels are arranged with entirely 
different parts. The keel is the first part of a 
ship to be built, hence the term laying of the 
keel has reference to the first work in construct¬ 
ing a ship. 

KEENE, a city in New Hampshire, county 
seat of Cheshire County, on the Ashuelot River, 
about ninety miles northwest of Boston. It is 
on the Boston and Maine Railroad, within ten 
miles of Monadnock Mountain, and is sur¬ 
rounded by chains of hills. The noteworthy 
features include a fine public library, the county 
courthouse, and a handsome monument dedi¬ 
cated to the soldiers of the Civil War. Among 
the manufactures are machinery, furniture, ve¬ 
hicles, ironware, woolen fabrics, and shoes. It 
has electric lights and street railways, water¬ 
works, pavements and a system of sewerage. 
Keene was settled in 1734, but was known as 
Upper Ashuelot until 1753, when it was incor¬ 
porated under its present name. Population, 
1900, 9,165; in 1910, 10,068. 

KEEWATIN (ke-wa'tin), a large district 
of Canada, extending from Manitoba and On¬ 
tario to the Arctic Archipelago. It is bounded 
on the north by Franklin, east by Franklin and 
Hudson Bay, south by Ontario and Manitoba, 
and west by Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Mac¬ 
kenzie. The extent from north to south is 1,300 
miles and the area is 756,000 square miles. 
Much of- the surface is rugged, but it is char¬ 
acterized by numerous lakes, swamps, and 
patches of good arable land. All of the rivers 
drain into Hudson Bay. They include the Nel¬ 
son, Severn, Churchill, and Back rivers. The 
English River, flowing west, and the Albany 


KELP 


1178 


KENTUCKY 


River, flowing east to James Bay, form the 
southern boundary. The southern half of the 
district is covered with a dense growth of for¬ 
ests, but the timber in the north is sparse and 
scrubby. Pine, spruce, and aspen poplar are the 
chief species. Gold and copper are the most im¬ 
portant minerals, but furring is the principal 
commercial enterprise. 

The agents of the Hudson Bay Company exer¬ 
cise a personal influence among the Indians and 
half-breed trappers, thus fulfilling to some ex¬ 
tent the functions of a civil government. When 
necessary the authority of the Dominion is en¬ 
forced through the efficiency of the Northwest 
Mounted Police, a force of constabulary upon 
which the maintenance of peace devolves to a 
large extent. As magisterial powers are exer¬ 
cised by the officers of the police in their several 
districts, the. development of the region has been 
aided to a considerable extent by the presence of 
these royal officials. Small detachments are 
kept on patrol duty and they visit regularly ev¬ 
ery point where settlement has begun. However, 
the few inhabitants are found mainly in the 
small villages along the west coast of Hudson 
Bay, where they engage in fishing and hunting. 
Population, 1901, 8,546. 

KELP, the common name of several species 
of brown seaweeds found along the seacoast. 
Some of these plants are of large size, ranging 
from five to ten feet in length on the Atlantic 
coast of North America to the giant kelp of the 
Pacific, which is several hundred feet in length. 
These plants form submarine forests of gigan¬ 
tic size in the Southern Hemisphere. Some of 
the species are used as food, but their value is 
principally as a manure for enriching the soil. 
Formerly kelp was employed to a considerable 
extent in making soda, for which purpose it was 
dried and burned at a low heat. The product is 
itself called kelp, and is now used chiefly in the 
production of iodine and chloride of potassium. 

KENESAW MOUNTAIN, Battle of, an 
engagement of the Civil War, fought near 
Marietta, Ga., on June 27, 1864. General Sher¬ 
man with a Federal force of 95',000 men under¬ 
took to march from Chattanooga to Atlanta. At 
Kenesaw Mountain he came in contact with 60,- 
000 Confederates under General Johnston, who 
repelled the Federal assault after fighting vig¬ 
orously for nearly three hours. About 3,000 
Federals were missing in killed and wounded. 
The Confederates were compelled to retreat aft¬ 
er a vigorous attack directed by General Mc¬ 
Pherson on July 1, and soon after took a posi¬ 
tion beyond the Chattahoochee River. 

KENILWORTH (ken'il-wurth), a market 
town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a 


tributary of the Avon, about ninety miles north¬ 
west of London.. It is noted for its castle, which, 
until the year 1563, was a crown possession, and 
at that time was given to Robert Dudley, Earl 
of Leicester (q. v.), by Queen Elizabeth. This 
earl entertained the queen there in the year 1565 
for a period of eighteen days at a daily cost of 
$5,000. Sir Walter Scott’s novel, “Kenilworth,” 
is based upon this gorgeous entertainment. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1907, 4,602. 

KENNEBEC (ken'ne-bek), a river of Maine, 
being next to the Penobscot the most important 
in the State. It rises in Moosehead Lake, has a 
general course toward the south, and flows into 
the Atlantic Ocean. The length is 150 miles, 
falling 1,000 feet in the course from the source 
to the mouth. It is navigable for ships to Bath 
and for steamers as far as Hollowell. Among 
the cities on its banks are Bath, Augusta, and 
Waterville. 

KENOSHA (ke-no'sha), a city in Wiscon¬ 
sin, county seat of Kenosha County, on Lake 
Michigan, 33 miles south of Milwaukee. It is 
on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad and 
has a fine harbor. The notable buildings in¬ 
clude the public library, the county courthouse, 
the high school, and many churches. Among 
the manufactures are machinery, furniture, wag¬ 
ons, wire mattresses, hosiery, malt, bicycles, and 
ironware. The municipal facilities include elec¬ 
tric street railways, waterworks, sewerage, and 
pavements. It is surrounded by a fine farming 
country and has a growing trade in produce and 
merchandise. Kenosha was incorporated as a 
city in 1850. Population, 1910, 21.371. 

KENSINGTON GARDENS, a park about 
two miles in circumference, situated in the city 
of London, England. It extends west of Hyde 
Park, from which it is separated by the Serpen¬ 
tine. Near the northwestern part is Kensington 
Palace, which was purchased in 1689 by William 
III. This palace served as a royal residence for 
more than a century. 

KENTON (ken'tun), a city and the county 
seat of Harden County, Ohio, on the Scioto 
River, seventy miles northwest of Columbus. It 
is on the Erie, the Toledo and Ohio, and the 
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis 
railroads. The chief buildings include the coun¬ 
ty courthouse, the public library, the armory, and 
the high school. Among the manufactures are 
machinery, ironware, furniture, strawboard, and 
bee-keepers’ supplies. It is the seat of the lar¬ 
gest iron fence factory in America. Kenton was 
settled in 1833 and incorporated in 1885. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1900, 6,852; in 1910, 7,185. 

KENTUCKY (ken-tuk'i), a southern state 
of the United States, known popularly as the 



KENTUCKY 


1179 


KENTUCKY 


Blue grass State. It is bounded on the north by 
Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, east by Virginia and 
West Virginia, south by Tennessee, and west by 
Missouri and Illinois. The greatest breadth 
from north to south is 190 miles and the ex¬ 
treme length from east to west is 460 miles. It 
is separated from Virginia by the Big Sandy 
River, from Missouri by the Mississippi River, 
and from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio by the Ohio 
River. The area, including 400 square miles of 
water surface, is 40,400 square miles. 

Description. The surface slopes from the 
southeast to the northwest, and is comprised 
largely within the Allegheny Plateau. In the 
southeastern portion are the Cumberland Moun¬ 
tains and the Kentucky Ridge, which form ele¬ 
vations from 1,800 to 3,550 feet above sea level. 
A range of hills, known as the Knobs, extends 
centrally across the State from the southern bor¬ 
der to the Ohio. In the interior and northeast¬ 
ern parts the elevations are from 300 to about 
1,000 feet above sea level, much of which region 
is included in the celebrated bluegrass country. 
Swamps abound in the southwestern part among 
the elevated ridges, where the country is char¬ 
acterized by extensive forests. In the same re¬ 
gion, but somewhat toward the west, are vast 
limestone formations that extend to the central 



If Frankfort; 2, Louisville; 3, Newport; 4, Lexington; 5, 
Paducah; 6 , Bowling Green. Chief railroads are indicated 
by dotted lines. 


part of the State. Within this section are nu¬ 
merous caves and caverns, including the cele¬ 
brated Mammoth Cave (q. v.). 

The drainage belongs exclusively to the Mis¬ 
sissippi system and the Mississippi River receives 
the inflow almost entirely through the Ohio, 
Mayfield Creek and a .few minor streams being 
the only tributaries that discharge directly into 
it. The Mississippi forms 80 miles of the west¬ 
ern border and the Ohio forms the entire north¬ 
ern boundary, having a winding course of nearly 
600 miles. In the western part are the Cumber¬ 
land and Tennessee rivers, but the former, ow¬ 
ing to its great length, also drains a large region 


in the southeastern part. Other important 
streams include the Tradewater, Green, Ken¬ 
tucky, and Licking rivers. Many of the streams 
are navigable and supply splendid facilities for 
interior commercial intercourse. The State has 
no lakes aside .from a few small sheets of water. 

The climate is equable and healthful. In the 
winter the prevailing winds are largely from the 
northwest and in the summer they blow mostly 
from the southwest. The mean temperature is 
about 55°, ranging from 35° in winter to 78° in 
summer. During the summer season the ther¬ 
mometer rises as high as 100° and in winter it 
very rarely falls to zero. Snow seldom falls in 
winter in the southern part, but it is frequently 
quite heavy in the northeastern section. The an¬ 
nual rainfall averages about 40 inches, ranging 
from 36 to 45 inches‘as the years are wet or 
dry. 

Mining. Kentucky has an abundance of many- 
useful minerals. Extensive deposits of coal are 
worked in the central and eastern parts of the 
State. The coal area is about 13,500 square 
miles in extent, forming a continuation of the 
fields in Indiana and Illinois. In 1908 the out¬ 
put was 10,385,000 tons, which is about the av¬ 
erage yield for the past several years. The 
larger output consists of bituminous coal, but 
small quantities of cannel coal are obtained. 
Iron ore is found in more or less paying quan¬ 
tities in the coal regions, but this mineral is not 
worked extensively. Petroleum occurs in the 
south central part of the State and natural gas 
is obtained in several counties. Other minerals 
include salt, lead, gypsum, fluor spar, and fire 
and brick clays. Building stones of a superior 
quality are widely distributed. 

Agriculture. Originally the State was cov¬ 
ered almost entirely with dense forests, but at 
present about 86 per cent, of the area is in¬ 
cluded in farms. Fully two-thirds of the farms 
are operated by the owners and the remainder 
are worked largely in small tracts by tenants. 
Corn and tobacco are the principal crops. The 
area cultivated in corn is nearly twice as great 
as that utilized in raising all other cereals, which 
include wheat, oats, and rye. A large acreage 
of hay is grown to supply the extensive inter¬ 
ests vested in stock raising. Other crops in¬ 
clude hemp, potatoes, sorghum, vegetables, and 
fruits. Kentucky is the leading tobacco-growing 
State and produces more than one-third of the 
crop grown in the entire country. The breed of 
road horses reared in Kentucky is well known, 
and the class of driving horses peculiar to that 
State have a high reputation. Large interests 
are vested in the cattle industry, both for the 
production of meat and for dairying. Other do* 


KENTUCKY 1180 KENTUCKY 


mestic animals include swine, sheep, mules, and 
poultry. 

Manufacturing. Kentucky has taken high 
rank as a manufacturing state for more than 
half a century. In the output of tobacco and to¬ 
bacco product it holds first rank, the annual 
value of these products being about $25,500,000. 
Next in the list are the malt and distilled liquors, 
which have a combined value approximately as 
large as that of the manufactures of all classes 
of tobacco. The output of the flouring and grist 
mills is likewise large. Being favored with an 
abundance of hardwood forests, such as oak, 
walnut, and cypress, the State has large interests 
in the manufacture of timber products, especially 
lumber and furniture. Other manufactures tak¬ 
ing high rank include meat and other slaughter¬ 
ing products, leather, iron and steel, railway cars, 
clothing, and cotton and woolen goods. Louis¬ 
ville, Covington, Newport, and Lexington are 
among the manufacturing centers. 

Transportation. Few states are as favorably 
situated for river transportation as Kentucky, 
having ample facilities, on the Ohio, Mississippi, 
Cumberland, Tennessee, Green, and Licking riv¬ 
ers. The State has 3,300 miles of steam rail¬ 
ways in operation, including lines of the Illinois 
Central, the Chesapeake and Ohio, the Louis¬ 
ville and Nashville, and the Mobile and Ohio. 
Electric lines have been built in all parts where 
the population is reasonably dense. Many high¬ 
ways have been graded and macadamized. Con¬ 
sidering the fact that much of the surface is 
very rolling and rugged, it must be said that 
Kentucky has made rapid strides in constructing 
means of communication, although a number of 
counties in the eastern part of the State are not 
supplied with railway facilities. 

Government. The executive authority is 
vested in the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, 
who are elected for a term of four years and 
are not eligible to reelection. Other State offi¬ 
cers include the treasurer, register of land office, 
auditor of public accounts, secretary of State, 
superintendent of public instruction, attorney- 
general, and commissioner of agriculture, labor, 
and statistics. The legislative functions are exer¬ 
cised'by a senate and a house of representatives. 
Members in the former are elected for four 
years and of the latter for two years, the upper 
house having 38 senators and the lower house 
100 representatives. Sessions of the Legislature 
are held in even years, beginning the first Tues¬ 
day after the first Monday in January. The su¬ 
preme court, known as the court of appeals, is 
the highest judicial tribunal. It is presided over 
by from five to seven judges, who are elected 
from districts for a term of eight years. Sub¬ 


ordinate to it are the circuit courts, county 
courts, and justice courts. The county officers 
are elected for terms of four years. 

Education. The census reports show a 
steady decrease in illiteracy. Those who were 
unable to read and write in 1900 constituted 16.5 
per cent, of the inhabitants of ten years or 
over, as against 21.6 per cent, in 1890. A system 
of public instruction is maintained by interest 
on State bonds and by general taxation. The 
presence of a large proportion of Negro inhabi¬ 
tants in many parts of the State has given rise 
to separate schools. Supervision is under the 
direction of county and city superintendents, 
who look after the schools locally under the su¬ 
perintendence of the State department of public 
instruction. Systematic courses of study have 
been devised by a State board for the public 
schools, particularly the high schools of cities 
and towns, which are graded so as to articulate 
with the institutions of higher learning. Ken¬ 
tucky University, at Lexington, is the most im¬ 
portant educational center in the State. How¬ 
ever, higher instruction is given in about 35 
colleges and 67 academies, besides in numerous 
institutions for special culture. Among the cen¬ 
ters of learning are the Central University, Dan¬ 
ville; Berea College, Berea; Williamsburg In¬ 
stitute, Williamsburg; Georgetown College, 
Georgetown; Ogden College, Bowling Green; 
Eminence College, Eminence; South Kentucky 
College, Hopkinsville; Kentucky Military Insti¬ 
tute, Farmdale; and Liberty College, Glasgow. 

Ample provisions have been made for the care 
of the unfortunate and incorrigible. Danville 
has a school for the deaf, Louisville has a 
school for the blind, and Frankfort has an insti¬ 
tution for feeble-minded children. The peni¬ 
tentiaries are at Eddyville and Frankfort. Asy¬ 
lums for the insane are located at Anchorage, 
Hopkinsville, and Lexington. Many hospitals 
are maintained by private interests in the cities, 
all of which have one or more benevolent insti¬ 
tutions. 

Inhabitants. The foreign-born population is. 
small, being only 50,249. As compared with 
most of the southern states, Kentucky has a 
large urban population. Frankfort, in the north- 
central part of the State, on the Kentucky Riv¬ 
er, is the capital. Other cities include Louis¬ 
ville, Covington, Newport, Lexington, Paducah, 
Owensboro, Bowling Green, Maysville, Hender- 
’son, and Hopkinsville. In 1900 the State had a 
population of 2,147,174. In this number were in¬ 
cluded 284,706 Negroes, 57 Chinese, and 102 In¬ 
dians. Population, 1910, 2,289,905. 

History. Kentucky, like other states of the 
Mississippi valley, contains historic relics of the 


KENTUCKY 


1181 


KEROSENE 


mound builders. Its name, signifying “The dark 
and bloody ground,” was derived from the dif¬ 
ferent tribes of Indians who met in various war¬ 
like conflicts in the region, which did not form 
the possession of a single tribe. Thomas Walk¬ 
er, who visited the section in 1750, was probably 
the first white man to make an extended report 
on its resources. Daniel Boone made an ex¬ 
ploring expedition from North Carolina in 17G9, 
and the first settlement was formed at Harrods- 
burg by James Harrod in 1774. Originally the 
entire territory was included with the colony of 
Virginia. It was made a separate territory in 
1790 and admitted into the Union as a State in 
1792. Many of its citizens took an active inter¬ 
est in the Mexican War. The State did not se¬ 
cede during the Civil War, though Kentuckians 
served in both armies, and it was represented in 
the Confederate Congress. Lincoln proclaimed 
martial law in the State in 1864, and Johnson re¬ 
stored civil authority the following year. The 
battles fought within its borders include those 
of Richmond, Mill Spring, and Perryville. 

In 1908 local differences among the growers 
of tobacco were the occasion of much agitation 
and litigation. The tobacco trust had dictated 
the price paid for tobacco, which caused many 
producers of tobacco to organize a movement 
for mutual protection. However, a class of in¬ 
dependent tobacco growers refused to join in 
the movement, which caused parties of men, 
known as Night Riders, to destroy much prop 
erty at Hopkinsville and other places. Many of 
the raiders were captured, convicted, and exe¬ 
cuted. 

KENTUCKY, a river in Kentucky, formed 
in Lee County by the junction of three forks 
that rise in the Cumberland Mountains. After a 
tortuous course of about 260 miles it flows into 
the Ohio River at Carrollton. It courses 
through a rich mineral and agricultural country, 
has been improved in its lower portion, and is 
navigable beyond Frankfort. The basin of the 
Kentucky contains deposits of coal, iron ore, and 
marble. 

KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS, a series of 
resolutions adopted by the Legislature of Ken¬ 
tucky, closely associated in spirit and contents 
with the Virginia Resolutions. They result¬ 
ed from a feeling that the Federal party was 
making illegitimate use of the powers granted 
by the constitution to the Federal government. 
The Kentucky Resolutions were framed by 
Thomas Jefferson and introduced in the Legis¬ 
lature of Kentucky by John Breckenridge in 
1798. They set forth the unconstitutionality of 
the Alien and Sedition Laws, and declared that 
the Union is not based upon the principle of un¬ 


limited submission to the general government. 
In 1799 the Legislature of Kentucky declared a 
nullification of a Federal law by a State to be 
the rightful remedy in cases of Federal usurpa¬ 
tion. The Virginia Resolutions were similar in 
sentiment, but were milder in their expression. 
They were passed by the Legislature of Virginia 
in 1798, and were probably written by James 
Madison. Though copies of both sets of resolu¬ 
tions were sent to the governors of all the states, 
no favorable response was evoked. 

KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY, an institu¬ 
tion of higher learning founded at Georgetown, 
Ky., in 1837, and removed to Lexington in 1864. 
It comprises four colleges, the College of the Bi¬ 
ble, the College of Liberal Arts, the Commercial 
College, and the College of Medicine. The last 
named is located at Louisville and the first three 
mentioned are at Lexington. It is under con¬ 
trol of the Disciples of Christ, has property val¬ 
ued at $600,000, and is attended by 1,250 stu¬ 
dents. 

KEOKUK (ke'6-kuk), a city of Iowa, one 
of the county seats of Lee County, at the conflu¬ 
ence of the Des Moines and the Mississippi riv¬ 
ers, over the latter of which it is connected by 
a fine railroad bridge with Warsaw and Hamil¬ 
ton, Ill. It is on the Wabash, the Chicago, Bur¬ 
lington and Quincy, the Chicago, Rock Island 
and Pacific, the other railroads. A short dis¬ 
tance above the city are the rapids of the Mis¬ 
sissippi, which formerly obstructed navigation, 
but they have been overcome by a canal con¬ 
structed by the Federal government. This canal 
is 300 feet wide and nine miles long and cost 
$8,000,000. The noteworthy buildings include 
the high school, the union depot, the Federal 
building, the opera house, the public library and 
the Y, M. C. A. building. Rand Park, which 
contains the grave of the Indian Chief Keokuk, 
and the National Cemetery are other features of 
interest. 

The site of the city is on limestone bluffs 
150 feet high. The business blocks are sub¬ 
stantial and largely of native material. Among 
the general facilities are electric street railways, 
graded and paved streets, waterworks, and a 
sewerage system. Among the manufactures are 
starch, flour, machinery, clothing, pottery, fire¬ 
arms, and gunpowder. It has a large trade in 
grain and merchandise. The place was incor¬ 
porated in 1848. It is popularly called the Gate 
City. Population, 1905, 14,604; in 1910, 14,008. 

KEROSENE (ker'6-sen), an oil used to 
illuminate and for heating purposes. Formerly 
it was obtained from the distillation of shales 
and bituminous coal, hence is sometimes called 
coal oil, but it is now produced principally by 


KESTREL 


1182 


KHARTUM 


the distillation and purification of petroleum. It 
has a slightly yellowish color, a disagreeable 
odor, and the property of burning with a bright 
flame. Russia and the United States are the 
largest producers of kerosene. Gas and electric 
lights have displaced it very largely for illumi¬ 
nating purposes in cities. 

KESTREL (kes'trel), or Windhover, a spe¬ 
cies of falcon native to Europe and Africa. It 
is about one foot in length and in color and 
habits closely resembles the sparrow hawk of 
America. The kestrel hovers in search of prey 
at a height of about forty feet and pounces sud¬ 
denly upon small birds, mice, and reptiles, hence 
the name windhover . Young kestrels may be 
trained to pursue small birds, such as larks, 
quails, and snipes. The plumage is of a variety 
of colors, usually light grayish-blue in the male 
and somewhat reddish in the female. 

KETCHUP, or Catsup, a sauce made exten¬ 
sively for table use, so named from the Japanese 
kit jap, which is a favorite article in the East 
for seasoning fish and meat. The table sauce 
used commonly is made from tomatoes, mush¬ 
rooms, and walnuts. It Js a healthful condi¬ 
ment. 

KEW (ku), a village of England, in the 
County of Surrey, on the Thames, opposite 
Brentford and about one mile northeast of 
Richmond. It is noted as the seat of the royal 
botannical gardens. These gardens were com¬ 
menced by the mother of George III., and visit¬ 
ors are still shown a cottage with furniture as 
it was left by Queen Charlotte. They have been 
open to the public since 1840, when they were 
presented to the nation by Queen Victoria. Be¬ 
sides containing a large collection of native and 
exotic plants, these gardens have an observatory, 
a gallery of paintings of tropical flowers, and 
several museums. 

KEWANEE (ke-wa'ne), a city of Henry 
County, Illinois, about 130 miles southwest of 
Chicago. It is on the Chicago, Burlington and 
Quincy Railroad, in a coal-producing region, 
and is surrounded by a fertile agricultural, fruit¬ 
growing, and dairying country. The chief build¬ 
ings include the public library, the high school, 
and a number of churches and business blocks. 
Many of the streets are well graded and paved. 
The manufactures include pumps, flour, iron¬ 
ware, windmills, bottled-goods, and machinery. 
It has municipally owned waterworks. The 
government is under a charter granted in 1897. 
Population, 1900, 8,382; in 1910, 9,307. 

KEY WEST, a city and the county seat of 
Monroe County, Florida, on the island of Key 
West, sixty miles southwest of Cape Sable. It 
is the most southerly city of Florida and of the 


United States, has a fine harbor, and is con¬ 
nected with the piainland by a railroad. The 
harbor is defended by Fort Taylor, which is 
near the entrance on an artificial island. Two 
lighthouses are maintained at the harbor. 
Steamships furnish regular communication with 
Havanna and the principal ports of the At¬ 
lantic coast. 

Key West is a fine city and has well-lighted 
and substantially paved streets. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include the public library, the 
post office, a Methodist seminary, the county 
courthouse, the customhouse, a marine hospital, 
and the United States building. Intercommuni¬ 
cation is by a system of electric railways. It 
has an important jobbing trade, especially in 
tobacco and fruits. Among the manufactures 
are cigars, smoking and chewing tobacco, cloth¬ 
ing, and machinery. The climate is agreeable 
and as a health resort it is a favorite place for 
consumptives. The island of Key West is about 
seven miles long, from two to three miles wide, 
and has an elevation of about ten feet above sea 
level. Key West, the city, was founded about 
1822 and was incorporated in 1832. Population, 
1906, 21,174; in 1910, 19,945. 

KHAN (kan), the title applied to Tartar and 
Mongol chiefs and sovereigns. Though former¬ 
ly it expressed high rank, it is now applied 
especially to the chiefs of the nomadic tribes 
and to governors of .cities. 

KHARKOV (kar'kof), a government in the 
south central part of Russia, in Europe, with 
an area of 21,050 square miles. Kharkov, the 
capital, is one of the most important cities of 
southern Russia. It is situated at the junction 
of the Lopan and Kharkov rivers, and is a con¬ 
venient railroad center. Besides numerous pub¬ 
lic schools and churches, it is the seat of the 
University of Kharkov. The surrounding coun¬ 
try is fertile and produces large quantities of 
bituminous coal and petroleum. Among the 
manufactures are beet sugar, candles, leather, 
machinery, soap, and canned fruit. It was 
founded in the 16th century. Population, 1906, 
201,308. 

KHARTUM (kar-tdom'), or Khartoum, a 

city in Eastern Soudan, on the Blue Nile, near 
its junction with the White Nile, on the line of 
the Cape-to-Cairo Railway. The surrounding 
country is a sterile and treeless region. In 1830 
it began to grow rapidly and soon after became 
the capital of the Egyptian Soudan, when it 
developed an important trade in gum, senna, 
ivory, ostrich feathers, and fruits. The older 
portions contain numerous houses constructed 
of sun-dried brick, but in the newer part the 
buildings are imposing and largely built of na- 





KHEDIVE 


1183 


KIDNEY 


tive wood and stone. In 1884-85 General Gor¬ 
don was held captive in the city by superior 
forces under command of the native Mahdi, and 
was slain along with many others before the 
British relief army arrived. At that time it had 
a population of 72,498, but it was razed to the 
ground and the capital was removed to Omdur- 
man, on the opposite side of the river. Lord 
Kitchener captured the place in 1898 and rein¬ 
stated it as the capital. Population, 1908, 21,065. 

KHEDIVE (ka-dev'), the title of the Egyp¬ 
tian rulers. It was first used in 1866, when it 
was applied to Ismail Pasha. The word signi¬ 
fies lord or lordship. 

KHIVA (ke'va), a semi-independent khanate 
in Central Asia, forming a part of Turkestan. 
The general surface is sandy, but there are num¬ 
erous fertile tracts. It is inhabited by various 
resident and nomadic tribes. The area is about 
22,000 square miles. It is governed from Khiva, 
a city situated on two canals west of the Amur 
River, which contains a population of 6,085. In 
1717 Peter the Great of Russia sent an expedi¬ 
tion to conquer Khiva and a second attempt was 
made by Czar Nicholas in 1839. Since 1873 it 
has been a part of Asiatic Russia. A short dis¬ 
tance south of it passes the Trans-Caspian Rail¬ 
road, from the Caspian Sea to Samarkand. The 
construction of this railroad line has materially 
affected its importance, and has given an im¬ 
petus to various manufactures. Khiva, the capi¬ 
tal, is the seat of several Mohammedan colleges, 
has many bazaars, and is fortified by walls and 
earthworks. The Khanate has a population of 
800,550. 

KHORSABAD (kor-sa-bad'), a village in 
Asiatic Turkey, twelve miles northeast of Mosul, 
near the ancient city of Nineveh. Extensive 
excavations led to the discovery of the palace 
of Sargon, which was built about 700 b. c., and 
from it were obtained the first historical in¬ 
scriptions found in ancient Assyria. The French 
government uncovered a large part of the palace 
in 1844. Most of the relics found there are now 
in the Louvre of France. 

KHYBER PASS (ki'ber), a military road 
between Afghanistan and the Punjab. This 
pass is an important strategic point. It has a 
length of 30 miles and a width of from 10 feet 
to 150 yards. The cliffs on either side rise per¬ 
pendicularly to heights of from 800 to 3,000 feet. 
Alexander the Great, as well as the Russian and 
British, found the pass of vast importance in 
military operations. It constitutes the key to 
northern Afghanistan. 

KIAO-CHAU (kya'6-chou), or Kiao-chow, 

a German protectorate in China, on the south 
coast of the peninsula of Shan-tung. The pos¬ 


session has an area of 200 square miles. A good 
harbor is located at Tsing-tao, which was great¬ 
ly improved and made the capital of the German 
zone. It has wide and regularly platted streets, 
waterworks, electric lighting, and a number of 
fine government buildings. A railway line ex¬ 
tends inland to the coal fields of Lao-shan. 
Kiao-chau, the largest native city within the 
possession, was formerly the center of an im¬ 
portant trade, which has been transferred to the 
new port of Tsing-tao. The possession has been 
German territory since 1898. 

KICKAPOO INDIANS (kik-a-pdo'), a 
tribe of Algonquin Indians. They were first 
found by the French and English pioneers of the 
Ohio valley, but their largest centers were on 
the Illinois River. In 1779 they assisted the 
French against the English, but, after being de¬ 
feated by Wayne, they ceded a part of their 
lands, in 1802-4. They allied themselves with 
the English in the War of 1812, but sustained 
disastrous defeats, and in 1822 the majority re¬ 
moved from the Illinois to the Osage. The 
greater number emigrated to Kansas in 1854, 
and in 1863 a large party removed to Mexico, 
but ten years later returned and settled in In¬ 
dian Territory, now Oklahoma. The present 
number of Kickapoos in the United States is 
550, of whom about 230 reside in Kansas. With¬ 
in recent years many have been favorably in¬ 
clined to education and have taken up civil arts. 

KIDNAP, to steal, secrete, or carry away any 
person against his will. The act of kidnapping 
is regarded by the law as an aggravated species 
of false imprisonment and embraces the legal 
elements of that offense. It includes an assault 
and the act of carrying away or transporting the 
party injured, either to some place in his own 
country or to some other country against his 
will. The offense may be committed both 
against children and adults. The statutory pen¬ 
alties for the crime are '.severe, varying from 
10 to 25 years’ imprisonment. 

KIDNEY, one of two glands which are com¬ 
mon to vertebrate animals, whose function is 
to secrete urea and other waste products from 
the system. They are situated at the back of 
the abdominal cavity, one on each side of the 
vertebral column. In man they are near the 
fifth rib, but, owing to the position of the liver, 
the right kidney is somewhat lower than the 
left. The accompanying illustration shows the 
internal cavity, which is bounded by the outer 
cortical substance. The conical masses of the 
medullary substance, from fifteen to twenty in 
number, form the pyramids. At the apexes of 
■the pyramids are the papillae. Above or an¬ 
terior to each kidney is the suprarenal capsule, 


KIEL 


1184 


KILIMANJARO 


whose function is not understood. The inner 
cavity, or pelvis, terminates in the ureter. The 
shape of these organs is that of the kidney bean, 
the concave side being turned inward and to¬ 
ward the spine, and each is imbedded in a layer 
of fatty tissue. 

The average weight of the kidney in man is 
from four to six ounces. It is about four inches 
long, the color is deep red, and the constitution 



is dense and fragile. The outer part is covered 
by a thin but tough membrane. A canal, known 
as the ureter, conveys the urine from the kidney 
to the bladder, where it is retained until a nor¬ 
mal quantity has accumulated, when it is ex¬ 
pelled from the body. The health depends in a 
large measure upon the regularity with which 
the uric acid is taken up by the kidneys. Among 
the diseases of the kidneys is the well-known 
Bright’s disease (q. v.). See Gout. 

KIEL (kel), a city of Germany, capital of 


Schleswig-Holstein, situated on Kieler Hafen, 
an inlet of the Baltic Sea. It has extensive 
shipyards, dry docks, flouring mills, iron foun¬ 
dries, tobacco works, machine shops, sugar fac¬ 
tories, oil mills, and engineering works. Be¬ 
sides its numerous public schools and historic 
churches, it is the seat of a noted university, 
which has an attendance of 1,250 students and 
a library of 250,000 volumes. The city is sup¬ 
plied w’ith all modern municipal facilities. It 
has extensive railroad connections, electric street 
railways, and communication with the Elbe by 
a ship canal. As a member of the Hanseatic 
League it attained much commercial importance. 
In 1814 it was the seat of the congress that con¬ 
cluded the Treaty of Kiel by which Denmark 
ceded Norway to Sweden. Population, 1905, 
163,772. 

KIESELGUHR (ke'sel-goor). See Dyna¬ 
mite. 

KIE3ERITE (ke'zer-It), a mineral obtained 
in the mines of Stassfurt, Germany. It is a 
hydrated magneseum sulphate and is used in 
the manufacture of fertilizers and Epsom salt. 

KIEV (ke'yef), or Kieff, a government in the 
southwestern part of European Russia. It has 
an area of 19,690 square miles. The capital, 
Kiev, is an important commercial and manufac¬ 
turing city. It is situated on the Dnieper River, 
270 miles north of Odessa, and has communica¬ 
tion by several railroads. The University of 
Kiev has fine botanical and zoological gardens, 
extensive courses of study, and an enrollment 
of 2,675 students. The manufactures include 
beet sugar, clothing, machinery, woolen goods, 
porcelain, and tobacco. The surrounding coun¬ 
try is farming and dairying and has a mild 
climate. It is an important commercial cen¬ 
ter. Kiev is an ancient city and is mentioned as 
early as the 5th century. It has been a part of 
Russia since 1668. Population, 1908, 342,027. 

K I L A U E A (ke-lou-a'a), one of the most 
noted volcanoes in the world, situated on the 
island of Hawaii, thirty miles southwest of 
Hilo. The crater is oval and has a circumfer¬ 
ence of about eight miles. Volcanic action is 
constant, the most extensive disturbances oc¬ 
curring in 1789, 1823, 1832, 1840, and 1866. 

KILDEER. See Plover. 

KILIMANJARO (kil'e-man-ja'ro), a cele¬ 
brated snow-clad mountain in German East 
Africa, 98 miles from the port of Mombasa and 
150 miles from Lake Victoria Nyanza. It has 
two elevated peaks or craters called Kimawenzi 
and Kibo, the highest of which, Peak Kibo, is 
19,680 feet above sea level. It forms the most 
elevated peak of the African continent. The 
summit is covered with snow perpetually, but 










KINDERGARTEN EXERCISES. 




































KILLARNEY 


1185 


KINDERGARTEN 


on its lower slopes are fine forests. Hans 
Meyer ascended Kibo in 1889. 

KILLARNEY (kil-lar'm), a town of Kerry 
County, Ireland, celebrated as a resort for tour¬ 
ists. Three beautiful lakes are located within 
the immediate vicinity. The smaller of the lakes 
has an area of 430 acres; largest, 5,000 acres; 
and the one known as the middle lake, 680 acres. 
These lakes are famous for their remarkable 
beauty and the shady dells surrounding them. 
They are fed by the Flesh River and several 
smaller streams. .The Laune River is the out¬ 
let. Numerous picturesque islands dot their sur¬ 
face. The town has a population of 5,680. 

KILN, (kil), a structure or furnace of brick 
or stone. Kilns are used for calcining, baking, 
burning, drying, or annealing various sub¬ 
stances, especially such as brick, iron ore, corn, 
cement, hops, pottery, and malt. They are con¬ 
structed according to various patterns best fitted 
for the purpose for which they are intended, but 
in all of them it is designer! to generate an 
abundance of constant heat with the least possi¬ 
ble consumption of fuel. Those intended for 
drying and baking cereals, or their products, are 
often constructed of light material, while those 
designed for generating great heat are made -of 
the best fire-clay brick. According to the course 
of the draught, they are classified as up-draught 
and down-draught. 

KILOGRAM (kil'6-gram), a measure of 
weight in the metric system, being a thousand 
grams, equal to 2.2046 pounds avoirdupois. It 
is equal to the weight of a cubic decimeter of 
distilled water at the temperature of 39° Fahr., 
its maximum density. 

KILOGRAMMETER (ldl o-gram-me-ter), 
a measure of energy, being the amount expended 
in raising one kilogram through the height of 
one meter, in the latitude of Paris, France. 

KIMBERLEY (kim'ber-H), a city and the 
capital of Griqualand West, in Cape Colony. 
South Africa, about 540 miles northeast of Cape 
Town. It has an exceedingly favorable climate, 
regularly platted streets, and numerous improve¬ 
ments, such as waterworks, electric street rail¬ 
ways, a public library, and fine public buildings. 
Kimberley has a large jobbing trade. It was 
the seat of the De Beers Consolidated Company 
for some time prior to the war between England 
and the Transvaal Republic, and during that 
conflict was besieged by a formidable Boer 
army. The city is well connected by railroads 
and surrounded by a fertile agricultural and 
mining country. Within the immediate vicinity 
are some of the most celebrated diamond mines 
now operated. It was founded in*1871. Popu¬ 
lation, 1907, 38,482. 

n 


KINDERGARTEN (kin'der-gar-ten), a 
named applied by Friedrich Froebel to a system 
of education devised by him for young children, 
the word signifying, in German, “garden* for 
children.” The system is based on the funda¬ 
mental idea that the nature and faculties of chil¬ 
dren must necessarily be understood in order to 
secure their highest, right development. In this 
system the playful tendencies are employed by 
active realities in the form of objects. To secure 
this end it is necessary to make use of familiar 
objects in which the children are interested. The 
methods are necessarily conversational, the pur¬ 
pose being to cultivate freedom of expression 
on the part of the child. In this way the teacher, 
observing the characteristics of each learner, be¬ 
comes enabled to develop perceptive power as 
well as moral and intellectual strength. Froebel 
-held to the theory that all learning is pleasura¬ 
ble, and, when the playful activities are rightly 
employed, the children learn with ever-growing 
interest, thus developing mental and physical 
strength and a consciousness of right and 
wrong. The objects employed with greatest suc¬ 
cess in the kindergartens are such as toys, 
pictures, tools, flowers, beetles, and various other 
convenient and familiar forms that the child is 
allowed to handle, or use as objects for conver¬ 
sational lessons and for various simple drawings. 

Froebel made use of five classes of objects, 
known as gifts. They were grouped as solids, 
surfaces, lines ; points, and construction material. 
These were employed in active work, which con¬ 
sisted of the use of the gifts in a logical order. 
Sand and plastic clay for modeling, paper and 
crayons for folding and coloring, strips and slats 
for intertwining and interlacing, and beads and 
buttons for stringing were among the materials 
for employing the activities. 

By bringing the children in contact with the 
useful and convenient at an early age, it is possi¬ 
ble to give them an early bent toward acquir¬ 
ing right tendencies, as well as to instill in them 
traits of industry and strength of character. To 
make the work most highly efficient, it is neces¬ 
sary for the teacher to possess and cultivate a 
true motherly spirit, through which the children 
under her care may be encouraged by the most 
wholesome relations. In this way growth is 
stimulated under right and spontaneous activi¬ 
ties. From the incentive given by Froebel kin¬ 
dergartens rapidly spread to all civilized coun¬ 
tries, and at present are a part of the school 
systems of the more populous communities of 
Canada and the United States. 

Special training schools to teach kindergarten 
methods are maintained in the larger cities, 
whose purpose is to properly prepare the teach- 




KINETOSCOPE 


1186 


KING CRAB 


ers for this class of work. The instruction 
given to young children is modeled with the view 
of preparing them for entrance into the regular 
primary and second primary departments of the 
school course. Associated with these kinder¬ 
gartens are manual training departments, where¬ 
by industrial teaching may be successfully car¬ 
ried through all the lower as well as the higher 
grades. A modified system of kindergartens has 
been introduced in the schools for blind and 
feeble-minded children. In recent years the 
study of kindergarten methods has been facili¬ 
tated greatly by the publication of numerous 
periodicals and teachers’ text-books. All the 
higher classes of normal schools have added 
departments for teaching kindergarten methods. 

KINETOSCOPE (ki-ne'to-skop), or Vita- 
scope, an instrument for producing a series of 
images with a very lifelike effect, commonly 
called moving pictures. The kinetoscope in gen¬ 
eral use consists of a magic* lantern (q. v.) with 
a strong light, and the images are produced 
from a fine projecting lens in such rapid succes¬ 
sion upon a screen that the figures appear to be 
in actual motion. The images are produced 
from pictures made on a long celluloid film 
about an inch in width, the length depending 
upon the series of pictures to be cast upon the 
screen. The pictures upon the film are a series 
of photographs and the exposure is about one- 
fiftieth of a second in duration, hence from fifty 
to sixty exposures pass before the eye in a sec¬ 
ond. Movement of the film through the instru¬ 
ment is obtained by a rotating mechanism, the 
film being unwound from one cylinder and 
wound upon another by a belt and pulley or an 
electric motor, and a revolving shutter is oper¬ 
ated by the same mechanism that moves the 
film. This shutter alternately cuts off and ad¬ 
mits the passage of the light between the film 
and the projecting lens, serving to permit the 
passage of light as the picture is in position for 
a brief time in front of the projecting lens and 
shutting it off as the picture is changed. This 
apparatus is used in scientific investigations, but 
chiefly to give entertainments. 

KING, a title to designate the supreme ruler 
of a nation or country. The term was probably 
derived from khan and other eastern terms of 
similar meaning. The difference between a king 
and an emperor is not always one of power or 
extent, but is sometimes the result of historical 
developments. Though Louis Philippe was sat¬ 
isfied with the title of king, Napoleon III., who 
governed the same dominions, assumed that 
worn by Napoleon I. In very ancient times the 
king was considered the representative of God 
on earth and was absolute in ruling his domain. 


This distinction was lost or modified with the 
growth of the spirit of liberty among the people, 
and at present the powers of the king in most 
European countries are abridged by a constitu¬ 
tion. Though the view that a king can do no 
wrong still prevails in some countries of Europe, 
the responsibility of his office is vested largely 
in a ministry, in which are inherent many of 
the functions formerly exercised by the sover- 
eign. 

KINGBIRD, the name of an American bird, 
frequently called bee martin, and flycatcher. It 
is about eight inches long, the extended wings 
measuring fourteen inches. The bill is short and 
stout, the tail is slightly rounded and longer than 
the wings, and the color is bluish-ash. On the 
head is a small patch of bright red feathers, usu¬ 
ally concealed, but capable of being erected as a 
crest. The nest is built in trees, in which four to 
six eggs are laid, and the parents defend it‘with 
remarkable bravery. It is not uncommon to see 
the kingbird pursue hawks and other birds for 
some distance to drive them from the vicinity 
of its nest, from which habit it has been named. 



kingfisher; 2, kingbird. 


The kingbird is useful in devouring noxious in¬ 
sects, but also eats fruits and seeds. It. pursues 
flies and other insects while on the wing. The 
note is not musical or pleasing, but during the 
breeding season it seems to lose some of its 
petulance. 

KING CRAB, or Horseshoe Crab, an ani¬ 
mal of the genus Limulus, so named from its 
great size. *Only five species are known, all of 
which appear to date from the Cambrian times. 


KINGFISHERS 


1187 


KINGSTON 


They are found in the tropical and northern 
coasts of America, in the Antilles, Japan, and the 
archipelago southeast of Asia. The head is 
composed of six fused segments. They have 
two pairs of eyes upon the upper surface, the 
head resembles a broad horseshoe, the mouth 
opens on the lower surface, and the tail is spine¬ 
like. Each side has six legs, a total of six 
pairs, but one pair is usually rudimentary. The 
inner side of the legs is armed with sharp spines 
to aid in retaining a hold upon the food or prey. 
As a means of obtaining food, the animal bur¬ 
rows in the bottom of the water, using the tail 
as a sort of a brace to burrow in the sand or 



king crab. 


Cower View. Upper View, 

mud. The average length of king crabs is about 
two feet. They do not possess power to swim, 
and, like turtles, appear to be in agony when 
placed-upon their backs. 

KINGFISHERS, a family of incessorial 
birds noted for their bright plumage, stout bill, 
strong feet, and short tail. Several well-marked 
species are native to America and Europe, of 
which the common kingfisher is the best known. 
This species has the head feathers spotted with 
blue, while the sides of the neck are greenish 
and the bill is black. The length of the body is 
about seven inches. It frequents the coasts of 
lakes and banks of streams, where it engages in 
catching fish for food. In endeavoring to catch 
its prey the kingfisher occupies a position where 


it may watch the fish, and, when an opportune 
time occurs, it darts down quickly and secures its 
prey by diving. The smaller fish are swallowed 
whole, while the flesh of larger ones is picked 
from the bones, after being carried to the perch, 
and the bones are used in building its nest. The 
eggs are nearly white, six to eight in number, 
and the nest is guarded with considerable care 
against intrusion of other birds. A species of 
kingfisher native to the Himalayas is spotted 
and is known as the fish tiger. The laughing 
jackass, so called from its peculiar cry, is a large, 
species native to Australia. It is singular that 
the kingfisher is the subject of many supersti¬ 
tions. This bird is celebrated in the ancient 
poetic lore and mythology. See Halcyon. 

KINGLET, the name of several small birds 
of the thrush family. The common kinglet of 
North America has yellow feathers with green¬ 
ish markings and is one of the smallest perching 
birds. It is known locally as the golden-crowned 
kinglet. Another species, the ruby-crowned 
kinglet, has a red crest partly hidden by grayish 
feathers. These birds breed as far south as the 
Carolinas and in the spring move northward 
into Canada. Several species are native to 
Europe, including the gold-crest, which is noted 
for its song. 

KINGS, Books of, the name of two books of 
the Old Testament. Commencing with the close 
of the history of David, they relate the events 
of the Hebrew state under Solomon and Reho- 
boam, give an account of the divided state under 
the rival dynasties of Israel and Judah, and 
carry the events down to the destruction of 
Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Many acts of 
Elijah and Elisha, the prophets, are detailed. 
According to the Talmud the Books of Kings 
were written by Jeremiah, but this is not admit¬ 
ted by Christian commentators, who generally 
treat the author as unknown. 

KING’S MOUNTAIN, the name of a moun¬ 
tain range in North Carolina, trending north 
and south through Gaston and adjoining coun¬ 
ties. It was the scene of a battle on Oct. 7, 
1780, between the British and Americans. The 
Americans were commanded by Benjamin 
Cleaveland and the British by Colonel Fergu¬ 
son. The battle terminated in favor of the 
Americans, but they lost their brilliant leader, 
Col. James Williams. However, the British lost 
716 men as prisoners and 390 were slain, in¬ 
cluding General Ferguson. The Americans lost 
only 28 killed and 60 wounded. This battle had 
a favorable influence upon the American cause. 

KINGSTON (kingz'tun), a city and the cap¬ 
ital of Jamaica, in the southeastern part of the 
island. It is defended by several forts, has an 














KINGSTON 


1188 


KIRKSVILLE 


extensive commercial trade, and contains a num¬ 
ber of fine buildings and modern facilities. The 
harbor is commodious and admits the largest 
vessels. It is strongly fortified. Several fine 
parks and gardens are maintained. Rum, sugar, 
tobacco, coffee, dyewood, and fruits are export¬ 
ed. Spanish Town became the capital in 1858, 
but the seat of government was moved to Kings¬ 
ton in 1872, since which time it has grown rapid¬ 
ly. Population, 19G8, 48,036. 

KINGSTON, a city in New York, county 
.seat of Ulster County, on the Hudson River, 87 
miles north of New York City. It is on the 
West Shore, the Walkill Valley and the Ulster 
and Delaware railroads. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude the public library, the county courthouse, 
the armory, the city hall, and Kingston and Uls¬ 
ter academies. It has the Senate House, which 
was formerly the meeting place of the State 
Legislature and now contains a collection of 
relics. Large quantities of coal, timber, and 
building stone are obtained in the vicinity. It 
has a large trade in grain, lumber, and merchan¬ 
dise. The manufactures include glass, cement, 
farming machinery, cigars, railroad iron, flour, 
earthenware, and liquors. 'Kingston was first 
settled in 1652 by the Dutch, when it was called 
Esopus, and thtf name was changed to Wiltwyck 
in 1661. In 1664 it was taken by the. English 
and the name was soon after changed to Kings¬ 
ton. Later it was the capital of the Stale, when, 
in 1777, the first State constitution was adopted 
here. It was incorporated as a city in 1872. 
Population, 1905, 25,557; in 1910, 25,908. 

KINGSTON, a city of Ontario, capital of 
Frontenac County, on the northeastern shore of 



Lake Ontario, and on the Canadian Pacific, the 
Grand Trunk, and other railroads. It is finely 
situated on the bay of Quinte, near the source of 
the Saint Lawrence, and is connected with Ot¬ 


tawa by the Rideau Canal. Kingston is 165 
miles from Toronto and 172 miles from Mon¬ 
treal. It has a large trade in manufactures and 
produce. The chief buildings include the Royal 
Military College, the University of Queen’s, Col¬ 
lege, the Anglican and Roman Catholic cathe¬ 
drals, and numerous substantial business blocks. 
In the public park is a bronze statue of Sir J. A. 
Macdonald. It is strongly fortified. Being lo¬ 
cated near the Thousand Isles, it is frequented 
during the summer by many tourists. 

Kingston has a fine harbor and extensive ship¬ 
yards. The manufactures include locomotives, 
edge tools, hardware, railway cars, clothing, cot¬ 
ton and woolen textiles, and spirituous liquors. 
The streets are substantially paved and well 
lighted with gas and electricity. An extensive 
system of street railways supplies transportation 
facilities to all parts of the city and many inter- 
urban points. It was made the site of a French 
fort in 1673. The city was incorporated in 183£ 
Originally the name was Fort Frontenac, but 
this was changed to Kingston after the Ameri¬ 
can Revolution. Population, 1901, 18,043. 

KINKAJOU (kin'ka-joo), or Potto, a small 
mammal found in the tropical parts of South 
America. It resembles the raccoon, is nocturnal 
in habits, and feeds upon insects and small ani¬ 
mals. The fur is soft and gray and the tail is 
prehensile. This animal is tamed and treated as 
a pet in some parts of Central America. 

KIOTO. See Kyoto. 

KIOWA (ki'6-wa), a tribe of North Ameri¬ 
can Indians, formerly numerous in the upper 
region of the Missouri River. They were con¬ 
sidered the most savage and warlike tribe of 
the prairies, where they were dreaded by the 
early settlers, and formerly carried their raids 
as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. In 1875 
they were removed to Oklahoma, where they 
became more or less associated with the Co- 
manches. At present they number about 1,125. 

KIRGHIZ (kir-gez'), the name of a Tartar- 
Mongol nomadic people of Asia. They occupy 
a vast region which extends from the Caspian 
Sea to the Altai Mountains, and from the Syr 
Daria River and the Sea of Aral to the Tobol 
and the Irtish. This section is characterized by 
several mountain ranges. It includes many salt 
lakes and the great , steppe region. In language 
these people belong to the Turkish stock and 
many have embraced the creed of Islam. The 
total number of this race is placed at 3,000,000. 

KIRKSVILLE (kerks'vil), a city and the 
county seat of Adair county, Missouri, 65 miles 
southwest of Keokuk, Iowa. It is on the Wa¬ 
bash and the Quincy, Omaha and Kansas City 
railroads, and is surrounded by a fertile farming 








KISHINEV 


1189 


KLONDIKE 


and dairying country. Bituminous coal is mined 
in the vicinity. Among the noteworthy buildings 
are the county courthouse, the high school, and 
a State normal school. It is the seat of the 
American School of Osteopathy and was long 
the residence of its founder, A. T. Still. Kirks- 
yille was first settled in 1840 and was incorpo¬ 
rated in 1893. The manufactures include woolen 
goods, furniture, wagons, farm machinery, and 
cheese. Population, 1900, 5,966; in 1910, 6,347. 

KISHINEV (ke-she-nyof'), or Kishineff, a 
city of Russia, capital of the government of Bes¬ 
sarabia, 85 miles northwest of Odessa. It is 
located on the Byk, an affluent of the Dniester, 
and is at the junction of several railways. The 
chief buildings include a public library, two 
gymnasia, several large Greek churches, and 
man}/- substantial business blocks. It is impor¬ 
tant as a market for cereals and live stock and 
has manufactures of tobacco, clothing, and ma¬ 
chinery. The inhabitants consist of x Russians, 
Jews, Bulgars, Tartars, and Moldavians. It has 
l/een a possession of Russia since 1812. In 1905 
j and 1906 it was the scene of severe persecutions 
j . of the Jews-. Population, 1906, 128,872. 

KITCHEN CABINEf, the name applied in 
American politics to a group of men during the 
administration of Andrew Jackson. These men 
were supposed to influence the action of the 
President more than the members of the Cabi¬ 
net, though they were not important as govern¬ 
ment officials. Those who were included with 
I - these unofficial advisers were William B. Lewis, 

, Duff Green, Isaac Hill, • Amos Kendall, and 
Francis P. Blair, Sr., editor of the Globe. 

KITE, the common name of many birds of 
prey. They belong to the falcon family, but 
differ from the true falcons in having shorter 
_ legs and'longer wings. The wings are pointed, 
the tail is deeply forked, and the flight is easy 

I and graceful. The swallow-tailed kite is com¬ 
mon to the southern parts of the United States. 
It has glossy black feathers on the back and 
wing§ and the lower part is white. The com- 
\ mon kite of Europe has a reddish-brown color. 

It is skillful in catching fish, insects, and small 
| snakes. 

KITE, a contrivance formerly used only as a 
toy, but now employed for various economic and 
scientific purposes. It is constructed of a light 
framework, covered with paper or cloth, and is 
raised into the air by the wind acting upon it. 
The effect of the wind upon a kite is similar to 
I that upon a sail, and depends upon the contri¬ 
vance being held by a string in a way that the 
wind will be most effective in lifting it. Kites 
are constructed chiefly in the form of dragons, 
and soar upward to the extent of the string by 


which they are held. Besides furnishing the 
means of healthful pastime for children, kites 
are used in advertising, photographing land¬ 
scapes, meteorological observations, communicat¬ 
ing between stranded ships, and determining the 
temperature in the clouds. Benjamin Franklin 
made electrical experiments by using the kite. 
The forms used for amusement usually have a 
tail, which gives steadiness to the kite in sudden 
flaws of wind. 

KLAMATH (kla'mat), a river in California, 
rises in'the southern part of Oregon and flows 
into the Pacific Ocean about twenty miles south 
of Crescent City. In a part of its course it flows 
through the Klamath lakes, but the greater part 
of its distance is through deep and narrow can¬ 
yons. Fine forests of cedar and redwood 
abound in its valley. It is 275 miles long. 

KLAMATHS, the name of several tribes of 
Indians found originally near the Klamath lakes 
of southern Oregon and northern California. 
They are naturally of a peaceable disposition, 
but become aggressive when they are assailed, 
and have made material advancement in indus¬ 
trial arts. The early settlements made in Cali¬ 
fornia by the whites led to troubles in 1851, but 
peace was soon restored by a treaty. They 
ceded a large tract of land to the United States 
in 1864, reserving a productive region of about 
1,200 square miles, on which they conduct agri¬ 
culture, lumbering, and trading. 

KLAUSENBURG (klou'zen-bdork), or 
Kolozsvar, a city of Hungary, capital of the 
county of Klausenburg, 125 miles northwest of 
Hermannstadt. It is the seat of the Francis 
Joseph University, which has a library of 75,000 
volumes and is attended by 750 students. Other 
institutions include a museum, a botannical gar¬ 
den, a Froebel institute, and a Roman Catholic 
cathedral. The manufactures are flour, cloth, 
beet sugar, cigars, and machinery. German 
colonists founded the city in 1178. The larger 
part of the inhabitants are Magyars of the 
Protestant faith. Population, 1906, 51,184. 

KLEPTOMANIA (klep-to-ma'm-a), a spe¬ 
cies of insanity in which is displayed an irresis¬ 
tible desire or propensity to steal anil hoard. In 
a case of this affection it is considered that the 
afflicted person, while not absolutely insane, is 
nevertheless unaccountable and his acts are not 
held criminal. The symptoms usually consist of 
peculiar motives in stealing and hoarding, pe¬ 
culiar judgment as to the character of the com¬ 
modities taken, and a characteristic interest in 
many articles of little value. 

KLONDIKE (klon'dlk), a small tributary of 
the Yukon River, which has a general course 
toward the west, and flows into the Yukon near 








KNIFE 


1190 


KNITTING 


Dawson. Valuable deposits of gold were dis¬ 
covered in the region by George Carmack, a na¬ 
tive of Illinois, in August, 1896, and subsequently 
the district became known as the Klondike re¬ 
gion. This region is largely in Canada, but ex¬ 
tends along the Yukon across the boundary into 
Alaska. In 1897 many prospectors and miners 
proceeded to the Klondike region, and in that 
year secured fully $2,000,000 in gold. Since then 
the work has progressed continuously during the 
summer season, and large quantities of the valu¬ 
able mineral have been procured. 

The precious metal occurs largely in a free 
state in the form pf nuggets and grains, and is 
separated from the gravel and dirt by washing. 
As a rule the washing is done in the summer 
season, but much of the pay dirt is excavated 
from the frozen bed of muck at all times of the 
year. Formerly it was extremely difficult to 
reach this section, but a railway is now operated 
from Skagway to Hazelton, on the White Horse 
River, a tributary of the Yukon. Another line 
has been projected and partly built by the Grand 
Trunk Railway Company, extending from the 
eastern part of Canada to Dawson, the chief 
town of the Klondike. 

KNIFE. See Cutlery. 

KNIGHTHOOD, Orders of, a term applied 
to organized and constituted orders or bodies 
of knights. Two classes of orders of knight¬ 
hood are generally recognized, one constituting 
fraternal associations and the other honorary. 
The associations or fraternities possess property 
as independent bodies, to which class belongs the 
Hospitalers, Templars, and Teutonic Knights. 
Honorary associations were established by sov¬ 
ereigns within their own dominions and embrace 
most of the orders now maintained in European 
countries, such as the orders of Saint George, 
Golden Fleece, Saint Michael, and Holy Ghost. 
The orders of the Garter, Saint Patrick, the 
Thistle, Saint George, and several others are 
British. The Star of India is an order of India. 
Each order of knighthood in the different coun¬ 
tries has an appropriate insignia, with which is 
included a badge, ribbon, collar, jewel, and star. 
The Normans first introduced knighthood into 
England as a feudal institution, but at present 
a knight holds a title of honor next below a 
baronet. Since the 16th century it has been 
considered a title of honor conferred as a re¬ 
ward for personal merit or for service rendered 
the crown or the country. The title carries with 
it the right to prefix sir to the Christian name 
and the wife is legally called dame, though lady 
is by courtesy her designation. Knights who 
belong to no special order of knighthood are 
properly knights bachelor. Those belonging to 


an order take the name of such order, as knight 
of the Garter and knight of the Bath. The rank 
is not hereditary. See Chivalry. 

KNIGHTS OF LABOR, a fraternal labor 
association organized at Philadelphia, Pa., in 
1869. The object of the organization is to pro¬ 
tect the laboring classes, ameliorate the condition 
of the workingman, and promote industrial in¬ 
terests. It constitutes one of the most intelli¬ 
gent associations of the wage workers in the 
United States. The membership has declined 
within recent years, since the American Federa¬ 
tion of Labor has superseded it in many locali¬ 
ties. 

KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS (pith'i-as), a 

fraternal and benefit association organized in 
1864, whose purpose is to exemplify true and 
noble friendship. Three degrees are conferred, 
those of page, esquire, and knight, and the gen¬ 
eral control is vested in the supreme lodge, 
which likewise has charge of the uniform rank 
and the insurance branch. It is based upon the 
friendship of Damon and Pythias, two celebrated 
Pythagoreans of ancient Syracuse. Dionysius 
the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, had condemned _ 
Pythias to death, but* permitted him to visit his 
wife and family once more on the condition that 
Damon take his place in suffering the penalty, 
in case Pythias should not return. The latter 
returned before the time set for the execution, 
which so impressed Dionysius that both were set 
free. In 1909 the Knights of Pythias had 708,- 
535 members. The total death claims paid by 
the insurance department equal $28,947,608. 

KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, 
a secret society of the United States, organized 
in 1855 to advance the slave-holding interests of 
the South. The original purpose was to found 
a government in the vicinity of the Gulf of Mex¬ 
ico, which was to be the seat of vast slave-hold¬ 
ing plantations. As a means to further organiza¬ 
tion, numerous lodges, or castles, were main¬ 
tained. The members of this organization were 
not only numerous in the South, but were rep¬ 
resented very extensively in the North. They 
had not less than 40,000 members in Indiana and 
a corresponding number in many other states. 
In the presidential campaign of 1860 they were 
a factor in defeating the Democrat party since 
they supported the Southern wing instead of 
McClellan. 

KNITTING, the art of weaving a single 
thread so as to form a kind of fabric. It is 
done by means of knitting needles, which are 
made of various sizes to suit the fineness of 
thread, used, usually of ivory or steel. Formerly 
the work of knitting was done wholly by hand, 
but the larger part of knit goods is now made 


KNOT 


1191 


KOHINOOR 


with knitting machines. The first knitter was 
invented in 1589 by William Lee of England, but 
many improvements have been introduced to 
make these machines highly utilitarian. Those 
in general use are rotary or circular in form, 
fitted to produce a circular web. They have 
a circular series of vertical parallel needles that 
slide in grooves in a cylinder, and are raised 
and lowered successfully by an external rotat¬ 
ing cylinder which has cams on the inner side 
that act upon the needles. A hook at the end 
of each needle serves to draw down the thread 
so as to form a loop as it is depressed. This 
loop is slipped off over the hook when the 
needles are again elevated, thus forming a part 
of the web as the next hook is joined to it. 
Within the circle is an opening for the web, 
which is held in position by a weight attached 
to the lower end of it. The invention of the 
modern knitting machine has revolutionized the 
manufacture of knitted fabrics, such as hosiery 
and underwear. 

KNOT, a fastening or twisting together of 
the ends or parts of one or more threads or 
ropes, or the looping of such threads around 
some other object so as not to come apart easily. 
The art of tying knots is important on ship¬ 
board, and those in use among seamen require 
much skill in the adjustment. They include 
about 200 different kinds, but of this number 
only a comparatively few are in general use. 
These include the so-called reef knot, figure 
of eight knot, bow line knot, running bow line 
knot, rope-yarn knot, manrope knot; and Mat¬ 
thew Walker knot. 

KNOW-NOTHINGS, a name given to the 
members of the American party, which was or¬ 
ganized in the United States in 1855. This ap¬ 
pellation was applied because the party was a 
secret organization and, when asked about its 
affairs, the members professed to know nothing 
about them. Among its tenets were that nat¬ 
uralization should be granted only after 21 
. years’ residence, that America should be gov¬ 
erned only by Americans, and that allegiance 
to any foreign power should constitute a bar 
to selection for office. The party was organized 
for an active campaign in 1855, when it carried 
the state elections of Kentucky, New York, Cali¬ 
fornia, and most of New England. Millard 
Fillmore was its candidate for President in 1856 
and received 874,534 votes, but in the electoral 
college obtained only eight votes, those cast 
by the State of Maryland. After the election 
of 1856 the party became disorganized and most 
of its members went over to the newly organ¬ 
ized Republican party. 

KNOXVILLE, a city in Tennessee, county 


seat of Knox County, on the Holston River, 110 
miles northeast of Chattanooga. It is on the 
Southern, the Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern, 
the Knoxville and Augusta, and other railroads. 

* The site is at the foothills of the Clinch Moun¬ 
tains, which have much fine natural scenery. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the post 
office, the county courthouse, the public library, 
the State Agricultural College, the University of 
Tennessee, the Tennessee School for Deaf 
Mutes, the East Tennessee Asylum for the In¬ 
sane, and the Austin school for colored pupils. 
The surrounding country produces vast quan¬ 
tities of coal, zinc, and marble. Among the 
manufactures are flour, machinery, cotton and 
woolen goods, stoves, furniture, leather, soap, 
car wheels, and ironware. It has well graded 
and paved streets, waterworks and sewerage 
systems, and a large trade in produce and mer¬ 
chandise. Knoxville was settled in 1787, was 
the capital of the State from 1786 until 1811, 
and became a city in 1815. It was occupied by 
a Union army of 12,000 men under General 
Burnside in November, 1863, and a siege was 
laid by Longstreet. Sherman’s army was sent 
to relieve Burnside in the latter part of 1863, 
after which the Confederates were compelled to 
raise the siege. Population, 1910, 36,346. 

KOALA (ko-a'la), or Kangaroo Bear, a 
bear or sloth native to Australia. It is a mar¬ 
supial mammal. The tail is rudimentary, the 
head is small, and the color is ash-gray. It 
feeds largely on the leaves and tender shoots 
of the blue-gum tree. The length of its body 
is about two feet and the claws are well fitted 
to climb trees, in which it spends the greater 
portion of the time. Koalas live in pairs, are 
very tenacious of life, and the young are carried 
on the back of the mother when they have out¬ 
grown the marsupium. 

KOBE (ko'ba), a seaport city of Japan, in 
the southern part of the island of Hondo, on 
the Bay of Osaka. It has a safe and commo¬ 
dious harbor, extensive shipyards, and large 
railway shops. Direct steamboat communica¬ 
tions are maintained between it and the leading 
ports of the world. Paper, clothing, saki, pot¬ 
tery, and machinery are among the leading 
manufactures. The principal buildings include 
those of the government, several schools and 
theaters, and, a number of clubhouses and 
Buddhist temples. The streets are paved sub¬ 
stantially and are improved by electric lighting 
and street railways. It has an extensive com¬ 
merce with Great Britain, Germany, France, and 
the United States. Population, 1908, 288,516. 

KOHINOOR (ko-i-noor'), or Kohinur, a 
famous diamond now owned by the crown of 




KOKOMO 


1192 


KOORDISTAN 


Great Britain. It was secured from India when 
the Punjab was annexed. Originally the weight 
was 793 carats, but it was reduced by cutting 
until now it weighs only 102^4 carats. The 
present value is about $600,000. 

KOKOMO (ko'ko-mo), a city in Indiana, 
county seat of Howard County, 54 miles north 
of Indianapolis. It is on the Lake Erie and 
Western, the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago and 
Saint Louis, and the Toledo, Saint Louis and 
Kansas City railroads. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude the high school, the county courthouse, 
and several churches. It has a line park, electric 
street railways, and a large trade in produce. 
The manufactures include stoves, carriages, lum¬ 
ber products, flour, cigars, furniture, and ma¬ 
chinery. The place was settled in 1844 and in¬ 
corporated in 1865. Population, 1910, U,010. 

KOLA (ko'la), or Cola, the name of a plant 
native to the tropical regions of Africa, but now 
cultivated for its fruit in Brazil and the West 
Indies. The fruit, known as kola nut, is about 
an inch long, has a reddish-gray color, and its 
odor resembles that of nutmeg. It contains 
about two per cent, of alkaloid caffeine. Kola 
is used to some extent in the preparation of a 
drink similar to coffee. It has digestive and 
stimulating properties. 

KONG MOUNTAINS, a mountain chain of 
Western Africa, stretching along the northeast¬ 
ern boundary of Liberia, and attaining to 
heights of about one mile above sea level. In 
these mountains the Niger has its source, flow¬ 
ing from them toward the northeast. The dis¬ 
trict is populated by Mohammedans. It contains 
valuable timber and minerals. The slopes and 
valleys are highly fertile, producing grasses, 
cereals, and fruits. 

KONGO. See Congo. 

KONIGGRATZ (ke-mg-grats'J, a fortified 
town of Bohemia, on the Elbe River, seventy 
miles east of Prague. It has connections by- 
railways and a considerable local trade. It is 
noted in history on account of an important 
battle between the German army of Prussia and 
the forces of Austria, which occurred July 3, 
1866, and resulted in the defeat of the Austrians. 
As a consequence of the battle Prussia became 
the supreme power in the German states. Ven¬ 
ice was ceded to Italy, and Hungary became 
constitutionally independent. The battle is bet¬ 
ter known by the name of Sadowa, from an 
adjoining town. Koniggratz is an old town. 
It has a fine library, a Gothic cathedral, and a 
theological seminary. Population, 1906, 10,302. 

KONIGSBERG (ke'mgs-berg), a city and 
seaport of Germany, capital of the province of 
East Prussia, on the Pregel River, about five 
miles from Frisches Haff, an inlet from the 


Baltic Sea, and 330 miles northeast of Berlin. 
It occupies a fine site on both sides of the 
Pregel, which is crossed by many stone and steel 
bridges. The streets are clean and well paved 
with stone and asphalt. Ample transportation, 
facilities are furnished by steamships, steam 
railroads, and electric railway lines. An island 
in the river,'at the west end of the city, con¬ 
tains the fort of Friedrichsburg, and other for¬ 
tifications include twelve forts in the main walls 
on both sides of the river. It has extensive 
manufactures of clothing, chemicals, machinery, 
textiles, cigars, earthenware, and musical instru¬ 
ments. . I 

The city is famous for the University of 
Konigsberg, which dates from 1544, when it was 
founded as a Lutheran institution. At present 
it has 148 teachers, about 1,000 students, and a 
library of 225,000 volumes. Kant taught at the 
university nearly fifty years and a beautiful 
monurwent -was erected to him in 1864. Among 
other famous teachers are Herbart; Bessel, Her¬ 
der, Neumann, and Von Baer. The city has 
several fine schools, seminaries, colleges, and 
churches. It contains many valuable buildings, 
public parks, and several statues and monu¬ 
ments. The cathedral is one of the finest in 
Europe. Frederick I. was crowned King of 
Prussia at Konigsberg, and in .1861 similar cere¬ 
monies were celebrated when William I. ascend¬ 
ed the throne. Population, 1905, 223,770. 

KONIGSHUTTE (ke-mgs-hiit'te), a city of 
Germany, in the province of Silesia, seven miles 
from the frontier of Russia. It has communica¬ 
tion by railroads and electric railways, paved 
streets, and systems of waterworks and sew¬ 
erage. In its vicinity are vast coal, iron, and 
zinc mines. The manufactures include iron¬ 
ware, irtachinery, and clothing. It is compara¬ 
tively a new city and owes its prosperity to the 
development of mining and manufacturing. 
Population, 1905, 66,042. 

KOODOO (koo'doo), or Kudu, the‘name of 
a large antelope found in Africa. It is about 
four feet high. The color is grayish-brown, 
with several vertical stripes of white on the 
sides. The flesh is considered very nutritious, 
hence it is hunted almost to extermination. 
This animal is easily domesticated and is grown 
in some places for its milk and flesh. The male 
has horns nearly four feet long. They are 
twisted spirally. 

KOORDISTAN (koor-dis-tiin'), or Kurdis¬ 
tan, a region of eastern Turkey in Asia, includ¬ 
ing an area of about 80,000 square miles. The 
northern boundary is formed by Armenia and 
the eastern by Persia, extending into the latter 
country as far as Lake Urumiah. The inhabi¬ 
tants are principally Kurds, who adhere to the 


KOOTENAIS 


1193 


KORDOFAN 


Mohammedan religion, but differ from the 
Turks in language. They are fanatical in their 
religious views and extremists in government. 
The larger portion follow a pastoral life. They 
have been a source of strength to the Turks 
against the Armenians, but have opposed the 
spread of Turkish customs and language. The 
entire population is estimated at 2,750,000. 

KOOTENAIS, or Flatbows, a North Amer¬ 
ican Indian tribe, resident in Montana, Wash¬ 
ington, and British Columbia. Their chief seat 
in British Columbia is in the vicinity of Lake 
Flatbow. They support themselves mostly by 
hunting and fishing. The Kootenais are peace¬ 
able and quite industrious. 

KOOTENAY (kod'te-na), or Kootenai, a 
river of North America, which rises in the 
Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. It 
passes from British Columbia through the states 
of Montana and Idaho, thence reenters^ Canada, 
where it passes through Kootenay Lake,, and 
after a course of 400 miles joins the Columbia 
River. Navigation is insignificant, owing to- 
numerous rapids and the tortuousness of its 
course. The valley of the Kootenay is rich in 
iron and other minerals. 

KORAN (ko'ran), or A1 Koran, the book 
containing the sacred scriptures of the Moham¬ 
medan religion. It is made the basis of all civil, 
military, and social transactions among the 
Moslems. The name is usually written A1 
Koran; that is, The Koran, meaning originally 
“The reading,” or “That which is to be read.” 
The Mohammedans teach that the book is co¬ 
eval with God, having existed eternally. In the 
beginning of time the transcript was made in 
rays of light upon gigantic tablets that were sit¬ 
uated in the highest heavens, near the throne 
of the Almighty. Gabriel, the angel, is said to 
have communicated the different portions to 
Mohammed within a period of 23 years, both 
at Mecca and Medina. Mohammed dictated the 
Koran in manuscripts to a -scribe, who pre¬ 
served them in written form for the followers 
of the faith. 

At. first the different portions appeared with¬ 
out definite arrangement, but, after the death 
of Mohammed, Abu Bekr directed Zaid Ibn 
Thabit of Medina to collect them into a volume. 
Later this edition was revised by Caliph Oth- 
man, and in the thirtieth year of the Hegira, the 
year 652 a. d., it was published. This revision 
contains 114 chapters, and at the head of each 
is a title which indicates the nature of its con¬ 
tents, these often being strange sounding, in¬ 
cluding such as The Cow, The Star, The Tow¬ 
ers, The Poets, etc. The chapters begin with 
the introduction: “In the name of God the 
Merciful, the Compassionate.” 


Among the tenets taught in the Koran are 
that there is but one God, and he is all-wise, 
merciful, and everlasting; that there is a pun¬ 
ishment for the wicked and a reward for the 
just; and that all peoples will go to their reward 
at the day of judgment. Christ is assigned a 
place in the highest or seventh heaven, where 
he lives in the presence of God. When mankind 
becomes wayward and forsakes the path of 
righteousness, prophets are sent to direct them 
toward the true God. Among the prophets sent 
to earth are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, 
Jesus, and Mohammed, the last named being the 
greatest of all the prophets. It teaches the doc¬ 
trine of good and bad angels, outlines severe 
condemnation for the idolatrous, and describes 
heaven as a place in which seven . degrees 
of award for righteousness will be made, 
these being called first, second, third, etc., 
heaven, and ranging from entertainment by 
music to the supreme joy of meeting God face 
to face.: 

The decrees of God are held to be unchange¬ 
able, the doctrine of predestination is taught, 
and all are admonished to fast, give alms, re¬ 
peat prayers, and go on pilgrimages to Mecca 
and Mount Ararat. In praying it is advised 
that five prayers be said a day, during which 
the face is to be turned toward Mecca. When 
ready for prayer, it is necessary to perform 
the act of purification, which consists of bath¬ 
ing the hands, for which purpose sand or dry 
dust may be used where water is not obtainable. 
The laws of Moses and the decrees of Jewish 
rabbis are adhered to in the treatment of di¬ 
vorce, polygamy, inheritance, and other prac¬ 
tices. In language the Koran is elegant and 
pure, and is considered the ideal production of 
Arabic classics. The Moslems think that no 
human being is capable of producing its equal. 
In size the Koran is about the same as the New 
Testament, the work containing 77,639 words. 
Innumerable commentaries on the Koran have 
been published. It is claimed that the Tripoli 
library in Syria at one time contained fully 20,- 
000 different treatises on this book. 

KORDOFAN (kor-do-fiin'), a region in the 
Egyptian Sudan, located between Darfur and 
the White Nile. It has an area of 95,125 square 
miles. Much of the surface is level, but it is 
characterized by isolated' hills, and during the 
rainy season is covered with a rich vegetation. 
In the hot and dry season the climate is quite 
unpleasant to Europeans. Water is obtained 
chiefly from wells, except from June to October, 
when the rainfall is abundant; The inhabitants 
consist chiefly of Arabs and Berbers, who en¬ 
gage in stock raising and the cultivation of cot¬ 
ton, sesame, tobacco, and millet. El Obeid is 



KOREA 


1194 


KRONSTADT 


the capital and chief town. The population is 
estimated at 300,000. 

KOREA. See Corea. 

KOSCIUSKO (kos-si-us'ko), Mount, one of 
the most elevated mountain peaks of Australia, 
situated in the Australian Alps, in New South 
Wales. It has a height of 7,308 feet above sea 
level. 

KOUMISS (koo'mis), or Kumys, a fer¬ 
mented beverage made originally by the Tartars 
from the milk of mares. It is now made from 
the milk of cows. Large quantities are manu¬ 
factured in Europe and the United States. It 
is valuable for its nutritive and digestive prop¬ 
erties, and is prescribed by physicians in cases 
where other food cannot by retained by the 
stomach. Mares’ milk, which contains a high 
per cent, of sugar, is used largely for this pur¬ 
pose in Russia and Siberia, but the product made 
from it and from the milk of goats is character¬ 
ized by a somewhat unpleasant odor. About 
forty hours are required for fermentation. The 
product contains a considerable per cent, of 
alcohol and carbonic acid. 

KOVNO (kov'no), a city in Russia, capital 
of the government of Kovno, situated near the 
junction of the Vilia and Niemen rivers. It is 
important as a railroad and commercial city. 
The streets are well paved and cross each other 
at right angles. It is surrounded by an agricul¬ 
tural country and has a large trade in produce. 
The manufactures include beet sugar, clothing, 
earthenware, and machinery. Kovno was found¬ 
ed in the 10th century. For many years it was 
a point of contention between the Poles and 
the German knights. Population, 1906, 78,302. 

KRAKATOA (kra-ka-ta 6), an island in the 
Strait of Sunda between Java and Sumatra. 
It is of volcanic origin. The area is six square 
miles. This island is celebrated on account of 
numerous earthquakes and volcanic eruptions 
that are associated with it. It was the scene of 
vast disturbances in 1883, when the explosions 
were perceptible a distance of 150 miles. 
Though the island is uninhabited, about 35,000 
people were killed on the islands in the vicinity 
by great sea waves that swept away several vil¬ 
lages and a number of towns. Prior to the dis¬ 
turbances the island was about twice its present 
size. 

KREFELD (kra'felt), or Crefeld, a city of 
Germany, in Rhenish Prussia, about thirty miles 
northwest of Cologne. It is located four miles 
west of the Rhine, at the junction of several 
railroads, and has extensive electric railway fa¬ 
cilities. The streets are regularly platted and 
substantially paved and lighted by gas and elec¬ 
tricity. It is celebrated as a center for the 
manufacture of silk and velvet, in which en¬ 


terprise it has few rivals in Europe. Other 
manufactures include soap, hosiery, chemicals, 
sugar, leather, paper, and machinery. It is 
the seat of an academy, a gymnasium, a con¬ 
servatory of music, and many fine schools and 
churches. Krefeld dates from the 12th century. 
It has been a part of Prussia since 1702. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 110,344. 

KREMENTCHUG (krem-en-chdok'), a city 
in the government of Poltava, Russia, on the 
Dnieper River, 68 miles southwest of the city 
of Poltava. It has extensive railroad connec¬ 
tions and a large trade in tallow, salt, and tim¬ 
ber. The manufactures include machinery, beet 
sugar, furniture, and fabrics. A large tubular 
railway bridge crosses the Dnieper. The munici¬ 
pal facilities are modefn, including electric rail¬ 
ways, sewerage, and waterworks. Population, 
1905, 64,073. 

KREMLIN (krem'lin), the name applied in 
Russia to a citadel. The most celebrated of 
these structures is the Kremlin at Moscow, 
which is situated on the north bank of the 
Moskva River. It is surrounded with walls 
from 12 to 16 feet thick and from 28 to 50 
feet high. These walls are supplied with battle¬ 
ments, embrasures, five gates, and numerous 
towers, and they inclose a space about one and 
a half miles in circumference. Within the 
Krernlin are many, churches, cathedrals, mon¬ 
asteries, and fine public buildings. As a whole 
it presents a peculiar and imposing aspect. 
Many of the inhabitants remove their hats 
when passing by the gate known as that of 
the Redeemer, and no one passes it withoul 
bowing and crossing himself. Among the curi 
osities of this remarkable place are an ancient 
monster cannon and the broken Tsar Kolokol, 
a bell weighing 200 tons, cast for the Empress 
Anna in 1733. Napoleon I. resided in the Krem¬ 
lin for a short time in 1812. 

KRISHNA (krish'na), in Hindu mythology, 
the eighth incarnation of the Brahmanic god 
Vishnu, and the most popular deity in the Pan¬ 
theon of the Hindus. He is the hero of the 
greatest Sanskrit poem. His life history is 
similar to that of Hercules and Apollo. 

KRONSTADT (kron'stat), a free town of 
Austria-Hungary, in Transylvania, at the foot 
of the Transylvanian Alps. It is conveniently 
connected by railways and is noted for its man¬ 
ufacturing and commercial trade. The munici¬ 
pal facilities include electric street railways, 
waterworks, and public parks. Among the note¬ 
worthy buildings are the townhall and the 
Church of Saint Bartholomew. It is surrounded 
by a mountainous country, which is well wooded 
and rich in minerals. The inhabitants are most¬ 
ly Germans. Population, 1906, 33,807. 




KRONSTADT 


1195 


KYRIE ELEISON 


KRONSTADT, a seaport of Russia, on the 
island of Koblan, twenty miles west of Saint 
Petersburg. It is strongly fortified and serves 
as a strategic military protection to the national 
capital. The city is thought to be almost im¬ 
pregnable, being defended by strong granite 
forts and armed with heavy guns. Peter the 
Great founded it in 1710, but it has since been 
improved greatly. It has regularly platted 
streets, many Greek Catholic churches, a thor¬ 
oughly organized school system, and modern 
municipal facilities. The harbor is safe and 
large. It has manufactures of ships, cannon, 
clothing, machinery, and various implements of 
war. Population, 1906, 61,206. 

KRYPTON, a gaseous element which re¬ 
sembles argon, discovered in the air by William 
Ramsay in 1898. Owing to the rarity of this 
element, it is not well known.. Ramsay esti¬ 
mated that only one part in a million of the 
atmosphere consists of krypton. The atomic 
weight is 58.74. 

KUBAN (koo-banV), a river of the Cauca¬ 
sus, in Russia. It rises in the Caucasus Moun¬ 
tains, near Mount Elbruz, and discharges partly 
into the Black Sea and partly into the Sea of 
Azov. It passes through a fertile region, but 
in its lower course are many marshes. The to¬ 
tal length is 525 miles. 

KU-KLUX KLAN (ku-klux'), a society 
founded at Pulaski, Tenn., in 1866, in the re¬ 
construction period -that followed the Civil 
War. At first the purposes of the society were 
for amusement, but later it took on the object 
of opposing the reconstruction acts and prevent¬ 
ing freedmen from voting. In some cases the 
Negroes were persecuted, prevented from vot¬ 
ing, and acts of violence were perpetrated upon 
them. The organization in the period of its 
greatest strength numbered about 550,000 mem¬ 
bers, all of whom were people of the Southern 
States, but its largest membership was in Mis¬ 
sissippi, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, 
Alabama, and Kentucky. An act of Congress 
passed April 20, 1871, provided suppressive 
measures and, the society disbanded. 

KUMAMOTO (koo'ma-mo-to'), a commer¬ 
cial city of Japan, near the western shore of the 
island of Kiushiu, on the Shira River. It is 
the capital of the Kumamoto district, is strongly 
fortified, and has an extensive interior and for¬ 
eign trade. The municipal facilities are modern, 
including waterworks, sewerage, and rapid 
transit. It is an educational center and is 
reached by steamers. Population, 1906, 60,346. 

KUMASSI (kob-mas'si), or Coomassie, a 
town of Western Africa, in the British Gold 
Coast, capital of the native kingdom of Ashanti. 
It is located about 150 miles north of the Gulf 


of Guinea and has railroad connections with 
Sekondi, on the Gulf of Guinea. The streets 
are regularly platted and somewhat improved. 
An exchange and market place are in the cen¬ 
tral part. The town has considerable trade in 
cereals, live stock, and fruit. Population, 1906, 
30,680. 

KURDISTAN. See Koordistan. 

KURO SI VO, Kuro Siwo, or Japan Cur¬ 
rent, a warm equatorial current formed in the 
region southeast of Asia. It flows past For¬ 
mosa, Japan, and the Aleutian Islands, after 
which it passes southward to California. 
Though important in commerce and in the mod¬ 
ification of climate, it is inferior to the Gulf 
Stream. 

KUSKOKWIM (kus'ko-kwim), a river of 
Alaska, the second in size of that territory. 
It rises on the north side of the Alaskan moun¬ 
tains, has a general direction toward the south¬ 
west, and after a course of 500 miles flows into 
Kuskokwim Bay, an inlet from Bering Sea. 
The channel is irregular and passes between 
precipitous rocks in much of the course. About 
300 miles are navigable. 

KYANITE (ki'a-nit), a mineral which is 
similar to garnet and is used in making ink- 
stands, paperweights, and table tops. It varies 
in color, but blue predominates. This mineral 
is found in Bohemia, Switzerland, and various 
parts of the United States, especially in Vir¬ 
ginia and Massachusetts. 

KYOTO (kyo'to), or Kioto, the third city 
of Japan, on the island of Hondo, connected 
with the other trade centers by important rail¬ 
road lines. The surrounding country is fertile. 
About six miles from the city is Lake Biwa. 
The Kamogawa River divides the city into two 
nearly equal parts. For many years it served 
as the official residence of the Mikado and was 
the ecclesiastical capital. At present it is a 
center of learning, contains many excellent edu¬ 
cational and other buildings, and has divers 
modern facilities. The municipal facilities in¬ 
clude electric street railways, electric lights, tele¬ 
phones, and public parks. As a commercial 
center it ranks among the first of Japan, both 
in exports and imports. Among the manufac¬ 
tures are silks, clothing, lacquered ware, ivory 
ornaments, machinery, bronze ornaments, and 
textiles. Population, 1908, 382,658. 

KYRIE ELEISON (kir'i-e e-li'-son), a 
form of prayer, meaning “Lord have mercy.” 
It is used in both Greek and Latin liturgies, 
and occurs in the prayer books and songs of 
the Anglican and Lutheran churches. In th’e 
ordinary mass of the Roman Catholic church it 
immediately follows the introit and precedes the 
Gloria in Excelsis. 



L, a letter of the Indo-European alphabet, 
the ninth consonant. In the English / has only- 
one sound but is sometimes silent, as in calm 
and half, and is usually classed as a semivowel 
or a liquid. It is made by raising the tip of the 
tongue and passing the sonant breath through 
openings on both sides with a thrill or rustle. 
The letter r is more closely allied to l than any 
other letter which is associated with the latter, 
and the two are often interchanged in various 
languages. It is considered that / is a later 
modification of r in the Indo-European alphabet, 
r often changing to l, while d also takes the 
place of l in some of the languages. As a sym¬ 
bol, in chemistry, it stands for lithium. 

LAALAND (la'lan), or Lolland, an island 
in the Baltic Sea, belonging to Denmark. It is 
36 miles long, about 12 miles wide, and has an 
area of 465 square miles. The soil is fertile, 
producing corn, hops, hemp, and fruit. It has 
about 50 square miles of oak and beech forests. 
Maribo is the capital and Nakskov is the largest 
city. Population, 1906, 71,956. 

LABI AT AE (la-bi-a'te), the botanical name 
of the plants which belong to the mint family. 
The order embraces 150 genera and 2,800 spe¬ 
cies, most of which are native to temperate cli¬ 
mates. These plants are widely distributed in 
the continents, including many that are prized 
for their flowering and economic properties. 
Among the best known are the thyme, lavender, 
marjoram, basil, horehound, sage, rosemary, and 
peppermint. See Mint. 

LABOR, the voluntary effort put forth by 
man to secure some desired object. As asso¬ 
ciated with land and capital, it constitutes an 
important factor in the production of wealth. 
Land, labor, and capital are the three agents of 
production", but, since labor is the basis of all 
wealth, it may be regarded the most important 
factor in economic science. Nature and man 
are the two great agencies that cooperate in pro¬ 
duction, nature furnishing the material upon 


which labor is to be exerted, and man supplying 
the necessary labor to render the materials of 
nature available for useful purposes. Labor in¬ 
cludes not only muscular exertion, but all the 
mental effort involved in securing objects of de¬ 
sire. It does not create, but moves and affects 
changes upon things. By bringing the natural 
forces to the service of man, and moving ma¬ 
terials and objects into positions where forces 
can act upon them with the desired effect, la¬ 
bor effects its chief productiveness. 

The direct changes effected by labor are trans¬ 
mutation, transformation, and transportation; or, 
a change of elements, a change of form, and a 
change of place. These are exemplified by the 
agriculturist in the production of cereals, fruits, 
and cheese; by the manufacturer in transforming 
leather into shoes, cloth into garments, and lum¬ 
ber into houses; and by the transporter, who 
transfers the production of one community to a 
locality where it is consumed. Labor is pror 
ductive or unproductive, depending upon the re¬ 
sults that accrue. Productive labor is that form 
which increases wealth or adds to human intelli¬ 
gence, happiness, or moral it}'. Unproductive la¬ 
bor includes the misdirected activities, such as 
are exemplified by failures in speculative projects 
and by most wars. 

In ancient times labor was largely compulsory, 
such as was applied in the building of the Egyp¬ 
tian pyramids and the wall of China. Through 
almost the entire history of the world the labor¬ 
ing man has been suppressed more or less in his 
activities by potentates or men of great wealth, 
but with the concentration of labor in manufac¬ 
turing centers powerful efforts began to be ex¬ 
erted for the protection and amelioration - of the 
laborer. The first organizations of this char¬ 
acter were formed in the early part of the 18th 
century, and through all of the last century edu¬ 
cational organization -tended to render the labor¬ 
ing man more intelligent and efficient. He has 
come to be an important factor in the govern- 


1196 










LABOR DAY 


1197 


LABYRINTH 


rnent, influencing legislation by the election of 
such men as are friendly to the interests for 
which the labor unions stand. 

The Knights of Labor and the American Fed¬ 
eration of Labor are the strongest industrial or¬ 
ganizations of North America, but there are 
many affiliated branches in the latter, such as 
the powerful unions supported by miners, rail¬ 
road workers, and employees of manufactories. 
Others are associated with the transportation en¬ 
terprises, such as the International Brotherhood 
of Teamsters and the International Union of 
Steam Engineers. Legislation favorable to the 
interests of labor has been promoted in all the 
civilized nations of the world. This organiza¬ 
tion on the part of laborers has been a source of 
much benefit to the material industries, aiding in 
production as well as benefiting the laborer intel¬ 
lectually and financially. The most important 
objects of the labor movement of recent times 
embrace the compulsory arbitration of differ¬ 
ences between employers and employees, the es¬ 
tablishment of the eight-hour system of labor, 
and the improvement of the sanitary conditions 
of the mines and factories. 

LABOR DAY, a legal holiday in many civil¬ 
ized countries. In Canada and the United States 
it occurs on the first Monday in September, but 
in most countries of Europe it is observed on 
May 1. Labor Day was first celebrated in a few 
states in 1886, but sinpe then it has grown in fa¬ 
vor. In many localities it constitutes a holiday 
of much importance. Th«_ celebration usually in¬ 
cludes parades on the streets by industrial un¬ 
ions, music, speeches relating to labor interests, 
various games, and often fireworks in the even¬ 
ing. 

LABOR UNIONS. See Labor; American 
Federation of Labor; Knights of Labor; Co¬ 
operation. 

LABRADOR (lab-ra-dor'), a British posses¬ 
sion of North America, situated mainly east 
and north of Quebec, and forming a dependency 
of Newfoundland. It extends from the Strait 
of Belle Isle to Hudson Strait, is bounded on 
the west by Ungava and the east by the Atlan¬ 
tic, and has an area of about 120,000 square 
miles. The surface is greatly diversified, por¬ 
tions being desolate and rocky, while in some 
localities are extensive forests of birch and fir 
trees. Among the principal streams are the 
Grand and Northwest rivers, the latter draining 
Lake Aswanipi, or Hamilton, which is in Que¬ 
bec. The coast is rocky and is indented by 
many bays and fjords. Many fish, such as the 
salmon, cod, and trout, are abundant, and the 
region is visited annually by over - 30,000 fisher¬ 
men from Canada. The interior contains many 


valuable fur-bearing animals among them the 
otter, marten, fox, bear, wolf, reindeer, and 
beaver. The winter season is of nine months’ 
duration and very cold, but the summer is mod-' 
erately warm and adapted to the culture of po¬ 
tatoes and other forms of vegetables. Barley 
and oats are grown extensively for fodder. 

Labrador was visited by the Norsemen, in the 
year 1001, by Cabot in 1498, and by a Portu¬ 
guese expedition under Cortereal in 1500. In 
the lUh century it was described by some Norse 
settlers of Greenland as Helluland, meaning the 
land of rocks. In 1763 it became a dependency 
of Newfoundland. The name Labrador was 
given to the region by the Portuguese, meaning 
Laborers’ Land, and is frequently applied to the 
entire peninsula between the Saint Lawrence 
and Hudson Bay. In the latter sense it com¬ 
prises a large part of Quebec and Ungava. The 
portion belonging to Newfoundland, in 1906, had 
a population of 4,023. 

LABRADORITE (lab'ra-dor-It), a mineral 
formerly called Labrador hornblende, found on 
the coast of Labrador. The colors are common¬ 
ly blue and green. Labradorite is formed chief¬ 
ly of calcium, aluminum, and sodium silicate. 
It forms an essential constituent of many rocks, 
being associated with augite, hornblende, and 
other mineral substances, and serves a useful 
purpose for inlaid work and jewelry. 

LABUAN (la-bdo-an'), an island in the East 
Indies, situated west of the coast of British Bor¬ 
neo, comprising a crown colony of Great Brit¬ 
ain. The area is thirty square miles 'and the 
surface is mountainous. Coal, timber, sago, 
honey, and fruits are the chief products. Vic¬ 
toria, the capital, has a population of 1,500. It is 
the seat of a brisk trade with Singapore and 
Borneo. The island has been a possession of 
Great Britain since 1844. It is under the gov¬ 
ernment of the British North Borneo Company. 
Population, 1906, 8,530. 

LABURNUM (la-bur'num), a small tree na¬ 
tive to the Alps of Europe, now planted in gar¬ 
dens and villas as an ornamental shrub. In 
May and June it presents a beautiful appear¬ 
ance, every twig and small branch being hung 
with racemes of brilliant yellow flowers. The 
wood is so hard and heavy that it sinks in wa¬ 
ter. It takes a high polish, has a greenish color, 
and is used largely for ornamental work and 
handles to knives. The seeds are poisonous. 
Rabbits are so fond of the bark that they dam¬ 
age the tree in the winter. See illustration oni 
following page. " 

LABYRINTH (lab'T-rinth), a building 
which contains many tortuous passageways, so 
constructed that they are difficult to traverse 


LAC 


1198 


LACE 


without a guide. Many buildings of this char¬ 
acter were maintained anciently, notably in 
Egypt and Crete. The labyrinth of Crete, ac¬ 
cording to legendry, contained passages from 
which no one could escape, hence the visitors be¬ 
came the prey of Minotaur. It was reputed to 
have been built by King Minos. The only safe¬ 
guard was a linen thread, which, in being fol¬ 
lowed, made it possible to reach the exit. This 
celebrated labyrinth was situated in the district 



now called Fayoum, near Lake Moeris, con¬ 
tained 3,000 chambers, and is classed as a won¬ 
der of the world. Other celebrated labyrinths 
were at Clusium, Italy, and in Samos and Lem¬ 
nos. Mazes are imitations of labyrinths and 
are fashionable in gardens and at expositions. 
The maze at Hampton Court, in England, is a 
good example in gardening, while the mystic 
maze exhibited at the Columbian Exposition, in 
1893, was a fine example of a labyrinth with 
mirrors. 

LAC (lak), a resinous substance obtained 
from an insect called coccus lacca, or lac insect, 
found in the East Indies, Siam, Burmah, China, 
and other Asiatic countries. It consists of a 
granular substance. Among these insects there 
are about 5,000 females to each of the males, the 
latter being winged and about twice the size of 
the females. After the eggs are laid, the mother 
dies, and when the young come out they secrete 
the lac. They feed upon the resinous juices of 
the same tree for several generations, causing 
the superfluous excretions to form a coat about 


half an inch thick. This product yields a red 
fluid for making crimson and scarlet dyes, which 
are quite similar to the coloring matter of the 
cochineal. In some portions of India the lac 
insect is cultivated, both for its lac and dye 
properties. When in a natural state the product 
is called stick-lac; when crushed and washed, 
seed-lac; and when transformed into a thin 
crust by melting, shell-lac. Lac is used in the 
manufacture of lacquer, varnish, sealing wax, 
and materials to stiffen various articles of ap¬ 
parel, such as the calico frame of silk hats. Lac 
dye produces a beautiful scarlet and is an im¬ 
portant article of commerce. 

LAC, or Lak, a term used in the commerce 
of the East Indies. It is derived from the Sans¬ 
krit word laksa, meaning 100,000. One lac is 
equal to 100,000 rupees and 100 lacs make a 
crore. 

LACCADIVES (lak'ka-divz), a group of 
small islands in the Arabian Sea, about 200 
miles west of the Malabar coast of British In¬ 
dia. They consist of about 20 islands, of coral 
formation and have an area of 745 square miles. 
The surface is low and flat and much of it is 
barren and unproductive. The chief products 
include cocoanuts, plantains, and betel nuts. The 
inhabitants are Mohammedans of Arabian de¬ 
scent, who engage largely in fishing and sea¬ 
manship. Population, 1906, 14,500. 

LACE, a delicate fabric or network of 
threads formed of linen, cotton, silk, gold or sil¬ 
ver wire, or some other suitable material, form¬ 
ing a fabric of transparent texture. The origin 
of lace is unknown, but it was used by the ladies 
of ancient Greece and Rome. In Italy the man¬ 
ufacture of lace was an important industry dur¬ 
ing the Middle Ages, whence it was introduced 
into France. A law passed in England in 1483 
prohibited its importation, but in the 16th cen¬ 
tury the manufacture became quite extensive in 
Western Europe. Brussels, Alengon, and Mal¬ 
tese are among the best known point laces. They 
have been produced extensively in Belgium and 
France for many centuries. In the 16th century 
lace manufactories were established at Honiton, 
England, and at North Hampton in the 17th 
century, and in 1768 a machine for manufactur¬ 
ing lace was installed at the latter place. 

Many styles of laces are now made, de¬ 
pending upon the mode of manufacture and 
the purposes for which they are to be used. The 
finest grades are handmade, these excelling in 
strength, delicacy, and beauty, and likewise com¬ 
manding the highest prices. No branch of the 
textile industry has received more attention than 
that of lace manufacture, and it is one of the in¬ 
dustries in which machine work does not com- 




LACHINE 


1199 


LACQUER 


pete in fineness and delicacy with the handmade 
products. Pillow lace is made largely by hand, 
but many kinds of fine fabrics of this class are 
produced wholly by machinery. In lace weaving 
the threads of the weft are twisted around those 
of the warp. The character of the net and its 
name are determined by the manner of twisting, 
as pattern net, spider net, bobbin net, Paris net, 
and whip net. Point lace was developed from 
embroidery, and is made largely by needle and 
a single thread. Guipure lace is made by the 
crochet needle. It has a network ground on 
which patterns are wrought in various stitches 
in silk. The manufacture of gold and silver 
lace is associated with the ribbon trade. It has 
for a basis thin ribbons or flat bands, around 
which yellow and white threads of cotton are 
wrapped closely. In the lace industry France 
takes a very high position, no less than 250,000 
persons being engaged in its manufacture in that 
country. Machine-made imitations of the finer 
laces are commanding a large sale and taking 
the place of the more expensive forms. 

LACHINE (la-shen'), a town of Quebec, in 
Jacques Cartier County, eight miles southwest of 
Montreal, on Lake Saint Louis. It is on the 
Grand Trunk Railway and is popular as a sum¬ 
mer residence for citizens of Montreal, with 
which it is connected by the Lachine Canal. 
This canal is maintained to avoid the Lachine 
Rapids on the Saint Lawrence. Extensive elec¬ 
tric power works are maintained to supply 
Montreal. The chief buildings include several 
fine schools and churches. Lachine was settled 
and so named about 1669. Population, 1901, 
5,561. 

LACHLAN (lok'lan), a river of New 
South Wales, Australia. It rises in the Blue 
Mountains and has a length of 700 miles. Near 
Oxley it joins the Murrumbidgee, belonging to 
the Murray River system. A large part of the 
course is through a treeless plain, where it be¬ 
comes almost dry during the dry season. 

LACHRYMAL GLAND (lak'ri-mal), a 
small almond-shaped body located in a depres¬ 
sion in the upper and outer angle of the eye, be¬ 
tween the bone and the eyeball. Its ducts, which 
secrete the tears, number from six to twelve 
and open on the inner surface of the upper eye¬ 
lid, near the outer angle. The liquid is spread 
over the eye by the upper lid and passes to the 
inner angle of each eye, where it enters a small 
opening called the puncta lachrymalis. This is 
the commencement of the tear-canal. The short 
canals of the upper and lower lids meet in the 
nasal sack, from which the nasal duct conducts 
the tears to the lower part of the nose. The 
diseases which affect the lachrymal organs in¬ 


clude an excessive secretion of tears, obstruction 
to their escape in the nose, and growths that 
affect the lachrymal glands. 

LACKAWANNA (lak-a-won'na), a river of 
Pennsylvania, rises in Susquehanna County, and 
after a course of forty miles joins the Susque¬ 
hanna near Pittston. The valley and basin of 
the Lackawanna River are productive coal fields 
and produce about one-half the anthracite coal 
obtained in the United States. Scranton, the 
largest city on its banks, is noted for its large 
factories and blast furnaces. 

LA COLLE, a town of Quebec, in Saint 
John County, on the Grand Trunk Railway. It 
was the scene of an engagement on March 30, 
1814, between a British force under Colonel 
Handcock and an American army under Gen¬ 
eral Wilkinson. The British had a small gar¬ 
rison of 350 men, but they were reinforced dur¬ 
ing the battle by about 800, and the Americans 
made the assault with about 5,000. After two 
hours the Americans withdrew, and the project 
of clearing the way to Montreal was abandoned. 
General Wilkinson was relieved from command 
and tried by court-martial, but was acquitted. 

LACONIA (la-ko'm-a), a city and the coun¬ 
ty seat of Belknap County, New Hampshire, 
about 25 miles north of Concord, on Lake Win- 
nisquam. It is on the Winnepesaukee River and 
the Boston and Maine Railroad. The chief 
buildings include the public library, the hospital, 
the opera house, the courthouse, and several 
public schools. It has manufactures of hosiery, 
machinery, railroad cars, woolen goods, and 
hardware. Electric lights, waterworks, and 
street railways are among the improvements. 
Laconia was settled about 1780 and incorporated 
in 1852. Population, 1900,8,042; in 1910,10,183. 

LACQUER (lak'er), a varnish composed of 
shellac dissolved in alcohol and colored with 
various substances, such as saffron, gamboge, 
and annotto. It serves as a protection from 
rust and improves the color of metals, especially 
brass, tin plate, and iron. Lacquer also is ap¬ 
plied to wood and papier-mache for the purpose 
of giving improvement in color. The lacquer 
ware manufactured by the Japanese and Chinese 
is varnished by a product made from the juice 
of a species of sumac, called the varnish tree, 
which is native to that region of Asia. Vermil¬ 
ion is used in mixing this varnish for the pur¬ 
pose of making a reddish color, and different 
hues are secured by various other substances. 
The lacquer made from the sumac not only gives 
a firm surface, but is able to withstand consider¬ 
able heat without damage, and it is due to this 
property that the lacquered vessels from those 
countries may be used to contain hot drinks and 


LA CROSSE 


1200 


LADRONES 


soups. Lacquering among the Japanese is an 
ancient art and many of their designs are of 
much value, especially the specimens that were 
made by them in former centuries. Their silver 
and gold lacquer ware is among the finest now 
produced. 

LA CROSSE (la-kros'), a city in Wisconsin, 
county seat of La Crosse County, at the junction 
of the La Crosse and Mississippi rivers. It is 
on the Chicago and Northwestern, the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy, the Chicago, Milwaukee 
and Saint Paul, and other railroads. The sur¬ 
rounding country is agricultural and has ex¬ 
tensive forests of hard-wood timber. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are the public library, 
the Federal building, the courthouse, the city 
hall, and the high school. It has an asylum for 
the insane, a marine hospital, and two fine parks. 
The manufactures include woodenware, flour, 
farming machinery, cigars, spirituous beverages, 
clothing, ironware, and lumber. The trade in 
grain and lumber is extensive. It has systems 
of waterworks, sewerage, and street pavements. 
The first settlement was made in 1841 and it was 
incorporated in 1856. Population, 1910, 30,417. 

LACROSSE (la-kros'), a game at ball which 
was originated among the Indians of North 
America. It is played similarly to football, dif¬ 
fering from the latter in that the players en¬ 
deavor to carry or throw the ball to their op¬ 
ponents’ goal on a peculiar bat called crosse. 
The bat consists of a long staff, covered at the 
end, and has a network which reaches about 
halfway, becoming narrower as it approaches the 
hand. In lacrosse, as played at present, the 
crosse is five or six feet long and the widest 
part does not exceed one foot. The field is 125 
yards long, at each end of which are two goals, 
which are surrounded by lines called the crease, 
drawn six feet outside the posts. Each of the 
two sides has twelve players. In 1867 the Na¬ 
tional Lacrosse Association of Canada was or¬ 
ganized and the game has been steadily gaining 
in popularity. It is now classed among the in¬ 
ternational games. 

LACTEALS (lak'te-alz), the fine• lymphatic 
tubes that take up fat from the intestines, so 
named in 1622 from their discoverer, Gasparo 
Aselli (1580-1626). They commence in the in¬ 
testines, enter the mesenteric glands, and later 
unite to form large tubes, which terminate in 
the thoracic duct. During digestion they can be 
seen as milky lines across the mesentery. After 
a full meal, the}'' convey a fluid which is milky 
in appearance, called chyle, and during intervals 
of fasting convey a yellowish lymph. 

LACTIC ACID (lak'tik), a product of the 
decomposition of sugar in solution, induced by 


the presence of certain albuminous ferments. 
It is formed in milk when it turns sour, hence 
is found in buttermilk. The change of sweet 
to sour milk is called the lactic fermentation, 
and lactic acid is a product of this change. 
Scheele originally discovered this acid in sour 
milk, whence he named it lactic, but it is also 
obtained from the juices of many vegetables and 
from the fluids of the stomach and flesh of ani¬ 
mals. The salts formed by this acid with bases 
are called lactates. The only one of importance 
is the lactate of iron, which is employed exten¬ 
sively as a tonic and a stimulant. 

LACTOMETER (lak-tonTg-ter), or Galac- 
tometer, an instrument to ascertain the com¬ 
parative specific gravity and value of different 
samples of milk, it is a special form of the hy¬ 
drometer, but a variety of these instruments 
has been originated. The one in common use 
consists of a glass tube, about twelve inches 
long, and is graduated into one hundred parts. 
The instrument is filled with fresh milk, and, 
after the cream has been fully separated by 
churning, the value is determined according to 
the graduated scale, depending upon the space 
occupied by the cream. 

LADOGA (la'do-ga), an extensive lake of 
northern Russia, situated northeast of Saint 
Petersburg. It is the largest inland lake of Eu¬ 
rope. The length is 128 miles; breadth, 78 
miles; and area, 7,115 square miles. Into it flow 
the waters from Lakes Ilmen, Onega, and Sai- 
ma. It contains a number of rocky islands, the 
most important being Konevetz and Valaam, the 
two having an area of about 215 square miles. 
The lake is important on account of its fisheries, 
navigation facilities, and connection bf several 
canals. Its discharge is by the Neva River into 
the Gulf of Finland. 

LADRONES (la-dronz'), or Mariana Is¬ 
lands, a group of islands situated in the Pacific 
Ocean, east of the Philippines and north of the 
Carolines. The group includes sixteen separate 
islands, of which Rota, Tinian, Saipan, and 
.Guam are the most important. The area of the en¬ 
tire group is 418 square miles. They were dis¬ 
covered by Magellan in 1521 and were in the 
possession of Spain up to 1898, when Guam was 
ceded to the* United States and the remainder 
of the Ladrones, together with the Caroline 
and Pelew groups, were sold to Germany in 1899 
for $4,875,000. At the time of their discovery 
they had a population of 60,000. However, at 
present the entire population is only about 
10,500, of which the principal portion is on the 
island of Guam. The inhabitants were original¬ 
ly Chamorros, but are now constituted largely of 
Tagalas. The latter are allied to the'Tagals who 



LADYBIRD 


1201 


LAGOS 


constitute the chief inhabitants of Luzon. Prop¬ 
erly the Ladrone Islands are divided into two 
groups, the northern of which is actively vol¬ 
canic, while the southern group contains a great¬ 
er area of fertile soil, though both have timber 
and tillable land. Agriculture and commerce 
are the principal industries, but neither is im¬ 
portant. The climate is cooler than that of the 
Philippines and is quite healthful. 

LADYBIRD, a class of small insects or 
beetles found commonly on plants and trees. 
They are noted for their various colors, such as 
yellow, red, and black and white variegated. 
The body is spherical and flat at the lower sur¬ 
face, and the legs and head are small. All of 
the many species are of utility in destroying 
plant lice. The eggs are laid on the under side 
of leaves. While both the larvae and the adults 
feed on plant lice, they also deprive vegetation 
of some of its juices. 

LADYSMITH (la'di-smith), a town of 
South Africa, in Natal, eighty miles northwest 
of Pietermaritzburg. It is important as a rail¬ 
way junction, being on lines that enter the 
Transvaal and Orange River colonies, and has a 
growing trade in live stock, cereals, and mer¬ 
chandise. The British made it a depot for mili¬ 
tary stores and supplies prior to the Anglo-Boer 
War. General White was besieged here from 

November, 

1899, until 
Feb. 28, 

1900, when 
he was re- 
1 i e v e d by 
Lord Dun- 
donald. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1908, 
3,150. 

LADY’S 
SLIPPER, 

a genus o f 
beautiful or¬ 
chids native 
to the north¬ 
ern latitudes. 
Ten species 
are found in 
North America. The pink lady’s slipper and the 
showy lady’s slipper are well known, the- latter 
being about two feet high. The roots of the 
yellow lady’s slipper yield medicine of value in 
cases of nervous affection. Most species bear 
beautiful flowers, which have a lip about two 
inches long, this being beautifully veined with 
rose purple. 

LAFAYETTE (la-fa-et'), a city in Indiana, 
countv seat of Tippecanoe County, on the Wa- 

76 






bash River, sixty miles northwest of Indianap¬ 
olis. It is on the Wabash, the Cleveland, Cin¬ 
cinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis, and other 
railroads. The surrounding country is agricul¬ 
tural and dairying. Among the chief buildings 
are the county courthouse, the public library, the 
high school, the Saint Elizabeth Hospital, and 
Purdue University. It has well-paved streets, 
electric street railways, gas and electric lights, 
and systems of sewerage and waterworks. The 
manufactures embrace carpets, safes, knit goods, 
flour, carriages, machinery, bicycles, and cooper 
products. Lafayette has an important jobbing 
trade and is a grain and live-stock market. It is 
located on the site of an old fort which was 
built by the French in 1720 and surrendered to 
the British in 1760. The first permanent settle¬ 
ment was made in 1820, when it was named in 
honor of General Lafayette, and was incorpor¬ 
ated in 1854. Population, 1910, 20,081., 

LAFAYETTE COLLEGE, an educational 
institution at Easton, Pa. It was chartered in 
1826 and formally opened in 1832. In 1850 it 
passed under the control of the Presbyterian 
church. The departments include those of sci¬ 
ence, chemistry, language, philosophy, art, and 
engineering. It has a library of 30,000 volumes 
and property valued at $1,250,000. The attend¬ 
ance averages 450 students. 

LAGOON (la-goon'); a shallow lake con¬ 
nected with the sea or a river. Lagoons are of 
frequent occurrence, especially in Italy, Hol¬ 
land, and South America. In the summer time 
they frequently dry up or become stagnant pools. 
The term is applied to small ponds in some sec¬ 
tions of the country, though chiefly in the west¬ 
ern part of the United States. 

LAGOS (la'gos), a city of Mexico, in the 
state of Jalisco, connected with the capital by 
the Mexican Central Railroad. The surrounding 
country contains extensive deposits of iron ore 
and opal. It has a large jobbing trade and ex¬ 
tensive interests in smelting. In 18i7 it was the 
scene of a battle between the Mexicans and 
Spaniards. Population, 1906, 14,048. 

LAGOS, a British possession on the western 
coast of Africa, about 150 miles east of the Gold 
Coast and near the Bay of Benin. The colony 
has an area of 3,460 square miles, but to it is at¬ 
tached a protectorate of 28,350 square miles. 
Lagos, the chief town, is situated on an island 
of the same name, which has an area of about 
four square miles. It has exports of cotton, 
gum, palm kernels, and copal, and imports of 
tobacco, hardware, cotton goods, and machinery. 
The district was acquired by Great Britain in 
1861, when it was governed from the Gold Coast, 
but an independent government was established 



LA GUAYRA 


1202 


LAKE DWELLINGS 


for it in 1886. In 1901 it was made a colony. 
Population, 1906, 2,500,000. 

LA GUAYRA (la gwi'ra), a city of Vene¬ 
zuela, the principal seaport of that country, five 
miles from Caracas. It is situated on a narrow 
strip of land along the coast and is important 
for its harbor and railway connections. Among 
the structures of interest are two hospitals, a 
cathedral, and a statue of Vargas, a physician 
and native of La Guayra. The trade consists 
chiefly in coffee, hides, cocoa, and live stock. It 
was founded in 1588 and was blockaded by an 
English and German fleet in 1903, pending the 
adjustment of some claims against the govern¬ 
ment of Venezuela. Population, 1907, 9,125. 

LAHORE (la-hor'), a city of India, capital 
of the Punjab, on the Ravi River. It is con¬ 
nected by important railroads with many other 
trade emporiums. The older part of the city 
includes 640 acres and is surrounded by brick 
walls sixteen feet high. The walls are pierced 
by thirteen gates. Outside of these walls are 
the newer parts of the city. The streets in the 
older part are tortuous, narrow, and poorly 
graded. It has few modern improvements. 
Among the principal buildings are the fort, 
which occupies a prominent position, and the 
Punjab University, one of the most noted edu¬ 
cational institutions of India. Other institutions 
are the Law School, Oriental College, Mayo 
Hospital, Medical School, and Roberts Institute. 
The Mongol Empire had its seat of government 
at Lahore, beginning with 1524, and during 
that period the city attained its greatest prosper¬ 
ity. It became the capital of the Sikhs in 1799, 
and in 1849 was made the capital of the Punjab. 
The inhabitants consist largely of Mohamme¬ 
dans, who maintain many fine mosques and sev¬ 
eral seminaries. It has an extensive trade in 
live stock, cereals, and manufactures. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 205,694. 

LAKE, a sheet or body of water wholly sur¬ 
rounded by land, differing from a pond or la¬ 
goon in being deeper and larger. Lakes are very 
numerous in large bodies of land where rainfall 
is considerable, as in the equatorial region of 
Africa, the northern part of the United States, 
and the central part of Canada. The greater 
number of lakes receive and discharge streams 
of water, hence the water retained within their 
depressions is fresh. In many warm and dry re¬ 
gions the lakes have no visible outlet, hence the 
water is saline or salty, such as the Caspian Sea 
and the Great Salt Lake. Some lakes are fed 
almost entirely by springs. This class receive 
no inflow from streams and the outflow, though 
constant in most cases, is not materially large. 
Some small lakes receive no inflow and have no 


outlet, the rainfall within the basin being prac¬ 
tically equal to the evaporation. Lakes are im¬ 
portant in that they supply a water surface for 
evaporation, thus affecting the rainfall. Some 
are highly valuable in their fisheries and as ave¬ 
nues for transportation. 

LAKE CHARLES, a city in Louisiana, cap¬ 
ital of Calcasieu Parish, on the Calcasieu River. 
It is on the Kansas City Southern, the Southern 
Pacific, and other railroads, and is surrounded 
by a fertile cereal and fruit-growing region. 
The city has a fine site on Lake‘Charles and is 
popular as a winter residence for people from 
the North. Among the noteworthy buildings are 
the Carnegie library, the county courthouse, the 
high school, and Arcadia College. It has manu¬ 
factures of sugar, cigars, railroad cars, lumber 
products, and machinery. The city has electric 
lights, waterworks, and finely paved streets. It 
was settled in 1850 and incorporated in 1860. 
Population, 1900, 6,680; in 1910, 11,449. 

LAKE CITY, a town of Florida, county seat 
of Columbia County, sixty miles west of Jack- , 
sonville. It is on the Seaboard Air Line, the 
Atlantic Coast Line, and other railroads, and is 
surrounded by a cotton-growing district. The 
manufactures include turpentine, cigars, phos¬ 
phates, and lumber products. It is the seat of 
the State Agricultural College, has electric light¬ 
ing, and contains several fine school and church 
buildings. In 1901 it received a new charter as 
a city. Population, 1905, 6,509; in 1910, 5,032. 

LAKE DISTRICT, a region of England, 
embracing a portion of Cumberland, Westmore¬ 
land, and Lancaster counties, in which sixteen 
small lakes are situated. The region is a favor¬ 
ite resort for tourists, and hag suggested many 
poetical gems to different writers of eminence. 
Coleridge, Southey, and Wordsworth, besides 
many others, took up their residence in the Lake 
Region, and became known as the “Lake School 
Poets,” a name suggested by the Edinburgh Re¬ 
view. 

LAKE DWELLINGS, the habitations built 
by ancient peoples on small artificial islands in 
lakes, or on piles in the shallow margins of 
lakes. These dwellings were mentioned by He¬ 
rodotus, who described a Thracian tribe living 
in the year 520 b. c., in a small mountain lake 
of what now is jpcluded in Rumelia. The cus¬ 
tom of constructing buildings of this character 
prevailed in Europe through many centuries. 
Among the best evidences of such structures are 
those found in Switzerland in 1854, which form 
the theme of a historic work by Dr. Keller, of 
Zurich, entitled “Lake Dwellings of Switzerland 
and Other Parts of Europe.” Remains- of this 
kind have been found in many lakes of Switzer- 








LAKE MALAR 


1203 


LAMENTATIONS 


land, but particularly in Lake Zurich, when the 
waters of that body materially receded during a 
drought. Similar remains of lake dwellings were 
discovered in Ireland in 1839, and, like those of 
Switzerland, contained specimens of earthen¬ 
ware, weapons of bronze, hatchets, ornaments of 
bone and minerals, implements of war, and coins 
containing Roman and Gaulish impressions. 

The lake dwellings belong most commonly to 
the .iron age, many of the shields, bridle bits, 
and implements found being made of iron. The 
dwellings described by Herodotus were ap¬ 
proached by a narrow bridge and in the floor of 
each dwelling was a trapdoor whereby fishing 
from the domicile was facilitated. It is asserted 
that the fish were lured by feeding. Many of 
the remains throw light on prehistoric man and 
give evidence that pile buildings were used ex¬ 
tensively for many centuries It is noteworthy 
that lake dwellings still exist among barbarous 
tribes, being found in portions of the Caroline 
Islands, the Malay Archipelago, and New Zeal- 
land. In Lake Maracaybo, Venezuela, and in 
various parts of Russia lake dwellings are occu¬ 
pied by semicivilized people. Others occur in 
Central Africa, where they are occupied for 
convenience in fishing and as a means of de¬ 
fense against wild animals and savages. 

LAKE MALAR (ma'lar), or Maelar, the 
largest lake of Sweden, situated immediately 
west of Stockholm. It is seventy miles long 
and from two to twenty miles wide. The sur¬ 
face is nearly level with the Baltic Sea, into 
which it discharges by several channels. It is 
noted for its navigation facilities and fisheries. 
Many castles adorn its shores. It contains about 
1,200 islands, most of which are wooded. 

LAKE OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS, 
the name applied to an expansion of the Saint 
Lawrence River, extending from Lake Ontario 
about forty miles down the river. It contains 
about 1,750 islands. Wolf Island is the largest, 
being about twenty miles long and seven miles 
wide. 

LAKE OF THE WOODS, a lake of North 
America, bounded by Minnesota, Manitoba, and 
Ontario, 190 miles northwest ,of Lake Superior. 
It contains a number of wooded islands, is about 
65 miles long, and receives the water of Rainy 
River. The outlet is through the Winnipeg 
River, by which it is connected with Lake Winni¬ 
peg. 

LAKES, The Great, five great fresh-water 
bodies of North America. They include lakes 
Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario, 
of which the first named is the largest fresh¬ 
water lake in the world. The five lakes are con¬ 
nected with each other, the overflow being dis¬ 


charged naturally by- the Saint Lawrence River 
into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. However, a 
portion of the outflow is now carried to the 
Mississippi through the Chicago Drainage Canal. 
Lake Michigan is wh’oljy within the United 
States., and the other four form a portion of the 
natural boundary between that country and Can¬ 
ada. These lakes are of vast importance in the 
commerce of the two countries and are valuable 
for their fisheries. Chicago, the largest inland 
city of the world, is at the head of Lake Michi¬ 
gan. Other large cities on their shores include 
Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Duluth, Milwaukee, 
Toledo, and Toronto. Following is a compara¬ 
tive table relative to size and elevation: 


NAME. 

AREA, 

SQUARE MIEES. 

ELEVATION 
ABOVE SEA LEVEE 

Ontario. 

7,240 

247 

Erie. 

9,600 

573 

Michigan. 

22,450 

581 

Huron. 

21,000 

578 

Superior. 

31,200 

602 


LAMAISM (la'ma-iz’m), the prevailing re¬ 
ligion of Tibet and Mongolia, constituting a 
branch of Buddhism. It is so named from the 
lamas or priests, and was introduced in Tibet 
about the 7th century a. d. Buddha, who is con¬ 
sidered the founder and the highest among the 
saints, is the chief object of worship. Lamaism 
is partly political, especially in Tibet, where the 
religious system is united with the temporal sov¬ 
ereignty of the country. Though the political 
authority is confined to Tibet itself, the chief 
official of the church, known as the Dalai Lama , 
is the acknowledged head of Lamaism. Adher¬ 
ents to this, faith are quite numerous in Japan, 
China, and various parts of India. See Bud¬ 
dhism. 

LAMBAYEQUE (lam-ba-ya'ka), a town in 
Peru, capital of the department of Lambayeque, 
six 'miles from the Pacific Ocean. It is sur¬ 
rounded by an agricultural country and has a 
considerable trade in tobacco, sugar, and cereals. 
The manufactures include clothing, boots and 
shoes, and cotton and woolen textiles. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 8,140. 

LAMBERTVILLE, a city of New Jersey, in 
Hunterdon County, on the Delaware River, fif¬ 
teen miles northwest of Trenton. It is on the 
Delaware and Raritan Canal and the Pennsyl¬ 
vania Railroad, and is connected by a bridge 
with Newhope, Pa. The manufactures include 
paper, rubber goods, flour, hardware, and ma¬ 
chinery. It has electric lighting, waterworks, 
and a public library. The place was first incor¬ 
porated in 1849. Population, 1905, 5,016. 

LAMENTATIONS (lam-en-ta'shunz), 
Book of, a book of the Old Testament, written 













LAMMERGEIER 


1204 


LAMPBLACK 


by the prophet Jeremiah. -It treats of the de¬ 
struction of Jerusalem, which it laments with 
much feeling, especially because the catastrophe 
was brought on by the sins of the Hebrews. The 
style of writing is poetic and the first five chap¬ 
ters are arranged in verses to correspond to the 
letters in the Hebrew alphabet, which circum¬ 
stance has led some critics to believe that the 
fifth and last chapter may have been written by 
some contemporary of Jeremiah, instead of by 
the prophet himself. 


LAMMERGEIER (lam'mer-gl-er), mean¬ 
ing, in German, lamb vulture, the largest bird of 
prey native to Europe. The nativity of this vul- 



LA M MERGEIER. 


ture is in the lofty mountains of the southern 
part of Europe and Asia and the northern part 
of Africa. It forms a connecting link between 
the true vultures and eagles, measures ten feet 
between extended wings, and is from four to 
five feet long from the beak to the tail. The 
lammergeier feeds on both carrion and living 
prey, including such animals as kids, lambs, 


chamois, and hares, which it carries to great 
heights in the mountains. It utilizes the bones 
of animals. as a food by dropping them upon 
rocks from vast elevations, thereby breaking 
them into pieces suitable to be swallowed. 

LAMP, a device employed for producing arti¬ 
ficial light. The term is applied to vessels con¬ 
taining an inflammable liquid and a wick through 
which the liquid ascends by capillary attraction 
to feed the flame at the top, and likewise to any 
other contrivance for producing artificial light. 

In early times lamps were vessels of rude pot¬ 
tery or even the shells or skulls of animals, but 
later they were made of metal, glass, or porce¬ 
lain, and became articles of ornament as well as 
utility. The substances used to produce light 
included fish oils and animal fats, but later 
vegetable oils, such as rape, were introduced. 
The flat wick was invented in 1783 and the round 
wick in 1784, the latter being known as the Ar- 
gand wick from its inventor, Aime Argand 
(1755-1803), a Swiss chemist. 

The discovery of mineral oils and their prep¬ 
aration in the form of gasoline, kerosene, paraf¬ 
fin, petroleum, and crystal oil made it necessary 
to introduce oxygen into the burner in order 
that the carbon contents might be consumed 
properly. A lamp supplying this requirement was 
first made by the inventor Stob Wasser in Ber¬ 
lin, Germany, and the chimney of mica, porce¬ 
lain, or glass was constructed to increase the 
draught and protect tlie^ flame of the lamp. This 
arrangement causes a powerful draught to be 
created, by which the flame is kept uniform, and 
there is a constant consumption of the gas that 
generates from the oil being heated. At present 
there are many kinds of lamps, including those 
known as gas, oil, and safety lamps and lanterns. 
Many lamps have come into use for electric 
lighting, such as the arc, flaming arc, and in¬ 
candescent lamps. The wicks used in oil lamps 
are either sin'gle flat wicks, round wicks, or dou¬ 
ble wicks. Lanterns are either portable or fixed. 
They are used chiefly for lighting outdoors. 

LAMPBLACK, the soot or carbon deposit 
obtained by the imperfect combustion of petro¬ 
leum, tar, resin, and other substances containing • 
carbon. In burning the substances for lampblack 0 
it is necessary to shut out the free flow of oxy¬ 
gen, when the flame becomes smoky and the soot 
may be accumulated on suspended surfaces. 
Lampblack is useful in the manufacture of print¬ 
ing inks, shoe blacking, and paint. The effect of 
it is to produce the various shades of brown or 
black. In preparing lampblack for printing it is ' 
commonly mixed with linseed oil. It is prepared 
for use in painting by adding linseed oil and 
white lead. 




































LAMPREY 


1205 


LAN-CHOW 


LAMPREY (lam'pry), a genus of animals 
which occupy a place between the eel and fish, 
differing from the true fish in that they do not 
possess scales, paired fins, or jaws. In appear¬ 
ance they are eel-like, attain a length of nearly 
three feet, and have a mouth in the form of a 
sucker. Most species have a greenish-brown 
color. They inhabit both fresh and salt water 
bodies, occurring in the North and South Tem¬ 
perate zones, and feed on larvae and worms. 
They frequently attach themselves by the mouth 
to other fish to suck the blood. The fresh-wa¬ 
ter lamprey is smaller than the marine, but both 
have been used as food for many centuries, and 
are caught by traps baited with flesh or worms. 

LANCASTER (lan'kas-ter), a city of Eng¬ 
land, capital of Lancashire, 45 miles northeast 
of Liverpool. It has a fine location on the Lune 
River and is connected by railway with Glasson 
Dock, its port five miles southwest. The man¬ 
ufactures include pottery, ironware, leather, cot¬ 
ton and woolen textiles, and clothing. It has a 
large market, slaughterhouses, public baths, elec¬ 
tric lighting, and several technical schools. King 
John granted the first charter to Lancaster in 
1193. Population, 1907, 43,308. 

LANCASTER, a city in Ohio, county seat 
of Fairfield County, on the Hocking River and 
the Hocking Canal, thirty miles southeast of 
Columbus. It is on the Hocking Valley and the 
Cincinnati Valley railroads. The surrounding 
country is agricultural and produces coal and 
natural gas. Among the chief buildings are the 
county courthouse, the high school, the city hall, 
and the State industrial school for boys. The 
manufactured products embrace flour, woolen 
J 1 goods, shoes, agricultural implements, and ma¬ 
il chinery. The place was settled in 1800 and in- 
' corporated in 1831. It is the birthplace of Gen- 

I eral Sherman and John Sherman. Population, 
1900, 8,991; in 1910, 13,093. 

LANCASTER, a city in Pennsylvania, coun¬ 
ty seat of Lancaster County, on the Conestoga 
River, 35 miles southeast of Harrisburg. It is 
on the Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia and 
Reading railroads and has a network of elec¬ 
tric railway lines. Besides other educational in¬ 
stitutions, it contains Franklin and Marshall 
College, an institution for the higher education 
of men controlled by the German Reformed 
Church. This institution has a fine faculty of 
instructors, 400 students, and a library of 34,000 
volumes. The noteworthy buildings include the 
county courthouse, a State normal school (at 
Millersville), the public library, the Saint Jo¬ 
seph’s Hospital, the Stevens’s Home, and many 
schools and churches. It has manufactures of 
paper, machinery, spirituous liquors, cotton and 



woolen goods, leather, ironware, and caramel 
products. It was settled in 1718, when it was 
known as Hickory Town, and was incorporated 
in 1742. The Continental Congress met at Lan¬ 
caster in 1777, while the British were occupying 
Philadelphia, and it \yas the capital of the State 
from 1779 to 1812. Population, 1910, 47,227. 

LANCASTER, House of, a dynasty founded 
in England in the reign of Edward III. Blanche, 
daughter of Edward III., married John of 
Gaunt, and a royal charter settled the duchy up¬ 
on him and his heirs. Henry IV., son of John 
of Gaunt, born in 1367, was the first king of the 
house of Lancaster. His son, Henry V., suc¬ 
ceeded him on April 10, 1413, and with the death 
of Henry VI., son of Henry V., ended the dy¬ 
nasty, which occurred May 22, 1471, though 
Henry VI. reigned only until 1461. See Eng¬ 
land. 

LANCASTER SOUND, a channel of North 
America, located between North Devon and 
Cockburn Island. It connects Baffin Bay with 
Barrow Strait. This channel was discovered by 
Baffin in 1616. It is about 65 miles wide and 
248 miles long. 

LANCE, a weapon for thrusting, desinged to 
be used in the hand. It was used extensively by 
the knights of the Middle Ages, who employed 
it only when mounted, some of these weapons 
being twenty feet long. The modern lance is 
shorter, usually from ten to twelve feet, but the 
blade of steel, which is fitted on a handle of hol¬ 
low steel or tough wood, is not more than a foot 
in length. Napoleon maintained several regi¬ 
ments of lancers, but the Russian Cossacks have 
the highest reputation for using this weapon, 
although it is now replaced in part by the saber. 
The German Uhlans carry the lance in addition 
to the carbine and saber. The use of modern 
firearms has displaced the lance to a large ex¬ 
tent. 

LANCELET (lans'let), a peculiar fish found 
in the temperate and tropical seas. The body is 
lance-shaped, slender, compressed, and transpar¬ 
ent.. It has no true jaws or skull, has colorless 
blood, and moves with considerable activity. 
Breathing takes place by admitting water through 
the mouth. The common lancelet is about two 
inches long. Six distinct species have been stud¬ 
ied, including the wolf fish and the handsaw fish 
of the Pacific. 

LAN-CHOW (lan-chou'), or Lanchau, a 
city of China, capital of the province of Kan-su, 
on the Hoang-ho River. The streets are well 
paved, but the buildings are chiefly of adobe 
brick and wood. Among the manufactures are 
gunpowder, fireworks, and camel’s-hair goods. 
It has considerable trade in grain, tea, vegeta- 






LAND CRAB 


1206 


LANDSTURM 


bles, and silk textiles. Its commercial advan¬ 
tages are due to transportation on the Hoang- 
ho River and its location at the converging 
routes of trade with Tibet and Turkestan. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1908, 500,000. 

LAND CRAB, the name of many species of 
crabs that live on the land after they reach a ma¬ 
ture state. The species are very numerous, but 
all of them are native to the warm countries. 
They are gilled animals, but breath air in the 
adult stage. In general respects they resemble 
the aquatic crabs. Their food consists largely of 
the tender parts of plants. In some localities 
they do injury to cultivated plants, especially 
sugar cane. The natives of the West Indies con¬ 
sider the mountain crab, which lives largely in 
the woods and hills, a good article of food 
Land crabs are abundant in Ceylon, many parts 
of India, and the West Indies. 

LANDGRAVE (land'grav), or Landgraf, 
the title assumed by certain officers of Germany 
in the 12th century. It was frequently used in 
the simple form of graf. Sometimes it was pre¬ 
ceded by certain words to indicate rank, such as 
markgraf, burggraf, and landgraf, meaning, re¬ 
spectively, marquis, burgrave, and landgrave. 
The whole empire of Charles the Great was di¬ 
vided into graf districts or counties, each pre¬ 
sided over by a graf. Some of the princes like¬ 
wise assumed the title at an early date, such as 
the landgraves of Thuringia and Lower Alsace. 

LAND LEAGUE, an organization formed 
by Michael Davitt under a plan formulated by 
Parnell in 1879 by which land in Ireland was to 
be purchased for the Irish tenants. Funds for 
this purpose were subscribed largely in America, 
but the movement was suppressed in 1881. Sub¬ 
sequently the National League, a political and 
agrarian organization, was formed for the pur¬ 
pose of bettering the condition of Irish tenants 
and advocating home rule for Ireland. The 
measures advocated by this organization were 
at least in part met by the Land Purchase Act 
of 1903, as amended in 1905 and 1907, under 
which many holdings were purchased by the ac¬ 
tual occupants. 

LANDSCAPE, a tract of country, so called 
with reference to its appearance to the eye from 
some point of vantage. The term likewise has 
reference to what may be seen of nature in gen¬ 
eral, including the country with its groves and 
streams, as viewed in connection with a portion 
of the sky. In painting the term is applied to a 
picture that represents natural scenery, which 
may or may not include men and animals, though 
if any animate objects are shown they must 
appear as subsidiary. Landscape painting is 
comparatively more recent than that of figure 


subjects, though a celebrated school of this class 
became renowned in China as early as the 12th 
century a. d. The development of this kind of 
painting did not gain importance in Europe until 
the 17th century, when Ruysdael and other 
Dutch painters gave the system of painting 
landscapes a notable impetus. Lessing of Ger¬ 
many and Innes of the United States are rep¬ 
resentatives of distinct schools of landscape 
painting, the former of the so-called Diisseldorf 
School and the latter of the Hudson River 
School. 

LANDSCAPE GARDENING, the art of 

laying out grounds so as to produce pleasing 
effects. It is concerned in arranging drives and 
walks, planting grass and flowers, constructing 
bridges and buildings, and setting shrubs and 
trees that the whole will form a harmonious 
combination and lend beauty to a lawn or park. 
This art has been practiced from times immem- 
orable, and many references are made in his¬ 
tory to the groves and villas provided by the 
ancients. However, landscape gardeners who 
make this work their exclusive business were not 
commonly employed until in the 19th century. 

At present many private lawns and parks, as 
well as public grounds in cities and those sur¬ 
rounding public buildings, are laid out with great 
care. Shrubs and trees are planted with the 
view of giving the most pleasing effects, viewed 
either at close range or from a distance, and 
various water courses, fountains, and artificial 
lakes are introduced. 

LAND’S END, the most southwesterly cape 
of England, directly opposite Scilly Isles. About 
a mile west of Land’s End are the Longships 
Rocks, on which a modern lighthouse is situated. 

LANDSLIDE, or Landslip, the settling 
down of a considerable portion of earth from a 
higher to a lower level, which is frequently the 
cause of damage to* life and property. Land¬ 
slides are caused by the action of water under¬ 
mining the banks, which fall by decay of sup¬ 
porting strata, and sometimes as a result of 
slight earthquake disturbances. In many in¬ 
stances traffic on railroads has been delayed and 
in other cases entire villages were buried. A 
landslip occurred on the Isle of Portland in 
1760, in which a tract equal to an area of a mile : 
and a quarter suddenly spread over the lower j 
level. Other instances include a landslide at j 
Rossberg, Switzerland, in 1806; at Glarus, Swit- ; 
zerland, in 1881; and at Zug, Switzerland, in I 
1887. Another noted landslide occurred in the 
Himalayas at Naini Tal in 1880, when about i 
230 persons were killed. 

LANDSTURM (lant'stoorm), a term applied 
in Germany to the local militia, which is utilized : 









LANDWEHR 


1207 


LANSING 


only in case of actual invasion, and is constitut¬ 
ed of men who are too old for the landwehr. 
This system has been adopted in many countries, 
notably in Austria,'Greece, and Japan. 

LANDWEHR (lant'var), the military force 
of Germany, Austria, and other nations of 
Europe. . It is called out only for occasional 
training in time of peace, but in war it takes its 
place in the regular army of defense and offense. 
The landwehr differs from a militia in that all 
landwehr soldiers have previous military train¬ 
ing. In Germany this system is thoroughly de¬ 
veloped. There the landwehr constitutes a pow¬ 
erful organization, and supplements the regular 
forces without material expense. 

LANGUAGES, the aggregate of those artic¬ 
ulate sounds, called words, that are used to 
express perception and thought, and which are 
accepted by and current' among the different 
communities. At present more than 1,000 dif¬ 
ferent languages are spoken. They are more or 
less closely allied to each other, but differ to 
such an extent that people of different classes 
cannot successfully communicate with each other 
by means of speech. The tongues that are allied, 
but still differing from the principal languages, 
include many thousands. Some ancient writers 
think that language was originally revealed from 
heaven and that the form was Hebrew. These 
writers assume that all other languages origi 
nated from the Hebrew, but others think that 
Hebrew, Chaldee, and Arabic are only dialects 
of the original tongue. 

_ Many scholars, among them Horace, Lucre¬ 
tius, and Cicero, expressed the view that lan¬ 
guage is of human invention, and that the sounds 
and words uttered by the primitive peoples under 
a process of evolution extended into the first 
languages. From the beginning accessions were 
made as education and discovery provided new 
requirements, such as still occur at the discovery 
of every new principle and the invention of new 
devices. This constant addition is exemplified 
in those that resulted after the invention of the 
telephone, telegraph, and improvement in elec¬ 
trical machinery, all of which added hundreds 
- of words to the languages of civilized nations. 
Besides, it is evident that the more advanced 
the educational arts of a people, and the higher, 
their civilization, the greater becomes the need 
for an extensive vocabulary and enlarged lexi¬ 
cons. 

The three general groups of modern languages 
include the Chinese; those derived from the 
Aryan, or Indo-Germanic; and the Semitic. 
The Chinese language has many dialects. Its 
origin is unknown. That it existed for many 
centuries is apparent, being spoken as far back 


as any traces of Chinese history extend, and 
to-day it is the most widely used of all the 
languages. The Aryan, or Indo-Germanic, group 
of languages, is the most important in that it 
embraces the language of the best literature and 
of the most cultured nations of the world. It is 
classed in seven great brafiches: The Hindu or 
Indian, Iranian or Persian, Greek, Italic, Celtic, 
Slavonic, and Germanic. Each of these has many 
subdivisions; thus, the Germanic branch includes 
the German, English, Scandinavian, and Icelan¬ 
dic branches. The German language is an out¬ 
growth of the Old Germanic, when it included 
the Gothic, Lombardic, Saxon, and many other 
dialects. The English language is principally an 
outgrowth of the German, but many words have 
been added from the Latin, French, etc. Be¬ 
sides, many original terms have been incorporat¬ 
ed with it. The Semitic family of languages is 
next in importance to the Aryan group. It em¬ 
braces the Arabic, Syrian, Assyrian, Babylonian, 
and Canaanitish dialects, and includes the more 
important Hebrew and Phoenician. 

It is difficult to give an accurate statement of 
the exact numbei of people speaking the differ¬ 
ent-languages for the reason that in some coun¬ 
tries .the dialects are mixed greatly and are 
changing constantly with various effects. It is 
reasonably certain that the Chinese is spoken 
by 410,000,000 people, while the Japanese is 
spoken by 50,000,000. The principal classes of the 
Aryan or Indo-Germanic group of languages are 
spoken in practically the following order: Hin¬ 
du, 200,000,000; English, 118,000,000; German, 
115,000,000; Russian, 112,000,000; French, 50,- 
000,000; Spanish, 50,000,000; and Italian, 35,- 
000,000. See Aryan. 

LANSING (lan'sing), a city and the capital 
of Michigan, county seat of Ingham County, on 
the Grand River, 88 miles northwest of Detroit. 
It is on the Michigan Central, the Grand Trunk, 
the Pere Marquette, and the Lake Shore and 
Michigan Southern railroads. The noteworthy 
buildings include the State capitol, the county 
courthouse, the high school, the public library, 
the city hall, the Michigan School for the Blind, 
and the State College of Agriculture, the last 
named having 1,200 students and a library of 
35,000 volumes. An abundance of water power 
for manufacturing is obtained from the Grand 
River, which has a fall of eighteen feet. The 
surrounding country produces coal and timber 
and is noted for its fertility. Among the manu¬ 
factures are condensed milk, flour, stoves, wag¬ 
ons, pressed stone, steam engines, and machinery. 

It has extensive systems of waterworks, sewer¬ 
age, pavements, and- electric street railways. 
The place was settled in 1837, became the cap- 





LANSINGBURG 


1208 


LAPIS LAZULI 


ital in 1847, and was incorporated in 1859. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1904,' 20,276; in 1910, 31,229. 

LANSINGBURG, a former village of Rens¬ 
selaer County, New York, on the Hudson River, 
annexed to Troy in 1901. A substantial bridge 
across the Hudson connects it with Cohoes and 
Waterford. It was founded by Abraham J. Lan- 
singh in 1771. Population, 1900, 12,595. 

LANTERN FLY, an insect which is allied 
to the cicadas. The genus includes about twenty 
species, some of which are widely distributed in 
the tropical regions of both hemispheres. Many 
are large and highly colored. Some are remark¬ 
able because of the forehead being formed in the 
semblance of a bag. Most of the species are 
about three inches long and five inches across 
the wings. They move about most commonly 
during sunshine and feed on herbs and grasses. 

LAODICEA (la-od-i-se'a), the name of sev¬ 
eral ancient cities of Asia Minor, the most im¬ 
portant of which was situated near the Lycos 
River in Phrygia. It was founded by Antiochus 
Theos and named after his queen Laodice. As 
a center of philosophy, art, and science it took 
high rank and became the seat of two importani- 
ecclesiastical councils, one in 363 a. d. and the 
other in 476. Its importance in the primitive 
history of Christianity is accounted for by the 
large number of Jews that settled there at the 
beginning of the Christian era. It is now entire¬ 
ly in ruins and is known as Eski-Hissar. 

LAOS (laos), or Laotians, a distinct class 
of Mongolians who occupy the northeastern por¬ 
tion of Siam, regarded the original Siamese 
race. Formerly they constituted a powerful 
kingdom, but in 1828 were conquered by the Si¬ 
amese, and since then have been subject to them. 
The Laos are divided into two main divisions, 
the so-called White Paunch and the Black 
Paunch. The two branches occupy different re¬ 
gions, but they are related more or less closely 
and agree in the support of Buddhism and in 
their semicivilized government. They are peace¬ 
able, industrious, and fond of music. These peo¬ 
ple engage chiefly in fishing, rice and vegetable 
culture, and poultry and stock raising. They 
have schools, temples, and fixed homes. Their 
total number is about 1,500,000. The region oc¬ 
cupied by the Laos, known as Laos, has an area 
of 116,000 square miles. Since 1893 it has been a 
French protectorate. 

LA PAZ (la paz'), a Mexican town and sea¬ 
port, situated in Lower California, capital of the 
state of Baja. The harbor on La Paz Bay is 
commodious. It has a large trade in pearlfish 
and minerals. In its vicinity are extensive stock 
ranches and orchards. Population, 1906, 7,044. 

LA PAZ, a city of Bolivia, capital of a de¬ 


partment of the same name, on the Chuquiaqu 
River. It is thirty miles southeast of Lake Ti¬ 
ticaca, in a fertile valley, and has an elevation of 
11,950 feet above sea level. The city contains 
some excellent buildings, has a public school 
system, and is the seat of a seminary, college, 
medical school, cathedral, and university. It is 
the residence of a bishop and has a number of 
convenfs. It has an extensive trade in alpaca 
wool, tobacco, copper, lumber, gold, and silver. 
The manufactures include textiles, furniture, 
machinery, clothing, and vehicles. The inhabi¬ 
tants consist largely of mixed races and Aymara 
Indians. Population, 1906, 67,235. 

LAPIDARY (lap'i-da-ry), one skilled in the 
art of working in stones, especially precious 
stones. The lapidary art was developed by the 
ancients. Remains of stone implements found in 
cave dwellings and other habitations are among 
the earliest examples of the art. Assyrian work¬ 
men invented the drill for penetrating hard sub¬ 
stances prior to the year 760 b. c. Beautiful 
specimens of seals and engraved rings made by 
the Greeks as early as 600 b. c. attest their ad¬ 
vancement along this line. It is thought that the 
Hindus and Chinese were acquainted with the 
cutting, engraving, and polishing of small stones 
very early in history, but the art was not devel¬ 
oped as it applies to diamond cutting in Europe 
until 1475, when Charles the Bold of Burgundy 
had the first expensive diamond prepared in Eu¬ 
rope. Formerly this class of work was done by 
hand, when it was effected by the powder of a 
harder stone being rubbed against a softer one, 
but subsequently different tools were adapted to 
machine use. The machinery consists of very 
accurate appliances. In the process three stages 
are necessary: cutting or slicing, grinding, and 
polishing. The cutting is done to prepare the 
general outline of the product desired; the 
grinding, to bring it to its proper form and 
shape; and the polishing, to give it a beautiful 
surface finishing. Formerly polishing was done 
by a pewter with stone coating, but at present it 
is effected with a wheel covered with some sub¬ 
stance suitable for polishing, such as walrus 
hide. The kind of tools used depends entirely 
upon the stone to be treated. 

LAPIS LAZULI (lapis laz'u-ll), or Armen¬ 
ian Stone, a rich blue mixture of minerals, of 
which the principal component is lazurite. It 
was employed largely by the ancients for decora¬ 
tive purposes. It occurs principally in crystal¬ 
line limestone in North and South America, 
Thibet, Russia, China, and many other countries. 
When powdered, it constitutes a durable blue 
paint called ultramarine, which was employed 
formerly to some extent, but it has been replaced 



LAPLAND 


1209 


LARAMIE 


by an artificial preparation of similar composi¬ 
tion that is -equal in color and durability, and is 
now used extensively in the arts. Imitations of 
lapis lazuli are made of bone ashes colored with 
oxide of cobalt. 

LAPLAND (lap'land), a. large section of 
Northwestern Europe, the nativity of the Lapps, 
comprising an area of about 95,000 square miles. 
It is bounded on the west by the Atlantic, on 
the north and east by the Arctic, and on the 
south by the White Sea and by about the par¬ 
allel of 66° north latitude. The region belongs 
partly to Russia, Sweden, and Norway. In the 
western portion it is quite mountainous, but in 
the eastern part is a plain with numerous rivers 
and lakes. The two seasons are designated as 
day and night, the night season being nine 
months and extremely cold, while the day season 
is three months of continuous day, of which 
about six weeks are quite warm and pleasant. 
Vegetation consists largely of mosses and small 
timber, including birch, fir, and pine. Few do¬ 
mestic animals are reared, aside from reindeers 
and dogs. Hunting and fishing are the principal 
occupations, though there are some develop¬ 
ments in the culture of reindeer, vegetables, fod¬ 
der, and rude manufacture. The lakes and 
coastal waters are rich in fish, particularly the 
White Sea and lakes Kuto, Kano, Enara, and 
Imandra. 

The Lapps are classed as Turanians, belong¬ 
ing to the Finnic branch. They are small in 
stature, have a flat nose, high cheek bones, and 
a scanty beard. Most of these people are mus¬ 
cular and have red hair. The life of many is 
nomadic in the summer season, when they hunt 
and fish, laying by a portion of the necessary 
supply for winter. Nearly all the Scandinavian. 
Lapps are Lutheran, while those of Russia affil¬ 
iate with the Greek-Church. So far as known 
they were subject to the Norsemen up to the 
12th century, since which time they were con¬ 
quered by and alternately subject to Norway, 
Russia, and Sweden. The nomadic tribes speak 
a variety of dialects. All have shown a marked 
obedience to their government. The total num¬ 
ber of Lapps is 30,408, of which about half are 
in Russia. 

LA PLATA (la pla'ta), a city of Argentina, 
capital of the state of Buenos Ayres, 32 miles 
southeast of the city of Buenos Ayres. It is the 
converging center of several railroads and elec¬ 
tric railways. The streets are regular and well 
paved with brick and stone. Among the note¬ 
worthy buildings are the public library, the capi- 
tol, the courthouse, the union railway station, 
splendid churches, an observatory, a college, and 
a museum. The manufactures embrace cotton 


and woolen goods, machinery, clothing, furni¬ 
ture, ironware, soap, tobacco, leather goods, and 
utensils. A canal connects the city with its har¬ 
bor, Ensenada, on the La Plata River. La 
Plata was founded in 1882 and owes its rapid 
growth to the large trade and various manufac¬ 
turing enterprises. Population, 1906, 81,402. 

LA PLATA, Rio de. See Plata, Rio de la. 

L A P O R T E (la-port'), a city in Indiana, 
county seat of Laporte County, 12 miles from 
Lake Michigan and 58 miles from Chicago, Ill. 
It is on the Pere Marquette, the Lake Erie and 
Western, and the Lake Shore and Michigan 
Southern railroads. The chief buildings include 
the county courthouse, the high school, the pub¬ 
lic library, and a number of fine churches. 
Among the manufactures are flour, carriages, 
engines, woolen goods, cigars, clothing, and ma¬ 
chinery. It has well-graded streets, sewerage, 
and waterworks. The place was settled in 1830 
and incorporated in 1832. Population, 1900, 
7,113; in 1910, 10,525. 

LAPWING (lap'wing), a genus of birds of 
the plover family, native to the temperate parts 
of Asia and Europe. In autumn they move 
southward to spend the winter. They are about 
the size of a pigeon, frequent marshes and wood¬ 
lands, and from their peculiar cry are frequently 
called peewit. Both the birds and their eggs are 
hunted for food, the eggs being laid largely in 
cultivated fields, marshes, and depressions on the 
plains. The length of the common lapwing is 
about twelve inches. The color is variegated, 
but usually brownish-red, and the male has a 
crest of feathers on the head, which is most 
prominent in the winter time. They were named 
lapwing from their habit of luring intruders 
away from # their nest by appearing to be lame. 

LARAMIE (lar'a-me), a river of Wyoming, 
rises in the northern part of Colorado, and after 
a course of about 200 miles toward the north¬ 
east joins the North Platte River at Fort Lara¬ 
mie. The river passes through a country which 
is. rich in minerals. It is not navigable, but is 
utilized for rafting lumber cut in the mountains. 

LARAMIE, a city in Wyoming, county seat 
of Albany County, on the Laramie Plains, at an 
elevation of 7,122 feet above sea level. It is 56 
miles northwest of Cheyenne, on the Union 
Pacific Railroad and on the Laramie River. 
The noteworthy buildings include the county 
courthouse, the State Agricultural College, the 
State University, the State penitentiary, and 
the State fish hatchery. It has electric street 
lighting, a public library, telephone connections, 
and waterworks. Besides extensive railroad and 
machine shops, it has manufactures of flour, so¬ 
da, glass, soap, building stone, machinery leather, 




LARAMIE MOUNTAINS 


1210 


LARK 


and bottled goods. The place was first set¬ 
tled in 1868 and was incorporated as a city in 
1884. Population, 1905, 7,601; in 1910, 8,287. 

LARAMIE MOUNTAINS, a mountain 
range of North America, extending from the 
central part of Wyoming into Colorado. The 
formations are composed largely of carbonifer¬ 
ous, triassic, jurassic, and cretaceous forma¬ 
tions, with fossiliferous deposits in many locali¬ 
ties. Coal is the principal mineral. Laramie 
Peak, 10,000 feet high, is the culminating point. 

LARCENY (lar'se-ny), the taking and re¬ 
moving of personal property belonging to an¬ 
other, with the intent of depriving the owner of 
what belongs to him. The crime of larceny is 
usually divided into two kinds, known as petty 
and grand, though the distinction is abolished in 
some of the states and nations. Where these 
terms are recognized, they are used to designate 
crimes punishable by different penalties. Petty 
larceny is the designation when the value of the 
property stolen is small and the criminal may be 
tried and punished in a lower court. A charge 
of grand larceny is subject to investigation by 
the grand jury and the punishment is imprison¬ 
ment in the penitentiary at hard labor. 

LARCH (larch), a genus of deciduous trees, 
bearing leaves in clusters and having cones. The 
American species are commonly known by the 
name of tamarack, or hackmatack, and are na¬ 
tive to the northern portion of North America, 
particularly in the Allegheny Mountains. Sev¬ 
eral species abound, most of which grow from 
15 to 45 feet high and are valuable for the qual¬ 
ity of their wood. The common larch native to 
Switzerland, Germany, and Italy is noted for 
the durability of its wood, while the golden 
larch of Japan is counted the most beautiful 
tree and attains a height of 125 feet. Many spe¬ 
cies, especially those of Asia, grow to a height 
of 60 feet and thrive fully 250 years. The wood 
is inclined to warp and does not easily decay, 
owing to the resinous properties. Some of the 
species yield bark for tanning and a gummy sub¬ 
stance useful for cement and in medicine. 

LARD, the product obtained from the fat of 
swine by heating to the boiling point and strain¬ 
ing. Lard is composed chiefly of stearine and 
oleine, in proportion of 62 parts oleine to 38 
parts of stearine and palmatine, and is used 
for various purposes in culinary arts. It 
enters largely into the manufacture of soap, 
pomades, and lubricating oil. The enormous 
production of pork in America led to the 
separation of the oleine and stearine, which is 
done by pressure at a low temperature. The 
former is used as lard oil for lubricating ma¬ 
chinery and the latter serves in the manufacture 


of candles. Much of the best quality of lard is 
secured from the fat that surrounds the kidneys, 
from which ointments are prepared. 

LAREDO (la-ra'do), a city in Texas, county 
seat of Webb County, on the Rio Grande, 152 
miles southwest of- San Antonio. It is on the 
Mexican National, the International and Great 
Northern, and other railroads, and is connected 
by several bridges with Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. 
The chief buildings include the courthouse and 
jail, the Laredo Seminary, the Mercy Hospital, 
the Ursuline Academy, and the high school. It 
is the seat of extensive machine shops, is noted 
for its importance as a wool-shipping poinfi and 
within its vicinity are copper, lead, iron, zinc, 
and coal mines. The manufactures include ma¬ 
chinery, earthenware, cigars, and utensils. It has 
modern municipal facilities, including electric 
railways and lights, city sewerage, and water¬ 
works. Laredo was settled by the Spaniards in 
1767 and became incorporated in 1848. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 13,429; in 1910, 14,855. 

LARES AND PENATES (larez, pe-na'- 
tez), in legends, the protecting spirits among the 
ancient Romans, associated with domestic pro¬ 
tection. The Lares came to the Romans from 
the Etruscan religion and the Penates from 
their early ancestors. They were worshiped by 
the Roman people under the form of two youth¬ 
ful warriors, who were in later times identical 
with Castor and Pollux. In many of the homes 
small images of these deities were placed as dec¬ 
orations round the hearth, and in the mansions 
of the rich they occupied separate apartments. 
They were adorned with wreaths on joyful oc¬ 
casions. 

LARK, a genus of birds of song, resembling 
the finches in many respects. This genus in¬ 
cludes many species, various kinds being native 



to all the grand divisions and many islands. 
Among the best known are the meadow lark, 
skylark, wood lark, and shore lark. These birds 
are migratory, passing early in the spring to the 
higher latitudes, where they nest in hollows and 
depressions in the ground. The common char- 







LARKSPUR 


1211 


LATERAN 


acteristics include a forked tongue, a short bill, 
feathers covering the nostrils, and straight hind 
claws. The color is variegated, but is largely 
sandy-brown with marking of black and yellow. 
The song is shrill and quite rare, except in 
flight, the skylark being celebrated for its pro¬ 
longed song of much beauty while on the wing. 
In many European countries larks do damage to 
cereal crops. At that season they are caught in 
nets and sold on the market for their delicate 
flesh. The food consists chiefly of insects, lar¬ 
vae, and seeds. 

LARKSPUR, an annual plant found in the 
Temperate Zone, so-called because the petals are 
spurred. The flowers are prolific, generally 
blue, and many varieties of colors have been de¬ 
veloped by propagation. Among the species are 
the branching larkspur, upright larkspur, and 
rocket larkspur. These species are grown ex¬ 
tensively as garden flowers. 

LARVA (lar'va), a term applied to the first 
stage in the development of insects, in which the 
young, after issuing from the egg, undergo a 
change of form known as metamorphosis. At 
this stage they are very different from the 
adults. The larval stage is so called because the 
form of the young masks or conceals that of the 
adult. It differs from the early stage in ani¬ 
mals whose young are similar in form to the 
parent, the term foetal stage, or fetal state, be¬ 
ing applied in the latter case. The greater part 
of growth in insects is developed during the 
larval state, and the skin is shed from time to 
time as may be required by the enlargement of 
the growing body. The tadpole is the larva of 
the frog; the maggot, of the fly; the zoea, of the 
crab; and the caterpillar, of the moth or butter¬ 
fly. See Beetle. 

LARYNX (lar'inks), the special organ of 
voice, situated at the upper part of the windpipe, 
or trachea, and at the base of the tongue, imme¬ 
diately below the hyoid bone. The larynx forms 
a projection of cartilage, known as Adam’s ap¬ 
ple. It consists of a cartilaginous box, across 
which are stretched folds of mucous membranes. 
These membranes constitute the vocal cords, 
which, by their vibration, due to passing of air 
from the lungs, produce sound. The glottis is a 
cleft or opening between the vocal cords at the 
upper orifice of the larynx, while the epiglottis is 
a leaflike lid upon the back of the tongue, which 
closes the larynx when swallowing. See Voice. 

LASALLE (la-sal'), a city of Lasalle Coun¬ 
ty, Illinois, on the Illinois River, 98 miles south¬ 
west of Chicago. It is on the Illinois and Mich¬ 
igan Canal and on the Illinois Central, the Chi¬ 
cago, Burlington and Quincy, and the Chicago, 
Rock Island and Pacific railroads. The sur¬ 


rounding country is agricultural and dairying 
and contains deposits . of bituminous coal and 
building stone. It has a public library, a fine 
high school, Saint Bede College, waterworks, 
and electric street railways. Among the manu¬ 
factures are glass, hydraulic cement, bottled 
goods, ironware, and machinery. .It has a large 
trade in produce and merchandise. Lasalle was 
settled in 1830, when it was named after La 
Salle, the explorer. Population, 1910, 11,537. 

LAS PALMAS (las pal'mas), the largest 
city of the Canary Islands, on the northeastern 
shore of the island of Gran Canaria, in a fertile 
and productive valley. It has a fine harbor, 
which is fitted for the largest ships. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include the public library, the 
theater, the city hall, an academy of art, and sev¬ 
eral large churches. Among the manufactures 
are hats, wine, glass, clothing, and leather goods. 
It has a large trade in coal, fruits, and mer¬ 
chandise. The place was founded by Juan Re- 
jon in 1478 and was the capital of the Canary 
Islands until 1833, when the seat of government 
was transferred to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. 
Population, 1906, 44,857. 

LASSO (las'so), a long line with a running 
noose, used chiefly in Spanish America, Mexico, 
and the western part of the United States for 
catching horses and cattle. It is usually made 
of rawhide, but also of sisal rope and hair. One 
end of the lasso is attached to the saddle, while 
the other has a sliding noose formed by rings, 
which the horseman throws over the head or 
around the foot of the animal while in full gal¬ 
lop, and thus succeeds in catching the desired 
animal. In the United States it is frequently 
called a lariat and in Mexico a la reata. 

LAS VEGAS (las va'gas), a city and the 
county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, 
on the Pecos River, 42 miles east of Santa Fe. 
It is on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 
Railroad, has a large trade in wool and live 
stock, and is surrounded by a grazing and gold 
and silver mining country. The chief buildings 
include the public library, the Castanenda Hotel, 
the courthouse, and the New Mexico Normal 
University. It has extensive railroad shops, 
flour mills, machine shops, wool scouring works, 
and brick and cigar factories. In its vicinity are 
the Las Vegas Hot Springs, a popular resort, 
whose waters are noted for their curative effects. 
It was formerly called East Las Vegas, but was 
incorporated as Las Vegas in 1896. Population, 
1908, 8,145. 

LATERAN (lat'er-an), a celebrated church 
in Rome, Italy, founded by Constantine the 
Great and by him dedicated to the Savior. It 
was rebuilt in the 12th century by Lucius II. 






LATHE 


1212 


LAUREATE 


and dedicated to Saint John Lateran. The 
church was maintained in the original form up 
to 896, when it was destroyed by an earthquake, 
but was rebuilt shortly after and has been re¬ 
modeled many times. The palace annexed to it 
served as the papal residence until the 14th cen¬ 
tury, but is now in possession of the Italian gov¬ 
ernment. The Scala Santa, or Holy Staircase, 
which is reputed to have served in-the house of 
Pilate at Jerusalem, and to have been trod by 
our Lord as he passed to judgment, is preserved 
in the piazza of Saint John Lateran. 

LATHE (lath), a machine for shaping ma¬ 
terials by turning. The work is done through a 
rotary motion, which is obtained in most cases 
by steam or electric power. Many forms of the 
lathe are in general use, depending upon the 
work to be done, such as cutting and polishing 
flat, oval, or cylindrical objects of wood, metal, 
or ivory. Small lathes are run by foot power. 
Those used for cutting wood have a much high¬ 
er speed than those used in turning metal. The 
turning tool is held by the workman or by a tool 
holder attached to a movable slide rest, and the 
material to be shaped is sustained by two heads 
or centers. The finest crucible carbon steel is 
used in making lathe tools. The largest lathes 
are used in finishing heavy ordnance and in 
turning marine engine shafts, and from these 
they grade down to the delicate forms employed 
in finishing the finer parts of watches and sci¬ 
entific instruments. 

LATIN LANGUAGE. See Rome. 

LATINS, or Latini, the inhabitants of an¬ 
cient Latium, in Italy, and from whom the lan¬ 
guage of Rome was obtained. These people 
were of great antiquity and their distinguished 
leader, Ascanius, son of Aeneas, aided in build¬ 
ing the town of Alba Longa, which was the most 
important of their cities. Since Rome was held 
as a colony of Alba Longa, the Latin language 
was adopted by the Romans. 

LATITUDE (lat'i-tud), in geography, the 
term applied to distance north and south from 
the Equator, reckoned in degrees, and measured 
along the meridians. Latitude at the Equator is 
the smallest or lowest and is marked 0°, and dis¬ 
tance from it is designated north or south re¬ 
spectively as the locality is north or south from 
the Equator. Since there are only 360° in any 
circle, and the distance from the Equator to the 
poles is one-fourth of an entire circle, 90° is the 
greatest value of latitude a place can have, thus 
the poles are each marked 90°. There may be 
any number of parallel circles imagined drawn 
between the poles and the Equator, these being 
designated parallels of latitude, and, if their dis¬ 
tance in degrees from the Equator is known, it is 


not difficult to locate a place in latitude. When 
the longitude of a place is associated with its 
latitude, an exact locality on a sphere or map 
may be designated. See Longitude. 

LATTER-DAY SAINTS, or Reorganized 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 
a body of the Mormon Church, which stands in 
opposition to the Mormons that have their prin¬ 
cipal seat of activity at Salt Lake City. It dates 
from 1844, when a schism occurred in the church, 
immediately after the death of Joseph Smith, 
and its promoters claim succession from the ori¬ 
ginal organization. Its chief institutions are at 
Lamoni, Iowa, where the principal officials reside 
and several fine educational institutions are 
maintained. The tenets of faith are founded 
upon the Bible and the Book of Mormons, both 
of which are held to be inspired, plurality in 
marriage is opposed, and strict discipline is en¬ 
forced. There are 1,450 ministers, 650 churches, 
and a membership of 50,560. See Mormons. 

LAUDANUM (la'da-num), the name applied 
to several tinctures of opium, containing about 
33 grains of the soluble matter of opium, or 3.3 
grains of morphine, to each fluid ounce of the 
tincture. Its strength is increased by exposure^ 
to evaporation, when it becomes quite thick. 
Laudanum is used to relieve pain, especially in 
cramps and diarrhoea, but, being poisonous, it 
should be taken only under the advice of a phy¬ 
sician. 

LAUGHING GAS (laf'ing), the name of a 
chemical used as an anaesthetic agent, so called 
from the feeling of merriment which it some¬ 
times produces when it is inhaled. The agents 
used for this purpose consist mainly of hyponi- 
trous oxide, or protoxide of nitrogen, and are 
administered by dentists, either to deaden pain 
or produce unconsciousness. 

LAUGHING JACKASS. See Kingfisher. 

LAUGHTER (laf'ter), the expression of 
mirth, merriment, and satisfaction by laughing. 
It is a sound or succession of sounds produced 
by a deep inspiration, followed by vocalized ex¬ 
pulsions of air in quick interrupted succession. 
Laughter is caused by things of an apparent or 
real ludicrous nature and by tickling. Some¬ 
times it accompanies extreme grief and hysteria. 
Since there is an intimate connection between 
the muscles of the eyelids and some of the 
muscles of the upper lip, in laughing, as in 
weeping, the eyelids are more or less contracted. 

LAUREATE (la're-at), Poet, an honorary 
office maintained in England, in which the poet 
regarded official is invested with the title of 
laureate by the crown. The recognition of a 
poet laureate originated from various sovereigns 
who engaged singers. Among the early kings 



LAUREL 


1213 


LAVA 


employing singers were Henry L, Richard I., 
Edward I., and Edward II. The term laureate 
itself arose from the laurel wreath given at the 
universities for marks of excellence in study and 
to men of notable poetic ability. Such a mark 
of distinction was bestowed by both English 
universities upon John Skelton, who afterward 
called himself Poeta Laureatus. Originally the 
title implied service, as the writing of an ode 
for the king’s birthday and on festival occa¬ 
sions, particularly those celebrated after noted 
national victories. However, special duties have 
* not been connected with the office subsequent to 
the reign of George III. The following have 
been poets laureate since the definite establish¬ 
ment of the office: Edmund Spenser, 1591-99; 
Samuel Daniel, 1599-1619; Ben Jonson, 1619-37; 
William Davenant, 1660-68; John Dryden, 
1670-89; Thomas Shadwell, 1689-92; Nahum 
Tate, 1692-1715; Nicholas Rowe, 1715-18; Law¬ 
rence Eusden, 1718-30; Colly Cibber, 1730-57; 
William Whitehead, 1757-85; Thomas Warton, 
1785-90; Henry James Pye, 1790-1813; Robert 
Southey, 1813-43; William Wordsworth, 1843-50; 
Alfred Tennyson, 1850-92; Alfred Austin, 1896-. 
It will be noted that interims occurred in 1637, 
1668, and 1892. 

LAUREL (la'rel), a genus of plants which 
range in size from a shrub to trees sixty feet in 
height. They are natives of Europe, Asia, and 
Africa, chiefly in the countries bordering on the 
Mediterranean, but have been acclimated ex¬ 
tensively in different countries. Several species 
are cultivated as ornamental plants and for their 
fine aromatic fragrance. The leaves are lanceo¬ 
late and evergreen, the flowers are yellowish- 
white, and the fruit is about an inch long and of 
a bluish-black color. The flavor of the leaves is 
utilized in culinary arts and as a stimulant and 
carminative in medicine. Several oily sub¬ 
stances are extracted from the leaves and the 
fruit, such as oil of sweet bay and oil of laurel. 
Laurel water is obtained by distillation from 
the leaves. In America the name is given to sev¬ 
eral native plants, including those known as the 
cherry laurel and purge laurel, but of the 
true laurel there is properly but one spe¬ 
cies. The true laurel and the noble laurel are 
somewhat similar in their evergreen foliage, but 
differ botanically. Wreaths and crowns were 
made of laurel twigs in ancient times by the 
Greeks,- as a decoration for the heads of poets 
and heroes. 

LAURENTIAN MOUNTAINS (la-ren'- 

shi-an), the mountain range of British America 
that divides the Saint Lawrence basin from the 
/watershed of Hudson Bay. These highlands 
separate the upper tributaries of the Mackenzie 


from the streams flowing into the same bay. It 
extends in an irregular curve from Labrador 
to the Arctic, a distance of about 3,000 miles. 
The highest peaks are 4,000 feet, the average 
height is 1,500, and the principal rock forma¬ 
tions belong to the archaean system. 

LAURIUM (la'ri-um), a village of Upper 
Michigan, in Houghton County, fifteen miles 
northeast of Houghton. It is on the Mineral 
Range and the Copper Range railroads, and is 
surrounded by one of the richest copper-mining 
regions, of North America. The industries con¬ 
sist chiefly of cigar factories, machine shops, 
and enterprises connected with the mining of 
copper. In the vicinity are several villages, in¬ 
cluding Red Jacket. The name formerly was 
Calumet, but it was changed to Laurium in 
1895. Population, 1904, 7,653; in 1910, 8,537. 

LAUSANNE (lo-zan'), a city in Switzer¬ 
land, capital of the canton of Vaud, near the 
northern shore of Lake Geneva. It occupies a 
site about 500 feet above the level of the lake 
and is built mainly on the lower slopes of Mont 
Jorat. The chief buildings include a Gothic ca¬ 
thedral built in 1235, in which Farel and Calvin 
took part with others in famous disputations. 
It is the seat of a university, an academy for 
Protestant ministers, a School of agriculture, 
and several charitable institutions. The man¬ 
ufactures include tobacco, machinery, clothing, 
and jewelry. Lausanne is visited by many tour¬ 
ists during the summer, who find entertainment 
at numerous fine hotels. It is the seat of a 
bishopric, of the supreme court of the repub¬ 
lic, and of the cantonal library with 125,000 vol¬ 
umes. The city was founded about the 6th cen¬ 
tury. Population, 1907, 54,460. 

LAVA (la'va), a term generally applied to all 
molten matter thrown from volcanoes, whether 
flowing as a stream or being deposited after the 
movement has ceased. When moving in a 
molten state within the volcanic channel, it is 
properly called trap, and after being deposited it 
forms basalt, trachytic greenstone, or tufa, this 
depending upon the degree of rapidity with 
which it cools, the cooling action influencing the 
formation of hornblende, feldspar, augite, and 
various other substances. The stream cools and 
hardens more rapidly on the surface, which 
causes it to become honeycombed as a result of 
escaping gases from the interior, while the in¬ 
terior continues to flow in a liquid state for 
some time, but after the heat escapes it forms 
a compact mass. The lavas thrown out by Etna 
and in Labrador are largely feldspar, those of 
Vesuvius are principally green augite and ba¬ 
salt, and those of the Peak of Teneriffe consist 
chiefly of trachytic masses. 


LAVAL 


1214 


LAWN MOWER 


LAVAL (la-val'), a city of France, capital 
of the department of Mayenne, 45 miles east of 
Rennes. It has railroad and electric railway fa¬ 
cilities and contains a cathedral which was be¬ 
gun in the 12th century. The manufactures in¬ 
clude linen goods, leather, clothing, and marble 
products. It has a brisk trade in merchandise 
and cereals. Population, 1906, 32,563. 

LAVAL UNIVERSITY, an institution of 
higher learning at Quebec, Canada. It was 
created in 1852 by the Quebec Seminary and 
granted a royal charter in December of the same 
year. By virtue of its royal charter, the Vis¬ 
itor of the Laval University is the Catholic 
Archbishop of Quebec, who has the right of 
veto over all the rules and nominations. The 
superior of the Quebec Seminary is de jure the 
rector, or principal, of the University. The 
council of the university is composed of the di¬ 
rectors of the Quebec Seminary and of the three 
senior titular ordinary professors of each fac¬ 
ulty. It maintains the four faculties of theolo¬ 
gy, law, arts, and medicine. The professors of 
the faculty of theology are named by the Visitor 
and all the others are named by the council, but 
they can be disposed at will. The degrees 
which the students may obtain are those of 
bachelor, master or licentiate, and doctor. Good 
conduct is an essential condition for obtaining 
degrees. 

Laval University, in order to be ranked as a 
Catholic institution, was bound to be acknowl¬ 
edged and canonically erected by the Holy See. 
This solemn and final erection was granted by 
Pope Pius IX. in a bull dated in April, 1876. 
By virtue of this bull, the university has for its 
protector at the Holy See his eminence the car¬ 
dinal prefect of the propaganda. The supreme 
direction of faith and morals is vested in a su¬ 
perior council composed of the most reverend 
and right reverend archbishops and bishops of 
the Province of Quebec, under the presidency of 
his grace the archbishop of Quebec, who is also 
apostolic chancellor of the university. 

A decision of the propaganda, dated in Feb¬ 
ruary, 1876, authorized the establishment in 
Montreal of a branch of the Laval University, 
and it is affiliated by a system of seminaries 
throughout the Province of Quebec. The uni¬ 
versity has a library of 145,000 volumes. In¬ 
struction is given by a faculty of 54 instructors. 
The institution is attended by about 400 stu¬ 
dents. 

LAVENDER (lav'en-der), a genus of plants 
native to Southern Europe and Western Africa, 
but now widely naturalized and cultivated. They 
grow as shrubs from two to four feet tall, have 
hoary leaves and grayish-blue flowers, and are 


prized for their fragrant, volatile oil contained 
in the flowers and used in perfumery. The oil 
has a bitter principle, is of a pale yellow color, 
and is obtained by distilling the flowers with 
water. Besides its use in perfumery, oil of lav¬ 
ender is employed successfully as a stimulant in 
colic, hysteria, and other affections. Lavender 
water is a toilet preparation and is secured by 
dissolving oil of lavender with musk, cloves, 
attar of roses, bergamot, and other oils in spir¬ 
its. The spirit of lavender is obtained by dis¬ 
tilling fresh flowers in rectified spirits. A spe- ^ 
cies of broad-leaved lavender yields an oil used 
in preparing varnishes and ornamenting porce¬ 
lain products The American perfume known 
as Florida water is prepared largely from laven¬ 
der. Lavender is cultivated most largely in Eu¬ 
rope, where it is used for the distillation of its 
essential oil and for marketing the flowers. 
Considerable quantities are grown in the United 
States, particularly in Pennsylvania, New Jer¬ 
sey, and the states of the Pacific coast. 

LAW, the collective body of regulations 
adopted by the government to regulate human 
conduct. The system of law which is enforced 
in a particular state or nation is known as its 
municipal law, while the system of rules ac¬ 
knowledged to be obligatory upon the nations is 
termed international law. Municipal law is di¬ 
vided into civil and criminal law. Civil law em¬ 
braces all the provisions that regulate or pro¬ 
tect the members of a community, except those 
that relate to the definition and provide for the 
punishment of public offenses, which constitute 
the code of criminal law. The acts of Congress 
and of the general assemblies, as defined by the 
decision of the courts, comprise the written law, 
while maxims and customs in use from time im¬ 
memorial are known as the common law. Those 
portions of the law which are expressed in stat¬ 
utes and constitutions are denominated, respec¬ 
tively, statute law and constitutional law. Ad¬ 
ministrative law includes the regulations which 
limit and define the duties of the officials of the 
government and provide penalties for violations 
of the same. Canon law has reference to mat¬ 
ters of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The constitu¬ 
tion of a nation is the supreme law of the land. 
To it are subject the constitutions of the vari¬ 
ous states and provinces, which are likewise 
limited by a constitution of their own. A law 
that is not in harmony with the constitution of 
the nation, or of the state or province in which 
it is enacted, is said to be unconstitutional. 

LAWN MOWER, a machine designed to 
cut grass in parks and on lawns. Many forms 
of this machine are sold on the market, de¬ 
signed to be pushed by hand or propelled by a 



LAWN TENNIS 


1215 


LEAD 


gasoline engine or by horses. The principal part 
consists of a set of spiral knives with cutting 
edges, which revolve rapidly as the machine is 
moved along, cutting the grass as it comes be¬ 
tween the cutting edges and a stationary knife. 
This machine is designed to cut only where the 
grass is short, hence is not serviceable in tall 
grasses. 

LAWN TENNIS, a game of ball played on 
a ground, called the court, by either two or four 
persons. The balls used are of India rubber, a 
little less . than three inches in diameter, and 
covered with white cloth. The requirements for 
the game are the balls, a net and posts, rackets, 
and a level surface of grass. Usually sides are 
chosen by a toss or spin of a racket, and the 
winner chooses the service or the preferable 
side. The. server begins the game by striking 
the ball with his racket so that it passes over 
the net, which is hung across the court from 
the posts. The ball served must drop in the 
space which is diagonally opposite to him on the 
other side of the net, this being bounded by the 
net, the side line, the half-court line, and the 
service line. His adversary, called the striker- 
out, must return the ball before it touches the 
ground a second time, and the server must sim¬ 
ilarly return it. The ball must be passed back 
and forth in this way consecutively. When one 
player fails to do this he loses a stroke, which 
the adversary is deemed to win, and it is added 
to the score of the latter. The court should be 
78 feet long and 27 feet wide for two players, 
or 36 feet wide for four players. Much skill 
and activity are required, hence the game is one 
of the many that furnish vigorous and healthful 
exercise. Several national and international 
lawn tennis associations are maintained, and 
contests in these and in local associations are 
quite numerous. 

LAWRENCE (la'rens), a city in Kansas, 
county seat of Douglas County, on the Kansas 
River, 28 miles southwest of Leavenworth. It 
is on the Union Pacific and the Atchison, To¬ 
peka and Santa Fe railroads. The surrounding 
country is agricultural. It is noted as an edu¬ 
cational center, having fine facilities for in¬ 
struction. Among the noteworthy buildings are 
the county courthouse, the University of Kan¬ 
sas, the Haskel Institute, the high school, and 
the city hall. The manufactures embrace barb 
wire, cigars, carriages, furniture, earthenware, 
flour, shirts, paper, and machinery. The general 
facilities include a public library, street rail¬ 
ways, pavements, and waterworks. It was set¬ 
tled in 1854, after the Kansas-Nebraska Bill 
was passed, and was a center of influence of the 
Antislavery party. Population, 1910, 12,374. 


LAWRENCE, a city of Massachusetts, in 
Essex County, on the Merrimac River, 26 miles 
northwest of Boston. It is on several branches 
of tlfe Boston and Maine Railroad and on many 
electric railways. The city has a public library 
of 50,000 volumes and is the seat of the Essex 
County Truant School. Other buildings of note 
include the townhall, the Lawrence Hospital, 
and many schools and churches It has a large 
trade in merchandise, fruits, and cereals. The 
manufactures include boilers, furniture, car 
wheels, cotton and woolen goods, steam engines, 
boots and shoes, clothing, paper, hats, and ma¬ 
chinery. Immense water power is obtained from 
the Merrimac, which has caused its manufac¬ 
turing establishments to rank among the largest 
in the world. The vicinity was first settled in 
the latter part of the 17th century. Lawrence 
.was formed in 1845 by uniting parts of Andover 
and Methuen. It was incorporated in 1853. 
Population, 1905, 69,939; in 1910, 85,892. 

LAWRENCEBURG, county seat of Dear¬ 
born County, Indiana, on the Ohio River, eighty 
miles southeast of Indianapolis. It is on the 
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis 
and the Baltimore and Ohio railroads. The sur¬ 
rounding country is agricultural. It has a high 
school, a courthouse, and many fine churches. 
The manufactures include musical instru¬ 
ments, spirituous liquors, machinery, flour, fur¬ 
niture, coffins, and pumps. It was settled in 
1817 and incorporated in 1847. Population, 
1900, 4,326.' 

LAZZARONI (laz-za-ro'm), a name applied 
to the fishermen and boatmen of Naples, Italy, 
but formerly used to designate all persons desti¬ 
tute of visible means of support. The name be¬ 
came connected with those occupying the hos¬ 
pital of Saint Lazarus, an institution of refuge. 
Formerly they included a large class who were 
prominent factors in the revolutionary move¬ 
ments of Naples, and under their leader con¬ 
ducted a prominent revolt against the Duke 
d’Arcos on July 7, 1647. 

LEAD, a highly useful metal. It is bluish- 
white in color and possesses a brilliant luster 
when newly cut, but after exposure to the air 
becomes dull on account of taking on a coating 
of carbonate of lead. Lead possesses both duc¬ 
tility and malleability, but the former is less 
than that of all other ductile metals, while the 
later is considerable. It is flexible, soft, inelas¬ 
tic, melts at 615° Fahr., and has a specific grav¬ 
ity of 11.37. The lead of commerce is mostly 
obtained from the native lead sulphide, which 
occurs in veins. It is extracted from the native 
ore by roasting in a furnace with one-twentiet 1 
part of lime and allowing the free access of 


LEAD 


1216 


LEAF 


air. Lead occurs as a constituent of many 
minerals and in a native state is associated with 
others. 

In separating lead from other metallic .sub¬ 
stances, the ore passes through several stages in 
heating and the sulphurous constituents are 
finally yielded up. If the lead still contains sil¬ 
ver, copper, and antimony after the process of 
reduction, it is run off and repeatedly crystal¬ 
lized, a treatment under which the silver is con¬ 
centrated. Antimony is the principal impurity 
and is burned off by a process of roasting in a 
reverberatory furnace. The lead of commerce 
is often nearly pure, and it can be obtained in a 
perfectly pure state by the reduction of the pure 
nitrate. Lead is used for type metal, plumber’s 
solder, pewter, water pipes, gutters, and for 
forming various alloys. Owing to its being the 
softest of metals, it is rarely used in the pure 
state, except for special purposes. In manufac¬ 
turing type metal it is alloyed with antimony. 
Pewter is a hard alloy, consisting of four parts 
of tin and one of lead. Tin is alloyed with lead 
in preparing solder, as well as in making brit- 
tania metal and various others. 

Lead is obtained in North America to a large 
extent from the argentiferous ores, that is, from 
the ores bearing silver, and is produced largely 
in Colorado, Utah, .Idaho, Montana, British Co¬ 
lumbia, and Mexico. Extensive lead mines are 
worked in the Mississippi valley, where it occurs 
with deposits of zinc. The production of the 
United States aggregates annually 382,450 tons, 
which was the output in 1908, of which* about 
one-fourth is exported. Lead is one of the most 
widely distributed of the metals and occurs in 
all the grand divisions, but the products of Eu¬ 
rope are the most important aside from those of 
North America. Most commonly lead is found 
in galena ore. Carbonate and other salts of lead 
are unmetallic in Appearance and occur in prim¬ 
itive and secondary rocks. 

Lead has many oxides, such as red oxide and 
plumbic oxide, which serve useful purposes in 
the arts. Litharge is a protoxide and is pro¬ 
duced by burning lead in a current of air. Di~ 
-oxide or brozvnoxide is obtained by subjecting 
red lead to diluted nitrate acid or chlorine wa¬ 
ter. White lead is' derived from carbonate of 
lead and is a basis for pottery glazes, cement, 
and white oil paint. Carbonate of lead and salts 
of lead are poisonous and give rise to so-called 
lead poisoning. That lead is one of the earliest 
known metals is evidenced by the fact that it is 
mentioned in the Books of Moses. It is spoken 
of by Pliny. Many of the articles made by the 
ancient Romans, Greeks, and Phoenicians still 
preserved in museums, such as rings, portions 


of pipes, and weights, contain lead’or are made 
wholly of lead. 

LEA.D (led), a city of Lawrence County, 
South Dakota, situated in the Black Hills, about 
three miles south of Deadwood. It is on the 
Chicago and Northwestern and the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy railroads. Extensive de¬ 
posits of gold are worked in the vicinity. The 
chief buildings include the Hearst Library, the 
high school, the Lead Coliseum, a business col¬ 
lege, and many schools and churches. It has 
manufactures of cigars, utensils, machinery, and 
jewelry. The municipal improvements include 
electric lighting and systems of sewerage and 
waterworks. Lead was settled in 1876 and -was 
incorporated the following year. Population, 
1905, 8,052; in 1910, 8,392. 

LEAD POISONING, a disease due to the 
presence of a considerable amount of lead in 
the system. The most common symptom of the 
disease is lead or painter’s colic, which, is at¬ 
tended by pain, constipation, and blue lines on 
the gums. All ailments due to lead poisoning 
are accompanied by a loss of color and a species 
of rheumatism. In the more severe cases the 
patient is affected by paralysis, delirium, ,and 
more or less severe convulsions. Opium is the 
chief medicine used, since it relieves the pain 
and overcomes the obstinate constipation of the 
disease. Sulphuric acid and cathartics are use¬ 
ful in the general treatment and iodide of po¬ 
tassium is given in chronic cases. Lead pois¬ 
oning is caused by the use of lead pipes in con¬ 
ducting drinking water, by the application of 
cosmetics and hair dyes, and by frequent con¬ 
tact with white lead, as in the case of painters 
and employees of white lead factories. 

LEADVILLE (led'vil), a city of Colorado, 
county seat of Lake Count}'-, near the source of 
the Arkansas River, 78 miles southwest of Den¬ 
ver. It is on the Denver and Rio Grande, the 
Colorado Midland, and the Colorado and South¬ 
ern railroads. The surrounding country is rich 
in silver and gold deposits. Among the chief 
buildings are the county courthouse, the Car¬ 
negie Library, the Tabor Opera House, the high 
school, and a Federal fish hatchery. It has man¬ 
ufactures of ironware, machinery, cigars, and 
clothing. The site of the city is very beautiful 
and near it are many canons and other natural 
formations of interest. Much has been done to 
improve the streets by grading and paving. 
Placer deposits of gold were discovered.jn Cal¬ 
ifornia Gulch in 1860, but the rapid growth of 
the city began in 1877, when the rich silver 
mines were developed. Tt was incorporated in. 
1878. Population, 1900, J 2,455; in 1910, 7,508. 
LEAF, the organ of a plant that commonly 


\ 



LEAF INSECTS 


1217 


LEATHER 


grows from the axis or stem, but sometimes 
frorh the root. Leaves are flat, thin, and green 
in color and constitute the foliage. They nev¬ 
er develop into flowers, but exhibit an endless 
variety of forms in different plants, and consti¬ 
tute marks by which to distinguish easily the 
different species. A complete leaf consists of a 
blade or limb, a leaf stalk or petiole, and a pair 
of stipules at the base. Many leaves have no 
stipules, and some have no petiole. In the latter 
case the leaf is said to be sessile. Simple leaves 
consist of one piece, while compound leaves 
have more than one piece or blade. The leaves 
are composed of two kinds of material, woody 
fiber and cellular tissue, the former constituting 
the framework that gives strength to the blade, 
and the latter forming the green pulp of the 
i leaf. 

The framework of leaves spreads in various 
directions and constitutes the ribs, from which 
branch veins and veinlets, these serving to con- 


ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES. 

Alternate. Opposite. 

vey the sap. One side of the leaf is turned up¬ 
ward to the sky and the other toward the 
ground, each being covered above and below 
with so-called surfaces or skins. The stomates 
or pores are on the lower surface and act as 
! breathing organs to take in essential elements 
from the air, but the leaves also give out a puri- 
: fied air laden with oxygen, which serves a use- 
! ful purpose in the maintenance of animal life. 
Plants of the same species have the same kind 
of leaves, and these are arranged in an exactly 
| similar way on the stems, being an expansion of 
ij the bark and a node of the stem. The arrange- 
1 ment is either opposite or alternate on the stem, 
but it is greatly variegated in different species. 

LEAF INSECTS, the name of numerous 
species of insects remarkable for their resem¬ 
blance to the leaves of plants on which they 
feed. The similarity is not only in color, but 
77 


also in size and in the resemblance of their legs 
to the ribs and veins.of the leaves. Insects of 
this character are most numerous in tropical 
countries, occurring in South America, Austra¬ 
lia, and portions of Africa. Their main protec¬ 
tion against enemies consists in their resem¬ 
blance to the leaf forms about them, since they 
are almost incapable of flight. In most species 
the males have wings, while the females are 
wingless. 

LEAGUE (leg), a measure used for estimat¬ 
ing length, both upon land and at sea. The 
nautical league is one-twentieth of a degree, or 
three equatorial miles, or 3.457875 statute miles. 
In England the land league is three statute 
miles. The French league has been used for 
different distances, as the legal post league, 
equal to 2.42 English miles, and the league of 
25 to the degree, or 2.76 English miles. 

LEANDER (l&-an'der). See Hero. 

LEAP YEAR, a year to which one day is 
added, being distinguished from others in that 
it contains 366 days. Every year exactly divisi¬ 
ble by four is a leap year, except that only every 
fourth year ending a century is thus classed. 
This exception is made to correct the error aris¬ 
ing from the addition of one day in four years to 
the year over the true length of the year. Thus 
1800 and 1900 were not leap years, but 1200 and 
1600 were and 2000 will be so classified. For a 
considerable time centuries divisible by 400 will 
be leap years. 

LEATHER (leth'er), the tanned, tawed, or 
otherwise dressed skin or hide of an animal. 
The process of tanning is applied to the skins of 
different animals for the purpose of making 
them tough and pliable and to prevent them 
from putrefying. Some sort of dressing was ap¬ 
plied to the skins of animals very early in his¬ 
tory, which was but the result of the practice 
of ancients in using skins for clothing and in 
the construction of tents, boats, and implements 
of war. The fact that the Egyptians developed 
much skill in the production of leather is evi¬ 
dent from the remnants found among ruins, 
many of which appear to date about 1,000 years 
before the Christian era. - That bark is service¬ 
able for tanning was discovered, in all probabil¬ 
ity, by mere ac.cident, but it has* furnished the 
principal means and is still used quite exten¬ 
sively in many countries. Other processes are 
by tawing with bichromate of potash, alum, and 
various mineral salts, and by shamoying or 
treating the skins with oils. 

Commercially leather is distinguished from 
skin and pelt, the former being the skin of an 
animal dressed with the hair or fur removed and 
the latter being untanned skin or hide, Leather 











LEATHER 


1218 


LEAVENWORTH 


is made most commonly from the skins of cat¬ 
tle, though those of swine* horses, asses, sheep, 
camels, and goats are utilized. When shipped 
from a long distance, hides reach the tannery in 
a cured or salted condition, but some, especially 
in cold seasons, are transported without curing. 
The first process is to unhair the skins, which is 
done by means of lime, or by a process of sweat¬ 
ing. In the latter case a partial putrefaction 
takes place and the hairs are removed without 
injuring the hide. In some tanneries the skins 
are unhaired by sulphide of sodium, sulphide of 
arsenic, and other alkaline sulphides. The loos¬ 
ened hairs are removed by scraping, but ma¬ 
chines for unhairing have been adopted in the 
larger tanneries. The next process is to remove 
the loose flesh by scraping and brushing, after 
which the hides are separated according to the 
class of leather desired. After soaking in wa¬ 
ter and washing out all particles of hairs, lime, 
and other matters, the skins are placed in a tan 
pit, in which a weak tanning solution is confined. 
In this they are turned several times daily and 
afterward are removed to pits containing strong¬ 
er solutions, until they are placed in the final 
pit, where they remain for about six weeks. Aft¬ 
er this process they are taken out and beaten to 
give them hardness, when they are oiled and 
prepared for the market. 

The various grades of leather are prepared 
differently, being pared, rolled, and then given 
smoothness by treatment, the smoothing being 
effected under a process of oiling. This is true 
of japanned leather, which, in the process of 
manufacture, is stretched on wooden frames and 
successive coats of varnish are applied, each of 
which is allowed to dry and then is rubbed 
down with pumice stone. Russia, morocco, and 
seal leather are other grades of highly finished 
products, but none of these has any connection 
with the locality or name applied, except as a 
recognized grade. The skins of lambs, kids, 
sheep, and goats are tawed and are used for 
light shoes and gloves. However, the grade 
known as kid is- properly made from goatskins. 
A waterproof leather known as cordovan is ob¬ 
tained from horsehide. • Shamoying is applied to 
shamois skins, being done by oil, but the so- 
called shamoy' of the market is largely split 
leather. 

Electricity was first applied in tanning in 
Sweden. Under the electric process hides may 
be completely tanned in from forty to ninety 
hours. The plan is to suspend hides in tanning 
liquor between two copper plates and apply an 
electro-motive force of fifty volts and a strength 
of one hundred amperes. However, the time re¬ 
quired for the process depends upon the strength 


of the tan liquor, but it has been well established 
that sole leather cannot be prepared by rapid ac¬ 
tion for the reason that it requires a slow r proc¬ 
ess to tan thick hides. Many more or less rapid 
tanning processes have been adopted, but the 
best results require considerable time. 

LEATHER, Artificial, a manufactured ma¬ 
terial similar in appearance to leather, used ex¬ 
tensively in the arts for purposes in which 
leather was formerly employed. This product 
has come into extensive use since 1849, when 
a product known as leather cloth began to be 
manufactured on a large scale in America. The 
introduction of this article is due to the scarcity 
of leather as compared to the demand. Many 
kinds of artificial leather are on the market at 
present and the uses for this product are very 
numerous, including the varieties used in the 
manufacture of furniture, books, and boots and 
shoes. One variety is made of the parings and 
shavings of leather, which are reduced to a pulp 
and afterward molded into various objects. 
Keratol is used extensively for binding books 
and in upholstering furniture and the seats in 
railway cars. Boots and shoes are made to some 
extent of what is known as leather hoard, which 
is made of hemp rope, manilla rope, jute, or 
linen canvas, to which are added leather straps, 
and it is treated with certain chemicals and a 
cement which makes it more impervious to wa¬ 
ter than leather. Vegetable leather is a product 
that consists largely of caoutchouc, the latter 
being reduced to a state of dissolution and 
spread over linen cloth. 

LEATHERBACK, the name of a large 
turtle found in the ocean, so named because the 
back is incased by a leathery integument instead 
of a bony shell. Several species have been de¬ 
scribed, including both oceanic and fresh-water 
animals. Those found in the Atlantic Ocean 
range along the coast of the United States as 
far north as New York, and in Europe they ex¬ 
tend southward from the English Channel. 
Some of the specimens have a length of from 
six to seven feet, the shell being a little'more 
than four feet long. They weigh more than a 
ton at maturity. Their food consists chiefly of 
mollusks, fish, and crustaceans. 

LEAVENWORTH (lev'en-wurth), a city in 
Kansas, county seat of Leavenworth County, on 
the Missouri River, 25 miles northwest of Kan¬ 
sas City. It is on the Union Pacific, the Chicago 
Great Western, the Missouri Pacific, the Atchi¬ 
son, Topeka and Santa Fe, and other railroads. 
The surrounding country has deposits of bitu¬ 
minous coal and is a rich farming district. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the county 
courthouse, the Federal building, the Cathedral 



LEBANON 


1219 


LEECH 


of the Immaculate Conception, the public li¬ 
brary, and the public high school. It has the 
United States and State penitentiaries. The 
manufactures include glucose, furniture, wagons, 
engines, iron bridges, cigars, clothing, ma¬ 
chinery, shoes, and earthenware. Near the city 
is the extensive military establishment of Fort 
Leavenworth, being immediately north of the 
city. The place was settled in 1854 and was in¬ 
corporated the next year. Population, 1905, 31,- 
857; m 1910, 19,363. 

LEBANON (leb'a-nun), a city in Pennsyl¬ 
vania, county seat of Lebanon County, 26 miles 
east of Harrisburg. It is on the Cornwall and 
Lebanon and the Philadelphia and Reading rail¬ 
roads, in a valley between the Blue and South 
mountains, and is surrounded by a rich coal and 
iron producing region. Among the chief build¬ 
ings are the county courthouse, the city hall, the 
high school, and the public library. It has elec¬ 
tric lights and street railways, pavements, and 
systems of waterworks and sewerage. The man¬ 
ufactures include machinery, engines, railway 
cars, organs, cordage, furniture, and farming 
implements. It was settled by Germans in 1700 
and incorporated in 1820. Population, 1900, 
17,628; in 1910, 19,240. 

LEBANON MOUNTAINS, the name of 
two mountain ranges in the northern part of 
Palestine. They trend in almost parallel lines 
from northeast to southwest and inclose be¬ 
tween them the Nahr Litany valley, anciently 
known as the Coele-Syria valley. The western 
range is called Lebanon and the eastern Anti- 
Lebanon, but the former is known in modern ge¬ 
ography as Jebel-Libnan and the latter as Jebel- 
esh-Shurky. However, the western range is 
the more elevated, its highest peak being El- 
Kazib, which attains a height of 10,020 feet 
above sea level.' The Anti-Lebanon range is 
comparatively irregular, but has the most ele¬ 
vated peak of the two ranges, Jebel-esh-Sheikh 
being 10,985 feet above sea level. Snow and ice 
remain in the higher ravines throughout the 
year, though the slopes are fertile. The cedar 
forests are famed in history, but they have been 
almost entirely removed by careless forestry. A 
number of streams penetrate the valleys, among 
them the Jordan River, which has its source in 
the Lebanon Mountains. A class of Christians 
called Maronites occupy the northern district, 
and in the southern portion are the Druses. The 
principal occupations of these peoples are the 
culture of silk, the vine, and the mulberry tree, 
and the rearing of sheep and goats. Consider¬ 
able quantities of wheat, rye, barley, millet, and 
tobacco are cultivated. Eastern manufacturing 
enterprises receive growing attention. The most 


desirable land is possessed by the monks, who 
maintain Maronite monasteries, and are influ¬ 
encing the culture and manners of the region. 
Protestant missions are gaining a strong foot¬ 
hold. 

LECH (lek),a river of Germany and Austria. 
It joins the Danube after a course of 175 miles, 
at Donauworth. The Lech is a rapid stream, 
falling 4{600 feet in its course. It is historical 
because of the battles in which Tilly defended 
the passage of this stream against Gustavus 
Adolphus, in one of which the former was slain. 

LECOMPTON CONSTITUTION, the 
name of a constitution adopted by the pro¬ 
slavery party of Kansas in a convention held at 
Lecompton on Sept. 5, 1857. It declared the le¬ 
gality of slavery in Kansas and prohibited the 
passage of emancipation laws by the Legisla¬ 
ture. The entire constitution was not submitted 
to the people of the territory, but they were to 
vote only for the constitution with or without 
slavery. In the election the free-state settlers 
abstained from voting, hence the result was a 
large majority in favor of the proslavery party. 
Later the territorial Legislature ordered a vote 
on the constitution as a whole, when it was 
voted down by a large majority, and in 1859 an 
antislavery constitution was adopted. 

LEECH, a class of suctorial worms found 
in bodies of water, marshes, and other moist 
places. Most of the many species inhabit sloughs 
and ponds of fresh water, but they are also 
found in marine waters. The group includes 
the common horse leeches, medicinal leeches, 
green leeches, and a number of other species. 
The body is composed of from 80 to 100 rings. 
Most species have a mouth furnished with 
toothed plates with which they make an incision 
for sucking blood from animals and many are 
parasitic on crustaceans and fishes. In Ceylon 
the land leeches live among damp foliage and 
are a common pest, attaching themselves to man 
and beast. In the colder climates the leeches hi¬ 
bernate during the winter by burying themselves 
in the mud at the bottom of pools and in marshy 
lands. The medicinal leeches formerly were 
used extensively for local extraction of blood in 
cases where the depletion of venous blood was 
thought advisable. These leeches are from two 
to four inches long, have a stomach with 
elongated pouches, and are capable of holding 
several times their weight in blood. When the 
stomach is filled, the leech has- sufficient nutri¬ 
tious food for about a year, but may be made to 
disgorge the contents of the stomach by sprink¬ 
ling salt on its body, when it is again ready for 
service. At present leeches are used only to a 
limited extent. They are employed principally 


LEECH LAKE 


1220 


LEGAL TENDER 


in the southern part of Europe and the western 
part of Asia. 

LEECH LAKE, a lake of Minnesota, in 
Cass County. It is near the source of the 
Mississippi River, into which it discharges by a 
short outlet. The length is twenty miles and the 
breadth is fifteen miles. It is 1,296 feet above 
sea level. 

LEEDS, a city of England, in Yorkshire, on 
the Aire River, twenty miles southwest of York. 
It is at the junction of several important rail¬ 
roads. Communication is furnished toward the 
west by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which 
was opened in 1816. The river is navigable to 
Leeds and adds materially to the transporta¬ 
tion facilities. Among the noteworthy build¬ 
ings are the Church of Saint Peter, Yorkshire 
College, the Leeds Infirmary, the public library, 
the royal exchange, and many schools and 
churches. About three miles distant are the re¬ 
mains of Kirkstall Abbey. It is noted for its 
manufactures of woolen goods, steel and iron 
products, boots and shoes, machinery, clothing, 
glass, cotton prints, earthenware, and tobacco. 
In the vicinity are rich deposits of iron ore. 
Many of the streets are finely paved and im¬ 
proved with grading and parkings. It has elec¬ 
tric street railways and municipally owned wa¬ 
terworks and sewerage. The surrounding coun¬ 
try produces large quantities of cereals, fruits, 
and vegetables. Leeds dates from the time of 
the Saxons, when it was an important place, and 
was incorporated in 1208. Population, 1907, 
470,268. 

LEEK, a biennial plant native to the southern 
part of Europe. It is related to the onion, but 
the bulb in the latter is replaced by a thicken¬ 
ing at the base of the stem, which grows tp a 
height of from ten inches to three feet. The 
leaves are about an inch wide, somewhat thick 
and fleshy, and grow in clusters near the surface. 
Gardeners bleach the lower part of the stem by 
earthing up, which has the effect of causing the 
edible part to enlarge. In flavor the leek is 
milder than the onion. Some species are grown 
as ornamental plants, and others furnish leaves 
that are used by the peasants for constructing 
the roofs of their cottages. 

LEEWARD ISLANDS (le'werd), a group 
of the Lesser Antilles, situated north of the 
Windward Islands and southeast of Porto Rico. 
A part of the group is governed as the British 
colony known as the Leeward Islands. This 
portion has an area of 705 square miles. It in¬ 
cludes the islands of Antigua, Saint Kitts, Nevis, 
Montserrat, Barbuda, Redonda, and Anguilla. 
Saint John, on Antigua, and Basseterre, on 
Saint Kitts, have good harbors and have a large 


trade. About four-fifths of the inhabitants are 
Negroes, 5,150 are whites, and the remainder 
are mulattoes. The principal religions are An¬ 
glican, Wesleyan, Roman Catholic, and Moravi¬ 
an. Among the chief products are coffee, rum, 
sugar, tobacco, live stock, cocoa, and tropical 
fruits. Population, 1908, 133,046. 

The islands of the Leeward group that do not 
belong to Great Britain include principally the 
following possessions: French—’Marie Galante, 
Gaudeloupe, Desirade, and Saint Bartholomew; 
Dutch—Saint Eustatius and Saba; Dutch—Saint 
Croix. The Virgin Islands belong to Denmark 
and England and Saint Martin is a possession of 
the Dutch and French. Geographers now place 
the total area of the Leeward Islands at about 
4,850 square miles. Guadeloupe is the largest 
and most important of these islands. 

LEG, a limb or member of an animal, form¬ 
ing the lower extremity, used for support and 
locomotion. The larger animals have either 
two or four legs, and are called bipeds and 
quadrupeds respectively. Anatomists class the 
portion of the leg from the body to the knee as 
the thigh, which has one bone, and the part be¬ 
low the knee as the leg proper. The bone of 
the thigh is called feniur. It is the largest and 
strongest bone of the body. At the hip it artic¬ 
ulates with the hip bone by a ball and socket 
joint and at the knee with a hinge joint. The 
two bones below the knee are called the tibia 
and fibula, the former being the larger, but both 
are firmly attached by muscles. The calf of the 
leg is a muscular mass on the back of the hu¬ 
man leg, below the knee, and furnishes ample 
means for standing and moving in an erect atti¬ 
tude. 

LEGACY (leg'a-cy), a gift of personal prop¬ 
erty or money conveyed by will and differing 
from a devise, which is understood to be a gift 
of real property. In the United States a legacy 
may be unconditional, or may be subject to some 
uncertain event or condition. The laws of the 
different states are somewhat varied, but in 
most instances the testator may bequeath in gen¬ 
eral or specific terms. He may name an execu¬ 
tor and make bequests in favor of relatives, 
friends, or charitable and public institutions. In 
most countries a limited amount of property 
may be willed orally in the presence of wit¬ 
nesses, but when the legacy exceeds in value the 
common limit a written instrument is required. 
Creditors have a prior claim to legatees. 

LEGAL TENDER, the act of tendering pay¬ 
ment at the time and place in full, settlement of 
a claim, using such currency, or money, as the 
law authorizes a debtor to tender and requires a 
creditor to receive. The effect of a tender of 



LEGEND 


1221 


LEGION OF HONOR 


payment does not discharge the debtor, but it 
saves the tenderer from paying interest there¬ 
after and from the costs of a suit for the debt, 
but the exact amount due must be offered. It is 
not sufficient to offer to pay, but the money 
must be actually produced and made acceptable 
to the creditor. Ihe provisions that regulate a 
legal tender differ materially in different coun¬ 
tries. Notes of the Bank of England are a legal 
tender in Great Britain for any sum above £5. 
Although gold coins are a legal tender, they are 
such only when not diminished in weight below 
the statutory standard, and silver coins are not 
a legal tender to exceed forty shillings. Gold 
coins, certain treasury notes, and the so-called 
greenbacks are a legal tender for debts of any 
amount in the United States. Fractional silver 
money is a legal tender not to exceed ten dol¬ 
lars, but silver dollars are a full legal tender, 
unless it is otherwise stipulated in the contract. 

LEGEND (lej'end), a term formerly applied 
to certain writings that were designed as lessons 
in the religious service of the primitive church. 
These writings contain biographies of saints and 
martyrs and stories of remarkable religious en¬ 
terprises. They are intermingled with many val¬ 
uable precepts, encouraging moral conduct and 
right living. The monastic institutions were pro¬ 
lific centers for the accumulation of these writ¬ 
ings, at which it was not uncommon to read the 
histories of saints and martyrs on the particular 
days set apart for them. Most of these writings 
originated in the 12th century and spread alike 
among the Eastern and Western churches, serv¬ 
ing the useful purpose of suppressing many of 
the writings of heathen origin. At present the 
term legend is understood to imply a narrative, 
usually entertaining, 'based on tradition with 
some intermixture of fact. Many of the popular 
readings are of legendary origin. They sprang 
up naturally among the different peoples and 
embody popular feeling in characteristic narra¬ 
tions. 

LEGERDEMAIN (lej-er-de-man'), a decep¬ 
tive performance that depends upon manual 
skill or dexterity. The different feats of leger¬ 
demain are performed by sleight of hand, col¬ 
lusion with assistants, mechanical contrivances, 
or some combination of these. They appear 
simple and uninteresting when they are under¬ 
stood. In giving exhibits of a high character 
it is common to utilize optical illusions, chemi¬ 
cal properties, or some elaborate scientific phe¬ 
nomenon. 

LEGHORN (leg'horn), a seaport on the 
Mediterranean, in the province of Tuscany, 
Italy, twelve miles southwest of Pisa. It has a 
safe and commodious harbor, important rail¬ 


road connections, and modern municipal facili¬ 
ties. The streets are regular and most of the 
buildings are modern. It has manufactures of 
ships, machinery, clothing, hats, cheese, tobacco, 
salt, spirituous liquors, cotton and woolen 
goods, and oil. As a seaport it is one of the 
most important of Italy, both its import and ex¬ 
port trade being extensive. Its general facilities 
include electric lights, waterworks, and electric 
street railways. The city has a number of beau¬ 
tiful parks, many statues of noted men, and 
various public buildings and churches. Among 
the noteworthy structures are the Church of the 
Madonna, the Royal Marine Academy, the pub¬ 
lic library, the gymnasium, and the Leghorn 
Hospital. In 1421 Leghorn was a small fishing 
village and became a possession of Florence. Its 
importance dates from the 16th century, at 
which time its harbor was improved and various 
manufactures were established. In 1835 a line 
of strong fortifications were constructed for its 
defense. Population, 1906, 99,805. 

LEGION (le'jun), a division of the army of 
ancient Rome, constituting at different times a 
body of men numbering from 2,000 to 6,000. 
When first organized, the legion comprised fif¬ 
teen companies, each company containing sixty 
rank and file, two officers or centurions, and a 
standard bearer. Subsequently it was divided in¬ 
to ten cohorts, each cohort into three companies, 
and each company into two centuries. Romulus 
established the legion that contained 3,000 foot 
soldiers. At the time of the Second Punic War 
the legion numbered from 4,200 to 5,200, and 
from the year 100 b. c. to the downfall of the 
empire the number varied from 1,000 to 6,200. 
An eagle was the standard of the legion. 

LEGION OF HONOR, a French order of 
merit established by Napoleon on May 19, 1802. 
It is maintained for the purpose of recognizing 
civil and military merit. Originally the decora¬ 
tion was a star bearing the portrait of Napoleon, 
surrounded by a wreath. On one side was the 
inscription “Napoleon Empereur des Francais,” 
and on the opposite side it bore the French 
eagle, holding a thunderbolt and the inscription 
“Honneur et Patrie” in its talons. The consti¬ 
tution of the order has been remodeled at dif¬ 
ferent times, but at present five ranks are rec¬ 
ognized, those of grand crosses, grand officers, - 
commanders, officers, and chevaliers or knights. 
By a constitutional provision the membership 
in each rank or class is limited to the following 
number: grand crosses to 70, grand officers to 
200, commanders to 1,000, officers to 4,000, and 
chevaliers to 25,000. Membership is limited to 
those who have served in some military or civil 
capacity a term of 25 years, attained marked em- 






LEGISLATURE 


1222 


LEIPSIC 


inence in civil arts, or become noted for skill 
and bravery in war. The decoration now bears 
the inscription “Republique Francaise, 1870,” 
while the opposite side has two flags and is in¬ 
scribed “Honneur et Patrie” (Honor and Coun¬ 
try). The president of France is the grand 
master of the order by virtue of his office. 

LEGISLATURE (lej'is-la-tur), the lawmak¬ 
ing body of a state or country. It has the power 
to enact, amend, and repeal laws and resolutions 
and is subject to the constitution. The chief 
executive, whether in a republic or a monarchy, 
has more or less influence upon the legislature, 
and under certain restrictions may veto its en¬ 
actments, though in most cases laws and resolu¬ 
tions may be passed over the veto of the chief 
executive. Originally, as in ancient Greece and 
Rome, the lawmaking functions were vested in 
assemblies that were constituted of a large num¬ 
ber of the citizens, but later, as the countries 
became more populous, these powers were dele¬ 
gated to a few representatives chosen by the 
people. Later the legislative and executive func¬ 
tions were combined in the king or emperor, as 
in the Middle Ages, but ultimately the commons 
were granted enlarged powers, and at present 
all of the leading civilized nations have legisla¬ 
tive assemblies constituted wholly or in part of 
representatives chosen by the popular vote of 
those entitled to the right of franchise. 

In England the body having national legisla¬ 
tive functions is known as the Parliament. It is 
constituted of the House of Lords and the 
House of Commons. In this respect it cor¬ 
responds to the highest legislative authority in 
the Dominion of Canada and the Common¬ 
wealth of Australia. Members in the upper 
house hold their position by heredity or ap¬ 
pointment, while those in the lower house are 
elected by the people. In the United States 
the national legislature consists of the two 
houses of Congress, the Senate and the House 
of Representatives. Members of the former are 
elected by the legislatures of the states, and 
those in the latter are chosen by popular vote in 
the several states. All of the civilized countries 
have national legislatures corresponding to 
those in Great Britain and the United States, 
and in most cases they are composed of two 
branches. In some countries, as in England, 
the members of the upper house serve for life, 
and in others, as in the United States, the term 
is for six years, and the incumbents may be re¬ 
jected any number of times. All of the subdi¬ 
visions of a nation, such as states and provinces, 
have legislatures or assemblies for the purpose 
of enacting laws of a more local character. 
These likewise consist in most cases of' an up¬ 


per and a lower branch. In cities the legislative 
authority is vested in the common council, and 
in counties it is exercised by the board of su¬ 
pervisors or the county commissioners. 

LEHIGH (lehi), a river of Pennsylvania, 
rises in Wayne County, and after a course of 
120 miles flows into the Delaware River at East¬ 
on. The country through which it passes is 
rich in anthracite coal deposits. In its course 
the Lehigh passes the cities of Allentown, 
Mauch Chunk, and White Haven. About sev¬ 
enty miles of its length have been rendered nav¬ 
igable by extensive improvements. 

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY. See Bethlehem. 

LEICESTER (les'ter), a commercial and 
manufacturing city of England, in Leicestershire, 
on the Soar River, 98 miles northwest of Lon¬ 
don. It is the focus of several important rail¬ 
roads. The chief buildings include the free li¬ 
brary, the Royal Theater, the public museum, 
the Trinity Hospital, and many schools and 
churches. It has manufactures of ironware, 
boots and shoes, woolen and cotton goods, 
thread, lace, utensils, and earthenware. The 
surrounding country is fertile and produces 
cereals, vegetables, dairy products, and wool. 
It is reputed that the city was founded by King 
Lear. Many relics of remote centuries have 
been found in its vicinity. It received the first 
charter from King John. The building of rail¬ 
roads and the growth of manufacturing estab¬ 
lishments are the causes of its modern prosper¬ 
ity. Population, 1907, 236,124. 

LEIPSIC (lip'sik), or Leipzig, a commercial 
city of Germany, in a fertile region of Saxony, 
on the Elster, 73 miles northwest of Dresden. 
Many railroad and electric railway lines con¬ 
verge here. It has well-paved streets, extensive 
parks, modern municipal facilities, and many 
historic buildings and churches. The old por¬ 
tion of the city has narrow streets, but those of 
the newer part are entirely modern. The town- 
hall, a large building in the Renaissance style, 
dates from 1556. Other noteworthy buildings 
include the stock exchange, the market house, 
the .Imperial courthouse, the Church of Saint 
John, the public library, the Church of Saint 
Thomas, and the University or Pauline Church. 
It has a large museum, several theaters, a cas¬ 
tle, and many memorials and statues. Among 
the monuments is a fine work of art dedicated 
to scenes in several wars, erected in 1888. The 
manufactures embrace machinery, cotton and 
woolen goods, musical instruments, spirituous 
liquors, ribbon, earthenware, leather, paper, 
clothing, and ships. 

Educationally Leipsic is one of the most im¬ 
portant cities of the world, containing a fine 





LEIPSIC 


1223 


LE MANS 


public school system, several gymnasia, conserv¬ 
atories of music, business colleges, industrial 
schools, and the celebrated University of Leip- 
sic. This great educational center was founded 
in 1408, represents property of much value, and 
is efficiently equipped with courses of study and 
apparatus. It has 300 professors, 4,000 students, 
and a library of 500,000 volumes. The city of 
Leipsic dates from the 11th century, when it 
was founded by the Wendish. It has been the 
seat of many historic conventions and battles. 
In the Reformation it suffered intensely, was be¬ 
sieged and taken five different times, and near it, 
at Breitenfield, occurred the victory over Tilly 
by Gustavus Adolphus on Sept. 17, 1631. The 
so-called ‘Battle of Nations” occurred here on 
Oct. 16-19, 1813, between the allied forces of 
Prussia, Austria, Sweden, and Russia and Na¬ 
poleon, in which the French were defeated and a 
step toward Napoleon’s final overthrow was ac¬ 
complished. In this battle Napoleon had an 
army of 180,000 men, while the allied forces 
numbered about 300,000. The annual jobbing 
trade of Leipsic is at present estimated at $60,- 
000,000. Population, 1905, 503,672. 

LEIPSIC, Battles of. See Leipsic. 

LEITH (leth), a seaport of Scotland, on the 
Firth of Forth, a short distance north of Edin¬ 
burgh. It has an important harbor, is connected 
by several railroads with other commercial cen¬ 
ters, and engages extensively in the manufacture 
of sugar, engines, machinery, spirituous liquors, 
fabrics, cordage, and ships. In 1128 it was 
known as Inverleith. Robert I. granted the city, 
port, and mills of Leith to Edinburgh in 1329. 
As an export and import city Leith is of grow¬ 
ing importance, its trade in coal being particu¬ 
larly extensive. Population, 1907, 78,804. 

LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNI¬ 
VERSITY, an educational institution at Palo 
Alto, Santa Clara County, California, 33 miles 
from San Francisco and 15 miles from San Jose, 
the county seat. It was founded in 1885 by Le- 
land Stanford (1824-93) and Jane Lathrop 
Stanford (1825-1905), his wife, as a memorial 
to their only son Leland, who died in 1884 at 
Florence, Italy, in his fifteenth year. The cor¬ 
ner-stone of the main building was laid in 1887 
and the institution was opened for instruction in 
October, 1891, when it had 559 students and a 
faculty of 35 teachers. This attendance grew to 
1,751 students in 1908, when the faculty included 
150 instructors. 

The university campus, containing 9,000 acres, 
the country estate of Senator Stanford, is beau¬ 
tifully situated at the foothills of the Santa 
Cruz Mountains, with the sweep of the Santa 
Clara valley and the Bay of San Francisco in 


front of it and the Mount Hamilton range be¬ 
yond. The plan of the buildings was adopted 
from the architecture of the old Spanish mis¬ 
sions of California. An inner quadrangle of 
twelve one-storied buildings of buff sandstone 
with red tiled roofs and connected by an arcade 
of columns and arches opens on a paved court 
of four acres, diversified with beds of tropical 
plants. It is surrounded by a second quad¬ 
rangle of fourteen buildings, most of them of 
two stories, flanked by another arcade of col¬ 
umns and arches. Some of the buildings were 
damaged by the earthquake of 1906, but they 
were restored at once. In addition to the Palo 
Alto estate, the university has a landed endow¬ 
ment of 75,000 acres of fruit and farming land. 
However, the principal endowment consists in 
interest-bearing securities which aggregate $30,- 
000,000. The university library has 100,000 vol¬ 
umes and is rapidly increasing. 

A board of trustees of fifteen members, elected 
for terms of ten years, has general management. 
Academic matters are dealt with by the aca¬ 
demic council, comprising the professors and 
associate and assistant professors. The depart¬ 
ments include those of ancient and modern lan¬ 
guages, law, economics and social science, en¬ 
gineering, history, botany, education, zoology, 
philosophy, geology and mining, applied mathe¬ 
matics, etc. The Hopkin’s Laboratory of Nat¬ 
ural History, at Pacific Grove, is affiliated with 
the university. Honorary degrees are not 
granted. The degrees include those of Engineer, 
Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Arts, and Doctor 
of Philosophy. The full course requires 120 
hours of university work, 30 hours being an av¬ 
erage year. David Starr Jordan, formerly pres¬ 
ident of the University of Indiana, was elected 
the first president, which position he is still 
holding. 

LEMAN, Lake, a name frequently applied 
to Geneva Lake. See Geneva, Lake of. 

LE MANS (le-mon'), a city of France, capi¬ 
tal of the department of Sarthe, 132 miles south¬ 
west of Paris. It is well located on both sides 
of the Sarthe River, which is crossed by several 
bridges. Among the features are systems of 
sewerage and waterworks, paved streets, electric 
street railways, and numerous churches. The 
most noteworthy public building is the Saint 
Julian Cathedral. It has an important trade in 
farm produce and poultry. The manufactures 
include cotton and woolen goods, lace, candles, 
soap, and machinery. In 1871 it was the scene 
of a decisive battle, in which an army of 100,- 
000 French was defeated by the Germans under 
Prince Frederick Charles. Population, 1906, 65,- 
467. 




LEMARS 


1224 


LEMON 


LEMARS (le-marz'), a city of Iowa, county 
seat of Plymouth County, on the Floyd River, 
25 miles northeast of Sioux City. It is on the 
Illinois Central and the Chicago, Saint Paul, 
Minneapolis and Omaha railroads. The chief 
buildings include the public library, the county 
courthouse, and the Western Union College 
(Evangelical). It has manufactures of flour, 
cigars, clothing, brick, and machinery. The sur¬ 
rounding country is agricultural. Population, 
1905, 5,041; in 1910, 4,157. 

LEMBERG (lem'berg), a railroad and com¬ 
mercial city of Austria-Hungary, capital of Ga¬ 
licia, situated in a fertile region, 362 miles north¬ 
east of Vienna. It consists of the old and new 
parts, the latter having regularly platted streets 
and most of the prominent buildings. Many of 
the streets are paved with stone and asphalt. 
It has eight monasteries and many churches, and 
is the seat of Greek Catholic, Armenian, and 
Roman Catholic archbishoprics. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are the Polytechnic Insti¬ 
tute, the city hall, the government house, the 
museum, and the archiepiscopal palace. The 
university was founded by Joseph II. In 1908 it 
had an attendance of 2,050 students. The uni¬ 
versity library has 175,000 volumes. Lemberg is 
a jobbing center and general market. It has 
manufactures of glass, clothing, furniture, jew¬ 
elry, earthenware, and machinery. The inhabi¬ 
tants consist principally of Germans and Poles, 
for each of which separate gymnasia are main¬ 
tained. Population, 1906, 163,108. 

LEMMING (lem'mmg), a rodent quadruped 
found in the northern parts of America and Eu¬ 
rope, particularly in Norway and Sweden. 



LEMMING. 


It is allied to the rat and mouse. Sev¬ 
eral species have been described, of which the 
common lemming of Europe is the best known. 
It is about six inches long and has a short tail. 
The general color is brownish, the limbs are 
short, and the head is large. It.feeds on grass, 
reindeer moss, vegetables, and lichens. The fa¬ 
vorite habitations are in burrows a short dis¬ 
tance below the surface, in which the female 
brings forth several litters of young per year. 


numbering from three to five at a birth. These 
animals are noted for migrating at certain peri¬ 
ods, especially at the approach of winter, when 
they form an immense line and proceed in paral¬ 
lel columns. In their course they are preyed 
upon by flesh-eating animals, such as wolves, 
foxes, and bears, but they move across streams 
and mountains and even venture far into large 
bodies of water, where many lose their lives. 
The banded lemming, found in the vicinity of 
Hudson Bay, is the best known American spe¬ 
cies. It extends as far southward as the north¬ 
ern part of the United States. 

LEMNOS (lem'nos), an island in the Aegean 
Sea, the most northerly of the Grecian Archi¬ 
pelago, situated midway between Mount Athos 
and the Hellespont. The area is 160 square 
miles. It has several large bays, the extinct 
volcano Mosychlus, and a generally productive 
soil. The productions include cereals, wine, to¬ 
bacco, and fruits. In 1657 the island passed 
from the Venetians to the Turks, since which 
time it has been a Turkish possession. Lem- 
nian earth, a soft aluminum silicate, was first 
found in Lemnos, but occurs also in Russia, 
Bohemia, India, and other countries. It is 
caused by a decay of feldspathic rocks, has a 
fatty consistency, is reddish in color, ar\d is 
used as a medicine in cases of dysentery and 
other diseases. Lemno, or Kastro, is the chief 
town. The inhabitants consist chiefly of Greeks. 
Population, 1907, 29,406. 

LEMON, the fruit of the tropical or sub¬ 
tropical tree Citrus Medica, of the orange fam¬ 
ily, originally native to the tropical portions of 
Asia. It is quite certain that lemons were un¬ 
known to the ancient Greeks and Romans and 
that this fruit was introduced into Spain by the 
Arabs about the 12th century. The lemon tree 
has since been naturalized extensively. Many 
highly improved species have been produced by 
cultivation. The fruit is ellipsoidal, with a pro¬ 
truding point at each end, and from two to four 
inches in length. It has a bright yellow color, 
the skin is quite thick, and the internal pulp is 
very acid and juicy. From eight to twelve com¬ 
partments are in the fruit, each containing sev¬ 
eral seeds. On account of their keeping prop¬ 
erty lemons are more profitable to grow than 
oranges. The tree is knotty-wooded, has oval 
leaves, and grows to a height of about eight 
feet. It bears very abundantly, many trees pro¬ 
ducing 3,000 lemons in a favorable season. 

The fruit of the lemon tree is gathered while 
still green, wrapped in small papers, and shipped 
in boxes for consumption in the general market, 
the ripening taking place in transit or while 
kept in the store. Among the favorite species of 













LEMUR 


1225 


LENT 


lemons are the sweet lemon, thin-skinned lemon, 
common lemon, and citron lemon. The princi¬ 
pal uses are for the manufacture of oil of lemon, 
for flavoring in cookery, to make lemonade and 
other drinks, as a stimulant in medicine, and for 
perfumery. Oil of lemon is a volatile product 
and is secured from the rind by pressure. Lem¬ 
on extract is made largely from the more im- 



A, Flower; B. Section of Fruit. 

perfect fruit by squeezing, an3, after removing 
all foreign properties, it is prepared with de¬ 
odorized spirits and filtered. The most exten¬ 
sive production of lemons in the United States 
is in California and Florida, where large fields 
are cultivated successfully, and immense quanti¬ 
ties are transported to all parts of America, 
They are grown in large orchards in the warmer 
parts of Europe and America, especially in the 
islands and countries of the Mediterranean.. 
However, the Greek island of Andros and Sicily 
are particularly important in the culture of the 
lemon tree. In 1790 the cultivation of the lemon 
was introduced into Australia, where it is prov¬ 
ing profitable. 

LEMUR (le'mur), a family of mammals al¬ 
lied to the monkey, found mainly in Madagas¬ 
car, but related species are common in Africa, 
Southern Asia, and the Philippines. The body, 
tail, and snout are long. A few species, as the 
slender loris, are tailless, but nearly all have a 
bushy tail which is about as long as the body. 
Most of these animals have longer hind legs 
than fore legs and are peculiarly odd in ap¬ 
pearance. All are harmless and some build 
nests like birds. They inhabit forest districts, 
move about principally by night, and may be do¬ 
mesticated, when they become docile and play¬ 


ful. The food consists of insects, vegetables, 
reptiles, birds, and fruits. Most of the species 
resemble the monkey in many respects, while 
others have foxlike faces and are about the size 
of a cat. 

LENA (lye'na), one of the largest rivers in 
the world, rises near Lake Baikal, in southern 
Siberia, has a northeasterly course to Yakutsk, 
and thence flows nearly north into the Arctic 
Ocean. The entire length is 2,775 miles, the 
basin contains 950,000 square miles, and th'e del¬ 
ta is 250 miles wide. From May to October it is 
navigated, forming the most important trans¬ 
portation route of eastern Siberia, but the re¬ 
mainder of the year it is frozen. The valley is 
highly fertile, especially the upper part, where 
stock raising and farming are extensive indus¬ 
tries. It receives the inflow from the Kuta, the 
Vitim, and thoKirenga. 

LENS, a piece of transparent substance, usu¬ 
ally glass, so called from the resemblance in 
form to the seed of a lentil, which is like a 
double-convex lens. A lens is shaped so as to 
afford two regular opposite surfaces, both 
curved, or one plane and the other curved, and 
designed to change the direction of rays of light, 
and for increasing or diminishing the apparent 
size of objects viewed through it. A lens that 
hollows or rounds inward is said to be concave; 
one that rounds outward, convex. The curved 
surfaces are usually spherical. Six distinct kinds 
of the ordinary lenses of this description are in 
general use. They are employed in the manufac¬ 
ture of telescopes, opera glasses, stereoscopes, 
spectacles, microscopes, lanterns, and other instru¬ 
ments and devices The best grade of crown or 



a. Plano-concave. b. Double-concave, 

c. Plano-convex. d. Double-convex. 

E, Meniscus. r. Concavo-convex. 

flint glass is used in making lenses for micro¬ 
scopes and telescopes, and, since great accuracy 
is necessary in grinding and polishing, the lenses 
for the larger instruments represent much value. 
The six varieties of curved lenses include the 
double-convex lens, plano-convex, double-con¬ 
cave, meniscus, plano-concave, and concavo-con¬ 
vex. The meniscus are lenses in which the con¬ 
vexity is greater than the concavity, and the 
concavo-convex have greater concavity than con¬ 
vexity. See Light. 

LENT, a fast of forty days, observed annu¬ 
ally from Ash Wednesday until Easter by the 












LENTIL 


1226 


LEOPOLDVILLE 


Anglican, Roman Catholic, and other churches 
as a season of special penitence and self-denial. 
It was instituted by the early Christian Church 
in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, 
and to commemorate his fast of forty days in 
the wilderness. Originally the fast was but 36 
days, the four additional being added in the 5th 
century, which change was generally accepted. 
Much rejoicing accompanies the close of Lent 
in Roman Catholic countries, and its beginning 
is preceded by the carnival. In many churches 
the fasting is left to the individual conscience 
of each member, but all are admonished to be 
diligent in prayer. 

LENTIL (len'til), a plant cultivated exten¬ 
sively in Europe and elsewhere for fodder and 
for human food. It grows to a height of about 
twenty inches, has numerous branches and whit¬ 
ish flowers, and bears seeds about as large as a 
pea. Garden lentil and field lentil are the two 
species commonly cultivated in Germany, 
France, Syria, and Egypt. Lentil straw is a 
wholesome fodder for stock. The seeds are 
used in cookery for soup, or are baked and pre¬ 
pared much like beans and peas. Formerly len¬ 
til was unknown in Canada and the United 
States, but its cultivation has been introduced 
into these countries. 

LEO. See Zodiac. 

LEOMINSTER (lem'in-ster), a town of 
Worcester County, Massachusetts, on the 
Nashua River, five miles south of Fitchburg. It 
is on the Boston- and Maine and the New York, 
New Haven and Hartford railroads. The sur¬ 
rounding country is agricultural and dairying. 
It has electric street railways, public lighting, 
city waterworks, and a library of 18,000 vol¬ 
umes. The manufactures embrace musical in¬ 
struments, linen and woolen goods, buttons, 
clothing, toys, and utensils. It was settled in 
1725, but formed a part of Lancaster until 1740, 
when it was incorporated as a separate town. 
Population, 1905, 14,297; in 1910, 17,580. 

le6n (la-on'), a city of Mexico, in the state 
of Guanajuato, 32 miles west of Guanajuato. 
The site is in a fertile plain, on railways and 
regular routes of travel. It has manufactures of 
machinery, cotton and woolen goods, and leath¬ 
er. Among the chief buildings are a library, the 
city hall, and a number of schools and churches. 
It has modern municipal facilities, including wa¬ 
terworks, -sewerage, and a public park. The 
jobbing trade is extensive. Population, 1906, 
64,632. 

LE6N, the principal city of Nicaragua, Cen 
tral America, capital of the department of 
Leon, on the shore of Lake Managua, twelve 
miles from the Pacific. It is surrounded by fer¬ 


tile plains, has good railroad connections, and is 
well improved with pavements and parks. Leon 
is the seat of an episcopal palace, several 
churches, and the College of Saint Ramon. It 
has a good public school system, modern munic¬ 
ipal facilities, and contains a massive cathedral. 
The manufactures and commercial enterprises 
are important. It has a growing trade in live 
stock, cereals, fruits, and merchandise. Popula¬ 
tion, T906, 48,402. 

LEON, a city of Spain, capital of the prov¬ 
ince of Leon, 81 miles northwest of Valladolid. 
It is celebrated as the capital of an ancient king¬ 
dom of the same name. The city was founded 
by the Romans, who named it Legio. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 18,041. See Spain. 

LEOPARD (lep'erd), a ferocious, carnivor¬ 
ous mammal native to Asia and Africa. It is 
regarded by some writers as allied to the pan- 



LEOPARD. 


ther, by some as a species of it, and by still 
others as a distinct species. The color is largely 
a pale fawn spotted with dark brown or black 
in rosettes or broken rings. The lower part of 
the body is whitish, the tail is long, and the 
movements are graceful and rapid. It can leap 
over precipices with ease and readily ascend 
trees, from which it springs upon its prey with 
marked certainty. The leopard is bloodthirsty, 
often killing more than it can devour for the 
sake of the fresh blood, and steals from ambush 
upon its prey, such as poultry, deer, antelope, or 
any animals it can destroy. The favorite haunts 
are in the woods. Its size and strength are suffi¬ 
cient to overcome a man, but it rarely attacks 
human beings, except in'defense or when in dire 
need of food. 

LEOPOLDVILLE, a city of the Congo 
Free State, on the Congo River, at the outlet of 
Stanley Pool. It is connected by a number of 
important railroads, giving it decided trade ad¬ 
vantages. The cataracts occupy a distance of 
235 miles and are impassable by vessels, but 





LEPANTO 


1227 


LETTER 


about 7,000 miles of the Congo River and its 
tributaries above Leopoldville are navigable, 
hence the importance of the city as a trade and 
commercial center. The streets are platted at 
right angles. It has electric lights, waterworks, 
and several fine schools and churches. The city 
was named from Leopold, King of Belgium. 
Population, 1906, 21,785. 

LEPANTO (le-pan'to), or Naupaktos, a 
seaport of Greece, on the north coast of the 
Gulf of Corinth, or Lepanto. Anciently it was 
of vast commercial* importance. It came into 
possession of the Athenians after the Persian 
wars. The Venetians fortified it in 1477 and im¬ 
proved its harbor. On Oct. 7, 1571, a memora¬ 
ble battle occurred near Lepanto between the 
fleet of the Turkish Sultan and the allied fleets 
of Philip II. of Spain, Pope Pius V., and the 
republic of Venice. Prince Don John of Aus¬ 
tria commanded the allied fleets, while the Ot¬ 
toman fleet was under the command of Ulutch 
Ali of Algeria, Ali Pasha, and Mohammed 
Sirocco of Egypt. The battle raged four hours 
and terminated in the destruction of the Otto¬ 
man fleet of 200 galleys and sixty other vessels. 
From the Battle of Lepanto dates the decline of 
Turkish power in Europe. 

LEPROSY (lep'ro-sy), a chronic skin dis¬ 
ease characterized by ulcerous eruptions and 
successive scaling off of dead skin. Those af¬ 
fected show symptoms that include thickening 
of the skin, loss of hair and feeling, offensive 
perspiration, ulceration, and death of parts. 
Two forms are generally recognized, known as 
tuberculous and nontuberculous, or anaesthetic. 
In ancient times many skin diseases were re¬ 
garded as leprosy, but it is now generally re¬ 
stricted to elephantiasis, the name applied by the 
Greeks, and designated lepra by the Arabs. 
Leprosy is hereditary. It is regarded conta¬ 
gious, being caused by a minute organism, a ba¬ 
cillus, which may be conveyed to those not af¬ 
fected, and after a time develops the worst 
forms known. In former times the disease was 
prevalent to a vast extent, but was found more 
frequently in men than in women, and prevailed 
principally among the people who were exces¬ 
sively exposed to filth, poverty, and cold damps. 
At present it prevails most extensively in Ice¬ 
land, the Pacific islands, the Hawaiian Islands, 
the West Indies, Madagascar, the Greek archi¬ 
pelago, in the vicinity of the Mediterranean, and 
the East Indies. 

Increased efforts have been made within re¬ 
cent years not only to limit the spread of lep¬ 
rosy, but to provide adequate care for those af¬ 
flicted. In Louisiana is a plantation for lepers, 
on which several hundred receive treatment, 


while similar provisions have been made in a 
number of the other states. One of the largest 
colonies of lepers now within the domain of 
the United States is on the island of Molokai, 
one of the Hawaiian group, where about 1,250 
persons are confined, about one-third of whom 
are females. Visitors have access to the colony, 
but the leprous-are separated from others by 
wire fencing. A semiofficial estimate published 
in 1908 placed the number of lepers in the Phil¬ 
ippine Islands at 30,000, most of whom are in 
the Visagas. Japan has 200,000 registered lep¬ 
ers. An estimate places the number in India 
and China at 500,000 for each country. 

LESBOS , or Mytilene, an island in the 
Aegean Sea, formerly a possession of Greece, 
but now a part of Turkey. It is situated near 
the coast of Asia Minor, has a triangular form, 
and includes a total of' 675 square miles. The 
surface is generally mountainous, but there are 
large tracts of fertile coast and valley lands. 
Among the chief products are pine timber, live 
stock, cereals, and tropical fruits. Aeolian col¬ 
onists settled the island at an early period and 
built cities upon it. The poets and literary men 
of Lesbos included Sappho, Theophrastus, Ari- 
on, Pittacus, and several others famous in the 
history of Greece. Since 1462 it has been a pos¬ 
session of Turkey. The inhabitants consist al¬ 
most entirely of Greeks and Turks, but the for¬ 
mer are in the majority. Population, 1906, 
128,403. 

LESINA (les'e-na), an island in the Adriatic 
Sea, near Dalmatia, belonging to Austria. It is 
thirteen miles long and has an undulating sur¬ 
face. The principal town is Lesina, which has a 
good harbor, and exports fruits and cereal prod¬ 
ucts. Population, 1906, 15,236. 

LESSER ANTILLES. See Leeward Is¬ 
lands; Windward Islands. 

LETHE (le'the), a stream mentioned in 
Grecian mythology, which flowed gently and si¬ 
lently in a secluded vale of Elysium. The wa¬ 
ters of the Lethe had the property of dispelling 
care and producing utter forgetfulness of for¬ 
mer events. The Pythagorean doctrine of the 
transmigration of souls implied that after the 
mortals had inhabited Elysium a thousand years 
they were destined to animate other bodies on 
earth, and, before leaving Elysium, they drank 
of the waters of the River Lethe in order that 
they could enter upon their new career without 
any remembrance of the past. 

LETTER, as commonly understood, the 
name applied to a written message or communi¬ 
cation. Previous to the rapid transit of intelli¬ 
gence by railway, steamboat, telephone, and tele-* 
graph, letters served a quite different purpose 


LETTERS OF MARQUE 


1228 


LEVEE 


than they do at present in that they assumed 
the form of epistles. These writings now con¬ 
stitute a large part of the literature that has 
come down to us through the centuries. Many 
of the letters of Cicero, Pliny, and Seneca are 
included in ancient literature. The epistolary 
writings of the early Christians, including the 
epistles of the New Testament, belong to this 
class. Among the literary men of more recent 
times are many writers who delighted to con¬ 
tribute messages of friendship and intelligence 
to others, and for this purpose wrote letters, 
sometimes of a private, but frequently of a pub¬ 
lic, character. We find in the literature of all 
languages men who were especially noted for 
extraordinary ability in letter writing. Such, for 
instance, were Walpole, Cowper, and Gray 
among the English; Goethe, Humboldt, and 
Schiller of the Germans; and Voltaire and Ma¬ 
dame de Sevigne among the French. 

LETTERS OF MARQUE AND REPRIS¬ 
AL, a commission issued by a state or govern¬ 
ment authorizing the bearer to pass beyond the 
boundaries of his own country for the purpose 
of capturing prizes of the enemy, consisting of 
their persons or goods. The term letters of 
marque signifies a license from the government 
to pass beyond the limits or jurisdiction of one’s 
own country. On the other hand, reprisal sig¬ 
nifies taking in turn. 

LETTS (lets), a people inhabiting portions 
of Russia, largely in Livonia, Courland, Kovno, 
and Vitebsk. They are Slavonic, closely allied 
to the Lithuanians, and number about 1,000,000. 
In 1586 the Lutheran Catechism was translated 
into the Lettic language. Many literary products 
of the Letts have much value, but many of the 
race have been Germanized. Most of these peo¬ 
ple are Protestants. The total number is about 
1,350,000. 

LETTUCE (let'tis), an annual plant of the 
order Compositae, cultivated in gardens as a 
salad. Many species are grown, most of which 
attain a height of two feet, bear yellowish flow¬ 
ers, and have variously formed leaves. The 
plant is in its best state when from four to six 
inches tall, when it is tender and best adapted as 
a food. Lettuce has been cultivated in gardens 
since very early times, but does not grow spon¬ 
taneously in any country. It includes both 
greenish and purplish species. Some have heads 
resembling those found in several kinds of cab¬ 
bage. 

LEUCADIA, or Santa Manra, an island off 
the west coast of Greece, in the Ionian Sea. The 
area is 109 square miles. It is traversed by 
lulls, but contains a fair proportion of fertile 
soil, and produces cereals, fruits, and wine. In 


the southern part is a line of white cliffs, the 
highest of which is about 2,000 feet, known as 
the Leucadian Rock, or the Lover’s Leap, so 
called from despairing lovers throwing them¬ 
selves from it. Amaxichi is the chief town. 
The inhabitants are chiefly Greeks. Population, 
1906, 34,982. 

LEUCTRA (liik'tra), a village of Greece, 
in Boeotia. It is famous as the place where the 
Thebans under Epaminondas defeated the Spar¬ 
tans under Cleombrotus, in 371 b. c. Sparta had 
exercised an influence ovef Greece for several 
centuries, since the close of the Peloponnesian 
War, in 404 b. c., but it was terminated by the 
Battle of Leuctra. 

LEUTHEN (loi'ten), a small town of Ger¬ 
many, in Lower Silesia, celebrated on account 
of a battle fought there on Dec. 5, 1757, by 
which Prussia recovered most of Silesia. The 



CABBAGE LETTUCE. 


Prussian army consisted of 35,000 men under 
Frederick the Great, while 90,000 Austrians 
were under Prince Charles of Lorraine, but the 
former won a decisive victory. 

LEVANT (le-vant'), an Italian term, mean¬ 
ing the East. It is applied in a restricted sense 
to the Asiatic coast of the Mediterranean, from 
Constantinople to Alexandria, Egypt, but in a 
more general sense to the regions from Italy to 
the Euphrates and the Nile. 

LEVEE (lev'e), a French term applied to 
embankments constructed to prevent water from 
overflowing level tracts of land, but now used in 
a similar way in the English and other lan¬ 
guages. The most important levees of America 
are those of the lower Mississippi, which border 
the river for a distance of 1,200 miles. These 
levees are now almost continuous from Cairo, 
Ill., to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of 1,000 
miles. They serve to confine the stream to its 
natural channel. Other levees of vast extent are 
those of the Ganges River in Asia, of the Po 



LEVEL 


1229 


LEVITICUS 




F 




River in Italy, and those of Holland, the latter 
being more commonly called dams. 

LEVEL, an instrument for indicating a hori¬ 
zontal line, for determining the true level, or to 
ascertain the difference of elevation between two 
or more places. It is used in engineering, archi¬ 
tecture, surveying, drainage, and in many other 
arts. The devices used for such purposes are 
numerous, including those in which the hori¬ 
zontal line -is determined by a bubble of air 
floating in a fluid contained in a glass tube, as 
in a spirit level; those in which the horizontal 
line is determined by the surface of the fluid at 
rest, as in the water and mercurial levels; and 
those of the simpler forms used by carpenters 
and masons, in which the vertical line is de¬ 
termined by a plumb line and the horizontal by 
a line perpendicular to it. The action of gravity 
is the principle upon which all levels are based. 

LEVER (le'ver), an inflexible bar or rod 
moving upon a fixed point called the fulcrum or 
prop, and having the weight to be moved and 

_*_ ,, _, the power to 

■ _ 1 move it ap¬ 

plied at two 
other points. 
The lever is 
one of the 
mech a n i c a 1 
powers. It in¬ 
cludes three 
classes, being 
numbered ac¬ 
cording to the 
relative posi¬ 
tions of the 
fulcrum, the 
points of ap¬ 
plication, and 
the force of 
the weights. 
In levers of 
the first class 
the fulcrum is 
between the 
force and the 
power, as in 
a pump handle, in which the hand is the power, 
the water lifted is the weight, and the pivot is 
the fulcrum. Levers of the second class have 
the weight between the fulcrum and the force, 
as an oar, in which the hand is the power, the 
boat is the weight, and the water is the fulcrum. 
In levers of the third class the power is applied 
between the fulcrum and the weight, as in the 
treadle of some grindstones, in which the front 
end resting on the ground is the fulcrum, the 
foot is the power, and the force is transmitted 




r 






k _j 

L 

r ’ 1 

, ■ - 


J 

4 -— — 

i 

' _ 

1 


THREE CLASSES OF LEVERS. 


by the rod to the weight, the wheel above. In 
the lever advantage is gained mainly at a loss of 
time, that is, a heavy weight may be lifted by a 
small power passing through a greater distance. 
The force being smaller, it passes through a 
greater distance than the weight, and for that 
reason is able to overcome material resistance. 
The power is increased by a system of com¬ 
pound levers, as in an ordinary farm scale, in 
which a heavy load may be balanced by a slight 
touch of the hand. 

LEVIS (la-ve'), or Point Levi, a city of 
Quebec, capital of Levis County, on the Saint 
Lawrence River, opposite Quebec. It is on the 
Grand Trunk and the Intercolonial railways, 
has extensive docks, and is connected with Que¬ 
bec by one of the largest cantilever bridges in 
the world. The chief buildings include the 
county courthouse, the high school, and many 
fine churches. Among the manufactures are 
woolen goods, boots and shoes, furniture, ma¬ 
chinery, and soap. It has a large domestic and 
foreign trade. The place was settled in 1647 
and incorporated in 1861. Population, 1901, 
7,783. 

LEVITES (le'vlts), the descendants of Levi, 
who were selected as the guardians of the sanc¬ 
tuary of Israel and ministers of worship. When 
the lands of Palestine were divided, the three 
divisions of Levites, the descendants of the three 
sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, re¬ 
ceived no territorial possession, but were given 
tithes of the agricultural products. There were 
properly two classes of Levites, the entire tribe 
considered collectively, and those who were des¬ 
ignated the sons of Aaron. Forty-eight cities 
of Canaan were assigned to the tribe of Levi, 
of which the priests were to occupy thirteen. 
The duty of preserving and interpreting the law 
was assigned to the Levites in connection with 
their other duties, and at the feast of taber¬ 
nacles they were to read the law before the peo¬ 
ple once every seventh year. They lost their im¬ 
portance after the revolt of the ten tribes, but 
their lineage has been kept up more distinctly 
than that of any other, and even to the present 
time there are those who claim to be pure de¬ 
scendants from Aaron. 

LEVITICUS (le-vit'i-kus), the third book 
of the Old Testament. It contains the laws and 
regulations concerning the Levites and the cere¬ 
monials of worship. The offering of sacrifices, 
the distinction of things clean and unclean, the 
consecration and authority of priests, the feast 
of atonement, the sabbatical and jubilee years, 
and the prohibition of theft, perjury, and idol¬ 
atry are treated in the book. It is of Mosaic 
origin. 













LEWIS AND CLARK EXPOSITION 1230 


LEXINGTON 


LEWIS AND CLARK EXPOSITION, an 

international exposition held at Portland, Ore., 
to celebrate the centennial of the exploration of 
the Oregon country by Lewis and Clark. The 
gates were opened June 1, 1905, and closed Oct. 
15, 1905, a period of 137 days. In point of at¬ 
tendance it ranks fourth among American expo¬ 
sitions, being exceeded only by those held at 
Chicago, Saint Louis, and Buffalo, and the large 
receipts made it a financial success. Official re¬ 
ports place the attendance at 2,545,509. The ex¬ 
position represented an expenditure of $7,500,- 
000, of which Portland contributed $400,000 and 
Oregon $450,000. The cost and dimensions of 
the principal buildings were as follows: 



DIMEN¬ 

SIONS, 

EEET. 

COST. 

Forestry Building. 

206x100 

$30,165 

Oriental Exhibits Building. 

308x160 

55,425 

Agricultural Building. 

460x210 

69,130 

European Exhibits Building 
Machinery, Electricity, and Trans¬ 

462x100 

51,720 

portation Building. 

500x100 

28,540 

Festival Hall (Auditorium). 

108x120 

12,534 

Mines and Metallurgy Building . ■ 
Arts and Varied Industries Build- 

200x100 

14,320 

ing. 

240x375 

38,216 

Fine Arts. 

*25x175x150 

10,000 


*E-shaped. 


LEWISTON (lu'is-tun), a city of Idaho, 
county seat of Nez Perces County, on the Snake 
and Clearwater rivers, 144 miles south by east 
of Spokane, Wash. It is on the Oregon Rail¬ 
road and Navigation Company Line and the 
Northern Pacific Railroad, and is surrounded by 
a productive agricultural and mining country. 
The industries include flouring mills, grain ele¬ 
vators, and sawmills. It has a growing trade in 
live stock, fruit, and merchandise. Waterworks 
and electric lighting are among the public facili¬ 
ties. It is the seat of the State normal school 
and maintains fine public schools. On the oppo¬ 
site side of the Snake River is the town of 
Clarkston, Wash., with which it is connected by 
a steel bridge. Population, 1910, 6,043. 

LEWISTON, a city of Maine, in Androscog¬ 
gin County, on the Androscoggin River, oppo¬ 
site Auburn, 35 miles north of Portland. It is 
on the Maine Central and the Grand Trunk 
railroads and several electric interurban rail¬ 
ways. The noteworthy buildings include the 
townhall, the public library, and Bates College. 
The last named institution was founded in 1863 
and endowed by Benjamin E. Bates and others. 
It has a fine public park and an auditorium. The 
river has a fall of about fifty feet, by which im¬ 
mense water power is secured through a canal as 
a means to promote industrial enterprises.. The 
manufactures include cotton and woolen goods, 


clothing, machinery, leather products, belts, hats, 
brooms, and utensils. The surrounding coun¬ 
try is agricultural, giving the city an important 
trade in cereals and live stock. It was settled in 
1770, when it became known as the Plantation 
of Lewiston, and was incorporated in 1795. 
Population, 1900, 23,761; in 1910, 26,247. 

LEWISTON, a village of New York, in 
Niagara County, on the Niagara River and the 
New York Central Railroad. It is the terminus 
of navigation on Lake Ontario and is visited 
regularly by steamers from Toronto. It has a 
public library, and is visited by tourists during 
the summer months. The French located a 
blockhouse on its site in 1720. In 1814 it was 
occupied by the Americans under General Riall, 
who was defeated by a force of British and In¬ 
dians under Colonel Tucker, and the place was 
burned. * Population, 1905, 708. 

LEXINGTON (leks'ing-tun), a city in Ken¬ 
tucky, county seat of Fayette County, twenty 
miles southeast .of Frankfort. It is on the 
Southern, the Queen and Crescent, the Balti¬ 
more and Ohio, the Louisville and Nashville, 
and other railroads. The city is situated in the 
celebrated blue grass region, has well-paved 
streets, modern municipal improvements, and is 
the center of a large commercial trade. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are the Hamilton Fe¬ 
male College, the Kentucky University, the 
Sayre Female Institute, Saint Catherine’s Acad¬ 
emy, the State Agricultural and Mechanical Col¬ 
lege, the Kentucky Reform School, and the Mc¬ 
Clelland Female College. It has a fine public 
library, a commodious high school, and Wood¬ 
land Park. The manufactures include cordage, 
spirits, copper products, saddlery, hemp and cot¬ 
ton goods, clothing, carriages, and machinery. 
It has a large trade in Bourbon whisky, tobacco, 
cereals, and fine stock. A fine monument to 
Henry Clay is among the interesting structures 
that adorn the city. It was first settled in 1779. 
was incorporated in 1782, and was the capital 
of Kentucky from 1792 until 1793. Population, 
1900, 26,369; in 1910, 35,099. 

LEXINGTON, a town of Middlesex Coun¬ 
ty, Massachusetts, ten miles northwest of Bos¬ 
ton, on the Boston and Maine Railroad. It is 
celebrated as the site of the first battle of the 
Revolution, which occurred here April 19, 1775. 
The British had secretly dispatched a, force 
from Boston to seize the military stores col¬ 
lected at Concord, the news of which was spread 
by Paul Revere. Accordingly, the call to arms 
was sounded and the militia was armed. When 
Major Pitcairn reached the village with British 
troops he found minutemen drawn up on the 
green. Finding that they refused to disperse at 















LEXINGTON 


1231 


LHASSA 


his command, he promptly ordered his men to 
charge, but the militia held its ground until the 
British were reenforced, when they fell back 
and Major Pitcairn moved on to Concord. On 
returning from Concord, the British were at¬ 
tacked at Lexington and pursued by a galling 
tire from all sides. Exhausted by their march 
of eighteen miles and their fast of fourteen 
hours, the British fell into a disorderly flight 
and would probably have been destroyed, if 
Lord Percy had not come forward with heavy 
reenforcements from Boston. The British lost 
273 men, the Americans lost 93 men. This en¬ 
gagement so aroused the colonists that within a 
week 16,000 men were besieging General Gage in 
Boston. Lexington contains a monument erected 
in 1799 to commemorate the battle. Population, 
1905, 4,530; in 1910, 4,918. 

LEXINGTON, county seat of Lafayette 
County, Missouri, on the Missouri River, forty 
miles east of Kansas City. It is on the Mis¬ 
souri Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and San¬ 
ta Fe railroads. The principal buildings in¬ 
clude the Baptist Female College, the Central 
Female College, and the Wentworth Military In¬ 
stitute. Large quantities of coal and farm prod¬ 
ucts are obtained in the surrounding country. 
It has manufactures of earthenware, clothing, 
and machinery. The place was first settled in 
1825 and incorporated in 1830. At the time of 
the Civil War, in 1861, it was the scene of sev¬ 
eral engagements between the Federals under 
Colonel Mulligan and the Confederates under 
General Price. Population, 1910, 5,242. 

LEXINGTON, county seat of Rockbridge 
County, Virginia, on the North River, in a fer¬ 
tile agricultural and stock-raising country. It 
is on the Baltimore and Ohio and the Chesa¬ 
peake and Ohio railroads and is the western 
terminus of the James River and Kanawha Ca¬ 
nal. The manufactures include flour, machinery, 
and ironware. Besides a good public school 
system, it has the Washington and Lee Uni¬ 
versity and the Virginia Military Institute. It 
is historic because of being the burial place of 
Thomas J. Jackson and Robert E. Lee, the two 
most distinguished generals of the Confederate 
army.* Population, 1900, 3,203. 

LEYDEN (li'den), or Leiden, a city of Hol¬ 
land, on the Old Rhine River, 22 miles south¬ 
west of Amsterdam. It is the oldest city in 
Holland. In 1640 it had a population of 100,000, 
but gradually declined until the beginning of the 
last century. Since then the city has gained con¬ 
siderably in population and importance. It has 
manufactures of cotton # and woolen goods, 
earthenware, machinery, clothing, and musical 
instruments. The noteworthy buildings include 


the Church of Saint Peter, the townhall, the 
municipal museum, the union railway station, 
and the public library. It is the seat of the 
University of Leyden, founded in 1575, which has 
a fine library and 975 students. The municipal 
facilities are modern, including electric lights 
and street railways, stone and asphalt pave¬ 
ments, and systems of sewerage and water¬ 
works. The colony at Plymouth, Mass., was 
founded by the Pilgrims, who sailed from Ley¬ 
den. Population, 1906, 57,095. 

LEYDEN JAR, an electric accumulator in¬ 
troduced in 1746 by Musschenbroek of Leyden, 
Holland. It is constructed by coating the inside 
and outside of a glass jar with tin foil, for 
about two-thirds of the height, as shown in the 
accompanying illustration at b and c. The in¬ 
side coating is connected with a metallic rod, a, 
having a brass knob at the top. To charge the 
jar the knob is brought near the conductor of 
an electric machine, and a number of sparks 
are passed into the jar. The inside coating is 
charged positively and the outside negatively, 
and, if one hand be placed on the outer coating 
and the other on the knob, a discharge passes 
through the body and gives a more or less 



severe shock. Several jars connected with one 
another, having their inner and outer coatings 
respectively in contact, constitute a battery of 
Leyden. In such a battery it is possible to col¬ 
lect a quantity of electricity equal to the sum of 
the charges from each jar, which may be passed 
through a number of persons joined hand to 
hand, while by a very large battery it is possible 
to melt metallic wires, rupture bad conductors, 
and otherwise utilize its force. 

LHASSA (hlas'sa), or Lassa, the capital and 
principal city of Tibet, on the Upper Brahma¬ 
putra River, surrounded by elevated mountain 
ranges. It has been held sacred by the Bud¬ 
dhists for many centuries, is a commercial cen¬ 
ter of considerable magnitude, and has a di¬ 
versity of manufactures. It is the seat of sev¬ 
eral noted monastic establishments, to which 
people from Tibet and Mongolia are attracted 
in great numbers. Formerly it was walled and 
fortified, but the fortifications were destroyed 















LIANA 


1232 


LIBERALS 


by the Chinese in 1742. The inhabitants in¬ 
clude, beside the native Tibetans, many Chinese, 
Hindus, and Arabs. Population, 1908, 32,575. 

LIANA (li-a'na), or Liane, the name applied 
by French travelers to a large variety of twining 
and climbing plants of tropical forests, but now 
commonly used by travelers of all nations. Most 
lianas have woody, ropelike stems and climb to 
the tops of trees, but sometimes run very far 
along the ground. Some species, such as the 
clematis and honeysuckle, are found in colder 
climates. In many tropical countries, where 
rainfall is unusually large,-the lianas grow to 
the tops of the highest trees, often entwining 
the trunks with such force a,s to suppress life, 
and in other instances bearing heavily upon the 
branches, even breaking down large trees by 
their heavy vines and foliage. In some locali¬ 
ties a dense network is formed among the for¬ 
est trees, making it almost impossible to pene¬ 
trate them without cutting passages, while ani¬ 
mals keep open narrow paths by continuous use, 
or pass from bough to bough along the heavier 
vines. Many species hear beautiful flowers, oth¬ 
ers possess medicinal properties, while some are 
used in the manufacture of baskets and small 
wooden ware. The Amazon valley of South 
America, the lake region of Africa, and tropical 
Asia present notable districts in which lianas 
thrive. 

LIAS (li'as), in geology, a formation situated 
at the base of the Jurassic or Oolitic deposits. 
It consists principally of thin beds of blue or 
gray limestone, becoming light brown when ex¬ 
posed. The Lias formations contain abundant 
marine fossils, among them those of fishes, rep¬ 
tiles, and mollusks. They are likewise rich in 
numerous remains of plants. 

LIBAU (le'bou), a fortified city of Russia, 
on the Baltic Sea, in the province of Courland. 
It has well-improved streets, a naval school, a 
public library, and several hospitals and gym¬ 
nasia. The manufactures include furniture, 
flour, machinery, and clothing. It has a large 
domestic and export trade in petroleum, cereals, 
and live stock. The Knights of Livonia forti¬ 
fied it in 1301. It has been a possession of Rus¬ 
sia since 1795. Population, 1906, 66,894. 

LIBBY PRISON, a large building formerly 
located in Richmond, Va., used as a Confeder¬ 
ate military prison during the Civil War. Prior 
to that time it served as a tobacco warehouse 
and was so named from the owner. The first 
prisoners were confined there after the first 
Battle of Bull Run and at times it contained 
1,200 prisoners. In 1864 a tunnel about fifty 
feet long was excavated by the prisoners, when 
109 of those confined made their escape, but 


half of them were recaptured before they 
reached the Federal lines. The structure was 
taken apart and removed to> Chicago in 1888 
and was there opened as a museum. Later it 
was taken down for its material. 

LIBEL (li'bel), the act of making an attack 
in writing, printing, or by signs, upon the char¬ 
acter or reputation of another. It differs from 
slander, in that the latter constitutes a similar 
injury by spoken words. While liberty of speech 
and the press is recognized in all the states, 
both are restricted to an extent whereby the 
good name and character of all are protected. 
If statements that are true as an entirety be 
published against an individual, the act of pub¬ 
lication is justifiable. However, in some states 
it has been held necessary to show that the pub¬ 
lication was made for justifiable reasons and 
with good motives. Several important cases for 
libel were brought in the United States against 
a number of prominent publishers of newspa¬ 
pers, including Joseph Pulitzer of the New York 
World, in 1909, owing to charges of irregulari¬ 
ties on the part of President Roosevelt and oth¬ 
ers in connection with the Panama Canal. 

LIBERAL REPUBLICAN, a party which 
left the regularly organized Republican party in 
the presidential campaign of 1872. It declared 
in favor of tariff reform, civil service reform, 
universal amnesty and suffrage, and absolute op¬ 
position to Kuklux Klan disorders. Carl Shurz 
and other Republicans of Missouri were the first 
leaders in the movement. The party united 
with the Democrats in supporting Llorace Gree¬ 
ley for the Presidency. Subsequently they re¬ 
united quite generally with the Republicans. 

LIBERALS, those who advocate progressive 
views in politics, and who, through agitation 
and legislation, seek to secure a more liberal ap¬ 
plication of the principles of democracy in gov¬ 
ernment. Political parties who make liberal¬ 
ism the basis of action are well organized 
in the leading countries of Europe. The Lib¬ 
eral party in Great Britain is usually the minor¬ 
ity party in England, but generally has a ma¬ 
jority vote in Wales and Scotland. It is the 
lineal successor of the Whigs and had its great¬ 
est modern champion in W. E. Gladstone,’ who, 
in 1886, incorporated the purchase of land 
through government aid and the Irish Home 
Rule bill as party tenets. This led to the forma¬ 
tion of the Liberal Union party. The Liberals 
were out of power until 1906, when, under the 
leadership of Campbell-Bannerman, they gained 
a great victory on the issue of free trade. The 
Liberals are opposed to the Conservatives. The 
Radicals, although a branch of the former, de¬ 
mand more radical and sweeping reforms. 


LIBERAL UNIONIST 


1233 


LIBERTY PARTY 


LIBERAL UNIONIST, a party formed in 
England in 1886, under the leadership of the 
Marquis of Hartington, in opposition to the 
policy of Gladstone. It was designed by the 
latter that the lands in Ireland be purchased 
and ultimately owned by the tenants, which the 
Liberal Unionists opposed, and the movement 
likewise contended against Home Rule. The 
party was represented by leagues in all parts of 
Great Britain. It supported about 250 branch 
organizations, elected 94 members to Parlia¬ 
ment, and subsequently merged into the Con¬ 
servative party. 

LIBERIA (li-be'ri-a), a republic of Africa, 
on the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea, ex¬ 
tending northeast from Cape Palmas. The 
southeastern boundary is formed by the Cavally 
River and the northwestern by the Manua Riv¬ 
er. It extends inland from the coast a distance 
of about 250 miles. The coast line is 400 miles 
long. It has an area of about 35,000 square 
miles. The republic was formed in 1821 by lib¬ 
erated slaves from America, who at present 
number about 60,000, including American de¬ 
scendants, and the independence of the country 
was recognized by the United States and other 
governments in 1847. The government is under 
a constitution modeled after that of the United 
States. Under it the executive authority is 
vested in a president, who is elected for two 
years. He has the assistance of a cabinet, in¬ 
cluding the departments of state, justice, in¬ 
terior, finance, war, marine, and ports. 

The legislative power is vested in a congress 
of two branches, the senate and the house of 
representatives. The former consists of eight 
senators, who are elected for four years, and 
the house of representatives is constituted of 
fourteen members, these being elected for two 
years. No standing army is maintained, but all 
able-bodied male citizens are members of the 
militia and are liable to be called upon when 
necessary. The government maintains a num¬ 
ber of small gunboats. Slavery is prohibited, 
religious worship is entirely free, internal im¬ 
provements are encouraged, and a system of 
elementary schools are supported by taxation. 
Many of the natives have little advancement in 
educational arts, but in the main the republic 
has not been a disappointment. Its influence has 
been extending locally. In 1899 there was 
some discussion of a protectorate by the United 
States, Germany, and Great Britain, under 
which it was hoped to increase native obedience 
to law, and intercept the encroachment of the 
French upon its territory. However, the repub¬ 
lic is still entirely free from European claim¬ 
ants. 

78 


The coast regions of Liberia form an undulat¬ 
ing plain, but through the interior are moun¬ 
tain ranges, with considerable elevations in the 
northern part. It is drained by numerous 
streams, possesses fertility of soil, and has some 
valuable mineral deposits, though mining has 
not been developed extensively. The principal 
exports include sugar, coffee, palm kernels and 
oil, cocoa, ivory, rubber, and hides. Hardware, 
earthenware, cotton goods, machinery, and uten¬ 
sils are imported. The import trade is chiefly 
with Germany, but there a,re growing commer¬ 
cial relations with the United States, Great 
Britain, Holland, and France. Monrovia is the 
capital and principal seaport. Other cities are 
Buchanan, Edina, Harper, and Robertsport. 
Population, 1908, 1,840,500. 

LIBERTY, Statue of, a celebrated bronze 
statue in the harbor of NewWork City, located 
on Bedloe’s Island. It was executed by Felix 
Bartholdi, a French sculptor, and presented by 
the people of France to the United States to 
commemorate the 100th anniversary of its inde¬ 
pendence. It was placed in position in 1885 and 
was dedicated the following year. It is the high¬ 
est statue in the world, being 306 feet above 
mean tide. The female figure, from the base to 
the top of the head, is 111 feet high, and to the 
top of the torch, 151.41 feet. The inside of the 
head, in which forty persons can stand, is 
reached by a stairway within the statue, and a 
branch staircase extends for some distance up 
the right arm. An electric light is in the torch. 
The statue is known as Liberty Enlightening the 
World. 

LIBERTY BELL, a famous bell of the 
United States. It formerly hung in Independ¬ 
ence Hall, Philadelphia, Pa., and rang as the 
news of the signing of the Declaration of Inde¬ 
pendence was made known on July 4, 1776. It 
was brought from England in 1752, but was 
twice recast in 1753 because of becoming 
cracked. In 1835, while being tolled in memory 
of Chief Justice Marshall, it was again cracked. 
It has been exhibited at several expositions, but 
is kept at Independence Hall, Philadelphia. The 
bell has the inscription, “Proclaim liberty 
throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants 
thereof” (Lev. xxv., 10). 

LIBERTY PARTY, a political organization 
of the United States, formed in 1839 to oppose 
slavery. Though it did not attain a large mem¬ 
bership, it effected much in the way of forming 
public opinion. Among its members were such 
eminent men as Salmon P. Chase, Louis Tappan, 
and Samuel Lewis. James G. Birney was its 
candidate for President in 1840, receiving' 7,059 
votes. He was likewise its presidential candi- 


LIBRA 


1234 


LIBRARY 


date in 1844, when he received 62,300 votes. 
John P. Hale was nominated for President in 
1848, but he withdrew when Martin Van Buren 
was nominated for the same office by the Free 
Soil party, which ultimately absorbed the Lib¬ 
erty party. 

LIBRA (li'bra). See Zodiac. 

LIBRARY (li'bra-ry), a term used to desig¬ 
nate a collection of books and pamphlets kept 
for reading and consultation, and to describe a 
building containing such a collection. The dif¬ 
ferent classes of libraries include such collec¬ 
tions of individuals, municipalities, public and 
parochial schools, higher institutions of learning, 
and those of states and nations. In treating this 
subject particular attention is directed by most 
writers to the larger public libraries, but it is 
certain that private libraries are by far the most 
numerous and as a whole constitute collections 
of books and manuscripts representing a com¬ 
paratively large value. However, statistics re¬ 
lating to private collections are not generally 
available and many of such libraries, either in 
whole or in part, are merged from time to time 
with public collections. 

History. The earliest public library of which 
we have any knowledge was founded by the As¬ 
syrians in the 8th century b. c., but it is known 
that libraries were maintained in Babylon, 
Egypt, and other ancient countries a,t a very 
early date. According to Strabo, the first pri¬ 
vate library was that of Aristotle, in the year 
334 b. c., but public libraries existed from times 
much earlier. A public library was founded at 
Athens about 540 b. c. by Pisistratus. The cele¬ 
brated Alexandrian library, established about 298 
b. c. by Ptolemy I., was greatly damaged in the 
Egyptian campaign of Caesar, in 47 b. c., and 
was finally destroyed in 640 a. d. by Caliph 
Omar. The libraries established under the an¬ 
cient civilizations, though voluminous, differed 
largely from those of the present in that print¬ 
ing had not been invented. At that time writ¬ 
ings of the different classes were preserved by 
inscriptions on skins, papyrus, and stone. In 
Persia, at the time of its greatest prosperity, vast 
libraries were established. The Hebrews like¬ 
wise exercised much care in the collection of 
books in secure archives. 

The King of Pergamus, Eumenes II., estab¬ 
lished a library of 200,000 volumes, which 
passed to the care of Eumenes III., and later 
this collection came into the possession of Mark 
Antony, who transported it to Alexandria as a 
present to Cleopatra. Julius Caesar was partic¬ 
ularly anxious to build up a vast public library 
containing all the more valuable works of Greek 
and Latin writers, but his early death left the 


project to be carried out by Octavianus Caesar. 
The two libraries established by the latter were 
the Palatine and the Octavian, the former exist¬ 
ing up to the time of Pope Gregory I., but these 
and other libraries suffered extensively by the 
invasion of the Huns, Goths, Vandals, and other 
semibarbaric tribes, much of their contents be¬ 
ing mutilated or destroyed in the conflicts of 
war. Constantine collected a vast number of 
books devoted to Christianity that had been pre¬ 
served notwithstanding the spirit of unrest dur¬ 
ing the period of persecution under Diocletian. 
This library, being enlarged at different times, 
included fully 120,000 volumes, but in the 8th 
century a large part of it was destroyed. How¬ 
ever, many valuable books and other writings 
of the ancient libraries have been preserved. It 
is in this way that former civilizations contrib¬ 
ute to the extension of knowledge and culture, 
since all succeeding generations draw upon the 
experiences and writings of scholars who la¬ 
bored in the past. The civilized countries of 
all the grand divisions have libraries of a great¬ 
er or less number of volumes. Additions are 
made to these collections from time to time as 
the communities develop and new discoveries 
are made in the arts and sciences. 

French. The Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris, 
France, is at present the largest library in the 
world. It was instituted' in the reign ot King 
John and since then has been enlarged from 
time to time. Although an exact count has not 
been made since 1791, the number of books is 
placed at 3,500,000 volumes. It likewise has 
many manuscripts and pamphlets. France is 
noted for its numerous libraries, both public and 
private. The public libraries belong largely to 
learned societies, educational institutions, and 
the state. Libraries of more or less value are 
attached to all the public schools, being main¬ 
tained by public taxation. Paris has a number 
of other libraries, aside from the great national 
library, such as the Arsenal, the Mazarin, and 
the Library of Sainte Genevieve. Other note¬ 
worthy collections are located in Rouen, Lyons, 
and Bordeaux. 

German. German-speaking countries, includ¬ 
ing Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, .and 
large parts of Austria, Belgium, and Russia, are 
noted for their many large libraries, in whicb 
respect they stand first among European coun¬ 
tries. The want of political unity of various 
cities and provinces has made this condition pos¬ 
sible. In Germany proper are several thousand 
excellent libraries, all of which are open to the 
public for study and research. The most im¬ 
portant of these include the national library at 
Berlin with 1,000,000 volumes; Breslau, 400,000; 


LIBRARY 


1235 


LICENSE 


Darmstadt, 400,000; Dresden, 400,000; Heidel¬ 
berg, 350,000; Leipzig, 750,000; Munich, 1,200,- 
♦ 000; Strassburg, 525,000; Stuttgart, 450,000; 
Tubingen, 250,000; and Wiirtzburg, 300,000. 
Those of Austria are not so numerous, but 
likewise represent a vast value, the largest being 
in Vienna, where the national library has 500,- 
000 volumes. The most noted library of Swit¬ 
zerland is the one at Basel, having 150,000 vol¬ 
umes; in Belgium, the Brussels library has 375,- 
000 volumes; in Holland, the library of The 
Hague has 225,000 volumes. 

British. The libraries of Great Britain in¬ 
clude those of the United Kingdom and the 
colonies. Attention was first given to the col¬ 
lection of vast libraries in England in the 17th 
century, since which time they have steadily in¬ 
creased in size and value. The most exten¬ 
sive library of Great Britain is the one in con¬ 
nection with the British Museum, which con¬ 
tains 1,500,000 volumes of books, 50,000 manu¬ 
scripts, and 45,000 charters. Other noted li¬ 
braries include the one at Cambridge University 
with 225,000 volumes; Edinburgh, 275,000 vol¬ 
umes; Bodleian Library, Oxford, 500,000 vol¬ 
umes; Glasgow, 130,000 volumes; Trinity Col¬ 
lege, Dublin, 200,000 volumes; and Birmingham, 
115,000 volumes. At present the most exten¬ 
sive libraries in British colonies are in Aus¬ 
tralia and Canada, but there are many fine col¬ 
lections in India. The largest of Australia is at 
Melbourne, containing 125,500 volumes, and of 
Canada is at Ottawa, having 220,500 volumes. 

Other Countries. The libraries of Italy are 
especially valuable in that they contain many 
rare manuscripts of antiquity and products of 
Italian masters. Among the extensive collec¬ 
tions are the Florence library with 425,000 vol¬ 
umes ; the Vatican library at Rome, 250,000 vol¬ 
umes ; Padua, 160,000 volumes; and Venice, 275,- 
' 000 volumes. The largest library of Denmark is 
at Copenhagen, having 500,000 volumes; the 
largest of Sweden, at Stockholm, with 275,000 
volumes; the largest of Spain, at Madrid, with 
425,000 volumes; the largest of Russia, at Saint 
Petersburg, with 1,200,000 volumes; the largest 
of Greece, at Athens, with 155,000 volumes; the . 
largest of China, at Shanghai, with 15,000 vol¬ 
umes; and the largest of Japan, at Tokio, with 
75,000 volumes. 

United States. The library movement began 
in the United States at an early period by gifts 
of philanthropists and 1 government aid, but its 
most potent impetus was not reached until the 
middle of the last century, since which time 
rapid strides have been made. Besides many 
private libraries of much value, there are fully 
4,500 public libraries that contain 1,000 volumes 


and upward, and these now aggregate 40,000,000 
volumes. The congressional library building at 
Washington is the finest structure of the kind 
in the world. It contains ample accommoda¬ 
tion for 4,500,000 volumes, but at present it has 
900,000 books and about 250,000 pamphlets and 
manuscripts. Other great libraries include the 
large library of San Francisco, which has 215,- 
'000 volumes; Yale College, 200,000; Chicago 
public library, 310,000; University of Chicago, 
400,000; Annapolis, 125,000; Peabody Institute, 
120,000; Boston Athenaeum, 190,000; Harvard 
University, 590,000; public library, Boston,* 750,- 
000; Detroit public library, 115,000; Albany 
State library, 165,000; Brooklyn, 120,000; Astor 
library, 300,000; Columbia College, 260,000; New 
York Mercantile, 250,000; Cincinnati public li¬ 
brary, 250,000; Philadelphia Library Company, 
180,000; Philadelphia mercantile library, 175,000; 
University of Pennsylvania, 140,000; and Saint 
Louis library, 120,000. School libraries are sup¬ 
ported by taxation in many of the states, a sys¬ 
tem under which library privileges have been 
carried not only to the smaller towns, but like¬ 
wise to many rural districts. Solomon’s adage, 
that “Of making many books there is no end,” 
is emphasized with remarkable accuracy at the 
present time. 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, the national 
library of the United States, an institution at 
Washington, D. C., established in 1800. It con¬ 
tains the largest collection of printed books and 
pamphlets in the Western Hemisphere, about 
1,450,000 copies, besides 99,800 manuscripts, 64,- 
980 maps, and 348,650 pieces of music. The 
building has a floor space of nearly 8 acres. The 
book racks have about 45 miles of shelving and 
the accommodations are sufficient to house 
about 4,500,000 volumes of books. It is located 
on a site of 10 acres, about 1,250 feet east of 
the capitol, and was completed in 1897 at a cost 
of $6,347,000, exclusive of the land, which cost 
$585,000. 

The number of employees at the library is 450, 
of whom 68 are in the copyright department, 
127 attend the disbursement and grounds, and 
255 are engaged in the library proper. Admis¬ 
sion to the building is free and the doors are 
open from 9 a. m. to 10 p. m. week days, except 
legal holidays, and from 2 p. m. to 10 p. m on 
Sundays. The library is maintained by annual 
appropriations by Congress for various pur¬ 
poses, including the purchase of books. 

LICENSE (li'sens), in law, a document con¬ 
ferring a permission to do some act which would 
otherwise be unlawful. The object of issuing 
licenses is two-fold; that is, to raise revenue 
and to regulate the prosecution of certain trades 


LICHEN 


1236 


LICTOR 


and professions. The manufacture and sale of 
tobacco and intoxicating liquors are usually reg¬ 
ulated by the issuance of a license, and this is 
true likewise of peddling and the management 
of theaters and other places of amusement. The 
Prohibition party, a political organization of the 
United States, is opposed to the issuance of 
licenses which authorize the sale of alcoholic 
beverages. Those who advocate a low license 
seek to raise revenue without the view of regu¬ 
lating the traffic, while those favoring a high 
license aim to obtain revenue as well as regu¬ 
lation' of the liquor traffic. A license is re¬ 
quired in many special cases, such as those 
necessary before marriages may be solemnized, 
but they are issued so as to maintain a record 
and prevent the marriage of persons who are 
not legally qualified to enter into such a con¬ 
tract, and the element of revenue is eliminated. 

LICHEN (li'ken), an order of flowerless or 
cryptogamous plants. All plants are classified 
as belonging to the flowering or the flowerless 
division, lichens being included with the latter. 
They are found native in all zones up to the 



snow line. These plants are composed of loose 
cellular tissue, a slender white-celled portion 
now conceded to be a parasitic fungus, and a 
number of globular greenish or bluish cells 
upon which the fungus cells prey. They con¬ 
tain neither stems nor leaves, but form gray, 
brown, or yellowish crustlike patches on trees, 
fence rails, rocks, and the ground, but derive 
their nourishment entirely from the air. In the 
most northern portions of the Arctic regions 
to which any form of vegetation exists, they 
constitute important means for sustaining ani¬ 
mal life, especially the reindeer. Iceland moss, 
a kind of lichen found in the Arctic region of 
both hemispheres, yields dyes and contains medi¬ 
cal properties. Some species furnish a nutri¬ 
tious jelly and other forms of food. 


LICHTENBERG (Bk'ten-berk), a city of 
Germany, in the province of Brandenburg, with¬ 
in the limits of Berlin, the national capital. It 
is practically a part of Berlin, being popular 
as a residential center, but has had a separate 
city government since 1907. The place has 
extensive communication by steam and electric 
railways. Many of the streets are paved with 
stone and asphalt, but the larger number are 
macadamized. The chief buildings include the 
city hall, the central railway station, an insane 
asylum, and many churches. It has a large 
trade and manufactures of clothing, chemicals, 
and machinery. A large majority of the inhab¬ 
itants are Protestants. Population, 1905, 55,391. 

LICK OBSERVATORY, an institution of 
the University of California, built with a fund 
given by James Lick. It is situated 25 miles 
east of San Jose, Cal., on one of the summits 
of Mount Hamilton, and contains an object 
glass of 36 inches in aperture. In making the 
gift it was provided that the instrument “should 
be superior to and more powerful than any tele¬ 
scope ever made.” It is now surpassed in size 
only by the telescope at the Yerkes Observa¬ 
tory, near Chicago, in which the objective lens 
has an aperture of 40 inches. The remains of 
Lick were placed in the vault at the base of 
the 30-foot pier that supports the great telescope. 

LICORICE (lik'6-ris), or Liquorice, a class 
of leguminous plants found in Europe, Asia, and 
Africa. They are cultivated for the juices 
found in the roots, which serve in preparing a 
medicine of value in the treatment of throat 
and catarrhal diseases. The plants include sev¬ 
eral species, attain a height of about four feet, 
bear violet-colored flowers, and have roots grow¬ 
ing about three feet into the ground. Their 
leaves are alternate and pinnate, and the plants 
have few branches. The juices are pressed from 
pulp prepared by crushing the roots of plants 
having at least three years’ growth, the liquid 
portions are evaporated by heating, and the solid 
parts are. made into sticks, such as are com¬ 
monly purchased in the market. They are 
packed for shipment with bay leaves. The 
-medicinal qualities arise from the property of 
the licorice in aiding expectoration and its heal¬ 
ing influence upon the irritated portions of the 
mucous membrane. Licorice in a pure state 
has decided medical virtues, but there are many 
adulterations. The only species of licorice 
found in America is a plant known as Glycyr- 
rhiza lepidota, which thrives in portions of the 
Mississippi valley, especially in Missouri. 

LICTOR (lik'tor), in Rome, a public officer 
appointed to attend upon the chief magistrates. 
The ancient kings were always preceded by 



LIECHTENSTEIN 


1237 


LIFE-SAVING APPARATUS 


twelve lictors, who bore the fasces, or a bundle 
of rods with an ax. The rank of the magis¬ 
trates determined the number of lictors. A 
praetor had two; a propraetor, six; a consul, 
twelve; and a dictator, twenty-four. The lictors 
inflicted punishment on condemned Roman citi¬ 
zens. 

m LIECHTENSTEIN (lek'ten-stln), an inde¬ 
pendent principality in Europe, which formed a 
part of the German Confederation until 1866. 
It is bounded on the northeast and east by the 
Austrian possession of Vorarlberg, south by the 
Swiss canton of Grisons, and west by the Rhine 
River, by which it is separated from the canton 
of Saint Gall. The area is 65 square miles. 
Vaduz, or Liechtenstein, is the capital and chief 
town. The surface is quite mountainous, but 
generally fertile, and considerable interest is 
taken in agriculture, fruit growing, stock rais¬ 
ing, and mining. The language is German. 
Several fine schools and institutions of higher 
learning are maintained. The Prince of Liech¬ 
tenstein, who has his chief residence in Vienna, 
is at the head of the government. He is as¬ 
sisted by a diet of fifteen members, three of 
whom are appointed by the prince and the re¬ 
mainder are elected by the people. It has no 
standing army and is joined to the customs 
union of Austria. The Prince of Liechtenstein 
belongs to the Este family, an old family of 
Europe, which was raised to sovereign rank in 
the 17th century. A large majority of the in¬ 
habitants are Roman Catholics. Population, 
1906, 10,875. 

LIEGE (le-azh'), a city of Belgium, capital 
of the province of Liege, at the confluence of 
the Meuse and Ourthe rivers. It is surrounded 
by a rich agricultural and mining country. 
Many railroads and electric railways center here, 
giving the city a fine outlet for its large trade. 
Coal and zinc are mined in the vicinity. The 
manufactures include machinery, cotton and 
woolen goods, clothing, locomotives, steam ma¬ 
chinery, steamboats, ironware, and furniture. 
Among the important buildings are the Church 
of Saint James, the Cathedral of Saint Paul, 
the municipal theater, the railway station, the 
Palais de Justice, and the University of Liege. 
The last named institution has 1,200 students 
and a library of 200,000 volumes. Other insti¬ 
tutions include the museum, the zoological and 
botanical gardens, and many schools and hos¬ 
pitals. The city has modern municipal facilities, 
including waterworks, sewerage, and electric 
railways, but contains a number of narrow 
streets and illy ventilated sections. In 1691 it 
was conquered by the French. It had a varied 
existence during the succeeding centuries, and 


in 1831 became a part of the kingdom of Bel¬ 
gium. Population, 1906, 172,039. 

LIEGNITZ (leg'mts), a city of Germany, in 
the province of Silesia, .145 miles southeast of 
Berlin. It is noted as a commercial and rail¬ 
road center. The noteworthy buildings include 
the townhall, the gymnasium, and the Church of 
Saint John. Among the manufactures are cot¬ 
ton, woolen, and linen goods, musical instru¬ 
ments, hardware, saddlery, and machinery. 
Liegnitz was the scene of a great battle in 1813, 
in which the French were defeated by Bliicher.. 
This engagement is sometimes called the Battle 
of the Katzbach. Population, 1905, 59,706. 

LIFEBOAT, a boat constructed for special 
use at sea in times of shipwreck and storms. 
Lifeboats, to be of the highest utility, must 
possess extra buoyancy and have means for the 
self-discharge of water. They must be self- 
righting, possess speed, have storage room, and 
be strong of build. In 1785 the first lifeboat 
was patented by Lukin in Great Britain, but it 
did not prove of sufficient utility, on account of 
which a prize was offered for the best model of 
a new structure. In the contest that followed, 
in 1789, the premium was awarded to Henry 
Greathead. However, his invention did not pos¬ 
sess the property of righting itself and discharg¬ 
ing water, hence it proved unsatisfactory, es¬ 
pecially in an accident on the Tyne, in 1849, 
when a number of persons lost their lives by 
endeavoring to use this lifeboat in saving per¬ 
sons from drowning. Accordingly, the Duke 
of Northumberland offered a prize to the per¬ 
son who would supply the best model of a life¬ 
boat. In the competition that followed James 
Beeching was awarded the premium. However, 
similar boats were constructed in various coun¬ 
tries, combining all the necessary elements of a 
first-class lifeboat, and the credit cannot be 
claimed by any one country or individual. 

LIFE BUOY. See Buoys. 

LIFE INSURANCE. See Insurance. 
LIFE-SAVING APPARATUS, the devices 
designed for the purpose of saving lives in case 
of shipwreck. Many classes of life-preservers 
have been introduced at various times, all of 
which have served a more or less valuable pur¬ 
pose. Those of modern manufacture are of es¬ 
pecial value in that they take advantage of many 
methods demonstrated by experience to be of 
practical value. Among the different kinds may 
be mentioned the devices made of India rubber 
and inflated with air. These are constructed in 
several compartments with a view of insuring 
safety if a rupture should occur in one or more 
of the parts. Lifeboats have been efficient life- 
preservers, especially since a form of ballasting 


LIFE-SAVING SERVICE 


1238 


LIGHT 


has been devised by which they right themselves, 
if they are upset in, the water. Mattresses 
stuffed with cork, jackets of inflated rubber and 
cork, life buoys, trousers and suits with cork, 
looped life lines, and many other devices are 
among the preservers now in use. All ships are 
provided with a supply of these for the safety 
of passengers and the crew. 

LIFE-SAVING SERVICE, a public system 
maintained for the purpose of giving succor and 
assistance to seafarers, when they are subject 
to danger or shipwreck upon the sea and in¬ 
land waters. All civilized nations have made 
provisions whereby the danger of loss of life, 
at sea may be greatly lessened or entirely over¬ 
come within certain distances from the land. 
The life-saving service of the United States is 
among the most efficient in the world, although 
it was not established in its present form until 
1871. It is under the control of the Treasury 
Department and a general superintendent, who 
has several assistants. About 10,000 miles of 
seacoast have been divided into districts. Be¬ 
sides the life-saving service concerned with the 
sea, there is a service corps which has charge of 
the inland waters. In the first thirty years of 
the operations of this department 16,112 lives 
were saved by the coast and inland services. 

The coast service of both Canada and the 
United States is divided into a number of dis¬ 
tricts, each of which has one or more stations. 
These stations are supplied with life-saving 
boats and various forms of life-preservers. 
Experienced surfmen are constantly employed, 
who patrol a certain beat every night and dur¬ 
ing foggy days for the purpose of watching for 
vessels in danger and distress. The house pro¬ 
vided for surfmen has a station outlook at the 
top, from which constant observations are made, 
and at night lights are displayed. Flare lights 
are used to indicate that those in danger have 
been observed. Lifeboats are sent to the points 
of danger, when a shipwreck occurs, carrying 
various life-preservers, and in many instances 
life lines are thrown to the stranded vessel by 
rocket or mortar. In this way persons in dan¬ 
ger may be safely towed to shore, or prevented 
from sinking until they can be rescued. At 
each station is an adequate supply of provision 
and restoratives, by which to minister to the 
wants of those in need, or restore to conscious¬ 
ness and activity in cases of apparent drowning. 
Lighthouses located at various shoals and break¬ 
ers are maintained to guard against dangers and 
overcome losses at sea. 

LIGAMENT (lig'a-ment), in anatomy, the 
short bands of strong, white, glistening fibers 
by which the bones are connected at the joints. 


They serve to strengthen the attachments and 
keep in place various organs. Capsular liga¬ 
ments surround all the joints, but the structures 
holding the tendons of the ankle and wrist are 
called annular ligaments. Distinct names are 
applied to the many different ligaments in the 
human body, whereby it is made possible for 
anatomists to locate and describe them with 
facility. 

LIGHT, the form of radiant energy that acts 
on the retina of the eye and renders visible the 
objects from which it comes. It has a heating 
and chemical action of prime importance to 
plant and animal life, and neither can exist 
without its influence. The importance of light 
upon vegetation is seen by the fact that plants 
growing in places from which light is partially 
excluded are abnormal and of little vigor. 
Animals likewise lose much of their vitality and 
energy when wanting its influence. It has been 
shown successfully that sunlight is an important 
factor in the sanitary regulation of cities. It 
materially affects the growth of children and 
the recovery of patients in hospitals, darkness 
causing failure and even death. The sun is the 
most important of the self-luminous bodies. 
Other objects giving out light include fixed 
stars, certain meteors, nebulae, and bodies in a 
state of phosphorescence or incandescence, 
though nearly all of the earth’s light comes 
from the sun. 

Theory. The undulatory theory of light is 
now generally accepted. According to it, radi¬ 
ant energy is propagated in waves that vary in 
length, and only those that affect the eye are 
known as light, the others being regarded as 
chemical rays or dark heat. Light and energy 
are transferred from one place to another by 
means of these waves, and pass with rapidity 
through the luminiferous ether that ^ fills all 
space. The velocity of light, according to Fou¬ 
cault, Cornu, and Bradley, is 186,427 miles a 
second, but the rapidity depends somewhat on 
the medium through which it passes. To affect 
the eye and produce the sensation of light, the 
waves must have a frequency between 392,000,- 
000,000,000 and 757,000,000,000,000 per second, 
and, since the frequency of the ether waves is 
so great, their wave lengths must be correspond¬ 
ingly small. Ether waves produce three classes 
of effects on ordinary matter, called heating 
effects, luminous effects, and affinic effects. To 
produce these the waves must be correspond¬ 
ingly rapid, and the molecules of the body must 
move to and fro with a sufficient frequency, 
otherwise none of the effects will be manifest. 
Different bodies are variously affected by rays 
of light. 



LIGHT 


1239 


LIGHT 


Properties. The three most important classes 
of bodies are called transparent, translucent, 
and opaque. A transparent body is one through 
which the light passes in such a manner that 
the outlines of other bodies can be seen through 
it, as clear glass and water. A translucent body 
permits light to pass through in such a manner 
that we cannot see through it the outlines of 
other bodies, such as oiled paper and ground 
glass. An opaque body does not allow any light 
to pass through it, as wood and iron. A single 
line of light taken in the direction in which 
it is moving is called a ray, a number of par¬ 
allel rays constitute a beam, and a number of 
converging or diverging rays form a pencil. 
A pencil is said to be converging, when the rays 
all move tow r ard the same point, and diverging, 
when all are moving from the same point. 
Bodies are not visible unless they throw off 
light in all directions; therefore, both luminous 
and illumined bodies are visible. A body that 
regularly reflects light cannot be seen, as a clear 
glass placed in a doorway, which may be mis¬ 
taken for an open doorway. Light, like sound, 
moves in straight lines, and varies inversely pro¬ 
portional to the square of the distance from the 
point. This may be demonstrated by placing 
an object near a light, where it receives the 
effects more intensely than when removed sev¬ 
eral times the distance from the luminous ob¬ 
ject. 

Reflection. Light is said to be reflected 
when a portion of the quantity falling on the 
surface of a body is thrown off from it. The 
, two recognized laws of reflection are: the angle 
of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence; 
and the incident ray, the perpendicular at the 
point of incident, and the reflected ray, all lie 
in the same plane. Ordinarily the amount of 
light reflected depends upon the kind of ma¬ 
terial forming the surface, on the degree of 
polish of the surface, and on the angle at which 
the light strikes the surface. Glass and highly 
polished metals are excellent reflectors of light, 
though considerable light is lost even from the 
. surface of the best reflectors. Transparent sub¬ 
stances reflect the greater amount of light the 
more obliquely it falls upon their surfaces, as 
- is the case with glass and water, and when the 
light falls on such surfaces at nearly right 
angles most of its quantity passes into or 
through the body. This is demonstrated clearly 
by the sun shining at noon on a water surface, 
when we may look at its image without being 
dazzled, but shortly before sunset the image be¬ 
comes quite dazzling and too powerful to be 
looked at steadily. The reverse is true of 
opaque bodies, since they reflect the greatest 


amount of light when it falls the most directly 
on the surface. 

Refraction. When light falls on a water sur¬ 
face, a part of the light is reflected and part 
of it enters the water. It moves onward in 



figure 1. 


straight lines, both in the air and in the water, 
as shown in Figure 1, but the direction of the 
light in the water is not the same as in the air, 
the light being bent or refracted as it enters 
the water. Refraction of light always occurs 
when it passes obliquely from one medium to 
another of different density, but when it falls 
perpendicularly on the surface it is not refract¬ 
ed. Refraction may be illustrated by the double- 
convex lens, as 6hown in Figure 2. The eye at 
F sees the candle PQ, not at its actual place 



or in its real size, but the image at P'Q' is 
larger and more distant, owing to the bending 
of the rays. The accepted rules of refraction 
are: first, the incident ray, perpendicular at the 
point of incidence, and the refracted ray all 
lie in the same plane; second, between the same 
two mediums the value of the index of refrac¬ 
tion remains constant, whatever may be the 
angle of incidence; third, the light is bent or 
refracted toward the perpendicular at the inci¬ 
dent surface, when the ray enters a denser 
medium, and from the perpendicular, when it 










LIGHTHOUSE 


1240 


lighthouse 


enters a rarer medium. Optics is the science 
that embraces the application of mathematics to 
the laws of reflection and refraction. It treats 
of the formation of images by mirrors and 
lenses, the eye, cameras, telescopes, microscopes, 
and other optical instruments. . 

History. It was well known to the ancients 
that light is propagated in straight lines. They 
discovered the laws of reflection, a fact attested 
by an ancient fable, according to which Archi¬ 
medes set fire to the Roman ships of Syracuse 
by means of concave mirrors. Kepler discov¬ 
ered the law of the intensity of light. The 
telescope was invented by the Dutch about 1608, 
Jensen, Lippersheim, and Metius each claiming 
the honor, but it is reasonably certain that Gal¬ 
ileo perfected it by making a number of im¬ 
provements. The law of refraction was discov¬ 
ered by Snell in 1621, and by its aid Descartes 
explained the rainbow. A half century later 
Newton accidentally discovered the decomposi¬ 
tion of light by a sunbeam coming through an 
opening in the window shutter and, instead of 
noticing a light spot, he saw the seven colors— 
violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and 
red. This discovery led to the invention of the 
spectroscope, an instrument by which rays of 
light may be decomposed and analyzed, and the 
body from which the light is emitted may be 
classified as to its constituents. That the seven 
principal colors of the solar spectrum produce 
the white color of light was first demonstrated 
in the 19th century by v painting them on a top 
and whirling it rapidly, when it was shown that 
they unite and make a white appearance. 

That the different colors of objects depend on 
the kind of light they reflect is another com¬ 
paratively recent discovery. Thus, a body re¬ 
flecting only yellow rays when touched by a 
beam of light is said to be yellow; when it 
reflects the green rays, it is said to be green; 
and, when it reflects none of them, it is called 
black. Newton was the first to publish an ex¬ 
tensive treatise on the decomposition of light. 
Etienne Louis Malus (1775-1812), in 1808, dis¬ 
covered the elementary phenomena of the polar¬ 
ization of light,' by which it was found that a 
single ray of light may be divided into two 
rays, and, when so divided, they possess prop¬ 
erties not common to ordinary rays of light. 
In 1896 Roentgen announced the discovery of 
the X-ray, by which it became possible to pass 
rays through substances opaque to ordinary 
light, and to make photographic views of objects 
in the interior, such as the bones within the 
living body. 

LIGHTHOUSE, an elevated structure or 
tower placed near a seaport or some headland 


for the purpose of protecting vessels at night 
by warning navigators of danger. In some in¬ 
stances such a structure is maintained as a gen¬ 
eral landmark. The first building of this char¬ 
acter of which there is authentic record was 
erected at Alexandria, Egypt, about 300 b. c., 
and is reputed to have been elevated 550 feet 
above the sea. It was built by Ptolemy Phila- 
delphus on a small island named Pharos, and 
this name was used subsequently to designate 
various structures of a like character. The 
most celebrated lighthouse of the present time 
is situated near the mouth of the Garonne, in 
France. It has a height of 198 feet and is 
noted for its excellent architecture. This struc¬ 
ture was completed in 1610, but in 1727 many 
alterations and improvements were made. The 



<5ooo^o o ooo'giioca o oooaofr 


000 0 0 




JJL 


Arrangement of fixed 
and revolving lights. 



Arrangement of an 
alternating light. 


first lighthouses were lighted with fires, but 
those of modern construction are lighted with 
oil, gas, or electricity, the power of the light 
being increased by the employment of glass 
reflectors, lenses, and prisms. 

All modern maritime nations have a system 
of lighthouses on their coasts, and many main¬ 
tain a similar system to aid in the navigation 
of interior waters. In Canada this department 
of the government is under the direction of the 
Lighthouse Board. The Congress of the United 
States passed the first act for the establishment 
of such a system in 1789. In 1852 it authorized 















































































LIGHTNING 


1241 


LIGHTNING ROD 


a lighthouse board, with the Secretary of the 
Treasury as ex-officio president. Under this act 
the coasts of the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Gulf 
of Mexico, and the Great Lakes were divided 
into lighthouse districts, each of which was 
placed under the supervision of an officer of 
the army or navy as inspector, and the general 
superintendents became subject to presidential 
appointment. In 1874 a lighthouse district which 
includes the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi riv¬ 
ers was added, and since then provisions have 
been made for maintaining lighthouses or sig¬ 
nals in the Hawaiian Islands, Guam, and other 
regions under the jurisdiction of the United 
States. 

Elevated coast points served as convenient sit¬ 
uations for early lighthouses, but, since flight- 
house some distance from the shore is more 
effective, engineers began to plan the construc¬ 
tion of the larger lighthouses some distance off 
the coast. To make them proof against waves 
and tides, as well as the storms frequent at 
sea, they must necessarily be built on solid 
rock, of which the Eddystone Lighthouse (q. v.) 
is a notable example. Besides, the elevation 
above sea level is a material factor, since the 
mariner’s eye is able to see the more elevated 
at greater distances, while the character of the 
light is likewise material. The principal classes 
of lights comprise the catoptric, dioptric, revolv¬ 
ing, intermittent, and alternate. A catoptric 
light is one in which reflectors are formed into 
a parabolic curve. The dioptric light has a 
central lamp and the rays are transmitted by 
bending or diverging them through a combina¬ 
tion of lenses. A revolving light alternately in¬ 
creases and decreases gradually at equal inter¬ 
vals. An intermittent light appears and disap¬ 
pears suddenly, but remains visible when at its 
brightest stage for some seconds. The alternat¬ 
ing light throws out different colors, such as 
red and white, at equal intervals. In most coun¬ 
tries, as in Canada and the United States, the 
lighthouse service includes electric and gas 
buoys, fog signals, whistling buoys, unlighted 
beacons, post lights, light-ships, etc. The lights 
used are classified according to the different 
candle power. 

LIGHTNING, the dazzling light emitted by 
a discharge of electricity, when passing from 
one cloud‘ to another, or from a cloud to the 
earth. Atmospheric electricity is essentially the 
same as that produced artificially. It is caused 
by friction due to dry air coming in contact 
with moist air, by evaporation, and various 
other causes. More or less electricity is always 
present in the air. It is largely positive elec¬ 
tricity during a clear sky, but takes on the nega¬ 


tive form in cloudy weather. The discharge of 
lightning occurs when the two—positive and 
negative—come in contact with each other, but 
when a cloud charged with electricity comes 
near the earth, where it is charged with the 
opposite kind, the electric discharge passes into 
the earth’s crust. In the lower regions of the 
atmosphere electricity is white and in the upper 
strata it is somewhat violet, as is the spark of 
an electrical machine in a vacuum. 

# Five general kinds of lightning may be men¬ 
tioned, those known as zigzag, heat, sheet, glob¬ 
ular, and volcanic lightning. Zigzag lightning 
appears in irregular lines, often forked at the 
end. This form is thought to be due to the 
electric current darting among the particles sus¬ 
pended in the air, as those of dust and moisture, 
to places where the air is less dense. Heat 
lightning is not accompanied by thunder. It 
occurs during hot weather, near the horizon, 
and is thought to be due to the reflection of 
lightning below the storm. Sheet lightning is 
generally accompanied by thunder, appearing as 
an expanded flash, and by it the clouds are 
illumined. Globular lightning is of rare occur¬ 
rence. It appears in the form of a globe of 
light, remaining stationary or moving slowly 
through the air, but its origin is not known defi¬ 
nitely. Thunder is due to the circumstance that 
lightning vaporizes the raindrops and enormous¬ 
ly expands the air, thereby producing a partial 
vacuum. When the surrounding air rushes vio¬ 
lently into the vacuum, the familiar loud report 
is produced. Since light has a velocity of about 
186,000 miles per second and sound travels 
through a medium with an ordinary temperature 
at about 1,120 feet per second, it is easy to un¬ 
derstand why a flash of lightning is seen some 
time before the sound of thunder is perceived. 
It requires about five seconds for a thunder clap 
to be heard a distance of one mile. The danger 
is slight at a mile distant from the place of 
lightning, though a severe shock is sometimes 
perceived even at a greater distance. 

LIGHTNING ROD, a medium designed to 
protect buildings against destruction or damage 
by lightning. The effect of a high-class light¬ 
ning rod is to conduct electric movements from 
the ground to the sky, thereby neutralizing 
the contrary electricity of passing clouds, thus 
diminishing their liability to flash lightning. 
However, if the rod is not potent enough to do 
this and is itself struck by lightning, it conducts 
the electricity to the ground. Lightning rods 
have a top of gilded copper or platinum at a 
height of from six to ten feet above the roof, 
thence pass in the form of a wire or iron bar 
to the ground, terminating from twelve to 


LIGNITE 


1242 


LILY 


twenty feet below the surface. The lower end 
should extend into moist soil or be connected 
by an artificial conductor, else it is not effective 
in dispelling the danger. An area on the roof 
having a radius of twice the height of a light¬ 
ning rod is protected. For this reason there 
should be a number of points on a building, all 
being connected with the main rod, and the lat¬ 
ter should be protected by inclosures of glass, 
or some other nonconductor, to prevent a dis¬ 
tribution of the current. 

LIGNITE (lig'nit), or Brown Coal, a com¬ 
pact, partially carbonized vegetable matter. It 
is an imperfect fuel immediately between peat 
and true coal. Lignite often retains its fibrous 
structure. It abounds in cretaceous and tertiary 
strata. The most extensive deposits of North 
America are found in the western part of the 
Great Plains, extending from the Gulf of Mex¬ 
ico to the central part of Canada. A good class 
of lignite consists of 33 parts of fixed carbon, 
45 parts of volatile carbon, 12 parts of ash, 
and 10 parts of moisture. 

LIGURIA (le-goo'ri-a), an ancient country 
of Europe, now included in the northern part of 
Italy. It was bounded on the north by the Po, 
east by the Macra River, south by the Gulf of 
Genoa, and west by the Varus River and the 
Maritime Alps. Besides including the province 
of Genoa and the territory of Nice, it embraced 
a part of the region traversed by the Alps and 
the Apennines. The inhabitants, known as the 
Ligurians, were a warlike and enterprising peo¬ 
ple. In 125 b. c. they were subjugated by the 
Romans. Later Liguria formed the nucleus of 
the province of Gaul. 

LILAC (li'lak), a shrub of the olive family, 
cultivated extensively on account of its fragrant 
flowers and ornamental foliage. The species 
are numerous, most of which are native to the 
southern part of Europe and the western part of 
Asia, but they are now grown extensively in 
gardens, for hedges, and in parks. The flowers 
are variegated in color, being mostly different 
shades of lilac, but the white species are nu¬ 
merous. Among the favorite species grown for 
their flowers are the Persian, Charles X., and 
common lilacs. They have opposite leaves and 
flower early in spring. The common lilac, if 
carefully cultivated, grows to a height of twenty 
feet. It sends out numerous suckers. 

LILLE (lei), or Lisle, a city of France, in 
the department of Nord, on the Deule River, 
seven miles from the frontier of Belgium. It is 
connected with Paris, which is 155 miles from 
Lille, by railways. The place is strongly forti¬ 
fied. It has many beautiful streets and modern 
municipal facilities, including electric lights, 


pavements, waterworks, sewerage, and electric 
street railways. Among the noteworthy build¬ 
ings are the Church of Saint Catharine, the 
Church of the Notre Dame, the Bourse, the 
public library, two universities, the Pasteur In¬ 
stitute, the lyceum, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, 



CHARLES X. LILAC. 


and many schools and hospitals. The manufac¬ 
tures include woolen, cotton, and silk goods, 
thread, sugar, spirituous liquors, porcelain, oil, 
and machinery. It has a large trade in mer¬ 
chandise and produce. Julius Caesar built a 
castle on the site of Lille, but its history prop¬ 
erly dates from 1007, when it was fortified by 
Baldwin, Count of Flanders. Within recent 
years the city has added materially to its wealth 
and commercial importance. Population, .1906, 
205,602. 

LILY, an ornamental plant of the genus 
Lilium, characterized by an erect stein from a 
scaly bulb, numerous narrow sessile leaves, and 
one or more large and erect or nodding flowers. 
About fifty species are native to the North 
Temperate Zone, of which five are common to 
the eastern part of North America. The white 
lily is native to the Levant, but has been culti¬ 
vated extensively in Europe for more than three 


LILY OF THE VALLEY 


1243 


LIME 


centuries. It has been grown in America from 
its early settlement. Some of the native spe¬ 
cies of America are very beautiful, among them 
the golden-banded lily, wild orange-red lily, 
southern red lily, Turk’s-cap lily, and Carolina 
lily. Those cultivated most extensively are the 
white lily, tiger lily, and golden lily. The 
Turk’s-cap is 1 found in marshes and attains a 
height of from five to eight feet, bearing or¬ 
ange-colored flowers with black spots. A white 
lily symbolizes purity and has been used in paint¬ 



ing in connection with .the Virgin Mary. It is 
mentioned frequently by poets and in oratory. 
Lilies are cultivated from the seed, by planting 
the bulblets, and by layers. The process of 
growing from the seed is slow. 

LILY OF THE VALLEY, a genus of 
plants of the family liliaceae, native to the 
bushy places of America, Europe, and Asia. It 
has oblong leaves. The cup-shaped flowers are 
well known for their agreeable odor. Several 
species have medical properties of utility in 
cases of heart disease. The lily of the valley 
is a perennial and has slender rootstocks. The 
flowers are in a one-sided raceme. It blooms 
in May. 

LIMA (li'ma), a city in Ohio, county seat of 


Allen County, on the Ottawa River, 71 miles 
southwest of Toledo. It is on the Pennsylvania, 
the Erie, the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton, 
and other railroads, and is surrounded by a pro¬ 
ductive fruit-growing and farming country. Coal 
and petroleum are produced in the vicinity. It 
has a fine courthouse, a public library, Lima 
College, and many schools and churches. The 
manufactures embrace machinery, carriages, egg 
cases, oil products, clothing, furniture, locomo¬ 
tives, and utensils. Many of the streets are 
well paved with brick and asphalt. Other facil¬ 
ities include electric street railways, waterworks, 
sewerage, and several parks. It has a large 
local and jobbing trade. Population, 1910, 30,508. 

LIMA (le'ma), a city and the capital of Peru, 
on the Rimac River, connected with its port, 
Callao, and other centers by railways. The city 
is one of the most beautiful in South America, 
having a splendid cathedral, government build¬ 
ings, public schools, and a university. Many 
modern municipal facilities have come into pop¬ 
ular use, including electric lights, sewerage, wa¬ 
terworks, and rapid transit. The manufactures 
include cotton, silk, and woolen goods, clothing, 
soap, machinery, furniture, sugar, and earthen¬ 
ware. Its domestic and import trade is of grow¬ 
ing importance. Pizarro founded the city in 
1535. It was partially destroyed by an earth¬ 
quake in 1746, and in 1881 capitulated to the 
Chileans. Population, 1908, 132,083. 

' LIME, a small tree of the orange family, 
native to the southeastern part of Asia, but nat¬ 
uralized in the tropical parts of America, the 
West Indies, and Europe. It attains to the 
height of about ten feet, bears a fruit resembling 
the lemon in appearance and character, but much 
smaller, and yields a bark of value in making 
mats and ropes. The wood is light and is used 
in the manufacture of baskets, boxes, and 
cradles. Large quantities of the fruit are grown 
to manufacture beverages and citric acid. The 
citric acid obtained from the lime is used largely 
as an antiscorbutic on long voyages at sea. It 
is produced in considerable quantities in Cuba 
and other West Indian islands. 

LIME, a white earthlike calcium oxide wide¬ 
ly diffused throughout the animal, vegetable, and 
mineral kingdoms. In nature it occurs in nu¬ 
merous forms, but is not found in a pure state. 
It may be produced artificially by calcining a 
mineral calcium carbonate, as marble, limestone, 
or seashells, yielding the anhydrous calcium 
oxide called quicklime, which, when moistened 
with water, forms slacked lime. Quicklime read¬ 
ily absorbs moisture from the air, forming air- 
slacked lime. The artificial manufacture of lime 
is conducted on a large scale by burning or cal- 







LIME LIGHT 


1244 


LINCOLN 


cining different varieties of limestone in a kiln, 
but the product is not sufficiently pure to be 
utilized for chemical purposes. Pure lime is a 
white substance, and is obtained from pure car¬ 
bonate of lime, such as Iceland spar or Carrara 
marble. This is effected by heating the pure 
carbonate, thereby expelling the carbonic acid 
and obtaining the lime as a residue. There are 
almost innumerable uses for chemical and com¬ 
mercial lime. The more common uses are for 
fertilizing, removing hair, fat, and other foreign 
matters in tanning, to prepare cements and mor¬ 
tars for building, to causticise - alkaline liquors 
in soap making, to disinfect and destroy noxious 
insects and vegetable matter, and to.purify coal 
gas. It is used for many other purposes in 
manufacturing. Lime is employed largely in 
medicine, serving as a tonic, as an antacid, and 
in diarrhoea and stomach complaints. 

LIME LIGHT, an artificial light produced 
by directing an oxyhydrogen flame against pure 
quicklime by means of a blowpipe. The light 
produced in this way is very intense. It has 
been utilized as a signal light, for stage service, 
and in various optical instruments. 

LIMERICK (lim'er-ik), a railroad and man¬ 
ufacturing city of Ireland, capital of Limerick 
County, on the estuary of the Shannon River, 
120 miles southwest of Dublin. Among the 
principal buildings are the Anglican Cathedral 
of Saint Mary, the Roman Catholic Cathedral 
of Saint John, the city hall, the county court¬ 
house and jail, and the military station. The 
manufactures include clothing, spirituous liquors,, 
lace, flour, machinery, ironware, leather, and 
fishhooks. It is the seat of several large estab¬ 
lishments for the manufacture of military cloth¬ 
ing. The municipal facilities include sewerage, 
waterworks, electric lighting, and stone and 
brick pavements. It has extensive docks and 
wharves. The trade in cereals and live stock is 
important. Population, 1906, 40,045. 

LIMESTONE, the general term applied to 
rock which are composed wholly or in part of 
calcium carbonate. The deposits answering to 
this description are very numerous, differing in 
composition and structure. They are widely 
distributed in all the geological systems, but 
occur most abundantly in the secondary rocks. 
In.a pure state limestone contains about 43 parts 
of carbonic acid and 57 parts of lime, but the 
general intermixture of other minerals is very 
extensive. When containing magnesium carbo¬ 
nate, it is called magnesian; when clayey, argil¬ 
laceous; when sandy, siliceous; and when the 
limestone is crystalline, it is termed marble. 
Among the principal varieties are compact, foli¬ 
ated, granular, oolitic, calcareous, peastone, and 


statuary limestone. In many localities the name 
of the geological system in which it is found is 
applied to the product, such as Devonian, Silu¬ 
rian, etc. Iceland spar is a grade of limestone 
quite transparent and rich in lime. 

LIMOGES (le-m6zh')> a railroad and manu¬ 
facturing city in France, capital of the depart¬ 
ment in Haute-Vienne, on the Vienne River. 
The place is reached by a number of railroads 
and has communication by steamboats. Among 
the chief buildings are the Cathedral of Saint 
Etienne, the public library and museum, a the¬ 
ological seminary, and the observatory. It has 
sewerage, waterworks, public parks,, and electric 
railways. The manufacture of artistic porcelain 
is the most important industry, but it has large 
manufactures of cotton and woolen goods, 
shoes, paper, clothing, and machinery. It is the 
seat of a bishop and has a large trade. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 88,597. 

LIMONITE (li'mon-it), a common and im¬ 
portant ore of iron, often called brown hematite. 
The deposits are not in continuous strata, but 
occur in the fissures and cavities of compact 
masses, or as a loose earth at and near the 
surface of beds of the carbonate of iron or iron 
pyrites. Limonite is of a brown or brownish- 
yellow color and, when pure or nearly so., has 
a submetallic lustre. Extensive deposits are 
found in the Appalachian region of North 
America and various parts of Europe, especially 
in England and Germany. An impure variety 
of limonite found in marshes is called bog iron 
ore. The limonite that gathers at the bottom 
of lakes and ponds from the drainage of re¬ 
gions that contain iron is called lake ore. 

LIMPET (lim'pet), a genus of gastropod 
mollusks, more or less widely distributed. They 
are noted especially for their immense size in 
the tropical seas. Several well-known species 
occur off the Atlantic coast of America. The 
limpets commonly adhere firmly to rocks by 
means of the foot, which acts as a sucker. 
The shell is conical and has a more or less 
prominent apex, the latter turning slightly for¬ 
ward. The food consists of seaweed, which is 
rasped by the tongue. They are used for bait 
in fishing and for food. These animals are 
taken in large numbers as food by birds. 

LINCOLN (lin'kun), a city in Illinois, coun¬ 
ty seat of Logan County, 28 miles northeast 
of Springfield. It is on the Illinois Central, the 
Chicago and Alton, and other railroads, and is 
surrounded by a fertile agricultural country. 
Bituminous coal of a fine grade is mined in the 
vicinity. The noteworthy buildings include the 
county courthouse, the public library, the high 
school, and many churches. It is the seat of 


LINCOLN 


1245 


LINDEN 


the Odd Fellows’ Orphans’ Home of Illinois, 
the State asylum for feeble-minded children, 
and Lincoln University. The last named insti¬ 
tution was founded in 1865. It has a fine library 
and is attended by 250 students. The manufac¬ 
tures include flour, cellulose, saddlery, caskets, 
clothing, and machinery. It was settled in 1835 
and incorporated in 1854. Population, 1800, 
8/962; in 1910, 10,892. 

LINCOLN, a city and the capital of Nebras¬ 
ka, county seat of Lancaster County, on the Salt 
River, fifty miles southwest of Omaha. It is on 
the Union Pacific, the Chicago, Burlington and 
Quincy, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, 
the Missouri Pacific, and the Chicago and North¬ 
western railroads. The surrounding country is 
fertile and devoted to agriculture, stock raising, 
and fruit growing. Among the manufactures 
are carriages, earthenware, clothing, cigars, 
canned goods, and machinery. The State cap¬ 
ital is a fine stone structure. It has a modern 
county courthouse and a United States gov¬ 
ernment building. Other noteworthy buildings 
include the public library, the high school, Ne¬ 
braska Military Academy, Union College, Uni¬ 
versity of Nebraska, Nebraska Wesleyan Uni¬ 
versity, Cotner University, Adventist and Epis¬ 
copalian colleges, and several normal and musi¬ 
cal schools. It is the seat of the State peniten¬ 
tiary and the State insane asylum. Electric 
lights and street railways, waterworks, pave¬ 
ments, and several fine parks are among the 
conveniences. It has a large local and whole¬ 
saling trade. The vicinity was first settled in 
1859 and three years later the place was made 
the capital of the State. It was named in honor 
of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is the home of 
William J. Bryan. Population, 1910, 43,973. 

LINCOLN, a city and the capital of Lin¬ 
colnshire, England, on the Witham River, 130 
miles north of London. It is surrounded by a 
rich agricultural country and is an important 
railroad center. The Lincoln Cathedral, one of 
the finest in England, is the largest building. It 
is 482 feet long and 80 feet wide. The tower is 
300 feet high and contains the Tom of Lincoln, 
a famous bell cast in 1610. Other noteworthy 
buildings include the public library, the town- 
hall, the ruins of a Norman castle, and the re¬ 
mains of the palace of John of Gaunt. The 
site of the city is elevated, commanding a beau¬ 
tiful view of the surrounding region. The 
manufactures include flour, machinery, farming 
implements, clothing, and fabrics. It has mod¬ 
ern facilities, such as telephones, electric lights, 
and rapid transit. Population, 1907, 53,672. 

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL, one of the fin¬ 
est cathedrals in England, located in the city of 


Lincoln, on the summit of a hill overlooking that 
city. It is in the early English style of archi¬ 
tecture and contains the bell called Tom of 
Lincoln, which was cast in 1610. The building 
is 482 feet long, 80 feet wide, and the central 
tower is 300 feet high. Two other towers have 
a height of 180 feet. The cathedral is one of 
the finest specimens of architecture belonging to 
the Anglican church. 

LINCOLN’S GETTYSBURG ADDRESS, 

a memorable address made by Abraham Lincoln 
at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, 
Nov. 19, 1863. It is rightfully regarded a liter¬ 
ary gem. The following is the address in its 
entirety: “Fourscore and seven years ago our 
fathers brought forth on this continent a new 
nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the 
proposition that all men are created equal. Now 
we are engaged in a great civil war, testing 
whether that nation, or any nation so conceived 
and so dedicated, can long endure. We have 
met on a great battlefield of that war. We are 
met to dedicate a portion of that field as the 
final resting place of the men who here gave 
their lives that the nation might live. It is 
altogether fitting and proper that we should do 
this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, 
we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this 
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who 
struggled here have consecrated it far above our 
power to add or detract. The world will but 
little note, nor long remember what we say here, 
but it can never forget what they did here. It 
is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated to 
the unfinished work which they who fought here 
have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather 
for us to be here dedicated to the great task 
remaining before us; that from these honored 
dead we take increased devotion to the cause 
to which they gave the last full measure of de¬ 
votion ; that we here highly resolve that these 
dead shall not have died in vain; that the na¬ 
tion shall, under God, have a new birth of free¬ 
dom ; and that government of the people, by the 
people, and for the people shall not perish from 
the earth.” 

LINDEN, a forest tree of Europe. The spe¬ 
cies native to America are commonly called 
basswood and lime. It grows to a great height, 
frequently from sixty to ninety feet. It yields a 
rather soft and light wood and bears sweet- 
scented flowers, growing in cymes and having 
the peduncle united to a leaflike bract. The 
wood is utilized by carvers and turners, for 
kindling purposes, and in the manufacture of 
powder. In nearly all the species the flowers 
furnish material for a tea and contain excel¬ 
lent qualities for honey. In many countries the 


LINDSAY 


1246 


LINOLEUM 


linden is cultivated near apiaries to supply food 
for bees. Many species are included in this class 
of trees, the European and American being quite 
similar. The linden is a favorite tree for gar¬ 
dens and house yards, having widespreading 
branches when isolated. 

LINDSAY (lln'za), a city of Ontario, coun¬ 
ty seat of Victoria County, on the Seugog River, 
68 miles northeast of Toronto. It is on the 
Grand Trunk Railway and is surrounded by a 
farming country. The principal buildings in¬ 
clude the county courthouse, the high school, 
the public library, and several churches. It has 
manufactures of flour, spirituous liquors, iron¬ 
ware, and lumber products. The municipality 
maintains systems of sewerage and waterworks. 
Population, 1901, 7,003. 

LINEN, a fabric woven from the fibers of 
flax. Linen textile fabrics include many vari¬ 
eties, such as lawn, damask, cambric, sheeting, 
toweling, and ducks. The manufacture of this 
commodity dates from remote antiquity, a fact 
evidenced by Egyptian monuments and the em¬ 
balmed dead found in the tombs, many of which 
are wrapped in linen products. Writers gener¬ 
ally express the view that the Jews introduced 
its manufacture into Western Asia, and that 
it spread thence to Europe by way of Greece. 
It is probable that the Romans taught the art 
of making linen to the people of Western Eu¬ 
rope, since the manufacturing establishments in 
those parts of the continent have been impor¬ 
tant for many centuries. The linens made in Bel¬ 
gium, Holland, France, Germany, and England 
are especially noteworthy, for the reason that 
the products are of a very high quality in fine¬ 
ness and the output is very large. Linen has 
been manufactured in the United States for 
many years, but the first extensive mill was 
built at Fall River, Mass., in 1834, since which 
time the industry has been gradually developing, 
though the finer products are still imported in 
large quantities. 

When flax is received at the mill it has to 
undergo a line of preparatory operations be¬ 
fore being spun into yarn for weaving. It is 
first heckled, by which the coarse parts are sep¬ 
arated from the fine, and then is prepared for 
spinning, the latter being done by machinery. 
After being spun into yarn, the threads are 
woven into the different kinds of products, 
by machinery, the apparatus depending upon the 
class of goods desired. However, the machinery 
does not differ materially from the devices used 
in the manufacture of cotton. The extensive 
production of cotton has affected the output of 
linen fabrics, especially in Europe, but linens 
have many advantages for various purposes. 


Linen is much smoother than cotton, has a 
brighter luster, does not absorb moisture as 
easily, and is a healthful, clean, and cool ma¬ 
terial for sheeting and summer clothing. When 
bleached, starched, and dressed, it furnishes the 
beautiful material used for collars, shirt fronts, 
cuffs, and many other useful articles of apparel. 
It is stronger and heavier in weight than either 
cotton or yarn and, since machinery can be ap¬ 
plied to every phase of its manufacture, it has 
assumed an important, place among the textile 
fabrics. The common grades of linen are those 
used for bedding and plain clothing, while the 
heavy ducks enter into the manufacture of tents, 
sails, and coarse clothing. 

LING, a species of sea fish found in the 
northern seas as far north as Iceland. It is al¬ 
lied to the cod family. The body measures 
from three to four feet in length, has a grayish 
back and sides; and the head is flat. The ling 
is very valuable as an article of commerce. It is 
caught most abundantly from February to May, 
when it is in the best condition, and begins to 
spawn in June. Split from head to tail and 
cured in salt brine and dried, it becomes known 
as stockfish. An oil is extracted from the liver, 
which is used as a substitute for cod-liver oil 
and for lighting purposes in lamps. Among the 
species are the common ling, the eel-shaped 
blenny found off Massachusetts, and the gadoid 
of Europe. 

LINNAEA (lin-ne'a), a plant of the honey¬ 
suckle family. It is a small trailing evergreen 
herb, has round leaves, and bears fragrant flow¬ 
ers of a pinkish color. Only one species is con¬ 
tained in the genus. It is found in the north¬ 
ern regions of the Northern Hemisphere and 
occurs in mountainous places as far south as 
Maryland and California. 

LINNET (lin'net), a singing bird of the 
finch family, native to North America and the 
northern portions of Europe and Asia. It is 
migratory, moving southward in autumn. The 
body is six inches long and the extended wings 
measure ten inches. Most linnets are yellow¬ 
ish in color with markings of brownish, but 
there are red, gray, and brown species. They 
change color somewhat according to the sea¬ 
sons of the year. Several species inhabit dif¬ 
ferent parts of the Old World, those found in 
Egypt coming largely from the Levant to win¬ 
ter. The song is cheerful and lively and is dis¬ 
tinguished by its pleasing notes, making the 
linnet a favorite cage bird. 

LINOLEUM (H-no'le-um), an important 
product derived from linseed oil by the appli¬ 
cation of chloride of sulphur. It is useful for 
many purposes, its utility depending upon the 


LINOTYPE 


1247 


LION 


nature of the process to which the ingredients 
are subjected in preparation. In a common 
form it consists of thin sheets, which serve 
purposes quite similar to India rubber or gutta¬ 
percha. It is dissolved and used in preparing 
carpets, table covers, waterproof coats, etc. In 
a,vulcanized form it serves for handles in cut¬ 
lery and for moldings, and in other forms as a 
cement and for painting both iron and wood 
works. 

LINOTYPE (lm'6-tip), a machine for pro¬ 
ducing stereotyped lines or bars of words as a 
substitute for typesetting. This machine uses 
matrices instead of type, each of these respond¬ 
ing to the touch of keys, thereby falling into 
the proper place. When sufficient matrices to 
form a line have been set, they are moved auto¬ 
matically to the casting apparatus, where they 
are lined up, or justified, and molten metal is 
cast to form a solid line of type, after which the 
matrices are returned by the machine to their 
proper places by automatic action. The lines 
or bars containing the woi»ds are set up side by 
side to constitute a column. This machine was 
invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler (q. v.) and 
is one of the most practical inventions of the 
kind. Several styles of type, such as brevier, 
nonpareil, and italics, can be set at the same 
time by using different cases of matrices. See 
Type. 

LINSEED OIL, an oil expressed from the 
seed of flax, which forms the type of’the class 
known as dry oils, from their property of dry¬ 
ing into a transparent, tough mass when 
exposed to the air. It is secured from 
the linseed either by heating to 200° 

Fahr. or by pressure without heating, 
the latter process being regarded the 
better, as the oil extracted by that meth¬ 
od is less liable to chemical decompo¬ 
sition. If the raw oil is boiled until 
it .loses about one-sixth its weight, it 
becomes of greater value, since it dries 
up more readily than in the fresh state 
and forms, when applied in painting, 
a turpentinelike mass which is scarcely 
soluble in oils. In that form it consti¬ 
tutes the basis of painters’ and printers’ 
varnishes. About 28 per cent, of the 
quantity of seeds, pressed is the amount of oil 
secured, -and the residuum constitutes a valu¬ 
able product for domestic animal food, known 
as linseed cake . It is sold on the market either 
in solid cakes or as meal. The principal uses 
of linseed oil are for mixing paints, preparing 
varnishes, oil cloth, printers’ ink, soft soap, 
and linoleum, an article used largely for cov¬ 
ering floors. Linoleum is prepared by solidify¬ 


ing linseed oil through the agency of chloride 
of sulphur. 

LINTEL (lin'tel), a piece of timber or stone 
laid horizontally over a doorway or window for 
the purpose of furnishing support to the build¬ 
ing. It is sometimes constructed in the form of 
an arch and sometimes as a short architrave. 

LINZ (lints), a city of Austria-Hungary, 
capital of the crown land of Upper Austria, 102 
miles west of Vienna. It is located on the Dan¬ 
ube River and is strongly fortified. The chief 
buildings include the cathedral, an armory, a 
public library, and a number of schools and 
churches. It has extensive railroad and elec¬ 
tric railway facilities and is the seat of a large 
trade in tobacco, leather, cereals, and live stock. 
In the time of the Romans it was known as 
Lentia. Population, 1906, 60,872. 

LION, a majestic carnivorous animal, the 
largest of the cat family. It is one of the most 
active of the large quadrupeds, has a yellow or 
tawny color, and measures from eight to ten 
feet in length. At the shoulder the height is 
about four feet. The tail is nearly four feet 
long, tufted at the end, and the male has a large, 
shaggy mane. In all species the lioness is 
smaller than the lion, but more impetuous and 
agile, and is destitute of a mane. The mane be¬ 
gins to grow at the age of three years, maturity 
is reached at about six years, and the average 
life is thought to be about twenty years. Lion¬ 
esses bring forth from two to four young annu¬ 
ally, and the whelps are nourished nearly a 


LIONESS AND WHELPS. 

year. While the favorite abode is an open plain, 
during the breeding season they remain se¬ 
cluded, and both parents give much evidence of 
energy in defending their young. 

Like the cat, the lion is disposed to hunt its 
prey most commonly during the night, stealing 
upon it with great caution, and when at the 
proper distance it leaps with well-directed force 
and accuracy. The eyes are brilliant and the 




LIPARI 


1248 


LIQUID AIR 


body is muscular. The great strength of the 
lion has caused it to be called the king of beasts , 
though its noble appearance and kingly bearing 
no doubt contribute largely to this appellation. 
Travelers find it a protection to kindle a fire 
and keep it steadily burning, as the lion shuns 
flames, and rather avoids than attacks man un¬ 
less induced to forceful means by hunger. For¬ 
merly lions were common to Europe, but the ad¬ 
vent of civilization has caused their retreat to 
the wild regions of Asia and Africa. The Afri¬ 
can lions are by far the largest, and include a 
number of species. Those found in Asia are 
medium in size and in some species the males 
do not have a mane. The puma of America is 
often classed as a lion. If captured young, lions 
may be domesticated and trained to acts of skill, 
for which purpose they are frequently exhibited 
at exhibitions. At the time of the prosperity of 
Rome many exhibitions consisted of fights be¬ 
tween lions and other animals, or even between 
lions and men. They were employed to some 
extent for the destruction of Christians and 
criminals. 

LIPARI (lip'a-re), or Aeolian, a group of 
seventeen islands, lying north of Sicily, but only 
six are of material size. The area is 58 square 
miles. It belongs to Italy and contains numer¬ 
ous ancient ruins and volcanic mountains. 
Earthquakes and storms are frequent. The in¬ 
dustries include fishing, mining, and fruit rais¬ 
ing. Pumice stone, soda, sulphur, niter, fish, 
wine, and tropical fruits are the principal prod¬ 
ucts. Among the chief islands are Lipari, Vul- 
cano, Filicuri, Sa.lina, Panaria, and Stromboli, 
the celebrated intermittent volcano Stromboli 
being on the last named island. Lipari is the 
only island of the group that was inhabited 
anciently. Population, 1906, 20,806. 

LIQUEUR (le-ker'), an alcoholic cordial 
sweetened and flavored with aromatic sub¬ 
stances for the purpose of making it pleasing 
to the taste. Various products are used for the 
purpose, such as cumin and caraway seed in the 
preparation of kummel; cloves in preparing 
clove cordial; bitter almonds in making noyau; 
and aniseed in preparing aniseed cordial. 

LIQUID (lik'wid), a substance whose parts 
retain n,o definite form, but change their rela¬ 
tive position on the Slightest pressure. The term 
liquids is applied to all fluids, but many fluids 
are not liquids, such as air and the gases. Wa¬ 
ter is the most common liquid. See Hydro¬ 
statics. 

LIQUID AIR, the name applied to the prod¬ 
uct obtained by liquefying the so-called perma¬ 
nent gases, such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxy¬ 
gen. Though various gases were liquefied fully 


a century ago, much attention has been directed 
to the process, particularly because of the in¬ 
vention of a new and more powerful apparatus. 
Faraday attained considerable success in lique¬ 
fying nitrous oxide and ammonia, but renewed 
interest was directed to the process in 1898 
by Chas. E. Tripler, of New York City, and 
subsequently by others. To liquefy gases two 
factors are necessary—pressure and cold. By 
the application of both these factors to a suf¬ 
ficient extent, any gas, so far as known, may 
be liquefied. The point at which liquefaction 
takes place is called the critical temperature, 
a term applied to both the temperature and the 
pressure at which a gas liquefies. These differ 
according to the nature of the gases. For in¬ 
stance, argon liquefies at the critical temperature 
of —250° Fahr. and the critical pressure of 759 
pounds; nitrogen, at —295° and 525 pounds; 
and oxygen, at —245° and 762 pounds. In an 
experiment it was found that liquid air freezes 
at a temperature of 2,400° below zero. 

Besides Tripler, W% Hampson, of* England, 
and Carl Linde, of Germany, have brought forth 
practical machines for producing liquid air. 
While different in many details, they are quite 
alike in general principles. Among the essential 
parts is an air compressor, by which air is com¬ 
pressed in a series of cylinders connected by 
automatic gauges, and the heat resulting from 
the compression is removed by intercoolers. 
The construction is such that the last of the 
series of coolers is in a large tank filled with 
running water, which serves to cool the air 
pipe, and the air is thence conducted through 
a separator to free it from moisture. It next 
passes to the liquefier, a device constructed of 
small pipe with many turns, which is surrounded 
by a heavy felt packing to protect it from ex¬ 
ternal heat. When the pressure at the lower 
end of the coil becomes raised to a sufficient in¬ 
tensity, an expansion valve permits the cool air 
to pass between and around the coiled pipes. 

As this operation is continued, it has the effect 
of gradually cooling the air until the critical 
point of temperature is reached, when portions 
of the air liquefy and the product falls into a 
receptacle, from which it may be taken and used 
for purposes intended. Formerly it was thought 
that liquid air would come into wide use, as 
for refrigeration, ventilating and cooling rooms, 
and divers hygienic purposes, such as the de¬ 
struction of typhus bacilli and bacteria. Since 
it has a general temperature of 312° below zero, 
its usefulness for these purposes would seem 
practical, but the expense of producing and the 
difficulty of handling it have precluded its use, 
except in physical laboratories. Ice at 30° Fahr, 


LIQUIDAMBAR 


1249 


LITERATURE 


is as a furnace in comparison with liquid air, 
and, when placed on a block of it, liquid air 
boils in a manner quite similar to water affected 
by a hot fire. 

LIQUIDAMBAR (lik'wid-am-ber), a genus 
of trees found in Asia and North America. The 
common liquidambar is a tall tree, has lobed 
leaves, and is native to Mexico and the south¬ 
ern part of the United States. It grows to a 
height of 100 feet and is valuable for the tim¬ 
ber, which is sometimes called satin walnut in 
the markets. Four species of these trees have 
been described, all of them more or less valu¬ 
able in their production of fragrant resinous 
matter, called sweet gum, copal balsam, or liq¬ 
uidambar. 

LIQUORICE. See Licorice. 

LISBON (liz'bun), the principal seaport and 
capital of Portugal, on the Tagus River, about 
nine miles from the Atlantic Ocean. It has a 
very beautiful site, an important harbor, good 
railroad connections, and a number of modern 
municipal improvements. Among the public 
utilities are gas and electric lighting, stone and 
macadam pavements, sewerage, and an extensive 
system of electric street railways. The harbor 
is commodious and strongly fortified. It has a 
large export and import trade, especially with 
the colonies. The manufactures include cotton, 
woolen, and linen goods, jewelry, tobacco, hats, 
clothing, boots and shoes, machinery, earthen¬ 
ware and utensils. Some of the older streets 
are tortuous and have few sanitary facilities, 
but the newer parts are clean and well regulated. 

Much of the architecture is of stone and brick. 
The principal buildings include the national li¬ 
brary, the customhouse, the arsenal, the Church 
of Saint Rogue, the Monastery of the Heart of 
Jesus, and the national theater. The national 
library has 200,000 volumes. Many of the pub¬ 
lic places are adorned with fountains and stat¬ 
uary. The water supply of the city is secured 
through an aqueduct eighteen miles in length, 
which is regarded the most extensive bridge 
architecture in the world. Lisbon was founded 
by the Phoenicians and passed to the Romans, 
then to the Goths, and later to the Moors. In 
1146 it was captured by Alfonso I. It became 
the capital of Portugal in 1422. In 1755 one 
of the greatest earthquakes on record visited 
the city, in which 35,000 persons were killed. 
Population, 1907, 359,044. 

LITANY (lit'a-ny), a solemn prayer or sup¬ 
plication addressed to God with the view of ob¬ 
taining mercy and assistance. It is used chiefly 
on occasions of public calamity, especially in the 
case of prolonged drought and the prevalence 
of epidemics. The Kyrie Eleison (q. v.) is the 
79 


earliest and most simple form of litany and is 
repeated a number of times. Two other forms 
of litany are those known as the Litany of Lo¬ 
reto and the Litany of the Name of Jesus. The 
requirement to repeat the litany in the Roman 
Catholic church applies only on Rogation Days, 
or the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before 
Ascension, and on Saint Mark’s Day, but it is 
used by common consent at the time of great 
calamities and special occasions, such as conse¬ 
crations and ordinations. 

LITCHFIELD (lich'feld), a city of Mont¬ 
gomery County, Illinois, 43 miles south of 
Springfield, on the Wabash, the Illinois Central, 
the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and other 
railroads. The chief buildings include the pub¬ 
lic library, the high school, and a number of 
churches. It has waterworks, sewerage, and 
well-graded streets. Among the manufactures 
are threshing machines, earthenware, carriages, 
flour, and brooms. The surrounding country 
is agricultural and dairying. It has valuable de¬ 
posits of coal, natural gas, and mineral oil. 
Litchfield was settled in 1853 and incorporated 
in 1859. Population, 1900, 5,918; in 1910, 5,971. 

LITER (le'ter). See Metric System. 

LITERATURE (lit-er-a-tur), the written 
or printed productions of the human mind dis¬ 
tinguished by vigor and elevation of thought. 
Our educational institutions and the general 
public are giving attention to home reading and 
the attainment of literary culture with an ever¬ 
growing interest. Never before has there been 
greater activity than at present among the 
American people to own and read good books. 
This desire is not confined to any particular 
class, and it exists with almost as much intensity 
in the country as it does in the cities and towns. 
Through the general diffusion of knowledge 
among the masses in the schools, the reading 
habit has become almost universal, and the 
school days, apparently stopping when the child 
leaves school, extend far into the adult life of 
the individual. The character of the reading is 
as diversified as the tastes of the human mind, 
and it covers topics in all departments of knowl¬ 
edge. In fact, there is no field left unexplored. 
Even in the same neighborhood may be found 
men and women pursuing subjects as widely 
separated as if they were inhabitants of two 
cities on opposite sides of the globe. 

In the stricter and narrower sense literature 
belongs to the fine arts and embodies thought 
that is power-giving, or inspiring and elevating, 
rather than merely knowledge-giving. In this 
sense it excludes the writings that are merely 
technical or for a particular class, and embraces 
those that are of interest to man in an aesthetic 



LITERATURE 


1250 


LITERATURE 


sense, that are characterized by an elevated tone 
and style, and shaped by the creative imagina¬ 
tion or power of artistic construction. Litera¬ 
ture may be divided into three classes, repre¬ 
sentative discourse, oratory, and poetry. Repre¬ 
sentative discourse embraces all the productions 
in which the writings are for the sake of the 
theme itself; oratory, where the representation 
is for the sake of the effect on another mind; 
and poetry, where it embodies in beautiful form 
the thoughts presented, largely for the sake of 
the form. Dean Stanley embraces in literature 
all those great works that tower above profes¬ 
sional or commonplace uses, and take posses¬ 
sion of the mind of a whole nation or a whole 
age. 

“Literature in the higher sense” is a criticism 
of life, but it is usually defined as all that has 
been written that was worth reading years or 
centuries afterward. Not everything that has 
been written can be classed as literature. What 
there is that has “the potency of life in it” is for 
this reason worthy of consideration. Out of 
such material, either preserved in books or hid¬ 
den away in diaries, true literature has been 
.made. This is, in a large measure, the unwrit¬ 
ten history of the people themselves, which in 
later years is gathered up and shaped into form. 
While the literature of this country is a vigor¬ 
ous offshoot from the parent stock, and is mod¬ 
eled largely after it, yet it possesses distinct na¬ 
tional characteristics indicating the modes of 
thought and the persistent activity of the Amer¬ 
ican people. 

Coming from England, our ancestors brought 
some books with them, and the need of books 
written in the colonies was not felt at first, yet 
diaries were kept by some of the early settlers 
and from these jottings one is enabled to con¬ 
ceive with a very considerable degree of ac¬ 
curacy how the first settlers lived, worked, as¬ 
sociated together, and what manners and cus¬ 
toms they observed, and the general appearance 
of the country, the habits, modes of life, and 
the peculiarities and general traits of the sav¬ 
ages with whom they came in contact. As the 
settlements prospered and their interests ex¬ 
panded in the different colonies and a wider ac¬ 
quaintance with the affairs of men in all parts 
of the world became necessary, attention was di¬ 
rected to other nations, their laws and institu¬ 
tions. However, the first settlers in the colonies 
had much hard work to do, but there were some 
men among them who had been liberally edu¬ 
cated and their influence reached down among 
the masses in every settlement. There was then 
present, as there is now, an instinctive feeling 
among the masses to respect the man who 


knows more in general than his fellows, and 
whose judgment is sound and whose opinions 
are based on a comprehensive view of a situa¬ 
tion. 

In the early history of the country, little time 
could be devoted to writing books that would 
now be worth reading, except to show how the 
people themselves lived. The younger living 
had to preserve the history of the older living 
for the benefit of the future historian, novel¬ 
ist, essayist, or antiquarian. Written thoughts 
live; oral tradition dies. Our ancestors were 
men and women of high and lofty purposes. 
They had cut themselves loose from all the old- 
world ties in order to carve out a mighty destiny 
under other skies, on an unexplored continent. 
Their higher thoughts were occupied with no¬ 
tions of divine and civil government. What 
was written then had a gloomy religious color¬ 
ing, inherited from conditions that had in a 
large measure influenced them to leave the old 
world and to settle in the new. From 1607 to 
1765, there were feeble attempts, as now judged, 
in writing some books chiefly on interpreting 
the Scriptures and the extent of the authority 
of kings and potentates. Our literature had its 
beginning during this period. 

The literature of Canada and the United 
States is all of modern origin. None of it is 
three hundred years old. The study of Ameri¬ 
can literature is the study of the best literary 
productions of the men and women who wrote 
them, and some account of the life of each. 
Books that have a permanent interest for all 
men, extending throughout all time, may be 
classed as literature in contrast with those writ¬ 
ings that had only a temporary interest. Educa¬ 
tion along literary lines in. recent years has in¬ 
variably taken two directions—one is a return 
to the study of those productions which have 
stood the test of time, and incorporate the ex¬ 
pressions of the race as well as the experience 
of the individual who reads such books for the 
first or the twentieth time; the other line is by 
absorbing the principles that are embodied in 
the highest forms of literary art, so that one is 
enabled, by superior tact, skill, judgment, and 
appreciation, to blaze out a line of work that in 
matter and form will command and hold the ad¬ 
miration of all who know how to appreciate 
and to enjoy the beautiful in literature. 

However, it is most desirable to influence 
those who must do their reading chiefly at 
home, to read the best books and in the right 
direction. Home reading must furnish the es¬ 
sential basis for all extended education after 
one has finished his work in school and entered 
upon that broader sphere of activity in the in- 




LITERATURE 


1251 


LITERATURE 


dustrial, commercial, or professional occupations 
of life. Men and women should be trained 
along two lines, and each should accomplish its 
purpose fairly well. The first has for its object 
the developing of the original powers of the 
mind so that the possessor shall be quick in ob¬ 
servation, active in comprehending and in adapt¬ 
ing himself to new and untried situations, clear 
and free in his thinking, and self-poised in his 
•disposition. On the reflective side of life, he 
must fortify himself by gathering wisdom from 
the world’s best books so that he may enjoy and 
participate in the experience of the race. Liter¬ 
ature contains this knowledge, the invaluable 
lessons of human experience. 

In reading the biographies of the most noted 
scholars and philanthropists, one is impressed 
with the important influence that some book 
had in shaping the character of each, or in di¬ 
recting his energies into a definite channel of 
investigation or action. An insight into the 
methods employed reveals how it was that one 
trained himself to become a naturalist, and an¬ 
other a writer of books, a linguist, a historian, 
a poet, a mathematician, or an astronomer. 
Studies of this kind have done more to stimu¬ 
late the spirit of investigation, especially along 
the lines of research, than all other influences 
combined. It is consequently a matter of much 
greater importance to get a few of the right 
kind of books, than it is to have a good teacher 
whose influence may be only temporary. A 
book that teaches how a result was reached, in¬ 
dicating the steps in the discovery of a fact 
and the experiments made, will lead one to de¬ 
pend upon himself far more than when he is 
told how by a teacher. Such a book is stimulat¬ 
ing, because it indicates clearly the entire proc¬ 
ess from the beginning to the end in the dis¬ 
covery of truth. 

A library for home reading should contain 
different assortments of books—books that in¬ 
cite to reading and that arouse an independent, 
continuous spirit of self-activity. These books 
should treat chiefly of the spirit and methods of 
discovery, and of the processes of development 
to which each subject belongs. Where one is 
prepared to view the material world as an un¬ 
folding process, and that.each fact in the proc¬ 
ess throws some light on every other fact in 
connection with the process, knowledge then be¬ 
gins to assume a scientific aspect in a classifica- 
tory form. The habit of study which leads to 
such classification of reading and investigation 
is invaluable to the young person who is begin¬ 
ning to form habits that will economize life’s 
work. It is doubly important that the one who 
must map out his own course of reading should 


adopt a plan that is somewhat scientific in its 
character and at the same time widening in its 
scope. * 

A simple method for gathering a library of 
books for home reading and progressive instruc¬ 
tion is to select books grouped under a few 
general heads as follows: 

The First Division should include history, bi¬ 
ography, and ethnology. History and biography 
relate to the lives of nations and individuals; to 
the social lives of each; and to the collisions 
that the nation has had with other nations, or 
the individual with other individuals, or at 
times with the popular will. But the most in¬ 
teresting phase of national history is its peace¬ 
ful relations with other nations in developing 
and extending commerce in times of peace; the 
forms of government, the modes of administer¬ 
ing justice among the citizens, their manners 
and customs, social, political, and religious prac¬ 
tices—all help one to see those of his own peo¬ 
ple in the light of others. In studying the less 
advanced peoples, one becomes familiar with 
the lives and habits of the backward races and 
he thus learns to understand their prejudices far 
better than he who holds himself aloof, and who 
would reform them by sheer force. One learns, 
too, how the will of the chief of the tribe or 
clan controls all those who belong to the tribe 
or nation. It is in this tribal will that the social 
will of a nation expresses itself and makes its 
power felt in books on ethics, social usages, 
laws, forms of government, and the public and 
private duties of the citizen. This division in¬ 
cludes a large sphere of practical life, and em¬ 
braces man’s relations to his family, state, and 
humanity. 

A Second Division is that of natural history, 
including nontechnical books on animals, plants, 
and descriptions of remarkable objects in na¬ 
ture, and especially descriptions of geographical 
localities, and particularly of travels in various 
parts of the earth on land and sea. This is one 
of the most inviting fields to the young, and 
work in any department of it leads to a wider 
view of organic nature under all of its phases. 
It is in this department, too, that the student is 
most apt to specialize in botany, biology, the 
weather, agriculture, horticulture, stock raising, 
or astronomy. He often becomes deeply inter¬ 
ested in state and governmental publications of 
some phases of this large group of miscel¬ 
laneous subjects. 

Third Division. In this division should be 
embraced such books as treat of physics and 
chemistry. Under physics, attention should be 
directed to bodies in mass, whether at rest or in 
motion, thus giving the learner clear concep- 




LITERATURE 


1252 


LITERATURE 


tions of statics and dynamics, or of the air, wa¬ 
ter, light, heat, electricity, and the properties of 
masses of matter in general. Such knowledge 
strengthens the reasoning faculties and leads out 
to a realization of some of the great problems 
in natural philosophy and astronomy. Chemis¬ 
try will give a knowledge of those phases of or¬ 
ganic and inorganic elements which enter into 
the structure of compounds, and the processes 
of combinations and analyses by and through 
which chemical knowledge has been built up 
into a great body of scientific information. 

A last group of books that may be considered 
as a distinctive one is that relating to books of 
literature, and works that make known the 
beautiful in character, architecture, sculpture, 
painting, music, prose, and poetry. Literature 
and art exhibit human nature in the form of 
feeling, emotions, and higher and more beauti¬ 
ful ideals which terminate in a striving after 
the good, the true, and the beautiful in life. 
Such an influence refines human nature, enlivens 
and vivifies impressions, and results in clearer 
thought and more lasting impressions in shaping 
the life after higher ideals. 

For Home Reading the student early in life 
should select his library books chiefly along the 
lines indicated for culture and general informa¬ 
tion. 

Benjamin Franklin is the central figure in the 
early history of the United States. His writ¬ 
ings are the very opposite, in many respects, of 
the somber theology of that age. He turned his 
attention mainly to practical life, dipping, as his 
time permitted, into scientific and curious sub¬ 
jects. He is associated with men who were des¬ 
tined to act through the Revolutionary period. 
They are, in the main, men of speech and action 
rather than authors who would sit down quietly 
and chronicle events. Yet there is a strong 
background upon which this striking national pe¬ 
culiarity is deeply engraved. Hallam has 
sketched the same characteristic in his “Con¬ 
stitutional History of England.” It is the same 
life running down through the sturdy “House 
of Commons” from the time of James I. to the 
accession of William and Mary. It is preemi¬ 
nently the liberty-making period, and upon this 
very account the students of literature, and es¬ 
pecially the readers of American history, should 
be perfectly familiar with Magna Charta, the 
Petition of Rights, the Declaration of Independ¬ 
ence, and the Constitution of the United States. 

This kind of literature has a firmer hold upon 
a people than the mere desire to do elegant 
writing, and the student of literature is im¬ 
pressed with the fact that the literary standard 
of one age is not the literary standard of all 


ages, or for any other age, except that partic¬ 
ular one in which it is written, unless it be a 
crystallized nation—and crystallization always 
means death to a living organism. 

The political writings of the Revolutionary 
period were those chiefly of Thomas Paine, who 
exerted a tremendous influence throughout the 
colonies. He was preeminently a “war-arouser.” 
Full of fire and enthusiasm, his-blows fell with 
tremendous force. But for the inside thoughts 
of great men, notwithstanding the estimate of 
Von Holst, all literature affords no finer exam¬ 
ples than the letters of Jefferson and John Ad¬ 
ams after both had retired from public life. It 
is in these revelations that one learns to know 
these two great men. 

“The Federalist” is the constitutional text¬ 
book of our country. In it one gets the best 
and clearest exposition possible of the Federal 
Constitution as it was understood by its authors. 
Strange, indeed, that two young men, Hamilton 
and Madison, one thirty and the other thirty- 
six, both slight in build, should come forward 
as the ablest champions of constitutional liberty 
in America! For an entertaining account of 
this period in our country’s history, the reader 
is referred to that master work, “The Critical 
Period in American History,” by Professor 
John Fiske. 

During the constitutional convention various 
propositions were offered and discussed, adopted 
or rejected, after a session of four months be¬ 
hind closed doors, and as a result of their de¬ 
liberations, the present 'Constitution of the 
United States was submitted for adoption by 
the people. When it was fairly before the peo¬ 
ple for ratification or adoption, then it was that 
men in every state began to pick it to pieces. 
Even in the convention where it was framed, it 
was agreed to finally “by a trade” between Mas¬ 
sachusetts and South Carolina. The student of 
American history needs to know all these things 
before he is in a condition to understand clear¬ 
ly the sectional sentiments of the parties which 
sprang up in this country afterward. The slav¬ 
ery question was simply an inherited issue, and 
it was the entering wedge which widened the 
breach between the two sections more and more, 
till finally it was settled by the sword. 

It is always decidedly refreshing to read a 
review of a noted man’s character and services 
in which he is dissected skilfully, justly, and 
honorably. To throw the personal equation en¬ 
tirely aside and to judge of motives in the clear 
light of reason is a great step forward in ascer¬ 
taining truth. One point will illustrate this 
statement. When the lamented Lincoln deliv¬ 
ered his famous Gettysburg speech, it fell flat, 




LITERATURE 


1253 


LITERATURE 


and so he felt it himself. But some years after¬ 
ward an Englishman examined it, commented 
on its simplicity of style, its depth of meaning, 
and immediately it became classic as well as 
prophetic. Everybody knew it was a grand 
thing, then. 

Real literature with us begins with Irving, 
Cooper, and Poe—three men so unlike, and yet, 
in a sense, two of them, at least, typical prod¬ 
ucts of the country. What a curious contrast to 
the great men who had taken so active a part in 
forming the government. With the former it 
was the intelligence working through the will, 
actively .employed in shaping into form the po¬ 
litical, social, religious, legal, and commercial 
institutions of the country—a grand work from 
the will side of human nature. Opposite are 
set Irving, Cooper, and Poe, who work out from 
the intellect, taking in part of the feelings for a 
substratum. Each sets himself a different task. 
In studying each, it is necessary for the reader 
to put himself as nearly as possible in the place 
of each of these authors, yet this is rather a 
difficult task in the case of Poe. The smooth- 
flowing sentences of Irving, and the strong, 
deep insight of Cooper, have their charms as 
well as their pleasure; but who can describe, 
in a sentence, the wild and horrible, as prefig¬ 
ured in Poe’s mind? -Poe, as a writer, is much 
less read than either Irving or Cooper, yet, as a 
critic, he certainly occupies the highest rank. 

N. P. Willis is another charming writer. He 
is one of the most unique characters in Ameri¬ 
can literature. As a sketchy writer, few are 
known to excel him. His prose writings are 
delightful. Though his writings are partially 
forgotten, yet as a “hurrygraphist,” he is 
without a peer in modern literature. Harriet 
Martineau, after listening to John C. Calhoun 
speak, said, “that he would make one believo in 
predestination.” Carlyle, in his cynical way, 
called John Stuart Mill a “logic chopping ma¬ 
chine,” and no one can read “A Disquisition on 
Government” by John C. Calhoun without feeling 
the powerful force of his logic. He was not a 
great rhetorician, but a great logician. He and 
Jonathan Edwards, each in his own specialty, 
stand as the first logicians that our country has 
produced. Admitting their premises, their de¬ 
ductions are irresistible. 

During the “statesman period,” including Clay, 
Webster, Calhoun, Benton, and Cass, all notable 
men, the student of constitutional history will 
gain much from reading their speeches. There 
appears to be no doubt that so far as exact in¬ 
formation was concerned, Benton was the “best 
posted one” of the galaxy. Literally, we might 
say—“There were giants in those days;” but 


should an emergency arise, their equals would 
be found in the House and in the Senate again. 
The occasion has much to do in bringing out 
the latent energies of master mincls. Along 
with this galaxy of statesmen and orators may 
be mentioned Phillips, Sumner, Choate, Everett, 
John Quincy Adams, Seward, Stephens, and 
Lincoln, whose speeches and state papers will 
always have a permanent value. 

Among the earlier historians whose works are 
of a high order may be mentioned Bancroft, 
Prescott, Parkman, and Motley, and of the la¬ 
ter, Fiske, Schouler, McMaster, and Rhodes. 
John Bach McMaster actually writes the his¬ 
tory of the American people. But to under¬ 
stand fully how our institutions have impressed 
foreigners, the student should read “Democracy 
m America,” by De Tocqueville, Von Holst’s 
“Constitutional History of the United States,” 
and Bryce’s “American Commonwealth.” 

The development of poetry among the people 
of the United States has not followed the meth¬ 
od of older countries of the world, and only a 
few poems of a high order have been produced, 
but a great deal on the average level. A great 
poem can be written only when the poet is in¬ 
spired by a lofty ideal. Ideals rule the world of 
thought as well as of literature. We have a 
few great but short poems. Bryant’s Thana- 
topsis, written at the age of eighteen, is his best 
poem. In this respect, he and Macaulay were 
both at their best early in life. Macaulay’s first 
speech was as great or greater than any of the 
others delivered. On the other hand, Longfel¬ 
low’s growth was a gradual one. Halleck is 
known by one poem, “Marco Bozzaris,” and 
George D. Prentice by “The Closing Year.” 
This is one of the finest in our language. 

Religion is one of the inherent elements in 
man’s nature. The idea that it is an acquired 
faculty has no more truth in it than that a de¬ 
sire for food is an acquired appetite. The truth 
is, that the one is as natural as the other. As 
Kant puts it, there are three great questions in 
the world—God, nature, and immortality; or 
God, man, and.. immortality. The American 
mind is preeminently a speculative one, so far 
as it undertakes to reconcile nature and religion. 
Our literature is rich in speculative theology, 
and not a few persons have struck out new the¬ 
ories of doctrine when followers were not nu¬ 
merous and dogmas evoked little thought and 
less action. Hardly a religious idea has sprung 
up in any quarter of the globe that some one 
has not appropriated it here, and sought to 
found a sect. This movement goes on still. 
Our institutions invite these exotics, and when 
they are transplanted, they either take root or 


LITERATURE 


1254 


LITERATURE 


die. So far, however, as pulpit literature and 
pulpit oratory are concerned, our country has 
produced some of the greatest men the world 
has ever seen. It is only a short step from re¬ 
ligious and social issues to the realm of phi¬ 
losophy. At all times there were a few scholars 
in the United States who studied philosophical 
questions, but during the past thirty years the 
number has multiplied in every state. 

In any treatise on American men of letters, 
Emerson is always destined to occupy a large 
space. The student turns to him instinctively 
for inspiration rather than for positive knowl¬ 
edge. He is always helpful, always suggestive. 
His charm lies in his sweetness, gentleness, and 
lovableness. To read Emerson is to make one 
better. His theology is the doctrine of man¬ 
hood. Amos Bronson Alcott was another typi¬ 
cal character. Whether the similarities be found 
between Plato and the Bible led him to his 
singular opinions concerning the instruction of 
the young is still a matter of debate. At any 
rate, he was a man of singular purity of char¬ 
acter. 

Charity keeps us from calling Thoreau a 
crank, and yet there are some traits in his char¬ 
acter that one admires. He stood as a protest 
against the conventional side of life. He was a 
civilized man who never found a home in civil¬ 
ization. Margaret Fuller’s life is one of inspir¬ 
ing interest to the girls of our country. Brains 
will tell. Her tragic death lends interest to her 
work. Channing, Dewey, Theodore Parker, 
Horace Bushnell, Henry Ward Beecher, Phil¬ 
lips Brooks, and other noted clergymen shed 
additional luster on our religious and political 
institutions. Their writings need to be studied 
in order to be thoroughly appreciated. 

But the central figure as a writer of fiction 
is Hawthorne, the elder. Certainly Nathanial 
Hawthorne occupies a unique place in fiction. 
He painted nearly as boldly as did Dante,— 
that the one who violates a law is plagued by 
the return of his own sins upon himself. The 
outcome of all this philosophy is that of per¬ 
sonal freedom and personal responsibility. Just 
how much of one’s writings can be set down as 
symbolic and how much as literal can never be 
quite definitely determined; yet Hawthorne 
seems to mix the two without a conscious effort. 
His mind was of that peculiar type that it 
specialized and generalized at the same moment. 
He had in the very fullest sense what philoso¬ 
phers call insight. He was much more than a 
clever writer, and yet he does not have that full 
sweep which takes in all humanity at a single 
stroke. 

Passing to the “Autocrat of the Breakfast 


Table,’*’ his versatility of mind has drawn all 
English-speaking people closely to him. To say 
that he is a profound writer on any subject 
would not be a correct estimate of his ability, 
but he is always interesting, always genial, nev¬ 
er lags, yet, too, there is a ripple of mirth just 
beneath the surface of every pregnant truth he 
"utters. He reaches the people, and he sets them 
into quiet, half-repressed chuckles. In reading 
Holmes one wants to get up every little while 
and walk across the floor and laugh. He lives 
in the hearts of the people more fully than any 
other American author. Every page of his quiv¬ 
ers and thrills with human throbs. Going from 
Holmes to Lowell, the atmosphere changes— 
not that it is stinging cold or burning hot—but 
there is a sudden change. It is the difference 
between all of man’s nature on one side and a 
distant, intellectual criticism on the other. The 
last element -may be fitly described as massive 
power in repose, but illumined by bright, yet 
frigid sunbeams of the upper ether. Running 
down the list one comes to the poet Whittier 
whom everybody loves. He is one of the men 
whose influence has made the world wiser, bet¬ 
ter, and more human and spiritual. 

There are many writers now in all depart¬ 
ments of literary work, yet some have written 
well enough for their writings to live and to be 
read by future generations. Much that is now 
teeming from the press deserves an early death. 
A dialect literature can have only a momentary 
interest and an ephemeral existence. The per¬ 
manent element of universality, that speaks to 
all people and through all time, is wanting in 
dialect writing. It runs in a limited channel, 
and it soon wears itself out. It starts in well, 
but dwindles away to nothing. Of course, those 
possessed of acute insight catch flavors of gen¬ 
uine greatness here and there in such author’s 
productions, but thd aroma is so delicate that it 
never reaches beyond a certain charmed circle. 
Such writers as Henry James and William D. 
Howells are not to be classed with those just, 
described. As graceful, polished writers, these 
two men rank high. In a matter-of-fact way, 
they get at what they have to say. They may 
be properly classed as literary men of high 
working ability. 

Buying Books. The person of ordinary means 
should keep all his school books and then first 
supply himself with a few choice reference 
books, and he should always buy books for the 
solidity of the matter they contain rather than 
on account of expensive bindings. Two or 
three of the very best books by recognized au¬ 
thorities on a subject are enough to give the 
average reader a clear and comprehensive in- 


LITHARGE 


1255 


LITHUANIA 


sight of a department of knowledge. One stand¬ 
ard book is worth more than a dozen common¬ 
place ones treating of the same topic. Books 
should be chosen with as much care and judg¬ 
ment as one ought to exercise in choosing his 
lifelong friends. See American Literature; 
Canada, Sub-head Literature. 

LITHARGE (lith'arj), the general name of 
lead monoxide, made by moderately heating me¬ 
tallic lead in a current of air. It has a straw- 
yellow or reddish color. Litharge is used as 
a pigment, in making flint glass, and for glazing 
pottery. 

LITHIUM (lith'i-um), a rare metallic ele¬ 
ment discovered in 1807. It is widely distrib¬ 
uted in nature, but does not occur in large de¬ 
posits. Small quantities of it are found in 
certain mineral waters, in meteorites, in the 
leaves of certain plants, and with the rare min¬ 
erals petante and spodamenc. It tarnishes quick¬ 
ly in the air, is one of the lightest of metals, 
and decomposes with much rapidity when placed 
in water. The properties of the citrate of lithis 
are similar to those of the carbonate, hence it 
is used to some extent by physicians. Com¬ 
pounds of lithium are useful in the manufac¬ 
ture of fireworks, since they give a character¬ 
istic red color to a flame. See Chemistry. 

LITHOGRAPHY (li-thog'ra-fy), the art of 
producing printed matter from a flat stone on 
which an engraving or drawing has been made. 
The art was introduced by Alois Senefelder 
(1771-1834) in Germany about 1786, where the 
best so-called lithographic stone is obtained. 
This class of stone is almost the only one suit¬ 
able for lithographic work, being a variety of 
fine limestone and having a light cream or gray 
color. It is formed into plates according to the 
size wanted, usually several feet square, and 
may be split easily into sheets of uniform thick¬ 
ness. Afterward it is cut and squared to the 
size required for a particular engraving. The 
artist prepares the design to be printed in vari¬ 
ous ways, but chiefly by engraving it on a pre¬ 
pared stone, by drawing it with a watery ink, 
or with a solid crayon, and by transferring from 
an inky design on papqr by various means. The 
usual process is to cover the prepared stone 
with a greasy substance. This penetrates the 
stone, and can be removed only by cutting into 
it as deeply as the greasy substance has entered. 
The design is prepared by cutting in this man¬ 
ner, then filling with water the portions not 
covered by grease, after which an inky roller 
is passed over the stone with the effect that ink 
adheres to the greased parts, but is repelled by 
the portions moistened with water. In pressing 
the paper against the surface of the stone the 


inky surface transfers an impression of the de¬ 
sign drawn by the artist. 

Boiled linseed oil is used commonly in pre¬ 
paring the greasy surface for lithographic work, 
and split diamonds are employed for preparing 
the script and finer lines, though these are 
made after the heavier designs have been en¬ 
graved. The delicate tints and shades are ob^ 
tained from fine parallel lines, numbering from 
75 to 100 to the inch. Products similar to those 
secured by lithographing are obtained from zinc 
plates, when the process is called zincography. 
It possesses the advantage that plates prepared 
of zinc are less liable to breakage and are more 
easily portable than stone. Chromolithography 
is the art of producing lithograph pictures in 
the natural colors, which is done by making 
separate stones, there being as many different 
stones as tints desired, the number varying all 
the way from two to thirty. Photo-lithography 
is the process in which a photographic negative 
is transferred to the stone plate. This process 
is utilized in producing maps, plans, outlines, and 
various other matters. 

Within recent years attempts have been made 
to utilize aluminum in lithography in place of 
the ordinary lithographic stone. It possesses 
the advantage of being lighter, takes drawings 
without much resistance, and, after being used, 
it may be melted and made to serve again by 
rerolling. The lithographic stone has been im¬ 
ported more or less by all countries from Solen- 
hofen, Bavaria, on account of which the price 
has been quite high, thus supplying another rea¬ 
son why zinc or aluminum has been used to a 
larger extent than formerly. The United States 
is becoming a large producer of lithographic 
stone. It is found in Utah, Tennessee, Ken¬ 
tucky, and several other states, the production 
in Utah being the most important. 

LITHOTOMY (ll-thot'6-my), the surgical 
operation of cutting for stone in the bladder. 
Before resorting to so serious an operation the 
surgeon usually looks for evidence of stone in 
addition to the ordinary symptoms, which is 
done by a process known as sounding the pa¬ 
tient. This consists of introducing a metallic 
instrument through the urethra, by which the 
stone may be heard and felt. The main opera¬ 
tion, when properly performed, does not require 
more than three or four minutes. The wound 
in favorable cases heals in about thirty days. 
Operations of this kind are restricted almost 
exclusively to the male sex. 

LITHUANIA (lith-u-a'm-a), a r e g i o n of 
Europe, bordering on the Baltic Sea, now in¬ 
cluded in Russia and East Prussia. In the 11th 
century it constituted a grand duchy, but in the 




LITMUS 


1256 


LITURGY 


14th century it was annexed to Poland. The 
first dismemberment of Poland, in 1772, caused 
the region to be divided and transferred to its 
present dependency. The area is about 100,000 
square miles, of which all but 6,750 square miles 
belongs to Russia, and the latter portion is 
German territory, being a part of the kingdom 
of Prussia. The Lithuanians are classed with 
the Indo-Europeans. They are of a peaceable 
disposition, have fair features, blue eyes, light 
skin, and engage principally in agriculture and 
stock raising. In religion they are largely Greek 
and Roman Catholic. They are noted for their 
liberal support of schools and educational arts. 
In the beginning of the last century they be¬ 
gan to acquire titles to land by purchase, be¬ 
ing aided by government grants, and now own 
many fine stock, cereal, and dairying farms. 
The language spoken is related to the Old Prus¬ 
sian or Lettic. Their literature includes many 
religious works, some important history, and 
numerous popular songs and hymns. It is rich 
in legends and folklore. The legends are espe¬ 
cially rich in primitive tales and fables. The 
entire Lithuanian race is estimated at 2,750,000, 
of whom about one-half speak the Lithuanian 
language. 

LITMUS (ltt'mus), a vegetable color ob¬ 
tained from several species of lichen. It is 
used in chemistry to test the presence of acids 
and alkalies. Acid changes the blue color of 
litmus to red, and the read color is again 
changed to blue on being mixed with an alkali. 

LITTLE FALLS, a city and the county seat 
of Morrison County, Minnesota, on the Missis¬ 
sippi River, 95 miles northwest of Minneapolis. 
It is on the Northern Pacific Railroad and is 
surrounded by a farming and lumbering district. 
The Mississippi River supplies an abundance of 
water power. Among the chief buildings are 
the county courthouse, the public library, the 
high school, an orphan asylum, and Saint Ga¬ 
briel’s Hospital. The manufactures include flour, 
paper and pulp, brick, machinery, and lumber 
products. It was first settled in 1849 and in¬ 
corporated in 1889. Population, 1910, 6,078. 

LITTLE FALLS, a city of New York, in 
Herkimer County, on the Mohawk River, 21 
miles southeast of Utica. It is on the Erie 
Canal and on the West Shore and the New 
York Central railroads. Good water power is 
obtained from the river, which flows through 
a rocky defile and forms a number of cascades. 
It has a public library, municipal waterworks, 
pavements, and a city hospital. The manufac¬ 
tures include flour, woolen goods, bicycles, hard¬ 
ware, and machinery. It has a large trade in 
farm produce and merchandise. The first settle¬ 


ment was made in 1782, but it was destroyed 
by Tories and Indians, and it was resettled in 
1790 by a colony of Germans. Population, 1905, 
11,122; in 1910, 12,273. 

LITTLE ROCK, a city and the capital of 
Arkansas, county seat of Pulaski County, on 
the Arkansas River, 130 miles southwest of 
Memphis, Tenn. It is on the Southern, the 
Saint Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern, the 
Saint Louis Southwestern, and the Chicago, 
Rock Island and Pacific railroads. The site 
extends over a rocky bluff, about fifty feet above 
the river, and is noted for its beautiful and 
healthful location. Many of the streets are 
well graded and substantially paved with stone, 
brick-, and asphalt. The principal buildings in¬ 
clude the State Capitol, the Philander Smith 
College, the Arkansas Female College, a Roman 
Catholic academy, the Cathedral of Saint An¬ 
drews, the Federal building, the county court¬ 
house, the Arkansas Military Academy, and 
many fine hotels and hospitals. Among the 
manufactures are cotton and woolen goods, fur¬ 
niture, cotton-seed oil, ironware, clothing, wag¬ 
ons, and machinery. 

Little Rock is surrounded by a cotton and 
fruit growing district. It has a large local and 
wholesaling trade in merchandise and produce. 
The first settlement was made in the vicinity 
in 1814 and soon after it became the seat of 
the territorial government. It was incorpo¬ 
rated in 1831. A Union army under General 
Steele captured it in 1863. Population, 1900, 
38,307; in 1910, 45,941. 

LITTLE TURTLE, a Miami Indian chief, 
remarkable for his intellectual strength and skill 
in war. On Oct. 22, 1790, he commanded an 
Indian force that defeated General Harmar on 
the Miami and on Nov. 4, 1790, gained a victory 
over General Saint Clair at Saint Mary’s. He 
concluded peace with the whites in 1795 by 
signing the Treaty of Greenville, by which 
large tracts of land in Ohio were opened for 
settlement. In 1797 he met President Washing¬ 
ton and several other high officials at Phila¬ 
delphia. His death occurred July 14, 1812, at 
Fort Wayne, Ind. 

LITURGY (lit'ur-jy), the name of a form 
of Christian worship, applied especially to the 
celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The Protes¬ 
tant churches in general use a form known as 
the vernacular liturgy, which has been in use 
in nearly its present form since the Reforma¬ 
tion. The English Book of Common Prayer 
contains the form of communion service used 
in the Anglican churches, and the Protestant 
Episcopal church in America has substantially 
the same form, which was adopted by a gen- 


LIVER 


1257 


LIVERPOOL 


" eral convention held in 1789. It contains a num¬ 
ber of changes from the liturgy of the English 
church, but the form of service is substantially 
the same. It provides for Scripture reading, a 
sermon, and a prayer, and these are followed 
by prayers and the administering of the conse¬ 
crated bread and wine. The liturgies in gen¬ 
eral use may be divided into five groups, of 
which three are of Eastern origin and use, one 
Eastern in origin but Western in use, and one 
Western, both in origin and use. They are 
known either by the names of the apostles with 
whom they are connected, or by the names of 
the countries in which they are believed to have 
been in use from an early date. The Syrian rite 
is. in use in the Maronite Church of Mount 
Lebanon. The other Eastern rites are known 
as the Persian and the Egyptian, the former be¬ 
ing in use by the Nestorians and the latter by 
the Copts. The Greek and Russian churches 
use the Byzantine rite, and the Roman Catholic 
church uses the the Latin liturgy. 


LIVER, a large glandular organ situated in 
the upper abdominal cavity of vertebrates, 
whose function is to secrete bile, elaborate and 



HUMAN LIVER. 


store up glycogen, and otherwise change the 
blood that passes through it. The liver is the 
largest organ in the human body. It is situ¬ 
ated on the right side, below the diaphragm, 
and weighs about four pounds. Its general 
form is broad, flat, thin at the left side, and 
thick toward the right. It has an arched upper 
surface, but the lower surface is irregular, di¬ 
vided into five lobes, and its tubes contain 
nearly one-fourth of the blood of the body. 
Arterial blood is brought to the liver by the he¬ 
patic artery A, directly from the aorta, while 
the portal vein B conveys to it venous blood 
from the stomach, intestines, pancreas, and 
spleen. The bile, a substance necessary to life 
in the digestion of food, is a dark golden col¬ 
ored liquid of bitter taste, and when not needed 


for digestion is stored in the gall cyst L, with 
which the bile duct C communicates. About 
three pounds of bile are secreted per day. 

The diseases of the liver include hepatitis, 
jaundice, cirrhosis, acute yellow, atrophy, and 
fatty degeneration. Diseases of the liver are 
accompanied by a yellowish complexion of the 
skin, owing to imperfect or inadequate bile 
secretion. The lower animals apparently have 
no liver, but rudiments of a similar organ ap¬ 
pear in forms quite low in the scale of life. All 
vertebrates, except the lancelet, have a well- 
defined liver. This organ is found in many 
of the invertebrate animals. As we ascend the 
scale of animal life the liver assumes perfect 
form .with much rapidity, and in the higher 
vertebrates it is very similar to the liver of 
man. See Bile; Digestion. 

LIVERPOOL (liv'er-pool), the most'im¬ 
portant seaport of Great Britain, in Lancashire, 
England, on the Mersey River, three miles from 
the Irish Sea. Next to London, it is the lar¬ 
gest and wealthiest city of the British Isles. 

It has extensive railroad connections, uniting 
it with all the trade emporiums of England and 
Scotland. The city is supplied with modern 
municipal facilities, including telephones, gas 
and electric lights, sewerage, pavements, public 
parks, and electric street railways.^ The wharves 
and docks are commodious and extensive, and 
are crowded with vessels that communicate with 
all parts of the world. Many of the thorough¬ 
fares extend from the margin of the river to ' 
the higher land some distance inland, where the 
general elevation is about 250 feet. They are 
mostly platted at right angles and kept remark¬ 
ably clean in the better residential quarters. In 
several parts of the city are elevated railways. 

Liverpool is generally well built. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include Saint George’s Hall, 
the free public library, the Walker Art Gallery, 
the townhall, the Picton Lecture Hall, and the 
union railway station. It is the seat of the 
Liverpool College, Queen’s College, Liverpool 
Institute, and University College; the last named 
has sixty professors and 750 students. It has 
many business colleges and schools of law, art, 
medicine, engineering, and charitable and benev¬ 
olent societies. The places of worship are 
very numerous, a total of about 400 buildings, 
and represent all of the leading Christian de¬ 
nominations. It has many fine monuments, 
statues, boulevards, and public parks. Among 
the manufactures are cotton and woolen goods, 
spirituous liquors, cordage, ironware, sugar, 
clothing, chemicals, steamships, tobacco, and 
machinery. It is noted as the principal port 
for the departure of emigrants from Great Brit- 



















LIVERWORT 


1258 


LLAMA 


coal, and lumber. It has a fine railway depot 
and extensive roundhouses and machine shops. 
Population, 1900, 2,778; in 1910, 5,359. 

LIVRE (li'ver), the name of a coin formerly 
used in France, but superseded in 1895 by the 
franc. It had a value of 81 as compared to the 
value of 80 francs. The same name was ap¬ 
plied to a weight in France, which had a value 
of 17.267 oz. avoirdupois, but which was super¬ 
seded by the kilogram. 

LIZARD (liz'erd), the popular name of an 
order of reptiles which have four well-devel¬ 
oped limbs, each terminated by five toes of un¬ 
equal length, and an elongated body. Many 
species are included in the order, the entire list 
embracing about 1,500. Fifteen genera have 
been described. They frequent regions from 
the Equator to high latitudes in the Temperate 
zones. In the tropical regions they are the most 
numerous and attain the largest size. The 
length of the body varies from a few inches to 
three or four feet. Some species are carnivorous 
in habit and feed on insects, small quadrupeds, 
and birds, but others live wholly by feeding on 
plants. The tail is long and powerful .in most 
lizards, and this organ, like the *legs, is repro¬ 
duced in case it is lost. They propagate by lay¬ 
ing eggs, which are hatched without care of the 
parents. The color is very various, most spe¬ 
cies having bright markings. A kind of lizard 



ain. The export and import trade is very ex¬ 
tensive, and embraces all classes of products 
produced and consumed in the United Kingdom. 

Liverpool was founded in 1190. At the middle 
of the 14th century it had a population of 840, 
but in 1561 it had declined to only 690. In 1647 
it was made a free port, from which time its 
prosperity dates, being stimulated especially by 
its large trade in cotton. Docks were not built 
until 1700. Since then the dockage capacity has 
been enlarged until at present these improve¬ 
ments include a large area of water surface. 
The more recent improvements of value in pro¬ 
moting growth include the construction of a 
railway tunnel, in 1885, under the Mersey, by 
which connection is formed with Berkenshire; 
the opening of a ship canal to Manchester, in 
1894; and the construction of an overhead rail¬ 
way in the same year. Politically Liverpool is 
strongly Conservative and sends nine members 
to Parliament. Population, 1907, 746,144. 

LIVERWORT (liv'er-wurt), the name of 
any plant belonging to certain cellular crypto¬ 
gams, comprising one of the two suborders of 
the bryophites, the other suborder being the 
mosses. The liverworts rank next to the lich¬ 
ens, and in a higher development of their sev¬ 
eral organs are closely related to the true 
mosses. The^ grow in damp places, either on 
the ground or on trees and decaying wood. The 
tissue is closely cellular. They 
have an axis or stem which 
sends out roots from its under 
side, which is furnished with 
distinct leaves, or with leaves 
so intimately united to each 
other as to assume the form 
of a frond. The reproductive 
organs, differently situated in 
different species, are of two 
kinds, known as the sexual 
and asexual. The liverworts 
are native to all climates where 
there is sufficient shade and moisture. They 
are of very little known utility from an eco¬ 
nomic point of view. 

LIVINGSTON (liv'ing-stun), a city of 
Montana, county seat of Park County, 122 miles 
southeast of Helena. It is finely located on 
the Yellowstone River and the Northern Pa¬ 
cific Railway, and a branch line extends to Yel¬ 
lowstone National Park, the entrance to which 
is about thirty miles south of Livingston. Elec¬ 
tric lighting, waterworks, and several fine school 
buildings are among the public improvements. 
The surrounding country has large interests in 
farming and mining, hence it is the center of 
considerable trade in live stock, merchandise, 


LIZARD. 

native to Mexico and Arizona is poisonous, the 
poison being connected with a grooved tooth, 
but all others are devoid of poison glands. The 
different families of the order embrace the 
iguanas, chameleons, skinks, and geckoes. In 
the winter time and during cold weather they 
are in a torpid state, but manifest much activity 
during the season of warmth. 

LLAMA (la'ma), a ruminating quadruped 
closely allied to the camel, native to the south¬ 
ern parts of Peru and other sections of South 
America. Writers usually classify the llama, al¬ 
paca, vicuna, and guanaco as allied species, the 
former two being domesticated in large num¬ 
bers and the latter living mostly in a wild state. 











LLANOS 


1259 


LOBSTER 


The llama is noted for its faithfulness in carry¬ 
ing commodities on its back and because of its 
ability to forage for its support, on account of 
which it is utilized in Peru and Chile as a beast 
of burden. The height is about three feet at 
the shoulder, and the color diversified, but usu¬ 
ally is whitish or blackish. It has ability to 
travel about fourteen miles a day with a hun¬ 
dredweight across mountain districts. The hair 



LLAMA. 


is used in the manufacture of coarse material, 
and the flesh of young animals is valued for ta¬ 
ble use. Herds of llamas still frequent the 
plains of Patagonia and various places in the 
Andes Mountains, where they are hunted. 

LLANOS (la'noz), the name applied by the 
Spanish to the level plains in the northern part 
of South America. They are situated princi¬ 
pally in the basin of the Orinoco and in Colom¬ 
bia. In many places they are quite barren, but 
in some localities are good pasture and timbered 
areas. Similar plains are known as pampas in 
the southern part of that continent and as sa¬ 
vannas in North America. 

LLOYD’S, a vast corporation of London, 
having offices in the London Royal Exchange, 
so named because the early members met in a 
coffeehouse conducted in the 17th century by 
Edward Lloyd. The business of the corpora¬ 
tion is to write insurance, collect and publish in¬ 
formation in relation to commerce, and furnish 
a library, restaurant, and suitable quarters for 


ship auctions. Membership is solicited with the 
understanding that those joining give security 
to discharge liabilities, and the general affairs 
are under the direction of a committee. The 
marine and general insurance carried by the 
company amounts to an average to about 
$2,250,000,000. Among the publications are the 
daily Lloyd’s List, the annual Lloyd’s Register 
of Foreign Shipping, and several other period¬ 
icals. 

LOADSTONE (lod'ston), or Magnetic 
Iron Ore, a mineral remarkable for its high 
magnetic quality. It consists of protoxide of 
iron mixed with peroxide of iron. It is found 
in primitive rocks, but sometimes in grains. 
The highly magnetic property caused the an¬ 
cients to believe that it possesses a magical or 
divine effect, until the phenomena of magnetism 
became better understood. See Magnet. 

LOAM, a mixture of various earths, but con¬ 
sisting principally of sand and clay, the latter 
predominating. With loam formations occur 
deposits of decayed animal and vegetable mat¬ 
ter. Upon the proportion of the latter depends 
in a large measure the fertility of the soil. 

LOAN DA (lo-an'da), Saint Paul de, a 
town of Angolia, a Portuguese possession of 
Western Africa, noted as a trading center. The ' 
noteworthy buildings include those of the gov¬ 
ernment, a number of churches, a governor’s 
residence, and a bishop’s palace. The harbor is 
shallow, making it impossible for the larger ves¬ 
sels to reach nearer than one and a half miles 
from shore. It has several improved streets, 
modern municipal facilities, and railroad con¬ 
nections with interior points. Coffee, hides, 
ivory, palm oil, and grain are exported. About 
one-third of the inhabitants are Europeans. 
Population, 1907, 22,208. 

LOBELIA (lo-be'li-a), a genus of herbs of 
the natural order Lobeliaceae. It includes many 
species that are widely distributed in various 
parts of the earth, but especially abundant in 
the tropical regions of America. They contain 
a milky juice, have alternate leaves, and pro¬ 
duce many-seeded pods. The flowers and foli¬ 
age are very beautiful. Several species pos¬ 
sess medicinal properties useful for an expec¬ 
torant and cathartic. The drugs obtained from 
these plants are prescribed in various doses for 
spasmodic asthma and as diuretics. When han¬ 
dled in a dry state, the herb irritates the throat 
and nostrils like tobacco. The medicinal prepa¬ 
rations are known as the tincture and the ethe¬ 
real tincture of lobelia. 

LOBLOLLY PINE (lob'161-ly). See Pine. 

LOBSTER (lob'ster), a marine crustacean 
which resembles a crawfish, but is much larger. 











LOBWORM 


1260 


LOCK 


The common lobster of America is a typical 
species. It is ten-footed, has a long tail, is 
stalk-eyed, and often attains a weight of ten 
pounds. It is widely distributed in America, 
occurring in large numbers off the New England 
and New York coasts, but also in other waters 
of America and elsewhere. The front legs, 
which occur in pairs, are much enlarged and 
form the claws. Lobsters mostly frequent rocky 
coasts, feed on other animals, and have a bluish 



or greenish colored shell, which becomes red by 
boiling. The tail spreads like a fan, is consti¬ 
tuted of a number of flat plates, and serves in 
propelling the animal through the water. The 
young are able to swim with much rapidity, but 
the adults walk or crawl, and the molting oc¬ 
curs annually in adults. They are caught in 
baited traps for the market and are considered 
excellent food, the principal edible parts being 
the tail and claws. The season for catching is 
from the early part of October until May. 

LOBWORM, or Lugworm, the name of a 
worm found in Europe and North America, 
used extensively for bait in fishing. It has a 
round head without eyes or jaws, and in size re¬ 
sembles the earthworm. It is found chiefly 
along the seashore, where it burrows in the 
sand, and its presence may be ascertained by 
noticing small coils of sand left while burrow¬ 
ing. 

LOCAL OPTION, a term used in civics to 
express the right of determining certain meas¬ 
ures of government by popular vote in each lo¬ 
cality of a state or province, such as a county, 
township,.or city. The term has come into ex¬ 
tensive use in relation to the liquor traffic, and 
is applied to the system whereby each com¬ 
munity may decide by vote whether or not the 
traffic may be licensed and maintained. In 
some states the local option is by petition, but 
it is exercised more commonly by an election. 

LOCH LEVEN (16k le'ven), a lake in the 
southeastern part of Scotland, 23 miles north¬ 


west of Edinburgh. It has an area of 3,410 
acres, is surrounded by prominent elevations, 
and drains to the Firth of Forth by the Leven. 
The lake has fine trout fisheries and several 
islands, the most important of the latter being 
Castle Island and Saint Serfs Inch. Mary, 
Queen of Scots, was imprisoned for ten months 
on one of these islands in 1567-68, and on July 
4, 1567, signed her abdication. 

LOCH LOMOND (lo'mund), the largest 
lake of Scotland, in the counties of Dumbarton 
and Stirling. It is surrounded by beautiful hills, 
has a number of wooded islands, and is noted 
for its excellent scenery. The length is about 
22 miles and the breadth is from one to five 
miles. In its vicinity are several noted caves. 
Fifteen miles southeast of Loch Lomond is the 
city of Glasgow.* 

LOCK, an inclosure in a canal where boats 
are raised and lowered for the purpose of 
passing them from one level to another. It 
consists of a basin between the levels, having a 
pair of gates at each end communicating with 
the respective levels. In descending from a 
higher to a lower level the water is allowed to 
flood the lock until it reaches a common level 
with the water in which the vessel is located 
and, after the vessel enters, the lower gate is 
opened, whereby the vessel is lowered to a level 
corresponding to the surface of the next lower 
lock, and again moves forward. This opera¬ 
tion is continued until the vessel is brought to 
the common level of the canal. When the boat 
is to attain a higher elevation, a process di¬ 
rectly opposite is pursued. It would be quite 
impossible to build canals in many regions if it 
were not that a system of locks could be util¬ 
ized. 

LOCK, a fastening which has a bolt that is 
moved by a key, used to secure a door, lid, or 
other object against intrusion. Many different 
classes of locks are in use, depending upon the 
size and the character of the inclosure which is 
to be protected, and some of them date from 
the time of the Egyptians and Babylonians. 
For many years it was a matter of deep study 
to find how to construct a lock that no one 
could open unless he had a proper key. The 
first lock of this character was known as a 
combination lock and could be opened only by 
the proper key, after turning a knob on the 
outside for the purpose of placing the interior 
bolt in such a position that the key could be 
made to turn effectually. In 1820 an American 
inventor, Linus B. Yale, patented a lock that is 
combined with a clock mechanism, and by means 
of it the combination locks are so constructed 
that they can be opened only at a specified time. 


LOCK HAVEN 


1261 


LOCUST 


The time locks and Yale locks with special 
keys are the ones used most extensively where 
large treasures and valuables are stored. 

LOCK HAVEN, a city in Pennsylvania, 
county seat of Clinton County, on the Susque¬ 
hanna River, 28 miles above Williamsport. It 
is on the Pennsylvania and the New York Cen¬ 
tral railroads and is surrounded by a rich farm¬ 
ing and coal-mining country. The chief build¬ 
ings include the county courthouse, the public 
library, the city hall, and the State Central 
Normal School. Among the manufactures are 
machinery, cigars, paper, leather, and earthen¬ 
ware. Pavements, electric lights, rapid transit, 
and waterworks are among the improvements. 
It was settled in 1769 and .incorporated in 1833. 
Population, 1900, 7,210; in 1910, 7,772. 

LOCKPORT, a city of New York, county 
seat of Niagara County, twenty miles east of 
Niagara Falls. It is on the Erie Canal and on 
the Erie and the New York Central railroads. 
The manufactures include woolen goods, paper, 
ironware, flour, machinery, engines, furniture, 
brooms, and carriages. Among the noteworthy 
buildings are the county courthouse, the high 
school, the Federal building, the Saint Joseph’s 
Academy, and many churches. In its vicinity 
are productive limestone and sandstone quar¬ 
ries. Lockport was settled in 1825 and incor¬ 
porated as a village in 1829, but was chartered 
as a city in 1865. Population, 1910, 17,970. 

LOCOFOCO (lo-ko-fo'ko), the name of a 
radical faction in_the Democratic party of New 
York, but later extended to an element in that 
party throughout the nation. It originated from 
a faction that opposed the rechartering of state 
and private banks by special legislation and ad¬ 
vocated the rechartering of the United States 
bank. In 1835 there was formed in New York 
the Equal Rights party and a meeting of its 
representatives was held in Tammany Hall, of 
which the regular Tammany Democrats tried to 
gain control. When the latter found themselves 
outnumbered, they turned out the lights and re¬ 
tired, but the meeting was continued by the use 
of candles and locofoco matches. The Demo¬ 
cratic newspapers began to call the faction Lo- 
cofocos, and the name was later given to the 
whole Democratic party by the Whigs. This 
party was beaten at the election and through the 
efforts of President Van Buren became ab¬ 
sorbed by the regular organization. 

LOCOMOTIVE (lo'kd-mo-tiv). See Steam 
Engine. 

LOCUST (lo'kust), the name of several spe¬ 
cies of trees of the order Leguminosae. They 
have a rough bark, pinnate leaves, and fragrant 
white flowers, and grow, to a height of eighty 


feet. The wood is pierced extensively by bor¬ 
ers, but, when the bark is taken off and it is 
dried, it is serviceable in fencing, for furniture, 
machinery, railway sleepers, and in the con¬ 
struction of houses. The honey locust has pink 
flowers, which have a fine fragrance and grow 
in clusters. Several trees are closely allied, 
such as the carob tree and the thorn acacia, but 
they differ in minor points. The common 
honey locust is planted largely as an ornamental 
tree and for hedges, being suitable to bear trim¬ 
ming and dwarfing. 

LOCUST, the name of several species of in¬ 
sects allied to grasshoppers and crickets. The 
term is applied conjointly by some writers with 
the name grasshopper to destructive and migra¬ 
tory species of insects common to many por¬ 
tions of the continents. However, the true lo¬ 
cust is a distinct kind of orthopterous insect. 
Two particularly destructive species of these 
insects are found in America, one in the north¬ 
eastern part of the United States and Canada, 
which is more properly the locust, and the other 
in the regions west of the Mississippi. Those 
common to the latter region have been especial¬ 
ly destructive in parts of Texas, Colorado, Kan¬ 
sas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma at different times, 
but in recent years they have been less abundant. 
Species very similar have been known to swarm 
in vast numbers in various countries of Asia 
and Africa, darkening the sunlight in their 
flight. They devour all forms of vegetation. 
When most abundant in the Mississippi valley, 
they settled down in some regions in such large 
swarms that they destroyed all vegetable growth. 
In some places they accumulated so thickly upon 
the railways that it interfered with traffic. 

The common locust has great leaping power 
because of its powerful hind legs, which are 
stronger than those of grasshoppers. They fly 
with a loud whizzing sound. The eggs are de¬ 
posited in the earth by the females in the fall 
of the year and, when warmth returns the fol¬ 
lowing spring, the young are hatched. The 
Carolina locust is pale yellowish-brown, hg.s 
black wings, and is about one and a half inches 
long, the extended wings measuring three 
inches. It flies a considerable distance when it 
is disturbed by a traveler. The greatest danger 
to crops is while these insects are in an imma¬ 
ture state, for soon after they take to wing and 
distribute in swarms. They sometimes effect 
much damage and cause disastrous famines in 
the regions where they settle. 

The Arabs and some other nations use the lo¬ 
custs as an article of food. They are prepared 
for the table by pounding them into small par¬ 
ticles and baking them as bread or frying them 



LODI 1262 LOGAN 


as a delicacy in oil. In the island of Cyprus, In¬ 
dia, China, and some of the American states pre¬ 
ventive measures have been adopted by pulling 
large tanks of diluted kerosene across the 
ground. This serves to kill them by the thou¬ 
sands. Another method is to dig pits, lining 
them with zinc, and after the locusts fall in they 
are destroyed by fire or in some other way ; 

LODI (lo'di), a city of Italy, iii the prbvhifee 
Of Milan, oh the Adda River, nineteen hiiitsS 
southeast of Milah. It is on several railways, 
has a Gothic cathedral erected in the 12th cen¬ 
tury, and contains important manufactures of 
silk and woolen goods, chemicals, and machin¬ 
ery. The old city of Lodi, situated about five 
miles west, is noted as the place where Napo¬ 
leon forced the bridge on May 16, 1796, in spite 
of vigorous firing by the Austrian army. Popu¬ 
lation, 1906, 27,845. 

LODZ (lodz), a city of Russia, in the Polish 
government of Piotrkow, oh the LUdka River, 
78 miles southwest of Warsaw. It is noted as a 
railroad and educational center, has electric 
lights and street railways, substantial pave¬ 
ments, public libraries, and a number of parks. 
The manufactures include cotton and woolen 
goods, machinery, earthenware, utensils, and ve¬ 
hicles. Large quantities of cereals and fruits 
are produced in the vicinity. The population is 
principally German. The city has had an ex¬ 
traordinary growth the past decade and has a 
large trade in merchandise. Population, 1906, 
385,406. 

LOESS (les), the name first applied to cer¬ 
tain loose deposits along the Rhine, in Germany, 
and later extended to like formations in other 
countries. It has reference to a loamy or sandy 
deposit of the Pleistocene age. Loess is usually 
of a light yellow color and exceedingly fine, 
and somewhat resembles loose deposits of clay. 
It is thought that the loess deposits were formed 
at a time when the streams were broader and 
more sluggish than at present, and in some in¬ 
stances they are likely due to the action of gla¬ 
cial lakes. In the arid region of North Ameri¬ 
ca, extending southward from Alberta and Sas¬ 
katchewan, these deposits are found in the val¬ 
leys many hundreds of feet in depth. Along the 
Mississippi and Missouri rivers, especially in 
Iowa, are large bluffs of loess, such as are seen 
in the vicinity of Council Bluffs and Sioux City. 
Similar formations are more or less widely dis¬ 
tributed in. all the continents. As they contain 
the remains of considerable silt, many of these 
deposits are quite fertile, but they require more 
rainfall than loam, owing to their sandy char¬ 
acter. 

LOFODEN (lo-fo'den), or Lofoten, a chain 


of islands situated northwest bf Norway, 
stretching along the shore a distance of 173 , 
miles. The area is 2,250 square miles. Much 
of the surface is mountainous, the highest ele- 
•vation being about 3,500 feet. Among the larger 
islands are Hindd, Ando, Lango, Vest Vaago, 
and Oest-Vaagd. The inhabitants engage largely 
iii fishing and the Cultivation of potatoes, oats, 
and bariey. They rear cattie; horses, and poultry. 
The fisheries ^ieid considerable quantities Of 
cod, herring, lobsters, and oysters. A large 
trade is maintained in stockfish and cod-livef 
oil, but most of the fish are sold fresh. The 
celebrated Maelstrom off Norway is situated in 
their vicinity, being produced by the Great West 
Fiord flowing between the islands and the west 
coast of Norway. The Gulf Stream modifies 
the climate perceptibly, especially during the 
summer, and renders it favorable to sheep cul¬ 
ture. Most of the inhabitants are Lapps and 
Scandinavians. Population, 1906, 42,§72. 

LOG, an apparatus for ascertaining the rate 
of a ship’s speed in the sea. It is usually in the 
form of a triangular piece of wood, called the 
log-chip, curved at the bottom, and loaded so it 
may float upright in the water. A strong line is 
attached to the log-chip, being wound around a 
reel, the axis of which projects, allowing it to 
turn freely when held in the hollow of the 
thumb and fingers. The log-chip is placed ill 
the water and remains at rest, while the ship 
moves continuously on, and the speed is meas¬ 
ured by the rapidity with which the log line un¬ 
winds from the reel. The line is divided into 
sections and the rate at which the vessel sails is 
determined by the number of sections that pass 
from the reel in a given time, the time being 
measured by an hourglass, and the tests cover 
from twenty to thirty seconds of time. A log 
hook is kept on the vessel, which contains a 
journal of the progress made from day to day, 
together with events occurring on board, the 
state of weather, the number and class of ves¬ 
sels sighted, and many other circumstances of 
interest in the tour. Most ships carry aU offi¬ 
cial log book in which to keep an account of 
sickness, offenses committed, disobedience of 
officers, and all general matters pertaining to 
the crew and passengers. 

LOGAN (lo'gan), a city in Utah, county seat 
of Cache County, on the Logan River, seventy 
miles north of Salt Lake City. It is on the 
Oregon Short Line Railroad and is surrounded 
by a rich farming and stock-raising country. 

An abundance of water power for manufactur¬ 
ing is obtained from the river. Among the 
noteworthy buildings are the State Agricultural 
College, the New Jersey Academy, the Brigham 


LOGAN 


1263 


LOGIC 


Young College, the county courthouse, the high 
school, and a number of churches. It has manu¬ 
factures of brick, beet sugar, clothing, hosiery, 
and machinery. The place was settled in 1859 
and incorporated in 1866. Population, 1900, 
5,451; in 1910, 7,522. 

LOGAN, Mount, one of the highest moun¬ 
tains in North America, in the Dominion of 
Canada, near the Alaskan boundary, 26 miles 
northeast of Mount Saint Elias. In 1892 J. H. 
Turner, United States surveyor, placed its 
height at 19,514 feet, which is considerably 
higher than Mount Saint Elias, previously 
thought to be the most elevated peak in North 
America. It is exceeded in height by Mount 
McKinley. 

LOGANSPORT, a city in Indiana, county 
seat of Cass County, at the confluence of the 
Eel and Wabash rivers, seventy miles north of 
Indianapolis. It is on the Wabash, the Van- 
dalia, the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago and 
Saint Louis, and other railroads. Among the 
chief buildings are the county courthouse, the 
public library, the high school, the Holy An¬ 
gels’ Academy, and the Northern Indiana Hos¬ 
pital for the Insane. The municipal facilities 
include electric street railways, waterworks, 
sewerage, and several parks. It has manufac¬ 
tures of flour, ironware, machinery, woolen 
goods, clothing, cigars, and farming implements. 
The surrounding country is a fertile farming 
and dairying district. It contains natural gas 
and coal deposits. It was settled in the early 
part of the 19th century and was incorporated 
in 1838. Population, 1910, 19,050. 

LOGARITHM (log'a-rith’m), one of a class 
of auxiliary numbers which are so related to the 
natural numbers that the multiplication and di¬ 
vision of the latter may be performed by addi¬ 
tion and subtraction. They facilitate the raising 
of numbers to powers and the extraction of 
roots by very simple multiplication and divi¬ 
sion. The logarithm of a number may be de¬ 
fined as the exponent of the power to which it 
is necessary to raise a fixed number, called the 
base, to produce the given number. The labor 
of performing these operations by the ordinary 
processes of arithmetic, when the numbers are 
composed of many figures, is very complicated. 
" By the use of logarithms, for the invention of 
which we are indebted to John Napier (1550- 
1617), of Scotland, this labor is greatly dimin¬ 
ished. However, several mathematicians have 
since prepared extensive tables so it is not diffi¬ 
cult to perform these operations. In most ta¬ 
bles the logarithms are calculated to base 10, 
but in the system of Napier the base is 
2.718281828... The logarithm of 100 is 2, be¬ 



cause 10 raised to the second power equals 100. 
Similarly, the logarithm of 1000 equals 3, of 
10,000 equals 4, and so on. When the loga¬ 
rithms form series in an arithmetical progres¬ 
sion, the corresponding natural numbers form a 
series in geometrical progression, thus: 


Logarithms.0 1 2 3 4 5 

Natural numbers. 10 100 1000 10000 100000 


Between the numbers 1 and 10 the logarithms 
consist of decimals; between 10 and 100, of the 
integer 1 and a decimal; between 100 and 1000, 
of the integer 2 and a decimal, and so on. The 
integral part of a logarithm is called the index 
and is always less by one than the number of 
integer places in the corresponding natural 
number, hence the index of the logarithm of 3 is 
0, of 30 is 1, of 300 is 2, etc. The decimal part 
of a logarithm is called tile mantissa. The log¬ 
arithms of decimals have negative indices and 
the number of units in the index is always great¬ 
er by 1 than the number of ciphers immediate¬ 
ly following the decimal point, hence the index 
of the logarithm of .3 is —1, of .03 is —2, of 
.003 is —3, etc. Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777- 
1855), the German mathematician, invented a 
system of logarithms which is of great value in 
astronomical computations. 

LOG BOOK, a book kept on board a ship 
at sea, in which is entered the daily progress of 
the vessel, with notes on the weather and inci¬ 
dents of the voyage. The velocity of such a 
vessel is measured by a log, an apparatus con¬ 
structed of a wooden float, weighted on one 
side to make it float upright, and the measure¬ 
ments are taken on a line, which is unwound 
from a light running reel, while the log re¬ 
mains stationary in the water as the ship moves 
forward. The results of these measurements 
are recorded in the log book together with oth¬ 
er matters of interest, and usually the record is 
transcribed at noon. A log book is kept on all 
the vessels of the navy and the record is veri¬ 
fied and signed each day. This record, when 
completed, is properly marked and filed for fu¬ 
ture reference in the Navy Department. 

LOGIC (loj'ik), the science which treats of 
the formal laws of human thought. It deals 
with all the forms of thought, including con¬ 
ception, judgment, reasoning, and construction, 
and bases its principles on the logical axioms. 
As understood at present, it is a development 
and modification of the art of reasoning molded 
into consistent shape by Aristotle in his treatise 
entitled the “Organon of Aristotle.” This work 
is based partly on the writings of Socrates, who 
treated the art in a general way, and notably 
on the treatises of Zeno of Elea. The Scho¬ 
lastics were the first to develop the logic of 







LOGWOOD 


1264 


LOLLARDS 


Aristotle. They made the art an independent 
power in great theological debates. At the time 
of the Reformation, particularly in continental 
Europe, Scholasticism was depreciated, and 
down to the first half of the 19th century there 
was little dispute as to how Lgic should be de¬ 
fined, but since then have originated many dif¬ 
ferent definitions. 

According to Whately and Sir W. Hamilton, 
logic is limited in its application to the form of 
thought, and has nothing to do with the matter; 
that is, it deals with the form common to all 
reasonings, judgments, and concepts, but is not 
concerned about the content or subject of either. 
If this view is held, logic is only deductive, but 
John Stuart Mill founded the system of induc¬ 
tive logic, according to which the evidence, 
methods, and principles involved in scientific re¬ 
search must be regarded the principal subjects 
of interest in the art. Both the inductive and 
deductive systems are reviewed by the German 
philosopher Kant, who recognizes thought as the 
essential factor of cognition, thus holding the 
matter and not the form as the paramount ele¬ 
ment of importance in logic. 

The system of Kant is now accepted as a 
standard, since it holds that thought or intelli¬ 
gence is realized through the system of forms 
used in logic, thus making thought instead of 
mere form the basic element in logical proce¬ 
dure. In method of procedure it is either in¬ 
ductive or deductive, the two methods being the 
reverse of each other. The former proceeds 
from particulars to the general, the latter from 
the general to particulars. One is a process of 
analysis, the other a process of synthesis. Logic 
is divided according to the forms of thought 
and expression into logic of concepts, treating 
of the term; logic of judgment, treating of the 
proposition; logic of reasoning, treating of* the 
syllogism ;^and logic of construction, treating of 
the system. 

LOGWOOD (log'wood), a tree which was 
originally found in Central America, but nat¬ 
uralized in and exported from Jamaica and oth¬ 
er West Indian islands. It grows most vigor¬ 
ously in moist and swampy regions, has pinnate 
leaves and small yellowish flowers, and attains 
a height of from thirty to fifty feet. The wood 
is dense and solid, particularly the heartwood, 
which is so heavy that it sinks in water. This 
heartwood has a red color and is useful in the 
manufacture of dyestuff to produce dark red 
colors. To obtain the dyestuff the wood is 
ground into small pieces, after which the color¬ 
ing matter is extracted, and, by applying alka¬ 
lies, a purple color is secured, while acids give 
a paler tint to the red. The colors are not 


permanent, but are made so by a mordant. 
When iron is used for mordanting the fabric, 
the color produced is black, buFwith chromium 
a green or black is secured, and with alumina a 
lilac and violet are obtained. Logwood dyes 
depend upon the crystalline principle known as 



haematoxylin. They are used largely in giving 
a black or brown color to calico, in making ink, 
and for producing colors useful in painting. An 
astringent medicine is also extracted from log¬ 
wood. 

LOIRE (lwar), the most important river of 
France. Its source is in the Cevennes Moun¬ 
tains, from which it has a northwesterly course 
to Orleans, and thence flows nearly west into 
the Bay of Biscay. Canals connect it with the 
Seine, the Saone, and the harbor of Brest. Its 
basin, which includes about one-fourth of 
France, is noted for fertility of soil and much 
wealth. The entire length is 625 miles, of which 
about 500 miles are navigable. On its banks are 
the cities of Nantes, Mayenne, Vienne, and Al- 
lier. 

LOLLARDS, the name of adherents to a 
semi-monastic society of the Netherlands. This 
organization was formed in Antwerp and Bra¬ 
bant about 1300. The chief object was to care 
for the sick and look after the burial of the 
dead. The name Lollards was applied to the 
followers of Wycliffe in England near the end 
of the 14th century. Oxford was long a central 
point of influence, whence the Lollards went to 
the smaller villages to preach a simple gospel. 
Later they developed certain economic theories 


LOMBARDS 


1265 


LONDON 


of a socialistic nature and were persecuted by 
the authorities, especially in the time of James 
IV. of Scotland and Henry V. of England. 

LOMBARDS (lom'berdz), a people distin¬ 
guished for great valor in the early history of 
Europe, so named from the long spears they 
carried, or from their long beards. They were 
a branch of the Germans, occupied originally the 
regions of the Lower Elbe, and in the 4th cen¬ 
tury began to resist the Roman invasions. In 
the early part of the 6th century they came in 
contact with the Eastern Roman Empire by 
pressing southeast into the valley of the Dan¬ 
ube. Later, in 568, their king Alboin invaded 
Italy, where they operated in conjunction with 
the Saxons and occupied the northern section, 
which has since been known as Lombardy. They 
did not only establish themselves firmly, but 
built churches and monasteries of much beauty, 
founded cities, and gradually became assimilated 
by the Italians. The Lombards possessed pow¬ 
erful kings in Autharis, Rotharis, and Luit- 
prand, the last named securing temporary do¬ 
minion over all of Italy. In 774 the last king of 
Lombardy, Desiderius, was overthrown at Pa¬ 
via by Charlemagne, who became King of the 
Lombards and Franks. They embraced Chris¬ 
tianity in the early part of the 7th century, 
made extensive internal improvements, and car¬ 
ried on a large foreign trade, Lombard street in 
London deriving its name from their business 
relations. 

The Lombard Architecture is an outgrowth 
of the Lombards and the Gothic invaders of 
northern Italy. It dates properly from the early 
part of the 9th century to the 18th century, and 
was derived from the more inferior Roman 
style. Many buildings of this style of architec¬ 
ture still remain. Examples of it occur in Italy 
and in the continent as far north as the Baltic 
in Germany, the connection between the two 
countries coming about during the existence of 
the former German Empire, or Holy Ro¬ 
man Empire, which included Italy. The most 
important of those remaining are in Italy. They 
embrace churches and other buildings, notably 
in Verona, Pavia, and Milan, the Saint Michael 
Church at Pavia being the most prominent rep¬ 
resentative. The architecture differs from the 
classic largely in that it has a preponderance of 
vertical lines instead of horizontal, and in that 
it utilizes the dome extensively. Both the 
grouping of piers and the arrangement of the 
transepts and choir are highly artistic. 

LOMBARDY (lom'bar-di), a region of 
northern Italy, extending originally from the 
Alps to the Po River, so named from the Lom¬ 
bards. The region belonged to the Romans 
89 


prior to the Lombard invasion. In 774 it fell 
to Charlemagne, then passed consecutively to 
Germany and Spain, and in 1815 became a part 
of Austria, but since 1859 it has belonged to 
Italy. A department of Italy is now known as 
Lombardy, but it does not include all of the 
region formerly known by that name. It in¬ 
cludes the seven provinces of Brescia, Como, 
Bergamo, Pavia, Milan, Cremona, and Sondrio. 
The area is 9,085 square miles. Formerly the 
province of Mantua was included also, but it is 
now a part of Venetia. 

LOMBOK (lom-bok'), an island in the In¬ 
dian archipelago, belonging to the Netherlands.’ 
The area is 2,108 square miles. It is situ¬ 
ated a short distance east of Java, between 
the islands of Bali and Sumbawa. The island 
is of volcanic origin and has several moun¬ 
tain ranges, but is well watered and fertile. 
Among the products are cereals, fruits, live 
stock, tobacco, and coffee. Most of the inhabi¬ 
tants are Mohammedans. Mataram is the cap¬ 
ital. Population, 1906, 644,208. 

LONDON (lun'dun), the capital of the Brit¬ 
ish Empire, in the southeastern part of Eng¬ 
land, on the Thames River, about sixty miles 
from the sea. It is the most populous city in 
the world. It is located on both sides of the 
Thames River, which is spanned by many fine 
bridges. The river at this place is from 600 to 
900 feet wide and flows slowly, and vast im¬ 
provements by deepening and canalizing have 
tended to make it the center of an extensive 
system of navigation. Numerous railways ex¬ 
tend from it to all parts of the United King¬ 
dom, and it has additional transportation facili¬ 
ties by a vast network of electric railway lines. 

Description. London is built on a low and 
level tract of land, hence there is no point of 
vantage from which the whole city may be 
viewed even on the clearest day. The Fire 
Monument, situated near the center of the city, 
affords the best view, but it is not sufficiently 
elevated to permit seeing beyond the outskirts 
of the closely constructed buildings. Many of 
the streets are narrow and crooked, hence pure 
air and sunshine are wanting in many of the 
more densely populated districts. Fog and mist 
characterize the atmosphere, due to the close 
proximity to the sea, and the bright sky of 
Paris and Berlin is wanting. This circumstance, 
taken in connection with the exclusive use of 
bituminous coal for domestic and manufactur¬ 
ing purposes, causes the aspect to be dark and 
gloomy the greater part of the day. London 
has a mean annual temperature of 50°, rang¬ 
ing from 40° in the winter to 62° in the sum¬ 
mer, and the annual rainfall is about 25 inches. 





LONDON 


1260 


LONDON 


The Thames River passes from east to west 
through the city-. South of it are the counties 
of Kent and Surrey, which contain the portion 
that is of lesser importance. The county of 
Middlesex is north of the river. All of the 
larger commercial institutions are in the East 
End, which contains the customhouse, the docks, 
the general post office, the Bank of England, 
the Saint Paul’s Cathedral, and other noted 
structures. However, the East End also con¬ 
tains the poorest, quarters, in which myriads 
live in want and disease. Here and in some of 
the narrow streets in the Lambeth and Ber¬ 
mondsey districts, south of the Thames, are the 
abodes of many of the poorer classes. The 
West End contains the homes of many wealthy 
and fashionable people, especially in the neigh¬ 
borhood of Hyde Park and Kensington Gar¬ 
dens. In this section are many fine residences 
of the aristocracy, located a short distance from 
the government offices, the British Museum, the 
royal palaces, and the houses of Parliament. 
Formerly the palaces of the nobility were locat¬ 
ed within an area of 673 acres, but they were 
driven farther west through the extension of 
trade, and the limits of London proper em¬ 
brace chiefly warehouses, banks, and office build¬ 
ings. During the night it is almost deserted, 
while in daytime more than a million persons 
work within the confines of what is generally 
known as the Old City. 

Streets and Parks. The streets in the busi¬ 
ness districts are inadequate, since they are con¬ 
gested by the heavy traffic during the day. 
Many of the thoroughfares have been widened, 
but no general system of improvement in this 
line^has been carried out. Along the Thames 
extends the Victoria Embankment, which is one 
of the most noted thoroughfares of the city. 
It affords communication dlong the north shore 
of the river eastward from the houses of Par¬ 
liament, and is adorned by many fine statues 
and shrubbery. The most fashionable shops are 
on Regent Street, and numerous substantial 
strqctures of comparatively recent date have 
been erected on Oxford Street and its contin¬ 
uations. Fleet Street is devoted largely to the 
newspaper trade, Paternoster Row is headquar¬ 
ters for the book business, and the Haymarket 
has many fine hotels and theaters. Club life 
is well represented on Pall Mall, the jewelry 
trade is centered on Bond Street, and the police 
court is on Bow Street. Piccadilly has many 
fine shops and clubhouses. The Strand, Cheap- 
side, and Holborn are other noted business 
streets, and they are particularly noted for be¬ 
ing uncomfortably crowded during the day. 

The parks and squares of London, though 


very numerous, are inadequate to the require¬ 
ment of so large a population. Trafalgar 
Square, one of the finest in the city, is sur¬ 
rounded by many fine buildings, including art 
galleries, hotels, and churches. Lincoln’s Inn 
Fields, surrounded by offices of the law frater¬ 
nity, is the largest open ground in the city. 
Hyde Park, containing 400 acres, is located be¬ 
tween Mayfair and Kensington Gardens, and 
is surrounded by a noted carriage drive. Green 
Park and Saint James’s Park, near Trafalgar 
Square, are among the royal parks that have 
been opened to the public. Greenwich Observa¬ 
tory, in the southern part of the city, is sur¬ 
rounded by the beautiful Greenwich Park. 
Black Heath and Hampstead Heath are among 
the many heaths, or commons, preserved for 
the use of the people in their natural condition. 
Many of the public places are adorned by monu¬ 
ments. These include Cleopatra’s Needle, on 
the Thames embankment; the Nelson Column, 
in Trafalgar Square; the monument to com¬ 
memorate the great fire of London, on Fish 
Street Hill; the national memorial to Victoria, 
in front of Buckingham Palace; the colossal 
statue of Achilles, at Hyde Park; and the Al¬ 
bert memorial, at Kensington Gardens. 

Buildings. London has many magnificent 
buildings, the most important of which include 
those erected by the government. The houses 
of Parliament, located on the banks of the 
Thames, are among the largest Gothic structures 
in the world. They cover eight acres, have a 
river front of 940 feet, and were erected at 
a cost of about $15,000,000. Saint Paul’s Ca¬ 
thedral, whose dome may be seen from most 
parts of the city, is a fine monumental struc¬ 
ture. The Tower, formerly the scene of crimes 
and suffering, but now an arsenal and armory, 
is situated near the banks of the Thames. The 
Lord Mayor of London has his official residence 
in the Mansion House in the Poultry, a struc¬ 
ture in the Corinthian style. Buckingham Pal¬ 
ace, Saint James’s, and Marlborough House are 
buildings of much historical interest. The Brit¬ 
ish Museum contains a valuable national collec¬ 
tion, which embraces specimens that represent 
all the arts and sciences and cover all the cen¬ 
turies included in the history of man. 

Facing Piccadilly is the Royal Academy of 
Art, noted for its annual exhibition of sculp¬ 
tures and paintings. A great variety of art 
products are located in the Victoria and Al¬ 
bert Museum. The churches include White 
Field’s Chapel, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, West¬ 
minster Abbey, Saint George’s Church, Saint 
Giles’s, Saint Bartholomew the Great, and Saint 
Mary le Bone. Besides the fine system of public 


LONDON 


1267 


LONDON 


schools, London has many noted institutions of- 
higher learning. These embrace the University 
of London, Westminster School, Charter House 
School, Saint Paul’s College, College of Phy¬ 
sicians, and The Inns of Court. The more 
prominent theaters include the Covent Garden 
Theater, the Haymarket, the Drury Lane The¬ 
ater, the Adelphi, the Strand, the Criterion, and 
Daly’s Theater. 

Industries. London has a large domestic and 
foreign commerce. It is connected by steam¬ 
ship lines with Bremen, Hamburg, Antwerp, and 
bthef cities of Europe and the continents of 
both hemispheres. Being the largest consumer 
of food supplies in the world, it has a small 
export trade compared with the imports. Much 
of the foreign trade is with the East and West 
Indies and the colo¬ 
nies of Great Britain. 

The chief imports in¬ 
clude tea, coffee, rice, 
sugar, tobacco, raw 
cotton, slices, petrd^ 
leum, and fruits. 

London is the leading 
manufacturing city of 
Great Britain and the 
products make up an 
almost endless list. 

Though manufactur¬ 
ing enterprises are lo- 
c a t e d in different 
parts of the city, they 
are more largely rep¬ 
resented in a section 
extending in a^semi- 
circle to the south 
and east. Among the 
principal products are 
clothing, furniture, 
machinery, glass, pottery, jewelry, clocks and 
' watches, chemicals, saddlery, musical and surgi¬ 
cal instruments, and spirituous liquors. 

Communication. London has one of the 
most efficient underground railways in the 
world, furnishing connections between the dif¬ 
ferent parts of the city and the great railway 
terminal stations. About a million persons en¬ 
ter the city every morning, hence the enterprise 
of furnishing communication is very important. 
The London Bridge, which furnishes the chief 
communication over the Thames, is crossed by 
about 350,000 persons every day. Many sta¬ 
tions of the underground railways are located 
within the city, such as Victoria, Waterloo, and 
London Bridge, and at many underground points 
are numerous shops. Four tunnels pass under 
the Thames, hence communication is continuous 


between the north and south sides of the river, 
which is also crossed by many bridges and lines 
of ferries. Extensive tramways and electric 
street railways are in operation, but consid¬ 
erable communication is still furnished’by horse 
cars. Carriages, cabs, and omnibuses supply a 
larger per cent, of the communication than is 
the case in American cities. It is customary in 
London to summon a cab by blowing a whistle 
at the doorstep. 

Government. The government of London 
has been evolved from an experience extending 
over a long period of time, but the form now 
in force dates from 1900, when the administra¬ 
tion was greatly simplified by consolidating vari¬ 
ous districts. At present the British govern¬ 
ment exercises the central control, and the du¬ 


ties and powers of the local authorities are de¬ 
fined and limited by acts of Parliament. Con¬ 
trol is exercised over various local authorities, 
by certain departments of the general govern¬ 
ment, similar in at least some respects to the 
influence of the national government of the 
United States over various regulations in the 
District of Columbia. For instance, the public 
utilities, such as electric lighting, are under the 
supervision of the Board of Trade. The board 
of control has certain jurisdiction over the 
parks and commons, while the board of edu¬ 
cation may withhold the government grant from 
a district where the school system is not main¬ 
tained with a certain degree of proficiency. A 
special act - of Parliament is required before 
local bodies can negotiate a municipal loan. 
From this it will be seen that the city must be 



PARLIAMENT BUILDING AT LONDON. 

































LONDON 


1268 


LONDON, UNIVERSITY OF 


understood from various standpoints in order 
to appreciate the effort put forth by so vast a 
number of people to live together in the metrop¬ 
olis of the British Empire. 

At least four Londons may be enumerated: 
One known as the ancient city of London, an¬ 
other under the county council, a third includ¬ 
ing boroughs for parliamentary representation, 
and a fourth embracing a number of suburbs. 
The first mentioned has come down from the 
Middle Ages,' and has its own police regulations, 
a common council, and the chief executive, who 
is known as the Lord Mayor. All the affairs 
of the ancient city are controlled by the city 
government, except the main drainage system. 
The London under the county council is outside 
of the ancient city, but it does not include the 
urban district which has been annexed to form 
Greater London. The city is divided into thirty 
parliamentary boroughs, from which 58 mem¬ 
bers are returned to Parliament. A mayor, al¬ 
dermen, and a common couhcil comprise the 
chief officials of each administrative district, 
and these are responsible only to the central 
government, except that some minor matters 
are directed by the common council of London. 
The police force of the entire city is under the 
government of Great Britain, consisting of about 
16,500 men, and the central offices are at New 
Scotland Yard, located near Westminster Bridge. 
For postal purposes Greater London is divided 
into a number of districts, and the delivery of 
mail is free. 

Inhabitants. The city contains a large mix¬ 
ture of different races of people. More than 
half of the inhabitants were born in London. 
The mast numerous of those not English are 
included in the following: Irish, 300,000; 
Scotch, 185,000; Germans, 165,000; French, 
60,000; and Jews, 50,000. In 1907 the county 
and city of London had a population of 4,758,- 
218. In the same year Greater London had a 
population of 7,217,941. 

History. The history of London begins about 
the year 43 a. d., when the Romans were in pos¬ 
session of the southern part of Britain and 
founded a military station on the present site 
of London. An insurrection of the British led 
by Boadicea caused it to be burned in 61 a. d. 
It was the center of various disturbances until 
about 306, when Constantine constructed walls 
and fortifications, and thereby established sta¬ 
bility and laid a firm basis for commercial pros¬ 
perity. From 369 until 412 it was the capital 
of Britain, when it was known as Augusta. 
Subsequently it became the chief seat of the 
Saxons. King Alfred expelled the Danes and 
fortified the city. It became famous as a com¬ 


mercial center at the beginning of the reign of 
Edward III. In 1664-66 the plague raged, when 
about 69,000 persons succumbed to the dreaded 
disease, and in the latter year a destructive fire 
spread over 340 acres, burning about 15,000 
houses. From these calamities the city recov¬ 
ered with marked rapidity. The Bank of Eng¬ 
land was established in 1694, Sir Hans Sloane 
founded the British Museum in 1759, the old 
walls were torn down in 1760, and about that 
time the streets were improved by pavements, 
lighting, and efficient sanitary regulations. In 
1840 the present parliamentary buildings were 
commenced, and in rapid succession followed 
the construction of great aqueducts, parks, street 
railway lines, and many other mpdgrn munici¬ 
pal improvements. 

LONDON, a city of Ontario, county seat of 
Middlesex County, on the Thames River, 121 
miles southwest of Toronto. It is on the Ca¬ 
nadian Pacific, the Erie and Detroit, and the 
Grand Trunk railways. The chief buildings in¬ 
clude the county courthouse, the public library, 



the Western University, Hellmuth’s Ladies’ Col¬ 
lege, and Huron College. It has gas and elec¬ 
tric lighting, systems of sewerage and water¬ 
works, and electric street railways. The manu¬ 
factures include boots and shoes, leather, flour, 
ironware, chemicals, machinery, cigars, woolen 
goods, suspenders, and utensils. The surround¬ 
ing country is agricultural and stock producing. 
London was platted as a town in 1826. Popu¬ 
lation, 1901, 37,981. 

LONDON, University of, an institution of 
higher learning at London, England, founded in 
1827. It was originally known as University 








LONDONDERRY 


1269 


LONG ISLAND, BATTLE OF 


College, but in 1836 two charters were granted, 
one establishing University College and the 
other London University, the latter having pow¬ 
er to grant degrees, but the former serving as 
a preparatory institution for the university 
proper. In 1878 these institutions were made 
coeducational. Admission may be secured at 
the age of sixteen years. Extensive courses are 
maintained. In connection with the institution 
is a fine library. In 1908 it had an attendance 
of 998 students, besides many evening students. 

LONDONDERRY (lun'dun-der-ri), or 
Derry, a city and seaport of Ireland, capital of 
a county of the same name, on the Foyle, three 
miles from Lough Foyle. It is connected with 
Waterside, an extensive suburb across the Foyle, 
by an iron and steel bridge. The chief build¬ 
ings include the county courthouse, the Anglican 
and Catholic cathedrals, the public library, the 
Gwyn’s School, and Magee College. It has 
railway communication, modern municipal facil¬ 
ities, and manufactures of spirituous liquors, 
shirts, ironware, lumber products, and ships. 
It is the residence of a bishop. The monastery 
of Saint Columba was founded on its site in 
546, around which the city developed. In the 
early period of the Reformation in Britain it 
became a stronghold of Protestantism and in 
1689 was besieged by James II. Population, 
1906, 41,082. 

LONG BRANCH, a town of Monmouth 
County, New Jersey, at the mouth of the ,South 
Shrewsbury River, 28 miles south of New York 
City. It is on the Central of New Jersey, the 
New Jersey Southern, and the Pennsylvania 
railroads. Electric street and interurban rail¬ 
ways connect it with the beach and with other 
localities. It is noted as a fashionable summer 
resort, having many commodious hotels, fine 
residences, and a life-saving station. The town 
stretches about five miles along the beach. It 
has manufactures of shirts, flour,, lumber prod¬ 
ucts, asphalt, and machinery. Long Branch was 
settled in 1670 and has been popular as a sum¬ 
mer resort since 1790. The summer population 
often exceeds 30,000, but the permanent popula¬ 
tion, according to the census of 1910, is 13,298. 

LONGEVITY (lon-jev'i-ty), the term em¬ 
ployed to designate the duration of life of a 
people or an individual. Careful investigation 
has proved that women have an average dura¬ 
tion of life somewhat longer than that of men, 
while a people combining intellect with virtue 
possesses the greatest longevity. In studying 
the tendency to live long three elements are 
taken into account: longevity, fecundity, and 
vigor. Human life does not generally reach 
seventy years, while ninety is very rare, but 


there are instances in which persons of regular 
habits and extraordinary physical strength en¬ 
dured more than one hundred years. The ele¬ 
phant and the whale live to exceed a hundred 
years. Some writers assert that the swan, 
goose, and heron sometimes exceed a hundred 
years, but the instances are rare, and some fish 
are said to live 150 years. 

The greatest duration of human life men¬ 
tioned in writings coming to us from ancient 
times is that spoken of in the Bible, especially 
in the time before the deluge. Methuselah’s age 
was 969 years, being the greatest on record, but 
some have subjected the accuracy of the record 
to adverse criticism. It is recorded that Abra¬ 
ham was 175; Isaac, 180; Jacob, 147; and Jos¬ 
eph, 110 years at the time of death. The aver¬ 
age age of man was reported at 35.2 years by 
the census of the United States in 1900. 

LONG ISLAND, an island of the United 
States, situated between Long Island Sound and 
the Atlantic Ocean, forming a part of the State 
of New York. The length from east to west 
is 117 miles, the width is from ten to 24 miles, 
and the area is 1,682 square miles. It is sepa¬ 
rated from New York City by the East River. 
Near it are several small islands. It has an 
undulating surface and contains a number of 
small lakes. Formerly the island was covered 
by a heavy growth of timber and still has small 
tracts of primitive forest, consisting largely of 
oak,. chestnut, hickory, and pine. Much of the 
soil is productive, especially in the northern part, 
but in the southern portion are a number of 
sandy plains and a series of lagoons. The fish¬ 
eries yield oysters and many species of fish. 
The coast has several large bays, supplying many 
convenient harbors, and railroad lines traverse 
its entire length. Coney Island is noted as a 
summer resort and Brooklyn is the principal 
city, but it was annexed to Greater New York 
in 1898. Long Island is subdivided into the 
four counties of Kings, Queens, Suffolk, and 
Nassau, Kings being entirely and Queens be¬ 
ing partly in New York City. The Dutch found¬ 
ed the first settlement at the western end of 
the island in 1622. It was in the hands of the 
British during the greater part of the Revolu¬ 
tion. 

LONG ISLAND, Battle of, an engagement 
of the American Revolution, fought at Brooklyn 
Heights on Aug. 27, 1776. Washington occu¬ 
pied a strong position on Brooklyn Heights with 
8,500 men and was attacked by 15,000 British 
under General Howe. The American outposts 
were commanded by Generals Sterling and Sul¬ 
livan, who were routed and captured, the British 
losing 400 and the Americans about 1,400 in 



LONG ISLAND SOUND 


1270 


LOQUAT 


killed and captured. During the night Wash¬ 
ington conveyed his army over to New York, 
thus saving it from being captured. 

LONG ISLAND SOUND, an extension of 
the Atlantic Ocean between Connecticut and 
Long Island. Its width is from three to twenty 
miles. The greatest depth is about 200 feet 
and it is navigable for the largest vessels. Sev¬ 
eral lighthouses are on or near its shore. The 
strait called East River connects it with New 
^ork Bay. It receives the water flowing from 
the Connecticut, Housatonic, Thames, and other 
rivers. The sound has valuable fisheries and is 
important as a sailing route to and from New 
York City. 

LONGITUDE (lon'ji-tud), the distance 
measured in degrees on the earth’s surface due 
east and west from a given meridian. Latitude 
and longitude enable us to locate the exact po¬ 
sition of a place upon a globe or map. Longi¬ 
tude is measured along the Equator or a paral¬ 
lel of latitude, and is generally reckoned from 
the meridians of Washington, Greenwich, Ber¬ 
lin, or Paris, the larger number of school texts 
used in America giving longitude east or west 
of Washington or of both Washington and 
Greenwich. It is expressed in degrees, minutes, 
and seconds, or in time, 15° being equal to one 
hour. At the conventional point the longitude 
is 0°, and degrees of longitude are reckoned 
east and west from it to 180°, or to twelve 
hours in time. The reason that degrees, min¬ 
utes, and seconds of longitude are reduced to 
equivalent denominations of time by dividing 
by fifteen is that the earth turns through 300° 
of longitude from west to east in 24 hours, or 
15° in one hour. At the Equator degrees of 
longitude are longest, being generally stated at 
69% statute miles, but more properly at 69.16 
miles, while at the poles they are designated 0°. 
The cause of degrees of longitude being shorter 
as we approach the poles is due to the fact that 
the earth is a sphere. See Latitude. 

LONG PARLIAMENT, a term used to des¬ 
ignate the fifth Parliament summoned by 
Charles I. of England. It met Nov. 3, 1640, was 
twice expelled and twice restored, and dissolved 
of its own accord March 16, 1660. The name 
Rump Parliament is given to the members who 
remained, about sixty, after the others had been 
expelled by the army after the treaty of New¬ 
port was concluded, in 1648. It was the Rump 
Parliament that executed'Charles I. 

LOO-CHOO, Liu Kiu, or Riu Kiu, a chain 
of islands in the Pacific Ocean, between For¬ 
mosa and Japan. The chain includes 55 islands 
and islets, 36 being inhabited, and the area is 


934 square miles. It is of volcanic origin, but 
has a fertile soil and is populated principally 
with descendants of the Japanese. However, the 
prevailing customs are mainly of Chinese origin. 
Among the products are minerals, wheat, rice, 
sugar cane, maize, sago, sweet potatoes, tobac¬ 
co, indigo, fish, domestic animals, and many va¬ 
rieties of fruits. Great Loo-Choo and Oshima 
are the two largest of the group, the former 
having an area of 590 and the latter of 290 
square miles. The islands have belonged to 
Japan since 1774. They contain several market 
towns, among them Napa and Shuri, the latter 
being the capital. Population, 1908, 458,628. 

LOOM, a machine in which yarn or thread 
is woven into fabric by the intercrossing of 
threads called warp, or chain, running length¬ 
wise, with others called woof, weft, or filling. 
Looms were used for weaving fabrics by peo¬ 
ples in remote antiquity, Pliny attributing the 
invention of cotton weaving to Semiramis. The 
looms of Babylon maintained their celebrity long 
after the fall of the Assyrian Empire. The 
first machine-power loom was invented by Cart¬ 
wright of England in 1787, since which time 
many valuable improvements have been made, 
but hand looms are still used for some purposes 
and in countries where manufacturing has not 
been modernized. 

The principal parts of a loom are its frame, 
in which the row of yarn that forms the warp 
is held, and the harness or leshes, which gov¬ 
ern the interlacing of the threads to form a shed 
for the woof. In 1876 an important improve¬ 
ment was made in the manufacture of looms by 
the Hunt Loom and Fabric Company of San 
Francisco. This consists of an attachment by 
which the loom becomes self-feeding and over¬ 
comes the waste of weft. In this machine there 
is no intermission in the operation of weaving, 
except to make repairs, and, if a break of the 
warp thread occurs, the loom is stopped auto¬ 
matically and a signal bell rings. This inven¬ 
tion has made it possible for a large number of 
looms to be operated by a single attendant. 
Looms of different construction are used in the 
manufacture of all classes of fabrics, such as 
silk, woolen, cotton, and linen goods. They are 
employed in the manufacture of different classes 
of cloths, matting, and carpeting. 

LOPE DE VEGA. See Vega. 

LOQUAT (lo'kwat), a shrub native to China 
and Japan, but cultivated for its fruit in the 
warmer parts of the temperate regions. It 
grows to a height of about twenty feet, but 
yields the best returns when it is trimmed so as 
not to exceed twelve feet in height. The leaves 
are wrinkled and oblong, and the fruit is pear- 


LORAIN 


1271 


LOS ANGELES 


* 

shaped and about an inch in diameter. Several 
species are grown in the United States, chiefly 
in Florida and California, and the seeds are 
used as a flavoring to tarts. 

LORAIN (lo-ran'), a city of Ohio, in Lorain 
County, on Lake Erie, 24 miles west of Cleve¬ 
land. It is on the New York, Chicago and 
Saint Louis, the Baltimore and Ohio, and other 
railroads, and has communication by steamboats 
and electric railways. Coal and natural gas are 
obtained in the vicinity. It has a public library, 
the Saint Joseph’s Hospital, a fine high school, 
and many churches. The manufactures include 
iron and brass wares, clothing, earthenware, and 
machinery. It is the seat of the Johnson Steel 
Works, at which about 2,000 persons are em¬ 
ployed. The place was first settled in 1822, be¬ 
came a town in 1875, and was chartered as a 
city in 1895. Population, 1910, 28,883. 

LORCA (lor'ka), a city of southern Spain, 
in the province of Murcia, 42 miles southwest 
of the city of Murcia. The surrounding coun¬ 
try is fertile and contains lead mines. Lorca 
consists of two portions, the old and the new 
towns, the former dating from the time of the 
Moors. Among the chief buildings are the ca¬ 
thedral, the public library, the castle, and sev¬ 
eral schools and convents. The manufactures 
include linen and woolen goods, soap, leather, 
machinery, and earthenware. Lorca has modern 
facilities, such as electric lighting and street 
railways. Population, 1906, 71,147. 

LORELEI (ld'ra-li), a precipitous elevation 
on the Rhine River, half a mile above Saint 
Goar, Germany. It has a height of 427 feet, is 
now penetrated by a railway tunnel, and was 
made famous by Heine’s celebrated “Volkslied.” 
This exquisite poem represents a siren seated 
upon the Lorelei, by whose charms and beauti¬ 
ful song boatmen were attracted to a whirlpool 
at the base of the rock and there met destruc¬ 
tion. The scenery at the cliff is the most beau¬ 
tiful on the Rhine, and near it is a basin noted 
for its productive trout fishery. 

LORETO (lo-ra'to), or Loretto, a small 
town of Italy, situated on a railway line, about 
fifteen miles south of Ancona and three miles 
west of the Adriatic. It is noted as the seat of 
the Holy House, which, according to tradition, 
was occupied as a dwelling by the Virgin Mary 
at Nazareth and, in 1295, removed to Loreto. 
The building was originally of simple construc¬ 
tion, but it has been finely improved by sculp¬ 
tures in marble. The town is visited by many 
tourists annually, who go there to view the 
structure and witness an image of the Virgin, 
which is reputed to be a carving by Saint Luke. 
Population, 1906, 7,948. 


LORETO, Sisters of, an order of Roman 
Catholic nuns, so named from the town of 
Loreto*, Italy. It was founded by Charles Ne- 
rinck in 1812 and the first community was es¬ 
tablished in Kentucky, since which time it has 
spread rapidly, devoting its efforts to the care 
and education of poor orphans. The principal 
academy of the order is situated at Florissant, 
Mo. In 1908 it had 602 sisters and 65 academies 
and parochial schools. 

LORIS (lo'ris), the name of two species of 
lemurs native to Asia. They differ from the 
true lemurs in having a round head, large eyes, 
and no tail. They spend the larger part of the 
day by sleeping in the branches of trees, but 
come out at night in search of food, which con¬ 
sists of insects, small birds, and fruits. These 
animals are small, about as large as the domestic 
cat. 

LORRAINE (lo-ran'), called Lothringen in 
German, a region of Europe, so named because 
it formed a possession of King Lothaire II. 
Originally it included Friesland, Alsace, and the 
regions lying between the Meuse, Rhine, and 
Scheldt, and in 954 became divided*into Upper 
and Lower Lorraine. The latter now forms a 
portion of the kingdoms of Belgium and Hol¬ 
land, being known in Belgium as Brabant and 
as Brabant and Guelderland in Holland. France 
secured Upper Lorraine in 1766, but at the 
close of the war between Germany and France, 
in 1870-71, a large portion of it was ceded to 
Germany. The German portion includes the 
two fortified cities of Metz and Thionville and 
embraces part of Alsace-Lorraine (q. v.). 

LOS ANGELES (los an'gel-es), a city of 
California, county seat of Los Angeles County, 
475 miles southeast of San Francisco. It is 
finely located on the Los Angeles River, about 
20 miles from its entrance into the Pacific, and 
is on the Southern Pacific, the San Pedro, Los 
Angeles and Salt Lake, and the Atchison, To¬ 
peka and Santa Fe railroads. San Pedro, its 
seaport, is 25 miles distant, but the Pacific 
Ocean is only fifteen miles west, and north 
of it are ranges of the Sierra Madre. It is 
noted for its healthful climate and beautiful 
location. 

The streets are broad and regularly platted 
and many of them are substantially paved with 
asphalt, stone, and brick. Fine gardens, vine¬ 
yards, and orange groves surround the city. It 
is beautified with fine shrubs, flowers, and ave¬ 
nues of eucalyptus, palmetto palms, and other 
trees. Near the city are a number of cele¬ 
brated health and seaside resorts, hence it is 
visited by many tourists at practically all times 
of the year. An extensive system of street 




LOTTERY 


1272 


s LOTUS 


railways provide urban, suburban, and interur- 
ban communication. Griffith Park, located in 
the foothills near the city, is a beautiful public 
place. Elysian Park contains the fannpus Fre¬ 
mont’s Gate, erected in honor of General Fre¬ 
mont, and is celebrated for its great variety of 
flo-vyers and shrubs. The parks as a whole con¬ 
tain about 3,850 acres and without a doubt are 
equal to the finest public grounds in the United 
States. 

The architecture is modern and substantial. 
The public buildings include the county court¬ 
house, the city hall, and the Federal building. 
Among the notable structures erected through 
private enterprises are ,the opera house, the 
Huntington building, and a number of fine ho¬ 
tels, including the Angelus and the Lankershim. 
It is the seat of a State normal school, the Uni¬ 
versity of Southern California, the Saint Vin¬ 
cent’s College, and the Occidental College. 
Among the notable churches are the Roman 
Catholic Cathedral, the First Congregational, 
the Saint Paul’s Cathedral (Episcopal), the 
First Methodist Episcopal, and the Old Plaza 
Church, oncv 2 the headquarters of General Fre¬ 
mont. The public library has about 100,000 vol¬ 
umes. The city has several hospitals, a number 
of fine public -schools, and beautiful cemeteries. 

Los Angeles is surrounded by a fruit-growing 
country and is in the center of a region that 
contains valuable deposits of lead, gold, silver, 
coal, and petroleum. Among the manufactures 
are flour, canned fruit, fertilizers, confection¬ 
ery, earthenware, and machinery. It has ex¬ 
tensive interests in the refining of petroleum. 
Large quantities of fruit, wine, and merchan¬ 
dise are shipped and it has a growing jobbing 
trade with the cities of southern California and 
Arizona. The public utilities include water¬ 
works, gas and electric lighting, sewerage, and 
telephone service. 

The Spaniards first visited the region in 1769. 
In 1781 the place was settled and named Puebla 
de Nuestra Senora La Rcina de Los Angeles, 
meaning “City of Our Lady, the Queen of the 
Angels.” The Mexicans made it the capital of 
the Province of California, though the seat of 
government was alternately at this place and at 
Monterey. Commodore Stockton with a force 
of the United States navy captured it in 1846 
and it was chartered as a city in 1851. Its pros¬ 
perity began with the completion of railway 
lines to various points on the Pacific coast, and 
its growth was stimulated through the discov¬ 
ery of petroleum and the development of gar¬ 
dens and orchards in its vicinity. Population, 
1900, 102,479; in 1910, 319,198. 

LOTTERY (lot'ter-y), an institution for the 


distribution of prizes by lot or chance. The 
general plan is to prepare a number of tickets, 
which are sold at a specified price, the. larger 
majority of which are blank, thus making the 
income much larger than the amount expended. 
Lotteries were of common occurrence among 
the Romans. They are now sanctioned for the 
support of charities and religion, but as a gen¬ 
eral institution are prohibited in most nations. 
The lotteries of many European countries took 
on the worst form of gambling and dishonesty 
in the middle of the 16th century, on account of 
which prohibitive measures were adopted and 
the institutions were suppressed. In America 
the first lottery was sanctioned by the Virginia 
Company in 1612, and in 1776 the American 
Congress passed an act legalizing lotteries for 
schools, roads, and other public improvements. 
Subsequently many frauds were perpetrated, 
which finally induced many legislative bodies, to 
enact limiting and prohibitive legislation. The 
most extensive lottery ever maintained in 
America was the Louisiana State Lottery at 
New Orleans, which was finally suppressed by 
the State constitution in 1895, and an act of 
Congress prohibited the use of the mails in the 
management of its business. It is singular that 
there is a tendency in man which prompts in¬ 
dividuals to invest their hard-earned money in 
lottery tickets, thereby taking chances along with 
others in winning prizes, knowing such an insti¬ 
tution is absolutely certain to take more from 
the investors than is returned. 

LOTUS (lo'tus), a name derived from the 
lotus of Greek legend and applied to a large 
number of widely different plants. It is now 
used to designate several species of the water- 
lily family, particularly the so-called sacred 
lily that grows in the valley of the Nile. The 
same and allied species are found in other parts 
of Northern Africa and in the countries of Eu¬ 
rope and Asia which border on the Mediter¬ 
ranean. The roots are eaten by people who re¬ 
side in the vicinity of Lake Menzaleh. The 
name is applied in America to a water lily, com¬ 
monly called chinquapin, and in Arabia to sev¬ 
eral species of thorny shrubs that grow in the 
desert. The lotus of Egyptian mythology is, 
perhaps, the same class of fruit referred to by 
Homer in the account where companions of 
Ulysses were persuadeti to eat the lotus with 
the design that the participants would, as a re¬ 
sult, desire to remain forever in the country 
where the lotus thrives, but the exact kind of 
fruit implied by the term is not known. The 
so-called common lotus is a favorite flowering 
plant grown extensively in gardens and houses. 
It has white flowers and large leaves. Lotus 


LOUISBURG 


1273 


LOUISIANA 


plants of the clover family are called bird’s-foot 
trefoil. They are creeping vines with perennial 
roots. 

LOUISBURG (loo'is-burg), a fortress built 
by the French on the southeastern coast of 
Cape Breton Island, in Nova Scotia, after the 
Peace of Utrecht in 1713. In the war between 
France and England, beginning in 1744, the fort 
was taken by New Englanders, but the Peace 
of Aix-la-Chapelle restored it to France in 1748. 
General Wolfe besieged Louisburg in 1758 and 
compelled the French garrison to surrender, 


after which the town was destroyed entirely 
and has since remained in a ruined condition. 
The fortress cost France $5,000,000 and was re¬ 
garded the strongest in America. The town sit¬ 
uated on its site is made up largely of fisher¬ 
men. It has a ..lighthouse, a good harbor, and a 
considerable trade in fish and produce. 

LOUISIADE (loo-e-ze-ad'), a group of is¬ 
lands located near the southeastern coast of 
British New Guinea. The three largest islands 
are Rossel, Southeast Island, and Saint Aignan, 
with a total area of about 650 square miles. 
The surface is mountainous in the larger is¬ 
lands, while the smaller islets are level and of 
coral formation. The inhabitants, consist chiefly 
of savage Papuans. For the purpose o v f admin* 


istration they are attached to British New Guin¬ 
ea. These islands were discovered in 1606 and 
have belonged to Great Britain since 1888. 

LOUISIANA (ldo-e-ze-a'na), a southern 
state of the United States, popularly called the 
Creole State. It is bounded on the north by 
Arkansas, east by Mississippi and the Gulf of 
Mexico, south by the Gulf of Mexico, and west 
by Texas. The northern part is separated from 
Mississippi by the Mississippi River and the 
southern part by the Pearl River, and about 
two-thirds of the western border is formed by 
the Sabine River. From north 
to south the State has a length 
of 280 miles and its greatest 
breadth is 290 miles. The area 
is 48,720 square miles, which 
includes a water surface of 
3,300 square miles. 

Description. The surface 
has a general elevation of 75 
feet above sea level, its high¬ 
est altitude being not more 
than 500 feet. The highest 
point of land is in the north¬ 
ern part, in Claiborne and 
Union counties. Large areas 
of the surface are made up of 
alluvial deposits, which include 
many coast swamps and a con¬ 
siderable number of inland 
lakes formed through the de¬ 
posit of silt by the Mississippi. 
Vast levees extend along both 
sides of the Mississippi in vari¬ 
ous sections to prevent the 
overflow of these alluvial lands 
during high water. The por¬ 
tion of the State lying south 
of a line drawn east and west 
a short distance south of Lake 
Pontchartrain is within the al¬ 
luvial plain, while the region lying toward the 
north is gently undulated. 

The general slope is toward the south, which 
is the direction' of its water courses. The 
Mississippi, which forms a part of the eastern 
border and flows diagonally through the south¬ 
ern part, furnishes navigation for 600 miles. Its 
largest tributary within the State, the Red 
River, flows toward the southeast through the 
north central part. The Ouachita, Washita, 
Atchafalaya, Pearl, and Sabine are important 
for their navigation facilities. Many of the 
tributaries of the Mississippi are locally called 
bayous, many of which are navigable, and as a 
whole they are important in taking off the ex¬ 
cess water during floods. Some of the streams, 



COMMON LOTUS OF EGYPT. 













LOUISIANA 


1274 


LOUISIANA 


like the Red and the Ouachita, have a width of 
from four to twenty miles at various points. 
The State has a large number of lakes, some of 
which are inland, but many o-f them form inlets 
from the Gulf of Mexico or from the larger 
rivers. Lakes Sabine, Grand, and Pontchar- 
train are connected with the coastal waters and 
are more or less brackish. Another class of 
lakes, those formed in channels which have been 


cut off by 



1, Baton Rouge; 2, New Orleans; 3, Shreveport: 4, Lake 
Charles. Principal railroads shown by dotted lines. 


bayou. Many of these lakes have brackish water 
and the level rises and falls with the tide. All 
of the great delta of the Mississippi is within 
the State. 

The soil and climate of Louisiana are alike 
favorable to the growth of luxuriant vegetation. 
Being located near the gulf, the State has an 
equable climate. At New Orleans the mean an¬ 
nual temperature is about 68°, while the gen¬ 
eral temperature ranges from 45° to 96°. How¬ 
ever, it frequently attains to 100° in the sum¬ 
mer season, but the freezing point is rarely 
reached in any section of the State. All parts 
of the State have an abundance of rainfall, 
which averages 50 inches in the northern part 
and 60 in the delta region. Clouds and mists 
obstruct the sunshine about half of the time in 
the winter and fully 40 per cent, of the time dur¬ 
ing the summer season. 

Mining. The mineral resources are not ex¬ 
tensive, but the production of petroleum is of 
growing importance. In the vicinity of Lake 
Charles, in the southwestern part, are large oil 
fields, which extend into the State from Texas. 
The salt deposits are next in importance, oc¬ 


curring in solid beds of salt rock from 40 to 80 
feet deep, found chiefly in a region stretching 
from the Parish of Plaquemines to Abbeville 
and in the parishes of Iberia, Vermilion, and 
Saint Mary. A good quality of lignite and bi¬ 
tuminous coal is obtained in the southwestern 
part, the field extending into the State from 
Texas. Lead and sulphur deposits occur in 
different sections, and gypsum and limestone are 
worked extensively. 

Forests and Fisheries. Louisiana is rich in 
timber and has more or less extensive forest 
areas in all parts of the State, especially in the 
northern section and along the Red River. Val¬ 
uable cypress trees abound in the swamps and 
many species of oak, including the live oak, oc¬ 
cur in large areas. Other trees that are well 
represented embrace the magnolia, pine, poplar, 
beach, cottonwood, cedar, and black walnut. 
Many varieties of fruits are cultivated, such as 
the fig, lemon, peach, plum, olive, banana, and 
pomegranate. The jasmine, oleander, and roses 
are well represented. 

In the value of fisheries Louisiana holds sec¬ 
ond rank among the states bordering on the 
Gulf of Mexico. Along the southern shore are 
extensive oyster fisheries. The catfish and 
shrimp are caught more extensively than in any 
other State. Alligators, though formerly very 
abundant, are not found to any great extent at 
present, but the hide has increased greatly in 
value. 

Agriculture. A large per cent, of the sur¬ 
face is utilized for agriculture and the only un¬ 
cultivated land is in the coast marshes and for¬ 
ests, but these furnish good pasturage. The soil 
is inexhaustible in fertility and all of the State 
■has a favorable temperature and sufficient rain¬ 
fall. Much of the farming is done by the plan¬ 
tation system of cultivation, hence many of the 
farms are large and are worked by tillers who 
reside on small divisions of the large estates. A 
majority of the tenants are Negroes, but the 
ownership of the land is vested very largely in 
white proprietors. Corn and cotton are the two 
leading crops, and the area cultivated in either 
exceeds largely that utilized in all other crops. 
Though the area devoted to the cultivation of 
cotton is about the same as *that utilized in 
growing corn, the value of the cotton crop is 
about double that of corn, hence is the.staple 
product. Sugar cane takes third rank in the 
area, but the value of the product rivals that of 
cotton. Rice is grown in the delta parishes and 
the prairie coast region toward the west, and in 
this product the State takes very high rank. 
Oats, hay, peas, fruits, and vegetables are other 
important products. Much attention is given to 




LOUISIANA 


1275 


LOUISIANA 


the cultivation of strawberries and a large part 
of the yield is shipped to the northern markets 
early in the season. 

Stock raising is of small importance as com¬ 
pared to the interests in the northern states. 
Horses and mules are reared for domestic use, 
especially for driving and tilling purposes. Con¬ 
siderable interests are vested in cattle raising, 
especially for the production of milk and butter. 
Swine are grown profitably and the young are 
able to' thrive in the fields and forests almost 
without feeding. Poultry is grown extensively 
and some interest is taken in the raising of 
sheep. 

Manufacturing. Rapid development has 
been made the last two decades in the output of 
manufactures. Cotton, rice, and sugar cane are 
important in the manufacturing enterprises of 
the State, and the refining of sugar has been 
growing in importance. In the value of the 
output sugar and molasses take first rank, but 
these are followed closety by lumber products 
and cottonseed and oil. Other manufactures in¬ 
clude rice products, machinery, bags, railway 
cars, tobacco products, and canned fruit and 
oysters. 

Commerce and Transportation. The port of 
New Orleans ranks third in the yalue of for¬ 
eign trade, being .exceeded only by Boston and 
New York. Among the chief exports are cot¬ 
ton, flour, sugar, lumber, rice, and cereals. The 
imports include machinery, coffee, and clothing. 
It has larger transportation facilities by water 
than any state in the Union, owing to its loca¬ 
tion on the Gulf of Mexico and many navigable 
streams, the latter affording transportation for 
a distance of 3,750 miles. At present 3,450 miles 
of railways and numerous electric lines are in 
operation. Though transportation facilities are 
afforded by railways in all parts of the State, 
the majority of lines run through it from north 
to south. New Orleans and Shreveport are the 
principal railway and manufacturing centers. 

Government. The State is governed under a 
constitution adopted in 1898, by which the chief 
executive authority is vested in a governor, 
lieutenant governor, treasurer, auditor, and sec¬ 
retary of State, each elected for terms of four 
years. The Legislature consists of two branches, 
the senate and house of representatives, and 
members in each branch are elected for four 
years. The constitution provides that the num¬ 
ber of senators cannot exceed 41 and the num¬ 
ber of representatives cannot be more than 116 
members. A chief and four associate justices 
constitute the supreme court, and these officials 
are appointed by the Governor and the senate 
for terms of twelve years. Subordinate to this 


court are the court of appeals, the district 
courts, and the municipal and justice courts. 
The State is divided into parishes, which cor¬ 
respond to the counties in other states, and local 
government is administered according to the 
civil law introduced by the French. 

Education. Public schools are maintained 
under a State board of education, consisting of 
the governor, superintendent of education, at¬ 
torney-general, and one member from each con¬ 
gressional district. This board appoints the 
school directors for each school parish, these 
officials serving for terms of four years. Par¬ 
ish superintendents are elected by the school 
directors, who fix the salaries within certain 
limits. The general system provides for ele¬ 
mentary and higher education, with separate 
schools for the white and colored children. 
Higher education culminates in the Louisiana 
State University and Agriculture and Mechan¬ 
ical College, at Baton Rouge, which is supported 
in part by the State and by the Federal govern¬ 
ments. All residents of the State are admitted 
free of tuition into this institution. Teachers 
are encouraged to extend their academic courses 
by permitting graduates from the university and 
the State normal school to teach without passing, 
an examination. Natchitoches is the seat of 
the State normal school. Although the per cent, 
of illiteracy is higher than the average for the 
Union, there has been a constant improvement. 
Among the native white population the illit¬ 
eracy is 17.3 per cent, and among the Negro in¬ 
habitants of ten years and over it is 61.1 per 
cent. 

Louisiana has a large number of excellent in¬ 
stitutions of higher learning, including Tulane 
University, at New Orleans, which ranks as one 
of the leading educational centers in the South. 
Other noted institutions include the Methodist 
Episcopal University, New Orleans; the Thatch¬ 
er Institute, Shreveport; the Baptist Leland 
University for Negroes, New Orleans; the 
Southern University for Negroes, New Orleans; 
the Saint Charles College, Grand Coteau; the 
Southwestern Industrial Institute, Lafayette; 
the College of the Immaculate Conception, New 
Orleans; and the Centenary College, Jackson. 
Baton Rouge has schools for the blind and deaf, 
Jackson has an asylum for the insane, and char¬ 
itable hospitals are maintained at Shreveport 
and New Orleans. Formerly the convicts were 
leased, but they are now put to work upon 
farms or in industries owned and controlled by 
the State. 

Inhabitants. A large element in the pres¬ 
ent population is of French descent, due to the 
fact that Louisiana was settled in its early his- 




LOUISIANA 


1276 LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXP. 


tory by immigrants from France. The largest 
immigration from other states and foreign 
countries came in after the Civil War, though 
the foreign born population is not large. Baton 
Rouge, on the Mississippi, is the capital. The 
chief cities include New Orleans, Shreveport, 
Lafayette, New Iberia, Crowley, Carrollton, 
Alexandria, Plaquemine, Lake Charles, Don- 
aldsonville, and Monroe. In 1900 the State had a 
population of 1,381,625. This included a col¬ 
ored population of 652,013, or 47.2 per cent. 
The colored inhabitants included 650,804 
Negroes. Population, 1910, 1,656,388. 

History. The history of Louisiana dates 
from 1541, when it was discovered by De Soto. 
La Salle took possession of it in 1642 for 
France, naming it after Louis XIV. Iberville 
ascended the Mississippi for 200 miles in 1699, 
but returned to the present site of Biloxi and 
established a fort and the first permanent set¬ 
tlement. Soon after Bienville, the governor of 
the colony, made a settlement at New Orleans, 
and John Law secured control of the colony in 
his Mississippi scheme about 1717. France 
ceded the territory to Spain in 1762, but again 
received title to it in 1800. It was Napoleon’s 
ambition to found a New France in America, 
but in 1803 he was induced to sell it to the 
United States. The Territory of Orleans was 
formed in 1804, and in 1812 it was admitted into 
the Union as the State of Louisiana. The final 
batttle of the War of 1812 was fought at New 
Orleans on Jan. 8, 1815, after peace had been 
made at Ghent, but before the news had reached 
America. From that time the development of 
the State made rapid strides, expanding agri¬ 
culture and manufacture, New Orleans becom¬ 
ing the most important cotton market and port 
of the South. 

On Jan. 26, 1861, the State seceded from the 
Union and cast its fortunes with the Confeder¬ 
acy. In the spring, on April 25, 1862, New Or¬ 
leans was captured by the United States forces. 
During the war it was an important point be¬ 
cause of the many engagements which occurred 
on the Mississippi River. After the war a car¬ 
pet-bag element harassed the State during the 
reconstruction period. The Fourteenth amend¬ 
ment to 1 the Federal Constitution was ratified in 
1877 and the construction of levees and river 
jetties began about the same time. The Louisi¬ 
ana State Lottery was abolished in 1891. In the 
past quarter of a century the State developed 
rapidly in every material line, building railroads, 
canals, cities, and educational institutions. 

LOUISIANA, a city of Pike County, Mis¬ 
souri, on the Mississippi River, 85 miles north¬ 
west of Saint Louis. It is on the Chicago and 


Alton and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 
railroads and has a good landing for steamboats. 
Among the chief buildings are the public library, 
the high school, and a number of churches. The 
manufactures embrace flour, tobacco, building 
stone, lumber, and earthenware. The surround¬ 
ing country is fruit growing and lumber pro¬ 
ducing. It has a large trade in grain and live 
stock. Population, 1900, 5,131; in 1910, 4,454. 

LOUISIANA PURCHASE, the most im¬ 
portant annexation made to the territory of the 
original thirteen states of the American Union. 
The purchase included a vast region extending 
from the Gulf of Mexico to the British posses¬ 
sions, west of the Mississippi River. Within its 
confines is included all the portion of the United 
States which is situated west of the Mississippi 
River, except Texas, California, a portion of 
Oregon, the Gadsden purchase from Mexico, the 
Mexican cession, and Alaska. It is now subdi¬ 
vided into thirteen states and embraces a popu¬ 
lation of nearly 20,000,000 people. The enter¬ 
prise of coming into possession of this vast re¬ 
gion was consummated by Thomas Jefferson, 
who appointed James Monroe as a minister to 
act with Robert R. Livingston at the French 
court. The treaty was signed April 30, 1803, 
and the stipulated price was $15,000,000, of 
which the sum of $3,750,000 represented claims 
of American citizens against France, which the 
United States agreed to assume. Livingston 
said regarding this purchase, “We have lived 
long, but this is the noblest work of our 
whole lives;” while Napoleon is quoted as say¬ 
ing, “I have just given to England a mari¬ 
time rival that will, sooner or later, humble her 
pride.” • 

LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSI¬ 
TION, an international exhibition of the United 
States, at Saint Louis, Mo., in 1904. It was 
held to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary 
of the purchase of Louisiana from France, 
which was consummated in 1803. The site in¬ 
cluded a tract of about 1,000 acres in the west 
part of the city, made up chiefly of Forest Park 
and the campus of Washington University. 
Forty-two states and many foreign nations were 
represented by buildings and exhibits of their 
arts and industries. The architecture of the 
buildings and the landscape gardening were ex¬ 
quisite in taste and effect, and both the grounds 
as a whole and the exhibits were never sur¬ 
passed in any of the great international exhibi¬ 
tions. Fifteen large exhibition buildings were 
erected by the management, including the beau¬ 
tiful structure known as the Cascades, and in 
addition there were the large building designed 
by the United States government and numerous 









LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY 1277 


LOUISVILLE 


structures erected by the several states and for¬ 
eign nations. The sunken gardens, the floral 
clock, the network of lakes, the exhibit of Phil¬ 
ippine life and products, the display of wireless 
telegraphy, the Ferris wheel, and the extensive 
display of electric machinery were among the 
notable features. The Pike was the popular 
amusement feature, similar to the Midway of the 
Columbian Exposition at Chicago. 

To promote the exposition and insure its suc¬ 
cess, a fund of $15,000,000 was pledged. This 
included a donation of $5,000,000 by the citizens 
of Saint Louis and equal amounts by the city of 
Saint Louis and by the United States govern¬ 
ment. An expenditure of $1,500,000 was made 
by Congress for the government exhibit and 
$1,000,000 for the Philippine exhibit. The build¬ 
ings erected by the several states cost about 
$7,000,000, and a like sum was expended in 
the construction of buildings by foreign na¬ 
tions. The receipts from all sources were re¬ 
ported at $10,162,380 and the attendance was 
18,741,073. 

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY 
AND AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANI- 
CAL COLLEGE, an institution of higher 
learning maintained by the State of Louisiana, 
at Baton Rouge. It was founded in 1855 as a 
State seminary and opened at Alexandria, La., 
in 1860 under the superintendency of William T. 
Sherman, who later became prominent as a 
Union general in the Civil War. The United 
States government granted the buildings and 
grounds at Baton Rouge, to which place it was 
removed in 1886. The courses include com¬ 
merce, literature, classics, general science, agri¬ 
culture, and mechanical and civil engineering. 
Associated with it are three experiment sta¬ 
tions, located at Baton Rouge, Calhoun, and 
New Orleans. It has a library of 25,000 vol¬ 
umes and is attended by 450 students. The en¬ 
dowment is $350,000, but a large part of the in¬ 
come is derived from the State and the Federal 
governments. 

LOUISVILLE (loo'is-vil), a commercial 
and railway city of Kentucky, county seat of 
Jefferson. County, on the Ohio River, about 400 
miles above its mouth and 130 miles southwest 
of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is on the Baltimore and 
Ohio Southwestern, the Louisville and Nash¬ 
ville, the Pennsylvania, the Illinois Central, the 
Southern, and the Chesapeake and Ohio rail¬ 
roads, connecting it with the principal commer¬ 
cial centers in the central part of the United 
States. A series of rapids characterize the Ohio 
at this place, hence a canal is maintained so 
steamboats may avoid the rapids at the time of 
low water. New Albany and Jeffersonville, both 


in Indiana, are connected with the city by three 
bridges, one of which is a mile in length. 

The city is located on a site fully 60 feet above 
high-water mark, hence is free from the danger 
of overflow. It extends along the river front a 
distance of about eight miles and includes an 
area of twenty square miles. The country in its 
vicinity is rich in coal, iron, timber, and agricul¬ 
tural resoiirces. It has regularly platted streets, 
many of which are paved with brick, asphalt, 
and granite, and the avenues are shaded with 
beautiful trees. The principal business estab¬ 
lishments are located at Jefferson, Main, Mar¬ 
ket, and Fourth streets, and on the intersecting 
streets from First to Sixteenth. Electric street 
railways furnish communication to all parts of 
the city, and the system is connected with lines 
penetrating long distances into the country. 

The rise of Louisville as a commercial center 
is due to its railway and river transportation fa¬ 
cilities, through which it has acquired a large 
jobbing and export trade. It has obtained vast 
benefits from its location in a region which is 
rich in mineral and agricultural resources. As 
a market for tobacco it takes rank as of first im¬ 
portance in North America. Having large 
slaughtering industries, it is a center of pork 
packing, much of the output being exported. It 
has large grain elevators and an extensive trade 
ift produce. Whisky and other spirituous liquors 
are manufactured extensively. Other manufac¬ 
tures include flour, leather, soap, ironware, ce¬ 
ment, boots and shoes, clothing, brass fittings, 
and machinery. 

The architecture is modern and substantial, 
which is evidenced by such structures as the 
city hall, the county courthouse, the Masonic 
Temple, the customhouse, the commerce build¬ 
ing, and the board of trade building. It has 
about 200 churches, representing all the leading 
denominations. They include the Episcopal 
Christ’s Church cathedral, the Broadway Bap¬ 
tist, the Roman Catholic cathedral, the Second 
Presbyterian, the Warren Memorial, the Church 
of the Messiah, and the Temple Adas Israel. It 
is the seat of the Polytechnic Society of Ken¬ 
tucky, which has a library of 52,500 volumes, 
and in connection with it are a museum and an 
art gallery. The public schools are well organ¬ 
ized and buildings ranging from the lower 
grades to the high school are maintained in the 
different parts of the city. Special instruction is 
promoted by a normal school, two 1 schools of 
pharmacy, a dental school, two law colleges, 
three seminaries, and nine medical colleges. It 
is the seat of the State school for the blind, 
with which is connected the American Printing 
House for the Blind. The public grounds em- 





LOUSE 


1278 


LOWELL 


brace about 1,200 acres, included principally in 
Cherokee, Iroquois, and Shanee parks. The city 
contains a monument to Confederate soldiers, 
the grave of Zachery Taylor, and statues of 
Thomas Jefferson and Henry Clay. Cave Hill 
Cemetery is one of the finest burial grounds. 

The first settlement on the site of Louisville 
was made in 1778, when Col. George Rogers 
Clarke and a number of others located near the 
Ohio Falls. The town had a population of 60 in 
1780, when it was incorporated and named 
Louisville in honor of Louis XVI. of France. 
At that time it was under the jurisdiction of 
Virginia. The Legislature of Kentucky granted 
it a charter as a city in 1824, since which time 
it has enjoyed a constant growth. A majority 
of the people sympathized with the Union dur¬ 
ing the Civil War. It was visited by a tornado 
in 1890, when property valued at $3,000,000 was 
destroyed. Population, 1910, 223,928. 

LOUSE, a parasitic bug of the suborder 
Parasita, which obtains food by sucking the 
blood of animals and the juices of plants. These 
insects are widely distributed and include many 
species. The common louse is the best known 
of the species that prey on man. It has a suc¬ 
torial mouth, simple eyes, little marks of differ¬ 
ence between the abdomen and thorax, and three 
pairs of legs attached to the segments of the 
thorax. The female is oviparous, producing 
eggs properly called nits. In five or six days 
the young are hatched, and after eighteen days 
they are capable of reproduction. Properly 
there are three species of lice parasitic on man 
under certain circumstances: the head, or com¬ 
mon louse; the body, or clothes louse; and the 
pubis, or crab louse. Many species of lice are 
parasitic on birds, bees, wasps, beetles, fishes, 
and plants. 

LOUVAIN (loo-van'), a city of Belgium, 
in the province of Brabant, eighteen miles east 
of Brussels. It is on the Dyle River and has 
steamboat facilities through the Louvain Canal. 
Among the noteworthy buildings are the Church 
of Saint Joseph, the Church of Saint Gertrude, 
the Union railway station, the athenaeum, the 
post office, and a noted university, containing a 
library of 250,000 volumes. This institution for¬ 
merly had an attendance of 6,000 students, but 
at present has less than 2,000. The manufac¬ 
tures include machinery, spirituous liquors, cot¬ 
ton and woolen goods, lace, leather, and musical 
instruments. Its numerous parks and gardens 
are decorated with fine sculptures. Some of the 
public buildings are among the finest in Europe. 
Louvain was the capital of Brabant in the 
14th century, when it had a population of 
200,000. Nearly half of the inhabitants died of 


the plague in the 16th century. Population, 1906, 
41,146. 

LOUVRE (loo'vr’), a celebrated palace in 
Paris, France, situated near the Seine River, 
near the central part of the city. The name 
properly is The Palace of the Louvre, which in¬ 
cludes an extensive group of buildings. The 
older portion of it was a royal residence of King 
Dagobert in 628. Louis XIV. enlarged and 
beautified the building. Napoleon I. com¬ 
menced the new Louvre, and Napoleon III. 
completed it in 1857. The palace has several 
wings and galleries, all of which are distin¬ 
guished for their elegance and sumptuous archi¬ 
tecture. The more ancient part is now used as 
a depository for rare specimens of paintings, 
sculptures, and antiquities from all countries 
and all ages. In connection with it is a large 
public library with the national archives at¬ 
tached. Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt and 
the Italian campaign added many valuable treas¬ 
ures to the already extensive collections in the 
Louvre. The only works admitted to its gal¬ 
leries are productions of deceased artists. In 
1871 the Communists committed serious injury 
to several portions of the palace, when about 
90,000 volumes of the imperial library in the 
Richelieu pavilion were destroyed. Baron 
Rothschild, in 1873, presented to the museum 
many relics discovered in the ruins of a temple 
of Apollo at Miletus. 

LOW ARCHIPELAGO, a group of coral 
islands in the'Pacific Ocean, located east of the 
Society Islands. They are sometimes called the 
Tuamotu Islands and are divided into a number 
of groups. The area is about 360 square miles. 
Fruits, pearls, and copra are the chief products. 
The islands have been a possession of France 
since 1844. Fakarava, the capital and principal 
port, is located on an island of the same name. 
Population, 1908, 7,125. 

LOWELL (lo'el), a city of Massachusetts, 
one of the county seats of Middlesex County, on 
the Merrimac River, 25 miles northwest of Bos¬ 
ton. It is on the Boston and Maine, the New 
York, New Haven and Hartford, and a number 
of electric railways. The site is hilly and the 
river has a fall of 33 feet, thus affording splen¬ 
did water power for manufacturing. About 
fourteen square miles are included in the .area 
of the city. The noteworthy buildings include 
the post office, the city hall, the Church of Saint 
Anne, the Lowell Textile School, the Saint 
John’s Hospital, the Theodore Edson Orphan¬ 
age, the State Normal School, and the public li¬ 
brary of 70,000 volumes. Other features include 
the Ladd-Whitney Monument, the Fort Hill 
Park, and Pawtucket Falls. 






LOYALTY ISLANDS 


1279 


LUCERNE 


Lowell is important as a commercial and man¬ 
ufacturing center. It is one of the largest pro¬ 
ducers of cotton and woolen goods in the world. 
Other manufactures include leather, machinery, 
engines, hardware, patent medicine, carriages, 
paper, clothing, carpets, and utensils. It has an 
extensive trade in manufactures and merchan¬ 
dise. Lowell was founded in 1822 and was 
named from Frances C. Lowell (1775-1817), a 
noted merchant and manufacturer. It was in¬ 
corporated as a town in 1826 and was chartered 
as a city in 1836. Population, 1910, 106,294. 

LOYALTY ISLANDS, a group of islands 
in the South Pacific, situated sixty miles east 
of New Caledonia. The area is 1,050 square 
miles. They are of coral formation and have a 
level surface. Among the products are cotton, 
cereals, live stock, and tropical fruits. The 
most important islands of the group include 
Lifu, Uea, and Mare. These islands have be¬ 
longed to France since 1864 and for the purpose 
of government are attached to New Caledonia. 
Population, 1906, 19,493. 

LUBECK (lii'bek), a free city of Germany, 
on the Trave River, 38 miles northeast of Ham¬ 
burg. The area included in the free territory is 
115 square miles. It has extensive railroad fa¬ 
cilities, well graded and paved streets, and sys¬ 
tems of waterworks and electric street railways. 
Among the chief buildings are the Church of 
Saint Mary, the Church of Saint Catharine, the 
public library, the Union railway station, and 
the post office. It is the seat of many hospitals 
and contains the Rathhaus in which the depu¬ 
ties of the Hanseatic League held their meet¬ 
ings. The manufactures include cotton and 
woolen goods, ironware, spirituous liquors, 
clothing, textiles, cigars, ships, and engines. It 
has an extensive import and export trade, es¬ 
pecially in fish, cereals, live stock, and mer¬ 
chandise. The Trave River has been deepened 
so as to permit the largest vessels to reach the 
city, though its harbor properly is at Trave- 
munde, sixteen miles down the river. Fully 98 
per cent, of the people are Protestants. The 
Saxons founded Lubeck in 1143, and, on ac¬ 
count of important privileges granted by the 
German emperors, it rose rapidly to commercial 
importance, being for many years at the head 
of the Hanseatic League. Frederick II. made 
it an imperial free city as early as 1226. The 
French captured it in 1806 and annexed it in 
1810, but in 1813 it recovered independence, and 
is now a constituent part of the German Empire. 
Population, 1905, 105,857. 

LUBLIN (lyoo'blyen), a city of Russian Po¬ 
land, capital of the government of Lublin, sixty 
miles southeast of Warsaw, on the Bistrzyca 


River. It has railroad facilities, good schools, 
and a large trade. The chief buildings include 
the Church of Saint Nicholas, the city hall, and 
several convents and monasteries. Among the 
manufactures are cotton and woolen goods, 
soap, machinery, and hardware. Many of the 
inhabitants are Jews. Population, 1906, 52,084. 

LUCCA (look'ka), a city of Italy, capital of 
a province of the same name, on a railway line, 
thirteen miles northeast of Pisa. In the sur¬ 
rounding country are fine farms and orchards, 
including plantations devoted to the culture of 
silk and olives. The manufactures include stuc¬ 
co, silk, musical instruments, and machinery. It 
has a large trade in silk goods, olive oil, fruits, 
and cereals. The city has several fine churches, 
among them the Cathedral of Saint ^lartin, be¬ 
gun in 1063, the Basilica San Ferdiano, and a 
number of fine educational institutions. The 
province of Lucca was made a principality by 
Napoleon, though it later passed to Spain, and in 
1847 was ceded to Tuscany. Population, 1906, 
76,109. 

LUCERNE (lu'sern), a deep-rooting peren¬ 
nial plant, cloverlike in appearance, cultivated 
extensively for fodder. It is native to the south¬ 
ern parts of Europe, but has been naturalized 
extensively in America and other grand divi¬ 
sions. The plant attains a height of from twelve 
to fourteen inches, growing quickly after being 
mown. It supplies forage early in the season, 
and is especially valuable in its ability to endure 
great droughts, causing it to be cultivated to a 
considerable extent in arid regions. See Alfalfa. 

LUCERNE (loo-sern'), a city of Switzer¬ 
land, capital of the canton of Lucerne, at the 
northwestern extremity of Lake Lucerne, on 
the Reuss River. It has good railroad connec¬ 
tions, modern municipal facilities, and a num¬ 
ber of excellent buildings. The chief buildings 
include the public library, the gymnasium, and 
the church known as Hofkircke. Among the 
manufactures are cotton, woolen, linen, and silk 
fabrics, gloves, carriages, musical instruments, 
and machinery. As a gathering place of sum¬ 
mer visitors and tourists it takes high rank, 
owing largely to its interesting scenery, includ¬ 
ing the Lucerne Lion, a figure of a lion hewn in 
1821 from the solid rock after a model furnished 
by Thorwaldsen. The Glacier Garden, a fine 
public resort, contains interesting formations 
caused by the action of ice, and in the vicinity 
are many scenic views in connection with the 
lake region. Population, 1907, 34,480. 

LUCERNE, Lake of, frequently called Lake 
of the Four Forest Cantons, a lake of Swit¬ 
zerland, surrounded by the cantons of Unter- 
walden, Schwyz, Lucerne, and Uri. It is 1,400 


LUCIA 


1280 


LUMBER 


feet above sea level. The shores are rocky and 
precipitous, the general form is irregular, and 
the scenery, as well as its historical associations, 
have been celebrated for many centuries. The 
length of the lake is about 22 miles, the breadth 
is two miles, and the area is 44 square miles. 
Steamboats navigate it, making it important 
commercially. On its shore are many harbors 
and beautiful villas. Near it are several im¬ 
portant cities. Many of the early historical as¬ 
sociations are connected with the name of Wil¬ 
liam Tell. Many thousands of tourists visit 
Lake of Lucerne during the summer. 

LUCIA (loo'sha), Saint, an island of the 
West Indies, belonging to Great Britain. The 
area is 233 square miles. It has much fertility 
and exports cocoa, sugar, rum, and tropical 
fruits. Castries is the capital and chief town. 
Population, 1906, 54,073. 

LUCIFER (lii'si-fer), an ancient name of 
Venus, applied when it was the morning star, 
as distinguished from Hesperus, the name given 
to it when it was an evening luminary. Early 
commentators mistook the reference made in 
Isaiah xiv., 12, to the kings of Babylon and 
ascribed the appellation to Satan. Lucifer is 
the name applied in Milton’s '‘Paradise Lost” 
to the archangel who fell from divine favor and 
lowered a part of the host of heaven to the in¬ 
fernal regions. 

LUCKNOW (luk'nou), a city of British In¬ 
dia, capital of the province of Oudh, on the 
Gumti River, 42 miles northeast of Cawnpore. 
It is surpassed in population only by Calcutta, 
Madras, and Bombay. Steamboats are able to 
reach the city by the Gumti River at all seasons. 
It has extensive railroad facilities, connecting it 
with all parts of India, and is the seat of a vast 
trade in farm produce and merchandise. The 
older part of the city has low houses constructed 
of mud and straw roofs. In the newer portions 
are many fine streets and numerous religious, 
educational, and government buildings. It is 
improved by many modern municipal facilities, 
such as telephones, waterworks, sewerage, and 
electric street railways. The early history is un-, 
known, since it was founded at a very early 
date, probably before any of the other great cit¬ 
ies of India. In 1857 it was the center of activ¬ 
ities during the Sepoy mutiny and its garrison 
was besieged by a large army of natives. In 
making the defense Sir Henry Wallace was 
slain, General Havelock died of dysentery, and 
permanent relief was not secured until in 1858, 
when Sir Colin Campbell entered the city with 
an English force and put an end to the mutiny. 
Population, 1906, 274,356. 

LUDINGTON (lud'ing-tun), a city in Mich¬ 


igan, county seat of Mason County, on Lake 
Michigan, where it is entered by the Pere Mar¬ 
quette River. It is on the Pere Marquette and 
other railroads and has direct communication by 
steamboats with the principal ports on the Great 
Lakes. The surrounding country is rich in the 
production of fruits, salt, and lumber. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are the county court¬ 
house, the high school, the public library, and 
many churches. The manufactures include iron¬ 
ware, carriages, cigars, lumber products, furni¬ 
ture, and machinery. The city has modern? fa¬ 
cilities, including electric lights, waterworks, and 
sewerage. It was settled in 1851 and incorpor¬ 
ated in 1874. Population, 1910, 9,132. 

LUDWIGSHAFEN (loot'vigs-ha-fen), a 
city of Germany, in the Rhine Palatinate, Ba¬ 
varia. It is located on the Rhine, opposite 
Mannheim, with which it is connected by rail¬ 
way and electric lines. The harbor is extensive 
and well improved. It has manufactures of vin¬ 
egar, flour, chemicals, fertilizers, and machinery. 
Formerly it was of little commercial impor¬ 
tance, but the development of manufacturing en¬ 
terprises has caused its rapid growth. It was 
founded by Louis I. of Bavaria in 1843, and was 
made a city in 1859. Population, 1905, 72,286. 

LUMBAGO (lum-ba'go), the form of rheu¬ 
matism that affects the muscles of the loins. It 
sometimes extends to the ligaments underneath 
the muscles, and often occasions sudden and 
severe pain to the person afflicted. 

LUMBER, the name applied to split or sawed 
timber, such as boards, beams, joists, planks, 
lath, and shingles. Usually logs and telegraph 
poles are included in the term lumber, and places 
where these products are kept for sale are 
known as lumber yards. Canada and the United 
States are at present the leading lumber-pro¬ 
ducing countries. Other countries where tim¬ 
ber and lumber products are obtained in large 
quantities include France, Germany, Russia, 
China, India, and the equatorial regions of Af¬ 
rica. 

Lumber has been an export of Canada since 
an early date in its history. It is said that the 
first shipload of lumber was transported from 
Canada to Europe in 1667, and shipbuilding be¬ 
gan on a small scale about that time at Quebec. 
Stringent regulations were issued for the pres¬ 
ervation of timber in Canada, and a large area 
of the forests are included in the Canadian tim¬ 
ber preserves. It is estimated that 800,000,000 
acres of woodland are in existence in that coun¬ 
try, but probably not more than half of this 
area may be considered forest land fit for tim¬ 
ber production. The valuable forest lands are 
located in Quebec, Nova Scotia New Bruns- 



LUMPFISH 


1281 


LUNGS 


wick, Ontario, British Columbia, and in a belt 
extending across the north of the continent from 
Labrador to Alaska. The value of the annual 
output in Canada is placed at $135,000,000. 

Originally the United States had the largest 
and most valuable forest area of North America, 
and the value of the lumber produced at present 
is larger than that of any country in the world. 
Extensive forests extend through many of the 
states in the south, especially those bordering on 
the Mississippi. Another large' forest area is 
located in the vicinity of the Great Lakes, in 
the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minne¬ 
sota, and productive lumber regions abound in 
Maine. Forests of more or less commercial 
value are found in all the highlands of the west, 
but those of largest size and greatest value are 
in Oregon, Washington, and the northern part 
of California. In the value of the output the 
lumber industry takes rank as the fourth enter¬ 
prise in the United States. The annual produc¬ 
tion has a value of $565,500,000. In recent years 
the tendency has been for lumber products to 
increase in value, owing to the supply becoming 
more limited, or the larger tracts of timber be¬ 
ing purchased by large investors. There has 
been a constant increase in the importation of 
wood and its products from Canada, which 
average annually about $25,500,000. See For¬ 
est. 

LUMPFISH, or Lumpsucker, a fish found 
in the Atlantic Ocean, chiefly along the coast 
northward from New York in America and from 
France in Europe. It is so named from its awk¬ 
ward shape. The back is characterized by an 
elevated ridge, which is notched quite like the 
I comb of a cock. Bony tubercles cover the body 
and the ventral fins are formed into a sucker, 
enabling it to cling firmly to any solid substance. 
The color becom.es brilliant crimson at the 
I spawning season, though usually it is of a dull 
lead color. The lumpfish deposits its eggs in an 
improvised nest and hovers near to protect them 
against enemies. It is caught for its flesh, 

! though it is quite soft and oily and not highly 
esteemed. 

LUMP JAW, or Lumpy Jaw, a dangerous 
disease of cattle, due to fungi found on grasses 
! and some of the cereals. It usually makes its 
appearance on the lower jaw, which is affected 
more or less by swellings, though other parts 
of the body are sometimes the seat of the dis¬ 
ease. A single fungus may penetrate the gums 
and cause the disease, which is attended by ir¬ 
ritation, abnormal growths, and tumors or ab- 
* scesses. Lancing or removing the tumors at an 
early stage and treating the seat of the disease 
with iodine and iodide of potash constitute the 
81 


usual remedies, but unless skillful treatment is 
applied the disease is usually fatal. 

LUNACY (lu'na-sy), a term applied to per¬ 
sons born sane, but who have from some cause 
fallen into temporary or permanent aberration 
of intellect. Lunatics possess a brain of so little 
circumference that they are never capable of 
exercising much reason. Lunacy is distinguished 
from idiocy in that the latter is a designation of 
persons born with unsoundness of mind. See 
Insanity. 

LUNAR THEORY, the deduction of the 
moon’s motion from the law of gravitation, man¬ 
ifested in the attraction of the sun and planets. 
None of the heavenly bodies, except the sun, 
disturbs the moon to a considerable extent in its 
orbit. However, they affect the earth in this 
respect, and so in an indirect way influence the 
moon. 

LUNDY’S LANE, the seat of an important 
battle near Niagara Falls, in Canada, fought in 
the War of 1812. The British had been, de¬ 
feated at Chippewa and General Drummond was 
sent forward to meet the Americans under Gen. 
Jacob Brown, but the latter dispatched General 
Scott to menace the forts on the Niagara River. 
On July 24, 1814, General Scott came in contact 
with the British forces under General Riall on a 
hill near Lundy’s Lane, and sent Major Jesup 
forward to make a flank movement at the Brit¬ 
ish rear, while Scott engaged the enemy. Ac¬ 
tion continued from the middle of the afternoon 
until midnight, the British troops being repulsed 
early in the engagement, but the American gen¬ 
erals, Scott and Brown, were wounded, when 
the command devolved upon General Ripley. 
The latter withdrew from the field, and it was 
again possessed by the British on the following 
day. The Americans lost 850 men, while the 
British loss was near 900. 

LUNGS, the organs for aerial respiration, sit¬ 
uated in the thorax, on each side of the heart. 
In man the lungs are conical, with the base rest¬ 
ing on the diaphragm and the trachea extending 
above the collar bone. They consist of two 
lobes, separated by a deep fissure, the right be¬ 
ing somewhat larger on account of having a 
third lobe of triangular shape above and also 
because the heart lies toward the left side. The 
lungs are composed of honeycomblike cells to 
which air passes by means of the bronchial 
tubes, these being formed by divisions of the 
trachea, and at the upper part of the trachea is 
the larynx. Within the lungs are ramifications 
of the pulmonary artery and veins, bron¬ 
chial arteries and veins, lymphatics, and 
nerves, the whole being bound together by 
fibrous tissue. Each lung is enclosed in a serous 




LUNGS 


1282 


LUTE 


membrane, the pleura, which extends to its 
roots, and is then expanded on the chest wall. 
All mammals, reptiles, birds, and some amphibi¬ 
ans possess lungs, while in the lowest and sim¬ 
plest forms of animal life there are no traces of 
respiratory organs, equivalent action taking 
place by cilia or by the general movement of the 
body. Most mollusks possess gills in the place 
of lungs. Fishes sustain life by gills, though 
many have an air bladder. Animals which ap¬ 
proach the reptiles in form have a well-devel¬ 


oped sac, in many of which it takes on a double 
form analogous to the double lung. 

The important function of the lungs is to 
bring the blood in contact with the air for the 
purpose of purifying it. In this process the air 
gives up its oxygen to the blood in the delicate 
cells in the lungs, and in turn receives water and 
carbonic acid gas that have become foul with 
waste matter, accumulated by the blood in cir¬ 
culating through the body. The air exhaled 
carries off these impurities, while the purified 
blood bounds through the system and carries 
the inspiring oxygen to the different organs. 
Several acute and chronic diseases affect the 
lungs, among them pneumonia, a form of in¬ 


flammation, and consumption. See Respira- - 

tion; Circulation. 

LUNGWORT (lung'wort), the name of a 
herb native to Europe and North America. It 
is cultivated for its tubular or trumpet-shaped 
flowers. The leaves are ovate and the flowers 
have a bright blue color. The name is likewise 
applied to a lichen of the Northern Hemisphere, 
which is used to some extent in treating dis¬ 
eases of the lungs. 

LUPERCALIA (lu-per-ka li-a), a festival of 
ancient Rome, celebrated annually on 
Feb. 15 in honor of Lupercus, the god 
of fertility. It is related that the fes¬ 
tival was celebrated at the Lupercal, a 
cave on the Palatine Hill, and that 
sacrifices of the first fruits of the last 
harvest were offered. Later the sacri¬ 
fices consisted of goats, and two youths, 
known as the Luperci, clothed in goat 
skins, ran through the streets, striking 
those they met with thongs made of the 
skins of the slaughtered animals. These 
ceremonies were supposed to induce fer¬ 
tility. 

LURAY (lu-ra'), a town and the 
county seat of Page County, Virginia, 
in a fertile valley of the South Fork 
of the Shenandoah, 77 miles west of 
Washington. It has woolen factories, 
mills, a tannery, an academy, and two 
seminaries. Near it is the celebrated 
Luray Cave, remarkable for its peculiar 
-stalactites, many of which are fifty feet 
long. Hundreds of lakes are in the 
cave, varying in size from a few to fifty 
feet in diameter, and from six to fifteen 
feet in depth. The exact size of the 
cave is not known, but there are various 
chambers of large size and irregular out¬ 
line, many of them having a height of 
260 feet. It has a temperature of about 
54° Fahr. The air is pure and por¬ 
tions are lighted by electricity, thus forming a 
favorite attraction for thousands of visitors 
annually. The population of Luray, in 1900, 
was 1,146. 

LUTE, a stringed musical instrument which 
somewhat resembles a guitar. Formerly it was 
popular throughout Europe. It was introduced 
into Western Europe by the Arabians, who used 
it in the performance of solos and duets and for 
accompaniments. Its antiquity is attested by 
representations on Egyptian tombs and sculpture. 
Originally the lute had five or six pairs of 
strings, each pair tuned in unison or octave, but 
later the strings were increased to 24 in order 
to accommodate the lute to the chromatic scale. 









LUTHERANS 


1283 


LYCEUM 


The music is produced by striking the strings 
with the fingers of the right hand and stopping 
them on the frets with those of the left. 

LUTHERANS (lu’ther-anz), a body of 
Christians that adopted the principles of Martin 
Luther, and who constitute numerically the 
largest Protestant organization in the world. 
The two principal branches are designated as 
Evangelical and Reformed, the former holding 
closely to the teachings of Luther, while the 
latter constitutes a branch separated from the 
main body under Calvin. The largest number of 
adherents to Lutheran tenets are in Germany, 
Sweden, the United States, Holland, Switzer¬ 
land, Austria, Norway, Denmark, and Russia, 
but there are branch organizations in all parts 
of the civilized world. The first Lutheran im¬ 
migrants to America came from Holland and 
settled at New Amsterdam in 1624. Large 
numbers came from Sweden in 1637, from Ger¬ 
many in 1680, and Switzerland in 1734. In 1908 
there were 265 ministers and 42,548 communi¬ 
cants of the Lutheran Church in Canada. In 
the same year the denomination" had 8,348 
churches and 2,450,380 communicants in the 
United States, while all of the Lutheran popula¬ 
tion, including several allied branches, was 
6,842,590. They maintain 120 institutions of 
higher learning, support extensive missionary 
operations, and are grouped in sixteen independ¬ 
ent synods. Among the important societies are 
the Luther League, Women’s Societies, Walther 
League, and Christian Endeavor Associations. 
The chief Lutheran institutions in America are 
in Saint Louis, Mo., Fort Wayne, Ind., Spring- 
field, Ill., Saint Paul, Minn., Milwaukee, Wis., 
and Neperan, N. Y. 

LUTZEN (lii'tsen), a town of Germany, in. 
Prussian Saxony, celebrated because of two his¬ 
toric battles fought within its proximity. The 
first was between the Swedes under Gustavus 
Adolphus and the imperialists under Wallen¬ 
stein in 1632, in which the former were vic¬ 
torious. The other occurred between the allied 
German and Russian forces against Napoleon 
on May 2,1813, in which the victory was claimed 
on both sides. In this battle the French lost 
12,000 men and the allies lost 10,000. 

LUXEMBOURG (luks-an-boor'), the name 
of a celebrated palace in the southern part of 
Paris, in the Rue de Vaugirard. It was built 
for Maria de’ Medici in the early part of the 
17th century and was designed to resemble her 
former home in Florence, the Pitti Palace. Sub¬ 
sequently it was greatly changed and enlarged, 
was destroyed by fire in 1859, and later was re¬ 
built. In 1879 it was made the meeting place of 
the Senate of France, though formerly it con¬ 


tained a famous picture gallery. The latter was 
removed to a neighboring building. It includes 
24 scenes in the life of Maria de’ Medici painted 
by Rubens. The collection is known as the 
Musee du Luxembourg and is considered the 
imost important accumulation of sculptures and 
paintings in the world. The walls of Luxem¬ 
bourg Palace are beautified by fine ceiling dec¬ 
orations. The gardens of the Luxembourg, 
noted as the most beautiful in France, comprise 
a large public park. 

LUXEMBURG (luks'em-burg), a grand 
duchy of Europe, surrounded by Germany, 
France, and Belgium. It was under the sov¬ 
ereignty of King William III. of Prussia until 
his death in 1888, when it passed to Adolph, 
Duke of Nassau. The area is 998 square miles. 
Luxemburg is the capital, a city of 31,225 inhab¬ 
itants. The soil is fertile and well adapted to 
agriculture. Most of the drainage is by a num¬ 
ber of streams into the Moselle. The govern¬ 
ment is constitutional, the duke being assisted 
by a chamber of deputies of 45 members, who 
are chosen by direct vote. For commercial pur¬ 
poses it is united with the German Zollverein. 
The language is German and the religion is 
largely Catholic. Population, 1908, 241,453. 

LUZON (loo-zon'), the largest and most 
northerly island of the Philippines. The area, 
including several dependent islands, is 44,235 
square miles. It has a fertile soil, vast forests 
of valuable timber, and a number of mountain 
ranges. Mount Mayon, the highest peak, has an 
altitude of 7,566 feet. The general contour is 
very irregular, especially in the southern part, 
which has many important bays and excellent 
harbors. Among the principal lakes are Laguna 
Bay and Laguna de Taal, both in the southern 
part of the island. The chief streams are the 
Pampanga, Agno, Abra, Cagayan, and Pasig 
rivers. It has extensive productions of manila 
hemp, rice, sugar, tobacco, ginger, coffee, pep¬ 
per, and many varieties of fruits. The domestic 
animals include cattle, horses, buffalo, sheep, 
and swine. Several railway lines are operated, 
connecting Manila, the capital, with interior and 
coast points. In 1903 the population, including 
several adjacent islands, was 3,798,507. See 
Philippines. 

LYCEUM (li-se'um), the principal gymna¬ 
sium of Athens, dedicated to Apollo Lyceus, 
whence its name. It was situated in the eastern 
part of the city and was surrounded with lofty 
plane trees. Aristotle and his disciples taught 
in the Lyceum, who, from their habit of walk¬ 
ing while delivering their lectures, were called 
Peripatetics. In modern times the name lyceum 
came to be applied to schools, for young men 



LYCIA 


1284 


LYNCH LAW 


and to organizations which maintain popular or 
technical lecture courses. 

LYCIA (lish'i-a), an ancient country of Asia 
Minor, located south of Phrygia and west of 
Pamphylia. The region was colonized at an 
early period by the Greeks, who long maintained 
the independence of their territory. They 
formed a league of cities, including Patara, 
Xanthus, Myra, and Olympus. In the 6th cen¬ 
tury b. c. the Lycians were conquered by Persia 
and subsequently passed under the dominion of 
Macedonia. Later the country belonged to 
Egypt, Syria, Rome, and Turkey, and through¬ 
out the early history of Christianity it had no 
importance. 

LYDDITE (lid'it), a modern high explosive, 
so named from its manufacture at Lydd, Wales, 
where the first experiments were made with it. 
The first use of lyddite in warfare was by the 
British in the war with the Boers in 1899-1901. 
Its method of manufacture has been kept a se- 
. cret, but it is thought to consist of picric acid 
brought to a dense form by fusion and poured 
into shells in a liquid state. Though formerly 
restricted in use to five-inch howitzer guns, it is 
now employed in the larger fort and naval ord¬ 
nance. When fired, the picric acid causes a 
dense fume of yellowish-green gas, and it is 
somewhat objectionable on account of requiring 
a primer. 

LYDIA (lid'i-a), an ancient country of Asia 
Minor, surrounded by Phrygia, Mysia, Ionia, 
and Caria, originally inhabited by a people called 
Maeonians. About 720 b. c. the Lydians occu¬ 
pied the country and developed a large interior 
commerce. Their greatest prosperity was 
reached in the period included between the 
years 716 b. c. and 546 b. c., but their king, 
Croesus, was conquered in the latter year by 
Cyrus of Persia. It is claimed that the Lydians 
were the inventors of musical instruments, of 
the art of coining money, and of wool dyeing, 
and that they discovered the art of working in 
ore. Sardis was the capital and after the Per¬ 
sian invasion became the seat of government of 
the western part of the empire, remaining such 
until its conquest by the Athenians. 

LYMPH (limf), a colorless fluid found in 
the lymphatic vessels. It is nearly transparent, 
has a saltish taste, and may be said to be blood 
with a somewhat different kind of corpuscles. 
See Lymphatic System. 

LYMPHATIC SYSTEM (lhn-fat'ik), the 
system in animals that absorbs lymph from the 
various organs and tissues, and conveys it by 
the lymphatic vessels toward the heart. It in¬ 
cludes the lymphatic vessels, the glands, and the 
lacteals. The lymphatic vessels are delicate 
tubes of nearly uniform size, have a knotty ap¬ 


pearance, and occur in every texture and organ 
of the body. The lymphatic glands vary in size 
from a hemp seed to an almond, are round and 
oval in form, and are made up of adenoid tissue. 
They occur in the course of the lymphatic ves¬ 
sels and the lacteals, and may be noticed partic¬ 
ularly near the large blood vessels, in the arm- 
pits, and in the neck. The lymph is a clear, 
colorless, alkaline fluid, consisting of a plasma 
resembling that of the blood and of corpuscles 
like the white blood corpuscles, but the coloring 
matter of the blood is wanting. After bemg‘ab¬ 
sorbed from the different tissues and organs, it 
is conducted to the general blood current. The 
lymphatics of the right thorax, the right arm, 
and the right side and neck convey their con¬ 
tents to the right lymphatic duct, and those of 
the rest of the body into the thoracic duct. 

The lacteals serve to absorb chyle from the 
small intestines, which is elaborated in the lym¬ 
phatic glands, and afterward carried to the tho¬ 
racic duct. The important function of the sys¬ 
tem is to retain and elaborate portions of the 
waste matter of the body and render them suit¬ 
able for further use. They likewise absorb the 
poison of disease and produce the phenomena of 
absorption of the skin. After an excess of mat¬ 
ter is deposited to fill up a breach in the body, as 
in an open wound, it is removed to other parts of 
the body by the lymphatics. Hibernating ani¬ 
mals are supported during the winter by the fat 
which the absorbents carry into the circulation 
from the extra supply accumulated during the 
summer. In sickness a man unconsciously con¬ 
sumes his own flesh through the activity of the 
lymphatics. 

LYNCHBURG (linch'burg), a city of Vir¬ 
ginia, in Campbell County, on the James River, 
123 miles west of Richmond. It is on the 
Southern, the Norfolk and Western, and the 
Chesapeake and Ohio railroads, and is sur¬ 
rounded by a fertile farming country. Among 
the noteworthy buildings are the public library, 
the high school, the Miller Female Orphan Asy¬ 
lum, and the Randolph Macon Women’s Col¬ 
lege. It has manufactures of furniture, tobacco, 
ironware, flour, lumber products, machinery, cot¬ 
ton goods, and utensils. Extensive stone quar¬ 
ries and iron and coal mines are worked in the 
vicinity. It has systems of pavements, water¬ 
works, sewerage, and electric street railways. 
An abundance of water power for manufactur¬ 
ing is obtained from the river. It was settled 
in 1786 and incorporated in 1823. Population, 
1900, 18,893; in 1910, 29,494. 

LYNCH LAW, the summary infliction of 
punishment by an informal and self-appointed 
body of men, who act as an extemporized court. 
It is used to designate such punishment either 




LYNN 


1285 


LYRE 


with no trial at all or after trial by a court of 
law. The term is thought to have originated 
from James Lynch, mayor of Galway, Ireland, 
who sentenced his son to death for murder 
about 1526, and to prevent a resque by a b^tnd of 
• men executed him by his own hands without due 
process of law. The term became of common 
application in the United States from a Virginia 
planter named Charles Lynch, who acted with a 
number of associates to punish summarily Tories 
and British sympathizers. Lynch-law executions 
in the United States are about twice as numer¬ 
ous as legal ones. 

LYNN (lin), a city of Massachusetts, in 
Essex County, on Massachusetts Bay, ten miles 
northeast of Boston. It is on the Boston and 
Maine and the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn 
railroads. The harbor is comparatively shallow, 
but it has a shore line of three miles. The chief 
buildings include the public library, the city hall, 
the Lynn Home for Aged Women, the Lynn 
Hospital, and many schools and churches. For¬ 
est Park, Lynn Beach, and a soldiers’ monument 
are other features. Lynn is noted particularly 
for the extensive output of boots and shoes. 
Other manufactures include electrical apparatus, 
clot*hing, machine^, agricultural implements, 
ironware, and fabrics. The city has all modern 
municipal facilities, including an extensive elec¬ 
tric street railway system, waterworks, sewerage, 
and stone and macadam pavements. It was first 
settled in 1629, when it was known as Saugus, 
and the present name was adopted in 1637. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1905, 77,025; in 1910, 89,336. 

LYNX (links), a mammal of the cat family. 
It is characteried by ears that are tufted at the 
tips, a short tail, long fur, and comparatively 
long limbs. The name is given to several spe¬ 
cies of animals, most of which are larger than 
the true cats. They are light brown in color, 
with spots of black, and are fierce and savage in 
preying upon poultry, sheep, and other quadru¬ 
peds. In the common lynx the body is nearly 
three feet long and about twenty inches high at 
the shoulders, and the weight is from sixteen to 
twenty pounds. The eyes are brilliant and the 
sight is keen, enabling them to lurk about safely 
at night. Lynxes are found in America, Europe, 
and in other grand divisions. Several species 
are utilized in hunting, for which purpose they 
are domesticated. 

LYONS (le-on'), the third largest city of 
France, on the confluence of the Saone and 
. Rhone Rivers, in the department of the Rhone, 
240 miles southeast of Paris. The rivers divide 
the city into three parts, which are connected by 
many stone and steel bridges. It is noted as a 
railroad qenter, has a good river port, and is 
the center of a large commerce. The municipal 


facilities are modern, including electric street 
railways, several parks, city waterworks, and a 
fine public library of 125,000 volumes. It is 
strongly fortified. A system of canals connects 
it with various trade centers. The manufactures 
consist chiefly of cotton, woolen, and silk goods, 
drugs, hats, jewelry, lace, machinery, earthen¬ 
ware, furniture, tobacco, and spirituous liquors. 

Lyons is generally well built and has bread 
and well-paved streets. Electric street railways 
furnish intercommunication. The noteworthy 
buildings include the Cathedral of Saint Jean, 
the Hotel-de-Ville, the Church of Notre Dame, 
the Palais des Arts, the Grand Theatre, the 
Church of Saint Martin, the Gothic Church of 



LYNX. 


Saint Nizier, and the Palais de Justice. The 
University of Lyons, with an attendance of 
2,650, 'ranks next to that of Paris. Lyons was 
founded in the year 43 b. c. by the Romans. It 
became the capital of a Roman province about 
the beginning of the Christian era, and in the 
Revolution of 1789 was enthusiastic in the com¬ 
mon cause, but suffered greatly during the con¬ 
flict. It is noted as one of the fashionable cen¬ 
ters of France. Population, 1906, 472,114. 

LYONS (le-on'), Gulf of, a bay on the 
southeastern coast of France. It receives the 
water from the Herault, Rhone, and Aude riv¬ 
ers. On its shore are many ports, including 
those of Marseilles, Toulon, and Cette. It is 
the seat of an active, commerce. Gales are not 
uncommon and, owing to their fury, it is said to 
have been named from the lion. 

•LYRE (Hr), a stringed instrument of the 
harp class. It has been used from remote time. 
The invention of the lyre is ascribed to the Gre¬ 
cian Hermes, w'ho is spoken of by Homer in 
that regard, and he is credited with giving it to 
Apollo, who was the first to play upon it with 
method as an accompaniment to poetry. The 
lyre was used by the early Assyrians, Baby- 









LYRE BIRD 


1286 


LYSIMACHIA 


lonians, Egyptians, and Semitics. At first this 
instrument had three strings, but the number 
was increased to seven, later to eleven, and 
finally to sixteen. This became necessary as the 
number of sounds cannot be greater than the 
number of strings. In playing the performer 
uses a lyre stick of polished wood or ivory, 
though some operate solely with the finger. The 
instrument has two hornlike pieces, with a 
crossbar at the upper ends, from which the 
strings are stretched to the lower parts. As a 
means of increasing the sound, the principal por¬ 
tions of the lyre are hollow. In modern times 
the lyre has gone largely out of use, but is still 
employed by pastoral people of Europe, Asia, 
and Africa. Lyric poetry was so named from 
the lyre, since it is the instrument used early as 
an accompaniment to that class of poetry. 

LYRE BIRD, a genus of birds common to 
Australia and New South Wales. The body is 
not as large as that of a pheasant. It has a 



brownish-black color above and is grayish-brown 
below. The male is remarkable for having six¬ 
teen tail feathers arranged in a lyre-shaped 
form, whence the name. Lyre birds are shy 
and solitary, running rapidly at the approach of 
danger, and are the largest of all song birds. 
They are noted for their peculiar ability to imi¬ 
tate the sounds of animals and the voices of 
other songsters. They are fast decreasing in 


number and their acclimation in countries for¬ 
eign to their nativity thus far has failed." The 
eggs are two in number. Lyre birds feed on 
worms, beetles, and bugs, for which they scratch 
in the.ground. Only three species are included 
in the genus, of which the common lyre bird 
and the rasorial lyre bird are the best known. 

LYRIC POETRY (lir'ik), a term which 
was originally applied to poems intended to be 
sung to the accompaniment of the lyre or harp, 
but now used to designate that form of poetry 
whose object is to give expression of thought as 
influenced by emotion. Among the various 
forms of lyric poetry are the sonnet and elegy, 
now t not set to music, and the song, hymn, ode, 
and psalm, which imply a musical setting. Lyric 
is distinguished from epic poetry in that action 
is essential to the latter. 

Lyric poetry may be said to have originated 
before the time of Christ. It inspired the Greeks 
and Spartans to march to battle, engaged the 
ingenuity of Horace and Ovid, and was an ele¬ 
ment of inspiration to the shepherds of the Mid¬ 
dle Ages. The patriotic songs and love poems 
of Walther von der Vogelweide gave way in 
Germany-to the purely lyric poems of the 14th 
century. Among the famous English lyrics are 
Shelley’s “Clouds,” Milton’s “L’Allegro,” Ten¬ 
nyson’s “Tears, Idle Tears,” and Burns’s “High¬ 
land Mary.” Holmes’s “Chambered Nautilus” 
and Longfellow’s * “Hymn to the Night” are 
among the American lyric poems. Below is the 
beautiful "lyric poem “Break, Break, Break” of 
Tennyson: 

Break, break, break 
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! 

And I would that my tongue could utter 
The thoughts that arise in me. 

O well for the fisherman’s boy. 

That he shouts with his sister at play! 

O well for the sailor-lad. 

That he sings in his boat on the bay! 

And the stately ships go on 
To their haven under the hill; 

But O for the touch of a vanished hand 
And the sound of a voice that is still! 

Break, break, break 
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea! 

But the tender grace of a day that is dead 
Will never come back to me. 

LYSIMACHIA (li-si-mak'i-a), a genus of 
plants of the primrose family. The species are 
widely distributed, but only a limited number 
are native to North America. The moneywort, 
which is cultivated in gardens, is a trailing vine 
with roundish leaves and bright yellow flowers. 
It is well fitted for covering rocks, and is used 
extensively as a plant for hanging baskets. Sev¬ 
eral species are known as the loosestrifes, which 
have large showy flowers and are cultivated as 
border plants in gardens. 







MACAW 


M, the tenth consonant and thirteenth letter 
of the English alphabet. In form it came from 
the Phoenician through the Greek and Latin 
with but little change. It has a labial and nasal 
articulation and is classed among the liquids. In 
the English it has but one sound, as in much, 
man, and time, but in some languages it indi¬ 
cates that the vowel before it is to be pro¬ 
nounced with nasal resonance. In the Roman 
notation M denotes 1,000, and when written with 
a dash over it (M), 1,000,000. 

MAB, a mythical personage who was made 
queen of the fairies by Shelley in his “Queen 
Mab.” She is likewise mentioned by other po¬ 
ets, including Ben Jonson and Shakespeare. In 
Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” the mis¬ 
chievous ways of Queen Mab are described, 
but, according to that writer, the office of Mab 
properly belongs to Titania, the wife of Oberon 
Titania. 

McALL MISSION, a Protestant mission in¬ 
stituted in France by Robert Whitaker McAll 
(1821-1893) in 1871, which is the largest of its 
kind in that country. The founder of this move¬ 
ment was born in Macclesfield, England, Dec. 17, 
1821; died May 11, 1893. He was aided in the 
enterprise by his wife, the two visiting the la¬ 
boring classes, establishing stations, and distrib¬ 
uting literature. The workers engaged are 
largely French, but there are many persons of 
other nationalities connected with it. About 
$50,000 is contributed annually by the people of 
the United States to this enterprise. 

MACAO (ma-ka'o), a seaport city of China, 
near the mouth of the Canton River, forty miles 
west of Hongkong. It is inhabited chiefly by 
Portuguese. The site is partly on an irregular 
tableland and partly on a small peninsula. A 
number of forts are located near its harbor, and 
a lighthouse 330 feet high is within the walls 
of one of the forts. The chief buildings include 


a cathedral, several hospitals, and a number of 
schools and charitable institutions. It has a 
large trade in tea and rice, but its commercial 
importance has been lessened by the rapid 
growth of Hongkong. The Portuguese made 
the first settlement at Macao in 1577, but it re¬ 
mained Chinese territory until 1887, when it 
was made- a Portuguese colony by treaty. A 
number of modern improvements, such as elec¬ 
tric lighting and tramways, are maintained. 
Population, 1908, 78,650. 

MACARONI (mak-a-ro'nT), an article of 
food composed of the dough of fine wheat flour, 
usually made into tubes one-eighth of an inch 
in diameter and about eighteen inches long. The 
smaller sticks, although made of the same ma¬ 
terial, are known as spaghetti or vermicelli. It 
is prepared most extensively in Italy and 
France, but the manufactures of Canada and 
the United States are steadily growing in im¬ 
portance.- Machinery is used in the American 
manufactures for the purpose of kneading the 
dough and also for pressing it into sticks. 
Macaroni is sold in the market packed in boxes. 
It is a wholesome food and is used princi¬ 
pally in the preparation of broth, soup, and 
pudding. 

MACASSAR (ma-kas'sar), a strait of the 
Pacific, extending a distance of 375 miles be¬ 
tween Borneo and Celebes, and connecting the 
Java Sea with the Celebes Sea. It is about fifty 
miles wide at the northeastern point, and, as it 
extends toward the southwest, it widens to a 
breadth of from 100 to 140 miles. 

MACAW (ma-ka'), a genus of birds found 
in tropical South America, remarkable for their 
size and the beauty of their plumage. They 
range as far north as Mexico. The macaws be¬ 
long to the parrot tribe. They may be taught 
to articulate a few words, but have a harsh and 
disagreeable cry. The species are designated a§ 


1287 



















MACCABEES 


1288 


McGILL UNIVERSITY 


red and blue macaw, blue and yellow macaw, 
and gray-green macaw. The red and blue ma¬ 
caw attains a length of forty inches, the tail 
measuring about twenty inches. These birds 
have two broods of young in the year. 

MACCABEES (mak'ka-bez), in Jewish his¬ 
tory, a name applied to a patriotic family of 
Hebrews who resisted with remarkable patriot¬ 
ism the persecutions of Antiochus IV., Epiph- 
anes, a Syrian king. Mattathias was the orig¬ 
inal of the Maccabees, and the term became 
commonly applied to his descendants. It is re¬ 
counted that Antiochus was expelled from Egypt 
by the Romans, after which he made a vigorous 
attempt to put down the Jewish worship. He 
endeavored to induce the aged Mattathias, priest 
of Modin, to adopt the Greek gods and the 
Grecian mode of offering sacrifices. The mes¬ 
senger sent by the king with bribes was slain by 
Mattathias, and, aided by his five sons, he de¬ 
stroyed the Grecian idols and escaped with their 
possessions to the mountains. From their 
mountain resort they went -forth periodically 
to restore the faith in Jehovah, but -Mattathias 
died in 166 b. c. In the following year his son 
Judas gathered a number of patriots and recon¬ 
quered Jerusalem, purified the temple, and in¬ 
stituted the Feast of Decoration, a memorial 
held annually in succeeding years. A Macca- 
bean dynasty ruled over Jerusalem about a cen¬ 
tury, the last scion of the house being Hyrcanus, 
whom Herod the Great, slaughterer of the in¬ 
fants of Bethlehem, put to death, though he was 
the high priest and a man of great piety. 

MACCABEES, Knights of the, a fraternal 
association founded in 1883, now represented by 
a large number of subordinate tents and hives. 
The total membership of the order is 375,575. 
It is incorporated under the laws of the State 
of Michigan with headquarters at Port Huron. 
Benefits are paid in cases of accident, sickness, 
and death. The Ladies of the Maccabees is an 
affiliated order of the society. 

MACCLESFIELD (mak'k’lz-feld), a town 
of England, in Cheshire, fifteen miles southeast 
of Manchester. It is on the Bollin River and 
several railways and has manufactures of ma¬ 
chinery, earthenware, and cotton and silk tex¬ 
tiles. The markets, gas works, cemetery, public 
baths, and electric railways are owned by the 
municipality. It has an infirmary, a townhall, 
and several schools and churches. Coal, stone, 
and slate are obtained in the vicinity. Popula¬ 
tion, 1907, 36,354. 

MACE, an aromatic spice made from the 
dried membranous covering of the seed of the 
nutmeg. The portion used for its manufacture 
is the aril or inner covering, which is fleshy and 


has a crimson hue when fresh. The flavor of 
mace resembles that of nutmeg. It is produced 
chiefly in the Spice Islands, and is used princi¬ 
pally for making pickles and in cooking. Mace 
is also the name of a staff of office, usually borne 
by officials or displayed on the table of legisla¬ 
tive bodies as a symbol o£ authority. 

MACEDONIA (mas-e-do'm-a), an ancient 
country of Europe, lying aorth of Thessaly and 
the Aegean Sea. Its history dates back to the 
year 700 b. c., when Perdiccas I., according to 
tradition, was the first king, but all history re¬ 
garding it prior to 490 b. c. is wrapped in ob¬ 
scurity. -In the latter year it was invaded by 
the Persians, who compelled the Macedonian 
king, Alexander I., to join Xerxes in an expedi¬ 
tion to Egypt. In the year 359 b. c. Philip II. 
subdued all opposition and established himself on 
the throne of Macedonia. His reign was suc¬ 
cessful and prosperous, and his son, Alexander 
the Great, strengthened the army, encouraged 
internal improvements, and made himself undis¬ 
puted sovereign over large parts of Europe, Asia, 
and Africa. Among the flourishing cities of 
Macedonia in the time of Alexander the Great 
were Pella, Thessalonica, Pydna, Potidaea (Cas- 
sandria), Phillipi, and Olynthus. At his death 
Macedonia lost many of its possessions under a 
division of the empire into four kingdoms. Soon 
after Greece was separated from it, and the bat¬ 
tle of Pydna in 168 b. c. made it a province of 
Rome. The region is now inhabited by Walla- 
chians, Greeks, Albanians, and Turks, and forms 
part of the Turkish possessions in Europe. The 
inhabitants of this part of Turkey, which corre¬ 
sponds nearly to the vilayet of Saloniki, have 
been subjected to many atrocities by the Turks. 
An acute stage was reached in 1903, when Aus¬ 
tria-Hungary and Russia interceded for the 
Christian inhabitants of that region. 

macei 6 (ma-sa-yo'), or Magayo, a seaport 
city of Brazil, capital of the state of Alagoas, 
130 miles southwest of Pernambuco. It is pleas¬ 
antly located on the Atlantic coast and has con¬ 
nection with interior points by several railways. 
The manufactures include cigars, cotton goods, 
and machinery. It has extensive shipyards and 
a large trade in corn, cotton, hides, and fruits. 
Population, 1908, 34,286. 

McGILL UNIVERSITY, an institution of 
higher learning at Montreal, Quebec. It is so 
called from its founder, James McGill, who, two 
years before his death, bequeathed his property 
of Burnside, then valued at £20,000, together 
with a sum of £10,000 in money, to found a col¬ 
lege in a Provincial University, the erection of 
which had already been provided for by the gen¬ 
erosity of the British government. This property 


McGILL UNIVERSITY 


1289 


McKeesport 


was, on his death, conveyed to the Royal Insti¬ 
tution for the Advancement of Learning, a body 
which, in 1802, had been incorporated by the 
Legislature for the establishment of free schools 
and the advancement of learning in the Province 
of Quebec. 

Owing to persistent opposition by a section of 
the people to any system of governmental edu¬ 
cation and to the refusal of the Legislature to 
make the grants of land and money which had 
been promised, the proposed establishment of the 
Provincial University by the government was 
abandoned. Thereupon, the Royal Institution 
took action on its own account and in 1821 ob¬ 
tained a royal charter. On account of protracted 
litigation, however, they were unable to obtain 
possession of the estate until 1829, when the 
work of teaching began with two faculties, those 
of arts and medicine. In 1852 a number of 
prominent citizens of Montreal became interested 
in the institution and a new charter was secured. 
At that time there were only three faculties, 
those of arts, medicine, and law, with sixteen 
professors and four assistants. Shortly after 
the William Molson Hall, erected by the gener¬ 
ous donor whose name it bears, was provided to 
serve as a library and convocation hall. Subse¬ 
quently other buildings were erected, including 
the new quarters for the faculty of medicine, but 
this structure was partly destroyed by fire in 
1907, after which a magnificent new and wholly 
up-to-date building was erected. The course of 
medicine now extends over five sessions of about 
eight months each. 

The faculty of applied science dates back to 
1857, when a chair of civil engineering was es¬ 
tablished in the faculty of arts.’ However, the 
faculty cannot be said to have had an organic 
existence until 1893, when a separate building 
was provided for the work in applied science. 
This building, provided through the generosity 
of Sir William Macdonald, was destroyed by 
fire in 1907, but it has since been rebuilt on a 
larger scale. The equipment of this building is 
exceedingly valuable, comprising all the latest 
inventions and the newest machinery, especially 
in connection with the departments of mechani¬ 
cal, electrical, and civil engineering. Other note¬ 
worthy structures include the physics building, 
the chemistry building, the museuifi, the library, 
the McGill Union, the Strathcona Hall, the 
Royal Victoria College, and the Macdonald Col¬ 
lege. The last mentioned institution is on a 
tract of 560 acres, at Saint Anne de Bellevue, 
about 20 miles from Montreal. This property 
contains a total of seven buildings and all have 
been constructed and equipped in the most up-to- 
date fashion., No expense has been spared in 


this respect by the founder, Sir. William Mac¬ 
donald, who has endowed it with over $2,000,000. 

McGill University owes its foundation and its 
existence to private generosity. The greatest of 
its benefactors, as already indicated, is Sir Will¬ 
iam Macdonald, who has, in one way or another, 
donated to the university nearly $5,000,000. 
Other generous contributors include Lord 
Strathcona, Peter Redpath, J. H. R. MolsOn, 
William Molson, and Thomas Workman. Apart 
from Macdonald College, the total endowments 
amount to $4,500,000 and the value of the prop¬ 
erty, leaving Macdonald College, out of account, 
is over $2,500,000. The number of students in 
attendance is about 1,500 and there are in the 
several faculties- 65 professors, 25 assistant pro¬ 
fessors, and 130 lecturers, tutors, and demon¬ 
strators. At present there are 112,000 volumes 
on the library shelves, but there is a working 
capacity for at least double that number. McGill 
University may be said to have had but two prin¬ 
cipals, Sir William Dawson and Dr. William 
Peterson. The former retired in 1893 and the 
latter was appointed in 1895. 

MACHINE GUN, a designation commonly 
applied to any ordnance that may be loaded 
and fired in rapid succession by mechanical ap¬ 
pliances and combinations. The first ordnance 
of this character was used in the Franco-Ger¬ 
man War of 1870-71, but soon after the cele¬ 
brated Gatling gun was invented and manufac¬ 
tured in the United States. Among the differ¬ 
ent classes of machine guns utilized in warfare 
are the Gatling, Hotchkiss, Nordenfeldt, Gard¬ 
ner, and Maxim. These guns are capable of 
discharging from 200 to 350 rounds in half a 
minute with ease and accuracy. They differ 
more or less in size and efficiency, but may be 
grouped in two classes. The two classes in¬ 
clude those in which the recoils of the barrel, 
or force .of the powder gases, act to operate the 
gun, and those in which the gun is operated by 
some exterior force, as by the hand. 

McKEESPORT (ma-kez'port), a city of Al¬ 
legheny County, Pennsylvania, on the Mononga- 
hela River, twelve miles southeast of Pittsburg. 
It is on the Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and 
Ohio, and the Pittsburg and Lake Erie railroads. 
The chief buildings include the Carnegie Libra¬ 
ry, the high school, the Douglass Industrial 
College, the McKeesport Hospital, the Y. M. 
C. A. building, and many schools and churches. 
It has manufactures of ironware, electrical sup¬ 
plies, tin plate, machinery, engines, glass, lum¬ 
ber products, spirituous liquors, and tobacco. 
The surrounding country is fertile and contains 
large deposits of limestone and coal. It has 
a large commercial and jobbing trade, of which 




McKEES ROCKS 


1290 


McKINLEY 


a considerable portion is carried by river navi¬ 
gation. The city has extensive municipal facil¬ 
ities, including street railways, pavements, elec¬ 
tric lights, and waterworks. McKeesport was 
settled in 1795 and incorporated in 1842. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 34,227 ; in 1910, 42,694. 

McKEES ROCKS, a borough of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, in Allegheny County, on the Ohio River, 
a .short distance northwest of Pittsburg. It is 
on the Pittsburg and Lake Erie and the Pitts¬ 
burg, Chartiers and Youghiogheny railroads, and 
is noted for the manufacture of flour, glass, ma¬ 
chinery, and steel and iron products. Electric 
lighting, waterworks, and electric railways are 
among the public utilities. The first settlement 
was made in 1830 by John McKee, and it was 
incorporated as a borough in 1892. . The pros¬ 
perity of McKees Rocks is due chiefly to ex¬ 
tensive manufacturing enterprises. Population, 
1900, -6,352; in 1910, 14,702. 

MACKENZIE (ma-ken'zi), a river of Brit¬ 
ish America. It rises as the Athabasca River in 
the Rocky Mountains, thence flows a distance of 
about 600 miles, entering Lake Athabasca, thence 
has a course of 240 miles as the Slave River to 
Great Slave Lake, and thence takes on the name 
of Mackenzie River, flowing northwest for a 
distance of 1,050 miles into the Arctic Ocean. 
The entire course is over 2,000 miles and the 
basin drained equals 575,000 square miles. It 
was named from Alexander Mackenzie (1755- 
1820), who discovered and first navigated it in 
1789. 

MACKENZIE, a district of Canada, which 
occupies the greater part of the Mackenzie River 
valley and the north central part of the Domin¬ 
ion. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic 
Ocean and Franklin, east by Keewatin, south by 
Keewatin, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British 
Columbia, and west by Yukon. It embraces an 
area of about 500,000 square miles. The east¬ 
ern part is drained chiefly by the Phelon River 
into Hudson Bay, and the central and western 
parts by the Mackenzie into the Arctic Ocean. 
Nearly the entire region slopes toward the 
north and the surface is generally low. Nu¬ 
merous swamps and lakes abound, including 
Great Bear, Aylmer, Mackay, and Great Slave 
lakes. The valleys of the Coppermine, Great 
Fish, and Mackenzie rivers have extensive for¬ 
ests of pine, birch, spruce, tamarack, and aspen 
poplar. The minerals include salt and coal, 
both of which are found in the region of Great 
Slave Lake. Lumbering and furring are the 
chief industries, but agriculture is not prac¬ 
ticable, except in a comparatively small region, 
owing to the short summers and long and 
severe winters, The settlements are confined 


mainly to the valley of the Mackenzie. Since 
the region is sparsely settled, organized civil 
administration is impracticable, and the govern¬ 
ment is exercised largely through the north¬ 
west mounted police. Population, 1906, 5,950. 

MACKEREL (mak'er-el), an excellent food 
fish, widely distributed, particularly abundant in 
the North Atlantic. It attains a length of from 
twelve to eighteen inches, weighing about two 
pounds. The color is steel blue with blackish 
markings above and silvery beneath. 'Usually 
these fish are caught in drift nets which reach 
about twenty feet below the surface. The mack¬ 
erel move in schools, are carnivorous, feeding 
chiefly on the fry of other fish, and are caught 



1, SPANISH MACKEREL. 

2, COMMON MACKEREL. 


mostly when coming toward the shore for the 
purpose of spawning. The most extensive fish¬ 
eries in America are off the coast of New Eng¬ 
land, where the common mackerel is very abun¬ 
dant. A species known as the Spanish mackerel 
is found in the Mediterranean, where it is 
caught in large numbers. 

MACKINAC (mak'i-na), or Mackinaw, a 
strait that connects lakes Michigan and Huron. 
The island of Mackinac is located in the strait, 
•about three miles east of Saint Ignace, county 
seat of Mackinac County, Michigan, and is 
about two miles in width and three in length. 
The city of Mackinac is situated on the island. 
It has a good harbor and is noted as a favorite 
summer resort. Formerly a military post known 
as Fort Mackinac was maintained on an emi¬ 
nence 300 feet above the city of Mackinac, 
which was captured by Pontiac in 1669 and 
taken by the British in 1812. Mackinac re¬ 
mained a village until 190(3, when it was char¬ 
tered as a city. Population, 1904, 736. 

McKINLEY (ma-kin'li), Mount, an ele¬ 
vated peak in the south central part of Alaska, 
150 miles north of Cook Inlet. The summit is 



MACOMB 


1291 


MADAGASCAR 


covered with snow perpetually and around the 
slopes are numerous glaciers. It is elevated 
20,464 feet above the sea, hence is the highest 
peak of North America. 

MACOMB (ma-kom'), a city and the county 
seat of McDonough County, Illinois, 185 miles 
southwest of Chicago, on the Chicago, Burling¬ 
ton and Quincy Railroad. Is is surrounded by a 
fertile farming country. Among the principal 
buildings are the county courthouse, the public 
library, and the Western Illinois State Normal 
School. It has manufactures of tile, earthen¬ 
ware, and machinery. Large deposits of fire 
clay are found in the vicinity. It was settled 
about 1840 and incorporated in 1857. Popula¬ 
tion, 1900, 5,375; in 1910, 5,774. 

MACON (makun), a city of Georgia, county 
seat of Bibb County, on the Ocmulgee River, 98 
miles southeast of Atlanta. It is on the South¬ 
ern, the Central of Georgia, the Macon and 
Birmingham, and other railroads. .The chief 
buildings include the county courthouse, the 
public library, the Mercej* University, the Wes¬ 
leyan Female College, the Saint Stanislaus Col¬ 
lege, the State Academy for the Blind, and the 
Federal building. Among the manufactures are 
cotton and woolen goods, clothing, lumber prod¬ 
ucts, machinery, brass and iron wares, spiritu¬ 
ous liquors, and utensils. The municipal facili¬ 
ties include pavements, electric lights, street 
railways, and waterworks. It has a large trade 
in cotton, produce, and general merchandise. 
Macon was settled in 1822 and incorporated in 
1823. Population, 1900, 23,272; in 1910, 40,665. 

MACON, a city of Missouri, county seat of 
Macon County, 70 miles southwest of Quincy, 
Ill., on the Wabash and the Chicago, Burling¬ 
ton and Quincy railroads. The surrounding 
country is a fertile section and has deposits of 
bituminous coal. Among the noteworthy build¬ 
ings are the county courthouse, the high school, 
the county insane asylum, and a number of 
churches. It has manufactures of flour, brick, 
cigars, ironware, and machinery. The city has 
public waterworks and a sanitary sewer sys¬ 
tem. Population, 1900, 4,068. 

MADAGASCAR (mad-a-gas'kar), an island 
in the Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast 
of Africa, separated from that continent by the 
Mozambique Channel. It ranks as one of the 
largest islands in the world. The length from 
northeast to southwest is -975 miles, the breadth 
at the widest point is 356 miles, and the area 
is 228,500 square miles. Much of the surface is 
elevated, the average height above sea level 
being about 3,500 feet, and the highest moun¬ 
tain ranges approximating 9,000 feet. The coast 
regions contain a number of large fertile tracts 


and few large indentations, but have a number 
of good harbors. Among the principal rivers 
are the Mangoka and the Mangoro and the lar¬ 
gest inlet is Antongil Bay. The highlands have 
a temperate climate, with an average of 72°, 
but some of the coast regions are hot. Exces¬ 
sive rains and extensive marshes render large 
areas unfavorable to European colonization. 
The wild animals consist chiefly of lemurs, 
crocodiles, lizards, chameleons, snakes, and 
many birds of fine song and plumage. 

The productions of Madagascar are various, 
including principally farm produce, minerals, 
and. fish. Among the products of the farms and 
gardens are manioc, cacao, sugar cane, - rice, 
coffee, gum copal, vanilla, and many kinds of 
tropical fruits. Other products include India 
rubber, lumber, cattle, hides, silk, and sweet 
potatoes. The forests are abundant and yield 
many valuable woods, including numerous spe¬ 
cies of palms, and occur most extensively in a 
circle around the entire island and some dis¬ 
tance from the coast. Among the minerals are 
iron, copper, lignite, galena, gold, graphite, sul¬ 
phur, and various building stone. The chief 
manufactures include jewelry, carpets, silk goods, 
cloth, straw work, and lumber products. Roads 
and wheeled vehicles are being introduced rap¬ 
idly. A line of railway has been constructed 
some distance from Antananarivo. At present 
the total lines of steam railroads aggregate 312 
miles. A cable connects the island with Mozam¬ 
bique. Commercial relations are sustained with 
France, the United States, Germany, England, 
and other European countries. The principal 
imports are cotton and woolen goods, ironware, 
spirituous liquors, tinware, and tobacco. 

The natives speak a Malayan language and 
belong to the Malayo-Polynesian class of people. 
They include a number of tribes, of which the 
Hovas are the most powerful, and the several 
classes, are graded differently in civilization and 
religion. Mission, agricultural, public and nor¬ 
mal schools are maintained by the government. 
Most of the architecture is of frame timber and 
bamboo, though rapid progress is being made 
in manual arts, especially in carpentry, weaving, 
and iron work. The religion is fetichism. In¬ 
fanticide and polygamy are still practiced to 
some extent, but superstition is fast giving way 
to the influence exerted by Christian teachers 
and missionaries. About 50,000 natives are 
Roman Catholics and 475,000 are Protestants. 

France has laid claim to Madagascar since 
1642, but little was done until recent years to 
establish the claim and develop the natural re¬ 
sources. The earliest information of this island 
was published by Marco' Polo in the 13th cen- 


MADDER 


1292 


MADEIRA 


tury and the Portuguese cruised off its coast 
in 1506, publishing an account of it in which 
the name Saint Lorenzo was applied to the 
island. Radama I. was recognized as the reign¬ 
ing sovereign of the Hova tribe in 1810. He 
encouraged missionary work and authorized a 
translation of the Bible into the Malagasy lan¬ 
guage. At his death, in 1828, his queen, Rana- 
valona, became ruling sovereign. She resisted 
the extension of French influence and refused 
the Christians free access and communication. 
Her son, Radama II., succeeded to the throne 
in 1861. He not only admitted missionaries, but 
encouraged improvements and emancipated the 
slaves. His liberality caused much dissatisfac¬ 
tion among the natives and was the occasion 
of his assassination by a native in 1863, when 
Queen Ranavalona II. ascended the throne. 
Soon after a war broke out against France, 
but it terminated in the French being recognized 
as the rulers of the island and the establish¬ 
ment of a governor general at Diego-Suarez. 
The queen was formally deposed in 1897 and 
exiled to Algeria. Antananarivo is the capital. 
Other trade centers include Mojanga, Tamatave, 
Antombaka, and Fort Dauphin. Population, 
1906, 2,651,762. 

MADDER (mad'der), a family of plants, 
represented by about 4,500 species in the trop- 



M ADDER. 


ical and warmer temperate regions of both 
hemispheres. They include many herbs, shrubs, 
and trees, most of which are tropical. The 
leaves are opposite or whorled, the flowers are 
greenish-yellow, and the fruit is dark brown or 


black. Many of the species yield coloring mat¬ 
ter and products useful in medicine. The com¬ 
mon madder of Europe is grown in many parts 
of the world for its roots, which yield a red 
dye, including a shade known as turkey red. 
Several species in South America belong to 
the trees that yield Peruvian bark, from which 
quinine is extracted. The coffee tree, though 
native to Abyssinia, is grown extensively in trop¬ 
ical countries. A small tree of Brazil belonging 
to this family yields the emetic drug ipecacu¬ 
anha. The species common to the United States 
include the bluets, bcdstrazv and buttonbush. 
Though alizarin was formerly obtained chiefly 
from madder, this coloring matter is now pro¬ 
duced artificially from anthracene. It produces 
the colors known as Turkish-reds. 

MADEIRA (ma-de'ra), a large river of 
South America, the most important tributary of 
the Amazon. It is formed at the boundary line 
between Bolivia and Brazil by the confluence of 
the Guapore and Mamore rivers, and after a 
course of 935 miles joins the Amazon about 98 
miles below Manaos. It has a basin of nearly 
500,000 square miles, and its total length to 
the source of the Mamore is 2,210 miles. At a 
distance of 715 miles above its mouth are noted 
falls, the Falls of Sao Antonio, and above that 
navigation is impossible, the series of cataracts 
extending about 225 miles. The Madeira valley 
and the valleys of its tributaries are exceedingly 
fertile. They contain vast forests and the most 
productive rubber regions in the world. The 
country is being rapidly developed under gov¬ 
ernmental encouragement. A railroad has been 
projected around the rapids. 

MADEIRA, a group of islands situated 
about 350 miles northwest of Africa, nearly due 
west of Morocco. The largest island, Madeira, 
is named after the group. It has a length of 
35 miles, a breadth of from nine to fifteen 
miles, and an area of 300 square miles. The 
area of the entire group is 315 square miles. 
The surface is diversified by mountain ranges, 
the culminating peak of which has a height of 
6,010 feet. Many small islands are situated 
adjacent to Madeira, the most important of 
which are Porto Santo and Deserta Grande. 
The productions are principally live stock, ce¬ 
reals, wine, sugar, and tropical fruits. It is 
noted for the excellence and abundance of its 
vines, which bear successively for many years. 
The island group belongs to Portugal, and has 
been in possession of the Portuguese since 1431, 
when it was colonized by them. It has some 
remains of Roman occupation, including ruins 
of several fortifications. The inhabitants con¬ 
sist principally of Negroes, Portuguese, and 





MADISON 


1293 


MADRID 


Moors. Funchal is the commercial center and 
capital. Population, 1906, 152,847. 

MADISON (mad'i-sun), a city of Indiana, 
county seat of Jefferson County, on the Ohio 
River, fifty miles northeast of Louisville, Ky. 
It is on the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago and 
Saint Louis Railroad and has regular steam¬ 
boat communication. The surrounding country 
is agricultural and dairying. Among the manu¬ 
factures are furniture, cotton and woolen goods, 
engines, steamboats, boilers, and machinery. It 
has a public library, the Saint Gabriel’s Acad¬ 
emy, and many fine schools and churches. Wa¬ 
terworks,. sewerage, pavements, and electric 
street railways are among the improvements. 
It is the seat of a large trade in merchandise. 
Madison was incorporated in 1824. Population, 
1900, 7,835; in 1910, 6,934. 

MADISON, the capital of Wisconsin, county 
seat of Dane Count} 7 , 83 miles west of Milwau¬ 
kee, on the Illinois Central, the Chicago and 
Northwestern, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and 
Saint Paul railroads. It has a beautiful situa¬ 
tion between lakes Menona and Mendota, which 
have been improved by parks and hotels and 
form a popular summer resort. It is improved 
by an electric street railway system, public light¬ 
ing, pavements, waterworks, and sanitary sew¬ 
erage. Among the principal buildings are the 
State capitol, the United States post office, the 
soldiers’ orphans’ home, the State lunatic asy¬ 
lum, the Carnegie public library, the public high 
school, and the University of Wisconsin. The 
State capitol is a fine structure, erected at a cost 
of about $5,000,000, and near it is the library 
and museum building of the Wisconsin Histori¬ 
cal Society. This association has a reference 
library of 250,000 volumes. Other learned so¬ 
cieties include the Wisconsin Academy of Sci¬ 
ences, Arts, and Letters and the Wisconsin Geo¬ 
logical and Natural History Survey. Madison 
is noted for its large Chautauqua assembly meet¬ 
ings. 

Madison is important as an industrial and 
wholesaling center. The chief manufactures in¬ 
clude flour, machinery, ironware, furniture, wag¬ 
ons and carriages, boots and shoes, books and 
stationary, and electrical appliances. It was se¬ 
lected as the site of the State capital in 1836, 
when Wisconsin was organized as a Territory. 
Two years later it was named after President 
Madison, since which time it has been the seat 
of government and was incorporated in 1856. 
Population, 1905,24,301; in 1910, 25,531. 

MADONNA (ma-don'na), the Italian equiv¬ 
alent for madam, but now applied specially to 
the Virgin Mary, and in the latter sense used as 
the English term Our Lady. In 431 the Council 


of Ephesus declared that the Virgin Mary is the 
Mother of God, and since that time the title has 
come to be the name of a great number of pic¬ 
tures in which the Virgin forms the sole or 
prominent object. These include principally 
Raphael’s “Madonna di Ansidai,” Leonardo da 
Vinci’s “Madonna of the Rocks,” Raphael’s 
“Sistine Madonna,” “Holbein’s “Madonna of 
Burgomaster Meyer,” Rubens’ “Madonna of the 
Innocents,” Perugino’s “Enthroned Madonna 
and Child,” Angelo’s “Madonna of Burges,” 
Lochner’s “Virgin in the Arbor of Roses,” 
Raphael’s “Madonna of the Canopy,” Correg¬ 
gio’s “Madonna with Saint Francis,” Jan van 
Eyck’s “Lucca Madonna,” and Murillos “Ma¬ 
donna.” 

MADRAS (ma-dras'), a seaport city of In¬ 
dia, capital of the presidency of Madras, on the 
Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. Ma¬ 
dras, the presidency, has ~ an area of -141,726 
square miles and a population of 39,826,450. The 
city has extensive canal and railway connec¬ 
tions, is the center of a vast interior and foreign 
trade, and contains a well-equipped garrison. Its 
harbor is not naturally commodious, but has 
been improved materially by piers, and a splen¬ 
did lighthouse towers to a height of 125 feet and 
may be seen a distance of fifteen miles. The 
manufactures are numerous, but they did not be¬ 
come particularly noteworthy until within com¬ 
paratively recent times. They consist chiefly of 
clothing, machinery, earthenware, soap, flour, 
and canned fish. The principal buildings in¬ 
clude the government house, the Scotch Church 
of Saint Andrew, the Saint George’s Cathedral, 
the Madras Polytechnic Institution, and a large 
number of Hindu and Mohammedan temples. 
The English founded Madras in 1639, after ob¬ 
taining a grant of land from a native prince. 
It has been affected materially by hurricanes 
that sweep from the sea over the lower parts of 
the site during the monsoon period, from May 
to October. The population consists mostly of 
Hindus, and about 50,000 Mohammedans and 
4,250 Europeans. Brahmanism is the religion of 
a majority of the people. Population, 1906, 
522,972. 

MADRID (ma-drid'), the capital of Spain, 
in the province of Madrid, on the Manzanares 
River, a tributary of the Tagus. It has a fine 
site on a plateau 2,450 feet above sea level, in 
the geographical center of Spain. The city is 
connected with the chief cities of Spain and 
Portugal by railroads and has important com¬ 
mercial and manufacturing enterprises. The ex¬ 
tremes in temperature make it quite unhealthful, 
the rate of mortality being exceedingly large. It 
has important public institutions, among them 


MADURA 


1294 


MAGDALENA 


many excellent churches, hospitals, libraries, 
royal academies, public schools, and a splendid 
university. The royal palace is built of granite. 
It is a fine structure in the form of a square, 
470 feet on each side and 100 feet in height. Its 
armory is counted among the finest in Europe. 
The municipal facilities are modern, including 
stone and asphalt pavements, public lighting and 
waterworks, and a street railway system. Philip 
V. founded the national library, which at pres¬ 
ent contains 600,000 volumes. The university 
has extended courses of study and an attend¬ 
ance of 6,100 students. The bullfights held annu¬ 
ally at the Plaza de Toros, which has a seating 
capacity for 13,000 spectators, attract vast audi¬ 
ences, spectators coming from many countries of 
Southern Europe. Other places of amusement 
and interest are its public parks, promenades, 
and several museums, including the Royal Mu¬ 
seum of Painting and Sculpture. 

Madrid was a small fortified town in the 10th 
century, when it was known as Majoritum. Al¬ 
fonso VI. captured it from the Moors in 1083. 
It was made the permanent capital of Spain in 
1561, after which it was greatly improved by 
grading and the construction of government 
buildings. In 1808 it was the center of the re¬ 
bellion against the French under Murat. Pop¬ 
ulation, 1906, 542,385. 

MADURA (ma-dod'ra), a city of India, capi¬ 
tal of a district in the province of Madras, 275 
milefe southwest of Madras. The streets are 
regularly platted and improved with substantial 
paving. It has several large market places and 
a large trade. Among the chief buildings are 
many Hindu temples, the government houses, 
and a palace built by Tirumulla Nayak. A num¬ 
ber of Christian missions and two colleges are 
located here. The manufactures include cigars, 
cotton and woolen goods, clothing, and ma¬ 
chinery. It has electric railways, waterworks, 
and railway transportation facilities. Popula¬ 
tion, 1906, 108,206. 

MADURA, an island in the East Indies, sep¬ 
arated from the northeastern coast of Java by a 
narrow strait. The area is 1,700 square miles* 
Much of the surface is mountainous and the soil 
is not very fertile. Salt, petroleum,' cattle, 
maize, tobacco, and fruits are the chief prod¬ 
ucts. It is a possession of the Netherlands and 
is governed with a number of other islands, the 
entire territory having an area of 2,060 square 
miles. Pamekasan is the seat of government. 
Population, 1906, 1,638,204. 

MAELSTROM (mal'strum), or Malstrom, 
a celebrated whirlpool near Moskenas, one of 
the Lofoten Islands, off the northwestern coast 
of Norway. Many legends have been published 


of large vessels being sunk in the deep, but most 
of them are fabulous. It is dangerous in win¬ 
ter, when it rages so furiously that its roaring 
sound is heard many miles. This is also the 
case when a strong wind blows from the north¬ 
west. At those times it is capable of engulfing 
small vessels which approach it, but ordinarily 
it can be traversed without danger. The Mael¬ 
strom is due to the currents of the Great West 
Fiord. 

MAESTRICHT (mas'trikt), or Maastricht, 
a city of Holland, capital of the province of 
Limburg, on the Maas River, eighteen miles 
northwest of Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany. It is 
connected by important railroads, giving it com¬ 
mercial advantages, and was once a fortress of 
great strength, but has been reduced to a gar¬ 
rison. It has a fine statue of Charlemagne. A 
fine stone bridge crosses the river and connects 
the city with Wijk. The manufactures, educa¬ 
tional institutions, and jobbing trade are im¬ 
portant. It has pavements, public parks, and 
electric street railways. The Spaniards captured 
it in 1579. Population, 1906, 36,474. 

MAFEKING (ma-fa-king'), atown of South 
Africa, in the Bechuanaland Protectorate, near 
the border of the Transvaal Colony, 95 miles 
northeast of Vryburg. It has railroad facilities 
and a growing trade in produce and merchan¬ 
dise. The place became noted in 1899, during 
the Anglo-Boer War, when Colonel Baden- 
Powell was besieged here by a force of Boers 
under General Cronje. The Boers had planned 
to capture the British force at this place, but 
Colonel Mahon came to the relief with a British 
column. 

MAFIA (ma'fe-a), a secret society of Sicily, 
whose aim is to substitute its own authority for 
that of the law. It exercises a powerful influ¬ 
ence in the social and political affairs in the 
island and the southern part of Italy, and 
branches have been founded by Italian immi¬ 
grants in New York, New Orleans, and other 
cities of the United States. Among the objects 
are to control elections, obtain employment for 
the members, and protect those belonging to the 
society against the officers of the law. In 1890 
the branch society in New Orleans became in¬ 
volved in considerable trouble, since it was 
thought to be the cause of the death of the chief 
of police. Eleven of the members were put in 
jail, but they were taken out and murdered by a 
mob. This involved the United States in diplo¬ 
matic complications with the government of 
Italy, but the matter was settled by a payment 
of indemnity by the United States to the rela¬ 
tives of the victims. 

MAGDALENA (mag-da-l&'na), a river ofi 


MAGDALEN ISLANDS 


1295 


MAGIC 


South America, rises in the southern part of 
Colombia. It flows nearly north and discharges 
into the Caribbean Sea by a delta below Bar- 
ranquilla. The Cauca is its principal tributary, 
which rises about ten miles from the source of 
the Magdalena and joins it near 9° north lati¬ 
tude. Other streams flowing into it include the 
Bogota and Sogamoso rivers. The Magdalena 
has a length of 975 miles and is navigable to 
Honda, 450 .miles from it's mouth. Above that 
point is a series of rapids. However, they have 
been paralleled by a line of railway, by which 
connection is afforded with the navigation in the 
upper course. The delta of the. Magdalena in¬ 
cludes 3,000 square miles. 

MAGDALEN ISLANDS (mag’da-len), a 
group of islands in Canada, located near the 
center of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, belonging 
to Quebec. They are about fifty miles north¬ 
west of Cape Breton Island. The surface is 
made up largely of rocky cliffs, but they contain 
considerable land suitable for agriculture. The 
inhabitants engage chiefly in the herring, cod, 
and seal fisheries. In winter the sea freezes to 
the extent that communication with the outer 
world is shut off for four months, except by 
telegraph. Population, 1906, 5,120. 

MAGDEBURG (mag'de-boorg), a city of 
Germany, capital of Prussian Saxony, noted as a 
strong fortress. It is located on the Elbe River, 
75 miles southwest of Berlin, with which it is 
connected by railways. The river navigation 
and canal improvements, together with its nu¬ 
merous railroads, make Magdeburg an impor¬ 
tant jobbing center. It has many educational in¬ 
stitutions, including a fine public school system, 
two normal schools, two gymnasia, institutions 
for the dumb, blind, and deaf, and several in¬ 
dustrial training schools. The Cathedral of 
Saints Maurice and Catharine, founded in 1208, 
is one of the most noted ecclesiastical buildings 
in Europe. It contains the graves of many noted 
sovereigns, among them Emperor Otho, the 
founder of the city. Other noteworthy buildings 
include the Church of Our Lady, the Church of 
Saint Paul, the public library, the city hall and 
courthouse, the commercial exchange, and the 
public museum. It has manufactures of gloves, 
leather, vinegar, cotton, and woolen goods, silk 
fabrics, ribbons, machinery, pottery, and musical 
instruments. Wallenstein laid siege to Magde¬ 
burg for seven months in the Thirty Years’ 
War, but in 1631 it was captured by Tilly, who 
not only sacked it, but caused the death of 30,- 
000 of its people. In 1808 it became a part of 
France, but was returned to Prussia in 1814 by 
the Treaty of Paris. Most of the inhabitants 
are Protestants. Population, 1905, 240,633. 


MAGELLAN, Strait of, the channel which 
separates the island of Tierra del Fuego from 
the continent of South America. It is from two 
to seventy miles wide and about 350 miles long, 
and forms a connection between the waters of 
the South Pacific and the South Atlantic. Its 
navigation is endangered by numerous islands. 
The name was applied in honor of Ferdinand 
Magellan, who discovered it and sailed through 
it in 1520. On its shores are thousands of 
aquatic birds, including ducks, geese, gulls, pen¬ 
guins, cormorants, and oyster catchers. 

MAGENTA (ma-jen'ta), a town of Italy, in 
the province of Milan, on a railway line about 
seventeen miles west of Milan. It is noted as 
the scene of a celebrated battle on June 4, 1859, 
between the Austrians and French. The latter 
were commanded by Marshal MacMahon, who 
defeated the Austrians under command of Count 
Gynlai. It is estimated that the French lost 
5,000 men and the Austrians about 10,000. Mac¬ 
Mahon was soon after created Duke of Ma¬ 
genta. 

MAGGIORE (mad-jo'ra), a lake on the 
boundary between Switzerland and Italy, but 
situated mostly in the latter country. It has a 
length of forty miles. The average breadth is 
about four miles and the greatest depth is nearly 
1,500 feet. It is thought that its origin is from 
volcanic action. Fine vineyards and fertile 
fields surround the lake, but adjacent to its 
northwestern coast are mountains of solid gran¬ 
ite. In its vicinity are several prosperous towns, 
including Magadino and Lacarno, in Switzer¬ 
land, and Cannobio, Luino, Bavino, and Pal- 
lanza, in Italy. 

MAGI (ma'jl), a name first mentioned by the 
prophet Jeremiah, in connection with an officer 
of Nebuchadnezzar, and afterward applied by 
Herodotus to one of the six Median tribes: Sub¬ 
sequently the Magi became an hereditary priest¬ 
ly caste of the Medes and Persians, who were 
regarded the servants of God and the preservers 
and propagators of sacred rites and traditions. 
This priestly caste had muth influence in the af¬ 
fairs of individuals and of the state, and, be¬ 
sides conducting religious worship, had charge 
of the educating of princes and nobles. In the 
time of Zoroaster the Magi were reformed and 
disciplined, but later they declined in influence 
until they developed into magicians and fortune 
tellers. The name magi is given to the three 
wise men who came from the East to worship 
the infant Jesus. 

MAGIC, the alleged art of exercising super¬ 
natural powers by calling into activity the spirits 
of departed beings, or employing enchantment, 
sorcery, and witchcraft. Superstition and belief 


MAGIC LANTERN 


1296 


MAGNETISM 


in magical arts date from remote history, and, 
after passing through the various centuries, it is 
still adhered to among the unlearned Gypsies 
and other classes, who reap a rich harvest by 
acting upon the credulity of superstitious people. 
Natural magic is the name applied to the art of 
utilizing natural causes to produce effects ap¬ 
parently supernatural. 

MAGIC LANTERN, or Stereopticon, an 

instrument invented by a German Jesuit, Atha¬ 
nasius Kircher, in 1645. It consists of a case or 
box in which the scattered rays of some power¬ 
ful light are confined and made to pass through 
a tube. A concave reflector put opposite the 
tube, back of the lamp, aids in condensing the 
light and directing it through the tube, in which 
powerful lenses are arranged to condense the di¬ 
verging rays upon paintings on glass, which 
slide in a sort of stage, and another object glass 
throws the image of the highly illuminated ob¬ 
ject upon a white wall or screen, the focus being 
adjusted by sliding this lens nearer to or farther 
from the object. The best effects are secured in 
a room which is highly darkened, but the size 
and beauty of the pictures cast upon the screen 
depend upon the distance of the object from the 
lenses, the position and character of the lenses, 
and the power of the light. A brilliant picture 
twenty feet in diameter may be secured from a 
slide three inches in diameter under a powerful 
light. To appear erect upon the screen, the pic¬ 
ture slides must be inserted into the tube in an 
inverted position. Recently vast improvements 
have been made in the magic lantern by discard¬ 
ing the oil lamp and substituting for it oxy- 
hydrogen and electric lights. A very beautiful 
effect is secured by what is known as dissolving 
views. It involves having two reflectors so 
placed that the images of two pictures are 
thrown at the same time on the screen, causing 
one to fade or melt into the other. See Kineto- 
scope. 

MAGNA CHARTA (mag'na kar'ta), or 
Great Charter, an important document in Brit¬ 
ish history, forming 4 a part of the Constitution 
of Great Britain, and regarded as a basic guar¬ 
antee of liberty. It was extorted by the people 
of England from King John at Runnymede, 
June 15, 1215. This document was brought 
about by the tyranny and oppression practiced 
by the Norman kings under the feudal system, 
on account of which the barons rose up with the 
hearty support of the people in their demand for 
reformatory measures. Among the reforms 
guaranteed were included the protection of 
property, liberty, and life against arbitrary kings. 
The barons were accorded certain privileges 
that tended to secure the proper enforcement of 


civil rights and social freedom. Other measures 
embodied in the Magna Charta include the regu¬ 
lations of the business of traders, those in re¬ 
gard to the church, and those in relation to 
freemen generally, especially the protection 
guaranteed under a jury system. Several suc¬ 
cessors of King John confirmed the Great Char¬ 
ter and Edward I. embodied it in the statutes. 
The essential principles have been confirmed by 
many decisions of the courts and acts of Parlia¬ 
ment. 

MAGNESIA (mag-ne'zhi-a), an earthy pow¬ 
der. It is a tasteless white powder and pos¬ 
sesses alkaline properties. Magnesia is used in 
medicine as a laxative and, administered in 
small doses, its acts as an antacid. Pure mag¬ 
nesia is obtained by exposing hydrated carbo¬ 
nate to a red heat. Treated in this way, it 
forms the pure commercial article known as 
calcined magnesia. 

MAGNESIUM (mag-ne'zhi-um), a mineral 
of wide distribution, constituting a silver-white 
metallic element. It may be obtained by reduc¬ 
ing magnesium chloride with metallic sodium, 
or by the electrolysis of fused magnesium 
chloride. At an ordinary temperature it is more 
brittle than silver, but becomes malleable when 
the temperature is increased, and may be formed 
into wire or ribbon. Its silver-white color is 
preserved in dry air, but when exposed to 
moisture it becomes tarnished. When heated in 
the flame of a candle, or in oxygen gas, it burns 
with a dazzling light. It is rich in chemical, 
actinic rays, a property that has led to its use in 
photography, but more recently the electric light 
has been utilized in its stead. In an atmosphere 
of carbonic acid gas it decomposes the gas in 
burning, constitutes magnesic oxide, and forms 
the carbon into a powder. Calcined magnesia is 
obtained by reducing magnesium to ashes. Mag¬ 
nesium deposits occur extensively in various 
metals, in serpentine rock, meerschaum, soap¬ 
stone, asbestos, and other minerals. 

MAGNET (mag'net). See Magnetism. 

MAGNETISM (mag'net-iz’m), the science 
that treats of the laws and conditions of mag¬ 
netic force. The name was coined from Mag¬ 
nesia, a town in Asia Minor, near which a 
black mineral known as loadstone is found em¬ 
bedded with iron ore in volcanic rock. This 
mineral is widely distributed, being found in' 
New York, New Jersey, Siberia, and Sweden, 
and is generally termed magnetite. It has the 
peculiar property of not remaining at rest when 
suspended, except when certain points are di¬ 
rected north and south. This quality caused the 
ancients to use it to direct ships at sea, for 
which purpose the mariner’s compass displaced 


MAGNETISM 


1297 


MAGNETITE 


it. A piece of loadstone is called a natural mag¬ 
net and differs from an artiticial magnet, which 
may be made of a bar of soft iron "or steel by 
imparting to it the peculiar magnetic property by 
friction from other magnets, or by the action of 
an electric spark. Artificial magnets retain 
their magnetic properties for a short or long 
time, depending on the quality of the iron of 
which they are made. Pure soft iron remains a 
magnet only while the magnetizing action lasts, 
and one so made is called a temporary magnet, 
while hardened iron and steel retain their mag¬ 
netic properties a long time, these metals being 
used to make permanent magnets. The best 
permanent magnets are made of hardened steel. 
They are called bar magnets, if straight, and 
horseshoe magnets, if they are U-shaped. The 
two ends of a horseshoe rqagnet are connected 
by a soft iron called the armature. 

The cause of magnetic force is unknown, but 
is generally believed to be due to molecular ac¬ 
tion. It is ‘thought that every magnetizable 



N N, North Poles. S S, South Poles. 

body, whether the body is magnetized or not, 
constitutes a permanent magnet, but before it is 
magnetized the poles of the molecules point in 
every direction, thus neutralizing one another. 
When increasing magnetization is produced by 
friction or electric induction, the action of the 
molecules becomes more and more nearly par¬ 
allel, and a closed electric current flowing 
around each molecule results. Since both nat¬ 
ural and artificial magnets, when freely sus¬ 
pended on a pivot, rest with their length in a 
direction north and south, they are used in con¬ 
structing the compass. The attraction is great¬ 
est at the extremities, which are designated re¬ 
spectively the north and south poles, or simply 
the poles, and decreases toward the middle. 
The north-seeking pole, is distinguished as the' 
positive and the south-seeking as the negative, 
marked + and — respectively. The similar 
32 


poles of magnets repel and the dissimilar at¬ 
tract each other, the intensity of repulsion and 
attraction varying inversely as the square of the 
distance. All substances are attracted or re¬ 
pelled, though in most cases the action is very 
feeble. Those attracted are called paramag¬ 
netic and those repelled are termed diamagnetic 
substances, though the latter class is most nu¬ 
merous. To illustrate, iron is attracted by both 
poles of a magnet, while bismuth is repelled by 
both. The magnetic held is the space surround¬ 
ing a magnet in which attraction or repulsion 
takes place, and corresponds to the electric field 
surrounding an electrified body. Magnets de¬ 
pend for their strength upon size, material, and 
construction, varying greatly with the modifica¬ 
tion of each. One of the largest magnets in the 
world is at the Stevens Institute of Technology, 
in New York, which weighs 1,600 pounds, and 
has a lifting capacity of about forty tons, ex¬ 
ceeding its own weight about fifty times. 

The circumstance that the poles of a magnet 
point to the north and south is accounted for by 
the fact that the earth is a great magnet. Its 
magnetic poles do not correspond with its geo¬ 
graphical poles, but they are known to attract 
the poles of a magnet. The magnetic needle of a 
compass, therefore, does not point to the true 
geographical north in all parts of the earth, but 
slightly east or west of it. This deviation from 
the true north is called declination, or variation, 
and differs in different parts of the earth. Sir 
J. C. Ross, in 1831,‘ discovered the magnetic 
north pole in latitude 70° 5' north and longitude 
90° 46' west, which is about 1,000 miles from the 
geographical north pole. The magnetic south 
pole has not yet been discovered, but the mag¬ 
netic equator has been partially traced, and is 
known to cross the terrestrial equator at several 
places, though never deviating more than 12° 
from it. The earth appears to owe its magnet¬ 
ism to the electricity circulating in the atmos¬ 
phere. This atmospheric electricity is probably 
produced by the sun's rays heating unequally 
different portions of the earth’s surface. In 
many places the lines of force of the earth’s 
magnetic field are inclined to the earth’s sur¬ 
face. Where this is the case one of the poles 
of a magnetic needle is inclined to the earth, 
which is called the inclination, or dipping, of the 
needle. The north pole is inclined in the North¬ 
ern Hemisphere and the south pole in the 
Southern. At the magnetic poles the needle 
dips vertically downward, and at the magnetic 
equator it assumes a horizontal position. 

MAGNETITE (mag'net-it), an ore of iron, 
so called from its magnetic properties. In some 
cases it exhibits polarity, when it is known as 


MAGNETO-ELECTRIC MACHINE 1298 


MAHANADI 


loadstone, or lodestone. It has a semimetallic 
lustre, is iron-black in color, and occurs both 
massive and crystalline. This product is mined 
in many parts of the world and is important as 
a commercial source of iron. Large deposits of 
it are found in Sweden, Siberia, Canada, and 
many parts of the United States, especially in 
the Adirondacks, in the iron range of Minneso¬ 
ta, and in various parts of Colorado, Califor¬ 
nia, and Missouri. 

MAGNETO-ELECTRIC MACHINE. See 
Electric Machine; Dynamo; Electricity, etc. 

MAGNIFICAT (mag-mf'i-kat), the song of 
thanksgiving uttered by the Virgin Mary, as re¬ 
corded in Luke i, 46-55. It is named from the 
first word in the Latin version Magnificat anima 
mea, Dominion, meaning “My soul magnifies 
the Lord.” It was incorporated into the service 
of vespers, and is usually sung or said after the 
first lesson at evening prayer. 

MAGNOLIA (mag-no'li-a), a genus of orna¬ 
mental shrubs and trees, native to North Ameri¬ 
ca, China, India, Japan, and other portions of 
Europe and Asia. Many of the species are 



MAGNOLIA. 


noted for their great beauty, handsome flowers, 
and evergreen or deciduous leaves. The flowers 
of some are ten inches in diameter, but most 
bear smaller flowers. They are white or purple- 
white in color and are noted for their fragrance. 
The wood is of little value on account of its 
being soft and spongy, but some of the trees at¬ 
tain a lai'ge size and yield woods utilized in 
manufacturing ornamental products and baskets. 
Some species have roots of which the bark is 
serviceable in preparing a useful tonic. The 
Virginian magnolia, or Magnolia Grandiflora, 
has properties that are utilized in making medi¬ 
cine for treating rheumatic complaints, while the 
Magnolia Umbrella yields a tonic. The largest 


American species is common to the region from 
North Carolina to the Gulf. It attains to the 
height of seventy feet, has evergreen laurellike 
leaves, and bears a whitish flower. The Mag¬ 
nolia Yulan has been cultivated nearly 2,000 
years in China, where it thrives at high eleva¬ 
tions and serves as a favorite ornamental tree. 

MAGPIE (mag'pi), the name of a beautiful 
bird classed with the crow family, but differing 
from the common crow in having a smaller 
body, short wings, a long tail, and various col¬ 
ors. Several species of magpies have been de¬ 
scribed, two of which are native to America, and 
abound from the northern portion of the conti¬ 
nent to the Gulf of California. The common 
magpie is from fourteen to eighteen inches in 
length, has black and white plumage with mark¬ 
ings of purple and green, and is shy, but cunning 
in obtaining food and avoiding enemies. It 
subsists principally on animal food and preys 
upon the eggs and young of other birds, for 
which purpose it robs their nests promiscuously. 
The nests are built substantially, some species 
constructing a dome of interwoven sticks for 
protection, and the eggs are usually from six to 
nine in number, bluish-green in color, and 
blotched with ashen hues. The magpie is gen¬ 
erally met with in pairs, issues a chattering note, 
and may be domesticated, even showing capa¬ 
bility of learning to articulate some words by 
imitation, and is inclined to hide articles of 
bright color. Most species are shy in a native 
state, but in populated districts they become fa¬ 
miliar and build their nests under the eaves of 
habitations and churches. 

MAHABARATA (ma-ha-ba'ra-ta), a cele¬ 
brated epic in the literature of India, compris¬ 
ing a history of the war waged in the ancient* 
kingdom of Bharata. It is sixteen times as long 
as the Iliad of Homer, and is usually divided 
into eighteen books. The principal part of the 
work treats of the contest between the Kaura- 
vas and the Pandavas. It recites in an interest¬ 
ing manner how the ancient families of the 
Kauravas, owing to their conceit and wicked¬ 
ness, were overthrown by the Pandavas, who 
are treated as the heroes of the epic. The latter 
are lauded as faithful in their worship of the 
true god Krishna, the human incarnation of 
Vishnu. It is the opinion of most writers that 
the poem originated through a collection of ma¬ 
terials produced in different periods, and the 
Hindus attribute it to Vyasa, who is spoken of 
as the arranger. 

MAHANADI (ma-ha-nud'e), or Mahanud- 
dy, a river in the southern part of India, rises 
in the Central Provinces, and flows into the 
Bay of Bengal by a large delta. It receives the 


MAHANOY CITY 


1299 


MAIDENHAIR 


inflow from several tributaries and has a total 
length of 520 miles. During the rainy seasons 
it carries a large volume of water, the surplus 
being utilized to irrigate a large scope of coun¬ 
try. In the dry season it becomes very low. 

MAHANOY CITY (ma-ha-noi'), a borough 
of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the an¬ 
thracite coal region, ten miles north of Potts- 
ville. It is on the Lehigh Valley and the Phila¬ 
delphia and Reading railroads. Among the chief 
buildings are the public library, the high school, 
and several fine churches. It has extensive 
iron works and is important as a mining and 
shipping center for anthracite coal. The vicin¬ 
ity was first settled in 1859 and the place was 
chartered as a borough in 1863. Population, 
1900, 13,504; in 1910, 15,936. 

M A H D I (ma'de), the name given by the 
Mohammedans to the messiah that was prom¬ 
ised by Mohammed, who is expected to appear 
and fill the world with righteousness by effecting 
the universal adoption of Mohammedanism. 
The appellation was applied particularly to a 
successor of Mohammed named Abu’l-Kasim, 
the twelfth Imam, who disappeared mysterious¬ 
ly in 879 a. d. It was generally believed that he 
had gone to an unknown abode for the purpose 
of preparing a place for the righteous, and that 
he would reappear on the last day. Since then 
there have been many ntahdis who claimed pow¬ 
er and authority, the most prominent of recent 
times being Mohammed Ahmed. He was born 
in Dongola, Nubia, in 1842, and died of small¬ 
pox June 25, 1885. This mahdi took a course in 
Mohammedan theology at Khartoum and Ber¬ 
ber, and retired to the island of Afra in the 
White Nile at the age of 25 years, where he 
lived in studious solitude until 1882, when he 
proclaimed himself the messiah. The loose gov¬ 
ernment of Egypt made it possible for him to 
raise a considerable army. He declared a Holy 
War {jihad) and seized Kordofan in 1883, which 
he made his capital. In November of the same 
year he defeated an Egyptian army of 10,000 
under Hicks Pasha, and in 1885 conquered 
Khartum, where General Gordon was killed. 

MAHOGANY (ma-hog'a-ny), a large tree 
of the order Meliaceae, common to tropical 
America, noted for its close-grained and hard 
wood. The tree reaches maturity in a period of 
200 years. It attains a height of fifty to ninety 
feet, with a diameter of from five to twelve feet, 
and has lofty and spreading branches. Its flowers 
* are fragrant and the fruit is the size of a tur¬ 
key’s egg. The wood is one of the most valu¬ 
able, being hard, reddish-brown, compact, and 
capable of taking a fine polish. It is useful in 
jthe manufacture of furniture, musical instru¬ 


ments, and for veneering. Sir Walter Raleigh 
brought the first specimens of mahogany wood 
to Europe, but it was not used extensively in 
the industries until about 1725. Mexico, Hon¬ 
duras, and the West Indies are the countries 
where mahogany is produced most extensively. 



MAHOGANY. 

a, flower; partly opened fruit. 

The term mahogany is often applied to any cyie 
of various trees yielding wood which resembles 
the true mahogany, such as the rohuna tree of 
India and the mountain mahogany of the west¬ 
ern part of the United States. 

MAHRATTAS (ma-rat'taz), a people of 
British India, who are supporters of the Hindu 
caste and religious systems, but are thought to 
be of Persian descent. The first mention of 
them in history occurred in the 17th century, 
when they came in contact with the Mongols, 
and in 1761 fought a series of battles against in¬ 
cursions of the Afghans. Their possessions ex¬ 
tended along the western side of the peninsula. 
They were reduced to dependence by the British 
in the early part of the 19th century. The last 
Mahratta ruler held out against the Europeans 
by employing French troops and discipline, but 
he was defeated in 1843 by the British. The 
three Mahratta states of Indore, Gwalior, and 
Baroda did not participate in the Sepoy Mutiny 
of 1857 and are now governed respectively by 
officials who bear the titles of Holkar, Sindia, 
and Gaekwar. These people at present do not 
support caste laws with much strenuosity, but 
are noted as Brahma worshipers of considerable 
earnestness. 

MAIDENHAIR, the name of a class of 
small ferns, including several species that are 
distributed in both hemispheres. They are deli¬ 
cate and graceful plants and thrive best on moist 
rocks and in shady places. Some of the species 
are cultivated as house ferns. The common 
maidenhair has pedate leaves and sweet root¬ 
stocks. 



MAIN 


1300 


MAINE 


MAIN, a river of south central Germany, 
rises in the Fichtelgebirge. It has a general 
course toward the west, and joins the Rhine 
near Mentz. The Main is 306 miles long, is 
navigable about 200 miles, and affords connec¬ 
tions with the Danube by Ludwig’s Canal. Its 
valley is highly fertile, contains several pros¬ 
perous cities, and is noted for the culture of 
cereals and the vine. Among the chief cities on 
its banks are Frankfort, Wurzburg, Schweinfurt, 
and Offenbach. 

MAINE, the most northeasterly state of the 
United States, one of the New England group, 
popularly called the Pine Tree State. It is 
bounded on the north and east by British Ameri¬ 
ca, south by the Atlantic, and west by New 
Hampshire and Quebec. The length from north 



to south is 302 miles; breadth, 185 miles; and 
area, 33,040 square miles. The Atlantic coast 
has a length of 245 miles and is indented by nu¬ 
merous inlets, including Casco, Penobscot, Blue- 
hill, Frenchman, Machias, and Passamaquoddy 
Bays. A large number of small islands lie off 
the coast. 

Description. Much of the surface is mod¬ 
erately hilly, the general slope being toward the 
south. Through the center and along the west¬ 
ern boundary are groups of mountains, includ¬ 
ing chiefly ranges of the White Mountains, 
which extend into the State from New Hamp¬ 
shire. The highest elevation is Mount Katahdin, 


located in the north central part, and has an ele¬ 
vation of 5,250 feet. Other elevations of prom¬ 
inence are Saddleback Mountain, 4,000 feet, and 
Mount Baker, 3,390 feet. The coast is fringelike 
and has many natural harbors, but these have 
the disadvantage of exceedingly high tides, 
which range from eight to fourteen feet. The 
islands and headlands of the coast are rocky. 

Maine has many inland lakes. Fully 600 are 
of considerable size and the total lake surface is 
about 2,350 square miles. Moosehead Lake, the 
largest inland body of water, has a surface of 
120 square miles and is the source of the Ken¬ 
nebec River. Rangeley Lake, the source of 
the Androscoggin River, covers 90 square miles. 
Other lakes of large size include Chamberlin, 
Eagle, Milinokett, Grand, Sebec, Richardson, 
and Sebago lakes. Many of the streams afford 
excellent water power. All of the larger rivers 
flow southward into the Atlantic. A part of 
the northern boundary is, formed by the Saint 
John and on the eastern border flows the Saint 
Croix, which separates the lower part of Maine 
from New Brunswick. • The Penobscot River, 
which rises near the western, border, drains the 
central part of the State and flows into Penob¬ 
scot Bay. The Allegash and the Aroostook are 
tributaries of the Saint John. Other rivers in¬ 
clude the Kennebec, Androscoggin, Saco, Salm¬ 
on Falls, Union, and Machias. Nearly all of 
the rivers are rapid and have many cataracts 
hence are not valuable for commerce. However, 
the Kennebec is navigable to Augusta, 26 miles, 
and the Penobscot to Bangor, 25 miles. 

The climate is temperate and characterized 
in wintef by severe cold and in summer by ex¬ 
tremely warm weather. In January the mean 
temperature is 20° and in July it is 68 p . The 
extremes of summer are from 90° to 98° and in 
winter from 20° to 30° below zero. Sudden 
and violent changes in the weather" are quite 
frequent, owing to the winds blowing alter¬ 
nately from the north and south. Snow falls 
to considerable depths in the winter, but the ex¬ 
cellent drainage renders the State one of the 
most healthful, malaria being of very rare oc¬ 
currence. The rainfall for the whole State is 
forty inches and it is quite evenly distributed 
throughout the year. 

Mining. The State is rich in fine building 
and monument stone.. The coast and the region 
extending many miles inland are noted for the 
vast deposits of granite, which occur in great 
veins or in eruptive masses. Limestone is quar- * 
ried extensively and much of the product is 
utilized in the manufacture of lime. Considera¬ 
ble profit is obtained from the output of slate, 
and many localities have sand well fitted for the 





MAINE 


1301 


MAINE 


manufacture of a superior quality of glass. 
Small quantities of iron, gold, silver, tin, cop¬ 
per, and manganese are obtained. Large and 
beautiful crystals of tourmalin are found in Ox¬ 
ford County, and mineral springs yield waters 
that are of high commercial importance. 

Fisheries and Forests. The fisheries take 
high rank among those of New England and a 
large number of people are engaged in the fish¬ 
ing industry. Lobster fishing has a high place, 
being more important in the State than in all 
the remainder of New England, and clam fish¬ 
ing is next in importance. The salmon fisher¬ 
ies are the largest on the Atlantic coast. Other 
catches include the herring, cod, halibut, and 
menhaden. Much of the product is cured and 
canned. 

The State has forests estimated at 23,700 
square miles, about 78 per cent, of the total land 
area, and the value of its timber products is 
$15,000,000 annually. Although the primeval 
forests have been cut over, a large output of 
lumber is obtained from the second growth. 
The most valuable timber lands are in the basin 
of the Saint John River, but fine forests are 
available in the region drained by the Penobscot 
and the Androscoggin. Among the chief vari¬ 
eties are spruce, birch, poplar, fur, hemlock, and 
cedar. 

Agriculture. The rugged and broken surface 
renders much of the State unfit for cultivation, 
but many # of the river valleys are very fertile. 
In the Aroostook valley, in the northeastern 
part of the State, is a large region of fertile 
farming land. Hay is the chief crop and is 
grown on a larger acreage than the aggregate 
of all the land devoted to the cultivation of 
cereals and vegetables. Among the products 
are oats, potatoes, buckwheat, corn, and barley, 
but the acreage devoted to eaeh of these is not 
considerableN The raising of apples is an im¬ 
portant and growing enterprise and the quality 
produced is of a high class. Sheep are repre¬ 
sented by larger numbers than any other do¬ 
mestic animals, being due to the fact that much 
of the cut-over timber *land yields suitable pas¬ 
turage. Cattle are grown to some extent for 
the market, but principally for the dairy prod¬ 
ucts, in which the State ranks next to Vermont 
in the New England group. Other domestic 
animals include horses, swine, mules, and poul¬ 
try. 

Manufacturing. Maine is particularly fa¬ 
vored by having an abundance of water power. 
This factor, combined with its timber resources 
and large deposits of commercial stone, gives it 
considerable importance as a manufacturing 
State. Nearly twelve per cent, of the inhabi¬ 


tants engage in this enterprise. Shipbuilding 
has long been an important industry, but it has 
declined somewhat with the increased use of 
steel for the construction of vessels. Bath has 
extensive shipyards and has produced many of 
tjie seagoing vessels made in the United States. 
The manufacture of cotton goods takes high 
rank and may be classed in importance with the 
industries of lumbering and paper making. 
Large returns are obtained from the canning 
and preserving of fish, from the manufacture of 
woolen goods, and from the products of foun¬ 
dries and machine shops. Other manufactures 
include flour, leather, furniture, clothing, slate 
shingles, monuments, lime, and earthenware. 

Transportation and Commerce. The Atlan¬ 
tic coast, including the indentations, has a 
length of nearly 2,500 miles. At present there 
are in operation 2,150 miles of railways and 
3,500 miles of electric lines. Though railroad 
transportation is extensive, the lines are con¬ 
fined chiefly to the southern and eastern parts of 
the State. They include the Maine Central, the 
Boston and Maine, the Canadian Pacific, and 
the Grand Trunk, the two last mentioned being 
transcontinental railways of Canada. Portland, 
on Casco Bay, is the principal railway center. 
Steamers ply regularly between the largest cit¬ 
ies of Maine and the commercial centers of the 
United States and Canada. The exports greatly 
exceed the imports. The former consists large¬ 
ly of lumber, cotton goods, granite, and boots 
and shoes, while the imports embrace principally 
sugar, wool, coal, and food stuffs. 

Education. The illiteracy is 5.1 per cent, of 
the population ten years of age or over, but 
among the native white inhabitants it is only 2.4 
per cent. Much attention has been given to de¬ 
velop the educational interests from an early 
period. -The town is the smallest unit for the 
management of the schools and the compulsory 
attendance period is from seven to fifteen years 
inclusive. High schools are maintained in all 
the towns and cities, all of which have well- 
articulated courses of study and prepare the 
students for higher work in the academies and 
colleges. Formerly much of the secondary in¬ 
struction was given in private academies, but 
free academic instruction has been maintained 
in the towns since 1873. Towns have been per¬ 
mitted, since r 1889, to contract with any acad¬ 
emy or high school for the tuition of their stu¬ 
dents, hence such schools receive the same aid 
as those regularly maintained by public taxation. 
About 15,000 students attend the 215 high 
schools which receive aid from the State. 

State normal schools are maintained at Cas- 
tine, Farmington, and Gorham. Supplementary 


MAINE 


1302 


MAJESTY 


instruction is given to teachers under the direc¬ 
tion of the State superintendent, who is author¬ 
ized to provide for a number of summer schools. 
The University of Maine is at Orono, in which 
the educational system terminates. Among the 
private and denominational institutions are Col¬ 
by College at Waterville, Bowdoin College at 
Brunswick, Bates College at Lewiston, West¬ 
brook Seminary at Deering, and Maine Wes¬ 
leyan College at Kent’s Hill. Portland has the 
school for the deaf and the Maine General Hos¬ 
pital, Bangor has an orphan asylum, and Bath 
has a military and naval orphans’ asylum. The 
penitentiary is at Thomaston, the industrial 
school for girls is at Hallowed, and the indus¬ 
trial school for boys is near Portland. Augusta 
and Bangor have hospitals for the insane. A 
large number of the convicts are employed in 
industrial work, such as making furniture, har¬ 
ness, and brooms. 

Government. The present constitution was 
adopted in 1819 and the State was admitted the 
next year. It vests the executive authority in a 
Governor, who is elected for a term of two 
years, a plurality vote being necessary to elec¬ 
tion. Other State officers include the treasurer 
and secretary of State, both elected by the peo¬ 
ple, and an adjutant general and superintendent 
of public instruction, who are appointed by the 
Governor and council. The Legislature is com¬ 
posed of a senate and house of representatives, 
the former having 31 and the latter 151 mem¬ 
bers. Meetings of the Legislature convene bi¬ 
ennially on the first Wednesday in January. 
Eight judges compose the supreme court, and 
they serve under appointment by the Governor 
and council for a term of seven years. A su¬ 
perior court is maintained in Portland. Each 
county has a probate judge. The officials of 
towns have larger powers in local government 
in Maine than in most of the states, and in this 
respect it resembles the other states of the New 
England group. 

Inhabitants. The increase in population has 
not kept pace with the states of the northwest. 
At present the average is 24 persons to the 
square mile. Comparatively few of the people 
are of foreign birth and the foreign element is 
made up largely of Canadians and French. Au¬ 
gusta, on the Kennebec River, is the capital, 
and Portland is the largest city.' Other cities 
include Lewiston, Bangor, Biddeford, Auburn, 
Bath, Rockland, Belfast, Westbrook, Calais, 
Gardiner, and Waterville. In 1900 the State 
had a population of 694',466. This included a 
colored population of 2,240, of which four were 
Japanese, 112 Chinese, 798 Indians, and 1,319 
Negroes. Population, 1910, 742,371. 


History. The Cabots visited the coast of 
Maine in 1497, being the first white men to ex¬ 
plore that region after the discovery of Ameri¬ 
ca by Columbus. In 1524 Verrazano cruised 
along the coast and landed at several places, but 
the early attempts made by French, English, 
and Dutch to found settlements were unsuc¬ 
cessful. The first notable English colony was 
established in 1607 by George Popham near the 
mouth of the Kennebec River, where Capt. John 
Smith was located for a time, but it was aban¬ 
doned the next year. Sir Ferdinando Gorges 
obtained grants to territory between the Pis- 
cataqua and Kennebec rivers, and that part of 
Maine passed to Massachusetts in 1652. The 
Duke of York came into possession of eastern 
Maine in 1664, w'hich portion likewise was an¬ 
nexed to Massachusetts in 1691, while the whole 
of Maine remained a part of Massachusetts until 
1820. On April 15, 1820, Maine was admitted 
into the Union as the twenty-third State, and 
the first constitution is still in operation. A 
dispute regarding the northeastern boundary 
was settled by the Ashburton Treaty in 1842, 
though its boundary with Massachusetts had al¬ 
ready been settled in 1737. The Maine law pro¬ 
hibiting the manufacture and sale of spirituous 
liquors was passed in 1851, but was further 
strengthened in 1858. In both the Civil and 
the Spanish-American wars Maine furnished its 
proportionate share of men to support the gov¬ 
ernment. It has considerable natural^ resources 
yet undeveloped, which are attracting "the atten¬ 
tion of both capitalists and laborers. 

MAINE, University of, a coeducational in¬ 
stitution of higher learning at Orono, Me. It 
was established in 1865 as the State College of 
Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, but was reor¬ 
ganized under its present name in 1897. The 
departments include those of agriculture, law, 
engineering, pharmacy, and arts and sciences. 
With it is affiliated the Maine Agricultural Ex¬ 
periment Station. It has a library of 25,000 vol¬ 
umes. The value of the college property is 
$325,000. The faculty consists of 65 teachers 
and professors and the ‘ attendance is 550 stu¬ 
dents. 

MAINZ. See Mentz. 

MAIZE. See Corn, Indian. 

MAJESTY (maj'es-ty), a title of kings, 
queens and emperors. It is generally used with 
the. possessive pronoun, as, his majesty, your 
majesty, or, in the plural, their majesties. The 
King of England is spoken to directly as your 
majesty, and letters are addressed “To the 
King’s Most Excellent Majesty.” Various ap¬ 
pellations were made to divers sovereigns at 
different times. “Most Catholic Majesty” was 


MAJOLICA 


1303 


MALARIA 


the former address applied to the King of 
Spain; “Apostolic Majesty,” to the kings of 
Hungary; and “Most Christian Majesty,” to the 
kings of France. “Imperial Royal Majesty” is a 
title now used in addressing the emperors of 
Germany and Austro-Hungary. 

MAJOLICA (ma-jol'i-ka), a species of fine 
pottery manufactured extensively in Italy from 
the early part of the 15th century. It is thought 
to‘ have been produced first on Majorca, an 
island called Majolica in the Italian. At first it 
was made of coarse material and was orna¬ 
mented with a plumbiferous glaze, but later a 
more beautiful stanniferous glazing was in¬ 
vented, by which the pottery was rendered more 
durable and of a more enameledlike appearance. 
Later fine paintings of ruby and golden tints 
were applied, which have been remarkable in 
preserving their appearance and mold. Within 
recent years it has become possible to reproduce 
this ware with much success, and vases, tablets, 
friezes, and flower pots are now made of it. 

MAJOR (ma'jer), in military, the lowest in 
rank of the field officers, being classed below a 
lieutenant colonel and next above a captain. In 
the absence of the lieutenant colonel he dis¬ 
charges that officer’s duty, his usual duties be¬ 
ing to attend orders of superior officers and to 
have charge of exercises of the battalion or 
regiment. 

MAJORCA (ma-jor'ka), the largest island of 
the Balearic group, in the Mediterranean Sea, 
forming a part of the Spanish dominion. It has 
a length of 57 miles; breadth, 45 miles; area, 
1,332 square miles. The soil is generally fertile 
and the coast line is irregular. At many places 
the shores are precipitous and lofty. Several 
railway, lines are operated and others have been 
projected. The principal products include, fish, 
fruits, cereals, silk, hemp, cattle, and a number 
of minerals. Palma is the chief railroad and 
commercial town. Population, 1906, 251,968. 

MAJORITY (ma-jor'i-ty), the term applied 
to more than half of a given number or group, 
and used to designate the excess by which one 
group of things exceeds another group. In elec¬ 
tions it is employed to qualify the amount more 
than one-half of the votes cast for all the candi¬ 
dates who stand for the same office, and differs 
from a plurality in that the latter designates the 
number by which the votes cast for one candi¬ 
date exceed those cast for another, but not con¬ 
stituting a majority. Thus, 75 is a majority of 
21 over 54. On the other hand, no one of three 
candidates having respectively 25, 50 and 68 
votes has a majority of all the votes cast, but 
the one who received 68 votes has a plurality 
over each of the other two. The term majority 


is used to designate full age; the age at which, 
by the laws of any country, persons of sound 
mind are considered legally competent to man¬ 
age their own affairs. In most countries the 
period of minority ceases and the age of ma¬ 
jority begins at 21 years. 

MAKAW, the name of a small tribe of In¬ 
dians in the United States, who live upon a 
small reservation in the vicinity of Puget 
Sound. They appear to have crossed over from 
Vancouver Island. The women do fancy basket 
and bead work and the men are skilled as fish¬ 
ers and boatmen. The men are peculiar in that 
many of them wear beards, although this may be 
due to the fact that they are an admixture with 
the Russians. 

MALACCA (ma-lak'ka), or Malakka, a 

British possession on the southwestern coast of 
the Malay Peninsula, constituting a part of the 
Straits Settlement. The area is 650 square 
miles. Much of the surface is low and swampy. 
Sago, rice", and pepper are the chief products. 
Malacca, the capital, has a population of 20,500. 
The territory has been a British possession since 
1874. Population, 1906, 93,274. 

MALACCA, Strait of, an important channel 
between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, 
which connects the China Sea with the Indian 
Ocean. It is from 32 to 140 miles wide and 
about 475 miles long. A number of islands are 
located in the narrower part of the channel, in¬ 
cluding the British settlement of Singapore. 

MALAGA (mal'a-ga), a seaport of southern 
Spain, capital of % the Malaga province, on the 
Mediterranean Sea, seventy miles northeast of 
Gibraltar. It dates from the times of the Ro¬ 
mans, when it developed a large commerce, and 
during Moorish occupation its dockyard and 
quay were improved materially, much of the 
works still existing. The manufactures include 
cotton and woolen' goods, leather, clothing, 
cordage, ironware, soap, and machinery. The 
export and import trade is large, consisting 
principally in cereals, wines, salt, iron manufac¬ 
tures, and fruits. Sugar is one of the leading 
products and exports. The construction of rail¬ 
roads to interior points has given the trade of 
the city a vast impetus. Among the improve¬ 
ments are several public schools, the govern¬ 
ment buildings, and modern municipal facilities. 
The climate is remarkable for its uniformity, 
healthfulness, and many days of sunshine. Fer¬ 
dinand and Isabella expelled the Moors from 
Malaga in 1487, since which time it has been a 
Spanish city. Population, 1906, 132,630. 

MALAR. See Lake Malar. . 

MALARIA (ma-la'ri-a), a morbid poison 
originated in swamps, or the effluvia from the 


MALARIA 


1304 


MALAY PENINSULA 


decomposition of vegetable or animal matter. 
When a large quantity of such a poison is in¬ 
haled, it affects the system through the blood 
often as long as twelve months after one has 
been exposed to it, and in many cases exerts its 
depressive influence through life. It emanates 
most readily from marshy land under the influ¬ 
ence of heat at 60° Fahr., but is not generated 
under thorough drainage, or when the land is 
flooded with much water or is frozen. An ele¬ 
vation of more than 1,000 feet above sea level is 
proof against malaria. The diseases arising 
from it include intermittent and congestive 



Deaths for each Month in 1908. 

fevers, ague, and a class of yellow fever. Rice 
fields and 'marshy regions of tropical and semi- 
tropical countries are most commonly affected. 
The west coast of Africa and the Roman Cam- 
pagna of Europe are noted malarial districts. 

Charles Laveran, a French physician, in 1880, 
discovered that the disease known as malaria 
is due, not to poisonous emanations from certain 
soils, but to an animal parasite found in the 
blood of man and many animals. These para¬ 
sites belong to a class of protozoa. Additional 
information on this subject was furnished in 
1899 by Major Ross, who was stationed at Cal¬ 
cutta with the British army. With the aid of 
several physicians he found that mosquitoes fill 
themselves with the infected blood of birds and 
other animals, and then deposit their eggs and 
die near them. In this way the water becomes 
contaminated with the germs of the disease, is 
fed upon by the larvae, or is drunk by man. The 
young mosquitoes, being infected with the para¬ 


sites, carry them to human beings, as well as to 
the water and to other animals taken as food by 
man. As a means of protection against ma¬ 
laria, plans have been devised to destroy the 
mosquito, which is done by fumes of tobacco, 
gases, odors of turpentine, garlic, and by pour¬ 
ing petroleum upon the surface of ponds and 
marshes where the insects breed and propagate 
their species. 

MALAY ARCHIPELAGO (ma-la'), the 

most important group of islands in the world, 
situated southeast of Asia. This group is fre¬ 
quently called the Asiatic, Indian, or Eastern 
Archipelago. It is surrounded by the China 
Sea, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Australia, and 
Malaya; the last named region does not belong 
to the group. Within the confines of the archi¬ 
pelago are thousands of islands, many of which 
are small, but all are more or less fertile and 
produce luxuriant vegetation. The principal 
islands include Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Celebes, 
the Philippines, the Moluccas, Bali, Madura, 
Banca, Timor, Flores, Billiton, Sumbawa, Lom¬ 
bok, and Ceram. This group includes many 
active volcanoes in different parts of the archi¬ 
pelago. Malays constitute the principal race, 
but there are various other races and a small 
per cent, of Europeans. The productions are 
largely tropical, embracing minerals, fish, tobac¬ 
co, fine fruits, gum elastic, coffee, tea, sugar, 
rice, timber, and various domestic animals. 
Holland has the principal possessions, to which 
the name Dutch East Indies is applied. 

MALAY PENINSULA, Malaya, or Malac¬ 
ca, a long, narrow stretch of land extending 
from Burmah and Siam, in Asia, in a general 
southeasterly direction, separated from Sumatra 
by the Strait of Malacca. The eastern boundary 
is formed by the China Sea and the Gulf of 
Siam, and the Isthmus of Kra forms a connec¬ 
tion with Lower Siam. The width is from 25 
to 215 miles, and the area is about 91,500 square 
miles. It has extensive ranges of mountains, 
some of which are from 5,000 to 8,500 feet above 
the sea. Dense forests cover the mountain dis¬ 
tricts and many of the lowlands. The drainage 
is by numerous rivers, but they are generally 
small. A large part of the surface is very pro¬ 
ductive. Tin and other minerals abound, espe¬ 
cially iron, coal, silver, and gold. The agricul¬ 
tural products include sugar, cotton, rice, yams, 
tobacco, pepper, and many varieties of fruit. 
Malays, Siamese, and Negritos constitute the 
principal native population, and a large per cent, 
of Chinese have settled in the region. The 
southwestern portion of the peninsula consists 
of British territory, to which the name Malacca 
is applied, and of which Malacca is the capital 




MALAYS 


1305 


MALMO 


city. Independent chiefs still control large 
tracts under treaties with Siam and Great Brit¬ 
ain. The total population is estimated at 1,750,- 
000 . 

MALAY S (ma-laz'), one of the principal 
secondary races, closely allied to the Polyne¬ 
sian. This race of man is found largely in the 
Malay Peninsula, the Malay Archipelago, the is¬ 
land of Madagascar, and the islands of the In¬ 
dian and Pacific oceans. The Malays are of low 
stature, less than medium weight, and bear some 
resemblance to the Mongolians, although the 
eyes are horizontal, the face is flat, and the hair 
is less coarse and straight. The beard is scant, 
the skin varies from a clear brown to a dark 
olive, and the language is characterized by much 
phonetic and grammatical simplicity. Arabic 
characters were used in their writing until com¬ 
paratively recent times, when the Roman system 
came into use. They have constituted the best 
traders of the Malay Archipelago since the 13th 
century, engage in agriculture and rude manu¬ 
facture, and build simple but fixed homes. Ac¬ 
cording to their tradition and history, they first 
occupied portions of Sumatra, where they estab¬ 
lished the state of Menangkabo, and thence 
spread in large numbers to other sections, but 
at present they are tributary principally to Hol¬ 
land. 

MALCOLM (mal'kum), the name of four 
kings of Scotland, who reigned between 943 and 
1165. Malcolm I. reigned from 943 to 954. He 
secured the cession of Cumbria from the Eng¬ 
lish king, Edmund I., in 946. Malcolm II. be¬ 
came king in 1003 and died in 1033; Malcolm 
III. ascended the throne in 1056 and was slain 
in battle on Nov. 13, 1093; and Malcolm IV. suc¬ 
ceeded to the throne in 1153 and died Dec. 9, 
1165, in his 24th year. 

MALDEN (mal'den), a city of Middlesex 
County, Massachusetts, on the Malden River, 
five miles north of Boston. It is on the Boston 
and Maine Railroad and has communication by 
many electric lines. Among the noteworthy 
buildings are the public library, the post office, 
the Y. M. C. A. building, and the Home for 
Aged Persons. The manufactures are very ex¬ 
tensive, including principally large quantities of 
rubber shoes, clothing, carpets, 'cordage, paper, 
leather, boots and shoes, and machinery. Mal¬ 
den was settled in 1641, was a part of Charles¬ 
town until 1649, and was* chartered as a city in 
1881. Population, 19(J5,37,990; in 1910, 44,404. 

MALDIVE ISLANDS (mal'div), an archi¬ 
pelago in the Indian ocean, situated south¬ 
west of Ceylon and extending a distance of 540 
miles from north to south. It includes seven¬ 
teen groups of atolls, most of which have a fer¬ 


tile soil and rich forests of palm and other 
trees. They produce tropical fruits and vegeta¬ 
tion. Fish abound off the shores and many spe¬ 
cies of birds are native here. The inhabitants 
are governed by a Sultan under a British pro¬ 
tectorate. They engage chiefly in agriculture 
and carry on trade relations with Ceylon, In¬ 
dia, and other regions of South Asia. The 
island of Male, or Mold, contains the capital, 
and is three-quarters of a mile wide by one 
mile long. Mohammedanism is the principal 
religion of the inhabitants, who number about 
32,125. 

MALHEUR (mal-oor'), a lake and river of 
Oregon. The lake receives the water from Sil¬ 
ver River and several other streams, but has no 
outlet to the sea. It is about ten milo-s wide and 
eighteen miles long. The Malheur River rises in 
the vicinity of Malheur Lake. It has a general 
northeasterly course of 175 miles and flows into 
the Snake River at the boundary between Ore¬ 
gon and Idaho. 

MALLEABILITY (mal-le-a-bil'i-ty), the 
property of matter by means of which it may be 
beaten or rolled into thin sheets. It is confined 
.almost entirely to metals, and nearly all of the 
metals possess this property. Gold surpasses all 
the other metals in malleability and gold leaf is 
so thin that .it is transparent. The malleability 
of some of the metals is in the following order: 
gold, silver, copper, platinum, palladium, iron, 
aluminum, tin, zinc, lead, and nickel. 

MALLOW (mal'lo), a family of plants, con¬ 
sisting mostly of herbs and shrubs, but includ¬ 
ing a number of trees. About 800 species have 
been described, most of which are widely dis¬ 
tributed, but the largest representation is in the 
warm climates. In North America this family 
is represented by about 125 native species and 
about a dozen more have been introduced. To 
this family belong the rose mallow and the hol- 
lyhock i both ornamental plants, as well as the 
okra, which produces edible pods that are used 
in the southern part of the United States. The 
plants that produce cotton are classed with the 
mallow family and belong to the species known 
as marsh mallow. The musk mallow is quite 
frequent in America and is characterized by a 
musklike smell. See Marsh Mallow. 

MALMO (malm'e), a seaport city of Sweden, 
capital of the province of Malmohus, situated 
across the sound from Copenhagen. The note¬ 
worthy buildings include the Church of Saint 
Peter, the governor’s residence, the public li¬ 
brary, the city hall, and many schools. It has a 
large number of important steamboat and rail¬ 
way lines, a growing commercial trade, and ex¬ 
tensive manufactures of machinery, cotton and 


MALPLAQUET 


1306 


MAMARONECK 


woolen goods, clothing, spirituous liquors, and 
wearing apparel. The general facilities include 
a public library, electric street railways and 
lights, and an excellent system of public edu¬ 
cation. The inhabitants are chiefly Lutherans. 
Malmo has belonged to Sweden since 1658. 
Population, 1906, 75,691. 

MALPLAQUET (mal-pla-ka'), a village of 
France, in the department of Nord, nineteen 
miles east of Valenciennes. It is noted as the 
scene of a battle on Sept. 11, 1709, in which the 
French under Marshal Villars were defeated by 
the Dutch and British under Prince Eugene and 
the Duke of Marlborough. Each army con¬ 
sisted of about 100,000 men. The loss of each 
was nearly 20,000, but the victory of the allies 
was signal and resulted in the capture of Mons 
and Douai. 

MALT, the name applied to grain that has 
been artificially germinated by moisture and 
heat. It is usually prepared of barley, which 
is steeped in water and fermented in order to 
convert the starch of the grain into saccharine 
matter, and is dried in a kiln, after which it is 
used in the distillation of whisky and for the 
manufacture of beer, ale, or porter. 

MALTA (mal'ta), an island belonging to* 
Great Britain, situated in the Mediterranean 
Sea, 58 miles south of Sicily and 180 miles north 
of Africa. The colony of Malta includes Gozo, 
Comino, and several other small islands. Malta 
proper has an area of 95 square miles, Gozo 
about 20, and the total colony 117. Several fine 
harbors are on the shore of Malta, that of Va- 
letta being the best, and the colony includes one 
of the most important naval stations of Great 
Britain. Agriculture is the principal industry, 
yielding cotton, potatoes, corn, oranges, figs, 
and many species of tropical fruits. The man¬ 
ufactures embrace lace, cotton goods, clothing, 
matches, filigree, machinery, and utensils. It 
has an important commercial trade, Malta be¬ 
ing a noted center for reloading and storage. A 
general public school system is maintained. 
Other educational institutions include a uni¬ 
versity and business, professional, and indus¬ 
trial colleges. The language spoken chiefly is 
Arabic, since the natives are descendants from 
the Arabians, but Italian is understood and 
spoken by a considerable number. 

The government is administered by a resident 
governor. Roman Catholicism and Moham¬ 
medanism are the prevailing religions. Several 
railways, telegraph connections, telephone lines, 
and steamship communication are maintained. 
Valetta is the capital and most important city. 

The history of Malta begins about 1,000 b. c., 
when it was settled by Phoenician traders, but 


in 700 b. c. the Greeks conquered it. In 480 b. c. 
it fell to the Carthaginians, became a Roman 
colony in 216 b. c., and later was possessed by 
the Vandals and Goths. The Arabs conquered 
it in 870 a. d., and in 1814 it was recognized as 
a British dependency by the Congress of Vi¬ 
enna. Many antiquities are found on the islands 
of Malta and Gozo, and points of interest are 
shown to tourists in connection with the visit of 
Saint Paul, who remained on the island of 
Malta a period of three months. Population, 
1907, 206,690. 

MALTA, Knights of, a religious and mili¬ 
tary order dating from about 1048, when it was 
founded at Jerusalem in a hospital dedicated to 
Saint John the Baptist. It partook more largely 
of a military character some years after its or¬ 
ganization, defended the Christian faith against 
the Moslems and other unbelievers, but began to 
decline after the Reformation. The Knights of 
Malta adopted the Maltese Cross, an eight- 
pointed figure, as their badge, and on it was the 
motto, “Pro fide,” meaning for the faith. Sev¬ 
eral modern associations trace their origin to 
the Knights of Malta, among them the cele¬ 
brated Red Cross Society. 

MALVERN HILL (malVern), Battle of, 
the last engagement of the Peninsular cam¬ 
paign, on July 1, 1862, after which General Mc¬ 
Clellan changed his base of operations to the 
James River. Malvern Hill is a town of Vir¬ 
ginia, about fifteen miles southeast of Rich¬ 
mond. After the battle of Frazer’s Farm, Mc¬ 
Clellan with 85,000 troops took a strong posi¬ 
tion on the top of a plateau. The Union army 
was strongly intrenched behind fences, ditches, 
and hedges. Their batteries and infantries com¬ 
manded the slopes, which the Confederates had 
to ascend to make an attack. It was planned to 
move in a uniform and concerted attack, but the 
Confederate army was distributed so General 
Lee’s order could not be communicated promptly 
to the different lines, and consequently the at¬ 
tack was not simultaneous. The brunt of the 
battle was borne by Generals Magruder and 
Hill, who led charge after charge, but the heavy 
artillery fire made their efforts of no avail. 
Heavy firing continued until nightfall, when Mc¬ 
Clellan withdrew to Harrison’s Landing, thus 
ending the Seven Days’ battles. The loss on 
both sides was heavy, and the result was that 
the attempted capture qf Richmond failed. 

MAMARONECK (ms^mar'o-nek), a town 
of New York, in Westchester County, on Long 
Island Sound, twenty miles east of New York 
City. It is on the New York, New Haven and 
Hartford Railroad and is a popular residential 
suburb of New York City. Besides many hand- 


MAMELUKES 


130 ? 


MAMMOTH 


* some dwellings, it has a number of fine schools 
and churches, and is the seat of the Larchmont 
Yacht Club. Population, 1905, 5,090. 

MAMELUKES (mam'e-luks), or Mama- 
lukes, a term applied by the Arabians to the 
white slaves of Egypt, who were introduced 
originally into that country from Asia Minor 
in the 13th century. At first they were used as a 
mounted bodyguard of the Sultan, but after¬ 
ward became the. regular cavalry of Egypt. 
They increased in power so rapidly that in 1254 
one of their number became the Sultan of Egypt. 
The Mameluke dynasty ruled Egypt and Syria 
until 1517, when it was overthrown by Selim I. 
Though their government was marked more or 
less by violence and war, it is noted in history as 
the most enlightened since the time of the Pha¬ 
raohs. Under their administration cities rose 
to much prosperity, irrigation canals were es¬ 
tablished, a postal system was organized, manu¬ 
factures were encouraged, and many industrial 
arts were promoted by the government. Both 
in Cairo and Alexandria are magnificent 
mosques that date from their time, while their 
works in metal, clothing, and utensils show 
them to have been both ingenious and enter¬ 
prising. Even after their downfall, in 1517, 
they continued to be the virtual ruling class in 
Egypt, and in 1798 they made a memorable 
charge upon Napoleon in the Battle of the Pyra¬ 
mids. Mehemet Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, treach¬ 
erously massacred 470 of the most important 
Mameluke princes in 1810, and soon after they 
practically disappeared from history. Mameluke 
is a term now applied in Turkey to a male ser¬ 
vant, usually a Circassian slave. 

MAMMALIA (mam-ma'li-a), the name given 
by Linnaeus to the highest class of the animal 
kingdom, now commonly employed by zoologists 
to describe all those that possess mammae, en¬ 
abling them to suckle their young. The term is 
sometimes applied erroneously to all quadru¬ 
peds. This classification is incorrect for the 
reason that some amphibians, as frogs and 
newts, and some reptiles, as lizards and croco¬ 
diles, are four-footed, but they do not possess 
mammary glands. On the other hand, the 
whales are not four-footed, but'are allied to the 
warm-blooded quadrupeds, and like them bring 
forth their young alive and suckle them. The 
term is therefore properly applied to all animals 
that have red, warm blood, of which the female 
produces milk by the mammary glands, such as 
seals, bats, warm-blooded quadrupeds, and man¬ 
kind. In mammals the skin is covered more or 
less with hair, which ranges from spines and 
bristles to the finest wool and silky down. Lips 
conceal the mouth, which is fitted for chewing 


by means of enameled teeth or equivalent bone 
formations. 

The skeleton of mammals generally agrees 
with that of. man in having solid bones, or, 
when hollowed, the bones are filled with mar¬ 
row, while the bones of the face are immovably 
fixed to each other. Most of the species have 
five toes. The front limbs are present in all 
mammals, but in some species, as the manatees 
and dugongs, the hind limbs are rudimentary or 
wanting completely. The respiration is by lungs, 
the diaphragm is complete, and the heart has 
two auricles and two ventricles. Different clas¬ 
sifications have been made of mammalia by 
Linnaeus, Cuvier, and other writers. The clas¬ 
sification made by Cuvier contains seven orders, 
as follows: Bimana, Quadrumana, Carnassiers, 
Marsupialia, Rodentia, Edentata, Pachydermata, 
Ruminantia, and Cetacea. 


MAMMOTH (mam'moth), a large extinct 
elephant which closely resembled the Indian ele- 



MAMMOTH. 


phant, of which fossil remains have been found 
in the northern part of North America, Europe, 
and Asia. The first mammoth discovered was 
found in 1799 on the shores of the Lena River, 
where it was imbedded in ice, and since then 
many others have been discovered. In 1806 a 
mammoth in good condition was found envel¬ 
oped in ice, which was afterward cut out and 
given a careful examination. The bones were 
not only intact, but the muscles, skin, hair, and 
internal organs were in a good state of preserva¬ 
tion. Subsequently great numbers of bones and 
tusks have been taken from the northern coast 
of Asia, and from islands in the Arctic Ocean 
adjacent to Siberia. The extinct mammoth ele¬ 
phant had an average height of about thirteen 
feet and a length of fifteen feet, and its tusks 
extended outward in a curved form to the length 
of eight feet. The hair was tufted and thick 
and about a foot in length, and a finer wool was 
underneath the outer growth. 


MAMMOTH CAVE 


1308 


MAN 


Writers generally agree in expressing the view 
that the average size of the mammoth was fully 
twice as large as the elephants now living. 
These animals lived before the glacial period, 
but seem to have been common for a long time 
after that period. The early cave dwellers of 
Europe utilized their tusks in making weapons 
and for engraving on them articles of ornament 
and utility. They were so abundant in Asiatic 
Russia that the fossil ivory found there became 
an article of commerce in the early part of the 
19th century, although these remains were of¬ 
fered in the market as early as the 10th century. 
The extermination and disappearance of these 
species is assigned to changes of climate, but 
the disappearance of forests and the disadvan¬ 
tage of their great size in battling against flesh¬ 
eating animals and the advance of settlements 
are other probable causes. The remains of a 
mammoth found in 1846 had been inclosed ap¬ 
parently in ice immediately after death, and its 
flesh was in such a good state of preservation 
that it was utilized as food for dogs. The Rus¬ 
sian government preserved some of the vital or¬ 
gans and the skeleton, which are now at the 
Royal Museum in Saint Petersburg. 

MAMMOTH CAVE, a remarkable cave 
near Green River, about 82 miles southwest of 
Louisville, Ky. It is formed in the limestone 
region, which stretches through Indiana, Ken¬ 
tucky, and Tennessee, covering about 6,000 
square miles. Exploring parties have penetrated 
fifteen miles in the cave, but the main cave is 
only about three miles long. It is estimated that 
all the rooms and their windings would permit 
traveling a distance of 175 miles. The largest 
apartment, known as the Chief City, is 125 feet 
high, 287 feet wide, and 544 feet long. A con¬ 
nection seems to exist between the Green River 
and the cave, since the water found in various 
parts of different chambers rises and falls in 
unison with that river. In the main it is dry, 
but there are several rivers and lakes, the largest 
of the former being Echo River, which is about 
three-fourths of a mile long and in places about 
200 feet wide. The cave is well ventilated and 
has many beautiful halls with stalagmite and 
stalactite formations. Some of the domes reach 
a height of 300 feet, notably Lucy’s Dome and 
the Egyptian Temple. Several species of ani¬ 
mals are found in the cave, among them rats, 
wingless beetles, and grasshoppers, and ambly- 
opsis fish, all of which are destitute of sight. A 
hunter by the name of Hutchins discovered 
Mammoth Cave in 1809. 

MAN, a term used to designate the human 
race, as distinguished from other forms, of ani¬ 
mal life. In zoology it is applied to a primate 


mammal, representing a special family of the * 
genus Homo. It is recorded in the Scriptures 
that God created man in his own image on the 
sixth day of creation. At that time he was a 
creature little lower than the angels, but was 
driven from the Garden of Eden because of par¬ 
taking of forbidden fruit, on account of which 
he became liable to death. It is further detailed 
that the duration of human life shortly after the 
expulsion from the Garden was nearly 1,000 
years, but it was gradually curtailed on account 
of the wickedness of the antediluvian world 
until the limits which still continue were 
reached. By a plan of salvation man was given 
a Savior, and those believing on him should 
overcome the evils of Adam’s sin, thereby se¬ 
curing everlasting life of the material body after 
death. The Jewish race was selected as a spe¬ 
cial people by God, from whom the Savior 
should descend, though there is some difference 
in opinion as to whether the Messiah has ap¬ 
peared, Christians holding that Jesus is the Sa¬ 
vior. 

Darwin accounts for man’s creation through* a 
process of evolution from a species of mollusks 
belonging to the Ascidia. From these he traces 
the line of ascent through the lancelet fish, later 
through the ganoids and other fish; thence up 
through the amphibians, reptiles, and birds; 
thence the line of ascent is through the mono- 
tremata, the lowest mammals, the marsupialia, 
the placentia, the lemurs, the simiidae, and final¬ 
ly the anthropoid apes. Naturalists have long 
discussed the question as to whether man con¬ 
stitutes a single species with several varieties, 
or more than one species. The general view is 
that there is but one species, and that all vari¬ 
eties descended from a single parent stock. 
Blumenbach divided mankind into five races— 
the Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian, American, 
and Malay. Cuvier reduces them to three pri¬ 
mary races, but mentions three secondary races. 
The primary races, according to Cuvier, are 
Caucasian, Mongolian, and Ethiopian, while the 
secondary races embrace the Malay, American, 
and Australian. 

Accredited writers generally agree upon the 
points of similarity between man and other ani¬ 
mal forms, as well as upon their differences. 
The points of similarity briefly stated include 
the functions of animal life and instinct; appe¬ 
tites, sensuous emotions, and emotional lan¬ 
guage ; power of sensation and of faint repro¬ 
ductions in. imagination; sensuous memory and 
dim sense perceptions; power of organic inter¬ 
ference; and organic volition. The points of 
difference that distinguish man from the mere 
animals are abstraction, intellectual perception, 


MAN, ISLE OF 


1309 


MANATEE 


reflection, self-consciousness, intellectual mem¬ 
ory, judgment, intellectual synthesis and induc¬ 
tion, intellectual intuition, higher emotions or 
sentiments, rational language, and a true power 
of will. Man is also distinguished by his erect 
position and in that he is tool using. In the 
manufacture and use of tools he has undergone 
a series of marked progressions, the earlier con¬ 
sisting of flakestones and cracked bones. He is 
the only living being that uses fire, though fire 
may exist without the productive energies of 
man in the form of volcanic action, spontaneous 
combustion, and lightning. 

Many of the primitive tools of man have been 
found in caves and alluvial deposits along with 
the remains of tropical fauna, like the hippo¬ 
potamus, elephant, and lion. Discoveries of this 
character have been made in continental Europe, 
from which it is taken that the climate of that 
part of the earth was at one time similar to the 
region of the Equator. Geologists approximate 
the time at 50,000 years. That this long space 
of time has elapsed since man first left traces of 
his existence is verified by the remains of Arctic 
animals that were deposited above tools made 
by man, which have been found with the remains 
of tropical animals both in America and Europe. 
From this circumstance it is evident that the 
glacial period visited America and Europe after 
man had made considerable progress in con¬ 
structing and using tools. Those holding this 
view generally agree that the days mentioned in 
the Scriptures as the distinct times for creating 
different objects and animals correspond to vast 
periods of time, thus establishing a fair agree¬ 
ment between science and the biblical view of 
creation. 

MAN, Isle of, an island in the northern part 
of the Irish Sea, about midway between Ireland, 
Scotland, and England. It has a length of 33 
miles, a breadth of 12 miles, and an area ,of 
226 square miles. A chain of mountains with a 
general elevation of 2,000 feet stretches along 
the eastern shore, Snaefell, 2,024 feet high, be¬ 
ing the culminating peak. Fully two-thirds of 
the surface is under cultivation, the principal 
agricultural products being wheat, oats, barley, 
rye, and fruits. It has deposits of zinc, lead, 
iron, and limestone. Cod and herring fishing, is 
an important industry. The manufactures in¬ 
clude machinery, cotton and woolen goods, uten¬ 
sils, wearing apparel, and earthenware. The 
government is administered by local authorities 
under the supervision of the crown,, and laws 
become effective only after publication. Acts 
of the British Parliament do not affect the 
island unless it is specially mentioned. A Celtic 
dialect known as the Manx language is still 


spoken, but the English is understood by most 
of the people and is coming gradually into use. 
Douglas, the principal seaport city, is the capi¬ 
tal and has a large railroad and steamboat com¬ 
merce. Railroad lines connect Douglas with 
Peel, Castletown, Ramsey, and other cities. A 
small island south of the Isle of Man is called 
the Calf of Man. Welsh kings governed the 
Isle of Man from the 6th to the 9th century, 
when it came into the hands of the Scandina¬ 
vians, but in 1266 it was ceded by treaty to the 
Scotch king, Alexander III. The government 
of Britain purchased the Isle of Man for $350,- 
000 in 1765, and all special privileges were ceded 
by the duke in 1829. Population, 1907, 54,827. 

MANAGUA (ma-na'gwa), a city of Central 
America, capital of Nicaragua, on a railway at 
the southern shore of Lake Managua. The 
lake is forty miles long and from six to fifteen 
miles wide. It communicates with Lake Nica¬ 
ragua through the Tipitapa River. The city is 
surrounded by a fertile region and has a large 
trade in coffee and sugar. It was made the cap¬ 
ital in 1855. Population, 1908, 34,908. 

MANAR (ma-nar'), Gulf of, an inlet of the 
Indian Ocean, located between Ceylon and the 
southern part of India. It is separated from 
Palk Strait by a low reef called Adam’s Bridge, 
which is situated between the islands of Manar 
and Rameswaram. 

MANASAROWAR (ma-na-sa-ro-war'), a 
lake of Asia, in Tibet, located north of the 
Himalaya Mountains. It is situated between the 
sources of the Indus and the Brahmaputra and 
the overflow is carried through the Sutlej River. 
The lake is about twelve miles wide and eight¬ 
een miles long and is held sacred by the Tar¬ 
tars and the Hindus, who make pilgrimages 
. to it. 

MANATEE (man-a-te'), or Sea Cow, an 

animal found in the waters of South America, 
Australia, and West Africa. It is herbivorous, 
subsisting especially on sea moss and plants in 
shallow water. In many respects it shows affin¬ 
ity to the dugong. The body is from eight to 
twenty feet long, the skin is covered with gray¬ 
ish hair, and the tail is broad and oval formed. 
The fore limbs are in the form of flappers and 
are provided with a naillike formation, which 
aids the animal in moving along the shore or 
at the bottom of the water. It is the custom 
of manatees to go in herds, but they are ex¬ 
tremely inactive and disappear in the water 
when danger becomes manifest. The mouths 
and estuaries of rivers are their favorite abode, 
where they are hunted for their skins, as well as 
for their flesh and the oil derived from it. They 
are not afraid of man and show considerable 


MANCHESTER 


1310 


MANCHESTER 


affection for their young. The manatee may 
be tamed in captivity. 

MANCHESTER (man'ches-ter), a town of 
Connecticut, in Hartford County, on the Hock- 
anum River, five miles east of Hartford. It is 
on the New England Railroad, has an electric 
street railway system, and maintains systems of 
sewerage and public waterworks. The chief 
buildings include the public library, the townhall, 
and several schools and churches. Among the 
manufactures are woolen goods, paper, silk, 
needles, incandescent lamps, and electrical ma¬ 


MANATEE, OR SEA COW. 

chinery. Manchester was separated from East 
Hartford and incorporated in 1823. Population, 
1900, 10,601; in 1910, 13,641. 

MANCHESTER, a city of New Hampshire, 
one of the county seats of Hillsboro County, on 
the Merrimac River, 55 miles northwest of Bos¬ 
ton, Mass. It is on the Boston and Maine Rail¬ 
road and on a number of electric railway lines. 
The site extends along both sides of the Merri¬ 
mac River, which is joined here by the Piscata- 
quog River, and is well drained and improved 
by grading and pavements. Among the note¬ 
worthy buildings are the public library, the 
county courthouse, the Federal building, the 
Roman Catholic cathedral, the Saint Anselm’s 
College, a State industrial school, and many 
churches and schools. The manufactures in¬ 
clude cotton and woolen goods, boots and shoes, 
machinery, locomotives, agricultural implements, 
carriages, and edged tools. An abundance of 
water power for manufacturing is derived from 
the Amoskeag Falls of the Merrimac, which 
have a descent of 55 feet. Manchester was 
settled by Scotch-Irish in 1722 and was incor¬ 
porated as Deerfield in 1751. It was renamed 
Manchester in 1810 and became a city in 1846. 
Population, 1900, 56,987; in 1910, 70,063. 

MANCHESTER, a city of Virginia, in Ches¬ 
terfield County, on the James River, opposite 
Richmond. It is on the Southern, the Sea Board 
Air Line, and the Atlantic Coast Line railroads. 
The surrounding country is agricultural and 


contains productive coal deposits. Among the 
manufactures are ironware, cotton goods, flour, 
paper, machinery, furniture, oil, leather, ice, and 
hardware. In the vicinity of the city are large 
granite quarries. An abundance of water power 
is derived from the James River, which has a 
fall of 100 feet in six miles. Gas and electric 
lights, waterworks, pavements, and several fine 
schools are among the improvements. Popu¬ 
lation, 1900, 9,715. 

MANCHESTER, a commercial and manu¬ 
facturing city of England, in Lancashire, on the 
Irwell River, thirty miles east of Liver¬ 
pool. It has extensive railroad connec¬ 
tions, maintains modern municipal facil¬ 
ities, and is surrounded by a country 
which is noted for its productive manu¬ 
facturing towns. On the opposite side of 
the Irwell River is Salford, with which 
it is connected by several railway via¬ 
ducts and a large number of bridges. 

It is beautifully built and contains much 
wealth. Among the noteworthy buildings 
are the Gothic assize court, the townhall, 
the Royal Exchange, the public library, 
the perpendicular Gothic cathedral erect¬ 
ed in 1422, and the Victoria University, an in¬ 
stitution founded by John Owens with a bequest 
of $500,000, in 1846. The city contains sev¬ 
eral hundred churches, among them splendid 
specimens of Gothic architecture, representing 
the various leading Protestant sects. It has a 
number of German churches, two Jewish syna¬ 
gogues, and a Greek Catholic church. The edu¬ 
cational institutions embrace high schools, pro¬ 
fessional and business colleges, industrial insti¬ 
tutions, and several charitable and benevolent 
schools. It has many educational and scientific 
societies and a public library of about 200,000 
volumes, these being distributed in several 
branches for convenient access. In 1887 the 
authorities erected a beautiful post office in 
the Renaissance style at a cost of 1500,000. 
Manchester has splendid parks, an electric street 
railway system, waterworks, pavements, gas 
works, electric lights, and numerous monuments, 
among them those erected in memory of Rich¬ 
ard Cobden, Cromwell, Prince Albert, and other 
noted men of Great Britain. 

Manchester is particularly noteworthy as an 
industrial and a wholesaling center. Among the 
leading manufactures are cotton, woolen and 
silk goods, steamships, machinery, ironware, 
spirituous liquors, soap, chemicals, paper, edged 
tools, and musical instruments. The export and 
import trade is extensive. Improvements in the 
city waterworks were made in 1894 at a vast 
expenditure, and the supply is now drawn from 








MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL 


1311 


MANDAN 


Lake Thirlmere by means of tunnels and aque¬ 
ducts. The city owns and operates the systems 
of waterworks, electric lighting, and gas plants 
and supplies a number of the neighboring towns 
at a large profit. It likewise owns the electric 
street railways, but they are operated by a pri¬ 
vate company at a profit of ten per cent. 

The history of Manchester dates back to Ro¬ 
man occupation, when it was a base of military 
operations, and in the time of Edward III. be¬ 
came a manufacturing town. By the middle of 
the 18th century the factory system attained a 
foothold and it was the first town of England 
in which this system developed. The Bridge- 
water Canal was constructed in 157G for the 
purpose of making an outlet to the sea and 
establishing convenient! connections with the 
coal and salt mines situated in Cheshire and 
Lancashire. Railroads ,^ere put in operation 
in 1830, but the Civil War in America inter¬ 
fered greatly with its cotton manufacture, since 
it cut off its supply of raw cotton. A fine canal 
and inland harbor were completed in 1894, by 
which the foreign trade became vastly aug¬ 
mented, though this improvement cost fully 
$75,000,000. Population, 1907, 643,148. ' 

MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL, an artifi¬ 
cial waterway of England, extending from Man¬ 
chester to Eastham, on the estuary of the Mer¬ 
sey River. It is 26 feet deep, about 600 feet 
wide at the surface, and 35.5 miles long. The 
canal was completed in 1894 and on May 21 
of that year was formally opened for traffic 
by Queen Victoria. Ocean steamers of the 
largest size enter Manchester, which has . six 
miles of wharfage, and dock accommodations 
equal to 100 acres. The canal was constructed 
at an expense of $75,000,000, of which one-third 
was contributed by the city of Manchester. 

MANCHURIA (man-choo'ri-a), a territory 
in the northeastern part of China. The north¬ 
ern boundary is formed by the Amur River, 
which separates it from Siberia. It is bounded 
on the south and the southeast by the Gulf of 
Liao-tung, Corea, and the Gulf of Corea, and 
on the west by the Argun River and Mongolia. 
The total area is about 365,000 square miles. 
The territory is divided into the three prov¬ 
inces of Liao-tung, Kirin, and He-Lung-Kiang. 
Shing-yang, in the province of Liao-tung, is the 
capital of Manchuria. The native race is made 
up of Manchus, but at present the Chinese pre¬ 
dominate. Manchuria has a temperate climate. 
Though severe in winter, it is healthful and 
favorable to various industries. The principal 
productions include wheat, millet, cotton, opium, 
tobacco, barley, lumber, and indigo. 

The natives, known as Manchus, are a Tartar 


people of Tungusic origin. In the 17th century 
they invaded and conquered China, which has 
since been governed by a Manchu dynasty, and 
the court and official language continues to be 
that of the Manchus. Russia obtained a lease 
of several harbors, including Port Arthur, in 
1898. and two years later took possession of 
several ports and interior cities with the view 
of controlling Corea and the Yellow Sea by an 
extension of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Sub¬ 
sequently Russia refused to evacuate, but by 
the treaty of Portsmouth, in 1905, restored all 
of it to China, except the leased territory of 
Liao-tung. This treaty gave the Japanese pos¬ 
session of the chief towns, including Dalny, 
Mukden, and Port Arthur. A large majority 
of the inhabitants are Chinese. Population, 
1908, 16,565,550. 

MANDALAY (man'da-la), a city of India, 
the former capital of Upper Burmah, on the Irra¬ 
waddy River, 350 miles north of Rangoon. In 
1860 the King of Burmah transferred the seat of 
his government to Mandalay from Amarapura, 
when its present prosperity began, and in 1886 
it was annexed to India by the British. The 
site of the city is on a fertile plain. It has rail¬ 
way connections, manufactures of silk and other 
textiles, and is an attraction for many Buddhist 
pilgrims. Among the interesting buildings are 
the Aracan Pagoda, several government struc¬ 
tures, and numerous mosques. It has been 
damaged several times by floods and fires, but 
the city has been growing materially. Electric 
street railways, telephones, electric lights, and 
several fine schools and hospitals are among the 
improvements. The inhabitants include many 
classes of Asiatics and a small number of Eu¬ 
ropeans. Population, 1906, 185,761. 

MANDAN (man'dan), a city of North Da¬ 
kota, county seat of Morton County, five miles 
west of Bismarck. It is located on the Mis¬ 
souri River and is on a division of the Northern 
Pacific Railway. The surrounding country has 
large interests in farming and stock raising. A 
good grade of lignite coal is mined in the vicin¬ 
ity. The chief buildings include the high school, 
the State Reform School, and several churches 
and business blocks. It was named from the 
Mandan Indians, who formerly populated a 
large part of North Dakota, but are now settled 
on Fort Berthold Reservation at the junction of 
the Little Missouri with the Missouri River. 
These Indians were first met by Lewis and 
Clark, when they were a powerful tribe, but at 
present they do not exceed 250. In the vicinity 
of the city of Mandan are numerous prehistoric 
remains that seem to indicate a former semiciv¬ 
ilization. Population, 1905, 2,714. 


MANDARIN 


1312 


MANGE 


MANDARIN (man-da-ren'), a general name 
for a Chinese magistrate. It is applied by Eu¬ 
ropeans to any public official of China, either 
civil or military. Khan, the Chinese equivalent, 
implies a public official or character. 

MANDINGO (man-din'go), the name of a 
tribe of Negroes in West Africa, who dwell in 
the region located between Monrovia and the 
Senegal and Upper Niger rivers. They are 
mixed more or less with Hamites, but have 
woolly hair and are unusually tall. Their state 
of society is semicivilized. In religion they be¬ 
long to the Mohammedans. Many of their 
towns are walled, the houses are chiefly of clay 
and adobe brick, and the government is admin¬ 
istered by independent states. The language is 
known as Mandi, but a large number have 
learned the use of French. 

MANDOLIN (man'do-lm), a musical instru¬ 
ment which resembles the guitar, so called from 
its almond shape. It was first manufactured by 
the Italians, who now make several varieties, 
each with different tunings. The Neapolitan 
mandolin is considered the most perfect instru¬ 
ment of this class. It has four strings. The 
sound is made by a plectrum used in the right 
hand, while the strings are stopped on the fretted. 
fingerboard by the fingers of the left. The com¬ 
pass is about three octaves. 

MANDRAKE (man'drak), a plant native to 
Amercia, Europe and Asia, belonging to the 
order Solanaccae. A narcotic poison is found 

in all of its parts. 
The root is fleshy, 
often forked, and 
described as re¬ 
sembling a human 
being in general 
outline. The 
leaves are lanceo¬ 
late, beneath which 
are concealed sev¬ 
eral pale violet- 
colored flowers, 
with a purple bell¬ 
shaped corolla. Its 
fruit is a fleshy, 
orange-colored berry. Although a very different 
plant, the May apple of North America is some¬ 
times called mandrake. In Europe and Northern 
Africa the mandrake is gathered for its narcotic 
properties, which are utilized as a purgative, but 
• the use among professional physicians has de¬ 
creased materially. 

MANDRILL (man'dril), a large and power¬ 
ful species of baboon, distinguished by having 
a short tail and a savage disposition. It is na¬ 
tive to Africa, found chiefly in the northern and 


western parts, where it is seen in large troops. 
The adult male is about five feet tall, when 
standing erect. These animals have a long 
muzzle, furrowed with purple and scarlet, and 



MANDRILL. 


the nose is bright red. The cheeks are enlarged 
by swellings. They are both strong and cunning. 
See Baboon. 

MANGANESE ( man-ga-nes'), a metallic 
element which is widely diffused, occurring 
chiefly as sulphide and carbonate and in the 
form of peroxide. It has a grayish-white color, 
but by being exposed to air readily oxidizes, and 
decomposes in water with an evolution of hy¬ 
drogen. Extensive deposits are found in vari¬ 
ous countries, especially in Virginia, Arkansas, 
California, Spain, Moravia, and Germany. Man¬ 
ganese is serviceable under various conditions 
for numerous purposes, including its use in the 
manufacture of plate glass, bleaching powder, 
pottery, and enamel, and for various purposes 
in analytical chemistry. 

MANGE (manj), a skin disease of various 
domestic animals, due to the presence of a small 
mite upon the skin. It is most prevalent among 
cattle, dogs, swine, and horses. In sheep it is 
known as scab, or scabes. The early symptoms 
are heat and itching, after which the skin be¬ 
comes bald and sore. In the early stages it may 
be treated by applying the tincture of belladonna 
or such tonics as iron or arsenic locally, but 
where the disease has spread over various parts 
of the body it is best to plunge the animals in 
dips or tanks containing solutions of lime and 
sulphur, or tobacco and sulphur. When arsenic 
and other poisonous materials are used, they 
must be diluted and applied with much care. 











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